Into the Darkness (10 page)

take you on. Courage is only one of them.”

Chessa snorted. “That almost sounds like a compliment.”

“Just telling the truth.” He tilted his head toward the floor.

“Our baby girl’s a lot like you. She’s got courage in spades.

She’s not even fully cooked, and she tried to take me.”

Chessa didn’t want to hear about any virtues Natalie Lambert might possess. She was ready to hate the woman’s guts.

“Sounds like a fool to me,” she muttered.

When his smile widened, she realized she’d given him

exactly what he wanted. She bit back a curse at his soft

laughter.

“I think it’s a very good thing you’re not the one charged

with her safety.”

“I know my duty,” she bit out.

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His smile dimmed, and his gaze bored into hers. “Yes, but

you have yet to learn your place.”

Pure, intoxicating fury blasted through her. “And where

might that be?”

The white flash of his wicked smile had her wishing she’d

bit her tongue rather than rise to his bait. “Princess, if I have

to tell you, you’re not ready for the answer.”

His laser wit always had a way of flaying her self-control.

Just once, she wished her temper wouldn’t flare so readily in

response to his jibes.

She’d give anything to be on the sticking end of the skewer.

“Shut the fuck up, Nic.”

chapter

6

s soon as the van pulled to a halt, the back

Adoors swung open. Familiar faces appeared in

the opening, but their gazes clung to the sleeping

Natalie. They reached eager hands inside to pull at

her feet, sliding her down the metal floor.

While they lifted the woman out and carried her

away, Chessa braced herself not to feel. However,

the cloying humid air with its accompanying scents

of honeysuckle and roses was already stifling.

The view beyond the metal doors appeared

no different than she remembered. The shining

crushed shell and pebble driveway was perfectly

edged with soft green grass and short shrubs. The

tall oaks draped in Spanish moss shaded the pristine porches of the house, sentinels against the

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faint light of dawn glittering on dew-capped leaves and lush

red blooms.

She hated returning to
Ardeal
. Resentment stiffened her

shoulders, and a hollow ache settled in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to run, to get as far away from here as she

could—back to New Orleans, another world away.

She especially didn’t want to spend time with the residents

from “beyond the forest.”

Perhaps Natalie would draw everyone’s attention away, and

they’d leave her the hell alone.

“Let’s get this one inside,” Nicolas murmured. “Our girl

might wake up in need of a snack.”

Chessa lifted her chin and did her best to ignore his needling reminder of whose hunger Rene would serve.

Nicolas squatted next to Rene and lifted his shoulders from

the ground, while another set of eager hands reached inside

to grab his feet. Together, they carried the sleeping man away,

leaving Chessa alone in the back of the van.

She peeled the Velcro tapes from the top of her heavy Kevlar vest and shrugged out of the garment, feeling only marginally lighter.

“Welcome home,
damu,
” a soft, throaty voice called.

Chessa drew a slow, deep breath and turned on her seat to

face the dark-haired woman with the infinite, soulful eyes.

“Hello,
grand-mère
.”

“Come,” she said extending her hand. “We must get inside

before the light becomes unbearable.”

Chessa held out her hand and let Inanna help her to the

ground. When the other woman’s grasp tightened, she al-into the darkness

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lowed her to continue to hold her hand as they mounted the

steps of the veranda.

“The house is buzzing over the new arrivals. Such a miracle. Thank you for bringing her to us.”

“You’re welcome,” Chessa said, although her throat closed

so tight, she felt choked.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m not staying long.”

Inanna’s smile—secretive and sly—raised Chessa’s hackles.

“You’re here, now. Perhaps you will find a reason to linger.”

The heavy mahogany doors stood open, and Chessa let

herself be swept inside. Nothing had changed here, either.

Heavy, dark old-world furniture stood like sentries against

cream-colored walls. High ceilings with lazy, lapping fans

looked cool and elegant. Through open doorways off the

marble-tiled foyer, the rooms looked inviting—large sofas,

scrunched pillows in jewel-toned velvets and damask and

plush pale carpeting. Everything bespoke money and privilege, but the message was subtly powerful.

This was Inanna’s home—dark and light—as secretive as

her existence, yet warmly inviting to her family—a very large

and incestuous family.

“I have a job to get back to,” Chessa demurred, feeling like

a scruffy urchin next to the ancient one’s easy elegance.

“But your partner remains here—”

“He made his bed.”

Inanna squeezed her hand and led her through the dark

marble-tiled foyer and up the curved iron staircase. “He will

need a friend.”

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“He’s got Natalie. She’ll fill his life from now on.”

“Since he’s your partner, my guess is he’s every bit as headstrong as you. He may fight his destiny.”

“Then he’ll be destroyed,” Chessa said, trying not to

let emotion block her throat, again. He wasn’t her concern

anymore.

Inanna paused on the upper landing outside the specially

prepared room. “Nicolas is alone with them, now. Do you

trust him to make them comfortable?” she asked, suppressed

laughter sparkling in her black eyes.

Chessa gritted her teeth and tugged away her hand. “I’ll

just make sure he doesn’t take a bite of his own.”

“You do that. Join me for dinner tonight?”

Chessa’s eyebrows drew together, and she didn’t bother

hiding her impatience this time. “I won’t be here,” she said,

and turned on her heel. She shoved open the door to find

Nicolas slowly unwinding the sheet from around Natalie’s

lush little body.

A low murmur of admiration escaped his curved lips.

“Lovely—cream, tipped with berries. Delicious, don’t you

think? A veritable feast for our policeman.”

“Just get her on the fucking bed,” Chessa growled.

“Such an appropriate descriptor.”

“Asshole,” she muttered.

His soft laughter skittered down her spine, raising goose

bumps. “A favorite destination—how’d you guess?”

Chessa clamped her lips shut—not willing to give the man

any more ammunition. Instead, she knelt beside Rene, unsnapped his shoulder holster, and quickly stripped it away.

Next, she undid the button at the top of his jeans and slid

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81

his zipper down, ignoring the slight tremor in her hand. Her

fingers slipped between the waistband and his warm skin and

pushed the pants down his hips and over his buttocks. If she

lingered a moment too long, it wasn’t because she enjoyed the

hewn muscles of his ass and flanks.

When his flaccid cock was revealed, she swallowed hard

against a moan of yearning. She raised her glance to Nicolas

and found him staring back.

His cheeks were taut, his mouth a thin, tight line. “He’s

not for you.”

“Never thought he was,” she said, swallowing to moisten

her dry mouth. “Besides, none of this is your business.”

Nicolas fluffed a pillow at the head of the bed and raised

Natalie’s shoulders to slip it beneath her. Then he smoothed

back the sleeping woman’s hair from her face. His head canted

and he combed his fingers through the ends. The blonde curls

clung to his fingertips. He let them drop onto her breasts and

arranged them to frame her pink nipples.

Chessa couldn’t help noticing how attractive the other

woman was. She was a perfect counterpoint to Rene’s raw

masculinity. Her stomach sank as she compared Natalie’s

body to her own lean frame.

“He’ll enjoy all this softness,” Nicolas taunted, drawing

one long finger from her breast over the curves of her ribs and

lower, finally twirling his fingers in the pale curls between her

legs.

“Stop it.”

Nicolas’s eyebrows rose, but he drew back his hand. “Let

me help you get him onto the bed.”

Before she could utter a protest, Nicolas lifted Rene’s naked

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body and deposited him beside Natalie. He made quick work

of latching the manacles to his hands and feet.

Then he stood back and studied the pair lying side by side

on the mattress. “Something isn’t quite right.” He knelt on

the mattress and tugged Natalie closer to Rene, aligning her

body so that her front draped his side. “What do you think?

Better?”

“Quit being an ass. Let’s get out of here.”

“No, no. We want them too horny to think when first they

awaken.” He lifted Natalie’s slackened hand and laid it over

Rene’s cock.

Chessa’s back grew rigid. “I said that’s enough.”

“Too coarse, do you think?” He pushed Natalie’s hand up

Rene’s belly to his chest.

Now, Natalie appeared to be caressing the solid muscle

above his heart. He drew her knee over Rene’s thigh and

climbed back off the bed.

“What do you think, Chessa?” he asked, a devilish smile

stretching his lips.

She narrowed her gaze at him. “I still think you’re an asshole. Now, get out of here.” She waited for him to precede

her to the door, and then paused to look over her shoulder

one last time.

Rene and Natalie looked like lovers. When they awoke that

evening, they would start the journey toward being so much

more than that together. She walked back to the bed and drew

the cover at the foot of the mattress over their bodies, then

left without looking back.

Chessa closed the door behind her and gasped when she

was pressed back against the closed door.

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83

Nicolas leaned over her, so close the musky scent of his

arousal was impossible to miss.

For once, she felt an answering curl of desire deep inside

her belly. It scared the shit out of her. “What do you think

you’re doing?” she said, gritting out the words.

“Nothing you won’t enjoy. I promise.”

Chessa was honest enough with herself to admit the

thought of a mutual suckfest did have its appeal, but not with

this man. He was too damn sure of himself. Too damn smug

for a
Revenant
.

She shoved at his chest, but his heels dug into the carpet. As

his head lowered toward hers a low groan escaped her throat.

His mouth was softer than she’d expected. His lips suctioned hers in drugging little circles that soon had her following his slow, sinful movements.

When his tongue licked the seam between her lips, she

opened, eager to feel him stroking inside.

He tasted like toasted pecans and sweet maple syrup—

well, not really, but he did taste like a rich dessert—
the kind

that inspired toothaches.

Chessa broke the kiss, keeping her eyes closed as she fought

against her body’s response to his lean, hard-muscled frame

and the thick cock riding her through her trousers.

If she’d been looking for any old fuck . . .

“Let me go,” she ground out.

Nicolas’s hands stilled where they’d been massaging her ass.

His lips glided along her cheek, then nipped below her jaw.

The sharp edge of his fangs scraped over the pulse pounding

at the side of her neck. “You sure,
petite
? I could be gentle . . .

or I could be an animal. Whatever your desire.”

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The bastard hadn’t a clue what she needed. His seduction

was just another game. “Get your hands off me, or I’ll break

every bone in your body.”

His soft laughter gusted against her hair, but he drew

back, his body no longer plastered to her front, yet still close

enough to heat the space between them.

She shoved him back a little further and wiped the back of

her hand across her mouth, scowling at him the whole time.

“I detest you.”

“But Little Princess, you want my cock, don’t you?” His

gaze dropped down to the one place their bodies still met. He

dipped his hips, lifting her momentarily off her feet, suspended

between the wall and his hard cock. “So much anger inside you.

You need release. Someone to tweak your valves.”

Even with the rock hard pressure grinding into her pussy,

she couldn’t help the snort of laughter that caught her by

surprise. “Tweak my valves?” She couldn’t help it, laughter

bubbled up inside.

“Not romantic, hmmm?” he said, a wry smile quirking one

side of his lovely, symmetrical lips. How had she never noticed how perfect they were? His hands rose to flatten against

the wall on either side of her shoulders.

Surrounded by him, she felt the crotch of her panties

dampen, and her heart sped up. “I’m not looking for a lover,