We Shall Rise (2 page)

He leaned to the side, burying his face in her neck, breathing in her jasmine scent. Although he was well over six feet, with those heeled boots, Reysa was only a couple of inches shorter.

Breathing in deeply, Kaden responded, “You don’t smell repulsed.” He pulled back, but remained close, staring intently into Reysa’s darkening eyes. “You don’t look repulsed either. You just look hungry.”

Kaden knew he was treading dangerous ground here. The goal was to push Reysa far away from the darkness that surrounded him, yet his body screamed for her. What he wouldn’t give for another taste. Maybe one more chance to savor her unique flavor would free him from this dreadful need, but he feared once would never be enough. He would fight this temptation. He would never be a slave to lust again. He barely survived Helena and Reysa already duped him once, using his attraction to get him to comply with her plan. He would not fall victim to his passions again. He would stay in control.

“Get away from me,” Reysa warned in a calm but lethal voice that signaled Kaden was about to cross a line that would lead to severe pain and not the pleasurable kind.

Kaden wanted her to back down first. He wanted her to be the one to walk away, but Reysa never responded the way he planned. Goading her was the only option.

“Too intense for you, Rey? Can’t fight your longing for me? You’re not the first woman who had a hard time resisting and you won’t be the last. I just have that effect on the opposite sex. Don’t be too hard on yourself, babe. Would you like me to kiss you and make your ache go away?”
Please say yes
, Kaden hoped, even though his mind cursed him for asking the dangerous question.

“Don’t touch me, Kaden,” Reysa warned again.

A smart man might have taken a few steps back and put an end to this tension, but Kaden reveled in the challenge. He enjoyed pushing Reysa to her limits. He wanted to see this beauty explode. She was so close to an eruption. Too close for Kaden to back down now.

Kaden bent his head forward to brush his lips against hers, but before he could savor the taste, Reysa was gone. The next thing he felt was a heel in his ass, launching him through the wall of the warehouse. He dug himself out of the debris and crawled to safety before another portion of the wall collapsed on him. The motion caused a searing pain in his arm. His collarbone was dislocated, but no serious damage. He closed his eyes and quickly tugged his bone back into place as he spat out a mouthful of plaster. The pain was intense, but it would pass. He opened his eyes and saw his favorite pair of legs standing in front of him. He gradually looked up and his eyes met a long, silver sword pointing a little too close to his head.

Those blades were never far from their owner. They were a constant companion to Reysa that she used to protect herself, as well as her fellow Misfits. Her skill was undeniable.

“I’m not apologizing for this,” Reysa explained shifting the sword to point to Kaden’s neck. “I told you to back off, but you wouldn’t listen. You kept pushing and pushing until I had no choice but to push back. It’s not my fault that I pushed a little harder. Next time, when a girl says ‘no,’ you’ll hear her.”

Kaden should have been warier of the sword so close to his jugular, but seeing Reysa ready to go all warrior on him left him hard as a rock. His need even more desperate. How pathetic he felt wanting some so deeply and not having the will to resist. His neck was about to get severed by a goddess and all he could think about was tasting her. At least he wasn’t alone feeling this frustrating desire. She wanted him just as much despite her words to the contrary. Her body craved his.

Reysa turned to walk away, but stopped when she heard Kaden’s laughter.

“Oh I’ve been listening, darling,” Kaden taunted. “You’ve never said ‘no’. You can’t say ‘no’. Not your words, not your body, not your scent. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t say it either. That’s ok though as long as neither of us says ‘yes’.” Kaden walked over to Reysa, but kept a comfortable distance between them. “I could only hurt you Reysa. I could only ruin you. Don’t ever say ‘yes’ to me because I won’t have the strength to say ‘no’ and that will destroy us both.”

Kaden walked back to what was left of the warehouse while Reysa watched him disappear into the building. Her body begging her to follow and end this desperate, stifling need for him that consumed her every thought. She couldn’t focus when he was around leering at her with those intense, desire filled eyes wanting her as much as she wanted him. Her body ached for him and the release that only he could provide.

Reysa cursed herself for this weakness. She should be focusing on her missing friend. Somehow her usually muted hormones were roused thanks to that annoying vampire who she wanted to kill as much as she wanted to bed. Kaden was trouble in so many ways and yet that realization ignited her need even more.

“He’s right, Reysa.” Reysa spun around and saw Julian behind her. She had been so focused on Kaden that she hadn’t sense his younger brother’s presence. “Don’t be one of my brother’s victims. You deserve better.”

That unnerving protectiveness she felt for Kaden resurfaced. She started feeling that intense desire to defend him weeks ago and it had just grown stronger. Even though she and Kaden regularly traded insults, she could not stand to see anyone else mock him. “You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on our conversations. What goes on between me and your brother is none of your business.”

Unperturbed, Julian approached her and reached for her hand. “It is my business. I won’t let him hurt you. I couldn’t protect Helena from him, but I won’t let him destroy you. You may not want my help, but I’m going to give it to you regardless.” Reysa eyes narrowed. Her irritation evident on her face, but Julian would not relent. “Look Reysa, I don’t have many friends–or rather any friends–so that leaves you as my best friend. As such, it’s my duty to protect you. I will not let you become another misguided victim of my brother’s dangerous games. He is a selfish bastard. He won’t hesitate to rip your heart to shreds after he’s had his pleasure first.”

Reysa bristled at that comment. She could not understand how two brothers could be filled with so much hate for each other, although she suspected that Julian was the one drowning in hatred for Kaden. Kaden cared for Julian more than he would ever admit. She could see it in the way he watched out for his younger brother without him knowing.

“Julian, look at me. I’m not some wilting flower. I am fully capable of protecting myself. I appreciate your wish to rescue me, but I’m not that girl who needs a knight-in-shining-armor to come rescue her from a fire-breathing dragon. I don’t need to be saved. I’m more likely to kick someone’s ass, as I just did to your brother, than to have my ass kicked. I’ve been protecting myself since I was a child. I don’t need you or anyone else to come into my life and play hero. I’m not the damsel in distress. I’m my own savior.”

“You have a point,” Julian begrudgingly acknowledged eliciting a smile from Reysa, “but please understand that I don’t want to lose anyone else who matters to me. If I can help you stay safe, I have to try. I beg you not to fall for my brother’s charms. He will use your emotions against you. No good comes from loving Kaden. Once you are stuck in his web of destruction, there’s no escape. I’ve been trapped my whole miserable life. Don’t become a prisoner of his darkness.”

A frustrated Reysa released Julian’s hand and sat on the pile of debris. For the past few weeks, all any of her friends told her was to stay away from Kaden, Kaden is evil, Kaden will only hurt her. Even her internal buzzer rang repeatedly every time her body stirred at the sight of Kaden’s jade eyes, broad chest and devastating smile. She was tired of all the warnings. She knew there was more to him than the bad seed everyone else saw, but Kaden made it so hard to see the good in him. Some days, she struggled to remember that there was more to Kaden than the bad boy façade he presented. No matter how hard she tried, she could not force Kaden to step out from behind the shadows and welcome the light. It was ultimately his choice, but he always seemed to make the wrong ones.

“Jules, I wish I could help him, but I can’t if he won’t help himself. I just think it’s a waste. He has so much to offer, but he refuses to see it and I can’t make him see. If he chooses willful blindness, then I have to choose to let go. I can’t get caught up in his destructiveness. I have too many people who depend on me including a very impressionable daughter. I can’t devote everything to him at the expense of everything and everyone else. Not if he’s not willing to try. I just wish you could help him, Jules. You’re brothers. Blood brothers. I would give my life, my soul, my world for my sister, Lina. We do not share blood, but we share a bond of love no blood relation could exceed. I know he’s hurt you, but I also see how much he regrets it and wants to make amends with you if you would allow it.”

Julian’s flustered blue eyes focused on Reysa’s. “Amends? Are you serious? As soon as I let him in, he will just destroy the little life I have left. He’s spent a lifetime trying to ruin me. I’m not going to make it easy for him to strip me of everything. Kaden is a disease that spreads and continues to gnaw at you year after year until all you have left is the incurable disease and no desire to survive anymore. The disease won’t kill you, but it will make you want to die just to escape it. I’ve been infected for 164 years and I’m not sure how much longer I can survive my brother’s poison.”

His pained words horrified a shaken Reysa. Her eyes were fighting back tears she was too proud to let escape. “Don’t feel sorry for me Reysa. I’ve spent years pitying myself and I’ve hurt myself in the process. Just do me the favor of saving yourself from Kaden. Stay strong and fight whatever feelings you think you may have for him. Please don’t allow him to infect you with this disease. Don’t end up a miserable mess like me. Do that for me.”

It felt like a tug of war for her heart, and with every passing moment, it splintered further as she struggled to balance her new, but cherished friendship with Julian and her unstoppable yearning for Kaden. She would have to fight this unwelcomed need for Kaden for the sake of all she loved and herself. She leaned into Julian resting her head on his shoulder. “I wish things could have been different for you and him. My heart breaks for you two. I will try to do as you ask, but I’m asking you to do something for me as well. Forgive him. Not for him, but for you. That’s the only way your soul will find peace. Kaden is not the disease you’re trying to survive. It’s the bitterness and resentment you feel that’s hurting you. Trust me I know this. Those negative emotions eat away at you until there’s nothing left and you can’t even see happiness when it’s staring you right in the face. The only cure for this is forgiveness. You’ll never forget what he’s done nor do you have to pretend like the past never happened, but you can’t continue to allow those past memories to destroy your present and future. Kaden can’t hurt you Jules. Only you can hurt yourself.”

Reysa expected Julian to push her away, but he didn’t move. She continued to rest her head on his shoulder as they sat in silence. The only sounds were the crickets chirping and the other creatures of the night stirring.

After several minutes of quiet, Julian broke the silence, “I don’t know how to let go. Will you help me?”

Reysa sighed in relief. He was not angry as she feared he would react. His voice was so heartbreakingly saddened. He was like a lost child waiting to be found but no one ever stopped to help him. Reysa vowed to be the one to help him find his way. She gently touched Julian’s face. “We’ll help each other,” she promised as she kissed him on the cheek.

Reysa noticed the sweat beading on Julian’s forehead before she felt her own body begin to swelter. Although it was in the mid-nineties, vampires were not typically affected by the weather.

Suddenly Reysa was overwhelmed by a sudden intense stifling heat that made it difficult to breathe. She looked at Julian who didn’t seem to be the least surprised by the abrupt heat wave. Before she could ask, she felt him. She could feel the heat of his eyes on her. She slowly turned to face those jade eyes she normally loved to see, but now glimmered a violent shade as flames surrounded his pupils.

The temperature started to decrease again which seemed to annoy Kaden further. Those furious eyes were now focused on Julian who no longer seemed to be bothered by the heat. He was countering the intense heat with an arctic blast that sent chills down Reysa’s right side, while her left still sweltered from the inferno Kaden had unleashed.

Fire and ice—Kaden and Julian. Vampire brothers who were so opposite that it was hard to believe the same blood flowed through their veins.

They were two predators ready to attack waiting for the slightest provocation. Reysa had witnessed such a scene before. The fire and ice show nearly resulted in Helena’s escape, but fortunately, her incubus brother Liam killed her before she could hurt anyone else. Another nice set of siblings, Reysa thought. Was she the only one who actually liked her sibling?

Reysa snapped back into focus as she watched Kaden swirl a ball of fire which seemed to grow larger and larger with every spin of his hand. Julian responded in kind creating what looked like an ultra-sharp ice blade. The volcano was about to erupt in a blaze of fire and ice.

“Enough with the testosterone display!” Reysa demanded. Both brothers looked at her curiously. “Seriously guys, are you compensating for something? This is a childish game of my balls are bigger than yours. Both of you are trying to outdo the other with your powers. It’s silly and immature. Now that you’ve both showed off your special powers, can you stop now? You’re killing me here. Part of me needs to defrost and the other part is melting. Thank God vampires don’t catch human illnesses otherwise I would have pneumonia thanks to you clowns and your supersized egos.”