Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

like staring into an open blast furnace.
    ButDouglas still loved Jesamine. Stupidly, hopelessly, helplessly. Because love is like that, when it strikes a man in later life.Douglas had never really cared for anyone before. He'd never wanted for female company, and had been genuinely fond of most of them, but he'd always known that mostly he tended to choose his women by how much they'd piss off his father. But he'd loved Jesamine from the moment he met her. And he'd thought she cared for him. Perhaps she had, in her way, but she'd still left him to be with Lewis. It didn't matter. He still loved her, and always would.
    Besides,Douglas didn't entirely trust Treasure's motives. You didn't get to be a major vid star without a ruthless ambition and determination far beyond the norm. She'd never be content to be just a trophy wife on his arm. Make her Queen, and she'd find ways to exercise power. Real power. Either on her own, or through her dominated husband. SoDouglas ate his meal and drank his wine, gracefully sidestepped her little traps and seductions, and watched it all with quiet amusement. It had been a long time since he'd had anything to smile at.
    Behind her smile, Treasure was watching him with increasing annoyance. Even her most practiced techniques came to nothing against this man's casual self-possession. Look at him, eating the most expensive food in the Empire as though it was just another meal, and smiling at her as though she was just another woman. She wasn't used to having her magnificent presence taken for granted. Most men lost the thread of what they were saying every time she took a deep breath, and spilt their wine if she deigned to lean forward. She was beginning to get just a little angry. She was a star, dammit. She even lowered herself to being a good listener, only to findDouglas had nothing much to say. She'd set up this meal specifically to discover whether the King really was the broken man he appeared to be; but she was no closer to finding out. His face was open and amiable, his manner dull but pleasant, and neither face nor voice gave any clues as to what was going on in his mind. She'd come here with every intention of
    seducing the man, but he didn't seem interested in that, either, which was practically unheard of. Perhaps the Durandal was doping him? That would explain a lot.
    But Frankie had to be sure. The Hellfire Club needed to be sure. There was a lot she could do as Queen to advance the Hellfire Club's agenda, in public and in private; but not if the King opposed her.Douglas had killed dozens of Hellfire Club devils in his days as a Paragon, when he was still a man to be reckoned with. If he still was… She let her hand drift casually closer to the long slender dagger secretly sheathed on her upper right thigh. No one had body-searched her. No one had dared. She could kill him, if she had to… but it would be such a wasted opportunity, if he could be turned. The things she could do as Queen; the terrible, wonderful things…
    She focused on the creed of the Hellfire Club: Thou shalt not love. Thou shalt not he weak. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
    "How are the baby mice stuffed with humming birds' tongues?" she asked sweetly.
    "A little overspiced, I fear," saidDouglas .
    Treasure almost ground her teeth together. She held out her glass for him to fill, and arranged it so that her fingers brushed his lightly. He didn't even seem to notice. Maybe if she just grabbed his face and jammed it between her breasts… She indicated that she'd had enough to eat, and he agreed. They moved away from the table, and took their drinks over to the fireplace. He was still being pleasant and even gallant, in a rather vague way, and Treasure, or rather Frankie, thought Oh, the hell with it. She pushedDouglas back against the wall and slammed her body up against his. Her magnificent breasts flattened against his manly chest. His arms went around her automatically. She grabbed his head with both hands and pulled his mouth towards her waiting lips. AndDouglas grabbed her bare shoulders and pushed her away from him with such force that she fell backwards onto the thickly carpeted floor. She sat down hard on her well-padded bottom and glared up at him, hair disheveled, breathing heavily, and their eyes met. And for just a moment they both saw the real person behind each other's public mask.
    They regarded each other coldly, and then the masks slipped smoothly back into