“Of course. I’ll come find you after the meeting’s done. Bathroom and showers are down the hall. Rest up. You’ve earned it.”
When Jarrett left, though, Tenn didn’t feel like showering. Didn’t feel like taking a break. Because the moment Jarrett walked away, Tenn’s thoughts and doubts returned.
And then, all he could think about was how much he felt like bait.
*
The room was simple, clean—smooth earthen walls that shone like marble, a worn Oriental rug, a few lamps and candles and a large bed. It had made him feel guilty at first, having his own space down here while the rest of the city seemed to live all squashed together, then he’d remembered the news from New Orleans: a civilian had helped smuggle his fiancée-turned-bloodling into a camp, sure that she would never, ever kill like the other monsters. The ensuing bloodbath had been proof enough that Hunters and civilians needed to be kept apart. Hunters were few and far between, even when they weren’t being murdered in their own beds. Not to mention, Tenn had a sinking feeling that Caius and his ilk would be more than happy to do “God’s good work” in the dead of night.
He sat on the bed in the suffocating silence and stared at the wall.
It was all he could do to keep Water from taking control. It roiled beneath the surface, a constant hum in his ears, a baritone tinnitus. His stomach rumbled. He needed to eat. And sleep. But he had no clue where to get food and he had a terrible fear that if he let go for one second, if he let himself drift, Water would open and drown them all before he could control it.
What the hell was he doing here? How was he supposed to be a threat to the Kin when he couldn’t even keep his powers under control? In less than a day, everything had turned on its head. He hadn’t thought that was possible anymore—the Resurrection had pretty much fucked everything up beyond compare.
“Lost in thought, Tenn?”
Tenn’s heart leaped to his throat as he jumped to his feet; he knew that voice in the deepest corner of his darkest desires.
Tomás.
The incubus seemed to glow in the lamplight. Or maybe that’s just how he always looked. He leaned against the door, one foot propped against the wood in a pose that reminded Tenn of an old cowboy poster. The fact that Tomás was wearing snakeskin boots helped, though Tenn had never seen a cowboy go about in skintight black jeans and no shirt. He couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering over the curve of Tomás’s lips, the arch of his collarbones, the perfect V of his torso. Tenn was used to seeing bodies carved from use or magic, honed for a purpose. But this was different. Tomás’s body was crafted to be desired.
Then again, for an incubus, that was a weapon all on its own.
“How did you get in here?” Tenn asked. His voice caught in his throat. It wasn’t just from the fear of being trapped with a Howl. He hated the fact that desire rose within him. He hated that he didn’t hate it. It made him feel warm.
It made him feel alive.
“Oh, I come and go where I please.” Tomás pushed himself away from the door and sauntered toward Tenn. Every step closer seemed to raise the room’s temperature. He burned like a radiator, which meant he must have fed recently. Tenn wondered who they’d find dead and frozen in the morning. “I’m glad to see you made it back alive.”
Another step, and he was only a foot away.
Tomás reached out and caressed Tenn’s cheek. Tenn tried not to flinch. He tried not to pull the demon closer.
“Though I am a bit saddened you didn’t heed my advice,” Tomás whispered. His words were frighteningly delicate, on the verge of shattering. “I told you to run.”
Tenn tried to hold on to his senses. He tried to turn the desire into rage.
“I’m not going to take advice from an incubus.”
Instantly they were both on the bed, Tenn on his back and Tomás crouched on top of him. Tomás’s knees pinned Tenn’s arms to his sides. The Howl’s copper eyes blazed gold and his hands clamped against Tenn’s neck.
“I told you not to call me that,” Tomás seethed. He shook his head, as though trying to drown some inner voice. When he looked back at Tenn, he cocked his head to the side and smiled. There wasn’t the slightest bit of kindness in those perfect white teeth. He released the pressure on Tenn’s throat. Slightly.
“It seems he is not good at following directions.” Tomás shifted his grip, released one hand to drag a finger along Tenn’s jaw and toward his collarbones. He leaned in close, until their cheeks were brushing. Tomás’s breath in Tenn’s ear was a sensation Tenn never knew he could want so badly. “Perhaps he wants to be punished?”
Tomás’s hand continued trailing down, a nail snagging on Tenn’s shirt, slowly ripping it open. Tenn writhed under that touch, his pulse throbbing. Twin voices screamed in his head. One—the sane one—wanted to escape. The other...well, the other part wanted to pull Tomás closer and show him just who was going to be punished.
He forced the thoughts away. He had to remain in control. Of all the goddamned things in this world, he could at least have some control over his urges.
“Why are you doing this?” he managed, pissed at how breathy his voice had suddenly become.
Tomás paused. Tenn wanted to pull the man closer, wanted to force his hand lower.
“I have already told you,” Tomás finally said. “What my sister Leanna covets, I, too, desire.”
“But why? Why me? Why now?”
Tomás sat up, his hands lingering on Tenn’s chest. “You are special, Tenn. Powerful in ways that are only just awakening, in ways only I can help you understand. That is why I want you. And why she wants you. You hold a power that could prove very useful to us.”
“I would never help you.”
Tomás chuckled. He dug his nails into Tenn’s hip, and Tenn’s back arched in pleasure and pain.
“I think you’ll find that you will want to help me,” Tomás said. “In fact, I think you would give me anything I desire.”
His fingers clenched tighter. All Tenn could do was moan.
When Tomás finally let go, Tenn collapsed to the bed, shaking.
“Yes, I believe you will play our game quite well. Leanna was right to place her focus on you.”
Tenn’s thoughts swam. He had to stay focused. This was a Howl. This was the enemy.
“Why don’t you just bring me to her, then, if she wants me so badly?”
Tomás considered a moment, stroking Tenn’s hip absentmindedly. Tenn didn’t want it to stop.
“Because I would much rather let my sister work for her prize,” Tomás finally said. He leaned in and licked Tenn’s collarbone. Frostbite burned with ecstasy.
“I’m not your prize,” Tenn gasped.