Beyond the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #6)(87)

“You intend to face him alone?”

“No one’s allowed the pleasure of killing him but me.”

“I am not disputing your right, but your reasoning.” Styx held his gaze. “I, better than most, understand your desire for vengeance, but you cannot allow it to blind you. You have too much to lose to take unnecessary risks.”

Hell, yeah, he had everything to lose.

A beautiful mate who filled his heart with joy, even when she was driving him nuts.

The opportunity to return the Weres to their former glory.

A new Lamborghini waiting for him in St. Louis.

But that didn’t mean he could ignore his duty.

“There’s no risk. Without being able to call on his master’s powers, Briggs will be helpless.”

“A cornered demon is the most dangerous creature on earth. And you cannot be certain that he has not prepared for such a turn of fate. He could have any number of nasty surprises waiting for you.”

Salvatore’s lips twisted. “Briggs is too arrogant to have considered the possibility that I might defeat the demon lord.”

“You defeated the demon lord?” a female voice drawled with dangerous composure from behind Salvatore. “What a selective memory you have, Your Majesty.”

Salvatore heaved a sigh as he turned to meet the furious gaze of his mate.

“Cristo.”

A tight smile curved Harley’s lips as Salvatore slowly turned, his beautiful face carefully composed to hide his guilt.

Oh, he was so busted.

But rather than gloating at having caught his lord and master off guard, Harley felt her mouth go dry and a blaze of heat explode through her body.

Holy…crap.

Standing in front of a half-naked Aztec warrior and a delectable Roman god, there was enough yummy eye candy to make any woman’s brain turn to mush. Especially when it was obvious the two had just finished a sparring match that had left Salvatore’s raven hair clinging to the damp skin of his face, and his eyes glowing with a fierce golden light.

A dangerous warrior who would never be fully tamed.

Perhaps sensing her lack of a functioning brain, Styx moved smoothly forward.

“Harley. I am delighted to see you have fully recovered. I trust you have everything you need?”

He reached to take her hand, only to come to a sharp halt when Salvatore’s low growl rumbled through the air.

“Styx.”

Styx held his hands up in a gesture of peace. “Easy, wolf.”

Harley rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Styx. Unlike some, I appreciate your very generous hospitality.”

The vampire’s lips twitched. “You are welcomed to remain as long as you wish. Darcy is delighted to have you near.”

Harley turned to stab her mate with a warning glare. “Right now my plans seem to be up in the air.”

“Ah.” Styx reached to pull on a loose black robe. “If you will forgive me, I have someplace I need to be.”

“Where do you need to be?” Salvatore demanded.

Styx flashed a meaningful gaze at Harley’s grim expression.

“Anywhere but here.”

The King of Weres snorted. “Traitor.”

“Self-preservation, amigo.”

A thick silence descended as the vampire left the room. Caught between the urge to slug Salvatore and push him to the floor and tear off his clothes, Harley instead wandered the short distance to stroke her fingers over the hilt of the heavy sword propped on a stand.

She was supposed to be annoyed with the Were, not yearning to run her tongue over the exposed muscles of his chest.

“Been playing?” she demanded.

“Styx was in need of a sparring partner.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

Salvatore moved to stand at her side, his fingers tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

“I thought you intended to spend the evening watching movies?”

She jerked from his gentle touch. He wasn’t going to distract her with sex.

A shame.

“And to make sure I did, you sent Darcy to keep me distracted,” she accused in a tight voice.

“I sent her to keep you company,” he smoothly countered. “As Styx said, Darcy is happy to have you as her guest, and I assumed you would enjoy spending time getting to know your sister.”

“You wanted me too busy to notice when you slipped away like a Slugaugh demon.”

He folded his arms over his chest, studying her with a brooding gaze.

“You were the one, cara, to make it clear that our mating was nothing more than biology,” he reminded her. “What does it matter if I intend to leave or not?”

She clenched her jaw. She wasn’t going to be deterred by logic or reason. She didn’t have to make sense. If she wanted to be pissed off, then she was going to be pissed off.

“You’re going after Briggs, aren’t you?”

“My first priority is to make sure that my curs are safe. Briggs was holding them captive in the caves.”

Crap. A pang of guilt twisted her heart. Of course he was worried about his pack. She should have told him that she’d seen the curs the minute they had gotten free of the caves. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been thinking clearly on the trip back to Chicago.

One side effect of battling a demon lord.