“What am I?” she asked through trembling lips.
“Exquisite,” Zander murmured.
Rena wasn’t sure if he leaned down or she reached up, but when his mouth crashed over hers, everything was blotted out other than the feel of him. A strangled groan of lust rumbled in his throat as he pressed her harder against the wall as he devoured her. Rena arched her back, her breasts melding deliciously against the hard planes of his torso as his tongue swept along hers.
Heat flared between her legs, and the dull, aching throb swelled when Zander pressed the firm plane of his thigh against the heat of her sex. Rena slowed the kiss and rotated her hips, riding his leg in time with each deep, sweeping pass of his tongue. Desire coiled deep in her belly, and she reveled in the decadent swell of lust, floating in the sensation, wanting and needing to get swept away by it.
She didn’t want to think anymore, to dwell on questions or Amoveo or betrayals. All she wanted to do was drown in the erotic feel and taste of him.
Zander kept her hands pinned high above her head and trailed his lips down her throat. Rena gasped when he tilted his hips, putting more pressure on her most sensitive spot, which sent wicked licks of need flickering beneath her skin. But she wanted more. Rena wanted to lose herself in the feel of him, to run her lips and hands over his body, giving him the same pleasure he was giving her.
“Wait.” She curled her fingers around his, and her lips grazed his ear as he nuzzled her neck. “I want to touch you, Zander.”
Her body was tight and primed, ready for more, but on a dime, everything changed.
Zander cursed quietly, his hot breath fanning over the flesh of her throat as his entire body stilled against hers. He lifted his head slowly, and when those shimmering crimson eyes bored into hers before flickering back to their human state, Rena’s stomach roiled. She had expected to see lust or need, but instead, all she saw stamped into his features was regret. Confusion, abrupt and heart-wrenching, washed over her as Zander slowly released her hands and stepped away. His cold expression and sudden change of demeanor stole the breath from her lungs.
As the space between them increased, her heart sank and her body cooled with sickening speed. Rena dropped her arms and folded them over her chest, feeling self-conscious and exposed. She pushed her body harder against the wall, wanting nothing more than to disappear. The pitying look in his eyes was like a kick in the gut.
“I’m sorry.”
His voice was as gruff and coarse as the change in direction.
“Don’t apologize,” she said in a voice that sounded stronger than she felt. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”
“All of it,” he ground out. The line between his eyes deepened, and grief edged his words. “Everything. Don’t you see? Vic—Vito chose you because of her. Because of Arianna. This is all fucked up because of her. He used you, Rena.”
“Right.” Her voice trembled. “Well, I guess he’s not the only one. Is he?”
Rena’s heart sank as the truth set in. The heated, primal look in Zander’s eyes and the intimacy of his touch hadn’t been meant for her at all. Every time this guy looked at Rena, and especially when he had kissed her, he was seeing his dead girlfriend.
Rena tilted her chin defiantly and arched one eyebrow, stuffing the pain and regret deep down under the surface. She was good at that. Rena was an expert at acting like she didn’t give a shit about anything or anyone.
“What’s your point?”
“You aren’t her,” he murmured.
“No, I’m not, Mr. Lorens. Which is something you would do well to remember. I’m not some lame, reincarnated version of your girlfriend, okay?” Rena dropped her arms to her sides and her hands curled into fists, but it didn’t stop her body from shaking. Adrenaline pumped through her veins at a furious pace as she struggled to make sense of her increasingly insane world.
“Agreed.” He gave her a curt nod, his breathing heavy. “However, there is one way you are alike.”
“Oh yeah. How’s that?”
“You aren’t for me.”
Rena blanched but held her ground. She didn’t think a physical blow would have hurt half as much as the force of his words had. It wasn’t the first time she’d been wounded by what someone said, but somehow, the sting seemed far greater. She could have blamed it on her enhanced Amoveo senses, but deep down, Rena knew that would be a lie.
There was nothing supernatural about getting your feelings stomped on. Suffering a broken heart was part of the human experience.
“Well, thanks for the tip.” She settled her hands on her hips. “And one more thing: I may not know every tidbit about Vito’s past, but I do know that he loved his daughter. But she is dead. He knows it too, even if he gets confused sometimes. Which, by the way, isn’t his fault. You know what else, Zander? I am here. Living and breathing and taking care of him. His daughter is dead and buried. Arianna died a long time ago.”
“I know.” Zander strode to the door and yanked it open. He stood in the doorway in silence for what felt like forever. Before he stepped out into the night, he murmured over his shoulder, “I’m the one who killed her.”
* * *
The all-consuming desire to shift into his dragon hadn’t been this strong in centuries, and the futility of it was maddening. Zander stormed along the sidewalk, the motel room doors a blur in his peripheral vision. Every inch of his body was taut with anger, shame, and frustration. His hands were clenched in tight fists, and he kept his furious burning gaze on the dark silhouette of the mountain in the distance.
He had to get out of that room and away from Rena.
If he had stayed in there one more second, there would have been no stopping him from repeating his sins of the past. The woman had no idea who she had been dealing with when it came to Vito. The son of a bitch didn’t give a shit about her or her well-being. He was only using her to replace the daughter he had lost.
The old bastard didn’t deserve her love or tenderness.
Then again, neither did Zander, but that hadn’t stopped him from wanting her. Damn the universe and the fates for their twisted plans, and damn him for being a fool for allowing himself to feel anything for her.
A group of leather-clad bikers, rowdy and most likely high on something, came stumbling out of the diner, but he kept moving. If he paused, even for a moment, he would find a reason to release his rage on them, and that wouldn’t end well for anyone.
He needed space for his mind and his body.
Zander slipped past the building and broke into a jog. He pumped his arms faster. His boots hitting the dirt rang through the moonlit night, the only sound in the deserted field. Like much of the scenery in this part of Utah, dusty fields dotted with brush and cactus stretched for miles.
He closed his eyes, his breath coming quickly, wishing now more than ever he could shift into his dragon and take to the sky. An image of his brother, Zed, in his dragon form flickered through Zander’s mind, and with it came a wave of regret. The one thing he longed for was all that his brother had, and he was being tormented by it.
Slowing his pace, Zander finally came to a stop. Self-pity wouldn’t free Zed or him, and it definitely wouldn’t do anything to help Rena. He had to keep the ultimate goal in mind—breaking the curse and freeing Zed. Getting distracted by Vito or his own misplaced attraction to Rena would achieve nothing. Vito obviously wasn’t going anywhere, and Zander could deal with him after Zed was freed.
And being focused on his goal did not mean screwing around with his brother’s intended mate. No matter how beautiful or maddeningly stubborn she was. He rolled his shoulders, attempting to rid himself of the need to crawl out of his skin. If only he could fly. That had always been one remedy that never failed him, but, of course, it was also the one he had learned to do without.
Breathing heavily, with sweat covering his skin, he turned his face to
the starry, moonlit sky and stretched his arms wide. He squeezed his eyes shut and fought to recall what it had felt like to shift into his dragon. To break free of his far smaller and weaker human body and embrace the power of his clan. A smile curved his lips, and he reached wider still.
If he united Zed and Rena and the curse was lifted, then he would no longer have to rely on memories of days long ago. His eyes tingled and shifted as the ghostly reminder flickered over his skin. Like a kiss from a long-forgotten lover, it whispered through him with haunting clarity.
If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost feel the heat of the beast as it fought to break free. Images of Rena, her fiery-amber eyes flashing with gritty determination, whisked into his head, and with them came a searing flash of pain down his left thigh. The sudden onset of agony took him by surprise and sent him to one knee. Gasping for air, his left quad throbbed as the burning sensation seared deeper. Zander’s right knee dug into the bits of rock in the dirt, and he pressed his left hand over his thigh, as though it might ease the sting.
He had many scars on his body from various mishaps over the years, but they rarely gave him pain. The one that marred his left thigh was a bullet wound from a run-in with a pissed-off card player outside a saloon in what is now called New Mexico. The bullet wound was alongside a six-inch gash from a motorcycle accident back in the fifties, but like his numerous other scars, it had never bothered him.
Until now.
“What the hell?” he whispered through hitching breath.
The light of the moon, along with his newly returned clan vision, allowed him to see his jean-clad leg clearly, and he smiled in spite of the pain. His night vision, a gift he hadn’t used in centuries, was sharper than ever. Zander let out a slow breath and brushed at his jeans with his fingers, but there was nothing except dust.
There was still one gift other than his dragon he desperately missed.
Communicating with the earth.
Zander closed his eyes as he lay both hands on the dusty, rocky ground. He sharpened his focus but, as he suspected, was met only with darkness and silence, as he had been since the spell had been cast. No images came. Even with five centuries behind him, Zander could recall the rush of power that surged when he could channel the knowledge of the earth. It was how his people could see all that they had missed when emerging from a long hibernation.
“Still nothing,” he whispered into the darkness.
He sighed and rose to his feet, but before he could wallow in self-pity, something completely unexpected occurred.
Out of nowhere, Rena’s voice whisked around him in the night and into his mind. No more lies. I want the truth.
Every single muscle clenched, and his breath caught in his throat. Zander shook his head, believing he must have been imagining it. No one had spoken with him telepathically since the day he had been cursed.
He looked around, turning slowly, scanning every single inch in his vicinity. Though he could see every detail, each blade of grass and the edge of every crag and rock, there was no sign of Rena. Other than a few creatures scurrying along the brush, Zander was alone.
He swallowed hard as his heart rate picked up and his mind raced. Then he heard her again. Rena’s voice, soft and gentle, whispered into his mind like a caress and soothed his tortured soul like a balm on a wound.
You can’t hide from me.
Desire flared brightly as her mind touched his with the most intimate form of communication. Eyes blazing, Zander spun around, and a growl rumbled in his chest as he took off toward the motel. His worst fear was being realized in the form of exquisite torture.
The universe had definitely screwed it up again.
Chapter 9
Rena stared at the closed door of the motel room for a good five minutes while trying to process what Zander had said before storming out. He had killed Arianna? That made no sense. He loved her, and while Zander might be stubborn, he wasn’t a murderer. He was a good man, if not a tortured one, but at least now she knew why he was all messed up.
Sort of.
Arianna had done one hell of a number on Zander and his brother. Not only that, but whatever she did or however she had behaved had gotten her killed, and that had been torturing Vito and Zander.
Nibbling her thumbnail, Rena paced the room a couple of times, debating whether or not she should go after him, before flopping back onto the bed with a huff. In the process, she knocked Zander’s leather jacket onto the floor. With a groan, she pushed herself up and leaned over the edge of the bed before grabbing his jacket and tossing it over to the chair in the corner. As the coat hit the arm of the chair, the spirit stone came tumbling out and onto the busy red, white, and blue carpet.
It rolled to a stop in front of Rena’s boot-clad feet. She bit her lower lip and stared at the stone for a second. If she wanted to get some answers, that damn piece of lumpy quartz would give them up sooner than Zander would.
No more lies, she thought. I want the truth.
Rena dropped to her knees beside the stone and rubbed her sweaty palms over her jeans. Letting out a slow, steadying breath, she reached out with shaking fingers and hovered her right hand above the stone. Last time she’d touched this thing, she had been taken by surprise, but now that she knew what to expect, Rena hoped she’d be able to control the slide into Zander’s unusually powerful memories.
“Here we go,” she whispered.
You can’t hide from me.
Rena closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, keeping it slow and steady and in time with the beat of her heart. With her mind and body focused, she lowered her hand and curled her fingers around the cool, bumpy stone. A current of electricity shimmied up her arm and slithered beneath her flesh, like an eel sliding through the water, but Rena remained calm as the world around her shifted from solid to ethereal.
She floated in spiritual limbo as the foggy darkness enveloped her, but this time there was no pain. The throbbing in her chest, which usually accompanied the transition, was gone and replaced by a tingling of static electricity. Tied to neither her body nor the earthly plane, Rena focused on the stone and the spirit streams that were embedded in it to guide her.
Zander’s was clear and familiar, strong and steady.
There was another one there as well. Though similar, it was frenetic and muddled. A riot of confusion.
That one had to belong to Zed, so similar to Zander’s and yet different at the same time. Almost like two sides of a coin. Back to back. Bound but separate.
As the fog lifted and the world came into view, Rena recognized the now-familiar scenario of brother against brother. She stood behind the tree and winced as Zed’s enormous body crashed into Zander’s. The identical dragons slammed into the tree line along the clearing, sending branches and debris flying through the air.
With the battle raging on, Rena scanned the forest for Arianna. It only took a minute to find her. She was in her fox form and sitting by the base of a tree, watching the entire battle like she was sitting ringside at some medieval ultimate fighting match.
Rena was about to try and make her way around and get closer to Arianna when a huge stream of fire shot across the clearing. She shrieked and ducked behind a tree for cover as Zander’s voice thundered through her mind.
Stop, Zed!
Zander and Zed faced off, their wings spread wide as they shifted their weight from side to side. The moonlight glinted off their hides in flashes of iridescent red and gold as their muscular bodies moved, each carefully eyeing the other. Rena’s gaze flicked over the flattened patches of trees, and the sight of them made her heart race. She’d never seen such destruction before. No wonder these creatures hadn’t survived. There would be no way for them to exist in the modern world.
How could they?
Rena swallowed hard and focused on the spirit streams of the brothers, instead of the immense
power they possessed. Their strength and size fascinated and terrified her, as did their potential for absolute destruction. Zander and Zed breathed deeply, and their bodies heaved with effort. Neither was letting down their guard, but Zander was the first to break the silence. He shook his enormous head and snorted loudly, which sent puffs of smoke into the night.
I came to tell her good-bye!
Then, in a blinding eruption of fire and smoke, Zander shifted from dragon to man before Rena’s eyes. The transformation was swift and effortless. He looked much like he did today except for the old-fashioned clothing. Like Arianna, he was dressed in an outfit from another time.
Rena bit her lower lip and glanced from man to beast.
“Arianna is not my mate, Brother.” Zander took a step toward Zed but stopped when the dragon growled. “We cannot fight fate, and I will die before continuing this battle with you.”
Fire flickered brightly as it licked up the tree beside Rena, the remnant of their fight lighting up the night with a macabre orange glow. She held her breath and clutched the tree trunk, the heat of the neighboring flames washing over her flesh almost to the point of pain. The tension in the air was thick with fury, and for a split second, Rena thought Zed was going to roast Zander like a marshmallow.
But he didn’t.
Zed spread his wings wide, and in a flash of flickering fire and smoke, he vanished, and when the cloud dissipated, the dragon was gone, and a man stood in his place.
Holy crap. They’re identical twins.
Zed looked exactly like Zander but was dressed in an outfit that she had only seen men wear in the movies. A light-colored, long-sleeved shirt was belted at the waist, and his brown pants were tucked into well-worn knee-high boots. He had the same tall, broad-shouldered, manly build, and his eyes glowed red, like Zander’s. The only difference, other than his energy signature, was his hair, which was far shorter.
Physically, Zed and Zander were identical, but that was where the similarities ended, at least as far as Rena was concerned. Zed’s face was carved in a mask of contempt and anger, and his energy pattern was as tumultuous as ever.
Undiscovered Page 13
