First Taste of Darkness (7 page)

And the guy Blake had called his chief of security—Carson—walked inside. Carson’s left arm was in some kind of sling, and his face seemed pale, the faint lines near his eyes and mouth deeper. “You know I hate those damn places.”

“You were shot—”

“And you were right. It was a through and through. I’m fine.” Carson’s dark eyes lit on Jess. She saw surprise flicker in his gaze.  “Ma’am,” he murmured, but a guarded tone had entered his voice.

She finished climbing the last few stairs. Her fingers fisted at her sides. “I’m so sorry that you were hurt trying to save me.”

“I was trying to save my boss.”

Okay. She cleared her throat. “I still hate you were hurt.” She was sure getting the message that this guy didn’t like her.
He was shot, guess he’s entitled to his fury.

But Carson’s gaze wasn’t furious as it swept over her. It was…suspicious. “We need to talk,” he said, turning his attention back to Blake. “Why don’t you send her back to the bedroom…”

Jess sucked in a sharp breath. Her own fury spiked. “Listen up, buddy—”

“Jess stays,” Blake snapped in the same instant. “And you need to watch the tone, Carson.”

Carson blinked a few times. “I, uh, sorry.” He shoved his right hand through his hair. “Forgot how you…were…with her.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“But it’s about the Heart,” Carson continued, voice roughening. “She doesn’t need to know—”

“I already know about the Night’s Heart,” Jess interrupted, trying to sound as if she knew a whole lot more than she did.  “I know the diamond is what the kidnapper wanted all along. But he didn’t get it.”

Carson’s hand dropped. He studied her with new interest. “No, he didn’t.”

Blake came back to Jess. His arms curled around her, and he pulled her against his chest. “How did he know about it?”

“Because the guy is Jeremiah Finn’s son, Hayden.”

She felt Blake tense behind her.

“Looks like he’s been after you for a long time,” Carson continued. “More of the past…” His lips twisted into a grim smile. “More that’s going to be buried in the ground soon.”

Maybe she
should
have waited in the bedroom. Jess didn’t want to hear this—because it scared her.

Blake scares me, but I still feel safe in his arms. 

Jess wasn’t sure when she’d jumped on board the crazy-train, but apparently, she was enjoying the ride.

“Just thought you’d want to know…” Carson turned back for the door. Then he hesitated. “The Heart is secure, isn’t it? Because, boss, you know I’ve said…one day, that diamond could be the death of you.”

“No, it won’t be,” Blake said. His voice growled from behind her. “The Heart is safe. Go get some rest, Carson. You need it.”

Carson nodded. His hand slipped down as he opened the door. Then he was gone.

Slowly, Jess turned to face Blake.  “Jeremiah Finn?”

“You don’t want to know about him.”

“But you get to ask about my secrets.”  Her fingers pressed lightly into his arms. “Why shouldn’t I get to know yours?” 

“Because, baby, I don’t think your secrets are the kind that can get you killed.” 

Her stomach clenched. 

“I’m not the man you think…” He pulled away from her with a weary sigh.  “You don’t want to know who I really am.”

Blake began to climb the stairs.

Jess didn’t move. Her gaze locked only on his back as she said, “I like to know exactly who I’m sleeping with.”

She saw his shoulders tighten.

“It’s a little quirk I have,” she added. 

Blake glanced back over his shoulder at her.

Jess lifted her chin. “I was raised by a single mother. I never knew my father, and I spent most of my life pretending that he was dead. It was easier for me to believe that story, easier for me to
tell
that story to others…instead of just accepting that he never wanted me. That he ran as soon as he found out that my mother was pregnant.”

Blake shifted his body, moving to fully face her once more. He’d stopped on the third step. 

“My mother was a good woman.  Strong, but sad—sad her whole life. A sadness that I could see in her eyes.  She wanted more for me, more than what I had. She sent me to college, but she died before I graduated.” The pain of her mother’s sudden passing still knifed through her.  “She died, and I was alone, and I hated that.” 

Blake advanced toward her. “Jess…”

“I grew up dirt poor in the middle of Alabama. I took my degree, I took the talent I had, and I moved to my paradise.” Her lips twisted. “I made my own life there. And, except for my screw-up with Joe, I’ve been pretty happy. I’ve had three lovers.  I’ve ridden out a dozen hurricanes, and I
don’t
spend any of my time looking to the past. Instead, I focus on what’s coming next for me.”

He shook his dark head. “You shouldn’t have come into that bar…”

Her laugh was bitter. “That’s the same thing my kidnapper said. Wrong place and wrong—”

Blake wrapped his hands around her shoulders. “I wanted you from the moment that I saw you. The light hit your hair—you seemed to fucking glow standing there. So perfect. And too good for me.”

“Blake—”

“I have enemies. So many of them. You know why? Because I don’t play by the rules. I never have. I lie, I cheat, I steal.  I’ve done it all because I had to do it in order to survive. My mother OD’d when I was seven. My father dumped me at the first hospital he could find, and he never looked back.” Blake’s eyes blazed down at her. “As far as I was concerned, he
was
dead after that. I didn’t need him. I didn’t need anyone.”

She didn’t think he realized just how tightly he was holding her.  His eyes were so full of emotion. A barely banked green fire.

“Jeremiah Finn.” Blake growled the name.  “He was a jewel thief, one who didn’t care who he hurt during his heists. He’d killed three people by the time I met up with him.”

Her throat was so dry. It hurt when she swallowed and asked, “Met up?”

“Told you…” His hands fell away from her. “I’ve lied. I’ve cheated. And I’ve stolen. I helped Finn take the Heart. We were supposed to be partners, but when he tried to make me victim fucking four, when he tried to use his knife to slice open my throat—”

Like father, like son?

“Finn was the one who died, and I got away.”

A shiver slid over her body. “With the Heart.”

A grim nod. “Just a piece of that thing…just a piece…was enough to buy me a whole new life. The man I’d been died with Finn, and Blake Landon—” He lifted his hands. “He was born.”

He’d killed Jeremiah Finn.

“So now you know who the man is that you’re fucking.” 

Jess flinched.

“And you’re so scared that you’re shaking.” 

Jess shook her head. 

A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Why the hell did I just tell you all of that?”

“Because I asked.”  Her answer was soft, immediate.

His eyes narrowed on her. “How do you manage to do this?  How do you get under my skin?”

She didn’t know.  “How do you manage to make me feel…more than any other man has before?” And, the question that scared her most… “Why am I still not running away from you?”

“Because you know I’d follow.” 

Her feet seemed rooted to the spot. But it was her turn for secrets, too.  “I’m not shaking because I’m scared of you.”

“Maybe you should be.”

“I’m shaking because I’m scared of myself.”  Everything between them was happening too fast. “I…feel too much with you.” 

“Dammit, baby, I just told you that I killed a man—”

“A man who tried to kill you.”

“And you believe me? How do you know I’m not just covering my ass with that story?”

The hard, growling question was no doubt meant to make her even more afraid.  But… “I trust you.” 

His face changed then.  She saw it.  Some of the hardness. The darkness…it eased. 

He just stared at her, and Blake almost seemed lost.

“You saved my life tonight,” Jess told him. “You could have just left me there—”

“Never.”

“But you didn’t,” she finished, voice quiet. “You came for me. You got me out of that nightmare.”

He was still gazing at her like—jeez, almost as if she were some kind of present and it was Christmas morning.  Surely she wasn’t the first person to trust the guy? 

Jess tried to smile. “Maybe…maybe we should start over. Now that all of our secrets are out.”  Her shoulders sagged a bit as she exhaled. “My name’s Jess Delaney.” She caught his hand. Shook it.

His fingers tightened around hers. “It wasn’t the wrong place.”

“Wh-what?”

He hauled her against him. Pressed his lips to hers and kissed her with a wild passion that had her arching against him.

“It was the right place. Everything about you…” Another hard, drugging kiss. “Everything is right.”

And even though he was dangerous, even though he was so beyond the men she’d known in her life, Blake seemed right to her, too. So very right.

Her fingers brushed over the rough stubble that was darkening his jaw.

“Come back to my bed,” he rumbled the words.

“Yes,” she said and she followed him up the stairs and back into the darkness.

Jess was beginning to wonder if she would follow him anywhere he wanted to lead. 

***

Sunlight poured onto the bed. Jess reached out her hand, her body stretching, but Blake wasn’t beside her.

She sat up, pulling the sheet with her. A quick glance at the bedside clock showed her that it was nearing nine a.m.

“Blake?” Jess called out. Her gaze slid to the bathroom, but the door was open, that room seemingly empty.

The suite was too quiet. Too empty.  His side of the bed was cold.

She slipped from the bed.  Jess hurriedly donned the robe that had been left on a nearby chair. Then she padded down the stairs. The silence in the suite was complete.
Blake’s gone.

She glanced around, wondering if Blake had left a note for her. He’d probably just stepped out for a moment—

A knock shook the front door. “Ms. Delaney?” The voice was loud, demanding. Masculine.

She recognized that voice. It was…Carson?    

Frowning, Jess glanced toward the door. 

Then she heard the jingle of keys, and the door opened. 

Carson stood on the threshold. When he saw her, his brows raised. “You’re not ready yet?”

She pulled the robe closer to her body. “Ready?”

His gaze darted around the suite. “Yes. Ready. Where are your bags? The plane will be leaving in just over two hours.  That doesn’t give us a lot of time, not with the check-in processes these days.” 

“My bags?” Jess gave a hard shake of her head. She seemed to be missing something. “Uh, I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since that—that man took me yesterday.” 
Hayden.
Carson had told her and Blake that the man’s name was Hayden. 

Carson brushed past her and headed up the stairs. She quickly followed him, flushing when they stepped into the bedroom.  No way could he miss the wrecked bed.

But he just glanced to the left, and pointed to the small bags near the wall. “I brought them in earlier, when Blake was leaving.”

She caught his hand. “Leaving?”  Dammit, she couldn’t just keep repeating him. Jess cleared her throat. “Where did he go?”

“Down to the police station. The cops needed to interview him again.” His lips twisted. “A little matter of death will push them to ask all kinds of uncomfortable questions.” 

He pulled from her. Headed toward the bags. He brought them to her. “Get dressed, then let’s get going.”

“But Blake—”

His sigh cut through her words. “You lasted two nights, ma’am. Usually it’s just one. Consider yourself lucky.”

The burn left her cheeks. Ice seemed to freeze her.

“Blake arranged for the ticket home for you, and that means that he wants you
gone,
Ms. Delaney. Gone before he gets back.”

She was just standing there. Wearing his robe.  Her heart was beating too fast. Threatening to burst out of her chest. 

“I always have to be the clean-up man,” Carson muttered, sounding disgusted. His hand dove into her bag and, a few moments later, he tossed her some clothes—and underwear. “Blake isn’t big on the good-bye scenes, okay?  Get dressed and let’s go.”

Her fingers fisted around the clothes.  Woodenly, she moved into the bathroom and shut the door.  Jess looked up into the mirror and gazed at the ghost there. The woman who had eyes that looked too big. Skin that looked too pale.

You’re the one who wanted a one night stand.
The bitter reminder burned through her mind.

Only…the one night stand had become something more, at least for her. 

She’d started to fall for him.

Blake and his darkness. 

She’d never had a chance.

The robe dropped to the floor. She left it there and dressed as quickly as she could.  When she jerked open the door a few minutes later, Carson was waiting with an impatient expression on his face.

He still held her bags.

She pulled the bags from him.

Frowning, he told her, “I can take those down for you.”

“I’ve got them.” She marched for the door, but then she stopped. Jess glanced at Carson. “Give your boss a message for me.”

Carson grimaced. “Not another one of those. Look, it’s just the way he is, okay? Nothing personal. You can’t blame the snake when he strikes—”

“
What?”

“He’s a player, and Ms. Delaney, he played with you.” Brutal words. Cold. “Now he’s done, and you need to get back to your life. Your nice, safe life.”

Safe.

He glanced down at the bags. “Now we really should hurry…”

“Give him a message,” Jess repeated, determined on this.   

A long sigh broke from Carson. “At this rate, you’ll be able to deliver it yourself.”

“Tell him that it
could
have been right between us.” Jess drew herself up, standing proudly. There’d be no walk of shame for her.  Screw that. She would leave on her terms. “It could’ve been right, if
he
hadn’t been the one who was afraid.” 

Carson’s eyes widened in surprise.