Dangerous (Courting the Darkness Saga) (6 page)

Mica let go of Charles’s
arm, stormed to the fireplace, and snatched the cage off of the mantle, and the
rat inside squealed in terror. He shoved the cage back on top of the mantle in
agitation. “That was Hargrove’s scent. We’ve been dealing with him for days. I
know that scent. Does he have any children?”

Sean scoffed. “Why
would it matter if the human had any children?”

“I now know why Drake
keeps you locked up in here,” Mica growled at Sean. “If he has a child then the
DNA would be similar. It might explain the similarities in scent. It appears
that our rat here may have an offspring—but not for long!” He stormed out of
Drake’s chamber.

Drake shoved Charles
toward Sean. “Lock him up.”

“What did the human
do?”

“He was careless enough
to lose our women,” he growled.

Sean cocked his head to
the side and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Women?”

The look on Drake’s
face was grim at Sean’s question. He nodded. “Yes, it appears that I may have
found myself a woman—that is if I can keep her alive long enough.”

“Mica sure is bold
bringing other female vampires around his mate.” Sean grinned at the prospect
of a fight between Mica and his mate. “His witch wasn’t jealous?”

Drake shook his head.
“What are you babbling about?”

“Desiree, his witch—wasn’t
she jealous of his female friends?” Sean wiggled his eyebrows.

“Sherry is Desiree’s
friend, not Mica’s, and she has absolutely nothing to be jealous about.”

The disappointment was
clear on Sean’s face. “Still, for some unknown reason, women find him
irresistible. Human or vampire, I would think that she would be protective of
her mate.”

“She is a witch like
Desiree, and she shows no interest in Mica.” He smiled. “She showed an interest
in me from the time I walked through Mica’s door. Yes, I look forward to
getting to know that one much better.”

Sean’s mouth went slack
with that news. He had seen what Desiree did to Hargrove, and he wasn’t happy
with the prospect that another witch might be hanging around the nest. “She’s a
witch? I had assumed that this woman was another vampire…you know, immortal,
like us.”

“Oh, I’ve already given
Desiree the order to make her immortal.”

“She must be a brave
woman to allow another witch to cast an immortality spell on her.”

Drake raised an
eyebrow. “I gave an order, not a choice.”

Sean barked with
laughter. “I bet that order went well.”

He furrowed his brow. “No,
not really—but it doesn’t matter. I am king, and what I say goes.”

Sean laughed harder. “A
take charge attitude with strong willed women. Good luck with that one.”

Drake narrowed his eyes
and growled. “I am king, and they wouldn’t dare disobey—”

Mica rushed back into
the room and interrupted Drake’s tirade. “Desiree’s awake, and I know where
they are.”

“They’re both alive?”

“She said that they
were, but she’s tied up and that son of a bitch is threatening to kill them. We
have to hurry.”

Drake nodded,
then
turned to Charles. “You may yet live, human,” he
growled, and then he looked up at Sean. “Now, lock him up until we return.”

Sean bowed his head.
“Yes, sire.”

Chapter Eight

Sherry moaned as she slowly
gained consciousness and brought her trembling hand up to her temple. She had a
splitting headache. Her fogged mind also noted that she was lying down in
cramped quarters. The air was hot and stuffy, making it difficult to breathe. Muffled,
angry voices could be heard from the other side of the wall that surrounded
her. She strained her ears to listen.

Her ears picked up the
taunting of an unidentified male voice. “You’re not so high and mighty now,
are
ya witch?”

“I know who you are—you—you
son-of-a-bitch! You better let me and my
friend go
, or
I’ll make you very sorry!” Sherry decided that it was definitely Desiree
yelling at the unknown man.

***

Desiree struggled
against her bonds.
Mica, we’re in
trouble.

Where are you?

Desiree glanced around
the room.
I don’t know for sure. It looks
like a mausoleum.

Who did this? I thought I recognized Hargrove’s scent,
but he’s still in the cage at Drake’s lair.

Desiree yanked on her
bonds again, glaring at her captor.
It’s
that little worm’s son, Justin.

Are you two okay?

For now.

Stall him, we’re on our way.

Desiree yanked again,
then
screamed out her frustration. “If you value your life,
you had better let us
go,
asshole.”

Justin walked up to
her, taking her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. “Tisk…
tisk…you have such foul language coming out of that pretty mouth. Maybe I’ll
decide to take my pleasure from you before I do away with you.”

Desiree tried to yank
her chin out of his grip. “If you try it, I’ll take great pleasure in cutting
out your heart and feeding it back to you,” she spat, and then she laughed
tauntingly. “No, I’ll take that back. Go ahead and try it. Mica will eat your
heart for lunch, saving me the trouble.”

Jason let go of her
chin, placing his hands on his hips. He chuckled. “You are a liar. My daddy and
I have been watching you for years. You don’t have a protector.” He reached out,
grabbed a hand full of her hair, and yanked her face close to his, close enough
for her to smell his foul breath. “You’re just a hundred and twenty-five year
old witch that will soon be bound to the stake and burned for her crimes.”

Desiree laughed at his
assumptions, and then she spit in his face. He let go of her hair and backhanded
her across the face, then he reached up and wiped the spittle from his cheek.

Her senses reeled and
she tasted blood, but it wasn’t in her nature to give up, especially since he
was just as easy to goad as his father. She narrowed her eyes and grinned
spitefully at him through of her swollen, blood stained lips. “Mica felt that,
and he’s going to make you pay for that, Justin Hargrove. Maybe I’ll just do to
you what I did to your daddy,” she goaded him.

“You’re lying; there is
no Mica, and
you ain’t done
nothin
’
to my daddy
.”

***

“Justin Hargrove,” Sherry
whispered to herself. “Did Desiree mention the name Hargrove to me this morning?”
Her heart sank as the realization struck her. “Oh God, he’s a witch hunter.” The
situation out there was getting way out of hand. She decided it was time to get
out of her confinement. But what was she confined in? It was so dark and
stuffy. She inched her hands out in front of her and felt around, and what she
felt was silk or maybe satin. She froze when the realization struck her: her
heart slammed frantically in her chest, and then her hands sought madly around.
A scream of terror erupted from her throat. It was ear piercing inside of the
coffin, but could only be heard as a muffled sound outside of it. She beat the
lid hysterically with her fists and feet. Her fingers tore at the lining,
shredding it with her sharp fingernails. Her terror was fueled further by her
over active imagination.

“Sherry!” Desiree
shouted. “Calm down! Mica and Drake are on their way.” Desiree fought her
bindings.

Desiree’s words barely
registered to Sherry. “I want out!”

Justin laughed
gleefully at Sherry’s distress, and then he slammed his hand down on top of the
coffin a couple of times to irritate her. “Desiree lies, there’s no one coming
to your rescue. No one knows that you both are here. No one pays much attention
to a hearse in a cemetery, or a man unloading coffins into a mausoleum. It was
a perfect set up, and if anybody was looking for you, they would never think to
look for dead bodies in a crypt. I’m a genius,” he ranted self-righteously. “Once
I take care of your friend, then I’ll deal with you too, witch.”

“Someone please help
us!” Sherry shouted from the top of her lungs.

“Give it up, witch,”
Justin taunted gleefully.

***

The heavy vault doors burst
open and bounced against the walls with such force they fell off their hinges. Justin
gasped in shocked fear as two giant men rushed through the opening.

Desiree’s face split into
a wide grin through her swollen, blood-crusted lips.
“Mica!”

Mica’s eyes lit on her face
in relief that she was still alive, and then he took in the condition of her
battered face. He growled as his eyes trained in on Justin. He wanted vengeance
for his abused mate.

Justin turned to run,
but there was nowhere to go. The vampires blocked the only exit. Suddenly his
perfect plan didn’t seem so smart. He held up his hands in front of him defensively.
“Uh—gentlemen—I’m….” He swallowed hard. “I’m…s-s-sorry,” he stuttered, and then
he backed into the wall. He couldn’t retreat any further. He hit his knees and
cowered away from Mica. “I thought she was lying.” His voice was weak with fear.
“Out of all the years that we’ve watched her and waited, she’s never had a
boyfriend before.”

Mica reached down,
grabbed Justin by the throat, and suspended him in mid-air. “You laid your
hands on my mate, and for that you will suffer,” he growled.

Justin trembled from
head to toe, and frantically clawed at the fingers wrapped around his neck. His
bladder let go in his fear. Mica shook his head in disgust at the coward he
held at bay in his hand. Justin choked and lost consciousness, and Mica dropped
his lifeless body to the floor.

Drake anxiously looked
around the room for Sherry. “Where is she?” he growled at the unconscious body
on the floor. He turned his head and glared at Mica, and pointed at Justin. “You
should have made him produce Sherry before you choked him.”

Mica shook his head and
rushed over to Desiree to untie her. She smiled up at him as he reached for her
bindings. “You came for me.” Relief rang clear in her voice.

He smiled and looked
deeply into her eyes. “Did you ever doubt me?”

She threw her now free
hands around his neck. “Never!” she said enthusiastically and kissed him
soundly.

“Help!”

Drake turned and looked
all around the room for the source of Sherry’s voice.

“Drake, Sherry’s still
locked in the coffin,” Desiree said urgently, and then Sherry kicked the lid of
the coffin for good measure.

Drake ripped the lid
off, throwing it in the corner. Sherry shielded her eyes from the sudden light,
and drew in big gulps of fresh air. He took her hand and pulled it away from
her face so he could look at her and see for himself that she was unharmed. Their
eyes met, she was suddenly lost in his startling blue eyes, and her heart raced
as the heat of his gaze washed over her. “Thank you,” she said timidly. “I was
almost out of air in there.” She propped up on her elbows, looking around to
take in her surroundings. She had a sudden chill; crypts weren’t exactly on her
list of top places to wake up in. On the scan back around the room her eyes caught
Desiree’s gaze, and she flushed deeply. She knew that Desiree was concerned
with Drake’s sudden interest in her, and something in the back of her mind told
her that she should be too, but at the current moment, she just didn’t care to
fight it. She looked back up at him. “Could you please help me get out of this thing?
I still feel the effects of the drug, and I don’t know if I can manage to get
out on my own.”

***

Desiree gripped Mica’s
arm in shock when she saw the heated looks exchanged between Drake and Sherry.
She was afraid for her friend, and she had every intention of charging over to
the coffin and checking on Sherry herself. Mica held her back and silently
shook his head.

***

Drake heard the change
in Sherry’s heartbeat as soon as their eyes met, and his keen sense of smell
caught her subtle change in scent. He smiled, knowing the effect he had on her and
her on him…it was a tangible thing. Her allure was undeniable, and he felt very
protective of her. He didn’t know why this witch intrigued him as much as she
did, but he had every intention of finding out. He hadn’t felt a yearning this
strong in over a hundred years. He was king; he was used to women swooning at
his feet and freely offering themselves to him for his pleasure. She was
different, and he wanted her. No, he had to have her.

***

Their eyes met again,
and she caught her breath at the intensity of his gaze. She felt the heat rush
through her body, leaving her moist and aching in response. He reached inside
the coffin, her skin tingling at the surprisingly tender touch of his fingers
as he slid them beneath her and lifted her gently out. She slipped her trembling
arms around his neck to steady
herself
and felt the
silky texture of his long hair, and couldn’t resist the temptation to run her
fingers through it. She had fully expected him to set her back down on her
feet, but he held her tightly in his arms against his rock hard chest instead. She
tried to move and her overly sensitive nipples beaded as they rubbed against
his chest. Her eyes widened in surprise as this sensation sent a fiery jolt straight
to her core. His nearness alone was playing havoc on her senses, and she couldn’t
remember ever wanting something so much in her life. No one had ever made her
feel that strongly before.