Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #9)

Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #9) Page 3

And oh yeah, he’d made an obscene fortune cranking out prescription drugs from his private lab.

Now it took every ounce of willpower to politely set aside the damned nymph and not toss her into the line of sleek metallic mannequins showing off the latest designer swimwear.

“Didn’t we meet in . . .” she began, but Caine wasn’t listening as he swept past her and headed straight toward the tiny blonde who was fingering a pretty white sundress with black polka dots.

“Cassie.”

He had barely reached her side when her hands grasped the bottom of her sweatshirt and began pulling it over her head.

“I want to try it on.”

“Holy shit.” He grabbed her hands, yanking the sweatshirt back into place. “Wait.”

She frowned in confusion. “But you said—”

“Yeah, I know what I said,” he muttered. When was he going to learn she took every word quite literally?

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Never.” He brushed a finger over her pale cheek. Christ, she was so unbearably innocent. “Why don’t you show me what you like and I’ll pick out the right size?”

“You can do that just by looking?”

His lips twisted in a dry smile. “It’s a gift.”

“A well-practiced gift?”

He stilled, regarding her in surprise. Despite the fact they’d been constant companions over the past weeks, Cassie rarely seemed aware of his presence, let alone the fact that he was a red-blooded male.

Not that he took it personally. She was plagued by her visions of the future and too often impervious to the world around her.

“Are you truly interested?” he husked.

She flashed him a dimpled smile. “Perhaps.”

He swallowed a growl, his body once again hard and aching. She was going to have a raving lunatic on her hands before this was over.

“Better than nothing.” He motioned toward the hovering saleslady, indicating he wanted one of the sundresses, before steering Cassie toward the khaki shorts and pretty summer tops. “Now, let’s choose a few sensible outfits before we move on.”

Within an hour they had a reasonable pile of clothes for both of them and a bill that would make most men shudder in horror.

Caine, however, didn’t so much as flinch as he gathered the packages and headed out of the store. They had left Missouri with nothing more than the clothes on their backs after Cassie had offered her warning to Laylah. Tonight he intended to enjoy a hot shower, clean clothes, good food, and a soft bed. In that order.

In silence they wandered down the wide passageway, occasionally halting for Cassie to peer into the windows. For the moment, Caine was content to allow her to behave as a normal female. It was all too rare that she was able to put aside the burden of her visions.

And as long as he didn’t detect any danger lurking . . .

His brain closed down as his searching gaze was snared by the sight of lace and ribbons and feminine temptation spread in front of a shop window.

Instinct alone had him herding Cassie through the door and into the hushed atmosphere of the exclusive store.

“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion.

“We did your shopping, now it’s my turn,” he informed her, moving toward a table that held a pile of satin teddies with matching thongs.

Oh . . . hell.

Cassie halted at his side, her expression puzzled. “Here?”

“Absolutely.” Dropping his packages, Caine reached for a scarlet teddy, holding up the fragile garment for her inspection. “What do you think?”

“Tiny.” There was a faint hint of dimples. “I don’t think it will fit you.”

Heat blasted through him at the vivid image of Cassie wearing the lacy lingerie and spread across his bed, that same almost-smile teasing at her lips.

“We’ll take one of each color,” he croaked toward the saleswoman.

“They’re not very practical,” Cassie protested.

“Practical is the last thing you should be when you’re wearing fine lingerie.”

Expecting an argument, Caine was caught off guard when she reached to gently stroke a finger over the shimmering fabric.

“I suppose they will be comfortable to sleep in.”

Sleep?

Caine’s fantasy abruptly altered to reality—a reality in which Cassie slept like a baby in one bed while he tossed and turned in another.

Did he really need to add in a skimpy bit of lace to add to his torture?

“For one of us,” he wryly admitted.

Predictably, she didn’t have a clue why he was suddenly questioning his own sanity. “What?”

He headed toward the discreet sales desk at the back of the store, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

“I’m an idiot.”

Chapter 2

Cassie wandered through the casino, watching the humans as they stood mesmerized by the flashing lights and spinning wheels of the slot machines. The air was filled with their tangled emotions—the hope, the greed, the rare jolt of joy, and the far more common desperation.

She was fascinated, even as she was saddened by their frantic attempts to grasp . . . something.

Money? Sex? Happiness?

Without thought, she reached to grab Caine’s hand, needing the steady sense of security he offered. He squeezed her fingers, tugging her closer to his hard body as a group of drunken revelers stumbled past.

“As much as I enjoy civilization, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?” he murmured, the scent of soap and shampoo from his recent shower doing nothing to disguise the warm, wicked tang of his wolf.

For reasons that Cassie didn’t understand, a rash of excitement prickled over her skin, making her want to strip off her new sundress and rub against the male at her side.

Of course she didn’t give in to the impulse.

She was slowly learning that there were all sorts of stupid rules and regulations that had to be followed when surrounded by mortals. And taking off her clothing seemed to be at the top of the list.

Instead she turned her thoughts to his question, heaving a faint sigh. “I’ll tell you when I know,” she said.

“Brilliantly vague.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he muttered with a grimace.

“No.”

She came to an abrupt halt, turning to meet his rueful expression. Despite the chronic distractions that clouded her mind, she knew that she didn’t always appreciate this man as she should.

Who else would have saved her from a fate worse than death, and then stayed at her side as she had led him from one random place to another, compelled by the visions that consumed her to the point of oblivion?

No one, that was who, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. No one but Caine.

With a frown of concern, Caine reached to cup her cheek in his hand, his warm touch her only anchor to this world. “Cassie?” he prompted.

“I’m sorry,” she said abruptly, her gaze skimming over his lean, finely chiseled features. He truly was a beautiful male with his pale hair shimmering like gold beneath the bright lights and his eyes as brilliant as sapphires. It was no wonder she could smell the desire coming from the numerous women staring at him with hungry eyes. “I haven’t been fair to you.”

His thumb pressed against her lips as he gave a shake of his head. “Don’t.”

She grasped his wrist, tugging his hand from her face. She had to speak now. Who knew how long her brief clarity would last?

“I become . . . lost in my visions and I have never truly stopped to consider what you’ve sacrificed to keep me safe.” Her fingers absently caressed the skin of his inner wrist, feeling the leap of his pulse at her soft touch. “Without you . . .”

His eyes darkened with a heat that Cassie felt to the tips of her toes.

“This isn’t necessary,” he growled.

Distantly she could hear the clanging noise of the machines and the deafening buzz of a hundred conversations, but in this moment she was aware of nothing beyond the man standing in front of her and the steady sapphire gaze that a woman could drown in.

“No, let me say this,” she pleaded.

His lips tightened, but he was smarter than the average Were. He knew better than to try and halt a determined female. “Okay.”

“For as long as I can remember I’ve been a prisoner.” She shivered, battling back the grim memory of the past thirty years. “I was not only held hostage by the demon lord, but also my knowledge that I could never survive on my own.”

He didn’t bother to protest. They both knew that she wouldn’t last a day without him. “That’s something you’re never going to have to worry about,” he gruffly promised.

She stepped closer, the sizzling power of his wolf calling to her most primitive instincts. Although she couldn’t shift, her beast still crawled beneath her skin, relishing the delectable male who had earned her trust. Something she would never have believed possible just a few weeks ago.

“If it wasn’t for you I would still be in that cave.”