Salvation

by Land, Alexa

  “You’re welcome.”

  “A man, that can garden, bake, and conduct high speed car chases. You’re a keeper.”

  Vincent grinned at that. “Those aren’t reasons enough to want to keep me, but I’ll try to give you more.”

  After we ate, he cleared away the plates and then disappeared down to the wine cellar through a door off the kitchen. I went to the sink and began rinsing our dishes, and I heard Vincent yell from downstairs, “Stop it!”

  “Stop what?”

  “I can hear you doing the dishes, and that’s strictly forbidden on your birthday!”

  I grinned and kept going. He bounded up the stairs a few moments later, champagne bottle in hand, and grabbed me in a fireman’s carry as I burst out laughing. He used the bottle to shut off the water, then carried me over to a cabinet and swung around so I was facing it. “Grab a couple glasses, please, the good ones on the bottom right.”

  I did as I was told, and he then proceeded to carry me upstairs while I laughed and protested. Finally he set me down in a spacious home theater and said, “We can do whatever you want tonight, but I wanted to show you this option.”

  “This is a great idea. What should we watch?” I went over to a wall lined with hundreds of DVDs and began browsing titles.

  “You pick.”

  “I can’t. There are too many choices, I’m instantly overwhelmed. Come here and help me.”

  “Okay. One sec.” He’d removed the foil and little wire cage from the bottle of champagne, and used his thumbs to send the cork flying with a loud pop. Once he’d filled the two glasses, he crossed the room to me and handed me one. “Cheers.” We clinked our glasses, then sipped the bubbly as we perused the titles.

  “Your brother has incredibly eclectic taste in movies,” I observed.

  “I doubt he picked out any of these, since Johnnie’s too hyper to actually sit through a movie. They must have all belonged to the woman who left him this house.”

  “I’m guessing she had kids,” I said, indicating the shelves of animated classics.

  “Actually she didn’t, just nieces and nephews who are grown now.”

  “Think the nieces and nephews are pissed that she left the house to her boytoy and not them?”

  “Since they’ve been trying to sue my brother, that’s a pretty safe guess.”

  “This is entirely too much selection,” I said after a couple minutes.

  Vincent stepped over to the right and said, “It looks like there are slightly more current movies at this end. Oh wait, I think I found the perfect film.” He plucked a DVD off the shelf and held it up where I could see it, a teasing grin curling his lips.

  I burst out laughing, the color immediately rising in my cheeks. He was holding a copy of Twilight. “I was totally hoping you’d forgotten our very first conversation,” I said. “Do you know how intimidating it was to talk to you? I completely made a fool of myself.”

  “On the contrary. You captivated me.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “You did!”

  “I can’t believe we’re here, having the best day ever, after that insanely awkward beginning. That should have driven you away forever.”

  “You could have said absolutely anything to me. It didn’t matter. I was already hooked, from the first moment I laid eyes on you,” he said.

  I went up to him, took the DVD from his hand and returned it to the shelf. “I felt the same way when I saw you. But I have to say, I like this version of you even better. The one that talks.” I stretched up and kissed him, and he smiled at me.

  “This version didn’t exist until I met you. I was like the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz, lifeless and stuck.”

  “Until I came along and oiled you?” I said with a grin.

  “You literally did, you know. Earlier, down by the pool,” he said with a wink, and I chuckled embarrassedly. After a few moments, he pulled something off the shelf and said, “How about this?”

  “That better not be the next movie in the Twilight saga,” I said as I turned toward him. “Oh, Casablanca. I’ve always wanted to see that.”

  He cued it up and we got comfortable on one of the brown leather couches arranged in front of a television so enormous, astronauts could probably watch it by looking out the window of the International Space Station. We then utterly failed to watch the movie. Within minutes, we were naked and making out. After a while, Vincent rushed off in search of some lotion, then returned and worked me open with his fingers as we spooned side-by-side, facing the TV but not even sort of paying attention to it.

  Sex this time was slow and sensual, totally different from our earlier encounters. He slid into me with one long push, then rocked against me in a gentle motion as waves of pleasure carried me along. I held on to his arm, which was wrapped securely around my chest, his other arm acting as my pillow, and murmured, “Can we please just stay here forever, in this house with you in me? I never want to return to my real life.”

  He kissed my bare shoulder and whispered, “I don’t either.”

  We ended up starting the movie a second time, after missing it entirely during the first go-round. When it concluded (again) we went downstairs to the guest room and got ready for bed, then climbed under the covers together. There was no question or discussion about sleeping arrangements, we both knew we wanted to be close to one another. Vincent set his glasses on the nightstand and laid down facing me, automatically picking up my hand and weaving his fingers with mine.

  “Thank you for today,” I said softly. This hadn’t just been the best birthday imaginable. It had been the best day of my life.

  Chapter Twelve

  For seventy-two glorious hours, Vincent and I lived in a perfect paradise, one with no worries, no responsibilities, nothing but the sun, the ocean, the pool and each other. We took long walks on the beach, accompanied by even longer conversations. He patiently taught me how to swim, helping me progress from floating on my own to treading water. Meals were prepared together, collaboration leading to some truly outstanding results. And we had sex so many times and in so many different locations inside and out that I completely lost count. I was both deeply satisfied, and yet always craving more.

  Thursday rolled around far too soon. We were dressed and sitting poolside, with me straddling Vincent and kissing him, when the wedding party arrived, a bit earlier than we were expecting them. “Hi guys,” my friend Hunter called when he discovered us, crossing the patio to sit in an adjacent lounge chair. “Is this place incredible, or what? And wow, look at you, Trevor! I almost didn’t recognize you with the tan and the haircut, you look hot.”

  I climbed off Vincent and said, “Hey Hunter. Who all’s with you?”

  “Brian and I rode down with Christopher and Kieran, Charlie and Dante, and Jamie and Dmitri. Nana sent her limo for us and stocked it with copious amounts of champagne. I think I’m a little drunk.” He grinned at me happily, then turned his attention to my companion. “Nice to see you again, Vincent.”

  “You too.” Vincent’s tone was oddly clipped. I turned to look at him as he got up and said, “Excuse me,” then left the pool area abruptly.

  Hunter watched him go, then turned to me and said, “I didn’t mean to chase him off. You looked so cozy, too.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “I had no idea that you and he were dating.”

  “We’ve just started. We met at your party a few weeks back, and then Nana decided to play matchmaker and sent us both down here on Monday.” Dating seemed like kind of an odd word for what we were doing, after being totally inseparable for these past few days, but I let it go.

  “I’m glad. Vincent really needs someone like you, Trevor.”

  “I think he used to have a crush on you,” I told my friend.

  “I think so too, but I know right when it ended: the moment he laid eyes on you. I saw you two at that party, you know. The attraction was off the charts,” Hunter said with a smile. Then he added, “I’m incredibly lucky
that he had a crush on me before that, though. It literally saved my life.”

  “I know Vincent came after you when you were abducted by your stalker, but you never told me how he saved you.”

  “Well, I’d escaped from the trailer where I’d been taken and made it to a road, but I’d gotten hurt and was just moments from collapse when Vincent found me. The stalker was trying to shoot me, but Vincent killed him with a single shot to the head. I know I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him.” Hunter turned his head, watching the sunlight reflecting off the pool, obviously rattled by the memory. I moved over to his lounge chair and put my arm around him.

  “I’m so sorry that happened to you. And I apologize for making you talk about it.”

  He squeezed my knee and said, “It’s okay. I’ve been seeing a counselor who’s been helping me come to grips with all of this. Being able to talk about what happened is part of the process of healing and moving forward.”

  “If there’s any way I can help you, I hope you know that I’m always here for you, Hunter.”

  He relaxed against me and murmured, “I know, and I appreciate it, Trevor.”

  We talked for a while longer, then went to the kitchen hand-in-hand. After I greeted the wedding party, I went in search of Vincent and found him packing in our bedroom. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I have to go. I called a car service, it should be here soon.”

  “Are you going because Dmitri’s here?”

  “Among other reasons.”

  I sank down on the edge of the bed, the most insecure part of me mumbling, “Are you going because you’ve had enough of me?”

  Vincent stopped what he was doing and turned to face me. “You can’t possibly think that.” When I shrugged, he crossed the room to me, sank to his knees at my feet and took my face in his hands. “You’re the single greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, Trevor. Of course I haven’t had enough of you! If we’re together the next fifty years, it still won’t be enough.”

  “Then don’t go. Please?”

  “I don’t belong here, Trevor.”

  “Sure you do. Stay and help me cater the wedding. You have some serious skills in the kitchen, and God knows River and I need all the help we can get. Then afterwards, when the job is done, maybe we can sneak in a dance to some schmaltzy love song at the reception.” I offered him a little smile.

  He got off his knees and sat beside me on the bed, then leaned forward so he was resting his forehead against mine. “That sounds wonderful. But I just can’t.”

  “Sure you can. I don’t know why Dmitri has a problem with you, but he’s actually an incredibly nice guy. I’ll bet you and he could be friends if you just took the time to talk to each other.”

  “He doesn’t want to talk to me. Besides, he’s only part of the problem. I just don’t belong here, at this wedding. I’m not a part of this.”

  “Yes you are. Because you’re a part of me.”

  He smiled and said, “That’s the best thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “Just stay.”

  He leaned back and picked up my hand. “Dmitri’s hatred of me isn’t random.”

  “I don’t think he hates you. He’s not really the kind of guy who’d hate anyone.”

  “Well, then his intense dislike of me isn’t random. I pulled a gun on him once, Trevor. It’s not the kind of thing I expect him to just forgive and forget.”

  “What? Why?”

  “We were on opposite sides of a business deal that started to go bad. He and I were just on the periphery, observing more than anything, both of us in a group of five men apiece,” Vincent said. “But then his uncle, a man named Gregor Sokolov, started getting really agitated when things didn’t go his way. The situation was about to get really out of control, so the men I was with drew their weapons. They did it to cover our retreat more than anything. I followed suit and the person closest to me, the one I pointed the gun at, happened to be your employer. For several long, tense minutes Dmitri and I just stared each other down, while the people running the show tried to defuse the situation. My group ended up leaving without incident. But you can see why Dmitri’s mind must be pretty well made up about me now.”

  “Okay, that’s bad. But maybe you can apologize or something.”

  “How? There’s not exactly a Hallmark card for that, ‘sorry I pointed a gun at your skull.’ I don’t think apologizing would make a damn bit of difference anyway.”

  “Well, still.”

  He watched me for a long moment, then said, “Aren’t you going to ask?”

  “Ask what?”

  “If I would have shot him, had the situation continued to escalate.”

  “I don’t need to ask that question, because I already know you wouldn’t have.”

  “You have such faith in me,” he said quietly. “I have no idea why that is.”

  “I trust my gut instinct, Vincent. I’ve had to rely on it a lot to navigate the last twenty-one years of a not entirely tranquil life, so I tend to listen to what it has to say. It tells me you’re someone I can believe in.”

  He pulled me into a hug and kissed my hair, then said softly, “Thank you.”

  When he let go of me, he got up and went back to packing. After a pause, I said, “Hunter just told me that you killed his stalker. I never knew that. It must have been really hard on you.”

  He didn’t meet my gaze as he said, “I did what had to be done. That man was totally deranged, and was about to put a bullet in an innocent victim. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  “Are you okay, though? That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “At the time, it was remarkably easy. Disturbingly so, actually. I acted on instinct and shot him, because in another couple seconds Hunter would have been killed. It wasn’t until later on that it all caught up to me. Taking a life left its mark on me, no doubt about it. But sometimes we have to sacrifice a bit of ourselves to keep others safe. That’s just how it goes.”

  I thought about that while I watched him pack. He meticulously folded some shirts and stacked them neatly. He kept everything organized, contained. It said a lot about him, actually.

  “I really don’t want you to go,” I told him.

  “I know, Trevor. But even if the thing with Dmitri wasn’t an issue, I still wouldn’t feel right if I stayed. I’d feel like a wedding crasher, even if you put me to work. Besides, I need to get back to the city, there’s a lot going on there that needs my attention.”

  That reminded me of something. “Where did you go last week? Nana told me you left town, but she didn’t know where you’d gone.”

  “Actually, I didn’t go anywhere. I just told her that so she wouldn’t see me all bruised and beaten. It would have been upsetting for her.”

  “She said you went away once for two months. Were you doing the same thing, healing after a session with Liam?”

  “Yes. He broke my arm that time and did a lot of other damage. I wasn’t about to let my grandmother see me like that.”

  “You actually went back to the man that broke your arm,” I said quietly.

  “That was when I told him I was leaving. He was furious. He wasn’t going to let me go, so I ended up making a deal with him. I told him he could do anything he wanted to me that weekend, he could get it all out of his system, but that Monday morning I was walking out his door forever and I didn’t want him coming after me. Turns out, that was a really stupid deal to make with a sadistic Dom,” he said. “He put me in the hospital, I was there for four days. I was such a mess after that weekend, mentally as well as physically, but he kept his promise. He never came after me. Until I went and saw him a few days ago, he left me completely alone.”

  “Oh God, Vincent,” I murmured.

  “You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I entered into that deal willingly. I endured it because I thought it was what I had to do to end things with him once and for all, I thought I had to end it on his terms.”

  “If he’
s that controlling, what was the upshot of going to see him a few days ago? Does he want to get back in your life now?”

  Vincent stopped what he was doing, his expression troubled. “Yeah, he does. He’s called me several times over the past few days. I haven’t been answering his calls, but Liam isn’t a man that tolerates being ignored and his messages are getting really threatening. I’m going to have to deal with him when I get back to the city.”

  “I have a really hard time reconciling all of this with the Vincent I know. I mean, you just don’t seem like the type of guy who’d let others push you around.”

  “I’m not normally,” he said. “Liam is the one exception. For two years, I let myself be molded by him, trained to fear and obey him. I’m a completely different person when he’s around, I don’t even recognize myself. Which I guess was sort of the whole point of going down that path with him.”

  He sighed and pushed his hair back from his forehead. “I really hate talking about this, by the way. I hate admitting to you, of all people, exactly what a fucked up mess I am. It’s completely mortifying, but at the same time, I feel compelled to be honest with you. Maybe in part, it’s because I know I can’t open up about my business dealings, so maybe I’m compensating by telling you way too much about my personal life.”

  “Will you though? I mean, someday, will you tell me about what you’re involved in, once it’s all behind you?”

  “I will. I promise to tell you everything someday.” Vincent leaned down and kissed me softly. He then touched my cheek longingly before going to get his things from the bathroom. When he zipped up his bag, he turned to me and said, “I’m going to wait out front for the car, it’ll be here soon. Will you walk me out?”

  I wove my fingers with his and we left the house hand-in-hand. The wedding party was out back by the pool so we were spared any awkward confrontations. The sounds of their laughter carried through the otherwise quiet house.

  When we pulled the front door shut behind us, I asked, “How did Nana get you here without your car, anyway?”

  “She told me the private road leading up to the house was being repaved before the wedding, and there was no place to park. Then she sent a car and driver to drop me off.”