Darkest Before Dawn Page 8

  “Rogue pack,” he said in the same quiet voice I’d just used. My heart hammered wildly as I continued to look into blood-red eyes.

  “Wolves with rabies?” I wondered out loud.

  “Worse,” Jaeden said as he stood and looked down at them. “Sit down, Emma, and protect the child.” He walked to the other side of the little shelter and pulled out a cell phone. He punched in a number and a beeping noise sounded from the other end of the phone.

  “Your phone works?” I asked with wide eyes. How the hell did it work? All the towers had been down for weeks, and even the internet had crashed.

  “It works well enough,” he said as he watched the surrounding woods as the wolves continued to growl.

  “But how? The towers are down, right?”

  “I’m magic,” he said without looking at me. What was he waiting for? I didn’t have long to wait for the answer as twenty minutes later, shots rang out in the distance, and moved closer. He turned to look at me and smiled. “You should reconsider having children,” his eyes lowered to where I held Sarah protectively against my chest. “My people are coming. I thought we could wait until morning, but that doesn’t seem the best course now. I’ll have them follow us back to your shelter, but you and the babe should ride in the SUV with me.”

  “I’m not telling you where I live,” I said defensively. He stepped closer with a twisted smile on his lips. “The other day wasn’t the first time I had seen you. I’ve followed you home a few times,” he replied. “I’ve known where you sleep,” his voice dropped low. “You are curious by nature, sweet Emma, but if you want to know anything about me, all you have to do is ask. I’ll even show you to my bedroom and let you play with my toys.”

  “That’s kind of disturbing,” I admitted.

  “I like to know everything about the women I plan to fuck, and Emma, I plan to fuck you.”

  Chapter 7

  A week had passed since I’d been stuck in the hunter’s perch with Jaeden. Sarah had found a new champion in Cat, as she preferred to be called now. She gave up Cathleen, as the name reminded her of the family she’d lost. The moment she’d seen me carrying in the small infant, she’d offered to help with her. Since then, she’d revealed that her breast milk had yet to dry up and even though I thought it a little weird for her to be feeding Sarah, it solved the issue of formula.

  She’d taken to loving the child, and had agreed to be the one to watch over her. It was as if fate had handed her a second chance with being a mother. I watched her as she held the little girl up and whispered sweet encouragements to her. I guess they would eventually both heal one another’s wounds as time moved on. Toxic; this world was toxic right now, but even with the toxicity, hope was blooming even with the diversities.

  “I’m heading out,” I told Addy as I grabbed a mask, and slipped into my vest.

  “Alone?” she asked, and I nodded. “You’ve been going out a lot on your own lately,” she said with a knowing look. “Does this have to do with a certain, hot male?” she smiled.

  “No,” I said emphatically and when she laughed, I winced. Okay, even I didn’t believe myself.

  “You know, Emma, you deserve it. You spend all your time trying to be this super worker bee, but you deserve some sexy time too.”

  “Sexy time? Who says shit like that? And I’m not even into him. He’s a stalker who even admitted he was! Yes he’s absolutely gorgeous, but let’s face reality for a moment, Addy. Men like him don’t date girls like me. They bag and tag em’, and you know it. I’m not into the whole catch and release thing.”

  “You like him, he likes you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but the selection of men these days is between scarce and scary. You have the ugly, the uglier, the creepy, and the creepiest. You found one who according to the ladies, is panty-dripping-jump-on-my-cock-hot. Jump on it sister, or I will. Shit, Jillian and Bonnie left an hour ago to find him and try and see if he’ll play stuff the muffin with them, so start running. If those sluts get to him first, I’m going to be pissed. Only reason I’m not all on it is because of you. You deserve a good go ‘round in the grass,” she said as she wagged her finger at me.

  “Did you say Jillian and Bonnie left?”

  “That’s all you got out of that?”

  “Addy! Did they at least take their masks?” I asked, but I had already turned to find their masks still hanging from the wall. “Shit!” I zipped up my hoodie, dropped my mask over my face, grabbed my bag, and swung it onto my back as I headed for the doors. “How long ago did they leave? And why wasn’t I told before now?”

  “They’ve been gone for only an hour, which isn’t exactly a long time on foot,” she shrugged.

  I punched in the code to the door and growled as I slammed it shut. I took off on the Ducati, once again thanking the powers that be for my dad choosing this bike for me. The bike was fast, but had only a little vibration and wasn’t noisy. It was sort of the perfect bike for everything I did these days. I made it to the edge of town in time to hear screaming. My heart sank into my stomach, and together they sank to my knees.

  The scream came again, only this time it was muffled and sounded more like a laugh. I parked the bike and pulled up the AR-15, holding it at the ready as I approached. The giggles, shrieks, and male voices sounded like they were coming from a row of homes that dotted the edge of town. I turned the corner of the block and found Jillian and Bonnie flirting with Jaeden’s men, and considered pulling the trigger.

  I started forward, but the moment my foot moved, Jaeden came out from behind one of the dark SUVs, holding a bottle of water which he handed off to Bonnie, who twirled her hair around her finger. Oh no she did not just use her I’m-a-bimbo move on him.

  “So why she’s so hard?” he asked.

  “Her father was insane, and her mother died when she was young. You remember that right, Jill? I mean the entire town called him crazy. Emma just takes after him. She’s cuckoo; I mean, who spends their summers prepping instead of at the beach, right?”

  “She’s driving us all bonkers at the shelter, and if she’d just get laid already—”

  “She’d what, Jillian? Even if she got laid she’d still be insufferable. She expects us all to work our asses off. We clean, and hunt, and worst of all, she makes us burn the dead like her crazy ass father did.”

  “Why does she hide behind the mask? You ladies didn’t wear it today,” Jaeden continued as he leaned his tall frame against the SUV beside Bonnie who twirled her hair a little faster with his close proximity.

  “She’s a freak. She and her dad thought that by hiding that we’re women, we’ll survive longer. I think she just wants the rest of us to be hidden so she can actually get a man,” Jillian snickered and Bonnie laughed with her.

  I slid the gun around to my back, and stepped forward, pissed that their entire talk was about me. I knew the moment Jaeden sensed me coming, because he smiled and nodded his head subtly. Neither of the ungrateful bitches noticed me coming.

  “I mean if you really want someone more…enjoyable, we are available,” Bonnie said.

  “We do everything together,” Jillian said.

  “Oh, I’d agree on that considering both of you witches got Chlamydia together. Jarrod Patton, right? Jocks; you two just couldn’t get enough of them!” I chimed in with a sickeningly sweet tone. “Also, if you’d been paying attention in class, we wear the masks to gain the element of surprise, but it’s also to prevent you from being raped. I’m not crazy, and neither was my father considering if he hadn’t prepped, you ungrateful bitches would be dead. You have ten seconds to start back towards the shelter, or stay the fuck out of it. Your choice,” I snapped. “And you,” I growled at Jaeden. “If you want to know something about me, ask me. Otherwise, fuck off.”

  I turned and started moving, but his viselike grip fingers caught m
y arm and tightened around them. “Emma, stop.”

  “Go to hell!” I snarled. I wasn’t sure why I was so pissed, only that he shouldn’t have been asking them about me, or anything else.

  “Only if you’re coming with me,” he growled. He was pulling me to one of the empty houses, and I knew I should fight harder, but I didn’t feel endangered, yet. He pulled me behind him up the cement stairs, and once we were inside, he closed the door and pressed me against it. “Jealousy suits you.”

  “You think I’m jealous?” I wasn’t. Okay, if I was to be honest, maybe I was…but I wasn’t ready to be honest, not about that anyway.

  “Tell you what, how about we flip a coin? Heads I’m yours. Tails, you’re mine,” he quipped.

  “As if,” I said and watched as he leaned his chest against mine.

  “I knew you were there; your motorcycle isn’t exactly silent,” his hands lifted the mask and removed it. He tossed it across the room to a dusty couch. Next he unzipped the hoodie and bulletproof vest, and for some reason, I didn’t stop him. “That’s better,” he whispered. His turquoise eyes scanned mine, and he smiled. “I wish you could have seen the look in your eyes as they spoke of you. They thought harshly of you, Emma, why?”

  “We weren’t exactly friends in school,” I admitted.

  “No,” he said thoughtfully. “You would be above them. Your kind doesn’t hang with the trashy girls.”

  I smiled as I looked up at him. “Above them? They’re the ones boys went after, and me? I was the one they avoided.”

  “Because they were nothing but little boys, my little Valkyrie; idiots go after the easy fucks. Men go after the ones who are worth the chase. Like you. Even before I saw this enchanting face, I knew you were a diamond among a pile of rocks. You have something they will never have.”

  “And what would that be?” I asked feeling unsure of myself.

  “Balls,” he said. It was the last thing I’d expected from him to say. “Now that I have you alone and at my mercy…I plan to make you tremble…are you ready?” he smirked.

  “I don’t think so,” I said, but he pulled my body against his.

  “Oh I do, because I know you want it. I can smell the sweetness of your readiness. You were jealous, and I know what it is you want. I know what your body craves.”

  “Does this shit work on actual girls, or do you just practice it in the mirror and then try it on unwilling participants?” I smarted off because I was nervous. My legs had already become weighed down with lead, while moisture built in my panties.

  “You tell me,” he said as he cupped my chin. “I’m going to tell you what I want to do to you, and you tell me if it works when I am done with you.”

  “I don’t—” his hand slid to my breasts, and cupped the heaviness of them.

  “Fucking perfect size,” he said as his other hand slid down to my stomach where he trailed his fingers over the top I wore. He pushed my body between his and the hard wall. “I promise to stop, but only when you ask me to. Otherwise, you tell me when you get wet and I’ll see if it’s wet enough.”

  I didn’t answer him. Instead, I fought just to remember I needed to breathe.

  “I’m going to touch you—a lot. I’m going to tell you exactly what I want to do to you,” he said as one hand lifted my face to his until our eyes locked. “I’m going to start.”

  He untucked the shirt I wore, and the feel of his fingers against my flesh made me quiver for more. “Would you shiver when my fingers tangle in your hair? Like this?” His voice was low and captivating as his hands pulled at my hair, and as if on cue, I shivered. “Would you shut your eyes if I pulled you against me? Like this,” his hands reeled me in even closer, and his breath fanned my ear. My eyes closed, as if by his will alone. “Would you moan for me, when I bite your bottom lip like this?” His teeth grazed my lip and he bit gently. Sure enough, I moaned even as I tried not to. “Would you try to stop me if I reached down and pulled your panties down to your knees? Would you resist me when my hands parted your trembling legs? Would you moan as my fingers found your waiting wetness? Would you sigh for me as I wrapped your legs around me? Would you bite my lip back, when I finally pushed my hard cock inside of you? Would you, sweet Emma? Would you come for me if I asked you to?”

  This was bad, so bad! I was sopping wet, and his nostrils flared as if he was fully aware that he’d succeeded in his mission. I was embarrassed because his eyes hungrily roved over the twin traitorous peaks of my hardened nipples. My breathing was ridiculously labored, and his wasn’t. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  “That, sweet Emma, is how you tell the boys from men. Men know how to get a woman soaking wet without doing a single thing. Boys have to touch and caress with their hands…real men can make you come with words alone.” His eyes smiled knowingly. “Tell me, how many men have you allowed between those silken thighs?”

  I blinked. None? I so wasn’t admitting that to him! In fact, I wasn’t opening my mouth because if I did, I was sure I’d moan, or worse.

  “None?” he guessed.

  I swallowed, and refused to speak.

  “Gone mute again? I can change that,” he said as he pinned me between his arms and captured my mouth in a heated kiss. He pulled away as another moan stole from my lips. “Lust is heavy when tongues crave a taste of heaven. Tell me, Emma, does your tongue feel heavy? Does it lust for another taste of mine?” His eyes searched mine and he licked his lips seductively. “I take that as a yes, so I won’t make you wait,” he whispered before he claimed my lips and held my face pinned in his hands, helpless at his touch. His kiss was heady and intoxicating. His touch left me boneless, and I was surprised at just how much I wanted him to continue just like this.

  His hands slid lower until one pulled against my shirt as it worked it over my breasts until the only thing between us was the skimpy lace of my bra. He lifted it, and his tawny head lowered until his lips kissed one nipple, and then the other. I moaned and arched my back like a little slut, ready to beg him for more. I needed him to make the dull ache that was centered between my legs stop. The burning heat in my lower stomach had a palpable heartbeat which seemed connected to my clit.

  His teeth grazed my nipple and I cried out. He continued to tease me, his tongue slipping over the delicate flesh, and then from the other one came pain. His fingers rolled and pinched my nipple, painfully. I cried out, but then he switched, and his mouth was kissing the tender flesh better, and the sensation was off the hook. He pinched again, but this time his mouth landed on mine as he lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist.

  He was walking us somewhere. I held on, kissing him back until I felt as if I was suffocating, and I couldn’t have cared less if I died like this, with him. It wasn’t until my back hit a wall and I watched as he lowered himself to his knees as his hands began to work the buttons of my fatigues that I knew I was a goner.

  Pounding started at the front door, and I ignored it, up until someone shouted ‘wolves’ from the other side. Jaeden and I both paused, and that’s when it hit me. With my dignity gone, and my mind nothing more than mush, reality came rushing back. My breasts were both exposed, and my nipples were swollen from his mouth and hands. His chest was naked, and I blinked, wondering when he’d removed his shirt.

  My gun had been removed, and I hadn’t even felt it! It lay with my vest beside the door, and I had to wonder if his mouth was a dangerous weapon. It must have been a weapon of mass destruction against my brain, obviously.

  “Get dressed,” he said as he unwound my legs and stood to retrieve his shirt. I slid to the floor, and stayed there for a minute.

  He turned and looked down at me, his gaze hot enough to singe my flesh with his eyes. “This isn’t finished, Emma, not by a long shot.”

  Oh. What. The. Hell. Emma! You slut, what the hell had you just all
owed to happen? Hussyland was open for business, and my vagina was its entrance. And who had the key? Jaeden! I snapped out of it and pulled down my shirt before rushing over to my vest as I slid my mask back into place.

  Wolves! There were crazy-ass, red-eyed wolves outside, and I was so busy considering my vagina’s eagerness to welcome Jaeden’s Mr. Happy that I’d lost it for a moment. I pulled back on the confidence and sass I hid behind and leveled him with a cold look through the eyes of the mask. “This is over; it doesn’t happen again,” I stated firmly.

  “We’ll just see that about, now won’t we?” he said with an air of confidence that shook my own.

  Chapter 8

  His men waited just outside the door, armed with various guns and swords…because swords were in these days, I guess. I looked in the direction that they all faced and walked through the men. Were they seriously sniffing the air? I moved to where Jaeden stood, and sniffed to see if I could smell whatever it was they had.

  Nothing.

  I moved to my where my bike had been and almost growled out loud when I couldn’t see the markers I had left around it when I hid the bike. Those bitches! It was a full mile back to the shelter. Jaeden turned his head and looked at me carefully. “Keep the mask on, Emma,” he said as we all started forward as a group.

  “Always do,” I whispered and then scrunched up my face as I heard how stupid it sounded. We walked through the woods for what felt like forever, even though I knew it had only taken us moments to reach the bloody scene.

  I spotted my bike on its side, with blood splattered all around it. Jillian was sightless, her head turned at an awkward angle in death. Bonnie was nearby in the grass, her legs spread wide, as if her assailant had tried to do more than just rip her apart. Her shirt was ripped open and her pants were gone, as well as her underwear. I swallowed down the saliva which threatened to become more. My stomach rolled with what I was seeing.