Kiss of a Demon King

28

"This wasn't part of the deal!" the sorceress screeched when Rydstrom waded into the pool. "You didn't say anything about water!"

Though he cupped her ass, holding her up, she'd locked her legs tightly around his waist. Gods, she fit into his palms like she'd been made for him to hold her like this.

He was headed to a rock island he'd spied from aloft. Situated in the middle of the pool, it had a shallow bar circling it and was surrounded by deep water. "I won't untie you anywhere else. This way you won't use your illusions to escape me-unless you want to swim back by yourself."

"Swim! I've told you I can't swim! I don't like deep water!"

"Exactly." Earlier, when he'd told her his intention, she'd tried to fight him, tussling against him as he'd stripped her. But to no avail. He had an agenda and wouldn't be moved from it.

This morning, he'd realized that to win some kind of affection from the sorceress, he would have to change his tactics with her.

When he'd gone hunting, he'd recalled that dream of his yet again. And he'd mused that if Bowen had used his head to win his witch, Rydstrom would do no less for Sabine. He would figure out how to make it work between them.

But first he had to understand her to determine the right way to garner her affection. To do that, he needed to earn her trust.

The puzzle of her . . . the challenge of them . . . Ryd­strom was up for it-and he was committed.

Once he'd waded in up to his chest, she cried, "Go back, go back! What if you slip?" She was quaking.

"I won't slip, sweet. Look, we're here." The pool grew shallow again. At the island, he set her to her feet in knee-high water.

Her gaze darted all around her. "You can't understand how horrific I find this."

Probably as horrific as I'd found my court.

"Sit there." He pointed to a long, low rock. When she reluctantly did, he sat behind her, untying only the line that went between her rope cuffs. He set it beside him, keeping it within easy reach.

At once, she stretched her arms above her head, turning them this way and that. "What about these?" she asked, scratching at the rope still on her wrists.

"They stay."

"What? They itch like crazy!"

"They-stay."

She seemed to bite her tongue against a sharp reply, instead saying, "As you wish."

To reward her cooperation, he began massaging her shoulders. She moaned, and her head dropped forward, her long hair parting over her neck. When her pale nape was left uncovered, he was helpless not to kiss it.

Her breath hitched in, and she shivered.

He kneaded her upper arms all the way down to her fingertips, then continuing back up. "Better?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, better."

"Then it's time for questions."

"Ask me, then."

"How many times have you died?"

She tensed beneath his palms, but answered, "Over a dozen."

"What's it. .. like?"

"The most terrifying, wretched feeling you can imagine."

"Tell me about one time."

"A Vrekener had flown me high above a village, then dropped me. I was lying on a cobblestone street with my skull cracked open." Her tone grew distant. "You can feel your blood seeping out. Without the blood, the body gets so cold, but then, if it pools around you, it's like a warm blanket, for a few moments at least."

He couldn't be hearing this ... that she'd been thank­ful for a pool of blood.

"Rydstrom," she murmured. His hands were squeez­ing her too hard.

He let up the pressure. "Why would they hurt you like that?"

"Because I killed their leader. The Vrekeners were responsible for many of my deaths. Including one of the drownings."

"One of the . . . ?" He shook himself. "When we get off-plane I will seek them out and inform them that you and your sister are under my protection. Any move against either of you will be considered an act of war against my kind."

She turned to kneel before him, laying her delicate hands on his knees. "You'd do rhat?"

"You're my female-I will never let anyone hurt you." He brushed her face, and she scarcely flinched. "Since your sister helped keep you alive, I'm indebted to her as well. Is she the black haired female who was in the cell after my injury?"

"Yes, her name's Melanthe. She's got to be so worried about me."

"If there's an avian messenger among the refugees, we'll send word to her that you are unharmed."

Sabine looked confused by him, then she smiled-a genuine, heart-wrenching smile.

It made his chest tight with feeling. "You couldn't be more beautiful."

She sighed, "I know," making his lips quirk. Then she added, "You're not too shabby yourself. In fact, I think you're the most handsome male I've ever seen."

He exhaled. "Why do you always have to lie?"

"All right, you're not the most handsome. But you're in the top ten. Mayhe even in the top three."

"As long as I made the podium."

"I do love your body. You're an exceedingly well-made male." She began touching him as if she was see-ing him for the first time, sweeping her soft palms over his chest, shoulders, and neck.

When she brushed kisses along the scar on his face, she said, "How did you get this?"

"From a sword fight. When I was young, I was a brawler. That's how I broke my horn, too."

"You weren't always so calm and steady?" When he shook his head, she asked, "And the tattoo?"

"It was part of my rite of passage, to be marked with the image of a beast."

"And the scars down . . . here?" She grazed the backs of her fingers along his shaft.

Her touches were setting his blood on fire, but he strove to keep control. He had an agenda, and he was playing to win everything from this woman.

His voice was hoarse when he said, "Another part of the ritual. All demon males who reached a certain age had to complete it. Until I denounced it."

"Why did you?"

"Because it hurt like hell."

"I could have kissed it better." She grinned. The wine was definitely hitting her.

"I think I like my sorceresses drunken." It made it easier to get the puzzle pieces he needed most, for example, "How is it that you were a virgin?"

"I was saving myself for you," she said easily, but he was beginning to better detect her lies.

"No, you weren't."

She shrugged. "I claimed sanctuary on my body. It's a Sorceri covenant that holds that if I remained virginal, then no man could force me into having sex with him."

"Like Omort?" he bit out, his horns beginning to straighten with rage.

"I don't want to speak of him tonight. And my rea­sons are my own." She gazed at his horns, then glanced her fingers along one. "What it's like when you start to go demonic?"

He let the subject of her virginity drop. "I don't like it."

"Why? Your body has so much more strength-"

"And it's diverted away from my brain. It's as if I'm burning on pure instinct, like a rabid animal. I can't think. I can't reason. Thoughts come more randomly." He ran his hand over his jaw. "I hear my heartbeat drumming so loudly that I can't hear a conversation nearby. And yet I can detect a leaf crackling a half a mile away. Nothing makes sense. Which is really dif­ficult for me."

"Because you're such a slave to reason?"

"Exactly. You could be telling me something perfectly logical, but if it went counter to my instinct, my brain would discard it." He tapped his temple to emphasize his point. "And, Sabine, you seem to keep me on the edge of it. That's a very uneasy place to be."

"Why do I?"

"I took you, but I didn't mark you. Which means I haven't truly claimed you. The demon in me is not

satisfied.''

"What would it be like if you marked me?"

"If I got to that state, I would be completely turned, which is rare for our kind. Once I was inside you, I'd sink my fangs into your neck, and it would stun you."

"Stun me?"

"Some say it's to keep the female steady while the male comes in her."

"Oh," she said, her voice breathy. "And if you did that to me, you would be less likely to get unreasonable?"

"It would help. But still, I feel no bond coming from you. As much as I would like you to feel more for me, I know that you don't."

"What if I told you that I've decided to stay with your She gave him one of those tender, coaxing kisses that made him wild for her, but he forced himself to pull away.

Rydstrom knew what she was doing. Seduce the demon to that mindless state. To get him to do what she wanted. But what she didn't understand was that he expected these games from her.

And he liked them.

"Kingly Rydstrom, holding yourself off from everyone and everything," she said softly. "But you won't with me. I've decided to willingly go with you."

"Have you, then? Why's that?"

"Because, lonely demon, you need me so much. And because you're my husband."

He stifled a wince. Not her husband. But I will be. "You say that only so I'll leave you untied."

"Yes, I want that." She took one of his hands and rubbed her silky cheek against the palm. "But that doesn't mean what I'm saying isn't true."

Her words made him again remember the dream of them sharing their lives, sharing a bed, raising a son. If she was pregnant and escaped ...

He didn't want to admit it even to himself, but part of the reason he kept her bound was because he had started to believe they might have a future. Another conflict within me. Because he couldn't keep her tied forever.

"I want to stay with you," she murmured, her lips inches from his.

She was playing him. Rydstrom knew it. Yet that didn't mean he didn't enjoy hearing this. "Say it again."

"I want to be with you."

"Again."

"I don't want to part from you. Take me to your home, the place where you live off-plane. I'm not going to try to escape from you. I wish to remain with you."

He stared into her eyes, needing to trust her. But he couldn't. Not yet.

"I brought you out here for another reason," the demon said.

"What's that?" Sabine asked lazily, gazing at him. Had she been one of those women who sighed, she would have now.

His black hair was tousled, his green eyes rapt on her face. His skin was damp and sheened in the moonlight. Such a gorgeous male.

And he was surprising her again and again. His promise of protection not only for her, but also for Lanthe affected her so much. She believed he would give his life if necessary to fulfill his promise.

Regrettably, he couldn't save her from the morsus. Only two people in the universe could.

"You need to learn how to swim," he said.

"What? No way! I panic in the water. This is the calmest I've ever been-"

"Then this is a good time to leam." He stood to swoop her up in his arms, then waded in deeper.

"Rydstrom, no!"

"Just trust me, Sabine. All I want you to do is get used to the water. Just float."

Maybe if she acted as if she trusted him, he might extend the courtesy? "What do you want me to do?"

"Stretch out on my hands." Even with her body stiff with tension, he maneuvered her easily. Soon she was lying flat on his palms. "Let go ... trust me." I can t.

"You can-you're already doing it." "I'm ... floating?"

"I'm not holding you up, just in place. That's it, just breathe easy. Good girl." His voice was soothing, his big hands her anchor. "Relax."

That peculiar watery silence surrounded her. Above her, blossoms swirled in the moonlight. Her hair tickled her shoulders. He continued caressing her back, and soon she did relax.

Her lids slid closed. Peaceful. Perfect. . . .

When she opened her eyes, she found him studying her face. The possessiveness in his gaze made her breath hitch. "My naked body is spread out before you, and you're looking at my face?"

"I'm trying to figure out how your mind works. If I can do that, then this"-he trailed his fingers between .her breasts and lower-"will always be mine to enjoy."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I have to, Sabine." When she shivered, he said, "Time to go in." After easing her back to the shoal, he helped her to her feet, then reached for the rope he'd left on the rock.

"What are you doing? You're not going to retie me?"

He snagged her wrists. "Of course I am."

"Why? I thought we'd come to an understanding." He was unbending, even though she resisted. "Ryd­strom! How long will you keep me bound like this?"

"Until I know you won't run."

"You're bull-headed, unreasonable-"

"Cautious."

She was livid that her plan hadn't worked. "And now you're getting that look in your eyes! Oh, I know what's coming! If you torment me for another night, I will hate you!"

With his gaze narrowed, he nodded. "I know how that feels, wanting to hate, drawing on it. The only thing that got me through my own rage was vowing revenge. Did you never think I'm able to be gentle with you now because my wrath is placated in other ways?"

"All this was a sham!"

He gave a humorless laugh. "Of course it was! I'm well aware that you were playing me-"

"No, a sham on your part! You cajole me to give you my trust, but you won't even consider giving your own!"

"Give you my trust? How easily you forget all that you did to me. By keeping me from my brother, you might have destroyed my chances of ever reclaiming Tornin, my home. I vowed revenge, Sabine. I need it, I need you to surrender to me!"

When he lifted her from the water, cradling her to his chest, she kicked at him, squirming, but his hold was like a steel cage.

"Demon, don't. No more of this tormenting me!"

He ignored her, ferrying her to shore, then started the ascent to their camp-heading to that pallet, where he would do things to her all night.

Once they reached it, he let her slide down his naked body. He grasped her upper arms, keeping her in place as he kissed her neck.

She just prevented her head from falling back. "Demon ... don't make me weak ..."

"You make me weak." Against her damp skin, he rasped, "Surrender to me, and we can end this. Sabine, I want you so bad." She could feel his hard length press­ing against her.

"Not bad enough to break your word."

"One day, you'll be glad you have a man who keeps his word. You gave me unbearable nights. You'll get them as well. I vowed-"

"Save the explanation-you like this. You're keeping me tied just because it turns you on!"

"I've explained that I can't risk losing you."

"You're taking fifteen centuries of denial out on me!"

"Maybe what you're saying is true in part. I do like having you at my mercy. I crave driving you mad, as you were last night. Do you know what that does to me to see your eyes go blue with lust-for me? To see fires burning all around us?"

He nibbed his face against hers, inhaling her scent. "I've never felt things like this, and I want more," he growled at her ear. "You are my obsession, Sabine. I've heard every male has one in his life. And you are mine."

"Release me!"

"Surrender to me. ..."

Between gritted teeth, she said, "If you don't let me go, I'll hate you. I vow I'll kill you!"

He dragged her down to the pallet. "Ah, but my beautiful captive doesn't keep her vows."