Dark Desire (14 page)

With assassins
after her and gods knew who else, the best place for her would be in Atlantis,
or even at HQ under lock and key. At least until he could unravel the mystery
of her missing time.
And at a safe distance from her so he
could get his head on straight.
His gut churned as dread sank like a
heavy stone in his chest, for he sensed what she held locked away in her mind
was only the tip of the iceberg. He needed his father to call off his assassins
while he figured out what the hell to do.

She seemed so
small, fragile, and vulnerable. Her dark brows dipped low forming a small
crease he ached to ease. His hands reached for her with no conscious thought.
He let his fingers stroke her temples in soothing circles. Her lush lips parted
on a sigh as he soothed her pain. Guilt flared in his gut as his gaze strayed
to her bruised wrists. He never before raised a hand toward a woman with
violence in mind, and the thought of what he did to her, what he almost did,
made him sick.

“That feels so
good.” Her moan slipped over his skin sending more heat to his groin.

“How often do
you get these headaches?” he asked, pushing out a rough breath.

“Every time I
try to remember I get one, but they’ve been getting worse lately.”

 
Because the memories were
pushing closer to the surface.
Whatever
block
someone placed in her mind was weakening. He’d bet money on it.
Which meant someone had to be keeping tabs on her and would soon
know she had been taken.

Or she was a
very accomplished actress, a voice whispered in his mind.

Her soft,
hesitant words brought him out of his musings. “You know, it’s not that I can’t
understand your actions, I get it, really … but I’m not one of those dark
breeds I hear about on the news.”

His gaze snagged
onto a pair of soft dove grey eyes, and everything inside him stilled. “Trust
me,
Laris
,
you’re a
Mer
through and through. The fire, your
determination … you’re a lot like your brother,
Ja’mel
.”

Her eyes widened
in shock. “I have a brother?”

“Yes, a very hot-headed,
stubborn, opinionated one at that. He’s been looking for you, too.” He smiled
as her chin tilted at a stubborn angle.
So adorable.

The only thought
in his head was if her taste was still as good as he remembered. He leaned down
and covered those delectable lips without conscious thought. The contact sent a
lash through his body.
Heated his blood.
Need
short-circuited his brain obliterating all the logical reasons why going any
further was a bad idea.
Want her
.

The attraction,
still potent, consumed him leaving only the need to taste her everywhere.
Nothing else mattered but her as the world around him faded and only she
remained. His instinct demanded he take her until she screamed his name with
her release. The tip of his tongue traced lightly along the seam of her lips
seeking entrance. On a sigh, she opened for him giving him the access he
craved. He delved deep, her addictive taste bursting on his tongue.
More
.
He wanted to
drown in her, bury himself so deep within her that they
merged
as one.

With a groan, he
fought for some sanity against his overpowering need heating his blood to
boiling. With effort, her tore himself away from her. “You need to rest.” He
willed his throbbing erection down as it pressed painfully against the zipper
of his jeans.

He moved to push
up off the bed, too close to temptation to trust himself. He needed to regroup.
Kissing her was a bad idea. It only stirred his appetite for much more.
Laris’s
hand on his arm stopped him, and desire shadowed
her eyes, her lips swollen and moist from his kisses looking far too appealing
for his own good. “Wait, you’re just going to walk out that door and leave me
here?”

“I won’t chain
you again,
Laris
, but I want you to stay with me
while we figure out what happened. Will you do that?”

Her lids
lowered, shuttering the sharp desire darkening her eyes from him. “Yes, I’ll stay,
After all I did say I would, and I
do
keep my word, but…” She bit her bottom lip.

“What is it,
Laris
? You can tell me,” he urged, lifting her chin up with
a finger and thumb to face him. “What do you want?”

Those lids
raised, hunger stark and consuming naked in her gaze.
“You.”

It came on a
puff of air, barely a sound, yet he heard her loud and clear. He body hardened
more as a groan tore from his throat.
“
Laris
.”

“No.” Her voice
was louder and tinged with certainty. “I’m crazy, right? You kidnapped me,
threatened to kill me and even chained me in manacles to a freaking wall.
Still, I want this, you. It makes no sense. Hell, I don’t even know your name.”

“Zeke.”

“Okay, Zeke.”
She seemed to test his name on her tongue. “There is something … I’m really going
crazy here, but there is something pulling at me to you. And I know you feel
it, too. Let’s not over-think this right now. I just want to feel something
good for a change. Make me feel good.”

Chapter Fifteen

Make me feel good.

Fucking hell,
how could he find the strength to walk away? The answer was easy. He couldn’t.
His body hardened as he visualized being buried between those soft delectable
thighs again, thrusting deep.
No
. He
needed to get a grip fast or he would find himself going down that one way road
leading him to nothing but pain where this female was concerned.

He let his hand
brush over the scar on his chest, hoping the memory of how he got it would
bring him back to sanity. His gaze snapped to hers, the look of desire
smoldering in those storm tossed depths. Her hardened nipples pushing through
the thin material of her shirt begged for his mouth on them, tasting, licking.

She can’t be trusted.

He
knew
this, and still he couldn’t seem to
dredge up enough willpower to get up and leave. He wanted her with such
overwhelming intensity his entire focus centered once again only on her. Alarm
bells rang in his mind, but he ignored them, too. Nothing mattered … only her.
Have to have her.

He pulled her
roughly, into his arms instead. Later there would be time to curse his
stupidity. He captured her mouth in a punishing kiss, filled with hunger. Logic
and sanity disintegrated as she returned his kiss with all the fury of her own
passions. Desire spiked in his blood sending a trail of fire through him burning
away the layers of humanity and morality to the base primal animal, which
crouched deep within his psyche. The beast surged up within him with only one
thought in mind. Claiming what was his.

He trailed a
path down her neck licking and tasting, while his hands lifted her crop top off
with a single upward movement of his arm and groaned at the sight of her bare
breasts, firm and full, peaked, with dark taut nipples.
Beautiful
and perfect.
Her nails dug into his shoulders mixing pain with pleasure
as she ground her core against his length.

His head dipped
to capture one nipple and sucked it deep into his mouth, lightly grazing over
the hard peak with his teeth. She groaned softly, her body arching into his to
give him better access as her arms wound around his neck, fingers clutching his
head tightly to her.

His hands cupped
her firm ass, pulling her closer to his raging erection, his body hard and
burning with need. He rode a razor’s edge of control, almost beyond any chance
of blunting the edge of his desire. He moved his attention to her other breast,
biting lightly on her hard nipple. She gave a half groan, half gasp as she
grabbed his t-shirt and tugged it up with frantic urgency. Releasing her
breast, he lifted his head allowing her to pull his shirt off, nearly taking
his shades with it. He released her, making a grab for them before they flew
off his face.

“No, I have to
see you. Please.” Her hands cupped his face, voice a soft entreaty, cracking
something deep within him apart.

Déjà vu
hit him hard as he remembered in vivid
detail the first time she had seen him, her words and reaction etched forever
on his heart at her calm acceptance. But this was not the same woman he’d
married. She held no memories of him.

“
Lari
, I … shit.” Words died. How could he tell her how she
twisted him up inside? No one ever got to him like her.
My weakness
.

She frowned, a
shock of pain flashing through her gaze. “I’ve heard that name before. If only
I could hold on to it long enough … damn.” She swore, releasing him to rub her
temples. “Whenever I try to remember it feels like someone is cracking my skull
in two with an axe.”

He brushed her
fingers away, massaging her temples with soothing strokes, her relief palpable
as her body relaxed against his. He couldn’t help the punch of arousal
spreading low at the contact of her bare breasts against his chest. Her nipples
poking into his sensitive flesh were impossible to ignore.

“Better?”

“Umm,
much.
Thanks.”

She slowly
stood, her fingers toying with the button at the waistline of her jeans. And he
couldn’t help but wonder if she wore any panties under the heavy material.

 
Popping the button she played with the zipper,
and he nearly snarled with impatience. “You’re killing me, woman.”

Her laugh was
low and husky and nearly drove him out of his mind as it stroked over him. “If
you want me, take the damn shades off.”

****

Lori held her
breath, waiting for what he would do. A small sliver of anticipation shivered
through her bloodstream. She needed to see his eyes when she had him deep
inside her. To see she got to him. Besides, she reasoned, having sex with a guy
with shades on just felt … wrong. And with Zeke, she wanted it right. No way
would she examine the why of it, content to leave it alone for now.

Just when she
thought he would refuse her, he slowly removed his shades. His lids were
closed, showing long golden lashes fanning over the sharp jut of his
cheekbones. Time slowed as those lids rose, revealing those stunning eyes. The
jolt of familiarity struck her like a bolt of electricity, humming through her
just below her skin. Bright glittering green with golden swirls filled the
entire eye, but, just like in the alley, it was the black slits of the pupils
that reminded her of looking at a great cat.
Or a dragon.

“So
beautiful.”
Her voice shook as she stared, mesmerized by his gaze.

“Yeah, well not
what I would call it.” He moved to put the shades back in place, his tone sharp
and distant.

“No, don’t you
dare.” She snatched the shades from his hands, tossing them over her shoulder
not caring where they landed. His gaze turned icy clearly not too happy with
her actions, but she couldn’t care less. She could finally
see
him. There would be no hiding. Not this time. “You have the
most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. Yeah, they are unusual, but so what? When
you discover the world is full of vampires,
Lycans
,
and such, it’s really small potatoes in the big scheme of things.”

Amusement
sparked in his gaze as his lips turned up in a rueful smile. “Well, when put
like that I guess I can see your point.”

She returned his
smile as she slowly shimmied out of her jeans,
revealing she wore nothing underneath. Her smile widened as his
breath caught on a low rumbling groan of pure male appreciation. His beautiful
eyes glittered reminding her of emeralds shot through with gold, a devastating
combination when he sat before her, his spiked pale hair tousled around a
sinfully beautiful face. A tattoo she never noticed before swirled up his arm
to sweep across his large broad shoulder. The black ink looked like
hieroglyphics to her and familiar somehow. She’d seen something like it before.
No, she shied away from looked deeper, not wanting to waste a moment of this
time with pain. Right now was for pleasure.

Her gaze slowly
roamed down smooth pale skin of his chest stretched over the corded strength of
roped muscle. Her mouth watered at the sight of all the male power on display,
holding her complete attention. The man was sex personified and for this one
moment all hers.

His abs rippled
with each breath he took, and a pale gold trail of hair covered his flat
stomach to dip below the waist band of his jeans. She licked her lips in
anticipation, noticing the thick bulge pressing against his zipper. She needed
him naked right now. Her fingers itched to trace each hard line of his body,
her mouth following each dip and hollow.

He seemed to
read her mind as he stood, quickly toeing his boots off and shoving off his
jeans, his fluid movements giving her an excellent few of how his muscles
bunched and flexed. By the time he stood naked before her she was panting, and
her body thrummed with expectation, liquid heat pooling between her thighs
signaling she was more than ready for him. From the size of his engorged cock
jutting out thick, a bead of moisture forming on the flared tip, he felt the
same way. Damn, the sight made her knees rubbery from the sweet ache pulsing at
her sex.