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I could hear their footsteps now, in the hallway outside the room. The click-click of hellhound claws, the skittering golden slide of dragon on stone, the heavy footfalls of a pure demon. Kai didn’t make a sound. I opened my eyes to check on Owen. He was facing the wall with the shelves, his back to the door. He paused long enough to smirk at me. I just glared, still projecting my beacon to my men, guiding them to us.
When they smashed through the door, they caught him completely off-guard.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Owen was still in his lanky, spindly human form when Xero barreled into him from behind. Owen’s head bounced off of the wall in front of him, which would have knocked any human unconscious, but the guy just spun around, shifting as he went. He was just barely off-balance from cracking his skull against the wall, but it was enough. Kingston flew in from the side, knocking Owen to the floor inches away from my head.
Kai moved like a shadow, leaping over Owen to grab me. He rolled away with me and struggled with the wire while the others fought. Xero was slamming flaming fists into Owen’s rocky chest, but it wasn’t enough to keep him down. The room shook as Owen leapt up. His head nearly reached the low ceiling, and as he began to throw punches, there was barely room to dodge. He was going to kill them.
The wire fell away. I grabbed Kai and pulled him close. “His ears,” I whispered. “Get the cotton out of his ears!”
Kai nodded and swept away in a flash, scaling Owen’s back. Owen roared and arched backward, tossing Kai into the wall. The vampire crumpled, stunned.
“His head!” I screamed at Kingston. “Light up his head!”
Kingston shook his head. He was curled around the ceiling, claws hooked into the rough walls. Dragon shifters could adjust their size in dragon form, and he was currently about as big as a horse. But still, the room wasn’t large enough for his flame. He’d cook us all, damn it.
“Xero! Jayce! Draw Owen out into the hall!”
The two men made a show of retreating, as if Owen was pushing them back. He laughed—at least, I thought that was what it was; it sounded like gravel in a lawnmower—and busted through the wall after them. Kingston followed in a flash. I went to Kai. His breathing was shallow and there was a nasty gash on his head. Panicking, I pressed my lips hard to his. It did nothing.
“Come on, Kai, how do I help you?”
I needed to go help the others. Flashes of fire and vicious snarls pummeled my ears, but I couldn’t just leave him there. I held his head in my lap and stroked his face, swearing when my thumb left a streak of blood across his cheek.
“We’re kicking all kinds of ass,” I muttered bitterly. As I pulled my hand away, a drop of blood from the deep cut in my wrist landed on the corner of his mouth. I tried to wipe it away, but he suddenly turned his head and pressed his lips to my wrist.
“Shit. I’m a fucking idiot.”
My heart slammed hard against my ribs, but I supported the back of his head with my other hand, holding my wrist up to his mouth to give him access to my blood. The wounds themselves hurt like hell, but having Kai drink from me… didn’t.
It felt strange, empowering, and humbling at the same—like I was giving something, but taking something too.
Was this what it felt like to the men when my succubus powers drew strength from them?
I couldn’t look away from his lips on my wrist, the way his throat worked as he drank, the way he clung to me with possessive hunger.
I let him drink until his eyes fluttered open, barely noticing the strength fading from my own body as he took his fill.
His gaze snapped into focus, and he pushed away from me, horrified. A wave of dizziness washed over me as I rose up to my knees.
Okay, now I feel it. The hit to the head, the cuts on my wrists, the blood loss—they were all starting to catch up to me.
“Kiss me,” I whispered. There was no persuasion in my voice. It wasn’t a demand. It was a plea.
He did, briefly. Just enough to get me up, like the smell of coffee in the morning. I could taste my own blood on his tongue, and it sent a strange jolt of fear-laced pleasure straight to my core. But we both stepped back quickly, back on our feet in an instant and ready to rejoin the fray.
I was halfway to the door when his voice stopped me.
“Piper.” The single word came out in a low rasp.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I said, shaking off whatever had just happened between us. Whatever had just changed between us. “Owen’s trying to kill people out there.”
Kai’s eyes widened, and he moved so fast he nearly beat me out into the hallway. Kingston had his position, ready to unleash his flame. Perfect. Now the other two just needed to get the fuck out of the way.
“Move!” I bellowed, sprinting forward.
They plastered themselves to the walls, and Kingston fired. Owen’s head disappeared in a fountain of flame, and his howl shook the walls. Xero moved in, following the fiery breath with fists of flame, cracking Owen’s rocky skin. Jayce’s demonic teeth pierced through Owen’s flesh somehow, and his hellhound ripped this way and that, trying to shake Owen to pieces. Owen flailed, striking out blindly. He nearly crushed Jayce under one of his massive fists.
