Considering the man’s seemingly staggering wealth, she was willing to bet it was. Amazing. The sumptuous decor. The castle.
The man.
He opened a heavy wood door, arched at the top, and stepped back to allow her to precede him. Yet another flight of stairs awaited her, but these led to the roof. Overhead, the stars swam brightly in a sky so wide, so black, it seemed endless. Julie lifted her face into a cold wind that slapped at her as she climbed to the stone roof and turned in a slow circle, admiring the sweeping views surrounding her.
“Oh, my God…”
Over the tops of the trees, she could see an ocean of lights, stretching out for miles. There were so many lights, the horizon seemed to blur with the glow of them. The wind brushed through the trees, making the pine needles whisper and the bare branches of the oaks and maples clatter, sounding like old women laughing.
Julie walked slowly across the rooftop and for a moment, felt as though she’d stepped back in time. She could almost hear the clank of armor, the whistle of arrows slicing through the air. She was half convinced if she leaned over the battlements, she would see knights training in the yard below.
Turning, she watched Kieran walk toward her and a quick flash of something hot and wild and completely overwhelming surged through her. Moonlight gleamed on his bare chest, highlighted his long, black hair and glinted in his dark eyes. The man moved with a stealthy sort of grace that made her think of panthers or stalking tigers.
And now she knew exactly how a gazelle might feel in this same situation. Who was he?
There was so much more here than she knew. So much more to him than she could even guess. She hadn’t forgotten that he’d said the killer he was searching for was a demon. So what did that make him? Crazy? And what did it make her for being here alone with him?
When he was close enough, he looked into her eyes. “You’re wondering about me.”
Julie stiffened. “I told you to stay out of my mind.”
“There’s no need to read your thoughts when your expression says clearly what you are thinking.”
“Swell. So much for my reporter’s ‘poker face.’”
“There is a connection between us,” he said, his voice a low rumble of sound that seemed to echo in the stillness. “Whether either of us is happy about that or not. You cannot hide your feelings from me.”
“I can try,” she said, despite knowing that he was probably right.
“And will, I’ve no doubt. But for now, come. I want to show you something.”
Her eyebrows lifted high on her forehead. “There’s more?”
Another brief smile and Julie felt her knees melt. Seriously, the man was too powerful for his own good. Or hers, for that matter.
“Yes, there’s more.” He took her hand and led her to the far edge of the roof where a very state-of-the-art looking telescope sat beneath a clear, protective tarp.
“This seems so out of place here,” she murmured as he pulled off the tarp and spent a few minutes aligning the telescope with the heavens. “So…
modern.”
He flicked her a quick look and gave her that all too brief smile again.
“There’s no reason to not appreciate both the past and the future.”
“Wow,” Julie said, leaning against the cold stone battlement behind her.
“A Renaissance man.”
His eyes flashed. “More than you know.”
“What else don’t I know about you?” she mused more to herself than to him, since she knew darn well he wouldn’t be answering.
“Too much,” he said softly, then shook his head as if brushing away her questions. “Now come and take a look.”
She walked closer and let him guide her to the telescope, his hands at her waist feeling warm and strong and compelling. Bending slightly, she looked into the eyepiece and her breath left her in a rush. “Oh, it’s so beautiful.”
“It is.”
Through the telescope, the moon looked close enough to touch. It glowed with an unearthly light and seemed to shimmer in the blackness. The last couple of days, the fears, the worries, the unsettled feeling of not knowing what to do next inexorably drained away, leaving her with nothing more than a sense of awe. For the universe.
For life.
Slowly, reluctantly, Julie tore herself from the image and straightened up to look at him. She stared at him thoughtfully for a long moment before saying, “You’re an interesting man, Kieran MacIntyre. Recluse. Gazillionaire. Sword-carrying tracker of ‘demons.’ Amateur astronomer. Anything else?”
“A few things,” he admitted, moving in close to her. Close enough that she caught his scent, heavy on the cool breeze drifting past her. It seemed to wrap itself around her, threatening to drown her in sensation.
“Anything you’d care to share?” she whispered, wincing a little when her soft voice broke under the strain of having her throat close up.
“Perhaps,” he allowed and bent his head to hers.
This wouldn’t solve anything, she told herself even as she went up on her toes and leaned into him.
And at the moment, she couldn’t have cared less.
8
T he moment his mouth took hers, Kieran felt the threads already binding them, tighten. Even though he had thought himself prepared to experience the connection with a would-be Destined Mate again, he felt the world shift beneath his feet.
Simply touching her, tasting her, filled him with emotions and sensations he hadn’t known in too many years to consider. Nearly overcome, he groaned, feeding on the rush of desire that clawed and clutched at his insides. He wanted her desperately, with a sudden, fierce longing that almost knocked him off his feet.
A small, insistent voice at the back of his mind warned him to stop. To take a mental step back. To hold her at a distance and keep their connection at a minimum. To use her strictly for the renewed strength and power she could afford him. But he wasn’t listening to that sage, logical voice.
Instead he opened himself completely to the connection flashing through him, allowing her thoughts to burst into his mind, staggering him with their jagged, splintered, illogical pattern. Her mind was as wild and untamed as the woman herself. She was filled with color—life. His tongue tangled with hers. Her hands fisted in his hair, tugging, pulling him closer, more tightly to her. His arms came around her middle and held her length pressed to his. He felt every curve, every line of her body as if it were on fire, burning itself into him until he wasn’t sure where she left off and he began.
And their connection deepened.
Kieran hissed in a breath, as the onslaught of all Julie was battered its way into his solitary existence, and still he couldn’t break the kiss. He had to have more of her. She moaned into his mouth and that soft sigh of sound whispered through him with a flash of need and hunger like nothing he’d ever known before.
He tipped her head back, cradling it in his palm, as he devoured her, taking all she had to offer—silently demanding that she give him even more. He was like a starving man suddenly served a banquet fit for a king. And the rush of color, thought, memory, solidified in his mind. Desire. Fear. Uncertainty.
And images of another man.
Jealousy tore through him like shards of glass, slicing at his soul—until he realized what her memories were showing him.
Betrayal.
The man she’d once loved leaving her for another woman. A friend.
He tasted Julie’s tears.
Choked on her fury and shared it.
Pride raced in next, at her joy in rebuilding her life. Making a success of a career she loved.
And then fear roared through her more powerfully than before. Fear of him. Fear of what lay crouched in the shadows.
Fear of what she felt.
Their bond chained them in a tight knot of passion, neither of them able or willing to break free. He shifted her in his arms, sliding one hand up beneath the hem of her shirt, needing to feel the smooth sweep of
her skin against his.
A cold, sharp wind swept over the stone roof, slapping at them both as if someone, somewhere were trying to get them to part. It didn’t work.
At that moment, Kieran knew there was no power on earth or anywhere else that could have torn him from her.
She shuddered in his arms and then sighed into his mouth when his fingers stroked up her ribs, to the edge of her bra…and then he was under it, pushing the fragile fabric aside to touch the underside of her breast and every cell in his body erupted with need.
“No.” Julie abruptly broke their kiss, her breath coming in sharp, staggering gulps. Hair whipping about her face in the wind, she pushed out of his embrace and stood watching him through wide, shocked eyes.
“Don’t.”
Kieran’s body was on fire. Hard and hot and ready, he wanted nothing more than to throw her to the stone floor, tear off her clothing and take her. He knew that if he could have her, this connection he shared with her would either broaden or break. And he found he wanted that clarity. This fragile bond that hovered between them, neither strong enough to help him nor weak enough that he could ignore it, was unacceptable.
“You want me. I feel it.”
She drew another unsteady breath and laughed shortly, with no humor in the sound. “Yeah. I do. I also want calorie-free chocolate, but I’m not gonna get it.”
Kieran shook his head, refusing to be put off. Damn it, he ached for her. Another kiss and she’d be willing to give herself to him. One more kiss. One more touch…
As if she could read his thoughts, though, she took another step back and held up one hand, palm out to ward him off.
“What game are you playing, woman?” His voice was strained, taut with the need still grabbing at his throat. “You’re not a child, afraid of her own needs. What keeps you from me?”
“I’m not afraid of want, damn it. And this isn’t a game.” She laughed again, a sharp scrape of sound that held more pain than amusement. “A game. God, I wish it were.” Her eyes fired as she shook her head and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You touch me and I see…things. Things that make no sense. Things I shouldn’t be able to see.”
As if a bucket of cold water had been upended over him, Kieran’s desire died in a breath. Fool. He’d been so lost in her thoughts, he’d forgotten to protect her from taking too many of his memories. Thoughts. Plans. Regrets.
What had she seen?
How much?
He reached for her, but she shook her head fiercely and skipped back out of his reach. “No. No more touching. No more anything until you tell me…
what is going on?”
Her voice broke and Kieran scrubbed one hand across his face in frustration. He’d pushed her too far too quickly—losing himself for a few stolen moments. And now, he would have to deal with the consequences. Grimly he ordered, “Tell me what you saw.”
Still shaking her head, she licked her lips, drew in a shaky breath and whispered, “Fighting. A castle made of polished black stone, flashing in the sunlight. Ships. Old ships, with sails. Cannons firing, smoke lifting into the air. The noise.” She sucked in a breath. “Tremendous. As men screamed and explosions rattled the air. I saw knights.” She covered her mouth with one hand as if trying to shove that last word back down her throat. But it was too late.
Lifting her chin, she stared at him and it gave Kieran a pang to see tears glimmering in her emerald eyes. Was there anything harder in the world for a man to take than watching a strong woman cry?
“And I saw you.” She stopped herself, then said, “No, that’s not quite right. I didn’t see you. I was you. Looking through your eyes. Watching a battle, shouting at men to take cover. Swinging a heavy sword, for God’s sake. And then seeing…”
“What?” he asked, his own throat tight as he relived his memories through her eyes.
“A man. Coming out of the smoke and sound. His armor was different. A kind of…crest on the breastplate. And he paid no attention to the battle. He wasn’t there to fight. He was there to kill.”
“Julie…” His back teeth ground together. His fists clenched at his sides. She rushed on, her words tumbling from her mouth now, as if she couldn’t have stopped them even if she’d wanted to. “He was there to kill you.”
She staggered back a step and her eyes widened, a single tear rolling down her cheek, moonlight catching it and making it shine like silver. “Oh my God, he did kill you. That sword. Oh God.” Her voice broke again, her breath hitched and she clapped both hands to her head as if trying to push the images torturing her away. “I can feel it. Feel the edge of the sword. He hit your head first. Slicing. Pain. Staggering pain. Unexpected.”
“Julie.” His insides opened, and he was half surprised he couldn’t see his guts spilling at his feet. It had been a long time since he’d remembered that day. Since he’d allowed himself to remember. It was enough that he kept in mind the lessons learned on the day he died.
“This can’t be happening,” she whispered, shock, disbelief in her voice.
“None of this is real. Can’t be. So if it’s not real, I’m crazy. Just like him. Is insanity contagious?” She shook her head and kept muttering, just under her breath. “How could I see him die? He’s standing right here. That doesn’t make sense, damn it.”
Her gaze snapped to his and there was misery and accusation shining in her green eyes. “Nothing in my life has made sense since you walked into my kitchen. Why is that? Why did you come to my house? Why did you kiss me? Why is this all happening?”
“I can’t give you the answers you want,” he said softly. “At least, not all of them.” Kieran moved toward her, not sure what he should do. Seeing her face, watching her as she experienced his death, so long ago, he knew he would now have to answer at least some of her questions. She had tapped into the deepest well of his soul.
Found the hidden corners where he’d stored away the memories of the day of his death. And now that those images were hanging in the air between them, he felt the old fury rise up inside…fresh as the day it had been born.
It was one thing for him to see her thoughts, feelings. It was quite another to know that she had explored his past, experienced the agony he’d kept to himself for so long. He didn’t like this at all. Damn it, he didn’t want her pity. Didn’t need her tears. Was nothing sacred?
“Dying didn’t bother you,” she murmured, obviously unaware of what her words were doing to him. “You were prepared for that. Expected that. It was the betrayal. That sliced deeper than the sword. Pain. Pain so sharp. So all-consuming that when he stabbed you through, you didn’t even feel it.”
“Enough,” he said, his voice an angry snarl as his previous attempts at gentle understanding evaporated in an instant. “No more. I won’t discuss that with you. A man’s death is a private thing.”
“Private?” she repeated, clearly stunned. “Your death? Private?”
“It was long ago.”
“You died,” she said flatly. “Long ago.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze swept him up and down with a dismissive, angry glance. “You don’t look dead.”
“It didn’t last.”
“Right.” She laughed again, wild and just touched with hysteria. “Just a tiny death then. Temporary. Or maybe not. Maybe this was…what? A near death experience at Medieval Times?”
“No.” He sneered at the mention of the theme restaurant that put waiters and waitresses in the roles of medieval knights and ladies. He and Santos had attended a show there once but had left midway through the
“entertainment.” There had simply been too many things wrong for them to take any enjoyment from the so-called jousts and combats. The situation was no different from movies that would make Nathan shout at the military inaccuracies portrayed. Every man had his time. Julie was staring at him as though she half expected him to disappear with a rattle of chains.
Grimly he told her, “I’m no ghost.”
“No,” s
he said, rubbing her fingertips over her still bruised lips. “You’re way too solid for that. But…”
Kieran sighed, planted his feet in an unconscious stance for combat. Long before he died, he had learned that talking with a woman could make a man long for the clean, uncomplicated rules of a battlefield. Folding his arms over his chest, he stared at her, trying to judge just how much information she could take in without being pushed over the edge into true hysteria.
While he watched her, Julie’s eyes hardened, her chin lifted and her back instinctively went poker-straight. There was more going on here than she could ever imagine. That much she knew. She still couldn’t believe the images that were burned into her brain, but she knew with a bone-deep certainty that they were all real. That somehow, someway, she had tapped into Kieran’s mind and seen much more than he had wanted her to see. But now it was too late. There was no going back. She couldn’t un-see what she’d already seen. She couldn’t forget those images. And she wouldn’t pretend otherwise.
“You owe me some explanation for all this.” She whipped her hair out of her eyes when the wind tossed it across her face. “Damn it, Kieran, what is going on? Tell me. I’m not going to fall apart and I think I’ve earned the right to some answers.”
After a long minute, he solemnly nodded. “You have. I will tell you what I can.” He paused again, as if choosing his words carefully. “I have already told you that the killer loose in your city is not a man, but a demon.”
He had, but she hadn’t believed him. “Yeah, but—”
“And that I am the only one who can capture it.”
“Yes…”
The moon dipped behind a bank of clouds and the pale light dimmed, leaving her and Kieran standing together, wrapped in shadows. Julie shivered and clutched the edges of the shirt he’d given her tighter around her.
He blew out a breath, locked his gaze with hers and said softly, “I am a Guardian. One among many.”
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