I was on a bed in a bedroom I’d never seen before. The room was tastefully decorated with white furniture and soft lighting. It looked like any other bedroom except for one thing: there were no windows.
It all came back to me then in one huge rush of memories. I’d been shopping with Mason and the Incubi had ambushed us. I’d seen Mason fall.
“Oh, God. Mason.”
I threw back the thick down comforter that covered me. Shock rippled through me when I saw I was wearing only my bra and panties.
I jumped off the bed like it was on fire. My feet hit the rug, and I took a step, only to trip over something. It made a loud clinking sound as I fell to my hands and knees. I looked down at my feet and gasped at the thick chain attached to a padded shackle around my left ankle. The other end of the chain was connected to a bolt in the concrete floor.
Sitting on the rug, I grasped the chain in both hands. It looked like an ordinary chain, and I should have been able to break it. I pulled on it as hard as I could, and the effort left me panting like I’d run ten miles. I dropped the chain and lay back weakly on the rug.
I heard the door open, but I was too exhausted to move. I watched warily as a man came into view, and I had to stare at him for several seconds before recognition set in.
“You,” I rasped in disbelief.
Adam Woodward’s smile faded into a hard line as he took in my appearance. He turned on his heel and went to the door. A second later, there was a scuffle and he was back, dragging the Incubus I’d shocked with the Taser.
He gripped the Incubus by the throat and pointed at me with his other hand.
“Why is she bruised? I specifically told you she was not to be harmed in any way.”
The Incubus swallowed nervously. “It was an accident. She had a weapon, and we had to subdue her before she hurt herself.”
“Four of you couldn’t do that without bruising her?” Adam shouted.
“We had to deal with the male she was with.”
Mason. Fear for my best friend overrode everything else.
“What did you do to Mason?” I screamed. “Where is he?”
The Incubus darted a look at me before addressing Adam. “He lives.”
Adam pushed the cowering Incubus toward the door. “I’ll deal with you later. Leave us.”
“Yes, Father.”
Father? Coldness spread through me as Adam turned his attention to me again. Adam was the Lilin? It couldn’t be. I would have known, wouldn’t I?
“Let’s get you off this floor.”
He leaned down and picked me up as if I weighed nothing.
“Don’t touch me,” I cried.
My Mori shrank away from the touch of a male who wasn’t my mate. Revulsion made my skin crawl, and I struggled to get away from Adam.
“Shhh,” he crooned as he laid me gently on the bed.
I scrambled away as far as the chain would allow, which was only to the middle of the bed.
“What did you do to me?” I demanded, hating how feeble I sounded. “You drugged me.”
He pulled the comforter up over me and tucked me in. Then he sat on the edge of the bed.
“Incubi power doesn’t work on your people. My sons had to give you a sedative so you didn’t wake up before they got you here. It has no lasting effects, I assure you.”
I hugged the comforter to my chest. “Where are my clothes?”
I was chained in a room, almost naked, with a sex demon who was ten times stronger than I was. Panic rose up in me, and I tried to swallow it down.
He smiled apologetically. “Unfortunately, my sons had to remove your clothing before they brought you here, in case you were wearing a tracking device. I know how much the Mohiri love their technology.”
“They undressed me?”
Bile rose in my throat at the thought of four Incubi taking off my clothes and touching me while I was unconscious and helpless.
Adam held up his hands. “Beth, you have no reason to fear me. I’d never hurt you or allow my sons to hurt you.”
“Tell that to your son who nearly choked me to death,” I spat.
His expression darkened. “I apologize for that. It will never happen again. You’re my honored guest.”
“Do you always chain your guests?” I laughed bitterly, and it turned into a dry cough.
Adam stood and went to a table that held a carafe and two glasses. He filled one of the glasses and brought it to me.
I stared at it suspiciously. I was so thirsty, but for all I knew he could be trying to drug me again.
“It’s just water.”
He took a sip and held the glass out to me again.
Giving in to my thirst, I accepted the glass and gulped the cool water greedily. When I finished, Adam took the glass and went to refill it. I drank half of the second one before I’d had enough.
Adam sat on the bed watching me, looking like the nice college boy I’d met, and nothing like the powerful, ruthless demon I’d learned about. I stared at his blue eyes, looking for some sign he wasn’t human. There was nothing.
“I don’t have the eyes of an Incubus, if that is what you’re looking for,” he said, sounding amused. “I did once, but my eyes changed when I became what I am now.”
“A Lilin.”
“Yes.”
His simple confirmation sent a shiver through me, and my hand holding the glass trembled. Adam reached out and took the glass from me.
“Why don’t you try to sleep some more? You’ll feel better when you wake.”
He was talking as if I really was a guest and not his prisoner. I couldn’t hold off any longer. I had to know why I was here.
“What are you going to do with me? Are you using me to get the Mohiri to back off?”
I didn’t know how the Council handled hostage situations, or if there even was a policy in place for something that happened so rarely. But Chris would do anything to get me back.
Adam shook his head. “You are not a bargaining piece. I’d never devalue you that way.”
I rubbed my temple, which still throbbed slightly. “I don’t understand. Why am I here then?”
He smiled without a hint of menace. I’d almost call it tender. For some reason, that unsettled me more than his anger.
“I brought you here for me.”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“I never planned to take a Mohiri female, until I met you that night at Luna. You were so beautiful and charming. I was completely enamored of you. I wanted to take you that night, but Weston pointed out how reckless and dangerous it would be. I was forced to wait and watch you from afar until all my chosen females were gathered.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. Silently I cried, NO, NO, NO.
Adam continued as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell on me.
“I’ve been alone for too many years. Even surrounded by my sons, my life is a lonely one. I’ve wanted to take a mate for a long time, but I never found someone I wanted to share my life with. You’re immortal, so I’d never have to worry about losing you. And you’re strong and beautiful. We will make magnificent sons together.”
“No,” I uttered, swallowing back the nausea that threatened. “I’m Mohiri. We can’t…”
“You forget my power is much stronger than that of an Incubus. I’ve bred with other demons to see what our offspring would look like. As long as I feed the mother my energy every day, the baby is born strong and healthy, and a pure Incubus. Ours will be even stronger, and we’ll raise them together.”
“I won’t,” I cried shrilly. “I’ll kill you if you touch me.”
I expected my declaration to anger him, but he merely smiled.
“You’re upset right now, and that’s understandable. But you’ll feel differently with time, and you’ll come to love me.”
I recoiled at the thought of being with anyone but Chris. I could never love anyone but him, and I’d die before I let another male have me.
Adam seemed to care for me in his own twisted way, so I appealed to that side of him.
“Please, don’t do this. I have a mate, and I love him.” My voice broke. “If you care about me at all, let me go back to him.”