Blood Bond (Blood Bound Book 5)

Chapter 2

Misery had no choice but to nod her head in acquiescence and humility. As she turned away, her childish lips lifted in an evil smirk. The old demon was right about one thing, she needed more power… and she knew exactly how to get it.

Letting the darkness within her expand, she shot back toward the city leaving her underlings to follow. A plan had begun to form and she needed to track down the demon child who could help her. She would have to give up her remaining stash of Kane's blood but the end satisfied the means… it would be worth the sacrifice.

She flitted over the city toward the slums where she’d found a temporary home. Going from street to street searching the darkness, she tried to catch the scent of her target. The problem with this demon was that he had the ability to hide his demonic aura. To anything hunting him, he would appear to be human and that was the biggest lie of all.

Not long after she began her search, Misery felt the hybrid Skye following her. He did not engage her activity and he would not come closer, but she could feel him haunting her every move. Did he miss being trapped in the cave with her? She would give him a refresher course if he tried to interfere with her plans. It was bad enough that the two fallen were tracking his every move… he would only lead them to her if he kept this up.

It was nearing daybreak when she finally found the little demon she was looking for. He came out of the shadows and scurried across the street and into another alley. Misery had stumbled across him out of sheer chance a few days before and had mistaken him for human… that was until he decimated the vampire underlings who had attacked him.

On the outside, the demon looked like nothing more than a little eight year old boy living as a street rat. His shoulder length dark hair hung in tangled, oily locks around his face, which was pale but sweetly angelic in every other way. It only lent to his human camouflage when he wanted to draw in the hearts and minds of his victims. His clothes were ragged and he had no shoes. When he lifted his head to look out at the street behind him, his eyes glittered like black diamonds.

Misery moved over the alley above him before dropping straight down in front of the other demon, taking on the form of the little blonde girl as she fell. She landed in a crouch in front of him before standing upright and dusting her frilly dress off.

“Hello Misery,” the boy said making Misery smile at the small voice.

“Hello Cyrus,” Misery mimicked.

“You’re the one that made all those humans kill each other on the bus the other night,” the boy whispered.

Misery smiled proudly, “Yes I am, and I have need of what you know how to do.”

Cyrus tilted his head to the side. “What can I do that you can’t already?”

Misery giggled and took off the spider necklace that had the remnant of Kane’s blood and slipped it over his head.

“You’d be surprised young one,” she whispered.

“Will I be able to play?” the boy asked making Misery realize just how young this demon was.

“Oh yes, you’ll be able to play all you want,” Misery answered.

The blackness of the boy’s eyes expanded, blocking out all color until they looked like two bottomless pits of nothingness.

“I like to play,” The boy said and a malicious smile appeared while his fingers played with the spider hanging on the end of the chain.

*****

Kriss lay in bed on the top floor penthouse of one of the more prestigious apartment buildings in downtown Los Angeles. He’d taken refuge here in order to avoid Tabatha and his growing feelings toward her.

His mind flashed back to the last time he had seen her. He’d steadfastly kept his distance from her for a couple days before the separation became too painful for him. His chest had begun to ache from not being close to her and when he entered their apartment to find her asleep with dried tears staining her cheeks… his only thought was to hold her and make it all better.

He’d slipped under the covers with her, not realizing she was naked until he wrapped himself around her in a protective embrace. That’s when he’d frozen, straining toward her and away from her at the same time. She’d turned toward him in her sleep, throwing her arm around him to cuddle like she often did her extra pillows. When her breasts pressed up against his chest, the self-control he’d always prided himself on snapped.

For months his thoughts had been drifting toward doing things to her… with her… things that couldn’t be done regardless of how much he loved and wanted her. But in that instant, he’d wanted inside her enough to risk killing the woman he loved. He felt his hardness throb and brush against her soft flesh.

When an angry shadow fell across the bed, Kriss froze then slowly turned his head and looked up into Dean’s accusing silver gaze. He knew he’d crossed the line from friendship into danger upon seeing that expression on his lover’s face.

He’d left with Dean that night, determined that he would not commit the same sins as his father. He felt himself throb again at the memory. Until he got the emotion under control, he knew Dean was right… he had to stay away from Tabatha.

As a further precaution, he’d quit his job at Silk Stalkings just in case she went looking for him there. He’d done everything he could to make sure Tabatha was kept as far away as possible from him, but the separation hurt him like nothing he’d ever felt. When a fallen loved someone… it was a step past what a human called love and the madness that the emotion often caused within humans when they couldn’t have the one they loved was tenfold when compared to the reaction it caused within a fallen.

Kriss once again jerked on the bindings that secured one wrist… he’d hated Dean for restraining him. However, Kriss understood what had almost happened. If he had given into his lust… the pain of losing Dean and killing Tabatha at the same time would’ve destroyed his mind.

He closed his eyes when a cool breeze drifted through the open terrace doors and over his nude body. Although the restraints allowed him movement throughout the huge apartment, he’d laid down hours ago but couldn’t sleep and the tumbled mess of covers on the floor was testament to that. Kriss was now lying on his belly with one knee bent against the mattress and the other leg was covered over with the very edge of the sheet.

Another breeze blew through the room bringing with it a familiar scent. Kriss opened his eyes, watching the shadows of the gauzy curtains against the wall in front of him. When a winged shadow joined them, Kriss remained silent and expectant.

Dean had been on the roof, giving his demons prey and an elusive fallen hybrid a rest for the night. Dropping down from the roof of the building to the terrace below, he stood in the open doorway watching Kriss. The white sheet had been kicked aside, exposing his nude body to the glow of moonlight shining in. Dean felt the loneliness Kriss held in his heart and knew staying away from Tabatha long enough would be the only cure for such pain.

His gaze trailed across the supernatural binding that kept Kriss from leaving the apartment during his absence. He didn’t want to hurt Kriss in such a manner, but he could feel Kriss' love for Tabatha growing every day. He’d reminded Kriss that to sleep with a woman from this world would be the same as killing her and he hadn’t lied… the seed of a fallen would take root even in an infertile woman. It would heal the infertility in order to create life if it had to… but that life would kill the female who bore it.

Dean had told Kriss the truth of his own sins… the one sure way to keep Kriss from being with Tabatha. When he’d first been sent to this world he’d become entranced with a young girl around the same age as Tabatha. He’d spent too much time with her and one thing had led to another… he’d fallen in love with a human female.

Thinking the curse would not follow him… thinking with as much as he loved her that they would have a fallen child, he’d given into to his lust. She’d encouraged it because she wanted him just as badly. Making love to her had been heaven but it had only taken hours for the demon to fully form inside her. When she’d awoken him later in the night with her screams, he’d had to kill his own child when it began to eat her from the inside.

Kriss had been deceiving himself… thinking he could sleep with Tabatha night after night without making love to her but Dean knew that was a lie… a dangerous one. Kriss would never be able to live with himself if he signed Tabatha’s death warrant with the seed of his own love.

The fallen craved love, yet had been sent to a world where they could not touch the women… all they had left was each other. Kriss' beauty had always called to Dean, enchanted him even and he knew why… Kriss was royalty among their kind. He never should have been sent back to this place to fight the demons. He silently wondered how long it had taken one of the kings to realize their prince had vanished. Kriss was meant to be pampered, loved, and cherished.

Stepping into the room, Dean moved slowly making sure his shadow remained on the wall so Kriss could see what he was doing clearly and have time to stop it if he chose to.

“The demons are restless within the city tonight… can you feel them?” Dean kept his voice calm not expecting an answer. His lips parted when Kriss' melancholy voice sent a soft echo through the room.

“Let them come.”

Dean pulled the jacket from his shoulders and tossed it onto a chair against the wall. Next came the shirt… he unbuttoned it and let it fall from his shoulders to the floor in a soft pile of cotton. He unbuttoned his pants and slowly lowered the zipper, almost smiling when Kriss' breath caught. Slipping off his shoes and socks, Dean pushed his jeans to the floor and stepped out of them.

Moving toward the bed, Dean gripped one of the canopy posts for a moment to stare down at Kriss before slipping in next to him. Pulling Kriss onto his side, Dean spooned behind him and jerked him close, giving into the jealousy that simmered within his heart.

He knew Kriss' sadness stemmed from his love for Tabatha… he’d felt a premonition of the danger coming the night Tabatha and Kriss had met. That’s why he’d attacked Tabatha in the parking lot of Silk Stalkings. His intention had been to warn her of the threat but Kriss had stopped him, using his body as her shield… using Dean’s obsession against him.

Kriss rolled over onto his back and turned his head to gaze at Dean. They stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity before Dean swiftly closed the distance between them and brushed his lips sensuously against Kriss'.

When Kriss inhaled sharply, Dean took advantage and deepened the kiss… making it more demanding. He was tired of lying beside Kriss night after night watching him morn for a girl he could never have. If he could, he would just inhale Kriss' pain and replace it with the furious love of the fallen.