Burning Desire (2 page)

It didn’t take much for him to deduce that the Dark wanted to use her against him. It was a good thing he could see through glamour, or he might really have found himself in a pickle.

He should walk away, but he couldn’t. Nor did he want to. He wanted to know the female, and by getting close to her she might let something slip that could help him in his quest.

His game just became infinitely more dangerous, and yet, there was a small thrill that made his stomach tighten at the idea of learning more about the Dark. She was thoroughly intoxicating to look at, and if the intelligence he spotted shining through her eyes was any indication, she was going to completely fascinate him.

His mind made up, Kiril walked to her wearing his most charming smile. “Find anything you fancy?” he asked as he nodded to the window of sparkling jewelry.

She laughed, the sound making his blood heat. “I love the glitter of the gems. It’s a weakness.” Her head tilted slightly as her red eyes regarded him. “It’s not every day that a Scot visits Ireland. What brings you to our green isle?”

“Business. And pleasure.”

She let her gaze slowly wander over him. Kiril wished he knew what she was thinking, and if she liked what she saw. When her gaze returned to him, her smile of approval said it all.

It was all he could do not to press her against the window and devour her lips in a kiss that would leave them both breathless.

She shifted her small silver clutch from one hand to another. “I’ve lived in Cork all my life. It’s a beautiful city, isn’t it?”

Kiril nodded and belatedly noticed the Dark who had been watching him were gone. He had taken the bait, after all. It also made him aware of just how completely he was enamored of the female. He was going to have to watch himself for sure, lest he find himself bound in chains. “Are you waiting on someone?”

“I was. They’re late, and I’m tired of waiting,” she said, her eyes posing an invitation her words hadn’t.

The offer was on the table. All Kiril had to do was take it. It was tempting, or rather she was. It would be a treacherous obstacle of quicksand if he accepted it.

The lies would grow, the deceptions would spread. But if he succeeded, the rewards for the Dragon Kings could be numerous.

Kiril held out his arm. “Would you like to join me for dinner?”

Her gaze lowered to the ground as she smiled coyly and took his arm. “I would like that very much.”

They strolled arm in arm down the sidewalk toward the Italian restaurant that was his favorite.

“Glad to have you back,” the maître d’ said with a wide grin and motioned them to follow.

Kiril guided the woman ahead of him with his hand on her lower back. He felt her shiver when his fingers grazed her bare skin. He couldn’t hold back his satisfied smile. She had been sent to seduce him, but she wasn’t immune to his touch. That could work to his advantage. It gave him the thought to try to flip her to their side. It would be nearly impossible since the Dark Fae were notoriously devoted to their families.

A Dark’s family was everything from their rank in their society to their authority. The more powerful a family, the more influence and control was to be had. It was archaic almost the way they bartered their daughters and sisters to gain rank within their antiquated and disgusting social system.

It was a challenge though, and Kiril loved challenges. Besides, with as beautiful as the Dark was, he didn’t think he was going to mind the effort. To know the feel of her skin, to sample the essence of her sex.

Desire, dark and profound, smoldered through him. It wasn’t the passion that alarmed him, but the raw, visceral need to know her, the yearning to taste her.

The hunger to fill her.

That desire swelled and intensified, spread and multiplied with every second they were together. It consumed him, devoured him. He was being incinerated from the inside out with a need that burned as hot as dragon fire.

Kiril slid into the half-moon-shaped booth beside her and promptly ordered a bottle of wine.

He opened the menu and decided to push her. It was either that or kiss her, and he was afraid if he started kissing her, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Kiril didn’t think anyone in the restaurant would want to see him have sex. “Why did you accept my invitation?”

Surprise flickered in her deep red eyes. “I was hungry, and you offered.”

“Do you often go off with strange men?”

She laughed, the sound going straight to his cock. “You’re the first. I’m Shara, by the way.”

“Kiril.”

“Kiril. A strong, unusual name.”

He set aside the menu and regarded her. It was strange. He normally hated looking into the eyes of a Dark Fae. Something about red eyes seemed wrong, but he didn’t seem to mind it with Shara.

Shara. What a beautiful name to match such an intriguing, captivating woman.

She cleared her throat and set her napkin in her lap. Her lips parted to speak, but before she could, the waiter brought the wine. Kiril continued to watch her even as he sampled the wine and nodded his approval to the server. Once their glasses were filled and their order given, the attendant walked away.

“You were saying?” he prompted her.

“I was going to ask, what kind of business are you in?”

Kiril thought about spinning another lie, and then realized there was no need. She knew he was a Dragon King, knew that he was from Dreagan. One less lie could only help him.

“I work for a distillery. I sample other whisky around the world for comparison.”

Her red eyes held his as she lifted the wineglass to her lips and sampled the cabernet sauvignon. “Wouldn’t it be easier to taste these whiskies at your distillery?”

“It might, but it adds to the taste of the whisky to try it at the place it’s distilled. It’s also helpful to sit in a pub and watch what the bartenders pour for their patrons.”

“I see.” She set down her glass and licked her lips.

Kiril swirled the red wine in his glass thinking how much he wanted to kiss her, to wrap her long hair around his hand and hold her hostage as he ravaged her lips. “What do you do?”

“I work in my family’s business.”

So she didn’t lie either. Interesting. “And what is it your family does?”

“Import/export.”

Another truth. Dark Fae were notorious for luring humans into their world, but it wasn’t pleasure the humans received. The women were taken by the males, and though they might experience brief pleasure, unbeknownst to them their souls were being drained.

As for the human males, the female Dark used them for sex. Sex with a Dark was like a drug, and the humans could become addicted fast. The females rarely lived long enough to know what was happening, but the female Darks made sure to keep the human males alive for decades while having their fun.

“A lucrative business, I assume,” Kiril said.

Shara glanced away. “It is.”

Kiril let the questions drop as their food was delivered. The rest of the meal was spent talking of anything that neither of them had to lie about. It was … refreshing. For the first time in days, Kiril almost felt like himself. He was still on guard, but he was more relaxed. Perhaps it was because he knew what he was about.

Or maybe it was because he wanted to shove aside the food, yank her to her feet, and toss her atop the table to have his way with her.

CHAPTER TWO

It was lucky that Shara had gotten a look at Kiril the day after she was informed of her mission. She found Kiril attractive from a distance, but up close he robbed her of breath and thought.

He was tall and potent, overwhelming and dynamic. Compelling and persuasive.

He was—simply put—extraordinary.

Her fingers itched to sink into his wheat-colored hair that was thick and kept in longish waves. His eyes were the color of shamrocks—a bright, vivid green—and saw everything.

He wore the black suit with ease. The cut of it showing off his wide shoulders and narrow hips. The simple white shirt beneath was left unbuttoned at the top with no tie in sight.

The flash of onyx and pearl at his wrists drew her eye to his cuff links. It was the only jewelry he wore except for his watch.

He was all male—hard, vigorous, and intense.

His face appeared to be cut from granite. The hard line of his jaw only amplified his square chin and the little indent in the middle. Though he appeared relaxed and at ease, she knew he was anything but. His gaze swept the restaurant, taking in everything in that one glance. And when his green gaze focused on her, her heart skidded and her stomach fluttered.

While at one time she might have found some excitement at the thought of bedding a human, no male—Fae or human—stirred her as Kiril did. He faced the world as if daring it to challenge him.

He was the embodiment of excitement, intrigue … fascination.

Farrell had warned her that Kiril was an experienced flirt who had no problem getting any woman he wanted. With charm that could seduce an angel into Hell itself, she understood why. It wasn’t just his charm either. It was the way he looked at her when she talked, as if she were the only person in the entire world that he wanted to be with, to listen to.

He made her feel special and unique.

Remarkable.

How amazing her time with him would be, but a glimpse of one of her brother’s lackeys reminded her that she was proving herself and her loyalty to her family. She wasn’t with Kiril for fun. She had a job to do. Her very life depended upon it. Her family was one of the most powerful in the Dark Fae world.

She had already shamed them. This was her last chance—in all ways.

Her brother, Farrell, waited in the wings for her to screw up so he could kill her. He was watching her every move, ensuring she carried through with things exactly as instructed and deliver a Dragon King to their father.

For a short time during their meal, Shara allowed herself to believe it was all real. Daydreaming. It’s what had sustained her for six hundred years while being kept prisoner in her own room for her last transgression. Six hundred years of thinking how she was forgotten as her parents doted on her elder siblings and their accomplishments while she was left to do as she pleased.

Six hundred years yearning to make her own decisions and come and go as she wished. Six hundred years of no one but herself for company. She had been shunned by her family during the entire imprisonment.

Shara blinked and focused on her plate of pasta. She couldn’t let anything ruin her mission, regardless of how handsome Kiril was or how interested he pretended to be.

“Family, Shara. It’s all you have. This is your last chance to prove yourself. Don’t muck this up. You won’t like the consequences.”

Farrell’s warning sounded through her mind again. She couldn’t screw up again. Farrell was expecting her to fail. He wanted her to so he could remove her as an embarrassment from the family.

No matter how appealing and attractive she found Kiril, he was a Dragon King, and the Dark needed him. And she would be the one to deliver him.

There were no excuses, no exemptions.

“Thank you for dinner,” she said. She watched his throat move as he swallowed the last of his wine.

His skin was deeply tanned and appeared to have a golden tone in the dim lights of the restaurant. Farrell had gone into detail about the type of women Kiril was seen with. None of them had been Fae. It was one of a long list of reasons that Shara used glamour. Kiril wouldn’t lower himself to associate with the Dark. No Dragon King would associate with any Fae, for that matter.

Oh, he might talk to her brother at the pub, but he would never take one to dinner. Or to his bed. She might wish he could see the real her, because he was the first in six centuries. But in the end it didn’t matter what he saw. The end justified the means.

“It was my pleasure.”

His voice, deep and seductive, made bumps rise over her skin. His accent, thick and stirring, made her legs weak. Damn him for affecting her this way, but then what did she expect after finally being free of her prison? Anyone would probably make her feel like this. Kiril was no one special.

The plan had been for her to tease him and walk away, but when he had asked her to dinner, she hadn’t been able to refuse. To share a nice dinner with a man like Kiril. Besides, it was time alone with him. Now it was time for her to walk away.

He threw down a wad of money on the table and stood. Shara looked at the hand he held out for her. She recalled his touch on her skin all too clearly. Holding his arm as he walked her to the restaurant was one thing, but did she dare take his hand? The warmth, the strength. It made her feel like her insides had turned to jelly.

If he could do that with a simple touch of his hand, what would it be like in his arms, his lips on hers? His skin gliding against hers? His cock filling her?

Shara slid her palm against his and felt a shock zing through her. She jerked her gaze to him, but he was looking away.

Her legs wobbled a bit as she stood. She was going to have to do something about her needs before she saw him again. Being so near his magnetism, the sheer masculine confidence that he exuded was heady. Yet it was his sex appeal, the virile enticement that stole her breath and made desire pool low in her belly.

His long, tapered fingers wrapped around her hand. He pulled her to him until their bodies were a hairsbreadth from touching. His gaze slid to her, sucking her in until she was drowning in his shamrock green eyes. The world gradually faded away.

It was just the two of them.

He wasn’t a Dragon King.

And she wasn’t a Dark Fae.

They were a man and a woman, desire thick between them.

Then she blinked and reality crashed around her. If she didn’t put some space between herself and Mr. Sexy she was going to do something really stupid. Again. All because her body was out of control.

Thankfully, he walked them to the door of the restaurant. When they stepped outside, she was grateful for the breeze off the water that cooled her heated skin and cleared her muddled head.

“It was nice to meet you, Kiril.”