“You know better than that,” Risk replied to him. “A lowly creature demon can’t kill me.”
Warning bells screeched in my ears. What the fuck was happening? I wanted out of this office. I wanted away from these men. My spider was growing anxious, pacing around inside of me, and I felt like I was about to miss a step and go tumbling down.
“Good to know. She may serve other purposes for me then,” Belvini replied, his eyes skating over me, still dressed up in my seductive clothes, with tousled just-fucked hair.
I went frozen. Completely still. I wasn’t even able to take in a breath.
“I don’t think my new pet likes you very much, Collector,” Risk replied with amusement.
He began to stroke me, like he was doing it simply because he could. I cringed from his touch. This was all wrong. Inside, my stomach was twisted like a towel being wrung out, dripping with edginess and making a puddle of fear. I suddenly felt off-balance, like everyone in the room was three steps ahead of me.
My mind raced backwards, going over my time with Risk in The Between. It had all moved so fast. We latched onto each other in a whirlwind, caught up in the storm. It had felt so right. Relying on instincts and impulses, following my demon’s lead. And yet now, nothing had ever felt so wrong. I didn’t know the man I was currently perched on, nor did I understand what the fuck his angle was.
“You’re always so impulsive, Risk,” Belvini chided. “Unlike me, you don’t know how to play the long game. You never have.” He pulled out his BlackBerry, his demeanor changing when he looked at the screen. Once he put the phone back in his pocket, he looked back up at Risk with a smirk. A smirking Belvini was even more terrifying than a pissed off one.
Risk started playing with my hair, his fingers brushing it over my shoulder so he could run his nose over the skin of my neck. My body wanted to melt against him, but my mind was screaming. “You’re boring me. Get to the point. I want to play with my new pet again.”
Oh gods. How could I be so fucking stupid? My lip trembled, and I was forced to catch it between my teeth to keep it from moving. Risk wasn’t who I thought he was. I’d been so drunk on his risk power, too naive to realize.
Belvini shook his head, annoyed. “Always thinking with your cock. Tell me, how many sexual partners do you think you’ve had over the years?”
Risk rolled his eyes. “If you’re trying to make my new pet jealous, you’re being laughably juvenile,” he replied before running his hand up my thigh. My core instantly began to pulse, like a beacon trying to beckon him closer. I snapped my knees together, horrified at my body’s response, but he wasn’t deterred. His hot, sinful hand just kept trailing higher.
Belvini chuckled and shook his head. “No, nothing as crass as that,” he assured him. “I don’t particularly care for jealousy or other mundane emotions, especially from lowly supes and hybrids. But I wonder, do you even remember your last indiscretion with a certain elemental?”
“Mmm, perhaps.” Risk reached the hem of my black dress, and his fingers stopped to toy with it, while I struggled to become numb to his touch and focus on what Belvini was getting at.
“Allow me to refresh your memory,” he continued while standing up. He walked around his desk with slow deliverance. “She works on the council, yes?”
“I never understood your obsession with the supernatural government,” Risk put in boredly.
“It seems I’m not the only one with an obsession,” he said pointedly, watching Risk’s hand where he played with my dress. “Though I’m surprised. The councilwoman was not your usual type, but you did what you always do—you took a risk.” Belvini then motioned toward the door with a sly smile. “Miss Cainson, would you mind joining us, please?”
My stomach dropped. Risk’s wandering hand stilled.
A pretty woman with blonde hair coiled up in a stiff bun walked through the door with her head held high and a snarl on her face. She was wearing wobbly heels and a business suit—a suit that barely covered her large and very pregnant belly.
“Hello, Risk,” she greeted before positioning herself at Belvini’s side.
My gaze hitched on the woman’s stomach, dread collecting in the pit of mine.
“Up, pet,” Risk said tapping me on the thigh in a clear signal. I practically bolted out of his lap, backing up as much as I dared to put distance between myself and everyone else in the room. Risk was on his feet in an instant, his eyes flashing. “What the fuck is this?”
The woman laughed, but it wasn’t a nice sound. “I should think it’s obvious, Risk. Can’t you sense it? I’m carrying your child.” She pressed a hand to her belly, looking smug.
Risk scowled. “The fuck you are. I believe I recall you saying you couldn’t have children.”
She lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Seems I misspoke.”
Smoke started to gather at the ends of Risk’s sleeves, the billowing black falling down his arms and coiling around his wrists. He looked furious. Scary. Like the high level demon from hell that he was. My heart started beating wildly.
“So you understand now?” Belvini asked, moving to stand next to the woman. “I have your child. Which means that unless you want to risk his or her life, then you’ll do what I require of you. Because as uncaring as you try to appear, we both know you have a soft spot for women and children.”
Risk’s face was an emotionless mask, but everyone in
