The Darkest Surrender (Lords of the Underworld #8)(76)
Author: Gena Showalter

She scraped his nipple with her teeth. “Smart-ass. Harpies are only fertile about once a year and I don’t hit that part of my cycle for another eight months. Plus, you only have, like, a one in a million chance of making an immortal with me anyway.”

“Actually, I have a one in ten chance of making a felon.”

A laugh bubbled from her, and he relished the carefree sound.

Pride filled him. I did that. “Why such low odds?” he asked, curious. If she thought him lacking in that department, well, he’d haul her ass to a specialist, do the cup thing and prove just how exceptional his little swimmers were.

Ego check.

Well, they were.

“Because of my paternal heritage,” she said, a bit hesitant. “The Phoenix have never made children easily. That’s why they’re nearing extinction.”

“If it’s so hard for them to procreate, how’d your mother have twins with one?”

Her glow dimmed. “She’s an overachiever.”

“So are you.” Speaking of kids, though… “When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?” He found that he was desperate to learn about her, her past. Her hopes and dreams.

A sigh of longing. “To be honest, I wanted to be ruler of the entire world. Or the ruler’s trophy wife.”

He was the one to laugh this time.

She lifted her head long enough to glare at him. “What?”

“I like your goals, that’s all. They’re cute. Like you.”

“Cute.” She rolled her eyes. “Exactly what every girl wants to be in the eyes of the man she, you know, is riding like a carnival pony.”

Now who was the smart-ass? “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with cute. I’m cute as a button.”

Another roll of her eyes and she settled back into his side. “I’ve mentioned your humbleness before, I’m sure. It’s touching, really. So what did you want to be when you grew up?” Her fingers traced little circles over his chest.

He clasped her hand and brought those fingers to his mouth, kissing the digits before returning them to his chest. “I was never a kid, so I never thought about it.”

“Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting. So why do you have a birthmark on your ass?”

An eyebrow arched up. “Noticed that, did you?”

“I’m very observant,” she said gravely. “Had nothing to do with checking you out all the time or following you with stalkerlike focus.”

Adorable girl. “It’s not a birthmark. It’s a tattoo. Or what remains of one.” And something he never discussed, but this was Kaia. “A woman challenged me to have her name inked into my skin. I did, but I had Sabin there to tattoo over it if the stupid thing couldn’t be removed.”

“You killed the woman, of course.”

So bloodthirsty, his Kaia, but then, that was one of the things he loved about her. “I killed her dreams of happily ever after with me.”

She nodded in understanding. “Now she suffers eternally. Good job. But, man, that’s sad, about your lack of a childhood, I mean.”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Not really. You can’t miss what you don’t know about.”

“Well, one day very soon, we’re going to take a bath together and I’m going to show you how to play rubber ducky.” Her hand glided down his stomach, swirled around his navel and finally cupped him.

He jolted in exquisite reflex. “I think I’ll like that game.”

“Good. And guess what else? You finally earned your nickname.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Her tongue flicked out, laving his nipple into a tight little bead. “Yeah. Bonin’ the Barbarian.”

An unexpected snort left him. “I like it. Way better than the Sexorcist.”

“Way better.”

“Well, you’ve earned a new nickname yourself, Kaia darling.” When her hand remained on his sac, he reached down and moved her fingers around his ever-hardening cock. Oh, yeah. That was the stuff.

The location change distracted her from their topic, but only for a few seconds. She tensed. Nicknames were painful for her. He got that. He also got that while she hated her title, she felt like she deserved it. But everyone made mistakes and she’d been blamed for hers long enough. For gods’ sake, she’d been a child. Strider couldn’t even imagine the trouble he would have gotten himself into if he’d grown from child to man, rather than springing to life fully formed.

Look what he’d done without a childhood. Stolen Pandora’s box. Unleashed demons upon an unsuspecting world. Given away the Cloak of Invisibility to wicked, amoral creatures.

Enough of that. He rolled on top of Kaia, pinning her with his muscled weight. Automatically her arms looped around his neck—damn, he hated that her fingers were no longer squeezing his length. Oh, well. This was for the greater good. Her legs parted to create a cradle for him.

He cupped her chin, forcing her gaze to remain on his face. “I want to talk to you about something,” he said.

In the back of his mind, Defeat ceased moaning with pleasure. Perhaps he sensed Strider’s unease and feared a fight with the Harpy.

“I know what you want to discuss.” Kaia licked her lips, and the sight of that pink tongue caused his c**k to twitch. “Paris, right? Well, you have to—”

He shook his head. “We’re done with that subject. He’s wiped from your memory now.”

“For sure! But what happens when I bump into him? If I hang with you, I will. You’ll see us talking and remember that you can never forgive me for—”

Another shake of his head silenced her. “There’s nothing to forgive, baby doll. You and I weren’t dating then. We weren’t even flirting.”

Luminous eyes pierced his soul. “But…but…that’s why you resisted me. That’s why you said we couldn’t be together. Not that I think we’re together right now,” she rushed to add.

“We’re together,” he growled, and his hard tone left no room for doubt. Just try and leave. See what happens.

Her mouth fell open, revealing those lovely white teeth, minus the fangs. “We are?”

“We are.”

“All the way?”

“All the way. I’m your consort and you’re my woman. Just mine. Do I need to wear a ring or something? Do you?” He recalled the medallions her mother and a few other Harpies had been wearing. Recalled, too, that he’d wanted to talk to her about them. “Or maybe a medallion?”