Eternal Hearts

by Jennifer Turner

  “After that last comment, I don’t even know where to start.”

  “You’re thinking about how lucky you are. You’re thinking about how great it is that you have to take me everywhere you want to go tonight, huh?” He leaned across the bed until his lips hovered only inches above hers. “Will you let me buy you dinner? You can order the lobster raw. I swear I won’t say no.”

  Toni swallowed her heart, which felt like it had leaped up into her throat. “Did you just proposition me?”

  He stood up and flashed a devilish smile but his eyes stayed glued to her mouth. “I suppose it depends on what your answer is. If you say yes, then yes, of course I did. If you say no, then you completely misinterpreted what I said. We had a communication breakdown and we should really work on that.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She sat up as fast as her body would allow and whipped a pillow it at him. “Should we work on that, too?”

  He jumped back as if he’d been anticipating the assault the entire time, turned sideways, caught the pillow behind his back, then brought it over his head and threw it back at her. She couldn’t help but to laugh when the pillow bounced off her head and flew across the room.

  She rolled over onto her side and smiled at him. “I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again, you’re just not right.”

  “If making you laugh is wrong,” he said, lowering his already deep voice, “then maybe I don’t wanna be right.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and draped a perfectly sculpted arm over her hip. “So what would you like to do tonight? Do you want to stay in or would you prefer to go out?”

  She took a moment to consider his question. While the teenager wanted to stay locked in the room with him all night hoping that something naughty happened, the woman who’d missed Chicago and everyone in it had a much different idea.

  Toni brushed her hand over the scars littering Drake’s forearm. “I’d really like to go down to Grey’s, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Grey’s Coffeehouse?” When she nodded, he cocked his head and arched a brow. “Are you some kind of closet caffeine junkie? Like a little jolt with your blood, do ya?”

  “No. I…I have a friend who used to spend a lot of time down there. Well, three actually, but one’s a little more…he’s kinda like a surrogate Sire. I haven’t really talked to him since I got kicked out. I was hoping maybe he’d be there. But if you don’t wanna go I understand. It’s not like I expect you to take me around so I can see all my old friends or anything.”

  He smiled as his warm fingers drew slow circles against the small of her back. “I have no problem taking you to see Clint.”

  She ignored the tingles fluttering under her skin and narrowed her eyes on him. “How did you know who I wanted to see? Are you using your Jedi mind tricks on me?”

  He looked absolutely appalled. “I’ll have you know that Martin Grey gives me free beer whenever I visit one of his fine establishments. And I also happen to know that aside from him, only two people go to Grey’s so much that the couch cushions are permanently ass-grooved to fit them perfectly.” He ticked off his fingers. “Clint and Jacob. And since Clint’s an old Warrior and Jacob’s an old Paladin, it only made sense.”

  She blew out a relieved breath. Okay, maybe she was being a little jumpy. “I didn’t know Grey’s served beer.”

  “Grey’s doesn’t serve beer, but The Underground does.”

  Toni scrunched up her face. The Underground was a dark, rave style dance club in the basement of Grey’s. And for some reason, she just couldn’t picture Drake out on the crowded dance floor. “You go to The Underground? Really?”

  He gasped as he surged to his feet. “Hell yes I do.” He clapped his hands together as if struck with the most brilliant of brilliant ideas. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you to Grey’s, but you have to come down to The Underground with me afterwards so we can get our dance on.”

  Toni could barely keep her mouth closed as Drake swiveled his hips in a wide, erratic circle while he pumped his arms. Nearly everything about the man was attractive, but that…that so wasn’t.

  She closed her eyes and tried to erase the sight from her memory. “I’ll go to The Underground with you, but you have to promise that you’ll never, and I mean never, do that again.”

  “What? You don’t like my moves?”

  Afraid he might still be doing the broken robot dance, she opened her eyes just enough to peek between her lashes. Luckily, he wasn’t. “I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but some people just shouldn’t dance…and I think you might be one of them.”

  “Oh, really?” He held his hand out. “Stand up.”

  She did as he asked but hesitated as she reached for his hand. “You’re not going to hold me captive while you do that…whatever it was you did before, are you?”

  He laughed and wiggled his fingers. “Take my hand and find out. Unless, of course, you’re gonna chicken out on me again, which reminds me, you still owe me fifty bucks.”

  She rested her hand in his. “I don’t even have fifty bucks.”

  “Then I guess you’ll just have to work off your debt.”

  She’d no more than opened her mouth to respond when he spun her away from him then expertly twirled her back, tango style. He even ended the fluid motion with her dipped back, one hand flattened between her shoulder blades and the other cradling her bent knee against his hip.

  She shivered as he leaned forward and pressed his moist lips to her ear. “You’re not the only one with Spanish blood in you.” He gently stood her up then beamed an accomplished smile. “Now, why don’t you go get dressed so we can leave?”

  She stared up into his eyes while every nerve in her body flared to life, wildly clapping for an encore. “Okay.” The word came out a little more breathy than she’d intended.

  He cracked a grin. “I take it you like those moves better?”

  Tell him you want a naked encore. She shook the traitorous teenager from her mind. “I think I should go get dressed now.”

  It wasn’t until after she’d picked up her boots from the side of the bed then closed the bathroom door behind her that she blew out the dreamy sigh she’d been holding. If she hadn’t even been awake for a full thirty minutes and was already swooning over the man, where the hell would she be by the end of the night?

  Swooning under him? Unwilling to even consider the thought, Toni went about her normal morning routine. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and then dressed in a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Once she’d laced up her boots, she headed back into the main room to find Drake sitting on the couch with his eyes closed.

  She walked over and stood in front of him. “Are you ready to go?”

  He didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t answer. He just sat there with a weird, almost goofy smile on his face.

  She leaned in a little closer. “Are you ready to go?” When he didn’t answer again, she reached out and pulled his hair. “Hello?”

  His eyes shot open and he flashed an even bigger smile before he met her gaze. “Sorry, I was just thinking about someone. I didn’t realize you were out of the bathroom already. Usually women take longer in there.”

  “Oh…well, I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

  “Just give me a minute.” He lowered his eyes then frowned. “My knee is bothering me again.” He winced as he leaned back, straightened his left leg out then bent it again. “Old injuries, ya know?”

  “I didn’t know it was bothering you before.” She looked down at his leg, but it didn’t take her long to realize it wasn’t his knee that was swollen. She forced her eyes away from his impressive bulge and focused back on his face. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Uh, well, no. I think it’s just stiff from falling asleep on the couch with my legs stretched across the coffee table.”

  Yeah, it’s stiff all right. She cleared her throat. “Maybe the walk to the elevator will help stretch it out.” She bit at the inside of her lips as she f
inished the sentence. There was absolutely nothing she could say right now that didn’t have some kind of innuendo attached to it. “Come on,” she said as she held out her hand. “Stand up and I’ll ride you…err…uh…walk you, I’ll walk you to the door.”

  He laughed then flashed a knowing smile. “The jig is up, isn’t it?”

  She curled her fingers around his thumb and pulled him to his feet. Even though she felt like she’d just stuck her face in a raging bonfire, if he could hint at the obvious, so could she. “Well, it’s certainly not down at the moment, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “You know,” he drawled as he tugged the tight leather away from his upper thighs, “you didn’t exactly do me any good when you asked if you could help. And offering to ride me to the door…that was just cruel.”

  She swallowed the huge knot in her throat. “Ready to go now?”

  “You don’t even know what to say right now, do you?”

  She fanned her face. “No, I really don’t. I mean, if I did something to…not that I’m saying it was for me, you could’ve been thinking about anyone. It’s just that…” She paused and tried to order her thoughts as way too many emotions smashed together inside her. “Did you ever think you want something…but then when it starts to happen you get scared? And then you can’t breathe, because you know you’ll mess it up somehow? Because you know you’re not the person someone thinks you are. But you get so caught up in feeling good for the first time in so long that you convince yourself that you deserve something you really don’t? But then you can’t even run away because you don’t have anywhere to go?”

  He didn’t say anything in response; he just snatched up her hand and led her out of the room then down the hallway towards the elevator. He didn’t pull her, didn’t drag her, but he moved at a brisk enough pace that she had to jog to keep up with his long strides. She didn’t get the sense that he was angry or upset, but she couldn’t really tell what he was thinking because she wasn’t in a position to see anything but the back of his head.

  Once they were inside the elevator, he smacked the button for the lobby then finally turned to face her. He stared down at her, his dark eyes glowing with all the sadness and pain she’d seen before, plus a dozen other emotions she couldn’t even begin to place.

  Panic squeezed icy fingers around her already aching heart. Had she done something wrong? Had she said something she shouldn’t have? Oh God, had she hurt him without even realizing it?

  Toni froze as Drake reached up and brushed his warm fingertips across her cheek. “In two minutes we’ll be in the lobby.” His voice was quiet but not at all steady. “There’s no bed in here. No threat that we’ll do something we can’t take back. Just two minutes we’ll probably never have again…two minutes where we can both stop pretending the scars we can see are the only ones we have.”

  When he slowly leaned down and claimed her lips with a soft, soul stealing kiss that sent tears streaming down her cheeks, she tilted her head and gave him full access to her mouth. And she did so, because she’d never wanted a man more.

  She kissed him back with everything she had, every shred of pain, every sliver of regret, and every ounce of hope that someday she’d find a way to be more than she was now. That someday the wounds still festering deep inside her would heal as well as the ones on her skin, and that maybe then she’d truly deserve to be in the arms of a man like him.

  He matched each of her emotions as his tongue caressed hers. He told her a silent story of loss, of betrayal, and of self hatred in ways she never thought possible. And he showed her with every gentle graze of his lips that he understood, more than anything, what it was to want for something you knew could never have again.

  Together, for just the briefest of moments, they were lost in the same shadowy place…but neither knew how to find the other or how to escape.

  Toni broke from Drake’s mouth and gazed up into his haunted blue eyes just as the elevator bell chimed their arrival at the lobby. In the space of two precious but fleeting minutes, she’d learned more about the beautiful man standing in front of her than she had since they’d met.

  And all she could do now was pray that when she hurt him, because she knew she would, whatever wounds she caused scarred the outside of his body…not the inside.

  Chapter 8

  Drake willed the mystical veil back into place over his eyes just as the elevator doors slid open. Exactly why he’d dropped the shield, he still wasn’t sure, but something about the desperate note in Toni’s voice when she’d alluded to not being the person he thought she was…

  He ground his teeth together as the tugging sensation usually reserved for the end of his contracts rippled across the top of his spine. Plainly put, he’d never felt more guilty in his entire life. And considering he couldn’t just come out and tell her that he was the one with ulterior motives, he’d given her the only truth the situation would allow.

  Of course, kissing her really wasn’t a necessary component of the display. Standing in front of her for two full minutes without his eyes veiled probably would have done the trick, but he’d never claimed to be any less selfish than any other vampire out there.

  After all, he had a set of fangs, too.

  Drake’s thoughts derailed when he stepped out of the elevator and realized Toni hadn’t moved more than a foot from the doors. Her feet were glued to the marble floor yet again, and he could only assume she was staring out at the large crowd of formally dressed people milling about the lobby. And a few of those uptight blowhards even had the nerve to sneer back at her.

  Dressed in their designer tuxedos and slinky evening gowns, a small clique of debutantes and future CEOs clucked in hushed tones while their disapproving eyes moved over her body. He’d intended to ignore the idiots, but when one little blonde locked on Toni and made a rather loud comment about needing a new maid, Drake focused hard on the snooty bitch.

  He grinned wide when the blonde’s eyes fluttered closed and she fell forward, spilling her dark red beverage all over her companions. The other girls in the group squealed and one even burst into tears while they frantically wiped at their ruined dresses. The guys did nothing but scowl as the blonde sank to the floor in a crumpled heap. No one even bothered to check on their fallen comrade, at least not until each of them had made sure that they were all right first.

  Oh, the humanity. Drake chuckled at the thought as he moved to stand at Toni’s side then rested a hand on her shoulder. “Gee, I sure hope she’ll be okay.”

  She shot him an accusing glare. “What did you do?”

  “Me?” He gasped and clutched a hand to his chest. “What makes you think I did anything? I was just standing here with you. Must be that damn Narcolepsy going around Chicago again. I hear it’s contagious.”

  Toni pressed her lips together, so hard, the skin around her mouth turned white. “That was just evil.”

  “Oh, please. I don’t know about you, but I think she got what she deserved. Tell me I’m wrong. Do it. I dare you. Tell me you weren’t hoping a meteor would fall out of the sky at that exact moment and blow her snobby ass to smithereens.”

  “For your information, I was not hoping a meteor would land on her.” The incredible smile she’d been so rudely keeping from him finally broke free. “I was hoping she’d step outside and get run over by a bus…and a cheap bus at that.”

  “I could make that happen for you. Really, it wouldn’t be any trouble at all.”

  “Well I hope you’re proud of yourself,” a familiar voice scolded.

  As Drake shifted his gaze from Toni’s smiling face to the million dollar, black on black silk tuxedo moving to stand in front of them, alarm bells clanged a frantic warning in his mind. The air directly around them thickened in a matter of seconds, charging with the powerful allure of an Ancient vampire who was up to no good.

  Of all the places in Chicago for Derek Ballard to be, why did he have to be there? And why the hell was he blinding Toni with one of his si
gnature come-home-with-me-right-now smiles?

  Drake forcefully cleared his throat. “What do you want, Derek?”

  The bastard paid him no mind as he flashed his overrated dimples at Toni. “I was hoping I’d catch you down here before you headed out for the evening. How are you, Beautiful?”

  Caught up in Derek’s unnecessary and completely unnatural magnetism, Toni swayed towards him and let out a very feminine sigh. “Hi…I’m, um…good. Yeah, you’re…wow.”

  Derek beamed an appreciative smile before he finally acknowledged Drake. “Drake, how are you this evening?” he asked, extending a hand.

  Drake accepted Derek’s hand but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to jam his thumb into the flesh between Derek’s thumb and index finger. “I’m doing just fine, Derek. You?”

  “Oh, I’m great,” Derek half growled as he tightened his own grip. “But I’m even better now that the gorgeous Miss Tutoro is here. She’s absolutely stunning, wouldn’t you agree? And such a natural beauty, I’m surprised you can keep your big paws to yourself.”

  Drake squeezed Derek’s fingers until he felt a very gratifying crunch. “Turn it off, Derek.”

  “Piss off, Drake. Last I checked – I don’t take orders from you.” He ripped his hand away then turned to face the leering crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen, if you’d like to adjourn to the ballroom, I promise I’ll be with you shortly.”

  When everyone, including the blonde who’d finally managed to regain some semblance of consciousness, began meandering towards the huge double doors leading to the ballroom, Drake cast a glance to Toni, who was still staring up at Derek as though he was the only man in the entire room.

  He eyed Derek again. “I said turn that shit off.”

  Derek didn’t listen. Instead, he flashed the same devious grin Drake had seen countless times before. He knew exactly what Derek was about to do, and he didn’t dare do a damn thing to stop him. He couldn’t risk anyone, especially Derek, knowing he’d gotten a little attached to the woman standing between them.