His Dark Embrace

She shook her head. “I don’t have the formula. You know that.”

“I know.” His voice was low, his gaze hypnotic. “There’s something else.”

“Just tell me what it is, and I’ll find it. I give you my word.”

“Close your eyes, Sky Blue. That’s right.” He slipped his arms around her and drew her close. “This won’t hurt, I promise.” And so saying, he bent her back over his arm and took what he needed.

And even as he lost himself in the pleasure of it, he hated himself for what he was doing, for lacking the will, the strength, to resist.

He only hoped she would forgive him for breaking his promise.

Sky felt herself falling, falling, into nothingness. This was death, she thought, and wondered why she wasn’t more afraid, and why the world seemed to be clothed in ribbons of shimmering red. She had never thought that dying would feel so wonderfully soft and sensuous.

Awareness returned gradually. She tried to cling to the hazy, sensual scarlet world, but it slipped away and she was thrust into a realm of darkness, a thick blackness that was more than just the absence of light. Lost and alone, she wandered through an alien landscape, blindly searching for something that was familiar.

And then, in the distance, she saw a large black box, the same black box she had seen as a child the night Kaiden Thorne moved into the house across the street. Odd, that she could see so clearly in the darkness.

Drawn with Pandora-like curiosity, she moved slowly toward the box. Only when she drew near did she realize it wasn’t a box at all, but an old-fashioned casket.

She tried to turn back, but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own and she drew closer, ever closer. As if it belonged to someone else, she watched her hand lift the lid.

Kaiden Thorne lay inside.

She woke screaming in her own bed with no memory of how she had gotten there.

Sitting up, she clutched her pillow to her chest until her heart stopped beating double time and her breathing returned to normal.

“It was just a nightmare.” She brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “Just a nightmare,” she repeated.

And yet it had seemed so real.

Throwing the covers aside, she got out of bed, then sat on the edge of the mattress when the room began to spin out of focus. Why did she feel so dizzy? Was she coming down with the flu? She lifted a hand to her forehead. She didn’t have a fever. Maybe she had just gotten up too fast.

She sat there for several moments, taking slow, deep breaths, and then tried again. When nothing happened, she went into the bathroom, where she washed her face and brushed her teeth.

After dressing in a pair of old comfy sweats, she went downstairs. Coffee, she needed coffee—and lots of it.

Minutes later, steaming cup in hand, she went out to sit on the front porch swing. The storm had passed and the morning was bright and clear and beautiful. She stared at the house across the way, wondering if Kaiden was awake.

She frowned. She had a vague recollection of going over there last night. Or had she only dreamed it? Her thoughts seemed fuzzy this morning. Odd. She didn’t feel hung over. She didn’t remember drinking anything stronger than a single glass of wine.

In fact, she didn’t remember much of anything at all. So, what had happened and why was it so hard to remember? She frowned, concentrating. She had gone over to Kaiden’s house when the lights went out. They had talked about Granda. She remembered Kaiden telling her she had something he needed ... but he had never told her what it was. She didn’t remember anything after that.

After finishing her coffee, she put her cup aside, then sat there, staring at Kaiden’s house. She couldn’t remember what had happened last night, but she remembered something from a rainy night years ago. How old had she been back then? Ten, eleven? She recalled being awakened by a nightmare and going into Granda’s room, only he hadn’t been there. Frightened, she had gone downstairs, but he hadn’t been there, either. Noticing that the door leading to the basement was open, she had tiptoed to the top of the stairs, then hesitated. She wasn’t supposed to go down there, but a rumble of thunder sent her scurrying down the stairs in search of her grandfather. Light shone under the door of Granda’s lab. Curious, she had pressed her ear to the door, and heard Kaiden’s voice.

“Dammit, old man, that hurts like hell!”

“Do you want to give up?” Granda’s voice.

“Of course not! But do you have to use silver? You know it burns like acid.”

“It’s the only thing that will hold you.”

“I gave you my word!”

“That you did,” Granda said. “But better safe than sorry where you’re concerned.”

Sky recoiled as an angry growl rattled the door. Was there a wild animal in there?

Taking a tight rein on her courage, her nightmare forgotten, she pressed her ear to the door again.

“Relax,” Granda said. “I’m just taking a little blood.”

A harsh bark of laughter and then Kaiden said, “I could use a little of that myself.”

“If this works, you won’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Sky didn’t remember making any noise, but suddenly Kaiden said, “We’ve got company.”

A moment later, the door opened and Granda stood there, blocking her view of the lab. “What are you doing here?” he asked sharply. “You should be in bed.”

“I had a nightmare.” She moved to the left as a groan that sounded as if it had been ripped from Kaiden Thorne’s throat reached her ears.

Granda moved with her, blocking her view. “Go back to bed, Skylynn.”

Sky had stood her ground, her curiosity growing with every passing second. Why were Granda and Mr. Thorne working so late? Why was Mr. Thorne groaning? Was he in pain? Why wouldn’t Granda let her look inside the lab?

“What are you and Mr. Thorne doing down here?” she asked.

But Granda had never answered her question.

Thinking of it now, she realized Granda must have been experimenting with the formula, but what on earth did blood and silver have to do with it? Surely they weren’t ingredients in Kaiden’s tonic. And what had Granda been doing to Kaiden that had caused him so much distress? He could have been drawing some blood, she supposed, but from the pain in Kaiden’s voice, that seemed unlikely.

Rising, Sky strolled to the other end of the front porch, then sat on the rail. What had really been going on in the lab that night? If she marched across the street and asked Kaiden, would he tell her?