Blood Lust

by Alexandra Ivy

  Taking a long, cold shower, he’d promised himself that he was going to make a discreet phone call later in the day. He knew any number of women who would be happy to ease his current needs.

  By seven o’clock he was dressed in a pair of dark slacks and a white French silk shirt with the cuffs rolled up and the collar left open to reveal the witch mark on the side of his neck, along with the horizontal tattoos. His hair was smoothed from his freshly shaved face and he had a new phone that’d been delivered at the crack of dawn.

  Leaning against the walnut desk in the corner of the main suite, Bas sipped his coffee and watched the man who was seated next to him pull up the security footage on the top-of-the-line laptop.

  Kaede was a slender man with dark eyes and liquid-smooth black hair that reached his shoulders. He had the Asian features of his ancestors and a whip-cord build that made most people underestimate him.

  An advantage that Kaede was happy to exploit.

  As a fully trained Sentinel, the younger man was a lethal killer who’d been Bas’s enforcer for over a century.

  Or he had been until Molly’s kidnapping and the unfortunate revelation of Bas’s illegal activities.

  The few mercenaries who’d managed to escape the Mave’s command to have them rounded up and taken to the dungeons of Valhalla had scattered and disappeared like wisps of smoke.

  His people were extremely talented at melting into a crowd.

  Bas knew he was taking a risk in calling Kaede to the hotel. But after Myst’s appearance last night, he felt the sudden urge for backup.

  “Here.” Kaede broke into Bas’s dark thoughts, pointing toward the computer screen. He’d stopped the footage at the spot where there was a glimpse of silver hair that briefly shimmered in the overhead lights as Myst slid out of the lobby, completely unnoticed by his highly paid hotel employees.

  Bas set aside his coffee, leaning to the side for a better view as Kaede allowed the footage to roll forward in slow motion.

  “Damn,” Bas breathed, grudgingly impressed by her graceful ease as she flowed through the shadows, disturbingly skilled in keeping her back turned toward the camera. “How does she do that?”

  “She’s good,” Kaede murmured. “Almost as good as me.”

  Like all Sentinels, Kaede had the ability to mentally . . . encourage . . . people not to see him, although the enforcer took his to another level.

  Kaede had once walked into the Oval Office of the White House just because he could.

  “A thief?” Bas guessed. Why else would a low-grade clairvoyant develop the ability to slip around unnoticed?

  Kaede shrugged. “It’s possible.”

  “Did you find out anything about her background?”

  Kaede closed the laptop, rising to his feet.

  “Not yet,” he admitted, his tone revealing his opinion of his lack of information.

  Bas grimaced, not particularly surprised.

  He’d spent five years trying to track down the elusive woman.

  She was well named....

  Myst.

  “Keep digging,” he commanded, instantly turning as he caught the pitter-patter of tiny feet.

  Entering the room like a miniature tornado, Molly ran into Bas’s open embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pressed a kiss to her tousled curls.

  “Morning, Daddy.”

  “Good morning, pet,” he murmured, lowering her back to the ground as she gave a cry of pleasure at the sight of his companion.

  “Kaede” She hurled herself forward, no doubt the only creature in the world who wasn’t terrified of Sentinels.

  Kaede chuckled, lowering himself to his knees so he could enfold the child in a tight hug.

  “Hey, precious. It’s good to see you.”

  Molly tilted back her head to regard him with a puzzled gaze. “Why weren’t you here?”

  “I had some work I had to take care of.” He tapped the end of her nose before he reached into the front pocket of his faded jeans that he’d matched with a plain black tee. Kaede had never shared Bas’s love for fine clothing. “But I brought you something.”

  Molly’s eyes widened with wonderment as Kaede held up a silver bracelet that dangled with exquisitely carved jade figurines.

  “For me?” she breathed.

  “Just for you,” Kaede assured her, wrapping the bracelet around her wrist with tender care.

  Going on her tiptoes, Molly planted a wet kiss on Kaede’s cheek before she skipped away, her arm held over her head so the charms danced in the morning sunlight.

  “Very nice,” Bas murmured in soft tones, his gaze glued to his daughter. “But it looks expensive for such a little girl.”

  Kaede straightened, his fists planted on his slender hips. “The amulets are tracking devices.”

  Bas cocked a brow. He’d expected as much. Kaede had always enjoyed carving jade figures, but over the past few years he’d developed a skill for hiding tiny GPS devices in his works of art.

  They’d used them more than once to track both friends and foes.

  He pointed out the obvious flaw. “It won’t do any good if someone takes the bracelet.”

  Kaede allowed a rare smile to curve his lips. “It’s spelled. Only Molly can remove it.”

  Bas laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. His work as an assassin had meant a lonely, barren existence for most of his life. But after becoming a rebel, he’d discovered the undeniable benefit of surrounding himself with associates who could assist his obsessive need to gain power.

  Most stayed because he offered the opportunity to make serious cash, the protection of a high-blood community, and the freedom to use their talents without the tedious rules that Valhalla demanded.

  A rare few stayed out of sheer loyalty.

  Kaede was one of those few.

  “Thank you,” he said with unmistakable sincerity.

  Kaede nodded his head toward the little girl who twirled in the center of the floor, dancing to music no one else could hear.

  “We all love her.”

  Coming to a halt midtwirl, Molly sent Kaede a dimpled smile.

  “Are you staying for breakfast? Mommy’s bringing donuts.” She clapped her hands together. “The ones with sprinkles are my favorite.”

  Bas sucked in a sharp breath. God. Dammit.

  Had Myst spoken to Molly telepathically? Or had she promised the little girl sprinkled donuts last night?

  Not that it mattered.

  This was ending.

  Now.

  “Molly. I need you to listen to me.”

  She smiled at him with absolute trust. “’Kay.”

  He stepped forward with a grimace. Christ, there was no easy way to do this.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for Mommy to come back.”

  Molly’s bottom lip quivered. “I want her.”

  “Of course you do, pet,” he soothed, “but she can’t stay.”

  “I know, she told me.” Her tiny face settled in stubborn lines. Just like her mother. A strange tightness wrapped around his chest. “That’s why we have to make this time extra special.”

  “Molly . . .”

  The bronze eyes widened before Molly was running toward the door.

  “She’s almost here.”

  “Dammit,” Bas muttered, his teeth clenching in frustration.

  Kaede moved to stand at his side, his voice pitched so it wouldn’t carry.

  “Do you want me to take care of this?”

  Bas knew what his friend was asking.

  Assassins had one way of getting rid of problems.

  He jerked in horror, the mere thought of Myst being tossed in an unmarked grave making his blood run cold.

  “No.” He paused to regain his composure as Kaede sent him a questioning glance at his outraged tone. “Molly’s too happy,” he muttered. “I can’t take that away from her. Not now.” His heart missed a beat at the sound of Molly pulling open the door. “Return to your search. I want to k
now every damned detail about Myst,” he ordered his enforcer. “Down to the size of her shoes.”

  Kaede gave a small shrug. “You know the most important thing.”

  Bas frowned. “What’s that?”

  “She makes a beautiful baby.”

  Bas’s expression melted.

  He’d committed a thousand sins that stained his soul to black. But somehow the moment he’d held that bronze-eyed baby in his arms, he’d been cleansed of his past.

  Which was why he was so determined to become a better man for his future.

  It might have taken Molly being kidnapped to kick-start his enlightenment, but better late than never.

  “That she does,” he said softly.

  They heard Molly’s happy chatter a few seconds before she came out of the foyer, tugging the woman who had haunted his dreams for years.

  This time he was braced for her entrance. Which meant he shouldn’t have felt anything but annoyance when she walked into the suite. Instead the air was jerked from his lungs as if he’d just been kicked in the gut.

  She was wearing another floaty sundress, this one in a soft lavender that had thin straps and a neckline that revealed far too much of her small but perfectly rounded breasts, and ended just above her knees.

  The amazing silver hair was left loose to float over her shoulders and down her back, emphasizing the delicate beauty of her face and contrasting with her velvet-brown eyes.

  She looked like something straight out of a male fantasy.

  “My . . . God,” Kaede breathed, clearly stunned as he caught his first look of Myst in the flesh. “Now I know why she makes such beautiful babies.”

  Bas tensed before a wry smile twisted his lips.

  He couldn’t blame his friend. There wasn’t a male who wouldn’t be dazzled by this female.

  “Don’t you have something to do?”

  Kaede kept his gaze focused on the woman who’d come to an uncertain halt, a box of pastries in her hands.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” the enforcer demanded.

  “No.”

  Kaede turned to meet Bas’s warning glare, his lips twitching with an unexplainable burst of humor.

  “She looks like an angel.”

  “Which only makes her more dangerous.”

  “True.”

  Bas heaved a resigned sigh, keeping his voice pitched low to make sure Myst couldn’t overhear.

  “Kaede, are you going to do the background search or not?”

  The man continued to stare at him with that amused expression. “I get it,” he at last admitted.

  “Get what?”

  “Why you’ve never forgotten her.”

  Bas stiffened. He didn’t want to discuss his weird-ass obsession over Myst with Kaede.

  Not with anyone.

  “She’s the mother of my child,” he snapped.

  “And that’s all?”

  “I won’t know until you’ve finished your job, will I?” he countered, the warning in his voice unmistakable.

  “Fine.” Kaede glanced back at Myst. “If you need someone to keep an eye on her—”

  “Christ, just go,” Bas snapped.

  * * *

  Myst stood in the center of the room, one hand holding the box of donuts and the other gently stroking through Molly’s curls as the little girl leaned against her leg.

  When she’d awoken this morning, she’d cursed herself for being so easily routed.

  She’d traveled halfway around the world to see her daughter, only to be tossed out by Bas.

  Today, however, was a new day.

  She was going to beard the lion in his den, whatever the hell that meant, and demand that she be allowed the privileges any mother deserved.

  Her fierce determination had carried her to the nearby pastry shop and back through the hotel lobby, where she’d deftly avoided security. It’d even allowed her to sweep through the door that Molly had pulled open for her.

  But the second she’d caught sight of Bas and his companion, her courage had faltered.

  It was bad enough to endure Bas’s condemning glare without the piercing scrutiny of the handsome man at his side.

  What did they see when they looked at her?

  A heartless female who would abandon her own child?

  A dangerous stranger who couldn’t be trusted?

  A failure as a woman and a mother?

  She stiffened her spine as the slender, dark-haired man strolled across the room, his gaze sliding down her tense form as he passed by.

  It didn’t matter what Bas or his mysterious companion might think of her. Nothing mattered but Molly and this all-too-brief time they could spend together.

  Waiting until she heard the door close behind the unknown man, Myst leaned down to place the box of pastries into her daughter’s hands.

  “Here, baby, why don’t you put them on the table?” she murmured.

  “’Kay.”

  Skipping toward the small kitchenette in the corner of the suite, Molly was blissfully unaware of the tension in the air. Myst, on the other hand, felt as if she was about to jump out of her skin as Bas strolled forward, his movements smooth and economical.

  A predator stalking his prey.

  “Did you think the donuts would sweeten me in the hope I’d let you stay?” he demanded in low tones.

  Her lips twisted at the sensation of lightning dancing over her bare skin.

  It was something she’d noticed from their first meeting. She didn’t know if it was his magic that caused the electric awareness, or his raw male magnetism.

  Hoping to disguise her reaction, she deliberately turned to watch as Molly meticulously arranged the donuts on the glass table. Even then she was acutely aware of Bas towering over her.

  If she was a normal woman she would have worn a pair of Christian Louboutin heels so she wouldn’t have to tilt back her head to talk to people. But she wasn’t normal. And the need to quietly disappear when necessary kept her in soft leather slippers that didn’t make a sound when she walked.

  “I doubt it’s possible to sweeten you,” she muttered.

  “I think we both know that’s not true.” He lowered his head to speak directly in her ear, his finger tracing a path over her bare shoulder. “You managed to sweeten me just fine when you put your mind to it.”

  The air was sucked from her lungs at his light touch.

  Holy crap.

  “I didn’t put my mind to it,” she croaked, vividly reminded of their first meeting and how she’d been so dazzled by this man that she couldn’t think straight. One kiss and she’d melted. “I wasn’t using my mind at all or I would never have . . .”

  “Seduced me?”

  She gave a short, humorless laugh. She’d never seduced a man in her life.

  Certainly not a gorgeous, sophisticated male who clearly had his choice of women.

  “I think you’ve got that backward. You’re the one who gave me the scotch,” she said, shivering as the heat of his body wrapped around her. “How was I supposed to think clearly?”

  His fingers abruptly tangled in her hair, tugging her head around to meet his blazing bronze glare.

  “Are you trying to imply that I got you drunk so I could take advantage of you?”

  She blinked in surprise.

  This man was an assassin.

  He’d killed without mercy, flaunted the authority of Valhalla, and sold the services of other high-bloods, but he was offended that she implied he’d liquored her up so he could get her naked?

  “Not intentionally,” she admitted, oddly reluctant to pretend their sex had been anything but consensual. Almost as if she didn’t want to taint the memory. “You couldn’t know I’d never had alcohol before.”

  His brows lifted, his fingers easing to stroke through the loose strands of her hair. “Never?”

  “Never.” She shrugged. “I’m always a very cautious person.”

  His brooding gaze lowered to her lips. “Not alw
ays or we wouldn’t have a daughter.”

  It was her turn to stiffen, her hand lifting to touch the small tattoo behind her ear.

  The magically enhanced mark should have kept her from conceiving a child.

  She still didn’t know how or why the spell had failed.

  “I was protected,” she said defensively. “I didn’t deliberately get pregnant.”

  “I never thought you did.” His chiseled features abruptly tightened. “You wouldn’t have regretted having a child if it’d been intentional.”

  She flinched, feeling as if he’d slapped her. “I don’t regret Molly.”

  “Then why did you leave her?”

  “Stop saying that,” she rasped.

  “It’s the truth.”

  She jerked away from his touch, barely noticing that he had swiftly loosened his hold on her hair to make certain he didn’t hurt her.

  Probably because no pain could be greater than his brutal accusation that she regretted giving birth to her own daughter.

  “Do you think I wanted to leave her?” she snapped, her voice bitter. “It was only because—” She bit off her impetuous words.

  Good Lord. What was wrong with her?

  “Because why?” The bronze eyes narrowed.

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  “Dammit, Myst, I’m sick of your secrets.” He studied her with a seething frustration. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  Her lips parted, but before she could conjure some reasonable excuse Molly appeared at her side, her little face creased with concern.

  “Are you fighting?” she demanded.

  Myst squatted down, allowing her hair to slide forward to hide her heated cheeks.

  “Of course not, baby.”

  Molly glanced toward the man who was heating the air with the force of his annoyance.

  “Daddy has his scowly face on.”

  “Scowly face?” Myst inquired, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

  Molly nodded. “He makes it when he has a fustation.”

  It took Myst a second to decipher the childish word. “You mean when he’s not getting his way?”

  Molly gave another nod. “Uh huh.”

  “Then I would think it would be a permanent fixture,” Myst muttered, cradling Molly in her arms as she straightened and headed toward the table. “It’s time for donuts.”

  Molly tossed her arms around Myst’s neck. “I want one with sprinkles.”