Page 67 of Demonchild

Then she touched a little higher, and gasped again.

“My hair!”

It was gone.

Malissa ran her fingertips over her head and felt nothing but smooth scalp.

“The fire took it,” Beliath said. “It was the only part of you not impervious to the flames. I shall miss wrapping it around my fist. However, I must admit… I rather like your new look.”

He cradled the back of her skull with one of his huge hands.

“Will it grow back?” Malissa asked.

“Eventually.”

“And what about the rest of it? The horns, the wings… am I going to look like this forever?”

“Most cambions are able to shift. It will take some practice, but I’m sure you will get the hang of it.”

That was reassuring.

“Do you really like the way I look now?” Malissa asked.

“I said so, didn’t I?”

“Well, youarea demon, and demons aren’t exactly known for their honesty.”

“Have I ever lied to you, angel?”

“You lied about the curse.”

“Yes, but that was the only time. Everything else I told you was the truth, and I’m telling you the truth now—you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, Malissa. But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can feel for yourself…”

The demon pulled her close and claimed her lips in a sweltering kiss that Malissa could feel all the way to her toes. She could also feel the demon’s arousal, long and stiff, pressing into her—pressing against the belly that it had made pregnant. She rubbed herself against him and moaned softly as his hands swept down her back and clutched the bare mounds of her backside. For several long moments, she forgot about everything else and surrendered herself completely to the demon’s desire. It was only when they separated to catch their breath that Malissa remembered where she was—standing in the heart of a roaring blaze and surrounded by a screaming crowd of terrified men and women who had once been her subjects.

“Beliath!” she gasped. “Everyone can see us.”

“So what?”

She immediately realized he was right. So what if the crowd could see what she and her mate were doing? Only a few minutes earlier, that same crowd had happily watched while the king tried to murder her and the unborn child within her womb. Why should she care one whit what those people thought of her now?

Let them see me in the demon’s embrace, she thought.Let them see us kissing. Let them watch as we join our two bodies into one, the way that lovers do.

The very thought of such an exhibition sent a thrill of arousal spiraling deep into her core. She reached down and gripped the demon’s firm shaft.

“I want you inside me,” she said. “Right here in front of everybody. But there’s something else we need to do first.”

“Vengeance?” Beliath asked.

“Vengeance.”

CHAPTER 36

“Very well,” said the demon. “Let’s start with the man you told me about. Jaeger. Which one is he?”

Malissa looked through the flames and saw that Jaeger was still standing on the castle wall. He had not moved since the chaos had begun. In fact, he seemed to be the only other person besides Malissa and Beliath who was not in a total panic.

“He’s there,” she said, nodding toward him. “In the robes. But—”

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