by London Casey
“No, but you should see if you can find Victoria,” Tessa said as she led Luna back to the apartment to go lay down. It seemed like a good idea because she wobbled on her feet almost as if she were drunk. Then again, after everything that had just happened I could see why she’d be unsteady, and who knew how much of her life force had been drained from Victoria drinking her blood. If she ever reversed vampirism again or had it forced on her, it might end up killing her. None of that seemed important—everything Arie and I had been through made me realize that I could deal with his world.
I bit my lower lip. “I’ll come with you.”
“No, I won’t be long,” Arie said as he wrapped his arms around me. “I have a feeling that Victoria is long gone, and that she used the last of her powers to fly as far from here as she possibly could. If Victoria doesn’t want to be found she won’t be.”
Arie knew Victoria better than anyone, so I imagined he was right about that. It broke my heart that she took off, and if I hadn’t seen how panicked she looked I wouldn’t have understood why. Her past was tragic, and it made sense that she held everyone at arm’s length, never slept with anyone, or drank blood—only psi. Wherever Victoria was, I hoped she would find happiness and peace. If anyone deserved a happy ending it was her. I only hoped that one day she’d return and share that happy ending with all of us.
I nodded. “I’ll meet you back at the loft then.”
Arie kissed me on the forehead. “I lost my friend.”
“I know. So did I.”
“When I get back I need to be inside of you,” he murmured into my hair. “I need to feel you.”
I breathed in the scent of him, his leather jacket and that smell that was uniquely Arie. I really hoped he was wrong and that he’d find Victoria shivering on a park bench somewhere. None of us would be the same without her.
“I want to be close to you too,” I said. “I’ll wait for you.”
Arie kissed my cheeks, my chin. “You will wait for me. Remember how you waited for me when I gave you this promise ring.”
He brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed them. My breath caught and my pussy clenched in response to his husky voice despite everything that had happened.
“Yes.”
“I want you waiting naked, blindfolded, and with your hands behind your head.”
“Can I take a bath first? Like before?”
He ran his fingertips down my arm. “Just like before. No pleasuring yourself in the tub.”
“I think I can handle that. I just want to relax and for this night to be over.”
Arie gave me a quick kiss. “I have to call Julian and let him know that I saw his cousin before I go look for Victoria.”
“Okay, I’ll see you back at the loft.”
I made my way to the parking garage and took the Venom back to our place. Bending time made travel easy, and Arie wouldn’t need it to look for Victoria anyway. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I was going to miss her. If only I could have taken her place she’d still be here and maybe she’d find happiness with Luna. On the twenty-minute drive back to the loft my cell phone rang and jolted me from the swirl of thoughts as I kept going over the events of the night in my head.
“Hello?”
“I just wanted to tell you that it’s over,” Arie said. “The crew packed up—”
“And left town,” I said, cutting him off.
“Yeah, Tessa called me. She gave his associates a choice. Die like Victor or leave and don’t ever come back. The Chicago Crew is finished in this town. I’m going to do one more sweep for Victoria and I’ll be back.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
I pulled into the garage outside the loft and parked the car. When I reached our loft I drew a bath, shucked my clothes, and melted into the tub. It reminded me of the lavender-scented water and rose petals and his erotic surprise at Christmastime, which almost felt like a lifetime ago. It had only been six weeks, but so much had changed.
I kept paying rent because I wasn’t sure what to do with my apartment, but most of my stuff was here now. Maybe I’d give notice on my month-to-month lease next week. Go have a cup of coffee with Trina and see an old friend while doing something completely normal and mundane. I put those thoughts aside as I lathered up and prepared myself for another evening of multiple orgasms—just like the night Arie gave me the promise ring. I washed up as I thought of all the marvelous things he did to my body and how unbelievably turned on I’d been without him laying a finger on me.
When I got out of the tub, I let the water drain and toweled off. I wrapped the towel around me and practically ran to the side of the bed to grab the red scarf out of the nightstand. That scarf was one of our favorite games. The towel fell to the floor next to the bed. With shaking fingers I tied the scarf around my eyes and lay on the bed with my hands behind my head, just like Arie had instructed. I half-drifted on the brink of falling asleep and wasn’t sure how long I’d been laying there when I heard the door to the loft open and shut.
The bed shifted and I felt Arie kneeling over me. I’d fallen for Arie and nothing could ever change that—there was no going back. I’d have to find a way to deal with all the insecurities that loving someone brought out in me. Victoria was gone, Victor Monti was dead, his brother was too, and the lab had been destroyed. And if ‘T’ ever showed his face again, I knew Arie would deal with it. We made it through this, and somehow I knew without a doubt that we’d see Victoria again. When he kissed me I knew everything was right in our world.
Beyond Ever After
Book 3 in the Ever After Series
Chapter One
His kiss was possessive, demanding. I lay on top of the bed, blindfolded—Arie was kissing me. I kissed him back but kept my hands behind my head. Arie wanted it that way, and I loved giving him the gift of my submission. Being blindfolded made me excruciatingly aware of all my senses, and it set every nerve ending on fire. Every touch, every taste—scintillating. His tongue tangled with mine as I moaned into his mouth. I wanted more. Greedy? Yes. Except he’d never kissed me like this. It almost felt like I was kissing a stranger. The thought brought me back to when he’d cuffed me to the pole and fucked me in front of everyone. I tried to capture his lower lip with the tip of my fang.
But Arie’s mouth dipped to my neck, his stubble scrapping against my skin. Something about the abrasive texture always turned me on. My pussy clenched as his mouth moved to that hollow dip in my neck while his hand slid up my inner thigh. But he stopped when he reached my mound and his hand moved to grip my hip instead. His fingers dug into its curve. I shifted, squirming, needing him to touch me.
–Please.–
I begged telepathically. It was cheating of course, but he always let me get away with it anyway. After saving Luna and losing Victoria we both needed this. And I wanted to feel him inside of me. His mouth met mine again with a fierce tangle of tongues, teeth clashing. He bit my lower lip, gently tugging on it, pulling off the maneuver that I’d failed to execute.
Whenever Arie bit my lower lip it drove me absolutely insane. He took my mouth just as his hands claimed my body. His breath was cool on my face. He pulled away, his hands gripping my hips, pulling them toward his. My sex brushed the taut denim fabric, and I moaned. I needed him now. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to have him inside of me right then and there. I bit my lower lip to hold back another moan.
–If you don’t take me soon I swear I’m going to rip this blindfold off and make you fuck me.–
He groaned. Then he kissed me again. His kiss left me breathless and reminded me of the intoxicating sensation that you feel the first time you kiss someone new. Then again, I loved kissing Arie. I’d never had anyone turn me on the way that he did. Hell, I’d never had anyone make me come before I’d met Arie. The Sight always got in the way. I ground my sex into the stiff fabric and moaned as it brushed against my clit. Arie would have a wet mess on those jeans but I didn’t care.
“God, Katarina. You
fucking kill me.”
I stiffened.
Oh. My. God.
I shoved him off of me and scrambled toward the headboard. Off went the blindfold, and I sent it sailing across the room. The vampire from the bar crouched on the bed. Christ, I was kissing a stranger. And I was naked. Kissing a complete stranger when I was completely naked. I shot off the bed and grabbed a towel off the floor and wrapped it around me. He looked almost as shocked as I did. Almost, but not quite. His vivid green eyes widened infinitesimally before narrowing like a cat’s. He had brown wavy hair but was way more rugged in appearance than Arie—I had to admit he was definitely hot. That made me even more aware of my current state of undress.
He got off of the bed, but even with him standing about ten feet away heat spread across my body. It wasn’t nearly far enough. Hell, no. Not when my skin still prickled where his mouth had been. My clit throbbed, wanting the contact of denim, and my gaze dropped to his jeans. Mortified. If I could have sunk into the bedroom floor or somehow disappeared right at that moment I would have. His eyes swept over me from head to foot, but when his eyes met mine, realization lit his.
“You’re not Katarina,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
“No, I’m not. But who the hell are you?”
Clutching the towel around me, I knew my face must be the color of the silk blindfold I’d thrown. Worse. My embarrassment seemed to amuse the hell out of him. That only infuriated the hell out of me.
He grinned. “I’m Toren.”
‘T.’ He’s ‘T.’ Katarina’s lover. Oh, hell.
“Well Toren, mind telling me what you are doing in our apartment? I locked the door.”
Lying naked and blindfolded like Arie had told me to, I never imagined someone other than him would come in here and kiss me. My lips were swollen, and I could still taste him. No, I didn’t want to think about him kissing me. So I glared at him instead.
He grinned. “You think a lock is going to keep an Ancient vampire out? Please. Give me at least a little credit. Picking locks is an easy skill to pick up over the years.”
I narrowed my eyes. He was enjoying this. My clothes and my cell phone were in the bathroom where I had left them after my bath.
“So you think that makes it okay to just go around picking locks and breaking into someone’s home?” My voice rose several octaves.
And where the hell is Arie? Shouldn’t he be back by now?
He laughed. “No, not generally, but I did knock. You didn’t answer.”
“That gives you no right to break in here. And you groped me.” My arms were crossed over my chest, pressing the towel against me. A flimsy shield against someone who had been on top of me just moments ago, driving me wild with those lips that were now quirked upward into a smirk.
“Groped? Really?” He laughed again. I wanted to hit him, and if I’d been wearing more than a towel I would have. “Well you seemed to enjoy me groping you. As evidenced by my pants.”
Toren wore a pair of black jeans that distinctly showed a white smear right where his crotch…dear Lord, he still had an erection. Heat spread across my cheeks.
Toren shrugged. “Hey, I thought you were Katarina. And you were naked. That’s an open invitation if I ever saw one. But no harm, no foul.”
“If I was Katarina, I doubt that Arie would be very happy about you kissing me…I mean her.” I sighed. “Oh, hell.”
Now he really did laugh. Hard.
“It never bothered him before.”
My mouth dropped open.
“I sincerely doubt that he’d be okay with you groping his girlfriend. Katarina was his girlfriend.”
His eyes flashed. Anger? I couldn’t be sure, but if he didn’t look menacing before, he sure as hell did now. Uh-oh, I’d said the wrong thing. I just wasn’t sure what. Something about me referring to Katarina as Arie’s ex. Toren took a step toward me and I took two steps back.
“Yeah, well, she was mine first. And you didn’t seem to mind me kissing you. In fact, I think you rather enjoyed it.”
Toren took another step toward me, so we were standing only inches from each other. His eyes bore into mine and I had to look away. He was right. I hated to admit it, but I had kissed him back. And I stood there in a towel, contemplating what kissing him back meant and wondering how I could have been confused in the first place. I definitely needed to get dressed and put some more space between us. The tiny loft bedroom seemed to be closing in on me, and even though I knew it was just nerves, this room wasn’t big enough for the both of us.
“I thought you were Arie.”
“Your body responded to me, not him.”
Damn. Right again.
I glared at him. “I would have never kissed you back if I knew you weren’t.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asked.
His voice wasn’t as husky as Arie’s, but I found it unnerving and distracting with him standing so close to me while I was only wearing a towel. At the moment I wasn’t sure about anything. I had to get some distance from him, and it would be better if I had some clothes on.
“Yes,” I hissed.
“Do you want to test that theory?” He reached out and cupped my chin, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip. Swollen from him tugging on it with his teeth.
I turned my head and he dropped his hand.
“Arie will be back any minute.” My voice squeaked out.
God, I hoped that was true, because I was only bluffing. What could be taking him so long?
Toren’s eyes were mesmerizing. “Yes, Arie will be back. But who are you?”
“Holly,” I whispered.
“Just Holly?”
I looked up at him. God, this felt so familiar. I seemed to remember Arie asking me that very same question the first time we’d met back at the Coffee Grind. Except that was practically a lifetime ago.
“I’m Holly Ellis. Arie’s girlfriend.”
Toren grinned. “Why does that not surprise me?”
I had no idea why Toren seemed irritated by that. Worse—I had no idea why my skin still felt flushed and why standing so close to him twisted my stomach into gigantic knots.
I lifted my chin. “Like I said, Arie will be back soon.”
“Good. There’s a few things I’d like to say to him,” Toren said as he crossed his arms.
The gray sweater that he wore did little to hide his well-defined chest, and the way his jeans hung on his hips made me uncomfortable. Warm. Toren was at least three inches shorter than Arie, but the top of my head was level with his lips. It was intimidating to look up at him. Oh, god. Why was I thinking about his lips and how incredible they’d felt?
“Fine. Can I get dressed now?”
Toren grinned but he didn’t move. “If you must, but it would be a shame to cover up such a beautiful body. Although it would give me something to tear off.”
I was going to ignore that, except it made me think of the first note he’d written and left with the waitress at the club when he thought I was Katarina. You look good wearing nothing. That night at HFC when Arie had cuffed me to the pole, Toren had been there, seen everything. And Arie had fucked me right in front of him and I’d been wearing the same thing. Nothing. I felt exposed. Vulnerable. My head spun as I considered the letters he’d written when he thought that I was her.
I gulped. “Why did you ask Katarina to forgive you?”
“Because I thought I was wrong.”
“About what?”
His eyes hardened. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You were lovers.”
Toren sighed. “We were lovers, but that was a long time ago.”
I shook my head. “Is that really how you feel? I don’t think so. You wouldn’t be looking for forgiveness or writing all that stuff if that’s how you really felt.”
He walked to the window that overlooked the Chicago River. White flakes drifted past, and I wondered when spring would ever get here. What I said must be getting to him. I
’d hit a nerve.
“Where is she? I heard that she was dead.”
My worst nightmare had come true. I closed my eyes. How could I tell him that I killed her? I wished that Arie was here now. I took a deep breath, glad that when I opened my eyes that I was looking at his back.
“Let me just get dressed. We could go downstairs and wait for Arie. I could get you a drink. Some Puncture?”
He turned and looked at me. I don’t know why, but I knew that I couldn’t lie to him or hold back. Toren should know the truth. Even if once he found out that I’d been responsible for her death, it meant that he’d rip my throat out.
“Is it true? Is she dead?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Now was the moment. He would kill me just as soon as I told him that it was my fault.
“I killed her.”
He strode across the room and stopped right in front of me, but he didn’t touch me. I flinched anyway. I couldn’t help it.
“I just need to know one thing. Why?” Toren asked.
I looked down.
“Look at me. And tell me why.”
I met his eyes and told him without breaking eye contact, and surprisingly, without flinching. “She lost her mind and was making headlines in the tabloids that could expose us. She tried to kill me. I had no other choice. It was me or her.”
Everything seemed to slow down as I waited for his response. This was it. I fully expected that he’d find the nearest piece of furniture that was made out of wood and fashion a stake out of it just so he could drive it straight through my heart.
He sneered, his expression turning cynical. “It really doesn’t matter anymore. I guess I wasn’t wrong.”
I gasped.
What am I supposed to say? And what wasn’t he wrong about?
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.
Now I flinched, hoping it didn’t sound nearly as hollow and ridiculous to him as it did to me once the words were out of my mouth.
Toren smirked. “You know, you look like her, but you’re really nothing like her. Not one bit.”