Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1) (26 page)

“Don’t
Make ’Em Like They Used To!” the headline read.

I
watched in horror as every graphic detail of what we’d done together in his
office that day was aired before eyes that were never meant to see it. The
memory ended with me running crying from the office.

I
watched in horror as I ran outside and across the street before looking both
ways. A car slammed into me, and I rolled onto the hood and slammed into the
windshield before tumbling off the side onto the street, lying there like a
broken doll. I watched numbly as passersby got out and called for help, but my
memory-self was unconscious. The ambulance arrived and carted me to the
hospital. After numerous X-rays, they stitched me up and put me on a morphine
drip in a private room. Slipping in and out of consciousness, I didn’t realize
I had company until hours later when I came to, and there stood the most
beautiful man I had ever seen beside my bed.

Elias
smiled. “Hello, Sally.”

I
didn’t pay that much attention to the rest of the memory. I knew what had come
next, and besides that, I’d gone numb. It was my self-defense mechanism, to
block out the pain. I watched his mouth move as he pulled up a chair beside my
bed and sat, knowing he was telling me he could make this all go away. And I’d
clumsily accepted, longing for any way to get rid of this heartache.

The
next instant, my body lit up in flames as my soul was reclaimed, and I was
molded into something else.

I
GASPED FOR AIR, like I was drowning in an ocean of hurt and pain. “You… prick,”
I managed before Damien started laughing.

“I
do say, that was very entertaining, some of the most delicious memories I’ve
yet uncovered.” He grinned. “And now I can sense it…” His talon trailed a
bloody rivulet along my collarbone. “You’re weaker. More susceptible. Now you
have no way to keep me from claiming what is mine.”

I
tried moving, but it was as if I had been drained of energy. Unable to do
anything but lay there and wait for death, I refused to close my eyes as he
drew closer, his mouth opening wide as those terrible fangs of his grazed my
neck.

A
flash of orange from behind us lit up Damien’s features, and he hissed,
throwing up his hands at the blaze of light. “What is this?” he roared.

I
could crane my neck just enough to see the flaming figure standing behind us.
Then I forgot how to breathe.

“Hector?”

Chapter 20

I
HAD TO BE DREAMING. Or dead. Because there was no way Hector could possibly be
here.

And
yet as he came closer, the heat of the flames coiled around him like snakes,
warming my skin and chasing away Damien’s icy demonic aura.

I
smiled softly. At least I got to see my beloved again, one last time, before I
died.

“What
trickery is this?” Damien hissed.

Hector
gave him a menacing smile, his usually warm brown eyes glowing like hot coals.
“No tricks. Here, let me show you.”

A
flame whip lashed out, ripping a bright red welt in the demon’s scaly skin.
Damien howled with fury, rearing and clutching at his arm as black blood
dripped to the ground.

My
eyes widened as I stared at the growing puddle beside my head.
Impossible…

When
Hector knelt beside me, he was glowing almost too brightly for me to look at.
His face tightened with worry as he looked me over, then caressed my cheek.

“Sally,
look at me,” he said.

I
forced my eyes open. Tentatively, I reached up with a shaking hand and felt his
warm fingers.

He
was real. He was actually here, with me.

“How
is this possible?” I whispered, tears welling in my eyes.

Hector’s
hand closed around mine. His mouth opened to answer, but then his gaze snapped
upward as a veritable vortex of icy wind swirled around us.

Hector
drew me to his chest, shielding me from the brunt of the subzero cold as his
fire burned brighter, fighting to keep us from freezing.

Damien
laughed. “You are strong, I’ll give you that, warlock, but I am stronger.”

As
he said it, the temperature dropped further, and I felt my extremities start to
go numb. If we didn’t do something, we were done for. And I’ll be damned if I
was reunited with Hector only to be separated from him again.

“Kiss
me,” I rasped.

Hector
flinched for a moment, his fire ebbing briefly at the distraction. “Gorgeous,
I’d normally oblige, but I’m a little busy at the moment.”

I
gripped his shirt and hauled myself up, bringing my mouth next to his. “I’m too
weak. He… did something to my mind.”

Hector’s
fire flared as he growled.

“But
I can help,” I said. “I just need an energy boost from you.”

He
looked at me long and hard. I thought history may repeat itself, and he’d argue
about me getting hurt, but to my surprise, he leaned forward and kissed me.
Fire wrapped around us, warming my skin and thawing me out but not burning me.
Soon as our lips touched, I felt my energy start to replenish itself. Good
grief, Hector was so strong, a great deal stronger magically than I’d
originally thought. Thank God we were both the same creature, or this never
would have worked. Being a succubus and incubus, we could take energy off one
another, thus healing ourselves, without it killing us. It was a win-win
situation.

The
ground rumbled as Damien stomped toward us.

With
reluctance, I broke the kiss. I could have stayed in Hector’s arms all day, but
one, I wanted to get out of hell or wherever we were, and two, there were some
things Damien and I needed to discuss. And by discuss, I mean
me-beating-the-shit-out-of-him.

I
gave Hector a wicked smile. “Thanks, sweetheart. What do you say we teach this
asshole a lesson?”

He
smiled back. “Gladly.”

Summoning
transformations was easy now, a mere afterthought for me. My body tingled for a
few seconds, then before I knew it, I was face to face with Damien.

His
shock registered on his odd, human-like face - a face I knew now mirrored my
own, considering I’d copied his shape. The only way to tell us apart was
whereas his skin was an ashen gray color, mine was scarlet.

I
popped my neck. “You just messed with the wrong succubus.”

With
a roar that didn’t sound like anything of the human world, I charged.

Damien’s
eyes widened as I slammed into him, knocking us both back. His feet dug into
the earth, digging trenches as I clawed, hit, bit, and mangled anything I could
grasp or chew. Soon, my mouth was filled with the taste of blood. Demon blood
had a weird flavor to it. It tasted like how graveyard dirt would, if I’d known
what that even tasted like.

Damien
sneered at me. “I’m not going to spare you any pain now. I will rip the flesh
from your bones.”

“You
have to catch me first.” Then with a move straight out of self-defense 101, I
delivered a swift kick to his groin.

Damien
buckled over, groaning in pain, and I followed up with an uppercut to his jaw.
He went sailing backward, landing in the dirt and sliding a short distance
before dragging himself up and running forward.

I
continued ducking, dodging, and punching, my attention mostly focused on the
battle.

Behind
me, Hector was muttering something in a language I didn’t understand - Latin? -
and the ground around him lit up in a red pentagram. Symbols formed within the
star, the ancient symbols for earth, air, fire, water, and finally, spirit.

He
looked at me and pointed to the circle.

I
understood. I needed to drive Damien toward it.

My
looking at Hector had cost me a punch in the face. Wincing, I popped my jaw and
said, “Cheap shot,” then proceeded pummeling Damien. Him drawing me into that
nightmare memory must have weakened him, because he wasn’t nearly as
intimidating as he’d been a moment ago. His movements were definitely more
sluggish than the lightning-quick moves I’d seen earlier.

Slowly,
I drove him toward Hector. A tunnel of light shot up to the sky from the
circumference of the pentagram, casting a red glow over everything. Damien was
so focused on me that by the time he realized what I was doing, he already had
one foot in the circle.

Shrieking,
he grabbed me, trying to claw his way out as the light began to pull him in,
like a vacuum. “No! This cannot be! It isn’t possible!” he wailed, terror on
his face.

Hector
wrapped his arms around Damien’s waist. “Tell that to the little box you’ll be
calling your new home.”

With
a swift motion, I kicked Damien square in the chest, pitching him fully into
the circle. I had just enough time to dive in after him, changing back to my
normal shape as I did, and the light beamed us through time and space.

There’s
nothing quite like the sensation of traveling between worlds. It felt like
every cell was being stretched and reformed, and pressure built in my head as
we neared the blinding light at the end of the tunnel.

It
sounded like a thunderclap as the portal split apart reality back at Elysian,
and I pitched forward hard on cement, scraping my chin and palms. As the
ringing in my ears dulled, I became aware someone was screaming, and the air
was filled with an odd humming sound, like bees.

No,
not bees. Chanting. Human voices.

My
eyes opened as my vision went from doubles back to singles, and I recognized
the courtyard I’d left only minutes before.

It
was the biggest pentagram I’d ever seen. It completely encased the courtyard,
at least one hundred witches and warlocks forming the circle.

And
in its center stood a royally pissed off demon.

Hector
stood nearby, chanting with the others. He looked a little worse for wear,
considering the scrapes the icicle storm had taken out of his skin, but he
didn’t let that deter him from helping.

Angela
and Yasmine stood on either side of Damien. Yasmine was lit up like a
lightbulb, glowing with pure white light, while Angela’s skin sparkled with
heavenly symbols and a beautiful pair of wings made of light rose above her.

She
was magnificent. It brought tears to my eyes.

Damien’s
form flickered in and out of existence as Angela held the box up to Damien. He
clawed at the air, trying to escape as he was slowly sucked into the box, but
it was no use. Right before his head went in, he looked at me and shouted,
“Salllyyyyyyyy!!!!!!”

His
voice cut off abruptly as Angela snapped the box shut, and Yasmine bound it
with a spell.

A
shockwave seemed to emit from the box, nearly leveling all the surrounding
supernaturals.

Hector
caught me, balancing me as the blast of energy passed. For several shocked
seconds, no one moved. Hell, it didn’t sound like anyone was breathing. We were
all waiting, watching the box warily, as if expecting Damien to reappear.

But
nothing happened.

It
was peaceful.

The
first cheer rang up, and then everyone joined in. Yasmine looked relieved and
exhausted, and Angela caught my eye and winked.

I
smiled back at her, my face hurting because my smile was stretched so wide.

I
was free. It was finally over.

“Hector,
I-”

He
didn’t give me time to finish. He scooped me up, dipped me low, and kissed me
until I couldn’t think anymore.

Chapter 21

THERE
WAS MUCH KISSING to be had after defeating said demon. No one paid attention to
the smooch Hector laid on me, because they were too busy kissing everyone else.
It was like that famous photograph of the soldier catching the nurse by
surprise when he kissed her upon hearing the war with Japan was over. There was
also a lot of drinking. Who knew witches and warlocks loved their booze?

The
party lasted well into the early morning hours. It didn’t seem to matter that I
was a student; in fact, my status as “peon” had seemed to upgrade into
“demon-slaying-ass-kicker.” Everyone wanted to talk to the succubus who’d
single-handedly fought Damien. Hector proudly introduced me to his peers,
though we both had to put on a show that we weren’t together-together. Which was
becoming harder and harder the more alcohol I had.

Hector
and I didn’t retire until nearly dawn, and even then we didn’t go to sleep
right away. Too tired for much else, we lay in each other’s arms, talking and
laughing and enjoying one another’s company without the threat of death hanging
over our heads. Life was bliss.

At
least, until eight a.m. the next morning.

My
head was pounding almost as hard as the person at Hector’s door. Irritably, he
got out of bed and barked, “What?” at the poor person. Hushed voices followed.
Hector came back into the bedroom looking troubled as I sat up and tried to
focus on not throwing up. I don’t know why I thought practically inhaling
tequila would be a good idea, but hell, I was just so damn happy Damien was
gone, I took down whatever was handed to me. And
everyone
had wanted to
buy this girl a drink last night.