He glanced down at his arm. Her nails were really starting to dig in deep. Bringing his focus back to the spider, she gasped and pointed at as it crawled toward them. A few seconds later it picked up its pace and raced toward them. Screaming, she did the wildest dance all the way around him to make sure he was between her and the spider as it raced past them. Next, she pushed past him to the side and shut the door on his face.
Literally, the door slammed into his face. He was still standing there staring at the door when she opened it. “Come in.” She motioned for him to come inside. “It’s cold out here. Hurry up before that…that hideous thing gets back in here.”
Against his better judgment, for something just wasn’t right about the smile on her face, he walked inside and shut the door. When he turned to face her she was standing just out of reach with a gun aimed at him.
“What were you doing outside the door?” She asked.
Holding up his hands in surrender, he gestured toward the door. “The hideous thing went that way.”
“You aren’t funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was trying to avoid getting shot.”
“Did my father send you?” she asked.
“No.”
“I know you from somewhere.”
He nodded. “We met before. It was several months ago at a gas station. You barged into me and spilled your hot chocolate.”
He watched and waited. She stared at him for several seconds before it was evident by the smirk on her face that she was remembering the day they met. “Actually, you weren’t watching where you were going. You ran into me and dumped it on me.” He watched her closely. He wasn’t sure what it was but something about her, more than her physical beauty, temper and outrageous fear of spiders intrigued him.
He smiled. It was the whole shebang. She was his mate. Everything about her intrigued him. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know every little detail about her to discover what made the man in him need the woman in her. “And then you grabbed me and kissed me.”
Eyes going wide as color rose from her neck to her cheeks, she shook head. “That’s a lie. You kissed me.”
“You kissed me back. You enjoyed it.”
“I know you’re a werewolf.”
“Do you?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“And yet you think you will be able to stop me with a gun?”
“It will hurt you.”
“I’ve been shot before. I’ve a high tolerance for pain.”
“It will slow you down.”
“Not enough to do you any good. Regardless of how many times you shoot me I’ll always be significantly faster and stronger than you.” He studied every corner of the room and every piece of furniture. He planned to take the gun from her before she had a chance to shoot him. He knew she would fight him and he didn’t want to hurt her. Yet. If she shot him he just might be inclined to figure out some sort of retribution. “This room is small. The exit is behind me.”
She gave him the most beautiful, wickedly awesome smile he ever seen on a woman. “That’s good. It’ll make it much easier for you to run out of here.”
Just then he noticed she’d taken off her jacket and sweatshirt and was wearing a small white tank top. He could see that her neck, chest and arms had nearly completely faded bruises. He could actually make out the prints of large fingers around her neck. He’d know she’d been shot and jumped from a moving vehicle, but seeing the proof of it, though nearly entirely healed, on her flesh was too much. Surprising him, a growl escaped his throat.
Obviously hearing him growl and being startled by it, she cocked the revolver. “Leave.” She pressed her lips together tightly. In silence, they stared at each other for several long seconds.
He decided to change tactics. “We never go out of our way to advertise our existence. How are you acquainted with my kind?
“Your thought patterns are not fully animal and they’re not fully human. They’re a combination of both.”
“You’re physic?”
“Why do you ask? You already know that I am.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were aware of it.”
“How could I possibly miss it?”
He shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me.”
“Then why ask?”
“You touched my mind and decided that I present no threat to you. And yet you’re aiming a gun at my head and, though I’ve offered to help you, you’re demanding that I leave you to face your father alone.”
“I never claimed to be a good physic. My mind has deceived me before. Many times.”
He held his arms out to the sides. “Shoot me.”
“Huh?”
“When I don’t retaliate you’ll realize I’m no threat to you.” He really hoped she didn’t take him up on the offer.
After a few moments she finally lowered the gun. “Damn it.”
“Hello.” He offered her his hand. “My name is Eli. It’s good to meet you.”
“You already told me your name a long time ago.” She looked down at his hand and shook her head before meeting his gaze. “Why did you come in here?”
“I thought a fresh new beginning would be a good idea. And you opened the door and let me in, remember?”
“Why were you lurking outside my room?”
“To be honest, I’m not much a lurker. The idiot who tried to take your bag returned with a few friends. I planned to make sure they left you alone.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It is the truth.”
“You don’t know me. Why would you care about me?”
“If I hadn’t intervened he would’ve taken your bag and left. It would’ve sucked to lose your things, but you would’ve never seen him again. He came back for revenge because I pissed him off.”
“I wouldn’t have allowed him to just take off with it.”
“I don’t doubt you would’ve tried to stop him.” Eli had known that some humans were able to use physic abilities to identify his kind, but she was too comfortable with the knowledge. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know everything.
“Why did you lie to me at gas station?”
“I didn’t know Tom was working with my father.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care.” She pointed at the door. “It’s time for you to leave.”
“You were trying to protect me.”
“I didn’t know.” She frowned.
“You’re lying.”
She rolled her eyes back. “Stop it.”
“How is that you not only accept but feel comfortable with the fact that I’m not human?”
“My mother made the mistake of falling in love with a werewolf.”
“Who?” He asked.
“It doesn’t matter. It was a very long time ago. Another werewolf killed her for my father.”
“Who?”
“Again, it doesn’t matter. It was a very long time ago.”
“You don’t know.”
“His name is Max,” she said.
“Her killer or her lover?”
“Her killer.” Eli sat down on the foot of the bed. He wouldn’t tell her about Grace just yet. It wasn’t the right time to attempt to convince her that Max wasn’t a killer. “What are you doing? Get up.”
“I’m only getting comfortable while we chat.”
“You’re not staying long enough to worry about getting comfortable.”
“Well then, grab your things, you’re coming with me.” She turned her back to him. “When you were recovering from being shot I told you that once you were able to go out and avenge you son’s death that you wouldn’t be alone.”
She turned to face him. “It was real. You talked to me. I couldn’t wake up and I…no. It was a dream. This is my battle alone.” Staring at him, she slowly shook her head back and forth. The anguish in her eyes broke his heart. “I never meant for him to die.”
�
�Of course you didn’t. You can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t know the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t need you to stick around.”
“You want to avenge his death. It’s your right. I would never take it from you. It’s my right to make sure you don’t get yourself killed doing it. Don’t take it from me.”
“I’m not trying to take anything from you. I’m trying to tell you that I don’t need or want a friend.”
He knew what she wasn’t saying. She didn’t need or want to live. Somehow, he hoped to change that. “I do.”
***
His unblinking gaze remained locked on hers. She felt him touch her mind. It was the gentlest of caresses, definitely not a deep merging. It was a different sensation in that his presence was all dominate male, but it was similar to the way it felt when her mother was just checking up on her when they were apart.
He was waiting for her to respond, but she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say just yet. Making her feel awkward the silence grew on and on. Believing it would be a sign of weakness, she didn’t even try to look away from him. She licked her suddenly dry lips. She knew he was being sincere. She could see that he was determined to stick around…for the night anyway. He wasn’t the type to commit to more. Normally, she would’ve avoided the heartache of getting tangled up with a man like him.
Kara pressed her lips together and nodded. He was right. She was lonely. She not only craved companionship. She needed it. Saying anything to encourage him would lead to trouble, but it didn’t matter. Not really. She had no doubt she would enjoy his brand of trouble to the fullest. From where she was standing it looked pretty damn delicious. She kind of liked the idea of taking the plunge and getting in over her head with him. “I suppose you’re right.”
“It happens more often than not.” His lips curved upward in a wicked hot grin that screamed victory. It put a match to the remains of any chance she’d come to her senses and boot him out of the room. Waking up with regrets or not she was going to spend the night with him. And honestly, since she didn’t plan to be alive much longer, she didn’t give a damn about dealing with any post guilt for taking pleasure in having wild naughty sex with an unfamiliar man.
“It’s good to know you don’t suffer from a poor self-esteem.” She studied his sexy smile and his ridiculously handsome face. He was a sinful temptation and she wasn’t willing to resist.
“It’s unlikely to ever happen, but I assure you that I’ll be the first to admit to having a flaw if I ever find one.”
“Have you considered the fact that you might be just a little too arrogant?” From time to time life had its unexpected events. For as long as she could remember dealing with the unforeseen was normally an awful experience. Crossing paths with him again was definitely far from unpleasant.
He lifted his brow. “You aren’t going to believe this, but I’ll tell you anyways. You aren’t the first person to ask me that question. I suppose, though I highly doubt it’s true, I should give it some thought in the future.”
She knew he was only teasing her. Yes. He knew he was attractive, but he wasn’t the conceited asshole he was pretending to be. He’d proved that earlier. He didn’t have to help her when she was attacked. Plenty of men would’ve looked the other way rather than get involved. “What will you do if you discover it’s true?”
Frowning, he looked incredibly serious as he appeared to consider the question. “I suppose I’ll faint from shock.”
She laughed, and he laughed. It felt good, so much so that her problems and her worries about what she would face tomorrow simply vanished. An all-consuming awareness of his totally hot masculinity caused her to ache with lust. It flooded her with warmth. She needed to touch him. She needed to be touched by him. It couldn’t be anything more than physical. She didn’t want to feel anything more than that. They were two adults alone in a hotel room with nothing to lose. “I wouldn’t mind a companion for the night.”
Leaning his back against the wall, he folded his arms across his chest and smiled at her. “For the night?” She couldn’t prevent the smile from parting her lips. He was attempting to appear casual. The act was laughable at best. He was the predator, and she was the quarry.
“You’re wrong. In this situation I’m pretty sure I’m considered the prey, and you are the predator.”
She’d completely forgotten that he could easily hear her thoughts. She’d never been shy, but in response to his deep sensual voice she felt a blush moving up her neck into her face. While in his presence she really needed to think before thinking anything. “Who? Me? A predator? Nah, that isn’t possible.”
“And yet you’re the one approaching me about having a one night stand.”
She figured he was mentioning it again to make sure he’d heard her right. She doubted he’d ever suffered a lack of willing women. “That’s it. One night.”
“Nothing more?” he asked.
“I swear that’s it. Nothing more.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
She definitely didn’t see that coming. She took a deep breath and held it. She could see and feel that he was interested. Perhaps he was worried she would get clingy. He just needed a little convincing, a little reassuring that he wouldn’t be forced into dealing with her getting all emotional when it was time to part ways. Hopefully, she was successful. It would be humiliating if he turned her down. She’d never been able to handle rejection very well.
“You’re not interested?” she asked.
“I didn’t say that.” He smiled. “And you know damned well that I’m interested.”
“So...you’re interested, but…oh. I get it. You’re involved with someone?” If he was she could deal with the rejection. She couldn’t fault a man for being loyal to his woman.
“No.”
“You’ve taken a vow of celibacy?”
“Hell no.”
“That’s good. It would’ve been such a tragic waste. But I can’t think of any other reasons for two consenting adults to abstain from sharing a night of pleasure.” She waited for a response, but none came. “I swear you’ll have no regrets. I’m sure I’ll find a way to make sure you’re satisfied. And then in the morning you will go your way and I will go mine.”
She tried to reach his thoughts, but realized he’d closed his mind to her. She understood why, but it irritated her. It was very inconvenient. He laughed out loud. She realized he was indeed in her mind. He had an unfair advantage since she’d truly believed that she’d locked her mind down.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your physic abilities are very powerful considering you’re human. The only real advantage I have over you is a few more years of practicing and strengthening mine.”
“How many more?” she asked.
“How old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty-seven in a week.”
“Two hundred and seventy three.”
“I have to admit that you’ve aged well.”
“Have I?”
She nodded. “Thoroughly.”
~Twelve~
“THANK YOU.” MEETING up with his mate wasn’t supposed to commence with her asking him for a one night stand. It could’ve gone worse. She could’ve thought he was unattractive. Of course he wanted her. She was his mate. Holding himself in check wasn’t going to be easy, but he couldn’t, for any reason, pretend he would just walk away after having a sexual encounter with her.
“It’s true.” Holy shit. He swallowed hard. She looked too remarkable…too ferociously seductive to even pretend he could ever resist her as she took a step toward him. They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. He was so full and hard that the ache was excruciating. She glanced down at the bulge in his pants. “It would be a shame to let it go to waste.”
“I agree, but I don’t think making use of it is a good idea just yet. We need to talk.”
Clearly displeased, she fr
owned. “About what?”
“That’s a good question.” No it wasn’t. Maybe in a hundred years or so he’d come up with a good answer. He wasn’t sure what to say next. He didn’t have a clue. How does a male inform a female that she will be with him forever because she is his mate? A human female with no real concept of what it meant to be a Lycan’s mate. Maybe agreeing to have sex wasn’t such a bad idea. It wasn’t like he was going to let her walk away from him in the morning. What's more, he was quite confident in his ability to thoroughly pleasure her. He was certain that after being with him she wouldn’t want to walk away.
“You need to chill out. You’re over thinking it. I’ve no intention of pinning you down.”
“That’s disappointing. I was looking forward to you climbing on top of me.” Letting every concern just melt away felt good. Careful to not reveal too much of his lengthening canines, he smiled at her. Having different DNA she didn’t have a clue of what she’d gotten herself into by seducing a wolf. Not just a wolf, her mate who’d been waiting for hundreds of years to find and take possession of her.
“Are you going to bite me?” Obviously he’d failed to hide them.
“Only if you bite me first.”
“I just might.”
“Then I might.” He really hoped she did.
Never once hiding from his gaze, she lifted his T-shirt as he lifted his arms. She pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. Biting her bottom lip she studied his chest and belly. “You take good care of your body.” No he didn’t. Not really. Being fit, being muscular was a natural condition for his kind. “I want to see more. Turn around.” He nearly jumped out of his skin when she slowly, gently trailed a single finger down his spine from his neck to his waistband. “You have a strong back.” He glanced down at her over his shoulder as she began to move her palms over his back. She looked up at him. “Do you have a fever? Your skin is so hot.”
“No.” He turned to face her. “It’s just the way I am.” Generating heat was another condition of being Lycan.
“I like it.” As if exploring every contour, she smoothed her palms over his chest and belly muscles. “A lot.” It had been so long since anyone had ever touched him intimately. His heart was thundering and pounding like never before.
Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) Page 15
