Courting Darkness

by Melynda Price

  He leaned close and dipped his head. She stiffened, expecting his lips to brush hers. Instead, he warned with a low throaty growl, “Don’t try to run from me.” His lips brushed the outer shell of her ear. Intentional? She didn’t think so, yet still she shivered as his heated breath skated down her neck—shivered with…repulsion—definitely repulsion.

  Olivia yanked her arm from his grasp and briskly crossed to the fireplace. Squatting in front of the blaze, she held her hands up to the glass, half-listening to the early morning news playing above her.

  Great, more snow… Just what this place needs. Unseasonably warm? If this was unseasonably warm weather, then hell must have truly frozen over.

  “Now for the national news. Police are still looking for a missing Florida woman who disappeared hours after the death of her estranged fiancé. Olivia Norton—” What! “—of Evercrest, Florida, has been missing since the morning her fiancé, Mitch Mathis, was found dead in his home.”

  Olivia’s head snapped up to see the television. The brisk movement knocked her off balance and she fell back onto a set of feet behind her. Her full sprawl was halted when her back crashed into a pair of unmovable legs. Looking up, she muttered a curse. She hadn’t heard Haden approach. He paid her little attention, watching the broadcast with a weighted scowl that did nothing to comfort her.

  As she scrambled to her feet, he hissed a foul oath at the anchor woman. Without casting her a glance, he caught hold of her arm and dragged her to her feet.

  “Authorities are not yet certain if foul play is involved. If anyone has seen this woman, or has any information related to her disappearance, Florida officials are asking you to contact this number.”

  “Bloody hell…” he snarled, grabbing her hand and marching her out the door.

  Olivia craned her neck, looking toward the barista, wondering if she’d find the young woman with the phone pressed to her ear, but her back was to them. Stumbling behind Haden, she mocked, “Come on, don’t tell me you’re actually surprised. Did you really think no one would notice I was missing?”

  “Oh, I knew they’d notice. I just figured by the time it hit national news, you really would be missing.”

  Asshole… She couldn’t tell if he really meant it, or maybe he was just trying to rattle her. Either way, it worked. With her hand firmly gripped in his, he passed the car and led her down the street. At the end of the block, they turned into a clothing store. By the time they entered the small mom and pop shop, she was frozen—teeth chattering, bone-stiffened frozen. “Why are we here?”

  “You need a coat,” he answered gruffly.

  At that moment, another shiver racked her body, and his scowl darkened. “Oh, for crissake, here.” He shoved his coffee into her hands and the heat from his cup immediately soothed her painfully stiff fingers. She might have been touched by Haden’s small act of kindness, except the pissed-off expression on his face pretty much ruined the thoughtful gesture.

  “Thanks,” Olivia replied dryly. “You’re too kind...”

  “Go find a coat,” he commanded, walking toward the men’s clothing department.

  Haden didn’t have to tell her twice. Taking a huge, warming gulp of coffee, she made her way to the women’s coats and quickly found a light-colored, down-filled ensemble with matching hat and gloves. Cramming the knit cap on her head, she casually glanced over her shoulder.

  A quick scan of the store didn’t produce any sign of the imposing half-breed. Was it possible he’d erred in leaving her alone? A flicker of hope made her pulse quicken. Maybe this was her chance. Taking another moment to perform a last search of the store before making a hasty retreat, Olivia exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Haden wasn’t anywhere to be found.

  Casually, so as not to arouse the clerk’s suspicion or attract her MIA abductor, she grabbed another coat off the rack as if to try it on and made her way to the dressing rooms, all the while keeping her eyes on the real prize—the exit at the end of the hall. She’d never stolen anything before, and to assuage her guilt, she vowed if she survived the day, she’d return when it was safe and pay the clerk for her purloined winter gear.

  As she turned down the hall, her steps quickened. Almost there… Just three more dressing rooms and she was home free. Would an alarm go off when she hit the back door? Guess she’d find out soon enough. As she breezed past the last dressing room, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm, jerking her inside. A startled yelp ripped from her throat, her dreams of escape going up in flames as her coffee hit the floor and she crashed into Haden’s unyielding chest.

  “Going somewhere?”

  “Yeah, the dressing room. To try this on.” She shoved the coat-clad hanger in between them and pushed away from his chest. “You mind?”

  Haden gave her an arched look and then poked his head outside the curtain. Looking left and then right, he stepped back inside. “You missed them.”

  He moved closer, crowding into her. Olivia’s answering step back brought her flush with the dressing room stall. Planting a palm on each side of her head, Haden leaned in until the scent of black licorice teased her nose. His top lip curled up in a sardonic grin. The only thing missing was a set of fangs to reveal the true predator he really was.

  She was so busted…

  “If you wanted to share mine, you could have asked.”

  His husky voice carried that familiar gravelly undertone that told her she was in over her head. He knew damn well she hadn’t been heading for the dressing rooms and would punish her for her lie until she confessed the truth. Keeping that sea-green gaze of his rooted intently on her, he removed a hand from the wall and reached over his shoulder, grabbing his shirt and tugging it over his head.

  Her heart slammed in her chest, making her breathless. Her mind raced with options—possible scenarios for how she could play this out. No guts, no glory, right? Haden was calling her bluff. It wasn’t like she had a lot of options here. If it meant her freedom, could she really take this one for the team? The thought of her next step terrified her. Could she really do this? Would he fall for it?

  Just think of Liam…Yeah, not that easy to do when the two looked nothing alike.

  Steeling her resolve, Olivia sent up a quick prayer for courage and slowly lifted her arms, circling them around his neck. Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she forced a little smile and whispered, “You caught me.”

  He tensed beneath her hands. Surprise and suspicion etched on his handsome face. He wasn’t stupid, but the flare of desire in his darkening gaze seemed to quickly overpower his common sense. Threading her fingers through the tawny hair at the nape of his neck, it surprised her to discover how soft it was. Boy, she pitied the woman that fell under this dark angel’s spell.

  The subtle catch of his breath, the flare of lust in his eyes when she softly dragged her nails against his scalp, made her own pulse quicken. Alarms sounded in her head that this was a bad idea. Too far...too far… her conscience screamed. But she was already on a collision course with this powerful male, and the best chance she had of surviving it was to fasten her seatbelt and hang on.

  He felt like flesh-covered steel beneath her hands, his muscles tremoring with barely controlled restraint as he watched with that predatory glint in his eyes, riding the thin line of suspicion and lust—waiting for her next move.

  She stepped closer, the heat from his bare chest turning her down-filled coat into a sweltering prison. “I can’t keep doing this. I don’t want to fight with you, Haden.”

  The chortled growl rumbling in his chest sent goose bumps racing up her arms. Bad idea, Olivia! You’re playing with fire! Ignoring her conscience in favor of escape, she rose to her tip-toes and brushed a tentative kiss across Haden’s lips, much like the one he’d given her last night. He froze like stone, no doubt reeling from the unexpected turn of events. He was used to being in control. Let’s see how he likes being the one aggressed upon for a change.

  He didn’t kiss her ba
ck. A tawny brow arched suspiciously, yet he didn’t push her away.

  Huh…

  Boldly, she ran her fingers through his hair and drew him closer, pressing her mouth fully against his. When her tongue passed the seam of his lips, he snapped. A feral growl ripped from his throat as he accepted her kiss. Leveraging her with his half-naked body, he shoved her back against the dressing room wall. The thinly constructed wafer-board rattled, threatening to collapse. Tempering her fear, she let loose of her inhibitions and forced herself to do the unthinkable—she returned his kiss with equal abandon.

  His mouth was softer than she’d expected, his kiss nothing like the tempered dalliances he’d forced upon her before. This was…this was a hot, erotic, oral assault. With a swift downward yank, the zipper of her coat ripped free and his hands shoved inside, sliding it off her shoulders and down her arms, divesting her of her winter barrier. If she didn’t move fast, she’d soon find herself on the losing end of this parlay.

  Unhooking her hands from his neck, she dragged her nails down his chest, over his pecks and his flat-disked nipples, hard enough to leave her marks. She needed to shock him, knock him off-guard.

  His mouth tore away from hers with a rough snarl. “Fuck…” the foul curse, a mix of reverent profanity and adoration. He rocked his hips into her, his arousal so evident, she nearly bailed.

  Too far… her mind screamed again.

  Forcing her hands lower, over the rippled muscles of his abdomen, he moved back far enough to allow her hands to unfasten the button of his jeans as his own hands took surprising liberties.

  His mouth moved to her neck, teeth nipping and tongue soothing her sensitive, abraded flesh. Just as she’d marred him, he obviously intended to return the favor. Were this not Haden, a ruthless hunter who’d abducted and would most likely kill her—were she not soul-bonded to Liam, this would have been incredibly hot. But it was and she was. She’d do well to remember that.

  Haden’s hand slipped under her shirt, capturing her breast in a hold that trapped the sensitive peak between his thumb and forefinger. He applied an expert amount of pressure, sending a jolt of electricity firing into her core.

  To her horror, her startled gasp sounded suspiciously like a moan of pleasure. Haden heard it, too, because his satisfied chuckle was wrought with pure male arrogance. Hastening her speed before he outpaced her and she was the naked one, Olivia unfastened his button, tugged down his fly, and sent his low-slung jeans to his ankles. In her hasty effort to hobble him, her hand grazed his ridged flesh, ripping a strangled groan from his throat. Again, hot as hell, if it wasn’t—oh, who was she kidding?—it was just hot as hell. And holy shit, who doesn’t wear underwear these days?

  She almost felt sorry for what she was about to do. And then he spoke—a passionate rasp against her ear, laced with warning. “Don’t think this changes anything, Olivia—”

  Mother. Fucker.

  Taking his face in her hands, she guided his mouth back to hers and kissed him with a lot more teeth than lips. “My thoughts exactly,” she whispered against his mouth, a second before she tightened her grip for leverage and slammed her knee into his groin.

  A rush of air exploded from Haden’s chest as a pained grunt tore from his throat. Summoning all her strength, she shoved him back and bolted from the dressing room. A crash sounded behind her, followed by a spew of the most furious oaths she’d ever heard. Olivia ran faster, pumping her legs in a mad dash for the exit. She hit the door full blast, depressing the barred lever. It flew open, slamming into the outer brick wall with a deafening crash.

  “Olivia!”

  The ferocious bellow spurred her on. She prayed the few extra seconds she’d bought at such a high price would be enough to help her get away. Faster she ran, not sparing the time to look back and see if the menacing dark angel was behind her. She fixed her sights on the royal blue Thunderbird parked a block down the road. Her beacon of hope—her last chance at freedom…

  She was steps from the car when he came out of nowhere—fast and furious—soundless. A blur of movement, then bam! His hand clamped around the back of her neck in a biting grip as he slammed her against the trunk of the car, police-style. “That was fucking stupid, Olivia.”

  Her left cheek burned from the biting cold of frozen steel, her right cheek scalded with the blazing heat of Haden’s breath. A miserable sob escaped her throat. Tears stung her eyes, dropping to the trunk and freezing in a trail of her misery.

  Grinding his still-intact arousal against her bent-over bottom, he growled, “I should take you right now for that little stunt. Haul that cush ass of yours into the back seat and finish this!”

  It was a threat she knew he could easily carry out and one she had no doubt he contemplated. This had been a mistake—a terrible mistake. At her shameful, breath-hitching sobs, Haden hissed a curse. His biting grip on her neck eased a touch. “Do you think I want to want you, Olivia?”

  She hoped his question was rhetorical, because she couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat.

  “Do you think this is some sort of game that you can outplay, outwit and outlast me? This isn’t fucking Survivor! I am ancient—old as fucking Noah and his Ark. I’ve spent lifetimes hunting people like you. Do you honestly think you can escape me so easily? Do not tempt me again, or I swear to God I’ll finish what you started.”

  To drive his point home, she got his point ground against her ass. With a savage oath, he jerked her up and spun her around to face him. She’d never seen him this furious, this on the verge of losing control. His breaths heaved with barely controlled rage, billowing puffs of steam from his nostrils like an enraged bull—sea-green eyes burning with amethyst sparks. His clenched jaw couldn’t stop the tiny muscle ticking in his cheek.

  Her bottom lip quivered like a little child as she struggled to hold back the impending sob, threatening to capitulate her into hysterics any moment. As she stared up at him, her breath hitching, the blaze in his eyes began to dull—ripcord-tight muscles eased a touch as some of the tension escaped his body. Clad in only his jeans, a shiver rippled through him. She couldn’t tell if it was cold or passion induced. He certainly didn’t look chilled.

  “I…I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out, wholly remorseful for her part in playing him and for letting things get so out of hand. “It’s just—” She took another breath, fighting for composure that quickly failed her. “I don’t want to die, Haden.” She held his gaze, pleading to a conscience she wasn’t sure even existed, for a measure of mercy she wasn’t certain he knew how to give.

  He returned her stare, and that mask of apathy was almost worse than his rage. His powerful hand was still clamped on her nape, fingers wrapping around to press against the artery slamming inside her neck. After a moment of mounting silence, something softened in his steely gaze. He exhaled a defeated sigh and rasped, “You’re not going to die.”

  Before she could utter a response, he pulled her against his bare chest, her frozen cheek quickly thawing against his sizzling peck. Haden’s other arm came around her back, enveloping her in a tight embrace. How could he be capable of such violence one minute and giving such total comfort the next?

  “I don’t expect you to understand, Olivia. And I know it won’t bring Anya back. But believe me, it’s nothing Liam wouldn’t do for you were the situation reversed.”

  Her instincts told her not to fight it—not to speak, that comfort wasn’t something this male often gave and she should take it. As she stood there in his arms, Olivia couldn’t deny the niggling feeling that this was more than a peace-offering hug. He was holding her as one might a loved one. Almost like…he needed her. And inexplicably, she felt compelled to offer him the comfort no one in their right mind would want to give their abductor.

  The impulse was strong—too difficult to deny. In that moment, there was a certain vulnerability in Haden she’d never seen before, something delicate she didn’t want to destroy—a fragile compassion as breakable as a butterfly’s
wings.

  Hesitantly, as if reaching out to touch a wild animal, she slowly lifted her arms and wrapped them around his waist. In that moment, she believed he didn’t truly want to hurt her. But she also knew, as much as he didn’t relish the thought of it, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it if it meant meeting his end goal—possession of Immanuel’s Stone.

  In the passing moments, neither of them spoke, and it dawned on her that she needed this as much as he did. She was emotionally exhausted, heartsick at Liam’s betrayal. Essentially, she was overwhelmed by life. Sure, Haden was at the center of it all, but for a few solitary minutes, she needed him—needed someone, anyone, to hold her. An unlikely friend found in this predatory male standing before her, but hey, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and it wasn’t like she had a lot of options right now.

  How could she possibly know that in the next few hours, it would all blow up in her face?

  Chapter Fifteen

  As they approached the grotto, the blood in Olivia’s veins began to hum with restless energy. Subconsciously, she reached up to the base of her throat, rubbing at the phantom weight of the stone. Her senses prickled with heightened awareness—of what, she didn’t know, but something in the grotto called to her. Another long day of travel and a sleepless night had left her physically exhausted. Haden left her emotionally drained, but the closer they got to their destination, anxiety quickened her pulse, burning away her haze of fatigue.

  Olivia’s fidgeting didn’t go unnoticed by Haden, who stole frequent glances at her, a glimmer of curiosity shining in his keen gaze. By the time they pulled into the parking lot, it was well past closing and twilight was quickly fading into night. She wondered how he thought they’d find anything in the dark, especially an elusive stone that was as black as the night bearing down on them.

  He parked the car and cut the engine, making no move to exit. Instead, he turned and looked at her expectantly. For what? A flitter of anxiety needled up her spine, quickening her pulse. His stretching silence put her nerves on edge. So this was it. Somewhere, hidden among these grottos, was the key to Haden’s revenge.