Touch of the Demon Read Online Free

century?
    With a faint
tracing of alarm, Celeste realized she didn’t know, but even
more—she didn’t care. Surely the danger had long since passed and
this creature could leave without completing his deadly
mission?
    And if that was
so, why did she still cling to him as if he were her raft in an
ocean of chaos?
    At last he
stirred against her. “A fine performance.” His lips brushed against
her ear, sending shockwaves shivering along her skin. “I may never
allow you to leave my side.”
    She slid her
legs from his hips and, as their bodies separated, an unexpected
spear of elemental loneliness pierced her.
    “I may not give
you the choice.” Her voice shook. Had he noticed? It would be fatal
if he discovered just how deeply he affected her.
    Instead of
releasing her, he took her face between his large hands and gazed
down at her. From the glow of the flickering lamplight she saw his
brooding expression, as if he too wondered at the bond between
them.
    “You’re more
than I believed you could be.” It was as if he spoke to himself,
voicing his confusion aloud. “You deserve more than your destiny
allows.”
    Celeste’s heart
pounded against her chest as his words sank into her brain. Did he
know who she was? Then why had he called her a mere human?
    “I forge my own
destiny.”
    He smiled, but
it was a dark, bitter smile as if he thought her naïve to believe
such a thing possible. “We’re all pawns, human. In one game or
another.”
    And still he
called her human. “Which game do you play?”
    His thumbs
traced across her cheeks. A soft touch that sent tremors of renewed
desire shimmering along the surface of her skin.
    “Chess.” His
teeth flashed in a fleeting smile of mockery. “Isn’t that the only
game ever played?”
    She trailed one
finger along the sensual line of his mouth. “A pawn can fell a
kingdom.”
    “Yet it’s far
more pleasurable to seduce one’s opponent into surrender.”
    Celeste allowed
her finger to hover against his parted lips, and his warm breath
fanned her. “Have you surrendered to me?”
    He took the tip
of her finger into his hot mouth and caressed it with his tongue.
His eyes never left hers.
    She hitched in
a ragged breath. “I can be magnanimous in victory.”
    For the second
time, he laughed, a deep rich sound that seeped into her soul and
filled the darkness with light. It was an impossible illusion
because he was a creature of the pit, and yet before she could stop
herself she smiled back at him.
    “Your
arrogance,” he said, sliding his fingers through her hair as if the
texture pleased him, “is truly breathtaking.”
    “Then we’re
well matched.” How could she flirt with this heartless assassin?
And yet she had already fucked him. Wanted to have him again. Did
that make her insane? Or merely as depraved as him?
    His fingers
paused against her hair. And then he drew her cloak around her,
covering her exposed breasts.
    “Come.” His
voice was suddenly harsh as he wound his arm around her shoulders,
pinning her to his side.
    “Where?” Panic
flared as he pulled her along the dark alley. Had she
miscalculated? Could he still complete his mission? While she had
been experiencing pleasure beyond her fantasies, had he been fully
aware of the passage of time?
    He’d attached
her so securely to his side, she couldn’t even reach her stiletto.
But even if she could, would she use it on him? Now?
    Her brain
assured her not only that she could, but that she must. Her heart
shrank from the image.
    “Somewhere
warm.” He sounded oddly distracted and it took her a second to
absorb his meaning.
    “Warm?” So he
wasn’t planning on finishing the job. He planned to finish
them.
    Liquid heat
bloomed between her thighs. If she could keep him with her
throughout the night, the future of the one she protected was
secure. Once the child was conceived, this demon had failed in his
mission. There were no second chances, no possibility to reclaim
that fragment in