Darker (13 page)

I wanted to argue, which was exactly why I’d stayed in wolf form. Being patient and allowing Arys to vent first would be better for both of us. Yet, the fire had already sparked within my belly. We shared the need for a good fight. Though my instinct was to tell Arys he was wrong, that Kale would never hurt me, I knew I could no longer believe that.

“
He’s not going to get away with what he did tonight,” Arys declared. “I can’t let him.”

A muscle twitched in Arys’s jaw. He ran a hand haphazardly through his black hair, making it more of a sexy mess than usual. The mixed scent of cologne and hair products, an aroma that was solely his, reached me. It made me itch to bury my face in his neck and savor the many sensations of him.

“
The last thing you need to deal with is a psychotic vampire with an incurable obsession. It will distract you from the real issue, Lilah. She’s going to do everything she can to force your hand. She’ll keep targeting those you’ve sworn to protect. Those you love.” He sat heavily on the small concrete wall encircling the fire pit in the center of the yard. “We have to stop her.”

We sure did. I agreed with him there, but I still didn’t believe playing nice with Shya was the way to do it. I considered shifting back to human form but decided to hold off a little longer. Arys was doing just fine spilling his thoughts and feelings with my silence.

“
She won’t stop until you willingly surrender your blood to break her curse,” he continued with a shrug. “I don’t know what to do. I just know I have to protect you.”

His desperation was so tangible that I pawed the grass and whined. It was unusual for him to show such vulnerability. If Shya caught a whiff of it, he would use it as a weapon against Arys.

Our eyes locked, and I peered into my vampire with hope that he would see how much his concern meant to me. Arys had always put my safety first. Unfortunately, that often meant hiding things from me or doing things without my knowledge. I did my share of things without making him aware, like I had tonight, but it was going to catch up to us eventually.

“
I know you think I’m wrong about this, but Shya knows things that could help us. He has abilities we don’t. And, he wants the same thing we do.” The hardness was back in Arys’s enchanting gaze. “I made a deal with him, Alexa.”

That did it. That was all I had to hear; I couldn’t keep quiet anymore. I shifted so fast it hurt. In a fluid, smooth motion, I was standing there naked before him. Crossing my arms, I fixed him with my best take no shit expression.

“
Are you out of your damn mind?” I asked in disbelief. “Please tell me that was just a ploy to get me to shift.”

“
No, it wasn’t.” Arys’s gaze travelled over me, taking in my nudity with appraising interest. “I told him we’d co-operate with him until Lilah can be dealt with. We all play nice until we get rid of her. That’s it.”

“
Too easy. There’s no way that’s it.” I shook my head vigorously. “He’s a demon, Arys. He can twist your words, take them literally or figuratively. Whatever. He can’t be trusted. Bottom line.”

“
He offered protection for you, Alexa. Shya doesn’t want Lilah getting her hands on your blood either. It can be useful.”

I stared at him, incredulous. “Have you forgotten he’s the idiot that told her my blood would break her curse? That blew up in his face when she refused him. Now, he wants to save his own ass. This isn’t about you or me. Shya is in it only for himself. Trusting him would be stupid. This isn’t like you, Arys.”

Arys rose and came to stand before me. The spark between us flashed at his sudden close proximity. “I don’t trust him. In fact, I wish there was a way to kill two birds with one stone. Shya’s been pulling strings behind the scenes for so long. Now, he’s stepping out front and center, and that doesn’t sit well with me. If we get close to him, we can find out what he’s up to.”

Again, he looked me over, lingering where my arms covered my breasts. I was ready to argue now so oozing sensuality wasn’t going to work in his favor just yet. I stood my ground, prepared to let him have it.

“
I can’t help but notice you keep saying we,” I observed. “I didn’t agree to pal around with Shya. You did.”

“
That’s right. I did.” He nodded, fire smoldering in his eyes. “I told you I would do anything to make sure you’re safe, and you are not going to make me feel bad about it.”

Frustration shook me. I was ticked that he had gone behind my back to talk to Shya. After the night I’d just had, not to mention my week so far, this was the last thing I wanted.

“
Safe? Until Lilah’s out of the way, and then what? Then he follows through with that little promise to kill me. Did you forget about that?” My words came fast and furious.

I remembered the demon’s sly threat very well. Shya was uneasy with me being the light half of a twin flame union. He threatened to kill me, so I would rise as a vampire, so Arys’s darkness would tip the precarious balance between us. Maybe there was more to it.

“
Of course not.” Arys scowled. “You should really stop underestimating me, Alexa. I always get what I want. That won’t be any different with Shya.”

“
Your cocky attitude is going to get us into trouble. One of these days,” I warned, “you won’t be right. And then, you’ll be sorry.”

We stared into one another with fierce intensity. Arys reached to brush the hair back from my face. A mischievous smile graced his lips.

“
One of these days,” he echoed in a low murmur. Then he dropped to his knees before me and pressed his lips to the intimate place between my legs.

My breath caught. A rush of sudden desire thrilled through me. What a crafty way to end an argument. “This doesn’t mean you automatically win.”

“
Doesn’t it?” His mouth moved against me, stirring my arousal.

The touch of his tongue sent jolts of electricity through me. Instinctively, I buried my hands in his soft tousle of hair. My knees weakened, and he gripped my hips to steady me.

“
You play dirty, Arys.” My throaty whisper coaxed a chuckle from him.

He flicked his tongue over me, hitting that sensitive spot that had my breath coming fast. I shuddered and clung tighter to him. The way he touched me was softer than usual, a gentleness that was rare for Arys.

“
You love it,” he said, guiding me down to the grass.

It was cold against my back but felt nice due to the heat flooding my limbs. I stretched languorously on the soft cushion of green. Arys kept up his tender worship of my body. He lifted one of my legs, propping it over his shoulder so he lay nestled between my thighs. Holding my hips tight, he licked me with a persistence that had me crying out.

Our fights could be downright scary, but there was always that wild element of eroticism to it. This was different. Instead of the fiery coupling we so often enjoyed, this was a delicate expression of love rooted in a deeper place. It was as strong as it was intimidating.

The dizzying explosion of climax had me seeing stars. Arys brought me over the edge to bliss. I watched through a pleasure-filled haze as he stripped off his clothing and aligned his body with mine.

Gazing into my eyes, he said, “I love you, my beautiful wolf. No matter what happens, don’t forget that.”

As much as I loved to hear endearments from my dark vampire, this one struck me as cryptic. Kale’s forceful actions, I was certain, had truly frightened Arys. Before I could over-think it, Arys gathered me close and slipped inside me with a gentle thrust. He decorated my face in fevered kisses. I held tight to him as we moved together, uniting as one.

The power rose between us, fuelled by the passion of our actions. Arys guided our rhythm with slow, steady strokes. Buried deep within me, he claimed me with total abandon. The guard Arys held firmly in place shattered, exposing his rarely seen tender side.

A sense of anguish was in his energy; the tortured desperation in the way he held me conveyed something that he would never let out in words. I could feel it as if it were my own, crushing and almost painful. Tears welled up in my eyes as it overwhelmed me.

I felt it deep in my core, a twinge of the fragile humanity he’d once had but now knew only through his link to me. The kind of love Arys had for me came from a place of light that had gone dark long ago. The trace of me that he carried inside him always, that was his weakness. In that moment of desperate lovemaking, I was certain that Shya knew it, too.

Arys rolled us over so I was on top, disrupting my thoughts. He pulled me down hard, thrusting up to force a cry from me. He touched my chin, drawing my gaze to his. Raw, unbridled need shone in his eyes. The power spiralled around us, trapping us in the eye of the tornado. I moved atop him, instinctively matching his stride. White noise built to a deafening roar.

Many times, I resisted how solid our connection had become. However, moments like this made it undeniable. I was completely his.

I threw my head back to stare up at the sky. The darkness had thinned as dawn approached. It wasn’t far now. Soon, it would chase us indoors. I closed my eyes and focused on the way Arys felt inside me. Each slick stroke brought me closer to ecstasy. For a brief time, nothing else mattered.

Collapsing on his chest, I gasped for air as the waves of climax swept me away. His arms went around me, holding me with a possessiveness I’d come to know well. I relaxed into it with his name on my lips.

“
I trust you,” I whispered, pressing tiny kisses to his chest and neck. “But, I don’t trust any deal you make with that demon. He’s dangerous, Arys. Maybe more so than Lilah in some ways.”

“
Don’t let him ruin this moment.” Arys ran a hand through my hair, stroking it lovingly.

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t help but say what I was feeling.

“
Don’t let him ruin us.”

Chapter Nine

“
You know I would never let anything happen to you.” Arys’s voice thundered through the house. “You can’t punish me for doing what I feel is best.”

“
I’m not trying to punish you, Arys. I’m trying to warn you.” I moved around the kitchen in my bathrobe, making a much-needed latte. Sunrise had driven us inside where our argument had picked up right where it had left off, much to my dismay.

Arys sat at the island watching me. His glower was both sexy and frightening. This was going to be a hell of a long day if we were at each other’s throats the entire time.

“
And, I’m trying to make you see that right now we need to choose the lesser of two evils. And, that is Shya. We can bargain with him. There’s no hope of bargaining with a woman who has already killed to get to you.”

The afterglow had been short lived. No amount of sensual lovemaking could eliminate the ever-burning conflict we shared. In light of everything that had gone on lately, I wanted to feel united with Arys. It wasn’t happening.

Shirtless, his hair standing up in disarray from our backyard romp, Arys flipped through a newspaper flyer. He turned the pages angrily, as if the paper itself had dared to defy him. Stifling a sigh, I turned back to the coffee machine, tapping my fingers on the counter as a stream of steamed milk filled a mug. I found it increasingly difficult to suppress my growing irritation.

“
There is no lesser of two evils,” I said quietly. “Not this time.”

“
It’s better to have Shya working with us rather than against us. You’ve got to pick your battles, Alexa. This is not the time to battle him.”

I stirred a splash of Irish cream into my coffee and lifted the cup to my lips for a sip. Heavenly. I would miss many things when I became a vampire. Caffeine and liquor would be high on that list.

“
What about battling each other?” I quipped. “When does that stop?”

Arys ignored my question, feigning interest in a flyer for a furniture sale. “Shya won’t harm you. He swore not to.”

“
Oh yeah? What did you have to promise him in return for that oath?”

“
It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” His evasiveness worried me. Hiding things wasn’t new for Arys, but it was rarely ever good.

“
Don’t play this game with me.” My temper flared. The urge to smack him with my coffee mug was strong.

Arys dragged his gaze to mine. It was guarded, impossible to read as he decided how much to tell me.

“
I promised to torture some information out of someone for him.” He tried to come off as flippant, like it was no big deal. It didn’t work on me. I’ve been inside Arys’s mind. I knew how he worked.

“
Who?”

I drank my coffee, staring at him over the rim of the cup. Tension had me gripping it a little too tightly, and I had to force myself to relax.

“
Bianca,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t imagine why you’d have a problem with that.”

I was conflicted. She was one of the few people I truly despised. I would have the image of her atop Shaz burned forever in my memory. Still, it felt wrong to stand back and allow Arys to do horrible things to her.

“
She saved my ass from Kale,” I uttered the words in a hollow tone.

“
So what? She also fucked and bled your wolf. Several times.” Arys laughed bitterly. “Too little too late. Isn’t that what you said to Briggs? Some actions can never be forgiven.”

My gaze dropped to the granite counter top. I didn’t know what to say. Too much had gone on recently. With Shaz’s indiscretions, my own rash actions and Arys’s readiness to kill without a second thought, forgiveness was a touchy subject. One we ultimately had to accept, or live always with walls between us.