“Lila is in the safest place possible right now. The safest place in the entire world. Kale can’t get to her. No one gets in my prison without my permission, and no one gets out.”
He knew that.
“If she leaves these walls, he will have her. Now that she’s changed, he will touch her and he can vanish instantly with her. He couldn’t get her to disappear before because she still had her wings. They were a tie to her old life that had to be broken.”
And her wings had broken. Her feathers had shattered.
“Her body chemistry has changed. It’s the same as his, so when he gets his hand on her again, he will take her far away. They’ll both be able to vanish together, and we won’t be able to track them.”
That was what Luke had told him before—the reason Rayce had left her in that cage. Luke had dropped that little bombshell right before Rayce had seen Lila. So I had to leave her there. Even though walking away from her ripped my fucking soul in half.
“We have to be ready for him,” Luke said. His brow furrowed. “And you still haven’t spoken.”
“Lila.”
“That’s really more of a growl than a word. I’m guessing your beast is close, hmm?”
So close the wolf was like a second skin.
“Let’s get the interrogation going, okay? I don’t think we have time to waste.” Then Luke turned on his heel and hurried down the narrow corridor. But he didn’t leave the cell area. Because that little “bonus” that Rayce had brought along on the helicopter? Bound and gagged with him? That “bonus” had a cell of his own.
Luke unlocked the door. Rayce breathed in and out, but every breath—Lila.
She was in his very blood, and the pain in her eyes savaged him.
The door opened. Luke went in first. Rayce followed as he heard the snarls coming from their prisoner.
“So…” Luke drew out the word in consideration. “A shot to the heart, a bullet to the head, and then you severed the guy’s head…but he still was able to come back to life?”
Wayne Madison was on the cot in that room. He was cuffed—ankles and wrists locked together so that he could barely move—but his gaze blazed with fury.
“Interesting.” Luke cocked his head. “I’m dying to know…how did a human become…this?”
Because as far as Rayce could tell, they were staring at a zombie. Only this zombie didn’t stop fighting once his head was gone. That shit just regenerated.
Wayne hadn’t exactly been talking much. Just growling and snarling and trying to attack anything that got close to him. “My money says Kale is responsible.” Another fucking problem caused by him.
Luke closed in on Wayne. His hands flew out and curled over the man’s shoulders. “I rule the dark.”
The words were nice and dramatic but…Wayne just tried to head-butt him.
“Interesting…” Luke glanced back at Rayce. “I think I may need a witch for this. Luckily, I know just who to call.”
Chapter Fourteen
Lila opened her eyes and found Rayce sitting a few feet away from her bed. She gasped and sat up, her heart racing, and those stupid manacles still tight around her wrists. “What are you doing here?”
For a moment, mad hope reared its head. Maybe he was there—sneaking into her cell in the middle of the night—because he wanted to help her escape. They’d leave under the cover of darkness and never look back.
“I wanted to see you.” His face hardened. “No, I needed to see you.”
Hope fled. And she felt ridiculous for letting it rise in the first place. “You still think I’m the monster who can’t be let loose.”
His gaze jerked away from hers. “I’ll get new things brought in for you. A bigger bed. Soft pillows. And, hey, when you’re hungry, I’ll be sure to—”
“Stop it.”
His shoulders tensed.
“All the luxuries in the world won’t change a prison.”
He swallowed. “I just wanted you…comfortable.”
“And I want out.” She rose. The chains raked over the stone floor. “I thought you’d come to my rescue. Does that tell you how wrong I am? That I thought the big, bad wolf was on my side? That you were my hero?”
He surged to his feet. “It’s for your protection! Don’t you see that? If it wasn’t—I would fucking claw these walls down for you.”
She raised her wrists. “This doesn’t look like protection.”
“No.” He rolled back his shoulders. “To you, I guess it doesn’t.”
She was missing something. “You left me in Colorado, determined to hunt down Kale. Then you found me here, and you want me to stay caged.”
He didn’t speak.
“What am I missing? Give me something here! Help me to understand! Because I feel—” Her words were too high and frost was on her fingertips.
He touched her. So warm.
Her lips wanted to tremble, but she wouldn’t let them. Lila was done being weak.
“I want you safe,” Rayce told her quietly.
“And the price of safety is a prison?” No, thank you. She shook her head. “Did you intend this all along? When you came to Maverick’s, were you planning to lock me up?” She needed to hear his lie.
Or his truth.
“I was planning…to make you mine.”
“You don’t own somebody. That’s not how things work.”
He just stared at her with his gleaming gaze. “Are you sure? Because you own me.”
As crazy as it was…his words held the ring of truth.
“Kale is still hunting you, Lila. He’s trying to find you now. This spot, it’s the safest place on earth for you. If it wasn’t, like I said, I would have ripped down the walls myself.” A mocking smile curved his lips. “When I first came here, that’s damn well what I intended to do. Then Luke made me see reason.”
“That’s because Luke controls you. You’re a puppet on his string.” Disgusted, Lila turned away from him.
But he pulled her back up against him. His grip was tight and anger flashed on his face. “I’m not his puppet. Can’t you see…I’m doing everything possible for you? Keeping you here keeps you away from Kale. It gives us the chance to fight him. It gives—”
Her breath left her in a rush. “Bait.”
His lashes flickered.
“I’m bait, aren’t I? Kale got away before, and you…you and Luke don’t want him to stay free.”
“He’s a fucking monster.” Rayce gave a bitter laugh. “And I should know…considering the monster I’ve got in me.”
He hadn’t answered her question, and Lila knew that was deliberate. “You want him to come here. You…want him to find me.”
“He thinks you’re his. The only other being on the whole planet who is just like him.” His lips brushed her jaw. His hold was tight but his caress was so gentle. “But he’s wrong.”
Just like him.
“He’s been waiting on this earth a long time, waiting for another angel to fall. And when you did, he looked for you. Hell, remember that guy at Maverick’s? The one who looked like a walking skeleton?”
How could she forget?
“That fool was named Francis, and Francis made the mistake of trying to deal with Kale. Francis took your feather to him. And then Francis revealed that he’d put a tracker in your bag of cash.”
Her eyes widened. The money. She’d lost that bag in the car wreck and hadn’t even thought of it since.
“As soon as Kale knew about the tracker, he killed Francis. Then he came after you. He had his team waiting for us on the mountain because he’d followed that tracker right to you.”
“H-how do you know this?”
A grim smile curved his lips. “Because I’ve got a chatty zombie.”
“What?”
“I…convinced Wayne to tell me. The guy knows most of Kale’s secrets.”
“Wayne is still alive?”
“Mostly.”
She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to
mean.
“Kale had plans for you. Everything he did was for the end game he was working. After the wreck, he made sure that you suffered and that the ice took you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “He—”
“Whoever led you to him? That paranormal friend who sent you to Maverick’s? That person set you up. He or she put you right in Kale’s path.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek. “If Kale gets you, Luke says his power will amplify. And if that happens…there won’t be any stopping him. He’ll be too strong.”
Rayce’s words held the ring of truth and that scared her. “Too strong…for even Luke to handle?”
His gaze was hooded. His fingers rose and stroked over her throat. She would not find his touch arousing.
Oh, hell but she did.
“I heard you almost took down Leo all by yourself,” Rayce murmured.
Yes, she had.
“Kale is stronger than you. He gets you at his side, and the two of you could destroy the Lord of the Light…and the Lord of the Dark.”
Lila swallowed down her fear and tried to focus. “That’s why Luke has me prisoner, isn’t it? He thinks I’ll…I’ll help Kale. I won’t.” It wasn’t about her being out of control. It was about bait.
“He thinks you won’t have a choice.” Now his hand slipped down to rest between her breasts. “Luke says darkness lives inside you, and darkness…like is attracted to like.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“There aren’t a lot of demons walking this earth. Actually…there’s Kale and there’s you.”
Her chin lifted. His touch seemed to burn through her shirt.
“According to what Luke’s told me, demons exchange power through a mating bond. Kale is certain you are his mate.”
“You say this like I don’t have a choice. I do. I can pick my own mate. I can pick my own fate.”
His fingers slid down her body. Down, down…until he was touching the manacle on her left wrist. “This is keeping you sane right now.”
“No, it’s keeping me captive.”
“If the manacles come off, Luke says your powers will overwhelm you.”
“Luke says an awful lot.” She pushed her right hand against his chest, over the heart that beat so strongly. “Why don’t you stop listening to him and trust me?”
Rayce stared at her. “Do you trust me?”
“It’s hard to trust a man who is keeping me prisoner.”
A muscle jerked in his jaw. “If I take those off, you’ll run. And Kale will be waiting.”
He wasn’t going to free her.
“Give me time, Lila. I’ll get rid of him. I’ll stop him, and then you can be free.”
“I don’t think I believe you.” Her heart burned. No, it iced.
His lips thinned. “I just want you alive. I know you hate me, but I need you alive.” Then he was kissing her again. A soft kiss on her jaw. She didn’t want him to kiss her.
She didn’t want him to touch her with such gentle hands. Didn’t want him to pretend her prison wasn’t hell.
“Do you know why…your body trembles when I’m near?”
Because he’d been the one to teach her about desire. Pleasure.
“I did something, Lila. Something I shouldn’t have done.”
“I think you’ve got a list going now,” she muttered. But, dammit, she’d just turned her head and grazed her lips over his jaw.
He was the one to tremble then. “Werewolves mate for life. Did you know that?”
She was sick of the mating talk.
But his fingers were on her shoulder now. “When a wolf finds his mate, he knows it. Knows it in his soul.” He pulled her shirt collar to the side and pressed a kiss right there…and when she felt his tongue lick over her skin, her breath hitched. “To mark a mate, so that other wolves will stay the hell back, our kind bites.”
He’d bitten her.
“They bite…” His mouth was on her shoulder, right there at the curve of her neck. “Here.”
The drumming of her heartbeat was suddenly far too loud. “You bit me there.” Her voice was hoarse.
He licked her skin again. “Because I want you to be my mate.” His breath blew over her skin. “Because when we touch—this happens. A need that cuts right through me. You think this kind of desire happens every freaking day? The kind of pleasure we feel together? It’s one in a million. You are one in a million, and that’s why I am fighting like hell to keep you alive. To keep you safe. Kale won’t touch you ever again. Not while I draw breath. He’s not going to taint you. He won’t make you…he won’t change who you are.”
“And who am I?”
His head lifted. His smile made her heart hurt. “You’re my angel. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Inside and out. You are the only mate I’ll ever want, and some day, I’ll get you to choose me, too. Because that’s how mating works for my kind. Choice. Not biology. You’ll have to want me more than you want anything else. And then…then I’ll let you bite me, sweetheart.”
Lila had to swallow twice before she could speak. “Keeping me prisoner won’t help your cause.”
His smile slipped away. “Of course it will. It will keep you alive. That’s the cause that matters to me.”
Then he turned from her. Her body was aching, her breasts tight, need surging through her, and all he’d done was kiss her. Touch her. Tell her that she was the only one he’d ever want.
And it had all been truth. Every last word.
She should hate him. She should have fury. Rage that flared ice cold in her but…
Lila caught him near the door. He spun toward her, and she kissed him. She kissed him and didn’t care if it was right or if it was wrong. He’d said she mattered. Lila wanted to believe that.
She also wanted to see…
Was the need still as strong?
No, it couldn’t be…
His lips opened on hers.
It was.
His hands slid down her body. He caressed her breasts. Teased her nipples. And she wasn’t cold. Not inside or out. Heat lanced her veins. A drugging hunger.
His hands kept moving on her. “Tell me to stop.”
She didn’t want him to stop. She wanted to feel more heat.
“You’re going to hate me more…”
Maybe, but hate wasn’t what she felt in that moment.
“Lila…I want you too much.” His voice was a savage growl. “You should…you should be afraid of my need.”
That was the thing, though. Despite everything… “I’ve never been afraid of you.” Her head tipped back. She needed this time. Needed him. Once more. “I want to fly with you again.”
A line appeared between his brows.
“That is what it was like for me,” she told him, nipping at his lip. “Like I had my wings and I was flying high once more.” No, she was the one lying right then. She felt even better with him. Being with Rayce was always better than flying.
Lila kicked away her shoes. She pushed down her jeans. Her panties followed. Her shirt was still on, her bra. Lila couldn’t take those off, not with her manacles in place, but Rayce jerked them up so that he could touch her skin.
The chains were dragging on the floor. But this moment—this moment was her choice.
There would be no going back.
One more time…
She reached for his jeans. Unsnapped them. Lowered the zipper.
“When I’m with you,” his voice was such a rough rumble, “I’m touching heaven.”
For an instant, she stilled. Then her gaze lifted to his. She saw such blind desire burning back at her. Raw need. But…
More. There was so much more in his gaze, and Lila was almost afraid to find out what that more could be. She was afraid to hope.
Then his hands were curling around her hips. He lifted her up, and her legs wrapped around him. His jeans were open, his cock pushing against her. Rayce twisted his body and suddenly her back was against the stone wall.
His mouth was on hers. His hands were holding her up so easily. And his cock drove into her.
Heat. Pleasure.
She moaned into his mouth. He lifted her up, then pulled her body back down. Her werewolf was so strong, and every single movement of his cock had pleasure raking through her.
Her nails were on him. Digging into him. She didn’t feel cold, not even a little bit. Her body seemed to be burning from the inside out. Her mouth tore from his, and Lila began to kiss a path down his neck. She loved it when he kissed her neck so maybe he’d feel the same way.
Rayce let out a ragged groan when she licked right over his pulse point. When she nipped him, he shuddered.
He was lifting her, bringing her body back down, surging into her, and a wildness had ignited inside of Lila. Her mouth slipped down more, moving to the spot where his neck curved into his shoulder. He’d bit her there. He’d told her that was a mating bite.
She opened her mouth. Her tongue licked him.
“Lila…”
If possible, he got even bigger inside of her.
And her climax hit her. Hard and consuming, not a wave but a crash that kept going and going. Her teeth pressed down on him in a savage bite of her own because this man—this werewolf…
He is mine.
It was a truth that went straight to her soul.
She felt his release inside of her, a long, hot wave that had her sex contracting eagerly around him.
Pleasure.
Peace.
We could’ve had everything.
Her eyes closed. He withdrew and slowly lowered her back to the stone floor. Then Rayce pressed a kiss to her cheek. Her hands slid from his shoulders. The chains clanked as they hit the floor.
The sound was eerily…final.
Her breath had slowed. Her heartbeat didn’t race any longer. Lila forced her lashes to lift, and she found Rayce watching her.
“The first time I saw you…” His voice was soft. As soft as she’d ever heard it. “I looked at you and knew that you were mine.”
Lila shook her head. That wasn’t the way things worked.
“No, just…listen.” He exhaled slowly. His hands rose and circled her manacles. His skin was so dark against the gold. “I knew you were the one person I’d been looking for my whole life, and I knew you were out of my league. An angel…with a killer? No, it wouldn’t happen.”