Dark Deceit (14 page)

D
arrion closed his
eyes and tapped into Korvain’s energy. His blood came through the bond loud and
clear, telling Darrion he was somewhere near China Town. Following the tether binding
them, Darrion faded to within a few blocks of Korvain’s location and headed
north east toward the pull of his blood.

He slowed when he felt the throb of Korvain’s presence. Looking up,
his whole field of vision was taken up by one building. It was at least four
stories high, made from the signature red-brick many of the buildings in Boston
were made from. There was only one door at the front and no windows. Above the
door, the rune for protection was carved out of the stone.

Clearly, the building was warded against gods fading in and out, so
he couldn’t get in that way. Walking along the length of the façade, he found
the cool shadows of an alleyway just wide enough for one car to fit through at
a time.

Ignoring the smell of garbage and stale piss, he walked down
silently until he reached another door. He kept his distance, placing his back
against the wall of the building beside it while he surveyed the entrance.

The door was the same as the one out front; smooth without a handle
in sight. Next to the door was a small intercom. Darrion’s eyes drifted up to
the camera positioned to look down at the door. Closing his eyes, he focused on
his assassin. Korvain was in there. He could feel it.

The sun was no longer than an hour old, not yet strong enough to
heat up the day and burn away the chill of the night. He scanned the surrounds
for somewhere to wait where he wouldn’t be seen. There was a BMW X6 parked
around the back of the building. If he lay on the ground and looked under the
car, he could still watch the door and stay out of sight.

No sooner had he gotten himself in position did he see another man
show up, looking over the door like it held all the answers to his questions.
Darrion thought he was human, but the fucker was too tall to be straight human.
He inhaled, the familiar sent of Aesirean god on the air. Darrion bit back a
nasty snarl.

The god’s pale eyes were calculating, like he was constantly
thinking about his next move. His hair was long enough that it curled near his
ears.

His attention was suddenly on the door, his shrewd eyes narrowing,
zeroing in on one point. Darrion had been too distracted to hear it, but
someone was coming. The god faded away from the building with a curse.

The steel door groaned as it was pushed open from the inside. Korvain’s
broad frame filled the space. Darrion delighted in the fact that he looked like
shit. There was dried blood caked to his face and a hole in his leathers. As he
stepped from the doorway, Darrion could tell his knee was bothering him, too. He
took a second to wonder whether those injuries had come from killing the
Valkyrie.

The Mare glanced both directions before fading from the alleyway.
Darrion followed, trailing their bond back to Korvain’s house. Darrion reformed
directly behind the bastard, turning him around with a firm hand on his
shoulder.

The Mare spun around, palming the karambit from the holster under
his jacket. When he realized it was Darrion, his body didn’t relax an inch, but
at least he lowered the weapon.

‘What are you doing here? Did you follow me?’ he snarled, his dark
eyes churning.

Darrion ignored the questions like he always did. Instead he looked
over the Mare’s face and hands, seeing the blood—hoping.

‘Have you made the hit?’

Korvain flinched. It was a subtle movement, and if he didn’t know
his Mare so well, he wouldn’t have seen the slight tightening of his neck
muscles. But Darrion did know him that well, and he had seen it.

‘You know the consequences of not completing the assignment.’
Darrion’s voice was dark, a prowling growl. He was so fucking ready to take out
Odin.

Korvain’s spine straightened, his shoulders rolling backwards. ‘You
don’t have to remind me.’

Darrion smiled at the Mare, baring his teeth. ‘This is your last
warning,
morier
, I want it done.’

He faded before Korvain could retort with something else. Darrion
had seen the reaction Korvain had had. He had broken the first rule of a Shadow
Walker: don’t get close to the target. Gods, he had drilled it into him enough.

He knew his best assassin had been compromised, and if that had
happened there was no way in Hel the mark would be wiped out when the time
really came.

* * *

K
orvain cursed as
soon as Darrion faded from in front of him. He knew. Gods, he knew he had
gotten too close to Bryn. He hadn’t meant to flinch, but talking about her as
if she was disposable made his blood boil.

Korvain snapped open the front door, nearly pulling it from its
hinges in the process. Adrian’s head appeared from around the corner. He had
that ridiculous apron on again, a spatula in his hand.

‘Breakfast?’ he asked.

Korvain growled at him.

Adrian frowned. ‘What the Hel happened to you?’

‘Fuck! Just leave me alone,’ he snarled, pushing past his brother
and climbing the stairs. He couldn’t deal with the cheer right that minute. The
repercussions of his actions were still banging around in his skull. He hadn’t
killed Bryn yet. Darrion was impatient. Korvain couldn’t physically harm the
Valkyrie now even if he wanted to.

She had cared for him when he was at his most vulnerable. Gods,
she’d been so close to him. His body had beaten back the pain and roared to
life when she had pressed herself against him to clean the cut on his head.

He had breathed her in and smelled that fresh gardenia scent and
crumbled. He shouldn’t have even been there. He should have left Eir with Bryn
and hauled ass. Any excuse to be with her was supposed to be disregarded, but
somehow he just couldn’t ignore her command to stay.

Korvain punched the hallway wall. Bones snapped in his hand and
wrist. Ignoring the throb, he threw open his bedroom door, knowing what he had
to do. He took a cold shower to calm himself down, to wash away the memories of
Bryn’s healing touch on his body, to purge his memories of her delicate scent
and his fierce desire.

The blood from his face washed away in pink swirls, his shoulder
still stung, his knee aching every time he put any pressure on it. He twisted
off the taps angrily, almost breaking the things off the wall in his rage.

Snapping a towel from the railing, he stalked through his room,
wincing with every movement. He needed to heal. He needed to sleep in order to
do that, but there was only one place he was going to go when he shut his eyes and
that was straight back to Bryn.

When he pushed through the door into her mind, she was on the floor
beside the couch, her arms crossed in front of her with her head on her arms.
Eir was sleeping peacefully stretched out on the cushions. Whatever drug had
been pushed into her system must have finally worn off.

Korvain approached the sleeping pair carefully, touching Bryn’s
shoulder. Her head jerked up suddenly. Blinking, she simply stared at him for a
moment.

‘Korvain, what are you—’

Korvain placed his finger against her lips and helped her stand.
Gods, she was beautiful. He stared deeply into her blue eyes knowing
unequivocally that he would not be able to harm her no matter the order from
Darrion. He had to protect her; he felt it in his bones, down in the marrow—deep
in his soul.

She bit her lip, her white teeth sinking into the pink flesh. A low,
possessive growl trickled from his mouth; a fresh wave of gardenia hitting him,
staggering him for just a moment.

‘Can I tell you something?’ she asked quietly. He nodded, knowing
she would think this was just a dream. She swallowed nervously before meeting
his eyes again.

‘I wanted you to kiss me before, when you were here and I was
looking after you.’

Korvain closed his eyes, letting Bryn’s sweet words trickle in his
ears. With his lids still squeezed shut he rasped, ‘I liked that you were
looking after me.’

‘Look at me, Korvain.’ Her voice cracked over his name. He did as he
was asked and stared into her beautiful face. ‘Kiss me now?’

The blood in his body heated and, surging forward, he claimed her
mouth with his. Their tongues met in a fierce struggle for domination, which he
won when she moaned his name. The sounds of her whimpers lit another fire
within him.

Korvain started angling them down the hallway toward her bedroom. He
wrapped one arm around her waist, pinning her body against him while cupping
her neck—caging her in. She molded to the front of his
body as if she was made for him, melting into his heat.

A column of heat shot through him at the different points of
contact. He was so keyed-up he could have taken her right then against the
wall, but he treated her with the respect she deserved. Korvain’s fangs began
to thrum, the call of her blood singeing his nerve endings.

Running his nose along the length of her neck, he smelled the
bouquet of her skin. He licked the side of her throat, teasing the vein to come
to the surface. Her heart was beating so fast he could feel it against her
skin. He kissed the long column of her throat, drawing soft moans from her
lips.

Her back had finally hit the door at the end of the hall. Korvain
reached behind her, twisting the knob and pushing open the door. Leading her
in, he kicked the door shut and took a step back.

Bryn looked up at him shyly. ‘I can’t get the image of you sitting
shirtless at my dining room table out of my head.’ Her admittance colored her
cheeks. Korvain laughed at her gently, sliding his hands along her neck and
stroking the side of her face with his thumbs.

‘Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you then.’

He took a step back and pulled the tee from his body. When he
dropped it to the floor, Bryn’s eyes had glazed over. There was a deep-seated
sense of satisfaction at seeing her reaction to his body. He was rewarded with
another hit of gardenia. She approached him, stopping an inch away and looking
in his eyes for permission. He nodded and felt her warm fingers trailing over
his skin.

‘So many scars,’ she murmured, lowering her mouth to the one above
his nipple on his left pectoral. His breath left his lungs in a long shudder.
She kissed another one of his scars; this one on his collarbone. Her tongue
swept along his skin leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake.

Catching the end of her t-shirt, he began inching it up her torso
slowly. She moaned his name—a raw, guttural sound—and bit his freshly healed
shoulder. He hissed, the sound bringing her head up in a jerking movement.

‘Did I hurt you?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘Do it again,’ he replied hoarsely. Gods, he had
dreamed of taking her blood into him; her teeth in his flesh only concreting
the idea more firmly into place.

With a shy smile, she lowered her head once more. Her teeth sank
into his skin and his whole body responded. The erection he’d been sporting
since he’d kissed her suddenly became a monstrous hard length he couldn’t hide
away anymore.

Bryn brushed up against his hips and gasped. With a low, throaty
growl, he kissed her on the mouth while still working her shirt up her body.
They had to break away when he pulled it over her head, but like two magnets,
their mouths were fused again.

He hadn’t touched her bare skin yet. Slowly, carefully, he rested
his hands on her waist, remembering how he had reached for her before. Warm, soft
flesh met his fingertips and he knew this was his version of heaven.

‘You feel so good,’ he mumbled, forcing the words out from between
their tightly pressed mouths.

With the tips of his fingers, he climbed up her torso. They gently
undulated over each of her delicate ribs, rising and falling with increasing
intensity the further he travelled north. When he brushed past lace, he knew he
had found the underside of her bra.

Bryn’s head kicked back and she groaned, pressing her fingers into
his biceps. He growled low in his throat, slipped a finger into the top of her
bra and pulled. Her warm breast filled his hand; her nipple peaked—hard and
ready for him. Using the pad of this thumb, he rubbed that tight knot of flesh
relishing in the way her back arched and her hips jack-knifed into his
erection.

Korvain drank in the sight of her; her quickening pulse, her
dilating pupils, her flushed skin. She was so ready for him. He walked her toward
the bed until the back of her knees hit the edge. Lowering her body down, he
stood back to watch her chest heave up and down, knowing he was responsible for
it.

‘I want all of you, Bryn, and I won’t stop until I kiss every inch
of your skin. I will bury my head between your thighs and lick and suck and
suckle until you come screaming my name.’

She bit down on her bottom lip to stop the groan. Her legs scissored
on top of the sheets, pushing them away and forcing them into a bunch at her
feet. Dropping to his knees, he captured her ankles, stilling her legs
instantly. The rest of her body, however, still writhed like a trapped snake.

The rolling of her hips and stomach was hypnotic. He planted one
hand in the span between her hip bones, forcing her to calm. He leaned down to
the button on her jeans and pulled it out of the hole and to one side. The
zipper shuddered open, revealing the top of her black silk panties.

Bryn threw her arms over her face and groaned. Korvain released his
hold on her body, sliding his hands up her hips to her waist. Her skin felt
like silk against his palms, and the delicate scent of her arousal hung in the
air.

As Korvain pulled at the sides of her jeans, she lifted her hips to
help him remove them. Inch by inch, he dragged the fabric down, revealing the
cleft between her thighs and the long expanse of her lean legs. Korvain then pulled
her panties off slowly, drawing more moans from Bryn’s throat. Bunching up the
fabric, he stuffed it into his pants pocket.