Gabe’s smile widened at the idea of her taking a jab at his integrity. She was mad as hell. He liked the idea of her taking her frustration out on him. He liked the idea of her standing up to him. “I do.”
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Absolutely.” He stepped back to let her past him. “After you.”
****
Adam watched Gabe and Larissa walk away. Gabe didn’t touch humans or nonhumans to comfort them. And he sure as hell didn’t share his energy with them. But that’s precisely what the hell he’d done.
“He touched her,” Joseph said.
Adam nodded. “I saw it.”
“What the hell was he doing with her earlier?”
“You know as much as I do.”
“What’s that?”
“They were together earlier.”
“He’s up to something.”
“Don’t worry about it? She’ll be fine with him.”
“Call him back and send Javier with her.”
“No.”
“I don’t want him to be alone with her. I don’t want him anywhere near her.”
“You’re more than welcome to try to tell him to stand down. Until I figure out what the hell just happened, I’m not doing a damn thing.” Adam looked at Javier. “What do you know?”
Javier shrugged. “I just know that he has spent his spare time watching her from a distance.”
“He has been stalking her?” Joseph asked.
“Not like that,” Javier said.
Joseph looked at Adam. “Javier wouldn’t tell me, would he?”
“Probably not. They usually have each other’s backs.”
“Gabe would never hurt her,” Javier said.
Joseph shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of him being around her.”
“He would never hurt any woman,” Adam said.
“He touched her. She’s human. You know how dangerous that is.”
“He wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t know he was in complete control.”
Joseph laughed. “I need to talk to him later because I sure would love to know how the hell he convinced her to calm down so quickly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Larissa never backs down. She’s a stubborn woman. I just spent the last hour and a half trying to convince her to let you deal with the bastards rather than call the police.”
“I’m more interested in the fact that he…never mind.” Adam shook his head. He didn’t want to alert Joseph to the fact that Gabe had shared his energy with her. “Maybe you wore her out, and she got tired of arguing.”
“Never. Not her. I’d more readily believe she plans to get him alone in her office and knock him out to give herself time to call the police.”
“I have a feeling he’ll enjoy getting knocked over the head as long as she’s the one doing the knocking,” Javier said.
Joseph glared at Adam. “You better hope Sparky can control his temper.”
“You’re overreacting. Even if he lost his temper, you know damn well Gabe would never hurt her or any other a woman.”
“You just sent a firedragon off with a box of dynamite.” Joseph crossed his arms over his chest. “A big fucking box. And, FYI, she’s under my protection.”
“I can’t believe you would even suggest he might react poorly to her,” Adam said.
“He would never lose control and strike out at a woman,” Javier agreed.
Joseph nodded once. “That’s good.”
“And he can take a hit or two over the head and remain on his feet,” Adam laughed.
“You might want to let him know that losing at anything really pisses her off. If she hits him, he should pretend to be unconscious.” Joseph shrugged. “For a minute or two anyway.”
“Nah. He’s young. He doesn’t have much experience with women. I think it’ll be more fun for him to learn it from her. She definitely doesn’t have any fear of him. Did you happen to notice the way she got right up in his space?” Adam asked.
“I noticed.” Joseph motioned for them to follow him. “Come on in and tell me why you stopped by, so you can leave.”
“My plans have changed.” Adam closed the door behind him. “I’m sticking around for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh, fuck.” Joseph pulled his chair out.
“I thought you liked having me around.” Adam took the seat in front of the desk.
“Not at all.” Joseph sat down and folded his arms behind his head. “And it’s really going to piss Larissa off. What happened to your plan to head back to Russia?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll have Gabe smooth it over with Larissa,” he laughed.
“That’s not funny.” Joseph leaned over the table. “I don’t like him anywhere near her. Why the hell are you sticking around?”
“My interest has been shifted elsewhere.”
“I thought you were in an all fire hurry to retaliate against your competitor over that little incident with your ship.”
“You know damn well Kazimir isn’t my competitor. The bastard is a thieving murdering warlord.”
“And you’re not?” Joseph laughed.
“Killing, hassling, and redistributing the ill-gained wealth of homicidal, morally bankrupt immortals and other morally bankrupt criminal entities doesn’t make me a warlord.”
“Telling yourself that you aren’t a warlord doesn’t make it true. You have soldiers to deploy whenever the urge to go to war strikes you.”
“Soldiers and trackers. I am whatever I want to be because no one has been able to stop me.” Adam shrugged. “And, it’s true, I have faithful followers with advantageous combinations of various specialties. None of that makes me a warlord.”
“They engage in battles for you.”
“They know it’s a hell of a lot smarter to fight for me than it is to go up against me.”
“You’re a warlord, Adam.”
“Name calling has never bothered me. I strive to make the world a safer place.”
“Really?”
“Yes. In fact, I’ve decided to eliminate Evolved.”
“What do you know about them so far?” Joseph asked.
The only thing he needed to know was that they’d hurt Hanna. “The leaders are demons. They’re attempting to alter their DNA by introducing blood from other immortal beings into their systems. It doesn’t make sense, but they believe doing so will give them superiority over pure blooded demons.”
“Doesn’t make sense? Their logic isn’t flawed. It’s insane. I can’t wrap my head around the idea of them expecting the blood of inferior beings to strengthen them.”
“It’s doing more than making them weaker. It’s changing them. They’re sadistic. We’ve never encountered this type of depravity from demons. They’re imprisoning human females for blood. They torture and rape them for entertainment.”
“What about the tainted vampires? Why are the leaders empowering them?”
“That’s simple. We’re demons. They’re using the fucking ticks to distract us, to keep us preoccupied. Apparently, despite being completely nuts, they’re smart enough to know that we can and will crush them.”
“Have you been able to get any more information from the woman you brought from the shelter?”
“I will not force information from Hanna.” Adam leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “No one will bother her for details regarding the group.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you use force or bother her. Have you tried to talk to her?”
“She has told me enough. She needs to forget about them.” He didn’t want her to worry about them. He didn’t want her to give them another thought. He also didn’t want Joseph or anyone else to know that Hanna was unknowingly able to read the other demon’s thoughts.
“She might be able to guide us to the leaders.”
“I don’t need to hide behind a woman to take them out. I will take care of the bastards.”
“We can’t
stop them until we identify them.”
“I don’t need to force her to relive it. I simply need to figure out who Demetri pissed off.”
“Mary Tate.”
“No. She’s a pawn. She’s the eyes and ears of a demon, a cowardly fucking demon, with a grudge against Demetri.”
“How did you come across this information?”
“I used my brain. He’s torturing Demetri and using Mary to watch from a safe distance.”
“We need to talk to him.”
“I have. I’ll meet with him again soon. I left Jax and Rowdy at the club with him. We need to start narrowing down the possibilities.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“I like to get things done.”
“Any ideas where to start looking for his enemies?”
“Beats the hell out of me. He has been making them for ten thousand years.”
“How do you plan to sort through so many options?”
“I’m already working on it.”
“You’re awfully protective of Hanna.”
“Stop digging,” Adam growled. “I am not discussing anything about her with you.”
“Just don’t kill anyone on or near my property.”
“Don’t lecture me. I don’t’ believe in leaving enemies to come back and bite me in the ass. I most certainly don’t plan to leave one to bite my mate’s ass.”
“Oh, damn.”
****
Hoping to sneak up on Joseph, Mia materialized behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, damn, what?”
He turned to the side and pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “That was amazing, Mia. You’re getting better. I didn’t know you were coming to me.”
She’d been working on catching him by surprise for months. “Really?”
“Would I lie to you, angel?”
She frowned. “Yes.”
“Well, I didn’t this time. You snuck up on me.”
“Stop trying to use flattery to get out of answering me.”
"I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, damn, what?”
“Adam has found his mate.”
“Who is she?” she asked.
Adam smiled. “Hanna”
“You brought her from the shelter, right?”
“I did.”
“Why is that bad?”
“She has many enemies,” Joseph explained.
“That’s not so bad.” Mia smiled at Adam. “You will have no problem taking care of them, right?”
“That’s right.”
Joseph nodded. “I have no doubt he’ll do great. In fact, he has decided to join up with Demetri.”
“Then stop being an ass, Joseph. Congratulate him.”
“Congratulations, Adam. Mia and I are delighted you’ve found your mate. We hope you have the most wonderful time ever during your mass killing spree.”
“Mass killing spree?” She glanced at Joseph.
“He’s remarkably thorough.”
“I do have a knack for getting things done right.” Adam said.
“That’s good,” Mia said. “Let us know if you need any help.”
“Remind me to ask you how you feel about his diligence and tactics in a few weeks.”
“I am no different from you. I won’t apologize for doing what’s necessary to protect what is mine,” Adam said. “None of us should be willing to allow Demetri’s mate to remain a prisoner without putting up a fight. We all need to do our damnedest to get her away from Evolved.”
“I agree,” Mia said. “Have Hanna come to the boutique tomorrow to pick out some new clothes. All the women from the shelter lost everything in the explosion. Can you bring her in the morning? It’s closed for the day. It’ll be a perfect time to get acquainted.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. I’ll talk to her later. Thank you, Mia.” He turned and walked away from them.
“No killing in or around the hotel,” Joseph said.
Adam kept walking, waving him off.
“You’re not messing around. You’re worried,” Mia said.
“Adam has a short fuse.”
“And you don’t?”
“He’s a damned nuclear weapon.”
Mia laughed. “And you’re not?”
“He’s planning to work with Demetri. I want you to stay out of his way. Do not get involved with anything to do with her.”
She grabbed his tie and pulled it until he lowered his head and rested his forehead on hers. “Do I need to tell you that I’m planning to go all in now?”
He smiled, but there was no hint of humor in his gaze, only menace, dark menace. He was pissed off and showing his teeth as if he planned to use them on her. “Damn it, Mia. I am serious.”
“Be very careful, Joseph. You know I bite back.”
“I am not playing with you. Stay away from Adam and his mate.”
“Put your horns away before I bend you over your desk and do it for you.”
“You’re going to stay away from them.”
“We’ve been together long enough for you to know better than to order me around. She’s coming to the boutique in the morning, and I’m going to make damn sure she feels welcome.”
“You don’t need to remind me that you like to push my buttons. You need to listen to me this time.” He paused. “Please, Mia.”
“I’m not going to shun the poor woman because you’re afraid of Adam.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” he growled.
“Really? Because you’re sure acting like it.”
“It’s a damn miracle he’s still alive. He collects his enemies like they are trinkets. He bullies them into sticking around and fighting for him. And now he’s planning to work side by side with Demetri.”
“Adam controls his men.”
“They aren’t men. He surrounds himself with powerful supernatural males that would rather gut him than follow him.”
“None of this seemed to bother you before.”
“It didn’t. He was just passing through. Now he’s planning to settle down here. The second his enemies realize he’s vulnerable and stationary, they’ll start swarming.”
“What do you mean by vulnerable?”
“He has something to lose now.”
“You think his mate is a weakness to him? What about me, Joseph? Do I make you weak?”
“Not at all. I am nothing like Adam. The one thing that has allowed him to survive for as long as he has is that he has never given a damn about anything. He’s going to have to get rid of most of his army because he knows they’ll use her to get at him.”
~ SIX ~
As Gabe followed Larissa down the hall to her office, he realized he would follow her anywhere. He would follow her for forever. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t give her up.
He was seriously pissed off over the way she’d been treated by their soldiers. He began to contemplate the dangerous storm of emotions swirling in him. Desire mingling with dark rage. And yet, he was in complete control. He didn’t simply want her. He needed her. Fearing he might lose control if he searched her mind for the memory, he didn’t know what the idiots had done to scare her, but he wanted revenge. He needed it now.
Adam would’ve tried to stop him from going with her if he knew she’d managed to ignite his dragon’s fury. Tried. Because nothing would’ve stop him. Revenge wouldn’t change the fact that it had happened. But he needed it. For her. For him. He wanted to take her away, hide her, keep her safe from all harm. At the same time, he wanted to rip the hearts from the chests of the idiots who’d harassed her. He wanted to crush their bones. He needed to make them suffer.
She stopped so suddenly he nearly ran her over. He wrapped his arm around her waist, anchoring her to him, holding her upright.
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “That’s them.”
In one swift movement, he lifted her, turned her around, and lowered her to her feet. Pinning her back to the wall, he used
his body to hide her.
“Holy shit, Gabe.” Fists gripping the front of his suit jacket as if she needed to hold herself up, she took a few breaths. “You move fast.” She took a few more breaths, looking up at him, her fingers still fastened on his suit. “Too fast. You just scared the hell out of me.”
“I am sorry. I didn’t want them to see you point them out to me.” Being so close to her, feeling her body against his drove him insane with desire he’d never experienced. He was in heaven and hell all at the same time. She was his to hold, to protect, to please, and to cherish. She belonged to him. And he belonged to…damn it. He belonged to Adam.
He was a damn slave. His freedom was taken for his father’s debt to Adam. His heart was beating a little too hard. He couldn’t claim her. He wouldn’t. Doing so would make her a slave. She would belong to Adam. Rage swelled in him, putting her in great danger of being consumed by fire, by his everlasting fire.
She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “Why is your body so hot, Gabe?”
Her touched instantly and completely extinguished his rage. “You just moved things along much faster than I could’ve ever anticipated.” He smiled. “I’m at a complete loss. I’ve no idea how to respond to you.”
“Not like that.” She reached up with her other hand, framing his face between her palms. “You’re burning up. Something is really wrong. Are you sick?”
She was driving him nuts. He’d dreamt of feeling a woman’s touch. It was a fantasy. Nothing more. He never allowed women to touch him. He didn’t allow women to get close enough to risk it. It was too dangerous. Firedragons needed to keep a safe distance from humans. One mistake would end in tragedy. The only exception was if the human was the firedragon’s mate. She was his mate. She belonged to him. He belonged to her. He was mesmerized by the sensation of her fingers moving over his flesh. She was innocently teasing him, driving him mad, causing him to experience need in a way he’d never known. Her touch was a pure sin. It was the answer to a prayer he’d never dared to dream.
“Answer me, Gabe. Are you sick?”
“No.” He struggled to regulate the intensity of the desire her touch stoked in him. “I’m fine.”
She moved her hands slowly down each side of his neck. “I can feel heat radiating from your entire body.”
INSATIABLE BREATH OF DARKNESS Page 8
