Eternal Temptation (6 page)

“Did you hear me in there, lykaen?” He lost his grip on his axe and it went sliding dully to the floor with a thump. He sent her a withering glare, the kind that has sent lesser beings scurrying. She smiled big and bounced on her feet. Damn vixen witch...

“So you did hear me? Oh, good. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on that. Not when I got to participate in your fun earlier.”

He stumbled a step as he reached for the axe, thinking that she knew he’d jacked off outside the cabin. He gauged her expression but nah, she didn’t know. It was cool outside yet he was sweating like he was sitting in a sauna.

“So is this all you do out here,” she said nodding towards the pile of stacked wood on the side of the cabin.

“No, it’s not all I do.” She gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him.

“Then what do you do, lykaen.”

He ground his teeth together. “My name is Darien, and what I do is none of your business.” He picked up the logs he’d chopped and started stacking them on the pile he already built against the cabin. “Why don’t you tell me who messed up your face?” He didn’t like the way she stiffened or the way she turned away from him. The vampire was hiding something bad—it was obvious.

 
“Well if it’s none of my business then I don’t see why my problems are any of yours.” She sighed heavily like the weight of the world was on her small shoulders. “I’ll tell you what, Darien. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

It was hard to keep going through the movements and not show a reaction. He weighed his options. Did he really want to know her issues badly enough to spill his own? He didn’t answer for a while, and for once, she stayed quiet and let him think. When he finished, the logs were stacked neatly against the cabin. He turned to her.

She was pretty. Real pretty. Dammit. One thing was certain though, he and his beast were both in agreement on that. “Fine. I agree.”

He obviously surprised her because her mouth opened and closed several times. A worried, panicked expression filled her eyes.

“Relax, Cassie. You’re safe here.” Damn, he had never been great man, but he certainly had never made a woman look so scared before. She looked like she was about to bolt or break down and cry. He wasn’t sure which he preferred.

“I’m fine. I just don’t want to talk about this right now. Later, okay?” She spun around and went back into the cabin.

Darien barely restrained himself from hitting something. What the hell was that? He wanted to shout his frustration to the whole damn forest.

Fine, she can stay, but not for long. Tomorrow was the worst day of the year for him. The anniversary of the one day he’d never be able to forget.

Chapter 5

Cassie nibbled on her lip and debated leaving. He wouldn’t find her yet, and she’d love to stay and hang out with her lykaen, Darien. Darien, she sighed, what a sexy name. It matched him perfectly.

She couldn’t tell him about Daniel. Ever. Though why a part of her was telling her to throw herself at Darien’s feet and confess everything, she didn’t understand. She would only endanger him more.

Darien came into the cabin and immediately took up all the space. His expression was unreadable—somewhere between anger and defeat. He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged the entire thing in three big gulps. Cassie stifled her girlie squeal at his manliness--barely.

“I need to run to town,” he said after wiping his mouth with his wrist. She perked up exponentially at the news. Flashes of clean clothes, a toothbrush, and a hairbrush blinked before her eyes.

“That’s great. Let’s go. I need some stuff anyways.” She left out the part about her not having any money and smiled big and cute instead. He frowned at her, rubbing a big hand across the back of his neck.

“I’m going alone.”

She stomped her foot. “And you’re going to what just leave me out here all by myself? What if a bear happens by or something?”

“You’re a vampire,” he stated simply.

“As if that gives me the right to know Kung Fu or something?” He grumbled beneath his breath then finally grumbled, “Fine.”

She followed him out the cabin. He turned left and started marching into the woods. Frowning, she looked around but didn’t see a car. “Um, where did you park?”

“A couple of miles this way.”

“Great,” she grumbled under her breath. “So what do you need to get anyways?”

“Nothing.”

“Right, nothing.” Cursing him in her mind, she walked behind him in silence. Several times he was nice enough to hold her hand as she climbed over a rather large fallen tree, or he would hold up a branch so she could duck underneath it. Sweet, sweet man.

Sometime later, they broke through the tree line and came into a small copse with a circle of dirt where a big black truck was parked. Big and dark just like him, how fitting. A dirt path trailed behind the truck and was lined by tall trees that shadowed the trail through the sunlight.

He unlocked the passenger door and opened it for her. Like a true gentleman he waited until she was seated before he closed it and went to his side. Cassie sighed blissfully, she barely knew the man, err lykaen, but already he knew how to make her happy. At least he wasn’t angry any more about the blowjob she gave him. She barely managed to stifle her giggle by the time he hopped in beside her.

The truck started with a roar and then they were off. “So I need a favor.” He looked at her with an arched brow. Okay, so she clearly had no place asking for favors, but come on. “Just hear me out, okay?”

She took his silence for a yes, and just in case he was going to protest she quickly said, “So can I borrow some money?” He choked something that resembled a laugh, and then grimaced as if the action hurt. “What,” she said defensively, “I’m not asking for much. I just need some clothes and maybe a toothbrush. Got to keep the fangs shiny, you know?”

He drove without looking at her. His deep voice vibrated along her skin in the close confines of the truck. “Why don’t you have any money?”

“I didn’t exactly have time to stop and grab my wallet if you know what I mean.” She popped her elbow on the edge of the window and stared out at the forest. How could she go from perky to grumpy in a matter of seconds? Cute guys always did do funny things to her, and she’d never seen a guy this cute. Figures.

“And why were you in such a hurry?”

“I—” She stopped and glared at him. “How dare you try to--try to coerce information out of me. Information that’s none of your business.”

He turned his deep, sharp eyes on her. “Like you were hounding me for information? Or like how you want to know what my business is in town when it’s none of yours.”

She just glared at him. “Yeah like that,” she finally said when she couldn’t come up with anything better. God, I’m lame.

“Are you on the run, Cassie?” He asked it so softly the sound nearly broke her heart. He sounded like someone who actually cared. No one cared about her. The only person who did might just kill her someday. She blinked back the wetness that formed in her eyes and stared harder at the passing blur of trees.

“Aren’t we all?”

Darien looked at her but didn’t say anything.

She knew she touched on a sore spot for him, and for once she kept her mouth shut. Silence passed between them as he drove. When they arrived in town, he pulled to a stop in front of a department store but didn’t kill the engine. He bent towards her and she stiffened, her breath caught in her throat as he neared.
Kiss me.

She might as well of not even been there because he just opened the glove compartment and pulled out a wallet.

“You keep your wallet in your glove compartment? What if someone stole your truck?”

He shrugged. “If they can find it, and they need it that bad then so be it.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“That doesn’t bother me, Cassie.” He pulled out a fresh, crisp hundred-dollar bill and handed it to her.

“Oh, no, that’s way too much, honestly.”

“Spend as much of it as you want. If you need more then I’ll give you more.” She tentatively took the money, guilt riding her hard.

“I appreciate this.” She started to open the door but turned back and said, “But where will you be?”

“I’m going to go take care of some business. I’ll meet you back here in an hour.” She nodded, then before he could see it coming, she leaned across the seat and kissed him square on the mouth.

As far as first kisses went, this one did not disappoint. Yes, she was counting this as the first and not that brief peck from the first day. Okay, well maybe it did disappoint because he wasn’t kissing her back. In fact he sat still underneath her like he was a mime mimicking a statue.

She didn’t care about that at all, because his lips were warm and fit perfectly against hers. He lips were soft like silk and tasted decadent. Her tongue darted out and flicked across his bottom lip to bring that lush taste into her mouth. It was like sex on her tongue, and it only served to whet her appetite. A soft moan escaped her and pleasure bloomed in her veins.

But he still didn’t kiss her back. He did not cock his head or part his lips for her. He stayed still as if he was waiting for her to be finished. Cassie pulled back with a frown. She searched his eyes and tried to read his thoughts. His eyes were dark but with anger or was it something else? She wished she knew.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and started to scoot back to her seat. Hard, strong hands grabbed her. Her eyes shot to his and she had no choice but to move closer to him. His eyes were no longer dark, they smoldered. He didn’t stop dragging her until she was half in his big lap.

“You have no idea what you mess with,” he growled and then he slammed his mouth down on hers.

He didn’t kiss to taste or to learn. He kissed to capture and plunder, to demand obedience. His lips slanted over hers in a hot rush and then he thrust his thick tongue inside her mouth. Cassie could only moan as he took her mouth again and again. His tongue was so thick, he filled her mouth, and he tasted like she thought he would...perfect.

The hands on her cheek turned and fisted in her hair, holding her still for his plundering. Cassie realized that something she did had let loose the beast inside the man, inside the lykaen. And she was melting for him. His lips closed over hers before he slanted her head to the other side and took her mouth at this new angle. He let out an approving growl that had her sex weeping happily in response.

He kissed her for an eternity.

He kissed like a man tasting a woman’s lips for the first time. His raspy tongue licked at her lips before his teeth sunk into her, creating wild, hot sensations in her breasts and between her legs. He was savoring her with every pass of his lips, each swipe of his tongue against hers, and she sought him out eagerly, matching him pace by pace.

Abruptly, he pulled back and with that motion, he stole all the heat from her body. He pushed her shoulders away and closed his eyes.

“Get out.”

The cold hard words were like a stinging slap to the face. Cassie stumbled back to her seat, panting like she’d just run a mile, and fumbled for the doorknob. It took her several tries as she blindly wrenched the door open and jumped down out of the big truck. She landed hard on her feet and her ankle gave out. A sharp, burning pain from her ankle had her shouting out in agony.

Quickly, before she lost it, she slammed the truck door shut and wobbled as fast as she could to the department store door. She didn’t look back.

It didn’t matter because a second later she heard the truck back out and pull away. Cassie rushed to the lady’s bathroom and didn’t stop until she was locked in the tiny stall. The hot tears started spilling before she had the door locked. Not caring about the dirty public restroom, she sat down hard on the toilet seat and the let the tears come.

She bit her fist to keep from sobbing aloud. The last thing she wanted right now was some concerned lady asking her if she was all right. She’d just break down again.

Reaching for the toilet paper, she pulled down a huge rope of it and started blotting dry her face and hands. Her shirt was wet from drops of tears that had landed on her, but whatever.

Bitter anger settled in, happy to replace the tears. At this rate, Darien must think she was a psychopath. Her emotions were ranging from one extreme to another.

Feeling petty over her stupid overreaction, she flushed the toilet out of habit then went and washed her hands. Seeing her reflection made her want to break down and cry all over again. Being a natural redhead made her prone to pale skin that easily freckled, which either could be cute or a nasty mess like right now.

Wishing like hell she had a compact, she turned on the cold water and splashed some on her face. When she looked back at the mirror though her face only looked redder. Growling a curse, she snatched a paper towel and dabbed her face dry as she left the bathroom.

What was his problem anyways?

Who kisses
like that
and then growls at her to get out? She limped through the clothing racks and started picking up jeans and t-shirts, her usual repertoire. Her heart went out for him though. She could feel the pain he was holding so close to him. What is haunting you, Darien Kategan? His words came back to her:
Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.
Could she really?