Free Dark Gods Rising by Mark Eller, E A Draper Page B

about her beauty, something going far beyond her just being a similian. Yes, similian’s were strange by anyone’s lights. They were naturally seductive and sexual, much like a succubus but without the stench of Hell. Before meeting Sulya, Larson had never before heard of a similian who would bed a human. In most similian tribes it was forbidden because something in their skin secretions drove most men or women crazy with desire. Not the type of mad-in-love kind of crazy, but the insanely-devoted-mentally-unstable kind of crazy where a human’s desire for self-preservation disappeared.
    None of this seemed to bother Sulya Ibarra. For Sulya, human sex was a game. Before reforming and joining the knights, she had loved to see how far she could push a man before he broke.
    Hips swaying, displaying the natural grace of a cat, Sulya sidled her lean body closer. In the pale moonlight, her skin looked corpse gray. Her unusually large eyes were black empty pits.
    Larson shuddered. In the daylight, Sulya’s skin was a dusky blue when she was calm. When angry, it turned a horrid fuchsia. By day her long, black, silken tresses shone almost blue, and she owned the most sensual lips he had ever seen on a woman. By night, her appearance changed to dark mystery and fell menace.
    Even so, his entire body always ached to bed her, while his mind found her repulsive.
    “Relax, Larson, you’re safe from me.” Sulya’s voice slid over him like liquid sex as she raised a hand to his cheek. “Well, almost safe. You know, your brother is a treat in bed. It took a long time to get him there, but once he had a taste…” Sulya stood before him, one hand caressing his cheek. Six feet tall, she could easily stare into his eyes. Up close, her luminous eyes cast a soft green glow as her hand continued stroking. “Imagine what it would be like if I had both of you in my bed, touching me, kissing, and tasting.”
    She leaned closer. Her lips parted.
    The heavy air became hard to breathe. Nothing mattered except Sulya’s touch and those perfect lips. Larson wanted her beneath him, wanted to drive into her, wanted to cup her heavy breasts in his hands as he squeezed.
    The similian’s lips touched his. Larson reached for her hair— light flared between them. A stinging sensation ran up his sword holding arm. Sulya yelled in surprise as Larson jerked back, nearly tripping over his feet. He looked down at his sword, the Sword of Justice, a gift from his goddess. It glowed, and it never glowed unless hellkind were near.
    Larson jerked his gaze around. Had the devil come back with his demons? He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to regain his night vision. After several moments, his vision cleared, and so did his senses. Sulya’s musky scent still drifted on the air, but it no longer made him feel drugged.
    Realization struck Larson with a force so strong he almost raised his sword to remove her head. The bitch had tried to seduce him. Tried hell! She had succeeded until Anothosia’s blessed sword intervened.
    Smiling seductively, Sulya quirked an eyebrow. “Just a taste of what you could have.”
    “If you ever touch me again,” Larson said coldly, “I will not hesitate to kill you.”
    A stiff, hot wind blew the last of Sulya’s musk away, and the breeze died down, leaving Larson in an eerie stillness. Shifting her weight, Sulya gripped her sword so tightly Larson heard the leather grip creak. The similian’s lips thinned to a hard-edged slash.
    “Nobody threatens me!”
    Larson readied himself for her attack, relished the idea of taking her head from her shoulders. Let her come. He would wipe her from the face of Terra.
    She did not attack. Instead, Sulya sheathed her sword, gave him a stiff nod, turned, and left. Over her shoulder she shouted, “Good eve to you, Larson. May your goddess protect you this night.”
    With a quick step, she disappeared between two ramshackle wooden buildings.
    The wind picked up again, blowing hot in his face,