Seduction's Call Read Free Page A

woman?” His retort drew her attention away from the dais.   “I asked you to dance to provoke the godling . When he attacks me, I’ll prove to Bilé once and for all he chose the wrong man to lead his protective guard.” He gave a bitter smile. “Unfortunately for you, the godling is ignoring you now.”
    The man’s eyes glowed with red flames. “I guess I’ll just have to change the situation. He will give me my battle!” His hands tightened around her waist as he twirled her near the exit. With a glance up at the dais, he swept her through the open door while digging razor sharp claws into her sides. “Scream, bitch!”
    Pain radiated from the puncture wounds, but they did little more than anger her. “Never.” She clenched her jaw shut. In such close quarters, the fool's asking for a death sentence, not only for himself, but everyone else. With her banshee wail she’d decimate all those present but fellow banshees. Not even gods were immune—or so she’d been told.
    He roared, ignoring her status as Bilé’s god-daughter, and backhanded her. Pain exploded along her cheekbone. A muffled cry forced its way past her lips. She couldn’t believe he’d dared. If Bilé found out the man struck her, he was as good as dead; his plan to ire the godling would all for naught. “You will scream or I’ll beat you until you do.”
    Tears begged to be released as he tried to hit her again. This time she sidestepped the blow, stumbling against what she thought was a wall. She gave a muffled shriek when the godling’s arms wrapped around her. “Are you all right?” The gruff words breathed against her hairline were more felt than heard. A nod was all she was able to convey when he handed her off to another before launching himself at her attacker.
    At the sound of thudding fists, she buried her face against the wide chest. For all her worldly knowledge of retrieving dying souls, her mother had kept her sheltered from the potential violence of both the Underworld and the human realm.
    She’d always come in afterwards to help harvest the souls. Never had she seen an actual fight. Her purpose was one of clean-up and faced with violence for the first time, she froze, uncertain what to do. She’d never been trained how to fight. All she could do was hide like a scared rabbit and it made her angry, but even she wasn’t foolish enough to wade into a fight between two full grown men with only her banshee scream as a protectant.
    The grunts of the two men and the sound of flesh hitting flesh escalated behind her. She could only imagine the pain being inflicted. Her stomach heaved and she swallowed as the snap of breaking bone reached her ears. Gods above, they are going to tear each other apart.
    “They’re going to kill each other, aren’t they?” She was barely able to force the words past her tight throat.
    The man holding her upright sighed. “No, Flannery won’t kill him. He’ll make him wish he was dead though. No man should abuse a woman like you the way he tried. I can’t believe you didn’t scream. I thank the gods above you didn’t though; a banshee scream in such a small space could’ve been disastrous.”
    “I know. Too many innocents might have been hurt. I couldn’t risk it.” A muffled scream had her turning, but the man who smelled so similar to the godling , pressed her face deeper into his shirt. “No, don’t look. There’s no need to see my brother giving that ass his comeuppance. Only a coward strikes out at a much smaller and defenseless woman.”
    Lifting her head, she peeked up at the rugged profile of the man holding her. For a split second she’d thought it was the man who had been the object of her lust, but something about him was off. He wasn’t making her heart beat faster nor was she as intrigued to explore his body. “Who are you?”
    An infectious grin crossed his face. “ Kennet —the twin to the Neanderthal over there.” His grin faded. “Are you okay?”
    She