Demon Retribution (9 page)

“
I see. So, you’re out for
revenge.” It wasn’t a question.

“
Precisely.”

“
I can understand that.”
She slowly exhaled. “So, where do we go from here? You have a
craft, or something, don’t you?”

“
Unfortunately, my trip
here was a one way shot. My shuttle nearly ran out of fuel about a
million miles back. I was lucky to coast in and use small bursts to
adjust my trajectory. We’d probably be able to get back into space,
but unless
Marada
is close, we’d be stuck drifting.”

“
And where is
Marada
?”

“
They stayed behind to find
your sister, Nadua, as well as one of our crew who’d been captured
during the initial search for her. I was sent ahead because Ethan
found an inscription in the book that suggested you were in
immediate trouble.” He spread his hands out. “So, here I
am.”

She went quiet, contemplating his words.
“Well, thank you…and sorry for shooting you the other day.”

“
No harm done. I heal fast.
Should have known better than to sneak up on a tipsy Faieara.
Though I can’t say I regret it.”

She tried to hide a grin and changed the
subject. “So, where’s your shuttle now?”

“
I landed it north of here,
deep in some forest land.”

“
Okay, I have a cabin
upstate. You said we should get out of the city, so we can head up
there in the morning. It’s about a three hour drive.” Nervously,
she checked her phone. “We’ll have to stop by Zoey’s
first.”

Cale’s eyes followed her as she moved across
the room to a small closet. When she came back, she handed him a
blanket and pillow.

Stepping back, Kyra asked, “Do you need
anything else?”

Cale stood. “You mind if I use your shower?”
He shrugged out of his shirt, managing to keep his hat in place,
and balled it up in his fist, giving it a good whiff.

“
Uh…” was all she could get
out—the man was cut. He had the kind of physique for which athletes
would trade their souls.

He pointed toward the bathroom, unaware that
her mind was drifting into the gutter. “In there, right? Do you
mind?”

“
Uh.”

A sexy grin spread across his face. “Want to
join me?”

That snapped her out of it. “No!” She
flushed. She’d always been a sucker for a six-pack, but no one
alive could look at him and not get turned on. It was a statistical
impossibility.

His smile widened, and he exuded the kind of
confidence reserved for rock stars.

“
Oh, you’re trouble,” she
grumbled and went to grab a clean towel for him. Thrusting it at
his chest, she snatched his shirt. “I’ll throw this in the
wash.”

She ignored the wicked glint in his eyes as
he closed the bathroom door. A few seconds later, she heard the
hiss of the shower spray and her mind conjured an image of water
hitting his body. She groaned, shaking her head. They couldn’t have
sent a less attractive male?

She crossed to her cramped laundry room, but
before depositing his shirt in the washer, her curiosity got the
better of her and she sniffed it. It was definitely a masculine
odor, and a primitive part of her brain could appreciate the scent,
but the sensitive nerves in her nose told her he’d probably been
wearing it for a week straight.

“
Extra soap,” she mumbled.
With a twist of a nob, the washing machine grumbled to a
start.

She never invited men up to her apartment,
so Cale was the first, but it felt almost natural to have him
there. Maybe that was because he was an outsider like her, and
because of that she felt a connection with him.

She warned herself, however, not to confuse
that with infatuation, as she’d done in the past.

It was foolish to have asked her to join
him. He wouldn’t have been able to hide his horns if she’d agreed,
and he would have had to deal with the fallout sooner than planned.
But when her breath hitched in that familiar, female way, and he
saw her eyes dilate as she ran them over his body, he’d gone
instantly hard and been unable to resist.

Her blush had been the most gratifying thing
he’d seen in a long time. As the water trickled over him, he
reminded himself that sleeping with her would be a bad idea.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep from imagining it. All this time
watching her had given him plenty of fantasies to work with. He
fisted his cock, rubbing his length as he allowed the scenarios to
play through.

He imagined what he would have done had he
pulled her from the dance floor that first night. He would have
found them a dark corner and guided her legs around him as he took
her against the wall. The image of her on her knees, her mouth
coming over him, had him gripping the tile for support as his
release exploded, numbing his mind.

He cut the water flow and toweled off,
noticing that everything here smelled like her. A pleasant scent,
not overpowering, but feminine and sweet.

Facing the mirror, he slipped his fingers
through his short tuft of hair to see if he could possibly hide his
horns without the hat. He couldn’t. They were just a bit darker
than his blond hair, although not much longer in length. Hat in
place, he pulled his jeans on and stepped out of the room.

He worried she’d question the headpiece, but
luckily he found the living room empty. Her door was closed, and he
figured she must have gone to bed.

Making himself comfortable on the couch, he
closed his eyes.

After dressing in a long shirt and using her
own bathroom to wash up, Kyra lay sprawled out on her bed, unable
to sleep. Finally, after four hundred years, she was getting
answers. She was practically giddy with excitement, though the
knowledge she now possessed was disturbing.

Her father was being held
captive. Her sisters had been sent away, same as her. Were they
living just as alone as she was? She was grateful that they were
still alive, but what could her father be planning? She recalled
his last words to her. “It might work.” Which conversely meant that
it might
not
work,
whatever
it
was.

She sighed and turned over, trying to find a
comfortable position. After another hour, she accepted that she
wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. Fumbling for her phone, she
dialed Zoey, and again received no answer. At the sound, “Your call
has been for…” she banged the phone on the bed.

If anything had happened to her, Kyra would
blame herself for the rest of her life. She couldn’t wait till
morning. She needed to check on her.

Slipping out of bed, she pulled on jeans and
crept into the living room. Cale slept peacefully on his back, one
arm draped over his stomach. Her eyes traveled to his bare chest,
and she greedily took him in.

She debated waking him. It wouldn’t be good
if he found her gone, but she remembered that he’d been living in
the park for the last few weeks, or more, and probably hadn’t
gotten much sleep. In fact, he’d been so exhausted he hadn’t
bothered to remove his hat. She hated to disturb him now, reasoning
that if she took a cab she could make it to Zoey’s and back in
maybe forty-five minutes. Less, if traffic was fair. He wouldn’t
even know she’d left.

Thinking to make him more comfortable, she
reached to remove his hat and then froze. A set of spikes that
curved slightly toward the crown of his head protruded from his
hair. After a moment of inspection, she realized they were attached
to his skull.

“
What the fuck!”

Burning red eyes flashed open. His face
twisted in a snarl and he grabbed her wrist in a lightning fast
move, jarring her and causing the dark hat to slip from her
fingers. It landed with a soft thud.

She couldn’t help but cry out, partly from
the pain and partly from surprise. He released her, and she jerked
back so fast she lost her footing. The carpet cushioned her
fall.

Her body reacted while her mind tried to
catch up, and before she knew it, she’d slammed open the balcony
door and made the long leap to the glossy, wet ground. A bystander
screamed at her landing, but she ignored them, racing straight into
the street, dodging traffic.

A loud noise crashed behind her, but she
didn’t look back. She knew it would be him chasing after her. In a
smooth jump, she cleared the low wall and then pushed past the cold
shrubbery into the park.

Not a dragon!
her mind screamed as she tried to keep the soggy,
rain-drenched earth from slowing her.

Why would he lie? What was his purpose here?
She suddenly became aware that she really hadn’t garnered much
information from him. His intentions could be congruent with the
Kayadon. Maybe he came to trick her into giving up information,
unaware that she had none to give. Worse, she hadn’t actually seen
him destroy the bodies of those who had attacked her; she’d only
taken his word for it.

When did I become so gullible?

Was it because she’d been so desperate for a
real connection with someone? For information about her home?

Heart pounding, she raced through a path
she’d walked a thousand times before, trying to organize her
thoughts. Why would he lie about being a dragon? What exactly was
he? She knew the horns were a clue, but the first thought that came
to mind seemed ridiculous. Only…what else could he be?

He hollered from behind, his voice sounding
guttural, unfriendly. “Kyra! Stop!”

She didn’t.

A clearing was coming up fast, and she
prepared herself for a hard sprint, but he appeared in front of
her.

The momentum she’d gathered was too great,
and she tried spinning like a football player to keep from slamming
into him. At the same time, he reached for her, snagging her around
the waist with one arm. The strength of his hold was inconceivable,
and she knew she wouldn’t get away unless she could knock him
unconscious.

“
Just calm down for a
second,” he ordered. His other arm hooked around her.

“
Let go of me!” She tried
to slam the back of her heel against him his shin, but he took
advantage and swiped both legs out from under her. Her body
splashed into a cold puddle of water.

He followed her down and held her still with
his weight. “Can I explain?”

She continued to struggle, growling, “Get
off me!”

“
Settle down first, and let
me explain.” His voice was so calm and even. He wasn’t even
breathing hard.

She, however, was sucking back air, finding
it hard to capture it in her lungs. “I told you, I’m not a trusting
person and the first thing you did was lie to me!”

“
I didn’t lie. I just
didn’t correct you.”

She paused and narrowed her gaze. “That’s
the same thing!” she bellowed and resumed her struggling.

“
Maybe I should have
handled it differently, but I was afraid you would react badly to
the truth.” He gave her a look as if to say he’d been
right.

Finally, she relaxed, not because of his
words, but because she was running out of energy. “What are you,
and why are you really here?”

“
I’m a demon.” He watched
her eyes, waiting for her shock to wane.

It didn’t take long; she’d suspected as
much. Although, she hadn’t known till now that they actually
existed.

“
Everything else I told you
is the truth. Your sister and Ethan are with my family, and
they
are
coming to
get us.”

She took a moment to digest the information.
Demon, on this planet, was a bad word. Begrudgingly, she understood
why he’d avoided telling her, and why he’d led the conversation
into earthly myths earlier.

“
Cale, what freaked me out
is that you lied to me, not what you are.” Then she added, “And
because you snarled at me…and your eyes.” Thankfully, they were
normal now. “What the hell was that?”

His face relaxed, and she realized how
anxious he’d actually been. “You startled me,” he admitted, abashed
and a touch chagrined. Much more softly, he added, “I didn’t mean
to frighten you.”

“
You need to understand
that I’ve had to be extremely careful about who I trust. I’m always
having to watch my back. I won’t tolerate you, or anyone else,
lying to me, for any reason.”

His lips thinned. “You’re right. I
apologize.”

“
Okay, then. Good.” A
moment of silence passed between them. He still held her in place.
His warm body offset the cool rain splashing over them. “You can
let me up now,” she said.

“
Not yet.”

“
Why?”

He leaned in so that only an inch separated
them. “In the spirit of honesty, I have to tell you that I am
extremely attracted to you.”

She felt her mouth open, but whatever words
her brain had conjured got lost on the way out.

With his nose, he nudged her chin, slightly
moving her head. She gasped when his lips traced her jaw line. Her
heart picked up speed, but this time it wasn’t from fear. She still
couldn’t speak. When his lips traveled back, they brushed hers for
only a second before continuing down the other side. His heat
seemed to melt into her. When he reached the spot just next to her
earlobe, her body shuddered and she gasped again.

“
Ah, there it is,” he
growled low.

She never knew there was a spot that could
leach away all thought, but he’d managed to find it in less than a
minute.

Relentlessly, he ran his mouth over her
flesh, thoroughly exploring until the moan she’d been holding back
forced its way through. He let out a satisfied chuckle and then
moved to her collarbone, discovered an even more torturous patch of
skin that apparently connected every hot spot in her body. She
moaned again.