BURN (2 page)

Their inner demons couldn’t ‘care’ for others, but they could form attachments to people. When that happened, those attachments were incredibly intense, because every ounce of a demon’s natural intensity and focus was channeled into them. The only people his demon was attached to were his four sentinels. It obsessed over women it wanted, but it didn’t wish to ‘keep’ them, despite that it experienced the same loneliness that all inner demons were plagued by.

Knox snapped out of his thoughts as another knock was followed by the entrance of Levi; he’d clearly washed and changed. “You fought dirty, as always.”

Levi grinned. “There’s no other way to fight.”

“I think Mona’s up next,” said Larkin, looking out of the window. “Here comes the umpire.”

Speaking into a microphone which was wired to the speakerphones in Knox’s office, the gray-haired male announced, “There has been a change in the program. Due to Miss Wallis’ poor physical state at this time, she has been substituted—”

“Hold on, that’s not allowed!” insisted Mona as she suddenly stomped into the combat circle. “If a contender decides to pull out, it means their opponent automatically wins.”

“In many cases, yes, but Miss Wallis hasn’t
decided
to pull out. She’s been rendered unfit to duel. Miss Wallis is within her rights to select someone to replace her.”

The rage that flashed across Mona’s face told Knox that there was something very personal about this. But that wasn’t what had him stepping closer to the window. No, it was the sight of the dark-haired female now making her way into the circle. She was a petite thing. Five foot four inches tall at most. But there wasn’t anything delicate about her. Even through her neon orange t-shirt and jeans, he could tell that her body was sinuous and toned. She had a sinful flare to her hips – perfect for a guy to hold onto while he thrust in and out of her. “Who is that?”

“I’ve seen her around,” said Tanner. “But I’ve never seen her fight before. She’s a Wallis.”

“And a teensy little thing. I think Mona’s got this.” Larkin sounded disappointed, which was most likely because the harpy wasn’t a fan of Mona. Larkin wasn’t a fan of many people.

While it was true that Mona seemed to have the advantage in the duel, being that she was taller and quite powerful…“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” said Knox. There was just something about the other she-demon; about the way she cocked her head as she ran her gaze over Mona. She was a predator searching for a weakness. No easy target. And he suddenly found himself…interested. Not much truly interested Knox anymore. It was a refreshing feeling.

“You think the little one has a chance of winning this?” asked Levi.

Yes, he did. The bell suddenly rang. “We’re about to find out.”

Seeming to revel in the noise of the crowd, Mona tossed Harper a dismissive glance. “Joining me in this circle was a big mistake, Harper.” She said her name with utter distaste. Yeah, a lot of people felt that way. Why? Because Harper was known amongst her social circle for being the sphinx without wings. An oddity. An abnormality. Some people made the mistake of believing that made her easy prey. Mona was clearly one of them.

Harper simply taunted, “Prove it.”

With a smirk, Mona conjured an orb of hellfire – a standard ability that most demons had – and hurled it at Harper. Sharply stepping to the side, Harper dodged the orb. But in spite of the anger threatening to steal her self-control, she didn’t retaliate, which clearly puzzled Mona. What the harbinger didn’t realize was that Harper didn’t want to duel with her, she didn’t deem the bitch worthy of one. All Harper wanted was to get a grip on the dumb heifer.

Of course, she had abilities which would allow her to hurt Mona from a distance. But if she wanted to cause the harbinger
real
pain, she’d need to get her hands on her. Unfortunately, Mona seemingly intended to attack from afar. Harper needed to lure her close. That meant pissing her off – something which Harper was totally okay with. By nature, Harper was a reasonably collected person. But she had a temper that ran quick and hot. “You know, I can’t work out why you thought you’d get away with having your little friends attack Khloë,” sneered Harper. “Do you feel empty inside? I mean, like, in your skull?”

“Bitch,” hissed Mona. She launched one orb of hellfire after another; aiming for Harper’s head, chest, legs, and abdomen.

Harper evaded most of them, purposely allowing one to clip her shoulder and another to graze her leg. She didn’t want Mona to know how fast she was. She wanted Mona to be confident enough to come closer. “All this because Gael chose Khloë over you three years ago? Really? How pathetic.”

“He didn’t choose her. She lured him away.”

Khloë could control most minds, but she had too much self-respect to ever use the ability to get a guy who didn’t want her. “We both know that isn’t true. But even if it was, two wrongs don’t make a right. Your parents have proved that.”

Snarling, Mona conjured two orbs of hellfire and threw them simultaneously. Harper ducked, evading both. Lightning fast, she whipped a stiletto blade out of her boot, curving her hand around the ruby-red marble handle.

Mona laughed. “You think a little knife will save you?”

Ordinarily, probably not.

“It’s almost cute.”

Harper sidestepped the orb of hellfire that flew her way. Conjuring orbs was something Harper had personally never been able to master. She could
create
hellfire, but she couldn’t shape it into anything. She could, however, do something else.

Generating hellfire in her left hand, Harper then infused it into the knife. Like that, the blade was aflame and totally lethal. Stilling, Mona gaped. For a brief moment, the crowd fell silent. They had all obviously assumed that the reason Harper wasn’t retaliating was that she didn’t have any offensive gifts to boast of – wrong.

Wearing a patronizing smile, Harper twirled her blade on her finger. “Personally, I think this beats orbs.” Because she could infuse hellfire into any object, making them instantly deadly. A blade. A pen. A hairclip. Anything. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that was fear on your chimp-like face.”

Mona caught a dagger that one of her friends threw her and then launched herself at Harper – giving her exactly what she wanted. Harper evaded the sword, slashed Mona’s thigh, and then slammed her palm into Mona’s abdomen. Mona dropped to her knees, shuddering, with her mouth open in a silent scream of excruciating agony. It wasn’t because of the hellfire eating away at her flesh. No, it was because of something far worse.

The crowd once more turned quiet, no doubt confused as to why a mere slice and a single hit had taken Mona down.

Harper squatted in front of her. “
No one
fucks with my family. Go near any of them again, and this pain will seem like a fucking slap on the wrist. You got me?”

Mona fell onto her side and curled into a fetal position, sobbing, just as the umpire dashed over. “What’s happening?” he asked.

Harper returned her blade to her boot. “She’s getting what she deserved.” With that, she strode out of the combat circle. It took a few minutes to squeeze through the cheering, congratulatory crowd before she reached her cousins near the exit of the dome.

Keeping in step with her, Khloë fanned her face. “I’m so happy, I could cry.”

Ciaran looked pissed. “I can’t believe the bitch sent her friends to—” They halted as two demons suddenly planted themselves in front of them. The male was broad shouldered and dark-haired with golden eyes that made her think of a wolf. The female was tall, slender, and had a stunningly sleek braid hanging over her shoulder. Harper had seen them patrolling the Underground many times, knew exactly what they were – sentinels.

The male told Harper, “Mr. Thorne would like to talk to you.”

Fuck.
“Oh yeah? I’m not really the chatty type.”

The female smiled, genuinely amused. “I’m sure you won’t mind sparing Mr. Thorne a few minutes.”

Well, actually, Harper did mind. Given everything she knew about Knox Thorne, the prospect of meeting him didn’t exactly fill her with joy – especially since there was a little something else about him that bugged their kind: no one seemed to know what breed of demon he was. Harper didn’t like blind spots. But it was vital to never show weakness to a predator, and backing away from the challenge in his sentinels’ eyes would definitely make her look weak. “Fine.”

“Just you,” the male said.

Harper inclined her head. “Wait at the Xpress bar,” she told her cousins. “I’ll be back soon.”

Without giving them a chance to object, she followed the two sentinels behind the dome and up a flight of stairs. When they finally stopped outside a door marked ‘Office’, the male rapped his knuckles on it. She could feel Knox’s power from there. It reached out, and encased the door almost protectively. When a shockingly sensual voice summoned them to enter, the male sentinel opened the door and signaled for her to enter. Then the two sentinels backed away and left her.

Inhaling deeply, Harper slipped inside…and found herself fighting the urge to stare in awe at the tall, imposing figure standing behind a glass desk. Deep-set dark eyes that matched the color of his hair locked on Harper, and the intensity there rocked her. Her body instantly responded. Molten lust licked at her, making her breasts ache, her nipples harden, and every inch of her skin suddenly feel hypersensitive.
Well, shit
.

All demons had natural sex appeal, and she’d heard that Knox’s effect was more potent than most, but Harper still hadn’t been prepared for the sheer impact of him. He radiated alpha energy, projected a raw sexual magnetism that would make any girl sensually starving. As she took in his bold stare, powerful stance, and air of self-possession, lots of words came to mind: Powerful. Forceful. Confident. Controlled. Dauntless. Determined.

Damn if it didn’t make him intimidating.

Refusing to buckle under the force of it all, Harper shut the door and waited. He said nothing. Didn’t greet her. Didn’t invite her to sit. Just stared at her with that dark, penetrating gaze that was sizing her up, and the atmosphere seemed to thicken with tension. But there was no chance that she would avert her eyes. This was a test of her strength, and she wasn’t prepared to fail it.

Finally, looking like he’d just stepped out of a GQ magazine, Knox slowly rounded the desk and walked towards her. No, walked wasn’t the right word. He breezed, glided – moved with an animal grace that demanded attention and could easily keep it.

Her inner demon froze, feeling threatened by this male that exuded danger. And he
was
dangerous – it was apparent in the way he moved, in his posture, in the tension coiled in his muscles that rippled beneath his black suit. She would bet that suit cost more than her entire wardrobe.

“I’m Knox Thorne.” He tilted his head, those dark eyes still locked on her. He was even more imposing up close. “And you are…?”

“Harper Wallis.” It worried her that he unnerved her demon, who was rarely rattled by anything. To Harper’s utter frustration, she couldn’t get a read on him, couldn’t identify what breed of demon he was. But every instinct she had told her to tread carefully; that she was in the presence of a very powerful predator.

“Harper Wallis.” He didn’t say her name, he tasted it. Tasted it with a voice that was like smoke, whiskey, and velvet. And Harper knew she’d be entertaining some seriously dirty fantasies about him later. She sure hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts – now, that would be embarrassing.

She wasn’t offended when he didn’t hold out his hand to shake hers. Demons were tactile, psychic, sexual creatures, but they were also very selective in who they gave permission to touch them. “Nice to meet you, I guess.” She didn’t sound at all genuine. And for some odd reason, that made his mouth curve into a crooked smile which caused her libido to do the fandango. Great.

Well now, this she-demon had surprised him yet again.

When she’d walked into the room, her eyes – glassy, reflective, much like that of a cat – had been the color of warm honey. But as Knox had moved to stand in front of her, the honey had begun to swirl like liquid, fading into an entrancing misty gray. He had the feeling it wouldn’t be long before the color changed again, and he was intrigued as to just what color that would be.

Intrigued.

A simple feeling, but not one he’d experienced for a while until he’d caught a glimpse of this she-demon in the combat circle. Her facial features were soft and feminine. Except for that mouth. Plush, glossy, and a tempting cherry shade, it was straight out of his fantasies. He could imagine sliding his cock between those lips while knotting his hands in that sleek, dark hair that was tipped with gold.

His inner demon had perked up the moment she entered the office, going from bored to alert in an instant. It liked pretty, shiny, unique things, and that was exactly what Harper was. “How are your injuries?”

Harper rotated her shoulder. “All right.” The wounds had mostly healed, but they still stung like a motherfucker. Demons were invulnerable to normal fire. Hellfire, however, could cause serious harm. The flames of hell, on the other hand, could turn someone into ashes on the spot. And it was just possible that the guy in the room with her could call on them. Fate was mostly likely laughing its ass off.