His jaw tightened. I could sense how hard this was for him. Knew more than ever why protecting me was so important. The vampire race was divided, each side growing more desperate as time ran out. And whether I wanted to be or not, I was stuck in the middle of it. Putting myself in danger was beyond reckless and stupid, but it was Isla. Sweet, caring, fun-loving Isla. I couldn’t live with myself if I just let her die.
And Lochlan must have known that, must have set aside his own needs for mine. Because he quietly said, “I promise.”
I released another sigh, this one filled with all the gratefulness I felt. “Thank you,” I whispered, wholeheartedly meaning the words. Right before sleep pulled me under again, I mumbled, “Lochlan?”
“Yes?”
“I missed you too.”
* * *
“What the freaking crap, Kade?” I grumbled, tugging on the impossibly short hem of my new clubbing dress. Although “dress” was an exaggeration for the skintight thing I was now wearing. The red number was completely backless, barely covering my butt. Side cutouts showed off my ribs to the hip, and the thin spaghetti straps keeping my boobs from popping free of the low top were one thread away from snapping.
Then there were the heels. Heels. Gold stilettos with diamond-studded ankle straps. How was I supposed to rescue Isla in these?
He’d also bought me a small mountain of expensive makeup and hair products, along with several jewelry pieces. I’d never been doted on like this before, and didn’t quite know how to feel. I appreciated the under-eye coverup more than he could know, though.
Someone knocked on the bathroom door. “You okay in there?” Kade hollered. “You’ve been in there for an hour.”
Which meant there was less than an hour to go until midnight. Nervous butterflies cartwheeled through my stomach. I focused on my breathing. In and out, in and out. I wouldn’t faint and ruin all of our plans. Isla needed me.
“Yeah,” I replied, taking one last look at my reflection. I barely recognized myself. False lashes and smokey eyeshadow made my gray irises appear extra silvery bright. My lipstick was blood red, a shade I’d never worn before. Under the circumstances though, the color fit. I’d left my thick hair down but added a few wavy curls, feeling a bit self-conscious about exposing so much of my back. The only jewelry I wore was gold hoop earrings and a few gold wrist bangles, leaving my neck completely bare.
An intentional move, one that I’d made on my own. I had every intention of following the plan we’d discussed earlier this evening, but if things went sideways, I’d be ready.
Inhaling one last breath, I turned for the door. When I opened it, Kade was there, leaning against the wall. Even though he’d transitioned into his vampire form for the night, I could still clearly see the shock on his face when he saw me. Releasing a low whistle, he inspected me from top to bottom before drawling, “That should be illegal on so many levels.”
Willing myself not to blush and epically failing, I muttered, “No thanks to you.”
“Don’t you mean all thanks to me? Either way, you’re welcome,” he said with a wink. “Every male eyeball will be on you. Female too, for that matter.”
“Kade,” Lochlan warned from somewhere in the room.
“You’re incorrigible,” I groused at Kade’s snickered response, his teasing only heightening my nerves. The whole point of this outfit was to draw attention to myself, to distract, but was it that scandalous? Only one way to find out. Gathering the last of my frayed nerves, I stepped around the corner and into the room.
Lochlan’s back was to me, his attention on the view outside the dirty window. But at the sound of my approach, he turned toward me. When I felt his gaze alight on my body, the breath stuttered out of me. I held perfectly still, letting him look his fill.
After only a few seconds though, he tore his gaze away. “Good. Let’s go,” he said in clipped tones, then stormed out the door.
I gawked at the spot where he’d been, beyond flustered and confused. Normally, when my legs were exposed like this, he couldn’t take his eyes off them. Before doubt and insecurity could creep in, Kade chuckled, coming up behind me to drape a fluffy faux fur wrap over my shoulders.
“He’s angry. Really angry. Which means that I did my job well.”
I frowned up at his smug face, accepting the gold clutch he handed me. “What does that even mean?”
“It means, my sweet innocent Kenna, that he thinks you look mind-blowingly hot but isn’t happy that everyone’s going to be drooling over you.”
Oh.
That realization pleased me more than I wanted to admit. But if he felt that way, then how would he react once we were inside the club? “What should I do?”
“Nothing,” Kade replied with a devilish smirk, ushering me toward the exit. “Absolutely nothing.”
Lochlan’s anger didn’t lessen on the car ride over. He wouldn’t even look at me in the rearview mirror. His negative emotions weaseled their way under my skin, ratcheting up my anxiety. I had to pinch my thigh several times. By the time we arrived at our destination, I was sporting a massive bruise from accidentally using my enhanced strength.
When the ignition died, Kade turned in his seat, holding something out to me. “Here. Drink this. You’ll need it.”
I accepted the glass vial, stilling when I saw its contents. “Is this blood?”
“Yes. Even though you have a lot more control than an actual vampire, you’ll have a hard time concentrating once you’re inside the feeding den. The smell of humans and blood will be overwhelming.”
My mouth dried, but I quickly swallowed, shoving down the rising cravings. “What about you two?” I asked, more nervous than ever about entering this den.
“We’ve already prepared ourselves,” Kade said, the simple answer only making me wonder how and where they got their blood. Did they ever feed directly from humans?
The thought soured my stomach, and I thrust the vial back at him. “Thanks, but I’ll make do without it.”
“Drink the blood, McKenna,” Lochlan suddenly spoke up, stiff as a statue in the driver’s seat.
My eyes narrowed on the back of his head. “No. I don’t need it.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t be stubborn,” he quietly growled.
“Why don’t you say that to my face?” I growled back, matching his heated temper.
He had our doors open in a flash, pulling me out of the car and onto my feet before I could dig in my heels. “Like this?” he hissed, softening the harsh words by cradling my face in his gloved hands. Staring into his blazing red eyes, I could sense the desperation, the fear he was trying so hard to hide behind a wall of anger. As he unconsciously swept his thumbs across my cheeks, my own anger fizzled out.
“Don’t worry about me,” I tried to reassure him, hoping that I’d read him right. “I’ll be okay.”
He stared at me for a long moment, the fire in his eyes slowly dimming. Then, with a sigh, he folded me into his arms. Not caring if my makeup smudged, I pressed my face to his shoulder, securing my arms around his waist. As the tension and anxiety gradually ebbed from us both, he confessed, “I can’t stop myself from worrying about you.”
Only because you still need me to stop a war from starting, I automatically thought.
But the longer he held me, the more I doubted that was true. Not entirely, anyway. Was our mysterious bond producing these feelings? I’d been too afraid to mention it, certain that he’d ask me to reject it again. Reject him. But the moment we’d been reunited, the moment I’d seen and felt him, rejecting our connection had been the furthest thing from my mind.
Fates above, I actually cared about this insufferably bossy, secretive, stubborn man. And I didn’t think the bond had anything to do with it.
A throat cleared. “As much as I hate to interrupt this touching moment, we still have a frightened girl in there who needs our help.” At Kade’s words, we broke apart, albeit reluctantly. Kade placed the gold clutch in my hands again, eyeing me
sternly. “The vial’s in there if the cravings become too strong. Don’t be a hero, little Kenna. Not with this. You’ll lose.”
My lips tightened, but I only nodded.
Satisfied, he joined Lochlan at the car’s open trunk. Curious what they were doing, I peeked inside.
“Holy crap, what’s all this?” I blurted, my eyes rounding at the certifiable arsenal hidden in Lochlan’s car.
“You think we’d sneak into a hostile vampire nest unarmed?” Kade said, tucking several throwing knives into the folds of his black clothing.
“But . . . but it’s all silver. You could get hurt.”
Kade paused to glance back at me. He would have pulled off the sympathetic look, if it weren’t for the teasing twinkle in his eye. “We’ll be fine, Kenna. Don’t worry about us.”
I rolled my eyes, not in the least bit reassured.
Lochlan turned from strapping a gun harness across his chest to eye me up and down. “You should carry something too.”
I spread my arms wide and mockingly twirled around. “Where? There aren’t many places to hide things in this dress. I’m not even wearing a bra.”
Ah crap, I should not have said that. As soon as I faced him again, his gaze went straight to my breasts. And one glimpse told me what I already knew: my nipples were hard and raised, straining against the thin red material. Seeing the heat build in his eyes, I gathered the fur wrap around me, covering my chest.
Kade reached around Lochlan and slapped a dagger into his gloved palm. “Her purse, my friend. There’s no way that dress is hiding anything.”
For once, Lochlan didn’t chastise him for the innuendo. He silently reached for my clutch instead, placing the dagger inside, along with a card he pulled from his pocket. “Your fake ID. Getting inside shouldn’t be a problem. They’ll have a thralled human at the front entrance for appearances, and these places never have security cameras. That way, the police won’t have physical evidence of what goes on inside. All you have to do is stay away from the shadowed alcoves along the perimeter once you’re in.”
“Is that where they feed on humans without being seen?”
“Yes.”
“Among other things,” Kade muttered.
“Kade,” Lochlan sharply warned, but it was too late. My curiosity was piqued.
“Like what?”
“You don’t need to—”
“Sex,” Kade baldly replied, chuckling when Lochlan threw him an annoyed look. “She’s going to smell it, Loch. Better to warn her now so she can be prepared.”
“Smell it?” I squeaked, desperately wishing I hadn’t asked. What kind of nightclub was this?
He shrugged unapologetically. “Even humans can smell sex. But with your heightened vampire senses, it’ll be unmistakable.”
“But . . . why would humans allow it?” I said, wholly uncomfortable with this conversation but unable to keep my mouth shut. A terrible thought came to me then, and I had to swallow the bile rising up my throat. “Fates, are they thralled into submission?”
That was wrong. So wrong.
Lochlan intervened then, saying, “I won’t deny that it sometimes happens, but most feeding dens follow the law for fear of being shut down. They have a reputation among human circles though. Most go in expecting to experience a night of uninhibited pleasure. To keep what goes on a secret, they abide by the old saying ‘What happens here, stays here.’”
Freaking fates, this was so out of my comfort zone. A dozen more questions pressed on my windpipe, but our time was up. This conversation wasn’t over though. I was dying to know if and when Lochlan had visited these dens himself. Just the thought of it boiled my blood, especially when I envisioned him and a random female passionately coiled around each other in a dark corner.
Fingers encased in leather grasped my chin, startling me back to reality. I blinked up at Lochlan’s worried frown. “What were you thinking just now?” he quietly asked, searching my face.
“Nothing,” I said, quickly pulling away. “Let’s just go. It’s almost midnight.”
I swiveled on my heel and began walking at a fast clip. We’d chosen to park on a quiet street a block away in case any vampires were out canvassing the area. Once we hit the main road, I would walk alone, with Lochlan and Kade watching from the shadows.
The trunk slammed shut, but I didn’t check to see if they followed. I could feel them both with my heightened senses, coming up on either side of me.
“Better put this in,” Kade said, dropping a small wireless earpiece onto my palm. “We’ll all be able to hear and speak to each other through these. Just tap on the earpiece to talk.”
I nodded and fitted the communicator into my ear, suddenly too nervous to speak. When the time came for us to part ways, my heart was beating faster than a snare drum.
“Hold up,” Lochlan abruptly said, grasping my arm. “Kade, go on ahead and scout the area. McKenna and I need a minute.”
No, Kade, don’t leave! I wanted to cry out. He was our buffer when things got too intense, and something told me that Lochlan planned to pry open a can of worms the moment Kade left.
When Kade turned toward me, I silently begged him to stay. Instead, he gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze and whispered, “No heroics, Kenna. Just stay in the crowd and we’ll do the rest.”
I managed a nod and weak smile as he backed away. Before disappearing from sight, he and Lochlan exchanged a look. A million words were spoken in that single glance, a special language that I was only just beginning to understand. When Kade was gone, my nervous energy increased tenfold.
“McKenna.”
Gah! I felt myself soften, giving in to him when he said my name like that. Every. Single. Time.
“Something’s upsetting you again and I want to know what it is.” He turned me to face him but I refused to meet his probing gaze.
“I have nothing to say.”
He paused, as if trying to read my emotions. I willed my mind to go blank. A sigh fled his nose. “We’re not leaving this spot until you tell me.”
“What?” My eyes flew up to his. “You can’t do that. You wouldn’t. We don’t have time for this right now. This might be our only chance to rescue Isla.”
“Then tell me and we’ll be on our way. But I’m not letting you walk into a dangerous situation if you’re not completely focused.”
“I am focused,” I snapped, unable to keep the panic from my voice.
He studied me and I knew, just knew, that he was seeing far more than I wanted him to. “If it were up to me,” he said slowly, “you’d be safely locked inside our motel room until this is over. But I know you wouldn’t allow that. You’d find a way to help, no doubt putting yourself at great risk in the process. You’re loyal and care deeply for your friends, two traits that I respect. Which is the only reason why I’m allowing you to be a part of this rescue mission.
“But if something happens to you,” he continued, his voice lowering an octave, “there’s no telling what I’ll do. I could put us all at risk, and I know you don’t want that. So I’m asking one last time—please talk to me, McKenna.”
I stared, unblinking. Wow. I hadn’t expected him to be so open with me. I was stunned. Shaken, even. That he was beginning to understand me. That he respected who I was. That he put aside his own agenda to accommodate mine. And it was enough. Enough for me to be open in return. Enough for me to say, “I’m worried that you’ve been to feeding dens before. That you feed on humans this way, and then have . . .” Fates, I couldn’t say it out loud.
“Have sex with them?” Lochlan finished for me.
Straightening my spine, I nodded. I’d never felt more awkward and vulnerable than I did in this moment, but I somehow managed to hold eye contact, needing to see his reaction. To know if he’d tell me the truth or not.
Shadows curled around the edges of his features, as if he wished to hide from the probing questions. But before dread could build in my gut, he said, “Back when I hadn’t yet reache
d my age of maturity, Everett took me and Troy to a feeding den against our father’s wishes. He told us the experience was a rite of passage for all vampires, and that we’d never mature unless we completed it. Of course, Troy and I believed everything our big brother said back then and readily went, but the day ended in disaster. It was the first and last time I’ve ever been to a den.”
I held my breath, waiting for him to continue, but he lapsed into silence. “So you’ve never . . . fed from someone there?” Had sex with them?
“No,” was all he said.
I should have felt nothing but relief then. Instead, disappointment settled over me. There was so much he wasn’t saying. An entire lifetime of stories was locked up inside of him, and he didn’t seem eager to share them with me. “Oh,” I pathetically replied, more discontent than ever.
He caught my chin, urging me to look at him. “My past is dark, McKenna. I wish to protect you from it. I’ve done things, and things have been done to me. Terrible things. I’ve tried my best to forget them. No good will come from remembering such horrors. Knowing will only upset you further.”
But I want to know, I desperately wanted to say. Please. Please, let me in. I want to know everything about you.
Because the more I knew, the closer I felt to him, and I couldn’t seem to get close enough. He probably thought I’d hate him all over again if I knew the truth. Run away, even. But that was the thing. I’d never actually hated him. And despite the countless secrets and heartbreaking revelations I’d learned over the past couple of months, I had no desire to leave him. The mere thought drove icy shards of panic through my chest.
But before I could say anything, Kade’s voice rang through my ear. “Twenty minutes until midnight. You two coming?”
Lochlan tapped his earpiece, responding, “Heading your way now.”
18
KENNA
The moment I joined the line waiting outside Black Mamba, I knew I was in trouble.
Curse Touched: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (A Touch of Vampire Book 2) Page 16
