The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(29)

True. Damn him. Everything inside her softened, and she couldn't stop it from happening. Look away. He's dragging you under again, shifting your thinking. Ruining you. She peered down at the bottom of the stairs. A lush red carpet waited, so thick her feet would never sink to the marbled floor below it. "Your friends still want me dead."

"Want?" He laughed, but it was not a pretty resonance. "No. No one wants you dead, but they will do what they must."

"And they must kill me?"

Now he remained silent.

"And you'll, what?" she insisted. "Let them?"

Another sigh, this one heartsick. "Have I hurt you, even once?"

No. "What do you know of my family, Reyes? My grandmother has been - " she nearly choked, did gag " - missing for over two weeks."

Reyes reached out, twined his fingers with hers.

"The Darkest Pleasure"

Gasping, she jerked her hand away. "We agreed. No touching." His skin was too hot, and her body too responsive. With only that split-second contact, she'd felt seared to the bone. Her nipples were hard.

"I do not know about your grandmother, but I...I know someone who will."

Danika laughed, and like Reyes's, it was an ugly sound. "Yeah. Right."

"I spoke true. I would not lie to you about something like this."

The seriousness of his tone didn't convince her. The actual words convinced her. Three times she'd interacted with him, and not once had he lied or even stretched the truth. He was blunt, painfully so. Her stomach clenched in hope...in fear. What would she learn if she visited this nameless person? That her mother, sister and grandmother were healthy and whole or that they had suffered terribly before dying?

"Take me to this person." A command. She faced him, shifting her body until they were chest to chest. Their breath mingled, warm and minty. She inhaled deeply. So deeply she feared he became a part of her. He's been a part of you since the beginning.

No. I refuse to believe that.

"I will not take you to him, but I will question him for you."

"Hell, no." She wanted to grab Reyes's shoulders and shake him, but knew that touching him willingly would shatter her composure. "I'm going with you."

"I - " He massaged the back of his neck. "No."

"You won't talk me out of this and there'll be a fight if you try and force me to stay behind."

A long, tired sigh. "Very well. But first, you will eat. You can barely hold up your head." His gaze roved over her. To his credit, he didn't leer. His expression became guarded, revealing nothing of his emotions.

"I need to know what happened to them. I won't be able to keep down a single bite until I do."

He was shaking his head before the last word left her mouth. "This is non-negotiable. You will eat, shower and then we will go."

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm not the same girl I was the first time you abducted me. I will not meekly obey you."

"Is that the way you saw yourself before? Meek?"

She stared at him, incredulous. "Didn't you?"

"No. I saw a strong, proud woman who did whatever necessary to calm her family and keep them alive."

Don't react. Don't you dare react. "I was weak and afraid. Now I know how to defend myself." The fire in her tone practically dared him to find out firsthand. Stupid of her, since she currently possessed the strength of a newborn. But she wanted him to know there would be consequences for hurting her.

He nodded in understanding, but his pensive expression didn't change. "I heard about the human you killed."

Human, he'd said, the single word driving home their differences in a big way. Then there was a flash of black and red in her mind, a pained gasp in her ears, concrete burning her palms and knees, pencil snapping, a dying breath echoing, and she didn't care how different they were. She just wanted Reyes to pull her to safety.

"Danika."

Somehow, with only her name, his rough timbre was able to drag her from the mire of the hated memory. She gulped, shook her head. "I don't regret my actions." She only hoped the words were true. Right now, she was too numb to know for sure.

"I'm glad."

Of course he was - wait. Did he say glad? "Why?"

"He meant to hurt you. You did what was necessary to protect yourself. I only wish I had been there."

"Well, I didn't protect myself well enough," she said bitterly, then cursed. Bringing up the aftermath and her time with the Hunters wasn't a smart move. Besides, she had a job to do. "How did you hear about what happened? Is there a warrant out for my arrest or something?"

She'd spoken so quietly, she had to strain to hear herself, yet he answered without pause. "No warrant. No one knows. But what I am about to tell you, Danika, can never be repeated. You hate us. With reason. So arming you with this information is foolish of me. And yet, I want you to know why we've done the things we've done."

Suddenly she was terrified of breathing - of stopping him, of allowing him to continue. What dark secret was he about to reveal? He had to sacrifice virgins at every full moon? She was next? Well, news flash. She wasn't a virgin.

He inhaled deeply, slowly released every molecule. Looked away from her. "I told you the warriors here are not human. What I did not tell you is that every warrior here is possessed by a...a demon." There was shame in the word. "Lucien - do you remember him? - is possessed by the spirit of Death. When your human died, he was summoned."