The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

The unexpected smooch shocked her to the core. A simple but profound gesture she thought she would replay for the rest of her days. Okay, she really, really needed out of his arms, before she asked about his day, fetched his favorite whiskey and sat at his feet while he read a paper.

Once again, she stepped back. He glared, until he noticed a smear of blood on her shirt. Concerned, he traced a finger over the stain, collecting a droplet.

“It’s you,” she whispered. “You’re bleeding.”

He yanked his shirt overhead, revealing claw marks on his sternum. “I healed this wound earlier, which means the demons used infirm?d¯e, too. A venom that cause the wound to come back again and again, until you’ve taken the antidote.” With a wave of his hand, the wounds wove back together. “Or neutralized it with magic.”

She wanted to engage with him conversationally but...those pecs...that eight-pack, each row of strength hotter than the last...tattoos galore...his adorable navel...the black goodie trail that led to the waist of his leathers.

Breathless, she twirled a finger. “Turn around.” She wanted, needed, to see him. All of him.

He looked ready to grin, his eyes flashing. “Should I remove the rest of my clothing first?”

“Yes!”

He laughed but he did turn around, without removing his pants. His back... Wow! He had a treasure map tattooed there, and she had a sudden urge to lick every inch of it.

Lick. Yes. Shivers traipsed down her spine, and champagne spilled through her veins. No. Focus! “Let’s, uh, get to work.” She turned away, one of the most difficult things she’d ever done, and removed the lid from the display case, surprised to discover her unease had been eradicated.

Magic tingled over her skin, dark and insidious, and she shuddered. But even still... Must touch...

She eased into the chair. When she reached for the book, William flashed to her side and latched on to her wrist once again, stopping her just before contact.

“I’m not going to rip the pages,” she promised, unable to look away from the object of her fascination. So powerful.

“I’m trusting you in a way I’ve never trusted another. Do not betray me, Sunny.”

“As long as you’re my captor, betrayal is a strong possibility,” she confessed. When would he let her go? She needed her hand on the paper.

He pursed his lips and mumbled, “You don’t see me as a bloodthirsty warlord, do you?”

“Of course I do.” With her free hand, she reached up to blindly pat his stubble-roughened cheek. “The bloodthirstiest. Now, about the book. A girl’s gotta work.”

A pause. She felt the heat of his gaze searching her face. Then he sighed. “I deserve this, I really do.”

“Don’t worry, baby doll,” she intoned. “You don’t deserve me—yet—but keep tweaking your personality flaws, and you will.” Book! Book! Book! She tugged on her hand.

At last, he released her. Giddy, she did it; she glided her fingertips over the outer edge of a page and moaned with delight. The magical tingles had intensified.

“Well?” he croaked.

She studied the symbols but...nothing translated. Hmm. She traced a swirling design, then another, but again, no part of the code revealed itself. “I’m sorry. I can feel the magic, I can. It’s oddly entrancing but also disinterested in opening itself to me.”

A moment passed in terse silence. “I told you I’d give you anything you desire if you decode this, and I meant it. Wealth. Another list of people killed. Enough orgasms to put you in a coma of bliss. I’ll move heaven and earth to get the job done, sundae.”

Just then, she wanted all of that and more. “Can I be brutally honest with you?” she asked as Dawn settled under the table, lying down at her feet.

He stared at Sunny, incredulous. “You mean you’ve been gentle with me until now?”

Yes! “First, you’ll be giving me orgasms, anyway. We’re going to have sex, and we both know it. Second, by letting you give me orgasms, I’m doing you another favor. Which means you’ll owe me big-time. But don’t worry. I will decode this. The magic might be playing hard to get but it wants me to win.” She chewed on her bottom lip, knowing her next suggestion would be met with ire. “Maybe we should take the book back to the stable, so I can have more time with it.” Those symbols...so hypnotic. Mesmerizing. Nothing would stop her from figuring out this mystery. Nothing! “Pretty please.”

Strain carved fine lines around his eyes as he grated, “It stays here.”

“You aren’t worried about keeping your prized unicorn in the stable,” she pointed out, “so why worry about the book? Let me study it in the comfort of my own prison-home.”

“My home.”

“Our home,” she corrected, neither side of her nature trying to punish him. “I can free you from your curse, William, if you’ll trust me and let me study. Granted, I’ll have to take a bunch of breaks to pleasure myself. And you’ll have to watch me. How else will you learn?” As frequently as sexual urges were overtaking her now, she needed to store as much satisfaction as possible before the official kickoff of mating season.

He went still, a thousand emotions flashing in his eyes, there and gone. She wondered how many thoughts he’d entertained in that split second. “Very well,” he said, perhaps harsher than he’d intended. “We’ll take the book back to the stable. But the same stipulation applies. You will do the book no harm. And, sundae? If you have needs while we’re together, you’ll tell me, and I will tend to you—since we both know we’re going to be having sex and all. I’m trusting you with my future. You’re going to trust me with your present.”

“But—”

“That is my deal. Take it or leave it.” He hooked a lock of hair behind her ear, his knuckles grazing her cheekbone, reminding her of his former caress. His kindness. “And don’t cry foul,” he added. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do when his woman is a stubborn, paranoid unicorn who wouldn’t know an orgasm if it bit her on the ass. Which it just might do.”

I’m his woman? For real?

The thought...pleased her. He pleased her. She’d trusted him with certain information, and he’d rewarded her, trusting her with his precious. Now they were making plans to trust each other with their bodies.

Somehow, the course of her life had changed in the past two minutes. It was exciting. And nerve-racking. And wonderful, terrible, amazing, annoying, perfect and imperfect.

Daisy! The truth hit her, and hit hard. He’d warned her. If he moved in, she’d fall. Well, he’d moved in, and... I’m falling for him.

What was she going to do now?

18

“No shirt, no shoes—just take everything off.”

This female will be the death of me.

As soon as the thought registered, denial clanged inside William’s head. He wouldn’t be dying. Not now. Not later. Not ever.

Instinct demanded he live, always. However, William had a second reason to survive, one just as compelling as the first.

When he’d first moved in with Hades, he’d learned spirits of the dead went up or down, without exception. The ones who went down became slaves of an underworld royal, no matter their station in life.

Usually, newcomers arrived via a reaper like Lucien. As a keeper of Death, Lucien sensed when someone died within the borders of his territory. He would flash to the body, free the spirit trapped within and escort it to its forever home.

Every day, Hell’s kings, queens, princes and princesses sent out convoys of demons to collect any new arrivals. All were fair game. First come, first served. The royals kept some of the souls for themselves, and sold the res

t. But, whether kept or sold, the dead always ended up getting a taste of their own medicine. Murderers were murdered again and again. Rapists were raped repeatedly. Beaters got beaten. Liars lost their tongues, and thieves lost limbs. For a thousand different reasons, escape wasn’t possible.

If William died and ended up in Lucifer’s territory...

Motions clipped, he returned Sunny and Dawn to the stable, along with the book and its case. Dawn darted under the bed, her safe place.

What he was going to do with the unicorn, he didn’t know. He knew what he should do. Leave her in the stable and forget her until she’d broken the curse. Every day he wanted her more. Every day he needed her more. If he fell any harder, activating the curse...if she attempted to kill him...

But how could he abandon the woman who’d comforted a dying animal as it died? One covered in dirt, blood and filth. A mythical creature Sunny hadn’t known, and yet she’d cried as if she’d lost her best friend.

Everything about her appealed to him. Her compassion and loyalty. Her honesty and integrity. Even her temper and her punishments. She amused and challenged him, arousing his mind as much as his body.

He cast his gaze throughout the stable, finding Sunny near the exit. She picked up the bag he’d dropped when he’d first flashed here and discovered her at the door, ready to bail.

Funny, but he used to portal to her, expending his magic. Lately, though, he’d opted to flash. He used no magic that way, but he reached her faster...because he was always in a hurry to return to her?

Something to ponder—later. As Sunny unpacked for him, a very girlfriendy task, new desires surged. Things he’d never expected to want. A loving partner. Companionship. Communion of souls. Unbreakable ties. Lifelong adoration and affection. Everything he’d once thought himself above. Everything he’d lacked but feared obtaining, so sure they’d be taken away from him.

He felt as if he were awakening from a dream. As if he finally, truly lived.

If I don’t have this woman in my arms soon...

What about the curse?

Another subject to ponder later. Here, now, his mind remained on Sunny and all the things they could do to each other.