In the Beginning... (17 page)

The girl looked completely defeated.

It was a look he had seen on his sister's
face many times over the last thirty years. Put there by the
actions of this girl's grandfather.

How could he take this girl to the home he
shared with Kindara and Jierra? They were two of the only three
survivors of Leo Taniss's murdering of their people. More than a
thousand Dardaptoans had been taken to the old bastard's lab one
hundred miles away from the home this girl lived in. Those
Dardaptoans had died, victims of vicious experiments the likes of
which still sickened him.

How could he subject his
sister to
her?

But a Dardaptoan got only
one mate, one
Rajni
, and he had lived 612 years without his. This girl was it.
How could he let her go?

He cursed, the words low and harsh. She could
not hear him, but she still flinched. Had he echoed the words in
her mind?

He did not think so, but he might have.

He wrapped his hand around her knee, not
wanting to comfort her so much as feel her beneath his hand.

His
Rajni.
She was real.

He had much to think about this night, least
of all how to explain her to his family and his king.

He pulled her from the car and over his
shoulder. She felt so insubstantial. His hand settled on her ass
and he held her in place. Her whimper was silent and only heard in
his head. He led the dog with his other hand.

He could not carry her into the wing he
shared with Kindara, not without deciding how to tell his sister
about Jocelyn. He took her to the king's recreation room
instead.

Dahr
Rydere waited inside. He was not alone; a small brunette
female was huddled on a couch, looking confused and frightened. She
had the same eyes as his Jocelyn. A cousin or sibling, then. Cormac
dropped his captive on the couch beside her.

He barely listened to the words his king
spoke over the next ten minutes. He slipped his captive over his
shoulder once again. She whimpered, but did not try to pull away.
“I’ll deal with the dog in the morning. Can you have Jambu take her
to his room for now?”

Josey screamed inside her head when the man
pulled her away from her cousin.

No! No! Leave me alone! Please!

The man slapped a hand
against her backside.
Stop.

Why are you doing
this?
How
are you
doing this talking inside my head?

Because I am not a human
male. I have
gifts
that your Kind does not have.

My Kind? What are you?

Dardaptoan. You will learn of my Kind soon
enough.

Why have you done this, to me, to Emily? We
have done nothing to you.

He carried her down a long hallway, and she
made a point to remember the turns he took and significant
decorations. She would somehow find her way back to Emily. She had
to.

Do not plot against me. I know what you are
thinking, always. You must remember that; at all times, I know
you.

So you do not plan to kill me then?

I have yet to determine what
I will be doing with you.
He opened a door
and carried her into a suite decorated with green and white. The
suite was at least as big as her bungalow.
This is where you will stay, unless I tell you
differently.

For how long?

He put her down on a couch next to a large
bed covered in what looked to be silk and satin. Josey watched him
for a few moments as he moved around the suite.

He was even taller than she first thought,
probably more than six and a half feet. His skin was dark, shades
darker than that other man. The one who had Emily. His hair was
longish and waved over his head.

His eyes were dark gold. Josey's breath
caught—they were not human eyes. But...what was he?

This was just a nightmare. That's what it
was. She would wake and be home in her bed, with Free cuddled
against her.

He was an apparition that she would forget
about.

He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing
a strong, muscled chest with a complex series of tattoos covering
it. She'd never seen anything like them.

He stepped over toward her,
dressed only in dark cotton trousers that were different than any
she'd seen before. He grabbed the cord still wrapped around her
hands and pulled her to her feet.
It's up
to you, girl. Sleep in your jeans or I give you something
else.

Just sleep?
Josey asked, more boldly than she thought
possible.

He hadn't killed her yet. That was a good
sign, right? Was he just toying with her? Emily was still alive;
they obviously wanted something from their family. Maybe he would
keep her alive long enough that she could find Emily and find a way
out of this.

Her father would look for her—she was
supposed to have breakfast with him and her sister in the morning.
He would come to her house, see the mess the man...the
creature...had made of her place. Realize she and Emily were taken.
He would find them...

She must have angered him
again. He jerked her up, pulled her against him. Forced her to look
into those strange eyes.
Daddy will not
save you. You are never leaving here.

He tossed her to the bed;
Josey bounced across its surface. He followed her.
Move over.

Untie my hands, please?
This...hurts.
She held up her wrists for
him to see how the rubber cord had abraded the skin.

He grabbed her wrists and lifted them closer
to his face. He frowned, then turned to the bedside table. He
pulled a knife from the drawer, a wicked looking blade that had her
pulling away from him in terror.

Sit still. Unless you prefer to sleep
bound.

Josey did as he ordered and he sliced through
the binding easily. She hissed at the burning pain the cord left
behind.

Lay back. Now. We are going
to sleep. We will speak more on the morrow.
He pushed her back against the pillows.

She shoved against his chest, fear rising
once again. She tried to draw her knees up between them, but he
anticipated her move.

He crushed her beneath his
weight.
Stay still, female! I will not hurt
you if you do as I say!

I can't breathe! Get off me!
Please!
She pushed against him, fingers
splayed wide over his tattooed chest. Her efforts did little
good.

He sank one hand into her hair, using it as a
tether to hold her head still. He spread his legs, using his larger
ones to secure hers. His chest was heavy enough to hold her down
against the bed.

Dammit, female. I said lie
still.
He flattened her against the bed,
grabbing her wrists and yanking them above her head. Josey had no
choice but to look up at him.
You are a
stubborn one; that is definite.

He held her down for several hours, trying to
reassure her that he would not hurt her while she slept, until the
stubborn female finally drifted to sleep. Once he was certain she
was deeply asleep he studied her. She appeared fragile and
delicate, her bones almost frail beneath his hands. More so than
most human females.

It worried him.

How long of a lifespan would she have? Would
he be forced to watch the next thirty or so years go by in a blink?
Watch her age while he did not?

He could not do it.

He touched her hair, then
her cheek, drew his fingers down her neck. Her pulse beckoned him.
What did his
Rajni
taste like? He'd waited a long time to find out.

His fangs distended. He pushed the tangled
hair out of his way. She slept on, exhaustion having a bigger claim
on her than fear. He brushed his lips against her skin.

He had never been a patient man; his teeth
sank deep. She woke with a jerk, a scream on her lips. He hadn't
meant to hurt her and he gentled his hold. But goddess, she tasted
so damned good. Savory, but with a hint of sweetness made just for
him.

He dragged long and deep, as the answer to
his dilemma came to him.

A blood exchange. A conversion that happened
so rarely it was only spoken about in the oldest of legends. He
dragged at her blood, knowing that was the only way.

She fought against him at first, and her
pleas inside his head hurt him. He ruthlessly shut her out. He had
to do it; she belonged with him and the conversion was the only
way.

Finally she lay still
beneath him, pale and weak. Almost gone. A vise fisted around his
heart at the sight of his
Rajni
so...lifeless. He'd done this to her; if it didn't
work...he would have cursed himself for eternity.

He bit into his wrist and
held it over her lips. The first drop rolled down her cheek. He
wiped it away, a prayer to the damned goddess on his lips. It had
worked before; he had met one of his Kind two hundred years ago who
had successfully converted his human
Rajni.
Cormac remembered the way the
male had paled when telling Cormac about it.
Just stay with it. Keep going.

He pressed the wound to her lips, letting the
blood fill her mouth.

She sputtered, choking on the blood she
needed to survive. Cormac slipped his free arm under her shoulders
and lifted her to rest against his chest. He kept his wrist over
her mouth as she finally began to swallow out of the need for
instinctive survival.

After a few minutes her body took over,
knowing what was required to survive. She began pulling at his
wrist with her teeth. Began fighting to get closer to him.

Damn, she was stronger than she looked. He
sat her up, studying her face for a moment. Her eyes were glazed,
her lips trembling. Red. Was she even aware of what was going
on?

He slipped into her head,
finding only confusion and pain. Terror slipped in as some of the
confusion started to clear.
Shh, little
rabbit. It will be over soon. I promise.

She screamed inside her head. It hurt him,
actually hurt him, to feel her fear. Her mind clouded again,
another wave of pain overtaking her. It was both a blessing and a
curse for him. If she wasn't aware what was happening to her, would
it be easier?

She was just a damned human. And a young one,
at that. What kind of bastard was he that he would do this to her
so easily?

He lifted her into a seated
position, and tucked her head against his neck.
Feed from me, little rabbit.

Newly forming fangs sank
deep into his neck and his
Rajni
began to feed from him for the first
time.

Goddess, it felt good.

By morning he was exhausted. The conversion
had taken her under a cloud of pain more than a dozen times and
each time he would have to break through her terror.

Goddess, he
was
a rank bastard. No
one, especially a female, deserved that.

But thank goddess she was sleeping soundly
now. Her hair had blood matted in it; her face was streaked with
tears and blood. Her sweatshirt was ruined.

He sighed. Just what exactly
had he done to her? As his
Rajni
he was supposed to take care of her, protect her.
Not this. Even though she was a damned Taniss she had not deserved
this.

She woke with a scream and with frightened
eyes. He brushed the bloodied and matted hair off her forehead and
laid his brow against hers.

She kneed him in the stomach, the blow
forcing the air from his lungs. He grabbed her arms and held her
down on the mattress until she stopped struggling.

He’d never imagined his
first days with his
Rajni
would involve him forcibly holding her down to
keep her from injuring herself—or him.

He’d royally fucked up everything. How was he
to fix it?

She trembled beneath him, making him feel
like the monster she probably thought he was. How was he to make
her forget what he had done and realize he would treasure her for
the rest of their days?

It would definitely not be easy.

And he still had his sister and niece to deal
with. Would the three ever be able to live together in this wing
harmoniously? Would Kindara take out the anger she still held for
Leo Taniss out upon his granddaughter?

Kindara had a kind soul, a healer for their
people usually did. But Taniss had taken her lover and her babe
from her—could she forget that when with Jocelyn?

She would have to. But Cormac didn’t fool
himself—it would not be easy for any of them. He would have to take
an hour or so and talk to his sister himself. Make her understand
that he had not a choice; Jocelyn was his mate. The one woman he
was destined to be with.

And he would have that one woman no matter
what or who objected.

His hands tightened on her arms as he fought
the urge to yank her up against him and taste her blood against his
tongue again.

She was so damned addictive.

Every bone in her body hurt. Josey couldn’t
remember much about what he had done to her, but the pain was
something she would never forget. She lay unmoving beside the man,
his scent strong in her lungs and the warmth he exuded almost
enough to make her sweat. What would he do to her now?