The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)

by S. L. Jennings

  I get it now; Aurora really is a sex kitten. No wonder Jared is putty in her hands. She has clouded his judgment with sex, and because he is so filled with lust for her, it feeds her. Explains why Dorian was so pissed at her. She has been so wrapped up in quenching her sexual thirst instead of doing the job she was instructed to do. And now Jared’s mom is in the hospital. So much for thinking I understood her. I don’t even know if she has the ability to truly love Dorian.

  “Did you ever love her?”

  Dorian shakes his head. “No. I lusted for her, and maybe there was a time when I thought I did love her. I did care for her deeply. But she always took things too far. I was rebellious but I wasn’t stupid. And there are some lines that you just don’t cross.” Dorian unfolds my arms and takes my hands in his. He kisses each knuckle gently and I instantly begin to soften.

  “Last night, seeing you with her, like that…Was that how it was? Between you two?” I mentally scold myself for asking, but I want to know, no matter how much it hurts me.

  “You don’t want to know that, Gabriella.” He places more kisses on my hands, trying to distract me from going into this forbidden territory.

  “Yes, I do. I just need to know. Did she manipulate you to act like that or was that real desire for her? Because it looked to me like you wanted her. I know for a fact you did.”

  Dorian swallows then sighs, letting go of my hands. He leans back in his seat and looks up at the sky as if he’s searching for the answer in the clouds. “If you must know, that was just a fraction of the intensity that Aurora and I once shared. Breathing her in was arousing for me because I was taking in her desire. I didn’t want to feel that way, but I couldn’t help it.”

  He looks back at me, searching my face for any sign of understanding. “But being with you- loving you- is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It’s so much more than sex, Gabriella. It’s as if I’ve been numb these past 250 years. And now, with you, I feel everything.”

  I try to muster an encouraging smile though I am a bit disturbed at the fact that Aurora’s desires now live inside Dorian. But he’s here, alive and breathing, and though the idea sickens me that they share such a salacious past, I owe her for that. However, the only person Dorian will breathe is me from now on.

  “Come on, my parents are expecting us,” I say opening the car door. “Ready for this?”

  Dorian is already out of the car, giving me one of his famous sexy smirks. How the hell does he do that? “If it means getting you all to myself, than I’m ready for anything.”

  We step into my parents’ home, and I announce our arrival. Donna comes rushing to the door, alarmed and flustered.

  “Oh thank goodness! Did you hear about Tammy?” she shrieks, embracing me fiercely. Then she takes in the sight of Dorian and her mouth drops. “Dorian? How did you get in here?”

  “Hello, Donna. I told you, I do not wish to hurt her. I love her. If I didn’t than I couldn’t penetrate the wards.”

  “And how long have you been able to get past them?” she asks tentatively.

  Dorian looks down at me and smiles. “For a while now.”

  “Where’s Dad?” I ask, struggling to pull my eyes from Dorian’s beauty.

  “He went to the hospital to sit with the boys. Did you go see them?”

  “We were just there. Mom, something strange is going on.” I gesture for us to take a seat in the living room. “Jared said her eyes were wide open but she can’t move or talk or anything.”

  Donna nods slowly then looks at Dorian. “She’s been petrified.”

  “Yes,” Dorian replies.

  “Any indication of who could have done it?”

  Dorian shakes his head gravely. “I’m going back tonight. I have someone watching Jared and his family. They will be safe. In the meantime, I have placed wards around Gabriella’s apartment. She will be safe as well.”

  “I should hope so,” Donna mutters. She looks up at both of us with glossy eyes. “She’s part of your world now, Dorian. Please take care of her. We tried the best we could. She deserved a shot at having a normal life.”

  Dorian takes my hand in his and nods. “I know. And I will; I’ll protect her with everything I have. You and Chris did well. Alex and Natalia would be proud,” he says with a reassuring smile.

  The mention of my parents causes a tear to roll down Donna’s cheek. A sob escapes her lips and she tries to plaster on a smile. I can feel my own throat tighten with emotion. “I know you love her. I just hope it survives.”

  “It will, Donna.”

  Dorian looks at my adopted mother intently, as if he’s trying to communicate something to her. For what seems like several seconds, they stare at each other, sharing an unspoken secret. My eyes dart between them; surely they know I’m sitting right here, confusion etched in my face.

  “Um, hello,” I finally say with a hint of agitation. “We came to get some of my things. We should hurry so we can get back to the hospital.”

  I stand and retreat to my childhood bedroom, Dorian right on my heels. “What was that about?” I ask as soon as we’re alone. I don’t like being left in the dark.

  Dorian shakes his head, trying to dispel my suspicions. “She’s just worried about you. She wants to make sure I’ll be there for you no matter what happens.”

  I look at him questioningly. “Well…will you?”

  Dorian looks to me as if the answer is obvious. “Of course.” He walks over to pick up the small framed photo Jared gave me for my last birthday on my nightstand. “Maybe I should be asking you that question,” he remarks, his gaze locked on the picture.

  “A little too late to be asking, being that I am linked to you for life,” I retort with a hand on my hip.

  Dorian tosses the photo into a box, and looks at me quizzically. “Do you want to undo the link?”

  Oh crap. “I don’t know. I didn’t think it was something that could be undone. And I honestly have no plans to be without you.” I walk over to him and place my hands on his chest. “Do you want to undo it? Can you?”

  Dorian shakes his head then leans down to plant a tender kiss on my lips. “No, I don’t. And no, I can’t. But I know someone who can.”

  “You do?” I ask a bit too eagerly. Dorian raises an eyebrow in surprise and maybe a little disappointment. “Not that I want to. I’m just curious. Someone can break the link?”

  Dorian nods and runs his hands down my back. He gazes down at me lovingly yet there’s a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Yes,” he nods solemnly. “My father.”

  I try to retain Dorian’s lightheartedness by smiling brightly. “Too bad we won’t be needing his services.”

  My melancholy lover gives me a sexy half-smile. “Go spend some time with Donna. She will miss you. I’ll take care of these boxes and meet you outside.”

  “But won’t you need some help?”

  Dorian rolls his eyes before shooing me out my childhood bedroom. Donna will be glad to know that it will stay intact for the most part now that Dorian has completely furnished my new room at the apartment. Somehow I think he knew she’d need to have a reminder of her once normal adopted child. I find her in the kitchen, furiously preparing sandwiches and snacks for, I’m assuming, Jared and James.

  “Anything I can do to help?” I ask.

  “So now you want to help?” she laughs lightly. “I should’ve taught you how to cook. I’m afraid you’ll starve once you leave. But your father was more concerned about you knowing how to defend yourself. Rightfully so.”

  I take a seat at the breakfast table and grab one of the freshly baked cookies cooling on a wire rack. I haven’t eaten much all day and with all the activity, I’m famished.

  “So you knew something like this might happen? You knew someone might come for me?”

  “It was certainly a possibility, dear,” she sighs. “Plus you already had the hunter gene in you. It was only natural you’d be more physical than domestic.”

  I finish chewing the rema
ins of my cookie, nodding slowly. “Was my mother, Natalia, was she like me? Not so domestic?”

  Donna smiles as she recalls the memory. “She was more like you than me, yet she was nurturing. She was warm. She was a lover and a fighter.”

  “Will I be a hunter? Like a Dark Hunter?” That is, if I choose to ascend as a Light Enchanter.

  “I don’t know, honey. I wish I did. The Light and the Dark are very secretive about their way of life. Unless you are one, they are simply myth. Many myths that we, mortals, read about in history books.”

  Now I’m intrigued. “Like what?”

  “Mythology. Legends of gods and goddesses that had the power to control the elements, the actions and emotions of mortals. Things of that nature.”

  “So all that stuff was true?” Holy shit! Could Dorian really be a Greek god? I certainly wouldn’t be surprised.

  “No, not necessarily. Supposedly they were more like bedtime stories than anything else. You should ask Dorian. I’m sure he’s pretty well versed in his kind’s history.”

  “Yeah, probably.” I smile warmly at my mother, realizing that it is time to go. I’m not ready to say goodbye though I know I’m simply fifteen minutes away. “You know, I really appreciate all that you and Dad did for me. And you’ll always be my parents in my heart.”

  Donna’s eyes cloud with a fresh wave of tears. “I know, honey. And you’ll always be our baby girl. No matter what happens from here. We know you’ll make us proud. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “I will, Mom. And I’ll be fine.”

  We embrace and after reassuring Donna that I’ll come over for dinner as often as possible, I head outside to find Dorian leaning up against his Mercedes. Of course the boxes were probably loaded with a snap of his fingers. I’ll never get used to how ridiculously alluring and fascinating he is.

  “All packed up? You don’t look like you even broke a sweat,” I jibe.

  “Maybe because I didn’t,” he smirks seductively.

  He opens the passenger side door for me and I slide in. But before I can even get both legs inside and close the door behind me, he’s in the driver’s seat, the remnants of grey smoke swirling around him.

  We cruise out of Briargate and head towards my new home. Morgan had planned to move in throughout the weekend as well but with the news of Jared and James’s mom, her parents talked her into staying home for another night. I don’t blame them; Tammy’s sudden affliction is more than a little disturbing. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Pierre had a hunch about what happened to her.

  “What are you thinking about?” Dorian asks after flashing his identification at the Paralia guard shack.

  I shake my head. “Just trying to wrap my head around all this. This crap is seriously pissing me off.”

  He gives me a slant of his eyes. “There’s nothing you could’ve done. Whoever this is…whatever it is…he’s completely eluding us. I was wrong before. This isn’t someone who is just striking blindly. We’re dealing with a professional.”

  “The Shadow?” I ask with wide eyes.

  “Possibly. Or a hunter. There are more out there than just Dark Hunters,” Dorian replies, whipping into my assigned parking space.

  “Like what?” Do I really want to know?

  “Another time,” he replies, shutting down my curiosity. “I need to feed you.” Dorian takes in my playfully offended expression. “Food, Gabriella. I need to feed you some food. For now.”

  I follow Dorian into the apartment, kicking off my shoes and settling onto one of the stools stationed at the marble-top breakfast bar. Dorian busies himself in the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and cabinets and removing packages of food and dishes. Of course the kitchen is stocked with food, though neither Morgan nor I are great in the cooking department. Dorian, however, seems comfortable and confident behind the stove.

  “What are you making?” I ask after a few moments of ogling him.

  “You’ll see. Hope you like lamb.”

  I nod. “So what, no abracadabra and lunch is served?” I ask, tapping my fingernails against the cool, smooth marble countertop.

  “Nah. Sometimes I like to mix it up. I thought I’d cook for you,” he says rummaging through the fresh produce.

  “Cook for me? Since when do you cook?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

  Dorian smiles slyly. “Oh my dear, Gabriella, you have so much to learn about me.” He grabs a couple beers from the fridge, popping them open and setting one down in front of me. “I found a little Greek deli and grabbed a few things for the fridge. Thought it was time I got you in touch with your roots,” he winks taking a swig of his beer.

  “My roots? You mean, I’m…”

  “Greek? Yes, in part. Alex’s father is Greek though most of his family was from Egypt.” Dorian turns around just in time to take in my astonished expression. “There are Dark and Light forces all over the globe. We look just like regular people,” he winks. He turns on some kind of indoor grill unit he’s installed in the kitchen. Probably for times like these.

  “But do they look like you? With…the eyes?” Dorian’s ice blue eyes are an anomaly; too beautiful not to be extraordinary.

  He pulls out a little container of stuffed olives and places them in front of me, nabbing one for himself before returning to the grill. “The Dark do, though most of them change them to blend in. Or hide.” He pulls out some seasoned meat skewers and places them on the hot grill.

  “So… are all magical forces from Greece?” I ask, picking up an olive and popping it in my mouth.

  Dorian moves around the kitchen as if he is at home. He pulls out a cutting board and begins to assemble a salad. “No, not at all. Mostly just the Dark families of nobility. The Light royals are mainly from Rome.”

  Rome? “So the Light have royalty too?” This stuff just keeps getting better.

  “We all have laws; hierarchy. If we didn’t, we’d all go around slaughtering each other for power.”

  “And my mom? Was she from Rome?”

  “I believe her family was from Spain originally but settled in Italy. Why the sudden interest?”

  I finger the feta-stuffed olive I’m holding before popping it into my mouth and chewing slowly. “Just never knew what I was,” I shrug.

  “You’re Light and Dark. That goes far beyond nationality, Gabriella,” he smiles.

  I smile back at my equally exotic lover as he moves around the kitchen with grace and ease. I feel selfish as I relish this moment. In light of all that’s going on with Jared’s mom, I shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy this. I shouldn’t be this happy. But I am. Having Dorian makes it hard not to be.

  “I’m happy too,” he suddenly remarks. He places our plates on the bar in front of me then walks around to join me.

  My mouth drops in aggravation. “Thought you said you weren’t a mind-reader.”

  “I’m not. But I can feel what you feel. The link, Gabriella. Your emotions become mine.”

  “Why can’t I feel what you feel? Doesn’t seem fair to me,” I smirk, picking up a forkful of salad dressed with a yogurt sauce.

  “You will but not until you ascend. You’re still a somewhat normal girl.” He chews a bite of skewered meat. “After that, you could probably infiltrate any mind you please and plant all sorts of crazy ideas.”

  Infiltrate any mind? How can he discuss something so intrusive and insensitive so casually?

  “But…how? How do you get into my head? It’s freakin’ infuriating to know that you can just mess with my thoughts whenever you please.” I sigh before taking another swig of beer. Suddenly I’m not as hungry as I thought I was. “You did that before, didn’t you? You messed with my head, making me doubt all the signs, all the hints that you were Dark. Why?”

  Dorian chews his lip nervously. “I thought I wanted you to know what I was. To make it…easier for me. But then I’d change my mind. I wasn’t ready to let you go.” He picks at his food, obviously uncomfortable with discussing another lay
er of his betrayal. “I apologize for confusing you. I thought if I removed those thoughts from your mind, soothed your qualms, we could have more time.”

  I understand; Dorian wanted to hang onto the beautiful illusion just as much as I did. Ignorance truly was bliss when we both could mask the truth of our identities. But that doesn’t excuse him from altering my thoughts. There has to be some boundaries.

  “Just promise me you won’t do it again. I mean, the stuff in the bedroom is fine,” I blush, looking down at my plate, “but no more messing around in my head. My thoughts and feelings are mine. You might be able to feel them and influence what I think, but they are mine, Dorian.”

  Dorian puts down his fork and turns to me with a furrowed brow. “You’re angry.”

  “You’re damn right, I’m angry! I mean, I get why you made the link; it’s for my own safety. But I have to be honest with you- if you had given me a choice, if I would have known what was in that vial, I would have said no.” I let out a breath, and grab his hands, trying to make him see my point without hurting his feelings. “I thought I was going crazy, Dorian. I felt stupid as hell ignoring all the signs pointing to what you were. Don’t take that away from me. Don’t take away my ability to think for myself. You don’t want a puppet for a girlfriend.”

  Dorian stares at me for what seems like several minutes, his ice blue eyes unblinking and unreadable. “You’re right,” he finally mutters. “You are absolutely right. I’ll never make you feel like that again.”

  I nod and return to my plate. It really is delicious and the fact that Dorian has prepared it makes it that much more scrumptious. “Thank you.”

  Dorian doesn’t budge; he’s still staring at me intently. “You want to break the link. You wouldn’t have chosen that for yourself.”

  I wash down my bite of food with the rest of my beer. Something tells me I’m going to need a few more. “I get why you did it, Dorian. And I appreciate that you trust me that much. But if you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly easy to love. I say the wrong things, I’m too aggressive, and I have a habit of hurting the people I care about. One day you’ll realize that, and I’ll be dead.”