The Devil In Disguise (Bad Things #1)(5)

No, she was terrified. Big difference.

“I can warm you up.” His voice was low and seductive and she had no doubt that the guy could probably warm every woman on the planet. Luke Thorne was pure sex appeal, and she was not immune to him at all. When he’d been kissing her, Mina was pretty sure that her toes had been curling. Unacceptable. Wrong. Because he was wrong.

They were in the foyer of his home. A glittering chandelier was overhead, and she was standing on gleaming white marble. The place even smelled expensive.

“How about I take you up to my bedroom?” Luke offered. “I’m sure you will be plenty warm there.”

His touch was pretty much already singing her. As close as she was to his body, there was no way for Mina to miss Luke’s arousal. And if she went up that curving staircase with him…She swallowed. “A tour,” Mina blurted.

His brows rose.

So she tried again, injecting as much power into her voice as she could. “Take me on a tour of your house. Show me everything. All your secrets.” Because she had to find one secret item in particular, and she figured it was probably hidden in a very sturdy safe some place.

He blinked at her. For a moment, Luke looked confused. She figured the confusion was probably due to two reasons. Reason one…

No woman had ever turned down an invitation to his bedroom.

Reason two…

Is this the first time you’ve ever been under someone else’s control?

She was willing to bet it was. After all, Luke was a very, very powerful being. He was rumored to control the darkness in the world. To control all the creatures that used that dark…

Vampires. Werewolves. Demons.

And even people like me. Because despite her efforts—all her life—Mina knew the truth about herself. She wasn’t good. No, she was far, far from good. That was why she was there…about to literally rob the Lord of the Dark.

She just hoped her plan didn’t go to shit.

He was still staring at her. She smiled at him and let her body lean into his. Mina ran her index finger over his chest. “I’d love to know everything about you…please show me your home.”

His jaw locked. “I know just where we can start.”

If he said the bedroom again…

He backed away. Offered her his hand. “Did you know the back wing of the house used to be a prison?”

A what now? Her fingers linked with his. “N-no, I didn’t.”

“Dry Tortugas isn’t far from here.” He looked back at her. “Ever been there?”

“No.” This was her first trip to the Keys. But she knew about Dry Tortugas. “That’s the National Park, right?” She tried not to gawk as he led her through the house. She could practically smell the money in the air. Giant pieces of artwork were perfectly hung, expensive vases gleamed, thick rugs cradled her heels…apparently, it paid very, very well to rule the dark.

“Dry Tortugas is a National Park now, yes, but during the Civil War, the fort on Dry Tortugas was used as a prison.” His fingers tightened around hers. “What most people don’t know is that a prison was also built on this island, too. But the prison here wasn’t for Union deserters. It was for people who committed much, much darker crimes.”

There was a door up ahead. Only it wasn’t fancy like the others in the house. It seemed to be a big, heavy metal door. A keypad was near the doorknob. Luke paused a moment and typed in a code. There was a little beep and then the door opened.

He waved her forward.

She didn’t move. Mina gave a nervous laugh. “I’m not like…walking through the doorway to hell or anything, am I?” She asked the question just to be safe.

His head cocked as he studied her. “This is the second time you’ve mentioned hell to me.” He paused a beat. “Any particular reason why?”

Mina swallowed. “No. Sorry.” And she squared her shoulders and walked through that doorway. Immediately, the world grew darker. There were no more fancy rugs. No more glittering chandeliers or beautiful artwork. She was in a rough, carved stone tunnel. Old, so old…the air itself felt stale. The door clanged shut behind her and Mina jumped.

“Hope I didn’t scare you,” Luke murmured.

You do. You scare me a whole lot. I just can’t let that fear stop me. “Don’t be silly,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder—Mina thought that was a rather nice touch. “What’s frightening about you?” Only everything.

His body slid past hers in that narrow tunnel. There were lights on the stone floor—faint lights that seemed to just come out from the stone itself. Because those lights were down so low, shadows filled the area. It felt tight, too compacted and—

He was leaving her. Never, ever let it be said that Luke Thorne was a gentleman. Behind him, she glowered, then Mina’s heels clicked as she double-timed it to keep up with him.

Soon the tunnel was ending. Another door waited, with another keypad. Only this door was thicker than the one before. Once more, she gave a nervous laugh when he typed in the code. “Just what kind of criminals needed to be kept here, exactly?” And why was there a modern key code set up at an old prison?

Because, obviously, he still uses this place.

She’d been looking for a safe that hid his most valuable possessions. She’d used her power to compel Luke to show her his secrets. So maybe he used the old prison as his safe now. Excitement had her heart racing.