Dark Lover

Where good manners failed her, guilt stepped up to the plate.

'Ah, okay.'

Before he could come around the car, she opened the passenger-side door and slid into the front seat. The butler seemed flustered at her initiative, but recovered quickly, that beaming smile back on his wrinkled face.

As he got behind the wheel and put the engine in gear, she said, 'I live at-'

'Oh, I know where you live. We've always known where you were. First at St. Francis Hospital in the neonatal intensive-care unit. Then you went home with the nurse. We had hoped she would keep you, but the hospital made her give you back. Then you went into the system. We didn't like that. First you were assigned to the McWilliamses on Elmwood Avenue, but you became ill and went back into the hospital with pneumonia.'

He put the blinker on and turned left at a stop sign.

She could barely breathe, she was listening so hard.

'After that you were sent to the Ryans, but there were too many children. And then you went to the Goldrichs, who lived in that split-level off Raleigh Street. We thought the Goldrichs were going to keep you, but then she got pregnant. Finally to that orphanage. We hated when you were there, because they didn't let you out to play enough.'

'You keep saying 'we',' she whispered, afraid to believe. Wanting to.

'Yes. Your father and I.'

Beth covered her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes capturing the butler's profile as if it were something she could keep.

'He knew me?'

'Oh, yes, mistress. All along. Kindergarten and elementary school and high school.' His eyes met hers. 'We were so proud of you when you went to college on that academic scholarship. I was there when you graduated. I took pictures so your father could see.'

'He knew me.' She tried the words out, feeling like she must be talking about someone else's parent.

The butler looked across the seat and smiled. 'We have every column you've ever written. Even the ones you wrote in high school and college. When you started at the Caldwell Courier Journal, your father refused to go to sleep in the morning until after I brought the paper to him. No matter how hard his night had been, he wouldn't rest until he read what you wrote. He was so proud of you.'

She fumbled through her bag, trying to find a Kleenex.

'Here,' the butler said, handing her a small package of tissues.

Beth blew her nose as delicately as she could.

'Mistress, you must understand how hard it was for him to stay away from you. It was just that he knew it would be dangerous to get too close. Families of warriors need to be guarded carefully, and you were unprotected because you were raised human. He'd also hoped you'd be spared the transition.'

'Did you know my mother?'

'Not well. They weren't together long. She disappeared shortly after they started seeing each other because she found out he was not a human. She didn't tell him she was pregnant, and it wasn't until she was about to give birth that she reached out to him. I think she was scared of what she was bringing into the world. Unfortunately she went into labor and was taken to a human hospital before we could get to her. But you should know that he loved her. Very deeply.'

Beth absorbed the information, her mind soaking it up, filling in holes.

'My father and Wrath, they were close?'

The butler hesitated. 'Your father loved Wrath. We all do. He is our lord. Our king. That is why your father sent him to you. And you mustn't fear him. He will not hurt you.'

'I know that.'

When her apartment building came into view, she wished she had more time with the butler.

'And here we are,' he said. 'Eleven eighty-eight Redd Avenue, apartment one-B. Although I have to say, neither your father nor I approved of the fact that you're living in a ground-floor unit.'

The car came to a stop. She didn't want to get out.

'May I ask you more? Later?' she said.

'Oh, mistress, yes. Please. There is so much I want to tell you.' He got out of the car, but she was already shutting her door by the time he came around to her.

She thought about putting out her hand and thanking him formally.

Instead she threw her arms around the little old man and hugged him.

After Beth left the chamber, Wrath's thirst called out for her and then stung him hard, as if it knew he was the one who had sent her away.

He pulled up his pants and dragged himself to the phone, calling Fritz, then Tohrment. His voice kept cracking, and he had to repeat himself to be understood.

As soon as he hung up with Tohr, the dry heaves started. He staggered to the bathroom, calling out for Marissa with his mind. He lurched over the toilet, but there was nothing much in his stomach.

He'd waited too long, he thought. Ignored the signals his body had been giving him for quite some time. And then

Beth had come along, and his internal chemistry had taken another series of hits. No wonder he was crazed.

Marissa's scent drifted in from the chamber.

'My lord?' she called out.

'I need…'

Beth, he thought, hallucinating. He saw her in front of him, heard her voice in his head. He put his hand out. Touched nothing.

'My lord? Shall I come to you?' Marissa asked from the other room.

Wrath wiped the sweat from his face and came out, weaving like a drunk. He reached blindly into the air, pitching forward.

'Wrath!' Marissa rushed to him.

He let himself fall onto the bed, taking her down with him. Her body came up against his.

He felt Beth's.

And his face landed in sheets that were marked with Beth's scent. As he took a deep breath to try to stabilize himself, all he smelled was Beth.

'My lord, you need to feed.' Marissa's voice came from far away, as if she were out in the stairway.

He looked to the sound and saw nothing. He was totally blind now.

Marissa's voice grew curiously strong. 'My lord, here. Take my wrist. Now.'

Warm skin was in his palm. He opened his mouth, but couldn't get his arms to work properly. He reached out, touched a shoulder, a collarbone, the curve of a neck.

Beth.

The hunger took over, and he reared up across the female body. With a roar he sank his teeth into the soft flesh above an artery. He drank deep and hard, seeing visions of the dark-haired woman who was his, picturing her giving herself to him, imagining it was her in his arms.

Marissa gasped.

Wrath's arms were nearly snapping her in half, his massive body a cage around hers as he drank. For the first time she felt every hard line of him.

Including what she realized must be an erection, something she'd never been anywhere near before.

The possibilities were exciting. And terrifying.

She went limp and tried to breathe. This was what she'd always wanted from him, though his passion was shocking. But what could she expect? He was a full-blooded male. A warrior.

And he'd finally realized he needed her.

Satisfaction took the place of any discomfort, and she tentatively ran her hands over his wide, bare shoulders, a liberty she'd never taken before. He made a sound deep in his throat, as if he wanted her to do more. With delicious pleasure she sank her hands into his hair. It was so soft. Who could have guessed? Such a hard male, but oh, how