Mark of the Demon (Kara Gillian 1)

He smiled down at me, his hand still moving in a slow caress. A tingle of warmth simmered through my body. It had been a while since anyone had touched me like that. A long while. And I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed it until this moment.

He pulled me closer with the hand cradling the back of my neck, then bent and kissed me—lightly at first, then gradually with more depth and insistence.

Oh … wow. I’d never been kissed like this before. His lips moved sensuously against mine as I briefly struggled to keep from responding to the kiss. But I didn’t struggle for long. My lips parted and I groaned softly as his tongue whispered sweetly against mine. Damn, but he was good at this. My hands reached up automatically to circle his neck, and I quickly jerked them back down. But his skin was warm and smooth, and the feel of him pressed against me made thoughts of resistance difficult. But this is no human, I reminded myself as I fought to gather my scattered wits. He was a damn good kisser, but other than that I didn’t know a thing about him. I didn’t even know what he was, except that he sure as shit wasn’t Rysehl.

I broke the kiss with a rough gasp. “Please. Stop.” I was no prude, but this felt wrong and dangerous and a thousand other things.

He slipped a hand around to the small of my back, caressing lightly as he looked down at me, ice-blue eyes echoing the faint smile on his lips. I let out a small moan at the feel of his hand. Maybe I was being silly. He obviously wasn’t going to kill me. It didn’t matter who or what he was. Would it really be so wrong to enjoy a little bit of comfort and pleasure? I deserved it. I needed it.

He lowered his head down to mine again, teasing my mouth open and quickly deepening the kiss. I groaned against the heat of his mouth as he pulled me close against him. I could feel the strength of his form, the smooth muscle of his chest and legs, and I could feel the hardness that pressed into the curve of my belly. Warmth surged through me as I felt the power of the arms that held me. His mouth was hot and sweet, and in the kiss was all the power and strength and dominance that I had seen in his eyes.

His hand slid up to gently fondle my breast, his fingers lightly circling my hard nipple through the thin silk of my shirt. I put my hands on his arms to try to push his hand from my breast, but the muscle beneath the silk of the shirt was hard as iron and soft as velvet. I moaned softly and slid my hands up higher, holding on to his shoulders. The lustrous fall of his hair tumbled over me, and the pleasant, musky smell of him filled my senses.

He broke the kiss gently and nuzzled my throat as I tipped my head back, gasping, trying to gather my scattered wits. He released me slowly, and I clutched at the wall to support my wobbly legs. Smiling, he stepped back and turned away.

I stared at him, confusion and wariness mingling with a healthy dose of horniness. He walked to the fireplace, then turned back to me, looking at me expectantly.

What the fuck just happened? I took a deep breath, feeling as if I needed more oxygen so that I could wake up. “Are—” My voice cracked. I took another deep breath and tried again. “Are you going to kill me?”

Amusement lit those crystal-blue eyes. “Do you wish me to?”

“No!” I replied quickly. I cautiously pushed off the wall and took a wavering step forward. “No, I’d really rather you didn’t.”

His shoulders lifted in an elegant shrug. “Then I will not.” He held his hand out to me. I blinked stupidly at the proffered hand, then looked back up to his beautiful face.

“Come to me, Kara,” he said, voice rich and inviting.

“Why?” I asked, still wary. “What are you going to do?” With him across the room from me, it was easier to think clearly.

He laughed, still holding his hand out to me. “I would like to kiss you again.”

“Why?” I asked again, not moving. It wasn’t a stupid question. I was no raving beauty. I was the one who’d had a grand total of two boyfriends in my entire life, neither of whom had lasted for more than three months.

A look of surprise flickered across his face, then was gone. “Because I enjoyed it,” he responded simply. “Did you not enjoy it as well?”>I invoked the bindings quickly, then lowered my arms. I cautiously tested the protections, letting out my breath in satisfaction as I sensed a presence within the circle. My vision slowly cleared as I held the bindings carefully, ready and waiting for the demon to test me, to try to escape me. Rysehl never put up more than token resistance, and I already had the offering for it ready and waiting—a six-pack of Barq’s root beer. The lower demons seemed to enjoy being summoned—like kids on an adventure—and their taste in offerings ran to simple items that they found unusual and interesting. Offerings for higher demons were never simple. The razor-thin scars on my forearm were a testament to that.

I blinked furiously, peering into the circle, trying to pick out the small canine figure of the demon.

I heard a low growl and I tightened my grip on the bindings reflexively, bracing myself for a tussle with the scrappy little demon.

The growl repeated, resonating throughout the room, and was far different than any sound I’d ever heard come from any level of demon.

“Who … dares …”

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a stab of shock and confusion speared through me. That was not the voice of a luhrek. This was a voice filled with power. A voice filled with menace. A voice that promised pain and suffering and a lingering death.

My heart began to slam in my chest as I looked upon the crouched figure in the center of the dark diagram. This obviously wasn’t Rysehl. I’d screwed something up, and somehow a higher-level demon had come through. I don’t understand! I thought I did everything right! My thoughts whirled in a brief burst of panicked chaos before I was able to force myself into enough focus to be able to think. The bindings. Those are still in place and intact. A sliver of calm returned. I’m fine. It’s going to be fine. It would take me only a moment to send this creature back, and I could figure out later what the fuck had gone wrong. I just had to finish the binding, close and ground the potency, then reopen the portal. I scowled blackly. If that damn burglar hadn’t come last night, I’d have known how to reverse the portal without going through all this bullshit.

“I am Kara Gillian,” I stated clearly as I rewove the potencies, naming myself as part of the binding process. I had no intention of completing terms and releasing the bindings, but the forms still had to be followed. “I have summoned you to serve me—”

The laughter stopped me—a cold sound that cut through my words and sent a chill up my spine.

“Serve you?” The voice flowed from the crouched figure, serene and vicious. “I will rend the flesh from your bones and scatter your blood to the wind.”

Oh. Shit.

I frantically gathered power to me. Screw the forms. I wanted that portal open now. This was feeling worse and worse, and I had no desire to find out what kind of patterns my innards could make on the floor. I gabbled out the chant for a dismissal.

In one fluid, graceful motion, the demon stood, and the light from the fire illuminated him fully.