Not the least bit fazed by her exasperation, he said, “For starters, I am the king, remember? It’s my duty and right to know the happenings of both my kingdom and the regions I rule. I also have a sixth sense that helps me to home in on the powers others have cultivated. That’s how I knew your friend, Lisette, has Wiccan gifts and even that Jinx could predict the future.”
A menacing thought crawled through her brain. “He believed the human world would be rebuilt. Not that we’d be able to conquer the demons, but that mortals and immortals would learn to coexist in a modern world, somewhat similar to the one Jinx, Lisette and the elders knew before the wars.”
This time, she couldn’t claim to not be insolent when she asked, “Did you fear he was right and didn’t want him spreading that word?”
Darien’s brow jerked up. “Are you suggesting I had him killed to silence him?”
“You are the king,” she said.
He glowered at her. “Do you have any idea what dangerous territory you’re in?”
“Of course.” She swallowed hard. “But Jinx was my friend and I want to know the truth about him. Clearly, those of us who have abilities that could pose a problem for your kingdom are under close observation.”
Darien waved a hand in the air. “Jinx was never a concern for me. He was optimistic and waxed poetic. He never created trouble. As for Lisette, I don’t want her practicing witchcraft any more than I want my vampires drinking human blood from the source. It taints the civility I’ve fought to establish since the wars ended.”
“And what about me?” she repeated.
“I was…mistaken.” He shoved a hand through that thick black hair she’d tousled in an imaginary vision and stepped around her. Crossing to the fireplace, he poked at the logs with the metal tool from the rack alongside the hearth, getting the flames going again. For her benefit, she surmised. He hardly seemed to notice the temperature.
“What was the mistake?” she asked in a quiet voice. “Stalking me? Or what you did to me last night in my dream?”
He replaced the rod and faced her.
“I had you tracked by a wraith from my army because I sensed a new power building within you. I needed—I need—to know what it is. I followed you personally when I couldn’t sort out the root of the power, what the actual gift is. What I did was wrong. It went against the law I implemented and I am sorry for that.” His mesmerizing eyes glowed under the candles and the firelight when he told her, “As for last evening, that was no mistake. I knew what I was doing. Out of the dream as well as within it.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Why would you…?” She exhaled heavily. “I mean, what on earth were you thinking?”
Although the urge to rail at him for such a huge invasion of privacy rose within her, Jade would be a hypocrite if she took offense. She’d enjoyed the fantasy, after all. Had come twice at the hands of the man standing before her, who had figuratively tossed Michael out into the cold and had replaced that hard, warm body with his own.
Didn’t that make her as twisted and demented as the Demon King?
Her heart continued to pound wildly and Jade pressed a hand to her chest, as if that would keep the organ from leaping from her body. “I don’t understand any of this.”
“In theory,” he said in a tight voice, “it’s really quite simple. I’ve wanted you for some time. Eight years, to be exact. But you’re mortal, which makes you wholly off limits. Even to me. Especially to me.”
Frustration flashed in his eyes again, intriguing Jade.
He said, “Only one time before did I read your thoughts. When you were eighteen. They were so black and agonizing, I never did it again. I literally cannot stand how tormented you are. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I feel irrationally compelled to protect you.”
He seemed to give this some thought, but apparently didn’t like the implication, because he scowled. “When I sensed there was something new brewing within you, I had to find out what it was. My quest, however, has not kept me from desiring you. As we’ve both discovered.”
There it was. The whole kit-and-caboodle laid at her feet. Except…
“You’re wrong about me.”
His brows lifted. “Oh really?”
Her cheeks flushed. He hadn’t actually inferred anything sexual, but all she could think was that he likely believed she chose to deny their attraction and how desperately she’d wanted him. But she couldn’t deny it. The inescapable truth was that she’d very much enjoyed the pleasure he’d brought her and had the overwhelming desire to beg for seconds.
He was right about one thing, though. She was mortal. He was a Demon King. In what world could two such vastly different creatures ever be together? Other than a dream world, that was…
Shaking her head, hoping to dislodge all of her peculiar thoughts, she said, “I’m talking about my abilities. They’re not new.”
Focusing her mind on the metal rod he’d returned to the rack, she lifted the poker with her psychokinesis and jabbed at a log before bringing the tool to her. She gripped the cool end and then handed it over to Darien.
He placed it in the holder once more. “Impressive. Has anyone seen you do that before?”
“Not anyone who’s currently alive. Present company excluded.”