The Darkest Kiss

They had to have one hell of a strong relationship for her to be able to drag him back from the brink of death. I very much doubted the normal bond of siblings would have done so.

God, if something ever happened to Liander, would Rhoan choose death? We had a strong bond—a bond as strong as life itself—but I really didn’t know if that would be enough to pull my brother back. No matter how badly he sometimes treated his mate, Rhoan loved Liander with every fiber of his being.

I licked my lips and said, “So you’re still close to your sister?”

“She nagged me back to life. How could I walk away after something like that?”

The waitress arrived, and we ordered our coffee and cake. I glanced at my watch, wondering when Jilli was going to come out. Jack would get less than pleasant if I stayed and chatted for too long—especially when we had a badass ru

“This wolf that walked away,” Ben asked, after a moment, “what made you think he was your soul mate?”

I shrugged. “It was probably wishful thinking more than anything else. I cared for him—cared for him a lot—but we never really got it together enough to see if it could ever be more.”

“And when you made love?”

I raised an eyebrow, amusement teasing my lips. “When we made love, a good time was had by all.”

Amusement twitched Ben’s lush mouth. “That goes without saying for a wolf.”

“Then why ask the question?”

His grin was as sexy as hell and my hormones did another little dance. And really, I couldn’t be sorry that my self-imposed exile from sex seemed to be coming to an end. I might still hurt, but what was the point in continuing to abstain from something that was so much a part of who I was?

I might not be ready to step out with my heart on my sleeve, but a good time was definitely begi

“What I mean by that question,” he said, “is what did you feel deep down? Besides arousal, besides desire?”

I’d felt lots of things when I was with Kellen, and some of those feelings had not been entirely my own. Qui

“What I was feeling often depended on how I was feeling about our relationship at the time, or what else was happening in my life. Why do you want to know?”

“Because the first time I made love to Jodie, I knew she was the one. My heart, my soul, my life. We were inseparable from that moment.”

I raised my eyebrows. I’d never felt that with anyone. Not even Qui

He laughed, a warm rich sound that sent tingles of desire scooting across my flesh. “God, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. We worked with each other for six months and never got an inkling. And our first kiss was nothing more than the polite kiss colleagues share at Christmas. It wasn’t until we actually had sex that things changed.”

So did that mean the whole meeting-of-eyes-across-the-crowded-room moment I’d been dreaming of half my life was just that? A dream? Or was it simply a matter of different wolves, different situations?

I had to hope so. Fate had snatched away so many of my dreams of late that it would really hurt to lose that one as well.

I crossed my arms and leaned forward a little. His gaze flicked downward, caressing my breasts, and the heat of his desire flicked around me. My nostrils flared as I sucked in the scent, feeling it swirl its way through me. It was nice, so nice, after such a long absence. “So what was it like? That first moment, I mean.”

“Well, there was no chorus of angels singing, if that’s what you were expecting.”

I gri

Amusement flirted with his mouth again. “It was more a feeling of belonging and completeness. From the moment that we made love, I could think of no other, wanted no other.”

I definitely hadn’t felt that with Kellen. Or Qui

“It wasn’t like that with us,” I said eventually. “But I was hoping it was something we’d grow into.”

“You don’t grow into a soul mate,” he said, the amusement on his lips clear in his voice. “It’s just something that is. Or isn’t.”

“Trust me, nothing is that simple in my life.”

“Love is.”

“For you, maybe.” I thanked the waitress as she brought over our order, then began tucking in to the thick, gooey chocolate cake. Which wasn’t as delicious as the scent coming from the big wolf sitting opposite me, but still more than lived up to the standards of this place.

“So how does the whole sex and dating bit work for you now?” I asked.

He shrugged. “There will always be an emptiness deep inside, one that no amount of lovemaking will ever fill. But I’m a werewolf, and sex is still damned good.” He gave me a grin that was so sexy my insides just about melted. “I can demonstrate just how good, if you’d like.”

“You know,” I said, glad my voice sounded dry rather than husky with the excitement that was buzzing around my insides, “as much as I enjoy a bit of exhibitionism, this is a little too public for me.”

He laughed—a rich and luscious sound. “Well, I didn’t mean right here and now.”

“I’m glad.” Time, I thought, to change the subject. “Have you heard from Ivan?”

He took a sip of coffee, then said, “Yeah. He checked himself out of hospital this morning.”

I frowned. “Was that wise? That vamp’s still out there and Ivan might still be a target.”

“He seems to think that the worst is over.” Ben shrugged. “He said Vi

I snorted. “Vi

“He believes she values him too much to give the vamp access again.”

“If he believes that, he’s an idiot.” Vi

He shrugged, then looked past me. “Ah, here she comes.”

I twisted around. The woman approaching was typically wolf in build, but given she probably stood at five one, she was definitely on the small side. But she exuded a sense of authority and her brown eyes had a no-nonsense gleam to them.

She kissed Ben lightly on the cheek then her gaze came to me. “Riley Jenson, I presume?”

I nodded and fetched my badge out of my purse to show her. “Ben’s requested my help in finding out why your lover De

“Yes, he told me that.”

There was a brief flicker in her eyes, one that hinted at sorrow. Then it was gone, replaced by the no-nonsense gleam. Jilli might be sad about her lover’s death, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her from going about her daily business. Jack would have loved her attitude.

“Tell me, do you know if he had any vampire lovers?”

Little frown lines briefly creased her otherwise smooth forehead. “Not that I knew of. But we’d only been lovers for a few weeks.”

“What about clubs? Which of those did he frequent?”

“All of them. Particularly the underground ones.”

I raised my eyebrows and glanced at Ben. “There are still underground wolf clubs?”

“For people who have similar sexual needs to De

Meaning they weren’t places I’d want to frequent—though I would, if it meant getting answers. I glanced back to Jilli. “When did you and De