Whatever she’d dosed him with had been strong, but so was the pain she inflicted. And Eric wasn’t into pain.

She grabbed the front of her dress and ripped it. Then she stepped out of it, revealing a body fit for the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She was completely naked under the silk, without so much as a thong to hide her nudity.

She was so absolutely stunning that he might have been convinced to take her for a ride. If only she weren’t a demon with a maw in the top of her skull. Even the idea of getting a blow job from that monstrosity was enough to make his testicles draw up into his abdomen.

His body went airborne again, only this time the landing was much softer. He hit her mattress and bounced once before being pinned in place by an invisible force. With a slight wave of her hand, his jeans ripped open and were jerked from his legs.

She sauntered over to him, wiggling those luscious hips as she went.

His balls began to tingle, and his cock decided that maybe there wouldn’t be another six weeks of winter.

Demon, man. She’s a demon. Remember the teeth?

She went from furious to wearing a satisfied grin in the time it took her to cross the room. Her fingers trailed up along the inside of his thigh, tickling him with the tips of her black fingernails. “I’m trying to make this as easy on you as possible. I even dosed your soup so you’d have an excuse to tell yourself later. After I’m done with you.”

He gritted his teeth and blocked out the feel of her fingers stroking his hardening cock. He wasn’t going to do this. He. Was. Not.

His body had other ideas, though. It was weak. Of the flesh. It didn’t care that this was seventeen kinds of fucked-up. In seconds, he was going to be erect enough for liftoff.

He didn’t know how close the full moon was—how close he was to being fertile. He might still have a day or two before he could breed her, but, then again, he’d been unconscious a lot. He might not have any time left at all.

She bent down to take his cock in her mouth. Her hair shifted over her shoulder and swept across his thigh, reminding him of just what lay under those midnight tresses.

His cock deflated like an old balloon, leaving her screaming in frustration.

“You will give me what I want,” she said as she increased the pressure pinning him to the bed.

“No, I won’t. Kill me if you want, but I’m never going to fuck a damn demon.”

Her white pupils flared, and the air pressure in the cavern changed. “Guards!”

A group of demons filtered into the room, eager to do her bidding. They barely even gave him a second glance.

“The girl. The fighter. Bring her.”

Kayla. Fuck.

“Cover me up,” he said. Nudity wasn’t a huge deal among his kind, but being bound to a bed, spread-eagle, was a little different. This was not the image he wanted Kayla to have of her fighting coach or the man she was trusting to get her the hell out of this underground tomb.

Treszka regarded him for a minute, making his skin crawl. It didn’t matter that her body was the stuff of legends. All he could see was what lay beneath—her cruel spirit and her demon blood.

“I had hoped to spare you more pain,” she said.

“Yeah, I just bet you did.”

“And Kayla. She has such a potent force of life thrumming through her. She would have done well down here in time. She might have even grown into a place of power among us. She could walk in the sun, helping me procure the human comforts that are so hard to come by.” Treszka ran her fingers along his ribs, petting him. “But now that all depends on you.”

Two guards came back into the cavern, dragging a spitting-mad, fighting Kayla with them.

“Cease!” shouted Treszka, imbuing her words with enough magic to force Kayla to obey.

The girl went still and stared daggers through her tangled blond bangs.

Treszka sat on the edge of the bed. Her voice was calm, as if what she was about to say was completely rational. “You’re going to give me what I want. Now. Or I’m going to feed from the child until she’s dead, while you watch. Which do you prefer?”

Fury lit up Eric’s insides, driving away all the chill of the room. He felt his fingernails and toenails lengthen, his teeth extend down into his mouth. His pulse pounded in his ears and a low growl spilled from his mouth. “Touch her and I will kill you.”

Treszka laughed and patted his arm. “You’re so adorable when you’re helpless.”

“Let him go!” screamed Kayla. Her cheeks were red with anger, and she was doing her best to break free of the hold the demons had on her scrawny arms.

“You.” Treszka pointed at Kayla. “Shut up. You.” She pointed at Eric. “Decide. Watch the child die, or give me one of my own.”

Eric racked his brains for some idea, some glimmer of hope that would get him out of this situation, but he could find none. He couldn’t fight the magical bonds holding him down. He couldn’t hope that the bitch was bluffing and that Kayla would be safe. The only ace up his sleeve was that he might not be fertile right now. Maybe if he let her fuck him, she’d go away and leave the young alone. It would take her a while to figure out that he hadn’t knocked her up.

Assuming he didn’t.

He almost let himself think about the child that might result from what he knew he had to do, but stopped himself cold. If he stopped long enough to wonder what a life for Treszka’s child might be like, he knew he’d never be able to make up his mind. How could he trade the life of one kid for another?

He couldn’t.

She wasn’t going to go away. She wasn’t going to stop wanting a baby. Demon or not, the urge to procreate was strong, and he wasn’t foolish enough to think it would magically evaporate because he wanted it to.

All he could do was make the choice he was faced with now and hope he could live with himself later.

“I don’t want her to watch,” he told Treszka. “Send her back to the others, and I’ll give you what you want.”

Kayla let out a muffled yell and kicked her little feet.

“It’s okay,” he told her. “She’s not going to hurt me. I’ll come see you in a little while. Everything is going to be fine.”

Treszka waved away the guards and straddled his thighs. She took his junk in her cold fingers, making his skin crawl.

Eric closed his eyes. Checked out. Let her do what she wanted. Kayla was safe, and that was all that mattered.