Page 21 of A Wicked Dance of Obsidian and Light (Echoes of Darkness #1)

With my heart lodged in my throat, I close the front door of the apartment building and spot Kaiden across the street. He’s leaning casually on a different motorcycle than the one we rode the last time, arms crossed over his chest. The sun casts the back of his spectacular body in a halo of golden light, making him look like a dark, avenging angel, and I forget how to breathe entirely as his gaze does a slow perusal of my body before slamming into mine.

He’s clad in a similar outfit as the day I woke up at his penthouse, wearing his confidence like a dark cloak, his beauty as deadly as the sharpest obsidian blade. His eyes don’t leave me as I stride to him. It’s hard to admit, but my legs feel as though I’m wading through shifting sand.

Don’t trip. Don’t trip. Don’t you dare trip, Iris!

Kaiden’s lips turn up in a soft smile as I stop in front of him. “Hello, angel.” His deep, gravelly voice rolls down the ladder of my spine like a caress.

That’s when I expect my onyx choker to start warming at his presence. But it never does. What the? I make a mental note to change it for a new one in case it’s defective.

“Do you have the siren blood?” I inquire, forgoing the pleasantries and trying to push the strange attraction I feel toward him away.

Spoiler alert. It doesn’t work.

He arches an eyebrow, smile widening. Of course his teeth are pearly-white and annoyingly perfect. Ugh . “Getting straight to business, I see. Wasn’t expecting anything less from you.” He fishes a vial of blood out of the front pocket of his black jeans, showing it to me before sliding it back in.

“We’re going to your place?”

“No,” he replies without offering more information.

Folding my arms in front of my chest, I insist, “Then where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” Kaiden answers as he takes the helmet that was resting on the handle and holds it out for me.

Squaring my shoulders, I ignore his outstretched hand. “I don’t like surprises.”

“You’re going to like this one, I promise. I can only tell you that the place we’re going is about an hour away.”

“Funny, promises made by demons don’t tend to hold much weight. Plus, you bargained for dinner. Going on a ride with you wasn’t part of the pact.”

He straddles the bike and turns to look at me, unfazed. “We’re going to have dinner when we arrive. You wanted a private place where nobody could see us. The ride is just a means to get there.”

“Fine,” I grumble and slip into my leather jacket before taking the helmet from him and putting it on. I slide behind Kaiden as he keeps the motorcycle steady for me. “What’s with the new bike?”

“It’s a Harley CVO Limited. I just bought it. Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s much more comfortable than the other one.”

“That’s why I got it; it’s made for two passengers.”

“Oh,” I breathe. Did he get a new motorcycle just for our date? Wow, Iris, quite the high opinion you have about yourself .

“Hold on,” Kaiden says before starting the engine. The sound snaps me out of my thoughts. His rough, calloused hands snake around my wrists, his touch singeing me as he pulls the front of my body flush to his muscular back and wraps my arms tightly around his middle. My heart trips over itself at the contact. To make matters worse, his sensual scent wraps around me in drugging waves.

Fuck. I forgot how sinfully good he smells.

Effortlessly, Kaiden guides the motorcycle into the evening traffic, revving the engine. Not before long, we exit the city and start riding on mountain roads off the beaten path. I hate to acknowledge it, but the feeling of freedom I felt the first time riding with Kaiden has intensified tenfold.

My cheeks are hurting; that’s how big my smile is as the crisp pine-scented air whooshes around us and bites at my exposed skin. I can tell we’re in the national park, though I haven’t ventured to this part before. I think we’re somewhere in wolf shifter territory.

The blob in the distance transforms into a charming wooden cabin as we get closer to it, and my eyebrows shoot up nearly to my hairline when Kaiden stops the engine right in front of it.

“I have to get something from inside. It will only take a minute,” Kaiden tells me.

“’Kay,” I shoot back, and we dismount.

As Kaiden pops off, I turn around and take in the scenery before me, jaw slack. The mountains look like ancient giants burnished in gold as the sun makes its descent on the crimson horizon.

Kaiden reappears with a large picnic basket in one hand and a blanket in the other.

“This is beautiful. Is the cabin yours?”

“No. It belongs to a good friend of mine, Logan.”

“We’re in the national park, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s wolf shifter territory, so it can’t be accessed by anyone but them, as you probably already know,” Kaiden tells me, confirming my earlier assumptions. “C’mon, we’re going on foot from here.” He turns on his heel and starts walking in the direction of the pine trees on the right side of the cabin.

“Are we seriously going to have a picnic in the woods?” I huff as I hurry my pace to match Kaiden’s. “The sun is going to set soon.”

“That’s the idea,” he drawls.

We walk in silence on the narrow forest path, the only sounds being the pine needles crunching under our feet, the bird songs in the distance, and the branches dancing in the breeze. After about fifteen minutes, the pine trees start dwindling. It takes us five more to enter a clearing with a spectacular view of the mountain peaks. Kaiden stalks forward and bends at the waist to lay the blanket atop the lush grass. He places the basket next to it.

I stomp toward him, still not seeing the logic in having a picnic so late in the day. If a mountain lion jumps on my head, I’m blaming him. He takes off his leather jacket, puts it next to the basket, and sits on the blanket. Then, he pats the space next to him, giving me a roguish grin that knocks the wind from my lungs for a second. “Take a seat, Iris. I don’t bite…unless you want me to.” He winks devilishly, and I almost melt into a puddle at his feet.

What is wrong with me?

Rolling my eyes at his remark, I slide out of my leather jacket and throw it on top of his before plopping down unceremoniously. I leave as much space as I can between us. “So, do you bring a lot of women here? Is this like your thing, picnic in the woods when it’s almost dark? It’s kinda creepy if you ask me,” I say, face stoic.

He doesn’t react to my jab. “No, actually, you’re the only one I have ever brought here.” Kaiden opens the basket, takes out four food containers, a bottle of white wine that surely cost more than my entire rent for a month, two tulip-shaped glasses, and two bottles of water.

“I stumbled upon this place at Logan’s wedding. He got married to his mate in a meadow full of wild violets not far from here. I needed a quiet place to think, away from the party, and kept walking until I found the clearing. Whenever I’m overwhelmed or need to organize my thoughts, this is where I come. The one-hour bike ride also helps me clear my head.”

Kaiden’s admission renders me speechless for a moment. I didn’t expect him to be so candid and almost vulnerable, in a way. I quietly accept a glass of wine from him and take a sip, the crisp, citrusy flavor bursting on my tongue. Damn, this is good wine. “I guess being the head of the Obsidian Conclave is not as easy as one would think, huh?”

What the fuck, Iris? Since when did you start being considerate of…a demon’s burdens?

Kaiden chuckles darkly, the sound bitter, almost sad. “Yeah. But it’s also a chance to make things better…do some good.”

I snort a laugh, not able to imagine what in the world Kaiden’s good could be. “What do you mean?”

He takes a sip of wine, and I gulp at the way his throat rolls with the swallow.

Gah, why is everything he does so insanely attractive?

He isn’t even fazed by my mocking tone. “Mammon, the Elite demon that was the head of Conclave before me, was a greedy fucker. He wanted as much money and power as he could get his dirty hands on. He made the Conclave the largest distributor of drugs and illegal weapons in the world. But most of his fortune came from the flesh trade, trafficking women and children, not only dark creatures but humans too.” Kaiden pauses, surely to give me a chance to absorb this information. He opens the fancy food containers filled with gourmet cold cuts, all types of cheeses, mini burgers that look divine, French fries, and strawberries covered in chocolate. My mouth waters at the display of delicious-looking food. I pluck a fry that, surprisingly, is still hot, biting into it absentmindedly.

How did I not know about this? I mean, yeah, sure, even if the Order didn’t teach us much about the Obsidian Conclave aside from the basics, I knew the Conclave had to be involved in illegal stuff. They had to be making money somehow. And without evil, good cannot exist. Still, I never imagined something at this scale.

Kaiden starts speaking again, interrupting my train of thought. “He was so focused on how to make more that he completely ignored the rising hostility between species. Soon, the animosity reached a pinnacle, and wars broke out between the wolf shifters and vampires. Then, the dark witches got involved. Thousands died every year, and the bloodshed continued until I managed to banish Mammon to Hell and convinced Lucifer to appoint me as the new leader.”

He heaves out a deep breath. “Since then, we’ve been waging a relentless battle against the corruption that Mammon spread like poison. We successfully dismantled the flesh trade conducted by the Conclave, and we’re now tackling other issues…such as legalizing businesses, investing in properties, and providing real jobs to the dark creatures and demons under our protection.”

My eyebrows knit together in confusion. “We? I thought you were the head of the Obsidian Conclave.”

Kaiden leans forward, hooking his elbows on top of his knees, and shakes his head. “I understand you may have preconceived notions about the Conclave…about me, but I’m not a dictator, Iris. Almost every dark creature species has a representative within the Conclave. We make collective decisions, vote on them, discuss strategies. I may have the final say in some situations, but disagreements are rare. Ultimately, it was the inclusion of the dark creatures’ voices and granting their rights that brought peace between the species.”

My cheeks and the tips of my ears start burning under the weight of my ignorance. “I, um…I don’t know what to say. I had no idea about any of this.”

Kaiden scoffs. “Why would you? The Order is only interested in making perfect little soldiers who blindly obey every command. You don’t need to think in order to fight, do you?” He lets out a breath through his nose. “Let’s eat.”

My jaw ticks at Kaiden’s rebuke, and the glass almost shatters in my hand with how strongly my fingers are gripping it. I swallow the barb I was about to throw at him, though. I don’t think Kaiden was trying to insult me…he only seems to disapprove of how the Order does things.

And in a way, he’s right. Even I can recognize that. The Order could have done a better job at providing more insight into what the Conclave does. With the scraps of information they shared with us, they painted the Conclave as evil through and through. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t make much of a difference…Kaiden is still a demon, and I’m still a hellseeker. Nothing will change that.

“Not hungry?” Kaiden asks before biting into one of the mini burgers. As if awakened by his words, my stomach makes a growling sound.

Ugh.

Kill me now, please.

He only chuckles as my face gets as red as a pickled beet and extends the container with the mini burgers toward me. I thank him softly and grab one. How the hell is it still warm? I guess the fancy-looking containers are doing some kind of magic.

A comfortable silence settles between us as we enjoy the food, which is so good that I have to keep reminding myself not to moan at every new bite. Dusk descends as the sun slips beneath the horizon. Indigo takes over the lavender sky, making the forest seem almost ethereal while the first stars of the night twinkle into existence.

As I bite into a strawberry, the juice dribbles from the corner of my lips down my chin, and before I get the chance to lick it away, a warm hand wraps around my jaw. My chest rises and falls at the contact, and my gaze lifts to collide with Kaiden’s.

He’s right in front of me; he probably did his Houdini thing, and I haven’t even noticed until now. My pulse hammers on the side of my neck like a hummingbird taking flight as his half-lidded eyes drop to my lips. His thumb wipes the juice slowly, then moves over the curve of my lower lip, almost with…longing.

He surprises me by lifting his thumb to his mouth and sucking the juice from it as though he’s tasting my lips. The gesture is so eroticthatit sends a rush of heat in between my thighs. “Have I told you how stunning you look?” he rasps.

Fuck. The deep cadence of his gravelly voice and his words send my heart into a frenzy. I don’t know what to say, so I swallow hard and shake my head, which causes a strand of hair to fall over my eyes.

Kaiden’s right hand comes up again, and he gently pushes it away, tracing the side of my face before tucking it behind my ear. “Then I am a fool because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Iris.” He inches forward, and I get lost in his gaze. Obsidian fire enthralls me in a binding spell. I suck in a choppy breath as Kaiden bridges the gap between us.

“It’s starting,” he breathes against my lips, a soft smile tugging at his mouth.

“Huh?” I asked, confused as he pulls back, bursting the bubble we were wrapped into. Disappointment that he didn’t kiss me knocks the air out of my lungs with such force my chest constricts painfully. But I don’t get the chance to read too much into it because the tiny meadow looks as though the stars from the sky are dancing all around us to the tune of a collective low hum. Hundreds of tiny lights blink in and out of existence, and all I can do is stare.

“Oh my God, Kaiden. Are these fireflies?” I ask, voice thick with emotion. My gaze flicks to his.

“Yes,” he answers simply. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “Can I hold you?”

The word “no” sits on the tip of my tongue. It’s the right thing to say. I don’t know why I can’t move my lips and utter it, though. As if a strange entity has taken control over my brain, I nod instead, and Kaiden slides behind me, bracketing my body with his muscular thighs. Then, his arms band across my middle. My pulse is a war drum in my ears as he pulls me flush to him. He buries his nose in my hair and inhales deeply as though he can’t help himself. The ghost of his breath electrifies my skin.

Time loses meaning in Kaiden’s arms. Leaning back and resting my head on Kaiden’s chest, I swear I can hear his heart thundering as hard as mine. The warmth in my own chest scares me; it feels like…home. Like I belong here. I tuck it deep inside, in a corner of my soul, so I can pull it out later and examine it in the confinements of my space, where there’s no one to judge me but my own conscience.

“Kaiden?” I say softly, breaking the silence blanketing the air.

“Hmm?”

“This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life.” I pause to trap his intoxicating scent into my lungs. “Thank you…for sharing this place with me.”

“You’re welcome, angel.”

Silence falls between us again, and I revel in it, in this perfect moment, wanting to sponge every single second. I have never felt more at peace. I can’t believe the best date of my life is with…a demon. This has got to be some sick joke played by the universe. There’s a strange urge, a current in my fingers compelling me to pick up a pencil and sketch, etch this moment into posterity so I can come back to it over and over again.

I brush it off my shoulders, and as I raise the second cup of wine to my lips and take a sip, an idea pops into my head. I can’t believe I haven’t thought about this before.

“If I need your help with something, will you strongarm me into another deal?”

“I don’t know. Depends on what you need help with.” I can hear the smile in Kaiden’s voice as he says, “I’m already planning our second date in my head.”

His words are playful. Still, the realization that I’m enjoying this date far more than I should makes me suck in an unsteady breath. Like someone sucker-punched me straight to reality. What am I doing?

“Forget about it,” I snap, breaking out of his hold and pushing against the blanket to stand. “I think we should go. It’s late.”

I shouldn’t have let him hold me. Fuck, I let a demon almost kiss me. This is wrong on so many levels I can’t even compute the implications of what this could mean for me. It’s one thing to be attracted to someone on a visceral level. That’s just lust. But I’m afraid I’m starting to like him….and that’s something out of the realm of possibility for me.

Kaiden disappears from his seated position and reappears in front of me. “I promise I’ll try to help you. No strings attached.”

I tear a hole in my cheek, debating if I should tell him about Tony or not. My and Sam’s research amounted to nothing, and every time Tony has decided to show his face, pulling information out of him proved to be a Sisyphean task. “Okay. I don’t even know how to say this because I might sound crazy…heck, I’m not even entirely sure I’m not,” I mumble the last part to myself. “So, after the umbra attack, I visited the national park again and, um…” I pause, clearing my throat. C’mon, Iris, just say it. “…that’s where I met a ghost,” I blurt out on an awkward chuckle.

Kaiden’s tanned complexion turns ashen, and his eyebrows drop in a deep frown. Something flashes in his eyes that looks a lot like…fear. “What?”

“Yeah, um, it was a shock to me too. I mean…I legit thought I was batshit crazy. But it turns out he really was a ghost. I even tested it with salt. Did you know that if you throw salt at a ghost, it disappears?” Dear God, why am I blabbing so much? “Anyway, he asked for my help. He said his friend is in danger, and he tried to warn her, but failed. I couldn’t find anything about him online. I think he was killed by a rogue wolf shifter, and that’s why I thought you might be able to help.”

Kaiden listens with rapt attention to my every word as I continue telling him everything about my interactions with Tony so far. Of course, I leave out all the Noah parts and why we were in the national park to begin with.

When I finish, a weighted silence thickens the air. Kaiden’s jaw is an iron bar of tension, the playfulness and vulnerability he showed earlier gone.

“So, do you know anything about his death?” I ask.

“Yeah, the rogue did kill him. The reason you weren’t able to find anything about his death is that we had to do damage control. The rogue murdered a lot of people, and the ones you saw in the media were just those we couldn’t get to in time and were discovered by humans who called the police. That many deaths would have been suspicious if we didn’t bury the information.”

“What about his friend? Will you help me find her?”

Kaiden nods. “Tony was an acquaintance. I used to frequent the bar he worked at in the Raven district, the Shabby Shotglass. It’s closed now. Anyway…I’ll look for his friend. I’m confident I’ll be able to find her and see if she really is in danger.”

“Thank you,” I murmur as I rack my brain. I’m sure Iheard the name of the bar before. “Oh, I’ve been there once, at the Shabby Shotglass.” The memory of the extremely boring date almost two years ago flashes in my mind, making me shudder. I can’t believe I let that guy kiss me. He was a slobber. The kiss disgusted me so much I raced to the bathroom to rinse my mouth with water. When I came back to the table, he was gone, and the bill was paid. I thanked my lucky stars and bolted out of there like a souldrake was nipping at my heels.

Kaiden grunts, then grimaces as though he swallowed something sour before crouching, gathering the containers, and stacking them back into the basket. He quickly folds the blanket, grabs our things, and pushes to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go. I have to call a Conclave meeting.”

“Okay,” I say, a bit confused by the urgency in his tone, and follow him back to the cabin. At least he’ll look for Tony’s friend. Maybe that will help him get some closure and finally move on.