Fury of Obsession (Dragonfury Series Book 5) (34 page)

“Sounds to me like it was you or him. Self-defense, not murder,” she said, tone soft, yet somehow firm too. Not understanding, Venom stared at her. She gazed back, holding the line, refusing to back down, pushing her assertion. Eyes full of compassion met and held his, making his throat go tight. “You did what you had to do to protect yourself, Venom. And you got Wick out to
o . . .
shielded him when no one else could.”

“Yeah.” He frowned. True enough, although all in a fit of blind panic. The second his sire died, he’d known he would be next if the Archguard managed to pin the murder on him. So instead of taking his father’s place among Dragonkind elite, he’d torn the collar from Wick’s neck, dragged him out of the cage, and run for his lif
e . . .
with his future best friend in tow. “We hid out in Europe for a while until good luck hooked us up with Bastian and Rikar. After that, we jumped the pond and came to Seattle.”

“Hunting for Ivar and the Razorbacks.”

Venom nodded.

“But the fight with your father still bothers you.”

“Every day.”

“Don’t let it, Venom.” Cupping his jaw with one hand, she sent the other skating over his shoulder. The gentle caress reached soul-deep, unraveling his tension one thread at a time. “I know it’s hard, but I want you to do something for me.”

“What?”

“Accept what you did was necessary and move past it.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Practice makes perfect. Take it one day at a time, and it’ll come,” she said. “If you let it, peace will come.”

Maybe. Maybe not. But for Evelyn, he would try. Hope like hell he could leave the past behind. Let it go. Start fresh.
Move past it
into healthier territory, just as she asked. All while praying that the day didn’t bring new nightmares, the night any more recriminations, and his female stayed with him—forever.

Before sharing his sin, he hadn’t been sure of his chances. Evelyn was a strong female. Smart. Self-assured. More than capable of taking care of herself and returning to the human world on her own. Now, though, with her so close, nothing but understanding in her eyes, he held a glimmer of hope. Maybe he wasn’t giving her enough credit. Perhaps all she needed was a gentle push. More information. More conversation. More openness on his part to help her accept his claiming and—

A car door slammed outside in the driveway.

Venom clenched his teeth. Well, shit. Talk about bad timing. No more baring of souls tonight. The cavalry had just arrived. S
o . . .
time to shift gears and get a move on.

“Hey, Evie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Being so incredible,” he murmured, taut muscle loosening as he let the last of his tension go. “You’re amazin
g . . .
you know that, right?”

“Princess Awesome, that’s me,” she said, pure imp as she lightened the mood. He grinned. She picked up the abandoned butter knife, grabbed a cracker, then dug more peanut butter out of the jar. Plopping it on the saltine, she spread it across the top, then glanced his way. Her eyes met his. Desire shoved thoughts of his past out of the way. His body went haywire, twitching with the need to make love to her. Reading his expression, she blinked in surprise a second before her mouth curved. “You’re thinking naughty thoughts again, Venom.”

“Your fault.”

“Sure it is.” The devil in her eyes, she raised a brow. “I think you’re just horny.”

More sass. How perfect. “And you aren’t?”

“Maybe.”

“Minx.” She huffed in laughter. One ear on the crunch of footsteps outside in the driveway, Venom pushed away from the countertop. Leather whispered beneath his jeans as he turned on his stool and grabbed the base of hers. Forearm bunching, he tugged. Metal feet scraped across floor tiles, sounding loud in the quiet as he pulled her between the spread of his thighs. The side of her stool touched his. She swayed toward him, bumping into the wall of his chest. Dipping his head, he kissed the curve of her bare shoulder. “Gorgeous female. I want you again.”

“Nice. Good answer.” Her smile widened into a grin. “More brownie points for you.”

His lips twitched.

She leaned toward him. Her mouth brushed his. Once. Twice. A third time before she settled in and kissed him—softly, sweetly, with so much affection his heart went AWOL and he forgot about the male outside. Drawing away, she drew a swirl in peanut butter with the tip of her knife and lifted her hand. He opened his mouth. She fed him the saltine. Kraft’s finest hit his taste buds, making him hum in gratitude. Gaze locked on his lips, she watched him chew. And Venom knew what she was thinking. Despite her teasing, she wanted him again too. Was ready to forsake her snack in favor of feasting on him.

A thump drifted into the kitchen. Metal rattled. Hinges hissed as the door from the garage into the house opened.

The sound made Evelyn jump. “Did you hear that?”

“Relax,
mazleiha
.” Brushing her hair aside, he cupped the side of her throat. A gentle tug turned her back toward him. His thumb drifted, brushing over her pulse point. “It’s just Daimler.”

“Right,” she muttered, her focus split—half on him, half on the corridor. “Ever notice that when you use the word
just
, I get blindsided?”

“Like when?”

“Like when you kidnapped me at the hospital—”

“Rescued, you mean.”

She ignored his interruption and sailed on. “And that crazy-looking black dragon was sitting on the roof glaring at me.”

“Wick wasn’t glaring at you.”

“Total evil eye. He gave me one,” she said, treating him to a you-bet-your-ass-he-did look. “I saw it.”

“When—before or after you freaked out?”

“Oh, shut up. My screaming was totally justified.”

He chuckled, enjoying her tart tone. Big surprise there. He adored everything about her—attitude included.

Her eyes narrowed on him. She pointed the knife at his nose. “Listen, mister, I—”

“Hello!” Full of pep, Daimler’s shout drifted down the hall. “Anybody home?”

“In here,” Venom said.

The quiet click of a closing door drifted into the kitchen. Plastic rustled. Paper crinkled. Quiet footfalls sounded a second later, rushing the Numbai out of the corridor and around the corner. Eyes bright, elfin ears peeking through his dark hair, and loaded down with shopping bags, Daimler slid to a stop. His gaze landed on Venom, then bounced over to Evelyn. Taking in the cozy arrangement—the fact she nearly sat in his lap—he smiled, gold front tooth winking in the low light.

Venom tipped his chin. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course, Master Venom. I am delighted to be here.” With a happy hop, Daimler stepped up to the island and set the bags on the marble countertop. A pleased look on his face, he met and held Evelyn’s gaze. “And you must be Evelyn. I am so very pleased to meet you, my lady.”

Evelyn blinked. “My lady?”

“Go with it.” Taking her hand, Venom pushed off his stool and stood. Lacing his fingers with hers, he tugged Evelyn off her seat. Her palm sliding against his, she tucked in, standing so close pleasure erupted in a wave of glory, glory, hallelujah. Venom shut it down, forcing his body to cool and his mind to work as she raised a brow in question. He shrugged. “It’s just easier to go along.”

“There you go agai
n . . .
using the word
just
,” she said, tone hushed before smiling at the newcomer. “It’s great to meet you too, Daimler. Venom’s told me so much about you.”

Not an exaggeration. He’d extolled the Numbai’s virtues. Told Evelyn all about his wizard-like culinary skills. Daimler’s wicked triple-decker to-die-for chocolate cake too.

“Oh, good, then there is no need for me to explain.” Popping up on his toes, Daimler hunted through the collection of bags. Paper rasped against plastic, shuffling into each other across the countertop. With a soft
a-ha
, he grabbed one with “Macy’s” printed on the side. “I brought you a gift.”

Evelyn sucked in a breath. “Clothes?”

Daimler nodded. “Running shoes too.”

“Bless you,” she said. “Venom’s right. You’re the best, Daimler.”

Clasping his hands in front of his chest, the Numbai blushed.

Gaze on the bag, she shook free of Venom’s hand. The loss made his chest go tight. He let her go anyway, mourning the distance as he watched Evelyn step around the edge of the island. Thanking Daimler again, she accepted the shopping bag full of goodies. Handles hanging from her fingertips, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. “I’m going to have a shower. Wanna come?”

Venom blinked. Muscles roping his abdomen clenched an
d . . .
oh, baby. Talk about a double entendre. His stomach flip-flopped, somersaulting into a quadruple backflip.
Wanna come
, indeed. He bit down on a laugh. Little minx. Gorgeous tease. Of course he wanted to come—in the shower or anywhere else she asked him to please her.

Too bad he couldn’t. Not right now.

No matter how much he longed to love her again, he needed to go. His brothers-in-arms awaited his call. Were already in the air and headed his way. Fine-tuning his sonar, he reached out with his mind. A soft buzz swirled against his temples as his dragon half rose. Six males. Five miles out. And closing fast. Venom glanced over his shoulder. His gaze skimmed the living room, over the couch and a pair of armchairs to reach the wide bank of windows along the back wall. Magic rippled across glass, individual panes moving from opaque to clear in the moonlight. Which made it official. Dusk had fallen, and now duty called. Granite Falls wouldn’t wait much longer, never mind another night. Neither would the humans who called the small town home.

Which meant playtime was over. At least, for the moment.

“Evie.”

Reacting to his serious tone, she turned toward him. Intuition sparked in her eyes, downgrading the pleasure of Daimler’s gift. “What’s wrong?”

“Come here for a second.”

With a whispered “Excuse me” to Daimler, Evelyn skirted the kitchen island. Sidestepping one of the stools, she stopped in front of him. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“For a little while.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“A few hours. Maybe more, but I’ll be back before dawn.”

She frowned. “That’s why you called Daimler, isn’t it—to keep me company?”

“I didn’t want you to be alone in the house.”

“I could come with—”

“No,
mazleiha
, you can’t.” He shook his head, backing up the words with action. Super-strong immune system or not, he didn’t want her anywhere near Granite Falls. Jesus. Just the thought sent him into a tailspin. “I need you to stay here. Inside the house with Daimler. Don’t go outside. I’ll come back as fast as I can.”

“But—”

“Promise me, Evie.”

Worry in her eyes, she stared at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s nothing serious,” he said, lying through his teeth. Tell he
r . . .
tell her
about energy-fuse. He’d revealed so much already, trusting her with a secret only Wick knew. Still, the words refused to trip off his tongue even as honor urged him to be honest. Down and dirty. Quick and clean. The truth tied up in a neat little bow. Venom cleared his throat. He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Goddamn it, he was pathetic. In need of a good ass-kicking or something. A boot to the balls. A fist to the head. The method didn’t matter just as long as it allowed him to move forward. Away from the fear of her rejection. “Really, it isn’t, but I’ve still got to go.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not.”

“You’re asking me to take a lot on faith, Venom.” Raising her hand, she stroked a finger along his jaw. “To trust you without proof or knowing why.”

“I know.”

“A tall order.”

“It is, bu
t . . .
” He trailed off, struggling to find the right words. Again. Like always, but like it or not, he needed her to stay put until he got home. Her safety wasn’t optional. It qualified as a must. Especially now that Ivar knew her name. The rogues weren’t stupid. Masters of technology, the bastards pulled intel off the Internet in the same way Sloan mined human databases. Personal information—address, job history, friends, bank account numbers—ranked as important when hunting prey. Which meant his enemy would already be tracking her credit cards, looking for patterns and preferences in the hopes of finding her favorite haunts. “Do this for me, Evie. Stay here. It’s not safe for you in the city after dark.”

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Evelyn held his gaze. One second ticked into more. Silence spun into tension. Venom stayed quiet, forcing himself to be patient, waiting her out, praying she fell in line.

After what felt like forever, she blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll stay her
e . . .
on one condition.”

Relief hit him like a wrecking ball. “Name it.”

“When you get back, you tell me what’s bothering you. No pussyfooting around.”

“Deal.” Thank God. He’d just bought more time. Enough maybe to find a way to explain without freaking her out. “We’ll talk when I get home.”

“And you’ll be honest.” Dark eyes narrowed, she leveled him with a no-nonsense look. “One hundred percent straight with me.”

Venom nodded. “About everything.”

“All right, then go,” she said. “Daimler and I—”

“Will bake cookies!” The excited chirp echoed across the kitchen. A thunk followed as Daimler set a mixing bowl in the center of the island. “Maybe watch some movies too.”

Laughter chased the worry from Evelyn’s eyes. “Kind of like a slumber party.”

“Exactly! No
w . . .
” With a jubilant hop, Daimler disappeared behind the mound of grocery bags. Cupboard doors banged. Metal rattled against metal. A second later, he popped back into view with an armful of baking trays. Setting them down with a bang, he waved a hand, flicking his fingers at them. “Kiss Master Venom good-bye, my lady, then sit down. I will make tea and we’ll talk.”

“No chance of that.” Holding her hand up to keep Venom at bay, she took a step back. And then another, punishing him with distance. “No kissing until I have the whole truth.”