Tales of the Darkworld 2: Hot Water

by Lex Valentine

  She turned away, calling over her shoulder, “The movers will come to get my boxes tomorrow. I’ll see you, Careen.”

  Eden got in the Land Rover and backed out of the garage, tearing down the drive away from the house where she’d grown up. Careen had pissed her off, but she really wanted Sean’s blood, so she headed to Antaeus International next.

  ~ * * * ~

  Careen went in the house and called her husband. “It’s done,” she sighed. “Her phone is broken.”

  “Good,” Sean replied. “Everything is in place. Are you sure she’s coming here?”

  “She’s really pissed off, Sean. And she’s just like you. Why wouldn’t she be on her way there to tear a strip off you? It’s what you would do in her shoes,” Careen said. “You know, I didn’t like doing this. I’m happy for her. Why do you always have to be in charge, Sean?”

  “It’s what I do, Careen. You knew what I was like when you married me.”

  She sighed again. “Yeah. I knew. I still don’t like it.”

  “But you love me,” Sean’s voice deepened with emotion.

  “I can’t seem to help myself,” she said wryly. “I’ll see you later.”

  “I love you, Careen.”

  She smiled indulgently. “I love you too, Sean, but I’m so glad this is the last of your siblings to fall in love.”

  Sean laughed softly and Careen hung up the phone.

  ~ * * * ~

  Telling Marius that he’d bonded with Sean Antaeus’ sister hadn’t gone as well as Colin had thought it would go. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen that much emotion on his brother’s face.

  “You didn’t care that Elysia bonded with Declan Antaeus,” Colin pointed out when Marius told him he should have thought things through.

  “They didn’t bond after knowing each other two nights,” Marius replied.

  Colin’s rage, banked after hitting Sean, returned with a vengeance. “What the fuck do you know, Marius? You’ve never been in my position! You haven’t met your mate yet, so don’t tell me what’s right and what’s wrong.”

  “I just think you should have waited. I’m not telling you that she’s wrong for you, just that I wish you had spent more time with her before you bit her!” Marius ran a hand through his dark blond hair, the gesture filled with frustration.

  Colin understood his brother’s point, and he could see Marius’ frustration. Still, it was none of his business. “Yeah, well you and your golf buddy can go fuck yourselves. This is none of your business anyway. I only told you about it because I’m sure Sean will be calling to tell you I decked his ass.”

  Storming out of his brother’s office, Colin completely bypassed his own and headed to his sister’s. He threw open the door, not bothering to knock. Luckily, Elysia was alone. She waved at him to shut the door.

  Flopping into the big leather chair in front of her desk, Colin frowned at her. “Are you gonna lecture me too?”

  Elysia shook her head, but Colin noticed her twisting the big yellow diamond on her ring finger. He wondered at her obvious nervousness.

  “No. But you’re my baby brother. I worry about you,” she replied.

  Colin continued to frown at her. Why did they all think he couldn’t manage his own life? “No need. I’m a big boy, Elysia, and I have been for a lot of years. I know what I’m doing. Eden is my bloodmate. I’m supposed to bond with her,” he said.

  Elysia sighed. “I don’t understand why she didn’t bond with you though, Colin. It worries me.”

  He leaned forward in his chair, holding her gaze. “You think that because Eden didn’t mate with me, that she could take off and leave me to die?”

  Elysia looked uncomfortable. “I don’t think Declan’s sister would be so irresponsible, Colin, but she’s a dragon. She doesn’t understand vampires. Does she know you can never feed from anyone else now?” Her voice sounded troubled and Colin knew her uncertainty had been put there by Marius.

  “She understands, Lys. Look, she loves me. She’s not going anywhere.”

  “She told you she loves you?” Elysia asked him point blank.

  Now, Colin felt uncomfortable. Eden hadn’t said the words yet. Only that she was falling in love with him. Not that she loved him. The distinction was very small to him, but apparently not to his family.

  “Both of us are positive we’re falling in love,” he said with a confidence he suddenly didn’t quite feel. If Marius had said this to him, he would have just gotten pissed. But because Elysia said them, he started to feel a little panicked. Usually, his sister didn’t listen to his brother unless what Marius said made perfect sense. Colin resisted the sudden urge to take out his phone and look for a text message.

  “I hope this works out for you, Colin,” his sister said. “Declan and I are happy for you both. When you’re settled, will you bring her over for dinner? I want to get to know her.”

  Colin rose to his feet, feeling distracted. “Yeah, sure, Lys. Soon.”

  He left his sister’s office, again avoided his own, and headed out of the cemetery’s administration building to his car. By the time he got in the driver’s seat, he had his phone out. No messages. No missed calls. He hit the speed dial for Eden’s phone. It went straight to voice mail.

  Where are you, love? he called out to her. When she didn’t answer, he started his car. Something was up and he just bet it involved that rat bastard Sean Antaeus.

  ~ * * * ~

  The last time Eden had walked down this corridor, she’d left Antaeus International’s payroll. The last person she’d seen that day was Vahid Delrey. Ironically, the first person she saw today was Vahid.

  “Eden!” The smooth, smoky tones of the black dragon’s voice still gave her the sensation of a fine whiskey burning its way through her veins. “I never thought I’d see you in this building again. How are you?”

  Slapping a polite smile on her face, Eden turned to greet her former lover. “I’m good, Vahid. How are you? Still keeping things together for Sean?”

  Vahid nodded his dark head. The same height as Eden, with impossibly wide shoulders and thickly muscled arms, he had ink dark, mesmerizing eyes. He had the most disconcerting habit of focusing intently on a person when he spoke to them. Women adored it. Men found it intimidating. Eden didn’t have either problem. However, Vahid was her brother’s right hand. His favored Vice President. If he asked questions, he had some kind of ulterior motive, which usually involved telling Sean everything.

  “I’m glad Sean is keeping you busy. Do you happen to know if he’s in today?” she asked, her polite smile becoming an inquiring one.

  Vahid grinned. “Oh, he’s here. It’s been a busy morning,” he said, his expression amused.

  “Really?” Eden eyed him thoughtfully for a moment, thinking he was still the nicest man ever. When she’d broken up with him, he’d taken it with equanimity, as he did most things. She’d wondered then, as she did now, where all his extreme emotions hid.

  “It’s good to see you again, Vahid. Take care of yourself,” she murmured, her attention shifting back to her mission as she headed down the corridor to Sean’s office.

  “It’s great to see you too, Eden.”

  She could have sworn she heard laughter in Vahid’s reply, but she couldn’t imagine what amused him so she dismissed it, reaching for the handle of Sean’s door. She opened it and stepped in.

  “I said I didn’t want to see anyone!” Sean growled angrily.

  Eden blinked. Sean’s usually immaculate office looked like a tornado had hit it. Papers littered the floor and one wall had a huge crack in it from the floor to the ceiling. Plaster dust lay thick on the burgundy carpet. Her eyes flicked to her brother and narrowed speculatively. He stood at the closet door in front of the full-length mirror, dabbing at his mouth… his bloody mouth.

  “What the fuck happened to you?” she asked brusquely. “Not that you didn’t deserve it.”

  “Your mate happened to me,” Sean bit out. �
�You’re going to need to put him on a leash, Eden. He acted like a rabid dog!”

  The anger that had banked a little when she’d run into Vahid returned full force and then some. How dare Sean call Colin a rabid dog?

  “You know, Sean, I can see why you have Vahid around. You’re not very tactful and he is nothing but tact,” she said in a falsely cheerful voice.

  Sean looked at her warily in the mirror. “Why are you here, Eden? I thought nothing could ever make you step foot in this hell hole again.”

  “Well, what you said about me to Colin isn’t nothing. Why the hell did you lie to him about me? I mean, c’mon, Sean. Paris Hilton?” she spat, her anger taking hold. “The man didn’t know me from Jack and yet you filled his head with a pack of farfetched lies! Why would you say those things about me?”

  She met her brother’s gaze in the mirror. His eyes were so cold she blinked in surprise. “Because you became someone as worthless as those spoiled celebrity girls when you left this family, Eden. What we do here isn’t good enough for you. It’s not exciting. It’s not creative. It’s not fun. If we weren’t good enough for you, then by the gods you weren’t good enough for us any longer,” he raged.

  “Tit for tat? Is that what your lies were all about? Because that’s a fucking childish thing to do. You’re the head of this family, the oldest male. You’re supposed to lead by example, not act like a whiny little boy who didn’t get his way.” Eden stormed over to him, glaring scornfully at his bloody lip. “I’m glad Colin hit you. He’s not afraid of who or what I am. He loves me whether I take photos for a living or work for you. In fact, after everything that’s happened, I think Colin would respect me less if I asked to come back here to work!”

  “I wouldn’t take you back! You have no loyalty!” Sean roared, his dark eyes glittering.

  Eden’s spine stiffened as outrage filled her. “You’re a fine one to talk! Lying about your own sister in a fit of pique? What the fuck kind of loyalty is that? Colin has more loyalty in his little finger than you have in your whole body!” she yelled. “All these years, I let you make me think I was worthless, nothing but trouble, that I didn’t fit into this family. Well, let me tell you, Sean Taylor Antaeus, you’re the one who doesn’t fit! Trying to mold Declan and Holden in your own image so that you can justify who you are. You’re nothing but a mean, petty, manipulative bastard and I’m so sorry I ever believed anything you ever said to me!”

  As the last word left her mouth, she let fly with her fist, catching Sean squarely in the left eye. He staggered, and she spun on her heel, storming out of his office. She paused in the door and looked over her shoulder at him. He leaned against the closet door, his eye swelling.

  “All these years, I thought I disappointed you because you loved me when in reality, you didn’t love me. I’m so glad I have Colin, because now I know what real love is. My mate is my family now, Sean. Not you. Not you ever again.”

  She stalked down the corridor, brushing past the crowds of gawking AI employees. Just before she reached the elevator, a hard hand grabbed her arm. She twisted, trying to get away, but stopped when she saw her other brothers standing there.

  “We aren’t Sean or Diandra,” Holden said, his expression grim. “We weren’t ever disappointed in you, Eden.”

  “I’m so sorry you ever thought we were,” Declan told her.

  Blinking back the sudden onslaught of tears, she hugged each of her brothers. “Thank you, but Colin is my family now. I belong to him.”

  “We’ve always been here for you, Eden, even if you never realized that,” Declan said. “Holden and I should have tried harder to let you know that we love you. Unfortunately, like so many other things, we just let Sean deal with it. We’re so sorry, Ede.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “It’s done now.” She smiled brightly then. “You’ll have to come to dinner once the house looks like someone lives there,” she joked.

  “You’ve got a deal,” Holden said with a grin.

  Eden stepped into the elevator and let it take her down to the garage level. Her happiness had her practically skipping to the Land Rover. As she drove away from the high rise, she realized that she hadn’t spoken to Colin in hours and now she had a broken phone. She’d get a new one tomorrow, she decided. Tonight she didn’t need the distraction because she was going to mate Colin. If she got a replacement phone and it went off as she released her dragonfire, she would really be pissed. Tomorrow was soon enough for a new phone. Tonight, she’d be busy.

  ~ * * * ~

  “Tell me again why I did this,” Sean barked into the phone.

  He frowned as he listened to the voice on the other end. Wincing, he held a small ice pack to his eye. “You know I’ve been punched twice today. The last time anyone laid a hand on me, he ended up unconscious. If you’ve fucked this up, I’m taking these two punches out on you, just as if you had hit me.”

  Sean set the ice pack down and fingered his fat lip as the person on the other end spoke. Finally, he said, “I’m telling you, Alfred, all of this had better work. The last time we played matchmaker, Marius’ miscalculations about his sister nearly fucked everything up. We can’t make those kinds of mistakes with Eden. It’s promising that they were compelled to come here and hit me, but this last thing had better work too, otherwise I’m confessing everything.”

  A heavy sigh escaped Sean. “Yeah sure, Alfred. I’ll see you and Marius tomorrow. Same tee time? Okay, good. Oh, and if either of you laughs at my black eye and fat lip, I will give you both matching ones.”

  ~ * * * ~

  Colin went home to find that Eden hadn’t been there. Frowning, he wondered if she could still be at Sean’s house. Every time he called her, it went straight to voice mail. With no way to reach her, he figured the best thing to do would be to go to Sean’s house. Eden might still be packing. Maybe she could use another pair of hands to get it done more quickly, he thought.

  He drove swiftly to Sean’s house, only a few miles down the highway. He walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Sean’s wife Careen answered, her expression wary.

  “Hello, Colin. What can I do for you?” she asked.

  Her expression made the doubt inside Colin leap. “Is Eden here?”

  She shook her head, the fiery tresses spilling over her shoulders. “She left hours ago.”

  “Do you know where she went? I haven’t been able to reach her,” he said in a calm voice that hid his inner turmoil.

  “To see Sean,” Careen admitted. “She was angry with him.”

  “I see.” Colin started to turn away. “Thank you, Careen.”

  As he started down the sidewalk, Careen called out to him. “Colin!”

  He looked back at her. She looked uncomfortable and not very happy. “Just remember that sometimes things aren’t what they seem.”

  Colin nodded and turned toward his car. He had no clue what the hell her cryptic message meant, and he didn’t have time to stay and grill her. Right now, he needed to find Eden.

  ~ * * * ~

  The tire didn’t mind being kicked, but Eden’s toe complained. She stood on the side of the coast highway and frowned at the stupid Land Rover. Less than a year old, and barely driven by her because she’d been away. Almost all the miles on it had been logged by one of her brothers in an effort to keep the SUV in working order by driving it once a week. And if it worked properly, why the hell did the gas gauge register half a tank when it was obviously empty?

  Having run out of gas before, Eden had recognized the tell tale sputter and loss of power. Luckily, this stretch of the highway had a wide verge and she’d easily steered the big SUV off the road and into the dirt. Now, she stood beside the vehicle, cursing up a storm, and kicking the big tire to the detriment of her big toe. She couldn’t call roadside assistance with the pieces of her broken phone. This stretch of highway had no developments on it and the snooty Southern Californians who drove by wouldn’t dream of stopping to ask if she needed help. They assumed that
people had cell phones.

  She could walk the few miles to the next call box, pay phone, or place of business or she could let Colin into her thoughts. She kicked the tire again. She’d started a new life! She shouldn’t need to be bailed out the very first day! Asking for his help was out of the question. Looking at her delicate designer footwear, she realized she couldn’t walk for any distance along the side of the road in the expensive slides so the call box was out too.

  Her gaze took in the puffy clouds drifting in the pale blue sky. Another solution presented itself and she grinned. In fact, it had been ages since she’d had an idea this good. Crouching behind the Land Rover, she opened the passenger door and began to take her clothes off. She locked everything in the car and turned her face to the sky, unworried that anyone would see her naked…

  ~ * * * ~

  Colin drove through the gates of Granville Cemetery as if chased by the demons of Hell. He strode into the administration building and breezed into his office, barking at Corey, “Get Declan on the phone for me!”

  He’d barely sat down when Corey came in and picked up the handset of his phone, holding it out to him. “It’s ringing,” he said with a cheeky smile.

  Colin snatched the phone from him. He glared at Corey, but the assistant continued to stand there smiling.

  “Colin? What’s going on?” Declan barked into the phone.

  “Where the hell is your sister?” Colin snapped back.

  “What?” Declan drew a long audible breath. “Is Elysia okay?” he asked more calmly.

  Colin gritted his teeth. The gods preserve him from newlyweds. “She’s fine. Where the hell is Eden?”

  “I don’t know. She left here a couple of hours ago.” Declan sounded puzzled. “What’s going on?” he asked again.

  “Eden is missing.” The starkness of his words perhaps conveyed something more sinister than he meant, but Colin was worried. “Who saw her last?”

  “Me and Holden. We saw her get on the elevator. Hang on a sec. Lemme make sure she left.”