When Darkness Ends (18 page)

“I need . . .” Her words broke off in a strangled groan as his lips found the tip of her breast. “You. Just you.”

He used his tongue to lash the sensitive nub, treasuring her soft moan.

He might not own her heart—at least not yet—but her exquisite body was his.

All his.

“You've got me,” he teased, sliding his hand between their bodies to find the precise spot of her pleasure. “And I've got you.”

“Yes.” She yanked his hair as she went rigid with pleasure beneath him, her inner muscles squeezing his cock as she came with a violent force. “Oh . . . yes.”

Cyn surged up to take her lips in a savage kiss, giving one last thrust as his orgasm slammed into him.

“And I'm not letting you go,” he murmured against her mouth, the words so soft he wasn't sure she could even hear them.

With a last lingering kiss, he allowed his hands to run over her slender body. The need to maintain a physical connection with Fallon was an unbearable ache.

Until they mated . . .

No. With a last nuzzle against her throat, Cyn forced himself to untangle his body from Fallon's lingering hold.

He couldn't dwell on his primitive urges.

Not now.

Once the threat to the world was over and the good guys had succeeded, he intended to do a full-throttled, good old-fashioned courtship.

He would win her heart, and then he would earn her soul.

Climbing off the bed, he reached for the cell phone he'd left on the small table, not surprised to discover there was a message from Dante.

The younger vampire had no doubt been intrigued by Cyn's cryptic voice mail.

“Dante's at the front gate,” he murmured.

With the liquid grace that always managed to fascinate him, Fallon slid off the bed and swiftly began pulling on her clothes.

Cyn hid a grimace as his body instantly hardened. God Almighty. His intense reaction to this female was almost embarrassing.

Turning to hide his fully erect cock, he slid on his jeans and sweater, shoving his feet into his boots before turning back to watch Fallon pull her hair into a long, complicated braid.

“There's no need to travel with me,” she said, no doubt sensing his reluctance. “It must be getting close to dawn in Chicago.”

What would she say if he told her that his reluctance had nothing to do with going to pick up Dante, and everything to do with leaving the protection of his lair?

Not only was there an unknown magic-user out there with enough power to kill a vampire and compel the Commission, but there were any number of other dangers that were always lurking in the dark.

And if he forced himself to be entirely honest, there was a part of him that was suddenly remembering that the prince she'd so recently intended to marry was going to be far too near for Cyn's peace of mind.

It wasn't that he was jealous . . .

Oh hell. Of course he was jealous.

Fallon could say all she wanted about her engagement being nothing more than a duty, but the fact was that she'd been planning to spend the rest of eternity with the too-pretty prince.

What if Magnus had a change of heart?

What if he decided that he wanted to reclaim Fallon as his fiancée?

The mere thought made his fangs ache to rip a chunk out of the prince of priss.

“We don't know that your fiancé won't decide to cause trouble,” he muttered, his tone sour.

She gave a startled blink. “What could he do?”

“I don't want him anywhere near you.”

Something that might have been disappointment darkened the magnificent amber of her eyes.

“You don't trust me?”

Shit.

Realizing he'd managed to wound her, Cyn stalked forward, cupping her chin to force her to meet his fierce gaze.

“More than I've ever trusted anyone in my very long life,” he said. “But right now I can't allow you out of my sight.”

She studied his tense expression. “I don't understand.”

He knew better than to try to explain that a vampire on the cusp of mating was like a rabid animal when a male tried to get to close to his woman.

She already knew that vampires could be savage creatures. He didn't want to terrify her with his inner berserker.

“You will,” he promised, lowering his head to press a quick kiss to her lips before he was straightening to regard her with a brooding gaze. “We should go.”

She gave a shake of her head, pulling away from his grasp to head out of the room.

“I'm beginning to suspect that testosterone does strange things to the male mind.”

“You have no idea,” he muttered, following her out of her private rooms and down the stairs.

He'd adamantly insisted that she open the portal in the foyer. When she'd traveled to bring Styx to the lair, she'd been followed by her fiancé. If Magnus made a sudden appearance in her bedroom, there was nothing that would keep him from shredding the bastard into small, unrecognizable princely parts.

Now, as they moved down the stairs, he realized there was an added bonus to his demand of using the foyer.

The sexy sway of her hips as she took each step.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Fallon moved to stand in the center of the paneled foyer, the firelight highlighting the beauty of her delicate features.

A faint smile touched her lips as she glanced toward the flickering flames, no doubt aware that he'd made certain that there were fires in every room of his vast lair.

He should have known the minute he began fretting over whether or not she was cold that he was in danger, he wryly acknowledged.

She made no comment, instead raising her hand to form the portal. Cyn waited until she gestured for him to approach, then, squashing his instinctive dislike for magic, he grabbed her fingers in a tight grip.

There was a sensation of nothingness, then a darkness surrounded him. He clenched his teeth, convinced that he could feel prickles of electricity dancing over his skin despite the fact he couldn't sense magic.

Only seconds later the darkness was abruptly replaced by a shadowed, tree-lined street that was covered by a new layer of snow.

Cyn sent a swift glance around, making sure there was nothing but the lone vampire who was waiting for them in front of Styx's front gate.

At last certain there was nothing about to leap out of the shadows, Cyn turned his attention to the raven-haired vampire who was watching him with a mocking silver gaze.

“Dante.”

The vampire moved forward to slap Cyn on the shoulder, a smile on his finely chiseled features.

“It's been a long time, my friend.”

“Too long,” Cyn said, grinning as he ran a glance over Dante's casual black jeans and shit-kickers. Long before Dante had been captured by the witches and made the guardian of the Phoenix, they'd traveled through Europe, indulging in every vice they could discover. “I have yet to meet your mate.”

Dante shook his head, the pair of golden hoops hanging from his earlobes catching the moonlight.

“I'm not sure I want you to,” he said. “I haven't forgotten your fatal attraction to women.”

Cyn rolled his eyes. Dante hadn't been hurting for women. They'd found his bad-boy vibe absurdly exciting. But, of course, the annoying vampire had to remind Fallon of Cyn's unfortunately exaggerated reputation.

Predictably the princess made a sound of resignation. “Is there anyone who doesn't know about your unsavory habits?”

Flipping off the laughing Dante, Cyn fixed his attention on the female at his side.

“They weren't unsavory.”

“No?”

He grimaced at her disbelieving expression.

“Okay, they might have been a tad unsavory, but they're in the past.”

“The scourge of Europe has been tamed?” Dante drawled.

Cyn glared at his friend. “You aren't helping.”

“Payback's a bitch.”

“Payback for what?”

Dante lifted a dark brow. “Surely you haven't forgotten those twin nymphs in St. Petersburg who you—”

“Enough,” Cyn growled. He was going to have to have several long, painful conversations with his fellow vampires about sharing unnecessary stories about his past. “Are you ready?”

Dante's smile faded, his gaze flicking toward the massive house hidden behind the high gate.

“Yes, I don't want to leave Abby alone for long.”

“Isn't she inside?” he demanded in surprise. Dante rarely left his mate behind.

Dante shrugged. “Yes, but most demons are too terrified to stay in the same room with her, including the Ravens.”

Ah. He'd assumed that Dante had chosen to live in a remote lair outside Chicago because he wanted to be alone with his new mate. After all, Cyn fully intended to make his castle off-limits to stray visitors once he'd convinced Fallon they were destined to be together.

He hadn't actually considered how difficult it might be for demons, including his fellow vampires, to make casual chitchat with Abby. As the vessel for the Goddess of Light, she could fry them all to a smudge of ash without breaking a sweat.

“Styx isn't here?” Cyn asked, knowing that the Anasso would never allow Abby to feel unwelcomed.

“No, he just left for St. Louis to retrieve his mate.” The wicked humor returned to sparkle in Dante's silver eyes. “He was muttering something about cold beds and mangy werewolves who lure females from their mates with a litter of babies.”

“Poor bloke.” Cyn gave a shake of his head. There weren't many things worse than having Weres as in-laws . . . Wait. He grimaced, suddenly recalling his own potential in-laws. He didn't doubt for a minute that the King of Chatri would do everything in his power to take Fallon away. Including trying to kill him. He squared his shoulders. A worry for another day. “Ready?” he asked Dante.

“Yes.”

Grabbing his friend's arm, he reached for Fallon's hand, shivering as they were instantly surrounded in the electric darkness of her portal.

Seconds later they were once again standing in his foyer.

Cyn shook off the momentary disorientation at being yanked through dimensions, and glanced toward Fallon who was calmly studying Dante as if she hauled vampires around on a regular basis.

Cyn, on the other hand, was already growing twitchy at having Dante so close to his potential mate.

It didn't matter that his friend was already bound to another female. Or that Fallon wasn't the sort of female to give herself to more than one man.

Until he completed the mating, his instincts were set on “kill now, ask questions later” mode.

Cursing at the unwelcome violence that trembled through his body, Cyn swiftly headed toward his library. Behind him, he could sense Dante and Fallon trying to keep pace with his long strides, but they thankfully didn't demand to know why he was doing the speed-walking routine.

At last they entered the library, and Cyn moved to the desk where he'd left the scroll given to him by Siljar.

“Damn,” Dante muttered behind him, turning in a slow circle as he inspected the shelves that towered two stories and the ceiling that had been painted with a Greek fresco. “Why the hell did you keep this such a secret?”

“Did you think I was going to allow a bunch of demons who were barely housebroken to trash my books?”

“Hey, I was housebroken.”

Cyn snorted. “Which is why you destroyed my favorite tapestry when you used it for target practice?”

Dante sent Fallon a sorrowful glance. “How do you endure living with him?”

A flustered heat stained her cheeks. “Oh, I don't . . . I mean—”

“This is the spell,” Cyn interrupted her embarrassed stutter, moving to hand the scroll to his friend.

Dante glanced down, a frown tugging his brows together. “I can't read hieroglyphs,” he at last muttered, lifting his head to meet Cyn's steady gaze. “That's Roke's expertise. And you know more about the fey than any other vampire I've met. I'm not sure how I can help.”

“I'm hoping you can give me information on another spell.”

Dante handed the rolled-up parchment back to Cyn. “I'm listening.”

“You battled witches who tried to destroy demons.”

A chill entered the air as Dante's expression became stony. “I did, along with Abby.”

“They used magic?”

“Yes.”

“How did they cast it?”

Dante moved to pour himself a glass of whiskey, still clearly raw from the battle. It didn't matter if it was hours, months, or centuries ago, a male didn't get over seeing his mate in danger.

“They captured Abby, intending to use the power of the Phoenix.”

Cyn watched his friend toss back the drink, regretting the need to bring up such difficult memories. It was only because he couldn't shake the suspicion that this was somehow connected that he was forcing the issue.

“Why did they need the Goddess of Light?”

Dante shrugged. “Not even an entire coven of witches working together could achieve the power needed to cast that particular spell.” A cold smile twisted his lips. “Unfortunately for them the Phoenix was in no mood to cooperate. She zapped the bitches.”

Cyn had heard the basic story of Abby's ability to destroy the witches, but he needed a firsthand account of the details.

“What was involved in casting the spell?”

“I wasn't there for all of it.” The temperature plunged another twenty degrees and Cyn could see Fallon shiver, a golden glow surrounding her as she used her natural powers to warm herself. Cyn felt a ridiculous prick of annoyance. It wasn't that he wanted her to be cold, but he'd taken pride in making sure his lair was always warm enough for her to be comfortable. Dante set aside his empty glass, unaware he was causing Fallon discomfort. “According to Abby, the Queen Bee of the coven, Edra, strapped her to an altar and put a small amulet on her chest,” he grimly explained. “The witch said it would draw on the power of the Phoenix.”