Dark Desire, page 9
****
“So our poor little rabbit was snatched?” Amari purred into the phone. “Notify me as soon as you have her location.”
Disconnecting the call she slipped her cell phone back into her jacket pocket and stepped carefully around the debris of what was left of Temple’s office. Quite a feat since she wore high heeled pumps of red leather to match her pencil skirt and tailored jacket. Now she was glad she’d held off on killing the little bitch right off. The people of Atlantis would execute her for treason, while her little army concentrated on ridding her of those pain in her ass Enforcers, Zeke included. She looked around the room, impressed by the humans. At least they were efficient when it came to destroying things. Taking in the total destruction around her she frowned. Perhaps too efficient since the room looked like a hurricane had slammed through the place leaving only splinters in its wake.
Carefully picking her way to Temple’s overturned desk she bit off a curse, noticing the hidden compartment hanging by only one hinge. Empty. It seemed Temple found the time to escape with Oman’s Seal. Damn the wolf. He’d proved to be more resourceful than she gave him credit for.
“Elise, what are you doing here?” Edwin’s voice carried to her from the doorway.
Damn, the man was worse than a bloodhound. All right, so she slept with him and he turned out to be a surprisingly attentive lover, but that didn’t give him the right to shadow her every move. She would have killed him after their first time together … well maybe after the third or was it fourth orgasm he gave her. Unfortunately, she needed him breathing for the final piece of her plan.
Soon, she promised herself as she pasted a smile on her face and turned to face him. She took in his thin, wiry frame in black slacks and blue silk shirt, his thinning brown hair combed back away from his angular face. Not much to look at, but a dynamo in bed. Who’d have figured?
“Edwin, I thought it safe since no one was around and no sign of that horrid Temple Fox.” She gave a delicate shudder.
“You promised me you would stay safely away from this place. You said you would make the call from your car and let my men direct the attack,” he softly chided, His steps crunching on the debris littering the marble floor.
“And I did exactly that, I promise.” Amari wrapped her arm around his. “I just was curious, you know. How they live, what they value.”
“They are abominations, nothing more than animals that are a danger to the human race. They value nothing.” His tone was flat, but hate sparked in his gaze.
“Of course, dear. You are quite right, I’m being silly. Sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me. I’m sorry I worried you.” She soothed him, allowing just a touch of hesitancy in her voice to sound worried.
He responded as she expected, and his eyes softened a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. “I can understand your curiosity. You have lived a sheltered life, never seeing firsthand the violence they are capable of.”
“I am just happy I could help in some small way. I am so relieved I came to you with that anonymous tip I received. I knew if there was anyone who could chase away that horrible Mr. Fox it would be you.”
“And you did the right thing. Without your help he would still be fooling us, making money and blending in as if he was human, but I am glad you are going to your sister’s for a few days dear. I want you safely away from Mr. Fox should he find out you were the one who went to the papers. As his secretary he would easily put it together that it was you who turned him in.”
Amari flashed him her most dazzling smile. “As always, you are right.”
Chapter Fourteen
Lori narrowed her gaze on the insane kidnapper standing at the door to her makeshift prison. Dark shades covered his eyes, making it impossible to get any read on what he was thinking. Who the hell wore sunglasses in the middle of the night? It wasn’t like she didn’t already know about his freaky ass eyes.
Pale gold stubble showed on his strong jaw only adding to the bad boy vibe he sported. His short spiked hair seemed even messier, as if he continually ran his hands through it, and damn, she couldn’t help the small sting of envy from taking hold. She wanted to be the one to mess up his hair, preferably with her body wrapped around his like a second skin.
The thought startled her. Yeah, he had a raw sensuality any woman would have to be dead to miss, but she refused to be a victim of some Stockholm syndrome bullshit. Yeah, he may look like sex on a stick, but the man was certifiable!
“What now? Are you gonna tell me some story about little green men from Mars before you kill me?” she drawled out, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Why would I expend the energy? I think I made myself clear earlier. If I wanted you dead, you would be.”
“Wow, you really know how to woo a girl, don’t you? So what then, are you here to kill me or talk me to death?” She held her chin up in challenge, pushing through the fear making her heart beat like a jackhammer in her chest. No way would she make it easy for him. If he planned on her murder, she would go down fighting.
“I’m not going to kill you, Laris.” He spoke softly, the name a caress of syllables she responded to despite her best efforts. “I believe you.”
She laughed, a harsh note grating even to her ears. “Why the sudden flip?”
“I had a little chat with your friend Cici.” He stopped speaking for a moment at her soft gasp of surprise. “You have her to thank for your continued good health. Your stories matched. You still have to prove if you were an unwilling pawn though. You could have easily had your memories wiped so you couldn’t finger your accomplices.”
“Gee thanks, you’re all heart. And now I should be grateful because my story matched Cici’s?”
“Of course. I’m going to free you from the wall.”
“Whoopee!” She forced herself not to roll her eyes in disgust. “Are you letting me go?” she challenged with a perfectly arched brow.
“Not a fucking chance.”
“You know I will do everything I can to escape.” She groaned inwardly. Why the hell couldn’t she just keep her mouth shut? Now he would watch her like a hawk, lessening her chances of a quick getaway.
He moved so quickly she saw only a blur of motion before he was standing a breath away from her. The scent of bergamot and sandalwood tickled something in the back of her mind, something vaguely familiar.
“You can try, but I will find you, Laris, and I promise you won’t like it once I catch you.” He murmured the words so softly, his breath lightly caressing her neck, and a tingle of awareness brought her nipples to aching buds.
She held her breath as he reached and unlocked her wrists from the manacles, gently rubbing at the flesh, bruised from her struggles to get free. “What makes you think you could find me?”
His head lifted from his ministrations, and she once again cursed the shades he wore, preventing her from gauging his emotions. Curiosity won over common sense, and once again she couldn’t stop the words from coming out. “Why do you wear those shades? I already know what you’re hiding. Do you think they make you a badass or something?”
“Or something.” His lips lifted in a smile sending her pulse on a rollercoaster ride.
“So take them off.”
“I don’t think so. Look, let’s talk about you. What do you remember when you came to in the alley?”
So big, bad, and sexy didn’t like talking about himself. She could wait, eventually she would find out what he was hiding. Her eyes narrowed on him with a glare. “Have you ever heard of personal space?”
He flashed his teeth in a parody of a smile before he took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. Her eyes traveled over the black t-shirt stretched to its limit around his bulging biceps, almost purring with female appreciation. She shook herself out of it, but not before his grin widened, aware of her response to him.
Arrogant bastard.
One pale brow shot up over his shades. “I’m waiting.”
She shrugged one shoulder, keeping her voice level. The last thing she wanted was for him to know how much her memory loss bothered her, how often she struggled to remember anything about her past.
“Not much to tell really. I remember a feeling … no, that’s not quite right.” She frowned, struggling to catch the elusive memory. “It was more an impression of having something very bad happen. When I saw the blood covering me I freaked. If not for Cici coming upon me right then God knows what I would have done.”
“Yeah, something bad did happen,” he ground out, his jaw tight with tension.
“From what you say, I stabbed you,” she bit out, her head started to pound out a slow beat behind her eyes.
“In the heart,” he added.
Great, so she tried to kill him. Obviously she was not a nice person, so why would she want those memories back? “I don’t remember that, and you said I just nicked your heart,” she snapped. “And I don’t want to remember. Who I am now is all that’s important. Just so you know I don’t go around hurting people.”
“I’m not just people, darlin’. I’m your husband.”
“So you keep telling me. I. Don’t. Remember,” she snapped again. Her vision wavered as her knees trembled. It was all too much, and her head began to throb with such force she feared she would lose what little remained in her stomach. “I really need to sit down.”
With a curse Zeke led her to the bed, easing her down gently. Closing her eyes against the blinding pain she sagged into the bed, her head cradled by a soft pillow. “I need to rest, if you don’t mind. I promise I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Just go.”
****
Zeke studied the woman lying pale and still on the bed. And so heart wrenchingly beautiful the air seized in his lungs. His wife, who didn’t even remember attempting to kill him. Or did she? She could be playing him even now, waiting for him to drop his guard. He was a mass of conflicting emotions, knowing he should take Tegan’s advice and just take her back to Atlantis, but everything in him screamed no. What the hell was he going to do with her?
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.
