The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

How the hell is she working me into a lather with this granny panty nonsense? “Today’s your lucky day. I’m going to give you a crash course in William 101. You’ll get to know me, and realize I always tell the truth, because I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” Somehow, he would get through to this woman...and make her desperate for his touch in the process. Because priorities. “I love games of every kind. Video. Wits. Board. Bedroom. I’ve stabbed as many friends as enemies, just for grins and giggles, and I never leave an enemy alive.”

“Enough!” Again, she shook the gun-ring. This time, the circular scar on her forehead glowed with soft white light. Mesmerizing. He’d thought he’d seen that light once before, long, long ago. But where? And what did it mean? Think! “You assume these details will make me less inclined to shoot you, because I’ll view you as a living being versus a target. But, I’ll never see you as anything more than scum.”

He flinched again. “Shoot me, then,” he repeated. “Do it!” If she is my lifemate, I am hers. She wouldn’t be able to harm her man. Few immortals could. I am the exception, of course.

“I will do it. Don’t think I won’t.” The evil smile returned, and she lowered the gun to his shaft. “Still eager to be shot?”

He rolled his eyes while secretly applauding her spirit. “Like I haven’t been shot in my man-junk before.” Hoping to fluster her, he said, “Ah. I understand the switch. You’re a bad shot, so you need a bigger target. No wonder you selected my cock.”

“Good point,” she said, returning the barrel to his face. “There’s nothing bigger than your ego.”

He took a step closer, unafraid. “My time is valuable, and you’re wasting it. Fucking shoot me already, or put the gun away.”

The F-bomb made her gasp with...wonder? “You can use obscenities in my presence. Obscenities and lies.”

“Baby, I know all the dirty words.” Should he disarm her now or continue to wait? Dismissing normal sounds—the air vent, a dripping facet, stomping footsteps above—he listened to her heartbeat. Pounding so hard, so fast. Not the heartbeat of a cold-blooded killer.

Wait.

The decision solidified as her intoxicating scent rendered him light-headed. He would kiss her instead, teaching her how to kiss him back properly, and she would lower the weapon on her own. Then, he would make her beg for a climax. A climax he might—might!—be inclined to grant, after she’d apologized for her hostility.

Excitement sparked. I will have this woman.

“You have nothing else to say to me?” she asked, the words clipped.

“Take off your clothes, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

A strange calm descended over her, her aim steadying. Voice flat, she told him, “I warned you and I gave you a chance to talk. Now, you die.”

Shocked, he stumbled back a step. This woman would shoot anyone...and he liked it. He liked her.

Want her? No. He needed. Desire clawed at him, and there was no ignoring it, no shoving it aside to deal with later. He hungered. Ravenous.

Get her into bed. Sort the rest out later. Yes! Another flawless plan.

He unveiled his most indulgent smile, ready to seduce. Then. That very second. The signature of her magic changed, too, from sweet and innocent to dark and menacing.

He’d misread this female from the start, hadn’t he?

“Sunny,” he began.

“Goodbye, William.” Boom!

Pain exploded in his beautiful face and quickly spread through the rest of him. His world went black. His knees buckled, and he collapsed, crash-landing with a heavy thud.

As he lay there, shock reverberated inside his bones. She’d done it; the sexy little bitch had actually pulled the trigger.

She couldn’t be his lifemate, which meant she wasn’t his codebreaker. Which meant he could do whatever he wished to her. But...

He wanted to know what she would do next.

William set aside his fury with her—for the moment—and played dead. At least everything made sense now. Her weird shifter magic. Her sometimes sweet, sometimes evil personality. Her drugging voice. Her sweet, earthy scent. Her propensity for eating leaves. Yeah, he’d caught her munching on foliage in the bar. Her attempt to turn the word freesia into an obscenity. The ability to sift truth from lie. The small round light on her forehead.

William had just found a unicorn-shifter.

This was not a good turn. The unicorns of myth: Watch as I spread happiness across the land. The unicorns of reality: I’mma kill you and dance in your blood.

She had the power to slay gods.

She might be my lifemate, after all. She just didn’t want him as much as he wanted her.

Shit. Shit! What am I going to do now?

4

“Be my baby tonight. Tomorrow, be absent.”

Sunny fought to retain her cold, calm bravado, but panic and hysteria fought back. So many things had gone wrong. First, desire had stirred when she kissed William. Genuine desire. Uncontrollable and wild. Their bodies had fit perfectly, like two lost puzzle pieces finally found. His taste drugged, while his ambrosial scent warmed and his wicked touch thrilled. But, though a fire had blazed in her veins for the first time in memory, her thoughts had acted like a bucket of ice water. Prince of darkness. Destroyer of families.

Her thoughts always doused the flames of her desires, no matter the situation or the male. Her dual nature was simply too strong, her trust issues too deeply ingrained, causing a constant tug-of-war inside her. Over the years, she’d learned to expect an ambush at every turn, which had broken her ability to relax. Yet, for that one brief moment, she’d lost herself in William.

Then she’d entered an empty hotel room and found no sign of Sable. Had the other unicorn mislead Sunny? Or, had a poacher or collector captured her? Fear had taken hold.

Then Sunny had entertained doubts about William’s involvement in the slaughter of her village. He’d seemed so surprised by her accusation, and legit angry with his brother.

In the end, she’d erred on the side of caution and plugged a magic bullet in his face. A bullet designed to slay gods. Now blood and brain matter splattered the walls and the floor, and a metallic scent of death tainted the air.

Realization set in. She’d just killed William the Ever Randy. Horror Show Sunny rejoiced in a job well done. Roses and Rainbows Sunny grieved. She’d taken a life. What if William had told the truth? What if she’d killed an innocent man?

Half laugh, half sob bubbled from her. A common reaction to murder, and a testament to her dual nature.

Buck up, buttercup. Lucifer slayed your family, and you slayed a member of his. You did the right thing. Still, tears singed her eyes and blurred her vision.

Okay, maybe she wouldn’t buck up just yet.

“Why’d you have to prick my temper?” she whispered at William. With a sniffle, she trudged to the bathroom, where she collected the supplies she and Sable had brought: plastic tarps, towels and blankets. To start. She also had a bucket filled with air fresheners, bleach and other cleaning products. Crouching beside the body and trying not

to sob again, she fit the towels around him to soak up the blood. Then she draped the plastic over him. Finally, the blankets.

Though she needed to dispose of the body, clean the room and find Sable, she lingered next to William. “You left me with more questions than answers. What were you, species-wise? How were you able to belt out an obscenity, evincing no reaction to my magic? Only one species can bypass the supernatural filter. The Fae. But there’s no way you’re Fae.” Every Fae possessed an aura tied to the four elements. “And why do you have a magically coded book?”

Since he was dead and all, she decided to share a secret. “I have a coded book, too. A diary of lists. I kept track of everyone who’s ever wronged me, everyone I’ve ever killed, sexual fantasies, all the things I hope to do before I die and life hacks for living my best life.”

Wait. Had his chest lifted ever so slightly?

Heart racing—with hope? Dread? Both?—she pressed two fingers against his throat, feeling for a pulse. Nope. Nothing. Her shoulders rolled in.

Focus. She’d brought several insulated, waterproof bags, planning to stuff her victims inside and wheel them to her car at the appropriate time. But body dismemberment was a two-person job. The very reason she’d reached out to Sable about the conference in the first place.

No way around it; she had to find Sable before she worked on William.

Halfway expecting cops to be congregating in the hallway, questioning guests about the source of the gunshot, Sunny trembled as she opened the door. Shocker! Not one person stood nearby. Of course, the gun-ring wasn’t as loud as, say, a .44, so anyone within earshot might have assumed the pop came from a TV show.

Head high, expression (hopefully) serene despite her churning stomach, she anchored the Do Not Disturb sign on the knob and exited. After double-checking the lock, she meandered down the hallway. I’m just a normal girl, not a shifter who murdered the most carnally sensual male on earth.