RITA Award-winning author Kresley Cole continues her bestselling Immortals After Dark series with this electrifying tale of a ruthless demon mercenary and the lovely young halfling who enchants him.
A seductive beauty he can never have, yet can't resist...
Cadeon Woede will stop at nothing to atone for the one wrong that will haunt him forever. But once he secures the key to his redemption, the halfling Holly Ashwin, Cade finds that the woman he thought he could use for his own ends and then forget haunts him as much as his past.
A tormented warrior she should fear, but can't deny...
Raised as a human, Holly never knew that some frightening legends are real until she encounters a brutal demon who inexplicably guards her like a treasure. Thrust into a sensual new world of myth and power, with him as her protector, she begins to crave the demon's wicked touch.
Surrender to dark desires...
Yet just when he earns Holly's trust, will Cade be forced to betray the only woman who can sate his wildest needs -- and claim his heart?
My Review:
I don’t really have much good to say about Kresley Cole’s (KC) six installment of her Immortal After Dark Series, Dark Desires After Dusk. Yup! You guessed it, I totally skimmed this book.
Cade, a demon who is categorized as the black sheep of the family, at least when compared to his ever-perfect brother, Ry, was never a fave character of mine. I began reading the book and was immediately put off by Holly – who was just too annoying.
But in skimming through the predictable boy-meets-girl-and-they-can’t-get-along-at-first,-but-through-some-problem-are-forced-to-spend-time-together-and-carry-out-a-mission-to-save-the-world-and-they-fall-in-lust/love-and-their-baby-will-rule-the-world story, I read a side story I couldn’t wait to read about.
Rydstrom Woede, Cade’s brother is on a long stretch of road on the way to meet with Cade. Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions and #1 player for Team Bad stops him, pretending to be a damsel in distress whose car has just broken down. Sabine wastes no time and traps Ry, whisking him away to make him her baby daddy.
This tiny tease on Ry and Sabine kept me skimming through the whole book, wondering when I could read more about them, only to find out that was all KC let us know on them. I didn’t feel compelled to go back and re-read Cade and Holly’s story and instead jumped ahead to the next book which was all about Ry and Sabine! *fans self* KC apparently feels the same as Cade and Holly don’t make it back into the series in any major way as of book 12, Lothaire.
{Here’s an excerpt of when Ry meets Sabine}
Eyes stared back at him in the headlights. Not an animal, a woman. He slammed on the brakes and swerved, the McLaren skidding out of control. Just when he was about to right the vehicle, a bridge abutment seemed to appear from nowhere; he careened into it.
When he’d finally stopped moving, he grasped his head, shaking off dizziness. Staggering out to survey the damage, he crunched over cement littered with glass, chunks of ruptured tire, and even bits of the frame.
At the sight, he whistled in a breath. Totaled. The right side of his car was completely shaved off. So where is the woman?
Flashes of her arose in his mind—eyes wide with fear, long red hair whipping as he’d just missed her. He lumbered back in the direction he’d come. “Is someone here?” he called. “Are you hurt?”
No answer. The closest gas station was at least twenty-five miles away. He fished out his cell phone from his jacket. Out of area, the screen read. “Bugger me.”
When he glanced back up, he caught sight of her farther along this deserted stretch of road, standing alone. What the hell is she doing all the way out here by herself?
Their eyes met. At that moment, he caught her sultry, feminine scent. The night began to feel dreamlike, surreal. He started toward her, not bothering to retrieve his hat—with her otherworldly beauty, he could tell she was definitely one of the Lore.
Shining red hair curled down to her waist. As he neared, he saw that her eyes were dark as night. A gown of the palest blue silk clung to her lush curves. When he spied the outline of her hardened nipples, he ran a hand over his mouth.
He was fifteen hundred years old. Had he ever been so instantly and fiercely attracted to a female?
She began sauntering along the road away from him.
“No, wait! Are you all right?”
She turned to him but continued to step back.
“I won’t hurt you,” he called, following. “Do you have a car out here?”
“I need your help,” she said, her voice throaty.
“Of course.” What would she think of his battle-scarred face up close? He hadn’t cared much in the past, but with her…the idea of seeing her disgust made him hesitate. Until she turned and skipped down an embankment—farther away from him. He hastened after her. “Do you live near here?”
“Need your help,” she said once more, ducking behind a willow by the water’s edge.
He joined her beneath the tree. “I have to get back to the city, but then I can come back to help you.” And get all your information so I can return for you once my duties are done. As he gazed down at her face, he began to feel dizzy once more, on edge even. His reaction to her seemed too powerful, her looks too alluring to be real. She had high cheekbones and the most flawless pale skin he’d ever seen. Her pink lips were plump and glistening.
Just when he began to draw back, she said, “Help me now.” Grasping his hand in her two small ones, she kissed his palm with those smiling lips, then placed it over one of her full breasts.
Every muscle in his body tightened with want. Unable to stop himself, he kneaded her flesh with a low groan. The promise of pleasure blazed from her mesmerizing eyes, and he found himself lowering his defenses.
“This is what I need,” she murmured in a siren’s voice, arching to his hand.
“And the gods know that I want to give it to you, right after I’ve settled—”
“I need it”—she took his other hand and placed it high on her inner thigh—“now. ”
Rydstrom tried to shake himself. He had responsibilities. But I’ve been so long without a woman. He hissed out a breath when she raised her hands to his horns, boldly grasping them to tug him down to her.
“Kiss me, demon.”
Rating: 2 Kisses
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