Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(66)

My victim’s arms went around me. He tried to pull me closer. Caught up in my spell, he didn’t have the sense to fear for his life. Though his heart beat in a fear-driven pattern, he acted according to the passion I’d stirred.

I panicked. I jerked back from his grasp and leaped off the bed as the door opened. Kale stood there with his female companion wearing a knowing smile and a black eye. Vampires heal fast, but Arys had inflicted a hell of a lot of damage.

In my hungry haze, Kale’s saccharine energy immediately captivated me. He couldn’t appease my need for human blood, but he always called to my power-hungry nature.

“Well, look who’s treading on the dark side,” Kale said with a brow raised in scrutiny. “Is this a private party, or is there room for two more?”

Before I could respond, he pushed the woman in ahead of him and closed the door behind him with a malicious grin lighting up his handsome face. I was conflicted, torn between longing to touch the shiner framing his brown eye and wanting to smack the smirk off his face.

“Get out of here, Kale,” I said through bared fangs. “Stay away from me.”

“I wish I could. You’re too deep inside me now. I can’t get rid of you. Your other half couldn’t beat it out of me. So, here we are.” Madness shone in his eyes. It was something I’d seen before, when his precarious hold on sanity had slipped.

I was instantly defensive. “We’re not doing this.”

Kale grabbed the woman and jerked her close. She gasped but melted into his embrace. He moved her hair to expose her neck. Then, he bit fast and deep. His fangs plunged through her flesh. She cried out, and her eyes rolled back in her head. He shoved her into me, bleeding and swooning.

“Looks like we are.”

I felt myself slip, even as I desperately tried to grasp onto the ledge. I had been dangerously close to the edge since waking tonight. All it took was the scent of fresh blood to send me over the threshold.

Once I tasted the sweet scarlet nectar, I snapped. I tore into her viciously. My savage nature exploded in a violent storm. Even as I lost myself to the bliss moment, I thought of Arys and his warning that I would lose control. I knew I should feel ashamed, but right then, losing control felt so damn good.

The guy on the bed was no longer so disillusioned about us. He lunged for the door in an attempt to escape. Kale intercepted him. More blood flowed as Kale and I killed together yet again. Enablers, that’s what we were to each other, an excuse, someone to blame for making it so easy to give in to the weakness again.

Devouring the life force of my victim caused my power to flare. I felt alive and free, ready for another round with Lilah and whatever lackeys she could throw at me. Shya might owe her allegiance, but I owed her nothing.

I sensed movement and threw a hand up to ward off Kale. Finished with his victim, he licked the blood from his lips. He stood between the door and me. Flying high on the rush of the kill, I watched his slow approach eagerly.

“And now, we’re alone.” Dressed head to toe in black, Kale was like a shadow gliding toward me. His energy called to me, tempting me.

I chose not to answer. Engaging with him further would lead to no good. It was hard to resist him when he so openly gave off what I was seeking. My succubus traits were deeply ingrained because of my link to Arys. Blood was only part of the feed. I gleaned as much power from the tantric energy of desire and lust, and Kale’s energy spilled over with longing.

He couldn’t be trusted. I had become someone he loathed only because I was someone he loved. What a bittersweet knife in the gut love could be.

Kale reached out to me metaphysically, luring me with the burning desire he couldn’t hide. I tensed, fearful that any move I made would send me into his arms. He was a killer, drawing me in. It was working.

“You want it, don’t you?” He asked. “You always do. You know how to get what you want from me. Isn’t that right?”

I couldn’t speak. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. I did want him. Goddammit, I always did. He craved me in a way that was tangible. The passion he carried for me fed my succubus yearning for erotic energy.

“I don’t want anything from you.” I stood my ground. Backing away would only encourage him.

“Then, why do you keep going out of your way to save me?” He stopped just inches away. He used his height to tower over me in a domineering stance. “Shya. The FPA. Even your beloved Arys. Is there anyone you won’t save me from?”

There was no correct response to that. My cheeks burned. I was tired of defending my choices to both Kale and Arys.

“Myself, maybe,” I said, refusing to be cowed.

My temper flared, and my wolf rose to the surface, bristling at his close proximity. I tensed, ready to slap him with a psi ball. It was what he wanted. At least, I thought it was.

With careful yet brazen manipulations Kale created a gentle push and pull of power between us. It was daring and downright inappropriate. It was an intimate touch, lacking only a physical connection. He draped that honey sweet energy over me, and I groaned. The high from the kill beckoned me to chase the ecstasy he promised. Why stop now?

“You let your actions say the things that will never cross your lips.” Kale’s voice dropped low, a sensual sound. “You torment me, and I was broken so long ago.”

He threw me up against the wall, trapping me with an arm on either side of my body. My teeth smacked together from the impact. I growled.