The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(81)
Author: Gena Showalter

Shouting, he came on an explosion, spurting into her mouth over and over again. His entire body shook. Another roar parted his lips, the pleasure and pain an intoxicating blend he couldn’t fight. Didn’t want to fight.

She swallowed every drop he gave her. And when he finally quieted, when he finally stilled, she rose from his length, licking her lips and grinning like a contented cat. Blood poured from his shoulder, stinging so beautifully.

"You stabbed me," he managed to work past the lump in his throat. He studied her intently, unsure what he would find in her expression. She didn’t appear drunk with bloodlust or even ready to hurt him again.

She appeared satisfied with herself.

"I thought you might take the first knife, so I strapped a second one to my ankle, hoping you would be too preoccupied with the north region to concern yourself with the far south."

His lips twitched. "Tricky."

"Necessary." Still on her hands and knees, chin hovering over his navel, she glared over at him.

Gods, he loved this woman. He could see the desire swimming in the emerald depths of her eyes. His own desire returned, a blazing fire in his blood. His c**k hardened anew, filling…filling…desperate for her all over again.

"You will not deny me my right anymore," she said. "Hurting you will not change me, I swear it. I like knowing I’m doing something for you. I like knowing I’m pleasing you. I know you wanted gentle, I suspect that’s what you’ve dreamed about since being paired with your demon, but you had to know – I had to know – I could give you hard and painful if the need ever came upon you."

"What right?" he demanded, those words snagging the bulk of his attention.

"I am yours and you are mine. I will see to all your needs. You will not turn to another woman. Ever."

Her words echoed in his mind, the answer to a thousand prayers. "Danika – angel." He grabbed her forearms and tugged her atop him. His hands settled on her waist and positioned her for penetration. So hot, so wet. "Wait. I need a condom."

"I want to feel you this time. All of you."

He went very still, his heart racing. "What if there’s a…baby?"

"Would you mind?" she asked softly.

"I once thought so. But now, with you…" He liked the idea. Craved it. Would love to watch Danika’s stomach swell with his child. "Would you mind?"

"I think – I think I would like it."

"You do not think I would be a terrible father?"

"Are you kidding? No child would be more loved, more protected."

He moaned, and it was a sound of pleasure. True pleasure, deep and inexorable.

"No more pushing me away. Ever." Her eyes closed as she, too, uttered a pleasure-filled moan.

He was helpless to deny her. He would watch her, make sure she never developed bloodlust or if she did, that she never sated it with anyone but him. He would do anything necessary to win over her family. He would keep Aeron from her always, protect her from Hunters, demons – the gods themselves. Somehow. Someway.

"Are you sure you want me? Be very sure. After this, I will not let you go."

Her features softened. "The future might be uncertain, but I’m sure about you. About us."

More beautiful words had never been spoken. "No more pushing you away," he vowed. "Mine. You are mine."

"Yours."

With a single arch, he was embedded deep, all the way in. His mind instantly quieted, the demon silent. Gone? he wondered. Was penetration, physical joining, needed to send the spirit away?

Reyes stopped thinking when Danika’s hands anchored on his chest, her nails digging, stinging. In all his life, he’d never imagined a moment so perfect. A moment where his heart beat for love rather than pain. She was his. He was hers.

He couldn’t give her up; he simply could not do it. She was more important to him than his lungs or his limbs. He was nothing without her. He would keep her. She’d inflicted pain, yet she was still his Danika, still his angel. Good and pure and right. Oh, yes, he would keep her.

The decision unleashed a torrent of joy inside him, so sweet he surged into her, his thumb finding and flicking against her clitoris. That’s all she needed to hurtle over the edge.

"Reyes!"

"Angel, my angel." He came just as powerfully as before, rolling her over and fusing their mouths, his tongue thrusting deep. He stayed with her this time, and he suspected the bond between them was too strong to allow him through any portal.

Suddenly a blade sank into his back. Not put there by Danika, whose hands were tangled in his hair. He shouted in shock and jerked from the kiss, his head turning.

Aeron stood beside the bed, his wings spread, his eyes glowing crimson. That knife had been meant for Danika.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

PARIS DROPPED TO HIS KNEES. He’d left the warriors in the entertainment room when a sense of urgency had filled him, the god king’s whisper of "Now" echoing in his mind. He’d strode to his bedroom, knowing he had to at last make a decision.

It was time. He couldn’t wait any longer. He felt torn apart, raw.

Now he raised his blade high in the air, shouting, "Cronus, Lord Titan, I am here as you bade me." As he spoke, he slashed the knife over his chest. Deep, as deep as he could get it. Skin ripped, organs tore and blood gushed.

The pain was severe, and he nearly doubled over. But he had to prove his determination. He’d already slept with two women today. Two women he couldn’t even recall, and one he had bedded only an hour before. He was sick of it. So sick.

He had spent these last few days thinking. It’s all he ever did anymore. What a novelty that was for a man who had spent too many centuries to count giving in to his body and shutting down his mind. Now his mind was a constant swirl of questions and possibilities. Aeron or Sienna.

"Cronus, I beg you. Appear. One more audience, that’s all I need. I – "

"Am shouting unnecessarily," the god king said behind him. The scent of stars instantly filled the room. A hum of power charged the air, raising the fine hairs on Paris’s arms.

Though he wanted to, he didn’t turn and look at his guest. He bowed his head reverently, assuming the position of a servant. He hadn’t decided if this sovereign truly meant him ill or if Cronus was as confused about the Lords of the Underworld as they were about the gods.

He was unsure, tentative, but he planned to proceed as if the latter were true.

"Before I make my decision, I have questions for you," he said. "If it would please you, I would ask them."

"I have wondered about you many times, demon. You and your desires have presented a mystery I am determined to solve." The thump of sandals, the swish of cloth, and then Cronus was standing in front of him. "Ask."