Hunted by Darkness (Darkness #4) (7 page)

“Second, I’m slowly going to remove my cloak.”

Bo’s body was pulled taut, totally rigid as if he would attack without warning. The other male who was shirtless had the same stance but there was a healthy dose of curiosity on his face as he watched Bo.

When the amber-eyed male took off his hood he had on the same harem-style pants as the other male—and the same swirling tattoos. “I’m putting this down and I’m not going to attack. Neither of us are,” he added, shooting a glare at the green-eyed male.

To Nyx’s surprise the other male straightened, dropping his intimidating warrior stance. Bo didn’t move an inch, not that she was surprised.

“We’re leaving,” Bo said. “And you two aren’t going to stop us.”

The one with the amber eyes flicked a glance at the broken door and doorway. “You’re both free to go. I saw you two in the woods and thought you’d kidnapped her. When you were attacked, I used the distraction to grab her. I just brought her here to keep her safe. Nightfall will be coming soon. You can go, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving until morning. She is…too innocent for this place. At night she’ll be a beacon for everything. Those wings are too bright. The things that come out at night here…” He flicked a glance at her, his expression so similar to Bo’s it stunned her. And he was definitely worried for her.

She placed a gentle hand on Bo’s forearm. “We’re not leaving.” Not yet anyway. Because inside here she felt somewhat safe. And there weren’t any creepy scorpion/dog creatures trying to kill her. “And I think we need to talk about the fact that you all have the same tattoos. Is that normal for…your kind?” She didn’t know much about Bo’s demon heritage because he’d never talked about it. She knew he hated his father and had a half-sister he loved.

Bo’s jaw tightened. “It means we all have the same sperm donor.”

“Fucking bastard is what he is,” amber-eyes spat out as the other one made a snarling, disgusted sound.

Everything in Bo relaxed at that and while he didn’t exactly smile, he didn’t look ready to rip off their heads either. “Agreed. I’m Bo.”

“Ian,” raspy-voiced, amber-eyed said.

“Rory,” said green eyes.

Easy enough to remember. Nyx gave a tentative smile. She couldn’t believe Bo had half-brothers he hadn’t known about. “And I’m—”

“Mine.” Bo answered.

Ian smothered a smile as Rory said, “Yeah, we gathered that.”

She wasn’t going to correct Bo in front of anyone but she nudged him in the side with her elbow. She wasn’t anyone’s possession. “I’m Nyx.”

They both looked at her with more curiosity until Bo growled menacingly. “You keep twenty feet from her at all times.”

“Bo!”

He still didn’t look at her. And the other two males didn’t seem to think it was a weird command.

“Agreed,” Ian said. “You’re both welcome to stay here. I…we, have questions about who you are and how you came to be here.”

Bo nodded. “Thank you. My female is hungry and I need to clean her wounds.”

She was going to go back to the whole “my female” comment later, but glanced down at herself. She hadn’t even realized she’d been cut but she had a few shallow slashes over her upper arm and her jeans had been ripped in a few places. Now that she saw the wound on her arm, a faint ache registered but she’d been so pumped up on adrenaline nothing else had mattered. “I’m fine and I’ll be healed in the next hour. You’re the one who needs tending to.” She traced a finger down his arm and forearm, not caring that he was dirty. He was still covered in blood and she wasn’t sure how much of it was his. She couldn’t see any wounds but that didn’t mean anything. The blood could be hiding them. “And you need a shower.” And sweet Lord he needed clothes because even with all the blood and ash on him she couldn’t stop staring. It made her feel like the biggest perv on the planet. Or realm.

Ian, clearly the speaker of the two, motioned to a set of stairs. “This place is spelled and protected. No one fucks with us anyway.” The dark gleam in his eyes told her that was likely because he and his brother had created a well-deserved reputation for themselves. “I can’t guarantee we won’t be attacked here if word of her presence has spread, but we can offer shelter, food and clean clothes. We have a guest room you’re free to use to shower and clean up. Unless you’re hungry now?” he asked, looking at her.

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” Nyx still wasn’t sure why Bo had told them she was hungry. It was as if he was in complete caveman mode. None of that mattered though, she just wanted to make sure he was truly okay.

“I’ll show you to our guest room.”

“And I’ll replace this door.” Rory’s voice and expression were dry as he moved to pick up the split pieces.

She could already see that darkness was coming quickly outside and hoped he fixed it soon. Nyx so didn’t want to see what horrifying creatures came out at night. Because the ones in the daytime were freaky enough.

Bo seemed more at ease and nodded, following Ian up the stairs, his hand firmly on her elbow as they moved. The place was cold and a little sterile. It reminded her of one of her mother’s homes. All polished, gleaming surfaces, expensive-looking paintings hanging on the walls and no soul.

Ian stopped in front of a door and opened it. “I have extra clothes you can wear. We don’t have clothes small enough to fit her but I’ll see if I can scrounge something up.”

Bo stood half in front of Nyx, keeping his arm out to block her from Ian. “Thank you.”

“Whenever you’re done we’ll be downstairs. Just turn down the first hallway at the bottom of the stairs, it leads right to the kitchen.”

Bo waited until Ian was down the stairs before looking at her. “You’re sure you’re all right?” His fierce face was terrifyingly beautiful. Everything about him was. Even in this form—
especially
in this form.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to look like but he was a pure warrior right now. Tall and huge, sleek muscular lines defined his entire body. He was very much humanoid looking, even with the blue skin. Which made sense, she thought. Demons were fallen angels so if they’d mated with other beings it stood to reason their offspring would have the same characteristics. Regardless, Bo was stunning. “I’m okay but I want to check you out. For wounds,” she rushed on when his eyes did that supernova thing again.

His jaw clenched tight and she knew he was annoyed, likely because he wanted to take care of her pathetic little cuts first. Well that wasn’t happening. Not giving him the chance to argue she stalked into the room and headed straight for the bathroom.

He was right on her heels, actually growling at her as he threw out an arm to stop her again. “I need to check in here first.”

“We’re going to have to talk about this crazy behavior,” she said as he moved into the bathroom like a predator hunting its prey.

He flipped on the light and since there was a clear shower door it was pretty obvious no one was waiting to attack. “Nothing is wrong with my behavior,” he said as he rummaged in one of the cabinets under the counter and sink.

Well, that was up for debate. “We’ll go back to that later, but…aren’t you surprised you have half-siblings?”

“No. My father wants to pro-create as much as he can. I’m sure I have even more brothers and sisters.” His words were monotone, but she knew he had to be affected. How couldn’t he be?

“Are you going to tell them about Cyn—”

“No. They don’t need to know about her until I know more about them. I don’t want to talk about my relatives. Right now I just want to get us cleaned up and figure out a plan of action. Just because they’re my blood doesn’t mean I trust them.” His voice had taken on that savage quality as he pulled out towels but nothing else.

She wasn’t sure she trusted them either but it was better than being stuck outside after darkness fell. And she didn’t blame him for not wanting to tell them about their half-sister. Sighing, Nyx eyed the towels. “They don’t have like, first aid or something?”

He snorted then shut and locked the bathroom door. “Doubtful. I’ll rinse off and show you that I’m fine. This is not my blood.” But there was something in his eyes that said he might be lying. “Then we’re looking at your wounds.”

She nodded, tried not to stare at the way his ass flexed as he strode to the glass door. When he stepped inside she turned to the sink and started washing her arms. Her wounds were already healing and there was no blood, just thin red welts now. There was nothing to be done about this. Feeling his gaze on her, she looked up to find him watching her intently as he washed himself.

His hands were soapy as he rubbed them over his chest and arms. Her heart beat in her ears, almost louder than the rushing water, as she tracked his movements. She shouldn’t stare.

She really, really shouldn’t. All the blood and other stuff had washed away, leaving smooth blue skin. His body was positively sinful. Truly godlike. He was all cut lines and striations of muscular perfection. She wished she was the one running her hands all over him.

When his hand strayed down to wash his thick cock, warmth flooded her cheeks. He was half-hard and already huge. She’d noticed it when they’d landed in those ruins but that definitely hadn’t been the time to check him out. Now wasn’t really appropriate either, but…her mouth watered at the sight of him.

A rush of warmth spread between her legs as she imagined what it would feel like to have a male as powerful as Bo claim her.

He let out a low growl and she realized she was blatantly staring at his growing cock. Her gaze snapped to his but just as quickly she looked away, unable to hold the contact. Not when he was looking at her as if he could take her right on the floor. Part of her really, really wanted him to.

Yep, she was definitely a coward. She should just go after what she wanted, but after the way he’d rejected her last night she was feeling way too raw. Males were too confusing and she was too embarrassed to ask what she’d done wrong, what she’d done to make him turn away from her. She cleared her throat and turned to face him. There was nowhere else to look but at him so she forced herself to keep her eyes above his chest.

“So, you have two more half-brothers. That’s pretty cool.” It didn’t matter that he’d already said he didn’t want to talk about them, she was nervous. And when she was nervous, she made small talk.

“We’ll see if they’re trustworthy.”

She sat on the countertop and leaned back against the mirror. The adrenaline she’d gotten earlier was gone and she was feeling jittery. “Is your father…does he…is he…” Okay, why had she started this conversation? She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to ask anyway.

He turned away, letting the jets spray his face. Then he turned away from her completely, giving her a full shot of his backside. “My father is a monster. He raped my mother and Cynara’s. No doubt he did the same to the mothers of the two males downstairs. I can’t tell what their other halves are, but they’re not full demons. They couldn’t be in one of these realms if they were anyway. I won’t judge them based on their lineage but I won’t trust them either. I told them you’re mine because it’s something they’ll understand. They’ll think twice before attempting to touch you. Not that I plan to stay here long, but for the time being, you will act as if you’re mine.”

His words were like a slap to all her senses. Hurt filtered through her. He’d said she was his to protect, which she appreciated it. She just wished it wasn’t an act. “I didn’t hear a question in there,” she murmured.

He turned back to look at her, fire blazing in his gaze. “I’m not asking. I will keep you safe, Nyx. No matter what. I need you to be—to act as if you’re mine.”

Annoyance flickered through her. He didn’t need to tell her twice, jeez. She got it. This was all part of his act. “I will,” she snapped more harshly than she’d intended before she changed the subject. “Do you think we’ll be able to get out of here?” She’d grown up in another realm but had been able to leave when she’d wanted. Which hadn’t been often until she’d turned twenty-three. Since she couldn’t use her powers here she wasn’t sure how that worked. She was pissed that they were here at all, knew it had to be her mother’s doing. But she wasn’t going to worry so much about the why of it, as simply getting out of here. Nyx had completed her part of the bargain. Now she just had to get out of here alive and the score with her mother was even.

“Yes, we just have to find a door.”

“Maybe your—Ian and Rory will be able to show us to one.”

The growl Bo gave her was low and deadly. She wasn’t afraid that he’d hurt her, but the sound sent shivers down her spine. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like you saying their names.” There was no denying the possessive quality to his words.

She blinked. She knew he’d wanted her to act as if she was his, but they were alone and he wasn’t acting at the moment. Of that she was certain. She didn’t know how to respond to that, but she knew that she liked it. Even if it did only serve to confuse her. The mixed signals he was throwing her way were out of control. Before she could think of a suitable response, if there even was one, a low hum filled the air.

Tensing, she slid off the counter as he jumped from the shower, barely taking the time to turn the water off.

“Stay here,” he ordered, yanking the bathroom door open.

That wasn’t happening.