Kindling the Darkness

by Jane Kindred

  Lucy let out a sharp little laugh, but her fingers curled around his involuntarily. He wasn’t wearing his ring. She glanced down at the other hand, but all his fingers were bare.

  “I have some issues with a lot of things,” she admitted. “I’m kind of a mess. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

  Oliver’s brow lifted hopefully. “Am I? Getting in?”

  Lucy’s heart gave a little involuntary leap. “I think you already have.”

  He kissed her, and this time Lucy didn’t feel that sense of panic, the urge to flee, that usually accompanied emotional intimacy. There was just the heat of his lips and his tongue, and that sexy just-rained scent on his skin—even though it was snowing—and the rightness of his body as it fit around hers when his arms enveloped her.

  The tie had slipped loose on her robe, and Oliver stepped back slightly, his hands on the lapels. “Close it? Or open it?”

  “Open,” she said. He took that invitation as far as he could.

  * * *

  As they spooned together under her blankets later, Oliver kissed her neck sleepily. “I brought you a Christmas present. I don’t know if you do Christmas.”

  “It’s a little early for Christmas presents, isn’t it?”

  “It’s Christmas Eve.”

  “It’s what?” Lucy turned toward him, incredulous.

  Oliver laughed. “Lost track, did you?”

  “I... But I came home after talking to you and went straight to bed. That was the twenty-third.”

  “You’ve been asleep for more than a day? I thought you were just ignoring my calls.”

  “My phone was off.”

  “I thought you didn’t sleep.”

  “I guess I was saving it up. I took a sleeping pill—it was kind of a heavy dose. One of Smok Biotech’s special formulae.” Lucy lay back against the pillow and closed her eyes. “I guess that’s Darkrock’s special formulae now.”

  “Oh, that’s the other present. I forgot to tell you.” Oliver turned and propped his elbow on the bed. “All records of your statement, your demonstration of the wyvern shift, have been destroyed.”

  Lucy’s eyes opened in surprise. “It’s what? How do you know they hadn’t backed it up to the cloud somewhere?”

  “Darkrock protocol. Nothing is stored remotely via internet connection, not even over a VPN. They would have taken the SD card off-site and made a backup at one of their hubs, but they never had the chance. I burned the card myself.”

  Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I was sure my career was over and Smok stock was going to be in the toilet.” She kissed him gratefully. “So, what’s this other present? I didn’t get you anything.”

  Oliver threw off the covers, letting the shock of cold roll over them. “Come on. Get dressed. Wear something warm.”

  With an ivory cashmere coat over her jeans and long-sleeved thermal T—along with boots, gloves, hat and a scarf at Oliver’s suggestion—Lucy followed him outside.

  “They should be arriving...” Oliver looked at his smart watch. “Right about now.”

  “Who?”

  Oliver put his index finger and his thumb between his teeth and whistled sharply. A Christmas sleigh appeared promptly from around the corner...driven by four young white wolves with red-tipped ears.

  Lucy threw him an amused glance. “I thought you said they’d gone home.”

  “They did. But apparently I can call them for the Hunt whenever I need to. They love pulling this thing. Trust me.”

  Oliver helped her into the sleigh and climbed in beside her, laying a blanket over their laps before he took the reins. “Let’s go, boys. Mush!” He grinned and put his arm around Lucy as the hellhounds took off.

  Despite their size and the weight of the conveyance, the hounds seemed to have no trouble navigating the still-falling powder as the sleigh skimmed through the parking lot toward the private hiking trail behind the villas. On the trail, the hounds drew them at a brisk pace between sparkling snow-covered acacia bushes and desert broom, the powder-dusted domes of Thunder Mountain and Coffee Pot Rock rising in the distance.

  “So, what are we hunting?” Lucy murmured against Oliver’s side.

  “Nothing,” said Oliver. “I’ve already found you.”

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Captivating the Bear by Jane Godman

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  Captivating the Bear

  by Jane Godman

  Chapter 1

  Lidiya Rihanoff was doing her best to be objective about the situation, which wasn’t easy when she was caught up in the center of a screaming, sobbing crowd.

  She had spent the last hour slowly working her way through the hysterical throng until she found herself a place up against the crash barriers. It had proved surprisingly difficult. Lidi had trained with warriors. She knew how to deal with combat situations. This was different. Faced with an adoring group of rock fans who did not want to relinquish the opportunity to get up close to their idols, she was at a loss. Her usual street-fighting tactics wouldn’t do. Eye gouging and throat punching would have brought her to the attention of the police officers who were standing at regular intervals along the route. In the end, she resorted to strategically using her elbows. When that didn’t work, she dealt out a few surreptitious ankle kicks.

  Now she was pressed right up against the barrier, with a clear view of the movie theater and its red-carpeted steps. From the mounting fervor, and the way the security guards were pacing back and forth along the street, she guessed the stars were about to arrive at any minute.

  It was winter, but the temperatures in the South of France were like a summer day in her home country of Callistoya. Sweat beaded her forehead and trickled down her spine as she was jostled and pushed. Even so, she couldn’t remove her sweatshirt. Beneath it, her long-sleeved T-shirt was torn, the shredded material revealing the injuries to her arm. She couldn’t risk drawing attention to herself.

  “Here they come!” The woman next to her spoke English, a language in which Lidi was fluent. Her screech was accompanied by a curious gesture. Putting her fingers on either side of her head, she made them into devil horns. A quick glance around revealed a number of other people doing the same thing. She laughed at Lidi’s bemused expression. “Sign of the Beast.”

  Two stretch limousines drew up to one side of the theater. On the opposite side of the street, hundreds of photographers were already in position with their cameras po
ised.

  A man bounded out of the first vehicle before it had stopped, and the flashbulbs went wild in time with the crescendo around Lidi.

  “Who is he?” She had to mouth the words to the helpful stranger.

  “Khan. Lead singer.” She got up close and yelled her response directly into Lidi’s ear. “The woman with him is his wife, Sarange.”

  Lidi watched as the group of glamorous figures exited the cars and posed on the red carpet. Her new friend bellowed out an excited commentary. Next came Torque, the rhythm guitarist, with his blonde wife, Hollie. The dark-haired, muscle-bound man with the brooding expression was the drummer, Diablo. Then there was the lead guitarist, Dev, and the bass player, Finglas.

  Lidi paid only scant attention. Her interest in the members of the internationally famous rock band Beast began and ended with their ability to lead her to the man she was seeking. Was he here? She scanned the group on the red carpet. He had to be here.

  As if the intensity of her thoughts had somehow communicated themselves across the distance between the crash barriers and to the building on the other side of the road, a man strode down the steps. He was talking on his cell phone, clearly engrossed in his conversation.

  Lidi’s breath caught in her throat. Just from his height and the width of his shoulders she knew it was him.

  She gestured to the woman next to her, not trusting her voice.

  “Ged Taverner.” A little shiver ran through Lidi as she heard the name. “He’s Beast’s manager.”

  Ged Taverner. That was what he called himself now, but Lidi knew his true identity. The tall, imposing figure she was looking at was Gerald Tavisha, the rightful king of Callistoya.

  She had heard so much about this man that his nearness almost took her breath away. Until his exile he had embodied everything the warrior-heroes of the magical shifter state of Callistoya held dear. Chivalry, honor and a deep, abiding love of their country.

  Lidi would never understand why he had stayed away instead of raising an army and fighting the man who had stolen his throne. But all that mattered now was that she had found him.

  As she gazed across the distance between them, a new sensation swept over her. Stinging and cloying at the same time, like a hit of hot sugar surging through her bloodstream. It was the craziest feeling, a wild urgency that made her want to vault over the barrier and throw herself into Ged Taverner’s arms.

  She looked around her at the longing faces. Mass hysteria. That must be what she was experiencing. Despite her noble upbringing, she had put her dignity aside and been infected by the mood around her. But she wasn’t here to be part of this. She was a Rihanoff of Aras. She could rise above it.

  It didn’t matter what she told herself. The feeling persisted, growing stronger, becoming a wild, yearning ache throughout her body, but centering very specifically in the throbbing pulse between her legs. Everything around her came sharply into focus, every sense heightening until she was quivering with tension.

  What exactly is happening to me?

  Her concentration became centered on Ged and it appeared she was not the only one suffering. Frowning, he looked up from his call, the cell phone held slightly away from his ear as he scanned the crowd. Excitement powered through Lidi as a new realization hit her.

  It’s him. He is the reason I’m feeling this way.

  Across the yards that separated them, she knew he could feel the same longing that was driving her demented. An invisible cord between them was being tightened, drawing them closer together. Heat burned up the air between them. The urge to go to him and wrap her body around his was becoming a storm in her blood.

  Because of the distance, she couldn’t see the finer detail of his looks, but her impression was of strength and muscle, of ruggedly carved aristocratic features, a square, stubborn chin, wavy, butterscotch-brown hair, and eyes that faced the world with the same bravery and determination as her own. It was the look that had embodied Callistoya. Once. Before the unthinkable had happened.

  Just as she thought she couldn’t take any more, the group on the red carpet began to move. With a final wave to the fans, they made their way inside the theater. Ged remained on the steps for a moment or two after they’d gone, a look of confusion on his face.

  Finally, with a reluctant shrug, he turned away and the spell was broken. Lidi shuddered as her body tried to deal with the return to normality. She almost laughed out loud. Normality? For her, there would never be such a thing again.

  She had come here to find the only man who could save her father and her country. It had not been part of her schemes to also find her mate. But the decree of the fates was absolute. For every shifter there was a match. One true life partner. The rush of feeling she’d experienced when she gazed at Ged could mean only one thing. The fates had decided he was the one for her.

  Stifling a groan, she tried to get her errant emotions under control. Arousal? Attraction? Gazing longingly at the handsome bear-shifter king? Being struck dumb by my fated mate? I don’t have time for this right now.

  Lidi had a plan and she was determined to stick to it. Resolutely, she turned to her helpful new acquaintance.

  “Do you know where the band are staying?”

  * * *

  Ged Taverner tried to concentrate on what the man standing next to him was saying.

  “Small venues are a nightmare.” Rick, Beast’s head of security, gazed moodily out at the crowd of fans. “Give me an arena or a sports stadium anytime.”

  Ged managed a suitable reply, saying something about the importance of this theater in Cannes as the most suitable place in which to screen the premiere of the band’s documentary. The whole time, his mind was preoccupied.

  What the hell had just happened?

  One minute he had been walking down the steps, talking on his cell with a French national newspaper about an interview, the next...he shook his head. It had been like a bolt of lightning, hitting him full-on as he walked out into the sunlight. He had no idea where it had come from, or what had caused it. When he had raised his head, seeking the source of the enchantment that held him helpless, he had known with absolute certainty that it was coming from somewhere in the throng of fans across the street.

  As his eyes scanned the crowd, he had been in the grip of the most powerful emotion he had ever experienced. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake free of it.

  Who are you?

  Ged was a shifter. His bear senses had kicked in, taking over from his human perception. Although it wasn’t his dominant sense, his sight was good. Even so, trying to pick out one person among the mass had been impossible. But scent...that was a different matter. He could pick up a smell twenty miles away. The delicious aroma from the other side of the street had made his nostrils flare. It reminded him of clean, warm fur. Of winter sunshine, fresh, clear water and deep, dark pine forests.

  How could he have been so sure the origin of that new fire in his blood was female? The answer was simple. Not only was his reaction to her knee-weakening and breathtaking, it was also zipper straining. His tailored pants had started to feel snug and he had dug his hands into his pockets, cursing the fate that had decided to put him in this predicament while he was wearing a tuxedo. Scratch that. He had cursed the fate that had decided to put him in this situation. Period.

  Because he knew what had happened. Of course. Shifters were creatures of tradition. Their lives were ruled by legend and magic. Ged, along with every other werebear, had been brought up to respect the ancient traditions that ruled his life.

  There is one mate for each of us, and we will know our mate instantly.

  He had heard other shifters talk about that moment of recognition. He’d even seen it happen recently for two of his friends. That moment of seeing their mate for the first time and knowing there was no going back. They described it as being like a drug, an injection of pure
, undiluted passion direct into the bloodstream, delivering a perfect high. An instant, uncontrollable addiction.

  Ged understood all of that. But there was no way it could happen for him. A king in exile? Even if he had any sort of order in his life, he was a bear. Other shifters could do the mates-for-life thing. Callistoya werebears were notorious for the control they had over their emotions. Even if he was prepared to accept the concept of instant, lifelong passion, it wasn’t happening with someone he hadn’t even looked in the eye.

  That was what he tried to tell himself, but his body was giving him other messages. When the time came to go into the theater, it took all of his considerable strength to turn away. Every nerve ending was crying out to cross the street and find her. Every fiber of his being was alight with the need to grab her, claim her and never let her go.

  Need her. Now.

  The strength of that feeling hadn’t faded once he was inside the building. The burn wasn’t as fierce, but it was still there. He still hadn’t seen her face, but she had started a fire in his blood and it was raging out of control.

  He sat in the elegant theater, surrounded by celebrities, and watched the images on the screen. At least, he assumed that was what he did. He had no memory afterward of watching the documentary that had consumed so much of his life over the last twelve months.

  At the after-party, he accepted the congratulations and praise, laughing off any suggestions about the awards that were likely to come flooding his way. He knew the movie, a snapshot of six months on the road with Beast, was good. The strength of the story was in the editing. The truth would never be told. The world would never be ready to learn that one of the most famous bands on the planet was really a group of shifters.