To save the Valkyrie who broke his heart, the Fae Sea God makes a deal with the Demon Prince of the Aerial Kingdoms, but Pazuzu has a history of stealing the women Manannan loves.
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When Mist visits her parents' home in California, she assumes th...
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Need clawed through my veins, searing me with unrelenting fire.
Fuck.
I'd barely managed to leave Mist at the temple as it was, knowing she'd be questioning Leto. He'd failed to show yesterday when offered the opportunity. Did he suspect a trap? Was she safe?
By the Abyss, why did my heat have to hit now? Like the impact of a supernova, the mating instinct refused to be denied. Circling in the sky above, I couldn't make myself leave. Instead, I fought to not look at her, to stay in control, stay—
Movement caught my eye. Long midnight hair flowed behind a curvaceous female as she ran into the maze.
Anna.
Before I could think past the inferno in my blood, I'd plummeted, shifting from my dragon form to humanoid as I landed on the dark slate tile of the temple's maze. Attention behind her with her head turned as she fled forward, Anna rounded a hedge and plowed into me, surrounding me in her fragrance. Her weight as a leaf on the wind to my strength, I caught her when her knees buckled.
Kusarikku raced around the corner.
Possessive rage surged and I growled at the offensive minotaur. Whether he knew or not, he was dead.
Screeching to a halt, he stammered, "Deepest apologies, my prince. I'd never... I didn't... I had no idea you'd claimed this one."
I curled a lip at him, controlling my snarled reply for her sake, controlling the instinct to shift and chomp the interloper. The last thing I wanted was to scare Anna. Already her breath fluttered against my chest in uneven pants.
"Pazuzu."
The murmur was so quiet, I wasn't sure if she knew she'd said my name out loud. But I'd heard it. As I had every time she'd said my name with the air carrying her words to me, stroking me like a lover's caress.
Still, I fought to not succumb to my innate power, to not take her mind the way I'd craved her lush body these last six months. This had to be her choice. "Do you enjoy being chased? Should I leave you to Kusarikku's attentions?" I asked, forcing the thorny words past my lips as they tore at my instincts.
She blinked up at me for a long moment before blurting, "No! Please, Lord Pazuzu, please don't."
Her little fingers clung to my scaled chest, each one a brand holding me immobile, holding me to her will. By Tiamat, I loved the sound of my name on her lips, but did she know the power it gave me over her? Unable to resist touching her further, I shifted my hands from her upper arms to her back, pressing her against me and revelling in the feel of her soft curves. As lovely and as stirring as I'd remembered. "You know my name and aren't afraid to invoke it?"
She held my gaze, the fearless rabbit standing up to the snarling predator. "No, my lord Pazuzu."
I released my control and her mind opened to me—the most delicate of flowers that I stroked with care. "So you knew saying my name thrice gives me access to your mind? What interesting ideas lurk in this pretty little head, Anna?"
