Embrace the Darkness

by Alexandra Ivy

  His expression was carefully neutral, as if he sensed that she would close down at the first hint of pity.

  “That’s why you insisted that those demons be loosened at the auction house?”

  “Yes. Nothing deserves such torture.” She forced herself to meet his gaze squarely. “But you know Edra wasn’t the worst of it.”

  “What was?”

  “The knowledge that I’ll always be in the power of someone. That I can never be strong enough, or fast enough, or smart enough to escape, because there is no escape.”

  His features tightened, no doubt sensing that a part of her frustration reached out to include him. With that smooth elegance he turned to pace toward the bed before turning and regarding her from a distance.

  “Actually, I know precisely how you feel.”

  “You?” She gave a disbelieving snort. “How could you possibly understand?”

  He remained shrouded in the shadows, reminding her of the aloof vampire who had first arrived at the auction house to bid on her.

  “I was not always a clan chief,” he said, his tone low and oddly rough. “There were many years after I was first turned that I was at the mercy of whatever vampire wished to claim me.”

  Shay felt a stab of shock. It was impossible to imagine this arrogant, ruthless man at the mercy of anyone. Certainly not another vampire. He seemed… impervious. Invulnerable.

  “You were a slave?”

  “A slave and worse.”

  “What could be worse?”

  “You do not truly want to know, pet.”

  She bit her tongue. He was right. However bad the witches had been there could always be worse. Much, much worse.

  She gave a slow shake of her head. “I thought that clans protected their own?”

  Viper gave a graceful shrug. “Times have thankfully changed and we have grown more civilized.”

  “Civilized? You think vampires are civilized?”

  “Compared to the past. There was a time when the clans were merely wandering bands of warriors. To become a part of the clan a newly awakened vampire had to… submit to their demands no matter how twisted or depraved they might be.”

  Shay frowned. “Then why would you wish to be a part of a clan?”

  “To be alone was to die.”

  “They would have killed you?”

  “The strong survived and the weak were merely prey.”

  “And you were prey?”

  Her skin prickled as his power flared through the room. “Until I became strong enough to battle back.”

  “But you did become strong enough,” she said softly.

  There was a moment as he battled his own inner demons, and Shay abruptly understood the reason for the vast armory of weapons that Viper had hidden beneath his house. Whatever power he might now possess there would always be the knowledge that there were monsters lurking in the dark. He had surrounded himself with the sort of beautiful, lethal objects that were not only a collectors dream, but an unconscious sense of security.

  With those gliding steps he was once again standing before her, his hand reaching out to trace the curve of her neck.

  “I became strong, but like you the memories remain.”

  Shay didn’t pull away from his cool touch. There was nothing to be read on his beautiful features, but she knew that he had endured horrors that would no doubt give anyone nightmares for centuries. Even more amazing he had managed to maintain a sense of honor and integrity that had kept him from becoming one of the animals that had tortured him. Still, she could not completely dismiss her petty envy. Not as long as she remained bound by her curse.

  “You survived and now you are free.”

  His lips twisted at her words. “Never free, pet. There are… powers that even I must answer to.”

  Her brows lifted in surprise. “You’re a clan chief. What powers could you possibly have to answer to?”

  “They are forbidden to speak of,”

  And that was that.

  There was no mistaking his tone of voice. It warned her that she could, spend, the rest of eternity badgering him for an explanation and he would never yield. Which of course only made her all the more curious.

  She grimaced. “Am I supposed to be comforted?”

  Without warning a smile curved his lips. That sinful smile that always tugged at something deep within her, and made the hovering darkness a bit less dark.

  “We will discover where Evor has been hidden, Shay.” His hand shifted to the back of her neck, his fingers lightly brushing up and down her sensitive nape. “And then we will break the curse once and for all.”

  Her mouth went dry and her toes began to curl in her shoes. It was insanity. A few moments before and she had been sunk in despair. A despair that had felt so thick and heavy she wasn’t sure she would ever be rid of it. Now her entire body was tingling and her heart nearly leaping from her chest. It didn’t seem possible that a mere touch could so utterly alter her emotions.

  Licking her suddenly dry lips she gazed into his beautiful face. “Do you truly believe that?”

  The disturbing fingers continued a path down her arching spine. “I would not have said it if I did not believe.”

  Shay struggled to breathe. “You know, if we do break the curse I will no longer be your slave?”

  His smile widened as he shifted to scoop her into his arms. Without missing a beat, he turned and moved toward the bed.

  “I do not need an amulet to make a woman my slave,” he assured her.

  Shay rolled her eyes. “Your arrogance is nothing short of stunning, vampire. If you were half as good as you think—”

  Her brave words were cut short as she found herself being tossed onto the mattress and Viper’s hard form covering her with obvious intent.

  Taking swift advantage Viper lowered his head to nuzzle at her neck.

  “You were saying, pet?” he murmured with a hint of amusement.

  She shivered as his tongue ran a path to the hollow of her shoulder.

  “You aren’t playing fair,” she accused even as her hands lifted to tug the clip from his hair and plunge her fingers into the silver satin.

  His chuckle brushed over her skin as he shifted to tug the sweatshirt over her head. Her bra swiftly followed.

  “I’m a vampire. I only play to win.”

  There was no doubt a perfectly reasonable moral objection to his claim, but as his mouth found the tip of her breast Shay couldn’t begin to think that clearly. Instead she moaned and held his head even closer while the pleasure rushed through her in a searing wave.

  “What is it you intend to win?” she breathed.

  He drew back to stab her with a smoldering gaze. “I have already won precisely what I desired. Now it is a matter of pleasing my prize to the point she never wishes to leave my side.”

  Shay swallowed a moan. “I’m not sure if you please me any more that I’ll survive.”

  His gaze lowered to sweep over her exposed breasts. “I have every faith in your ability to survive, pet. It is one thing we have in common.” His thumb brushed her tightened nipple. “Of course it’s not the only thing.”

  Her eyes rolled back in her head as he lowered his head to kiss her with a raw yearning that clenched at her stomach. They most certainly had this in common, she acknowledged as she felt his fingers fumble with the snap on her jeans. Whatever it was… lust, passion, or some darker obsession, it had her in its grip.

  She wasn’t certain she would ever have enough of this vampire.

  Tugging impatiently at his shirt, Shay lifted her hips so he could slip the jeans from her legs. With their lips still locked together she ran her hands over his bare chest, reveling in the feel of his silken skin.

  It was so smooth, so perfect.

  She needed more.

  Viper had explored every inch of her. Touched every curve, stroked and tasted her from head to toe.

  It was surely her turn?

  Not giving herself time to debate
the wisdom of necking with a vampire she had locked her leg around Viper’s and with a sharp push had him flat on his back. In the same motion she rolled on top of him, straddling his waist as she straightened to regard him with a fierce hunger.

  “My turn,” she rasped, as her fingers trailed over his chest to lightly brush his nipples.

  Viper’s hands clutched at the black sheets beneath him as his body reacted to her touch.

  “Your turn for what?” he breathed.

  Electric excitement raced through her.

  “My turn for this.”

  Bending downward she scattered kisses over his chest, giving each nipple a flick of her tongue before trailing a wet path down the center of his stomach to the waistband of his pants.

  For a moment she nibbled and nipped at the clenched muscles of his stomach. Her tongue traced the swell and dip of his washboard perfection. She explored his belly button. The jut of his hip bone. She easily felt the hard thrust of his erection, but she refused to give in to his silent urging.

  At last his hands reached up to clutch at her arms, his eyes as black as midnight as his fangs fully extended.

  “For God’s sake, pet, put me out of my misery.”

  A smug smile curved her lips as she slowly unfastened the button. She pulled down the zipper and tugged off his slacks. He growled low in his throat, his fingers digging into her flesh as she gently kissed him through the silk of his boxers.

  She ignored his bruising grasp as she traced him with her tongue from top to bottom and then back again. He gave a muffled shout as his hips jerked upward.

  Pulling back she allowed her gaze to fully appreciate the sight of his ivory beauty. Contrasted against the black sheets he might have been a statue carved from marble.

  Except for the eyes. Those midnight eyes burned with a need that sent an answering jolt of yearning through her body.

  With a breathless wonder she reached to pull the silky boxers; off his body. She had seen it all before, but she suspected that she would never truly become accustomed to such flawless beauty.

  Dropping the boxers onto the floor Shay ran her hands slowly up the length of his legs, following the path with tiny kisses that brought wrenching groans from the man beneath her.

  At last reaching his pelvis she reached to encircle his erection, exploring the hard length with fascination. Silk and steel. An erotic combination that made her lower stomach quiver with a building ache.

  Kissing her way over his hip she at last pulled him between her lips, using her tongue to taste him as she had longed to do.

  His hands clutched at her head, clearly torn between urging her to continue her caresses and halting her before he reached that unstoppable peak.

  “Shay…”

  With a last lingering lick Shay moved her way back up his body, nibbling over his stomach and then his chest before at last finding his mouth with her own.

  His hands smoothed down her back, grasping the satin of her panties and ripping them off her with one impatient tug. With that same impatient haste, he parted her thighs and rubbed himself along her wetness.

  He turned his head to bury his face in her neck.

  “I can’t wait, pet,” he groaned as he positioned the tip of himself at her entrance. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry, just do it,” Shay gasped, her body already wet and ready for his thrust.

  Clutching her thighs he plunged himself inside her, halting only when he was buried as deep as he could go.

  “Yes… God, yes,” Viper rasped.

  He remained still a breathless moment as they both absorbed the sheer bliss of being so intimately joined. Surely there was nothing that could compare to such intense pleasure? Nothing that could bind two people closer together?

  Opening her eyes Shay met the dark, glittering gaze as Viper began to move gently inside her.

  Something seemed to shift within her as she fell into the dark heat of his eyes.

  Something vast and terrifying and wondrous.

  Something that might have sent her running from the room if his movements hadn’t become more demanding and her rising climax hadn’t wiped her mind of everything but reaching for that shimmering, golden bliss.

  —

  Viper paced the library with a frustration he made no attempt to conceal. It had been a week since he and Shay had arrived at Dante’s house. A glorious week, of course. How could it not be when he had devoted the vast majority of his nights to pleasing and being pleased by the woman who had become such an essential part of his life?

  And it had not just been sex. Which was bloody well fabulous, if he did say so himself. But having her near, hearing her voice, feeling her light touch when they sat on the bed. They were moments that he oddly savored.

  Still, for all his delight in exploring the woman who had whirled into his life like a Tasmanian devil, he had never forgotten for a moment that the danger lurked just out of sight. There was something or someone out there who intended to take Shay from him. To use her for their own purpose. He would go to hell and back before he would let that happen.

  Spinning on his heel Viper regarded Santiago with a smoldering impatience. The vampire was his best lieutenant. Intelligent, courageous, loyal beyond measure, and, most of all, capable of powerful compulsion over humans and lesser demons.

  If there was information to be learned, Santiago would discover it.

  “I’m sorry, master.” Santiago’s dark face was expressionless but there was no missing the hint of tension in his broad shoulders. Like any good servant, he could easily sense his master annoyance. “I can find no talk on the streets of the Shalotts.”

  Viper swallowed his low growl. “You can’t have searched everywhere. There must be someone who knows who is hunting a Shalott.”

  Santiago gave a lift of his hands. “Most refuse to believe she is anything more than a myth. Very few Shalott have walked this world for centuries.”

  “Shay is no myth.”

  “No, but her presence has never been sensed, even among the most powerful of demons.”

  “Of course not, the curse masked her presence.”

  “Even from those who might have been able to assist us.” The vampire shrugged. “There are no whispers, no rumors that I can find, nothing that speaks of the Shalott. Not even those familiar with Evor were aware he possessed her.”

  Viper clenched his hands, forcing back the surge of anger. Dammit. He never lost his temper. Never. “Continue with your search.”

  “Of course, master.”

  “And do not limit yourself to Chicago. The truth is out there. We must find it.”

  “As you wish.”

  With a bow, the vampire turned and silently retreated from the library. Viper watched him leave before turning to slam his fist onto the wooden desk.

  There was a faint stir of air before he felt Dante’s hand settle on his shoulder.

  “Easy, Viper, we will get to the bottom of this mystery.”

  “Whoever it is that holds Evor is out there plotting to capture her. I can’t just wait for another attack. Not when we can’t be sure we can defeat whatever it is they send next.”

  “I understand your frustration, but we’re doing all that we can.”

  Viper slowly turned to face his friend. “Your contacts have turned up nothing?”

  Dante stepped back with a shrug. “I fear not.”

  “Damn.”

  With restless motions Viper resumed his pacing. He didn’t want to be in this library. He didn’t want to be fretting over some mysterious danger that he couldn’t feel or touch or battle. He wanted to be down in his rooms where he knew Shay would be rising from their bed. He wanted to be holding her in his arms and pretending that nothing could harm them.

  Unfortunately, his every instinct warned him that they were running out of time. If he didn’t manage to discover who was hunting Shay, then the hunter would find them. He couldn’t allow them to be trapped again.

  “You do k
now you’re courting danger, old friend, do you not?” Dante drawled from behind.

  Viper halted, his expression far from friendly as he regarded his companion.

  “You expect me to toss Shay aside because she brings danger with her?”

  “I meant that Shay is the danger.”

  “Dante—”

  “No, I will have my say.” The younger vampire insisted, his arms folded over his chest. “I have known you for centuries and you have never shown such an interest in a female before.”

  “I must beg to disagree. I have shown inordinate interest in females. Quite often interest in dozens of them at a time.”

  “You’ve had lovers not companions,” Dante corrected. “You have never allowed one in your life as you have this one.”

  Viper narrowed his gaze. He didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking. Perhaps he even feared it.

  “What are you implying?” he grudgingly demanded.

  Dante had the balls to smile. “I’m not implying anything, Viper. I’m warning you flat out that you are showing every symptom of a vampire who has discovered his true mate.”

  There. He knew he wasn’t going to like it, and he didn’t. Why the hell did friends always believe they could bring up subjects a wise vampire would never broach? He turned to grasp one of the endless shelves, his entire body stiff with annoyance.

  “My relationship with Shay is none of your concern.”

  “If you feel like throwing something, I wish you would choose that hideous vase on the desk. The books are irreplaceable.”

  Viper glared over his shoulder. “You’re not amusing, Dante.”

  “Surely I’m a little amusing?” he teased.

  Viper was pondering the pleasure of tossing at least one of the irreplaceable books when the door to the library was abruptly flung open and Levet scrambled in with his wings flapping.

  “Sacrebleu, there you are,” he breathed as he regarded Viper with his usual expression of disgust.

  Viper held up a restraining hand. His temper was being held by a thread. A thread the gargoyle was certain to snap.