Ascension, Laura Hall [black books to read .txt] 📗

pretty big deal.”

I gaped. “Adam was holding his own. They would have been fine.”

“I call Denial,” he quipped. “Even if Adam had run the Liberati off and found someone to feed Connor, what you did was impressive as hell. Lightning, Fiona. There’s no record of anyone like you existing, before or after Ascension. There’s talk in the compound and beyond. Word about you is getting out.”

“What? What word?” I asked shrilly.

Panic softened the edges of my vision and I paused, leaning on a nearby wall for support. Thankfully, we were alone in a spacious hallway, with no one to witness my meltdown.

“Hey,” he said, framing my face with his hands. “It’s good word.” His thumbs grazed my cheekbones. “Even the vamps are impressed, and they’re assholes.”

It worked. I cracked a smile.

Declan grinned and dropped a quick, hot kiss on my forehead. While I blinked dumbly, he grabbed my hand and tugged me into motion.

“What was that for?” I asked at length.

His bright gaze slanted to me. “Shifters are highly physical. We like to touch a lot. And you, Fiona Sullivan, are starved for touch.”

“I don’t know whether to be offended or flattered.”

He grinned. “Just accept it for the truth. I like touching you, and as long as those bracelets are on, I’m going to keep touching you. Don’t worry, I have the utmost respect for your boundaries.”

Mind reeling, I barely noticed as we drew to a halt beside a thick, iron bracketed door. Finally, I looked down at our entwined hands. Seeing. Feeling. His palm was lightly calloused, warm and encompassing. I squeezed his fingers and he squeezed back, imparting a pervasive warmth.

Declan was right. I was starved for touch. Simple, uncomplicated affection from someone other than my uncle. My dad had never been the warm and fuzzy type, but even he had been restricted from touching me since Ascension.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Come here,” he murmured and drew me forward.

His arms enfolded me, tight and solid, one palm cupping the back of my head. The steady beat of his heart sounded beneath my ear. Tension melted from my body and I drew a deep breath, pulling his scent into my greedy lungs. He smelled like the wild, like fresh air and shadowed woods.

There was no expectation in the touch, just affection freely given. It was a revelation.

“Well, isn’t this cozy,” said a saccharine voice.

Declan gave me a final squeeze before releasing me, and we both looked at Samantha, watching us from the open doorway. Behind her, some fifteen feet away in a massive, white-walled room, standing on what looked like a gymnastics mat, was the Prime.

My face burned with embarrassment. It was completely misplaced—I had nothing to be ashamed of—but I couldn’t repress it any more than I could manifest a stake punching through Samantha’s heart. Or every frosted blond hair falling from her head. Or a lit pyre beneath her stilettoed feet.

“It’s really too bad you can’t dye that,” she said, smirking at my hair.

The Prime growled, “Samantha.”

She bowed her head and moved past us, but quipped over her shoulder, “You could always try a wig.”

I watched her sashay away, the sway of her hips so contrived that amusement washed away my anger.

“She’s a real piece of work,” muttered Declan.

Connor sighed. “Fiona, come inside, please.”

I smiled weakly at Declan; he tugged my ponytail. “See you later. Have fun.”

As soon as I entered the training room, the door clicked closed. I gazed around the expansive, windowless space, completely empty but for the mat in the center of the floor. Sparkling along the walls and ceiling was dense white magic.

“Adam assured me the ward would keep your lightning inside,” said the Prime.

“I don’t doubt it,” I replied, finally looking at him. “Why is your girlfriend such a bitch?”

His eyelids flickered. “She feels threatened by you.”

I blinked, taken aback by his candor. “Because I’m staying in the Consort’s suite?” He nodded. “I’m surprised you’re not dating someone with a little more backbone.”

Amusement flared in his eyes. “Has it occurred to you I might not appreciate being challenged by a lover?”

“No, actually,” I said, then snapped my mouth shut.

His expression went blank. “Let’s begin. Remove the bracelets.”

I looked at my wrists and back at him. “What? How?”

“There are release catches located on each.”

I launched into action, finding and pressing small, etched runes at the base of each bracelet. They parted with a soft pop and fell to the ground. Electricity surged through me, bending my spine and tearing a moan from my throat.

I was whole.

There’d be time later to examine the double-edged blade currently swinging. One side: Declan’s warm touch and a part of me missing. And the other: feeling complete, but cut off from physical affection.

Well, from everyone save the Western Prime.

While I stood basking in my current, the Prime crossed the space between us and took position behind me.

“Hit the targets, please.”

I descended from my musings to see his index finger outstretched toward the opposite wall. Three large bull’s-eyes were painted on the white surface, spaced several feet apart, with four rings around each central point.

I ignored them for the moment, turning to stare at him. He sighed, lowering his arm. “Yes?”

“Did absorbing my charges really not hurt you, or were you pretending for Adam’s sake?”

He fixed me with a dispassionate gaze. “I’d rather not discuss it.”

“So they did hurt you.”

“No.”

“No, what? No, they didn’t hurt you, or no, you aren’t talking about it?”

His eyes flashed to emerald. Call me sick and twisted, but I was glad to have provoked him.

“You’re trying my patience.”

I shrugged. “What else is new?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, which made me smile. Yep, there was something seriously wrong with me.

“You know very well it doesn’t hurt me,” he growled. “Moreover, if the ride back to the compound was any indication, your blood enhanced my immunity.”

“I’ve never actually hit you with lightning. Not in real life, at least.”

He took a menacing step toward me. I took a quick step back. Fangs flashed behind his lips. “I wouldn’t finish that line of thought if I were you.”

Adrenaline zinged through me, blotting out my worry, my fear—all the dark, helpless feelings I kept buried moment to moment.

The Prime’s eyes narrowed. “There are better ways to cope with your emotions.”

The words hit home, instantly deflating my mood. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I turned away to stare at one of the bull’s-eyes.

He said softly, “I have to attend an event tonight in Seattle. I’d like you to come as a part of my security retinue. It will be an excellent opportunity for you to practice tracking.”

“That’s like telling me to practice my Swahili,” I muttered.

“You’ve tracked mages before, with your father.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “With credit card receipts and investigative work.” I faced him, scowling. “What if I’m not, in fact, capable of tracking magical resonance?”

“You are,” he said sharply. He pointed behind me. “Hit the targets.”

Anger brought heat and electricity surging down my arms and into my hands. I turned on my heel and released a bolt.

It hit the ceiling.

“Again.”

The next one careened off the rubber mat, sizzling out with a muted flash.

“Again.”

“Shut up,” I snarled and funneled more power. I missed spectacularly, three times in a row. “Fuck!”

Fingers curled over my shoulders and a hard chest met my back. His breath tickled my ear as he said, “In the heat of battle, emotions surge. Fear, rage, horror. Discipline allows us to use these emotions to elevate our skills.”

“Stop touching me,” I snapped.

He did the opposite, moving his hands around my neck and clasping the column lightly. Lips grazed my ear and goose bumps bloomed over my chest.

“Do not mistake me for Declan,” he whispered, and I felt the kiss of fangs along my earlobe. I shuddered. “Nothing about me is warm. Little enough is human. I am going to use you to get what I want. And if you keep testing the boundaries between us, I’m going to use you in other ways. Ways that, from your scent even now, you will greatly enjoy. Do you understand?”

Animal arousal plummeted through me. Every nerve in my body went hyperaware, my senses unfurling, purring at his strength, his scent, his nearness.

Then my brain entered the battle ring and took out desire with a blinding right hook.

I was a fool.

A fool who’d fallen prey to the manufactured charm and predatory glamour of an ancient vampire. A fool who looked for him in every room I entered, who constantly sought his notice, and ways to make him smile and laugh.

Holy shit.

I had Stockholm syndrome.

“I understand that you’re