Cassie shifted her gaze to the lamp Malik referred to. “I hate that lamp with everything inside me.”
“Then why keep it?” He found himself asking before he could stop.
“As a reminder of who and what I truly am.”
The look in her eyes tore at his heart. So much grief resided there. And all of it, he knew to be caused by one man. Harvey Cohen. “Tell me who are you are, Cassandra Blanchard.”
“Someone you shouldn’t be wasting your time on. I’ve seen and done things…” Her voice trailed off, and she took another hardy drink of wine.
Malik knew exactly what she meant, and he’d be damned if he would allow her to feel responsible for her stepfather’s heinous acts. “There is nothing you could tell me that would scare me off.” And he meant it. In the few days he had known her, she’d somehow managed to capture his heart. There was something about her that he found irresistible.
She continued to stare at that hideous green lamp. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Malik slowly stood and trailed across the room to the stereo that sat on a table next to the television. He switched it on and pressed the Seek button until he found a suitable station.
The wail of a saxophone drifted from the speakers, filling the room with a beautifully haunting sound.
“Talk can wait. Dance with me, Cassandra,” he softly murmured, extending his hand to her. She hesitated a moment before placing her palm in his.
He gently pulled her to him, basking in the feel of her softness as she allowed him to tuck her head beneath his chin and wrap his arms around her body.
They stayed that way for what seemed like hours, swaying to the music, neither of them speaking, only leaning on each other, lost in a haze of wonder.
A feeling of being watched suddenly washed over Malik. He opened his eyes and locked gazes with Cassie’s cat, Psycho.
Something passed between them before the feline turned and fled into the hall bathroom.
Malik eased back a few inches, putting space between them. “As much as I hate to let go of you, I fear I must use the men’s room.”
Cassie’s arms dropped away. “Down the hall and to your left.”
“Thank you. I won’t be but a minute. Would you mind pouring us another drink?”
“Now, that I can do.”
Kissing the tip of her nose, he strode off toward the hall in search of Psycho…and hopefully some answers.
Chapter Seventeen
Cassie couldn’t believe she’d spent the last twenty minutes lost in Malik’s arms. All thoughts of Harvey and her sordid past had fled the second she’d stepped into the dark-haired Alaskan’s embrace.
What was it about him that made her feel safe and cherished? She knew nothing of him, other than the fact that he was an art dealer from Alaska. And how much of that could she really believe? He could have a wife and kids at home while he wined and dined numerous women around the world for all she knew.
She should have been a writer, she thought, topping off their drinks. Thinking the worst about people had always been her coping mechanism while waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it always dropped.
Malik reentered the room a few minutes later. “Are you hungry?”
Cassie realized she hadn’t eaten since the lasagna she’d had at Carly’s earlier that day.
Her stomach picked that moment to growl. “I’m actually starved, but there isn’t anything to eat here, and I’m not sure if I could choke down food anyway.”
“Of course you can. Let’s go grab a bite. And by bite, I mean anything but sushi.” He grinned and held out his hand, palm up.
A laugh threatened to surface. Malik had a way of chasing away the demons, leaving her with a feeling of almost being whole. Almost.
She took hold of his hand and stood, praying like hell that Harvey wasn’t waiting outside to confront them. If Malik found out about her stepfather… She couldn’t finish the thought. “How about steak? Scruples makes a mean ribeye.”
“Now, steak I can do.”
Cassie held her breath as Malik opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “We can talk once you’ve eaten.” The set of his jaw told her he brooked no argument.
“That works,” she replied, kneeling next to the couch to feel underneath.
Malik paused with his hand still on the knob. “Did you lose something?”
“My necklace broke. I think it rolled under here.” Cassie nearly sighed in relief when her fingers touched on the cool, delicate chain.
“It’s broken,” she mumbled aloud, getting to her feet and holding it up to the light.
“I’m sure a jeweler can fix it pretty easy. Let me take a look.”
Cassie handed Malik the ruby pendant and chain before joining him on the porch. She pulled the door closed, locking it behind her. Not that it mattered, she thought with an inward sigh. Harvey had a key. She shivered and rubbed her arms.
Malik stared at the piece of jewelry without moving. “Where did you get this?”
“A friend gave it to me.” She plucked the necklace from his grasp, admiring its antique beauty. “She said it would protect me. It didn’t.” Tucking it into the pocket of her jeans, she descended the steps.
Malik followed close behind. “What didn’t it protect you from?”
Cassie evaded his question, her gaze scanning the shadows for any sign of Harvey or the police. “Nothing. I’m sure it’s just the ramblings of a dear old woman that believes in magic.”
“And you don’t?” He rushed ahead and opened the car door for her.
“I don’t what?”
“Believe in magic.”
Taking a seat in the passenger’s seat, she peered up at him. “Magic only has power if you believe in it. And I don’t. Not anymore.”
She pulled the door shut and watched as Malik skirted the front of the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel.
“What about you, Mr. Alaska? Are you a believer?”
“Absolutely.” He started the car and backed out of the drive without elaborating further.
* * * *
Scruples was buzzing with energy as Cassie and Malik stepped through the doors ten minutes later.
Chelle greeted them with a smile and a wink. “Table for two?”
Cassie fought an eye roll, well aware of the redhead’s intensions. She glanced behind her. “Do you see anyone else?”
“Of course. But only I can see him,” Chelle quipped, grabbing a couple of menus. “Right this way.” The grinning hostess led them to a small, secluded table in the back.
Cassandra had watched hundreds of happy couples dine in the cozy corner since Scruples had moved locations a few months back, but she’d never imagined she’d be sitting here herself, dining with a man like Malik Devain.
Malik pulled out her chair, brushing a hand down her arm as she accepted the seat with a small smile.
She watched him move around the table and nod to Chelle before seating himself.
Everything was pristine, from the crisp, white tablecloth to the softly burning lamp situated in the center.
“Your waitress will be with you in a moment.” Chelle laid two menus in front of them and headed off toward the door to greet the newest customers trickling in.
Malik propped his chin on his hand, staring at Cassie through hooded lashes. “Cassandra?”
Cassie knew she should be honest with him. Hell, she wanted nothing more than to tell him the truth, to unload the burden of guilt she carried day in and day out. But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
To see disgust in his beautiful blue eyes would hurt worse than anything Harvey had ever done to her. “I’m afraid of the dark, Malik. And when the cops showed up after receiving a call about shots being fired in my area… Well, naturally I became spooked. That’s all it was, I—”
“Why are you afraid of the dark?” he smoothly interrupted.
“I don’t know,” she lied, shifting in her seat. “I’ve been this way since I was a child.
I realize it seems silly, but there it is.”
He continued to study her without blinking. Cassie felt he could see into her very soul. “So, you see? I’m simply a wimp. You’re worried for nothing.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” He sat back in his seat as the waitress arrived with their water glasses.
“I thought I mentioned being an only child?”
“Not that I recall, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
The waitress pulled out a pale green pad from her pocket, holding a pen slightly above it. “Are you ready to order, sir? Or do you need another minute?”
Cassie watched in amusement as the new girl Chelle had just hired blushed to her hairline while fawning over Malik. Cassie half expected the young waitress to trip over her tongue the minute she moved her feet.
“The lady first, please.” Malik gifted the young waitress with a smile, obviously meant to remove the sting of embarrassment she might feel at his words.
“Oh, of course.” She turned to Cassie but didn’t meet her gaze. “What would you like, ma’am?”
“Call me Cassie. I work here also, so I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” She sent the waitress a wink, hoping to put her at ease. “I would like a ribeye, medium well, baked potato, and a salad with ranch dressing.”
The young girl visibly relaxed. “My name is Maylee. I saw you working behind the bar the other night while Candice was training me.”
Cassie almost laughed. “Chelle has Candice training you? Bless you, honey.”
Maylee glanced around. “Is something wrong with Candice?”
“Nope, not a thing.” Cassie’s lips twitched. “Have fun and don’t turn your back on her for a second. She’s completely insane, and she’ll break you in properly. I assure you.”
“I’ll remember that, thank you.” The waitress turned back to Malik with her pen poised to take his order.
“I’ll have the same thing the lady ordered, only make my steak rare with no seasoning. And bring us your best bottle of red wine.”
Maylee nodded and rushed toward the kitchen.
“I believe she was quite taken with you,” Cassie teased, picking up her water glass.
“She’s barely out of her teens. And besides, I’m quite taken with you.”
Cassie’s heart began to pound, and her palms grew clammy. This gorgeous creature sitting across the table had just admitted to having a romantic interest in her.
She opened her mouth to confess her growing feelings for him also, but found she couldn’t speak.
For the first time in Cassandra Blanchard’s life, words seem to have failed her.
Chapter Eighteen
Malik suddenly wished for a hole to open up beneath him and swallow him up. He hadn’t meant to tell Cassie of his feelings for her, any more than he’d wished to be confined in her bathroom with a very naked familiar earlier that night.
Malik cleared his throat. “Cassandra…I—”
“The best the house has to offer. Compliments of Chelle and Bradley.” Maylee’s abrupt appearance startled Malik. He’d been so caught up in Cassie’s emotions he hadn’t sensed the girl’s approach, which was beginning to become a habit when in Cassandra’s presence. He made a mental note to be more vigilant.
After pouring them both a glass of wine, Maylee set the bottle in a chiller and meandered off to another table.
“Will you excuse me? I need to use the ladies’ room.” Cassie jumped to her feet and fled before he could stand completely.
He sat back down and picked up his drink, thoughts of the night’s events plaguing his peace of mind.
His conversation with Ben played through his thoughts like a mantra. Malik had agreed to filling Cassandra’s stepfather full of whiskey, stuffing him into his car, and driving it off the Bay Bridge. No one would be the wiser. The man had been a known drunk in the town most of his miserable life.
But Malik wanted to savor the kill by peeling strips of Harvey’s skin from his bones, removing his evil eyes along with his vile manhood, and stuffing it into his mouth to choke on.
Still, Harvey’s life wouldn’t end there. No. Staked to the ground in a bed of fire ants, writhing in agony would be how Harvey Cohen would meet his demise, Malik thought with satisfaction.
He shuddered to think of what might have happened to Cassandra if Psycho hadn’t been there tonight.
As much as Malik despised the familiar living in Cassandra’s home, sleeping next to her at night, and seeing her beautiful body as she dressed, he was grateful for the feline’s presence this evening.
Kyle had been responsible for calling the police after Harvey had let himself inside with the key he apparently had duplicated.
The familiar had told Malik that he’d hoped the officers would arrive in time to scare Cassandra’s stepfather off before she returned home, but luck hadn’t been on their side. She’d pulled into the drive five minutes ahead of the cops and straight into the evil lurking beyond her door.
A strange feeling abruptly came over Malik. He stilled, expanding his senses to the sidewalk beyond the front of the building. Azrael…
The door opened a brief moment later, and Malik’s uncle stepped over the threshold. The older man’s gaze traveled the room before stopping on his nephew.
Malik watched him deflect Chelle’s approach with a slight narrowing of his eyes—a trick Malik had learned from his own father at an early age.
Chelle walked past the elder vampire without seeing him to welcome the couple now entering behind him.
“Uncle,” Malik greeted him with a slight head tilt. “What are you doing here?” He wondered how long Azrael had been in town and how come he hadn’t mentioned that fact when they’d spoken by phone earlier.
“I should ask you the same question, nephew. It seems you have been here whoring around for days while Sanders and his spawn walk free.”
Forcing his jaw to relax, Malik stood to face his father’s eldest brother. “I have not been whoring as you so crudely suggested. Things will be handled on my end, in my time. Now please excuse yourself before Cassie returns from the ladies’ room.”
“It’s Cassie, now, is it?” Azrael took a step forward, bringing him mere inches from Malik’s face. “I certainly hope you enjoy her company this evening, as it will be your last.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” When Azrael continued to stare back at Malik without emotion, he lowered his voice. “Threats do not work with me, uncle.”
“It wasn’t a threat, my dear nephew. It was a promise.”
Malik saw red. “If you touch a hair on her head, family or not, I will kill you.”
“You dare to threaten me?” Azrael narrowed his eyes. “Be glad you are my dead brother’s only child, else I would have you staked for insubordination. But not before I killed the blonde bimbo while you watched.”
Malik’s top lip peeled back to reveal rapidly descending fangs. “You think I fear you, uncle? Think again. I suggest you go back to Anchorage and see to your children while I take care of things here. I told you that I would handle the Sanders family, and that is exactly what I intend to do, in my own time, in my own way.”
“You have three days to see this through. If Albert and his spawn are not dead by midnight on the third night, I will be forced to intervene.” Azrael spun on his heel, not stopping until he reached the exit. He glanced back at Malik as he opened the door to leave. “And get rid of the girl; she’s a liability we cannot afford.”
Azrael stepped out onto the sidewalk, disappearing as quickly as he’d appeared.
Malik’s body shook with barely controlled rage. He could feel the heat burning behind his eyes, the throbbing in his gums matched only by the pounding in his temples. He needed to regain his composure before Cassandra returned from the restroom.
He quickly sat and took a healthy drink of his wine. He couldn’t let Cassie see him like this. She would know something was wrong the
second she looked into his burning red eyes.
Azrael being in town did not bode well for Malik or anyone else that crossed the vampire’s path. Especially Cassandra.
Why had his uncle arrived in Florida unannounced? Malik wondered, downing more wine. Unless…
The sound of Cassandra’s voice suddenly interrupted his musing. He glanced up in time to see a woman with short, blonde hair wrapping Cassie in a hug.
A man wearing jeans and a black T-shirt stood close by with a smile on his face.
Malik watched as Cassie embraced them both before taking the woman’s hand and leading her to the table where Malik sat waiting. The gentleman followed closely behind.
“Jen, I’d like for you to meet Malik. Malik, this is Jen and Craig. They’re regulars here and two very good friends of mine.”
Malik stood and extended his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you both,” he murmured, accepting their palms in greeting. “Would you care to join us?”
Jen gifted him with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Malik. Thank you for the invite, but Craig and I have reservations upstairs.”
She hugged Cassandra once more before taking Craig’s arm and following him toward the staircase.
“Nice couple,” Malik remarked, helping Cassie sit. “You seem very fond of them.”
“I am. They have been wonderful to me since the first day we met.”
Malik hated small talk almost as much as he hated sushi. He wanted to throw Cassie over his shoulder, carry her back to his room, and make love to her sweet body until she forgot everything and everyone but him.
It ate at him that she carried around the guilt of her stepfather’s actions. How could she blame herself? She’d been an innocent child forced to endure the abuse of a madman.
Returning to his seat, Malik picked up his wineglass, extending it toward his beautiful date. “To good friends and new beginnings.”
Cassie clinked her glass with his, never taking her gaze from his eyes. “To new friends and new memories.”
“New memories, indeed.” And there would be hundreds of memory-making moments, Malik silently vowed. Even if it killed him.
Cassandra (Scruples Book 2) Page 8