Black Rayne Silent Screams

by Yvonne Nicolas

  “We don"t hunt Andausians, Quest,” Copper scoffed.

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  “Maybe we should,” he retorted, rolling his eyes in her direction.

  “I"m sorry, are you…?” Blaze shifted in her chair like she was suddenly

  uncomfortable. “Are you seriously arguing with us about this?”

  “All of ya"ll need to slow your roll. This has no bearing to our current

  situation. And we don"t divide over pettiness,” Steel grumbled, his head dipped

  and his hand clasped at the nape of his neck. “Focus on what lies ahead.”

  Quest"s expression was bleak, and then it softened. “Naw, I"m just saying…”

  With the faint shake of his head, he dragged his hands down his face. “Forget

  about it. I"ma go check on Jade.”

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  Chapter Eighteen

  Troubled Mind

  Jade sat on the floor, silently gazing through the window and listened to the

  conversation between her team members take a sharp turn to the south—super

  demons, a warlock, and the Dragon Queen. It had the whole team flustered.

  They weren"t used to getting beat down by any hell-raised creatures. They"d

  always been the victors. Now they faced something that sowed uncertainty

  throughout the group. Would they get out alive or be destroyed by the very

  creatures they"d battled all their lives?

  The odds didn"t tip in their favor.

  As she blocked out the ongoing discussion, she rested her head against the

  window frame and tightened her fingers around the sacred piece entrusted to her.

  Sluggishly, she opened her hand and looked down at the gold wing-shaped amulet.

  Attached to a gold choker spiraled with silver streams, it gleamed radiantly. It"d

  been a part of her ever since she regained consciousness.

  The promise she"d made to Father Hamiway moved into her thoughts.

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  For the past couple hours, she"d been trying to think of a way to tell her

  team she had to find the most feared creature in the world and deliver the amulet

  to him. Demetri Bithanos. She"d been calling to him through the airways ever since

  she opened her eyes. He hadn"t responded, but she had a feeling he heard her.

  Cursing under her breath, she lost her fingers in her thick fro. Somehow she

  had to get him to respond. It wasn"t guaranteed they"d make it out of Tokyo alive,

  and she"d be damned if she was taken away before fulfilling her promise.

  She gazed at the heavenly crafted jewel and a question dangled on the edge

  of her mind. Why was she supposed to give this scared item to Demetri? What was

  the vampire"s connection in all of this?

  The amulet hung off the side of her hand. The flickering light from the small

  candle in the corner of the room teased the intertwined strands of silver. The

  design became animated, casting flashes of brilliant colored patterns along the

  wall.

  “Wow,” she breathed out.

  Taken by the sight, she moved it closer to the dancing flame. The wings of

  the fetish expanded then absorbed the light from the wick until the flame died

  down to nothing.

  Her attention snapped to the fusuma door when it slid open. She closed her

  fingers around the amulet.

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  Quest appeared in the doorway like a sultry dream. He ambled in with a

  tray of food balanced on one hand. Those dangerous orbs boldly caressed her. She

  squeezed her thighs together and swallowed back a whimper.

  “I brought you some sashimi, miso soup and Sake.” He set the tray on the

  low bed and squatted next to her. “Mrs. Kahuro got a lot more where that came

  from. I swear, that woman cooks almost as much as my mom used to. She"s slick

  like my mom too.” He tapped the bottle of Sake. “She strained medicinal herbs into

  the Sake. Guess she thought she had to be sneaky about it.”

  Jade eyed the food calling to her stomach then dragged her eyes up to meet

  his smoky grey gaze. Huffing, she turned to face the window. He sensed her

  attraction to him and that alone irritated her.

  God, why did he have to be here, taunting her with his masculine beauty?

  In an effort to put some distance between them, she scooted closer to the

  wall and drew her knees to her chest.

  “You have to eat something, mami,” he coaxed softly.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block his voice out, but her lust for

  him was relentless. “Go away. I want to be alone . ”

  “Jade…”

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  “Don"t,” she whispered harshly. “God, Quest, there are times when I need to

  hear your voice in my head.” She pinned him with a pleading glance, before looking

  back out the window. “This is not one of those times.”

  “Jade, I just wanna help.”

  “Then please…leave me alone,” she begged, resting her temple against the

  edge of the window frame.

  Ardently, Quest watched her, willing back his rising desire. Her rich

  swarthy skin tone was a beautiful contrast to the loose, flower printed shorts and

  the abbreviated kimono. She had unraveled her cornrows. A wavy afro rested along

  her shoulders.

  He peered down at her injured leg where the demon had latched onto her.

  The gauze Fabian used as a bandage wrapped all the way up to her sexy, muscled

  thigh. Biting down on his bottom lip, he fought the urge to graze the frazzled

  material with the tips of his fingers.

  “Go away, please.”

  His brain, the surprisingly stable part of him, told him to get up and leave

  her alone, but his body ran solo. She"d been though a lot and he should respect her

  wishes, but he had a deep down feeling that leaving her alone wasn"t the best thing

  for her.

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  He slid the tray of food from the bed and set it in front of her. She shifted her

  eyes from the window down to his hand. He picked up a piece of sashimi with the

  chop sticks, dipped it in the soy sauce and brought it up to her lips.

  “Quest, what are you—”

  “Eat,” he ordered in a seductive whisper.

  Those big, beautiful emerald eyes sliced toward him and he thought his

  heart would stop. She plucked the fish from the chopsticks and tossed it in her

  mouth. “I don"t need any help feeding myself.” Without taking her eyes from his,

  she snatched the chop sticks from his fingers. “And I don"t need you here, right

  now.”

  She placed slice after slice of sashimi in her mouth, hardly taking a breath,

  focusing on everything but him. “Jade—”

  “Every night!”

  He jerked at her sudden outburst.

  “Every damned night, up until our mission you had some skanky ass

  Japanese girl all up on you!” Her alluring African accent deepened with every

  word.

  “Que? ”

  “Just, just get out of here and leave me the hell alone!”

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  “No.” He pushed the tray of food out of the way and inched closer to her. “I

  thought we agreed not do this, Jade. I thought we agreed not to let that kiss break

  us.”

  Months ago, on a night after a vicious battle, he gave into his desire to kiss

  those thick, luscious lips. A kiss he"d always wanted to give her, but feared it

  would ruin their friendship, which it did. It started out heavy, blood
pumping,

  adrenaline rushed. They were literally ripping at each other"s clothes. He"d been

  ready to make love to her until they both lacked the energy to go on, but then she

  confessed he would be her first.

  That night, he slammed on the brakes hard and walked away from her sad

  emerald gaze.

  He wasn"t worthy. Such a gift should be given to someone who would be

  true to her. Not someone like him, a man with a physical weakness for beautiful,

  exotic women.

  She glared at him in disbelief. “You are unbelievable,” she sneered though

  clenched teeth.

  Pushing at his chest, she tried to stand up, but he grabbed her arm and held

  her in place.

  “I know you"re a hoe. The whole team knows you"re a hoe. But that"s not

  good enough. Every chance you get, you flaunt your playthings in my face!”

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  “What girl, I"m not flaunting anything in your face.”

  “Let me go, Quest!” she demanded, writhing in his grasp.

  “Don"t do this Jade. Don"t push me away.”

  She landed a blow to his jaw and knocked him on his back. Immediately, she

  shot to her feet. “I told you, I don"t want to hear your voice in my head right now!”

  She stepped over him and headed for the door, faster than he"d expected her

  to move. Determined to keep her in the room, he pushed up from the floor, ran

  after her and grabbed her from behind.

  In a quick spin maneuver, she broke out of his grasp, then swung her fist to

  punch him again, but this time he caught her hand. Gripping her arm and mid-

  section, he tossed her onto the bed. Before he could pin her down, she rolled off,

  stood and got into a battle stance.

  “You picked the wrong day to mess with me, Quest.” She struck him with a

  hard glare. “Wrong! Day!”

  “A"ight.” He yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. “You

  want to kick my ass? Fine. Let"s do it.” He matched her stance. “But you can forget

  it if you think I"m „bout to walk out the door and leave you alone.”

  Her eyes grazed down to his bare chest. The tip of her pink tongue darted

  out to wet her luscious lips. Her hardened nipples pushed out against the silky

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  fabric of the kimono. A hint of her arousal lit up his senses, flared his nose and

  increased his blood flow.

  Aye cono, she was doing it to him again.

  Jade brought her gaze up to his and for a second, he saw pure lust gleaming

  from those hypnotizing green eyes. A violent shake of her head cleared the spark of

  desire instantly and gave way to daggers.

  She advance and propelled her leg toward his head. He reared back to dodge

  the strike. The heel of her foot missed his head by inches. As soon as her foot

  touched the ground, she struck his jaw with her fist. The taste of his own blood

  swirled about in his mouth.

  Rattled, he stepped back to avoid her next attack. She came toward him

  again with a flying fist, her eyes burning silver. He spun out of her path and

  grabbed her arm. Her shin dug into his ribs, and dropped him to one knee. Just as

  she was about to bring her leg down on his head, he crossed his arms up high,

  blocked it then swept her other leg from under her, bringing her down.

  Once she hit the floor, her foot struck him in the side of the head. She

  scurried away then was back on her feet in no time.

  Turned on without a doubt, he rose laggardly and palmed his head with a

  smirk. Bothered by his enjoyment of the battle, she delivered a kick to the center of

  his chest, pushing him back against the wall, which he accepted willingly.

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  Not even an injured leg could prevent her from kicking ass. There was no

  way she could"ve gotten any sexier than she was right now. His hardening cock

  strained against the woven material of his pants.

  “Want some more?” He beckoned her with a crook of his finger.

  Fury swept across her face. Her lips tightened and eyes twitched. She

  clenched her teeth as if she was about to snarl, then proceeded toward him again,

  her fists clutched tight. He shifted to the side on the first strike, caught her arm on

  the second, spun her around, and then twisted it behind her back.

  Grunting, she threw her head back, knocking him in the chin, but that

  wasn"t enough to grant her release. With her free hand, she reached between their

  bodies, grabbed his semi hard length and squeezed.

  Aw shit!

  Biting back a groan, he wrapped his forearm around her neck. “Let me go,”

  he demanded in a hoarse whisper.

  She squeezed harder and his body jolted. “No, you let me go.”

  He tightened his hold on her neck and pressed his lips against her ear. “I"ll

  never let you go . ”

  She stomped down hard on his foot.

  “Aye c ono, Jade,” he grumbled before releasing her.

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  Stumbling away, she turned and glowered at him. “Why do you keep doing

  this? Why can"t you just leave me alone?” she shouted.

  Words were suddenly lost to him.

  Jade"s eyes shifted from emerald, to silver, then to a horrifying shade of

  white. The lights flashed and dimmed. The furniture in the room elevated.

  Maybe he should"ve left her alone. “Baby—”

  “No, Quest!” Fat tears formed in her colorless eyes. “It was stupid of me to

  believe that night meant anything to you! I"m just another piece of ass! You"re just

  waiting for somebody else to break me in, so you can have a stab at it, right?” She

  put her hands out. “What Quest! You like „em seasoned? You don"t want my virgin

  blood smeared all over your fine Latino dick?”

  “What da― chica you talking loco shit now! You know damn well that"s not

  how I feel about you!”

  “Quest, everything alright in there?” Steel asked cautiously from the other

  side of the door.

  “I"m handling it.”

  “Okay dude, I want to believe you. I really do,” Spade chimed dubiously.

  “But uhm, it"s kind of hard to do when everything out here"s…floating in midair!”

  “I"m handling it,” Quest repeated in much calmer voice. “Stay clear of the

  door, a"ight.” Carefully, he crept toward her, his arms out, praying his invitation

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  would calm her. “Baby, lemme hold you for a lil" bit. Lemme ease the pain that"s

  burning your heart.”

  Shaking her head violently, she stepped back. “No.”

  He reached out to take hold of her against her will, and then realized his feet

  were no longer on the floor. Her white eyes narrowed at him.

  Uh oh.

  Pushing through her force, he lunged forward, palmed the sides of her face

  and pressed his lips to hers.

  Everything that was airborne dropped to the floor, including him. He landed

  on his feet, and quickly embraced her. She melted against him and wept like a

  baby. With a sigh of relief, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed.

  “Uh, she okay now?” Steel asked.

  “She"s releasing,” Quest replied.

  “Good. Hopefully she gets it all out before we have to face those demons again,” Spade

  added.

  “I"ll make sure she does,” he promised, spooning against her.

  Hands covered her fa
ce and she cried uncontrollably. He brushed her course

  hair back from her temple and noticed something sparkly looped around her

  fingers. It was the amulet Father Hamiway had given her—the sacred jewel she

  refused to part with. Keeping it in her possession had to rub salt in her internal

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  wounds, but asking her to put it down for the sake of her emotions would

  guarantee another punch to the face.

  As time passed, her pain-filled cries died down to soft whimpers and

  sniffles. Quest held onto her the entire time, hoping the warmth of his body gave

  her some sort of comfort.

  “Why are you still here,” she whispered between sobs.

  “Sabes por qué,” he replied softly, rubbing his nose along the rim of her ear.

  “You know why I"m still here.”

  “Don"t do that.” Her body shuddered in his embrace. “You know I hate it

  when you talk Spanish to me.”

  “Mentirosa.” Sensing the gradual rise of her body temperature, he tightened

  his grip around her waist. “You know you love it.”

  A sweet moan seeped from her lips as he pushed his hardened cock against

  her ass. Yeah, a brave move, but he couldn"t help himself.

  “Quest…” She wiggled her ass along his length, drawing out a strained groan.

  “Don"t do this to me again.”

  “I won"t do anything you don"t want me to.”

  She pulled away. “You can"t be this close to me. It"s messing me up. Please

  stop.”

  He drew her back against him. “It"s calming you.”

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  “It"s making me horny.”

  “Yeah?” He brushed his hand across her injured leg.

  She rolled onto her back to look up at him with puffy eyes. “I appreciate you

  staying with me, but I think you should probably leave now.”

  “Not a chance.”

  He drew up on his knees and tugged on the bandage. Looking for a sign of

  pain, he watched her eyes. When he saw none, he grabbed her ankle, rested it on

  his shoulder and grazed her inner thigh. Her hips jerked and her leg trembled.

  “Quest, please don"t do this now. We"re in somebody"s house.”

  Like that would stop him.

  He started at her ankle, carefully unraveling the cloth to expose more of her