Now he was staring at her legs.
Her chin kicked up. “Do I get it if I fuck you? Is that the price?”
And his eyes—they flashed pure, bright gold again. An angry flash. “Do you fuck to get the things that you want?” Anger, no, rage burned in his voice.
“No,” her immediate denial. She wasn’t holding down her robe any longer. Her hands had clenched into fists at her sides. “I thought you were saying the only way I’d get it was to fu—”
His fingers curled around her shoulders and he brought his face in close to hers. “You will fuck me because you want me. Because you want the wild, rough pleasure we’re going to give each other. I don’t trade sex for favors. And I sure wouldn’t trade it for the Eye.”
You will fuck me because you want me. Her breath rushed out. “And I don’t trade sex for anything,” she threw at him. “Just to be clear. I have sex when I want someone. I don’t care what anyone else says…I don’t care—”
He pulled her even closer. “Tell me the name of the bastard who dared to say anything like that about you, and I’ll have him in the ground by dusk.”
Her mouth dropped open. He wasn’t serious. He…wasn’t?
Luke stared back at her.
He is dead serious.
“Y-you can’t kill people like that.”
“Who said anything about killing? I was just going to make the bastard’s worst nightmares come true. In this world, death is the easy way out. Pain is the gift that lasts much longer.”
Okay, he was everything the stories had said and more. “You…you are the Lord of the Dark, aren’t you?” And she’d been kissing him. She still wanted to kiss him.
She still wanted him.
That was wrong.
But then again, she was wrong. Or so everyone had always said. Mina cleared her throat. “You control all the monsters.” That was why he had a panther and a werewolf on his island. Why he had prison cells in his home.
“Someone has to keep them in check. Can’t just have vampires draining every human in sight. Can’t have shifters ripping apart their prey and leaving the bodies in the streets. I’m the one they all fear because I’m the one who can hurt them all. I’m the one they must answer to when their reckonings come.”
Her mouth had gone desert dry. “I really need that boat.” Because she had the terrible feeling that she’d jumped from one fire…
Straight into hell.
“Too bad, sweetheart. You’re not getting it because I’m not done with you.”
That sounded so bad. And his eyes—they weren’t dark any longer. She could definitely see the glow of gold. “Why do your eyes do that?” Mina whispered. “What does it mean when the color changes that way?”
His smile was wicked. “Means a few things…mostly a power surge.”
Oh, damn.
“Happens when I’m angry. It’s not exactly safe to be around me when I’m enraged.”
Right. She already had a mental note going for that one.
“And it happens when I’m aroused.” If possible, his gaze heated even more. “Just so you know, dear Mina, turns out…you arouse me one hell of a lot.”
Before she could speak, there was a fierce pounding from inside—a pounding at her door. Or rather, at Luke’s bedroom door. He whirled away from her and ran back inside.
She followed on his heels, wondering what was happening—and also feeling real grateful for her reprieve.
“Luke!” A man’s voice called. “Get decent and open the door! We have a situation!” A slightly clipped, accented voice. British?
Luke yanked open the door.
A tall, dark-haired man stood there, faint stubble covering his square jaw. “Sorry to interrupt…” His golden stare cut to her.
Gold. Like the panther. It wasn’t the same shade of gold that glowed in Luke’s eyes. Luke’s stare was nearly a yellow-gold, very bright when his power surged. But that British guy’s stare—it was softer, deeper. Not nearly as intense. Or scary.
“But I thought you’d want to know something is happening at Eli’s place,” he added.
“Fuck me, not my whiskey.” Luke said immediately. “He just got in the new shipment!”
She padded to his side. “The whiskey?”
“Eli orders it special for me. You have no idea how hard that shit is to find.” He exhaled. “Whatever. What’s going on? Drunk tourists? Or did one of his exes find him again and—”
“The bar is on fire. Smoke is billowing up. You can see the dark clouds for miles.”
Luke’s whole body tensed. “And Eli?”
“I don’t know…” The man’s gaze jerked back to Luke. “He could…still be in the flames.”
Luke snarled then, a deep, inhuman sound that made chill bumps rise on her arms. She wanted to step back. Wanted to run and hide but…
She reached out to him. “Eli was the bartender, wasn’t he?” Because he’d given Luke whiskey. “He’s your friend?”
Luke turned to look at her—not her eyes, but at the hand she’d curled around his upper arm. “Not a friend, not exactly.” His gaze lifted and she saw the flare of gold once more. Power. “But he’s one of mine.”
A dark paranormal?