Smoldering Hunger

by Donna Grant

  “As rare as the Arc of the Covenant,” Sophie mumbled to herself.

  It wasn’t just the sex. She wished it was so she could schedule something every few weeks. Waking up that morning to find Darius still in bed had done something to her, changed her.

  She rose to pour herself some wine. Noon had come and gone, and she couldn’t watch another minute on the telly. With Ulrik’s men out there, she wasn’t keen on leaving her flat either. She also had no idea when Darius would be back.

  He said he’d return. She hoped he would, but she was preparing herself for the fact that he wouldn’t.

  “It’s better to expect the worst,” she said as she sipped her wine.

  She’d let Darius into her life—and her heart. Now Sophie feared it had been a mistake. What if he hurt her? What if he didn’t return?

  Sophie lifted her chin. She’d been through worse. She would get through whatever happened with Darius.

  All the while she prayed that he came back to her. She liked the new outlook on life that he’d given her. Did he even know what he’d done for her? She didn’t think so.

  She was going insane thinking of what Darius might be doing and if he would come back to her. That’s when Sophie found a deck of cards and played solitaire.

  She was on her third game and shuffling when she remembered she had downloaded an app on her phone. She set the cards aside and curled up on the couch with her mobile to begin playing.

  It took only a few games before she got bored. Sophie moved onto Bubble Witch 2, and played that until she ran out of lives. It was addictive, but she wasn’t going to pay good money to buy more lives that would magically appear in ten minutes or so.

  She began looking through all the apps on her phone that she never paid attention to and discovered that she had downloaded an e-book reader, and that there was a book there.

  Sophie decided to give it a try since it was a romance, and she was suddenly interested in such things. Before she knew it, she was sucked into the book. What made her stop reading was when she put herself in the heroine’s place and put Darius in the hero’s.

  She tossed the book down, staring at it as if it was the Devil incarnate.

  “Never again,” she whispered.

  Wasn’t that what she’d told herself? Why didn’t it work to remind her not to fall for another man?

  Sophie stood and walked around her flat. With nothing else to do, she began to clean. First she dusted. Then she vacuumed before she wiped down all of her cabinets and scrubbed her sink.

  When that was done, she made her way into the bathroom and scoured the shower, tub, sink, and toilet. When she finished mopping the bathroom and kitchen, she wiped the back of her hand over her brow and sighed.

  The flat might have needed a good scrubbing, but it reminded her how much she hated to clean. It was easy to ignore when she was rarely in her flat, but having to spend the day looking at everything had gotten to be too much.

  That wasn’t entirely true. It was thinking about Darius and being bored that prompted her to clean. So the moral was not to be bored.

  With that solved, Sophie put away all the cleaning supplies and put away the dry cleaning she’d picked up a few days earlier that was still hanging on the back of her closet door.

  She finished putting the last piece away when there was a knock on her door. Sophie stared at it a moment before she walked from her room and hesitantly made her way to it.

  She wanted it to be Darius so desperately that her stomach knotted.

  “Sophie.”

  Her knees almost buckled when she heard Darius’s voice. She rushed to the door and quickly unlocked it.

  The door opened and he yanked her against him. Sophie savored his arms around her. He’d returned, just as he’d said he would. Now she knew for certain he was trustworthy.

  When he stepped back, she saw his agitation by the way his jaw clenched and his body was tense. “What is it?”

  “I spoke with Ulrik.”

  “And?” she asked as he walked inside and she closed the door behind him.

  Darius turned to her and shrugged. “I didna get much from him.”

  That was his way of telling her that he wasn’t going to divulge what he learned. Sophie tried not to be upset. He’d tell her if it involved her. Wouldn’t he?

  This was why she didn’t get close to people. Because she always second-guessed them. She never believed they could be honest with her, and most times, she was spot-on.

  Darius seemed to be the exception to the rule.

  “You cleaned,” Darius said as he looked around.

  It was her turn to shrug. “I was bored.”

  The lines of strain vanished as he smiled at her. “You need a hobby, doc.”

  She had a hobby—him. Every time she made love to him, she softened. Almost as if the sturdy walls around her heart were waning. She already trusted him more than she did anyone else.

  It never occurred to her that she might trust or think about loving another man again. And yet here she was. The fact she was even thinking of the word love was enough to alert her that things were going deeper and faster than she wanted.

  “Is the building still being watched?” she asked.

  Darius nodded. “It is.”

  “I don’t like being cooped up in here, but I don’t like being followed either.”

  “Then let’s go out.”

  She gaped at him, a smile on her lips. “Are you serious?”

  “Ulrik knows I’m with you. I’ll still come and go without his men seeing me, but only because I doona want him to know when I’m here and when I’m no’.”

  “I do need to check on some of my home-based patients.”

  “Then get dressed, doc,” he said.

  In less than twenty minutes, she was showered, changed, and standing by the door with her medical bag.

  “Do you want me to walk with you?” Darius asked.

  She touched his face. “Yes, but I also want to prove to Ulrik that he doesn’t scare me.”

  “Then I’ll follow behind his men and make sure nothing happens.”

  Sophie wasn’t sure how she’d gotten so lucky in finding Darius. Well, really he found her, but she wasn’t going to split hairs. The fact was, he was a damn good man. Each time he kept his word, he restored the faith she’d lost in others.

  His arms wrapped around her as he pulled her against him for a long, slow kiss that made her burn for him. “Something to keep you warm,” he whispered and placed a kiss behind her ear.

  She couldn’t stop smiling as he helped her into her coat and opened the door for her. As she took the stairs down, Darius found another way out.

  When Sophie exited the building, she saw Ulrik’s men, but she wasn’t frightened. Because Darius was there. And she knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Her first patient was just a short walk away. Sophie buttoned her coat and turned to the right. She glanced at the sky to see that the sun was sinking rapidly and clouds were moving in. The snow that was predicted would likely fall that night.

  She wanted to be back in her flat before then and curled in Darius’s arms.

  * * *

  Darius jumped from the roof silently. He waited until two of Ulrik’s men followed Sophie before he trailed them. One stayed behind to watch the building, but he never saw Darius.

  Sophie disappeared around the corner, and Ulrik’s men were quick to keep up. Darius hated that Sophie was involved in his war.

  That’s not what kept him returning to her though. That was all Sophie, from her soft skin and heady kisses to her husky laugh and inquisitive eyes.

  He found himself wanting to tell her who he was as soon as she opened the door. After his talk with Ulrik, Darius knew things were only going to get worse. His hope that if he kept his distance from Sophie that it would turn Ulrik’s attention away was gone.

  Ulrik made his own conclusions, and he was now after Sophie with everything he had. Darius wished he was walking be
side her. Even keeping her in sight didn’t halt the thread of fear that wound tighter and tighter about his chest.

  What would Sophie’s reaction be if he told her the truth? Darius wanted to trust Sophie, and he did. Yet he reminded himself that his entire race was on the line. Not from extinction, because that wouldn’t happen, but from discovery by the humans.

  The video leak of the battle on Dreagan with the Dark Fae was bad enough. From what Thorn told him, helicopters and planes were flying over Dreagan day and night where there used to be a no-fly zone.

  Darius didn’t know how much longer the Kings could keep their secret from the rest of the world, but he knew that once it was revealed, there would be some mortals who didn’t care one way or another.

  Some would want to befriend the Kings.

  Some would want to hunt them.

  Some would want to experiment on them.

  Some would want to cage them.

  And some would want to annihilate them.

  Which group would Sophie fall into? She was a practical person. By her reaction to his tattoo, she wasn’t too fond of anything fantastical or paranormal.

  He was the epitome of fantastical and paranormal.

  And immortal.

  Darius peered over the side of a building when he saw her enter a residence. She had her black bag so she was probably making house calls.

  But what if she wasn’t?

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-ONE

  Sophie felt better after she visited her fourth and last patient. She kept wanting to look behind her for Darius, but she managed to stop herself.

  Despite the chill, or perhaps because of it, she opted to walk home. She paid no attention to the two men following her. It felt so good to trust someone again as she did Darius. How she’d missed it.

  The streets of Edinburgh were much different than they had been weeks before. A visitor might look and think everything was normal, but the unexplained deaths, the attacks, and the fighting had affected the residents deeply.

  The scars were there for those who knew how to look, and with a city that had seen much war, the wounds were new and still festered.

  People were frightened. They still walked the streets, but everyone was more wary and watchful than before. Occasionally she’d pass a group of college-aged kids who were too drunk to realize there were still dangers out there.

  Sophie didn’t know how she knew that the threat still lurked. It was a feeling she had. As if those responsible for the deaths and destruction had merely hidden for a time. But they would be back.

  She held back a shiver as best she could, wishing Darius was beside her. Edinburgh hadn’t been prepared for the monsters the first time. Would they be the next?

  There were weeks where everyone had red eyes. Sophie thought they were evil looking. Who wanted red eyes? She’d done a search on how to get red contacts, and though she found some, none were as vibrant red as what she saw in the city. It made her almost believe those red eyes were real.

  Almost.

  Then she reminded herself that she didn’t believe in that sort of thing. Red eyes weren’t a natural occurrence in humans. There were all sorts of enhancements that a person could get, but so many with red eyes? It had to be contacts.

  Thank goodness they were no longer wearing them. Those red eyes gave her the creeps. Like she used to feel as a child when she thought there was a monster beneath her bed.

  Sophie felt sorry for those poor people who actually believed in the paranormal. The legends throughout the British Isles were extensive, and it was easy to make them part of daily life. Fortunately, Sophie had never fallen for any sort of fairy tales.

  Or she hadn’t for long.

  Her heels clicked on the sidewalk. Her coat was buttoned tight and her purse was on her shoulder. The black bag in her hand grew heavier as her fingers got colder.

  She was a block from her flat when the first flakes of snow began to fall. They were scattered at first, but in a matter of seconds they were coming down so thick and fast they clung to her eyelashes.

  Sophie knew the men were still following her, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to get inside her flat and warm up in bed. With Darius.

  All she could think about was Darius. It made her want to laugh and dance in the snow. How free she felt!

  She quickened her steps and hurried up to her place. Sophie slammed the door behind her and locked it. Then she set down her keys, purse, and bag and fumbled with numb fingers unbuttoning her coat.

  No sooner had she hung up her coat than strong arms came around her. She leaned back against Darius. This she could get used to.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  He turned her around and smiled. “My pleasure, lass.”

  She shivered and moved closer to him.

  “You’re frozen,” he said with a frown.

  “Then warm me up.”

  He lifted her in his arms and pivoted to walk to the bedroom. “I doona have to be told twice.”

  In a flurry of hands and fingers, their clothes were removed and they fell into bed, mindless with passion. There was no foreplay, no teasing.

  She needed him. As if sensing it, Darius leaned over her, entering her with one thrust.

  Sophie sighed, her body eagerly accepting him. This was what she needed. Darius.

  In every capacity.

  * * *

  Sophie woke to a grumbling stomach. Food had been the last thing on her mind when she’d returned home. She glanced at the clock beside her bed to see it was just after three in the morning.

  She rolled out of bed and grabbed her robe, tying it around her. A glance at Darius showed him asleep, his hair mussed.

  It made her smile. She wanted him around, and that terrified her to the very pits of her soul. There was nothing she could do though. He was already a part of her life—and she liked that.

  On her way to the kitchen, Sophie looked at her flat. It was sparse. A spray of dried lavender hung near the entrance of the bathroom, but other than that, there were no personal touches to the room.

  Granted, it was a bathroom, but she had been in the flat for five years. By now those personal touches should’ve made their way even into this room.

  She walked to the kitchen. It was as impersonal and cold as the bathroom. Sophie turned and looked at the rest of the flat trying to find something that would make it a home and not just a place to live.

  Other than the spray of lavender, her white comforter, and her choice of white couches, there was absolutely nothing.

  That’s how her life had been. Sparse.

  But not anymore. Darius brought in color and life. And it was refreshing and glorious.

  Sophie paused when she saw an envelope that had been pushed from underneath the door. She picked up the envelope and saw her name written in black marker.

  She glanced at the bedroom, but Darius still slept. So she opened the envelope.

  To her shock, it was a dinner invitation from Ulrik for the next night. It said nothing more than where to meet and when.

  She eyed the phone number at the end of the invitation.

  “Sophie?”

  She turned at the sound of Darius’s voice. His gaze immediately lowered to the envelope as he sat up in bed.

  “From Ulrik?” he asked.

  She nodded and walked to the bedroom where she handed him the envelope. He read it quickly, anger tightening his face.

  “What do we do?” she asked.

  Darius took her hand and kissed it. “He’s near. I need to follow him.”

  “Go,” she urged.

  He rose and dressed. Just before he left out her window, he paused and said, “I’ll be back soon.”

  * * *

  Darius saw Ulrik check his watch and give a nod to his men watching Sophie before getting into his ice silver McLaren 12C Spider and driving away. He managed to stay even with him moving from roof to roof.

  It wasn’t until Ulrik’s route took him towa
rd The Balmoral Hotel that Darius sent Con a shout through their mental link. Con didn’t respond. Darius tried again as Ulrik pulled up alongside the hotel and tossed the keys to a valet.

  “Con!” Darius tried for a third time. “I’m following Ulrik. He’s at a hotel.”

  When Con still didn’t respond, Darius jumped to the ground and strolled across the street to the hotel. He walked into the lobby and glanced around. Ulrik was making his way to the bar area.

  He waited for Ulrik to sit at a table before Darius selected a position in the lobby so he could watch him. Darius wondered who could be meeting with Ulrik when a tall figure with blond hair walked straight to Ulrik.

  “Con,” Darius whispered.

  What the hell was going on?

  Ulrik smirked at Con who took the chair opposite Ulrik and ordered a drink when a waitress walked up. Con’s typical emotionless expression stared back.

  If Darius didn’t know him so well, he’d think Con didn’t feel anything. Except that Darius saw how straight and tense Con sat.

  So this was a meeting—in public. Who wanted it, and who decided to meet here? Was it to keep Con in check? After what Ulrik said earlier about never stating he wanted to fight Con in front of mortals, Darius was having trouble discerning who wanted what.

  It should be easy. Ulrik was the villain. Con was the one who kept the Dragon Kings together throughout all the countless centuries.

  Good and bad. Bad and good.

  Could either one be designated with such basic words? Sure, Con had done questionable things, but all in the name of keeping the Kings secret from the humans.

  Ulrik had done detestable, heinous things. But he’d also brought Lily back from the dead for Rhys.

  Con’s attempt to wreck some of the Kings and their mates caused friction at Dreagan. But Con had moved heaven and earth for them.

  Ulrik wanted revenge for being banished. He’d used a Druid—Darcy—in order to do it, and tried to kill her after. It was only Con who managed to keep her alive and heal her.

  Good and bad.

  Bad and good.

  The lines were blurring more each day. Darius feared that one day none of the Kings would be able to look at Con and still believe him to be the good guy. Con’s need to protect Dreagan and keep the Kings together while fighting the Dark, Ulrik, and now the mortals was backing him into a corner.