by I. T. Lucas
Nick regarded Jackson with respect. “You play?”
“I play the guitar. My friend Gordon is on the drums, and Vlad is the bass player and the other lead singer.”
Sharon laughed. “Vlad? Is it a nickname?”
“Unfortunately, no. His mother has a weird sense of humor.”
“Unless it’s short for Vladimir, that’s cruel.” Sharon crossed her arms under her chest, making her B-cup-sized cleavage look voluptuous.
“Just Vlad.”
“Cool,” Nick said. “When is your gig?”
“Eight. You guys can hitch a ride with me.”
Tessa glanced at Eva. “Do you want to come?”
Right, as if a bunch of teenagers playing hard rock or metal was something she would enjoy listening to. “No. You kids go and have fun. I’m going home.”
“You’re sure? It sounds like fun.”
Eva patted Tessa’s slim shoulder. “I’m sure.”
“Won’t you get lonely?”
“I won’t.”
Because she wasn’t going to be.
All those covert looks Jackson and Tessa had been exchanging had gotten Eva thinking about a certain hunk of a man who would jump at the opportunity to pleasure her.
It had been almost two months since her last hookup, and Eva was getting antsy. The problem was that ever since Bhathian walked into her life again, he had been starring in all her fantasies, and the thought of hooking up with some random stranger was as appealing as using her vibrator.
Frankly, Bhathian had been her favorite go-to imaginary lover for years. Despite the deep resentment she felt for the man who’d rejected her over thirty years ago, she’d spent most of her lonely nights with him.
Eva had thought it harmless.
After all, the real Bhathian was supposed to be old and flabby, and the imaginary one was supposed to no longer exist.
But he did, and she wanted him. Not as a partner, he could never be one for her, but as a lover. She could use that incredible body of his without getting emotionally involved.
Eva had love in her heart for only one person in the entire world, and that was Nathalie. The only one she was willing to add to that exclusive club was her granddaughter.
Bhathian had blown his chances with her a long time ago.
A glass of water clutched in her hands, Eva sat at the same bar she’d invited Bhathian to accompany her to a month ago and waited. Why hadn’t she asked Bhathian for his phone number, or address, or even his last name? What were the chances that he would come back to this place?
Probably none.
Nevertheless, Eva had gone there each time she’d landed in Los Angeles, twice a week for the past two weeks, hoping he would walk in.
Bhathian deserved to know that she was pregnant with his child. Anxiety squeezed her insides, and she felt like throwing up. What would he do once he found out?
In Eva’s more hopeful fantasies, Bhathian was happy, excited, and asked her to marry him so they could give the child a home. In the less hopeful ones, he walked away.
Even if he did, though, Eva expected Bhathian to at least agree to put his name on the birth certificate. Growing up without a father was bad enough, not knowing who he was, was worse. Bhathian seemed like an honorable man. He would do the right thing. Unless he was married…
No, there had been no ring on his finger, and she’d even checked for an impression left by one.
Nevertheless, the news would doubtless come as a shock to him. She had a miniature bottle of whiskey in her purse to soften the impact.
This time he would come, Eva felt it in her gut.
Two hours later, she was ready to give up. With her coworkers long gone, she was left alone to fend off unwanted advances from guys who thought she was waiting just for them.
Her breath caught in her throat when Bhathian walked in. So handsome, so sexy, that for a moment she could think of nothing other than the two of them naked in bed.
He grinned when he saw her and came over. “Trish, what a nice surprise. I was hoping to find you here.”
“You were? So was I.”
“Great. Do you want to stay a little longer or are you ready to go?” He offered her his hand as if sure of her response.
“I’m definitely ready to go. I’ve been waiting here for hours.” She took his hand and let him help her to her feet.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here earlier.”
“You couldn’t have known that I was waiting.”
Her hotel was five minutes’ drive away, and just as before they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, touching and kissing on the way up to her room.
She opened the way and walked in with Bhathian close on her heels, then pulled out the miniature whiskey bottle from her purse to remind herself that she was there on a mission and not to have crazy monkey sex with this gorgeous guy.
Her cheeks heated as she handed it to Bhathian.
He arched a brow.
“You’ll need it,” she told him.
Bhathian twisted the top off and finished the thing in one gulp.
“I’m pregnant.”
His frown was a foreboding sign. “And you think it’s mine?”
She couldn’t fault Bhathian for questioning his paternity. After all, they’d been together just once.
“I know it is, I’ve been with no one else for months.” Working undercover didn’t lend itself to dating, and she wasn’t the type who could do one-night stands.
Except that once.
Eva was so glad she’d broken her own rules. For years she’d been convinced she was infertile. There had been several boyfriends, and she hadn’t always been as careful as she should’ve, and yet she’d never gotten pregnant.
Eva wanted this baby with everything she had.
“I want you to abort it. I’ll pay whatever expenses and loss of income you’ll incur, but there is nothing more I can offer you. I’m sorry.”
He could not have hurt her more if he’d kicked her. She’d been afraid of him not wanting anything to do with her or the baby, but she hadn’t expected him to be so cruel. So callous.
“I’m not going to abort my child,” she whispered.
“Trish, be reasonable. I am not what you need. I can’t be. A beautiful woman like you should have no trouble finding a good man. One that will make you happy, be a proper father to your children.”
She fought hard to hold back the tears. “You don’t understand, this is a miracle. I’m forty-five, and I haven’t been on contraceptives for years because I couldn’t get pregnant. And here I am, with a child growing inside me…” She lost the battle and tears began sliding down her cheeks.
“Oh, hell, Trish…” He took her in his arms. “I didn’t know…”
“It’s okay. I didn’t come here expecting anything from you, just thought you’d be happy to know that you’ve created a child… and maybe… maybe put your name on the birth certificate when the time comes…”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”
This was the worst scenario she’d run. “Oh my God, you’re married, aren’t you?”
“No, I didn’t lie about that. It’s just that I have some legal issues. But I can give you money, enough so you and your child will never lack anything.”
Right. As if money would make everything okay. She didn’t need his guilt money. He could take it and shove it up his ass.
Hot anger melted away the sweet fantasies she’d allowed herself to indulge in. Putting on her practiced fake smile, she said, “Thank you, that’s very generous of you.”
Those were the last words that man would ever hear from her.
Chapter 24: Bhathian
“Yes?” Bhathian frowned at the unknown caller.
“It’s me,” Eva said. “I got your number from Nathalie.”
Bhathian was shocked speechless.
Eva was calling him.
He needed to sit down.
“Hello, are you there?”
&nb
sp; Bhathian shook his head. “Yes, I’m here. Just a little surprised. I didn’t expect to get a call from you.” Damn, now she’d think he was upset about her calling him. “I’m very happy that you did. That you are…” Way to sound like a fumbling idiot.
“Good. Would you like to come over?”
Eva was inviting him? No way. She probably wanted him to bring Nathalie.
“I can ask Nathalie if she’s up for a visit, but she might be too tired this late in the day.”
Eva chuckled. “I’m inviting you, Bhathian, not Nathalie. My crew went to see Jackson perform at a club. I have the house to myself.”
Bhathian’s throat felt dry. Was he dreaming? Had he fallen asleep on the couch? Because it sounded a lot like Eva was inviting him for a hookup.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
She chuckled again. “Drive safely, Bhathian. I don’t want you to arrive all banged up.”
Thank you, sweet Fates. His prayers had been answered.
Twenty minutes was what it would take to get to Eva’s, and Bhathian still needed to shower and shave. In his rush to scrub every inch of his body clean, Bhathian almost tripped on the soap that had slipped out of his hand, and the quick shave to get rid of his five o’clock shadow resulted in two cuts. Fortunately, not a big deal for his immortal body to heal.
He was in the car in under five minutes and driving like a bat out of hell to compensate for the time lost. As he pulled up to Eva’s house, he saw her leaning against the railing of her third-floor balcony. She was wearing a long white dress, the wispy fabric billowing in the breeze and wrapping around her shapely legs only to be lifted by another gust and billow out again.
She was a vision of unattainable beauty.
He wasn’t a fool. Her invitation wasn’t meant to start a conversation that could in turn lead to a relationship. She would’ve chosen a more neutral ground for that. There had been nothing ambiguous about her summons.
It was a booty call, nothing more.
Eva had changed in the years since he’d first met her. She’d hardened. Not that she’d been soft then. Part of the incredible draw he’d felt toward her had been the effect of her confidence and a sense of purpose. And yet, as many young humans were, she’d been hopeful then, more open with her emotions.
Over the years Eva had lost this naïveté, the one only young humans were capable of, she’d become more like him and his clan members.
Jaded. Disillusioned. Closed off emotionally.
A side effect of living such long lives and witnessing too much shit.
The only time Bhathian had seen Eva’s eyes soften was when looking at Nathalie, and sometimes at her young employees, but not at him.
Except for that one kiss.
She’d melted into him, letting her guard down for a moment.
It gave him hope. Where there was passion, feelings would follow. But only if she allowed it. Bhathian wasn’t expecting it to happen anytime soon. He was anticipating a long and difficult fight.
“Hello, handsome.” She opened the door for him with a seductive smile on her lips.
“I brought beer.” He always kept a few in the fridge, saving him from arriving empty-handed.
She smirked as she opened the door wide, motioning for him to step inside. “You don’t need to get me drunk to have your wicked way with me.”
He didn’t remember her being so forward. “Wicked? Is that how you remember me?”
The teasing expression slipped from her beautiful face, and for a split second he glimpsed sadness in her amber eyes. But she recovered quickly. “Wicked good in bed. That’s how I remember you.”
Bhathian put the beers down on the coffee table and sat on the couch. “Come here, beautiful.” He patted the spot next to him.
She hesitated, some of her bravado melting away. “Don’t you need a bottle opener?”
He shook his head and patted the couch again. “Quit stalling. I’m not going to bite. Not yet.” He winked.
Sitting down, close but not as close as he would’ve liked her to, Eva chuckled nervously. “From what Nathalie tells me, I’m supposed to be excited about it. But I’m not sure I’m going to like it.”
His eyes zeroed on her neck, and the hard-on he’d been sporting ever since her call punched painfully against his zipper. “Only one way to find out,” he hissed through elongated fangs.
Eva’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear Lord, look at those teeth.” She leaned closer to get a better look. “How come you didn’t bite me when we made Nathalie?”
“I couldn’t. You were resistant to thralling.”
“Thralling?”
There was so much Eva still didn’t know. “We can manipulate human minds. Make them forget what we don’t want them to remember, like getting bitten during sex. It would’ve been impossible to keep our existence secret if women remembered it.”
Eva frowned. “But you can refrain, right? Like you did with me. You can’t go around turning random women.”
He chuckled. “Life would have been much simpler for us if that was the case. The need to bite is part of the sexual urge. It’s as difficult to refrain from biting as it is from ejaculating. We always bite. But Dormants are extremely rare, so the chance of turning one accidentally is negligible.”
She pointed at herself. “I’m proof that it’s possible.”
“You’re an anomaly. Some humans are resistant to thralling, especially those who are highly intelligent. I thought you were one of those. I couldn’t erase the memory of the bite from your mind so I couldn’t allow myself to do it.”
Eva shifted, putting a little more space between them, and looked away. “It must’ve been hard.”
“Extremely.”
“So you didn’t enjoy yourself as much as you could with someone else.” Eva tried to sound casual, but he detected a hint of hurt in her tone.
Bhathian reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips for a gentle kiss. “Even without the bite, you blew my mind. You were, are, and will always be the best. You’re incomparable.”
She narrowed her eyes, her brows dipping low. “Don’t lie to me, Bhathian, not even to spare my feelings. There is nothing I hate more than liars.”
“I’m not. You still don’t know me, but when you do, you’ll see that I’m just too simple of a guy to complicate things with stories. For better or worse, what you see is what you get.”
She chuckled. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have accused you of deliberate deception. I guess I see others through the prism of my own experience. My whole life is one big lie.”
“Don’t. There is a big difference between lying to survive and lying to take advantage of others.”
She sighed. “Thank you for giving me an honorable out.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Mostly it is. But once lying becomes second nature, the distinction between necessity and convenience blurs.”
Somehow things had gotten too serious and ruined Eva’s flirtatious mood.
Bhathian cupped her cheek and leaned closer, waiting for her to lift her head and look at him. “From now on there is no place for untruths between us. Agreed?”
Eva nodded, but there was a shadow of doubt in her eyes. The question was who she was doubting, him or herself.
Chapter 25: Eva
The truth.
Eva demanded it from Bhathian, but did she even know what it meant anymore?
Deception had become a way of life for her, and the only trouble she had with it was keeping her stories straight. Not an easy feat, given her shitty memory. A few rules simplified the elaborate net. One set of lies for her crew, another for her clients, and several sets she used and reused on missions.
Would she concoct a new one for Bhathian?
Or could she for once in her life discard the stories and stick with the truth? Lies had kept her safe. Lies had protected her from getting hurt. The truth might be seductively liberating but it was also potentially dangerous.
Eva wasn’t ready to lift her defenses and let Bhathian in.
He had to prove himself worthy of her trust first.
For now, she could traverse the narrow path between truth and deception—avoiding the latter but keeping the former to the bare minimum. Omitting the truth was still dishonest, but it wasn’t at the same level as telling outright lies.
She pushed to her feet and extended her hand to Bhathian. “In the spirit of honesty, talking wasn’t what I had in mind when I invited you. Let’s go up to my bedroom.”
Bhathian’s beautiful gray eyes lit up like two flashlights, and when he smiled, the sight of his elongated fangs sent a shiver of apprehension up her spine.
No, that wasn’t true.
Eva shook her head. Lying to herself was cowardly, and she was no coward. It must’ve been a natural instinct for an immortal female to respond with a shiver of lust to something that would’ve terrified any sane human.
Between one thought and the next, Bhathian took her hand and stood up. “Works for me. I’m not much for talking. Lead the way.”
The touch was electrifying. Glancing at their entwined hands, she noted the difference in their sizes. Eva wasn’t a small woman by anyone’s standards, but Bhathian was such a large male that in comparison she felt dainty. Her hand was completely engulfed in his.
Their first and only time together, he’d picked her up and carried her to bed, and she was kind of hoping he would do the same now. If it were up to her, she would’ve reenacted every moment exactly. It had been perfect between them, and there was no reason to mess with perfection.
Hopefully, this time wouldn’t disappoint.
It probably would, though. She wasn’t even sure that the other time had been as amazing as she remembered it. Perhaps she’d built it up in her head to such an unattainable level that nothing would ever compare. None of the many lovers she’d had over the years had come close. The best sex since Bhathian happened between her ears, thinking of him while pleasuring herself.
She lifted her gaze from his hand to his handsome face and gasped. His eyes were smoldering with heat and shining with an eerie inner light. How come she hadn’t noticed it then? Had she been too consumed by passion to realize that the man taking her to bed wasn’t human?