by Sylvia Day
She found the strength to open her gritty eyes. Dark hair fell around his flushed face. His brown irises were swallowed by his dilated pupils, roiling with violent need.
He pressed his cheek to hers. “Don’t hate me for what’s happening to you.”
Kneeing her legs open, he pushed inside her. A violent shudder coursed the length of his frame. “Angel . . . You’re burning me up.”
He was so long and hard, built for a woman’s pleasure. She knew he would fill her completely, the stretching sensation incredible and addicting.
“Deeper,” she coaxed, raising her hips.
The instant he sank to the end of her, the pain eased, leaving only drugging, drowning pleasure behind.
He murmured hoarse praise, clutching her close, beginning to move.
She sobbed, her fever breaking, sweat dripping from every pore and soaking her hair. The bed. Him.
His powerful thighs flexed against hers as he kept her pinned and rode her skillfully. Slow. Rolling his hips. She watched him with heavy lidded eyes, watched him watch her as he pumped into her, his abdomen flexing and rippling with his thrusts. Watched his eyes burn as she writhed and whimpered his name.
Alec was inexhaustible. He would climax with a clenched jaw and deep, stifled groans, but he never softened completely. Her keening cries as she came made him hard again. She could feel him thicken inside her as he rocked in and out. Ready for more.
No other man could compete. He’d ruined her from the very first. No one touched her the way he did. No one looked at her the way he did, studying every nuance of her response and adjusting his movements so she kept coming. And coming. No one had that wickedly dark voice that goaded her. Whispering how she felt to him, how she pleased him, how much he loved to be inside her.
They had sex for hours, moments melding into each other, Alec thrusting between her spread thighs in that lazy, sensual rhythm that said, Feel that? Feel me? I’m in you. Inside you.
The room grew dark as the sun set.
Sick as she’d been, she shouldn’t have been able to take him, but she grew stronger with every moment that passed, the dull throb of the burn on her arm pumping a wild, edgy power through her veins until she was abandoned. Scratching at his back, biting his neck, spurring him on with her heels in his flexing ass.
Through sheer mulish determination, Eve broke through Alec’s steely control, grabbed him by the throat and balls, and rocked his world. As she pleasured him ruthlessly, his guttural cries filled the room, swelling up through the vaulted ceiling of her condominium.
“Getting ready to leave again?” she asked harshly, clinging to his straining, sweat-slicked body with arms made powerful by the energy inside her. “Storing up future memories?”
He grunted and licked the side of her face. “Making up for lost time. You’ll cover the future in daily installments.”
“You wish.” She nipped his ear with sharp teeth, making him curse. “Enjoy the ride while it lasts.”
His head lifted, revealing glowing eyes that sent violent shivers down her spine. Resting one hand on the mattress, he drove powerfully into her. Eve was so focused on the pounding of his hips against hers and the impending orgasm that she failed to register the danger until it was too late.
Alec lifted his free hand, revealing the white-hot image of an eye in the center of his palm.
“Oh, hell no!” She shoved at his shoulders.
“Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm—”
He gripped her branded deltoid and burned her anew.
Eve bit out a curse and belted him square in the jaw.
CHAPTER 6
Eve frowned as the Harley rounded the corner of her street and pulled over to the curb several houses up from her own. Her dad would be dozing on the couch now, her mother upstairs in bed reading a romance novel, and her little sister chatting on her private phone line instead of sleeping. It was home and she loved it, but she didn’t want to go there now. The thought of being separated from the man in front of her made her feel panicky.
“Did we have to come here right away?” she asked, regretting answering honestly when he’d asked for directions.
As he turned off the engine, she laced her fingers together to keep him close. He was so warm, so solid, so big. Nothing like the boys she went to school with.
He gently pried her fingers open. “Yes, it’s better for you, angel.”
“Can’t we go somewhere else? It’s still early.”
“No.”
“Why? Why did you come tonight if you didn’t want to hang out with me?”
She felt him sigh. “I don’t ‘hang out,’ and even if I did, I couldn’t hang out with you.”
“Because of my age?” God, she was so sick of being treated like a kid.
“Among other reasons.”
His head turned slightly and the glimpse of his profile, even under the weak illumination of the street-lights, took her breath away. Her heart thudded in an elevated rhythm, her breathing was quick and shallow. His lean hips were cradled between her spread thighs, her breasts pressed to his back. She knew he felt some of the pull she did or he wouldn’t have been waiting for her tonight.
But she wanted to prove it, so Eve shimmied her torso, rubbing her erect nipples against him.
His breath hissed out between clenched teeth. “Get off the bike.”
The tone of his voice brooked no argument so she dismounted with a moue. “What’s your name?”
There was a long silence while he stared at her with that hot, intense stare. She could tell he was debating whether to tell her or not. Finally, he said, “Alec Cain.”
Eve nodded and adjusted the strap of her bag. “Thanks for the ride, Alec.”
She set off toward her house and a moment later the hog rumbled to life. Though the urge to look back was nearly overwhelming, her pride was stronger.
She knew if he felt anything like she did when they were together, he would be back.
* * *
Eve rested her right hand on the tile and stood with head bent beneath the pummeling water spray of her shower.
Seven days. Seven days of her life gone.
She knew something drastic had happened to her during that short time. The brands on her left arm were completely healed and settled into something that resembled a tribal tattoo. Exactly like Alec’s. After nearly a week without food and very little to drink, she should be weak and dehydrated. She was neither. Instead she felt like a million bucks, her foot tapping impatiently on the stone shower floor because she couldn’t contain all of the restless energy inside her.
Shutting off the tap, Eve grabbed the fresh towel she’d set atop the lid of her hamper. She dried her skin quickly, then wrapped her wet hair into a turban and padded out to the bedroom.
There was no way to ignore the naked man sprawled facedown across her bed. Alec had chosen the white sheets, a selection that set butterflies loose in her stomach. It made her bed look like a cloud. His dark masculinity upon that backdrop made him look like a fallen angel.
She would never forget the night she lost her virginity. He’d lain beneath her like a wicked fantasy upon white sheets, urging her on with hoarsely voiced encouragements.
Sighing, her gaze moved from his face down the muscular expanse of his back to the dimples just above his perfect ass.
“Have mercy,” she whispered, repeating the words he’d used the night before.
Eve tore her gaze away and looked around the room, noting the washcloths on her mahogany nightstand. She imagined what the last week must have been like for him and the intimacy involved in caring for her. The man she couldn’t trust to stick around at all had been dependable in her most dire hours. What was the sense in that?
Her jaw clenched. Alec knew exactly what had happened to her a week ago. Then he’d done the exact same thing to her last night. Because of him and the winged mystery man, she was altered. Physically. Mentally. In every way. She could feel the Chang
e like a narcotic slipping through her veins.
Pivoting on her heel, Eve snatched up the short silk robe that hung on the back of the bedroom door and left the room. She went to the kitchen for much-needed food and coffee, knowing she was going to need plenty of both for the confrontation to come.
Alec watched Evangeline Hollis leave the high school parking lot, crossing Euclid Street to reach the Circle K convenience store. His gaze drank in every nuance of her figure—the long, lithe legs, slight but luscious curves, golden California tan, and hair of long black silk. She walked with three other girls, but she didn’t fit in. Not because she was Asian, but because she was above them, beyond them. Every delectable inch of her body was ripe with sexual promise and a confidence he admired.
At times he cursed the sudden urge he’d had to grab a bottle of water from the convenience store the day he first saw her. If he’d kept on riding, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. But he knew fate and coincidence were mortal concepts. A divine plan was at work, and somehow this angel fit into his. Unfortunately for her.
Wanting to protect her, Alec had fought the compulsion to meet her and fled via Interstate 5 on his way to San Diego. Another city in an endless string of cities he visited in the course of his nomadic life. His bike roared past 1313 Harbor Boulevard: Disneyland—The Happiest Place on Earth.
Then he realized the source of the pull he felt toward her. When she’d mouthed “Hi” with those glossy red lips, he’d felt the first stirrings of connection, something he hadn’t experienced in so long he had almost forgotten what it felt like.
Why her? he despaired. She’s so young. Too young. Centuries younger than he was.
But Alec knew the answer. She was his forbidden fruit. Set out to tempt him with what he could never have. One taste and Eve would be his, but the price she’d pay would destroy them both.
Yet, despite knowing the consequences, Alec had found himself exiting the freeway and backtracking to her. Now, two weeks later, he watched her from the shadow of a large tree and ached for the feel of her arching beneath him.
One taste. He was starved for it.
He couldn’t forget the feel of her breasts against his back, her curious fingertips drifting across his stomach, the sound of her voice coaxing, Can’t we go somewhere?
Yes, he’d wanted to say. Let’s go and never come back.
Temptation. God’s most oft-used test.
But Alec wasn’t going to fail this one. He was leaving today if it killed him. He’d come to see her one last time, then he would go, finding strength in the fact that he’d resisted his own needs in favor of hers.
Alec was about to turn away, finally prepared to get on his hog and leave her behind, when Eve paused on the corner, her head turning in his direction. He stilled. Waiting. Wondering if she saw him.
She arched a brow, staring. Then she blew him a mocking kiss and flipped him off, before turning on her heel and sauntering away.
Eat your heart out, her actions said.
Taunting him. Tempting him. Not understanding that he was afraid for her, not himself. She would pay the price for his infraction. His punishment would come from knowing that he was the cause of hers.
His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ground together.
Sliding his sunglasses back on, he walked to his bike and hit the road.
Pausing on the threshold between the living room and the hallway, Alec carefully studied the set of Eve’s shoulders. She was clad in a blood-red, knee-length silk kimono robe. Her black hair tumbled halfway down her back, the thick strands swaying with the salt-tinged breeze drifting through the open balcony door.
She looked relaxed, her hip leaning into the jamb of the sliding glass door, her hands filled with a steaming cup of coffee as she stared at the ocean view. But he knew her senses were alert, her hearing more acute, her sense of smell inhumanly accurate. When she reached full strength, her speed and stamina would make Olympic athletes weep in envy . . . if she ever moved slowly enough that they could see her. She was a hunter now, a predator.
Tightening the towel he had wrapped around his waist, Alec crossed the vast space, admiring how well she’d done for herself. She had a gleaming new Chrysler 300 in her garage downstairs and she was so close to the beach that her living room balcony hung over the sand.
She was going to hate him for ruining her perfect life.
“Good morning, angel.”
Eve spun to face him. Despite hours of hard sex, she looked none the worse for wear. Her dark eyes, almond shaped and framed by thick sooty lashes, were clear and bright. She would heal with remarkable speed now. At least on the outside. As for the inside . . .
He ran a hand through his damp hair. Would she understand when he explained? And even if she did, would it mitigate the fact that he was the reason this had happened to her?
She held up a hand, halting his advance when he was a few feet away. “What am I now?”
“You’re a Mark.” He spoke calmly, while inside he felt far from it. “You’re stronger, faster—”
“Better, stronger, faster?” Her laughter was harsh. “I’m the fucking Bionic Woman? What the hell was that fever I had?”
Alec crossed his arms over his bare chest and decided to take the high road. She had every right to be pissed and confused. “Punishment. Women’s sexuality has been used against them since my mom ate the forbidden fruit. Why do you think childbirth is so painful?”
“Are you insane? What does childbirth have to do with me?” She made a slashing gesture with her hand. “On second thought, don’t tell me. Just explain what I’m being punished for.”
“For tempting me.”
“I haven’t seen you in ten damn years!” she snapped. “You got your rocks off and left.”
Eve had never been able to hide anything from him. She was hurt. The knowledge tightened his throat and made him speak gruffly. “I love you.”
A visible shudder moved through her. She reached out and gripped the door frame. “Screw you.”
“Evangeline—”
“Go to hell.”
“My job is to send demons back there. Now it’s your job, too.”
“You’re nuts. You need help.” She jerked her chin toward the door. “There are lots of shrinks out there. Go find one. I’ll even let you take the Yellow Pages with you. For old time’s sake.”
“Did he show you his wings, angel?” Alec stepped closer. “Did he spread them wide? Intimidate you with them?”
Her fingers gripping the jamb were white, as were the edges of her lips.
“I bet he made a great show out of the marking, didn’t he? How did he say it?” He deepened his voice, then growled, “Bear the Mark of Cain!”
The coffee cup fell from her fingers and shattered on the hardwood floor, coffee exploding outward in a wide splatter. Her knees buckled and Alec lunged forward, catching her.
He carried her to the sofa and sat, cradling her in his lap. Tucking Eve’s head under his chin, he rocked her, taking comfort from her embrace even as he gave the same to her.
“What about you tempting me?” she accused, her breath gusting across his throat. “How was I supposed to resist you? A girl my age . . . a guy like you—”
A soft sob escaped her. Alec thrust his hand into her hair and held her tight against him.
That night haunted him. He’d rented a suite, bought every beautifully scented flower he could find at the florist’s, and lit the room with a profusion of candles. He took her virginity on white satin sheets covered in rose petals.
“I couldn’t have done anything differently,” he said softly.
“You knew you weren’t going to stay before you seduced me.”
He spoke with his lips pressed to the crown of her head. “I tried to spare you any suffering by leaving. I hoped that if we separated, you could still have the same future you would have had before you met me.”
Eve struggled out of his embrace, fighting him with such fervor she fell on the
floor. “You’re an asshole.” Rising to her knees, she slapped him.
Alec clenched his jaw and turned the other cheek.
She cursed and pushed to her feet, her robe askew. He stood with her, securing his towel while facing her head on.
“Spare me any suffering,” she scoffed, glaring at him. “That’s lame, Alec. You have to do better than that.”
“What do you want me to say?”
She ran both hands through her hair and growled. “Something that makes sense. Something sincere and believable.”
“I’m sorry, angel.”
Pausing midstep, Eve gaped at him. “That’s it? You’re sorry?”
“Would it be better to say that I would do it again?”
She looked away. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Look at me like that.”
“You love me.” Alec smiled wryly.
They stared at each other across the few feet that separated them.
“Hate to burst your bubble,” she said grimly, “but I have more important things in my life than you. You’re expendable.”
“Actually, I’m not, but we’ll get to that later. In the meantime, you can’t ignore what happened last night.”
“It doesn’t mean what you think it means.” She walked past him to the kitchen.
He followed. “It means we’re in a lot of shit. It also means getting you out of this mess just got a hell of a lot more complicated.”
She grabbed two mugs from her cabinet and changed the subject. “You want to explain the winged man?”
“Yes, brother, would you like to explain me?”
Eve turned at the sound of the voice she would never forget. He strode in from the balcony as if he owned the place. The man who’d screwed her into unconsciousness in the stairwell. His smile was sensual and slightly cruel, and it made her shiver, not entirely with fear.
Alec snarled and vaulted across the room with a ferocity and speed that frightened her, hitting his brother in the midsection with a brutal tackle. The ensuing scuffle was far from brotherly tussling. It was a fight to the death, and the sounds and sights of the battle did something strange to her. Made her mark burn, made her pulse race. The scent of blood in the air caused a physical reaction that she likened to blood lust. A rough growl rumbled up from her chest.