by Lara Adrian
His head swiveled slowly, but there was raw emotion in his stark, midnight blue gaze. “And I love you. More than you can know. More than I should.”
He drew her into his embrace and kissed her again, deeply this time. With a need that drenched her senses and left no doubt that he’d meant every word.
Yet a small, insidious whisper seeped through the bliss, reminding her of the hunger she’d seen on Rune’s face earlier tonight when he’d been caught in the throes of release and his fevered amber eyes had been locked on her throat.
This was a truth he hadn’t shared with her yet. His rejection of her blood. His torment and denial that he wanted that kind of bond with her. With anyone.
It seemed to have taken all of his will to resist, but he had. And for the first time, she’d glimpsed fear in Rune’s eyes.
Fear that he would regret binding himself to her? Or fear that she would one day?
As desperate as she was to have that answer, she couldn’t work up the courage to spoil what they had right now.
She was afraid to know the answer. She, who had never backed down from a challenge in her life. Who had never allowed any obstacle to stand in the way of something she wanted.
But this was too important. Too consequential. Because she knew that if his answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear, she might never recover.
So she kept her doubts to herself, too entranced by the feel of Rune’s hands moving over her soap-slickened body, his kisses making her delirious with desire.
He guided her farther under the spray, his palm skating down the underside of her thigh, toward her knee. He lifted her leg up, settling her foot on the marble bench built into the wall of the large shower.
“Put your arms around my neck, love. Hold on to me.”
She obliged, draping herself against him as he continued his sensual assault on her mouth. She gasped against his tongue an instant later, when his fingers delved into the sensitive cleft of her sex.
“Just for you now,” he murmured against her lips as her hips began a faint rotation with his caress. “That’s it. All for you, baby.”
She moaned as her pleasure raced up on her and sent her reeling. Rune’s mouth took her possessively, kissing her so deeply and passionately she could have come from that alone. Combined with his touch, the ecstasy was electric, overwhelming. He stroked her relentlessly, masterfully, until the need for release was so intense, she couldn’t hold back for another second.
She came on a cry, shattering in his arms. Rune held her with one arm, while his other hand slowly brought her back down to earth with gentling strokes of her blissfully spent flesh.
Then he soaped her all over again, taking his time, even washing her hair. She felt revered, worshipped. Safe, protected. And so deeply loved by this dangerous, powerfully lethal male.
Rune cut off the water and they stepped out of the shower together, kissing some more. He wrapped her in a fluffy towel and helped her dry off, smoothing her wet hair off her face, his amber-flecked gaze lit with tenderness and desire.
He groaned as though weighing a difficult decision. “I want to take you back to bed, but I should get you home. Your family will be concerned.”
“They would’ve been,” she said. “But I called before I left the museum tonight and told them I was going out on a date and they shouldn’t wait up.”
Rune drew back, a sardonic look on his face. “They know you’re with me?”
“Of course.”
He smirked and playfully smacked her bare backside. “In that case, we’d better get dressed before Nathan or your brother comes beating on the penthouse door to rescue you.”
Carys laughed and shook her head. “Things are different at home now. Better since I went back. My father even told me I should bring you around sometime to meet him.”
Rune nearly choked. “He said that?”
“Not his exact words, but the point is, he’s open to it.” Leaning against him, she arched a brow. “I’m not sure which of you is more opposed to the thought of being in the same room together. Does meeting my family sound so awful to you?”
“A male like me, walking into the Order’s command center to meet your parents? Not exactly my idea of a good time.” He exhaled a short breath. “Wouldn’t be your father or brother’s idea of a good time, either.”
“Why don’t you let them be the judge of that?” When he started to dismiss the idea with a chuckle and a shake of his head, she reached up to touch the side of his stubble-shadowed cheek. No teasing or laughter now, but utterly serious. “What if I asked you to? Would you do it for me?”
He didn’t speak for a long moment. His dark eyes studied her. Contemplative, conflicted. “That’s what you want?”
“You’re what I want, Rune. And I need my family to understand that. I want them to see what I see in you.”
That silence fell over him again, and the pensive look in his gaze went distant, almost unreachable. She resisted the urge to bring him back to her, but only barely. She was so prepared to hear his refusal, that when he finally spoke, it took her a moment to register the word.
“When?”
“You mean it?”
“Tell me when,” he said again, his voice gruff. “Before I come to my senses.”
Her heart leapt in her breast. “Let’s go now.”
He barked out a laugh. “In the middle of the night, with your mouth still bruised from my kiss—not to mention other things—and my cock still hungry for more of you?” He shook his head and brought her naked body against his. “I may be undefeated in the cage, love, but I’m not suicidal. Every male in that compound would want a piece of my ass. Hmm, speaking of . . .”
His hands slid down to cup her backside. Heat licked through her veins as he kneaded the muscled rounds and dragged her into a bone-melting kiss.
Carys put her hands on his shoulders and levered herself away from what would be an easy conquest. “Tomorrow night, then. You can come by before you have to open the club. Then we can go to La Notte together, after you meet everyone.”
“Tomorrow night.” He groaned as if regretting the decision already. “I’ll do it. For you. But you’re never going to convince me that this is a good idea.”
She grinned. “Oh, I think I probably can.”
Grasping his strong nape, she pulled him down for a searing kiss. His big body tensed against her, vibrating with the force of their shared desire. He was hard and ready. She was molten and aching to be filled.
“We’re gonna need another shower before I’m finished with you tonight,” he murmured thickly over her parted lips.
Carys smiled as the head of his cock slid between her slick folds. “Oh, yeah. Maybe a couple more.”
CHAPTER 21
There should have been a track worn into the rug in Lucan’s study at the D.C. headquarters, given how many miles the Order’s leader had clocked in his pacing of the room since the news two nights ago from Mathias Rowan. The report of Ivers’s death had been a headache the Order didn’t need. But it had also opened up a whole new set of questions they hadn’t known to ask.
What had Hayden Ivers been hiding?
Had he known the Order was on to him? Had he been tipped off before Mathias’s team descended on his residence the other night? Or had the surprise of their arrival been the trigger that had made him pop his lethal pill?
Had it been slavish loyalty that made him choose death over discovery and capture? Or was it fear that had motivated him to take his own life before the Order had the chance to question him?
A hundred questions and so far, no answers.
Lucan cursed, his thoughts churning as he began another circuit around his desk. “Not a single goddamn file or document in the place,” he grumbled. “Nothing but sanitized hard drives and empty cabinets. What secrets had the bastard been hiding for Crowe and Riordan?”
“Hopefully we’ll have that answer once we figure out what that safe deposit key unlocks,” Gideon said, leanin
g against the millwork wall on the west side of the room.
Also standing in wait with them were Brock and Darion. Gabrielle, Savannah and Jenna occupied the chairs and sofa in the study’s sitting area near the floor-to-ceiling bookcases.
Lucan grunted and glanced to Gideon’s Breedmate, Savannah. “You think your ability can help us determine where the box is located?”
Her dark brown eyes glittered with confidence. “I’ll know the key’s history when I touch it. I’ll see whoever handled it, and where they were when they used it.” She nodded. “Yeah, I can figure out where the key will take us.”
“Good. I’ll tell Mathias to have one of his team hand-carry the bloody thing over from London ASAP.” Lucan rubbed a hand over his tense jaw. “What I’d prefer to do instead is strangle the answers out of Riordan with my bare hands. How soon before you’re comfortable that we can move in on that son of a bitch, Gideon?”
“Not long. I’m trying a new approach with his network protocols. I should know if I’m in or not in a matter of hours. Maybe a day.”
“Too fucking long.” Lucan felt the heat of his anger flash in his eyes. “Now that Ivers is dead, we’ve lost part of our window of surprise. Riordan’s either going to get nervous or he’s going to get bold. Either way, we need to be ready. We need to hit the bastard before he decides his next move. We know he’s Opus, damn it. We have him directly linked to the assassinations in Italy last week.”
“Only on the word of a dead man,” Brock cautioned.
Gideon nodded. “We’ll need more proof than that if we go in and take Riordan out on our own.”
Lucan’s fangs punched out of his gums. “If we need to answer any GNC or JUSTIS inquiries, I’ll present his rotting corpse as evidence.”
Gabrielle gently cleared her throat from across the room. “The GNC is already looking for reasons to remove you from the council, Lucan. The Order needs you there. The GNC needs you there as well, but they’re too blind to see that right now.”
He grumbled, but his mate had a valid point. As much as he despised the bureaucracy of the human/Breed governing bodies and their frequently inept—or corrupt—law enforcement arm, it was crucial to preserve some amount of trust and cooperation between them and the Order. Especially while the Order was covertly dealing with other threats unknown to any but the warrior members seated in the room now as well as in the various command centers around the world.
“Get us what we need to make our move on Riordan,” Lucan said. “I don’t know if my patience has another day left.”
As he finished speaking, a chime sounded in the foyer of the expansive mansion.
Gabrielle’s brows rose. “Was that the doorbell?”
It was. At barely six in the morning. At the Order’s heavily secured world headquarters.
Lucan tapped a monitor on his desk and a visual of the front door filled the screen. “What the fuck?”
A tall, muscular man stood outside, wearing a loose, white linen shirt and faded jeans. Shoulder-length, golden-blond hair shot with copper crowned the face that filled the camera’s eye. Despite his angular cheekbones and squared jaw, his features were fine. Elegant. Not quite human. But since he was standing outside in the full light of morning, the odds of him being Breed—even a daywalker—were slim to none.
Lucan shot a glower in Gideon’s direction. “How the hell did someone get past the gates?”
“Without getting roasted by close to a hundred thousand volts of electricity, even if he tried to jump all eight feet of the perimeter fence?” Gideon shook his head. “Impossible.”
“Then how do you explain him?”
Outside the door, the stranger held his hands behind his back, waiting patiently. Politely, for crissake.
Lucan didn’t possess quite the same set of manners, especially when things were going from bad to worse in his domain at the moment. He jabbed the speaker button on the security system. “You wanna tell me who the bleeding fuck you are, and what you’re doing here?”
The man’s expression barely changed. “I’ve been summoned. My name is Zael.”
~ ~ ~
Carys’s mood was so light, she could hardly feel the floor beneath her feet as she strolled through the Darkhaven that morning. Grabbing an apple from a bowl on the kitchen island, she bit into the juicy red flesh and followed the muffled sounds of Jordana and Nova’s voices coming from outside on the courtyard patio.
The two women turned from their breakfasts to glance her way as she headed out to join them. Carys knew her grin was practically ear-to-ear, but there was no dimming it as she flopped onto the nearest chair in her loose pajama bottoms and camisole tank top.
Jordana’s pale brows lifted. “You look exceptionally happy this morning.”
“I am.” Carys took another bite of the apple, slurping the sweet nectar. “I had an amazing night.”
Jordana smirked. “That goes without saying.”
“I had a date.”
“With Rune?”
“No, with Hector from accounting.” Carys rolled her eyes. “Yes, with Rune. He came to the museum to take me out for dinner.”
“He what?” Jordana gaped. “Rune came to see you at the MFA? To take you out on an actual date?”
“Uh-huh. In front of Andrea and everyone else working late on the exhibit last night.” It was probably going to be the talk of the workplace for the next week or more.
Carys went to take another nonchalant bite of her apple, but Jordana snatched it out of her hands on an exasperated laugh.
“Stop eating, and spill the details, woman!”
“He took me to Ciao Bella—”
“Only the most popular place in town,” Jordana informed Nova, who was also listening raptly. The tattooed Breedmate’s pale blue eyes were lit with interest under the asymmetrical fall of her ebony-and-sapphire hair, her pierced lips curved in a smile. Jordana took a bite of Carys’s apple. “You can’t even get near the door of that restaurant without reservations three months in advance.”
Carys gave a mild shrug. “Rune said he pulled a few strings, and the owner was a fight fan, so . . .”
Nova arched a brow. “I guess he wanted to impress you.”
Jordana nodded. “I think it worked.”
“He did impress me,” Carys admitted. “But it wasn’t because of the dinner or even the incredible time we spent together afterward. And I do mean incredible.”
“Don’t think we’re going to let you skimp on that part either,” Jordana warned around another bite of fruit.
Carys shook her head on a laugh. It wasn’t long ago that she’d been the one prodding for all of the romantic details about her best friend and Nathan. The steamy parts of Carys’s time with Rune had been beyond amazing, but this morning she was floating on air for another reason as well.
“Last night, Rune opened up to me like never before. About his past, his life, a lot of awful things he’s survived.” Her heart tightened now, just recalling all he’d shared with her. “I needed him to let me in, and he did. It was a really big step for him. For us.”
Nova studied her. “Sounds like he probably needed that talk as much as you did.”
Carys nodded. Rune hadn’t trusted her with all of the secrets and demons that still haunted him, but in time, she hoped he would. After last night, she felt confident there was little that could stand between them now.
“I’m glad it’s working out,” Jordana said. “It’s good to see you like this, Car.”
“I’ve never been happier,” Carys admitted. “Now, I only hope nothing goes wrong tonight.”
As she said it, her mother breezed outside accompanied by Brynne. “What’s going on tonight?”
Not exactly the way she wanted to announce the news, but what the hell? “I’ve invited Rune to come to the Darkhaven tonight before the club opens. It’s time that you all meet.”
“Tonight?” An uncertain look swept over her mother’s face. “Your father may not be ready for that, wi
th so much going on in the command center and at headquarters now that Zael has arrived there to meet with Lucan.”
The newsflash about Jordana’s Atlantean friend was a surprise. Carys turned a questioning glance on her friend. “You were able to locate him, after all?”
“Yep. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this thing.” Jordana held up her hand and the center of its palm flashed with a soft glow, then went out again. “Zael says my control over its power will keep improving over time.”
Carys wanted to hear more, but it would have to wait. She clasped her mother’s hands in hers. “This is important to me. Rune is important to me. I want him to know my family. And I want all of you to know him. I want you all to like him.”
Tavia gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze, love shining in her eyes. “How can anyone argue with that?”
“Thank you.” Carys wrapped her in a hug. “I told Rune to be here at nine tonight.”
“I’ll make sure your father is aware. And I’ll tell him I expect him to be on his best behavior too.”
“That goes double for Aric,” Carys added. “I want them both to be nice to Rune. Give him a chance.”
Tavia nodded and hugged her close.
Carys breathed a bit easier, knowing her mother was on her side. Now, she just had to trust that her father and brother wouldn’t greet Rune at the door with the rest of the Boston warriors, armed to the teeth and fangs.
She wanted nothing to ruin what she had now with Rune.
And she could only hope that nothing went wrong.
CHAPTER 22
At the D.C. headquarters, Lucan sat across from Zael in a conference room usually reserved for visiting statesmen and other diplomats.
In the past two decades, the sumptuous, yet comfortable, chamber had hosted presidents, prime ministers, decorated generals, religious leaders, world-renown scientists and countless other important guests. But Lucan was hard-pressed to name a single meeting that had carried the same weight and potential lasting consequences—good or bad—as the one taking place with this immortal today.
