No reaction to that line of reasoning, just a step closer from the Lord of Chaos.
Darkness slid through my bones, and I could hear my own heartbeat. I was going to have to fight back against this pure wall of muscle, or I’d be dead. I had to tap into that predatory side, like I had before with the demon hunters.
Apart from my slow and steady breath, my body went completely still. A breeze rushed through the cracks in the window, toying with my hair. “I can see that there’s nothing I can say to convince you.”
My gaze swept over his brutal snake tattoo, the tail formed into a noose. Its dark, sinuous lines curved over his muscles. Shadows seemed to billow from him as he loomed over me. Intimidation was his kink.
“Why don’t you confess?” he purred. “Let it all out, Mortana.”
My heart was pounding so hard I felt like it was making the walls vibrate. His intense gaze penetrated me like he was trying to memorize each curve of my features.
“Well, well, well,” he said, his voice silky, “I see it in your eyes. Even you are not convinced. I can read the doubt there. You wonder if you’re evil. You wonder if you’re Mortana, and you simply cannot remember.”
My fingers tightened into fists. “You’re really starting to annoy me, do you know that? Always so confident that you’re right.”
Another slow step closer. “But do you know what I love?” he murmured.
“Let me guess,” I shot back. “Yourself? Reading smut. Being a big scary incubus with snake tattoos?”
He was at my throat before I could finish the next sentence, and he swiveled me around, pressing my back against the wall. Somehow, he’d done all this without hurting me. His fingers laced around my throat, but they didn’t squeeze.
His knee slid between my thighs, pinning me in place. His body was as heavy and solid as the wall behind me.
“Snake tattoos…” He let out a low chuckle, but I saw no amusement in his eyes. “Ah, lovely Mortana. You are easier to pin down than you once would have been. Fragile, almost. Breakable, slow, and weak. You’ve lost that fighting spirit. But it seems you remember something from the past. Let’s go over why I got that snake tattoo, shall we?”
What the fuck was he talking about? Remember what?
I pulled at his wrist, trying to move his hand away from my throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I can see the tattoo for myself—that’s why I mentioned it. You like to intimidate, don’t you? Big, scary demon boy.”
His knee slid further between my thighs, and he stroked his thumb over the pulse in my throat, a languid, sultry movement that sent a strange, forbidden shiver through my body. What the hell?
His pale eyes were half-lidded, and he looked like he was in a trance as he gazed down at me.
Lowering his mouth to my ear, he whispered, “Confess, love. Let it all out. Have you been faking your memory loss? Do you remember everything? Do you remember the snakes?” He pulled back again to study my face, intently trying to read my expression. His eyes flickered, dark and heated.
I held his gaze. “No.”
Slowly, his hand brushed down my throat to my chest. Heat radiated off his body, warming my skin. His face was close to mine, his breath ghosting over my lips. I could feel my cheeks flushing.
Long silver claws shot from his fingertips, and my heart skipped a beat. The tips of his claws were already piercing the thin fabric of the little white dress. All his muscles were rigid.
I couldn’t tell if he was using all his strength to stop himself from killing me or to convince himself that he needed to.
Holy shit. The threat of imminent death sharpened my senses.
And I wasn’t just Rowan the mortal anymore. I wasn’t Mortana, either—but I was a fucking succubus. I had power now.
I reached up and touched the side of his face. “Orion,” I murmured. “Why are you pretending to hate me?”
Nearly imperceptibly, his features softened. His eyes grew dark all at once, and his lips parted. His claws began to retreat, but his knee remained firmly between my thighs.
I brushed my thumb over his lower lip. His sharp intake of breath did something to me, made my muscles go taut and my thighs clench around his knee. His midnight eyes swept down my body to linger on my breasts. I was sure he was remembering what I looked like naked, and for a moment, I felt like I was completely bare before him. I moved my hips forward a little.
Around us, the air grew humid, sultry, and I let my head fall back against the wall.
Entranced, Orion slid his hand higher again to cup my throat—gently this time, just below my jaw. Now, his touch was reverent. His thumb brushed over my lips like I’d done to him, and I took it in my mouth, sucking on it for a moment. Another sharp intake of breath from him.
That ice-cold expression had left his eyes, leaving behind a smoldering possessiveness.
This was the moment to act.
I slammed my forehead into his nose, and he dropped his grip on me, staggering back. I brought my heel down hard into his kneecap, buying myself some time.
Run, Rowan. That’s what you do best.
Just when I reached the door, I felt his powerful arms wrap around me—one hand around my throat, the other clamping my arms to my sides. Fuck.
His claws were gone, but his iron body had me locked in a vise-like grip. Dread shivered through me. Something I’d said had flipped a switch in him earlier—the thing about the tattoo. Or something about snakes. Whatever it was, it had been exactly the wrong thing to say.
“You could be powerful, Mortana,” he said quietly. “But I think you’ve forgotten how to fight like a demon. And in case your question was real, I don’t know that I hate you anymore. I don’t think I feel anything for you at all. It’s hard to hate someone you no longer respect.”
For a moment, his words hit me so sharply, I felt like I could hardly breathe. I don’t think I’d realized until now how absolutely desperately I wanted things to be right between us. Because the sad truth was, I hardly had anyone else left.
“Is that so?” I tried to keep my voice steady.
“This new version of you has been nothing more than a tedious inconvenience. You are neurotic, dull, and unskilled at everything.”
Rage erupted. I jammed my heel hard into his calf—once, twice. But this time, I had no effect on him. It was like slamming my foot into a stone wall.
Shit. That move killed in my self-defense classes.
I might be strong as a demon, but Orion was a force of nature, a demonic god hewn from stone and fury.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I shifted my body, trying to break free of his grip, but his arm only tightened around me.
The side of his cheek brushed against mine. “Mortana,” he whispered. “It’s not just the oath, or the fact that you murdered my family. It’s not just your sadism. No, on top of all that, you are my rival for the throne. You are the other demon with the mark of the Lightbringer. You always knew I bore the same, didn’t you? And that’s precisely why you delighted in tormenting me in the dungeons.”
I kept struggling against his grip, but I wasn’t getting anywhere.
“You were the one who killed King Nergal, weren’t you?” I said. “Only an heir could do it. I know it wasn’t me. And that’s how you blackmailed Cambriel.”