Jamie sank back, watching as he sipped his black coffee. “You wanted to talk, so talk. Then I’m gone.”
Jade-green eyes met hers. “How long have you been eating like this, Jamie?"
“Since I dropped Weight Watchers. Any more questions? Are we done?"
“Jamie, how long have you eaten sugar like this?”
Obstinate Draicon. Jamie frowned, bemused at her bizarre behavior. “Today … I guess.”
“You’re certain this is the first craving you’ve had?” His voice sounded thick.
Jamie nodded and glanced at her coffee. She stared into the blackness. Black, like her soul had been. Once she would have done anything to hurt Damian. Now the desire for revenge fled, leaving only emptiness. Something inside remained as dark as the beings she’d lived among.
“Why are you here, Draicon?” she whispered. “To make me pay for what I did to you?"
His expression was blank, but he stroked her hand with his fingers as if he couldn’t bear not to touch her. “I told you, Jamie, my name is Damian. I’m here to keep you safe.”
Doubtful. He wanted something more. She could feel it.
“But, since you’ve broached the topic, why did you try to kill me? Most women don’t kill their lovers when they walk out.”
His voice was absolutely gentle, yet his laser green gaze demanded answers. Jamie plucked out a napkin and began twisting it into the shape of a small bird.
“I’m not most women.”
“There’s something more, isn’t there? What?”
Trust no one. Jamie dodged the truth.
“You lied to me, Draicon. At least with the Morphs, I knew what they were. Dark, powerful …"
“Evil.”
“But not two-faced. I played along. I thought you, what you did … after we … that night …” She struggled with the words. “I went back the next day to find you and you were gone. You broke your promise to teach me magick.”
The napkin twisted in her hands. Words hung unspoken between them.
He clasped her hands in his. The simple touch felt soothing. She stared down at his long, elegant fingers. Hands that crushed, killed.
“I left you a note, telling you where to meet me later.”
“There was no note.” Jamie wrenched free.
Damian’s mouth tightened. “Your … brother probably got to it first. I had to leave. I needed to get rid of a very large problem threatening you. I sent Nicolas, my best warrior, to find and guard you. I was going to teach you magick, but this other matter was more urgent. Now, answer my question. Why did you try to kill me, Jamie?"
“Why did you ground me?” she challenged. “This nonsense about me being your mate is a lie.”
“It’s not. You are my draicara, my destined mate, which makes no sense because you’re human and I’m an Alpha Draicon. We don’t bond with human women.” Damian looked grim.
“I’m human, so I can’t be your mate? Fine. We’re done here. Sorry I tried to kill you. Have a nice life.”
She pushed back from the table. He hooked an ankle around the chair leg. Jamie stared at his thigh muscles bunching beneath faded denim as he dragged her chair forward. Such power … She quivered, remembering his legs nestled inside hers, the soft hair rubbing against her skin as he thrust inside her.
Her startled gaze lifted to meet his. Damian gave a knowing smile. Little wrinkles fanned out from the corners of his eyes. He touched her hand, frowned.
“I can’t read you, even when we touch. Tell me, how did Kane infect you? Did he say anything?"
She glanced away, her stomach knotting. “Kane bit me. Like the bite of the loup garou. And he mumbled some words in a strange language.”
It had hurt, a lot. And more than the pain and the ecstasy of knowing she had power at last was an underlying shroud of evil. Jamie shivered.
“He was reciting a spell. The magick of a purebred Alpha may help.” He gave her a steady look. “My magick, Jamie.”
“So if you bite me, it will counter everything inside me? No thanks. One bite is bad enough.”
“There are other ways,” he said softly. “Much more enjoyable. I can make it very enjoyable.”
The meaning became clear in his heated gaze. Jamie drew back.
“Never again. I’m not having sex with you and what we had was just sex. Biology.” Afraid to look at him, lest she see a reflection of her own hidden desire.
“It wasn’t and will never be just sex between us, chère. You know it and I do, as well. It’s something neither of us can ignore. But I promise, I will never leave you again.”
Damian stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “What was it like, Jamie? When the darkness came over you?"
Against her better judgment, she slid her fingers up to lace with his. He looked startled. His smile chased the dark shadows beneath his eyes. Just as quickly, it vanished. She raised her gaze, saw his curiosity and worry.
He’d probably never known the gut-wrenching grief, fear and desperation caused by losing everything he cared about. Thinking nothing, not even pure evil, could be as bad. Then finding out what happened before was a spin on a slow carousel compared to the rocketing slide into an oily blackness so deep her soul was a tiny light winking in the vast, empty space.
Her voice rasped like a nail file when she finally spoke.
“It was like being sucked into a black depth, feeling evil invade every single pore. Trapped beneath this vile quicksand. No light, no hope, no way out, nothing but the sounds of your own screams echoing back at you,” she whispered.
Damian squeezed her fingers, his jaw tensing. For a moment, turmoil flashed in his eyes as if he’d had a taste of that particular darkness. Then it vanished.
“Care for anything else?”
Their grumpy waitress was back. She looked edgy, fidgety. Probably the end of her shift.
“Hello? Like I said, need anything else?”
Damian barely cast her a cursory glance. “Give me the check and leave us alone.”
The woman dropped a slip of paper. As she glanced at their linked hands, her mouth drew back in a disapproving sneer. Lips pulled back, revealing …
Yellowed, razor-sharp teeth, like a crocodile’s.
Startled, Jamie blinked. No, just teeth stained from nicotine. The waitress cast another censuring look as she walked off.
What was this?
Trembling, she withdrew her hand, trying to conceal her reaction. She fished into her pocket and threw a fistful of bills on the table.
“My treat. It’s getting late. I need to get home.” But her legs felt wobbly. “Why am I feeling like this?” she said, rubbing her legs.
“I know why.” He glanced around and then reached for her hand. His touch was absolutely gentle. “Jamie, it’s very bad. When Kane infected you, he poisoned you.”
Disbelief filled her. His green eyes looked serious, his mouth tightened to a slash. “He infected you with his bite, and the porphyry spell. The more dark magick you used, the faster it worked. The reason you feel so lethargic is …"
He dragged in a deep breath. “Your body is turning to stone. The craving for sugar is the first symptom. You’re eating for quick energy, but it won’t last.”
Sharp,