Dark Matter (3 page)

My muscles tensed when he said my name,
but as usual he wasn’t trying to compel me. I trusted him—well, as
much as I could trust a fae. He was the only royal fae that hadn’t
once tried to use me, and that included Luke and Zach. I didn’t
care if it was because he was tired of living under the dictates of
the courts. I found his rebellious streak refreshing.

Finn was determined to choose his own
mate. He had made it clear he wanted that person to be
Cassie.

She wanted the same thing. I did too.
So what was the problem? “You and I can help each other,” I blurted
enthusiastically.

He folded his big arms across his
bigger chest. “Is that so?”

I gave him a vigorous nod. “You don’t
want to claim me, and I don’t want to be claimed.” I lowered my
voice as if the cliffs had ears. “No one besides Cassie has to know
that though.”

A confused expression settled on his
face. “What do you mean?”

I leaned conspiratorially toward him.
“You can act, can’t you?”

He grunted, waiving a dismissive hand
in front of his nose as if I were a pesky fly. “That would never
work.”

My face screwed up in confusion. I
shoved my hands at my hips. I had spent a lot of time considering
the pro’s and con’s of my plan, and I hadn’t been able to come up
with a single reason why it wouldn’t work. “How come?”

He avoided looking at me even though I
was staring straight into his tawny eyes. He clenched his jaw a
couple times before he said, “This whole thing is much more
complicated than you want to know.”

I felt the corners of my eyes narrow in
concern. “I doubt that.”

He scrubbed his hand down his stubbly
jaw. “I know it seems as if you have found a simple solution to our
rather large problem, but…” He hesitated a little too long for my
liking before he blurted, “I am not immune to you. Is that what you
wanted to hear?”

Chapter Two

Had I understood Finn correctly? Was he
really implying that he felt drawn to me like the other lords? I
shook my head and placed my hand lightly on his arm. He yanked it
away.

Despite the gloves I was wearing, I
cradled my hand against my chest as if I had touched a hot pan. I
stared up at him not believing what I was seeing. Behind the fury
reflecting in his eyes was unmistakable heat—for me. “You can’t be
serious.”

He looked away again. “It takes all my
will to avoid you. Since you have come into my realm, your call
has…intensified. I am doing my best, but I won’t be held
accountable for my actions if you continue to pursue
me.”

I let out a disgusted huff. “What about
Cassie?”

He set his jaw tighter then sighed.
“She is your best friend. I advise you to keep away from me…for all
our sakes.”

I matched his stance, folding my arms
across my chest. “You’re telling me you would actually bond with
me—right now—if I was game?” A dark expression crossed his amber
eyes killing the hope I still had.

“
Do not tempt me,
girl.”

I frowned at him, backing away. I
thought I had an ally in Finn. How could I have been so wrong about
him? “Zach said you would protect me.”

He moistened his bottom lip and stared
at my mouth distractedly as though he was imagining how I would
taste. He pulled his gaze away from me but not soon enough to give
me any comfort. His voice was gruff when he spoke. “He was aware of
the dangers when he left you here with me.”

I was losing the only hope I had of
leaving this place to find Zach and Luke. I couldn’t understand why
nobody but me was worried that they hadn’t returned as planned. I
kept my voice solid trying my best not to let the insecurity I felt
seep into my words. “Zach and Luke are in trouble. I can feel it.
They need your help!”

Finn opened his mouth as though he was
about to speak then closed it tightly. He shook his head warily.
“Zach is fully capable of taking care of himself, as is Luke. I
suggest you do the same.”

“
But—”

“
Leave!” His bellow echoed
off the cliffs in a thunderous roar loud enough to startle wildlife
miles away. The sharp reverberation of cracking ice mirrored the
rents spreading through my heart.

I felt shock inch across my face before
I narrowed my eyes at him. It was more out of hurt than anger, but
he didn’t need to know that.

He just glared back. His expression
held no amount of compromise.

I turned and ran toward safety, as if
there was such a place here. The castle loomed in front of me like
a haunting figure in a ghostly dream.

The whole structure was made from giant
slabs of grey stone. The battlements rose high above the
portcullis, the picture of intimidation. It even had a drawbridge
and a bright mote of swirling lava that singed my nostrils like a
blazing inferno. The place held an eerie, ancient quality that was
at the same time breathtaking and horrifying. It looked absolutely
medieval, making me wonder how long it had been here.

I ignored the temptation to stop and
gawk at it again. I hadn’t been able to really explore the castle
because every time I had dared come out of my room, someone had
tried to compel me.

People stared as I passed through the
enormous double doors and into the spacious foyer. Tears streamed
down my cheeks unguarded. I no longer cared what any of these
people thought of me.

I raced through the great hall toward
the stairs that led to my room. Sweat trickled down my back and
beaded on my forehead. I longed to shed the heavy coat I was
wearing, but I had learned not to take it off until I was within my
chamber. Every time I had given into my discomfort and removed my
coat in public, I had gotten unwanted attention from whatever male
was around me. It was as though the strange dappled fur protected
me somehow. I pulled it tighter. I could use all the protection I
could get at the moment.

My feet wouldn’t move fast enough. I
took the stairs two at a time and jogged down the hall wishing I
could just poof myself into my room like Professor Dumbledore. I
sped around the corner, lungs heaving in protest. I was almost
there.

A groan escaped my mouth before I could
stop it.

Two men blocked the passageway to my
rooms. These two in particular were trouble on steroids. I let out
a sigh that could have crumbled Alcatraz and bit back a curse. I
didn’t need this right now.

Levi was bad enough to ignore with his
solid physique and light honey eyes, but he wasn’t as big of a
threat to me as Heath who epitomized tall, dark, and lethal. His
deep eyes could pin me in a trance that was nearly impossible to
escape.

He was slightly shorter than Finn, yet
every bit as muscular. His hair was a deep chestnut that looked
walnut unless the light caught it just so. He had a small dimple
high on his right cheek, but only when he smiled broadly. His lips
were a little too thin for my liking, so why did I find myself
staring at them whenever he was near? Although I had tried several
times, I couldn’t deny that even among the fae he was a beautiful
man.

The worst part was he made
me nervous. I kept telling myself it wasn’t in a good way hoping
one of these days my body was going to believe me. One look from
him, and I felt myself align with him as though no other man
existed in
his
universe. I didn’t care what my traitorous body wanted. I had
other ideas.

“
Hello,
Rayla
,” the men said in unison. A
vague compulsion slid up against the barriers in my mind. How two
hopeful underlords thought they could control me when the champion
of their realm hadn’t been able to do it was beyond me?

Well, to be fair, Finn hadn’t actually
tried to compel me. I prayed he never would.

I gave a half nod, pushing back with my
mind. I felt Levi withdraw immediately, but Heath was still lurking
somewhere. “Excuse me, please.” I moved forward a step. Levi didn’t
even look at me before he set off down the hall. His shoulders were
slumped as if in defeat with his head hung between them.

When I spun back around
Heath was firmly planted in front of me. A single dark brow rose as
if to say
just try to go around
me
. I leveled a steely expression at him.
My voice came out ragged. “Move out of my way.” I was in no mood to
deal with amateur flirtation of any level.

Who was I kidding? He had flirtation
down to an art-form.

He gave me an exaggerated frown before
he came within inches of my face. “Why are you so grumpy all the
time?”

My heart set into a jig at
his nearness. I felt the need to move back a step but I didn’t want
to encourage him into thinking all he had to do was look at me in
order to control me. I cocked my head to the side and leaned
against the wall. It was
not
because he made my knees weak with just a glance.
I studied the hard lines of his face. Every angle led me to the
next and soon I was back to those lips I could munch on for
hours.

I was still trying to decide if this
was really how he looked or if it was an enhanced version. I stared
at him a little too long, feeling a slight blush rise up my neck
when he did the same. Definitely amped up. With a great amount of
effort I managed to straighten my spine. “Maybe it’s because every
time I turn around I have to see your ugly face.”

He let out a gusty laugh,
not even acknowledging my absurd insult. The heat coming off him
overwhelmed my senses. He inched nearer before he placed a hand on
the wall next to my face. Waves of his scent hit me like an
inferno. Images of dark, hidden places invaded my mind. A lazy grin
slid onto his lips before he spoke. “If you’re so eager to get rid
of me, why don’t you compel me to leave,
Rayla
?” My name came out a mere
whisper but the soft sound held the strings to my will.

I pulled at my collar, wishing I had a
bucket of slush handy. I needed to cool off and it wasn’t because I
was sweltering in my coat anymore.

My insides tingled from having him this
close. Even though I would never admit it to him, I was straddling
the sharp edge of surrender. If I didn’t get away from him soon I
was bound to give in.

Thank the heavens and the stars Finn
had come for me instead of Heath. I wasn’t sure how things would
have turned out if he had.

I willed myself to step closer to him
even though I needed to get away. He had the audacity to grin at me
as if he had won.

The strength of the elements
seeped into my skin. “What a great idea,
Heath
.” Merely saying his name like
that made my head soar on a cloud of dizziness. I put what I hoped
was a little compulsion into my words to get him to move away from
me. I didn’t dare do much more than that because I was still pretty
new at this. With my luck my compulsion would rebound on me and I
would be stuck with him forever.

I still had no clue what I could do
with my power. Neither did this moron. The unknown seemed to scare
off most of the hopefuls after one failed attempt, but the idea
that I just might be an imminent supernova apparently didn’t bother
him.

A confused expression
crossed his features briefly before he stepped aside. With an
exaggerated flourish, he swept his arm toward my door. “I am at
your service,
m
y
lady.”

I hadn’t missed the possessive
inflection he’d used in addressing me, but I made myself ignore it.
I was so sick of people calling me that. My lady, as if they owned
me. Cassie told me they only did it out of respect for me.
Supposedly, the use of a generic term meant the speaker was in no
way trying to compel me.

Well, I had endured other kinds of
compulsion within the last few days, and I would take the blatant
attempts over the concealed anytime. Some of these people were
pretty adept at mind penetration and a subliminal compulsion was
harder to identify than an outright attack.

Heath had been the first person to use
one against me, on my first night in the castle no less. I had been
in absolute awe of everything I saw, including him.

He had been sitting to my right at one
of the many banquet tables in the great hall. All he did was touch
my hand—a brief kiss of skin, nothing tender or unusual about it.
When I glanced at him I thought I saw a strange flash of light
behind his iris just before he asked, “Care for some peas?” He
hadn’t used my name, but his compulsion blasted through my
barriers.

I snapped out a sultry “Yes,” before
I’d had a chance to really consider if I felt like eating them or
not. He smiled at me then. It was a slow spreading affair that
consumed the majority of his handsome face. All of the fire people
had the same tawny colored eyes, but his seemed deeper somehow like
liquid bronze. I had gotten caught in those eyes one too many times
as if hypnotized by the dancing flames of a roaring
campfire.

It was about to happen again if I
didn’t get my butt into my room. “Thank you,” I said, taking a wide
berth around him. I didn’t even glance at him, but I could feel his
eyes on me as I hurried through the doorway. I leaned against the
door as it thudded closed needing the support all of the
sudden.