by Jaye Wells
We stood staring at each other for a few moments, a palpable tension zinging in the space between us. Even though it was October, the day was fairly warm despite the breeze. A bead of sweat dripping between my breasts. Despite having rid myself of the poncho, I decided the sudden heat in my body was a result of my attire. But part of me felt very aware of him physically. As if with his eyes alone he had raised my body temperature.
Remembering the girlish delight I exhibited in the last few minutes, my cheeks burned along with the rest of me. I wanted to be angry with him for witnessing my abandon. Angry at him for being right about the sun being harmless to me now. Angry at him for being so damned infuriating and attractive.
But as he moved toward me, I didn’t feel angry. I felt nervous—unsure of myself and exposed. He stood before me for a moment, staring at me with a bemused expression—as if trying to figure out a complex problem. He took one hand and slowly peeled the glove from my fingers.
“I don’t think you need these anymore,” he said quietly, taking the other hand and removing that glove as well. I stood docile as a lamb, too confused to know how to respond. It was as if he hypnotized me.
I swallowed hard. “Thanks,” I said, breathless.
A beat of silence, then, “You should smile more often,” he said, still holding my left hand.
The corners of my mouth twitched in a self-conscious facsimile of a smile. Realizing I was acting like an innocent schoolgirl, I pulled my hand from his gentle grasp and stepped back, breaking the spell.
“I’ll smile the day I get to leave this place,” I said with a flick of my hair.
Disappointment flashed on his face. For some reason I felt guilty for being such a bitch when he’d just complimented me. But Callum wasn’t allowed to be nice to me. It made me nervous.
He sighed, seeming resigned that we were reconvening our linguistic sparring. “I told you it wouldn’t be so bad,” he said motioning to the scene behind him.
“Yeah, it’s okay, I guess,” I said. “But seriously, I don’t see what is so great about being allowed in the daylight.”
“For one thing, it allows more flexibility. I couldn’t run my business if I was stuck in the house all day.”
“So it all comes down to pandering to mortals?”
“Where did you get that from? I help mortals, yes, but they don’t rule me.”
“Whatever,” I said flippantly and wandered away. I could almost hear his teeth grinding behind me. Good, I thought. This kind of interaction with Callum was more like it. Keep him pissed, and he’d stop looking at me in that way of his that made my insides feel funny.
“So, how long have you been taking Sun Shield?” I asked.
His footsteps shuffled through the grass a few steps behind me. “About twenty years. I have to give you credit. You handled your first time a lot better than I did.”
I spun around. “What? You told me it was no big deal!”
He held a hand up, trying to stall my newest tirade. “What was I supposed to say? ‘I nearly pissed myself the first time I did this, but don’t worry I’m sure you’ll be fine?’”
A giggle escaped from me before I could stop it. “You were that scared? What a baby.”
“I’ll have you know that I was one of the test subjects for Sun Shield. Unlike you, I didn’t have the word of anyone else to go by. I had to just trust Logan and hope for the best. So, yeah, I was pretty nervous.”
“Wow, I don’t think I’d trust anyone enough to take that risk.”
“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” he said. “I guess we just had different families. Logan and I have always been pretty close.”
The last thing I wanted to talk about was about just how different our families were, so I just nodded.
“So, admit it. It’s pretty cool isn’t it?” he asked. When I turned and raised my eyebrows in question, he said, “This.” He motioned around us.
I hesitated, but considering he already saw my true reaction, it was useless to pretend I wasn’t enjoying myself. “Actually, it’s pretty spectacular. It’s like I entered a different world.”
“I know what you mean,” he said. “And this is a great time to discover the daylight too. Fall in Raleigh is amazing.”
“I didn’t even think about that. At night, the seasons change too, but I have no idea what spring really looks like or snow. Or a sunset or sunrise for that matter,” I said, getting excited.
“As long as you keep taking the Sun Shield you can see all those things and more.”
We continued to stroll through the garden in companionable silence—each wrapped in our own thoughts. I didn’t want to tell him that once I left this place, I wouldn’t be continuing my treatments. In all honesty, part of me felt depressed at the thought of not being able to experience the world in the daytime anymore.
I stopped and turned to him. “Listen, I . . . never mind,” I said quickly and started walking again. He stilled me with a hand on my arm.
“What?” he asked, turning me back around.
I couldn’t meet his eyes. As annoying as he could be, I admitted to myself that without Callum I probably never would have known what I was missing.
“I just wanted to thank you for making me come out here today,” I said, fiddling with the leaf I had picked up earlier.
I glanced at him when he didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to expect, but a blinding smile wasn’t it.
“What?” I demanded.
“Give me a moment. I can’t believe you actually thanked me for something.”
I playfully hit his chest, not able to stop my own smile from forming.
He caught my hand and pulled me closer to him. We both stopped, suspended as we tried to decide what would happen next. Finally, Callum must have decided because without warning, his head swooped down and he placed a quick, firm kiss on my lips.
He pulled back quickly, the whole thing lasting less than three seconds. My mouth fell open as my mind scrambled to figure out what the hell was going on. My mouth tingled where his lips had branded them. Callum looked equally shocked, as if he couldn’t believe what he had done.
Quite suddenly, having his lips on mine again was the most important thing in the world to me—more important than breathing. I grabbed the back of his head and roughly pulled him toward me. Our lips crashed into each other hard and fast. As often happens when I feel extreme emotion, my fangs extended. They bumped into his fangs as we angled for better position. Soon our tongues tangled as we figured out a rhythm. I don’t know what came over me but I wanted to consume this man. From the way he was grabbing my ass, I figured Callum wanted to do some consuming of his own.
I rubbed my pelvis against his, feeling the diamond-hard erection there. One of his hands left my ass, and he reached up under my turtleneck. I moaned as he took one of my breasts in his hot palm. He rang in response.
Wait a second, I thought. He rang again. With a disgusted sigh, he pulled back, jerked his cell phone off his waist, and glanced at the caller ID.
“Hold that thought,” he demanded with a growl, his fangs flashing and his breathing fast.
Shocked, I tried to catch my own breath. I didn’t know whether to be insulted or relieved. Then I heard him speak into the phone.
“High Councilman Orpheus, how are you?”
Gone was my confusion. Gone was my lust. In their place, a bright crimson haze of fury rose up. Too distracted with kissing my father’s ass, Callum didn’t see my fist flying through the air. But he sure as hell felt it.
Chapter Eight
“Ooof, hey!” Callum yelled at my back as I stalked toward the house.
I had to clench my fists to keep from going back for another wallop. Throwing open the door, I turned for one last look at the bastard’s face.
His mouth hung open in shock even as he continued to hold the cell phone to his ear.
“Sorry, sir. Yes, everything is fine,” he said finally, staring at me with a bewildered look.
<
br /> To me he mouthed, “Wait.”
Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I marched into the house, slamming the door behind me.
Like I was going to wait for him to stop sucking up to my father. The nerve of that guy!
First, he makes me go out into the sun despite my vigorous protests. Sure, I enjoyed it, but that’s not the point. Then he had the nerve to kiss me. Okay, so I’d enjoyed that too, but again, not the point. And after all that, he stopped midsmooch to take a call from my freaking father. That I definitely did not enjoy.
Stomping upstairs to my room, I thought about what had just happened. Perhaps I was looking at it all wrong.
Instead of being angry with Callum for taking that call, I should be thanking him. Things were getting pretty hot and heavy—which frankly surprised the crap out of me. Who would have thought Callum would turn out to be a world-class kisser?
Anyway, hot and heavy was definitely not something I was prepared for, especially with a man who annoyed me hourly. Besides, I knew from the beginning Callum was only doing this to look good to my father. Somewhere along the way, I guess in between him showing he had a sense of humor and being entranced by the sun, I forgot he only saw me as a project. A means to an end. I didn’t know how he thought seducing me would help him with my father, but that had to be it.
I entered my room and flopped down on the cushy down comforter. My anger had burned off somewhat and was replaced by a curious lethargy. Surely, it was just the result of being in the sun too long. No way was I depressed about Callum. It’s not like I actually liked the guy.
One thing was for sure. No way was I going to let him work his mojo on me again. My lips and various other parts of my anatomy were off limits from now on. Even if he wasn’t a bastard who was trying to use me to impress my father, he was totally not my type. His way of life was in complete opposition to everything I stood for. Sure, the last week of living his way of life hadn’t been too bad, but the minute I was free I would go back to my old ways—for the most part.
And Callum’s look was all wrong for me too. He was clean cut and professional—I preferred my men with more of an edge. Except, my mind whispered, the last few guys I’d been involved with got boring after a while. It was like “Okay dude, I get it. You’re sooo dangerous.”
I reminded myself that none of that mattered anyway. From now on, I was going to put the kibosh on any familiarity with Mr. Murdoch. My focus would be getting through the next couple of months without getting any more involved in his life, or the lives of his family, than necessary.
For that matter, I wasn’t going to waste my time here lying around thinking. I needed to get busy on making a plan for after my punishment was up. After pulling myself up from my comfy cocoon, I sat at the small writing desk in the corner of the room.
My first order of business would be writing a note to my minions letting them know I was still alive. My poor minions, I thought. They must be adrift without me.
For a few moments, the only sound in the room was the scribbling of the pen. When I was done, two pages were filled with instructions. Just because I couldn’t be there didn’t mean they couldn’t continue our work in my absence.
Most of the items on the list were mundane, like finding a new lair. But I also instructed them to get to work on a contingency plan in case I needed to go underground. The only way that would happen was if things got really screwed up, and my father made good on his threat of exile. I didn’t plan to fail, but a good leader always had a Plan B.
It felt good to work on something productive. But the satisfaction was short-lived when I realized I had no way to get the letter to my minions. When Callum or Kira weren’t with me, Hannah was around. They never let me out of the house on my own. My initial wave of excitement dulled as I realized the list was probably a waste of time. I crumpled up the paper and put it under my pillow. I would have put it in the trash, but I didn’t want to risk someone finding it when they emptied the basket.
Just when I was about to plop on the bed again in frustration, the doorbell’s chime echoed through the house. I went to my window to see who it was.
Sydney was standing on the front porch with a handsome man who was not Logan. The man’s dark hair and olive skin contrasted nicely with his pink dress shirt. I wondered who he was until I saw a third person approach the porch carrying a large portfolio. My eyes narrowed when I recognized her—Geraldine Stern, my former minion.
What was she doing here?
That’s when I remembered what Sydney had said the other day about Geraldine and Syd’s former assistant, Jorge, handling the wedding.
I closed the curtain when the front door opened. The sounds of greetings filtered through the house from the foyer. I briefly debated staying in my room versus making an appearance. Chances were good that if I went down there I’d run into Callum, which, after what had happened in the garden, I wasn’t thrilled about. On the other hand, I was curious about how Geraldine would react if she saw me.
She had been one of my star minions. Her work had been impeccable, and she had actually been the mastermind behind Sydney’s kidnapping. However, we’d had a falling out when she demanded I turn her into a vampire. She had actually thought I was serious when I promised her just that when she came to work for me. But I was quick to remind her that as a lowly mortal she didn’t deserve to become immortal like me. She left in a huff and went straight to Logan to rat me out—the turncoat. She even had the nerve to come with the Murdoch family to “rescue” Sydney and then lecture me about my behavior.
Given her new role as wedding planner for Sydney and Logan, they had obviously forgiven Geraldine for her indiscretions. But I hadn’t forgotten. So I decided to go down there and stir up some shit.
When I got downstairs, the sound of laughter and excited conversation came from Kira’s study. Apparently, everyone was chattering about the impending nuptials. I glanced into the rooms attached the foyer and was relieved not to see Callum.
Just when I was about to head to the study, I heard a gasp from the vicinity of the front door. The guy I assumed was Jorge stood frozen by the door holding a box overflowing with fabric in one muscled arm. His mouth hung open in shock.
“Yes?” I asked impatiently, anxious to confront Geraldine.
“Oh, honey, no, no, no,” he said, finally recovering from his shock enough to walk toward me.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re Raven, right? Sydney told me you’d be here. Anyway, that look is all wrong for you. The Goth look is so 1990s. Besides, with your coloring you’re definitely a ‘summer.’”
“Hey!” I said, swatting his hand away from my hair and backing away. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“All that black you’re wearing is washing you out. Your coloring screams ‘summer,’ meaning you should opt for soft tones, like pink or aqua.”
“First off, crazy much? Second, I wouldn’t be caught dead in pink. And third, who the hell are you?”
“Let’s just say I’m the man who’s going to turn you from fashion foolish into fashion fabulous.” He snapped his fingers in some bizarre Z pattern in the air. The gesture made him look like some kind of effeminate Zorro.
Before I could figure out what the hell was going on, Sydney walked in.
“Jorge? What’s taking you so long?”
When she noticed me, she said, “Oh, Raven. Sorry, I thought Jorge might be talking to Callum out here. We couldn’t find him earlier.”
“I saw him drive off when I went to the car to grab the box of fabrics,” Jorge said.
“Dammit, he knew we were coming over, too. Oh well, we can go over this with Kira and she can fill him in later. Now, what were you two talking about?”
I shook my head because I’d be damned if I had any clue what he’d been gushing about. Jorge, on the other hand, hopped up and down in his excitement to tell her.
“Raven’s getting a makeover!” he exclaimed.
My mouth dropped open.
I didn’t recall any mention of a makeover in his ramblings, and I sure as hell hadn’t agreed to get one.
“Now just a damned minute—” I started, but he cut me off.
“First order of business will be getting rid of that awful black hair. What do you use to get it that color? Rub your head inside a chimney? Anyway, that has to go. Then we need to get rid of every piece of black clothing she owns. She looks like a corpse,” he babbled.
“Hold on—” I started to protest the insults he was hurling at my carefully crafted look, but he took off again. I looked at Sydney for support, but she just shrugged and smiled indulgently at the lunatic.
“And the makeup? Way too severe for your features. Besides, smoky eye makeup is for evening only. And you definitely need the works: waxing, facial, manicure, and I would bet my collection of In Style magazines that your feet are in desperate need of a pedi.”
Suddenly a piercing whistle interrupted Jorge’s recitation of my fashion foibles. We all turned to see Geraldine removing her fingers from her mouth. Kira stood next to her, chuckling.
“What is going on out here?” Geraldine asked. “Jorge, the last time I saw you this excited was the shoe sale at Saks.”
“Geraldine! We have a new project.” He paused dramatically. “Raven’s getting a makeover!” He actually sang the words as if merely speaking them couldn’t express his joy at the prospect.
Geraldine’s mouth dropped open as she pointed at me.
“That Raven?” she asked, infusing the words with incredulity.
“Now hold on,” I said, holding my hands up to stop the insanity. “No one is making me over.”
“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun,” Jorge said, sounding like I just ruined his special dream.
“Actually, it might not be a bad idea,” Kira said, hesitantly. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your appearance.”
Okay, now I was starting to get offended. I looked at Sydney, who nodded reluctantly. Geraldine stood to the side, looking uncomfortable.