Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(12)

"Did you find our Radiant?" Vhyper asked, as they met at the stairs.

Lyon nodded. "I did."

A grin split Vhyper's face. "Good. That's good."

Lyon's gaze flicked between the couple. "You're up early. What are you two up to?"

"Coffee. I couldn't sleep."

"Where's Foxx?"

Vhyper shrugged. "Still licking his wounds from the thrashing Paenther gave him last night." He grabbed Zaphene and pulled her tight against him as she gave a sultry laugh. "I'm keeping his woman entertained until he snaps out of it." Vhyper waggled his brows. "The cub better get out of his sulk soon, or he may need to find himself a new woman."

Lyon assumed Vhyper was pulling a major flirt, but there was something in his eyes that set off Lyon's instinct for trouble. He gave a silent groan. The last thing he needed right now was to have to play referee in a battle over a woman.

Zaphene's cool laughter grated on Lyon's ears as she slipped out of Vhyper's hold and stepped up to him. Her warm fingers trailed down his forearm until she gripped his hand. "If I'm back to shopping for a man, maybe I'll have to start at the top this time."

Lyon pulled his hand from her grasp. "I'm not for sale." He tossed Vhyper a hard look. "Do me a favor and keep your hands to yourself until things get back to normal around here. Foxx doesn't need this right now. None of us does…" The walls and floor started spinning.

"Easy, Roar.".

Lyon felt himself being eased down until he was sitting on the top step of the stairs.

Zaphene laughed. "I didn't mean to fluster you, Warrior."

"You didn't…" Goddess, but he was dizzy.

"It's the lack of radiance." Vhyper squeezed his shoulder. "Get some sleep, Chief. You'll feel better in the morning."

As Lyon watched Vhyper and Zaphene descend the stairs, his head slowly cleared. Apparently Foxx wasn't the only one suffering from the lack of radiance. Dammit to hell. They had to get Kara ascended, and fast.

He pushed himself to his feet and walked the few steps to the upper stair. As he reached for the rail, his gaze caught on Kara's door. He imagined her sprawled in sensuous abandon across the gold satin sheets of that big bed, her unbound hair splayed like fingers of silk, her creamy skin beckoning.

Clenching his jaw, he forced his feet onto the steps, climbing with slow deliberation. He returned to his room, stripped, and fell back onto his bed, flinging his forearm over his eyes as if he could erase the image of Kara from his mind. His senses, opened to her in order to find her, had become drugged by her quiet beauty and aching vulnerability. But it was over. She was home. It should be a simple matter to turn off his interest in a woman he'd known fewer than a dozen hours.

A simple matter.

Just as soon as he figured out how to get her out of his blood.

Kara woke to find gray daylight seeping into the room, framing the dark drapes in a colorless glow as rain pattered on the windows. She levered herself up from the rumpled sheets and sat up, pushing her hair out of her face as she looked at the cavernous room.

It was real. The whole accompanying-an-immortal-to-his-castle thing really should have been a dream.

And her mom… Kara closed her eyes, bracing for the grief to steamroll her. But the pain didn't come. Only a dull ache, a heavy sadness. Blinking, she opened her eyes again, suddenly glad for Lyon's intervention. This she could handle.

Her thoughts clung to her mother, to the woman she'd grown up with, strong and healthy, and full of love.

Had she known Kara wasn't human? Kara's brows lowered as thoughts cascaded through her mind, one after another, bringing a near certainty that she had. Her mom's insistence that she never go near a doctor, nor ever play sports, had probably been intended to keep anyone from learning how quickly she healed. And the reason she'd begged Kara to stay in Spearsville when she finished high school? She'd always believed her mom was afraid she'd miss her too much. Now she wondered if her mother hadn't known there were dangers waiting for her if she wandered too far.

All these years, it seemed, she'd protected Kara's secret. Even from Kara herself. For twenty-seven years, she'd thought she'd known who she was. For twenty-six and a half of those years, she'd been perfectly happy. Until three months ago when she'd suddenly become restless and dissatisfied with her life. Until the mark appeared on her breast, she realized. Her restlessness had almost certainly begun when she'd become the Radiant.

Tossing back the sheet, Kara climbed out of bed. As her bare feet hit the plush rug, she stopped, a sudden, inexplicable feeling of dread welling up to tighten her throat. Why? Her gaze darted around the room. With a shiver of fear, she dropped to her knees and looked under the bed, but there was no one there. By the time she stood again, the sharp dread had dulled to little more than a faint disquiet.

Weird. Was there more to this house than she could see? Was there a ghost or some other invisible creature they'd yet to tell her about lurking in the shadows? The thought sent goose bumps skating over her skin and had her starting for the door.

Lyon would know. He could tell her if there was anything to be afraid of. He'd keep her safe.

The thought had her pulling up. Whoa. How had this happened? How, in a matter of hours, had Lyon gone from being a frightening stranger to her security blanket?