Marked by Hades (20 page)

Tears sprang at the truth of his words. He did want her, even as a demon.

“Come on, we have some serious making up to do.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

“You said you went to see Evania?” Theo asked Dyre. “Where?”

“Doesn’t matter. I couldn’t get through. Demons guard her house.”

“I still can’t believe there are houses in Hades.” Sadie shook her head. “Do they have a McDonald’s, too?”

Dyre’s heart warmed, and she couldn’t help but smile. Sadie joked and talked with her as if they were friends. Justin had come after her, and none of them were the least bit put off by Halena’s threat.

It was as if the Shomrei accepted her already. Even as a demon.

Justin eased back in the couch, and since his arm was tight around her shoulders, she settled back as well. Theo sat in the chair at the small hotel table with Sadie on his lap.

“This witch, Evania, you know how to find her house again?” Theo asked.

She nodded, picking at her fingernails. Residual pain from her injuries twinged up her spine. Sure, she was a demon and could heal fast, but she’d taken quite a beating down there. She was lucky to have escaped alive.

Theo stood, setting Sadie on her feet. “We’ll go after the witch as soon as you’re rested, Yvonne.”

“Dyre,” she whispered.

“Only until we see Evania,” Sadie said with a wink. “Until then. We’re going to rest up, too. And I’m going to research this Mekhash clan of witches a little more.”

“Just don’t tell Halena,” Dyre pleaded.

“She won’t do anything, or she’ll have to answer to me,” Theo said. “I can’t believe she laid down that threat. But we need her resources on this one. And Beckett’s.”

“Sleep well. See you in the morning.” Theo saluted Justin.

The door clicked shut, and Justin made no move to get up. Dyre didn’t want to, either, but she needed a shower. The food she’d inhaled upon arriving to their hotel room had settled enough that she finally felt most of her injuries were fully healed.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his breath brushing her hair.

“Fine. Just need a shower.”

“Count me in.” He peeled the neck of her shirt back, exposing more of her skin, and nipped. “I’ll help wash your back.”

Her body perked up at that statement. She’d teased him with that same offer at his compound. Things were so different now. “I’m not having sex with you, so you can forget about it,” she whispered the words he’d said to her.

“I’m sorry I treated you so badly.”

“I deserved it.”

“No, you didn’t.” He leaned to the side and looked down at her. “Please forgive me.”

“Of course I forgive you. But I meant it when I said I wasn’t having sex with you.”

“It wouldn’t be sex. I want to make love, to bind myself to you. You’re mine.”

Tears stung. “But your Mark isn’t surfacing.”

“I don’t care.”

“I won’t make love with you in case it truly does bind you to me. What if Evania can’t reverse whatever she did to me? You’d be fully mated to a demon.”

“Doesn’t matter. I want you and only you.” He kissed her cheek. “I let you go before making love to you last time. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Let me go?”

A memory surfaced of her and Justin in his bedroom at his compound in America.

“It’s not your choice. It’s mine. I’m doing this. You can’t stop me.” Her back straightened. “If I’ve really been a demon all these two hundred years, then I’m doing this one thing. This one right and noble thing, Justin. You can’t take that from me.”

“Whoa, what happened there?” Justin’s grip on her tightened.

“What?” So lost in that brief memory…had she missed something?

“Your eyes—wait, they’re gone.” He cupped her face. “They were green. Just like—” His gaze shifted down. “What happened just then?”

“I chose to return to Pario, didn’t I? Well, Yvonne did.”

“You’re remembering.” He combed her hair from her face. “Maybe the witch’s magic is wearing off. And your eyes…”

“Let’s not jump the gun.” No way could she let him get his hopes up.
Or mine.
“I did it to save you. To save Theo.”

“Pario took him and held him so he could get you.”

“That demon so needs to die.” She frowned. “He needed me to find out where the Artifacts were, but Agares only told me where the ring was. I never knew where all the others were. I’m not even sure Agares knew the location of all of them.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll get them.”

“At least you guys have the ring, the sword, and the Thata.” She shook her head. “But he’s going to be pissed, and he can find me, you know. He said his brand…”

“It’s not a brand. It’s a knife wound.” He sat up. “Or a tracer of some sort.”

“Damn it. That’s how he knows where I am all the time. If it’s not a brand, it’s got to be a tracking device.” She sprang to her feet. “Shit. He could be on his way here right now.”

“He’s ballsy, I’ll give him that. But Theo messed him up good, so he won’t be sniffing around anytime soon, especially with Mate 2.0 Sadie here.” He pulled her close. “And we’re staying in tonight. I’m starting the first night of my new life with my Mate in my bed.”

Hearing him call her his Mate warmed her from the inside out, but she still reeked. Plus, she needed to think this through. As much as she wanted him, she couldn’t bring herself to make love to him while she was still a demon.

But in order to lose her demon, she’d have to die. Sure, Yvonne would survive, which was who Justin
really
wanted anyway.

The thought of dying both scared and relieved her. For two centuries, she never truly belonged to anyone or belonged anywhere, for that matter. Used, abused, forced to do horrible things to survive… No, it might be okay if Dyre died.

“Let me shower first.”

“I’ll join you.” His lips brushed her cheek.

“No.” There’d be no resisting him if he came in there with her. She was already struggling for control over her flaming body. “I’ll be quick.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He grabbed her butt and pulled her to his hard body. “And ready.”

Oh yeah, he was ready. She scurried away to the bathroom and zipped through a shower…one a little on the cold side. Not that it did much to cool her down.

She threw on her panties and bra, then stepped through the doorway.

In a whirlwind, Justin gathered her into his arms and spun, cradling her close. She tucked her face into his neck and touched kisses to his warm flesh.

He dropped her onto the plush comforter, then covered her with his body. He wore only underwear, snug boxers at that, so she felt every hard plane.

And he fit with her like a puzzle piece.

He kissed her hard, teeth knocking. She gave as good as she got, too, drinking in the taste of mint mixed with a woodsy, heady scent.

His hands were gentle, caressing her shoulder, her breasts, her face, almost as if he knew she needed to feel his touch more than anything.

“Are you all right?” he whispered into her ear as he peeled her bra strap down. “Injuries healed enough?”

“What injuries?” She giggled against his shoulder, then nipped at it.

Her fangs weren’t out, but still, the playful bite sent a thrill down her spine and right to her core. She’d bitten him before when they were close; would he allow her to again? Her gums ached to let her teeth loose.

He flipped her onto her belly, and she let out a squeal. Straddling her from behind, he planted his palms on her shoulder blades.

And then he started squeezing, kneading the knots along her neck. She let out a moan and sagged into the plush cover. “God, that feels like heaven.”

“Tell me how you became a demon.”

She tensed.

“No. It’s okay. I want to know.”

“What if I don’t want to tell you?” Signing her soul away wasn’t her most favorite memory, even if she’d done it to save her mother. She went to turn, but he held her down with gentle but persistent pressure.

“Later then.” He leaned in and kissed the nape of her neck. “After I kiss every inch of you and have you writhing like a madwoman.”

“Meanie.”

“I’ll move faster if you tell me.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Curious. I want to know everything about you.”

“Even that?”

“Especially that.”

She’d buried this story centuries ago. It made her weak in the demons’ eyes, but in the end, it gave her strength. Helped her survive what she’d endured.

Her bra came unhitched and Justin’s talented hands had free rein on her back.

“Tell me. Please,” he whispered against her neck. “You can trust me with it.”

“My mom.” She breathed. “I did it to save my mom.”

“What?”

“Mom bargained with a demon to spare Dad’s life. He was sick, dying. We didn’t know what it was, but now I think it was probably cancer or something. Yvonne, the human, loved her family more than herself, evidently. So when the demon let Dad die the following day, he came calling for Mom.”

“He reneged on his deal?”

“Terms were vague. Mom was grieving. Scared. She didn’t realize that when she signed her soul away to keep him alive, she didn’t specify a time frame.”

“Bastards.” Justin continued with his magical massage, moving down to the small of her back.

“It wasn’t Pario, but it was one of his minions. I don’t remember a lot of what happened, mostly just what Agares told me. I bargained with the demon, told them to take me instead and to leave Mom alone until she lived a full, long life unbothered by illness or demons.” She wiped a tear away that had sneaked out. “I do remember the demon sniffing me, telling me how pure I was. Untouched would reap him great rewards.”

“Virgin?”

“Yep. Probably the only twenty-year-old virgin alive.” She laughed. “Even two hundred years ago, there was free love. People just weren’t as open about it as we are now.”

Justin laughed. “True. How is it you don’t remember the transition? Becoming a demon is a choice, then there are specific tasks to show loyalty. Some of them are pretty intense—sort of like initiation or hazing.”

“Agares said my path was pushed through quickly. I signed in blood, as everyone does, but Agares stepped in and consummated my transition.”

Justin’s massage stopped. “Consummated?”

She nodded, not wanting to verbalize the sexual acts she’d agreed to participate in to avoid killing an innocent to bypass the final step in the transition. Too bad she hadn’t forgotten that.

“Doesn’t matter. We’re together now.”

“You’ve been with many women, haven’t you?”

His massage resumed. “Yes, but when I met you, that ended.”

“When you met Yvonne.” Could he ever love Dyre as much as he loved Yvonne?

“You two are one and the same, and you’re both mine. I’d say I’m lucky to have
two
amazing women.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder where her Mark was. “I’m so proud of you. Your strength to do what you did for your mom.”

“They named me Dyre for a reason, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.” He nipped at her shoulder blade. “You never fit in down there because you weren’t destined for it. The Great One has other plans for you.”

He kissed a line to her neck while his other hand sneaked around the front of her and down her abdomen, headed straight to where she burned the most. She angled her hips to allow him in, and he let out a long, rumbling moan.

“Let me make love to you,” he whispered.

Stars flickered at his skillful ministrations, and she fisted the sheets. She wanted him to make love to her more than anything, but not until she was human. Not until she was rightfully his Mate. The fact that he couldn’t receive the Ahavah Mark while she was a demon meant something. No binding until she was human.

“Dyre.”

Hearing her name from him like that sent a warm thrill streaking across her abdomen. “Not…until you’re…Marked.”

Bursts of light exploded in her vision as her body gave in to his touch. He withdrew his hand and flipped her over. His mouth covered hers with a sense of urgency. Tongues tangled, teeth knocked.

He parted her legs with his knees and settled in the cradle of her hips. His movements brought more lights, and it suddenly felt as if her lungs were two sizes too small. She resorted to gasps to get her oxygen, but it wasn’t enough.

“Justin.” Her voice cracked beneath the intensity of pleasure he was bringing her. Worshipping her. Treasuring her.

“I love you.” He picked up the pace. “Love you so much.”

He kissed her hard, and her fangs dropped. “Wait…sorry.”

“Feels good.”

She buried her fingers in his hair and angled his head to the side so his face was at her neck. His breath panted across her flesh. His pulse soared, the vein throbbing so wildly she could see it.

“Do it.” He grazed his teeth along her skin. “Love you.”

She screamed out her release and sank her fangs into his soft tissue. A burst of blood streamed into her mouth, and her body lit up. She let her free hand navigate down to his butt, and she pulled him hard against her, curling one of her legs around his.

“Dyre.” He tensed against her, and started moving in time with her draws, until he finally let out a moan.

With subtle explosions still firing along the corners of her vision, she retracted her fangs and leisurely licked his flesh. His taste was intoxicating. She relaxed, her head resting in the pillow, but didn’t loosen her hold on him.

If she had her way, she never would again.

“That was so hot.” He propped his elbows into the pillow on either side of her face, his eyes still wide and dilated. “Just wait until we do the real thing.”

“I love you, Justin,” she whispered. “No matter what happens, remember that. It’s not just Yvonne who loves you, but Dyre, too.”

“Good. Get used to this, because this will be our lives for the rest of eternity.”