Dark Heat: The Dark Kings Stories (3 page)

“I found a Cassandra Hunter from Phoenix, Arizona. She boarded a flight from Arizona, had a layover in Missouri, and then another in New York before coming here. Oh, and her luggage was lost.”

Hal raised a brow. “How is she related to Dan?”

“She’s his sister.”

“Ah. So why is she here, I wonder?”

Rhys shrugged his thick shoulders and smiled, his dark blue eyes creasing in the corners. “That I’m curious to know as well. I’ll let Con know where you’re at when he returns in the morn.”

Hal nodded, his gaze still on Cassandra.

Odd that after so many thousands of years, a female would draw his attention as Cassandra did. Their dragon magic had put a stop to that. Or so he thought. He had stared at her through the night, wondering what color her eyes were and why she was in Scotland.

He ran the pad of his thumb over his fingers as he recalled the feel of her soft skin and the wonderful curves he’d seen as he stripped her.

His fingers still tingled from their contact with her. While his body stirred with desires he couldn’t harness or begin to understand.

“Hal,” Rhys called from the door. “Be careful, my friend. You know we doona mix with humans.”

“She was in need of my help,” he answered as he tore his eyes from the woman. “That’s all there is.”

“Hmm. I see how you look at her, no’ that I blame you. She’s verra comely. We are—”

“I know what we are,” Hal interrupted as he turned away from his friend. “I doona need reminding.”

“We all need reminding from time to time. Part of our punishment is that we’re forever to be alone.”

“Punishment for something we didna do. We are no’ the ones who should be punished. We take the humans’ penance while they thrive.”

“And we hide. I’m no’ arguing that. We did what we had to do.”

“Forever is a verra long time, Rhys.”

“Especially when you’re as old as time. Just guard yourself.”

Hal heard the door close behind Rhys and the motor of the vehicle turn over a moment later.

“Forever is too long,” he mumbled.

They were supposed to be free, but how free could someone be if they were meant to guard, meant to spend eternity alone?

Some centuries were easier to live through than others. Over the past few weeks, Hal had found … a hunger … growing inside him that had nothing to do with food.

He craved something, but he didn’t know what.

All he knew was that it was out there, waiting for him. He just had to find it. But how? They were forbidden to leave for more than a few months at a time.

He and the other Kings were careful to leapfrog through time by hiding through a generation or two. It had been easier in the past. There wasn’t computers, video cameras, or cell phones.

Nowadays, a face was logged into a database, and that was it. They took great pains to keep themselves from being seen, but the inevitable would happen. It always did.

So many lifetimes, so many names. Hal didn’t even remember his original name, he’d taken so many. He kept his present one for several centuries, but then all of them had. It was easier that way.

They had a responsibility as Dragon Kings, a duty that no others could fulfill. An obligation caused by one of their own so very long ago.

As eternity stretched before Hal, he wondered how he would get through it all alone.

CHAPTER
THREE

Cassie was torn from the cocoon of warmth and sleep by something very cold and very wet on her hand. She cracked an eye open and found Duke’s face in front of hers.

He ducked his head and nudged her hand with his nose for a second time.

“I’m awake,” Cassie said with a yawn.

As soon as she stretched, the pain in her lower back and butt made itself known. Cassie grabbed the injured area and winced.

The day before came rushing back to her in an instant. That’s when she realized she was inside a house instead of in the sorry excuse for a car Dan had left her.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” said a too-cheerful female voice with a Scottish accent.

Cassie rose up on her elbow and looked over the back of the sofa toward the kitchen to see a young pretty blond woman wiping a plate dry before putting it in the cupboard.

“How did I get in here? And who are you?”

The girl chuckled as she tossed aside the towel and walked to Cassie. “I’m Alice. I work at Dreagan, but Hal asked me to do some shopping for you.”

“Hal?” Cassie was becoming more confused as time went on. Who was Hal, and why was he stocking her kitchen?

Alice’s smile grew. “Follow the chopping, and get ready for an eyeful. I’ve been watching him all morning.”

Cassie didn’t have time for another question before Alice was gone. With nothing else to do, she threw back the covers and then stopped as she noticed her bare legs. Had this Hal taken off her jeans?

She gingerly stood and made her way to the flight of stairs where the bedrooms turned out to be. It didn’t take her long to find where her one lone piece of luggage had been taken.

After she donned a pair of sweatpants and socks and combed out her hair, Cassie walked back down the stairs and did as Alice suggested—followed the chopping.

She rounded a corner and found herself peering out a dining room that was all glass. It looked more like a sunroom than a dining room, and the views of the mountains were staggering.

Or at least they might be if she could tear her eyes away from Hal.

He stood well over six feet, his long black hair pulled back in a queue at his neck while sweat rolled down his face. Thick black brows slashed over his eyes, eyes she wished she knew the color of.

His face was all angles and rugged handsomeness. A dusty coating of whiskers covered his square jaw and chin, but even the whiskers didn’t hide the slight indent in his chin.

He had a wide forehead and a long straight nose. And his lips … Cassie had trouble swallowing as she caught sight of his mouth. No man should have lips so wide and thin, so damned seductive.

A jacket and sweater were discarded on the back of a wooden chair, leaving Hal in nothing but a skintight white tee that showed every wonderful muscle.

With each move, each swing of the axe, she watched the play of muscles in his back and arms. The blade of the axe cut through the wood as easily as a hot knife through butter. Cassie was mesmerized watching him.

It wasn’t just his amazing body or his good looks, there was something different about him that Cassie had never seen in a man. Something that would set him apart in a crowd of thousands.

As if he realized he was being watched, Hal halted just as he was about to bring the axe down again and turned his head. Their gazes locked, and Cassie felt all the air rush from her lungs.

For several moments they simply stared at one another before he sent her a grin and went back to chopping. It didn’t seem right to continue staring at him, so Cassie turned away and hurried into the kitchen only to discover it was nearly noon.

“Duke, I’ve slept the entire morning away,” she said in alarm.

With everything Hal had done, the least she could do was fix him lunch. Cassie grabbed her coat from a hook near the door and shrugged it on as she stuffed her feet into her boots.

She walked outside and huddled into the jacket as the brisk January wind hit her full in the face. Duke raced past her and bounded around Hal.

He laughed and rubbed Duke before he tossed the blade into a stump as if weighed nothing and turned to her.

Being this close to him did something to Cassie. Maybe it was because she was hungry and still exhausted from the day before, but it was as if she couldn’t get her balance, as if the world kept tilting beneath her feet.

“I hear I owe you my thanks,” she said.

His mouth twisted in a half smile. “I did what anyone would.”

She had never thought the Scottish brogue sounded appealing until that moment. His deep, almost gravelly voice made goose bumps race over her body. He could read from an accounting book and she’d listen to him. Avidly.

“I didn’t know there was a code, and I couldn’t get a hold of Dan.”

“He gave it to us a few years ago in case there was ever an emergency.”

Cassie chuckled. “Thank God he did.”

“I’m Hal.”

“Cassie,” she said, amazed at how breathless she sounded.

Just from being this close to him. Was it his brogue, his eye-catching body, or was it something more that caused the world to fade to nothing around him?

Silence stretched between them. Cassie cleared her throat. “I apologize for sleeping away the morning. Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life.”

“Ah, you slept all of yesterday, lass. This is your second morning here.”

Cassie snorted, wondering if the frozen ground could open up and swallow her. “Of course it is.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that the wind kept blowing into her face. “Thank you for having Alice bring the groceries. I can pay you for that.”

“No need.”

“I think I owe you my life. Let me fix you some lunch at least.”

He smiled once more, making her stomach flutter as if a thousand butterflies took flight inside her.

“That sounds good. Let me finish up here. Dan didna leave you with much firewood, and with the weather we’ll be having, you’re going to need it.”

“I’ll see you inside then.”

It wasn’t until Cassie was walking away that she remembered she was an awful cook. The only thing she could manage without burning it was a sandwich.

She hastily looked through the small pantry and fridge and found different deli meats and cheeses that she cut up and laid out along with bread and mayo and mustard. There was a bag of chips, which she also put on the table.

“They’re crisps,” she said after reading the label. “I need to remember that.”

A glance outside showed Duke was still with Hal, so Cassie rushed upstairs and jumped into the shower. The hot water felt wonderful, as did washing her hair and scrubbing her body. Then she quickly blow-dried her hair.

Unable to resist, she put a dab of blush on her cheeks before she put on a fresh pair of jeans and her thickest sweater over a long-sleeve shirt, which wasn’t nearly thick enough for the weather.

She walked downstairs rubbing her hands together from the chill of the house only to come up short when she found Hal standing in the kitchen munching on a slice of meat, Duke at his feet.

“If that’s the warmest sweater you have, lass, I fear you need to do some shopping.”

She pulled her gaze away from his amazing pale, pale blue eyes and glanced down at her soft pink sweater and nodded. “I know. I was hoping to make it through winter with what I had. I have a few more sweaters I was able to get before I came, but my luggage was lost.”

“Maybe they’ll find your luggage soon. Either way, you need more sweaters and a thicker coat as well as gloves and scarves. A hat would also be wise.”

Cassie sighed as the dollar signs continued to add up in her mind. “I’ll get on that as soon as I can. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Dan should have told you.”

Yes, he should have, but Cassie wasn’t going to rag on her brother to a complete stranger. Yet, this stranger seemed to know Dan pretty well.

“Dan is … well, he’s so busy with … things,” she finished lamely. “Are you hungry? I’m famished.”

“Then let’s eat.”

Cassie hadn’t found any coffee, and she was in desperate need of caffeine, so she grabbed a soda from the fridge and told Hal to help himself.

He spoke of the weather and the snow they were expecting to get over the next few days while they fixed their sandwiches and ate. Cassie found herself relaxed around him, even if she was more aware of him as a man.

A very virile, very handsome man.

But she was under no illusions. She’d seen herself in the mirror. She was nothing to write home about, and men like Hal always had the most beautiful women on their arms.

“How much do I owe you for the groceries?” she asked once they were finished eating.

He waved away her words. “Consider it a welcome gift. How long are you staying, anyway?”

“Ah, that is a question, isn’t it? Dan said he needed some work done on the cottage and I needed a place to stay. I’ll do the work here in exchange for staying. During that time, I need to find a job.”

“All the way out here?” Hal asked, his black brows raised as his moonlight blue eyes watched her.

“When I arrived it was dark. I don’t remember much. How far is it to the nearest town?”

“Thirty minutes on a good, warm day.”

Cassie leaned her head back against the chair and nodded as she realized her situation here wasn’t that much better than it had been in Arizona, but at least here she wouldn’t get kicked out because she couldn’t pay the rent. “I see.”

“May I ask what brought you here?”

She found herself drawn to his eyes. The pale blue against his black hair and tanned skin was spellbinding. She wasn’t the type to reveal all her secrets, but with Hal, she found she wanted to share her burdens. Even if it was only for a short time.

“I lost my job during layoffs almost a year ago. I had savings, and I’d have been all right, but my roommate got married, leaving me with all the rent. That sapped my savings quicker than I expected. Finding a job was impossible anywhere. So many people out of work. I couldn’t even get hired on at McDonald’s.”

Cassie chuckled, remembering that interview.

“So your brother offered?” Hal asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Not exactly. Dan has always been the lucky one in the family. He’s the one who was able to skip college and land the ultimate job in London because of who he knew. That job is where he met Shelly, his wife. As I’m sure you know, her family is loaded with money, but Dan was doing all right by himself.”

“And your parents? Are they proud of him?”

“Our parents died in a car crash my junior year of high school. Gosh, that was over twelve years ago,” she said, and mentally frowned. How time flew. “Dan became my guardian and took care of me. I was able to get a couple of grants to go to college, and I paid the rest myself while working. Dan sent money at first, but it stopped when I got my degree and found a good job. Not that I blame him. I was able to take care of myself.”