Taste of Darkness, Page 2

  Finn rubbed the back of his neck again. “She pissed?”

  Gabriel grinned. “What do you think?”

  Finn let out a savage curse and strode away from them, tension in every line of his body.

  “Where’ve you two been?” Gabriel demanded, swiveling on Drake and Victoria.

  Drake didn’t answer, which was his standard non-response to the Guardian. He didn’t answer to anyone. Except maybe Victoria.

  “At the movies,” Victoria said, grabbing Drake’s arm and dragging him to the house.

  Since there was nowhere else he wanted to be and no one else he wanted touching him, Drake shot Gabriel a smug look over his shoulder as he let Victoria take him wherever she wanted.

  Chapter Two

  “You don’t have to come with me,” Victoria murmured to Drake as he strode up the stairs of the pack’s mansion to Vega’s room. They’d grabbed a bite to eat and Victoria had heard through the pack grapevine that Vega was now back in her room. Sulking probably.

  “I know. I want to.” He shot her an unreadable look with those beautiful gray eyes. Whenever he shifted into a dragon, they turned silver. They also turned silver when he became emotional, which wasn’t too often.

  She was still trying to read his moods after four months of friendship. Of course she wanted more than friendship.

  Way more.

  Sometimes he gave off the vibe that he wanted more too. Like the way he always touched her hips, holding her as if he didn’t want to let go. Or the whole Valentine’s Day thing. But she was pretty certain he didn’t mean anything sexual by it. When he’d first defended her in New Orleans from vampires and demons who’d broken out of Hell she’d thought he was attracted to her. He’d been all growly to anyone who came too near. And he still did that now. But the more time they spent together the more she wondered if he just saw her as some sort of security blanket. Otherwise, he would have made a move by now. Right? He was pretty much the only known dragon in the world. There might be others but so far she hadn’t been able to locate any.

  And she’d been trying. If he had a family he deserved to know where he came from. Since he didn’t know much about technology or know anyone, she’d taken over the task of searching.

  So he was basically alone after being locked in Hell for fifteen hundred years. He was still trying to figure things out for himself and she was pretty sure he felt safe with her. Which was great because she loved helping him and spending time with him. Sometimes she felt bad for the sexual thoughts she had about him and for the most part she kept that side of herself locked down. Except when he decided to touch her in that deliciously possessive way. It must be a dragon thing though. Or just his way of touching. Gah, she didn’t know.

  He was six feet six inches of confusing male. Lord, the man was huge, muscular and smelled heavenly. She just wanted to run her nose all over him, inhaling that spicy, earthy scent that made her inner wolf want to jump up and strut around for him. But what if… She didn’t even want to think it, but she wondered if he’d even been with a woman before. He’d been alone in Hell for so long and in some ways seemed so innocent despite his darker edge. Could he actually be a virgin?

  “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly, his deep voice reverberating through her, striking all her nerve endings like a hammer hitting a gong.

  She blinked and realized she’d slowed her pace as they reached the top of the stairs. She shook her head and smiled, drinking in every inch of his gorgeous face. He looked to be in his early thirties—even though he was way older—and was more striking than handsome. “Nothing. Just lost in my thoughts.”

  He frowned as if he didn’t quite believe her, but didn’t respond. They quickly made their way through a couple hallways until they found Vega’s room.

  Victoria knocked and was glad when the door opened a few seconds later. Vega opened it, looking more pissed than distraught at least. Her unique violet eyes that she’d gotten from her vampire mother, flashed with annoyance as they settled on Drake.

  “Are you going to threaten to kill anyone?” Vega asked dryly.

  “I won’t threaten anyone.” Which was the truth. If someone attempted to harm her, he would just kill, not bother with meaningless threats.

  Sighing, Vega stepped back. “Sorry I freaked out earlier and blubbered all over you,” she muttered as they walked in to her room. Which was more like a small, luxurious apartment than just a room.

  All the rooms in the mansion were like that. The place was insanely huge.

  “You have no reason to be sorry. I know what it’s like to grow up with overprotective males.” Though Victoria didn’t hate it as much as she guessed Vega did. But Victoria had been abandoned as a cub and saved by Finn and his pack. She was grateful to have a family and didn’t mind Gabriel’s crazy overprotectiveness. Well, until recently. She wouldn’t mind having more alone time with Drake. Sometimes the pack treated her as if she didn’t know her own mind, but Drake never did that. He listened to her and actually asked her to help with things, like driving.

  Vega snorted and flopped down on her king-sized bed. “It’s ridiculous. I can’t even go shopping without a freaking escort. I’m a vamp-shifter hybrid, more powerful than some of my packmates, but no one seems to care.”

  Drake strode to one of the two huge bay windows overlooking the property and looked outside, as if keeping guard, so Victoria sat on the edge of the bed and absently traced her finger over the white floral pattern on the light purple comforter. “It’s not that they don’t care. They do. A lot. After what happened they just want to keep you safe. And you might be powerful but you’re young and you have two powerful parents, which automatically makes you a target.”

  Vega took a deep breath and looked as if she was going to blast what Victoria had said, but just sighed. “I know. And I understand. I don’t want to get kidnapped or shot again, I just… I want the chance to be a little normal and I’ve never even been on a date. I thought my dad would be way more cool about it than my mom. It’s why I went to him first. He seriously freaked though. He’s never…” She swallowed hard and looked down at her hands. “He’s never even raised his voice at me until I mentioned a date. Then it was like I’d said I wanted to join a terrorist organization.” She looked back up at Victoria. “How did you manage to date with Gabriel breathing down your neck all the time?”

  Victoria shot a glance at Drake but he didn’t seem to be paying attention. She cleared her throat. “Ah, it was not easy.” Or, even possible really. She looked at Drake again, not wanting to have this conversation in front of him.

  He must have sensed that she was watching him because he looked over, his eyes having turned silver for a moment before returning to their muted gray. “Do you need privacy?” he asked.

  She nodded and felt her face flush. She didn’t want him to leave, but she couldn’t tell Vega anything with him there. “I’ll be in my room later if you want to come by and watch a movie.”

  He nodded, watching her so intently it was like he was trying to see through to her inner-most thoughts. She actually wished he could see them because then maybe he’d put her out of her misery and let her know if he even wanted her at all. “I’ll text you.”

  Once he left, she turned back to Vega whose gaze had turned speculative. “Movie night? Is that code for something else?”

  “Shut up,” Victoria muttered. At twenty-three she was more than old enough to date and do whatever she wanted, but she didn’t want to get into a discussion about Drake with Vega.

  “Fine, but you’ll answer my questions later. Tell me how you managed to date with the scary Guardian around.”

  Embarrassed, Victoria let out a breath. “I didn’t exactly. The one time I managed to sneak out with a human—sneak out at nineteen, I should add—it was awful. We’d been talking for months at school and having coffee dates on campus but nothing really intense. I went back to this guy’s place and we were uh, fooling around.” Oh, god, even thinking of that night ma
de her face flame. It had been beyond embarrassing.

  “Fooling around how?”

  For a moment she thought about not telling Vega because she was seventeen, but the girl was more grown up than most people decades older. Today’s behavior notwithstanding. “He was, uh, going down on me, when Gabriel busted in. And I mean busted in like a complete maniac with blades drawn. I guess he’d followed me and had heard me from outside with that damn supernatural hearing and of course he assumed the worst.”

  “Oh my god!” Vega shouted, her eyes wide in pure horror. “He walked in on you when some guy’s head was actually between…?”

  Face red, Victoria nodded. “Oh yeah. Needless to say that guy never called me again. And anytime he saw me, he sprinted in the other direction.” And she hadn’t really dated since then. She didn’t think Gabriel would ever do something so horrific again—because he’d been embarrassed too—but she’d been busy with school anyway and she hadn’t wanted to risk anything like that happening again.

  That was the problem with shifter males. They were so damn protective and could act like complete and utter barbarians. And not be apologetic about it at all.

  “I don’t think Gabriel could scare Drake away,” Vega said slyly.

  Victoria just rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about him with you.” The teenage shifter seemed to always want to grill Victoria about him. Unfortunately Victoria didn’t have any answers and it made her feel crappier to admit out loud that she was pretty sure Drake only wanted friendship.

  “Have you kissed him yet?”

  “No.”

  “Do you want to kiss him?”

  “What do you think?” she snapped with more heat than she’d intended. She adored Vega and didn’t want to be rude, but she also didn’t want to talk about Drake. It mixed her up too much inside. Seriously, what if he was a virgin and viewed her as a security blanket? She couldn’t even go there, not when her feelings for him were so much more intense.

  Luckily Vega wasn’t offended. If anything, her grin grew. “Hmm, I’ll eventually wear you down. But for now, I need to tell you something and you can’t tell anyone.”

  * * *

  Drake pushed the door to the roof of the mansion open and stepped outside, inhaling the fresh scent of magnolia trees. He immediately knew he was alone. Though the scent of shifters and Lyra and Vega lingered in the air around the property, no one was on the massive roof. He was glad to be alone.

  He knew he shouldn’t have eavesdropped on Vega and Victoria but he’d wanted to know about Victoria’s dating experiences. And he wasn’t apologetic about his decision either. Maybe in another lifetime he would have been, but not now. He might not comprehend everything about this modern world, but he understood battle tactics and evasive maneuvering. Otherwise he wouldn’t have lasted in Hell for so long. So any leg up he could get with Victoria he would take.

  When he’d heard her say a male had been going down on her he hadn’t been certain of the phrase at first. In Hell he’d seen more than his fair share of orgies and rapes, but he tried not to think about that. All the versions of sex he’d witnessed were violent and not something he wanted to relive.

  So it had taken a few seconds for it to register that ‘going down’ meant oral sex. He knew the behavior he’d witnessed in Hell wasn’t normal so he’d done an Internet search on his phone to see exactly what oral sex on a female looked like—Victoria had taught him how to use Google.

  The pictures that had come up had been exactly what he’d expected. Not violent, just sexy. While he didn’t like the thought of anyone but him doing that to Victoria, he grew hard thinking about licking her most intimate area with his tongue, hearing her moan his name. Finding out exactly what she tasted like.

  “Do you want to kiss him?”

  “What do you think?”

  Drake replayed Victoria’s last words over in his head. After she’d said that he’d finally left, needing to get away because he’d been getting too aroused. What did she mean? He hated that he was still trying to understand social cues and inflections. It was just another reminder how different he was from her. From everyone in this pack.

  His dragon nature aside.

  Using his natural gift to shield himself from any prying eyes, he stripped off his clothes then called on his inner dragon, letting him take over until he was in his beast form. As always the change was quick, the shift from human to dragon exhilarating, like he’d been shot up with a heavy dose of adrenaline. Things were clearer and sharper like this. He’d never even seen himself in his entirety until recently but Lyra had told him he was beautiful. Victoria had seconded it.

  He didn’t think males were supposed to be considered beautiful and he was pretty certain he actually wasn’t, that they were just being kind. But as long as Victoria liked him in his animal form she could call him beautiful. His wings sparkled like jade emeralds, the same color as Victoria’s eyes. More proof to him that she was his. And his body glittered like thousands of diamond scales. His paler body coloring made it easier for him to use his gift of camouflage so that when he flew high above the city, he was basically invisible. If someone was looking directly at him they might think they saw a blurred cloud but that was it.

  Using the roof as a launching area, he shot into the night sky, expanding his wings and savoring every second of his freedom. He’d never thought he’d be free. The concept was still foreign and if he thought about it too long he sometimes wondered if he was still in Hell and had finally lost his mind.

  For years he’d stayed in his dragon form as the best form of protection from…everything. But he hadn’t wanted to lose his humanity completely. Hadn’t wanted to let whoever had put him in Hell win. Because someone had. He just couldn’t remember who. Fifteen hundred years was a long time and so many of his memories were a blur. He’d been young when he’d been locked inside. Twelve or thirteen maybe.

  Taking in the salty air, he headed straight for the ocean, enjoying flying over it. Even at night it was a beautiful, seemingly endless scape of beauty glittering under the moon and stars. No fire or desolation or despair anywhere in sight.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been flying but he thought it had only been a couple hours when he finally landed quietly on the roof again. His clothes and phone were still there in a neat pile and he could hear the patrolling shifters moving around the grounds. Some were most definitely aware of him, but others might have missed his landing. He was incredibly stealthy when he wanted to be.

  After he’d changed into his clothes, he checked his phone. His heart rate immediately kicked up a notch at the thought of reading Victoria’s message. Others in the pack often texted him, but he never reacted to their messages like he did hers. As if his heart would beat right out of his chest.

  Victoria: Vega wants me to go somewhere with her. Promised her I wouldn’t tell where. We won’t be long. If you still want to meet up I’ll text you when I get back?

  Smiling and feeling foolish for the erratic thump of his heart, he started to respond when Gabriel’s annoyed voice carried faintly on the wind. He would have ignored him, but he heard Victoria’s name. And anything to do with her concerned him.

  Moving stealthily, he called on one of his most potent powers and camouflaged himself in human form as he strode toward the edge of the roof. No one would see him now.

  With his supernatural hearing he made out various conversations from packmates on the property and a few from packmates inside the compound. He deducted that they must have windows open because the place was well-insulated.

  He distinctly heard Finn and Gabriel talking in hushed tones. Concentrating, he leaned over the edge of the house and pinpointed where the voices were coming from.

  Vega’s room.

  That was strange.

  “Victoria wouldn’t let her do anything stupid,” Gabriel said quietly.

  “I know, but…fuck, where the hell did she go?” Finn snarled.

  “Not with the human. I
’ve got him under surveillance.” Gabriel sounded smug.

  “Is Drake with them?” Finn asked.

  Gabriel snorted. “Victoria didn’t say in her text. She just said not to worry about her and Vega. Though that fucker probably went with them anyway.”

  “I’d feel a hell of a lot better if he was with them.” The note of desperation in Finn’s voice made Drake frown. Victoria wouldn’t have let Vega go anywhere unsuitable or dangerous. Even he, with all his lack of knowledge, knew that. Maybe Finn was being irrational because he was a parent.

  “Yeah, me too. I just don’t like the way he looks at Victoria,” Gabriel muttered. “She’s always taking in fucking strays and this guy is the worst. We don’t know shit about him or if there are more like him out there.”

  Finn’s response was cut off as someone shut the window. Not that Drake cared what the Alpha thought. Not too much anyway. He only cared about Victoria, but Gabriel’s words sliced through him soul deep.

  Did Victoria see him that way? A strange lump settled in his throat as his entire body hummed with rage and raw energy. Fuck. Was that how she saw him? A stray? Unwanted. Something to be pitied. Fists clenched, he turned and started to head back to the roof’s door but froze when he spotted Lyra leaning against the closed door. He hadn’t even heard or scented her, which said a lot about her power.

  He immediately let his camouflage fall but something about the way she watched him told him that she’d seen him anyway. Or maybe just the outline of his magic.

  Wearing black cargo pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, the blood-born vampire had her long blonde hair pulled back into a sharp ponytail. Her grayish-violet eyes sparked under the moonlight as she watched him.

  She was one of the only people not afraid of him and he liked that. She’d even given him her potent vamp blood when he’d been shot. He had no doubt that she’d only done it because he’d saved her daughter’s life, but Drake would never forget that small act of kindness when he’d been injured and vulnerable. Instead of speaking, he just stood there, waiting for her to make the first move.