If I didn’t find something else to focus on, something to do, I would obsess over the situation I found myself in.
I curled up on the couch, draping the blanket over my lap as I stared at the cold hearth. I was in a strange place. Morelike another world entirely. Here, I had no rights, no money, no security. The only reason I was safe at the moment was Bokkan’s goodwill.
But how long would that last? How long before my security would be dependent on my willingness to spread my legs?
It was clear that these daemons viewed human females as property. Fuckable property at that.
I hadn’t had time to be afraid earlier, too focused on taking down the giant daemon they’d called Talus. He was taller than his commander, Guldan, and almost as tall as Bokkan. But he was leaner.
Thank God, he was slow as hell. He also telegraphed his intentions with his foot placement and shoulder position. Avoiding his blows had been easy, but he’d also been holding back because it wouldn’t be fun to fuck a human female if she was bleeding all over the place. I wasn’t sure I would have gotten the upper hand quite so quickly if he actually wanted to hurt me. Or if I would have escaped without injury at all.
I picked up the knife I’d yanked from the sheath in his boot, studying the blade. It was larger than the weapons I usually practiced with, but the balance was excellent and the edge razor-sharp.
I felt better with a weapon within my reach.
I still wasn’t sure it would be enough to protect me against a daemon like Bokkan, though. He was taller, broader, and heavier than Talus, but there was something about the way he moved that warned me he would be difficult to escape.
I closed my eyes and pictured the daemon’s face. His features were sharp and crisply hewn, as though he’d been sculpted with a chisel. Thick black brows arching over utterly black eyes. The straight bridge of his nose and the high cut of his cheekbones with hollows beneath them. His lips were as defined as the restof his face, not thin but not lush either, slightly darker than the reddish-bronze of his skin.
Though his straight black hair was long, he wore it in a tail at the base of his neck with two thin braids running tightly against his scalp above each of his pointed ears. His horns were matte black and curved up and back from his forehead, their texture reminding me of a ram’s horns.
As alien as his appearance was to me, I couldn’t deny that he was hot as hell. His face and horns, combined with his huge, muscled frame, lent him the look of a villain. And I’d always had a weakness for bad boys.
Still, if he proved himself to be no better than the other daemon males I’d met this morning, I would do everything in my power to gut him with the knife in my hand.
He said it wouldn’t be possible for me to go home yet. That his coffers were empty from reimbursing his men. Surely there was another way I could earn my keep in this world besides sex. A way to make money and pay a witch to get me home.
My fingers flexed around the handle. It was made of textured material I’d never seen before, rough enough that it wouldn’t slip in my hand even if it was covered in blood.
I couldn’t be stuck here. I just couldn’t.
The thought of having no rights, no control over my own life, made me want to scream. To break things. To stab anyone who tried to force me into submission.
I couldn’t live under the thumb of someone else. Not again.
Ever since I’d gotten away from my parents, I’d vowed I would never give anyone power over me again.
Before I could spiral further into despair, I heard heavy footsteps in the hall. I leaped to my feet, shifting my weight into a fighting stance, and lifted the knife.
There was a light tap on the door. “Leda?”
At Bokkan’s voice, some of the tension left my body, but I didn’t relax completely. “Yes?”
“Are you going to stab me if I open the door?”
I could hear the amusement in his voice.
“Maybe. It depends if you’re going to feed me again soon or not. I get cranky when I’m hungry.”
A low chuckle drifted through the door, and I shivered at the sound. His chuckle was more like the rumble of large rocks shifting against each other than laughter.
“I promise that Masu is bringing us dinner in a few moments.” He paused, and I was grateful that he couldn’t hear the growling of my stomach through the door. “So, can I come into my own bedchamber or not?”
I sighed and lowered the knife to my side. “Yes, of course.”
The door opened on silent hinges, and the daemon entered just as quietly. It was then that I realized that he wanted me to hear him coming down the hall.
He shut the door behind him and moved further into the room, but not closer to me. He kept space between us, his hands remaining at his sides, making him appear completely at ease.
