Darkness Taunts (31 page)

“Lucas, sometimes you scare me when you act like this,” I said. “I keep waiting for the punch line to a really bad joke.”

“I didn’t think anything scared you with the way you throw yourself into danger. If it will help, though, I’ll try to contain myself in the future.”

I swatted him in the shoulder. “I’m serious.”

He looked down at me, his gaze inscrutable. “Why don’t you tell me what happened? I prefer we get you back to making my life difficult. It isn’t like you to let a bad experience get you down.”

I buried my head in his chest. God, I was an emotional wreck and he was seeing every bit of it. Any minute and he’d take off running. “Can we just talk about it some other time?”

“No.” He went back to finger combing my hair. “You need to get it out now while it’s still fresh on your mind.”

“Does it really matter?” I asked. “It’s my problem to deal with. I’ll get over it if you give me time.”

“You’re not facing this one alone, Melena. This one is on me too. The only thing keeping me from tracking down those men right now and killing every one of them is you.”

Nothing says you care like killing the people who hurt the one you care about. “I’m not as adverse to that as you’d think, but I’d rather be the one to take them down.”

“We’ll see,” he said. “Now tell me what happened before I have to torture it out of you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah, like that’s really a threat. I know you won’t hurt me.”

“Melena.” His voice came out stern. “Talk.”

I looked away and stared at the ceiling. He should hear the full story if for no other reason than it could have long term consequences. With just the two of us in the room, at least no one else would have to hear of my shame. That my genetics were even worse than anyone thought. I took a deep breath and let it out.

“Jerome is my father,” I said, rushing it out. “My mother took me away as a baby and hid me from him. He killed her because of it.”

Lucas cursed. “I was afraid you were related to that group somehow.”

“Did you have any idea about my parents?”

He shook his head. “No, I checked around a while back and found nothing. However your mother managed it, she ensured your identity couldn’t be traced back to her or your father.”

“Jerome showed me a copy of my original birth certificate. All the details were exactly the same except the names and location.” The memory of it still shocked me. I no longer had to wonder where I came from, but the answers hadn’t been worth knowing.

“Then she had help. My guess would be a supernatural who could compel someone in the hospital to alter records. Give you a new identity while keeping the basic details straight.”

“Maybe,” I said, “but this group has a hatred of sups that makes mine look insignificant. My mother was raised around that. Would she really have turned to what she considered the enemy after years of brainwashing?”

He caressed my face. “If she felt she had no choice. Some mothers will do anything to protect their children.”

“They were sending me back to their compound in Idaho when you found me. They planned to use me to help propagate the race, whether I was willing or not. Maybe that’s why she took me away.”

Lucas’ hands clenched into fists. “We suspected they might be doing something of that nature, but I hadn’t considered it my problem before.” He gripped me closely. “No one—not them, me, or anyone else—will ever force you to have children against your will. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” A weight lifted from my chest. At this point, I was pretty sure I never wanted to have kids of my own. Emily fulfilled what little desire I had for parenthood.

“Good. Now get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

It was a little after noon when I woke up alone. My stomach rumbled and that was all it took to get me out of bed. The luxury of having that choice again boosted my spirits. Seeing the light spilling from my open curtains lifted them more. I’d had my night to feel sorry for myself, but now it was time to move on.

I put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, ran a brush through my gnarled hair, and headed for the kitchen. My body didn’t drag like before. The sensation of moving through molasses had left and I felt more like me again. The drugs had cleared out. Only a lack of nutrition kept me from being back at full strength.

Micah sat at the breakfast bar sipping from a steaming mug. He had a look of concentration on his face as he scanned a book set in front of him, flipping the pages every fifteen to twenty seconds. I went past him and poured myself a glass of juice before hopping up on one of the other barstools.

Freshly baked scones sat on the counter. I took a bite from one and ended up eating the whole thing before realizing it. Coffee helped to wash it down. The rich hot brew tasted good as it slid across my tongue. It had been too long. If the sensors had really wanted to make me cooperate, they would have offered some as an incentive. Any true coffee drinker could be brought to their knees by withholding it.

Micah still hadn’t acknowledged me. I lifted the cover of his book up to check the title. Next thing I knew I was choking on my drink and gasping for breath. He was reading about the history of birth control in America. I could only guess he’d made a trip to the book store sometime this morning.

He patted me on the back. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. My throat still burned, but at least I’d stopped coughing. “What are you doing with that?”

“You brought up a good point last night,” he said, eyes back on the book. “I’m behind on the latest methods of contraceptives and thought I’d catch up.”

“You’re really that into the whole medical profession thing?” I asked.

“Not everything can be fixed by magic or vampire blood. I’ve been sitting in on classes to refresh myself whenever I can. This isn’t a topic I’d covered yet.”

“You’re immortal and you can’t get sick. Why do you care?”

He sighed and set the book down. “It’s complicated. I’d have to go back to when Lucas and I were growing up to explain.”

“Tell me,” I said. If he didn’t talk, I’d probably never find out about those days.

Micah studied me closely. “I will, but only because I think you need to be able to understand my brother better.”

I nodded. “That would help.”

His eyes took on that faraway look. “My father was a fallen angel, but he never lost his love for humanity or the need to protect it. He pushed me and Lucas to feel the same way. At first we both rebelled against him and we were often punished for it. Then one day I stumbled across a woman who had broken her leg after falling off her roof. She was a widow with three children and no one to help her. An intense need to heal her came over me and I discovered I could. That first time wasn’t perfect, but it was enough that she could walk again.”

“So you enjoy making people feel better?”

“There is a seductive power in knowing you can leave a person to suffer or help them regain their health. I don’t heal everyone I come across and some things can’t be easily cured. Diseases, for instance, are much more difficult to handle than wounds. It’s only been in recent times that technology advanced enough so I could learn the inner workings of the human body. Before I was mostly blind and had no idea what caused the problem.”

“It’s um, admirable you at least try. I wish Lucas could have gone down that route.”

Micah shook his head. “Our father tried to force him away from fighting, but beating him only made him stronger.”

“What happened to your father?” I’d always thought when angels fell they didn’t get to stay on earth. Apparently there was more to it than that.

“I think you’ve heard enough for one morning.” Micah got off his stool and moved to the kitchen. “I’m going to make you breakfast. It looks like you’ve lost at least five pounds.”

“You’re seriously not going to tell me about what happened with your father?” I took a bite of another scone.

“No, I’m not. He’s long gone and that’s all you need to know.” Micah banged around pulling pots and pans out so I couldn’t ask anything more. I supposed it was a touchy subject. After meeting my own father, I could understand. Maybe someday he or his brother would talk.

A little while later he had me set up with eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and an assortment of fruit. I almost inhaled it. It seemed almost every bite gave me some of my strength back.

I glanced upstairs. “Do you think Lucas will be awake soon?”

“It’s difficult to say,” Micah said, not looking up from the book he’d returned to. “He stayed up most of the night watching over you and didn’t get to his own bed until around eight this morning. Considering he’s slept very little in the last few days, it might be a while longer.”

“So you guys do need sleep.” I mulled that over. It wasn’t like they had the same problem as vampires and turned comatose during the day. Aniya had an excuse for being knocked out right now. I could sense her sleeping in Micah’s bedroom. The blanket and pillow on the end of the couch let me know where he’d spent the night.

“We need it to be at full strength, but we can go without it if necessary,” he replied.

“Does the same go for food?” I asked.

“Yes, but…”

I didn’t stay to hear the rest of what he said. Something was wrong with Lucas. The strong emotions coming from him sent shock waves at my head. I dashed up the stairs and over to his bedroom door. Micah grabbed me around the waist as soon as I opened it. Inside I could see Lucas thrashing around on his bed in the throes of some kind of nightmare. He’d kicked the covers off and he was completely naked.

“Let me go.” I kicked his shins, but my bare feet weren’t a very effective weapon.

“He’ll kill you if you get near him. I’ve had my neck broken twice trying to bring him out of this. We just have to wait it out.”

I tried twisting my body to break his hold, but he kept his arms tight around me. “I can feel his pain, Micah. You can’t expect me to just stand here and watch this.”

He started to drag me back out onto the landing. “I’m not asking you to watch. The best thing to do is to leave him alone until it’s over.”

It was getting worse. Lucas was shouting out things in a language I couldn’t understand. The rage in his voice told me all I needed to know. Something really bad had happened to him in his past and it was affecting him now. I could make it stop if Micah would let me go.

“He won’t hurt me,” I said, gripping the door frame.

“Melena, you’re one of the reasons he’s going through this. I don’t think he needs you getting near him as a reminder.”

I kept my grip on the doorway, but stopped kicking him. “What do you mean?”

He tried prying one of my hands off the frame. I dug in harder, but he got it and moved for the next one.

“Every time he defies the angels they send him down to purgatory to be tortured. I think what happened with you in recent days set him off.”

“That’s not my fault,” I said.

He began to drag me away again. “I didn’t say it was, but I can’t let you near him.”

Micah didn’t get it. I knew I could get Lucas calmed down. We had a bond and he’d recognize that even through the nightmare. I grabbed Micah’s fingers and yanked them back hard.

“Ow, fuck.” He let go.

I took off for the bed and dove on top of Lucas, burying my head in his neck and rubbing myself against him. Anything to increase our contact. Micah came up and tried to pull me off, but his brother wrapped his arms around me. His hold was tight, but not so much I couldn’t breathe.

“Dammit, Melena, you can’t stay like this. He’s going to hurt you.”

I ignored Micah and focused on Lucas. He was still mumbling strange things and shifting around. Inching up as much as I could, I pressed soft kisses to his cheeks. He froze for a moment, but then he turned his face into mine. I ran my tongue along his bottom lip. He shuddered. I slowly pulled my knees up to get a better angle and kissed him. Lucas’ tongue met mine and sparks flew between us.

Bit by bit, his muscles relaxed. His hands moved up to grip my ass and he began to knead it. A tremor shook me. I should have felt guilty for molesting an unconscious man. I’d accused him of something similar the night before, but the passion between us came as natural as breathing. Being in his arms made me feel complete in a way I didn’t think was possible.

I glanced at Micah. “Get out of here. I’ve got this,” I said.

He had his mouth half-open, looking between me and his brother. “I don’t believe it.”

Lucas growled and pulled me tighter against him. Shit, now I could barely breathe.

“Micah,” I whispered. “I can’t do this with you standing there.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. Part of the reason he wanted me here was to keep you away from him when he’s like this. Just because he’s not trying to kill you doesn’t mean he won’t.”

Ugh, why couldn’t he see I could do this so much easier without him here? The minute Lucas heard Micah’s voice I’d lost the headway I’d made. He had started thrashing around again.

“You’re making things worse,” I hissed out.

“I’ll back off, but I’m not leaving.” He moved toward the doorway.

Great, as if I needed an audience for this. Lucas was starting to buck against me as the nightmare took hold again. I had to get him back out of it.

I cupped his face in my hands and pressed more kisses, covering his jaw and cheeks. His grip loosened ever so slightly. I took his lips and molded them to mine, pushing against him harder than before. The bucking transitioned to random twitches. With every touch of our tongues those slowed too. He ran his hands up my back to the edge of my shirt. His fingers clenched in the material and he ripped it from top to bottom. My shorts and underwear didn’t survive much longer. I made a mental note to do this naked next time.

I yanked the remaining fabric out from under me and curled into him, keeping our heads close. Hot skin burned against me. His restless movements turned into roving hands. They weren’t gentle. They were rough and meant to claim me in the most elemental way. I gave as good as I got. Kissing and stroking every part of him I could while still being held close. Within minutes we were both panting.