Dark Awakening (6 page)

From the night she'd met him, Kimi had felt desire. It had grown each time she'd seen him, each time she'd spoken with him, and the months she'd spent without contact with him hadn't stopped it. She'd spent hours dreaming about Nic—about the way she'd touch him, the way he'd caress her, but especially about his kisses. Those had been even better than she'd imagined. She wanted more.

His mouth was a breath away, but he didn't close the gap. Frustrated, Kimi put her arms around his neck and pulled Nic to her. The kiss zoomed out of control. Before she was aware of moving, she was on top of him, her legs on either side of his.

Nic. She devoured him. This was the male she'd longed for and fantasized about for months, the demon she'd believed didn't want her.

He didn't touch her. She lifted her head, noticed his hands were knotted in the bedspread and his eyes glowed red. This time, the sight didn't scare her, it built her fever higher and she swooped down for another kiss. This was right. She knew it, felt it, trusted it.

Using her hands and mouth, she explored his jaw, his throat, his arms, chest, and belly. His growls were as inhuman as his eyes, but something about those sounds set her on fire and she wanted to hear more. Kimi lightly bit the skin below his navel, and the instinctive action surprised her so much, she paused.

"Take the shirt off," he suggested thickly, and since that sounded like a brilliant idea, she did. Maybe she couldn't have everything with Nic—not yet—but there was no reason why they couldn't pleasure each other without actual sex.

While she'd undressed, he opened his jeans. Wearing only her panties, Kimi knelt beside him, dipped her fingers into the gap, and sucked in a sharp breath; she'd touched the moist head of his erection. As soon as she recovered, she grabbed his waistband with both hands and tugged. Nic laughed at her impatience, but he raised his hips and pushed off his pants.

Kimi had never been so brazen before, not with any other guy, or this casual about baring herself, but it was different with Nic. It was as if something inside her could relax because he was The One, the male she was meant to share all of herself with.

Before she could say anything emotionally revealing, though, his hand cupped her breast and she looked down. The sight of his tanned fingers against the paleness of her skin made her shiver. Then he rotated his palm, teasing her with the callused center. Kimi arched her back, silently pleading for more, and after another kiss, Nic bent and took her nipple into his mouth.

He didn't use only his tongue and lips, he bit at her too, little nips that made her gasp and moan and hang on to him. Her breasts were fairly small, but she didn't feel self-conscious about her size with Nic—he left no doubt in her mind how much he appreciated what she did have.

With another of his sexy growls, Nic eased her down on her back and pressed his thigh between hers. He wasn't on top of her, not quite, but it would only take a shift of inches to change that.

As he explored her mouth more, Kimi rubbed against his chest, enjoying the friction. She moaned in protest when Nic moved his leg, but it turned to a gasp as his hands reached for the waistband of her panties.

Kimi was ready to help him get rid of her last article of clothing when she realized just how far this had gone, how far things would continue if she didn't stop them. Nic wasn't going to be the voice of reason.

"No," she said firmly, despite the huskiness of her voice. "Those are staying on," she added when he lifted his head.

"As you wish." Nic didn't sound any calmer than she had.

He shifted and his hand slipped under the waistband of her panties to settle between her legs. Kimi sucked in a sharp breath and waited to see what he'd do next. Staring into her eyes, he began to lightly stroke her.

"Not like that," she complained, and put her hand over his to guide him. When he had it, Kimi let go and just enjoyed. It didn't take her long to start coming, but she didn't scream—she didn't have enough oxygen for that.

Slowly, she regained awareness and saw that Nic had his jaw clamped so tightly shut, a muscle was jumping in his cheek. She pulled his hand out from between her thighs and got to her knees. It wouldn't be fair to leave him this hard, not after he'd taken care of her. Kimi reached for him.

He was big and thick and seem to pulse in her hand, but she didn't hesitate. She loved the feel of him, loved his heat and told him that she ran her hand up and down his shaft. His eyes locked on hers. Kimi knew when he was close and stroked faster. And with his most demonic growl yet, Nic found his own climax.

Nic watched Kimi sleep. She'd pulled the T-shirt back on while he'd cleaned up, and when he'd expressed his disappointment, she'd told him too bad. He grinned. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her. Demon females tended to be independent and fiery—an equal match for their mates—and he'd been concerned about Kimi, since she was human. He needn't have worried; she held her own.

She could have fallen apart after being attacked by Augustin, but she'd fought back and escaped. She could have been repulsed by his kill of the other demon, but while she'd been shaky, she'd handled that well. He returned his gaze to his vishtau mate.

Damn, his woman was sexy. Nic relived the way she'd acted during their sex play. He'd allowed Kimi to set the pace, and she'd given more than he'd expected—though not as much as he'd hoped. Unlike many human women, she hadn't been hesitant to show him how she liked to be touched. He'd loved that. The feel of her hand over his as he'd caressed her so intimately—that alone had almost made him come.

There was a bruise on her collarbone where he'd bitten her, and Nic now brushed his fingers over that spot. It was primitive as hell, but he liked seeing his mark on her skin. Maybe next time he could get her to bite him back.

That was something else he'd think about later. Right now, his focus had to be on keeping her safe. Augustin was fixated, and once a dark demon became obsessed, he never swerved from his goal. He'd continue to come after Kimi until he died. It was up to Nic to ensure that happened sooner rather than later.

Grabbing the edge of the blanket, he pulled it over Kimi's arms and lay back down, his hands tucked behind his head. Why had Augustin sent his minion? A Ciretham was a weak demon, and Kimi had already knocked the master to the floor. Was he betting that she couldn't do it twice, or had Kimi hurt Augustin worse than Nic had seen in her mind? Of course, it could be some other reason altogether, one he wouldn't guess.

You will not protect the kijo.

Something about that word nagged at him, as if the knowledge he needed existed somewhere in his head, but was just out of reach. The way the sentence was structured, it had to refer to Kimi—she was of Japanese descent and the word itself sounded Japanese. And Nic didn't think the demon had just been insulting her.

Their room had online service available, and lately humans seemed to have compiled a lot more information on demons—especially since the attack. Not all of it would be accurate, but maybe he could find something that would point him in the right direction.

Carefully, Nic slipped out of bed and went to the desk. He winced at the fee they charged and hated adding more debt to Kimi's card, but this was too important not to get some answers. Sitting down, he selected yes to start the service.

As far as Nic was concerned, one of the best things about the Overworld was instant access to an incredibly large knowledge base. Yes, there was garbage, but a bit of discernment and some additional checking weeded that out easily enough. In Orcus, information was not as accessible and the ruling council hoarded books, keeping important facts from their people.

He searched for
kijo
and pulled up thousands of results. Sometimes, he thought, there was too much knowledge available.

Browsing down the page, he discovered that many of them were names, belonging to either a person or place. That wouldn't make it simple to eliminate hits. With a silent sigh, Nic continued to scan the screen, but he didn't find anything he considered helpful.

After forty-five minutes with nothing to show for his work, Nic added
Japanese
to the search parameters. One of the results he received this time was for an online dictionary. Curious, he selected it and read the definition.

Kijo meant
witch, demoness, ogress.

Demoness?

A vague recollection came to him, something that he'd heard in a tale from his mother. When he'd been a small child, she'd frequently told him demon legends as bedtime stories.

Think. He had to think, he had to remember.

Could a demon legend have made it into human lore? Nic returned to the search screen and entered some new terms. He didn't get many results, but one of them yielded what he was looking for. The information he found on the site prodded his own memory, but he kept reading anyway. "Well, shit," he murmured, "this explains a lot."

*** *** ***

Half awake, Kimi heard Nic's voice and reached for him, but all she touched were cool sheets. Propping herself up on her elbows she let her gaze sweep the room and found him at the desk. "What are you doing?" she asked around a yawn.

"Some research, tes. Go back to sleep."

Kimi pushed back the covers and padded over to him. If he was checking something out, she wanted to know about it. As soon as she reached him, she glanced at what Nic was reading. The picture on the screen made her shiver. It showed a hideously ugly woman with blood dripping from her hands. "What is that?"

"This," Nic said, turning to smirk at her over his shoulder, "is an artist's rendering of the kijo."

With a sniff of disdain, Kimi straightened. "I'm insulted. Even on a bad hair day, I've never looked that terrible."

Nic swiveled to face her. "You heard the Ciretham demon call you kijo?"

"He did? No, I didn't hear that."

Nic scowled and his eyes took on a faint red glow. "You've been keeping secrets, then. Start talking, Kimi."

"I have not kept any secrets," she insisted. "I told you right away that Augustin wanted to steal my magic."

He shook his head. "No, you didn't. You told me only that he'd attacked you. Damn it, you never even mentioned that you have power. Didn't you think that was critical information?"

"Oops." No wonder Nic seemed pissed off. "Sorry."

She heard him growl, and his eyes grew brighter. "Maybe you'd like to begin explaining now."

Not really, but considering how volatile he looked, she didn't think that was the best answer to give at the moment. "I really don't know that much. About three weeks ago, I got an internship in Crimson City. I didn't realize until after I started, but the ad agency is filled with women of power. Majo, that's what they call themselves. Except for me. They refer to me as kijo. Grandma Noguchi said both translate to witch."

Nic held out his hand, inviting her to take it. Reluctantly, she did, and he tugged her onto his lap. He backed up to an earlier screen and pointed to the definition of kijo. "Demoness?" she asked.

"There's a demon legend," he said, "one I didn't remember until I found a site that retold much of it. It talks of a human female born to a line of sorcerers who possesses much more power than the others around her. Such a woman is rare, and many demons will never hear of one within their lifetime."

"The kijo?" Kimi asked. She held her breath.

"Yes." Nic shifted, settling her more comfortably on his lap, and Kimi fought to stay focused on the conversation. All he had on was a pair of boxers, and they seemed awfully thin.

"Sometimes," he continued, "she's never found. Maybe she wasn't born or maybe she died before coming into her powers. Unlike demons, the kijo doesn't develop her talent until about five years after the onset of menstruation."

Nic didn't blush at the word, but Kimi did. In her family, this wasn't discussed in front of men, but he seemed unperturbed. "That means I had my magic then for almost two years before I learned of it." She considered. "Well, I did figure out I had the ability to summon demons about six months ago, but the rest I didn't know about until I came down here for that job—and I'm still not sure what I can do."

He frowned. "It would have been useful if you'd had those years of education and practice. Augustin would likely leave you alone then, since it's nearly impossible to take the powers of the kijo who's far enough along in her training."

"Nearly?" she questioned.

"Nearly," Nic confirmed. "And once you're fully trained, no one will be able to touch them at all."

"How come—" she asked slowly, and feeling safe next to him, she snuggled closer. "—demons have a legend about a human?"

"My guess is because she has powers similar to a member of one of the strong branches, and because enough kijo have bonded with demon males over the millennia to make an impact."

"But the kijo is human. What kind of bond can she have with a demon?"

"Any human can have a demon vishtau mate." When Kimi looked at him blankly, Nic explained what it was. Then he added, "But for the kijo it's different. When she performs the bonding rite with her mate, her physiology gradually changes from human to demon."

"Are you saying that Augustin is my vishtau mate and that he's trying to turn me into a Dark One?"

Nic frowned fiercely. "I doubt he shares the vishtau with you. It makes demons protective, and a male will die if that's what it takes to shield his mate. He's hurt you, and that would be next to impossible if you shared those ties with him."

Kimi had a sense that Nic wasn't being completely honest with her. "What aren't you telling me?"

There was a long hesitation, and Kimi felt her stomach knot. "You're
my
vishtau mate," he admitted at last.

Kimi ran through what he'd told her about the vishtau thing again. That meant he had a biological imperative to sleep with her because she could give him children, and an instinctive need to protect her. Not too flattering. "And you have no choice whether or not you want me. Nice."