Seduce the Darkness (Alien Huntress #4)(6)
Author: Gena Showalter

"Now you listen to me, you piece of shit." She slapped her hands at his sides, getting right in his face.

"I’ve had enough of your flirting and denials. You will tell me what I—"

"Stay still," he said, and every muscle in her body locked down. "Sorry, darling, but even though you took me unaware and I’m highly impressed, this restaurant is closed. Besides that, you can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do."

She couldn’t move. Her body couldn’t freaking move. "What the hell?" she shouted, trying with all her might to uproot her feet. It was as if her boots had been glued to the pavement. "What did you do to me?"

"It’s a little trick of mine. But don’t worry." Grinning, he ducked under her arm. "You’ll be able to move soon enough."

"I need to talk to you, damn it, and ask you some more questions. Questions you will answer."

"I only answer questions when the one doing the asking is naked, and as we won’t be getting naked anytime soon …" Another of those disappointed sighs. "If I wasn’t in a hurry, you might have been able to make me forget I prefer variety. As it is, I’m late and have to go. But do dream of me, darling."

That dirty, rotten bastard! How dare he! "Leave, and I’ll come after you. I swear I will.”

“Won’t do you any good, I’m afraid." And with that, he disappeared amid the churning crowd.

Bride was unable to follow and all the madder for it. He’s going down, she thought darkly. In every possible way.

CHAPTER 2

Devyn, king of the Targons, released the delightful woman from stun the moment he was too far to sniff out and find. It was difficult. Her energy molecules were like nothing he’d ever encountered before. Glimmering, almost overpowering … probably addictive. Already he craved another taste of them. But he prevailed, letting them go with only the slightest twinge of remorse.

The ability to force bodies to obey their every mental command was one of the reasons his people were so prized as warriors here. They could literally stop an army in its tracks and slit the soldiers’ throats before a single fist or sword was raised.

Most humans were frightened by the skill. Some, like the agents of AIR, Alien Investigation and Removal, liked to utilize it for their own gain. The vampire, well, there’d been fire in her eyes. The girl had wanted answers—and perhaps his blood—in a bad way. His skill, not so much.

He grinned. She’d been hungry for answers, yes, and he’d denied her … there at the end she’d wanted to gut him, he was sure of it.

Only once before had a female resisted him with such fervor. Only once before had a female radiated such fury at him. Only once before had a female gotten the better of him and manhandled him with such force. That another had intrigued him, on all counts.

What’s more, this one had mentally left the conversation a few times, and he’d wondered what thoughts drifted through her head, distracting her. Women simply did not dismiss him like that. Not since his father had died and he’d gone a little wild, doing everything he’d ever fantasized about doing to the females in his household—and so much more.

It might have been fun, bedding the vampire despite her origins, he thought, then shrugged. Nah. The more time he spent with her, the more she would have become like everyone else.

You sure? First moment he’d seen her, he’d meant to leave her without engaging her. Everything about her was designed to blend into a crowd. From her mousy brown hair to her unassuming hazel eyes. From her pale skin to her average height and curves.

Until he’d begun to see beyond the mask.

As he well knew, some races were able to "glamour" themselves, hiding their beauty with the commonplace so that no one would pay them and their actions any heed.

The more he’d looked at Bride, the more he’d seen the truth of her. She was a mélange of colors. She possessed long, jet-black hair, and her eyes were like dazzling emeralds. Her skin was dusted with rose, and her lips were a brilliant scarlet. A lush and dewy, ripe-for-a-kiss scarlet. And the energy swirling inside her… it was stunning, as bright as the sun and unlike anything he’d ever encountered.

That’s what had gained his notice and convinced him to stay. That delectable energy, snapping and sizzling around her. Then she’d rebuked him, hadn’t even wanted to know his name. In that moment, he’d become determined to win her. A challenge had seemed like a nice change of pace.

Then he’d discovered she was a vampire. Devyn sighed. He hadn’t lied to her. He’d already had a vampire, two actually, and more of the same held no appeal to him.

If only The Voice hadn’t given her away, he might have continued to convince himself she belonged to a race he’d never before come across. But her sweet timbre had gone low and husky, a hypnotic hum pulsing from every word, beseeching him to listen, to do everything she asked.

Unfortunately for her, he’d encountered The Voice before, and hers was weaker than most. When Devyn discovered an ability that could potentially bring about his downfall, he worked and trained until he learned to defeat it. Exactly what he’d done with The Voice. It had taken months, but his mind was now immune to secret suggestion.

Oh, the expression on her face when she realized he would not be doing as she’d wanted. Priceless. He chuckled, remembering.

What was she doing topside? Vampires lived underground, hidden from the rest of the world. They only emerged twice a year to collect food—aka humans—and not even their exiled were sent to the surface to live. Because of this, most people still considered them the stuff of myth and nightmare. Devyn only knew about them because he’d once participated in slave auctions, buying females for his collection.

And no, he’d never forced his purchases to sleep with him. Anyone reluctant to be with him, he set free. So far, though, there’d been only one who’d rejected him. Eden Black, a golden-skinned Rakan and the woman he’d remained on Earth for, hoping to bed at least once. The woman who loved him —like a goddamn brother. His chuckle was wry this time. One day that would change; she would leave her lover and seduce Devyn. He was sure of it. Until then, he would simply continue to play with the vast supply of females here to distract himself.

Bride, with her don’t-touch-me attitude, was a lot like Eden, he realized. Maybe he should have bedded her. He could have pretended he’d finally won Eden’s affections.

He frowned. I’ve had vampires, and I don’t want anymore, remember? Even if I’m pretending they’re something else.

One of the auction traders had managed to snag two bloodsuckers who’d been on the hunt, and high bidder that he’d always been, Devyn had acquired them. Actually, the two had worn those glamoured masks of plainness, and no one else had been interested in them. But they’d dropped those masks for him and him alone, which was how he’d learned such things existed.