Ultimate Passage: New Beginnings: Box Set ( Books 1-4) (47 page)

D
ays Later
…

Thane watched Ali telling the others goodbye as she prepared to clock out and leave. He was in his office. An office that no one else ever entered. Brad and Calder were under strict instructions not to use it, told it would only be used by the owner if he were ever in town.

There was an entrance to the office from the outside, so Thane could be in there all night and no one would see him come or go. The inside walls were two-way mirrors, so he had a view of the dance floor as well as the employee area.

Since the day Ali accepted Brad’s offer, every night, Thane had sat behind the glass and watched her. Even with the glass separating them, she made his body course with electricity. He wondered if she’d experienced the sensation.

Thane had carefully avoided her. He’d like to blame his avoidance on so many things, but he knew it all boiled down to one: the dream.

Every night, she came to him in his dreams, clung to him, wanted him. He shared with her in his dreams. Shared his images of his days as a death-dealer. Shared his life as a Brethren, shared the histories of the lands he’d been in, the things he’d seen.

Every morning when he awoke, it was as if they’d been together the night before. Why had he never dreamed of her like this before he’d met her? Did she awaken something within him?

He had reservations and trepidation over their connection. He’d never felt something so deep for a member of the opposite gender, in any species. The connection was
too
deep. What was she feeling? Did she sense anything at all?

She exited through the front door. He knew where her car was parked. He’d follow her again, as he did every night after she worked. He’d fly above her car, make sure she made it to her apartment complex safely, then ensure that she walked into her place without incident. Only then could he go home and go to bed, once more to visit her in his dreams.

The change in him was drastic, and it had not gone unnoticed by his friends. He was no longer at the club every night—or so Brad and Calder thought. They had asked him why he no longer came to The Other Side. He wished he could tell them he’d been there all along. Keeping his secrets was weighing on his soul.

He slipped out of the door to his office and into the alley, ready to convert into his saural form and follow her.

Locking the door behind him, he turned, eager to catch up.

“It is good to see you,” a voice that had no business in LA said.

Brohm.

W
hen Ali started working
at The Other Side, the best perk was that if she wanted to be in her own form, she could. All she had to do was change what she wore. Be it a halter top and miniskirt, like what she wore the night she was offered a job, or a bathing suit, or even at times a glittery backless evening gown that showcased her wings and ever-shimmering skin.

Sure, she made a lot of money, but money wasn’t something that she craved. She didn’t covet the things that money could buy. The only thing Ali wanted more than anything else was not to be found by other Asazi. So far on Earth, she’d encountered none, thankfully.

The one thing that made her sad was that she never saw the dark, sexy stranger again. She wished she’d reached out now. If only to figure out why he made her body and mind react to him.

She’d dreamt about him, but it was such a removed dream, as if she’d been watching herself with him through another person’s eyes.

She turned the key in the ignition and noticed that, for the first time since she’d started the job, she wasn’t having that sensation she had every time she left work—a feeling of being watched. It wasn’t unlike the night she saw the dark stranger, just not as intense as when they’d locked eyes.

B
rohm stood ramrod straight
, his body tight.

“Greetings.” Thane kept his curiosity from showing.

Brohm crossed his arms. “How are you?”

Like he gave a damn how Thane was. What was his agenda? “Fine.”

“Shall we go to your place?”

In the near distance, Thane could hear the knocking of Ali’s engine, by now familiar to him and his extrasensory hearing.

His home was the last place Thane wanted to go with Brohm. No place at all would be his preference. He glanced toward the direction he knew Ali was driving, a longing expression fleetingly passing over his face. He caught it quickly and went stoic once more.

Thane nodded to Brohm. “We can.”
Damn it.
He hoped all would go well with Ali, then cursed himself for being a silly, love-struck fool. Why would anything go wrong? It never had. She always made the early morning drive without incident.

A
short flight later
, Thane was opening the door to his apartment and gesturing for Brohm to follow him in.

“To what do I owe a visit from the senior Brethren?” Thane dove into the heart of the matter. He was far from eager to have a social visit with Brohm before delving into the cause of his visit.

“How are things with The Other Side?” Brohm asked, his expression saturnine.

“That’s not why you are here.” Thane crossed the room opened the sliding glass door that led to the balcony, pulling sheer curtains in front of the glass. A balmy breeze blew the curtains open.

“True. It is not.”

Brohm stalked in front of Thane, pacing from one end of the room to the other in a loose elliptical shape, his typical Brethren robes flowing behind him, wing slits hidden in the folds. He was an imposing figure, the way the fabric clung to the muscles he had plenty of. Thane would not like get into a scuffle with him, they were too evenly matched, with the exception of Thane’s death-dealer training. Thane wondered what Brohm knew of his training, if anything. The desire to ask burned at him.

Brohm stopped pacing and faced Thane. “There has been talk. I thought I should check on it myself.”

That wasn’t very specific. Was this a fishing trip? Thane narrowed his eyes. “Go on.”

“That Asazi have left Kormia again. And come to Earth.”

“Impossible,” Thane exclaimed.
Shit.
He’d forgotten to contact the Kormic Elders for a status check.
Damn it
. His mind had been so tied up with Ali. He scrambled for a response. “I’ll double check on this.”

“I expect a full accounting of your findings.” Brohm rubbed his jaw with long fingers, his eyes full of suspicion. “By the day after tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Thane responded.
Will you get out of here, already?
Thane was hoping he could make a quick pass over Ali’s complex, to make sure her car was in its place and she was home.

Brohm nodded, flung the curtains aside, pushed his robes off his wings, and stepped onto the oversized balcony. With a brutal sweep of his wings, he was airborne and flying into the night, away from the moon.

Thane followed Brohm onto the balcony, ascertained the senior Brethren had gone out of sight, and then made a smooth push off into the balmy breeze, banked left, and headed toward Ali’s apartment.

T
he entire flight
to Ali’s complex, Thane’s mind was troubled by Brohm’s visit. What had motivated him to come check on this matter? It didn’t seem that it would be a large enough deal to bring Brohm from his mountainside monastery retreat. Why did he have a personal interest in seeing the Asazi kept on Kormia? Certainly Saraz’s punishment was deserved, but could the Asazi really be a threat to mankind?

He shook Brohm from his mind, and decided he would contact the Kormic Elders tomorrow. He felt confident they’d tell him what they always had, that there was no cause for concern. That the Asazi were on Kormia, and Saraz was under control and living a life that made him happy with his countless concubines.

There it was—Ali’s car, in its spot, just as it should be. He flew lower, closing in on her apartment. Perhaps he’d look into her window—just to make sure she was fine.

Yes, nothing creepy. Nothing stalker-ish
.

Who the hell am I kidding? This is ridiculous. I’m acting like a lovesick puppy.

Odd. There was no light on in her apartment. She typically went home and read or watched TV to unwind before she went to bed.

Sick that I know her routine.

Still, odd that there was no light on. Her place was on the third floor. He set down on the landing in front of her apartment, and stared at her door. He converted into his human form quickly.

A clicking sound alerted him. The door unlocking.

The door was opening.

Too late to fly off.

Damn.

A
li clutched
the baseball bat with a white-knuckled grip. Whoever it was out there, she was ready for them. She shifted to her human form quickly, unlocked the door as quietly as she could and stood next to it. She swallowed her fear down. Was it a fellow Asazi, here to take her back to Kormia? Was it Kal? Would he turn her in if it was him?

She threw the door open with all her might and ran onto the landing, the bat cocked.

She crashed into a tall, dark form in a black suit.

“You,” she hissed, which was the best she could do with the lump of fear a solid entity in her throat, blocking speech.

“Me?” the man asked, raising a brow, putting a finger on that chest of his, a wide, musclebound chest.

His voice was just like it had been in her dreams. It coursed through her mind, striking all the right neurons, protons, and electrons, leaving behind a searing buzz that was oddly pleasurable.

His eyes were the same intensity as that night. His gaze sparking a surge of energy that flew through her body with the speed and force of a fireball.

She didn’t lower the bat, though she couldn’t explain why; she felt no concern at all that he was a threat to her. What she did want was an explanation for was his being there.

“Yes.” She took a step back, putting distance between herself and the man who didn’t seem a stranger at all. It was as if she’d always known him. “You.” She pointed his way with the bat’s tip. “Explain your presence on my landing.”

“Not happy to see me?” He looked genuinely sad.

“No. Yes. Wait.” She shook the bat at him. “Answer my question and don’t…”
Don’t what? I don’t even know what I’m saying to him. How can he have me so tongue-tied?

“Don’t what?” His smile was the same as she’d dreamt it to be. How could her dreams have been so accurate?

“Don’t change the subject. Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you again. I’ve wanted to see you every night since that night.” He ran long, sensuous fingers through wavy, glossy hair that was darker than midnight on a moonless night. “I
have
seen you every night since that night. In my dreams. I wanted you in the flesh.”

A shiver ran through her, and she felt sure that he knew the effect he had on her. It unnerved her.

T
hane could barely make
a coherent sentence with her, now that they were alone.
What the hell is wrong with me?

There was one thing he knew with complete certainty. He wanted this woman, and he wanted her in ways he’d never wanted any other being in his entire life. He wanted her completely, fully, and immediately.

He reined in his desire, concerned he’d scare her away. There she was—beautiful blonde hair. Her light-colored eyes had glittered with anger and fear, but were now studying him with a calmness that unnerved him. How did this female get under his skin?

And a human.

Of all the creatures he could have fallen for or been infatuated with, the last he’d ever expected them to be was a human.

He had no wish to be another Saraz, banished to Kormia or a similar planet and live an immortal lonely life without his own kind around.

She hadn’t responded to his statement that he’d wanted her in the flesh. He’d made that announcement knowing full well it could be interpreted in more ways than one. Her skin had flooded with a light pink color, softer and more delicate than the inside of the tiniest seashell or the palest pink rosebud.

He reached out, just his fingertips; he wanted to feel her skin.

She sucked in a breath and glanced down at his hand, but neither flinched nor moved. Her chest swelled as she held her breath captive, drawing his attention to the way her breasts pushed out the T-shirt, her nipples hardening beneath his gaze, making him want to touch her, to taste her.

In his pants, his cock strained for release, pressing outward; constrained by the fabric, it throbbed for her. His fingertips alit on her arm, just above her wrist. He closed his hand around her, holding gently.

She was warm. More than warm, her flesh was hot beneath his hand.

T
he stranger’s
thumb made circles on the tender flesh just above her wrist, where her pulse was sure to be a giveaway of the effect he had on her. Ali’s lungs burned from holding her breath, but she couldn’t release it any more than she could release herself from his eyes locked on hers.

His beautiful dusky skin was even more sensual and sexy in the night’s blackness.

And she didn’t even know his name.

She let her breath out with a whoosh that was not silent, but as controlled as she could make it. With a release of her breath, she uttered a question. “Who are you?”

He tilted his head to the right slightly, his obsidian-colored eyes unreadable, his expression impenetrable. “I am called Thane.”

His voice flowed through her body, merged with her pulse, traveled through her system, leaving behind reactions that were a testimony to the attraction between them. The tiny core between her nether lips buzzed with an intensity that was more acute than one of her pleasure-giving toys on it. Her channel flooded with her essence, weeping moisture in her desire for the one called Thane.

Ali wanted to pull back. She wanted to analyze her reaction to this man. She wanted to blame it on hormones, or Asazi-gone-wild syndrome, what she called being away from Kormia and yielding to her sensual and base sides.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t pull back from him because the force between them was magnetic.

She couldn’t analyze the reaction she had to him because it was too distracting, making him the only thing she could concentrate on.

“Dreams.” Her voice was husky with desire. “Tell me about the dreams.”

He glanced around, surveying the landing. “Here?”

She licked her lower lip. She should be more concerned, but there was something she inherently trustworthy about him. “We can go inside.”

She lowered the bat. “You haven’t asked me my name.”

H
er voice was lower
, huskier. He knew that she was having the same reaction as him.

She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Of course he hadn’t asked her name. Of course she would notice that and bring it up. Fool that he was. He knew her name. Knew more about her than she would probably feel comfortable with at this point. But she didn’t know it.

“I was going to get to that.”

She stepped aside and indicated for him to enter.

He waved her in. “Ladies first.”

She preceded him, turning to look at him as she walked. “You were not outside my apartment by accident. It’s not as if you were just passing by…”

“I know. I know how it looks. You have every right to be concerned.”

Damn it.
How could he have been so careless? Naturally she’d be suspicious of him.

All it takes is a quick compelling and she’ll be over it and in your arms.

No, he would not have her on those terms. Not this woman. Not this way. He wanted her. All of her. And he wanted her to want him just as much.

“Are you afraid of me?” He crossed over the threshold.

“No. Should I be?” She looked confused for a brief second.

“
N
o
. Your outfit tonight. Spectacular. And sexy. Very sexy.” His voice was husky.

Ali seized upon an explanation like a drowning man seizes a life preserver. “It’s the latest in body-paint technology.”

Thane cocked his head. “Can’t be cheap.”

She swallowed her fear away. “I have a cousin in the industry.”

“It’s great for working at The Other Side, isn’t it?”

Alarms went off in Ali’s head. She looked into his eyes. “How did you—the last time I saw you… how did you know I work there?”

A fleeting expression, one she couldn’t identify because it was so brief, crossed his face. He paled briefly, and then flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Perfect teeth behind beautiful full lips. The man probably had no problem picking up women.

“I’m affiliated with The Other Side,” he said.

“Affiliated,” she repeated. “That could mean an assortment of things.”

“Do you like working there?”

She noted the subject change but didn’t press him. She’d save that for later.

“It’s interesting. The money is good. Do you go there often?”

“Fairly regularly.”

A flare of jealousy bit at the thought of him being there often, and all the women that went there. Insane. She was jealous about a man whose name she hadn’t even known ten minutes ago.

“Then why haven’t I seen you since I started there? Since that night?” She couldn’t believe she’d just told him she had noticed he hadn’t been around.

His smile was sincere, tilted slightly to the right, emphasizing a shallow dimple that broke the austerity of his face. “I’m glad you noticed.”

Oh, he was not allowed to get cocky. No way.
“Said the guy who bothered to find out where I live and followed me to my place.”

“Touché.” He leaned in, closing the space between them.

Time froze, standing completely still for Ali while she was caught up in the net of his gaze. She couldn’t tear her eyes from his lips and wished that they were on hers. Her tongue slipped out, nervously licking her own.

They were standing in the small hallway that led to her living room. The walls felt as if they were closing in around her. Maybe that was his presence. It left her feeling as though there was naught else in the world but the two of them, in the middle of nothingness, of space.

“What would you do if…” He took the bat from her hand—she’d forgotten she still held it—and set it on the hallway table next to them.

“If…” Ali was breathless, her voice husky.

Dropping his head slowly, his lips brushed hers with a flicker of a touch, gentler than the caress of a dandelion.

“Ali.” He said her name on an exhale, as if he were passing her name to her with a breath. “Ali,” he said again, inhaling her exhaled breath as if eager to merge their essences. “How did you do this?”

Ali’s body leaned in, her breasts against his hard torso, her thighs pressing on his.

His hand snaked through her hair, twining in it, pulling her closer to him with a fierceness and a determination that brooked no resistance.

Ali had no resistance to offer. He’d drifted in her dreams for many nights. She’d come to know him, even if she hadn’t known his name.

Her lips parted, opening up to him the very core of herself. This man awakened within her that which she’d always pushed away.

She put her hand on his abdomen, relishing the hardness of his muscles, the manliness of his form, and raked it upward, ignoring the fabric, feeling the warmth of him beneath the manmade material.

He lowered his hand over her shoulders, making tiny patterns on her skin.

When his fingertips pressed onto her back, on the human skin that covered her wings, Ali gasped. Waves of desire coursed through her.

What was happening? She’d never had a reaction like this. A sensation like the climaxes she’d given herself washed over her. She moaned.

Oh, curses.
Was she going to have an orgasm from the pressure he was putting on her wings beneath her skin? Ali pushed back from him.

“What is it?” Concern flooded his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

On the contrary, she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that she needed him with a fierceness that made her body ache. That she was confused by the power of her desire for him, but the direness of being discovered was worse.