“Thank you.” Her nimble fingers went to the ties of her skirt, and the heavy silk swished to the floor.
Nothing could’ve prevented the low growl that emerged from his chest. For a small woman, the demon had long legs and toned thighs. And she was completely bare.
He shook his head. “This is a bad idea.”
Her hands pressed against his chest. “This is the only chance we have.”
“No.” His body protested what his gut told him to say.
“Yes,” Willa whispered. She leaned up, her lips sliding against his.
Warmth flushed through him. He dove into the kiss. With a gasp, his mouth moved over hers in a kiss filled with question. He took her deeper, for once seeking pleasure instead of finding pain.
But a clamoring in his brain made him lift his head.
His instincts were all he had.
For the oddest of reasons, the painting by Brenna Dunne seemed to ground him. He couldn’t have sex with a demon in front of Brenna’s painting. He swallowed, trying to shove need out of his body. “We can’t. But I promise you, I’ll get you out of here. I’ll get you safe.”
Willa hissed, her nails digging into his bare chest. “We’re as good as dead if you don’t do this.”
“We’re definitely dead if I mate you.” Jase shook his head. The woman had helped him on several occasions, and he wouldn’t sign her death warrant just because she had a tempting body. A very tempting body. Though, the idea of embarrassing Suri, of using his sister to harm him, held merit.
He’d become a true bastard. Shaking his head, he shoved the evil thought away. Getting Willa out of Suri’s reach and to safety would hurt the demon just fine. “Trust me, Willa. I’ll get you to safety.”
“You don’t want me.” Hurt turned her eyes nearly purple.
“Of course I want you.” He grabbed her wrists to tug away from his chest. How in the hell was he going to get them both out of the stronghold? His powers were gone, and his head very well might blow up. “Sex right now between us is not the answer. We need to survive this, not mate.”
“Sex is always the answer,” she purred. Tugging her hands free, she leaned in and kissed the purple bruises dotting his chest. Her other hand went to the outside of his boxers to cup him, her fingers stroking through the fabric.
He bit back a groan. His dick arched into her hand even while he gently pushed her away by the shoulders. For years the only touch he’d felt came from hard strikes with poles and bats. The idea of sex nearly made him forget the very real danger they were in the longer they stayed in the bedroom. Plus, the sexy painting seemed to condemn him. “You need to stop,” he groaned.
“Your body disagrees with you.” She tightened her grip and stroked harder.
“I said no.” He yanked her hand away and sidled several steps away. The room spun, and his lungs whistled as if holes dotted them. Concentrating, he sent healing cells to deal with the tissue. “Trust me, we need to leave now.”
Her eyes flashed from black to yellow. A dark flush slid over her face. Slamming both hands on her hips, she stomped her foot. “You asshole.”
So true. He had no doubt even if he survived this, he’d be an asshole. True caring of anybody or anything wasn’t going to happen again. They’d killed him as efficiently as if they’d cut off his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Not as sorry as you’re going to be.” Nodding, she slammed horrific images into his head. Images of kids being shot, of his family being beheaded.
He remained on his feet while his heart seized. The woman was nuts. “Knock it off. A temper tantrum isn’t going to help.”
The images retreated. She exhaled. “You’ll pay for this.” The bed protested when she kicked the box spring several times. “I promised. I promised Suri I’d get your powers. And now you’ve ruined everything.”
Jase stilled. Reality slammed him hard. “Suri? He knew about your plan of seduction?”
Her lips twisted. “Of course. Did you really think I wanted to mate you for protection? I wanted your powers, you stupid vampire—as well as a way to get to the king of the Realm. Now we’ll just have to break you and make you help us. But you could’ve had me.”
“Well.” Jase forced a condescending smile, his mind reeling in slow motion. “You failed, now, didn’t you?”
Her chin lifted slowly, a dangerous glint in her eyes. “We both did.” Turning toward the door, she yelled for the guards.
Two guards rushed in, both grabbing his arms.
Willa settled her face, no longer looking even remotely attractive. A dark red covered her cheeks, while her eyes blazed a horrifying yellow. “Take him back to his cell. Make sure he enjoys the view on the way.”
Laughing, the guards dragged him out of the sensual bedroom. They trod through several tunnels, twisting and turning as they maneuvered deeper into the earth. Deeper into hell.
His mind reeled. He’d almost had sex with a demon, almost mated her. Who knows if he would’ve ended up trying. But her attempt at seduction was just another demon mind fuck. Was he ever going to get out of hell?
The guards slowed their pace. The scent of blood overtook the oxygen. His fangs elongated naturally. An opened doorway stood to the left, and Jase glanced in as the guards paused.
A blonde, pretty even in death, hung upside-down from the ceiling, blood coating her hair as it dripped into a bucket on the floor. Her blue eyes were wide in horror, her throat slashed end to end.
Seconds passed as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Past the blonde, several female bodies hung dead from the ceiling. All had bled out. All had terror on their pretty faces. There had to be five dead women.
The scents of the different blood was familiar.
He gagged. Something snapped in his head. Or maybe it was in his soul. Either way, something he’d managed to hold on to during his captivity ripped apart.
The tallest guard laughed. “Guess your meals weren’t free, now, were they?”
Oh God. He had enjoyed the blood of each one of the victims. They’d died to keep him alive. They’d died as part of a sick game invented by Willa and Suri.
The guards hustled Jase to his cell, where they tossed him in.
The drip-drip of the water down the wall sounded like a voice whispering “mur-der.” They’d killed the young women to give him blood. Willa had lied. Mur-der. Murder. Mur-der.
Bile rose in his throat.
Shuffling to the corner, he heaved the contents of his stomach. Blood, tons of red mush, coated the wall and floor. The fresh blood from the blonde.
Gasping, he turned.
A face in the wall frowned, condemning him. Pieces of rock dropped out of the wall mouth. Sharp pieces. Sharp enough to pierce his jugular so he bled out.
Mur-der. Mur-der. Mur-der
After all the blood he’d stolen, he didn’t want any. The horrendous liquid had to be taken from his body. Bleeding out was the only solution.
This would finally end.
Slowly, Jase crawled toward the pieces of guaranteed death.
CHAPTER 26
Kane kicked the punching bag and sent it flying through the air. Panting in a deep breath, he glared at the empty gym. Now he was acting more like Talen than himself. He didn’t need to punch things to calm down. He was Kane Kayrs, for Christ’s sake.
In fact, he’d only gone to the gym to find Talen. His older brother didn’t have the decency to be where he was supposed to be.
Heavy footsteps sounded outside, and Talen stomped into the room.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Kane growled.