He opened the car door and stepped out. Hoping to find her more quickly, he checked his phone, just in case she’d left a message. “Of course not,” he growled, clenching his fist, crushing the phone. “Why make anything easier?” The woman was stubborn as hell. He had until the end of time to train her, but deep down in his heart he knew it wouldn’t be long enough for him to teach her to submit.
There were miles of trails in every direction, and he needed to find her now. He never should’ve let her out of his sight. Slamming the car door, he moved quickly, allowing his finely honed tracking skills to lead him. The warm, muggy air reeked of old blood and decayed flesh. Surely, despite being human, she could smell it, couldn’t she? He grumbled unintelligibly; questioning her ability to detect the presence of danger was senseless. It was his responsibility to guide and protect her. What pissed him off was that he’d told her to stay out of the forest and now, deliberately defying him, she was jogging directly into the path of a vicious predator.
Haden stopped. The vampire was hunting. Swinging his head to the left, he clenched his jaw, drawing his lips back in a soundless snarl. All senses on alert, he scanned the ever-darkening interior of the forest. Standing completely still, he was silent, barely even breathing, focusing on the vampire, studying the creature’s venomous thoughts. He felt the ferocious, relentless thirst for blood driving it far beyond a state of madness. He felt its depraved anticipation for the kill.
Then, Haden saw the vampire’s intended prey.
“Caylee.”
Absolute fury welled up, stirring the deepest, darkest portion of his essence, the dragon, the living force of destruction feared by even the most powerful, deadly immortals. A deep, ominous growl, a promise of swift, violent retribution to the undead pursuing her, rumbled in his throat as he expanded his mind to pinpoint her exact location. But he felt nothing. No hint of her location.
Terror instantly replaced fury. It slammed into him so hard and so quickly that he did what a fearless, unfaltering immortal never resorted to doing: he panicked. Heart pounding, he took to the sky, ripping the atmosphere apart, creating a thunderous boom while an enormous mass of black, swirling clouds that completely covered the sun hid his ascent. As he traveled with supernatural speed, he covered her with a hedge of protection, but he quickly realized that he still didn’t know where she was. His heart stopped. With his enormous power and strength, he’d never experienced fear or doubt in his ability to defeat adversity of any kind. But now with her life in jeopardy, fearing he wouldn’t reach her in time, he froze.
While he plummeted toward the ground, lightning exploded all around, violently crisscrossing the sky. He landed hard, jarring his bones, but ignoring the pain he remained on his feet. Lifting his face to the heavens, he closed his eyes and expanded his mind to search for her. Caylee, where are you? Normally, nothing ever rattled him to the core. He was utterly unshakable, but not now. Show me! He didn’t have the strength to wait for her to answer or to willingly open her mind to him. Sending forth a brutal current of power, he forced his way into her mind.
Fully merging his mind with hers, Haden was able to see through her eyes. She was scared out of her mind, but she was safe and would remain safe as long as he reached her before the vampire breached the hedge of protection surrounding her. He should’ve felt some relief, but he didn’t. As a demon, he was far more powerful than the undead, but with her life a stake it didn’t matter. You’re safe, Caylee.
****
Looking down at her foot, Caylee wiggled her toes. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” She yanked on her foot, but it was too tightly wedged between tree roots to move it very much at all. “Oh, God.” She had always joked about having the worst luck, but suddenly, thanks to the fact that Haden’s bossy nature had finally pushed her too far, her lack of good fortune was no joking matter.
Okay. In all honesty, it wasn’t Haden’s fault. Not really. Sexual frustration was to blame. He wouldn’t have the ability to irritate her so easily if she hadn’t allowed her secret crush on him to spiral out of control. It wasn’t his fault that she’d entertained countless sexual fantasies about him. During the past year, he’d never even pretended to be interested in more than a platonic friendship. He’d always, despite his habit of continually being present and bossing her around, behaved like a perfect gentleman.
He was a good friend. Besides Mia, he was her best friend. It wasn’t fair, but his willingness to share a long-term platonic friendship with her was what irritated her the most. She craved so much more with him, but it wasn’t an option. She’d suffered a horrifying, violent attack, and now she hated to be touched, so she hadn’t exactly tried to seduce him, to act on her fantasies. Besides, she was fairly certain he was gay. He never dated. In fact, he never so much as even gave any woman a second glance.
Still, it wasn’t his fault that she’d been too busy wondering how long he’d taken to realize she’d given him the slip to watch where she was putting her feet. She’d veered off the edge of the trail, stumbled, and somehow ended up with her foot wedged in the roots of a tree.
Caylee turned her head to look for a stick to use to pry apart the roots. She blinked. “No.” Eyes wide, she stared in disbelief. “Oh, no.”
She had never, not even in her worst nightmare, imagined anything so gruesome. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. The woman’s throat was ripped out, her mouth gaped in a silent cry for help, and her lifeless eyes, opened wide, mirrored the terrible pain and suffering of a death that refused to come quickly. Screaming was Caylee’s first urge, but she knew that making her presence known was the worst thing she could do.
She desperately wanted to look away from the carnage, but she couldn’t even blink. She tried to take a breath, but the stench in the air was so bad her throat was swollen shut. How hadn’t she noticed it before?
Gasping for air, she clutched her chest. It felt tight. It was worse than uncomfortable. It was extremely painful. Her heart raced far too quickly, pushing adrenaline through her bloodstream, causing her entire body to shake. Feeling the sharp pain of Haden’s sudden intrusion in her mind, she winced, but she was too frightened to recognize his presence or to hear his voice. She needed to get away! She needed to run! She tried to stand up, but since her foot was stuck she fell back onto her butt.
Her vision narrowed and darkened. She tried to pull her foot out, but it was no use. Her head was spinning. If she ran, her foot wasn’t going with her. Of course, leaving it behind wasn’t feasible. She was having a panic attack. She needed to calm. She needed to think. It was easier said than done, but it was the only way she would have any hope of coming up with a plan.
Within seconds, she heard Haden’s voice. She felt his presence enveloping her, surrounding her with protection and warmth. But it didn’t really make her feel better. She knew he wasn’t actually there with her. In fact, she sensed he wasn’t close at all. She knew he was able to use spells to create illusions, but an illusion of safety wasn’t what she needed. Haden planned to use a spell to hide the dead body from her, but he needed to take her focus off it or it wouldn’t work. Listen to me, little love. I want you to close your eyes and take a breath.
His voice was only a whisper, but it was a powerful command that forced her eyes to close, allowing her to escape the grisly sight. But dreading the thought of inhaling the stench of death, she struggled against the command to breathe. Panicking, she started to choke.
Please, Caylee, do not panic. Her fear pierced his heart so deeply that it was making him insane. He was moving faster than ever before, faster than he ever thought possible, but it wasn’t fast enough.
The air surrounding you is pure. Just breathe, little love. I’m so very close to you now. But not nearly close enough. Driven by ancient, savage instincts to protect her at any cost, he wouldn’t be close enough until he destroyed the vampire and she was safe in his arms.
Believing Haden didn’t understand, Caylee continued to panic. The air wasn’t pure. The stench of
decayed flesh was so strong she could taste it. Stomach rolling, mouthwatering, she struggled to hold her breath.
Breathe.
His voice was a whisper, but it was so powerful there was no fighting his command this time. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with his familiar scent. And just like that, defying the physical distance between them, she felt his strong arms holding her, protecting her.
That’s it, little love—just keep breathing.
Knowing he was so close was comforting until she realized his voice was way too calm considering the situation. He couldn’t fool her. She wasn’t stupid. She knew he was mad. She’d ditched him to teach him a lesson in manners. Sneaking out the back door, she’d left him sitting in his car in front of her best friend’s clothing boutique. It seemed like such a great idea at the time. Frowning, she bit her lower lip. It didn’t seem like such a great idea now. She didn’t want him to find her. Putting him in his place, challenging his self-proclaimed dictatorship over her every move was a great stress reliever and a distraction from what she really wanted to do to him. But she’d never pushed him this far before.
She considered trying to hide from him. She was a strong woman. She didn’t need him. She could pull herself together and get out of the mess on her own. If it makes you feel better, feel free to try to hide, but it isn’t happening. She looked down at her foot and rolled her eyes. He was right. She wasn’t going anywhere. She looked over at the woman’s remains, but there was a barrier hiding it. Still, she knew what was behind the wall of strange black and silver flames. She wouldn’t even try to hide. Regardless of his mood, she didn’t want to be alone any longer.
****
Lured by Caylee’s mouth-watering scent, Paul was backtracking, returning to where he’d left the body of his last female victim. Cursed for all of eternity, he would never experience the peace of true contentment. His body would always crave more, need more, demand more. He was a vampire, a monstrous creature, a loveless, soulless, living corpse suffering the agony of a perpetual thirst for human blood.
Recalling his previous killing, knowing he would soon kill again, gave Paul the most perverse joy any being would ever experience. Groaning aloud, he clutched his chest, taking great pleasure in the fact that the blood of his last victim sustained his corrupt heart. Oh yes, nothing was more magnificent than the ecstasy of ripping a screaming woman’s flesh to shreds and consuming every last savory drop of her blood. Lifting his head, he breathed deeply through his nostrils, inhaling the scent of his new quarry. It wouldn’t be long. She was less than a mile away. Soon, he would taste the sweet, exhilarating fear in her blood.
Hearing Haden and feeling a surge of power, Paul stopped. There was no missing the fact that a demon was on the move. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. Immediately recognizing Haden’s scent, Paul opened his eyes. He’d gone to great lengths to avoid the demon for days. Paul smiled. It didn’t matter. Thanks to his supply of ancient demonic powers and abilities, Paul was confident he was considerably stronger than most vampires and able to hold his own in any fight against any demon. Besides, Haden was moving away from the area, and he was nowhere near the woman. There would likely be no need to fight. He would have more than enough time to drain her blood and leave the area long before the demon was able to interfere.
Paul was about to attack Caylee, but he hesitated. Lifting his face, he studied the stormy sky. Something was off-kilter. Haden seemed to be moving away quickly. Too quickly. It was as if the demon didn’t know a vampire was in the area. It was a trick. Perhaps it was a trap. Haden was an ancient. There was no way he’d overlooked the fact that a vampire was in the area hunting. Demons never allowed vampires to hunt in peace. Cloaking his presence from Haden, a feat very few of his kind could perform, Paul waited to see what his enemy was really doing.
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EXQUISITE
BREATH OF DARKNESS
~ One ~
“C’MON, MIA. YOU pinky promised. How can I take you at your word if you go back on it? Do it for me. Do it for us.”
“No.”
“What future will we have if I can’t trust you? Just take one itsy bitsy taste.”
“Never.”
Reaching out as if to grab her, Joseph took a step closer. Mia swore under her breath and took two steps back.
“Stay away from me with that slimy thing.” She had to find a way to make him forget it, because there was no way she could overpower or outrun him. “It’s not happening.”
“I’ll make it super-easy for you. Just put the tip of it in your mouth.”
“Forget it! If you want to torture someone, find someone else to suck on it.” Frowning, she stared down at the abominable weapon clutched in his fist, and then she looked up to meet his gaze. “I’m serious, Joseph. Put the damn thing away. I can’t believe you’re even touching it. I sure as hell don’t want the nasty thing in my mouth.”
“There’s nothing nasty about it,” he said. “It’s a magnificent, delicious gift from Mother Nature. And I’ve even heard it’s good for your immune system.”
“That … that thing is not a gift.” Her entire body shuddering in disgust, she pointed at it. “That is a grotesque example of Mother Nature’s sick, twisted sense of humor.” Pleased with her definition of it, she smiled. “And Mother Nature can kiss my ass. I don’t want it.”
He stared at her as if he were considering her words. Behind her back, she crossed her fingers. Then he smiled that sexy, naughty smile of his and opened his big, fat mouth to crush all hope of him being anything other than the wicked demon he was. “Do I get to watch?”
“I don’t get it. I’m actually shocked. I shouldn’t be shocked. But I am.” She took a step toward him because she needed to get closer to rip him apart. Realizing too late she was doing exactly what he wanted her to do, she pounced on him, but he had her on her back, his muscular thighs straddling her belly, before she had any chance of inflicting a single wound on him.
“Be a big girl and open your mouth wide, Mia.”
“Get it out of my face!” She tried to smack it away but he moved it out of her reach. “It’s … ugh. Gross. It’s wet. Damn it, Joseph. Stop laughing at me. This is not funny.” Gagging and spitting, she wiped her tongue with the back of her hand. “It dripped in my mouth.” Stomach churning, bile rising in her throat, she continued to gag and spit.
“Then you know how yummy it is.”
“It’s gross. I’m going to puke.” Closing her eyes and shaking her head back and forth, she dug her fingernails into his thighs.
“A promise is a promise. I ate yours, and now you’re going to eat mine. Open wide.” She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to rub the nasty, stinky thing across her lips. “Just put the tip of it in your mouth.”
Covering her mouth, she turned her head to the side. “Get it the hell away from me, Joseph! I’m going to puke all over you! I’m serious! It smells like rotten ass!”
“I’m tempted to ask, but I am not sure I want to know where you’ve been sniffing around,” he teased. “I just might get jealous.”
“Touch me with that thing once more, and I’m going to bite you.” Baring her teeth to reveal her determination, she glared up at him. “Hard. Real hard. And it’s going to hurt like hell.”
“I hope you do, and I hope it does.” He laughed out loud. “Say it again. I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
Infuriated by his taunting, she started bucking and thrashing around, wildly flailing her arms and legs. Eventually she managed to get out from between his thighs, but it wasn’t much of a victory at all because he managed to out-maneuver her and get his body between her thighs. “Calm down, Mia. You’re going to get another rug burn if you don’t stop throwing a temper tantrum,” he warned. “And then I’m going to feel guilty. And a guilty conscience can be damaging to a man’s soul. Don’t you care about the well-being of my self-esteem?”
“Nope. Not even a little bit.” She knew
only one thing had any real hope of stopping him, but it was the one thing she couldn’t force herself to do. How did women force themselves to cry? If only she knew how. “Why should I give a damn about your feelings? You don’t care about mine.” Changing tactics, she pulled her legs up and pressed her six-inch stiletto heels against his chest to push him back as she struggled to wiggle out from beneath him. “Get off!”
“Damn, Mia.” Grinning, he bent his head to look down at her heels digging into his chest. “You’re one flexible woman. I like it. Flexible is good. Really good.”
“I’m going to kill you, Joseph. I’m not kidding. If you don’t get off me right now I’m going to kill you.”
“Stop acting like an overly dramatic, hormonal female. There’s no reason for you to get all worked up.” He pulled her legs down and straddled her belly again. “I’m doing this for your own good. You’re going to fall in love with it. Just one more teeny tiny taste, and you’ll be addicted forever. Now stop clenching your jaw and open your mouth.”
When he put it too close to her mouth she covered her mouth with her left hand. “You’re too heavy. I can’t breathe. Get off.”
“Not until you wrap your lips around it.” He pulled her hand away from her mouth, so she covered it with her other hand.
“Knock it off, Joseph.” She smacked his hand when he reached for her hand again. “It isn’t happening.” Somehow he’d managed to get both of her hands in one of his and held them above her head. “It’s too … oh, damn it. Why can’t you just understand that it’s too much? I can’t do it. Please, just get it away from me.”
“You’ll feel much better once it’s over.”
“But it’s huge.”
“It isn’t all that big. I’ve had bigger.” He winked. “Much bigger. Stop being such a baby.” He rested it on top of her chin. “Just lick it once. You promised you’d give it a try.”
INSATIABLE BREATH OF DARKNESS Page 30
