Smoldering Hunger

by Donna Grant

  He considered her a moment. “All you want to do is work?”

  “It fills the time better than watching a movie.”

  “When was the last time you watched a movie?” Darius himself might have only caught one or two since he walked from his mountain, but he’d enjoyed them.

  Sophie looked at the ceiling and bit her lip. Then she said, “I know it’s been four, possibly five, years.”

  Darius was shocked. Wasn’t that abnormal for a human? Sure, some liked more leisure time than others, but to want none? There had to be a reason for that.

  “I’ve astounded you,” Sophie said with a laugh.

  Darius rested his arm on the back of the sofa, bringing his fingers close to touching her. “That you have.”

  “So tell me something about you, since we’re sharing.”

  Darius wasn’t finished discussing her need to work every hour of every day. He wouldn’t give up easily on it. She would find that out quickly enough. “What you see is what you get.”

  She barked with laughter. “I highly doubt that.”

  “You didna tell me anything I couldna have found out from someone at the hospital.”

  She narrowed her gaze teasingly before she smiled. “All right. I hate downtime of any kind. I don’t exactly have insomnia, but I can only sleep for about four hours before I’m wide awake.”

  “You slept last night,” he told her with a grin.

  Sophie glanced away as she smiled. “That’s because someone exhausted me.”

  “Perhaps that’s what you need every night.”

  “I might never want to leave the bed.”

  Darius didn’t think that would be a bad thing. In fact, the idea of having her in his bed every day appealed to him much more than he was comfortable with.

  “I’m still waiting to hear something about you,” she said.

  He rubbed his jaw. What did he tell her? What could he tell her?

  “Oh, come on. There has to be something,” she teased.

  Darius shook his head. “I love thunderstorms. I feel … free when they come.” Or he used to. Even that had been curbed recently.

  “Thunderstorms, huh?” she said, looking at him with interest. “I can see that.”

  There was a knock on her door that had Darius on his feet in a second. Sophie stood and put her hand out to halt him.

  “It’s all right. It’s my friend, Claire. She always stops by on my days off.”

  He jumped to his feet and hurried around the sofa. “Doona tell her I’m here.”

  “What?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

  Darius looked pointedly at the window. “You’re being watched. No one knows I’m here.”

  “Right,” she said, worry filling her gaze.

  Darius walked to the bedroom closet and pulled the door closed behind him. He left it open just enough that he could see out.

  Sophie watched the door to her closet close before she opened the door.

  “You are here,” Claire said in surprise. “I thought you might be out, but I thought I’d drop by anyway.”

  Sophie moved aside to let Claire in. “Nope. I’m here. I’m always here. Why would you think I’d be out?”

  “Because I met him. And let me tell you, Soph, he’s gorgeous!”

  Sophie pulled her gaze from her bedroom, her stomach falling to her feet. She knew Claire wasn’t referring to Darius. She prayed it wasn’t Ulrik. “Met who?”

  “Seriously?” Claire asked as she barked with laughter. “You’re going to play that card? The guy who’s been wearing you out with that great sex you’ve been having.”

  Sophie’s stomach clutched painfully. Oh God, no. “When?”

  “This morning.”

  “What did he look like?” she asked hurriedly.

  Claire rolled her eyes. “Girl, please. He’s the drop-dead gorgeous guy who wears a suit better than a GQ model. With that long black hair and those gold eyes … yum is all I can say. You couldn’t have picked a better-looking guy.”

  Actually she could have—Darius. But Sophie didn’t say that. She didn’t want to alert Claire that she had just described Ulrik in case it put her friend in danger.

  “Don’t you have anything to say?” Claire asked suspiciously. “Or are you angry at him for not remembering it was your day off?”

  Shit. The situation just kept getting worse. “I’m not angry.” Sophie hated lying to Claire, and she would tell her everything once Ulrik was out of her life. Until then, she would lie as much as she had to for Claire to be safe.

  Claire nodded with a knowing smile. “You’re going to make him pay for forgetting, aren’t you? I’m also surprised he’s not here. Do y’all have any plans tonight?”

  “We play it by ear.”

  “That can be good,” Claire said as she began to gather her things. “I know you’ve kept guys at arm’s length, Soph, but it’s good to see you getting out there again. It’s been years.”

  She said the last word in a whisper, as if it was some great secret.

  Sophie fought to keep her smile in place. Claire knew the reasons, but her friend had still constantly pushed her to forget the past. It was the past that had shaped Sophie into who she was now. It couldn’t simply be forgotten like last week’s lasagna.

  “You’re going to end it.” Claire rolled her eyes, her lips pinched together. “Why? It might actually go somewhere. You just can’t let go of the past and what that prick did to you.”

  Sophie often wondered how quickly Claire’s mind could jump from one thought to another, but it was the perfect solution. “Yeah, I am. He’s not right for me.”

  “First lay you’ve had in years.” Claire looked her up and down, her hand on her hip. “I know you all too well, Soph. You’ll send him packing before there’s even a chance you might have feelings for him.”

  Sophie shrugged, not sure what to say. She wanted Ulrik to stay away from Claire. Sophie wondered if it would be better to tell Claire he was dangerous, but then if Ulrik returned to the hospital, Claire might act differently and alert Ulrik. More importantly, it might draw Ulrik’s attention to her.

  And if Ulrik was as threatening as Darius said, then that’s the last thing Sophie wanted to do to her friend.

  Claire looked away, her eyes bright with tears. “I worry about you, you know. You’ve no idea the men that look at you when you walk down the halls of the hospital. You could have any one of them, and I can’t get a guy who isn’t scum to look my way. Men are waiting for you to pay them the least little bit of attention.”

  “You’re going to find a guy, Claire. I know it. You’re too special not to have someone to spend your life with.”

  “I know.” Claire wiped at her eyes and faced her once more, a bright smile in place.

  Sophie walked to her friend and hugged her. “You’ve been a true friend.”

  Claire pulled back and looked at her with a deep frown marring her forehead. “What’s going on, Soph?”

  “Nothing,” she said. But that wasn’t true. There was something big, and Sophie couldn’t stand to have her friend hurt.

  “Tell me. Now,” Claire demanded. She put her hands on her hips. “I’ve never seen you so unsettled. It’s like you’re waiting for something bad to happen.”

  Sophie licked her lips and glanced at her closet door. “Claire, the man I’ve been seeing isn’t who came to the hospital today.”

  “What?” Claire’s eyes were wide.

  “Look, I don’t want to scare you, but the man who came to the hospital is dangerous. He’s…” What did she say? She wasn’t even sure what he was involved in, so she didn’t know what to tell Claire.

  “The Mob?” Claire asked.

  It sounded good, and there was enough fear in Claire’s voice that Sophie nodded. “Yes. He wants me for something, but I’m not interested.”

  “Shit,” Claire said and covered her mouth with her hand. “I told him it was your day off.”

  Sophie closed her eyes
briefly. Ulrik had men watching her flat anyway. “It doesn’t matter. Just steer clear of him if you see him.”

  “Perhaps we should go to the police.”

  “He’s not done anything yet. I don’t want him alerted that you know who he is,” Sophie said.

  Claire nodded numbly. “Yeah. Okay.”

  “It’s important, Claire. Keep away from him, but if he seeks you out, put in one of those spectacular performances of yours and get as far from him as you can as quickly as possible.”

  “What the hell did you get involved with, Sophie?”

  She shrugged, shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

  “How did you get involved with this jerk?”

  “He just found me. I’m separating myself without getting on his bad side.”

  Claire wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s a good idea. Want me to stay here tonight?”

  “Thanks, but I’ll be all right. He won’t come here.” At least she hoped he wouldn’t. And if he did, Darius was there.

  “I think I’m going to go home then.” She gave Sophie a quick hug. “I’m going to call later. If you don’t pick up, I’m calling the authorities.”

  Sophie smiled, loving Claire even more. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “That’s right,” Claire said with a wink. She grabbed her purse and waved as she exited the flat.

  Sophie locked the door behind her and put her forehead against the wood.

  “Ulrik knows I’m here.”

  Sophie whirled around at the sound of Darius’s voice. She hadn’t heard him leave her closet, so to find him behind her was startling. “How do you know?”

  “He went to the hospital. Claire spoke of your lover. Ulrik played along to get information.”

  She rubbed her eyes, suddenly very weary. “Will he hurt Claire?”

  “Most likely no’. He’s after me through you.”

  “So what now? What do I do?”

  “You do nothing. I’m going after Ulrik.”

  Sophie put her hand on his chest to stop him as she looked into his chocolate eyes. “Why?”

  He ran a finger along her cheek to her jaw. “The revenge Ulrik seeks doesna involve you. It never involved you. I’m going to make sure it stays that way.”

  “Will I see you again?”

  He hesitated, which was answer enough. Sophie was angry at herself for even asking. She didn’t get attached. She shouldn’t get attached.

  But it was already too late.

  His arms wrapped around her. “Yes,” he said.

  With his dark gaze holding hers, he slowly lowered his head and kissed her. Sophie sank into the kiss, the slow, mesmerizing, sinful kiss that made her forget … everything.

  When he ended it, she kept her eyes closed. When he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, she squeezed them tight. She didn’t open them until the door closed behind him.

  Sophie looked around her flat. She hadn’t realized how quiet it was until Darius was gone. The morning hadn’t been unbearable. She had been restless because he was so near and she wanted him back in the bed with her.

  She let him think it was because she was bored since she hadn’t been able to handle the truth. Now that she was once more alone, she remembered how much she hated days off.

  Sophie walked to the couch and plopped down. She turned on the telly and sat back to watch a movie and pretend that she wasn’t already missing Darius.

  CHAPTER

  EIGHTEEN

  It took longer than Darius wanted, but he made it out of Sophie’s building without any of Ulrik’s men seeing him. Darius waited until he was three blocks away before he ducked into an alley to see if anyone followed.

  He then opened the telepathic link and said Con’s name. The King of Kings answered immediately.

  “We have an issue,” Darius said.

  “What kind of issue?”

  “Ulrik knows I’m still here. He went to the hospital today to talk to Sophie.”

  There was a pause before Con asked, “I gather she was with you?”

  “Aye.”

  “And?” Con asked testily.

  Darius clenched his jaw. Now he understood why Thorn had been so hesitant to let Con know about Lexi. Con was single-minded in protecting the Kings. Except when it came to killing humans.

  He would allow them to be killed by the Dark or even MI5 without blinking if it meant that the Dragon Kings’ secret remained safe.

  “Darius?”

  “Ulrik wants her to work for him. He didna tell her in what capacity. I’ve warned her away from him and told her Ulrik was dangerous.”

  “Do you think she’ll listen?”

  That was the real question, wasn’t it? Darius had overheard the conversation between Sophie and Claire. Whatever happened in her past had soured her from ever trusting. She had that in common with Ulrik.

  “There’s a chance she will.”

  “So she could fall into Ulrik’s trap?”

  “Aye. She could, but I think she’s too smart for that.”

  “Does she know our secret?” Con demanded.

  “She knows nothing.”

  Con sighed loudly through the link. “Finally. Someone with some fucking sense.”

  “It might be better if she did know. If I told her the whole story she’d understand why Ulrik is so dangerous.”

  Every King knew that Con was less than pleased at how many of them were finding mates. Darius understood Con’s reluctance in accepting the changes. The first time Kings began to take mates, a female tried to betray Ulrik.

  It was the catalyst in the war with the humans, sending their dragons away, and the Kings going into hiding for several centuries.

  A repeat would be … catastrophic.

  Darius was quite sure the Kings wouldn’t willingly go to their mountains and hope the humans forgot about them again. There would be another war.

  And the mortals would lose.

  “You’re no’ going down the same road Warrick and Thorn did, are you?” Con asked.

  Darius thought about Sophie and how he couldn’t wait to have her in his arms again. Bedding her was all he wanted. Anything else was … futile.

  “Nay.”

  “Excellent. Then there’s no need to tell her anything.”

  Darius leaned a shoulder against the building. “That doesna mean I’m going to sit by and watch Ulrik pull Sophie into his web of deceit. He’s only after her because he saw us together. That’s on me.”

  “So you want to protect her?” Con said with exaggerated sarcasm.

  “Do you really need to ask that? We gave a vow to safeguard the humans. I’ve put one in danger because I didna get her off the streets before I took her so that anyone could stumble upon us.”

  “If you doona have feelings for the doctor, let Ulrik have her,” Con said, breaking into his thoughts. “We’d get to see exactly what Ulrik is up to.”

  “Now who’s daft?” Darius muttered.

  Con chuckled. “I suppose that’s a nay, then?”

  “You know damn well it is. Ulrik will approach her again. I think it’ll be wise for me to have a chat with him first.”

  There was a pregnant pause from Con. “That could be a good move. Ulrik willna be expecting it. No’ when I want all of you to stay far from him until it’s time for our battle.”

  “My thoughts as well. Does he know you’re in the city?”

  “It’s possible. I’ve no’ tried to hide myself.”

  Darius scratched his cheek. “I’ll play it by ear. If he doesna mention you, then I willna either.”

  “What do you hope to accomplish? You push Ulrik to stay away from Sophie, and that will only spur him on harder to get her.”

  “I know. I doona know what I’ll say yet, but it willna be about Sophie.”

  Con’s laugh was short and loud. “Brilliant, Darius. Let’s hope Ulrik will fall for it.”

  Darius didn’t expect Ulrik to. He severed the link with Con and walked from the alley. H
e made sure he was on the other side of the city before he stopped hiding and walked into the open.

  For the next hour, Darius once more strolled the streets of the city. He kept his eye out for anyone who might be a Dark Fae, but there were none. It wasn’t that he was unhappy about it, Darius was just confused as to why they’d departed Edinburgh so quickly.

  He noticed the man following him almost as soon as it happened. Darius didn’t try to get away. He wanted Ulrik to find him.

  Darius made his way to Princes Street Gardens. The public park was in the center of the city and in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.

  Even in mid-November, the park teemed with people—locals and visitors alike. The beautifully colored flowers were gone as winter approached, but with the castle, fountains, and beauty of the park, it was a mecca.

  Darius saw a vacant bench and sat. He leaned his head back with his eyes closed and let the sun shine upon his face. While he waited for Ulrik to find him, he dreamed of flying through the clouds, the sun so close that Darius had often thought he could touch it if he but tried.

  But that only made him sad. Darius opened his eyes and lifted his head. He could make out the top of Scott Monument from his seat. The field of green grass before him had people scattered all over it thanks to the gorgeous day.

  “I didna take you for a people watcher,” Ulrik said as he walked up and sat.

  Darius didn’t look Ulrik’s way. He kept his attention on the mortals. “You see all kinds. It’s a form of entertainment.”

  “Why have you sought me out?”

  “I didna.”

  Ulrik made a sound at the back of his throat. “You stopped hiding. I’m no’ a fool. You wanted me to find you.”

  “So I did.” Darius turned his head to look at him.

  “Why?”

  He’d surprised Ulrik, just as he’d wanted. Darius needed to be careful though. Ulrik was a master at manipulation. Darius wanted to take advantage of the opportunity he had. “I found you here. Why no’ remain in Edinburgh and keep an eye on you?”

  Ulrik’s lips lifted in a smile before he began to laugh. “Keep an eye on me, aye? Are you sure you’re no’ here for Dr. Martin?”

  “I told you she means nothing.”

  “That’s why you bedded her again?” Ulrik asked with raised brows.