Damn. I kind of wished he stayed.
But I really did want to talk to Sophie and make sure she was doing okay. It felt like it’s been forever since we had a chance to sit down and have a chat.
Changing into a pair of old jeans and a favorite Led Zepplin t-shirt of mine, I topped it off with one of Gavin’s zip up hoodies since they suited me better than they did him. And they smelled better than my clothes.
Passing the natural stone, doubled sided fireplace that split the great room in half between the bedroom and sitting room, I left the lights on like a beacon and slipped out of the sliding glass door, my boots crunching on fresh snow covering the wrap around porch. The boards creaked under my weight as I walked the length of them to the stairs that led to a clearing, which butted up against dense forest. Late afternoon sunlight highlighted the Dolomites in the distance, accenting their jagged stone faces in lights and shadows.
Breathing in the fresh air, I paused to savor the silence of blanketed earth. Snow was peaceful, and as much as I loved soaking up the summer sun, winter held its own brand of magic that called to me.
Continuing to the cabin closest to me, which I personally deemed Sophie’s when we arrived, I hopped up the back stairs and knocked on her glass door. She squeaked but her footsteps quickly drew near. The curtains swayed, and half of her face peeked around them. I gave a small wave, and she sagged in relief.
Silly girl. Bad guys wouldn’t have knocked in the first place.
The lock glided out of place, and she slid the door wide enough for me to enter.
“Hey.”
“Hi, Lucy. How are you feeling with… you know?” She pointed to my stomach, and I remembered how squeamish she had looked when she last saw me.
“Yeah, that. I’m good now, Soph. No worries.”
“I’m glad. Everyone was so worried about you. Even Allison was being quieter than usual.”
Really? I must have been too out of it to notice their concern. My insides warmed in a good way to know they cared so much. They really were becoming family to me.
“Sorry, Soph. You guys are stuck with me.”
She laughed, but her relief was short-lived as she moved to sit on her bed, distracted by the computer screen sitting in front of her. She tucked her brown hair behind her ears and pushed her too-big glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“So, how goes the translation?”
With her attention focused on her laptop, she answered my question. “I’m really close. I was able to translate large chunks of it. Now, I just have to sift through all this information. The hard part is figuring out what they were trying to say. The way they spoke back then was completely different than how we would say something. It’s like interpreting poetry.”
I sensed the frustration and stepped closer to the bed, seeing the red in her eyes. “Soph, how long have you been at this?”
She shrugged, completely in the zone. Her stomach growled, but I don’t think she even noticed.
“Okay, that’s it.” I walked over to her side and gently pushed the screen down until it fell shut.
“Lucy! What are you doing?” she snapped, finally coming to life.
“You need a break from this. It won’t do us any good if you burn yourself out. Let’s get you something to eat and then you can come back to it more refreshed, okay?”
She gave me a look that said she questioned my sanity, like I just told her I could solve every mystery surrounding quantum physics.
“Come on, let’s go to the main lodge. I smell some kind of stew that would have made my mouth water when I was human.”
Her interest perked at the mention of food, realizing how hungry she was. “Fine,” she agreed.
She moved around her quaint room, pulling on a pair of snow boots that had more fur than a Bernese Mountain Dog. She added a thick wool sweater to her button down and buried herself in a parka that reached her knees. She topped it off with gloves and a fuzzy hat.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Let’s go.” She glanced back at her laptop longingly.
“You not bringing it. Come on.”
She sighed but followed me out the front door, down the shoveled walk path to the main lodge. The building replicated a mountain resort but on a much smaller scale. It was a chalet with floor to ceiling windows down the middle, stretching out to a point. Inside, a cozy sitting area wrapped around a central fireplace, much like the one in Gavin’s and my room, making it the focal point of the lodge.
Off to one side was another sitting area with couches forming a circle around a television mounted to the log wall. On the other side of the fireplace was a dining room with tables scattered around the space. The front desk was situated next to the door we just entered, but no one attended it. I heard a few staff beyond a swinging door to the side of the dining room, and the sounds of pots and pans banging against one another filtered into the great room.
We walked over to a small buffet table crammed into the corner of the dining room, and Sophie picked up a tray and soup bowl, moving to the three pots containing her choices. My gaze danced around the dining room, spotting only two other people. An older gentleman in a tweed sports coat and a hat that made me think of golfers read a newspaper in silence, the empty soup bowl pushed to the side of his table. The newspaper was written in Italian, but underneath one of the main headlines was a picture of a little girl that looked about five.
Another man in a business suit seemed out of place in an isolated establishment like this one. He ate his soup, glancing at his blank phone screen every few seconds like he was expecting a call.
Sophie filled her bowl to the rim with what looked like minestrone, and we chose a table next the windows, watching the play of sunlight through the pines as it created odd shaped shadows over the soft powder in the main clearing.
Sophie took a bite and barely finished swallowing before asking, “So, what did you find out from the cardinal?”
I explained everything Cardinal Trevisani told me, and she listened intently, hanging on every word with rapt interest. Her eyebrows stretched upward, and several times, she had to adjust her glasses to keep them from falling.
“Wow,” she said as I finished.
“I know. I was thinking you could try narrowing your search to any mention of Constantine.”
“Yes, I’ll try that. That actually gives me a few ideas on what to look for. Thank you, Lucy.”
“Yeah, it was totally worth getting stabbed for,” I lamented sarcastically. “But hey, all part of my job.”
She cringed at the memory, and I wanted to smack myself for being so crass about it. It bothered her more than it did me, but I was immortal and pain was nothing new. To her, the idea of disembowelment was probably a bit more terrifying.
Before I could apologize and ask how she was doing through this whole mission, someone shouted from the front door. “Hey, sexy ladies. Miss us?”
I smiled and turned to my friends who made their way toward us. Well, they made their way toward the food, then came over to sit with us. Gavin wasn’t with them, so I reached out my senses and heard a shower turned on in the general direction of our cabin.
Something about that made my mouth go dry and had me wanting to rush out of here to help him get clean. I squashed the intense heat to catch up with my friends.
As Nick approached, with Allison behind him carrying two bowls of soup, I asked how his arm was doing. It hung at his side in a hard cast.
“Not too bad. The doctor said I had two more weeks at the most. How’s the stomach?”
I watched the old man get up from his table and gather his things, bundling up in an oversized coat before I responded.
“Good as new. Only took about twenty or so hours and twelve pints of blood.”
“Well, aren’t you special?” Brody chimed in.
“That is what people tell me.” I smiled proudly, and from the corner of my eye, I saw the out of place businessman staring at our table. When I met his gaze,
he averted his eyes.
Allison spoon fed Nick another bite of soup like he was completely paralyzed. Without looking away from her task, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a good insult. “You mean the special kind of vampire that still drinks blood and is sometimes useful at killing other vampires? Sounds like you’re kind of bad at being special to me.”
“Sounds like you’re just as good at being a bitch as usual.”
Her eyes shot up to meet mine and she smirked.
“Did you guys hear that convenience store clerk talking to that American tourist today?” Brody asked the others. When no one confirmed, he continued. “They were saying something about how there’s been a lot of kids who’ve gone missing lately around here and other neighboring countries, like it’s a big trafficking scandal.”
“That’s messed up,” Nick said.
Another bad feeling was beginning to take root.
“Can we talk about something less depressing? Aren’t our own lives messed up enough?” Allison complained.
“So, Soph, how goes the translating?” Max asked lightly, steering the conversation in a different direction. Not sure if it was any less depressing though.
“It’s getting there. Lucy gave me some more information that could help speed things up. Actually, I’d really like to get back to work on that.” Her chair scraped loudly against the hardwood when she stood.
With the shadows lengthening across the lawn, I felt the need to escort her back to her room. “I’ll walk with you.” Standing and turning to the others, I said, “We’ll talk more tomorrow about our next step.”
They nodded and continued their conversation about learning Italian to hit on the girls they came across. Allison ignored them while she babied Nick.
Sophie and I headed toward the door, but as we passed the guy in a business suit, he reached into his pocket. The throwing knife neatly tucked into my boot was at his throat before he could withdraw his hand.
“I wouldn’t try anything stupid if you value your life. Did me father send you?”
My friends had ceased all conversation and were on high alert, ready to spring into action, their bowls of soup abandoned as they stood. The guy cleared his throat.
“No. I mean, yes, I value my life. Please don’t kill me. I was only sent to give you a letter from Soren.”
Relaxing my grip on the back of his neck, I brought the knife away from his major arteries but kept it pointed in his direction as I backed away to face him. “Let’s have it, then.”
He kept his terrified eyes on the knife as he reached into his breast pocket slowly. He pulled out a folded note and extended it toward me. I snatched it before he saw what happened. When he realized it wasn’t in his hand anymore, his eyes bulged.
“Please. I mean no harm. I was only told to deliver that and leave. I have two kids. Please, don’t hurt me.”
“I’m not going to hurt you. Get out of here and don’t mention this to anyone. Got it?”
“Y-yes. Of course. Th-thank you,” he stammered before rushing to the nearest exit.
Opening the letter, I skimmed it.
“Son of a bitch.”
“What is it, Luce?” Max asked, busting out his hardened, badass hunter voice. He’d be an easy guy to fall for, if I weren’t already madly in love with a man who sets my whole world on fire. In a good way, of course.
“They’re backing out of their deal. The assassin army came close to discovering their hideout, and they had to flee. Soren is scared of the First’s retaliation on his people.”
“So, they’re not helping?” Allison asked.
“We’re on our own now?” Brody added to the escalating tension among the group.
“We were always on our own. This changes nothing. We have each other and that’s all we need. We’re still fine. Get some rest and we’ll talk more strategy tomorrow.”
Five sets of eyes bore down on me, and five sets of eyes held a kind of faith in me that made me want to tear down the world and rebuild a better one for them. I spun toward the door. “Come on, Soph.”
She hurried to catch up, and we walked to her cabin in silence. When I left her at the door, she stopped me. “Hey, Lucy.”
“Yeah?” My head swung back to face her.
“I’ll find something. I won’t let you guys down. I swear.”
“I know, Soph. We’ll all be fine. I’ll keep you guys alive. I swear to that.”
Maybe if I said it out loud enough times, I’d start believing I could do it.
12
Slipping in through the back door, I heard the shower still running and moved closer to the cracked door where steam wafted out. The urge to join him came roaring back with a vengeance.
Calm down, Lucy. There are more important things to discuss.
“So, I have some bad news.” I spoke in a conversational tone that a normal person wouldn’t hear through the door and over the running water.
“I heard,” he responded in the same volume. The knobs squeaked and the water stopped.
“So, you were eavesdropping? Revisiting your old stalker ways, Mr. West?”
“I like to think of it as looking out for your safety.”
The door to the bathroom swung open, and I was completely unprepared for confronting a half naked Gavin. The retort I had queued up died on my tongue, which had gone dry. I couldn’t even feel my tongue any more to be honest. For all I knew, there could be a bug or two flying around in the gaping hole above my dropped jaw.
Okay, so technically, he wasn’t half naked. He had taken the time to put dress pants back on and was in the process of covering those perfectly rolled abs with a crisp white button down shirt.
The heat from his shower radiated off of his skin in waves. I felt it from where I stood by the dresser, which was close to the bed. He prowled toward me, taking in my distressed jeans and faded black t-shirt, lingering on his hoodie draped over me like a blanket. I had to push it up my arms several times when it fell past my hands. It ended at my knees, completely unattractive, but his eyes pooled with desire at the sight of it on me.
His strong jaw worked, the sound of his teeth grinding over one another was loud in the space between us. He finished buttoning his shirt by the time he reached me.
“If you think those clothes will act as some kind of deterrent to a temporary loss of control, you’d be wrong.” I looped a finger through one of his belt loops, drawing him into me.
The cocky half grin returned. “Actually, I was on my way out to see what kind of information I could gather from the locals. I didn’t have much time this afternoon, but I have a few places I could go. I want to know how connected your father is, and how far his influence goes.”
He reached behind my head to unravel my loosely formed bun. My hair tumbled in dark waves past my shoulders. He gripped the open edges of his hoodie to pull me even closer, but then his hands sank underneath the jacket to slide up my shoulders. They traveled down my arms, bringing the loose hoodie with them, until it plopped to the floor in a heap at my feet.
I kept my eyes trained on his icy blues. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Not waiting for his next move, I took matters into my own hands, knowing what I wanted and going for it. My hands found the hem of my t-shirt, and I yanked it over my head, exposing the standard black bra beneath it.
His light brown eyebrows were usually straight until reaching the curve of his eye sockets and tilting downward, but at the moment, they formed arches above his lightening blue eyes. The rest of his hard features were unreadable, which I was beginning to understand as his assessment face. He was trying to guess my intentions, but I thought my actions made them obvious.
“You just made it impossible for me to leave. So, now that you have my attention, Lucille, what is it, exactly, that you want?”
He crowded me, placing both hands on the dresser and effectively trapping me in his caged arms. My butt was practically sitting on the dresser with his body crushed against mine.<
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“I want you. I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m ready.”
When his eyes bore into mine with that special brand of intensity, he saw the truth in my words, he felt it in my heart when he searched it, and he was totally on board with anything I wanted. His mouth met mine in a frenzy of passion, lust, and above all, love.
He parted my lips, tangling his tongue with mine until he broke away to devour the rest of my waiting skin. My bra strap slid down my shoulder as he sucked at the exposed flesh. My insides melted into one big puddle of sensations, like my nerves were a bundle of creeping ivy, expanding and overtaking the rest of my organs.
“How are you so good at that?” I panted as Gavin dragged his lips up my neck, nipping and kissing my racing pulse.
“”Come on, gorgeous, I’m good at everything. Say it out loud. You like the things I do to you, don’t you?”
I considered it while my heart rate stabilized. “Well, not all the things.”
He raised an eyebrow as he straightened to level me with a glare. “What is it, exactly, that you don’t like me doing to you?”
The clock ticked by, and the apprehension on his face quadrupled.
I tried really hard to bite back my smile, determined to make him squirm. He didn’t disappoint. He also added a warning growl of frustration, which meant I had about three seconds to answer before he tortured it out of me.
Hmmm.
“I really… really…” I paused as I snuck out of his hold to circle him.
“Lucy,” he grunted.
“Hate it…” I leaned into his back to whisper in his ear.
He groaned and snaked an arm around me to trap me once again between him and the dresser.
Smiling, I continued, “When you…”
I came to my tiptoes, only a breath away from his lips.
“Stop.”
I dove in head first lacing my tongue with his. He felt the urgency in this kiss as I tugged at his shirt and yanked on his belt. He pulled back.
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