Eternal Rider (17 page)

“Why?” Ares’s voice was so deep it vibrated all the way to her insides, and oddly, she liked the sensation. “Because the underworld is full of demons.” He looked down at his arm, where the horse tattoo seemed to move, as though a breeze was fluttering its mane. She recalled seeing his real stallion shift into smoke and turn into that tattoo, and yep, that was one more thing to ask him about. “Most demons who live in the human realm like things the way they are now. But the ones who are stuck in Sheoul want out, so they’re joining Pestilence’s cause to kill you. And Pestilence wants you dead because your death will break my Seal.”

“And that’s bad?”

He laughed, but this time the lack of humor in it chilled her blood, which already felt sluggish, thanks to the orc stuff. “Bad? Cara, your death will bring about the Apocalypse. Utter destruction. The end of the world as we know it. So yes, your death is bad.”

“That would be a bummer.” At some point, she’d grasped his hand. She should be mortified, because she was stroking his palm lightly with her fingers. But she’d also just said that her death causing an Apocalypse would be a bummer, so what the hell? “Orc-water is awesome.”

One brown eyebrow shot up. “I think Vulgrim might have made it a little strong.”

“Oh! Speaking of strong… the vodka. I didn’t drink any vodka, did I? That night I took care of Hal and you kidnapped me.”

His long fingers curled around hers, and her entire body went all liquid and warm. “I staged it after I wiped your memory. I wanted you to think you had a reason for not remembering what happened.”

“Might have worked, except I don’t drink. Ever.” She sat forward. “Can I have more orc-water?”

His lips quirked as he pushed the bottle out of her reach. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Probably not. Especially since her eyelids were starting to feel heavy. But her insides had gone in the opposite direction. They were positively dancing, doing a jig with her hormones, which seemed to have awakened from a deep sleep since meeting Ares. “You smell really good. And you’re extremely handsome. Your face is a little cruel, though.” His scowl proved her point. “Your brother was scary. You’re scary, too. Are you evil?”

“Not yet. But that’s why we have to keep you alive, Cara. If you die, I’m going to go very, very bad.”

“Like when you kissed me? That was bad.”

“It wasn’t a kiss. And it wasn’t
bad
.” He sounded so put out that she smiled.

“Your mouth was on mine.” Her vision had begun to blur, but she could see his lips clearly. They were so perfect. And if she remembered right, they were also very firm, but smooth. She reached out, touched the pad of one finger to his lower lip.

His mouth parted on a harsh inhale, and something fluttered in her stomach. Maybe the orc-water. Slowly, she traced his lips with her finger, and yes, they were soft. Velvety. She wanted to feel more of them.

Somewhere in the recesses of her mind a voice screamed that this was wrong, but she was sleepy, loopy, and a little bit… horny. “I’ll show you,” she murmured, as she angled her body forward. “Will show you what a kiss is.”

He reared back, but she caught his mouth with hers, and he locked up as if she’d hit a switch. A giggle rose up in her, but it never made it past her lips. Nope. They were too busy mashing themselves against Ares’s.

She had never been the aggressor in any relationship. Had to be the orc-water. She slanted her mouth over his, the way she remembered him kissing her. His tongue had swept out, traced the seam of her lips, so she did the same.

“This,” she whispered, “is what you did to me.”

A needy, masculine sound rumbled in his chest, a cross between a moan and a growl, and then Ares was on her. He pressed her into the chair, his body crushing hers, his hips cradled between her spread thighs. Again, the voice
deep in her skull screamed that this was a mistake, but her body was relaxed, languid, and after the hell of the last couple of days, all she wanted to do was forget.

Ares planted his fists against the armrests and pushed his upper body off Cara.
Ah, damn
. That shit was
not
cool. She’d been drugged, was drunk on orc-weed, and he’d known the instant she’d touched his mouth with her finger that he should stop her.

Instead, he’d been curious to see what she’d do. He hadn’t thought she’d kiss him. And when she had… it had been the sweetest kiss he’d experienced in, well, ever. Her mouth had been hungry, her tongue slick and hot, and it had lit a fire inside him he’d thought had been long since doused.

And when her fingers dug into the back of his neck, the fire had flamed out of control. His warrior instincts had demanded that he move in, go on the offensive, and conquer. He had her under him in a heartbeat, his body hard, straining, his mouth tasting willing, sexed-up female.

Now he was covering her, his arousal pressing against her core, his chest tight with uneven breaths. And she was asleep.

Get off her, dumbshit
.

The back of his neck prickled with the sensation of being watched, and he whipped his head around to the source. Vulgrim stood in the doorway between the dining area and the great room, his tiny, piggish eyes bright with speculation and curiosity. No doubt. Ares rarely brought females here. And when he did, they didn’t spend time making out in the living room. They weren’t usually drugged to unconsciousness, either.

Yeah, this looked real good.

“What?” he snapped, as he shoved off Cara. He resisted the urge to explain that this wasn’t a roofie-in-the-drink thing. Ares could have any female he wanted. He didn’t need to drug them, and it wasn’t his servant’s business, even if he
had
done it to have sex with the human.

“I see you’re… busy,” Vulgrim said, his usually flat voice dripping with amusement. “I’ll clean up later.”

“Do that. And tell Torrent to keep a better eye on Rath.” Not that he minded the little furball in the house, but if Pestilence found the baby Ramreel by himself… God, Ares didn’t even want to go there in his thoughts.

He scooped Cara into his arms. Her top splayed open, the ripped-off buttons and torn fabric completing the perverted fuck-her-while-she-sleeps scenario. Excellent.

“I hear Rohypnol is even better than orc-weed, sir,” Vulgrim called out as Ares carried her down the hall.

“I have a torture room in the dungeon,” Ares shot back, and he was only half-kidding. Damned demon.

Problem was, the demon wasn’t half as afraid of Ares as he should be, and as much as Ares wanted to regret allowing Vulgrim and family into Ares’s inner circle, he couldn’t. He didn’t like demons, but Vulgrim was different and had been since the day Ares had rescued him from certain death as a kid.

In his arms, Cara stirred, snuggled against his chest, and wrapped her arms around his neck. A curious warmth filtered through him, something he couldn’t quite identify, but it was… nice.

There is no room for tenderness in our world. Warriors fight. They fuck. They kill. That is all
. His father’s voice—the voice of the human male who had raised him—still
clanged around in Ares’s skull after all this time. As a toddler, Ares had been beaten for showing too much kindness toward animals and slaves. His gentle side had literally been battered out of him by the time he was ten. He’d gotten the message loud and clear. Don’t get attached to anyone or anything, because possessions were easy to lose, power was fluid, and living things died easily.

No shit. He’d forgotten that lesson eventually, and his family had paid for his failure. In blood.

Cara began to snore, delicate rumblings he tried to find unattractive. Not cute. Nope, not cute at all. He told himself that over and over as he carried her to one of his five bedrooms, choosing the master suite. It had a bathroom, the biggest bed, and in the corner, a chair where he could sit and watch her if he needed to. It also sat at the edge of the cliff and boasted the best view, best sea breeze, a patio, and was nearly inaccessible from the outside.

He laid her on the mattress, had to peel her fingers off his neck, and did his best to avert his gaze from her gaping shirt as he drew a sheet over her. Okay, maybe not his
best
. Ah, hell, the effort was pathetic. He needed to get her new pajamas. Immediately.

With a soft sigh, she curled on her side and snuggled into the sheets. A twinge of jealousy pricked at him. He didn’t remember ever nestling into a bed like that—it was such a human thing to do. But then, even when he’d believed he was human, he’d felt disconnected, as if he didn’t belong. He’d gone through the motions of getting married, having a family, and enjoying life, but he’d always known deep down that something wasn’t right. That he was meant for something bigger, and he didn’t need or deserve human comforts or feelings.

He realized he’d been hovering over Cara, lost in his thoughts, his hands cradling her head because he had no pillows on the bed, his fingers stroking her smooth cheek. Hissing, he jerked away with such force that he threw himself off balance and had to catch himself on the chair before he landed on his ass. Son of a bitch. Both the stumble and the drifting thoughts were clumsy, uncharacteristic, and as much as he wanted to blame the
agimortus
… okay, yeah, he’d blame it. No way was a woman making him addled, no matter how beautiful she was.

Snapping himself back into warrior mode, he assigned guards to the patio, the roof, and within sight of each of the windows. Once he was satisfied that nothing, not even one of Pestilence’s rats, could sneak into the room, he texted Limos and Thanatos. Both arrived within an hour, and he met them in the great room.

“Tell me you have the human,” Thanatos said, by way of greeting.

He was dressed for battle in his demon-bone plate armor, and his boots boomed like thunderclaps as he strode across the floor. He’d pulled his pale hair back with a leather thong, but the two thin braids on either side of his temples tapped loosely against his face as he walked. In his hand was an icy can of Mountain Dew. He was addicted to the stuff.

Limos entered behind him in orange board shorts, a yellow, orange, and blue Hawaiian print tank top, and floral flip-flops. She even had a yellow flower tucked into her black hair. She was
such
a girl.

“Hey, bro.” She patted Ares on the chest as she walked past him. “What’s up?”

“I have the human. She’s sleeping.”

“Good.” Than tossed back half his soda. “Are you having trouble with her?”

More than you know
. “If you’re asking if she’s combative in my presence, no.”

“What about the effect the
agimortus
has on you?”

Ares clenched and unclenched his fists. Of everything he’d been saddled with when he’d been cursed to be a Horseman, the loss of powers and potential weakness was the one that chafed the most. “When I fought Reseph in York, my armor and sword failed, but I haven’t needed to make use of any of my skills since grabbing Cara.”

Liar
. His reflexes had been slow in the hotel, the proximity to her dulling his ability to sense impending danger. But he couldn’t admit his failings, not even to his brother and sister. He could list all the logical arguments—that it wasn’t his fault, that it wouldn’t have happened with anyone else, yadda-yadda. But bottom line? It was humiliating.

Li shot him a skeptical look, as if she wanted to offer him supernatural Viagra for his
agimortus
issues, but wisely, she kept her trap shut. “How’s she dealing? She can’t be happy to suddenly be the underworld’s most wanted dead.”

“She’s dealing about as well as she can.” He moved to the wet bar near the fireplace. Tequila had a way of replacing the raw burn of shame with its own brand of fire. “For now, at least.”

“Is she showing signs of weakness?” Li’s violet eyes lit up as Ares ducked behind the granite counter. “Yes, please. Something fruity.”

“You want an umbrella, too?” She flipped him the bird. One of these days, his sister would learn to like proper
drinks, not sugary girly crap. “No weakness that I can tell yet. The bond with the hellhound is going to keep her strong for a little while. We need to find the animal, though, because if it dies, so does she. I have a place for us to start—a street in York, and we can go door to door if we have to. We also need to hunt for a fallen angel so Cara can transfer the
agimortus
, and we’ll have some breathing room.”