Darkest Caress (6 page)

The hair on his nape stood up. Turning his head, he shared a long look with Cade. His cousin looked every bit as stunned as Daegan felt.
Holy shit.

“What?” Liv demanded, worry clear in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

Cade’s eyes bored into him like lasers. “Tell her. Tell her now.”

“Tell me what?” She looked at Daegan, put a defensive hand to her throat. “What’s going on?”

The fear in her voice unfroze him. He didn’t want to have to tell her this way, but apparently he had no choice. “Liv, were you an orphan?”

She frowned. “Yes. My parents died when I was a kid.”

“And you’re an only child?”

“Yes. Daegan, what’s—”

“What’s your ancestry?”

She looked at him like he was crazy. “What the hell does it matter?”

“It matters,” Cade said, his eyes riveted on her, body tense.

Liv curled up into a tighter ball. Daegan wished he could comfort her, but he couldn’t. And after this she probably wouldn’t want anything to do with him. She chewed her bottom lip. “Um, Irish mostly. Some German, I think.”

“Baltic German?”

She glanced at him in surprise. “I…maybe. I’m not sure.”

He knew without a doubt there was a Baltic connection. Had to be. “How old are you?”

Her chin came up. “Twenty-eight, and if one of you doesn’t explain what the hell is going on here, I swear I’ll—”

“It’s okay, Liv. Please trust me.” He needed to know she believed in him, even if only on an instinctive level.

She scowled but closed her mouth, watching him. Cade dropped onto the ottoman, then glanced over and shook his head in disbelief. Daegan could hardly take it all in either.

It all fit. Every last detail. They’d been waiting almost a century for a Seeker. Now she sat in front of them, looking utterly bewildered. And she was his
mate
.

A fine current of electricity raced over his skin. When he spoke next, his voice was rough. “You asked me how I took your pain away.”

“Yes,” she said softly, her fingers clenched so tightly in her lap the knuckles were white.

He crouched at her feet then reached out to take her hand, letting the energy flow from him. She gasped. “Feel that?” he asked.

She nodded, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

“And this?” he asked, sliding his other hand around the nape of her neck. Heat immediately flowed from his palm.

Liv swallowed, her eyes full of apprehension. “It’s warm. Really warm.”

“Yes. What else?”

“My vision’s getting clearer,” she said in a trembling voice. Tears glazed her beautiful eyes as she stared down at him. “How…”

He took a deep breath. “It’s because I can shield you.”

“What does that mean?”

“I can take away the pain your gift causes.”

“What do you mean, gift?” She looked so confused it hurt his heart.

“The auras you see. The orange one was the manifestation of violence. The light blue one around me is healing energy and means I can shield you.” He swallowed as his throat tightened, but he couldn’t hold the words back any longer. “And that means I’m also your mate.”

The resounding silence in the room pulsed against his eardrums.

Liv stared back at him with wide eyes, her body utterly frozen, her hand slack in his. Then she batted his hands away and leaped off the couch, backing away from him as she shook her head. “I don’t… You’re crazy.” She cast a furtive glance at Cade, as though he might laugh and tell her this was all a joke.

Her reaction didn’t surprise Daegan, but it still hurt to have her pull away. Everything in him demanded he close the distance between them, gather her up in his arms. Soothe her. Arouse her. Seduce her. Make love to her until she understood they were fated to be together. His body was more than willing. His brain knew she needed more time.

It was hell.

He stayed where he was, maintaining eye contact. “You’re an Empowered, Liv, and a rare one at that. A Seeker. Someone who can recognize violent intent or evil in another person.” So she could help identify members of the Dark Army in the coming war. But he couldn’t tell her that part now.

Rather than answer, she wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head again, her whole body rigid with denial. With outrage. “I don’t know what you’re
talking
about,” she finally cried. Raw fear radiated from her, and he hated that he’d made her tremble.

Daegan held her gaze. “You do. Somewhere inside, part of you understands exactly what I’m telling you.”

Her chin came up, her eyes blazing with anger. “You’re saying I’ve got magical powers. That you do too.”

“Yes.”

A short laugh escaped her. The bitterness in it drove into him like nails. “Right. And you just happened to need a ten-million dollar house that hadn’t come on the market yet because you knew it was the only way to get me to meet you. So you could make up some crazy story about me being your ‘mate.’”

“No, that’s not it at all—”

“You’re full of shit.”

Even angry, she was magnificent. Afraid and confused, yet so incredibly strong he couldn’t help but admire her. “Am I?” The dominant urge to claim her snapped the rope on his patience. His voice hardened. “What about after you met me last night, Liv? Did you go home and dream about me in that bed you were just in?”

Her eyes widened, and she went pale before a bright flush of pink bloomed on her cheeks. “It’s none of your business.”

He could imagine the acute sexual frustration she’d woken with. Satisfaction filled him that she was already pining for him on that level. “You might have started getting these migraines a few months ago, but I’m willing to bet you’ve been able to pick up on people’s emotional energy long before that. Maybe your whole life.” He stared at her, daring her to deny it.

She didn’t move. Didn’t so much as blink.

“And now your upper teeth are sore, aren’t they?”

He saw her tongue move beneath her upper lip, as though checking to find out. When she frowned, he knew he was right. If he told her the reason for it though, she’d most likely bolt from the house in terror. She already thought he was nuts. Likely thought she was too.

He kept pushing, determined to get through to her. “When I left you this morning you felt lonely all of a sudden, didn’t you? And when I held you tonight the migraine suddenly disappeared.” He raised a brow. “Am I wrong?”

She stared at him for a long moment, then gave a tiny shake of her head. A frown creased her forehead, her teeth worrying her lush lower lip.

He softened his tone, desperately wanting to hold her again. Kiss away the fear he sensed ripping through her. His muscles twitched with the need to go to her. “I know this is a shock. It was for me, too, when I transitioned. But what you’re feeling is only going to become more intense. The longer you fight it, the harder it will be for you.”

“What will?” Her voice was a mere breath of a sound.

He chose his next words carefully. “The dreams you had last night are nothing compared to what’s coming. I know you’re scared, and you have every right to be since you don’t understand what you are, but you’re going to have to face this whether you’re ready or not. Your body won’t give you a choice. If there was another way to handle all of this I would, but we’re out of time.” An image formed in his mind. Of her twisting beneath him in sensual agony, her cheeks wet with tears as she clawed at his naked back, begging him for release. Pleading with him to end her suffering.

Without warning the heat in him roared to life, igniting him from the inside. It exploded through his bloodstream, making him tremble and pant.

Liv gasped and shrank away from him, her face a mask of alarm. “Your eyes…”

Shit.
“I know. It’s all right.” Already the blue was bright enough to illuminate the space between them. Soon they’d be as bright as spotlights. The fear coming off her cut him like a steel blade. “You don’t need to be afraid, Liv. I won’t touch you.”
Not until you’re ready
, he vowed silently. The need he felt was almost uncontrollable, but he wouldn’t let himself act on it.

“I should go,” Cade said behind him, reminding him he was still in the room. Daegan had almost forgotten he was there.

“You both should,” Liv said sharply, her voice vibrating with tension.

“We’ll leave,” Daegan assured her, feeling torn in two. She was frightened and in shock, but if he left she’d hurt later on. Almost as much as him. He went to the phone, wrote his number down on a piece of paper. “That’s my cell number. Call me if you—” He almost said ‘need me’ but caught himself in time. “If you want to talk about anything.”

She didn’t respond, merely stared at him. It was obvious she couldn’t wait for him to leave.

But Daegan couldn’t go without trying to reassure her one last time. “Whatever happens, just know it’s going to be okay. I promise you that.”

With her face drawn into lines of misery, Liv turned away.

Walking out the front door, he felt like he’d just peeled his skin away with a razor. His lungs tightened, every muscle in his body screaming in denial.

“You okay to drive?” Cade asked him once they were outside on the driveway.

“Yeah.” Christ, it felt like his lungs were being crushed. With each step farther away from her the pressure increased until he thought he’d suffocate. “I gotta go.” It hurt to leave, but he couldn’t stay and not touch her. It would kill him. She wasn’t ready to face this yet.

Besides, he had things to do. Namely, making sure that bastard who’d attacked her never came near her again. The perfect outlet for the anger and sexual frustration pounding at him.

Daegan climbed into his car and hissed in pain as he shut the door. His cock was swollen, painfully hard. When he fired up the engine his hands shook so badly he almost pulled the key out of the ignition, but he managed to put it into reverse. He had to get the hell away from here before the shakes got too bad for him to drive.

* * *

They were insane, Liv told herself. Both Daegan and his cousin. And she was insane for getting sucked this far into their delusions.

Magic? Right. Not in this lifetime. What the hell had possessed them to say such crazy things to her? Although she couldn’t explain the way his eyes had gone all weird, or why he’d made the headache go away with a touch. And damned if the explanation of the colored halos she’d seen didn’t resonate with part of her. She shivered.

But even as she thought it she rubbed a hand over her breastbone and frowned. Her heart was beating way too fast. She felt almost frantic. And she was panting like she’d just done a hundred-meter sprint, when all she’d done was pace from one side of the family room to the other.

The house was too quiet. It made the static in her head much too loud. She paced the hardwood floor while the agitation built. Being alone right now should have been comforting, but now she had no choice except to confront everything. By herself.

Was she going crazy? Much as she’d like to deny it, every single thing Daegan had said to her was true. Her upper incisors did hurt. Well, not so much the teeth, but her gums over her incisors. She tested them with her finger, trying to think of a cause. They felt inflamed and tender, like she’d jammed dental floss up too hard and cut her gums.

A knock startled her out of her reverie, making her tense. “Who is it?” She didn’t want to see anyone right now. Maybe ever.

“Cade.”

She groaned in annoyance. Why was he still here? “What do you want?”

“I forgot my phone.”

Liv glanced around, spotted it on the ottoman. She snatched it up and stalked to the front door. Flinging it open, she shoved the phone at him just as Daegan’s Porsche pulled out of her driveway.

“Thanks.”

She nodded but didn’t look at him, gazing instead after the car. It annoyed her that she even cared he was leaving. What did she care where he went? But when the vehicle turned the corner and disappeared from view, a sharp twinge hit her square in the chest.

She gasped, pressed a hand there. God, was she going to have a heart attack now?

“You’d better go in and sit down.”

She jumped and looked over at Cade. “I’m f—” Another flash of pain almost sent her to her knees. Beneath her palms, her heart pounded frantically. But then the fear was surpassed by a loneliness so sharp it felt like a spike in her chest. Sudden tears burned her eyes. God, she felt
gutted
. Utterly devastated. Despite her efforts to stop it, her chin quivered. “What’s…happening?”

“Easy.” Cade gently took her by the elbow, helped her straighten before leading her back into her family room. “It’s because he’s gone,” he explained, seating her on the couch where she immediately curled into a miserable ball. “Once the Heat Cycle begins, both mates suffer when they’re apart.”

She heard the words but didn’t understand them. “It can’t be true,” she gasped, wiping at the tears flowing down her cheeks. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get a grip on herself. “This can’t be real.”

“I understand how you feel.”

“I n-never cry,” she choked out. “I h-hate crying.” Her shoulders jerked with fresh sobs, but she was too angry to be embarrassed. “W-will it g-go away?”

Cade gave her a rueful smile. “Nope. It only ends once mates have bonded.”

Bonded. It sounded so deep and…permanent. How could this be happening? She didn’t know him. Wasn’t sure she even liked him. “B-but he’s g-gone.” What if he never came back? She doubled over at the thought, crying in earnest.

Cade laid a solid hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but felt only simple comfort in the contact. No heat or any weird emotional reaction. Nothing like when Daegan touched her. “He won’t go far, trust me. Not when he knows you’re suffering like he is.”

She met Cade’s bright green eyes. Daegan was hurting like this too?

“Oh, yeah.”

She blinked. Could he read her mind?

He smiled, as though he knew what she was thinking. “I know none of this makes sense to you, but it will.” Cade was so calm. Like he’d planned out this whole speech.