Harleigh: Dark Paranormal Romance (Volatile Vixen #1)

by Nikki Landis

  The possibility is frightening yet strangely comforting.

  My body turns with purpose, almost in giddy expectation. The moon is bright tonight and I slip from the bed, grateful for the solitude. I don’t know where Derek is but I suspect he’s gone to talk with Dev and the Syndicate to strategize our next plan of action. I curl up into a ball and sink into the plush cushion of the bench seat, the bay window jutting out into the night and nestled within the violet rays that trickle between the light gray clouds.

  It’s not long before I sense him, moving steadily but cautiously forward. A part of me knows he’ll seek me out. He’ll always come. It’s part of his need to control.

  I wonder if he feels the depth of connection like I do as the dream fades or if his choice is driven by the lost darkness inside him.

  As if seeking for my presence as much as I’m suddenly yearning for his, I hear his voice, soft, searching, low but deep, filled with all the dark things and hidden promises my soul yearns to latch onto and embrace. I was so wrong before when I thought the hand holding mine was Devon or Derek. He was there, same as my brother and the others, but the man from my dreams isn’t my savior . . . he’s my curse.

  “Viktor.” His name rolls off my tongue like a sensual purr as my long legs untangle and I stand, facing the darkness, his tall shadow barely visible within the trees that border the property.

  The memories rush to the surface and come back to haunt me as frequently as usual over the years but this is the first time I recall with such clarity and detail. I’ve always known I had a friend in those dark days, someone forced to endure the evil that we were subjected to as children. I often jolt awake from images of mangled bodies screaming on top of the gurneys, dozens side by side, their writhing frames and limbs twisted in a macabre display of horror.

  “Harleigh,” he whispers as I shiver, his voice curling with physical fingers that caress my cheek. “Come to me.”

  I don’t realize I’m already moving until my fingers grasp the doorknob and open it slowly, hyper aware of every sound in the house. There’s a conversation taking place in the dining room mere feet from where I’m about to sneak out. As I listen to Derek and Dev’s voices, mingling with others, I know they’ll never hear me.

  Slipping outside, the grass is cool and damp beneath my bare feet as I fight against the urge to run. It’s not long before I’m standing in front of him, his dark shadow covering my body as he yanks me close. My back meets the nearest tree as he presses hard against me, the heat of our bodies nearly scorching as his hand rises to my throat. He doesn’t squeeze but I can see the murky depths of his green eyes are troubled.

  “Harleigh,” my name is a mixture of caress and curse, falling from his full seductive lips. “Puddin’.”

  I need to resist him and fight against the pull but it’s nearly impossible. His will is like iron, I can’t bend or alter it, or even mold it another way that would set me free and let my heart belong to only one man. Viktor claims me, knowing he’s fighting against Derek, he simply doesn’t care.

  My eyes close against my will when I feel his kiss drop to the side of my jaw, trailing across my lips with barely concealed restraint, until I feel the tip of his nose graze beneath my ear, inhaling deeply. His other arm snakes around my torso as I feel the strength of his reaction bulge in front of his pants.

  “You’ll always be mine,” he murmurs as his tongue flicks out and tastes my skin, licking up the side of my neck, “I could fuck you right now and you wouldn’t deny me.”

  “Bold words but I could leave you now, and you know it.” Pulling away from his embrace, I don’t get far before he yanks me back, our bodies flush against one another.

  “Don’t pretend you don’t know that you’re mine. The desire in your eyes burns for only me.”

  A part of me does burn for him but that’s the part I have to deny.

  “You claim something I can never give.”

  “Don’t make me punish you Puddin’.”

  My fingers release their grip from my thighs and rise, trickling with deliberate care up the solid muscular planes of his stomach and sculpted chest before they encircle the nape of his neck. I pull him closer, enjoying the curiosity that burns a wild fire in his eyes. “I belong to no one.”

  His low chuckle seems to vibrate the air, suddenly dense and heavy. “We’re back to games? So soon? And here I thought you came to bargain.”

  Bargain? He’s pissing me off with his cool and calculating demeanor and I wonder briefly if my memories are my own or implants from some higher technology, created for purely his enjoyment. I grab his collar roughly the same moment his grip on my neck and waist tightens. “I remember Viktor.”

  A slight shift in his hold proves he heard me. “Everything?”

  I nod, “Yes, I think so.” Damn, what else could have happened?

  For the first time I notice the increasing rate of his breath and I know he’s running through it all in his head, remembering every last horrific detail. His forehead lowers to mine as he squeezes lightly around my throat. There’s a fight in his eyes and I wonder if he’s at war with himself or me. “I could kill you now, so fast you would never know it happened.”

  “Viktor,” I whisper, fighting against the urge to sink into him and the darkness I can feel closing in. “You won’t kill me.”

  For the first time I sense his pain – so deep and wide, a cavernous hole he may never crawl out of – and I swallow loudly at the rush of emotion it conjures in my chest. I know he’s evil, just as dark and twisted as his father and yet I can’t seem to escape the snare he’s tossed out with such deliberate intention in my direction. He’s not throwing me a lifesaver but a noose, one that will forever connect me to the tortured man whose gaze is both possessive and brutally honest.

  I can’t break our connection, even as I know I should.

  Isn’t Harley just as devastatingly chained to the Joker? With reckless abandon she gives him every piece of her, prepared to sacrifice whatever is necessary to stay by his side. There’s no doubt I feel that with Derek . . . but I can’t deny I also feel it with Viktor too.

  Two tortured souls . . . two sides of the same tarnished coin.

  The darkness hovers on the edge of his body, a dark mirage peering over his shoulders in snarling excitement. The wave of black mist tastes the need for wild abandonment – death, torture, sex, it doesn’t matter – but the aura feeds off the energy that connects us, swirling around our clustered frames. I’ve never seen anything like it before, it’s so heavy and oppressive that my knees nearly buckle.

  Viktor seems to be fighting himself as he begins to move his hips into mine, slow, methodical, and undeniably sensual. I realize now that he wants me and the conflict in his eyes is grounded in a fear of becoming vulnerable and appearing weak.

  “Harleigh, give in to me,” he pleads, his voice hoarse.

  I’m riding the wave of intensity and pleasure I can feel in the air. His body is so in tune to mine that I know the heat of his touch already, the firmness of his lips, and the rich depth of his plundering kisses. The need to feel his body and caress his skin overwhelms me. I reach toward his stomach as my hand glides lower. He tenses slightly before relaxing again, rocking his hips into mine with greater abandon. I experience a sudden urge to please him even if it means my own destruction. My fingers slip below the waist of his dark pants, trailing through the coarse hair that gathers over his pubic bone as he hisses through teeth that are seconds from clenching too tight.

  “Grip me like you mean it,” he orders and I can’t prevent the soft moan that passes my lips.

  My fingers graze over the velvety tip of his cock and slide along his length, gripping firmly as I begin to stroke. He’s so wide my fingers can’t fully clasp him completely. I bite my lip to prevent another moan but it’s hardly necessary. Viktor’s mouth is on mine seconds before his tongue is plunging inside. His exploration is unhurried, moving with deliberate intention as he swipes across my mouth,
seeking ownership and my inevitable surrender.

  In the back of my mind I’m horrified that my actions could hurt the man I love.

  Derek is already angry with my choices at the asylum . . .

  “Puddin’,” Viktor rasps. “I’m going to make you cry out my name again.”

  Whenever I hear those words pass his lips wicked thoughts dominate my brain.

  I fear I’m lost already . . . but oh the sweet surrender.

  My hand is still touching his erect shaft, gliding up and down at a consistent rhythm, when his fingers slide into the soft material of my yoga pants. I’ll lose myself completely if he continues. I know I have to make a choice and I reach for his wrist, stopping his advance.

  His gaze sharpens, the wolfish expression on his face deepens until he’s leering at me. “You’ll let my fingers coax you to an orgasm Harleigh.”

  “Oh God,” I pant, completely out of breath. Shit. “No Viktor –”

  “I’ll take that no as a temporary lapse in judgment,” he growls low, his lips hovering above mine, “Harleigh, I need you to know –”

  “Leigh! Where are you?” Derek’s frantic voice penetrates the darkness.

  My fingers slip from Viktor at the exact same moment his grip tightens around me, pulling us closer together. “Now don’t get any ideas in that pretty head of yours Harleigh. I’m still here for your surrender.”

  Frowning, I push against his chest but he doesn’t release me. “Viktor –”

  His lips meet mine, hard and demanding as he sears the skin with a scorching promise. I know before he says the words that he’s not leaving without a confrontation. Searching his eyes, I hope that I’m wrong. “You know why I’m here Leigh,” he finally whispers, a hint of sadness in his tone.

  “Viktor? What?” I’m confused as all around us men emerge from the trees and surround the property.

  Hunters.

  I’m about to yell when Viktor’s hand clamps over my mouth. Surprised but angry, I struggle against him.

  A light chuckle emerges from his throat as he whispers low and seductively in my ear. “Don’t worry Puddin’. You can finish me off later.”

  How could I be so stupid? I let him use me. I’m a total fool.

  Viktor is betraying me.

  Chapter 22

  The words drip off his tongue like honey, deceptively sweet and soft.

  Finish him off? The bastard!

  That’s how Derek finds us, one of Viktor’s hands around my throat and the other has my wrist pinned against the bulge of his pants, right over his crotch.

  “Let her go.”

  Viktor slowly grinds his hips into my palm, his erection pressing into my fingers as he smiles. “Took you long enough Onyx.”

  “If I had known this was another of your pathetic attempts at seduction I never would have left her side.”

  Viktor chuckles, the deep vibration traveling down his groin and into my hand. The rapid beat of his pulse through his fingers tightens around my neck for a fraction of a second and then loosen. One finger caresses my skin like an afterthought. “I could snap her neck before you had a chance to reach her.”

  “Brave words but you won’t.”

  “Care to test me?” Viktor asks, his eyes narrowing as he moves closer into me, his strong hands move quickly and pin both my wrists above my head, watching Derek’s reaction the entire time. One hand keeps my wrists still as the other begins to wander along the length of my body, pausing in exploration at the waist of my pants.

  “Don’t,” Derek growls.

  The free hand is at my throat swiftly as Viktor tightens his grip so fast I gasp. His body is pressed tightly to mine as he thrusts hard. The whimper that passes my lips is genuine. I have no idea what he seeks to prove unless he wishes to show how easily he can dominate me and this encounter.

  “Let. Her. Go.” Each word is spoken with precision by Derek.

  They stare each other down as Viktor continues his movements, grinding his hips and dry humping me against the tree. Every movement presses his cock against my mound and I bite my lip to keep from crying out. The friction and pleasure mix with annoyance. An odd combination that makes me want to fuck and hit him at the same time. “Don’t think for one minute that I won’t finish her off,” he sneers.

  “I highly doubt that. This game has continued long enough.” Derek takes a few steps forward but halts when Viktor clenches my wrists tighter. “Have you told her yet?”

  “That’s not going to work.”

  “I bet you haven’t said a word about Daddy’s little obsession with comic books and the need to create master villains and superheroes. Isn’t it cute how delusional he was?” Derek is taunting him, taking the focus off me. Smart.

  “Fuck off. I know what you’re doing.” Viktor isn’t easily goaded away from what he wants.

  The confrontation seems a long time coming. Derek said he wanted to kill Viktor. How could I forget?

  “Does she know the truth?” Derek continues while he takes another step and then grins wide. “Have you mentioned your obsession? That you took your father’s drugs . . . for her.”

  “Shut up and leave before I kill you Onyx.” Viktor’s voice is barely audible but strong enough to carry the threat. I have no doubt he means it.

  “Leigh needs to know. You worked at that serum for years didn’t you? All because you couldn’t let a little blonde girl with pink and blue pigtails out of your head. Your dad made her Harleigh but you transformed yourself into . . . the Joker.”

  My eyes go wide with shock. “What?”

  I don’t understand. Why would he willingly subject himself to those treatments? To the drugs and rehabilitation? To the horrors and sick, twisted pleasure of his father? “Why?”

  “Because he wants you Leigh and he thinks if he’s the Joker you’ll choose him.” Derek spits hard and crouches, dark shadows beginning to swarm around his tall frame. They aren’t a reflection of his dark aura as they are with Viktor. These are actual shadows, demonic in appearance.

  “Maybe I have daddy issues,” Viktor quips as he laughs disdainfully, the sound sending chills down my spine. “If that’s true then why do I have no problem fucking her and letting her run back to you?”

  He’s as demented as the Joker. Derek’s right.

  Viktor’s head drops next to my ear as his warm breath blankets my skin. “I wanted you to find out from me Puddin’.”

  “None of its real Leigh. You’re just a plaything. You’ve been programmed to have all the same traits and desires as Harley Quinn. He’s molded you exactly how he wants you.” I cringe at Derek’s explanation, but who injected these traits into my DNA? Viktor or his father?

  His father was the one who ran the experiments and tampered with the genetic codes of all his creation, the embryos taken from unsuspecting mothers. Viktor was only a child. My dreams prove his innocence, unless . . . my memories and dreams have been tampered with. It’s possible, right?

  So how do I know what’s real and what’s only implanted?

  My eyes lock on the swirling green of Viktor’s irises, determined to receive an answer. “Did you alter my memories?”

  He sneers as if I slapped him, a thunderous look on his face. “All your memories of us are real. I don’t need to alter your perception. What you feel for me is 100% raw attraction, desire, and need.”

  “Viktor?” I plead. “Am I only a plaything? Do I mean nothing to you? Is this all true, just manipulations so you can have what you desire?” I know the answer before he speaks.

  “What if it is Harleigh? Our past has shaped us and made the villains you see before you. Does it matter if I sought to use those tricks to my advantage?” He swallows hard. “Or to keep my promise?”

  I never forgot his words, his assurance he would always protect me. Viktor was my only companion in those dark days. There were vague memories of Derek but they weren’t the same intensity as the ones with Viktor. Derek was my friend but Viktor was my savior. My dreams
didn’t lie but I couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow the truth was altered in Viktor’s favor. “Viktor, what’s the point of this? The Syndicate won’t back down.”

  “And neither will the Collective. My father’s legacy and master plan is far grander than you can possibly imagine.”

  Shaking my head I try to pull from his grasp. “I don’t know what that means.”

  His voice lowers so only I can hear, “There’s no escaping our fate Harleigh. We tried to escape him before and suffered for it. I say we embrace the darkness . . . together.”

  “It’s not darkness Viktor, it’s . . . madness.”

  His arms slither around me and snake like a powerful coil as they wrap tighter. “My only weakness, my only madness . . . is you.”

  “You only want to use me,” I counter, daring him to deny it.

  “Partially, but not the way you think. There’s more between us Puddin’.”

  “This little discussion has gone on long enough. Release Leigh. I’m done with your bullshit Joker.” Derek runs in our direction as the shadows crawl like dark smoke up his body, billowing out and puffing their movement with ominous bulging clouds until I notice beady little eyes blinking in our direction and clawed hands latch onto Derek’s muscular frame. The demons are poised, ready for action.

  Holy shit! So that’s Onyx. Shadow Master.

  I’m shoved behind Viktor as he spins and opens his arms wide, shaking out the long dark trench coat he’s wearing, pushing it back behind his lean hips. In less than a second two pearl handled revolvers are in his hands but I’m quick to recognize these are no ordinary pistols.

  Most of his movements are too fast for the naked eye to make out and I struggle to keep up with the motion.

  The guns are firing and hitting the demons as they fall from Derek’s dark form, exploding in puffs of ash and black smoke. They disappear as more form to replace the ones destroyed. Derek doesn’t falter or stop his advance. He continues to rush forward, his objective simple. Annihilation. Viktor tosses the guns aside once he’s out of ammo, combines his hands together, and opens his fists, forcing out a burst of air that pulses like a sonic boom. Derek is knocked from his feet but quickly scrambles back up.