by Donna Grant
She wanted to be a part of her family. It had been all she thought about those six centuries of her imprisonment. She was willing to do anything to once more belong instead of being locked away. Already she had put herself in an untenable position by telling Kiril the things she had and keeping other things from her family.
If her family discovered where she was and what she had planned, anything could happen. They might praise her for taking action, but most likely she would be punished for thinking she could make her own decisions.
How was she to follow the wishes of her family so blindly after living over a thousand years on her own? She craved her freedom, yearned to make her own choices about what she wore and who she spent time with. Most of all, she wanted to decide who would be her husband. That shouldn’t be her father’s choice. She should have the final say, regardless of whether it was Dark tradition or not.
Her father thought confining her for six hundred years would rein her in, and for the most part it did. Until she was back out in the world. Until she met Kiril.
Kiril made her hunger for things she had forgotten, to desire the one thing she was meant to betray—him. How had she gotten into such a horrible position?
Choices. Her choices. That’s how she had ended up there. That and the fact of who her family was. To go against them would be like declaring war on them, and in order for her to live, she couldn’t do it alone. She had to have allies, strong allies.
“Are you all right?” X asked her.
Shara swallowed her fears and flashed a bright smile. “Fill me in on everything and everyone. I want to know who are the strongest Dark, the ones everyone fears. I’ve been away for so long.”
X hesitated, a look of uncertainty filling his face. “But your brother—”
“Isn’t master here,” she interrupted him. Shara stopped and faced the Dark. “Who do you answer to? Balladyn or Farrell?”
“Balladyn, of course,” X hastened to answer. “But Farrell is coming up through the ranks quickly.”
“Quickly enough to defeat Balladyn?”
The Dark laughed low and deep, a sinister smile upon his thin lips. “That will never happen. If anything happens to Taraeth, Balladyn will be the one to lead us.”
“Then why are you afraid of my brother? If you serve Balladyn, then he will protect you.”
“I will protect X from what?” came a deep, gravelly voice behind her.
Shara’s heart plummeted to her feet as she turned and found a tall Dark with red eyes narrowed at her. His hair was long, hanging midway down his back, with thick strips of silver running through his black hair.
His bare arms, crossed over his chest, showed chiseled muscles. As menacing as he looked with his black leather vest and pants, his strength couldn’t compare to that of Kiril’s. Thinking of her Dragon King, Shara found her heart calming, her breath evening. She had an opportunity here. She couldn’t let it slip through her fingers.
“I’ll ask you again, female, why are you declaring that I, Balladyn, will protect X?” he demanded, his arms dropping to his sides as he took a menacing step toward her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Shara couldn’t speak for a full minute. She’d never expected to come face-to-face with Balladyn during her first visit. She wasn’t prepared to speak to him, but she had no choice. Most Dark in his position didn’t mix with the hangers-on that littered his fortress; the fact he did was another revelation.
She wanted to run back to the doorway that would take her home. That was the girl she used to be. Her family had forced the woman to come forward. If she were going to take her life into her own hands, then she needed to begin to act like a Blackwood.
“I’m Shara Blackwood.”
His angry demeanor vanished. It was replaced with a look of delight and satisfaction. His gaze raked her head to toe in a slow perusal. “Your family allowed you to come here?”
“I didn’t ask their permission.”
Balladyn chuckled, his body relaxing. “A female who knows her mind. That’s not like a Dark. I like it.”
“It shouldn’t come as a surprise if you know my family.”
His gaze flared with desire. “There is talk that you will marry soon.”
“So I’ve been told. Apparently, there are some who wish to align with my family.”
“And have you as a wife.”
Shara’s smile was slight, barely turning her lips upward at the corners. “There are very few worthy of my family. Or me.”
She wasn’t sure what she was doing. Flirting with a male like Balladyn who served as Taraeth’s right-hand man was as mad as being attracted to a Dragon King. Maybe that was her problem. She was crazy. It was the only explanation for her recent actions.
Balladyn’s gaze shifted to the Dark next to her. “Leave us.”
X bowed his head and hastily walked away. The power and respect Balladyn had was remarkable. People feared her family, and therefore feared Farrell. All around her she could see the admiration and influence Balladyn had. If there was ever a Dark who would dare to go against her family besides Taraeth, it was Balladyn.
He moved closer, crowding her so that she had to choose to move away and appear weak or stand her ground. As difficult as it was, Shara decided to stand her ground. Balladyn stood so close his chest brushed her breasts. He peered down at her, and then touched the silver strip of her hair.
“Why are you in my compound?” His demand, asked in a soft voice, didn’t hide his doubt as to her reasoning.
She turned her head away from his intense gaze and motioned to the room at large. “I’ve heard a lot about what goes on here.”
“No you haven’t.”
Shara shifted her gaze back to him and raised a brow. She didn’t know how he knew she lied or if he was testing her. Either way, she was going to allow him to win. It was intuition she followed instead of certainty regarding the situation. “The truth isn’t as neatly tied up.”
He backed her against the wall and put an arm on either side of her. “But it’s the truth I want.”
“Farrell told me I couldn’t come without him. I am tired of being told what to do.”
Balladyn’s gaze held her for several tense moments. “Once you marry, it’ll be your husband who tells you what to do.”
“There has to be a Dark out there who would appreciate a strong woman and her opinions.”
Just as she hoped, his eyes lowered to her lips. “Aye,” he murmured.
Shara had been nervous with Kiril, but she had never been terrified. She was that and more with Balladyn. And yet she found herself considering him because she had no other choice, regardless that she wished Kiril was a choice. The fact was, he wasn’t. Any female who managed to tie Balladyn into marriage would find herself elevated above almost all.
She would no longer be under the thumb of her family. As Balladyn mentioned, she would be under his. Except he didn’t seem like the type who wanted to control her. He seemed to appreciate her strong will. That could be to her benefit.
A Dark female without family was shunned from everyone and everything. So walking away from her family wasn’t an option. She wouldn’t live out the week. Farrell would see to that.
Since she couldn’t leave everything behind or go to Scotland with Kiril, this was all that she could do. Shara didn’t want to marry Balladyn any more than she wanted to trap Kiril, but no matter where she looked, she couldn’t see another way for her.
Her flaunting of her family’s rule and taking control excited Balladyn. She could see it in his gaze and the way he stared at her as if he was holding back from throwing her over his shoulder and taking her through one of the many doors she saw down the various corridors. She would always have to watch herself with Balladyn. The first hint of deceit or dishonesty and he would kill her.
On the other hand, she was able to truly be herself with Kiril. No lies, no deceptions … just herself.
Marrying Balladyn would make my family accept me as well as
get me out from under their thumbs while ranking me high in the Dark society. It would also stop my mission with Kiril.
It was settled. She set her sights on Balladyn.
Balladyn leaned back slightly and caught her gaze. “Your family will come looking for me once they discover where you are.”
“Are you afraid of them?”
“No.” He said it with a heavy dose of wrath.
She smiled and took a deep breath, causing her chest to expand and her breasts to make contact with him. “I don’t think there is much you’re afraid of.”
“You don’t know what you’re trifling with, Shara.”
His warning caused her heart to miss a beat in fear, because she had no clue what she was stirring. She wouldn’t let him know that, however. “I guess it’s time I returned home then.”
She started to turn away only to have him grab her arm and jerk her back against the wall roughly. His nostrils flared as he leaned his face close to hers. “I don’t like being teased,” he said angrily.
“I’m not teasing.” She swallowed and knew she had one chance with Balladyn or all would be lost. There would be no second chances with him. “You’re what a Dark is supposed to be. Not what others pretend to be. You lead and rule with power unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. I had to see you. I never expected to talk to you, much less have you notice me.”
He eyed her skeptically.
Shara rested her hand on one of his biceps and felt it flex beneath her palm. “Say the word, and I’ll return home.”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
She didn’t smile. Balladyn might not have sent her away, but she had a long way to go before she was his.
Kiril’s face flashed in her mind.
Damn, but why couldn’t the Dragon King stay out of her head? He was going to mess up everything, and if she wasn’t careful, he was going to get her killed.
“I’m glad,” Shara said to Balladyn. “Show me more of this fortress you rule. I want to see what you do here. I want to see the power you command with a single look.”
“This is no place for a female of your rank.”
Shara should have known she wouldn’t get close to Balladyn. No matter his power, her father would claim he wasn’t Dark enough to offer for her. All because he had been turned from Light to Dark instead of being born into a Dark family as she had.
She wasn’t sure why it mattered since the Dark began as Light Fae before they turned.
“I should return you to your father immediately,” Balladyn said as he ran a finger along her chin. “But I won’t.”
He stepped away from her and held his arm out to the side, offering for her to walk beside him through the fortress. Shara trembled with excitement. At least she preferred to call it excitement and not dread.
She was acutely aware of how close he stood and how often he brushed against her. He wanted her. He didn’t try to hide it or play coy. It was there for her—for anyone—to see as he walked her through the great hall.
The looks of fury and jealousy from the female Darks made her grin. None had been bold enough for Balladyn. They thought to gain his attention by lounging around. He was a different breed altogether, just as Kiril was.
Damn!
She really was going to have to stop that. No matter what, she was going to make sure she ended up with Balladyn. At least then she wouldn’t have to trap Kiril. Perhaps she could make sure he was gone from Ireland so she never had to worry about him being captured.
They walked from corridor to corridor, up stairways and through towers, and though Balladyn stayed close, he kept a tight rein on his desire. Shara managed to get his attention, but she was going to have to keep it. If she didn’t do something … wild … he was liable to forget her when she left.
She waited until they were walking down the winding steps of yet another tower with Balladyn in the lead before she faked a stumble. Her effort had been done so she could fall against him, but she wasn’t prepared for how quickly he moved.
One moment she was pitching forward, and the next he turned and had his arms around her. Shara found her face even with his. She didn’t give herself time to think on it, just leaned forward and kissed him.
There was a split second when he didn’t respond, and then his arms tightened as he held her and deepened the kiss. He was a skilled kisser, but her body didn’t stir as it had when Kiril kissed her.
Truth be told, it only took Kiril’s green eyes on her to send her blood pounding and need tightening low her in her stomach.
Balladyn, for all his handsomeness and power, stirred … nothing. She continued to kiss him as if she enjoyed it. It was something she would have to get used to no matter who she married. That thought had her sliding her fingers through the thick strands of his black and silver hair. A moan rumbled his chest in response.
It was long minutes later before he ended the kiss and looked at her. “You’re very bold, Shara.”
“Was I wrong to think that’s what you wanted?”
“No,” he said with a pleased smile.
He touched her silver stripe again. Shara moved out of his arms and gave him a stony look. “Is my lack of silver an issue?”
“Did I say it was?”
How she hated when people answered a question with a question. “It’s a problem with my family. I should’ve known you’d be the same.”
Shara attempted to walk around him, but once more Balladyn stopped her with an arm across her midsection. She turned her head to find his eyes burning with anger. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know my responses. I’m not like others.”
“I’m Dark. I was born into a Dark family who all have more silver than black.”
“That doesn’t make you less,” he said and tugged on the strip. “It makes you stand out.”
“Not in a good way in our world.”
“Our world is what we make it. We live between two realms—the Fae and Earth. Look at the Dark around you. More and more are choosing to live in the human world, wearing their clothes, listening to their music, and in some cases pretending to be human.”
“All a ruse to kidnap humans for their pleasure,” she said, unsure of where he was going with his talk.
He took her hand and led her down the stairs. “Is that what you think? Look closer next time. Aye, some use it as a ruse, but others don’t.”
“My family lives in a human house. It was given to my family by Taraeth because my father controls the Dark in the lower half of Ireland for Taraeth.”
Balladyn shrugged as they reached the bottom. “Look around, Shara. Take a look at all Dark—even your family.”
She stopped, her heart thumping wildly. “I’ve been … gone … for some time.”
“Imprisoned by your family, you mean?”
Shara took a step back, pulling her hand from his. How could he possibly know? It was kept within the family, an order given by her father that no one in the family would dare disobey.
“I know much,” Balladyn said as he leaned a shoulder against a wall. “It was Farrell who brought my attention to your family, and it was Farrell who told me about his young sister and how she was locked away.”
Buckets of shame descended upon her. It mixed with fury directed at Farrell. Her brother should never have spoken about what happened, and if he had disclosed that much, she was sure Balladyn knew the cause of her imprisonment.
“So you’ve been toying with me all this time?” She should’ve known. It had been too easy to get close to Balladyn.
“I warned you not to think you know me. Yet,” Balladyn added smoothly. “I had no interest in Farrell’s sister until I overheard you today. Now, I fear that I may never let you return to your family.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dreagan Industries
Rhys entered the gift shop and came to an abrupt halt when his gaze landed on Lily. Lilliana Ross. Her coal black hair fell over one shoulder in a long braid that came to rest at the top of h
er breast.
She was bent over looking into a box. Despite her wearing clothes several sizes too big for her, there was no mistaking the outline of her curves. Rhys swallowed.
Hard.
“Do you need something?” Elena asked as she walked around him to the counter, a clipboard in hand and a pencil stuck behind her ear.
Rhys looked into her sage-green eyes that now watched him curiously. He’d had no reason for coming into the shop other than for a glimpse of Lily as he had many times. But this time he had gotten caught.
His gaze darted to Lily to see that she had straightened and turned at Elena’s voice. Lily’s black eyes held a smile. When she first arrived at Dreagan she had looked fragile and … scared.
Now she just looked … gorgeous.
The sweater Lily wore was so large that it fell off her shoulder, revealing more of her skin. Rhys inhaled and shifted his gaze back to Elena quickly. “Nay. I didna need anything. I was looking for Guy.”
Elena set down the clipboard, a knowing smile upon her lips. “He’s with Tristan and Sammi at Laith’s pub. Sammi is going to start working for Laith. It should be good for everyone involved. By the way, when you see my husband, tell him he better be showered before he arrives for lunch.”
“Will do,” Rhys said and promptly turned on his heel to head out to the pub the Dragon Kings owned on the outskirts of town on the edge of Dreagan land.
He managed to walk out without another look at Lily. She wasn’t his type. He liked his women tall and well endowed. He preferred women who understood their dalliance lasted a single night only—and sometimes not even that long.
Just like the two women who would be accompanying him into Inverness for dinner that evening. They were the type of women who knew there could never be anything between them.
Lily was the type who had forever stamped on her. She was the kind of woman a man never left.
And Rhys was not that type of man.
The pebbles crunched beneath his boots as he walked around the thick hedges to the manor hidden in a way that no visitors who toured the distillery ever saw. He entered by the side door through the conservatory. Rhys hadn’t taken two steps before his mobile phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw the text was from Phelan. It read: FOUND KIRIL. I’M STAYING.