Chains of Frost: The Bellum Sisters 1 (5 page)

“This doesn’t look like the usual
damage from demons.”

He managed to lift one shoulder
in a shrug without grimacing. “It wasn’t a typical demon. It was something
else, bigger, meaner. Not altogether alive-looking either. Haven’t seen
anything like that before.”

Her golden brown eyes shot up to
his. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her, yet he looked right back at
her. It was worth the pain. Her skin was a matching shade to her eyes. It
reminded him of dark brown sugar.
Would you taste as sweet, Nanu?

Her cheeks darkened with color as
she stared up at him. She quickly looked back down at the wound and the spell
was broken.
Can’t say I blame her. Wouldn’t want to look at me either.

“I’ll get this cleaned up. It
looks like you’ll need some stitches along this longer gash here.” She stepped
back and started gathering a tray of supplies from the counter.

“I don’t want the stitches.”

She gave him a startled look. “Why
not? It will leave a nasty scar.” He almost grinned, but not because he was
happy. This, this was why he could never have her. She was the beautiful
goddess and he the ravaged warrior.

“I am not ashamed of the cut. It
will serve as a reminder that I came that close to death.” Her eyes flickered
with some emotion he didn’t recognize and then she nodded.

She gathered what she needed and
came back between his legs. She cleaned the wound, which spanned from his chest
to his bellybutton, with a liquid that burned his flesh. He kept his face
passive. Honestly, the pain didn’t hurt nearly as much as being this close to her.
He’d give his right arm to get out of here right now.

He must be a glutton for pain though,
because instead of staring off in some opposite direction of her, he looked at
a point above her head so he could watch her move from the corner of his eye.

Her movements were methodical,
brisk, and thorough. She was done much too fast and stepped back with a snap of
her gloves.

“I’d like to give you something
for the pain.” She moved to her medicine cabinet but his voice stopped her.

“Don’t bother.” He hopped off the
table and started to pull down his shirt. If she touched him for one more
second, he wasn’t sure what he might do.

“We are not finished.”

He cut a glance to her. He’d
never heard her sound angry. Yup, she was pissed. Her eyes were spitting mad
and her lips were pulled into a hard frown. She stormed back to him and pushed
him back onto the table. He winced this time, but not because of the pain. He
could not keep his dick down around this woman. Everything she did turned him
on. He could do nothing to stop the image of her climbing on top of him and
wrapping her body and mouth around his.

“Lift up your shirt. I’m
bandaging it.” He started to protest that it was unnecessary, but she cut him a
look that shut him the hell up. When she came back to him, she had a roll of
white gauze in her hand. He lifted his shirt like a good patient and let her
work.

God, was it torture.

She started unrolling the gauze
at his side and leaned into him as she wrapped her arms around his back then
around his chest…again and again. He had to close his eyes or else he might do
something stupid like lean down and kiss her. Taste her lips and finally find
out what they would feel like under his. Soft but firm, he was betting. With
just enough give to make him want to sink his teeth into that bottom lip. Would
her eyes go soft or hungry?

“All done,” she said softly,
startling him out of his perverted reverie. He felt her breath blow across his
nipple and his stomach muscles bunched reflexively. He opened his eyes to see
hers tracing over his chest in a way that made this whole not kissing her thing
very hard. Her eyes lifted to his and he watched as the color in her cheeks
bronzed beautifully. Lovely. Golden-skinned goddess.

He swallowed hard. “Thanks for
everything.” He stood, which he realized too late was a bad move, because she
didn’t step away quickly enough, and his body brushed against hers. Big
mistake. The pain from his wound dialed down like it wasn’t even there. All he
felt was the gentle heat of her body pressing against his legs and hips.

“Henry,” she said softly, his
name rolling off her pretty lips. His chest expanded as he struggled to draw in
air. She was a witch, ensnaring him with the deep longing in her eyes. He
couldn’t look away, not even as she perched her hands on his shoulders and
raised herself up. He was an idiot, but he was going to let her. Was desperate
to know, to finally know what she tasted like.

She stopped an inch from his
lips. Her breath whispered nervously over his. His hands move to her waist, beneath
the open white jacket she wore and gently settled on her. The touch belied the
surging white-hot passion that threatened to erupt inside him.

He couldn’t wait anymore. If he
died tomorrow then at least he would finally know. He bent down and pressed his
lips to hers. The very first touch was electric pleasure zapping through him
like a lightning bolt. Immediately he pulled away, stunned and shaking. But she
followed him with a soft sound that made his dick weep and his heart quake in
his chest.

Her fingers curled into his
shoulders in the sweetest of pleasures as her lips pressed over his. The kiss
was sweet, innocent. He lost himself in her. He licked open her lips and tasted
inside her. His heart kicked up a beat—perfect. She was perfect. Soft and delicate
on the inside, just like she was on the outside.

“Nanu!”

Henry stumbled back so hard he
knocked the hospital table back into the cabinet with a loud crack. He was also
certain that he’d just dented the hell out of the table.

He watched wide-eyed as the
golden male stepped in front of the goddess, cutting off his connection with
Nanu. He tried to ignore her taste still teasing his tongue, but that was
impossible.

“You dare to disrespect my
sister, warrior?” Her brother, Heru, glared hatred at him.

Henry was shaking his head even
as he made for the door.

“Do so again and I will have your
head, Commander Tyrian’s guard or not.”

Henry didn’t bother turning
around, just kept walking. He was practically running as he reached the end of
the wing. Even as he felt her gaze burning into his back, he didn’t turn.

Chapter Five

Chloe awoke to a definite chill
in the air. She shivered and pulled the covers more fully over her. Except all
that did was make her legs colder as the cover came up. Grumbling, she turned
to the other side and pulled the cover up to her cheek. Instantly her legs and
butt were chilled with goose bumps.

Popping open her eyes, she sat up
and came to the quick and sudden realization that she was not in her hotel room
anymore. She looked down at the little white towel wrapped loosely around her
and pulled the ends tighter as she tried to control her racing thoughts.

Where the hell was she? A vast
study or maybe a library. Her sister was nowhere to be seen.

The room was dark and filled with
low-lit candles and a grand chandelier that cast the leather furniture in
shadows. She stood on shaky legs and tried to remember what had happened.
Cemetery, spell casting, demon zombie screaming her name, then to bed. She
gasped as she recalled waking up to two men and that nasty roaring she’d heard
in the cemetery. The demon had followed her. And men were trying to kidnap her.

Spinning around, she caught sight
of a man standing at an archway window looking out. Shoot, that wasn’t a man.

As silently as she could, she
kept her eyes on him and backed up.
Don’t hear me.
The man was huge,
though not in a steroid taking, pumping iron way. He was tall with shoulders
that filled the wide-open window. Damn, that window really needed bars or
something over it to keep people from, oh, falling to their deaths. His back
and lean hips caught her attention next. He wore a black long-sleeve shirt and
matching pants yet the simple ensemble made him look dangerous in an ‘I’m
completely normal’ way. Even his hair was dark. Long too, pulled into a severe
tie at the back of his head.

Three more silent steps backward
on the freezing cold floor beneath her bare feet.

“Surely, you at least wish to
know who I am before you leave.” She jumped at the sound of his voice and
tripped over a table behind her.

She toppled to the ground, her
butt skidding on the cold stone floor in a clump. Quickly disentangling
herself, she stood, clutching the towel tighter around her. His voice…It was
cold and hard. It held a tone that could mistakenly be construed as passive or
bored, but she was sure was just indifference. Was this what a killer sounded
like? He could talk to you in that detached voice as he swung the sword that
would take your head.

She thought briefly about
righting the table she knocked over but decided edging toward the huge
double-sided door was the smarter idea. Escape. She took another silent step
toward those doors.

He turned toward her and her feet
stopped moving. It was the complete opposite of what she should be doing, yet
she couldn’t will her body to move any more than she could tear her eyes away
from him.

She knew who he was in an
instant. It didn’t matter that she’d never met him or even had one iota of what
he looked like before. One did not become commander of a legion of vampires
that fought demons for a living without getting that cold, hard look in his
eyes.

A deep scar was set into his skin
underneath his right eye. It was jagged and reached from his nose to his
temple. It must be old because it wasn’t red with freshness, but a paler shade
of his skin. His hair formed a widow’s peak that somehow made him look more
severe…and even more intriguingly handsome. Chloe tried to recall the last time
a man had her staring but couldn’t think of one. Yet this man commanded her
attention with his very presence, without words or actions.

He stood straight and erect as if
he was about to command armies to attack, not have a conversation. This man was
Commander Tyrian en Kulev, the scariest man on the face of the Earth. And he wanted
to talk to
her.
Hell, he technically
owned
her, thanks to her
father’s insane will.
Right, time to go,
Chloe thought, and edged toward
the door.

He merely watched her. “If you
will not have this conversation with me, then you will only make things harder
on yourself, Ms. Bellum.” She winced at the use of her name. But his words
worked. She stood frozen, clutching the small hotel towel like it could save
her from this man.

A swarm of emotions flitted
through her as he simply watched her with those tracking, deadly eyes. With one
look, he managed to make her feel like the sole focus of his thoughts and
words. It might have been flattering if this man didn’t technically have rights
to her now. And if he didn’t make his living by being a really good killer. Oh,
and if he didn’t scare her so badly.

Bravely lifting her chin she
said, “Then talk.”

His eyebrows rose just a hair, as
if he wasn’t used to being ordered to do anything. He pulled his arms behind
him. The action opened his chest to her and made her realize just how built he
was. His shoulders were wide and filled out his shirt well, while his chest
tapered to a more slender waist.

“We are in a situation that
cannot be changed. Were you notified of the rights of ownership given to me?”

Chloe ground her teeth and
seethed inside. The word ‘ownership’ while referring to her made her want to
hit him. Yet all she could do was stare at his eyes. This man and his eyes were
unlike anything she’d ever encountered before. Icy blue like the sky,
glittering and bright.

“I’m quite aware,” she said,
peering at the wide double door. It looked heavy. Would she even be able to
pull it open?

Nerves had her feeling twitchy,
like bugs were crawling up her arms and legs. She rubbed at them and took
uneven breaths.

“Since your rights have been
given to me, stipulations must be made.” He took a step forward and she
flinched, unable to help herself. He either didn’t notice her reaction or
didn’t care, because he ignored her and went to the corner of the room where
the biggest desk she’d ever seen was situated. It was bigger than the bathroom
of her first apartment and much cleaner.

“You are not to leave the
compound under any circumstance without strict permission from me. You are not
to be outside these walls at night. There will be no trips, no friends
visiting, and absolutely no bothering me, my quarters, my things, my guards, or
my work in any way.”

Chloe stifled the sharp retort
that was on her tongue and made a dash for the double doors. Her hand touched
the brass handle, pulled down on it, then started to yank it open when a big
hand slammed against the door an inch above her hand. She gave a startled
scream and spun around, nearly losing the towel. He was standing not even a
foot away.

Although he might as well have been
on the far side of the room, for she couldn’t even feel a hint of heat from his
body.
Well of course,
she thought coldly, the man was a cold-hearted
killer. Sure, he fought on the right side of things, if there was such a thing,
but his eyes were those of a man who’d seen terrible things for far too long.
No one could ever remain unjaded after that.