Slayer's Kiss: Shadow Slayer, Book 1 (21 page)

When she opened her eyes, he was only inches away, staring at her with adoration. “I love you.”

Her heart sputtered. She’d never had a man tell her he loved her before Julian. Not a father, not a brother. Never a lover. “We just met. Under false pretenses, at that.”

“Are you saying you don’t feel the same?”

The water swished as Kara turned away. She’d never been in love, but this felt dangerously close to what she imagined it would be like. She didn’t want to be apart from Julian. She felt more at peace with him by her side. His smile brought light to the dark recesses of her soul.

“I like you, Julian. I may be insane, but I want to spend more time with you in my world. I haven’t had this before. I’ve never been attached to a man. That means something to me, but it’s not love. Not yet. Give me time to process all of this. I barely understand what I am, much less what that’s going to mean for the future.”

He stared at her for a moment, acceptance slowly seeping into his features, then dropped his forehead to hers. “I told you before and I meant it, I’ll give you as much time as you need.”

Kara closed her eyes and rested against him, loving the feel of the strong, steady energy radiating from his skin into her own. She swallowed. It would be so easy to get lost in the love of a man like him and never find her way back to the solitary life she’d led before. Could she risk it?

She cupped his cheek and inhaled slowly through her nostrils, breathing in his essence like he was oxygen in a fire. “Jules—” she began, but then his head shot up and his fangs snapped down.

Seeing his instantly feral expression, Kara sloshed to the side of the tub, but then Gavin’s deep voice echoed behind her. “Julian, we need to talk.”

Julian stood and stepped past Kara, water sluicing off the hard planes of his body. “Leave, now, old friend. My woman is bathing and she doesn’t require your assistance.”

Gavin’s gaze traveled over Kara’s naked shoulders and the tops of her breasts before he looked back at Julian. “Kara is not your woman. She’s a Demiáre female. She belongs to no one.”

Julian’s silver wings spread from the slits in his back, effectively blocking Kara from Gavin’s view. “Let’s discuss this outside then. I’ll come to you after she’s cared for.”

A deep rumble reverberated in Gavin’s chest. “I know exactly how you plan to
care
for her, you fool.”

“Stop it, you two.” Kara stood, gently pushing Julian’s wing aside, not giving a damn if Gavin saw her breasts—hell, even his brother had seen more. “It’s none of your business, Gavin. I don’t care if my father told you to watch out for me. I’ve taken care of myself my entire life and I’m still here.”

She stepped around Julian, straight out of the tub, leaving a drippy mess in her wake, then brushed past Gavin on her way to the basket of fluffy cream towels.

Gavin came to stand toe to toe with her. “Do you think we don’t know about your nighttime activities, Kara? Stopping one pervert is like squashing a caterpillar under your boot compared to coming up against an angry Aniliáre. Think about that same boot versus a dragon the size of this palace. As a female unprotected by a clan, that’s what you’d be dealing with. You need us.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open. “They turn into dragons?”
No stinking way.

“What?” Gavin shook his head. “No. It was a metaphor.”

Suddenly, Julian was behind her, wrapping the towel around her naked breasts and tucking it in tightly. His breath hissed over her shoulder. “Get out. I will bring her to dinner when she’s dressed.”

Every muscle in Gavin’s body tensed. “Dinner is long over, Julian. And I
will not
leave you alone with her again. Don’t make this difficult.” As the words left Gavin’s mouth, armed men came from the shadows to flank him on either side, five to his left and five to his right, carrying ropes and tethers. Each man was as large and powerfully built as Julian, their expressions ranging from doubtful to determined.

“Please, my lord. We have no desire to use force against you,” pleaded one man.

Kara stepped back, sucking in a quick breath as Julian’s claws extended and his eyes flashed red. They glowed like embers from his dark face as he regarded Gavin. “You bastard son of Brakken. How dare you use my own men against me.”

Gavin quickly turned to Kara. “Go! Wait for me outside.”

She opened her mouth to protest when the room exploded into motion. Julian, armed with only his talons and fangs, launched himself at the group, taking the first man down with a quick bite to the neck. The man yelped and jumped back, clutching his bleeding throat in his hand as a steady stream of blood ran under his fingers.

But before Kara could even comprehend what was happening, Julian had his claws curved into the face of the next man, one hand gripping his bloody jaw and the other around his neck as though he were going to tear the man’s head from his shoulders.

“
Julian!
” Kara screamed. She didn’t know if she was afraid for him or of what he seemed capable of in that moment.

As his scarlet eyes flashed to her, four guards tackled him from behind, toppling him to the floor. His hands were still wrapped around the gasping man’s face and neck. A fifth guard was trying—and failing—to break his grip.

“Tie him down!” Gavin shouted above the frantic sounds of struggle. He walked to the head of the fray and bent down, grasping Julian’s clawed hands as electric blue light shot from his own fingers—
zzzzzttt
—crackling against Julian’s grip with the quick resonance of a bug zapper.

Julian’s body stiffened with the shock. He released the man’s neck and began thrashing under the weight of the guards. “Don’t touch her!” he bellowed, the sound echoing like a clap of thunder in the marble room. “She’s mine!
Kara!
”

Kara’s eyes were wide and disbelieving. She couldn’t understand how it had all gone downhill so fast. But one thing seemed clear, Julian had completely lost it. “Gavin, leave him alone. What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”

“Healo, put him under,” Gavin commanded, not even sparing Kara a glance.

A leather-clad warrior with a blond braid down his back stepped forward and knelt at Julian’s head, narrowly avoiding getting his thigh grazed by Julian’s sharp fangs. “Sorry, my lord. Let’s hope you’re in a better mood when you wake up.” With that, Healo cupped his hand around the crown of Julian’s head and his arm began to quiver with energy.

“Kara,” Julian mumbled, using the last of his strength to find her gaze and latch on. “I love you.” His eyelids bobbed slowly down and back up. “I…love…” As he went still, the air rushed from his lungs with the weight of the men on his back.

Seeing Julian passed out, slack-jawed and crushed to the green marble floor, Kara broke. With her towel barely hanging on, she rushed forward and shoved the nearest man, knocking him on his ass.

“Get off him!” Her fist connected with the jaw of the man straddling her lover, sending his head rocking back. “He can’t breathe! Gavin!”

“Kara.” Gavin’s voice was all command and authority. He snatched her wrist midflight when she released another punch. “He’s fine. I promise. Liel, have your men tie him up until he’s out of the mating rage.”

“Yes, sir,” the bearded captain replied, and it was only then Kara realized more warriors were waiting in Julian’s room. What the hell kind of trouble had they expected from one man?

Gavin met Liel’s eyes. “Ask Aiden to bind Julian’s darker powers until the next moon, when he’s had a chance to get Kara out of his system. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll fight with fangs before he decides to call the shadows and damn us all.”

Liel’s brows drew down and his smile was tentative. “I’ve known Lord Julian a long time. He wouldn’t do that to his own people.”

Gavin laughed bitterly. “He already did. After dark in San Diego, he had an ‘episode’. I was able to subdue him before it went further, but his power has to be bound.”

Liel bowed. “Yes, my lord.” He walked quickly from the room.

The men stood, preparing the ropes, but Kara’s hand was still firmly stuck in Gavin’s grasp. “He’s your friend, Gavin! Why would you do this?”

Gavin released his grip, looked down into her eyes and smiled. “Little warrior princess. You honor Julian with your defense of him, but women don’t need to fight in the Mercury clan. We will take care of you, Kara, and even protect you from ourselves when you need it.”

Kara threw her hands up, colliding against Gavin’s chest in her fury. “Julian hasn’t hurt me. You don’t know what you’re talking about!” But she had to admit both times she’d seen Julian in a “mating rage” had been frightening.

“There are things you don’t understand about our laws, about our intimacy. Julian is a lord of this clan. It’s forbidden for him to bond to one female, and I’ve seen him with you. He’s barreling down that destructive path without thought to the consequences to either of you. He’s not well, Kara.”

“No, you brought this on! One minute he was Prince Charming and the next he went crazy.
You
did this, Gavin!” She poked a hard finger into his chest to emphasize her point.

“Yes, I did this—for you. Calm down, princess.” He looked deep into Kara’s eyes with a soft, peaceful expression, his voice gentle. “Everything’s all right. Julian will be good as new after a short rest.”

She glanced down to see Julian bound with brown leather cords, but when it sank into her adrenaline-addled mind he was unhurt and breathing peacefully, her tension ratcheted down a notch. She blinked up at Gavin, her lungs exhaling a deep, cleansing breath, even as a bead of sweat trailed down her forehead to sting her eye.

As she stared into Gavin’s serene hazel eyes, her racing blood slowed like molasses in her veins. “Julian’s okay?”

“Yes. I’ll take you to dress now and meet our ladies. That may answer many questions you have.”

“All right.” Kara knelt to smooth Julian’s black hair from his forehead. “You’re going to be fine, Jules. Rest and get better, baby.” She smiled and kissed his closed eyelids. “It’ll all be better tomorrow.”

Chapter Fifteen

Gavin clutched Kara tightly to him as his strong wings carried them closer to the town square. She couldn’t help feeling ridiculous in the filmy apricot dress he’d given her. It cinched under her breasts and touched the ground when she stood—and with its little puff sleeves, it looked like he’d plucked it off the set of a Jane Austen movie.

The farther they traveled from the palace, the more concerned she became for Julian. She wasn’t sure why her thoughts and feelings were so scattered lately. Yes, her predictable life had been blown to bits in the last twenty-four hours, but that still didn’t explain how she could want to rip Julian’s attackers apart in one instant and be calm enough to take up knitting the next.

“Kara,” Gavin said, startling her out of her thoughts. “We’re almost there.”

“Yeah, the music and the crowd gave it away.” She felt crabby and off kilter, like she was finally experiencing the sacred rite Abbey loved to tell her about—PMS.

“These women may not be what you’re used to. I imagine you may have more delicate sensibilities.”

Her,
delicate
? Kara snorted. “You must not know me very well.”

She doubted these women could come up with words she didn’t use on a regular basis. Sure, she hadn’t had many lovers, but Abbey’s stories made up for that twice over. She’d seen her best friend just a few hours before, but she was already missing her. It felt wrong to be on an island so far away from San Diego, so far from her responsibilities. The sooner she was home, the better.

“Stay close to me. Please.” Gavin touched down outside the square.

Kara got to her feet and shook out her dress. “Don’t be a drama king. I’ll be fine.”

He took her hand and walked her through the maze of tables. Food and drink were left all around, scattered and spilled without any of the earlier bustle of men cleaning or going about their work.

“Why are they all in the square?” She saw the press of bodies and heard the ribald shouts coming from the sea of undulating flesh. The only men not pressed into the group were the musicians, playing a strange mix of stringed instruments and native-sounding drums. “Is this some sort of after-dinner game?”

Gavin coughed and cleared his throat. “Yes, actually. You could call it exactly that.”

His fingers pressed tighter into hers as he breached the first wall of men, jostling them aside. As they turned and saw Gavin, they lowered their eyes and stepped out of his path. Kara felt raked with their heated gazes and couldn’t figure out why Gavin hadn’t chosen something that covered more flesh on her upper half.

The island air was thick in the crush of bodies. Kara smelled the mingled scents of sweat and sex and male arousal. She could feel the energy in the Demiáre around her, see the way their muscles tensed and flexed, sense their barely restrained desire.

She tipped her chin up to murmur in Gavin’s ear, “What’s going on?”

“A contest.” As he said it, they emerged at the edge of the inner ring of spectators. The men here were clearly aroused. Several of them stood completely naked, their shafts hard and ready. The sounds of the men were louder and more urgent here.

Kara’s eyes drifted to the center of the commotion, and the sight caused her to suck in a breath. A pale woman with long blond hair lay in the center of a brown wooly pelt. She had a man on either side of her, one massaging her breasts while another kissed her neck. Between her legs was a dark-skinned man with tightly curled hair, but Kara couldn’t make out his face—it was busy lapping at the woman’s core.

The woman grabbed his hair hard enough to tug his scalp, pulling him farther into the valley between her legs. “Yes,” she panted. “More. Use your mouth. Suck me.”

The man groaned as he pleasured her. He lifted his hand and slid his fingers into her channel. Suddenly, an armed guard reached down and plucked the man’s hand away from the woman.

“No hands. You agreed to the rules,” the guard said, binding the dark-skinned man’s hands behind him with a leather cord. The man lost his balance and had to prop himself sideways on his shoulder, but all the while, he feasted on the woman with a singular focus.