Demon Untamed (34 page)

“If we get there.” He took a swig of his ale.

Sonya had nothing to counter that with, so instead, she traipsed to the other end of the bar, toward the mercenaries. “Ivan, you fellas alright down here?”

Ivan jiggled his empty bottle. “Could use a refill,
lun feist
.” Sweet fire. That was what Ivan liked to refer to her as. His sweet fire. It was better than rotten female, though not so good as little temptress.

“Tell me, Ivan,” she said as she retrieved a fresh bottle of liquor and popped the lid for him. “What is the debt you owe Ethan?”

“He’s not told you?”

Sonya shook her head.

“Well, it’s no secret. That rake had to go and save my skin. Won’t let me forget it either.” Though the words sounded disgruntled, the corners of his lips quirked.

“How did he save you?”

“Dead as a fleck in space, I was. Well, not quite, but getting there. Before my blood ran cold, Ethan…” Lost for words, Ivan put his palms up and wiggled his fingers.

“Oh,” Sonya said, understanding. Ethan had used his gift to heal Ivan.

“Even before that, we’d been watching each other’s arses. Seemed we were alike back then, at least when it came to wrong place wrong time scenarios. Brothers in bad luck, as it were.” He shrugged. “We’d been swindled onto a ship and forced to work under a tyrant’s rule. Bastard got what was coming to him, though. Unfortunately, I caught the overflow. Bad day, that.”

“Pirates almost killed you,” Sonya said, remembering Ethan’s story.

“Ah, so he did mention me. Been squeezing favors out of me ever since.” Ivan took a long gulp. “Better believe this is the last one.”

“I couldn’t care less if it’s the last, as long as you’re fully invested in this one. What of the ships you promised?”

“Don’t you worry,
lun feist
. On their way.”

* * *

Ethan relaxed on the soft tuft of grass where he’d been sitting for the past hour.

The Sanctuary was teeming with magic as Anya sent out tendrils of energy, purposefully messing with the bright overhead lights.

Kyra lay back next to Ethan, unable to call her gift for fear of losing control of it—which, from what Ethan could discern, would most assuredly mean death to anyone close by, perhaps even the entire ship. But she remained attentive to Ethan’s teachings.

Nadua sat with her legs crossed, still looking shaken after the recent influx of power that had bombarded her the other day. Ethan imagined the experience had been harrowing for her. As a result, doubt in her own abilities ran rampant in her mind. She wasn’t putting in the effort that she should.

“Try again,” he encouraged, facing her. “It took me a long time to learn to block my power so as not to become overwhelmed. Now I can pick out an individual intent without calling to mind every single one in the vicinity.”

Nadua pursed her lips. “I don’t want that kind of pain again. It felt like my brain was turning to mush.”

“Too much information can do that. Next time it happens, choose one thought—or image—something solid and dear to your heart, to keep an anchor in reality.”

“And let the magic flow through me,” she muttered, reciting one of the ancient teachings. Then she shared a look with Kyra.

“Precisely,” Ethan replied. “Now, try again.” For the last few hours, Nadua had been attempting to pick through the deluge of future and past events to single out one for study. Specifically, one of Ethan’s memories.

To make it harder, he’d challenged her to seek out a specific one—the moment he’d finally held the book in his hands. For Nadua, it would be like walking through a forest in search of a single tree among millions, but if her gift was anywhere near as powerful as her father’s, Ethan was confident she could manage.

Nadua closed her eyes and settled deeper into her seated position. After a long while of nothing, her head canted. “I see…” Her brows furrowed. “Lost it, hold on.”

Ethan scanned her intentions, finding determination. He waited patiently.

When she spoke again, her voice came out even and smooth, as though she had entered a trance. “There are people in a room, angry…focused on you.” Her head turned as if witnessing something from behind her closed lids. “Violet eyes, no, red, coming at you with furry. My gods, she is going to kill you.”

“Take everything in. Where are you?” Ethan said.

“Large room…inside of a cave.”

His asteroid base. She was very close to their goal. He debated telling her to move forward in time, but she was doing so well, he was afraid to interrupt her again.

“She’s down now. She looks ill or something. You can’t stop looking at her eyes. They’re so…beautiful. You’re saying something to her, but she looks to have fallen asleep.
Vietta Anu
.”

Ethan stilled. Little temptress
of my heart
. He hadn’t recalled saying that. He did recall how long he’d indulged in staring at her before reluctantly shutting her in the cell with the others.

“Move forward, Nadua. Find the book.”

Her head tilted again. “There’s a box…on a desk. I feel your excitement as you open it. There’s a code to unlocking it.” Nadua smiled. “The combination of our birth years: Mother’s, Kyra’s, mine, and Anya’s. You retrieve the book from within, and…relief is extensive.” Nadua’s eyes flashed open, and she clapped her hands together. “I did it!”

Anya and Kyra both offered excited congratulations.

“Very good, Nadua,” Ethan said. “Now try again.”

Her expression fell, but after a moment, she let out a slow breath and closed her eyes.

* * *

A squeal of laughter burst out of Sonya as Ethan tossed her to the bed. Her hair was wild, spread over his pillow like rays of a dark sun.

How had this female enchanted him so thoroughly?

She watched him, heavy lidded, as he crawled over her. Just before dipping his head for a sensuous kiss, he caught a glimmer of her little fangs. A beautiful snake, waiting to strike. So then why was he drawn to her? Every day he wanted more.

Worse, every time he envisioned her fangs sinking into his flesh, he found himself unconsciously nipping at her…actually encouraging her. What not too long ago he had considered a barbaric act, was now the most erotic idea imaginable.

Some part of him realized what was happening—
Vietta Anu
—but he wasn’t ready to admit it aloud. There were things between them that needed resolving. And even though they’d been unable to keep their hands off each other over the last few days, Sonya was still as tight lipped as ever.

He pulled back to look at her. Undisguised desire pooled behind her hooded lids. A single fang nibbled at her bottom lip, mesmerizing him for an instant.

He moved in to claim her lips once more, maybe brush a fang with his tongue, but she turned her head. “Don’t. I…I need a minute.”

Her breath heaved, and he was drawn to the rise and fall of her breasts under the tight bodice, its loosened strings dangling haphazardly over her chest.

Pulling at them, he finished undoing the knots, freeing her from the garment. When he bent to take one taut peak between his lips, she moaned softly, arching for him, but the change in her mood finally penetrated the haze of his mind.

He positioned himself by her side and pulled her into the line of his body. “What is it?”

Again she nibbled her lip, looking far too sexy and…guilty?

Then it hit him. “Ah, you want to put those pretty fangs in me.”

Her eyes flared wide, but she didn’t deny it. Just as she’d done many times before, she asked him to confirm that wasn’t what he wanted—and he did, even though he secretly wasn’t sure. He feared how she would react if he put it on the table. Would she finally push him away for good?

She hid her fangs behind tight lips.

“Tell me about your home,” he asked, hoping to get her mind off whatever was causing her anxiety.

It didn’t work.

She frowned and rolled off the bed.

His eyes followed her movement, but he remained on the bed as she glowered at him.

She knew he wasn’t interested her home world. Not really. It had been obvious, ever since Cale’s outburst, that his curiosity festered. Every now and again, he would pick for information she wasn’t ready to give. She had caught him speaking with Sebastian just the other day, inquiring about their family’s history. He hadn’t known she’d been listening from inside the stock room.

Sebastian hadn’t revealed much. In truth, he didn’t have much to reveal. She hadn’t discussed that night with her brothers. Not fully. All they knew was that Sebastian had come home to find their father’s bloodied, lifeless body on the floor; her, huddled in a compartment under a set of window seats, frozen in shock.

After all this time, she still wasn’t ready to relive it.

“First, tell me about Evlon,” she hedged.

He bent his arm and propped his head on his palm, offering one of those looks that made her feel all too exposed. “Two suns orbit my world,” he started. “Our ancient ancestors worshiped them, believing that, united, they fuel the magic that encompasses Evlon.”

Her anxiety began to wane. She rejoined him on the mattress, her curiosity piqued. His arm opened in welcome. When she settled, he rested his palm on her hip, caressing lightly with his thumb.

“Is it true?” she urged him on.

He responded with a sly smile. “Your turn to tell me something.”

She hesitated. “We didn’t have royalty like you. Instead, we had village councils. Elders who presided over each town. They mostly just settled disputes between landowners and discussed matters that pertained to everyday life. Pretty dull stuff, to be honest.” She glanced up at him, “So, is it true?”

His lips thinned, but amusement curled the corners. “Partly, I believe so. For example, twice a year, the suns align in the sky. Somehow it causes a…unique effect on us.” He paused thoughtfully, as if remembering. “I haven’t felt the power of it in so long. I can’t imagine how it would overwhelm me now.” He gave her a meaningful look.

“Well? What happens to you?”

“Uh-uh. Your turn.”

She frowned, not liking this game. “There isn’t much to tell,” she replied. “We lived simple lives, only starting to delve into science and technology when the Kayadon arrived. Very few of us had ever been off planet before that, though we’d been aware of the outer races for some time.”

“Hmm.” He leaned back on the mattress and clasped his hands behind his head.

She waited for him to speak. When he didn’t reply, she whined, “Well?”

“Well what?”

She poked him in the side. “Tell me!”

He rolled on top of her, capturing and bringing her arms above her head. She jutted her chin, growing irritated, yet aroused at the same time.

He smirked. “At twilight, the sky turns violet, with streaks of crimson. It will forever remind me of your eyes.”

She blinked twice, taken aback by the sudden tenderness in his voice.

“I love you, you silly woman. Why won’t you let me in?”

Her breath caught, and her heart jerked into overdrive. “You what?” She became acutely aware of the hard muscles of his body over hers, keeping her in place.

“I love you,” he repeated irefully. He hadn’t intended to blurt it out like that, but he could no longer hold back. Her stubbornness was never ending.

“But…you can’t,” she insisted, eyes going wide.

“Can’t I?” he said. He could tell if he wasn’t partly restraining her, she would have bolted. Was the idea of mating with him so revolting to her that she would deny her very nature? Yet still her fangs advertised her desire.

“You’re the one who doesn’t want to be with me like that. You just said so.”

“You misunderstand. What I want is for you to be upfront with me. This pirate thing hangs between us. How can we overcome it if you won’t talk to me about it?”

Swiftly, she fired off, “It’s nothing. I’m over it anyway. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That sounded convincing.”

“Shut up! Get off of me!” She bucked, but he held fast.

“I just told you that I love you, and you want to run away?”

“Do you think I should love you back just because you’re supposedly my mate?”

“Pretty much. Yeah.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. He didn’t believe for a second she didn’t love him. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?”

“Because, since you couldn’t trick it out of me, you’re trying to force it. You’re always making me do things I’m not ready for!”

Her words sliced through him, and he released her.

As if she couldn’t get away from him fast enough, she scrambled off the bed, refusing to look at him as she laced up her bodice. He could tell she was going to leave without a word. Probably wouldn’t talk to him for a full week or two, maybe ever.

“Wait, Sonya.”

She paused halfway to the door, keeping her back to him.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Please don’t go. I can tell you keep me at a distance, and it’s driving me crazy, but I won’t bring it up again. Alright?”

Her shoulders hunched, and he thought she might be wavering. An agonizing moment later, she turned to face him.

“You keep me so off balance,” she admitted. “I have no idea how to deal with”—she gestured between them as if the right words escaped her—“all of this.”

He pursed his lips, unsure how to proceed. Finally, he said, “If you come back to bed, I’ll tell you what happens when the suns align.”

Repressing a grin, she replied, “Resorting to bribery?”

Already he knew he’d won. “Usually the best course of action.”

He sensed the debate warring inside her. She wanted to resist, yet she wanted to submit. He imagined she had never experienced those conflicting emotions at the same time, at least before he’d come along.

Taking the choice from her, he pushed off the bed and crossed to her. Her gaze followed him cautiously, as if she thought he might attack.

“No longer curious?” he drawled in a husky voice.

She averted her eyes, and one smooth shoulder hiked nonchalantly.