Darkness Undone (22 page)

She nodded.

But she felt his eyes skim over her like a physical caress. Blood heated and buzzed in her veins, her stomach dipped. The butterflies in there took flight, making her woozy. She sucked in a deep breath, struggling to steady her nerves.

He was instantly at her side, his warm hand curving around her arm, brow furrowed in concern. “What’s wrong?”

She stepped away from him and pulled on her gloves. “Nothing.” With her head lowered, she saw his fingers curling into fists at her terse response.

As they walked out of her apartment, a strange sense of foreboding took hold of her. It made the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end. She rarely prayed because nothing good ever came out of it. But…

Lord, please don’t let anything go wrong tonight.

***

The scent of perfume and liquor masked the acrid smell of metal. Soft chatter filled the gallery, the tinkling glasses added to the light dissonance. Eve’s head ached from the harshness of the bright lights and her mouth ached from smiling as the night wore on.

She longed to yank off her gloves from her throbbing palms. The numbness she’d hidden behind the entire day was starting to wear off. She and Reynner hadn’t spoken since they left her apartment. Not like she’d given him a chance, but she had to keep him at a distance. How else was she to start living again if she gave in every time he looked at her?

“The shows a brilliant success, Eve,” David said, stopping beside her. “I knew it from the moment I saw that first sculpture you sent Eric.”

“Yes, I remember.” She smiled and took in his appearance. He’d dressed tonight…in a fashion of sorts. Black jeans, neon green shirt teamed with a narrow green and blue tie and a blue coat. And sneakers.

Eve accepted the elegant flute of champagne he held out and took a sip. The bubbly liquid tickled her nose and slid down her throat, easing nerves that had been stretched too taut.

She’d called and apologized to him before she left to Exilum, explaining she had to take a rain check, something urgent had cropped up at the last minute. David, thinking it was work related, had been okay with it.

“You look lovely, Eve.” His warm blue eyes drifted over her in pleasure. His hand settled on her lower back.

“Thank you,” she murmured and wondered why his touch didn’t make her blood soar like Reynner’s did.

“Who’s that guy you came with?” he asked then, sounding a little disconcerted.

Her heart banged in her chest, her stricken gaze dropping to her glass. She had no idea what to say.
I’m his mate, but he doesn’t want me?

“He’s…I er—”

“Eve?” Eric appeared at her side. “Can I see you for a sec? Sorry Dave, business.”

David groaned, dropped his hand from her waist. “Darn, just not my night to spend any time with you, is it?”

“Make a date,” Eric advised.

David laughed. “Yeah, working on that one.” He winked at Eve and strolled off into the crowd.

“You looked like the world collapsed around you for a second there—thought you needed rescuing,” Eric said, slipping his arm around her shoulder. She leaned against him, seeking comfort.

“All’s well in Reynner-land, hmmn?” He rubbed her arm.

“Yes,” she lied. “I’m just tired. It’s been a difficult couple of months.”

“I know, Eve. It will be over soon. You did exceptional tonight. You can take a few days off and rest, but not too long, you’re going to be busy,” he said, smiling. “Duke Summers said he hadn't seen anything this compelling in a long time.”

Her eyes widened. She wheeled around. “The art critic? Really?”

“Yes.”

Pleasure warmed her, coating her bruised heart. Her lips curved into a smile.

“Here comes Reynner. Damn guy will give the rest of us men a complex—does he take time out of his day to look this good?”

She had to force herself not to stare as Reynner wove his way through the crowd towards her.

She knew what everyone was reacting to. That allure Reynner’s kind seemed to possess, the untouchable angelic handsomeness all too noticeable. As it was, she had to suffer the baffled looks from more than one woman when they saw Reynner with her. He rarely left her side, unless she was talking to people; only then did he give her space.

Eric drew Reynner into a conversation the moment he stopped beside them.

Brenna cornered her. Her silky black hair skimmed the shoulders of her deep green, sleeveless dress.

“Wow, Evie,” she said, draping an arm around Eve’s waist, her gaze darting around the packed, buzzing gallery. “So hard to get a moment with you, but great show.”

“Yeah, well done,” Kataya added, coming to stand beside her. A long, bronze column of a dress hugged her slender body. Her curly hair was piled on her head.

Eve noticed Kataya studying her. “What?”

“Okay. The deed’s done. I want deets.” She took a sip of her champagne.

Heat flared across Eve’s face. She barely stopped herself from groaning.

Brenna’s crystal blue eyes darted to her in surprise. She scanned Eve, up and down as if looking for evidence. “How can you tell? She looks the same to me.”

Eve cringed. “Jesus—would you guys stop it?”

“Seriously, Bren, you need to get laid more often. If you watch their body language, it’s all there. Reynner’s not taken his eyes off Eve once. Poor David is on tenterhooks, worrying if he still has a chance.”

Eve stole a glance at Reynner and found that Kataya was right. He may have been speaking to Eric, but his gaze remained on her.

“Is that true?” Brenna at least had the decency to whisper because Reynner must have heard Kataya’s comments.

“I’m not talking about this.” A touch on her elbow, and Eve turned to a man who interrupted them with some queries about her work. She followed him to the sculpture in question.

The moment Eve finished with the guest, she excused herself, only to find David appearing in front of her like an apparition.

“You look like a man on a mission,” she teased.

“I sure am.” He brushed the hair flopping over his brow, his face flushed from whatever liquor he’d consumed. “That piece you did on nature?”

“Trees in a Storm?” She gave him a curious look. “What about it?”

“I love the wildness depicted. There are two offers on it, but as the artist, you can let me have it, right?” He wiggled his brow at her.

She laughed. “Speak to Eric, I’m sure he can work something out for you—” Eve broke off, aware of the sudden silence around them…the air of expectancy.

Turning, she saw the woman. Tall, dressed in black, her gown hugging every sensuous curve of her body as she sashayed into the gallery. There was only one word to describe her: Exquisite.

Her hair, a shimmering wave of ebony silk, flowed to her waist and was the perfect backdrop for a face of palest honey. A delicate, wide, filigree choker of the purest silver set with a large, deep blue lapis lazuli stone in the center graced her elegant neck.

She moved like some slinky creature searching for prey. Her feline-like topaz eyes sparkled in excitement as she glanced around and settled in on…

Reynner.

Eve watched the scene unfold like something from her worst nightmare. Her heart pounded and the pressure in her chest mounted.

With a seductive glide of her hips, the woman crossed to Reynner. She said something to him, then she reached up and kissed him right on the mouth.

Eve’s brave façade shattered. The glass slipped from her fingers. Kataya swore and grabbed the falling crystal.

“Oh, hun.” Brenna slipped her arm around Eve's waist. “I'm sorry...”

But Eve barely heard her.

Reynner stepped back, his expression rigid. The woman laughed, trailing a hand down his chest like she’d done it so many times before. Eve realized then to whom the scent of Opium belonged because the woman looked as sultry and exotic as the fragrance. And very, very beautiful.

Unable to watch, Eve turned away, pain ripping through her. Worse, Reynner didn’t even look her way, like she no longer existed. Finally proving to her just how little she mattered. The champagne churning in her stomach rushed up her throat again.

“Aren’t you going to do anything?” Kataya growled.

“Why? He made me no promises—he can do whatever he wants. But
I
can leave.”

“No, you can't,” Brenna protested. “It’s your show, Evie.”

“It’s midnight, and I really don’t care—” She swallowed hard, unable to conceal her devastation.

“Oh, hell.” Kataya took hold of her arm. Her whiskey-colored eyes darkened with sympathy and ire. “You should have slept with David. At least you’d be spared this. Jesus, Eve, why did you have to fall for him, too?”

“Eve, you okay?” Eric appeared at her side from out of nowhere. Hazel eyes dark with fury, he glared at Reynner.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, keeping her smile bright, even when she felt the cracks spreading through her protective shields. She didn’t want their sympathy, or she’d break down in front of everyone. She just wanted to be alone to lick her wounds. But that wasn’t going to happen.

Taking a deep breath, Eve weighed her options. Brenna was right. This was her show. She’d invested her life in this, and she had her pride…if she could just find the damn thing. Yep, right there on the floor along with her self-esteem. She dusted it off and hauled it back on.

She’d see this show to its bitter end, even if it killed her.

But when Reynner walked out of the gallery with that woman without a backward glance, the brittle shell she’d erected splintered.

***

Reynner paced the ground floor foyer and all he could see was the devastation in Eve’s eyes when Inanna had tried to claim him like some damn possession. And that, he refused to tolerate.

He ground to a halt in front of Inanna. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Come on, lover, you’re so tense. Give over. Come back with me, and I’ll show you a pleasurable way to ease all that stress.”

Inanna reached for him. Reynner stepped back. He’d spent the entire evening watching other males touch his mate every time they spoke to her, and it had pushed him to the end of his endurance. Then there was that bloody artist, who seemed determined to breathe the same air Eve did. The one she’d threatened to leave him for. He’d tolerated it all because he knew how important this night was to her. And she worked damn hard for it.

“Why are you here?” he reiterated.

A casual shrug. “I enjoy art shows.”

“At the very same gallery I happen to be at?”

Her eyes became brown granite. “Who is she? The slut I smell on you? Get rid of her. You won't like what will happen if she gets in the way of me and mine.”

At her threat to Eve, Reynner grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall. “You dare threaten me?”

Inanna coughed and tried to tug free of his death-like grip. Despite her hold over him, her physical strength didn’t compare to his. Her power flared. The blast hit Reynner hard. He couldn’t breathe, the mark on his chest hurt like someone torching his insides. His wings surged against his shielding, it took everything in him to stop them bursting free.

Urias
, he was so tired of her shit. He just wanted her to leave him the hell alone.

“It’s a promise,” she gasped in defiance. “If you don’t get rid of her.”

“Let’s get one thing clear. Come after me like this again, and I won't care if it means my death. I will take you with me from this life.” And binding him to her guaranteed that. At least Eve would be safe then.

Reynner shoved away from her.

She hissed her anger, but beneath it a tinge of wariness flickered. The burn inside his chest subsided a little.

“You’ll pay dearly for this!”

He didn’t care what she did. He just wanted her gone so he could go get Eve, make sure she was all right.

When he said nothing, just stared at her, Inanna screamed and flashed from the foyer.

***

Eve sat in one of the two chairs in the restroom, her head buried in her hands. Kataya and Brenna burst inside. A match flared, and the acrid smell of smoke reached her nostrils.

Her breaths short and jerky, Eve took a tissue from her bag and dried her face. It was useless to pretend in front of her friends.

Kataya took a drag on her cigarette. Brenna leaned against the sink, watching Eve with worried eyes.

“No one is to blame but me,” she whispered, swallowing back another bout of tears. “He warned me. I didn’t listen.”

Kataya exhaled heavily, killed her cigarette, and tossed the remains in the trashcan. She came over and rubbed Eve's shoulder. “Then it’s his fucking loss. You don’t need him, Eve.”

“Kat, let’s not be hasty,” Brenna said, crossing to Eve.

“Not be hasty? You saw what he did out there?”

“Yes, that woman kissed him.” She kneeled in front of Eve, smoothing out the creases in her dress. “Talk to him, hun, there must be a reason for all this.”

“God, Brenna, you and your romantic heart! Rein it in fast, or it’s going to be the death of you.” Kataya glanced at Eve. “You want to leave? It’s long gone midnight.”

Eve balled the shredded tissue and nodded. She couldn’t bear to be near Reynner right now.

“You're talking, Eve, the moment we get home,” Kataya warned. “There’s something else going on. And I'm betting it has a lot more to do with Reynner than getting rid of the damn V.”

They were her best friends, and she so badly wanted to tell them. But what could she say? She was in love with an immortal who didn't want her. That he only needed her to find his artifact. They’d probably think she’d lost her mind.

After she said goodbye to Eric and David, Eve realized her goodbye to David was final, too. No matter what she told Reynner, she could never be with anyone else.

Struggling not to think about him, Eve left the gallery with Kataya and Brenna.

In the elevator, she braced her hand on the metal wall, and as she slipped off her stilettoes, she tried not to think of the last time she’d done this, the night that had changed her life.

Her feet hurt, but she far preferred this pain to the one riding her chest.

Hooking the straps over her gloved finger, she massaged her temples with her other hand.

“You okay, honey?” Brenna stroked her arm.

“It’s all right, Bren. I’m fine, really.” Or she would be after this weekend. How difficult would it be for immortals to track down the Stone in a city the size of New York?

The elevator pinged and the door rolled open. Reynner stood there, waiting to enter. His gaze zeroed in on her.

A redheaded fury stormed up to him. Kataya snapped, “Stay away from Eve. She’s coming home with us.”

Shocked, Eve stared. She really hadn’t expected Kat to attack him.

Reynner didn’t say anything but stepped back. His unwavering gaze held hers, and Eve knew he wouldn’t let her leave without him.

“Kat, I’ll be okay.”

Furious, Kataya swung back to her, her mouth tightened at whatever she saw on Eve’s face. Then she stormed out. Brenna gave her a quick hug and hurried after Kataya.

Eve didn't look at Reynner as she followed them, wishing she could leave as easily as her friends had.

Out in the street, she inhaled the oppressive air along with the faint fragrance of exotic spices. It made her heart bleed, knowing that woman had to have been in his arms for him to retain her scent. Eve put more space between them as they headed for his car. The heat from the sidewalk added to the suffocation in her chest.

“You didn't have to come back.”

“Don’t, Eve.” His low, angry tone broke the fragile hold on her control.

“Don’t what, Reynner?” She spun around to face him. The bitter pain she tried to hold back spewed out. “Don’t get in your way? Don’t make this harder?”

“You think this is any easier for me?” His gaze turned fierce. A nerve pulsed furiously in his jaw.

“I don’t see why it’s difficult. I'm nothing to you. Just a tool for what you need. So don’t pretend otherwise. I made a promise, and I’ll get it done. I’ll get you your Stone”—she pulled in a trembling breath, stiffened her spine with resolve—“but I don’t want you with me any longer. Ask another. North, Aerén—I don’t care who, to take your place.”

“Don’t push me, Eve.”

“You think I pushed you to do this?” Outrage flooded her. “I didn’t force you into anything, not now, certainly not in the groves of Exilum. I wish
that
never happened. I wish–I wish fate had chosen differently for me.”

She turned away and realized she’d stopped beside his car. Her gaze dropped, and she stared dully at her feet. Tears swam in her eyes. Her blue nail polish wavered like dark holes, waiting to suck her into an abyss.

God, please don’t let me break down in front of him.

Reynner opened the door for her, and she slid inside. Slamming it shut, he headed to the other side, his expression dark and frustrated. Pulling her gaze away, Eve brushed at her tears and dropped her stilettoes to the floorboard as he got in and shut the door.

The other woman’s perfume overrode the smell of the leather seats. Eve closed her eyes. Just as well he didn’t want a relationship with her. He would destroy her every time he came back with that scent on him. He may not trust women, but he certainly seemed to want
that
one.

Christ, what was she thinking? She could never hope to compete with someone who looked that beautiful. And had perfect hands.

Eve slid hers under her thighs.

***

The moment Reynner parked the car outside her apartment building, Eve reached for the door, wanting to disappear into the sanctuary of her room. He caught her arm. “Eve, wait—”

She snatched her arm away. “Don’t touch me. Not after you’ve been with her. I had to smell her on you the entire trip trapped in this car—that was her, wasn't it?” God, how much more pathetic could she get? She shook her head. “No, don’t answer. It’s none of my business.”

Before she burst into tears and disgraced herself further, Eve turned blindly for the door. Only she didn’t get far.

“Don’t touch you?”
He grasped her arm again. “I had to watch every fucking male in there touch you.”

“So that was your payback? To kiss her in front of the entire gallery?”

“Dammit, I didn’t kiss her—it’s not what you think.”

“I don’t care.” She yanked free. “We’re done.”

A furious growl echoed through the interior of the car. He hauled her onto his lap and captured her lips in a mind-shattering kiss. She barely registered her thigh hitting the gears, her elbow banging against the steering wheel, or the pain shooting up her knee and arm.

Eve pushed at his chest, tried to free her mouth, because if she didn’t, she’d be begging him to love her. She didn’t want to sink any lower than she already had.

But there was no place for her to move, trapped between Reynner’s body and the steering wheel. He ripped off her gloves, tossing them both over his shoulder then shackled her wrists in one hand.

“Why are you doing this?” Her chest heaved from her struggles, her bitterness spilling free.

His anger died, tortured blue eyes met hers. “Because if I don’t, Eve, I’m afraid of what I’ll do. If you send me away like this…” He inhaled a ragged breath. “I tore down half of Hell and that was just to break free. Without you, I’ll do far worse.”

She closed her eyes, wanting to believe but too scared to hope. Reynner had so much darkness in his soul. It was clear he felt the physical connection of their bond, why he couldn’t keep away, but would he ever let himself feel deeper emotions for her? Ever trust her?

She would accept nothing less than his love, and that brought her right back to her current situation.

His finger brushed her nipple. Her eyes snapped open. His intense gaze sent shivers down her spine. Slowly, he pushed up the hem of her dress and his palm slid along her bare thigh.

“Don’t,” she pleaded, unable to stop his stroking hand with both of hers trapped. His caressing slowed.