Exquisite Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  “Huh?” His jaw dropped. “Caylee thinks I’m gay?”

  “No,” she lied. Smiling, she softened her expression, attempting to use kindness to manipulate him into continuing the conversation. “That’s my assumption,” she lied again. “You’re a very wealthy man. You’re not all that hard on the eyes. You’re always clinging to Caylee. I’ve never seen you give any other woman a second glance. And, here’s the big one—you’ve never tried to get down her pants. Oh, and don’t try to lie to me about it—she would’ve told me. She always shares her greatest disappointments with me.” She waited for a few seconds, but he didn’t respond. “Look, I don’t have all day to play games with you. Just tell me the truth, are you gay or not?”

  Haden really wished he didn’t know Mia was lying. He didn’t even want to consider the possibility Caylee believed he was gay. For the first time ever, he truly regretted having the ability to hear the thoughts of another person. A few women, peeking at them from behind a manikin, giggled and whispered to each other. He glanced over at them and then, shaking his head, he looked down at Mia. “No.”

  “Oh crap. It figures. She won another one.” She waved a twenty-dollar bill in his face. “You know, I’m starting to think it’s time to take that girl to Vegas. Well anyways, give this to her when you catch up to her.” Dismissing him, she turned and walked away.

  The moment Haden stepped out of the boutique he tried to call Caylee, but her phone was turned off. Driving to the secluded trails where she jogged, he reviewed everything that had happened. Fearing for her safety, he’d told her to stay out of forest. As expected, she refused to listen. She loved using the scenic trails to jog in the afternoon. He was ready for the argument, ready to win. He’d offered to jog with her. How could she refuse? And, she didn’t. She looked up at him with the mysterious, sexy smile that always heated his blood and wreaked havoc in his body, and she agreed.

  Caylee smirked at him, Haden suddenly realized. She wasn’t teasing him. Opening the door to the boutique, she’d glanced over her shoulder to smirk at him. She was flipping him the bird in her own special way. He would’ve known it if he hadn’t been obsessing over her ass. Accelerating through the last curve, pushing the car to its limits, he punched the dash with so much force he left an impression of his fist in it. If she were anyone else, he would’ve happily abandoned her. He sure as hell wouldn’t be chasing after her to protect her, completely helpless to do anything else.

  Throwing gravel, he sped into the parking lot and slammed on the brakes. Sliding sideways, the car abruptly stopped when the rear end crashed against a boulder. From time to time, she accused him of being a control freak. To be fair, he was a bit overly protective of her, but he wasn’t a control freak. His behavior wasn’t due to a lack of respect for her. It was his responsibility, his right to ensure her survival. If she would just be honest with herself, she would accept the fact she didn’t always make the best decisions. It wasn’t her fault. Not really. She was a woman. Women needed men to lead them. Women commonly made bad decisions based on overly sensitive emotions. It was a hormone thing. Hopefully she would eventually learn to rely solely on his flawless wisdom. It would sure as hell make life a whole lot easier.

  He opened the car door and stepped out. Hoping to find her more quickly, he checked his phone, just in case she’d left a message. “Of course not,” he growled, clenching his fist, crushing the phone. “Why make anything easier?” The woman was stubborn as hell. He had until the end of time to train her, but deep down in his heart he knew it wouldn’t be long enough for him to teach her to submit.

  There were miles of trails in every direction, and he needed to find her now. He never should’ve let her out of his sight. Slamming the car door, he moved quickly, allowing his finely honed tracking skills to lead him. The warm, muggy air reeked of old blood and decayed flesh. Surely, despite being human, she could smell it, couldn’t she? He grumbled unintelligibly; questioning her ability to detect the presence of danger was senseless. It was his responsibility to guide and protect her. What pissed him off was that he’d told her to stay out of the forest and now, deliberately defying him, she was jogging directly into the path of a vicious predator.

  Haden stopped. The vampire was hunting. Swinging his head to the left, he clenched his jaw, drawing his lips back in a soundless snarl. All senses on alert, he scanned the ever-darkening interior of the forest. Standing completely still, he was silent, barely even breathing, focusing on the vampire, studying the creature’s venomous thoughts. He felt the ferocious, relentless thirst for blood driving it far beyond a state of madness. He felt its depraved anticipation for the kill.

  Then, Haden saw the vampire’s intended prey.

  “Caylee.”

  Absolute fury welled up, stirring the deepest, darkest portion of his essence, the dragon, the living force of destruction feared by even the most powerful, deadly immortals. A deep, ominous growl, a promise of swift, violent retribution to the undead pursuing her, rumbled in his throat as he expanded his mind to pinpoint her exact location. But he felt nothing. No hint of her location.

  Terror instantly replaced fury. It slammed into him so hard and so quickly that he did what a fearless, unfaltering immortal never resorted to doing: he panicked. Heart pounding, he took to the sky, ripping the atmosphere apart, creating a thunderous boom while an enormous mass of black, swirling clouds that completely covered the sun hid his ascent. As he traveled with supernatural speed, he covered her with a hedge of protection, but he quickly realized that he still didn’t know where she was. His heart stopped. With his enormous power and strength, he’d never experienced fear or doubt in his ability to defeat adversity of any kind. But now with her life in jeopardy, fearing he wouldn’t reach her in time, he froze.

  While he plummeted toward the ground, lightning exploded all around, violently crisscrossing the sky. He landed hard, jarring his bones, but ignoring the pain he remained on his feet. Lifting his face to the heavens, he closed his eyes and expanded his mind to search for her. Caylee, where are you? Normally, nothing ever rattled him to the core. He was utterly unshakable, but not now. Show me! He didn’t have the strength to wait for her to answer or to willingly open her mind to him. Sending forth a brutal current of power, he forced his way into her mind.

  Fully merging his mind with hers, Haden was able to see through her eyes. She was scared out of her mind, but she was safe and would remain safe as long as he reached her before the vampire breached the hedge of protection surrounding her. He should’ve felt some relief, but he didn’t. As a demon, he was far more powerful than the undead, but with her life a stake it didn’t matter. You’re safe, Caylee.

  * * *

  Looking down at her foot, Caylee wiggled her toes. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” She yanked on her foot, but it was too tightly wedged between tree roots to move it very much at all. “Oh, God.” She had always joked about having the worst luck, but suddenly, thanks to the fact that Haden’s bossy nature had finally pushed her too far, her lack of good fortune was no joking matter.

  Okay. In all honesty, it wasn’t Haden’s fault. Not really. Sexual frustration was to blame. He wouldn’t have the ability to irritate her so easily if she hadn’t allowed her secret crush on him to spiral out of control. It wasn’t his fault that she’d entertained countless sexual fantasies about him. During the past year, he’d never even pretended to be interested in more than a platonic friendship. He’d always, despite his habit of continually being present and bossing her around, behaved like a perfect gentleman.

  He was a good friend. Besides Mia, he was her best friend. It wasn’t fair, but his willingness to share a long-term platonic friendship with her was what irritated her the most. She craved so much more with him, but it wasn’t an option. She’d suffered a horrifying, violent attack, and now she hated to be touched, so she hadn’t exactly tried to seduce him, to act on her fantasies. Besides, she was fairly certain he was gay. He never dated. In fact, he never so much as even gave any w
oman a second glance.

  Still, it wasn’t his fault that she’d been too busy wondering how long he’d taken to realize she’d given him the slip to watch where she was putting her feet. She’d veered off the edge of the trail, stumbled, and somehow ended up with her foot wedged in the roots of a tree.

  Caylee turned her head to look for a stick to use to pry apart the roots. She blinked. “No.” Eyes wide, she stared in disbelief. “Oh, no.”

  She had never, not even in her worst nightmare, imagined anything so gruesome. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. The woman’s throat was ripped out, her mouth gaped in a silent cry for help, and her lifeless eyes, opened wide, mirrored the terrible pain and suffering of a death that refused to come quickly. Screaming was Caylee’s first urge, but she knew that making her presence known was the worst thing she could do.

  She desperately wanted to look away from the carnage, but she couldn’t even blink. She tried to take a breath, but the stench in the air was so bad her throat was swollen shut. How hadn’t she noticed it before?

  Gasping for air, she clutched her chest. It felt tight. It was worse than uncomfortable. It was extremely painful. Her heart raced far too quickly, pushing adrenaline through her bloodstream, causing her entire body to shake. Feeling the sharp pain of Haden’s sudden intrusion in her mind, she winced, but she was too frightened to recognize his presence or to hear his voice. She needed to get away! She needed to run! She tried to stand up, but since her foot was stuck she fell back onto her butt.

  Her vision narrowed and darkened. She tried to pull her foot out, but it was no use. Her head was spinning. If she ran, her foot wasn’t going with her. Of course, leaving it behind wasn’t feasible. She was having a panic attack. She needed to calm. She needed to think. It was easier said than done, but it was the only way she would have any hope of coming up with a plan.

  Within seconds, she heard Haden’s voice. She felt his presence enveloping her, surrounding her with protection and warmth. But it didn’t really make her feel better. She knew he wasn’t really there with her. In fact, she sensed he wasn’t close at all. She knew he was able to use spells to create illusions, but an illusion of safety wasn’t what she needed. Haden planned to use a spell to hide the dead body from her, but he needed to take her focus off it or it wouldn’t work. Listen to me, little love. I want you to close your eyes and take a breath.

  His voice was only a whisper, but it was a powerful command that forced her eyes to close, allowing her to escape the grisly sight. But dreading the thought of inhaling the stench of death, she struggled against the command to breathe. Panicking, she started to choke.

  Please, Caylee, do not panic. Her fear pierced his heart so deeply that it was making him insane. He was moving faster than ever before, faster than he ever thought possible, but it wasn’t fast enough.

  The air surrounding you is pure. Just breathe, little love. I’m so very close to you now. But not nearly close enough. Driven by ancient, savage instincts to protect her at any cost, he wouldn’t be close enough until he destroyed the vampire and she was safe in his arms.

  Believing Haden didn’t understand, Caylee continued to panic. The air wasn’t pure. The stench of decayed flesh was so strong she could taste it. Stomach rolling, mouthwatering, she struggled to hold her breath.

  Breathe.

  His voice was a whisper, but it was so powerful there was no fighting his command this time. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with his familiar scent. And just like that, defying the physical distance between them, she felt his strong arms holding her, protecting her.

  That’s it, little love—just keep breathing.

  Knowing he was so close was comforting until she realized his voice was way too calm considering the situation. He couldn’t fool her. She wasn’t stupid. She knew he was mad. She’d ditched him to teach him a lesson in manners. Sneaking out the backdoor, she’d left him sitting in his car in front of her best friend’s clothing boutique. It seemed like such a great idea at the time. Frowning, she bit her lower lip. It didn’t seem like such a great idea now. She didn’t want him to find her. Putting him in his place, challenging his self-proclaimed dictatorship over her every move was a great stress reliever and a distraction from what she really wanted to do to him. But she’d never pushed him this far before.

  She considered trying to hide from him. She was a strong woman. She didn’t need him. She could pull herself together and get out of the mess on her own. If it makes you feel better, feel free to try to hide, but it isn’t happening. She looked down at her foot and rolled her eyes. He was right. She wasn’t going anywhere. She looked over at the woman’s remains, but there was a barrier hiding it. Still, she knew what was behind the wall of strange black and silver flames. She wouldn’t even try to hide. Regardless of his mood, she didn’t want to be alone any longer.

  * * *

  Lured by Caylee’s mouth-watering scent, Paul was backtracking, returning to where he’d left the body of his last female victim. Cursed for all of eternity, he would never experience the peace of true contentment. His body would always crave more, need more, demand more. He was a vampire, a monstrous creature, a loveless, soulless, living corpse suffering the agony of a perpetual thirst for human blood.

  Recalling his previous killing, knowing he would soon kill again, gave Paul the most perverse joy any being would ever experience. Groaning aloud, he clutched his chest, taking great pleasure in the fact that the blood of his last victim sustained his corrupt heart. Oh yes, nothing was more magnificent than the ecstasy of ripping a screaming woman’s flesh to shreds and consuming every last savory drop of her blood. Lifting his head, he breathed deeply through his nostrils, inhaling the scent of his new quarry. It wouldn’t be long. She was less than a mile away. Soon, he would taste the sweet, exhilarating fear in her blood.

  Hearing Haden and feeling a surge of power, Paul stopped. There was no missing the fact that a demon was on the move. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. Immediately recognizing Haden’s scent, Paul opened his eyes. He’d gone to great lengths to avoid the demon for days. Paul smiled. It didn’t matter. Thanks to his supply of ancient demonic powers and abilities, Paul was confident he was considerably stronger than most vampires and able to hold his own in any fight against any demon. Besides, Haden was moving away from the area, and he was nowhere near the woman. There would likely be no need to fight. He would have more than enough time to drain her blood and leave the area long before the demon was able to interfere.

  Paul was about to attack Caylee, but he hesitated. Lifting his face, he studied the stormy sky. Something was off-kilter. Haden seemed to be moving away quickly. Too quickly. It was as if the demon didn’t know a vampire was in the area. It was a trick. Perhaps it was a trap. Haden was an ancient. There was no way he’d overlooked the fact that a vampire was in the area hunting. Demons never allowed vampires to hunt in peace. Cloaking his presence from Haden, a feat very few of his kind could perform, Paul waited to see what his enemy was really doing.

  Only have a little time for a tasty treat?

  Check out the novelette

  Sweet, Decadent Fire

  ~ One ~

  BITING BACK A CURSE, her body responding to the nearness of his with the most insatiable hunger, Lee Anne Parker frowned as she turned away from Jake Mann. Agreeing to meet him had been a terrible mistake. For a moment, she stared up at his reflection dwarfing hers in the restaurant window. Then, taking a deep breath and releasing it with a sigh, she closed her eyes to escape the image. Seeing him, hearing his voice, being so close to him, was too much for her to handle.

  An icy breeze came from out of nowhere, reminding her that by morning a late-winter blizzard was due to move over the area. She hated snow. She hated being cold. The one thing she remembered about the accident that brought Jake into her life was the slippery, snowy conditions that caused her car to slide off the road and roll several times before it landed upside down in a ravine.<
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  To keep her teeth from chattering, she clenched her jaw tightly. She couldn’t stop shivering, but it was only partially due to the cold and the dreadful memory. She was shaking because she was so mad at Jake. No. Not at Jake. She was mad at herself. He hadn’t forced her to meet him. He’d asked, and she, despite knowing better, had agreed.

  She felt the warmth of his body against her backside and knew he’d moved closer seconds before he took her shoulders and slowly turned her around to wrap his arms around her. “Tell me what’s bothering you, Lee Anne,” he whispered as he nuzzled his chin on the top of her head.

  Almost instantly, the heat of his body seeped into hers and pushed the cold out. Staying very still, her ear pressed against his chest, she closed her eyes and listened to the strong, steady beating of his heart. Being in his arms was like being home. It felt so right, so perfect in every way. She wanted to remain as she was for forever, but she knew better. She couldn’t afford it.

  She wiggled out of his arms and took a step back. “It’s nothing,” she lied. “I’m just a bit tired.” Averting her gaze from his, she shrugged. “It was my first day back at work, and I had to make three home visits. On the third, I had no choice but to remove the children and place them in a foster home. It’s never an easy thing for me though I know it’s for the best. I wish there was more I could do for them.” She paused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on and on. It has been a long day. I need to go home and get some sleep.” She nodded as she looked up at him again. “Call me. We can meet up another day.”

  Jake tilted his head to the side and stared down at her for a moment. At first, as always, his eyes remained void of any real emotion as he met her gaze. “There’s no reason to be sorry. I enjoy listening to you. And don’t be so hard on yourself. You protect children when their parents are neglecting or otherwise abusing them.”