The man swallowed then swallowed again. “I agree.”
“Then if you are finished with your meal let us go upstairs.”
Brom drained the rest of his ale and stood, leaving his stew untouched. Not waiting for Roy, he moved to the stairs.
Roy yelled. “I ain’t finished yet. What’s the hurry?” Then came the scrape of the chair against the planked floor.
Brom smiled as he took the stairs two at a time and heard Roy climbing behind him. Finding the last door on the right, Brom took the candle from the hall’s wall sconce. The hot wax spilled on his hand, but he gave it no mind. He wanted to see the face of this man and know if he spoke the truth about Carmen’s whereabouts. No one would keep him from her.
Chapter Five
McLain came awake at the sunset hour, drawing in a deep breath to stir his body to life. He opened his eyes to a darkened room. Lightning flashed and he caught the view of the rough timber ceiling over his head. Then thunder followed roiled against the building walls.
“Carmen.”
He turned, seeking her out in the dark. With one word, the candles on the nightstand flared to life and the fire in the hearth snapped and crackled into a blaze. With the soft light, he glanced at the beautiful woman lying beside him. He raised himself on an elbow, leaning over her. Using one finger, he pushed an ebony curl off the curve of her cheek.
She still slept under his command. McLain ran a finger across her lips, then called her to awake.
Her dark lashes lifted and she brought her fists up to rub her eyes. Then her hands fell away so he could see her large brown eyes. They were sultry, still heavy from sleep. A smile curved her bowed lips and he felt his heart shift.
“Good morning.” Her voice was a gentle caress, blowing warm across the icy plain of his existence.
“I fear ‘tis evening, my lady. We slept the day away.”
The smile fell from her lips, and her brows became pinched.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he remarked, not understanding this change of expression.
“No, it isn’t that.”
Fear slid across her gaze and her fingers closed around his arms in a death grip. “Someone comes,” she whispered.
Just then, a hard pounding sounded on their door. She jumped, her gaze swinging to the door.
“Don’t let them in. Please, I’m scared. Tell no one I am here.”
“Another secret is revealed. Who is at the door Carmen? Should I kill them?” His gaze narrowed and he ground his teeth, his jaw tightened. He wanted to remove the fear in her gaze.
“No. I will have no one’s death on my hands.”
“It will be my hands, not yours. Tell me who it is and why I should not kill this person that causes fear to cloud your gentle gaze?”
McLain took note she still had a tight grasp on his arms. He wasn’t sure she even knew she hung onto him. His thumb brushed back and forth along the slender column of her throat, hoping to give comfort.
He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and whatever stood outside that door terrified her.
“Carmen, who is at our door?”
The heavy knocking came again making her push deep into the covers. Carmen didn’t meet his gaze but studied his chest as she answered.
“My brother. He has come to murder me.”
McLain raised his brows. The information she gave was a little frustrating. He wanted details, some history, to know why her brother wanted her dead, but it didn’t look forthcoming and he accepted that for now.
He didn’t ask how she knew her brother stood beyond the door; there was too much he didn’t know about her to be surprised at any ability she possessed.
“Carmen, look at me.”
Her glance slowly moved up his throat, past his chin, to hold his gaze. “I’ll get rid of him. Pull the covers over your shoulders and lay with your back to the entrance. For no reason move because it may break the illusion I will lay over you.”
“Don’t underestimate him, McLain. He is very cunning. And I don’t want you hurt.”
A smile slid along his lips. Was that concern for him? He liked the feeling it gave him.
“As you wish. Now let go of my arms, beautiful, so I can answer the door.”
She bit her bottom lip and let go. “Now turn over, facing away.”
She did as he asked and McLain pulled the quilt up over her shoulders, pushing her long dark hair under the concealing blanket so nothing but the top of her head showed.
McLain left the bed just as the knocking came again, more persistent and with a heavy hand.
With a few low spoken words, he placed an illusion over Carmen. Anyone that looked would see the back of a red haired woman, sleeping peacefully.
McLain pulled the blade from his boot, moving it to the waistband of his pants. He would take no chance with Carmen’s life. She hadn’t shown fear when locked in a crypt with a vampire, but feared the man she called brother. Why? The storm still raged outside and lightning would illuminate the room behind him in short, blinding, bursts. With knowledge of these visitors, and the lightning behind him, he would have the advantage.
He waved his hand across the door, removing his spell and the door opened just as he stepped up. McLain’s muscles grew tight as he met Carmen’s brother face-to-face, waiting for the tall man’s move. McLain was tall but this man stood three or more inches above him. There was a deadliness about him that he recognized in himself.
Dark wet hair had been pushed back over his forehead to fall straight down his back. His eyes were a deep brown and a long thin scar ran across his throat. The man’s jaw was clenched and made his cheeks’ hallows more pronounced. He would be considered a handsome man, McLain figured, but now, he was more concerned of what the man’s first move would be.
McLain waited for him to speak, never taking his gaze from the man’s dark eyes. If he were to attack, McLain would see it in the man’s gaze first.
The tall man reached for someone just out of sight and pulled another man into view. “Is this the man?” He waved toward McLain.
The shorter man squinted his small round eyes, then shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think so.”
Carmen’s brother sighed. “Pardon, sir, we were to meet a gentleman here last night but the weather held us up.”
The faint scent of lavender passed McLain’s senses, and he groaned to himself. He watched the brow of Carmen’s brother pinch and his eyes narrow. Bloody hell.
“Are you alone, sir?”
McLain’s jaw tightened and he planted his feet. “Not that it’s any of your business, but my sister and I came here to rest. I am not this man you seek.” He focused on the man’s thoughts. The taller man’s mind was guarded but the shorter man was easy to read.
He belonged to the irritating sect of vampire hunters, a group who gave themselves a religious right to murder anyone who even looked like a vampire. Most often, they killed the innocent. They had come to meet the vampire that lay in ashes near his hearth. That vampire had set a trap for both these men, but McLain wondered if the taller one would have fallen so easily.
He saw something within the larger man’s eyes as they scanned the room behind him. This man would mean trouble.
“I beg your pardon for disturbing you and your sister. Let us make it up to you by paying for your evening meal. I will not take no for an answer. Shall we say thirty minutes?”
McLain raised his brow. So, he would draw them out. “I shall speak to my sister when she awakens. You are kind to offer, but she has been unwell so I will leave the decision to her.”
“I am skilled in healing. Perhaps I might ease her illness and speed her to health.”
The shorter men frowned, glancing back and forth between them. “Brom, what are you doing? This is not the man we seek and we have not the time to play nurse maid to some ailing woman.”
When Brom turned hot eyes on his companion, McLain took advantage of the distraction.
“I can see that you are both
in a hurry, so I will decline your generous offer. Good night, gentlemen.” McLain backed in and shut the door before the man, Brom, could step in again. McLain slid the bar into position and waited, listening for their retreating footstep’s and Brom’s three curt words. “You bloody fool.”
They would no doubt wait downstairs. As long as Carmen’s brother did not have proof that she was with him, he couldn’t act.
As McLain moved over to the bed, an image flashed through his thoughts. He staggered at its intensity, wondering where it had come from until he realized he was seeing the image through Carmen’s eyes. He sat down beside her on the bed and she turned, searching his face. Her brow was pinched, her gaze full of concern.
“Are they gone?”
“Yes, but they will stay downstairs, waiting for you. Do not worry over them further.” There hung a pause between them, as the pictures of her past filled his thoughts. “Carmen, I’ve seen something from your past.”
“What?”
Her brown eyes widened as she waited for an answer and he felt her body stiffen beside him. “I see this brother of yours standing over an older woman who had features like yours. Her throat has been cut. He is holding the bloody knife and screaming like a demented mad man.”
She shook her head and closed her eyes tight as if seeing the images all again. “I walked in on Brom with his hands covered in her blood.” Carmen met his gaze. “He looked right at me and yelled, ‘I’ll kill you.’”
“Who’s the woman?”
“She was our mother.”
“That is why you are hiding?” At her nod, he frowned. “Are you sure he killed her?”
Her brow lifted. “Why do you ask? If you saw what I saw, could there be any doubt? He threatened to do the same to me. He never says anything he doesn’t mean.”
Carmen had reason to fear, but something bothered him about her brother’s eyes. They seemed empty and over-bright, not dark and malevolent. McLain knew a cold-blooded killer when he saw one and Brom could kill but a cold-blooded killer—he didn’t think so. Yet, he didn’t know the man well enough to stand firm on that opinion. Moreover, Brom’s threat to Carmen condemned him in McLain eyes.
“After that there were many attempts on my life. I fled to survive. I have no proof, but I believe Brom wanted to silence me for what I had seen. The only problem is that nothings rational about the murder. I’ve tried to find some reason for him to kill my mother and there isn’t anything.”
Whether it was Brom or another who murdered her mother, Carmen was smart to leave, but he feared the murderer would follow to see her silenced, no matter where she went. She was a loose end. “And how did you get locked in the crypt?”
“I ran into an unsavory man late that night. He said I was to be your last meal before you were executed for your crime.”
He raised one brow and she glanced away. “I would say you have had a run of bad luck.”
She sat up in the bed, pushing her hair out of the way then shrugged her shoulders. “More than my fair share, but I play the hand dealt. What now, McLain?”
He put a finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “You are a strong woman.”
Her eyes widened slightly, a smile touched her lips. “Thank you.”
“‘Tis pleasing to me. Strength is rare to find.”
Carmen felt a deep stirring in her heart. No man but her brother had ever taken the time to look beyond her face and form to see who she really was. To know McLain admired part of her personality, made warmth bloom in her chest, filling the emptiness she tried to hide. Without thought, she ran her fingers up along his neck and into his hair behind his head and pulled him down to kiss him. She closed her eyes and brushed her lips across his, softly, innocently.
When she pulled back to meet McLain’s gaze, her breath left her lungs. His dark eyes burned, heat poured from them to bring a tremble of response.
He ran his fingers through the hair behind her ear and pulled it forward to lie along her neck and across her breasts. Lowering his head, he brought his lips across hers, a tender taste. Then his mouth claimed hers, aggressive, demanding, and she opened to him, allowing his exploration, his tongue hot and sweet against hers. She gave no thought to resisting, but instead grew just as aggressive. He pressed her back into the covers and she continued sampling his mouth.
New sensations and emotions converged, as his large hands ran down her neck and across her breast. The weight of his hand, massaging the hardened nipple through the fabric brought a tingling need between her legs. She gripped his hair and sighed into his mouth. Her leg came up to lie over his thigh, sliding her feet along his.
“I love the passion in you, Carmen. I sensed it from the first, buried under society’s rules. Your passion is what makes you beautiful. For anyone can have a pleasing face, but few have a true inner fire for life.”
“I have found I want to please you.”
This time McLain groaned as his tongue stroked hers, scorching, moist, and sweet. A hunger to taste the erotic flavor of her blood began to burn in his thoughts as his hand moved over her bottom. The hunger had a different need. It was more of a want to bond, to share something deeper than making love.
The sudden knock on the door came loud and startling, causing Carmen to pull away with a quick indrawn breath.
Knowing that the moment had disappeared, McLain fell to her side with a growl only to hear a barmaid’s voice. “Room service.”
Bloody hell. He had only himself to blame for this interruption. He had forgotten that he ordered a meal sent up at sunset.
“Did you order food?” Carmen asked.
“Yes, this morning I put in an order for you.”
“That was kind.”
“I’m not kind.”
He quickly left the bed, striding toward the door. “A person must eat to keep up their strength.”
McLain opened the door and took the tray from the woman before shutting the door with a swift kick, not caring if she thought him rude.
Carmen sat up and he placed the tray across her lap. The tray was loaded with seasonal fruit, fresh baked bread, boiled eggs, and roast boar.
When she glanced up, she saw McLain slipping into his boots. “There is plenty of food here. Will you not share it with me?”
“No, sweet. I am in need of sustenance of a different kind. I will seal the door and windows. Don’t touch them. You will be safe while I go feed. When I return, we need to leave this place. Answer the door for no one.”
She hated him going out every night, knowing he was sharing those warm lips of his with another, to know he tasted others’ flesh. She wanted them on her, she admitted guiltily. Images of him holding other women wrapped in his arms in some dark corner, his lips sliding along her neck his hands moving across her breasts, brought jealousy to twist her stomach.
“Where will we go?”
“My home. I have some underground chambers that will keep us safe for a day or two. If you are going to make it through the next few days, I will need you to tell me everything.” McLain narrowed his gaze. “And explain all these experiences of your life that are going through my head. Are you up to a dance in the moonlight?” He moved to tower above her.
“A lady never turns down a gentleman when asked to dance.”
“Ahh, but then I am no gentlemen.” His lazy smile and dark flaming gaze heated the very core of her. She traced the line of his brow with her finger. He grabbed her wrist and kissed the soft underside.
“What about my brother? He will be waiting downstairs for us.”
“I have my ways to see us secreted out. Be ready when I return.”
Chapter Six
Their time to leave had come. McLain took her hand and they moved to the corner of the stairs leading down into the main room. As he feared, Carmen’s brother and friend sat at the last table in one corner, which gave Brom a clear view of anyone on the steps.
“Your brother sits waiting for us.”
“How will we leav
e unseen then?”
“We are going to walk out. I am going to conceal us, just don’t let go of my hand or the illusion will be gone. Do you trust me?”
“I believe you asked me that once before.”
A wicked smile curved his lips. “So I did.”
“I will do as you say and trust you in this.”
“It’s a start. Now walk at a gentle steady pace. No sudden moves and don’t speak. They will not see us.”
Carmen nodded, following McLain down the steps with her brother in plain sight. Cold fear crawled up her spine. To walk by close enough to touch him and believe he couldn’t see her took blind faith. They stopped short when a barmaid nearly walked into them with a loaded tray.
Roy shivered visibly when they passed. “Someone just walked over my grave.”
“Yes, I felt the chill myself.” Brom glanced up the stairs, then with a narrowed gaze, looked right at them. Carmen held her breath and stopped walking, as if that would help keep her hidden. McLain pulled on her hand to keep them moving toward the exit.
Once outside, she continued to wait for the alarm to sound with someone shouting, but all held quiet. The rain let up but dark clouds hung low, covering the starry sky. The ground was soft from being well soaked and their feet sunk in with every step. The wet leaves shined in the changing eerie glow but the air smelled fresh. As they traveled through the night Carmen kept looking over her shoulder. McLain had let go of her hand and moved ahead, breaking their trail. They weaved their way back and forth between trees, leading north until they came out on the main road heading into town.
“Cover yourself with your cloak and I will wave down a hack that can take us home. I fear your face is as unforgettable as your spunk.”
Carmen smiled and pulled the cloak’s hood up over her head concealing herself, then kept her head lowered as she walked behind McLain.
He took her hand, giving a gentle squeeze and his touch gave her reassurance. The abandoned building and houses looked dark and forbidding. The porch of one building had collapsed; most of the windowpanes were broken, seeming like glass teeth open in a deadly snarl. This part of the city held cutthroats; pick pockets, and abandoned humanity. Desperation hung heavy about the area. They walked two blocks and turned right around a building before spotting a coach and driver for hire. Carmen’s heightened senses felt others moving in the shadows, waiting for any opportunity to take what they needed.
Satin Chamber Page 4