Hour of Darkness Read online

Only her pleasure.

  “Come for me,” he demanded, glancing up at her while he intensified his fevered assault. “I want to taste it this time. Give it to me, Marina.”

  She quivered and shook on his tongue, then shattered with a strangled cry of release. Cain had been on a thread-bare leash; watching her break apart for him snapped the last bit of his control. Gripping his aching cock, he came up on his feet and guided himself into place at the mouth of her body.

  He was beyond the ability to take things slow. Her sheath was drenched and soft and inviting. He buried himself inside her on a ragged groan, seating his shaft to its root.

  “Ah, Christ,” he uttered, moving within the tight fist of her channel. “Ah, fuck . . . you feel too good, baby.”

  Need racked him, ragged and raw, unstoppable. He couldn’t drive hard enough. Couldn’t get deep enough. He’d spent so many years chasing empty, anonymous pleasures with women of no consequence to him that he wasn’t prepared for the depth of craving he had for this woman.

  For Marina.

  He had never known hunger like this.

  Savage with it, he pressed her bent legs higher and rocked into her with an even greater ferocity. She clung to him, panting and flushed with rising passion, tilting her hips to meet every fevered thrust.

  “Harder,” she urged him, dragging his head down for a hungry kiss. “Don’t stop.”

  He couldn’t if his damned life depended on it. Maybe not even if hers did too.

  Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as her tremulous aftershocks combusted into another swift and powerful climax.

  He was right behind her. His release ripped through him, scalding hot and furious. He roared as it slammed into him, his hips pumping restlessly while the tiny muscles of her channel clenched around his cock like a vise.

  The force of his orgasm staggered him . . . but it barely slowed him down.

  He was still hard, still on fire for more of his beautiful Marina.

  The glow from his transformed eyes bathed her pale skin in a heated amber light as he gazed down at her nakedness. He had hoped a taste of her would be enough to sate him. God knew, he ought to be. But tasting her, being inside her, had only increased his appetite for more.

  He flexed his hips, pushing deep with a hiss of pleasure. When he withdrew, it was on a shudder of pure torment. “Christ, what have you done to me? I could fuck you all night. I’ve never wanted anyone like this.”

  She smiled at the praise, but glanced away, almost as if she didn’t believe him. As if she didn’t trust him to tell her the truth, perhaps especially while their bodies were still bathed in sweat and intimately joined.

  After all the callous things he said to her tonight—not to mention what he’d told her about his feelings for Abbie—he shouldn’t be surprised to see her doubt.

  But he meant it.

  He caught her chin on the edge of his fingers and drew her gaze back to him. “No one, Marina. Not like this.”

  He lowered her legs and spread her out beneath him, telling himself he owed it to her to find some tenderness. He’d given her the animal side of him, the savage otherworlder. Now he wanted to show her he could be a man too.

  He kissed her again and searched for an unrushed tempo, even if he thought it was going to kill him. And Marina wasn’t helping. She fit him too perfectly, and every small ripple of her body against his shaft sent a jolt of fire licking through his bloodstream.

  He uttered a low curse, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Her accented voice held an edge of demand, but there was a playful glimmer in her deep burgundy eyes. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

  She didn’t give him a chance to respond or react. Slapping her palms against his glyph-covered chest, she pushed him onto his back and rolled atop him, straddling his hips.

  Her body still held him nestled deep inside her. She sank down on him and rolled her pelvis to take even more, her sheath devouring every hard inch.

  And then she began to move.

  Cain snarled with the intensity of his pleasure as she rode him hard and fast and deep. A wave of possessiveness swamped him as he watched her take what she wanted of him. She was extraordinary, and not only because she was the first woman—the only woman—who challenged him on every level. She made him crave something he’d never thought he could have.

  A partner.

  An equal.

  A future where he wasn’t alone.

  Fuck. He was in real trouble here. With Marina, he had a terrible feeling that he would never know any limits to all the things he craved with her.

  And as they both chased the crest of another staggering release, he couldn’t find the decency to regret it.

  CHAPTER 15

  She woke to cold sheets and an empty bed.

  Not that she was surprised to find Cain gone, but dammit, she was disappointed.

  And embarrassed.

  She hadn’t intended to fall asleep in his quarters. She hadn’t come here last night with the intention of getting naked with him, either, but that had happened.

  God, had it ever. Her body hurt in countless delicious ways. Her senses had been obliterated, overwhelmed with pleasure and a gnawing, insatiable need that still smoldered deep in her marrow. Somewhere around her sixth orgasm, she had finally surrendered to a blissful exhaustion and drifted into a sound and heavy sleep.

  Clearly, she had overstayed her welcome.

  She didn’t want to guess how long it took for Cain to extricate himself from his own bed and make his escape. A couple of hours? A few minutes?

  “Shit.” She sat up and took quick stock of her situation. Her hair was a mess, her muscles loose and achy. She needed a long, hot shower and a toothbrush, both of which would require her to slink out of Cain’s quarters and back to her guest suite. Hopefully without being seen by anyone else in the Darkhaven.

  On a groan, she slipped off the bed to hastily collect her scattered clothing. Memories of Cain undressing her made the act of putting them on again a torment all of its own. She couldn’t purge the feel of his strong hands on her bare skin, or his wicked mouth. She couldn’t deny how much she wanted to feel him inside her again.

  Even worse, she couldn’t pretend there wasn’t a part of her that wanted to believe he’d meant the pretty, solemn things he’d said to her when their bodies were tangled together.

  But they were just words. And sex was just sex, especially when Cain had made it clear he had no interest in anything more.

  One and done. No exceptions. She couldn’t say he hadn’t warned her. Nor had she stepped into his arms with any false expectations. So why did she feel so stung as she fixed her dress and stuffed her shredded panties into the spare pocket?

  To her relief, the flash drive was still inside the other pocket where he’d returned it. She had taken a big step, trusting him with the information she was carrying for her uncle. He hadn’t been happy about it, but he wouldn’t betray her. She believed that without question, even he had gone to the effort of taking the satellite phone with him when he left his quarters. The bastard.

  Marina wanted to hold on to her resentment for his strong-arm tactics and arrogant assumption of control. But from the beginning, she’d seen that Cain was accustomed to taking charge. He was a natural leader, a protector, even if he had been born and raised to be a killer.

  In her gut she knew she could count on him. Her life, and the secret that would buy a safe future for her and Uncle Anatoly, couldn’t be in safer hands than Cain’s.

  After the way he made her feel last night, she realized now that the biggest risk she could take would be in trusting him with her heart.

  Marina slipped on her ballet flats then crept to the door and peered out. No one there. The corridor was quiet and vacant. Thank God. She ducked out and walked as briskly as she could without breaking into a run.

  Unfortunately, from this area of the Darkhaven she had to pass the kitche
n on the way to her guest room. The aroma of breakfast foods and coffee drifted out to the passageway as she attempted to avert her gaze and steal past unnoticed by whomever was inside.

  “Hey.” Cain’s deep voice reached out to her like a caress. It stilled her feet and forced her to turn her head toward him, even though he was the last person she wanted to see at the moment. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

  “I slept longer than I intended.” She gestured vaguely over her shoulder, hoping she didn’t look as uncomfortable as she felt. “I need a shower. And fresh clothes.”

  Panties would be a good place to start, because standing in front of Cain with nothing on beneath her dress but her bra made her acutely aware of her own nakedness. And that only made her acutely aware of how gorgeous he looked, obviously recently showered and leaning against the kitchen counter barefoot in a pair of faded jeans and a black T-shirt. His thick ebony hair curled damply at his forehead and around his ears as he chopped some pale green melon and put it in a small bowl on a tray laden with other wonderful things to eat.

  Warily, she stepped inside the kitchen. “What’s all of this?”

  “Breakfast.” His silver gaze locked on her, sending her stomach into a little flutter that had nothing to do with hunger. At least, not for anything on the tray. “I was just about to bring this to you. If you want it.”

  She didn’t know what surprised her the most: The fact that he hadn’t actually abandoned her to his bed after getting what he wanted from her, or that he would have come back to her bearing a veritable feast.

  Her stomach rumbled in appreciation as she stared at the bowl of cut melon, purple grapes, and bright red strawberries. A small plate held two pieces of buttered wheat toast and a fluffy biscuit. On a larger plate was a serving of scrambled eggs and several strips of bacon.

  “You did this for me?”

  He shrugged an affirmative. “Have a seat.”

  She slid onto one of the stools tucked under the tall counter and popped a strawberry into her mouth, reveling in the fresh burst of sweetness that ran over her tongue. She couldn’t bite back her happy moan, or the coil of arousal that unfurled within her as she watched Cain turn away to fetch a cup and saucer from the cabinet.

  With unabashed interest, she followed his fine ass in those faded jeans as he walked away from her. Muscles bunched and flexed across his broad back as he reached into the cupboard, and on his strong arms his dermaglyphs danced like otherworldly works of art.

  He filled the flowered porcelain teacup with coffee and came around the counter with it. In his big hands, the dainty cup and saucer looked like it belonged to a doll’s set.

  He glanced at her, his black brows furrowed. “I hope you like flavored coffee. This hazelnut shit was all I could find and I didn’t want to wake Lana to ask if she had anything else stashed somewhere in the kitchen.”

  “It’s perfect.” Marina actually preferred tea with plenty of milk and honey over any kind of coffee, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “Thank you, Cain.”

  She could hardly contain her smile, or the flood of warmth that opened up in her breast. Apart from saving her life on two separate occasions and giving her some of the best orgasms she would likely ever have, this was the first real kindness he’d shown her.

  He placed one hand on her shoulder as he leaned around her and set the cup down. Electricity shot into her veins as his palm settled on her. She couldn’t move, could hardly draw a breath under the sudden flush of heat that washed over her, through her, gathering in the smoldering pool at her core. She should be sated after the hours they’d spent together in his bed, but all it took for her to be ready for him all over again was one simple touch.

  His touch lingered, then began a slow descent along her bare arm, his fingers tracing the tattooed vine that connected the inked roses. He stroked the spot where the optical key for the data drive was concealed on her skin. “Thank you for trusting me with the truth, Marina.”

  She pivoted to face him, drawn toward him like a moth to a flame. His handsome face seemed too rigid, too sober. Unreadable in its stillness.

  She reached up to cup his rigid jaw. “I needed to tell you. I needed to trust someone. And I do, Cain. I trust you.”

  A rumble vibrated against her fingers as he looked at her. In the depths of that stormy gray stare, amber sparks gleamed to life. He closed his eyes on a heavy sigh and turned his face into her palm. He pressed a kiss there, the flick of his tongue against her skin as powerfully erotic as even his most sinful caress.

  All the doubts she woke up with a short time ago were chased away by the heat of what still blazed full of life between them. If anything, making love with him had only added fuel to a fire neither of them seemed able to contain.

  “Cain,” she murmured, spearing her free hand into his silky dark hair. “Last night was—”

  “A mistake.” He said the words with such certainty she drew her hands away from him. He slowly shook his head, his sensual mouth curved in a grim line. “It was a mistake taking you into my bed, Marina. But I’ll be damned if I can tell you I’m sorry about it.”

  He caged her between his body and the counter, his hands braced on either side of her as he leaned down and kissed her. His tongue dipped into her mouth and he smiled against her lips. “Delectable. I never realized how fucking good strawberries tasted.”

  He kissed her again, deeper this time. Marina moaned, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he pulled her to the edge of the stool, wedging his hips between her knees.

  “This is a very dangerous idea,” he rasped thickly as she wrapped her legs around the backs of his thighs and brought him closer. The tips of his fangs flashed behind his upper lip. “If I loosen my grip on the edge of this countertop, my hands are going to be up your skirt before you know it. And don’t think I’ve forgotten you’re not wearing any panties under there.”

  She laughed and bit her lip, daring him with wriggle against his growing erection. “Breakfast is highly overrated, anyway.”

  “I wouldn’t know.” He grinned, fire leaping in his eyes. “But I’m willing to put that to a test. Let’s take some of those strawberries back to my quarters and—”

  “Bram, I told you I smelled toast and coffee . . . Oh, God.” Lana sucked in a startled breath. “We are so sorry to interrupt.”

  Marina winced, wishing the hardwood floor would open up and swallow her. Cain’s reaction to the unexpected intrusion was far smoother. He stepped back from the V of her spread legs, his strong hands guiding her knees together as he pivoted in front of her, using his body to shield her from any embarrassing exposure to his friends.

  Bram cleared his throat. “We’ll come back later.”

  “We are so incredibly sorry to barge in like this,” Lana said again. “It’s just that I woke up with this craving for buttered toast and jam, and when I smelled it from the corridor—”

  “It’s all right,” Marina said. Composed now, she peered around Cain and offered the mated couple a smile. “Really, it’s fine. Please, come in. Cain and I were just talking.”

  He grunted, but didn’t contradict her. The massive bulge in his jeans would probably do that without any additional help.

  Lana’s curious gaze bounced between them as she entered the kitchen under Bram’s sheltering arm. Only a naive fool would miss the current of heat that charged the air in the room, and the petite Breedmate’s slight smile told Marina there were few things that escaped her notice.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all,” Marina insisted. She slid the tray down the counter toward Lana. “Take whatever you like. I’m happy to share it with you.”

  Lana hardly hesitated. She picked up a triangle of toast and nibbled on the edge, glancing at Cain. “You made breakfast.”

  Not a question, and he didn’t answer, either. Moving with predatory stealth to the other side of the counter, no doubt to give his body time to cool, he frowned pensively at his
friends. “How are you feeling today, Lana?”

  She gave him a dismissive wave of one hand while she munched another bite of the toast. “I’m fine. It was nothing. The baby is just a little restless, that’s all.”

  Bram seemed less nonchalant about it. “This pregnancy hasn’t been without a few . . . concerns.”

  “How so?” Cain asked, gravity in his tone.

  “Lana’s body is so tiny, and trying to carry one of my sons hasn’t been easy for her.” He stroked her long dark hair with reverence, love in the tender gaze that held hers. And a pain borne of loss. “I’ve told her I can be happy without children, but my beautiful mate is stubborn. Fearless to a fault.”

  “The other time was different. The problems started happening so early.” She smiled sadly, but with a determination Marina could relate to. “We’re almost there now, my love. You’ll see.”

  “I pray you’re right.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You are my heart, Lana. I can live without children, but not without you.”

  Cain’s face drained of some color. “You lost a baby?”

  “Three years ago,” Bram said, drawing Lana close. “I almost lost far more than that.”

  “Damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  Bram nodded, speaking without condemnation. “You were gone, brother, so how could you know?”

  “I hope everything works out this time,” Marina offered. She hadn’t missed how quiet Cain had gone, and she could practically feel his regret in the silence. “Your child will certainly have a wonderful, loving home. And I doubt better parents exist.”

  Lana smiled and placed her hand atop Marina’s. “Thank you. I hope you’ll be able to meet our son after he arrives.”

  “I’d like that too.”

  Until that moment, she hadn’t paused to consider what her future might look like after she completed her mission for her uncle. For so long, a safe future and freedom from the Bratva’s yoke had been a formless, changeable dream. Now, she didn’t know what to hope for, or where that dream might take shape.

  Two nights ago, the only absolute she’d had was the certainty that whatever her future looked like, it wouldn’t include Cain. Now, she was finding it difficult to imagine the moment when she would need to say goodbye to him.