by Nora Ash
I stubbornly maintained my grip on it. “What. Do. You. Want?”
Without warning, the air around The Shade erupted into a dark burst, and when I blinked to clear my eyes, he was standing right in front of me, his imposing body taking up way too much of my personal space. His blue eyes were heated as he grasped my chin and wrapped the other arm around my waist.
“I find it very endearing when you try to boss me around.”
I swallowed thickly, finding it hard to breathe with his hands on me, even though the soft leather covering his fingers kept my skin from sparking at his touch. With the fire in his eyes and the purring huskiness of his deep voice, it was impossible not to remember the intimate details of our previous encounter. My heart pounded, and when his gaze dipped to my lips, my tongue flicked out to moisten them on its own. Oh, God. Why did this man have so much control over my body?
The Shade made a sound deep in his throat that resembled a mix between a growl and a groan. “Just the scent of you has me ready to fuck.”
His crudeness made my brain snap back to reality just in time for me to realize what the hardness pressing against my stomach was.
No. No, I couldn’t give in again.
Panic, despite the pang of longing between my thighs, made me fumble and drop the knife with a clatter on the floor, nicking my index finger on its way down. I cursed and pressed my uninjured hand against The Shade’s chest, leaning away from his smoldering gaze.
“Don’t!”
His decadent mouth pursed, and I was sure he was arching an eyebrow at me underneath his mask. “Don’t what? Fuck you?”
“Y-yes.” A blush heated my cheeks. Hearing it said back to me made me realize how ridiculous the request was. He was The Shade. Rape was probably an everyday pastime for him. Yet even as I thought it, something in the back of my mind protested wildly at the idea of the man who had claimed and saved me forcing himself on me. Undoubtedly the same idiotic something that felt inexplicably safe wrapped in the villain’s arms.
His leather-clad finger touched my chin in a light caress, letting the tip brush over my bottom lip. I shivered involuntarily in response.
“As much as I would love to remind you exactly how much you enjoy it when I fuck you, that’s not what I’m here for, kitten.”
“Then why are you here?” To my chagrin, it sounded a lot breathier than I’d intended, and I was painfully aware of the sweet throbbing down low.
“I wanted to remind you that, when I told you not to do any reporter snooping without my explicit permission, I meant it.”
My eyes widened, and I had to bite my cheek to stifle a gasp. How could he possible know…? I had taken every precaution to ensure I wasn’t followed when I went to visit Aaron.
“I haven’t done any snooping,” I lied, trying to channel my most trustworthy facial expression. “Honest. I was just out for some coffee.”
The Shade snorted, and something other than heat glowed in his supernatural eyes. “I don’t recommend lying to me again, Kathryn. It’s not gonna end well.”
I gaped up at him, the odd comfort of being locked in his embrace waning. As much as my body reacted to his presence, my brain was still all too aware of the threat his bulky mass presented.
“Let’s try this without you testing my patience, shall we?” he asked, bringing his thumb up so my chin was caught in his grasp. His hold was still gentle, but there was enough firmness to make me rethink pulling away. “What were you doing tonight?”
As much as I didn’t want to tell The Shade I’d gone against his command—and especially not say anything that would put poor Aaron on his radar—I also had no desire to test the limits of his patience.
“I followed a lead.” I jutted out my chin in defiance when his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“And my order of not doing exactly that?” His voice was laced with false sweetness. It only fueled my own frustration.
“Look, I’m not about to sit back and pretend like I’m not in serious trouble here,” I said, finally pulling my chin out of his grasp. “I’m clearly a target, so waiting around for them to strike again is not an option.”
“So you thought disobeying me was the safer choice?” His eyes flashed dangerously, the saccharine gone from his deep voice. “I told you I would protect you—blindly following whatever leads you think you find makes that very hard. When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it. Got it?”
I frowned. “Why do you care if I’m safe or not?”
Annoyance filtered across his expression, and it dawned on me that he was most definitely not used to being questioned. “You’re mine. I protect what’s mine. Do I need to remind you?”
I gasped when he let his fingertips dance over the back of my neck, and the place where he’d bitten me flared with a tingling sensation that made me moan and my nipples pebble. Oh, God! That felt way too good—not at all like the subtle pulsing I’d gotten used to.
When he eased the pressure and my haze of lust cleared, I glared at him. “That’s so not cool.”
His lips parted in a grin. “You’re the first human I’ve met who’s brave enough to give me this much attitude. I like it.”
Brave… stupid. It was a blurry line. But I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted The Shade’s appreciation—even if the mutinous part of me felt an exhilarated rush. It was probably related to the damn mark on my neck. In either case, it needed to be thoroughly ignored.
“So, are you just here to check up on me?” I asked, trying to get The Shade’s attention far away from the mark he’d left on me and what he could do with it.
“Yes. And it seems it was warranted. I need the name and address of whoever you visited.”
I hesitated. “I… I can’t give you that.” He narrowed his eyes at my refusal, and I hastily continued. “I promised my source he wouldn’t get dragged into this, and no offense but… if I give you his details, my word is worth nothing. And I realize you don’t care about that, but I really do and… and you’d have to force it out of me!”
Granted, the last bit was not the smartest thing to say to a man with The Shade’s reputation, and I winced the second it slipped past my lips.
To my surprise, the big brute snorted.
“Such a feisty little human. You do understand that I could force it out of you with very little effort?”
I swallowed nervously and nodded. “A-are you going to?”
He smirked. “Maybe later. I find the idea of you tied up and fighting my will… stimulating. But tonight, I don’t have that kind of time, so either you volunteer the information, or I will track down the guy myself after I’ve gone about my business. And trust me, kitten—it will be much more unpleasant for him if I have to do the legwork.”
I had a moment’s worth of wondering why he didn’t just use some of his superpowers on me—or inflicted enough pain on me to make me cave—but then I realized that his current strategy was much more efficient. I had no doubt he would hurt Aaron to prove a point if I didn’t comply—and I couldn’t let that happen.
“Okay! Just… promise me you won’t hurt him. He’s not a part of this. You won’t gain anything from killing him.”
The Shade pursed his lips. “That entirely depends on how harmless he really is. You have no way of knowing if he’s an informant. I do. But if he is truly no one, then he won’t ever know I was there. Now—the name, Kathryn. And his address.”
“Aaron Kempf,” I muttered. “17 Freeman Street, Apartment 3B.”
“Good girl.” The Shade teased a finger over my bottom lip again and then released my waist, stepping back. “And what did this Aaron Kempf tell you?”
I drew in a relieved breath. “That his friend, who was looking into the connection between the mayor and Bright, was wiped off the face of the Earth, along with his family and roommates. And that this friend knew the mayor was behind a lot of superhuman crime. He was looking for proof when he disappeared.”
“And he used that exact word? ‘Behind�
�?”
“Well, he wasn’t sure if he was working for them, or they were working for him, but yes. Do you know anything about this? Or about how Bright might be involved?”
To my utter surprise, he actually answered my question.
“Bright is one of our leaders,” he said, shifting his gaze from me to the windows lining my apartment’s outer wall. “A relatively new one, but powerful. Resourceful. And very tricky. As for the mayor… Well, I’ll be looking into that.”
“Wait, so… one of your leaders is openly a villain? How in the world does he get away with that?”
The corner of The Shade’s mouth curved up a little at my outrage. “Heroes and villains… such human conceptions. Our hierarchy is built on strength and cunning, not morals. Some use human weakness as an argument that you should be protected, but really, it’s just an excuse to look after their own interests. Yet you hail them as heroes.”
I frowned. “What possible scheming could there be behind a superhuman saving sick children from that hospital fire last month?” Or me from a robbery. Granted, I’d written about the dangers of giving the supes too much free reign over the city, but even I couldn’t argue that, without superhumans, a lot of people would undoubtedly be dead. Myself included.
“Ah, Wildflower, the gentle soul who went into a burning building to save so many lives out of the kindness of her heart,” The Shade sneered. “And was awarded a handsome fee for her generous spirit. If only she could have saved all the children. She set that fire herself, you know. Most likely to kill the kid who survived that high-profile home invasion in July. You remember the one—too traumatized to speak, but kept drawing pictures of masked men and women? He was in that hospital, and he never made it out.”
My jaw dropped in horror. “You’re not serious!”
“Oh, but I am. Good, evil… it’s all just different shades of gray. Sure, some supes actually have a bit of a soft spot for humans, but there’s always an angle. Some just play heroes to ensure you don’t start trying to hunt us down and eradicate us in earnest. As long as you think some of us live to protect you, you remain complacent. And we all prosper.”
“But you are so much stronger than us!” I protested, still trying to wrap my mind around the less than pretty picture he was painting. “Surely, you don’t need deception to get what you want.”
“There are far, far more humans than there are supes. If it came to all out war, you would win. So, we stay in the shadows.”
Well, at least that was something. I wrapped my arms around myself. “And you? What’s your angle? Why do you insist on protecting me?”
The Shade turned his gaze back on me, and before I managed to still my heart’s uneasy flutter, both his thick arms were wrapped around me, pulling me tight against his body.
I gasped. It wasn’t often I felt delicate and feminine, what with my sturdy figure, but in The Shade’s strong embrace it was impossible not to—he was just so big, oozing masculinity from every pore. Even my ugly footie pajamas and rain-squashed hair didn’t make me feel any less like a fragile little thing in need of his protection.
I flushed at my errant thoughts and desperately tried to focus on the scary aspect of being in the dangerous supe’s arms. The heated stare he was leveling at me from his superior height didn’t exactly help things.
“I find the thought of your death unpleasant,” he said, his voice low and husky. “That is why I protect you. How can I feel your tight little pussy milk my cock again if some idiotic human kills you while I am preoccupied elsewhere?”
I sputtered at the deadpan answer, but my body seemed to appreciate his candidness. A strong surge of arousal made my abdomen pulse.
When he bent his head and let his lips brush over mine, I parted them without resistance.
He growled, the rich sound making moisture seep between my thighs and my heartbeat quicken. Then his tongue flickered in between my lips, and a groan slipped out of my own throat in response. Delicious heat overwhelmed my senses along with the dark, musky taste of him and the feel of his tongue caressing mine. My knees gave way, but he caught me easily.
At that moment, there was only him and me, only the desire thrumming through my body and the feel of the man it longed for holding and caressing me. It didn’t matter who he was, it didn’t matter that everyone called him evil. He was everything I needed, and in his arms I felt safe. Home.
The blissful insanity lasted until he pulled away from the kiss.
I blinked up at him, still open-mouthed. My lips felt swollen, and I could sense an impressive blush spread from my chest up to my cheeks. What was it with this man? How did his touch keep making me ignore all the horrors I knew about him?
“I have to go.” The Shade let one of his hands stroke across my cheek before he stepped back, slowly melting into the shadows. “The next time you see me, we will finish this. I promise.”
Three
Clearly, I was a depraved slut. The only thing that had stopped this trait from developing sooner was probably just the lack of sexy men crawling through my kitchen window before now.
When I climbed out of bed the morning after The Shade’s visit, I pointedly refused to look at the vibrator I’d tossed on the bed in exhaustion during the night. Shortly after his departure I’d given in to the insistent throbbing between my legs and allowed the vivid memories of his—and at a particularly low point—Lightning’s hands and bodies wrapped around mine. The result was much like the moral hangover I’d woken up with during my college years after my first encounter with tequila. I felt dirty and ashamed, and even a long shower didn’t do much to alleviate my guilt.
But really, what was a girl to do? Questionable morals aside, both men were beyond sexy, bordering on godly in their overwhelming masculinity, and the way I’d felt in The Shade’s arms last night….
Not to mention the sex. Oh, my Lord, the sex.
Before The Shade had swept out of the darkness to save me, I hadn’t truly known what sex was. Sure, I’d slept with a couple of men over the years, but no one had ever made me feel so completely in lust, and certainly no one had ever filled me so thoroughly, taken me so completely.
It was really not that odd, from an objective point of view, that my ovaries flipped out at the mere thought of the powerful males who had claimed me as theirs. And what was I meant to do—tell The Shade no?
I snorted at that impossible idea while I wrapped my hair in a towel and pulled on a bathrobe, trying to forget how my body had begged for everything he did in that alley. And how he had never forced me. It was so freaking impossible to align everything I thought I’d known about the monster we called The Shade with the man who made my blood sing. As for Lightning… I didn’t even know how to start processing his half-claim, nor did I know how he would react to The Shade’s mark. If I ever saw him again, of course.
One thing was certain—if either of them planned on returning, I somehow needed to ensure that they explained exactly what their expectations were. They had both called me theirs, and I was starting to catch on to the idea that it wasn’t just an empty phrase. At least not for The Shade.
A delicate shiver traveled down my spine at the memory of his husky promise to return and finish “this.” After the heated kiss we’d shared, I had a pretty good feeling of what “this” was. Maybe swinging by my doctor to talk about birth control wouldn’t be the worst idea, since I didn’t fancy taking another morning-after pill the next time The Shade decided to stop by.
I frowned, fiddling with my fluffy bath robe. Birth control. It seemed like such concerns should belong to a new relationship, not… whatever the heck this was, but I somehow doubted The Shade would be open to the concept of condoms. If they even came in his size. Christ.
I’d just decided to make an appointment with my doctor that same morning when the sound of my letterbox made me jump.
It was several hours too early for it to have been the mailman, and my heart pounded unevenly as I began to imagine all sorts of
unpleasant scenarios. For a moment I wished I had some way of contacting The Shade, but quickly pushed that unwelcome thought away. Even if my ovaries didn’t care about who he was, I wasn’t about to let myself believe I could truly count on him to keep me safe. No, I had to rely on myself, and to the extent that it didn’t risk her life, Trish.
I crept closer to my front door, prepared for the worst. But instead of a small bomb or conspicuous-looking powder, I only found a white envelope made from expensive-looking paper on the floor. My name was handwritten on it in sweeping, inky letters, but there was no address underneath it. Clearly, it’d been hand delivered.
I picked it up and let my fingers run over the thick paper. Only when I flipped it over did I notice the city’s emblem in the form of a wax seal, and my heart sped up again. It came from the mayor’s office.
Four
Dear Ms. Kathryn Smith, author of “The Dark City”:
* * *
The Honorable Chris Wilkins, mayor of St. Anthony, requests your presence at the annual Autumn Ball on Thursday, the 21st of September at the Wisenger-Randham building, 253 23rd St.
Please bring this invitation and the enclosed press badge to show at the door upon arrival.
* * *
Yours Sincerely,
* * *
Ruth Portland
Press Secretary
Mayor’s office
* * *
My heart thumped hard behind my ribs as my brain tried to frantically work out why in the world the mayor would invite me, of all people. Most likely, he was the man behind my attempted kidnapping and torture, and I couldn’t think of a single, pleasant reason for him to invite me to the ball of the year. And, in the unlikely case that he wasn’t behind my very bad night, why would he invite me? I was no one.
