Burning Desire (21 page)

“He’s gorgeous. It’s no wonder he always has such beautiful women on his arms.”

Cassie snorted derisively. “Puh-leeze, Lily. If you look up the word
skank,
you’ll find a picture of those women beside it.”

Lily found herself chuckling, but it didn’t make her feel any better. Rhys was so far out of her league he wasn’t even a speck on the horizon.

“He’s charming. Always has been,” Cassie continued. “But I wouldn’t set my sights on him, if I were you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Lily said and walked back into the shop.

She set down the pail behind the counter and grasped her purse. When she straightened, there was a smile on her face. She had perfected it after years of learning to deftly hide the pain within her. “Good night.”

“I’m only trying to help.” Cassie stood in the doorway, blocking her exit. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” Lily answered honestly. She rubbed her wrist. “It’s just been a long day.”

Cassie nodded and moved to allow her to pass. She was walking past when Cassie sucked in a quick breath. Lily didn’t have to look to know that she had seen the scar on her back.

“My God, Lily. What happened?”

She turned away quickly so that her back was no longer visible to Cassie. “It was an accident a long time ago.”

“Of course. My apologies,” Cassie said hastily.

Lily removed her purse from her shoulder and fixed her shirt to hide the scar. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You bet.”

Lily’s legs felt as heavy as lead as she walked to her car. Would her lies never be finished? Would she never outrun her past?

She was so tired of reliving those years. If only she could have left the memories behind when she got away, but they were buried too deep in too much pain. It was why they revisited her every night in her dreams.

And it was one of a thousand reasons why she could only look at a man like Rhys and daydream of what could never—
would
never—be.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Shara stood in the middle of Balladyn’s chamber and waited for what was to come. He wanted her, but she wasn’t sure if he would wait until the Claiming to take her or not. Shara hoped he waited, because she wouldn’t be able to fake her enjoyment of him touching her. Not after she knew what true pleasure was in Kiril’s arms.

“Strip,” Balladyn demanded.

Shara raised a brow. “Why would I do that?”

“Because I want to see you.”

The longer he stared at her, the more anxiety filled her. “After the Claiming.”

“You wanted me, remember,” he said as he lounged on the bed leaning on one elbow. “You sought me out. I know it wasn’t for my charm. You wanted what my power could grant you—a chance to get away from your family.”

Shara shrugged. “That’s true. You’re the only Dark that wouldn’t worship every word my father spouted. You would make the rules.”

“I do make the rules, Shara. For everyone.”

“I thought that was Taraeth.”

Balladyn smiled slowly. “Have you seen Taraeth since the human lopped off his arm? He’s not the same. It won’t be long before I’m ruling.”

“Everyone knows you’ll take Taraeth’s place.”

“You have the cunning mind to be a perfect partner for me.” He sat up and looked her up and down. “Yesterday I thought it was what you wanted, but that was before I knew you were sent to seduce the Dragon King.”

Shara wisely kept silent. This made her all too aware of how little she knew of Balladyn. She had heard stories, but that was different than the man himself. For the first time, Shara wondered if she had gotten herself in too deep.

“Did you bed him?” Balladyn asked.

Shara held his gaze, refusing to talk.

Balladyn came off the bed in a blur of movement to put his face to hers. “Did you sully yourself as Rhi did with a Dragon King?” he yelled.

For a split second, Shara almost returned his yell with a “Yes!” But somehow she kept her wits about her. Balladyn might have been an impressive warrior for the Light, but his mind wasn’t fully intact now. Whatever the Dark did to him to turn him had taken part of his mind.

Shara tried to teleport out, only to hear Balladyn’s laughter as he walked slowly around her.

“Do you really think I would allow anyone other than myself to be able to appear or disappear in my chamber?” He shook his head, his eyes alight with malice. “You’re not going anywhere, Shara. I told you, you are mine.”

She tried to gather her magic, but nothing was happening. Shara turned and started running for the door when she was hit with a blast of magic from behind, slamming her into the door.

The wind was knocked out of her as she crumpled to the floor, leaving her powerless as Balladyn stood over her. With one twist of his hands, his magic divested her of her clothes.

Shara gasped in a breath and kicked out at him. If only she had managed to connect with his balls. She merely succeeded in angering him. She was beyond caring at that point. All she wanted was to get away, to get out of his chamber so she could teleport somewhere safe.

It became apparent a moment later how great Balladyn’s magic was as he had her in the middle of the room with her arms held above her, hanging so that her toes only skimmed the floor.

Was this how a human felt? So helpless and powerless? She was filled with fury … and terror. Her magic wasn’t anything to sneeze at, and yet she couldn’t bring forth a pinkie full of it thanks to Balladyn.

He kept just out of sight except for his black boots as he walked around her. The humiliation of standing naked in the middle of his chamber was only the beginning. Shara knew he would do so much more to her.

She wondered if Kiril had come to her house yet. The fact Balladyn was with her meant that he wasn’t looking for Kiril yet. And she had to wonder why. If it was so important to catch a Dragon King, why was he lingering?

“Why did you leave the pub?” Balladyn suddenly asked.

She swallowed and cut her eyes to the side when she glimpsed his boots. “As if I’d remain and get between two males fighting.”

Balladyn cackled. “That wasn’t a fight. That was my boot stomping on an ant.” There was a pause before he touched her head, causing her to jump. His hand then slid through her hair. “If you hate Farrell as much as he despises you, then you should’ve wanted to see him put in his place. But you didn’t watch it, which leads me to believe you used the time to go somewhere else. Your Dragon King, perhaps? What’s his name?”

“Why would I want to be near a Dragon King?” Shara retorted, hoping the heat she added to her words would be enough to convince Balladyn.

He continued his caress down her back, pausing to fondle first one butt cheek and then the other. “I wanted to show you off, and I wanted you to see how I hurt Farrell. For you. I almost believed your lies, just as I believed Rhi’s once.”

Shara’s heart pounded at his words. His meaning went deeper, but she wasn’t sure how deep when it came to Rhi.

Her attention was diverted as he continued to stroke her skin. She wanted to cover herself and scream at him to never touch her again, but she couldn’t. Not if she wanted to get out of this alive and be able to help Kiril. In the end, she knew her chances of living were on the slim side, but she would do it for Kiril.

No one had ever cared enough about her to risk such danger. Rhi had no idea how lucky she was, and Shara wished she could be the one to tell her.

“What’s this?” Balladyn’s voice had gone hard.

Shara’s lungs locked when she realized he was tracing the spot on her shoulder that Kiril had nipped. Kiril had marked her. She hadn’t comprehended it until then and it gave her hope. A man didn’t mark his lover on a whim.

If there was a chance that he had feelings for her Shara would fight with everything she had to return to him.

She had to think of a story fast, or everything she had done to stay alive would vanish in an instant. “It was the Dragon King’s response when I teased him to a state of desire and refused to finish him.”

“Why would you do that?” Balladyn asked skeptically.

Shara tried to shrug, biting the inside of her mouth to hide her wince when pain shot through her arm from hanging from invisible bonds. “My mission was to seduce him in order for my family to trap him.”

“Is that what you do? Seduce?”

“I was released from my prison in order to carry out this mission. Do you really think I go about seducing males?” she asked sardonically.

He squeezed her butt painfully. “I think it comes easily for you. You set out to seduce me.”

“Because I thought you might be worthy of me.”

He lifted a black and silver brow. “And you no longer believe that?”

“No.”

He smiled coolly. “It doesn’t really matter what you think. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll be begging me to be mine.”

Shara wondered if he would use magic to hurt her, or if he would force himself on her. So when the first lash fell across her bottom, she couldn’t hold back the scream, she was so unprepared for the pain. Shara bit the inside of her cheek as she sat through five more lashes before Balladyn finished. Her ass was on fire, the skin crackling from the whip.

“I didn’t break the skin this time,” he warned. “The whip was made special for me. The wounds remain for days. No Fae magic or the naturally quick healing of our bodies will ease you.”

As if that made it all better. Shara glared daggers at him. She was suddenly released. Her knees barely held her when she was back on her feet, and her arms felt as if millions of blades were piercing her when she was able to lower them and let the blood rush back to her fingers.

“Get dressed, Shara. You’re coming with me to hunt the Dragon King. Since you were sent to seduce him and he knows you, you’ll go in first so we can take him by surprise. You’ll complete your mission. Only for me instead of your family.”

She clenched her teeth when he tossed a dress on the bed and stood by the door waiting. Of course Balladyn would have a specially made whip, the bastard. Her skin was on fire, the stinging growing exponentially by the second.

Shara walked to the bed as carefully as she could while Balladyn watched her. The pain was excruciating, but she would survive it. She was glad to have something to cover her body from Balladyn’s gaze, even if it was the horrid black dress that barely concealed her breasts or her ass.

When she turned to him, Balladyn held out a pair of black heels that dangled from his fingers. Shara put them on, never taking her eyes from him. She hadn’t understood hatred and loathing until then. Now she realized she had only ever touched on the emotions.

Until Balladyn.

He gave a nod. “Perfect. Let’s get us a Dragon King.”

She walked out of the chamber beside him, animosity growing by leaps with each step they took.

*   *   *

Kiril came awake instantly when he caught Shara’s scent. But she wasn’t alone. Dark Fae were with her, though they hung back while she entered the house. He was hesitant to assume that she had betrayed him. Then again, she was a Dark.

Kiril wanted to unfurl his wings and spread them wide, to roar and take to the skies. Instead, he remained quietly laying in the cellar listening.

Shara’s steps took her all over the house searching from one room to the next. She spent extra time in his bedroom, and he wished he could see what she was doing.

Eventually she came down the stairs and walked to the front door that she threw wide. “He’s not here,” she shouted and turned to sit on the stairs.

It wasn’t long before the footsteps of thirty Dark entered his house. It was everything Kiril could do not to burst through the floor and tear them to pieces.

“Are you sure this is where he lives?”

“Yes, Balladyn,” Shara answered crossly.

Balladyn. Kiril should’ve known.

He scowled when Shara’s tone penetrated his fury. She was angry, her tone clipped. So she wasn’t here of her own volition.

“Ask Farrell’s men if you don’t believe me.” Shara’s voice was icy.

Kiril grinned. That was the spirit he knew, the passion he’d felt firsthand in his arms.

There were three seconds of silence before Balladyn told his men, “Search the house and the entire grounds. Leave nothing untouched. If the dragon is here, we’ll find him.”

When the footsteps of Balladyn’s men faded, Kiril wasn’t surprised when Balladyn remained behind. He wanted Shara. Kiril didn’t need to see the Dark to know that. He could hear it in Balladyn’s voice.

“Where is he, Shara?” Balladyn asked.

Kiril already hated Balladyn for taking Rhi, but now he wanted to personally do him harm for thinking Shara was his.

“Why would I know that?”

“You were sent to seduce him,” Balladyn stated. “I assume you did your job well.”

Shara made a sound at the back of her throat. “Do you think a Dragon King would reveal anything to anyone?”

“You’re lying.” The certainty in his voice spelled danger for Shara. “Perhaps you’ve already forgotten the feel of the whip.”

Kiril saw red. Balladyn had hurt her. The Dark’s fate was sealed. Kiril would be the one to personally kill him, and he would enjoy every minute of it.

“Cut me to pieces, and it still won’t change what I don’t know,” Shara said, breaking into his thoughts.

“Nor will the fact change that I’m going to capture the Dragon King.”

Shara thought she was going to gag on the words. Part of her had hoped Kiril was there so she could seek his help, but in the end she was ecstatic that he wasn’t. Where he was, however, was the question. His Mercedes sat in the drive and the keys were on the entryway table where he had tossed them when he’d arrived the previous night.

Had it really been twenty-four hours since she had left Balladyn and waited for Kiril at the manor? What she wouldn’t do to rewind time and have those hours with Kiril again. She would beg him to take her away and leave Ireland, the Dark, and her family far behind.

But she knew Kiril would never do that. He was an honorable man, a man who had come to rescue a friend. Only when he had Rhi would he return to Scotland.

“Did you hear me?”