Taste of Darkness (19 page)

He shook his head, the stubborn set of his jaw making her smile.

“Well, I need to take care of some business so…”

Confusion marred his expression for a moment before he nodded and released his grasp around her. She swung her legs off the bed and didn’t protest when he helped her to her feet. Her legs were shaky, but she was okay to walk on her own. She couldn’t believe she was in Montana and couldn’t remember a thing about the flight. Or she assumed they’d flown. Questions started to bombard her but she ignored them for now. When they reached the bathroom, she put up a hand when it was clear he intended to come in with her. “I don’t need any help in there, promise.”

Drake’s expression said he wanted to argue, but he just nodded and leaned against the wall next to the door. “I’ll be right here.”

After freshening up, including washing her face and brushing her teeth, she felt a hundred times better. The bathroom was nearly as big as the bedroom; all shiny black marble and gold trim everywhere. It was the kind of room that screamed money. The skylight above her let her know it was daytime. Maybe morning.

When she stepped back into the bedroom she found Drake talking to a stunning woman who had to be six feet tall. Her hair was a unique copper color that highlighted the woman’s bright green eyes. Wearing skin-tight, white pants, a white, fuzzy sweater with sparkles of gold in the threading and white, furry boots, she looked like she was ready to hit the slopes and look damn good doing it. Must be Greer. Victoria fought the insane twinge of jealousy that punched through her at seeing Drake talking to the female. Jeez, they were just talking.

The woman smiled warmly at Victoria, smoothing a hand down her pants almost nervously. And that was when Victoria remembered she’d nearly bitten the woman.

“I, uh, think I might owe you an apology. Did I imagine trying to bite you earlier?” she asked as Drake moved to her side, hovering as if he was afraid she’d fall over. She really hoped that hadn’t been real. Mostly she just remembered an excruciating agony, as if her body was splitting apart at the seams.

Laughing, the sound like music, the woman’s smile widened. “You didn’t imagine it but no apologies are necessary. You were in a lot of pain and I had to use my healing gift to draw out the poison. Unfortunately, drawing it out is very painful. Something about the way it morphs to our blood cells makes it difficult for me to withdraw it. But it’s done and you look wonderful.”

Victoria nearly snorted, but knew the woman was being kind. She’d just seen herself in the mirror and she looked as if she’d been run over by a truck. Twice. Nothing a shower and some food wouldn’t cure though. “Thank you for what you did and I’m sorry for snapping at you about touching Drake.” That memory was vivid in her mind too, making her flush in embarrassment at the angry way she’d growled at the woman.

Drake was silent next to her, but he wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders as he kissed the top of her head.

The female just smiled. “Don’t worry about it. No one would blame you for being protective of your mate. Once you’ve had time to rest I’d love to talk to you more. I’ve never met another healer before. We’re a bit insulated from other supernaturals.”

Victoria leaned into Drake, using him for support as a wave of exhaustion swept through her. “I’d really like that too.” When her stomach rumbled the woman smiled and headed back for the door.

“I’ll be back to check on you soon. I’m Greer, by the way.”

Victoria nodded and before the door had shut, Drake was leading her over to the bed. “I’ll bring the food to you.” A soft order and one she wasn’t inclined to argue with. As she leaned against the headboard, stretching out her legs, she watched as he rolled the silver cart over to the bed. When he lifted the dome-covered plate, she grinned to see a giant hamburger topped with carmelized onions, sautéed mushrooms and two thick slices of melted Swiss cheese. And French fries on the side. One of her favorite meals. “How’d they know what to make?”

“I told the chef earlier to be ready when you awoke.” He still watched her nervously.

Before she reached for the tray she stood again and pulled him into a big hug, wrapping her arms tight around his waist. “I can see the fear on your face. I’m not going anywhere. Why don’t you take a shower while I eat?” Because she could see he needed the rest.

“I’m fine,” he murmured against the top of her head.

Leaning back she looked at him before standing on her toes. She brushed a kiss over his mouth, surprised when he didn’t deepen it. But maybe she shouldn’t be. It was clear he was worried about her and probably didn’t want to hurt her. “Go. Shower. I’m going to devour this and then we’ll talk.” Then she wanted to take a shower too. And change out of these pajamas.
And
see Gabriel and Rhea. She needed to see with her own eyes that her packmates were okay too.

He paused. “You’re positive?”

After a few more minutes of convincing him she’d be fine, she did just as she’d said and devoured the contents of the entire plate. For how she felt she probably could have put away another hamburger, but the food was making her tired again. She rolled the cart over to the door and slid back into the bed. The thing was huge, bigger than a king-size. Maybe California king. She wondered if dragons were naturally taller or bigger than other shifters. Keelin didn’t seem to be, but Greer certainly was. And why the hell was she worried about their freaking height right now.

She had more important things to worry about. Like who had attacked them. Closing her eyes, she smiled to herself when she heard the shower shut off. Not long after, the bathroom door opened. Cracking open an eye, she saw steam billow out as Drake stepped from the bathroom wearing only a towel.

“Lose the towel and get in bed with me,” she murmured. His eyes widened but she just grinned and rolled onto her side, putting her back to him. “I won’t peek.” Even though she wanted to. “I just want you to hold me.”

The light clicked off but with the natural light streaming in from the bathroom’s skylight, there was enough illumination in the bedroom. A moment later, the bed depressed as he got in behind her. When his big arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, she willingly curved into him, laying her arm over his. The soft hair of his arm tickled hers, grounding her, reminding her that she was safe here. His earthy scent surrounded her, his hard chest a solid presence against her back. “Tell me more about what happened,” she murmured, sleep pulling at her again. Should she be this tired?

“We’ll talk later. Rest.” His voice was gentle even though his words came out like an order.

“Then tell me more about your time in Hell.” The words came out of nowhere and when he stiffened behind her, she wondered if she’d crossed a line. But she had to know more. After realizing how hard it must have been for him to assimilate—to still do so—it was time to push him about opening up. Especially if they were going to take the next step as mates. Something she knew without a doubt she wanted.

“What do you want to know?” he finally asked.

“You never talk about it.” Not that she blamed him. “I just…want to know you more. I want to know everything about you, Drake.”

Drake struggled to answer her, his throat growing tight. He knew a lot of time had passed since her question and he could swear he sensed her disappointment that he wasn’t answering. It was the only reason he forced his vocal cords to work—even if he didn’t want to. “When I was relatively young, about two hundred, I think, I made a friend of sorts. Time is of no use in Hell so it’s just an estimate.” He could hear the bitterness in his voice, but couldn’t hide it. Didn’t want to. “He was a vampire and…charming, I think is the word you would use. He told me he’d been sent to Hell in the same manner as me, sacrificed. Up until that point I hadn’t had much contact with others. I stayed in my dragon form as much as possible because it was safer.”

He’d stayed in his dragon form as a defense, living two hundred years in loneliness to that point. Clearing his throat, he continued, the words torn from him almost against his will. But he wanted her to know more about him, just as he wanted to know everything about her. Even the bad parts. “The real torture was the silence and nothingness. Not the fire and brimstone that so many think it is—though there are parts of Hell just like that, worse than you can imagine—but the abject nothingness is…” He didn’t know how to continue down that line of thought, wasn’t even sure why he’d brought it up.

“The stench there is horrific. Like sulfur and rotten eggs, but so much worse. Sometimes I swear I can still smell it on me,” he muttered, his grip around her tightening.

She squeezed the arm he had around her, in silent support, the simple action more soothing than she likely realized.

Now that Drake had started, he wasn’t stopping. “But he showed me a section of Hell that wasn’t as bad. And that term is relative to the place. We would go there and talk. Mainly he talked. I’d been so sheltered before I was sacrificed so I drank in the conversation. I don’t know how long we were friends but I think it was a couple years. And I don’t know if he’d always intended to betray me or not, but he eventually sold me out to a hoard of level eight demons.”

She shifted against the sheets, her delectable body moving against him. “Level eight?”

He paused. “There are different levels, up to thirteen. I don’t know what the correct translation would be, but it’s the best way I can describe them.”

“What happened?” The question came out as a hoarse whisper.

“Hell is a vast place, almost the same size as Earth, and when he was going to be tortured for some infraction against these demons, he told them about me and where to find me. They thought they could take me because of their sheer number.” His voice was dark, deadly. “They were wrong. Once I finished with them I flew my so-called friend to their territory and dropped him off. I never saw him again. I never saw anyone for years after that. I carved out a territory and made it clear what would happen to anyone who crossed me. After obliterating those level eights, word spread and I was left alone for a while. My…fire, or any dragon fire in Hell becomes a permanent thing on the prey’s body. Like phantom pain. Even though they’re not burning anymore, the pain still lives with them. They’re in constant agony because of how deeply I burned them.”

And he wasn’t sorry he’d done it. For all the horror they’d inflicted on others, they deserved everything they got from him. Part of him wanted to tell Victoria that he’d enjoyed hurting them, but he held the confession back for now. Later he’d tell her. Maybe. God, he was so unworthy of her, so dirty. She didn’t need to know that side of him.

“I’m so sorry, Drake.” Her soft voice angered him.

“I don’t want your pity,” he snarled. Never from her.

Turning in his arms, she slid her arm around him and clutched on to his back, holding him close. His muscles flexed under her fingertips as he leaned into her touch. “I don’t pity you. Not at all. But I do love you and that means I get to care.”

Shock slammed into him just as hard as it had the first time she’d said the words. Love. He loved her too, but it still stunned him that she felt the same. Instead of responding, he pulled her closer against him, needing her more than he needed air.

* * *

He slipped out of the guest house kitchen, the side door closing quietly behind him. It was as if he’d never been there. He used his gift of camouflage since the house was being protected fairly well. Everyone had slightly let down their guard now that Dragos and his female were in the Petronilla village. Because no one knew that one of their own had betrayed the male to rot in Hell. Or that he’d been the one to contact the Veles clan.

Why couldn’t Dragos have just stayed where he was? His life would be so much simpler now. He’d already accepted that he’d never take over the Petronilla clan. It had taken over a thousand years, but he’d finally had to live with the truth. He would never be clan leader. Not with all his power gone.

That fucking witch who’d helped him sacrifice the stupid boy had betrayed him once he’d gained unstoppable power. She’d set up a failsafe spell if he ever tried to kill her after the deed they’d committed together. So he hadn’t tried to kill her. He’d hired someone else to do it. Unfortunately the spell she’d woven included intent on his part. It hadn’t mattered that he hadn’t been the one to drive that dagger into her chest. It had been done on his orders.

After she was killed all his newfound power had been drained, all his work for naught, the sacrifice, everything he’d worked so hard for. To make it even worse she’d made sure he was marked so no other witches would work with him. Since her kind kept their grimoires and knowledge of the dark arts secret, every time he’d attempted to regain his power doing spells on his own, more had been siphoned off. He was still strong, but not the warrior he’d once been.

Glancing around the side of the house over the blanket of snow, he cursed that his footprints would be visible. But there was no hiding that. He might be able to camouflage himself, but that didn’t extend to covering his tracks in the physical sense.

Leaving this way was a small risk. Soon a new snowfall would cover the tracks anyway. While he could have used the front door or even asked Keelin to escort him to the house, he hadn’t wanted to seem over eager. Everyone had been told that Dragos and his female were resting and wouldn’t be receiving visitors until tomorrow at least.

The shifter female had been poisoned by one of those Veles dragons. Unfortunately she hadn’t died. Then maybe Dragos would have died too. He wasn’t certain if the male had actually mated with her yet though. Without meeting her and scenting the two of them together he couldn’t tell. And he wouldn’t ask anyone.