by Marian Tee
God of Caros – how am I ever going to destroy him if it seems like doing so would also mean destroying myself?
Just as I started to pull away and let go of his tie, Luka captured my hand, keeping it locked in his as he whispered to my ear, “Caylie.” He said it with preternatural softness, telling me that what he had to say was for my ears alone.
I stilled at the audible caress of his voice.
“I can smell you.”
My eyebrows shot up. “What?” I hissed, unable to believe how incredibly rude Luka was being.
His chuckle tickled my skin. “Caylie, I can smell how you’re wet for me.”
A lightning bolt of heat zapped my body at his words, and I stumbled back in shock. For a moment I was blind, my gaze completely consumed by black fire.
And then the vision disappeared, and I completely lost my balance with it. “Luka!”
Luka’s eyes widened before reacting swiftly, reaching for me as I started to fall, but someone had already caught me from behind.
“Gotcha!” Jeff’s voice was like a bucket of cold water, and I numbly let him help me back to my feet. He couldn’t resist copping a feel as he did, his hands lingering on my waist. I didn’t make a move to stop him, but I could see Luka wanted to.
Luka stiffened, his tension as ferocious as a wild and untamed beast inside him, wanting to break free. The tension communicated itself to Jeff, forcing the younger guy to let me go.
Luka immediately stepped forward, as if wanting to emphasize how he completely dwarfed Jeff.
Jeff straightened, making him a centimeter taller but still inches away from being eye to eye with Luka. His gaze was as accusatory as his tone when he demanded, “You know him?”
I almost rolled my eyes. He was seriously going to ask that? It was enough to get me over my shock. Later, I would examine what just happened in my mind. But for now, I had to deal with Jeff. I said dryly, “If you tell me you don’t, I won’t believe you.”
Jeff flushed, saying sulkily, “What I meant was do you know him personally?”
Everyone in Caro society knew who Luka was. Even though elections were still ages away, his name was practically flooding the ballot boxes already.
Because of his betrayal.
The thought had me curling my arm around Jeff. “Let me introduce you to him,” I cooed.
Luka’s face hardened, more so when I leaned closer to Jeff, making sure the other guy felt the brush of my breasts on his side as I said, “This is Luka – my dearest oldest friend.” I smiled brilliantly at Luka. “And Luka, this is Jeff, a dear friend as well.”
Luka offered his hand.
His right hand – forcing Jeff to let go of my arm so he could shake Luka’s.
I smiled grudgingly. Of course Luka would figure a way to keep us apart without losing his cool. It was child’s play for that fine mind of his everyone so envied him for.
“May I have a moment with Caylie?” Luka was asking ever so politely.
Male aggression and the usual tough talk, Jeff was well-equipped to handle but Luka’s exquisite manners confused him and he found himself nodding.
Luka lifted a brow at me again. Do you want me to continue manipulating him, his gaze mockingly asked.
I wrinkled my nose at him even as I gave Luka my hand. Pompous ass.
Luka took my hand, pulling me close, and then we were walking away, stopping only when we reached a secluded corner under the shades, the school almost half a block away. Even so, I could feel everyone’s gazes on us and I became cold all over again. I remembered the headlines, and I reminded myself that I couldn’t let Luka deceive me once more.
Luka always had a plan. That was what I used to think but not anymore.
What Luka never failed to have was an agenda. Plans didn’t always hurt, but agendas – they were different, more deceptive and cruel, and that was really what Luka should be known for.
“This is a nice surprise.” I reached for his hair, loving its texture. My lips curved in a teasing smile. “But what you said back then was even more surprising. It was hot, too, don’t get me wrong.” I pretended to fan myself. “But it’s very unlike you – and definitely not the kind of words you’d expect from a rehabilitator.”
Luka had the grace to flush, but he also said evenly, “You seemed to be in the mood for it, the way you were looking at me.”
“Oh, I always look at hot guys like that,” I said airily. “So don’t take it too seriously.”
Luka’s lips tightened.
Good.
“What brings you here, Luka?” I asked again.
Hesitation crossed his violet eyes.
No. I withdrew sharply. “Don’t say it, Luka.”
A sad smile touched his lips. “I don’t have to. You already know.”
“My rehabilitation is a decree of your precious Brethren,” I said tonelessly. “It’s one of your precious Brethren responsibilities and now you’re telling me you’re going to play hooky probably for the first time in your life?” My eyes bored through him. “Is it because the responsibility has to do with me so you’re not taking it seriously?”
Luka was quiet, his way of politely answering questions that didn’t need an answer.
Ah God of Caros, but I hated him.
Only Luka Georgiades could make me feel so small, so pathetic and unworthy. All his life, he lived and breathed in the honor of serving the Brethren, and yet – and yet because it was about me this time, he didn’t seem to care about following his directives anymore.
“Why am I even surprised?” I murmured, my voice silky with contempt.
“Just for tonight, Caylie. It’s an emergency,” he stressed, his eyes fiercely demanding as he stared straight at mine, willing me to believe him.
You promised. You promised you’d stay with me as long as I need you. I wanted to say the words, but I was too proud. And so I didn’t answer, my most polite way of telling him he was a fucking lying asshole.
Luka’s lips twitched. “I can practically hear you cursing me.”
I glared at him. ASSHOLE. ASSHOLE. ASSHOLE!
Luka laughed.
Shit.
Just like that and the anger in my heart started to melt. Desperately, I tried to pull myself back together, tried to rebuild the walls of ice around my heart because if I gave him just the smallest chance to deceive me, it would be all over.
So I had to be stronger. I had to. And I knew that with every fiber of my being, but right now I was also powerless to stop my body from responding to the rare sound of Luka’s laughter.
He said in a low husky voice, “Caylie, I promise, tomorrow – I’ll be waiting in your room.”
My breath caught at his words.
Suddenly, there was a whole new meaning to Luka’s statement and my eyes widened as I saw Luka’s gaze actually dip slowly, moving down, down, down until they centered on my breasts, which seemed to be his favorite part of my body nowadays.
My nipples reacted.
Luka’s nostrils flared, his body stiffening, and seeing how affected he was just made me feel hotter. What was wrong with me? Physical pleasure had always been Luka’s weakness, not mine. All these years I had even thought I was frigid, and yet here I was---
Luka suddenly whirled me around, faster than what human eyes could follow. When I blinked again, I was leaning against a tree, hidden from everyone’s view, locked in the cage of Luka’s arms.
“Luka---”
His head lowered, our lips touched, and passion exploded between us, turning the world into a haze of heat. My arms immediately went around his neck, and I strained against him, wanting to feel his body as close as possible to mine. My breasts strained against its cups, too, and Luka groaned, kissing me hard before roughly pulling away so he could kiss my neck. He quickly unbuttoned my blouse, just enough for him to kiss the upper swell of my breast.
I gasped when I felt the prick of his fangs.
My eyes shot open. “Luka---”
His fan
gs pierced my skin.
“Aaaah.” My head lolled back, the exquisite feel of his sensual bite making me completely lose my train of thought. “Yes,” I whispered instead. His fangs had already retracted, but the lovely pain-pleasure feel of his fangs still made me shiver. Luka pressed one lingering kiss on the other breast, just on top of the lacy cup, before moving away.
His fingers quickly worked my buttons back to order.
I was still in a daze when he stepped back and gazed at me with a smirk on his beautiful lips.
I blinked. Did I just see that?
My eyes narrowed, but Luka’s gorgeous face was now a picture of polite charm. Luka Georgiades wasn’t the type to smirk. Even I knew that, but I could have sworn I had seen him do it. But then, he didn’t used to be the type to try getting me aroused in public either. That had always been my favorite sin, not his. Yet now the roles were reversed and I couldn’t make sense of anything any longer. Had he changed so much in the past three years?
Oh God of Caros, but I was so confused.
In an effort to hide my turbulent thoughts, I hissed at him, “I can’t believe you did that! You’re my rehabilitator, for the love of Caros! What if someone saw us---”
“No one had,” he said calmly, a smile fleetingly appearing on his lips, as if he was amused at how panicky I was.
“And how are you so sure of that?” I gritted out, wanting to slap the smile off his face for some reason. I couldn’t believe how ridiculously violent Luka was making me feel. It was positively barbaric – so unbelievably human!
“Because.” He took my hand and we stepped out of the trees, and my jaw dropped at the sight that stood before me.
Practically an entire army of Brethren guards had formed a barricade on the road, preventing anyone from getting close to us. Brethren guards were famous for their collective ability to block out the senses of other Caros, serving like a jammer if they didn’t want something to be found. And this time, all they wanted was to make sure that nobody would know what Luka and I had been doing the past few minutes.
“Caylie?”
“Mm?” I couldn’t make myself look at him for some reason, not with my body still tingling in the aftershocks of his intimate touch.
“I have to go now,” Luka murmured.
I glanced at him then and saw the distant look in his eyes. He was tired, I realized with a pang in my heart that I didn’t want to feel. His kiss had mellowed me, pushing my anger back and allowing me to see him more clearly. My stubbornly stupid and silly heart ached for him, and in an even sillier attempt to comfort Luka, I heard myself saying teasingly, “Are you sure you’re really going to work?”
Luka focused on me, his tone puzzled as he answered, “Yes.”
I gave him a mock scowl, demanding, “To the Brethren stronghold?”
He raised a brow. “Yes.” This time, he drawled the word out.
I tried not to smile even as I pouted and asked, “You really mean it?”
Luka’s eyes narrowed. “Caylie---”
“You’re not ditching a boring rehabilitation session with me just so you can fuck a hot Brethren secretary?”
I giggled at Luka’s wide-eyed look of surprise, followed by a look of bemusement at hearing me drop the F-bomb. His reaction
Luka suddenly touched the corner of my lip, surprising me. He whispered, “There are other better things I can think of fucking right now.”
I was so startled I ended up jumping a good five feet away from Luka, surprise making me forget to keep a lid on my natural abilities as a Caro.
Immediately, the Brethren guards reacted, whirling around me, hands on their swords – yes, we were old-fashioned that way, but they did have guns, too – their gazes rapidly scanning the surroundings for any sign of threat.
But the only threat was Luka, to my heart, and I doubt they’d kill him for me.
My face turned red. “False alarm,” I said weakly.
A slight, secretive smile was on Luka’s lips as he came towards me, the only way he was allowing himself to let me know he was having fun at my expense. Anything more than that would be unpardonably rude.
“Until tomorrow, mi vavli.” And then he was getting inside his car.
When the door slammed shut and the car started to move, I called for the Brethren guard nearest to me. “Wait.”
He swiftly faced me, standing in attention, a soldier trained to follow a noble’s request.
Doubt was growing ever so swiftly inside me, a virus I was desperate to contain.
“Luka Georgiades is heading where?”
The guard hesitated.
“I, a full-blooded noble Caro, am asking you, a soldier, about a half-blooded Caro.” I wasn’t perfect like Luka. I would never hesitate to pull rank if I had to, and this time I needed to, more than anything else in the world.
The guard immediately answered, “To the Moretti compound, Lady Caylie.”
My heart started to race. “Why?”
The guard hesitated again.
“Answer with the rumors you have heard,” I commanded.
“They say…there will be an engagement to solidify the alliance.”
My phone started to ring. I ended the call, not having to look at it to know who it was.
Liar, liar, liar.
When the last of the Brethren guards blended back into obscurity, Jeff slowly walked towards me.
It took a lot of effort to smile at him even as my heart continued to break.
Why did he have to lie again? Why? Fuck, Luka, fuck – fuck – fuck why?
“Are you really just friends?”
“Yes.” It was my turn to lie.
Luka was not my friend.
He was my obsession, like I was his.
It was time I accepted that.
Jeff cleared his throat. “About the party…”
Something reckless inside me burned. This time, my smile glittered. Jeff appeared dazed.
Let the blood flow, the flesh burn, but never let the heart decide.
It was time I also remembered that.
“I’ll be there,” I said softly, a dark promise in my voice.
Chapter Four
Luka
43 Months Ago
Luka remained in the darkness, doing his best not to let the cold rage inside him to take over his mind as he listened to another guy trying to hit on Caylie. He was just one of the many dozens that had attempted the same in the weekend that he and Caylie was staying at the Delicazzi vacation house for the clan’s annual summer ball.
Her laughter was a sensual caress in itself and he gritted his teeth, hating how the other boys were allowed to hear it when that laugh should have been his alone.
“It’s rare to find you alone,” the sixteen-year-old Drako murmured.
“What do you mean?” Caylie’s tone was more curious than coy.
Only a thin glass door separated him and the two. If he willed it, he could be in there in a second, crushing Drako’s hand into a thousand pieces of broken bones. If that boy dared touch what was his, that would happen.
“Georgiades---”
“Luka?”
He heard the smile in her voice as she said his name.
“He’s like a brother to me, but it’s not like he’s my keeper or my boyfriend.”
“Then if I try to kiss you---”
Caylie laughed again, but the sound was drifting away. He shifted, and through the curtain’s slit he saw her backing away, her pert breasts bouncing in her skimpy bikini. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
His fingers gripped Andrea Marcellini’s hair and thrust hard into her mouth.
She moaned, opening her mouth as wide as she could to accommodate his cock.
Luka closed his eyes and as he began to fuck Andrea’s mouth, he finally allowed himself to pretend that it was Caylie’s mouth loving his dick.
When it was over, Andrea licked her lips dry and looked up at him with a sultry smile. “Shall I go to your room tonight?” She glanced
down and gasped, stunned and more than aroused to see Luka’s cock still hard.
Luka smiled mirthlessly. “Yes.” It was either fuck Andrea or take a young girl’s virginity when she clearly wasn’t ready yet.
Present Time
The party was in full swing when my friends and I got to David’s place. Booze flowed freely, and I was sure a great amount of poisoned and diabetic blood had been mixed into it. Diabetic blood was our version of flavoring, hence the reason why most Caros preferred to make donations to charities that supported diabetic victims. It was cold-blooded of us, but we were who we were, and those who forgot that tended to die.
Human waiters endlessly circulated the house, the perfect walking advertisement for the drinks they offered. I declined with a smile, but Ever had no problems taking one glass for each hand. She loved her sweets.
“You made it, luv,” a low cultured tone said behind us, just before Sabina was whirled around and found herself being kissed by Phillip Brimstone, a tall gorgeous twenty-one year old guy who also happened to be the wealthiest Caro heir in Britain.
Ever and I exchanged looks when we saw the dazed look on the normally fiery-looking Sabina. On the other hand, Phillip appeared more…powerful, as if kissing Sabina had restored him. Although Phillip was built like an athlete, most of our kind thought him weak because of his famous policy for staying neutral when it came to Brethren politics. But whenever I saw him with Sabina, I had a niggling feeling there was so much more to Phillip Brimstone than met the eye.
Sabina and Phillip were kissing again. It had been some time since they had last saw each other, and I quickly looked away, wanting to give them privacy even if they didn’t ask for it. If I were honest, it was more for my sake. I couldn’t look at them and not think about Luka. And it hurt. Oh God of Caros, will I ever stop hurting?
I saw Ever scanning the bar, and I knew she was looking for Luisa out of habit. Luisa was Phillip’s fiancée back in London – and everyone knew about it. But Sabina and Phillip didn’t seem to care.