by Carly Hansen
To her utter surprise, Micha laughed, then got to his feet.
Studying her face closely, he peeled off his jacket, then his T-shirt. He threw them on the ground.
The shadows cast by the moonlight highlighted the muscles that bulged on his large arms and rippled down his abdomen.
Despite the fear that still pounded in Fenix’s heart, the corner of her mouth involuntarily twitched and threatened to curl up in a smile. Stupid, stupid girl, her mind lectured. What’s come over you?
Her entire body tingled, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from breaking into a giddy smile.
“Stop that!” her mind scolded.
But then Micha smiled down at her.
A rush of blood surged through her.
He shifted his weight, and, before she knew it, he had stepped out of his loafers and stood barefooted.
He walked to the edge of the wharf and faced the sea. With a smooth motion, he swung his powerful arms above his head and brought his palms together. He bent his knees, sank down, then rose again and dove forward.
He barely made a sound as he plunged into the water and disappeared.
Fenix’s heart leapt.
That was an extraordinarily stupid thing to do, she thought.
The wharf had been turned into something of a dumping ground when its economy had died. Buildings had been torn down and the rubble had been bulldozed into the water. Rather than paying to cart away dismantled machinery, the owners had sent them to a watery grave.
Never in the past three years had she been remotely tempted to enter these treacherous waters.
She bent forward, her eyes scanning the dark, rippling surface.
Nothing.
Minutes ticked by, but there was no sign of Micha.
Panic gripped her heart.
She barely knew how to swim, but even if she did, she didn’t have the strength to attempt a rescue. It was too far to run back to the warehouse. But it would do little good in any case. It was unlikely that Alda and the boys had returned. Only Gaius was there, and he was bound by chains and one of Alda’s curses.
Fenix felt desperate. “Micha,” she shouted.
There was no response.
Her body began to tremble. She screamed out his name twice more, but only the lapping of the water filled her ears.
No, this was not happening. She had just begun to know him, and even if circumstances meant that she had to draw away from him, she could not bear the thought of losing him like this.
“Micha!” she cried once more.
Only silence.
Not far away, the water rippled, then broke.
Micha’s head pushed up to the surface. His hair was wet and slick, and clung to his skull. He parted his lips and chuckled. “What?”
The bulky muscles on his shoulders bobbed up and down as he treaded in the water.
Fenix dipped the toe of her boot in and kicked water toward him. “You fool!”
He laughed loudly. “The water’s nice; you should join me.”
“You could’ve broken your neck. There’s all kind of debris in there.”
Micha swam toward her. “I was in no danger. I knew it was safe.”
“Yeah, sure. The water being pitch black and all.”
“It was my ears, not my eyes, that told me there was nothing to fear.”
“Huh?”
“Echolocation,” Micha said. “It’s like sonar. You can’t hear the sound I send out, but when it bounces back to my ears, I can tell what’s ahead of me.”
“Do all vampires do that?”
“None that I know of. The vampire who turned me was a mage who gave me this ability.”
The reference to Eurus reminded Fenix of why Micha had been turned, and it heightened her wariness.
Micha brought his legs to the surface. Long, pale toes wiggled above the dark water as he playfully swam on his back. He chuckled. “The water’s really quite nice. Jump in.”
Fenix arched her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me?”
Micha straightened up, then swam toward her and reached for her foot. She scooted back on her buttocks before shooting to her feet.
“What the devil do you think you’re doing?” she scolded.
Micha laughed, swimming to the edge of the wharf and pushing out of the water.
He approached her, breathing heavily from his recent exertion. His glistening pecs heaved and fell. Water trickled from his slicked-back hair and rolled down his massive delts and biceps.
Having Micha’s half-naked body so close made Fenix’s own breathing labored. All sorts of chemicals gushed and swirled around inside her. Every part of her tingled in an exquisite torment. In her mind, she had the utterly crazy vision of herself throwing her arms around this fine specimen of a man and planting a wet, frenzied kiss on his mouth.
But there was no way in hell that she could abandon herself to these cravings.
In a not-so-subtle attempt to create a barrier between them, Fenix folded her arms in front of her and glowered at Micha.
He only laughed and came closer, standing just one foot away from her. “Why didn’t you follow me in?”
“I think it’s stupid to jump off this wharf.”
“Even if you thought so at first, by the time I surfaced, you could see there was no danger.”
“I can’t swim.”
He shook his head. “Even if that’s true, that’s not the real reason you didn’t jump in.”
For the umpteenth time since he’d first called out to her this night, her heart did a summersault. She knew fully well that he was right, but she couldn’t let on.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me now that the vampire who sired you also gave you the power to read minds.”
“Yes, he did.” Micha smiled broadly. “But for some strange reason, I can’t read yours. And that intrigues me.”
Fenix breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it wasn’t too obvious. She couldn’t even begin to contemplate the danger she would have been in if he could pick up her thoughts about being a peacesmith. Not only that, if he knew the stupid desires that raged through her whenever he was near, she would die of embarrassment.
“Even so…” Micha said, penetrating her with his blue eyes. “I know your secret.”
Fenix stepped back, speechless.
Micha stepped forward, again narrowing the gap between them. “You didn’t follow me in the water because you couldn’t afford to lose your jacket or your T-shirt.”
Fenix had to try to stall, but her mental capacity was failing her. “That’s absurd,” she muttered.
Micha laughed. “My ability to read minds doesn’t work on you, but the same can’t be said of my sense of smell.”
Unable to say anything, Fenix gritted her teeth.
Micha smiled, apparently thoroughly enjoying her discomfort. “You may be able to fool a crotchety, thousand-year-old witch and a gang of inexperienced boys, but you can’t hide from me.”
Fenix broke their stare and turned her head to look at the dark waters. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Micha throw back his head. His laugh was deep and full, as if he was enjoying something delicious.
“You’re no boy, Fenix,” he said. “You’re a girl. No, I correct that. You’re a young woman.”
Chapter 29
Micha knew.
Like Alda, he had figured out her ruse. At least it didn’t seem to make him want to devour her, Fenix thought.
She didn’t know if the same would hold true if he found out the other secret about her identity. Perhaps it was that the serum he took had dulled his senses, or maybe it was that the mark that had been placed on her head had overpowered his ability to detect that she was a peacesmith, just like it had blocked Alda. Fenix had no way to have confidence in the former. Her body trembled at the thought that the protection offered by the latter would soon come to an end.
“Look at me,” Micha said.
“That’s better,” he said as a calm smile spread across his handsome face. “What I have to say is important, and I prefer to look into your eyes as I say it.”
“How long have you known?” The question flew off Fenix’s lips without her giving it much forethought. She just wanted to distract him, to play this down, and maybe lead him off the topic.
“From the first moment I saw you. I’d heard of the reputation of Alda’s current crew and its main fighter. But before I first laid eyes on you, I had no clue you weren’t the brave boy you were reputed to be. That first night, I saw what looked like a young man step forward and put a sword to my throat. But I didn’t get the acrid scent of testosterone-laden blood. Instead, my senses told me that it was the sweeter female blood coursing through the creature before me. Naturally, I was intrigued.”
“Ha!”
Micha grinned. “Okay, so I know I may have come off as a little aloof, even hostile, sometimes. That wasn’t because of a lack of interest, but rather too much.”
He threw his head back and laughed, a little nervously this time.
“I had a fiancée once,” he said. “Like you, she was a plucky one. Her father was a wealthy merchant who forbade her from seeing a poor medical student. But she’d dress as a manservant and sneak out of the house so we could be together. When I saw you, the memory of her immediately flashed before my mind. I was instantly drawn to you. But I began fighting the feeling from that first moment.” He shook his head. “After I lost her, I swore I’d never be so weak and stupid as to lose my heart to another woman.”
Micha took a step closer to Fenix. They were so close now Fenix could feel her breath as it ricocheted off his glistening chest.
He inhaled deeply and widened his eyes. When he parted his lips to speak again, it struck Fenix that Micha was riding a wave of emotions that he probably couldn’t master.
“It’s been so long since I’ve felt this depth of desire,” he said. “I want to see more of you. Talk with you every day. Inhale you. Tease you and be teased by you.” He paused and smiled. “I ache to touch you.”
His eyes seemed to glow as he spoke. “You won’t have to hang out with ragtag street urchins any longer. You won’t have to be bossed about by Alda anymore. You can escape this wretched place.” He chuckled. “And as much as your get-up caught my attention, you won’t have to disguise your femininity anymore.”
His words were tumbling out, and Fenix felt she needed to cut in. Otherwise, he’d never stop.
“What are you talking about?” was the best she could do. She was trembling, almost giddy with the rush of emotions his words stirred up in her.
Micha sucked in the night air. “I want you to come live with me. My house is a beautiful old mansion. But it’s too big and grand for just one person. You’ll have your own quarters. You can even have a whole wing to yourself, if you like. But I want you there, where I can see you and be around you every day.”
“What?”
“And you can remain busy, too, if you like. I’m sure we can find something at the lab that you’d like to do. But if you prefer to take life easy and quit working, that’d be fine too. You’ll see. Life will only get better from now on.”
Micha smiled at Fenix with a look that told her he had no doubt she would take him up on his offer.
That ticked her off more than anything.
She was so livid she could hardly say a word.
Perhaps it was her silence, or maybe it was the frown on her face, that gave him the hint. He seemed to finally catch on that his offer wasn’t exactly causing Fenix to jump over the moon.
“What’s the matter?” he said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“About what?”
“This talk about my moving in with you.”
“I’m simply offering you a ticket out of here.” Micha waved his hand about the abandoned buildings on the wharf. “You deserve better than this, Fenix.”
“Better? Who are you to say that I’d be better off in a big, lonely house with you?”
“I know it might take some getting used to, but after you adjust—”
“After I adjust?” Fenix’s voice went up an octave. “Your arrogance is beyond astounding, Micah Angelo.”
“My what?”
“But that perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise since you must’ve had centuries of practice in being this way.”
“Arrogance?” Micha breathed in sharply. “I’ve wrestled with myself over the differences in our status. I’ve thrown off all pride in, and even respect for, the positions I hold as the founder and CEO of an enormously successful company and as the overlord of vampires of this region, to come here to speak to you as I have tonight. And you turn around and accuse me of arrogance?”
“Even on the extremely remote chance that I would’ve been inclined to consider your offer, did you seriously think I’d feel anything other than contempt for you after you so casually insulted me, along with everyone and everything I care for?”
Micha face went from anger to shock. It was as if Fenix’s words slapped him across the cheek. He stared at her with silent, uncomprehending eyes.
Fenix was so worked up emotionally that she couldn’t hold herself back. “If you’re so fond of branding and dismissing people as street urchins, then you must do the same for me, because I’m no different from those you write off as being unworthy. But those street urchins care for me, and they would risk their lives for me. And I feel the same about them. I would risk my life any day for any one of them.
“And Alda may be rough around the edges, and, sure, she’s a demanding boss. But I know that, deep down, she cares for me, for all of us she’s gathered under her wings.
“So what if the only home she can provide is something you look down on as a broken-down hovel? I can say, without any reservation, that I’m sure I’m a million times better off here, surrounded by the closest thing to a family I’ve had in years, than I could ever be in a big house with someone who has the kind of arrogance you’ve just displayed.”
Micha’s already-pale face blanched even further. He pursed his lips and lifted his chin, but his eyes glazed over in a pained expression.
That sight gave Fenix’s heart a twinge.
But it was too late for regret. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t take back anything she’d said.
It wasn’t as if she had any interest in changing her mind, in any case. Not only had Micha’s choice of words and attitude been offensive, but what he was proposing was also outrageous.
Who was Micha Angelo to think that she would turn her back on those who cared for her and whom she cared for in order move into his house to take up some unexplained, but no doubt subservient, status? She didn’t understand how he, even after knowing her for such a short time, would think she would jump at this vague opportunity just because of his wealth, status, and a grand mansion?
It was such a bad idea even if she were an ordinary girl. But there was the business of her being of a race Micha Angelo had been converted to destroy. He hadn’t discovered that aspect of her identity yet, but living within close quarters was sure to lead to the uncovering of a secret like that.
Although the hurt that showed in his eyes punctured Fenix’s defenses, backing down even an inch was out of the question.
Micha’s jaws moved up and down as he ground his teeth. “Well,” he said. “If it’s too much of a punishment for you to escape this existence and be with me, that’s fine. It just tells me I was a fool to ignore the social barriers between us to come here to speak to you tonight.”
He bent down and snatched up his clothes. Straightening, he brushed past Fenix without saying another word.
Fenix stared ahead. She was still too riled up to turn around and watch him leave.
********
For a long time, Fenix fumed and looked at the star-filled sky in a vain search for some f
orm of confirmation that she’d done the right thing. She didn’t know what exactly she’d hoped to see—a shooting star, maybe.
None flashed across the sky.
And as time passed, a nagging regret that she’d spoken too harshly or had been too hasty descended on her.
Exhausted, emotionally and physically, she returned to the warehouse.
Everything was quiet as Alda and the boys were still out. She padded to her room, slipped between the sheets, and promptly fell asleep.
She had no idea how long she’d been out of it, but her slumber wasn’t very deep. The rumble of an engine was enough to get her throwing off the covers.
She poked her head out in time to see the Beetle roll into the warehouse.
Angry footsteps marched up the stairs, and then a door shut with a loud bang that rattled the bottles and trinkets on her dresser.
That didn’t bode well.
Chapter 30
Fenix raced out to the hallway as Twain and Java were lumbering up the stairs. The dark heavy bags under their eyes matched the sourness of their mood.
“Who was it that just came upstairs?” Fenix said. “Alda or Ivan?”
“Alda,” Twain said.
“Where’s Ivan? Didn’t you find him?”
Twain and Java shook their heads.
“What?”
“Well, at least he’s not dead, as far as we know,” Twain said.
“So how come he didn’t return with you guys?”
Java shrugged. “Somebody got to him first?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Twain brushed past Fenix and headed to his door. Just as he reached it, he stopped. “Some hotshot gang leader was scouring the meatpacking district looking for recruits.”
Java also headed for the door to his room. “Flashed around a lot of moolah. Most of Ivan’s old gang were suspicious and refused to be lured. They said Ivan spent less than four hours with them, and as soon as he got wind of the dough, he was gone.”