Dark Illusions: The Beginning

by Ariana Browning

  Thirty Seven

  Cameron was furious with her when they exited the building. He twisted her by the wrist, causing her to cry out, and forced her to face him, dragging her closer. When Kat looked at him, she only had a second to react. His eyes glowed with the fury of the animal within. She took the chance and stepped forward, closing the distance, before he stopped her, and kissed him.

  Hunger ripped through every inch of her when their mouths came together. She molded into his body and he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her against him. Kat whimpered and dug her nails into his back. Her body screamed for more. Cameron tangled his hand in her hair and held her tight against his body.

  After a moment, Kat realized what she did and managed to get her hands between their bodies. She shoved as hard as she could, but forgot who held her pinned. Pushing was pointless. Cameron knew what she wanted and let her push them apart to some extent. He still held her in his arms and looked down at her with intense hunger that matched her own.

  Cameron enjoyed what he saw. The only reason she kissed him was to keep him from erupting, which he almost did, but it was clear she hadn’t expected to be so attracted to him either. She’d shown the brains and courage the Raaka were known for when she took on Cyrus. He was taken aback by it, but when she submitted to him, he was more taken aback by that. He took charge and she chose to back down. He expected her to fight him. He stroked her cheek, waiting for her to shrug off what she’d done.

  “What?” Kat smiled. “Not angry with me anymore are you?”

  “Now who’s reading thoughts?” He skimmed his finger across her bottom lip

  She bit at his finger. “My own tricks, what can I say? Before you start in on me, I’m sorry. I’m tired of hearing people talk like that about Kober. Cyrus pissed me off.”

  The smile faded off Cameron’s face. “I understand Kat, but remember who you’re talking to. If I didn’t get you out of there—”

  “You also would’ve hit me,” she interjected.

  “Don’t interrupt me. Yes, I was angry enough to hit you because you didn’t stop, but he would hit you. I guess you certainly took care of my anger though, didn’t you?”

  Kat’s eyes lit up and she smiled at him. “As I said, I have my way—”

  Before Kat finished what she said, Cameron wrapped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her mouth to his, kissing her until she was breathless. He pulled away, telling her, “That you certainly do. Takes every ounce of strength I have not to—”

  “Take me home.” Kat grinned, knowing she pushed her limits.

  Cameron leaned down, gently biting Kat’s bottom lip. “Stop interrupting me, or I will do something about it.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  Cameron laughed. “You’re loads of trouble.”

  “So I’m told, but yet you want to spend time around said trouble.”

  “True.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t go off about Kober. Or, are you more interested in staying on my good side?” Kat asked.

  “What good would it do to tell you I don’t like him? Make you angry? Start a fight between us? You like him, you know I don’t. I’m not acting different than I usually do, or saying anything different to make you like me, Kat. You get what you see. Did I hide my anger from you?”

  “You’re a smart man, as well as manipulative, observant, calculative and deceitful. You’d have no problems allowing me to see your anger, but hide other undesirable aspects about yourself.” She eased out of his grip.

  “You think so? You think you’re so easy to play? You are underestimating yourself. I allow you to make your own decisions, Kat. Or would you like me to con you?” He crossed his arms.

  Kat placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t talk down to me. Don’t play games with me either.”

  Cameron grinned. “Games? I don’t play games. You already know that.” The air stirred and she gasped. Cameron moved behind her, grabbed her hair, and pulled her head against his shoulder, placing his mouth to her ear. His other arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her closer against his body.

  “I thought I made clear what I wanted from you, Kat. Should I make it clearer?” He collapsed his mouth against her neck and kissed it, making Kat whimper. She reached her hand up to the back of his head, entangling her fingers in his hair, causing him to growl.

  Kat’s heart raced and her body responded with intense hunger, needing a release she wanted Cameron to provide. She gave her body over to him as he kept kissing her beck, stroking his hand down her neck and her collarbone. His other hand moved from around her waist, to the bottom of her shirt, slipping inside to caress her stomach and her fingers tightened in his hair. She purred with delight as his hand caressed her stomach, and the other pulled her chin toward his mouth. He kissed her and she moaned with need, desperate for more.

  Cameron’s hand moved down from her stomach to her waistband and slipped beneath it, just as Kat heard a faint voice saying, “I need to go, Cameron. I have some things I must take care of.” Kat’s brain struggled to register Cameron pulling his mouth off hers.

  He looked over at Cyrus and told him, “Thank you for coming, Cyrus. I will call you later when the products have arrived.” Kat’s head spun with so much desire that when she looked over at Cyrus she burned in a hungry haze.

  “And you, I will see around.” Cyrus told Kat, noticing how bad she and Cameron were affected by each other. Worse still was the look she directed at him. Now he had a craving he would need fulfilled. He wouldn’t mind taking her home with him. That woman might as well be Raaka and in heat. Damn. What in her background made her so desirable? She would be a special addition to their clan. With her, they could fuck a lot of people over, if she learned to hone that seduction she carried around with her. Being around her when she was in that mood was like being around a bitch in heat all the time. Like a damn witch that woman.

  Kat’s mind spun. Cyrus looked at her with desire equal to the rest of the other Raaka. She knew she should care, but Cameron’s hand was still on her stomach and it made her direct her hunger toward Cyrus as well. She tried redirecting it to Cameron, but that was the problem with the Raaka. They made her feel alive, but always on the verge of ripping their clothes off too. Her hormones worked over time around them, her body was on fire. She wondered what Cameron would do if she flirted with Cyrus.

  She smiled. “Is that a promise?” Cameron’s grip tightened, causing her to squeak. His body stiffened and giddiness welled up inside her. So that’s what he’d do.

  “Friends again?” Cyrus laughed.

  Kat grinned. “Until you dare talk about Kober in front of me.” Cameron tightened his grip on her neck, before releasing it, letting her know she needed to behave. She stiffened in fear. “Yes, we’re fine. Excuse my temper. It gets the better of me.”

  Cameron’s, “good girl,” was barely audible in her ear. When he relaxed behind her, she did too.

  Cyrus smiled at Cameron, he was impressed with the control Cameron had over her. “Not a problem my dear, understandable, admirable even. You stood up for what you think is right. You possess loads of courage.” With that, Cyrus turned and left.

  Cameron leaned back down to her ear and whispered, “So this is where you make an important decision, Kat.”

  Kat leaned her head back against his shoulder and whispered, “What’s that, tough guy?”

  Cameron laughed. “Do you have any idea how delicious you are? What do you think? You already know.”

  Kat smiled. She leaned closer and looked up at him. “I do know. On both counts. Say it.”

  Cameron leaned down and kissed her before whispering against her lips, “Go home by yourself . . . or go home with me. Your decision.”

  Kat reveled in the warmth of his grip. “How can you have such a cold body and yet warm me up as you do? That isn’t fair.”

  “I’m quite happy to hold you in my arms for as long as you wish. How do I make you stay?”

  Th
e sincerity in his voice spread warmth within. He was being honest and that melted her heart. He made it that much harder for her to say no to him. As he promised, he wouldn’t force her into anything. She felt like giving into him because of it. “Am I safe with you, Cameron?”

  He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You’re safe with me.”

  Kat’s heart wanted to burst in happiness. She smiled up at him, reaching her hand up to his neck and pulling his mouth down to hers to give him a small kiss, gently biting on his bottom lip as she pulled away. “So let me trust you, to let me go home tonight.”

  Cameron hesitated long enough for Kat to touch his lips and tell him, “That doesn’t mean I want to leave you right now. That only means I know I need to. I’m not telling you no. I’m telling you I will, soon.”

  Cameron grinned. “I’m regretting telling you I wouldn’t force you. To keep building on the little trust I’ve earned, I understand where you’re coming from. My body may not like it, but I will go against every instinct that’s telling me not to, and allow you to go. I won’t push you Kat, as I promised.”

  Kat looked at his lips, watching him talk and played with his lips when he finished. “Thank you, Cameron. I know how hard it is for you, but I can’t express how hard it is for me as well. Trust me.”

  Cameron let her go and she turned around to face him. He caressed her cheek, letting his hand fall down along the buttons on her shirt. “Don’t go far, Kat.”

  She grinned. “Like I could.”

  Thirty Eight

  Why was it, the days when Kat wanted to relax, the Millers wanted to throw a party? Not just throw a party, but then they’d come knocking on her door, begging her to come over.

  The one thing she planned to do was relax, and perhaps do some reading, but like clockwork, they came knocking. They had someone special they wanted her to meet. She laughed and told them she wished she could, but she was on her way out.

  Okay, it wasn’t a total lie. When the knock came, she decided to head out. It just hadn’t been preplanned. They were bummed, but told her to enjoy herself. She thanked them and grabbed a journal, then headed out the door without knowing where she would go, only with the intention on not coming back until after the party finished.

  Kat ended up at Inferno and chose her normal booth. Despite it being near the front of the club, it was one of the quietest areas. People passed by, but chose to sit by the stage, or bar, toward the back. They wanted to be part of the crowd; she preferred being on the outskirts.

  Upon entering, Kat noticed Sean and some of the other Raaka males sitting at their normal tables. Jake was with them and gave her a nod when she looked their way. She was taken aback, but gave him a smile in return, not expecting any acknowledgment from him. He kept to himself and didn’t engage in conversation, giving off that brutish leave him alone vibe.

  Kat felt more at home in the club since she’d visited a few times and realized she visited Inferno so much that the waitresses said, “Hi Kat,” when they saw her. She never ordered a drink, or food, preferring to sit and read so they’d bring her a glass of water and leave her alone. But this time, when the glass was set down in front of her, it wasn’t a waitress bringing the water. It was Cara.

  “Mind if I join you?” Cara smiled when Kat looked up and her blue eyes sparkled as bright as a summer sky.

  Kat smiled in return. “Sure.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Your club.” Kat shrugged.

  “I hope you don’t feel the need to act careful around me.”

  “No, not really. I’m not like that.”

  Cara nodded. “So I have noticed. You’re a remarkable woman, Kat.”

  Kat scrunched her nose. “What do you mean?”

  “The way you command attention from men. The way you stood up to Julian and Cameron the other night—I could list a thousand reasons. Mostly from observations,” Cara said.

  Kat nodded, “Ah. Well I don’t like the way people—men, excuse me, seem to think they can tell me what to do. Julian thinks he needs to treat me like a child and that infuriates me. He’s a crotchety old man sometimes, who is set in his ways, and it grates on my last damn nerve. He can’t tell me what to do.” She leaned back, frustrated, glancing up at the mirror in the back of the club, near the top.

  Cara glanced behind her to where Kat looked. “Yes, so it seems. He does possess extremely old-fashioned views when it comes to men and women. He is merely trying to look out for your best interest.”

  “Well he can shove it. I can look out for myself.”

  Cara couldn’t help defending the man she had known for so long and was paired with. “You mean in the way you did which ended up with Vincent imprisoning you?”

  “I was an idiot. You don’t have to beat around the bush, Cara. I made a mistake that almost got me killed, but I survived. I am alive. I know what your kind is like and capable of—I’ve seen it, but I am alive. Not because of anyone else but me. I survived. I’m not afraid of being around your kind despite having been hurt by them.”

  “You still play with fire, Kat. You still put yourself in situations that could get you killed. I commend you for living through that instead of letting it destroy you. You have grown stronger. However, those men over there—” she looked toward Sean and the others, “—are anything but kittens. They are not the young men they appear to be. They are—we all are—dangerous creatures for humans to live around, to mix with.”

  Kat leaned forward on the table, furious at Cara for telling her to stay away from the Raaka, albeit a little more polite than how Julian usually did. “I would think you wouldn’t mind it so you can get rid of me, Cara. Doesn’t it just irk you that Julian wants me the way he does—even though he can’t be with me, he still wants me? How much of this is because of that?”

  Cara’s eyes darkened. The anger Kat tried to provoke surfaced. “Well done, my dear. Hurt me where I’m hurting you, correct? I understand, and have said my piece. You made quite the impression on me the other night. It was courageous, the way you held your own. I will not bother trying to explain the ramifications of our kind and explain all that comes with. It appears you are as smart as I first thought. You seem to appreciate the situation, so I will say no more. Please, enjoy yourself. You are more than welcome in my club, anytime. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me. Here is a card with my personal number on it should you need something.”

  Kat took the card offered and placed it in her pocket. “Thank you. I enjoy being here. I need a place to run to and where do I choose?” She laughed. “Too funny.”

  Cara smiled and stood up. “You are among friends. I don’t find it unusual you would choose to come here. You’re safe here.”

  Kat opened her journal and resumed writing, but it wasn’t long until someone else sat down. She smiled and closed her book. “Hey, stranger,” she said.

  “Hey yourself,” Cameron replied, smiling. “What are you up to? Writing down everyone’s secrets?”

  Kat laughed. “You caught me. So far it’s filled with a lot of dirty things certain men are thinking about,” she told him, glancing over at Sean and the others.

  Cameron glanced over too. “You’ll soon need another book.”

  “I think so. So what are you up to tonight?”

  “What do you think? Plundering villages; raping and killing you humans, the usual.”

  Kat shook her head, laughing. “Geez. I shouldn’t be around you. You’re bad. And are you getting sidetracked petting all the cute little kittens as well?”

  Cameron laughed. “Yes. You caught me. I’m a sucker for them. You look beautiful tonight, Kat.”

  “Don’t I always? Too beautiful for my own good sometimes. Gets me in trouble. Or, rather, I’m trouble I hear.”

  Unable to resist, Cameron reached forward and stroked her cheek, telling her, “Now see, this I rather like. You relaxed. I should quit before I say something to piss you off. Or go while I’m in the clear.”

&n
bsp; Kat took his hand in hers and played along the lines of his palm with her fingers, “Or you could stay and keep making me smile. If you stay, I’ll promise to let go any stupidity as just that and not get angry. How about that?”

  Cameron grinned. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing the back. Kat bit her lip. “For you, I shall stay. Can’t deny a ladies request, now can I? What sort of gentleman would I be?”

  Kat couldn’t stop imagining how much less of a gentleman she wouldn’t mind him being right then, but she knew someone would come from the back and a fight would start. Her cheeks reddened from the heat Cameron ignited. That and because she couldn’t stop watching his mouth while he talked.

  “You know you shouldn’t be watching that. Trust her Julian.” Cara whispered, watching Julian’s jaw clench. He stood in front of the mirror, watching Kat flirting with Cameron. It took all the strength he possessed not to react to Cameron touching her. His rage grew with every passing second, until Cara’s soft voice brought him out of it.

  He turned to look at her standing in the doorway. He was in her personal room in the back of the club that took up the entire top floor. “She shouldn’t be talking to him. He’s going to hurt her. Doesn’t she have any idea what he’s trying to do?”

  Cara smiled at the way Kat brought out Julian’s jealousy. “What would you have her do, Julian? She is an intelligent woman. You cannot deny her and then think she will never be around another man. Would you rather imprison her simply to keep others away?”

  “I tried to protect her. I still am. He is everything I am trying to protect her from. How can she be so at ease with him—”Julian lost his thought and quieted for a moment, lost in what Kat and Cameron were doing. His anguish showed when he told Cara, “She’s laughing with him.”