The Darkness in Dreams (Enforcer's Legacy, #1)(45)

“You used to like playing those games,” he said.

“Not with you.” Memories, the thick, hot feel of him. The way she would touch him, take him in her hand. She couldn’t breathe, not after the way he had stroked against a memory line like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Lexi pushed, forced, dragged herself to another desperate memory. Harder this time. The way he could hate her. Walk away from her. She remembered endless waiting while she cried until there were no more tears. And even then, she knew. Knew there had never been games with him, not then. Not ever. She took an instant to realize she wasn’t in the past and the words she’d spoken held no relevance to the present. Then she realized something hard had rolled in.

“We’re already playing.” Christan’s voice was so remote it stung like ice. “I’m touching you from here and you think it’s real. You’re so ready, I could put you down and spread you wide until you scream. But when your back arches off the floor, that’s all it will be. Not. Real.”

The moment fractured, crystalline shards falling at her feet. For an instant Lexi thought it was all of her and she reached out, trying to pull the pieces of herself back together. But he had broken her, as he had broken her so many times before. Words flowed into her mind. She said them without knowing what they meant in this life.

But she did in another life.

“Ti odio, Christan.”

So bitter, so empty. Lexi saw the shock run through him before he answered.

“E’ cosi facile da fare.”

And he was gone.





CHAPTER 18





“You look like shit.”

Christan ignored Arsen’s comment as he attacked the training bag with one well-placed kick. Two hours of physical exertion and the pressure was still in his spine, splintering in his brain. Christan summoned a burst of power that exploded the canvas bag into a pile of sifted sand and fiber.

“That bag was expensive,” Arsen said.

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Rough night?”

Christan reached down, snatched a black shirt from the floor and shrugged it on over loose black pants. “Nothing I haven’t handled before.”

He prowled around the workout area in the basement of the Wallowa compound. Arsen had everything, from machines and free weights, to a rock climbing wall and the padded training square large enough for warriors fighting in their animal forms. Benches lined one wall. It was an improvement over the training facilities of past centuries.

Arsen was still watching, and Christan turned with an aggressive stance. “What—am I taking your spot?”

“Nope. Just wondered if there was something I ought to know.”

Christan looked at him. He wasn’t sure he liked his second’s tone. “You questioning me now?”

“You’ve been away a long time. Things change. Not saying they didn’t change back the moment you returned, but I still feel the obligation.”

“For what?” Christan’s eyes narrowed. Arsen, he noticed, didn’t flinch.

“You know we’re like brothers, right? I’ve got your back.”

“And?”

“I’ve got Lexi’s back, too. So, like I asked earlier, is there something I ought to know?”

“Are you her champion now?” Christan walked away. It wasn’t like Arsen didn’t have enough problems with his own girl, hadn’t made some upside-down decisions throughout the centuries. And it went without saying that Christan didn’t like being questioned. Which Arsen was actually doing. Respectfully, but still questioning an enforcer.

Arsen stood his ground. Braced his feet, just in case. Christan was starting to get a bad feeling about what happened last night and he didn’t like it.

Arsen said, “I talked to Marge this morning. She went by Lexi’s cabin to see why she hadn’t shown up for breakfast.”

Christan braced his hands on his hips. Waited.

“Whatever you did, we don’t do that kind of shit anymore. Not in this century.”

“You forget yourself.”

“No, Enforcer, I don’t, and with all due respect, I’m your second-in-command. I would follow you anywhere. I would fucking die for you if you asked. And I am standing here telling you that you stepped over a line last night and it can’t happen again. She didn’t deserve that.”

A muscle jerked in Christan’s jaw. He shifted his gaze to a point above Arsen’s shoulder where there was a thick gouge in the wall. Like where someone had thrown something very hard. Very recently, as in maybe not more than twenty minutes ago. Christan didn’t need Arsen to tell him he’d stepped over the line. He’d known it the moment he’d done it.

Arsen continued to wait.

Christan blew out a deep breath. He was disgusted by what he did. Yes, he’d wanted her. Was burning. Dying inside, and then everything came back and he could have done so much more. He was out of control and that could not be allowed to happen. “Reprimand noted and accepted. I was an ass.”

“The apology isn’t owed to me. And she’s due here in five minutes for training. Since I have a meeting I can’t avoid, I thought you could take over the lesson. But that was before I talked to Marge. If you don’t want to do it I’ll ask Robbie.”