“Atta girl!” Mark filled my glass again. This time I only slammed half.
“I swear I’m not an alcoholic,” I said, licking the bubbles from my lips. “It’s just been a strange few days.”
“No judgement here, sweetheart. Isn’t that right, Aiden?”
“None at all. Do whatever makes you happy.”
Whatever makes me happy? This was starting to feel like an all-expense paid vacation to paradise. No bills. Anything I want to eat. A huge pool. No mortgage.
Wait. My mortgage!
“Question.” Aiden and Mark both turned to me as I walked over to the overstuffed chair and sat back down. “When I got divorced, I ended up with the apartment... and the mortgage. It may be a crappy apartment, but they aren’t going to leave it sit unpaid for five years without the bank taking it back.”
“Yes. You’re right. How much do you owe?” Aiden asked, his chin resting on his hand while his elbow perched on the side of the couch.
“Thirteen hundred a month.” I winced at the large amount of money. At least large for me. Our rent in Milwaukee before we’d purchased in Chicago had been only seven hundred a month. With a pounding heart, I hoped we could find a way for me to work off my mortgage somehow. Shirking my responsibilities and debts didn’t sit right with me.
“No. How much do you owe total?”
“Total?” I hated even thinking of it. Jeff had insisted the apartment was a good investment. An up-and-coming neighborhood in Chicago. Buy low, sell high. And after he’d left me, I’d been thrilled to get it in the divorce settlement. I’d sell it myself and at least recoup some of the money I’d invested over the years. Then Mr. Bradley had to go and shoot his wife. Asshole. “Just over two hundred thousand.” The number still made me cringe.
My credit card debt! I almost forgot about that little parting gift from Jeff.
“I also have thirty-five thousand in credit card debt I need to keep paying on thanks to my dead-beat ex. He ran up seventy-thousand dollars without my knowing it, and thanks to the lovely state law about division of marital debt, I got to keep half of it.” I rolled my eyes. “Those collectors would find me even if you take me to Antarctica.”
“Mark?” Aiden said, his eyes still fixated on mine. “Pay off her bills and take care of her mortgage tomorrow. Make sure it’s all tidied up and in her name. Hire someone to check on her place twice a month and keep it cleaned.”
“On it!” He practically sang back.
“You’re shitting me.” I nearly spit out my champagne as I choked out the words. “My mortgage? You’re paying my mortgage? All of it? Right now? And my credit card debt?”
Aiden’s mouth pulled into something resembling a smile. With one slow nod he confirmed it. He was buying me my apartment.
“I don’t... what? Really? Why?” Complete sentences hovered just out of reach of my brain.
“Consider it a signing bonus,” Mark said with a smile.
My eyes remained locked with Aiden’s. There was a warmth about him now... and not just because he just bought me an apartment. He regarded me with a look that no longer made me feel like dinner. He seemed pleased to see my excitement. It surprised me.
My head suddenly felt swirly. It might have been the champagne. Or the shock of the apartment and my new lack of credit card debt. Maybe the blood loss. Probably a combination of all three.
“Are you all right?” Aiden sat forward, then shot a concerned look to Mark.
Mark jumped to his feet and reached my side in a matter of seconds.
“I’m fine,” I said, pressing my head between my fingers. “I’m just a bit woozy.”
“You’ve had a lot of excitement tonight.” Mark rubbed my back.
“I think I just need to lie down.”
“Good idea. Just get some rest,” Aiden said, concern threaded through his words.
With a nod, I pushed myself out of the chair and onto my feet. “Goodnight, guys.” I turned to Aiden. “And thank you. Really. You have no idea what this means to—”
My knees buckled and my ears rang. I collapsed toward the floor as my legs gave out. I didn’t even see Aiden move across the room, I only felt his arms wrap around me, stopping my impending collision with the floor. He lifted me up against his chest and my head settled on his shoulder as I blinked at him through black, speckled vision.
“Emilia,” he breathed. “Are you all right?”
My vision came back into focus. He stared at me, worry seeped out from the depths of his cold, hardened eyes, threatening to break through like a storm brewing on the horizon. Emotions swirled just below the surface, his eyes fighting to keep them there hidden beneath the thick layer of ice that had held them down so deep. The ice cracked now, and I could see him in there. I could feel him emerging from the depths of the frozen water. I could feel him gasping for breath and scraping for freedom. I swear I could see into the depths of his soul.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, my voice still quaking, though I didn’t know if it was from the dizzy spell or the emotions flashing through his eyes. They penetrated me.
“Mark,” he barked. “Get her orange juice, water and food. Now.”
Mark jumped and hurried out of the room.
“I think it’s time you laid down.”
A nod was my only response. He started with me to the stairs, the muscles in his arms unflinching beneath my weight. He made me feel small, fragile. Even, dare I say, safe? Safe in the arms of a vampire... that had to be an oxymoron.
He carried me to my bed and set me down on the sheets with great care. His arm slid out from under my head as I lay it back on the pillow.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I stared up at him while he sat crouched at my bedside.
“For what?”
“For being so, ‘damsel in distressy’, or whatever.”
Damsel in distressy? What the hell am I even saying? Ugh.
The concern on his face wavered and made way for another one of those almost smiles. At this rate I might get a smile with teeth by the time my five years ended.
“No need to apologize. Just get some rest. Please, let me know if there is anything you need. Anything at all.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and slid his arm the rest of the way out from under me. I hated to feel it go. He walked out of the room and glanced over his shoulder before turning down the hall. His blue eyes were so light they nearly glowed in the shadow of the dark room.
I stared at the empty doorframe and still pictured him standing there. I could still feel the coolness on my skin where his arms had been. He was cold, but not freezing. His skin felt like he had been out for a walk on a brisk, fall day. I snuggled down into my feather comforter. I had been right, Egyptian. Sleep rolled over me before Mark had even made it up with my snack.
“GOOD MORNING, SLEEPYHEAD.”
Mark stood above me blinking and... oh, that smell.
“Coffee.” I searched for the source through hazy eyes. My fingers found the cup and pulled it to my lips while I sat up.
“Careful, it’s hot.”
“Just how I like it.”
The scalding liquid stung my lip, but I pushed through the pain. The pounding in my head had but one nemesis... coffee.
“How are you feeling, sweetie? Are you all right? You almost took a tumble there last night.”
Mark felt like a mother as he stroked my hair. I liked it. Mine hadn’t been around much or very attentive when she was there. It felt nice having him with me. He was a welcome sight and a comfort while I assessed the intensity of my headache.
“Damn, my head hurts.”
“Here. Ibuprofen. Take these.” He slipped them into my hand and tugged the coffee from my other one. I resisted, furrowing as if he was taking away my favorite toy.
“Let. Go.” He chuckled and gave it one last tug, almost splashing the liquid as he ripped it from my grasp. “Pills with water first. Hydrate. Then you can have your bubbie back.”
F
ollowing orders, I swallowed my pills and guzzled my water. Cotton mouth tattled that a hangover was part of my problem.
“Shower. I’ll get breakfast. Then what do you think... you, me, pool?”
“I’m down with that.” A dip in the pool sounded amazing. “What about Aiden? Will he be joining us?”
Mark shook his head. “No, sweetie. It’s daytime. He’s locked in a light-tight room resting those baby blues.”
“Daytime. Right. That whole vampire thing.”
“Yeah. The vampire thing. Kind of a downer for daytime pool parties. The whole smoking and bursting into flames isn’t the best way to start the day.”
Laughing, I pushed myself up and out of bed. I still wore my dress from last night, and my shoes with it. Realizing I had slept in a pair of pink, sparkly Jimmy Choos may have been the highlight of my life.
“I’ll see you by the pool.” Mark left me to get my bearings and try to regain some sort of humanity.
I’d been too freaked out to shower in a house with a vampire yesterday. All I’d had were visions of the shower scene in Psycho flashing through my mind, so I’d skipped my morning shower and opted with a sponge bath in the sink. Now that I felt more comfortable, I stumbled to the oversized marble bathroom and dropped my dress on the floor. Kicking off my shoes I stepped into the glass shower the size of my kitchen back home.
Glancing around, I couldn’t find the shower head. I saw the valve I assumed controlled the water, but nowhere in this big, grey tiled box did I see the shower head. With a twist of the knob I stood off to the side, wondering what it would do. Warm droplets of rain poured down from the stainless-steel ceiling. I gasped as it rushed all around me.
Hell. Yeah.
A rain shower. I’d never even heard of such a thing. Steam enveloped me as the hot rain washed away some of the hangover that gripped my head tight. I spent too long in it before drying off, throwing on a suit and coverup and heading down to meet Mark.
“Out here!” he hollered from the patio out back by the pool.
I walked through the kitchen, noticing no dirty dishes and no aromas of eggs or bacon filling the air. My nose wrinkled from the disappointment over the lack of breakfast. Hangovers made me hungry... and cranky.
Stepping out into the warm late morning sun I found Mark sprawled on a chaise lounge poolside. I strode across the large flat stones that paved their way through the entire oasis.
“Come, sit, eat, drink, be merry.” Mark peered over his shoulder from behind his designer sunglasses.
There sitting on a tray atop the small table between two chaise loungers was a pile of bacon, a croissant, coffee and two Bloody Marys.
“Good God, I love you,” I said, flopping in my chair and eyeing up the spread. “Like, really, really love you.”
“Right back at you.” He blew me a kiss.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“I suggest the Bloody Mary followed by bacon, but please, do as you must.”
Leaning back in the chair I reached for the Bloody Mary. One long, slow sip and already I felt my hangover subsiding. Bacon would send it to an early grave.
“Where does this all come from?” I asked, realizing the kitchen hadn’t been used, but the food looked freshly cooked.
“Nancy and Mary.”
My eyebrow rose. “Who?”
“A few years ago I was complaining that since Aiden wouldn’t let me keep a cook, I was going to starve to death. I can seriously burn water.”
“Oh my God, me too.”
“Aiden doesn’t allow staff, you know the whole vampire thing, so for my birthday he bought a house down the road and hired two cooks, Nancy and Mary. They live there full time and the place is stocked better than any restaurant in the Midwest. Seafood, steak, pasta... you name it, it’s there. All we need to do is call and they whip it up and deliver it. He even got them this little catering truck complete with food insulators and warmers, so my food arrives hot and delicious. Greatest gift of all times.”
“Wow. That’s impressive. He’s very good to you.”
“Nah, he was just sick of hearing me and Jenny bitch about it. But it worked and now we have our own twenty-four-seven gourmet delivery service.” He clasped his hands behind his head and waggled his eyebrows at me.
One part of that story snatched my attention. “Who’s Jenny?”
“Jenny was the last you.”
My brow plunged into a deep furrow. “What?”
“Oh, she was nothing like you,” he said noticing my reaction. “She was Aiden’s donor. Our first, actually. She just finished her five-year contact a few weeks ago.”
It felt like jealousy gripping at my chest, but I shouldn’t feel jealous, right? I’m a donor. She was a donor. A hired hand. But jealousy flared up again as I pictured him latched on to her neck, sharing the same connection I had felt with him last night.
“What was she like?” I asked, though I instantly regretted it. Images of a young, leggy brunette flashed through my mind. Just like the one who’d resulted in my ex’s betrayal.
“Awful. A total bitch. The personality of a flounder.” His face twisted as if he’d caught scent of something foul.
“Oh.” I tried to hide the smugness in my voice. Good. I didn’t know her, but I hated Jenny. If Mark had held affection for her, I would have inexplicably felt betrayed. I would have felt sick if Aiden had. The thought surprised me.
“She was stunning to look at it. We found her just after she’d finished a photo shoot downtown. Legs up to her ears and perfect blonde hair.” He cupped his chest and bulged his eyes. “And huge knockers. Huge! Not that I’m into those things.” He puckered his face like he’d sucked on a lemon.
Beautiful? Now I really hated her.
“She may have been beautiful, but she was like having a fancy housecat around. Just lounging about with her pert nose in the air. Since she never interacted with us, we basically treated her like one. We fed her and kept her in the house and pretty much all ignored each other.” Mark laughed.
“How was she with Aiden?”
“Oh, he hated her. Loved how she tasted so he just woke up, drank from her and she went to bed. They rarely saw one another besides feeding time.”
Like a jolt, it appeared again. The flash of her, beautiful Jenny, with Aiden clinging to her neck. Did she taste better than me? The thought of it gave me another burst of jealousy. Knowing he hated her eased the blow just a touch.
“But now Jenny is gone, finally, and you are here. This situation makes me much, much happier. Aiden thinks so, too.”
“He does?” My head snapped around as I chomped down on my piece of bacon. “Why, what did he say?”
Mark eyed me up, wise to my game.
“It’s not so much that he said anything, it’s how he’s acting around you. He’s different. I can tell.”
“Really?”
“Really. Why, do you like him?” His eyes flashed like my middle school girlfriend, Alissa, when we used to hide under the covers with flashlights and admit to our lovesick crushes.
“I don’t like him like him!” I blushed. “He’s weird! And a vampire.”
“He’s gorgeous.” Mark waggled his brows again. “Don’t tell me you didn’t swoon when you saw him.”
I scoffed. “Okay, yeah, he’s gorgeous. But that still doesn’t mean I like him. It just means I’m not blind.”
“You’d have to be not to appreciate a man like that.” He blew out a puff of air.
“How did you meet him?” I asked, trying to divert the attention from me, though curiosity over how two such opposites could meet tickled my brain.
“I hit on him at a club.” Mark laughed.
“No! Really?” I stared at him over the pickle of my Bloody Mary.
“Yes. Really.” His laughter deepened.
“Tell.”
Mark rolled over onto his side and slid his sunglasses up onto his head.
“It was six, or is it seven, years ago?
I’m out at a club and in walks this six-foot-two, pale eyed, chiseled jaw, ripped muscles... well, you’ve seen him.”
I nodded along.
“The group I was with were fighting over him and I said, ‘screw it’ and marched over to him while they squabbled.”
“What did you say?” Aiden terrified me, so the thought of approaching him made my heart race.
“I said...” He doubled over in laughter, struggling to form words. “I said, to Aiden mind you, ‘Do you know what my shirt is made of? Boyfriend material.’”
“No!”
“Yes!”
We both fell backward, rolling in laughter. My whole body shook at the thought of Mark bravely marching up to Aiden and hitting on him with the worst pickup line in history.
“I can’t believe he didn’t kill you right there!” I said between gasps.
“I know!”
“So then what happened?”
He struggled to contain his laughter. “He ignored me, obviously. But I kept at it. I may have had a few martinis before this so let’s keep that in mind. So a few more cheesy pickup lines and he finally left. Not long after, I went out to hail a cab and saw him by the alley. The alcohol forced me to stumble over for one last go. I mean look at him, can you blame me for trying?”
I shook my head. “What did you say this time?”
“Oh God. Are you ready?”
“Ready.” He hadn’t even told me, but a stream of giggles escaped.
Mark snorted. “Do you work at Starbucks because I like you a latte.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
We both collapsed again and laughed until tears poured down our faces. Breathing became near impossible now while I gasped for breath.
“So then, he yanks me into the alley and slams me up against a wall. I think, he’s either gonna kill me or kiss me, preferably the latter. Turns out he was quite amused by me. He gave me an address, much how it happened to you, and when I arrived, he told me he needed a new assistant. Lots of money, great clothes and I made him sweeten the deal to do all his bidding.”
“With what?”
Mark speared me with a knowing look. “He’ll turn me after ten years of service.”
Into The Light (Immortal Hearts Book 1) Page 6