The Darkest King (Lords of the Underworld 15)

As Lucifer had already proven, reacting to barbs merely revealed a weakness. Ignoring the jabs, he said, “Go ahead. Keep underestimating me.” I have an ace up my sleeve. A unicorn predicted to aid my cause. Although...

Did he want Sunny going head-to-head with Lucifer?

The red haze returned to his eyes. “Until now,” he grated, “I’ve treated our battles as a form of foreplay. But the time has come to seriously fuck you up. Enjoy it. Or not. The choice is yours.”

Now, to do the thing his ex-brother hated most—walk away. In essence: You mean nothing to me.

William blew Lucifer a kiss, turned and rejoined the others.

Lucifer maintained a neutral expression, but failed to release his fists. So telling. “You continue to provoke me when I have something you want very, very badly. You see, I went back to the Realm of Lleh soon after the witch cursed you. I took her and locked her away. If I couldn’t have your book, I’d have the next best thing.”

With a laugh, William slung an arm around Hades’s shoulders. “Is that so? And what of my memories of removing her head?”

“I was at your side, and you saw only what I wanted you to see.” In a blink, Lucifer’s image changed. From tall and stacked with muscle to the willowy Lilith. “An illusion, nothing more. You killed an innocent, and keep an innocent’s skull in your collection.”

William swallowed, doubts surging. No, no. The Deceiver was doing what he did best. Lying.

Lucifer returned to his original shape, and William wondered, What if he’s...not?

His heart sped up, and his mind churned. Did the witch live? Could she negate her curse, or make it worse?

Grinning, Lucifer walked backward. He slipped through the still-open portal. As he moved his gaze over the rest of the group, the grin turned brittle. Because they had what he didn’t? Friends.

“One last thing before you go,” Hades said with a slow grin of his own. “I know you and every play in your war-book. I borrowed the one you just demonstrated.”

Confusion abounded.

“Oh?” Lucifer faked a yawn. “Do tell.”

Hades’s grin grew wider. “The moment you left your principality, King Rathbone assumed your visage. By now, I’m sure he’s decimated half of your army. He’s good like that.”

William patted the male on the back. That’s my father.

Lucifer paled. “He can kill as many demons as he likes. He’ll never stop me.” He returned his attention to William. “You won’t, either. Lilith is helping me with a present for you and Axel. Expect it soon—and tears.” The portal closed, the bastard disappearing from view.

Hades stalked to the front of the group. “Underworld wars tend to last centuries, but often lag. A strike here, a strike there, interspersed with periods of seeming peace. Judging by the look of murderous rage that fell over Lucifer’s face, the strikes are about to start up again. Be ready.”

Oh, I’m ready, all right.

Ding, ding, ding. Let the next battle begin.

14

“I have two loves: my dagger and my dick. One slays hard and fast, and the other is my dagger.”

A moan parted Sunny’s lips as she writhed on the bed. Inhale. Exhale. Good, that was good. Innnn...ouuuut. In-out. Mating season hadn’t started, not officially, but the preseason practice rounds certainly had. Sudden bouts of sexual arousal, sated only with a male’s release. Trying to get herself off only made it worse. The fact that she hadn’t slept in forever made it unbearable.

Fatigued, she became irritable. Irritable, she lamented Sable’s disappearance. Thoughts about Sable’s disappearance made her crave a distraction. Craving a distraction made her want William. Wanting William made her want to get off, but she couldn’t. See! Worse.

She needed his kisses and his touch. His naked body pressed against hers. Her legs wrapped around his waist, or draped over his back. His ginormous shaft pounding in and out of her.

Another moan escaped, this one ragged.

Eventually, blessedly, she calmed. Feeling like she’d just survived a seven-car pileup, she trekked to the desk. Angry with William, she opened her diary of lists. Specifically, the list of sexual positions. She added a name to each position—Rathbone, Green, Galen, Rathbone again, Lucien and Fox. Something guaranteed to hit William where it hurt. Let him think she desired his friends.

She left the diary open on the desk. Soon, he would return for their dinner with Hades...

Tingling with anticipation, she showered, moisturized her skin and painted her nails black. Leaving her hair loose and free-flowing, she donned sexy-ish lingerie and a frilly blue dress, then applied shimmery lip gloss. Today’s torture? Teasing William with what he could not have. Her outfit had nothing to do with impressing him. Nope. Nothing.

Bonus: her loveliness might distract him from the fact that she’d only managed to decode a single symbol in his book, despite staring at the photos all morning and afternoon. She’d seen a vial of poison, and she still didn’t know what it meant.

Oh, she could guess. The method William’s ladylove would use to slay him, perhaps? But how was anyone supposed to poison an immortal like William? A Venus flytrap vagina?

Sunny preferred to slay with a horn. Either hers, or ones she’d taken from fallen unicorns. Few immortals had the strength to recover from a horn wound. Would William?

As if her thoughts had summoned him Beetlejuice-style, he pushed open the stable doors and strode inside. Just as before, he was all swagger and ferocity, the master of all he surveyed. His eyes blazed with...what was that? Sexual frustration?

Must be. One look at him, and she burned with passion-fever all over again. Sweat beaded on her brow, her heart attempting to hurdle-jump her ribs.

Never had she reacted to a male like this. The fact that it kept happening with her captor...

She had two options. Keep fighting it, or finally give in, trusting him just enough to sleep with him.

The different sides of her went to war.

Fight it!

Sleep with him!

Fight!

Sleep!

Argh! Despise my dual nature.

She couldn’t blame Roses and Rainbows Sunny for being a hussy, though. William had ditched the suit and changed into a black T-shirt and matching leathers. He looked good. Really good. Mouthwateringly good. There was a wildness to him now, a sharp edge and intensity she found irresistible, but also kind of disturbing. Had something bad happened during the meeting?

“You tried to kill me when you thought I’d aided Lucifer in the destruction of your village,” he began, scanning the stable for her, “and you traded your freedom for an escort to his door. Which leads me to believe you are one of the assassins who has killed his allies over the years.”

She didn’t try to deny it. “Yeah. So?”

“So, I want to know who you took out, and I want to know everything you learned. Spare no detail. And don’t say no. You owe me. Ninety-five percent of the poachers and collectors on your list are now dead. The rest are soon to follow.”

Ninety-five percent? So swiftly? Amazing! He was amazing. Admiring your captor again? Stop. You’ve got a punishment to oversee. “Shouldn’t you compliment me first?” Look at me, William...desire me...

Spotting her, he skidded to a halt and scoured a hand through his hair. His shirt hiked up a bit, revealing a patch of bare skin, and she all but drooled. “Do us both a favor and stop getting more beautiful every time I see you.”

He’d just complimented her, offering praise without expecting anything in return, and she jolted with surprise. Maybe she would cease the day’s torment. “So you like?”

“I like.” His raspy voice sent shivers coursing down her spine. “I crave.”

Her cheeks warmed. “I’ll tell you all about my experience with Lucifer’s allies, promise, but first I

’d like to show you what I did.”

“Show me—” He sucked air between his teeth. “You broke the code?” His long stride ate up the distance. He stopped directly in front of her, his masculine musk filling her nose and fogging her head.

Nerve endings sensitized, and pulse points fluttered, Sunny bit her tongue to silence a groan. “I decoded a single symbol, but I’m not sure what it means.” Exaggerating the roll of her hips, because why not, she sauntered to the bed, where she’d left the photos, and lifted a certain page.

He followed, looked at her drawing, then Sunny herself. The drawing. Sunny. Appearing shell-shocked, he said, “It is you. There’s no doubt now.”

“Me?” Her brows knitted together as she looked left, then right, and pointed to her chest. “It’s me, what? Your decoder?”

“Yes,” he hissed, then shook his head, as if dislodging a painful thought. “You saw a vial of poison.”

His awe had deepened along with his shock, yet she still didn’t understand. “Do you know what the poison signifies, then? Besides the obvious, I mean.”

“Not yet, but I will.” Determination hardened his muscles. “But, let’s forget the poison for a moment. I need that info on Lucifer. Everything you’ve learned.”