No Rest for the Wicked (29 page)

“Do you think this is only about your thirst for blood? Give me one reason that I should

choose you over every other man I’ve met in millennia and every one I’ll meet in the

eternity to come? You can’t.” She caught his eyes. “It’s more than your being a vampire.”

This struck home. Why would she see him any differently than other women had

throughout his mortal life?

Because she was his Bride, he would be seduced into wanting her again and again, seeing

things in her that didn’t exist. Then her true nature would betray his hopes like this in an

endless cycle.

He could not win her.

I’ll be fighting with her for eternity. That’s what faced him. The thought exhausted him.

“I’m weary of this. Of you.” He put his hand above her against the wall, leaning over her.

“You’re right. About everything. There’s no reason for you to accept me. And you were

right in saying that I’ve been compelled to want you simply because you’re my Bride. My

desire for you has been forced on me. I’ve had no choice in the matter.”

“You act as if I gave you reason to think differently,” she said. “I told you all along that

you shouldn’t bother with me.”

He clutched the back of her neck, forcing her face up to him. “You also told me on more

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) than one occasion that you never wanted to see me again. I’ll oblige you. I was the first

vampire to trace to a person—and I’ll be the first to forsake my Bride.” Human females

had begun gazing at him with open yearning, a marked contrast to the revulsion currently

obvious on his Bride’s face. He would take one of them. Or several.

He gave her a harsh, scalding kiss. “I will forget you, if I have to fuck a thousand women

to do it.” When he released her, there was nothing in her expression, infuriating him even

more. “Perhaps I’ll start with a female in the Lore.”

Did he imagine the flicker of silver in her eyes? “Have fun with that.”

“If you leave with the human, I won’t leave alone, either.”

As Kaderin marched back to the booth, she pulled her collar higher, feeling Sebastian’s

eyes on her. He’d bitten her. Not by accident. Not gently. Worse, in her position, she

hadn’t exactly been able to disguise her intense reaction to it.

Sebastian had bitten her.

And she’d delighted in it, coming with an intensity that staggered her.

She hated him for that. For her entire long life, she’d gone without being bitten, and he’d

taken her neck in a phone booth in a sordid bar. She was disgusted with the situation and

with her wanton response to him. She was sick of the entire night and eager to end it.

When she reached Gamboa’s table, she found Cindey had taken her place beside him.

And that wouldn’t do.

“You.” She pointed at Gamboa. She knew that because of Sebastian’s touch, her voice

was husky, her hair tousled, and her nipples hard beneath the thin material of her blouse.

Gamboa stared, seeming dazed, then shrugged from Cindey’s arm as he stood. Cindey

shot her a bitter look, recognized defeat, and drained her drink.

When Gamboa crossed to Kaderin as though spellbound, she murmured to him, “Take me

somewhere private.”

His jaw slackened. “Of... course.” He hastily drew away to order his car brought round,

and Kaderin took the chance to murmur to Cindey as she passed, “Why didn’t you just

sing?”

“Five hundred men in here would hear my song,” she impatiently answered. “Besides, I’d

prefer not to have the head of the most powerful drug cartel in the world violently

captivated with me for the rest of his life. But I really hope it works out for you two kids.”

Right after she whirled away, Gamboa joined Kaderin again. As they walked out, she saw

Sebastian leaning over one of the nymphs, his eyes black. He cast the Colombian a killing

look, then stared Kaderin down. The nymph gave Kaderin a triumphant smile and clutched

Sebastian’s arm.

If Sebastian was trying to make her jealous... he’d succeeded. Was he still hard after their

encounter? What would he do to the nymph when he was heated with Kaderin’s blood and

aroused from her body? Trace the tramp somewhere and begin forsaking Kaderin?

When Gamboa put his hand on her lower back, she turned from Sebastian, forcing herself

to look straight ahead. She didn’t glance back even when she slid into Gamboa’s plush

limo and they started away.

Inside, her emotions simmered. Gamboa was talking to her in a low-toned, accented voice,

but she wasn’t hearing a word.

Sebastian’s bite still throbs...

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) She faced Gamboa, interrupting him to say, “Give me your opal ring, or I’ll kill you.”

He only smiled, even white teeth standing out against his tanned face. “Only the opal, mi

cariña?” He glanced at a huge diamond ring he also wore, but she didn’t follow his gaze.

“You won’t even look at the diamond?” he asked.

She raised an eyebrow. He already knows. “And why do you want me to?”

“Just to see if the rumors are true.”

Kaderin exhaled. “You know what I am?”

He nodded. “My mother was a demon. I know all about the Lore.”

“If you knew, then why did you let me go on?” she asked in an exasperated tone.

“Because I was curious why the opening of my club was filled with Lore beings.”

“It’s the Hie. The ring’s a prize—a high-value prize. There were competitors and probably

a score of local spectators.”

He twisted the opal ring on his finger. “I’ve dreamed of seeing a Valkyrie all my life. This

stone was predicted to bring one of your kind to it.”

She didn’t doubt that. Yet another example of the hand of fate at work. “Here. Behold the

Valkyrie.” She held out her palm. “The opal.”

“It won’t be that simple.”

“Didn’t figure you’d be the one drug dealer with a heart of gold.”

“Why should I give it to you,” he asked in a reasonable tone, “for nothing in return?”

A sudden thought arose. “It’s not me you want. You just want a night with a Valkyrie,

right?”

His eyes seemed to darken. “That’s always been my fantasy.”

“Then I will send another Valkyrie down here. One who’s single.” I’m not? “Her name is

Regin the Radiant. She’s a wild child. She glows. More important, she’s a-sure-thing.”

“How can I trust that you’ll actually do this? Send her, and I’ll give her the ring.”

“I have to have that ring—now. And I’ll vow to the Lore that she’ll be here,” she said,

then amended that by saying, “Actually, I can’t really vow that she’ll sleep with you. And I

would not recommend kissing her. But other than that, she’s a party girl.”

When he actually seemed to be considering the trade, she hid her surprise and said, “Just

take the deal, Gamboa. I don’t want to break your heart, or maul it, or pummel it tonight.”

After a hesitation, he said, “How can I contact this Regin?”

Remembering that Regin had locked the Crazy Frog ring tone into Kaderin’s favorite

phone, she said, “How about I give you her private cell phone number?” Turnabout’s a

bitch, Regin.

He promptly handed her a card, and on the back she scratched down the area code and

Regin’s number—aptly, it was eight, six, seven, five, three, oh, nine. When Kaderin gave it

to him, he removed the ring. He leaned closer, brushing her skin as he handed it to her.

The touch did nothing for her, though he obviously thought it would. He should think

that. Any woman would consider him sexy, and yet Kaderin felt no spark, no attraction.

“Tell the driver to stop the car at the next light.”

“I’d give you the diamond as well if you’d stay tonight, cariña.”

She should stay with him tonight. Sebastian was probably giving a nymph one of his fierce,

heated kisses right now.

Instead, Kaderin murmured, “This sees me content.”

Why not take the hot half-demon to bed? Because she wanted to go to her room. And cry.

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30

S ebastian had hardly slept or drunk since the night in Colombia . For the last week, he’d

struggled to get Kaderin out of his mind.

Nothing worked.

He was becoming obsessed with her. He gave a bitter laugh. Becoming? He was already

obsessed with her.

Even after everything, he still wanted her.

Kaderin had gone to that club dressed for seduction, had fucked that male all night for all

he knew—but at every opportunity, she’d told Sebastian she would never sleep with him.

For all his intentions, Sebastian hadn’t touched another female, couldn’t even imagine

taking a woman who wasn’t her. With that bite, he might have felt as though he were

claiming her, but she’d claimed him as well. There was no way he was living his life

without having it again.

No, he’d decided he’d settle for none but her. He needed to touch the body she withheld

from him. He needed to hurt her as she’d hurt him.

She’d convinced him that her aversion to him wasn’t merely because he was a vampire.

And how could he not believe that, when he’d fared no better as a human?

Goddamn it, what is it about me?

That night all those years ago with the frigid widow had shaken him, crushed his already

battered confidence. And even now it affected him. He hadn’t been able to penetrate her.

He was large, and she’d been completely cold. There’d been no arousal. No wonder—she

wouldn’t let him touch her body, not even her breasts. Just lifted her skirt in the bed

without touching him, either.

She’d hissed in pain with each try, then finally beat against his back, screaming, “Enough,

you bumbling oaf!”

He’d been twenty-three and bewildered by her sudden disgust. “Then... why?”

Every word enunciated, she’d said, “I lost a wager... ”

Now, Kaderin, the woman he wanted more than he’d ever wanted anything, desired him

just as little.

Without fail, he’d been kind to women. He’d shown them respect and courtesy. Without

fail, he’d never had success with them.

When he found Kaderin next, he would steal the prize she sought. Then he’d strike

another bargain with her—this time for another pleasure denied him as a mortal, one he’d

fantasized about for so long.

He didn’t recognize himself in the mirror. His face was pale and gaunt, his eyes constantly

black.

He was becoming as ruthless as she was. Gone were the impulses to tenderness, the

feeling of being charmed when she tucked her hair behind her pointed ear or blushed along

her cheekbones.

Maybe when all was said and done and he’d turned as vicious as she was, he’d be a fitting

mate for her.

Battambang Province , Cambodia

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Day 24

Prize: The Box of the Nagas, one ancient wooden box carved with the heads of five

Nagas, worth thirteen points

In the darkened night, through pounding rain, Kaderin spied an odd treeless field. In this

region, the sweeping jungle tumbled over everything stationary, from car chassis to carved

temple, but not here. No homes were built in the field. Only piles of rusted junk littered it.

At the edge, a sign stood planted at an angle, with creeping vines weighing it down. She

tugged the vines from it and found the square metal of the sign had been cut into an

hourglass shape, most likely so the locals wouldn’t use it for roofing material.

Emblazoned across the front was a skull-and-crossbones warning.

So this would be it—a boundary minefield clotted with explosives.

And somewhere in the center was buried a wooden box carved with Nagas, serpent gods.

Inside that was a sapphire the size of her palm.

Riora didn’t seek the sapphire; she wanted that box.

With the steady rain—May equaled monsoon season—the field was more of a morass,

with soupy mud and splashing puddles. Kaderin exhaled. Mines hurt, but she needed some

high-dollar points. She, the Lykae, and the siren continued to be neck-and-neck. There

was only one prize here, and she had to have it.

At the edge, she swallowed. Easy to lose a foot here. She’d lost a foot before, and she had

to say she’d enjoyed cheerier scenarios.

She flexed her fingers, then got to work, scanning for something heavy to toss into the

quagmire. If she was quick, she could detonate quite a few—

Her ear twitched. Over the strengthening rain, she barely heard the stealthy movements of

a predator. No... not the...

Son of a bitch. There was Bowen, and just to his right, the sodding siren.

The three grasped the situation at the same time. All dashed heedlessly past the warning

sign, sprinting out into the muddy space. The Lykae was fast and ran as though crazed. He

let his beast out of its cage, turning in the midst of the field, his body becoming bigger,

fangs lengthening. His normally short, dark claws shot longer and grew stronger. When he

glanced back to snarl at Kaderin, she saw his amber eyes had turned ice blue.

Though Kaderin was fast and Cindey was strong over the slogging terrain, they shouldn’t

be able to keep up with him as they were. He’d smoked her in the cave. The witch must

really have cursed him.