Something Wicked (18 page)

He didn’t think so, but he wasn’t certain.

The thought was driving him insane.

Maybe he’d stepped over the line by borrowing her body. Maybe she’d finally see the light and want to get rid of him once and for all.

She had been pissed.

He ignored the twinge of guilt he felt. Seeing Theo had been vital. Not telling Eden about it had been . . . well, also vital. The woman could be stubborn.

What was happening? Damn it. He hated being powerless like this.

Hanging out down here in the dampening darkness, he couldn’t do anything but wait and try to remain calm.

There was a time when it would have been much harder to keep him down. Back when he was a full-power archdemon ready to lay waste to the human world as a fun Friday guys’ night out with Theo.

The good old days. Weren’t they? He wasn’t sure anymore; the memories were a bit unclear. But back then at least he knew no one could have defeated him this easily.

Just a little, common witch—not even a full black magic practitioner—was able to bring him to his knees tonight. It was embarrassing.

Eden
, he thought.
Please be okay.

Worrying wasn’t very demonic of him, but he really couldn’t help it. Stupid humanity.

He didn’t know how long it had been before he felt something—saw something. It was as if a hand had been held out to him. Not a literal hand, but . . . it was there.

He grabbed hold of it.

Then, before he could figure out what was happening, he was pulled at lightning speed up through the layers of dampening. He felt the cold air as he exited Eden’s body, and then he concentrated on taking form. It was instinctual but it still required effort. He clothed himself as he became corporeal.

Eden stood in front of him.

He felt an immediate and almost overwhelming wave of relief at the sight of her.

“What the—?” He looked at his hands, his eyes wide. “Eden . . . what happened?”

“I did it,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I could.”

He came toward her and took her face between his hands, his brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”

“Very much so.”

“Ben . . . he was with a witch.”

“Old news.”

Her hair felt so soft and silky that he couldn’t help but slide his fingers through it. “Where are they now?”

“They’re gone. I took care of them.”

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Quarter after four.”

He frowned at that. “But . . . it’s not even sunrise yet.”

“No.”

“Then how . . .” He blinked, then looked around to see that they were in Eden’s apartment, in her bedroom. “How is this possible? What happened?”

“Ben’s working for the Malleus now. He introduced me to his boss. His boss tried to kill me. I escaped. That’s a quick overview.”

Darrak shook his head, confused. “What?”

Eden took his hand in hers and brushed her lips against it. He drew in a sharp breath. She wasn’t acting like someone who’d just survived a murder attempt. “Eden . . . what did you do to escape?”

She slid her hands up over his chest, her expression serene. “What I had to do.”

It felt good when Eden touched him like this. Too good. She didn’t do it very often—at least not when she was awake. What did this mean?

Oh, no.

He grasped hold of her amulet and looked at it closely, then swore under his breath.

It was a shade darker, just like he’d thought it would be.

“You used your magic,” he said.

“I had no choice.”

“You shouldn’t have—”

But then he couldn’t speak again because she kissed him.

ELEVEN

Darrak hadn’t tasted her for much too long. A brush of her lips against his when she was asleep and dreaming wasn’t nearly the same and not nearly as good. Eden managed to make him as weak as a human male with only a kiss. When her mouth was on his, he lost the ability to think.

“I want you, Darrak,” she whispered, as their lips parted and her mouth moved over his jaw to his throat. Her hands slid up under his shirt, fingernails sensually scratching his skin as she pulled the material higher.

He was about to comment, but her tongue swirled over his left nipple and he had to struggle to remain standing.

Underrated, male nipples were—even the ones belonging to demons. Very underrated.

Eden pushed him backward until he hit the edge of the bed and sat down. Her hands went to the waistband of his pants, and she very effectively undid the top button and slid the black jeans over his hips, then kissed a hot line down his chest and abdomen. She didn’t stop there.

He swore harshly. “Eden—”

This wasn’t right. She wasn’t thinking straight.

They couldn’t do this.

Or . . . well, maybe they could.

No. No, they couldn’t.

She’d used her magic to escape from Ben. The cop had threatened Eden, and she’d had to use black magic to get away. That powerful magic was still flowing freely through Eden’s body. It allowed her to summon him before he was normally able to take form. Now it had condensed and changed into this . . . this
need
.

Black witches and sex magic went hand in hand, after all. It was how the other witch, Selina, had managed to take Darrak’s power and force him to make her into a black witch three hundred years ago. Each time they’d been together she’d become more powerful.

And her soul had become more damaged.

It was the only thought keeping him from losing his mind and taking Eden right now.

Because he really,
really
wanted to.

Demons typically gave in to their carnal needs. It was kind of in their nature.

“Eden . . . please . . .” Darrak managed as she worked her way back up his body and kissed his mouth again—and yes, he kissed her back. He couldn’t help it. There was such deep desire in her eyes. For him. This would normally please him very much, but at the moment he couldn’t help but be scared by it. Scared for her.

This was a side effect of using her black magic. It instinctually drove her toward seeking more power. This was how she’d get it. If they were together again like this, it would take her deeper into the darkness; it would sacrifice more of her soul.

He just wished he was stronger right now. Not only physically, but mentally. But the more she touched him, kissed him, the weaker he got.

It was a single thought that stopped him from ripping off her dress and burying himself deep inside of her:

Leena was right.

He loved Eden.

Whether or not it was real or if it would last once his curse was broken was another thing. He loved her.

And he didn’t want her soul to be damned.

Okay, it was more than a single thought. But it was all connected.

“Eden, uh . . . stop this right . . . right now.” He really wished he could sound more convincing.

“Darrak, please, I want you.” She pushed him back onto the bed and straddled his extremely aroused body.

Damn her mouth and her hands. They were not making this easy for him.

He caught her wrists in his grip, flipped her over, and pinned her down against the bed.

She smiled wickedly up at him. “That’s more like it,” she purred.

And he thought only Lucifer knew how to torture him? Wrong, so very wrong.

She wanted him. Would it really be so bad?

A few minutes of pure pleasure—

In return for her immortal soul bound for the pit for all eternity. He was a demon but he refused to be the one to damn her more than she already was.

Still. He couldn’t honestly say he wasn’t tempted. He wasn’t that altruistic.

“Eden.”
He said her name harshly. “I know it’s always been hard for you to keep your hands off me, but you need to snap out of this right now.”

He forced himself to reconjure clothes that worked as a minor barrier between his body and hers. Didn’t help much but it was something. She really didn’t know how to take no for an answer and held tightly to him as he tried to push her away. Then he shakily got up from the bed, quickly moved to the bathroom, and poured a glass of water, which he brought back to her.

Eden crawled toward him on the bed, her eyes bright green and following his every move like a predator.

“Please, Darrak. I know you want me.”

“You couldn’t be more right about that.”

Her hands moved up his legs to his chest again. She pressed her mouth against the fabric of his T-shirt. “Please make love to me.”

Darrak gritted his teeth and forced himself to ignore her touch and the tempting invitation. “I brought this for you.”

She looked at the glass of water. “But I’m not thirsty.”

“It’s not to drink.”

He threw the cold water in her face.

Eden sputtered and wiped her eyes. “Darrak!”

“I didn’t want to have to slap you. This is a little wetter but still effective. I hope.”

Her eyes widened little by little as clarity came into her gaze. “Oh, shit.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

She touched her lips as if remembering all the places they’d traveled in the last few minutes. “Oh,
shit
.”

“Right. Well, don’t worry, it’s over.”

“Took you long enough to stop me.”

“Don’t blame me that you can’t keep your hands, or mouth, off me.”

Eden fell back onto the bed and clamped a pillow over her face. “Oh, my God!” came the muffled pronouncement.

Embarrassment? Regret? Disgust? He wasn’t exactly sure. But whatever she was feeling, she now seemed to be trying to smother the memory right out of herself.

He grabbed the pillow and pulled it away. She looked up at him with worry.

Darrak really hated himself for having these very inconvenient feelings for this woman before him. He wished they’d go away and never come back. He didn’t like feeling so human around her, moving quickly between concern and desire. But he couldn’t help the fact that he liked being with her, being close to her. He liked how she smelled, how she tasted, how she felt.

Was Theo right? Was what he felt for her only an illusion? Was this unfamiliar emotion that had burrowed deep into his chest a fleeting thing? Because of that emotion he’d single-handedly destroyed her life, and there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot he could do about it now. All he could do was try to prevent further damage any way he could.

And he was not even slightly amused by the flush that had come into her cheeks as she realized that she’d very thoroughly molested him before getting a glass of water thrown in her face for her troubles. Well, maybe a
little
amused.

Something seemed wrong with this scenario when the water thrower was an ex-incubus.

In all his existence he’d never felt this way before. For anyone. To put it mildly, it was very inconvenient.

Luckily, if nothing else, she didn’t feel the same for him. She might feel a strange affection for the demon who’d ruined her life, maybe a bit of lust—or
a lot
depending on the day—but Eden
didn’t
love him.

It was a relief, actually. Her saving grace. It made things much easier.

“You need to rid yourself of any remaining black magic right now,” Darrak said. “Try to concentrate. Can you do that?”