Beast of Fire -- a Demon Hunting Sexy Romance Read Online Free

breath, anger curling in her chest as she whirled on him. If she could switch places with Lucan, she would, but it was not that simple. Not now that she knew Adrian didn’t intend her, or Lucan, for hell’s serpent pits, things had changed. How could she not assume the pits were part of this agreement Lucan made? It was an assumption that was easy to make, since that was what her time as captive to the Guardians had amounted to. But no. That was not his intention at all. He wanted to use them for his own evils. Her fire had done enough evil. She would not let Adrian control her, or her fire, to create more evil. “I keep my soul,” she countered, backing several steps away from him.  
    “Give me your soul and I will ensure he feels no more pain.” His lips twitched in amusement. “You do remember the pain the Guardians can cause their captives. I know you do.”  
    Her heart squeezed. She did remember. The Guardians had conjured up images of snakes in her mind, snakes crawling all over her. She’d almost gone insane before Lucan saved her, before he'd negotiated to take her place. Thankfully, she’d later learned from the Knights that Lucan had refused to give up his soul, which meant there was hope that he might one day escape the enslavement.   And she knew she had to be his hope, because she owed him that for saving her. “There has to be something else you want.”
      “There is,” he said, disappearing again and reappearing directly in front of her. His hands clamped down on her arms, his eyes latching onto hers in a steely cold grip. “But you aren’t ready to give it to me. You will be, though. You will be very soon.”  
    They disappeared into the air, fire flaring in their wake.  
    In mere moments, solid ground slid beneath her feet and Kresley gasped as she found herself in the cramped hallway outside a dingy old apartment, forcibly transported there by Adrian. She jerked away from Adrian, thankful at least that she didn’t appear to be in hell. She hoped.
    “Where are we?”  
    He inclined his chin at the door marked "227." A glance told her it was one of only a few on that level. “You wished to find Lucan. I have brought you to him.”  
    Her stomach plummeted and she darted forward. "What have you done to him?” She didn’t wait for a reply, didn’t expect one. Her hand turned the doorknob, and she shoved open the wooden panel.
    Lucan lay on the floor unconscious, his body jerking, his face contorted in a nightmare. Kresley fell to her knees by his side. She stroked his cheek, forgetting they were virtual strangers. Guilt curled in her stomach. This was because of her. She had done this to him.  
    “Lucan. Lucan.” He curled up next to her, wrapped his body around her, his arm circling her waist, head in her lap. Memories rushed over her, memories of her own torture under the control of the Guardians. She understood what he was feeling, understood how completely the Guardians control their captive's mind, especially during sleep.  
    Lucan’s arm jerked and she stroked his face again, whispered in his ear. “Hold on, Lucan,” she whispered, thinking about the insanity she’d felt closing in on her during those hallucinations, the desire to retreat into emptiness and escape the pain. “Please, hold on.”  
    Anger coiled in her gut. “Show yourselves,” Kresley screamed out, demanding the Guardians appear. She’d faced them before, the twin Demons capable of appearing in three different forms–human, reptile, or, like right now, as the damn bracelets on Lucan’s wrists, binding his will. Her hand moved to one of the bracelets. Her fingers sizzled with the touch; she yanked them away. “Face me now, and fight me for his freedom!”
    Adrian appeared above her, staring down at her with satisfaction in his eyes. “The Guardians do as I bid them to do. His pain stops when I say it stops.”
    Hatred filled her as she had never known it before. Fear over who, and what, Adrian