by Adrian, Lara
Carys sat at full attention. “Fielding has one of those rooms too. I found it just before Ennis Riordan grabbed me.”
“Gideon doesn’t know about it?” Lucan asked.
She shook her head. “My connection to him broke off as soon as I entered the room. It had the same kind of equipment in it, and the room was hidden, just like Riordan’s.”
The three Order commanders exchanged a grave look.
“What is it?” Carys asked. “What’s wrong?”
Chase exhaled a sigh. “Fielding is dead. We got the word from Brynne as we were touching down in Dublin. He killed himself, just like Hayden Ivers, that human lawyer you led us to.”
Nathan and Rafe strode into the great hall at that same moment.
“We’re loading up the vehicles now,” Nathan announced. “Tegan and Hunter want you to know we can be ready to roll out within the hour.”
“Good,” Lucan said. He turned a glance on Rune. “Like we said, the cache downstairs is too dangerous to be left behind. We need to destroy it before we go. This was your home at one point, so if there’s anything you want to take away from here—”
Rune gave a firm shake of his head. “This was never a home, not to anyone. And I already have the only thing I need to take with me,” he said, drawing Carys further under his arm. “When I left Boston two nights ago, I promised myself I wouldn’t come back until my father was dead and this place was razed to the ground.”
Lucan held his gaze solemnly, then nodded. “Okay. That’s all I needed to know.”
~ ~ ~
Less than an hour later, Rune sat in the back of a UV-shielded vehicle with Carys. Chase occupied the seat facing them in the big SUV. Up front, Aric was behind the wheel with Nathan riding shotgun.
Theirs was the last car in the line of idling vehicles parked in the castle’s sunlit courtyard. The other warriors in their UV gear had just finished packing up what they needed to take back with them to headquarters and were preparing to depart for the Dublin airport.
Chase touched his earpiece and listened for moment. “All right, Lucan,” he murmured into his mic. “We’re rolling out.”
Rune drew Carys close as the fleet started moving. She glanced back, looking out the rear window as they left the courtyard and the castle. He felt her faint shudder. Through his blood bond to her, he felt her overwhelming relief as the place they’d narrowly survived fell farther and farther in their wake.
They’d come through fire together in that place.
They’d emerged stronger, inseparable. Invincible, as long as they had each other.
Rune had no need to look back. There was nothing to see there anymore.
His life lay ahead of him now. With Carys at his side.
As his mate.
A formality he intended to complete as soon as they arrived back in the States.
She pivoted back around and settled against him with a sigh. Rune stroked her cheek, then couldn’t resist lowering his head to kiss her. He didn’t even care that her father was sitting across from them.
When he glanced up, Chase’s blue eyes were locked on him. He held something in his hand. “Whenever you’re ready, son.”
Rune took the small remote detonator. As he stared at it, Carys looked up at him, her gaze filled with love and tenderness.
He held his future in his arms.
His past would never touch him again.
So, hell yeah. He was more than ready.
Rune pushed the button, then tossed the remote aside. As the percussion sounded in the distance behind them, he cupped Carys’s beautiful face in his palms and kissed her with all the love—and hope—he felt in his heart.
CHAPTER 42
When they arrived at the D.C. headquarters later that night, everyone was waiting to see them.
“Oh, my girl!” Tavia rushed to fold Carys into her tight embrace as soon as she entered the mansion.
When Carys turned to introduce Rune to her mother, Tavia ignored his extended hand and wrapped him in a warm hug too. Carys grinned as she watched her big, tough fighter get swamped by her mother’s boundless affection. He stood stiff and awkward at first, but eventually his strong arms relaxed and a smile curved his mouth.
There were a lot of relieved, happy tears from most of the Order’s women. A lot of worry and concern about everything Carys had endured. And a lot of questions about how she and Rune had managed to not only survive their ordeal in Riordan’s hands, but to triumph over him and his men virtually on their own.
All of the questions and buzzing conversation slowed to a pause the moment Nova quietly came around to the front of the noisy reunion. Her blue eyes were shy under the angular sweep of her blue-and-black hair. Her smile was uncertain as her tattooed hands fidgeted with the hem of her black shirt.
Rune stared. She glanced up at him and nodded mutely. That was all it took.
He stepped forward and scooped Nova into his arms with a shout of joy. When he set her down again, he held her face between his palms, drinking her in.
“You’re all grown up. You look amazing,” he said, his deep voice thick with emotion. “You look . . . happy.”
“I am,” she replied. “I’m happier now that you’re back in my life too, Aed—”
“Rune,” he said. “If that’s okay with you.”
She nodded. “Nova.”
The siblings hugged again. Rune reached out to snag Carys by the arm, pulling her into their happy family. Then Mathias drifted over to join his Breedmate. With one arm around Nova, he reached out and clasped Rune’s shoulder.
Soon, the fancy drawing room of the mansion was filled with the entire Order and all of their mates. Rune was introduced to all of the women, and Carys enjoyed the numerous, approving looks she got from the other warriors’ mates as they all greeted her man.
She held his hand, feeling so proud to belong to him. She couldn’t wait to begin their future, away from all of the commotion and the reality of all the dangerous missions that still lay ahead for the Order. Maybe even for Rune and her too.
As warm as their welcome was—and as grateful as she was for the love they were receiving from everyone there tonight—now that she was home with Rune, Carys couldn’t wait to be alone with him.
Gabrielle seemed to understand how she was feeling. Lucan’s mate came over to Carys and leaned in close to her ear. “There’s an empty guest room on the third floor at the end of the hall. If you and Rune would like to use it to freshen up or rest for a while, consider it yours.”
Carys murmured her thanks and gently squeezed Rune’s hand. They slipped away at the first opportunity, heading immediately for the stairs.
They ducked inside the guest room and Rune kicked the door closed behind them. Carys had her arms and legs wrapped around him, held aloft in his strong arms. They kissed like mad, eyes blazing with desire, fangs tangling in their frenzy for each other.
Rune carried her to the king-size bed and laid her down. His big hands trembled as he stripped off her ruined clothes.
“We should clean up first,” Carys murmured.
He shook his head. “Later. Right now, I just need you.”
She needed him too. It had always been like this for them, but now, the desire was even more intense. Carys watched him, enthralled, knowing that the passion they shared would always be this fierce and undeniable.
Rune was naked now as well. He crawled over her on the bed, his immense body radiating heat and power and so much love it stole her breath. His wounds were healed over. The faint red welts left on his skin would be gone by morning.
He looked so strong and formidable. So incredibly sexy.
And he was hers.
Tonight more than ever, they belonged to each other.
She needed him, right now. On a throaty growl, she pressed her hands against his chest and tossed him onto his back. She straddled his hips, her wet cleft sliding along his length as she leaned down and met his mouth with a deep, demanding kiss.
> A shift of her hips positioned him at her core. She wanted to prolong the delicious feeling of their bodies moving together in a teasing tempo, not yet joined. But her hunger for him was too intense.
She lifted her pelvis, seating herself on the upward jut of his cock. He hissed as she sank all the way down. When she started riding him, he held on to her and groaned in pleasure, his neck tendons straining as taut as cables.
“Damn, you feel good,” he rasped. She kicked up her pace and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Ah, fuck. Slow it down, baby. Let’s make this last a while.”
She tossed her head and grinned down at him. “We’ve got all night to slow it down. You said yourself you’re feeling healed and strong again.”
“Oh, yeah,” he ground out, bucking hard beneath her as if to show her just how revived he truly was.
“That’s good,” she purred. “So there’s no need for me to go easy on you, then.”
His eyes ignited with amber fire. “Holy hell, you are a force to be reckoned with. And, Christ . . . you’re ruthless too.”
He grabbed her hips as she rocked on him and undulated in deep circles. She slid in an unhurried, but purposeful rhythm up and down his length, delighting in his pleasure.
She felt his muscles tense. His hips thrust feverishly, meeting her strokes, hungry for more. She showed him no mercy as his climax swiftly built to a frenzy. His big body shook, and a jagged shout tore loose from him as he exploded inside her.
Carys kept moving on him, relishing the way his body responded to her.
He gazed up at her from under heated eyes. “I can see we’re gonna have to lay down some ground rules about who’s in charge.”
She smirked. “You know how I feel about rules.”
He reached up to caress her cheek. “How do you feel about forever with me, love?”
Elation sent her heart soaring. She licked her lips. “I thought you’d never ask.”
With her eyes fixed on his throbbing carotid, she leaned down and sank her fangs into his neck. Rune let out a sharp moan as her bite took hold. Then his arms wrapped around her protectively, possessively while she began to drink from him.
And as his blood roared down her throat and into her body’s cells—into her soul—Rune rolled her beneath him and began to make love to her slowly, showing her just how passionate and perfect their forever was going to be.
~*~
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PLEASE HELP WITH A REVIEW
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Thank you for reading Bound to Darkness. I hope you enjoyed Carys and Rune’s story!
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* * * * *
Turn the page to begin reading the next book in this collection:
Defy the Dawn
DEFY THE DAWN
Return to the "addictively readable" (Chicago Tribune) Midnight Breed vampire romance series with an explosive novel of paranormal seduction and dangerous thrills from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Lara Adrian.
Daywalker Brynne Kirkland survived a hellish upbringing as a product of a madman's lab. Tough, driven, and devoted to her work in law enforcement, Brynne has never dared to risk opening her heart to anyone--least of all a handsome immortal from a world on the verge of war against hers.
Atlantean warrior Zael left the intrigue of his realm several lifetimes ago, along with the battles he fought as one of the queen's legion. As a free-spirited loner walking the fringe of two worlds--that of his secretive and powerful people, and the outside world belonging to mankind and the Breed--it was never his intention to return to combat and bloodshed. Nor had he imagined that he might ever be tempted into anything stronger than desire . . . until he meets Brynne.
Thrust together as allies of the Order in the fight against a diabolical enemy, Zael and Brynne embark on a mission that will ultimately force them to decide between duty to their people, and a passion that defies all bounds.
~ ~ ~
“There aren't many authors who can keep a series fresh and exciting for 14 books (and 6 novellas!) but Lara Adrian is one of them and I'm loving the Midnight Breed series more than ever.”
—Feeling Fictional
“Defy the Dawn reminds me a lot of what I loved about the first few books in the series. There’s great action and suspense and there’s also a lot of complex worldbuilding and politics in play, but at the heart of it all, these books are epic romances.”
—Under the Covers
* * * * *
CHAPTER 1
London, England
Brynne Kirkland threw her head back and downed the shot of premium whisky in one throat-scalding gulp. Being Breed, alcohol wasn’t her typical drink of choice. This noisy bar and strobe-lit dance club in Cheapside wasn’t her usual after-hours hangout either. On those rare occasions when she socialized, the staid taverns and social clubs on the other side of the Thames were more her speed.
Then again, that was precisely why she was here.
She needed to decompress, let off some steam.
Get a little wild for once in her life.
Ah, to hell with the pretense of decorum. After the lousy day she’d just had, what she really needed was to get drunk and get laid.
Preferably in that order.
She also needed to feed. Although quenching that other self-inflicted dry spell was a problem she was hardly prepared to deal with on a good day, let alone now.
Setting the shot glass down on the mirrored surface of the sleek bar, she licked her lips and blew out a heavy sigh. The bartender was right there with the bottle of Glenmorangie as soon as she lifted her finger to beckon him over.
Ginger-haired, broad-shouldered, with a pair of sweet dimples bracketing his friendly smile, the twenty-something human wasn’t hard to look at in the least. And given his firm, muscular body, obviously honed by years of dedicated work in the gym, he looked reasonably able to withstand the intense cardiovascular workout he’d get from taking a Breed female into his bed.
Which is more than she could say for most of the other human men in the place tonight. She had already sized up and mentally discarded a dozen potential candidates for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being the fear that sex with one of her kind was liable to kill a mere mortal from sheer exhaustion alone. She already had one dead human on her record this week; she damned well didn’t need to add another.
The bartender took in her conservative white silk button-down and dark navy slacks as he refilled her shot glass. She’d come straight from work, hadn’t even bothered to pull her hair loose from its tidy twist at the back of her head.
“Rough day at the office, luv?” The bartender asked over the throbbing pulse of the club music.
Brynne arched a brow at his unwitting remark. “You have no idea.”
She’d spent the past decade building her career as an investigator at the London branch of JUSTIS—the Breed/human law enforcement organization more formally known as the Joint Urban Security Taskforce Initiative Squad. She’d worked hard, devoted her life to her job. Hell, the job was her life.
Or, rather, it had been until a few hours ago.
Everything she’d worked for had gone down in flames—all the worse because she had no one to blame but herself.
Two nights ago, she’d secretly assisted a covert mission with Lucan Thorne and the Order, willfully withholding information about that mission from her colleagues and superiors at JUSTIS, well aware that in so doing she was gambling with her career. Thankfully, the Order mission had been a success. They’d struck a major blow against the terror g
roup Opus Nostrum, taking out a key player in Dublin and unmasking another in London. Brynne’s cooperation had been instrumental in making that happen.
Unfortunately, JUSTIS didn’t see it that way.
Her superiors had no quibble with the Order exterminating the Breed male in Ireland. Fineas Riordan was a known criminal and underworld figure, but the human councilman who killed himself in London rather than fall into the hands of the Order was a scandal that JUSTIS could not afford.
Never mind that Neville Fielding had been corrupt and secretly on the take with Opus Nostrum. Never mind that the two men, along with the deadly cabal they belonged to, had declared themselves in war against the rest of the civilized world.
And never mind that Brynne had done what she believed was right—the result being two fewer problems for the world to worry about later.
None of that mattered, because in aiding the Order on their clandestine operation, she had willfully defied JUSTIS command. She’d broken the organization’s trust.
For the first time ever, she had followed her heart instead of her head.
Unfortunately, the price was her career.
If that didn’t call for a few shots of single malt and a rare, blindingly hot one-night-stand with someone she’d never see again, she didn’t know what did.
Wrapping her fingers around the small glass the bartender had generously filled to the rim, Brynne tossed it back. She felt his heated gaze on her, felt the ripple of his sexual interest thicken the air as he watched her swallow the fiery liquor then wipe the back of her hand across her parted lips.
“Another, please.”
His answering smile was slow, charmingly crooked. Framed by those endearing twin dimples. “Careful now, luv. Take things too fast here tonight, and you’ll leave me no choice but to carry you home.”