Darkness Taunts

by Susan Illene

  “Dammit.” He flipped me over and pulled my hands above my head. Somehow he’d still managed to stay inside me and get harder in the process. “Stop trying to turn me on when I’m angry at you.”

  I wiggled my hips. “Is it working?”

  He pulled out and I groaned. A shocked squeal escaped me when he spread my legs wide apart and examined me closely. I squirmed under his intense gaze. No one had ever just stared at me like that. He ran a finger along my folds and even dipped it inside before pulling it back out. I was both embarrassed and turned on at the same time.

  All that changed when his face turned from hot to livid. “You are bruised and swollen, Melena. There are traces of blood, telling me I was too rough with you. This is why you can’t go near me when I’m like that. I must have recognized you since you’re still alive, but you were hurt because I couldn’t control myself.”

  “It was worth it, Lucas,” I said, giving him a defiant look. “I calmed you down and it became something amazing, even if you don’t remember it.”

  His lips twisted into irony. “Oh, I remember it. You somehow projected yourself into my dream. It was the first time I’d ever felt pleasure in that place, but it doesn’t alter the fact you shouldn’t have done it.”

  I sat up and moved my face closer to his.

  “Let’s get something straight.” I poked him in the chest. “When I’ve needed you lately, you’ve been there for me. This was the first time I could do something for you. I’m not going to apologize for pulling you out of whatever horrible place you were in. I knew, somehow, that I could do it. And while this bond we have scares the ever-living shit out of me, I’m tired of fighting it. Whatever problems we have, we’re facing them together.”

  Lucas worked his jaw. I could see his mind working—processing the things I’d said. It hadn’t been easy to open myself up, but he’d needed to hear those things and know where I stood.

  The breath left me when he jerked my body hard against his. I instinctively wrapped my arms around him, reveling in the feel of our naked skin touching. He took hold of my hair and forced my head back. I closed my eyes when he pressed his lips to mine. The kiss didn’t last long before he pulled away.

  “If you’d died while in my arms, Melena, I would have died with you. It is for this reason I’m sending you back to Fairbanks. You may not like it there, but you’ll be safe.”

  How could someone say something so romantic and then twist it at the end like that?

  I dug my fingers into his arms, trying to break his hold and pull away. “What about the demon problem? It’s only getting worse.”

  His face looked resolute. “We’ll deal with it…or not. It’s no longer your problem.”

  I took a deep breath. “Let me go.”

  “You’re still mine. That doesn’t change.”

  I looked toward the door. Micah was hovering just out of sight and no doubt listening in. “But you’re sending me away.”

  “For now.”

  “What if I told you I don’t want to see you again?” I asked, not meeting his eyes.

  His finger traced their way down my bare back, making me shiver. “I’d say you were lying. That you need to be near me as much as I need to be near you. Anger and frustration isn’t going to change that.”

  I scowled at him. “I hate you, Lucas.”

  He kissed my forehead. I could feel him smile. “I hate you too, Melena.”

  I wasn’t going to let him soften me up. He couldn’t send me away and think I wasn’t going to be pissed about it. “I need one of your shirts. You’re brother is going to come in here any minute and I think he’s seen me naked more than enough already.”

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said, looking me up and down.

  I frowned. “After how jealous you’ve acted around my friends, I’d think you wouldn’t want anyone seeing me without clothes.”

  “It irritates me when people I don’t trust are near you,” he said, “but if you haven’t figured it out yet, the supernatural world does not suffer from modesty. Clothing has its functions, but one of those should not include hiding one’s body.”

  He got out of bed and took one of his shirts from a dresser drawer. I followed him over and grabbed it from him, pushing my arms through the sleeves. He reached for the buttons, but I stepped away from him. If he wanted to be an overprotective jerk, he’d have to suffer the consequences.

  “Melena, don’t fight me on this.”

  I turned away from him and looked for my torn clothing. The pieces lay scattered on the floor on other side of the bed. I scooped them up and tossed them at him. “You owe me a new set of those. That was my favorite tank top you ripped up. I thought it was worth sacrificing, but apparently I was wrong.”

  He started to come for me, but I held my hand up. “Don’t. I’m done fighting. I’m going to pack my stuff up and check on Aniya. You can have your vampire minions take us to the airport.”

  According to the clock it was just past nine at night.

  “Very well,” Lucas said. “If that’s what you wish.”

  I nodded. “It is.”

  He looked past me to the door. “Micah, meet me outside in five minutes,” he yelled. “You and I are going to have a talk.”

  “If it makes any difference, I broke his fingers to get away from him.”

  He took out a pair of pants from the dresser and put them on. “It doesn’t. This is between me and my brother.”

  “Fine.” I stomped out of the room.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  The new door guard at Nik’s house didn’t say a word when I came through shortly after two in the morning. In fact, he stayed well out of my way as I marched through the foyer and headed for the stairs down the hallway. I could sense the master vampire I sought in his office. Good. I wouldn’t have to deal with him while he was occupied with one of his blood whores.

  He stood up as soon as I entered, eyes widening as he sensed the healed bite mark on my neck. We could get into that later. I came around his desk and slapped him. It felt better than I could have imagined, as if I’d just let go of all the anger that had been building up inside of me over the last few days.

  He rubbed his cheek. “Oh, fuck, Melena. What did you do that for?”

  “Do my duty as a sensor, you said.” I put my hands on my hips. “I have it on good authority that my duty as a female sensor is to spread my legs and help propagate my dwindling race.”

  He glanced over at Derrick, who I’d known was in the room, but his presence didn’t matter to me for the moment. I still hadn’t bothered to look his way. His mood had turned sour since I entered, but whatever he had to say could wait.

  “What are you talking about?” Nik asked.

  “Lucas didn’t tell you?”

  “No.” He glanced at my hidden bite mark again. “He’s not the most forthcoming man out there.”

  “Well, I’ve had an exciting time down in Juneau handling a near impossible demon problem. In the midst of that, a group of sensors are there handling the problem as well. They didn’t take kindly to me being around Lucas or the other sups, so they took it upon themselves to remove me from the bad influence.”

  His hands clenched. “They kidnapped you?”

  He sure was swift tonight. “Yes. They also drugged me and kept me tied to a bed for three days. I discovered one of them was my real father and he said I’d failed my race by cavorting with the other side, but not to worry because he’d let me make up for it by fucking his men so they could get me knocked up.”

  The tension rose in the room. I thought I heard a growl from Derrick.

  “Did they rape you?” Nik asked.

  I crossed my arms. “No, they did not. Mostly because they wanted to wait and make sure Lucas hadn’t gotten me pregnant first.”

  “Could he get you pregnant?” Derrick asked. “I can smell him all over you. You reek of his seed.”

  My face heated. Sometimes it was easy to forget how much mo
re powerful werewolf senses were compared to other sups. “Technically, he could get me pregnant, but I’m on birth control so it’s not an issue. Can we move on now?”

  Derrick moved toward me and touched my neck. “He claimed you, Mel. It couldn’t have worked unless you allowed it. I thought you hated him.”

  I stepped away. There was no way to know when Lucas might be watching and I did not want him killing Derrick. The two men had hated each other since they first met. I was too mad at the nephilim to be begging for the werewolf’s life right now.

  “I do hate him, but it’s complicated.”

  Nik shook his head. “Love always is.”

  “I’m not in love with him.” The emotion was a foreign concept to me.

  He moved back to his chair and took a seat. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Lucas said the same about you, but that bite is the strongest show of affection two people can give each other. Not to mention extremely rare.”

  “How is it even possible for one of my kind to get it?” I asked. “I can’t sense it like you guys can.”

  “There are some things for which your abilities aren’t necessary. This must be one of them. I just know the bite is metaphysical in nature and occurs most often among the fanged races. Why or exactly how it works is a mystery.”

  “It doesn’t matter anyway.” I settled into one of the other chairs in the room. “He sent me back here because he thinks it’s too dangerous to let me keep helping with the demons.”

  It was only a small lie. They didn’t need to hear about Lucas’ nightmare problem or my solution for it.

  Nik gave me a sympathetic look. “You might as well prepare yourself. I’m fairly certain he’ll come back for you once it’s over.”

  “He can go to hell,” I grumbled.

  Nik laughed. “Lucas must be getting to you. I’ve never seen you this moody before.”

  “How about you guys tell me what Derrick is doing here?”

  “Oh,” he glanced over at the werewolf in question, “he’s taken over the Alpha position—thanks to your prodding, and has become my number two man.”

  I sat up straighter. “Wait, I thought Kariann was your number two.”

  “They battled it out this morning and he won. She’s in her room recovering, but I wouldn’t go visit her for awhile if I were you.”

  “Yeah, I can imagine she’s not in the best of moods.” I looked over at Derrick. “Congratulations. I’m glad you took my advice.”

  He gave me a solemn nod. I had a feeling he’d want to talk to me later. Things had changed in my absence. I’d figured I’d have to do a lot more nagging to get him to take that position. Apparently, he’d listened to me and decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for himself. At least I’d managed to accomplish something recently.

  “Look, Mel.” Nik drew my attention back to him. “I’m sorry about what happened with that group of sensors. Their behavior is inexcusable, but don’t give up on learning how to use your abilities. If those guys don’t stop the problem down there, it could spread to here. We’ll need you if that happens.”

  I gave him a weak smile. “If I had my way, I’d still be in Juneau. You have no idea how bad it really is.”

  ~~~

  Over half the day had passed by the time I got out of bed and headed over to Felisha’s herb shop. I almost didn’t go in when I sensed the female troll I’d met before was inside. She and Felisha looked at me with rounded eyes when I entered. Both of their gazes dropped to my neck. Ugh. Not that crap again.

  “I’m not talking about it,” I said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this on the phone?” Felisha asked.

  I walked up and stood by the counter. “Because I was hoping it’d go away kind of like a hickey does. Instead it’s more like herpes. I’m doomed to live with it forever.”

  Lucas would be angry if he heard how I described his bite, but I didn’t care. He’d dumped me back in Fairbanks. Whatever we’d started to develop between us was over as far as I was concerned. He could forget coming back and picking up where we left off.

  “Mel, you let him claim you. Do you know how huge that is?”

  “I didn’t let him,” I grumbled. “He tricked me into it. And don’t tell me it had to be mutual because I’m sick of hearing it.”

  “I’ve heard he’s sexy,” the troll spoke up, “for bein’ so tall.”

  “He’s an asshole with a God complex, is what he is,” I said.

  Her eyes twinkled as she looked me up and down. “Did ya sleep with the asshole?”

  My fists clenched. “That’s none of your business.”

  She laughed, flashing her sharp teeth. “Ya woulda denied it if ya hadn’t.”

  Felisha put a hand on my shoulder. “Mel, did you take care of the demon problem down there?”

  “No, Lucas decided it was too dangerous and made me come back here. He thinks he can somehow deal with it himself. I didn’t get a choice in the matter.”

  “Men.” The troll shook her head. “They’re always thinkin’ they know what’s best for us. If he had any sense, he’d be lettin’ ya help get rid of them demons.”

  “Why don’t you come to my place for dinner tonight?” Felisha asked. “You can see Emily and we can talk some more.”

  “Yarrow’s going to be there, isn’t he?” I wasn’t fooled. She wanted another buffer between her and her suitor. I had a feeling she’d be making a campaign to keep Emily there a little while longer too.

  A guilty flush crept up her porcelain cheeks. “Yes, he’ll be there.”

  I couldn’t really blame her for putting the guy off if she really wasn’t interested in him. If she needed my help to do it, at least it’d give me a distraction from my own problems.

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll come.”

  She gave me a brilliant smile. “Good. See you at seven.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Emily rushed outside the moment I pulled up to Felisha’s house. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I held her close for a moment before pulling back. She’d gotten her hair cut. Her bangs were still growing out, but she’d had the ends trimmed back up to shoulder length. She had a face that would make people think she was sweet and innocent. If you looked closer you’d see there was almost always a devilish glint in her eyes. It gave away her real personality.

  “So tell me about Yarrow before we go inside.”

  She rolled her eyes. “He’s such a sap. Oh, and he has this ugly mole on his neck he hides with glamour. He’d be hot if not for that.”

  Hmm, that meant he must be mostly good, but he had to have one dark element about him for something like that to show.

  “Did you tell Felisha about it?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Emily kicked some snow around, “but she says it doesn’t matter since she doesn’t want to marry him anyway.”

  “How does he act around you?”

  She shrugged. “Like a guy trying to impress the woman he wants by being nice to the kid who’s with her.”

  One thing about Emily was she had a knack for seeing to the heart of the matter.

  “I’ll have to see how he is for myself. Did she get the cats put away?”

  “Yeah,” Emily replied. “We have them in the room I’m sleeping in. She made sure to clean up all their loose fur before you got here too.”

  We started walking toward Felisha’s small, but beautiful home. I didn’t come here any more than I had to since she had several felines in the house. It was partly my fault since I’d handed off a litter of stray kittens to her that I’d found back in October. She’d kept two for herself in addition to the one she’d already had. If my enemies ever found out all it took to defeat me was throwing a cat in my direction, I’d be doomed.

  “Good, I already had one incident in Juneau and don’t need to go through that again so soon.”

  Emily snickered. She found my allergy to be a source of amusement ever since catching me freaking out about cats once. Not many peo
ple scream and hide from them.

  We walked in to find Yarrow and Felisha in the kitchen. She hovered over the stove while he cut vegetables for a salad. Both of them looked up when we came in.

  “It’s almost ready,” Felisha said. Strain tightened the skin around her eyes.

  “Can we help with anything?” I asked.

  “I’m helping her,” Yarrow said, looking over his shoulder to give us a cheerful smile. “You two should go sit down and relax. We’ll call you when it’s ready.”

  Emily was right about him being good looking, though his back was toward me so I couldn’t see the mole she mentioned. He had ice-blue eyes and whitish-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. His body was well-toned and he was tall—probably around six feet. I thought his skin was a little too pale for my liking, but it was smooth and clear. Nothing in his emotions gave away anything negative. I’d have to wait until dinner to feel him out further.

  Ten minutes later we sat down at Felisha’s table and started dishing up our food. I piled my plate since I still needed to make up for lost calories. She’d made Chicken Alfredo and baked fresh bread. The salad Yarrow put together looked good too.

  I surreptitiously glanced at his neck and saw the mole. It was huge and misshapen. It stuck out from his skin at least a centimeter and had a tuft of dark hair growing from it. To say it was ugly was an understatement. He covered it with glamour so everyone except sensors would only see smooth skin, but it would definitely turn a lot of people off if they saw it. The man had to have done something bad to earn such a visible malformation. That’s the way it worked with his race.

  When he looked at me, I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes. No need to let the fairy know I could see what he was trying so hard to hide. He gave me a friendly smile and part of me felt guilty for thinking bad thoughts about him.

  “Is your mate not going to be joining us?” he asked.

  I almost choked on the water I was drinking. “Um, no. I don’t really have a…” I cleared my throat, “mate.”