The Darkest Gate Read Online Free Page A

stimulant.”
    “For demons, yes. You’ll find it has quite a different effect on his type. I’ll supply enough to keep him under your gorgeous thumb for a year.”
    “How much?” she asked.
    “Do you think I would nickel-and-dime an old friend? After we’ve known each other for so many long years?”
    She pulled her hand back. “Yes.”
    “How predictable of me.”
    “What do you want?”
    “I want use of your shipping fleet.” Mr. Black waved his hand again, and Alain handed Portia a sheaf of papers. She unfolded them and began to read. Her expression darkened with every line. “I’m bringing in a few archaeological pieces from my personal collection, so I’ll require unlimited use of your trucks.”
    “Unlimited use?” Portia slapped the contract on the table. “What about my needs? What about my suppliers?”
    Mr. Black smoothed out the contract and flipped to the third page. “I have accounted for that: I will compensate you for the estimated loss of business. See here?”
    She refused to look. “I don’t know why you’re bothering to ask. I know I have no choice.”
    “Of course you have a choice.” He took a pen from his breast pocket and offered it to her. “Your son had a choice, too.”
    Her lips trembled.
    “Let me inspect them closely. Both the contract and… that .” Portia indicated the man shivering on her floor with a careless wave of her hand.
    “He’s yours. You can command him.”
    “The terms of our deal have changed. I won’t take custody until I fully agree.”
    “This is why I love you, Portia. Just adore you. You don’t tolerate nonsense in your business, and I have to say, I appreciate that.” He snapped his fingers. “Nukha’il, stand up and turn around so she can see all of you.”
    The man picked himself up. Shimmering red-brown hair fell to his back in soft waves. His body was delicate, yet strong, and the top of his head was nearly level with the doorway. Nukha’il spun slowly. He was sheer perfection, despite the fact there might have been no muscles under his olive skin. The lines of his back were unearthly.
    He looked a lot like Portia’s son.
    Her fist tightened, crumpling the contract.
    “I’ll take him,” she said, her voice hoarse. Nukha’il raised his chin, giving her the kind of look that said he wouldn’t go down easily.
    The moment she signed the last curl on her surname, the papers were gone and the pen was whisked from her hand. Alain tucked the contract into his coat once more. Mr. Black smiled like the Cheshire Cat, his too-white teeth glowing in the lamplight. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with you, my dear.”
    “Yes. Of course. You’ll have to tell me your real name one day, Mr. Black.”
    He placed a kiss on her knuckles. The suit fit him even better when he was standing. Under other circumstances, she might have sought him out to become her third husband. He was wealthy and certainly attractive. But he was also a cold bastard, and he did dangerous business. She didn’t want to be witness to the day it caught up with him.
    “How do I contact you?” she asked.
    “I’ll be in town visiting some… shall we say, old friends. I’ll be in touch. Don’t worry about that.”
    Portia blinked rapidly, trying to process the information. “You understand if I don’t walk you to the door.”
    “Of course.”
    She waited until they were gone before letting the shudders overtake her, but once they began, she couldn’t stop.
    Portia wouldn’t look at Nukha’il. His presence nauseated her. She moved short locks of hair into place and dabbed at the sweat in the cleft of her breasts to give her hands something to do. Deep breaths in, slow breaths out.
    “What should I do?” Nukha’il asked, making it sound as if he was offering to clean a toilet.
    “Don’t talk to me,” she snapped. Raising her voice, she called, “They’re gone.”
    The door behind her opened, and the Night Hag entered.
    Portia had been assured that