Eve of Darkness (7 page)

“Can’t we go somewhere else? It’s still early.”

“No.”

“Why? Why did you come to night if you didn’t want to hang out with me?”

She felt him sigh. “I don’t ‘hang out,’ and even if I did, I couldn’t hang out with you.”

“Because of my age?” God, she was so sick of being treated like a kid.

“Among other reasons.”

His head turned slightly and the glimpse of his profile, even under the weak illumination of the street-lights, took her breath away. Her heart thudded in an elevated rhythm, her breathing was quick and shallow. His lean hips were cradled between her spread thighs, her breasts pressed to his back. She knew he felt some of the pull she did or he wouldn’t have been waiting for her to night.

But she wanted to prove it, so Eve shimmied her torso, rubbing her erect nipples against him.

His breath hissed out between clenched teeth. “Get off the bike.”

The tone of his voice brooked no argument so she dismounted with a moue. “What’s your name?”

There was a long silence while he stared at her with that hot, intense stare. She could tell he was debating whether to tell her or not. Finally, he said, “Alec Cain.”

Eve nodded and adjusted the strap of her bag. “Thanks for the ride, Alec.”

She set off toward her house and a moment later the hog rumbled to life. Though the urge to look back was nearly overwhelming, her pride was stronger.

She knew if he felt anything like she did when they were together, he would be back.

Eve rested her right hand on the tile and stood with head bent beneath the pummeling water spray of her shower.

Seven days.
Seven days of her life gone.

She knew something drastic had happened to her during that short time. The brands on her left arm were completely healed and settled into something that resembled a tribal tattoo. Exactly like Alec’s. After nearly a week without food and very little to drink, she should be weak and dehydrated. She was neither. Instead she felt like a million bucks, her foot tapping impatiently on the stone shower floor because she couldn’t contain all of the restless energy inside her.

Shutting off the tap, Eve grabbed the fresh towel she’d set atop the lid of her hamper. She dried her skin quickly, then wrapped her wet hair into a turban and padded out to the bedroom.

There was no way to ignore the naked man sprawled facedown across her bed. Alec had chosen the white sheets, a selection that set butterflies loose in her stomach. It made her bed look like a cloud. His dark masculinity upon that backdrop made him look like a fallen angel.

She would never forget the night she lost her virginity. He’d lain beneath her like a wicked fantasy upon white sheets, urging her on with hoarsely voiced encouragements.

Sighing, her gaze moved from his face down the muscular expanse of his back to the dimples just above his perfect ass.

“Have mercy,” she whispered, repeating the words he’d used the night before.

Eve tore her gaze away and looked around the room, noting the washcloths on her mahogany nightstand. She imagined what the last week must have been like for him and the intimacy involved in caring for her. The man she couldn’t trust to stick around at all had been dependable in her most dire hours. What was the sense in that?

Her jaw clenched. Alec knew exactly what had happened to her a week ago. Then he’d done the exact same thing to her last night. Because of him and the winged mystery man, she was altered. Physically. Mentally. In every way. She could feel the Change like a narcotic slipping through her veins.

Pivoting on her heel, Eve snatched up the short silk robe that hung on the back of the bedroom door and left the room. She went to the kitchen for much-needed food and coffee, knowing she was going to need plenty of both for the confrontation to come.

 
Alec watched Evangeline Hollis leave the high school parking lot, crossing Euclid Street to reach the Circle K con ve nience store. His gaze drank in every nuance of her figure—the long, lithe legs, slight but luscious curves, golden California tan, and hair of long black silk. She walked with three other girls, but she didn’t fit in. Not because she was Asian, but because she was above them, beyond them. Every delectable inch of her body was ripe with sexual promise and a confidence he admired.

At times he cursed the sudden urge he’d had to grab a bottle of water from the con ve nience store the day he first saw her. If he’d kept on riding, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. But he knew fate and coincidence were mortal concepts. A divine plan was at work, and somehow this angel fit into his. Unfortunately for her.

Wanting to protect her, Alec had fought the compulsion to meet her and fled via Interstate 5 on his way to San Diego. Another city in an endless string of cities he visited in the course of his nomadic life. His bike roared past 1313 Harbor Boulevard: Disneyland—The Happiest Place on Earth.

Then he realized the source of the pull he felt toward her. When she’d mouthed “Hi” with those glossy red lips, he’d felt the first stirrings of connection, something he hadn’t experienced in so long he had almost forgotten what it felt like.

Why her?
he despaired.
She’s so young. Too young.
Centuries younger than he was.

But Alec knew the answer. She was his forbidden fruit. Set out to tempt him with what he could never have. One taste and Eve would be his, but the price she’d pay would destroy them both.

Yet, despite knowing the consequences, Alec had found himself exiting the freeway and backtracking to her. Now, two weeks later, he watched her from the shadow of a large tree and ached for the feel of her arching beneath him.

One taste. He was starved for it.

He couldn’t forget the feel of her breasts against his back, her curious fingertips drifting across his stomach, the sound of her voice coaxing,
Can’t we go somewhere?

Yes,
he’d wanted to say.
Let’s go and never come back.

Temptation. God’s most oft-used test.

But Alec wasn’t going to fail this one. He was leaving today if it killed him. He’d come to see her one last time, then he would go, finding strength in the fact that he’d resisted his own needs in favor of hers.

Alec was about to turn away, finally prepared to get on his hog and leave her behind, when Eve paused on the corner, her head turning in his direction. He stilled. Waiting. Wondering if she saw him.

She arched a brow, staring. Then she blew him a mocking kiss and flipped him off, before turning on her heel and sauntering away.

Eat your heart out,
her actions said.

Taunting him. Tempting him. Not understanding that he was afraid for
her,
not himself.
She
would pay the price for his infraction. His punishment would come from knowing that he was the cause of hers.

His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ground together.

Sliding his sunglasses back on, he walked to his bike and hit the road.

 
Pausing on the threshold between the living room and the hallway, Alec carefully studied the set of Eve’s shoulders. She was clad in a blood-red, knee-length silk kimono robe. Her black hair tumbled halfway down her back, the thick strands swaying with the salt-tinged breeze drifting through the open balcony door.

She looked relaxed, her hip leaning into the jamb of the sliding glass door, her hands filled with a steaming cup of coffee as she stared at the ocean view. But he knew her senses were alert, her hearing more acute, her sense of smell inhumanly accurate. When she reached full strength, her speed and stamina would make Olympic athletes weep in envy . . . if she ever moved slowly enough that they could see her. She was a hunter now, a predator.

Tightening the towel he had wrapped around his waist, Alec crossed the vast space, admiring how well she’d done for herself. She had a gleaming new Chrysler 300 in her garage downstairs and she was so close to the beach that her living room balcony hung over the sand.

She was going to hate him for ruining her perfect life.

“Good morning, angel.”

Eve spun to face him. Despite hours of hard sex, she looked none the worse for wear. Her dark eyes, almond shaped and framed by thick sooty lashes, were clear and bright. She would heal with remarkable speed now. At least on the outside. As for the inside . . .

He ran a hand through his damp hair. Would she understand when he explained? And even if she did, would it mitigate the fact that he was the reason this had happened to her?

She held up a hand, halting his advance when he was a few feet away. “What am I now?”

“You’re a Mark.” He spoke calmly, while inside he felt far from it. “You’re stronger, faster—”

“Better, stronger, faster?” Her laughter was harsh. “I’m the fucking Bionic Woman? What the hell was that fever I had?”

Alec crossed his arms over his bare chest and decided to take the high road. She had every right to be pissed and confused. “Punishment. Women’s sexuality has been used against them since my mom ate the forbidden fruit. Why do you think childbirth is so painful?”

“Are you
insane
? What does childbirth have to do with me?” She made a slashing gesture with her hand. “On second thought, don’t tell me. Just explain what I’m being punished for.”

“For tempting me.”

“I haven’t seen you in ten damn years!” she snapped. “You got your rocks off and left.”

Eve had never been able to hide anything from him. She was hurt. The knowledge tightened his throat and made him speak gruffly. “I love you.”

A visible shudder moved through her. She reached out and gripped the door frame. “Screw you.”

“Evangeline—”

“Go to hell.”

“My job is to send demons back there. Now it’s your job, too.”

“You’re nuts. You need help.” She jerked her chin toward the door. “There are lots of shrinks out there. Go find one. I’ll even let you take the Yellow Pages with you. For old time’s sake.”

“Did he show you his wings, angel?” Alec stepped closer. “Did he spread them wide? Intimidate you with them?”

Her fingers gripping the jamb were white, as were the edges of her lips.

“I bet he made a great show out of the marking, didn’t he? How did he say it?” He deepened his voice, then growled, “Bear the Mark of Cain!”

The coffee cup fell from her fingers and shattered on the hardwood floor, coffee exploding outward in a wide splatter. Her knees buckled and Alec lunged forward, catching her.

He carried her to the sofa and sat, cradling her in his lap. Tucking Eve’s head under his chin, he rocked her, taking comfort from her embrace even as he gave the same to her.

“What about you tempting me?” she accused, her breath gusting across his throat. “How was I supposed to resist you? A girl my age . . . a guy like you—”

A soft sob escaped her. Alec thrust his hand into her hair and held her tight against him.

That night haunted him. He’d rented a suite, bought every beautifully scented flower he could find at the florist’s, and lit the room with a profusion of candles. He took her virginity on white satin sheets covered in rose petals.

“I couldn’t have done anything differently,” he said softly.

“You knew you weren’t going to stay before you seduced me.”

He spoke with his lips pressed to the crown of her head. “I tried to spare you any suffering by leaving. I hoped that if we separated, you could still have the same future you would have had before you met me.”

Eve struggled out of his embrace, fighting him with such fervor she fell on the floor. “You’re an asshole.” Rising to her knees, she slapped him.

Alec clenched his jaw and turned the other cheek.

She cursed and pushed to her feet, her robe askew. He stood with her, securing his towel while facing her head on.

“Spare me any suffering,” she scoffed, glaring at him. “That’s lame, Alec. You have to do better than that.”