Eternal Breath of Darkness (16 page)

He needed to stop her! “Damn
it.” He grabbed her hand.

Mortified, she stared up at
him. “I’m sorry.” She attempted to hide her shame by looking down at her feet.

He had a choice. He could
either save his ego or her heart. After a brief but intense internal debate, he
chose her heart. Lifting her chin, “Caylee, there’s no reason for you to be sorry.
I’ve dreamed of you touching me, exploring my body for so long. Maybe it’s been
too long. Words cannot describe how much I enjoy your touch.”

She didn’t understand. If
what he was saying was true, why had he gotten mad? “What do you mean?”

Damn. Damn. Damn. She was
going to force him to admit she made him weak. “The pleasure of your touch is
more intense than anything I’ve ever experienced.”

She shook her head. “Why
would that make you mad?”

“I’m not angry.” At least,
not at her; his body on the other hand was treading on thin ice. Why couldn’t
she leave well enough alone? Seriously, did he really have to annihilate his
ego? Thankfully, being a demon, he was skilled in the art of deception. He
didn’t have to tell her he’d nearly prematurely ejaculated in his pants. “I’m
overly excited. I don’t want to rush, but you tempt me to rip your clothing off
and slam into your body hard and fast.” He grinned. There—that should throw a
bucket of ice on the situation.

She didn’t see the problem.
Eager was good, wasn’t it? “That’s a wonderful thing, right? I mean, if we’re
going to make love, shouldn’t you be eager? Shouldn’t I be eager?” She grabbed
the front of his shirt and pulled him nearer. “I sure hope eager is good. I
want you, Haden. I’m very eager to feel you inside me.”

“Eager is good.” Leaning
down he kissed her roughly, passionately. “Very good. It’s wonderful.” His
dominant nature rising, he took possession of her lips. He was on fire,
desperate, ready to explode.

She too was on fire, needing
so much more. “Absolutely wonderful.”

Boldly caressing, almost
frantically exploring each other, they kissed deeply, their tongues dueling,
their hearts racing. Pressing his body against hers, pinning her backside
against the wall, he cupped her breasts in his hands, teasing her nipples with
his thumbs. It was too much, but not enough. She needed to feel his flesh
against hers; every inch of her body was alive with desire.

She bit his lower lip,
tugging on it as she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open enough to expose
his chest. She stared at his well-defined chest and stomach, so perfectly
muscled, a flawlessly sculpted statue except for a faint scar left from the
knife wound. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. It was her fault. He’d
been protecting her. He could’ve died. What if he had died? She couldn’t
possibly live in a world without him.

“It’s not your fault. I’ve
been wounded thousands of times. I’m not easily killed, little love. I’m
immortal.” Looking as naughty as sin, he grinned at her. “I can’t die. I’m too
determined to boss you around until the end of time.”

Smiling, she traced the scar
on his chest with her finger, and then she looked him. “You can try to boss me
around all you want, but I promise to do my best to make sure it’s never an
easy task.”

“I never try, little love—I
do.”

“We will see about that.”
Standing on the very tips of her toes, she feathered kisses along his jaw and
down his neck.

He was in terrible shape.
He’d never felt such desperation to be with a woman. She owned him. His body
and his soul fully belonged to her. No matter how far back in his life he
looked, he couldn’t pinpoint a single instant that he didn’t have complete
confidence in his control over his body. “Yes, we will.”

He knew he was in trouble.
He was happily at her mercy. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. Pathetic was
good. Reaching down, he caressed the backside of her thighs and her hips, and
then up her sides, in her shirt; her flesh was so hot, so satiny soft against
the rough texture of his calloused hands. Oh yeah, pathetic was wonderful.

Exploring the masculine
contours of his chest with her fingers, she continued to kiss the base of his
neck and throat. Searing heat radiated from his flesh. His powerful muscles
rippled and tensed beneath her fingers. It wasn’t enough to just feel his flesh
with her fingers. She wanted more, needed more. She kissed his chest,
unknowingly teasing his surprisingly way overly sensitive, flat nipples with
her fingers.

At first her mouth moved
timidly, but eventually she was boldly exploring, savoring every inch of his
chest with the moist warmth of her lips and tongue. God save them if she got
frightened and tried to stop. He knew in his heart there was no going back.
There was no stopping. He was way beyond the point of wanting to bury himself
deep inside her body. He needed to feel her heat wrapped around him more than
he needed to take his next breath. He grabbed her hips and forcefully pulled
her nearer, pressing her body against his.

She gasped, momentarily
shocked by the feeling of his swollen shaft pressed so snugly against her
belly. “Haden?” There was fear and uncertainty in her voice, in her eyes.

“Trust me.” He knew he
couldn’t allow her to think about it. “It’s okay, little love.” He bent his
head and took possession of her lips, savoring the sweetness of her kiss. “Kiss
me.”

She was a little afraid, but
he was wrong. She wasn’t uncertain. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
The passion they were sharing was much better than okay. It was astounding. Her
breasts, pressed against his well-muscled chest, tingled. A tantalizing
sensation spread over her most feminine place so she had no other choice but to
seek relief by helplessly moving her body against his.

The sensation of her body
moving against his and sound of her soft, whimpering pleas for more was more
than he could take. He took her mouth more aggressively, pinning her against
the wall, exploring every lush curve of her body with his hands.

Eventually, he couldn’t take
anymore. Scooping her up, he cradled her against his chest, kissing her deeply
as he carried her across the room. Gently, he lowered her onto the bed.

Staring up at him, she held
her breath, her eyes wide with the wonder of the powerful sensations racing
through her body and over her flesh. She looked like a sexy seductress and an
innocent young virgin all at the same time. She was everything to him. She was
the substance of his most cherished dream. But if she knew what he was, if she
knew the entire truth, she wouldn’t be in his bed.

What right did he have to
claim her now? She wasn’t the only one keeping a secret; he too was keeping
one, and it was enormous. He hadn’t thought about it much lately, but now it
was weighing down on him. She deserved to know the truth. He could’ve prevented
her from being forced to endure a lifetime of violence, but he’d decided to
walk away from her. Yes, he’d known what she was to him many years ago, he’d
known she was living in violence, but he’d abandoned her. He’d failed her. He’d
allowed her to suffer, and she didn’t even know about it. She might forgive
him, but he would never forgive himself.

Standing up, he pulled his
shirt on and walked to the other side of the room, keeping his back to her as
he buttoned his shirt. Rendered speechless, she watched him for a moment, and
then she got up from the bed and walked up behind him. She reached out and
turned him around. Terrible pain and sadness filled his eyes as he reached out
and placed his hand on the side of her face. “I’m so sorry.”

She turned her head and
kissed his palm. “For what?” She took his hand in hers, needing to feel the
warmth of it as she gazed up at him. “Please, Haden, tell me what’s wrong.”

“There are things you don’t
know about me. And I’m convinced that if you did, you would be appalled. In the
very least you would have second thoughts about being intimate with me.” He
wasn’t certain how to continue the conversation without revealing he knew the
secret she was keeping from him. Stalling, he brought her hand to his mouth to
kiss it. “I want you to be sure this is what you want. No. I need you to be
sure. We need to slow down.”

The last thing she wanted
was to slow down. “I have no doubts I want to make love with you.” Chewing on
her bottom lip, she studied him. “And, unless you’re hiding another woman on
the side, I’m certain there is no way anything I don’t know about you is going
to change my mind in the future.” She smiled up at him. “Is there another
woman, Haden?”

“No, absolutely not.” He
couldn’t allow her to have doubt in his faithfulness. And yet, he couldn’t
avoid telling her he knew her secret if he revealed his. Maybe it was time to
further introduce her to the truth of what he was. Surely that would throw a
bucket of ice on her desire to be with him at that moment. It would give her
more time to share her secret with him. It would definitely give her a lot to
think about. “You know I’m not human, but you don’t know what I am.”

“I don’t care,” she replied
quickly, refusing to give it too much thought.

Taking a deep breath, he
pulled her into his arms and nuzzled his chin in her hair. “What if I tell you
I’ve kept what I am a secret from you because the truth would terrify you?”

“Is it more alarming than
seeing you turn into a dragon? I honestly believe I could never fear you for
what you are or what you are not.” She tilted her head to look up him. “I know
you’re good at heart.”

Releasing a sigh, he feared
the worst and hoped for the best. He knew telling her wouldn’t be enough. She
wouldn’t truly believe he was a demon unless he showed her. Taking her hand he
led her toward the bed. Then, sitting down on the mattress, he pulled her onto
his lap and cradled her in his arms. “I’m going to show you.” He kissed the top
of her head, as he summonsed the power within him to come forth.

A chilly breeze drifted into
the room as a black, glittery mist surrounded them.

Nervous, she looked up him.
“You don’t need to do this. I know you’re not human. It doesn’t matter to me.”

He cradled her head against
his chest. “Close your eyes, little love.” He merged with her, but rather than
enter her mind he brought her into his and showed her many of the things he’d
hidden from her.

She felt his presence with
her, studying her reaction to the discoveries she was making, but he remained
silent, allowing her to sort through and absorb the information, one moment at
time, at her own pace.

Eventually, she panicked.
She didn’t want to see anymore. She didn’t want to know what he was. It didn’t
matter to her. She struggled to pull her mind from his.

Don’t be afraid, little love.
With very little effort, he held her mind captive.
You must see
it to know the truth.

Yielding to him, she took a
deep breath and released a sigh as he brought her into a space of utter
darkness.

A wave of dizziness struck
her hard. She felt as if she were alone and floating through time and space.
Fear slammed into her heart, and it raced so frantically she was certain it
would burst. She felt a need to run away to escape the truth.

He placed his hand over her
heart.
You’re not alone. I’m with you. You must know the truth, and you must
not fear it.
Heat flowed from his hand and penetrated her heart, forcing it
to recover before it stopped.
You’re always safe with me. I love you,
Caylee.

He took her through the many
years of his existence, showing her many of the wars he’d fought. He went so
far as to take her through a few of the terribly gruesome bloody battlefields
he’d left in his wake. He wanted her aware of the violence and brutality he was
capable of committing. When he took her last breath and replaced it with his
immortal breath, she would see and feel it. Showing her now would lessen the
shock. If she survived, she needed to believe he would never harm her no matter
what was happening. He wanted her to feel his lack of remorse when he destroyed
the creatures that threatened his kind and mankind. He showed her the limitless
dark powers that filled him and aided him. He was a powerful demon, created for
war, nearly indestructible. He was a force of darkness, dangerous and deadly.

Once again Caylee felt the
nauseating sensation of moving through time and space. She clung to him, afraid
of being swept away and lost forever. Regardless of how he saw himself, she
knew he was good at heart. He showed her the worst of himself, but all she saw
was the best. On many occasions, far too many to count, he’d risked his eternal
soul to protect helpless strangers. How could she ever doubt her safety with
him? She was no stranger to him. He loved her deeply, completely. How much more
would he give to protect her?

When the sensation of moving
stopped, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was staring down at her,
tears pooling in his eyes, obviously expecting her to reject him for what he
was. “How old are you. Haden?”

“Over nine hundred years.”

She wiggled out of his arms
and stood up. “Really?” She took a few steps away from him and then turned to
face him. “You hide it very well.”

He looked guilty. He was
hiding something. Grinning, she tilted her head to the side. “How many more
than nine hundred?”