by Helena Shaw
There was never a moment that Cadence thought against going to Jane’s aid. She didn’t know what she could do, but she raced upstairs and found her clothes laying on the bed she’d slept on. They’d been freshly washed for her and she clumsily ripped off her pajamas and threw on her jeans and sweater.
Before she left, she dialed Draven’s direct office number. She didn’t know if he’d be in a meeting or not, but he picked up on the first ring,
“Cadence?” he said, somehow knowing it was her even though she knew the phone in his office matched the one in his house. “Is everything okay?”
“No,” she said, her voice just as panicked as Jane’s had been. “Something’s wrong at home. Jane said someone broke in. She’s trapped there.”
“Stay put,” Draven ordered her. “I’ll go check it out.”
“I can’t leave her,” Cadence protested.
“They’re not looking for her,” Draven said, but Cadence was already sure of that. “I’ll deal with it, you stay where you are. Understood?”
“Yes,” Cadence relented as she hung up the phone.
She knew she promised Draven that she would stay where she was. She knew that it wasn’t safe outside and her mind warned her it was some kind of trap, but she couldn’t sit still while Jane was in danger. She had to help her best friend, she couldn’t stay locked away in Draven’s home and let some monster get to Jane.
With a few breaths to psych herself up, not only to deal with the dangers that lurked outside, but to directly disobey Draven, Cadence moved to the front door and pulled on her shoes. The skies were still clear as she looked outside and she took another deep breath as she unlocked the door. There was no going back as she opened the door...
And walked right into Andras Corson.
Chapter Nine
“Hello Cadence,” Andras said in a low growl. “Isn’t it interesting, running in to you here.”
“Mr. Corson,” she stuttered as she took a step back. When she looked at Andras, she saw a long scar crossing over his face. It had only been a couple days since she’d seen him last, but the wound he carried was healing faster than it should have been. It was bright, angry pink as it crossed from over his left eye to down below his lips. She knew he was there for her and panic bubbled up inside her.
“I’m sorry, it’s a bad time,” she tried to use as some sort of excuse to flee. “There’s an emergency at home and I need to go.”
“Oh an emergency?” he growled as he blocked her path. “Something along the lines of ‘Someone’s in the house. I think I hid before he saw me, but, oh my god, I don’t know. He’s weird and I’m really scared.’” His voice changed in his throat and the words weren’t that of a man, but instead it was Jane’s voice that flowed from Andras’s lips.
“What did you do to her?” Jane shot at him as she tried to fight her way past him.
Andras was much too strong for her though. He easily pushed her back into the house, and with the door open, he moved through the wards like they were dust.
“Nothing,” he purred. “Yet. Be a good girl and it will stay that way.”
“Please,” Cadence started to beg as she took another step back. “I already called Draven. He’ll be here any second.”
“I doubt that,” Andras said as he towered over her. He was pushing her back into the house with every step. “You’ve sent him to your house. I have my time to play with you and then I’ll leave the evidence for that fool. To know that I bested him, to have that proof scattered about his home, now that really will be a victory.”
The word scattered sent a shiver down Cadence’s spine. He meant to tear her apart and she knew it.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” Andras told her as he continued his slow dance through the grand entrance. “It sounds like that of a fawn when a wolf is on it. When it knows it’s going to die, but still clings to some hope of flight.”
Cadence tried to protest, but a sob caught in her throat before she could and she forced it and her words back down. She would not show weakness, she could not.
Andras had herded her across the grand hall until her back pressed up against a familiar door. She groped with her fingers in a vain attempt at escape, but by some mercy the door opened and she fell backwards into the library.
She tried to kick the door shut as she stumbled, but her balance was off and Andras easily followed her into the room. There was nowhere else to run as Andras continued to drive her backwards until she found herself pressed against the stacks of books.
“I’ll paint this room with your blood,” Andras growled as he started to change. Cadence didn’t need to look, to really look, to see him as his blond hair turned white and his eyes blazed red. His pink scar turned a fiery red while his fangs grew between his lips.
“I won’t make this easy on you,” Andras promised her. “I’ll make you suffer for your insolence.”
As he cursed her, Andras ran a clawed finger down the front of Cadence’s sweater. The fabric easily fell away under his touch and hot pain erupted where his claws connected with her flesh.
He was so close to her then. She could smell the sulphur and brimstone on his breath as he unhooked his jaws and moved them closer to her throat.
He’s going to eat me, her mind realized when it was nearly too late.
She almost surrendered then, but a shape in the doorway caught her eye as Andras pressed his claws against her belly just hard enough to draw a trickle of blood.
It wasn’t some shadow she saw, not some spirit, but Draven, silently stalking ever closer to where Andras had her pinned against the wall.
As he moved closer, he began to change. His dark hair grew longer and his eyes blazed a furious red. He was bigger somehow and in that moment, Cadence had never been happier to see him, or more scared.
It wasn’t Draven who gave himself away, but Cadence. She couldn’t help but gasp when she saw him and Andras knew the game was up. He released her from his clawed grip and spun away as Draven moved to strike.
Her savior’s claws missed their target and instead slashed down across the shelves of books, sending scraps of paper fluttering down to the floor. First editions of literature were ruined in an instant, but Cadence couldn’t bring herself to care. Draven had come to save her, which was all that mattered.
Though the first time that Cadence had watched them fight was nothing more than a display of dominance, this time she knew that one of the men would not be leaving the house alive. If that happened to be Draven, she would be as good as finished herself and her mind told her to run while she had the chance, but her feet were frozen in place while she watched.
Andras was fast, but Draven was faster. Though the white haired demon was able to give a few slashes of his own, ruining Draven’s expensive suit in the process, as their fight wore on, it was obvious that Andras was in a losing battle.
He might have been younger and dirtier than Draven, but Draven had experience, finesse, and twelve hundred years to build his power. His moved methodically, tearing at Andras whenever the younger demon made a faulty step. While Andras looked crazed, his scar practically glowing with rage, Draven moved like a dancer, always moving to the side at the last possible second before dealing another blow across Andras’s body.
He’s toying with him, Cadence soon realized. Draven could have ended their fight in one move, but he drew it out. He was enjoying their fight, even if Andras did manage to deal some damage of his own.
The longer their fight raged on, the more desperate Andras became. His strikes were wild, frenzied, and careless, but he would not quit. With one last attempt, he lunged at Draven in an attempt to end it all, but Draven easily stepped to the side and with one hard strike, plunged his claws into Andras’s chest.
Cadence watched as Andras gasped for air. Blood poured out from around Draven’s claws and a dribble escaped from Andras’s lips. His eyes were pleading with her for some kind of mercy, but she had none to give, even if she wanted to.
With a twist of hi
s hand, Draven ended it all. Andras didn’t simply drop dead, but his body shuddered as his being began to shift and change until there was nothing left but dust.
When the last of Andras disappeared to fine powder that floated to the floor, Draven finally turned to look at her. Cadence didn’t know whether to be scared, shocked, relieved, or anything else, but she knew she was glad to see Draven.
“You’re hurt,” she said as she noticed the scratches to his arms and chest.
“They aren’t deep,” Draven assured her as he stepped closer to her. “I didn’t wish for you to have to see that. That’s why I let him and that other fool live. You didn’t need to see that side of me.”
“I’m fine,” Cadence told him, but she wasn’t even sure she could believe that herself. Seeing Draven turn a man to dust had shocked her to her very core, but at the same time, she wasn’t afraid. Not of him. “You saved me.”
“And you scared me,” Draven said as he stepped closer to her.
Cadence didn’t know if she should go to him, but she wanted to. She let herself step away from the bookshelves and took his hand when he held it out to her.
“He hurt you,” Draven said as he noticed her torn sweater and the shallow gashes on her stomach.
“I’m okay,” Cadence tried to insist, but Draven moved to his knees and gently kissed across her belly where Andras had cut her. The slashes had stung, but as Draven kissed them, the pain began to recede until there was nothing left but light pink scars.
“How did you?” Cadence tried to ask as she looked down at what Draven had done.
“I told you,” Draven smiled up at her. “I am very powerful and I’ve had years to hone my skills, but there are those out there with more power than myself. If a fool like Andras could find his way into my home, there would be no stopping any of the ancients. If you don’t make your choice soon, you’ll be fodder for them.”
As he spoke, he laid more kisses across her belly. They weren’t to tempt her, to toy with her, or to convince her of anything. Cadence knew they were out of relief and Draven’s own need to be close to her. He didn’t need to say it with words, the troubled look in his blue eyes said it all.
“I know,” she said as she let herself run her fingers through his dark hair. “But what about... love?”
Her words seemed to shock Draven as he stopped his kisses and rose to his feet.
“Are you telling me you could never love me?” he asked her. “Would it be so hard to love a demon? The powerful bond we could share isn’t about sex, but the physical act of love.”
“I never thought,” Cadence tried to say. “It’s just... I didn’t think someone like you would ever feel that way about a girl like me.”
“I admit,” Draven said as he used his fingers to tilt her chin so she had to look up at him. “That I never thought it possible. But seeing you, seeing Andras. I haven’t felt that scared in more than a millennia.”
His words sent a warm shiver up Cadence’s spine. She didn’t know if it was the blossoming of something new, or the realization of what had always been there, but she wasn’t so scared any more.
“Lay with me and we will be bonded,” Draven said. “No one else would be able to touch you once your power is linked to mine. I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll keep you happy.”
There was no way for Cadence to know what the future would bring, but in that moment, what she wanted was Draven. If he could protect her from the demons that hunted her, and maybe even love her, it was worth it. She gave a soft nod and watched as his eyes grew just a little wider.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Yes, it’s what I want.”
Draven didn’t speak then, he didn’t need to. With strong arms, he scooped her up and carried her out of the library and up the set of stairs. She didn’t know exactly where he was taking her, but she had an idea there would be a bed involved.
Cadence didn’t take her eyes off Draven’s until they stepped into a room at the top of the staircase. Draven gently laid her on the large bed and with a snap of his fingers, candles ignited all around the room.
The bedroom was large, old, and elegant. Cadence found herself laying on a four post bed with red satin sheets and pillows scattered everywhere. There was a fireplace on one side of the room that roared to life with another snap of Draven’s elegant fingers and though she was warmed by it, Cadence still let herself shiver.
She watched as Draven slid off the suit jacket he still wore and loosened his tie. She couldn’t help but stare as he unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his bare chest before he climbed on the bed with her, his lean, muscular body just inches about her own.
“I’ve,” she mumbled as she looked away from him. “I’ve never done this before.”
Draven stroked her cheek and she looked back at him. “I know,” he said as his lips found hers. “If you need to stop, say the word.”
She knew that stopping wasn’t an option. Though she was nervous, maybe even scared, she wanted him and she wasn’t going to say no anymore. She waited as he helped her with her tattered sweater and she wrapped her arms around him as he easily unhooked the plain white bra she was wearing.
Modesty overcame her as Draven pulled her bra off her arms. She moved to cover herself with her hands, but Draven gently pushed them away before he began to kiss down her bare chest.
No man had ever seen her without her shirt on and she shuddered as Draven’s lips moved to her nipple. He was gentle as he kissed her, teasing her and bringing her nipples to hard buds before he began to kiss down her belly.
Something inside her started to change as his lips and fingers explored more of her body. A strange heat began to brew deep inside her body, a heat that demanded more of his touch and forced a moan to escape from her lips.
Draven took her moan as permission and he slowly undid the button of her jeans. Instinct moved Cadence’s hands to stop him, but instead she gripped the sheets and lifted her hips for him to pull off her pants. All that was left then were the simple white panties she wore.
Draven’s eyes met hers as he moved down her body and she gave him a quick nod to say proceed. She shivered as his fingers brushed over her panties and she gasped as he pulled them off her legs, but she didn’t stop him. Even when she was bare and exposed, nerves creeping across her skin, she let him continue.
Gently, he pushed her knees up and helped her spread them. She didn’t know what he was about to do, but a loud gasp left her throat as he pressed his tongue to the tender, waiting lips of her sex.
His tongue was gentle and knew exactly where she wanted to be touched. He ran it over her flesh and then found the pearl of her clit and gently began to suck it until Cadence couldn’t stop herself from moaning in pleasure. She had no idea anything could feel so good and she let her hips rise off the bed while Draven continued to give her more and more.
Just as the heat inside her threated to spill over and consume her, Draven pulled his lips from her body. She whimpered in protest, but his only answer was a sly smile as he moved off the bed. She moved to watch him as he unbuttoned his trousers, but as they dropped to his knees, she couldn’t help but avert her gaze. She was still inexperienced and had never seen a naked man in person before.
“Look at me,” he coaxed her. “There is no shame in it.”
Cadence tried, but the moment she caught sight of him, she looked away again. All she saw was that he was large and hard for her. She didn’t know how her body was going to handle him, but she trusted him not to hurt her.
When she refused to look at him again, Draven only laughed before he climbed back on the bed. Her knees were still bent and he easily moved his hips between them as he leaned over her body and kissed her.
“I can’t promise it won’t hurt some,” he told her as he kissed down her neck. “But I’ll go slow and be as gentle as I can. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then she added, “I want you.”
With that admission, Draven
pressed the tip of himself against Cadence’s waiting slit. She could feel the heat of him as he slowly used his hips to press against her body and Cadence’s fingers dug deeper into the sheets as he entered her.
She whimpered as he moved deeper inside her and her eyes pleaded with him to make the pain stop, but she made no move to end it. She knew it would hurt, at first at least, and she forced herself to let go of the sheets so that she could find Draven’s fingers and entwine them with her own.
With one more push, Draven thrust himself all the way into her. Something inside her burned white hot as it tore and tears squeezed out from the corners of her eyes as it happened. It was an exquisite pain unlike anything Cadence had ever known, but Draven stayed with her while she rode the waves of shock and heat as her body adapted to his.
With more kisses, Draven began to slowly thrust in and out of her. Part of her almost begged him to stop, the pain was too much, but just as she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, something changed. Something started to like it. It still hurt, but it mixed with a new kind of pleasure and instead of whimpers, she found another moan and let it leave her lips.
“You’re beautiful,” Draven praised her as he pushed the hair off her face. His thrusting was rhythmic and sensual as he took her, but it wasn’t long before he wanted more.
With his strong arms, Draven pulled Cadence on to his lap. Still joined together, he used his hands to help guide her hips until Cadence began to rock on top of him on her own.
She clung to him as she rode him and smiled as he kissed her deeply. When she finally pulled back from his kiss, she didn’t need to try to see him as he really was. His long, dark hair flowed down his back and his eyes glowed a beautiful warm red.
As her hips rocked on top of hers, the pleasure from before began to grow anew. It was deeper now and she could feel it growing in her belly until it finally burst free and flowed over her. Her whole body seemed to shudder as she clung to Draven and he kissed her while she was carried by the waves of her orgasm.
When her body finally began to still was when Draven began to pick up speed. His passionately kissed her as her hips rose off the bed and Cadence’s fingers held on tightly to him while he wrapped his arms around her. He was strong and passionate as he found his own release deep inside her body and when he finally finished, they both collapsed on the bed together.
