Cain's Identity (Scanguards Vampires Book 9)

by Tina Folsom

  “Other exits around the property, as well as entry points into the palace.”

  “Where in the palace?”

  “One directly into the king’s suite, another into the cells, and a third one underneath the fireplace in your office.”

  “Underneath the fireplace? Sounds kind of hard to get to.”

  John gave him a sideways glance. “There’s a mechanism to shift the fireplace to the side. Of course, it’s best not to do that when there’s an actual fire burning in the hearth.”

  Cain made mental notes of the entry and exit points and the branches that led away from the tunnel they were in, committing as much of the path to memory as he could. If John led him into a trap, he had to be able to find his own way out. However, Cain had to admit that had John wanted to kill him for whatever reason, he would have had ample opportunity earlier.

  Still, trusting somebody didn’t come easy. Even when he’d joined Scanguards a year ago, it had taken some time to trust his colleagues. Now, of course, he knew they had his back and he trusted them with his life. Just like they trusted him. They’d become more than just colleagues to him. They’d become his friends. His family.

  But now this stranger was upsetting the tentative peace he’d found with his new family by making him want something that lay beyond his reach. He wanted his old life back, if only for one reason: to know what it felt like to be loved by the woman from his dreams.

  “I carried you out through this tunnel when you were injured. You don’t remember. You drifted in and out of consciousness. I couldn’t risk anybody finding out that you were alive but without a memory. At first I thought it would come back, but when you woke, it was clear that the memory loss was permanent. For your own safety I had to get you as far away as possible.”

  “I don’t remember waking up and seeing you.”

  “Because you didn’t see me. The blow to your head injured your optic nerve.”

  Was that what the dream had wanted to show him when everything had gone red in front of his eyes?

  “It was healing only slowly, as was the rest of your body.”

  “Yet you abandoned me while I was still in recovery,” Cain interrupted him harshly. “So much for your concern for me.”

  “I couldn’t stay with you. I only had enough time to make arrangements to get you as far away from here as possible, before my absence would have been noticed. I had to make sure whoever wanted you dead thought he’d succeeded. Only that way could you be safe.”

  “Any thoughts on who wanted me dead?”

  John hesitated, breathing audibly.

  “Spit it out!” Cain ordered.

  “I have a suspicion, but no proof. And if you remembered me at all, you’d know that I don’t like to accuse anybody without being able to back up my claim.”

  “Well, that’s the crux of the problem, isn’t it? I don’t remember you.”

  “You trusted me once.”

  Cain locked his jaw, trying to appear unaffected by the other vampire’s words, when in reality he sensed John’s need to gain his approval for the decisions he’d made when Cain had been incapacitated.

  “Trust isn’t something I give freely.”

  John gave a slight nod. “You didn’t back then either. But we were more than just a king and his guard. We were friends. And I mourned the loss of that friendship more than the loss of my king.”

  “Was I not a good king then?” Cain deflected, not wanting to respond to his guard’s claim.

  “That’s not for me to judge.”

  John’s words were too evasive for Cain not to react to them. “Are you trying to say I was a bad ruler, and that’s what prompted the assassination?”

  “As I said, that’s not—”

  “—for you to judge, I get it,” Cain finished the sentence.

  Suddenly John slowed and turned to him, placing a finger on his lips thus ending their conversation. He pointed to another tunnel. From where Cain stood, he could see that it was short, only a few yards. At the end of it, he could make out the outlines of a door.

  John bent to his ear, whispering now, “It leads to the secret corridor that connects the king’s chambers with those of the queen. The king’s are to the right, the queen’s to the left. You will find Faye in the queen’s suite. When you get to her door, move the lever on its left. It’ll open a tiny spy hole to look into her room, so you can assure yourself that she’s alone before you enter. Don’t worry, the door is disguised with an elaborate piece of art on the other side, so that nobody will notice the spy hole or the door itself.”

  Cain nodded, his heart suddenly thundering.

  “I’ll wait for you here. If you’re not back within fifteen minutes, I’ll come for you.”

  Wordlessly, Cain conveyed his agreement. Taking a deep breath, he marched toward the door and walked up the few steps that led to it. He eased it open, making as little noise as possible as he stepped inside the corridor and pulled the door shut behind him.

  The hallway he found himself in was made of stone, and the air inside was cleaner and less damp than what he’d encountered in the tunnel.

  His eyes darted to the right. He felt physically drawn in that direction, as if the answers to his questions lay there. But he forced himself to go left, knowing there wasn’t enough time to both investigate the king’s rooms and talk to Faye. His friends from Scanguards wouldn’t hesitate to make good on their promise to search for him should he not return in time, and he had no intention of putting them in undue danger. There would be plenty of time later to find out more about his old life.

  If this was indeed his old life.

  Careful not to make any sound with his shoes, he walked to the door John had indicated and perused it. The lever next to it was shaped like a stake. Cain shook his head. Somebody around here had strange tastes, and he sure hoped that he wasn’t the one to blame for this odd choice of handle.

  Cain twisted the lever and immediately saw a tiny beam of light shine through the hidden door. He moved to bring his eye in line with it and peered through the small hole.

  His heart stopped.

  There was no mistaking her. Faye looked exactly like she’d appeared in his dreams, though she was dressed in casual clothes, a pair of tight jeans and a loose-fitting sweater. It had slid to one side, exposing one creamy shoulder. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and back, and her eyes were as green as a meadow in the spring.

  The room looked eerily similar to the one in his last dream. He’d been here before. He’d made love to her in this room. Yet as much as he wanted to open the door and walk to her, he couldn’t.

  Faye wasn’t alone.

  The vampire who was with her stood with his back to Cain, preventing him from seeing his face. The stranger now extinguished the distance between him and Faye, his hand already clasping her bare shoulder, the other one sliding around her waist to pull her to him.

  The moment the vampire kissed her, Cain closed his eyes.

  The man whose face he couldn’t see had to be Abel. Faye had gotten over his death and maybe even forgotten him. She was in love with somebody else.

  Cain released the lever. He’d come too late.

  His entire body numb, he walked back to the door that led to the tunnel. When he reached it, he rested his forehead against it, feeling the cool surface against his skin. Could he really blame her? She’d thought him dead for a year. She had to get on with her life.

  Yet that thought was no comfort to him. Although Cain had no memory of her or the love they’d shared, he knew instinctively that had Faye died instead of him, he would have grieved the rest of eternity for her. Yet she had given herself to another man a mere year after his death.

  However, nothing of this would change anything now. He’d come so far and wouldn’t turn back. This was his old life, and he would reclaim it. And he’d be damned if he wouldn’t mount a fight to win Faye’s love back, because one thing was clear: in his dream he’d loved her. Having seen her in the
arms of his brother only moments earlier made his heart clench in pain, a pain he had no trouble identifying: he was jealous.

  With purpose in his mind, Cain lifted his head and opened the door to the tunnel, leaving the corridor behind him.

  He let his gaze roam, but only emptiness greeted him.

  “John?” he whispered.

  But John was gone.

  10

  Faye felt Abel’s lips on hers and tried to let herself go. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t do this. Kissing Abel was nothing like kissing Cain.

  She pressed her hands against Abel’s shoulders and pushed him back, not forcefully, yet determined. She wasn’t ready for intimacy with him. Would she ever be ready?

  Abel’s eyes blazed at her with unchecked lust, his fangs already extended. Had she never met his brother, she would have found him attractive, handsome even. And maybe she would be able to fall in love with him. But the moment she’d laid eyes on Cain, her heart had spoken, and she’d known even then that she could never love another.

  Faye averted her eyes and stepped back. A low growl came from him, confirming that his vampire side was ruling him in this moment. She sensed his displeasure physically, felt the waves of annoyance rolling off him. Could she blame him? No. After all, she’d accepted his proposal, and they didn’t live in the Middle Ages where intimacy before the wedding night was unacceptable. This was the twenty-first century, and sex was expected, particularly by a virile vampire like Abel.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I can’t. Not yet. It’s all happening too quickly.”

  Abel sucked in a breath. “I understand,” he pressed out from between clenched teeth.

  “I didn’t mean to lead you on,” she said quickly. “Just give me a little more time. Until the wedding.”

  Abel wasn’t a man to be denied what he wanted. He didn’t speak for seconds that seemed to stretch to minutes. She heard her own heart pound in her chest.

  “Very well. Until the wedding then.”

  He turned abruptly and left her room, shutting the door behind him with a loud bang.

  She’d bought herself a few more days until she would have to give into his sexual demands. A few more days during which she could remain faithful to Cain. Faithful to his memory.

  If only that night she hadn’t let him go, if only she’d bonded with him then, maybe he would still be alive.

  One year earlier

  A hot breath blew against her nape, causing a pleasant shiver to run down her spine. Faye turned in the silk sheets, her naked body sliding against hard muscle and soft skin.

  She ran her eyes over her lover. Cain’s skin was bronzed and flawless, his chest nearly hairless, his hair cropped short. He sported a permanent stubble, one that he shaved occasionally, but which returned after each restorative sleep cycle. His eyes were a golden brown, but often when they were together his eye color would change to a glowing red, a sign of the passion that raged between them.

  Faye put her hand on his chest, tracing the ridges of his pectorals with her fingernails, before sliding down to his abdomen.

  He hissed in a breath, but didn’t stop her descent.

  “You’re quite insatiable today,” Cain said.

  She met his gaze and saw the color of his eyes change, evidence enough that he wasn’t going to deny her.

  “I’m only adapting to your appetite,” she responded and wrapped her hand around his erection.

  She’d already felt his cock inside her several times during the past hours. They’d barely slept since they’d gone to bed just before sunrise. It was almost sunset again, and soon they would have to leave the privacy of his suite and deal with clan matters. But before he’d be all business again, she wanted to feel him once more.

  Faye brought her lips to his mouth. “Make love to me.”

  “Again?” he murmured back.

  “Are you getting tired of it?”

  Cain threw his head back and laughed. Two rows of brilliantly white teeth flashed. “Tired?” His eyes sparkled when he looked at her. “My love, I’ll never get tired of making love to you. That’s why I want you as my blood-bonded mate.”

  He pressed her back in the soft mattress, making her lose her grip on his cock. His knee pushed her legs apart, making room for him. He slid into the space, bringing himself above her. Before she could take another breath, his cock thrust into her, until he was seated to the hilt.

  His hand pushed a strand of her long hair to the side, exposing her neck.

  “Why don’t you bond with me now?” Cain asked.

  Her heart stopped, but she knew she couldn’t accept the offer. “Because you need to be sure that you love me.” There were moments when she knew he hesitated between her and his kingdom. Whenever she saw him torn between love and duty, she knew he wasn’t ready. But she would patiently wait until he was. It was also the reason why she hadn’t let him pin her down on a wedding date even though she’d accepted his proposal.

  “But I am,” he insisted, caressing her neck and making her tremble in the process.

  She smiled at him and shook her head. “I’ve loved you from afar for so long, ever since you saved me. But you never even noticed me until two months ago. You—”

  He put a finger on her lips, stopping her. “I noticed you. But I had no right to make you mine. You’d gone through so much. You were vulnerable and trusted nobody. Had I shown my love for you then, you would not only have been scared but also become the object of everybody’s dislike. Nobody would have accepted you as the king’s mate. That’s why I had to wait. To give you a chance to heal the wounds of your past and make my subjects love you for yourself. And they do love you.”

  Her heart melted at his confession. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  His fingers traced the vein along her neck, and farther below, his cock pulled out, only to slowly slide back into her.

  She sighed contentedly.

  “Tell you that I loved you?” Cain smiled. “It was enough that I suffered every day that I had to spend alone in my bed. Besides, I didn’t know you felt anything for me. You weren’t exactly very demonstrative with your feelings toward me. In fact, there were moments when I thought you disliked me profusely.”

  She closed her eyes, ashamed at how she’d treated him in the past. But it had been so hard to trust anybody, even Cain. “I had to protect myself. And it was painful to be around you, thinking I meant nothing to you.”

  Cain pressed small kisses on her face. “So that’s why you were so cold to me?”

  “I wasn’t cold,” Faye protested.

  “You were. I think I’m going to have to punish you for it. After all, nobody treats the king badly and gets away with it.”

  “How?” She nearly swallowed the word, when Cain’s hips drew back and his cock plunged deep into her, repeating the same motion again and again.

  “That’s the punishment,” he announced, his breath bouncing against her lips.

  “If that’s punishment, then you’re not doing it right.”

  “Wrong answer, my love,” he replied before he captured her lips and drowned her in a passionate kiss that robbed her not only of her breath but also of the ability to think.

  All she could do was respond to him the way her body dictated. Her hands slid to his firm ass, where her fingernails dug into his flesh to force him deeper into her, while her legs wrapped around his upper thighs. Cain moaned and released her mouth only to bring his lips to her neck to kiss her where her pulse beat like a violent drum.

  A fang scraped against her skin, and she shivered involuntarily.

  “Oh God, Faye, I need you.” His words vibrated against her heated flesh.

  His mouth opened wider, and she knew what he wanted. Her blood. Despite the fact that the blood of a vampire provided no nourishment; only human blood did. But the bite would heighten their pleasure, his as well as hers. She knew that, though she’d never experienced it. Cain had always held back until now, but today he was
different. As if having confessed that he’d loved her all this time had brought them closer.

  “Bite me,” she whispered her consent. “Drink my blood.”

  A deep growl came from his chest, a sound more like that of a beast than that of a man. His vampire side was breaking through now. For a moment, he lifted his head and stared at her. His eyes glowed red and his fangs were fully extended. Long and sharp. Deadly. He’d never looked more regal than now.

  A thrill shot through her body. The most powerful vampire near and far loved her and wanted to make her his.

  “You’re everything to me,” Cain said and lowered his lips to her pulse.

  His fangs pierced her skin, sending a bolt of adrenaline through her body. As he lodged them deep in her neck and drew on the vein, she shuddered, unprepared for the sensations that overtook her body.

  Cain’s hips moved relentlessly, his cock filling her tight channel and stretching her, his pelvis rubbing against her clit with each thrust. Those actions alone would bring her to a monumental climax, but feeling his fangs in her neck made everything even more electrifying. Her entire body seemed to burn, the flames inside her threatening to incinerate her, yet she couldn’t stop, didn’t have the will to douse the fire inside her.

  She felt Cain’s power in her. She sensed him wanting to share himself with her, to prove his love to her. They moved in synch as if they’d made love for centuries when they’d only been lovers for a few short weeks. Everything was new, yet familiar. The scent of Cain’s clean sweat filled her nostrils and made her womb clench. She’d never wanted a man as much as she wanted Cain. Never dared hope that she would find such happiness after all she’d endured.

  “I love you,” she murmured.

  The words seemed to spur him on, because his movements became more frantic, faster and harder, as he pounded into her with such force that had she still been human, he would have killed her. But her vampire body greeted his ferocity with a wildness of its own.

  Her fingers turned to claws, drawing blood where they were digging into his flesh. The scent filled the room and combined with the smell of her own blood. Mingling with the perfume of their lovemaking, it was a powerful aphrodisiac that she couldn’t fight against any longer. Her body exploded, waves of pleasure rolling over her, when she felt Cain’s cock spasm inside her.