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Dark Desires After Dusk
(Immortals After Dark Book 6)
Kresley Cole

A demon that reminds me of Indiana Jones and a Valkyrie figuring herself out

Blurb:

A seductive beauty he can never have, yet can’t resist…

Cadeon Woede will stop at nothing to atone for the one wrong that will haunt him forever. But once he secures the key to his redemption, the halfling Holly Ashwin, Cade finds that the woman he thought he could use for his own ends and then forget haunts him as much as his past.

A tormented warrior she should fear, but can’t deny…

Raised as a human, Holly never knew that some frightening legends are real until she encounters a brutal demon who inexplicably guards her like a treasure. Thrust into a sensual new world of myth and power, with him as her protector, she begins to crave the demon’s wicked touch.

Surrender to dark desires…

Yet just when he earns Holly’s trust, will Cade be forced to betray the only woman who can sate his wildest needs — and claim his heart?

Holly was a PhD student at Tulane University, teaching remedial math to athletes.

She wondered what she’d be erasing tonight. Some of the past offerings included “Got it bad, sooo bad, I’m hot for teacher,” “I’ve been a naughty boy, Ms. Ashwin,” and “Professor + Ginger = Holly Ashwin.” They’d crossed the l’s to make them t’s.

Holly wanted a normal life, but she had some quirks. OCD. Nearly killing men when getting into sexual situations. Nothing she couldn’t handle with extreme discipline.

Cadeon knew Holly was his, but he couldn’t claim her because she was human.

Humans were forbidden to demons. Because they never survived the initial claiming.

But Cade hadn’t been able to stop himself from watching her from afar, studying her, growing more and more fascinated with the young mortal. Becoming more convinced that she was his.

Then one night, Holly was kidnapped by a bunch of evil demons bent on raping and impregnating her. She was the Vessel. The immortal reaching sexual maturity at the start of the Accession, which happens every 500 years. The Vessel is fated to give birth to a warrior for ultimate evil or ultimate good, depending on the father. Yes, immortal – It turns out Holly is half Valkyrie, half Furie.

Cade was taxed with finding The Vessel and delivering it to an evil sorcerer in exchange for a sword that could kill the evil sorcerer’s evil brother, who had stolen Cade’s brother’s crown, which was Cade’s fault.

“You know all those creatures you thought were myths?” When she shakily nodded, he said, “Well, they’re not. And you’re changing from a human to an immortal.”

Which meant it had become possible for Cade to claim her for his own.

And you’ve just become my target—the Vessel. The means to pay for a sword to kill our enemy.

She equaled the crown he’d worked for nine hundred years to reclaim—the unyielding pursuit that had given him a reason to go on living.

Never had it been so close….

All he had to do was use and betray the woman he’d waited just as long to possess.

What’s a demon to do?

“Kidnap women? I can hardly keep the chits off the jock as it is, pet.”

Eyes wide, she said, “Chits? Pet? Are you from the nineteenth century or just trying to be misogynistic?”

Cade and Holly remind me so much of Indiana Jones and Willie Scott (Temple of Doom). He’s brash, cocky, dirty, and practical. She’s a girlie-girl who hates to get dirty and finds him rude, crude, and socially unacceptable… until they end up in bed together.

There is some great humor in this alongside the action and chemistry I’ve come to expect from this series. I loved both of the characters. I especially loved how Holly came into her kickass-self.

Contains graphic sex scenes. No triggers. No non-consent here.

Occasional foul language.

3rd person past tense from Cade and Holly. We also get a chapter from Rydstrom, Cade’s brother and the lead in the next book.

I found 9 errors, mostly misspelled or wrong words.

388 pages.

$8.99 at Amazon.