Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  Reaching for the door, I pull it open and find Kade dressed in an onyx tuxedo. His tie is the same shade as my dress. The dress shirt he’s wearing is black as night, which allows the color of the tie to pop. “Wow,” I can’t stop myself from commenting, and I’m awarded a handsome smile.

  “Wow yourself,” he mumbles. His heated gaze rakes over me, taking in every inch of my ensemble. “I didn’t realize a woman could leave me speechless until just now when this door opened. You look incredible, Talia.”

  The heat of a blush has me dropping my gaze to the floor. I’ve only ever been on a few dates. Even though I’m not a virgin, it feels as if I’m in high school going to prom with one of the popular boys. “Come in,” I offer, stepping aside. “I’m almost ready, just need to grab my purse.”

  “I, uhm . . . brought you a gift.”

  The small box Kade’s holding shimmers. He offers it to me, and I gratefully accept. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to.” Smiling, I tug the ribbon loose.

  “I wanted to.” I lift the lid and find a diamond bracelet with a small clasp and pendant. “It’s our family crest.” The small black bird glistens. A raven.

  “The bird of death,” I murmur, trailing my finger over the small jewel.

  “It’s not that bad. I mean . . . I didn’t . . .”

  “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Kade. Would you help me?” Tugging it from the velvet box, I hold it out to him along with my wrist. A smile cracks on his face. His fingers work the clasp, fastening it around my arm. It fits perfectly. Like I knew it would.

  “It looks good on you,” he remarks proudly.

  “You’re quite the romantic, Mr. Montgomery,” I retort playfully.

  He chuckles. The sound rumbles in his chest. His eyes crinkle at the sides, making him look youthful in the moment. “Don’t get used to it, sweetheart. I’m an asshole. Remember that.” He affords me a wink, which sets my body alight with need. How can I want a man this much? I’ve only known him for a few days.

  “Is it always like this?”

  “What?” He frowns, regarding me with a questioning gaze.

  “The connection.”

  “I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever felt it. I’ve never . . .” He turns away from me then.

  Stepping up behind him, I place a hand on his suited shoulder, but the heat of him blazes through the material into me. “Never what?” My question hangs between us, and I wonder if he’ll respond. Just when I think he won’t, he turns to regard me.

  “I’ve pushed women away all my life. Once, a long time ago, there was someone who I believed I could love, but it wasn’t pure. Not what I feel for you, Talia.” I stare at him for a moment, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he doesn’t say any more. Does he want me to choose him? Of course he does, but there’s a raw honesty in his words, and I can’t tell if he’s lying or not. The overwhelming emotion in his gaze leaves me breathless. How does someone fall in love in two days?

  “Are you saying you’re falling for me, Kade? We’ve only just met. This . . . Our lives may be intertwined, but there’s no way you can love someone in such a short amount of time.”

  The corner of his mouth lifts into a smirk. “No, I didn’t say I loved you. My soul is too dark to feel emotion like that. But tell me something. How long did it take for you to realize you loved Rhys?” His expression, almost pained, turns serious while he waits for my answer. One I’m not sure I can give. He’s right. I knew I loved Rhys from the start. From the moment I laid eyes on him. Even before I knew what love was.

  “That’s not the same.”

  “Like fuck it isn’t, Tali. It’s exactly the same. And I’ve known you a lot longer than you knew him.” His confession shocks us both.

  My brows furrow. I narrow my eyes, waiting for him to explain, but he doesn’t afford me the luxury. “What do you mean?” He turns away from me again. “Kade, what does that mean? How long have you known about me?”

  My mind works out the months, years even. Since Rhys died four years ago, I’d been in such a dark hole, I didn’t notice things around me. Was he following me? Did he know about what I did in the past? The thought of that sends a jolt of shame skittering down my spine.

  “Since you were born,” he murmurs. “But over time, all I could do is wait for you. And I spent the last four years observing at you, waiting for you. Watching your movements.” He speaks slowly, not looking at me. Instead, his gaze is trained on the view outside. “After Rhys spoke to me, I went to your house, sat outside like a fucking stalker, watched you go out with his brother. At a distance, I kept you safe. Except when you went to that fucking asshole Trey’s place. When he hurt you. I didn’t even know what he was doing to you. I was selfish. I couldn’t see you with another man, so I walked away. Left you to your life.”

  The truth of him following me should scare me. It should have me telling him to leave, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

  “I feared you’d turn me away like your parents did. Then, when I found out you were at Ohio State, I made sure Presley offered you a job. I just needed you close.” He turns then. His face, hard with emotion.

  “Close? So you could kill me when you were done with me?” My voice is suddenly cold. The bracelet around my wrist feels heavy. “How were you going to do it, Kade? Slit my throat? Were you going to drain my blood and savor the taste?”

  I’m goading him, angering him, and I realize it could be detrimental to me. He’s had years to come to terms with this. I’ve had two days.

  “Kade, I’m going to choose. And I’m not choosing you because I met you first, or because you force me to. My heart will know who to pick, and trying to woo me with dates and gifts isn’t the way to do that. You’ll have to get over yourself and show me the real you because until then, I’m going to take it slowly. Very fucking slow.”

  “I didn’t ask you to do anything you don’t want to do, Princess. All I’m saying is that I know we have a connection. I feel it down to my blackened soul.” His fierce words and the determination on his face tell me this isn’t a game to him. And I know it isn’t. This is life or death. His or his brother’s. And I’m the one who holds the sword.

  “Then we’ll need time to figure this out.” He nods. Reaching for me, he wraps an arm around my waist, tugging me against his solid frame. As soon as we touch, it’s there. An innate connection. A tether so strong it’s binding me to him each moment we spend together.

  “My brother will try to steal you from me.”

  My shocked gaze meets his. “Where is he?”

  “In Europe. He’s living in London, working in the Montgomery Limited office my father set up years ago. He prefers it to America, but if he knew you’re here with me, and you’re willing to try this, he’ll make it his mission to come between us.”

  “I’m not a pushover, Kade. I’m not just going to allow him to waltz into my life and force me to choose him.”

  His full lips curve into a smirk. “Why not? I did.” He tugs me closer, our bodies molded to each other. Heat sizzles between us. “Having you this close to me, Tali. It makes my dick hard. I want to own you. As much as you’re the one in charge, I want you to know when we get in that bedroom, or wherever else I get to see you naked, I’m the one who’s in control. Your body is mine to play with.” His words wash over me in waves of lust and desire, sending me into a frenzy of need. My clit throbs for what he’s promising.

  “Words are just that, Mr. Montgomery; however, actions do speak louder,” I quip playfully, arching myself into him.

  “Don’t tempt me, Princess, because I’ll fuck you right here against this window so the whole of Boston can see me owning your tight little cunt,” he growls, and I’m ready to have him rip my panties off. But he did promise me dinner, so I place my palms on his chest and push away from him.

  “Dinner first.”

  “You’ll be my dessert, Princess,” he vows in a tone that tells me he isn’t joking.

  12


  Kade

  “Then we better get going. Shouldn’t we?” Her mischievous smirk is enough to make me cancel dinner, but this is our first real date, and I don’t want to mess it up. I’ve never really dated someone I cared for. Talia is different. So very fucking unique that every moment I spend with her pulls me deeper under her spell.

  “We better.”

  I release her from my hold, allowing her to grab her purse and coat, which I help her shrug on. As we make our way out of her small apartment, I make a mental note to move her to my building. Even if she doesn’t want to stay with me, I’ll make sure she’s in a more secure apartment. Her safety is paramount because Killian will find out about us, and when he does, there’s no telling what he’ll do.

  My brother is a wild card. Dark and demented in his needs, he allows his shadows to take over all too much, and that’s what worries me. He’ll hurt Talia, more than I ever can, and he’ll take pleasure in it.

  The silver doors of the elevator slide open with a soft whisper. “So, Mr. Montgomery, where are you taking me tonight?” Her question has me smirking.

  “Do you enjoy calling me Mr. Montgomery? Or is it mainly to irk me?”

  Her slender shoulders shrug as she turns her head to regard me, pinning me with those dark eyes that look straight through me. She’s seen my soul, but she’s also seen my heart, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this woman.

  “Fine. I’m taking you to one of my favorite places in the city. It’s intimate.” That’s all she’s getting from me. If she wants more, she’ll have to work for it.

  A light huff comes from her glossy lips that remind me of cherry bomb candies. “If you keep staring at me, we’ll never get to dinner,” she remarks as the elevator hits the ground floor and the doors slide open, spitting us out in the lobby.

  “Come on, Princess. Time to get you fed,” I mumble, ignoring her comment because all I can think about is tasting her sweet, supple lips, dripping with her deliciously tempting lifeforce. I can’t imagine how decadent her blood will be. When we reach the car, I open the passenger door, stepping aside, allowing her to slip into the plush, leather seat.

  Shutting the door, I round the car and settle in the driver’s side. One tap on the start button, and the engine purrs to life. “Tell me about you,” she says, turning to face me.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Uhm . . . You’re this wealthy, strange Warlock, and you can have anything you want. And I mean anything. Why do you stay in Boston, running your dad’s company?”

  Sighing, I cast a quick glance at the girl who seems to be knocking away at the armor I have securely built around me. “A long time ago, before I figured out what I wanted from life, I was a rebel. I ran away from home, told my father to shove his company, and pretty much went off the rails. I wasn’t the perfect son by any means. One night . . .”

  My words falter when I recall the night I made my biggest mistake with such clarity, it feels as if I’m still on that street under the broken lamp. “You don’t—”

  “I was out of control. I’d gone out with some friends I’d picked up at college. The drinks flowed, and the girls . . .” Casting a quick glance at her, I realize talking about other women in my life isn’t the best choice, but she needs to know what happens when I get out of control. “Anyway, because I was drunk, I didn’t have full control of my power. I was with a girl I wanted to walk home. That night, something changed inside me. I pulled her into the alley beside the bar. We were making out, and . . . I hurt her, Tali. She didn’t make it.”

  “What happened?”

  Before I can tell her, the restaurant comes into view. Once I’ve pulled into a parking spot, I cut the engine and turn to her. “I’m dangerous when I’m out of control. When my emotions are heightened, I can kill you with a kiss. I can easily draw your soul from your body.”

  A gasp falls from her shiny lips. “What would make your senses heightened that much? I mean. How is that even possible?” she questions with her dark brows furrowed in confusion.

  “If I’m angry mainly. I can drain someone in a matter of seconds. Normally, only humans, but this girl was like us. She wasn’t Witch, but she was special. Mixed like I am.”

  “Like a Knight?”

  Nodding, I reach for her. The flinch on her face is slight, but I notice it. She’s fearful of me. “Yes, a Knight with half Witch.”

  “Like me.” Her voice is filled with concern, fear, and anxiety.

  “Yes, but you’re different. You’re the Faerie Queen, darling. The light within your soul is more dominant than the dark. That’s why we’re matched. The light and dark, but it’s our Warlock blood that makes us able to be together without killing each other.”

  Silence like the dark of night settles around us. The shimmer of her aura surrounds her, making her look like an apparition rather than a girl in my car.

  “Okay, but what if I allow my darkness to take hold? I mean, my Warlock blood. It’s like yours, right?” I nod. “So, I could also kill with a kiss, or when my emotions are heightened?”

  “You can. We all can. But you’ve got more light within you. I’m . . .” Pinning her with a gaze, I confess my worst fear. “I’m all dark, Princess.”

  “You can’t be,” she murmurs. Reaching for my face, her hand cups my jaw in the softest touch I’ve ever felt. Is everything about her meant to draw me in? Perhaps. “You’re mi—”

  Her words stop short. “What?” Shaking her head, she offers me a smile that lights up my life. Without another word, she turns and opens the door. Exiting the car, she shuts herself outside, leaving me wondering what she could have meant.

  As soon as I’m out of the car, I make my way toward her. “Hey.” Circling my arm around her waist, I pull her against me. “Are you scared of me now?”

  “I’m not scared of you, Kade. I’m scared of us. What we can do. This power, ability, is so dark, so deadly it’s going to take me a while to come to terms with it. And . . .” Her words taper off, and my heart rate spikes. “I want to meet Killian.”

  “No.”

  “If I’m meant to choose, then I need to know what I’m letting go.” With that, she turns, and we head into the restaurant for the dinner I’d been planning since I asked her out two days ago.

  “Mr. Montgomery, nice to see you again. Please follow me.” The hostess smiles, picking up two menus, and escorts us to our private booth.

  “Here we are. Your waiter will be with you in a moment.” The tension in the room skyrockets when we’re alone again, and I’m left in confusion. Scooting into the seat, closing the distance between Tali and me, I watch her school her pretty features. Her asking to meet Killian has me wondering how I can delay it.

  For now, all I can think about is being close to her. The heat of her body is something I crave. My blood runs cold most days, so I’m constantly chilly, but with her so close, I feel warmth I’ve never known, and it’s like a drug. I’m addicted to this girl. I know without a doubt I would choose her if it came down to it and it was my choice.

  “I’m having the steak,” she tells me confidently. Chuckling, I lift my dark gaze to hers. “What?” Her nose scrunches, which I realize is her tell. When she’s nervous, she does it.

  “Don’t change the subject. You’re not meeting my brother, and that’s final.”

  She leans back and watches me through narrowed, dark eyes. “Why are you so scared of me meeting him? Are you worried I’d choose him?”

  “That was a very random thing to say after your almost-confession in the car.”

  She shrugs in her playful way, trying to make light of her words, but she can’t. There’s no way you can take back something that deep. That heartfelt.

  “Tell me, Talia.” I glance at her, placing my menu on the table. “What would you have done if you’d said it?”

  “I didn’t say anything. Can we drop it?”

  “No, because you were going to say I’m yours.” My words ring true, but she does
n’t acknowledge it. Before I can quiz her some more, the waiter appears at our table with a small white notepad and pencil poised to take our order.

  “What can I get you this evening? Would you like to hear our specials?”

  Shaking my head, I place the order without looking at my date. “We’ll have two ribeye steaks, medium rare, with your house salad, and fries on the side. Also, bring us a bottle of your 2007 Merlot, local blend, please.”

  Immediately, the young man jots everything down, then we’re alone again. “This is not as easy as you make it out to be, Kade.”

  “I didn’t say it’s easy. It’s far from it, but I’m doing my best to show you I’m the man you should be with. If you want to meet Killian, you’re welcome to take the company jet and fly to Europe to see him.” Even though I’m offering her up as a sacrificial lamb sending her to him, I’ll do it if it’s what she wants.

  “First, you refuse me. Now, suddenly, you’re allowing me the company jet to fly to him?” It’s my turn to shrug. “And I didn’t say I wanted to fly there, I just . . . I think, for my own state of mind, I need to know who he is. This is a forever choice. Wait . . .” She turns to me. “How old are you?” I was waiting on this question. It’s something I’ve never had to discuss since the only woman who’s ever cared enough to ask was Presley. And even when I told her, she didn’t flinch, because technically, she’s older than me.

  “I’m thirty-five in human years. And you’re almost twenty-one in human years.”

  “And in Warlock years?”

  She’s too intelligent, picking up on my mention of the variant in our years. Because we’ve been reincarnated each century, our ages are something of a strange thing to explain. Technically, we’re still the same person, but different. I turn to regard her questioning gaze and smile. “I’m six-hundred-thirty, and you’re four-hundred.”

  “What?” Her squeak draws attention from the surrounding tables. A deep, rosy blush darkens her cheeks beautifully.