Review: Kiss of a Demon King (Immortals After Dark #7) by Kresley Cole

From New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole comes this spellbinding story of a demon king trapped by an enchantress for her wanton purposes -- and the scorching aftermath that follows when he turns the tables and claims her as his captive.
     HIS OBSESSION...
Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions: the evil beauty who surrenders her body, but not her heart.
     HER DOWNFALL...
Rydstrom Woede: the ruthless warrior who vows to keep her at all costs.

     THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO WANT EACH OTHER THIS MUCH...
With each smoldering encounter, their shared hunger only increases. If they can defeat the sinister enemy that stands between them, will Sabine make the ultimate sacrifice for her demon? Or will the proud king lay down his crown and arms to save his sorceress?

My Review:

Kiss of a Demon, Kresley Cole’s (KC) seventh installment of her Immortals After Dark Series is truly a winner! I absolutely loved every single dirty and amazing page of it.

The previous installment – book six – leaves off with Cade returning to see his brother Ry after his ordeal with is mate *yawn* and what does Cade witness? Ry has a female captive in chains! The captive yells to Cade for help and Ry warns his brother to leave him alone. I was absolutely floored with how the tables were turned and wondered how did Ry manage to free himself from Sabine? 

I sped off to Book 7 and not only do we get to see blow by awesome blow of what happens after Sabine kidnaps Ry and takes him as her own personal boy toy, but we also get her and her sister’s (Lanthe) tragic backstory.

Running from some old enemies Vrekeners (demonic angels), the sisters end up in Omort the Deathless’ (Now the big bad since Demestriu’s death in book 2) camp. Omort is a sorcerer who cannot be killed and Cade went to look in book 6 for the one weapon who could actually accomplish this.  

Still, Omort is confident no one can hurt him and he enlists Sabine’s help to make a prophecy true that she and Ry will conceive a child who will rule the world (too bad Cade beats them to the punch in the last book). Sabine is all too happy to make said prophecy come true and she finds she rather enjoys her “personal time” with irresistible Ry who can’t stop his traitorous body from responding to Sabine’s “care.”

Another HUGE plus in Kiss of a Demon is that we get to see Lothaire doing what he does best – double crossing everyone and their mother while looking out for #1 – himself. I just love how devious Lothaire is!

We also meet, Hag, a cursed witch who works for Omort. We’ll see her again in Lothaire’s book  

Ry and Sabine were – to me – just the perfect blend of couple and their love/hate relationship kept me turning page after page. I was in pain when life intervened and I had to pull away from this book. I’m definitely re-reading this as I just loved how Ry and Sabine’s relationship develops *le romantic sigh*. 

My favorite part of Kiss of a Demon though was Sabine – she’s a no hold’s barred girl who doesn’t wait around for Prince Charming to rescue her, she’s got everything under control on her own, but she knows just when to let her man take over things. Just loved seeing this rough and tumble gal soften her edges when an orphaned demon brings out her maternal side.

Nix also makes an appearance in this great read, and she is awesome as usual. Hurry and pick up Kiss of a Demon King – it’s a definite recommended read!

  

Once the Inferi stripped the demon's thin sweater from him, Lanthe whistled low. "Not an ounce of fat on him."

When Sabine crossed to the bed for a better look, Lanthe eagerly followed.

The demon seemed to be all latent strength, with rises and falls of long, strapping muscles. But he wasn't bulky-thankfully not a no-necked bruiser. Above his corded bicep was a wide band of matte gold. The piece was permanent, and he'd likely been wearing it for centuries.

"Look at the tattoo." Sabine pointed to a spot low on his side where jet-black ink marked his flesh. "It continues on."

When she shifted him to peek at his back, she found an image of a dragon that appeared to wind around his torso. Basilisks, ancient dragons, were reputed to live in the plane of Rothkalina in a region called Grave Realm. Demons held them sacred.

Tattoos were common among demon males, but she hadn't expected Rydstrom to have one.

When Sabine grazed a finger along the image, the rigid muscles beneath it flexed to her fingers.

"Your gaze looks covetous, Abie."

"So?"

"So ... if you're his female, maybe you feel drawn to him as well. Maybe you could fall in love," she said, her big blue eyes wistful.

Lanthe was a contradiction-an evil sorceress who longed for love. Sabine had never known anyone so desperate for it as her sister. Ever since Lanthe was young, she'd seemed to be searching for it with her entire being. She read self-help books by the dozen and devoured tragic love stories on DVDs.

"The only love I'm capable of is sisterly," Sabine said. "Count yourself lucky."

If a romantic attachment hadn't happened in five centuries, Sabine didn't see it forthcoming. She'd long suspected that any part capable of loving a man had expired forever with one of her deaths. Besides, she could never trust anyone but Lanthe, and according to popular wisdom and her sister's books, one couldn't have love without trust. "In any case, just because I'm his, doesn't mean he's mine."

The Sorceri didn't believe in fate, and so they didn't believe in a fated mate. Still, Sabine would be cautious with her quarry. Getting attached to him, or rather to his body or his tempting kiss, would make their situation . . . unfortunate when she was finished with him.

"Ready for the pants?" Lanthe slapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Let's see if the rumors about demon males are true."

"Oh, they're true. In fact, I think they're underreported." Sabine bit her bottom lip. He was still semihard, and she didn't know if she wanted anyone to see him like that. To her attendants, Sabine said, "Leave us."

When she and Lanthe were alone, Sabine grasped the waist of his low-hanging pants, but paused at the button above the fly. "Maybe I'll keep these on him. For effect, when I take them off."

Lanthe's brows rose at Sabine's proprietary behavior.

"What?" Sabine said defensively. "I merely don't want him to get cold." She began chaining his wrists above his head.

"Uh-huh," Lanthe said. "I'l be monitoring this situation closely." She fastened the manacles at the foot of the bed around his ankles.

When he was secured, Sabine sidled up next to Lanthe, and they both gazed at the demon. His broad shoulders seemed to take up the entire mattress, tapering beautiful y to his narrow waist. The hair on his arms, chest, and the trail below his navel was black, but tipped with blond against his tanned skin.

"He's . . . Abie, he's magnificent" Lanthe breathed. "Your own demon love slave here for you to use whenever you like. I want one, too!"

"Yes, but now I have to get him up to speed with his new role."

[ . . . ]

"You need to understand that you're not getting away. It's impossible." She crawled on her hands and knees toward him, giving him a view of her cleavage. She noticed his hard-eyed staring, and suddenly the top disappeared, revealing breasts that would bring a lesser demon to his knees.

The garment had been a mere illusion. And now her stiffened nipples were an inch from dragging across his chest. In a breathy voice, she said, "Do you want our skin to touch, Rydstrom?" When she leaned down and grazed the peaks against him, her lids went heavy, and he had to bite back a groan.

He renewed his struggles, which only increased the contact.

"These chains are reinforced, as is the cell door. Accept it, Rydstrom, you're mine."

"Sabine, you fucking unchain me-"

"Shh, demon." She placed her forefinger over his lips, and yanked it back just in time to miss his snapping teeth. "I know exactly what you're going to say. You'll say that I had better release you this instant, or you will throttle me or some such promise of violence. And then you'll pepper that with a threat about the future. Maybe something with a qualifier like 'when I get free.'"

She'd shushed him!

"You see, my darling demon? We're so in tune, you don't even need to voice your thoughts to me." She gave him a smart-ass grin. "It's like we're already one."

"A threat about the future?" He raised his head, baring his lengthening fangs. "I won't just hurt you, Sabine. I'll kill you."

Rating: 5 Kisses