"I'm fine, just kicking myself about tonight." I shrug, only half lying.
"Remy, don't. It was your first hunt in this life. Your memories aren't all back, and we weren't expecting there to be anyone there, not really. Especially not three older Dracul. Even if they were rogues, age in this case, means strength. The older the Dracul, the more skilled they are. They're faster, stronger, more ruthless, more battle worn. Those ones tonight, felt old. Not ancient like the original family lines, though most of those are now dead, or in hiding, except for the head of the Dracul of course. You have nothing to berate yourself about Remy. You handled yourself way better than I did my first hunt." He smiles at me, and I try not to read anything into it or about how my name sounds on his lips. Just because that memory said he loved me, when he kissed me...
I bite my lip to stop the tingling feeling, when I realize I should really be listening to him rather than staring at his mouth.
"My first hunt, I froze, nearly got the Hunter with me killed. We came across a mated pair of Lycans in a killing frenzy, and I froze. It happens. Knowing these things exist, and facing them are two very, very different things."
"Thanks," I smile at him suddenly feeling the need for a cool shower. "I'm going to grab a shower, and then head to bed. You know this place as well as I do, help yourself to whatever."
He nods, his eyes roaming my body, his eyes heat, but then turn cold when he sees the dried blood on my arms again. "Night Remy."
"Night, Creek."
"So, remind me why we're heading into a known nest of Dracul? Not even rogues, with no backup and no idea of how many are in there?" Creek hisses and I smile at him. We're hidden in the shadows as we creep up on the abandoned hotel.
"Because Fallon saved my life, and she asked us to." I roll my eyes at his bitching. He's been grumbling about this since I mentioned it to him this morning, as if he'd thought I'd just forget Fallon's request.
"We should have come with Bauer, especially with Colt out of town with your dad."
"Bauer had his own shit to deal with, and I'm not going to leave a powerful Witches’ talisman in the hands of some Dracul." I shrug and move forward, pulling myself up over the wall at the perimeter.
"Yeah, yeah. Still stupid. Mom or Dad could have come with us." he grumbles but I ignore him.
"I'm sure we'll be fine. We're not here to kill anyone. In and out."
"Yeah, I know. No killing unless necessary,” he says rolling his eyes playfully, then his look hardens, “They're not rogues, but they're still Dracul, Remy. Do not think you can trust them."
"I'm not an idiot, Creek. Stop treating me like a child. You don't have to come in with me." He grunts at my declaration, but I'm this close to leaving him outside anyway. I've had enough. "Well then, shut up and back me up already."
"Fine. Let’s go," he says, waving forward, as I take in the building before me. I studied the old blueprints for this place at the library earlier today, learning the exits, the layout. Though it could have been changed by its inhabitants, I doubted it. "We don't have much time before they awaken. They may be already, in which case, this is suicide."
I nod at his words and creep across the lawn as silently as I can manage. We work our way around the building where a broken window offers itself up as our entry point.
"I don't like this, Remy. Something feels off." "Shh!" I glare at him.
I pull myself up on the window frame, and step into the dark room, letting my eyes adjust to the pitch black surrounding us. I pause, listening for movement beyond the room. Though the darkness is thick, it is not so late in the day that the Dracul would stir, but still, after yesterday I am taking no chances.
I step further into the room and Creek joins me, standing close to my back, so close that I can feel the heat coming from him and I have to make myself concentrate on the task at hand.
He taps my shoulder, making me jump slightly, signaling the way he is going, so I take the opposite side of the room, and search as quietly as I can for the talisman. While I don't think for a second it would just have been abandoned, I'm not going to leave an empty room unsearched. I think back to the picture Fallon sent me of her wearing the talisman. A necklace, the metal dark, holding a pendant. A yellow gemstone, framed in the dark metal, twisted in the most intricate ways.
I clear my side of the room quickly since its almost bare and meet Creek at the door. He signals to me, telling me he's heading right out of the room, so I nod, and tilt my head to tell him I'll go left, heading to the front of the hotel while he heads further into the depths of the hall.
I watch him go, silent in the darkness, and try not to worry about sending my best friend, and god knows what else he was before, into a pit of our enemies, quite literally, alone. He wouldn't have gone if he didn't think he could handle it, and I know that deep down. I trust him not to get himself killed, so I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I creep towards the entrance hall of the hotel.
I hear voices as I get closer and I halt. Hunter hearing is good, but the Dracul senses make ours seem almost human. Their sight, hearing, sense of smell, speed and brutality are almost unrivaled.
I tread carefully as I move forward and try to work out what they're saying without being detected.
"They will come for this, Alex you fucking idiot. Why on earth would you take a witch’s talisman, and why the hell would you bring it back here? We will have to move the entire family. They will know about this place, you fucking idiot." The woman's voice, full of rage, makes me shudder. I'm glad I'm not Alex.
"We can use this," the male voice insists. "We have Witches who rally to our cause. We have been seen as vermin for too long. We can rise with the power of their line on our side. This talisman could help us turn the tide! Lift the veil on the truth, make people see what once was!"
"You're nothing but a fool!"
"Lysandra, that is enough." A dark voice ripples through the emptiness and caresses me, when I realize I know that voice. I hold my breath, because how do I know that voice?
"Alexander, she is right. Taking that talisman does nothing but give the Hunters more reason to come after us. It is a beacon to the Witches; they have already traced it. Hunters are here." My stomach drops at his words. He knows we're here, and now so do the rest of them.
"We must leave!" Lysandra's voice is shrill, "They cannot get the little ones."
"We must fight!" Alex cries. "There are more of us than there are of them."
Footsteps rush into the room before me, when I feel eyes on me from behind. My breath catches when I see the man from my memories.
"Remy?" his voice is barely a whisper, but my body reacts violently. As if my heart has been torn from my chest. "You're back."
"Kain?" I stutter, and his eyes shine.
"You remember." I shake my head at his words.
"No." The word takes the light from his eyes and my stomach flips at the pain I see in them.
"You must go. Quickly. Your partner is on his way back, unharmed. I ensured it."
"Creek," I utter the word, and pain paints his features again.
"He is here this time?" I nod, but still do not understand fully.
"There is no time, you must go." He pulls me close, quicker than I have chance to react to, my body melts in his arms. "I have missed you, more than you could ever imagine. But you must go."
He releases me, and my legs almost fail, my body not wanting to leave him behind.
"The talisman..." I whisper.
"I will ensure its safety, and I will find you. I will always find you."
"But how?" I ask, when I notice the detail I missed before. The elongated fangs, and the circle around his eyes. It can't be...
"Because a love like ours can never be broken," he says, kissing me, so passionate, but so quick that it steals my breath. "Now go, Remy. Please. I will distract them as long as I can."
I move back to the room where I entered as quickly and as quietly as I can, trying hard not to look back at th
e man, no the Dracul, who made me feel so much, so quickly. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, because I have never felt so confused and spot Creek in the distance, heading towards me.
"We need to go. Now," I tell him.
"Did you get the talisman?" he asks, I shake my head, and we slip out of the hotel and run the distance back to my car a few blocks away. We dive into the car, and I catch my breath.
"What happened?" he asks, looking me over to make sure I'm in one piece.
I manage to keep my breath steady as I respond,
"I heard them talking, they were not happy it was taken, I have a feeling it will be returned. Then they realized we were there, which is when I hauled ass back, and found you."
"That’s so weird," he says, looking at me as if he knows I'm not telling him everything.
"I guess. I'm just glad we're out of there unscathed." I awkwardly smile at him.
"Are you okay?" he asks, watching me closely.
"Fine, just a close call, and only my second time out." I shrug and start the car. Creek broods the entire drive back to my apartment.
"Are you staying again?" I ask him before we get out.
"I might as well. The house feels a little weird with Dad home."
"Okay," I smile at him and head in, glad that it’s too late to come across any of the other residents in the building.
"You want something to eat before we crash?" Creek asks as I close the door to the apartment, shrugging off my cloak.
"I can always eat, you know that." I spin and come face to face with him, barely an inch between us.
"Remy..." his voice breaks, and I suck in a breath. His hand reaches up and cups my chin softly forcing me to look into his bright blue eyes. I shudder at his touch, and the world falls away as he leans forward, pressing his lips to mine, so softly that I think I might have imagined it. He pulls back and sighs, before kissing me again, this kiss hungry. I wrap my arms around his neck, my hands in his hair as his arms lift me, cupping my ass to bring me to his height. He pushes my back against the door, and I moan at the contact.
He pulls back, catching his breath, and resting his forehead on mine. "I don't know if you're ready, but I couldn't not kiss you. It has been too long, and after everything last night, and tonight..."
His words trail off and I sigh as he releases me, placing my feet back on the floor.
"It's too soon, but I remember. A little at least," I tell him and he nods. I am definitely going to need another cold shower after this.
“I can wait, I’ll always wait for you,” he says with a smile which makes my heart beat a little faster. He heads towards my spare room, leaving me to wonder how the hell I can react so strongly to two men, my heart tells me that I’m not ready to face those questions yet, but I’m not likely to let either of them go either.
“How is it possible, that you are nothing like what I was taught to believe?” I sigh, cradled in his arms, and he holds me tighter.
"Because men have long twisted our story for their own gains. I am only glad that you could see through it, that you can see the truth of who I am."
"I will always know who you are, I will always see you. I do not care what you are, just who you are. That is what matters to me. You fought for me, you saved me, against your own kin. Even though it might hurt you. Even as the leader of them all, you sacrificed for me. That shows me more than some words from bitter old men." I lift my head from his chest and nip his jaw playfully.
"You are more than they realize, Remington. Your path will be littered with pain and sorrow, I only hope that I can help you light that path in your darkest moments." I sigh at his words and kiss him again softly. Not thinking about the fact that this man is meant to be one of my greatest enemies. A monster they tell me, but they do not know him. They do not understand, and so, they can never know. Even those closest to me will never know where my heart truly belongs.
"I have something for you," he says, the fire roaring at our feet dancing in his eyes. He stands from our pile of blankets, naked as the day he was born, and I try not to stare though I fail. He walks out of the room, chuckling softly and shaking his head as if he knows while I wait quietly for him to return.
It doesn't take long, and he flashes back in front of me with a devilish grin. "Nearly got you,” he laughs, and I join him.
"Nearly." I smile, but his smile turns serious as he brings my attention to the box in his hands. "This has been in my family for generations, passed down to the warriors, a reminder that even our own kind are not always our allies."
He sits opposite me and opens the box, revealing a sword, sheathed in black, laid in violet velvet that matches my eyes. "I want you to have this, Remy. It will protect you, even when I can't. A reminder of what you mean to me, a reminder that I am with you, even when I'm unable to reach you, in this life, and the ones to come. I know that this is not your first life but know that I will follow you to the ends of the earth, in every life I am blessed to be a part of, that I will defend you, even in those I'm not."
He lifts the sword from the velvet and takes the blade from its sheath. "My family crest sits here in the hilt, hidden from those who might hold it against you, but known to those who need to know."
His hands place the blade in mine, as I take in its beauty. "This is iridium?"
He nods at my question, and my heart soars at his trust in me. Such a blade could end his existence, and yet, here he sits, gifting me something dear to his heart, to keep me safe against his own kind.
"Kain, I cannot accept this," I sigh as I hand it back to him.
"You can, and you will," he says, placing the sword back in its covering and box. "So that I know you will always be safe against those of my kind who wish you harm. So that I know I am protecting you, even when I can't be there myself. Please, take it for me, even if not for yourself."
His plea makes my heart skip a beat and I nod. "For you, I will do anything."
He kisses me again, softly at first, laying me down as his body ripples above me. I run my hands down his sculpted chest and sigh into his now hungry kiss. I will never get enough of him. Not in a million lifetimes.
I pant as he kisses lower, dragging his teeth over my throat. "Please."
His laugh vibrates against my skin, making me shiver. “Patience.”
My chest rises and falls with every shallow breath he steals while mapping out a trail down the line of my throat and across my collar bone. I can barely think, primal instinct taking over, lust and love dancing together in a whirlwind of passion. His lips move to my breasts, and I gasp as he takes one into his mouth, flicking my nipple with his tongue, his teeth scraping the skin, while his hand toys with the other. My back arches into him and he smiles against me.
“Kain,” I cry his name, breathlessly as he works my body, heating my core, making me slicker than I thought possible.
His mouth kisses down my flat stomach, his hands sliding softly down my body to push my knees apart as he trails down. When he reaches my navel, his tongue circles the sensitive spot, his teeth nipping and slightly breaking the skin.
The sensation is overwhelming, my body reacting instinctively. As his mouth trails lazy kisses down to my mound, I grip the blankets with both fists, eyes tightly shut in hopes of regaining some semblance of control but it’s all in vain.
Kain is playing my body as though I’m his favorite instrument, owning it as though it is his birthright. My hips push into him, pleading for more, so much more.
I know he’s hard, his need is a powerful thing for his kind, yet he’s taking the time to make me beg. Stories told long ago never gave his kind any credit yet here he is putting my needs before his own.
“Kain, please,” I do beg, for him, for me. For us.
“Not yet,” he growls, “I need to taste you and I want to watch you lose yourself.”
The feel of his tongue sliding along my folds conjures a cry that shakes the walls and maybe the entire planet. I feel him on my pussy but also in my he
art and mind. I feel him everywhere, touching and loving me, worshipping every inch of me with his tongue.
I moan again as I feel his fingers enter me, hooking them just right, but when I feel his teeth bite around my clit and his tongue lavishing that greedy little nub, I lose all semblance of control. Thrashing and begging. Almost with tears falling down my cheeks as the pleasure overrides every other sensation known to our kind.
“Please, Kain. Please, now,” I cry, choking on my own words as my desire takes on a life of its own.
I feel him smile against my skin as his tongue takes one last taste, his hard body slides its way up mine until he thrusts into me in one long, powerful stroke, his teeth breaking the skin of my neck at the same time and I cry out. The pain heightening the pleasure, his need mixing with my own as he gives me as much as he takes. His hips move, setting a lazy pace, and I match it, the sensations in me building with each movement. His hands pin my wrists above my head as he takes what he wants from me, his pace increasing, his control slipping as we lose ourselves in each other. I writhe under him, hissing at the restraint, wanting to touch him. He releases me and claims my mouth, as he claims the rest of me, pushing me further to the brink.
His kisses trail back to my breast, where he bites me again, making me cry out. I drag my nails down his back, drawing blood of my own, awakening the most primal parts of him. He thrusts into me even harder, faster, claiming me as his own. His teeth release me, and he flips us, so he is beneath me.
I kiss him till I’m breathless, as he meets me, thrust for thrust. His hand moves to my clit, and it’s all I can do to stay upright. He works me to the edge of the abyss, and I bite down on his shoulder, stopping the cry as I fall over the edge, pleasure filling my body, until I can barely see, and he finds his own release.
"I love you, Remington Bennett," he whispers to me before kissing me again softly.
"I love you, Kain Michaels," I sigh as he moves onto his back beside me and gathers me onto his chest. I practically purr at the contact, sore in the best way, and I sleep, more soundly than I have since I discovered what I am.
A Crown of Blood and Bone: Paranormal Romance (The Shadow Walkers Saga Book 1) Page 14