Tall, Dark, and Deadly: Seven Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Laura Kaye
That was fun.
It took her a few minutes of searching before she remembered Keegan had discarded her robe outside yesterday. She quickly retrieved it. Even though she knew no one was around to see, it still felt scandalous to parade outside naked. Tugging on the robe, she made her way downstairs, where Keegan stood in front of the stove, flipping something in a pan. The smell of pancakes scented the air, eliciting a low growl from her stomach. How long had it been since her last meal?
He must have heard her soft steps, because he turned to grace her with a sexy grin. “Morning.”
He’d borrowed a pair of pajama bottoms from the home’s owner. They were light blue and a little too wide for his frame. Even though he’d tied the drawstring tight, they still rode low on his hips, in danger of sliding down his body.
“Yummy,” Brynn said, though her gaze was stuck on his chiseled torso and the faint trace of hair beneath his belly button that disappeared into the waistband of his bottoms.
Keegan sobered, devouring her with his hungry gaze. “Stop that, or we’ll be having more than pancakes for breakfast.”
“Sorry.” She diverted her gaze with a blush. When had she become such a hornball? They practically made love all night and it was still all she could think about.
“Me, too,” Keegan said.
Was he reading her mind?
“This is all new for me, too,” he clarified.
“Oh.”
Keegan laughed, then turned to load a plate with pancakes. “I thought we could eat outside on the veranda. It’s beautiful today.”
“Sounds wonderful.” She grabbed a plate and headed outside to the cozy dining table. The sun blazed down on them, a perfect complement to the soft, cool breeze. For the first time she noted that it was more like afternoon than morning. But then, her conception of time had been all screwed up since they’d arrived.
Keegan sat across from her, appearing more relaxed than she’d seen him…well, ever.
I did that, she thought with a burst of pride.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked. “No dreams about Mammon, right?”
“No dreams at all lately, not that I can remember. Do you think he’s tried?”
“Don’t know.” Keegan’s brow creased. “I wish I knew more about this ability, but I don’t.”
“It’s nothing you’ve ever heard of before?” she asked.
“No.” Keegan sighed. “I need to speak with my brothers, tell them about it. I’ll head over to the mainland later today and borrow someone’s phone.”
Though he didn’t say it, he was worried about talking to them. Brynn clasped one of his hands. “I’m sorry.”
He squeezed. “I know you are. None of this is your fault.”
That was true, but for some reason she still felt guilty. He’d chosen her over his brothers. Over his duty to the Council. It wasn’t fair that he’d had to, but she was sure glad he had. “Thank you.”
Keegan opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something. But in the end he just smiled. Somehow, it managed to convey all the wicked things he was thinking about doing to her.
Sucking in her breath, she did everything she could not to read his thoughts. If she did, they’d end up in bed again, and there was still so much they hadn’t talked about.
“Do you think the Council knows yet?”
“Don’t know,” he said evenly. “Doesn’t matter either way.”
“What will they do when they find out?”
He gave her a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine.”
“They’ll order your death, won’t they?” Somehow, she knew that would be the end result, and it frightened her.
“It’ll be fine,” he repeated. When she didn’t respond, he tugged on her hand. “Come here.” She rose and sat on his lap. He enclosed her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be okay. I promise.”
Wrapping her arms around Keegan, she buried her face in his neck. He smelled like soap and spice and the indescribable scent that was unique to him. So warm. Wrapped in his arms, she almost believed it would be okay. Almost.
“We can’t run forever,” she said.
He tugged her head backward so he could stare into her eyes. His gaze was bright and earnest. “Brynn, I can fly. We’ll soar all over this world, if that’s what it takes.”
Wow, that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her.
She stroked a hand through his silky hair and traced her fingertips down his straight nose to the center of his full lips. Her heart swelled and filled with emotion, burning a hole in her chest until she could no longer hold back the words that longed to escape. “Keegan, I want you to know I—”
He cut her off, his lips crushing hers, devouring her with his heated kiss. One hand deftly untied the sash of her robe and he pulled it open, baring her breasts to the gentle breeze. “I could never get tired of looking at you.”
As if to prove it, his gaze warmed her, and her nipples hardened even more under his stark perusal. He lifted his fingers to pluck them and lowered his head to lap at the stiff peaks. One hand crept down to her waist and he lifted his gaze to hers. An unspoken question glimmered in his eyes.
He wanted her. Again. And God help her, she wanted him, too. Desperately. After all, who knew how long they would have together? They had to savor every moment.
Keegan’s eyes narrowed in on her as if he could read her thoughts. His thumb reached out to brush across her taut nipple. “Tell you what. Why don’t you eat something first, then come back inside with me?”
“What about…” She couldn’t even think when he touched her like that. Didn’t want to think. Only wanted to feel. “What about the mainland? Your brothers?”
His eyes flashed with equal parts promise and desire. “They can wait.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Full dark had fallen over the Valley of the Kings some time ago. Tents had been set up along—hell, even through—the archaeological dig sites. Mammon must have greased a lot of human palms to get this setup going without being questioned. He already had security measures in place, too, like wards that prevented Taeg from dissipating or flashing. Just as they’d expected.
Taeg adjusted his earpiece from his spot at the highest cliff overlooking the Valley. “Can you hear me, Cresso?”
“Loud and clear,” Cresso’s voice called over the earpiece.
Taeg used his binoculars to look down to the cliff below, which jutted out directly over the Valley. “I see ten rayamaras, all keeping watch. Who knows how many demons there are on the ground?”
“Gotcha. I’ll send the ishtari demons in now.”
Ishtari demons could fly. Female ishtari had large breasts and were a particular weakness of male rayamaras, especially since the ladies loved to play hard to get. Luckily, Cresso knew two of them, and they’d agreed to fly in to play a couple of horny demons looking for a good time. He’d also flown in a group of succubi from London, and at this very moment he drove them toward the entrance to the Valley.
“Where are you?” Taeg asked him.
“Should be pulling up with my lady friends in about five minutes.”
Taeg watched through the binoculars while the two ishtari made an entrance, flying onto the cliff where the rayamaras patrolled. They touched down and sauntered to the nearest demons. The remaining rayamaras took note and, like flies scenting honey, flew to their side.
“Are you sure this will work?” Doubt and concern colored Ronin’s tone as he paced back and forth between Taeg and Dagan. “I mean, isn’t it a little obvious, sending horny chicks to the flying demons and to the ground demons all at the same time?”
“Of course it’s obvious,” Taeg said. “And of course it’ll work. There’s nothing like a smoking-hot, horny chick to make a guy’s big brain check out and his little brain take charge. As Dagan can attest with that haknasa demon who got him the other night. Isn’t that right, baby bro?”
“Fuck you,” Dagan grumble
Taeg snickered while keeping his eyes on the scene below. Sure enough, the rayamaras surrounded the two ishtari, watching them with unwavering intensity as the ishtari flirted and struck poses intended to show off their generous curves.
“We’re here,” Cresso whispered into Taeg’s earpiece.
Taeg shifted his binoculars downward and saw the RV pull up to the front gate. The guards at the entrance rose to attention, prowling toward the vehicle. Cresso opened the door and exited, looking for all the world like a friendly tourist.
Taeg heard one of the guards growl to Cresso, “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, I was just driving through the area with the ladies here, and we figured we’d stop by to see the pyramids,” Cresso said, adopting a carefree tone. “You got something special going on here?”
“Don’t mess with me,” the guard snarled. “I can feel that you’re all demons.”
“Yeah.” Cresso chuckled sheepishly. “Fire demons. We do a traveling show, you know, fire and acrobatics and all that shit. Humans love it. They think it’s some crazy magic act. Makes us tons of money.”
“Fire demons, huh?” the guard said dubiously. “Why don’t you show—?”
“What do we have here?” a woman’s coy voice crooned. One of the succubi scrambled out of the vehicle, her long blond hair flowing behind her. Taeg recognized her as one of the demons from back at Cresso’s place. She sauntered up to the guard and trailed a finger down his chest. “Hello there, handsome.”
The guard lost his defensive posture. He let out an uncertain chuckle. “Hi.”
Taeg laughed to himself. “See? Nothing like a hot piece of ass to make a man go brainless.”
Cresso cleared his throat, as if silently warning Taeg to shut up lest he risk being heard over the earpiece.
The other guards surrounding the RV shuffled in place as the remaining succubi piled out, cooing about how excited they were to be at the site of the pyramids. The succubi approached the guards, engaging them in conversation. Sure enough, within less than five minutes, the place more resembled happy hour at a singles’ bar than a heavily guarded entrance. And Mammon was no doubt sitting imperially in his tent, dreaming about what he’d do once he ruled the world, clueless as to what was going on outside. The ass.
Cresso covered his mouth and murmured, “Sublime.”
The code for them to proceed.
Taeg glanced toward the rayamaras, who were still preoccupied with the ishtari. Dropping his binoculars, he clicked off the earpiece and turned to Ronin. “Showtime.”
Ronin nodded and sprouted his wings, flicking them open. Full, soft, and white, they were pretty damn spectacular, though Taeg would sooner die than admit that to his little bro.
“I can’t believe I have to stay here,” Dagan grumbled.
“Ronin can’t carry the both of us down there.” Taeg clapped him on the back. “Besides, we need at least one person to report to the Council if we don’t make it out alive.”
“Don’t say that, jerk,” Dagan said. Despite his angry words, an undertone of fear colored his voice.
I shouldn’t have said that. No need to make his little brother worry more. “Kidding, bro. I’m not planning on kicking it anytime soon, okay?”
At Dagan’s terse nod, Taeg turned and spread his arms perpendicular to the ground.
“This is really fucking annoying, you know,” he admitted to Ronin, “to have to be carried around like this.”
Ronin laughed. “Well, that’s just about the only bright spot in my entire day.”
He moved behind Taeg and hooked his arms under and around him, holding on tight as he zoomed up into the air.
“Shit.” Taeg swallowed hard and closed his eyes as they flew over the cliff ledge. He’d almost forgotten what this felt like.
Ronin chuckled into his ear. “This is nothing like riding the fae path, huh?”
Not even close.
They soared over the camp undetected. So far, their plan was working.
“There.” Taeg pointed to one tent, the largest by far. Bigger than many small houses, it had Mammon written all over it.
Ronin changed direction with one practiced flip of his wings. A few seconds later, they touched down next to the large tent. Taeg sighed with relief. Flying was a whole lot scarier when one took off from the ledge of a cliff.
Flipping the earpiece back on, Taeg whispered, “We’re in.”
“Got it,” was Cresso’s terse reply. What he was thinking, but didn’t say, was loud and clear—it would be a hell of a lot harder getting out than it was getting in. Taeg clicked the earpiece off. Cresso didn’t have to say it. He already knew.
Ronin motioned to one side of the tent and Taeg toed along the outer wall, keeping as far in the shadows as possible. Not surprisingly, two demons stood side-by-side at the entrance to the tent—boargs, by the looks of them.
Well, Mammon may have personal wards to keep from being charmed, but Taeg was willing to bet that didn’t extend to his minions. For one, fae wards were far too valuable to waste. For another, Mammon was so sure of himself he probably thought there was no way Taeg could break in here.
That was his mistake.
Taeg slid unnoticed, only feet away from the boargs, then flipped around to face them. He gave them a cocky grin. Their eyes widened with alarm one millisecond before he placed his hands on them. His gaze bored into theirs, charming them into submission. Boargs were so easy, probably because there was such little brain to charm. He leaned in close, fighting the urge to gag at the foul stench of rot pouring out of their mouths.
“Relax,” he whispered. “Go to the side of the tent and take a two-hour nap.”
The boargs blindly obeyed, and Ronin stepped up beside Taeg. The entrance to the tent was open but covered by heavy mosquito netting. Taeg shot Ronin a look that warned him to keep an eye out, then carefully lifted the netting and stepped inside.
The interior of the tent, though hard to see in the dim light, was just as luxurious as he’d expected. He was even standing in a small foyer. Off to his right, separated by more netting, was a great room with seating and dining areas. It was empty, but angry voices drifted from farther in the back. He crept into the great room.
“…growing impatient,” Mammon said to someone. “Keegan sorely tries me with his antics.”
“We’ll find him, my Lord.”
Taeg gritted his teeth at the sound of Leviathos’s voice. It still burned his ass that his former childhood friend had aligned with his father, after all the stuff Leviathos had seen him do as a child and after all the misery Mammon had put Taeg and his brothers through. One day, Taeg would hold him accountable for his actions.
But today was not that day. He had more important things to do right now.
Taeg edged toward the back room where Mammon and Leviathos stood.
“I hold you responsible for this, Leviathos,” Mammon seethed.
“But, Lord—”
“If you had retrieved the heir’s name from the scholar before the Council determined it, we would not be in this situation. I should skin you where you stand.”
“But…but, Lord,” Leviathos blubbered.
You deserve it, asshole, Taeg thought with satisfaction. Something on the dining table caught his eye and he froze. His heart gave a sick plop and then settled into a faster rhythm. It was a thick book, made of some sort of metal with a golden clasp.
The Book of the Dead. It had to be.
“We must find the heir,” Mammon continued from the other side of the tent.
Taeg stole across the room, focused on the book. He was so close to it. So damn close.
He reached for it and ran his fingers along the cool metal before lifting it. His heart gave a triumphant squeeze. He’d gotten it.
“You never fail to disappoint,” his father’s smug voice said from behind him.
Taeg whirled around. Mammon and Leviathos stood at the entrance to the back room, staring out at him. Ma
Son of a bitch.
Taeg adopted a casual pose and flashed them a cocky grin. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Oh, I knew you’d come,” Mammon said. “I knew as soon as Keegan absconded with the heir that you’d try to steal it out from under me. Your loyalty to your brother makes you weak and predictable.”
Well…fuck.
“Your loyalty to no one but yourself makes you sick and pitiful,” Taeg retorted, feeling smug satisfaction when the smirk faded from Mammon’s face.
“You’re one to talk,” Leviathos growled, stepping in front of Mammon. “Where was your loyalty when you betrayed me?”
Ouch, that stung. Mostly because it was true. Taeg had betrayed Leviathos once, when they were supposed to be best friends. He’d been young and incredibly stupid. But that didn’t excuse what Leviathos had done. “How could you join him? You grew up beside me. You knew how evil Mammon was.”
“All I know is that he tried to keep you and your brothers in line. He should have beat you more, as far as I’m concerned.”
Leviathos’s words had their intended effect: to piss Taeg off. He let out a snarl and Leviathos tensed, clearly ready to pounce.
“Leviathos,” Mammon snapped, and the demon jumped as if he’d forgotten Mammon was there before turning back to him. “You forget your place. It’s behind me.”
Taeg would have laughed at the incensed look on Leviathos’s face, but he had more important things to focus on right now. Like getting the hell out of there. “Well, it’s been fun catching up, Dad, but I gotta hit the road.”
He swung around and grabbed the book, then ran toward the exit.
“Stop.” Leviathos rushed at him, an expression of pure rage on his face. Taeg let him come close, then swung around in a flying kick that brought Leviathos to his knees in front of him. He lifted the book and smashed it over Leviathos’s head. The demon slumped to the ground in a daze.
“Damn, that felt good.” He leered at Mammon and whipped toward the exit again but stopped dead short when four demons staggered in. One held Ronin in front of him, a dagger to his throat. He struggled against them, but he stopped when the weapon cut deep into his flesh, releasing blood down his neck.