His Dark Embrace

Sky glanced around. It was the first time she had been past the entry hall. The living room had high ceilings, paneled walls, and beautiful hardwood floors. Although it was a big room, it was sparsely furnished with only a black leather sofa, a matching chair, and a couple of end tables. The same furniture she had seen when he’d moved in years ago. A beautiful Oriental carpet was spread before the fireplace. An enormous crystal chandelier hung from a thick black chain.

The walls were bare save for a large painting of a green-and-gold dragon breathing fire at a sword-wielding knight in silver armor while a raven-haired maiden clad in a red dress looked on.

Kaiden returned moments later wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a long-sleeved, V-necked T-shirt.

“There’s a small bathroom down the hall,” he said, pointing. “Go get out of those wet things.” He thrust a black velour bathrobe into her hands. “I’ll make you a cup of coffee while you change. Or would you rather have tea?”

“Coffee’s fine.” Sky hesitated a moment; then, with a shrug, she went into the bathroom. After kicking off her boots, she peeled off her jacket, jeans, and sweater. Her underwear wasn’t wet so she left it on. After towel-drying her hair, she slipped into the robe. It had to be his, she thought, belting it tightly. It smelled just like him.

He was waiting for her on the sofa when she returned to the living room. A round wooden tray bearing two coffee mugs, a sugar bowl, and cream pitcher waited on an end table.

“I’m afraid I can’t offer you any cake, burnt or otherwise,” he said with a wry grin.

“You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?” she muttered, taking a place beside him on the sofa.

“Sorry,” he said, stifling a grin.

“No, you’re not.”

He shrugged. “Are you warm enough?”

“Yes, the fire is wonderful.”

He handed her one of the cups. “Milk? Sugar?”

“Thanks.” She took a sip, her eyes widening. “What’s in this?”

“A bit of brandy to take away the chill.”

“Oh.”

He added a generous amount of sugar to his cup, then sat back, one arm draped over the sofa.

Sky noticed he was barefooted. It seemed oddly intimate, the two of them both sitting there in their bare feet, as if they had just made love and were relaxing in front of the fire... .

Sky felt her cheeks grow hot. Lordy, where had that thought come from?

“You look flushed,” Thorne remarked. “Is the fire too hot?”

“What? Oh, no, it’s ... I ... no.”

He nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Sky stared into her coffee cup to avoid his gaze. Good grief, did he know what she was thinking? But that was impossible. Wasn’t it?

Thorne pretended to watch the fire, but he was aware of the woman beside him with every fiber of his being. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he had acknowledged that the best thing he could do for Skylynn was to stay away from her, yet here she was, in his house, at his invitation, within arm’s reach. What the hell was he thinking?

The answer was, he wasn’t thinking. His lust and his hunger had combined to override his common sense and now all he could think about was Skylynn, sitting quietly beside him, ripe for the taking.

She jumped when the cup shattered in his hand, raining bits of crockery and spraying drops of coffee onto her lap and the floor.

“What happened?” she asked. “Are you all right?”

“Fine.”

“Your hand’s bleeding.”

“Leave it.” He clenched his fist, heedless of the shards that cut into his skin, or the blood dripping between his fingers.

Sky looked at him, her brow furrowed. “Kaiden, are you ill?” She leaned forward. “Your eyes ...”

Rising quickly to his feet, he turned his back to her and took a deep breath. “I think you’d better go.”

“Should I call someone?” she asked anxiously. “A doctor? I think you might need stitches. And your eyes ...”

“I’m fine,” he said gruffly. “Please, just go.”

She stared at his back, at his hands, tightly clenched at his sides. Blood trickled through the fingers of his right hand. She couldn’t just leave him, not when he was bleeding, not when he might be sick. She took a step toward him. “At least let me bandage that cut.”

“Dammit, Skylynn, just get out of here! Now!”

She wasn’t about to argue, not with that tone of voice. Lifting the hem of the robe, she ran out of the room and didn’t stop running until she was inside her own house, with the door closed and locked behind her.

Breathing heavily, one hand pressed to her chest, she leaned back against the door.

What had just happened?

The sound of Sky’s front door slamming shut behind her echoed in Thorne’s ears like a death knell. And indeed, that was what it was, he thought bitterly.

The death of his humanity.

He could feel his dark nature returning, the constricting of his veins as the thirst for blood surged up within him. He grimaced at the near-forgotten ache in his jaw as his fangs ran out. The potion was quickly wearing off, but why?

Blood. He could think of nothing else. It was a remarkable fluid, warm and red and smooth. It was 90 percent plasma and of that 90 percent, 55 percent was water. The other 45 percent was made up of antibodies, hormones, proteins, glucose, and amino acids. The remaining 10 percent of blood consisted of red and white blood cells. Whatever it was made of, humans couldn’t survive without it.

And now, neither could he.

Agitated, he paced the floor in front of the hearth. True, the last dose he had taken had been smaller than usual, but it should have been good for a few weeks. Had waiting so long to take the last of it weakened its effectiveness?

Dammit!

Feeling as though the walls were closing in on him, he went out into the backyard, oblivious to the thunder and the lightning, to the rain that pummeled his head and shoulders like wet, angry fists.

Standing there with his eyes closed, Thorne was aware of the dark wrapping around him, the mist caressing him like a woman’s loving arms while the night whispered in Kaiden’s ears, welcoming him home.

When her breathing returned to normal, Sky went into the kitchen. After pouring herself a glass of ice water, she stood at the sink, staring out the window at the rain.

What had just happened? One minute she had been on the sofa next to Kaiden, thinking how cozy it was, just the two of them sitting side by side, and the next the coffee cup in his hand had shattered and he had ordered her out of the house.