The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(23)
Author: Gena Showalter

"Danika!"

Speak of the devil – or rather, demon. Reyes’s voice echoed through the hallway behind her, panicked and as sharp as a razor. She propped her head against the stair railing, fatigue and dizziness swamping her. I should run. She remained in place. Like a fool, she was eager to see him.

"Danika!" He sounded closer.

She didn’t waste her time responding. He would find her soon enough. No reason to help him.

"Dani – "

Her name trailed off as a gust of air brushed the back of her neck. He must have stopped abruptly. She couldn’t see him, even peripherally, but she could feel his heat all the way to her bones. God, he was warm. Her shivers faded.

Then suddenly he was there, sitting beside her, his thigh brushing hers. Jolts of electricity shot through her veins, running the length of her entire body. She gulped.

For a long while, they simply sat in silence.

Finally, she glanced over at him. Her gaze traveled from his mud-coated boots to his ripped jeans. Up his powerful arms, which were resting on his thighs. Three deep grooves were etched into his skin. Blood had trickled and dried.

He was peering down at the steps, but he must have felt her gaze because he moved his arms behind his back and braced his weight on his elbows, placing his face out of sight.

"You hurt yourself again," she said, trying to tamp down a wave of concern.

"It’s nothing."

"Nothing." She snorted. "You’re the clumsiest man I’ve ever met. You’re always scraped up and bleeding."

A pause, then, "Did you think to run from me?"

"Yes." There was no reason to deny it.

"Why?"

"As if you have to rack your brain for the answer."

"No, I mean, why did you stop?"

Afraid of the truth and too tired to weave a lie, she ignored the question entirely. "Why do you and your friends want to kill my family? You’ve never given me a reason. To my knowledge, we hadn’t insulted you, trespassed or done anything to deserve…this."

He sighed heavily, wearily. "No, you did nothing wrong. And I do not want to kill you."

Whether he spoke true or not, she didn’t know. Either way, she reacted. Her heart sped up as though it had just heard the starting shot of a race, beating so swiftly she feared it might burst out of her chest. His voice had been laced with a husky rasp, the words broken. A lump formed in her throat, and she had to swallow it to be able to speak. "That isn’t what you said last time. Last time – "

"We will not speak of last time. It is over. Done."

"No. It’s not done." Anger rose inside her, hot and hungry, giving her a flare of strength. She slammed a fist against her knee. Her leg bounced up in reflex. "It will never be done."

"Do not hurt yourself, Danika," Reyes said, sounding just as angry as she felt.

"Funny words coming from you. Last time you threatened me. Told me I would die if you found me. Well, you found me."

His head whipped to her, his eyes suddenly piercing all the way to her soul. Dark, sultry, the onyx orbs practically alive. "I said that, yes. I have since proven I cannot hurt you in any way."

True. Damn him. Everything inside her softened, and she couldn’t stop it from happening. Look away. He’s dragging you under again, shifting your thinking. Ruining you. She peered down at the bottom of the stairs. A lush red carpet waited, so thick her feet would never sink to the marbled floor below it. "Your friends still want me dead."

"Want?" He laughed, but it was not a pretty resonance. "No. No one wants you dead, but they will do what they must."

"And they must kill me?"

Now he remained silent.

"And you’ll, what?" she insisted. "Let them?"

Another sigh, this one heartsick. "Have I hurt you, even once?"

No. "What do you know of my family, Reyes? My grandmother has been – " she nearly choked, did gag " – missing for over two weeks."

Reyes reached out, twined his fingers with hers.

"The Darkest Pleasure"

Gasping, she jerked her hand away. "We agreed. No touching." His skin was too hot, and her body too responsive. With only that split-second contact, she’d felt seared to the bone. Her ni**les were hard.

"I do not know about your grandmother, but I…I know someone who will."

Danika laughed, and like Reyes’s, it was an ugly sound. "Yeah. Right."

"I spoke true. I would not lie to you about something like this."

The seriousness of his tone didn’t convince her. The actual words convinced her. Three times she’d interacted with him, and not once had he lied or even stretched the truth. He was blunt, painfully so. Her stomach clenched in hope…in fear. What would she learn if she visited this nameless person? That her mother, sister and grandmother were healthy and whole or that they had suffered terribly before dying?

"Take me to this person." A command. She faced him, shifting her body until they were chest to chest. Their breath mingled, warm and minty. She inhaled deeply. So deeply she feared he became a part of her. He’s been a part of you since the beginning.

No. I refuse to believe that.

"I will not take you to him, but I will question him for you."

"Hell, no." She wanted to grab Reyes’s shoulders and shake him, but knew that touching him willingly would shatter her composure. "I’m going with you."

"I – " He massaged the back of his neck. "No."

"You won’t talk me out of this and there’ll be a fight if you try and force me to stay behind."

A long, tired sigh. "Very well. But first, you will eat. You can barely hold up your head." His gaze roved over her. To his credit, he didn’t leer. His expression became guarded, revealing nothing of his emotions.

"I need to know what happened to them. I won’t be able to keep down a single bite until I do."

He was shaking his head before the last word left her mouth. "This is non-negotiable. You will eat, shower and then we will go."

"Don’t tell me what to do! I’m not the same girl I was the first time you abducted me. I will not meekly obey you."

"Is that the way you saw yourself before? Meek?"

She stared at him, incredulous. "Didn’t you?"

"No. I saw a strong, proud woman who did whatever necessary to calm her family and keep them alive."

Don’t react. Don’t you dare react. "I was weak and afraid. Now I know how to defend myself." The fire in her tone practically dared him to find out firsthand. Stupid of her, since she currently possessed the strength of a newborn. But she wanted him to know there would be consequences for hurting her.