Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity) (3 page)

In silence they wandered down the wide passageway, occasionally halting for Cassie to peer into the windows. For the moment, Caine was content to allow her to behave as a normal female. It was all too rare that she was able to put aside the burden of her visions.

And as long as he didn’t detect any danger lurking . . .

His brain closed down as his searching gaze was snared by the sight of lace and ribbons and feminine temptation spread in front of a shop window.

Instinct alone had him herding Cassie through the door and into the hushed atmosphere of the exclusive store.

“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion.

“We did your shopping, now it’s my turn,” he informed her, moving toward a table that held a pile of satin teddies with matching thongs.

Oh . . . hell.

Cassie halted at his side, her expression puzzled. “Here?”

“Absolutely.” Dropping his packages, Caine reached for a scarlet teddy, holding up the fragile garment for her inspection. “What do you think?”

“Tiny.” There was a faint hint of dimples. “I don’t think it will fit you.”

Heat blasted through him at the vivid image of Cassie wearing the lacy lingerie and spread across his bed, that same almost-smile teasing at her lips.

“We’ll take one of each color,” he croaked toward the saleswoman.

“They’re not very practical,” Cassie protested.

“Practical is the last thing you should be when you’re wearing fine lingerie.”

Expecting an argument, Caine was caught off guard when she reached to gently stroke a finger over the shimmering fabric.

“I suppose they will be comfortable to sleep in.”

Sleep?

Caine’s fantasy abruptly altered to reality—a reality in which Cassie slept like a baby in one bed while he tossed and turned in another.

Did he really need to add in a skimpy bit of lace to add to his torture?

“For one of us,” he wryly admitted.

Predictably, she didn’t have a clue why he was suddenly questioning his own sanity. “What?”

He headed toward the discreet sales desk at the back of the store, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

“I’m an idiot.”

Chapter 2

Cassie wandered through the casino, watching the humans as they stood mesmerized by the flashing lights and spinning wheels of the slot machines. The air was filled with their tangled emotions—the hope, the greed, the rare jolt of joy, and the far more common desperation.

She was fascinated, even as she was saddened by their frantic attempts to grasp . . . something.

Money? Sex? Happiness?

Without thought, she reached to grab Caine’s hand, needing the steady sense of security he offered. He squeezed her fingers, tugging her closer to his hard body as a group of drunken revelers stumbled past.

“As much as I enjoy civilization, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?” he murmured, the scent of soap and shampoo from his recent shower doing nothing to disguise the warm, wicked tang of his wolf.

For reasons that Cassie didn’t understand, a rash of excitement prickled over her skin, making her want to strip off her new sundress and rub against the male at her side.

Of course she didn’t give in to the impulse.

She was slowly learning that there were all sorts of stupid rules and regulations that had to be followed when surrounded by mortals. And taking off her clothing seemed to be at the top of the list.

Instead she turned her thoughts to his question, heaving a faint sigh. “I’ll tell you when I know,” she said.

“Brilliantly vague.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he muttered with a grimace.

“No.”

She came to an abrupt halt, turning to meet his rueful expression. Despite the chronic distractions that clouded her mind, she knew that she didn’t always appreciate this man as she should.

Who else would have saved her from a fate worse than death, and then stayed at her side as she had led him from one random place to another, compelled by the visions that consumed her to the point of oblivion?

No one, that was who
, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. No one but Caine.

With a frown of concern, Caine reached to cup her cheek in his hand, his warm touch her only anchor to this world. “Cassie?” he prompted.

“I’m sorry,” she said abruptly, her gaze skimming over his lean, finely chiseled features. He truly was a beautiful male with his pale hair shimmering like gold beneath the bright lights and his eyes as brilliant as sapphires. It was no wonder she could smell the desire coming from the numerous women staring at him with hungry eyes. “I haven’t been fair to you.”

His thumb pressed against her lips as he gave a shake of his head. “Don’t.”

She grasped his wrist, tugging his hand from her face. She had to speak now. Who knew how long her brief clarity would last?

“I become . . . lost in my visions and I have never truly stopped to consider what you’ve sacrificed to keep me safe.” Her fingers absently caressed the skin of his inner wrist, feeling the leap of his pulse at her soft touch. “Without you . . .”

His eyes darkened with a heat that Cassie felt to the tips of her toes.

“This isn’t necessary,” he growled.

Distantly she could hear the clanging noise of the machines and the deafening buzz of a hundred conversations, but in this moment she was aware of nothing beyond the man standing in front of her and the steady sapphire gaze that a woman could drown in.

“No, let me say this,” she pleaded.

His lips tightened, but he was smarter than the average Were. He knew better than to try and halt a determined female. “Okay.”

“For as long as I can remember I’ve been a prisoner.” She shivered, battling back the grim memory of the past thirty years. “I was not only held hostage by the demon lord, but also my knowledge that I could never survive on my own.”

He didn’t bother to protest. They both knew that she wouldn’t last a day without him. “That’s something you’re never going to have to worry about,” he gruffly promised.

She stepped closer, the sizzling power of his wolf calling to her most primitive instincts. Although she couldn’t shift, her beast still crawled beneath her skin, relishing the delectable male who had earned her trust. Something she would never have believed possible just a few weeks ago.

“If it wasn’t for you I would still be in that cave.”

“Don’t make me into a hero, Cassie.” He scowled. “We both know I started out as the villain of the piece.”

Her lips twitched. She might not be worldly, but she knew that Caine was far more comfortable with his bad-boy image. And from what he’d confessed, he deserved the reputation.

But as far as she was concerned, he’d always be her champion.

“If you were a villain, then you wouldn’t be here with me,” she pointed out softly.

He snorted, running a searing gaze down her slender curves shown to advantage by the dress. “Have you looked in the mirror?” he demanded. “There isn’t a red-blooded male who wouldn’t kill to share a hotel room with you.”

She ignored his ridiculous words, tilting her head to study him with a curious gaze. “Why do you stay?”

“I just told you.”

Her fingers tightened on his wrist, annoyed by his flippant tone. “I’m unfamiliar with the world, but I’m not stupid, Caine.”

He arched a golden brow. “I never thought you were.”

“I’ve seen how the females watch you.”

“Really?” Something dark and predatory flashed through his eyes. “And how’s that?”

She glanced toward the gaggle of women who pretended to watch the roulette table while they were sneaking looks of longing in Caine’s direction. For no reason at all, she felt the sudden urge to bare her teeth at them. Or maybe she would yank out a few handfuls of their overbleached hair.

“They would be eager to share their bodies with you,” she said, an edge in her voice she’d never heard before. “If all you desired was sex, then you could find a much easier, not to mention a far more experienced, bed partner.”

A slow, wicked smile curved his lips as he abruptly wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her tight against his body. “There’s sex and then there’s what is going to happen between us.”

She trembled, a pleasurable heat exploding in the pit of her stomach. “And what’s that?” she husked.

His gaze dipped to her lips, the scent of his wolf filling the air. “Magic.”

Entranced by the sensations flowing through her, Cassie tilted back her head to study his beautiful face. “You haven’t told me why you stay.”

For a long moment she thought he might refuse to answer. Then, threading his fingers in her hair, he heaved a faint sigh. “You could say that I’m trying to even the scales.”

“Even the scales?”

His expression became distracted as he allowed his fingers to run through her hair, as if mesmerized by the satin smoothness of the strands. “Because of my bloated ego, the Weres were nearly destroyed,” he said, clearly regretting the years he’d devoted to helping Briggs, a crazed Were who’d been in league with the demon lord holding her captive. “It’s only fair that I sacrifice to keep their most prized possession safe.”

She tensed at his low words, absurdly hurt. “So I’m a duty?”

His head lowered so he could bury his face in the curve of her neck, breathing deeply of her scent. “That’s what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.”

She laid her hands against his chest, angling her head so he could have easier access to the vulnerable line of her throat.

This was Caine. And she trusted him without question.

“I’m not sure what that means,” she breathed.

He went rigid at her unspoken gesture of capitulation, his fingers biting into the curve of her hip before he was abruptly jerking away, a flush staining his cheeks.

“Neither do I, and I intend to keep it that way,” he muttered, turning to head across the gaudy carpet of the casino.

“Caine?” She hurried after him, unsure what she’d done wrong. “What is it?”

“Dinner.” His step never slowed as he grimly headed for the nearby buffet.

“You’re hungry?”

“Christ, you have no freaking idea.”

Gaius’s lair in the Louisiana wetlands

The Immortal Ones were the stuff of legends.

Centuries ago a clan of vampires had chosen to leave the world behind. Using Nefri’s powerful medallion, they’d traveled through the Veil to another dimension where they were secluded from the weaknesses that plagued the less civilized.

Beyond the Veil there was no hunger, no lust, no need for sleep.

Instead, they devoted their nights to studying among the endless libraries or cultivating the gardens that managed to grow despite the lack of sunlight. And their days to meditation.

But it was the rumors that they retained the old powers lost to the vampires of this world that made them feared.

Most of the gossip was exaggerated, but there were still some forgotten talents that could be mastered.

Which, of course, was precisely why Gaius had petitioned to travel through the Veil after the death of his mate. Although most had assumed that he’d been seeking the peace to be found on the other side.

As if meditation and flowers could ease the brutal loss of his beloved Dara.

Stupid bastards.

Forced to stand and watch his mate being burned at the stake by a rival vampire clan, Gaius would have walked straight into the sun if it hadn’t been for the Dark Lord.

Even as Dara had burned, the powerful deity had appeared as a misty shadow at his side, whispering promises of Dara’s return from the grave, all for the small price of Gaius’s soul.

It was a trade-off that Gaius had made without a second thought. The return of his mate? Hell yes, he’d sell his soul a dozen times over. And it was a decision he hadn’t regretted, despite the long years of seclusion beyond the Veil.

Obeying his new lord, he’d avoided attracting attention while learning the skill of shape-shifting and eventually using the medallion he’d found hidden beneath one of the fountains to mist-walk. It was the latter skill that had allowed him to escape undetected from the Veil to return to the world he’d left behind so many years ago.

Briefly disoriented by his abrupt journey, Gaius leaned against the nearest cypress tree and struggled to regain his balance.

He felt . . .

Yeah. That was it.

He
felt
all the things that were forgotten on the other side.

The weight of his slender body covered by a simple robe. The summer breeze that stirred the dark strands of his hair, which he wore short and slicked from his face. Startled, he lifted a hand to touch the chilled skin of his cheek before trailing down the strong thrust of his nose, which bore the proud stamp of his days as a Roman general. Most creatures would find him handsome, he vaguely recalled, although his dark eyes remained as bleak and lifeless as the day he’d watched Dara die.

And then he was struck by less desirable sensations.

With a frown his fingers shifted to the fangs that suddenly throbbed at the distant scent of human blood.

Hunger.

And not just of the liquid variety, he angrily realized, his body hardening with a nearly forgotten ache of desire.

Shoving away the unpleasant realization, Gaius grimly turned his attention to the secluded house that was located on the edge of the Louisiana swamp.

Built on brick stilts, it was a large structure painted white with black shutters and a screened-in wraparound porch. The front yard was filled with large trees draped in Spanish moss that effectively hid the place from the narrow path that led to the small town.

All in all it was the perfect place for a vampire to remain hidden.

Which was no doubt why the Dark Lord had sent him here to wait for his next orders.

Ignoring the humid heat and swarms of bugs that filled the air, Gaius made his way through the front gate and up the wide staircase. He stepped through the door of the porch, relieved to catch sight of the overhead fan providing a much needed breeze.