The Darkest Touch

CHAPTER SIX

Ryder hid his amusement throughout dinner and the several bottles of wine Angelique had coaxed him into drinking.

He had an uncanny tolerance for alcohol. It didn’t affect him. She didn’t know that, of course, and he didn’t share the information, especially since it was obvious she was trying to get him drunk.

For what reason, though? He didn’t suppose it was so she could have her way with him.

The mental visual made him tighten. Her on top, him buried to the hilt inside her, holding on to her hips as she rocked against him.

Shit. Where was he going with this train of thought besides nowhere? He tried not to think of Angie in a sexual way, though it was damn hard not to, especially since the two of them were alone.

Think demons. Not sex.

Yeah, right. With his dick in charge, demons weren’t going to be high on the list. Especially when a sweet-smelling, beautiful woman was plying him with liquor.

A woman who wanted something.

She’d even been nice.

He preferred the contentious Angie over this stranger who’d smiled benignly through dinner, making innocuous conversation. The game had been fun for a while. He’d listened to her chatter on and on about everything and nothing, but after a couple hours and a lot of wine, they’d gotten nowhere. He thought maybe if she had more to drink, she’d start talking.

She hadn’t. Not about a worthwhile topic, anyway. And he’d just about reached his tolerance level of bullshit.

“And so when I did two years in the Mojave, it was really hard to leave. .”

She continued to drone on about digs she’d been on, discoveries she’d made, museums she’d donated her finds to. Things he already knew about from the background research he’d done on her. He probably knew more about her than she did.

And all the while she talked, they drank. And she kept refilling both their glasses.

He noticed she hadn’t yet started slurring her words. Maybe she was an adrenaline junkie and the high levels of it in her bloodstream burned off the alcohol.

“There was this statue we uncovered once in Egypt-”

“Angie.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly is your point?”

She tilted her head. “Of my story?”

“No, of tonight. Of this. The four bottles of wine and inane conversation.”

Frowning. “You find my conversation inane?”

“Yes.”

She sat back. “Well. That’s rather insulting.”

“You’re not at all offended. You have an agenda. What is it?”

“I do not.”

“Yeah, you do. You’re trying to get me drunk.”

She sniffed. “I would do no such thing.”

“For the record, I don’t get drunk. Ever. The wine was great, though I prefer an ice cold beer or hard whiskey, straight up.”

“Oh. I’m sure I saw a bottle of-”

“Don’t bother. I’ve had enough.”

“Fine, then.” She stood, but he grasped her wrist, tugging her back to the sofa.

“Not of talking. I’ve had enough to drink. You wanna talk, we’ll talk. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

She leaned back, picked at one of her fingernails. “I just thought we’d been running on edge since we met up again and it was time to unwind a little.”

“I don’t unwind, either.”

She looked up. “Ever?”

“Ever. I’m on a mission. It’s not in your best interests for me to be too relaxed.”

“We had some downtime together in the cave in Australia, if you recall.”

“That wasn’t exactly downtime. We were trapped, and I was plotting our rescue the entire time.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. We talked. And you kissed me.”

She just had to bring that up again. He’d tried like hell to forget that moment when she’d teased him and he took the bait. But the taste of her mouth still lingered in his memory. He wasn’t likely to ever forget it. Just as he wouldn’t forget her betrayal. “A lot of things happened in Australia. Do you really want to dredge all that up?”

She shrugged. “I have nothing to hide.”

“Good. Then tell me where the black diamond is.”

“Except that.”

“Then we really don’t have anything to talk about.”

He stood, but this time she grabbed his arm.

“Wait.”

He looked down at her. “I’m not in the mood to play games, Angie.”

“I’m sorry. Sit down. I really do want to talk.”

He sat. “If you wanted to discuss something, all you had to do was say so. You didn’t have to ply me with alcohol.”

“Right. Because you’re usually so open and talkative.”

He tilted his head. “You’re a real smart-ass, you know that?”

She looked away, but her lips curled. “You like me that way.”

She was right. He did prefer her this way to the sweet, accommodating woman she’d been earlier tonight. That Angelique had been alien to him. He liked her with a little sass. Maybe he could handle her better when she showed him some attitude.

“So what’s on your mind?”

“I’m worried.”

“About?”

“A lot of things. About what happened at the cottage. How that demon knew where to find me. And if they found me, they can find Isabelle.”

“Are you thinking something’s happened to her?”

“I’m trying not to think that, actually. But there has to be a good reason she has suddenly gone under the radar. And yes, she makes me nuts, but right now I need to know where she is.”

“Why now?”

“Because of what Bart said at the caves in Australia.”

“You’re wondering if your sister has some connection to the Sons of Darkness?”

She nodded, misery in her expression. “It wasn’t me. When I touched the black diamond, the light inside it extinguished. Then Bart said I wasn’t the one, almost as if he expected me to have some kind of magical power, as if he already knew I would.”

“That doesn’t mean Isabelle will, either.”

“True. But putting two and two together, Izzy and I are twins. What did the Sons of Darkness know about me, about us, that I’m unaware of?”

“Good question. Are you sure you don’t know anything?”

She narrowed her gaze in anger. “Please. Do you think I’d be a sitting duck if I was on the demons’ side? That that thing would have held my throat, demanding answers? I don’t know anything. I didn’t at the caves and I still don’t.”

Ryder didn’t know what to think. Demons liked to play games, and subterfuge was one of their favorites. Often what you saw wasn’t what you got. He wouldn’t put it past them to plant one of their own in the midst of the Realm of Light.

But gut instinct told him that wasn’t what was going on here, that Angie wasn’t involved with the demons. Not directly, anyway.

“I’m afraid Isabelle is the Queen of Darkness that Bart spoke about.”

Well, hit him over the head with a sledgehammer. Now they were getting somewhere. “Why would you think that?”

She leaned over, balancing her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands together, studying them, he supposed, so she wouldn’t have to meet his gaze. “Several reasons, actually. Because of Bart’s confusion about me and the black diamond, and because of Izzy’s behavior. It. . fits.”

“What do you mean, it fits?”

Her head shot up and her tortured eyes met his. “There’s a darkness in her. I’ve always known about it. She can be sweetness and light one minute, and turn on you the next. And when she does, she almost seems to enjoy it. I could understand it if it had just happened when we were kids, but it’s continued even into adulthood. It’s like she gets a perverse pleasure out of hurting people, especially me.”

“Sibling rivalry?”

Angie shook her head. “No. It’s much more than that. I can’t really explain it, Ryder. There’s a deviousness to her, an inherent. . evil. I can feel it. Sometimes she scares the hell out of me. And the older she gets, the more pronounced it’s gotten.”

“What kind of darkness?”

Angelique shrugged. “Her behavior. Her lack of scruples. She’ll hurt people without a second thought, with no remorse. She’ll take and take for her own gain without thinking of the repercussions.”

“She definitely sounds greedy.”

Angelique nodded. “Yes, but it goes beyond that. She wants to beat me, to stay a step ahead of me. It’s always been that way. She’d steal a treasure right out from under me if it meant she could win.”

“That still sounds more like sibling rivalry.”

She shook her head. “I used to think so, but she’s a successful archaeologist in her own right. She doesn’t need to be better than me. She’s already brilliant at what she does. She has this drive to be rich, famous, as if she wants everything. There’s nothing she won’t do to get what she wants. There’s no one she won’t destroy who stands in her way. She never gets close to people, never lets anyone in. She and I have a bond, but we’re sisters. And even then, she can be cold with me.

“I’ve always felt there was something different about her, but I denied it for so long. Until Australia. Then it hit me that she could have evil in her. But how? We’re twins, and I’m. . I’m not like that, Ryder.”

Ah, hell. The pain on her face was so intense it made his stomach hurt. He wanted to drop to his knees and gather her in his arms. Goddamn. He wanted to soothe her.

That so wasn’t his thing. Talking was better. Touching wasn’t a good idea. And he wasn’t a soother.

“We all have a dark side, Angie. It’s what we choose to do with it that makes us who we are.”

The look she gave him was so filled with question and need that he could feel it deep inside. It made him crave things he hadn’t craved in a very long time.

“What do you mean by that?”

He should learn to keep his damn mouth shut, before he started spilling his guts to her. “Nothing. Some philosophical bullshit I read once. I thought it might help. Did it?”

She let out a soft laugh. “A little.”

He stood and walked to the window, looking out over the moonless night, wondering what he was doing in here with Angie when he should be outside.

Or maybe he just felt the need to escape, to gather some distance between them, before he did something really stupid, like try to comfort her. “I’d better get outside and patrol.” He turned back to her. “Look. We’ll find your sister and when we do, you’ll discover that she’s just fine. Quit worrying.”

“I’ll try.”

He slipped out the back door and shut it, filling his lungs with a deep breath of humid night air. The choking sweet smell of gardenias was making him sick, so he moved away from the house, keeping his focus on the surrounding terrain, searching for the signs of anything suspicious.

The night was dead quiet. Not even a ruffle of wind to shatter the silence.

It wasn’t quiet in his head, though. He took a quick glance to the house, spotting Angie through the kitchen window. She was doing dishes, a frown of deep concentration lining her forehead.

He hadn’t given her the answers she’d needed. Not that he’d had them, but he knew he’d walked out on her in the middle of a really important conversation. One she’d wanted to delve deeper into.

One he couldn’t handle. Because she’d started talking about bloodline, and darkness.

And that was a little too close to home for him. His own potential for violence, where it had come from, was a topic he didn’t discuss.

The strange thing was, he’d wanted to. Tonight, with Angie, as soon as she’d expressed concerns about Isabelle, he’d wanted to tell her about his own dark side.

Wouldn’t she have loved to hear some of those stories?

He shook his head. She’d wanted tenderness and understanding, not someone who would tell her that her sister probably was evil, that sometimes you couldn’t hide the darkness inside yourself.

Some were successful, some weren’t.

And some walked a tightrope, striking a careful balance, knowing that at any second they could fall.

Ryder walked the tightrope every damn day. He couldn’t offer Angie any sympathy because it wasn’t in his nature to give it. Maybe he really was just like his dad.

The light went out in the kitchen. He turned away from the window and stared out into the night, letting the darkness envelop him, breathing out a sigh when he heard her footsteps approaching.

“Go inside, Angie.”

She sat next to him, her thigh brushing his. “We almost got somewhere tonight. You pulled back.”

“We didn’t get anywhere. I can’t give you what you need.”

“Because you don’t trust me.”

“Partly.”

“Because you think I don’t trust you?”

He turned to her. “What?”

“I revealed something to you tonight. A fear about my sister. Doesn’t that speak of trust?”

He was glad it was dark. The way she looked at him. . he could get so lost in her eyes. He didn’t want to. It made him feel weak and out of control.

“I’d trust you more if you told me where the black diamond was.” Keep it about business. That, he could control.

“I do trust you. As much as I can trust anyone. But my sister’s life is at stake here.”

“Then prove it.” This could be over quickly if she’d just tell him where the black diamond was.

“Ryder.” She leaned in, her breasts pressing against his arm, shocking the hell out of him by nearly climbing into his lap as her lips found his.

Maybe it was surprise that kept him immobile. He should have moved away. But hell, she offered. He took. Her mouth was spicy, hot and inviting. And he wanted in.

With a groan, he dragged her onto his lap and she tangled her fingers into his hair, deepening the kiss. He liked that, liked feeling her touch on him. Her body was soft against everything that was hard about him. And everything about him was damn hard right now. Instant rushes of heat and raw, steely power ignited a fuse that had laid dormant too long. One touch of her lips and he was on fire.

The part of him that knew this was a really bad idea disappeared, vanishing along with his reserves about keeping a professional distance. All he could think about now was getting her naked, touching the silk of her body, tasting her all over. Sinking into her and forgetting the darkness around them both.

Her lips were full, her tongue moist and searching as she entered his mouth, licking against his. She wanted more, and he wanted to give it to her.

But he also remembered trust. And darkness. And violence. And what could happen when you loved someone.

He grasped her arms and with a gentle tug, pushed her away.

She tilted her head, her eyes glazed with passion. A quick glance down her body showed tight, pointed nipples against her thin shirt. He wanted to touch, to taste, to take her over and over again.

Possession. He could feel it boiling up inside him, that overwhelming need to brand her and make her his. The need was almost violent.

Yeah, that had worked so well for his parents, hadn’t it?

He swallowed, his throat dry, his body taut with need. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do.

“Go back inside, Angie.”

She inhaled, then blew it out, nodding, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. She slid off his lap and without a word, turned away and walked toward the house.

He watched every step, the way her hips swayed, the way she held her head up high. She didn’t turn back to look at him as she opened the door and closed it behind her.

No, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust her.

He didn’t trust himself.

He knew exactly where the darkness lived. It lived inside him.