by Jenika Snow
She shook her head and then placed a hand on her stomach. “No, thank you. I couldn’t eat another bite.” The moon was bright outside and Kayla couldn’t help but stare at the way it reflected off the water. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, it definitely is.”
She turned, the way he responded seeming as though something much deeper was implied. His posture was lazy, one of his arms thrown over the back of the chair, his fingers tracing the bottom of his wineglass.
“I’ve missed you a lot, Kayla.”
Swallowing dryly, her heart felt as if it was compounded in her throat. How many times had she dreamt of hearing him say those words?
“I’ve missed you, too.” Her voice came out in a husky whisper, and she quickly cleared her throat. “What happened to you?” There was no denying that her curiosity over where he disappeared to played heavily on her.
He turned away, his attention riveted to the scenery just beyond the glass. “I wasn’t far.” It wasn’t a lot of information, but Adrik was always a man of few words.
“You weren’t far? Do you have a house close by or something?”
He nodded, and her heart clenched. He was so close this whole time?
“Where?” It took everything in her to ask him, fearing what he would say.
“Off of Hampton Road, near Portage Pass.”
It was virtually right on the mountain, that part of the town thick with wilderness and almost barren of civilization.
“Why did you leave?” He didn’t respond right away, and she feared he wouldn’t. “I just want some answers, Adrik. I think you owe me at least that.” That might have been a cheap shot, but they were grown adults, and she could handle the truth.
After several long and torturous minutes, he leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. “If I didn’t leave, I would have ended up fucking everything up.”
Okay, not exactly what she thought he was going to say, but a start. “How?”
“Because, if I would have stayed, I wouldn’t have ever left you. It’s what I really wanted, what I still want, but I can’t ever let it happen.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his admission. “But why? Why couldn’t we have been together?” The very knowledge that Adrik wanted her sent a thrill of excitement through her, but she didn’t forget everything else he said, about how that could never happen. “Was it the age difference? My brother?” She racked her brain for answers.
He was shaking his head before she even finished. “Your age had nothing to do with it. You were nearly an adult anyway. You can’t help who you fall in love with.”
She gripped the hem of her dress in trepidation. “Was it my brother?” She prayed Kaleb wasn’t involved, but a feeling in the pit of her stomach told her otherwise.
“It’s better if he tells you the reasons, which I do think you need to know.”
These riddles, these hedging answers, irritated her. “Why can’t you just tell me what I need to know?”
“I think it would be best if your brother tells you that story.” Adrik ran a hand over his hair, disheveling the blond locks and making him look even more irresistible.
Kayla knew Adrik and her brother hadn’t gotten along, but to make it about them pissed her off. Who were they to decide what was best for her?
The night waned on, but Kayla found herself going back to what Adrik had said. What was he talking about? Was there something wrong with her, something wrong with her family?
Once their time in the restaurant ended, Adrik led her toward the SUV. They held hands, his so much larger than hers. The valet pulled the vehicle around, and Adrik helped her inside.
As they drove away, she thought about her big, empty house and the loneliness that filled it. “I don’t want to go home yet.”
She looked at him, hoping he would stay out with her a little longer. His confession of how he felt for her was also a factor in why she didn’t want to go home. After all these years, she had finally found out Adrik felt the same way for her. It was hard for her to grasp, seeing as she had lived with the conception that he thought of her more like a big brother would a sister. Why couldn’t they be together, though? It made no sense, but she wasn’t going to push—yet. It was an accomplishment that she had gotten the admission from him in the first place.
Chapter 5
Adrik drove down Route 26, Kayla’s scent completely saturating the vehicle and driving him mad. He was insane for telling her how he felt, but with each passing moment that had gone by, staring at her beauty and wishing he could hold her, he had said fuck it. He should have told her long ago, but he hadn’t wanted to cause an even bigger rift with Kaleb. Her brother had opinions that Adrik didn’t agree with, but Kaleb was her family.
According to Kaleb, their kind weren’t supposed to mix.
So many years had passed, though, all those wasted moments when he could have been holding her, cherishing her. As he had gazed upon her, he came to the realization that he didn’t care about what anyone else thought. He loved her.
Adrik reached his hand across the seat, feeling a strength he didn’t know he had around her, and held her hand. He looked over at Kayla, the light from the console illuminating her pixie-like features and making her seem ethereal. His cock had been hard from the moment she opened her front door, and as the night progressed, it had just gotten stiffer.
“Would you like to see my home?” Maybe not the smartest thing for him to offer, but the very idea of her being in his home, his scent surrounding her, sent a shaft of possessive lust through him. He wanted their relationship to be like it was all those years ago.
“Okay.”
Her voice was nervous, hesitant even, but he smelled the underlying arousal it was laced with. His cock gave a mighty jerk, and he swerved slightly on the road. She gripped the armrest and glanced over at him questioningly. He gave her a smile that was completely forced, thankful the cab was dark enough that she couldn’t see exactly what she did to him.
He turned left onto Pine Hill Road and took the steep incline with a little more gas. When he had thought it was best to leave Kayla, he didn’t have the strength to actually leave Stone Brooke. Instead, he thought he could find the solitude that would placate her brother, but also the closeness of being nearby her. So, he opted to buy property in the thick forest and then built his home, a home he had pictured Kayla living in with him.
As the trip waned on, they didn’t speak. He turned off of Hampton Road, made a few more quick turns, and finally slowed as he pulled up to his modest-sized cabin. Towering pines and blue spruces surrounded his home and gave him privacy as well as a sense of freedom. Another hour and a half up the road, and he would be entering Lyken territory, something that was forbidden to the Blood Breed.
When the Lykens first moved to Stone Brooke, the Blood Breeds already resided in the small country town. The Lykens sought permission for property high in the mountains to raise their families and seek protection. Aleksei had given them hundreds of acres of property to claim as their own, and the two species had then formed a truce between each other. Part of that treaty was that they would not venture onto each other’s territory. Animalistic and primal as it may seem, it worked for them.
Lykens and Blood Breeds weren’t enemies, per se. They both disliked certain beings, and therefore made perfect allies. When the Lykens needed Breed assistance, they got it, and vice versa. It was a comfortable alliance that would prove strong if the time ever came.
Adrik turned off the vehicle, and they both sat there in silence before she turned and looked at him. “Your home is beautiful.”
“Thank you. I built it myself.” He felt the need to gloat a bit, to impress her with his talent. Her expression showed he had been right—she was impressed. His chest grew a bit bigger.
His gaze immediately went to her full pink lips, ones that looked so soft and inviting they made his cock demand to be free. He could imagine those lips wrapped around his shaft, her creamy cheeks hollowing ou
t as he slid his length in and out. Clearing his throat, he got out of the car, needing some fresh air.
He helped her from the vehicle, the night surrounding them like a thick blanket. He could see perfectly, but knew she had a harder time.
“I can hardly see anything.”
“Don’t worry, your eyes will adjust.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her to the front door.
“I can’t believe you built this. I didn’t even know you had this kind of talent.”
If it hadn’t been so dark, Adrik’s blush would have surely shown. As it was, he was thankful she couldn’t see his reaction. He was a warrior, after all, and warriors didn’t blush.
When he opened the front door and turned on the light, Kayla was struck with awe at his home. He shut the door, took his jacket off, and unbuttoned the first notch in his shirt.
Kayla walked around the living room, stopping and looking at each framed photo. It felt right to be here, amongst his things, and that made her uneasy on some level.
Kayla scanned each photo, not stopping the smile that covered her lips. The place was incredible. The interior was spacious, with natural hardwood floors, polished marble, and stainless steel appliances. A small spiral staircase was off to the side, leading up to a loft. The whole upper level was visible, the glossed wood banister and railing accenting the neutral colors of the house.
She walked around and finally stopped in front of the mantel. A large silver-framed photo caught her eye, and she reached up to grab it. The image staring back at her was one she was stunned to see. It was a black-and-white photo of her looking off to the side with a small smile on her face. Turning around, she held the photo in a tight grip as she stared at Adrik. He leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his massive chest, watching her. She looked down at the picture again, knowing exactly when it was taken.
“You were there?” Bringing her gaze to his again, Kayla felt anger and delight course through her. The picture was from the day she graduated high school. He must have cropped it, because it was a picture of Kaleb and her.
“No, I couldn’t be there, but I had someone take photos for me.” The words were soft, almost distant.
“Why?” She turned around and put the picture back. It was the only thing gracing the mantel.
“Because you were there.”
His voice sounded almost pained, but she couldn’t quite understand why he would sound like that. If anything, she should feel pained, upset that he had left her thinking he didn’t care.
“Would you like something to drink? A glass of wine, perhaps?”
Kayla pushed her emotions aside. She didn’t want them to dirty what she had with Adrik now. That was the past. She nodded and followed him into the kitchen. She remembered the day she graduated, remembered how she had smiled for every picture, but how each one was forced. She had been heartbroken that Adrik had left.
Adrik grabbed a wineglass and a thick crystal cut tumbler out of the cupboard. “White, red, or something harder?”
She put her hands behind her back and made two fists. The way he said harder made her think of dirty things, illicit things. She could see his knuckles had gone white as he gripped a bottle of wine and stared at her.
“Kayla?” His voice was so deep and husky.
Her clit positively tingled with arousal. How many times had she thought about that voice whispering into her ear? How many times had she masturbated as she pictured him grunting and moaning above her?
“Something harder.” She was playing with fire, teasing him and hoping he took the bait.
A crack sounded in the air, and she gasped as the tumbler in his hand shattered. She stared at his now bloody hand and the glass that was embedded in his skin.
“Oh my God, Adrik, are you okay?”
Guilt assaulted Kayla that her childish stupidity had caused him to get injured. She rushed over to him, but he immediately turned his back. He grabbed a towel and wrapped his hand in it.
“Let me see. You have glass embedded in your skin.” The nurse in her flared to life, and all she wanted to do was make sure he was okay.
“I’m okay, really. Just give me a moment.”
Kayla didn’t want to push, but blood was splattered on the floor, and she was worried he might have cut an artery. She backed up until she was on the other side of the counter and stared at his massive back. He took several deep breaths and finally faced her. His jaw was set tight, and he gripped the towel fiercely.
“Please, Adrik, can I see your hand? You may need to go to the hospital.” Pleading, she stared into his pale blue eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”
A heartbeat of silence passed. “With everything I am, but I don’t want to scare you.”
“Adrik, I work at a hospital. Believe me when I say I’ve seen a lot worse than a cut hand.”
His big shoulders sagged, and Kayla knew she had won. She walked over to him and slowly lifted her hand to his. She kept her eyes on his the whole time, trying to project calmness.
Blood covered the towel, and she swallowed in fear. There was so much of it. She peeled back the towel and stared in shock at what was revealed.
Chapter 6
Nothing. There was absolutely nothing on his hand. Unmarred golden skin was revealed, and she took a step back, looking up at him with what she knew was a hint of fear.
“Adrik?” No way had she imagined that. No way was she imagining all that blood.
He let the rag drop to the floor, and all of those pieces of glass that had been embedded in his skin went with it. “Please, don’t be frightened, Kayla.”
“How am I not supposed to be, Adrik? Look at all the blood. How is your hand not injured?” She took a few more steps back, until she felt the hard, unyielding counter greet her. “What’s going on?”
Aleksei and his brothers came to her mind in that instant. She remembered all of their powers, all of their strengths, and the way they could heal.
“Oh my God, you’re one of them, aren’t you?”
“One of them? What are you talking about?” He took a step toward her, a look of confusion crossing his features.
Adrenaline pumped through her bloodstream, not from fear, but from the unknown. Could Adrik really be one of them? A Blood Breed?
“Yes, one of them.” Her words were a whisper.
Kayla didn’t have this kind of reaction when she saw the powers Aleksei wielded, but here, standing in front of Adrik, a man she had known all her life, it seemed too surreal. She watched as his pupils started to dilate and constrict, turning that inky darkness that washed the whites of his eyes away.
“Are you a vampire? A Blood Breed?”
He stared at her for a suspended moment, no reaction flickering across his face. The fact that he hadn’t questioned her what a Blood Breed was, and the fact that he didn’t laugh at her calling him a vampire, proved he knew exactly what she was talking about, even if he chose to stay silent.
He ran his hand over his mouth and averted his gaze to the floor. He shook his head, but stayed silent for another suspenseful moment.
“A vampire, Kayla?” He glanced up at her, and although he tried to look shocked by her statement, he fell short of his mark.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t play dumb, not with me, Adrik.” Anger started to mount inside of her. “What other explanation can you give me for what happened to your hand?”
“I don’t have an explanation, Kayla.” He straightened and stared directly in her eyes. “I told you not to look.”
She stared at him in stunned disbelief. “That is what you have to say about this situation?” She gripped her hands together tightly, twisting her fingers together until it bordered on pain. “Don’t try blaming this on me. Don’t say you warned me not to look.”
He didn’t respond, a fact that infuriated her.
“Tell me the truth. Why can’t anyone just tell me the damn truth?” Her voice was rising in octaves, but she didn’t care.
She wanted to know the truth, wanted the man she still loved to tell her what the fuck was going on.
Adrik’s haunted gaze caught hers and held it. “It looks like you already know the truth, Kayla.” He started to pace, his big body moving quickly back and forth. “I want to know how the fuck you even know about any of this.”
Is he fucking serious? She felt her mouth drop open in furious outrage. “First of all, you have no right to question me. You’ve been lying to me my whole life. Why couldn’t you just be truthful with me?” She was on the verge of tears, not from sadness, but from her blind fury that the person she loved most had kept something so fantastical, so monumental from her.
She wasn’t bringing Lana into this. Adrik didn’t need to know that her friend had been the one to reveal everything to her. If Lana and Aleksei hadn’t told her about the Blood Breeds and this situation had gone down, Kayla didn’t know how she would have reacted. Probably screamed and run out of the damn house.
“So, are you going to be honest with me?” His silence was killing her.
He breathed out heavily and turned to grab a glass from the cupboard. Adrik grabbed the whiskey bottle, filled the cup to the brim, and then downed it in one swallow. He did this several times. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
His voice was husky, a deep timbre that shouldn’t have made her feel a spike of lust. This whole situation seemed ludicrous, as though she was trapped in a crazy dream with no way to escape.
“You still haven’t answered my question.” She needed to know if he was one of them. Could she really accept it if he was a vampire? Did she really have a choice? She loved Adrik, loved him for who he was, not what he might be. She took a deep breath and sagged against the counter. She was suddenly so tired. “Please, Adrik. Just tell me the truth.”
“Will it make a difference?”
Blinking in rapid succession, she licked her suddenly dry lips. “Will what make a difference?”
She heard him swallow, the sound seeming so loud. “Your feelings for me. Will they change if I told you what I was?”
