I pulled out the stopper with unnecessary force and got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around my hips. Stalking into the bedroom, I started getting dressed, jerking my jeans on and a sweater over my head. Mentally I poked a finger in Kristair’s direction. “Wake up, you ass.” He had to tell me how to get this damned ink off. It couldn’t be permanent. He didn’t use needles so there had to be some kind of trick to it.
After several more hard pokes, I gave up. He wasn’t stirring. It must be nice to sleep, with such blessed unconcern, while I was having a fucking panic attack over here! Grumbling, I ran a comb through my hair. Not that I should bother. The fricking cowlicks made it stand all up on end regardless of what I did.
I yanked open my bedroom door just as Tony was getting ready to knock on it. “I’m coming. Geez.” Tony and Steve exchanged glances, but I really didn’t give a crap what my friends thought about my attitude. I had only two objectives in mind: to get food, and to get my hands on Kristair. Not in a good way either.
“Oh man, I met this hot chick last night,” Tony said as the three of us pulled on our heavy coats. I jammed a skullcap down over my hair before fastening every button on my parka. It was my third year in this godforsaken city and I still hadn’t gotten used to how cold it got in the winter.
Steve snorted. “You’re always meeting hot chicks, but nothing ever happens after that.”
“Oh that’s cold, man, real fucking cold.”
We walked toward campus, but I didn’t pay much attention to my roommates’ banter as we went. My hands were thrust deep in my pockets, and I stared moodily down at the ground, aware on some level we were retracing the path Kristair took sometime after I had fallen asleep.
“You okay, Jake?”
I nodded at the sound of Steve’s voice near my ear. “Yeah, just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
I knew Steve would’ve liked to pursue it, but something in my expression must’ve warned him off because he didn’t say anything else. Guilt prickled, but I had no desire to discuss this most recent upheaval in my life. How could I expect either of them to understand? Hell, I wouldn’t believe it myself if I hadn’t actually experienced it. I could just imagine what the looks on their faces would be right now:
“So um, remember that stalker I had back in the fall? Well, he never really went away like I let you believe. See, I found out that he was a vampire and I figured you were safer if you didn’t know—that whole ignorance is bliss thing. Well, we screwed each other senseless last night, and I let him do some magic on me, and now I have his heart in my chest. Not to mention all of these blue markings that had better not be fucking permanent or else I’m gonna have my ass handed to me.”
Yeah right, and then Tony and Steve wouldn’t hesitate to send the men in white coats after me. I wouldn’t blame them if they did.
My mood lightened as the O came into view. There was nothing that a little grease wouldn’t cure, or in this case, loads of grease. It was crowded, as usual, when we entered and I saw the pizza line was too long to wait in so we split and I made a beeline for the grill instead.
By the time Tony and Steve joined me with their pizza, I’d already wolfed down one of my BBQ bacon quarter-pounders and was working on the second.
“So, did I miss anything important?” I asked Tony. It was nice having a buddy in class. It gave us the opportunity to split responsibility.
“Nah, just a lecture on social experimentation,” Tony replied, transferring two huge slices to his plate. “It was your turn to take notes though.” He gave me a sour look.
“I’ll take them next time.” At least today was Tuesday. I only had two classes to worry about, and I doubted that they did much in Lit. I wouldn’t have been able to contribute anyway. I still hadn’t looked at the damn material. Who wanted to read Hudibras anyway? I’d never even heard of it until I got the syllabus.
“Now that the college bowls are over with, you have no excuse to be skiving all your work off on me.” Tony grinned. “I just might take the next couple classes off and let you deal with it.”
“Kiss my ass.” I smiled back, my tension starting to ease in his and Steve’s company. It was time for me to get on the ball about school though. I couldn’t take the chance of screwing up and losing my scholarship. There was no way I’d be able to afford to go to Pitt otherwise and I was not about to drop out when I was already halfway finished. How else were the NFL scouts ever going to find me? Besides if my grades slipped again, Coach would kill me.
The hollow ache in my stomach had eased, but I was still hungry, so I reached over and swiped a slice of pizza as well. Tony and Steve were whacked. Only they would order ground beef and onion, but I was too starved to care about their weirdness.
“I want to have a Super Bowl party,” Steve said. “You’re going to have to get the keg though, Jake.”
“No prob. I’m not cooking anything so don’t even ask.” I grimaced as I thought of my job in the cafeteria. I hated it, but it was worth it to have my own place with my friends.
“Ah, come on.” Steve snickered, punching me on the shoulder. “Not even your cute little sandwiches with the toothpicks in them?”
“Oh, hell no. Do a potluck or something. We’ll provide the beer and whoever comes brings food.” We continued to discuss the party and by unspoken mutual consent neither of them harassed me about my activities last night. I was grateful, though eventually I was going to have to address it. My and Kristair’s relationship was hardly going to get any less bizarre.
I glanced at my watch and saw it was almost 4:30. The one nice thing about winter was that it got dark early, so I didn’t have to wait long before I could get my hands on a certain vampire. I tossed my crumpled napkin down on the tray and rose.
“See you around, guys. Got a couple of things I have to take care of.”
“Coming back tonight?” Steve’s voice was casual, though his eyes were intent. He was always the hardest of my friends to fool.
“’Ventually.” I quirked my friends a smile and gave them a mock salute before throwing away my trash and disappearing in the throng. I didn’t have time for Steve to get all big brotherly on me.
I paused outside on the sidewalk, trying to catch Kristair’s lingering presence from when he’d passed near here. It was a strange sensation, almost as if I were chasing after an echo. Absently, I handed a bum the change that was in my pockets and set off toward the center of the campus.
My ability to hold a grudge against those I cared about was nonexistent. Anybody else, though: watch out. Now my anger had all but vanished once I’d gotten food in my stomach and the markings Kristair made were covered up. I refused to think of them as tattoos.
It was all I could do not to laugh out loud when I saw my final destination. It freaking figured. I got the impression that Kristair didn’t do things by half measures and I supposed it was better to hide in plain sight. Still, to take the most prominent building in the city and to turn it into his own private hidey-hole took a certain amount of balls.
The bottom floor of the cathedral teemed with professors, students, and staff as I walked through, aiming straight for the elevators. At first the box was crowded and stopped at every other floor. My irritation grew every minute of the slow crawl. I was almost tempted to get out and take the stairs, only I knew that running forty-some flights would take almost as long, and make me too tired to vent. Kristair wasn’t getting off that easy.
The elevator emptied before I got to the twentieth floor and there were no more stops. I bounced on my toes, watching the lights blink through the floors, anticipating seeing Kristair again and enjoying the thought of his surprise when he woke up and found me invading his territory instead of the other way around. The elevator doors opened and I stepped out into the deserted hallway, looking in both directions. It was almost as if I were the first soul to step foot here in years. I brushed off that ludicrous idea and made my way down to one of the rooms toward the end of the hall.
&nbs
p; I could sense Kristair inside, his sleeping presence almost overwhelming. For a second, I hesitated, unsure of how he’d react to my intrusion, and then my jaw firmed. I jiggled the knob and of course it was locked. I examined the numbered buttons underneath. Oh well. Time to see if my old skills were still up to par.
After several frustrated minutes of picking at it, I gave up and stepped back, glaring at the door with my hands on my hips. Dammit. Maybe if I had some tools or… the realization hit me with a jolt and I slapped my hand against my forehead. I was such a moron.
My hand hovered over the buttons again and I made myself relax, concentrating on my lover. Yes! It was almost as if I could see Kristair pressing them, though it was more of an instinct than a visual image. I punched in the code and held my breath until the knob turned in my hand. I could really get used to this psychic shit.
I stepped into the empty room, my jaw dropping open. “What the fuck?” I moved in farther, turning around in a circle searching for some sign of him. I had been so sure he was in here. He was close. I should be able to reach out and touch him, but nothing was here. No bed, no closet, not even a cheesy-ass coffin.
Too late, I recognized my danger and lurched toward the door, grabbing for the handle. It closed, the snick of the latch disturbingly loud in the utter blackness pressing in on me. My heart pounded a little faster as I groped for the door handle and a light switch.
I locked my eyes on the faint light under the door, which was growing dimmer by the minute, and much to my profound relief my hands brushed against the handle. It refused to give as I yanked on it harder and harder. SHIT! My heart was about ready to pound out of my chest and my sweaty hand slipped off the handle. Anger and panic clawed as I realized it was locked again, seemingly with no way to unlock it again from this side.
I fumbled again for the light switch, my breath harsh, but when I flipped it nothing happened. “Oh come ON! Jesus fucking Christ, you’ve got to be kidding me.” I kicked the door and spun around, my back thudding against it with a hollow sound of finality. I couldn’t believe how fucking stupid I was. Now I was going to have to wait until Kristair woke up and decided to come find me before I could get out.
I slid down the door and propped my elbows up on my knees. I had been so sure this was the room and even now, as I waited here, his presence surrounded me. It was his closeness that started to calm my racing heart. I closed my eyes and dropped my head in my hands, which made the darkness seem less oppressive. It made it easier to pretend I was lying in bed with him, safe in my own place, instead of locked up at the top of the cathedral with floors of empty rooms underneath me, and the sure knowledge that I could scream for days and nobody would ever find me.
Chapter 9
I WOKE up abruptly, with Jacob’s presence heavy in my mind, and the sure knowledge someone had intruded on my resting place. As my disorientation faded, I realized they were one and the same. He was scared and trying to hold it in. With a thought, I started my heart beating in his chest and reassurance washed through him. “I shouldn’t be surprised in the slightest. Your resourcefulness and propensity for getting into trouble never ceases to amuse me.”
I slipped through the cracks and spaces of the wall, the matter I had hidden myself in oozing through me, until I emerged into impenetrable darkness. Once again the voices were blessedly silent. Jacob’s head jerked up and he searched around with blindly staring eyes, trying in vain to spot me.
“Kristair?” His mental voice quavered in apprehension. “It’s about damned time you woke up.” His physical voice, however, betrayed none of that uncertainty. He struggled to his feet, his hand fumbling for the handle and rattling it. “Get me the fuck outta here.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t taken it upon yourself to go exploring,” I said, with a certain wryness to my tone as I moved closer.
He jumped at my nearness and then turned to wrap his arms around me, burrowing his face into my neck. “You had no qualms about hunting me down in my bed. I’m just reciprocating, baby.”
I had to smile at his sally, as well as at the grin I felt on his lips, and the mischievous twinkle I knew was in his eyes as I slid my arms around him. “Point taken.”
We held each other, not saying anything else. Our separation, though only for a few hours, had incurred an obscure spiritual pain. It was strange. We had been linked for such a short time, less than a day, and he had spent the previous months fighting his attraction, feeding his fear and suspicion of me. Now, after last night, everything was different.
However, I couldn’t ignore the lingering questions in Jacob’s mind, or the stirrings of resentment. He was still furious about something, though it seemed he’d pushed it aside for the time being. I was guilty of manipulating Jacob into accepting his burden. And I didn’t know what I feared more – Jacob leaving me one day, his young body decaying into dust and ash, or myself succumbing to this strange malady that had destroyed all the others before me, leaving him bereft.
Our lips met. The pleasure I found in that simple touch was as profound now as it had been the previous eve. Our tongues explored, with lazy indulgence, our hunger for each other simmering under the surface. His body was warm against my own, and the encumbrance of our clothes was a growing irritation. We finally parted, Jacob’s breath panting against my lips.
“Don’t you think we should get out of here?” Jacob asked. In his mind were visions of us entwined naked on his bed, instead of standing in my empty bedchamber, with the darkness surrounding us.
Tempting, it was very tempting, but the Syndicate was going to visit me tonight, whether I wanted them or not. Whereas I would love to snub them, I’d rather meet at a time and place of my own choosing, rather than have them surprise me.
As I pulled the keys from my pocket, Jacob sensed my withdrawal. “What, Kristair?” The door opened and he searched my face in the dim light coming from the window down the hall.
“Come; we only have a few minutes to talk.”
Jacob hesitated as arguments immediately sprang to his mind, then grabbed his coat off of the floor and fell in beside me, our hands linking. “We’re gonna need more than a few minutes. I’ve got stuff to say and you’re gonna listen.”
His mind was in a state of turmoil, but I resisted the urge to pry. He’d tell me in his own words, in his own time. Jacob’s life had been turned inside out in the space of a day. My patience was the least I could give him.
For such a long while, it seemed as if time had stretched out before me an unending tide. Now, no matter how much I moved to evade it, time was pressing against me, crowding me. I wanted to whisk Jacob away and spend several months alone with him, ignoring the outside world, but I knew it was impossible, even if Jacob were to agree to go. I wasn’t sure he would.
“Have you ever considered getting a light bulb installed up there?” Jacob gave me a pointed look as we entered the elevator. “Maybe a nice comfortable chair as well?” He refrained from asking where I was hiding, though it was uppermost in his thoughts.
“What need do I have for light? I can see well enough.” I smiled at the exasperation plain upon his face. “However, for your sake, since I believe these visits might become habitual for you, I will do so.”
“So sweet.” Jacob’s tone was sardonic, yet he squeezed my hand in silent thanks.
We entered my office and my lips tightened at the sight of Kayla still sitting behind my desk. The child lived to vex me. She glanced up, the pleasant inquiry in her eyes turning rueful when she saw me.
“I was just wrapping up, Kris.” She spotted Jacob and her deep violet eyes lit up. “Is this the boy wonder? It’s about time you brought him around.” I swear there were days when I could throttle her. “I was beginning to think you were going to wait until mold grew on you before you took another step.”
Stamping down my initial irritation, I started to introduce them only to witness Jacob offer her a charming, crooked grin. “Jake,” he said holding out his hand.
“I’m Kayla.” She rose and took his hand. Jacob’s eyes flickered over her tall, lithe figure and I knew my daughter well enough to recognize she was enjoying the attention. My protective instincts warred with a surge of jealousy I didn’t know I was capable of. Then I saw the slight smirk hovering on Jacob’s lips and knew he was goading me deliberately.
Kayla glanced over, weighing my mood, and then offered Jacob another quick smile. “As much as I’d love to sit and chat to get to know you better, I can’t. I’m in enough trouble as it is.” She shrugged into her coat, wrapped a scarf around her tawny hair, and then slung a book bag over her shoulder. She paused to kiss my cheek. “Don’t be mad,” she said, and was gone before I could reprimand her.
“Mad? Why would you be mad?” Jacob was curious, undoubtedly sensing my discontent. He tossed his coat onto the rack and cocked his head in my direction.
I locked the office door behind her, shaking my head. “Because tonight I wanted her out of my office before dark so I knew she would be safe.”
His eyes darkened to indigo as a flash of uncertainty struck him and I tugged his resistant body into my arms. “Don’t. I know you can read me well enough to know I care for her. Her family and I have a long history. One day I’ll explain it to you.” There was so much yet to tell him, so much to say, and it seemed that there would never be enough time to say it all.
“One day? Why does it always gotta be one day? How about right now?”
“I’m going to have a guest later on, an unwelcome one,” I said hoping to distract him. I didn’t have time to get into long explanations now and the Syndicate’s visit was going to bring up its own issues.
He pulled himself out of my embrace and leaned against my desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you plan on doing about me?”
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