The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(26)
Author: Gena Showalter

"I want you comfortable," he said on a sigh. "I want you at your best, your mind clear. You will need every ounce of your strength. A shower will help."

That mollified her. "Fine, but I’m not showering with you in the room."

"A pity," he muttered.

Finally her bright green gaze sharpened on him. "What was that?"

When she looked at him, no matter her expression, desire always pounded through him. Even now, his shaft swelled and his hands itched to touch her. You can’t. You know better. "There are clothes in the dresser. Take anything you need."

Still watching him, she bit into a grape.

He hardened all the more, lengthened another inch. He could very easily imagine those sharp, white teeth sinking into him again. The pain…the pleasure…a mingling of rapture. His angel would transport him to heaven.

His angel? Such a dangerous thing to want, yet he couldn’t help himself. Everything inside him screamed that she was his. That they were meant to be together.

He doubted she would agree, and that was for the best.

If she wanted him as he wanted her, how would he be able to deny her? How would he be able to stop himself from taking her? And if he took her, how could he live with himself, knowing he’d ruined her? The demon of Pain would corrupt her; she would live only to hurt.

Sadly, the dark musings failed to dampen his arousal.

"I shall return soon."

Danika’s gaze landed between his legs, and she hastily looked away, cheeks burning bright. She choked on the grape. "Sure. Okay. Take all the time you want."

If she ever learned the extent of his need for agony and the fact that he lost all hold on sanity without it…if she ever passed that knowledge on to the Hunters…Bad news, all the way around.

He would have to be careful around her. Much as he desired her, much as he wanted to ease the pain that had become her life, he had to be careful. It was strange, this desire to ease pain rather than cause it.

Sighing, he turned to go.

"Reyes," she called.

He stopped, faced her. "Yes."

"I know you," she said, suddenly sounding shy, "but I don’t really know anything about you."

"And you wish to know more?"

Reluctantly, she nodded.

Was she truly curious or did she wish to know for the Hunters? He’d thought he had not cared about her purpose, but right then, he wanted her to be curious. He wanted her to want to learn about him. Because she cared.

"What would you like to know about me?"

She shrugged, traced a finger over the black comforter. Her cheeks heated to a pretty pink. "How long have you lived here? What are your hobbies? Do you have any children? What are your hopes and dreams?"

Innocent enough, he supposed. "I have lived here longer than you have been alive. I have one hobby. Weapons – making them, cleaning them, collecting them. I have no children." He’d always been afraid of hurting them. Worse, of outliving them because of their mortal half. He pitied Maddox, who might one day know that sorrow. "I dream of – " You. "I dream of peace, a life without pain."

"What – "

"I have answered enough questions to make you now feel more comfortable staying in my room. It is time for your shower. I’ll return in half an hour. Be ready. We will learn what we can about your family."

"Twenty minutes." Their gazes met, locked. Hers was filled with determination and…hatred? Of him? Or Aeron? "Return in twenty."

He nodded, already missing her. "Until then."

CHAPTER EIGHT

REYES STRODE to Lucien’s private hallway, careful to avoid the other warriors. He was too on edge, his body too hot. All of his strength had been required to leave Danika. Even now, water was probably sliding down her curves, pooling in her navel before dripping into the curls between her legs.

He wondered what she tasted like. Sweet, like the angel she appeared to be? Or wicked, like the devil in her eyes? His demon wondered, too, pacing the pathways of his mind, practically sobbing in curiosity.

" – put Willie in the bedroom next to ours," Anya was saying, her voice muffled through the door.

Reyes had to strain to hear, his demon growing louder with every second that passed. Danika.

"I don’t want him here, woman," Lucien said. "He must leave."

"I put up with your friends every damn day," she pouted. "You can put up with mine for a week, at least."

"Your friend tried to kill you."

There was a whoosh, as if she’d tossed something in the air. "That’s the past. I hardly remember what I did five minutes ago, much less a few weeks."

"The Darkest Pleasure"

"You hate him."

"Who are you kidding? I love him. We have history. He was my first real friend back in our Olympus days."

"Woman. He also tried to kill me and I recall you swearing to punish him for the rest of his miserable life."

"How better to punish him than to have him close to me? Wait, that came out wrong. Look, everything turned out okay, so I’m willing to give him another chance."

Lucien gave a warning growl. "The warriors will kill him. You’re lucky they have not done so already."

"Why would they want to slay the man who will divert my attention away from them?"

Twenty minutes, Reyes reminded himself, and then he could be with Danika again.

Danika. It was a pitiful whimper he could not blame on his demon.

Though he didn’t want to interrupt the couple, he knocked on the door.

Their voices stopped abruptly. Footsteps pounded. A second later, the wood swung open and Lucien stood there, frowning at him. Anya peeked over his shoulder and grinned.

"Hey, Painie," she said. Her arms wound around Lucien’s waist, her ice-blue nails rubbing the skin just above his heart. "What’s happening?"

Jealousy was a hot poker inside him, and he hated himself for it.

Danika.

"I am ready to take you to Aeron," he said.

A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN.

Reyes’s words continued to echo through Danika’s mind after the door closed behind him. What had he meant by that?

She could have pondered it forever, but she doubted the answer would ever come to her.

Finally full and strengthened, and feeling, well, human again, she quickly rifled through Reyes’s dresser, shocked to find women’s clothing. In her size. What the hell? She lifted two shirts and held them out, studying them. They wouldn’t fit the warrior’s extra-large body, so that ruled out cross-dressing. Either he had a girlfriend Danika’s same height and weight – why did the thought cause her stomach to clench? – or he’d bought them specifically for Danika.