The Darkest Kiss

'Again, then,' he said on a sigh.

She stared at him for a long while, not speaking, not moving. Finally she said, 'You want the truth, I'll tell you. But the information will cost you. We'll trade. A question for a question.'

'Done. What do you have that Cronus wants?'

'I have a…a…damn it, Lucien. I have a key, okay. Happy now?'

'Yes. There. We have both answered one question.'

'We both have no—Damn you! I did ask a question, didn't I? Happy now? Score one for you.'

'You have a key,' Lucien prompted. 'A key to what?'

'That, I won't tell you.' She popped another bite of chicken into her mouth, chewed, swallowed.

'What does it open?'

'I'm done answering your questions,' she said flatly. 'You don't play fair.'

He didn't berate her sense of fairness, but continued the game. 'Why don't you give it to him?'

'Because it's mine,' she snapped. She dropped her fork, and it clanged against her plate. 'Now hush it before I flash you to an alligator pit. You're ruining the meal I spent hours preparing.'

'You just told me you didn't cook it.'

'I lied.'

'A key will matter little when you are dead,' he pointed out, unwilling to close the topic. Too much was at stake.

'Fuck you, Death.'

She only called him Death when she was mad, he realized. Otherwise, it was sweetcakes, baby doll and Flowers. And lover, his mind piped in. He preferred those. Except for Flowers, the names made him feel like a man. Not an immortal, not a cursed warrior. Not ugly. And not someone who would ultimately destroy her.

He frowned. 'I can't believe you are willing to die for a mere key.'

'It's not like any other key, and you don't have to kill me.'

'I must.'

'Whatever.' She drained the rest of her wine. 'I answered a few more of your questions, now answer a few for me.'

'Very well.' He speared a crisp green bean. 'What would you like to know?'

She propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her upraised palms. 'Have you ever disobeyed a command from the gods?'

'No. But then, I was not ordered to do anything until the Titans won the heavens. The Greeks left us alone after bestowing Maddox's death-curse.'

'Have you tried to disobey the Titans, at least?'

'Again, no. Not personally. But Aeron refused to kill those four women, and you have seen the results. Bloodlust has consumed him. He wants to kill everyone now. Even his friends. Maybe even himself. We had to lock him away, taking even more freedom than he lost when all of us were cursed with our demons. It's something we vowed never to do to each other.'

'I understand,' she said, suddenly seeming lost in thought. 'Losing your freedom is a punishment worse than death.'

'Yes.' Lucien studied her, amazed by what he saw. He'd never seen this playful woman quite so serious. She must be recalling the time she'd spent locked away, perhaps tortured. His hands tightened into fists. 'How long were you imprisoned?'

She shrugged. 'Seemed like forever and I believe ancient scrolls say a hundred years, but it was more like two.'

Clearly she meant to sound cavalier. She failed. 'What did you do while locked away?'

'Think, pace, hurt. Talk to the man in the cell beside mine. He was a little cocky, but that was better than silence.' She sighed. 'Have you ever fought the demon of Death?'

His brow furrowed in confusion. Better confusion that fury at what she had suffered. 'What do you mean? Fought it physically?'

'No. I know it can't leave your body unless you die or it's sucked out. I know it's trapped inside you and the two of you are one. But have you ever resisted its desire to take a soul?'

His entire body tensed. This was not a matter he usually discussed. Anya had revealed a part of her secret, however. He could do no less. 'Yes.'

'And?' Her focus intensified, her eyes like a laser beam on him. 'What happened?'

None of the warriors knew he had once been in love; none knew he had watched his lover slowly wither away, her body rotting. 'If I do not escort a soul, its physical body suffers untold agony. More than any person should ever have to suffer. More than Fate intended.'

'Hit a nerve, did I? There's a muscle ticking under your eye.' Rather than press him for more information, she ate the rest of the meal in silence.

As he watched her, the dark memories her questions had brought to the surface receded, replaced by desire. Take her. The words whispered across his mind. Maybe because every movement she made was more sensual than the last. Make love to her.

No. You are not a monster. Not anymore, at least. He could spend time with her, but nothing more.

When she finished eating, she stood. 'Want to make out a little or just jump straight into the shopping?'

She had not removed the beige coat and looked toasty warm. More than that, she looked strippable. He wanted to be the one to warm her. 'Shopping,' he forced himself to say. But he did not stand.

She shrugged as if his answer hadn't mattered to her, and that irritated him. The irritation angered him. And the anger annoyed him. He should feel nothing.

'You can leave your weapons here,' she said with a teasing grin. 'Hunters never come up this way. Neutral territory and all.'

'I do not remove my weapons. Ever.'

Her gaze traveled the long length of him in a heated caress. 'Not even to shower?'

His cock stirred as he imagined her in the shower with him, water raining over her naked body. 'Not even.'

'Why, Lucy. That's totally barbaric.' She bit her lower lip and sauntered around the table, bending down to whisper in his ear, 'But it's something I'd like to witness firsthand.'

A fallen lock of her hair brushed his cheek, and he found his eyes closing in ecstasy. His blood suddenly caught fire, nearly raging out of control in seconds. Rather than kiss her as he so desperately wanted—stupid, dangerous…wonderful—he somehow found the will to rise and move away from her.

'You really know how to drag a party down.'

'Anya.'

'No. Not a word. Let's get out of here,' she said, voice cracking slightly.

He was ashamed to realize his legs were shaking. He was so hard his cock actually hurt. One stroke, and he would come.

Anya didn't look back as she strolled to the front door. Opened it, left the apartment, expecting him to follow. He took a moment to breathe in and out, letting the cold air soothe him.

Every muscle in his body was clamped down, eager and needy for her. Only her. Even the demon seemed to ache for her, no longer purring but roaring hungrily.

Think of the artifacts, the box. Think of Hunters. Think of holding Anya's dead body in your arms.

That sobered him.

An angry whisper suddenly drifted past him. 'I'm waiting, Death.'

Cronus.

Lucien's blood chilled completely. Finally the god king had returned. Why here? Why now? Because your reprieve is over. The king had not materialized. What was he doing?