Tall, Dark & Heartless: A Pyte/Sentinel Series Novel

by R. L. Mathewson

  In fact, she wanted to stay with him, but he'd pushed her away once and she wasn't foolish enough to think that great sex was going to be enough to keep him in the picture. She sure as hell wasn't about to ask him about his feelings, she'd gag before the words left her mouth. When they left in a couple of hours it would be pretty clear where she stood with him.

  If he asked her to tag along then she'd figure out this whole relationship business. Maybe they had a future and maybe not, but she wanted to at least try and see where they stood. Wanting this was a little odd for her. Only yesterday morning she fully planned on ditching him and starting this new life of hers by herself, but now......

  Now the thought of parting from him made her chest ache and her breath quicken. She cared for him so much and maybe even loved him, but she wasn't sure yet. She'd never been in love before and really wasn't sure what it should feel like. This whole experience was strange to her so she planned on treading carefully.

  There was no way in hell that Caine would respond positively if she showed any signs that she wanted a future with him. If he decided that they would part ways in a few hours then that was fine with her. It would hurt like hell, but she'd get through it. She'd go to Pennsylvania like she planned, get control over her abilities, learn to tolerate bagged blood and move on.

  Thanks to Caine they were both going to live forever so there was no point in rushing anything, especially if she was just confused about how she felt about him. If they ran into each other in a century or two and wanted to try for something more, then that was more than fine with her. If on the other hand neither one of them wanted anything more, then that was more than fine with her, too.

  "What's wrong?" he asked softly as he reached up and pushed her hair back.

  She forced a smile as she said, "Nothing."

  "Nothing, huh?" he asked, sighing heavily as he moved his hand back to her bare hip. "You used to be able to tell me anything."

  "That was a long time ago, Caine," she said, shoving back the old pain that threatened to take over at the memory of what she used to have with this man. None of that mattered anymore. At least she wouldn't let it matter.

  It was time to move on.

  She opened her mouth to tell him what was wrong, but quickly shut it and shrugged it off. She might want to be with him, but that didn't mean she was an idiot. The second she told him that she wanted him he'd be levitating his ass out the nearest window and making a run for it.

  "You can tell me anything, Danni," he said, repeating the same words he used to use when she was little and she was upset or feeling alone.

  For a moment she almost believed him, almost believed that he truly cared. Maybe he did care about her, but she'd be foolish to let him get her hopes up. In a few hours she could be mending her first broken heart as he once again walked away from her and she wouldn't make this worse by allowing herself to hope for anything.

  "Everything's fine, Caine," she whispered as she leaned forward and kissed him as he opened his mouth, probably to argue with her, but once her lips touched his he became a little distracted. Not that she could blame him, she mused as she pushed him onto his back and moved to straddle him.

  "We should get some more sleep," he mumbled against her mouth, but made no move to stop her, she noted with satisfaction as she ground herself against the large erection that was demanding her attention.

  When his piercing slipped between her lips and teased her clit she froze as pleasure rocked through her. She'd never been one for body piercings, but she had to admit that she loved this particular piercing.

  "You like that?" Caine asked in a seductive whisper, but all she could do was nod as she felt him reach between them. Seconds later she was groaning and moaning incoherently as he teased her with his piercing.

  For several minutes he teased her while she leaned over him, licking her lips as she struggled against the need to push back until finally it became too much for her. With a groan of satisfaction, she pushed back as she sat up, impaling herself slowly on him until she took every inch of him. She began to move, but one look at Caine had her pausing mid-grind and her breath catching in her throat.

  His eyes glowed a beautiful red as he watched her and she knew, just knew that she meant more to him than he was letting on and that this wasn't just about sex for him. She wasn't going to push for anything like a declaration of love, especially since she had no idea how she felt about him. Right now it was enough to know that he truly cared for her.

  At least that's what she told herself as she started to move. It didn't matter what they had tomorrow, next week, month or year. They had this moment and she was going to make it count. If this was her last time being with him then she was going to make sure that years from now when she thought about this moment that it brought a smile to her face instead of the anguish the last memory of him walking away brought her.

  "What's wrong?" Caine asked softly as he reached up and cupped her hips as she slowly rode him.

  "Nothing," she said, closing her eyes and letting her head drop back as she pushed everything out of her mind and simply focused on this moment with him.

  "This just isn't going to do," Caine said on a sigh.

  She opened her eyes and mouth to ask him what was wrong when an alarmed squeak escaped her throat. As she was flipped over onto her stomach she made a mental note to work on ridding herself of that embarrassing reaction.

  Caine chuckled softly in her ear as he grabbed her wrists and brought them above her head as he settled on top of her. "Ready to tell me what's wrong?" he asked as he settled his erection against her bottom and made her squirm.

  "Nothing!" she snapped, shifting her legs apart in welcome and giving him a damn hint that he'd better not ignore. She didn't want to talk about this, not now, not ever. All she wanted to do was have mind blowing sex, create a special precious freaking moment and move on with her life!

  Was that really too much to ask for?

  She didn't think so, but apparently Mr. Grumpy on top of her suddenly turned into a chatterbox and was ignoring her needs. Great, now he was ignoring her needs instead of just ignoring her.

  "Tell me what's wrong, Danni," Caine said, grinding slowly against her bottom and making it really hard stay mad at the man when he so easily distracted her like this.

  "Are you worried about Greg?" he asked, never pausing in his slow, sensual movements.

  She had to snort at that. Worried about Greg? That would never happen. Even when she was human she wasn't too concerned about him. About him torturing her? Well, yeah, especially now that she couldn't die, but she didn't plan on letting him get the drop on her again so she really wasn't worried about him. Besides, she wasn't planning on sticking around one way or the other so Greg and his new bloodsucking buddies could catch her.

  No matter what her future held, one thing was clear, she needed to train. If she went with him she would be able to train faster. Then again, he did promise to teach her so maybe he planned on taking her along with him, at least long enough for her to train. Once she was trained and could control her abilities then she wouldn't need him and he would probably just dump her ass without a word like the last time.

  Caine suddenly stilled above her. "You're pissed," he said, not guessed as the scent of her aggression teased her nose. She opened her mouth to tell him that it was nothing, but she couldn't. Enough was enough and she was sick and tired of playing this game by his rules and she was definitely sick of pretending that she was over something that still made her heart ache. She was also sick of keeping her mouth shut and letting him call the shots.

  She was so done with this bullshit.

  Chapter 35

  "Thank you for getting back to me, Mr. Quinn."

  "I need the license plate number of the vehicle they stole," Kale Quinn said in way of greeting, which wasn't very surprising.

  The man was the best mercenary money could buy and for a damn good reason. The man was merciless. Once he took on a job it was s
aid that he never stopped until he got the job done and once the job was done you'd damn well better have his money ready or he'd be coming after you next.

  Over the last few centuries, Lucan had required the shifter's services a few times and each time the man had surpassed his expectations and he hoped this time would be the same. He needed the Pytes back to end this once and for all and the shifter was his best hope. It would cost him a small fortune, but it would be worth it.

  "I'll have to text you the plate number," he said, turning around and heading back to his office to retrieve the information.

  "Have it sent within the hour," was the last thing the shifter said before he abruptly hung up.

  Lucan cursed softly as he returned the phone to his coat pocket and quickened his pace. He knew the shifter's rules well enough to know that the shifter had just given him one hour before he turned his attention to another contract.

  Shit!

  He was so close to freedom and he'd be damned if he allowed it to be ripped away. He'd waited centuries for this and had more than earned his freedom. Once he delivered the female to his Master all of his obligations to the Master would be fulfilled. He may have to stay a little longer to ensure the female did as she was asked, but once his Master's safety was ensured he would leave and then.....

  Well, he wasn't sure what he would do first, but he knew one thing, he was going to enjoy being a free man.

  "You son of a bitch!" Greg snarled as he came around a corner.

  With barely a thought, Lucan caught the fist sailing through the air towards his face and gave it a twist that dropped the human to his knees with a strangled cry of pain. Lucan gave the human's hand a light squeeze of warning that kept him on his knees as he glared up at him, panting hard as he clearly struggled with the need to attack Lucan once again.

  "Is there a problem?" he asked flatly.

  "You set me up, you son of a bitch!" Greg shouted, moving to stand up only to cry out again as Lucan squeezed his hand again.

  "And how exactly did I do that?" he asked as he scented the air.

  If the man's rage didn't tip him off to the problem then the scents covering the man and competing for his attention did. He knew the Master had taken the man last night. The Master's insatiable appetite for his minions wasn't exactly a secret within their nest, but what gave it away was the fact that Lucan hadn't been called to calm the Master down when he went on a killing spree, which he often did when he was upset. That of course meant that the Master was busy fucking the minion he'd invited to his chambers, this minion.

  Not only had the Master fed from the man, but he had clearly enjoyed himself and so had this man. He could smell the man's lingering excitement and release and had to wonder how the Master did it. The Master seemed to enjoy making straight men enjoy the act. Not that he was interested. He wasn't and thankfully would never be put in a position to bend over for the Master.

  "You knew what he wanted and you didn't warn me," Greg bit out.

  Lucan simply shrugged. It wasn't his job to tell the minion what should have been obvious from the start. Then again, it wasn't like anyone kept the Master's preferences a secret here or what he expected from his minions.

  "If you had been paying attention from the very beginning you would have known the type of Master you signed your life over to, human," he said, moving to release the man's hand when curiosity got the better of him. "Did the Master submit for you?" he asked, noting the way the man's face suddenly turned red as he averted his gaze.

  That would be a yes, Lucan mused as he released the man's hand. That was actually interesting. He certainly hadn't seen that coming. For a while there he'd been concerned that he was going to be stuck with the annoying human for a while, at least until the Master grew tired of him and changed him and Lucan could stake him.

  "When he changes me you're going to be ash, you asshole," Greg snarled cockily as he got to his feet.

  Lucan shook his head ruefully. "He allowed you to fuck him, human. Surely you know what that means." If the man didn't then he truly was an idiot.

  "It means that he wants me and that soon he'll change me," Greg said evenly as he shook with suppressed rage, at Lucan or at himself for liking what happened, he wasn't sure and didn't really care. Greg was no longer a problem. "And when he does I'm coming after you."

  "No," Lucan said as he turned his back on the man and headed for his office where his own salvation waited, "it means that you were a lousy lay and the Master is done with you."

  *******

  "You really want to know what's wrong?" Danni snapped as she snatched up the lavender sheet and made quick work of wrapping it around herself. "Because I'd be more than happy to tell you what's wrong."

  Actually, he kind of wanted to get back to having his dirty way with her, but her clipped motions, red eyes and the fact that she'd shoved him off of her a minute ago and actually growled at him when he went to touch her clued him into the fact that, that wasn't happening anytime soon. Unfortunately his cock hadn't got the message yet and was currently straining towards her. The venomous look she shot his poor misunderstood cock had him discretely grabbing a pillow off the bed and placing it in front of his lap.

  "Okay, what's wrong?" he asked, thinking that it was a reasonable question. The disbelieving scoff she let out said differently.

  "You seriously have the balls to ask me what's wrong?" she demanded in a disbelieving tone as he struggled to come up with an acceptable answer that would save the poor misunderstood appendage standing at attention between his legs and perhaps get him back to where he belonged, right between her legs.

  After an uncomfortable moment of silence he went with a hesitant, "Yes?"

  She opened her mouth, probably to let him have it, when she suddenly shut it, shook her head and headed for the door as she tucked the end of the sheet between the two gorgeous breasts that he wasn't finished worshipping yet.

  "Where are you going?" he asked, following after her as she opened the door, stormed outside into the dimly lit yard.

  Thankfully it was early so he wouldn't have to worry about Jax or his pack witnessing this little meltdown. Last night had been the second night of the full moon so by now they should already be shifted back to human and screwing the excess energy out their systems. They had two, maybe three hours before the pack returned. That was more than enough time for Danni to lose it, make it up to him by getting down on her knees and for them to get ready to get the hell out of here before Jax came to take them to the airport.

  "Danni, hold up!" he said, feeling like an idiot with the pillow in front of him so he tossed it aside as he jogged down the stairs. He followed after Danni as she headed towards the private dirt road that bordered the southern part of Jax's large property. Thankfully the shifter's property was well away from any prying eyes so he didn't have to worry about this little meltdown of Danni's being witnessed or the fact that he was jogging after her with a damn erection that wouldn't take a hint and go down.

  Instead of stopping and talking this over like a rational adult, she flipped him off and kept going. That wasn't exactly surprising. She'd always been stubborn, too damn stubborn for his peace of mind, he thought as he blew out a breath. He debated on going back inside and catching up on his sleep while his stubborn mate blew off some steam and calmed down and came to her senses, but then he remembered who he was dealing with and moved his ass.

  She wasn't a typical woman and she wasn't throwing a tantrum. She was pissed and when Danni got pissed she moved on. This wasn't a ploy for his attention or an apology. She was walking away and he knew that she was too angry to care that she had no money, clothes or a place to go. Once Danni set her mind to something she did whatever it took to get it done. So, if he didn't find out what had her feathers ruffled now then he'd be stuck hunting her down later.

  "Tell me what the hell is wrong," he said, flashing in front of her and causing her stumble back before she managed to catch herself and hold her ground.

>   "Tell you what's wrong?" she repeated in disbelief before she screamed, "You left me, you son of a bitch!"

  "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded even as he racked his brain, trying to figure out what the hell she was talking about. He'd never left her. He'd always been there for her.

  Always.

  "You were my best friend. The only person I had and then one day you acted like I didn't even exist!" she snapped, gripping the sheet against herself with both hands so tightly that the skin covering her knuckles turned white. "There was no warning, no goodbyes, no explanation! One day I meant something to you and the next you acted like you had no idea who I was!"

  He ground his jaw as memories of that day flashed through his mind. Out of all the days that made up his already too long existence that was the one that pained him the most and the one he avoided thinking about. He'd hurt her that day, but he did it for her.