Beyond the Darkness (21 page)

He tugged off his jeans, tossing them aside. “I’m done trying to make an impossible dream come true.”

Perhaps sensing his reckless determination to go down in a blaze of glory, Cassandra moved to frame his face in her hands, her expression troubled.

“I told you, nothing is impossible.”

Her touch sent a shocking blast of awareness through Caine, nearly sending him to his knees. Christ, it was like being struck by lightning.

A damned shame he could sense something very large and dangerous charging through the tunnels toward them.

A gruesome death might be worth a night with this woman.

“Maybe you’re right, Cassandra, my love.” He savored the beauty of her delicate features, lingering on the vulnerable curve of her mouth. “After all, you’re about to witness a miracle.”

“What miracle?”

Bending down, he kissed her with a fierce regret.

“For once in my miserable life, I’m going down a hero.”

He stole one last kiss, then, with a defiant howl, Caine shifted and prepared to meet death.

When Harley opened her eyes, she was briefly bewildered by the cupid-painted ceiling above her.

Lying on the oversized bed with silk sheets and a fluffy comforter that was perfect to burrow beneath, she battled through the fog still clinging to her brain.

She remembered being in the caves. Kind of tough to forget. It wasn’t every day a woman had to fight a demon lord. Not even in her crazy world. And then there had been a mad dash through the caves, barely staying ahead of the thunderous cave-in.

After that…

She had a vague memory of stumbling over Darcy and the vampires in the upper chambers. They had swiftly bundled Harley and Salvatore in a Hummer and headed back to Chicago. And then there was nothing.

She had no recollection of arriving at the mansion on the outskirts of Chicago. Or being tucked in bed.

And she most certainly didn’t remember being stripped naked.

The last of the fog was seared away as Harley became aware of the warm body laying next to her. With a jerk, she rolled to the side, not at all surprised to discover Salvatore.

Even without the heat brushing over her bare skin, she would have known he was near. The essence of him was branded deep inside her.

Unnerved by the sensation, Harley allowed her gaze to drift over the finely chiseled face, a familiar need stirring as she took in the thin aquiline nose and full sensuous lips. With his raven hair spilled across the pillow and richly bronzed skin glowing in late afternoon sunlight, he might have looked ridiculously pretty if not for the savage power that hummed just below his sophistication.

Intent on her survey, it took Harley a moment to notice the amused gold shimmering beneath his lowered lashes.

Her heart did an alarming flop and she instinctively tensed, preparing to scramble out of the bed.

As quick as she was, however, Salvatore was quicker.

Wrapping his arms around her, he hauled her against his equally naked body, a wicked smile curving his lips.

“Buon pomeriggio, cara.”

She sucked in a sharp breath as an urgent desire charged through her. Her brain might be freaking out at the thought of being eternally bonded to Salvatore, but her body didn’t give a crap.

He was near. He was naked.

He was freaking gorgeous.

Enough said.

Doing her best to ignore the treacherous excitement spreading through her body, Harley planted her hands against his chest.

“What are you doing in my bed?”

He arched a teasing brow. “How do you know this isn’t
my
bed?”

“Dammit. Why are we in
any
bed together?”

His hands slid down to her lower back, pressing her close enough to feel his stirring erection.

“Where else would your mate sleep?”

Mate. Panic sliced through her and she struggled to put a bit of space, and hopefully a measure of sanity, between them.

“Just hold on, Giuliani.”

“I’m trying, but you keep squirming.” His warm breath teased over her cheek, sending bolts of pleasure through her body. “Not that I find it entirely unpleasant.”

“Salvatore.”

He nuzzled a path of kisses along the line of her jaw. “Yes,
cara
?”

She desperately tried to hold onto her train of thought. Not easy when her body was melting in anticipation.

“This whole mating thing is simple biology,” she warned. “You understand that, right?”

He chuckled, his hands running a path from her hips to the curve of her breasts.

“There’s nothing simple about biology,
cara.
It’s complex and magical and far too often inconvenient as hell.”

She forgot how to breathe as his thumbs lazily teased her nipples to hard, aching peaks.

“I’ll second the inconvenient-as-hell part,” she muttered.

“And the magical part?” he whispered, bending his head to tug one nipple between his lips.

The groan of bliss escaped before she could swallow it. “I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”

“I’m listening.”

“How can you be listening when you’re groping me?”

He gently used his teeth to send shock waves of pleasure through her breast to the pit of her stomach.

“I told you. I can multitask.”

No crap. He was the freaking master of multitasking. In fact, if he multitasked any better, she would be singing “Afternoon Delight” and seeing fireworks.

With a sudden shove, Harley rolled Salvatore onto his back, straddling his waist as she grimly reminded herself that they needed to get a few things straight.

She might have become his mate.

But that didn’t make her his “little woman.”

She pressed her hands to his shoulders, glaring at his amused expression.

“Pay attention.”

The golden eyes glowed with a tangible heat, his hands skimming over the curve of her hips.

“You have my full and eager attention.” He shifted his hips until his erection pressed against her backside. “Painfully eager.”

Harley clenched her jaw. Holy crap. He wasn’t the only one eager.

“We need to discuss our…” She struggled for the right word.

“Mating?”

“Relationship,” she snapped. “Or more specifically, our lack of a relationship.”

His fingers tightened on her hips. “Nothing seems to be lacking to me,” he husked. “In fact, I couldn’t be more pleased.”

“Just listen,” she commanded. “This whole mating doesn’t mean I’m going to become your plaything.”

“Of course it does.” He flashed a decidedly wolfish smile. “And for the next few centuries, I intend to keep you barefoot and pregnant while you tend to my every need.”

“Oh, yeah?” She leaned down until they were nose to nose. “I’ll see you in hell first.”

His hand tangled in her hair, keeping her from pulling back.

“Harley, the mating just happened. We have an eternity to figure out the relationship.”

“After my first litter or two? Isn’t that what you want from a female?”

“Madre del dio…”
Unprepared for her accusation, his grip faltered and she pulled back to study his guarded expression.

“Darcy thought it was only fair to warn me that your sole interest in finding us was because of the babies we can produce for you.”

Harley watched the irritation ripple over his beautiful face, knowing she was being a fraud.

Not that she was interested in becoming a mindless broodmare for this Were. No way. But she did understand his frantic need for pure-blooded children, and his willingness to do whatever necessary to have them.

He was king, and his first duty would always be to his people.

That was what she admired most about him.

No. She was merely using the convenient excuse to put a barrier between them.

“Remind me to properly thank her later,” he muttered.

“Do you deny it?”

“I deny nothing,
cara,
” he grudgingly confessed. “My intention was to create pure-blooded females who could carry a litter to full term. But everything has changed now that you’re my mate.” His expression softened with a tenderness that smashed directly into her heart. “My personal miracle.”

Harley stiffened, the unexplainable panic once again looming.

“Don’t say stuff like that.”

“That you’re a miracle?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s freaking me out.”

“Harley.” Reaching up, he grasped her face between his hands. “What’s going on?”

Well, that was the question, wasn’t it?

She licked her dry lips, trying to put her vague fears into words.

“For the past thirty years you’ve been the monster in the closet that gave me nightmares.”

“Merda.”
The golden eyes flashed with outrage. “You think I’m a monster?”

“Of course not. My point is that Caine made me believe his lies. He controlled and manipulated me, and I was too stupid to realize it.”

His expression remained grim. “Not stupid. You were young and vulnerable, and the bastard took advantage of you.”

“I
let
him take advantage of me.” She unconsciously squared her shoulders. “That’s never going to happen again.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“I barely know you.” She rolled her eyes as a smirk curved his lips. “Sex doesn’t equate to knowing someone.”

Salvatore was careful to keep his possessive instincts hidden behind his taunting smile.

This woman was his mate.

And nothing, not even Harley herself, was going to keep him from claiming her.

But he hadn’t been born yesterday.

Or even a century ago.

He might not fully understand Harley’s hovering panic, but he did know that a display of blatant machismo would push her over the edge.

It was a moment for finesse, not force.

“You know me.” He placed his hand just above her breast, savoring the jump of her heart at his intimate touch. “Here.”

Her eyes darkened with awareness of the bond forged between them, but she stubbornly shook her head.

“This is happening way too fast.”

Salvatore allowed his gaze to dip to the perfect curve of her breasts. There was no point in arguing. Not when she was obviously in the mood to assert her independence.

Eventually she’d learn to accept their bond.

And until then, he had a perfect means of passing the time.

“Very well,
cara.
I can do slow,” he promised, his hands moving to cup her breasts. He growled deep in his throat as her nipples tightened into tiny nubs and the air was scented with her arousal. “As slow as you want.”

Her eyes darkened with ready passion, but her expression remained leery, no doubt sensing she was being deliberately distracted.

“Salvatore…”

“Harley, we just escaped from a demon lord,” he protested, his fingers lightly circling her nipples. “Surely we deserve a few hours before we go searching for more trouble.”

She shivered, her back arching beneath his caresses. “I don’t have to search for trouble when you’re around.”

“So cruel,” he teased, lifting his head to replace his fingers with his lips.

“You think you’re so damned irresistible,” she complained, even as her fingers threaded through his hair and she guided his mouth to her other breast.

He gently nipped her creamy skin. “I’m more interested in whether
you
think I’m irresistible.”

“You’re…” She groaned as his tongue flicked over the tip of her nipple. “Passable, I suppose.”

His wolf stirred at the direct challenge. Without warning, he flipped her onto her back and covered her with his larger body, pressing her into the mattress.

“Passable?”

“Hey.”

“My turn on top.”

She was insanely beautiful with her golden hair spread across the pillows and her cheeks flushed, but it was the sensual anticipation that glittered in her eyes that made his muscles clench in painful need.

“Don’t get used to it,” she husked.

“We’ll see.” Her lips parted to argue, but her words faltered as Salvatore sank his cock deep into her wet heat, her low moan of pleasure filling the air. “There’s an endless number of possibilities,” he whispered, “and positions.”

She sank her nails deep into his back, drawing blood as he slowly pulled back and then thrust forward. The pinpricks of pain only added to his pleasure, and pumping his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, he bent his head to capture her nipple between his lips.

“Yes,” Harley breathed, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Don’t stop.”

Stop?

Madre del dio.
There wasn’t a force in heaven or earth that could make him stop. Not when her slick heat was clamped around his erection, her hips rising to meet his thrusts with the hungry demand of a female Were.

Muttering soft words of encouragement, Salvatore shifted to bury his face in the curve of her neck, the mating bond roaring through him. The sense of Harley was not just physical, but branded on his every emotion.

She was a part of him.

For all eternity.

Feeling the gathering power of his orgasm, Salvatore grasped the tender flesh of her neck between his teeth, gripping her hips as he drove into her with rapid strokes.

His entire body tightened with a fierce joy.

Si.
This was what sex between mates was supposed to be.

Intense, thrilling, and wild.

With a sharp cry, Harley reached her climax, raking her nails down his back as she convulsed around him.

The sensation was enough to catapult him over the edge, and tilting back his head, Salvatore roared in pleasure, allowing his seed to pour deep inside her.

For a breathless moment, he remained poised above her, then with a shuddering sigh he collapsed beside her, gathering her tight in his arms.

“Admit it,” he murmured, tenderly tucking a damp curl behind her ear.

“Admit what?”

“You find me irresistible.”

She snorted, shifting so she could meet his teasing gaze. “I find cheesecake irresistible, but that doesn’t make it good for me.”

“Cheesecake.” He studied her with a wicked smile. “Hmmm.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just imagining how delicious cheesecake would taste served on this decadent skin.” His fingers traced a path up the curve of her back. “What else do you find irresistible?”

She smiled with faux sweetness. “A loaded Smith and Wesson .357.”

“Sexy.”

Her eyes widened, then without warning, her choked laugh echoed through the vast room.

“For God’s sake, is there anything you don’t think is sexy?”

A poignant, entirely unreasonable warmth filled his heart at the genuine amusement shimmering in her eyes.

“Not when you’re near,” he husked.

“So predictably male.”

He pressed her closer, his cock already stirring with a ready passion.

“A wolf is never predictable…” His words broke off as a cold, sweeping power filled the air.

“What is it?” Harley demanded.

“The leeches are stirring.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I need to speak with Styx.”

“About what?”

He shrugged. His conversation with the Anasso was not something he intended to share.

At least not with Harley.

“Unfinished business.”

Her brows drew together in suspicion. “Could you be a little more vague?”

He brushed a light kiss over her lips. Time for a distraction.

“What about you,
cara
?”

“Me?”

“What are your plans?”

She stiffened in his arms, the wary expression returning with annoying predictability.

Ironic really.

Wasn’t it traditionally the role of the male to panic at the mention of “happily ever after”?

“For tonight?” She deliberately misunderstood. “Popcorn and a movie in bed sounds pretty good.”

It sounded better than good. It sounded like paradise.

A pity he had a few loose ends to tie up.

Which meant he had to leave Harley behind. At least for a few days.

He intended to make certain she would be safe until his return.

“Harley, you know what I’m asking,” he said softly.

“I don’t have an answer.”

“Do you intend to remain here with your sister?”

“Perhaps for a few days.”

“And then?”

Her expression hardened, her hands moving to press against his chest.

“That’s my business.”

Content with the knowledge that she was willing to remain with the vamps for at least a few days, Salvatore smiled. It shouldn’t take more than a day or two to finish his business, and then he could concentrate on his obstinate mate.

“There’s no need to jut that chin at me.” He kissed the chin in question and then the tip of her nose. “I have no intention of locking you in my lair. At least not in the foreseeable future.”

She frowned in confusion. “You’re just going to let me go?”

Let her go? When hell froze over.

He merely smiled. “You’re not my prisoner.”

Far from stupid, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “This is some sort of trick, isn’t it?”

“No trick.”

“It doesn’t bother you that your mate isn’t going to be with you?”

“As I said, we’ll figure this out in time.” Sliding out of bed, Salvatore scooped Harley into his arms and headed for the attached bathroom. “For now, I need a shower.”

She widened her eyes as he crossed the marble floor and entered the shower that could fit an entire army regiment.

“What are you doing?”

Setting her on her feet, Salvatore savored the scent of her sharp excitement that perfumed the air.

She could snap and snarl and pretend she wasn’t destined to spend the rest of her life with him, but this…

This she could never hide.

Turning on the hot water to spill over them, he skimmed his lips over her cheek, his hands cupping the perfect curve of her breasts.

“You can’t expect me to scrub my own back, woman,” he teased. “That’s what a mate is for.”

“Creep,” she whispered, a smile curving her lips as she plunged her fingers in his hair and kissed him with a hunger that had him pushing her against the ivory ceramic tiles and spreading her legs.

“And this…” With a slow, steady thrust, his cock was deep inside her. “Is what I’m for.”

She groaned, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Not bad, Giuliani,” she whispered. “Not bad at all.”

An hour later, Harley was settled on the bed wrapped in a terrycloth robe, aimlessly flipping the channels on the plasma TV that had appeared, with a push of a button, from behind a sliding panel.

Her skin was pruny from the hour she’d spent in the shower with Salvatore, and her body deliciously sated, but she felt oddly restless as she shifted on the silken sheets and adjusted the pile of pillows behind her.

It would be simple enough to blame her fidgets on the chases, cave-ins, and numerous near-death experiences she’d endured over the past few days. What woman wouldn’t be twitchy?

Or even the fact that she was in an unfamiliar house, surrounded by dangerous demons who could call themselves family, but still were little more than strangers.

She knew, however, those weren’t the true reasons she couldn’t relax.

No.

Her inability to relax was directly due to Salvatore.

Or more precisely, the absence of Salvatore.

Damn the man.

After their prolonged, and deliciously erotic shower, Salvatore had dressed in one of the numerous designer suits that had been left in the walk-in closet, and pulled back his hair with a leather cord. Then with a lingering kiss, he’d taken off in search of Styx, leaving her to enjoy a quiet evening alone.

Exactly what she wanted.

So why did the humongous bed feel empty and the night stretch before her with a tedious boredom?

She clenched her teeth, jabbing her finger on the channel button of the remote control as she scrolled past infomercials, reruns of
Green Acres,
and a number of movies that involved an abundance of naked bodies and juvenile humor. There were a thousand channels. One of them had to have something worth watching.

She had just started on her third run through the channels when a light tap on the door offered a welcomed distraction.

Tossing aside the remote, she sucked in a deep breath, recognizing the scent of her sister.

“Darcy?”

“I come bearing gifts,” she called through the thick wood of the door. “Can I join you?”

“Of course.” Harley slid off the bed, her eyes widening in surprise as Darcy wheeled in a small cart that was overflowing with stacks of movies, bowls of popcorn, and large ceramic mugs. “How did you know…Salvatore.”

“He mentioned you wanted popcorn and a movie. I thought we could watch together if you don’t mind.” Darcy flashed a charming smile, looking decidedly impish in her casual shorts and skimpy top, her blond hair spiked. “I brought everything from
Die Hard
to
You’ve Got Mail.
”

“Definitely
Die Hard,
” Harley said before she could halt the revealing words. Hoping to cover her ridiculous aversion to romance, she bent to peer into the ceramic cups. “Hot chocolate?”

“My weakness.” Darcy perched on the edge of the bed as she waved a hand toward a delicately scrolled armoire. “There’s whiskey in the cabinet if you want it with a kick.”

Harley grimaced, joining her sister on the bed. “I prefer to keep my wits intact when Salvatore is around.”

“Ah.” Darcy tilted her head, studying her with an unnervingly perceptive gaze. “Very wise.”

Harley ran a self-conscious hand through her still damp curls.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Darcy grimaced. “I’m sorry. Nothing is a secret in the demon world.”

“What secret?”

“You’ve completed the mating bond.”

Harley pressed her hands to her face. Was that a blush heating her skin? Frigging hell. She was an idiot.

“Yes.”

“So, you’re Queen of the Weres. Congratulations.”

Disbelief jolted through her. Queen of Weres. She’d been so rattled by the shock of being mated to Salvatore that the rest of the baggage he brought with him had skimmed right over her head.

Until now.

She groaned, flopping back on the mattress.

“Oh, my God,” she moaned. “What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

“Harley?” Darcy’s worried face abruptly hovered over her. “Forgive me. I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth.”

Harley heaved a sigh that came from the tips of her toes. “It’s not you, Darcy. It’s Salvatore Giuliani.”

“Typical.” Darcy scooted back so Harley could push herself up on her elbows. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“All of this,” Harley muttered.

“Could you be a little more specific?”

Harley shivered, briefly closing her eyes. Even from a distance, she could sense Salvatore. He was in a room directly below her, pacing the floor with a barely controlled impatience that she felt as vividly as if it were her own emotion.

She lifted her head to meet Darcy’s gaze. “I’m not sure I want to be a mate, let alone the freaking Queen of Weres.”

Darcy’s lips twisted at her plaintive, yes, maybe even childish, tone.

“Get in line,” she said bluntly.

“Excuse me?”

“I seem to have this conversation a lot over the past few days,” she said with a rueful shake of her head. “Harley, you aren’t the first woman to be…”