Eternal Hearts (A Darkness Within)

by Jennifer Turner

  Toni rested her head against Drake’s shoulder as the tears spilled from her eyes. Through it all, he’d been the only one who’d pushed her away. The only man who hadn’t taken advantage of the state she was in when any other surely would have.

  She didn’t know how much time passed as she cried in the shelter of Drake’s arms, but he didn’t lighten his hold until she pulled away and tried to meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry I did that to you.”

  “Toni…please don’t apologize.” She tipped her head up when he laid his warm hand against her cheek. “I know that wasn’t you. I know the aftermath of skin to skin contact with Oktober.”

  She pulled away from him. “How do you know Oktober?”

  His eyes seemed to search hers and narrowed for the briefest of moments before they relaxed. “I don’t really know him…I know of him.” He looked away. “It’s just…I know other women who’ve been affected by him.”

  Toni frowned at the small divot on the bed next to her that appeared to have captured Drake’s attention. Had there been another woman in his life who Oktober had done something to? As much as she wanted to ask, the disgust etched into the faint lines around his mouth wouldn’t let her. The last thing she wanted was to drudge up some old memory that might hurt him.

  Letting the question fade from her thoughts, Toni shivered when she stared down at her clothes and revulsion crawled across her skin. She swallowed the beginning of a scream as phantom hands slowly slid up her sides.

  After pressing a quick kiss to Drake’s forehead, she climbed from the bed as if it were on fire. “I need to take a shower. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She’d only gotten a few feet away when his strong fingers tightened around her hand. She turned to face him again. “What?”

  His words were jumbled and broken, “Toni…it’s just…I should…you really need…”

  She’d never seen him look so confused. “What’s wrong, Drake?”

  He focused on her hand while the rough pad of his thumb scraped her knuckles. “I’m sorry for what Oktober did to you.”

  Toni tilted her head as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. The sincerity in his quiet voice seeped into her chest. “It’s not your fault, Drake. You couldn’t have known. Oktober, he’s…a monster,” the last word slipped out as a whisper. “But you…you’re nothing like him.”

  He squeezed her hand tight before he let her go. Raising a hand to rub the back of his neck, he rolled his shoulders then gave a strained smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll be right here when you’re finished with your shower.”

  She turned and ran to the bathroom. The minute the door clicked shut, she peeled off her clothes then stepped into the shower. As the near scalding water pelted her weary body, she tried to consider only the positive points of everything that had happened so far.

  She’d survived her encounter with Oktober, and although she felt worn because of it – at least she was still alive to feel that way. She may never be able to forget what he did to her family, but she felt better knowing her sister never had a choice in what happened. Even if she never knew why he’d killed the people she loved, she found a small shred of comfort in knowing Isabel hadn’t willingly submitted to him.

  Toni slid down the cold tiled wall of the shower as four years worth of horrid memories flared to life in her mind. She wrapped her arms around her knees and allowed every sliver of guilt, every sting of agony, to wrack her already trembling body. Never had she felt so disgusted by herself or her actions. But the last wrenching sobs that tore past her lips weren’t for what Oktober had done to her family…weren’t even for what he’d done to her.

  They were for Drake – and for what he’d done for her.

  She knew he’d pulled himself away so he didn’t hurt her. Once again, he’d been there to help her when he didn’t have to.

  Toni rested her forehead against her knees then buried her fingers in her hair. She didn’t deserve a man like Drake, and deep down she knew it. He’d brought her more happiness in one day than she’d felt in the last three years combined. And the dull ache thrumming in place of the heartbeat he’d given her, told her she cared for him in a way she couldn’t even begin to find the words to explain. It was as if somehow he alone had the power to reattach her to the human world. His gentle nature silenced the monster inside her, giving her hope that maybe someday she could be more.

  Toni’s breathing slowed as her mind sifted through images of Drake. She ran the back of her hand across her cheek, remembering the prickly sensation of his stubble against her skin. She then touched her ear, where she vaguely recalled the heat of his breath.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to clear the haze of her memory. His breathing wasn’t steady. The warmth came and went, but wasn’t fast or rushed. Whispers…

  “I want you, Toni. Oh, God…do I want you. But not like this. Please don’t be mad at me later when you remember everything.” She opened her eyes as Drake’s words drifted through her mind. He’d said he wanted her…

  His words were genuine. Toni sucked in a deep breath then stood up and continued her shower. She concentrated on Drake until she finished bathing, using his handsome face as an anchor for her thoughts.

  After stepping out of the tub and drying off, she rummaged through her bag and smiled when her fingers found the satin pajama pants her mother had given her for eighteenth birthday.

  My last birthday as a human. She pulled the pants from the bag and stared down at the vertical pink and green stripes. She missed being human, but she missed her family even more.

  Her mind instantly flashed back to all the chances she’d never taken to tell them she loved them. All the opportunities she’d ignored to hug them, hold them, and let them know exactly what they’d meant to her. She’d thought her time was precious, and as a teenager she’d believed she had more important things to do.

  If she’d only known then how wrong she’d been.

  Toni slowly raised her head to stare at the bathroom door. Standing on the other side was a chance to touch something more beautiful than she could ever hope for, and this time she wasn’t going to miss it.

  After sliding the pants on, along with the green satin tank top that completed the set, she pulled the bathroom door open. She stepped into the room but stopped when she looked over at Drake and warmth washed over her. As promised, he sat in the chair by the bed, head kicked back with his eyes closed.

  No, she wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

  She couldn’t pull her eyes away from him as she crossed the room and crawled onto the bed. But it wasn’t until she was sitting right in front of him that he finally opened his.

  His nose wrinkled. “Those have to be the ugliest pants I’ve ever seen.”

  She knew they were, but she loved them all the same. “You wish they came in your size, don’t you?”

  His eyes went wide. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

  She allowed herself a smile as she sank back against the plush mountain of pillows, but when Drake stood up, stretched out his arms, and then headed for the couch, it faded. The farther away he moved, the colder the air around her seemed.

  He picked up the blanket she’d tucked around him the night before then cast a glance at her from over his shoulder. “I’m gonna take my spot on the couch and try to catch a wink or two. I know the sun hasn’t risen yet, but you should probably try to do the same.”

  “Drake…”

  He turned around. “Yes, my dear?”

  Anxiety tightened Toni’s chest, but she forced the words out. “Would you sleep in bed with me tonight?”

  The only part of his body that moved was his eyes as they slid between her face and the bed. Another tense moment of silence passed before he finally nodded. He took a few steps towards the bed but hesitated before he sat down. “Is it all right if I sleep in my boxers or do you want me to keep my clothes on?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Sleep however you’re comfortable.”

 
; Toni watched as Drake turned his back to her. His clothes seemed to fizzle away into nothing, except for a pair of black boxer briefs. At any other moment, she probably wouldn’t have been able to take her eyes off his behind, but it was the five huge scars cut deep across his back that held her attention. It looked as though he’d been ripped open by some kind of animal.

  Why would anyone want to hurt him?

  Not wanting to stare, Toni looked away and lifted the comforter when he turned around. The breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding caught in her throat when he slid in beside her, his bronzed body a symphony of sculpted muscle.

  She forcefully cleared her throat and tried to focus on something other than the thousands of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “Someone has to get up and shut the light off.”

  “I got it.” He closed his eyes, and then just as he wiggled his nose the room went dark.

  Drake smiled as Toni’s laughter filled his ears. Truthfully, he didn’t know how she could do it. After coming face to face with the man who’d killed her family, he thought it was amazing that she could even smile, let alone laugh.

  But then again…she was amazing.

  You shouldn’t be in her bed. Drake worked his jaw as he stared at her. He knew he shouldn’t, but how could he tell her no? She touched a place inside him so deep that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to say that word to her.

  Guilt tinged the scene as he watched her snuggle down against her pillow. He shouldn’t have lied to her. He should have told her the truth about Oktober right away, but he didn’t want to cause her any more pain than she’d already endured.

  Blinded by his own regrets, he was completely unprepared for the feeling of her fingernails as they skimmed across a faded scar on his chest, closely followed by the tingle of her mouth against his. He moaned as her tongue slid past his lips, coaxing him into an erotic rhythm that sent liquid fire pumping through his veins.

  It took only seconds for his surprise to burn away, but when it did – he did exactly what he knew he shouldn’t. He reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and then pulled her tight against him. In the recesses of his mind he knew he should push her away, he knew he should get as far away from her as possible – but once again, he just couldn’t. Not when every cell in his body demanded he hold on to her as tight as he possibly could.

  When she gasped as the length of their bodies connected, then growled and rolled him onto his back before straddling his abdomen, he knew there was no going back. Not now. Not ever. The woman sitting perfectly astride him would be forever branded in his thoughts...and would spend even longer in his heart.

  Refusing to give herself enough time to change her mind, Toni leaned forward and recaptured Drake’s lips. As if the taste of him wasn’t maddening enough, the hard feel of him between her thighs, mixed with the tiny shocks of excitement sparking between them each time her satin covered nipples contacted his warm chest, made her ache to have him.

  Needing to feel more of him, she broke her assault on his mouth and sat up. She slowly removed her tank top, watching the anticipation spread across his face with each inch of flesh she bared. By the time she dropped it on the bed, his blue eyes smoldered with a raw, primitive need that woke the sleeping beast inside her.

  Tangling her fingers into his hair, she bit at his bottom lip and smiled when he sucked in a breath as she pulled his head back. She needed the man underneath her. She needed to touch him, needed to taste every rigid curve of muscle. Licking and nibbling her way down his neck, she pinched then rolled the sensitive skin near the hollow of his throat between her teeth, delighting in the growl that rumbled in his chest. The vibrations rolled through her stomach and down her spine, pooling pure desire between her thighs.

  When he slid his hands up her sides and around to cup her breasts, Toni let go of his hair and braced herself against the bed. She exhaled a ragged breath against his throat as he drew slow, agonizing circles around her tight nipples before finally brushing his thumbs over them. She didn’t even try to swallow the feminine purr that escaped when he gently pinched then tautly rolled them between his strong fingers.

  But even as his hot breath seared across her cheek when he groaned in response, it was the steady, quickening pulse against her lips that suddenly hoarded her attention.

  Before she even had the chance to fight them…her fangs grew.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the tantalizing aroma and sound of the rich, thick blood rushing through his body. But to ignore that rhythmic beat was as difficult as ignoring the man. So she gave herself over to it, allowing his scent to overwhelm her.

  The sharp, completely unexpected scrape against the hollow of Drake’s throat made his entire body tense. He lowered his hands from her breasts then tightened an arm around her and rolled over. The sight of her beneath him, her caramel eyes shimmering in the darkness, her ebony hair spilled wild across her shoulders, was almost more than he could take.

  She was stunning in a way no other woman could be.

  Resting an elbow on either side of her head, he leaned forward and dragged his fangs across the inside of her bottom lip. His groin tightened and jerked when he felt her tremble as he sucked hard then pulled back.

  She looked dazed as she struggled to catch her breath. Her lips swollen and parted, allowed her fangs to peek from between them. Those sharp tips taunted the darkness inside him, making him ache for something he’d never had, but still craved. Pushing its whispers aside for the moment, he shifted and slid down the bed.

  Toni whimpered as Drake circled one of her nipples with his fangs and the muscles in her back tightened into an arch. She watched, breathless, as his hot tongue laved each into a nearly painful state before he kissed a fiery trail down her stomach to the waistband of her pants. Lifting her hips when he slowly pulled her bottoms down, she moaned as he tasted the skin he revealed while his fingers seared the backs of her thighs.

  She sighed when he leaned back on his knees and his boxers disappeared. The whoosh of satin against the floor barely registered as he raised a chiseled arm and dropped her pants. Kneeling between her parted legs was the most sensual, most seductive man she’d ever seen.

  Drake’s black hair hung untamed around his shoulders, perfectly framing his rugged face and gorgeous blue eyes. His chest rose and fell at an unsteady pace, and the muscles of his abdomen tensed and tightened as her eyes moved over his naked form, as if he felt them. And the light trail of hair that once beckoned her from beneath a towel, led to a thick, hard cock that would make any woman smile.

  The sight of him alone sent shivers racing across her skin. She’d never understood the erotic mystique attached to vampires until now. He looked like a dark promise of primal danger as he crawled up the bed and leaned down, his mouth hovering above hers.

  “I want you, Toni,” he whispered, his breath stinging her lips.

  He didn’t give her time to answer before he claimed her mouth with an all consuming, soul scorching kiss. She melted into him as his tongue pushed past her lips with a fierce possession, daring her to fight, daring her to deny she felt anything different.

  It was a kiss that promised no one would ever mean to him what she did now. That no matter what happened in her life or how far apart they were, he’d always be there when she needed him. It was a promise that unless she wanted to, she would never be alone again.

  Drake froze as Toni broke free from his mouth and gasped for air. Her eyes shined in the darkness, filling with tears that spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head in a fight to breathe. Pain splintered in his chest from the terrified look on her face.

  Curling his fingers around the nape of her neck, he pressed his cheek to hers. “I’m so sorry. I never should have done this…”

  “Don’t stop.” Her breath came hard and fast against his ear.

  He pulled back and looked down at her. “What?”

  “Don’t stop…” She barely finished the request before she captured h
is lips again.

  The pain in Drake’s chest melted into white-hot need when he felt Toni’s fingernails dig into his lower back as she pulled his hips down against hers. He moaned into her mouth as wet heat spread across the head of his cock and her intoxicating scent washed over him.

  Needing more of her skin available to touch, he gathered her in his arms and sat back on his knees. She draped one arm around his neck while her other hand wound into his hair. Relentless with her lips, she ravished his mouth, stirring the beasts inside him to a near dizzying frenzy.

  Toni pulled back from Drake’s mouth to bite at his lips as his fingers traced down the sensitive line of her spine. She sucked on his bottom lip, letting her fangs drag inside it as his large hands gripped her hips. She wanted him inside her, needed to feel him filling her. Locking a leg around his waist, she moaned as she shifted her hips and his thick head stretched her.

  She stared into his eyes when the corded muscles of his neck tensed under her hand. “More.” She pressed her mouth to his. “Don’t stop. Don’t.”

  He flicked his tongue between her lips, across the tips of her fangs. “More?”

  She fisted the hand in his hair when he pushed her down a little more. “All of it. Now.”

  He smiled at her, but just as his lips parted and she expected another question, he drove himself deep inside her. Pain stretched into pleasure then burst into a thousand sensual embers as their hips connected. Kicking her head back, she writhed hard against him, lost in a beast driven tempest of sensation and need.

  She’d never felt so full, so hot, or so whole in her life. Drake was all she could smell, all she could feel…all she ever wanted to touch.

  She cried out as one of his hands loosened on her hip and the rough pad of his thumb lightly stroked her clit. First slow, then faster as he slid out and back into her again, inch by throbbing inch. Her whole body tensed as the intensity picked up and he thrust into her, leaving her little choice but to cling to his shoulders as wave after wave of exquisite ecstasy stormed through her.