Katie's Hellion (Rhyn Trilogy, Book One) (20 page)

"And I know firsthand how you take your
duties."

He gave her a sidelong glance.

"You take them pretty seriously," she added.
"You could’ve killed me a million times over, but I’m your mate.
You haven’t, yet, because protecting me --albeit poorly --is still
your duty. No, you didn’t try to kill humanity off. One stupid
little human is so much easier to kill than a few billion, and you
chose duty instead."

"You drink too much and talk too much. You
should’ve died in Hell."

"Tell me about it. Might have made life
easier."

At her bitter note, he looked at her again.
She felt angry tears welling and forced them back, soon distracted
by the warmth in her blood. Other thoughts collided with her
emotions, ones that reminded her that she was forever trapped with
some otherworldly creature that viewed her as a food supply and
nothing more.

"Eternity’s a long time," she whispered.

"Longer than you know."

"You’re welcome for saving your ass, by the
way."

"You interfered," he replied.

"It’s not how I remember things! I saved you
from Hell, and I saved you from those things at the…at the
Arch."

Memories of the massacre made bile rise and
her chest clench. "I’ll be a raving lunatic at the end of another
week!"

He didn’t disagree. She wanted to scream at
him, hit him, send him far away. Instead, she slumped against the
wall, defeated by alcohol and impotent rage. It didn’t matter what
she said or did; he wasn’t going anywhere. He’d made his claim
clear.

You. Are. Mine.

"You chose me," she said. "I want to know
why."

He was silent.

"You owe me this, if nothing else!"

Her words were accompanied by a punch to his
arm, one that merely earned her an impatient look.

"Tell me why, Rhyn," she ordered, pushing him
to face her. She glared up at him, swaying toward him.

His gaze slid over her face and down her body
to her breasts. She gritted her teeth and waited. It was hard to
reconcile the man before her with the creature that tore apart
bodies like meat in a blender.

"I wanted you," he said in his low growl, the
one that gave her chills.

"Why? So you could block others? Revenge
against Kris? An easy food source following you around for the rest
of all time?"

She jabbed him in the chest with each
question, unwilling to back down. He snatched her upper arms and
pushed her against the wall, his body close enough for their chests
to brush when either breathed in. The silver eyes were fiery, and
apprehension fluttered through her. His scent tickled her senses,
his nearness making her warm body warmer.

"I. wanted. You."

His words were forced through clenched
teeth.

"There’s gotta be more!" she returned.
"You’re immortal. You could have any woman you wanted in any time
you wanted, including one who’d be far more docile than I am."

"You came after me at the Arch."

"Yeah. So?"

"Why?" he demanded.

"I knew you were in danger."

"You could’ve left me to my fate, and you
didn’t. You were a loyal blood monkey."

The thought of leaving him to die had never
crossed her mind. However, the thought of swan diving off a cliff
the next time he called her a damn
blood monkey
was getting
more tempting with each day!

"I can’t do this much longer," she whispered.
"I can’t deal with all this shit."

"You’re strong. You’ll survive."

"I don’t want to
survive
! I want to be
happy and not worry about creatures trying to kill me or how often
I’ll be wandering into one of your massacres!"

"This --"

"I know, I know! This is my life, and I
belong to you. You're such an insensitive bastard."

She strained against him. He didn’t budge.
Exhausted, she rested her head, then her body, against him. She was
tired of fighting, tired of his attitude, tired of everything.

He’d hugged her before, an anomaly, she was
sure, until his arms now moved around her again. Would she
ever
understand him? He didn’t give a damn about her, and he
sounded as if he’d rather she jump from a cliff than bother
him.

And then he brought her here to be healed. He
held her. At one point, he’d called her beautiful and tonight, he’d
called her strong. He rested his chin on her head. She liked the
way he smelled, how strong and solid his body was. It was more than
comforting; she wanted to melt against him and stay there.

The intense sensation startled her. That a
mass murdering
demon
was the only man she’d ever felt so
comfortable with made no sense. She’d risked her life to rescue him
because it was what good people did. After all, in his own twisted
way, he'd tried to help her.

"I still don’t believe you," she murmured.
"There has to be another reason you chose me."

He said nothing.

"If you’re hungry…"

…
you should eat.
She couldn’t bring
herself to say the words.

"Whiskey tastes like shit," he replied.

"Now who’s whining?"

"Careful, little girl," he growled.

"You’re not going to kill me. Might try to
chew through my other arm. That
hurt
, Rhyn. You owe me for
that. And for rescuing you twice."

"More fish?"

"You won’t even apologize for my arm, will
you?"

"You should’ve left me," he said.

"So you repay me for rescuing you by eating
my arm."

"You can’t face those things. You were a fool
to follow me."

"I didn’t follow you," she snapped. "I
traveled through the shadow world, which is also how I got you
back! You think I lugged your heavy ass for two miles?"

"You found your way through the shadow world
on your own?"

His words were measured enough that she
looked up.

"Got a problem with that, too?"

"It’s as it should be."

She studied him. There was some satisfaction
in his response, the first shred of positivity she’d heard from him
yet. Their gazes locked, and she felt a different kind of warmth
slide through her.

Could she really be sexually attracted to an
immortal mass murderer of millions? It was not a stretch, not with
his muscular body pressed against her and his rugged features so
close. Even the liquid silver eyes that once terrified her were
hauntingly beautiful, when not glowing like some hell-beast’s. She
liked his smell, his warmth, his strength…even his snarkiness.

She was crazy. There was no way a monster
like him would ever be interested in his blood monkey!

He touched her neck, and she waited, assuming
he’d take blood from her despite his distaste of alcohol. His thumb
traced the line of her jaw lightly, and heat skittered through her.
He lowered his head, and she bared her neck. Though his hot breath
tickled her, he didn’t bite her. The pad of his thumb traced across
her lower lip. She closed her eyes, breathing growing shallow.

He nipped her neck, and she gasped,
embarrassing herself. Her blood was thrumming even faster than the
alcohol alone would have caused, her body growing too warm for
comfort.

His lips traced the line from her neck to her
jaw with small, hot kisses, sending exquisite shivers through her.
There was a pause before he kissed her lightly on the lips, his
full lips oh-so-warm. God help her, she responded! She tried to
tell herself it was the alcohol scattering her thoughts and not the
growing feeling of respect or concern she felt toward him.

Sensing her yield, he deepened the kiss. It
became less of a request and more of a demand, with his tongue
flickering to taste her. He tasted like he smelled, rich and musky,
his kiss intense enough to dispel the fogginess of alcohol. She’d
never felt anything like his kiss or the warmth that flowed through
her. She wanted more of him,
all
of him, and the heat of
need settled into her lower abdomen.

A throat cleared behind him. Rhyn twisted his
head away with a warning growl, and the world crashed down on
her.

What in the name of everything holy was she
doing? Getting ready to tear her shirt open and throw herself down
for a monster? She felt the heat --his heat --within her, branding
her from the inside out.

"Sire, you’ve been warned," Daniela said in
her crisp tone.

Rhyn turned to face the robed woman, and
Katie slid away from him. Her thoughts jangled in her head, some
desperate for him to continue, others claiming she couldn’t go home
if she started down this path, and still others saying she was
screwed either way, figuratively and literally.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Whatever Daniela said to him after she fled
worked, and Katie didn’t see him for the rest of the day. The next
morning, she leaned against the wall and stared at the dark form
crouched on a rock a good distance from the Sanctuary. He was
staring at her. She didn’t know what he thought from the distance,
but she imagined him pissy as usual. He deserved it for kissing her
and making her feel things she never, ever, ever imagined she’d
feel for any man, let alone a monster like him.

"Katie."

She whirled. "Gabriel!" she exclaimed. "Are
you here for me?"

"No, but thanks for asking."

"You’re not funny, Gabriel."

His amusement was fleeting. He leaned his
elbows on the wall with a wave at Rhyn. He wore his customary all
black, his dark eyes hidden behind dark shades.

"I gave Kris your message," he said. "He
wasn’t happy."

"His problem, not mine."

"It
becomes
your problem if he doesn’t
believe you."

"Does he?" she asked.

"I don’t know. Not yet."

"You can’t take me to him, you know. Rhyn
will kill everyone in his path."

"You can choose to come with me," he
stated.

"Would cause an even worse rampage."

"Very well. He said to give you this."

He handed out a note. She took it and read
the single sentence.

I’ll return your life to you.

She expected joy at the offer but felt wary
instead.

"Andre said Kris planned to do what Rhyn did
and make me his mate. Can I ever
not
belong to Rhyn now that
I do?"

"Not unless Rhyn is dead-dead."

"And Kris doesn’t believe me about Sasha,"
she mused. "He’s not really offering me anything. He can’t wipe my
memory --even Andre couldn’t and he’s older --and he can’t fix what
Rhyn’s done. Does he think me so naïve that I’d leap at some empty
promise?"

Gabriel met her question with silence and
another look of passing amusement.

"He must’ve forgotten I went to Hell already.
I’m not the idiot he took me for when he assigned a certain baby
angel to my guardianship. Of all the screwed-up men…
beasts
I’ve met, I’d trust Rhyn before Kris, even not knowing what Rhyn
really is or if he really did try to annihilate mankind alongside
Sasha."

"Do you believe he did?"

"I don’t know," she admitted.

"What do you feel?"

She knew what she thought and suspected he
did, too.

"Doesn’t matter if I’m sorta stuck with him,
does it?" she replied icily.

"The answer’s not for me. I know what
happened."

"Daniela called him wild. I’d say that’s
true, but I don’t think him capable of walking away from a duty so
great."

"Then you’d be right," he agreed.

"Was he always so wild?"

"Hell made him worse. What shall I tell
Kris?"

"Tell him to leave me alone."

She handed back the note, more determined not
to give the white-haired man what he wanted now that she had
confirmation --and somehow she believed Gabriel --that Rhyn hadn’t
destroyed millions. Her hand rested on her bandaged forearm. She’d
peeked at the healing wound the night before and found the scar not
just ugly but hideous, a jagged seam between two lumps of uneven
flesh.

"Gabriel, who was the woman they fought
over?" she asked. "Daniela said this was what spurred their
fighting."

He was quiet. She thought he’d refuse to
answer until he said slowly,

"A truly unworthy woman. She was the first
Ancient's mate born and should've been Kris's mate, if she hadn't
first promised herself to the Dark One. She played them against
each other and betrayed them both to Sasha. Rhyn killed her to
protect Kris and his brothers. Kris never knew and never forgave
him for killing the woman he meant to take as his mate. Rhyn
probably saved humanity by doing so but was sent to Hell and nearly
lost his mind."

"Why didn’t he
tell
Kris she was
evil?"

"Rhyn’s not a talker."

She stared at him, astonished.

"So he’d spend eternity in Hell because he
couldn’t sit down with Kris and tell him what happened?"

"It’s complicated," he said.

"No, it’s not!"

"There’s more to the story. The woman,
Lilith, was pregnant with Kris’s heir. No matter what Rhyn would’ve
said, the damage was done. To be quite honest, he was so abrasive
anyway, even if he hadn’t killed the woman, they’d have broken
paths. Though all seven were constantly fighting, Kris and Rhyn
were always at each other’s throats."

"That’s dandy, but it doesn’t sound like he
deserved Hell!"

"He’s not exactly a pure angel, Katie. He did
a lot of bad things, and his mother was a demoness, a powerful one
who seduced his father. After they mated, she killed him. The
brothers on the Council were looking for any excuse to expel or
kill him, and Andre was his only advocate. Despite his demon
powers, despite his wildness, despite his struggle to remain
dutiful to their cause, he was a danger to anyone around him."

She couldn’t imagine an upbringing with no
parents, a clan of brothers who hated him, and no ability to change
his nature.