Exquisite Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  But now wasn’t enough—he wanted forever. He’d always taken possession of whatever he wanted regardless of the consequences, and he’d never wanted anything more than he wanted Mia. In desperation to make her his for all eternity, he was too close to attempting to take her last mortal breath and replace it with his eternal breath.

  He knew she was using seduction to manipulate him into allowing her to die from cancer, and it was working better than she could’ve ever imagined. She was his obsession, his addiction. He loved her with every fiber of his being, but she wasn’t his true mate. If he took her last mortal breath and tried to replace it with his eternal breath he would kill her.

  “Stop.” He whispered the plea against her lips because he wasn’t strong enough to stop though he knew proceeding could mean her death. If they were to ever have sex he would have to find a way to control his dragon.

  In response, she bit down on his bottom lip. A growl rumbled deep in his chest, and he knew she felt it vibrate over her flesh when she moaned and drew his lip into her mouth to suck on it. “Please, Joseph,” she whispered in his ear, “I’ve never wanted anything more than I want to share my body with you. Give yourself to me. Let feel your bare skin against mine.”

  His dragon roared its demand for her. Seismic waves of energy moved deep below the earth, causing the ground to shift and the floor to shake beneath his feet. He gripped her hips and pressed her against his body so she could feel the rock-hard, swollen proof of his desire, his need for her. He didn’t care that he would likely kill her and toss his soul into flames of eternal damnation. She wasn’t going to fight for her life, and she wasn’t going to allow him to fight for it. The only hope he had was to try. He embraced the savage nature of the dragon and prepared to take her last breath and replace it with his.

  His kiss was aggressive and demanding. He knew she was startled at first, but he didn’t give her a chance to shy away from it. He continued to kiss her and touch her body in ways that were certain to heighten her sexual arousal. It worked. His kiss, his touch, quickly increased her hunger. She fed off his aggression and met his kiss with just as much urgent passion.

  If felt like a miracle. For the first time in his existence, he was giving all he had in hopes of convincing a woman to surrender her body and soul to him without any fear. He made sure she felt him surrounding her with his power and his love, knowing she wouldn’t fear him. She would come back to receive his breath and be free to walk with him for eternity. He felt his power over her growing more than ever before.

  No! It wouldn’t work. It would kill her. She couldn’t receive what he wasn’t free to give her. It took more strength than he ever thought he had, but he took charge of the dragon’s fierce nature in the nick of time. “We can’t do this,” he whispered against her lips. He looked into her eyes. “It’s too dangerous right now.” He rested his forehead against hers.

  He hoped the only reason he was coming so close to losing his battle against the urge to take her last mortal breath and give her his eternal breath was because of her willingness to hand her life over to Demetri to save Brianna and Julie. It was no small threat against her. Demetri could’ve instantly killed her at any time during her encounter with him.

  “I can’t be with you right now. Words cannot describe how angry I am at you for being willing to die for Brianna and Julie. You never should’ve tried to stop Demetri. You knew he wasn’t here for you. Demetri was just playing with you. But he is insane. He could’ve instantly turned on you and killed you.” He didn’t like it, but he understood Mia’s need to risk her life to save her friends. She was a warrior by nature. He too was a warrior. How could he not understand? Over the past few months he’d managed to deal with her habit of her getting into dangerous situations, but her encounter with Demetri was just too dangerous. It had scared the hell out of him.

  “I won’t apologize. I did what I believed I needed to do, and I believed in you to do the same.” She pushed him back and started to hop off the counter, but he caught her around the waist and lowered her slowly. “It’s okay for you to be mad at me, Joseph.” Smiling, she winked at him. “You piss me off all the time. And just in case you’re wondering, right now is a very good example.”

  “It’s not funny. I’m not used to losing control, and I lost it when I realized Demetri was here with you. And then you tell me that you want to give up rather than allow me to help you. I will not allow you to give up. You make me crazy. You take my control and rip it away from me. I don’t even think you put ounce of effort into doing it—you just do it. For so long, I’ve been able to keep the darkest urges of my nature in check. Being able to remain in control is very important for a demon. It saves lives.”

  “In control or not, you would never harm me.” Lowering her brow, she stared up at him for several seconds. “Wait just a minute. Holy crap, Joseph.” She laughed out loud. “I get it. You’re mad at me because I didn’t run away from Demetri. You’re afraid to have angry sex with me, aren’t you?”

  “It’s a little more complicated. But, yeah.”

  “Well,” she said, shrugging, “whatever the reason, it’s for the best.”

  “Why?”

  “It would’ve ruined everything.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Lately, I’ve been spending some time fantasizing about getting naked with you and having hot, wild sex.” Biting her lower lip, she frowned. “But each time I imagine it, I never want it to end. I just want it to go on and on and on.” She glanced down at his crotch. “I want you over and over and over again.”

  He opened his mouth to respond, but he was at a loss for words. Clearly realizing she’d left him speechless, she laughed at him, a really good, side-busting, belly-aching laugh.

  “Nice.” He turned and knelt down to pick up the paint.

  “Wait.” She grabbed the back of his shirt. “I’m not done explaining it to you.” He turned to look at her and take his beating like a man. “I really want to finish painting in here in time for opening Monday morning, and I could really use your help.”

  “You think I won’t help you paint if we make love?”

  “I figure there are three possible outcomes. I’ve heard that once a man and woman start making love they never want to stop. I’m hoping that’s us.” She winked. “And I’ve heard that once a woman puts out, a man is not as motivated to help out with chores.” She handed him a paintbrush. “Of course, I’ve also heard that sometimes it’s so fantastic a man will do just about anything to get it again.”

  “You’re evil.” He reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

  “I’m in love with a demon.”

  “Good point.” He bent his head and pressed his lips against her earlobe. “What about the fourth possible outcome?”

  The touch of his lips, the warmth of his breath, caused her to shiver. “And what would that be?”

  He lifted his hand. “I could finish the painting with a simple wave of my hand, and we would be free to investigate the other three possible outcomes until Monday morning.”

  She grabbed his arm and pulled it down. “If you do it I’ll kick your ass. I want to do the painting the right way.”

  “Who’s to say your way is the right way?”

  “Duh.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s my way.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” he said.

  “Of course it is.” Her smiled slowly turned into a frown as she stared up at him. Feeling her mood shift, Joseph watched her walk over to front window.

  Realizing she was hiding her thoughts, he waited a few seconds before following her. “What are you thinking about?” Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her around. He really hated her ability to prevent him from entering her mind at will.

  “Why is Demetri after Brianna?” Shrugging, she shook her head. “What would he gain by hurting her? She’s nothing to him.”

  “You know that’s not true. Her sister was his true mate.” Joseph paused to choose the be
st words to explain. “The truth is that this is a game to Demetri, a dark, deadly game. He has nothing to prove by hurting Brianna, but because she’s Nikolas’ mate Demetri has plenty to gain by targeting her.”

  “Revenge?” she asked.

  “No. Revenge is normally an act of greed, intolerance, or hatred. Unfortunately, Demetri’s motives are much more sadistic. I believe he simply enjoys pushing and tormenting Nikolas. They both know that eventually, if Nikolas isn’t careful, Demetri will kill Brianna to destroy Nikolas. Demetri knew he wouldn’t be able to walk in here and take her today. He was just reminding Nikolas that he’s waiting for Nikolas to slip up.”

  “Do you believe Nikolas can protect her?”

  Joseph nodded. “I do.” It was only a half-truth. He fully believed in Nikolas’ ability to keep Brianna safe from any harm, but he also feared Nikolas could quite possibly slip up at some point because of his fear of taking possession of Brianna and giving his eternal breath to her. For as long as Brianna was mortal she would be easily killed. Having Demetri for an enemy was a certain death sentence for any human.

  They spent the weekend painting and basically playing. He stayed with her night and day. They snuggled up together on her bed and talked for hours until they fell asleep in each other’s arms. They did a lot kissing and touching, but they didn’t have sex. He’d considered pursuing it, but deep down he knew it wasn’t the right time. He never brought up the subject of her coming into his office and attacking him. Truthfully, he was relieved she didn’t bring it up. He didn’t want to tell her that she was in heat. How was he supposed to explain to her that she wasn’t human? He didn’t know how she would take it. He was perfectly content with having a nice, relaxing weekend alone with her.

  ~ Five ~

  FROM THE MOMENT Mia had opened her freshly painted boutique on Monday morning, she’d been looking forward to ending the work day to spend more time with Joseph. Painting had never been so much fun. Actually, living had never been even slightly as fun. The more time she spent with Joseph, the more time she wanted to spend with him.

  She took her helmet off and glanced over her shoulder to identify the man who’d followed her from the bank. “Shit,” she whispered between clenched teeth. She’d learned a long time ago to never question her instincts, and they were screaming at her, warning her that the man was trouble.

  She was only a few yards from the back door of her boutique. She considered going inside and locking the door to get away from him but quickly decided it was too risky. Brianna and Julie were still working. For a brief moment she considered calling on Joseph for help, but then when she tried to focus on him and find him her mind just wouldn’t press forward to do it. It was as if something inside her didn’t want him come to her aid. Strange? Yep. But she didn’t have time to examine it. Plus, not being able to reach out to him wasn’t as odd as wanting to call on him to protect her in the first place. It was one thing to ask him to deal with a demon like Demetri, but a situation like this? Before she’d met Joseph, she wouldn’t have even considered calling on someone to help take care of one guy on a bike.

  She got off the motorcycle and took a few steps toward the man. “What do you want?” She was careful to leave enough space between them so she could properly defend herself if he attacked.

  After removing his black leather jacket and tossing it onto the bike, he turned to face her. It made her feel a bit better because she didn’t have to worry about whether or not he was concealing a weapon in it. But the moment her eyes met his, a bone-chilling sensation of absolute dread wrapped around her. It was incredibly intense. And yet … some small part of her felt deeply connected to him.

  The connection was strong; it was as if she’d known him her entire life. Of course, since she’d never laid eyes on him before, feeling as if she had any form of link with him at all was insane. It was a trick of some sort, most likely a mental compulsion. She’d learned enough about supernatural beings in the past few years to know she could possibly be dealing with one at the moment.

  Remaining absolutely silent and still, they stared at one another a long time. At least it seemed a long time to her. She was a strong woman. She was smart. Generally, when faced with a threat she figured out how to eliminate it and then proceeded to do so. She wasn’t used to feeling unsure of what to do, but at that moment she didn’t have a clue. She had no idea what he felt when he looked into her eyes, but she felt as if every moment of her life had led to them meeting.

  Her pulse actually quickened with excitement and anticipation. Worse, she was aroused by the savage power in his mesmerizing eyes moving over her body, marking her as prey. Frowning, she bit her bottom lip hard, frustrated with her obviously, ‘completely screwed-up beyond any hope of repair’ brain. He was a predator. His aura was entirely dark and volatile. How the hell could she, no matter how good he looked, feel any form of lust for him?

  She took a careful, thorough look around to make sure no one else was nearby. Then, when she was certain he was the only threat, she narrowed her gaze on him as he slowly closed the distance between them. Before he could get too close, she took a small step back and to the side as she reached for her gun behind her back.

  With any luck she figured the gun would convince him to walk away. She wasn’t afraid to die. In fact, she expected to die from cancer in the near future. For weeks now she’d been enduring more severe pain than ever before. But if she was right, if he planned to speed the process of her death up, she wasn’t going to die alone.

  “That’s close enough.” She lifted the gun in her steady hands. “Why the hell have you been following me?”

  Laughing softly, openly mocking the gun aimed at his head, he continued to move closer. “Feeling a bit moody, are we?”

  She smirked. Obviously, the idiot didn’t know he was dealing with woman who was a damn good shot and willing to kill any man stupid enough to corner her and make her feel threatened. His stupidity would get him shot if he made one wrong move.

  He extended his hand to her. “My name is Eli Thomas.”

  The moment she heard and felt the hypnotic power in Eli’s voice, she knew he wasn’t human. She’d been right—he’d been using a compulsion to confuse her from the moment she looked into his eyes. She inhaled deeply through her nostrils to test the air. He wasn’t a vampire, but he wasn’t human. And she wasn’t insane. The only reason she’d felt linked to him was because he’d been able to get into her head. She didn’t have time to worry about how he was able to get past the barriers that normally protected her mind.

  Later, after she managed to get rid of him, to prevent it from ever happening again, she would examine the situation more deeply to figure out how he was able to do it so easily. For now, she needed to assess him and figure out the best way to deal with him.

  She gripped her gun a little tighter, thankful she had it. It was definitely going to take something other than brute force to take him down. He was well over six feet tall and built like a man who spent many hours at the gym lifting weights. His shoulders were incredibly broad, and the contours of his heavily muscled chest and abdomen were quite visible beneath the worn fabric of his black t-shirt. His arms were bigger around than both of her thighs put together.

  Since he wasn’t human, she couldn’t be certain a bullet to his head would kill him. “I don’t care who the hell you are.” On the other hand, she was confident it would slow him down. “I want to know why you were following me.”

  Before he answered, she heard the deep, throaty rumble of a Harley a moment before another pulled into the alley next to his. It was closely followed by two more. To shoot them all before they got to her, she would have to move fast. Unfortunately, speed was the one thing she wasn’t sure she had. “You felt the need to bring protection?”

  Chuckling, Eli continued to keep his hand extended toward her, but she wasn’t a fool. He could easily overpower her. Nothing could ever convince her to place her hand in his. Her gun steadily aimed at his head,
she kept her gaze on his.

  She saw the subtle movements of his muscles tensing and knew he was contemplating the best way to overpower and disarm her. “I don’t blame you for being suspicious of my motives.” He looked down at his hand. “I figured you might want your license back.” The deep sound of his voice made her stomach flutter. She wasn’t prepared for the sensations it stirred in her. “You dropped it at the bank.”

  For the first time, Mia glanced down at his hand. She felt like an idiot as she lowered her gun and reached for the license. She had been convinced he had bad intentions. “Thanks.” How could her instincts be so wrong?

  “Oh, no … you’re not getting it back just yet.” Eli flashed a grin as he lifted the license up out of her reach. “First, I want you to agree to give me a reward for finding and returning it to you.”

  Shaking her head slightly, Mia blinked up at him. She immediately raised her gun again. What was her problem? She knew he wasn’t human. He was dangerous. She knew better than to second-guess her initial gut feeling. It was always spot on.

  From the corner of her eyes she saw the other men get off their Harleys and start to move toward them. “Tell your friends to back off.”