Kissed by a Dark Prince (Volume 1) (22 page)

Wasn’t that what she wanted?

The thought of him turning his back on her caused a physical ache in her chest and a desperate desire to catch hold of him and not let go.

Loren stroked his fingers over the white sleeve of her coat. “Who sunk his claws into your heart and made you like this, Olivia? Tell me and I will hunt and will not stop until I slay your demons. I swear it.”

Olivia covered his hand with hers, holding it against her forearm. Was she really going to do this?

She lifted her gaze back to his and took a deep breath. “You swear you’ll slay him?”

He nodded. “I am an exceptional hunter, and I will not allow anyone who has hurt my ki’ara to live.”

She believed him. He would probably hunt the demon to the ends of the earth, or whatever realm they lived in, to take him down.

“He’s already dead,” she said, “But thank you for the offer.”

He smiled. “Perhaps I can hunt his kin and kill them instead?”

Olivia shook her head. “I’m not the sort to blame a whole species for the actions of one individual. I also don’t think it would be good for you. You have a kingdom to think about, you know?”

His expression darkened a shade. “Do not remind me. I have rather enjoyed being away from there... but that is not what we are talking about. Tell me, Olivia. I want to know you... I want to know the woman behind this coat.”

He stroked the lapels of her white lab coat, a distant look in his eyes. She could read him through the connection she had to him and knew his feelings. He was enjoying being away from his kingdom because he felt free with her. He felt like the man he had been four thousand years ago before Vail had turned on him and their kind, driving him to war with him. He didn’t need to say it for her to know it.

They were the same in a way.

She was enjoying being with him because he made her forget all the bad things that had happened to her, stopping her from dwelling on her past, and made her think about her future for once and her life. She had spent too many years thinking about only her work and it had become her life, who she was.

She had lost sight of the woman behind the white lab coat, but Loren had brought her back to the fore, and she felt like the woman she had been before she had joined Archangel, when her life had been full of hope and she had lived in a world filled with possibilities.

“Tell me, Olivia.” The low husk of Loren’s voice sent a hot shiver through her and she absently stroked his hand.

“I’m not sure what species of demon he was... I thought he was human. Maybe I was just blind or naive.” She focused on his hand and how warm she felt where it rested, even though her coat formed a layer between their bodies. “I met him in a club when I was out with Sable and a few of the other hunters, and he was really... hot.”

Loren growled low and she cast him an apologetic smile.

“You did ask, remember?”

He huffed. “It does not mean I have to like what I hear. I do not like the thought of you with another male, especially one you found hot.”

Olivia held her smile inside when he looked himself over, blatantly wondering how she viewed him. She had thought he was sex on legs before he had given her the most incredible orgasm of her life. Beauty, brains, brawn and bloody incredible sex. The man had the whole package.

She kept her face straight and didn’t say anything, but the sly smile that curled the corners of his sensual lips told her he had picked up on her feelings and knew her thoughts.

“There was some heavy petting and then we started seeing each other. He was attentive, supportive, sweet and a demon in the sack.” That earned another dark growl from Loren and he muttered something about tracking and killing the male’s entire race anyway. She patted his hand and he glared at her. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Tell me I was better,” he said and the wild yet vulnerable edge to his purple eyes had her going against her better judgement.

“You were better.”

He looked as though he wanted to kiss her but stroked her arm instead, his gaze holding hers. She wanted to keep this conversation light so she didn’t begin to dredge up the details about what had happened and didn’t risk dropping her guard again, but it became impossible as she stared into his eyes, remembering everything he had said to her. He wanted her heart. He wanted to complete their bond.

A bond that would unite them forever, making her immortal.

What if she went along with that and it turned out he was just like the bastard demon and he had used her, playing her for a fool?

Eternity of living with herself and that betrayal? She didn’t think she could take it. It was hard enough living with the hurt that burned inside her now and she only had to bear it for a finite number of years.

“Olivia?” Loren smoothed his palm across her cheek and she closed her eyes, unable to look at him while she was trying to get her emotions in check and back under her control, and kick her heart back into line.

“I fell in love with him, Loren... I fell for him and I thought what we had was real, and then he used everything he had learned from me and my clearance... and he infiltrated this building.” She opened her eyes and stared at the purple embroidery on the breast of Loren’s black jacket, replaying that terrible night. “He went on a killing spree... there was so much blood. My pager went off and I rushed to answer the call, and ran into him. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing... but I knew it was my fault. I had been foolish enough to fall for a demon, and he had played me like the weak human female I was. All to infiltrate and destroy Archangel.”

“And then he attacked you?” Loren closed his fingers around her forearm and she nodded.

“I tried to stop him.” Her voice squeaked and she coughed to clear the tightness from her throat. “I fought him, trying to distract him so hunters would have a chance to kill him.”

Loren’s grip on her tightened, his voice a dark thick growl. “You tried to sacrifice yourself.”

She jerked out of his grip. “What else was I supposed to do? People were dying because of my stupidity. They were all going to die because I had been stupid enough to trust a demon with my heart.”

Loren reached for her but she evaded him, stumbling back a few steps, needing the space or she was going to end up giving in to her fierce need to feel Loren’s arms around her and hear him say the words that would somehow fix her broken heart and make it new.

She shook her head and clenched her fists. “I can’t do this, Loren. Can’t you see that?”

“I can see that you were hurt, and you feel betrayed still... and you think all men are out to hurt you and use you like that.”

“Not all men... just demons.”

“I am not a demon, Olivia.” He tried to reach for her again but she kept shaking her head and backing off, keeping the distance between them even.

“Demon... fae... the similarities are there... and I can’t pretend they don’t exist. You were dumped on our doorstep and I felt so attracted to you, even when I knew I shouldn’t, even when I kept thinking about him and what he had done. Then this whole crazy bond thing happened because you bit me and then you demanded to come to Archangel... and then the building that had become my home is bombed.” Olivia struggled to breathe as the weight of it all pressed down on her, the force of it crushing her. “And I can’t stop thinking you’re out to do the same to me.”

Loren snarled, flashing his fangs at her. “I am not using you, Olivia. Look into my eyes and tell me you honestly believe that this is a farce and I have no feelings for you.”

She couldn’t, because part of her already knew that this wasn’t fake. This was real for both of them, but that didn’t mean it would have a happy ending.

“I did not come here to infiltrate Archangel or hurt you... or anyone you care about, Olivia, and you know that in your heart, because you know my feelings. I should not have left you alone that day, allowing Vail to attack you and your people. It was a mistake, and I wish I had the power to turn back time and undo it... but I do not.” Loren stepped towards her, his black eyebrows furrowing as he raked his fingers through his hair, clawing the black-blue strands back. “I swore to keep you safe and I will do just that, and I will not let Vail hurt anyone else here at Archangel. I will do all in my power to prove myself worthy of your trust... but I will not give up now that I have decided to fight for you. You are my ki’ara... and I would do anything you commanded of me.”

“Break this bond,” she whispered and regretted it when she felt the pain it caused him.

He lowered his head. “Anything but that. I cannot do that. I will not do it. I cannot force you to complete the bond with me, and cannot stop you from searching for a way to break it... but I will not give up on finding a way to pierce your armour and claim your heart.”

“Stop it.” She turned away from him and wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her right forearm. “I can’t...”

He came up behind her and gently settled his hands on her shoulders. The weight of them comforted her and she could feel him close to her, aware of every inch of his body that hovered near to hers, feeling it so clearly that it was as if he were already against her.

He lowered his head and his cheek brushed her left ear, and his breath skated down her collar. The marks he had placed on her throat tingled and she closed her eyes.

“Olivia,” he husked and she told herself to fight, to break free of his hold and keep pushing him away. She couldn’t let him shatter her armour and claim her heart as his victory. She couldn’t. “I am not that male. I would never hurt you like that. To hurt you would be to hurt myself.”

“Because we’re linked,” she stated flatly.

“No.” He leaned closer, bringing his body into contact with hers, and she relaxed into him, losing awareness of the world around them. “If I hurt you, it would hurt me because I have fallen under your spell. You have brought light to my dark world, Olivia. You have captured the dead heart of this prince and given it new life. I live for you... and I would gladly die for you. I—”

“Stop... please, Loren... just stop.” She couldn’t take it anymore. Whenever he talked like this, she melted inside, warmed by his words and the feelings that flowed through her in response. She ached to hear him speak to her of his feelings, wanted to believe they were real and not a lie, but there was always that shadow of doubt at the back of her mind and the dark memories that haunted her heart. They told her not to trust him. They told her this was too good to be real, that a gorgeous powerful man like Loren could never truly desire a workaholic weak human female like her.

Loren rubbed her arms and sighed. “You can tell me to stop all you want, Olivia, but that word will not change my feelings and it will not alter yours. It will not make me give up the fight for you... it will only make me fight harder.”

She knew that. She did.

Olivia placed her hands over his on her arms and focused on the feel of him behind her, his heart steady and feelings calm, a rock that she could cling to in the storm of her conflicting emotions and desires.

Her anchor.

“Loren...” She wasn’t sure what she meant to say because she wasn’t sure of her feelings, not like he was. She didn’t know whether to turn in his arms to kiss him or to shove him away. She didn’t know whether to smash the heart he had given to her or to draw it close to her breast and cherish it. The heart of a prince. A heart he hadn’t given to anyone in five thousand years and now she held it in her hands and it frightened her. It was too much, too soon. “I can’t take this. Nothing can happen between us, Loren. Can’t you see that?”

“No,” he barked and his grip on her arms tightened, his frustration flooding the link between them, warning of his mounting anger. “It is too late for that sort of talk, Olivia. Something has already happened and there is no going back now. I will not let you.”

She opened her mouth to snap at him and he twisted her in his arms and kissed her, his mouth capturing her words as a moan as bliss shivered through her again. She melted into the kiss, drowning in the connection that sizzled between them, setting alight to every nerve in her body until she buzzed from head to toe. He pulled her closer, angling his head and mastering her mouth, claiming dominance over her that thrilled her too much for her to fight it.

She kissed him back even as she told herself this wasn’t happening and she had to stop it before it got out of hand again. Her body and heart weren’t listening to the fragment of her mind that was telling her to break away from him, to sever the connection that had her falling into his arms and moaning as they wrapped around her, caging her against his delicious body.

Loren growled. “I want you.”

Sense said to deny him that want. The rest of her moaned in agreement.

“Here,” Loren husked and grabbed her backside. He lifted her feet from the ground and kept kissing her as he walked her to the long white bench table where she had been working.

“Here?” Her eyes widened when she realised what he meant. “We can’t... not here. People will see.”

“People will not see.” His voice darkened and the blinds across the windows that lined the corridor side of the room closed, a shower of sparks exploded from the sliding glass doors, and the lights went out. “Mine now. No one will see my female but me.”

Dangerous words. She was giving him completely the wrong idea by letting him do this. She had to stop him.

He kissed down her throat, nibbling persuasively, and she forgot what she was meant to be doing and dug her fingers into his thick black hair, holding him to her.

Curse him. He said she had him under her spell but it was the other way around. Her dark elf prince had some sort of black magic at his disposal and had worked it on her, enslaving her body and her heart, making reason flee her mind whenever he touched her.

She had to stop him.

“Loren.” She had meant it to come out firm and resolute, not as a pleasure-drenched whisper that tore a moan from him in response and had him popping the buttons of her white coat.

She fumbled for his shoulders in the darkness, the loss of one sense heightening all her others. She gasped as she found his biceps. They were bare, his muscles tight and trembling beneath her touch as he rushed to undo her coat. A second gasp escaped her when he cheated again, using his powers to make everything under her coat disappear.