Page 86 of The Demon's Fire
“I’ve had enough heat from you.”
“Suit yourself.” Kole closed his eyes. His breathing fell into an even rhythm.
Skyler rolled onto her back, listening to him inhale and exhale. She was not an impulsive person. Her hormones had never been out of control. She reminded herself she was a successful businesswoman. Chief legal officer for the Alliance. A human. She could never be attracted to a barbaric demon. Still, sleep didn’t come. After what seemed like hours, she was desperate. “Are you still awake?”
“I am now.” Kole groaned.
“Talk to me. I can’t sleep.”
“Why is it when you’re in pain or can’t sleep you want to talk? Never mind.” Kole lit a torch on the wall with a stream of fire. “So, you decided to keep me awake, too?”
“Yes.”
“Give me a minute to think.” Kole scrubbed a hand across his close-cropped hair and yawned. “Did you get the doll?”
“What?”
“For Christmas.”
Skyler’s answer was a long time coming. “I ran down our grand steps early to look under the tree, sure she would be there. Santa had promised. But there was no My Pretty Ballerina. That’s what the doll was called. I found my letter in my father’s trashcan later. Another disappointment for me.”
“I’m sorry.” Kole spoke barely above a whisper. She thought he muttered, “Bastard.”
“Did you ever want something badly when you were a child?”
“Yes. Parents.” Kole rolled over. Eventually, she heard his rhythmic breaths.
Pain stabbed Skyler’s heart. She wished she could settle on one version of Kole. Was he a brutish barbarian? A loyal warrior? A killer? A little boy who missed his parents? A man who made her blush with desire? While she concentrated on these possibilities, she fell asleep. In what seemed like seconds, she was being shaken.
Kole loomed above her. “Let’s go. It will be dawn soon.”
“A few more minutes, please.” She rolled over.
“If we overstay our welcome, we’ll be hanging from a tree in the noonday sun. Sparse meant what he said. Best we leave before first light.”
As they reached the winding path of the marketplace, Skyler hoped Kole remembered the route because she didn’t. “We took so many turns. How can you be sure of the way out?”
Kole pointed at a close scattering of black pebbles on the ground. Skyler’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t see you leaving those.”
“If you had, Sparse would have also.”
She spied more ahead of them. “How clever.”
“I bet you thought I was no more than a pretty face and a big dick.”
ChapterTwenty-One
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Nico rolled his head from side to side as his lids scraped up his eyes like sandpaper. He sprang off the couch where he had fallen asleep last night with a bitch of a headache. This morning, he was still feeling the loving from the warlock’s spell.
Where am I? Oh, yeah. Paradise.
He pressed on his brow to stop the pain. “Damn. That hurts.” Somebody knocked again. “I’m coming. Keep your shit together.” He hitched up his jeans and opened the door, bare chested.
Sabine rolled her eyes. “What? No sweetness? Invite me in, cuddles.” As she shoved by him, her fingers trailed along his chest. “Nice.”
“While flattery will get you into the sack with me, it won’t get you anything else. What the hell did you hit me with in my office? I’m still groggy with the effects.”
