He laughed harshly. “Because Tobius is a lying sack of shit. The agreement was to close off the nether two realms below the shahoulin, my people. He lied and shut us all down there because his wife had been fucking some demon.”

Lily's heart went out for him. She didn't know much about the demonic people. She knew there were three different species, the magical and deadly jaheera demons like the ones that went after Chloe and Willow, the cannibalistic idummi demons, and the powerful shahoulin demons like Telal. If he had worked with Tobius then he must be important to the shahoulin people.

“Well, I can't blame her for that.”

He finished drawing a small circle on the map, and she made a mental picture of the location. Slowly, he looked up at her, his face pulling in confusion, but as she looked closer, she saw a hint of heat in them. Heat that she wanted to kick up several notches and smother herself in.

“What?”

“Let's just say we both share a common interest in wanting to fuck a demon.”

That heated look turned darker, hotter. She licked her lips and squirmed in her seat as arousal licked at her. The man could make her wet with only a look.

“One day you'll regret saying something like that to me,” he said, his deep voice turning hard, lower.

Her sex pulsed, heart pounded. When the look didn't fade, her heart kicked up its beat. Her breathing grew heavy and she wasn't going to let this moment pass. She had him almost where she wanted him.

She stood  with shoulders back, breasts thrust forward and his eyes fell to them then traveled down her jean-encased legs. Her hands flattened on the shiny wooden top of his desk and she lifted a knee onto it, ready to crawl across to get to him. She kept her movements slow and steady even as nerves shot around in her stomach like a wild bullet. The heat in his eyes grew until blatant arousal shined. Her nipples responded to the look, pulling tight and hard. The connection she'd felt between them, the one he denied so readily, roared between them at an undeniable frequency.

She lifted the other knee onto his desk so she sat on there in a half-sitting, half-crawling position.

His eyes traced over the spilled hair around her shoulders, teasing her breasts then landing on her mouth with a look that clearly screamed: Stop now or I will kiss you.

Lily actually paused. Being on the opposite end of the attraction threw her off, but she did want him, so much that thoughts of him had plagued her for nearly a year. So she slid her arms across the desk and followed the motion with her knees until only a few feet separated them.

She waited to see what he'd do for what felt like forever. Her breasts were heavy, aching, her sex slick and needy for something she'd only ever dreamed about. She wanted to grab his hand and put it against her breast just to feel a measure of relief. Any kind of relief.

And then he slid his chair forward. He didn't move slowly, steadily like she had, but jerked his chair forward until the armrests slammed into the polished wood. Seeing him so much closer now, she saw the lines of tension at the corner of his eyes, the hard breaths he took through his nose.

His hands came up and all she could do was watch like a wide-eyed girl as he combed his fingers into her hair. He stopped there, his big palms cupping her cheeks as his eyes looked over her face as if memorizing it. Her breath hitched, lips parted.

He pulled in closer, his eyes falling to her lips, and then in a deep, accented voice said, “I love your hair.”

She gasped, breaths turning to pants at the one nice thing he'd ever said to her. She didn't have long to bask in his words because he his hands cupped her head and tilted it to the side. Her eyes closed, she could feel the heat from his body, his hands, and she waited for the touch that was to come.

It came, but wasn't what she'd expected. Her eyes flew open. Not a kiss, but teeth, sharper than her own, sunk in to her bottom lip and tugged. Something dark and wicked inside her answered, pulled deeper, hotter feelings from inside her. She moaned as he released it, through her hazy eyelids she saw his lips retreating. She wanted so much more, his tongue thrusting in her mouth, his lips taking hers like she'd dreamed of. With a greedy little sound, she pressed her lips to his hard.

A sharp knock sounded, followed a voice. “Sir, it's time.”

The kiss ended like that. Telal sat back in his seat, his eyes smoldering and thoughtful, almost as if he was seeing her for the first time. He stood, then leaned down to her again. The edge of his fingertips trailed down from her cheek to jaw in a touch that made her tremble.

He looked like he might say something but then his eyes narrowed and he went around the desk to Kearnyn.

Lily's mind slowly came back to reality. She awkwardly climbed off his desk but had to stand there and hold on to it for support because her body hadn't gained its strength back from that touch.

“Wait, are you leaving now? Let me go with you!”

He turned to give her one last, fleeting look, then clasped Kearnyn's shoulder and disappeared.

“Damn you,” she said, but without much heat.

Stepping like she walked on hot coals, she collapsed into his chair, her fingers rubbing where his teeth had been. Even though all she wanted to do was go back to his bed and relive those unique moments between them, she knew she had to get moving. Taking off the ridiculous heels, she raced down the hallway to the elevator. She got off it and threw open her door and started pulling on her sandals, grabbing her enchanted dagger out of her bag, then went downstairs and ordered a taxi to Rosa's. She'd be needing the witch's help now.

Telal dissolved with Kearnyn and reappeared in upstate New York. The area of the rifts scattered across the world like broken cracks in the earth’s crust. Some lasted for only a few miles while others spanned a thousand miles or longer. The rift he’d use traveled from Rochester, New York up into the desolate snows of Northern Canada.

The humans couldn't see it, though many had labeled the areas where the rifts were as 'haunted' places; the parts of the woods or countryside where mother's warned their kids not to go. For the best, really. Two Atal Warriors stationed over this particular section of the rift gave them a nod and walked away to give them some distance. He'd already cleared this with Tyrian; hell, he was the reason he had to go down there in the first place.

Telal chose this location to port into because, if his calculations were correct, it'd take him into the field outside the castle. Any number of things could be changed now. He just hoped to get in and out of there alive.

“Nervous?” Kearnyn said.

Telal took note of the bunched nerves in his stomach but shook his head. “No, just ready to get this over with.”

“Sure you don't want me to come with you?”

Telal checked each of his weapons and tried not to think about that kiss. She'd kissed him, actually kissed him. And then he'd let his guard down and done something he shouldn't have. If he wasn't careful...no, no, he wouldn't even let himself think like that. He'd be even more careful from now on. Lily's taste lingered on his lips and he licked it to get a better taste. Fuck, he couldn't hide it. If she was anyone else, someone he hadn't met under the circumstances he had, then maybe...

“I'm sure. Stay here and wait for me to come back.”

“How long?”

Telal stared down at the rift that only unique people like him and Kearnyn could see. The rift was a long jagged black path about a half a mile wide. It had a charred look to it like volcanic rock. Once he laid a foot on that special ground, he could port himself into the rift using a power born inside him and his people.