The Darkest Touch

  He pressed against the coolness of the wall, his knees threatening to buckle. Gaze burning, he focused on Lucien. "Go home. Call me every day. I'll let you know when she's well. Then...I'll leave her here." He'd more than proven he couldn't be trusted around her. She looked at him and he wanted her. She asked for his touch...his kiss...and he gave it to her. Hell, she didn't even have to ask--if she neared him, he was going to reach for her.

  He forgot the consequences. Or they ceased to matter. Or both. It was selfish of him, and it was cruel.

  No more.

  He would be cold, and he would be methodical. But he would end things. "I'll make sure she doesn't follow me."

  There had always been a countdown for his relationship with Keeley. It had finally zeroed out. He just had to deal.

  Lucien frowned at him. "We need her. Cameo--"

  "I don't care!" he snarled. He'd made the mistake of explaining the extent of Keeley's power, and his friend was hell-bent on using her. "We'll find another way."

  Silence.

  Torin slid down the wall. He would never again witness her change colors. Never again watch her morph from Sugar Plum Fairy to Summer Fling Barbie. Never again talk to her or laugh with her. Never again hold her.

  I want to hold her.

  What if they found the Morning Star the very day she healed? What if they failed to find it? What if they found it in twenty years?

  What if he could find it on his own and then return to her as a healthy, whole man?

  No more what-ifs. Their association had to end. Today.

  He looked at this decision from every angle, found no flaws. Her life was more important than his happiness, and that's all there was to it.

  One day she might even thank him for this.

  "Torin," Lucien said, his gentleness far more than Torin deserved.

  He held up his hand. "Don't. Just...call. I'll see you when she's healed."

  At first, Lucien gave no reaction. Then, he nodded reluctantly. "Until then."

  *

  KEELEY SENSED THE tension in the room before she ever opened her eyes. She jolted upright, ready to do battle. The fact that no one loomed over her, about to attack her, astonished her.

  Out of habit, she checked her arms and legs to make sure no one had warded her while she'd been sleeping.

  Where am I? What's going on?

  Torin! He'd pulled a chair to the side of the bed. His white-blond hair stuck out in spikes, as if he'd plowed his fingers through the strands again and again. Grim lines branched from his eyes--eyes as hard as granite, watching her intently. He wore a T-shirt that read "'She's Perfect for You. Go for It,' said Alcohol" and a new pair of black leather pants.

  He met her gaze and released a long--relieved?--breath. Color returned to his pale complexion, and a weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. He sat up straighter.

  He started to reach for her but stopped himself. "You survived," he said with a gruffness she'd never heard from him. "Again."

  I did?

  Yes. That's right. She'd been terribly, terribly sick.

  "I'm not sure how," he added.

  Her immense power was a factor, for sure, but there had to be more to it than that. Like...him. Torin. Streams of strength had pulsed along the bond, and they'd buoyed her.

  Tell him.

  Not yet.

  He removed his gloves and draped them across his thighs. On both of his hands were rings. Almost every finger had one, in fact. Most were silver bands. A few boasted large blue stones. He even wore three different necklaces, each with a different pendant.

  "Why so blinged up?" she asked.

  "Lucien brought my things."

  This was the real Torin, then. I like. A lot.

  Delicious shivers stole through her. "So...what's got you so upset?"

  "You were sick for eight days. Your heart stopped twice. I performed CPR." His bitter laugh hollowed her out. "I'm getting good at it. Only broke one of your ribs."

  Dangerous subject. Proceed with caution. "Well, as you can see, I'm okay."

  "That's good." He cast his attention to the window just beyond the bed. "Our relationship has always been about choices, Keeley. Fight or forgive. Touch or not touch. Stay together, risking everything, or split up. Our relationship will always be about choices."

  "I--"

  "I'm not done."

  Though her heart pounded, she remained quiet.

  "It's not fair to you," he said. "You shouldn't have to mortgage your health to be with me...which is why I'm ending our association."

  He wanted to...part from her? "No." She shook her head.

  "It's happening whether you're on board or not. Your Majesty."

  So businesslike, so cold. As if their future happiness wasn't at stake.

  Maybe his wasn't. But hers was. "Don't do this, Torin," she said.

  "Like I told you, it's happening. Effective immediately," he announced, white-knuckling the edge of his chair. "You don't know what torture it was to go so long without the thing I craved most...and when finally I got it, I had to watch the person I care for suffer because of it."

  He cares for me.

  He cares!

  "We're done," he said. "We have to be done."

  "You're just going to give up? Throw me away as if I'm no more important than garbage? After everything we've shared?"

  "You're not garbage," he bellowed, and she knew she'd offended him. "You're..." The look he cast her held a possessiveness, a savagery, he'd never before displayed. But he shook his head and his features blanked. "This is for the best."

  "Whose best? Not mine."

  "Definitely yours." Then, "I will find my friends without you. Rescue Baden's spirit without you. Locate the box without you," he added, as if she needed clarification. "I'll owe you no favors."

  "What about the Morning Star?" He can't do this. I can't let him.

  "If--when--I have it, well..." He waved his arm through the air, a gesture of impatience.

  Well, what?

  "Until then, you will put me in your Time Out box," he said. "Consider it a parting gift."

  Forget him? Perhaps forever? He couldn't... There was no way...how could...

  Lightbulb!

  He more than cared about her, she realized. Her well-being mattered to him even more than finding his friends and the box.

  Warm rays of sunshine engulfed her soul, and in moments even streamed through the room's windows.

  The reason he'd taken off his gloves suddenly became clear. He couldn't trust himself with her. He thought that, without the leather barrier in place, he wouldn't fall victim to temptation and put his hands on her.

  "Do you understand?" he demanded.

  Can't dance. Can't sing. "Yes," she said, unable to stop her grin. "I do."

  Reminding her of a bear whose cage had just been rattled, he snapped, "Are you sure?"

  "Totally."

  "You don't look like you do."

  "What do I look like?"

  "Heaven," he said and scowled. "Hell. It doesn't matter." He fished a phone from his pocket, dialed. "I'm ready."

  Lucien appeared a few seconds later. Torin stood, walked to his friend.

  "Go along, boys." She made a shooing motion. "I'll join you shortly."

  Torin rounded on her. "You said you understood we were parting ways."

  "That's not what I said--nor what I understood."

  "Then what?"

  You're mine, and I'm yours. We're going to be together. She'd done it. She'd won his heart, just as she'd intended. Not fully, not yet, but close.

  For now, that was good enough.

  "I'll tell you later," she said with a pointed glance to Lucien. "When we're alone."

  "Keeley," Torin gritted.

  "Charming," she sang. "Trust me. You don't want me revealing my thoughts to your friend." Might not like hearing them yourself. I'm important to you. Irreplaceable.

  Necessary.

  Lucien laughed. "You remind me of
Anya."

  She threw her legs over the side of the bed. Torin had dressed her in a ratty T-shirt that said "Only One of These Statements is True ssa Gideon Never Lies." The hem reached midthigh at least. "You never told me. Who's Anya?"

  "My..." His mismatched eyes crinkled at the corners. "I'm not sure how to explain my relationship with her. She's my girl. My angel."

  "She's no angel." Torin glared at Keeley. "Until she's compared to someone else I know."

  Keeley fluffed her hair. "Compliments will get you everywhere."

  His eyes slitted farther. "Anya is a crazy person who has spent the whole of her relationship with Lucien planning a wedding that's never going to happen. She's his non-fiancee fiancee. But it doesn't matter. You're not meeting her. You're staying here."

  She blew him a kiss. "See you soon."

  "See you never."

  "So...five minutes? Or would you prefer ten?"

  "Never." He was scowling when he flashed away with Lucien.

  What an amazing day!

  She rushed into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and hair, then studied the clean T-shirt and sweatpants Torin had left for her. Not this time.

  She flashed to her cave and discovered Hades had indeed returned her gowns. Keeley selected the one with chain-mail sleeves with a corset comprised of rolled leather and horse-mane, cinching in her waist. Black leather pants hugged her legs, a full-length train flaring at her hips and flowing all the way to the floor.

  She plaited the top portion of her hair, allowing the rest to fall in golden waves before anchoring her crown of spiked steel and diamonds in place.

  Head high, she flashed to Torin--and found herself inside a fortress.

  The foyer walls were made of shiny white marble broken up by tiny rivers of gold. Hanging throughout were beautiful candelabras interspersed with portraits of--surely--the Lords and their women. Glistening chandeliers hovered overhead, and the black onyx floor speckled with diamond flecks gleamed below. It was an exquisite space. The kind she'd always wanted for herself. Opulent, but homey. Luxurious, but welcoming.

  Torin stood beside Lucien, scowling at a portrait of a soldier dressed in black with his arm draped around a female wearing a gown of fine velvet and lace, a feathered headdress framing her delicate face.

  Not nearly as nice as mine.

  "Hello, Torin," Keeley said.

  He pelted her with a glare, then raked his gaze over her once, twice, a third time, his pupils expanding more and more...his attention lingering in all the right places.

  She spun slowly, letting him look his fill from every angle. "You showed me the real you. Now I am showing you the real me."

  "You are... There are no words..." He stepped closer, but his friend Lucien put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

  Keeley swallowed her irritation. "Don't you dare try to kick me out. I'm staying," she said. "End of."

  *

  TORIN HAD PRETENDED to study the portrait of Kane and Josephina while roars of denial threatened to break free--just abandoned Keeley, soon I may not even be remembered by her.

  Have to get over it. I'm a man, not a baby without a paci.

  When Keeley had flashed to his other side, he'd smelled the honey-dipped-berries scent before he'd turned to her...and experienced a punch of lust so strong he was surprised he remained on his feet.

  Look at her. So damn gorgeous in her gown.

  Disease gave a low, guttural growl, reminding Torin of his crimes.

  "You have to leave, Keeley. I mean it."

  "Meaning it doesn't change anything," she said.

  "If you stay, I'll bring you nothing but grief and pain."

  "Don't be so melodramatic. You've already brought me more than grief and pain."

  "You mean cholera? Smallpox?"

  Her gaze shifted to Lucien for a split second, and she raised her chin. "Pleasure."

  Another punch of lust. He had given her pleasure, sating her in a way he'd never sated another. She had not left his bed disappointed.

  "True," he grumbled.

  As if they weren't discussing the life and death of their relationship, she motioned to a portrait of two people he didn't recognize. A dark-haired male and a female with a short crop of hair so black it appeared to be blue. "That's Atlas and Nike. I met him when he was a raging he-slut. Never met her, but according to my spies, she's meaner than...what's the meanest thing in the world?"

  "You?" Torin said helpfully.

  She nodded. "Meaner than me."

  He sighed. He'd expected his comment to anger her, for her to storm off.

  She really was staying put, despite his warning.

  He should not have welcomed the strong tide of relief washing through him.

  "Atlas and Nike found us a few weeks ago," Lucien said. "Anya knew Nike, and the two have been hanging out. Hence the reason I had to hide a corpse again today."

  Missed so much.

  Laughter reverberated from the kitchen, and Torin's heart squeezed in his chest. Music drifted from the sitting room, accompanied by the pitter-patter of little feet running down.

  "Incoming," Lucien said.

  The footsteps increased in volume and speed, and all too soon a little boy and girl came into view. They stopped and stared at him.

  "Someone brought toddlers into the fortress?" Torin asked.

  "I ain't no toddler," the boy snapped.

  "Sure, sure." Torin held up his palms in a gesture of surrender.

  "You remember Urban and Ever, I'm sure," Lucien said. "They've, uh, grown."

  No way. Just no way. "I've only been gone a few months." When he'd left, Urban and Ever had been infants.

  "Maddox and Ashlyn made the mistake of asking Anya to babysit," Lucien said. "My darling female placed the children in the Cage of Compulsion and commanded them to grow up a little."

  "Dude." Anyone trapped in the Cage had to obey its owner, no matter what was commanded. Anya was the current owner. "How bad a meltdown did Maddox have?"

  "Him? Not too bad. Ashlyn, on the other hand..." Lucien shuddered.

  Urban had the same thick black hair and serious violet eyes Torin remembered. Ever had the same curling honey-blond hair and twinkling brown eyes. And though the two looked like normal kids, dressed in dirt-smudged T-shirts and shorts, they exuded an unnatural energy that pricked at Torin's skin.

  "Hello," he said. "I'm your Uncle Torin."

  "No." Urban crossed his arms over his chest. "You're trespassing."

  Ouch.

  "That's a big word for such a little boy," Keeley said, and her tone was pure gaga goo-goo. "You're so cute, I'm going to allow you to call me Aunt Queen Dr. Keeley. You may express your thanks."

  "Doctor?" Torin asked her.

  "I have a PhD in etiquette, sarcasm and fun ways to commit murder."

  Ice actually crystalized over Urban's skin as he glanced from Torin to Keeley, then back again. "I'm not calling you anything, lady. I don't like you."

  Prickles of flame blazed over Ever. "Yeah. You're strangers, and strangers are the enemy. We get to hurt the enemy."

  "Children," a voice admonished. "Who are you challenging this time?" Maddox, keeper of Violence, descended the staircase, his expression as soft as freaking clouds. Then his gaze landed on Torin, and he stopped abruptly. "Torin?"

  He nodded, his chest constricting. "The one and only."

  "But, Daaaddyyy." Ever pouted with a skill she must have been born with--too expert for one so young. "We never get to hurt no one, and William promised we'd get a chance to do serious damage very soon as long as we didn't tell Momma. Well, it's finally very soon and we won't tell Momma. Honest."

  Maddox pushed out a weary breath and muttered, "I'm going to flay William alive."

  "Torin!" a familiar voice called. "You're here!" Footsteps pounded, and then Anya, minor goddess of Anarchy, came flying around the corner, practically leaping over the kids...only to skid to a halt when her gaze landed on Keeley. She seemed to choke on her own
tongue as she backed up. "The Red Queen! No, no, no. Lucien! You said, and I quote, Torin is with a smokin' blonde. Why not mention the fact that she's my sworn enemy?"

  "Who, me?" Keeley tapped her chest.

  Clearly another casualty of the Time Out box.

  "As if you could forget. My friend called you Smurfette," Anya said, anchoring her hands on her hips. "You forced her to kneel before you and cut off her own flesh. Oh, and call herself Bloody Mary."

  "Well, then, she got off lightly," Keeley said, chin high. "I'll hear your thanks."

  "Then a few years later you forced Zeus to give you everything inside the royal treasury. A tax, you said, because you hadn't killed everyone he loved--only half of them."

  "That, I remember. He'd just attacked my fiance."

  "Yes, the king of darkness!"

  Maddox moved in front of the kids, acting as their shield.

  "So she's really the enemy?" Ever asked excitedly.

  "Yes," Anya shouted at the same time Torin snapped, "No!"

  Anya continued, "We need to get the kids out of the fortress before she eats their hearts for dinner and their spinal cords for dessert!"

  "Hey!" Keeley scowled at her. "Only eight times have I eaten the organs I've removed, and it was only to make a point."

  Torin pinched the bridge of his nose.

  "No one threatens my organs!" Ever stretched out a hand, a ball of fire forming just above her palm.

  The little girl tossed the flames with all her might. Torin stepped in front of Keeley. No one, not even a child, is allowed to hurt my woman. His princess simply reached around him and snatched the thing before it could so much as singe him.

  Not my woman. Can't think like that.

  "A game of catch? Sure. I'm willing." Keeley stepped beside him and tossed the crackling flames back to the little girl, who caught it with an expression of utter shock.

  Urban stretched out his hand, a ball of ice forming just above his palm. He tossed it, and Keeley caught it with the same ease as before.

  Only, this one melted in her grip before she could lob off a return. "Oops. My bad. I'm summer today, not winter."

  "Who," Maddox began darkly, "is the Red Queen?"

  "I am." Keeley executed a flawless curtsey. "I know, I know. You're honored to make my acquaintance, and you can hardly contain your excitement, but do your best to remain calm. I find bouts of fawning adoration embarrassing--for others."

  Maddox blinked.

  Torin tried not to smile.

  More footsteps resounded. Then the golden Ashlyn, blue-haired Gideon and a noticeably pregnant Scarlet raced around a corner. From different areas of the house, others came running, as well. The silent Amun and loving Haidee. The dark Reyes and his blonde bombshell, Danika. Determined Sabin and his spunky Gwen. Cocky Strider and his redheaded terror, Kaia. The newly tattooed Aeron, his lovely wife, Olivia, and their kinda sorta adopted adult daughter, Legion.