Life Cycle (4 page)

Cain nodded. “I’ve heard of it.”

“Right. But back then, nobody knew about them.
That was where the species started. They’ve spread since then. The
water at the bottom fed back into the ocean. Jack was convinced he
felt the energy we were looking for there, but when we did a spell
to reveal it, it was in the sea creatures, not the water. The whole
coven worked together to create the ritual. I wrote the
chant.”

She may as well have said
I bear more responsibility for what has happened
than most
. And she knew Cain could surely
read her well enough to know that. Demons could read emotions,
after all. But he’d gone quiet, missing the opportunity to throw
condemnation.

When he didn’t interrupt her with a smartass
retort, she continued. “Magic like this usually requires blood of
the creature to seal it. We used the jellyfish itself, but they are
bloodless, so we sealed the magic with our own blood. It may be
another reason Jack is after us all.”

“Explain better,” he said, growing impatient with
what he must have thought was a coy explanation.

“The power of immortality was diffused to all of us.
If I were crazy like him, I’d think I could stop the cycle
altogether if I could kill everyone else in the coven. You don’t
know who the other two are, do you?”

Cain shook his head. “We don’t.”

Tam stood and paced in front of the couch, unable to
concentrate with him so close. “I could give you names of everyone,
but we’ve all lost touch. After Whitechapel it was safer not to
congregate together. We were too easy to track that way. Everyone
has probably changed their names dozens of times, perhaps even the
way they look. I have no doubt Jack has. And I don’t know which of
us he’s already killed and which remain. Even I changed my name,
though not much.”

“What was your name before?”

“Tamar. It’s a biblical name. In the first few
centuries I was so enamored with myself and my new ability—to cycle
and not lose memories—that I renamed myself Tamara. In certain
areas of India it means lotus flower, a symbol of rebirth. I was
being ironic. But I’m fresh out of irony now. Now I just want to
end it.”

“I told Anthony and the rest that I’d protect
you.”

She stopped pacing. “And you
are
protecting me.
Killing me protects me and everybody else. You and I both know this
whole death thing is a sham. It’s not real. We get it. I don’t need
to prolong a life that has run on far too long. Don’t make me
beg.”

Cain smirked. “So no sex games, then?”

Tam’s face scrunched at that. “You’re so gross.”

“You say it, but you don’t mean it.”

She would have argued with him, but he’d already
moved in to capture her mouth in a kiss, pulling her back onto the
couch. Startled, she let out a sigh against his lips.

“Let down your shields,” he growled.

Tam pulled back, suspicion in her eyes. “Why?”

“Aren’t you curious about what it’s really like to
die in the arms of an incubus? Don’t you want the whole show? What
other danger could I possibly pose for you if you’re embracing your
own demise?”

She
was
curious.

She closed her eyes and tried to relax, breathing
deeply. The shields stubbornly stayed in place, as if they were
arguing with her—her last bit of self-preservation instincts coming
in to protect her. After her periodic searches for someone to end
this, she’d finally found the one who could do it. Cain was old
enough and strong enough. As much as she disliked him, he could
give her the best death. It wasn’t possible to go out of this world
in a more pleasant way.

Still, a small part of her rebelled against the idea
of so willingly going into Cain’s arms, sleeping with a monster she
didn’t trust, and ending her life. The shields had to go, or she’d
end up fighting him with magic until she was tapped. Tam focused
more intently, calming her mind until she felt the mental defense
system go down around her.

The moment the shields were down, pornographic images
of the two of them together filled her mind, and she wanted him
like he was oxygen itself. She gripped the sides of the couch as
she felt the effects of his thrall. It was a potent cocktail of
warmth and arousal. Like an orgasm and alcohol buzz rolled into
one.

“Hold onto me, instead.” He gripped her wrists and
moved her hands to his shoulders. His well-muscled, firm, solid
shoulders.

She held his gaze, trying not to be taken by
smoldering black eyes, so dark—like pools she could drown and die
in. And very soon she would. He looked at her so intensely, she
thought she might expire from the power of that stare alone. At
some point while she’d been busy dropping her shields, he’d
divested himself of his clothing. She’d had a dim sense of it when
she’d touched him and was disappointed she’d been too overwhelmed
to enjoy the show.

A tiny voice way far away knew everything about this
demon was an illusion to seduce her, but he was perfection. He
looked perfect, he smelled perfect, and his voice was a perfect,
haunting melody that would sing her to sleep.

The only thing that existed in this moment was
desire. It was a desire so strong it was beginning to cause
physical pain. She needed him inside her now.

“Please, Cain,” she whimpered, hating the lost,
desperate tone her voice had taken.

“Oh, good. I knew you’d see things my way and
beg.”

Maybe with her shields up, she could have thrown an
appropriate retort or energy ball to wipe the smug look off his
face. God, she hated him. But the only thing that would travel
along her vocal cords and out her mouth was, “Please, fuck me.”

He chuckled. “Maybe I should toy with you a bit
first. You have been quite an annoying little shit. You’ve thrown
energy balls at me twice. Both times were inopportune. You made me
look weak in front of my people. And now... here we are.”

Tam pushed through the haze of images of groping and
body parts sliding against each other—his hypnotic, seductive
voice, the eyes that occasionally flickered with fire and so much
heat she thought she might combust—and said, “Eight thousand years
and you still have the ego of a human.”

Cain’s eyes glowed dangerously. He pushed her back on
the couch, his hand wrapped around her throat. “I could kill you
the old-fashioned way.”

She shrugged—or did a bad impression of a shrug,
since it was hard to do that with the way he had her positioned.
He’d pulled back on the demon mojo enough for her to stop squirming
against him. “I honestly don’t care what you do, Cain. But I don’t
think killing me in a mundane way will work. You have to use your
magic. So I guess you’re stuck fucking me, unless you want an
annoying child following you around and kicking your ass. That’ll
look great on your ego.”

Several things happened at once. He growled,
ripped her shirt off her, sent a burst of images and desire her
way, and captured her mouth in a kiss so hot she nearly melted. The
onslaught was too overwhelming to fight. She was thrown down a dark
hole of lust from which she didn’t think she could
escape.

Her mind emptied itself of all its contents except
the demon in front of her. The way he smelled, the way he felt as
his hands slid over her. She couldn’t separate what was in her mind
from what was actually happening. She felt drugged with him, and
she never wanted to come down from the high.

Somehow, in this state, the rest of her clothes had
been taken from her. Nothing could have prepared her for the feel
of him inside her. The warmth of him, the arousal that came partly
from what was happening and partly from the images he kept
sending.

Even through the haze, knowing what he was, she felt
him pulling the energy from her, the warm tingling as it moved over
her body, so comforting and pleasurable and deadly. The orgasm hit
her like a wave trying to pull her under, but she rode it until she
was wrung out and certain she was about to die. If she’d wanted to
turn back now, it would’ve been too late. She was irrevocably
caught in his web, and all she could do was moan in his arms like
the uncountable number of unfortunate souls before her.

But then it stopped. Cain’s weight lifted off her. It
took her a moment to fight through the disorientation, the hazy mix
of sexual feelings and idle thoughts about the end. As she came
back to herself, she looked around, convinced someone must have
interrupted them and pulled him off her. Probably Luc.

But there was no one. Only them. The demon stood a
few feet away: naked, dark, and beautiful, looking at her as if she
were a poisonous snake.

“Why am I still here?”

He just watched her.

Tam felt her energy growing, her life force mending
itself, and with it, her anger rose. She put her shields back up,
stood, and stormed toward him, flicking her hand up to form a
glowing purple ball of energy as she went.

“Why, Cain? You promised me! How hard can it
possibly be to kill a woman you hate?”

But he didn’t say anything. He just stood there,
continuing with that inscrutable stare.

She threw the energy ball at him, but he seemed
braced and ready for it. He went noncorporeal, the purple ball
going through him to hit the fabric of the tent instead. A few
seconds elapsed, and she created and threw another one. This time
he was solid, and he did fall. He glared up at her from the ground,
but he didn’t seek to restrain her.

The third energy ball she threw called in several of
his demons. One gripped one of her arms, another grabbed the other.
A third stood behind her and held a hand over her mouth so she
couldn’t chant to protect herself.

Cain rose slowly to his feet, brushing sand off that
perfect body. “Take your hands off her.” His voice was deadly, and
Tam regretted throwing the magic at him. She might end up with a
horrific death at his hands after all.

“But boss, she—”

He pulled one of the demons off her like he was a rag
doll and growled. “I said, take your hands off her. No one touches
her but me, do you understand? No feeding, no playing, no
harming.”

“But she—”

“Keep arguing with me, Jackson. Find out where it
leads.”

Jackson looked at the ground and took a step back
from the demon. “My apologies, sir.”

The other two demons released her and backed away.
Tam was too stunned to throw any more magic, and a little wiped
after what had transpired between the two of them. She wished he’d
put some clothes on, because residual lust still hung in the air,
and now was a stupid time for that.

“Get out. All of you,” he snarled. “I don’t want a
single demon in this tent unless I specifically call for one.”

Quick nods all around, and they backed out of the
tent, keeping a wary eye on their leader in case he should
retaliate anyway.

Tam took a step back as the demon leader stalked
toward her. She held her hands up. “I’m sorry.” Was she? She wasn’t
sure, but the look in his eyes was terrifying. She’d signed up for
a quick end from a strong being that wouldn’t hurt—not torture. As
fun as it was to kick his ass, she was outnumbered by his kind
here.

His eyes weren’t on hers, they were on her arms, both
of which were already forming angry bruises from the way the demons
had manhandled her. He rubbed the dark marks. “Does it hurt?”

What the hell? “No, I’m fine.”

He nodded and went to put his jeans back on. Tam’s
clothing had been destroyed in the fight. Noting her dilemma, he
crossed to an elegant trunk and pulled out something gold and
shimmery and tossed it to her.

Tam held the dress away from her as if it might bite.
It was long and flowy and made of lightweight material that was the
slightest bit transparent. Very sexy. She’d look like a goddess
descending from Mount Olympus in it, but if he didn’t want other
demons touching her, this wasn’t the outfit. “Are you freaking
kidding me?” she said, still holding it like it might be coated in
a deadly toxin.

“No. I am not kidding you. You wear that, and the
demons here know you’re somebody else’s meal. We don’t steal from
each other. It’s one of my rules. Demons don’t break my rules or
they pay.”

She wanted to argue. She didn’t understand why he
hadn’t killed her. “This isn’t a game. I obviously don’t trust you,
but I thought you wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to kill me.
This doesn’t have to be complicated.”

“Put the dress on, Tamara,” he said ignoring her
lame attempt at stalling.

She didn’t know why she put it on.

Cain nodded his approval and turned to leave.

“Wait! Don’t turn your back on me. Are you really
that stupid?” She had an energy ball ready to go when he turned
back around.

“Are you sure this is how you want to engage with
me, Tam? Do you know what my demons would have done to you if I
hadn’t stopped them? They are very loyal. You don’t attack me here.
Maybe in your silly human world, but not here.” He spoke without
raising his voice at her. His tone was level. His eyes didn’t even
glow, but they didn’t have to.

The energy ball faded and died in her hand. “You
promised you’d kill me. Before you got to my house, I was going to
come find you because I thought you’d do it.”

A look of surprise crossed his face, but he covered
it. “And that promise still stands.” He moved toward her and
stroked her cheek. “I will kill you when I tire of you. And there
is nothing you can do about it. Throwing energy balls at me will
only make me disinclined to put you out of your misery. Just enjoy
the ride, sweetheart. You’ll die soon enough... when I get bored.
Believe me, that’s never taken longer than a week. Surely you can
struggle through a week of passion with me.”