God of Temptation (Immortal Matchmakers, Inc)

“Well, congratulations to your woman. Or man. Or demonic unisex unipet—whatever you’re into.” Zac didn’t judge.

“I am pleased to hear you’re taking this so well, Zac, because I certainly would not approve if I were you.”

Zac shrugged. “Why would I care who warms your bed? Or leaves giant furballs stuck to your pillow?”

“Have I mentioned that I recently met a very beautiful, purehearted woman who has captured my heart? She is kind, but no pushover. She is smart, but not arrogant. She is good, but not pious. She never judges others no matter how dark their souls.”

“She sounds like a special gal. Kind of like my…” Zac’s words faded. No. No. No. Tula had been here to the underworld after being separated from her body—a long story. But basically, she died. Her body, however, had been taken by Minky, the evil invisible unicorn. They got it back, but not without some serious drama. Fucking Minky.

And fucking demon king!

Zac snarled. “You can’t have her. Tula is mine. My mate.”

“Is she? Is she really?” Maury’s eyes twinkled with demonic mischief.

Zac’s arms strained against the rusty chains, his heart burning with rage at the thought of anyone touching his sweet, loving Tula.

“Well, I can admit,” said Maury, rubbing his smooth jaw, “I only met her briefly, but there was a definite spark between us.”

Lies. Lies from a demon! Tula would never be unfaithful. “You’re lucky I’m chained up.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. I have demon skillzzz, which is better than regular skills because it’s got more pizzazz. Kind of like me. That’s how I know I can fulfill Tula’s darkest desires.”

Grrr rah! Tula would never choose this demon over him. Never! But now wasn’t the time to lose his cool. It was time to outwit. Use the king’s weakness against him. If Zac knew one thing about demons, it was that they believed themselves superior to all others. Their egos were unmatched, which said a lot coming from a god.

“I understand why you would be captivated by such a beautiful, unique female such as Tula, but what will the other demons say if they hear of this?” Zac asked.

“Of what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re afraid, Maury. That’s why I am chained up. I mean, here you are, some no-name demon claiming to be their king. But I’ve never heard of you, which means the demons probably haven’t either, nor have they declared you their ruler.” Demons were big on notoriety, which could only be achieved by doing very bad things on a massive scale—like taking over entire civilizations—or by having a huge demon cock, in the case of the males. Maury struck him as the sort of guy with a tiny pecker.

Zac went on, “If I were a betting god, I’d say you’re trying to become king by winning over your demonic flock. First, you escaped the demon realm and came here. Then, you found a way to take the gods prisoner. Next, you plan to use one of the gods’ mates as leverage to make the ultimate escape into the human world. Well, too bad for you because she’ll see right through your BS.” Tula would never become his pawn.

“You honestly believe that? You think no man could desire Tula as passionately as you? Perhaps you do not think so highly of your woman after all.”

Zac narrowed his awesomely turquoise eyes—a reminder of his divinity for anyone who might be stupid enough to forget. “I’m sure you do want Tula, because she’s perfect. Everything a man could ever want.” Tula was like…like…a place his heart could call home. But, also, she was sexy as hell—perky round breasts, creamy soft skin, petite package. Basically, a place his manly parts could call home, too.

Zac continued, “But we both know you’re using her to get out of here. And you know what else I think? You need me to show you how it’s done. You’re hoping to repeat the process and offer escape to your people so they’ll bow down to you.” Unfortunately for Maury, it would take way more than that to get demon-kind to heel to him as king. Once they were free, they’d give him the finger and do their own thing. Chaos and anarchy would reign. I’ve been to that demon rodeo. Messy. “Am I right?”

Maury stared with his amber eyes, his mouth a hard line as he said nothing.

Yep. I’m right. Zac wasn’t born yesterday. In fact, he’d been alive for over seventy thousand years, and Maury wasn’t the first prick to come along with a scheme to take over the gods’ turf.

Zac flashed a cocky smile. It was time to push some buttons. “Well, king, I am sorry to tell you that your plan has several major flaws, including the fact that Tula will choose me over you. Every time. Of course, you already know this, which is why I’m chained up. You. Fear. Me.”