Dark Surrender (The Dark Ones Saga 3)

“He’s really become so much more violent lately,” Genesis mused. “And he’s getting laid more often. How does that happen.”

“Hilarious.” I grit my teeth as panic swept through me.

“Not without help, though,” Stephanie teased.

“PLEASE! Like you all aren’t jealous of the fact that Mason had the best hour of his life!”

“It was more like thirty minutes,” Mason sputtered defensively. “And I barely remember it.” The bastard had the freaking audacity to blush.

“Remember, Cassius can taste your lies,” I sung in a sarcastic voice. Anything to get the focus away from my growing problem — hell maybe it would be better if I died, better if they didn’t have to deal with whatever was growing within me.

“It is wrong to lie, Mason.” Cassius scolded in that fatherly voice that had me choking out a laugh and then gritting my teeth as a fresh swell of pain shook me from head to toe. Damn it, I hated demon bites.

Mason stiffened and narrowed his eyes at me. “Remember.” He matched my voice. “You need me in order to live.”

Ethan whistled. “Checkmate.”

“Like you even KNOW what it feels like to win at chess,” Genesis pointed out before grasping his hand in hers.

“Why is everyone fighting?” Hope’s blurry-eyed look was like a punch to the gut. She was absolutely beautiful, every last curve of her. And she was mine. Mine to mate. Mine to protect. Mine to save. A surge of lust hit me before pain exploded in my chest. “And what’s that on your neck.”

“Demon hickey,” I said in a deadpan voice. My body felt like it weighed five thousand tons. I tried to lean against the couch and missed, sailing to the floor with a thump.

“Alex!” Hope was at my side immediately but I jerked away from her. With her expression full of hurt, she tried touching me again.

“Don’t.” I shook my head, but it just made the pain worse. “It will hurt you, and I don’t want to hurt you right now.”

“You are hurting her.” Cassius said in that scary as hell angelic voice. “When you reject the one who cares for you.”

“Can we talk about this when I’m not dying?” I wobbled to my feet. “I need sex.”

Mason bit out a curse while I gave him a hopeful look.

“Count me out.” Ethan held up his hands while Genesis rolled her eyes and shoved Mason toward me.

“I’m a prostitute.” Mason mumbled. “That’s what this has come to.”

“Don’t be silly.” I used him to stand. “Women are prostitutes, men are—”

“Gigolos.” Cassius said, shocking the hell out of everyone in the room, Stephanie included.

“The hell have you been letting him read, Steph?” I grumbled as Mason half carried me up the stairs. “And can someone please do something about this bite? It’s spreading.”

“It spreads because you let it.” Cassius said following us closely, his thoughts blocked completely from my nosey access.

“Bullshit. It spreads because it’s poison!”

Hope was close on my heels, and soon the entire gang was in my bedroom. The timer on my clock had been reset, just another reminder that what I needed wasn’t gonna happen.

Ethan let out a curse as I was tossed across the soft bed.

I saw two of Mason, and Cassius’s face was blurring in and out of my line of vision like someone was messing with a TV screen and kept adjusting the brightness. “Wow, my wildest dreams are coming true, an immortal orgy. Be honest, am I shaking a bit right now? I feel like I’m shaking. And to think all I had to be was at death’s door!” Yeah, I was delirious alright.

“You’re not dying,” Cassius said, yet again.

“I’m going to have to disagree, I feel cells dying, but sure, angel, I’m not dying, I’m simply… ceasing to exist. Is that a better way to explain things?”

Cassius rolled his eyes or at least he looked like he was rolling his eyes, it was impossible to tell.