Chapter 13

Kayla

Iknew I was waking from passing out as soon as consciousness filtered in. That fear rose up, and the pain followed.

I also knew I wasn’t alone.

My eyes were closed, but I felt him. God, I felt his presence like a heavy cloak on top of me.

So I lay still, controlled my breathing, and tried not to let the intense pain throbbing in my head control me. I failed miserably as a low groan spilled from me, and I gritted my teeth.

“Open those pretty greens and let me see them, Kayla.”

The voice that pierced through my pain was deep, so deep and gravelly that I felt it move along my body, let it settle in the very center of me. My pussy clenched painful as if reminding me how empty I was.

All the memories of what had happened before the darkness took me under rushed forward.

Back and forth, like a wave touching the shore before retreating.

I heard the sound of him breathing, so deep I knew he was inhaling my scent. My body reacted on its own, tensing, that fight-or-flight instinct taking control of me once more. But the problem in this situation was I knew there was no escape. I knew I couldn’t win.

Before I opened my eyes, I tried to get a sense of my surroundings. I was in a bed; that much was clear by the lushness underneath me. The next thing I noticed was the sound of a fire crackling. And then I took in my surroundings.

I could smell something dark and rich, woodsy, and masculine. I knew what it was. It was him. My body betrayed me once more by growing soft and wet automatically, and I clenched my thighs together even though my head continued to pound and fear was a heavy presence in me.

“I should’ve known fate would give me a mate who was stubborn.” His voice was deep and husky and washed over me in the best way. “I always envisioned my Coveted Female to be this demure little creature, a submissive in all ways to my dominance.” Although there was a hint of amusement in his voice, it sounded off, as if he wasn’t the type of man to entertain that side of himself. “Buuut,” he drawled low and long, yet I kept my eyes shut, thinking maybe he’d assume I slept as he confided these secrets to me, “I have to admit, knowing you have this fire in you, that you’ll no doubt go up against me, call me on my shit—something no other living being would dare do…” He paused, and I wondered if it was for effect.

I tried to control my breathing, to stay still and not let his words affect me. I knew I failed.

“It makes me fucking hard that I’ll have a fight on my hands where my mate is concerned.”

My heart pounded, and I opened my eyes then, unable to feign sleep anymore. I stared at the ceiling, blinking a few times to clear my vision. It took a second, everything around me blurry before it came into focus.

There were thick beams running parallel along the ceiling. The wood was dark, and although I wasn’t looking at anything else, I knew this room was lavish, dripping with wealth.

And that was confirmed when I let my gaze sweep from left to right and took in the actual room. It was large, bigger than one room normally was. I looked at the bed, my body seeming dwarfed in it, my bare feet only reaching to the middle of the mattress. Large wooden posts were at the four corners, the poles arching up and engraved with hand-carved scrollwork. Beautiful. Time-consuming.

The room itself looked modern, with a flat-screen TV hanging on the wall across from the bed, a sleek entertainment center situated under the device. There was a black leather couch in front of the fireplace, and a thick-looking wooden door catty-corner from that. It was slightly open, and I could make out part of a toilet and sink.

Everything was modern, yet I had a feeling wherever I was—this home—was ancient and had history out the ass.

There was a window to my left, heavy-looking drapes covering the glass completely so I could only see a sliver of the outside. It was dark, but I didn”t know if it was night or maybe the glass was covered because of…

I stopped that thought as soon as it ran through my mind. No, I couldn’t allow those thoughts to be entertained.

He isn’t a vampire, for fuck’s sake.

It didn’t matter. That was the least of my worries right now.

The drapes fell all the way to the floor. The fabric looked expensive, lush and silky with a damask print inlaid in silver along the black fabric.

I licked my dry lips and looked down at my body. I was still in my sleep shorts and loose-fitting white T-shirt. I was braless, and my nipples poked lewdly against the paper-thin material. I curled my hand around the material that lay against my flat belly and tugged at it, pulling it away from my chest.

I ached all over, as if I’d been thrown against the wall repeatedly. I remembered everything that had happened up until I passed out. How I fell back on the ground, my head cracking against the floor. Scrambling to get away for the man who was intent on hurting me… and then later, when I saw him… the red-eyed man with the fangs and the fixation on me. The obsession.

I reached down and grabbed the duvet by my feet, pulling it up and covering myself to my chin before I kept looking around the room.

It was dark except for the firelight, which only made the atmosphere seem heavy and thick. The sound of the flames licking over the wood and crackling was the only thing I could hear aside from my racing heart.

I couldn’t see much with the yellow and orange hazy glow filling the massive room, the shadows more prominent than the light. Upon first glance, from what I could see, it appeared I was alone, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I felt him. I knew he was staring right at me.

And as if a magnet was attached to me and him, my gaze moved toward the far end of the room.

My pulse jumped as I stared at that darkened corner. I could see the outline of his huge body as he sat in a chair, as he dwarfed the small piece of furniture. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but I knew… I knew he watched me with an intensity only a predator had for its prey.

For long seconds I didn’t move, didn’t breathe or speak. I didn’t even tear my focus away from where he sat. I watched the way he smoothed his fingers along his knee, so slowly, almost sensuously. I looked into his face and saw his focus was trained on my chest, and I swore his gaze felt like he was touching me—like he was moving those fingers along my breasts instead of his knee.

I started to sweat even though it wasn’t hot in the room. My blood was racing through my veins, heating me, creating this electric anticipation inside me.

He rose slowly, all stealthy and graceful movements despite his huge body, and walked toward me. I stiffened when I noticed the equally large dog trotting beside him, the damn thing looking like a lion.

“Look at you.” He hummed in clear pleasure, his gaze running over me despite the duvet covering my body. “My mate looking all rumpled in my bed, trying to act like she’s not wet between her thighs right now.” He inhaled deeply as if he could smell me, then growled like an animal.

My face felt hot, and I clenched my thighs together even harder.

“I bet you’re wondering who the fuck I am, where the fuck you are, and what the fuck I plan on doing with you.” He curled his hand around one of the beams, his finger moving suggestively up and down on it. “You probably wouldn’t believe anything I said at this moment, so how about we just start with the formalities?” I cocked a dark eyebrow. “I’m Adryan.”

Adryan. His name even turned me on.

He flashed a grin as if he knew what I thought.

“I’m sure you have plenty of questions.”

It was hard to hear him over the rush of my pulse in my ears. I was trying to appear strong, even though I was terrified, anxious… strangely aroused.

“I had some clothes bought for you, and although I don’t officially know your size,” he said in that husky tone and let his gaze roam up and down me despite the fact that he couldn’t see much. “I’ve stared at your body enough that I think I got it correct.”

There was a sexual note in his tone that had my pulse picking up uncomfortably. My fear and need to have him touch me were at war with each other.

“Clean up, get dressed, and meet me downstairs. I’m sure my mate would like a hell of a lot of things explained, wouldn’t she?” He gave me a slow grin followed by a wink.

My heart thundered, my breath becoming shallow at the truth of his words. The dog stayed right beside him, sitting, watching, staring at me in the most unnerving way.

I was afraid and confused and had no idea what in the hell was up from down, left or right. Yet my body kept betraying me, at war with my mind.

“You keep calling me that—mate,” I whispered before I knew the words were spilling forth. He still stood at the end of the bed and just watched me with his calculating gaze. “You keep using that term like it means something.”

His expression was so serious—stone-cold serious—that it caused chills to settle on my arms and legs.

He said nothing for a long while, didn’t move… hell, I didn’t even think he breathed. Then he moved around the bed, letting his hand slide along the smooth, glossy bedpost as he came closer. I was frozen in place as he stopped right beside me, but I couldn’t look at him, couldn’t hold his gaze. It just seemed so intimate for some reason, as if I was tethering myself to him.

Everything in my head urged me to shy away, to run hard and fast, because this man was dangerous. But another part told me that although that was true, he wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t know how I was so sure of that, but I knew with every part of my being that this man was a dangerous killer, yet I was safest when I was with him.

“Look at me, Kayla,” he said in a low voice, more of an inhuman growl than anything else I’d ever heard. And as if there was this invisible thread between us, I lifted my head so I could lock gazes with him.

He didn’t speak for long seconds, just continued to stare down at me. I couldn’t break eye contact, couldn’t control my thoughts or breathing or even this situation. I was adrift right now, and that scared the shit out of me.

And when he reached out, I tensed involuntarily. If he noticed, he didn’t comment, just gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger and gently tipped my head back even more. My neck muscles stretched, this ache moving down my body and settling right between my legs.

“My sweet Kayla,” he purred and leaned in, bracing a hand on the mattress beside my body, his other hand still on my face, his thumb stroking over my bottom lip.

He touched me like he knew me. God, he touched me like he knew every single part of me and it was his.

“My mate.” His voice was low and deep and washed over me in the most obscene way. I felt his body heat seep into me and had to bite back a moan. “It means everything.”