BURN (31 page)

He cricked his neck, his dark eyes glittering with danger. “I don’t just call on the flames of hell, Harper. I am the flames of hell.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

What the fuck was she supposed to say to that?

Harper wasn’t sure she even
could
speak. Shock had her rooted in place, gawking unattractively. Since meeting Knox, she’d come up with dozens of theories of just what breed he could be. None of those theories were all that inventive, but she still considered them much more realistic than the guy being an archdemon. Even her inner demon was in shock.

Considered too powerful to live on Earth after a rogue archdemon almost destroyed it, the decision had long ago been made to keep them in the very place they were born. Yet, here Knox was. An archdemon. A motherfucking archdemon.

No matter how many times the word circulated through her mind, she couldn’t wrap her head around it. She couldn’t reconcile the Knox she knew and cared for with creatures that, according to everything she’d been taught, were almost as cold and conscienceless as the inner demons they carried.

“You never suspected, did you? Nobody ever does. Poor, poor Harper’s not sure she likes the reality of what I am.”

Harper narrowed her eyes at the deliberate bite to his words. He was taunting her, meant to scare her. He was pushing to see if she’d run. Her demon didn’t like it any more than Harper did.

“Ignorance is quite often bliss, isn’t it?” He cocked his head. “Your heartbeat sounds something like a rabid racehorse.”

Well forgive her if she was just a little spooked to find out her mate was part of the fabric of hell.

“Look at you. Eyes wide. Body frozen in place. Like every good, well-behaved prey.”

Okay, now he was just pissing her off. “I’m nobody’s prey,” she snapped.

One brow slid up. “Oh?”

“And you’re being an asshole.” Going on the attack as a form of defense. She understand why, of course. He was expecting disbelief, terror, and finally rejection. And she realized now that he hadn’t withheld the knowledge from her because he thought little of her. It was because of just how dark and frightening the truth really was.

“Asshole?” His chuckle was humorless, almost bitter. “I’d say I’m much worse than that. Wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah. You’re also a dick.”

His face hardened. “What am I, Harper? Admit it.” It was a demand and a dare. “
Admit it
.”

“You’re an archdemon.” A breed that was malignant, callous, pitiless, and unforgiving. But…“I don’t care. Big motherfucking deal.”

Knox prowled toward her like a panther, eyes unblinking and locked on her. “I was born in the flames of hell…and you don’t care?” Pure skepticism.

She shook her head. As he reached out to touch her face, she knew he was testing her. So she held still. Of course, she almost jumped when small flames played over his fingertips. Again, he was testing her. “Pretty. Any more tricks?”

He circled her. “I can smell your fear. My demon doesn’t like the scent of it at all.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t scared.” Only someone with the IQ of a crumb wouldn’t be afraid. “I said I don’t care.” Whatever he was, whatever he could do, he was still Knox. Even the entity inside her, rattled though it was, would accept it.

“You don’t care, despite your fear?”

“You’d never hurt me.”

He stopped in front of her. “How can you be so sure?” Another taunt.

“I trust you.”

A pause. “Maybe you shouldn’t.”

“Stop being an asshole!” And now her temper was kicking in. “I told you I don’t care. If you don’t believe me, fuck you! I’m going to watch some T.V!” Her regal march was hampered by the arm that curled around her and yanked her back against a solid chest.

“You never, ever react how I expect you to,” he said into her ear, a smile in his voice. “I like that.” He held his other arm up in front of her. There was the slightest hum of power in the air…and then his lower arm was in flames.

Whoa.
Involuntarily, she stiffened as self-preservation kicked in and the urge to flee hit her hard. But she didn’t move away, didn’t recoil. This was still Knox,
her
Knox. And the hand that was currently flaming had touched her a thousand times but never once hurt her.

She hadn’t thought it was possible for fire to be beautiful, but it was. In fact, the red, gold, black flames were almost mesmerizing. Yet another example to prove she wasn’t at all smart, Harper reached out to touch his arm. She balled up her hand instead.

“The flames can’t burn you, Harper. Because they’re me. And you’re right, I’d never harm you.”

Ignoring the scorching heat radiating from his arm, Harper skimmed her fingers over a golden flame. It didn’t hurt, didn’t even burn. It was like touching hot, liquid silk. She was about to ask if the heat burned his skin but then she remembered that, hey, he
was
the flames.

“You do trust me,” Knox marveled. He honestly didn’t know how the fuck she was taking it so well, or how she could let him hold her despite her fear. But then, he was still stuck working out how her fascinating little mind worked. He eased the fire, putting out the flames. “It really doesn’t make any difference to you, does it? Even though you fear what I am, you don’t care.”

She turned to face him, smoothing her hands up his chest. “You’re still you.”

Like that was all that mattered to her. With those words, she fucking owned his soul and she didn’t even realize it. He threaded his hands through her hair, gripping it tight. He wished he had pretty words to give her, but it wasn’t in him.

When she’d said she loved him, Knox’s first reaction had been disbelief. He was a realist, was well aware of each and every fault he possessed. He’d never considered himself a loveable person and, honestly, it had never bothered him. Why? For the same reason that panic had quickly set in at her words. He didn’t believe he had the emotional capacity to feel it.

There were times when he’d picked up the emotion from others as they stared at their mates or relatives, so he knew exactly what it was. And he knew he’d never experienced it himself. If he
couldn’t
feel it, what did he have to offer Harper in return?

The only thing he’d had to give her was a truth he’d withheld – a truth that had the potential to kill whatever she felt for him, considering he literally
was
everyone’s worst nightmare. But he’d taken the risk, because it was all he had to give her.

He’d expected her shock and fear, had expected her to struggle to accept the dark reality of what her mate was – who
wouldn’t
struggle with it? So none of those things had come as a surprise to him. But he really hadn’t known what to expect after that, because he could never predict Harper’s responses.

Some possibilities had entered his head: Maybe she’d try to flee. Maybe she’d ask for time alone to think. Or maybe she’d be too terrified to speak.

What he wouldn’t in a million years have suspected was that she’d give him attitude. When he’d pushed her, she’d called him on his bullshit. She’d refused to let him intimidate her, just as she always did. And when he wouldn’t believe that the truth genuinely didn’t make any difference to how she felt, she’d cursed at him. His inner demon had chuckled.

There was no one like her. She was totally unique. Delightfully complex. And now he had to have her.

He took her right there on the floor, where there was no give and he could bury himself as deep inside her delectable body as it was possible to be. It was fast and hard, and she came screaming his name while he pumped every bit of his come in her.

They migrated to the bed. As he lay on his back with her draped over him, he smoothed her hair between his fingers. “I’m almost disappointed that you didn’t try to flee. It would have been fun having you as my captive. Helpless. Vulnerable. All at my mercy.”

She propped her chin up on his chest. “Such a kinky bastard. Is it an archdemon thing?”

He smiled. “Not that I know of.” He sobered as he said, “You know you can’t tell anyone, Harper, don’t you? Not even Jolene, not even your friends.”

“I know. If your secret got out, our kind would probably unite to go up against you.”

“Most likely.” It wouldn’t do them any good – he could destroy them all with minimal effort. But he had no desire to wipe out the demon population.

“I’m curious. If archdemons are born from the flames, does that mean you don’t have genetic parents?”

“Yes. My kind live in hordes. The adults all share in the care of the children.”

“So when your horde moved to Earth, they took you with them?”

“Yes. The horde separated – some traveled, some joined lairs,” he explained, watching as her eyes swirled from apricot to a smoky gray. “I stayed with a mated couple who joined a lair.”

“You were effectively their child.”

“They warned me not to tell what we were. To hide what I could do. Back then, I was nowhere near as powerful as I am now. An archdemon’s power grows with age.” It never stopped growing; that was part of what made them so dangerous.

“Lucifer knows what you are, doesn’t he?”

“Yes.”

She frowned. “I thought he agreed to keep your kind in hell.”

“He did agree to it, and he
does
keep my kind in hell. But he didn’t agree to round up the archdemons that already lived on Earth and return them to hell.”

Now that she’d met Lucifer, she could imagine just how smug he was about the loophole he’d found. “I understand now why you hide how truly powerful you are and keep everyone guessing about what you can do. You don’t want anyone to suspect the truth.”

“I’m trusting you to keep it to yourself, Harper. I know women like to talk and share with their friends, and I know you’re close to yours. They’ll no doubt ask you what I am. I understand you’ll find it uncomfortable to have secrets between you and them, but you can’t tell them. They can’t know.”

“I admit, I don’t like keeping things from them – especially big things. But your safety is more important than that. You come first.” And even though she didn’t believe her friends would fear him so much that they’d betray him by revealing his secret, it would put them in danger to have information like that. Noticing Knox’s odd expression, she asked, “What?”

He didn’t have words for her. Nobody had ever put him first before. Nobody. He couldn’t explain the tumultuous emotions running through him. Among them were relief, incredulity, contentment, and adoration. So he told her how he was feeling the only way he knew how. He rolled her onto her back, slid down her body, and ate her until she came so hard she almost lost consciousness.

“Why can’t you just tell me where we’re going?”

“I explained it was a surprise. I didn’t realize that required any elaboration for you to understand.” Knox had to smile as Harper practically bounced in her seat on the jet, glowering at him. No one else would dare scowl at him that way, and no one else could possibly entertain him as they did so. His demon loved seeing her riled. “Enjoy the anticipation.”

“I’m too impatient by nature to experience positive feelings of anticipation.” The teasing glint in his eyes was pissing Harper off. He didn’t want her to feel excited. He wanted her to feel agitated by the wait. “Just tell me.”

He took a swig of his gin and tonic. “No.”

“Mean.”

“Of course.”

“It’s my birthday; you’re supposed to let me have my way.” She’d woken just as he thrust deep in her…then he’d wished her a happy birthday before riding her so hard that her scream got trapped in her throat.

He arched a brow. “Is that so? I’m distraught to say I can’t give you that.”

She huffed. “Really, you could have just pyroported us to wherever it is we’re going. You’ve taken me on this long-ass flight just to drag it all out and drive me insane.”

Of course he had. “We
are
going to pyroport to where we’re going.”

“Are we going to hell?”

“I don’t think I’ve heard those words uttered with excitement before.”

“I just like to do things I haven’t done before.”

“I know.”

The wicked curve to his mouth both aroused and worried Harper. “Put me out of my misery and either tell me what the big mystery is or take me wherever we’re going.”

“All right, I’ll take pity on you.” He stood upright and pulled her to him.
Tanner, Levi – we’re leaving now. We shouldn’t be any longer than an hour.
Both sentinels were in the other cabin.

As he curled his arms tight around Harper, he kissed her softly. She stilled as the heat of fire enveloped them, burning her without hurting her. Then the flames died, and they were suddenly standing alone on a large stretch of land. And…“That’s a volcano.” Definitely not what she’d expected to see.

“It is.” Taking her hand, he walked her towards it.

“I’ve never seen one this close.” It was a scary yet beautiful sight. And seriously big.

“We’ll be getting closer. Much, much closer.”

She tensed, coming to an abrupt halt. “I don’t like the way you said that.”