He shook his head hard and flared his wings again, but he’d seemed to put his fury on hold. Could he feel bad about almost killing her? If she was his mate—and that was a big if right now—he should.
With a wave of his hand, he conjured a cloth from thin air. The demon possessed magics too? Not in the godsdamned dossier, N?x!
He grabbed Lila’s nape and brought the cloth to her face. “Look at me,” he grated.
She raised her chin, but only to glare. While some of his rage was fading, her temper still simmered. “Do you get off on throwing me around like a doll?”
“Shut up.” The beast brushed the cloth over one of her cheekbones, stunning her to silence.
Had she gone into shock? Maybe she was dreaming all this. She could be lying unconscious in a retention pond in the Magic Kingdom.
He lightly pinched her chin to start on the other side of her face, his brows drawn with concentration. He cleaned the tips of her ears, which made them twitch. He even scooped water over her head to rinse her hair.
She watched drops stream down his marked torso, the sight hypnotic. Yes, I’m still in shock. “Are you finished?” she demanded of the M?ri?r monster.
“Why were you so dirty?” Tending to her like this seemed to extinguish what remained of the demon’s anger. His gaze roamed over her face, lingering on each of her features.
The way he looked at her . . . maybe she was his mate. Maybe that part was true. “Because your lackeys made me bust my ass in the mud.”
“You speak like a human. Did you live among them in the Magic Kingdom?”
Did he think the theme park was a real kingdom? What had those Sorceri told him? “Why should I tell you anything about myself?”
As she spoke the cloth descended to her neck, then lower, his heavy-lidded eyes following the path.
She jerked away. “You’ve got to be kidding! Are you going to try to rape me now?” A male of his size would kill her.
“Hardly.” He dragged his gaze back to hers, his anger rising once more. “Never forget—I am not the villain here.”
“But I am? Because of my alleged past-life crimes? Do you hear how screwed-up that sounds?” She met his onyx eyes. “Understand me, demon: if you release me now, I might be persuaded to leave this pathetic excuse for a castle standing. If not, I’ll bring it down around your ears.”
EIGHT
Why was she not afraid of Sian? In his new form, he terrified most beings. No one had ever naysaid him.
And he’d been fully demonic, bellowing at her as his horns had straightened from lust and anger.
Even the powerful Melanthe had flinched at his appearance. Sian’s mate was threatening him. “Are you deranged in this life? You must be.” Then how would he control her? She’d already refused an order, calling his bluff on his promise to kill her.
And he would never thrash a female, regardless of how much she deserved it. His gut had clenched just to see her struggling in the water, even though an immortal couldn’t drown to death.
“I’m not deranged. I’m pissed off to be treated this way.” Her language might be coarse, but her imperious tone still sounded like a princess’s. With her chin raised, she looked like one too.
Her outrage sat ill with him. There was a possibility—however minuscule—that she had no idea about any of this. N?x might be using her as an unwitting pawn.
No matter. He’d still punish Kari for the past.
He grabbed her arm to teleport her again. They arrived back in the tower, dripping water. He released his grip on her—only to catch her when her legs buckled.
“Damn it, stop tracing me, demon!”
He stepped away, letting her drop to her knees. He shook his hair out and sluiced water from his skin.
She stayed down, pressing the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle her coughs.
At the sight of his mate in naught but tiny scraps of pink silk, he shuffled his feet apart to keep himself standing.
Though Kari had teased him in the past, allowing him a sliver of hope that she would be his, she’d never offered him a glimpse of her body.
His eyes drank her in, blood pooling in his groin. She was a touch slimmer than she’d been before, but still entrancing.
Her bra molded to her breasts and nipples, highlighting more than concealing. His fists opened and closed, the urge to knead her nigh overwhelming him. Cock gone hard as stone, he raked his gaze down her torso, then lower.
Gods almighty. The thin material of her panties clung to her, giving him maddening hints of what her sex would look like. His horns straightened as he imagined tonguing his mate, tasting her orgasm at last. . . .
He took a step back to see her from behind. Her panties had ridden up to reveal the taut cleft of her ass. He barely stifled a growl.
“Enjoying the view of my ass, demon?” She scrambled to stand.
He had to clear his throat before he could speak. “It’s adequate.”
“Then you’ll have no trouble tearing your gaze away.”
He faced her, daring her to say something about his swollen shaft, but she refused to look at him. “When were you born, female?” If he’d found her mere months ago, he would’ve still possessed his old looks, would’ve been a physical match for such a beauty.
She didn’t seem to hear him—or she was ignoring him. She backed up to lean against a wall, only to scream and stumble forward. Tears welling, she glanced wildly behind her. She’d brushed against one of the fire vines. The contact had left a burn on her skin, as if it’d been a flame.
“Those are fire vines. They cover the exterior of the tower as well, in case you’re stupid enough to attempt climbing down.”
Her fists balled, as if she were willing back her tears.
“I’m told the pain is intense, even for an immortal. You’ll sicken from that poison over the night.”
Misery radiated off her. Despite his hatred, he still struggled against his primal need to care for his mate.
So he recalled some of the last words Kari had ever spoken to him. As blood had streamed down his face, she’d said, “You almost look like a person now.”
Rage seethed. Punish her. His gaze darted. Perhaps she’d retained phobias from her previous life. “Do you still have a deathly fear of spiders?” Her shudder told him yes.
Ah, a tool to use against her. He waved a hand, conjuring a spinning wheel and a chair. “Harvest all the cobwebs in this tower and spin them into thread before dawn.”
She glanced from the wheel to him and back. “Are you joking? I don’t know how to spin.”
Using magic, he dragged down a matted wad of webbing from a doorway. As if an invisible person manned the wheel, the pedal began to move, the wheel to turn. Bits of the thick web attached to a starter length of thread. “Finish all of the webs before sunrise, or their inhabitants will return to wrap you in silk. Blood-meal spiders are quite large—and poisonous.”
Her face paled even more. “I’ll jump.” Her coughing started up again.
“If you want to meet my legions, all you have to do is ask.” Before he traced away, he said, “Take care not to prick your finger on the spindle.”