by Bethany Shaw
"It would've changed the future drastically," she agreed.
"I know." He finished lacing the back and balled his hands at his side to keep from touching her velvety skin. "All done," he said as she turned back to him.
"At least you get to kill him in the future...or you already have.” She shook her head and crinkled her brow. “However you want to think about it," she said trying to sort the sentence so it made sense.
"Have you ever seen my father before last night, Cadence?” he asked taking her shoulders into his hands. "He'll remember you, sweetheart. This is important." Malcolm knew that Zak cared for Cadence; he would use her against him. If he found her in the future before any of this happened, Malcolm could kill her.
"No. I’ve only ever seen his picture," she replied after a moment.
"You’re sure you never met him?" he persisted. “Is there a possibility he might have seen you at home?” This could change everything. There was no way to warn his other self that she would need protection. Malcolm could harm her and he’d never know it. Regardless of how it impacted the future, she had to be kept safe.
Cadence worried her bottom lip. "I'm sure I never met him. I have no idea if he’s seen me or not," she admitted.
"You never met him when you resurrected my mother and plotted to kill me?" he asked coming across a little more hostile than he'd intended. It still bothered him that she’d attempted to harm him. Of course, he wasn’t completely innocent either. He had done things to hurt her, too.
"I wasn't a part of that." She looked like she was recalling something. "Trent insisted I stay home that night. Maddie and I had a girl’s night I believe. Malcolm never saw me. I'm sure of it."
"Good. He'll remember your face, sweetheart. We need to avoid him until we get back to our time." That was easier said than done. Malcolm had hunted him for centuries.
"How do you think he found us in that small town? I mean, you've said it yourself that you guys fled to the Old World and stayed there. Why would he have stayed behind?" Cadence asked.
"I don't know, but believe me, I've asked myself the same question." It couldn't have been Harrison. His brother wouldn't betray him. That didn't mean he didn't have help from the other side. It could have been Liana. How, he didn't know, but he was almost certain that she had something to do with it.
"Thanks for saving me," Cadence whispered as she stepped back out of his grasp.
The pads of his fingers burned from where he’d been touching her. He wanted to reach out and draw her back to him. "Yeah, well I'm sorry he hurt you," he said surprising himself at his apology.
"You don't need to apologize to me for that, Zak. It wasn't your fault," she replied.
"Very well, but I’m going to make sure it doesn't happen again," he grinned at her. "Now, come on if we’re going to be stuck on this boat for a while, then I'm going to show you how to defend yourself."
***
Cadence squirmed against Zak’s grasp, but it was iron clad. She couldn't move. There was no point struggling against a vampire, especially one who was centuries old. It must be nice to get stronger as you age instead of weaker.
She sighed and sagged against him. "We both know you’re stronger than I am. What exactly are you trying to prove?"
He laughed, causing his body to vibrate against hers as his breath tickled her exposed neck. "You’re right. I am stronger and quicker than you. But you have power that you haven’t even begun to tap into, Cadence. I can feel it brimming beneath the surface. If you tapped into your abilities you would be a formidable opponent.” He squeezed her tighter causing her to wheeze under his death grip. "Now, take me by surprise, what do you do?"
“I can’t use my magic. Are you insane?” she blurted as she wiggled uselessly in his grip. She wasn’t going anywhere unless he released her.
“Why not?” Zak questioned. “Are you afraid of hurting me? You won’t...at least not permanently.”
Cadence scoffed. “What if I blow a hole in the boat? We’re in the middle of the ocean,” she argued. There was no telling what might happen if she used her magic.
“Then I suppose you’ll have to focus so that doesn’t happen. Come on, sweetheart, if I were attacking you I could’ve drained you dry by now.” He leaned closer, pressing his mouth against her neck.
Cadence inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. It was supposed to be a threat, but it sure didn’t feel like one. She drew in a sharp breath. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine he was pressing open-mouthed kisses down her neckline.
"I'm waiting, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear.
"I'm still thinking," she snapped back. Why was she allowing herself to think about Zak like that?
"Afraid of hurting me?" he challenged.
She laughed out loud. "Not to hurt your feelings, but I kind of don't find you scary anymore," she said smugly. It was the truth. It was kind of hard to find him scary when he had saved her life twice now. He had been her protector since this ordeal had started. "Are you giving me permission to hurt you?" she asked curiously.
"Cadence, if you draw blood I'll be impressed."
"I'll take that as a challenge." She always was one to rise to a challenge. Now, she just had to figure out how to get out of his death hold.
"I'm still waiting," he said in her ear again. She tried to remain still as tingles shot through her body. "Unless of course you like this predicament," he added. She could almost see the wide beam on his face as he spoke.
She huffed; leave it to him to ruin everything. It was a lot easier to enjoy the moment when he didn't know she was enjoying it. She didn't want him to know he was slowly wearing down her defenses, or that she fantasized about him, and that he was getting under her skin. No, she wasn't afraid of him in the least. It was the way he made her feel that terrified her. It would only end in heartache. Her heartache.
"Cadence."
Damn it, I’m still thinking.
She closed her eyes and mashed her heel down on top of his foot. His grip loosened slightly and she bent down and sunk her teeth into his wrist.
Ha. Who said vampires were the only ones who could bite!
Cadence rammed her elbow backwards hitting him square in the ribs. He released her and she darted out of his grip and spun on her heel, grinning triumphantly.
“Ha,” she shouted gleefully, clapping her hands excitedly.
Zak grinned. "I'm impressed sweetheart. But..." he flashed over to her, grabbed her arm and shoved her against the deck railing. Though his movements were quick and precise there was gentleness about them. "You forgot to stake me or break my neck." He leaned in toward her.
"You want me to break your neck or stake you?" she said frowning at him.
"No," he admitted. "I do want you to try. If, by some chance, you do manage to break my neck, or jam a stake into my undead heart, I do promise not to get angry. I’ll be impressed.” He tilted his head at her. “Ever broken a neck before?"
"Nope. I try to leave people’s necks the way they’re supposed to be," she replied tartly.
Zak chuckled and rolled his eyes as he reached down, grasped her hands and guided them towards his face. "It's easiest if you place your hands here and here." He said as set her hands on both sides of his neck and chin. "And then, all you have to do is twist with all your strength. But you’re not going to do that right now."
"Oh, but it'd be fun," she teased unwilling to meet his eyes. Sure, she could see the point to his training, other than her using her powers, it was a good thing for her to learn, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he had an ulterior motive for working with her. Could he somehow use his knowledge, his training against her once they got back home? He’d know what she could do? Then again, she could learn more about him too.
“Now we need to work on using those powers,” Zak persisted as he let go of her hands.
Cadence shook her head. “No.”
“Yes.”
“Zak, I can’t,” she whispered.
&nbs
p; “Can’t or won’t. You’re at war with vampires, Cadence. Don’t you think it’s important you defend yourself?” Zak continued to pester her.
“Not on the boat,” she whispered.
Zak cocked his head at her. “Do you think you really could blow a hole in the boat?”
Cadence shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself. “The night the wolves attacked me,” she began. “Something happened...I threw them backwards. All of them and there was a fire...” she bit her lower lip as she trailed off.
“You did that?”
“It just happened. I was so scared and hurt. I’m not even sure how I did it,” she blurted. “I could hurt someone on the boat. I really could sink us.”
“Fine.” He nodded. “We wait until we get to dry land. Catching the boat on fire isn’t going to get us to shore any faster.”
“Thank you,” she sighed relived that was over with.
“Don’t think I’m going to let it go, Cadence,” he warned.
She licked her lips. No, she doubted he would let it go.
“In the meantime, we’ll keep practicing like this. I don’t want Malcolm or anyone else hurting you again,” he insisted.
She smiled. His instance on training her was a little annoying, but heartwarming at the same time. It was nice that he was taking the time to show her these things. She just hoped it wasn’t something she needed in the future.
Chapter Twelve
Cadence made her way back up to the deck enjoying the cool, spring night air. The waves lapped at the boat, filling the air with a salty aroma. It was calm and peaceful. Stars dotted the sky and shone brightly down on her. The full moon cast a white glow on the deep blue water and she smiled taking in the sight. It was deceivingly peaceful compared to the scene to the left of her.
She shuddered as her hand went to her neck, rubbing at her pulse point. The vampires had to feed. She knew that. That didn’t mean she wanted to witness it.
Cadence turned back to the railing and stared out at the calm water. It was ironic that Zak, the biggest, baddest vampire was teaching two young vampires how to feed, heal, and wipe their victims memory. He’d left a string of bodies in his wake just about everywhere he went, and yet, he was ensuring Melanie and Harrison maintained their humanity and didn’t hurt anyone. Not to mention, his efforts to teach her to fight.
Fighting was one thing, but she refused to practice magic. She could already see the ship exploding and them all sinking to the watery depths. Or worse, being eaten by a shark. At least Zak had given her a temporary reprieve, though, she was certain he would pester her about it again once they docked.
"Good evening," Zak said drawing her out of her thoughts. “Are you ready for our evening practice?”
She rolled her eyes as she nodded her head. If there were things to do on this ship she would refuse to spar with him twice a day. But there was nothing. Time was something she had a lot of these days. Most of her time was spent with Zak.
"Evening, Cadence,” Harrison said as he and Melanie strolled by.
“Hi,” she said, lifting her hand and waving.
"We'll see you for breakfast," Harrison said. "Thanks for the advice." He clapped Zak on the shoulder and guided Melanie back down below the decks.
"What advice did you give him?" she asked curiously.
"It was more of a suggestion." He grinned. "Shall we get started?"
She raised an eyebrow, but decided to let it go for now. Harrison was Zak’s brother and he seemed to care for him. He wouldn't do anything to harm him. "Let's do this."
Zak led the way out onto the opening on the deck. The lanterns illuminated the deck for the most part, but it was still hard to see. It would be nice to have vampire sight right about now.
"So what are we working on now?" she asked as she turned to face him.
He smiled as he held up a stake. "We’re going to work on your attack techniques."
"Great," she sighed sarcastically. Hey, at least it wasn’t magic though.
***
Zak smirked as he caught Cadence's hand as she went to hit him. He had to give her credit for being fast and unpredictable. He was still faster and stronger than she could ever be. Her determination and grit was enjoyable. If only she would use some of her powers, it would make for a truly challenging match.
He gave her a gentle push back, which only seemed to fuel her fire more. She narrowed her eyes and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She was pissed and she looked damned sexy with her mussed tresses.
Cadence swung again and he ducked watching as she pouted, but continued her assault. She was getting quicker and had almost hit him on several occasions. He watched as she lunged. Her hand jutted out to hit him and his feet swooped out from under him.
He landed on his ass staring up at the starry constellations. She hadn’t hit him, hadn’t even come close. Her magic had spiked.
“Oh my God,” she blurted out as she ran toward him and crouched down. “Are you okay?” she worried.
Zak rolled his eyes. He grasped her wrist, wrung her toward him as he flipped her to her back and hovered over her. Cadence’s eyes widened and she gasped realizing he was now on top of her. “Don’t let your guard down,” he chastised.
“I didn’t mean to hit you with my magic. It just—”
“Happened?” he finished for her.
She nodded.
“You have to learn to control it, Cadence. It’s only going to grow stronger,” he warned.
He was right. She could feel the raw power cascading through her as they spoke. It took all of her willpower to keep it contained. And apparently, that wasn’t enough.
“You can’t hurt me. I’m an Original vampire; only your friend’s blood can kill me,” he insisted.
“I can damage the ship and the people on it,” she argued.
“You could do that anyway. The longer you fight, the more likely you are to lose control,” he cautioned.
She shook her head as she shifted beneath his weight. Her eyes widened as she became aware of their precarious position and his hardening length.
Zak nestled between her thighs, his pelvis pressed against hers, sending a rush of heat straight to her core. Her chest heaved, causing her pert nipples to graze over his pectorals through his clothing.
His eyes raked over her body as he, too, seemed to realize their position. Cadence’s tongue darted out to wet her lips. She ought to look away. Ought to move, roll over, and do something. But she couldn’t, nor did she want to.
Zak lowered his lips to hers, pressing them gently over her mouth as if he was testing the waters. Her pulse thundered behind her ears as she fought to catch her breath. Her lips moved against his, caressing them, feeling every inch of his soft, full mouth.
His tongue swooped out, demanding entrance. She wanted more. Needed to feel more and parted her lips. His tongue flicked inside her mouth, and ran along her teeth before it danced with her tongue.
One of his hands went under her head while the other rested on her cheek. His thumb gingerly drew circles into her flesh, which only set her body further on fire.
His lips were warm and inviting and she was completely lost in him. She arched up into him as he peppered kisses down her jawline to her neck. A low throaty moan rung out in the night air as he kissed at her exposed skin.
A throat cleared and Cadence stiffened, snapping her out of her fantasy. Zak growled, his eyes flashing gold as he flicked his gaze toward the noise.
"Sorry, my lord," a sailor said averting his eyes from them. "A storm is coming in; we need to take the sails down immediately."
Zak let out a low growl that startled even her. She grasped his hand. Will he hurt the man? A cold chill zipped up her spine as she remembered who Zak was. A murderer. A cold-blooded killer. Oh God, and I was just kissing him. What is wrong with me?
Get it together Cadence.
She shoved Zak off of her and jumped to her feet as she quickly unruffled her cotton shirt and wool pants.
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Zak and the sailor were conversing, but the blood roaring in her ears prevented her from hearing what they said.
She’d just been making out with a mass murderer and she’d liked it. Hell, if they hadn’t been interrupted...no she refused to let her mind go there.
Cadence thrust the door to the lower decks open and hopped down the narrow stairs as fast as she could without tumbling down.
She froze gasping, as she caught sight of Melanie and Harrison necking in the hallway. Their hands roamed all over each other until they finally fumbled into one of the empty cabins and someone shut the door.
She stared at the door. What had brought about the sudden change? Harrison had thanked Zak for his advice.
He didn’t. He wouldn’t. Oh my God.
"And people say I'm creepy," Zak teased from behind her. “I’m sure they don’t want an audience for their first time.”
Cadence squeaked and thrust her hand over her heart as she whirled around. Zak tilted his head as he looked at her. "I...uh..." she stuttered unsure what to say.
He grabbed her arm and gently guided her to her cabin, pulled her inside and shut the door. The events of the past five minutes floated around in her head like a massive tidal wave.
"Cadence," he said looking at her with a frown. "What are you thinking?"
She averted her eyes and found a small notch on the wall to fixate on. If she looked at him she would want to kiss him again, and she couldn't do that. This was insane. Her and Zak would never, ever work. Even if they had chemistry and an undeniable attraction, he was a killer. Everything they did was the exact opposite of the other. Then there was Trent. Her boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend. Jeez did it really matter?
"Wait, when you gave Harrison advice did you..." she trailed off as she remembered the way the pair had been caressing each other.