Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 119942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Seeing that the huge window offered a perfect view of the combat circle, Harper guessed he’d watched her duel with his she-demon. “Look, if this is about Mona, she got what she deserved.”
“And what is it exactly that she ‘got’?” No answer. “Your touch can cause soul-deep pain,” Knox guessed. A rare ability.
“Very good.” It had always been effortless for Harper to do it. Whenever she felt angry, threatened, or frightened, a dark protective power instinctively built inside her and rushed to her fingertips, making them prickle. As a child, it hadn’t been easy to control. Now that she was an adult, she was able to push the power back down if necessary.
He drummed his fingers on the desk. “If you believe she deserved soul-deep pain, I’m assuming Mona did something I need to know about. Tell me.”
Be a tattletale who whined to people’s Primes? “No.”
“No?” Knox echoed with disbelief.
Evidently, he wasn’t denied things often. Well, Harper did like to introduce people to new experiences. It was more of a calling, really. The air chilled as his eyes very briefly bled to black, communicating his inner demon’s displeasure at being refused; hell reigned in those dark pools. A frisson of apprehension tingled down her spine.
“If one of my demons has done something they shouldn’t have, I need to deal with it.”
She shrugged. “It’s been dealt with.”
“That fight was personal. Tell me why.”
The guy was seriously tenacious. “Ask Mona.”
“I’m asking you.”
“Shame for you that I won’t answer, huh.”
His demon was impressed by her. It liked that she pushed back, and believed she would be delicious prey to hunt. Not a weak, defenseless prey – no, she would be entertaining. “So very stubborn.”
“Yes.” It was indeed one of her best qualities.
It was right then that his instincts told Knox…“You’re a sphinx.” He knew it as sure as he knew that this greedy ache to possess her wasn’t going anywhere.
Oh, points to the Prime. “I am.”
No wonder she was so obstinate, Knox mused. Like a bird, sphinxes were winged, swift, graceful, and could be challenging to pin down. Like a lion, they were strong, fierce, brave, and would single-mindedly trail, stalk, and run down their prey. In short, there wasn’t a more elusive, daring, persistent demon than a sphinx.
Rising to his feet, Knox rounded the table and came to stand in front of her. She quickly stood, meeting his stare boldly. At that moment, her eyes changed again as the misty gray swirled and became a silvery violet. It was fascinating to watch the transformation. “If you’re not going to answer my questions about Mona, you can answer another. Are you involved with the male demon that’s with you?” Knox didn’t share, and he intended to have Harper Wallis.
She frowned. The guy sure liked to throw out random questions. “Why do you want to know?” Both she and her inner demon stilled as his eyes again bled to black. The demon living inside Knox was staring back at her, and it was fucking chilling. Those eyes…they were so cold, menacing, and old. The temperature of the room seemed to drop five degrees.
The demon covered the remaining distance between them and spoke in a flat, disembodied voice as it lightly tapped her cheek with one finger. “Answer the question, little sphinx.” So much silken menace in those words. “No more evasiveness.”
The entity was admittedly a scary fucker, but Harper would be damned if she’d let it intimidate her. Nobody, nobody, got to play with her like she was prey. “My private life is exactly that – private. But I’ll share with you if you share with me. What are you?”
After a long, tense moment, that erotic mouth curved on one side. The obsidian eyes weren’t so cold now. They glinted with challenge and amusement. Then suddenly the demon retreated, and she was once again looking at Knox.
“Your demon’s not prepared to answer that one then, huh,” said Harper. “Now who’s evasive?”
Her fire made his demon smile. “You’re free to take a guess at what I am,” said Knox.
“If I got it right, would you admit it?” Her stomach clenched at the crooked smile that curved his amazing mouth. He was so achingly hot it simply wasn’t fair.
“No.”
“Something tells me I’m best not knowing what you are.” Because whatever lived inside him was too dangerous for words.
This she-demon seemed to have a talent for surprising him. “You’re absolutely right.” At the sound of his cell phone ringing, Knox dug it out of his pocket.
Some of Harper’s tension left her as he moved away to take the call, leaving her personal space. Oddly enough, her demon had started to relax around him. It was intrigued by his supreme confidence, his dark sensuality, the power that cloaked him, and the air of the forbidden that surrounded him. Stupid, stupid, stupid.