A wave of silence swelled steadily between them. Seconds ticked by, each feeling much longer than they were. Still, no one uttered a single word, nor did they pull away from one another. Just when Meena was about to break and fill the deafening silence with idle chatter, Rose burst into the training room.
Her sister was there, standing in the doorway, chomping gum, picking her fingernails, and looking annoyed. “Meena, can you give me a lift to the house? I need to shower and get changed for my date.”
“Sure,” she said, pulling away from Bhaltair, wiping her cheek as she did. Rose wouldn’t understand the tears or why they’d come about. She couldn’t relate. She wasn’t “too human”. “I’m heading past the house as it is.”
“Awesome. You’re the best, sis.”
“Actually,” Bhaltair said, his voice slicing through the room. “I was going to ask Meena to remain behind this evening.”
Rose perked. “Going to try to teach her to defend herself again, Walter? That didn’t end so well the last time.”
Meena groaned. “Please stop calling him that.”
“Why? It’s his name in English,” she said.
“But does he really strike you as a Walter?” Meena asked, knowing her sister was just being difficult for the sake of it. “Really?”
Rose grinned. “You’re adorable. You defend him all the time.” She looked at Bhaltair. “Just yesterday Dad was trying to convince Mom that the world would be better off if you were living in Scotland again instead of ten minutes from us. Meena went nuts. You should have seen it. She told Dad she’d move too if he talked Grandpa into relocating you.”
Bhaltair appeared surprised. “Truly?”
“You ready?” Meena asked her sister, wanting away from Bhaltair’s questioning gaze. It was no secret that her father and Bhaltair rarely, if ever, saw eye to eye. It was also evident to Rose that Meena had a soft spot for Bhaltair.
Rose’s grin widened. She was up to no good. “Sure, but don’t you want to know why Walter wants you to hang out here?”
She glanced at Bhaltair. “Maybe later.”
“Or, he could come with us. I mean, you never have plans, right? Bet Old Walter there would like to get out.”
Meena swallowed hard. While Bhaltair was numerically old, he didn’t look a day over thirty. And he never would look any older than that. “Actually, I need to pick up a book at the library and then stop past Carol’s.”
Rose’s face scrunched. “Is Carol making another dress for you? Don’t you have enough?”
Meena grinned, but it was forced. She had special plans coming up with a man who she liked, but he wasn’t Bhaltair. “This one is for a date.”
“Would this date happen to be with the tall, hunky, dark-haired guy I spotted you with a few days back?” her sister inquired.
“Do you skulk in bushes?” Meena asked, only partially joking.
“When I can.” Rose smirked. “Tell, tell. Is it the same guy I saw you having coffee with the other evening?”
Blushing, Meena nodded. “Yes.”
“And isn’t he the same guy I see in the science wing at the university all the time? He a teacher’s assistant or something?”
Meena bit her lower lip, sensing Bhaltair staring intensely at her. “Yes, he’s in the science wing a lot. He’s not a teacher’s assistant.”
Rose whistled. “Holy crap, Batman, you’re dating a professor. Meena, I’ve never been prouder. He’s hot. Way hot. Tell me he’s dynamite in the sack.”
Meena’s gaze whipped to Bhaltair. This wasn’t a topic she wanted discussed at all, let alone in front of him. She sucked in a deep breath, her cheeks close to the color of her sister’s hair. She had to force herself to look away and back to her sister. “Are you ready to go or not?”
Rose pointed, her eyes the size of half-dollars. “Oh, Meena! He is, isn’t he? He looks like he would be. I mean, hot with a toned, tight body. He’s as big as Bhaltair. Didn’t know humans came built that hot.”
Meena tensed at the suggestion her date was human.
Her sister caught the movement. “Meena, he is human, right? Dad gave you the giant ‘no boys’ lecture years ago and then he added the bit that he might be willing to permit you to date a human guy since you’re so…well, human.”
Fighting the urge to tear up once more, Meena stood proud. “It doesn’t matter. I’m an adult, and what I do with my spare time is my concern and my concern alone. And I’d appreciate you stopping with the digs about me. I’m painfully aware of what I am and what I’m not. And if I happen to find someone who makes me happy and who doesn’t care about my limitations, that is my business. Period.”
Rose’s jaw dropped. “He’s a supernatural?”
Meena grunted but managed a slight nod.
“Sis, he could hurt you.” Rose lowered her voice like it would keep the vampire near them from hearing. “Meena, during sex he could accidentally kill you. It’s not safe for you to be with a supernatural male. He could rip you to shreds without meaning to.”
“Everything comes down to sex with you, doesn’t it?”
Rose merely stared at her.
With a shake of her head, Meena attempted to walk away. Rose rushed toward her and touched her. “Dammit, Meena, this is serious. I don’t want you hurt. I love you. And Dad would lose his mind if he found out you’re seeing a supernatural. Let’s be honest, Walter here doesn’t look too hip to the idea either.”
Bhaltair actually looked like he wanted to snap something in two. Meena hoped it wasn’t her. He said nothing as he turned his back to her. For some strange reason, she felt as if she’d betrayed him.
That was absurd. They weren’t a couple. Still, seeing Bhaltair’s back to her and the way his shoulders were squared left something inside Meena demanding she go to him. That she ease his pain.
She glanced briefly at her sister. “Rose, take my keys and go wait in my car. Please.”
Her sister didn’t protest. She did as asked for once.
Meena touched Bhaltair’s back. “Are you going to tell my father?”
“I should.” He didn’t face her.
“I know, but I’m asking if you’re going to?”
“You may nae like Rose’s words, but they’re true,” Bhaltair said. “A supernatural male could hurt you without meaning to. He could kill you when all he wanted to do was love you, lass.”
“I don’t believe that. If he loves me, he’ll find a way to keep from hurting me.”
He looked over his shoulder partially. “I hurt you, Meena. I broke your bones when I was trying to train you. Do you think I meant to do that?”
She pressed herself against his back and slid her arms around his waist. Without thought, she kissed his back, not once, but twice, before putting her forehead to it. She squeezed him gently and closed her eyes. The action felt totally natural, even though she’d never done anything of the sort with him before. She just had to touch him, to calm him. To keep him from slipping into an angry state. Though she wasn’t sure why. “I’ve never thought you hurt me on purpose.”
He stiffened.
She put her cheek to his back, taking full advantage of whatever was happening between them. It felt right. “Bhal, since then, since you figured out I wasn’t as sturdy as a supernatural, you haven’t harmed me again.”
He snorted, his large hands moving over her small ones. “Then see me instead of another supernatural male.”
Shocked, she almost believed what he was saying before realizing he was probably trying to ease the tension. She chuckled and kissed his back again. “Thanks for making me laugh. I was worried you’d throw a fit and summon my dad or grandfather.”
“The idea of seeing me as more than a friend is humorous?” he asked.
She giggled at the idea that he was being serious. “As if you’d ever see me as anything more than your best friend’s human granddaughter. Let’s be honest here. I know how you see me—as too human to bother with. I need to go. Are we all righ
t?”
He cupped her hands gently, squeezing them lightly. “Stay.”
“Bhal, I have a book to grab, and then I need to see if my dress fits.”
He caressed her hand and her breath caught.
“Let me take you,” he said. “We can spend the night together, running yer errands.”
Meena had to struggle to keep from jumping up and down with excitement at the idea he really wanted to spend time with her.
“Doesn’t seem very fun for you,” she replied, enjoying being pressed against him more than she should. She also grew painfully aware of their size difference. He was massive. She wasn’t.
“Let Rose take yer car,” he said, sliding one hand up her arm in a way that left a shiver of excitement rushing through her. “We’ll take mine.”
She found it impossible to deny him or let go of him. “Yes.”
He patted her hands. “Guid.”
She squeezed before finally finding the resolve to release him. When he turned to face her, she couldn’t look away from him. The man was beautiful in the manliest of ways. His lips twitched, and he gave her a partial smile.
Meena couldn’t seem to stop herself from reaching up and touching the edges of his mouth. “I love it when you smile.”
His smile widened. “While you tell Rose, I’ll shower and change,” he said, taking a few steps and then stopping, his gaze heated and on her. “Then you can tell me more of this man yer seeing. I wish to meet him.”
“Bhal?” she asked, her entire body heating from his smoldering gaze. She shook her head, coming to her senses. “What? No. Why?”
He lifted a brow. “Either allow me to meet him, or I will have no choice but to tell yer father about him. After all, I want you safe. As does he.”
Her emotions deflated. “I see.”
“Meena.”
She averted her gaze. “I’m not feeling so well. I think I’ll just skip the errands and head back to my dorm for the night.”
He was suddenly before her, his body nearly bumping hers. “Meena, no. Do nae pull away from me.”
Confused, she met his stare. “I’m just going to go to my dorm and call it a night.”
“No,” he said, his hand finding her cheek. “Yer angry with me so you wish distance between us. Yer hurt I’d threaten to tell yer father of the other.”
She nodded, blinking back tears.
“Then allow me to meet him so that I do nae worry about you,” he said, sliding his arms around her, wrapping her in a large hug. “Set my mind at ease, lass. Please.”
She put her palm to his chest and closed her eyes, letting him hold her. “Yes.”
“And you will permit me to take you for yer errands on this night?” he asked, one of his hands moving to her hair.
“Yes.”
Chapter 3
Bhaltair had to fight with every fiber of his being to keep from lifting Meena in his arms and ravishing her. He had wrestled with the urge to claim her from the moment of her eighteenth birthday, nearly four years prior. Each moment he was permitted close to her was another he suffered in silence, knowing he could not have her. She was not a supernatural. She was not up for grabs, and there was no way he’d earned enough good will with the Powers That Be to have her as his mate. If anything, he’d spent so much of his life playing for the wrong side in the fight between good and evil that he’d probably never be blessed with a mate—a destined love.
There was still the slimmest of hopes that Meena, like her mother, would have latent gifts. Gifts that would show once she was sexually active—as had happened with her mother—but Bhaltair couldn’t be the man to test the theory. As much as he wanted to be the one who sank into her tight body and found release in her silken depths, he couldn’t. It would be all too easy as a supernatural male to lose control and harm her without meaning to. To break her when all he wanted to do was love her.
He was at war with himself over the matter. He knew he couldn’t touch her in such a way, but the idea of permitting another to touch her, sample her, know the pleasures of her body, was too much for him. But if a human male didn’t, then Bhaltair would never know if Meena was supernatural as well.
Still, his body ached for her touch, for her closeness. He hated knowing she’d found someone else. That she was now dating. Even the word was horrible. Dating? It sounded so pedestrian. Meena was not a woman one simply dated. She was a woman one wooed. A woman one spent endless hours crafting the perfect poem about, but that would still fail to capture the essence of her beauty. A woman a man would never tire of. She was a gift. And Bhaltair wanted to rip apart the man who dared to think that gift belonged to him. Adding in that the man was supernatural, of all things, infuriated Bhaltair even more.
He had to push his inner demon down as it tried to poke through. It didn’t like hearing that she was seeing another man either. Bhaltair was to be feared, for sure, but the demon he carried was far worse. Should Bhaltair permit it freedom and allow it to do as it wished, there was a high likelihood the male Meena was dating would be found dead, missing skin and vital body parts.
Calm yerself, he thought, willing it so.
It took a great deal of effort, but he managed to gain some semblance of control.
When he’d awoken from his daily slumber, Meena had been the first thing he’d thought about. That wasn’t rare. What was different was the overwhelming feeling that she was in danger. He’d never felt such a thing before in regards to her and hadn’t been able to shake the sensation. He’d been pleased to see her arrive with her sister for Rose’s training session. Meena had made herself scarce of late. He knew part of that was his fault—that he’d kept her at arm’s length because of how much he’d always wanted her, but he should have realized she was putting distance between them because she had a new man in her life.
A supernatural.
Do nae go into that dark place once more.
Bhaltair kept his wits about him, though he was still unable to let go of the feeling Meena was in danger. The fear had been what had prompted him to ask her to remain behind, to let Rose go on ahead. He had hoped that would ease his unfounded fears. It didn’t.
Yer being ridiculous. She is fine. Yer just jealous and overprotective.
He inhaled her sweet scent, cradling her body to his, wanting to hold her this way for all eternity. She had not permitted him this many liberties before, nor had he tried to take them.
“What is taking so long?” The door to the gym opened and Rose appeared, looking annoyed, as usual. She paused, her expression changing somewhat at the sight of them.
When Bhaltair noticed Rose’s gaze narrowing, he got the distinct impression she was jealous.
She does nae like sharing my attention, he thought, refusing to release Meena. Rose had always been spoiled. While he was sure Rose had no interest in him sexually, she did want to be the center of attention.
“You fall and skin a knee again, sis?” asked Rose snidely. “That why Walt is holding you and you look like you’ve been crying? Again.”
“Rose,” he said in a warning fashion, the overwhelming feeling that Meena was in grave danger returning tenfold. He couldn’t permit her to leave. “Take Meena’s vehicle and go. I will see to it she gets home.”
Rose dropped her bag on the floor. “If she can’t drive, I’ll drive her home. Thanks.”
Meena began to pull away, but he held her in place, planted against him. The look he shot Rose stopped the young woman in her tracks. “You’ve a date, do you nae? Hurry along.”
She squared her shoulders. “I do. Sis, you okay?”
Meena laughed softly. “I’m good.”
“Want to tell me what is going on?” asked Rose. “Is everything okay?”
Meena pressed slightly on him. “Everything is great. Really.”
“Okay,” said Rose as she left the building.
Bhaltair eased his hold on Meena. “I should shower.”
“I think you smell perfect,” she said.
She grabbed his hand. “Bhaltair?”
“Yes.”
“This is different tonight, right?” she asked, looking down at their joined hands. “We keep touching a lot.”
He nodded. It was different for them, but it was how he’d always wished it had been between them. He’d always fought the urge to touch her. “It is different.”
“Is it wrong?”
His breath caught. As a loyal subject to her grandfather his response should have been that it was wrong—that wasn’t what came out of his mouth. “No, Meena. It’s exactly as it should be.”
She gifted him a smile.
“Wait right here while I shower.”
She nodded.
Chapter 4
“Tell me of this man yer seeing,” said Bhaltair as he shifted gears in one of the many the expensive sports cars he owned.
Meena pursed her lips and debated how much information he could handle at the moment. From the tense way he was holding himself and driving, she wasn’t sure he could handle much in the way of the truth. “He’s a professor at the university.”
“One of yer professors?” he asked, glancing at her briefly.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then how did the two of you meet?” he asked.
She laughed softly, remembering her first encounter with Rudy. “My lab partner needed to drop a paper off to him. She’s in his class. Not me. We went past his office and once we stepped in and I saw him, I don’t know, it just clicked.”
“What clicked?” asked Bhaltair.
“That he wasn’t human,” she said honestly. “I even blurted out the word ‘wolf’.”
Bhaltair slammed on the brakes and she went forward, her seat belt holding her in place. He stared straight ahead at the darkened, empty road. “Yer seeing a shifter?”
Taming the Vampire: Over 25 All New Paranormal Alpha Male Tales of Contemporary, Military, Shifters, Billionaires, Werewolves, Magic, Fae, Witches, Dragons, Demons & More Page 46