by L. J. Red
“The Ravager guards are dead. We have the weapons, we need to load them up, then destroy this site.” He took another step toward the warehouse, sensing his fellow Shadows across the distance. No injuries, no danger… Did they really need him?
“We should wait,” he agreed. “Yeah, we should…” He stared back at Eden for a beat, then turned to the vampire guards. “Fuck that. We’re leaving,” he said abruptly, and he crossed the distance to Eden in two quick strides. “I’m not waiting one more second,” he said. “I’ve been waiting all my life for you. I’m tired of waiting.” He gathered her close, drawing the shadows around him as they sped across the city.
Chapter 20
Eden and Talon landed in the courtyard that Talon had taken her to in their shared dreams. He whisked through the darkness and up onto the balcony of one of the rooms overlooking the courtyard. He slid the glass door open and let her in. The room was large but empty, almost bare, like a monk’s cell. There were barely any possessions other than the large bed, neatly made, and a rack of suits in the wardrobe. She recognized the suits as Talon’s and realized this was his room, this bare empty room with no personal touches. No touch of home. The thought saddened her, that every night, he returned to this bare room alone.
She turned to look at him silhouetted in the doorway. Was this his life? Just going on missions and coming back here to rest his body, like honing a weapon before going back out again. Talon stepped in fully and pulled the door shut behind him. It sealed with a finality that shivered through Eden’s bones.
“You don’t want to be here,” Talon said. And Eden realized her feelings had shivered down the bond toward him. She turned to look around the room. “It’s not that,” she said, but she didn’t want to admit the reason for her flash of sorrow, didn’t want to insult him. “I’m just catching my breath,” she said. “I’m not used to that thing you can do with the shadows where you travel so fast through the night.”
Talon watched her move, his presence, larger-than-life, taking up all the space in the room. She felt like prey in the eyes of a predator. “This is your room?” she asked, wondering if perhaps he had another elsewhere in the Sanctuary. But he put paid to that idea. “Yes,” he said. And he glanced around as if seeing it with new eyes. “It’s not much I know…” He trailed off. “My work for the Shadow.”
“What is your work exactly?” she asked, wanting to turn the conversation away from his sad, empty room. She could still feel the bond humming between them, but the desperate need to seal the bond had calmed, perhaps because she’d made the decision, they both had, as if it was giving them a chance to know each other before the next wave of desire came upon them
“Like all the Shadows, I hunt down rogue vampires, blood-crazed fledglings, killers that even the elite Bloodlines cannot control. But I have always been sent on the darkest of jobs,” he admitted, “the ones that required a certain kind of weapon.” He smiled bitterly.
“You’re not a weapon,” Eden said, taking a step toward him. “You’re more than that.”
Talon’s smile turned more honest. “Perhaps, but if I am, it’s because of you.” He pinned her with his gaze. “It’s only around you that I feel like there could be more to me than the Shadows’ assassin.”
Assassin. Of course that was what he was. What horrors he must have seen over the course of his long time as a vampire. How many monsters must he have torn apart? No wonder he was haunted by wildness.
“Please, Eden.” He reached for her. “I can’t wait.” He gently brushed her hair away from her neck, his fangs flashing white. Hand gently, he pressed lightly so that she turned her head to the side, her breaths quick and shallow.
Eden tried to give herself over to desire, tried to ignore the lingering flush of nerves.
“It’s all right,” Talon murmured. “I’ve got you.” He slid his other hand around her waist. Her shirt bunched against her scar and she jerked back out of his arms. They stood frozen for a moment, staring at each other, and then Talon’s expression shattered and he began to turn away.
“No,” Eden cried, reaching out to him. “Wait.” She was such a fool.
“Enough,” Talon said. “It’s my fault. I’m asking too much of you. I should have—” He shook his head roughly. “It doesn’t matter. I understand you don’t really want this.”
“I do,” Eden said, striding forward and gripping his shoulder, turning him to face her. “It’s not that; it’s just that I…” She trailed off. She had to tell him. She had to tell him about the scar. No, more than that. She had to show him. She took a step back and gripped the bottom of her shirt. His eyes fell on her, confused but intent, and she raised it to expose the long, puckered scar reaching from the side of her waist to her navel. “It’s this,” she said finally. Her body held taut and tense, readying herself for his rejection. The scar was ugly, a hideous, jagged reminder of her own weakness. She braced herself as Talon took one hesitant step toward her, his eyes flickering up to meet hers.
She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for him to drop to his knees and gently brush his lips across the rough edge of her scar. She jerked back again as if burned, but this time he caught her, his hands gentle yet firm at the small of her back. He pulled himself to his feet, his eyes fastened upon hers.
“I didn’t want you to see,” she choked, “I didn’t want anyone to see—”
“You’re beautiful,” Talon said.
Eden turned her head to the side. “It’s an ugly scar. You don’t have to lie.”
Talon took a step away from her, and for a moment she thought he was leaving her, then he too lifted his shirt and pulled it over his head, exposing his chiseled chest. Not just his chest, but the jagged line of a scar across his right side, curling over his collarbone, another low on his belly, and yet more scattered faintly across his ribs. “These are from before I was a vampire,” he said, dropping his shirt on the floor. “Countless others I’ve gained and lost as a vampire.” He stepped close to her. “You’re not the only vampire with scars,” he said. “Many of us have our history written on our skin.” He placed his hands gently on her waist. “They don’t define us; they’re just another part of us.”
“I-I didn’t know,” Eden choked out. She hesitantly stretched out her hand, before blushing and letting it fall.
“You can touch,” Talon said. Slowly, reverently, Eden traced her fingers over the raised ridge of his scars. “It’s just skin,” Talon said.
Eden realized she was crying, tears trailing down her face. The bond flexed between them as Talon raised his hand, his thumb brushing gently over her cheek.
Eden couldn’t believe the acceptance she was feeling through the bond. She had never dared to dream that she might find someone who would understand.
“The bond between us goes deeper than skin,” Talon murmured, trailing his fingers down to her chin and exerting a gentle, inexorable pressure to raise her face to meet his. “It doesn’t matter what’s on the outside. I know who you are in here”—he rested his other hand gently over her heart, his palm broad and warm—“and it’s someone I would be proud to call my soulmate.”
Eden felt an unfolding like golden wings inside her chest, beating against her ribs. It gave her the strength to push out the words. “It was my boyfriend,” she said. “Riker.”
She felt the thrum of protective rage through the bond, but Talon didn’t release her, didn’t go on a murderous streak across the city. He stayed right there in front of her, solidly where she needed him. “This was how I got turned.” She let the hated memories wash over her. For the first time, they had no power over her. They washed over her, like images on a screen, held behind glass. “I tried to leave him, and he came at me with a knife. I couldn’t get away. The next day, I realized nothing I was imagining could be worse than staying with him. It was never going to get better. If I didn’t leave, he was going to kill me.” She dropped her gaze, but didn’t leave the embrace of Talon’s arms, t
aking strength from his support. “He found me before I could leave, my bags packed. I didn’t know he had been turned into a vampire. I thought he was going to kill me.” She sighed. “I guess he did. After that, all I wanted was to get away from him, but he threatened Hope. I couldn’t leave as long as she was in danger.”
“You’re free of him now,” Talon said, “This bite, the soulmate bond, it will break your connection to him. You can leave him behind, leave it all behind and become a Shadow, my soulmate.” Eden stared up at Talon and raised her hands to rest on his bare shoulders, luxuriating in the feel of his skin under her fingertips.
“Yes,” she said. “I want it. I want you. I want this.”
He looked down at her for a minute, the heaviness of his gaze a physical weight on her body, and then he leaned forward. She felt him reaching through the bond, gripping tightly on it, urging her to reach back and, fumblingly, she did. Talon bent his head to her neck and brushed his lips gently over the sensitive skin. She braced herself for pain, feeling the hardness of his fangs against her skin. With a swiftness that surprised her, he bit down on the side of her neck. There was a second of pain, and then it changed into a soft onrushing flow of pleasure, an incandescent glow that lit up her every nerve. The feeling was so different from when Riker had turned her. She felt cradled in Talon’s embrace; precious and safe.
Control slipped away from her as desire rose between them, but instead of being terrified by it, for the first time she delighted in the strength of the bond. It was exhilarating; she was overcome, the terrible yearning she had been feeling for so long, finally met and filled. She reached out through the bond and felt Talon reaching back, tangling like fingers clutching at each other as the bond between them threaded around and around, binding them closer, forming an unbreakable connection.
Eden pressed herself against him, rolling her hips sinuously, her entire body alive with desire in a way she had never before experienced. Talon’s fangs penetrated deeper into her neck and she exhaled roughly. Fuck, the bite, it was pure pleasure. She arched into it. She felt the presence of her previous Bloodline dwindling into a tiny spark, and then, with a sudden finality, snuffed out. Suddenly opening before her was a field of bright stars, she felt the Bloodline Shadow gathering around her, warm and inviting, that sense of family she had barely tasted before swelling up and carrying her away, and through it all, the insistent, solid presence of Talon wrapped around her, drawing them together until she was dizzy and trembling with sensation.
***
Talon clutched Eden’s supple body to him, finally drawing his fangs free of her neck and catching a trailing line of blood with his tongue, watching as the wound slowly drew closed under his eyes. He pressed a soft kiss on the healing skin. Like any vampire-inflicted wound, it would remain tender and heal slowly, but he had been careful to bite gently and leave just two pinpricks of red on her neck. It sent a bolt of satisfaction through him to see his mark on her, but more to know the bond between them now was unbreakable, would stay strong even after the mark in her neck had healed and no physical sign remained of their connection.
Like he’d said, their bond was more than merely skin. The bond between them went deeper, bound their cores, and he felt an answering fire within her building. The pleasure that had run through him at the taste of her blood had been indescribable. He’d enjoyed drinking from willing humans before, but he’d never imagined what the claiming bite might feel like. The taste of her had rocketed through him, setting off a fire of desire that he could barely control. Talon had to force himself to step away from her; his desire for her was a furious, irresistible surge.
Eden looked up at him, dazed with lust, and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, trapping it, letting it slide between her teeth—slick, wet, red, and inviting. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her. But he couldn’t do it. He knew if he did, he wouldn’t stop until he had taken her right here. His bed was so close, and it would be so easy to press her back onto the sheets, to strip her bare like he had in the dream and expose her glorious body to his hungry eyes and lips and mouth. He groaned in frustration, his hardness tenting his pants. God, he wanted that. But she hadn’t asked it of him. He forced himself to remember she had said yes to the claiming but nothing more. He would not force himself on her. He would not make her give anything she did not want to give, especially not after the mess he had made of the dreams. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Any move they made would be initiated by her.
He forced the carnal thoughts away and took a step back, disentangling himself from her grip, ignoring her sultry moan as she reached for him. He stepped away further and pushed open the door to the courtyard, taking a deep lungful of night air, trying to get the thick, sensual scent of her out of his senses.
He could feel her pulling back from desire as well, the bond settling into their skin. Finally, Eden stepped up to join him at the door, her hand resting lightly on the bite mark. Talon felt a bolt of lust go straight through him, but he strangled it ruthlessly and stopped it from reaching through the bond. She didn’t need to know the depth of his desire for her. That wouldn’t help anything.
Eden looked at him uncertainly. “Is it done?” she asked.
Talon felt the sinful desire to deceive her, to tell her no, for it to be complete they had to lie together. He was sure once he had her underneath him, he would pleasure her enough that she would never want to leave. But he would not lie to her again. “Yes,” he gritted out. “It’s done. It will take a few days for the bond to settle but we are bonded now.”
The smile she sent him was glowing, and the feeling that came down the bond was undeniably warm, with an echo of possessiveness that he was thrilled to feel. Still, he didn’t let himself take a step toward her, lest his control gave out and he swept her up in another shattering kiss. “I should…” He thought quickly. He needed a reason to put some distance between them or else he would not be able to control himself. “I should do another patrol,” he said. “The Ravagers will be out in force after the strike we just dealt them. I should check on the vampire-owned businesses in Chicago that aren’t run by Radiance.”
“Oh,” Eden said, looking abashed. “Of course,” she said, “I don’t want to stop you. You have important work to do, but—”
“But when I return—”
They both spoke at once and Talon broke off.
“Yes?” Eden smiled. “When you return?”
“I will seek you out,” Talon swore.
“Good,” Eden said, then she blushed.
Talon smirked. He would get a little more control over his emotions, and then he would set his mind to coaxing her into his bed and showing her exactly what a soulmate bonded pair was capable of.
Chapter 21
Riker stood in the wreckage of his warehouse, snarling with rage. The Shadows had cleared it out, loaded up all of his weapons—even the explosives he’d had specifically shipped in to use against them—and they had set fire to the boat and the warehouse and disappeared into the night. Barely any of his Ravagers had survived, only those few too cowardly to come out and fight, who had remained hidden, cowering, while the Shadows cleared his warehouse. He stared up at the gaping hole in the roof and screamed his rage at the gray morning.
Finally, his shoulders shaking, he swept his hair back from his forehead and regained his breath, only then becoming aware of a presence behind him. He spun around, his claws out wide, and Roman stepped out from the gloom, the pale dawn catching the limp white of his hair. Roman picked his way toward Riker, an expression of extreme distaste on his lips. “So,” he said when he was finally close enough, his voice a silky threatening sound, “the Shadows beat you once more.”
Riker growled. “They knew the shipment was here. They knew where to come.”
“Then you have a traitor,” Roman said simply
“My men are loyal,” Riker snarled.
Roman shrugged. “All of them?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Offer a criminal enough money a
nd…” He trailed off.
Riker snarled. Was that all they were to him? Just common criminals? They were fucking vampires. He would show Roman. His gang would be the most powerful in all of Chicago, then Roman could take his fancy pale hair and his fancy Radiance lineage and stuff it up his ass.
“I did fear this might happen,” Roman said, taking another step forward. “That your Ravagers would prove to be incompetent. But there’s the trade-off. The more vampires are turned to our Bloodline, the more powerful we grow.” He pinned Riker with his pale eyes. “Surely you have felt it,” he said. “The swelling of power with every new vampire you turned to our line.”
Riker frowned. Roman was right. He had noticed something like that, but he had put it down to his own abilities maturing with every day that passed as a vampire. He hadn’t realized the connection between the size of Bloodline and the power held by each individual vampire was so simple.
“Oh yes,” Roman said, reading the realization from his face. “There are two parts to a Bloodline’s power. Numbers or individual strength. The Shadows are obsessed with their method, choosing only the strongest to add to their line. The wisest, the greatest warriors, those whose hearts are pure.” He sneered. “As if there is such a thing as purity in this fetid mess of a world. No”—he stretched out his hand toward Riker and splayed his fingers wide—“strength comes from sheer numbers. We will swarm the Shadow’s stronghold. We have no need for further weapons. The numbers are on our side, and through the vast mass of our vampires, we all gain power… and I…”—he grinned—“as leader of the Bloodline, gain most of all.” He clenched his fingers together and Riker felt his blood freeze in his veins. Cold, so cold, Roman’s power, like pale fire burning through his veins. Roman clenched his fingers tighter, and Riker felt his power constrict, pulling him up, stretching him out like a puppet on the end of Roman’s hands. “Yes,” Roman hissed, his pale eyes glowing. “This is worth the weakness of your fucking Ravager fledglings. The individual strength is meaningless; this is how I will gain power. This is what I need.”