One glance at Xu Ling's dirty, frightened features, and he had wanted to kill someone. He had barely leashed the urge, telling himself she would soon be lying in his bed, naked, open to him and begging for his mercy to satisfy her.
And while that had calmed him, it had not calmed the demon inside him , it had only managed to incite it further.
Now Violence needed an outlet for its growing rage. For only then would Jiang Lang be able to touch Xu Ling without fear of snapping that fragile little body.
Body... Xu Ling... two words sure we're enough to arouse him when used in the same sentence.
Luminous as she was, she was every fantasy he had ever had come to life, and he planned to satisfy himself inside her, over and over again, taking her in every position imaginable and even some that weren't.
Soon she would want that too.
Desire had glistened in her eyes when she had looked at him, and she had constantly reached for him, clearly hoping for some sort of physical contact. He had even smelled her arousal, a perfume of passion, innocence, and that delectable honey. He frightened her, though, and that fear overrode her desire.
You should be happy that Bait fears you.
Should, he inwardly scoffed. How he was coming to hate that word.
Was she Bait, though?
No way!
When he had mentioned the four humans who had followed her, she had appeared genuinely surprised. Horrified by his actions, true, but most women were horrified by war and carnage.
More perplexing still, she had freely admitted to her knowledge of the demons. He hadn't tortured her for the information. Why would a Bait like her willingly do such a thing? Why not pretend she thought he was human to lower his defenses?
And so far, she had not tried to lead him from the fortress, nor had she tried to let anyone inside. But then, she hadn't yet had the freedom to do so, he reminded himself. And she wouldn't.
What confused him most of all, however, was that she had tried to save him from his friends. That, he couldn't rationalize away. Saving someone she had meant to harm was ridiculous. She could have been harmed herself.
She was a walking contradiction to his black-and-white world.
Tomorrow he would deal with her true reasons for being here. Today, well, today was meant for other things.
His boots clicked against the floor, the sound echoing from the walls. The entertainment room loomed ahead, and he quickened his step. The spirit within him purred in anticipation as his bones ached for a fight.
When he stood in the wide expanse of the doorway, he saw popcorn scattered over the floor and ground into the crimson rug. His trained eye spotted several splotches of dried blood. Obviously, Bai Long had been here. For once, the TV was switched off. Balls littered the surface of the pool table, as if someone had stopped a game midway through.
But no sign of the men, not even Li Fan his best friend. Where had everyone gone?
Jiang Lang stormed through the fortress, bypassing the luxuries they had acquired over the years. The hot tub, the sauna, the gym, the makeshift basketball court. None of that would help him.
He reached Feng Yue's room first and burst inside without knocking. The black silk-covered bed was rumpled but empty.
The inflatable dolls Feng Yue had purchased were sprawled in every direction, a rapt but useless audience. Whips, chains, and a variety of sex toys Jiang Lang couldn't identify lined the walls. They weren't in use, which meant at least Feng Yue should be inside the fortress. Somewhere.
Shaking his head, Jiang Lang stalked down the hall.
Fight.
Fight.
Fight.
He tried to ignore the demon's voice as he entered Bai Long's room. There was no Bai Long, and no sexual toys. Instead, there were weapons. All kinds of weapons. Guns, knives, throwing stars. There was a blue wrestling mat on the floor with more dried blood splattered over it. There was a punching bag, a few dumbbells. Several holes marred the walls, as if someone had punched the stone until it crumbled into sand.
He would have to patch those up later.
Fight, fight, fight.
Li Fan's room was locked, and no one answered when he knocked. and Luo Chen's rooms were empty. Frustration weighed on Jiang Lang. Black spots were beginning to wink in and out of his line of vision.
Fight fight fight.
He craved to have Xu Ling, but he could not have her until the urge for violence was tamped - and that could not happen until he found the men.
All of which only made him angrier. He strode back into the hall, his biceps flexed, the blood rushing through them blistering hot.
Fightfightfight!
"Where are you?" he shouted. He punched the wall once, twice, leaving a groove identical to the ones he had seen in Bai long's room. His knuckles throbbed, but it was a good pain, a pain that made the spirit rumble happily.
Jiang Lang stopped and punched the wall again.
He didn't have a lot of time. Midnight would come again. Death would claim him. Before that happened, he had to lose himself in Xu Ling. Had to know every inch of her body, for the torment of not knowing was far worse than burning in hell each night.
What if the woman doesn't truly desire you? the demon taunted. What if she's pretending to want you so you'll give her information? What if she's thinking of another man every time you're near, and her arousal is for him?
Roaring, Jiang Lang once more slammed his fist into the wall.
More of the stone cracked and crumbled. She wanted him. She did.
Do not react.
Do not listen to the spirit.
Violence shut its mouth, liking his vehemence, his sense of possession.
"What are you doing, messing up the walls rather than fixing them?"
Jiang Lang heard the familiar voice and spun. Blood dripped from his hands, warm and invigorating.
Yan Lie stood at the end of the hallway. Light streamed in from the windows, dancing over the man's tough frame. One beam hit directly atop his dark hair, a bright crown that illuminated his decorated skin.
As if it had never been stroked, never been eased, Violence howled to full life. Jiang Lang pointed at his friend and scowled. "You left her down there."
"So?" The black demon tattooed on Yan Lie's neck seemed to blink its red-rimmed eyes, awakening from a deep slumber. Saliva seemed to drip from its sharp-toothed mouth. "Did she talk?"
"About what?"
"Her reasons for being here."
"No."
"Let me ask her, then."
"No!" She was frightened enough. He instantly saw an image of Xu Ling as she had looked inside that cell flashed through Jiang Lang's mind.
Her skin had been paler than the snow outside, the only color streaks of black-brown dirt. She had been trembling. When that woman trembled, it should be from passion, not fear.
Fight. Fight. Fight! chanted the demon again.
"Where is she now?" Yan Lie demanded.
"None of your concern. But someone is going to pay for the state I found her in."
His friend's violet eyes - eyes identical to his, as if the gods had been too tired to create something different , widened in surprise. "Why? What's she to you?"
"Mine," was the only answer he had. "She's mine."
Yan Lie ran his tongue over his teeth. "Don't be foolish. She's Bait."
"Maybe." Probably. He stalked forward. Seething... hungry..."At the moment, I don't care."
The warrior stepped toward him, equally infuriated. "You should. And you should not have brought her here."
Jiang Lang knew that, but he wasn't going to apologize. He would do it again if given the choice.
"Take her back to town and figure out a way to wipe her memory," Yan Lie said. "Otherwise, she'll have to be killed. She's seen and heard too much, and we cannot allow her to report to Hunters."
They were almost upon each other. Jiang Lang hadn't armed himself this morning, a fact that saved Yan Lie miserable hide. He would have thrown a dagger into the man's dead, black heart had he been able. "I would rather hurt you."
The demon tattoo stretched its wings, fully awake now, and Yan Lie grinned slowly. "We do this, and you'll have to patch up the mess."
"And you'll have to clean it."
"Like I care. We going to get started or just talk about it?"
"Oh, yes. We're going to start." Jiang Lang leapt.
Yan Lie did too. They collided in mid air.