Burn (Dark in You 1)

His ‘home’ turned out to be a goddamn mansion. Holy fuck.

They had barely reached the door when it opened wide, revealing a tall, elegant demon who nodded respectfully at Knox. “Evening, Mr. Thorne.”

“Dan, this is Harper Wallis, my anchor.”

Dan presented her with a polite smile. “I’m happy to meet you, Miss Wallis.”

Unaccustomed to gentility, Harper merely responded, “Um, you too.” No sooner had Dan taken her jacket in the marble foyer than Knox urged her into a high-ceiling living area that was like something out of a magazine. With its mahogany walls and light pine flooring, it might have looked plain if it wasn’t for the blue-tinted windows, the incredible paintings, the ocean blue Persian rug, and the spotlights in the ceiling and on the walls.

At Knox’s gesture, Harper gingerly sat on one of the two beige half-moon sofas that circled a pine coffee table, feeling completely out of place and unable to relax.

A few moments later, a small Hispanic woman appeared. “Mr. Thorne, dinner won’t be ready for another hour. Can I get you and your guest anything?”

“Meg, this is Harper Wallis, my anchor. Harper, this is Meg – the best cook you’ll ever have the pleasure of knowing.”

Flushing, Meg smiled at Harper. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Is there anything I can get for you?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“We’re both fine for now, Meg.” With a respectful nod, the woman scurried away. When Knox saw Harper open her mouth – most likely to castigate him for not asking in advance what she’d like to eat – he said the one thing guaranteed to distract her. “I had a visit from Carla today.”

She blinked. “Really?”

“She wanted to know if there was any truth in the rumors that you’re my anchor. I confirmed that you are.”

“Did she cry?”

Her expression was so hopeful, he had to smile. “No.”

“Damn,” she muttered. Knox moved to a little bar behind them that she hadn’t even noticed until then.

“Drink?” She shook her head, so Knox simply prepared himself a small glass of gin and tonic. “What did your family tell you about her over the years?”

“Not much, actually. Just that I should never think there was anything wrong with me simply because my mother dumped me; that some people are just too selfish to care about anyone but themselves.”

“She claims she tried to see you over the years, that Jolene and Lucian kept her away.”

Harper snorted. “They probably would have kept her away if she’d tried. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t.” Knox’s expression was inscrutable, but she suspected, “You believe her.”

Knox lounged on the sofa, directly opposite her. “What I believe is that it’s important for you to have the facts about your life.”

“The fact is that the woman doesn’t, and never has, wanted me.”

“She asked me to tell you that she’s always loved you, thought of you often.”

“I’ll bet she did.” Carla was, according to Jolene, as cunning as they came. “She’s taking preemptive steps, worried I’ll switch to your lair and request for her to be cast out.”

Knox did want Harper to join his lair, but they’d get to that at a later point. He had to do things one step at a time with Harper or she’d withdraw from him rather than accept his place in her life. “You’re very sure she doesn’t care for you?”

“Since moving to Vegas, I saw her a couple of times. She dismissed me with a haughty look. So, yes, I’m very sure.”

That had anger bubbling inside of him. “Knowing that makes me want to cast her out.”

“Nah, it’ll be more fun to have her stick around. She likes to pretend I don’t exist. But you can’t pretend someone doesn’t exist if they’re being paraded in front of your entire lair, can you?”

Her impish grin made him smile. “You have a lot of Jolene in you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should. Your grandmother is strong and a good Prime.” He took a swig of his gin and tonic.

“So…you can crash right through people’s mental shields and invade their minds.”

He could see that it concerned her. “Even if your shields weren’t impenetrable, it’s not something I would ever have done to you. You never have to fear that I’ll harm you.”

“Because you’re one big, cuddly bear, right?”

“Cuddly? Definitely not. But you’re my anchor, you’re safe with me.” He took another drink of his gin and tonic. “Have you thought any more about attending the conference with me in New York?”

“So you can introduce me to all the other Primes as your anchor?”

“The sooner your importance to me is well-known, the sooner you’ll be considered untouchable.” And the sooner people like Silas and his friends would think twice about bothering her to ‘test’ him.

“I don’t see the point in you introducing me to everyone.”

“I’ve already told you, whether we bond or not won’t change anything. I’ll still be in your life. I have rights to you that no one else will ever have.”

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Knox turned his head to see three of his sentinels striding into the room. He knew them well enough to sense something was wrong. Rising, he asked, “What is it?” When Keenan slanted a glance at Harper, Knox assured him, “You can talk freely in front of her.” One way to get Harper to trust him would be to show her that he was willing to give her that same trust. “Harper, you already know Levi. This is Keenan and Larkin, two of my sentinels. Keenan, Larkin – this is my anchor, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed.”