The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(29)
Author: Gena Showalter

Anticipation sizzled and snapped along Reyes’s olive skin. Truly flickering, making him look like a walking electrical socket. His dark hair even stood on end. Why anticipation? The thought of having her alone? Then Danika’s eyes widened. Did it matter? The supernatural occurrences were stacking one on top of the other. Pretty soon, she might leave normalcy behind forever, unable to return.

"The Darkest Pleasure"

When have you ever been normal?

When she was a child, the girls in her class had wanted to play Barbie. Danika had wanted to play angel. So many times she’d pretended to have wings, pretended to fly through the playground and battle evil. And yet, when evil truly did knock on her door, she hadn’t battled. She’d curled into a fetal ball and cried for her mommy.

Never again.

"This isn’t over," Sabin said again, and stalked from the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

Danika gulped. Alone with Reyes and Lucien. Don’t you dare lose your courage. She raised her chin.

Slowly Reyes turned to face her. His dark eyes were haunted, his features strained. "You had tears in your eyes when I entered." A muscle ticked in his temple. "What did Sabin make you doubt?"

That ticking usually meant a storm brewed inside of him. She might not know much about him, as she’d told him earlier, but she did know that. "Doubt?"

Reyes nodded, the action clipped. "He made you doubt something about yourself."

"No. He warned me not to hurt you."

"He wouldn’t have spoken the doubts aloud. You would have heard them in your mind."

"What are you talking about? The only thing I doubted was – " Dear God. She gasped. "That’s his demon? That’s his power? Making people doubt themselves and their actions? Making them feel terrible about what they’ve done or haven’t done?"

Another nod.

All the grim thoughts that had snaked through her mind in Sabin’s presence echoed once more. "That bastard! I’ll kill him." Growling, she lunged for the door. She’d track him down and –

Reyes caught her by the arms and held her until she stilled. "What did he use against you?" He moved his hands up, slowly, gently, and cupped her cheeks.

A tremor slid down her spine. She couldn’t pull away. He offered comfort from her shame, and she gladly accepted. His palms were warm, calloused with scabs, giving her exactly what she needed. "M-my family. My fault."

He shook his head violently. "Not your fault. The gods’ fault, our fault, but never yours."

Tears again burned her eyes. That’s all she seemed to do lately, start to cry then stop it from happening. "I didn’t fight."

His grip tightened. Not hurting, but no longer gentle. "We are warriors. Immortal, no less. We have been trained to slay, to hurt. What could you have done against us?"

"More," she said simply. God, it felt good, being touched by him. Why had she ever thought to deny herself this bliss?

"Nothing would have changed."

"No way to know that now." How wonderful would it feel to burrow into the hollow of his neck? Inhale his scent? Remaining still proved one of the most difficult things she’d ever done. "Is there?"

His mouth curved in a gradual smile. "You are stubborn."

The sight of that smile nearly melted her bones. Every time she’d been with him, he’d frowned, he’d raged, he’d cursed, but he had never smiled. The glorious expression lit his entire face, softening his eyes to a warm honey.

Another shiver trekked down her spine, and she forced herself to rip away from him. No more stimuli. No more being near him, taking comfort when she knew better. Softening. Hungry. You deny yourself the bliss because it could be your downfall, she reminded herself.

If she had stayed close, she would have reached for him, perhaps fallen into the cradle of his body. Perhaps tangled her hands in his hair and kissed the breath right out of him.

His arms fell to his sides, and he sighed. Danika dug her nails into her palm to remind herself that this was reality. A reality fraught with pain, desperation. Determination. There was no time for romance. Especially with Reyes.

"Here’s the Ty-lenol," Ashlyn stuttered, having walked into the room and spied them. Her palm was extended, two red-and-white pills resting in the center. In her other hand, she clutched a glass of water. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt."

"You’re fine," Lucien assured her as Reyes backed away from Danika.

Damn, she’d forgotten Lucien was still in the room. "Thank you for the pills," Danika told Ashlyn, glad for the reprieve. She closed the distance between them and took the offered items. Her head might not have been hurting earlier, but it was throbbing now. She tossed the medicine back with a single gulp of the water.

"Ashlyn," Reyes said. "Thank you for caring for my – for Danika."

"My pleasure." Ashlyn shifted her focus between the two warriors, as though she wondered what was going on but didn’t want to be rude and ask. "I’m sorry I took so long. I ran into Maddox, and well…If there’s anything else I can do…?"

Danika shook her head. Part of her wanted to glom onto her friend, leave this room and never look back. "I’m good."

"Sorry I’m late. Ashlyn tells me – " Another woman strolled into the room, tall, pale and utter perfection. She wore a short blue dress that veed low between her br**sts and matching heels that laced up her calves. Her equally blue gaze performed a single sweep of the area, and she grinned. "Cool. A secret gathering. I’m Anya, by the way."

"The Darkest Pleasure"

"Nice to meet you," Danika told her. Ashlyn had mentioned her, but not which warrior the woman belonged to. Whoever it was obviously treated her well. Never had Danika seen a happier female.

Lucien released a sigh. "What are you up to, Anya? You only grin like that when you have something planned."

Scarred Lucien was her man? Wow. A true beauty and the beast.

The gorgeous woman twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, throwing the warrior a come-and-get-me look. "Just wanted to do a little girl bonding, that’s all." Those electric blues slid back to Danika. "These boys treating you well, sugar?"

"I – I – " Didn’t know how to answer that. They were, with the exception of Sabin, but she didn’t want to admit it. Every minute that passed, something new seemed to rise up and stop her from wanting to act against these men. These demons.

"They don’t, you just tell little ol’ Anya and I will personally cut out their hearts," Anya said. "That’s a promise. Not that I can be trusted. Lying is a hobby of mine. Lucien, honey, you gonna be long? I wanna throw William a welcome-to-the-fortress party and I’d like your help picking the decorations."