The Darkest Kiss. Gena Showalter

that you were not,” Lucien said. “You told us you were merely an immortal.”

      She shrugged. She hated gods so much she rarely used that title. “I lied. I often do. It’s part of my charm, don’t you think?”

      No one replied. Figured.

      “We were once warriors for the gods and lived in the heavens, as I’m sure you know,” Reyes said as if she hadn’t spoken. “I do not remember you.”

      “Maybe I wasn’t born yet, smartie.”

      Irritation flickered in his dark eyes, but he continued calmly. “As I told you, since your appearance weeks ago I have been researching you, learning everything I can. Long ago, you were imprisoned for murdering an innocent man. Then, a hundred years or so after your confinement, the gods finally agreed on the proper punishment for you. Before they could carry out the verdict, however, you did something no other immortal had ever managed to do. You escaped.”

      She didn’t try to deny it. “Your research is correct.” For the most part.

      “Legend claims you infected the keeper of Tartarus with some kind of disease, for immediately after your escape he weakened and lost his memory. Guards were placed in every corner to fortify security, as the gods feared the strength of the prison depended on the strength of its keeper. Over time the walls did begin to crumble and crack, which eventually led to the escape of the Titans.”

      Gonna blame that on her, was he? Her eyes narrowed. “The thing about legends,” she said flatly, “is that the truth is often distorted to explain the things that mortals cannot understand. Funny that you, the subject of so many legends, don’t know that.”

      “You hid here, among humans,” Reyes said, ignoring her. Again. “But you weren’t content to live in peace even then. You started wars, stole weapons and even ships. You caused major fires and others disasters, which in turn led to mass panic and rioting among the humans, and hundreds of people being imprisoned.”

      Warmth suffused her face. Yes, she’d done those things. When she’d first come to earth, she hadn’t known how to control her rebellious nature. Gods had been able to protect themselves from it, humans hadn’t. Besides that, she’d been almost…feral from her years in prison. A simple comment from her—you aren’t going to let your brother talk to you like that, are you?—and bloody feuds erupted between clans. An appearance at court—perhaps laughing at the rulers and their policies—and loyal knights attempted to assassinate their king.

      As for the fires, well, something inside her had compelled her to “accidentally” drop torches and watch the flames dance. And the stealing…she’d been unable to fight the voice in her head that whispered, Take it. No one will know.

      Eventually she’d learned that if she fed her need for disorder with little things—petty theft, white lies and the occasional street fight—huge disasters could be averted.

      “I did my homework on you, too,” she said softly. “Did you not once destroy cities and kill innocents?”

      Now Reyes blushed.

      “You are not the same man you used to be, just as I am not—” Before she’d completed the sentence, a sudden wind blustered around them, whistling and harsh. Anya blinked against it, confused for only a moment. “Damn it!” she spat, knowing what would come next.

      Sure enough, the warriors froze in place as time ceased to exist for them, a power greater than themselves taking hold of the world around them. Even Lucien, who’d been carefully watching her exchange with Reyes, turned to living stone.

      Hell, she did, too.

      Oh, no, no, no, she thought, and with the words, the invisible prison bars fell away from her like leaves from a winter tree. Nothing and no one could hold her prisoner. Not anymore. Her father had made sure of that.

      Anya walked to Lucien to try to free him—why, she didn’t know, after the things he’d said of her—but the wind ceased as suddenly as it had appeared. Her mouth dried, and her heart began an unsteady tango in her chest. Cronus, who had taken over the heavenly throne mere months ago, bringing new rules, new desires and new punishments, was about to arrive.

      He’d found her.

      Freaking great. As a bright blue light appeared in front of her, chasing away the darkness and humming with unimaginable power, she flashed away. With a sense of regret she had no business feeling, she left Lucien behind—taking the taste and memory of their kiss with her.

      CHAPTER TWO

      A BLACK FOG HAD DESCENDED over Lucien, locking his mind on a single thought: Anya.

      He’d been in the middle of a conversation with her, trying to forget how perfectly she had fit against him, how razor-sharp his desire for her had been, and how, in the too-short minutes she’d been in his arms, he would have betrayed everyone he knew for a little more time with her.

      Never had a kiss affected him more. His demon had actually purred inside his head. Purred. Like a tamed housecat. Such a thing had never happened before, and he did not understand why it had tonight.

      Something must be wrong with him.

      Why else would saying Anya meant nothing, was nothing, have nearly killed him? But he’d had to say it. For her benefit, and for his own. Such need was dangerous. And to admit to it, lethal to his infamous control.

      Control. He would have snorted if he’d been capable of movement. Clearly he’d had no control with that woman.

      Why had she pretended to want him? Why had she kissed him as if she’d die without his tongue? Women simply did not crave him like that. Not anymore. He knew that better than anyone. Yet Anya had practically begged him for more.

      And now he could not remove her image from his head. She was tall, the perfect height, with a perfect pixie face and perfect sun-kissed-and-cream skin, smooth and shimmering, mouthwateringly erotic. He imagined laving every inch with his tongue.

      Her breasts had nearly spilled from the cerulean half corset she’d worn, and mile after mile of delectable thigh had been visible thanks to her black miniskirt and high-heeled black boots.

      Her hair was so pale it was like a snowstorm as it tumbled in waves down her back. Her eyes were wide and the same cerulean shade as her top. Uptilted nose. Full and red, made-for-sucking lips. Straight white teeth. She’d radiated wickedness and pleasure, every male fantasy come to glittery life.

      Actually, he had not been able to remove her from his head since she’d entered their lives weeks ago and saved Ashlyn. She had not revealed her luscious beauty then, but her strawberry scent had branded him all the way to the bone.

      Now, having tasted her, Lucien felt his heart pound in his chest and breath burn in his throat, blistering, sizzling. He experienced the same sensation when he glimpsed his friends Maddox and Ashlyn together, cooing, snuggling close, almost as if they were afraid to let go of each other.

      Unexpectedly the fog lifted, at last freeing his mind and body, and he saw that he was still outside. Anya was gone, and his friends were seemingly frozen around him. His eyes narrowed as he reached up and wrapped his fingers around one of the daggers sheathed at his back. What was going on?

      “Reyes?” No response. Not even the flicker of an eyelid. “Gideon? Paris?”

      Nothing.

      There was a movement in the shadows. Lucien withdrew the weapon slowly, waiting…prepared to do what was necessary…even as a thought slid into his mind. Anya could have taken his blades and used them on him, and he wouldn’t have known. Wouldn’t have cared. He’d been too consumed by her. But she hadn’t taken them. Which meant she truly hadn’t wanted to harm him.

      Why had she approached him? he wondered again.

      “Hello, Death,” a grave-sounding male said. No one appeared, but the weapon was jerked from Lucien’s grip and