Darkness Descends: A Skye Faden Novel

by Alisha Ashton

  Miko rolled his eyes at them before jumping in the driver’s seat. He cracked up noting that, despite the keys still being in the ignition, not one person had thought to steal the car. Everyone was far too involved in Skye’s spectacle to care about something as trivial as theft.

  As gently as possible, and after blaring the horn about fifty times to get people to move, he backed the car off of the curb and onto the street. Finally, he managed to set out with the couple in the backseat moaning and panting in ecstasy. He shook his head and turned on the radio, blasting “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. In an effort to further drown out the sounds of what was going on behind him, he sang along obnoxiously loud to the track.

  So Taran had thoroughly intended to drug her once they were clear of the crowd. So he had really wished to be noble and simply carry her back to the cage where she could sleep this off.

  That’s not what was happening.

  He moaned for mercy when she reached up and unhooked her bra. The second her perfect breasts were exposed, any remaining noble thoughts he had went right out the window. She was straddling him, clawing at his chest, and that wickedly tempting little thong of hers was allowing him to grip her bare ass as she began grinding against him. The word ‘please’ kept falling from her lips between starved kisses. She slid up his body, bringing her breasts to his mouth. The cries that erupted from her as he flicked his tongue across her nipple broke his will.

  He simply could not take any more. Ancient or not, faol or not, he was still a man. With a bit of effort in the cramped backseat of the car, he rolled her over and climbed atop her. He ignored Miko’s whined declaration that if he got kicked one more time, he was going to pull over.

  Her hands were on his belt, fighting to unclasp it for a few seconds before she breathed, “oh fuck it” and tore it in half. His eyes grew wide in surprise looking at the leather that had just been shredded like paper.

  Well, he thought as he gave her a thoroughly impressed smirk, this is bound to get interesting.

  Skye growled in response and gripped him by the shoulders, pulling him down on top of her. She kissed his laughing mouth, returning to the task of tearing his pants open between them. When her hand slid down inside the material, he let loose a stream of thickly accented curses into her mouth. All laughing was gone from him as she established a firm grip on his shaft. She moaned and trembled as the scent of his arousal grew infinitely stronger. She could not even open her eyes any more – it was ensnaring her senses.

  Her thong did not stand a chance. He barely touched the damned thing...

  At least, he thought he barely touched it.

  ... before it fell to pieces and was cast to the side. She was frantic now beneath him, writhing and pulling down on him as she guided him to the soaked heat that was begging and pleading shamelessly for his attentions. He was in no position to argue. Her scent had dissolved all care of where they were and who was in the area. He sank inside of her quickly, deeper and deeper until they were both screaming and clawing at one another, reaching out blindly for purchase as they began moving in a frenzied rhythm.

  Miko let out a startled shriek and swerved the car as his headrest was torn clean off. He stole a glance over his shoulder and called out a panicked “hells no!” ducking Taran’s massive hand as it gripped the seat behind him.

  The music could no longer do a thing to cover the animalistic sounds that were coming from the backseat. The car was rocking on its shocks violently, even as he drove, like a tricked-out low-rider. Miko had no choice. He pulled over to the side of the road, brought the car to a screeching halt, and jumped out the door to safety. He turned back to find the car undergoing what could have been mistaken for some type of faol earthquake test.

  Throwing his hands up in disbelief, he stalked a safe distance down the road.

  Taran cursed and panted as her nails raked over his back. Between pleas for more, her teeth sank into the flesh of his chest. He could barely keep his eyes open for the pleasure coursing through him. Suddenly, he understood why his previous lovers had been so impressed by his stamina. He was learning that being on the receiving end of faol mating was a whole new world of ecstasy. Then there was the fact that for the first time in four millennia, he did not need to hold himself back. He bit down on her shoulder, instinctively fearful when he tasted blood... only to smile in realization as he watched the wound heal the instant he opened his eyes.

  She forced him up onto his knees and, after fighting him off for a second, managed to turn around and position herself with her belly against the back of the seat.

  His eyes widened as she wiggled her ass and cast a come-hither look over her shoulder.

  “Oh fook yes,” he moaned in approval.

  She laughed in response – a confident, impossibly sexy laugh that had him instantly struggling to find enough room behind her in the car’s interior.

  “This is bullshit,” Miko whined.

  He kicked a rock down the road, shuffling along with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he put distance between himself and the mating pair.

  “I mean how rude is this? Really?” He sulked. “They couldn’t even wait until we got back to the –?”

  A sound caught his attention.

  He stopped mid-step, squinting and trying to locate the source. Turning right in the nick of time, he squealed and jumped out of the way as the driver’s seat flew past him. It slammed to the ground, skidding its way another good 50 feet down the road and leaving a trail of sparks in its wake before finally coming to a stop.

  “What... the... fuck????” Miko cried as his eyes widened in shock. As quickly as possible, he clambered backwards out of the line of fire in case anything else would be following suit.

  Taran’s head rolled back as he tried to enter her slowly – only to have her rock her hips against him aggressively. She cast a look over her shoulder that clearly conveyed what she was after. He got a firm hold on her hips, leaning back and gritting his teeth as he began burying himself inside of her roughly, quickly.

  Her cries of his name echoed out into the night. As he leaned down to bite her shoulder, she reached up and grabbed a handful of his long hair. Judging by the snarls and cries that he gave in response, he liked having his hair pulled every bit as much as she did. Neither of them slowed as the car dropped first to the left, then to the ground completely. The tires rolled away from the vehicle and down the road unnoticed.

  He was getting close now. With the way her muscles were tightening around him, he knew she was not far behind. His growling and panting in her ear were what finally sent her over the edge. The way he was moving at such a frantic pace and the choppy moans falling from his lips added immeasurably to her excitement. She cursed and shrieked for him as her body quaked beneath him in orgasm. It took him right along for the ride. Her eyes rolled closed as she felt him releasing inside of her, all thoughts scattering as she lost her grip on the world.

  Taran only heard the guttural growls erupting from both of them after it was already too late.

  Miko froze as the deafening sound of their combined roars reverberated off the trees. He spun back to find no more Skye and Taran. The ordinarily disciplined duo had apparently gone bye-byes upon climax. In their place in the distance were two massive faoil getting busy in the busted Jag.

  “Oh shit... shit, shit, shit, shit!” Miko screamed as he raced back toward the car.

  His heart leapt up into his throat when he spotted a set of headlights coming down the road in their direction.

  “This is so bad. This is so far beyond bad!” He shrieked, pulling his tranquilizer gun free while hauling ass toward them.

  Much to his horror, he watched the vehicle pull over a short distance away. The headlights had caught the two in full view.

  “Don’t get out of the van – please!” He willed the driver, but because he was just that fucking lucky, he watched the silhouettes of two men climbing out and staring at the faoil.

 
Skye’s head spun toward them. She let out a snarl of warning.

  It was all that Miko needed to hear. He squeezed the trigger and let the darts fly, not willing to risk the lives of the strangers on a hope that she did not intend to rip them to shreds.

  The darts caught their target, all right...

  As well as one that had not been intended.

  “Oh, yeah. He is definitely gonna kill me,” Miko announced.

  Taran spun and glared at him in disbelief. A disoriented growl thundered from him – growl translation: ‘son of a bitch!’ – before he and Skye both collapsed into the car’s interior.

  “Trigger-happy-Miko, I presume?” The heavily accented voice of a Scotsman called.

  Miko’s shoulders slouched.

  “What the fuck, Drostan! You couldn’t have let me know it was you like five seconds ago?” He demanded.

  Drostan smirked as he walked up beside the wrecked car. He laughed finding the naked form of Taran atop Skye where they had fallen into the backseat.

  Both of them were returned to their human forms now that the drugs had taken their toll.

  “I’d say you’ll have some explaining to do when he wakes up. Perhaps ya could tell him there was nah a hose handy to break them apart with?” Drostan teased.

  Miko glanced down into the car and immediately turned away to throw a tantrum, punching and kicking the air wildly, gripping the back of his head once he was finished and glaring up at the sky.

  “I swear to God, I’ve seen that man naked so many times since I got here, I’ll have to bleach my corneas when I get back to the States!” Miko declared.

  Drostan and the other faol shared a grin at that.

  “Well, you’ll be needing a ride, by the looks of it,” Drostan commented. “Seems my pup has claimed herself a mate. Does this make me father of the bride then?” He asked with a laugh before leaning back against the car and smiling. “So... might I inquire as to what led to this joyous and rather public occasion?” He asked in amusement as he inclined his head to the sedated pair behind him.

  “Joyous?” Miko repeated. “Oh no, no, no, my canine compadre – this?” He pointed down at the naked couple. “This is a fucking disaster. Skye went into heat, Tar tried to lure her away from the club of guys she’d enlisted to be her bed-buddies and it backfired. He’s... no... they’re gonna be pissed when they wake up,” he seethed, his jaw flexing impatiently at the thought of Skye’s reaction to all of this. “Oh God...” he groaned, holding his face in his hands. “She’s gonna freak – you don’t understand. She doesn’t let guys touch her. I mean yeah, she’s made somewhat of an exception with Tar, but she’s gonna bolt now, you’ll see.”

  Drostan laughed at his concern for the emotional fallout and climbed up into the car, standing over Taran and looking back at Miko. “We’ll just leave tha discussion to the happy couple. Taran is old enough to know how to handle his business. Now, go open the back of the van and fetch some blankets for them. I’ll nah be touching her until she’s covered.”

  Miko sighed and raced over to ‘fetch’ the blankets. He grumbled to himself the entire way before bringing them back and handing them over.

  “Thank ya,” Drostan said distractedly as he shook one out and threw it over Taran. He removed the dart from his unconscious brother’s shoulder and tossed it to Miko. “I believe this is yours,” he teased with a wink and Miko scowled. Gripping Taran under his arms, Drostan hauled his impossibly heavy body to the edge of the vehicle with ease. “Onchu, if ya would be so kind,” he said, handing Taran off to his associate.

  Miko eyed the behemoth of a man who had yet to say a word fearfully. Onchu paid him no mind as he draped Taran over his shoulder and carried him to the van. Turning back to the car, Miko watched Drostan move on to Skye. He noted that the faol removed the dart from her far more gently.

  Unlike with Taran, Drostan covered her with the blanket completely, taking great care not to touch her skin as he lifted her up in his arms and climbed down from the car. Seeing the curiosity in Miko’s eyes, he offered, “I’ll nah be explaining to her or Taran how my scent came to be on her flesh while she was drugged. They’ll have enough to worry aboot without instinctive posturing adding to the problem.”

  The ride back to the castle was bumpy and uncomfortable. Miko sighed sympathetically knowing it was nowhere near as bad as things would be for the two sleeping behind him once they finally woke up.

  20: Rapture

  “How long d’ya s’pose he’ll be up there sleeping it off?” Ciaran whined impatiently. He was sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging his feet while tossing grapes up into his mouth and at his brothers in an effort to amuse himself.

  “Who knows? Let’s nah forget, even without the tranquilizers, he’d still have had cause to be exhausted,” Drostan offered with a smirk.

  “Right, I forgot – the bastard’s terribly out of practice,” Ciaran joked. “Ya know, I warned him some 60 years ago, ‘use it or lose it’. Told him if he did nah start playing the field again soon, he was likely to forget how.”

  “So’s tha why ya still act an addict for the ladies?” Latharn teased. “Afraid it’ll fall off if ya go a week without action?”

  “Nah willing to take tha chance,” Ciaran said with a wink. “Better safe than sorry, tha’s always been me motto.”

  “I thought, ‘it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission’ was always your motto,” Cathal reminded.

  “Depends what misbehavior he’s trying to justify at a given moment, I s’pose,” Latharn offered without looking up from his writing.

  “So true,” Ciaran agreed with a grin. After a moment, he smacked his hands on the counter and hopped down onto his feet. “Well, sun’s been up for half an hour – means I’ve waited long enough for him to wake up on his own. It’s been decades since I’ve last seen him and I want to hear all the details of the strenuous activities he undertook last night.”

  “Can’t ya just leave the man be?” Latharn groaned. “He’s earned his sleep, if the condition of tha car is any indication.”

  “But surely he’s missed his brothers!” Drostan chimed in, walking over and standing beside Ciaran. “And we’ll be sure to wake him as gently as possible.”

  At that blatant lie, Ciaran flashed him an ill-behaved grin. “Oh yes, of course we will,” he assured unconvincingly.

  Latharn arched a skeptical brow and scowled at them. “Tha’s what ya said the time ya lashed a rope around his foot, tied the other end to his horse’s saddle, then transformed and spooked her.”

  Ciaran and Drostan burst out laughing at the memory.

  “Remember the way he carried on as it dragged him, bare-arsed, around the camp?” Drostan laughed.

  “And the shock on his face as he was yanked out of bed with his tent crashing down around his ears?” Ciaran recalled, mimicking Taran’s expression. “Priceless. Even the men whose tents were demolished during the fiasco were too amused to be angry.”

  “I tell ya, I can still hear his voice echoing through the forest.” Cathal recalled with a chuckle.

  “‘Whoa! Whoa, girl! Stop!’” Ciaran cried frantically in Gaelic, doing a flawless impersonation of Taran. He even bounced in place for the full effect, his voice sounding just as his brother’s had as he was dragged. “‘Ciaran! I’m going to wring your scrawny neck for this!’”

  “Good times, good times,” Drostan said fondly. “The best part was for a week after, he did nah believe your insistence tha I’d anything to do with it.”

  “Yeah, well – some of us wear our true nature on our sleeves and, as such, are easily blamed for any mischief tha comes to pass,” Ciaran said with a sigh. A second later, he grinned again. “Which reminds me, we should be on our way to wake Taran.”

  He and Drostan had just turned to walk away when Latharn spoke up.

  “Ah, before ya go causing any trouble,” he began.

  Ciaran pouted before grudgingly turning to face him.

  “Go sum
mon these lads for me,” Latharn finished. He tore off a list of names that he had just written up and handed it to Ciaran.

  “Onchu... Finnegan... Maon... what are ya doing, putting together a defensive line for a pro football team?” Ciaran asked incredulously as he scanned the list. “There’s nah a man here tha stands less than two meters tall.”

  “I’ve an assignment for them,” Latharn answered disinterestedly. “Now, off with ya. Tell them to meet me here in the kitchen.”

  “Have fun with tha,” Drostan said, turning to walk away.

  “And just where d’ya think you’re going?” Ciaran demanded indignantly.

  “Sorry, my brother. You’re the one who’s been given a task. I’m heading upstairs to wake Taran,” Drostan taunted.

  “Tha’s nah fair!” Ciaran insisted. “You’ll spoil the element of surprise! By tomorrow, I’ll nah be able to sneak up on him to have me own fun!”

  “Best to hurry, then,” Drostan offered as he backed out the door. “I’ll give ya ten minutes.”

  Grumbling under his breath, Ciaran bolted for the stairway leading to the men’s quarters. He made quick work of rousing them, overturning each of their mattresses with them still sleeping soundly atop them. With time to spare, he was racing down the hall toward Taran’s room, thinking up a million ways to scare the wits out of his dearly missed brother.

  “Mo Ciaran...”

  At that strangely whispered, yet undeniably affectionate greeting, he skidded to a halt. There were no Gaelic speaking women within 100 kilometers that had cause to know him so intimately. With this in mind, he half expected to find one of his brothers hiding behind a corner, calling out to him in a feminine voice as a prank. Disturbingly, he could not sense anyone in the surrounding area.

  “Hello... ?” He called, looking around the hall in bewilderment. He remained perfectly still, listening for any hint of movement around him, but no response came. His brows drew together at that. “Huh... could’ve sworn...” he muttered with a frown. Perhaps it was just his imagination running rampant, he decided. It had been quite a while since his last tryst, after all. Maybe his subconscious was simply protesting his abnormal lack of interest in chasing tail.