Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) (9 page)

His eyes
. Kayla had known they were blue, but it had been too dark to see exactly how blue. Now, though . . . They were a brilliant shade that she’d only seen once before. Where . . . ?

She remembered. Kayla tried not to show her shock. His eyes were the same spectacular shade of blue as Eric’s. What were the chances? Those colored contacts. Were they just a random part of his disguise, or did he want to make sure no one saw and recognized their distinctive color?

“I didn’t expect to see you here tonight after what happened with Kel.” He was doing some eye-narrowing.

She shrugged and hoped it looked casual enough. “I went back to the castle and changed. I didn’t feel like sitting around for the rest of the night so I thought I’d come over and have a look. No more playing with horses in the water, though.” Kayla cursed her stupid cotton candy. Her hands were sticky and she knew she must have some on her face too. She slid an exploratory tongue across her lips, but that’s about as far as she could go right now.

Something hot and primal flared in his eyes. “You left your shark friend behind?”

“He had other things to do.” That look shook her. Why hadn’t she brought Banan with her? Then she took a deep breath. She didn’t need a bodyguard when she was on dry land among crowds of people.

Whom was she kidding? Will could drag her into deep water with just a few more of those sizzling glances.
You’d be in way over your head
. Because despite her suspicions and need for caution, Kayla felt the sexual attraction sliding along every line of communication in her body, from head to heart to . . . Well, to all points south. She was honest enough to acknowledge his pull but not stupid enough to act on it. She closed her eyes for a second to center herself.

Her eyes popped open again when she felt him take the cotton candy from her. She watched him fling it into a nearby trashcan. “Maybe I wasn’t finished with that.”

“I’ll buy you more later. I thought you might like to sample one of our rides, and I didn’t want to be wearing sticky candy when you got overexcited.”

The sensual suggestion in his husky voice made her feel . . . Made her feel
nothing
. She firmed her resolve. “Why would I want to go on a ride? They’re just the same old, same old.” She glanced up at the Ferris wheel. Or maybe not. She’d heard the crowd’s reaction to the rides. “Why did your boss choose this spot? I mean, there are other amusement parks nearby, so why build one that not only has close-by competition but is across the street from someone who doesn’t want him here?”

“So Sparkle told you this, that she doesn’t want us here?” He stared down at her, his thick dark lashes hiding some of the intent in his eyes.

Kayla glanced away. Maybe she didn’t want him to see her intent either. “She didn’t have to tell me. You’re blocking the castle’s view. You’re cluttering up the whole area with hordes of people.” She finally stared up at him. “You’re ruining the neighborhood.”

Time to change the subject. “And what’s with the sign at the entrance that says children under thirteen won’t be admitted?”

He shrugged. “Some of our amusements are a little too intense for younger children.”

Intense? He had to be kidding. She glanced at the carousel. Okay, maybe a little dizziness, a little nausea, but that was the biggest threat she saw here.

Will nodded toward the Ferris wheel. “Are you afraid of heights, Kayla?”

She looked up. “I’ve ridden a few Ferris wheels in my time. Heights don’t bother me.”

He put his arm across her shoulders and guided her to the ride. She wanted to shrug off his touch, get rid of the curl of heat in her stomach, reject the desire to slide her fingers under his shirt and touch his bare flesh. Just in time, they reached the Ferris wheel.

While they waited to board the car—the flimsy kind where you sat side by side with only a bar across your body to hold you in and with nothing but empty space in front of you—a man approached them. Will went to meet him.

She couldn’t help it. She stared. The man’s eyes were the same shade of blue as Will’s and Eric’s. This was weird to the nth degree. When Will finally turned to walk back to her, she looked away.

Kayla didn’t have a chance to ask any questions until after they were seated for their ride, the one that was “too intense for younger children.”

Once they were secured in their seat and the Ferris wheel began to move, she asked her question. “Who was the man you were talking to?”

“Grim. He’s the security chief for the park.” Will realized there was a downside to his impulsive invitation. Now he was trapped with her and her questions.

She shifted in her seat, and her thigh pressed against his. He stopped just short of sucking in his breath. Now he remembered exactly why he’d suggested this ride. Not a good reason. He wasn’t exactly sleeping with the enemy, but . . . Fine, so he wanted to do a lot more than have thigh contact. He needed to clear his head and redefine his goals.

Thorn decided to go on the offensive before she could ask another question. “You never told me what you did for Sparkle besides playing the occasional sexual demon role.”

She looked away from him, and for a moment he thought she wouldn’t answer. “This and that. I don’t have a specific job. I do whatever Sparkle needs me to do.”

He was starting to think he knew exactly what her job was. Let’s see, she had only recently started working at the castle, was proficient with a knife, carried a gun, had been caught sneaking around pilings, and then immediately afterward was discovered wandering around Nirvana. He didn’t want to believe it, but it stood to reason that Sparkle would hire someone to spy on him or worse.

“What about you? What do you do here?” She was still looking away from him.

He had to distract her from burrowing into his business. “This and that, with an emphasis on
this
.” Thorn slid a little closer and rested his arm across her shoulders. He felt her tense.

“Were you responsible for that odor in the castle?” She finally met his gaze.

“What?” Thorn couldn’t decide if she was brave or foolhardy. Shutting her up would be as simple as lifting her over the side of the car and calling it an oops moment when she fell to her death. With the paranormal talent he had working for him, he wouldn’t have to worry about witnesses.

But he wouldn’t do that. Somewhere during his centuries-old journey to acting human he’d developed a conscience. Besides, he was enjoying her too much. “I hope you have enough sense to keep your weapons with you when you make that kind of accusation.”

She blinked. “Of course. So, did you?”

His first instinct was to lie. Admitting to sabotage would pretty much ruin any chance he had to further their relationship.
Relationship? You’re kidding, right? You don’t need that kind of distraction.

Thorn shrugged mentally. What did it matter if Kayla knew? Ganymede and Sparkle would’ve already recognized that the attack came from Nirvana. Besides, it was better for her if she understood what he was and stayed far away from him.
Better for me too.
“Conflicts don’t always have to be resolved with violence. There are more subtle methods.” Now it was his turn to look away as he waited to field her outrage.

She remained silent for a moment. “It was more effective than blowing up Nirvana’s refreshment stand.”

He glanced at her. She didn’t look outraged, only thoughtful.

“How’d you do it?” She watched him from those expressive gray eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll be horrified and angry later. But I want to know how you did it first.”

Surprise warred with amusement. She’d managed to surprise him. He started to answer when he noticed she was staring over her side of the car. He watched her eyes widen. He smiled. Now she understood his age limit sign.

“Ohmigod! No Ferris wheel goes this high. This can’t be real.”

She slid closer until she was pressed against his side. He knew it wasn’t because she craved his closeness but because the view had rattled her. He could hear her heart pounding, her breaths coming in shallow gasps, and sense her blood pumping its eternal invitation. He swallowed hard, a remembered reflex from when he was human.

“We’re not as high as we’ll go yet. Sit back and enjoy the ride.” He knew she wouldn’t in the same way he knew she’d want to know how and why. Surprisingly, he admired her for that even though the questions would be a pain.

“Why are we getting the satellite view? How did you do it?” She bit her lip as she turned her head to look out at the Gulf.

Thorn took a moment to glance down. His pier seemed a mere speck of light from this height. With his enhanced vision he could see the whole coastline of Galveston Island along with the Causeway and lights from the mainland. Behind him, the Gulf of Mexico stretched to the horizon.

“Magic.” He wouldn’t get more specific than that. He wouldn’t explain that both Eric and Klepoth could create illusions that were for all intents and purposes real.

Kayla now gripped his thigh with one hand and the bar with the other. He could feel the tremble in her. He massaged the back of her neck while he pried her fingers from his thigh and held her hand.

“Stop the magic. I don’t want to go any higher.” She somehow kept her voice calm and level.

“We’re at the top, so we’ll start going down now.” He hoped he sounded soothing. Thorn didn’t want to admit it, but being this high with only a seat and metal bar to keep them from plunging to earth made even him nervous. No matter how often he told himself that this was all an illusion, he still couldn’t wait to place both feet on solid ground.

He could almost hear her teeth chatter. It was a lot colder up here, and all she wore was a light jacket. Oh, what the hell. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Relax. This is just me keeping you warm.”

For a moment, suspicion replaced the horror in her eyes. “Right.” She looked down again and then quickly transferred her gaze to the Gulf. “Umm, we don’t seem to be moving.” Kayla shuddered. “Except for the rocking of this damn car. Did I mention that I get motion sickness? I have to take a pill before I go on a boat.”

Great. This high, the wind was pretty strong and the car was swaying back and forth. And she was right, they’d stopped moving. What the hell . . . ?

But before he could reach for his phone, it rang. He pulled it from his pocket. “What’s going on down there?” Thorn knew he sounded uneasy, but being stuck up here was bad on all kinds of levels.

Grim sounded tense. “We have a situation here. I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.” And he hung up.

Possibilities raced through Thorn’s mind. Whatever it was must be an emergency if Grim couldn’t even take the time to clue him in. But Thorn also figured the other vampire had things under control or else Grim would’ve called on his crew to start getting customers down from the Ferris wheel.

“What’s the matter?” Kayla sounded tense.

“Some kind of mechanical glitch. Nothing serious.”
I hope
. “We’ll just sit up here and enjoy the view for a little while.”

She was quiet for a moment. “This is all an illusion, right?”

He nodded. “The owner wanted a park that offered something new, so he hired Klepoth and Eric away from Sparkle.” Thorn figured that Kayla probably already knew this. “Both of them can create powerful illusions, and Zane times the illusions to repeat as needed.” He felt her relax a little. “I don’t know how they do it, but what you’re seeing is the real view from this far up.”

“Oh.” She frowned.

He loved the way she pursed those sexy lips and got that intense gleam in her eyes when she was thinking up another question.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a gust of wind blew his hair into his eyes. Before he could reach up to push it aside, she smoothed her fingers across his forehead, sweeping the strands away.

He held his breath as they locked gazes. Something hot and hungry shone in her eyes. She glided her fingers along his jaw, her gaze never leaving his. Her expression said that her fingers had gone rogue and were taking her hand places it shouldn’t go. But the heat in her eyes didn’t cool.

“The defendant pleads guilty due to temporary insanity,” Kayla murmured. She watched him from beneath half-lowered lids as she traced his bottom lip with one finger.

“Meaning?” He’d never realized that the touch of one finger could heat his whole body, including his cold vampire heart. Amazing, since he’d long ago decided his heart had atrophied. He always pictured a walnut where his heart should be.

“That’s legalese for ‘I am so screwed.’” She breathed the words out on a soft sigh.

Her finger still rested on his lips, so he didn’t even have to exert himself. He drew the end of her finger into his mouth and then swirled his tongue around it. Thorn watched need flare in her eyes. She licked her own lips.

Desire roared to life as he allowed her to reclaim her finger. He closed his eyes for a moment.
Control it.
When he opened them again, he hoped she couldn’t see his own need. Vampire hunger looked a lot more dangerous than what burned in her eyes. There were a few things he hadn’t been able to humanize.

Without asking permission, he leaned close and slowly licked a spot of cotton candy from beside her mouth. Her skin was warm, smooth, and tasted of sugar along with aroused woman. His favorite blend. “I’ve never had cotton candy. Now I’ll never forget the taste.” He hoped she understood the thinly veiled symbolism in those two sentences, because he’d made a decision. He
would
have her, and he was certain he’d never forget it.

Her eyes stayed defiantly open, but her lips parted as he slanted his mouth across hers. He traced her lips with his tongue before deepening the kiss. Kayla’s lips were soft, her mouth welcoming. Her tongue met and tangled with his—tasting, challenging, and driving him to the edge of bloodlust.

He was the one to pull away, her heat and taste awakening feelings he’d spent centuries squashing and cramming into a shadowed corner of his mind labeled Dangerous Emotions. Well, damn.

Thorn could see that she was breathing hard, that her face was flushed, but she turned to look out at the Gulf before he could read the expression in her eyes. He allowed himself a small smile of triumph. No need to look away if she didn’t have something to hide.