Crave the Night (38 page)

She wasn't skimming along the edge of what
she was any longer. Nicole had always seen herself as a human whose
senses were enhanced by her mixed heritage, but nothing more.
Everything had shifted tonight. She couldn't lie to herself any
longer, couldn't evade or qualify her abilities.

When she'd mated with Dak, she'd embraced
her demon side.

From the bedroom loft, Nicole could hear Dak
moving in the condo below. She hadn't been surprised to wake up
alone—she'd expected that. It hadn't shocked her either to discover
he'd blocked her from his thoughts. Even while they'd been making
love, he'd kept part of himself private.

What had taken her off guard was when
she'd walked into the bathroom and discovered his thoughtfulness.
Dak had put out a new toothbrush for her, a set of fresh towels
with a wrapped bar of soap on top of them, and he'd left her one of
his T-shirts to wear. The slogan on the front made her
smile—
Rogue demon slayer.
There was more than one way to interpret that.

The shirt was long enough to hit her at
mid-thigh, but Nicole tugged it down anyway before heading to the
stairs. With the open floor plan, she spotted Dak immediately and
she watched him as she descended. He was barefoot in faded, frayed
blue jeans and wearing a white T-shirt with some kind of logo on
the left chest. Damn, he was almost as gorgeous in clothes as he
was out of them.

When she reached the bottom, his eyes met
hers and she caught the sparks of red. Arousal, not anger. Nicole
relaxed.

"Did you think I'd be mad after having the
best sex of my life?" Dak crossed to a panel and pressed a button
to raise the blinds. "I washed your clothes. They're on the back of
the couch."

Washed, dried, and folded. "Wow, a demon who
does laundry. I'm impressed."

It was an attempt to hide how much his small
kindnesses meant to her, but Nicole doubted she'd blocked him
thoroughly enough to pull it off. Sharing emotions while they were
driving for orgasm was one thing, but outside of bed? Not so
cool.

"A demon taking care of his mate," Dak
corrected. "And I'd like to say you'll get used to the mental
connection, but I'm struggling with that myself."

"You can keep me out."

He grinned. "Good to know."

"What does that mean?"

Dak headed toward the kitchen. "I'll start
breakfast while you get dressed. There's a bathroom down here—" he
pointed to his left "—if you don't want to go back upstairs."

Nicole thought about pressing him, decided
it wasn't worth it, and scooped up her clothes. The bathroom was
down a short hallway, and while smaller than the one upstairs, was
every bit as elegant as the rest of the condo. She left the door
open. Why bother to close it when he'd seen everything already? And
touched her in those places. Kissed her there, too.

A flush of warmth shot through her as she
remembered the different ways they'd made love.

When she was dressed in her jeans and bra,
Nicole leaned forward and studied herself in the mirror. She didn't
look different, but everything had changed. With trembling fingers,
she traced the spot on her shoulder where Dak had bitten her. The
mark was healed, leaving it completely undetectable, but she swore
it emitted some kind of energy.

She'd bitten—claimed—him first. He hadn't
stopped her, but he hadn't reciprocated either. Not
immediately.

But then he'd told her he didn't want to be
mated.

Instead of putting on her tank top, Nicole
pulled the black demon slayer T-shirt over her head and tucked it
into her jeans. The smell of cooking food made her stomach growl,
but she didn't move. What now?

Oh, sure, there were things to do. Dak
needed to show her how to use her powers, and she had a vampire to
kill, but after that? Then what? For all the intimacies they'd
shared, she didn't know much about him. Why did he live in LA and
not the demon world? And what about
them?

He hadn't kissed her this morning and the
oversight seemed significant. Would they live together since they
were mated? Or would they just hook up when one of them wanted
sex?

"One thing at a time," Dak said.

She looked over to find him leaning in the
doorway, a shoulder propped against the jamb. "You
eavesdropped."

"You were thinking loudly enough that I
couldn't help but hear." His lips quirked up in that half smile she
found incredibly sexy. "The food is ready. You can quiz me while we
eat, but some of your questions—" he shook his head "—we'll have to
come up with the answers together."

Nicole walked to the door, but he didn't
move aside. She looked at him and waited. Simply gazing at him was
enough to for her heart to pick up speed and she had to clench her
hands to stop herself from reaching for him.

After an eternity, he brushed a finger from
her ear, down her jaw to her chin, and tipped her face up to his.
His mouth moved slowly over hers and lingered.

By the time he lifted his head, she clutched
his forearms, trying to steady herself. It didn't help. She wanted
him. Bad. Again.

"That's why I didn't kiss you earlier."
Dak's voice had gone raspy. "Not because our morning in bed meant
nothing. We can't afford to lose the rest of the day to pleasure
and we would. You know it as well as I do."

Her nod was reluctant, but he was right. "Is
it always like this between demon mates? Does it stay
this...urgent?"

He shrugged. "That's what they say." Dak
stepped away, put a hand at the small of her back, and steered her
down the hall.

Just that simple touch was enough to send
shivers through her. Control was gone when it came to him and
Nicole wanted it to return. "I'm not sure I like this."

"Tell me about it."

Dak pulled out a chair for her at the table.
By the time she settled herself comfortably, he was back with two
plates from the warming oven. Omelets stuffed with cheese and
mushrooms and bell peppers. Not what she'd expected.

And it reminded her that despite how well
she knew his body, she didn't know the man.

Looking up from his food, Dak said, "You
know me, just like I know you. Maybe you can't name the bands I
listen to and I don't know what kind of movies you like, but it
wasn't only our bodies we shared. I know who you are at your
core—the rest is details."

She paused with her fork in midair. He had a
point. While he'd held back part of himself, he hadn't been able to
conceal what kind of person he was. It wasn't only some nebulous,
psychic communication they'd shared either. They'd talked, too.
Nothing deep or profound, but he'd made her laugh and he'd made her
forget about vampires and wizards.

Maybe that was why she had such a hard time
not thinking about the future. She liked Dak. He could be tough
when he needed to be and gentle when it mattered. He preferred to
be in charge, but he'd also been able to step back and let her be
in control sometimes while they'd made love. And last night, he'd
protected her from the vampire, but at the same time, he didn't
want her as his mate.

His sigh brought her head up. "What?" she
demanded.

"I want you, trust me on that one."

"Only for sex."

Frustration. His. He wasn't sending, but it
slammed into her and she couldn't tune it out. What Dak had said
earlier about her thinking too loudly suddenly made more sense, but
it wasn't along the path they'd communicated over before they'd
mated.

Curious, Nicole followed the trail of
emotion. And then she "heard" him.

Why the hell is she
worrying about this? The odds of us both surviving another fight
with the vampire aren't good. She needs to stay focused on the
enemy
.

Nicole gaped at him. That's how he was
reading her so easily. They had a second link to each other, a line
that nobody else could use. He had lots of practice blocking the
main communication channel, probably because he'd been doing that
his entire life, but he couldn't close her out on
their
connection.

"You're right," she said. "We should focus
on the vampire first. I just— This morning with you— It was
earthshaking, and I think that's why I'm stuck in the relationship
loop."

"Damn. You figured it out." He sounded
resigned.

"Yes." She was aware of
exactly
what he was talking about
without having to ask. "You could have told me we had a private
line."

Dak snorted and she distinctly
got,
Yeah, right.

She grinned; she couldn't help it, but it
faded fast. "Do you really believe we'll be killed if we don't
defeat Mary Beth? So far we've been able to escape when things have
gone south."

Putting down his fork, he pushed the plate
away and leaned back. For a few seconds, he simply considered her.
Nicole couldn't read anything from him, not clearly. His emotions
were a chaotic snarl and she couldn't untangle them.

After a quick grimace, he said, "She would
have killed us last night if we hadn't had some luck on our
side."

"The luck being that she tried to neutralize
you from a distance and couldn't do it through the wards I have
around my apartment." Dak nodded, but Nicole sensed his agreement
before she saw the motion. "Is there some way to turn off the
amulet so she can't use it?"

"Only if I know the exact incantation, and
not only are there dozens of possibilities, wizards almost always
put their own stamp on the spells they use."

Dak sounded so grim, Nicole couldn't think
of a response. Instead, she moved his plate until it was in front
of him again. He'd only eaten half the omelet and he needed food to
keep his powers maximized. She froze for a second when she realized
she shouldn't know that, then gave a shrug and took a bite of her
eggs.

"After breakfast, I'll show you the basics
you need to use your talents." Dak reached for his orange juice. "I
hope you're a fast learner."

"I always have been. And thanks. I know it's
not easy for you to stand back and let me have Mary Beth, but I
appreciate it."

He went still. "I'm not teaching you these
things because I want you to make the kill. What I'd like is for
you to stand behind me as you did last night and let me handle
things."

The growl that escaped her was pure demon.
"The only reason I stayed in back of you was because I was worried
about you doing something stupid if I didn't. Once I can use my
powers, I'm in the fight." She leaned forward to glare into his
eyes. "I mean it, Dak; the vampire is mine."

If she thought the frustration she'd felt
from him earlier was intense, that was nothing compared to what hit
her now.

"The fight probably will be yours, whether I
like it or not." His voice was rough. "The amulet will weaken me,
and last night it left me dazed for around fifteen minutes. Until I
can come up with some way to evade the blast, there's nothing I can
do about it. But why the hell are you so stubborn? Why the fucking
crusade against Mary Beth?"

Nicole began to shake and she couldn't stop.
She put down her fork to hide how badly she was trembling. It
surprised her that Dak didn't know, but maybe all he got from her
on this subject was the same tangle of strong emotion she'd gotten
from him earlier. It didn't matter and he needed to understand.

"Because when I was ten years old, she came
into my house. She ripped open my stepfather's throat and she did
the same to my mom, but that wasn't enough for her. Next she
murdered my half brothers—they were four and two. Then she came
after me."

Dak's hand covered hers and his thumb rubbed
circles on her palm. It calmed her enough to finish.

"I swore that if I survived, I'd avenge my
family. I lived, and now it's time to settle the debt or die
trying."

Dak stopped in his tracks when he heard
Nicole growl. Her frustration had been roiling for a while now, but
she'd doggedly persisted in trying to harness her powers.

She glared at him, eyes sparking red, and
demanded, "Why the hell is this so hard?"

It wasn't, not really. Demon children could
access part of their magic from the time they were toddlers, but he
carefully shielded that thought from his mate. She wasn't pissed at
him. Yet. And he wanted to keep it that way. "Maybe you didn't have
a good teacher."

That earned him a reluctant smile and he
winked at her before closing the gap between them. Her hair was
loose and he smoothed an errant strand off her cheek before cupping
her chin in his palm. Damn, she was beautiful and not only in
appearance.

Nicole got to him in so many ways, he'd lost
count.

She had a sense of humor. That was important
and the fact she could smile at his weak joke while she was this
aggravated boded well.

He liked her courage. It could be
exasperating, like when she insisted she be the one to kill the
vampire, but Dak knew himself and he'd have little patience for
timidity. His job could be difficult, and he needed a mate up to
living with the danger he faced regularly.

Then there was her honor. He could believe
in her if she made a promise. Nicole thought that demons were
dishonest—and they frequently were with humans—but they were mostly
trustworthy when it came to dealings with their own people.

The stubbornness? That was a major
irritation, but she'd need that trait to deal with him. He could
admit it.

And he was glad Nicole was too focused on
her powers to be listening in on his thoughts. As a strong demon,
he was accustomed to blocking everyone unless he specifically
wanted to share something. With her, it took a lot more work and
was only successful about half the time. Maybe less. He'd liked it
better when she hadn't realized they had a separate connection.