Sharing your soul with a dark predator that was essentially a psychopath could be a bitch of a situation at times. The demon had no conscience, no empathy, no ability to love. It also possessed a strong and annoying sense of entitlement that made it a persistent motherfucker.
As Harper made her way through the breakroom and into the stockroom, a mind – dark, familiar, and comforting – brushed against hers. You’re late, baby. It wasn’t a reproach; more like a need for confirmation that nothing was wrong.
She smiled as the velvety, smoky, rumble seemed to slide over her skin. Knox’s sinfully seductive voice truly shouldn’t be legal. I’m sorry, I can’t find my keys.
You don’t think anybody’s taken them, do you? There was a promise of retribution in his words.
No, they’re here somewhere. But as Harper scanned the inventory, she didn’t see them.
I have a spare set. I’ll bring them to you.
She lifted a brow, even though he couldn’t see. And just why do you have spare keys to my studio?
A vibe of amusement touched her mind. Apparently, her snippy remark didn’t bother him. It used to be one of my security offices, remember?
Oh, yeah, she’d kind of forgotten that. Give me ten minutes. If I haven’t found mine by then, I’ll use the spare set.
If that’s what you —
She frowned when he abruptly cut off. Knox?
I need to have a quick talk with Levi, he said, sounding distracted. After that, I’ll come to you if you haven’t already arrived.
If he was doing that “keeping things from her to protect her” thing again, there’d be an argument for sure. But since his mind had already pulled away from hers, she didn’t bother saying as much.
Turning her attention back to the mystery of the disappearing keys, Harper looked in the small restroom and gave the kitchenette a thorough exploration. Nothing.
Cursing, she returned to her office to give it yet another search. Looking under her sketchpads, she froze as a prickle of awareness danced across her nape.
She was about to turn when a heavy weight slammed into her back, propelling her forwards so that she was bent over the table. Just as fast, the back of her shirt was ripped open and a body appeared in front of her as two meaty hands grabbed hers, fisting her own hands and pinning them in place.
“We need to do this quickly,” said a gruff voice.
What the fuck? Knox! No response. A familiar, protective power rushed from her belly to her fingertips. They prickled as the power fought for release. Harper would be more than fucking happy to release it on her captive, but her hands were trapped. “Get the fuck off me!”
“Do it now.”
Someone blew into her ear, and suddenly Harper was at home. She stood in the doorway of her bedroom. It was almost eerily dim. Weirdly, the entire space was bare apart from one thing: a cradle. It would have been deathly quiet if it wasn’t for the sound of a baby crying.
For some reason, the sound made her stomach tighten. She crept forward, feeling disturbingly compelled toward the cradle and —
Abruptly back in her office, Harper hissed through her teeth. The flesh of her back felt like it was on fire. Her demon raged, freaking the fuck out. Harper writhed and struggled against her captive’s grip, scrambling to understand what the hell was happening.
“You want to release me,” she said in a compelling tone that came with the sphinx package.
A dark chuckle. “No, we don’t.”
Her surroundings shifted once again, and she found herself walking toward the cradle again. Time was slow here. There was no pain, no panic, no anger. But it wasn’t real… was it? She didn’t know, so she kept her mind focused on the vision in front of her. The crying seemed louder now and —
Finding herself bent over the office table once more, she blinked, disorientated. Her body bucked and writhed as what felt like some sort of magnetic force called to her wings. They snapped to the surface and fanned out around her – huge, gold, heavy, eagle-like, gossamer wings that were silky-soft but strong as steel.
“Look at the black and red streaks running through the gold feathers,” said the demon subduing her hands. His shock was understandable – they were the colors of the flames of hell.
A covetous hand stroked one wing. Red-hot rage whipped through her, and she writhed like crazy. “Let me go, you motherfuckers!”
“She shouldn’t be partially aware!”
“Well I know that, but she is!”
Knox! Knox! Where the hell was he? Was someone attacking him too and —?
She was back in her bedroom again, closer to the cradle now. The cries had eased a little, as if whatever lay there was calmed by her presence. A part of her wanted to retreat, but she needed to see the source of the crying. Needed to know if —
Arching like a bow, Harper screamed around her gag – gag? – as something sliced into her back. No, into the stems of her wings. The son of a bitch was trying to sever her wings! Tears stung her eyes each time the jagged blade mercilessly cut into the stems. She redoubled her efforts to be free, even as it worsened the pain that was burning her from the inside out. Her heartbeat was racing so fast that she wouldn’t have been surprised if it collapsed.
The male behind her cursed. “If sphinx wings were as flimsy as they look, this would be a lot goddamn easier.”
“I swear I will fucking kill you!” she growled around the gag.
The males just laughed. Laughed.
Her inner demon shoved its way to the surface and pulled back its lips. “You will die for this,” it told them in a flat, emotionless voice that was barely audible, but the demon’s presence still made both males pause for a moment.
“For God’s sake, put her out!”
A warm breath blew into her ear once more, and she was back in her room. Two single steps were all it would take to get her up close to the cradle. She took one step, then another. And there, eyes closed as it fussed and kicked its little legs, was a baby. It looked so tiny and sweet, sucking on its fist.
Harper’s smile was slow but real as she tentatively reached out and ran the tip of her finger over the small hand, warmed by the feel of its petal-soft skin. The baby’s eyes flipped open, and all she could see were flames.
Harper snapped back to reality, pain ripping through her as someone continued sawing into the stems of her wings. Black spots filled her vision, and the sickly tastes of blood and fear flooded her mouth until they almost choked her.
She wanted to shout. Struggle. Fight back. But she felt paralyzed with the sheer agony that came with each and every slice. Not even the adrenaline pumping through her was much help at this point.
“Now those rings sure are pretty,” said her captor, keeping her hands fisted so tightly that her nails bit hard into her palms. “I’ll bet there are people willing to pay top dollar for them – maybe even more than this guy’s paying us for the wings.”
Like hell would she let them take the rings. Knox had given them to her. One was a black diamond; something a demon only gave to their mate. It was a symbol of the ultimate commitment. They meant more to her than even her wings.
“No, don’t free her hands. She can cause soul-deep pain, idiot.”