Endless Chase (10 page)

50

Endless Chase

His entire being rebelled at the mere suggestion. He literally got sick to his stomach at the thought of never seeing Katya again. She wasn’t a stranger. Not where it counted.

Not in his heart and in his soul. He might not know all the details of her life, but he
knew
her. Knew she was special.

“Chase.” He could hear the worry in her voice as she placed her hand on his arm.

“We can do this another day if this isn’t a good time. I know you must want to be with your family.”

He caught some underlying emotion in her voice. Sadness, wistfulness, anger. He wasn’t quite sure. He shook off his dark mood and smiled at her. “No, it’s fine.”

Capturing her hand in his, he brought it to his lips. One finger at a time, he kissed her knuckles before turning her hand over and kissing the center of her palm. His entire family was a few steps away waiting for them, but it didn’t matter. He had to touch her, taste her. Reassure himself that she was real and she was here with him.

Backing her up against the wall, he leaned down and captured her lips. She met him partway, an equal partner in passion. Their mouths touched and heat exploded. He moaned as her lips parted, inviting him inside. He took her offer, plunging into her, tasting her, eating at her lips. She tasted of peppermint toothpaste and woman.

He deepened the kiss as his hands roamed over her shoulders and across her collarbone before dipping lower. Cupping her breasts, he tested their slight weight in his palms. Katya caught her breath and he swallowed her moan, never breaking their kiss.

His hands continued their downward trek. He skimmed her sides, her flat stomach, coming to rest on her hips. Katya’s hands clutched at his shoulders, her short nails scoring his skin beneath his shirt.

They had to stop.

Chase tore his mouth from hers before burying his face in the curve of her neck. He heard her small cry of passion as she went up on her toes and nuzzled his neck with her lips, biting softly with her teeth. Lightning surged through his body, connecting with his groin. He went from partial arousal to rock-solid in two seconds flat.

He hissed as his cock hardened. His balls grew heavy with need—a need that only Katya could sate. He tilted his head to the side, giving her better access as her teeth scraped erotically against his skin. He wanted to feel that biting caress all over his body.

His erection surged against his zipper.

“Chase.” Like a bucket of cold water, his brother-in-law’s voice broke over him.

Katya buried her face against his chest. Chase could sense her embarrassment. He wasn’t doing much better himself. He managed to nod in Lucian’s direction. “We’ll be there in a second.”

Lucian gave him a brief, knowing grin before heading back to the study. “I won’t be able to keep your sister away much longer.”

Katya groaned. “How did this happen?”

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As painfully aroused as he was, just knowing that Katya felt the same somehow made the situation more bearable. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor, enveloping her in a giant hug. “I don’t know. There’s something about you that makes me forget everything else.”

“Me,” she protested, shoving at him until he let her go. “This is all your fault, not mine.” She tugged at her jacket and fluffed her hair with her fingers. Her lips were rosy and wet, her eyes slightly glazed with desire.

“Mine?” He shoved the tails of his shirt back in from where it had come untucked and adjusted his jeans slightly to help find some relief from the pressure.

“You’re too damn sexy for your own good.” When he reached for her again, she held both hands out in front of her. “Forget it. At least until after we’ve chatted with your family.”

Chase linked his fingers with hers and tugged her down the hallway. “I’ll take you on a private tour of the place later,” he promised.

“Not too much later, I hope,” she added, making him laugh as they entered the study where the entire family waited.

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Katya studied the artwork on the long gallery wall as Chase led her to another section of the castle. It was an eclectic mix of ancient and modern, but it somehow all blended together and worked. It reminded her of the family home in Russia.

It also reminded her of the people who lived here. Cristofor and Johanna were wonderful. Cristofor was more reserved, but that was to be expected. Katya had no idea how old he was, but she would guess he’d lived several hundred years, if not more.

There was something about him that told her he would be just as at home swinging one of the gigantic swords hanging in the armory she’d toured as he would holding the remote control on the large-screen television in the entertainment room.

His brothers were no different. They were all cordial, but a natural aloofness surrounded them, as if they were used to keeping the outside world at bay. Several times, she’d felt Stefan probing her mind for information. She’d managed to keep her guard up and her mind fairly blank, filled only with superficial information. Zane wasn’t a man to be taken lightly either. His vivid green eyes had tracked her as she’d wandered around the study, chatting with the women.

Cassidy was an enigma. Human, definitely, but not a man to underestimate. He’d been a cop at one point in his life and it showed in the subtle way he watched and listened.

She’d felt surrounded and scrutinized, and it was almost more than she could bear.

Part of her had wanted to run, but she’d stood her ground, sweating all the while.

Talking to the women had been easier, although not by much. They’d probed discreetly, asking about her work as an artist. Katya had told them she drew and painted, which was true. Her papa had made certain she’d had lessons when she’d shown an interest in the arts as a child. She hadn’t picked up a pencil or a paintbrush since the day she’d discovered her parents’ bodies.

She knew that all of the women had been born human, but Katya had no doubt they were all vampires now, except Blythe. Still, after they’d asked about her work and hinted around the subject of her family, which she’d easily deflected, they’d talked of fashion and business and their family. The same things women all over the world talked about when they got together.

Johanna had even produced a pot of tea and a platter of cookies. Katya had managed to drink about half of her cup, while Blythe’s younger boys had demolished the plate of cookies before heading off to the game room.

All of them had subtly probed about her past and she’d kept to the truth as much as possible. When asked, she’d told them that her parents were dead. She hadn’t given the 53

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full truth—that they’d been brutally murdered, their bodies drained of blood and their heads severed.

In keeping with her cover story of being an artist, she’d talked about the mountain flora and fauna, along with the local architecture, even mentioning that she’d visited the church. The more she chatted, the more the family relaxed. Well, the women relaxed.

The Dalakis men might appear relaxed, but Katya wasn’t fooled for a second.

These men were predators who could spring into action in the blink of an eye, ready to kill to protect their families. Katya admired them for that. She understood the need to defend loved ones better than they could imagine.

An image of Sasha popped into her head and she ruthlessly shoved it aside. She missed her brother so much it was almost unbearable. Only the fact that she was doing this to protect him allowed her to stay away from him. Sasha was safe in the family stronghold in Russia, surrounded by trusted servants and guards, whose families had served her father’s family for generations. Once she found and eliminated the person who’d murdered their parents, Sasha would be safe.

Not for one moment could she forget her goal.

That didn’t stop guilt from eating at her belly. She liked the Dalakis family and she hadn’t expected to. They were a means to an end, or at least they had been. Now they were real to her, very real.

That was going to be a problem.

“Hey, we can finish this another time if you’ve had enough.”

Katya jerked back to the here and now, realizing that she’d come to a dead stop in the middle of the corridor in front of a rather large portrait. From the style, it was probably from the mid-sixteenth century. The man in the painting was obviously Cristofor, a more brutal and elemental portrayal of the man, who was now hidden beneath layers of civilization. But Katya had no doubt the warrior remained.

Chase slipped his arm around her waist. “An ancestor.”

“He looks remarkably like Cristofor.” Katya tested the waters, wondering how much if anything Chase would share with her.

“Apparently, there tends to be a strong family resemblance from generation to generation.”

Katya nodded, but inside she knew the truth. She might be sleeping with Chase, but he would protect his family at all costs. In that way, they were much alike.

His fingers trailed provocatively down her hipbone. “I could show you my room if you’d like. There’s a wonderful eighteenth-century fresco on the ceiling and the bed is a wonderful example of seventeenth-century craftsmanship.”

She looked up at Chase. When had he become so important to her? It had happened in a heartbeat. It didn’t make sense, but there was no changing the facts. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that she loved him. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? There was no such thing as love at first sight.

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He was still waiting patiently for her answer. She managed to smile at him. “I’d like that.”

His fingers tightened around her waist as he guided her down the hallway and up another set of stairs. They didn’t speak as they passed through a corridor filled with tapestries and other priceless works of art. Finally, they reached a heavy oak door with metal strapping.

Chase didn’t say anything as he pushed the door open and ushered her inside.

Katya had an impression of a cozy room with a fireplace and an inviting seating area, but the item that dominated the room was the huge four-poster bed. Intricately carved, it was solid and inviting with its thick mattress and huge pile of pillows.

The door closed with a solid thump. She could feel the heat from Chase’s body as he slid his arms around her from behind. He quickly pulled her shirt from the waistband of her pants and let his hands roam across her stomach. “I’ve missed you.”

He kissed the curve of her neck before pausing to gently tug on the lobe of her ear. His teeth teased the sensitive skin, pushing all other thoughts aside.

She’d deal with the rest of it later. Now she wanted to be with Chase. If she went ahead with her plans, this might very well be her last time with him. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away. Whatever choice she made would change their relationship and not for the better. There was no getting away from the fact that she was using him.

Need clawed at her, demanding satisfaction. If this was the last time she might be with Chase, she planned to make the most of it. There were hours and hours until dawn, until she had to make her final decision.

The night belonged to them.

Chase sensed a change in Katya’s mood. She’d been pensive and withdrawn most of the evening. He put it down to meeting his family. They could be overwhelming at the best of times. Now he wasn’t so sure.

There were times she seemed locked in her own mind, seeing something that only she could see. He sensed there was a lot going on beneath the surface, but so far, she wasn’t sharing. She was a very self-contained person. Heck, she hadn’t even removed her coat or released her knapsack, keeping both next to her at all times. She’d even brought both with her on their tour. It was if she wanted to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Maybe it was just a case of nerves, or maybe it was something more.

Yet another layer of mystery for him to uncover.

It had only been a matter of hours since their steamy encounter in the woods, but he wanted her like a starving man craved food. It was illogical and out of character for him, but it was very real. She was like a virus running through his veins. He would have been more worried except that she seemed to be afflicted by the same disease.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, his hand on her belly moving with each breath. He inhaled her sweet scent, a mixture of her soap and the woman herself. His 55

N.J. Walters

cock, which had been in a state of semi-arousal all evening, twitched and began to grow rapidly, pressing against the zipper of his jeans. Pulling Katya back against him, he ground his erection into the curve of her ass.

Her hair was short, exposing her neck, and he took full advantage of that fact, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin of her nape. A breathy moan broke from her throat and sweat broke out on his brow. He wasn’t going to be able to wait.

“Now,” he muttered. “I’ve got to have you now.” Spinning her around, he backed her up against the wall. Her eyes were wide and dark, her cheeks flushed. “If you don’t want this, say so now.”

He didn’t know what she’d do if she refused him.

Yes, he did. He’d walk away, but it might very well kill him. The depth of emotions rushing through him was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. It was almost as if he wasn’t the man he thought himself to be, but a more primitive version. The need to claim Katya, mark her as his and keep her was paramount. He wanted her with a passion that bordered on madness. Maybe he was losing his mind. That thought gave him pause.

But Katya reached out and touched him, her fingers skimming over his face, and all else was forgotten. “I want this.” Unhooking her bag, she let it fall to the floor. Her jacket followed.

His knees almost crumpled, but at the same time euphoria rushed through him, leaving him slightly lightheaded. Growling low in his throat, he reached for her shirt, yanking it over her head. She was wearing a lacy bra in a dark blue that matched her eyes. A heavy gold cross nestled between her breasts. She’d been wearing it in the woods as well. It looked old and seemed to be the only piece of jewelry she wore.