Guardian Awakening (The Guardians Series) (2 page)

Chapter Two

Essen stood in the shadows near the entrance to the club. The darkness cloaked him and his intentions. He brooded and went over every step of his plan: grab her, take her to where his nightmare happened, and revenge would be his when her blood flowed. After following her for the last few weeks, he knew her every move. He had even guessed which hotel she would use after she had picked up that loser yesterday. But the time had not been right then. Too many people had been around because it had been late evening. Romy liked to walk home, and she always took the same route. He knew he only had to wait, and he would have her.

The wind blew, its chilly fingers wrapping around him. But he did not mind its coldness; in fact he welcomed it. The chill around him met the iciness inside him. It had been agony watching her all night. The whip and chain she caressed as she teased her audience brought his cock alive, which hadn’t happened for a long time. For some reason every time he was near her, he instantly hardened. Then he had made the mistake of paying for a private lap dance. Having her in a room by himself with her hips swinging and breasts bouncing had awakened his long-forgotten libido. His fingers had itched to get hold of her, to caress that smooth skin, and he wanted to bury his cock deep inside her. She, the spawn of his enemy, was not meant to rouse those latent sexual desires. It had all been about revenge, but watching her, having her so close, had made him look at her, actually see her, the woman she was—beautiful, with a damn sexy body created to satisfy a man. Perhaps it was a shame to waste such a beautiful body.

He gritted his teeth, steeling his mind against the need in his body. Instead he let the demon inside him, who wanted nothing but revenge, take over. Only her death as payment for his loss would be enough! He had every intention of taking his time. After all it had taken years to find her, the right one, and then time to get to know her routines before choosing the right moment. So there was no rushing now.

“Take it easy, Romy.” The doorman’s voice floated to him in the still of the night. “You want me to call you a cab?”

Refuse. I need you alone tonight, Romy.

“No, I’m good, Frank. I like to walk. It helps clear my head, you know?” Romy sounded surprisingly bright for this time of night, Essen thought.

He heard rapid footsteps travelling in his direction. He could sense her desire to get home, but she was hurrying tonight. He wondered why. Those quick footsteps got closer, so he hid in the dark of an unused doorway, waiting for her to pass by. Then he would follow her home. Her keys jangled as she walked past him, a protective measure that women were taught at those self-defense classes. “Always hold your keys, as they can be used as a weapon,” he could hear a random instructor saying. He watched her pass by, knowing she would not see him; his abilities came in handy sometimes. His eyes bored into the back of her head; he was intent on his goal. An exhilarating shiver ran through him.

As he was about to leave the cover of darkness, Essen saw another male figure huddled against the wind fall into step behind her. The streetlight shone on him briefly, and Essen read the flash of something on his face. Malicious intent. He meant to harm Romy. Frustration ate at Essen. No, his carefully laid out plan would not be thwarted by another.

“Hey, honey, wait up,” the male called out to her in a slurred voice.

Romy walked on, choosing to ignore her follower, but her pace quickened. Essen could detect her alarm.

“Come on, what’s your hurry, I only wanna talk,” he drawled on gruffly.

Essen could tell that he was drunk by the way he weaved along instead of walking straight. Thinking he might give up and move on, Essen stayed back, just casually strolling behind them. But he noticed the man run up behind Romy and make a grab for her arm. Both came to a halt when he swung her around to face him.

“Let go of me,” she said with irritation in her voice, clearly trying to pull out of his grasp.

“I asked to buy you a drink, but you said later. So how about now, honey, maybe we can find a bar somewhere, how about it?” The drunk leaned closer to her, but there was an edge to his voice. He was not as friendly as he first seemed.

“No thanks, I’m kinda tired, but maybe next time you’re in would be great,” Romy offered with a polite smile. Essen saw her try to pry the man’s fingers apart to release her arm.
No, not now, wait a moment
, he told himself.

Romy pushed against him, trying to move out of his grasp, but the man was not letting go. He pulled her to the edge of the building.

“Hey, let go of me, what are you doing?” She struggled to release herself.

Essen could hear fear in her voice. Maybe this turn of events could work in his favor.
Now, act now
. He sped forward, silent as a shadow, to where they were struggling. Moving to tower over the man, he saw Romy glance up. Startled eyes stared at him.

“Hey, the lady said let go.” Essen spoke slowly.

“Find your own woman, this one is mine,” Romy’s assailant said over his shoulder. Alcoholic fumes drifted into Essen’s direction from the man’s very pores. Essen turned his nose up in disgust at the rancid odors. He watched Romy’s eyes widen when the man tried to kiss her. Disgust and apprehension were etched on her face. She looked up at Essen, a silent plea spoken through her terror-filled, gray eyes.

Essen reached out and grabbed the drunken man’s shoulder, pressing his fingers into the soft flesh.

“Arrggghhh!” he exclaimed in obvious pain. Then he swung round, throwing a fist in Essen’s direction. He missed his mark, as Essen easily tilted his head aside to dodge the badly aimed blow. Romy ran quickly out of reach but not away.
Good girl.

Essen pushed him into the wall and grabbed his neck, pinning him against the crumbling bricks, he leaned in to whisper into the drunk’s ear. “Leave now and you will live, or choose to stay and die.”

Wild eyes stared at him as Essen tightened his grip on the flabby neck, pressing his point home. Then he let go, and the drunk slid to the floor. The drunkard sat, dazed, before scrambling to his feet, looking from Essen to Romy. Essen wondered if the man was brave or stupid. But instead he ran off across the street.
He chose the better option.

Essen turned to face Romy. She was rubbing her wrist, watching her attacker run off erratically.

“Hey, you okay?” Essen asked, leaning closer but not so close that his presence would cause her concern.

“Yeah, just shaken that’s all,” Romy replied with an apologetic smile.

“Here, let me look at that.” Essen reached out and held her slim wrist. That first skin-to-skin contact sent an electric shock to his cock. That was not meant to happen! He was not meant to desire one of the enemy.

“You need to put ice on that.” Essen glanced around, trying to seem as though he were thinking about where best to go. “You want to go back to the club?”

“The club? How did you... Oh, wait, I recognize you,” Romy said, gazing up at him.

“Yeah, I was there tonight. So what’ll it be?” He wondered if she would back away now that she remembered he had been a customer.

“I live close by.” She glanced in the direction she had been going.

Good, she isn’t freaked out by me.

“Okay, well, I’ll walk you home,” Essen offered.

“Hey, no, that’s okay, you’ve done enough.” Romy smiled at him, moving her wrist out of his hand.

Essen felt strangely affected by the loss of contact, like losing something precious. He shook himself mentally, trying to get rid of these unwelcome thoughts.

“No, I insist; besides that jerk might come back.” Essen began to walk on, and Romy fell in step with him.

“I forgot to say thank you, I...err, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come.” Romy seemed to hesitate. “So thanks.”

“No problem, I’m glad I could help,” Essen commented. This was going well. Maybe that loser had done him a favor because Romy seemed to trust him, which made it easier to take her. He surveyed the area, thinking of when the right moment might be, but the area was busy with late-night revelers and taxi cabs zooming by.

“I suppose you get hit on a lot,” Essen asked casually as they neared her apartment building.

“Kinda. Not all guys are like that, but some do confuse what I do inside with what I do outside. Hazard of the job, I suppose,” Romy answered. Essen could feel her relax with each step. “Hey, my name’s Romy, by the way,” she offered shyly.

“Essen, I’m Essen,” he replied, smiling in return. It felt strange to be casually walking down the street with her when he knew what he planned to do. But somehow this felt good, maybe even normal.

“Well, nice to meet you, Essen. That’s an unusual name, where does it come from?” Romy asked.

“It’s an old European name, what about you?” He tried to deflect attention away from himself.

“Well, it’s kind of a mixture, Asian and European, I think, so you could say our roots are similar,” Romy continued. “Well, this is me; you...err...would you like to come in for a coffee?”

Essen was taken aback by her offer. It almost felt like an easy, casual comment you would make, like they were on a date. He liked the feeling.

“Yeah, sure, that way I can see to your wrist as well.” Essen smiled down at her and met her gray eyes; for a moment she took his breath away. Her ease and openness were a welcome light at the end of a dark time. Usually others saw his height and build and were wary of him straight away.

They walked up the stone steps to the front door of her old-style apartment building. Romy jangled her keys as she opened the lock, then stepped into the brightly lit foyer. The usual mailboxes were on the left-hand wall, and a dying potted plant stood at the foot of the wooden stairs. The area was sparse and clean.

He watched her skip up the staircase to the first-floor apartment she rented, Essen made an attempt to hang back and not to be seen as overly keen to get inside with her.

“Well, this is me,” Romy said, unlocking her apartment door and giving him a tight smile; she dipped inside and flicked on the lights.

Essen stood at the entrance; surprisingly, he felt uncomfortable going in and pretending to be her rescuer, knowing she would need rescuing from him. He could not understand why he felt this way. It had been straightforward: find her, take her, and take revenge, but now...

“Please, come in, I’ll get some coffee on,” she said.

“Well, let’s get some ice on your bruises first,” Essen suggested, stepping in.

The fresh smell of pine greeted him; as he glanced around, he saw a small, well-kept space with very few personal touches such as ornaments or photographs, but he had not expected family pictures to be on display, not with her family history. He watched Romy shrug off her jacket and hang it up on the peg close to the door.

“May I?” She gestured to his jacket. He obliged by taking it off for her to hang up.
We seem to be having a polite dance, but maybe this is how normal people behave.

Up close she was as beautiful as he had first thought. Clean, honey-colored skin, eyes that sparkled, and a mass of dark hair. Her jeans and loose fit T-shirt hid a curvy body that his cock longed for. He watched her closely as she moved to the small but tidy kitchen and reached into the ice box.

“Here, let me do that,” he offered, reaching for the ice cube tray she had just pulled out.

Romy passed him a towel, and he wrapped up a few cubes. Turning to her, he saw her studying him intently. Her face was an open picture; she was so trusting of him now. He, in turn, was enjoying this picture of domesticity they were creating. She held up her wrist where the finger marks of her attacker were creating purple bruises. He gently cradled her hand, enjoying the closeness of her as he applied the ice to her wrist. He could smell her floral perfume, and her warmth reached out to him. It had been so long since he had wanted to feel close with anyone, but he could not understand why it felt right with her. He closed his eyes and inhaled.
Damn it
, she was so irresistible. He wanted her so badly, naked underneath him.

When he opened his eyes, he found her staring up at him, her eyes soft and tender. She slowly lifted her free hand and touched his face gently. He felt that soft touch breaking though the barrier he had created around his heart.

He stepped forward, holding her gaze with his. That movement stilled her, just as he knew it would. But the touch did more. He placed a finger on her lips, which quivered underneath. The look of helplessness in her gray eyes somehow touched him deep inside. Could the ice around his heart be melting? Unable to stop himself, he slipped his hand around her head, holding it still while letting the ice in his other hand fall to the floor. The clattering noise seemed distant to Essen as he snaked his arm around her waist. So curvy, but he knew that already. She did not resist; in fact, she seemed to welcome it. He felt her hands stroke up his arms to his shoulders.

He lowered his head and brushed a soft kiss on her lips. That brief taste was enough to throw his plan out of the window. He needed more, now. Her eyes widened in surprise when he lowered his head once again, this time kissing her passionately. At first she did not respond, but then she began to move her mouth against his. Her lips were so soft; he plunged his tongue into her mouth and pulled her body tight against his. Those curves fitted perfectly into his form. Essen continued to kiss her. Yes, he felt the passion and overwhelming need course through her, just as he had when she had danced for him. He felt her tongue finally begin to flick against his.

Hell, what is happening?
Essen tried to regain his senses, but they had flown out the window as soon as he had touched her and deepened his kiss. This did not add up. It was about getting even, revenge, the old eye for an eye, not sex. But his body was awash with desire; the fire he felt in their first kiss had ignited a passion buried deep inside him. Essen knew Romy wanted him; she held on to his hips as she ground herself against his jeans-clad erection. What surprised him more was that he needed her. She had filled him with a desire he could not control. He craved her.
This was not meant to happen.
She was his enemy! At this moment that did not matter. Right now his body wanted her as a lover.