His Dark Embrace (7 page)
Thorne had tangled with Desmarais in France some thirty-odd years ago and considered himself lucky to be alive today. He had not heard anything of Desmarais in more than twenty years. Desmarais had been old when Thorne knew him. Like everyone else, he had assumed Desmarais had passed away years ago.
One thing about Desmarais, old or young, the man knew how to carry a grudge. Desmarais held Thorne responsible for the death of his wife. It was true Thorne had killed Marie Desmarais, but hell, the woman hadn’t given him any other choice. She had been a hunter every bit as determined and ruthless as her husband. In the end, it had been her life or Thorne’s.
“So, Desmarais, my old friend,” he muttered, “where the hell are you now?”
He was still pondering that question later that night as he made his way down to the wine cellar.
Unlocking the safe, he withdrew the blue bottle with its priceless contents. For a moment, he simply held it in his hands, reluctant to drink the last of the precious liquid. How long would this dose last? There was no telling. Even though he always drank the same amount, the results varied. Some doses lasted several months, some only a few weeks. Paddy had been at a loss to explain the variation in the doses and, try as he might, the old man hadn’t been able to stabilize the formula. It hadn’t been a problem as long as Paddy was alive, but now ...
Swearing under his breath, Thorne lifted the bottle to his lips, grimacing as the foul-tasting liquid burned a path down his throat.
And then, drowning in despair, he hurled the bottle against the far wall, watching in anguish as it shattered into a million sparkling blue pieces and with it, the life he had come to know.
Chapter 5
Skylynn stood at the sink, staring out the window as she rinsed off the plate and glass she had used at lunch. She had called the police soon after Kaiden left. Two uniformed officers had arrived within the hour, taken a report, dusted for fingerprints, and said they would keep in touch.
She glanced at the clock, dismayed that it was barely four. Never had a day passed so slowly. She had tried all afternoon to come up with a good excuse to go across the street and see Kaiden, but every reason she came up with sounded more contrived than the one before.
After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, she turned the machine on, then went into the front room. Sitting in Granda’s squeaky rocker, she drummed her fingertips on the arms. What was Kaiden doing? What if she made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and took a dozen or so across the street? That would be a nice, neighborly gesture.
Lordy, she had it bad. Ever since coming home and seeing Kaiden again, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. At fourteen, she had known he was a handsome man, but, like all teenagers, she had viewed anyone over thirty as having one foot in the grave.
At fifteen, she hadn’t fully realized how amazingly sexy he was, although just looking at him had made her feel warm all over. At the time, she had thought she was just embarrassed, but now she realized she had been unwittingly responding to his innate sexuality.
She was still responding to that air of sensuality, but now she recognized it for what it was. Just being near him caused all her hormones to sing a happy song. Those dark eyes, that incredibly sexy smile, that deep, whiskey-smooth voice that could coax the birds out of the trees. She could hardly wait to see him again. Just the thought of being close to him, hearing his voice say her name, made her stomach curl with anticipation and brought a smile to her face.
“Oh, for crying out loud, Skylynn, stop it! You’re practically engaged to another man.”
Ah, yes, Harry. She hadn’t thought about him more than once or twice since Kaiden arrived on the scene. She suddenly realized why she kept putting Harry off. Without consciously being aware of it, she had been comparing Harry to Kaiden. And there was just no contest, no way Harry could possibly win.
She rocked back and forth for a few minutes, then frowned as a horrible thought occurred to her. Had her marriage failed because Nick hadn’t measured up to Kaiden Thorne? Of course, to be fair, what man could? There was something about Kaiden that was lacking in other men, though, try as she might, she couldn’t quite put her finger on just what it was. It was more than his stunning good looks. After all, there were a lot of handsome men running around. Maybe it was the intensity of his gaze when he looked at her, as if she were the only woman on the planet. Maybe it was the husky, sexy quality in his voice when he spoke her name. Maybe it was the incredible attraction that sizzled between them whenever his gaze met hers. Whatever it was, she found him completely irresistible.
What was he doing now?
He seemed obsessed with finding the formula to Granda’s potion. Was it more than just a tonic? Some kind of medication, perhaps? What if Kaiden was sick and he needed Granda’s tonic to survive? That would explain why Kaiden was so desperate to find the missing ingredient.
She frowned as she thought about the man in the gray cloak. Did he have the same illness as Kaiden? Was that why he had stolen the formula? If the formula didn’t include the missing ingredient, would the man in the gray cloak come looking for it again? Mercy, that was a scary thought!
She needed to see Kaiden, needed to make sure he was all right. Once again, she searched her mind for some excuse to visit him and then smacked her forehead with her palm. She had the perfect excuse. He had offered to help her clean up the mess in Granda’s lab.
Smiling, she went into the kitchen, whipped up a devil’s food cake, and put it in the oven. She brushed her hair and her teeth, slipped on a clean sweater and a pair of jeans, and hurried across the street.
Thorne knew it was Skylynn even before she knocked on the door. He would have known she was nearby if he was deaf, dumb, and blind by the way his whole body yearned toward her.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “Is your offer to help me clean up Granda’s lab still good?”
“Sure. Just tell me when.”
“I was thinking about tonight, if you’re not too busy.”
His gaze met hers. “Never too busy for you.”
Her stomach did a quick somersault as his voice caressed her. Was that throaty, sensual purr something he practiced, or did it just come naturally? It slid over her skin like velvet warmed by the sun.
“Sky?”
“What? I mean, that’s great! I made a cake.”
“What kind?”
“Devil’s food. I hope you like fudge frosting.”
“Women and chocolate,” he muttered with a good-natured grin. “Is there a reason why you want to wait until tonight?”
“Not really.”
“Then let’s go. I’m not doing anything, and the sooner we get started, the sooner we can have that dessert.”
“Works for me,” Sky said, grinning. “I might even throw in a scoop of ice cream.”
“All the better.” After closing the door, he followed her across the street.
A patrol car pulled up as they reached the opposite curb and a ruddy-faced cop leaned out the window. “Everything okay here, Miss McNamara?”
“Yes, fine, Officer.”
“We’ll be keeping an eye on your place for the next few days. Be sure to call if you see anyone suspicious in the area.”
“I will. Thank you.”
With a nod, the cop put the car in gear and continued on down the street.
“Did anything else come up missing?” Thorne asked as they climbed the porch stairs.
“No. Apparently all the thief wanted was the formula, if that’s what he got. We really don’t have any way of knowing for sure what he took.”
“True, but my gut tells me it was the formula.”
In the kitchen, Skylynn filled a bucket with hot, soapy water. After pulling on a pair of rubber gloves, she grabbed a roll of paper towels, located a couple of old dishrags in a drawer, picked up the bucket, and headed for the basement.
“Here, let me carry that,” Thorne said, reaching for the pail.
“I’m not helpless.”
He inclined his head in her direction. “I know that. You’re a liberated female, but I’m still a gentleman. In my day, we looked after our women.”
She looked up at him, head canted to one side. “Your day? You couldn’t have been more than a baby when the women’s lib movement started.”
“Humor me,” he said with a wry grin.
With a shrug, she relinquished the bucket, then opened the door to the basement.
Thorne followed her down the stairs. Being a healthy male, he couldn’t help but admire the subtle sway of her hips, or the delightful curve of her derriere, nor could he ignore the flowery fragrance that clung to her skin. Or the way the front of his jeans suddenly felt very, very tight.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he reined in his lust. Drawing his gaze from her delectable backside, he focused his attention on Paddy’s lab. It looked as he had seen it last, except now every visible surface was covered with fingerprint powder.
Thorne quickly put the furniture to rights while Skylynn attacked the fingerprint powder. His was by far the easier task.
Sky muttered under her breath as she washed the black powder off the top of one of the filing cabinets. She had heard stories of how difficult the stuff was to remove, but it was even worse than she had expected. Fortunately, the dust was only in the lab and the floor was linoleum and not carpet. When the Cunninghams down the street had been robbed, the crime lab technicians hadn’t been too careful about dusting for prints. The sticky stuff had gotten into the Cunninghams’ carpet and ruined it. Mr. Cunningham, who was a lawyer, had filed a claim against the police department and the city had replaced the Cunninghams’ carpet.
Sky was in the middle of washing down the doorjamb when Kaiden sniffed the air. “Something’s burning.”
“What? Oh, no! My cake!” Sky exclaimed. Dropping the rag on the floor, she ran out of the lab and up the stairs. “Darn it!” Grabbing a hot pad, she opened the oven door and pulled the pan from the oven.
“Looks a little singed,” Thorne remarked, coming up behind her.
Muttering, “It’s ruined,” she dropped the pan in the sink. “That darn thief! It’s all his fault,” she said, and burst into tears.
Kaiden reached around her to turn off the oven; then, blowing out a sigh, he drew her into his arms. “It’s only a cake, Sky Blue. It’s not the end of the world.”
“It’s not the cake,” she wailed. “It’s just ... everything.”
Drawing Sky with him, Kaiden braced his back against the counter. Unless he was mistaken, the floodgates were about to open.
“It’s okay, darlin’,” he murmured, “let it all out.”
And she did. She shed tears for her failed marriage and for her grandfather’s death. She wept because a good man wanted to marry her and she didn’t love him, and because she was afraid Sam was dead. She cried for the mess in the lab, for the cremated cake stinking up the kitchen, and because she didn’t know what to do about her future, her job, or the feasibility of keeping Granda’s house.
As her tears subsided, she grew increasingly aware of the man who was holding her close. One large hand lightly stroked her back. His breath ruffled her hair.
Sniffling, she looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I’m getting you all wet.”
“I’ll dry.” With the pads of his thumbs, he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Feel better?”
She nodded, suddenly self-conscious. She must look a fright, with her eyes and nose all red and swollen. When she would have moved away, his arms curled around her waist again.
He’s going to kiss me.
And even as the thought crossed her mind, he was lowering his head, claiming her lips with his. It never occurred to her to resist.
She went up on her tiptoes, her arms twining around his neck, her eyelids fluttering down as one of her favorite teenage fantasies came to life. Unlike so many other things she had wished for, the reality was ever so much better than the dream. His mouth was warm and firm on hers; his arms held her body close to his. A distant part of her mind, the part that was still functioning, took note of the fact that they fit well together despite the difference in their height.
One of them moaned, a soft cry of need and longing.
Just when she realized that that needy purr had come from her own throat, Kaiden put her away from him, then turned his back toward her.
Sky stared at him. He was breathing hard, his hands clenched at his sides. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder and realized he was trembling. “Kaiden?”
He blew out a shaky breath. “Just give me a minute.”
Her hand fell away and she bit down on the corner of her lip, confused by his behavior. She wasn’t an untouched innocent. She knew when a man wanted her. And she for sure wanted him, so why had he pulled away? She hadn’t been with a man since her divorce. Was she so desperate for a man’s touch that she had imagined the sensual spark that had ignited between them like a match striking tinder?
No, that had been real. Butterflies danced in her stomach when he turned to face her again.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice gruff. “I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand.”
She blinked up at him, uncertain of how to respond.
Thorne took a deep breath, held it, then blew it out in an impatient sigh. He didn’t want to take advantage of her. She was recently divorced. Her brother was missing in action. She had buried her grandfather only days ago. She was grieving and, oh, so vulnerable. Not to mention the fact that she had a boyfriend waiting for her in Chicago.
Sky folded her arms and took a step backward. Apparently, she had imagined that spark, after all.
“I appreciate all your help,” she said, her voice cool, “but I think I can manage the rest on my own.”
He regarded her through narrowed eyes, then shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Okay, Sky Blue,” he said quietly. “If you need help with anything else, you know where I live.”
Lips tightly pressed together, she nodded. Right now, she only wanted one thing.
It wasn’t until she heard the front door close behind him that the tears came again.
Thorne muttered every curse word he knew, in every language he knew, as he stormed across the street and into his own house. Dammit! He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings or start something he knew he shouldn’t finish, but how the hell was he supposed to have known that one innocent kiss would so quickly turn into something far more provocative? Still, he shouldn’t have been surprised, not when she smelled so good and felt so right in his arms. Not when he had spent every day since he had come back to town thinking of her, dreaming of her. Wanting her in the most primal way.
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