entire time."
"So you killed him and turned him into a tattoo?" Lexi asked.
He gave her a sharp look. "I too live by a code of ethics. No, I didn't kill him. I freed him from the dimension so he could regain his strength."
"Why? If you were just going to try to kill him, why help him get stronger?"
"Destroying an enemy too weak to fight is a slaughter-there's no honor in that."
She felt the conviction behind his words, appreciating for the first time what a man of conviction and morals he really was.
"What happened?"
"The extra year had made him too weak to travel home. Because all demons feed off the energy of living magic, I allowed him to feed off me to regain his strength. I knew he wouldn't try to kill me by taking all my energy, because there would be no honor in it for him. It was a slow process, and as time passed, we forgot our differences and talked. I guess we became friends. I learned that he was in that other dimension because he was trying to get home. So, in the end, instead of fighting him, I helped him get home. Only it turned out there was no home."
Darius took a deep breath as if remembering that time. "Sometime while he and I had been fighting, another demon race came along and destroyed his home dimension, leaving Fuhramek the last of his kind. I took him back home with me, but he wasn't comfortable being among the gods and goddesses of Ravenscroft. He was going to leave, and that's when we realized the harm I had done by allowing him to feed off my energy. Instead of restoring him back to health, I'd given him a life-long addiction to my immortal life force. Though he tried, he could no longer exist on his own. After a while, he started taking the form of one of my tattoos just so he could stay in contact with me."
Lexi stared at the tattoo. "Doesn't it hurt to have something that is death magic fused to your body?"
Darius smiled. "After all these centuries, I don't think there's much death magic left to him."
She mentally shook her head. It was just so different from anything she was used to. She dragged her attention away from his mouth and moved on to the coil across his stomach. "What about this? This is the rope you used on Paddy, isn't it?"
"Yes. The magic behind it allows it to assume and retain the shape I want it to, despite what others try to do to it."
"And this one?"
One by one, she touched the tattoos on his chest, listening to the stories behind their origin, though she was only listening with half a mind. The rest of her thoughts were focused on the feel of his skin, his scent and the sheer magnetism of the man himself.
"What about these?" she asked, touching the lightning bolts on his shoulder, unknowingly leaning toward him as he faced her on the couch.
His gaze met hers, and she could barely focus on his answer. "Those are a gift from the sun god, Re. They're some of his fire bolts."
Aware of just how close they were sitting, she wet her lips and tried to refocus her thoughts on the tattoos. "What about this one?"
When she touched the golden serpent over his chest, he shivered.
"It's new," he whispered, leaning forward to close the small space between them. "And I don't want to talk about tattoos anymore."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Darius's lips felt moist and warm as they captured hers. Instantly the hunger inside her raged out of control and she clutched at him, returning his kiss with a nearly frenzied intensity.
He grabbed her to him, and she ran her hands along his broad shoulders before embracing him.
"You taste so good." Darius's voice sounded husky. He let go of her long enough to reach between them and started working at the buttons on her shirt. The backs of his hands brushed against her aching breasts while he worked, and Lexi felt her nipples harden in response.
She couldn't stop a small groan from escaping, and it seemed all the encouragement he needed. Grabbing the front edges of her shirt, he ripped it open. Immediately she felt the cool air caress her
"So you killed him and turned him into a tattoo?" Lexi asked.
He gave her a sharp look. "I too live by a code of ethics. No, I didn't kill him. I freed him from the dimension so he could regain his strength."
"Why? If you were just going to try to kill him, why help him get stronger?"
"Destroying an enemy too weak to fight is a slaughter-there's no honor in that."
She felt the conviction behind his words, appreciating for the first time what a man of conviction and morals he really was.
"What happened?"
"The extra year had made him too weak to travel home. Because all demons feed off the energy of living magic, I allowed him to feed off me to regain his strength. I knew he wouldn't try to kill me by taking all my energy, because there would be no honor in it for him. It was a slow process, and as time passed, we forgot our differences and talked. I guess we became friends. I learned that he was in that other dimension because he was trying to get home. So, in the end, instead of fighting him, I helped him get home. Only it turned out there was no home."
Darius took a deep breath as if remembering that time. "Sometime while he and I had been fighting, another demon race came along and destroyed his home dimension, leaving Fuhramek the last of his kind. I took him back home with me, but he wasn't comfortable being among the gods and goddesses of Ravenscroft. He was going to leave, and that's when we realized the harm I had done by allowing him to feed off my energy. Instead of restoring him back to health, I'd given him a life-long addiction to my immortal life force. Though he tried, he could no longer exist on his own. After a while, he started taking the form of one of my tattoos just so he could stay in contact with me."
Lexi stared at the tattoo. "Doesn't it hurt to have something that is death magic fused to your body?"
Darius smiled. "After all these centuries, I don't think there's much death magic left to him."
She mentally shook her head. It was just so different from anything she was used to. She dragged her attention away from his mouth and moved on to the coil across his stomach. "What about this? This is the rope you used on Paddy, isn't it?"
"Yes. The magic behind it allows it to assume and retain the shape I want it to, despite what others try to do to it."
"And this one?"
One by one, she touched the tattoos on his chest, listening to the stories behind their origin, though she was only listening with half a mind. The rest of her thoughts were focused on the feel of his skin, his scent and the sheer magnetism of the man himself.
"What about these?" she asked, touching the lightning bolts on his shoulder, unknowingly leaning toward him as he faced her on the couch.
His gaze met hers, and she could barely focus on his answer. "Those are a gift from the sun god, Re. They're some of his fire bolts."
Aware of just how close they were sitting, she wet her lips and tried to refocus her thoughts on the tattoos. "What about this one?"
When she touched the golden serpent over his chest, he shivered.
"It's new," he whispered, leaning forward to close the small space between them. "And I don't want to talk about tattoos anymore."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Darius's lips felt moist and warm as they captured hers. Instantly the hunger inside her raged out of control and she clutched at him, returning his kiss with a nearly frenzied intensity.
He grabbed her to him, and she ran her hands along his broad shoulders before embracing him.
"You taste so good." Darius's voice sounded husky. He let go of her long enough to reach between them and started working at the buttons on her shirt. The backs of his hands brushed against her aching breasts while he worked, and Lexi felt her nipples harden in response.
She couldn't stop a small groan from escaping, and it seemed all the encouragement he needed. Grabbing the front edges of her shirt, he ripped it open. Immediately she felt the cool air caress her
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