Beast of Fire -- a Demon Hunting Sexy Romance Read online

  She shook her head. “It’s already too late,” she whispered, speaking the truth. And once he learned of the lines she'd crossed, the darkness she'd touched, to get here tonight, he’d know, too. She’d left the ranch knowing she could never go back. She’d left the ranch knowing she’d come to make a deal with the Underworld – to trade herself for Lucan.

  Chapter Two

  Lucan had no idea why Kresley thought it was too late to return to the ranch. It wasn’t too late. But it would be if he touched her again. He didn’t know if Kresley knew of their mating bond; he hoped she did not. Had he not known of their connection before now, touching her had delivered absolute certainty, delivered a rush of desire laced with danger. Because he could destroy her with that passion, with his desire to mark her as his. For that mark could link her future to his – – to the hell the silver bracelets around his wrists bound him to, as a slave to the Guardians of hell’s snake pits.

  Claim her. Make her yours. Lucan heard the voices in his head, knew the words were from the Demons that possessed him, knew those Demons wanted Kresley. They wanted him to claim her so they would also own her; they wanted him to mark her as his mate.

  “Go back to the ranch, Kresley,” he ordered, continuing to back away from her, telling himself to turn and run far from this place, fighting the burn to go to her, to pull her close. “They will protect you there. No Demon will find you there.” Especially not me, he silently added.

  “Lucan,” she whispered, stepping closer, that fiery red hair, veiled by the alley's dim light, cascading along her petite shoulders. But he could still see its vibrant shade in his mind; in fact, he could see better than he had seen in a year, could see beyond the dark. It had to be another trick of the Guardians, a way to mess with his mind, a way to play with his head. He couldn’t let them succeed.

  “Stay away from me, Kresley,” he hissed between his teeth, his tone harsh by design. “I don’t want you here. Not now. Not ever.”

  “I can’t leave you here. I can’t let you sacrifice yourself. I won’t–"

  He sliced a hand through the air, letting anger fill him. And he was angry. “You will. It’s done.” His chest tightened with guilt as he pressed onward, knowing he was lashing out, but promising himself it was for her own good. “Don’t make it all for nothing because you were foolish enough to put yourself at risk. Go back where you belong.” He didn’t give himself time to see the hurt in her expression; he couldn’t bear it.

  Lucan turned and started running. But she followed. He could hear her screaming his name, hear her boots behind him on the pavement. She’d never keep up, though. Not with his supernatural speed.

  He was leaving her behind, but probably not for long. Her pursuit was proof she’d keep coming, keep looking. Didn’t she understand? The Guardians wanted her; they’d tried to claim her through his mating bond with her. His life was hell. He wouldn’t let hers be, too.

  He had to do something to stop her once and for all. Something to send her back to the ranch and make sure she stayed there. He knew what he had to do–it was something he dreaded. And he didn’t dare form the action into words in his mind, knowing the Guardians read his thoughts. He’d learned to manipulate his mind to keep certain things out of their reach. He knew he’d pay a price for doing it, too, and pay with pain. But then, hell was his life. What was a little pain to go along with it?

  With that thought in his mind, Lucan continued pushing himself forward, taking one corner and then the next in long, determined strides. He knew the second he’d lost Kresley, the moment she was gone. Missed not one step to hesitation as he traveled the mile it took him to enter a deserted subway long ago retired, and then enter a side tunnel. Another mile and the thrum of a hard-rock band filtered through the air, but he kept his mind carefully blank, careful that he acknowledged nothing around him beyond a minute brush of awareness, careful it did not penetrate the deep recesses of his mind where the Guardians could extract information.

  Lucan's steps quickened as he grew closer to "Sabboth," the Underworld bar owned by a Demon named Seth. Lucan had killed Seth’s brother two nights before. He would be chopped beef inside that club, which was exactly why he’d come here. The Guardians might enjoy torturing him with hideous nightmares, mental pain and anguish, but they didn’t want him dead. They'd brought him to his knees with instant hallucinations without warning, tore through his mind with horrific images no one should be subjected to. And they'd enjoyed every second of his torture. Enjoyed his disobedience simply for the pleasure of making him pay for it. But if they attacked his mind inside Sabboth, he’d end up dead, and all their fun at his expense would be over.

  The entrance came into view, purple lights glowing around the frame. As Lucan stepped through the door, a security laser scanned his eyes, so he knew he had about three minutes to do what he had come to do before Seth and his Demon buds came for him. Lucan walked slowly, lazily toward the bar, thoughts clear, free of anything he didn't want the Guardians to read, but he could feel his wrists tingling, feel them stir in his mind.

  He stopped at the bar, slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the counter and spoke to the flat-nosed Demon that looked more bulldog than bartender. “Phone and make it quick.” The Demon narrowed his eyes on Lucan, a flicker of red in their depths. Lucan slid another bill on the counter. "That’s my limit.”

  The Demon grinned, showing fanged teeth, and reached under the bar, retrieving a phone. “Reception is hell down here, but you're welcome to try.”

  Lucan was trying all right, already dialing, his gut twisting in knots, a number he thought he’d never dial again – the Knights' leader, Jag. He had no right to call for himself, no justification to ask for help. He’d turned his back on the Knights, and there was no undoing that wrong. But this wasn’t for him. It was for Kresley. Jag had to get her out of here.

  “Come on, come on,” he murmured, listening to the ring tone, hoping for Jag’s voice.

  “You bastard!”

  The exclamation came from behind. Seth. Crap! Lucan turned with the phone still at his ear and brought Seth’s three-hundred-pound frame into view, the Demon's red eyes bulging as he charged forward. He plummeted into Lucan, sending the phone flying to the floor. Lucan shoved Seth off of him, using the supernatural strength of a Knight. Seth flew backwards, and Lucan dove for the phone, flat on his stomach, sliding across the hard-ass concrete floor. A booted foot kicked it out of the way, and Lucan jumped to his feet, preparing for attack.

  To his utter horror, he found himself facing the towering, leather-clad, presence of Adrian, Leader of the Darkland Beasts. The Demon who showed himself in god-like perfection, the long, blond hair and muscular body. But he was pure evil, a stain on life by his very existence. The Demon that Lucan had made his deal with. The Darkland Leader that Lucan had not seen in a year. The bar went silent, every Demon within terrified for their lives.

  But not Lucan. At his core, he was still a Knight of White, and he clung to that. A year ago, he’d come to Adrian for one reason only. To save Kresley from the Guardian’s hold over her.

  “You can’t have her,” Lucan said, bitterly, looking Adrian in the eyes, unwilling to cower with the rest of those around him. “That wasn’t the deal.”

  An evil smile slid onto Adrian’s lips. “Deals are made to be broken.” Adrian waved his hand, and Lucan found himself back in his apartment. Pain instantly lanced his mind, and he fell to his knees. He could do nothing to stop the Guardians' attack on himself, nothing to protect Kresley.

  ***

  Don’t make it all for nothing.

  Lucan’s words coiled in the pit of her stomach but did nothing to the determination in her heart, nor the footfalls of her steps down the alley. Kresley ran after Lucan as if she were running for her life- – only it was his life she was running for, not her own. Lucan had spoken the truth, a truth she herself had whispered to herself a million times over. He had given up so very much for her. And it wasn’t right. Not then. Not n
ow. She would fix this, would set him free, but she couldn’t do it by chasing him. He was too fast, too determined to escape her intentions.

  In a matter of seconds, Lucan left her standing in that long alley, alone, lost, but not defeated. He wanted her to go back to the Ranch, a place she would never return. But he would return. Lucan was going back where he belonged—back to the Knights. She’d take his place in hell or die trying.

  ***

  Two hours later, Kresley exited yet another dingy motel, with no luck finding Lucan. It was three in the morning, and his painfully harsh departure still replayed in her head with torturous repetition. She’d scoured the streets, checked inside bars and dingy motels near the bars, and everywhere else she could think of, and had come up empty-handed.

  She shoved her hair out of her face and started down the sidewalk toward her own hotel feeling defeated and tired. As much as she hated admitting it, the time for rest and food had come. She could only hope a new day would bring fresh perspective.

  Kresley kept her pace slow, still hopeful she might catch sight of Lucan, her mind weary with worry and fatigue. A few blocks from her hotel, a warning tingled along her nerve endings. She hesitated as she approached another alley, and stopped at the edge.

  Fire sprouted from the air a few feet away, drawing the rough outline of a man; in the next moment, a man appeared. Only, this was no man. This was a Beast, a Demon, and not just any Demon. Astoundingly handsome, with long, blond hair, and perfectly chiseled features, he wore black leather and stood well over six foot four. An evil energy crackled off of him, a contrast to his male beauty; Kresley’s skin crawled with his presence.

  “Adrian,” she whispered, having heard enough about the leader of the Darkland Beasts to know this was him. Fighting the instinct to step backwards, Kresley held her stance, reminding herself that he was forbidden by the powers of the universe from hurting a human. Those who followed him could, but he himself couldn’t touch her. A comforting thought for all of about one minute. He was a Demon, and they weren’t too keen on following rules. But the danger didn’t matter because Adrian controlled the Guardians. Adrian could free Lucan.

  “I want Lucan back,” she stated with determination.

  Adrian's sensual mouth lifted in a smile, his Demon eyes flashing red. “Not much on formalities are you, little one?”

  She’d heard the stories of his ability to seduce a woman with his voice and eyes. But it wouldn’t work on her. Not with her ability to sense his true self. He disgusted her. The depth of his evil shook her.

  Kresley stiffened, drawing her spine straight, putting on an air of fearlessness she didn’t feel, daring to ignore his words. “You want something from me or you wouldn’t be here. I want Lucan. I’m willing to deal.”

  He quirked a brow. “Are you sure about that?"

  Prepared to deal, yes. Nervous because Adrian had come to her? Yes, again. Why had he come? “What do you want from me?”

  His eyes flared with heat. “What are you offering?”

  “Name the price,” she whispered, her stomach rolling with the many possibilities that might follow. Aware she was offering more than she should.

  Satisfaction flared in his eyes a moment before he disappeared in an outline of fire, reappearing behind her. Somehow, she remained still, unmoving, but she was shaking on the inside. Terrified that Adrian, leader of the Beasts, was within an inch of her. And she knew he was taunting her with the promise of his rancid touch; his breath rushed along her neck, his big body flanking her with deliberate intimidation. “Would you give me your soul?”

  She sucked in a breath, anger curling in her chest as she whirled on him. If she could switch places with Lucan, she would, but it was not that simple. Not now that she knew Adrian didn’t intend her, or Lucan, for hell’s serpent pits, things had changed. How could she not assume the pits were part of this agreement Lucan made? It was an assumption that was easy to make, since that was what her time as captive to the Guardians had amounted to. But no. That was not his intention at all. He wanted to use them for his own evils. Her fire had done enough evil. She would not let Adrian control her, or her fire, to create more evil. “I keep my soul,” she countered, backing several steps away from him.

  “Give me your soul and I will ensure he feels no more pain.” His lips twitched in amusement. “You do remember the pain the Guardians can cause their captives. I know you do.”

  Her heart squeezed. She did remember. The Guardians had conjured up images of snakes in her mind, snakes crawling all over her. She’d almost gone insane before Lucan saved her, before he'd negotiated to take her place. Thankfully, she’d later learned from the Knights that Lucan had refused to give up his soul, which meant there was hope that he might one day escape the enslavement. And she knew she had to be his hope, because she owed him that for saving her. “There has to be something else you want.”

  “There is,” he said, disappearing again and reappearing directly in front of her. His hands clamped down on her arms, his eyes latching onto hers in a steely cold grip. “But you aren’t ready to give it to me. You will be, though. You will be very soon.”

  They disappeared into the air, fire flaring in their wake.

  In mere moments, solid ground slid beneath her feet and Kresley gasped as she found herself in the cramped hallway outside a dingy old apartment, forcibly transported there by Adrian. She jerked away from Adrian, thankful at least that she didn’t appear to be in hell. She hoped.

  “Where are we?”

  He inclined his chin at the door marked "227." A glance told her it was one of only a few on that level. “You wished to find Lucan. I have brought you to him.”

  Her stomach plummeted and she darted forward. "What have you done to him?” She didn’t wait for a reply, didn’t expect one. Her hand turned the doorknob, and she shoved open the wooden panel.

  Lucan lay on the floor unconscious, his body jerking, his face contorted in a nightmare. Kresley fell to her knees by his side. She stroked his cheek, forgetting they were virtual strangers. Guilt curled in her stomach. This was because of her. She had done this to him.

  “Lucan. Lucan.” He curled up next to her, wrapped his body around her, his arm circling her waist, head in her lap. Memories rushed over her, memories of her own torture under the control of the Guardians. She understood what he was feeling, understood how completely the Guardians control their captive's mind, especially during sleep.

  Lucan’s arm jerked and she stroked his face again, whispered in his ear. “Hold on, Lucan,” she whispered, thinking about the insanity she’d felt closing in on her during those hallucinations, the desire to retreat into emptiness and escape the pain. “Please, hold on.”

  Anger coiled in her gut. “Show yourselves,” Kresley screamed out, demanding the Guardians appear. She’d faced them before, the twin Demons capable of appearing in three different forms–human, reptile, or, like right now, as the damn bracelets on Lucan’s wrists, binding his will. Her hand moved to one of the bracelets. Her fingers sizzled with the touch; she yanked them away. “Face me now, and fight me for his freedom!”

  Adrian appeared above her, staring down at her with satisfaction in his eyes. “The Guardians do as I bid them to do. His pain stops when I say it stops.”

  Hatred filled her as she had never known it before. Fear over who, and what, Adrian was, slid from her mind. “Take me instead of him.”

  “It won’t be as easy as a trade this time,” he said. “You will have to earn his freedom. I make no promises about your own.”

  Lucan started shivering as if he were freezing cold. Kresley glanced down at him, touched his lips and saw they were blue. She was prepared for her own enslavement, but not this, not what Lucan was going through. With desperation, she looked up at Adrian. “Make it stop.” Her stomach soured as she added, “Please.”

  His brow inched upward. “Do we have a deal?”

  As much as Kresley wanted Lucan’s pain to cease, she knew better than to
blindly say yes to Adrian's questions. “What do you want from me?” she demanded. “How do I earn his freedom?”

  “I want you to bring me the Black Opal Ring.”

  A ring. It was too simple. Nothing was ever as it seemed with Adrian. “Why do you need me to get it?” she asked, fearful this ring would be a tool used against the Knights.

  He knelt down beside Lucan, facing her. Too close for comfort. “The ring holds the power to destroy Demons.”

  “What power?”

  His evil, red eyes pierced hers. “Fire.”

  Kresley’s pulse pounded in her temples so loudly she knew he could hear. Her grip on Lucan tightened, his warmth a comfort. But now his pain was a source of more guilt. No matter how she tried to embrace her firestarting, it always brought pain to those she cared about. “This was never about Lucan, was it?”

  “I hardly see how that’s relevant,” he commented dryly. “Bring me the ring.”

  “Where is it?”

  “On the hand of a powerful Demon.”

  Of course. Nothing would be easy about anything Adrian wanted from her. “What makes you think I won’t be killed trying to remove it?”

  “A human as lovely as you,” he said. “I’m sure you can come up with a way to persuade the wearer to remove the ring.” He reached out and brushed her cheek with his fingers.

  Kresley barely contained a flinch. “And while I seduce the Demon, he will burn me alive.”

  “The ring is a part of the Underworld, my dear, its fire susceptible to all things born from Heaven. And you, my dear, are born of an Angelic bloodline, a Knight's mate. Pure by birthright.”

  Her lips parted with the shock of his statement. She shook her head, rejecting that idea. “I’m not . . .no. I’m not.” She’d heard about the mating process of Knights, but paid it little attention. Her focus had been on preparing to find Lucan. And certainly she had heard nothing of such a bond between Lucan and her. This was a trick of some sort. She shook her head again.