Embrace the Darkness (15 page)

Unable to resist temptation he allowed his fingers to lightly stroke the rich darkness.

He knew he should be resting. After the death of the Lu it had taken him several hours to gather his human servants and put them on watch around the house, and to contact his clan to warn them to be on alert. He didn't truly believe that the mysterious master could launch another attack so swiftly, but he was determined to be prepared.

It was only when he was confident he had done everything in his power to ensure Shay's safety that he had joined her on the bed and allowed himself the luxury of sleep. A sleep that had been disturbed far too early by the feel of a warm body entangled with his own and a heady female scent filling the air.

Well hell, sleep was overrated anyway, he acknowledged as he propped himself on his elbow to study Shay's delicate profile.

With a sense of wonderment, he realized it was the first time in all of his long years that he had actually awoken with a woman in his arms.

A vampire rarely equated sex with a relationship, and while they lived in clans they did not couple until they found their true mate.

Savoring the feel of her satin hair as it trailed over his fingers Viper hid a smile as her lashes fluttered upward.

God, but she was magnificent.

Annoying as hell, but magnificent.

The sleepy golden eyes roamed over his face as if memorizing his every feature before she realized what she was doing and abruptly stiffened.

“Viper. Is something wrong?”

“No.” He slowly smiled. “I merely enjoy watching you.”

She shifted uneasily on the satin sheets. He was discovering that this woman was oddly shy when it came to intimacy. As if she had little experience with desire.

“What time is it?”

“It is not yet four.” Grasping the cover he pulled it down to reveal the slender form barely covered by her robe. “Do your wounds hurt?”

“No. I'm just stiff.” Her breath caught as Viper ran his fingers over the faint pink marks that still marred her bronzed skin. “What are you doing?”

“I wish to assure myself that you are healed.”

“You don't have to touch my leg to see that I'm healed.”

Viper gave a soft chuckle, his fingers deliberately trailing up her calf to toy with the back of her knee.

“No, but it is a lot more fun than just looking.”

Her features tightened with disapproval, but he didn't miss the faint shiver she couldn't completely hide.

“Where is Levet?”

Viper grimaced. “Still in statue form, thank God.”

Shay propped herself onto her elbows and glared at him in genuine annoyance.

“You really are an ungrateful toad. Levet saved your life.”

Viper shrugged, far more interested in the satin skin beneath his meandering fingers than the sleeping gargoyle.

“That does not mean he couldn't test the patience of a saint. I have met drunken pirates with more pleasant tongues.”

A hint of grudging amusement entered her eyes. “He is, perhaps, an acquired taste.”

“Like arsenic?”

“I should have let you become toast,” she muttered.

“I don't know about becoming toast, but I do know you should never have returned.” He held her gaze with the sheer force of his will. “Why?”

“Why what?”

His fingers tightened on her leg. “Don't pretend to be stupid, pet. I'm aware you possess an uncanny intelligence. At least when you choose to use it. Why did you return?”

Her gaze lowered, hiding her eyes behind the thick sweep of her lashes. “I couldn't leave Levet.”

“The Lu wouldn't have harmed the gargoyle.”

“You don't know that for certain.”

He leaned closer. Close enough that her heat washed over his skin and the pulse of her heart was nearly tangible.

It was his turn to shiver.

He was a predator. A creature meant to hunt and capture his prey without mercy. He wanted. He wanted to be deep in this woman. To sate his lust as he drank of her blood.

Thankfully he had had centuries to gain control of his hungers. And to learn to appreciate the lesson that the more difficult the prey to capture the more satisfying the hunt.

“Try again, pet,” he murmured, his voice edged with a faint rasp.

Her tongue peeked out to touch her lips. “I don't like the thought of some demon stalking me. It seemed wiser to confront it directly than to have it sneak up on me again.”

He shifted his body to press firmly against her curves as his roaming fingers reached the edge of her robe.

“Very logical.”

“I think you've more than assured yourself that my leg is healed,” she said, her voice not at all steady.

“I prefer to be thorough.”

Abruptly she dropped back onto the pillows. He could hear her heart pounding far too fast. “Viper.”

He followed her down to hover a breath from her lips. “You came back to save me, didn't you?”

“No.”

“Why is it so horrible to admit that you don't want me dead?”

She gave a choked sound as his hand shifted to tug at the belt of her robe, slowly parting it to reveal the stunning beauty beneath.

“Stop that.”

His hand reverently brushed over the soft curve of her stomach. “I have never felt such skin. So smooth…so warm. I had forgotten the beauty of Shalotts.”

Although she was strong enough to toss him across the room, and perhaps even through the heavy door, Shay remained lying beneath him, her face tight with something that was suspiciously close to pain.

“I'm a mongrel, remember?”

“I have forgotten nothing about you, and I can honestly swear that your human blood makes you no less lovely.” He deliberately allowed his gaze to skim the delicious length of her body. “In fact it adds a charming hint of fragility.”

“I'm not lovely.”

Viper stilled as an unfamiliar tenderness swept through his heart. By the blood of the saints, how could this woman not know she could make angels weep in envy?

“Look at me,” he commanded, waiting until her lashes reluctantly lifted to reveal her wary eyes. “Do you think it is the Shalotts's blood alone that intoxicates vampires? It has always been their astonishing beauty that captivated us first.”

She gave a shake of her head, clearly not willing to believe his words. “What do you want from me?”

Well, that was easy enough.

He leaned his forehead against her own, drinking in her intoxicating scent.

“Touch me,” he whispered, his voice thick with need. “Let me feel your hands upon me.”

She shivered in response. “Viper, we should—”

He brushed her lips with his own, his hand tracing up to cup her breast. “Please, Shay, just let me feel your touch. That is all that I ask.”

For a long, tense moment he thought she meant to deny his plea. However much she might desire him, her defenses were formidable. She didn't want to want him. Perhaps she even feared to want him.

Then with a painful slowness her hand lifted and the tips of her fingers skimmed over his bare chest.

Viper groaned as his entire body clenched in reaction. Christ. She had done no more than brush him with her fingers and yet he was already hard and aching.

And aching, and aching, and aching…

His head dipped so he could press his lips to the sensitive skin of her temple.

“Don't stop now,” he pleaded softly.

Him. Viper. Ancient vampire. Clan chief. Feared predator. Pleading for the touch of a woman.

Unbelievable.

But what was a desperate man to do?

Nibbling his way down to the curve of her ear, Viper shuddered as her hands pressed more firmly to his skin, smoothing over his chest until she came to his sensitive nipple.

He made a sound deep in his throat at the jolt of excitement. Easily sensing his pleasure, Shay teasingly circled the nipple until it hardened in reaction.

“I didn't know men liked such things,” she murmured.

“I don't know about all men, but I like it very much,” he rasped.

“Do you like this?”

Shockingly she bent downward to flick her tongue over the clenched peak and Viper gave a muffled shout. The pleasure raced through his entire body, tightening his erection and making him worry for the first time in centuries if he might actually reach climax with nothing more than a touch.

His fingers entangled in her hair, urging her to continue with her delectable caresses.

She did.

Even as his heavy lids slid shut, her delicate fingers trailed a blazing path down his clenched stomach to toy with the edge of his boxers. He jerked in response, a growl coming from his throat.

“Oh, yes.”

“Yes, what?” she whispered, clearly taking a perverse enjoyment in driving him to the point of madness.

He spread heated kisses over her face as he shifted to jerk down the offending boxers.

“Are you deliberately attempting to torture me?” he rasped, his hand moving to cover hers so that he could urge it toward his straining erection. “Or do you simply wish me to beg?”

“Torture and begging? I like the sound of both,” she retorted.

Viper laughed softly only to have it end in a broken moan as her fingers stroked the throbbing length of him with a tentative touch.

“Holy hell,” he gasped, his back arching as she gently explored him from tip to base and back again.

There was nothing experienced in her touch. It was more as if she were discovering for herself how best to bring the low groans to his throat, but he had never battled so hard to keep himself from thrusting in mindless need and spilling his pleasure.

He buried his face in her hair as she clasped him in a firm grip, careful not to allow her to feel his fully extended fangs. He had no desire to remind her that he was one of the dreaded vampires.

Not now.

Nothing was going to spoil the mood.

Nothing but the sudden pounding on the heavy oak door.

“Shay.” The piercing, irritating, utterly unwelcome voice of Levet floated through the air. “Do you intend to lie in bed the entire day? I'm starving out here.”

Viper froze, but Shay bolted from the bed as if she had been shot from a cannon. Hastily she wrapped the robe about her shivering body.

The mood was most definitely broken. And if her stricken expression was anything to go by, it wasn't going to be coaxed back to life anytime soon.

With a snarl of frustration, Viper tossed himself on his back and smacked the mattress with his fists.

“I…will…kill…him.”

Shay was seated at the kitchen table with Levet polishing off the last of the apple pie set before her. It wasn't that she was starving. Thanks to Viper's housekeeper she had discovered the kitchen overflowing with food. Most of which she had put a credible dent in.

But she had a habit of eating whenever there was something troubling her mind. Especially if that something was a silver-haired, dark-eyed vampire who could turn her into a raging hormone with a mere glance.

My God, she had wanted him so badly. Wanted to feel him shudder beneath her touch, to hear him groan in pleasure, to guide him within her so that she could join him in paradise.

And worse, she couldn't even totally convince herself that it would never happen again.

Or that she didn't want it to happen again.

She was pathetic. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.

She scooped another bite of apple pie and stuffed it in her mouth. Thank God Shalotts never had to worry about their weight.

In contrast Viper was not an eater, but a stomper.

Having consumed his bottle of blood in one swig he had begun storming through the house, rallying his troops to ensure that the guards were on duty, and calling in assistance to begin repairing the tunnels. He swirled through the house attired in a pair of black velvet pants that fit tight enough to make Shay choke on her pie and a silver shirt that was left open to reveal his perfect chest. He was delicious enough to tumble to the ground and have her way with him. Except for the unmistakable scowl that marred his handsome features.

In fact it was almost a relief when he muttered something beneath his breath and slammed out the back door.

“I do not know why that vampire is in such a foul mood,” Levet muttered, working his way through his fourth bowl of stew. “Thanks to me he was not turned into a pile of dust. And with your swift thinking you managed to defeat the Lu. He should be bowing at our feet in gratitude, not stomping around as if he has a stake stuck up his butt.”

Shay sighed as she moved aside the empty pie pan. “I wouldn't push it right now, Levet.”

Something in her tone made the gargoyle regard her with a raised brow. “
Cherie,
exactly what did I manage to interrupt?”

A stupid blush touched her cheeks. “I said don't push it.”

Levet gave a sudden laugh. “Ah…so your hatred of vampires does not extend to the
boudoir
? I cannot fault your taste. He is gorgeous in a cold, arrogant sort of manner.”

Shay regarded her friend with a dangerous frown. “You think Viper arrogant? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?”

“Pot?” Levet gave a helpless lift of his hands. “I do not know what this black pot is.”

Shay rolled her eyes. “Forget it, Levet. You've been in America since the Revolution. Your command of English is better than my own.”

“English, bah. Such a foul language. There is no romance, no beauty. Just horrid noises that grate upon my delicate ears.”

Attempting to appear casual Shay gave a lift of her brow. Somehow, someway, this ridiculous gargoyle had become an important part of her life. She couldn't bear to think of him being hurt because of her.

“Then why do you remain here? Why not return to France?”

A shudder raced through the small, gray body. “You mean to the loving arms of my family?
Sacrebleu,
I would not survive such a reunion. The last that I heard my brothers were determined to have my head upon a pike.”

Shay grimaced. “Yeah, families are a bitch. From all I have discovered most of my extended kin are bloodthirsty assassins who often keep the skins of their kills as trophies.”

“Charming.”

She tugged on her long braid that was still damp from the shower. “There are places besides France for you to go. I've heard Italy is a beautiful country.”

A beat passed as the gargoyle stared at her with growing suspicion. “Are you attempting to be rid of me?”

She hesitated as she tried to come up with a reasonable lie beneath that steady regard. At last she blew out a sigh. Shit. She never could manage to lie worth a crap.

“Levet we both know that I'm not safe to be around. Something out there wants me dead and they don't care who they have to hurt to get to me.”

His wings twitched in outrage. “You think me a coward to run from danger? Why do you not just cut off my manhood and be done with it?”

“I have never thought you a coward, but it's stupid to put yourself in danger when there is no need.”

Levet ducked his head to finish off the last of his stew. And more importantly to hide his expression from her.

“I have nothing better to do for the moment. I might as well remain and protect you while I await something to catch my fancy.”

Shay found herself ridiculously touched. For all his grumpiness the gargoyle did care for her.

“Levet—” About to demand that he find someplace safer to be, Shay was abruptly cut off as a roar split the night air. “What the hell was that?”

Levet hopped off his chair to go to the door and pull it open. “The howls of the damned. Or a very angry vampire. They seem to be coming from the garage.”

“The garage…” Shay slowly lifted herself to her feet as a sense of dread filled her stomach. “Oh.”

“What is it?” Levet demanded.

“I might have had some difficulties with Viper's car.”

“What sort of car?”

“A Porsche, I think. What does it matter?”

Levet rolled his eyes heavenward. “Holy mother of God.”

Shay frowned as the gargoyle grabbed a loaf of freshly baked bread and headed toward the stairs to the basement.

“Where are you going?”

“To find shelter from the coming storm.”

There was another roar and Shay pressed a hand to her cramped stomach. “You just promised you would remain to protect me.”

Levet sent her a raspberry. “You wrecked a man's Porsche. You are on your own.”

“Traitor,” she called after the retreating demon.

Her voice was still ringing through the kitchen when the back door was thrust open and a surge of power rushed over her skin as Viper stepped into the room.

Despite her best intentions Shay discovered herself backing into the nearby counter as he swept forward.

“What did you do?” He came to a halt a few steps away, as if not at all certain he could trust himself to be any closer. Shay clutched the countertop behind her, grudgingly accepting that even in his fury he was fiercely beautiful. It was almost an effort not to reach out and touch him just to remind herself he was real and not just some fantasy from a woman's dream. “Stop by a demolition derby on your way?”

She sternly gathered her thoughts.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

“I'm not used to driving a stick.”

“So you drove it into every tree and ditch you could discover?”

Her lips thinned at his sharp tone. Beautiful or not there were times when he was damn annoying.

“It's not that bad.”

“It's a total wreck.”

“I'll admit that there are a few scratches and dents, hardly a wreck.”

The midnight eyes narrowed. “The drive shaft is beyond repair, the transmission is shot, the—”

“Okay, there are some problems,” she interrupted, inwardly wincing as she recalled just how many ditches and trees she had managed to locate. “It's just a car.”

“Just a car?” He blinked as if she had spoken a foreign language. “That is saying that a Picasso is just another painting. It is…was a masterpiece.”

“You were the one who ordered me to take a car and leave.”

“I did not realize that I needed to specify that it be returned in one piece.”

Enough. Her chin stuck out and she planted her hands on her hips. He had to be the most insensitive, ungrateful, ill-mannered vampire ever to walk the earth.

“What do you want from me? An apology?”

For a moment he continued to glare at her and then without warning his rotten mood seemed to slide away and that dangerous, sinful smile slowly curved his lips.

“Mmm…what do I want from you.” He moved forward with a sensuous grace. “An intriguing question.”

Her heart gave an alarming jolt. All the warning she needed to keep this vampire firmly at arm's length.

“Don't you dare come another step closer.”

His soft chuckle trickled down her spine. “Now, pet, you know better than to challenge me.”

“Don't do it.”

Of course he took that next step. He was a vampire, wasn't he?

Shay allowed instinct to take over. As he reached out to touch her face, she grasped his arm and with a swift motion she was diving to the floor, using his momentary astonishment to pull him down with her. With a hard kick against the floor she had rolled Viper onto his back and was perched on his chest.

It had all happened with such a smooth ease that Shay knew that Viper had done nothing to fight back. A suspicion that was confirmed as she glared into his smoldering eyes.

“Now what do you intend to do with me?” he murmured softly, his hands moving to cup her hips in a suggestive grip.

Thank God for the thickness of jeans. She wasn't sure what would happen if he touched her bare skin again.

Nothing she
should
want.

“Don't tempt me.”

“But that is precisely what I want to do.” He did something with his chest that rubbed against the juncture between her legs, sending a small shock of pleasure through her. “Are you tempted?”

She gritted her teeth. “To put a stake through your heart.”

“Before or after you scream out your pleasure?”

“We don't have time for this nonsense,” she muttered, giving a sudden shriek as he lifted himself to his feet in a fluid motion and she was forced to wrap her legs around his waist or be dropped onto her backside.

His arms lashed about her and he bent his head down to steal a fierce, hungry kiss.

A kiss that made her head spin before he pulled back with a sigh.

“Unfortunately you are right.” He gently placed her back on her feet. “We must make our plans.”

Shay wobbled, but she didn't fall down.

It was something.

“We?”
she demanded.

“Whether you like it or not, pet, you still belong to me.”

She stiffened before common sense warned her that his provoking words had been deliberate. He wanted to distract her.

The question was why.

“You can't seriously intend to keep me around?” she demanded. “You were almost killed. Why would you want me near when it's bound to endanger your life?”

He shrugged. “It's a break from the monotony. I haven't had anyone try to kill me for a very long time.”

It sounded remarkably like Levet's lame excuse. Her eyes narrowed.

“I don't believe you. Why don't you break the amulet and be free of me?”

His features hardened. “Because you belong to me and I take care of what is mine.”

Belonged to him? Ugh. “That's not reassuring.”

His fingers brushed her cheek. “It should be.”

She took a hasty step backward. Dammit, he knew she couldn't think when he was touching her.

“You said something about a plan?” she demanded, accepting that he was going to remain like a thorn in her side no matter how stupid or dangerous it was to be around her.

Men.

“It is obvious we cannot simply hide,” he murmured, leaning against the counter to look cool and perfect. “We must decide how best to keep you safe.”

“The Lu said that we must look to my curse.” Shay furrowed her brow. “What did he mean?”

“I haven't the least notion. What do you know of your curse?”

“Nothing.”

“You must know something.”

Shay shrugged. “I was very young and I only have vague memories of being in a dark cave and a sharp pain in my shoulder.”

“Your shoulder?”

Shay paused before she heaved a sigh and tugged at the neckline of the comfortable sweatshirt she had discovered in her closet. Turning around she revealed the brand that marred the skin of her shoulder blade.

She was prepared for the feel of his finger lightly tracing the perfect circle that enclosed the intricate, strangely drawn symbols. She had studied the brand a thousand times over the years. She knew that in the overhead light it would possess a faint glow, and that it would have an odd translucent quality to it. As if it floated a breath above her skin rather than being a part of her body.