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  Lealandra’s brow furrowed and she stroked Taig’s dark hair, trying to keep the pity out of her touch and her heart so he wouldn’t sense it.

  “He only wanted to keep you safe, Taig, and teach you how to protect yourself.”

  Taig frowned. “Why couldn’t the old man have just said that?”

  “I don’t know.” She wished she did.

  He turned and swooped lower, and she saw the apartment building in the distance. He definitely wasn’t a stranger to flying. He had been heading for it from the start, was familiar enough with the city from the air to find his apartment with ease.

  She knew one thing about his father. He had been trying to keep Taig safe and that meant he had thought his son was in danger. Why? Had someone been after them, someone powerful enough to hurt Taig and his father?

  “Did he protect the house?” Lealandra wasn’t sure where her questions were leading but she felt as though she was on the verge of uncovering something about his past, something they both might have overlooked.

  Taig nodded. “He taught me the charms and said to always use them... that when I felt safe, I was probably in the most danger. And then he was gone, and so was my mother.”

  “Did you feel they were going to leave?”

  “No... maybe. I had a feeling that we weren’t safe. Things had been different. My father had been teaching me more and more, pushing me to learn and practice so I would harmonise with my demon blood and accept my powers. When my parents disappeared, I no longer wanted to do that. My father was the reason they died. He got my mother killed.”

  “What if they’re not dead?”

  Taig’s jaw clenched, the muscle in it ticking. “They’re dead to me.”

  Lealandra curled up again when his grip on her side and knees tightened and he shifted position behind her, so his feet were lower. She screwed her eyes shut when they came in to land on the roof and tensed. Instead of the impact she had expected, there was nothing. One minute Taig was flying with her, the next he was casually walking on the roof.

  “Therapy session is over. Let it go now, Lea.” He set her down.

  The ice was back in his voice and she knew better than to push him when he was in a foul mood. There was one way that she could make it all better though. Her own form of therapy.

  Lealandra stepped into him, so the full length of her body pressed against his, and looped her arms around his neck. Her hands brushed his wings where they joined his back and she touched them, running her fingers over their rough muscled form. Taig’s gaze burned into her mouth, intent and focused, and she felt his desire rising, sensed the surge in his power as it laced together with her own, knitting tight. He placed his hands on her waist, gripped it hard, and then dipped his head and kissed her.

  She didn’t hold back. She opened to him, her tongue tangling with his, not fighting for dominance but pushing him into letting go and unleashing himself on her. She wouldn’t deny him this time. She wanted him to devour her, to pour out his passion into this moment, and show her just how much he needed her. Because she needed him too and she was going to make that clear.

  She was going to make it clear that she didn’t have anything against his demon side and that she didn’t fear it.

  She was going to embrace it.

  She was going to prove to him once and for all that she loved him as a whole and help him accept himself.

  All so his heart would heal.

  He deepened their kiss, stealing her breath away and pulling a moan from her. His fingertips dug into her sides and she didn’t care if it hurt or even if his hands changed into claws. She wanted all of him for once, and she was going to have him.

  Lealandra grasped his wings, pulling him hard against her, and he groaned and tugged her closer. The sheer act of dominance and possession thrilled her, heating her blood until she was kissing him roughly, her teeth clashing with his and her breath coming in sharp short bursts. She stroked and tugged his wings, torn between wanting to caress and claw. She wanted him to let go and she wanted to let go with him.

  Taig cupped her backside and raised her feet off the floor, grinding his erection against her groin. He backed her into the small structure of the roof exit and pinned her there, his hips bucking against hers with each kiss. She groaned and wrapped her legs around his waist, her mouth working furiously against his. His wings curled around her and she ran her hands down them, her fingers tracing the rigid line of the bones, and then back across his shoulders again. He was so beautiful and strong, so alluring and devastating at the same time. She couldn’t resist him. Hadn’t been able to from the moment they had met. She held his cheeks in both hands and tackled his tongue with hers, caressing and teasing him. He groaned and bucked against her again.

  His need flowed through her, stronger than her own. She could feel it in every touch, every sweep of his hands over her bottom and every meeting of their lips. He needed to lose himself in her, like this, half man and half demon. All Taig.

  He growled when he tugged her long black skirt up, freeing her legs from it. A chill breeze chased over her skin, making her shiver, but she didn’t care about the cold. All that mattered now was this moment with Taig. She needed him, and he needed her.

  A groan left his lips when he dipped one hand between her legs and she gasped at the feel of his fingers on her groin. In her rush to find him, she hadn’t bothered with underwear. She had thrown on her clothes with her power and knew that he had done the same. She caressed the line of his stomach and then cupped his crotch, stroking the hard outline of his erection. His mouth stilled against hers, his breathing rough and heavy, and she smiled when he moaned and shivered with each run of her hand up his hard-on. She teased him.

  He dragged her hand away, unbuckled his belt and yanked his jeans open. His hard length sprang free, eager between them, and Lealandra smiled. She wasn’t the only one who had forgone underwear.

  With a deep commanding growl, Taig thrust into her, joining their bodies in the most delicious way. Lealandra clung to his neck and then grabbed one of his shoulders and one wing as he pressed her against the roof exit and took her. It was swift and hard, demanding and passionate. She moaned with each deep plunge of his cock, each long stroke and rough kiss. He growled again and her power shivered with her, bowing to his superior strength and the darkness she felt inside him.

  His mouth left hers and he devoured her throat, nipping and kissing, sucking and licking it, driving her out of her mind. She tilted her head back and pressed it against the wall, her body alive under his ministrations, aching with the feel of him against her. He moved faster and his fingers dug into her backside, slamming her onto his length, tearing breathy moans from her throat. She could take it. He could use every ounce of his strength on her and she wouldn’t break. She wanted to utter those words, to push him further and give him leave to unleash himself on her, but she couldn’t speak, could only cling to him as he drove into her with wild fury, faster and harder, until it bordered on painful.

  Taig grunted and rammed deep into her, his cock throbbing as he spilled himself, and bit her shoulder, hard enough that she cried out.

  He stilled and she immediately regretted not keeping her pain inside. Quiet words murmured against her skin took the hurt away along with his soft kisses and tender licks. He hadn’t drawn blood but there would be a bruise.

  Lealandra breathed deep, her body still taut and hungry, aching to climax. Taig drew back and swept his thumb over her cheek, and she realised that his hands had changed. Thick rich brown scaly plates covered his pointed claw-like fingers. He frowned when he noticed and took his hand away, shaking it as though he could get rid of them that easily.

  She took a deep breath for courage and then took hold of his hand, running her fingers over the ridges that formed the armour over the back of his fingers and then grazing her thumb along the length of one of his short claws. They were dull but something told her that he could change that if he wanted to. He was being gentle with her
. Careful. Taig was perfectly still as she explored him, barely breathing as though he was afraid that even that would hurt her. He wouldn’t harm her. She was sure of that.

  Distant light caught on his brown scales and they shone, reflecting a myriad of colours. It reminded her of how a beetle could hold the entire spectrum on its back, fascinating her.

  “Beautiful.” She breathed the word without thinking and Taig snatched his hand back.

  Lealandra took hold of it again, brought it to her and kissed it, and then lowered it down to between them. He frowned into her eyes when she shifted and pressed his finger to her aroused nub. He tried to take his hand back again but she didn’t let him this time. She held it, moving it against her, teasing herself towards a climax. Her lips parted and she panted with hunger and the feel of his hand on her. She wanted to close her eyes but forced herself to keep looking into Taig’s, to hold his attention and let him see that she wasn’t afraid of his true appearance. In fact, she wanted to see it, and to feel him against her when he wasn’t hiding behind his human mask.

  His eyes burned red when she moaned and he moved his hand for her, circling her and edging her closer to orgasm. She jerked against him and groaned when it crashed over her, sending a shiver up her thighs, a warm haze in its wake. Taig moaned too as her body trembled around his softening length and took his hand away.

  Lealandra drew him back to her and kissed his shoulder, neck and then his cheek. She caressed his wings, warm and sedated from her climax, and smiled when Taig wrapped his arms around her. She held him close, standing on the brink of telling him that she really did love him. She wanted to say the words but it would be too much for him too fast. It would push him away. Instead, she kissed him and hoped he knew now that he wasn’t a monster to her and he wasn’t a man either.

  He was just Taig.

  And she loved him.

  CHAPTER 17

  Taig snapped awake. A wave of anger prickled his skin and he shot up in bed in the dark room. Lealandra fell away from him, moaning at the disturbance and curling up for a moment, then woke too, sitting up and clutching the covers to her bare breasts. Taig dragged her to him when something somewhere thudded to the floor. He glared at the bedroom door, his senses heightening and his vision shifting. Everything changed to a strange mixture of heat signatures and swirling scents overlaid onto the real world. Lealandra pressed against him. The rushing beat of her heart filled his mind. Her fear spoke to him, urging him into protecting her.

  He kissed her forehead and then released her. Not a sound stirred the silence as he crossed the room barefoot and naked. He stopped at the bedroom door. It was open a crack, allowing him to see into the rest of his apartment. Someone was there. He held his growl inside. Someone had a death wish. Breaking into his apartment had signed their execution order.

  Two scents swirled around his living room, marking the path the intruders had taken. He couldn’t see them now so he reached out with his senses, relying on them to locate the bastards. Kitchen. Whatever they were up to, they were being quiet. Had they realised that he had a barrier around his apartment? They didn’t have to enter via a window or door to break seal he had on the place. Teleporting in would have had the same effect. Only now they couldn’t teleport back out. The barrier would stop them.

  Lealandra reached him and went to look through into the living room but he caught her shoulder to stop her.

  “Stay here,” he whispered down at her and pressed his finger to his lips and shook his head when she went to speak.

  She gave a pointed glance at his groin. He had no qualms about facing intruders naked but if it kept her quiet, he would cover up. In the low light of the room, he spotted his boxer shorts on the floor near the bathroom. He slipped them on and then held his arms out and gave her a look that asked if she was satisfied.

  When she nodded, he went to go to the door. He stopped when he reached it, turned around, dragged her into his arms and kissed her hard. There was nothing like a good luck kiss. These weren’t humans he was up against. His senses reeked of demon and they smelt familiar.

  With a long, deep breath, he opened the door and stalked out into the dark living room. His vision outlined all of the furniture and marked the demons’ path through his apartment, showing him where they had entered and where they had been. He headed straight for them, confident that he would be the victor in any fight that might ensue. A couple of young demons didn’t frighten him. He ate devils like that for breakfast.

  They were in the kitchen, going through the cutlery draw and arming themselves. He leaned against the wall in the opening next to the counter, beside the light switch, folded his arms across his chest and grinned.

  Taig flicked the lights on.

  “Looking for something in particular?” he drawled, cocksure and coiled tight inside, ready to burst into action. His skin rippled with the shifting of his demon side. It spread through him, held just below the surface, waiting for the moment he initiated the change.

  The two men turned to look at him and he quickly assessed them. They were both in their late twenties judging by the skin they wore and had slimmer builds than his. Their clothes were cheap jeans and zip-up hooded sweatshirts, both in black. They looked like thugs—their hair shorn to the skin and faces gnarled into malicious grins.

  Clearly, they were about to do the same thing every demon did when they met him—underestimate him.

  His human side was a perfect mask for the demon in him, hiding his true scent and nature.

  One disappeared with a fast step to his left and the other lunged at him with a butcher’s knife. Taig dodged both, the lunging man with a step backwards and the man who had come around behind him with a swift step to his right. He was across the room in the blink of an eye. He glanced at the bedroom door, willing Lealandra to remain there. He would draw the men away from her as much as possible and kill them when he had the chance.

  They attacked in unison again, the man with the butcher’s knife rushing him while the other drew a gun. Taig stepped into the man with the knife, forcing his attack to miss, and grabbed his arm. He snapped it around with a sickening crunch. The man howled in pain, dropped the blade, and disappeared from his grasp, reappearing near the kitchen.

  The man with the gun fired at him, once, twice, and then a third time, each bullet embedding itself into the wall as Taig ran to dodge them.

  The second attacked him again before he could react, slashing down his shoulder. Taig leapt backwards, clutching his arm, and growled. The knife on the floor was gone. The man must have grabbed it when Taig had been running from the bullets.

  These demons were fast. Perhaps he had underestimated them too.

  The one with the knife gestured towards the bedroom door. Taig’s eyes widened when he saw Lealandra standing there, leaning against the doorframe for support. Her skin was as white as moonlight, almost matching the bathrobe she wore, and her eyes were dark and large. She clutched at her chest. Something was wrong.

  The gunman grinned and nodded in response to his friend, stalking off towards her.

  Taig roared, freezing both demons in their tracks.

  There was no way he was going to let them touch Lealandra. He couldn’t fight them like this, in human form. He needed more strength. He needed his power. Only the demon in him could do this. Only that side of him could protect her.

  It was time he found out whether or not she really was alright with his demon side.

  The skin covering his fingers shredded, falling away as his rich dark brown claws grew, the nails as sharp as razors now that he was in danger. He shed the skin on his hands, flexing his fingers and feeling strength surge through him. The pale covering of his arms fell away as his body followed his hands, switching into his demonic guise, and he growled when his black dragon-like wings unfurled and stretched out from his back. His eyes turned the colour of flames and his flesh melted into deep brown scaly skin as his face distorted, his jaw strengthening and lips curling back. His te
eth elongated and sharpened at the same time as his legs lengthened and his muscles expanded, filling out his new flesh. With a shake of his head, he threw off his human skin and the boxer shorts and roared out his fury as twin curled horns sprouted from the back of his head.

  The mark on his back burned.

  An urge for violence and bloodshed claimed him.

  The first man didn’t even see what had hit him. Taig beat his wings, crossed the room, grabbed him around the throat, and slammed him into the wall between the two windows in the lounge. Taig snarled at him, claws ripping through the young demon’s throat and spilling his blood in a waterfall down his chest.

  He turned to face the other demon and grinned when he saw he had changed into a blue lizard-like monster. He was clearly faster than his friend and more experienced. Taig stepped to his left and towards Lealandra. Her condition was worsening. Whatever was wrong with her, it was serious. He needed to get rid of this demon so he could tend to her. He needed to protect her and keep her safe.

  The blue demon grinned to reveal a set of razor sharp pointed teeth and flexed his fingers. They morphed into long silvery claws, elongating until they were several inches in length. Taig readied his own far shorter claws. He needed some information from this one but controlling himself was becoming difficult. The lust for violence was strong tonight. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Lealandra. She was slowly getting closer to the floor, her legs obviously unable to support her. It was the thought of her being hurt that was driving him out of his mind with anger and a desire to kill.

  His momentary distraction cost him. The blue demon flew at him, catching his injured arm and twisting it sharply behind his back. He arched forwards and beat his wings, hitting his assailant. The demon released him and attacked again, his claws leaving long gashes down his back. Taig roared and turned on him, lunging for him with his own claws and sneering when they buried deep into the demon’s arm. He curled his fingers and pulled his hand back towards him, slicing through the demon’s bicep.