by I. T. Lucas
Jacki snorted. “Dream on, buddy. That’s never going to happen. I wouldn’t touch you even if you were the last male on earth.”
“Ouch. Am I so repulsive?”
“Right now, yes. You are.”
With a sigh, Kalugal uncorked the wine. “You are a tough negotiator, Jacqueline. Maybe the wine will soften you up.” He poured the dark-red liquid into the two glasses.
“Not unless you plan on slipping a roofie into my drink.”
“I swear that there is nothing in this glass other than the best wine you’ll ever have the privilege of drinking.”
With such preamble, Jacki couldn’t force herself to refuse.
As she took a tentative sip, the wine’s flavors exploded in her mouth. It tasted of berries and chocolate and some other flavors she couldn’t name.
“How old is this wine?”
“Sixty-five years old. Only a small batch was made, and collectors around the world were going crazy trying to get their hands on it. Naturally, I outbid them all and got two bottles.”
She eyed him from under her eyelashes. “You outbid them or compelled them to sell it to you?”
“No compulsion was involved. I only resort to it when everything else fails. In this case, the money was compelling enough.”
She took another tiny sip, savoring the flavors for as long as she could. “It’s nice to be rich and get to buy whatever you want.”
He sighed dramatically. “I don’t always get what I want whenever I want it. Money can’t buy everything.”
She rolled her eyes. “They say that it can’t buy love, but that’s not true, or not entirely true. Having a big house and a fancy car and dressing in the best designer clothes will get you noticed. Which is the first step. And if you have an ounce of charm, you can easily turn it into love.”
17
Kalugal
Kalugal cast Jacki an amused sidelong glance. “I consider myself a charming fellow. Does it mean that I still have a chance of winning your heart?”
She grimaced. “When hell freezes over.”
As Kalugal had expected, Jacki wasn’t going to forgive him that easily.
It was understandable. He’d hurt her feelings, scared her, and had taken advantage of her. He couldn’t even apologize in earnest because if he could turn back time, he would do it again.
Proving that the tether was gone was even more important than winning Jacki’s affection.
He hadn’t given up on that, though. He could still have both the proof and the girl. Jacki was a fine female and a possible Dormant, and she was worth the effort.
Except, to work his magic, Kalugal needed more time with her than the mere eighteen hours or so that he had until tomorrow morning’s trade.
Kian expected him to deliver Jacki in exchange for communication with Areana, but Kalugal could just claim that he'd had a change of heart and was no longer interested in talking to his mother, and that he preferred to keep Jacki instead.
Would that be reason enough for Kian to start a war?
He doubted that.
Jacki was not a clan member, not yet, and she didn’t know anything important. Kian might rant and rave, but he would not go to war over her.
And perhaps Kalugal didn’t need to give up on talking to his mother entirely, only to postpone it until he managed to convince Jacki to stay with him of her own free will.
If Jacki agreed to stay, she would no longer be a hostage, and Kian would have no grounds for denying Kalugal communication with his mother.
Was there a way he could convince her to stay with him by tonight?
So far, there hadn’t been a woman he couldn’t charm, and some of them were much more sophisticated and experienced than Jacki.
How hard could it be to charm a country bumpkin like her?
Hard.
Jacki was smart, suspicious, and right now, he was at the top of her shit list.
He should start with humor, get her to lower her defenses, wine her and dine her some more, and then make her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
The question was what that offer could be.
She would refuse anything monetary, but perhaps a trip to Paris would do the trick?
A poor girl like her had probably never traveled abroad. He could invent some excuse about needing a female companion for some charity function. He would dazzle her with the prospect of wearing a designer gown, real diamond jewelry to match, flying to Europe on a private jet, and being driven down the Champs-Élysées in a limousine.
Even a stubborn and prickly girl like Jacki wouldn’t be able to say no to that.
Happy with his plan, Kalugal lifted the wine glass to his lips. “Who knows, maybe hell is already frozen? Maybe instead of fiery pits, it’s covered in ice?” He took a small sip. “Personally, I’m not a fan of the northern lands, which is why I think that Kian shouldn’t have built his sanctuary in Alaska, even if it was cheaper to do it there. Those poor kids deserve sunshine and green vistas after what they’ve been through. Not ice and snow.”
Jacki gave her wineglass a slight spin, swishing the deep red liquid around. “I bet this one bottle of wine could provide the sanctuary with meals for a month.”
“More like a year.”
Her eyes widened. “How much is this thing worth?”
“I purchased it fifty years ago, and it was pricey back then. I haven’t checked the auctions lately, but I guess it could fetch over three hundred thousand dollars.”
Jacki put the glass on the coffee table. “I can’t drink that.”
“Once a bottle is open, the wine will spoil quickly. It’s too precious to go to waste. We have to finish it.” He refilled the glass and handed it back to her.
“You said that you had another one.”
“I do.”
“You should sell it and donate the proceeds to a worthy cause. It doesn’t even have to be Kian’s sanctuary.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because you can, and because it’s the right thing to do.”
That was brilliant. Jacki had just handed him the perfect bait to reel her in. One that was even better than his Paris idea. After that little speech, there was no way she could refuse to do her part to help the poor victims of trafficking.
“I’ll make you an offer. If you agree to stay here of your own free will, I will donate twenty-five thousand dollars to Kian’s sanctuary for every day that you do.”
For a long moment, Jacki just gaped at him, and then she narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
Kalugal knew precisely what she was asking, but he played dumb. “You said it yourself. Because I can, and because it’s the right thing to do.”
“I mean, why do you want me to stay so badly that you are willing to spend so much money on it?”
18
Jacki
Jacki knew precisely where Kalugal was going with that and what he wanted in exchange for his contribution.
Should she feel flattered?
It would make her the most expensive whore in recent history, but a whore nonetheless.
She could tell him where to shove his twenty-five grand a day, but the problem was that it made her feel selfish. None of the money would go to her, so if she agreed to his proposal, she would be sleeping with him for a good cause, and it would probably not be such a terrible chore either.
Except, she couldn’t do it. Not even for charity.
Jacki had vowed to never have sex with a man who didn’t love her, cherish her, and was willing to spend the rest of his life with her. She’d held on to that conviction ever since men had started noticing her when she was twelve, she’d carried it into adulthood, and she wasn’t about to discard it now.
She’d had to compromise on so many things in her life. Simple things that others took for granted, like having a full belly, or sleeping without a baseball bat clutched in her hand. But she wasn’t going to compromise on love.
All or nothing. Now and forever.
But da
mn, she could be earning the charity over seven hundred thousand a month.
No, not going to happen.
Kalugal refilled his glass and motioned for her to drink some more from hers. “I want a chance to make it up to you for what I’ve done, and since you are not about to forgive me by tonight, I need more time to grovel properly and earn your forgiveness.”
He sounded so sincere, but she knew he was full of shit.
“I’m not going to have sex with you for money. I will not prostitute myself even for a worthy charity.”
Kalugal’s eyes widened, and he put a hand over his heart as if she’d wounded him.
What a damn good actor he was.
“I would never propose such a thing. I’ve never in my entire life paid for sex, and I’m not about to start with you. What gave you that idea?”
“Don’t play dumb, Kalugal. What else could you want from me? I don’t know any clan secrets, and I’m a nobody from nowhere. What I don’t understand is why you are even interested in me. A guy like you can have any woman he wants, with or without the use of compulsion.” She took a sip of the freakishly expensive wine. “Frankly, I don’t know whether I should feel flattered or offended.”
With a sigh, Kalugal reached for her hand. “Please forgive me for giving you the wrong impression. Perhaps I should have explained my reasons first.”
This should be interesting. “I can’t wait to hear them.”
“First of all, I want you to know that I would never expect sex from you or any other woman in exchange for material goods. I’m way too vain for that.”
That she could believe. “Okay. So why tempt me with that obscene amount of money?”
“Because you wouldn’t have agreed to stay for anything less.” He sighed. “I love my men like brothers, but I’m quite tired of strictly male company. Since I never leave the house without a shroud, the women I pick up in clubs don’t know who I am, or even what I really look like. I spend the night with them in a hotel or at their place, two at most, and then it’s back to this sprawling bachelor pad.”
“Poor baby,” she mocked.
“You think that I even notice the luxury? Once you get used to it, the wow effect dissipates, and all that is left is loneliness. You know who I am, and you know what I really look like, and it would give me enormous pleasure to just interact with you as me, not one of the many faces I wear. I want to talk to you and hear your feminine perspective on things. To me, it’s priceless.” He chuckled. “I’ve just proved that not everything can be bought with money.”
He was making it really hard to say no, and if he was sincere, then there was no reason for her to refuse. It wasn't like she had an important job she needed to get back to or even a place to stay.
She was a fugitive in need of a hiding place, and Kalugal’s mansion was perfect for that. It was protected by a state-of-the-art security system, there were guards posted at the gate, and there was even an underground bunker. The director could send an army after her, and it would hit a brick wall.
What did she have to lose other than her freaking heart?
Damn.
It wouldn’t be easy to stay indifferent to Kalugal.
Hell, who was she kidding?
She wasn’t indifferent to him now, but she wasn’t in love with him either. Not yet.
If what she was seeing now was the real Kalugal, though, and it wasn’t an act, she was going to fall for him in no time, and he would break her heart.
Decisions. Decisions.
“I need to sleep on it.”
19
Kalugal
It wasn’t a no.
“I wish I could give you more time, but I need an answer by tonight. Kian expects me to release you tomorrow, right after he lets me talk to my mother.”
“What’s the story with that? Jin said something about your father keeping your mom locked up in a harem?”
Telling Jacki the truth might paint him in an even worse light, but on the other hand, he could play on her sympathy. Women were suckers for sad stories involving children who’d been taken away from their mothers.
“Regrettably, that’s true. But it’s even worse than that. My brother and I were taken away from her as babies and raised by caretakers. If not for my compulsion ability, I would never have met my mother. When I was five, I snuck into the harem to see her. I compelled the guards to let me through and then forget that they had seen me.”
“Weren’t you scared?”
He chuckled. “The first time I did that I almost peed in my pants. But then I got bolder, and my mother worried that I would get caught and asked me to stop coming.”
Jacki’s hand flew to her chest. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for her to do that.”
Kalugal nodded. “She told me to keep my ability secret from my father and from everyone else. As far as my father knows, he is the only one with the ability to compel other immortals. My mother believed that it was best if he didn’t know that I inherited that from him.”
“Did she think that he would do something to you?”
“She implied it.”
“Poor woman. She is stuck living with a monster. Did you ever think about saving her?”
Kalugal smiled sadly. “Despite everything, she loves him. She doesn’t want to be saved.”
Jacki huffed. “She is brainwashed. After you get her out, you can get her into therapy and cure her of that.”
He laughed. “Can you imagine a therapist hearing her story? He would have her committed.”
“Not going to happen because you would compel him not to.”
“Oh, so suddenly you approve of my use of compulsion?”
She shrugged. “When it’s for a good cause, why not?”
“Who determines what is a good cause? I might think that it is, but you might disagree. Or the other way around.”
Jacki shook her head. “You like mind games, don’t you?”
“I like to ponder philosophical questions, and while you stay with me, we can have many stimulating conversations on various subjects.”
Jacki regarded him with narrowed eyes. “I might not be the best choice for that. I didn’t even go to college.”
Kalugal reached for her empty glass and refilled it. “I didn’t either, not officially. I sat in classes that interested me, paid professors to give me private lessons, and I read a lot. But since I had a lot of time to do that and I’m fairly intelligent, I gathered knowledge that is the equivalent of several degrees.”
“I’m impressed.” She lifted her wine glass. “To self-taught knowledge.”
“I’ll drink to that.” He clinked glasses with her. “So, what’s your decision?”
“When is the exchange scheduled for?”
“Seven in the morning tomorrow.”
“So if I give you my answer at six in the morning that should be fine.”
“I’d rather you gave me your answer by tonight, so I could call Kian ahead of time, but I don’t want to pressure you.”
She snorted. “Right. No pressure at all. If Kian lets you talk to your mother, you will not have an incentive to release me later. I might be stuck here with you forever. And just so you know, I still don’t trust you.”
“I understand. But I’m sure Kian would think along the same line and insist on safeguards. He will probably want to talk to you once a day to verify that you are still okay with staying. And don’t forget that each day will cost me twenty-five grand.”
“That’s what worries me the most. For that amount, you could have a bunch of Stanford professors sitting in your living room and discussing philosophical questions with you.”
“Ah, but I don’t want to hear their opinions. I want to hear yours.”
“Why?”
“Because your perspective is more important. To me, you represent the human race. The professors, with all due respect, are living in their ivory towers, and their opinions on things are shaped by their privileged existence. They think th
at they understand the struggles of the common people, but they don’t.”
“And you do?”
“I don’t either. That’s why I need you.”
The satisfied expression on Jacki’s face told Kalugal that he’d hit the jackpot. Finally, she could see herself contributing something that he lacked but needed.
20
Jacki
I must be nuts, Jacki thought as she followed Kalugal into the tunnel leading from the bunker to the house.
She already knew that she was going to say yes because he’d made it impossible to say no. The guy was a master manipulator, and yet she believed that he needed her.
It just made sense to her.
If she were in Kalugal’s proverbial shoes, living isolated from human society, in the company of other women who were strange creatures like her, Jacki would want to have at least one normal human male around to mix things up.
Heck, she couldn’t imagine herself living in a houseful of women like in some damn boarding school for girls. Despite the many negative experiences that she’d had with men, Jacki wasn’t a man hater because she’d had many more experiences that had been positive.
Most men were okay. They were just as sensitive and as vulnerable as women when it came to love. She still remembered how utterly devastated a couple of her foster brothers had been after breakups. In fact, they had taken it harder than the girls and had mourned the death of their relationships for much longer.
Contrary to popular belief, women were more emotionally resilient than men. Maybe it was because they were more cautious, more guarded, and expected to get hurt, while the guys did not.
“Normally, my men and I dine together, but for now, it’s going to be just you and me, Rufsur and Phinas.”
“Did I meet Phinas?”
He chuckled. “You did. The first time you and Jin tried to corner me outside that cigar lounge, he was there with Rufsur and me.”