Dark Desires After Dusk is the sixth book in the Immortals After Dark series. It was published in May, 2008. It features Cadeon Woede and Holly Ashwin, a Rage Demon and the Vessel, human-Valkyrie hybrid.
Back Cover Copy[]
A ruthless demon mercenary. A lovely young halfling.
In the dark, there's no escaping desire.
A seductive beauty he can never have, yet can't resist... Cade of the rage demons 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 Ashwin 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?
Summary[]
| Spoiler warning! |
| This article contains plot details from Dark Desires After Dusk. |
A thousand years ago Rystrom III angrily accuses Cadeon Woede of dereliction of his duty. Cadeon stayed with his foster family instead of taking the throne as asked. His foster family were killed anyway and he angrily declares that he wishes to kill Omort the Deathless.
Holly Ashwin rushes to Gibson Hall as she is late. When she arrives someone has written "CLASS IS CANCELLED" on the chalkboard. Before she can figure out what is happening she's drugged and passes out. A group of Demons trace her away.
Cadeon is watching and furiously begins track them down. Rydstrom calls him and reveals that Groot the Metallurgist is the one they are working for, he's forged a sword that can kill Omort. He wants the Vessel, Cade realises that the demons took Holly because they think she's the Vessel. Only one demon faction could have gotten her that fast, The Order of Demonaeus.
Cade drives there. Holly wakes with 12 strange men leering at her chanting "Demonaeus". Holly is terrified until she's struck by lightning. Transforming into a Valkyrie she kills all of them and then collapses terrified. Cadeon arrives and escorts her out.
A contingent of Vampires arrive and they shoot at them Cade gets them out and Rydstrom calls him. Cade reveals that he has the Vessel and it's Holly, who they think is his fated female.
Rydstrom then stops to avoid killing a woman. His car is totalled and she brings him into a dungeon trapping him and revealing she is Sabine, Queen of Illusions, Omort's sister.
Holly is disgusted by Cade's house, Rydstrom's pool house. Holly showers but is interrupted when Vampires arrive looking for her. Rök arrives and Cade orders him to keep some of the Vampires for questioning and take out the rest of the Order of Demonaeus. Holly and Cade take Rydstrom's Veyron to the meeting place. Rydstrom doesn't show but Nix does. Nix gives Holly clothes and talks with Cade, she seems reluctant for him to go through the deal for the sword now that the Vessel is a Valkyrie.
She agrees to go along with Cade's lies and stall the other Valkyrie if he promises not to travel by air. They have to reach four checkpoints before they will be given Groot's location. The first one is Mississippi Mile marker 775.
They stop for the day in a Memphis hotel. Cade gets Holly breakfast and goes through her bag looking for the letter Nix gave her. They talk about the change but Holly gets angry when she catches him smelling her hair. Holly calls her boyfriend and talks to him and Cade jealous interrupts and kisses Holly.
The next day Cade asks for Holly's help removing a bullet from his thigh. He uses it as an excuse to tempt her into touching his cock and when she realises she refuses to help him. Cade removes the bullet on his own.
They reach their destination after a day of travelling, and go to the Sandbar, a Lorean bar owned by Imatra, their contact. Imatra takes Cade into the back to talk and Holly stays at the bar. After being offered a drink from Deshazior she accepts after being told it's bad luck to refuse.
Cade talks to Imatra and she hedges, not giving him the location of the next checkpoint. She finally agrees to give it to him in exchange for a kiss. Holly bursts in furious about how long he's taken to get the information. For Cade it's been hardly anytime, outside he realises Imatra slowed time in the back room.
Holly beginning to feel the effects of the Demon Brew doesn't believe him and becomes increasingly drunk. As they drive back to the hotel she becomes naseous. and reveals she had nine shots. Cade questions her while her inhibitions are down.
The next morning she is furious that he invaded her privacy and took advantage of her. They stop for the night in Chicago as Holly gets carsick trying to read with her old glasses she no longer needs.
Cade begins to train her promising that if she lands a hit he will get her OCD pills, that she believes might halt her transformation into a Valkyrie. Holly becomes enraged fighting and destroys most of her room. Someone heard the ruckus and called the cops. Because her room is wrecked, her eyes have gone silver and she most likely still has Demon Brew in her system Cade says she's going to jail.
Cade makes her agree to watch a skin flick with him if he can distract the cop. She agrees and Cade takes the cop to a bar buys him a drink and pays him off. While he's gone Holly dismantles the broken furniture and hides it. Holly watches the film and finds herself aroused by it.
That night she dreams about her and Cade. When she wakes she's aroused and Cade finds her he makes a deal to get her off in under three minutes. They make another deal, if he fails he'll get her pills and go a week without cursing and if he succeeds she'll get him off and go a week without panties. He succeeds and smashes his watch, that he used to time.
That day they go shopping, Holly buys warmer clothes for the winter, in the store Cade begs a kiss in exchange for her panties back. Holly overhears a group of girls in another changeroom giggling over Cade and becomes jealous. Cade sends Holly to buy boots for snow and does some errands.
Cade gets them both new watches and has her glasses' lens replaced with clear ones so they won't hurt her eyes while she works and an expensive diamond ring to aversion train her. They have dinner Cade presenting her with the watch and seafood for dinner in a way that doesn't upset her OCD.
After he presents her with the ring and gets her to turn away. They head toward Bloodwater River, Michigan, Cade lets her drive and the speed of the car (210 mph) arouses her, Cade notices makes her pull over and give her cunnilingus on the hood of the car while he jacks off. They agree to do it every 420 miles.
Cade and Holly arrive at The Laughing Lady Bridge in Bloodwater River twenty minutes before they are meant to meet their contact. They walk to the bridge where the ghosts of a serial killer's victims attack Cade until Holly tells them he's with her.
They're then attacked by fey archers, led by Tera the Fey. Hiding from the attackers Cade tell Holly she's his fated female. After Cade takes several more hits goes to attack the archer, when he sees it's Tera and she see it's him, Tera calls them off, apologising because the arrows were tipped with poison which is going to hurt Cade as he's a Rage Demon. Tera agrees to get the word out that Holly's offlimit's to the good guys.
The group are then attacked by Fire Demons on the cliffs. Holly gets Cade in the car and and drives across the bridge. The car's held up by ghosts who give her coordinates for the third checkpoint and ask for an exorcist. Holly agrees and drives off.
They don't get far down the road until the car blows a tire. Holly rigs a blockade to trap their follower and kills the Demon when he goes through the windscreen of his car. In a hotel while he heals Cade downs Demon Brew. Holly takes the chance to ask him questions about him, especially his relationship with Rydstrom.
Holly calls Tim when Cade passes out and begins to feel unsatisfied with their relationship. They buy a new truck and drive into Canada. As they drive to the next check point, Cade continues to train Holly in sword-fighting. When he gives a break to work on her encryption code, she calls her friend Mei instead who tells her that her boyfriend say Tim claim that Holly's work was his and downplay her work on their joint efforts.
Holly calls Tim and eventually he admits it, Holly breaks up with him. She moves her work to a secure server that he doesn't have access to. When Cade returns they make out but he stops them from having sex, not wanting to fully betray her.
The final checkpoint before Groot's fortress is the rundown White Tail Lodge. Holly decides she wants Cade to claim her and after a phonecall with Nix she seduces him. They spend the rest of their time before the deadline in the lodge training and making love. Cade fetches supplies while Holly works on her code, making a major breakthrough.
Cade tries to organise a capture of Neomi Laress, but ultimately his mercenaries fail. His other thought to have them standby and attack the fortress fails when a storm begins and reduces visibility.
They arrive at Groot's fortress, the town below it is surrounded by Wendigo and unnaturally warm thanks to his forge. Cade arrives and give Groot Holly in exchange for the sword. He is knocked unconscious by a sleeping potion.
Groot takes Holly into his quarters and tries to romance her, finally she is unable to play along any further and he threatens to turn her into a Revenant. She attacks him and escapes eventually ending up in the would be town of Prosperity below the fortress.
Cadeon wakes and attacks Groot, desperate to help Holly and furious over the sleeping potion. He kills Groot, throwing him into the forge, killing his Revenants and causing an explosion.
Holly, furious over Cade's perceived betrayal and enraged on the behalf of the men and women of Prosperity takes an axe and kills all the Wendigo. She then walks north, at night following the Northern Lights thanks to the story Cade told her about them being associated with the Valkyrie.
Nix and Regin the Radiant find Holly and take her to the airport. Cade tracked her there but Cara the Fair takes off before he reaches her. When Holly gets to Val Hall she feels sick and then throws up. As Valkyrie don't throw up they know she is pregnant. They give her the trailing name of Holly the Bright.
Cadeon mopes around New Orleans trying to find Nix so he can talk to Holly, and when he does it's because she finds him. Nix tells him to buy her house as he can't keep living in Rydstrom's Pool House if he wants a relationship. She also reveals that she lied about Neomi's death and helped her escape to get "with Groot dead, with you in possession of a mystickal sword, and with Holly" pregnant with a warrior for good. But she doesn't tell Cade Holly's pregnant.
Nix tells Cade that his brother is back in town and he goes to see him. Rydstrom is acting strange and barely notices that Cade got the sword. A woman calls out for help from upstairs and Rydstrom goes back inside.
Nix arranges a meeting of Holly and Cade at the house he bought for her, filled with items arranged in threes. Cade talks to Holly apologises for leaving her with Groot and making her think he had betrayed her and they make up.
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