Seduce the Darkness (Alien Huntress #4)(86)
Author: Gena Showalter

"I can’t free you yet, you know that." He was babbling as he paced, but he couldn’t stop himself. "Your powers are too great; even you can’t control them. Plus, you’ll leave me. To protect me from yourself," he added with a shake of his head. Who would have guessed his love life would come to something like this? Holding a female captive? "And that’s just ridiculous, love. There’s nothing you could do to me that I wouldn’t like. You’ve met me, right?"

A knock sounded at the door.

"Enter," he called, already knowing who it was.

Sure enough, Kyrin stepped inside. Tall and leanly muscled, white hair in disarray around his shoulders as if he’d just come from Mia’s bed.

I want to leave a woman’s bed. My woman’s bed. "Why isn’t it working yet?" he snarled.

Ever-patient, Kyrin stopped and leaned against the dresser. He pushed his hands into his pockets. "Her powers are layered, and those layers are protected by some sort of barbed wire. Getting through it is painful."

"Teach me to do it, then." Devyn didn’t care about pain. Not when it came to Bride. "That would take years."

"Never mind." He scrubbed a hand down his face. "Just take the pain like a man, you pu**y, and get this done."

"I will. But when was the last time you slept?" There was no anger in Kyrin’s tone.

"I haven’t. Not since returning." He’d only eaten the snack cakes Dallas had brought him. And he’d only showered each day because Macy had come to sit with Bride and talk to her, to remind her of how much everyone loved and missed her.

"You must take care of yourself," Kyrin said. "Bride will be angry when she is freed. Believe me, I’ve been inside her mind, and I know of what I speak. An angry Bride will not make for a happy Devyn."

Another knock sounded at the door, saving Devyn from a reply.

A second later, Macy soared inside. She spotted Kyrin and stopped. "How is she today?"

"The same," Devyn said, the words choking from him. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take. He was a king, for God’s sake. All of his desires should be granted immediately.

"Damn," Macy said, tossing her purse on the floor beside the door. "I was hoping for better news." Kyrin squared his shoulders, straightened. "I’ll push through today. No matter what, all right?”

“Yes, yes." Devyn nodded to punctuate his words. "Thank you."

As Kyrin pulled a chair toward the bed, careful to remain out of range of the stun, he said, "Remind me of what powers you want her to keep."

"She likes to mist. She likes to camouflage herself." And he had fantasies of chasing her around town and catching her. "She likes speaking inside my mind." At least he hoped she’d liked that. He’d liked it because he’d felt closer to her, had even felt her love for him.

Kyrin sat and cupped her chin, forcing her head toward him. At that point, he lapsed into silence. He always did.

The two sat like that for hours, still as statues. And with every hour that passed, Devyn became more agitated. Desperate. Macy paced right alongside him the entire time, as nervous as he was.

Bride had become the center of his world. He was nothing without her. If he had to obey her every word for the rest of his life, he would. If he had to let her control his body, he would do that too. Anything was better than being without her. That, he’d learned inside his underground cell. He could endure anything as long as she was with him.

He stopped at the far wall and banged his head against the stone. "Hey, man." Dallas slapped his shoulder, startling him.

Damn. He needed to be a little more aware of his surroundings. He hadn’t heard his friend enter. What kind of guard was he for Bride? "Hey."

"Hey, Dallas," Macy said.

"Mia’s downstairs," Dallas told them. AIR was in the middle of peace talks with the vampires. They’d handed over the two vampires purchased at the auction and now wanted more of Bride’s blood. Mia hoped to use it to cure the Schön queen, if ever they captured her, as well as any people the queen infected.

"Tell her to leave." No way would they take a drop of Bride’s blood without her permission. "Sure, sure. Any progress?" his friend asked.

"Not that I can see," he grumbled, motioning to the two at the bed with a tilt of his chin. "Shit."

"Yeah. I know."

Dallas was just as agitated as he was, but for different reasons. More and more the agent was dreaming of that queen, Devyn knew. Craving her even. So far, though, she hadn’t visited the agent.

At least Dallas was gaining control over his powers, something Kyrin was helping him do. Why couldn’t the Arcadian help Bride faster, damn it?

"So, anyway," Dallas said. "I came bearing news about Bride."

Devyn grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "What do you mean?" Had Dallas seen Bride’s departure from his life? A tortured moan escaped him, and he almost fell to his knees. If she left, he would follow her. It was as simple as that.

"Calm down. Jeez." A huge grin split his friend’s face. "First vision I ever had that didn’t make me want to puke my guts out, and it was of Bride biting your neck. She’s going to be okay, man. Gonna wake up soon. Rushed right over to tell you, soon as I saw it."

"Turn off stun," Kyrin said, his voice raw, hoarse, right on cue.

Devyn rushed to the gun anchored in the wall and tore it loose. The bright blue beam faded. A moment later— "Devyn." Her voice.

He spun, his heart drumming erratically. "Bride." He strode to her, everything else forgotten. He pushed Kyrin out of the way—the otherworlder fell back weakly—and crouched in front of her. He cupped her face, not at all surprised to see that he was trembling.

"Love, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

She blinked a few times, emerald irises clearing. "Yes and yes," she said, sounding fatigued. "Hungry, though."

"Everyone out," Devyn commanded without looking away from her. There was a stream of laughter behind him, clothes rustling as Dallas helped Kyrin stand.

"I love you, Bride," Macy called.

"Love you," Bride managed.

Footsteps echoed, and then the door was shutting. Devyn gathered Bride in his arms and settled atop the mattress. "Tell me everything, and then you can eat. What’s been happening? How are you?" He couldn’t stop touching her. The soft skin he so loved, the silky hair his fingers always itched to sift through.

"After Kyrin made it past the thorns, we had to go through the powers one by one and decide which ones could roam free and which ones needed to be suppressed. I never thought we’d finish. Some of them didn’t want to be contained again and fought us. But guess what? I can now scramble my energy so you can’t control me, as well as absorb stun without any adverse effects. Well, one stream