Exquisite Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  She opened her mouth. He waited. He knew she wanted to yell at him. It was fine with him. He deserved it. But when all she managed to utter was a strangled-sounding squeak, he chuckled. Why the hell had he done something so stupid? He had no idea. He tried to bite it back, but he failed miserably. Intending to immediately rectify the blunder, he reached over the table and grabbed her hand.

  For a second, she just sat there and stared down at her hand in his. His heart was thundering in his ears. She lifted her gaze to meet his. For a moment, she appeared calm. He knew better, but he couldn’t help it. He smiled at her. And then, obviously seeing the smile as him celebrating some sort of victory, she yanked her hand out of his.

  Holding his breath, he waited for her to unleash her mounting rage. She’d never be able to hold it in. Or so he thought. Her lips parted in a sweet, breathtaking smile. His heart stopped.

  “You’re just trying to save me from the unpleasant effects of too much wine, right?”

  He nodded.

  “So, why do you look so nervous, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor Can’t Kiss Worth a Damn?”

  Swallowing hard, he lifted his eyebrows. “Do I?” He had no doubt that he appeared nervous. But he’d never been accused of not being able to kiss worth a damn.

  Of course he looked nervous. She was going to explode. And she did. But not quite in the manner he’d expected. “You’re a cruel, wicked tease from hell, Jake Mann.” She picked up her fifth glass of wine, but to his relief, rather than chug it down she threw it in his face.

  At first, staring at him, she appeared to be in shock. Her entire body was trembling. Not with fear. He knew better. She had no fear of him. Her body was filled with pent-up rage and sexual frustration. She wanted to hurt him. But more than that, she wanted him to make love to her.

  A little shocked himself, he stared right back at her. He didn’t dare move—he was far too aroused by her passionate aggression. He didn’t even attempt to reach for a napkin to sop the wine up from his face and clothing.

  After a few very long seconds, there was no missing the satisfaction in her eyes or in her naughty, sexy smirk. Soaking him obviously felt damn good. He had the ability to move with supernatural speed. He could’ve dodged it, but he was happy he hadn’t. If seeing him soaked with wine made her feel better and ended the argument it was no big deal.

  He’d known what he needed to be done the night he saved her from the car wreckage. He should’ve done it immediately. In theory, it was a simple thing. It was the kindest thing to do. But it was the last thing he wanted to do.

  He needed to wipe out every memory of him from her mind. And it was exactly what he planned to do. It would be the hardest thing he’d ever done, because if he ever allowed her to see him or hear his voice again, her memories of him could be spontaneously restored. He would be forced to go back to guarding her in secret.

  She stood up and pushed in her chair in. Being a little light-headed and tipsy, she stumbled. Using supernatural speed, he jumped up and reached for her arm to steady her. They stared into each other’s eyes for several seconds. “Lee Anne.” Even he heard the painful longing in his voice. He knew she’d heard it too and was confused by it when she yanked her arm away from him. To resist the urge to take her into his arms and kiss her, he sat back down. He couldn’t have her. She belonged to Jeremy. It was her destiny.

  Arms crossed over her chest, she stared down at him for several seconds. The waiter had returned to the table with a towel for Jake to clean up, but Jake shook his head and waved the waiter off.

  “I know I owe you. You saved my life. If it wasn’t for you … I can’t see you anymore,” Lee Anne whispered through clenched teeth.

  Jake shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything.” He paused. “And I agree. We shouldn’t see each other anymore. I’ll take you home.”

  Cheeks flushed, she took a deep breath, held it, and then released it in a hiss. “Really?” She turned to the table behind her and reached for a pitcher of water. “Do you mind?”

  Joseph gave Jake a sympathetic nod, but Mia smiled knowingly and shook her head. “No. Not at all.” Mia looked at Jake and frowned.

  You shouldn’t have allowed her to get drunk. Joseph’s voice, sounding quite amused, slipped into Jake’s mind.

  Momentarily making eye contact with Joseph, Jake lifted his brow. I mean no disrespect, but I will never go to you for advice on how to deal with women. As of yet, I haven’t done anything that has provoked Lee Anne to make any attempt to murder me.

  It was the morphine. It causes her to suffer uncontrollable rage. And Mia knew the gun wasn’t loaded. Obviously realizing his mistake, Joseph groaned.

  That’s crazy. Don’t you think giving morphine to a werewolf is a bad idea? Wait. Joseph looked at Mia and smiled, and then looked back at Joseph. I was talking about Theresa. Mia also tried to kill you?

  I don’t give it to her. And I told you she didn’t know the gun was loaded.

  You know you can’t continue to allow her to take morphine. It’ll turn her into a killer. She needs to be stopped before she loses her mind.

  The floor started to vibrate, causing the dishes on the tables to rattle. Almost every human in the restaurant gasped and glanced around nervously. Slowly, Joseph turned fully in his seat and locked his gaze onto Jake’s. Are you threatening Mia? Most of the people in the restaurant were leaving their tables and heading for the exit. Jake knew that on some level they sensed and feared the danger Joseph presented. A demon’s rage was a hard thing to miss.

  No. Jake was well aware Joseph would kill anyone who even considered harming Mia. But he was also sure that Joseph knew Mia would have to be destroyed if she lost her mind. I’m telling you that you need to get her off the morphine before it’s too late and you have no choice. We both know you’re not going to allow her to suffer.

  Joseph instantly broke the merge with Jake as he turned to face Mia. Jake waited, ready to fight. The atmosphere was still boiling over with Joseph’s anger. He knew Joseph wasn’t really angry with him; he was angry with the situation. Then, obviously realizing it was too dangerous to remain in a building full of humans when his emotions were out of control, Joseph stood up and held his hand out for Mia. “Let’s go.”

  Mia shook her head. “Sit down. I’m not ready to leave yet.” She stared up at him. “What did he just say to you?”

  “I would feel terrible if I allowed a stain to set in.” Jake had just enough time to return his focus to Lee Anne before she upended the pitcher of ice water over his head. “That’s better.” She smiled. “Oh, no, please … don’t thank me. It was my pleasure.” Then, after setting the pitcher back onto the other table and thanking Mia, she walked away and headed straight for the restroom.

  “Okay. We can go now.” Looking at Jake, Mia laughed out loud. Then she looked up at Joseph. “I like her.”

  Joseph nodded. “I’m sure you do.”

  Jake wasn’t expecting Lee Anne to walk away, but he didn’t stop her. It would be best for her to cool off and hopefully sober up a bit before he took her home. Besides, she wouldn’t get far. To leave the restaurant she would have to walk by him.

  About Candice Stauffer

  I live in Zeeland, Michigan, where half the year is winter and the other, much shorter half, is summer. It’s a wonderful place to live as long as you own a four-wheel drive vehicle and happen to get a kick out of measuring the snowfall in feet rather than inches.

  I write paranormal romance because I love to explore and manipulate the limitless possibilities of the genre. To be completely honest, I’m also very fond of taking a totally hot, powerful, immortal hero and using a strong, confident, beautiful heroine to turn his world upside down and make him fight like hell for a victory that seems impossible to achieve. Some might call it torture. I call it entertainment and character building. Regardless, it’s great fun!

  I have a strong aversion for helpless heroines. Though she’s afraid, a heroine must always be willing to fight li
ke hell—and, yes, even if the fighting is against the hero. I’m not sure why, but I tend to really enjoy it when the heroine fights against the hero. Putting a hero through the wringer builds personality, right?

  I’m often accused of being a little bit naughtier than nice and slightly rough around the edges. Okay, I lied—very rough around the edges. Life has been a challenge. But I’m grateful for every challenge I’ve faced. Through them, I’ve learned to focus on the goal rather than the walls surrounding it. Basically, I figure that as long as I enjoy life and do all I can to encourage and help the people around me enjoy life, it’s all good.

  To find out more about me, please visit my website:

  http://www.candicestaufferparanormalromanceauthor.com.

  And for the latest news, check out my Facebook page:

  http://www.facebook.com/pages/CandiceStauffer-Paranormal-Romance-Author/135025903252623.