Touch of Temptation

by Rhyannon Byrd

  “Among other things,” Kellan muttered. “Seth told me about the villagers in France. I’ve got a bad feeling this thing with the infected humans could get out of control before we’ve even gotten a handle on it.”

  “Maybe there’ll be something in the archives that can help us figure it out,” Quinn offered, looking at Kellan and Chloe. “We owe you both a hell of a thank-you for getting your hands on them.”

  “Does this mean we have to actually be nice to the kid now?” Aiden grumbled, causing everyone but Chloe and Morgan to laugh. Flashing Kellan a cocky smile, the shifter said, “Who would have ever thought the fuckup would finally get something right?”

  Kellan was ready to tell Aiden to lay off, not in the mood for his ribbing, when Chloe took the situation into her own hands. “You have no right to talk about him that way,” she snapped, her voice cracking with anger, and everyone stopped laughing, their expressions ranging from surprise to curiosity to approval. “You have no idea what Kellan went through in that place, or what he endured to keep me and Raine from being harmed. If anything, you should be praising him, instead of sitting there acting like a complete and utter ass!”

  “You’re right,” Aiden murmured, looking both chastened and impressed, the corner of his mouth twisted with a wry little grin. “I apologize. I just like to give the kid a hard time.”

  “In case it’s escaped your notice, he’s not a kid. And if you don’t want me telling my sister what a jerk you’re being, I suggest you find another way to entertain yourself.”

  Aiden’s amber-colored eyes went wide. “You’d rat me out to Liv?”

  Chloe lifted her chin, looking like a determined little Amazon. “In a heartbeat.”

  With his grin melting into a slow smile, and his deep voice thick with admiration, Aiden said, “Then I guess I’d better watch what I say.”

  “You do that,” she muttered under her breath, the low words immediately followed by a sharp gasp as she noticed that everyone was staring at her. She blushed and jumped to her feet, but Kellan stood up and grabbed hold of her hand before she could rush off. No way in hell was he letting her get away from him. His emotions were still too on edge to talk to her about what had just happened, his heart beating like a friggin’ jackhammer, but he was content just to walk beside her, holding her small hand in his.

  As he led her away from the bonfire, leaving the others staring after them, she asked, “Where are we going?”

  “When we got here, I asked Quinn if he could arrange to have a bath heated for you,” he replied in a low rasp. “Thought you might enjoy it.”

  Chloe thought a bath sounded wonderful, so long as she could have some privacy. “Where? I don’t even have a tent, much less a bathtub.”

  “The others have been using the cabin for meetings, but it’s ours for the night, until we all clear out in the morning.” There was a smile in his voice as he added, “So it’s bath time for you, little one.”

  “But won’t the others be annoyed?” she asked, eating him up from the corner of her eye as they headed toward the cabin, loving the way the moonlight played over the thick, windblown strands of his hair and his rugged profile. “We haven’t even told them about what I read in the journal.” Every time they’d stopped to take a short rest during their journey to the camp, Chloe had pulled out the small leather journal and read from its yellowed pages.

  “If they’ve waited this long,” Kellan told her, opening the door to the cabin and pulling her inside, “they can wait a little longer. You deserve some downtime.”

  Her gaze settled on the copper tub placed before the roaring hearth, steam billowing from the hot water in a warm, sensual cloud, and a rush of pleasure slipped through her veins. “Kell, that looks incredible. It makes me feel sleepy just staring at it.”

  “If you let me wash your back,” he coaxed, stroking his thumb against her palm, the simple touch seeming somehow painfully intimate, “I can promise to make sure you stay awake.”

  Chloe snuffled a soft breath of laughter, and pulled her hand from his. “Thanks, but I can bathe myself.”

  With his own low laugh, he pushed his hands in his pockets, his beautiful eyes glittering with mischief. “You don’t trust me?”

  “Let’s just say that I bet you can be fairly distracting,” she murmured wryly. “And seeing as how I was locked in that cell for months, unable to ever get completely clean, I plan on taking this bath pretty seriously.”

  A slow smile touched his mouth, and he lifted his hands in a playful sign of surrender. “In that case, you’ve got an hour. Then it’ll be time for dinner.” She nodded, and Kellan started to head for the door, when she said his name. “Yeah?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder, thinking she was the most adorable, beautiful thing he’d ever seen, standing there in front of the steaming bath with shining eyes and a shy smile.

  Quietly, she said, “In case I forgot to tell you earlier, I wanted to say thank you.”

  “For what?”

  Her smile spread a little wider. “For everything.”

  The soft sound of her voice seared through his system, and Kellan had to force a graveled response from his tight throat. “An hour, Chloe. If you’re not out by then—” he paused, lowering his gaze to the sweet, provocative curve of her lips “—I’m coming in after you.”

  “That tub’s only a single,” she teased as she tilted her head toward the bath.

  “Not a problem.” His smile turned downright wicked. “I’ll let you be on top.”

  She was laughing as he closed the door behind him, the soft, sexy sound still playing through his mind as Kellan shoved his hands back in his pockets and walked away. The full moon burned down on him with a heat that rivaled that of the sun, calling to his wolf, and he knew he’d be even more aggressive than usual tonight…but it wasn’t going to stop him. He’d do whatever it took to control the beast, because he had to. Not touching this woman simply wasn’t an option.

  No matter how insane this thing was that he’d started, he couldn’t end it now.

  Right or wrong, Kellan was seeing it through to the end.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Wednesday, 9:00 p.m.

  IT HAD, WITHOUT DOUBT, been the longest day of Chloe’s life. And yet, she wasn’t ready to sleep, her head still buzzing with everything that had happened. She’d been surprised that Kellan hadn’t bailed on her once they’d reached the safety of the base camp, assuming he’d want to put some distance between them—but he’d stayed right by her side throughout the evening, whispering in her ear whenever there was something he wanted to tell her, his body warm beside hers, his tempting scent filling her head.

  After she’d bathed and they’d gathered around the fire again, Kierland and Quinn, who had looked over the archives before dinner, told the others that their previous assumptions that Westmore had learned about the Dark Markers from the ancient documents were, in fact, correct. According to the archives, the Dark Markers were not only the keys that opened the spellbound, heavily fortified gate to Meridian, they also formed a map that would lead to the hidden prison. That explained why Westmore was so eager to get his hands on them, since the Markers could be used to locate Meridian, open the doors and bring about the flood, freeing all the Casus at once. Unfortunately, the pages explaining how the crosses were meant to form the map and be used as keys had been removed. They knew those specific pages had been taken because a notation had been made in the front of the archives, along with a notation for the removal of another journal. They also suspected that the removed pages might have explained how to contact the Casus in Meridian, perhaps even giving instructions on how to bring the shades across the divide, which had prompted Kellan to tell them about the strange altar he and Chloe had found just before they’d run into Gregory.

  Then Chloe had shared what she’d discovered in the pages of the journal that she and Kellan had found. Everyone had been shocked to learn that it was a Reavess witch named Alia Buchanan, descended from a dor
mant Merrick bloodline, who had created the maps in the early 1800s. According to the journal, Alia’s father had been a Merrick scholar who had secretly headed the new Consortium’s search for the ancient archives. And although he never found them, it seemed that he discovered something even more important: the place where the original Consortium had hidden the Dark Markers. Fearing the powerful crosses would be sought by the same men who had murdered her father, Alia and her husband, a shape-shifter named Rhys, had hidden them around the world. However, they’d also believed that a time would come when the Markers would be needed, and so Alia had created the encrypted maps, burying them with one of the Markers in Italy—which was exactly where Saige Buchanan had found them.

  As she’d read, Chloe had felt the deep emotion written into every page of the small journal, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what had drawn her to it. Had the mix of her awakening Merrick blood and the Mallory curse somehow turned her into an emotional beacon? Or did her strange connection to the journal have something to do with Kellan’s belief that the Mallory curse could finally, after all these years, be coming to an end? If so, had her Mallory powers, previously bound by the curse, drawn her to it? Or was it simply because she was a Merrick, like Alia? Whatever the reason, Chloe had been fascinated by the breathtaking love that Alia had held for her husband, their story made more poignant by the fact that he’d never felt he was good enough for her…while Alia had always seen him as the most remarkable man she’d ever known.

  After Chloe had finished telling the others what she’d learned, they’d discussed the idea that Alia Buchanan could have been the one responsible for gifting the Buchanans with the strange powers that had helped the siblings during their Merrick awakenings, as well as in their search for the Dark Markers.

  “The way this has worked out for the Buchanans, it’s almost as if this Alia woman actually planned it,” Quinn had murmured. “I mean, look at Saige’s gift. It not only helped her to find the maps, but it’s enabled her to decode them.”

  “But how did she know Saige would be the one who found them?” Garrick had asked.

  “Who knows?” the Watchman had replied. “All I can think is that she must have been one hell of a powerful witch.”

  Taking another drink of his beer, Aiden had scratched his chin and spoken up. “So Westmore learned how to contact the Casus…and how they could send a shade back to this world, as well as everything he knows about the Dark Markers, from the archives. But it was this journal that told him about the Markers being hidden around the world and the maps that lead to their locations?”

  Chloe had nodded. “That’s right. From what I’ve read in the journal so far, I don’t know that Alia ever fully understood what the Markers could do. But after what happened to her father, she recognized the need for them to be kept out of the wrong hands.”

  They’d talked for a while longer, but eventually the group had headed off to bed, except for a few who had taken up guard duty, and Kellan had brought her back to the cabin, the others agreeing that they should have a night of comfort after what they’d been through. And now they were alone. Chloe fidgeted nervously, painfully aware that she was falling harder for the sexy Lycan with each moment she spent with him. With each passing increment of time. But there didn’t seem to be anything she could do to stop it.

  “Your friends are great,” she murmured, watching him from the corner of her eye as she moved closer to the fire.

  “They’re a bunch of smart-asses,” he drawled, raking his fingers through the dark strands of his hair. He’d obviously found somewhere to shave and bathe earlier, and someone had loaned him some more clean clothes, like her own borrowed sweater and jeans.

  “They enjoy riling you.” She turned fully toward him, wrapping her arms around her middle. “But it’s also obvious that they love you.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, he gave a little shake of his head. “I still can’t believe Aiden apologized to you. He’s not a guy who offers apologies often.”

  “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” she told him, wishing she could calm the frenzied rush of her pulse, “but he really pissed me off.”

  The Watchman gave a low, husky rumble of laughter that was almost as sexy as his smile. “You didn’t embarrass me, honey. And it was priceless, seeing Ade’s reaction. He’s scared shitless you’re gonna rat him out to Liv.”

  “I’m tempted,” she murmured, managing a small grin before she asked, “Do you know why Juliana Sabin is here?”

  He shook his head again. “I asked Kierland, but he said he didn’t have any idea.”

  “She seems nice. What do you think she did to end up exiled in the Wasteland?”

  Rolling his shoulder, he took a seat at the foot of the bed and started unlacing his boots. “She might not have done anything. Sometimes, if the wrong person gets pissed off, entire families can be condemned because of the actions of a single member.”

  Chloe frowned. “That’s hardly fair.”

  “Fair or not, I’ve heard of it happening. Once her name was entered into the Book of the Exiled, then the spells that govern this place will hold her in whether she’s guilty or innocent.”

  Shuddering, she asked, “Do you trust her?”

  “From what Seth told me,” he replied, toeing off his unlaced boots and removing his socks, “she helped save Morgan’s life. Kierland trusts her, so that means I do, as well.”

  She angled her head a little to the side as she said, “Speaking of Seth, I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me that you’re working with a former Collective officer.”

  “You were already skittish enough about Noah,” he rumbled, sliding her a sheepish grin. “I didn’t see any point in freaking you out, when I knew there was nothing to worry about. Despite his former occupation, Seth’s a good guy.”

  “We should offer to let Raine feed tomorrow, or do you think he’ll give her the blood she needs?”

  WATCHING THE WAY THE firelight glinted off the dark fall of her hair, Kellan wondered if she was talking to keep him from touching her. Or was she simply nervous? If she was, Kellan didn’t blame her. Not when his wolf was prowling so close to his surface, the full moon setting the predatory beast even further on edge.

  Scrubbing his palm against his freshly shaven jaw, he answered her question. “To be honest, I can’t imagine Seth allowing any vamp to sink fangs into him. Hell, I’m still amazed that he’s letting Raine stay in his tent and helping Juliana with her.”

  “Maybe he feels sorry for her,” she said softly, and Kellan dug his fingers into the edge of the mattress, struggling for control, when all he really wanted was to launch himself across the room and take her to the floor. Hold her against his body, until he could soak her into his skin…breathe her into his lungs. Everything about her was just so damn soft and tender and sweet, and yet, she had a backbone of steel that only fueled his hunger. She’d fought for him that day, stood up for him in front of the others, and it’d softened his heart even more, while making other parts of his body impossibly harder.

  Still, Kellan knew he should get out of there and find some other place to bed down for the night. Her color was high, the power of the Merrick all but thrumming through her. She didn’t need another feeding; for the moment, she’d gotten what she needed from him. If he touched her now, it would be for no other reason than his own selfish desires. Just one more sin to add to so many.

  For her sake, he should walk away.

  But he couldn’t.

  Instead, he stared at the way the firelight shimmered against the burnished length of her hair, the dark strands falling over her shoulders, the sweater Morgan had loaned her lying softly against the delicate shape of her breasts, and knew he was about to do his worst. Knew he was going to fuck her harder, longer, than he’d ever taken any other lover. And he was going to savor every dark, devastating second of it.

  “You like those jeans?” he asked, the gruff words damn near sticking in his throat.


  “Well, yes,” she replied, looking down at the jeans, before meeting his gaze once again, this time with a slight smile on her lips. “I mean, they’re clean. Right now, that ranks alongside designer couture in my book.”

  “Then take them off.”

  She blinked, her face warming with color. “You want me to undress?”

  “If I get my hands on them,” he growled, “those clothes are gonna be ripped off you in about two seconds flat, Chloe. So lose the jeans.”

  A feverish glow burned in her cheeks and her eyes, but she reached for the hem of the sweater and pulled it over her head, letting it fall to the floor as she asked, “Are we going to have sex, then?”

  “I sure as hell hope so,” Kellan groaned, rubbing a hand over his mouth. “If not, there’s a damn good chance you’ll see a grown man cry.”

  “And here I’ve been worrying that you’d give me that speech again,” she murmured, taking off her bra, her sweet little nipples already hard and thick. “You know, the one about how you’re not good enough for me?”

  “I’m not good enough for you,” he admitted with a shrug, the easy gesture completely at odds with the visceral burn of hunger searing through his veins, his heart hammering to a hard, painful beat as she pulled her lower lip through her teeth…her fingers lingering on the top button of her jeans. “But I can’t stay away from you. So I guess I’m going to shut up and appreciate my good fortune until you finally get smart and tell me to get lost.”

  “You don’t care that you only want me because—”

  “Don’t say it,” he snapped, his voice thick…rough. “I’m in a good mood, and that’s only going to piss me off.”

  She seemed to be thinking over his warning for a moment, and then the corner of her mouth twitched in that adorable way that he loved. “So then what you’re saying is that I should just shut up and appreciate my good fortune until you finally get smart and tell me to get lost?”