Adam’s hand moved to my back, and I felt it at the top of my dress zipper. Panic warred with the sick desire for him his power created, and I drew more power into me.
Two inhales later, Adam’s hand stilled.
I pretended not to notice and continued to kiss him as if nothing was wrong. I could feel his energy flowing through my body, strengthening me, as it was meant to. It was a heady sensation, and I felt disgust and exhilaration at the same time. I also felt an almost overwhelming need to give him anything he asked of me.
I sucked in another breath.
Adam broke the kiss, panting. “That’s enough, love.”
“More,” I whispered, going in for another kiss.
“I said enough.”
He gripped my shoulders to hold me away, and his arms shook from the effort. My eyes met his, and I saw disbelief then anger cross his face. He pushed me off him, and I tumbled to the floor.
The foreign power filling me made my body feel like it belonged to someone else, and it took me a few seconds to adjust to it. I crawled out of his reach and got to my feet in the center of the room. For a moment, the room spun, and then it felt like I was having the biggest adrenaline rush ever.
Adam sat up slowly and fixed me with a hard stare. “Come here.”
I took two steps toward him before I was able to plant my feet. The urge to obey him was almost too much, and I made myself think of Chris to block it out.
“No.”
His expression darkened. “Don’t make me come to you.”
It occurred to me then that he was just sitting there, something the Adam I’d gotten to know would not do. He was paler than normal, too, and the corners of his mouth were pinched.
“Beth, I have been very patient with you, but I think I’ve let my affection for you cloud my judgement.”
I scoffed. “Affection? You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
He pushed forward to sit on the edge of the sofa. “I love my children, and I would have come to love you.”
I took a step back as he stood. He was steadier than I’d expected him to be, but his movements were slower, more deliberate. He was trying to hide how much I’d weakened him.
He started to walk toward me, and I automatically dropped into a fighting stance. That made him stop and stare at me.
“You would fight me?” His laugh was condescending. “I am over two hundred years old and the most powerful of my kind. You’re young and weak and –”
“A warrior,” I finished proudly. “And I would rather die fighting than let you touch me again.”
His mouth curled into a sneer, and he gave up all pretense of being anything but the monster he was.
“I have no intension of killing you, but I will feed from you. I’ll need my strength for the coming days, and your energy will sustain me. Don’t worry. I promise you’ll find it quite enjoyable.”
I let my revulsion show. “I’ll pass.”
He resumed his advance on me. “You don’t have a choice.”
“We’ll see,” I shot back as we began to circle each other.
“You’re in my lair, which is deep underground, highly secured, and has only one way out. Even if you somehow got away from me and out of my quarters, you wouldn’t get within a hundred feet of the exit before one of my sons stopped you and brought you back to me. One way or another, I’ll get what I want. I always do.”
He was right about one thing. The odds of me escaping this place were almost nonexistent, and I’d given up on the hope of someone coming for me. But I refused to give in to the despair that had pressed down on me since I’d watched Chris ride away from here. And I’d promised myself I would not stop fighting until I had no strength left in me.
A log popped in the fireplace. Startled, Adam swung his head in that direction.
I moved in and sent my fist into his jaw. His head snapped back, and he staggered under the force of the blow.
I stared at my hands, more stunned than he was by the speed and strength of my strike. My eyes met his, which were narrowed in surprise and fury.
He recovered quickly and came at me. I wasn’t fast enough to block the attack, and he wrapped his strong hands around my throat in a crushing choke hold.
I panicked for a few seconds as my air was cut off. Then years of training kicked in, and I rammed my hand into his throat just above his sternum. He gasped and loosened his hold on me, and I sent a side kick into his stomach. He stumbled back, and I sucked in precious air.
My throat burned from his bruising grip, but I forgot all about that when I saw Adam’s face. His irises had gone completely black and his lips were pulled back in a snarl.
He lunged and hit me hard in the side, sending me into the nearest wall. The air was knocked from me, and I crashed into a small table, sending me and a vase of flowers to the floor.
I cried out as shards of glass cut into my hands and knees. Before I could stand, Adam’s hands were in my hair, roughly dragging me backward.
I twisted my body, ignoring the searing pain in my scalp, and tackled him around the waist. He let go of my hair as we went down, and I managed to roll out of his reach. I came to my feet a little unsteadily but faster than he did.
“You’re only making this harder on yourself,” he said when we faced off again. “I would have made the experience good for you. The more you fight me, the less you are going to enjoy it.”
I would have laughed if my ribs weren’t hurting so much. I feared he’d cracked one of them with his last hit. He wasn’t a skilled fighter, but he had enough strength left in him to slowly beat me down. A few more strikes like that, and it would be all over for me.
His tone softened. “I can see you’re hurting, Beth. Stop this, and I’ll have someone see to your injuries.”
I gritted my teeth. “No.”
“So be it.”
He moved quickly, taking me to the floor. The impact sent pain radiating through my chest, and I gasped for air as he straddled me. Tears of pain and desperation burned my eyes as I tried in vain to buck him off.
He smiled victoriously and grabbed the neckline of my dress. My heart pounded in my ears as terror consumed me. Unable to throw him off, I pulled his head down and butted it hard with mine. It should have hurt, but I was past feeling pain.
I rolled, and he fell facedown on the floor. As soon as I was free, I was on his back with my arm wrapped around his throat, and I held on with every ounce of strength in me.
Someone was screaming, and it took me several seconds to realize it was me. I couldn’t stop. I had five days of fear and degradation and helplessness built up inside me, and I screamed it all out. My throat felt raw and my lungs burned, and still, I screamed.
I don’t know how long we stayed locked in that position, or when it registered that Adam was no longer moving. Panting, I let him go and rolled to my knees beside him. His head was turned at an awkward angle, telling me I’d broken his neck. His eyes were closed, but I could see the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. A broken neck wouldn’t kill him. The only ways to kill an Incubus were silver through the heart, fire, or beheading.
I raised my head and desperately looked around the room. I would find no silver in a demon’s lair, and there was no sword to behead him. My eyes fell on the fireplace, and I frantically tried to think of the best way to burn him without burning the place down around me.
That was when I saw it.
I forced myself up and went to pick up the cast iron ash shovel hanging beside the fireplace. Hefting the heavy shovel, I staggered back to Adam to finish what I had started.
As soon as my gruesome job was done, I dropped the bloody shovel and fell to my knees. My stomach revolted, and I threw up until I was dry heaving. Cold enveloped me, and I somehow knew I was going into shock.
I had no strength left to stand, but I had to get as far away as I could from the corpse. I crawled to the corner near the fireplace and huddled with my knees up to my chest. It was a little warmer there, and the couch hid the gory scene from me.
The Lilin was dead by my hand, and he could never again hurt another girl. I rejoiced in that, even though I knew I hadn’t saved myself or the girls he’d taken. His sons would come to check on him, and when they did, they’d kill me. They idolized their father. My death would not be a slow or painless one.