The Darkest Surrender lotu-9 Read online

  “Actually, I have a one in ten chance of making a felon.”

  A laugh bubbled from her, and he relished the carefree sound.

  Pride filled him. I did that. “Why such low odds?” he asked, curious. If she thought him lacking in that department, well, he’d haul her ass to a specialist, do the cup thing and prove just how exceptional his little swimmers were.

  Ego check.

  Well, they were.

  “Because of my paternal heritage,” she said, a bit hesitant. “The Phoenix have never made children easily. That’s why they’re nearing extinction.”

  “If it’s so hard for them to procreate, how’d your mother have twins with one?”

  Her glow dimmed. “She’s an overachiever.”

  “So are you.” Speaking of kids, though… “When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?” He found that he was desperate to learn about her, her past. Her hopes and dreams.

  A sigh of longing. “To be honest, I wanted to be ruler of the entire world. Or the ruler’s trophy wife.”

  He was the one to laugh this time.

  She lifted her head long enough to glare at him. “What?”

  “I like your goals, that’s all. They’re cute. Like you.”

  “Cute.” She rolled her eyes. “Exactly what every girl wants to be in the eyes of the man she, you know, is riding like a carnival pony.”

  Now who was the smart-ass? “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with cute. I’m cute as a button.”

  Another roll of her eyes and she settled back into his side. “I’ve mentioned your humbleness before, I’m sure. It’s touching, really. So what did you want to be when you grew up?” Her fingers traced little circles over his chest.

  He clasped her hand and brought those fingers to his mouth, kissing the digits before returning them to his chest. “I was never a kid, so I never thought about it.”

  “Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting. So why do you have a birthmark on your ass?”

  An eyebrow arched up. “Noticed that, did you?”

  “I’m very observant,” she said gravely. “Had nothing to do with checking you out all the time or following you with stalkerlike focus.”

  Adorable girl. “It’s not a birthmark. It’s a tattoo. Or what remains of one.” And something he never discussed, but this was Kaia. “A woman challenged me to have her name inked into my skin. I did, but I had Sabin there to tattoo over it if the stupid thing couldn’t be removed.”

  “You killed the woman, of course.”

  So bloodthirsty, his Kaia, but then, that was one of the things he loved about her. “I killed her dreams of happily ever after with me.”

  She nodded in understanding. “Now she suffers eternally. Good job. But, man, that’s sad, about your lack of a childhood, I mean.”

  His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Not really. You can’t miss what you don’t know about.”

  “Well, one day very soon, we’re going to take a bath together and I’m going to show you how to play rubber ducky.” Her hand glided down his stomach, swirled around his navel and finally cupped him.

  He jolted in exquisite reflex. “I think I’ll like that game.”

  “Good. And guess what else? You finally earned your nickname.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  Her tongue flicked out, laving his nipple into a tight little bead. “Yeah. Bonin’ the Barbarian.”

  An unexpected snort left him. “I like it. Way better than the Sexorcist.”

  “Way better.”

  “Well, you’ve earned a new nickname yourself, Kaia darling.” When her hand remained on his sac, he reached down and moved her fingers around his ever-hardening cock. Oh, yeah. That was the stuff.

  The location change distracted her from their topic, but only for a few seconds. She tensed. Nicknames were painful for her. He got that. He also got that while she hated her title, she felt like she deserved it. But everyone made mistakes and she’d been blamed for hers long enough. For gods’ sake, she’d been a child. Strider couldn’t even imagine the trouble he would have gotten himself into if he’d grown from child to man, rather than springing to life fully formed.

  Look what he’d done without a childhood. Stolen Pandora’s box. Unleashed demons upon an unsuspecting world. Given away the Cloak of Invisibility to wicked, amoral creatures.

  Enough of that. He rolled on top of Kaia, pinning her with his muscled weight. Automatically her arms looped around his neck—damn, he hated that her fingers were no longer squeezing his length. Oh, well. This was for the greater good. Her legs parted to create a cradle for him.

  He cupped her chin, forcing her gaze to remain on his face. “I want to talk to you about something,” he said.

  In the back of his mind, Defeat ceased moaning with pleasure. Perhaps he sensed Strider’s unease and feared a fight with the Harpy.

  “I know what you want to discuss.” Kaia licked her lips, and the sight of that pink tongue caused his cock to twitch. “Paris, right? Well, you have to—”

  He shook his head. “We’re done with that subject. He’s wiped from your memory now.”

  “For sure! But what happens when I bump into him? If I hang with you, I will. You’ll see us talking and remember that you can never forgive me for—”

  Another shake of his head silenced her. “There’s nothing to forgive, baby doll. You and I weren’t dating then. We weren’t even flirting.”

  Luminous eyes pierced his soul. “But…but…that’s why you resisted me. That’s why you said we couldn’t be together. Not that I think we’re together right now,” she rushed to add.

  “We’re together,” he growled, and his hard tone left no room for doubt. Just try and leave. See what happens.

  Her mouth fell open, revealing those lovely white teeth, minus the fangs. “We are?”

  “We are.”

  “All the way?”

  “All the way. I’m your consort and you’re my woman. Just mine. Do I need to wear a ring or something? Do you?” He recalled the medallions her mother and a few other Harpies had been wearing. Recalled, too, that he’d wanted to talk to her about them. “Or maybe a medallion?”

  “No,” she croaked. “No rings, no medallions. Those are for warriors and mine was taken from me after…you know.”

  No wonder she’d been so upset at the sight of Juliette wearing one. Well, Kaia would get her own and hers would be the best. Like her consort. Ego check. “So we’re officially going steady?”

  Disappointment clouded her delicate features and damn if tears didn’t pool in her eyes. “Yes. Until the end of the games, I know.”

  Whether his admission would distract her or not, he had to tell her. He couldn’t let her wallow like this. “After the games, too. And if anyone needs forgiveness, it’s me, for pushing you away as long and as harshly as I did.” As he spoke, those eyes got bigger and bigger, wetter and wetter. “I’m sorry for that, I am.” He traced her mouth with his thumb. “Believe me, I will regret that forever. Because…damn it, Kaia, I love you.”

  Defeat seemed to freeze inside his head, not daring to move as he listened to the conversation. If Kaia didn’t say those words back, the demon would…what?

  Don’t care. “You don’t have to say anything,” Strider went on. I’ll win her heart. And he wanted to do it without the demon’s influence. Otherwise, Kaia would never believe the feelings were his own and not born from his need for victory. “In fact, I don’t want you to say anything right now. We’ll huddle up about this after the games.”

  She blinked, but gave no other indication that she’d heard what he’d said. “Huddle up? As if we’re playing a few rounds of football?”

  See? She would never let him get away with anything. “You’re allowed to show a little joy about what I said, you know,” he grumbled.

  Her lips pursed before quickly smoothing, as if she didn’t want to reveal a single hint of what she felt. “I can’t.”

  “You can’t?”

  Defeat
growled, liking her response even less than Strider did.

  Finally emotion peeked through Kaia’s expressionless mask and he saw a mix of fear and hope. “I love you, too, I think. I mean, I’ve never let myself consider feeling something deeper then lust, but I’ve never burned for anyone the way I burn for you. But what if I fail you? I won’t deserve you and I’ll have to let you go. You’ll want me to let you go. What if—”

  He kissed her, long and hard, filling her mouth with his tongue and his taste, and demanding a response. She gave it to him, gripping his head and stealing his breath. Hearing the words I love you, even with her uncertainty accompanying them…damn. He was more revved now then he’d been seconds before getting inside her.

  She. Loved. Him. No question. She might not have worked it out in her mind yet, but she loved him and the knowledge slayed him. Slayed. Him. He hadn’t realized how much he’d longed for her love until that moment.

  He was king of the freaking world, man.

  Defeat got his moan on.

  Strider forced himself to end the kiss and rolled to his side. Kaia tried to crawl up his body, tried to finish what they’d started, but a tight grip on her waist locked her at his side. Sex, yeah, they’d go again, but apparently they had to get a few things straight first.

  “You are not Kaia the Disappointment. Do you hear me? That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier. You are Kaia the Mighty. How many Harpies out there do you think could have brought down the most badass Lord of the Underworld? The same Lord who also happens to be the strongest, sexiest and smartest. And by the way, in case there’s any doubt, I’m describing me.”

  “I know.” Tears leaked from her eyes and onto his chest, so hot they left little welts on his skin. “Only me?”

  “That’s right. Only you. Now, challenge me to stay with you.”

  She arched like a bow against him, taut fury making her stiff. “No!”

  “Kaia—”

  “No. I won’t do it. I don’t care what you say. You have to stay of your own free will. Not because you don’t want to be struck with that god-awful pain from your demon.”

  He didn’t want her afraid he’d leave her at any moment, though. “Do it and I’ll give you another orgasm.”

  Slowly she relaxed. “Well…”

  Her cell phone beeped, startling them both. Then his cell phone beeped. One they could have ignored. But both? Something had happened. They jolted up in unison.

  “I bet the competition is over. My gods, my sisters. How could I have forgotten about them?” She scrambled to her discarded clothing and rifled through her shorts pockets.

  He found his cell and they popped the screens at the same time. She gasped. He grunted. Then they peered over at each other, silent.

  “Tell me your news first,” he said.

  “They won.” She sounded dazed and unsure. “They won first place this round. They’re injured, but alive and healing. They also managed to disqualify the Skyhawks. Meaning we’re now on equal footing with my mother.”

  “That’s great.” He frowned when he saw the new flood of tears tracking down her cheeks. “Right?”

  “Right.” A firm nod. “My family is alive and they brought home the victory we needed. I’m so happy I could burst.”

  “But?”

  Her shoulders sagged. “But they did it without me,” she whispered, clearly agonized. “I didn’t help. They don’t need me. I’m a hindrance. They lose when I help, but win when I don’t.”

  His chest constricted. “Baby doll, just because they won without you doesn’t mean you’re a hindrance. That just means they were better prepared this go-round.”

  Silent, she dressed. He sighed and joined her, tugging on his own clothing.

  “Sabin and the angels found Rhea,” he said, even though she hadn’t asked. “Or rather, they found where the goddess was supposed to be. She left in a hurry, they think, and she left days, maybe even weeks ago. Her clothes were thrown all over the place, there were white feathers on the floor and dust on everything.”

  “Feathers. Galen?”

  He nodded. “Sabin said there are no tracks, so it’ll be impossible to hunt either one of them from here. They must have flashed somewhere.”

  “But…why host one of the competitions here if she couldn’t watch?”

  “Maybe her absence was unexpected. Maybe she’d planned to be here, but something stopped her.”

  “And the Hunters?”

  “Maybe she issued orders to kill you before she took off, or maybe someone else was leading them.”

  Kaia straightened, peered at him, head tilting to the side as she pondered. “There’s only one person I know who hates me enough to—” She frowned. She’d taken two steps toward him but now stopped abruptly and looked down at her feet. “I’m stuck. Strider, I’m stuck!”

  He tried to move toward her—but couldn’t. Just like hers, his feet were glued in place. He, too, looked down and frowned. The cave floor was…thinning? Yes, that’s exactly what it was doing. Thinning, losing its rigidity, turning to…mist.

  In a desperate bid to hold on to his woman, he reached out. Just before contact, they fell in unison, whooshing down…down…

  Down.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  KANE AWOKE SLOWLY, THOUGH he gave no indication the synapses in his brain were kinda, maybe firing again. He’d gone to sleep in pain, drugged, and sadly, that had happened many times before in the past few…days? Weeks? He’d trained himself to come out of a stupor and take stock before moving a muscle or uttering a word.

  He ached like a boxer who’d just lost the big match after going eighteen rounds. Though many of his injuries had already begun to heal, the deepest of them still etched his name in the May Not Recover book of regrets. And wouldn’t you know? His demon loved it, every bit of it, giggling inside his head, soaking up the effects of the catastrophe—then and now.

  Kane had a beefy guard on each arm, holding him up, dragging him down a long, winding cave that smelled of sulfur and decay, human feces and acrid fear. He tried not to gag. He knew the scents well, his demon having cohabited with them for centuries.

  There was also a guard in front of him and five behind him. None of them gave any sign they knew he’d awoken.

  As he planned an escape—picturing angels swooping in (not gonna happen), his friends busting through caves walls (again, a no-go) and him turning green and hulking (only in his dreams)—fury flash flooded him. He wouldn’t have to do anything. In the end, his demon would destroy these humans. Disaster lived for moments such as this. And if Kane died in the process, so what?

  He remembered the explosion, remembered William being wheeled away from him and tossed into a different vehicle. William. Was the immortal alive? Being tortured? Probably. The fury intensified. These men would pay. No matter what.

  You hear me, Disaster? They need to pay.

  The giggling became a gleeful laugh that razed the entire circumference of his skull.

  Wait for my signal. None of the guards had any idea about the devastation they were soon to face. And they wouldn’t. Until it was too late.

  When his leader, Sabin, took off to battle Hunters, Kane was often left behind. Too many little disasters ruined their efforts, even sabotaged them. But sometimes…sometimes Kane was sent in alone. When that happened, no one walked away.

  “—too heavy,” one of the guards was panting. “Let’s just leave him here.”

  “Can’t. Doctor’s orders. We transport him to the gate, or we don’t come back.”

  “I’m sweating like a pig.”

  “You are a pig. BBQ much, you fat bastard? The walk is doing your tub of lard body some good.”

  “Eat shit and die, asshole. I have a glandular condition.”

  “I’m with Duane. He sweats any more,” someone else said, “and he’s liable to burst a vessel or something. He won’t make it back, gate or not.”

  The temperature was a bit uncomfortable, the humidity so t
hick you practically needed a knife to cut through it. They were clearly hauling him deeper into the earth, closing in on the gate to…hell? But how would Hunters know how to do that? Why would they do that? That wasn’t their usual M.O.

  Capture, torture and now kill to steal the demon from inside him, that was what they lived for. This made no sense. Made him uneasy, as if he might not be dealing with who he thought he was dealing with.

  He wasn’t going to take time to question them. They’d proven their intentions when they’d pulled their little “look at my pretty bomb” routine. He just had to figure out the best place for his demon to work. Their final destination, most likely—in more ways than one. The “gate.” The deeper they were, the less likely innocents were to be in the way.

  In the distance, he heard the click of a hammer being cocked. No one around him seemed to notice. The guards continued chattering. Was someone about to shoot Kane? Or the guards? His demon prowled through his skull, ready to act, to destroy something, someone.

  Not yet. Not yet.

  The laughter grew in volume. Pretty soon, Disaster would strike, no matter what Kane did or said.

  If the gunshot was meant for him, he’d survive. But he didn’t want to act just in case his friends were here to rescue him. Hope blasted him. When the crack reverberated, his guard grunted. Kane’s left side was released, sagging toward the ground. The guard on his right cursed. The chatter ceased. “What the—”

  “Who was—”

  Another crack.

  Kane’s right side was released as well and he smacked into the dirt-laden floor. He lay still, even when a heavy weight slammed into him, pushing the air from his lungs in one mighty heave. One of his guards, he thought, was now unconscious, probably dead.

  Yep. Warm liquid pooled on his back, dripping down his sides.

  Crack, crack, crack. There was no time for the men around him to prepare or hide. They fell, lifeblood gushing from the bullet holes in their chests, ending them. The entire gunfight lasted less than a minute, over and done without any resistance.