The beast tried to take over his body, to attack Torin’s mate, but Baden heard Katarina’s laughter down the hall and maintained strict control. What or who had amused her?

Concentrate!

Right. He strode into the bedroom as Torin buttoned his pants, forewent a shirt and plopped into a chair in front of his “command center.”

“You need to tighten security,” Baden told him. “Pandora threatened to steal from me. Something new every day.”

“Security is already tight enough to pop a cherry. And you obviously haven’t heard how busy Pandora has been. Kaia and Gwen were in town when she attacked. An attempt to hurt Strider and Sabin, I’m sure, but she had her ass handed to her and retreated.” Torin typed as he spoke. “By the way. Galen came by earlier and asked me to talk to you about your old pal Distrust—”

“The demon was never my pal. And I don’t want to talk about him. I need to apologize to Kaia and Gwen, to Strider and Sabin.”

“Why? Strider and Sabin helped steal the box. They earned Pandora’s wrath same way you did.”

Still.

“Anyway. Distrust has possessed a woman named...” Torin scratched his head. “I’ve forgotten, even though Galen just reminded me. Whoever she is, she could use your—”

“No.” He had enough on his plate. “Have you learned anything else about the coin?”

“Not really. The only people who know anything belong to Lucifer. As you can guess, I’d rather shit an actual brick than trust his associates.”

On one of the screens, Baden caught a glimpse of Katarina. She stood outside Ashlyn and Maddox’s room, Anya at her side. The two chatted easily, Katarina’s hands waving as she spoke. An adorable trait. One she hadn’t displayed before.

Adorable...and sexy as hell.

The beast snarled, but issued no command to kill. Only to...protect?

The two females strolled down the hall and parted at Baden’s door, Katarina disappearing inside. Soon, he would join her for their date.

Every muscle in his body vibrated with sudden longing. Mine...for tonight. Perhaps tomorrow, too.

Once. Only once, Destruction said. Maybe.

Baden could feel the beast’s desire for her. He wanted her with a fervency he didn’t understand, but he didn’t want to be weakened, and the dual desires had placed him in the middle of a desperate tug-of-war. Fight Baden, or capitulate.

Whatever he decided, Baden had already made up his mind. He would have her. He would hear her voice go raspy with passion...hear his name whispered then screamed. He would feel her inner walls clench around his shaft as he slammed into her from behind.

She’s mine. Aleksander’s scream echoed inside his mind.

Baden’s hands fisted, the sharp tips of his claws cutting into his skin. The marriage was a sham. It shouldn’t bother him on any level. But it suddenly bothered him on every level.

“Whoa.” Torin threw a boot at him. “Get that thing away from me.”

That thing—his erection. Simply because he’d thought of having Katarina at long last. The power she wielded over him already...

Running a trembling hand through his hair, he backed away from his friend. “I’m going to use your shower.” He didn’t wait for a reply but locked himself in the en suite to remove the sweat and grime contact with Aleksander had left behind. He also took care of his problem.

When he finished, he changed into clean clothes he gathered from Torin’s closet. Even though they were a little snug.

“Where you taking your girl for the first date?” the warrior asked. He heard everything.

“Here.” No reason to risk having a flashback of Hades’s life in a public place, leaving him—and therefore Katarina—vulnerable. There was even less reason to put potential victims in the path of Destruction. And what if Hades summoned him? Katarina would be left on her own.

The girl was the quintessential damsel in distress.

Torin stopped typing long enough to give him the look. “Did I mention you suck? Females like to be romanced and you, my friend, are clearly romanerexic.”

As Destruction kicked up a fuss—I can be romantic!—Baden muttered, “I’ve got to go.” He stormed out of the room.

He had half an hour before the date was set to begin. He would return to Downfall. Would he still be able to flash there, without Taliyah? If not, well, he would find a way. There was always a loophole. While there, he would pick a thousand fights with the immortals, and he would exhaust the beast.

Then...Katarina would be his.

12

“When a girl says ‘Go have fun,’ do not go have fun. Abort mission!”

—Scarlet, keeper of Nightmares

I THINK I’M going to train a beast so evil his name is Destruction?

I’ve lost my mind. That’s the only explanation.

As a hard knock echoed through the bedroom, Katarina smoothed trembling hands over the dress the beautiful Anya had given her—aka a sure thing—and remembered the goddess’s sage advice.

You gotta talk less and bang more. Don’t be afraid to withhold sex as punishment. And don’t be reminding him of all that shitty stuff he did. Seriously. Hide nothing, but make sure you keep all your secrets. Never lie. If you want to have a little fun, threaten to leave, then—surprise—don’t leave. Oh, and most important, if he messes up, never let him forget it.

Did the woman know how many times she’d contradicted herself?

Another knock, and Katarina’s heart performed a series of flips. There was no reason to be nervous. If the date failed, the date failed. No harm, no foul.

Chin high, she opened the door. Baden leaned against the frame, and oh, wow, one look at him made her drunk with desire, her veins fizzing as if filled with champagne.

He’s going to be mine.

He’d brushed his red hair from his face and fit his big, muscled body in a black T-shirt and biker leathers.

Sweet...carnal...perfection.

He had a handful of cuts on his brow and jaw, and his knuckles were bruised, but the injuries only added to the bad-boy appeal.

She wanted everything he had to give. His kiss, his touch, his body sliding into hers.

The breathtaking desires...depressed her. She was moving on with her life while her dogs rotted in their graves.

A wave of grief...a hollow ache.

Baden sensed the change in her and drew her against him, his uncompromising strength enveloping her. “I’ve got you, Rina. I’m here.”