Rush of Darkness (22 page)

“I don’t know.” She forced the words past her trembling
lips, a cold sweat breaking out over her body as she resigned herself to the idea that had been brewing in the back of her mind. “He’s… To be honest,” she said, “I think he’s tired of it all.”

The Lycan’s muffled curse made her wince, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from admitting it was a lie. Finally, Kellan exhaled a rough breath and said, “Will you do me a favor and tell him that we really need him there? I can’t imagine doing this thing without him.”

Raine said that she would, then quickly disconnected and erased the call from the phone’s memory, before powering it off and putting it back where she’d found it. Just as she turned around, Seth came out of the bathroom, his magnificent bod naked but for the white towel wrapped around his waist. She couldn’t control the violent wave of hunger that suddenly tore through her, knowing damn well this might be the last night they were together.

Driven by raw, pulsing need, she crossed the space between them and put her hands on his bare shoulders, shoving him against the closed bathroom door.

“What the hell?” he growled.

“I don’t want to spend the rest of the night fighting,” she whispered. “I just want to be close to you.”

There was so much emotion in his eyes, Raine couldn’t help but wish that she could read his thoughts. But despite the ease with which she’d finally gotten a read on Wentworth, Seth remained frustratingly closed to her, his mental guards thicker than ever.

He started to reach for her, but she shook her head, wanting to stay in control for just a little longer. “I’ll let
you do whatever you want to me, Seth. But first…first, I want to do something to you.”

His lips parted as she gripped the edge of the towel and jerked it off him, her hungry gaze dropping to his breathtaking erection as she let the towel fall to the hard-wood floor. Pulling her lower lip through her teeth, she listened to the rush of her pulse roaring through her ears as she reached for him with her hand. But the instant she wrapped her fingers around that hot, thick stalk, he caught her wrist, locking it in his grip.

“You shouldn’t,” he groaned, his eyes heavy-lidded and dark as she looked up at him, a warm flush burning along the crest of his cheekbones. She could see that it embarrassed him to be touched there—for his scars to be felt or seen. She hadn’t expected the ruthless hunter to possess that kind of vulnerability, and it opened her up in ways she never would have expected.

Softly, she said, “Trust works both ways, Seth.”

He stared down at her, his green eyes turning liquid and bright, searching for answers in her gaze. Then he released a ragged breath of air…and loosened his hold on her wrist.

O
H,
C
HRIST…

Seth’s heart hammered with a painful, jarring beat as he watched Raine give him a shy smile, then slowly slip to her knees before him, her feminine little hand stroking his aching length from root to tip.

“I meant what I said about trust,” she said huskily, grasping his wrist with her free hand…and pulling it to the long fall of her hair. His eyes went wide with shock, then narrowed with an intense rush of primal satisfaction as he buried his fingers in the thick, slightly damp waves, wrapping the honey-colored strands around his hand.

“Feels like silk,” he muttered, his voice rough with lust as he curved his long fingers around the back of her head…then pulled her toward him, until that beautiful mouth was so close he could feel her soft breaths blowing against him. She breathed in through her nose and moaned, as if his scent excited her, and he had to lock his knees against the dizzying rush of pleasure that shot through him.

“I’ve never had this,” he rasped, tightening his grip on the back of her head in case she misunderstood and started to pull away. “But I…I want it.
From you
. I
want to know how it feels to have your mouth on me, Raine.”

“Just tell me if I do anything you don’t like,” she whispered, the way her lips brushed the taut, sensitive crown making him shudder and gasp. Then she opened her mouth, her small pink tongue flicking against the slick head, tasting him, and his head fell back, thunking against the door, while something that sounded like a raw, animalistic growl tore from his throat, echoing through the room.

“More,”
he forced through his clenched teeth, unable to stop his hips from punching forward, pushing his shaft against her mouth. Then a graveled mix of sharp, hoarse curses burst from his lips as she took him in and started to suckle.

Needing to watch her, Seth lowered his head…and found the little crossbreed staring up at him, her gorgeous eyes hazy with pleasure as she swirled her tongue around the glistening head. Then she sucked him back in, taking him a little deeper, and he felt a sharp, searing release already bearing down on him.

Fighting for control, he covered her hand with his own, squeezing down
hard,
and moved his other hand to her face, the tips of her long hair still threaded through his fingers. With hot eyes, Seth watched as he rubbed his thumb against the corner of her mouth, the sight of his dark, scarred shaft sliding within the tight stretch of her lips the sexiest damn thing he’d ever seen. She moaned as he slipped his thumb beneath his cock, pressing it against that center crease in her bottom lip at the same
time he pushed forward, giving her another inch—and as that erotic moan vibrated along his shaft, Seth knew he wasn’t going to last a second more.

“Stop!” he barked, trying not to yank her hair as he pulled away, his back coming up hard against the door behind him.

She blinked up at him, her big eyes clouded with confusion. “Why? I thought you liked it.”

“I loved it—but I don’t wanna come until I’m inside you,” he ground out, quickly reaching under her arms and pulling her to her feet. He curved a forearm under her sweet ass and lifted her against the front of his body, carrying her to the room’s massive, wrought-iron bed. Setting her down on the edge of the bed’s high mattress, Seth stood between her legs as he reached for the waistband on her sweats—but she flinched, sending a panicked look toward the two lamps on either end of the dresser, their bright glow filling the room with light. “What’s wrong?” he asked, smoothing her hair back from her face with a shaky hand.

She wet her lips. “Can we please turn the lights off?”

“I’d rather keep them on.”

She winced, mumbling, “I wish you wouldn’t.”

“Why? What is it, sweetheart?” It occurred to Seth that she’d always made sure their rooms were mostly in lshadow whenever she’d gotten naked in front of him, never allowing him to see her as clearly as he would have liked.

When she didn’t say anything, he murmured, “Trust works both ways, Raine.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them, a warm blush covering her skin as she said, “I don’t want you to see my scars.”

Seth frowned, wondering what the hell she was talking about. “But you don’t have any scars.”

“Actually, I do,” she said, her gaze sliding from his. With an uneasy shrug, she added, “But they’re faint enough that you can’t see them when the lighting is low.”

“Are they from when you were…attacked?” he asked, trying to recall if he’d seen any scars on her body when he’d carried her out of Westmore’s compound. But it was hard to say, because she’d been so battered and bruised, covered with blood and soot from the explosions that had torn through the ancient fortress. Was it possible that he hadn’t seen them?

Obviously, it was, because she nodded and said, “I got them during my captivity.” Her voice was quiet, soft. “Normally, my healing abilities keep scars from forming. But they denied me blood for too long, which made it difficult for my body to deal with all the…injuries. Some of the wounds scarred as a result.”

Wishing he could fucking kill Seton all over again, Seth smoothed a hand over her bare shoulder, his chest aching, his throat tight with emotion. “So you’ve been trying to hide them from me?”

“I’m not hiding.” She gave a tired sigh. “I just…don’t want you to see them. They’re not pretty, Seth.”

It made him furious that this beautiful, exquisite woman felt the need to hide from him, but he understood her fear, considering he’d spent his entire adult life having sex in the shadows, never trusting anyone with his secrets.

But he didn’t want Raine to feel that way. Didn’t want her to be embarrassed by her body, or to think he was a judgmental prick. “Raine, scars are only scars. They don’t change who you are. And they sure as hell aren’t going to change the way I look at you.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she whispered, locking her troubled gaze with his once more. “I mean, even with your scars, you’re still gorgeous.”

His lips twitched, and he shook his head. “Woman, I don’t have anything on you. You’re so far out of my league, I’m lucky you even gave me a second glance.”

A breathless laugh spilled from her soft lips, and she didn’t fight him when he reached for the bottom of her tank top and pulled it over her head, the scars just visible in the warm glow of light cast from the lamps. They were faint, silvery marks, covering her breasts and the slender curve of her stomach. Some of them were obviously bite marks, while others looked like she’d been slashed with claws. The skin was smooth, the scars pale enough that he hadn’t detected them before. But he hated the pain that had caused them, his resolve to keep her from Meridian stronger than ever.

“See?” Her voice was rough. “I tried to warn you they were ugly.”

“No,” he whispered, pushing her against the bed so
that he could lean over her and place a tender kiss against one of those faint scars…and then another. “You’re so beautiful, Raine.” He nuzzled the soft swell of one breast while stroking his thumb over the other’s tight nipple. “Every part of you. You don’t ever have to hide from me.”

She shivered, and he could feel the exact moment that she surrendered to him—that tight tension easing from her body as the warm spill of desire poured through her system, leaving her pliant and soft. With a provocative moan on her lips, she ran her smooth palms over his shoulders and chest as he covered one of those deliciously plump nipples with his mouth. Drawn tight by the urgency of his need, Seth hungrily suckled the sweet tip while he tore her sweatpants down her slender legs, then did the same with her panties.

Need her so badly. Every part of her. Now…

Bracing himself on a straight arm, he wedged himself tighter between her open thighs and struggled for control as he gripped his cock in his fist, fitting himself against her soft entrance. A drop of sweat stung his eye as he stared down at her, his body burning with heat, and then he pushed forward…and knew he wouldn’t be able to take it slow. He was sinking into a plush, cushiony heaven, and there wasn’t a chance in hell this was going to be anything but fast and raw.

“Put your heels on the edge of the bed and hold on,” he told her, his voice gritty and thick as he gave her another inch. He put his thumb in his mouth, making it wet, then reached down and rubbed the callused pad
over her clit, her hips rolling as she took him deeper…and deeper. When he was finally packed up inside her, buried all the way to the hilt, he grasped the backs of her knees and pushed them against the bed, spreading her beneath him. “Tell me you’re ready,” he growled, bracing his feet on the floor. “Because this is gonna be rough.”

“I’m ready.” The breathless words vibrated with excitement, and he lifted his gaze to her face just in time to see her wet her lips with a sexy flick of her tongue, her beautiful eyes smoldering with hunger as she stared up at him. She was so gorgeous she glowed, stealing his breath, and they both gasped as he pulled back his hips, then slammed back into her with a powerful, penetrating thrust that made him growl. Gasps quickly became hoarse cries as he took her just like he’d said he would, the rhythm hard and fast and grinding, blowing his mind. She dug her nails into his shoulders as he kept her pinned on the edge of the mattress, their bodies slapping together with wet, erotic sounds, their skin so hot they should have been steaming. They pushed and shoved in a violent struggle to get closer…
deeper,
the sex more raw and possessive than anything he could have imagined.

She thrashed beneath him, her hair tangled around her flushed face, and Seth would have been terrified he was hurting her, if she hadn’t kept clawing to drag him closer, the pleasure-thick sounds spilling from her lips pushing him to a place that was dark and intense and stunningly primal. And then she was screaming as she crashed over the edge, coming so hard that she pulled
him right along with her, her orgasm lush and tight and devastatingly sweet as it milked him of everything he had, his body pumping into her for long, scalding moments that made him feel as if he was being turned inside out with ecstasy, as well as pain. Even though her fangs had released just as she reached her peak, he eagerly took each of her husky cries into his mouth, loving the way she tasted, unable to get enough of the way she kissed him back as their violent rhythm eased into a slow, gentle thrusting.

When Seth finally forced himself to pull out, knowing her tender body needed time to recoup, he crawled up onto the bed and pulled her against his chest. He wanted so badly to beg her to give up her fight again, but knew it was pointless. It’d taken him years to work his need for revenge out of his system. How could he expect her to give it up after only a few months? And for a man like him? One who refused to give her his vein? Who still broke out in a sweat whenever he imagined her sharp fangs piercing his skin? Though they’d each shown such a deep measure of trust that night, he simply didn’t know if her bite was something he would ever be able to accept.

But it didn’t stop him from dreaming of what could be.

“How does a relationship between a human and a vampire work?” he asked, sifting his fingers through her hair, loving the way those silken waves felt against his skin. Loving even more that she’d trusted him not to hurt her.

“What kind of relationship?” she asked, her fingertip tracing a scar that ran along his ribs.

“The kind that lasts, like marriage. I know it sounds crazy, but after all these years, there’s still a helluva lot I don’t understand about the Deschanel. Do they even believe in marriage ceremonies?”

He could feel the tension creeping into her muscles, a wariness in her tone that hadn’t been there before when she said, “Why are you asking me this?”

“Because I’m curious.”
And because I’m madly, desperately in love with you. Because I want to find some way to bind you to me that can never be undone.

He could practically hear her brain working as she tried to figure out where this was leading, her voice hesitant as she finally gave him an answer. “Yes, there are marriages between human males and Deschanel females. It’s also possible for a bond to be made that links the human’s and the vampire’s life forces together, enabling them to sense the other’s emotions—but that’s only if blood is shared between them,” she explained, the words husky and soft. “If that bond is made, it also links their life spans, so that the Deschanel half of the couple isn’t forced to live lifetimes without her male. But the female can’t pass on any of her powers, the way a Deschanel male can when he mates with a human.”

“I couldn’t give a shit about powers,” he rumbled, stroking his hand down her back. “I just want you.”

She shivered in his arms, her breath hitching with a rush of nerves as she said, “But you haven’t let me finish. You see, the Deschanel is only part of my bloodline. As
one of the more powerful Alacea females, I’ll most likely create a mental bond with the man I choose to pledge my life to.”

“What kind of bond?” he asked, then immediately winced at the soft note of dread underlying his question.

She kept her cheek pressed to his chest as she answered. “One that would enable me to have complete access to most of his thoughts, memories and emotions.” Her voice was starting to sound a little sharper. “He would have no shields against me, even with my powers as weak as they are.”

“But doesn’t caring about someone blur your connection with them?”

“It does, except in this case. A bonding merely solidifies the connection.” She took a deep breath, then quietly continued. “And while it’s not something I could stop from happening, I would learn to control it, giving him as much privacy as I could when it came to his thoughts, though I hear it’s nearly impossible to control the emotional connection. But it’s not completely one-sided, because he would be able to sense my emotions, as well.”

Seth tried to imagine what it would be like, but couldn’t. All he knew was that he didn’t like the idea of being so open to her.

“I can feel the conflict within you, Seth. The thought of me being able to see into you so clearly makes you uncomfortable.”