“Great!” She tossed up her hands and then knotted them into fists, feeling like punching something, hitting and slamming her knuckles into something until the pain in her heart faded to numbness. “We have to go after her. Now. Right away!” The nausea returned in full force. “I can’t stand the thought of Aimee with him for even one minute. She must be terrified—”
He nodded, but there was something in his eyes. A certain vague distance that failed to convince her that he thought they could save Aimee.
“Get changed,” he directed. “We’ll go while the trail is fresh. I imagine a seven-year-old will only slow him down. He won’t run far. Especially if she’s resistant. She’ll draw more attention than he wants.”
They dressed hurriedly, neither speaking to the other. A painful lump resided in her throat, making speech impossible. Which was for the best. If she spoke she might break down in sobs and she needed to be strong, needed to keep moving, keep going. For Aimee.
And there was nothing left to say to him anyway. Nothing at all.
THEY TROLLED THE STREETS for hours, through the remaining night and all day into late afternoon. They stopped only to get some food, and this at Niklas’s insistence. He knew if it were up to her, they would have kept going.
“You won’t be any good to Aimee weak from hunger,” he told her, studying her stoic profile beside him. “How do you expect to face a lycan less than full strength?”
She didn’t answer him—simply placed her order through the drive-thru and stared ahead through the windshield.
Soon they were back on the road, and she only spoke if she had a question regarding their hunt for Aimee. Which only made him feel guiltier.
He should never have touched her, never let her in his bed, his head. He’d vowed to resist her, but it had been useless. He felt her in his blood. His lips twisted. Like a disease.
He knew she thought she could have done something to save Aimee had she simply been there, but she was wrong. Even if she’d returned to her bed to sleep, she couldn’t have stopped Cyprian from claiming Aimee. She was blaming herself needlessly, and he wasn’t going to let her do it a moment longer.
When they returned to their hotel room, he shut the door solidly behind them and crossed his arms over his chest, leveling a stare at her. “Don’t blame yourself,” he announced.
“No?” She arched a brow, her voice full of bitterness. “Who am I supposed to blame?”
“Well, aside from the lycan who took her? No one. Bad shit happens, Darby. You should know that.”
She turned her face away from him.
He pressed on. “If you had been asleep in that bed when he came for Aimee, if you had tried to stop him, he would have killed you. A lot of good you’d do her then. Maybe you should be grateful you were with me.”
Her lips pressed into a mutinous line, but she said nothing, clearly processing this and, he suspected, recognizing the truth.
With a defeated sigh, she sank down on the sofa. “What now?”
“The closer the full moon, the better I can sense him.”
Her head snapped up and she looked at him incredulously. “You mean we’re supposed to sit around twiddling our thumbs while he has Aimee and is doing God knows what to her?”
“We’ll still look. Every day.”
“Every day?” Her voice lifted a notch. “You don’t have much faith we’ll find her soon?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Her gaze drilled into him, demanding the truth.
Niklas sighed. “He’s gone deep. Maybe underground somewhere … but he hasn’t left the area. That much, I know. He’s still close. Close enough to find. And easier, the closer we get to moonrise.”
Darby unwrapped her scarf from around her neck and shrugged out of her coat with stiff, staccato movements. “I can’t accept this.”
“I know it’s not ideal, but he’s not going to hurt her—”
“How do you know? Just because he won’t kill her doesn’t mean he won’t hurt her. He could hurt her countless ways while still keeping her alive.”
“What do you suggest we do besides scouring the city? That’s all we can do right now,” he asked, his clenched jaw aching. “I’ll find Cyprian.”
“Before the full moon?” she demanded. “Because after that it’s too late for Aimee.”
He looked at her with an arch to his brow that implied, Yeah, I know that. I told you that. I warned you.
And he did. Of course. That’s why he’d tried to kill Aimee that first night. Because he knew he could be facing a predicament like this—with Aimee lost and on the loose out there.
“Say something,” she hissed. “I’m sure you want to rub it in that you knew this was going to happen. That we should have put her out of her misery that first night, right?”
He shook his head. “I’m not saying that at all.” He’d only been thinking it. “I agreed to this. And we’ll continue looking for her tomorrow.”
Anger flushed her face. Without a word, she stalked past him and into the bedroom she had shared with Aimee, slamming the door behind her.
He glared at that closed door. Anger spiked inside him that she was so obviously angry with him. He understood that she was upset, but why take it out on him? He’d done nothing except make a promise he shouldn’t have made in the first place.
He muttered low in his throat and knocked a lamp to the floor with a crash.
He shouldn’t have promised that he could find Cyprian before the full moon. He shouldn’t have gotten himself tangled with a woman and a kid. What was he thinking? He’d never had the time or need for such things in his life before. And he refused to now.
TWENTY-TWO
She wasn’t sticking around.
Adrenaline pumped through her as this decision surged through her veins to her head in a scary, burning rush. Her hands trembled as she shoved her hairbrush into her bag.
She spun around, searching for the rest of the few things she’d brought with her. Clothes mostly, but she knew she would need everything she had where she was going. She checked her wallet, counting her cash. She didn’t keep a credit card. As much as she moved around, it was easier to just live on cash.
She knew what she had to do—what needed to be done … even though she’d always sworn to never consider doing such a terrible thing. Even her own mother killed herself to avoid such a fate. She’d only surrendered when the demons had become too much, tormenting her and driving her mad. As much as she resented her mother’s actions, a small part of Darby had always respected that her mother had never caved to the pressure that demons placed upon her.
Her throat grew tight, air hard to draw into her lungs. Unbelievable as it seemed, the moment had come when the prospect seemed not only palatable but necessary. The sacrifice would be worth it. Aimee deserved a chance at life. She’d endured so much already.
The door to her bedroom flung open.
She spun around with a gasp, plunging her hands behind her, stopping them from fumbling through her luggage and alerting Niklas to the fact that she was leaving. “Ever heard of knocking?”
He stalked into the room and stopped before her, his face fierce, the silvery light back in his indigo eyes. “We need to get a few things straight.”
She swallowed, not liking the hardness in his voice or the way his jaw clenched. He was pissed.
“Yeah?” She swallowed.
“What you’re doing is wrong.”
Panic fluttered in her belly. He knew she was leaving?
She lifted her chin, determined nothing he said—or did—would stop her from going, from doing what needed to be done. “W-what are you talking about?”
He jabbed a finger in the air, inches from her nose, before continuing, “Blaming me, blaming you—it’s just pointless, Darby.”
He didn’t know. She sucked in a deep breath and glanced away, trying to keep the guilt from her eyes—because her decision had been reached. She’d leave tonight. While he slept. Before h
e woke.
“There’s no point arguing about this. Whether I blame myself, you …” She shook her head. “It changes nothing.”
But he didn’t look like he was finished. Which was really too bad. They stood toe to toe, their angry breaths the only sound in the room.
If this would be the last time she saw him, she regretted that it was like this. She turned, unable to bear the sight of him any longer. It just made it too much … too hard.
His hard hand clamped down on her arm and hauled her back around. Her body slammed flush against him and his mouth came down over hers, devouring, moving and firing instant heat and sensation to every nerve in her body.
It took her only a second to respond.
As it sunk in that this would be her last night with Niklas—last sight, last touch, last taste—she threw her arms around his neck. Perhaps this would be her last chance with any lover of her own choosing at all.
She plastered herself against him and stood on her tiptoes, aligning herself against him, her every curve fitting so naturally to him.
He growled low in his throat and lifted her effortlessly off her feet. They traveled only a few steps before she was falling, descending. He came down over her on the bed, his solid body thrilling in its power and weight upon her.
He kissed her mouth, her neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive flesh of her throat until she was moaning and arching against him.
Her hands wedged between them so that her fingers could access his clothes and tear at the fabric of his shirt with a desperate need. This, now, was everything. In this moment, she could forget the pain, forget what was and what was yet to come.
Buttons popped and flew through the air. A voice in her head told her to slow down, to enjoy and memorize this moment, the last she would have. But it was that same voice which made her rush greedily ahead and seize this, him—a memory to keep her warm for generations of lonely, bitter cold.
His hands moved with more finesse but were no less quick. Everywhere he touched, she burned, felt alive, connected to another soul.
She cupped his face in her hands, stilling for a moment. Her palms flexed over his cheeks, reveling in the rough scrape of his bristly jaw. She gazed up into his eyes. The light there was nearly blinding, and she marveled that she’d done that to him. She’d brought out that desire in him. The intensity of his gaze stripped her of everything, made her feel bare and exposed—as if he could see to the core of her. All her secrets … including the terrible thing she was about to do. She had to do.
“It’s going to be all right, Darby.” His voice stroked her like the brush of a feather. His fingers brushed her cheek with such tenderness that a sob rose up in her throat. “We’re going to find Aimee.”
Staring into his beautiful face, she wanted to believe that. Wanted it to be true. And maybe … maybe it was.
But it was a chance she couldn’t take.
She wasn’t going to gamble with Aimee’s life. Not when every moment that passed, a piece of her might be dying at Cyprian’s hands.
She knew what she had to do. She saw it so clearly—even as she saw herself in Aimee. Alone. Motherless because her mother couldn’t protect her, help her … Just like Darby’s own mother, Aimee’s mother hadn’t even been able to protect her.
Luckily, Darby had her aunts to take her in. Darby shuddered to think what would have happened to her without her aunts. She would never have made it.
Aimee had no one. No one but Darby.
And Darby knew. She had to be there for Aimee. Had to do this thing for the girl. A girl who had a shot at a normal, happy life. The life Darby could never have.
Deep down, she had still been hoping, kidding herself that she did have a chance. Why else was she trying so hard to live, struggling with this cat-and-mouse existence that wasn’t really living at all?
She came up on her elbows and kissed him then, putting everything she had into it. Everything she ever had to give.
His hand delved between her thighs, playing against her, locating the little nub buried in her folds and rubbing, pressing, squeezing until she bucked against his hand.
She whimpered, thrusting her hips to meet him. He eased a finger inside her, working it slowly in, stretching her until a low moan spilled loose. Ducking his head, he claimed her lips, taking the sound deep into his mouth. He drank greedily from her, his kiss deepening, slick tongue sliding against hers in a sinuous dance.
She moaned as his finger withdrew, her hips moving forward, seeking. Her core burned, ached with need.
He tore his lips from hers with a broken gasp. Their heavy breaths mingled between them, warm as vapor. He dropped his forehead to hers, his glowing eyes probing, seeking, reading her hunger for him in her own unblinking stare.
Then she felt him pushing inside her. She hissed at the burning pleasure, the searing stretch of her inner muscles. Deeper, he penetrated her, and the pleasure grew, expanded.
With a groan, his fingers seized her hips, anchoring her for his repeated thrusts. She cried out at the swift, pounding pleasure.
One of his hands flew to the back of her head. His mouth was on hers again, feverish and hungry. He kissed her until the ache between her legs grew to a desperate throbbing, matching the pulsing rhythm of his body slamming into her own.
Her legs parted wider without will or volition. He kissed her until she could no longer feel her lips. Until breath eluded her, unnecessary as long as she had him. His mouth, his hands … his body merged with hers.
His hand fell on her breast, his fingers finding the peak, rolling and squeezing her nipple until it turned into an aching little point. She writhed beneath him, dark, desperate sounds escaping her lips. She tangled a hand in his hair, pulling roughly on the strands.
He rewarded her, sliding his hand between them and rubbing that spot. She broke free of his lips with a sharp cry. She lifted her calves and locked her ankles around his hips, rocking against him.
His eyes stared down at her, more silver than indigo in the dim light. She clenched her inner muscles around him in repeated clutches. Moaning, he dropped his head to the crook of her neck and began moving. Fast and fierce, thrusting in and out of her, pounding with unchecked savagery, the beast in him unleashed.
And still she wanted more. Wanted all. Head tossing back, a scream poured from her lips, drowned out as his mouth covered hers. She shattered inside.
Ripples of delight washed over. She trembled as he pumped into her, the smacking sound of his body against hers thrilling and primitive. With a shudder and deep groan of his own, he finished, pouring himself deep inside her.
Panting from exertion, she flexed her fingers where they clutched his head, holding him close as the pain, the grief slowly returned.
The remnants of desire gradually ebbed from her body, faint tremors playing out along her nerves. She trembled as he lifted his head, his gaze colliding with hers. Still lodged inside her, she felt him pulse, twitch. The sensation was surreal and not a little intoxicating. It was almost as though they were one being. Connected. A bond she had never felt before. From the intense gleam in his eyes, he did not appear eager to sever that connection.
For moments, they did not move, did not stir beyond their chests rising and falling with matching breaths. Staring into his eyes, her fingers curled in the impossibly silken strands of his hair, she wished that she never had to move, never had to break the magic of the moment. She closed her eyes in a pained blink. An impossible dream. She knew what fate awaited her—what must be done.
TWENTY-THREE
Long after Niklas’s breathing eased into sleep, Darby lay awake, listening to the sound of him beside her, enjoying the sensation of his smooth, warm skin pressed against her, committing this to her memory alongside everything else, etching this night and her every encounter with him into her very soul. She had to make it enough. Enough to last forever.
She traced light patterns on his chest with her fingers. Now she understood. People weren’t meant to
be alone. They weren’t built for solitude. She wasn’t. That’s why everywhere she looked she saw families, couples. That’s why she felt a pang in her heart when she watched them.
A sigh rippled past her lips, and she snuggled deeper into his warm shoulder. She could have grown accustomed to this. Could have learned to love sleeping in a bed every night with this man. The injustice of it all made bitter tears prick her eyes. She wanted this. Wanted him. And for more than one night. She conveniently didn’t consider that he may not have wanted a future with her. She was playing out a fantasy here.
She stared into the inky dark, her eyes wide open even as she registered that she was growing tired. Sleep wasn’t to be hers tonight. She’d sleep enough later. Or not. Either way long years yawned ahead of her. Tonight she wanted to engrave every moment with him—like this—inside herself.
An hour later, when she could delay no longer, she slipped from the bed and dressed herself, keeping her gaze trained on Niklas, making certain he didn’t wake.
His sculpted chest rose and fell as he snored gently, one hand thrown carelessly above his head. He didn’t budge.
She moved with stealth, careful not to make a sound. Gathering her coat and bag, she paused at the bedroom door, feasting her gaze on him a final time, her mind whispering a silent good-bye.
Lifting her arms, she removed the necklace from her throat. She stroked the three charms for a moment, letting each of them glide between her fingers for the last time. They’d been more than her protection these many years. They’d been a comfort to her for so long now—something her mother had given her when she’d turned thirteen. Her neck felt naked without the chain there.
She delicately placed the necklace on the bedside table. It hadn’t been foolproof protection over the years, but she knew it had helped. Tearing her gaze away from the talisman, she hurried away on silent feet before Niklas woke and persuaded her to change her mind.
As shaky as she felt inside, she doubted it would take much to convince her. At the elevator, she blinked the burning tears from her eyes and brushed a hand to her still-sensitive lips. She could still feel him there, taste him.
Night Falls on the Wicked Page 17
