Scorched by Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

intimidated.
    “What would you do if it was your mother?”
    “Nothing,” he admitted with blunt honesty. “I have no contact with my mother.”
    Her eyes widened. “None?”
    “None.” He shrugged. “I’m not even sure what sort of demon she was, although I have some magic, so she must have been fey.”
    “Your father never talked about her?”
    Torque shook his head. “All I know is that she bartered some sort of deal with my father. I assume she wanted money. Or maybe Pyre took care of one of her enemies.” He kept his tone indifferent, as if he hadn’t spent endless nights wondering about the female who’d given birth to him. “Once she produced a male child, she’d paid her debt. She left only hours after I was born.”
    Her delicate features softened, emphasizing her exotic beauty.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Torque took a step forward. He’d seen Rya demure and compliant in the presence of her father. He’d seen her gloriously infuriated when he’d entered the cavern. And now he was offered a fascinating glimpse of her as a tenderhearted consort.
    “Why?” he asked.
    “Every child should have a mother.”
    “My father’s servants made sure I was adequately cared for.”
    She shook her head. “Adequate care is not the same as love.”
    Love.
    Torque flinched. Her soft words touched a vulnerable place deep inside him. A place he’d buried when he was just a young hatchling.
    Only fools allowed themselves to be blinded by their emotions.
    He believed in honor. In loyalty. And strength.
    And lust.
    He was a big believer in lust. At least when it came to this female.
    “We were discussing your reckless disregard for your own safety, not my mother,” he said, a grim edge in his voice.
    She hesitated, as if considering whether or not to press him. Then she gave a shake of her head, as if annoyed by his refusal to mourn what he’d never had.
    “What does my safety matter to you?”
    Torque scowled. “That’s a ridiculous question.”
    “It’s not ridiculous,” she countered. Abruptly turning, she paced across the icy floor, the fairy light gleaming off the ebony darkness of her hair. “If I disappear, you no longer have to worry about our mating.”
    Torque was instantly outraged. What the hell was she talking about?
    “Don’t say that.”
    “Why not? It’s true.”
    “Don’t presume to know what I want,” he ground out, not bothering to add that he didn’t know what the hell he wanted.
    Instead he moved forward so he could grab her shoulders and turn her back to face him. Only that wasn’t enough. He needed…more.
    With a muttered curse, he yanked her tight against him.
    Her eyes widened as their bodies melded together, a gasp wrenched from her throat.
    “Torque.”
    He glared down at her perfectly formed face. “Why didn’t you contact me?”
    She blinked. “Contact you?”
    “I’m your betrothed,” he growled. “If your mother was in danger you should have asked for my help.”
    ***
    Rya tilted back her head to stare into the stunning eyes that smoldered with sapphire fire.
    This male had pretended that she didn’t exist from the day she was born. Even after their formal betrothal. Now he was glaring at her as if he was genuinely irritated that she hadn’t rushed to him for help.
    And even more disturbing, he had her intimately pressed against his rock-hard body.
    How was she supposed to think when his heat was searing through her clothing and his intoxicating scent was clouding her poor brain?
    Giving a shake of her head, she tried to remember all the reasons this male was a jackass.
    Starting with the fact that he was pretending to be interested in her life fifty years too late.
    “Is that a joke?” she demanded.
    His lips flattened. “I don’t joke.”
    She rolled her eyes. Yeah. No crap. This male was a stoic warrior. All duty and loyalty and blah, blah, blah.
    So why did she find him so sexy?
    Sucking in a sharp breath, she hastily squashed the renegade thought. Along