Page 66 of Knox
Daniel nodded vigorously, hoping his rambling would keep Caelen off-balance. "Yeah, and the sex? Mind-blowing. Like,out-of-this-world incredible. Never experienced anything like it. I mean, Knox is an incubus, right? So, you can imagine."
Caelen’s expression shifted, something dark and unreadable settling in his eyes. "Is that so?"
"Oh, yeah," Daniel said, feeling like he found his groove. He only had to imagine he was Adrian. Easy, right? "He’s got this way of making you feel like you’re the only person in the world. It’s intense, really. But, you know, I guess that’s part of his charm. And it’s not just the sex, though. We have this deep, emotional connection. It’s like we’re meant to be or something."
Caelen’s gaze sharpened. "Are you two mates?"
"Yeah, totally," Daniel said before he could stop himself. Only after the words left his mouth did he take a second to wonder if his claim made his situation worse or better.
"He’ll take a lot of stupid risks to get you back then." The Shadow King smiled. "Good." He reached a hand out to Daniel, touching Daniel’s chin before Daniel could flinch away. "I almost understand why he’s so taken with you. Your energy does taste very good."
Goosebumps raised on Daniel’s arms.
"There’s something about you. I wonder…" He leaned in closer. "Are you as drawn to Knox as he is to you?"
Caelen’s fingers lingered on Daniel’s chin, sending an unwelcome thrill down his spine. He fought the urge to pull away, unsure how Caelen would react. "Of course I am," Daniel managed to say. "We’re soulmates, and all that."
The Shadow King didn’t seem dissuaded by Daniel’s words. "You know," he said, "Knox isn’t the only one who can offer yousomething extraordinary." His fingers trailed from Daniel’s chin to his jaw, the touch light but charged. "Imagine a world where you could have power, real power, beyond your wildest dreams."
Daniel swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. "What are you saying?"
Caelen’s eyes gleamed with a predatory intensity. "I’m offering you a chance to be more than just a battery for Knox. You could stand beside me, share in my power, my dominion. You have a spark, Daniel. With me, that spark could become a raging fire."
Daniel’s mind raced, momentarily tempted until he remembered all that he knew about the Shadow King. This was what Caelen did. He manipulated people with false promises to get them on his side.
That wasn’t going to work on Daniel. "I know you too well," Daniel said, drawing back. "You don’t mean anything you say."
"You think you know me," Caelen said, his voice low and almost contemplative. "But you’ve only read about me in a book someone else wrote. How can you trust any of it?"
"Because it’s all real!" Daniel argued. He’d thought Veridia didn’t exist, but then Knox and the others came to life and he’d never been so excited about anything. Everything in the story was true.
Wasn’t it?
"Oh, Daniel…" Caelen said as if Daniel was being very silly.
"Wait," Daniel said, feeling an odd sense of wrongness. "How do you know my name?"
Caelen smiled, but it was the kind of smile that made Daniel want to crawl away from him. "Your name came to me when I drank from you. Such a pretty name, it suits you."
Before Daniel could react, the Shadow King moved onto the bed, coming impossibly close to Daniel, who pressed himself back against the headboard, heart hammering.
Caelen reached out, fingers brushing along Daniel’s arm, making Daniel’s skin tingle with a treacherous rush of excitement.
God, why did he have to have a thing for white-haired villains?
Daniel clenched his jaw, forcing himself to remain still. He couldn’t give Caelen the satisfaction of seeing how much he was affected. He couldn’t allow his body to betray him.
Caelen’s hand moved up, fingers carding through Daniel’s hair. "You’re so colorful," Caelen said. "I like that."
Daniel glared at Caelen. "You can look with your eyes, not your hands."
Caelen looked at him with an amused glint in his eyes. "But if I wasn’t touching you, I couldn’t do this."
Without warning, a new sensation washed over Daniel—Caelen drawing energy from him. He’d done it before, at the convention, but he’d pulled so hard then that Daniel had blacked out almost instantly without registering much of what was happening to him. The Shadow King was gentler now, feeding slowly so Daniel could feel it.
Daniel couldn’t compare the sensation to anything.
It was like a slow, seductive pull, a warmth spreading through him that was both draining and intoxicating. Caelen’s handwas not touching anything more than his hand, but his magic enveloped all of Daniel, reaching straight into his soul and taking.
