by C. M. Owens
"Are you okay?" Kane asks as a single tear rolls down my cheek.
"Yeah," I murmur while wiping the wet drop away, trying to be discreet.
"I'm sorry. This was stupid. I don't know what I was thinking. With your mom missing, a date is probably the last thing you have on your mind."
With my mom missing, everything is on my mind… especially what will happen when I become the new target. As the daughter of Drackus Devall, there's a world full of vicious revenge-seekers just like Rain. Apparently my secret identity isn't as secretive as I thought.
"It's fine. I'm just-"
"Let's go back. We can just curl up in the bed, watch a movie, eat some burnt popcorn… anything you want."
I laugh lightly, though it mingles with a sniffle. Then another tear slips free as I nod appreciatively.
"That sounds great actually."
"Do you care to stay at my place tonight? I have some stuff to do - work related - and all my things are there."
Crap.
It's not like I can tell him no. That would raise too many questions I can't answer.
"Sure," I murmur as my mind races to remember the protection spell.
I'll just cast one around his place. That would actually make me feel better anyhow. I can't cast the one Frankie did on my place because they constantly have friends over, but I can cast one to protect against dark users and blood drinkers of all varieties.
"So no friends at all, besides Thad?" he asks, sneering a little as he changes the subject on our way back to the house. "How is that even possible?"
My attempt to not sound pathetic apparently failed - miserably.
"Well I did, once, but we grew apart."
"Oh? Tell me about her and why you stopped being friends," he murmurs softly, obviously trying to distract my mind from my mother.
"Well, his name was Chaz. Our mothers used to be really good friends, but they had a falling out. Shay, Chaz's mom, ended up leaving our co… um… I mean our town. She and Mom haven't spoken since.
Chaz was adopted, and considering his birth parents were rather ruthless, cold, and cruel, he felt like Shay was not only the mother who took him in, but she was also his saving grace. Devoutly loyal to her, he thought it would be best if he and I stopped talking since it would cause conflict."
"What did they fight about?" he asks curiously.
"What do women usually fight about? A man."
"Ah," he says with a small smile. "So who won the guy in the end?"
Sighing, I mumble, "My mother, but he was no prize. He was a total creep, and she kicked him to the curb when she found him peeping in on me while I was dressing."
I shudder slightly, and his arm slides around my shoulders in response.
"Did Shay and your mother ever make amends… since she found out he was a creep, I mean?"
"No. I doubt Mom ever gave her the satisfaction of knowing. She's prideful like that. She has horrible taste in men, and that includes my father. Everyone in our community warned her to stay away from my father, but she was stubborn and in love. She kept their divorce a secret for years just so she wouldn't hear the I-told-you-so speeches."
He lets a small smile free, and I offer a weak grin of my own. I'm not used to so much sharing.
"So, did your Mom ever remarry?"
If he knew my mother, he'd realize I find that question to be rhetorical.
"Many, many, many times," I release with exaggerated exasperation while rolling my eyes and he lets out a laugh.
Not to mention the hundreds of times she was married long before dear old Dad.
"Do you ever talk to your father? I mean, he sent help to aide you in finding your mother."
From an outside perspective, I can see how that would seem like a sweet gesture. Unfortunately, I know Drackus Devall.
"One thing about my dad, he's calculated. If he's helping us, there's something in it for him."
"What could he possibly have to gain?" he muses, seeming genuinely interested in my fucked up family.
Power, release from his solitude confinement, the black diamond of Roth for himself… the list goes on and on.
"I don't know, but Dra… um, Dad doesn't do anything out of the goodness of his heart."
Because it's too dark to ever hold a speck of light.
"And I thought I had family drama," he chuckles out.
My eyebrows perk up, my interest very piqued.
"I thought you said your parents had passed."
"I was referring to my current family - Zee, Deke, Sierra-"
"And Amy," I grumble, my nose wrinkling as her name slips through my lips.
"Alyssa, Amy is just-"
"A roommate. Got it. So, how did you all meet?" I ask, trying to keep myself from sounding possessively jealous.
"That's a long story I'll fill you in on at another time," he murmurs softly while kissing my forehead.
He opens the door to his home for me, and I sigh as I walk in.
"Back so soon?" Deke asks as he walks through with a plate of spaghetti, a noodle slurping through his lips.
"We decided to spend the night inside instead."
"Cool. The girls cooked a big pot of spaghetti, and the meatballs are pretty badass."
Kane smirks as the sloppy boy holds the plate up and pulls another noodle to his lips before slurping it in as well.
I guess we were gone longer than I realized.
"Thanks. You're making me real hungry," Kane says sardonically.
Deke chuckles before walking into the den. My skin crawls as a chill spreads through the air, and I remember I have to cast the protection spell.
"Um, can I use your bathroom? I want to check my makeup."
"You look perfect, baby."
His soft voice is velvet in my ears, making me warm in so many ways.
"You're sweet, but I feel like my mascara is running. I'll be right back."
He pulls me to him, and his lips graze mine softly before releasing me to rush away. The masculine bedroom makes me smile on my way to the bathroom, and I shut and lock the door quickly while waving my hand over the mirror.
A flickering flame appears in the glass, and I draw a circle around it. Though my circle is merely smudges made by my fingers, it'll have to work.
Next I pull the safety pin from the hem of my dress, and I prick my finger with the sharp, stinging point. With a small wince, I force the blood out of the tiny opening, and I dab it into the center of the flame.
"Protect this home, let no dark pass through. Thresholds be strong, protection be true."
Chanting it softly three more times, I open my eyes back up to see the flame coming to life and sparking against my blood, accepting my magic. With a small flash, it disappears, taking my drop of blood with it as the veins of the house pump with a newfound will.
I walk out, heading back to the kitchen, and I smile when I see Kane light on his feet as he makes us two plates of food. I stifle a laugh as he pretends to bow to a dishtowel, the finale to his dancing number.
"Do you always dance when you're getting dinner ready?" I tease, and his cheeks blush a little.
"You weren't supposed to see that," he grumbles, an embarrassed smile playing on lips as his disheveled hair sweeps over his brow just barely.
I giggle slightly, fueling his embarrassment, and then he shakes his head. Our light moment is brought to an abrupt halt as Amy walks in from… the basement? That's really the only place that door could go.
"Hey," she says, smiling too big when she sees Kane.
Then her eyes land on me, and her face falls, disappointment tainting her darker brown eyes. They almost look black right now.
"Hey," Kane murmurs with an icy shot, the air bitten by the instant frost in his breath.
She glances at me again, and then she rolls her eyes before heading to the side door.
"Tell the others I'm going out for a run if they ask."
"You should invite Sierra if you're going for a run. You shouldn't b
e out by yourself," Kane murmurs without looking at her.
My heart cracks a little upon hearing his concern for her. I shouldn't be such a bitch, but I want him to be callous and cold.
"I'll behave, if that's what you're worried about," she almost whispers.
Behave? As in she won't go meet any guys? Why would Kane care?
"Hey guys," Sierra chirps while joining us. "What's up?
"Amy is going for a run. I told her to ask you to go with her," Kane says in a warmer tone, his eyes not giving Amy the attention she desperately wants.
"Sure," she murmurs.
Amy huffs as Sierra slips on a pair of shoes. I tilt my head curiously at the odd choice of footwear, considering tennis shoes would be better than boots. As soon as Amy jerks the door open, she slams into an invisible force, and her body falls backwards before she slams into the ground.
"What the fuck?" she spews, and my eyes try to pop out of my head.
Shit. I messed up the spell. Fucking shit!
Sierra bursts out laughing, and Kane turns while trying to stifle his own laughter.
"Did you forget you have to walk through the doorway and not the glass beside it?" Sierra teases, motioning to the glass she thinks Amy ran into.
"I did walk through the damn doorway, or I tried to. I swear something threw me back."
Shit! Think.
Spell I cast, please come back. I rescind you now, cease your attack.
Chanting it in my head over and over, I begin to get nervous the spell won't lift. Discreetly pulling the pin from my hem once more, I prick my finger to draw out my blood.
Kane's eyes fall on me as I pull my finger into my mouth to swallow my own blood, sealing the recanted spell's banishment.
"You okay?" he asks me, as Sierra continues to laugh at the fuming girl still on the ground.
"Yeah, just a splinter," I lie.
The small bit of metallic bitterness rattles around in my mouth.
"I swear!" Amy blares. "Look for yourself!"
My stomach knots up as Sierra walks toward the door. Kane has lost interest in the spectacle as he comes to draw my finger from my mouth and pulls it into his hand. I look around him, trying not to be obvious as I nervously await the results of my recanted spell.
Sierra playfully leaps through the doorway and lands on the deck, her laughter roaring louder. I breathe out a heavy sigh of relief.
“You lying klutz," she teases, her mocking laughter only growing.
Amy grumbles under her breath while pulling herself up, and then she hesitantly checks the doorway before trying to walk out once more.
"I swear I'm not that damn crazy," she gripes, her eyes studying the doorway.
"It must be out now," Kane says, drawing my attention back to him as carefully examines my finger. "We don't have a lot of first-aide here, but I can get you a paper towel or something for the bleeding."
Amy and Sierra walk off, though Amy continues to look behind her, and I visibly relax.
"It'll be fine. It just stings a little."
He smirks, his eyes still on my barely bleeding finger, and then he draws it into his mouth. My breath catches in my throat as he sucks the tip of my finger with his deliciously soft lips, and, without thinking, I part my legs for him to step between them, feeling completely aroused, beguiled, and lost in his touch.
His eyes close as he draws my finger in more, and suddenly I'm rushed with an overwhelming desire to rip his clothes from his body as he grips me tighter to him. He finally releases my finger from his lips, and I'm almost left with a painful ache after the withdrawal.
"Damn. What was that?" I mutter breathlessly, but he doesn't answer.
Instead, he jerks me up from the stool where I'm sitting, and he pulls me to him as he carries me away, promising this night just got a hell of a lot better. His lips claim mine with a bruising force, and the fire courses through my veins as every bit of me throbs to feel him inside my body like I never have before.
Ignoring the snickers of Zee and Deke, Kane slams the door to his room once we're inside. He drops me to the bed as he pulls his shirt over his head, and he stares down hungrily at me, making my heart race almost too fast.
"Kane," I murmur as the ache inside me grows, and he jerks me to him so my legs slide around his waist.
"I really like this dress," he murmurs as he bends down, his feet still on the floor.
The high bed places my center at a perfect angle to feel his erection through his jeans, making me hurt to feel his touch all the more. His fingers skim my sex through the lacy underwear, and my head tilts back as the sensation travels in a forceful tingle all the way up and down my body.
Then he slides my underwear to the side to feel the promise of the wet arousal waiting for him.
"Fuck," he says in an exhaled breath, his own head falling back.
I gasp as his fingers work their magic, making my body contort and wriggle beneath his touch as ecstasy fills me. His head comes back down, and those perfectly green eyes find mine, making me want to say to hell with this torture he calls foreplay.
"Please," I murmur, surprised by how much it sounds like I'm begging.
"Please what?" he murmurs, feigning coyness.
"Fuck me."
The low growl in his throat proves he liked my crude, blunt answer. The panties slide down my legs, leaving a damp trail from my inner thigh to my ankle, and he tosses them to the ground.
I rise up, desperate to get out of my dress, but he pushes me back down to the bed.
Hovering over me, he murmurs, "Leave it on."
My body heats all the more, making me feel as though the fire is about to become real as he drops his pants to the floor and jerks me to him by the bend of my knees.
I'm not used to him being this rough, but something tells me this is how he normally is. I've been painfully aware that my newness to… sex… was giving him pause, but tonight he's not holding back
With one swift motion, he throws himself inside me, making me snap forward from the abrupt, incredible entry.
"Damn, you feel so good," he murmurs while stilling himself and leaning down to kiss my lips.
"I'm pretty sure I'm molded to you since you're the only person I've ever been with… like this," I mumble while blushing.
His body starts moving against me, and the air from my lungs gets sucked out when I forget to breathe. Looking up at him as he shows my body no mercy is almost too much to bear.
I hurl myself up, and his arms wrap around me as he lifts me from the bed and forces me against the wall, his relentless rhythm pushing me closer to the brink. I moan out in a gasping shriek, and his grunted growls grow louder when it comes close to being his undoing.
His lips find the curve of my neck just above the edge of my collarbone, and then I feel his teeth bearing down, forcing out my moans all the more. Getting bitten in my world is something you don't want to do, but with him - a human - it's incredible.
Feeling my excitement, his rhythm quickens even more, becoming exquisitely punishing, and driving me that much closer to my peak. My whole body becomes almost languid as I near that moment he's pounding me to.
His name becomes a screaming burst of ecstasy from my lips as I fall over the edge in the most surreal, mind-blowing release I've felt yet.
He grunts harder as he thrusts into me once, twice more, and then he pulls back, releasing my skin from his teeth while still holding my legs around his waist.
"Sorry," he murmurs with his eyes shut.
"For?" I muse, chuckling lightly.
"For being so rough," he murmurs while collapsing to the bed behind him, dragging me with him.
I fall on top of him, and then I nestle into the crook of his neck, kissing it lightly.
"I happened to like you being so rough."
He lets out a laugh, but still his eyes stay shut. He pulls me closer, his fingers trailing up my back as he kisses my forehead.
"Are you going to keep your eyes closed all night?"<
br />
He smiles, and then they open, offering me a view of his emerald perfection.
"I just needed to compose myself."
"Why? You want to go for round two?"
He laughs at my poking joke, and then he shakes his head.
"That would be more like round nine today."
I giggle lightly, and then I start kissing his neck again.
"I'm sorry about that," he says while pointing to the place where his teeth had been.
"Don't be. It felt… good." Ironically enough.
Smiling, his lips find mine, and he turns me over to be on my back.
"You have to wear a dress all the time now. You know that, don't you?"
I giggle louder, sounding more like a fool with every chuckle, and then my fingers tangle in his hair.
"I might just do that."
His eyebrows bounce up and down for a moment, and then a knock at the door interrupts our naked humor.
"What?" Kane groans while I roll my eyes at the intrusion.
"Sorry to disturb your reunion, but Amy and Sierra just called. They said we might have a situation to worry about in town. You coming with?" Deke calls.
"No, but I'll be out in a second."
"What situation?" I grumble.
Obviously Amy is still trying to act out to gain his attention.
"Nothing for you to worry about. I'll be right back. Don't move, and don't you dare take off that dress."
I stare down at the blue, wrinkled mess of a dress that once looked much better.
"I think it needs to be replaced by something that doesn't say look-at-what-I've-been-doing."
He laughs lightly before kissing my forehead, and then he stands up to quickly pull on his pants.
“Stay," he says again, making me laugh.
"I'll be right here."
He smirks, and then he disappears out the door. Almost instantly, there's a shadow in the room, and I hold back a squeal as Gage materializes in front of me.
"Pervert!" I yell in a whisper while gripping my dress and pulling it tight around my legs.
He stifles a laugh, and then he shakes his head.
"I looked away," he whispers back, and then he motions for me to follow him out onto the balcony.