Bound by Night (The Moonbound Clan Vampires) (42 page)

“So,” Sam said in a voice that made Hunter’s hair stand up, “if I asked you to kneel before me and take my cock in your mouth, you’d do it?”

Hunter dropped to his knees. He’d have to drown himself in vodka later, but he hadn’t been lying when he said he’d do whatever it took to save the life of his child.

Sam’s smile faded as he shifted his gaze to the fire, which flared as if he’d thrown gasoline on it.

“If you want to be released from the bargain I made with the twelve chiefs, you must first negotiate a series of tests.” Sam gestured for Hunter to rise. “And one of them isn’t to suck my cock.”

Thank the spirits
. Hunter wouldn’t be nursing a grizzly-sized vodka–blow job hangover later. He rose. “I accept.”

“Fool.” The shadow surrounding the demon seethed like a living thing, and Hunter wondered if it was a measure of Sam’s irritation. “You don’t even know what the tests involve.”

“I don’t give a shit what they involve.”

Sam reached out and dragged one hideously long, black-lacquered nail down the gash Myne had made. Hunter sucked air as fresh blood streamed from the newly opened laceration.

“Before your trial can begin, you must choose one
of the twins to accompany you. You can’t pass through the membrane into my realm without either your intended mate or her sister. It doesn’t matter which, since their veins run with the same blood. But consider this.” He paused his finger’s downward path just above Hunter’s navel. “No matter who you choose, you will die.”

Hunter recoiled, wrenching away from the demon. Die? His choice was to either never have children with his mate or
die
?

“If I’m going to die on this fucking quest of yours, what’s the point of taking these tests?”

The fire roared to ten times its original size. Flames licked the wooden tent supports. Heat slammed into Hunter, blistering his skin and charring his hair. The stench of burned flesh filled the air, but Hunter held his ground, suffering through the searing agony with clenched teeth.

“The point is that even if you don’t go on this quest, you will die.” Sam’s hand snapped out to take Hunter by the throat. Drool dripped from the demon’s orca teeth, which looked a lot larger than they had a moment ago. “Before the winter ends, you will be dead.”

“Again,” Hunter ground out, “why should I go on your stupid quest?”

The demon cackled, a sinister, resonant sound that turned Hunter’s marrow to ice. “Because going with one of the ShadowSpawn females is your only hope of survival. Both twins would be the death of you.” In a
whoosh
of air, he turned to mist, his form twisting with the smoke from the fire. As the flames snuffed out and the smoke dissipated, the demon’s voice echoed in Hunter’s head. “
But only one of them will choose to bring you back.
”

T
HERE ARE ALWAYS
so many people to thank after a book is written, and
Bound by Night
is no exception. Huge thanks to my awesome editor, Lauren McKenna, whose brilliance and faith made this book such fun to write. And thank you to the entire Pocket Books team, not just for the fabulous cover, but for the support and hard work. Thanks, too, to Kimberly Whalen . . . everything fell together perfectly for us, didn’t it? I also need to send big hugs to Michelle Willingham and Stephanie Tyler, because I swear, without you ladies, I’d never get anything done. This book should have your names on it, too! Love you!

L
ARISSA
I
ONE’S
D
EMONICA NOVELS

Pleasure Unbound

Desire Unchained

Passion Unleashed

Ecstasy Unveiled

Sin Undone

Eternity Embraced

WARRIOR OF HEAVEN

Reaver is an angel with a past, a record, and a less-than-heavenly attitude. He’s agreed to go where no angel has ever gone before . . . to steal the most seductive and dangerous prize of Satan himself.

ANGEL OF HELL

Harvester is a once-heroic angel who sacrificed her wings to work as an undercover agent in hell. But after her cover was blown, she’s been doomed to an eternity of agonizing torture. Even if Reaver can snatch her away from Satan’s lair, even if they can fight their way out of hell itself, there is one thing Harvester can never escape . . .

REAVER

by Larissa Ione

Coming December 2013

ISBN: 9781455526963

Grand Central Publishing

Hachete Book Group

Pocket Books

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.