“No, I don"t. But you"re going to tell me.”
“No, I"m not,” she said, mocking his tone. “Not „til you tell me who you are.”
457
He nodded. “All right then. Since you haven"t figured it out yet; I"m your
husband, your king.”
Rayne released a breathless giggle, amused and slightly disturbed at the
same time. “I don"t know about all of that, brah.”
There was a strong connection with this man, one she could hardly resist.
Could he really be her husband? Nah.
“I don"t recall tying the knot with anybody, especially with a blonde-haired
Asian guy. That would kinda stick out in the memory bank, don"t cha think?”
He closed the gap between them. “You and I were joined once you were
born. You feel me, yes? My essence runs through your blood stream.” He slipped
his hands over her hips and to her surprise; she didn"t try to stop him. “You feel me
running through you when the night calls, when the moon is full, when the need
to be loved hard and slow surges through your core.” She glanced down, wanting
to feel him, but only felt brush of wind in the wake of his touch. “You feel me
running through you when the slightest glance of a neck sets your body on fire.”
A lump formed in her throat as his hands moved around her hips to her
backside.
Groaning, he licked his lips. “Wonder why you can"t stop touching yourself
or that sex with your lover doesn"t appease your appetites anymore?” Sinking to
his knees, he trailed his hands down the back of her thighs to grip her calves.
458
“Wonder why your horrific visions terrify you, yet intrigue you at the same time?
You ignore the calling of your true nature to remain under the guise of a human
form, but I can help you grasp your identity.”
It suddenly became difficult to listen and watch his hands at the same time.
This man was working her over something fierce, trailing his hands over every
peak and cranny, exploring her without pause. The feeling of disbelief hung in the
back of her mind with a spiraling ribbon of pleasure. It baffled her that she"d allow
this strange man to run his hands all over her body, and even more shocking, she
thoroughly enjoyed it.
The breezy touch of his hands climbed up her legs then to front of her
thighs. “You are an exquisite creation. Voluptuous and curvy. Such a powerful
frame. Even sexier than I imagined.”
“You imagined?” she strained out on a whisper, shivering when he lifted her
shirt to brush his lips across her stomach. “Uhm, may-maybe you should slow it
down there boy,” she pushed out on a breath, anticipating him to deepen his kiss
on her exposed skin. “We, uh, we just met.”
Then something happened, that couldn"t have been real. An abnormally long
tongue shot out of his mouth and wrapped around her waist like a possessive
snake. She stared wide eyed as he withdrew his lengthy, slithery tongue back into
his mouth with a grin.
459
“Okay, that wasn"t weird at all,” she jested nervously, pushing away from
him. “You we"re on a roll until you wrapped the freaky, long tongue around me.”
Smiling, he stood. “That"s not the only thing freaky long on me.”
“Ooo yeah, I bet.” Tickled, she shot a shifty glance down at his crotch.
He chuckled and eased toward her, staring blindly into her eyes. “Tell me
you loved my hands on your body, my dear Queen. Your arousal oozed through
your energy field. Think of how much pleasure I could give you if we weren"t so far
away from one another.”
“Sounds nice, but I think…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I think if
we we"re supposed to be together, you wouldn"t be so far away.”
“Your doubt in our union is holding me at bay,” he whispered, suddenly
behind her. His long blonde hair fell over her shoulder as he wrapped his arm
around her waist and brushed his lips across her cheek.
She restrained a moan. Damn, she wanted this man with a passion.
“You are a supreme being, a divine force. Anything you want is right in the
palm of your hand, including me. Call me to your side, and I will give you what you
need for all eternity.”
Flustered by the rapture of his touch, she turned her head and allowed his
lips to inch closer to her mouth. Shaken, she caught herself and shoved away from
him.
460
“Eternity?” She spun and glared at him. “Right. Since you know so much
about me, and wanna give me what I need, why don"t you tell me exactly what I am.
Am I a Xsonri, or something more?”
“Of course.” He bowed earnestly. “I will tell you whatever you want to
know, but first, you must finish your meal, my love.”
“Wha…”
He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face Troy. This time the
touch, which was almost nonexistent before held a compelling force behind it. She
felt his grip heating her skin.
“Finish him.”
Troy was motionless. His legs hung off the bed, his breaths labored and
faint, his color gradually fading. He was dying.
“He needs to die in your embrace. You"ve already delivered him to the void of
death from where there is no return. If you finish what you"ve started, he will
suffer no more.”
Tears filled her eyes. What had she been thinking? How could she do that to
him?
“No, hell no.” She writhed out of his grasp. “This is beyond fucked up. This
is―I can"t believe I did this to him. I"m sorry, Troy. I have to get him to the
461
hospital,” she muttered quickly, wringing her hands together. “Maybe they can
give him a blood transfusion or something.”
The blonde hair gent bellowed out in laughter.
She grimaced and suddenly hated him for that. “Oh, so you think this shit is
funny?”
“Your faith in humans is wonderfully mirthful. Foolish girl, they can"t save
him, and even if they could, he is poisoned by your bite. He will continue to come
back for more until you"ve drained him dry.”
His words squeezed her heart. “I don"t care what you say. I"m gonna try
anyway.”
She ran toward the door to go retrieve her phone, but was grabbed from
behind and slammed into the wall.
With the wind knocked out of her, she started to sink to the floor. He
grabbed her by the throat and yanked her up right.
“Why are you resisting me? You are not supposed to resist me,” he growled,
his eyes solid red and his eyeteeth lengthening. “You refuse to remove your barrier,
blinding me from your identity! Who is he?”
“Who is who? What the hell are you talking „bout?” she choked out, trying
to gather her wits.
“Who is the creature you think you belong to?”
462
“It ain"t you.”
Tilting his head, he reluctantly released her neck, then laughed. “You live to
try my patience, my little defiant angel. I"ll enjoy fucking you into submission.” The
pads of his long fingers left a heated trail along her collarbone.
“What.” She giggled and slapped his hand away. “Fuck me into submission,
huh? Good
luck with that.”
He leaned in and placed his lips to her ear. “You"ll regret this disrespect.”
A bizarre sensation came over her. She found herself wanting to lock her
thighs around him, but at the same time, she wanted to rip his head off. It was
outside of insane. He invigorated her, vexed her and made her horny as hell. She
couldn"t think straight long enough to figure out what she wanted to feel.
“Yeah? What are you gonna do to make me regret it?”
She glanced over his shoulder at her ex-lover stirring sluggishly on the bed.
He was fighting to live. Hang in there Troy.
“You play a very dangerous game, my Queen. Finish the boy, so that I may
taste your body.”
“And if I don"t?”
Growling like an agitated lion, he slid down the length of her to his knees
and smashed his face into her crotch. His touch was once again like the brush of a
feather. His form became ghostly. A deep rumble traveled from his mouth through
463
her insides as the breeze sifted between her thighs and parted her folds. She held
back a whimper, dug her head into the wall and grabbed a hand full of his hair,
which was nothing more than weightless cotton to her touch. Her hips rolled
against the soft zephyr of his tongue. It caressed her hardened pearl, back and
forth until her body was on the brink of climax.
Demetri.
She quickened and yanked his head back. Those sexy turquoise eyes burned
in her mind as if he was watching her at that very moment. She looked down into
the stranger"s lust filled face. Her attraction to him was strong, but not strong
enough to eliminate the feeling that something was terribly wrong with this
picture.
“My beautiful Dragon Goddess, drop your barrier against me,” he pleaded,
spreading his arms out to her. “I can"t smell you. I can"t taste you. I can"t even
fucking see you!” He shot off the ground and grabbed her neck. “You subject me to
only feel your spiritual presence! I need to feel your skin against mine. Free me of
this torture. Finish the boy!”
Through his scarlet glare, screaming faces came forth, covered in blood,
slashed beyond recognition. Then she saw him, wielding a blade, slicing, feeding,
raping. The image of the beautiful creature before her was the damned devil.
“You killed all of those people!”
464
“Yes! Their souls belong to me.”
Heat crept up behind her eyes. “Oh my God!”
A piercing shriek erupted from him, stinging her ears. Something
sideswiped her ankles. She tumbled to the floor. Before she could right herself, he
was on top of her.
“You are never to speak his name in my presence,” he hissed between
clenched fangs, his face inches from hers. “Or many more will die in your honor.”
She struggled beneath him. “Get your Satan ass off of me, bitch!”
Chuckling, he brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. “You are
wrong, my Queen. I am not Satan. However, you would not be wrong to class me
as such, since his blood runs through my veins, and it also runs through yours,” he
finished on a chilling whisper.
“I don"t give a damn who you are. Get off of me,” she sneered, trying to push
his body away only to have her hands go right through him.
He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. “You were born to
love me, to stand by my side as my Queen, and you shall,” he growled. “We will
rule the underworld and the earthly realm, together, destroying anyone who stands
in our path. Through your blood…” He leaned in closer and brushed his nose across
hers. “We will overthrow my father and the seven levels of hell will be brought
forth.” A serene expression came over his face as his voice lowered to a soft croon.
465
“Then once all is ours, you will bear me a child, one with power immeasurable.
This is your duty as my Queen.” He traced his fingers along her neckline. “Until we
are joined the image of my face will carve your mind, and stain your dreams. Your
body will ache for me, your core will yearn for me, and every thought you"ll have
from this night forth will be of our union.”
A devious smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “You"re too late, potna. My
thoughts are on somebody else. My core yearns for somebody else,” she mocked.
His fangs stretched so long, he looked like a saber tooth tiger. Amazingly,
she wasn"t the least bit moved by his anger.
“But I promise to take a second to think about you every now and then so
you won"t feel left out.”
“Foolish half-blood bitch!”
The walls shattered around them. Chunks of the house floated by in slow
motion.
He reared back, his fist cocked, prepared to strike. Eyeing the gradual
movement of his intent, Rayne slammed her hand into his chest. Words unknown
seeped from her lips. A zip of static energy spiraled up her arm and shot out of her
palm, sending him flying across the room like a ragdoll.
466
Once released, she scrambled to her feet, just in time to witness a long
grotesque tail spool out from behind him. His feet transform into massive claws
and his platinum-blonde hair stood straight up on his head.
His true form.
His body bulked up to twice the size, his talons and tail struck the floor.
Leather wings shot out of his back and unfurled into a span of blackness.
He released an earth-shattering growl, giving way to deathly cries and
Undaunted, she stood her ground on the small section of floor beneath her.
Her shoulder blades throbbed fiercely. Fear no longer had meaning to her. She
narrowed her heated glare at him.
“Stop running your mouth and bring it then, devil boy!”
“Oh I will, very soon, my Queen.” He ascended with a bow then vanished
within the flames. “Very soon.”
467
Chapter Twenty-Three
Full Moon
The flames dissipated and vaporized into a white mist. Rayne blinked
rapidly and steadied her breathing as the structure of her house collected itself.
Broken pieces of glass and shattered dry wall mended together to form her room
again.
She peered around, looking for any signs of Mr. Green-eyed, devil boy.
Thank God, he was gone.
She rushed over to Troy and placed a shaky hand on his chest. His sluggish
heartbeat faintly knocked against her palm. God, please don"t let him die.
“Troy! Troy, please, open your eyes!” Panicked, she shook his chest. “Baby,
c"mon, wake up!”
His lids fluttered. “It"s cool,” he slurred. “You know you my baby.”
“Hey.” She slapped his face. “Hey, get up, okay. I"m gonna take you to the
hospital.” Pained emotion cracked her voice. Tears blurred her eyes. “God, Troy I"m
so sorry. I couldn"t control myself.” She darted over to her dresser, yanked out a
pair of sweat pants and all but jumped into them.
468
After tying her hair back in a ponytail, she ran over to the bed, slipped her
arm under his shoulders and tried to help him sit up.
A stabbing pain attacked her
gut. “Oh God!” Wincing and groaning, she
stumbled back and doubled over.
“Contain your blood hunger, my lady. I know it is painful, but you must not take this
mortal"s life.”
The woman"s voice was drowned out by the weak pulsing blood in Troy"s
veins. It called out to her. She backed away, inching closer to the door. She
wouldn"t be able to take him anywhere without feeding on him again. Her only
other option was to call the ambulance and get the hell out of the house.
Troy"s lids dragged open. “Naw girl, doan go.” He groggily reached for her.
“Bite me again.”
The words formed a chant in her mind, causing her incisors to lengthen.
With tears sliding down her cheeks, she tried desperately to will back what
roared inside of her. She wanted to bite him so bad it hurt.
“God, please, I can"t,” she sobbed. “Please don"t ask me to.”
“It"s good, girl. Do it.”
“Shut up, Troy!” she cried out, palming her stomach. “You don"t know what
you"re asking me to do!”
469
She ran out of the room and down the hall in search of her phone, then
suddenly stopped.
The patter of the rain was louder than usual. She crept into the living room.
The scent of blood and wet dog assaulted her senses. As she drew closer, she
noticed the curtains whipping about violently in the wind. The large window
behind them had been shattered.
Fresh blood dripped down the jagged glass shards protruding from the
window pane. Like a trail of bread crumbs, drops of the crimson fluid dotted her
tan carpet and led to the den. Praying under her breath, she followed the trail, then
peeked around the partition wall and froze when her eyes fell upon the gruesome
sight.
She watched in horror as the huge wolf beast fed upon the carcass of what
used to be her neighbor"s beloved dog. Sounds of bones cracking and flesh ripping
under the beast"s powerful jaws sickened her to the core. Feeling the invasion of
light headedness, she took a step back, prepared to flee.
Her sudden movement caught the creature"s eye.
Its head popped up and turned in her direction. A deadly snarl ceased her