Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness)

by Candice Stauffer

  “Worse.”

  She took a sip. Forcing herself to swallow it rather than spit it out, she gagged. “It’s disgusting. What is it?”

  “I tried it a few days ago. I couldn’t agree with you more. It tastes absolutely awful. Supposedly it’s a healthy mixture of roots and herbs. It’s supposed to help you recover quicker.”

  “I’ve never been much of a health nut. Do I smell coffee?”

  Brianna reached out to take the glass from her. “You sure do. I just finished mine. I’ll go down and get you a cup.”

  While waiting for Brianna to return Kara tried to focus on what had happened. It was bad, but that was all she could remember.

  “Here you go.” Startled from her thoughts, Kara gasped. She hadn’t even noticed Brianna had returned.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

  Kara took the cup from her. “It isn’t your fault. I spaced out. Plus, I wouldn’t even consider holding a grudge against anyone who brought me such a cherished gift.” She took a few sips of the coffee. It was rich, black and hot. It was heaven. “You sure do know how to make it right.”

  “Most people say the opposite. I’ve been accused of making it too strong.”

  “Idiots. They obviously have no taste at all.” Just then, Kara remembered she wasn’t supposed to drink coffee. The caffeine was bad for the baby, her baby. She was…no. Her baby had died.

  “Are you okay?”

  Shaking her head, Kara placed her hand on top of her belly. “No! Oh God, no!” She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to go. She got up out of the bed. She fell to her knees but Brianna caught her arm.

  Kara knew Brianna was struggling to help her get up. Kara tried to help, but she wasn’t strong enough to stand. “Nikolas, I need you.”

  “I’m here.” Kara blinked. Where the hell did the man come from? He lifted her up and lowered her onto the bed as if she weighed nothing, and then he immediately turned to Brianna. “Were you hurt, little one?”

  “Are you serious?” Stepping around him when he reached for her, Brianna walked over to Kara’s bedside. “I’m fine. She fell. She’s the one who needs help.” Kara was certain by the way Brianna was looking at her that she could see now.

  “You called out to me.” He was grinning as if he’d just won a prize.

  “Stop it, Nikolas.”

  “You needed me.”

  “Not now.”

  Nikolas shrugged his big shoulders in what had to be the most pathetic attempt to appear nonchalant that she’d ever seen. She had a gift for reading people. Plus, having a drug smuggler for a father meant that she lived around dangerous men her entire life. She sensed Nikolas was far more lethal than any other man she’d ever encountered. When he moved closer, Kara had a strong urge to get up out of the bed and run. Nothing about him was even slightly casual. He wore ultimate power as a second skin.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Kara noticed that his gaze momentarily shifted toward Brianna. It was as he was making sure he had her approval over how he was handling the situation.

  She didn’t know him. She didn’t want to give him too much information. “My head is a little dizzy, but other than that I’m fine.”

  He reached out for her. She flinched to stop him from touching her. “I need to make sure you're okay. You suffered a serious head injury.” She nodded. Not that her condition mattered. Her baby had died, and it was her fault.

  He placed his hands on either side of her head. She felt a warm, soothing sensation radiating from his palms. At first she figured he was a healer like her mom, but his abilities were much more impressive. The warmth entered her head and slowly, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, until it filled her entire body. It was power. She couldn’t think of any other word to describe it. His power filled her, grew in her, until she felt as if she might burst.

  She began to think about all that had happened. She remembered waking up in the hospital. She remembered being told that she’d lost her baby, but she couldn’t remember how she had gotten to the hospital or leaving the hospital. It didn’t really matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Thinking about it wasn’t going to bring her baby back.

  Once he was finished, Nikolas took a few steps back and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve healed nicely. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you like, but before you leave I need to show you something.”

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “Astoria.”

  “I need to leave as soon possible.” She couldn’t allow her father to go unpunished. One way or another she would kill him as slowly and as painfully as possible.

  “I understand.” From out of nowhere clothing just appeared in his hands. He placed them on the bed next to her. “You’ll need these.” He stared at her as if expecting her to climb out of the bed and get dressed in front of him. Feeling way more than a little awkward, she looked at Brianna. Hoping she’d get him to leave the room.

  Smiling, Brianna winked at her. “Nikolas.” The instant she said his name, he smiled and shifted his entire focus on her. “Leave us.”

  He shook his head. “No. She’s still weak.”

  “I will call you if I need you.” Frowning, he stared at Brianna for several seconds. “Please, Nikolas, I promise to call you if I need you.”

  “I will be close.”

  “Of course you will.” When he didn’t make a move to leave Brianna grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. It was kind of funny. He moved with her as if he didn’t have a choice. She was a small statured woman and he was a huge, extremely muscular man.

  “Don’t worry. He won’t come back in.” Brianna opened the bathroom door. “Would you like to take a bath?”

  “That would be great.” That’s when Kara realized why Brianna looked so familiar.

  “I’ll get the water going, and then I’ll help you get across the room.”

  “Wait. I need to tell you something, but I’m pretty sure once I do you’ll think I’m certifiably insane.”

  Brianna smiled. “I promise to keep an open mind.”

  “When I was a child I was placed in a mental hospital after a werewolf killed my mother. I told my teacher about it. She informed me that werewolves didn’t exist. I was stubborn. I refused to agree with her. After a trip to the school nurse, I ended up in a psychiatrist’s office and then placed in an institution. And don’t try to convince me that werewolves don’t exist. It would be a waste of time. I know for a fact they do.”

  “Oh, trust me, I believe you.”

  She wasn’t expecting that response from Brianna, but it was a huge relief. “I was moved around from one hospital to the next. I was badly behaved. I didn’t like the medication they were giving me and I fought like hell every time they shoved it down my throat. Anyways, I can’t remember which one she was in, but I met a teenage girl named Sara. You could be her twin.”

  “I’ve a sister named Sara. She was hospitalized from time to time since she was a young child because she heard voices, and she hurt herself.”

  “The voices she heard were real. I heard them. And she wasn’t hurting herself. I saw something attacking her one night. No one else could see it. It was the most frightening looking thing I’ve ever seen. It was a monster. I thought of it as being a demon.”

  “You saw it? You heard it?” Brianna asked.

  “I swear it’s true.”

  “I believe you.”

  “How is she doing now?”

  “I don’t know. She disappeared a few years ago after our family’s home caught fire and burned to the ground. Our parents were killed in the fire.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Kara said.

  “The authorities believe Sara started it. She didn’t do it. I know she didn’t. She couldn’t.”

  “You’re right. She saved me. The medications they were forcing me to take were killing me. It was horrible. She taught me to stop fighting them. She made me realize tha
t arguing with them would only keep me there longer. She taught me how to trick them into thinking that I was taking the medication. As soon as I turned eighteen they released me.”

  ***

  A few hours later Nikolas and Brianna walked Kara to her son’s grave. “I can’t believe I allowed him to be killed.” Wishing the ground would open and swallow her up she fell to her knees on his tiny grave. She would never hold him in her arms. She wouldn’t even meet him. She’d already decided to end her life just as soon as she killed her father, but the pain and the guilt were too much. She needed to end it. “I can’t do it.”

  Nikolas knelt down and took her hands and then forced her to stand up as he did. “It wasn’t your fault, but no one will ever be able to make you believe it. No one can convince you to keep going, to live. That’s up to you. It’s your choice.” He released her hands and took a step back. “You decide.”

  He was wrong, but he was also right. It was her fault. She should’ve done more to protect her baby, but avenging her baby’s death or not was her choice. She looked down at the grave. Giving up would be the easiest and fastest way to end her suffering, but she couldn’t do it. Not yet. First, she had to kill her father and Tom. Once they were dead, she would be free to die. “You’re right. Thank you for taking me in and…oh, God, I never picked a name for him.” She paused. “Thank you for giving my baby such a beautiful resting place.”

  Nikolas looked at Brianna and nodded. It seemed as if they were secretly communicating. A moment later, he wrapped his arm around Brianna’s shoulder and looked at Kara. “You’ve been through hell, but you’re a strong woman. Perhaps, you’re even stronger than you know. Don’t give up yet. You never know what might be waiting out there for you to discover. It’s possible for you to find happiness and peace. And you will come up with a name in time. My doors are always open to you. You’re welcome to come back and visit him.” He handed her a backpack and a set of keys. “There’s plenty of cash and other necessities, including a gun for protection, inside the bag.” He pointed down a dirt road. “There’s a car at the end of the road for you to take.”

  She unzipped the bag and saw bundles of cash and a gun. “I can’t take your money or your things.”

  “Why not? I don’t need them and you do.”

  “I’ll repay you when I’m able.”

  “Nikolas nodded. “I know you will.”

  ***

  From beneath Nikolas’ arm Brianna watched Kara walk away. “Thank you, Nikolas. I didn’t know the right words.”

  “That’s not true.” She felt the brush of his lips and the warmth of his breath on top of her head. “I borrowed the words from you.”

  “She could be in serious danger. We can’t just let her go off alone.”

  Keeping her under his arm, he started to lead her back toward the house. “She won’t be alone for long.”

  She stopped. As always in perfect sync with her he stopped. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember Eli Thomas?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  “He’s waiting for her.”

  “No. He kidnapped Mia and nearly got her killed. He blew up Mia’s boutique with Joseph in it. You have to stop her. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I would never send her into dangerous situation. Eli believed Mia was his mate. He believed he was protecting her. Joseph couldn’t have been injured in an explosion or a fire. He’s a demon. Eli was only trying to slow him down a bit.”

  “You’re sure Kara will be safe with him?”

  “Look at the lengths he went to for Mia. He gave up his pack to save her life and returned her to Joseph when he realized he’d made a mistake. Imagine the lengths he would go to for his true mate. He is Kara’s future. He is her mate. She’s grieving the loss of her baby. She doesn’t want to live. The need to avenge her son is the only reason she agreed to give it time before giving up on life. Eli is the only one who will ever cause her to want to embrace life again. She has a future if she chooses to live. The only way she’ll ever know her fate is to move toward it. Sitting still and doing nothing to take hold of it will get her nowhere.”

  “Do you ever listen to yourself?”

  Appearing frustrated, he looked down at her and frowned. She knew he wasn’t used to being challenged. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed doing it so much. “What does that mean?”

  “Don’t play stupid.”

  A muscle clenched in his jaw. They both knew what she was getting at, but he was going to ignore it. “You can’t change what is meant to be.”

  “Really?”

  “Joseph already messed with her fate by preventing her death the night she was shot. If we continue, her destiny will grow darker.”

  “You know this for sure.”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  “Then why do you insist on attempting to alter ours?”

  “Don’t worry.” He smiled. “Nothing bad will ever happen to you, little one. I will always protect you. I simply refuse to allow your fate to grow dark by allowing you to alter mine.”

  She knew it was meant as an endearment, but she hated being called little one. It felt belittling. He refused to be with her because he viewed her as being a weak. Little. She turned to face him. They stared at each other for a long time. “Whose shall I alter then?”

  “Stop.”

  A clear sign she’d made him angry, she felt the ground move ever so slightly beneath her feet. “You don’t have any right to get mad me. You are the one who rejects the idea of us being together.”

  He took her hand and held it to his chest so that she could feel his heart beating. “I’m not mad at you. Not even a little.”

  “Liar.”

  “I love you. You cannot make me mad because you are perfect in my eyes. We are apart because I will protect you from the darkness in me.”

  Getting up on the very tips of her toes she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her level. She knew once her body was pressed against his that he wouldn’t be able to resist her. He kissed her. It was a slow, sensual, burning kiss that went on and on, until he abruptly stopped and pressed his forehead against hers.

  Seeing the white wicker chair in her bedroom, she realized he'd shifted them to her home while they were kissing. She hadn’t been home since Mia had brought Kara to his home. “That’s nice. You don’t need me now that you’re finished with Kara.”

  “I kept you there because you wanted me to help her. I never would have kept her there and focused any energy on healing her if doing so put you in danger. If I allow myself to be distracted you could be hurt. You’re my priority.”

  Knowing she was about to be engulfed by darkness, she sat down on the edge of her bed. After having sight for so many hours of every day for nearly two months, returning to total blindness would take some getting used to. He was about to do what always did. He would leave her and take the ability to see with him in the next few seconds. He couldn’t understand the way he was hurting her to keep from hurting her. “Why do you refuse to see all that is good in you?”

  “There’s not enough good in me to protect you from the bad.”

  ~Ten~

  KARA HAD BEEN driving for only few hours, but she was dead tired. She could barely keep her eyes open. Staying in one place for any length of time was risky. She wanted to stay on the move, but continuing without any sleep wasn’t safe for her or anyone else on the road.

  She decided to hide the car Nikolas had given her in the parking lot of an abandoned factory across the street from the hotel and get a room for the night. She was prepared to get soaked, but by the time she got out of the car the heavy rain had dwindled to a light drizzle. The dark shadows surrounding the old abandoned brick factory seemed much more ominous than when she was still in the car.

  Tilting her head back to look up at the sliver of moon peeking through the clouds, she took a deep breath as she reached deep within herself to find and gather up the willpower and strength she
needed to proceed.

  Awareness crashed into her from out of nowhere. She wasn’t alone. A whisper of movement from directly behind her instantly had her heart racing. Ready to fight she spun around. She blinked to bring the image of a creature on four legs in to focus. It was dog. No. She saw several more shadowy images of dogs. Hopefully they were friendly dogs. They were huge. She hurried into the office.

  After paying for a room for the night, she handed an extra twenty dollar bill to the older woman, wearing a timeworn housekeeper’s uniform, behind the counter. “If anyone asks you haven’t seen me.”

  “Well now, I’m not sure that’s going to work out very well, girl,” the woman said. “I’m a sociable woman. I’ve always been a bit of a talker. Then again, I suppose with the right incentive, I could be persuaded to try a little harder to keep my mouth shut as far as you being here is concerned.”

  Greed was a truly ugly human characteristic. Kara truly wished she didn’t know it as well as she did. She handed the woman another twenty dollar bill. “Will this work?”

  “I’m not sure.” She took it and held both bills up to the light of the desktop lamp as if checking to make sure they were real. “That all depends on the details of your dilemma.” Apparently satisfied that they weren’t phony she reached into her shirt and stuffed the cash down her bra. “Are you in trouble with the law or an ex-lover?”

  Kara knew the woman was expecting to collect more money. Luckily, Nikolas had given her plenty of it to deal with problems that might arise. She didn’t like the woman at all, but she easily faked a smile while handing over a hundred dollar bill. “Does it really matter?”

  “No.” After snatching the money away from Kara the woman held it up to the lamp. “I’ll be damned. It’s the real deal.” Snorting, she laughed out loud as she shoved it into her bra. “I suppose it doesn’t matter at all.”

  “That’s what I was hoping to hear.”

  The woman opened a drawer, pulled out a key and pushed it across the counter. “Here you go, girl. You’ll be staying in room nineteen all the way down at the far end of the building.”

  Grabbing the key Kara turned to leave. “Thanks.”