Gathering Darkness: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Anna Zaires

  He held me in his arms, as we both caught our breath and waited for our heartbeats to slow before pulling away. Adam leaned in for a kiss that spoke of love and thanks and made my heart race.

  A left over spasm made my pussy clamp down on his softening cock, and had him sucking in a quick breath. “Damn, I want you again,” he groaned. “I’m going to make damn sure I find the time during our layover to get inside you again, Nikki.”

  “I’m up for that,” I grinned.

  Adam pulled out of me gently, and placed a kiss on my shoulder. “Thank you, darling,” he whispered, kissing me again, as if he couldn’t get enough of me. Reason number three I’d said yes.

  He cleaned up quickly and reached for the door. “Need help cleaning up?” He wiggled his eyebrows and I chuckled.“I think I can handle it,” I said.

  “Alright, I’ll see you out there.”

  As the door closed behind him, I secured the lock and took a deep breath before cleaning up. After using the toilet, I grabbed a brush from my bag and stepped up to the small mirror. My shoulder length, dark blond hair was mussed with that just got out of bed look. If anyone saw me, they’d know exactly what I’d been up to. I brushed it until it lay smooth and straight, just as it had when I’d gotten on the plane.

  My green eyes searched for other signs of my husband’s possession and I sighed. There was nothing to be done about my swollen, overly red lips, or the beard burns on my chin, cheeks and neck. God, I was a mess! Shaking my head, I finished putting myself to rights and pressed a finger to the flesh colored device behind my ear.

  “’Bout fucking time, Nikki!” Nolan’s exasperated voice growled in my ear, sounding like he was standing right next to me.

  “Sorry,” I told him, though I really wasn’t. “This is the first moment I’ve had alone to turn on the ear piece.”

  “It should have been turned on from the start.”

  “Well, sue me! I didn’t want you in my head while I was talking to Adam. It would have screwed me up.”

  “Right,” he said sarcastically, and I rolled my eyes. “I really don’t have time for this, Nikki. This case isn’t the only one I’m working,” he complained. “Have you gotten a visual on the prisoner?”

  “Yes… first class, seat 2J.”

  “Any signs of trouble?”

  “Not yet, though I haven’t been able to check the rest of the plane. I wish I could have sat in economy, but Adam wouldn’t have it. If I’d have complained too much, he would have gotten suspicious. There’s no way I can legitimately get all the way back into economy to take a look.”

  “Find a way,” Nolan growled.

  “Fine,” I spat, reaching for my ear.

  “And don’t turn off-”

  I pressed the device with a sigh. “Too late.” Nolan Parker could be the most annoying person on the planet - arrogant and cutthroat - but he was good at his job. We both worked for the CIA and yes, I was on assignment. It just happened to be during my honeymoon.

  Aldrich Gutierrez, small time terrorist, had big time friends. And when he was arrested in the act of planting a pipe bomb in Lafayette Square in DC, it was actually a huge advantage for Homeland Security. He might not be cooperative right this second, but he would be once he reached Guantanamo.

  The assignment came in just as I was in the process of making honeymoon plans. So instead of cuddling by a fire in a beautiful cabin in Aspen like I’d originally wanted, I had to find a destination that involved this same flight. Once we landed, Adam and I would have to wait for over an hour for our next flight. Thankfully, Adam didn’t mind the change of plans. The Cayman Islands weren’t a bad place to honeymoon, I supposed. If we made it there.

  My mission was to act casual and keep an eye on suspicious activity. Besides me, there was the officer accompanying the prisoner, and one other agent. I didn’t know who he or she was, since all three of us were undercover.

  Looking into the small mirror, I took another deep breath, releasing the tension as best I could. No need to draw attention to the fact that I was nervous as hell. I hadn’t worked with Parker often, as he was heading up a big case down south, but from what I’d gathered, he was one of our best agents. Seeing as the plane I was on with my loving husband could possibly be hijacked, here’s hoping I was one of the best too.

  CHAPTER 3

  The bathrooms for first class were at the front of the plane, so checking out the rest of the cabins without Adam noticing would be near impossible; I would have to walk right past him. But as I grabbed my bag and headed out, I came up with a plan.

  Just as I’d thought, Adam saw me coming and reached out to capture my hand before I could pass. “Where are you going?” His bemused smile was adorable.

  “I’m thirsty and thought I’d just pop in there,” I pointed to the sliding door in the back, “and ask for a drink. Want anything?” Okay, it wasn’t the greatest plan, but it was all I had.

  “Oh, yeah,” he nodded. “But it’s that way,” he raised an eyebrow as he pointed to the front of the plane where I’d just come from. And here’s where it got tricky. I hoped he believed me and no attendant came out while I was gone.

  “No one was there,” I told him. “I’m going to go see if I can find a flight attendant walking around back there,” I motioned.

  I planted a smacking kiss to his cheek in hopes of distracting him. It worked, and after he let me go from another scorching kiss, I turned to leave. But it must not have distracted him enough. Adam pulled on my hand, keeping me from leaving. “Sit down, I’ll get it.”

  “No, that’s okay,” I said, as he started to get up.

  “Then just give the attendant a minute. She’ll be by in a few, I’m sure.” His expression said he didn’t understand my need to rush for an attendant, and with a sigh, I sat back in my seat. Fail.

  Sure enough, by the time my bag was back beside my feet, the attendant came and asked us if we wanted a drink. I order a 7 Up, and went back to scheming. This was too freaking hard. On a normal mission, I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, and only had to fool strangers into believing what I wanted them to. Having my husband on board was messing with my game.

  Another half hour passed and things were calm. I’d sipped my soda and pretended to read a little, and no one had barged through the cabin to try and free the prisoner or hijack the plane. Maybe I hadn’t needed to search the plane after all.

  Adam shifted beside me, gaining my attention. His head tilted as he stared off into space, a worry line creasing his forehead. I watched as his brows furrowed, before an angry frown marred his sweet face. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, when he jumped out of his seat. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and took off toward the back of the plane.

  “Okay,” I murmured. What the hell was that all about? And why did he get to go running around the plane when he wouldn’t let me go find an attendant for a simple drink?

  I scanned the cabin, looking around for answers, when my gaze landed on the back of the prisoner's head. He stared out the window quietly, as his companion read a newspaper.

  Hmm. Everything was quiet. Too quiet, I thought.

  Standing up, I stretched and followed after my husband.

  CHAPTER 4

  Sliding open the door, I tried my best to not look suspicious as my eyes scanned the passengers, while also keeping an eye out for Adam. Many were sleeping, while others read or worked on their laptops. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  I was just coming to the end of the aisle, when a man piqued my interest. With an expression full of intense anger, his eyes skipped around the cabin. His dark, bushy brows were drawn and his lips pulled into a scowl the closer I got. His brown eyes met mine, his scowl deepening. My smile was polite, as I glanced at the man next to him. He had similar looks as well, with dark curly hair, though his skin was darker; more mocha latte than vanilla.

  I thought for sure the first guy figured out who I was when he continued to stare at me. Then suddenly, he looked away. He w
hispered something to the man sitting next him that I couldn’t make out. My heartbeat accelerated, but neither spared me another glance, as I continued past without incident.

  My gut told me the two of them were going to be trouble, and I decided to let Nolan know. He could relay the info to the other agents.

  Pushing open another curtain, I found more restrooms and an empty galley. Perfect. I reached for the device behind my ear as I went toward the restroom, but I never got to turn it on.

  I jumped when a hand covered my mouth, causing trained instincts to kick in. My elbow slammed back, but an arm that felt like it was made of steel, wrapped around my waist, capturing my flailing arms. I refrained from screaming and tried to bite into the palm. It didn’t work well enough. The large hand was too tight against my mouth for my jaw to open properly.

  Shit!

  I did everything I could think of. I stomped on his foot, and performed every move we were taught in training to break away from an assailant, even going limp to give him my entire body weight. Nothing worked. He got me into the restroom before I could cause enough damage to get away.

  A grunt escaped my lips, and my bag fell to the floor as I was suddenly thrown against the restroom wall. I used the momentum to push off, slamming the back of my head into his cheek before I turned swiftly around to face my attacker. In the back of my mind, I realized he wasn’t one of the two men I’d just seen moments before, like I’d assumed. This guy had the classic blond hair, blue eyed, surfer dude look, and I idly wondered if my other assumption, that this had something to do with the prisoner, was wrong as well. Maybe he was just another woman-attacking prick, though I was smart enough to know that terrorists came in all shapes, sizes and colors.

  My elbow smashed into his nose, and he bent over with a muffled cry. My knee came up sharply, knocking him in his injured nose, sending him sprawling back against the counter and sink.

  Reaching down where my bag had fallen beside me, I went for my gun and handcuffs, but just as my fingers touched the cool metal, the dick’s feet knocked into mine and I fell forward, over the toilet.

  “Bitch.” He jumped up and grabbed a fist full of hair.

  Fuck! I hate when men do that!

  I gritted my teeth as he pulled me to my feet, focusing on my next move, rather than on the pain in my scalp. As soon as I was up, my knee jutted out, but he deflected the hit to his groin by lifting his thigh. He grunted, but it hadn’t been powerful enough to drop him.

  My cheek suddenly smashed against the wall again, and I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out, even if my brain felt like it would be ripped out the back of my head at any moment.

  “You cunt!” The man sneered in my ear, smearing blood across my cheek. “You suck as a cop.”

  “Not... a... cop...” I mumbled against the wall, trying not to gag.

  “Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “Then what’s the gun and handcuffs for? Huh?” He shook my head angrily, as he pointed to the floor where they had spilled out of my bag.

  “Protection,” I said. “Every girl needs to carry protection.”

  Forcing my muscles to relax, I took a deep breath and rubbed my ass against his crotch. Risky move, I knew, but I wasn’t planning on going down. Especially in a tiny airplane bathroom.

  My grinding hips against his jeans caused him to pull back out of instinct, his hand loosening in my hair just enough. “What the hell...”

  The back of my head connected with his bleeding nose with a sickening crunch. “Fuck!” he exclaimed, and fell backwards, freeing me.

  Immediately, I dropped to my knee, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the perp, just as the door burst open, revealing an extremely pissed off Adam. His lips curled in a menacing snarl, showing sharp, white fangs.

  What the hell? Hubby’s coming to play hero? I had the guy...

  Wait!

  My gaze shot back to his mouth.

  Fangs? Why the hell does my husband have fangs?

  CHAPTER 5

  Adam’s howl pierced the sudden silence of the bathroom, as both me and my assailant stared on in horror. He had the guy pinned against the sink faster than I could track. His hands had morphed into a cross between paws and human hands on steroids. Holding the guy by the neck, his razor sharp claws dug into flesh, and a small trickle of blood ran down his arm.

  “You dare touch my woman,” Adam growled, then proceeded to pound the guy's face in with his deformed fists. “Mine,” he grunted with each punch. “No one touches her but me. No one!”

  I should have been disgusted, not just by what my husband had just turned into, but from his possessive words as well, but shame on me. I found myself getting hot. Like, really hot. My breathing became more erratic and my thighs clenched. What the fuck?

  Shaking my head to clear the confusing heat that had just flashed through my entire body, I reminded myself how pissed I was... or wanted to be. I reached for Adam’s arm and pulled. As much as I enjoyed seeing my attacker being taken down, the guy lay limp and unconscious, even as Adam continued to pummel him.

  “Enough,” I exclaimed, quietly. Who knew how much attention we’d already attracted. “Adam, stop. He’s down,” I said again, when he tried to shrug me off. His sole attention stayed on the bloody heap in front of him.

  Taking a gentler approach, I rubbed his arm and cooed softly at the animal that had taken over my husband. “Adam, babe, he’s out. You took him down and he’s not getting back up. Come on, babe.”

  Adam’s punches came to a stop, but he kept a hand wrapped around the guy’s throat. His chest heaved, as he stared down at the man that had offended him by touching me. I continued to rub his arm affectionately, and finally, he let him go. The guy fell back over the sink and counter. I scrunched up my nose. I hoped no one needed to wash their hands anytime soon.

  Adam whirled around and pinned me with a glare I’d never experienced from him before. He was pissed. Well, you know what? So was I. I narrowed my eyes back at him.

  “What are you doing back here?” he barked.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” I sneered.

  His lips pulled into a thin line, as he silently stared at me.

  I scoffed, my free hand balling into a fist at my side. I still held the gun in my other, and I thought for a split second that I just might shoot him.

  “What is going on, Mister Hairy Paws?”

  Adam’s mouth opened wide and I smirked. Got nothing to say to that, huh?

  “Excuse me?”Closing his mouth, his lips pressed back together, and I did my best to not notice how sexy he looked at that moment. A shadow had grown over his jaw that I’d always had a hard time ignoring. I loved smoothing my palms over the ruff texture as we kissed.

  His blue eyes narrowed. “Don’t change the subject. This guy attacked you! You shouldn’t have been back here alone.”

  “I had him and you came barging in to save the day. Let me tell you something, bub,” I pointed my finger at him, but we were so close, it pressed into his chest sharply. “I had it all under control.”

  His head jerked back. “Oh really? It sure didn’t look like it when I came in.”

  “Excuse me? Please return to your seats.”

  “Did you not see me pointing my gun at him? I had it!”

  “Your gun?” He raised an eyebrow. “When did you get a gun?”

  “It’s for protection.”

  His gaze slid down my body, and I held in the lusty shiver. But I couldn’t hide how hard my nipples had gotten… the betraying bitches.

  “Why were you in here with this guy?” he asked.

  My gaze swooped over him the same way he’d done to me. The light blue polo shirt stretched tight against his muscles as he crossed his arms over his chest. I refrained from checking to see if drool was dripping down my chin, and focused on his hands. They had reverted back to normal.

  “Why did you suddenly have claws?” I raised an eyebrow.

&n
bsp; He opened his mouth to reply, but a shrill cry came from the doorway, gaining both of our attention.

  “Does he need a medic? Oh, my God! Is he dead?” A woman stood just outside the tiny bathroom. Clearly an attendant, by her choice of dress; navy skirt and white blouse. A tag stuck to her left breast said her name was Trish. Her hands covered her open mouth, as she stared over Adam’s shoulder at the bloody man on the counter.

  “Yes, he definitely needs a medic. I’m sorry,” I told her, frowning. She glanced up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes. I cursed silently, hiding the gun behind my back. “He attacked me, and my husband came to my rescue just in time.” I faked a shuddering breath and cleared my throat.

  Trish looked sympathetic. Her eyes softened and she opened her mouth, as if to say something, but instead, she froze as her muscles tensed and her eyes widened.

  Adam growled and reached out, as if to grab the woman, just as hands with long, tapered fingers grasped her head from behind and gave it a sharp jerk to the left. I sucked in a shocked breath as her eyes glazed over and her body fell forward. On instinct, my arms lifted to catch her, and I stumbled back, my feet tangling with Adam’s, causing him to wobble forward. He caught himself, though I wasn’t as lucky. I landed on the toilet seat, as the flight attendant’s full weight landed on top of me.

  A hand grasped my shoulder and I yelped, pulling sharply away. I’d thought my attacker was unconscious or better yet, dead, but I was wrong. His eyes were mere slits, they were so swollen, but the glare he sent me was unmistakable. He’d fallen to his side and now I was within his reach. He gripped my shoulder again, his movements slow, though determined, but I was able to shuffle away.

  I fought with the dead woman’s body to get my gun up and over her back, but it was suddenly yanked out of my hand. On instinct, I jerked my head in that direction, only to freeze. I found my gun. Just not exactly in an ideal location.