Page 47 of Winter Unleashed
I gaped at the two men sitting at the far end of the table. Liam described the man in a way that insinuated he was as close to the so-called devil as you could get, and now he was inviting the dude to sit at his table. Then Philip joined them, and I was completely lost.
Stella and Isaac moved to sit closer to me, and we watched the three men sip wine and talk about unimportant things. “What the fuck is going on?” I muttered to my friends.
“Do you think he’s put them under some kind of spell?” Stella asked.
I shook my head without taking my eyes off Belial’s back. “That can’t be it. He has no magic, remember? Artemis stripped them of it.”
A loud, infectious laugh sounded from the table as Belial turned to beam at us. “That’s not entirely true, is it?” His smile made him beautiful, and a bolt of desire hit me so hard I couldn’t stop my reaction to him this time.
I barely noticed the sound of my chair scraping on the tile when I pushed it back to stand. I only had eyes for Belial as I walked across the room.
“Lyle,” Liam’s voice cut through the fog of my longing, and I found myself halfway into the other man’s lap.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I demanded as I took a few steps away from him.
He sat back in his chair, looking pleased with himself. “Just proving I am not completely devoid of magic.”
I moved over to Liam who slipped his arm around me and pulled me closer. He was signaling to the other man that I washisand not to be touched. For once I was okay with his public display of possessiveness.
Iwashis, and I didn’t mind his possessive nature in the bedroom, in fact, I enjoyed the fuck out of it. I just wasn’t comfortable when he ran it up a flagpole for the entire world to see. If I was to be the Vinura to his Vinur, others would need to see me as his equal, not his property.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What magic do you have?” My eyes widened. “Oh. Was that glamour? Like the vamps?”
His ever-present grin broadened. “No. I am nothing like a vampire. Vampires use their glamour to make you do things you don’t want to. Demons allow you to do the things you really want to do deep down inside.”
I scoffed. “You’re saying I wanted to climb on top of you?”
He lifted his left shoulder in a half shrug. “You tell me.”
I felt the sting of Liam’s energy when his grip on my waist tightened. “Lyle, you know I don’t enjoy repeating myself.”
Belial’s gaze dropped to Liam. The fierceness in his eyes belied the grin on his face. “We will discuss the purpose of my visit. Alone.”
Liam shook his head. “Philip and Ember stay.”
Belial took a few minutes to think it over. I wasn’t sure but something told me he was stalling as long as he could just to annoy Liam. Stella and Isaac got up and left without waiting for his answer. They, like me, knew Liam would win no matter who Belial was.
I moved to sit in a chair on the other side of the table from the newcomer. His eyes followed me the entire time and didn’t leave me even after I sat. The sting of his insinuation still burned as I studied him. Did I want to mount him? My conscious brain gave me a firm no. I couldn’t understand why I’d gone to him, but I really didn’t think it was because I’d wanted to.
“Aww, look at you. You’re thinking about it.” He rested his elbows on the table and cradled his chin in his hands. “Do you really want me, or did I play a trick on you? It’s bugging you, isn’t it?” Belial asked, leaning forward a little.
“Just tell us why you’re here,” I replied.
Philip shifted in his seat to bring attention to himself, reminding our visitor he was there. Belial’s eyes slowly shifted to him then back to me. “Artemis sent me with a message for the Vinur.”
Liam grunted. “I highly doubt that. You’re the reason she stripped away your magic.”
My writer’s curiosity perked up. I turned my attention to Belial, hoping he share what he’d done to make her go to such an extreme. I knew he’d hurt someone close to Artemis, but I wanted to know more. All of it.
He just grinned again. “I made mistakes in the past, and I’ve since made amends. She doesn’t fully trust me yet, which is why I agreed to this mundane task. I’m trying to prove my loyalty to the old lady.”
Liam studied him and grunted again. “Artemis has many other ways of sending me a message. Why would she choose to send you of all beings?”
“I don’t know. Because she thinks I’m cute,” he said. “Your Vinura certainly seems to think so.”
Liam slammed his fist on the table. “Tell me why you’re here and then leave.”
“Ah, the jealous nature of a wolf. It’s exhausting, don’t you agree?” he asked me. I ignored him. He shrugged and turned back to Liam. “Her Royal Looniness is tired of waiting for you to take your rightful seat as the Vinur. I don’t know why you choose to stay in this ridiculous human world. Is it because your bitch likes it here? You are the Vinur. You rule overallshifters. Your woman should not tell you what to do.”