EDGE OF NIGHT

by Rae Morgan, Emma Sinclair, Sherrill Quinn

  She didn’t close her eyes until Kyle plunged the dagger deep into her chest.

  God, no, he thought. He and Brad were wrong.

  Gwen crumpled forward, though she couldn’t move far, since she was attached to the pipe behind her.

  Time stood still for Derek.

  He had been wrong. He just watched another woman he cared about be murdered by the hand of his enemy. Oh, God, Kyle deserved to die for this one. He deserved to die for this one. Consequences for the rest of the world be damned. He took one step forward, he was going to go for Kyle’s throat. He didn’t give a damn if it meant he’d be dying at the same time. He didn’t care if the whole fucking world ended. Frankly, it’d be easier than living with Gwen’s blood on his hands.

  But before he made it across the room, he heard the greatest sound in the world. Gwen whimpered.

  Both men paused and stared at her.

  Ever so slowly, she straightened.

  Derek sighed in relief. At the same time, he could feel Kyle’s rage.

  “What the... ”

  Gwen stood up the rest of the way. The nasty looking dagger still poked out of her chest. She was obviously shocked; her eyes were wide, searching the room, searching Derek’s face for some kind of explanation.

  He walked to her side. He couldn’t go another second without touching her.

  “Did I forget to mention that Gwen had a protective spell on her?” He wasn’t sure who was more shocked, Kyle or Gwen. He ignored Kyle and turned his full attention to Gwen. “Hold still. I don’t know if this is going to hurt.” He grasped the dagger and pulled it out of her chest.

  They both looked down to see her chest no worse for wear.

  “What’s going on, Derek?”

  For the first time, she actually sounded scared. How weird was that? Now that things were pretty much okay, she was panicking?

  *

  Was she dead?

  Was she unconscious and dreaming this?

  If this really was a dream, would she have felt so wonderful when Derek touched her?

  “Am I dead?” Her voice came out in a whisper.

  Derek looked at her, love shining in his eyes. Love?

  Oh, God, he was in love with her. Could love really conquer all? She’d never make fun of a romance novel again.

  “No, baby, you’re going to be just fine.”

  When he reached around her to unlatch her arms, she snuggled into his body. He brought them to her front, rubbing feeling back into her wrists. Suddenly, she was anxious for him to rub feeling into other places.

  “This can’t be.” Kyle was still railing. He paced the room, obviously clueless as to what happened.

  “It is,” Derek said, pulling her close to his side.

  It wasn’t a hardship for her, there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

  “Apparently you forgot to do your homework. There was a reason we were both drawn to Gwen.”

  She moved closer to the warmth of his body. Where had that warmth come from? He’d always been so cold.

  “Why?” Gwen asked.

  He looked down at her and then back at Kyle. “Gwen is the great-great grand niece of the Priestess.”

  Kyle obviously understood what that meant. He let out a primal scream that echoed through the room. Then he disappeared, leaving behind a shower of sparks.

  “What does that mean?”

  “When the Priestess was killed, and she enacted the curse, she saved all of her descendants, proclaiming that none of them could be hurt by either the darkness or the light.”

  “But, how did you know I was a descendant? I don’t even know anything about my family.”

  “That was something Brad discovered. You’ll like Brad, by the way,” he said. “He was doing some research for me, trying to find out more about what makes a Key a Key, and came across an old painting of the Priestess. You’re her spitting image.”

  “Couldn’t that have just been a coincidence?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. He felt better than he’d ever felt better in his life. More relaxed. Calm even.

  “It could have, but coincidences aren’t as popular as most humans seem to think.” He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along, down into the throngs of people in the club. “Come on.”

  What was going to happen now? As Derek nodded to people as he walked through the club, it seemed he didn’t really seem to care. They walked outside into the cold night air. She shivered, but Derek seemed to anticipate her need and pulled her close again. They were only outside for a few seconds before she was bundled into the beautiful car she’d admired only a few nights ago.

  God, that was only a few nights ago? It felt like a lifetime.

  And now, she wasn’t sure she could imagine a life without Derek.

  It took her a few minutes to realize they weren’t heading to her loft. “Where are we going?”

  “To my house.”

  Oh. Did that mean that maybe they’d have something now that Kyle wasn’t trying to kill her anymore? Was Kyle still trying to kill her?

  “Derek, I’m not too sure I understand what’s going on.”

  He reached out and rested a large hand on her thigh. Even through the leather, the pressure of his hands sent tingles skittering up and down her body. “You will soon enough.”

  He squeezed her thigh.

  They rode the rest of the way in silence.

  When they pulled up to a gated driveway, Gwen was shocked. As soon as Derek’s car turned in, the gates swung open. They drove up the long, winding drive until a huge gothic-looking mansion came into view.

  “I guess this is kind of where I’d expect the King of Darkness to live.”

  He laughed, a warm, rich sound.

  She only caught glimpses of the interior of the house as he rushed her through. Still, it looked lavish and welcoming.

  “How’d it go?” A man ran out of one room asking the question. As soon as he saw her though, his face spread into a wide smile. “I guess it went well. Congratulations.”

  She smiled back but didn’t have time to stop and talk. And what did she need congratulating for? Staying alive?

  “Derek, where are we going?”

  She got her answer when they ran into the bedroom.

  “I just wanted to be somewhere alone,” he said.

  How many people were in the house that they had to go to the bedroom to be alone? Or was he just trying to get her into bed? While she desperately wanted to know what was going on, she couldn’t deny that falling into bed with Derek seemed like a fantastic idea.

  He pulled her over to the bed and sat down. Then he reached forward and pulled her into his arms.

  “I was really afraid I was going to lose you, Gwen.”

  Her heart melted. She desperately wanted him again. Maybe it had something to do with her near-death experience. When he pulled back a bit and looked up at her, she realized that wasn’t it. She was pretty sure Derek was always going to affect her that way.

  “But you didn’t.”

  “No.” He smiled. “I didn’t.”

  Then he reached up and pulled her head down and he kissed her. It was the sweetest, most potent kiss she’d experienced in her whole life.

  She opened her mouth to him and his tongue eagerly swept inside. He tasted amazing. The hair of his goatee tickled her chin. Much too soon for her, his mouth left hers. But he continued to kiss her, her cheeks, her chin, down the column of her throat.

  Finally, he came to her breasts, pushed up by the corset. He reached around her and undid the laces. Slowly, she could feel it get easier for her to breathe. He continued to undo the laces until finally the corset fell to her feet.

  His hands reached out to touch the space between her breasts. The spot where less than a half-hour before, she’d had a dagger plunged into her chest.

  “I can’t believe I almost lost you before I ever had you.”

  While she appreciated the sentiment, she said, “But you’ve had me. Several
times, in fact.”

  He peeked up at her and laughed, but his mood was still a bit on the heavy side. Were those tears swimming in his eyes?

  Her heart swelled, and she was surprised it didn’t beat right out of her chest.

  “But now I can have you for as long as you want.”

  As long as she wanted? Was he serious?

  She’d almost died tonight. Though she didn’t quite yet understand why she didn’t, she wanted her life to be reaffirmed.

  She leaned down again and kissed him.

  His arms came around her nakedness and again, he felt warm.

  “Derek, why are you so warm now? You were so cold before.”

  “It’s you,” he said and went right back to kissing her.

  His arms still around her, she felt the back zipper of her pants lowering. Then, his hands slipped inside and he pushed them down. She took a step away and stepped out of her clothes. Derek simply sat back and looked at her.

  “Damn, you’re beautiful.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  He muttered something under his breath, and the next thing she knew, he, too, was gloriously naked.

  Though it was hard, she managed not to touch him when she crawled up the bed. He followed her, eventually resting on top of her, their naked bodies perfectly aligned.

  *

  He couldn’t believe just how much this woman had come to mean to him in such a short amount of time.

  “Will you be my Queen, Gwen?”

  She was obviously shocked. Before she was able to answer though, he continued speaking. "There was no warmth in my life before I met you. There's an ancient myth that the King of Darkness would meet his Queen when she chose him over light. Will you choose darkness over light?"

  She didn’t answer him with words. Instead, she reached up and pulled him down to her. She kissed him again. He thought there was love in the kiss, but he was afraid to hope. He’d been disappointed too many times in his long life. No one had ever chosen him before, what would make her choose him now?

  Her legs came apart, and he rested right between her legs. She was so hot. She pushed herself up on her heels, asking without words for him to enter her.

  He wasn’t sure he could stop for anything.

  He pushed inside her and was immediately enveloped in her warmth.

  He’d give her time, but she had to be his. She just had to. Once he experienced her, he didn’t think he’d be able to live without her.

  Both her arms and legs wrapped around him. His mouth ravished her. He wanted to pour everything in him into this loving. He wanted her to know how much he loved her, how much he desperately wanted, needed, her in his life.

  She rocked against him as he plunged inside of her.

  Soon she was moaning and writhing against him.

  “Derek,” she warned, and he knew she was getting close. He increased the pace of his thrusting. He wanted to crest that wave with her.

  She grabbed at his ass, pulling him close and then pushing him away again and again. And still, the whole time, their tongues tangled.

  Finally, they both reached the peak. Gwen went rigid underneath him before bonelessly sinking into the mattress. He thrust into her one more time and groaned her name before collapsing on top of her.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  He rolled off her so he wasn’t crushing her, though he still kept their bodies perfectly aligned. He leaned down and kissed her sweat soaked shoulder.

  Her eyes were closed and she had a satisfied smile on her face.

  “Yes,” she said again. “I’ll be your Queen.”

  “What?” Derek sat up quickly, shaking the bed and disturbing her satisfied rest. “What did you say?” She sighed deeply and stretched, her breasts rising as her back arched up off the bed. “Quit trying to distract me, what did you say?”

  “I said, yes I’ll be your Queen. You did ask me, you know.”

  “I know.” And he couldn’t believe that she’d actually said yes. It was more than he dared hope for. “But you realize that you have to become a night dweller. You can go out and about at dusk, but you’ll never really be able to be in the sun again.”

  She shrugged her still naked shoulders, making those beautiful breasts shake again. “The sun is overrated anyway.”

  His chest felt tight. “I love you, Gwen.”

  She smiled and sat up, realigning their torsos. Of their own accord, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close.

  “I love you, too,” she said. She kissed him soundly and then pulled back. “That’s why I want to be your Queen.”

  He was so astounded; he didn’t even know what to say. That he could have the love of this incredible woman just blew him away. He kissed her again and poured all the love in him into the kiss. There was no way she’d be able to misunderstand this time. And it was clear she didn’t.

  Her arms came around him and she pulled him back down onto the bed.

  “Welcome to the darkness, my love.”

  The End

  About the Author:

  While she'd like to confess to settling before her computer to write every day in silk and lace while half-naked boy-toys bring her champagne and truffles, the truth is she writes in her jammies and has to get her own Diet Coke.

  Like many writers, Emma was bitten by the writing bug early in life. To date, her most memorable work has been The Blue Bowl Bunch which she both wrote and illustrated in sixth grade. It was a story about a bunch of grapes (yes, the fruit) that formed a club. It was mostly a series of puns and one-liners that unfortunately started a life-long love of bad jokes.

  Emma lives in New York with her husband who keeps her in Diet Coke and indulges her love of puns.

  You can keep up with Emma and all of her books at www.emmasinclair.com

  Damnation

  Sherrill Quinn

  Chapter One

  Vilnius, Lithuania

  Friday, December 11, 1812

  Jacques Gerrard collapsed in the doorway of a small shop—he hadn't the energy to look or even care what type. He was exhausted, freezing, and weaker than he'd ever been in his life. All he wanted to do was rest for a moment, just a moment.

  This doorway offered some protection against the unrelenting wind. The alley it opened onto was abandoned of all but him. Nightfall approached on swift feet, and the already frigid temperature was dropping rapidly.

  Mon Dieu. He hated the cold.

  Jacques remembered accepting his commission and heading out as part of Napoleon's Great Army, marching toward Moscow with high hopes of conquering Russia. Instead, when winter had come early, the ill-prepared army found themselves fighting nature more than the Russians.

  And now, of the nearly four hundred thousand men who had marched on to Vilnius, less than ten thousand still lived. Food had been scarce—the damned Russian army had burned crops and villages before the bedraggled French soldiers could reach them—then winter had hit. Hard.

  He and his comrades had subsisted on whatever they could, finally resorting to eating their own mounts. And they'd managed to reach Vilnius.

  But he doubted any of them would make it back to France alive.

  Jacques had spent the afternoon searching through the town, looking for food of any sort. The villagers, when they'd abandoned the area, had taken most everything with them. There was pitifully little to be found. And so he sat here, numb, probably dying.

  And he didn't have the energy to care.

  "I will ask you again, mon cher. Do you want to live forever?"

  The words echoed in Jacques's ears, and he looked up to see a dark haired woman standing in the middle of the snow-covered lane. Her ebony gaze held him as captive as the unforgiving cold gripping his body with icy finality. He sat immobile in the still, silent alley, his back against the door of the shop, his legs drooped over the stoop.

  This... creature had come to him once already, telling him a tale much too incredible, too horrific, to be true. Yet, as
he stared at her, he wondered...

  She approached him on gliding feet, her elegant boots making no noise on the hard-packed snow. Stray leaves and hay from a nearby livery stirred as she trod over them. One long fingernail, tinted with henna, trailed across his tunic-clad shoulder.

  His right hand tightened reflexively around his musket. His other hand went to the leather pouch holding his gunpowder. Then he sat still, unable to remember what he'd been about to do.

  The woman spoke, her voice holding an accent that hinted at a long-forgotten language. "I sense your disbelief, mon cher. Why is this such a hard thing?" she asked in a silken voice. "I can give you eternal life. Eternal youth." She knelt beside him, her fingers stroking back and forth over his shoulder. "In your years of service with Napoleon's army, you have seen many strange and wondrous things, oui? Why would you doubt the truth of my words?"

  He gave a bark of laughter from a throat gone dry with thirst and dread. "Madame," he said with the utmost cold courtesy, "you would have me believe you are sangsue—a vampire? C’est incroyable! Too incredible to be believed."

  She smiled, showing even, white teeth. "You misunderstand me, my brave capitaine. I am not a vampire. I am a lamia—I create vampires."

  With a surge of strength borne of desperation, Jacques found his feet and shuffled away from her. She must be a devil, sent to torment him before death took him in its final embrace. He quickly made the sign of the cross and muttered, "Hail Mary, full of grace. Blessed art thou among women. Please, by the goodness of God... "

  His horror was compounded by the dread that God had forsaken him. What had he done so sinful as to be unforgivable? Had God damned him for living the life of a soldier?

  It was war. Men died. Some at his hand.

  Was this a devil, then, sent to claim him, to take him to hell?

  There was no answer to his prayer. Only the woman, beautiful and deadly. Mon Dieu. He spun around to face her once more.

  She shook her head and came nearer with soundless tread. "Where is your good God now, eh, mon cher? Tell me, where is He who promised never to leave you or forsake you? Tell me, Jacques Gerrard, where is He now?"