Embracing Darkness: Key Series, Short Story 1.5 Read online

  “Your eyes,” she whispered. Not the blackness of the demons she’d run from for what felt an eternity, but a rich caramel dipped with gold. “I—”

  “Please,” he asked. “Let me lead you there.”

  Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t resist such an entreaty. And she found she didn’t want to resist.

  “Yes.”

  THREE

  Rafe’s fingers wrapped around her delicate palm, the tips grazing her wrist. Warmth seeped from her skin into his. The heat of her touch shot straight to his bloodstream and raced to encircle his heart. The mystery of this woman, the simplicity with which she captivated his senses, drove him to near madness. He needed to know her, to have her, to possess her. The rational part of his brain said that it was her power, the same magnetism that drew the demons. It reasoned her abilities could have a similar effect on his kind. Yet, the primal side of him, the one that fed his desires and had always ruled his life, told logic to piss off.

  “You won’t be sorry.” No, she wouldn’t be, but he might. He’d never shown anyone this spot before. To do so would be to reveal a piece of his innermost self, a buried part never bared to the light. Yet, the compulsion to share this with her grew too strong to resist. For whatever the reason, he had to let her see.

  They walked the rest of the way in silence; the air somehow permeated with the gravity of the moment. That she could read his mood, understand his desire, served to strengthen his growing connection with her. He almost turned around and laughed at the absurdity of it. Instead, he squeezed her hand tighter as he led her into his personal sacred place.

  The wind buzzed with electric currents, exactly as it had that night so many years ago. Soft waves rolled onto the stretch of beach, the sickle of the half-moon illuminating the white caps. The smell of salt tickled Rafe’s nose. As he turned to Zoey, he observed her delicate features: the softness of her hair and the vibrancy of the honey hue, the smoothness of her olive skin, and the sleekness in her long legs. Her breasts lifted with her inhalation.

  The perfect words eluded him, but he tried to describe all he felt. “You’re—”

  “I love this smell,” she said as she raised her arms, stretching and glorifying in the night’s embrace.

  Rafe exhaled and thanked Lady Luck he’d been interrupted and hadn’t said something he’d later regret.

  Zoey’s eyelids fluttered, until she opened them wide. Her pupils dilated as if she’d been caught in a dream, and now only, awakened. She surveyed her surroundings, centering on the luminescence of the sand under their feet.

  He took a step closer, the craving to be near her ever strengthening.

  “It’s beautiful here, but it feels strange.” She paused.

  He waited.

  The ocean’s edge skimmed their shoes. The blue Jimmy Choo sandals she’d worn at the club didn’t quite work on the beach, but somehow Zoey pulled it off. She bent to dip her fingers in the waters. “It’s almost like…there’s a current running through the beach, the waves, the air, it’s…” Her brow furrowed. “What is it?”

  Rafe looked up at the moon and the blanket of the sky above studded with small diamonds.

  “It’s a special place for me, Zoey.” He hesitated, but just for a heartbeat. “This is where I fell.”

  ***

  Rafe’s revelation struck her like a sledgehammer. It was so unexpected, so personal that for an instant Zoey didn’t understand his meaning. When it sunk in at last, her jaw dropped and her mind swam with the possibilities of his admission.

  “This is where you…fell?” She could hardly wrap her head around the idea. Question after question plagued her, until she popped out the first one that sprung forward, “When?”

  Rafe’s irises glowed unnaturally bright in the darkness. “A long time ago.”

  “Oh.” She scanned his body, blushing as she appreciated the view. His broad shoulders and sculpted chest tailored to a trim waist. As he stood at an angle, she caught a glimpse of an ass that should be deemed illegal. He looked in his prime, no more than thirty, but then…he wasn’t human. She swallowed. “Why did you bring me here?”

  Rafe sighed. “It’s a place of power. Not as strong as some of the points in this world, but enough.”

  “Enough for what?”

  “To protect you.” He gazed at her with intensity that touched her to the core, to the heart of her. Damned if she could look away. It lasted for a spell, wrapping around her, and then without warning, he broke the connection.

  Focusing on the ocean, he continued, “You see. Wherever one of us falls, the area of our descent becomes guarded by a certain force, like a wave that envelops the sand and soaks every grain.” He bent down, running the sand through his fingers and letting it stream to the ground. “Imagine the last remnants of our angelic selves dissipating into the earth as we fall. It encompasses everything in its path, until it reaches its end point. With that sort of power permeating the area, it’s near impossible for demons to approach.”

  “That’s incredible.” Zoey put her hand out as if she could touch the enigmatic force. “I can feel it.”

  A warm breath brushed her cheek, softer than the smoothest silk and gentler than the finest feather. Rafe had closed the distance between them. His lips skimmed her ear. She tried to suppress a shiver of unbidden anticipation.

  “I never brought anyone to this spot before,” he whispered. “I wanted to show it you.”

  Her heart pounded in her chest, trying to break free of its cage. “Why?”

  “I don’t know.” He shifted in front of her, capturing her once more with that indescribable gaze. “I just did.”

  His mouth claimed hers with subtle force. The wind whipped around them, filled with the energy of the space. It mixed with his personal power and merged into one as his tongue dipped between her lips. She opened to him, their tongues dueling and dancing in the eternal act between man and woman, the kiss.

  Man and woman, she thought, her desire rising. No. Fallen. Not man. The realization flickered inside her mind, but died a quick death. It didn’t matter. After all the tension, all her fears, all the horror of the past weeks, she wouldn’t think. She would only feel, letting the nightmare die as she molded her soft body to his hard one, his passion melting her from the inside out. The sprays breaking on the shore steadily increased in volume, until she recognized her error. The noise didn’t come from the water, but inside her body. It was her pulse, her blood rushing beneath her skin.

  Zoey pulled back with a gasp. “What was that?”

  Rafe licked his lips. He looked as stunned as she. He opened his mouth, but then shook his head. “I don’t know about you, but I thought that was one damn good kiss.” The smirk appeared back on his face and he moved away from her. “Come on, it’s time to get back to the house.”

  Before Zoey could even think again, he started walking from the beach.

  “Jerk,” she muttered and ran to catch up with him. His after-kiss attitude aside, the facts were undeniable. Her treacherous body bore the proof. She wanted him to kiss her, and she didn’t want it to end there. The passion they shared erased weeks of dread. It felt exquisite. It felt right.

  The live current of power buzzed with energy all the way to the house. The Victorian style mansion with its turrets and porticos stood as a foreboding figure in the shadows of the night. Yet, once they climbed the stairs and stepped inside, Zoey was surprised to find it tasteful and tranquil. The overhead lights bathed the room in warm hues. Shades of brown and red encompassed everything from the leather coach and armchairs to the coffee table and side-lamps. The impeccably polished floors shone in an elegant cherry wood throughout the first floor. She expected opulence, but found comfort instead.

  As Rafe led her on a tour, he headed to one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Inside a soft plush carpet begged her to whip off her shoes and sink her toes in. Yet, besides a bed, armchair, and small dresser, not much else gave the room character. If she had to give it a sin
gle word, she’d call it lonely.

  “It’s supposed to be a guest bedroom.” Rafe shrugged. “But, I never had guests here before. Didn’t need to furnish it much.” He walked to a door to the left of the dresser and opened it. “It does have on-suite though, so you should be all set. You’ll find towels and such inside.”

  “Thank you. It’s nice.” Zoey’s eyelids grew heavy. She’d always been a night owl, but hadn’t much peace since the demons started hounding her. Actually, she couldn’t remember the last time nightmares hadn’t been a part of her life or she’d slept past an hour at a time. “I don’t have any of my stuff though.”

  Rafe nodded, as if the thought had already occurred to him. “No problem. I’ll go into town tomorrow and get whatever you need.”

  Zoey yawned wide, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. She grinned at him sheepishly. “Sorry, sleep deprivation is catching up with me.”

  Rafe’s gaze warmed. “You hungry, doll?”

  Zoey considered saying yes so she could spend more time with him. All of a sudden, the thought of his absence was nearly painful. That’s crazy, she berated herself. I must be exhausted beyond sense to be this stupid.

  “I think I need to turn in,” she said instead. “Thank you again.”

  “Make me a list of the things you need and slip it under the door. You’ll have them in the morning.” Rafe produced a notepad and pen. As he bent to place them on the bed, his eye-level dipped to her breasts. He stayed longer than propriety allowed, the avidity in his gaze searing her, before rising and drinking in the rest of her. He grinned and wished her, “Goodnight.”

  As the door closed, Zoey rested her forehead on the cool wood. Desire flooded her senses. She fought to concentrate on the mundane, writing out the list of necessities more for distraction than need. With the task done, she washed up and donned a robe hanging in the bathroom. It smelled of a sweet ocean breeze and a hint of cedar, a combination she’d already come to associate with Rafe.

  “Rafe”, she said to the empty room. The name rolled off her tongue with ease and tasted of delicious sin. This man, this fallen, was a wealth of contradictions and surprises rolled up in a striking package. She could easily see the playboy façade, yet he shared with her something so personal that it couldn’t have been a tactic to get into her pants. She wanted to know more about him. Most of all, she needed to figure out what he wanted from her before she let herself sink into the weird sense of calm and safety he provided. Hell, for all she knew, he might be the most dangerous creature of all. And here she went letting him kiss her, and thinking about him, and fantasizing about…

  “Sleep.” She yawned again as her brain danced to a spastic rhythm. “I need to sleep.”

  When her head hit the pillow and the covers rubbed against her chin, she heard the call of nighttime. And for the first time in weeks, she slept in peace – no demon eyes watched her from the shadows.

  FOUR

  Rafe’s usual posse of fallen employees remained far away. And that’s the way he preferred it. He hadn’t lied to Zoey when he told her he didn’t bring guests to this place. Now, as he shopped for her at a local boutique—paying particular attention to the panties he would buy, even though she didn’t include that on the list—he went over the plan.

  First item, find out what the hell Zoey’s power was all about. Yeah, the whole reason for being here to begin with, he thought as he walked the lingerie section. Then, figure out why this woman got under his skin like no other female ever had. That fact nagged at him. He couldn’t even recall all of the faces, yet alone the names of the women he’d been with since his fall. So, why her? Maybe the two were connected. Maybe her power influenced him in some way. Has to be it.

  Rafe paid at the register with a black Amex and packed the bags into the car. As he pulled away, he noticed a couple of demons loitering around the parking lot. Any other time he’d have enjoyed taunting them, but under the circumstances, he didn’t want to attract any attention that could lead them back to Zoey. True, they shouldn’t be able to get into the house or even a few hundred yards around it, yet she couldn’t stay in hiding forever, and neither could he. His business waited, as did the fight for control of Las Vegas. He didn’t have time to play house with a human. Except… oh how he wished he could.

  “Damn it!” Rafe squeezed the clutch and willed himself to release it before he yanked the blasted thing off. He pulled to the side of the road, the packages spilling to the car floor with the maneuver. He gripped the steering wheel white-knuckled and tried to reason with his warring emotions. You’ve dealt with lust before. Many times. The very feeling led to his downfall, to his expulsion from the Light. All of his life he’d craved: power, position, and pleasure. The three Ps of his undoing. Yet, nothing had ever hit him as fiercely as this need for the human woman.

  “That’s it.” The answer came to him like a sign from…wherever. It was the need that drove him to the edge. If he satisfied it, the razor sharpness of it would dull as it always had in the past. He’d seduce her and be rid of this accursed longing. And thankfully for his sanity, he was the master of seduction.

  With a lightness settling around him, he made one or two unscheduled stops, before heading back to Zoey and putting his plan into action. He smiled as the ease of it had him counting down the hours until the girl would be his…and her power for the taking.

  ***

  Zoey flitted through the house from room to room, then out the front door to the beach. The weightlessness with which her heart soared at being free of demons came crashing to the ground when she discovered the boundaries of her gilded cage. The point at which the angelic power died and the world began could be felt as easily as a stone wall. It didn’t reach as far as she originally suspected, a couple hundred yards into the ocean and around the house, no more. And while the invisible walls provided protection, they trapped her as surely as if they were truly made of stone.

  “I can’t stay here,” she cried, collapsing on the beach. The black cotton shorts, which she’d snagged this morning from Rafe’s armoire and rolled at the waist to fit her figure, absorbed the sand and painted tiny flakes across her legs. She shoved at the specks, trying to break free of their grip. The action only served to dust her hands and arms as well. “This is hopeless.”

  “Nothing’s hopeless, doll.” He appeared before her as fine a specimen of male as she’d remembered from the previous night; in fact, more so. The bright rays streamed down on him, illuminating the chocolate highlights in his hair, and accentuating the muscles under his sun-kissed skin. Somewhere between his return from town and his finding her on the beach, he’d lost his shirt. A happy loss.

  The pull that connected her to him, driving her to be closer, scared the hell out of her. Yet, fear wasn’t enough to dissuade the interest or stop her from rising to her feet and stepping toward him. “Feels that way.”

  “Why?” He angled his body to block the sun from her face. The same magnetism that drove her, sped him onward, and she noted the easy, lethal grace with which he moved. She could see her longing reflected in his gaze. He felt it too.

  “If I leave here, the demons come back.” Her hand closed into a fist without her conscience effort. “And this place is not entirely safe. The power doesn’t stretch that far.”

  Rafe stiffened. “How do you know that?”

  “I can feel the change. It’s a few hundred yards down to the ocean and around the house.” She clasped her arms over her chest.

  His face softened and he placed a gentle hand at her elbow. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll keep you safe.”

  “I believe you.” She dropped her arms. If for no other reason, he would protect her for her power, but in her gut she knew it was more. “But, we can’t stay here forever.”

  “No, we can’t.” He slid his hand from her elbow and draped his arm around her. His signature smirk tugged at his lips. “But, we can enjoy the time we have.”

  Zoey laughed. He was a rogue, a fiendish one a
t that, but damn was he a charmer. “That’s true.”

  “And I have a surprise for you.” He winked.

  “Fresh clothes?” She motioned to the borrowed shorts and tank-top that bagged on her. The only pieces left from yesterday’s ensemble were her blue Jimmy Choos and her bra. She’d ditched the panties, feeling deliciously naughty with nothing but his shorts against her skin.

  “Later.” He led her close to the water’s edge where a sky blue blanket lay on the beach. A bottle of wine rested at one corner while an assortment of foods, from fresh strawberries to miniature sandwiches and a collection of dark chocolate truffles, covered the rest.

  “What’s all this?” She attempted to keep the delight from her voice, but it seeped through anyway.

  He waved his hand at the array of goodies. “It’s for you.”

  Her mind screamed at her to ask why, but her heart—and her libido—told her brain to shut up. The tricky pair of body and heart won out. Instead of questioning his reasoning, she said, “Thank you.”

  For a moment, the façade of Rafe’s charms slipped, and he appeared startled by her gratitude. But too soon, the mask slid in place, and he answered, “You can thank me later. There’s more to come.”

  She sucked in an excited breath, knowing what the more implied, and not minding any bit of it. Reason and logic sucked anyway. Who wanted to worry about demons or consequences, when a gorgeous male sat beside her on a picnic blanket in the Hamptons? With each firm resolve to see this strange attraction through to whatever end, Zoey felt a bit more like her old self. The carefree, fun-loving girl that hadn’t known about the paranormal, that didn’t care what tomorrow might bring and lived for the day, returned with each move in Rafe’s direction. She wanted that back, the woman she used to be.

  “Why wait?” She plucked one of the strawberries from the plate and relished the taste of it between her lips.