Resisting Darkness

by Kate Wendley

  Harmony looked away this time, hurt in her eyes. He hugged her closer and whispered, “You don’t have to answer that.”

  She quietly chuckled. “I’m the one who wanted to talk, remember?”

  He reluctantly smiled.

  She said, “I’ve never met anyone I felt was right to settle down with, maybe because I’ve always had this urge to keep moving on, to keep meeting new people, to keep searching for something… or someone.”

  Ethan stilled, possessiveness filling him. His voice was snappier than he meant it to be when he asked, “And now? Will you be moving on again soon?”

  She startled and he regretted his question.

  When she answered him, her quiet voice scared him. “Do you want the truth?”

  No. “Yes.” Terror built in his gut. He couldn’t lose her, not when he’d only just found her, but he couldn’t force her to stay if she didn’t want to.

  “Except for feeding from shifters every night, I feel calmer here than anywhere else I’ve been. I like Atlanta.”

  His tension drained thankfully away.

  She just as quietly said, “And I like you.”

  He took a shaky breath and hugged her. He held her against himself as if her closeness could chase away all his confusion, guilt, anger… and years of depression. Strangely, it did, at least for the moment.

  “I’m not myself lately, in many ways, but with you I’m more myself than I’ve been in years. If you’d said you wanted to leave, I’m not sure I would’ve let you.”

  She abruptly laughed and he pulled back and smiled at her, then cautiously kissed her. Her desirous moan as she pulled him closer made him lose all self control, and their embrace quickly turned frantically passionate as they fought with the need to just feel each other.

  It’d been so long since he’d been with a vampire, too long without this feeling of rightness deep in his bones. Harmony’s voluptuous body, tantalizing scent of arousal, and her suddenly uncontrolled magic threatened to overwhelm his senses. He hungrily tasted her sweet lips while he fought with himself over where he wanted to touch her the most. She surprised him by taking charge and pressing him to the ground, and then straddled him. Her sureness turned him on like crazy as she rocked her womanly hips against his almost painfully hard erection. His hands shook he needed her so bad. He needed this feeling… vampire woman.

  He quickly flipped them over so he was on top while everything pulsed wickedly between them… the night, their magic, their bodies… He had to get closer. He needed more…

  He eyed her neck. He needed a taste of her. “I want you, my butterfly. I need you.” He was about to remind her not to bite him because he never let shifters bite him, then froze. What was he doing? Harmony wasn’t a shifter plaything, she was vampire. He desperately didn’t want to cheat on Sonya, but looking into Harmony’s hooded eyes, he knew Sonya was dead. Still, why did his heart ache like it was only yesterday that they were last together?

  He took a panicked breath and pulled back. “I can’t do this. Not yet.”

  He didn’t miss the quickly covered disappointment on Harmony’s face. After a time, when they’d both calmed back down, he put his hand out to help her sit up, but he couldn’t look her in the eye.

  He melted when she put her hand to his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

  Her concern, instead of rightly deserved anger, nearly made his barely held in check emotions erupt in a torrent of tears. “I want you Harmony, I desperately do. You’re a wonderful woman, but I’m struggling.”

  He looked deep into her smoky eyes and forced himself to say what he’d been denying and only recently realized about himself. “I don’t think I ever completely dealt with Sonya’s death and it bothers me. A lot. Since I met you, actually. You make me want to deal with it so I can live a normal life again.”

  She quietly watched him for a time and he wondered if she thought he was a lost cause.

  Her words caught him off guard when she finally spoke. “I’m here for you Ethan. We’ll get through this together.”

  Relief washed through him as he cautiously asked, “You would want to help me? Why?”

  Her gaze was steady, though her tone was vulnerable. “Because you’re the first man that’s made me want to care about someone other than myself. Ever.”

  **

  After spending more time in each other’s arms, talking and finally just holding each other, Ethan brought Harmony back to Anthony’s and left her there. As she walked away from his car, though, all he could think was that this would be one of the last times she left him for the day. She belonged with him. But as soon as she was out of sight inside the building, he chastised himself for his thoughts. He was waiting to kill a man. Did he really think she’d want to be with him after that?

  Maybe. After all, he didn’t know her all that well yet.

  He scoffed as he drove away and got back on the highway to go home. He knew her well enough. She wasn’t a violent person and didn’t have maniacal thoughts. He didn’t think. No, she was a normal woman who was putting up with his on again, off again desire for her.

  He growled to himself when he finally pulled into the parking lot at Wild Woods because all he wanted to do was go back to Anthony’s and take Harmony far away from that place. He had an irrational fear deep in the pit of his gut that she could get hurt there and he was having a hard time shaking it.

  He went inside and was almost to his apartment when he realized George was waiting for him. He curled his lip in frustration, then pushed open the door to see his old Master sitting in his living room with Cory.

  George didn’t look happy to see him, though it was always hard to get too worried about George’s moods. He looked too much like a happy grandfather with his round belly and Santa Claus face, complete with a neatly trimmed white beard.

  “So, I have to stalk you in your own home in order to get you to talk to me, huh? Why won’t you answer my calls?”

  Ethan put his keys in the dish on the counter and stripped out of his jacket. “I’ve been busy.”

  George was in front of him in a flash. He sniffed the air and his face went even redder than it had been. “Busy. Yes, I can tell.”

  Ethan forcibly walked past him.

  “Do you think this is a joke, son? You’re supposed to be trying to beckon home Sonya’s killer, not making out with another harlot.”

  Ethan spun angrily on him. “Watch your tongue. She’s not a harlot.”

  George glared. “Oh, this one’s not, but all the others have been?”

  Ethan’s temper rose. In an icy tone he slowly said, “I told you, watch your tongue.”

  George wisely changed tactics with him. “I don’t like it, Ethan. We have plans to make. You shouldn’t be wasting time like this.”

  Ethan huffed and turned back to the living room, dropping onto the sofa in exasperation.

  George gestured for Cory to get out, then sat across from Ethan and quietly said, “What are you doing? This woman is not what you should be focusing on right now and you know it.”

  His gaze wandered to Sonya’s memorial painting above the TV. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m the one who’s had to live with this all these years, not you.”

  “And whose fault is that? If you would’ve told me sooner−”

  Ethan looked sharply at George. “When I told you makes no difference. I still wouldn’t have done something she believed was wrong.”

  He stilled the moment those words were out of his mouth. Had he really changed his mind about what he would do once Isaiah finally returned?

  George clenched his jaw. “And now? Why do you start your evening every night at the club if you’ve changed your mind about killing Sonya’s murderer?”

  He growled in frustration. “I didn’t say I’ve changed my mind. Agh, just leave me be. He’s coming home, all right? I can feel him. I beckon him every night and I feel him coming home. He’s trying to resist me, but he’s coming.”

  George’s eyes we
nt wide. “Then you should be at the club−”

  Ethan snapped, “We have time and you know it. Even if he returns and I’m not there, this is his home. We can always go back for him.”

  George stood and snapped obscenities under his breath, then more loudly said, “Where’s your head, son? This woman is turning you away from your duty, your honor. You should be focusing on our plans so you can avenge Sonya’s death, not be spending your nights in another woman’s arms. How you disgrace my daughter’s good name!”

  Ethan was in George’s face in an instant. “Don’t you dare tell me what would disgrace Sonya. If you’d have disposed of the hunter after the first of our family were killed, I wouldn’t have had to deal with him at all!”

  George roared back, “So that’s it now? This is my fault?”

  “No, this is my fault for doing things to make Sonya happy, as I always did because I loved her. I made a split second decision in anger and grief, a decision I can’t take back now, but a decision that I still think was fit and just. I didn’t kill the man outright because Sonya didn’t believe in killing and I wanted to honor her even in death.”

  His voice rose as he spat out, “It’s not my fault that once I turned him into the thing he supposedly detested most in life that the man was maddening enough to completely change his mind about who and what he hated. He’s obviously an opportunist and a traitor to his kind, whether human or vampire, and that’s on his head, not mine.”

  George snarled but took a step back looking only slightly shamed.

  Ethan snapped less venomously, “We have time, George. The man’s not here yet, but when he comes home, we know where he’ll be. I’ll know.”

  George gruffed one more time, then turned away and gathered his things. “Fine. But bringing this woman into your life right now isn’t a good idea and you know it. And since you can feel your connection to Anthony’s father now, myself and those in the family that are interested in his whereabouts will be waiting for him at the club.” He shot Ethan a scolding look, then turned and left.

  Ethan watched him storm away, then plopped back down again. George was right. This wasn’t the time to socialize and get to know someone new, it was time to make plans for the death of the man he’d been waiting years to kill, and maybe more importantly and more likely, it was time to plan for the distinct possibility of his own death.

  **

  Anthony watched a movie with Kaia in his apartment below the club. Her growling stomach made him chuckle.

  “Are you hungry, my sweet?”

  She looked tiredly at the kitchen behind her. She hadn’t been feeling well for a few days and it seemed to be getting worse.

  He stood up. “What can I get you? I’ll make you something.”

  She looked suspiciously at him. “You’ll make me something?”

  He smiled. “Yes, me. Believe it or not, vampires make excellent cooks. Our sense of smell and photographic memories are assets in the kitchen.”

  She looked surprised, but said, “It’s ok. I’m not sure I can eat anything right now.”

  Anthony cocked an eyebrow and said in as carefully neutral a tone as he could, “You need to eat. Now what would you like? Grilled cheese? You seem to like those.”

  She had a tired, spacey look in her eyes as she watched him.

  “I’m cooking, so you just relax. Would you like anything else? Something to drink?”

  Kaia pulled him close for a kiss. “I love you baby.”

  “I’m yours and you’re mine, and I take care of what is mine.” He held her gaze for a moment, then stood back up. “Now no distractions. You need to eat.” His eyes went wide when her face paled. “Do you feel all right?”

  She tiredly said, “I’ll be fine.”

  He didn’t like how exhausted she seemed. Hopefully she’d feel better with a meal in her stomach, and he was more than happy to make it for her. He’d never had such a close relationship with a woman before and he enjoyed all the little things that came along with it. Like taking care of her when she needed help. This was the first time she’d honestly needed it, though.

  He went to the kitchen and pulled out two slices of bread and buttered them all the way to the edges like she liked it. He smiled to himself that he knew how she liked her food.

  He glanced at her on the sofa, and she was staring into space again. His smile wilted. He hated seeing her sick because it made him feel helpless. He knew in this day and age she’d probably get over this cold or flu or whatever she had. He’d gotten close to so few humans in his life, though, that seeing Kaia sick made him think of his mother and grandparents before they’d died. He’d been so helpless back then, just a boy, and all on his own.

  He looked back at Kaia while the sandwich browned and the cheese in the middle melted. He loved her more than anything in the world and would do anything for her. He realized that now. He’d been jealous of her friendship with Ethan when he first met her, and she took a long time to calm his fears while she kept her past a secret. He’d nearly lost her to his own insecurities before she finally opened up to him. Now he’d do anything to keep her forever.

  But would she do anything for him? Humans got sick sometimes… vampires didn’t. If he asked her to be vampire with him, to stay with him the rest of her life, would she? Did she love him enough for that? He’d been thinking about it more and more lately, ever since Sebastian accidentally bit her and Anthony worried she might turn werewolf.

  He sighed to himself and flipped her sandwich over. Once she got over this illness he vowed he’d talk to her about their life together. He couldn’t imagine a future without her and hoped she felt the same. While she was sick and barely thinking straight didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up, though, so he said nothing for now.

  His father’s return was distracting his thoughts, anyway. He didn’t have quite the same connection to him as he did to Zach and Sebastian, but he still had a distant sense of him.

  His father’s energy felt frantic and anxious, a weary paranoia underneath it all. It was worrisome that he was returning to Atlanta in such a frame of mind. What had happened to make him so panicked? Or worse, what was he bringing back with him that Anthony would have to figure out how to deal with?

  Chapter 11

  Ethan rushed to the club Saturday night, then hurried inside. He opened his senses and found Harmony’s energy in a room near Anthony’s office, and it felt like a shifter was in there with her. He waited anxiously outside the door while she fed, and as soon as she emerged, he took her in his arms and passionately kissed her. From the moment he woke until just now she’d been on his mind, making it impossible to think of anything but her and making sure she was safe. Here in his arms, she finally calmed his frantic heart.

  When he felt sane enough to release her from his embrace, she looked wide eyed at him and said, “It’s nice to see you, too.”

  He let out a shaky breath, unable to think of anything to say to her. He was too overcome with relief that she was all right.

  “Are you ok?”

  “You’re coming home with me tonight. You’re staying with me from now on.”

  She went still at his commanding tone.

  A tremble ran through him before he finally let go of his harsh grip and gave her some breathing room. He took a half step back and caressed her cheek. “Please. I can’t be without you. I need you by my side.”

  She nuzzled into his touch, a smile dancing in her eyes. “Ok.”

  **

  Ethan knew he was being demanding and controlling, and he knew he shouldn’t even be associating with Harmony, not with the fact that he was trying to stay focused on his plans for killing Isaiah once he returned, but he couldn’t stop himself. His recent panic attacks he’d been having every night when he woke now included an intense need to make sure Harmony wasn’t in danger. If he didn’t keep her close, he wasn’t sure how much crazier he might become before Isaiah finally returned.

  He took her by the arm and
led her further into the club, sitting her down in a mostly secluded area so he could have her all to himself and shield her from any possible threats.

  She didn’t resist in the least.

  “Ethan, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

  “Everything?”

  He tried to snap out of his weird mood. This wasn’t like him. He didn’t like being so anxious and paranoid. “Tell me about your travels. You said you move on a lot. I’ve been here the last seventy some odd years. Tell me some gossip about territories you’ve been in.”

  She chuckled. “Gossip?”

  He held her hand as he looked into her dark eyes.

  “Yes, gossip. You said your Master’s name is Samson. Who are some other Masters you’ve come across?”

  “Well, there’s Leif out in Los Angeles. I hear he likes to pick mentally unstable humans for his meals. He digs into their minds and twists their thoughts around until they forget who they used to be and can only think about how best to serve him.”

  Ethan nodded. He’d met Leif before, years and years ago. Leif himself wasn’t exactly mentally stable, but he must be doing something right if he was still alive after all these years.

  Harmony continued, “And of course, Isadora, who has a fanatical crush on Samson. We moved to California just to get away from her. We were in New Hampshire originally, then moved to Pennsylvania, then finally all the way to the West Coast. I hear she still shows up from time to time to try to convince Samson of how much he must miss her.”

  He chuckled. “I’ve heard of Isadora. She came here recently to try to take back one of her vampires that fled her.”

  Harmony’s eyes lit up as she leaned closer. “Really? Samson says she’s always trying to create an army for herself. I’ve heard bits and pieces about her over the years, mostly that other Masters don’t like her turning so many people into vampires. I heard she was given an intervention and that if she didn’t stop creating new ones that another Master would kill her. She supposedly agreed to keep only the ones she’d already turned and not make any more. I suppose she wouldn’t want to lose anyone, then.”