HER SHADOW WARRIOR
by
McKenna Chase
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Her Shadow Warrior
COPYRIGHT 2010 by McKenna Chase
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact Information: [email protected]
Praise for author McKenna Chase:
“Someone hand me a fan! McKenna Chase writes red-hot stories of steamy romance and even steamier sex! Caribbean Wild is HOT!!”
~Award-winning author, Jana Mercy
“Her Big Bad Wolf brings a new twist to a classic fairy tale. It has all the charm of the childhood story with a wickedly sexy turn. McKenna Chase & Jana Mercy do a fantastic job in this quirky, sinful, erotic read. I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a humorous adult take on the Big Bad Wolf.”
~Pamela Denise, Romance Junkies
Her Big Bad Wolf - “This is not your Mom’s fairy tale. The authors have taken a girl’s fairy tale and made it a woman’s hot dream. I found the story enchanting and consumed the story in one sitting. This is definitely one hot story that sizzles and has earned itself a place on my favorite’s bookshelf.”
~Delane, Coffee Time Romance
HER SHADOW WARRIOR
CHAPTER ONE
Occasional shafts of moonlight slipped between the passing storm clouds overhead to reflect off the white caps of the waves rolling toward her. Elena Ricci watched as the ocean’s frothy fingers reached for her feet, the undertow pulling at her as if trying to drag her out to sea. Out to the darkness.
As a child, that thought would have sent her running from the water’s edge in terror, but as an adult she knew far worse demons existed in the world than those of her imagination. Demons like Ryan, the man she’d once been married to.
How easily she could have slipped back into the painful memories of her past, but she was stronger now, more determined to keep the past at bay. Instead, she continued her stroll along the water’s edge, focusing on the serenity of the night. Even more so, enjoying the feeling of her newfound freedom.
It had taken nearly dying to do so, but she’d finally taken back control of her life and would give that up to no man ever again.
The ocean breeze picked up, whipping her hair about her face. A jagged bolt of lightning streaked down from the darkening sky to touch the sea. Thunder followed, rumbling angrily in the distance, a precursor to the approaching storm.
Elena picked up her step, wanting to reach the beach house before the rain came. Another gust of wind moved past her, followed by the reverberation of more thunder. The storm neared. But there was something more. An uneasy sensation moved through her, causing the hairs at the back of her neck to prickle. It was the all too familiar feeling of being watched.
Panic set in. What if her ex had finally figured out where she’d gone to? Had he followed her there to finish what he’d started a year earlier? An inward shudder moved through her as she looked around the deserted beach.
Her relief at finding the expanse of white sand around her empty did nothing to ease the pounding of her heart. She stopped and closed her eyes, forcing herself to take a deep, calming breath. Just as the therapist she’d gone to a few months back had instructed her to do whenever she was feeling anxious. And she was beyond anxious at that point.
“No one knows you’re here,” she reminded herself. That meant her fear of her ex having followed her to the coast was irrational.
Tell that to the gooseflesh that had risen up on her arms.
Fingers sank into the flesh of her bare upper arm, drawing a startled gasp from her lips.
The grip tightened painfully.
Defending herself was a reaction that had long since become instinctive within her. Fight or risk dying; the later of which she’d come far too close to doing at the hands of her abusive husband. Tears blurring her vision, Elena jerked free and spun around, drawing the sandals she clutched in her hand back to use as a weapon against her attacker. Only no one was there.
Heart pounding even faster, she scanned the empty beach. If not for the intense, throbbing pain in her arm, she might have believed it was her mind playing tricks on her.
“Excessum…”
Death. She stiffened as the Latin word drifted past her in the wind.
“Who’s there?” Elena demanded as the moon slipped behind the clouds, casting an eerie darkness over the beach.
Silence greeted her.
Then it came again. That unsettling sense of being watched. Stalked. Hunted for pleasure.
“What do you want from me?” she screamed.
The moon emerged from behind the wall of storm clouds, casting its glow across the beach around her just as something darker than the night itself came towards her, bringing with it an icy chill. Eyes, silvery-black and deadly met hers.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
The clouds shifted over the moon once again and everything around her faded beneath the cover of night. Trapped in the darkness, her mind raced and her legs trembled wildly beneath her. Suddenly, something brushed past her, a rush of warm wind trailing behind it.
“Don’t look in his eyes,” a deep voice commanded. “And whatever you do, don’t move.”
The same fear that only moments before held her feet rooted in place now had her disobeying the command she’d been given and running for her life.
Dariun Lethos cursed as the female broke into a sprint across the sand. She had endangered her life even more with her actions. He stepped between the terrified human and the rogue shadow guard, his powerful form dwarfing the evilness before him.
“Leave her be,” Dariun commanded, his words icy.
“You’re too late,” the dark form replied with an evil chuckle. “The woman is mine.”
“Tuebor,” Dariun said, his voice hard. I will protect. It was his pledge.
The rogue guard hissed his displeasure at Dariun’s untimely arrival. “I will have her before the moon’s cycle has run its course,” he growled in warning.
“Not while she is under my protection.”
“Your brother said the same thing about his human.” Icy laughter followed.
Dariun’s black form tensed as fury surged through him. His younger brother, Tebolt, had been assigned the task of guarding over another female human after her birth shadow guard was vanquished by the rogue guard standing before him.
Tebolt had just gone missing when Dariun was assigned to watch over this human. Despite his efforts to have his ‘watch’ turned over to another Shadow Guard so he could go in search of his brother, his request had been denied. Now he stood face to face with the rogue shadow responsible for his brother’s disappearance. And according to the reports sent to the Shadow Guard Realm, Brakkar had succeeded in taking Tebolt’s human’s life force, something his brother would never have allowed to happen without a fight which didn’t bode well for Tebolt. But he wouldn’t have the answers he sought until he saw the human safely through the moon phase.
It took everything Dariun had in him, every ounce of his shadow warrior training, not to succumb to Brakkar’s taunts. Not to strike out at the rogue guard for what he’d taken from him. To demand to know what fate had befallen his brother. But now was not the time. Not when Elena Ricco’s life was under his keeping.
“We shall see who win
s this battle, Dariun of the Shadow Guards.”
“Sic infit,” Dariun replied. So it begins.
Dariun faded into the night to follow his mortal assignment, determined to keep the bastard shadow at bay and see Elena safely through the moon cycle.
Elena’s bare feet sank deep into the sand, making her stumble several times as she fled the madness behind her. Her calves were cramping, but fear kept her going.
She ran, determined to reach the safety of her beach house. With a quick glance back over her shoulder into the darkness, she cut across the beach, taking the steps up to the deck two at a time.
She reached for the door knob with a trembling hand and twisted with all her might. It was locked. Just as it always was whenever she went out for her walks.
“Damn.” She dug into the pocket of her black mesh cover-up in search of the key. Not having zipped the cover-up closed made locating the key inside the swinging pocketed flap a frustrating task.
Another panicked glance over her shoulder assured her that no one had followed her. Relief swept through her as her fingers made contact with and finally closed around the key, pulling it from her pocket.
Suddenly, she felt it again. A warm rush of air. Then a touch. This one much gentler than before, but terrifying all the same. The house key slipped from her grasp to clatter across the deck.
“You don’t appear to comprehend the meaning of ‘stay there’,” a man said.
Turning abruptly, Elena looked up into the obsidian eyes of the shadow looming over her. Tall, dark and shapeless, like a thick wisp of smoke.
She let out a terrified shriek and then the world around her faded to black.
Dariun’s muttered curse sounded more like a growl as the woman sank lifelessly onto the weathered boards of the deck at his feet. He hadn’t meant to frighten her to the point of fainting. Only to impress upon her how important it was that she follow his directions. Her life depended on it.
Taking on a more solid form, he bent to retrieve the key and scoop her slender body up in his arms. The wind whipped about around them, teasing the red-gold strands of her hair across her face. He pushed them away, needing to look at her, to see the human he’d been assigned to protect.
No wonder her birth shadow had failed her. A face like Elena’s could distract any man from his intended mission, mortal or not. And he’d be wise to remember that.
Inserting the key into the lock, he opened the door and let them into the beach house. Kicking the door shut behind them, he carried the woman into the room just off the living area and lowered her slowly onto the palm tree patterned comforter. He didn’t want to startle her awake. She’d suffered enough shock for one night. For now it was best if she slept.
His intention was to slip his arm free and then back away to keep watch over her. Instead, as his arm eased out from beneath her, he gave in to temptation and moved to caress her cheek. Her skin was soft and smooth and warm to the touch.
Dariun let his fingers trail down her face to the sensual curve of her neck, pausing at the gentle flicker of her pulse. He ached to press his mouth to that very spot, to feel the life force pulsing through her body.
The woman moaned softly, bringing him to his senses.
At least for a moment. Because as she shifted in sleep, the swim robe she wore fell away. His gaze was drawn to the womanly flesh which had been kissed to perfection by the sun. While she wasn’t completely naked, the scant pieces of material that covered her body left very little to the imagination. He might be a shadow, but he was also a man. He knew what sweet treasure lay beneath.
Breasts, full and ripe and intended for a man’s hands to hold them, had his own opening and then fisting with a need to touch them.
She stirred again, this time her long, thick lashes fluttered open. Her gaze shifted, her body tensed, fear darkening her pupils as she looked up at him.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, his voice gentle. “I won’t hurt you.”
She hesitated for a long moment and Dariun prepared for her to attempt to flee him. But the woman surprised him by, of all things, smiling. “Of course you won’t hurt me.”
“What?” That definitely wasn’t the reaction he would have expected from her. “You’re not afraid?”
Her smile widened. “Why should I be? You can’t hurt me because I’m dreaming this.”
He wished that were all it was. But her situation was serious. “This is no dream, Elena.”
“Of course it is.”
“It’s not.”
“Then this whole situation – you – are all just a figment of my overactive imagination.”
Her imagination? Had she forgotten the rogue shadow that had hunted her down on the beach? Forgotten the power of his deadly grip?
Before he could reply, she sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed. “I really need to call my therapist, maybe even give in and try the medication he suggested I go on for my anxiety. I need to−”
He stepped between her parted legs, effectively pinning her in place on the bed. “No, Elena.”
She looked up at him, a hint of fear returning to those big green eyes.
He reached out to thread his dark fingers through the red-gold strands of her hair.
Her breath caught.
He pinned her with his gaze. “What you need to do, Elena, is heed my warning. What happened out there on the beach was very real. If I hadn’t gotten to you when I did, that rogue shadow would have stripped the life force right out of that beautiful body of yours.”
She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m not listening to you. You’re nothing more than a−”
“Shadow,” he interjected, then watched as the information he’d just given her slowly sank in.
Again, she surprised him by laughing softly. “That’s crazy. Everyone knows that shadows can’t talk; which means this really isn’t happening. You’re not standing by my bed like some dark, misty version of a Greek god. And when I wake up−”
He dragged her up against him and silenced her ramblings with a kiss, tasting the life in her he was duty bound to protect. She struggled to push him away, even as her mouth opened for him, accepting the hungry sweep of his tongue. Her protests ceased and her arms slid up around his neck. Dariun could feel the racing of her heart as her breasts pressed against him.
What the hell was he doing? He shouldn’t be kissing her. Shouldn’t want to be kissing her. He forced himself to end the connection.
She began to struggle then as if awareness of what had just passed between them had finally sunk in.
He urged her back onto the bed, pinning her hands to the mattress above her head as his body pressed into hers. Elena bucked against him, arousing him even more.
He wanted her. Wanted to bury his cock deep inside her willing body. Wanted to... His gaze fell upon the marks Brakkar had left behind on her tender flesh.
Dariun muttered a curse, angry with himself for wanting her as strongly as he did. For losing control. Brakkar was out there, waiting for another chance to take Elena’s life. Her life force. He couldn’t fail her.
He had to make her understand. Releasing her wrists, he slid his fingers down to the bruised flesh. “Tell me, Elena,” he demanded, “are these marks on your arm a figment of your imagination?”
Eyes still dazed from the heated kiss they’d shared, she glanced down at the discoloration in the shape of grasping fingers that had formed vividly across her flesh. She gasped.
He nodded.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “The beach,” she muttered softly, clearly shaken by the desire that had sparked between them.
“Yes.”
“Y...you hurt me,” she said, the look of fear once more filling her eyes.
“I what?” She thought he’d done that to her? Dariun released his hold on her and pushed away from the bed. “I didn’t hurt you, Elena. Brakkar did. I’m here to protect you. To keep you from harm.”
She let out a crazed laugh
as if pushed beyond her breaking point. “You’re a few years too late for that.”
Dariun knew she was referring to her life with the man she’d once been married to. He knew everything about her. It was his job. “If I had been your shadow guard back then, your husband wouldn’t have touched you,” he vowed. “At least not in a violent manner.” He would have had no control over her husband making love to her if she chose to let him do so. The thought of another man touching her had his jaw clenching. It was a feeling he had no right to have. Not when they were from two very different realms.
“You couldn’t have stopped him,” she said with a shudder. “No one could have.”
He stepped back to the bed, shoulders drawn back. “I could have.”
“Wh...who are you?” she asked as she reached up to touch his face with a trembling hand. “What are you?”
He remained perfectly still, allowing her to explore the contours of the darkness that was his face. “I’m Dariun Lethos,” he finally said. “I’m a shadow guard from the realm of Shadow Warriors.”
Her fingers continued their exploration of his face. “If you’re a shadow, how can I touch you?”
“Because I allow it.” Hell, he welcomed it. Shadow guards had very little time to spend on their own needs and wants. And right now he wanted her touch. Craved it.
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