The Dark-Hunters (777 page)

“No. I was never allowed to roam. It’s forbidden.”

“Not roam around. The Roman Empire. You know, Nero, Octavian, Caesar, other people with funky names…” Names she should have paid more attention to in school. “That giant fearsome empire that conquered the world and subjugated everyone, even Egypt.”

“I’ve never heard of this place you describe.”

Yeah, he was older than dirt. She’d ask him what year he was born, but that would be worthless. His calendar, if they even had had one then, wouldn’t be the same as hers.

And he’d been under Noir’s fist all that time.

Damn.

She frowned as another random thought hit her … did they have books then?

Surely not. But then … She studied the brittle pages and the worn leather binding.

“So how did you get a book written in a language that old?”

His mood turned dark as an air of profound sadness engulfed him. “Noir used to give them to me whenever I pleased him.”

Desperately, she wanted him to elaborate on what pleasing Noir entailed, but her animal senses told her not to pursue it. Whatever it meant, it was obvious it caused him a tremendous amount of pain to think about.

Noir must have bound the original scrolls into books. That would make sense.

“Is this the only one you have?”

He shook his head. “I managed to save five of them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Noir also destroyed them whenever I made him angry, which has always been a lot. I hid as many as I could, but he eventually found all but the five.”

“That bloody wanker bastard.” The profanity flew out of her mouth before she could stop it. But honestly, it infuriated her that he would destroy something so priceless. And take from her demon the only thing that had most likely ever given him any kind of pleasure in this hellhole of an existence.

Seth was stunned by her outburst. The fact that she was angered over what had been done to him …

No one had ever cared before.

She’s faking. Don’t be stupid.

But it didn’t feel like that. It felt … real.

She cleared her throat as her face flamed bright red. “I’m so sorry.”

That confused him even more than her outburst. Anger he always understood. But her incessant need to say that one word all the time … “You apologize a lot and for things you haven’t done. Why?”

“I’m not apologizing because I did something. It’s a conveyance of emotion that means I hurt
for
you or with you.”

He still didn’t get it. “Why would you ever hurt for me when I’m nothing to you?”

“Because that’s what people do. They sympathize with others and try to help them.”

If he were capable of it, he’d laugh at the absurdity. “Obviously you haven’t met the same people I have. I’ve never known anyone like you describe.”

“I’m not talking about demons. I’m talking about humans.”

“And they are even worse. You expect cruelty from demons. They’re open with their treachery and make no attempt to conceal it. Humans … they lure you in, and just when you make the mistake of believing in them, in trusting the lies they spew with conviction, they stomp all over you.”

Lydia’s head spun at the heated emotion in his voice. What had been done to him? “No one ever helped you? Really?”

“No.”

“Not once? Ever?”

“If they did, I paid for it eventually with my flesh, bone, and my blood. So no, I don’t count that as help. It’s even crueler than doing nothing. Trust me.”

She would give him that. But man …

In that moment, she was even more grateful for Solin. Without him, this would have most likely been her fate. “I wish I could make it better for you.”

“Make what better?”

“Your life. Your memories. My past isn’t perfect and I’ve had people who have hurt me. Bad at times. But not like you describe. Not to the point that they poisoned my very soul. For that, I’m sorriest of all.”

Nothing would ever ease the pain of his past, she realized. He was as broken as anyone she’d ever met. And who could blame him? Noir’s cruelty would make anyone insane.

Seth swallowed at the sincerity he saw in her eyes. A part of him was desperate to trust her. If only he could. But a lifetime of betrayal stood between them.

They’d only just met. And she was his prisoner. Like him, she would say or do anything to escape.

Even sell her soul. So what would a few well-placed lies and some tender looks mean if it achieved her goal? How could he ever trust someone in her position?

Only a fool would do it. And he was anything but.

She reached out and touched the edge of his book. “So is this what you do for entertainment?”

“It is.”

She bit her lip as she thought it over, then a wicked light gleamed in her topaz gaze. “Haven’t you ever wanted to bust loose and do something wild and different?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. What’s outside this room?”

Hell. Misery. Blood-soaked walls. Statues that would come alive and try to eat your eyes. Demons who would attack for no reason. Not to mention two assholes known as Azura and Noir.

Maybe he should tell her that, but in the end he went with a more vague answer. “Nothing worth seeing.”

“Really?”

“Really. Azmodea is vast with several realms in it, but none of them are worth the danger it takes to explore them. May your gods take mercy on you if you get caught by some of the roaming demons who do nothing but scout victims. And even worse than that, some of the other realms are ruled by beings who make Azura and Noir look like pacificists in comparison. If they should ever lay hands on you … it’s not pretty.”

Lydia nodded. By his tone and the way he unconsciously rubbed at his thigh as if reliving some pain, she could tell he had firsthand experience with that.

“So you just sit here in this room and read, then?”

“When they allow me to, yes.”

She couldn’t imagine a more boring way to live, especially since he only had five books to keep him company. “No offense, that’s kind of pathetic, don’t you think?”

His eyes turned brittle as he went ramrod stiff. “I don’t care for that word.”

Given his tone and the I-want-to-rip-out-your-spine vibes he was bashing her in the head with, that was an understatement and then some. She definitely wanted to know which word he objected to so she didn’t say it again. “Kind?”

“Pathetic,” he spat it out with enough venom to adequately get his point across.

“All right then. I’ll take it out of my vocabulary.”

Closing the book, he set it aside. He stood up and hesitated as if he was still struggling to get his temper under control. When he spoke again, there was an undercurrent of residual anger. “I put some clothes for you in the bathroom.”

“Thank you.”

That seemed to embarrass him, but at least it knocked the last remnants of anger out of him. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

“Okay.”

She went to the bathroom, where she learned that he’d left her a whole wardrobe. Silk dresses, silk and cotton blouses, along with jeans and shoes.

When she got to the underwear, she couldn’t suppress a laugh at his choice. Red thongs. Why didn’t that surprise her?

Because he was a man after all. Even though he refused to touch her, this was the kind of underwear a guy would buy a woman he wanted to see wearing it. There was no other reason for it to have even been invented. And she was sure the original designer of it must have been a direct descendant of the Marquis de Sade.

Gah, it’s like wearing a perpetual wedgie.

And the bras …

They matched, but offered her no support whatsoever. Yep, the headlights would be on and shining, and she’d jiggle like Jell-O every time she moved. Still, she was amazed he’d thought of them. And by the looks of it, he’d given it a lot of thought, too.

She went to the shower and turned it on, then noticed that the clothes weren’t the only additions he’d made. There was now a variety of shampoos, conditioners, and other toiletries for her.

So her demon could be extremely thoughtful and giving. Who would have ever thought?

Shaking her head, she removed her gown and stepped inside.

*   *   *

Seth’s heart pounded at the sound of the shower running. She’d be in there naked …

He didn’t know why he wanted to see her like that, but he did. In the worst sort of way. More than that, he ached to shower with her.

Why?

Sex was good, but the pleasure never lasted long and it was usually tainted with biting, vicious hair-pulling, and clawing, sometimes even stabbing and gouging. After a quick momentary release and a glimmer of perfect pleasure, the old pains set in, and he was told to leave.

Needless to say, he’d never really craved it all that much—at least not when he had access to it. During his confinement, it’d been yet another thing his mind and body had tortured him with.

But with Lydia, it was never far from his thoughts. At times it seemed to be all he could think about.

No,
she
was all he could think about. It was why he didn’t ask her many questions. He didn’t want to know her any better. What he already knew of her would haunt him for the rest of his immortality.

He needed no more pain in his life.

Trying to distract himself, he went to the bed to straighten it up. But the moment he touched his pillow, a whiff of her sent a stabbing pain straight to his groin, and it made him instantly hard for her.

What he wouldn’t give to have her precious scent on his skin. To have her rub her body across his and tease him with her dark hair.

His breathing ragged, he closed his eyes and imagined himself deep inside her, while her breath tickled his skin.

Was she a biter like Azura, or would she claw at him like a demon? At this point, he didn’t care. He’d be willing to be flayed for a week if he could only taste her.

He pressed his hand against his groin and gently rubbed it, wishing it was her he felt there. Just the mere thought of it being Lydia was almost enough to make him come.

Stop it. Now.
The last thing he needed was to leave evidence of his desire for her to see.

It would shame him to the bitter core.

His hand trembling, he smoothed her pillow down, then dressed himself in his armor and paint before he returned to reading.

The moment he finally succeeded in putting her out of his thoughts was the one when she opened the door.

He glanced up, then dropped his book straight to the floor.

CHAPTER 9

Seth stared at Lydia in a state of complete and utter shock as the sight of her sent fire burning through every part of his body. And that heat concentrated itself right in his groin.
Why did I give her that one?

Why did she have to choose it?

A low-cut, rust-colored dress, it hugged her curves in a way that should be illegal. More than that, the color heightened the gold in her eyes, making them all the more vibrant.

As if she needed that.

His cock swelled against the metal plates to the point it caused him pain. Vicious, biting pain. But not even that was enough to distract him from the deep V that showed the swell of her breasts. Breasts with nipples that were tight and jutting through the silken material. He could see every outline of them. His throat went dry even as his mouth salivated for a taste.

He rose to his feet.

Lydia hesitated as she felt the weight of his icy stare on every part of her. The way he looked at her …

It was terrifying.

“Did I do something wrong?”

When he didn’t answer right away, she really started to panic.

Finally, after an extremely long minute, he blinked. “No, not at all.” He picked his book up and returned it to the desk. “I … um … I saw those on the computer last night. I wasn’t sure if they were right or not.”

“I don’t know how you did it, but they all fit perfectly.” As if they’d been tailored to her body. “Thank you.”

Still, she hated that his makeup was back in place and his hair straightened out again with that small ponytail holding his bangs back out of his eyes.

She missed the kinder looking Guardian. The fearsome one was …

Well, scary as all get out. And as hard as it was to decipher his emotions without the makeup, it was ten times harder with those red and black lines that kept his face in a perpetual snarl.

With his mercurial mood swings, she didn’t like being without those facial clues.

Completely stoic, he stepped away from the desk so that she could see he had a tray waiting for her. One with banana pancakes, muffins, eggs, bacon, and juice. Her stomach rumbled at the abundance.

“I hope all of this means you’re planning to join me.”

He shook his head.

Lydia sat down and reached for the empty plate. “Don’t you ever eat?”

“Sometimes.” There was a peculiar note in his voice that made her wary.

“You do consume food for nourishment, right?”

His eyes flashed angrily. “I don’t eat babies or drink blood if that’s what you’re implying.”

She held her hands up in surrender. “It didn’t even cross my mind. Why are you so defensive about everything?”

That familiar tic started in his jaw. “I get tired of being accused of things that I’m not. Of doing things I haven’t done.”

She could understand that. No one liked being misjudged, though it might help if he looked a little less terrifying. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I was only curious about you. You don’t eat. You don’t sleep. How do you live?”

When he spoke, his voice was completely flat and empty. “I don’t die.”

His answer confused her. “Huh?”

He looked away as he paced the same path she’d worn out the first night she’d been here. “It’s not that I live so much as it is I can’t die. So it doesn’t matter if I eat or sleep. My body will continue functioning without either.”

“Were you born immortal?”

“Apparently. I certainly wouldn’t have chosen this existence otherwise.”

Yeah, she could believe that. Who would want to live here? Even for immortality. It wasn’t worth it.