The Darkest Craving Part 55

Paris returned his focus to Zacharel, wondering if the angel was somehow responsible.

Those eyes of the rarest jade narrowed to tiny slits. "I think you hope to save your Sienna, and that is a good thing. I think you mean to keep her, and that is not. No matter how intensely you crave her, no matter that she might be your only chance at forever, your demon will eventually ruin her, for humans were never meant to battle demons, and at heart, she is still a human."

"What about her own demon?" he snapped.

"If one is bad, two is surely worse."

"Enough!" If they continued on this path, his fury and frustration would rise up and consume him. He would lose sight of tonight's goal. "I'm not going to keep her." He would. He so would if given a chance, and if she would have him, of course, but h.e.l.l, she wouldn't have him.

"Good. Because this particular woman would not like the man you have become."

Snorting, Paris shoved his free hand through his hair. "She didn't like who I was." And now, after he'd irrevocably stepped over the line between right and wrong? Please.

He'd known his actions were reprehensible, and he'd stepped over anyway. He'd killed, callously. Seduced, methodically. Lied, cheated and betrayed. All of which he would do again and again.

"Yet you still rush to save her," Zacharel said.

Yeah. He was as big a moron as the fallen who frequented this place. Whatever. He knew. Didn't care. "Look, I don't answer to you. I don't have to explain myself. And what's with all the questions? You said you only had one more."

"I have asked only the one. The rest have been observations, and I have one more of those to offer." Zacharel leaned into him and whispered, "I think, if you continue on this destructive path, you will lose everything you have come to love."

"Is that a threat?" Paris fisted the collar of the angel's robe. "Go ahead and try something, winger. See what-"

Air. He was fisting and yelling at air.

Little growls sprang from his throat as he lowered his arm to his side. The only reason he knew Zacharel had been here was the temperature of his hands. They were practically frostbitten.

"Uh, who were you talking to?" the bartender asked, faux casual as he cleaned an already clean counter.

If an angel didn't want to be seen, an angel wouldn't be seen. Not even by his brethren, fallen or otherwise. So only Paris had seen Zacharel this go-round. Great. "Myself apparently, and we prefer to chat without an audience."

Was Zacharel still here? Paris wondered. Or had he materialized somewhere else? And what was the purpose of all that talk of Paris needing to stay away from Sienna? The angel shouldn't care.

Paris dropped the rag and turned the rest of the way to face the crowd. Several warriors were scowling in his direction-why?-dangerously close to ruining the room's elegance with the blood they were tempting Paris to spatter. He ma.s.saged the back of his neck, forcing thoughts of Zacharel and his threat into hiding. He had bigger and badder to deal with. He was here for Viola, the minor G.o.ddess of the Afterlife and keeper of the demon of Narcissism. She should have popped in already.

Maybe she'd heard he was coming and bailed, and if that was the case he couldn't blame her. He and his friends had once stolen and opened Pandora's box, unleas.h.i.+ng the evil from inside. As punishment, they were cursed to host the demons they'd released within themselves. Unfortunately, there'd been more demons than naughty boys and girls to contain them, and when the box had disappeared in the chaos, the leftover evil spirits had needed homes. What better recipients for the Greeks to select than the unlucky, unable-to-run inmates of Olympus's-t.i.tania's-immortal prison, Tartarus?

So, yeah, Paris was partly responsible for Viola's dark side. She'd been one of those unlucky prisoners. He wasn't entirely responsible, though, considering the girl was a criminal once considered dangerous enough to be forcibly kept away from the very G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses who were often praised in mythology books for their most vicious deeds.

What crime Viola had committed, he didn't know and didn't care. She could slash him to ribbons, as long as she gave up the information he craved. The final puzzle piece needed to at last save Sienna.

According to the Hunters he'd slain just this morning, Viola came here every Friday night to hustle immortals at pool and rave about her awesomeness over a few beers. Apparently, said Hunters had been watching her, intent on nabbing her and "persuading" her to join their ranks. So, in a way, she kinda owed him.

Where the h.e.l.l is she? he wondered again, searching for the telltale long blond hair, eyes the color of cinnamon and a killer body that could- Appear in a puff of white smoke.

There, in front of the bar's only entrance, stood a luscious woman with long blond hair and eyes the color of cinnamon. Paris straightened, his nerve endings zinging with antic.i.p.ation. Just like that. Prey located. Target acquired.

ISBN: 9781460316498.

Other s.e.xy, unforgettable reads from GENA SHOWALTER and Harlequin HQN.

After Dark.

(duology featuring "The Darkest Angel").

Beauty Awakened.

After Moonrise.

(duology with P. C. Cast).

Wicked Nights.

The Darkest Seduction

The Darkest Surrender

The Darkest Secret

The Darkest Lie

The Darkest Pa.s.sion.

Into the Dark

The Darkest Whisper

The Darkest Pleasure

The Darkest Kiss

The Darkest Night.

The Vampire's Bride

The Nymph King

Jewel of Atlantis

Heart of the Dragon

Twice as Hot.

Playing with Fire

Catch a Mate

Animal Instincts.

The Pleasure Slave

The Stone Prince

From Harlequin Nonfiction Dating the Undead.

(with Jill Monroe).