A Demon's Dark Embrace: An Elite Guards Novel by Amelia Hutchins Page A

bond to her. She could kill him easily, but that would be something he’d deal with when it happened.
    “She’s alive, that’s Synthia!” Adam exclaimed, and Ristan nodded in acknowledgment.
    Yes, she was alive. She would find out pretty fast that he was the one who had cut her open on that table. Danu had taken another person from him, and he wondered if it had to do with her sick, twisted jealousy.
    “Let’s go shopping,” Ristan said softly, his eyes holding Adam’s green ones. “She’ll need a lot of things for triplets.”

Chapter Ten
    Ristan sat with Alden in the study carrel; scrolls, books, and files lay unnoticed on the table and desk. A half-drunk bottle of eighteen-year-old Glenmorangie was on the table between them. His telling of the birth was sitting heavily on them both. He’d explained what had happened and what was expected traditionally as the days passed for Synthia. The presentation of the babes and the Fae traditions were of great interest to the old man.
    Alden was always a sponge for anything Ristan dished out, detail-wise, about Faery. It had been a few days since he’d been to the Guild since life in Faery had taken on an ominous turn and created different demands from them all. He explained what had happened to the Tree of Life, and what the tree meant for his world, as well as the impact this would have on the babies if a cure wasn’t found in time, and Alden had offered suggestions.
    “He lets her do a lot of things that your own father wouldn’t have, doesn’t he?” Alden asked as they poured more liquor into crystal glasses. Ristan thought for a moment as to what he could tell Alden at this time. Finding out that Synthia was really the daughter of the Goddess might be a bit much for Alden so he stayed as close to the truth as possible.
    “I wouldn’t say that. The circumstances are different in their dynamic than it was for my father, but he does test her a lot. He’s seeing if she can stand up to the Unseelie while seeing how they accept her. He’s smart, because if she didn’t have balls, they’d make her a target. He knows that, so he’s showing them that she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
    “She is that,” he said as he moved away and started straightening the room for the night. “She was my biggest challenge, and my fiercest warrior, so I don’t doubt that Ryder is approving of her now. She’ll never be an easy target, though. The girl has a sense of when she’s in danger. She’s a lot like my sister was, even though they don’t share a shred of DNA,” he said quietly. A knock on the door drew their attention.
    “Are you retiring?” Olivia asked from the doorway, her eyes on Alden.
    “I am,” he said as he recorked the bottle of Glenmorangie, stowed it in one of the cabinets and picked up a handful of files.
    “Mind if I speak to Justin on a few things I found?” she asked, and Ristan watched her.
    What the hell was she playing at? He watched Alden as he nodded and said his goodnights before Olivia closed the door and moved deeper into the room. She looked at anything but him for a few moments, and then she turned and smiled at him.
    “You need something, cher ?” he asked
    “Play with me, Demon,” she whispered, and smiled coyly as she lifted up her skirt, showing off her red curls.
    His eyes lowered, and he shook his head. “She’s an innocent,” he mumbled, his throat closing with the need to bury himself deep inside the tight pink delicate flesh.
    “She is. The poor girl’s never even had an orgasm. Why don’t we use her, and I’ll let her keep the memory of you giving her one?” Danu offered as she moved, using Olivia’s body, and grabbed Ristan’s hand, bringing it up to stroke the sweet flesh between her legs. Danu unbuttoned Olivia’s blouse and let it slide off her shoulders. Her lacy bra followed it a moment later.
    “Don’t do this to her,” he whispered as he lifted his eyes and fought against the unfurling need that