Cullen again ran a hand through his hair. “No man is willing to share the woman he loves, Syndil. But Tempest and I met only a few hours ago in town. I brought some news she thought all of you should hear. But the bodyguard doesn’t have anything to worry about. I wasn’t hitting on her.”
Dayan’s eyes were suddenly hard and cold. “I hope we did not give you a false impression of Darius. He would never
worry.
That is not his way.” The voice, even more than the words, supplied the threat.
Tempest groaned out loud, wishing she knew Dayan well enough to hit him over the head. She reached out to reassure Cullen, who was looking as if he’d stumbled into a nest of vipers. Dayan moved subtly, deliberately inserting his solid frame between Tempest and the human. Syndil took Cullen’s arm and walked him toward some lounge chairs set up beneath a shade tree.
Darkness was falling fast. Bats began their nightly ritual, assaulting the insects, performing their acrobatics in the sky. A cool breeze had come up, gently rustling the leaves in the trees. Desari and Julian, complete with hiking boots and backpacks, walked hand in hand into the circle. Both looked surprised to see a visitor, but Tempest knew by their appearance that the surprise was feigned.
Julian moved his body protectively in front of Desari even as he offered his hand to Cullen as they were introduced. Cullen looked uneasy as he murmured a greeting. This was the man the society absolutely believed was a vampire. Cullen studied him closely, receiving an immediate impression of sheer power. Julian Savage was enormously strong, although careful not to crush Cullen’s bones when they shook hands. It was impossible to tell his age; his face looked timeless. Physically he was almost beautiful, in a purely masculine way, like the Greek statues of their gods.
“You are a fan of my wife’s singing?” Julian ventured.
“He came here with Rusti,” Dayan offered with a grin.
Julian’s eyebrows shot up. “With Rusti? Then you have not met Darius as of yet, Mr. Tucker.”
“Don’t start,” Tempest said. “I mean it, Julian. We’ve gone through this already. Darius is hardly the ogre you’re all making him out to be. He could care less if I had a dozen men here to visit.”
Do not ever risk that one, my love,
Darius said softly in her mind, the snap of his white teeth audible.
“Do you want a mass murder taking place?” Dayan teased. Tempest tilted her chin in a challenge. “Darius isn’t like that at all.”
Darius came striding out of the woods, tall, elegant, power personified. Cullen actually came to his feet. The bodyguard was the most impressive man he had ever seen. His body rippled with leashed strength. Power oozed from his every pore. His midnight-black hair was pulled back and held with a tie at the nape of his neck. The harsh planes and angles of his face seemed carved of granite. His mouth held latent sensuality and a hint of cruelty. His black eyes took in everything, the smallest detail, yet never left Tempest’s face.
Darius moved silently, like a stalking panther, straight to Tempest’s side, his arm curving around her possessively, drawing her beneath his shoulder. He bent his head to find her soft, trembling mouth with his hard one. “You look tired, baby. Perhaps you should lie down and rest before we move out tonight. You have been working all day.”
The moment his perfect mouth touched hers, Tempest forgot his teasing and gave herself up to the sizzling chemistry between them. Her arm slipped halfway around his waist, her fingers bunching in his shirt. “I’m fine, Darius. The truck is running, so we can leave as soon as we need to go. I brought this man here to speak with you.”
The black eyes at once rested on Cullen Tucker’s face. Involuntarily Cullen shivered beneath the icy gaze. It was like looking into a graveyard, the eyes of death itself. Cullen felt as if the bodyguard could read his every thought and was judging him worthy or unworthy—and that his very life might be hanging in the balance. He watched as the bodyguard carefully, deliberately raised Tempest’s right hand to his mouth, his tongue moving slowly, almost erotically over her scraped knuckles, those black, burning eyes never leaving Cullen’s face. Cullen could feel Syndil at his right side, close yet not touching him. He was aware that she was holding her breath.
“I’m Cullen Tucker,” he introduced himself, grateful that he still had his voice. Tempest had been telling the truth about this man. He would go after anyone who attempted to take her from him, and he would never stop. The bodyguard, as he’d guessed earlier, was the type of man who was utterly relentless, who had no mercy in him.
“Darius,” the bodyguard replied briefly. His hands went to Tempest’s shoulders, and he pushed her toward his brother-in-law. “Julian, perhaps you would take the three women to shelter while I speak with this gentleman. Desari, please see to the needs of the cats, and make certain Tempest eats before she goes to bed.”
Syndil moved closer to Cullen, for the first time in her life defying Darius.
I will stay here and listen
. Her chin was up belligerently.
Without warning Barack was there, his handsome face a twisted mask of fury. He literally shoved past the other men and caught Syndil’s arm, yanking her away from the human. His eyes were burning with rage. “What are you thinking, Darius, that you allow this man to come into our camp while our women are unprotected?” he demanded, forcing Syndil backward despite her struggles. His body was a solid wall of muscle, pressing her softer one away from the group.
“How dare you treat me this way!” Syndil hissed, outraged.
Barack turned his head, his black eyes blazing at her. “You will do as I say in this matter. You know better than to put yourself in a vulnerable position.”
“Barack, have you lost your mind?” Syndil demanded.
He growled, a low warning that rumbled in the air, his white teeth snapping like a predator’s. I
refuse to
argue with
you. If you do not wish to suffer embarrassment, Syndil, you will do as I say right now. Do you think that I did not know you actively
s
ought this man’s company?
Syndil moved backward into the shelter of the trees, partly because Barack was giving her no choice and partly because she was so astonished. Barack was the most easygoing of all the males. He tended to be amused by everything, and he flirted outrageously with human women, enjoying his image of the playboy of the band.
You have no right to tell me what to do, Barack
.
If I wish to seek out a thousand men, it is my
right.
Like hell it is.
Barack literally lifted her by the waist and carried her deeper into the woods. “Who is this man, that you suddenly wish to be with him? You have never displayed interest in human men before.”
Syndil’s chin went up. “Well, perhaps that has changed.”
“What has changed? What did this man do, bewitch you? I warn you, Syndil, I am in no mood for this foolishness. You touched him. You put your hand on his arm, flirted with him.” His eyes were blazing at her.
“And this is considered a crime? Should I remind you of all the times I have known you were with human women? Do not dare to judge my behavior. This man makes me feel beautiful, desirable, like a woman, not some shadow to be ignored. He looks at me, and I feel alive again,” Syndil defended herself.
“That is the reason? He makes you feel alive? Any man can do that, Syndil,” Barack snapped. “Well, he is the one I want,” she said defiantly.
His hand closed around her neck, his dark eyes furious. “I have waited patiently for you to recover, been as gentle as I know how to be. But this I will not give you. If you dare to go near that man, I will tear him apart with my bare hands. Now get in the trailer, where I know you will be safe, and stay away from him.”