Darkness Comes (13 page)

She simply stood in place, not taking her eyes from him, afraid he might do… something if she looked away. He chuckled, the sound so enticing. “Sit; I won’t bite.”

Her hand went to her throat in a subconscious gesture and as soon as she realized what she had done, what it conveyed, she quickly put her arm behind her back. His eyes smoldered as he looked at her with hot eyes, “Perhaps I should have said I won’t bite unless you want me to.”

She snorted and grudgingly took the seat, refusing to get too comfortable. Feryn had no problems relaxing, letting his muscled body sink into the plush chair with a sigh. He rested his chin on his palm as he studied her with those brilliant eyes and a slight smile on his sinful lips. “Would you care for a drink?”

The very banality of his words made Malorie even more jittery; he was so confident and arrogant; he had no doubts about what the outcome would be. “Some tea perhaps? Or would you prefer something stronger? Perhaps some food?”

“I’m fine.” Her stomach gurgled in protest and she pressed her hand over her belly to shut it up. Seeing his look of disbelief, she ground her teeth together. “I’m. Fine.”

“Yes, I’m sure you are.” He smiled mockingly before waving his arm through the air. A large tray appeared on the low coffee table laden with all sorts of delectable food: delicate pastries bursting with whipped cream and chocolate, exquisite cakes decorated with frosting and fruit, tiny sandwiches, fresh fruits and vegetables cut into flowers, and a myriad of other foods she couldn’t identify. Glasses filled with various liquids also appeared; from the innocent tea to what she assumed was scotch or whiskey.

As she stared at the dizzying array of food, amusement laced his voice, “I wasn’t sure what you craved so I had the chefs prepare a variety of food for you to sample.”

Blinking, she looked up at him, at a loss for words. “Is it poisoned? Drugged?”

His eyes danced as a smothered sound came from the back of his mouth and he cleared his throat before he spoke. “Why would I poison you? You are a gift, Malorie; precious and rare and highly valued.”

Her brows drew together as she mulled over his words, unsure if he meant it as a compliment or a warning. Absently, she reached out and grabbed one of the little sandwiches, taking a bite and chewing, barely noticing the flavor of cucumber as she ate.

“I am sorry for the measures I had to take to… acquire you and your companions.” His voice interrupted her contemplations, bringing her back to the present and the realization that she had eaten several mini sandwiches and that she really didn’t care for cucumber sandwiches. But she did feel slightly better with food in her system.” Unfortunately, you left me little choice when you decided to run.”

“Um, you could have left us alone.” She reached out and grabbed the milk, taking a long drink of the cold liquid and sighing with pleasure.

“That was never an option.” He crossed his foot over his knee, pulling the material of his pants taut against his muscled thigh. She remembered how hard that thigh was from her dreams and the park, when he had been lying on top of her; it had felt divine. It would probably feel even more heavenly if they were both naked…..

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to concentrate on the conversation and not his luscious thighs. “Of course it was an option; you’re just too greedy to take it.”

He laughed, “If you discovered the one thing that would ensure the survival of your family would you not do everything in your power to obtain it?”

“Hmm, do I have an unnaturally long life span with the propensity of creating vampires?” she screwed her nose up in distaste. “I think the world would be better off without me.”

“Ouch.” He placed a broad hand over his heart in mock pain but he was laughing at her.

“I’m sorry,” she said sweetly, batting her lashes at him. “Did that hurt?”

“No more so than a silly little girl so desperate for affection that she marries the first boy she fucks.” His smile was cruel as he leaned forward and skewered her with his words.

“I loved Jack.” But her heart was racing in her chest; why didn’t she consider the possibility that he would be able to experience her memories while she was experiencing his? What else did he discover?

Putting his hands on her knees, crowding her with his hard body, he put his face directly in front of hers, his eyes molten. “I would have made sure you came the first time.”

She forgot how to breathe as his gaze dropped to her lips for the briefest moment. When he looked back, his eyes burned even hotter and he moved ever closer until he overwhelmed all of her senses. His primal musk filled her head as he lowered his voice, “I would have sucked your pretty nipples until you were writhing, then I would have bit down – not hard, but enough to keep you in the moment.”

Her nipples tightened in anticipation, begging him to do as he threatened. Desperate to keep her sanity, she leaned further back into the chair to create some space.

That was not a good idea as he let his gaze drop to her breasts. By his knowing, smug smile, he could tell that his words were affecting her. He covered her left breast with his hand, the warmth of his palm seeping deeply in the soft flesh. To her mortification, she took a deep breath, pushing her breast harder against his hand to feel those delicious imaged he had painted.

With her frightfully easy capitulation, he fell back into his chair, a slight smile on his lips as he once again became the distant, aloof Aradian. “That is what I would have done, what I will do if you let me…when you let me.”

Shame and arousal made her face crimson hot as she turned her head away. “I loved Jack.”

“How could you have loved him?” he sneered. “He was nowhere near your equal, a mere child unable to fully appreciate the gift he had in you – a Breeder. Gods, I’ve missed being able to fuck a woman so completely as I could fuck a Breeder.”

Inhaling sharply, she swallowed the lump in her throat, determined to ignore him.

“A Breeder is life,” he continued, oblivious of her distress. “She exudes life and passion. You need an Aradian to keep you satisfied; you need me.”

Her voice was low, rough, “You don’t tempt me.”

“If I were any other Aradian, you would be naked, on your back, with me buried deep within you already.” He let her ponder his words for a moment before adding, “If you are so… reluctant to share my bed, I am sure one of the others will relish the challenge of breaking you.”

“Fuck you,” she seethed, flying out the chair and walking away from him, crossing her arms beneath her breasts as she fumed. How could she possibly hunger for someone so deliberately cruel and vulgar?

After a long silence, his voice was softer, graver, “How did you know about Varick?”

Spinning around in bewilderment, she saw that he wasn’t even looking at her; he was staring at the flames that danced in the hearth, looking lost and vulnerable. In that moment, her heart ached for him.

As she debated what to tell him, because she couldn’t tell him the truth, she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, shaking his head and wiping all traces of softness from his expression. “Never mind; it hardly matters.”

Looking up, he smiled ruefully, “I don’t think I can share you. How ridiculous is that? You’re a Breeder and I want you for myself.”

“But you just said….”

“I lied.” With a sigh, he returned his attention back to the fire. “None of the other Breeders gave us this much difficulty and yet you never stop. What am I going to do with you?”

“Let me go?” her voice was soft and even she heard the lack of conviction behind her words and he laughed, getting up and crossing the room to stand before her. His laughter was rich and throaty; it made him impossibly more gorgeous. And infinitely more desirable, which she hadn’t thought possible. How did that happen? It had to be his fault. She waved her hand in his direction, distressed, “Can’t you turn down the pheromones, or something?”

His luscious lips taunted her as his laughter deepened, and his eyes…. She could fall into those green depths and drown. Her belly was clenching with desire and when he reached and up cupped her cheek in his warm, broad palm, she had to remind herself how to breathe. His thumb brushed over her cheek bone and she felt it in her toes.

“Stop that,” she whispered, not even trying to push his hand away. She swallowed through a dry throat as her eyes moved over his handsome face, lingering on his decadent lips. She wanted to lean forward and suck his full bottom lip between her teeth, into her mouth; she wanted to nibble on the sensuous upper lip, his tongue. She wanted his mouth on her skin, her neck, her breasts. “Stop.”

“Why?” he asked, his voice husky and bone-melting. He slid his hand down her throat, over the curve of her breast, to her waist. Heat radiated outwards from his palm, racing along the nerves of her skin and setting her on fire. “You like it.”

“Yes,” she admitted softly, pleased to see her honest answer startled him, however momentary. “But it’s not real; this… thing between us is just lust.”

His brows drew together in a frown as his eyes moved over her face, caressing her with green fire. “It’s more than lust, Malorie; you know that.”

She shook her head, denying his words even as they solidified in her belly. Exhaling, he drew his thumb over her mouth. “You act as if we are enemies but I am not your enemy; I only wish to protect you.”

She took a deep breath, unintentionally filling her lungs with his intoxicative scent. With a hard swallow, she said, “Then let me go.”

“Malorie, be reasonable.”

“I am; you can’t keep me here against my will.” Especially when her will was so weak.

“You want to be here.” His thumb slipped past her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment as she tasted him. He caressed the damp thumb over her lips and when he spoke, his voice was thicker, “You can feel it in your soul.”

She shook her head, denying his words, not wanting to examine the veracity of them too closely. They shouldn’t be true.

He stepped back and stiffened his spine, a cool mask falling over his handsome face. “Fine; if you truly wish to go, I cannot keep you.”

The air around her coalesced and she felt as if she was disconnected, floating; a balloon unsure of whether it wished to stay or fly away. “You’re serious? I can go?”

“I’m serious.” He looked at her with no expression, holding his hands out to the side. With a shrug of his broad shoulders, he intoned, “Obviously, I have no hold over you.”

Her mind whirled with her thoughts; did he really believe he had no hold over her? If he hadn’t been dragged away, she would have succumbed at the mall. It didn’t matter that she knew he only wanted her for one thing; he was simply Feryn, the man who had been haunting her for years. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to remember who she was: Malorie Sinclair, mother. Soldier.

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she edged towards the room were Toby slept. “I can take my son and go?”

He shook his head no, turning his back on her. “The boy stays.”

This time, her brows drew together as she frowned, “What do you mean?”

“You can go but the boy remains,” he reiterated, still not looking at her. “It is a huge concession on my part to let you go; I cannot allow the child to leave as well.”

“I will not leave my child behind.” She glared at his broad back, unable to help noticing the enticing curve of his ass. Obviously she was sick, lusting after the man who would keep her son. “You’re delusional if you think I would!”

He seemed taken aback by that statement, or maybe by the vehemence of her tone. Turning around, he tilted his head to the side, as if he needed clarification. “I don’t understand; none of the other Breeders cared about parting with their offspring; even the children who were neither Aradian nor Breeder.”

She was appalled by that very idea of abandoning her child. “He’s my son!”

“And he will be well-provided for if you decide to leave,” he answered calmly, irritation making his voice slightly rough. Shrugging his broad shoulders, he scowled at her, “I don’t understand your anger; you want to leave so go.”

“I cannot leave him,” she bit out, her teeth clenched together. Heat flared between them and she wanted to tear his clothes off and thrash him with her fists and then fuck him. She needed help.

“The boy stays,” he growled back, closing the distance between them and crowding her space with his heat. His green eyes darkened to emerald pools as he gazed down at her, as he settled his hands on her shoulders. His voice lowered, rasping over her, “I would not mind if you, too, chose to stay.”

“You ask the impossible!”

“And you’re making this more difficult than it needs to be! Don’t you understand that you and your son are so very important to us?”

She nodded slightly and then frowned, reversing her answer by shaking her head no. She was still a so confuddled by the whole thing, knowing only that she was fiercely drawn to the man holding her son and that he was an Aradian.

“As a leader of my people, I have to think of them first.” his voice was warm, charming, as he attempted to persuade her to see his side. “There are many that wish to have children; how can I deny them the possibility because of a single Breeder’s fears and doubts? What can I say to convince you that your place, that of your child, is here, with us?”