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Synopsis
Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .
Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn't resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.
A Seminus Demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he'd seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever.
As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts-or succumb to a madman's evil plans.
Release date: March 1, 2009
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Print pages: 416
* BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners.
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Desire Unchained
Larissa Ione
Suddenly, Runa found herself against the wall of the building.
Both of Shade’s hands were on her shoulders …
“I can smell your desire, Runa,” he murmured in a coaxing, seductive tone. The man was sex on legs, an overwhelming mass of
muscle, testosterone, and sensuality for which she had no defense. Nothing had prepared her for something like this. She doubted
any woman could be prepared for Shade. At least not mentally.
Her heart pounded frantically against her rib cage. The situation was rapidly tumbling out of control, and as his tongue swept
along her neck and his hands stroked her hips, she found she couldn’t care.
A low, sensual rumble came from deep in his throat as he kissed her. Not a proper kiss, but a lick across her lips and then
a deep, hot meeting of tongues that had her panting and clinging to his jacket like she would never let him go …
ACCLAIM FOR PLEASURE UNBOUND
“Very dark, very sexy …”
—Emma Holly, USA Today bestselling author
“Dangerously erotic, wonderfully satisfying … Ione knows how to make your heart race.”
—Cheyenne McCray, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Magic
“4 Stars! [Ione’s] hard-edged style infuses the story with darkness while taking it to sizzling heights.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine
“I loved it. It’s dark, gritty, funny, sexy, hawt as hell, with demons! This book is unique; Larissa’s storytelling is compelling
and raw. She is truly a gifted storyteller and you will fall madly in love with the characters and this new series.”
—Jaci Burton, national bestselling author
“5 Stars! Fascinatingly innovative … full of fervent encounters and shocking disclosures … compelling scenes and dynamic characters.
Never has the paranormal world been more intriguing. Pleasure Unbound will leave a lasting impact on the reader, as this unforgettable story will evoke emotions long after the last page is read.”
—
SingleTitles.com
“What a ride! Dark, sexy, and very intriguing, the book gripped me from start to finish—totally recommended.”
—Nalini Singh, author of Mine to Possess
“This is a dark, sexy, and adventurous story … has everything a paranormal romance book needs, and it will have a lot of readers
coming back for more.”
—
ParanormalRomance.org
“Fast-paced … never slows down … Romantic fantasy fans will appreciate the first Demonica tale.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Intense, engrossing, and titillating, Pleasure Unbound is a story not to be missed. I can’t wait for the next story.”
—
RRTErotic.com
“Ione has … created a very imaginative demonic tapestry as well as rich, multilayered characterizations … a heady blend that
I look forward to revisiting in her next installment.”
—
BookLoons.com
“Ione writes a passionate tale. She is able to blend two different worlds together seamlessly.”
—
NightOwlRomance.com
“What a great read! Very sexy … Tayla is an incredible heroine and the conflict and sexual attraction between her and Eidolon
just burns on the page.”
—Joely Sue Burkhart, author of Beautiful Death
“4½ Stars! Wow, wow, wow! This is one hot demon love story! The pages are riddled with action, sex, and danger. The intensity
is palpable. I was moved by this love story and will think about it for some time.”
—
TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“Sexy, dark, and emotion-filled … Took me on a rip-roaring ride through every emotion I have … Go out and buy a copy today.”
—
JoyfullyReviewed.com
The Aegis—Society of human warriors dedicated to protecting the world from evil. See: Guardians, Regent, Sigil.
Carceris—The jailers of the underworld. All demon species send representatives to serve terms in the Carceris. Carceris members are
responsible for apprehending demons accused of violating demon law, and for acting as guards in the Carceris prisons.
Council—All demon species and breeds are governed by a Council that makes laws and metes out punishment for individual members of
their species or breed.
Dresdiin—The demon equivalent of angels.
Guardians—Warriors for The Aegis, trained in combat techniques, weapons, magic. Upon induction into The Aegis, all Guardians are presented
with an enchanted piece of jewelry bearing the Aegis shield, which, among other things, allows for night vision and the ability
to see through demon invisibility enchantment.
Harrowgate—Vertical portals, invisible to humans, which demons use to travel between locations on Earth and Sheoul.
Infadre—A female of any demon species who has been impregnated by a Seminus demon.
Maleconcieo—Highest level of ruling demon boards, served by a representative from each species Council. The U.N. of the demon world.
Orgesu—A demon sex slave, often taken from breeds bred specifically for the purpose of providing sex.
Regent—Head(s) of local Aegis cells.
S’genesis—Final maturation cycle for Seminus demons. Occurs at one hundred years of age. A posts’genesis male is capable of procreation and possesses the ability to shapeshift into the male of any demon species.
Sheoul—Demon realm. Located deep in the bowels of the Earth, accessible only by Harrowgates.
Sheoulic—Universal demon language spoken by all, though many species speak their own language.
Sigil—Board of twelve humans known as Elders, who serve as the supreme leaders of The Aegis. Based in Berlin, they oversee all
Aegis cells worldwide.
Ter’taceo—Demons who can pass as human, either because their species is naturally human in appearance or because they can shapeshift
into human form.
Therionidryo—Term a were-beast uses for a person he or she bit and turned into another were-beast.
Therionidrysi—Any survivor of a were-beast attack. Term used to clarify the relationship between the sire and his therionidryo.
Ufelskala—A scoring system for demons, based on their degree of evil. All supernatural creatures and evil humans can be categorized
into the five Tiers, with the Fifth Tier composed of the worst of the wicked.
Classification of Demons, as listed by Baradoc, Umber demon, using the demon breed Seminus as an example:
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Demon
Family: Sexual Demon
Genus: Terrestrial
Species: Incubus
Breed: Seminus
Three Years Ago …
“He’s gone. Let’s call it.”
Shade ignored his partner and crunched another series of compressions into the shapeshifter’s chest. Beneath his palms, cracked
ribs grated with each downward stroke.
One–one thousand, crunch. Two–one thousand, crunch. Shade’s own heart was pounding, pumping enough blood per minute to fuel Underworld General’s lava-thermal generator, but
the patient’s heart didn’t so much as spark. Three–one thousand, crunch. Shade’s thigh muscles screamed with pain, cramping after Gods knew how long kneeling in blood next to the patient. Four–one
thousand, crunch. A tingle spread down the dermoire that encased his arm from his right shoulder to his hand as he used his specialized gift to force the patient’s heart to
beat.
“Shade. Stop.” Skulk, Shade’s half-sister and paramedic partner, put a dainty gray hand on his arm. “We did all we could.”
Knowing Skulk was right didn’t make giving up any easier, and Shade didn’t have enough breath left in his lungs to curse about
it. Panting, he ceased CPR and sat back on his heels on the filth-strewn floor of the abandoned brewery. His arms trembled
from exertion, and his stethoscope hung heavily around his neck.
He ground his teeth as he looked into the glassy eyes of his deceased patient. The vic was just a kid. Fourteen, maybe. He’d
probably only recently learned how to shift out of his human form to whatever species his family belonged to. The telltale
birthmark of a true shifter, a red, star-shaped mole behind the left ear, had barely formed.
“This is bullshit,” Shade muttered, standing. Nearby, the two False Angels who had called in the report to the hospital stood,
their sweet, virginal appearances belied by the sinister glint in their eyes.
“You didn’t see who dropped him here?” he asked.
One of the angel impostors shook her head, her golden hair swishing against her white gown. “He was just lying there. Peaceful.”
“He looked peaceful with half his organs missing?”
The other False Angel smiled. “Touchy, touchy.” She trailed her fingers suggestively along the low-cut neckline of the gown
no true angel would wear. “How about we help you relax, incubus?”
“Yes,” the other one purred. “I’ve always loved a man in uniform.”
The first False Angel nodded. “Veragoth does so enjoy haunting police stations.”
“Mmm …” The female called Veragoth twirled a strand of hair around a finger and swept her hungry gaze from Shade’s face to
his feet. “But I’m starting to think I should be hanging out with paramedics.”
Yeah, his black, BDU-style medic uniform made all the females hot even when he wasn’t casting off the fuck-me pheromones that
came standard issue for Seminus demons. But for once, Shade didn’t feel like getting naked with two beautiful females. He
was exhausted, angry, and damned sick of the newest rash of demon mutilations. Worse, no one gave a rat’s ass that someone
was chopping up demons for their parts and selling them on the underworld black market. It had been going on since time began,
but few cared.
Shade did.
He was the asshole who got called to scenes where he rarely made a difference in whether or not the vic died. Most were too
far gone. Or dead.
Skulk holstered her radio and dug through the jump bag for a fresh pair of gloves. “Since shifters don’t disintegrate aboveground,
Doc E wants the body. Let’s scoop it up. We’re done here.”
We’re done here. Too many calls ended like that lately.
Cursing, Shade helped Skulk load the kid’s body onto a stretcher and wheel it to the rig. The black ambulance, one of two
servicing Underworld General Hospital, was protected by a spell that rendered it unnoticeable to humans, but here, the cloak
wasn’t needed. They were in a quiet part of New York City, a formerly industrialized area that had been abandoned during Prohibition
and was only now starting to build up again as a residential neighborhood.
“Let’s roll,” Shade said, and slammed shut the rig’s rear doors.
It was Skulk’s turn to drive, so Shade climbed into the passenger seat, popped a stick of gum into his mouth, and concentrated
on filling out the run sheet.
Patient’s chief complaint? Deadness due to organ removal.
Patient’s response to treatment? Still fucking dead.
“Sonofabitch.” Shade pinged the pen at the dash. “This sucks—” He cut off, suddenly shaken by a rumble deep inside him, an
earthquake in his very soul. Pain rolled up from the epicenter, spreading through his body until the tsunami of agony slammed
him backward in his seat.
“Shade? What is it? Shade?” Skulk shook his shoulder, but he barely noticed. He threw open the door, thankful they hadn’t taken off yet, and fell from
the vehicle.
His knees hit the pavement with a crack he heard through the roar of blood in his ears. Doubled over, he wrapped his arms
around his gut. Blackness engulfed his vision, his brain. One of his brothers was dead. Who? Gods, who?
He reached out with his mind to connect with Wraith, the brother who couldn’t be more his opposite, but with whom Shade had
a unique connection. Nothing. He couldn’t feel Wraith at all. Struggling for each breath, he felt for the weaker connection
with Eidolon, but again, nothing. He couldn’t sense Roag, either.
In the background, he heard Skulk talking on her cell phone with Solice, the on-duty triage nurse at the hospital. “Where
are Shade’s brothers? I need to know. Now!”
“Skulk …” he gasped.
She knelt next to him. “Hold on.” She listened into the phone for a moment. “Okay, Solice says Roag went to Brimstone. She’s
all mad because he wouldn’t take her with him, but she’s getting ready to head there now. She doesn’t know where E and Wraith
are. They refused to go with Roag.”
Not a shock. No Seminus in his right mind would step inside a demon pub where female lust could hold you prisoner for days,
or worse, send you to your death at the claw-end of a jealous male. But then, Roag had never been in his right mind.
Shade groaned, swallowed sickly. Gradually, a pinpoint of light pierced the darkness. Wraith. He could feel Wraith’s life
force. Thank the gods. Relief made his shoulders sag, but only for a second. He couldn’t sense Eidolon. Blindly, he reached
out with his hand as though he could touch his brother. Skulk caught his arm, twined her fingers through his.
“Breathe, Paleshadow,” she whispered, using the childhood nickname she’d given him over eighty years ago. “We’ll get through
this.”
Not if E was dead. Shit, he was the brother who kept them all level, who kept Roag in line and Wraith alive.
Awareness sifted through him. Eidolon. He was safe.
The pain faded, but a gnawing, aching emptiness drilled one more hole into Shade’s soul. Seminus demons were connected to
all their brothers, and when one died, he took a chunk of his surviving siblings with him. Thirty-seven deaths later, Shade
felt like a colander.
“Who was it?” Skulk asked softly.
“Roag.” He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “It was Roag.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I,” he said, but it was an automatic response. As much as he hated to admit it, the world was now a better place.
When walking through the “valley of shadows,” remember, a shadow is cast by a Light.
—Austin O’Malley
It had been at least two decades since Shade had awakened on a strange floor, hung over and without a clue to his whereabouts.
The heavy weight of a manacle around his wrist and the sound of a rattling chain made him smile. It had been even longer since
he’d been in this situation and chained up.
Cool.
Sure, he preferred the females to be the ones in chains instead of him, but he’d roll with it.
“Shade.”
The female voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it through the ringing in his ears. He couldn’t open his eyes, either.
“Shade. Wake up.” A hand shook his shoulder, not gently, as he’d expect a female to do after a spending a night with him.
Hell, she should be waking him with her mouth on his— “Shade, damn you, wake up!”
Groaning, he rolled onto his back, wincing at the dull ache pounding against the back of his skull. “I’m awake, baby. I’m
awake. Climb on. I’ll catch up.”
“Thanks, I’ll pass. But call me baby again and I’ll rip your lips off.”
Shade peeled his eyes open. Blinked at the blurry face peering down at him. Blinked again.
“Runa?”
“You remember my name? Pardon me while I pass out from shock.”
The sarcasm wasn’t necessary, but yeah, he remembered her name. She’d been the hottest human he’d ever brought to his bed.
Long, caramel brown hair that felt like the softest silk on his chest, abs, thighs, as she kissed her way down his body. Full,
sensual lips that had curved into wicked smiles worthy of his wildest dreams, pale champagne eyes that complemented smooth,
golden skin that had melted like brown sugar under his tongue.
But he hadn’t seen her in nearly a year. Not since the night she ran away and fell off the face of the earth.
“Why are you here? Why am I here?” He squinted in the hazy darkness. “Where is here?” His first thought was that maybe The Aegis had captured him, but this place was too creepy even for those demon-slaying
bastards.
“Can you sit?” Runa helped him up, too quickly, and his head swam. She pushed him back against a wall with more strength than
he’d expected. He didn’t resist, grateful for the cool, damp stone that eased his nausea.
“Answer my question,” he said, because he now suspected that this wasn’t a sexual hangover, which meant that there could be
no good reason to be chained up and feeling like shit with a woman who probably wanted to cause him some damage.
Runa snorted. “You’re still an arrogant ass.”
“Shock, huh?”
“Not really.” Her hand came down on his forehead, as though checking for fever, but as a human, she’d have no idea that his
normal body temperature ran high, and he pushed her away. Besides, her touch made his temp jack up even more, something he
definitely didn’t need.
“Well? Where are we?” They seemed to be in some sort of cell inside a larger enclosure, maybe a dungeon. Something dripped
incessantly, straw littered the floor, and candles burned in iron sconces on the stone walls.
Hell’s bells, he’d been cast in a cheesy horror movie.
“I don’t know where we are. We seem to have four captors … at least, four different demons have been down here to feed us.
They call themselves Keepers.”
Yeah, this was definitely bad. “Us?”
“I’ve been here a week. There are a few others in cells. The Keepers take out some and bring others in.”
For the first time, Shade looked down at himself, saw the heavy chains connected to his left wrist and ankle. Runa was secured
to the opposite wall with a manacle around her right ankle. She wore jeans and a tight, sleeveless sweater he’d have appreciated
if it weren’t for the fact that he was being held prisoner. She looked different than he remembered, too. When they’d dated—if
screwing like rabbits could be called dating—she’d been shy, needy, and easy to control, which had fed his need to dominate,
but had ultimately grown boring.
Beneath the conservative dresses and slacks she’d worn, she’d been a little round, soft, even. But now … holy hot. She’d put on muscle, and he swore she’d grown taller. Her well-worn jeans fit like a glove, and the black sweater stretched
across breasts that were definitely smaller than they had been, perfect for his hands. His mouth.
And this line of thinking was doing nothing but making him hard in an extremely inappropriate situation.
Then again, as a Seminus demon, he was pretty much always hard.
“When was I brought in?”
“Last night.”
He shook his head, trying to loosen the congestion that had jammed up his thoughts and memories. Last night … last night …
what had he been doing? Wait … he was wearing his paramedic uniform. He remembered going to work, checking in with Eidolon,
and getting into a scuffle with Wraith. Their newest doc, a human named Kynan, had broken it up by dousing them both with
a bag of saline.
Same old, same old at the one and only medical treatment facility for demons.
Shade and Skulk had gone out on a call, an injured vamp at a New York meat packing facility. They’d entered the building,
but from there, his memory took a leave of absence.
“Was anyone else brought in with me? A female?”
“The Umber demon?”
His heart thundered like a trip-hammer. “An Umber came in with me?” Runa nodded, and he didn’t stop to think about how she
even knew what an Umber demon was. “Where is she?”
“You sleeping with her?” Her sharp tone cracked in the dank air.
“She’s my sister, and I don’t have time for your jealousy.”
“Seems to me you have nothing but time,” Runa said, but her voice had softened. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what they did with
your sister. They took her away a little while ago.” She shifted away from him, and he realized she was at the very end of
her chain. “You don’t look like her.”
He didn’t offer an explanation for the fact that he and his sister were different species, and she didn’t ask. Instead, she
watched him as he eyed the bars in the door to their cell and wondered how sturdy they were. Then again, they could be paper
for all it mattered if he couldn’t break the chains that tethered him to the wall.
“Our best chance to escape won’t happen until they come for us,” she said.
“You said they feed you.”
“Yes, but they push the food and water in with a stick. They won’t come close.”
“Who are they?”
“I think … I think they’re what you demons refer to as Ghouls.”
Shade’s blood pressure bottomed out. “What? How do you know?”
“That’s what someone in another cell called them.”
Ghouls. Not the kind humans feared, the flesh-eaters of lore. No, Ghouls were what demons feared—well, second to Aegis slayers,
anyway. Ghoul was the name given to anyone—demon or human—who kidnapped vampires, shifters, and demons to harvest body parts for sale on
the underworld black market. The Ghouls had always been vicious, but their operation had taken an even more sinister turn
in the last couple of years. Now, instead of merely taking body parts, they did it while the victim was alive.
Last year, Shade and his brothers had crippled the operation. Eidolon’s mate, a half-breed named Tayla, had helped root out
humans who had been secretly working with the demons heading the organ-harvesting ring.
The demon population had enjoyed a few months of breathing room, and then suddenly, a couple of months ago, the disappearances
and mutilations had started up again, as bloody as ever.
A door at the end of the dark corridor burst open, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the dungeon. Shade braced for
a fight, but the intruders stopped before they reached the cell where he and Runa sat quietly. Waiting.
It wasn’t until the screams started that Shade truly realized just how much trouble he was in.
Runa Wagner sat on her little pile of straw, listening to the screams of some female as the Keepers dragged her away to what
would probably be a horrifying death.
Shade’s rugged, masculine features gave nothing away, such as how he felt about what was going on around them, and she carefully
schooled her own expression to match. Except there was no way she could make her eyes go as flat and cold as his nearly black
ones could, no way she could make her jaw do that grating, rigid thing that made him appear as if he was sharpening his teeth
on bones.
Menace radiated from him, as palpable as the danger surrounding them. He tugged on his chains, but discovered, as she had,
that they were designed to take more serious punishment than either of them could dish out.
He turned to her, and though his perusal of her body from toe to head was anything but sexual, she felt a stirring in places
she’d long thought dead. Dead, because he’d been the one to kill them.
“Have they hurt you?”
“Not since they brought me in.” She figured she sported a shiner from the whack across the face she’d taken, but other than
some scrapes and bruises, she was fine.
“You’re sure?” He shifted to his knees and grasped her calf with his free hand.
Runa recoiled, but he held her easily. “Don’t touch me.”
“Easy, sweetheart. I’m just doing a system check.” His voice was rough and resonant, sensual without even trying. “You used
to like it when I touched you.”
“Yeah, well, that was before I caught you in bed with two vampires. Oh, and before I found out you were a demon.”
“Only one was a vamp.”
She sucked in an angry breath. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
“I’m not the talkative type.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. “You deceived me, cheated on me, and you can’t even bother with an I’m sorry?”
He removed his hand and sat back on his hip, one leg tucked beneath him, the other cocked at the knee. He stared at the wall,
his shoulder-length black hair falling forward to conceal his expression. “I’m sorry you thought I was human. I never said
I was.”
“Call me crazy, but is that really something I should have thought to ask?” she spat. “I guess I should have, because I might
not have been so shocked to see a real-life vampire and a … whatever it was in your bed.”
“You weren’t supposed to come to my place that night. You said you were busy.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
And she’d done that, all right. She’d walked into his apartment, arms full of makings for a romantic meal.
As soon as she’d stepped through the door, she’d heard the noises coming from his bedroom. Stomach roiling with foreboding,
she’d crept down the hall to the open door.
Shade had been on his back, sideways on the bed, his legs dangling over the edge. A naked woman straddled him, rode him slowly,
her face buried in his throat. Runa must have made a sound, because he’d turned his head and looked at her with glowing golden
eyes. Crazily, the first thing that came to mind was that she’d never seen his eyes when they’d made love. He always closed
them, buried his face in her neck, or took her from behind.
“Join us?” he’d asked, and that’s when Runa had noticed the other woman kneeling on the floor, her face between his legs.
The woman on top of him raised her head. Blood ran down her chin, and when she smiled, her fangs flashed. A spiked leather
collar ringed her neck, the chain connected to it ending in Shade’s fist.
As Runa stood there in shock and horror, the woman bent, tongued his nipple, and picked up her pace. Shade moaned, gripped
the woman’s hips, and arched into her.
Runa had fled. Sobbing, she’d run—from one nightmare into another.
“You said you were busy,” Shade repeated, fixing her with a penetrating stare. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“So that made what you did okay? When did you start screwing around on me?”
He propped an elbow on his knee, somehow managing to look casual, as if he got captured by Ghouls all the time and maybe enjoyed
it a little. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to.”
“Oh, I want to know.”
“I don’t think you do.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I was in love with you.” Silence fell like an executioner’s ax. Oh, God. Had she just said that? Out loud? If the way the
blood rushed from his face was any indication, then yep, she’d opened her big yap and made a fool of herself. “Don’t worry,”
she said quickly, “I’m over it. Over you.”
He leaned forward. “Good. Do you know what I am? What I really am?”
“You’re a Seminus demon.” She glanced at the black markings that ran from the fingers of his right hand all the way up to
his neck, tattoos she’d thought were just that; tattoos. But she’d since learned that they were something he’d been born with,
a history of his paternity going back dozens of generations. The very top symbol, an unseeing eye just beneath his jaw, was
his personal mark, which would have appeared following his first maturation phase at the age of twenty.
“And?”
She smiled tightly. “I spent months researching your species after that night.” Not that much information had been available.
Oh, incubi had been thoroughly documented, but his particular breed, Seminus, was so rare that she’d unearthed only sketchy
details.
“Then you know my nature—”
“Your nature?” Anger flooded her, anger she thought she’d buried. “I get that you pretty much live in a state of perpetual
arousal. I get that your need for sex is all but uncontrollable. But you know what? I don’t give a crap. You tricked me into
having sex with you. Used your incubus tricks and pheromones. You lied to me, made me think you were human.” She could go
on, about how betrayed and sickened she’d been when she’d learned the truth, but ultimately, what had happened after she’d
fled his apartment was what mattered. “You ruined my life,” she snapped.
Well, she’d done that herself long before Shade had walked into her coffee shop, but he’d definitely made things worse.
“Shit,” he
Both of Shade’s hands were on her shoulders …
“I can smell your desire, Runa,” he murmured in a coaxing, seductive tone. The man was sex on legs, an overwhelming mass of
muscle, testosterone, and sensuality for which she had no defense. Nothing had prepared her for something like this. She doubted
any woman could be prepared for Shade. At least not mentally.
Her heart pounded frantically against her rib cage. The situation was rapidly tumbling out of control, and as his tongue swept
along her neck and his hands stroked her hips, she found she couldn’t care.
A low, sensual rumble came from deep in his throat as he kissed her. Not a proper kiss, but a lick across her lips and then
a deep, hot meeting of tongues that had her panting and clinging to his jacket like she would never let him go …
ACCLAIM FOR PLEASURE UNBOUND
“Very dark, very sexy …”
—Emma Holly, USA Today bestselling author
“Dangerously erotic, wonderfully satisfying … Ione knows how to make your heart race.”
—Cheyenne McCray, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Magic
“4 Stars! [Ione’s] hard-edged style infuses the story with darkness while taking it to sizzling heights.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine
“I loved it. It’s dark, gritty, funny, sexy, hawt as hell, with demons! This book is unique; Larissa’s storytelling is compelling
and raw. She is truly a gifted storyteller and you will fall madly in love with the characters and this new series.”
—Jaci Burton, national bestselling author
“5 Stars! Fascinatingly innovative … full of fervent encounters and shocking disclosures … compelling scenes and dynamic characters.
Never has the paranormal world been more intriguing. Pleasure Unbound will leave a lasting impact on the reader, as this unforgettable story will evoke emotions long after the last page is read.”
—
SingleTitles.com
“What a ride! Dark, sexy, and very intriguing, the book gripped me from start to finish—totally recommended.”
—Nalini Singh, author of Mine to Possess
“This is a dark, sexy, and adventurous story … has everything a paranormal romance book needs, and it will have a lot of readers
coming back for more.”
—
ParanormalRomance.org
“Fast-paced … never slows down … Romantic fantasy fans will appreciate the first Demonica tale.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Intense, engrossing, and titillating, Pleasure Unbound is a story not to be missed. I can’t wait for the next story.”
—
RRTErotic.com
“Ione has … created a very imaginative demonic tapestry as well as rich, multilayered characterizations … a heady blend that
I look forward to revisiting in her next installment.”
—
BookLoons.com
“Ione writes a passionate tale. She is able to blend two different worlds together seamlessly.”
—
NightOwlRomance.com
“What a great read! Very sexy … Tayla is an incredible heroine and the conflict and sexual attraction between her and Eidolon
just burns on the page.”
—Joely Sue Burkhart, author of Beautiful Death
“4½ Stars! Wow, wow, wow! This is one hot demon love story! The pages are riddled with action, sex, and danger. The intensity
is palpable. I was moved by this love story and will think about it for some time.”
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TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“Sexy, dark, and emotion-filled … Took me on a rip-roaring ride through every emotion I have … Go out and buy a copy today.”
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JoyfullyReviewed.com
The Aegis—Society of human warriors dedicated to protecting the world from evil. See: Guardians, Regent, Sigil.
Carceris—The jailers of the underworld. All demon species send representatives to serve terms in the Carceris. Carceris members are
responsible for apprehending demons accused of violating demon law, and for acting as guards in the Carceris prisons.
Council—All demon species and breeds are governed by a Council that makes laws and metes out punishment for individual members of
their species or breed.
Dresdiin—The demon equivalent of angels.
Guardians—Warriors for The Aegis, trained in combat techniques, weapons, magic. Upon induction into The Aegis, all Guardians are presented
with an enchanted piece of jewelry bearing the Aegis shield, which, among other things, allows for night vision and the ability
to see through demon invisibility enchantment.
Harrowgate—Vertical portals, invisible to humans, which demons use to travel between locations on Earth and Sheoul.
Infadre—A female of any demon species who has been impregnated by a Seminus demon.
Maleconcieo—Highest level of ruling demon boards, served by a representative from each species Council. The U.N. of the demon world.
Orgesu—A demon sex slave, often taken from breeds bred specifically for the purpose of providing sex.
Regent—Head(s) of local Aegis cells.
S’genesis—Final maturation cycle for Seminus demons. Occurs at one hundred years of age. A posts’genesis male is capable of procreation and possesses the ability to shapeshift into the male of any demon species.
Sheoul—Demon realm. Located deep in the bowels of the Earth, accessible only by Harrowgates.
Sheoulic—Universal demon language spoken by all, though many species speak their own language.
Sigil—Board of twelve humans known as Elders, who serve as the supreme leaders of The Aegis. Based in Berlin, they oversee all
Aegis cells worldwide.
Ter’taceo—Demons who can pass as human, either because their species is naturally human in appearance or because they can shapeshift
into human form.
Therionidryo—Term a were-beast uses for a person he or she bit and turned into another were-beast.
Therionidrysi—Any survivor of a were-beast attack. Term used to clarify the relationship between the sire and his therionidryo.
Ufelskala—A scoring system for demons, based on their degree of evil. All supernatural creatures and evil humans can be categorized
into the five Tiers, with the Fifth Tier composed of the worst of the wicked.
Classification of Demons, as listed by Baradoc, Umber demon, using the demon breed Seminus as an example:
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Demon
Family: Sexual Demon
Genus: Terrestrial
Species: Incubus
Breed: Seminus
Three Years Ago …
“He’s gone. Let’s call it.”
Shade ignored his partner and crunched another series of compressions into the shapeshifter’s chest. Beneath his palms, cracked
ribs grated with each downward stroke.
One–one thousand, crunch. Two–one thousand, crunch. Shade’s own heart was pounding, pumping enough blood per minute to fuel Underworld General’s lava-thermal generator, but
the patient’s heart didn’t so much as spark. Three–one thousand, crunch. Shade’s thigh muscles screamed with pain, cramping after Gods knew how long kneeling in blood next to the patient. Four–one
thousand, crunch. A tingle spread down the dermoire that encased his arm from his right shoulder to his hand as he used his specialized gift to force the patient’s heart to
beat.
“Shade. Stop.” Skulk, Shade’s half-sister and paramedic partner, put a dainty gray hand on his arm. “We did all we could.”
Knowing Skulk was right didn’t make giving up any easier, and Shade didn’t have enough breath left in his lungs to curse about
it. Panting, he ceased CPR and sat back on his heels on the filth-strewn floor of the abandoned brewery. His arms trembled
from exertion, and his stethoscope hung heavily around his neck.
He ground his teeth as he looked into the glassy eyes of his deceased patient. The vic was just a kid. Fourteen, maybe. He’d
probably only recently learned how to shift out of his human form to whatever species his family belonged to. The telltale
birthmark of a true shifter, a red, star-shaped mole behind the left ear, had barely formed.
“This is bullshit,” Shade muttered, standing. Nearby, the two False Angels who had called in the report to the hospital stood,
their sweet, virginal appearances belied by the sinister glint in their eyes.
“You didn’t see who dropped him here?” he asked.
One of the angel impostors shook her head, her golden hair swishing against her white gown. “He was just lying there. Peaceful.”
“He looked peaceful with half his organs missing?”
The other False Angel smiled. “Touchy, touchy.” She trailed her fingers suggestively along the low-cut neckline of the gown
no true angel would wear. “How about we help you relax, incubus?”
“Yes,” the other one purred. “I’ve always loved a man in uniform.”
The first False Angel nodded. “Veragoth does so enjoy haunting police stations.”
“Mmm …” The female called Veragoth twirled a strand of hair around a finger and swept her hungry gaze from Shade’s face to
his feet. “But I’m starting to think I should be hanging out with paramedics.”
Yeah, his black, BDU-style medic uniform made all the females hot even when he wasn’t casting off the fuck-me pheromones that
came standard issue for Seminus demons. But for once, Shade didn’t feel like getting naked with two beautiful females. He
was exhausted, angry, and damned sick of the newest rash of demon mutilations. Worse, no one gave a rat’s ass that someone
was chopping up demons for their parts and selling them on the underworld black market. It had been going on since time began,
but few cared.
Shade did.
He was the asshole who got called to scenes where he rarely made a difference in whether or not the vic died. Most were too
far gone. Or dead.
Skulk holstered her radio and dug through the jump bag for a fresh pair of gloves. “Since shifters don’t disintegrate aboveground,
Doc E wants the body. Let’s scoop it up. We’re done here.”
We’re done here. Too many calls ended like that lately.
Cursing, Shade helped Skulk load the kid’s body onto a stretcher and wheel it to the rig. The black ambulance, one of two
servicing Underworld General Hospital, was protected by a spell that rendered it unnoticeable to humans, but here, the cloak
wasn’t needed. They were in a quiet part of New York City, a formerly industrialized area that had been abandoned during Prohibition
and was only now starting to build up again as a residential neighborhood.
“Let’s roll,” Shade said, and slammed shut the rig’s rear doors.
It was Skulk’s turn to drive, so Shade climbed into the passenger seat, popped a stick of gum into his mouth, and concentrated
on filling out the run sheet.
Patient’s chief complaint? Deadness due to organ removal.
Patient’s response to treatment? Still fucking dead.
“Sonofabitch.” Shade pinged the pen at the dash. “This sucks—” He cut off, suddenly shaken by a rumble deep inside him, an
earthquake in his very soul. Pain rolled up from the epicenter, spreading through his body until the tsunami of agony slammed
him backward in his seat.
“Shade? What is it? Shade?” Skulk shook his shoulder, but he barely noticed. He threw open the door, thankful they hadn’t taken off yet, and fell from
the vehicle.
His knees hit the pavement with a crack he heard through the roar of blood in his ears. Doubled over, he wrapped his arms
around his gut. Blackness engulfed his vision, his brain. One of his brothers was dead. Who? Gods, who?
He reached out with his mind to connect with Wraith, the brother who couldn’t be more his opposite, but with whom Shade had
a unique connection. Nothing. He couldn’t feel Wraith at all. Struggling for each breath, he felt for the weaker connection
with Eidolon, but again, nothing. He couldn’t sense Roag, either.
In the background, he heard Skulk talking on her cell phone with Solice, the on-duty triage nurse at the hospital. “Where
are Shade’s brothers? I need to know. Now!”
“Skulk …” he gasped.
She knelt next to him. “Hold on.” She listened into the phone for a moment. “Okay, Solice says Roag went to Brimstone. She’s
all mad because he wouldn’t take her with him, but she’s getting ready to head there now. She doesn’t know where E and Wraith
are. They refused to go with Roag.”
Not a shock. No Seminus in his right mind would step inside a demon pub where female lust could hold you prisoner for days,
or worse, send you to your death at the claw-end of a jealous male. But then, Roag had never been in his right mind.
Shade groaned, swallowed sickly. Gradually, a pinpoint of light pierced the darkness. Wraith. He could feel Wraith’s life
force. Thank the gods. Relief made his shoulders sag, but only for a second. He couldn’t sense Eidolon. Blindly, he reached
out with his hand as though he could touch his brother. Skulk caught his arm, twined her fingers through his.
“Breathe, Paleshadow,” she whispered, using the childhood nickname she’d given him over eighty years ago. “We’ll get through
this.”
Not if E was dead. Shit, he was the brother who kept them all level, who kept Roag in line and Wraith alive.
Awareness sifted through him. Eidolon. He was safe.
The pain faded, but a gnawing, aching emptiness drilled one more hole into Shade’s soul. Seminus demons were connected to
all their brothers, and when one died, he took a chunk of his surviving siblings with him. Thirty-seven deaths later, Shade
felt like a colander.
“Who was it?” Skulk asked softly.
“Roag.” He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “It was Roag.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I,” he said, but it was an automatic response. As much as he hated to admit it, the world was now a better place.
When walking through the “valley of shadows,” remember, a shadow is cast by a Light.
—Austin O’Malley
It had been at least two decades since Shade had awakened on a strange floor, hung over and without a clue to his whereabouts.
The heavy weight of a manacle around his wrist and the sound of a rattling chain made him smile. It had been even longer since
he’d been in this situation and chained up.
Cool.
Sure, he preferred the females to be the ones in chains instead of him, but he’d roll with it.
“Shade.”
The female voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it through the ringing in his ears. He couldn’t open his eyes, either.
“Shade. Wake up.” A hand shook his shoulder, not gently, as he’d expect a female to do after a spending a night with him.
Hell, she should be waking him with her mouth on his— “Shade, damn you, wake up!”
Groaning, he rolled onto his back, wincing at the dull ache pounding against the back of his skull. “I’m awake, baby. I’m
awake. Climb on. I’ll catch up.”
“Thanks, I’ll pass. But call me baby again and I’ll rip your lips off.”
Shade peeled his eyes open. Blinked at the blurry face peering down at him. Blinked again.
“Runa?”
“You remember my name? Pardon me while I pass out from shock.”
The sarcasm wasn’t necessary, but yeah, he remembered her name. She’d been the hottest human he’d ever brought to his bed.
Long, caramel brown hair that felt like the softest silk on his chest, abs, thighs, as she kissed her way down his body. Full,
sensual lips that had curved into wicked smiles worthy of his wildest dreams, pale champagne eyes that complemented smooth,
golden skin that had melted like brown sugar under his tongue.
But he hadn’t seen her in nearly a year. Not since the night she ran away and fell off the face of the earth.
“Why are you here? Why am I here?” He squinted in the hazy darkness. “Where is here?” His first thought was that maybe The Aegis had captured him, but this place was too creepy even for those demon-slaying
bastards.
“Can you sit?” Runa helped him up, too quickly, and his head swam. She pushed him back against a wall with more strength than
he’d expected. He didn’t resist, grateful for the cool, damp stone that eased his nausea.
“Answer my question,” he said, because he now suspected that this wasn’t a sexual hangover, which meant that there could be
no good reason to be chained up and feeling like shit with a woman who probably wanted to cause him some damage.
Runa snorted. “You’re still an arrogant ass.”
“Shock, huh?”
“Not really.” Her hand came down on his forehead, as though checking for fever, but as a human, she’d have no idea that his
normal body temperature ran high, and he pushed her away. Besides, her touch made his temp jack up even more, something he
definitely didn’t need.
“Well? Where are we?” They seemed to be in some sort of cell inside a larger enclosure, maybe a dungeon. Something dripped
incessantly, straw littered the floor, and candles burned in iron sconces on the stone walls.
Hell’s bells, he’d been cast in a cheesy horror movie.
“I don’t know where we are. We seem to have four captors … at least, four different demons have been down here to feed us.
They call themselves Keepers.”
Yeah, this was definitely bad. “Us?”
“I’ve been here a week. There are a few others in cells. The Keepers take out some and bring others in.”
For the first time, Shade looked down at himself, saw the heavy chains connected to his left wrist and ankle. Runa was secured
to the opposite wall with a manacle around her right ankle. She wore jeans and a tight, sleeveless sweater he’d have appreciated
if it weren’t for the fact that he was being held prisoner. She looked different than he remembered, too. When they’d dated—if
screwing like rabbits could be called dating—she’d been shy, needy, and easy to control, which had fed his need to dominate,
but had ultimately grown boring.
Beneath the conservative dresses and slacks she’d worn, she’d been a little round, soft, even. But now … holy hot. She’d put on muscle, and he swore she’d grown taller. Her well-worn jeans fit like a glove, and the black sweater stretched
across breasts that were definitely smaller than they had been, perfect for his hands. His mouth.
And this line of thinking was doing nothing but making him hard in an extremely inappropriate situation.
Then again, as a Seminus demon, he was pretty much always hard.
“When was I brought in?”
“Last night.”
He shook his head, trying to loosen the congestion that had jammed up his thoughts and memories. Last night … last night …
what had he been doing? Wait … he was wearing his paramedic uniform. He remembered going to work, checking in with Eidolon,
and getting into a scuffle with Wraith. Their newest doc, a human named Kynan, had broken it up by dousing them both with
a bag of saline.
Same old, same old at the one and only medical treatment facility for demons.
Shade and Skulk had gone out on a call, an injured vamp at a New York meat packing facility. They’d entered the building,
but from there, his memory took a leave of absence.
“Was anyone else brought in with me? A female?”
“The Umber demon?”
His heart thundered like a trip-hammer. “An Umber came in with me?” Runa nodded, and he didn’t stop to think about how she
even knew what an Umber demon was. “Where is she?”
“You sleeping with her?” Her sharp tone cracked in the dank air.
“She’s my sister, and I don’t have time for your jealousy.”
“Seems to me you have nothing but time,” Runa said, but her voice had softened. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what they did with
your sister. They took her away a little while ago.” She shifted away from him, and he realized she was at the very end of
her chain. “You don’t look like her.”
He didn’t offer an explanation for the fact that he and his sister were different species, and she didn’t ask. Instead, she
watched him as he eyed the bars in the door to their cell and wondered how sturdy they were. Then again, they could be paper
for all it mattered if he couldn’t break the chains that tethered him to the wall.
“Our best chance to escape won’t happen until they come for us,” she said.
“You said they feed you.”
“Yes, but they push the food and water in with a stick. They won’t come close.”
“Who are they?”
“I think … I think they’re what you demons refer to as Ghouls.”
Shade’s blood pressure bottomed out. “What? How do you know?”
“That’s what someone in another cell called them.”
Ghouls. Not the kind humans feared, the flesh-eaters of lore. No, Ghouls were what demons feared—well, second to Aegis slayers,
anyway. Ghoul was the name given to anyone—demon or human—who kidnapped vampires, shifters, and demons to harvest body parts for sale on
the underworld black market. The Ghouls had always been vicious, but their operation had taken an even more sinister turn
in the last couple of years. Now, instead of merely taking body parts, they did it while the victim was alive.
Last year, Shade and his brothers had crippled the operation. Eidolon’s mate, a half-breed named Tayla, had helped root out
humans who had been secretly working with the demons heading the organ-harvesting ring.
The demon population had enjoyed a few months of breathing room, and then suddenly, a couple of months ago, the disappearances
and mutilations had started up again, as bloody as ever.
A door at the end of the dark corridor burst open, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the dungeon. Shade braced for
a fight, but the intruders stopped before they reached the cell where he and Runa sat quietly. Waiting.
It wasn’t until the screams started that Shade truly realized just how much trouble he was in.
Runa Wagner sat on her little pile of straw, listening to the screams of some female as the Keepers dragged her away to what
would probably be a horrifying death.
Shade’s rugged, masculine features gave nothing away, such as how he felt about what was going on around them, and she carefully
schooled her own expression to match. Except there was no way she could make her eyes go as flat and cold as his nearly black
ones could, no way she could make her jaw do that grating, rigid thing that made him appear as if he was sharpening his teeth
on bones.
Menace radiated from him, as palpable as the danger surrounding them. He tugged on his chains, but discovered, as she had,
that they were designed to take more serious punishment than either of them could dish out.
He turned to her, and though his perusal of her body from toe to head was anything but sexual, she felt a stirring in places
she’d long thought dead. Dead, because he’d been the one to kill them.
“Have they hurt you?”
“Not since they brought me in.” She figured she sported a shiner from the whack across the face she’d taken, but other than
some scrapes and bruises, she was fine.
“You’re sure?” He shifted to his knees and grasped her calf with his free hand.
Runa recoiled, but he held her easily. “Don’t touch me.”
“Easy, sweetheart. I’m just doing a system check.” His voice was rough and resonant, sensual without even trying. “You used
to like it when I touched you.”
“Yeah, well, that was before I caught you in bed with two vampires. Oh, and before I found out you were a demon.”
“Only one was a vamp.”
She sucked in an angry breath. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
“I’m not the talkative type.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. “You deceived me, cheated on me, and you can’t even bother with an I’m sorry?”
He removed his hand and sat back on his hip, one leg tucked beneath him, the other cocked at the knee. He stared at the wall,
his shoulder-length black hair falling forward to conceal his expression. “I’m sorry you thought I was human. I never said
I was.”
“Call me crazy, but is that really something I should have thought to ask?” she spat. “I guess I should have, because I might
not have been so shocked to see a real-life vampire and a … whatever it was in your bed.”
“You weren’t supposed to come to my place that night. You said you were busy.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
And she’d done that, all right. She’d walked into his apartment, arms full of makings for a romantic meal.
As soon as she’d stepped through the door, she’d heard the noises coming from his bedroom. Stomach roiling with foreboding,
she’d crept down the hall to the open door.
Shade had been on his back, sideways on the bed, his legs dangling over the edge. A naked woman straddled him, rode him slowly,
her face buried in his throat. Runa must have made a sound, because he’d turned his head and looked at her with glowing golden
eyes. Crazily, the first thing that came to mind was that she’d never seen his eyes when they’d made love. He always closed
them, buried his face in her neck, or took her from behind.
“Join us?” he’d asked, and that’s when Runa had noticed the other woman kneeling on the floor, her face between his legs.
The woman on top of him raised her head. Blood ran down her chin, and when she smiled, her fangs flashed. A spiked leather
collar ringed her neck, the chain connected to it ending in Shade’s fist.
As Runa stood there in shock and horror, the woman bent, tongued his nipple, and picked up her pace. Shade moaned, gripped
the woman’s hips, and arched into her.
Runa had fled. Sobbing, she’d run—from one nightmare into another.
“You said you were busy,” Shade repeated, fixing her with a penetrating stare. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“So that made what you did okay? When did you start screwing around on me?”
He propped an elbow on his knee, somehow managing to look casual, as if he got captured by Ghouls all the time and maybe enjoyed
it a little. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to.”
“Oh, I want to know.”
“I don’t think you do.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I was in love with you.” Silence fell like an executioner’s ax. Oh, God. Had she just said that? Out loud? If the way the
blood rushed from his face was any indication, then yep, she’d opened her big yap and made a fool of herself. “Don’t worry,”
she said quickly, “I’m over it. Over you.”
He leaned forward. “Good. Do you know what I am? What I really am?”
“You’re a Seminus demon.” She glanced at the black markings that ran from the fingers of his right hand all the way up to
his neck, tattoos she’d thought were just that; tattoos. But she’d since learned that they were something he’d been born with,
a history of his paternity going back dozens of generations. The very top symbol, an unseeing eye just beneath his jaw, was
his personal mark, which would have appeared following his first maturation phase at the age of twenty.
“And?”
She smiled tightly. “I spent months researching your species after that night.” Not that much information had been available.
Oh, incubi had been thoroughly documented, but his particular breed, Seminus, was so rare that she’d unearthed only sketchy
details.
“Then you know my nature—”
“Your nature?” Anger flooded her, anger she thought she’d buried. “I get that you pretty much live in a state of perpetual
arousal. I get that your need for sex is all but uncontrollable. But you know what? I don’t give a crap. You tricked me into
having sex with you. Used your incubus tricks and pheromones. You lied to me, made me think you were human.” She could go
on, about how betrayed and sickened she’d been when she’d learned the truth, but ultimately, what had happened after she’d
fled his apartment was what mattered. “You ruined my life,” she snapped.
Well, she’d done that herself long before Shade had walked into her coffee shop, but he’d definitely made things worse.
“Shit,” he
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