Midnight's Master (Midnight 3)

She turned, storming for the door.

"You're a demon." Soft.

Her jaw dropped. No way. No. Way. Holly glanced over her shoulder. "What is your problem?

You know I'm-"

"I saw your eyes when you came, love. " Not a term of endearment then. More of a sneer. "Can't hide anymore." The mirror near the closet shattered.

She shook her head. "That's impossible." Not the broken shards of glass. His accusation. "I'm human."

"Fucking lie."

And she realized that sex with a demon could be very, very dangerous.

Niol bounded across the room and locked his arms around her.

He was losing control.

Niol knew it. He could barely hear Holly's voice, telling him he was crazy, that he was screwing up what could have been something great-

All he heard was the thundering beat of his heart and the roar of fury that came from his soul.

Demons had souls. Demons could love.

Demons could hurt.

Her eyes were grass green now, but he'd seen that flash of black when her face went slack with ecstasy.

Total darkness. Iris. Sclera. Everything.

Demon eyes.

The way his always looked.

The way a demon's eyes looked without glamour.

A climax was a weak moment for a demon. Power fluctuated then. A glamour could slip, for a few precious moments.

As hers had slipped.

She'd played me. All along. From that first night.

No helpless human. Not by a long shot.

For a demon to be able to hide her true self from him, she had to be very powerful.

He, of all people, sure knew how dangerous a powerful demon could be.

What if it was a setup? Everything? Carl? Sam? What if she'd been trying to get close, so that I could be her next victim?

Shit.

He hadn't been this angry, this f**king furious since-

Since he'd been twelve and his mom had dumped his ass on his grandmother's doorstep. She'd been terrified of him, his power, and desperate to get away from her only child.

He'd begged. He'd pleaded. But she'd left him with a brown paper bag full of his clothes and the taste of salt on his tongue.

She'd driven away and never looked back.

"Niol." Holly's sharp voice jerked him from the past.

He blinked and stopped seeing the flash of red taillights disappearing over an old, broken road and saw Holly, face pale, lips red, as she stared up at him, a faint line between her brows.

"Let. Me. Go."

No. Not until he found out what she-

Holly kicked him in the shin.

Swearing, he dropped his hold. What kind of attack was that? A demon wouldn't-

"You're twisted." With a quick, snakelike move, she tightened the sheet around her, toga-style.

"I thought we had-screw that." She sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know what kind of crazy shit you're talking about, but I do know you just ruined the best sex I've ever had."

The best sex I've ever had.

Her words calmed the fury.

It'd been the best he'd had, too.

And he'd sure had plenty of comparative experience.

But nothing like being with Holly. The pleasure had ripped through him-no, seemed to rip him apart.

And that's why it had hurt so much when he'd learned the truth.

He'd had her body, thought he'd touched more in the darkness of the night.

Only to find out everything was a lie.

A trap.

"You're good, I'll give you that." She'd slipped right under his guard, and he'd never even suspected.

"And you're crazy." Her gaze darted around the room. "Shit. Where are my clothes?"

Scattered.

"Why are you pretending? The game's over."

Her glittering stare shot back to his. "I'm not playing a game with you, jerkoff. I'm walking out on you. There's a difference."

She found her skirt. Yanked it up under the toga. Discovered her shirt near the door. He'd brought it up for her at some point in the night, trying to be a gentleman . Fuck that from now on.

Swearing, Holly pulled the shirt over her head, not bothering with a bra, and finally let the sheet drop.

Then she looked at him and shook her head. "I thought finding my fiance with his face between a grad student's legs had been hard. Hell, Niol, you've just ripped me apart."

Tears gleamed in her eyes for a moment.

The taste of salt on my tongue.

She grabbed her shoes and flew out of the room.

And it felt like someone had punched him in the chest.

Niol took an instinctive step forward, wanting to go after her.

A lying demon.

Just like me.

No, no, Holly wasn't like him. He'd been watching her too carefully, seen the way she interacted with others.

His teeth ground together.

He'd also seen the flash of her eyes.

Niol heard the thud of her footsteps pounding down the stairs.

Hell. As fast as he could, Niol jerked on a pair of jeans.

Then, no choice-he took off after her. The lady was fast. She was yanking open the front door, his car keys in her fist, when he caught her.

He slammed the door shut with the palm of his hand, caging her between the door and his body.

Her smell, that rush of lavender and the warm scent of woman, teased his nostrils.

Her back was straight, shoulders tense, and the soft locks of her hair brushed against his cheek.

For just a second, he closed his eyes and inhaled.

The memory of her in that pit of an alley flashed before him. Terrified eyes. Pale face.

Helpless.

Trapped.

The demon bastard had controlled her, nearly killed her.

Niol's eyes flew open. That didn't make a lick of sense. One demon couldn't control another, especially not one as powerful as-

Holly turned, her body brushing against his, and her eyes stared up at him.

So green…

And lost.

I'll be damned. Understanding dawned and had him rocking back on his heels. "You don't know."

Because no way, no way, could he have been that wrong about her.

He was never wrong about people. He could sense evil and deception-that was part of his nature.

He hadn't sensed a lie from her. Still didn't.

One demon couldn't control another.

Not a full-blooded demon, anyway. But a hybrid-those rules didn't apply with a hybrid demon.

The line was back between her brows. "Know what?" Holly licked her lips. "Niol, stop jerking me around. I've got enough crap to deal with-"

His mouth crashed onto hers. A deep, hard, I'm-taking-you kiss that-

Holly shoved him back a good foot.

Because he let her, not because she had any enhanced strength.

"I'm not the kind of girl who likes it when a guy plays ass**le one minute and lover the next."