Deadly Attraction Read online

  “Yes,” he finally conceded. “In various capacities.”

  “How many can there be?” she demanded, incredulous.

  Not the least bit fazed by her exasperation, he said, “For starters, I am the king, remember? It’s my duty and right to know the happenings of both my kingdom and the regions I rule. I also have a sixth sense that helps me to home in on the powers others have cultivated. That’s how I knew your friend, Lisette, has Wiccan gifts and even that Jinx could predict the future.”

  A menacing thought crawled through her brain. “He believed the human world would be rebuilt. Not that we’d be able to conquer the demons, but that mortals and immortals would learn to coexist in a modern world, somewhat similar to the one Jinx, Lisette and the elders knew before the wars.”

  This time, she couldn’t claim to not be insolent when she asked, “Did you fear he was right and didn’t want him spreading that word?”

  Darien’s brow jerked up. “Are you suggesting I had him killed to silence him?”

  “You are the king,” she said.

  He glowered at her. “Do you have any idea what dangerous territory you’re in?”

  “Of course.” She swallowed hard. “But Jinx was my friend and I want to know the truth about him. Clearly, those of us who have abilities that could pose a problem for your kingdom are under close observation.”

  Darien waved a hand in the air. “Jinx was never a concern for me. He was optimistic and waxed poetic. He never created trouble. As for Lisette, I don’t want her practicing witchcraft any more than I want my vampires drinking human blood from the source. It taints the civility I’ve fought to establish since the wars ended.”

  “And what about me?” she repeated.

  “I was…mistaken.” He shoved a hand through that thick black hair she’d tousled in an imaginary vision and stepped around her. Crossing to the fireplace, he poked at the logs with the metal tool from the rack alongside the hearth, getting the flames going again. For her benefit, she surmised. He hardly seemed to notice the temperature.

  “What was the mistake?” she asked in a quiet voice. “Stalking me? Or what you did to me last night in my dream?”

  He replaced the rod and faced her.

  “I had you tracked by a wraith from my army because I sensed a new power building within you. I needed—I need—to know what it is. I followed you personally when I couldn’t sort out the root of the power, what the actual gift is. What I did was wrong. It went against the law I implemented and I am sorry for that.” His mesmerizing eyes glowed under the candles and the firelight when he told her, “As for last evening, that was no mistake. I knew what I was doing. Out of the dream as well as within it.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath. “Why would you…?” She exhaled heavily. “I mean, what on earth were you thinking?”

  Although the urge to rail at him for such a huge invasion of privacy rose within her, Jade would be a hypocrite if she took offense. She’d enjoyed the fantasy, after all. Had come twice at the hands of the man standing before her, who had figuratively tossed Michael out into the cold and had replaced that hard, warm body with his own.

  Didn’t that make her as twisted and demented as the Demon King?

  Her heart continued to pound wildly and Jade pressed a hand to her chest, as if that would keep the organ from leaping from her body. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “In theory,” he said in a tight voice, “it’s really quite simple. I’ve wanted you for some time. Eight years, to be exact. But you’re mortal, which makes you wholly off limits. Even to me. Especially to me.”

  Frustration flashed in his eyes again, intriguing Jade.

  He said, “Only one time before did I read your thoughts. When you were eighteen. They were so black and agonizing, I never did it again. I literally cannot stand how tormented you are. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I feel irrationally compelled to protect you.”

  He seemed to give this some thought, but apparently didn’t like the implication, because he scowled. “When I sensed there was something new brewing within you, I had to find out what it was. My quest, however, has not kept me from desiring you. As we’ve both discovered.”

  There it was. The whole kit-and-caboodle laid at her feet. Except…

  “You’re wrong about me.”

  His brows lifted. “Oh really?”

  Her cheeks flushed. He hadn’t actually inferred anything sexual, but all she could think was that he likely believed she chose to deny their attraction and how desperately she’d wanted him. But she couldn’t deny it. The inescapable truth was that she’d very much enjoyed the pleasure he’d brought her and had the overwhelming desire to beg for seconds.

  He was right about one thing, though. She was mortal. He was a Demon King. In what world could two such vastly different creatures ever be together? Other than a dream world, that was…

  Shaking her head, hoping to dislodge all of her peculiar thoughts, she said, “I’m talking about my abilities. They’re not new.”

  Focusing her mind on the metal rod he’d returned to the rack, she lifted the poker with her psychokinesis and jabbed at a log before bringing the tool to her. She gripped the cool end and then handed it over to Darien.

  He placed it in the holder once more. “Impressive. Has anyone seen you do that before?”

  “Not anyone who’s currently alive. Present company excluded.”

  With an intense look on his handsome face, he asked, “What else?”

  Jade debated how far she should go, but she suspected there wasn’t much she could hold back from this man. As though he’d innately know she was keeping something from him.

  Reaching out a hand to him, palm up, she said, “Your dagger.”

  His expression turned skeptical and a bit concerned.

  Jade laughed softly. “I’ll admit I’m a strong fighter, but I’m not going to attempt to stab you in the heart.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  She smirked at him.

  With much reticence in his voice, he said, “Actually, that’s not at all my worry.”

  Regardless of his tentativeness, he unsheathed the dagger at his hip and laid it in her palm. She wrapped the fingers of her other hand around the handle and slowly drew the sharp blade over her flesh, slicing it wide open.

  “Jade!” Darien lunged forward and wrested the knife from her grasp.

  The pain in her hand radiated throughout her body. It was excruciating, a fact that never failed to astonish her. The agony was tenfold, or more, what it should be. Even a mere pinprick felt like a brutal stabbing. And the emotional wounds were worse. Michael pulling away from her years ago had made her feel as though she’d been run through with a sword.

  She gripped the wrist of the bleeding hand as her body trembled. Darien’s fingers closed around her biceps and he tried to direct her to a chair.

  “Sit,” he demanded.

  “Just wait,” she ground out as tears flooded her eyes.

  She fisted her injured hand and rotated it several degrees, so the blood streamed to the stone floor. A few tense minutes slid by and the flow became a mere trickle. Her breath still came in heavy pulls, but the pain ebbed into a more tolerable and less debilitating sensation. She suspected a good ten minutes slipped by until, eventually, not a single drop fell. Opening her hand, she extended it toward him, palm up.

  Darien stared at the healed flesh in blatant amazement. He asked, “Where’d the blood go?”

  Her flesh should have been covered by it. She said, “I absorb any blood on my skin. Part of the regenerative cycle, I guess.”

  “That’s extraordinary,” he said in a low voice. “You’re human. But are you mortal?”

  Her laugh was a hollow one. “Not that I’ve tested the theory—nor do I care to—but, yes. If I sustain enough injuries, I won’t be able to concentrate on healing myself.”

  He studied her hand a few seconds more, then released it. “You rapidly heal, yet I could
see how painful that cut was, more so than it really should have been.”

  “I can’t explain it, other than to surmise it’s some sort of internal checks and balance system. As though my ability to fix my body in an abnormally short amount of time is offset by the agony of the injury. As if it’s a penalty for possessing such a gift. The pain is sometimes unbearable, but if I can rise above it, the wounds heal.”

  “Do they really?” he questioned in a dark tone.

  Jade wiped tears from her cheeks. “I suffer from an acute reaction to pain, yes. But I survive it.”

  “That explains so much. I understood the toll your parents’ deaths took on you. But the heartache you felt with your friend, Michael. It was tortuous. You were so young to feel that emotionally devastated. It was…horrific to experience.”

  “That’ll teach you to head-hop.”

  “Indeed.”

  She’d meant the comment as a flip remark, but he clearly took it seriously. And a step further.

  “Tonight, when you’re alone in your cottage, you’ll think of Jinx. Won’t you?”

  Jade swallowed down a lump of emotion. “Of course.”

  “And it’ll be excruciating for you.”

  She stared up at Darien. His expression was a compelling one, but also a beleaguered one.

  “What does it matter to you?” she asked in a soft voice. “You’re the king. I’m a commoner. A mere mortal. My people have been besieged by fear and famine and fatality, as much in the pre-war years as in the post-war ones. Your kind doesn’t suffer the same trials and tribulations as humans.”

  His teeth ground together for a moment before he said, “We have our own crosses to bear. Demon life isn’t all roses and sunshine.”

  The hard edge of his tone caused Jade to take his word on that.

  “At any rate,” she said, getting back to the issue at hand rather than drowning in his glowing amber irises, “the gifts I showed you today are the ones I’ve always had. Nothing new here, other than a heightened sense of knowing when someone’s stalking me.”

  Darien frowned. “This is definitely a new power I’m sensing. And it’s incredibly strong. But you’re right,” he contended. “I’m not getting that signal now.”

  They both seemed to draw the same conclusion in the next instant.

  “Damn it,” the king said as he pounded a fist on the desk. “I sense the power around you, but it’s not coming from you. It’s someone else who watches you, someone else who stays close to you. Someone I haven’t detected.”

  Fear slithered down her spine. “If it’s not just you keeping tabs on me, then who?”

  “A very determined demon. But what does he want from you?”

  Chapter Four

  Darien’s mind raced. Why would a demon stalk Jade? And was it one from his kingdom?

  No. Their allegiance never faltered. Granted, the vampire who’d allowed Jinx to experiment on him had stepped beyond a reasonable boundary, but the accord had been made by mutual consent. Jinx had willingly taken the risk.

  Something much bigger was at play when it came to Jade. And he had to find out what it was. If neither he nor Morgan had discovered what followed her, but had sensed the evil around her, that would likely make the stalker another wraith.

  He raked a hand through his hair. Poltergeists were the hardest demons to track. One of the reasons Morgan made such a brilliant general and military strategist. Although Darien did not lack tactical skills himself.

  “You’ll be safest at the castle while I search for the demon hunting you.”

  She shook her head, panic clearly gripping her again. “The slayers would never stand for it. Nor would I willingly put myself in that sort of compromising position. You have vampires in your alliance, after all.”

  “Who do not prey on humans,” he said between clenched teeth.

  “Regardless, I wouldn’t feel the least bit comfortable there. Or safe.”

  He fought the anger that welled within him over the fact she actually thought he’d let someone harm her. His gaze narrowed on her. “Have I not given you a good enough idea of my feelings for you?”

  Her cheeks flushed. “What happened last night…that was only a dream.”

  “Really?”

  She moved away from the fireplace, as though the heat were suddenly unbearable. “I can’t explain why it was so powerful.”

  “Are you going to conveniently say I manipulated your senses?”

  She spun back to face him, looking indignant. “Of course not. That would suggest I have absolutely no control over my own thoughts or body. I assure you, I do.”

  Although the admission contradicted her point about it only being a dream that had transpired between them.

  His brow jerked. “You didn’t exactly demand I leave your bed or your body after I’d mentally removed Michael from both.”

  The flush spread down her neck. “This really isn’t something we should discuss.”

  “Hard to deny how we responded to each other.”

  “I can’t explain it,” she repeated. “I’m sure you can’t either.”

  “Yes, actually, I can.” Despite his better judgment, he reached for her and gently coaxed her toward him. His head dipped and his lips brushed over hers. A whisper of a kiss that made her gasp. And that caused his cock to immediately swell in the crotch of his leather pants. “What bothers you most?” he asked as she tensed in his loose embrace. “The fact I pulled you into my arms or that you willingly came?”

  She stared up at him, myriad emotions swirling in her bright blue eyes. “I don’t know,” she said, breathless. “I don’t understand what happened last night. How…real…it felt.”

  “Perhaps that was because we both wanted it. We wanted each other.”

  “But I didn’t even know you at the time. I’d never seen you before.”

  “And yet I commanded your passion in a way Michael never has. Am I correct?”

  Her eyelids fluttered closed. Likely so he couldn’t see the flicker of lust in them—an easy assumption to make because her body relaxed against him and she let out a long sigh.

  His lips grazed her temple, and he muttered, “I can’t have you in reality. That dream was the only intimate connection I can ever make with you.” A notion that disturbed him greatly, especially as his gut twisted and his groin tightened. But he couldn’t give in to the desire she so easily evoked.

  Rather, he released her and stepped away.

  Her eyes opened and she stared up at him. “You won’t invade my mind again, will you? Not with another fantasy?” Disappointment tinged her provocative voice.

  “No.” He found it a torturous confirmation to make, so he changed the subject. “If you won’t allow the protection of the castle walls, then I’ll have Morgan, the general of my army, escort you to your cottage. I only ask one thing of you. Stay there until we’ve discovered your hunter.”

  She opened her mouth, to protest no doubt, but he silenced her with a stern look.

  “It won’t take long, I promise you, now that we have an idea of what we’re up against. Just stay put, Jade. Can you do that?” He was certain his expression was a compelling one.

  Taking him aback, she reached out a hand and swept her thumb over the dip between his brows, which he’d felt crease with his consternation and concern for her well-being.

  “You want to help me? A human?”

  “Yes,” he said in a low tone, his body tightening further at her delicate touch. “If you’ll let me.”

  Her hand fell away. With another sigh, she told him, “I will do as you ask. But only for a few days. I work with Michael at the tavern and I don’t want to leave him stranded for long.”

  “Very well. We’ll make sure we’re expeditious in our pursuit.” He moved away from her and retrieved the cloak. Handing it over, he said, “You’ll need this on the way back to the meeting hall. It’s snowing again.”

  She gazed out the window and then at the garment. With a slight shake
of her head, she said, “That’s much too personal and people will take note.” Squaring her shoulders, she added, “You are the Demon King, after all. Try not to forget it.” She winked at him, despite the tension that had lingered between them.

  He liked how her impulsive jest lightened the mood. “Nice to see you have a sense of humor.”

  “It’s not all doom and gloom being a human. We have roses and sunshine from time to time too. Just like you.”

  Pulling open the door of the library, he gestured for her to precede him. He trailed behind her on the sidewalk, wondering how he’d go back to maintaining his distance when it came to this woman. Their mental encounter had felt remarkably real to him as well, and now that he’d spoken with Jade and had kissed her lips in reality, he was more captivated by her than before.

  Truly an inconceivable and reckless predicament to find himself in. Yet here he was, swearing protection, willing to take on any demon fathomable in order to keep her safe.

  A human. A mortal. A woman he could never have. Except for that one time in the fantasy they’d shared. And holy hell had his climax been an explosive one as he’d reveled in her heat and her tight, wet depths. He could recall every sensation his mind had conjured, even now. Her soft skin against his. Their arms and legs entwined. Her sexy moans and the way she’d moved with him and had arched her back to keep their bodies sealed.

  A low grunt fell from his lips.

  Glancing over her shoulder, she asked, “Something wrong?”

  “No.” He rolled his eyes. “Yes. But…no.”

  She gave him a look that made him believe she knew exactly what he was thinking. Then she returned her attention to the lightly populated walkway. The sideways glances they received from the villagers were of sheer relief. The Demon King had not harmed the human. Great. He was a monster in everyone’s eyes.

  Though, perhaps not in Jade’s…?

  * * * * *

  Michael, Lisette and the slayers awaited her return—with mounting anxiety if the stressful looks on their faces were any indication. Jade entered the community hall and Michael rushed toward her. She warned him off with a discreet lifting of her hand and he stopped in his tracks. Sparking conflict between both her former and her phantom lovers would not bode well for any of them.