Dark Hunger

More than the shock, Owen and Nessa were stunned. They went completely still at this sudden turn of events. Their shoulders slumped and mouths fell to the floor. Nessa glanced around without really seeing anyone. She blinked slowly as if to take the things around her. She could hear the sound of her dreams shattering in her mind. She clutched Owen's hand as if to comfort herself. She saw him mouthing her name but she couldn't hear a word. Things went in slow motion and her head dizzied to the level that there was a ringing in her ears. A knot formed in her stomach and nausea rose. 

Now she wasn't even sure that Owen would retain his job or not. They had played a gamble in which they were sure to win, without understanding the stakes. Their stakes were high and they were like a gambler who was so confident that he would win that he put everything he owned at stake and then when he lost, he lost everything—every little penny and even his dignity. They were practically on the road now. Owen was working in the company for almost five years now and it was a stable job, but it was the greed that pushed them to the brink of losing everything, including their sanity. 

Owen held her hand and she walked out limply. On her way out she stared at Neal who was sitting on a chair, relaxed, with his head tilted and with a smile that made him appear darker than a devil. She passed him and then she didn't know what was happening. Her mind had become numb. All she remembered was that Owen had made her sit in the car and then brought her home. 

--- 

"I don't know if I did good to come with you on this date, Caleb," said Elize, nervous as hell to see so many people around her. She had, for the tenth time, smoothed her hair and the black jacket that she was wearing over white pants. 

They had come to Cairnryan and were staying in an upscale hotel. Auril had someone to talk to in the city and that was why they waited for a day. 

"Why do you say that, love?" he asked, as they cruised through a crowd in which women ogled at him openly. One even bumped into him and winked. He growled at her and she left pale as a ghost. "You look lovely!" He was scanning the crowd for men who were ogling at his mate and scaring them off with his demeanor. His wife was so beautiful that she would raise people from the dead.

"I won't be eating anything and though I am not that significant to be noticed, I would feel that people will notice me," she said in a low voice. Elize had put her colored contacts in her eyes. 

He raised his eyebrow. "No one will notice you?" he said with surprise. Over here he was giving a killing look to every man who was seeing her and this is what she thought. "Only men from fifteen to hundred are going to notice you!" 

She chuckled, nervously glancing around once again. 

"Don't worry, I am there," he said, as he opened a door to the restaurant where he had booked a table for two. Just three hours back she had given him a mind blowing release which he had managed to survive. A certain phone call had come from an unknown number and he had picked it up by mistake. She was greedily sucking his cock that time and he regretted picking up the phone. Later when they were lying down, he had suggested to her that he wanted to take her on a date and she had agreed coyly. "If you feel you are uncomfortable, we will get out of here instantly. Is that okay?" 

She bit her lip and nodded. He pulled her to the corner where the host guided them and all the time, he couldn't let his eyes off from Elize. He offered to take her jacket and put it on the hat stand but Caleb shot him a glare that clearly meant not to touch her else— Caleb assisted her to remove her jacket and he immediately tensed. She was wearing a shirt with a string tied across her neck and one across her back. It was a backless shirt. He snarled seeing so much of her skin in a restaurant full of testosterone charged people. Her back was so creamy, velvety that his mind went blank at the need to touch it. "Where is the rest of your shirt?" he asked, irritation setting in, which he tried to control. He splayed her large hand over the small of her back to show that he was her owner and if anyone shot a glance at her back, they would be dead. 

She warmed beneath his touch and wiggled a little. "The rest of it is in the front, waiting to be ripped." 

Damn! The girl was too hot to handle. Now the werewolf wanted to haul her over his shoulder and take her to the surrounding forest and fuck her after tying her to the tree till she screamed his name. He rubbed his hand over his mouth. When would he get inside her? They had just been exploring the bodies so far. "When I rip that cloth, you will be in big trouble, Lizzy," he rumbled. And she wouldn't be wearing this shirt ever again in the public. 

"Hmm… We will see," she said as if challenging him. They were taken to a private room upstairs where the table faced a large floor to ceiling window and overlooked the Irish Sea. Gourmet snacks were arranged on the dining table in an enticing display and on the right side of their table was a champagne bucket. 

Caleb made her sit and then leaned in her ear to whisper, "Watch the sunset with me, amor mio." He took the champagne and inspected the vintage. Then he popped open the lid and filled two flutes. He handed one to her and crossed to his side where he sat on his chair and watched her watching the last rays of sun going down. His heart thudded when the red and golden lights of the fireball fell on her cheeks, giving her a gilded appearance. Suddenly a vision flashed across his mind—of having his wife wearing nothing but gold. 

"This is beautiful," said Elize as she watched the sun set through the tinted glass, rays blazing over the water, setting it aflame. It had been a very long time since she had seen the beauty of nature. With a sigh she watched until the last ray had traveled beneath the sea and the water was a shade of deep blue and gray and black. She took a generous sip from her flute. She wondered what Owen and Nessa must be up to now. The last she remembered was when they had threatened that she better ask her husband to pay a hundred thousand dollar, else they would reveal her identity. And so far apart from a stray incident three days back, nothing happened.. She shoved those thoughts little knowing that her husband had taken care of her greedy family almost completely.