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.
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
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,
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 pleasureIn 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.
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,
“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
