She kept waiting for someone to tell her she shouldn’t be in this area or that one, but no one bothered her as she strolled through the place. She explored the numerous rooms on the first floor. Some of them were empty, but most had furniture to mark what they were. There was an elaborate dining room with a table that easily fit fifty, what she assumed was a parlor with its tables and chairs, another room with sofas and a fireplace that took up the entire back wall, and another with an old desk and floor-to-ceiling shelves behind it.
She only went down one wing before realizing it was mostly empty rooms. She had no idea why anyone needed a place so big, and she felt completely overwhelmed by the vastness of it while she made her way back to the main foyer.
She stopped when she spotted Ronan standing at the bottom of the steps, his elbow resting on the banister as he watched her. “What do you think of the place?” he inquired.
“It’s huge.”
“And?”
“It’s kind of depressing. I don’t know if that’s because it’s so empty or because what they left behind feels like the remnants of ghosts instead of people.”
Ronan gazed around the foyer as he tried to see it through her eyes. To him, it didn’t matter. This place already had heavy security, was in a part of Massachusetts that was relatively peaceful, but Boston, Providence, Hartford, and New York City were all easily accessible by car.
It had been ideal for their needs. He hadn’t cared what it looked like when he purchased it, never would have taken a second look at the interior or had the time to do anything about it, but seeing it through her eyes made him realize the place was bleak.
“You’re right,” he said and moved away from the stairs. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You wanted training, you’re going to get it, or at least a crash course in it. Marta and Baldric will continue working with you while you’re traveling. They’re highly skilled fighters.”
Kadence couldn’t help but smile as she pictured the plump woman, with her kind smile, kicking a vampire’s ass.
Their footsteps rang against the marble as she followed him to a door leading to a set of stairs. She’d opened the door earlier, but after looking down the shadowed staircase, she’d decided against exploring it.
Ronan flicked on a switch and descended the stairs before her. “I’ve asked Marta and Baldric to make sure most of your time outdoors is during the daytime. They will also take you overseas first, anywhere you ask to go, but across the ocean.”
“Why?” she inquired.
“The more they kill, the more Savages have a difficult time of crossing bodies of water. The ones following Joseph will mostly be located on this continent, and it seems in this area. For now, I’d prefer to have you away from them. You can explore this continent once they’ve been destroyed.”
What if something happened to him while she was gone? The idea caused a tug on her heart and a lump to form in her throat. He was ancient and powerful, but vampires could be killed. What about her brother? What if something happened to Nathan?
She tried to shake the worries off, but once they lodged in her mind, it was difficult for her to get rid of them.
At the end of the stairs, Ronan turned on another switch. Kadence’s step faltered when numerous overhead lights flickered on to reveal the broad expanse of the gym. It was easily the size of the entire main floor of the house. The light shone off the weights, the stainless-steel doors at the other end of the room, and the entire back wall of weapons.
“Don’t get any ideas about those weapons,” he said to her over his shoulder as she gawked at them.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied, but her fingers itched to touch some of those knives and throwing stars.
He stepped onto one of the mats and turned to face her. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he backed a few feet away. “So, young hunter, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Kadence glanced down at her jeans, baggy blouse, and socks. “I’m not exactly dressed for sparring.”
“And you most likely won’t be dressed to fight if you’re attacked on the street either.”
“True,” she admitted and stepped onto the mat across from him.
He held his hands up before her as she circled him, stretching her arms as she moved. She was about to stretch her calves when she found herself flat on her back, staring at the sparkly lights above her. Ronan leaned over her, blocking out the lights with his broad shoulders. She didn’t know how he’d managed to knock her feet out from under her when she’d never seen him move, but he had.
“An attacker isn’t going to give you time to stretch, Kadydid,” he told her.
“It’s a katydid.” It was a ridiculous point to make, but it was better than glaring uselessly at him.
“Not anymore,” he replied.
The sexy smile he gave her made her realize she didn’t care what he called her when he smiled like that. He stretched his hand out to her. She sat up to clutch it and somehow found herself lying on her back, staring at the lights again. The exasperating man was faster than lightning.
“An attacker won’t help you up either,” he stated.
His infuriating chuckle had her launching to her feet and glowering at him. She adjusted her blouse and ended up on her ass again. She almost thumped her hands off the mat and yelled at him to stop it. She bit her tongue before she could speak. He may be pissing her off, but he was also exposing how woefully unprepared she was.
She pushed herself back to her feet and danced back before he could knock her down again. He circled around her, his body flowing with grace around the mat. “You’re spry,” he told her. “You’ll never overpower a vampire, but you can outmaneuver one enough to get away.”
“I want to kill, not run.”
He stopped moving to face her. “You’re not strong enough for that. You need to know how to defend yourself enough to escape one, but you’re not strong enough to face a vamp one on one and take them down. There’s a reason hunters work in packs against us. An experienced hunter may be able to take down a turned vamp on their own, but you’re not experienced.”
“Okay, so teach me how to outmaneuver one.”
He came at her then, a rush of muscle and male that robbed her of her breath far more than her exertion to keep away from him did. He worked her through a series of punches and kicks as he came at her again and again. She found herself staring at the lights more often than she was on her feet, but she was getting actual experience.
She had no idea what time it was when the sound of a throat clearing from the doorway drew both their eyes to where Declan lounged against the frame. “What is it?” Ronan inquired.
“Will you be hunting with us tonight?” Declan asked.
Ronan glanced at the clock on the wall. “Shit,” he said when he realized it was almost eight. “Yes, I’ll be up shortly.”
Declan disappeared from the doorway. Ronan shifted his attention to Kadence as she wiped a few strands of hair from her eyes. The blouse, damp with sweat, emphasized her breasts as it cleaved to them. He found his gaze locked onto them and the outline of the simple bra beneath.
“It was a good start,” he said gruffly as his cock swelled with his need for her. “We’ll continue this tomorrow.”
“I look forward to it.”
He turned and started for the door before realizing she wasn’t behind him. “Are you coming?”
“I’m going to train with some weights and weapons,” she said. “I think you’ve proven I have more work to do.”
“Kadence—”
“It’s not a bad thing,” she broke in with a wave of her hand. “I needed the wake-up call, and I will get better. I won’t be much longer, but I’m not ready to stop yet either. Go. I won’t take any weapons with me. Besides, I’m sure you would know if I did.”
“I would,” he replied. “Don’t overdo it or you’ll be useless tomorrow.”
“I won’t. Be careful out t
here.”
This time, he found himself pleased by her concern instead of angered by it. “I will,” he vowed.
Over the following days, she continued to find herself still staring at the ceiling more often than she remained on her feet, but she was getting better. Already she had more muscle definition in her arms and legs, and she was faster. She’d even managed to get in a couple of blows against Ronan before staring at the pretty lights again.
Her endurance was also better. Though, every night she still crawled into a hot bath to ease the soreness in her muscles and stayed there until she was more pruned than a raisin. Then, she would go down to the library and read until Ronan and the others returned. Her eyelids were always drooping by then, but she couldn’t sleep until she knew he was safe.
Tonight, while waiting for him to come down to work with her, Kadence wandered into the poolroom. She was examining the chess table near one of the windows when he found her. The table had been carved from the trunk of a tree and appeared to be at least a couple hundred years old. Judging by the grain of the wood, each of the chess pieces had also been carved from the same kind of tree and polished until they shone.
“Do you play chess?” he asked.
“I have a basic knowledge of the game,” she replied. “Enough so that I would be able to play with my husband, if he enjoyed the game.”
He strode into the room, his eyes running over her lithe figure in the black yoga pants and form-fitting, pink tank top. He’d asked Marta to purchase some workout clothes for her, but he’d expected sweatpants and sweatshirts, not this temptation. He’d have kept her in jeans had he known Marta was going to torment him with this outfit.
“And what if you enjoyed the game and your husband didn’t?” he asked.
She shrugged and glanced back at the pieces. “Then I probably wouldn’t have played again, at least not often.”
“Ridiculous,” he muttered.
“It’s the way of things with us,” she replied. “I was educated enough to converse with my husband without boring him.”
“And what if he bored you?” The radiant smile that lit her face struck straight to his heart.
“I wondered the same thing recently!” she exclaimed.
Ronan had to take a minute to gather himself as she continued to beam at him. “Well, it is not something you will have to be concerned about anymore.”
“No, it’s not,” she agreed.
“Would you like to play now?” he asked.
She glanced back at the table and then him. He saw the longing on her face before she shook her head. “No, I should train more.”
“You’ve done well. You could use a break.”
“Maybe tomorrow night,” she replied. “After you left last night, I mastered throwing the shuriken and want to show you.”
“Mastered it, did you?” he inquired as they made their way out of the room and to the basement door.
“Okay, maybe not mastered, but I hit the target multiple times.”
“Good,” he said as he opened the basement door and followed her down to the gym. “They’re easily concealed and will allow you to impair your attacker without getting close. It may not kill them, but it will slow them down and might make them rethink coming after you.”
“I like that,” she said as she walked across the room to the weapons.
Stepping back, Ronan admired her taut ass in those pants. He was going to spend the next couple of hours trying to conceal his erection from her, but it would be completely worth it. She stretched to grab some shurikens from the wall, and he almost groaned aloud when the action exposed a patch of the creamy skin on her lower back.
She came back toward him, her breasts swaying with each step as she took up a position across from the dummy he’d set up for her to work with. Unlike the dummies the hunters had given her to train with, this one was hooked to a rope and could be jerked around by hand or by a machine. She pushed a button and the machine came to life, jerking the dummy one way and then another.
The weapons sliced through the air as she released them with deadly speed and accuracy. She may not be able to take on a vampire by herself, but she was extremely talented, and he couldn’t deny that she was faster than the hunters he’d come across, except for maybe her brother. She was also stronger than they were and growing more so every day.
When she was done, she’d hit the target with all six of the shurikens and bounced on her toes as she spun to face him. Drawn toward her, he stalked across the mat and hit the button on the machine, shutting it down.
“Much better,” he said, his gaze dipping to her red lips before he tore his eyes away. “Now let’s try some live training with the shurikens.”
Kadence stopped bouncing and frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
He didn’t respond as he crossed over and pulled the shurikens free of the dummy. He carried them back to her and handed them over. “See if you can hit me with them.”
“No,” she said and tried to shove them back at him.
“Yes.” He folded her fingers around them before walking away from her. “Remember, if you hit me, it won’t kill me.”
“I’m not throwing these at you.”
“You have to know how to react against a vampire. Your hunter blood is exceptionally strong, but that doesn’t matter if you’re not properly trained. You can do this, and if you don’t, I’m going to spend the next couple of hours knocking you on your ass until you can’t sit for a week.”
“I’ve spent plenty of time on my ass these past days,” she retorted.
“I’ve been taking it easy on you.”
Kadence gawked at him as he turned to face her, the cocky look on his face both endearing and maddening.
“Don’t be afraid, Kadydid. I won’t hurt you.”
She scoffed at his words, but before she could formulate a reply, he was coming at her in a blur of speed and muscle.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kadence had gotten better at being able to discern where he was as they worked together, and her eyes adjusted to his fluid movements. Reacting on instinct, she released the shurikens in rapid fire, purposely aiming not to hit him, but making a point. When she released the last one, she darted to the side. She didn’t move fast enough to avoid him though.
Wrapping his arm around her waist, he lifted her off her feet before taking her down to the mat. Though he’d knocked her on her ass more times than she could recall recently, he’d never gone to the ground with her. Now, she found herself staring into his burgundy eyes when he planted his fists beside her head and his thighs between hers as he knelt over her. They didn’t touch, but the heat of him melted her body as if they were flesh to flesh.
“You got a little close on that last one,” he said with a glance at the blood beading from the scratch on his corded bicep.
Glancing down his body, she noted the slices in his black shirt and the one in his baggy pants. She could have hit him with each one she’d thrown, something she’d made sure he knew.
“Maybe I didn’t get close enough with the others,” she replied.
“Is that so?” he inquired and lowered himself so that his chest barely touched her.
Kadence sucked in her breath, but didn’t release it as his eyes dropped to her mouth and they heated with desire. All the nerve endings in her body screamed for him to touch her, to ease this need he so easily brought to life in her.
Just when she thought she might pass out from lack of oxygen, he bent his head until their lips brushed against each other. He seemed to be waging a silent battle with himself as he remained unmoving above her. Then, he let out a low groan and took possession of her mouth. Her heart knocked into her ribcage as his tongue slid over her lips before she opened her mouth to his.
The scent and feel of him filled all her senses. Her legs opened further to him, and he settled himself between her thighs. He growled against her lips and thrust his hips forward. The rigid evidence of his arousal rubbing agains
t her made it impossible to think as sensation took her over completely. The delicious sensations his body evoked in hers made it impossible to catch her breath as his tongue drove into her mouth in the same rhythm of his hips moving against her.
Ronan stroked his hand over her face before running it down her shoulder and lower as her hips rose to meet his. He had no idea how any of this had happened, but he lost himself to the wonder of her body as he cupped and kneaded her breast.
For nearly a week, he’d kept himself restrained from touching her in an intimate way. He hadn’t planned for anything to change tonight, but he’d been unable to stop himself from bringing her down beneath him, and then there had been no denying him after.
Her back arched to press her breast more firmly into his palm. His hand twisted in her shirt to tear it away from her. He wanted to shred her clothing, bare her to him, and take her with all the savagery of the demon within him.
She’s an innocent! The reminder made him realize that, if he took her the way he planned, he would hurt her, badly. He would ruin her, but worst of all, she would hate him for it.
Ronan launched himself off her so fast, Kadence didn’t realize he wasn’t there until cold air flowed in to chill her overheated skin. She blinked at the empty space above her before turning to find him stalking across the room. His body was so rigid she thought he might break apart with the way he carried himself.
Kadence rolled over as he turned back to face her from fifty feet away.
“I am sorry,” he said in a clipped tone she barely recognized.
“For what?” she inquired as she pushed herself to her feet. When she stepped toward him, he took one back like she was a magnet repelling him.
“I did not mean for that to happen. If I hurt you—”
“You didn’t.”
“Frightened you then.”
“You didn’t,” she said. “I can handle myself, Ronan.”
“You think you could stop me from hurting you?”
“I wouldn’t have to.”
“You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
[The Alliance 01.0] Eternally Bound Page 16