Exquisite Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  “Yeah. I see how great you’re dealing with it.”

  Joseph gently but firmly took Mia’s arm and dragged her out into the hall. “The business I have with her doesn’t concern you. Please go, Mia.”

  His words pierced her heart. He was basically telling her to stay out of his business. Mia opened her mouth to respond but then, shaking her head, turned to walk away.

  “Wait.”

  Raising her hand to wave him off, she kept walking. Joseph caught her wrist.

  She turned to look up at him. “What?”

  “I’m frustrated. My words came out all wrong. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I created this mess. You know what I am. I knew better than to bind myself to a woman never intended to be mine. I knew what she was capable of from the start. She’s human. Her life is short as it is. I don’t want end it before her time, but I will. I just need you to allow me to clean this mess up.”

  “You’ll be sorry, Joseph,” Teresa warned as she stepped out into the hall “You know what I am capable of doing. You know that I will have no problem taking care of your nasty little bitch for good.”

  Joseph spun around to face Teresa so fast Mia didn’t see him move. She felt the floor vibrate. She heard what sounded like a rumble of thunder outside. She felt his rage, and it was pure evil, murderous. Teresa screamed as she fell to her knees, her fingers tangling in her hair and gripping her head.

  Mia instantly realized he was killing Teresa. “Holy shit, stop it, Joseph!”

  “Leave, Mia.” The words came out as a cold, dark, inhuman growl. He didn’t even bother to look back at her.

  Mia got in front of him and shoved him as hard as she could to get his attention. “You need to stop!”

  Joseph looked down her, but Mia got the feeling he couldn’t see or hear her. “Joseph.” She reached up and, shocked that her entire body was trembling, placed her hand on his chest directly over his heart. “You’re right. I was wrong. It’s best for you to deal with her in your own way. I’m leaving now.”

  His expression softened, seemingly transforming him from demon to angel almost instantly, but his smile was very slow in coming. What followed next was a silence that seemed to go on and on though it only lasted for a few seconds. “No matter what is happening, I can always see and hear you, Mia.” He took her hand from his chest, brought it to the warmth of his mouth, and held it there for a few seconds. “I lost control. I’m sorry.” He looked tortured, with anguish. Her heart was breaking for him. “I’ll see you later?” he prompted.

  “Of course you will.” Overwhelming emotions choked Mia. “And don’t be sorry, Joseph.” Mia glanced down at Teresa struggling to get to her feet, and then she looked back up at him. “Just promise me that you won’t kill her and you won’t allow her to keep hitting you anymore. I can’t stand it when she hits you.”

  Joseph leaned closer. “I promise.” He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Thank you for having my back. I love you, Mia.”

  Mia stepped back. Her instincts were at war with what she knew she needed to do. “And I love you.” No part of her wanted to leave him at that moment. She forced herself to turn and walk away before she lost the strength to do it. No. It was more than not wanting to do it. She hated leaving Joseph alone with the murderous bitch. She felt his eyes on her, watching her walk away from him. She was tempted to take a glance at him over her shoulder. She resisted the urge, knowing it would push her over the edge of control and she would rush to his side.

  ~ Four ~

  MIA HAD JUST reached the top of the ladder when she heard the front door open. “You’re late, Joseph.” She glanced over her shoulder. But rather than Joseph, Demetri Demidov had entered her boutique. “Get out.” Attempting to keep her eyes on him as she rushed back down the ladder, she missed a step and dropped the bucket of paint she’d been carrying. When she tried to regain her balance the ladder started to fall backward.

  Without even glancing in her direction, Demetri lifted his hand and waved it. The ladder instantly stabilized and straightened out. He was way too far away to physically touch it, but she knew he was holding the ladder steady as he walked toward the back storage room. Being a demon he had the power to use his mind to do such things as that. Impressive? Very much so. But it was also quite frightening since he wasn’t known for playing nicely with others; he could just as easily use a wave of his hand to kill her.

  She had to do something to stop him because she couldn’t remember hearing the buzzer on the back door, which meant Brianna and Julie hadn’t left. “What are you doing here?” Recently, she’d learned that he had killed his mate, Brianna’s sister, so she figured he was there for Brianna. “You know you’re not welcome here.”

  Obviously not paying any attention to her at all, Demetri continued to walk through the boutique.

  Mia jumped down the remaining four steps. Her feet hit the floor hard, and she twisted an ankle. It hurt like hell, but she didn’t allow the pain to slow her down. “Stop.” She didn’t shout because she didn’t want the girls to hear her and come out of the storage room to see what was wrong. She ran after him. “You need to leave, Demetri.”

  He continued moving as if he didn’t hear her. Finally managing to get in front of him, she held up her hands. “I told you to stop.”

  He took another step as if he would simply walk right over her. For a split second she wished she was a fainter—being unconscious for whatever was coming next seemed much more pleasant than being aware. He could’ve knocked her onto her ass and incinerated her with a bolt of lightning before continuing on his way without missing a step. Attempting to use her body to prevent him from moving forward was just about the stupidest thing she could’ve done. Okay. It was the stupidest. But she didn’t back down. She couldn’t.

  Luckily, he stopped, and she didn’t instantly burst into flames. Unfortunately, being toe to toe with him, she had to tilt her head way back at an uncomfortable angle to look up at him. Besides being uncomfortable it was humiliating. Why did he have to be so damn tall?

  A small voice in her head, common sense or self-preservation, told her to get the hell out of his way. She’d always believed that a person’s eyes reflected what was in his or her soul. In his cold, dark eyes she saw only death and destruction. Yep. Attempting to use her body to stop him was insane. Now that she had his attention, what the hell was she going to do?

  Without saying a word, he looked down at her for few seconds. If he hadn’t just prevented the ladder from falling over she would’ve thought he’d just noticed her presence for the first time. She felt him touch her mind with his and sort through her thoughts. She didn’t try to prevent it because she knew he was too powerful to fight. Plus, she sensed he was only looking at the surface of her thoughts, which was a common and acceptable method of communication for demons.

  “I agree. It’s incredibly stupid. And if you’re stupid enough to continue to stand in my way I will assume you’re stupid enough to die to spare me from suffering the misfortune of dealing with your stupidity in the future.”

  He was such an asshole. She opened her mouth to respond but closed it and bit her tongue to keep from firing back an insult. She knew his reputation well enough to know that getting into a pissing match with him would likely be the last thing she did. However, if possible she planned to get through her encounter with him in one piece. Her life was destined to be cut short because of cancer, but she still had some living to do.

  She realized he was talking again, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Unable to resist the urge to focus on the sound of his voice, she started to experience confusion to the point she had to remind herself what she was doing and why she was attempting to stop him. She knew he was using some sort of a compulsion or spell on her. It took a lot of effort, but she managed to block the sound of his voice and push the cloud of confusion from her mind.

  “Forgive me.” He lifted his eyebrow. “I was wrong to judge your behavior without taking a more thorough l
ook at it. As a general rule, stupidity is accompanied by a weak mind, and your mind holds impressive power for a female.” He paused as if to ponder the situation. “To satisfy my curiosity I must insist that you tell me why you are willing to die”—nodding, he gestured toward the back of the store—“to protect your friends.”

  “No one else is here.” By the knowing look on his face she figured if she were staring into a mirror she’d very likely see the words big, fat liar in huge capital letters and a few extra exclamation marks stamped on her forehead.

  “It’s faint, but I do believe I see it,” he said. Then, his lips curving upward in a malevolent smile that seemed to chill her blood, he reached out and raised her chin to force her to meet his dark gaze. He had the same godlike good looks Joseph had. For being damned for all of eternity, demons sure were blessed in the area of masculine sex appeal. But she sensed a small, almost indiscernible difference in him.

  Every other male demon she’d met, regardless of his age, never appeared to be more than thirty years old. But Demetri’s face showed subtle signs of aging beyond that. It wasn’t drastic, but he had lines around his eyes and across his forehead. He looked worn out. “We’re all alone?” The low, sensuous sound of his voice could’ve been seductive if it weren’t so entirely evil at the same time.

  Nodding, she held her breath. Holy shit. She was dead. Demetri was a damn giant. Even for a demon he was unbelievably huge. In hand-to-hand combat he’d easily flatten her. Shaking her head slightly, she released her breath, took another, and held it while she pondered the fact that he didn’t even need to move a single muscle to kill her. Oh, yeah, she was going to die today, painfully. Very painfully.

  “Why do you look worried all of the sudden, love?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not worried at all.” Normally, she was a talented, straight-faced liar, but today she sucked at it. She knew he knew she was lying again. Worse, she was certain by the annoying-as-hell grin on his face that he saw her bite her lip to prevent him from seeing it was trembling.

  At least her entire body wasn’t trembling … yet. She’d spent many hours with Joseph, who was just as powerful. He was just as tall Demetri, but Joseph had never behaved or carried himself in a manner that caused her to feel so small. And so vulnerable.

  “I would hope not. You went to so much trouble to gain my attention. I would be terribly disappointed if you ran away from me before we had an opportunity to get to know each other.” Demetri’s eyes darkened, and tiny red flecks burned in them like flames.

  “I hate to disappoint you, Demetri, but I’ve a lot of work to do today and I would like you to leave.” She’d seen Joseph’s eyes change color many times. It wasn’t a big deal, but the color change combined with the blatantly murderous intent in Demetri’s eyes truly scared the hell out of her. Refusing to show him any sign of fear other than a stupidly trembling lip, she smiled as she pointed toward the door.

  “You’re a peculiar woman.” Tilting his head to the side, he continued to stare into her eyes. “In one breath you proposition me, and in the next you tell me to take a hike. Perhaps peculiar isn’t the proper word. Rude. Yes. That’s a much more accurate description. You’re a rude woman.”

  Mia felt her irritation rise. “Proposition?” She tried to take control of her temper, but she failed. “What the hell are you talking about, Demetri?” She shook her head in disgust. “You know damn well I wasn’t attempting to suggest we get to know each other better.”

  “You shouldn’t tease men you don’t know all that well. It’s a terrible idea. Teasing without having any intention of spending a little time to do a little pleasing could a get woman in trouble. Look at you. Look at me. Your strong mind and courage would not be able to save you if I became inclined to act upon your silly infatuation with me.”

  Anger completely, instantly replaced all apprehension and common sense, and she narrowed her gaze onto his. “You’re head is seriously fucked up, Demetri.” Her heart was beating a little too hard and too fast. She could hear it and knew he could also hear it. He might assume it was caused by fear, but it wasn’t. He was seriously pissing her off. And that was a bad thing. She’d been consumed by uncontrollable bouts of rage since being prescribed morphine to alleviate the pain of cancer. She’d been weaning herself off it for months but had been forced to take some today. Despite knowing that was why she was being spurred to react irrationally to his taunting, she couldn’t stop. “I was attempting to get it through your thick skull that I want you to get your ass out of here.”

  She expected him to lash out at her, but he didn’t. He stood there with his icy, ruthless gaze locked onto hers, and she knew he would and could easily, without regret, kill her. It was strange, but she couldn’t detect any anger in him.

  She thought perhaps it was because her anger overshadowed it, but the more she searched the more she realized she couldn’t detect any real emotions in him at all. It was as if he were dead inside. He would simply do or wouldn’t do as he pleased for no other purpose than to do it. He had no rules to follow. He had no morals, no honor.

  “You are right. Now turn around and walk away while you heart still beats and your lungs still draw breath into your body.” Using just enough force to move her and not injure her, he pushed her aside and started walking toward the storage room.

  “Stop. You’re leaving right now.” Mia grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and dug her heels in.

  Openly revealing his aversion to her with a frown and a groan, he stopped and looked down at her hands. “You’re touching me.” He growled, the sound of it echoing ominously as the floor vibrated and windows rattled. “I did not say you could touch me.”

  She knew restraining him was worse than simply futile; it was suicide. He outweighed her by more than a hundred pounds. “I don’t remember asking for permission, but I do remember telling you to get your ass out of here.” By holding onto his shirt she hoped to slow him down enough to give Brianna and Julie time to leave.

  “Most of my kind would never dare to get in my way. I’m slightly amused by your attempt to protect your friends from me.” He looked down at her hands. “And for that reason, I’ve decided to give you a chance to take your hands off me before I do it for you.”

  Just then, she heard the buzzer of the back door being opened. She would do her best to keep him there for a few more seconds to give Brianna and Julie time to get out on the main street.

  “You believe I won’t go after them on a street full of human witnesses? It appears my first impression of you was right after all. You are a stupid woman,” he whispered between clenched teeth. “Interesting. Somewhat amusing. But extremely stupid. If I had more time I’d consider spending it with you just to humor myself.”

  “Name calling and insults?” She smirked. “Is that the best you can do?”

  “Maybe spending more time with you wouldn’t be such a great idea after all. You have a talent for behaving in a way I find quite irritating. It’s a personal preference thing. You see, I’ve never been too fond of dealing with untrained women sporting big mouths.”

  “Untrained?”

  “Yes. And for that reason, I blame Joseph for your ignorance.”

  “Should I blame Mary Tate for yours?”

  “Sure.” He lifted his eyebrow. “I suppose if it makes you feel better, why not?” He shrugged his shoulders. It was a failed attempt to appear casual—any fool with half a brain could clearly see there was nothing casual about Demetri Demidov. And if a person couldn’t see it, failing to feel the tremendous power rolling off him was impossible. “To be entirely honest, I’m not surprised Joseph has neglected to properly train you.”

  “I’ve changed my mind. Your ignorance couldn’t possibly be Mary’s fault. It must be genetic. You certainly haven’t suffered the same degree of neglect from her, have you?”

  “Okay. I’ll bite. You have my permission to explain.”

  “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a well-behaved lapdog in my e
ntire life.”

  He smiled at her for split-second, and she would’ve bet anything it was a true smile. “It’s sincerely troubling to see Joseph hasn’t learned the error of his ways. Tragically for you, I’ve found myself in the awkward position of being forced to teach him at your expense.” A sudden, stabbing pain struck right between her eyes. “I had hoped being buried and left for dead in the basement by his wife and her lover would’ve been enough to teach him a lesson or two about dealing with troublesome women.”

  The pain increased with each passing second, causing her vision to blur and her stomach to twist. “Despite all his power, strength, and intelligence his greatest downfall has always been his inability to man up enough control his women.”

  She would’ve cried out if she could’ve caught her breath. Her head felt as if it were going to explode. She released his sleeve and clutched her head.

  “Some lessons hurt like hell, do they not?”