by Tina Folsom
Gratefully, Charles lowered himself to sit and watched his host do the same.
“You’re not going to tell me what this was about, are you?” Gabriel asked.
He took his time answering. “No.”
“Thought so. So how can I help you?”
“As I said, I’d like four bodyguards. And I’d like one of them to be Roxanne.” That part was crucial. It was the only way he could force her to be in his presence and give him the opportunity to mend old wounds.
“Maybe your hearing got damaged when Roxanne threw you against the wall, because you obviously didn’t hear that she just quit.”
Charles chuckled. “Then you don’t know Roxanne very well.”
The Scanguards boss lifted an eyebrow and folded his hands. “Enlighten me.”
Charles jerked his thumb toward the door. “That was just her way of telling me that she still loves me.”
“Hmm. I think it’s time I called my wife to tend to your medical needs. It appears you’ve got a concussion in addition to those broken ribs.”
“Believe me, Mr. Giles, there’s nothing wrong with my brain.”
Though he couldn’t say the same for his mind—which he’d clearly lost.
2
Twenty-three years earlier
At the door to the hotel room, Roxanne stopped and looked over her shoulder. The hallway was empty. She knocked. The door swung open instantly, and Charles pulled her into the room, closing the door behind her.
Their lips fused instantly. He was kissing her with the same longing that she’d tried to keep contained during the long nights they’d been apart. Roxanne slung her arms around him and felt possessiveness surge through her, despite the fact that what they were doing was wrong. Wrong on so many levels. Because a vampire should never love a witch. But she couldn’t command her heart to stop loving him, no matter the consequences. Charles embodied everything she’d ever wanted in a man: strength, integrity, and kindness.
Breathing hard, Charles released her lips and pressed his forehead to hers. “Did anybody see you?”
“I waited until Silas left with his men.” She shuddered internally, knowing all too well that whenever Silas and his motley crew of sadistic vampires left the compound, they did so to wreak havoc. And she was caught in the middle.
“Good.”
“But I don’t have much time.” She had to be back before the men returned and noticed her gone, or Silas would assign somebody to keep an eye on her.
“I know, baby,” Charles murmured and busied himself with shoving her top up and pulling it over her head. Cool air blew against her heated skin, providing much needed relief. “But I need you. It’s been too long.”
Roxanne was already unbuttoning his shirt. They only ever had these stolen moments and knew how to make the most of it.
They were both naked within seconds. Charles maneuvered them to the large bed which had already been turned down. When Roxanne felt the soft sheets beneath her back and Charles’s naked body on top of her, she sighed in contentment.
She loved his well-toned physique, his lean torso, his muscled thighs. And his face framed by short, dark hair, his strong jaw, full lips, and straight nose. But most of all she loved his chocolate-colored eyes. They signified everything good about him: he was a man of honor.
“Charles, I need you,” she murmured against his neck. “Please take me.”
“I need you just as much. But I won’t rush it. You deserve better. Damn, you deserve so much better than that animal—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Let’s not talk about him. You know I can’t break up with him. I know too much about his operations. He can’t afford to let me live.”
One of the bedside lamps blew out.
“Charles!” she urged him, knowing his power had been the culprit. She’d never been afraid of it, though she had no defense against it. “Please, you’ve got to stay in control.” Or they might draw attention to themselves. Which they couldn’t afford. It was one of the reasons they always met at different places, never at Charles’s home for fear that one day somebody might follow her.
“How can I?” he ground out. “When you’re with him, I fear for your life. Don’t you understand what it does to me?” He rolled off her and stared at the ceiling. “We can’t go on like this any longer.”
She sat up with a start. “Are you telling me you’re leaving me?” A sob worked its way up her chest, but before it could roll over her lips, Charles had reared up and gripped her shoulders.
“Why would you think that? How could I ever leave you? I love you, Roxanne! More than life itself.”
Though the words were a relief, his stormy facial expression didn’t help ease her worries. “Then what?”
“We have to go away. Together.”
“But he won’t let me go.”
“You’re not going to ask for permission.”
“He’ll chase me.”
“Not if he thinks you’re dead.”
Her heartbeat accelerated. “Oh my God, what are you planning?”
He cupped her cheek and stroked it, looking deep into her eyes. “I’ve thought it all through. It’s the only way for us to be together. We have to stage your death.”
“But how?”
“Two nights from now, I’ll make sure Silas gets word from an informant that there’s easy prey waiting for him. He and his men will leave the compound. That’s when you’ll act.”
Roxanne bit her lip, worry charging through her. To cross an evil man like Silas was akin to signing her own death sentence. “If anything goes wrong, he’ll hunt me down like a dog. I should just kill him.”
“No!” Charles nearly yelled the word. “Even if you’re able to kill him, his men will slaughter you. You’ll never get out of there alive. I won’t let you do it. I’d rather go in there myself and kill him.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “You know you won’t get close enough. His men will sense you, despite your power, or maybe because of it. They’ll have the upper hand. They’ll kill you just because they can. And if they do that, you know I won’t remain idle. You know I’ll try to stop them. And then we’ll both die. We’ll never get away alive if we try to kill Silas.”
“Then we have no other choice. We have to make sure Silas thinks you’re dead. We’ll make sure your death is believable. Since a vampire doesn’t leave a body behind, but only dust, it’ll be simple. Take your jewelry off and drop it to the floor in your room, together with your cell phone. Make it look like there was a break-in. Leave a stake on the ground, and sprinkle dust in the same spot.”
“He’ll never believe it. The compound is secure. Silas made sure of that.”
Charles shook his head and stood up, reaching for his jacket. “If there’s evidence of witchcraft, Silas will think a witch used a spell to get inside and kill you.” He pulled an amulet out of the inside pocket and showed it to her.
“What is it?”
“It’s a witch’s protection stone. Many witches carry them. Tear it off the leather string and toss it on the floor in your room. Make it look like you were fighting a witch. When Silas finds it, he’ll have proof that you were killed by a witch. He won’t try to find you. He’ll be too busy getting revenge on the witches.”
“But won’t that endanger every witch in this city?”
Charles laid the amulet on the bedside table before joining her on the bed again. “There’s already open war between the vampires and the witches. This won’t change anything. It won’t make relations between the two species any more strained than they already are. What it will do, is free you. You know that. Deep down you know that this is our only chance. We can’t expect help from my fellow witches. They would never accept you. They’d kill you on sight. We’re on our own. Just you and me.”
“Are you really prepared to give all this up for me?”
“Oh, Roxanne, what would I be giving up? You know I’m not part of a coven. I’ve never liked their draconian rule
s and their preconceived ideas of who’s good and who’s bad. Look at us.” He slid his hand under her chin, stroking her jaw with his thumb. “Haven’t we proven that there needn’t be war and hatred between our species? Haven’t we proven that there can be love?”
Tears rose to her eyes. “I’m scared, Charles.”
“Don’t be.” Charles pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her naked torso. “We’ll have a future. Together. We’ll be free. Don’t you want that?”
“I do.”
“Then trust me.”
She locked eyes with him, seeing her love for him reflected back at her. “I trust you.”
He smiled at her. “Tell me you love me.”
“I love you.”
“Enough to spend eternity with me?”
“Eternity?”
“Yes, as a blood-bonded couple. Because the thought of you ever biting another person enrages me.” As if to emphasize his statement, the lights in the room flickered, responding to the power inside him. “I want the only blood you ever drink to be mine.”
“Charles…” Her gaze trailed to his neck, where a thick vein throbbed. She could hear the beating of his pulse, smell the richness of his blood. His witch’s blood. Most vampires hated the taste of it, but not her. She loved it. Loved tasting him, drinking from him. Just as she loved the way he responded to her bite. She’d never seen a man turn so passionate and unrestrained. “My love.” She ran her hand through his thick dark hair, pulling him closer. “As if I could drink another man’s blood.”
A flicker of excitement flashed in his eyes. He lifted his hand to her face, rubbing his thumb over her lower lip. “Show them to me.”
Roxanne parted her lips and allowed her fangs to descend.
“God, you’re beautiful,” Charles whispered and pressed her back into the sheets, rolling over her.
She felt his erection rub against her thigh. She loved that about him too—that he got hard so fast. It made her feel desired.
“I love you, Roxanne.”
Gazing into her eyes, he plunged into her, his thick shaft filling her, stretching her. The first invasion was always like this: breathtaking, exhilarating, thrilling. And every time she craved it more. Craved him more. She’d never loved Silas like that. Not even before she’d discovered how evil he was.
But Charles… In him she’d found her soul mate. The only man who truly understood her and fulfilled her every need.
His movements were slow at first, almost teasing. She wrapped her legs around his upper thighs, pulling him closer into her center.
Charles chuckled at her attempt to urge him to go faster and harder. “You little vixen. Think you can use your vampire strength to make me rush this?” He laughed. “Think again.”
Before she knew what he was about to do, she felt a tightness around her wrists. Her eyes shot to them, but there was nothing to see. Nevertheless, invisible tendrils pulled her hands back, until they came to rest to either side of her head as if somebody was pinning her. Charles was using witchcraft to make her comply with his wishes.
“How devious,” she murmured, though she couldn’t suppress a smile, even though her hands were now tied by invisible ropes. Ropes not even her vampire strength could tear.
“Now be a good woman and let me make love to you the way you deserve it. Slowly and gently.”
“Why do you think I deserve it?”
“Because you made me forget why witches hate vampires and see you for what you really are: a woman with a good and generous heart. And because I can’t live without you.”
She felt moisture collect in her eyes as she gazed at him.
“See,” he whispered, tenderly stroking his fingers along her neck, down to her nipple, where he rubbed over the hard bud. “That’s the woman I love. The woman who surrenders to me when I surrender to her.”
Slowly he broke eye contact and lowered his head to her breast, capturing the peak and swiping his tongue over it. A strangled moan escaped from her throat and bounced against the walls of the hotel room.
“Then surrender already,” she demanded.
“I am.” He sucked harder, while he kneaded her flesh with his hand.
Farther below, his hips began to move, and he withdrew his cock before sliding back into her.
“I am surrendering,” he repeated, plunging deeper and harder.
Suddenly she felt the restraints on her wrists loosening, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, drawing him closer.
“Yes,” she cried out and arched her back.
“Fuck, baby! You’re gonna make me come too quickly.”
“I don’t care!” All she needed was to feel him shudder inside her to know everything would turn out alright. “Just love me.”
“Always, my love, always.”
She welcomed it when he started pounding into her, when he drove his cock deeper than she thought was possible. The sounds of their lovemaking were amplified in the small room of the dingy hotel. Moans and sighs bounced off the walls. But Roxanne could hear other sounds too, sounds Charles’s witch hearing couldn’t pick up: the sound of their heartbeats as they drummed more frantically, beating faster and louder with every second.
She felt the pleasure rise in her body, the waves of her approaching orgasm growing stronger, and she knew it was time.
Sliding her hand into his hair, she pulled him to her. His eyes sparkled in anticipation, and he tilted his head, offering her what they both wanted. That special connection that only a vampire’s bite could create.
Underneath her palm, she felt him shiver.
“Oh, God, yes,” he uttered with a groan, making her want him even more, because he gave himself so fully to her. Without restraints, without regret.
Her fangs itched, and she brought them to his skin. She licked over it, tasting the saltiness of his clean sweat, feeling the quivering vein beneath it. Unable to resist a second longer, she drove the sharp tips of her fangs into his neck and sucked on the plump vein.
Rich blood filled her mouth, while farther below, Charles’s cock spasmed, and his seed poured into her. She swallowed her lover’s blood, and as it ran down her throat, her entire body convulsed, her orgasm slamming into her like a tidal wave the size of a skyscraper. Together they rode the wave’s crest, hovering suspended in an ocean of ecstasy.
Nothing had ever felt this right. This good. This perfect. Just like their future would be perfect.
She believed it then, in that moment. Believed it with all her heart. Her soul. Her life.
Only to have her trust in him obliterated two days later.
3
Present day
Roxanne sat up in bed and switched on her cell phone. She’d slept badly, dreamt even worse. The personnel department at Scanguards had sent her a text message. They claimed she needed to come to the office for an exit interview so they could cut her final check. She didn’t believe that for a single second. Nevertheless, she got out of bed and took a shower.
An hour later, she entered Mission HQ. She entered Gabriel’s office. He wasn’t alone. He’d brought in the big gun: Samson.
The owner of Scanguards, a handsome vampire with raven-black hair, hazel eyes, and a reputation for being fair and tough, pointed to a chair. “Take a seat, Roxanne.”
“I’m not staying long.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Samson nodded. “Then let me make this short.” He rose from his chair and approached. “You’re part of our family.”
Where had she heard that before? Oh yeah, Silas. He’d always said things like that, though coming from Samson’s mouth, the words lacked the menace that Silas had used to turn them into a threat.
“You’ve been with us for over twenty years, and we’ve all grown fond of you.” He smiled. “The girls all look up to you.”
“Vanessa wants to be like you,” Gabriel threw in, referring to his seventeen-year-old daughter. “What am I gonna tell
her if she finds out you’re leaving us?”
Samson pointed over his shoulder to his second in command. “He’s got a hard enough time keeping his kids in check. We’ll have a riot on our hands, and they’ll blame us for your leaving.”
“You’re exaggerating.” It wasn’t that she wasn’t fond of the young hybrids, the half-vampire, half-human children of her bosses and colleagues, but there were more important issues at hand. She couldn’t be in the same city as Charles. “They’ll get over it.”
“Will you?”
She clenched her jaw, knowing very well what he was alluding to. “I’m tougher than you think I am.” She’d survived a devastating betrayal, she could survive this.
Gabriel rose from his chair and joined Samson. “And that’s exactly why we need you. In fact, you’re the only one who can help us with this case.”
She glared at Gabriel. “I already told you I won’t have anything to do with that devious witch. And neither should you! He’s only going to screw you over.”
“I’m afraid,” Samson said calmly, “we have no choice. This is an assignment we can’t afford to reject.”
Roxanne scowled. “Don’t you have enough money? How greedy—”
“It’s not about money,” Samson interrupted, his tone sharper now. “Far from it. We have reason to believe that Mr. Dubois is lying to us.”
“His name isn’t Dubois, it’s Whedon. And I already told Gabriel that he’s lying. What else is there to do but reject his request?” Didn’t her bosses get that? They weren’t normally this dense.
“The fact that he’s lying, or rather, not telling us why exactly he needs heavy protection, is the reason we have to take this assignment,” Samson explained, exchanging a look with Gabriel. “I spoke to Haven and Katie.”
Roxanne shrugged, confused now. “What do Haven and Katie have to do with this?”
“Aside from Wes, they have the most experience with witches and their games. They share our suspicions.”
Roxanne braced her hands on her hips, impatient. “Can you come to the point?”
“We believe there’s something brewing in the witch world, and we want to make sure it doesn’t boil over into ours. Call it caution. Call it a pre-emptive strike. But we need to find out what he’s in town for.”