Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (4 page)

He would never understand how a man
could use his physical strength and power to abuse a woman. It wouldn’t happen
with his kind. A Lycan male had a naturally aggressive and dominate nature, but
if one abused his female another male would intervene and likely kill him.
Unease crept up his spine. She was going to die. Her unborn child was going to
die. He didn’t have the ability to foresee the future. It was more of a gut
feeling. 

He planned to intervene, but needed a
moment out of her presence and the presence of so many humans to think. He paid
for his gas and walked right past her as he headed for the exit. She wouldn’t
be able to leave without him knowing. He walked over to his Harley. As he
filled his tank he came to terms with reality. He was connected to Kara in some
way. Their paths crossed for a reason.

After filling his tank, he steeled
himself to face her again, as he turned and walked across the parking lot to go
back inside. As luck would have it, at that moment, she walked outside.

“Oh, crap.” Dodging her hot chocolate,
she lost her balance and started to fall backward. He caught her arms and held
her steady, but unlike her he didn’t manage to escape her hot beverage.

She blinked up at him. “Oh God. I...oh,
shoot. I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” Frowning she looked down at her empty cup
and shook her head, and then she looked up at his shirt. “Oh, crap. It’s
steaming.” She dropped the cup and started to lift his shirt.

He caught her hand to stop her. “I’m
fine.”  

Everything in his world felt out of
whack. He’d lived many lifetimes and he never experienced any emotions as
profoundly as the ones he felt for her. 

She pushed his hand aside and lifted his
T-shirt. He held his breath as the tips of her fingers grazed his belly. “Does
it hurt? How badly are you burned?” Obviously too impatient to wait for his
response, she lifted his T-shirt even higher to see if he was. “Oh, no. You
should go straight to the emergency room. I can take you right now.” She
grabbed his arm as if to pull him along with her. He took one step and stopped.
Giving him a look of annoyance, she tugged on his arm. “Come on. I’ll take
you.”

 His chest and stomach were burning
like a son of bitch, but he’d been the alpha male of the largest, strongest
Lycan pack in the Pacific Northwest for hundreds of years. Alpha males didn’t
whine over anything as silly as a burn. They sure as hell didn’t run to the
hospital for medical care.  Besides, he wasn’t sure if his skin was on
fire because the drink was scalding hot or because she was touching him. “Your
battery is dead.”

Frowning, she bit her lower lip as she
lifted his shirt higher. She traced just outside the red mark on his sternum
with the tips of her fingers. “It isn’t just your belly. Your chest is also
burned. It’s okay. I can take you. I lied about needing a jump.”

“I’m not shocked.”

She raised her head. Their eyes met. He
held his breath as a deep connection, unlike any other he’d ever experienced,
was forged between them. It felt as if he’d been pulled out of the wreckage
he’d called his life. It was a rebirth of sorts. Realization slammed into him
hard and fast. She was the one and only. The infuriating, fascinating woman
standing before him was his true mate. Their souls fit together perfectly. They
were bound together. Nothing could break their bond. It was moment of sweet
madness. He’d heard of it happening to his elders. He dreamed of the day it
would happen to him. He didn’t want to moment to ever end. He wanted to savor
the hot flames rising up within him as his entire body and soul awakened to her
touch.

“You’re eyes are…”

“Don’t say lovely,” he cut her off to
prevent her from ruining the moment.

She nodded. “Fine. They’re creepy.
They’re freaking me out.”

“If that’s true you shouldn’t touch me
like that,” he said. 

“Like what?” she asked.

“At all.” 

Lifting her chin, looking adorably
mutinous, she held his gaze. “What if I like being freaked out by creepy,
glowing eyes?”

“Do you?” He breathed in deep, drawing
her scent into his lungs. He’d never believed in reincarnation until that
moment. He’d heard mates were bound together through eternity. At times they
were tragically separated by death. He believed it now. It had to be true. He
knew her. Even her scent was familiar to him. He knew what she would taste
like. He knew exactly how her skin would feel against his lips and tongue.

“Are you sure we’ve never met?”

“Maybe in another life.”

She laughed. “I suppose it’s a
possibility, but I doubt it. I’ve never believed in that sort of thing.”

“Neither have I until now.”

“You’re messing with me.”

“Am I?” He reached out and wrapped her
long, black silky hair around his fist. She didn’t flinch or shy away from him
at all. He watched her gorgeous, enchanting brown eyes go wide with
anticipation as he gently pulled her head back and to the side. Mindful to
protect her tender flesh from his lengthened sharp canines, he bent his head
and kissed his way up her neck to her chin.

He lifted his head to look at her. She
was so damn beautiful, so perfect in every sexy feminine way imaginable. By the
time his lips found hers, he kissed her hard and demanding, a brutal claiming
that had her moaning and arching her body against his. For a few spectacular
moments, she returned his kiss with fierce desire that seemed to match his
until his head was spinning and his heart was thundering in his chest.

One second she was kissing him and the next
she wrenched herself out of his arms and slapped him across the face. Shocked,
a low growl rumbled in his throat, but he wasn’t mad. He couldn’t get mad. He’d
deserved it.

He touched her mind as they stared at
each other for several seconds. Actually, she glared daggers at him as he
struggled to keep a straight face. She was shocked by her reaction to him. He
was a stranger. She wanted to kiss him again and it pissed her off. He figured
as mad as she was, he shouldn’t further incite her temper. He smiled, but
managed to bite back a broader smile to hide his happiness and lengthened
canines. Then, making him laugh out loud, she made gagging sounds and wiped her
mouth with the back of her hand. 

Clearly, she was so angry and frustrated
that she failed to notice his canines. Giving him an ‘oh no you didn’t’ look,
she reached out and shoved him. Well, she tried to shove him. “What the hell is
wrong with you?” Obviously outraged that she hadn’t caused him to budge an
inch, she lifted her hand to slap him again.

He deserved it, but knowing she would
eventually hurt herself if she kept trying to hit and shove him, he grabbed her
forearms to restrain her. “It’s okay. Stop freaking out. It’s not good for you
or the baby.”

“You think I’m freaking out?” Eyes narrowing,
she bit her bottom lip. “You just kissed me.”

“You liked it.”

 “I don’t even know you. I’m
married.” Keeping her hands in his, he turned to the side just in time to catch
her knee with his hip rather than his balls.

 “You’re only mad because you enjoyed
it. You want me to kiss you again. And you aren’t the only one able to get into
another person’s head. I know you’re running from the father of your child. He
plans to kill you.”

“You don’t know a damn thing. My father,
not the father of my baby, plans to kill me.”

He stared her. He’d been certain the
father of her child was the man hunting her. How could he have been so wrong?
“Your father?”

All at once, staring into her eyes,
everything changed. He heard her heartbeat accelerate and he smelled adrenaline
in her blood. His natural predator instincts kicked in. He watched as her eyes
darted around. She was looking for a sign of the threat. He wasn’t certain, but
he sensed it wasn’t the same threat he’d felt earlier which meant it wasn’t the
vampire. It had to be the person the vampire had tracked her for. Her father.
“Is he here?”

Looking as if she was going to say
something, she looked up at him and opened her mouth. Then, shaking her head,
she closed her mouth and frowned. 

Keeping her close, he went completely
still, every muscle in his body tensing as he expanded his mind to search for
her father. “If you know where he is you need to show me.”

She took a deep breath and released it
with a sigh. “It isn’t my father. Everything is fine now.” She nodded her head
toward a man approaching them. “He’s my husband. Please, just go.”

“Come with me.”

“Where? I don’t even know you. I’m not
about to leave my husband to run off with a man I don’t know.”

He released her though every cell in his
body demanded that he hold and protect her. He watched her walk away from him
and right into her husband’s arms. Commonsense told him she was right where she
belonged, but something in him was deeply troubled over the sight of her
finding refuge in her husband’s embrace.

Where was the vampire? Why was it still
lurking out of sight? He shook it off. He had no right to interfere with their
lives. She obviously felt safe with the man she’d chosen to marry.

He might never know why she’d had such a
profound impact on him, but it didn’t matter. She had a husband. She wasn’t his
mate. She was human. She couldn’t belong to him. Regardless of the emotions
she’d aroused in him she was off limits.

~Two~

EMILY
KNEW KARA had sent her away to protect her. From inside the gas station she
watched Kara kiss a man and then haul off and slap him. It was a shocking a
sight. Kara had never mentioned being involved with another man. For a moment,
she thought perhaps Kara would be okay. Then, to her horror, she watched Kara
walk away from the man and get into Tom’s car. She ran outside to stop her, but
it was too late. She was gone.

“Wait!” She tried to call out to the man
Kara had kissed. He either didn’t hear her over the rumbling of his Harley, or
he flat ignored her as he rode away.

Emily wouldn’t be able to help her, but
Demetri could and he would, no matter what Kara thought of him. Kara was wrong.
He wasn’t evil. He couldn’t be. He’d done so much to help her. She called his
cell phone, but he didn’t answer. Rather than leave a message she called the
club.

“Thanks for calling Wicked Sensation.
This is Amy. What’s your pleasure?”

“Is Demetri there?” she asked.

“Who is this?”

“It’s Emily. Put him on the phone. It’s
important.”

“I can’t.”

“Please. Hurry.”

“Are you deaf?” Amy asked. “I can’t. I
haven’t seen him here today at all.”

They’d left the tunnels beneath the city
a few hours earlier. Her first thought was that he’d returned without her. He
didn’t say it at the time, but she could tell something was bothering him. She
got into her car and headed straight for the abandoned building less than a
block away with the entrance they’d used that day. Careful to make sure no one
saw or followed her, she entered the building. Once inside something felt off.
The interior appeared darker than before. The air was pungent and had a
nauseating odor. It was cold. Unnaturally cold.

Swallowing her fear, she walked over to
the trap door that led to the tunnel.  While sliding it out of the way she
remembered it was an eight to ten foot drop. Demetri had caught her the last
time so she couldn’t be sure. She took her cell from her back pocket and shined
the light from it into the darkness below. “Shoot.” It was at least ten feet.
Maybe more even a little more. 

Sliding over the edge feet first on her
belly, she held onto the floor boards with her feet dangling for as long as she
could. She dropped. Landing in a crouch position, she fell back onto her butt
and heard a cracking sound. “Not my phone.” Standing up she took her phone out
of her pocket. The light came on for a second. Then, it flashed a few times and
went out.

She moved to the brick wall. She grazed
her fingers along it and used it as a guide, as she walked in what she hoped
was the right direction.  It got colder with each step. The odor she’d
suffered up top seemed to be emanating from down below. It was many times
stronger. Pinching her nose with her free hand she struggled to breathe without
gagging. It was so bad it almost took her mind off the sensation of being
followed, but not quite. She began to hear strange sounds.

Scraping. Knocking. Then, she heard feet
shuffling in the dirt floor behind her, causing her to stop abruptly.

Hold out your hand.

“Demetri?” Holding out her hand, she
turned around.

Take this key.
She closed her
hand around the key. 
It will unlock the chains holding him captive.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”  

No. You must do this on your own. Keep
going and you will find him.

 “But I…” Something growled which instantly
silenced her.

I’m not with you in physical form. I
can’t protect you from it. Go to him now.