Phoenix Broken (13 page)

Despite himself, Scott winced. "How long were you there?"

"About a day and a half."

Christ.
"How old were you?"

"Twelve." Her tone was flat. "Needless to say, I finished the upper grades via highly-screened tutors on our estate."

Scott frowned, fighting a surge of unwelcome sympathy. “As you got older, didn't your…talent, powers… whatever you call it. Well, didn't it protect you from a lot of that? At least from men?”

“Sure. And women of a certain bent. But I can't sleep with them all, Johnny, despite what you think." She winked at him, but Scott didn’t miss the way her nostrils flared. The sudden stab of guilt pissed him off.

Scott started to circle her again. “I don’t know shit about what your kind can do.”

That was true enough. He'd rarely even seen demons in his line of work. They hadn't been a part of the Dark Days uprising, or any of the other conflicts he'd been in. Not visibly. Behind the scenes was another story. Demons were master manipulators. Scott knew that much and it was something he intended to keep in mind with this one.

“Don’t you? I thought you had me all figured out.” She gave him another wide smile. If there was pain there, she hid it like a pro. "Don't worry, Johnny, most creatures die at one point or another. I may want to last as long as I can, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to seduce everyone on the planet to do it."

He shook his head, but didn't reply.

"What? You, of all people, have a problem with that philosophy?"

"You just seem awfully fatalistic, even for a woman targeted for death," he said as they circled each other.

"What else can I be?" She laughed at him. "When someone has been trying to kill you for your entire life, you become one of two people, Johnny. A terrified recluse who trusts no one and jumps at their own shadow, or someone who accepts that each hour may be your last. Which would you prefer me to be?"

"I would prefer you to be a goddamn fighter."

"We all have our own ways of fighting. You show me yours, and I'll show you mine." Her smile this time was dazzling and went straight to Scott's heart, pulling him in.
Making him care.
Something he had no fucking business doing. He gritted his teeth.

"Well, since you asked for it …"

It was his only warning before he attacked. Des danced away like a flitting butterfly. Her grace was her biggest strength. She moved like a ballerina, strong and light.

Scott sliced a sweeping kick at her feet. Jumping into the air, Desdemona managed to tag his head with her heel again. It pleased him more than pissed him off. She was improving already.

He let her settle again, moving out of range. "So, I'm confused. If the demons hate you so much, what exactly is Calimente to you? He's one of them."

"Why do you care?" She was obviously wary, of his words and body both, holding a light crouch, ready for him to spring at her again.

"I need to know, if we're going to pull this off. Anyone who knows me, knows I would
never
fucking share, Des." He gave her a cutting smile. "And despite what you say, he seems far more than just a friend."

"He is. He's my
best
friend." Her tone was light, teasing, and deliberately evasive.

Pissed, Scott went for her again. She avoided his lunge, but his next words hit home, "Such a good friend that you're spying on him for Miles. Hell, I almost feel sorry for the poor sap."

Des' mouth fell open. "Spying on
Guido?"

He snagged her behind the knee with his heel. Quick as an eel, she slipped a foot between his knees as she fell. A sharp twist of her leg made him overbalance. When he tried to step away, their legs tangled further and Scott fell on top of her, his hands slapping the mat on either side of her head.

He had her pinned in seconds. Holding her wrists above her head with a forearm, Scott leaned over, pressing down hard as she fought. Desdemona was beyond furious, sounding like an alley cat with a pulled tail as she struggled. There was no finesse in her now, just pissed-off woman trying to draw blood any way she could. But once he got his thighs over hers, she couldn't break free enough to kick or scratch. She was reduced to swearing at him. In Saanis. Violently. He frowned.

"Why did that make you so mad? Don't like facing the truth?"

Scott wasn't careless enough to relax when her body went still beneath his, but he did become acutely aware of her beneath him.

And that smell. His nostrils flared. All citrusy and sweet. It had to be her hair. He imagined it loose, spread out beneath her, his fingers buried in those silky strands again…

Her voice derailed his train of thought. The tone the equivalent of that blank face; empty and hollow. "What does it matter? It doesn't matter what I say. You already believe whatever he told you."

"I like believing the
truth."

She made a disparaging noise in her throat. "Keep telling yourself that, Johnny."

"Goddamn it, stop acting like a fucking demon for one second!"

Her hips surged upwards, trying to throw him off. The heat and friction of her moving against him had his already very interested cock shifting—starting to go hard.

Fuck.

Scott slammed her back down again with an oath. "Settle down, damnit!"

Whipping her head around, Des bared her teeth ferally as if to bite him, giving a bitter laugh when he flinched. She glared up at him. "I just
love
how you're always throwing 'demon' in my face. Do you have any idea how hilarious that is? To them I am worse than human; a sick perversion of their precious bloodlines. I'm no demon, you son of a bitch, so stop calling me that. And get your stupid, heavy ass off me!"

"Is that how you justify betraying your friend? Because he is demon, and you hate them all?"

Shaking with anger, Des refused to say another word, her lips pressed so tightly together they'd gone white. Her gaze was like quicksilver; accusing…and hot enough to burn.

Scott's breathing shallowed and sped up. He could feel himself growing harder; the mix of frustration, anger and her hot little body pushing him right to the edge.
Control it.

Stubbornly, he made himself push the training point first. “You never bring a man to the ground with you. Especially a man my size. You’re at a disadvantage in this position. It's a stupid mistake. Don't make it again.”

"I
won't
. Now let me up!" Angrily, she moved under him again. Just like that there was no hiding his thickening cock as his hips dragged over her belly.

Beneath him, Des went quiet, barely seeming to breathe. His gaze narrowed at her paling cheeks, the way her eyes had gone wide. She didn't look flustered, or even angry now. Nope, that was
fascination
on his little half-breed's face, as if she were curious as hell about what he might decide to do next.

“Let me up, Johnny.” She repeated the words as if by rote, but her voice had gone all whisper soft and husky.

It was damn enticing. All of it. All of
her.

The firm curves of her breasts pressed into his chest, right against his racing heart. Both their shirts had twisted up, exposing skin. Hers felt delicious against his; silky and warm. He wanted to explore it with his fingertips.
His mouth.
Scott wanted to see her lips part with pleasure, to pet every inch of that lush body until she arched off the floor and cried his name.

His
real
fucking name for once.

Blood surged down his length, making him rigid in the space of two long heartbeats.

She was biting her lower lip again, white teeth pressed into that sweet, pillowy pink. Her eyes had dilated, going a stormy grey.

Deliberately, Scott moved against her, telling himself he wanted to see her reaction. To see how far she'd take this. But it was his own body that responded with a violent shudder. A moan tore from his throat, rolling through the room, low and deep.

Fucking hell.
She felt like heaven.

He took a shaky breath...and repeated the movement, dragging his aching cock slowly between her soft thighs. He wasn't the only one who moaned this time.

Des' head fell back, her lips parting on a gasp.

"Not a good idea, Johnny,
remember?"
she breathed, somewhere between a plea and a warning.

But she didn't say stop. And the faint edge of need in her tone had him thinking of her begging. Saying
please.

At that thought, he was lost.
I want
became a litany in Scott's head.

I want to kiss her, bite her,
taste
her …
make her scream my name.

I want to
fuck
her.

I want…

That feeling of being alive again.

God help them both, if she didn't stop him, Scott was going to take it all.

Des cried out as he yanked her hips up, meshing their bodies tightly together in one quick movement. He was so hard and thick, the feel of him pressing between her legs making her clench inside. Scott leaned down, his lips brushing hers.

“Make me stop,” his voice was raw, guttural. It was the sexiest sound Des had ever heard. Shivers cascaded down her spine. Des
knew
that she should end this, like he was begging her to. She just couldn't, any more than he could.

“No,” she whispered back, twisting beneath him, desperate for more.

Her desire for him was overwhelming. She needed to explore this feeling.
Had to.
There was something different about him; something that did more than simply call to her demon; it yanked her in, demanding she listen. Experience.

Feel.

Lust was something she'd thought she was intimate with. Des knew its feel, its weight and breadth. But what he did to her…

It was new. Scary. And absolutely irresistible.

His mouth covered hers. Hot, seeking, like a missile locked on target, threatening to make her explode. She whimpered and his tongue instantly darted between her lips. With a moan, she opened her mouth wider and he took it. Hard. Violently. The taste of him was the best kind of sin; intoxicating, wicked and oh so sweet.

His hand slid from her hip to the small of her back. Slipping under her shirt, his big palm flattened against her skin. His thumb made small, maddening circles at the curve of her side as she squirmed. His other arm still pinning her arms flat to the mat.

Her Johnny could kiss like a son of a bitch. Good enough to take her breath away, to make her forget she was only supposed to be exploring; that she should pull back, that they were going to go too far…

But there was no
too far
, not with him. In this moment, Scott owned her.

Desdemona tried to catch her breath before sensation drowned her completely. What was happening here? She'd wanted men before, or thought she had. Not like this, though.

Never like this.

His lips moved to her throat, sucking, tasting,
biting.
She threw her head back, giving him better access. He murmured low against her skin as he explored.
Something about her taste driving him mad…

Ripples of pleasure followed every touch of his mouth, his hands, his hips circling, grinding into her. Making her wet and hot. Aching for more. The smell of him made her dizzy…all heated, aroused male. His body heavy on hers. Rough and hard and powerful.              

She looked up in a daze. He was braced on one elbow, one corded arm holding her hands to the mat, his other arm pulling her up and into him as he moved. His blond hair was tousled, glinting dark gold in the light from the windows. His jaw flexing as he stared back at her, green eyes gone nearly black, those firm lips that had explored her skin pressed together as he rocked his hips again. The burst of pleasure had her eyes rolling back in her head.

Her hands itched to explore over every inch of him, her tongue ached to taste him.  But she couldn't.
Helpless.

Des arched up, desperate to feel more. Her shirt rode higher, his skin hot as it brushed hers. Her nipples tightened and pulsed as she whimpered again, "Please…"

"Oh,
fuck,"
Scott cursed against her skin.

His kisses grew wilder, hot and nipping, burning down her throat, to her collarbone and back again. Beneath his onslaught, she melted.
What in omno is he doing to me?

Whatever it was, she didn't want him to stop.

His hand cupped her breast, kneading lightly, his fingers brushing the tip, sending a bolt of sensation through her that had her whole body shaking.

"Please, she begged. "Please, please,
please."

Breathless, out of control, Des didn't care what she was saying. She felt like if he didn't take her right now, she'd go mad. Scott groaned, pulling back to look down at her.