Page 24 of Deranged Demons

He chuckles and moves back just enough to remove his pants. Then his arms hook under my knees, and he teases me with the tip of his cock. He waits until I’m writhing and panting, and then with a hard thrust he’s inside me. I gasp as he pushes deep, not holding back, and taking me just like I want him to. The wood groans and I moan, my back arching off the polished table.

“Harder,” I command, and he slams into me with more force, making the plates rattle and bounce near my head.

“I take it you’ve had a rough night?” he manages between grunts.

My body heats even more, and I suck in a sharp breath as he hits a delicious spot deep inside me. He might not be my mate, but he knows what he’s doing, and pleasure winds through my body. “The worst,” I manage.

There’s another flicker of concern in his gaze, but it’s gone quickly, like he knows the last thing I need right now is his pity. He fucks me harder and the world fades away, my mind focusing on the moment and the pleasure. I know it won’t last, but it’s enough that my bones thaw, and the chill of the shadow realm starts to disappear. My body continues to heat, and I feel lighter than I have in a long time.

I look up at him. Sweat drips down Kai’s temple, trailing down past his eyes, and his gaze searches my face. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but his expression slackens in surprise before he smiles, his lush lips twisting into a smirk. “I’ve got you, princess,” he drawls.

My heart flutters. Demons don’t talk to me like this. Not ever. They’re usually either falling over themselves to follow my commands or shouting slurs at me when I’m facing them in combat.

But Kai’s speaking as if we’re…more than friends. I close my eyes as my throat tightens. It’s a mistake doing this right after my latest trial, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. Kai quickens his thrusts, and I cry out, my nails digging into the wooden table. I need this. Right now, I need him. A surge of power goes through me as I near my release, the magic building and making my body tingle.What?I’ve been with males before, but it’s never been like this. Every nerve comes alive, sizzling with power, but just as I’m about to tip over the edge, a strange chill cuts through me, my blood turning to ice like I’m back in the shadow realm. The feeling is gone within seconds, but the rush of power starts to fade, and I snap my eyes open. Floral marks illuminate my skin, a pattern of golden tattoos shining in the dim light, but they disappear quickly until my skin is smooth and bare again.

“Did you feel that?” I gasp, but Kai doesn’t answer. With jerky movements, he releases my legs and steps away from me.

I lift my gaze to his face. “Kai, I—” I don’t finish, and my eyes shoot wide. Kai’s mouth gapes open likehe’s struggling for air, and no sound is coming out. He takes another step away from me, his nails digging into his skin as he claws at his neck as if he’s trying to free himself from something.

“Kai?” my voice wobbles as I jump up from the table. “What is it?”

The demon drops to the floor, jerking and writhing, and before I can reach him, he stills, his mouth open in a silent scream. And then he vanishes.

What the fuck?Kai?My heart lurches, and I crouch to where I’d last seen him, swiping my hands through the empty air. I know he’s dead, but usually when a soul is sent to the shadow realm, the body remains. Unlike me, he’s not sneaking in the back door of the realm. No, he’s walked through the front gates.

I swallow hard, staring at the smooth skin of my arm, right where the marks had been moments ago. Somehow, I caused this, and guilt rises in me when I remember his words: I’ve got you, princess. I’d wanted him to help me banish the memories of the shadow realm, and now I’ve taken everything from him. Unlike me, he’ll never find his way back.

The dream changes, and I find myself outside the forbidden door in the underground vault. Power pulses from within, and an ancient voice whispers in my ear, as soft as a caress though I can’t make out the words. I take a step closer to the door and to whatever lies within, and invisible fingers rake over my skin, the energy making my body vibrate. I still can’t make out the whispers, but the words become more frequent, like the power is frantic forme to move closer. Dread pools in my stomach, but for some reason it feels right to keep moving toward the door. I take another step. One more and the scanner will know that I’m there. My right foot lifts into the air, but before I step forward, I smell it.

The scent of bitter chocolate fills my senses, warm and creamy, and sweet. It coats my tongue, and the invisible fingers of power loosen their grip on my shoulders.

I gasp, my eyes shooting open as Shade squawks, startling from where she’d been perched on the end of a decayed bookcase. It’s the first time I’ve slept that deeply in months, maybe even years, and my mind is still a mess as I peer up at where Nate and Prince Callan are standing.

Blood coats Nate’s chin and fingers, and Prince Callan’s breast plate is covered in scratch marks. By my legs, I peer down at the objects that woke me. The severed heads of four alpha shifters are clumped together, blood pooling around them as the males stare silently ahead.What the fuck?

Shade ruffles her feathers and makes a disgusted noise in my mind.“Can you ask your mates to warn us next time before they go tossing heads around?”

I blink, lifting my gaze to where Nate is smirking, and Prince Callan has a self-satisfied smile on his face.

“What is this?” I ask, though I instantlyrecognize the four alphas we encountered not too long ago.Dammit. Why didn’t they stay away?

“Our friends from earlier tracked us here. They were convinced we were hiding more medicine,” Prince Callan explains.

I nod, knowing full well what he really means. That the shifters came looking for something we didn’t have, and they were willing to spill blood to get it.

“I took down the wolves,” Nate grins like he’s proud of himself. “Would have taken the bear, too, if the prince hadn’t gotten in my way.”

Even though they’ve reverted to their non-shifted forms, the bear shifter’s head is the biggest of the four, and I can’t stop staring at the lifeless expression on his face. Seeing the alphas like this shouldn’t bother me, but memories of the shadow realm and of Kai make me queasy. “Okay,” I say slowly, trying to focus on the present. “But none of this explains why their heads arehere.”

Both of my mates are silent for a moment, and Prince Callan looks genuinely confused. “Oh, would you rather their fingers?” he says like he’s figured me out. “Because that can be arranged.”

I make a face. “What? No.”

“Wow, Blake. Your mates are even more fucked up than you are,”Shade comments on the verge of laughter.

I stare at the archangel expecting him to crack a smile, but he only looks at me expectantly like he’swaiting for me to tell him what color roses I like. Only, we’re discussing body parts, and carrying around someone’s decaying limb just sounds like a pointless activity. I resist the urge to rub the bridge of my nose. “You know what, good job,” I say as I stand, and I partly mean it because if the alphas were here to kill us, they got what they deserved. “But next time you can just tell me what happened. I don’t need the visual aid.”

Nate shrugs. “Where’s the fun in that?”

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