Soulstone - Ch. 01

His lips curled in a smile -- cruel? Sexy? Both? Eirienna sucked in a breath.

Keep it together.

An incubus could take any shape he wanted. Tonight, he happened to be her Fantasy Fuck. She sneered, hoping he couldn't see the color in her cheeks. "Tall, dark, and handsome? Well, aren't you a walking cliché?"

"Look who's talking. Knives. Leather. Attitude. Don't tell me -- tattoo at the top of that sweet ass? Oh!" He leaned close and leered. "Is it a dragon?"

It was. But she'd never admit that to him.

His voice dripped like chocolate sauce over her skin. She wanted to lick herself. Better still...

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

His wicked gaze crackled over her body. "I promise you'd love me finding out."

She'd never had to put effort into an eye roll before, but she made this one exceptionally epic. "Is this the part where I swoon?"

"Would you like to?" He held out his arms as if to catch her. "Pity. I was hoping for more of a fight."

"Let's fight, then."

Wreathed in shadows, he sidled closer. She should move. Didn't want to. What was he doing to her?

"How can you take human form?" she demanded, stalling for time. "All your buddies are fat, squelching, and slimy. What's with the male model look?"

"I'm an innovator." He took another step.

Her thoughts raced, searching for options. Fight? Run? That was pretty much it. Neither was good. "Maybe you're not my type."

He laughed at the blatant untruth. Now, he was close enough to touch. Close enough to kiss. His angelic lips gleamed in the moonlight. He licked them, and naughty images filled her mind.

That tongue, tasting her skin. Teasing her. Flicking up the sensitive inside of her thigh.

She swallowed, throat dry. "Look, demon --"

"Scathe." He whispered the name against her lips. "Say it."

The command in his tone clenched her sex tight. Damnation. He was her enemy. Demon-kind. His very existence was a lethal threat to humans and Fae.

She shouldn't like his deep bedroom voice ordering her around. Knew better than to play his games. The Wild Hunt wouldn't approve of her behavior.

Unbidden, a smile played about her mouth.

Rules were boring.

"Scathe," she whispered.

"Eirienna." Her name in that voice sent a shudder through her. Names had power, especially to the Fae.

"How do you know my --"

Her back thudded into a wall. When had they moved? Her mind reeled. He hadn't touched her... Had he? But he'd trapped her, his big body barely an inch away.

"I know many things about you, Hunter. I know your scent. The sounds you make. Your secret desires --"

"Ha!" She struggled to think. "Why are you fucking around? If you're going to kill me, why don't you just --"

"Always the killing with you. Such a one-track mind, sweet Fae." He planted one hand on the bricks beside her ear and leaned in to sniff her hair. "I rather fancy a game. You can run, or..."

"Or?" Her pulse thudded hard. Her muscles tightened, ready to... What? She should fight, but her fingers itched to slide into that fall of ebony hair.

"Or... not, of course." His gaze zeroed in on her mouth and he leaned closer. His breath warmed her lips, the sweetness of desire rose in her.

She jabbed her blade up under his chin. "Or, I kill you," she offered silkily. "How's that for a game?"

Dark demon blood trickled down his neck, black as his shadows. Green flames of her magic licked over his skin in angry sparks.

He didn't flinch. Didn't back away. Uncertainty flashed in her blood. He was strong. Rich with power.

A challenge? Definitely.

A temptation? Fuck, yeah.

A good idea?

Not in a million years.

Scathe's eyes flickered from black to the exact scarlet shade of her talisman. "That would be a shame before I've had a chance to offer you a deal. You Fae like to make bargains, don't you?"

Bargains were like catnip, but only when the Fae had the upper hand. Her fingers clenched tight on the hilt of her sword. "I don't deal with demons. I'm not a fool."

"You haven't heard what I'm offering."

"You've got nothing I want." She should stab him right now. Watch him bleed out.

"Oh, come on, Hunter. Surely there's something I have that you want." He pressed closer, rubbing against her.

She wanted his massive chest, taut belly, strong male thighs, and that prodigious hard-on...

"Don't flatter yourself." Her voice husked, betraying her. She wasn't a subtle woman, but his crude fuck-me tactics made her shiver and long to be filled, like a starving thing yearning for sustenance.

Scathe smiled slyly.

Her thoughts whirled as if she were drunk. She wanted to run. Scream. Bare her throat in submission. Let him push her onto the rough sidewalk and do whatever he wanted to her.

She couldn't deny the way her body was reacting. Scathe was here. He was offering. No one would ever know.

Like he could read her mind, his eyes flamed bright. "Naughty little Hunter," he murmured. "You should be more careful what you conjure."

He pressed closer, careless of her blade pricking his throat, taking her mouth with his. His kiss was definitely naughty. Hot and delicious. His teeth nipped her lip, a sting that inflamed her.

She opened to him, letting him inside, only to counterattack. Their tongues warred, fighting for dominance. Her fangs strained with thirst. Her body burned, and her common sense slipped away.

He tasted of roses and fire, with a salty edge that drove her wild. Her fangs ached. She wanted to bite, swallow him, draw him into her... but she didn't dare taste his demon blood.

Demon blood.

What was she doing?

It felt too good to stop. He groaned and crushed her against the wall, tilting her head back to deepen the kiss. A curl of his shadows slipped over her hip, inside the waistband of her pants, lower, lower...

He was touching her. Sliding those warm shadow-fingers over her, where she was most deliciously slick, teasing her sensitive places, deeper, hotter...into her. Ahh...yes. So good. Bigger, harder, swelling to fill her...

At her sigh of exultation, Scathe's heartbeat quickened against her chest.

Her sword hand shook. She could stab him right now. She should stab him right now.

But her free hand had other ideas. Burying its fingers in his hair. Gripping those silky, dark strands in her fist.

Her breasts ached. Her breath came fast. She wanted to bare herself, crack her armor open like a shell, and let him devour her soft flesh. Wrap her legs around him, open to him, take him right here...

Her sword clattered to the pavement. She grabbed his ass and dragged him closer. His erection pressed against her with a maddening promise. What would a demon's cock feel like in her hands? In her mouth? Thrusting into her body?

"Now, there's an interesting idea. Are you sure?"

She laughed, sultry. "Think I'm afraid of the real thing?"

"Is this not the real thing?" His shadowy fingers teased inside her, possessive.

Eirienna nipped his lip. Damn, she wanted to pierce the skin, let the blood flow..."I bet you can do better," she whispered.

He smiled against her skin. "You think?"

"Hotter."

"If you insist."

"Harder."

If this was how she died, she wanted it all.

Scathe rubbed his body against hers with a feline purr. His shadow-fingers glided over her, stroking her secret places, finding what she liked and giving it to her, never stopping, never easing off, insistent, relentless...

Eirienna arched, helpless, and her belly tightened. Languorous heat spread through her, lust and magic thickening her blood.

"Oh, fuck." She panted against him, shuddering,

He was definitely not one of the men who did it wrong.

She was about to come. But if she let go...if she surrendered...

She did.

That longed for wave of pleasure crested this time, sweeping her into bliss.

Oh, she'd been right about the orgasm before. It was like nothing she'd ever felt, and carried her along what felt like an endless plateau. Her legs shook. She fisted handfuls of Scathe's t-shirt and held on.

The first tremors hadn't fully ended before he was building her up again, and she felt herself riding a new wave. If he kept doing this, she'd die of sheer pleasure. She hadn't thought that was possible.

Eirienna opened her eyes. Her talisman glowed the same red color as his eyes and hovered between them, the magic flowing toward him. The sight was enough to give her pause. What was she doing?

He's a demon! He'll steal your magic. He is stealing your magic!

Cold shock electrified her blood, blasting away the dark pleasure. Ash rained onto the sidewalk, shadows dissolving with a thundering crackle.

Scathe had tranced her. Tranced her! And she was so desperate, she'd fallen for it. He'd never let her go. He'd take her to his world. Steal her magic. Break her open like an oyster and suck out her soul.

"Stop." It came out in a croaked whisper, but Scathe pulled back.

He grunted as a black blur crashed into him and knocked him to the ground.

"Get your filthy hands off her." Augisto loomed over the demon in a shower of cold silver sparks.

He wore blood-stained, black leather Hunter armor -- an embossed chest plate, shoulder guards, leather pants. His long brown hair was swept back tightly. Arms gleaming with sweat and demon gore, he leveled his icy sword at Scathe. Moonlight licked the spell-wrapped blade with white hot fire.

On his hands and knees, Scathe growled and hurled a black cloud of demon spellwork. It swarmed, glittering like poisonous diamonds. He dissolved, leaving behind harsh, mocking laughter that echoed down the alley.

Augisto slashed the spell to ash.

Eirienna stumbled, trying to recover her balance, and her dropped blade. She caught her breath, mortified.

A sick ache pounded in her head. She'd let a demon kiss her. Let him touch her, slide his shadowy tentacles between her legs and stroke her into gasping delirium. Her stomach soured, but deep inside, treacherous pleasure still burned.

Scathe had trapped her. She'd been his. Completely in thrall. He could have done anything to her.

But he'd let her go. Before Augisto had tackled the demon, Scathe had let her go. Twice.

Like he'd never seduce her against her will. Like he cared whether she wanted him. A demon pulling punches. That she couldn't protect herself just made it worse.

Augisto took her elbow, steadying her. "Shit, that was close. Sorry, Erie, I got here quick as I could. You okay?"

"I'm fine." She shook him off.

Consorting with demons was forbidden, not to mention stupid. Her blood still ran hot with excitement and pleasure. Her lips ached, swollen from rough kisses.

Surely Augisto could see what she'd been up to. Her cheeks flamed.

"What happened?" Augisto's steel-gray gaze didn't drop. "I heard you... Well, I heard something."

Heard her getting off, he meant. Brilliant. Just perfect. This night just kept getting more humiliating.

"The bastard got the jump on me." Eirienna tugged her braid straight and shrugged to adjust her clothing. "I was careless. It won't happen again. Creeps are oozing out everywhere. I don't get it."

He let her change the subject. "A Hunter is helping them."

She forced a laugh. The idea made her ill. It was one thing to suspect. Hear the rumors. Quite another to have it stated so boldly.

Lusting after a demon's body was one thing. Demon spells were clever. Every Hunter got tempted by offers of fame, riches, or carnal delights. An occupational hazard, and not unlike the effect Fae had on humans.

But a Fae betraying the Fae to help demons? Risking all those human souls they were supposed to protect? There'd have to be something seriously wrong with a Hunter.

Augisto wiped sweat from his cheek. "Can't you taste it on the portal? Someone's interfering. Look."

He tossed a handful of pale sparks, and the portal lit up, glimmering in a faint silver net. The rift was transparent and glowed angry red, the other world showing through, and in the thinnest places -- a glint of Hunter magic.

Eirienna stared, open-mouthed. Scars, cut by a careful magical hand contorted the portal to unnatural tautness. Someone had done that on purpose. And only trained Hunters had that power.

Her blood ran cold. There really was a betrayer at work.

"Told you." Augisto extinguished his spell, and the rift dimmed. "It's like that all the way to Temperance Park. I've just been down there. Someone's blazing a trail for the demons."

The park? Her heart sank. The city's holiday party was scheduled to be held in the park, among the tall fir trees. There'd be hundreds, maybe thousands, of people there. If that was where the demons meant to break through...

"Fucking traitor," she muttered, her stomach sick. All those souls. All that death.

Grimly, Augisto tucked back a loose brown lock. "But it doesn't explain your merciful demon. What was he doing?"

Sourness stung Eirienna's mouth. What was that? Disappointment? Had she hoped the desire between them was real? What an idiot.

"I don't know!" she snapped. "I don't get why he didn't kill me. Just wanted to torment me, I guess."

At that moment, she wished she could lie. They were the best orgasms she'd ever had, and she wanted more of them. Like... Like she was an evil, perverted woman, and only a demon could give her what she craved.

Denial squeezed her heart tight. Scathe was a demon. A soul eater, just like the rest of his kind. A predatory tempter, only out for one thing. Well, maybe two things. Fuck her, then eat her soul.

That she shivered with excitement at the thought of his strong hands on her body didn't change the facts.

He was lethal. An epic fuck wasn't worth her life -- or her soul.

Isn't it? The tiny, lunatic whisper in her heart shocked her. No risk, no reward.

Augisto sheathed his sword along his back and eyed her. He'd grown up, that laughing boy she'd known when they were children. Shut himself off, forged himself into a cold and unforgiving warrior.

He wasn't as powerful as her, especially with her talisman, but he made up for it with an inexhaustible determination, endless hours of training, and a pain threshold she could only marvel at.

She missed the old Augisto, who'd played pranks on her and shared purloined treats. That boy was sweet. This Augisto was tempered steel. And there was a slyness in him she didn't trust.

"You seem shaken," he said coolly. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." She cracked her neck bones, but it didn't release her tension. Perhaps she'd go to one of the bars frequented by thrill-seeking humans. Pick up someone rough and well-endowed, no strings attached. Maybe visit the fighting pits -- Fae against Fae, no holding back.

"Yeah," she repeated absently. "Sorry. He just... You know how demons are. Bastards."

"Anything I can do?" Augisto's gray eyes glowed, warm with intent.

Hell, she was almost tempted. Augisto was cute. Tough. Looked hot in tight leather. Tall, with hard, lean muscles. He was all that and then some. A niggling worm of disgust squirmed in her belly at the thought of using him like that.

He was an old friend, and would never give away her secret about being so careless with a demon. She couldn't repay that loyalty by using him for empty sex.

And images of ebony hair and a man-whore mouth replaced Augisto in her mind.

Damn that incubus!

"Uh, no. I'm good. Thanks."

"Suit yourself. Only trying to help." Augisto shrugged, but dark bitterness flashed in his eyes, brief, but there all the same.

Eirienna sighed, and turned away. Just what she needed. Augisto with hurt feelings. Did he even like her like that? She couldn't read him these days.

She rolled tired shoulders, but knotted muscle refused to loosen. No, she had a smoldering, spell-happy demon to hunt down.

And this time, she wouldn't fall for his seduction tricks.

Oh, yes. Eirienna had the advantage now. Scathe wanted her, body and soul. No amount of sly demon fuckery could have disguised that hard-on.

So she'd lure him close. Keep herself together. Tease him into incoherent lust, and wait for him to drop his guard. Slit his throat, watch the demon blood flow, and fling him back to his hell world.

Yeah, whispered that snide truth-voice in her head. And then you can go back to all those nice, safe men who turn you on like he does. You know -- the ones who do it all wrong.

"Shut up," she muttered, and winced. Now she was talking to herself. She really needed to get laid. Or beaten within an inch of her life.

Or both.

"I'm calling it a night." She stalked away before Augisto could see her face.