Smoldering Hunger (27 page)

Darius made a round of the hospital as he waited for Sophie. She enticed him to a degree that he was still wrestling with. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he had tasted her, been inside her. Felt her pleasure.

And he ached for more.

It was a yearning that went deep inside him. One that he couldn’t shake no matter how hard he tried—and he had tried.

Darius passed an alley and glanced inside. He halted when he spotted the white-haired man talking to three other Fae—two of which were Dark.

He turned down the alley intending to take them all on. It didn’t matter that one of the Fae was Light. If he was talking to a Dark, then he was considered an enemy.

As one, all four looked at Darius. And then vanished without a word.

Darius stared at the spot where he’d seen them. The white-haired Fae had looked right at him. It wasn’t red eyes Darius saw, but white. Just like his hair.

He didn’t retreat, because he had a feeling the Fae weren’t gone. Darius sent a small push of his dragon magic toward the spot where the Fae had been. It encountered something, but then that too quickly disappeared.

“Who are you?” Darius demanded.

He stood there several minutes, waiting for them to show themselves, attack, or even give him an answer. But nothing happened.

Darius blew out a frustrated breath and returned to walking the perimeter of the hospital.

*   *   *

“That was close,” Fintan said from the rooftop.

Cael looked down at Darius and nodded.

Fintan gawked at him. “You wanted the Dragon King to see us?”

“I wanted to see his reaction,” Cael explained.

“Why?”

Cael scratched his chin. “I don’t know exactly.”

“That makes no sense if you doona want the Kings involved in our business.”

“I know this.” Cael turned his head to look in Fintan’s white eyes.

“What does Death say?”

“Nothing.”

Fintan made a sound at the back of his throat. “It’s a mistake. The Kings have their own war, as do we. We don’t need to be combining them.”

“Don’t we?” Cael’s head swung back to Darius. “We’ve a common enemy.”

“We know our enemy is Dark. That doesn’t mean it’s the same as the Kings’. Who, I might add, also have Ulrik as an enemy. One of their own.”

“You’re not telling me anything I’ve not told myself. I don’t know what the right move is, but I’ve a feeling that eventually the Kings will need us as much as we’re going to need them.”

Fintan crossed his arms over his chest. “Can they know of us?”

“Good question.”

“They’re not Fae, which means they don’t have to be killed if they learn who we are. But neither are they human.”

“What they are are the first inhabitants of this realm. It’s theirs. The mortals and the Fae are living here by the Kings’ permission.”

Fintan chuckled wryly. “Let’s hope they don’t kick us out.”

“Yes. Let’s hope.”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE

Sophie walked out the back entrance of the hospital. She saw no sign of Darius as she carefully picked her way through the snow.

Then out of the shadows near the spot where they’d first made love, moved a figure. He stepped into the light of the streetlamp, a smile on his face.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hello, yourself.”

Sophie hurried to him. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. She closed her eyes, enjoying his warmth and his arms.

“How was your day?” she asked, then laughed.

He leaned back. “What’s so funny?”

“It seems odd to be asking you such a mundane question when you are anything but.”

Darius gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Neither are you, doc.” He took her medical bag from her and laced his free hand with hers. “As for my day, it was quiet.”

“That’s good. Right?”

He nodded as he glanced at her before returning his gaze to observing everything around them.

Sophie had to smile. Her life used to be simple. Boring to most, but she’d been content. Or at least she’d thought she was content.

Then Darius strode into her life with the force of a whisper and altered
everything
.

“What about your day?” Darius asked.

“The usual.” Then she halted as she remembered Ulrik’s visit. She quickly recounted the event, including what she’d told Claire.

Darius’s face was grim. “Claire can no’ know of us, Sophie.”

“I know.”

“We’ve survived because few know our secret.”

“Why did you tell me? You could’ve lied.”

He touched her face, his fingers warm despite the weather. “I wanted you to know who I was. The real me.”

“I won’t until I see the form you were born to.”

His lips softened into a smile. “If I shift, it’s because I’m protecting you. Let’s hope it doesna come to that.”

“Ulrik isn’t going to give up, is he?”

“Nay.”

“You can’t be with me every second of every day.”

He glanced at the ground. “There’s a place I could take you to keep you safe.”

She knew it was Dreagan without having to ask. As much as she wanted to be with him, she didn’t want to give up her career. It never entered her mind that she might have to choose one over the other.

“Aye,” he said with a nod. “I figured you’d wish to remain.”

“I love what I do. I have commitments here.”

He placed a finger over her lips. “You doona need to explain. I ken what you do is important. I’d no’ want to take that away from you. If you doona want to go with me, then I’m going to have to be with you at all times.”

Sophie was going to enjoy that. The question was, would Darius? He wanted to fight Ulrik. He couldn’t do that when he was babysitting her.

“You could still use me as bait.”

“Out of the question,” Darius said with finality. “Come. We need to get you out of this weather.”

Sophie followed, her mind now wondering where things were going to go with her and Darius once Ulrik was dealt with. Would Darius leave? Would he ask her to go with him?

Would she say yes?

Sophie glanced at him as he walked beside her, his tall form throwing off vibes that had people giving them a wide berth.

She didn’t want him to leave. Ever. But she couldn’t leave her job either.

But she knew one thing for certain—she was in love with Darius.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR

Rhi stood in the store gazing at all the bottles of nail polish from her favorite brand—OPI. There were many she hadn’t gotten while she’d been in her funk.

That wasn’t entirely true. She’d bought every shade of black, silver, and white there was. And really, it was surprising how many ways they could concoct a black to make it look different.

Since she was wearing color now, she needed to begin adding in all the bottles she didn’t have. The problem was she couldn’t decide on anything.

She changed three times because she kept putting on black. If she was going to make everyone think she was the old Rhi again, then she needed to dress the part. Except, she wasn’t the old Rhi—or the new Rhi that had been around lately. She didn’t know who she was.

Rhi chose a shimmering golden red OPI nail polish titled Go with the Lava Flow. Some days she felt like wearing black, and then she surprised herself by wearing color like she did when she woke at Dreagan.

She knew she wanted so much more than she’d had for the past few millennia. She also felt like something big was coming. Almost as if she were in limbo, waiting.

That was the crux of the problem since Rhi hated waiting for anything.

Next, she moved to the blues and selected another color from the Hawaii collection. The lagoon blue name was This Color Is Making Waves.

She was about to turn away when the bright green caught her eye. Just as she went to grab it, she spotted a purple that reminded her of the reefs she swam near her island. Rhi picked up the bottle and read the title—Lost My Bikini in Molokini—and laughed.

Rhi made her way to the counter and paid for the three bottles. It felt very … human. Of course, she used magic to get the money, but no one needed to know that.

Then she teleported to her salon where her nail tech, Jesse, waited. Rhi closed her eyes and sat back in the chair as Jesse began her manicure. Rhi wanted to relax, but her mind kept going round and round between Balladyn, Ulrik, Con, and her confrontation with Darius.

She hadn’t had the guts to ask Darius if her lover had been talked into severing their relationship. And did it really matter? If her lover allowed himself to be talked into anything then he’d never really loved her.

But their love had been deep and powerful.

Why had he let that go so easily? Why hadn’t he fought for her, for them?

Rhi felt her watcher’s eyes on her and began to relax. He hadn’t harmed her—and there had been many opportunities. She also didn’t feel as though he were there for any malicious intent.

It had annoyed her at first that he was always there, and she’d even been frightened of it. Now, she felt almost safe. No, that was the wrong word. She felt … protected. As if he were a sentry guarding her.

She opened her eyes and looked to her left where he stood. Rhi imagined him leaning against the wall. He’d seen her as very few had. Did he think her flighty? Vain? Stubborn? Arrogant?

All too soon her nails were done. Rhi moved to the massaging chair where Jesse put her feet in hot water to soak them. Her watcher remained on her left while her pedicure began.

Her mind drifted to Balladyn. She could have a relationship with him. He waited for her. Rhi had been alone for so long that she craved a man’s hand on her back, his adoring gaze on her face, and his lips on hers.

She wanted to run her hands through his hair and wrap her arms around his neck as she lifted her face for his kiss. She wanted to caress his body and face. She wanted to be filled with such desire that she couldn’t form a coherent thought.

She wanted to make love all night and feel pleasure so profound that it wiped away the past with one swipe.

Balladyn loved her. She saw it in his red eyes each time he looked at her. Rhi felt something for him, that she couldn’t deny.

If only she could stop loving her Dragon King. First, she needed to stop calling him “hers.” He hadn’t been hers in … ages.

He’d moved on. For one, he was a male. For another, he was a Dragon King. Women flocked to them in droves, and he had needs.

It made her gut clench when she thought of him with someone else. She’d been chaste all this time, waiting for the possibility that he might want her again.

How utterly stupid. Why had she thought he might realize his mistake? His words—delivered via Darius—had been plain enough.

“
Our time together was good, but it’s over. It’s time we go our separate ways
.”

By the stars! She was a complete nincompoop to think he might still love her. How many times lately had she seen him at Dreagan? How many times had he looked right through her? How many times had he pretended she wasn’t even there?

He’d faked whatever love was between them. Rhi had known it for centuries, but she hadn’t wanted to face it. No longer would she blindly hold onto something that was only a passing affair for him.

She’d never felt such love for another before him, but she had held a torch for him long enough. It was time to close the lid on that part of her past.

Rhi took a deep breath, and felt a huge weight lift off her chest. She was worth so much more than pining over a King who’d used her. She deserved happiness and the love of a man who would cherish her.

There was an itch on her cheek. She scratched it, only to realize it was a tear slowly making its way down her face. Rhi sniffed. That was the last time she would cry over the lost love of her King.

When her toes were done, Rhi paid Jesse and exited the salon to walk down the street. The next block over she teleported to her island. Rhi set her three new polishes on the shelf with the others, careful to put them with their colors. Then she strolled out of the hut and into the sun.

She held out her hands to look at her nails in the sun and smiled as she saw Jesse had chosen the lagoon blue polish. It had just enough shimmer to catch the sun. The thin gold line curving along her nail tips added a touch of color. With a snap of her fingers, Rhi’s clothes were gone, replaced with a gold metallic bikini.

Was it her imagination, or was her watcher smiling?

She turned to look over her right shoulder to where she knew he stood. There was no use talking to him. He wouldn’t answer her. Besides, there was no need for words between them.

Rhi sank onto the sand and lay back, letting the rays of the sun heat her skin. She stared at the vivid blue of the sky and wondered how it would feel to be with someone again, to not be lonely.

Because she was lonely. Oh, she told everyone this was the way she wanted it, but it was one big fat moose dick of a lie.

Each time she went to Dreagan and saw one of the Kings with his mate sharing smiles, holding hands, kissing, or just laughing, it was like a knife to her heart.

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift to anywhere but thoughts of her King and her broken heart. Her eyes snapped open when she felt something brush her hand.

Rhi turned her head to look at her right hand. There was an indent in the sand as if someone sat beside her and rested his hand alongside hers.

Her watcher. He was so close she felt his warmth. Rhi smiled and closed her eyes once more.

*   *   *

Daire wanted to touch her. He could sense Rhi’s lonesomeness. She did a valiant job of hiding it from everyone. Except when she was alone. Then she let the mask fall away. She allowed him to see the pain and heartache she suffered daily.

Yet something occurred at the salon when she was getting her nails done. There was a kind of peace that descended over Rhi, almost as if she’d come to some kind of decision. There was still sorrow in her silver eyes, but it had lessened. Even on her island, her smiles came easier today. He was curious about what she’d decided. Was it about Balladyn?

Daire had an uneasy feeling about the Dark Fae. Balladyn cared about Rhi, that much was obvious. But what would his association with Rhi do to her?