Page 39 of Dark Souls

Dangerous Hope

I drove recklessly, swerving around corners so low my knees grazed the concrete until I was back at the manor, all because I was itching to text Ilaria. I didn’t dare take the phone to an event where it could be reported back to The Devil by the bouncers or Wesley that I owned one. And I would be far too tempted to message Ilaria all night.

Climbing off my scrambler, I ruffled my hair back in place to get rid of the windswept look. I never bothered with a helmet. There wasn’t much point in taking safety precautions where I was concerned. The moment I entered the entrance hall, I paused. Something was… different. A warm glow shone from under the door of the library room. A room I had rarely set foot in. I inhaled deeply, catching the subtle but warming floral and spicy scent of rose and pepper. Shoving open the door, I held my breath when I saw Ilaria’s petite body curled up on the shabby sofa under a blanket. The crackling flames in the open fireplace, spitting and popping, melted the icy chill that always seemed at home in these old stone walls.

I approached slowly, staring down at her as she slept. Her white hair was cascading over the arm of the sofa and her soft, porcelain skin flushed a rosy shade on her cheeks from the warmth of the fire. I dropped to my knees beside her, mesmerised by her parted red lips and the crescent shadows her thick lashes cast on her cheeks. If she woke up and found me like this, she’d call me a fucking creep but I didn’t care. Her beauty was fascinating to me. I’d never seen anything like her in all my years on this Earth. And I knew nothing would ever compete with her in this life or the next.

When I finally tore my eyes away from her face, I noticed she’d fallen asleep with that thick, leather-bound journal in her lap, open on a page of her scribblings. If I had my humanity, I’d probably respect her privacy and close it. Instead, I gently lifted it from her loose grip and read.

What I know so far:

Heathen is a Demonski Upir. Is he the last one? He has a painful past. Were his loved ones hunted and killed?

The Knowltons were the founders of The Underground, dating back centuries ago.

Luka is an OLD vampire. How old? He also has a painful past. A witch bitch betrayed him. Why? What did she find out about him? Why was the coven looking for him?

Luka killed the entire Knowlton coven and now lives in their house. WHY?

They both work for The Devil who owns the club. Luka runs the events for him. Heathen kills for him. Again… WHY? What does The Devil have on them? How does he control them and force them to work for him when they clearly don’t want to?

Luka hates magic. Heathen said magic can ruin lives. Magic is a sore point - coming back to the Knowltons.

I am having flashbacks of Luka’s past when I sleep. WHY? How? Is it because we’re bonded now?

Luka turned off his humanity to numb the pain… how long ago? What caused him to do this? Will he ever turn it back on?

Heathen and Luka can’t talk about themselves or their pasts. Are they under a spell of some kind by The Devil? Is the Devil a witch or a warlock?

Luka told me his mother died a very long time ago. How did she die? Does he have any other family?

I swallowed at the last one, staring at the words but feeling nothing but numb. The urge to feel pain rampaged through me at just the mention of her. My mama .

“It’s a work in progress.”

I looked up to find her staring at me and then down at her journal with a small smile.

“It’s a good start.”

“It helps my brain to write things down. When you can hear everyone else’s thoughts, it’s hard to listen to your own.”

I closed the book and placed it back on her lap before lifting her legs and sitting down next to her. She placed her legs back over me and I delved my hands under the fluffy blanket that I’d never seen before, just to touch the smooth skin of her thighs.

“That must be hard,” I replied, realising for the first time just how much that could mess with a person. “And fucked up. Hearing strangers’ thoughts.”

“It is. It is why I’m so unsociable. And why I’m only really close to my family because I can’t read theirs.” She held me captive with those enchanting pink eyes as my fingers drew circles on her skin. “But it’s not so bad anymore. I’ve learned how to tune it out so I only hear it when I want to. When I focus. It took years of therapy to get me to the point that I could be calm enough to do that.”

“You had therapy?” I asked with my eyebrows raised.

“Still do. Don’t look so surprised. I’d be way more of a hot mess if I didn’t.” She smirked. “But yeah. It helps that my grandmother Alina is a trained therapist for supernaturals and I trust her implicitly.”

I nodded and moved my gaze down to the blanket. “It must be good to have someone to talk to so openly. Someone you trust with your secrets. I’m sure she’d have a field day with me. I doubt she’d ever come across anyone as fucked-up.”

“Mm, you’d be surprised. I know you can’t now, but one day, you’ll be able to.”

“What?”

“Talk to someone. Trust someone.” I looked away. Ilaria shuffled up the sofa so she was sitting but kept her legs on me, which I realised I quite liked. It felt… nice. Intimate. “What time is it?”

“Nearly four AM,” I answered. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, well, I live here.” She bit her bottom lip between her teeth and fought her smile as she studied me for a reaction. I was about to laugh at her joke, but then I noticed the suitcase and bag perched by the door. And the blanket that clearly wasn’t mine.

“What do you mean you live here ?”

“I’m moving in. I know wardrobe space isn’t going to be a problem, but I have still only bought half my clothes for now—”

I leaped from the sofa, my muscles screaming in protest as I reacted to the sudden surge of panic. Had she lost her mind? She wanted to live here? In this hellhole? With me?

“No!” I shouted, which earned me that sexy as hell glare I enjoyed so much.

“Bit late for no. I’ve already moved out. My parents think I’m living at Neve’s flat and I will spend some nights there so we don’t end up killing each other, but I thought—”

“You thought you’d move into a desolate, crumbling mansion that barely has a roof?”

“Well, yeah. It’s not ideal. And I am not thrilled about living in your ex’s haunted house, but you choose to live here, so here I am.”

“Fuck no, Ilaria! You cannot live here!” Dread was setting in when I realised what I was up against. The most stubborn and determined woman on the planet. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed me with a lethal glare.

“Do you not want me to move in with you?”

“What part of no do you not understand?” I roared, unable to comprehend how she thought this was a good idea. The Devil had access to this place. She couldn’t stay here. It was too risky. I immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say when she threw the blanket off her and stormed past me, grabbing her rucksack and suitcase. “I didn’t mean it like that—”

“Just point me towards a guest room with the least amount of cobwebs,” she snapped, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“What? You’re not leaving?”

“No.” She turned on her heels and started wheeling the suitcase out to the entrance hall. “I live here, remember?”

“It’s not safe for you to be here!”

“It’s not safe for me to be anywhere, apparently! I guess I should just wrap myself in bubble wrap and find a remote island where not even a mosquito would travel far enough to harm me. That’s the only way you and all the men in my life will be happy, right?”

I huffed, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes as I tried to find an ounce of patience for her dramatics. She continued regardless.

“Or maybe I should just find a tower somewhere, grow my hair like fucking Rapunzel and wait for my knight in shining armour to rescue me from a life of boredom like the damsel in distress you all perceive me to be.”

I moved towards her as she stood two steps higher on the stairs, throwing her arms in animated frustration and expelling so much pissed-off energy it was turning me on.

“Because, God forbid, I know what is actually best for me or perhaps, oh, I don’t know, I might prove to you all that I am a badass bitch that doesn’t need a fucking man to protect me.”

I stood in front of her, amusement in my eyes and licking my lips, which had her one woman performance falter slightly as she noticed the heated look on my face.

“I have fangs and claws, and I am not afraid to use them!”

“Is that right?” I husked as I pressed my body up against hers. Our noses were inches apart as her position on the stairs made her the same height as me.

“Yeah, it is.” She gasped, her chest rising and falling rapidly from being out of breath from her ranting but also because of her own arousal. I could smell how much she wanted me from the pheromones on her skin and it drove me wild. “And there is nothing you can do to stop me from being here. I know I am close to figuring all of this out and the answers are in this house. I can feel it.”

“You’re fucking crazy to want to live here with me.” I brushed my lips against hers as she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Yeah, well, if you haven’t noticed, I am crazy.”

I lifted my hand, which had dried blood all over my fingers and knuckles and wrapped it around her jaw. She grabbed my wrist in alarm, trying to get a better look, but my grip tightened until she stared into my eyes.

“You’re bleeding!”

“Don’t worry, love. It’s not my blood. Someone else’s.”

“Whose?”

“Alpha Hugo. I gouged out his eye.” She wanted me to be real with her? To not hold back my darkness? Well, here it is, love.

Her eyes turned to slits of confusion. “And why did you gouge out his eye?”

“Because he looked at me when he shouldn’t have.”

“So you blinded him? Because he looked at you.” She seemed baffled but not disgusted like I’d expected.

“And because he looked at you as though he could have you at The Pleasure Den.”

Her lips parted as her pink eyes darted between mine.

“That turns you on, doesn’t it?” I brushed my nose against the tip of hers as I dared her to deny it with her lips when her eyes were saying something entirely different.

“You really are fucking insane.”

“Well, I guess that makes two of us, love.”

Her disbelieving giggle was short-lived as I captured it with a passionate kiss, her arms embracing my neck and her legs locking around my waist. She broke the kiss far too quickly and I growled.

“So you’re agreeing? To me moving in? So I can figure this all out?”

She batted her lashes over those pink fucking eyes and gave me her award-winning smile that implied innocence. Beneath the angelic act was my seductive, cunning mate who, it seemed, already had me wrapped around her little finger. I quickly did the maths in my head. I had maybe two more weeks until The Devil came for his monthly cheque.

I groaned, pressing my forehead into hers as my gaze filled with desire. “You are such a stubborn little brat, aren’t you?”

“You’ve only just realised?” She threw her head and laughed so freely when I shook my head at her, showing defeat. A strange sensation of warmth filled my chest. Fuck. What was that? Happiness battling my conscious? If giving her whatever she wanted caused that sound every time, she could have it all.

“We really are insane, aren’t we?” She smiled down at me as I lifted her up by the backs of her thighs to carry her up the stairs to bed.

“If this is insanity, I’ll fucking take it.”

We didn’t make it to bed. In fact, we didn’t even make it up the full flight of stairs before we were semi-naked and too desperate for each other to wait.

I slammed her back against the wall at the same moment I ripped her top over her head, breaking our frantic kissing. Her hands flew down to my fly, unzipping and claiming my rock-hard dick as she squeezed and ran her thumb over my piercings. The sensation caused a guttural moan from my mouth before my lips were back on hers, making me crazed with every stroke of our tongues. Flattening her against the chipped wallpaper, she squirmed against my unyielding body, forcing her exposed, pierced tits pressing into my chest. There really was no better feeling than her soft, delicate skin against mine.

“Do you always get what you want?” I breathed against her lips as her hand worked my throbbing cock.

“Always,” she answered with a sexy smirk, those eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Then what does my stubborn little brat want right now?” My hand cupped one of her tits, flicking her pierced nipple hard, which made her whimper and attempt to arch her back.

“I want to choke on your cock until I nearly pass out,” she husked, causing me to close my eyes and moan at the flashback of her on her knees in that cabin. She took me so fucking well. “And if I do pass out, I give you permission to keep fucking me, anyway.”

“Jebati, that dirty mouth. It deserves to be rewarded, but I’ll make you a deal.” I nipped at her plump bottom lip, biting it between my teeth and releasing it.

“I’m listening, Dealer .” She tugged on my dick in answer and I tilted my hips up, pumping into her hand.

“I’ll fuck your pretty face as hard as you want. If you fuck mine after,” I growled as she tilted her head back against the wall and moaned in delight.

“Gods, yes.”

Bending down to take one of her pierced nipples in my mouth, I sucked hard, tugging the metal bar between my fangs and sending jolts of pleasure through her body. In a flash, I released her, pushing her down on her knees between my dick and the wall. I grabbed her jaw in my hand, forcing her head up to look at me, and the sight of her staring up at me with so much longing and excitement nearly had me coming all over her beautiful face before we’d even begun.

“Remind me how well you take my cock, love.”

She licked her lips seductively; her gaze falling to my erection as my dick bobbed in anticipation.

“Are you sure you can handle it, Red? Because it looks like you might come from just a lick,” she teased, that fire in her sparking my crazy.

“Spit on it, brat. Get it as dirty as you and I’ll show you just how well I handle it,” I ordered.

She did as I asked, holding my gaze as I groaned so loudly when her saliva coated the underside of my erect cock, running down my piercings and between my balls. I fisted my dick, rubbing my length up and down her face as she flattened her tongue against me, twirling it around my balls and back up my length. When her hot mouth sucked one of my balls inside while I pumped my fist up and down my cock, I nearly blacked out. Her nails dug into my ass, drawing blood and giving me that kick of pain I craved so much. She was too fucking good at this. She knew exactly what drove me insane.

Unable to take another second without her lips wrapped around my cock and buried down her throat, I grabbed her hair, tilting her head up to meet my gaze as her inviting mouth fell open wide, ready for me. At this angle, I could see all the way down her throat. Fuck. I rammed my dick to the hilt with no warning and, of course, she moaned like the little cock slut she was for me. I’d always thought women couldn’t actually like this. That they faked it or liked the idea of it, but the reality never hit the spot. But my girl… She fucking loved sucking my dick. I could see it in her eyes. Her relinquishing control, something I intensely desired, didn’t change the fact that she remained in charge. That mouth had the power to rip open my dark soul and send me to a place I had no business being in. Heaven. She challenged me with those irresistible eyes, giving me permission to release the beast within.

I fucked her throat raw. With her head against the wall, tears and saliva flowing down her face, I couldn’t hold back any longer and released myself into her open throat with a last thrust. Holding myself there as she swallowed, I felt her throat squeezing every drop out of me. My nails dragged down the dated wallpaper as I roared out my ecstasy and finally stepped back. She gasped for an overdue breath, sliding further down the wall until she was sitting on the step and panting heavily. Damn, I think she really might have passed out from the lack of oxygen for a second.

I spun her sideways, forcing her to lean back on the stairs as I dived between her legs, eager to return the favour. Running my fingers along the seam of her thong, I groaned when I found them completely drenched and ripped them off her with one aggressive tug. My eyes lingered on her perfect pussy, making my starved mouth water.

“You’re going to grind this pussy against my tongue. My nose. My chin. My whole fucking face. Soak me until I am as soaked as your little thong was when my dick was balls deep down your fucking throat.”

“Yes. That’s what I want,” she moaned, grabbing fistfuls of my hair and pressing my mouth up against her core. My tongue darted out, unable to avoid the temptation of swirling and licking up the length of her, into her tight little hole and over her clit. I grabbed her hips when she started grinding against me and helped her to keep the pace. My tongue dipped back inside her pussy as I licked her out and my nose rubbed circles against her clit. Gasps and moans echoed around the abandoned house, only her pleasure giving any life to the desolate place. She tugged on my hair, fucking my face faster as I ravished her clit, pussy and her ass. I almost came again myself. Every time I heard those sweet moans or her passionate cries of my name as she rode out her orgasm, it inflated me with pride. I might not give her what she needs emotionally from a relationship but this… this I was fucking good at. And I’ll give it to her whenever and however she wanted it.

Before she had time to come down from her high, I grabbed her and lifted her by her ass. Ramming my cock inside her, I fucked her vigorously against the wall as her legs strangled my hips and I pinned her arms above her head. Her fangs snapped down as her eyes flared red, unwilling to keep herself tamed. I loved seeing her as wild and feral as she made me. Her true nature. Her fangs sunk into my neck and I threw my head back in a roar as I pounded her pussy while she took everything from me. Everything she craved was hers for the taking.

When she’d drank enough, I spun around and threw her body over the wooden railing, her upper half hanging over the height of the first floor, and grabbed her hips, before lining myself with her soaking entrance again. I wrapped her hair around one of my fists, pushing her head further down so she felt the thrill of fear, but she knew I’d never let her fall. I buried my cock in her as deep as it would go, watching it disappear with every powerful thrust as my hips slapped against her tight ass. Her cries of fear and moans of pleasure, unsure which to give into more, were the trigger for my release as I emptied myself inside her, swearing in my own native language.

I gently pulled her back over the banister and lifted her in my arms. Leaving our discarded clothes on the stairs, I walked us towards the bedroom as she sighed with contentment and placed her head in the crook of my neck.

“I had something important to ask you tonight but you just fucked the question right out of my head,” she mumbled sleepily as I chuckled.

“Couldn’t have been that important then,” I replied, entering the bedroom and placing her carefully onto the old bed. Her nose wrinkled as she thought hard and I tried to suppress the urge to bite it.

“Oh, that was it.” She sighed, closing her eyes and pulling the bedsheet over her body. “I know it’s random but just humour me. Did any vampires die at The Pleasure Den? Say two members that belong to the Romano Clan?”

I froze. Shit.

When I didn’t answer immediately, she opened her eyes and sat up. “Oh my god. They did, didn’t they? Luka, you were meant to say ‘that is a random question and the answer is, of course not!‘ “

“Okay. That is a random question and the answer is, of- “

A pillow was launched at my head with force.

“How did they die? Wait, did you kill them?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Not sure. I might have done.”

Her eyes widened. “How do you not know if you killed a man that night?!”

“I know I killed a man. I think I killed three, actually. But I can’t say for certain who they were. I was a little... preoccupied with trying to get to you. More were killed in the... fighting.”

Realisation sunk in as a hand slammed across her mouth. “You killed them because of me?”

“I killed them because they were trying to get to you in your... delicate state. Yes. Let’s just say I wasn’t in a very forgiving mood.”

She dropped her hand to the bed and stared at the sheet for a long moment. I ran my hand through my hair a little awkwardly, well aware we were having this conversation while I was still completely naked.

“I take it Arius knows then?”

She swore under her breath. “He’s suspicious. He’s not stupid. By tracking their phones, he knew they were at the event. He put two and two together. How the hell am I going to explain this to him? The soldiers’ families want answers. They’re demanding he investigate; otherwise, they’ll take this to my parents, forcing them to bring you in for questioning.”

“Oh, goody. That will be a nice way to meet the family. When I’m held on trial at the high court.” I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest as she rolled her eyes with sass.

“It’s not a high court. That’s what it was called when The Council was in power. They now hold trials at the palace. And that won’t be happening.”

“No? Will I be exempt from all sinful acts for being your soulmate?” I mocked.

“I’ve got it!” she shouted, clearly ignoring me as her eyes brightened and came alive with a genius plan that made my lips twitch with amusement. “I’ll tell them you killed the vampires because you overheard what they were planning to do to me. I’ll make something up. Some sordid sex act in one of the bondage rooms. I have lots of inspiration after reading so many pervy thoughts from that night, anyway. They will buy it and be so blind with rage at the thought, they’d be patting you on the back for killing them.”

I stared at her, wondering if she had really gone quite mad.

“My grandpapi will just have to deal with the families in some other creative way. He’ll think of something. And because you swore to protect me through a blood bond, he’ll believe it. What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

I blinked twice. “You are willing to lie to your family... to cover for me?”

“It’s not a lie. It’s just a bending of the truth. You were protecting me. Now, let me protect you. I can’t have you meeting the whole family in magical handcuffs on trial for double murder now, can I?”

She smiled so sweetly that it stole the next breath from my lungs. I dropped to my knees on the bed and crawled towards her, forcing her to lie down.

She snuggled into the pillow and I slid a lock of her white hair out of her face and stared at her again, unable to believe she was mine. I’d never considered myself a lucky man in this life. In fact, my life had been a series of unfortunate events, one after another. But finding Ilaria. That wasn’t one of them.

She yawned loudly and I smirked.

“Sleep, love. It’s nearly sunrise.” I kissed her on the lips and she hummed, falling into a light sleep immediately. I envied how easily she could drift off, but at least it gave me uninterrupted time to stare at her again.

Shifting myself next to her, careful not to wake her, I let my mind wander to places it had rarely been before. Places of hope and vulnerability. After hundreds of years fighting for my freedom but only finding misery and captivity, I’d forgotten what it felt like to want more than to simply exist. The only reason I hadn’t given up was to keep my sister alive. But now… as I stared at Ilaria’s peaceful face, feeling that strange warmth in my chest that only ever came when I was in her company, another emotion was creeping beneath the surface of my skin. Fear.

Because I no longer felt alone anymore and I was terrified of losing her. What would her family do if they found out about us? How would they react? I doubted I would be their first choice for their princess, probably not even their last. But the bigger fear was how she would react when she finally learned everything there was to know about me. She says she can handle it and won’t leave, but she can’t possibly know that.

Dangerous hope and longing were dangling before me; all I had to do was reach out and take them. But that’s what scared me more than anything. Growing up, the world felt hostile, each interaction a potential threat, and I was taught from a young age to trust no one in this life. Once, I’d ignored that advice and took a chance. I put my faith in a woman, hoping for happiness and acceptance. And look how well that turned out. But Ilaria wasn’t Belladonna. I had to believe that. I knew that in my bones.

My mouth was dry as I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and slipped off the bed. Lifting a trembling hand, I swept it through my hair and glanced around the dusty, damp-ridden room. She was going to stay here. In this shithole. My gut twisted with something angry and sinister as that realisation sunk in. I didn’t want her here. Not because I didn’t want her with me, as that was so far from the truth, but because I didn’t want this place to infect her with its poison. To fester within her like a virulent infection, its tendrils wrapping around her heart, never to be cured. But she was right. The answers to all her questions were hidden within these walls. Allowing her to be here and giving her access to my life was the best and quickest way to let her in.

It was time. I was ready to put my trust in her and risk it all. I just prayed that when she finally knew the ugly truth about who I was, she’d still be willing to do the same for me.