Dark Dichotomy

by Aubrey Ross

  His hand covered her breast, a warm apology. “Are you a call girl?”

  “I told you what I am.”

  “I’m giving you the opportunity to come clean.” His fingers stroked her, soothed her, and desire crept into his eyes. “Are you really a paid ‘mistress’?”

  She wanted to tell him, confess everything and see how he reacted. But she didn’t dare. Too much was at stake. He could be responsible for Holly’s disappearance for all she knew. “I wasn’t at the party to find a new client. Is that straightforward enough?”

  Rather than rewarding her honesty, he swept her bra down her arms and tied it around her elbows. The bunched material of her dress kept the makeshift restraint in place. “You’ve sidestepped every question.” His voice was clipped and cold and his gaze avoided hers. “I’m not even sure you know what’s true.”

  “Didn’t I tell you? I’m a pathological liar. I lie just for the hell of it.”

  He crowded her, propelling her back against the padded bench. “I want to explore every inch of your body until I know you better than you know yourself.” His hands grasped the bench on either side of her hips, caging her without actually touching her. “I want to smell you and taste you and hear your sweet cries while I fuck you senseless.”

  His silken words were every bit as stimulating as his teasing caresses. Her nipples tingled and she pressed her thighs together. “What’s stopping you?”

  “You are.” He brushed his thumbs over her nipples, sending shivers down her spine. “I want to suck these into my mouth and feel them bead against my tongue.”

  “Stop teasing me!” She turned aside, dislodging his hands.

  “I want nothing more. Tell me what’s really going on or open your mind and let me find out for myself.”

  “You don’t have to have my permission to enter my mind. I’ve felt you there already.”

  “Most people don’t feel such a superficial scan. I need to probe deeper and it can be painful if the person resists.”

  She shuddered as vulnerability spread through her consciousness. She hadn’t minded her partial nudity until he stopped touching her. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. Stay out of my mind.”

  He didn’t seem pleased by her decision, but he accepted her choice. “Have you ever been hypnotized?”

  “No. I don’t want you screwing with my mind.”

  He folded his arms over his chest. “That’s not what I was proposing. I’d like to try something else, though, and it might seem a bit unconventional.”

  “Unconventional?” In a frantic series of movements, she yanked her arms free of her tangled bra and covered her breasts with the front of her dress. “Why would anything seem unconventional now?”

  “Why did you become a hooker? You’re well-spoken and intelligent. Was there really no other option?”

  “What makes you think prostitution was my only option?”

  “Answering a question with a question is a tired evasion. I asked about you. Why did you become a paid whore?”

  “I…the money was too good to pass up.”

  “Bullshit. Try again.”

  She stared back at him in silent defiance. He knew she wasn’t a call girl. He wasn’t going to accept anything but a confession. “A good friend of mine was a call girl.”

  “And?”

  And she convinced me to give it a try. The words turned to ash in her mouth. Holly had been destroyed by this life. There was nothing easy or glamorous about being reduced to a receptacle for lust.

  “She disappeared.” The words were out before Lark could stop them.

  “Who disappeared?”

  “My friend. I could never talk her into coming home, but she always called me to let me know she was all right. I haven’t heard from her in three weeks.”

  His brow furrowed and compassion softened his expression. “Are you talking about Holly?”

  Her hands trembled and she pressed her lips together. Brook was right. There was only one reason he would jump to that conclusion. He had played a part in Holly’s disappearance.

  She fought back the rush of accusation and asked, “Do you know where she is?”

  “Did Brook send you to the gallery to hook up with one of us?”

  “She said you’d suspect any of her regular girls.”

  “She was right.”

  Now he was evading the issue, so she went on the offensive. “Do you know where Holly is?” She pulled the front of the dress back into place and struggled with the zipper. “Is she all right? Why hasn’t she called me?”

  “If you’re not a call girl, then who was the man you pictured in my car?”

  Shit! How could she explain what she didn’t understand? “He isn’t real. I keep having nightmares about him.”

  He clasped her upper arms and leaned toward her, his gaze suddenly fever bright. “Have you dreamed about someone else? Did another man touch your mind?”

  “Other than you?” She shook her head. There had been another. He’d been kind and tender, comforting her through the worst of her fear. But his existence didn’t make any more sense than her tormentor and she wasn’t ready to admit that she’d lost her mind. “Why did you change the subject? Is Holly still alive?”

  “She’s alive and unharmed.”

  “I want to see her or at least talk to her.” She twisted out of his grasp. “Where’s my purse?”

  “I thought you left your cell phone in your hotel room.”

  “I lied! All right, I lied about everything. I’m not a hooker. I came to San Francisco to find my niece.”

  He laughed. “A minute ago she was your friend. This is getting us nowhere.”

  Lark covered her face with her hands. Images swam through her mind, one reality swirling through the next. “I don’t understand. Things keep changing.”

  “Let me help you. I can stabilize the—”

  “No! Stay out!” Pain sliced through her, filling her with dread and determination. She must not let him scan her mind. She must not let anyone… Why was she so insistent? It didn’t make sense. If he thought he could help her, shouldn’t she let him try? Another burst of pain drove the thought from her mind.

  “Lark, this is important. Have you ever dreamed about a man named Joseph? Did he try and protect you?”

  Chapter Five

  Lark backed away, trembling visibly. “You can’t know about Joseph. How can you know about him?” She pressed the heels of her hands against her temples and sobbed. “Why won’t the pain stop?”

  Evan felt her distress with every fiber of his being. There could be no mistake, this was Joseph’s blonde. He swept her into his arms and left the playroom without a backward glance. This wasn’t the time for expanding her sexual horizons. They needed to reassemble her mind.

  He reached out to Torral and Leos as he carried her up the back stairs. Leos had just reached the foyer as Evan emerged through the dining room.

  “Aidan’s handiwork is starting to unravel,” he told his older brother as he crossed to the salon. “We have to help her now.”

  With his customary calm, Leos accepted the directive. Evan placed her on the sofa and knelt at her side. Torral entered a moment later, followed by a blurry-eyed Kendra.

  “What’s going on?” Torral asked.

  “This is Joseph’s blonde,” Evan replied.

  “How did you find her?”

  “She found me.”

  Torral was by far the strongest psychic of the three. He moved farther into the room and Lark screamed. She rolled off the sofa before Evan could stop her. He caught her as she reached the doorway, but her struggles had just begun. She arched and twisted, screaming and sobbing.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Kendra asked.

  “Aidan implanted compulsions protecting his work,” Leos explained.

  Evan sat on the sofa, with Lark clasped against his chest. Her struggles had lessened, but not subsided. Without explaining his intentions, he kissed her. His mouth moved over hers
with soothing patience. He used the intimacy to help him focus.

  Torral, dismantle the barrier. I need access to my gift.

  Are you sure? I know how hard—

  Now!

  Pain seared through Evan’s brain. He embraced the sensation, waiting for the inevitable rush of adrenaline. His heart pounded and power surged through his being, dark and intoxicating. He shifted Lark into the crook of his arm and deepened the kiss.

  Submit. A flicker of dread sparked within him as he launched the compulsion. He had avoided his abilities for decades, terrified he would lose control again.

  She shuddered against him, her mouth pliant and warm. Her mind remained resistant even after the frenzy abated. He cupped the side of her face and tried again. Open to me, Lark. Surrender.

  A whimper escaped her as he separated their mouths. He pushed past her mental shields and groaned. Her mind was a twisted clutter of fractured realities and exhausted compulsions. How had she retained any sliver of sanity?

  Sorrow welled within him for just a moment before fury burned through the weaker emotion. Aidan would pay! If it was the last thing he ever did, he would make Aidan pay for this abuse.

  Evan gently controlled her, patiently combating each surge of panic, while his brothers repaired the damage. Torral meticulously rid her mind of each unnatural strand. Leos stood sentry on the metaphysical plane and fed Torral energy.

  Hours passed and Evan felt the familiar tingle of transition. Shit! We’re out of time.

  Cast her into sleep thrall until tomorrow night.

  No. If she has time to accept what we’ve done so far, tomorrow night she won’t resist.

  Torral accepted his decision and carefully withdrew from her mind. Leos and Kendra followed him from the room.

  Refusing to leave her vulnerable, Evan used the last of his energy to erect concentric shields around her mind. Then he placed her on the sofa and rushed across the foyer. Transition could be violent when his levels were depleted and he would let nothing add to her pain.

  Joseph’s energy burst from inside him and his body instantaneously solidified. Evan sank to his knees, his legs too weak to support him.

  “She’s here?” Joseph steadied him with both hands, but his gaze darted toward the salon. “How did you find her?”

  “She’ll have to explain. I—need—sleep.”

  * * *

  Lark floated in a surreal fog. Evan and the others were gone, yet she couldn’t say when they had left or what had called them away. Fingers stroked through her hair, drawing her back to reality.

  “Am I dreaming?”

  “No, sweetheart, this is real.” The voice was familiar. Excitement swept through her, warming her insides and dissolving another layer of gossamer haze.

  “I must be dreaming,” she whispered. “You only exist in dreams.”

  His lips brushed over hers, his breath warm and caressing. “Are you sure about that?”

  Her lids felt heavy, but she forced them to open. Light pierced her brain and she blinked repeatedly. Gradually his face came into focus. Her breath caught in her throat. This was the first time she’d seen him. He’d touched her, made love to her with exquisite care, but she’d never seen his face.

  Golden strands threaded through his short brown hair. She traced his features with her fingertips, thrilled, yet confused. She knew this face, had spent all night trying to resist the appeal of these features. And yet he was different too. His sky-blue eyes stared back at her and a gentle smile parted his sensual lips. Was he related to Evan? Why did they look so similar?

  “Welcome back.”

  “Joseph?”

  His smile broadened. “Were you expecting someone else?”

  She sat up and looked around. They were on an antique sofa in a large elegant room. “Am I still at Burton House?”

  He tried to draw her into his arms, but she resisted. “We never got around to a full introduction. I’m Joseph Burton, and you are?”

  “Evan is your brother?”

  “Yes. How do you feel?”

  Memories flooded her mind. She writhed on a bed while some unseen force drilled into her mind. “Who…hurt me?”

  “His name is Aidan. There is no way he’ll ever hurt you again. Evan constructed shields around—”

  “Where did Evan go?” Why did he leave me? Finally seeing Joseph was a wonderful surprise, but something within her longed for Evan.

  “He’s exhausted. After he gets some sleep he’ll be back.” He touched her hand and waited until she looked into his eyes to speak again. “Sweetheart, I don’t know your name.”

  “Lark Emery.” She still felt oddly disconnected. Why couldn’t she focus her thoughts?

  “We were working like crazy to find you, but we couldn’t figure out where you were. How did you end up with Evan?”

  A dull throb erupted behind her eyes. She braced for the explosion of pain, but it never came. Echoes of realities floated before her like mist. She saw through them this time and latched on to the truth. “I came to Napa looking for my niece. She’s been missing for several weeks.” With as little embellishment as she could muster, she explained what had happened. “Evan knew something was wrong as soon as he read my mind, but it took him awhile to realize what had happened.”

  “You know Holly is okay, don’t you? Evan must have told you.”

  “He did, but that’s about as far as we got. Why did she stop calling me?”

  “The only way to ensure her safety was to have her sever all contact with the outside world until this is over.”

  “That sounds rather ominous. Where did you take her?”

  Joseph wanted to embrace her so badly his arms ached. She was repressing her emotions and he suspected they were in for a deluge when she finally let go. “Holly is on a private island. It’s called Epiphany, but you won’t find it on any map. I talked to her day before yesterday. She’s doing really well.”

  “Can I talk to her?”

  “The link will need to be heavily shielded. I’ll see what I can arrange. It might take a little while.” He stood and she reached for his hand. His heart missed a beat as her warm fingers clasped his.

  “Can I come with you?”

  “Of course. In fact, I’d prefer you did.”

  He led her to his bedroom and sent a message to the head of security on Epiphany Island. “He should respond shortly with a time.”

  “I know Aidan was Holly’s client, but what is Connell’s connection to Aidan? Some of the details are still blurry.”

  “Aidan and Connell are brothers. Aidan is the driving force, but Connell is far from innocent.”

  “He led me to Aidan like a lamb to the slaughter.” She shuddered and tears welled in her eyes. “How could I have been so foolish?”

  When he pulled her toward him this time, she didn’t resist. She wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face against his chest. “You did nothing wrong. You were only trying to find Holly.”

  She trembled, but her sobs were soundless. He stroked her hair, letting her anguish wash over him in torrents. Only with Evan was he empathic, so why could he sense her emotions?

  He didn’t rush her or try to speak. Healing couldn’t begin until she drained the wounds. Her knees buckled and he swept her up against his chest, carrying her to the bed. He held her on his lap like a child, cradled in his arms, and let her emotions run their course.

  “He twisted my mind, my memories. I didn’t even know who I was anymore.”

  “But your love for Holly remained. He couldn’t erase your selfless nature.”

  Her lips trembled as he brushed away her tears. She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his palm. “I want fresh memories, images untainted by him.”

  He turned and laid her back across the bed. “You need to rest. You’ve been through an incredible ordeal.”

  “I want this.” She tried to pull his face down to hers. “I need this.”

  He kissed her gently, a chaste brush
of his lips over hers. She slid her hands into his hair and refused to let go. Desire radiated off her in tormenting waves. He understood her logic, but hesitated to take advantage of her emotional fragility.

  “This isn’t a good idea.”

  She swung her hand at his face, forcing him to grab her wrist or accept the slap. Her other hand released his hair and swung for him as well. He pulled her arms above her head and clasped them in one hand. Her breasts quivered beneath the dress, set in motion by her ragged breathing.

  “Evan will fuck me.” She watched him, waiting for his reaction. “Where is he?”

  He couldn’t help but smile. If only she understood the irony of her strategy. “Sorry, sweetheart, you’re stuck with me.”

  “My name is Lark.”

  She seemed to be calming down, so he just held her. “I remember, but sweetheart suits you better.”

  “I want to kiss you.”

  The urgency had stabilized, but desire still simmered inside her. He bent his head and kissed her again. His lips lingered this time, his tongue gently stroking. “Better?”

  “I’m going to put your cock in my mouth and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  Her gaze had grown limpid and calm, so her words shocked him. If he had sensed any flicker of hysteria left in her, he would have remained true to his original course. Instead she stared into his eyes, daring him to refuse her. She needed to regain control and apparently he was the means she had chosen.

  He crawled off the bed and took off his shirt. “Do you want me in chains or do you trust me to submit to your wicked desires.”

  She smiled, drawing her skirt up along her thighs. “I don’t have the patience to return to the playroom. I’ll have to find other ways of controlling you.”

  Joseph tensed. “Evan took you to the playroom?” Transition had been more bewildering than usual because of Evan’s utter exhaustion.

  “Does that bother you?” Skimming her hands up the sides of her body, she cupped her breasts and bit down on her lower lip. “Would you like to see me spread-eagled in that chair?”

  Lust shone in her eyes now, and her pulse was racing. He could literally feel the beating of her heart. He didn’t question the connection. It thrilled him, amplifying each sensation like nothing he’d ever experienced before.