She shook her head. “I don’t see. I dream.” She glanced toward the shimmering glyphs. “I dream and they appear.”
Gently he shifted his hand, cupping her cheek. “Did you dream of me?”
The green eyes were abruptly veiled with a disturbing white as she gazed blindly at the wall over his shoulder.
“Your blood will run pure.”
Caine didn’t feel elation at the soft words. In fact, the chill that had been snaking up and down his spine now spread to lodge deep in his gut.
“You’re certain?”
She placed her hand flat on the stone floor, her eyes still clouded. “Here.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your blood. So much blood,” she husked, shuddering. “It’s everywhere.”
“Shit.” Surging to his feet, he yanked her upright, his instincts on full alert. “We have to get out of here.”
With a blink, her eyes cleared, revealing a poignant sadness that shook him to the very core.
“He’ll never let me go.”
“I don’t intend to ask his permission,” Caine growled, tugging her toward the crack that led to the outer cavern. There had to be a way out of the damned caves. “Let’s go.”
He only made it a few steps before she dug in her heels. Literally.
“I can’t.”
She was tiny, but she possessed all the strength of a pureblood. Snarling in frustration, Caine turned to glare at her.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t,” she said, her expression composed. “I’m tied to these caves until he’s banished.”
Well, of course she was. Hell would freeze over before luck was on his side.
“So who are you?” he demanded in frustration. “Cassandra or Repunzel?”
Seemingly indifferent to the danger that pulsed in the air, the female Were flashed a smile that arrowed straight to his heart. Damn the female. What was she doing to him?
He was a man who appreciated a beautiful female. Especially when there was a bed so conveniently nearby. But he wasn’t the sort of sucker who allowed a woman to bewitch and bedazzle him.
With a shake of his head, he squashed the irrational thoughts. He’d puzzle out his idiotic behavior later.
Like when death wasn’t actually looming.
“Cassandra.” She said the name like she was testing it on her tongue. Her green eyes glowed with a sudden pleasure. “Yes, I like that name.”
“Fine, you’re Cassandra.” He cupped her face in his hands and pretended he wasn’t completely charmed. “What mysterious man keeps you here?”
Her brief happiness faded as swiftly as it had arrived. “Demon lord.”
Caine dropped his hands, a bolt of fear nearly paralyzing him before he gained control of his rattled nerves.
No. Demon lords had been banished centuries ago. Someone had to be screwing with the poor female’s brain.
“Impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible,” she softly countered. “Although some things are more probable.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Just how long have you been down here?”
“An eternity.”
“You…” His words were bit off as a chilling scream ripped through the caves, followed by a violent earthquake that sent Caine sprawling on the hard floor. Pressing a hand to the lump on the back of his head, he regained his feet and glanced warily at the ceiling. It was nothing less than a miracle that they hadn’t been buried beneath an avalanche of rock. “What the hell was that?”
Standing in the middle of the cave as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, the pureblood pointed a finger toward the swirling glyphs.
“Crossroads.”
Caine’s sharp laugh echoed through the suddenly still air. The woman might be beautiful and fascinating, but she was as crazy as a loon.
“Is it in the prophet handbook that seers have to mutter complete crap?”
She blinked. “There’s a handbook?”
“Christ.” He shook his head. “What do you mean by crossroads?”
She again pointed at the designs that had started to pulse and churn with a nauseating tempo.
“Leave now and you have a chance of altering your future.”
“And if I stay?”
She met his gaze squarely “You die.”
Even expecting the prophecy of doom, her simple words hit Caine like a punch to the gut.
You die…
For the past thirty years he’d believed that immortality was in his grasp. Hell, he’d become downright cocky, taking insane risks.
Like trying to kidnap the King of Weres.
Now he smiled wryly as his mortality smacked him directly in the face. Obviously he should have been paying more attention to his rotten karma, rather than placing all his bets on a vision he’d completely misread.
“Of course I die,” he muttered. “And what happens to you?”
She shrugged. “Fate.”
Caine’s brows snapped together. The thought of his imminent death pissed him off. The thought that this woman might be harmed…
Unacceptable.
“Well, screw fate,” he growled, kicking off his running shoes.
Her green eyes widened with something that might have been female appreciation as he stripped off his T-shirt.
“What are you doing?”
He tugged off his jeans, tossing them aside. “I’m done trying to make an impossible dream come true.”
Perhaps sensing his reckless determination to go down in a blaze of glory, Cassandra moved to frame his face in her hands, her expression troubled.
“I told you, nothing is impossible.”
Her touch sent a shocking blast of awareness through Caine, nearly sending him to his knees. Christ, it was like being struck by lightning.
A damned shame he could sense something very large and dangerous charging through the tunnels toward them.
A gruesome death might be worth a night with this woman.
“Maybe you’re right, Cassandra, my love.” He savored the beauty of her delicate features, lingering on the vulnerable curve of her mouth. “After all, you’re about to witness a miracle.”
“What miracle?”
Bending down, he kissed her with a fierce regret.
“For once in my miserable life, I’m going down a hero.”
He stole one last kiss, then, with a defiant howl, Caine shifted and prepared to meet death.
When Harley opened her eyes, she was briefly bewildered by the cupid-painted ceiling above her.
Lying on the oversized bed with silk sheets and a fluffy comforter that was perfect to burrow beneath, she battled through the fog still clinging to her brain.
She remembered being in the caves. Kind of tough to forget. It wasn’t every day a woman had to fight a demon lord. Not even in her crazy world. And then there had been a mad dash through the caves, barely staying ahead of the thunderous cave-in.
After that…
She had a vague memory of stumbling over Darcy and the vampires in the upper chambers. They had swiftly bundled Harley and Salvatore in a Hummer and headed back to Chicago. And then there was nothing.
She had no recollection of arriving at the mansion on the outskirts of Chicago. Or being tucked in bed.
And she most certainly didn’t remember being stripped naked.
The last of the fog was seared away as Harley became aware of the warm body laying next to her. With a jerk, she rolled to the side, not at all surprised to discover Salvatore.
Even without the heat brushing over her bare skin, she would have known he was near. The essence of him was branded deep inside her.
Unnerved by the sensation, Harley allowed her gaze to drift over the finely chiseled face, a familiar need stirring as she took in the thin aquiline nose and full sensuous lips. With his raven hair spilled across the pillow and richly bronzed skin glowing in late afternoon sunlight, he might have looked ridiculously pretty if not for the savage p
ower that hummed just below his sophistication.
Intent on her survey, it took Harley a moment to notice the amused gold shimmering beneath his lowered lashes.
Her heart did an alarming flop and she instinctively tensed, preparing to scramble out of the bed.
As quick as she was, however, Salvatore was quicker.
Wrapping his arms around her, he hauled her against his equally naked body, a wicked smile curving his lips.
“Buon pomeriggio, cara.”
She sucked in a sharp breath as an urgent desire charged through her. Her brain might be freaking out at the thought of being eternally bonded to Salvatore, but her body didn’t give a crap.
He was near. He was naked.
He was freaking gorgeous.
Enough said.
Doing her best to ignore the treacherous excitement spreading through her body, Harley planted her hands against his chest.
“What are you doing in my bed?”
He arched a teasing brow. “How do you know this isn’t my bed?”
“Dammit. Why are we in any bed together?”
His hands slid down to her lower back, pressing her close enough to feel his stirring erection.
“Where else would your mate sleep?”
Mate. Panic sliced through her and she struggled to put a bit of space, and hopefully a measure of sanity, between them.
“Just hold on, Giuliani.”
“I’m trying, but you keep squirming.” His warm breath teased over her cheek, sending bolts of pleasure through her body. “Not that I find it entirely unpleasant.”
“Salvatore.”
He nuzzled a path of kisses along the line of her jaw. “Yes, cara?”
She desperately tried to hold onto her train of thought. Not easy when her body was melting in anticipation.
“This whole mating thing is simple biology,” she warned. “You understand that, right?”
He chuckled, his hands running a path from her hips to the curve of her breasts.
“There’s nothing simple about biology, cara. It’s complex and magical and far too often inconvenient as hell.”
She forgot how to breathe as his thumbs lazily teased her nipples to hard, aching peaks.
“I’ll second the inconvenient-as-hell part,” she muttered.
“And the magical part?” he whispered, bending his head to tug one nipple between his lips.
The groan of bliss escaped before she could swallow it. “I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”
“I’m listening.”
“How can you be listening when you’re groping me?”
He gently used his teeth to send shock waves of pleasure through her breast to the pit of her stomach.
“I told you. I can multitask.”
No crap. He was the freaking master of multitasking. In fact, if he multitasked any better, she would be singing “Afternoon Delight” and seeing fireworks.
With a sudden shove, Harley rolled Salvatore onto his back, straddling his waist as she grimly reminded herself that they needed to get a few things straight.
She might have become his mate.
But that didn’t make her his “little woman.”
She pressed her hands to his shoulders, glaring at his amused expression.
“Pay attention.”
The golden eyes glowed with a tangible heat, his hands skimming over the curve of her hips.
“You have my full and eager attention.” He shifted his hips until his erection pressed against her backside. “Painfully eager.”
Harley clenched her jaw. Holy crap. He wasn’t the only one eager.
“We need to discuss our…” She struggled for the right word.
“Mating?”
“Relationship,” she snapped. “Or more specifically, our lack of a relationship.”
His fingers tightened on her hips. “Nothing seems to be lacking to me,” he husked. “In fact, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
“Just listen,” she commanded. “This whole mating doesn’t mean I’m going to become your plaything.”
“Of course it does.” He flashed a decidedly wolfish smile. “And for the next few centuries, I intend to keep you barefoot and pregnant while you tend to my every need.”
“Oh, yeah?” She leaned down until they were nose to nose. “I’ll see you in hell first.”
His hand tangled in her hair, keeping her from pulling back.
“Harley, the mating just happened. We have an eternity to figure out the relationship.”
“After my first litter or two? Isn’t that what you want from a female?”
“Madre del dio…” Unprepared for her accusation, his grip faltered and she pulled back to study his guarded expression.
“Darcy thought it was only fair to warn me that your sole interest in finding us was because of the babies we can produce for you.”
Harley watched the irritation ripple over his beautiful face, knowing she was being a fraud.
Not that she was interested in becoming a mindless broodmare for this Were. No way. But she did understand his frantic need for pure-blooded children, and his willingness to do whatever necessary to have them.
He was king, and his first duty would always be to his people.
That was what she admired most about him.
No. She was merely using the convenient excuse to put a barrier between them.
“Remind me to properly thank her later,” he muttered.
“Do you deny it?”
“I deny nothing, cara,” he grudgingly confessed. “My intention was to create pure-blooded females who could carry a litter to full term. But everything has changed now that you’re my mate.” His expression softened with a tenderness that smashed directly into her heart. “My personal miracle.”
Harley stiffened, the unexplainable panic once again looming.
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
“That you’re a miracle?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s freaking me out.”
“Harley.” Reaching up, he grasped her face between his hands. “What’s going on?”
Well, that was the question, wasn’t it?
She licked her dry lips, trying to put her vague fears into words.
“For the past thirty years you’ve been the monster in the closet that gave me nightmares.”
“Merda.” The golden eyes flashed with outrage. “You think I’m a monster?”
“Of course not. My point is that Caine made me believe his lies. He controlled and manipulated me, and I was too stupid to realize it.”
His expression remained grim. “Not stupid. You were young and vulnerable, and the bastard took advantage of you.”
“I let him take advantage of me.” She unconsciously squared her shoulders. “That’s never going to happen again.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“I barely know you.” She rolled her eyes as a smirk curved his lips. “Sex doesn’t equate to knowing someone.”
Chapter Twenty
Salvatore was careful to keep his possessive instincts hidden behind his taunting smile.
This woman was his mate.
And nothing, not even Harley herself, was going to keep him from claiming her.
But he hadn’t been born yesterday.
Or even a century ago.
He might not fully understand Harley’s hovering panic, but he did know that a display of blatant machismo would push her over the edge.
It was a moment for finesse, not force.
“You know me.” He placed his hand just above her breast, savoring the jump of her heart at his intimate touch. “Here.”
Her eyes darkened with awareness of the bond forged between them, but she stubbornly shook her head.
“This is happening way too fast.”
Salvatore allowed his gaze to dip to the perfect curve of her breasts. There was no point in arguing. Not when she was obviously in the mood to a
ssert her independence.
Eventually she’d learn to accept their bond.
And until then, he had a perfect means of passing the time.
“Very well, cara. I can do slow,” he promised, his hands moving to cup her breasts. He growled deep in his throat as her nipples tightened into tiny nubs and the air was scented with her arousal. “As slow as you want.”
Her eyes darkened with ready passion, but her expression remained leery, no doubt sensing she was being deliberately distracted.
“Salvatore…”
“Harley, we just escaped from a demon lord,” he protested, his fingers lightly circling her nipples. “Surely we deserve a few hours before we go searching for more trouble.”
She shivered, her back arching beneath his caresses. “I don’t have to search for trouble when you’re around.”
“So cruel,” he teased, lifting his head to replace his fingers with his lips.
“You think you’re so damned irresistible,” she complained, even as her fingers threaded through his hair and she guided his mouth to her other breast.
He gently nipped her creamy skin. “I’m more interested in whether you think I’m irresistible.”
“You’re…” She groaned as his tongue flicked over the tip of her nipple. “Passable, I suppose.”
His wolf stirred at the direct challenge. Without warning, he flipped her onto her back and covered her with his larger body, pressing her into the mattress.
“Passable?”
“Hey.”
“My turn on top.”
She was insanely beautiful with her golden hair spread across the pillows and her cheeks flushed, but it was the sensual anticipation that glittered in her eyes that made his muscles clench in painful need.
“Don’t get used to it,” she husked.
“We’ll see.” Her lips parted to argue, but her words faltered as Salvatore sank his cock deep into her wet heat, her low moan of pleasure filling the air. “There’s an endless number of possibilities,” he whispered, “and positions.”
She sank her nails deep into his back, drawing blood as he slowly pulled back and then thrust forward. The pinpricks of pain only added to his pleasure, and pumping his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, he bent his head to capture her nipple between his lips.
“Yes,” Harley breathed, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Don’t stop.”
Beyond the Darkness Page 24