A DANGEROUS BARGAIN (The Sentinel Demons) (8 page)

Kat turned her eyes back to Kristoff. “Then do it. If it helps other people from suffering a terrible fate, a little discomfort is nothing.”

The demon king nodded once, giving Kat a reassuring smile, and his eyes immediately began to glow. Unlike other Sentinels, Kristoff’s eyes were a deep sapphire blue, lightening to the color of a clear sky and emitting a hazy, pale light as he shuffled through Kat’s memories, frowning as he pulled the information he needed from her, taking the time he needed to avoid disorienting Kat.

Zach felt Kat shiver, knowing she wasn’t in pain, but could definitely feel the sensation of Kristoff searching, moving in her brain. Searching for memories was different from reading a human’s thoughts. It took longer, more exploration, and while it wasn’t painful, he hated the fact that Kristoff was in Kat’s head. Since she was his
radiant
, he could search her mind effortlessly, but any other person rifling through her memories would cause her discomfort.

Mine.

Clenching his hand on his thigh, he tried to relinquish the possessiveness he felt toward her, but it wasn’t possible. Every minute it grew more difficult, more suffocating, his demon instincts insisting that he claim his
radiant
and protect her from anyone who threatened her in any way.

Kristoff broke contact with Kat and stood, his face stoic as his eyes returned to their normal dark blue. Zach hated himself when he had to swallow a growl as Kristoff caught Kat’s hand and squeezed it briefly before he stood, a gesture of gratitude and thanks. A Sentinel couldn’t stand anyone of the opposite sex touching their radiant until after they had bonded, and even then, it was barely tolerable.

“She saw the Evil as Zach,” Kristoff said thoughtfully before continuing, “But because she’s Zach’s
radiant
, she could sense the difference. It was more than just a nightmare. The Evils were present.”

“But how can a dream bargain nullify a Sentinel agreement?” Hunter asked with his usual surliness.

Kristoff sighed heavily as he scowled at Hunter. “He wanted a life bargain. The only thing that can nullify a Sentinel bargain is to make a life bargain with an Evil, something that is never ordinarily done because anyone under our protection knows the Evil won’t honor it. Life bargains have never been an issue before. Evils invading dreams haven’t been an issue either, but obviously they’ve discovered a way to do it.”

“But bargains in the dream realm aren’t valid,” Drew argued, folding his arms in front of him, shifting irritably. “And a Sentinel has to be witness to a life bargain with an Evil to nullify Sentinel protection. It’s never happened. It doesn’t happen.”

Kristoff shrugged, but he looked far from nonchalant. “It’s a gray area. The bargain could be obtained in the dream realm with a Sentinel witness who thinks he’s simply having one of our frequent nightmares. Somehow they are able to lull a sleeping Sentinel into the dream as an observer. An Evil could snatch the human, wake him or her, and verify consent on the human plane of existence while that person is still muddled. The bargain would hold if it’s verified immediately while the person is awake.”

Drew cursed under his breath before commenting, “But the Evils wouldn’t be able to hold their illusion-”

“After the victim was awake?” Kristoff raised a brow. “Under the cover of darkness, how are they to know? We know only a life bargain can get around our protection. Do you have a better theory as to how we’re losing humans under our protection?”

“Shit! No, I don’t. I sure as hell wish I did. How do we combat this? The ugly little bastards are trying to prove their strength by taking our rescues. They’re even able to draw one of us in to witness so it’s valid,” Drew replied, his jaw clenched, his eyes beginning to take on an amber glow.

“I’ll get a message to all Sentinel regional leaders and let them know what’s happening, emphasize that they need to pay attention to any nightmares that are similar to what Zach and Kat experienced. The guardians need to be on high alert and aware that the Evils are able to enter the dreams of victims.”

“We don’t have enough guardians to watch every rescue,” Hunter snarled as he pounded a fist into his palm, his agitation pulsating through the room, his eyes gleaming golden light.

“No, we don’t. And we haven’t figured out completely how this is happening. Every Sentinel is going to have to be vigilant,” Kristoff asserted, his expression implacable, his innate instinct to protect humans clear from the fierce expression on his face. Turning to Zach, he pinned him with a commanding look. “You need to make a life bargain with Kat or bind her to you for her protection. It’s the only way to keep her safe right now. It’s highly possible the Evils will try again and there’s no guarantee that you will be the witnessing Sentinel next time, although I suspect that the Evils need a sleeping, vulnerable Sentinel nearby to pull off this crap. They’ve obviously figured out how to bring a Sentinel into the dream realm as just a witness and keep them subdued unless they're denied. I noticed in Kat’s dream that you weren’t able to make a move until she refused the Evil.”

All the breath whooshed out of Zach’s lungs at Kristoff’s statement. “I can’t make her my
radiant
. She doesn’t deserve that. You know what has to happen and what she’s already been through,” Zach growled back at Kristoff. No matter how much his demon nature clamored for her to belong to him, he wasn’t taking her. His darkness was too black, too suffocating.

“She wouldn’t be your
radiant
if she couldn’t handle it. Goddammit, Zach, this is no time for you to have your head up your ass by lamenting over what you think are mistakes in your past. You need to look to Kat’s safety. Make a life bargain with her…or I will. She can still be set free after the bargain and retain our protection.”

Zach looked up at Kristoff, wanting to go for his throat. This wasn’t about past mistakes or insecurities. This was about Kat, a woman he could see from the inside out, a woman who had spent her whole adult life caring for others and asking for nothing for herself. She gave…and… gave…and gave, until Zach wasn’t sure how she had anything left to give. How could he take the rest of her life from her?

I could set her free if I made a life bargain, give her everything she needs to live her life the way she deserves.

There was no fucking way he was letting Kristoff make the bargain with her. Just the thought of another man being able to control how Kat lived her life sickened him, demon king or not. It had nothing to do with trust. He’d put
his
life in Kristoff’s hands. But not Kat’s.

Mine.

“I’ll do it,” he replied adamantly, knowing Kat needed protection, unable to let anyone else but him provide it. He didn’t trust anyone else to look out for her the way he would. She needed a life bargain to protect her, and he didn’t want her bound in any way to another male.

Problem was, he wasn’t sure he trusted himself either. Once Kat had bargained her entire life to him, how in the hell would he ever let her go?

The next day, Zach wondered absently if a demon could do himself harm from whacking off so many times in such a short period of time. He had lost track of how many times he had taken himself in hand during the short duration that he’d known Kat, to take himself out of a state of arousal in order to keep Kat from feeling his compulsions. She was rapidly driving him completely insane.

She’d made a life bargain with him without hesitation after Kristoff, Drew, and Hunter had left during the night. The swiftness with which she’d agreed had humbled him, her trust in him so damn undeserved. The life bargain would protect her from all Evils unless something happened to him, but the terms of the initial bargain still had to be fulfilled.

Six more days of this fucking torture. Six more days of trying to block my wants.

Unfortunately, he was utterly and completely fixated on Kat, his wants all revolving around her. Anything else he wanted could easily be hidden from her, but his need for her was nearly impossible to control.

With her being under the control of the bargain she’d made…he could have taken her any way he wanted to. Unfortunately, the man in him wouldn’t allow himself to do it. Taking his woman under compulsion wouldn’t give him satisfaction. It might appease his demon nature, but he would be disgusted with himself.

He twirled his glass of whiskey, watching the ice circle in the glass. Could he handle six more days of this constant wanting? He shifted positions on the couch in his spacious den, trying to get comfortable, which was damn difficult when his cock was nearly always standing at attention.

Six more days of the initial demon bargain, but she wouldn’t have to be with him for the life bargain…if he set her free to live her own life. The life agreement would last the duration of her human years, would protect her even though she wasn’t near him physically…though he would never be free of Kat, of wanting her, needing her. That thought nearly rubbed his emotions raw. He was getting addicted to her company, and his sexual urges were driving him mad.

Afraid to let her out of his sight after their shared nightmare, Zach had taken her to his bed and held her, both of them talking about anything and everything as he held her close to reassure himself that she was safe. Kat loved history, and when she found out how old he was, she had begged for every story he could tell her about significant events in the last two hundred years. She never seemed to run out of questions and he never tired of hearing her voice.

She’s a balm for my loneliness, a light to my darkness. Mine. My radiant.

Zach tossed back a swallow of whiskey, feeling the burn of the liquid as it flowed slowly down his throat. Demons couldn’t get drunk…but they could appreciate the taste of a great Scotch.

He smiled as he thought about how Kat had shooed him out of his own home office a few minutes ago, claiming that he was distracting her while she worked on the computer to do some of her business paperwork. Her sister Nora was covering her jobs this week, Kat having told her sibling that she was taking a vacation.
Oh yeah, fun in the dark demon realm with soul sucking Evils. That would have been relaxing.
Zach shook his head and took another sip of alcohol, trying to let the burn make him forget what Kat would be suffering right now had he not rescued her. Did the woman not have any sense of self-preservation?

She beguiled and fascinated him…and not just because she was his
radiant
. Any woman who gave up her entire life for two of her relatives was nearly a saint in his eyes. The human women he knew-mostly the women he had fucked-wouldn’t give five minutes for any problem but their own, and their idea of a tragedy was generally a broken nail right after a manicure. Kat had been a history major in college and had dropped everything to help her twin and her nephew. What kind of woman did something like that?

Only Kat.

On the flip side…the woman did have a temper and he had to admit that he liked to get her riled up just to see her green eyes flashing fire. She had an untapped passion that he was dying to wallow in. Everything about her delighted him, and that was an emotion that was completely new and intoxicating.

Kat attracted him like a moth to the light, making him constantly seek her out, eager for her warmth and illumination. His soul grew lighter every moment he spent in her presence and he was starting to get concerned that he wasn’t going to be able to survive without her. Damn it…he already didn’t want to be without her. The woman made him experience feelings that he hadn’t experienced since becoming a demon. Actually, to be honest, he had never felt this way about a woman. Ever.

The fact that she actually didn’t think she was attractive was almost unbelievable to Zach, because every single thing about her captivated him. He knew she was under that impression because he still read her thoughts. She was his
radiant
and her feelings and thoughts drifted into his mind as naturally as his own. Truthfully, he didn’t want to block them. He allowed himself that one indulgence, aware that it annoyed Kat, but it took the edge off his demon side. If he couldn’t bury himself in her body, at least he could hear her thoughts, and the intimacy soothed him.

Visions of Kat’s face, her sharp green eyes and sensuous lips, formed in his mind. He wanted to have her in every possible way. The image shifted itself to Kat, on her knees, taking his cock into her mouth, stroking it with her tongue.

He lay back on the couch, his hand reaching automatically to free himself from his jeans.
Oh, Christ. Not again.
He was going to go blind.

He palmed himself as his eyes closed and he stopped fighting the onset of the fantasy…only one of many that he’d had during the day.

He never heard her enter the room. Abandoned to his fantasy, he wasn’t aware of her presence until he felt her hand over his, tugging to take it away from his cock.

He opened his eyes…and there was his gorgeous Kat, her face strained and her gaze full of desire. She was pale and he wanted to curse himself for not knowing she was near.

The bargain.

The compulsion.

She feels my desires and it’s hurting her.

He started to get up but she pushed him back down. “Please, Zach. Let me.”