Dark Awakening Read online

"Vane has sentries posted all over, especially near the guest cabin. So relax and don't worry. But remember," he paused at the doorway, the light from the street creating a golden halo around him. "If you need anything, I'm here."

  Alison slammed the door in his laughing face.

  Chapter 3

  Rome was still smiling when he returned to his house.

  He didn't know what it was about the quiet Alison Bennson that rattled him so, but she really got to him. There was something about her prim little black glasses and dismissive nature towards him that just taunted him to prove her wrong, to push her until she forfeited. True he had never pursued a woman who clearly hated him, but so far, he found the act quite entertaining.

  In the past, he'd pursued women for the sake of getting them to bed, and that had never been a difficult feat. Most women were eager to be with him, didn't want to leave afterwards. Yet it wasn't just the pursuit and challenge of seducing Alison that made his blood stir. In fact, he couldn't remember ever being so captivated by a woman.

  Since he met her some two months ago, he'd had trouble getting her off his mind. He'd first seen her while he and his brother Darien were keeping watch outside of Sarina's father's house. Her father was an asshole with some supreme control issues that would probably take serious psychiatric help to cure. Alison had pulled up in her blue Civic and marched to the front door with the same determined stride he'd seen tonight.

  He'd watched her from the woods. It was embarrassing really, but just watching her tight pants, those square bangs across her forehead, and those black glasses. She looked like a naughty teacher he wanted to discipline him. With a jolt, he’d looked down to see his cock was hard in his pants.

  Strolling into the bathroom, he turned on the water, waited until it got hot and stepped in. He knew what he really needed was some frigid temperatures to cool the heat in his veins, but he couldn't make himself do it. He was too revved up after that kiss. Hell, after everything.

  She was in danger and that made his protective urges flare to life like never before. Sure, he'd plowed his fist into a few people’s faces for looking at his sister wrong when she was young, but this was somehow different. Vane told him the bastard had jerked off on her bed, right where she slept.

  His fist curled tightly, he needed to find out what Alison's history was with the bastard Prince Conlin. After her words with Conlin at Sarina and Vane's bonding ceremony, it was obvious Conlin was furious. Fuck, he should have seen it. He should have checked in on her, protected her.

  Instead he'd spent the last two months fucking his fist while thinking about her. Hell, he'd even broken things off with his fling, Sandra. It might have been a mistake too considering how his cock was as hard and long as a monument. But he honestly couldn't continue to string her along, not when it was another he craved. A woman with hair the color of dark chocolate and a body so luscious and curvy he wanted to spends hours just learning it with his tongue.

  God, he shouldn't have kissed her. He grabbed his hard cock in his hand and squeezed the stiff flesh with a groan. Not that he didn't want to kiss her, but he wanted so much more than she was really to give. He definitely planned on finding out what she had against him; every time she was around him she was stiff and edgy. She could barely look him in the eyes, yet she wasn't that way with Vane or even Darien, and surely not Sarina. It was just him.

  He didn’t know whether to feel honored or pissed off.

  His other hand reached down to cup his sac and squeeze the flesh. He pumped some conditioner into his palm and went back to his cock, squeezing and stroking with long, smooth glides. Christ, he'd wanted to thrust his tongue in her mouth until she was pushing his head down to her needy little nipples and begging him to suck her. He imagined it, saw him thrusting his fingers into her sex and pump them inside her, make her come on his fingers. His breath came in short bursts as he pictured kneeling before her and licking her wet clitoris until she was humping his face and screaming his name. Then he would wrap her legs around his waist and shove into her tight flesh, right there against the wall.

  He threw his head back, the tendons in his neck standing out sharply as his orgasm rushed closer and closer. His hand pumped faster, faster, tighter over the head of his cock, and as he imagined slamming into her with her sweet little body and coming so deeply inside her. He exploded. Grunting roughly, fighting to catch his breath, he jetted hot semen over the tile walls. He leaned against the wet wall until he had his breathing under control.

  He washed the conditioner and come off his cock, and turning off the shower, he realized that what he just did was more exciting than sex had been with Sandra. Alison was a mystery wrapped up in a neat, sexy little package. He was going to figure her out, and along the way, he was going to have her, over and over again.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning was one of the strangest of her life. Alison woke up in an unfamiliar bed and home. She felt oddly disjointed, as if she was living out someone else’s life that morning. Sarina called her woke her up from her nightmarish sleep, to inform her she was coming right over.

  So she made a point to put on a pot of coffee and take a quick shower. When a knock sounded at the door a little while later she didn't think to look through the peephole first. She should have. Because then she could have ignored it.

  "Hello beautiful. You look good enough to eat." How Rome managed to say such simple words and not sound lame was impressive. But when he said it, his eyes were dark and serious as if he meant it. Surely he didn't. He was drop-dead gorgeous, a veritable god to women. It had to be pity that made him be so nice to her. That and he had a dick.

  "What are you doing here?" She didn't like sounding so haughty, but she couldn't help it. The man set her nerves on alert.

  He arched a dark eyebrow and smiled. "How did I know you'd be excited to see me? Sarina's on the way, and I believe at least one of the Alphas should keep watch over you while you're in danger."

  "And that someone should be you?" She crossed her arms and cocked a hip to the side like a teenage girl with attitude.

  "Of course. Nothing better than keeping watch over a beautiful woman."

  She rolled her eyes and stomped into the living room. "Oh please, enough with the flattery. It's ridiculous and unnecessary. I don't need your pity, your words, or anything from you."

  She turned her back on him, which was a mistake for he stalked towards her on silent steps. Strong hands curled around her shoulders and spun her to face him. Their eyes caught, and for a moment, the world stilled except for them. They both remembered the kiss from last night. Electric heat flowed between them. Alison heard a strange noise and realized it was her own quick breathing. He was so close. If she just lifted onto her toes, she could reach his mouth.

  That thought shattered her passion better than ice water. She could never lose herself with him, would never kiss him, never be with him.

  "Please don't touch me." She took a step back and looked away from his piercing eyes, from the dark arousal that ebbed there.

  "Why do you hate me?"

  His blunt words cut through her. She backed away to a chair and sat heavily in it. What could she tell him really? She couldn’t tell him about her past, it was too humiliating, too awful to relive.

  She decided to settle with a half-truth. "I don't hate you. I just don't like you." He started to answer, but was interrupted with a soft knock at the door. Alison rushed to answer it, relieved to see her friend's face.

  They hugged fiercely as if they hadn't just seen each other the night before. But their bond was strong, one made of years of dedication, secret keeping, and most of all helping each other at the worst of times. Sarina had helped her after her incident with Conlin, a time so horrible her family no longer even invited her to holidays.

  "Vane is visiting with the Justicars today. They will need to speak with you of course. I know you wanted to wait but Vane talked to me about it last night…and well, he’s very persuasive. I hope you won�
��t be mad." Sarina took a seat, giving Rome a pointed look that had him shrugging.

  Alison sighed. She couldn’t be mad at her friend when she was only doing the right thing. However she was afraid that ‘right thing’ might end up hurting her worse.

  “Like I said last night, I don't have any proof that it's him."

  "There's where you're wrong! At Rome's request this morning, we've sent some men to collect the DNA from Conlin's...err, from the bed sheets. If it's a match for Conlin then that's perfect evidence that he was the one that did it."

  Alison massaged the tense muscles at her neck, the tight pain pinching at her. "Oh, I honestly hadn’t thought of that. Yesterday everything was just a blur to me. What good is that going to do me really? I suppose I can get an order to keep him away from me, but he's the famous Prince Conlin, I hardly think he cares much for legalities. Most likely he has friends in the judicial system too."

  "I know, but at least it's something for now and it's a record for the Justicars. Those letters would be nice evidence, but then again it's not like he signed them. How did you sleep, Ali?" Sarina’s quick change of subject made her smile, albeit a strained smile.

  Alison peeked at Rome, as if she could miss him. The man took up entirely too much space in the small cabin. The way he was looking at her was very disconcerting, like he was trying to read her every thought and expression. A blush stole across her face before she could try to stop it. She tried to hide the blush, but Sarina already saw it. Sarina glanced over at Rome and winked.

  Alison wanted to tell her friend that the nightmare was back. The same one she'd spend months battling before. The night Conlin almost killed her. She hated that time of her life. She had been weak, scared, humiliated, and even after the ordeal she had spent countless nights waking up in a cold sweat, shaking.

  "I slept fine. How's everything been going with you?"

  Sarina sighed and relaxed in her chair. "Father disinherited me and disowned me. I received the legal papers a few weeks ago. Surprisingly it didn't hurt at all, well not much."

  Sarina's father was one of the last pure bloodlines of lykaens in the Midwest. He'd spent his own life training his daughter to bear the right kind of sons with the right man. However, when Sarina went against his wishes and chose love, the king didn't like that, and as a result, had tried to marry Sarina off to Conlin. That didn’t go down as the king planned when Sarina and Alison made an escape thanks to the help of Darien and Rome Kategan.

  Later at Vane and Sarina’s mating ceremony, Alison used her knowledge of Conlin to taunt him and help save Sarina's life. She didn't regret saying the words. Taunting his masculinity--what there was of it—was worth saving Sarina. But her words had consequences, ones she was paying the price for now.

  "I can't believe the bastard, really. He acts as if you were never more than a breeding mare."

  Suddenly, Sarina burst out laughing. "Oh my God, Ali, I told Vane the same thing." Alison laughed with her and felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease.

  "Listen, I need to go to work. I need something to do, I can't just stay cooped up in this cabin until something happens."

  Rome shook his head and stalked towards her. "That's not a good idea. Even if we send a guard with you, you will still be out in the open, in public. Kategan land will keep him away."

  The nerve of the man. Alison glared up at him. "You listen here, Goldilocks. I have a business to run. Conlin isn't one to stop at the border property just because the sign says 'No Trespassing.' Okay? So, I'm going to work, send some guards with me, that's fine. If he's coming for me, then being here isn't going to deter him."

  Her words seem to enrage him. His nostrils flared, and he grabbed her brutally by the arms bringing her hard against his body. She could feel every hard inch of his chest against her soft one, and for a crazy moment, she yearned to press her hips a little bit forward see if he was as excited as she was.

  "Don't be stupid. You're not going to work. It’s not safe.”

  She sputtered, “Damn right I’m going to work. I have nothing to do here and a business to run, ‘kay thanks.”

  His jaw tightened until she thought it would crack. “Then you're not going anywhere without me. Consider me your own personal bodyguard, Alison." Alison actually trembled in his arms. The way he said her name was low and husky. It made her nipples harden in response as if her body was tuned to his voice on some primal level.

  His eyes fell to her lips and she fought not to wet them in front of him. Somehow finding some modicum of sanity, she pushed him away. He let go slowly and backed up, his chest moving a little bit faster than before.

  "Well now, isn't this interesting," Sarina said in a singsong voice.

  Alison suddenly just remembered something. Snatching her friend by the hand, she brought her into the bathroom with her and slammed the door shut.

  "What's going on? You know, girls really don't have to follow each other to use the bathroom, Ali."

  "Oh shut up. Listen, I just remembered something."

  Her friend's urgency had Sarina stiffening. "What. What is it? Did you just remember something else about Conlin?"

  "What? No, no, nothing like that. I just remembered that I'm supposed to go into my breeding tomorrow."

  Sarina stared open-mouthed at her friend, then shook her head and laughed wearily. "You really do have bad luck, you know that? Well, what are you going to do? Are you going to call um, what's his face...John is it?"

  Alison crossed her arms tightly. John Dour had been her lover during her single days in her breeding cycle. He’d helped her for two years, then she met Conlin and was with him during her next cycle, and over the next two years John had been servicing her. He was kind, simple, and completely happy to service her needs during the cycle. Plus he didn't mind wearing a condom, since neither of them wanted a pregnancy.

  "Yeah, I'll call him tonight and see if he can come over."

  "What if he can't?"

  Alison laughed quietly. John was a simple man, but a man nevertheless. "Unless he's married…He’ll come.”

  "Oh, I'm sure he will," Sarina said smartly with a grin of her own.

  "Listen before you go, do me another favor will you?" Alison hesitated, wondering whether or not she should tell her friend. Of course she could, she was always trustworthy. At her friend's enthusiastic nod, she continued. "Don't tell Rome about the breeding cycle, please. I'm going to hunker down in the cabin and stay that way until it's over. Luckily my cycles have never been as long as yours. Maybe it will even be over in a few days."

  Sarina looked at her with a twinkle in her eye. "You like him, don't you?"

  Alison sputtered and cleared her throat. "Not at all."

  Sarina smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Listen honey, he's a good man. I know how you feel about handsome men, but you can actually trust this one. Not only is he a Kategan, but he's Vane's brother, and I've gotten to know him a bit over the last month. I've also seen how he looks at you. A man only looks at a woman like that when he wants her, baaad. Maybe you should let your guard down a little with him."

  Alison hugged her friend and said she would try, even though it was a lie. She could never allow herself to trust a man like that; already he was pushing down her steel defenses with brutal force. Hell, she hadn't kisses anyone besides John during her cycle in the last four years. She couldn't afford to let the barrier drop. She'd already gone through what happens when you do.

  Chapter 5

  After informing Rome that he was right and she shouldn’t go back to work so soon, she ushered her guests out and prepared for the breeding cycle to come. It wasn't like her to forget something so important. Hell, it was even marked on her little calendar at home.

  But with the break-in and the nasty letters she'd been receiving on top of the eerie, silent phone calls, she'd been on edge. Every little noise had her turning towards it with a start; each sound seemed to have taken on a sinister calling.

  Paranoia. She knew
it for what it was, but couldn’t stop it.

  She asked Sarina to gather a few items for her that she'd need for the next few days. Six bottles of champagne was at the top of the list.

  She was trying something new this year. Instead of calling John Dour, she planned to try a new strategy—get really drunk. With enough liquor and self-pleasuring, she should be able to stem off the throbbing roar of her hormones. Or at least that's what she was hoping for.

  She knew she should call John, but the idea of him coming here was too weird to her. This wasn’t her home and she didn’t want people to know what she was up to, and surely, the guards would question him for coming to see her.

  Seventy-two hours, that's how long she needed to last.

  Unfortunately, she only managed to last six of those seventy-two hours. After her breeding cycle swept like a fiery burn through body at around eight o'clock that night, Alison managed to down more than half a bottle of champagne and pleasure herself twice.

  She would not admit, aloud anyways, that it was Rome's cock she pictured thrusting into her. She pictured him taking her quick and hard, not bothering to undress her all the way before filling her deeply. She came twice with the image of him buried inside her and growling his hot release into her.

  Alison rolled out of bed, uncaring of her naked state or that her fingers smelled richly of her breeding heat. She paced in front of the fireplace. Why couldn't she get him out of her mind? He was only a man. Good looking, yes. Funny, yes. Absolutely delectable, yes. Her heart told her she could trust him.

  She had trusted Conlin and ended up in a bad way, but that was her fault. And her heart’s, which had been completely in on the whole deal. She had been naive, not believing of the rumors about him. He'd played the part so well too, about how unjust it was that people said such horrible things about him. Even Sarina had told her to be careful, but she hadn't listened. She'd trusted a monster.