The Darkest Promise--A Dark, Demonic Paranormal Romance Read online

  Well. Decision made. “I’ll use him.”

  William pushed out a heavy sigh. “That’s exactly what I thought you’d say.”

  “Prepare him,” he said. “I’ll give you two days.” Just enough time to figure out what, exactly, he would have Baden do for him. Pad his arsenal, perhaps, acquiring weapons used throughout the ages. Persuade others to aid him. Other royals, even. Slay the humans and immortals Lucifer would one day attempt to use to his advantage.

  So many options!

  Who knew? Maybe the war would be fought and won within a matter of weeks. If miracles really happened.

  “I stopped having to obey your orders centuries ago, you know,” William said.

  Hades closed the distance, peering pointedly at his son. “You and I both know what will happen if Lucifer wins. The reign of chaos. Unimaginable atrocities committed. You and yours will never again be safe.” And, because Hades was who he was, willing to manipulate anyone to get what he wanted, he added, “Gillian will never again be safe.”

  William glared at him, even while nodding. “I will prepare him.”

  “Exactly what I thought you’d say.”

  They clasped hands to shake goodbye, but William used the contact to yank him against the hard line of his body and pat him on the back. “If anything happens to Baden, I will hold you responsible. Because others will hold me responsible. Tit for tat.”

  Hades could carry the blame. Why not? He carried so many other things. The fate of the underworld. A past steeped in so much violence there was no part of him unscarred. Still he said, “I will protect him. You have my word.”

  What William hadn’t yet learned: ensure your opponent spelled out every aspect of his promise, otherwise there would be loopholes...loopholes that could be exploited. Not that Hades would ever exploit his son, but like anyone who’d suffered a wealth of betrayals over the centuries, he liked to keep his options open.

  “Then I will help you destroy Lucifer,” William said.

  He nodded, even while thinking, You would have, anyway, my son.

  They might argue and fight—with swords, daggers, whips and guns of every make and model—but at the end of the day, they had each other’s back.

  He hoped.

  Bottom line. He had trust issues. He’d always had trust issues, and he always would. That violent past hadn’t just shaped him, it had hardened him. There would be no changing him.

  “Go now,” he said, and severed contact.

  Hades walked away before he broke one of his cardinal rules. No allowing emotion to lead decisions. Ever. But only then, as he passed through the door and the guards waiting for reentry into the throne room breathed a sigh of relief, did he realize the worst of his rage had abated. Because of a conversation.

  Well, hell. Miracles really did happen.

  He’d find out if this one stayed the course...

  If you enjoy Gena Showalter’s pulse-pounding paranormal romances, don’t miss her sizzling contemporary romances!

  Pick up the next book in her ORIGINAL HEARTBREAKERS series, CAN’T HARDLY BREATHE, available soon from HQN Books.

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  New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with an irresistible Original Heartbreakers story about a woman who’s never felt desired and the man who wants her more than air to breathe...

  Can’t Hardly Breathe

  Bullied in high school, Dorothea Mathis’s past is full of memories she’d rather forget. But there’s one she can’t seem to shake—her long-standing crush on former army ranger Daniel Porter. Now that the sexy bad boy has started using her inn as his personal playground, she should kick him out...but his every heated glance makes her want to join him instead.

  Daniel returned to Strawberry Valley, Oklahoma, to care for his ailing father and burn off a little steam with no strings attached. Though he craves curvy Dorothea night and day, he’s as marred by his past as she is by hers. The more he desires her, the more he fears losing her.

  But every sizzling encounter leaves him desperate for more, and soon Daniel must make a choice: take a chance on love or walk away forever.

  Order your copy now!

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  The Harder You Fall

  The Hotter You Burn

  The Closer You Come

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  For tempting tales full of passion and peril, don’t miss any of the spellbinding stories in the Lords of the Underworld series!

  Though these warriors carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive—and unimaginable powerful...

  The Darkest Promise

  The Darkest Torment

  The Darkest Touch

  The Darkest Craving

  The Darkest Seduction

  The Darkest Surrender

  The Darkest Secret

  The Darkest Lie

  The Darkest Passion

  The Darkest Angel (novella)

  The Darkest Whisper

  The Darkest Prison (novella)

  The Darkest Pleasure

  The Darkest Kiss

  The Darkest Night

  The Darkest Fire (digital prequel)

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  Don’t miss a moment of heart-stopping action in the EVERLIFE series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter!

  Two Realms. One Choice. No Second Chance.

  There is a truth most of the world has come to accept: this is only Firstlife. Real life begins after death. But with the two realms of the Everlife waging a dangerous war over the right to her soul, seventeen-year-old Tenley Lockwood has to stay alive long enough to choose a side.

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  Can’t Hardly Breathe

  by Gena Showalter

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  Daniel palmed his semiautomatic and plunged to the floor, using the bed as a shield. His finger twitched on the trigger as a bead of sweat rolled into his eye. The screams in his head failed to drown out the sound of his thundering heartbeat as he searched for—

  Bang, bang!

  He cursed. The door. Someone was knocking on the door.

  Disgusted with himself, he glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 1:08 a.m.

  He frowned. As he stood, his dog tags clinked against his bare chest. He pulled on the wrinkled, ripped jeans he’d tossed to the floor and anchored his gun against his lower back. He would rather walk around naked than go without a weapon.

  Foregoing the peephole, he looked through the crack in the window curtains. His gaze landed on a dark, wild mass of c
orkscrew curls, and his frown deepened. Only one woman in town had hair like that—every strand made to be tangled in a man’s fists.

  Concern overrode a new surge of desire as he threw open the door, the hinges squeaking. A cloud of lavender enveloped him, his head fogging, desire overriding his concern.

  Down, boy.

  Dorothea met his gaze before ducking her head and wringing her hands. Earlier today, freckles had covered her face. Unfortunately, a thick layer of makeup now hid them.

  “Is something wrong?” On alert, he scanned left...right... The hallway was empty, and there were no signs of danger. As many times as he’d stayed at the inn, she’d only ever spoken to him while cleaning his room...which might have something to do with his early-morning departures. There’d been no reason to grapple with temptation. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m, uh, fine.” Her shallow inhalations came a little too quickly, and her cheeks were chalk white. “I’m fine.”

  Somehow her tone was shrill and breathy at the same time.

  He relaxed, though his confusion remained. “Why are you here?”

  “I...uh... Do you need more towels?”

  “Towels?” His gaze roamed over the rest of her. She wore a bulky ankle-length raincoat, hiding the body underneath. Had a storm rolled in? He listened, but heard no claps of thunder. “No, thank you. I’m good.”

  “Okay.” She licked her porn-star lips and toyed with the tie around her waist. “Yes, I’ll have coffee with you.”

  “Now?”

  A defiant nod, those corkscrew curls bouncing.

  He barked out a laugh, surprised, amazed and delighted by her all over again. “What’s really going on, Dorothea?”

  Her eyes widened. “My name. You remembered.” When he stared at her, expectant, she cleared her throat. “Right. The reason I’m here. I just... I need to talk to you.” The color returned to her cheeks, a blush spilling over her skin. “May I come in? Please. Before someone sees me.”

  What could Miss Mathis have to say to him? He ran through a mental checklist of possible problems. His bill—nope, already paid in full. His father’s health—nope, Daniel would have been called directly.

  If he wanted answers, he’d have to deal with Dorothea...alone...with a bed nearby...

  Swallowing a curse, he stepped aside and motioned her in.

  She rushed past him as if her feet were on fire, the scent of lavender strengthening.

  I could eat her up. But he wouldn’t. Wouldn’t even take a nibble.

  “Shut the door. Please,” she said, a tremor in her voice.

  He hesitated but ultimately obeyed. “Would you like a beer while the coffee brews?”

  “Yes, please.” She grabbed a bottle from the six-pack he’d brought and popped off the cap. He watched with fascination as she drained the contents.

  She wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist and belched softly into her fist. “Thanks. I needed that.”

  She placed the empty bottle on the dresser. Her gaze darted around the room, a little wild, a lot nervous. She began to pace in front of him. She wasn’t wearing shoes, revealing toenails painted yellow and orange, like her fingernails.

  More curious by the second, he eased onto the edge of the bed. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “All right.” Her tongue slipped over her lips, and the fly of his jeans tightened. In an effort to keep his hands to himself, he fisted the comforter. “I can’t tell you, though. I have to show you.”

  “Show me, then.” And leave. She had to leave. Soon.

  “Yes,” she croaked. “I will.” Her trembling worsened as she untied the raincoat...

  The material fell to the floor.

  Daniel’s heart stopped beating, and his brain short-circuited. Dorothea Mathis was naked. And she had more curves than he’d suspected. Generous curves. Gorgeous curves.

  Was he drooling? He might be drooling.

  She wasn’t a living doll, but a 1950s pinup. She had the kind of body other women claimed to abhor but men adored. He adored. A vine with thorns and holly was tattooed around the outside of her left breast, ending in a pink bloom just over her heart.

  He wanted to touch. He needed to touch.

  A moment of rational thought intruded. Strawberry Valley girls were off-limits... His dad... Disappointment... But...

  Dorothea’s soft, lush curves deserved to be touched. Though makeup still hid the freckles on her face, the sweet little dots covered the rest of her pale skin. A treasure map for his tongue.

  I’ll start up top and work my way down.

  She had a handful of scars on her abdomen and one of her thighs. Beautiful badges of strength and survival. More paths for his tongue to follow.

  With shaking hands, she covered her breasts and the apex of her thighs and, honest-to-God, he almost whimpered. Such bounty should never be covered.

  “I want...to sleep with you,” she stammered. “One time. Only one time. Afterward, I don’t want to speak with you about it. Or about anything. We’ll avoid each other for the rest of our lives.”

  One night of no-strings sex? Yes, please. He wanted her. Here. Now.

  For hours and hours...

  Copyright © 2017 by Gena Showalter

  ISBN-13: 9781488023194

  The Darkest Promise

  Copyright © 2017 by Gena Showalter

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