ShadowsofNight (27 page)

Christian slashed the throat of a fallen vampire, making him
suffer before staking him through the heart. He got up and stalked forward,
looking for his next victim. He didn’t care about anything or anyone. He’d show
no mercy to those in league with Dorian. Nothing short of his death could
quench the black rage inside him or the insufferable pain of losing the woman
he loved.

The only reason he’d agreed to follow Marcus’ men to Dorian’s
compound was in the hope that the bastard might appear.

Either way, he’d find him.

“It doesn’t look like he’s going to show. I thought for
sure…” Marcus’ expression was marred by his own guilt. Not an easy thing to
live with but Christian couldn’t give a shit at the moment.

“I’m not surprised the coward hid from us.” Christian spat
on the ground and wiped sweat from his brow. “I’ll keep hunting.”

“You seriously underestimate your opponent. I was busy with
your mate—who now belongs to me.” Dorian appeared a few yards away. Marcus drew
his dagger.

“Don’t even think about it. He’s mine!” Christian snarled. “I
haven’t underestimated any—”

He stopped suddenly, sniffing the air.

Emma’s scent enveloped Dorian, surrounding him with her essence.
Christian smelled desire, lust, pain, conflict, fear, all rolled together.
Does
she desire this male?
He’d expect to sense fear and horror, but not the
rest. It didn’t make sense. He recoiled as pain sliced through him.

“Are you surprised that she wanted me? Mm…smells good, doesn’t
she?”

“You lie! She wouldn’t betray me.” A muscle ticked in his
jaw and he collected his emotions, locking them away.

“She’s quite tasty. I enjoy those lovely curves. Now you
know why I was late.” Dorian beckoned him forward. “She’s no longer yours.”

The closer he drew to his enemy, the stronger the smell of
arousal filtered through Christian. The scent drove him mad with rage so strong,
it threatened to consume him. “Tonight you die.”

“I think not, but if you somehow get lucky in your quest to
end my life, remember, I’m the only one who knows where she is.” He grinned.

“Your death will come slowly and painfully—
after
I
find her. Make no mistake about that.”

“Not going to happen. Let’s finish this. She’s waiting for
me,” he taunted.

Dorian’s words sent him straight over the edge. He withdrew
his blade and launched himself at the bastard, knocking him to the ground.
Dorian easily threw him off and scrambled to his feet.

“You’re going to have to do much better than that if you
want to beat me.” He laughed, as if he was playing with him.

“Is this better, asshole?” He charged again, slamming his
fist into the male’s face with a loud crack.

Dorian spat blood from his mouth. “She was meant to be
mine
.
Not yours! You took her from me!” He grabbed Christian by the neck and hurled
him across the courtyard with such force, it knocked the wind from his lungs.
The impact momentarily stunned him but he quickly recovered and got back on his
feet.

He was about to charge again, ready to end this fight, when
he heard it.

Christian!

He froze at the sound of Emma’sanguished cry inside
his head. He swayed, feeling lightheaded. He locked on to her voice. His
instinct to protect her overrode the pain of potential betrayal inside his
heart. He’d deal with that shit later, after she was safe.

Without another thought of Dorian, he traced, letting their
connection lead him to her.

“Emma!” he called out, materializing near a set of cliffs
that overlooked a large waterfall. He caught her scent on the wind and it
nearly dropped him to his knees. His dick swelled to a painful degree.

Why is she in heat? She’s too young.

Yeah, and what the hell do you know about her biology?

He found her crumpled on the ground next to a large crater
in the earth, curled on her side. Petrina was with her, seemingly trying to offer
comfort.

“What’s wrong with her?” He knelt beside her. She moaned
when he touched her face.

“She’s been forced to go into heat,” Petrina replied.

“How?” he snarled.

Petrina shrank from him in fear and didn’t answer. Christian
scooped Emma into his arms. Anger and revulsion at what had been done to her
rolled through his mind, a cocktail of emotions he wasn’t prepared to deal
with. And to make matters worse, his carnal side wanted inside her tight body.
He closed his eyes and tried to battle lust sweeping through him like a roaring
tidal wave.

She wrapped her arms weakly around him and buried her face
in his neck. Her whole body quaked. He couldn’t understand what had happened to
her, and Petrina still wasn’t talking.

“You came,” she sobbed as she lifted her head to stare into
his face. She tried next to reach for his lips but he pulled away. He couldn’t
let her kiss him. Not right now.

“I’m here, you’re safe.” What the hell had Dorian done to
her?

“Please, Christian, please make the pain stop!” She tried to
reach his lips again.

He wanted to help her, and refusing her request caused an
ugly ache in his chest. But his hurt made him pause. He couldn’t get the image
of Dorian and her together out of his head.

“Wait until we return home.” He couldn’t think of anything
else to say.

“Look out!” Petrina screamed.

Christian gently released Emma and stood to face Dorian. “What
have you done to her?”

“Her body needs to mate. If she doesn’t, it’s quite
unpleasant, I’m told. Once I fuck her a few more times, she’ll be fine,” Dorian
replied as they faced each other.

“What you did to her is cruel!” Petrina glared at him.

“And I will deal with
you
later,” he growled.

“It will be worth it, you bastard. Everything I felt for you
was in vain. I’m a blind fool to have had any love for you!” Petrina spat.

“You served a purpose. And love? What’s that? There’s no
such thing as
love
.”

“I thought there was a small shred of good in you still. I
was wrong.” As her first tear fell, Petrina disappeared.

His gaze flicked back to Christian. “Now as for
you
—let’s
finish this.”

Dorian’s mocking grin spiked Christian’s rage and he didn’t
need any more fuel for this fight. One of them was going to die before it was
over. He prepared to launch—

But just as quickly, fate’s hand intervened and a flash of
movement like the wind caught Christian’s eye…

Dorian’s back bowed violently, his eyes going wide, mouth
gaping. He dropped to his knees…

And behind him stood Petrina, a large, bloody wooden stake
in her hand.

She thrust it forward again, this time running him
completely through.

Blood burst from Dorian’s lips as he took his last breath. His
body burst into flames and he fell forward, turning to ash.

Petrina dropped the stake with shaking hands. “Now there’s
no such thing as
you
.” She remained rooted to the spot, shaking, as the
ashes blew away.

Christian was stunned. Problem solved. He approached her. “Are
you okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. But y-you should go to Emma, she needs
you now.”

He looked at his mate who was once more curled in a ball on
the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

“Come, I’ll take you back with me to Marcus’ coven. I think
Emma would want that.”

Petrina nodded.

His wariness returned as soon as he approached Emma, and he
realized she was unconscious. Her scent was also so much stronger than before.
He had to fight his instincts not to give in to what his body wanted.

“Her pain is worse,” Petrina whispered. “I’m sure you suffer
from it too.”

“Yes,” he groaned as he lifted Emma in his arms. Her body
thrummed, heat coursing off her in tantalizing waves.

She was with Dorian.

He closed his eyes as they traced to Marcus’ coven, trying
to erase the thoughts that felt like razors across his mind. He was quickly
ushered inside by the Sentinel guards and he traced to the main house and met
Lena at the door.

“How is she?” Lena followed him to the back of the manor.

“Where are Marcus and the others? Have they returned from
Greece?”

“Yes, they’re delivering prisoners to the dungeon and should
return very soon.”

“Emma’s been drugged, I think. I’m going to take her
upstairs. Petrina is to be treated as a guest, not an enemy.

“But…”

“She saved Emma’s life and killed Dorian. They’re sisters,
and she’s not to be harmed! Are we clear?”

“Yes, of course.” Lena nodded.

“I’ll be back.” He traced upstairs with Emma and placed her
on the bed. Mercifully she was still unconscious, which gave him time to think.
He walked into the bathroom and quickly showered, letting the water wash away
the blood and gore of death that covered him. He placed both hands on the wall,
totally unprepared to face her now. Part of him wanted her so badly it hurt to
think of anything else, while the other part was repulsed by the idea of her lying
with another male.

He turned off the water and dried, wrapping the towel around
his body before returning to the bedroom.

The charged atmosphere of the room hit him like a two-by-four.
Emma was awake—and naked. She crawled forward on the bed when she spotted him,
her long dark curls falling forward and her pale skin glowing in the soft
light.

A growl vibrated from his chest, more on instinct rather
than intent. “Emma, I think it’s probably not—”

“I need you. Please! I’m hurting…” Her voice caught.

She jumped off the bed and leaped into his arms. He cupped
her ass and she wound her legs around his waist, her slick sex grinding,
stirring him with her heat.

“Please, Christian.” She licked the seam of his lips.

“Oh fuck.” He was breathing hard now, wanting her even
though his mind recoiled at the thought of her having sex with their enemy. Her
hips swiveled, brushing her core against his abdomen, and he found her to be
utterly wet. His sex jutted straight out, heavy and ready to take her.

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

He shuddered, sweat breaking out along his upper lip. She
leaned, desperate, begging him to open his mouth. He couldn’t help but savor
the mad lust coursing throughout his body, and with a brutal groan, he gave in.
She let out a muffled cry, spurring him on.

He should’ve stopped this before it started, knowing anger
and lust were a potentially dangerous mix. But he couldn’t stop. Instincts had
won out and he was along for the ride. With her legs wrapped around him, he
carried her to the bed and caged her beneath his heavy frame, forcing her legs
apart with his thighs.

Christian looked down at her, wanting to mark her again as
his own and somehow erase all thoughts of Dorian, even though his heart still
stung. It wasn’t her fault but it still felt like a betrayal. He tore his towel
away and drove his hard length into her tight sheath. Her body clenched around
his shaft, fisting him tightly.

“Emma!” His face contorted from the sheer pleasure of her
body yielding to him. She tried to move her hands to his back but he grabbed
them, pinning them above her head.

“Yes!” she cried out.

God, he
hated
the war in his mind. Why hadn’t she
called out to him? Why wait until afterward? Instead, she’d allowed another
male to fill her and now she wanted relief from Christian. He wondered if she’d
even fought Dorian off.

He closed his eyes, unable to look at her. If he was to take
care of her needs, it was the only way.

This is wrong. I need to think.
But his carnal urges
won out.

Can’t stop, feels too good.
He groaned as his body,
unable to resist, surged forward, taking her hard. He leaned forward, latching
on to her breast, sucking the nipple into his mouth as he pounded into her.
Bloodlust roared to life. He hadn’t fed in quite some time and he’d fought
hard, lost a fair amount of blood from being injured. But he wouldn’t take from
her.

No. I can’t go there.

He grabbed her hips, flipped her over and entered her from
behind with one punishing thrust that made them both gasp. There was no
stopping this now. He started to move again, in and out, in and out, faster and
faster, mindlessly, until he came, pumping his seed deep inside her. The orgasm
was strong and the tremors going through his body seemed to be endless as semen
continued to flow into her. He pumped over and over, holding her hips flush
against the mattress. He felt her body explode around him, squeezing as it drew
out both their releases.

When her shaking finally subsided, he pulled away.

“Christian.” Emma started to cry.

“Emma…I…” He didn’t know what to say as she curled into a
ball and wept on her pillow.
Comfort her, you bastard.

“You’re upset with me. I sense it.” Her voice hitched.

He placed his head in his hands, not sure how to respond. “I
just need some time to think. You caught me off guard when you wanted to make
love. I hadn’t intended to bed you. Not after…”
I’m not going there now. If
I do
,
it’s not going to go well. Now’s not the time. I need to think this through.

“Not after what?” She sat up, glaring at him. Her whole body
trembled.

“I don’t want to talk about this right now. I should go,” he
sighed, starting to get up. He knew she still needed him but he didn’t think he
could handle another round at the moment.

“You mean after I was almost raped? Does that disgust you?
It wasn’t my fault!”

“I smelled desire.
Yours.
On
him
,” he growled.

“What are you saying? That he
didn’t
try to rape me
or that I wanted it?” She looked at him incredulously.