bartered for me before I was born. He made a deal with Yukki to get me away from Damien. Alright, it was Ryder’s idea…” Stefan glared, and shivers danced down my spine. I cleared my throat. “Any-who… Would she come if you asked her to?”
“He was supposed to send me back to Yukki Onna when I was old enough to fend for myself. He didn’t. He drugged me, caged me, and experimented on me instead.” Stefan threw his gaze high, searching the cobwebs trailing across the garage ceiling for the right words. “He left me for dead in the netherworld, and when I got back, gave the termination order. You’ve met Yukki. What do you think she’ll do if I ask her to come here so my father can profess his love to her?”
“Wear his guts for garters?” Stefan’s mommy-dearest was one badass ice-demon. We’d bonded whilst battling lesser demons, right before I’d lost control and attacked her. I liked her, especially since she’d probably kill Adam on sight.
He flashed me a sterile grin. “Bingo.”
“Maybe it’s a love-hate relationship?” I had one of those. I could relate.
“No. It’s a I’ll-murder-you-to-death relationship and a terrible idea.”
“Alrighty then. Just throwing it out there.”
“Want to come hunting?”
I blinked. The last time Stefan and I had ‘played,’ he’d killed seven enforcers. “Nope.”
He dipped his chin and peered through those long platinum lashes. “No?”
“No.” Locking my arms crossed, I stood my ground. This was dangerous territory, not least because I wanted to go with him. There had always been something about Stefan that drew me to him when I should have been repelled. Ice and fire: asking for trouble. Prior to him killing enforcers, we’d sparred, demon to demon, and I’d relished every second of it. Even now, my demon stretched her awareness through my limbs, awakened by the memories. I’d had control then. Now… Now I couldn’t risk it. It wouldn’t take much for me to flip to the dark side.
“I promise to behave.” He paused. “Mostly.” He smoothed the brogue from his voice while at the same time lacing it with a hint of something not entirely human. Did he know how he sparked my fire to life with just a look, a word, a purr?
“Stefan—”
He shoved off the car and captured me in a kiss so quickly I squeaked, violated, surprised, and aroused all at once. A warning chimed in my head, but the surge of desire drowned it out. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me as though I was made of glass, delicately, afraid he might shatter me. Soft lips, warm and sweet—all I could think to do was open to him and take him inside. He tasted like sorbet and tantalizingly like chaos. Too soon, he withdrew, doubts narrowing his eyes. I splayed my hands on his chest and marched him backward until he bumped against my car. It never failed to amaze me how warm he was. And hard. My hands rode over his well-defined chest, fingernails digging in, just enough to snatch a breath from his lips. I had to stop this here and now, but my demon didn’t agree. She surged in the wake of my desire, brushing common sense aside. Slipping my hands higher, skimming inside his coat and over his shoulders, up his neck, I cupped his face and drew him down. The brush of stubble fizzed beneath my fingers. I traced the line of his jaw with my fingertips, committing the feel of him to memory, and traced a delicate path to his lips. When I rose up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips tentatively to his, his restrained gentleness melted away. One hand plunged into my hair while the other slipped around my lower back and yanked me close. Pressed against him, I savored the feel of Stefan: the tiny shivers like a taut chain about to snap, the trickling touch of power. He unraveled my fear, my pain, and the terrible burden of guilt. His mouth destroyed the tender kiss and worked with a sudden, delicious, urgency, casting aside all the reasons this was wrong. I wanted this. I wanted him. Never mind all the reasons to stay away, I needed to feel him, to be close to someone who understood everything, to lose myself in the tingling touch and sweet taste of chaos the way I had once before. But this wasn’t like before. We’d both changed so much. He wasn’t the same Stefan who’d stepped