The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(82)
Author: Gena Showalter

"If I chose Sienna, would I merely receive her rotting corpse?"

A warm chuckle of true amusement echoed. "So suspicious. That is something the Greeks would have done, I am sure, wily bastards that they were. But I am a more generous soul. From me, you would receive her just as she once was. For you, she will look the same, speak the same. She will not simply be a talking dead body. She will have a heart, and it will beat."

For you.

The words echoed through his mind and he frowned. Did those two little words have significance or was he simply looking for hidden meaning where there was none? The gods had been known throughout the ages for their tricky natures. Wily bastards, Cronus had said about the Greeks, but Paris would bet the Titans were no different.

Still, he pressed on. "Would she hate me as she did before?"

Another chuckle filled his ears as fingers stroked the back of his neck. They were gentle, yet emitted a strong pulse of energy that sped his heart into an erratic rumble. "Of course she would hate you. She is a Hunter. You are a Lord. But I am sure, Promiscuity, that you can charm her into love."

Could he?

And was having her back worth the guilt he would feel at not saving Aeron when he had the chance? Reyes seemed to think so, for he couldn’t keep his hands off the woman Aeron was desperate to destroy.

Paris slowly lifted his head, and his gaze met Cronus’s. The king’s expression was blank, seemingly uncaring. Damn it! What should he do?

DANIKA SCREAMED as Reyes leapt away from her and tackled – Aeron, she realized, wide-eyed. Terror sprouted inside her and quickly spread its limbs. She scrambled backward on the bed, the cold headboard soon pressing into her back. What the hell should I do?

The two men rolled on the floor, punching, tearing at each other’s skin, biting and snarling like animals. Aeron repeatedly slashed at Reyes’s neck, screaming that Reyes’s head would soon roll. Twice he made contact, causing the side of Reyes’s throat to bleed profusely.

Reyes was already weak. She’d stabbed him only minutes before, for God’s sake. Her knife. Yes. That’s what she needed. Where the hell was her knife?

Her gaze scanned…there, on the floor. So close, so far. Last time this had happened, Aeron had knocked her down and she’d stayed down. Reyes had saved her, but he’d taken a beating for his efforts. This time, she wouldn’t passively watch, wouldn’t run away. She would help. She’d trained to help.

She inched off the mattress as the two men sprang apart, circling each other, panting.

"She’s mine," Reyes growled.

"Belongs to the gods," Aeron snarled. He swung around, and the razor-sharp tip of his wing sliced Reyes’s cheek.

Reyes’s head whipped to the side. As he straightened, he smiled. "Not anymore. How did you escape the cell?"

"Cronus. Now was the time to act, he said. And when the gods speak, I obey."

Legion peeked out from underneath the shadow of Aeron’s wing. "Don’t hurt."

Aeron reached up to pet the top of the little demon’s head.

The creature purred, much as Danika had heard Reyes do when he was hurting. Just a little more, she thought, closing in on the weapon and doing her best to stay out of the warriors’ way. The silver blade continued to wink up at her, taunting.

"Pays to have friends," Aeron said darkly.

"I’m your friend."

"No."

"Aeron, I love you."

"Not Aeron. Wrath."

"You’re Aeron. My brother of the box."

"And yet you locked me away, even knowing how terrible such confinement is."

"You begged it of me!"

"You should not have listened!"

Down she leaned. As her fingers curled around the hilt, she saw Reyes pale. Aeron’s words must have hit their target – Reyes’s guilt – and they must have cut as deeply as any sword. She straightened.

Reyes had chosen her over his friend, she realized, understanding for the first time how hard that must have been for him. These men had overcome the fires of hell together. Literally!

"I did what I had to do to protect you from yourself," Reyes growled.

"No, you did what you had to do to protect her!" Aeron shouted, pounding a fist against his thigh. His nostrils flared, his hands clenched as he geared for another attack. "My enemy."

Reyes was naked, weaponless, probably afraid to approach the bed, where the other dagger lay. Most likely he didn’t wish to draw attention to Danika. Again he was protecting her, no matter the danger to himself.

She licked her lips, watching as he slowly inched backward. Tremors raked her. She wanted to call out, to toss the blade she held to Reyes so he had something to use. What if her voice broke his concentration? What if Aeron used that distraction to pounce on him and cut his throat?

She’d seen firsthand how Reyes recovered from his wounds, but she knew he wouldn’t be able to recover from decapitation.

Legion propped her scaled elbows on Aeron’s shoulders and gazed imploringly at Danika. "Ssstop them. No hurt Aeron." Scaled hands stroked the warrior’s hair. "Calm, friend. Calm."

"I’m trying," Danika whispered. She inched forward, remaining in the shadows, blade poised and ready. Go for his throat.

"I am the demon of Wrath." The more Aeron spoke, the more his voice became multilayered, deep and raspy, lilting yet harsh. "You have harmed me grievously and you will suffer."

His glowing red gaze finally turned to Danika. She stilled, unable to catch her breath.

Reyes roared and leapt forward, slamming into Aeron’s chest. The two men propelled backward, Aeron’s wings beating against the wall. Thump. Crack. They hit the door with so much force the hinges snapped and the wood toppled. Legion squealed and scampered from the men, hiding under the bed.

They rolled, their arms and legs slapping together. Danika could hear the chomp of teeth, the sound of cloth ripping as claws swiped through it. Bones snapping and grunts of pain. So many grunts.

If they would just part…Unconcerned by her nakedness, she kicked back into motion, closing in on the pair. Come on. Separate, goddamn it! She might never get close enough to them to slice, but she could still throw.

"You seek to lock me up forever," Aeron growled. Punch.

Reyes’s head whipped to the side. "And if the bloodlust ever leaves you, you will thank me for it!"

Aeron jerked his wings into his back, where they folded underneath two slits. "Thank you? For burying me next to hell?"

"You met Legion, didn’t you? The new love of your life?"

Finally they stopped rolling, Aeron on top. He punched Reyes yet again. Having a clear shot, Danika tossed the dagger, end over end. Target: Aeron’s carotid artery. But when the tip reached the warrior, it embedded in his arm. He’d been in the process of reaching up, meaning to plunge his own dagger into Reyes’s throat.