“What the hell?” he demanded, even as the creature veered away at the last possible moment. Thinking he was safe, the driver leaned forward to check visibility Instantly a second bird, than a third, flew directly at the windshield. The birds were huge and vicious-looking. He yelled and covered his face with his arms.
There was another eerie silence, broken only by the rain. Then the driver found himself reaching to open the door. He swore he saw a huge jungle cat flash by in the rain, striking terror into his already pounding heart but even so, his hand continued to open the door. He couldn’t stop himself, no matter how hard he tried. Hi: hand was shaking as he gripped the release. Outside he could hear the beating of wings, strong and ominous. He could hear whispers, insidious whispers, urging him to open the door. Yet he sensed that when he did, he would be letting in the devil himself.
A man’s solid frame filled the entrance. He was tall, muscular, his face in the shadows. As hard as he tried, the driver could not see his features. He had only the impression of enormous strength and great power. The dark stranger wore a long, swirling black trench coat that added to his mystery. Only his eyes, burning with fire and suppressed rage, gleamed like a predator’s stare from the shadowed face. The man ignored the driver and turned his black, merciless gaze on the passengers.
This time the silence was complete. The wind and rain ceased, as if nature itself was holding its breath. Tempest peeked out at the imposing figure through her fingers. Despite his Old-World elegance, he gave every impression of being a modern-day mobster. No one on the bus would dare defy that impressive figure of sheer power. She huddled down, making herself into a small ball, even though her traitorous heart was rejoicing and her treacherous body instantly went up in flames at the sight of him. He was so incredibly sexy. Tempest wished she didn’t think so, but there it was.
The burning black eyes settled unerringly on her face. “We can do this either of two ways, honey. You can come out, quietly, on your own two feet, or I can throw you, kicking and screaming, over my shoulder and carry you out.” His voice was low, a purr of menace, a blend of iron and black velvet. Sorcery. Dark persuasion.
Every head in the bus swung toward her. All eyes were on her, all ears waiting for her answer. Tempest sat for a moment in silence before moving. She wanted to pretend she might resist him, but the truth was, she wanted to be with him. She was only gathering her strength.
Heaving an exaggerated sigh, just to show him he was annoying her, she made her way down the narrow aisle to the front of the bus, trying not to wince with ever step as the cuts on the soles of her feet burned.
As Tempest neared the bus driver, the man stirred She looked very small and fragile to him, her clothe torn and smeared with blood, “Are you sure you’ll be all right, miss?” He carefully avoided looking at the man towering over her.
The black eyes suddenly left Tempest’s face and bored into the driver. Ice cold, graveyard eyes. Tempest pushed at Darius’s broad chest, backing him up, away from the driver. “I’ll be fine,” she assured the man. “Thanks for asking.”
Darius dragged her beneath the protection of his shoulder, his arm circling her slender waist. She looked as if she would fall down if he allowed her to stand or her own for too long.
The driver watched them descend the two steps. Behind them the doors snapped closed. Sheets of rain slammed down from the sky, obscuring his vision. Blinking hard, he peered out the windshield, but he couldn’t see anyone. The mysterious gangster and the woman were gone as if they had never been. There wasn’t so much as a car around.
Without a word, Darius scooped Tempest into his arms and covered the distance to his waiting family using his preternatural speed, blurring their images as he did so. Tempest lay against the solid wall of his chest, cradled in his arms, peeking out at the group suddenly crowding close around her.
“Are you all right?” Desari asked gently.
“She is fine,” Darius answered before Tempest could speak. “We will join you on the next rising.”
“We haven’t many more days before our next concert,” Dayan reminded. “We will need you there.” The black eyes flamed. “Have I ever failed to be where I was needed?” It was a clear reprimand.
Tempest curled her fingers in the lapels of Darius’s overcoat. “You’re angry with me, Darius, not with them.” She whispered the words, forgetting they all had his incredible hearing.
Do not say anything more, Tempest. I am more than angry with you. I am furious.
“That’s a big surprise,” Tempest muttered resentfully under her breath.
You are not nearly as afraid as you should be right now,
Darius rebuked her, his voice soft yet intimidating.
Tempest wasn’t impressed by his posturing. Intuitively she knew he would never harm her. She probably really was the safest person on earth. She simply settled closer against him, her arms circling his neck trustingly. He might hold her captive, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be afraid. Not of him. Maybe of his possession of her. Of his intentions, perhaps. But not of Darius as a man. He would never hurt her.
Do not be so sure I might not spank you for your childish defiance,
he said severely, sounding tough. He swung around and carried her into the dark night.
“I hurt,” she announced quietly against his throat.
“You think I do not feel your pain beating at me?” he demanded. “Worsened because I could not help you as I should have?”
“I’m not dead,” she pointed out.
He swore eloquently, switching from English to an ancient tongue. “You came close, honey. Brodrick had every intention of killing you. Why do you insist on leaving the areas of safety I provide for you?”
“I told you,” she said honestly, “I have trouble with authority figures.”
“Get over it,” Darius ordered firmly, meaning it this time. She was driving him to the brink of insanity. “Do you have any idea what it is like to wake when I an bound to the earth, feeling your fear, knowing my strength is at its lowest ebb and I am unable to aid you?”
He was striding across a field filled with flower crushed by the barrage of hail. Rain poured over them Above their heads, lightning flashed from cloud to cloud, and thunder roared ominously.
“You came to my aid,” she reminded him staunchly.
“I had to use an animal that unintentionally hurt you in the process, though I thank God it was there to use Why do you do these things?”
“It isn’t as if I go out and look for things to happen Darius,” she objected. “I had no idea Brodrick was any where around.” She glanced up at his set features, then touched a fingertip to the hard edge of his perfect mouth in an attempt to soothe him. She was catching a glimpse into his mind, into the red haze of fear and rage.
“This cannot continue, Tempest. It is dangerous, no only for the two of us but for all mortals and immortaclass="underline" alike. You cannot leave me. What made you do such a foolish thing?”
Was there a note of hurt mixed in with the beautiful if severe tone of his voice? She hadn’t wanted to hurt him. “We’re too different, Darius. I don’t understand your world. I don’t even know what you mean by being bound to the earth, and you never explain these matter! to me. I don’t know all you are capable of doing whether, say, you can actually kill someone from a distance. All of it is... unnerving, to put it mildly.”
Tempest shivered in his arms, drawing his attention to the driving rain. Darius inhaled deeply to center himself and to calm the fury of the storm he had used to regain her. At once the rain slackened to a light drizzle. Overhead the towering cloud began to break apart. The wind rose to help push the mist away.