Behind the Veil: 3 (Temptation Unveiled) (3 page)

“I see.” The disappointment in Kyle’s voice shattered her
far more than her morbid inner dialogue. “Was Nyc right then?”

“Nyc?” Sheridan suddenly remembered Raj’s earlier comment. “As
in the pain-in-the-ass, silver-scarred Nyctimus? I thought you said Finn
brought you here.”

Kyle glanced down guiltily to study his boots. “I told you
how irritating my new partner was, right? So maybe sometimes, just to have some
normal conversation, I hang out with Damon’s brother. And maybe on occasion I
call him instead of Detective Mopes-A-Lot for backup. At least he enjoys the
job. Damn good at it too.”

“Are you insane?” She forgot her own worries and tightened
her grip on the staff so hard she wondered if it would crack. “He is
not
normal, Kyle. And he’s not Damon’s brother. Not really. Don’t be fooled just
because he’s latched on to the others, and now you, like some homeless alien
puppy. He’s the bastard son of the supreme bastard who
cursed
Damon and
made him what he is. I thought I could at least take comfort in the fact that
you weren’t drawn into all of this—”

She searched for a word to describe the chaos that was now
her life, but found nothing. And Kyle was definitely reacting badly to the
harsh environment. They needed to get back to the lodge as soon as possible. “Fine.
Fine
. I don’t want to fight with you anymore. We’ll argue about it
later, when you aren’t turning blue.” She paused. “What exactly was Nyc right
about?”

He reached for her hand and gripped it tight. Was he bracing
her or ensuring she didn’t run? “That you’ve changed so much that Áine’s
prophecy no longer applies to you. That you may have more training, but you don’t
have the heart to fight.” His chuckle this time was harsh and humorless. “You’re
lucky he didn’t zap me into another dimension when I reacted to
those
words.
And I’m lucky that steel jaw of his didn’t shatter every bone in my fist.”

Sheridan winced. Nyc could see it too then. The weakness she’d
been fighting to no avail. The darkness she could sense creeping in. She
exhaled slowly. “Maybe he
is
right.”

Kyle’s grip became a comforting caress. “Sheridan, babe, you
know I love you?” He waited for her to nod before he continued. “I’m only human
and I’m not a part of this big important prophecy of yours. So you can trust I
wouldn’t be up here, getting high on the atmosphere, if I didn’t believe in
you. With that said, it’s time for you to get your head out of your ass.”

Kyle held up his hand to silence her when she opened her
mouth to protest. Although the front entrance of the lodge was in view, he stopped
to rest again, his breathing labored.

“I may pass out when I’m done talking, so listen up.” His
voice struggled to break through the winter winds that surrounded them. “Your
cousin was kidnapped and tortured too. Your mother has been burned out of her
home and business, her security gone and her friends killed to smoke all of you
out. And now everyone, Sher, every single man, woman and child could find
themselves in the same situations, or worse, if you don’t start remembering
that you aren’t in this alone.”

“What the hell does everyone think I’m doing up here—playing
count the scales on the dragon?” Sheridan’s struggle against him was
halfhearted at best. “Do you think I
want
to be away from my family? That
I asked for any of this?”

“You’re the one who has been shutting them out. The one who
hasn’t answered our calls.” He turned her toward him and pressed his forehead
hard against hers. “You may never feel like sharing what happened to you with
me. With Meru. You may never be able to forget what that bastard did. But there
are a few things I know about you that you may have forgotten.”

Was that hope fluttering in her chest? “What things?”

Kyle lifted their entwined hands to wipe the tears she hadn’t
been aware of from her cheek with his thumb. “First of all, you cannot abide a
bully. And you’d never let one win. Particularly one who has already gotten the
jump on you.”

It was true. And if the
Dark
was full of anything, it
was bullies. Paranormal bullies who could turn into mist or were covered in lizard
skin. She shuddered in disgust. “Hence the
Rocky
montage, smart-ass.”

He smiled. “Other than sass, the one character trait that truly
defines you? The one thing that I know will get you through this next part and
out the other side alive?” He paused, waiting until he knew she was paying
attention. “It’s a truth that should scare the bejeezus out of all of them.”

“What truth?”

“Nobody messes with Sheridan Kelly’s family and lives to
tell the tale.”

She’d
really
missed him.

“She’s far stronger and faster than I could have predicted.
Her senses have heightened considerably, but the changes have been so subtle, I
don’t believe she’s consciously aware of it. Today, despite her distraction,
she even sensed the change in the atmosphere when Finn dropped Kyle so
unceremoniously in the snow.”

Finn listened in silence as Raj reassured Damon and Meru,
who’d arrived at the lodge with him. It was exactly what they needed to hear,
though it was obvious to him that Raj was holding something back.

He couldn’t force himself to confront the man, because he
was mesmerized with the view out the front window. Two figures slogged through
the snow, the man leaning heavily on the taller woman as he appeared to grow
increasingly fatigued. He’d warned Kyle about the altitude change…just before
he dropped him off.

Humans were such a trial, he sighed, particularly that one.
The only reason he’d agreed to transport the Texan was for her. Sheridan Kelly.

Her hair was growing back. The long waist-length braid of
rich dark honey that had always whipped around her as if it were a living thing
was gone. She’d hacked it off as soon as their last battle was over and she’d
known her family was safe. An act of rebellion or a reaction to the kidnapping,
Finn wasn’t sure. Perhaps both.

Whatever the case, it was growing almost defiantly now, just
past her shoulders in waves thicker and more alluring than before. He watched
as it whipped across her face, clinging to her strong cheekbones and full lips.
He could see her clearly, though her sparkling hazel eyes were hidden from him,
as were her thoughts. The only mind he could never touch, no matter how
desperately he wanted to.

Her wounds were concealed as well, but he knew they were
there. They would be scars by now, some of them deeper than others. He
remembered everything he’d seen the night he found her. Every mark, every
bloody wound the Horde inflicted. And once this task was done? He would spend
the remainder of his service to the
Fianna
hunting the Fae who had
sought out the
Dark
. The ones who had followed Eonis. And he would
extinguish them from existence.

Not that she would care either way. Only a thin barrier of
glass and a few yards stood between them, but it seemed an infinite chasm. Had
it only been a few months? Never in all his days had time passed so slowly, each
moment a painful reminder of time lost and things he could never take back.

She’d made it clear before she came here that she wanted
nothing to do with any of the
Fianna
. More specifically, she wanted
nothing to do with him. For that reason, he’d tried to stay away, but reminders
of her were everywhere. Especially at home, where Sheridan’s cousin now lived
with her Lycan mate.

They were closer now, and both of them were covered in the
fresh snowfall that had started as he arrived. Outwardly she was exactly what
Raj said she was. Stronger. More capable. She was practically carrying Kyle and
she wasn’t even out of breath. But Finn knew better. The New Year had come and
gone, and life in the last three and a half months had moved forward…but for
Sheridan Kelly, time might as well have been standing still.

She hadn’t healed. Not in the way she’d needed to. He’d
given in to the temptation to see her a dozen times or more, usually when slept.
A restless sleep filled with her soft cries of distress and nightmares that
refused to subside.

If things had been different she might have embraced this
life as her family had. If he hadn’t been so distracted during their last
mission, if he’d done his job, Eonis would never have touched her.

If only he’d gotten to her in time.

A familiar voice beside him softly interrupted his vigil. “Thank
you for bringing Kyle.”

Finn grimaced before turning to face Meru Tanner.
Meru Arkadios
,
he corrected himself silently. His gaze was instantly drawn downward. Such a
tiny thing to be carrying such a heavy burden. In more ways than one, he
thought, unable to remain somber in the face of her burgeoning belly.

A child born of a cursed Lycan and this special woman would
be joining them in a few short months, with Áine’s powerful blood running
through its veins. There had been many bets laid on whether the babe would have
its father’s abilities or its mother’s. On whether the Lycan curse could be
passed through the blood as an ordinary shifter’s was.

It worried Damon, but not his mate. As long as it was
healthy, she’d say with a knowing, maternal smile. Arkadios was lucky to have
her. Despite her more reckless ideas.

Thinking about one of them, the lump of irritating Texan, he
frowned again and crossed his arms in attempted apathy. “I brought him, but I’ve
yet to understand why. What will her ex-partner be able to do that you can’t?
He holds no special abilities other than his willingness to point a gun, flash
a badge and complain. What secret weapon does he possess that makes you think
he’ll be able to bring her back with us?”

“Don’t get all pompous on me, Finn. You’d be surprised what
he can do. Kyle is exactly what she needs. He’s the only one she’s ever
listened to. The only one who could ever snap her out of her funks.” Meru tugged
on her curls and bit her lip, a sign of her agitation. “She needs to hear him
now. Hear us. I wish we could give her more time, I know she deserves it. But the
prophecy says—”

Finn cut her off, stepping forward almost angrily. “I know
Áine’s prophecy,
banflaith
. We all know it by heart. To save us all,
your cousin has to trust a child of Danu. A Fae.
Me
,” he snarled. “It’s
impossible now, don’t you see that? After Eonis got his hands on her? The world
could collapse around us before she would let me touch her again. Before she
would speak to me, let alone trust me.”

“Back away from my woman, Finn.” The deep, authoritative
growl alerted Finn to Damon’s presence beside them. His leader’s dark, swirling
eyes were all the evidence he needed to know the Lycan inside the man did not
approve of the disrespect he’d shown his mate.

Finn stepped back, frustrated by his own behavior. Meru didn’t
deserve his anger. She was a miracle. A respected seer, a
banflaith,
honored by his people as the high priestess Áine’s descendent and holder of the
book that the Druid had long ago given her life to create. The book that held
the key to protecting them all and stopping the
Dark
.

Damon came up behind Meru, the six-foot-five,
broad-shouldered giant wrapping his thick arms around her. He curved his hands
gently and protectively over her rounded stomach before he spoke again. “We
have all been afraid to push her, old friend. Trust me, I understand your
hesitation. I feel everything Meru feels. The pain of her absence has affected
everyone. Even Myrddin, for Lily’s sake, has allowed her this space. And as Raj
says, she’s used it well. But this is not just about her. Not just about you.
Meru is right. We’re fast running out of options.”

He knew it. After Hawk and Val’s experience, it became clear
that there was a pattern, a specific timeline embedded in the prophecy after
the stanzas appeared in the Book of Veils. Meru’s part had been played near
Lughnasadh
, the Vikings’ on
Samhain
. Particular days when the
shielding between the world of Fae, Archon and Human were weakened. When the
veil thinned and their parallel paths touched. Now the season of
Imbolg
was fast approaching, and the prophecy that was there to protect them, to
ensure they stopped what would come to pass if the Lord of Air returned to this
world, had been shared. Time was of the essence.

Was he a bastard because a part of him wanted that damn
prophecy to disappear? He wished he could protect her from it, but too many lives
were at stake—humans who were blissfully ignorant of the fate that could await
them.

He’d left his home more than an age ago to guard humanity.
To be
Fianna
. He’d taken an oath to do whatever was necessary for the
fragile beings Danu so loved. What had started out as his penance had become
his calling. His passion.

From the moment he met her, his feelings for Sheridan had
begun to overshadow that. And why? Because of a one-sided infatuation that had
never
been reciprocated? Because he longed for a return of the days when she mocked
and teased him relentlessly with her lack of respect for his abilities,
constant skepticism of his manhood and her infatuation with his fellow
Fianna
?
Particularly the Vikings?

Yes.

A female voice, smooth as honey yet spiked with venom, spoke
as if in response to his desire. “Raj, you told me this lodge was fully stocked
at all times. Have you run low on your supply of Fairy-Be-Gone? Those things
are a damn nuisance once you let them in.”

* * * * *

Her throat closed as soon as she walked through the door.
The den, if you could call the cavernous room a den, was packed with people she’d
been avoiding for the last few months, making it seem unbearably small.

She wanted to run or fight or—Kyle staggered and slumped
against her, and she grabbed him with both arms. “Somebody help me out here. He’s
freezing.”

She knew it was Damon who took Kyle’s weight, and knew he
would be fine now that he was in the Lycan’s care. She wasn’t so sure about
herself. She couldn’t say hello. Couldn’t face Meru. Not after everything Kyle
just said. Not yet. “I need a hot shower.”

Taking the coward’s way out, she ran up the stairs before
anyone could say a word. But not before she saw Finn in the doorway. One
glimpse had been enough to push everything else out of her mind. Enough to make
her shudder, not with cold, but with need. Her body was heating swiftly, and in
this company, with all their “special” abilities and heightened senses, she
knew distance was her only friend.

He looked different. His rich mahogany hair wasn’t as short
as it had been the last time she’d seen him. And had she seen a hint of
stubble? She hadn’t realized his kind grew facial hair. Along with the rest of
his rumpled appearance, it made him look as though he’d just rolled out of bed,
which wasn’t doing her overactive imagination any favors. He’d always been so
put together. Flawless. It was one of the reasons harassing him had been her
favorite pastime.

Now he looked rough. Approachable. Dangerous.

At least his eyes were the same, the violet hue all Fae,
good and bad, possessed. There had always been something unique about his, a
light inside them from the first time they met that had driven her crazy and made
her ache with desire. Made her nervous, as if he could see through all her
barriers—as if he could see inside her.

After Eonis, she hadn’t been sure if she’d ever be able to
look into Finn’s eyes again. Eonis had been Fae until he turned to the
Dark
.
Became one of the Horde. His orange hair had been wild, his purple eyes tinged
with black…the oily mist that always surrounded him making his visible skin
drip and melt like wax in the fire. But still Fae.

She shuddered. No. They had started off as the same species,
but there was never any danger of her mistaking the two men. That was just an
excuse to keep her distance. She was still attracted to Finn, still fantasized
about him and some of the ways she knew Fae could bring pleasure. Even after
Eonis used similar abilities to bring her so much pain, the idea of what Finn
could do still tempted her.

What sick, twisted truth did that reveal about her?

You are afraid. Afraid I’ll be in your head when he is
close. Afraid the tracker will sniff me out. Yet even now your desires are
dark. Do you wish it were he who’d bound you instead of me?

Yes
.
Her thoughts hadn’t been innocent, before Eonis got
in her head, but even he couldn’t stop what she felt for Finn.

She just used to be better at hiding it.

At least he couldn’t read her. She knew it was one of the
first things that attracted his attention—that mystery. It had made it easy for
her to deny her desires since they’d met. Now she wasn’t sure it would be
enough.

She locked the door to her room, slipping swiftly out of her
layers of clothing as she headed toward the shower. She didn’t notice the
luxurious bed or the tapestry that usually drew her eye—the one with the
strange, ancient images that appeared to reveal something new each day, as if
it were reacting to her emotions. As if it were alive.

All she could think about now was Finn. All she could feel
was the scrape of cloth on her skin. The sensation made her bite her lip. The
cold could explain her hardened nipples, but not the heat blazing inside her.
The fire that burned and made her thighs tremble. A fire that could only be
quenched by him.

A part of her hated him for coming here. For being close
enough to touch, but impossible to give in to. He was the one man alive who’d
seen her at her most vulnerable. Who knew exactly how she’d been victimized.
The man she lusted after, in spite of everything.

Why did he affect her this way? They’d only kissed once, but
he’d aggravated her beyond the point of reason a hundred times. All the
aggravation did was make her long to take her frustrations out on him in a way
that would have them both screaming in release. But he was one of
them
.
He was here because of the prophecy. He hadn’t come for her.

Hell, for all she knew, he’d supernaturally dazzled his way
into a dozen beds since she’d last seen him. She’d heard stories about Finn’s
legendary prowess from Viking Val, and someone with his reputation wouldn’t
deal well with the celibacy experiment she’d been forced to endure in this
high-altitude hideaway.

It had been months. She may be suffering but she was sure he
hadn’t. There was no reason for him to. Finn had moved on, she was sure, more
bored than challenged by her continued resistance.