far beyond the reach of my addled mind. Akil gave me a look almost like an apology and peeled himself away. I slumped against the wall, legs barely able to hold me up, and saw the reason for Akil’s words standing in my apartment doorway.
“Stefan?” His long leather coat glinted with ice while his eyes blazed a glacial blue. Oh no… I shrugged my robe back over my shoulders and knotted it closed, not that it would do me any good. He’d seen enough.
Akil stood demon-still on one side of my living room, equidistant between Stefan and me. He looked ridden hard, breathless, and exhausted. His hair was a mess, and his clothes hung askew. We hadn’t technically had sex, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. But the devil was in the details. Power fizzled in the air like an electrical charge: mine, his, and Stefan’s.
Stefan didn’t acknowledge Akil. He only had eyes for me and made sure to pour all of his princely power into that bitter gaze. I cringed, ashamed, “The soul-lock—”
He turned and was gone. I glanced at Akil, the pain showing on my face, but he simply arched a brow. What did I expect from a demon? Sympathy? Empathy?
“I have to go after him.” I wobbled a few steps and stumbled against the couch. I wasn’t going anywhere, not until my body recovered.
“I’d suggest some clothes.”
I gripped the couch back and battled panic. “Is Damien gone?” I ground out the words, fearing the reply, but needed to hear it. I’d waited so long for this. I’d dreamed of it. “Is he dead?”
“Yes.”
“No coming back? No loophole?”
“He is no more.”
“Get out.” Akil moved closer, and I threw all of my own shame into my stare. “You can’t be here right now. You’re like Christmas morning, freakin’ temptation personified.” Lust sparked through me, almost wrenching my strength right out from under me. I wanted his hands on me, his lips burning against my skin, every part of him inside me. “I need some distance.”
“Distance from me is something you can’t have.”
Oh, I knew that. I felt him burning bright and wild inside me. It felt wonderful, but I wasn’t going to let it rule me. “I told you, Akil. This was a business transaction. Our transaction is complete.”
He straightened, and the fire in his eyes died. “When will you admit what we both already know?”
Standing straight, I tried to look formidable in my bathrobe and lust-drenched body. “Thank you for helping me, but it’s time for you to leave.”
He moved too quickly for me to track, gathered me in powerful arms, and pinned me back against the kitchen counter, all in the space of a gasp. The touch of his lips on mine was all it took to spark the fire alive again. I clenched his shirt in my hands, intent on pushing him off, but froze. I should have realized it wouldn’t be easy to deny the effect he had on me. I’d had trouble resisting him before. Now he was inside me—under my skin.
He splayed a hand on my face, holding me still as his other hand tore at my robe. “Stop lying to yourself,” he snarled. His teeth had sharpened, fangs lengthening. “I know exactly what you want.” His hand plunged lower. Using a knee to nudge my legs apart, his hot touch found the wetness between my legs. “Your words are fragments, scattered by the truth I feel right here.” A cry, something between a groan and a gasp, belied my attempts at denying him. He smiled into the curve of my neck, and plunged his fingers deep into my core. “We are joined.”
I thought of Stefan, of the ice-cold expression on his face. I’d betrayed him. It didn’t matter that it had been necessary to free me of Damien. If I did this, now, with Akil, I couldn’t go back.
“Akil…” I cleared my throat and tried again, this time with a growl. “Akil, get the fuck out of my apartment right now!” He snarled, pulled away, and vanished in a cloud of static, leaving me alone, sexually ablaze, and emotionally distraught. I reached down and finished what he’d started, touching myself hard and fast, until the pleasure crested, and I came with a wrought and frustrated cry.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
I was free of Damien for the first time in decades, and for the first time in months, I had complete control. It was a clean, concise control. Surgical. Powerful. I