Exquisite Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  “Mia tried to help Brianna take the necklace off.”

  “Nikolas hurt Mia?”

  Lowering his brow, Joseph glared at Nikolas. “The bastard fucking burned her hand.”

  “Now that’s odd behavior for Nikolas. I wouldn’t think he was incapable of harming a female.”

  “His behavior has been peculiar. He had us gather at a charity event to show our unity to Demetri, but the moment I arrived he picked a fight with me.”

  * * *

  “Don’t be nervous, Brianna. Joseph and I will be with you the entire time.”

  “I know. I’m fine. I’m ready for this, ready to move on with my life.”

  Holding the younger woman’s hand, Mia led Brianna through the crowed restaurant. “Oh, oh, my goodness. He’s actually quite good looking.”

  Frowning, Brianna nodded. “I’m sure he is.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  Brianna was tired of waiting and hoping for Nikolas to get beyond his issues. Once again, though, she felt him with her. Her heart raced as she walked side by side with Mia toward the table. “Do you see him here?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Listen, Brianna, don’t worry about Nikolas. You need to get him out of your head. You can’t sit around waiting for him to get a brain. He let you go. And worse, he put that damn necklace on you.”

  When they got to the table Mia whispered something in her ear, but she couldn’t hear it. Truthfully, she didn’t want to hear it. No doubt it had something to do with the man she had no desire to meet. Nikolas was the only man she wanted. The next thing she knew, Mia released her hand and a huge male hand took it.

  “It’s great to meet you, Brianna.” Adam kissed her hand and then guided her into her chair.

  “I’m happy to meet you, Adam.” She forced herself to smile.

  * * *

  Nikolas knew being there was a huge mistake. The moment Brianna walked in she robbed him of his breath. She was the most beautiful, the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. Tipping his head back, he swallowed a shot of whiskey. The dress she was wearing was red and way too damn revealing. Every lush, feminine curve of her body screamed for his touch. Unable to suppress his growl of agitation, he motioned for the bartender to fill his shot glass. Many men were gawking at her, drooling over the sight of her. What the hell was she thinking, walking around looking so fucking sexy? The second it was poured, he swallowed the next shot and motioned for another.

  Demons weren’t known for being happy drunks. Consuming any amount of liquor was a very bad idea. He didn’t care. Why should he? Brianna obviously never gave a damn about him. How could she pick up and move on with another male so quickly? And worse, Adam was his enemy. What the hell did Adam have to offer her? The thought put an extremely disturbing image in his head. He swallowed another shot of whiskey.

  And what the fuck was Joseph’s problem? Who the fuck did Joseph think he was? He couldn’t believe Joseph would have any part of fucking around with his mate. There were some lines a demon just didn’t cross.

  Sitting at the table, Brianna turned her head toward him, and her sightless eyes met his. Everything inside him went still. He waited, secretly hoping she would talk to him, would ask him to get her out of there.

  It’s funny, Nikolas. When you’re blind people assume you’re clueless about what’s going on around you. Mia tried to tell me you weren’t here, but I knew. You have no right to be mad. If you don’t like watching me move on, you should leave. Though she was across the room, he felt the seductive warm of her breath on his ear. Because, in case you’re wondering, I plan on doing a lot of moving on.

  Clenching his fists, he crushed the shot glass as he stood up. Now that was just plain mean. And rude. She didn’t have any right to be mad at him. He’d let her go to protect her. It was just that letting go wasn’t as easy for him as it apparently was for her.

  “It looks like you just realized you’ve made a mistake,” Mia said. He hadn’t even noticed she’d left the table. “What are you going to do about it?”

  Nikolas stood up. He towered over Mia. He was mad. He was drunk, very drunk. But he wasn’t about to beat a woman. It was something his kind just wouldn’t do. Truthfully, she could attack him and he would’ve taken it. Joseph pulled Mia behind him anyway.

  “You know better,” Nikolas said to Joseph. “Just get her the fuck away from me before I kick your ass.”

  “You know you shouldn’t drink liquor,” Joseph said. “You know what it does to us.”

  “You’ve made a big mistake bringing Adam here. What the fuck happens to a man that screws with another man’s mate?”

  Mia blurted, “You don’t want her, and no one else can have her? What, do you want her to crawl away in a hole somewhere and be miserable for the rest of her life because you don’t have what it takes to be with her? Forget it! I’m not going to allow you to hurt her like that.”

  Damn it to hell, Mia was right. What was wrong with him? He was an idiot. He needed to talk to Brianna, let her know that he was wrong.

  Nikolas shifted his gaze to the left. “It looks like you also have something that needs to be taken care of, Joseph.”

  Mia followed his gaze. “Shit.”

  Joseph glared at Eli.

  * * *

  Brianna, I need to talk to you

  I’m done listening to you talk.

  I was wrong.

  No, you were right. And I’m done waking up every morning alone. For one night, I believed we had love. Maybe—I don’t know really know what I believed. I’m done.

  Brianna. He waited for a few seconds. I need to talk to you.

  Not right now, Nikolas.

  Brianna? His voice was low, threatening growl.

  Startled by his tone, she stood up and took a step away from the table. What? She felt a need to run far and fast.

  “He was touching you.” Nikolas was directly behind her. “What are you doing, Brianna? One fight, and you go and—”

  “It wasn’t a fight, Nikolas.” She was confused. Normally his steady calm and power led her to him. She turned to face him though she couldn’t see him. She wanted to reach out to him. She wanted to touch him in hopes the physical contact would allow her to see him. She couldn’t detect even the slightest trace of power. And worse, she couldn’t find any clear images in his mind to follow. With his temper flaring, she couldn’t be sure where he was. Taking a deep breath, acting on a leap of faith that he would be there, she reached out to him.

  He took her hand and pulled her close. “You belong to me.”

  Something felt wrong. He wasn’t completely in control. Anger was rolling, building in him and around him.

  She pulled her hand out of his. “No, I don’t. I’m pretty sure I’m not anyone’s property.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Nikolas pulled her behind him and released her hand. He took a step toward Adam. “She’s my mate.”

  “Leave him alone, Nikolas.” Brianna moved around Nikolas and reached for him, but in her confusion she grabbed Adam’s arm. She shook her head. Her senses were all screwed up, but she knew it wasn’t Nikolas’s arm she was holding. She released Adam and turned to where she thought Nikolas was standing. “This is insane. You can’t get mad at him for wanting me when you don’t.”

  “Brianna.” He took her hand and coaxed her closer to him.

  She took a breath through her nostrils. Crinkling her nose, she shook her head. The scent of whiskey was strong. “Have you been … are you drunk, Nikolas?”

  It all made sense. His intoxication had to be why her senses were screwed up. His behavior had nothing to do with him wanting her. He was just drunk.

  Nikolas looked down at her. “I never said I didn’t want you, Brianna.”

  Brianna pulled her hand out of Nikolas’s and stepped back, inadvertently moving closer to Adam. She realized it probably appeared she was expecting him to protect her from Nikolas—not what she wa
nted either man to believe.

  Hoping to defuse the situation, she reached for Nikolas again. At the same time, he moved in preparation to snatch her away and accidentally bumped into her. The impact was hard, painful. She stumbled.

  Nikolas reached out to steady her, but the moment she had her balance, she turned to Adam.

  “You’re drunk,” Adam said to Nikolas, wrapping his arm around her. “You can talk to her later. Leave her alone before you hurt her.”

  “You cannot dictate when I talk to my mate,” Nikolas growled. “Let go of her.”

  “You’re scaring her. If you must fight with me over this, we can. But not in front of her.”

  Nikolas looked at Brianna. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. Of course he shouldn’t be doing any of this in front of her. His heart sank. She was afraid of him, and for good reason. He’d lost his temper and made her afraid. He’d hurt her arm. “Give me a minute with her.”

  “I will leave up to you, Brianna. Do you want me to leave so you talk in private with Nikolas?”

  Brianna nodded. “Yes.”

  “I will be nearby if you need me.” Adam walked away.

  Nikolas took Brianna’s hand and held it over his heart. “Don’t be afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid for you, Nikolas.”

  “There’s no excuse for my behavior tonight. I won’t interfere with your life anymore. But if you’re ever in danger I’ll be there to protect you.”

  “You truly don’t want me.”

  “Everything I’m doing, I’m doing because I love you, little one. More than anything else I want you. But I need you to be safe. To be happy.”

  “Being with you makes me happy.”

  “What about tonight?”

  “You lost your temper. You’re drunk.”

  “I hurt you because I lost my temper.”

  “You bumped into my arm.”

  “I could’ve broken it.” He paused. “I was pissed because you had the sense to move closer to him for protection from me.”

  “That’s not true.”

  He used his other hand to heal the bruise on her arm.

  “I’m sorry, Brianna.”

  He turned and walked away.

  * * *

  “You would like to alienate her from us. What would she say if she knew the truth?” Eli looked at her. “Or do you know how many of our kind his kind has slaughtered? How many women and children have suffered because of their belief they’re superior?”

  Mia glanced at Joseph in confusion. She wanted to know more of her kind. Feeling Eli’s rage, she instinctively moved closer to Joseph. Besides, she wanted to hear him dispute it.

  Joseph wasn’t going to engage in an argument. He would kill Eli, but he wouldn’t waste his breath responding to Eli’s accusations. She didn’t need him to answer. He looked down at Mia. “You want me to assure you that I’m not guilty, but I won’t do it. You decide if I would have any part in the slaughtering of innocent women and children.”

  She looked at Eli, and then she looked up at Joseph. “Never.” She looked at Eli. “I know he wouldn’t. I don’t want to know more about my kind from you. I want the truth. Not stories. There’s nothing you could say to ever convince me Joseph would do anything so heinous.”

  Eli growled. “No wonder you’re not one with your wolf—it’s ashamed. It wants no part of you.”

  His harsh words hurt, but she was sure it didn’t hurt as badly as his face. Joseph had doubled his fist and hit Eli hard enough to send him hurtling several feet to land on top of a table seating four other patrons.

  Eli got to his feet quickly as everyone at the table stared at him in what appeared to be disbelief. When Eli lunged for Joseph, Mia got between them and raised her hands.

  Luckily, rather than run her over, he stopped. “Move out of my way, Mia.”

  “Not here. Not now.”

  When Eli reached to move her out of his way, Joseph grabbed her to pull her behind him, but Mia dug in her heels. As a result, they each had a firm grasp on her arms. Getting between them was a dumb mistake, but she couldn’t allow them to fight with so many innocent people gathered around. “There are too many people here.”

  Just then a very large male walked up to them. “We’ve already called the police. You all need to take it outside right now.”

  “You called the authorities on me?” Joseph asked.

  “Oh, shit. Mr. Payne, I apologize. I didn’t recognize you.” The bouncer gestured toward Eli. “Would you like me to see him out?”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’m leaving.” As waiters scurried to reseat the customers whose table he’d landed on and other customers whispered and stared, Eli turned and strode away.

  * * *

  Watching Eli leave, Mia jabbed Joseph side with her elbow. “You shouldn’t have hit him.”

  Joseph stared down at her. “Don’t defend him. Not tonight.”

  She laughed out loud. “That’s not what I was trying to do. You should’ve given me a chance to hit him.”

  Joseph smiled. “I could force him to come back.”

  She started to laugh but then realized he was serious. “Nah.” She turned, wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him tight. “I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing him again sooner than we want anyways.”

  “I won’t force you to be with me. If you feel your place is with him, I’ll respect your wishes.”

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  “I’m serious. Even if you choose to be with him, with your kind, I will find a way to heal you.”

  “If you’re serious I’m going to beat your ass.”

  “I know we have differences. It’s hard for me to accept your need to be in the middle of a fight. It’s hard for you to accept that I want to protect you. I love you, Mia. I love you with every fiber of my being. We can work through our differences.”

  “I’ve a confession, but it’s a secret that you’d better not tell anyone. You are not powerful. You are power. And I like having you as my big, strong, ass-kicking hero.” She closed her eyes and leaned heavily against him. “There’s a certain thrill knowing you are watching over me. I feel you, your power coming to me, ready to fight at any given moment. I know you love me.” She tipped her head back to look up at him. “You are the love of my life, Joseph Payne.”

  “I’ve waited for you for so long.” She saw tears in his eyes and heard them in his voice. “I lied to you. I didn’t tell you that you were lycan because I didn’t want to lose you. I’ve known he was here since the night Caylee was attacked. I planned to kill him and his pack before you ever knew he existed.”

  “Why?”

  “I never actually worried that he could take you from me. But I worried you might choose him over me.”

  She started to laugh, but the look on his face told her that it wasn’t a joke. “There’s no other man for me, Joseph.”

  Mia paused and then asked. “Was he right about our kind being enemies?”

  “We were at odds with each other. I won’t lie. Many lives were lost. Basically, some of your kind wanted more power and dominion. They didn’t care how they got it. They murdered many humans. From the beginning of time, my kind has been charged with the responsibility of protecting mankind and keeping the power of other immortals under control so humans would have a chance.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that you would kill me if you thought my powers were too great and I wanted more?”

  “Never. I fight and destroy evil. Not a particular being. There is no evil inside you, and there will never be.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know.”

  Haden and Caylee walked up from behind.

  “Is everything okay, Mia?” Caylee asked.

  “Yes.” All of sudden Mia remembered what had been going on with Nikolas and Brianna. “Where’s Brianna?”

  “She’s fine. She’s dancing with Adam,” Caylee replied.

  “Where’s Nik
olas?’

  “He left.”

  “That’s not good. He was supposed to leave with her.”

  “It’s a good thing he left. He’s drunk. He needs some sober-up time.”