Eve’s little pink tongue darted out again, moistening her lower lip. He inwardly groaned.
Jesus. All she’d done was touch his arm and he’d been close to jumping her. The curvy little demi in front of him called to his demon, like she’d tuned into the fucker’s frequency and was calling him home to the mother ship.
His need to mark her, to claim her, had reared up, taken him by the balls, and he’d been damn close to giving in to it, to throwing her on that bed and taking what was his. Just her touch had lit up every molecule in his body. Christ, it had turned his limbs to mush.
His craving for this female was illogical in its intensity, but then from what little he’d seen of the mating process, logic wasn’t a factor when a warrior found his female.
Lazarus willed his heated body to cool, more than a little unsettled by his reaction to Eve. Going by the expression on her face, he wasn’t the only one.
Her lips were kind of puffy from her biting at them, and he licked his own, imagining her taste, the warmth and feel of them against his.
He gritted his teeth, stifling another groan.
The urge to claim her came from a primal place deep inside. A part of him that recognized her as his, and it was screwing with his head, not to mention his body.
Hell, maybe he should just fuck her and get it over with?
Taking her now would solve a lot of his troubles. His cock definitely had no problem getting behind the idea and strained painfully against the stiff denim of his jeans.
Eyes bright, cheeks flushed, Eve gazed up at him. Her lips slightly parted, begged to be sucked and nibbled. Hair like silken ebony waves tumbled over her shoulders, and he barely resisted the urge to reach out and touch it.
Was this how she’d look in his bed after he’d fucked her? Images flooded his mind, and this time a groan did slip past his lips.
Her eyes widened and she stepped away from him. “Lazarus?”
Good work, asshole. Now she’s back to being frightened of you.
One touch from her and he’d lost focus again.
This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. He’d been with her for less than an hour and already he was struggling to keep his shit together and had put her in danger. As tempting as she was, he had to remain fixed on his original path. He couldn’t allow this force between them to win. Because this wasn’t for him. He couldn’t keep her.
“We have to leave,” he said before putting even more space between them. Keeping his head straight was getting more and more difficult around Eve. He needed to conduct the rest of this mission as he always did—with cold efficiency.
She nodded and went back to biting her damn bottom lip.
He tore his eyes from her, not sure how to handle this, any of it. How was he going to explain what she was to him? How did you tell someone they were the key to your salvation, your only hope? That your future and that of the free world depended on her leaving everything she’d ever known and accepting him as her mate.
A mate who would leave as soon as he’d taken what he wanted.
A mate who could never love her.
Eve would not be another sacrifice to this war. And that’s what would happen if he kept her. If he allowed her to get close.
People who got close to him suffered for it. They got hurt.
He’d do whatever it took to prevent that from happening again.
He glanced over at her. Keeping his shit tight wasn’t going to be easy. Besides having to deal with his overwhelming physical attraction to her, he feared his possession was moving at a faster rate. Time was almost up, and he had to find a way to explain the reason he’d come for her without sending her running.
What if she refuses you?
He couldn’t think about that now. Getting her to safety had to be his number one priority. The shadows had crept in earlier, the darkness trying to take another piece of his soul. Eve had seen it, the difference in his eyes as he fought to restrain his demon. He just had to hold off for a bit longer.
And hope like hell she’d accept him.
Ignoring her questioning gaze, he collected her bags and headed for the door. She looked around her home for the last time, faltering as they passed a large bookshelf, gazing up at the tattered, well-read books.
“Some of them belonged to my mother,” she whispered, like she could hear his unspoken question.
Lazarus didn’t bother with false platitudes. Nothing he could say would soften the blow. As much as it hurt now, she’d get over it. She had to.
Swallowing down guilt, an emotion he knew all too well, he steered her back out the front door. Eve climbed into the car and stared out the window as they drove away. He guessed she was attempting to absorb every detail of the small coastal town she’d called home. But eventually, no matter how hard she tried, most of the memories would fade. Over time they would lose their sharp lines, become fuzzy and distant. They always did.
An image of Scarlet entered Lazarus’s mind. Small and scared. A mass of wild red curls around her grubby face. She’d stared up at him in awe, and instantly stolen his heart. He’d vowed to protect her from that moment on. Even after she’d grown into a strong, independent female—even after she found her own mate—he’d still seen her as his little girl. She might not have been his blood, but she was his, his child in every way that mattered.
She always would be.
He was wrong, some memories never faded, and he was grateful for the cutting reminder. He couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes twice.
Any rogue demon could have sensed Eve’s powers and come after her. Lazarus should have expected the attack from that Orthon. He should have damn well been prepared.
Tobias would be keeping tabs on him; he had no doubt about that. The male wouldn’t back off, not until he had his revenge. He’d once been their brother. In Lazarus’s heart, he still was, even though he was lost to them, lost in his own darkness.
Lazarus ignored the inevitable slice of pain that rode shotgun with memories of Tobias and Scarlet; let it settle, cut deeper. It was his price to pay.
He deserved to suffer for what he’d done. For failing them.
Eve didn’t, though, not for his sins.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter. What if Tobias had gotten close? He could have figured out who Eve was to Lazarus. So far, the other male had been messing with him, biding his time. This was all some sick game to him. But if he had the tiniest notion that Eve was his mate, his fallen brother wouldn’t hesitate to use her to get to him.
Tobias had turned his back on them long before Lazarus or his brothers knew what he planned to do. After Scarlet’s death, after Tobias lost her, his mate, their brother had willingly embraced the demon half of his DNA, letting go of that part of himself that held compassion, a sense of right from wrong—the ability to care for another being. He chose darkness, walked away from his family, and in doing so declared war.
After Tobias left, Laz and his brothers had done their best to block the connection that still tied them together, but that connection worked both ways, and the evil shit he was sending back was seriously fucking with all of them, was tipping the scale toward darkness. The only way to sever it permanently was death, and since they couldn’t find him, blocking it, or trying to at least, was their only option.
What they’d managed to do had hindered his ability, but it wasn’t enough. He was using their connection to help him source the demi he could no longer track on his own. If he found out who Eve was, she’d be that much more desirable to him. Shit, the Orthon back at her shop could have belonged to him.
He glanced at Eve. She had no clue just how important she was.
She sat rigid in her seat, eyes wide as they passed a sign asking them to visit again soon. And dammit, he wished he knew what to say to make this easier for her. But anything he said would be a lie, because as bad as it was now, it was only going to get a whole lot worse.
She took a shaky breath and turned to him. “So where to now?”
The female was strong, a quality she’d need to draw on more and more over the coming weeks. “We have a plane to catch.”
She shifted in her seat. “Where are you taking me?”
“Roxburgh, New York.”
Her fingers tightened on the armrest, her only outward sign of distress. “Why are you taking me there?”
“We have a compound. It’s secluded, outside the city.” He glanced over at her. “Away from prying eyes.”
“We?”
“My brothers and I.”
The color in her cheeks drained, some of that fire he’d seen in her along with it. Defeat, and though she tried to hide it, fear, was now clear in her eyes. “What will you do to me there?”
Yeah, he’d more than earned her distrust and she’d be wise to remain wary of him.
But as she stared up at him, lost and frightened, he heard himself say, “Have I hurt you? In any way?”
She flinched at his harsh tone and shook her head.
“And I don’t plan to.”
Her eyes hit his. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
He wanted to kick his own ass. She was afraid of him. Just because he felt the pull of this screwed-up connection didn’t mean she did. And, boy, did he feel it. Deep down he knew guilt fueled his words, because hurting her was exactly what he’d have to do.
Moderating his tone, he tried to reassure her. “I can help you, Eve.”
She sent him a look so full of hope and fragile trust that he wanted to take his own eyes out. It hurt to look at her when she stared at him like that, and before he could stop himself, words were tumbling from his mouth without thought. “I promise I will never do anything that you don’t want me to.” His voice had turned harsh as images of exactly what he did want to do flashed through his mind.
He dragged a hand through his hair.
Why had he said that? Made her a promise he might not be able to keep.
She remained quiet for a few seconds, eyes downcast, staring at her fingers as she twisted them in her lap. “I’m glad I have you here to help me through this.” Her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. Then she smiled at him, tentative and sweet.
An erratic thumping sensation stuttered to life in the middle of his chest. The feeling was so foreign it took a moment to work out what had caused it. Any minute now Frankenstein would jump up from the back seat and start yelling, “It’s alive! It’s alive!”
He clenched his teeth. Unacceptable.
The useless damn organ had shriveled to nothing long ago, and that’s the way he liked it. The way he intended to keep it. Dead.
Unable to look at her another second, he concentrated on driving.
She remained quiet the rest of the way, besides the odd question about the compound and what to expect when they arrived. He couldn’t help but be impressed with the way she was handling the situation, a situation that most took a hell of a lot harder than the feisty, intelligent female sitting beside him.
He was so fucked.