Page 17 of Craving Darkness

I frowned as I went back over our conversations. What had he said about Syn, exactly? I shook my head. I didn’t believe for a minute he thought of her in the way she was implying. Nice try to get me to back away from him, though. That was the oldest trick in the book. She was trying to paint a picture that would make me doubt him. If I didn’t trust Valen enough to keep me safe, it would be the opportunity Syn needed for me to open the door. Syn would give me to the vampires without hesitation. However, I was sure her goal was more personal when it came to the sexy demon.

“What is the human lifespan, Kallie? Eighty years? Valen has been alive for longer than even I know. Thousands of years, girl. He sees you as nothing more than a small blip in his life. Of course, he’s trying to help you; it’s what he’s always done. It’s how we met all those years ago.”

There was the muffled sound of her heels clacking as she paced back and forth on the metal floor of the elevator outside the door. Suddenly, she hit the door one more time, making me jump with the force of it.

“Damn it, Kallista! I promised the vampires they could have you. If you don’t go to them, they are going to destroy my business. Do you want more deaths on your hands? All the girls working for me? You already caused Tiny to lose his life. What was it like to see him die right in front of you, knowing you could have prevented it?”

Tears pricked my eyes at her words. I hated the memory flashing through my mind of watching Tiny die. Of course, I didn’t want anyone else to die. But did that mean that I was responsible for their lives? I covered my ears with my hands and walked away, no longer caring if she heard my footsteps. I needed to think.

I walked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind me in a fit of anger. I leaned against the small counter, my hands against the edge, bracing me. As I stared into the mirror, I could see through my blurry vision that my eyes were switching from hazel to black, back and forth rapidly. I squeezed them shut and took several deep breaths as I tried to calm myself before I got out of control.

Without looking at myself again, I went straight to the small shower and turned on the spray. I stripped off the T-shirt quickly, dropping it unseeing to the floor, and stepped in without waiting to test the temperature. My heart was still hammering in my chest, but the beating of the water against my back was already starting to soothe my frayed nerves.

Last night, when I showered, it was merely to rinse away the blood and sweat from the attack. There hadn’t been any toiletries, so I wasn’t able to do much to actually cleanse myself. Now, as I glanced around the stall, I could see it was no longer empty. I picked up the black bottle resting on a shelf and grimaced at the label. I didn’t understand how men could use the stuff. An all-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash seemed like a crime against nature. I didn’t have much of a choice, though.

I was already dreading the mess my hair was going to be later when I tried to finger comb it out. I thought of Valen’s gorgeous black hair and shook my head. Maybe if this stuff could keep his long hair looking so good, it wouldn’t destroy mine.

I sniffed the bottle, inhaling the fresh, manly scent, and decided it wasn’t all that bad. It wasn’t my usual fruity scent, but it smelled good. It smelled like Valen. I poured a generous amount into my palm and began to lather my hair before moving onto my body. It wasn’t until I was rinsed off and ready to get out that I realized I walked into the bathroom with no towel.

I turned off the tap and stood there for a long minute as I dripped, debating on what to do. I shivered as I looked down at the discarded tee and let out a long sigh. Without any other options, I picked the shirt up and patted my damp skin. It did little good as my dripping hair just proceeded to saturate me as quickly as I could pat myself down until the tee was as wet as I was.

“What a mess,” I muttered to myself as I cracked open the door. I held the tee tight to my breasts as I poked my head out. The large open space was as silent as a tomb, and no sound could be heard from the elevator door, so it seemed Syn had finally taken the hint and left. Remembering her instantly caused her caustic words to flood back in. I had to shake off the hurt and shame they caused me. It wasn’t my fault. None of this was my fault.

I walked on tiptoes over toward the bed in the corner, remembering how Valen had dropped his towel to the ground earlier, causing goosebumps of delight to replace the ones from the cold water, making my skin prickle. I spied the towel where I had folded it neatly, laying it on the end of the bed. I really should have hung it back up earlier.

I dropped the sodden T-shirt to the floor and reached out for the towel just as the cargo lift started a mechanical rumbling, lightly vibrating the floor under my feet. I stared with wide eyes at the door, frozen in shock. As the big metal door began to slide open, I squeaked in panic and snatched at the towel.

In seconds, the door was wide open, and Valen sat there straddling the big leather seat of his Harley-Davidson. He hadn’t looked up yet as I fumbled with the folded towel, but before I could get it straightened out and wrapped around me, he lifted his head. He sat staring for a long second as I held the crumpled terrycloth to my chest, doing very little to cover my nakedness. A sudden heat flared in his green eyes, making them grow darker as I swallowed convulsively.

He swung one leg over the side of his bike and stood to his full height. He reached into one of his saddlebags, retrieving something, and then slowly, one step at a time, he walked toward me. The distance between the lift and the corner of the loft where the bed was located seemed like a huge chasm, but he crossed to me in what felt like a blink of an eye as I stood frozen.

I felt the icy water dripping down my back, and in the silence between us, I could have sworn I heard it as the water plopped onto the concrete floor beneath my bare feet. The goosebumps that had been on my arms earlier spread to every inch of my body as I kept eye contact with Valen as he stalked closer. My chin lifted, accounting for our height difference, until my neck was bent back at an awkward angle.

He stood towering over me, staring down into my eyes without letting his gaze wander over my naked body. But there was no denying the desire that had flared to life when he first saw me and only grew with every step he had taken closer. I just knew that if he allowed himself, he would have touched me with his large hands and wouldn’t have stopped there. At that moment, every part of me wished he would. I could almost feel the brand on my wrist throbbing at his nearness and at the tension that was beating between us like a drum.

Then, without a word spoken between us, Valen dropped what he had been holding in his hand onto the bed and turned around. He began to walk away but paused. Without looking back at me, he snatched the towel from my trembling fingers, leaving me bare to the room, and moved toward the bathroom. His footsteps were much quicker, taking him across the room in a flash, and then the bathroom door was slammed shut.

I let out a frustrated groan as I heard the shower turn on. We were going to be taking a lot of showers if whatever was between us didn’t break. I glanced down at the bed to see what he dropped there and saw a bag with the name of a boutique I’d heard of but had never been inside. I’d known I could never afford anything from the upscale store, so I hadn’t bothered stepping inside.

I peeked inside the bag, and a smile spread over my face.

Chapter 12

Valen

When I finally left the shower, the water had long since gone cold, yet my body felt as if it were still hot enough to make the water evaporate and fog the room. I had a brief glimpse of her pussy this morning when she had her freak out, but there hadn’t been even a second to appreciate the sight when all I had wanted to do was help her. Seeing her standing in front of my bed, dripping water all over the floor, while holding nothing but a wadded up towel that barely covered the front of her gorgeous body? It took all my willpower to walk away instead of throwing her down on that mattress and taking her rough and raw.

After patting myself down, I shoved my damp legs through my pants and tugged until I could get the shit back on. I was starting to get pissed off. I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling was directly because of the woman or if the fucking mating bond was screwing with my head. I had gone hundreds, thousands of years without giving in to the need for a woman. My need to be alone far outweighed any compulsion I would have had to have sex with a random female. But now, after taking one look at this little half-human female, I could barely control myself.

“Fuck!” I growled into the mirror, resisting the urge to put my fist through it. I turned to the door and grabbed the knob, flinging the door open hard enough to hear it splinter near the hinges. I could control myself. This was the work of some mystical or mythical force, and I wouldn’t allow it to string me along by my dick.

I stomped into the room carrying my heavy boots, ready to toss them by the bed when I stopped dead in my tracks. Kallista was looking at me, startled, from her perch on the couch. She had her hands clasped together in her lap and was wringing them together in a show of nerves. I wasn’t sure if it was due to what I had walked in on or if she could sense the turmoil I was experiencing.

As I stood there and stared at her, she gave me a small smile, just the corners of her mouth tipping up ever so slightly as if she were afraid of my reaction, and stood up. It was then I noticed that she was wearing the dress with the big yellow flowers on it. She smoothed her hands over the skirt and tilted her head as she looked back up at me.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” Her voice was soft and her smile was shy, hesitant. I wanted to go to her, to take her in my arms and crush her lips with my own. Instead, I grunted in acknowledgment and turned away, but not before I saw her face fall in disappointment.

When I got to the bed, I dropped my boots to the floor with a heavy thud and closed my eyes as a shot of pain punched me in the chest. I had hurt her with my rejection just now, and the thought of it nearly sent me to my knees.

---