Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (20 page)

“Did you just
call me a…never mind.” Shaking his head, he stared at her. He was definitely
confused and a little angry. She heard a growl rumble in his chest. Okay. Maybe
he was more than a little angry.

“Thank you for
your help. But you, Eli, are an asshole. You’re a very attractive asshole so I
don’t find any fault in the fact that I stared at you. Even so, I will forever
live with the shame that I even considered having sex with you.”

Rather than say
anything at all he shook his head and then turned as if to walk away. Deciding
it wouldn’t be in her best interest to stick around to see what he was doing
she turned away from him and headed for her room. When she opened the door to
the room and walked inside the foul stench of old cigarette smoke and mildew
filled her lungs. Gagging, she shut the door and locked it. She wanted to cry,
but she refused to allow the condition of the room to drive her to tears.

 She would
never permit herself to wallow in self-pity. She wasn’t the only person living with
one form of trouble or another. She was hurting, she was terrified and she was
alone, but tears were a sign of weakness she refused to display or to shed even
in private.

~Eleven~

“I’M
NOT GOING to lie. That was the single most awesome moment of my life. I can’t
believe she called you an aggravating as hell, leg humping poodle.” Eli watched
Cain pick up the jerky she’d tossed and take a bite. “It’s good stuff. You
should’ve
fetched
it.” He took another bite. “But I’m glad you didn’t.”

Eli shook his head. “Shut up.” When he
realized she had been targeted by a thief his natural protective instincts
kicked in. He was shocked by the fear he felt when she began to struggle with
the man to take the knife. It was only a matter of seconds before he got to her,
but it seemed much longer.

“I like her style. Maybe you should
reconsider your decision to remain unattached to her. Do you think you could
piss her off and get her to throw some more? It really is tasty stuff. I’d get
on my hind legs and beg pretty for another piece.”

To say he was shocked when she’d tossed
the meat and then ordered him to fetch it was a major understatement. She’d
left him speechless. He had definitely met his match in her, a woman as
passionate as sin and as hot as Hell’s rampant flames. “She called me a
leg humping poodle.”

 “Aggravating as hell.”

Growling, Eli stared at him.

“What? She said aggravating as hell.”

“You’re the reason women encourage their
men to go out and get neutered.”

Cain laughed. “Doing so is a hell of lot
better than chasing a bunch of heathen savages around for the rest of your
life. Women and children are trouble. You know, for a human, Kara isn’t bad at
all. I like her.”

“She has her good qualities.”

“Don’t you think you should go talk to
her?” Cain asked. 

“Not now. The thief is returning with a
few of his gangster wannabe friends.”

“No worries. That’s what you have a pack
for. We will take care of them. It’ll be fun. Go and get to know your sweet
little lady.”

Eli had already
started to walk away. He had just reached Kara’s door when she screamed. He
tried to open the door. It was locked. He was about to break through it, but
she opened it and plowed into him.

Shocked she
stared up at him. “Why are you by my door?” He felt her touch his mind. He
opened up to her. Not knowing what was wrong and wanting to calm her as quickly
as possible so he could deal with it, he allowed her to inspect his intentions.
He knew the moment she decided he wasn’t a threat. She peeked into the room.
“Do you see it?”

From over her
head he took a look inside. He didn’t see anything except for a tiny…

“Spider!” she
yelled. “Holy shit! Right there! It’s a spider!” Her nails digging deep into
his flesh she gripped his arm. “You see it, right?”

“Yeah.” He
looked down at her. She wasn’t afraid of the spider. She was utterly terrified
of the damned thing. “It won’t hurt you. It’s more afraid of you than you are
of it.”

As if to prove
he’d lied, the spider turned toward them as if staring them down. 

“Oh, oh crap!”

He glanced down
at his arm. Her nails were really starting to dig in deep. Bringing his focus
back to the spider, she gasped and pointed at as it crawled toward them. A few
seconds later it picked up its pace and raced toward them. Screaming, she did
the wildest dance all the way around him to make sure he was between her and
the spider as it raced past them. Next, she pushed past him to the side and
shut the door on his face.

Literally, the
door slammed into his face. He was still standing there staring at the door
when she opened it. “Come in.” She motioned for him to come inside. “It’s cold
out here. Hurry up before that…that hideous thing gets back in here.”

Against his
better judgment, for something just wasn’t right about the smile on her face,
he walked inside and shut the door. When he turned to face her she was standing
just out of reach with a gun aimed at him.

“What were you
doing outside the door?” She asked.

Holding up his
hands in surrender, he gestured toward the door. “The hideous thing went that
way.”

“You aren’t
funny.”

“I wasn’t trying
to be funny. I was trying to avoid getting shot.”

“Did my father
send you?” she asked.

“No.”

“I know you from
somewhere.”

He nodded. “We
met before. It was several months ago at a gas station. You barged into me and
spilled your hot chocolate.”

He watched and
waited. She stared at him for several seconds before it was evident by the
smirk on her face that she was remembering the day they met. “Actually, you
weren’t watching where you were going. You ran into me and dumped it on
me.”  He watched her closely. He wasn’t sure what it was but something
about her, more than her physical beauty, temper and outrageous fear of spiders
intrigued him.

He smiled. It
was the whole shebang. She was his mate. Everything about her intrigued him. He
wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know every little detail about her
to discover what made the man in him need the woman in her. “And then you
grabbed me and kissed me.”

Eyes going wide
as color rose from her neck to her cheeks, she shook head. “That’s a lie. You
kissed me.”

“You kissed me
back. You enjoyed it.”

 “I know
you’re a werewolf.”

“Do you?” he
asked.

She nodded.
“Yes.”

“And yet you
think you will be able to stop me with a gun?”

“It will hurt
you.”

“I’ve been shot
before. I’ve a high tolerance for pain.”

“It will slow
you down.”

“Not enough to
do you any good. Regardless of how many times you shoot me I’ll always be
significantly faster and stronger than you.” He studied every corner of the
room and every piece of furniture. He planned to take the gun from her before
she had a chance to shoot him. He knew she would fight him and he didn’t want
to hurt her. Yet. If she shot him he just might be inclined to figure out some
sort of retribution. “This room is small. The exit is behind me.”

She gave him the
most beautiful, wickedly awesome smile he ever seen on a woman. “That’s good.
It’ll make it much easier for you to run out of here.”

Just then he
noticed she’d taken off her jacket and sweatshirt and was wearing a small white
tank top. He could see that her neck, chest and arms had nearly completely
faded bruises. He could actually make out the prints of large fingers around
her neck. He’d know she’d been shot and jumped from a moving vehicle, but
seeing the proof of it, though nearly entirely healed, on her flesh was too
much. Surprising him, a growl escaped his throat.

Obviously
hearing him growl and being startled by it, she cocked the revolver. “Leave.”
She pressed her lips together tightly. In silence, they stared at each other
for several long seconds.

He decided to
change tactics. “We never go out of our way to advertise our existence. How are
you acquainted with my kind?

“Your thought
patterns are not fully animal and they’re not fully human. They’re a combination
of both.”

“You’re physic?”

“Why do you ask?
You already know that I am.”

“I wasn’t sure
if you were aware of it.”

“How could I
possibly miss it?”

He shrugged.
“Beats the hell out of me.”

“Then why ask?”

“You touched my mind
and decided that I present no threat to you. And yet you’re aiming a gun at my
head and, though I’ve offered to help you, you’re demanding that I leave you to
face your father alone.”

“I never claimed
to be a good physic. My mind has deceived me before. Many times.”

He held his arms
out to the sides. “Shoot me.”

“Huh?”

“When I don’t
retaliate you’ll realize I’m no threat to you.” He really hoped she didn’t take
him up on the offer.

After a few
moments she finally lowered the gun. “Damn it.”

 “Hello.” He
offered her his hand. “My name is Eli. It’s good to meet you.”

“You already
told me your name a long time ago.” She looked down at his hand and shook her
head before meeting his gaze. “Why did you come in here?”

“I thought a
fresh new beginning would be a good idea. And you opened the door and let me
in, remember?”

“Why were you
lurking outside my room?”

“To be honest,
I’m not much a lurker. The idiot who tried to take your bag returned with a few
friends. I planned to make sure they left you alone.”

“I don’t believe
you.”

“It is the
truth.”

“You don’t know
me. Why would you care about me?”

“If I hadn’t
intervened he would’ve taken your bag and left. It would’ve sucked to lose your
things, but you would’ve never seen him again. He came back for revenge because
I pissed him off.”

“I wouldn’t have
allowed him to just take off with it.”

“I don’t doubt
you would’ve tried to stop him.” Eli had known that some humans were able to
use physic abilities to identify his kind, but she was too comfortable with the
knowledge. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know everything.

“Why did you lie
to me at gas station?”

“I didn’t know
Tom was working with my father.”

“I don’t believe
you.”

“I don’t care.”
She pointed at the door. “It’s time for you to leave.”

“You were trying
to protect me.”

“I didn’t know.”
She frowned.

“You’re lying.”

She rolled her
eyes back. “Stop it.”

“How is that you
not only accept but feel comfortable with the fact that I’m not human?”

“My mother made
the mistake of falling in love with a werewolf.”

“Who?” He asked.

“It doesn’t
matter. It was a very long time ago. Another werewolf killed her for my
father.”

“Who?”

“Again, it
doesn’t matter. It was a very long time ago.”

“You don’t
know.”

“His name is Max,” she said.

“Her killer or her lover?”

“Her killer.” Eli sat down on the foot
of the bed. He wouldn’t tell her about Grace just yet. It wasn’t the right time
to attempt to convince her that Max wasn’t a killer. “What are you doing? Get
up.”

“I’m only getting comfortable while we
chat.”

“You’re not staying long enough to worry
about getting comfortable.”

“Well then, grab your things, you’re
coming with me.” She turned her back to him. “When you were recovering from
being shot I told you that once you were able to go out and avenge you son’s
death that you wouldn’t be alone.”

She turned to face him. “It was real.
You talked to me. I couldn’t wake up and I…no. It was a dream. This is my
battle alone.” Staring at him, she slowly shook her head back and forth. The
anguish in her eyes broke his heart. “I never meant for him to die.”

“Of course you
didn’t. You can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.”

“That’s easy for
you to say. You don’t know the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t need you to stick
around.”

“You want to
avenge his death. It’s your right. I would never take it from you. It’s my
right to make sure you don’t get yourself killed doing it. Don’t take it from
me.”

“I’m not trying
to take anything from you. I’m trying to tell you that I don’t need or want a
friend.”

He knew what she
wasn’t saying. She didn’t need or want to live. Somehow, he hoped to change
that. “I do.”

***

His unblinking gaze remained locked on
hers. She felt him touch her mind. It was the gentlest of caresses, definitely
not a deep merging. It was a different sensation in that his presence was all dominate
male, but it was similar to the way it felt when her mother was just checking
up on her when they were apart. 

He was waiting
for her to respond, but she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say just yet. Making
her feel awkward the silence grew on and on. Believing it would be a sign of
weakness, she didn’t even try to look away from him. She licked her suddenly
dry lips. She knew he was being sincere. She could see that he was determined
to stick around…for the night anyway. He wasn’t the type to commit to more.
Normally, she would’ve avoided the heartache of getting tangled up with a man
like him.

Kara pressed her
lips together and nodded. He was right. She was lonely. She not only craved
companionship. She needed it. Saying anything to encourage him would lead to
trouble, but it didn’t matter. Not really. She had no doubt she would enjoy his
brand of trouble to the fullest. From where she was standing it looked pretty
damn delicious. She kind of liked the idea of taking the plunge and getting in
over her head with him. “I suppose you’re right.”

 “It
happens more often than not.” His lips curved upward in a wicked hot grin that
screamed victory. It put a match to the remains of any chance she’d come to her
senses and boot him out of the room. Waking up with regrets or not she was
going to spend the night with him. And honestly, since she didn’t plan to be
alive much longer, she didn’t give a damn about dealing with any post guilt for
taking pleasure in having wild naughty sex with an unfamiliar man.

“It’s good to
know you don’t suffer from a poor self-esteem.” She studied his sexy smile and
his ridiculously handsome face. He was a sinful temptation and she wasn’t
willing to resist.

“It’s unlikely
to ever happen, but I assure you that I’ll be the first to admit to having a
flaw if I ever find one.”

“Have you
considered the fact that you might be just a little too arrogant?” From time to
time life had its unexpected events. For as long as she could remember dealing
with the unforeseen was normally an awful experience. Crossing paths with him
again was definitely far from unpleasant.

He lifted his
brow. “You aren’t going to believe this, but I’ll tell you anyways. You aren’t
the first person to ask me that question. I suppose, though I highly doubt it’s
true, I should give it some thought in the future.”

She knew he was
only teasing her. Yes. He knew he was attractive, but he wasn’t the conceited
asshole he was pretending to be. He’d proved that earlier. He didn’t have to
help her when she was attacked.  Plenty of men would’ve looked the other
way rather than get involved. “What will you do if you discover it’s true?”

Frowning, he
looked incredibly serious as he appeared to consider the question. “I suppose
I’ll faint from shock.”

She laughed, and
he laughed. It felt good, so much so that her problems and her worries about
what she would face tomorrow simply vanished. An all-consuming awareness of his
totally hot masculinity caused her to ache with lust. It flooded her with
warmth. She needed to touch him. She needed to be touched by him. It couldn’t
be anything more than physical. She didn’t want to feel anything more than
that. They were two adults alone in a hotel room with nothing to lose. “I
wouldn’t mind a companion for the night.”

Leaning his back
against the wall, he folded his arms across his chest and smiled at her. “For
the night?” She couldn’t prevent the smile from parting her lips. He was
attempting to appear casual. The act was laughable at best. He was the
predator, and she was the quarry.  

“You’re wrong.
In this situation I’m pretty sure I’m considered the prey, and you are the
predator.”

She’d completely
forgotten that he could easily hear her thoughts. She’d never been shy, but in
response to his deep sensual voice she felt a blush moving up her neck into her
face. While in his presence she really needed to think before thinking
anything. “Who? Me? A predator?  Nah, that isn’t possible.”

 “And yet
you’re the one approaching me about having a one night stand.”

She figured he
was mentioning it again to make sure he’d heard her right. She doubted he’d
ever suffered a lack of willing women. “That’s it. One night.”

“Nothing more?”
he asked.

“I swear that’s
it. Nothing more.” 

He shook his
head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

She definitely
didn’t see that coming. She took a deep breath and held it. She could see and
feel that he was interested. Perhaps he was worried she would get clingy. He
just needed a little convincing, a little reassuring that he wouldn’t be forced
into dealing with her getting all emotional when it was time to part ways.
Hopefully, she was successful. It would be humiliating if he turned her down.
She’d never been able to handle rejection very well.

 “You’re
not interested?” she asked.

“I didn’t say
that.” He smiled. “And you know damned well that I’m interested.”

“So...you’re
interested, but…oh. I get it. You’re involved with someone?” If he was she
could deal with the rejection. She couldn’t fault a man for being loyal to his
woman.

“No.”

“You’ve taken a vow
of celibacy?”

“Hell no.”

“That’s good. It
would’ve been such a tragic waste. But I can’t think of any other reasons for
two consenting adults to abstain from sharing a night of pleasure.” She waited
for a response, but none came. “I swear you’ll have no regrets. I’m sure I’ll
find a way to make sure you’re satisfied. And then in the morning you will go
your way and I will go mine.”

She tried to
reach his thoughts, but realized he’d closed his mind to her. She understood
why, but it irritated her. It was very inconvenient. He laughed out loud. She
realized he was indeed in her mind. He had an unfair advantage since she’d
truly believed that she’d locked her mind down.

“Don’t be so
hard on yourself. Your physic abilities are very powerful considering you’re
human. The only real advantage I have over you is a few more years of
practicing and strengthening mine.”

“How many more?”
she asked.

“How old are
you?”

“I’ll be
twenty-seven in a week.”

“Two hundred and
seventy three.”

“I have to admit
that you’ve aged well.”

“Have I?”

 She
nodded. “Thoroughly.”

~Twelve~

“THANK YOU.” MEETING up with his mate wasn’t
supposed to commence with her asking him for a one night stand. It could’ve
gone worse. She could’ve thought he was unattractive. Of course he wanted her.
She was his mate. Holding himself in check wasn’t going to be easy, but he
couldn’t, for any reason, pretend he would just walk away after having a sexual
encounter with her.

“It’s true.”
Holy shit. He swallowed hard. She looked too remarkable…too ferociously
seductive to even pretend he could ever resist her as she took a step toward
him. They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. He was so full and
hard that the ache was excruciating. She glanced down at the bulge in his
pants. “It would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

“I agree, but I
don’t think making use of it is a good idea just yet. We need to talk.”

Clearly
displeased, she frowned. “About what?”

“That’s a good
question.” No it wasn’t. Maybe in a hundred years or so he’d come up with a
good answer. He wasn’t sure what to say next. He didn’t have a clue. How does a
male inform a female that she will be with him forever because she is his mate?
A human female with no real concept of what it meant to be a
Lycan’s
mate. Maybe agreeing to have sex wasn’t such a bad
idea. It wasn’t like he was going to let her walk away from him in the morning.
What's more, he was quite confident in his ability to thoroughly pleasure her.
He was certain that after being with him she wouldn’t want to walk
away.  

 “You need
to chill out. You’re over thinking it. I’ve no intention of pinning you down.”

 “That’s
disappointing. I was looking forward to you climbing on top of me.” Letting every
concern just melt away felt good. Careful to not reveal too much of his
lengthening canines, he smiled at her. Having different DNA she didn’t have a
clue of what she’d gotten herself into by seducing a wolf. Not just a wolf, her
mate who’d been waiting for hundreds of years to find and take possession of
her.

 “Are you
going to bite me?” Obviously he’d failed to hide them.

“Only if you
bite me first.”

“I just might.”

“Then I might.”
He really hoped she did.

 Never once
hiding from his gaze, she lifted his T-shirt as he lifted his arms. She pulled
it over his head and tossed it aside. Biting her bottom lip she studied his
chest and belly. “You take good care of your body.” No he didn’t. Not really.
Being fit, being muscular was a natural condition for his kind. “I want to see
more. Turn around.” He nearly jumped out of his skin when she slowly, gently
trailed a single finger down his spine from his neck to his waistband. “You
have a strong back.” He glanced down at her over his shoulder as she began to
move her palms over his back. She looked up at him. “Do you have a fever? Your
skin is so hot.” 

“No.” He turned
to face her. “It’s just the way I am.” Generating heat was another condition of
being Lycan.

“I like it.” As
if exploring every contour, she smoothed her palms over his chest and belly
muscles. “A lot.” It had been so long since anyone had ever touched him
intimately. His heart was thundering and pounding like never before.

He reached for
the hem of her shirt and started to lift it, but she smacked his hand. “Not
yet. I’m not done getting to know your body. I don’t want any distractions. I
want to remember you always.”