Page 20 of His Darkest Desire

She clutched the towel against her breast. “Be brave. You can do this.”

Saying those words didn’t ease the anxiety roiling within her belly.

She approached the door and grasped the handle, pausing to take another steadying breath before opening it. A wave of warmth greeted her. Kinsley stepped into the bedroom.

With night approaching, the window over the bed was already dark. A low fire blazed within the hearth, its light mingling with the faint luminescence of the crystals to cast a gentle glow on the room that belied what was meant to happen here.

And there he was, seated in the lone chair before the fireplace, his eyes more hellish than the flames. He did not look at her when he said, “Get onto the bed and present yourself, human.”

Kinsley narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose. “Present myself?”

He turned his face toward her, tapping a finger on the armrest of his chair. The skin of his hands was as black as his claws, as were the tips of his long, tapered ears. “Lie down and spread your thighs that you may receive me.”

“Absolutely not.”

He bared his fangs. “Now.”

Kinsley leaned forward, keeping her eyes locked with his as she firmly said, “No.”

Grasping the armrests, he thrust himself to his feet, making the movement look so graceful and yet so powerful and intimidating. Two strides brought his tall, lean body up to her. “You are fortunate that I chose you, female.”

She tilted her head back but didn’t retreat. “Why? Do you get many candidates through here?”

The room dimmed, and shadows coalesced over the monster’s features, making the glow of his eyes brighter in contrast. “I will not tolerate this impertinence, especially not from a human.”

She didn’t look away from him, couldn’t look away. At the corners of her vision, everything…warped. The walls, ceiling, and floor were drifting farther away even as the shadows darkened. And he towered over her more than seemed possible.

It was disorienting and frightening on a primal level. It felt like he was larger, but also that she was somehow smaller.

This can’t be real.

The darkness became so complete that all she could see were his eyes, a pair of crimson flames in the night.

“But I should tolerate it from you?” she asked despite the dryness of her mouth.

With a snarl, he clamped a hand around her throat. She was aware of movement, aware of her feet leaving the floor and the towel being ripped away, but everything happened so suddenly that her mind could not comprehend what was occurring until her bare back came down atop the bed. Though the room remained dim, the shadows had thinned just enough for her to see her host, her captor, to see the fury in his eyes. To see their lack of pity and compassion.

Keeping hold of her throat, the creature lodged his hips between her thighs and dropped his other hand to open the lacings of his pants. Kinsley’s eyes widened, and she clutched his forearm and squirmed beneath him, trying to free herself. But he held her in place.

“You made a pact with me,” he gritted through his teeth, “and you shall honor it.”

Fear both deathly cold and witheringly hot coursed beneath Kinsley’s skin as he tugged out his cock. It was long and thick, with prominent ridges running along the top and underside of its shaft, which tapered into a point at the head. At its base, the skin was black, but it faded to the same green as his face toward the tip.

And to her further horror, the sight sparked a hint of desire deep in her core.

As he grasped the thick shaft, Kinsley knew his strength was too great for her to resist. She knew that no matter how hard she fought, she wouldn’t be able to stop this…this thing from happening.

The physical pain she knew he would inflict blended with the pain in her heart and soul, with her fear and humiliation, with all her confusion and dashed hopes, all of it coming out in a strained cry.

Kinsley struck his chest with a fist as tears filled her eyes. “Fine. Rape me, you fucking monster!”

He froze. His fingers flexed, pressing his claws into the tender flesh of her neck. He lowered his gaze, dragging it from her eyes and down her body to her parted sex, where his cock was poised.

A slow, harsh breath escaped him, and the muscles of his jaw bulged as he clenched his teeth. Kinsley dared not so much as breathe as she stared at him.

His chest rumbled with a low, ragged growl that escalated into a bestial roar so powerful and furious that the building trembled around him. Huge wings unfurled from his back, batlike and leathery, stretching out past the sides of the bed.

A demon. She was in the clutches of a demon, and it was about to devour her, body and soul.