Rush of Darkness

by Rhyannon Byrd

  RAINE TRIED TO SAY something in response, to tell him how wonderfully amazing he was, but all she could manage was a garbled jumble of God… More… Yes! Each time he drove himself back into her, she gave a sobbing cry of pleasure, her inner muscles clenching, on the very edge of release. He reached between them, grinding his callused thumb against the top of her cleft, his rugged face close to hers…those piercing eyes watching the pressure build…and build. It drew tighter, making her wild, her head thrashing on the pillow, and just when Raine thought it was going to break her, she finally crashed, hurtling into that blinding darkness so hard that for a moment she couldn’t even breathe, her lungs locked in a tight, clenching vise.

  “That’s it,” he groaned, the powering thrusts getting harder…deeper. As the pleasure seared through her, unleashing the full charge of her Alacea powers, he shouted, “That feels so damn good, Raine!”

  Sweat glistened on his skin as he braced himself on his straightened arms and slammed into her, pumping hard and fast. She lifted her arms over her head, surrendering to him completely as he threw back his head and roared with the explosive force of his release, jetting into her with scalding blasts of heat that went on…and on, before finally collapsing over her, just managing to catch his weight on his elbows.

  “Shit.” He pressed his forehead against hers, fighting to catch his breath. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  She wet her lips and searched for her voice. “Mmm…not at all.”

  His hips rolled as he kept moving inside her with shallow strokes, as if he couldn’t stand to leave her. Not that she was complaining, her inner muscles clutching at him greedily. Despite the fullness, it felt so right to have him there. So complete…

  “I want you again,” he said in a dark rumble, kissing her temple, his cock already getting thicker…harder, his stamina as primal and animalistic as Raine had known it would be. “Can you—”

  The husky words were interrupted by sudden knocking on the outer door to their room, and they both tensed. Seth raised his head and placed a finger over her lips, signaling her to stay quiet, obviously planning to ignore whoever was there. With his dark gaze locked hard on hers, he gave her a thick thrust, his cock lodged so deep inside her she could feel him pulsing against her womb. She shivered, gasping, and he replaced his finger with his mouth, swallowing the sounds she made as he forced his hips tighter against hers….

  But the intruder wasn’t going to be denied.

  “It’s Ashe,” a deep voice shouted from the hallway. “Open up. We need to talk.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “CONGRATULATIONS, McConnell”

  His head was still hazy with pleasure, and for a moment Seth thought the vamp was congratulating him for finally getting Raine into bed. But before he could ask the Förmyndare what he meant, Ashe said, “Kierland called me when the meeting was over. Seems—”

  “What meeting?” he asked, cutting the vampire off. He still didn’t have a clue what the guy was talking about.

  Ashe pushed past him and into the small sitting room, his hair and clothes damp from the rain. “See, if you hadn’t been so busy frying Seton—which we’ll be discussing later, by the way—you’d have answered your phone when Kierland tried to call to tell you that a meeting was going down back at Harrow House. Members from every Watchmen unit who’ve decided to join forces with us were there for it.” He sat down on the small love seat, spread his long arms across the back and lifted his brows. “And here’s the kicker, McConnell. You’ve been voted the new security chief of the Justice League.”

  Disbelief…followed swiftly by…well, more disbelief.

  With a grimace, Seth said, “Please tell me that’s a joke.”

  The vampire stroked his shadowed jaw and smirked. “Just the Justice League part. They’re still trying to come up with a decent name. But the security chief thing is as real as it gets.”

  Tension crept into his muscles, and there was a heavy dose of skepticism in his voice when he spoke. “You expect me to believe that a bunch of shape-shifters voted a former Collective Officer as their security chief?”

  Ashe shrugged, a husky laugh rumbling up from his chest. “Hey, you know how persuasive those Scott boys can be. Aiden said they made you sound like a saint.”

  “I think I’d have paid money to hear that,” Raine murmured, closing the bedroom door behind her as she walked into the cramped sitting room. She’d thrown on jeans and a sweater, her hair falling in wild waves over her shoulders, her delicate feet cute and bare. There was a wild stain of color in her cheeks, giving her a healthy glow, her mouth still a little swollen and red from Seth’s kisses. All in all, she looked like a woman who’d been thoroughly tumbled, and he had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching for her…and dragging her right back to their bed, the vampire be damned.

  Despite the surprising news that Ashe had just delivered, Seth couldn’t help but resent the interruption. He wanted to be back in bed with Raine, his body still aching and hard, needing more of her. Luckily, the shirt he’d pulled on with his jeans had covered his hard-on when he’d answered the door…and was still doing the job.

  “I hear that congratulations are in order,” she said to him, her arms crossed over her chest as she walked to his side. “And just so you know, I’m not at all surprised by their vote.”

  A wry smile twisted the corner of his mouth. “Well, that makes one of us, because I sure as hell am.”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “Honestly, McConnell, you don’t have to look so shell-shocked. They would have been idiots to give it to anyone else. You’ll be perfect in the position.”

  “All things considered,” he rumbled, lowering his voice, “I liked the position we were just in.”

  She blushed, casting a quick look toward Ashe, but the vampire was in the middle of answering a call on his cell phone. “There’ll be no living with you now, will there?” she asked, as she returned her gaze to his face, a soft smile on her lips.

  Wait a minute. Is she actually…smiling at me?

  He shook his head a little, worried he might be imagining it, his brain possibly more fried than he’d realized. But sure enough, that soft smile was still in place. A genuine, happy smile that made his heart pound so hard, he thought the bloody thing might burst through his chest.

  “Seth?” She was suddenly studying his expression with concern, her head cocked a little to the side. “What’s wrong?”

  In that moment, he felt like a tongue-tied youth, his ears going hot as he swallowed the lump lodged in his throat and shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. “Nothing’s wrong.” His voice was gruff with emotion. “It’s just that you’re so damn beautiful, Raine. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that before, but you are.”

  Her eyes went a little wide, that sweet smile turning embarrassed. “I think the sex must have gone to your head.”

  “And I think the sex was so good it nearly killed me,” he shot back, careful to keep his voice soft. “So good, I’m thinking I might just keep you in bed twenty-four hours a day.”

  She laughed, as if he was joking—but Seth personally thought it sounded like a hell of a plan. He’d never felt anything like being inside Raine, and all he could think about was getting her beneath him again. He just had to get rid of the damn vampire first.

  Intending to do just that, Seth opened his mouth, ready to tell Granger that he needed to get lost, when the vamp spoke up, his conversation with whoever had called apparently finished. “I have more news,” Ashe said, drawing their attention as he moved to his feet and slipped the cell phone back in his pocket. “Westmore left the apartment building and Gid’s followed him to the opera house in Venice. He’s going to stay there and keep an eye on him, while the three of us break into that penthouse apartment and grab the Markers.”

  “And what about Westmore?” Raine asked.

  The vampire’s pale gaze locked with hers. “Once we’ve got those crosses in our possession, then t
he four of us can bring in the Kraven. Gideon will stay with him until we’re ready.”

  “What do you mean ‘bring him in’?” Anger radiated from her slender frame, her shoulders back, twin splotches of hectic color burning in her cheeks. “That bastard needs to die. Not become some freaking prisoner!”

  “And he will,” the vampire told her, his lord-of-the-manor tone something that Seth figured was only going to piss her off even more. “But we need to question him first, which we can do at the safe house.”

  “And I say screw the safe house. I want him taken out now.”

  She ripped her angry gaze away from the vamp and looked at Seth, as if expecting him to back her up. But he couldn’t. Not when it meant her diving headfirst into danger again. Damn it, he’d reached his limit! He didn’t even want her going with them to break into that bloody apartment. He just wanted her to be safe.

  Looking at Ashe, he asked, “Will you give us a minute?”

  “Sure,” the Deschanel murmured, his pale gaze moving between them, no doubt trying to figure out how this was going to play out. “I’ll be waiting out in the car.”

  As soon as the vampire had shut the door behind him, Seth walked back into the bedroom, flicked on the lights and headed toward his bag, which he’d left on a low chest at the side of the bed. He took out one of his guns, tucking it into the back of jeans, then strapped on his ankle holster and slipped a few other items into his pockets. “I’ll make a deal with you,” he said, as Raine walked into the room.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’ll help you track down that last Casus you’re after as soon as we’re done here—but just give me this one, Raine. I want you to let me deal with Westmore on my own.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked warily, taking a seat on the side of the bed.

  Seth looked down at her, begging her with his eyes to just listen to him. “If you promise to stay here, I give you my word that I’ll make sure that son of a bitch is dead before the night is over.”

  She stared back at him for a long, breathless moment, her small hands fisting in the sheets, then finally said, “I’m sorry, Seth, but I can’t do that.”

  He ground his jaw, knowing damn well what he had to do. “Can’t?” he grated, closing the space between them. “Or won’t?”

  She licked her lips as she craned her head back, her beautiful eyes soulful and dark. “Please try to understand. I need to be there.”

  “And I need to know that you’re safe,” he muttered, reaching down and snagging a metal cuff around her wrist. Before she’d even realized what was happening, he’d hooked the other cuff through a section of the heavy, old-fashioned radiator that was mounted on the wall, beside the bed’s headboard. Despite Raine’s above average strength, the radiator was sturdy enough that she wouldn’t be able to break free.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she cried, tugging violently at the cuff, her eyes wide with betrayal as he stepped away.

  “I’m making sure your stubborn little ass stays alive. And don’t bother trying to break them,” he rasped, jerking his chin toward the cuffs. “They were made to hold a full-grown Deschanel male.”

  “Damn it, you can’t do this!” she shouted, the gray of her eyes burning with a hot, angry glow.

  “No. I don’t want to do this, but I can. And you’re not leaving me any choice.” His deep voice was thick with frustration and his own blistering anger. “Going up against those dumbass Casus is one thing, but at least you can read them. Westmore isn’t only one of your blind spots, he’s also tricky as hell, and I’m not comfortable with the way he’s just up and left his apartment. We could be walking into a goddamn trap, and I can’t risk anything happening to you!”

  Her nostrils flared as she pulled in a deep breath—no doubt preparing to scream for help at the top of her lungs—until he said, “You can make as much noise as you want, Raine, but it isn’t going to make a difference. This place is owned by a vampire couple who are friends of the Grangers. They won’t be calling the cops to help you.”

  She exhaled with a sharp hiss, her fangs dropping as she snarled, “You son of a bitch!”

  “Hate me if you want,” he said, “but I’m doing this because I care about you.”

  “Care about me?” She made a thick sound of disbelief. “If you cared about me at all, McConnell, then you’d take off these damned cuffs!”

  He pulled a hand down his weary face, then finished getting ready to leave, putting on his socks and boots. As he slipped into his jacket, he gnashed his teeth, hating that what had started out as the best damn night of his life had now been reduced to this.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m trying to do what I think is right,” he said in a low voice, wanting to kiss her goodbye, but knowing damn well that she’d probably just try to take a bite out of him. “I have to do whatever I can to protect you, Raine. To keep you alive. I know that’s not what you want, or what you’ve asked for, but it’s the way it is.”

  She refused to look at him, her face lowered and turned to the side, hidden behind the heavy fall of all that long, beautiful hair. She didn’t wish him good luck or tell him to be safe. She just sat there and seethed, the trust she’d put in him earlier now buried beneath the crushing weight of her rage.

  With a heavy sigh, Seth finally turned and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

  THE WAITING WAS the worst part. Even though she was pissed as hell at the soldier, Raine couldn’t stop worrying about him. He and Ashe had been gone for nearly two hours now, and every moment felt like an excruciating year, her imagination going wild with one horrid scenario after another.

  Knowing she was going to drive herself mad if she didn’t stop the mental torture, she decided to use the time and her powers to check in on Thomas, and was able to see that the boy was settling in well with his new family in Germany. With that done, she turned her focus on locating Wentworth, and finally managed to find him in Florence. In fact, the information had come to her with amazing ease, and she couldn’t help but wonder what had brought about the change, considering she’d been trying to get a read on the Casus ever since she’d killed Schultz in Berlin.

  Was her power getting stronger? And if so, why?

  Was it something physical? Environmental? Or could it be something else?

  Something like…what had happened between her and Seth?

  Yeah, they’d gone at it like bunnies…and it’d been the best sex of her life. Possibly even the best sex that ever existed. But she still didn’t know where they stood with each other. And how could she? Their future was so uncertain, so many external factors working against them.

  He might have won this time, but she had no intention of giving up her hunt. Still, she wasn’t going to rant and scream at him when he returned. She’d started to feel that she probably owed McConnell at least this one pass, after everything that he’d done for her…and everything that she’d put him through.

  When another hour had passed and they finally returned, she knew from Seth’s expression that something had gone wrong with their plan. “What happened?” she asked, pulling her knees into her chest as she sat with her back propped against the headboard, her left arm stretched out at her side, still dangling from the cuff.

  He slid a wary gaze toward her, looking surprised by the fact that she sounded so calm.

  “Well?” she prompted, raising her brows. “Are you going to give me an answer, or do I have to guess?”

  He took his jacket off as he came toward the bed, draping it over the footboard before propping his shoulder against one of the thick bedposts. Rubbing one of those battle-scarred hands over his tired eyes, he said, “Ashe and I managed to get the Markers from the apartment. In fact, it was pretty damn easy. But…” He lowered his hand, locking that dark gaze with hers. “Westmore got away from Gideon.”

  Her eyes shot wide with surprise. “How?”

  “Gid had a clear view of him at the opera house, but then the blood
y fire alarm went off and they had to evacuate. He lost Westmore in all the confusion. Gid headed back over to the apartment and is watching it again, but Westmore hasn’t returned. We’re thinking maybe we triggered some kind of silent alarm, which means he knows we’ve got the Markers.”

  Raine took a moment to sort out her feelings, confused by her reaction to the news. She should have been experiencing a sharp stab of disappointment that the Kraven leader was still free, but instead, all she could focus on was the intense burn of relief still surging through her veins at the fact that McConnell had made it back to her safely. That he hadn’t been killed. That she hadn’t lost him.

  “Well, at least you got the Markers,” she murmured. “I bet Kierland and the others are pleased.”

  He narrowed his eyes, looking as if he was trying to figure something out. Something complex and confusing, like one of those annoying riddles they put on the crossword page in the newspaper.

  “What?” she asked him.

  “It’s just…I thought you’d be more upset about Westmore.”

  She shrugged her shoulders—or at least as much as she could with one arm still shackled to the radiator. “I’m not thrilled that he got away, but we’ll have another chance at him. Considering how easy it was for you and Ashe to get the Markers, I doubt the burglary caught him by surprise. I think the wily little bastard probably has a plan. No way in hell is he just giving up and letting us destroy everything he’s worked for.”

  “You think he set us up?” he asked, taking a key from his pocket as he came closer and unhooked the cuffs.

  “I think he’s playing some kind of twisted game,” she said, rubbing her wrist as she watched him slip the cuffs back into his bag. “It’s possible that he’s tagged the Markers with tracking chips.”

  Her worries that he wouldn’t take her seriously evaporated as he turned around and headed into the sitting room, where Ashe was waiting. As she climbed off the bed, she heard Seth repeating her words.