Dark Caress (The Fallen) (8 page)

Amber
couldn’t believe she had had unprotected sex with a Fallen. She mentally calculated in her head and breathed a deep sigh of relief when she realized she wasn’t fertile. She needed to get on some birth control. Today.

“Hello? Amber? Have you heard anything I’ve said?”

“What?” Amber asked.

“We have a crime scene to go to.
We need you here. Chris left without you.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you in a few
minutes.”

The drive back to headquarters was fast. She rushed into the building as the car pulled away, hoping that no one saw her exit it. She wasn’t that lucky. Pell was all over it as soon as she saw the car.

“We’re not going to talk about it,” said Amber.

“Oh, we sooo are. What the hell
were you doing in a vampire’s car?”

Amber froze.
“How did you know I was?”

“I recognize the car.
It’s Kane’s. I’ve seen him at the nightclub.”

Amber
rushed to her office. “We’re still not talking about it.”

Pell hovered in the doorway.
Amusement danced on her lips. “Did he bite you? Take a little sample?”

Amber knew her hair was covering her neck. She had to resist the urge to rush to a mirror to check.
“Will you please keep your voice down?”

“Maybe. I just want you to be safe.”

“ I’m ready to go,” Amber said.

They went through the bullpen and headed out the back to the parking lot toward Pell’s Land Rover.

They both got inside. “So, what’s he like?”

“
Will you just shut up and drive me to that crime scene?” The Rover was running, but Pell still wasn’t going anywhere. Her blonde head was focused on Amber’s neck. “I don’t see how my life is of entertainment value to you.”

“
We’re best friends. I tell you everything, so you have to tell me,” said Pell.

“I’m not telling you anything until we’re
on our way to the scene. So, put the car in gear and drive it.”

Amber knew that
Pell couldn’t help it. She was into the Fallen. She had discovered their existence by accident when she had arrested one of them three years ago.

Pell smiled. “He really must have gotten under your skin. Steam is billowing from your ears. Your hair is actually starting to frizz from the humidity.”

Amber resisted the urge to check her hair in the flip down mirror. Who cared if she had frizzy hair? She didn’t. “I’m not talking about this.”

“Okay, then tell me how
you two met,” Pell said.

Amber didn’t want to get into it now or later.
The car was finally moving.

Pell
toyed with her necklace. “Did you have sex with him?”

The question threw Amber off. “We did some things.”

“Wow. It must be serious.”

“I think it is.”

“How long have you known him?” Pell asked.

Not long enough
, she thought. “A little while now.”

They were several blocks away when Pell flung her curly blonde locks around. “Tell me everything. I want to know exactly what happened. Start at the beginning.”

“He’s kind and protective of me.”

“He sounds sweet.”

Amber glared. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

Pell laughed.
They drove into Charleston. It took Amber a moment to realize they were near the Fallen arena. Pell put the Rover into park next to all the black and whites. Yellow crime tape blocked off the alley.

Amber had her hand on the door. She didn’t want to do this
, but she had to ask. “Have you heard anything about the leader of the Fallen?”

Pell popped a mint into her mouth and offered the box to Amber. She shook out a mint.
“I’ve heard he’s really good in bed. That women are never disappointed.”

The thought of Pell and Kane made Amber’s hand tighten on the door handle. “Have you been with him?”

“With Kane? God no. He’s not my type. Hey, I don’t care if you’re getting cozy with a Fallen. To each their own, you know? I’m sure lots of humans do it with the Fallen. I know I have.”

The
y headed for the alley. There were days Amber wished she could tell Pell that she was an Elemental, but she knew it was better if no one knew. It was dangerous enough that Pell knew about the Fallen. Amber looked out over the crime scene. Could she have Kane and her job, too? She didn’t want to think about it now.

After a full ten hour shift at the station, Amber needed breathing room to process the situation with Kane. That had her slamming out the back door of her historic apartment building in search of water to play with. Strolling through The Battery helped her think and clear her head after a rough day. She went to the fountain and sat down on the edge, drawing her feet up. Amber let her fingers trail through the water flowing from the statue into the fountain. There were tourists around, but none nearby. They were all taking pictures and enjoying the cloudy sunset. Amber focused her energy down to the tips of her fingers. Her mind cleared, and her senses focused. Every so slowly the water changed to pebbles of ice.

Amber sighed, feeling refreshed. She needed the playtime.
She felt edgy when she didn’t release her pent-up energy. Twilight was teasing the horizon. Rough water slammed against the pier in the distance and the salty beachfront. A storm was on the horizon. She thought about Kane. It wouldn’t be long before he wanted to know more about her Elemental ability. She suspected that he already knew something of it.

She
had discovered her ability by accident when she was ten years old. At the time, she was watering her grandmother’s garden. Amber had dipped her fingers into the cool spray, and the water had frozen in an arc that stabbed into the ground. She had screamed loud enough to shatter the ice.

Her grandmother had seen the discov
ery through her kitchen window and run outside. It was then that her grandmother had explained that all Elementals were of Native American descent. Amber’s grandmother was Cherokee, and her father was English. She was also an Elemental, but the ability didn’t pass on consistently. Amber knew that her mother had had no abilities. Her mother. Amber had long ago let go of her parents. They were gone.

Her grandmother sa
id that Elementals were created from the tears of the gods. Her grandmother had also taught her how to hide what she was. A water Elemental.

When she was growing up, her gra
ndmother had told her stories about the Fallen and the war. About how the Fallen were evil and not to be trusted. Amber had grown up thinking that all those stories were true. Now that she knew Kane, she wasn’t so sure how accurate the stories had been.

Confusion
was burning her up inside. The leader of the Fallen was a powerful warrior who probably always got his way. As one of the Fallen, he was at one time an angel.

Amber
walked away from the fountain and stopped on the edge of the seawall. She closed her eyes, absorbing the quiet hum of tourists around her. She thought of her element of water. She craved the rain. She needed it to fall down upon her. Rain was rebirth for her powers. It was a dry, hot summer. Drier than it should’ve been. The clouds rolled, and the wind picked up. The tourists started to scatter for shelter as the weather pushed in. Amber stayed where she was at, loving the feel of the wind whip her hair around her face.

Suddenly, drops of rain began to fall from the sky. Amber grinned, laughing as the rain fell upon her face.
All the remaining tourists ran for cover, leaving Amber alone. She lifted her hands up as the storm broke apart the sky. Amber channeled her energy down to her hands. Ice formed on her palms, and pebbles of hail rained down from her hands.

“Amber.”

Amber snapped open her eyes. Kane stood a few feet away. He was gorgeous, standing in the rain. One of his broad shoulders leaned against a tree. His steady gaze demanded that she submit to his attention. Her breath caught when their eyes met. He was not afraid to meet her gaze. Amber felt her Elemental urges flow. She curbed them before they would make her golden eyes glow. She didn’t want to be seen as just a sexual creature to him. Amber joined him under the cover of the tree. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He reached into his pocket and came out with her bracelet. He held the chain carefully, protecting it from the rain. “This is yours. You left it. I didn’t want it ruined when I restrained you.”

Surprised, Amber stared at the
chain. She didn’t remember him taking it off. She closed the distance. “Thank you.”

“
Does it have special meaning for you?”

“A friend of mine gave it to me
when I graduated from the police academy.” Amber let her fingers brush the chain before she slipped it into the pocket of her cargo pants. “Were those angels being punished at the arena?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I never imagined that the myth was true.”

Kane lifted his fingers to the top button of his silk shirt. One by one, he undid the buttons until there was a gap. He trailed his fingers lower, pulling apart his shirt.
Under the soft glow of the street lights, Amber saw old scars cut down his chest. He’d been tortured.

He took off his shirt and turned to show her his back. Tattoos engraved in gold, written in an ancient language
, were branded within his skin. The muscle rippled, coming alive. Amber stepped closer, disbelief having a lot of time in her head.

“Why?”

“It was not my destiny.”

This
was
his destiny? The muscle and skin were scarred where wings had once been. The need to soothe his residual pain was an overwhelming urge. She could. Her Elemental side wanted to be of service to him. She wanted to ease his pain.

“Why did you scar?”

“I am not pure.”

Amber reached out, skimming her fingers lightly over the scar as she aligned her energy to his. She closed her eyes and saw the past through his eyes.

“Beg.”

Kane stared at his brethren. He wouldn’t beg for his life. He’d be cursed if he survived the transition. He might not survive at all. Mortality felt suddenly like a siren flicking him off. Kane spit the blood gathering in his mouth.

“I will not beg.”

He flexed out his wings defiantly, their white-gold color catching the ambient light. How many times had he done that same thing? Thousands? Close to millions? Would he miss them? Would he feel less?

Kneel.

His neck was pushed forward while his arms were yanked wide. Kane felt the burn of his wings being ripped from his shoulders. He gritted his teeth refusing to scream from the searing pain that tore through his flesh. Fire raked down his back, punishing and brutal. Blood mixed with the mud at his knees.

Fate picked a feather from his wings, and every one of his brethren did the same. His wings were flung to the ground. Kane watched in horror as the feathers burst into flames, turning to ash.

“You will lead them.”

The words were a crack of lightning through his skull. He thrashed at the chains that bound him. Thunder rolled across the hillside. He roared. The iron shackles were snapped open. He fell forward into the mud. Weakened, he was unable to catch himself. It didn’t matter. He was ready to die.

“You will not die immortal. You are Fallen.”

Kane cried out as the pain burst in his head with the words. Fallen. Vampire. No! He would rather die than become one of the bloodthirsty creatures. He got to his feet to challenge his former brethren, but they were gone. Fate stood across from him the way a proud father would a child getting to his feet for the first time.

“You will serve me well
, vampire.” Fate cocked a grin and dissipated before his eyes.

****

Kane turned and grabbed her fingers. They were shockingly warm to her cool wet hands. Heat traveled lightning fast down her arm, landing hotly between her thighs. Amber wanted him. The corners of his mouth lifted showing a hint of his fangs. She could tell that he knew it, too.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

She didn’t w
ant to feel seduced. Their eyes held tight. He was a true warrior. Amber felt her heart quicken. Her thighs tightened at the possibility of more playtime on her pussy. He inclined his head. The challenge made her Elemental juices flow. Her seductive side wanted to come out to play.

She felt as though time
was closing in on both of them. She wondered if he could feel it, too. Amber had felt it the moment she met Kane. Like Fate had sped up her life to this moment, and everything was about to change. Everything else before didn’t matter. That thought gave her pause.