"I'm Knox Thorne." He tilted his head, those dark eyes still locked on her. He was even more imposing up close. "And you are…?"
"Harper Wallis." It worried her that he unnerved her demon, who was rarely rattled by anything. To Harper's utter frustration, she couldn't get a read on him, couldn't identify what breed of demon he was. But every instinct she had told her to tread carefully; that she was in the presence of a very powerful predator.
"Harper Wallis." He didn't say her name, he tasted it. Tasted it with a voice that was like smoke, whiskey, and velvet. And Harper knew she'd be entertaining some seriously dirty fantasies about him later. She sure hoped he couldn't read her thoughts – now, that would be embarrassing.
She wasn't offended when he didn't hold out his hand to shake hers. Demons were tactile, psychic, sexual creatures, but they were also very selective in who they gave permission to touch them.
"Nice to meet you, I guess." She didn't sound at all genuine. And for some odd reason, that made his mouth curve into a crooked smile which caused her libido to do the fandango. Great.
Well now, this she-demon had surprised him yet again. When she'd walked into the room, her eyes – glassy, reflective, much like that of a cat – had been the color of warm honey. But as Knox had moved to stand in front of her, the honey had begun to swirl like liquid, fading into an entrancing misty gray. He had the feeling it wouldn't be long before the color changed again, and he was intrigued as to just what color that would be.
Intrigued.
A simple feeling, but not one he'd experienced for a while until he'd caught a glimpse of this she-demon in the combat circle. Her facial features were soft and feminine. Except for that mouth. Plush, glossy, and a tempting cherry shade, it was straight out of his fantasies. He could imagine sliding his cock between those lips while knotting his hands in that sleek, dark hair that was tipped with gold.
His inner demon had perked up the moment she entered the office, going from bored to alert in an instant. It liked pretty, shiny, unique things, and that was exactly what Harper was.
"How are your injuries?"
Harper rotated her shoulder. "All right." The wounds had mostly healed, but they still stung like a motherfucker. Demons were invulnerable to normal fire. Hellfire, however, could cause serious harm. The flames of hell, on the other hand, could turn someone into ashes on the spot. And it was just possible that the guy in the room with her could call on them. Fate was mostly likely laughing its ass off.
"If you're a Wallis, you must be from the North Las Vegas lair." At her nod, Knox added, "How closely related are you to Jolene?"
As he took a small yet prowling step closer, Harper's demon tensed even further. "She's my grandmother." In addition to being the Prime of her lair, Jolene Wallis was a hard-assed bitch. She was also thirty levels of batshit crazy and had been known to reduce entire buildings to rubble when in a foul mood… though Jolene preferred the term 'demolition expert.'
"I have a loose alliance with Jolene." Knox had always liked imps.
Why? Because you knew where you stood with an imp. You knew that they would rob you blind if you were dumb enough to not pay attention. You knew you would only get the right answers if you asked the right questions. And you knew that expecting obedience from them would be an exercise in frustration.
But having Harper so close, filling every one of his senses, he realized… "You're not an imp." He wasn't sure what she was. The Wallis family was pretty notorious, and he'd assumed they were all imps.
"No, I'm not," Harper confirmed, impressed that he'd sensed it.
Knox felt an unexpected tingle of amusement at her typical imp response – vague and evasive. Apparently she was, for all intents and purposes, an imp.
"Sit," he invited, gesturing to the chair opposite his.
Before taking it, her unusual eyes did a quick sweep of the room. And he knew that, in that small moment, she had assessed what was of value, the most likely places for a safe to be positioned, and every possible exit. It would be instinctive for a Wallis.
He noticed that she didn't make a sound as she moved – another imp trait she had mastered, despite not being one of them.
"What are you?"
Watching as he melted into his chair, she parried, "What are you?"
Oh, that little bit of fire made his demon chuckle. Like Knox, it didn't have much time or respect for weak, frightened little lambs. This female clearly wasn't easily intimidated. He could have pushed the matter, but he found that he liked the idea of watching her, studying her, and solving the mystery for himself.
Harper was surprised to see his mouth twitch in amusement, since she'd expected anger. Knox Thorne made her think of a jungle cat that was choosing to behave for now but whose mood could change at any given moment. Regardless of that, she was stupidly wondering if his short, ebony hair was as silky as it looked. Yeah, well, she'd never been all that smart.
Seeing that the huge window offered a perfect view of the combat circle, Harper guessed he'd watched her duel with his she-demon.
"Look, if this is about Mona, she got what she deserved."
"And what is it exactly that she 'got'?"
No answer.
"Your touch can cause soul-deep pain," Knox guessed. A rare ability.
"Very good." It had always been effortless for Harper to do it. Whenever she felt angry, threatened, or frightened, a dark protective power instinctively built inside her and rushed to her fingertips, making them prickle. As a child, it hadn't been easy to control. Now that she was an adult, she was able to push the power back down if necessary.
He drummed his fingers on the desk. "If you believe she deserved soul-deep pain, I'm assuming Mona did something I need to know about. Tell me."
Be a tattletale who whined to people's Primes?
"No."
"No?" Knox echoed with disbelief.
Evidently, he wasn't denied things often. Well, Harper did like to introduce people to new experiences. It was more of a calling, really. The air chilled as his eyes very briefly bled to black, communicating his inner demon's displeasure at being refused; hell reigned in those dark pools. A frisson of apprehension tingled down her spine.
"If one of my demons has done something they shouldn't have, I need to deal with it."
She shrugged. "It's been dealt with."
"That fight was personal. Tell me why."
The guy was seriously tenacious. "Ask Mona."
"I'm asking you."
"Shame for you that I won't answer, huh."
His demon was impressed by her. It liked that she pushed back, and believed she would be delicious prey to hunt. Not a weak, defenseless prey – no, she would be entertaining.
"So very stubborn."
"Yes." It was indeed one of her best qualities.
It was right then that his instincts told Knox… "You're a sphinx." He knew it as sure as he knew that this greedy ache to possess her wasn't going anywhere.
Oh, points to the Prime. "I am."
No wonder she was so obstinate, Knox mused. Like a bird, sphinxes were winged, swift, graceful, and could be challenging to pin down. Like a lion, they were strong, fierce, brave, and would single-mindedly trail, stalk, and run down their prey. In short, there wasn't a more elusive, daring, persistent demon than a sphinx.