Darkside Love Affair Read online

  “We can’t? Why not?”

  The genuinely shocked voice he mustered made me laugh. A satisfied grin spread on his face, which confirmed that I had just encouraged him in his reckless intentions.

  “Marcus, for God’s sake, let’s just find a restaurant.”

  “That wouldn’t be nearly as fun as this, would it?”

  He walked inside the mansion unhindered, bringing me with him. His ease to blend in would have made you believe that he was at least best friends with the owner of the house. I, on the other hand, when I was not staring at my own shoes, cheeks aflame and lips pressed in a taut line, was looking around apologetically, prepared to hear someone calling the police.

  “Try to look less outraged. You’ll ruin our cover.”

  Marcus just pushed through the crowd with a cocky twist of his mouth. He even nodded to some people who were staring at us curiously then turned to wink at me smugly. People made small talk and danced but remained completely unaffected by the intruders among them.

  I realized he had been looking for the kitchen only when we found it. Dim lights illuminated the ample space, and the loud music that reverberated around the house was merely a discordant noise in the distance. The area was empty, and a glass door that led to the back porch was left ajar.

  My last hopes of convincing Marcus to leave vanished when I turned to see him opening the fridge and helping himself shamelessly.

  “We really can’t do this. It’s—”

  “Charlotte.”

  Marcus walked to me, placing on the countertop three casseroles he had picked from the fridge. His posture, as well as his eyes, exuded authority, the kind of authority that was flattering in a man and appealed to a woman.

  “Today you are not a lawyer. Today you are just Charlotte eating in a stranger’s kitchen. Completely outrageous.”

  “Why do I have the feeling that you are incorrigible?” My voice was stern, but the smile that started shaping on my face diminished the sting of my words. He touched my cheek with the back of his index finger and smiled wistfully.

  “Because you are a very perceptive woman.”

  We ate standing, or rather nibbled at a few Shanghai chicken strips, a Cesar salad, and zucchini rolls. When my belly was properly and illegally fed, I allowed myself to laugh. I had never kept a list of outrageous things I wanted to do because I had always known I would never get the chance to achieve such goals.

  With Marcus, however, it seemed that such a list wrote itself without planning or preventing it. In spite of the recklessness, he showed me a side of freedom that I hadn’t hoped for.

  “Hi, gorgeous, I haven’t seen you around here before.”

  We both turned at the same time, our mouths full and our eyes wide. Leaning drunkenly against the doorway, a leggy blonde winked at Marcus. Her appearance seemed jumbled, and her makeup was a combination of running mascara and unflattering stains of sweat, foundation, and eye shadow, but I could tell she was a fine-looking woman.

  Her tall, willowy figure managed to seem graceful even as she swayed uncertainly. She approached Marcus with the confidence of someone who hadn’t encountered refusal in her life. Her hand settled on his chest and played with the first button of his shirt until she finally freed it. I had to clench my jaw not to hiss.

  “And you probably won’t see me again.”

  Marcus caught her wrist and let her hand fall, then with a conspiratorial wink, he grabbed my hand and whisked me out of the kitchen and back into the crowd. Satisfaction pulled my lips into a grin that soon froze in place.

  In the middle of the vast living room that had been turned into a real dance floor, among countless strangers swaying on the soft notes of a sensual song, Marcus spun me in a pirouette and caught me tightly in his arms. If earlier I had been breathing, I certainly didn’t remember how to do it now.

  “Surely, we are leaving.”

  “I want this dance, Charlotte,” he breathed against my ear. “I am rarely willing to relinquish what I want. Tonight is not one of those times.”

  His arms like iron bands around my waist didn’t allow me an inch of distance. My hands settled gingerly on his shoulders, and my eyes followed of their own accord the path to his lips. They were red and freshly dampened. They were parted and always letting out words that enthralled me.

  “Dance with me,” Marcus urged, bowing indecently, enticingly close to me. “And stop thinking. Aren’t Cancerians based on feeling?”

  “We have to think more than others exactly because when we do feel, we feel too much and we don’t know how to stop.”

  Marcus’s eyes were wilder than ever, and his body incited mine to move, to sway, to surrender to the gripping rhythm of the music. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his shoulder only because his intense stare was robbing me of strength. It made me feel bare, vulnerable.

  An arm remained firmly wrapped around my waist while a hand enfolded my nape and kept me impossibly close to his chest. I could smell him—all pure, fierce man. His warmth transcended the barrier of clothes and mingled with my own increasing body temperature. Then, regardless of the seductive music creating an orgy of the senses, what I heard the clearest was his steady, harmonious heartbeat. I loved the sound. And that terrified me.

  “Are you scared of feeling, Charlotte?”

  He secured my head with one hand, while his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. Suppressing a moan, I shivered.

  “Sometimes.”

  What Marcus had intended to show me today had nothing to do with the horses, the ride by the sea, the enchanting sunset, or with the fact that we could infiltrate among the guests of a private party. He had intended to show me a part of himself that I didn’t imagine existed and that probably not many had the chance to see.

  He had intended to lure to the surface a side of me that I was afraid of exploring. He had let himself in, crumbling barriers that I had perfected and few managed to cross. He had enticed me, and he had done it wonderfully.

  It was late and dark when we eventually returned to his motorcycle. I felt drained, but it was a good kind of tiredness that overwhelmed my body. I felt confused, but it was an arousing kind of bewilderment that turned my thoughts upside down and affected the usual order and monotony of my mind.

  “Charlotte,” Marcus called, once I was safely behind him. “I promised you that I would keep you safe. Don’t force me to break my promise.”

  His displeasure was wild as he recalled our earlier ride and my complete recklessness. I nodded obediently against his back and tightened my hold around his waist, offering a comfort I instinctively knew he needed.

  While we split the night at bullet speed, I got the electrifying sensation that being kept safe by a man like Marcus could be equally soothing and dangerous.

  Chapter 11

  Marcus

  “I have a plan, and you are going to help me,” I told Kai, two days after I last saw Charlotte.

  Kai watched me stroll self-assuredly around his studio apartment, unaffected by my intrusion.

  The place was more of a mess than usual. Piles of clothes were scattered from the foot of the bed all the way to the balcony door. Empty casseroles with putrid leftovers and myriad of painting utensils were forgotten on every available surface. Even the air was sour and stifling. And Kai himself was covered in paint and filth from head to toe.

  Between slanted eyes, he inspected my impatient movements before returning his attention to the canvas. He continued painting with fast but confident strokes, utterly unimpaired by the disarray his artistic fits were leaving behind. Taking a step back to evaluate his yet unfinished work, Kai finally deigned to speak, although his attention was entirely focused on whatever he was coating in color.

  “Does your plan involve your moving into my apartment? Because I’ll have to pass. I have guests tonight.”

  “I imagine,” I scoffed, picking with my index finger a pink bra from a pile of clothes and holding it up for Kai to see. He only smil
ed thoughtfully then placed his brush on the tall work stand by the easel and opted for a small knife, which he dabbled in paint and started sketching furiously across the canvas. “But no, I am not going to move in with you, hon. Maybe next time.”

  “You’re breaking my heart, baby,” he teased back, making me laugh but not lose focus. When I had a purpose, it was very difficult to be diverted from my path.

  “I want you to set up a race. Tomorrow night if possible.”

  “Beg your pardon?”

  Kai placed his tools on the stand and stepped away from the easel, for once his attention entirely disrupted. With suspicion and concern, his eyes skimmed me, then he scowled. I had missed the last two races for reasons that eluded him, and now I was urgently summoning another race. It was preposterous and yet intoxicating that the only reason for everything was Charlotte herself.

  She was the kind of woman who, unaware of her own power, got under your skin and made you do reckless things. Days had passed since I last saw her, but she was there, haunting my mind, spurring me to take actions that I had never imagined I would ever take. She was the kind of woman who not only thickened the blood in your veins but also made you lose reason altogether.

  I had fooled myself that one sociable night, sprinkled with some innocent fun and teasing, would be all I wanted and got from an association with Charlotte Burton. But perhaps I had known then as well as I did now that I couldn’t be deterred once she tempted me.

  First, she had ignited my protective instincts, then she had fueled my curiosity until she gained my yearning. Unfortunately for her, the yearning of a Scorpio was not something that went away quickly or was dealt with lightly.

  I wanted Charlotte, and the depth of my growing desire scared me more for her sake than for my own. I was a man who could easily be ignited but whose interest was difficultly kept. I was a man utterly unable to find comfort and peace hence equally so in providing it. I was a man who had rebelled from childhood and whose very proximity to a woman like her was dangerous, but at the same time, I was a man who never relented and never backed off.

  I was the most improper man for her, and yet my mind raced with possibilities. Conquering her defenses would be hard, because like a true Cancerian, she had many, behind which she frequently hid to protect herself.

  That only lured me more. Because the more she recoiled, the more I wanted to discover her; the faster she disappeared inside her shell, the more fiercely I wanted to discover the passionate woman inside, with all her facets and emotions.

  “I want you to set up a race,” I repeated although I knew he had heard me perfectly the first time.

  “What does your plan have to do with a race? Why not wait until the next one?”

  “I have a deadline and no time for waiting. Can you help me? Can you orchestrate a race?”

  Kai scowled at me suspiciously, if not somewhat crossly. He was an artist to the bone, but deep inside his soul, he had a dark side he could only unleash when he was on the back of a motorcycle, leading his pack. He was the bandmaster of each race, and consequently, he felt responsible for all those who trusted him and always joined his races. He was also a marvelous judge of character and knew that my intentions weren’t as transparent as I let on.

  “I trust you have the means and influence to gather enough men for a race,” I pressed when he gave me no answer.

  “I might, but I don’t think I want to lead my people into something I am not even aware of.”

  “My plan involves only me, and you have nothing to worry about. Please, Kai, I need to do this.”

  He shook his head, confused and still unconvinced, but I had no doubt he would help. Just like Charlotte, he was a worrier, and because of that, the less he knew, the better it was going to be for everybody involved. Truth be told, I was afraid he would shut down my plan before it was even set in motion if he knew exactly what I truly plotted.

  “Before I make a decision, I need to kn—”

  “Just send me the details, Kai, and stop whining,” I admonished, walking to the door.

  He shot me a glare right before I shut the door behind me. Something massive crashed against it then crumbled to the ground with a dull thud. I laughed then called loud enough so Kai and everyone else within earshot would hear, “And please... Clean up that mess.”

  ONE EVENING LATER, I dismounted on the outskirts of the city, feeling the blood pumping in my veins. While leather-clad motorcyclists welcomed me with the usual clap on the back, Kai pinned me with a cold glare and promptly turned his back on me. He was in a dangerously lousy mood.

  The Fox intercepted him and slid an arm around his waist, all while sending me a defiant and annoyed look over Kai’s shoulder. She didn’t attempt a more intimate contact, but my grim suspicions were already confirmed, not by the confidence and familiarity with which she touched Kai but by the way he relaxed and sought more of the comfort she offered. Only I doubted such a treacherous creature could offer any comfort at all.

  As if my concern hadn’t already reached dangerous peaks, Kai settled his hands on her hips and bowed in quest of her mouth.

  “Aww,” he groaned and covered his left side, which she had so vilely struck. “What was that for?”

  “Don’t overstep, Reed,” she warned with a pointed finger and danced her way out of his grasp.

  A veil of fire floated in the air as she swung a leg over her motorcycle. She stopped the white beast right in front of Kai, admiring his cowering posture with a satisfied, conceited grin. Out of nowhere, her hand fisted in his leather jacket, and she pulled him close enough that their mouths hovered a mere whisper away. Whatever she had told Kai had the calculated intention of making his blood boil.

  When she sped away to the starting line, Kai’s lustful gaze followed her. His clear eyes, however, darkened as soon as they landed once more on me.

  He zipped his jacket with unnecessary brutality and climbed on top of his bike with one sharp movement. He had gathered a good handful of riders and a nice, enthusiastic crowd, but he was far from happy.

  He drew his motorcycle to an abrupt halt in front of me and spoke through clenched teeth while pinning me with a scowl.

  “I know you are not telling me everything. There’s another reason behind all this stupidity so do not take me for a fool.”

  There was a reason, one that had brown eyes, rosy lips, and a laugh that enthralled the senses, but just now, Kai didn’t need to know that.

  The sound that signaled the start of the race blasted in the night. As usual, Kai had planned everything with the artistry of a bandmaster, but if my plan was going to work, tonight his well-thought-out orchestrations had to fall apart. Casting him an apologetic look, I shot forward, riding my motorcycle at a vengeful speed.

  By the time we reached the first intersection, I was leading the convoy with Kai closely behind me and Tucker and Sean flanking us. We were halfway to the finish line when Kai stormed past me and the appalling sound of sirens echoed in the distance. It grew louder and louder as it chased us.

  A collective growl drowned out the boom of angry engines and the shriek of tires against pavement. Crouched over my motorcycle, clenching the handlebars in taut fists, I growled too. Everything could go very wrong, very fast.

  “Split up,” Kai shouted.

  Warning police lights closed in on us while the sirens screamed in our heads and brought us to the dangerous edge of panic.

  I started counting in my head to keep myself calm. This race provided adrenaline in abundance but not a modicum of freedom. There was no pleasure or strength to draw from the speed that drove us across the streets like demons unleashed. There was only a strategy I had to see through.

  Calvin and Xavier sped up then veered left onto a narrow alley. Tucker took an abrupt turn, snaked through the complaining, scared people on the sidewalk, and finally disappeared down an improperly lit street, followed by his brother, Sean.

  Kai pushed on straight ahead, now and again throwing worried
glances over his shoulder. I realized I had dropped behind only when Colt and Samuel reached my flanks then went flying like missiles.

  Samuel looked behind, his eyes fixed past my shoulder on the police car that hunted us, and aligned his motorcycle with Colt’s. The blood in my veins boiled furiously as it became clear that escape was no longer an option for me.

  I smirked, not with satisfaction but with defiance. Samuel balanced his weight over his speeding bike, and with economical grace, he flung himself behind Colt. I only had time to see them speed up along the road.

  I didn’t see Samuel’s abandoned motorcycle coming my way but heard the blast of the collision like a grenade exploding inside my ears. Then, I felt the collision my own body produced once it hit the cold, unwelcoming ground.

  Protecting my head with my arms, I landed hard on my left side, the bones in my shoulder giving a loud, crunching noise that tore through my muscles and throbbed in my blood.

  My body rolled harshly, the cement tearing my leather clothes and scraping at my flesh until I felt the sting of open bleeding wounds. But nothing could rival the aching severity of cracking and dislocated bones or the hammering pain pulsating at the back of my head. Maybe I hadn’t protected my head that well after all.

  IT STARTED AS A TROUBLING discordance of sounds until it turned into an earsplitting clatter that had the same effect of shards cutting into my ear drum. I struggled to peel my eyelids open, but light quickly attacked me like a snake injecting its poison into my sockets. I tried to speak and demand whoever was producing that awful noise to stop, but my jaw wouldn’t move.

  “Wake up, Marcus.”

  I was not surprised that I was not in a hospital room but in a cute little prison cell. I became aware of how cold and poorly lit my surroundings actually were before my eyes drowsily landed on Isaac King. His stare hardly conveyed any concern or regret for his son’s condition. Instead, his expression was a perfect portrayal of smugness.