Transcending Darkness

by Airicka Phoenix

  “Shut up! Ice?” The look of pure elation on the girl’s face insisted she’d heard of the place. “I’ve been … I mean, I know a few people who have been dying to get in there!”

  Juliette narrowed her eyes in amused disbelief. “Uh huh. So what do you think?”

  “No! Definitely not. You need to look a lot sexier than that.”

  “I’m not going there to party!” She laughed.

  “Still. Have you seen some of the girls in there? Not that I have,” she added quickly. “But they are insanely hot. You need to make sure Killian only sees you.”

  She had a point.

  “All right.” Juliette stepped away from her closet. “What do you suggest?”

  Vi laughed like that question was just adorable. “Absolutely nothing from your closet.”

  “Hey!”

  Still grinning, Vi turned and headed for the door. “Come on,” she said as she stepped into the hallway.

  Juliette hesitated, not because she didn’t want the help, but because following meant she was admitting that her clothes were not cool, which, granted, was true, but it still sucked, especially when she used to have such kickass taste once upon a time. The blow to her ego was astronomical.

  Nevertheless, grudgingly, she shuffled after the other girl. Phil stood in the hallway, back against the wall, hands clasped in front of him. He glanced sideways at Juliette when she stepped into view. The look said very clearly not to try anything stupid … a second time.

  “At ease,” Juliette muttered. “Just on my way to get the rest of my self-esteem destroyed.”

  Phil said nothing, but his mouth twitched a notch in a way that did nothing to ease her mood, but he went back to watching Vi’s open door.

  The girl in question stood buried to the waist in her closet. Random bits of clothing kept flying over her shoulder in arcs of color before creating pretty puddles across the floor. She seemed to be muttering to herself as she did it.

  Several minutes passed before she finally emerged, arms laden by a pile of fabric. Unlike Juliette’s closet that consisted of a handful of items, Vi’s was overflowing, practically bursting at the seams. Most of it stuff Juliette had never seen, which always made her particularly uncomfortable.

  Vi had been getting a weekly allowance of twenty dollars since she’d been twelve. That was hardly enough to buy a top, but it was all Juliette could afford to give her at the time. Yet she always managed to come home with new things.

  “Where did you get all this stuff?” she asked as Vi dumped the items down on the bed.

  “Places,” was the vague response. “Here and there.” She lifted a slinky tube dress in soft, navy blue that looked more like a headband. “Try this one on.”

  But Juliette wasn’t ready to drop that matter.

  “Vi…”

  “Do you really want to know?” Vi rounded on her, hands going to her waists. “Really?”

  That was the question. Part of her already felt like she knew, but did she really want validation?

  “Don’t do it anymore,” she said instead. “I’ll raise your allowance.”

  Vi narrowed her eyes. Her head bent to the side and she regarded Juliette quizzically.

  “How much?”

  Reaching out, Juliette took the dress. “Just promise me.”

  Vi shrugged. “All right.”

  Dress in hand, she turned and shut the door before undressing. She hopped and wiggled into the dress. The material was tight and clung to everything. It stopped just over the swell of her breasts, but barely. It felt more like it was clinging to her nipples to stay up. The hem rode up her thighs, giving barely any room for movement.

  “Not sure about this one,” Juliette voiced.

  “Yeah, me neither.” Vi thrust out a white dress. “Here. Try this one.”

  The white dress was no better. Neither was the green dress or the red dress or the purple dress. They all joined the small pile on the floor.

  “All right, last one.” Vi exhaled loudly. “If this doesn’t work, we start on pants.”

  The cute black off the shoulder number worked. It molded over the hills and dips of her body like it had been painted on, but it was sexy as hell. Full sleeves ran down her arms and the hem stopped just below the curves of her ass. Vi added a pair of red heels much higher than any Juliette had worn in ages and a thin, red belt.

  “That should do it.” Vi stepped back to examine her handiwork. “Now for your hair and face.”

  “Vi.” Juliette took her arm before she could hurry away. “Thank you.”

  Vi faltered. She looked from Juliette to the hand on her arm and Juliette quickly let go. Vi straightened. She scratched the back of her head as she turned away.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she mumbled, making her way through the jungle of discarded clothes to the vanity tucked away under a mountain of makeup, hats, scarves and a pink feathered boa. “Let’s finish you up, eh?”

  Saying nothing else, Juliette let her hair get brushed, twisted, and pinned at the top of her head by a single strand Vi pulled away from her face. The rest was left around her shoulders. The makeup, Juliette did herself. She wasn’t completely useless and still remembered how to apply the right amount of everything to make her face smooth and her eyes enormous. She added clear gloss to her lips and turned to her sister.

  “Well?”

  Vi nodded approvingly. “Nice. So, you’re done.”

  She started to thank her again, but stopped herself. The first time had been awkward enough. But she smiled and headed for the door.

  Phil was still standing there when she emerged. She offered him a half grin before making her way carefully down the stairs; it had been a damn long time since she’d worn heels that high. Halfway, she stopped and turned back, kicking herself for not having asked if she could help straighten some of the mess made on her behalf.

  Phil was gone, she noted with some surprise. Vi’s door was still open and she assumed he’d gone in to help her tidy up.

  “She said she’d raise my allowance,” Juliette heard Vi say softly. “I just have to stop five fingering my wardrobe.”

  There was a hint of self-deprecation in the remark.

  “I warned you about that,” Phil reminded her calmly. “Remember what happened last time?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Vi grumbled.

  “I know it’s not what you wanted, but it’s a small step in the right direction,” Phil encouraged softly. “Don’t give up.”

  “I don’t know why I have to bother.” Something thumped across the room. “This isn’t going to work.”

  “It will. You need to be patient and—”

  “Persistent. Yeah, I know. But it’s so … weird. I’m not used to being … nice.”

  “Remember what not being nice got you?”

  Vi exhaled. “What if it doesn’t work?”

  “Patience and—”

  “If you say persistence, I will hit you.”

  Juliette turned away. She had no idea what they were talking about, but whatever it was, she would corner Phil about it later. Juliette was too tired for games and if there was something Vi needed, one of them needed to tell her. But later. Already an hour had passed and she had made Killian wait long enough.

  Javier glanced up from his post at the table by the window when she hit the bottom landing. She offered him a nod before making her way towards the kitchen and the steady flow of chatter weaving through the corridor. Her heels clicked a bit too loudly in the rumbling emptiness of the place, sounding like firecrackers going off. But she made her way to the doorway and paused.

  Her tiny kitchen was packed with people. Mrs. Tompkins and Killian stood at the island, chatting on like old friends while Killian’s armed forces stood in various spots around them, guarding without looking like they were guarding. All heads lifted when she stepped over the threshold. The men looked away just as quickly.

  Killian didn’t.

  He glanced back over his shoulder and faltered
mid speech. The lines of his shoulders tightened even as he straightened. Eyes the infinite black of the night sky bore into her and carved deep grooves along every curve. She felt the weight of his desire wash over her like the slow rise of dawn creeping across the bed in the morning. It singed every inch of her.

  “Apparently I have to make sure you don’t look at other women while we’re there,” she told him with a teasing quirk of her mouth.

  Amusement shimmered across the inky surface of his eyes. “Would it put your mind at ease if I assured you I haven’t noticed another woman since you?”

  It was funny, but the thought of Killian looking at other women had never bothered her. She hadn’t even thought about it until Vi had pointed it out. Maybe it was because it had been stated in the contract that neither of them would see other people in their twelve months together or maybe because he had never given her a reason to worry, but … she hadn’t. Oddly enough, she still wasn’t worried. Nevertheless, his words sent a warm shiver through her.

  “That so?”

  “Aye, love.” He crossed towards her in three long strides and stopped when he was close enough to lower his head and capture her mouth in a deep, toe curling kiss. She was breathless when he released her. “But you might want to bring a second dress.”

  The low growl against her ear rippled down her spine in rivulets of fire to burn in her belly. Her nipples hardened to sharp points that strained through the material of her dress. His gaze lingered on them before trailing back up to meet hers, darker, if possible. That simple gesture rocked through her as powerfully as though he’d reached out and stroked them.

  “You … you said you had work,” she whispered.

  Four deft fingers whispered feather light up the curve of her side. They moved to spread across the small of her back and bow her into him. Unbalanced by the motion and her heels, she hit his chest a bit harder than was necessary. Her hands flew to his shoulders. But he caught her easily.

  “You ought to know how good I am at multitasking,” he drawled lazily into her ear.

  Her face heated up, but it was nothing compared to the spike in her temperature. Her entire body burst with an explosion of warmth triggered by the mere memories alone. She shifted as the hot rush of arousal trickled down the inside of her legs.

  Killian eyed her questioningly when she mashed her lips together and grimaced with embarrassment.

  “I’m … I’m not wearing panties,” she confessed in a whisper that was no more than the stiff movement of her lips. “The dress doesn’t…” She broke off when his hands snaked down the curves of her hips, fingers dragging, possibly in search of elastic under the fabric. “It’s too tight,” she finished breathlessly once his palms had settled firmly over her backside.

  “Christ, woman!” he snarled low under his breath.

  Legs unstable, she tugged herself out of his bruising grip. “I have to make a quick bathroom run, but I’ll meet you at the car, okay?”

  He didn’t say a word, but the look he gave her … oh, the look raged with an inferno so wild she felt the flames lick strips off her skin. Lightheaded, she staggered back a step. Then another until she had extracted herself from his heat. She made a weaving path down the hall in the direction of the powder room. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Vi and Phil making their way downstairs. Laurence had joined Javier at the bay window. But no one paid her any attention as she slipped into the washroom and began to shut the door behind her only to have it fly out of her grasp. Another figure ducked in after her and closed them in with a resounding snick of the locks latching into place.

  “Killian?”

  His hands went to the fastens on his pants.

  “We can’t.” She backed into the counter, not to escape, exactly, but to brace herself. “You’re injured.”

  “I could be on my deathbed and I’d still fuck you,” he panted, shoving his trousers down around his ankles.

  The belt jingled loudly in the cramped space. It was followed by the snap of rubber as the condom went on down the hard length of his cock. His hands were on her then, grabbing her and lifting her. The cold marble came up against the bare skin of her backside as her skirt was bunched up around her waist. Bruising hands gripped her hips and she was yanked to the very edge. Juliette was given no time to react, not even to gasp when his mouth slammed down over hers, hot, hungry, and violent.

  He pushed inside her with more gentleness than she knew he normally would have displayed. Their mutual sounds of satisfaction pulsed through the room as their bodies met in that beautifully perfect way. Juliette clutched him tight as he moved inside her in smooth, fluid strokes, hitting every nerve with brutal accuracy. Her fingers gouged into his shoulders, biting in deep as the world rocked beneath her. She came into the side of his neck with a cry of his name. He shuddered a split second after with a murmur of something in a language she didn’t understand, but it sounded dark and possessive. He stayed buried inside her, even when he raised his head and peered down into her face. The beast continued to prowl just behind his eyes, still hungry, but temporarily sated.

  Carefully, he pulled out, eliciting a whimper from her and a groan from him as the sensitive walls of her sex clutched at him, not wanting him to leave.

  “I hate when you pull out,” she whispered.

  “Like me better deep inside you, do you?” he teased.

  Juliette never wavered. “Yes.”

  The grin slipped into that predatory glint he got just before he ravaged the shit out of her. His fingers locked in her hair. He dragged her head back as far as it would go as he leaned in to nip hard on her bottom lip.

  Juliette whined in delicious pain.

  “Leave with me,” he growled, running the tip of his tongue over the spot he’d assaulted.

  Ready for him all over again, Juliette could only manage a weak, “Where?”

  “I don’t care.” One hand slipped down to smooth over the fresh puddle filling over her opening. “Anywhere. Just name it.”

  Lost in the flick of his fingers, Juliette was barely listening. “Anywhere?”

  “Anywhere.”

  She opened her eyes and peered up into his face mere inches from hers. “Can Vi and Mrs. Tompkins come?”

  Two fingers worked deep inside her, replacing the loss of his cock, but barely. She still preferred him balls deep in her channel. Nevertheless, his fingers knew how to do that rubbing thing that made the top of her skull blow off.

  “If you like.”

  “Rome,” she decided, just for the hell of it. “I’ve always wanted to go. Or Venice.”

  “Both then,” he offered, finding that magical spot that had her whining and begging. “All of Europe if you want.”

  She was no longer listening. With a tortured sob she could barely contain behind her teeth, she came, thrashing and rocking against his palm until the very last tremor. Satisfied, she slumped back against the mirror and shut her eyes, her body exhausted and so still buzzing. Between her thighs, Killian gingerly removed his fingers. Her eyes opened and she studied him through her lashes, a teasing grin curling her mouth.

  “I had this weird mid orgasm dream where you said you wanted to go across Europe.”

  He chuckled as he moved to the toilet and discarded the condom. He leaned down and tugged his trousers back up. Once properly fastened, he reached for her. She allowed herself to be lowered to the ground. Her dress was smoothed back into place.

  “I meant it.”

  Her eyes widened. “All of Europe? That could take months!”

  He shrugged. “I have time.”

  A tour of Europe. It would be the greatest adventure she’d ever had. It would be the furthest she’d ever gone.

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “We can leave whenever you want.”

  A high pitch shriek escaped her as she flung herself into his arms. She pulled back a second later, happy mood momentarily overshadowed by doubt.

  “What about work? Yours and mine? A
nd Vi has school—”

  He silenced her with a gentle finger against her lips. “Tell me when and I’ll make it happen.”

  Woozy with excitement, Juliette beamed up at him. Her fingers tightened in the taut skin along the back of his neck as she pulled him close.

  I love you!

  The three little words came out of nowhere. They socked her square in the chest with the force of a steel studded fist. All the warmth drained out of her in a single swoop, taking along with it the blood from her face. Her eyes went enormous against the sudden pallor and he caught her when she swayed.

  “Juliette?” Concern tightened his fingers on her as he pulled her into his chest. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  I love you. Jesus Christ. I’m in love with you.

  How the hell had that happened? When had that happened? How had she not noticed sooner? Better question, how was she going to keep him from finding out?

  Chapter 17

  Something was wrong. Killian could feel it every time their eyes met. There was a tremor in her gaze, a flicker of something that kept her from maintaining the contact for more than a second before focusing on something else. Plus she was unnaturally distracted. It worried him far more than he knew what to do with, especially when she refused to tell him so he could fix it.

  “Have you changed your mind?” he asked one evening as they lay across the tangled expense of the bed, their damp bodies cooling.

  As she so often did now, she had her back to him, which she did the moment he moved off her, as though she couldn’t stand the sight of him.

  “About what?” Her voice was barely audible.

  “Europe.”

  She shook her head. “No, not unless you have.”

  He couldn’t stand it anymore. “Juliette.”

  She flinched when he touched her. Actually flinched. It was such a slap that he could only sit there with his hand outstretched, his mind torn with disbelief and a swelling of hurt.

  “I need the washroom,” she whispered, already scrambling out of bed with the sheets and hurrying across the room.

  What had he done? He couldn’t think of a single thing. Had he hurt her? Wouldn’t she tell him if he had? Was he asking for too much of her time? Did she need a rest? None of it made sense, because Juliette had never bottled up her feelings when she was angry with him or if he’d done something wrong. She had always been open and honest about everything. It made no sense why she was pulling away from him.