Suzanne Wright lives in England with her husband and two children. When she’s not spending time with her family, she’s writing, reading or doing her version of housework – sweeping the house with a look.
She’s worked in a pharmaceutical company, at a Disney Store, at a primary school as a voluntary teaching assistant, at the RSPCA and has a First Class Honours degree in Psychology and Identity Studies.
As to her interests, she enjoys reading, writing, reading, writing (sort of eat, sleep, write, repeat), spending time with her family, movie nights with her sisters and playing with her two Bengal kittens.
To connect with Suzanne online:
Website: www.suzannewright.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/suzannewrightfanpage
Twitter: @suz_wright
Blog: www.suzannewrightsblog.blogspot.co.uk
THE DARK IN YOU SERIES
Burn
Blaze
Ashes
Embers
Copyright
Published by Piatkus
ISBN: 978-0-349-41630-4
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © Suzanne Wright, 2018
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Piatkus
Little, Brown Book Group
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.littlebrown.co.uk
www.hachette.co.uk
Contents
About the Author
The Dark in You Series
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Acknowledgements
For the cake-making masters at the Hummingbird Bakery. Your Cookies and Cream cupcake helped me through writer’s block—I’m not even kidding.
CHAPTER ONE
There was really nothing quite like having a stare-out with one of the most formidable beings in all existence. But as Harper’s mate was also exceedingly powerful and she was used to this sort of thing, she wasn’t quite as daunted as she probably should have been. “I’m not changing my mind, Lou.”
The devil threw up his hands. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“Why do you have to be so psychotic? You know what, don’t answer that.”
“You claim to love your son, yet you frequently expose him to one of the cruelest demons I’ve ever had the displeasure to come across.”
Exasperated, Harper let her head fall back against the half-moon sofa. “My grandmother is not cruel. She is, however, an imp. So it baffles me that you expect her to do anything other than drive you insane. That’s kind of what imps do.”
Lou was easy to irritate because of his OCD streak. Simple things like giving him an odd number of cookies, slicing his bread at an unsymmetrical angle, or adjusting the strings on his sleeveless hoodie so that one was longer than the other could send his blood pressure soaring—and Jolene Wallis did such things regularly.
To look at him in a ratty-assed Black Sabbath tee, washed-out jeans, a baseball cap, and old sneakers, no one would suspect he was so particular about, well, anything.
Despite that the mercurial male was the most antisocial being Harper had ever met, he loved spending time with her son, Asher. Then again, Lou was childlike in his own way—especially with his bratty sense of entitlement. Asher seemed to think of him as a playmate, which didn’t say a lot for Lou’s IQ really.
Looking down at Asher, who was sitting on the blue Persian rug playing with toy bricks, Harper had to smile. Honestly, the little sphinx was the most adorable thing ever. With his deep-set ebony eyes that were like dark velvet and his coal-black wisps of silky-smooth hair, he was essentially a mini version of Knox. The only features he seemed to have inherited from Harper were her long lashes and the reflective catlike quality to her eyes.
Demonic babies developed fast and were much stronger than human babies, so the six-month-old looked more like a ten-month-old. Asher could sit up, crawl, stand, say several words, and even walk if someone was holding his little hand.
As a rule, demons didn’t need much sleep and could even go days without it. Thankfully, demonic babies slept as much as human babies or she’d be permanently on her feet and absolutely drained, because her boy was a handful. Obviously, as his mother, she was extremely biased and considered him to be the most perfect child that had ever graced the Earth. But he truly was bright and loveable. He had so many people wrapped around his little finger, it wasn’t even funny. Seriously, one dimply smile and you were done for. He could win over anyone—even the devil himself.
“Come on, Harper,” Lou whined, flinging himself on the sofa opposite hers. “Exposing the poor kid to Jolene borders on child abuse. Am I right, Tanner?” Lou asked her bodyguard, who was sprawled on the rug in his hellhound-form.
Large and fierce, the hound was heavily muscled with thick black fur. Not even the blood-red eyes or scent of burning brimstone could ruin its inherent majestic air. In response to Lou’s question, it merely chuffed out an impatient breath.
“She’s Asher’s great-grandmother, Lou,” said Harper. “She loves him, and he adores her right back.”
Lou snorted. “Oh, please. Nobody ‘adores’ Jolene Wallis. Asher laughs at her, not with her.”
Harper’s inner demon rolled its eyes. The entity that lived within each demon was, to put it bluntly, a pitiless and somewhat psychopathic predator that possessed zero patience.
Rubbing her temple, Harper telepathically reached out to Knox and said, Wish you were here.
As Knox’s mind brushed against hers, his psychic “taste” flooded her brain—almonds, red wine, and dark chocolate. What’s wrong, baby? he asked in that rumbly, velvety voice that danced over her skin, making it prickle in sexual awareness.
One word—Lou. The vibe of male amusement that touched her mind wasn’t unexpected. How’s the meeting going?
So far, productive.
Roughly translated, he was getting his own way with his human associates. Knox blended in effortlessly with humans, hiding in plain sight just like the rest of their kind. The billionaire also owned a chain of restaurants, hotels, casinos, bars, and security firms.
Demons often held high positions that provided them with the power and control that they instinctively craved. CEOs, politicians, bankers, celebrities, lawyers, surgeons, journalists, police officers—the list went on.
Looks like the meeting will run late, he added, so I’ll have to meet you at Jolene’s house in a few hours.