The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

“I’m not going with you, William,” she said. “My acquaint—friend is still missing. I’d hoped she’d be here. Alas.” She pressed her lips into a thin line, going quiet. Her chin trembled. I am near tears?

No, never. And there was no reason to share her secrets with a man, any man, especially one who tied her insides into knots...and turned her into lust on legs.

Already Sunny burned and quaked, her body starved for pleasure. And cuddles! Oh, what she wouldn’t give for the after-sex cuddles so many people took for granted. When you had no one and nothing, the smallest bit of affection made the biggest difference to your mind-set. But she couldn’t enjoy a man unless she felt safe. So. Yeah. She’d never enjoyed a man. But she wanted to. Badly.

“I’ll send my best tracker to find her,” William promised.

So he could bag and tag another unicorn? “No, thanks.” Sable can take care of herself. No doubt she got spooked, ran and plans to hole up until the coast is clear.

Besides, Sable had lived thousands of years without Sunny. She could survive a couple weeks more, yes?

Daisy! Sunny didn’t know. She could use William’s help. William...who’d dressed as a living lollipop today. His pink T-shirt read Save the Boobies and stretched taut across his chest and biceps. Black leather pants molded to powerful legs. With his dark hair in disarray and a night’s worth of beard scruff on his jaw, he sent her heart into overdrive.

“Lookit. Part of me is sorry I caused you pain,” she said, and she meant it. “The other part of me will never be sorry.” Yep. She meant that, too. Dual natured and all that jazz. “You provoked me, and also, I have a legit beef with your family.”

He did that annoying brow lift thing and slowly circled her, his stride graceful but predatory. “Are you saying I asked for it?”

“No. I’m saying you begged for it. Shoot me, then,” she mocked, following his movements. She peered into his electric blues as his wicked scent filled her nose, and his delicious heat enveloped her. Her defenses began to crumple.

All night she’d tossed and turned, worried about Sable and hyperfocused on William, glad he’d survived the gunshot and shockingly eager for his return. Even though he’d basically vowed revenge.

She’d wondered how she would react to the sight of him. Now she knew. Breathless. Racing heart. Puckered nipples. Aching core.

How did he react to the sight of her?

Sunny dragged her gaze down his broad chest and gasped. A massive erection strained his fly. A rush of feminine power flooded her, leaving her dazed and light-headed. He might consider her a dark abyss, but he craved her, too.

“Sunny.” He snapped his fingers in front of her face. “My cock is a work of art, I know, but you must combat your fascination and concentrate on the matter at hand.”

A flush warmed her cheeks. “If you don’t want people mentally measuring your cockscomb—” the use of a flower in this particular situation, with this particular male, made the flush a thousand degrees hotter “—don’t put it on display.”

“Cockscomb?” He belted out a sensual laugh, amusement transforming his features from darkly sardonic to sinfully angelic. “I haven’t put anything on display...yet.”

Sunny’s heart raced faster. She didn’t give jack-sage about that “yet.” Only here and now mattered.

“With its immense length and gargantuan girth,” he said, “my cockscomb cannot be hidden at full salute.”

Her panties all but disintegrated. “Men! You’re all obsessed with your genitals.”

“Women! You’re all obsessed with my genitals.”

Argh! He had a comeback for everything, didn’t he? She scowled. “News flash. A penis doesn’t make you special.”

“Counterpoint. This penis makes me very special.”

If she shifted into a unicorn and stabbed him with her horn, no one would blame her.

“Just out of curiosity,” he said, canting his head to the side, “if you were a car, what kind would you be?”

Daisy! Why did he have to remind her of their first meeting, when she’d asked about pizza? It made him seem nice and normal, and she didn’t have the strength to resist. “I’d be a food truck, because I serve what you order. And you? Wait. I’ll guess. You’d be a Viper, because you’re a snake.”

“Wrong. I’d be a tank, because I mow down any obstacles in my way.”

Why, why, why did she find his answer so sexy?

Inhale, exhale. She glanced at the portal. A glittery veil of dappled air. The muscly bald man stood front and center, watching her. Ready to act if Sunny struck at William? The hard-core brunette corralled the freaked-out codebreakers.

Not yet ready to decide whether to go or fight to stay, she stalled, asking, “Who are your friends?”

“My sister, Pandora, and my son Green.” The ease of his admission surprised her.

So did the connection. William had a son? The two looked nothing alike. Although, they did possess a similar blurry aura. Difference was, Green’s aura had specks of emerald and black, a strange mix of life and death.

“I’ve always wanted a sibling,” she admitted. A ready-made friend who had to love her. Someone who would listen to her complain about her problems and offer advice. Right now, Sunny had Sable. But. Before the conference, she hadn’t seen the unicorn in over one hundred and seventy-five years. Before that, she hadn’t seen her for three centuries.

The lack of companionship bothered her. Unicorns were pack-minded creatures, far stronger together than apart. The bigger the pack, the easier it was to control their dark sides.

“Sunny,” William said, then sighed with impatience. Gah! She’d gotten lost in her head again. A dangerous habit to indulge. “This is your last chance to enter the portal of your own volition.”

Or what? He’d throw her over his shoulder fireman-style? Shiver.

She looked at the portal...then William. The portal. William. To escape or not to escape? Maybe, by helping William with his book, she’d have opportunities to learn more about his family, discover their greatest weaknesses, hideouts and fears, and finally execute Lucifer. But, again, she’d be a prisoner.

And what about Sable? Was the other unicorn truly okay? “You know what I am,” Sunny said, lifting her chin. “What if you decide to steal my horn?” I’ll stop him. Yes, but what if he locked her up, forever? I’ll escape. If she had to fight her way free, she would. He’d never be able to stop her.

“Keep your horn to yourself, and we won’t have any problems,” he said, his derisive tone a real teeth-grinder. “Come to my palace, decode my book, and I’ll escort you to Lucifer’s home. You wish to kill him, yes?”

She sucked in a breath. Her greatest desire! But had William spoken a truth or a lie? With him, she couldn’t tell. “If you truly are at war with your brother, I’ll be doing you two favors. Decoding your book and killing your brother. How is that fair to me?”

“Ex-brother. If you break the curse in the two-week time frame, I’ll give you anything you want. Absolutely anything.”

Her heart leaped. “What about the other codebreakers? Will you let them go unharmed if I can decode your book?”

“I will, yes.” He gave the assurance with zero hesitation and one h

undred percent confidence, as if he’d just made a blood oath, and she thought, hoped, he’d meant it.

“All right. Show me a photo of the book.”

He went still, his intent expression bordering on psychotic. Then he held out a hand. Did she detect a slight tremor? A second later, a photograph appeared over his palm.

She lifted and studied the image. An open book, with two yellowed pages visible. They were frayed at the edges and littered with odd symbols she’d never before seen. But...the code remained unbroken.

Truly a first for Sunny, and she frowned. No matter the complexity of a code, cipher or encryption, her magic always unlocked the truth. Why not now?

Maybe she wasn’t the one William needed. And that was fine. Whatever. So why do I want to beat the one who is? “I got nothing. Either I’m not the one you seek, or I need to see the original pages.”

His mood changed in an instant, a toxic mix of disappointment, frustration and fury crackling in his irises. “You’ll work with photographs or nothing.”

“Oh. Okay. In that case, I’ll go with nothing.”

“You’ll go with whatever I tell you,” he bellowed. As his voice echoed from the walls, he blanched. He inhaled sharply, exhaled slowly. More calmly, he asked, “Do you have the skill to decipher it or not?”

Realization: the code, whatever it was, didn’t mean a great deal to him—it meant everything to him. “Maybe. Probably,” she admitted, stuffing the photo into her pocket. “Without the original pages, it’ll take more time.” A lot more.

“My offer hasn’t changed. Two weeks, in exchange for a trip to Lucifer’s home. Succeed, and you can name your prize.” He waved to the portal, somehow making the action more menacing than his gun.

“My offer hasn’t changed, either. Despite our agreed-upon give-and-take, I’ll still be a prisoner, so, I will punish you.”

He shrugged. Shrugged! He does not fear my wrath...yet.

But he would.