Transcending Darkness

by Airicka Phoenix

  “I don’t understand what the problem is,” Juliette said, her voice high.

  “The problem,” he said, forcing himself to face her once more, “is that when I have you on that bed, I want you awake and ready to take everything I do to you. I want you alive in my arms. I want you writhing and screaming and begging me for more. What I don’t want is to worry about how much sleep you’re going to get before you have to work another sixteen hour shift or if you’re going to remember to eat properly. That is the problem.”

  A muscle flexed at her jaw. He could see the tension vibrating along the length of her. He wasn’t sure what she wanted to do more, yell, cry, or leave the room. But she stayed. She didn’t yell or cry.

  “You seemed fine when I told you just this afternoon that I was keeping my jobs,” she reminded him in a deadly calm voice.

  “Aye,” he agreed with a subtle nod. “But I didn’t see you looking like this then or I would have told you hell no.”

  That sparked the anger in her eyes. “That’s not your decision to make and don’t you dare bring up that crap about being personally in charge of my wellbeing. I’m twenty-three years old. I’ve been taking care of myself and my sister since I was sixteen. I know my limits.”

  Killian didn’t know what to say or do that didn’t involve tying her to the bed and forcing her to take better care of herself. While the thought was tempting, he knew she would never forgive him for it.

  “Clearly we will reach no mutual decision tonight,” he decided, willing himself to keep his composure. “We’ll discuss this again tomorrow.”

  “There is nothing to discuss!” she shot back. “I’m not quitting my job.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to snap out, we’ll see about that. But he opted against it. He was a business man and he dealt with challenges every day. He would fix this. He just needed to find a common ground for both of them.

  “Fine.”

  Surprise flickered across her face before suspicion set in. “Really?”

  He nodded. “But I reserve the right to bring this up at a later date when we have both had time to cool down.” He put his hand up when she opened her mouth, no doubt to argue. “No more arguing. I’ll have Marco drive you home.”

  “I thought…” She stopped. Her shoulders lifted with her deep inhale. “Fine.”

  He let her walk out, because the alternative was to lock her up and apparently that was kidnapping. He told himself it wasn’t his business how she juggled her life or how much it was killing her, but it was. The moment she had signed that contract, she had become his business. She had become his and that meant something. It meant he took care of things, made sure she was safe and protected, even if it meant from herself. But damn, the woman was stubborn. He had honestly never met a woman who made him want to strangle her and kiss her at the same time.

  However, her abilities to infuriate him wasn’t the thing up for question. He needed to fix the problem while respecting her decision. That was going to take some doing. But solving impossible situations was what Killian did best.

  “What did you do?”

  Scrawling down the last line of the agreement before he forgot, Killian glanced up just as Juliette charged into his office, her face set in the type of anger women got just before they started throwing things. Killian did a quick sweep of his desk to make sure there was nothing sharp before gathering up the contract he’d been working on for most of the night. He stowed them and his pen inside a drawer—just in case she decided to stab him with it—and faced her.

  “Sorry?”

  She stopped just on the other side of his desk. Her chest heaved rapidly beneath the thin material of her maid’s uniform. The top button had popped open and he was momentarily distracted by the hollow of her throat.

  “I got called into the manager’s office today,” she was saying when he broke out of his thoughts to rip open the rest of the buttons and take her across his desk. “I have never been called into the manager’s office.”

  He sat back in his chair, more to observe her fully than anything else. “All right?”

  Slender palms pressed flat against the top of his desk as she leaned forward, her eyes narrowed.

  “Do you know what he told me?” She didn’t wait for him to respond. “That I’ve been promoted to front desk duty with a raise and a clothing bonus. Oh, and coincidently, the amount I’m now making is double what I was originally making as a maid and it’s more than I’m making at the diner, plus some.”

  Killian portrayed the proper expression. He widened his eyes with interest and nodded.

  “That’s great. Congratulations.”

  His attempts to soothe her didn’t seem to work when her eyes only narrowed further, in suspicion now.

  “What did you do?”

  He kept his features neutral. Completely blank of everything but a mild confusion.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t give me that!” She slapped his desk with one hand. “I know you did something. The timing is just too weird. Just the night before, you were telling me I had to pick one and now, suddenly, I’m getting a raise and a promotion?”

  He lifted one shoulder in a brief shrug. “Maybe management finally realized what an asset you were.”

  “That’s bullshit.” She straightened and folded her arms. “I’ve been there almost four years and they never once accepted my front desk application.”

  “Well, there it is then.” He rose. “Yours finally hit the top of the pile.” Casually, he circled around to her side of the desk. “When do you start?”

  She watched him with a wariness that was amusing as hell. He would have laughed if he didn’t value his life.

  “Tomorrow,” she mumbled at long last. “I got the day shift slot, which I’m sure is going to piss Celina off big time.” But there was a sort of quirk in her mouth, a devious tilt that made the glint in her eyes appear almost mischievous.

  “Not a fan?” he pressed, oddly endeared by the grin unfolding across her face.

  Her smile was full blown when she met his gaze. “I think I just found the silver lining in this situation.”

  “That’s your silver lining?”

  He had thought for sure it would be the money or the new position or the not having to work late at night cleaning up other people’s filth.

  “Yes!” she hissed with a laugh that was more of an evil cackle. “Celina Swanson is getting demoted to night duty and it’s beautifully horrible.”

  Killian couldn’t help it, he laughed. “You’re an odd woman.”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes. “You don’t know Celina. She’s a bi … witch,” she corrected quickly, amusing him all the further. “No one likes her, except Harold. But everyone knows they’re sleeping together so she’s going to be furious when she finds out he gave me the position.” Her smile faded into a wide eyed panic. “Right before she slits my throat.” She met his gaze with a frown. “Not sure Harold did me any favors, now that I think about it.”

  Bottling back a second laugh, he swept back a coil of hair off her temple and tucked it behind her ear.

  “It’ll be fine.”

  “Maybe.” She squinted up at him. “You laughed. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh.”

  He stepped around her and headed for the window, the back of his neck prickling with discomfort.

  “I don’t normally have a secret sadist in my office.”

  “I’m not a sadist!” she gasped in feigned outrage.

  He tossed a dry glance over his shoulder. “Have you heard yourself cackle? It’s Disney villain material.”

  Her glower melted into a wide smile that dissolved into a brilliant shower of giggles. She gave a little squeal that came with an odd little dance like a four year old who finally got the doll she wanted.

  “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this position?” she gasped, beaming so wide he was certain she’d rip her face open. “Years!” She slapped both hands over her che
st and gasped. “I think I’m having a heart attack.”

  Chuckling, Killian turned fully to face her, charmed and endeared and absolutely enchanted by the euphoria wafting off her and filling every sparse corner of his office. It was unabashed joy in a form he was unaccustomed to seeing.

  “Well, try not to,” he teased. “My CPR is rusty.”

  Laughing, she walked over to join him in the patch of sunlight crashing through the window. The rays tangled through her hair, turning the downy strands into a halo around her flushed face. It illuminated the gold flecks in her eyes and the happiness shimmering across their surface.

  “Do you know what this means?” she said quietly.

  Captivated by how much she reminded him of a pixie, Killian could only muster a weak, “What?” in response.

  “I don’t have to keep my job at the diner, or the arcade.” She paused to roll her eyes. “Thank God. I hated that place.” She bit her lip and his cock tightened. “I need to go shopping. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve stepped inside a mall? I don’t even know what size I am anymore.”

  He could have told her. He’d always been fairly decent when it came to estimating the size of things. It was a family talent when one was in the transporting business. But he also valued his ability to reproduce and while he knew he could never have children, it was the thought that mattered most.

  “How old is your sister?” he asked instead.

  “Vi? Sixteen. Why?”

  He rolled a shoulder casually. “Maybe you could take her with you. Make a day of it.”

  He saw the spark of interest in her eyes, the contemplation before she nodded.

  “I should. She’s a brat, but she’s a brat with really good taste in clothes.” Her grin became sheepish and a bit pained. “I’m taking up all your time, aren’t I? You seemed busy when I arrived.”

  “You mean when you stormed in hell bent on putting the wrath of God in me … again?”

  Her cheeks turned a dark shade of scarlet. “I’ll work on remembering to knock next time.”

  “Next time?” He forced his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Is this going to become a regular thing then?”

  “That depends.” She gave him a smile that was pure mischief. “Are you going to keep going behind my back and doing things for me?”

  One of them drew closer, closing the foot of space separating them. He only became aware because he was suddenly drowning in the scent of her, in the temptation of her mouth being offered to him. The single motion brought her right beneath his height. It forced her neck back so her face was tipped up to him.

  “Possibly.” He forced his attention up to her eyes. “Unless you’ve decided to let me take care of you?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  He had expected nothing less.

  “Too bad.” His hand snaked free of its confines and lifted to ghost the soft contour of her cheek. It traced the apple and dipped into the hollow. The palm settled along her jaw, aligning the pad of his thumb over the parted curves of her mouth. “I take very good care of my things.”

  Slim fingers curled around his wrist, but made no move to brush him aside as she peered unwaveringly up at him.

  “I’m not a thing,” she whispered, bathing his skin with the heat of her breath.

  “No,” he agreed in an equally low murmur. “But I would spoil you if you let me. I would give you everything you could ever possibly want. Just let me, Juliette.”

  It was beyond him why it was so important she submit. He honestly couldn’t understand why he needed her to let him shower her in all the things she deserved. But it thrummed through him like a physical wound. It coursed through him like poison. The more she denied him, the more demanding the need became.

  “I only want you.” The hand not holding his wrist cradled the side of his face, mirroring the one he held to hers. Her thumb grazed his bottom lip and he felt it like a punch in the chest. “Only you, Killian.”

  He kissed her.

  No. He pummeled her mouth with an unhampered sense of urgency that shocked even him. It rolled up and over him, taking him under in a current of electrified waves that snapped at his sanity. Beneath his assault, Juliette whimpered. A small, weak part of him prickled with the fear of hurting her, but the madness was too strong. It had him in its clutches and he was powerless to think or do anything but claim the woman clinging to him.

  “Killian.”

  Her soft voice washed through the red haze in a wave of calming blue. It soothed the burn eating him up inside in a way he had never experienced before. It was as though she possessed the power to ease the storm he’d been fighting his entire life with just the whisper of his name. The mere thought had him tearing out of her arms in a panic.

  “What are you doing?” The question was an unintentional snarl that cracked through the room as loud as the uneven pants coming from the both of them.

  “I…” Mouth wet and swollen, Juliette stared at him, bemused and afraid. “I wasn’t … I didn’t…”

  He grabbed her and hauled her back into his arms. His mouth slanted across hers, demanding and hungry. She didn’t push him away, not even when he lifted her up and carted her to his desk. He set her down on the cool surface and reached for the tiny V at the hollow of her throat, the one that had been mocking him from the moment she’d stalked into his office.

  Buttons flew in all directions. Their pathetic clatter went unnoticed as the fabric was torn over her shoulders and down her arms. Full, firm breasts barely covered by black lace sprung free. The last of the buttons were ripped from their holes and he had her across the desk clad in nothing but her bra and panties. Her uniform was pitched somewhere across the room. He briefly heard it hit the floor and skid. But it was the woman splayed out before him that had his main focus.

  There were no words to describe the sight she made. Every inch of her was cut from the very depths of his fantasies. It was as though someone had reached deep inside him and crafted a woman far more dangerous than any weapon on earth and the only one she could potentially destroy was him.

  How are you doing this to me? Every fiber of his being begged the question. But the words remained firmly lodged in his chest. Instead, all he could do was bow his head and worship the smooth valley of her belly with his lips. Then his tongue. He followed the delicate curves of her ribs one by one to the rough fabric of her bra. Her breasts rose with the arching of her back, a silent offering that included the feather light trailing of her fingertips along his shoulders, up the back of his neck to thread through his hair. He ignored her urging and worked his way back down, pausing to circle her navel with his tongue before stopping at her mound.

  Heat rose off the stretch of cotton covering her. He could feel it burning his lips even before he was near enough to plant an open mouth kiss to apex of her thighs. Juliette moaned. Her hips shifted with an anticipation he had to still with a hand on her hip.

  “Patience,” he reminded her and earned a groan of frustration in return.

  He concealed his grin in the toned muscle of her inner right thigh. He sank his teeth into warm flesh just hard enough to make her cry out. He kissed the spot before tracing a path along the elastic of her panties to repeat it on the other side. Her fingers tightened in his hair.

  “Killian…”

  Compelled by the pain in her whimper, his head lifted. His body shifted over hers, weight balanced on his palms as he leaned in close. Eyes an opaque black with arousal met his. Swollen lips parted, possibly to speak. But he nipped sharply on the bottom curve, hard enough to make her buck beneath him and gasp.

  “Are you going to make me spank you?” he demanded.

  She didn’t say yes, but she didn’t say no, either. Instead, she stared up at him with a wide eyed sort of interest that was an almost physical caress along the rigid length of his erection. It wrapped around every nerve ending like a challenge and tugged. He would have groaned if she hadn’t taken that moment to
reach for his pants.

  Her eyes never left his as his belt was tugged open. Then the button. He continued to watch her with his heart hammering as she dragged down the zipper and freed him. She broke the connection first. She looked away, looked down at the skin she’d bared, at the part of him that was throbbing with a searing pain that was almost unbearable. The delicate column of her throat bobbed with her swallow. Her cheeks darkened. Her lashes lifted and their eyes locked once more.

  “Can I have him now?”

  His cock swelled, a fate that should have been impossible considering the raw shade it was already in and the amount of clear liquid that was coating the top and trickling down the shaft.

  Fucking woman! Killian thought as he dragged her to him by the hips. She was going to be the death of him. He knew it even as he forcibly twisted her over onto her stomach. Her feet hit the floor and he kicked them apart as wide as they would go. The worn elastic of her panties snapped easily beneath his violent yank. He knew there would be marks on her hips from the assault, but that was the last thing on his mind when he cupped her, turning her cry of surprise into a mewl of pleasure with just a flick of his fingers.

  “Killian!”

  Liquid heat rushed over his fingers, burning skin and drawing him to the pool at her opening. The tight ring gave easily, greedily sucking him into the slick channel of her body. Her ass thrust back into his palm, her back arching like a cat begging to be stroked. Her incoherent sobbing fanned in a white fog across the desk and he knew he wouldn’t last. What hot blooded male would when his woman was dripping all over his floor and mewling like a vixen in heat?

  Christ!

  Abandoning her welcoming heat, Killian stalked to the other side of his desk. The drawer rattled with the anticipation vibrating through him. His entire body was fraught with a dark, endless need that gripped him like ropes of fire driving him to claim what was his. The craving came from somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach, a dormant evil prowling to claw free. For years he had fought back the beast, had kept it in check and away from innocent life and for years it had obeyed without complaint. It had sat subdued and hungry in the dark corner of his soul.