by Lisa Kessler
“Well, we can’t have you draining the pilot so…” She rubbed her hands up her arms and looked his way. “You haven’t killed me yet.”
He held her gaze, but he didn’t reassure her. In his current state of mind, he wasn’t certain he could guarantee her safety.
“Okay fine. I’m curious. I admit it.” Her hands fell to her sides as she blew out a puff of air. “Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve wondered what it would be like, but I couldn’t talk to Lukas about it. He would’ve freaked, plus he’s family…sort of.” She winced. “It just felt wrong, but now…” She gestured from herself to him, “I’m here, you’re thirsty…”
His fangs lengthened in his mouth. He was beyond tempted. And she was willing.
He rose from the sofa. “You trust me with your life? This is not a game.”
…
The rational part of her brain agreed with him wholeheartedly and screamed at her to wake up and rescind her offer, but after a lifetime of bad boy adrenaline rushes, this was too hard to resist. Ever since she’d been old enough to understand what Lukas was, that there really were blood-drinkers in the world, she’d been fascinated.
Here was a chance to experience it with a sexy Night Walker…whom she’d just met.
She muzzled the mental voice spouting off reason and dove head first into the familiar pool of no-strings-attached sensation. “You gave me your word that you’d bring me back to The Dimension’s Den.” Muriah held eye contact, refusing to retreat from her request. “If I can’t trust the word of a Mayan god, who can I trust?”
Issa’s entire body tensed. His muscles contracted like it took every ounce of his self-control not to touch her. She watched him, willing him to come closer.
“The silence is making me nervous.” She wet her lips, taking a step closer to him. “Talk to me. Tell me how it all works.”
Issa stared down into her eyes. “Usually, you would be mesmerized by now, eager to follow my commands.”
“I’m not much of a ‘command’ follower.” Her heart pounded so hard, Muriah could almost hear it in her ears. “Will it hurt?”
His strong hand cupped her cheek, and even though his skin was cool, the touch comforted her. “Perhaps for a moment, but I promise you, I can ease the pain.” His voice was deep and soft, sensual. Heat bloomed in her abdomen, radiating through her body.
She swallowed the wave of desire, struggling to keep her thoughts straight. “Can I see them?” A crease marred his perfect brow, and she added, “Your fangs. Can I see them?”
He remained silent, and for a second, she thought he might give her one of his holier-than-thou-Gods-don’t-perform-to-impress-mortals speeches. Instead, he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, his dark eyes locked on hers, and as he lowered her hand slowly, his lips remained parted enough for her to see the sharp tips of his fangs.
Her knees went weak. Dangerous and sexy all at the same time. She forced air into her lungs and rested her hand against his chest. Mistake. If she hoped to catch her breath, touching him wasn’t the way to do it. His body was chiseled through the thin fabric of his button-down shirt, like a statue of masculine perfection.
His eyes changed, lightening until they glowed crimson. What was left of the rational part of her brain begged her to put some distance between them, but her body was way beyond listening.
“Your eyes…” She whispered, breathless.
He leaned in closer to her, his mouth hovering over hers while his gaze demanded her attention, claiming her on a primal level. “They burn when I hunger for blood…or flesh.”
She tipped her head up, her lips nearly brushing his. “Which do you want right now?”
“Both.” He closed the distance between them, kissing her as he wrapped her in a tight embrace.
Muriah opened her mouth, her tongue exploring, her senses heightened, knowing sharp fangs were close by. He moaned against her, one hand tightening in her hair. Her fingers skimmed the sinewy muscles of his back, making her ache to take off his shirt.
He gradually lightened the kiss and trailed his lips along her jaw to the soft spot just below her ear. “Muriah.”
Hearing him whisper her name, feeling his desire breathed onto her skin, set her body on fire. Yearning and want colored his voice. She clung to him, tilting her head to open herself to his attention. “I’m ready.”
His lips and tongue teased the pulse in her neck. “Not yet.”
Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the fire he stoked inside her as his teeth slid along her tender skin, pushing her desire even higher. His free hand wandered up her body, crushing her breasts against his chest and making the rest of her ache for his attention. Her legs wobbled and just when she thought she couldn’t take any more teasing, a stab of pain made her gasp.
The pain instantly blossomed into pleasure. He groaned against her skin, drinking her in while his hands worshipped her body through her clothes, their hips pressing together until she could feel his erection. She’d never shied away from her sexuality, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt this sensual in her entire life, like her blood was liquid fire. Her body craved his dangerous attention as he pulled at her veins.
Her fingers slid into the back of his hair, clutching and holding him against her. She clung to him with her other hand, her arm tight around his trim waist.
This was swooning. It had to be. All at once, she found herself on the edge of an orgasm with all her clothes on. And just as suddenly, the jungle filled her mind. Issa stood beside her. Holding her hand, he walked with her toward a pyramid. The one from her vision. Blood stained the altar and dripped from the fingers of his right hand.
It felt like one of her visions, without the pain in her head.
He scooped her feet off the floor, cradling her in his arms as he pulled gently at her veins. She welcomed the weightlessness and the scenery around her changed. Now she was back in her kitchen with the codex. Issa stood beside her as she reached to touch the ancient book and the visions began.
Muriah opened her eyes, breaking their sensual connection. She tugged at Issa’s hair, pulling him free from her neck. The feeding ended abruptly, although he kissed her wound tenderly a few more times. He drew back, concern lining his face.
“Are you hurt?”
His skin seemed darker, healthier. Her life, giving him life. She shook off the sentiment. “You didn’t tell me there would be visions. Did you see what I did?”
“Because your mind is closed to mine, I did not think the blood connection would bring our minds together.” He tucked a lock of her hair back behind her ear.
“Are you saying minds usually come together when you feed?”
He nodded slowly, and she shoved his hand away and got up, escaping the comfort of his arms. “So the short answer is, you did see what I saw.” Oh God, did he see what happened when I touched that codex? Vulnerability festered inside of her, stoking a smoldering ember of rage. “You bastard, you dug around in my head without my permission. You didn’t even warn me that might happen. You tricked me.”
She spun on her heel, unable to look at him. She’d never shared her curse with anyone, not even her own mother. Every time she held an ancient item, she was transported into the past, and the price she paid for that trip left her weak.
A weakness she had no intention of sharing with Issa, or anyone else for that matter.
“That is how you recognized my face.” His deep voice reached for her. “You saw me, as I once was, the moment you touched that codex.”
“Shut up!” She wheeled around, wishing she could run away, but being trapped in an airplane made that impossible. “You had no right. If I had known there was even a possibility you’d be in my head, I never would have agreed to let you drink from me.”
He crossed his arms. “You were going to help me find a spell to trap Apep without telling me about your gift?”
“Let’s get something straight. This isn’t a gift.” Hot
tears threatened, and she fought them back. “This is a curse. I hate it, but I use it when I have to.”
“What did you see when you touched the prophecy?”
“I’m through talking about this.” Muriah started for the reclining chairs in the front of the cabin, but Issa caught her elbow.
“Please.” The tenderness in his tone brought her gaze up to meet his, and the knot in her belly loosened just a little. His voice remained deep and soft. “What did you see when you held the codex?”
She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, blinking back tears. Her throat tightened, clamping down on secrets she’d never shared with another soul. To be fair, he hadn’t given her his consent to see his past. But at the time, she didn’t even know who he was. She didn’t realize he’d still be alive. It wasn’t like she got to choose what an item might show her.
“You were at the top of a pyramid in the rain with blood on your hand. You turned and looked right at me. It’s never happened like that before, like you could see me.” Her throat ached, raw. She swallowed hard. “When you walked into Calisto’s house, I recognized you were the Night Walker from the vision.”
Issa nodded and released her. Quietly, he went back to the sofa and sat down. For a second, she almost followed. She wanted to understand her vision. She wanted to ease his pain.
But reality slammed her between the eyes. He was exactly what she didn’t need in her life. She’d turned thirty alone because she kept wasting time with men she could never share a future with. Issa was another classic example. A perfect imperfection for her usual relationship.
She’d promised herself she’d make new choices. It was time to grow up. If she wanted the store and her family line to continue, she needed to break away from the mold of wrong guys she usually picked. If she was going to allow someone into her heart, it needed to be a man she could count on.
Issa wasn’t even a man.
And now he knew way too much about her. Once they got Apep out of the picture, Issa would go back to the jungle and she could put all this behind her. She sat in the reclining seat and called over her shoulder. “Just so we understand each other, Lukas doesn’t need to know about the visions. In fact, no one does.”
“You have my word.”
The sound of his voice wrapped around her wounded heart, but she denied her urge to go to him. Whatever was bothering him was his problem. She reclined the chair and prayed they’d land in New York soon.
Chapter Ten
The jaguar growled inside him, aching for freedom as much as Issa yearned for the escape. Muriah was a strong psychic. She’d touched the codex and witnessed its story. Her gift. That had to be why even his power couldn’t pierce the mental wall that shielded her thoughts.
And she’d seen his true self. The killer.
Worse yet, the echo of his past made contact with her in the future. Had she sensed his torture, witnessed the madness lurking in his eyes, the torment in his soul?
Holding her in his arms, gazing into her beautiful eyes, her untamable spirit caged within, and feeling her cling to him, hungry for him, had been a moment of heaven. But it was an undeserved paradise. She was right, he had hoped her blood would enable him to enter her mind, but he hadn’t realized that the discovery of her secret would hurt her.
He’d spent too many years in seclusion, only coming in contact with humans who obeyed his wishes. Spending one night with a woman who could stand toe-to-toe with him, with a will every bit as strong as his own, left him confused, frustrated, and now empty.
Her blood moved through his veins, sustaining him with her essence. He’d never tasted anything like her, sensual, magic, and full of light to his darkness. And she’d wanted him. It was her desire he felt, not something his power forced upon her.
With her body pressed against his, bloodlust blended with the strange emotions she conjured within him. Drinking from mortals usually revealed their memories, their lives, uniting their minds as one, but he’d never met anyone like Muriah before, so he hadn’t been sure if it would work.
The chance to discover her secrets added strength to the temptation she offered. He’d given her his left hand, while his right, the bringer of death and sacrifice, remained at his side. He didn’t wish for the stains of his past to blemish her. The moment Muriah had taken his hand and smiled up at him, he realized that the ground had shifted beneath him.
Although he’d recognized he should resist this connection, she’d carefully unarmed him. He was enthralled by this willful, mortal woman, and he ached to please her.
She’d witnessed his pain, his guilt, and she’d still opened herself to him.
Until he discovered a secret she never intended to share.
His gaze cut to the back of her chair. He wondered why she considered the gift to be a curse. There was so much about her he yearned to learn.
And he needed her back in his arms, her body pressed against his. Somehow, she lifted the mantle of his position as upholder of this mortal world and made him believe there could be more. She made him want more.
He closed his eyes, resting his head on the sofa, grinding his teeth against the treacherous fantasies.
The plane landed in New York without incident. They disembarked from the jet, but Muriah remained cool and distant. He carried the bags down the steps and onto the tarmac. She unfolded a paper while Issa glanced up at the sky. The lightening sky.
“Come.” He reached for her arm. “Apep can move freely in the daylight. You need to be at the hotel. Now.”
“I’m trying to look at the reservation.” She hurried ahead of him, struggling to open her folded up piece of paper. “You can go wherever you’re going to rest. Come find me tonight at the Millennium Broadway Hotel. It’s in Times Square.”
Times Square. Chaos. The coming sunrise weighed on his shoulders like two tons of cement, but the thought of her alone in that mass of humanity while he had no idea where Apep might be hiding gave him an extra dose of awareness. She would be angry with him, but he saw no other solution.
Using his preternatural speed, he raced ahead, catching her around the waist as he rushed through the airport, down the New York streets, and didn’t slow until he stood in front of the Millennium. He moved so fast, no one could see them.
He set Muriah on her feet, and she rewarded him with a groan. “Ugh.” She huffed in some deep breaths. “I’m going to throw up.” She glared at him. “I told you I hate that super-fast Night Walker thing.”
He ran his hand up her back while she bent over, pulling air into her lungs. “Apep could be anywhere. You cannot stay alone. The daylight does not affect him like it does the Night Walkers.”
“Are you saying you’re staying with me?” She finally straightened, her skin a little ashen from the high-speed trip. “Lukas told me hotels are too dangerous. If someone opens the door or the window… Badness, right?”
Issa had no desire to rest in a hotel room. She was right, it was far too risky. But leaving her alone was out of the question. “You trusted me enough to let me drink from you. I will trust that you will keep me safe from the daylight.”
Her gaze held his suspended for a moment. “Fine.” She sighed and took her bags from his shoulder. “Let’s get a room, but I haven’t forgiven you.”
He almost smiled. “Understood.”
…
Apep watched the humans disembark from his flight like lambs to the slaughter. He wet his lips in anticipation. Sliding out of his seat, he made his way to the back of the plane. The flight attendant gasped as she turned.
“I’m sorry sir; you’ll need to exit the aircraft now.”
He shook his head, feeling the energy rise as chaos clouded his vision. Her eyes met his, hypnotized by the storm lurking in the dark depths, and her mind opened to him. “Marjorie, you will open all the emergency doors and deploy the rescue slides.” He ran his finger along her full, red lips. If only he had more time. “Undress and take the slide out of the plane. Now.”
Sh
e nodded slowly and then dutifully hurried toward the exits. Apep continued back to the convection oven. The serpents slithered along his neck, already feeding on the chaos of the alarms and shouts of another member of the flight crew.
“Not yet.” He mumbled, forcing himself to focus all his anger. Egypt. The desolate, damned desert. The rage manifested in his gaze, agitating the electrical system at a molecular level and heating the oven until flames erupted around the edges. Smoke billowed, sending another surge of chaos toward him. His eyes rolled back in his head for a moment, the pleasure threatening to drown his senses.
Pulling the black smoke deep into his lungs, he opened his eyes and jumped from the back emergency door to the ground. He landed in a crouched position, watching the carts and utility trucks already circling the plane. One man in coveralls approached him, drowning Apep in the savory scent of his adrenaline.
“Hold it, sir. You can’t be on the runway.” The man glanced up at the airplane door and back to Apep. “How the hell did you make that jump without a scratch on you?”
“Look me in the eyes, and I’ll tell you.”
The worker focused on Apep, quickly mesmerized by the storms of chaos in his gaze. “You will drive your vehicle to the nearest breaker box. Every breaker needs to be turned off. Then you will do the same at the next box until all of LaGuardia is dark.”
The man nodded and walked back to his vehicle. He drove away, ignoring his coworkers yelling for his help. A smirk tugged at the corner of Apep’s mouth as the screams from inside began.
Once the lights vanished, he made his way over to the walls of the terminal. He only needed it to remain dark long enough for his serpents to complete their task. Placing his palms against the block wall, he called to them. The tattoos slithered down his body, off his arms, and up into the shadows on the walls. In a moment, the computer systems would be as fried as the back of the airliner.
The prophecy was somewhere in this mass of humanity the mortals called New York City. He’d pulled the info from the mind of the Night Walker who arranged the God of the West’s plane flight. They’d landed at LaGuardia, and he intended to keep them here. He would collect the codex without having to return to Egypt.