Eternal Breath of Darkness (11 page)

~
Eight ~

SEVERAL FEET BENEATH the earth, Paul woke up confused and
disoriented by the thick, heavy mud that covered his body. He seldom went to
ground. And he’d never once, during his three hundred years of life, rested in
the mud. He was anxious to get out of it but instinctively knew the sun hadn’t
fully set. Normally he could easily withstand the sun, but his strength was
significantly diminished. From the top of his head to the tips of his toes,
worms and maggots crawled all over his body. His stomached burned with hunger.
His nutrient-deprived muscles ached. He shifted to the left, attempting to find
a more comfortable position, but rather than give him relief the movement
caused every muscle in his body to spasm.

He was in terrible shape.
Haden had nearly killed him, forcing him to choose such an unsavory resting
place. He knew Haden wouldn’t stop at nearly killing him. He was a particularly
hostile demon. Common sense told Paul to flee the area and rejoin the safety of
his clan, but anger and pride ate away his ability to entertain any rational
thought for any period of time. He wanted Caylee, and he would have her.

The ground rumbled
violently. Paul felt Haden reaching for him, searching for his hiding place. He
smiled. Demons were unstoppable, hulking brutes, perfectly designed to be
victorious in any battle, but they were fools. They allowed themselves to fall
so deeply in love they acted like idiots. They devoted their lives to love,
willing to sacrifice their immortal souls to protect the ones they loved. Haden
tried to hide it, but Paul knew he was afraid for the woman. Choosing a
fragile, mortal woman for a mate was a terrible mistake. Keeping her mortal was
an even worse mistake. Paul would use her to destroy Haden.

* * *

Watching the torrential downpour head across the meadow toward
them, Haden held Caylee close. “You’re safe. He’s nearby, but he’s beneath
ground, injured and weak.”

“How do you know?”

“I plan to kill him before
he’s ever able to get near you again,” he whispered over her head.

“No.” She tilted her head
back to look up at him. “How do you know he’s here and he’s injured and weak?
How do you know so much about the vampire?”

“It’s my duty to know. It’s
what I do.”

Frowning, chewing on her
bottom lip, she stared up at him. She looked so totally confused. Of course she
didn’t understand. Two nights ago she’d never known vampires existed.

“You know I’m not human.
You’ve accepted it, but you don’t know what I am. I possess powers and
abilities that you find difficult to comprehend. My kind was created with these
powers and abilities to enable us to destroy vampires and other creatures of
darkness that prey on humans.”

“So,” she shivered, “there
are more of your kind?”

“Yes,” Haden said. “There
are many of us. You met Zack and Joseph last night. I was hiding my presence to
draw the vampires closer. Zack didn’t know I was with you. He was rushing to
your aid. He would’ve saved you if I hadn’t reached you in time.”

“How did he know I was
there?”

“Paul’s clan has been
killing people in Zack’s territory for months. Zack has been hunting them,
destroying one vampire at a time. A few vampires, including Paul, fled here to
elude him. Zack and Joseph were pursing him the night you stumbled across the
dead woman.”

“I saw them with my own
eyes, but it’s still hard to believe there’re other men like you.” Haden was so
incredibly sexy. He looked like a god, but Caylee was certain it was an
unpardonable sin to walk around looking so tantalizing. Grinning, she wondered
if all of his kind shared his extraordinary sex appeal. She certainly would
never want to know another as intimately as she knew him. How many other women
suffered because of his kind? “One of you is too much for this woman to
handle.”

“I’m pleased to know I’m
appealing to you,” he whispered, grinning like a fool. “But it would be best if
you didn’t envision another man the way you see me. It wouldn’t be good for him
if another man was even remotely attractive to you.” He brought her hand to the
warmth of his mouth. “And it would most definitely be better for Zack and Joseph
if you didn’t handle them. To be completely honest, I am a very jealous man,
capable of unpleasant outbursts.”

She smirked. “I’ve known for
a long time that you’re prone to freaking out over ridiculous things.”

“Not until I met you.” The
rain reached them and was pelting down all around, but Haden prevented it from
touching them. The lightning and thunder were rapid, allowing no break between
each blinding flash and earsplitting crackle. “It’s not safe here,” he lied—he
had no problem ensuring her safety in the storm. “I will take you to town. Once
you show Mia the dress we can go to my place to talk in a more comfortable
environment.” Meaning, he planned to seduce her and get her into his bed as
quickly as possible. Then, she was never leaving his sight.

“No,” she said, turning to
face him, “I can’t go with you. I plan to … oh Haden, you just don’t
understand. I’m engaged to another man.”

Perfectly on cue, a result
of Haden’s shock, lightning hit the ground a few yards away. The sound of
thunder was instant and terrifyingly loud. Her breath rushed in and out of her
lungs in startled gasp. Covering her ears, she buried her head against his
chest.

“Why didn’t I know about
it?” That was a stupid question. He didn’t know about it because he was a
moron. He’d allowed her to build barrier to keep him out of parts of her mind
to make her feel empowered. He sure as hell wasn’t allowing that to happen
anymore. Pushing her back, he held her at arm’s length. There was no way in
hell he was going to permit her to marry another man. “There’s no other man for
you. You’re mine.” The menacing tone of his voice was chilling, heart stopping.

A powerful gust of wind
pushed her body against his. Terrified and cold, she trembled. A bolt of
lightning struck a tree limb directly overhead, and she screamed. With a
thought, he raised his hand to toss the limb a safe distance away.

“You’re causing it. Make it
stop,” she pleaded.

“It’s not me. It’s your
doing.” Cradling her head against his chest in one hand, he caressed her back
with the other. “The storm won’t hurt you. It’s part of me. I don’t know why
you would consider marrying another man. You don’t want to be with another man.
You love me as deeply as I love you.” He looked up at the dark, ominous pillars
of clouds in the sky. The storm would run its course. Thanks to her unexpected
marriage announcement, his emotions were spiraling out of control. There was
nothing he could do about the storm for the time being. “Paul will rise soon.
Once you and Mia finish the business with the dress, I’m taking you home with
me.”

“No,” she whispered with
tears in her voice. “After today, I can never see you again.”

Every muscle in his body
tensed. No other man would ever touch her and live. No more mental blocks. He’d
made a mistake by allowing her to have privacy. From now on, he planned
maintain a merge with her mind at all times. He didn’t care if it bothered her.

She silently wept against
his chest as the rain continued to fall from the sky. What else was she hiding?
He needed more information. He needed it now. He found the barrier she placed
in her mind and tried to push through it, but it was a solid block. He could
use more force to get through it, but at the moment it would definitely cause
her to suffer excruciating pain. He would wait until her guard was down, and
then he would get rid of the damn thing for good.

Sobbing, she looked up at
him. “You’re always snooping around in my mind. You know I’ve imagined being
with you.” She leaned her head against his chest. “But you also know I’ve always
understood we can never be together.” Her voice was a faint whimper. “Come on.
Look at me, Haden.” Stepping back, she held out her arms and spun around so he
could look at her and then, as if her point had been proved, she shrugged.
“Anyone can see I’m not the right woman for a man like you.”

He let his breath out
slowly, searching his mind for the right words, his gaze slowly moving over
her. “I can’t imagine a woman more beautiful, more desirable than you. Just
looking at you takes my breath away. You are more precious to me than anything
else. Your existence is a miracle to me. I never thought I would want to share
my life with a woman. I certainly never believed I would want to bind my soul
to a woman.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her near, pressing her
soft, feminine curves against his solid, muscular frame. “We belong together.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Your heart and soul belong
to me, just as mine will forever belong to you.” He bent his head and gently
kissed her earlobe. “Nothing else matters.”

“Love, not even the love you
claim to have for me, is strong enough to see us through the secret I’ve kept
from you.” She took a deep breath and released it with a sigh. “I plan to marry
Phillip in a few months. I must do it. And you need to accept it.” She pushed
herself out of his embrace. “I need to go.”

Like hell she was going
anywhere. “Phillip?” He searched his memory. There was only one man who came to
mind. “Phillip Wicks?”

Slowly backing away, she
nodded. “Please, just forget about it. There’s nothing more to discuss. I’ve
made up my mind.”

Amused, he smiled. It was an
easily fixed problem. If worst came to worst, he would simply kill Phillip. And
her uncle too, if it proved necessary. He wasn’t going to allow anything or
anyone to keep them apart. “I’ll take you to Mia’s shop.” She wasn’t ready to
live with him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t stay very close to her at all
times.

“No.” She stared at him,
studied him. He looked far too guilty, peculiar silver flames swirling in his
eyes, to even consider trusting him. “I would rather be alone.”

A black mist surrounded him,
as wings took tangible form on his back. “Too bad.” He reached for her hand.
Surely he didn’t intend to fly. Grinning, he nodded. “Come here.”

His black, velvety wings, like
everything else about him, were incredibly massive and intimidating. “No
thanks.” Shaking her head, she stepped back, her heart pounding in her ears. “I
would much rather walk.” There was no way she would do it. It wasn’t right. She
had feet for a reason, and she planned to use them. Nope, she wasn’t going to
fly. Not with him. Not with anyone. Not for any reason. It was just plain
wrong.

“Mia will be returning soon
to check on you. Flying will be much quicker than walking.” He stepped closer,
closing the gap between them.

She started to argue. She
was right after all—it wasn’t a good idea. He swept his arms around her and
bent his head to kiss her. It was a crushing, passionate kiss, stealing her
sanity. She moved closer to him, pressing her body against his. His cast-iron,
masculine body made her wonderfully aware of her supple, feminine curves. She
forgot about his intention to fly with her. She forgot about everything else,
as an intoxicating fire of desire spread throughout her body and blazed over her
sensitive flesh.

“Wrap your arms around my
neck,” he whispered against her mouth as he lifted her and then extended and
stretched his wings. Without thought, she did as he said, kissing him deeply.
Knowing she would panic the moment they were off the ground, he secured her in
his arms. He would make it a pleasant experience for her. Well, as pleasant as
possible. No sudden moves. “Are you ready?”

Dizzy, breathless from their
kissing, she looked up at him from beneath thick veils of lashes. Ready for
what? She blinked. She was forgetting something very important. Her mind was a
blank slate. She could barely remember her name. She wished he would just kiss
her again. She was definitely ready to be kissed again. He bent his head and
kissed her slowly, gently, too gently. She wanted more. She wanted him to lose
control. She wanted him wild, on fire, burning up for her. With her.

His powerful wings launched
them into the sky, high above the treetops.

Startled, she cried out,
burying her face against his chest, not too happy to remember what he was
planning before he seduced her into a state of ignorant bliss. “I will never
forgive you for this.” She heard his irritating laughter above her head. “I’m
serious, Haden. I will never forgive you.”

“Never is a very long time
to hold a grudge, little love. Stop being a baby and take a look around.”

“A baby?” Her head snapped
up, and she glared into his eyes, struggling against the urge to slap him
across the face. He certainly deserved a good smack or two. She couldn’t believe
he was grinning at her as if he were doing nothing wrong at all. Shaking her
head, she bit back a few choice names she wanted to call him. Why did he have
to look so good? So sexy. Being so attracted to him was a terrible disadvantage
when she wanted to hate him.

“Look around and see what
you’ve been missing.” He easily took them higher, her weight nothing to him.
“The view of the forest is beautiful from up here.”

She heard the joy bubbling
in his voice. She saw it in his eyes. He was so very happy to be able to share
something so special with her. She knew he didn’t need to fly to get back to
Mia’s quickly. He could’ve taken them instantly through time and space. He
wanted to share this with her. “I prefer to enjoy it from the ground.” However,
curiosity getting the best of her, she looked to the side and down.