Burn

Knox tapped her bottom lip. “Cruel.”

“I thought so.” She sounded pleased by that.

“And here I thought Meg bought a new coat. You put rhinestones and crystals on it, didn’t you?”

“She made me muffins in exchange. I thought it was a good deal.”

As something occurred to him, he narrowed his eyes. “You haven’t sown or glued anything to any of my clothes, have you?”

Her smile widened – it was a taunt. “Not yet.”

Knox returned the smile. He couldn’t recall many people ever teasing him. People were generally wary of offending him. Harper didn’t hold back, and it was yet another thing that showed that she was comfortable around him. This back and forth they did…It was intimate. And he liked it.

He put his glass on the table. “Come here.” Knox slipped a hand around her throat and sipped at the mouth he was obsessed with. Then he kissed her hard, dancing his tongue along hers. The taste of her burst through his system, making him groan. He knew he’d always crave it, always crave her. “Later, I’m going to fuck this mouth.” A hint of defiance sparked in her presently ice-blue eyes. Knox flexed his grip on her throat. “I’ll have it, Harper. It’s mine. Mine to taste, mine to use any way I want.”

And he had used it any way he wanted. He knew he was dominant and rough in the bedroom, that she wasn’t used to being led or pushed to her limits. She probably had no idea what a turn on it was to teach her what he liked, to show her how it could be between demons. She was used to humans, so she’d had no idea just how intense and satisfying sex was with her own kind. “So let’s try this again. Later, I’m going to fuck this mouth.”

As the hand collaring her throat slid into her hair and gripped just hard enough to make her scalp prickle, Harper hissed. He did that sometimes, let her feel the bite of pain to warn her not to resist. But he never hurt her, never did anything he thought she wouldn’t like or couldn’t take. In doing that, he’d earned her trust in the bedroom. However, that didn’t mean she’d ever be totally compliant. “You can fuck it,” she began, shrugging, “if you can catch it.” His sensual mouth curved into his panty-dropping smile.

“So defiant.”

“But you like that, because having everyone obey you 24/7 has gotten old, hasn’t it? And…you like to punish me.” Those punishments usually went in the form of sensual assaults, prolonging foreplay, making her wait what felt like hours to come, or simply shackling her with psychic hands so she couldn’t touch him.

He spoke against her lips. “I do like to punish you. I especially like seeing you shaking with the need to come…and cursing me in several languages for not allowing you to.”

Harper laughed. “Well that’s—” She stopped at the sound of footsteps approaching. All four sentinels then strolled into the room, and all looked grim; Keenan more so than the others.

Larkin’s expression brightened a little when she saw Harper’s handiwork. Blinking, she said, “Wow. You did all this?”

As Knox released her hair, Harper nodded at the female sentinel, who then sat opposite her. “Revamping stuff is always fun. And I’ll tell you all about it after Keenan explains why he seems ready to burn shit down.”

Keenan hesitated, glancing at Knox. The incubus wasn’t yet used to including anyone other than Knox or the other sentinels in conversations concerning their lair.

“You can always speak freely in front of Harper,” Knox told him. “So unless this is something very personal to you or someone else that can’t be shared, explain now.”

“It relates to me,” Harper said with total surety. She could tell by the odd look that Keenan kept shooting her. Still, he hesitated. And that just pissed her off. “Keenan, do you like your clothes? Because I have a needle, thread, glue, and sequins – and I ain’t afraid to use them. Tell me what’s going on.”

Keenan sighed. “You’re right, it relates to you. It’s just weird discussing lair business with outsiders.”

“She’s my mate, which makes it her business,” Knox stated. “It also makes her part of this lair as well as her own.”

Inclining his head, the incubus sat next to Larkin. “I called the other sentinels here, because I thought we all needed to discuss this.”

Levi, who was leaning against the wall, asked, “Discuss what?”

“It’s about Kendra,” said Keenan.

Harper put aside the jeans she was working on. “Yeah, what about her?”

Keenan pulled a flask out of his jacket. “I got a call from the demons we’ve had watching her – she’s missing. She slipped her guard again.”

Knox twined a lock of Harper’s hair around his finger absentmindedly. “It’s possible that she’s gone searching for Lucian using the information she was given by the imp she met with.”

“I thought it was likely after what I heard in the boathouse,” said Keenan. “So I went to Kendra’s apartment to see if any of her stuff was missing – that would have told me if she’d taken a little trip. Nothing seems to have gone, and I couldn’t help but notice there was nothing personal there at all. Not a damn thing. It bugged me. I can’t explain why, it just did. Anyway, I went looking for her, and I asked people if they’ve seen her. No one has. I wondered if she’d gone to visit the mother she cares so much for that she feels obliged to avenge, so I paid her a visit.” Keenan took a long swig from the flask. “Imagine my surprise when the young woman who invited me inside introduced herself as Kendra.”