My two boys followed my progress down the stairs, their eyes glowing with the same wild eagerness. The other man goggled and choked, and coughed into his hand.
Eric crossed the room and held out his hand, helping me down the last few steps. “You look lovely, Gianna.”
I smiled and accepted the light kiss he pressed to my mouth. The salmon colored dress I wore had thin straps and draped over my body in soft folds and flows. Alice had found it for me during our shopping trip and insisted that this was the dress I needed to wear on my birthday.
I was coming to learn that she was always right about those sorts of things.
I’d paired my new dress with low heels and a matching purse, and had worn the necklace Alice had given me for my birthday. It hung below the hollow of my throat, warming with the heat of my skin, a reassuring weight.
“This is Gregory Dumont, a friend of Jason’s,” Eric said.
Up close, I could see why Jason had picked Gregory for Alice. It wasn’t simply his handsomeness, the high cheekbones, warm chocolate eyes not quite as dark as mine, and the sensual mouth; broad shoulders topping a long, muscular frame, slender hands held still at his sides. He was kind, gentle. It vibrated from him through the air between us. I caught a muted loss that baffled me, more because it accompanied a flickering image of a raging fire than anything.
“I know you don’t remember me, but we used to have classes together.” Gregory’s mouth curved into a fleeting smile, there one moment, gone the next. “Jason explained about your accident and the reason they had you declared dead. I’m sorry about your family, sorry those people came after you like that.”
“I don’t really remember much.”
He nodded, and the image of a horrible fire ate at me again, along with a faint roar and a singeing heat in my nostrils.
I shook it off as unobtrusively as I could, held out my hand and accepted his, and staggered back when the shadows lifted abruptly from my mind.
“Easy there, sweetheart,” Eric murmured. “He has that effect on everyone.”
“How dare you bring him here?”
We all turned to Alice, who stood on the bottom step wearing a black satin sheath, her hand on the newel and her eyes as cold and hard as glass. “This man is a danger to us all, and you allow him into our very heart. What were you thinking, Eric?”
Gregory’s mouth snapped shut. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
Jason snagged Gregory’s arm, holding him in place. Eric’s eyes had gone as hard as Alice’s. His stare was calm, calculated, and she gasped under its weight. Her blue eyes darkened slowly to black and her knuckles whitened under the pressure of her grip on the wooden newel. I went to her, sliding my hand around her waist, steadying her as she sagged.
“There’s nothing to worry about.” Eric smoothed his tie down, completely unruffled. “Is there, Alice?”
She shook her bowed head slowly. Blonde curls cascaded around her face, hiding her expression. “No,” she said, her voice thick with an emotion I couldn’t read.
“Are you ok?” I whispered.
“I’m fine. Really. Your husband is simply…persistent.”
I glanced between them, certain I’d missed something. “It was my idea. Well, mine and Jason’s, really, for Gregory to come along. I know you’ve been sad and I wanted to help.”
Her laugh was low, lacking even a trace of humor, and her lower lip trembled slightly. “Oh, Gianna. You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“I think I should go now,” Gregory said.
Eric turned that frigid gaze on him. “You will accompany us.”
“If she doesn’t want me here…”
“Stay, man. She’s just a little rattled, that’s all.” Jason patted Gregory’s back. “And she’s been very naughty.”
Alice laughed again, though this one held the sweet amusement she was known for. “Don’t think your knowing my secrets will sway me, Jason.”
He grinned. “Man’s gotta live for something, sweet cheeks.”
“Stop teasing her, Jason,” I chided, and left Alice’s side to press a kiss to his sweet cheek. “I’d like my present now, if you don’t mind.”
“Greedy.” He pulled me close and bent, nuzzled his face along my throat. “Missed you.”
Eric came to stand beside us and placed a hand on each of our backs. Jason stiffened slightly, then relaxed, and I would’ve thought I’d imagined it except for the subtle tightening of Eric’s mouth.
I drew away from them, puzzled, and caught a fleeting thought from Eric.
Not tonight, Jase.
I followed the trail of it in my mind to the edge of their connection where it dead-ended, leaving a residual of emotion I could grasp and examine. They’d argued over…something. Family? Me and… My fingers curled into fists as I struggled through it. Me and someone else and what it meant to be family, You know that, Jase. Light flared toward me, streaked with dark tendrils where the light had thinned, their bond seeking mine. I mentally backed away, unwilling to risk being drawn into it until I was strong enough to control the process.
Jason handed me a soft-pink gift bag. “Happy birthday, Gigi.”
He and Eric were both smiling at me, showing no trace of the animosity I’d sensed between them. I took the bag and pulled out three gifts, opened them each in turn. A charm bracelet from Eric with a basketball and a star dangling along the slender chain. A thin gold ring with an inset topaz from Jason. And from the both of them, a double strand of pearls.
I ran my fingers over the necklace’s ivory sheen. It resonated with a simple joy that seemed familiar somehow. A moment later, I realized the emotion was coming from within me, stuttering out of my own heart in irregular spurts. I found Jason’s bond in my mind, gripped it tightly, and with it anchoring me, fell into my center…
(…beautiful, sweetheart. A man, tall and proud, smiling down at me. Isn’t she beautiful, Gigi?...)
My eyes fluttered open. I hadn’t known they were closed until that very moment. “These were my mother’s.”
Eric’s hand rubbed gentle circles over my back. “You remembered.”
“Sort of.”
I wasn’t ready to share what had happened, especially since I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing. I sure as hell wasn’t ready to admit that I could do whatever it was with others. Vampires were touchy about the privacy of their minds, and today was my birthday. Surely there was time enough for all that later.
Eric fastened the bracelet he’d given me around my wrist and I slid Jason’s ring onto the ring finger of my right hand. I gave the box containing the necklace to a passing manservant and asked him to take it to my rooms, and then we were off, a party of five. A fine tension flowed under the surface of our gaiety. I chose to ignore it and settled into the car between the two men who loved me best, leaving Alice and Gregory to the seat across from us.
Chapter Five
Five minutes into the drive, and no one had said a word. Jason and Eric each held one of my hands, their thumbs stroking over my skin with the exact same rhythm.
Did they know they were doing that?
I glanced furtively between them. Eric’s gaze rested on Alice, who was roundly ignoring him, her stare seemingly fixed on the nighttime scenery flashing by, barely visible through the car’s tinted windows. Jason was watching me. One corner of his mouth was tilted upward. My heart trembled and thumped, spreading heavenly heat through me. That smile I knew very well.
“What do you have against me?”
Gregory’s soft voice fell into the silence. His hands, clasped loosely together on his lap, held his attention, though we all knew who his words were directed to.
Alice’s hand tightened on her clutch, her milky skin flawless against the fabric’s muted sheen. “I have nothing against you.”
“Be honest, Alice,” Eric said. “Or I will.”
Her head bowed and her body stilled absolutely, as if she were a beautifully rendered statue instead of a flesh and blood
vampire.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, like an angel.” Gregory slid one hand toward her along the seat, stopping just shy of touching her. “I knew an angel once.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking of me,” she whispered.
His hand crept away from her. “I’m not asking anything of you.”
She raised her eyes and stared at Eric. “He is.”
Jason’s hand tightened on mine, as if he’d read my intent even before I had.
“What is he asking of you, Alice?” I asked, and she turned those beautiful eyes on me, so full of loss and anguish, I flinched.
“You have to face it eventually, sweetheart.” Eric leaned forward and stretched out his other hand. “The past can’t be undone, and I need you to be whole. You know I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”
She eyed his hand and grasped her clutch in a tight grip. “You ask too much.”
His smile was gentle and kind, and completely unyielding. “You know me. This is only the beginning.”
She huffed out a laugh and relented, clasping his fingers with her own. “Sometimes I think the only reason I put up with you is because you’re so handsome.”
Gregory shook his head and turned away from her. “That made not a lick of sense.”
“Get used to it, man,” Jason said. “Things around here are never what they seem. Are they, Gigi?”
I don’t know why, but that struck me as funny. A giggle burst out before I could contain it. Alice hid a wide smile behind her hand. I grinned at her, and then we were both laughing, and laughed even harder when the men exchanged knowing glances and muttered under their breaths about women. Eric and Jason’s minds brushed over mine with warm humor, and poor Gregory just looked confused, but it was ok. The tension had broken, and afterward, we all chatted like old friends.
Well, the men did, anyway. Alice and I beamed at each other and listened to them. Every once in a while, she’d glance sideways at the man sitting next to her, his expression animated as he and Jason talked basketball. Less frequently, her gaze would find Eric’s, and it was then that I caught something coming from her I’d never expected.
Hope.
I didn’t pry. It was rude, I knew that, but it was also my birthday. And I wanted to coax it out of her in private when the men weren’t around to interfere or embarrass her.
That gift certificate to NetFlix sure would come in handy.
We ended up at a restaurant in Midtown, crowded around a table with me seated between Eric and Jason, and Alice between Jason and Gregory. A slender young man wearing a crisp white shirt and black slacks approached with menus and recited the specials.
Eric said, “You should have a bottle of champagne on ice for our party.”
“Of course, sir.” The waiter smiled easily. “If I could see your IDs, please?”
Eric glanced at Alice. She caught the waiter’s gaze and lifted her lips into a slow, seductive smile, “Jack, is it? You don’t mind starting with me, do you, Jack?”
A faint flush spread through the waiter’s peaches and cream complexion. “Ah, no, ma’am.”
“Come, then.”
She held out her hand and beckoned him, maintaining steady eye contact, coaxing him around the table. He moved as if mesmerized and halted beside her.
I knew very well what Alice was doing, though I’d never seen it done. All vampires had a rudimentary ability to control their blood source, though the precise nature of that ability varied in strength and kind from one to the next. My strength eluded me. Try as I might, I couldn’t even influence a willing pet, let alone an unknowing one.
Jack dropped to his knees beside her, his face turned toward her, a sunflower worshipping the sun.
She stroked a finger along his cheek. “You don’t need to see our IDs, do you, darling?”
“No, I…” Jack blinked. Alice leaned closer, her eyes going black as she focused on him, and he relaxed and smiled. “No, I don’t. Y’all are all over twenty-one.”
“That’s a good fellow.” Alice touched her fingertips to his lips and released her hold on him. “Would you fetch the champagne for us now, Jack?”
He shook his head, stared at her for a moment, then rose slowly. “As you wish, Mistress.”
After Jack left, Gregory leaned close, brushing his suit-clad shoulder along her bare one. “What was that?”
“Just a little trick I picked up here and there.” Alice winked at me. “Would you like for me to use it on you, Mr. Dumont?”
His laugh was short and soft. “Don’t think you have to.”
“Is that so?” She glanced at him without turning her head. “Would you do my bidding willingly?”
“I think I might at that.”
I followed their conversation, fascinated. I’d observed Alice around plenty of men. Pets came and went at Elizabet’s with a surprising frequency, rotating through a roster Marco managed with a ruthless efficiency. I hadn’t met them all yet, but I’d met enough to know how they all reacted to Alice’s natural charm, though she rarely if ever opened herself completely to them. To Eric and Jason, yes, but they were rare exceptions. Even Devin, Marco’s eventual replacement as Elizabet’s favorite, didn’t warrant the same ease she had with my husbands. To watch her openly flirt with a man, especially one she seemed to have a grudge against, surprised me.
And it pleased, me, too. She was lonely, no matter what she said.
Eric’s mind met mine briefly. Don’t worry too much over her. She’ll be fine, once she accepts what has to be done.
I glanced at him, startled. He was watching Alice intently, a small smile playing around his sensuous mouth. Was he influencing her, making her do something she wasn’t comfortable with?
His hand squeezed mine. No, sweetheart. She’s opening up on her own.
Relief washed over me in a rush. I wasn’t sure if I liked the influence Eric had over Alice, though I wasn’t sure of its form, but that was immaterial compared to my concern for her. I’d felt the agonizing sorrow she kept carefully hidden. She needed no other burdens laid at her door.
Jack returned with the champagne, poured glasses for us all, and slipped unobtrusively away.
Eric raised his glass and nodded to me. “To the birthday girl, my wife and heart. May her second life be long and full of light.”
“Here, here,” Jason said.
The five of us raised our glasses, clinking them together. The sound held and expanded in my head, and memory threatened, the music and laughter of another time pushing against me. I closed it off quickly. The past had no place in this celebration, nor did the shadows that would surely follow, rising up from the depths of the Before and out of the corners they now occupied in my mind.
Jason touched his mouth to my ear. “That’s it, Gigi. Don’t let it control you.”
I smiled, though it took some effort.
Jack brought appetizers, a band set up in the corner. Their first song rang out when we were halfway through the spinach and feta cheese crêpes. Eric placed his napkin on the table beside his plate and stood, gazing down at me with a smile that held everything in his heart.
I knew. I could feel it.
“Dance with me, wife.”
Something dark and ugly pinged through my bond with Jason, and was just as quickly closed off. I glanced at him, surprised to find his expression calm. “I’ll be right back,” I promised, and he nodded, though his cornflower blue eyes glittered with an emotion I couldn’t place.
I slid my hand into Eric’s, laughed when he pulled me onto the postage stamp dance floor and swung me into his arms. My heels, slight as they were, put us at an equal height. Temptation beckoned and, because it was my day and I was feeling a little reckless, I rubbed the tip of my nose against his.
He flattened my hand against his heart and inched us more closely together. “When we get home, will you do that again, only without all the clothes?”
“I will, absolutely.” His heart was a steady rhythm und
er my fingers, not much faster than the languid swish of the song. “What’s going on with you and Jase?”
He shrugged. “We’re both mule-headed fools.”
“Well, stop,” I said, and a swell of emotion rolled through me, taking me unawares. “I can’t take it, having the two of you at odds. You’re supposed to love me. We’re supposed to be one, and that’s never going to happen if…”
“If what, sweetheart?”
His voice was soft, kind, and it tore at me. I needed him, needed them both in order to be whole again, but more, they needed each other. Why couldn’t they see that? “If you don’t love each other.”
“We do.”
“Not enough to stop arguing.”
“Everybody argues, Gianna, no matter how strong the love.”
“Not like this,” I whispered. “I can feel it between you, a darkness tainting your bond, hovering over the light, crowding out the love in your hearts.”
His eyes went wide and round. “What?”
“Can’t you see it?” I closed my eyes and opened myself to him, guiding him to the place where the memory of that darkness lived. “Can’t you feel it?”
“No, I…” His breath feathered across my mouth. “Jesus, Gigi. I had no idea you could do that.”
My eyes popped open and my heart balled itself into a tight knot in my chest. “Don’t tell anyone. The cage, I…I didn’t mean it, I swear.”
Jason appeared on the dance floor, towering over us. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said.
Eric gripped my chin between two of his fingers and lifted my face to his. “Tell Jason what you told me.”
I opened my mouth, closed it. Searched for a way to explain that wouldn’t sound as stupid as I felt. “There’s a darkness between you, along your bond.”
“What?” Jason gaped at me. “How the hell can you tell that? We’ve closed it off to you.”
“No, you haven’t.” I glanced between them, puzzled by the twin looks of disbelief. “Before we left, I followed Eric into your mind, and your bond sort of pulsed toward me, and it wasn’t pure, not like it was when I first left the cage.”
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