Games of Desire by Patti O'Shea

gave and the other took it away? What if she aimed this at the green demon?
    And what if she was wrong? What if she tried this and strengthened the enemy? Marax was shaking with exhaustion; he couldn’t withstand a more potent barrage than he faced already.
    The green demon loosed a blow that dropped Marax to his knees. Chloe ran to him, knelt beside him. “What can I do?”
    “Help me up.”
    She did and kept her arm around his waist until she was sure he could stand. Enough was enough. If she didn’t do something, it would be over in minutes.
    Chloe called on the demon energy, mixed it with her wizard talent, and sent it to the giant.
    He fired, the orb larger than a melon, but as it traveled, it shrank until it was the size of a pea when it hit the shield around Marax. Everyone froze in surprise, but she got over it first and worked on draining more and more of the other demon’s strength.
    Take your best shot,
she sent to her mate.
    He began to gather the power again, the way he’d done before the first time he’d fired. Chloe held her breath as he raised his arm. The glowing fireball raced across the distance and hit the galghoan.
    He fell and stayed down.

Chapter Eleven
    Chloe wore one of Marax’s dress shirts, and although she’d put her hair up, the ends had gotten damp in the shower. Her mate’s hair was damp, too, from his own shower, and although they’d used separate bathrooms, she had high hopes for later.
    “How do you feel?” she asked as she took the wine glass he handed her.
    “I’m tired, but better. By morning I’ll be fine.” He retrieved his own glass and steered her to the couch in the center of his penthouse condo. It faced the blush-marble fireplace, but if she turned her head, she could see the city of LA and all its lights spread out in front of her. The entire outside wall was made of glass and the drapes were open.
    He hadn’t been up to her teasing earlier, but since he was improving, she said, “No wonder you were so comfortable at the hotel we stayed at last night.” She raised her glass and made an arc, indicating the room in front of them. “Apparently, you have a head for business.”
    “I enjoy the challenge,” he said with such smugness that Chloe had to laugh.
    She sobered reluctantly. There were a few things they needed to talk about before they could put tonight behind them and she was ready to do that. She started with the easier of the two subjects. “What will happen to the galghoan once those demons you called get him to the king?”
    “I don’t know for sure,” Marax said, putting his glass on the coffee table. He slouched down on the sofa, rested his head on the back, and closed his eyes.
    “But you have a suspicion.”
    He sighed and said, “He’ll probably be returned to his own kind and they’ll reeducate him.”
    “As in he’ll be brainwashed and forced to toe the line?”
    “That’s one way to look at it. The other is that they’ll erase his memories since the day he broke rank years ago and he won’t remember being green or that he wants revenge for that. Most importantly, he won’t remember me or you or your sister.”
    Yeah, her sister. Chloe took a sip of wine. It was a nervous gesture. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize my mom and stepdad would react like that when we brought Olivia to their home.”
    Marax grunted, but didn’t open his eyes.
    Her parents had been awful to him. He’d saved her life, he’d saved Olivia’s life, too, and they hadn’t cared. His actions meant nothing to them compared to the fact that he was a demon. “I thought they’d behave politely at least. After all, I’m a quarter demon, so it’s not as if they’ve never met one before. I truly am sorry.” She reached out and put her hand on his denim-clad knee.
    His eyes finally opened and he turned his head to look at her. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for and their reaction wasn’t unexpected, so I was braced for