Darkness Unmasked (Dark Angels 5)

“They will have no choice.”

I snorted. “They tortured you once for information on the keys. What makes you think they won’t do it again?”

“Because I will have them placed where even the Raziq can’t get them—hell itself.”

I stared at him. He was insane. He had to be to even think that was a logical solution. “I’m sure the inhabitants of hell are going to be as happy as all get-out when they discover what they’ve been handed.”

“I am not so foolish as to simply hide them,” he growled. “They will be guarded by the most powerful demons in hell.”>I shivered—a reaction that was a weird mix of loathing and desire. “And suck me dry information-wise.”

“Well, yes, that is a luscious side benefit.” He grinned. “You cannot deny that our time together was mutually satisfactory.”

I snorted. Side benefit, my ass. If anything had been a side benefit, then it was the sex. And yeah, it had been great, but the truth of the matter was, I was just another cog in the many wheels he had spinning.

“And you were so damn sure of your prowess in bed that you had to place a spell on me to ensure I came back.”

Something flickered in his eyes. Something that was dark and ultimately dangerous. It was a quick reminder that for all the time I’d spent fucking this man, I didn’t really know him.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, Risa.” His voice was as soft as his expression was dark. “It was not just the spell that kept you coming back, but your own insatiable desire. And we both know if I were to touch you now, you would beg me for more.”

“If you tried touching me, the only thing you’d feel is Amaya’s steel.” I paused, then added somewhat cattily, “Oh, that’s right, you’ve already had a close encounter of the ugly kind with her.”

He laughed. It was a short and sharp sound, but held little of the anger and frustration I could sense within him. “Yes. I wasn’t aware that demon swords were capable of thought or action when the bearer was out of it. To discover the sharp end of a sword literally sticking out of your cunt was something of a surprise.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you, I said silently to my sword.

Kill him to thank.

I have to admit, it was a very tempting thought. But until I knew whether he was at all involved with Ilianna’s disappearance, my hands were still as tied as my feet.

“So you kidnapped me just to fuck me?”

“Oh, I didn’t intend to just fuck you, my dear.” Amusement played about his mouth, but there was something decidedly dark in the green depths.

“Then what the hell did you intend?”

“What I intended,” he drawled, “was to seed you with my child.”

Chapter 12

For a moment I simply stared at him, wondering if he’d gone absolutely bonkers in the brief time we’d been apart. He’d been in this world long enough to know it was law that all werewolves—even those of us who were half-breeds—had to be chipped at puberty to prevent conception. The government still seemed to think—despite centuries of evidence to the contrary—that just because we fucked like rabbits, we’d breed like them, too.

“Well, you wouldn’t have had much luck with that,” I bit back. “Even without Amaya’s well-placed intervention, I’m chipped. If you took it out, it would still take several cycles for me to conceive.”

He smiled. It held a very nasty edge. “Yes, but you are no longer what you were. You have been remade by the Raziq.”

My stomach flip-flopped, but I didn’t let the sudden surge of fear show. “Meaning what?”

“That you are fully fertile, for one thing.” His gaze slid down my body, and despite the distaste that rolled through me, I nevertheless reacted as strongly as I ever had. My hormones, I thought in frustration, needed to be bitch slapped. “It is such a shame your sword intervened, but in truth, I am not so annoyed. I do prefer my partners awake and willing.”

A statement that had trepidation crawling through me all over again. But what was more interesting was the fact that he’d intended to breed. Aedh felt that imperative only when their life was coming to an end. Of course, thanks to an Aedh’s long life span, that end could be many years away. Hell, my father was still going strong, more’s the pity.

“I’d love to say I’m sorry to have disappointed you, but I’m not. Now, why don’t you just put that fucking gun down and release me. You’re not going to get what you want from me—no baby, no fucking keys, no revenge—”

“Oh,” he cut in, his expression altogether too confident for my liking. “That’s where you are very, very wrong.”

Again that sick, fearful feeling began to rise up my throat. My fingers tightened against Amaya’s hilt, but I didn’t draw her free from my flesh and throw her at the bastard’s heart. But I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to.

“What do you mean?” The edge in my voice was fear and anger combined.