by Kita Bell
Eva didn’t know why she kept imagining Brand laughing; she had barely gotten him to smile at her.
I wish Rainey were here. She’d have advice.
Because Brand, Eva thought, studying the breadth of his shoulders, the curve of his lips, was an absolutely gorgeous male. The way he had kissed her…Eva smiled. Rainey’s favorite movie of all time was Casablanca. Eva would have to tell her sister that that kiss, Brand’s kiss, was “better than Casablanca.”
“Better than Casablanca” had been a code phrase between them since before their mother died.
Eva closed her eyes, imagining Rainey’s laugh. “If that’s so, then is he any good in bed?” her sister would ask. “Does he feel as good as he kisses?”
No, better, Eva’s mind flashed, and her eyes flew open. Her nerves sizzled. Her skin felt tight.
She had never been with another Kaspian. Eva licked her lips, trying to keep from staring at Brand.
There were obvious reasons. The first was that Eva was related – on one level or another – to all the males in her Gens…but her sex life had always been nil.
There had been a human boyfriend for a while who took the edge off her post-Initium hormones. But after Eva’s body reached maturity, not much. Just a few men, here and there. Eva had been afraid of getting pregnant. She had been so focused on getting out of the Gens that, even with human birth control, she hadn’t been willing to take that tiny risk.
The Turner Gens was small, dwindling. Her mother’s rare bout of fertility had been enough to ruin her dreams of leaving, and Eva and Rainey had vowed to never end up like that. Because if either of them had a child, leaving would become impossible.
ButI’m out, Eva realized. And Rainey is still there.
Eva fixed her eyes on Brand. “I need to call my sister,” she said, interrupting him. “I need to tell her I’m okay. And let her know I’ll be delayed.”
Brand glanced back, said something to Joshua in French. Joshua shrugged and passed her a phone. “Use mine.”
Eva dialed. It rang twice, then transferred over into an automatic recording. She waited, listening to the entirety of the message, just listening to the sound of her sister’s laughing voice, before lowering the phone. Of course.
“No luck?” Brand asked. He was watching in the mirror.
“Rainey never charges her phone,” Eva muttered.
She had gone missing, and Rainey still didn’t charge her phone.
Joshua snorted. “Wait till you meet Khael. I’m not sure he even knows how to dial a phone. Mostly he just swings it around and uses it for a weapon.”
Brand caught Eva’s startled expression. “Joshua’s exaggerating.” He frowned. “Is there anyone else you could call? Seth didn’t have a number for your Gens.”
Eva stared at the touchpad. She had known her uncle’s, and her mother’s, but they were both dead. “I’m not sure anyone else has a number,” she muttered. Then inspiration struck. “Justin. My cousin Justin. He’s a soldier, works directly with the Resh but…”
…but they didn’t get along. Justin, if he even suspected Eva had agreed to go to Stronghold before returning to the Turner Gens, would have a fit. He would probably call the Resh, and the next thing Eva knew, Justin would come to collect her. For her “own good.”
Neither of them would care that – with what she could tell Seth – she might be helping save other Kaspians.
No. She wanted to go home. But not at the expense of others.
“I think I’ll just…wait. I’ll email Rainey. It will give her a chance to charge her phone.” That way Rainey wouldn’t worry and they could talk – and Eva could, well…
She glanced at Brand. Studied the line of his throat, his firm jaw. That soft, touchable almost-mane. Brand’s arms flexed as he turned the wheel for the curve of the road and shivered.
Does he feel as good as he kisses?
A not-so-small part of Eva wanted to find out.
Five hours later, they stopped at an expensive high-rise hotel along the interstate. Brand and Joshua had traded off driving, but by the time they arrived, Eva was ready to drop. She had never sat still for so long in her entire life.
Not even when she had been with Rohe.
Eva watched as Brand passed the keys to a valet, then they went into the lobby. Joshua had booked their rooms by phone from the road, saying something about the place being the “most secure hotel this side of Chicago.”
Eva thought it looked terrifyingly expensive, and that she was horribly out of place. She was too tired to notice anything beyond that.
“If you so much as sense something out of place, tell me,” Brand said as he unlocked the doors to a luxurious suite with adjoining bedrooms. “We shouldn’t have stopped, but everyone needs the sleep.”
Eva didn’t even bother glancing around as she staggered into the closest bedroom. Distantly she heard Brand claim first watch before he started speaking with Joshua in French. She peeled off her clothes before lurching across the thickest, most luxurious, carpet she had ever walked on – and fell onto the overstuffed mattress as if were the last mattress on earth. She drifted off to sleep.
It was odd.
At the Asylum she had dreamt of her mother, her sister. Simple things from her childhood that had torn her heart apart when she woke. And in the cramped space of the car, with Brand, Eva hadn’t dreamed at all. But here, now, by herself and sprawled across the most comfortable bed she had ever been in, Eva had nightmares.
Of Rohe.
Rohe, destroying everyone, everything Eva cared about.
And a pair of careful blue eyes. A tiger’s eyes, full of old memories, hidden secrets. And desire.
Eva slept, but her night wasn’t restful at all.
Chapter 5
Brand woke late in the afternoon to the smell of fresh-cooked steak. His stomach rumbled, and he groaned as he pried himself from the hotel bed. He had switched off using it during the night with Joshua, taking turns on watch. The mattress smelled like his cousin, which grated at Brand’s nerves like sandpaper, but at least Joshua was family. That made it tolerable.
Barely.
Besides, Brand knew his own scent would have irritated Joshua just as much.
Tomorrow night, Brand promised himself, as he stripped his clothes and stepped into the connected bathroom, I take the couch. One more night of smelling Joshua, when what Brand really wanted was Eva’s sweet scent wrapped around him, would drive him mad. It was a hell of a way to make do, but the suite only had two bedrooms – and Eva needed sleep. They’d be on the road again soon enough.
Brand stepped into the shower and washed down with the hotel’s soaps. The sharp aroma made him sneeze, but at least it removed Joshua’s scent. Small favors, Brand thought grimly. Finished, he slung a towel around his hips, and went in search clothes and food. Not necessarily in that order.
The thick carpet of the large central room allowed Brand to walk silently. The walls didn’t close in on him so much, as the walls of so many human houses did – which was another reason his family always preferred to stay at the Lentz Hotel. Lazy gold light poured through the huge windows to his left, and Brand flicked a glance around the room, locating the luggage, and padded over.
Eva laughed. The sound punched through Brand like an arrow.
Brand unfroze, stepped around the corner, and glanced into the dining area.
Joshua and Eva sat beside each other at the table, holding forks over half-eaten dishes. The sunlight poured over them, the laughter still dancing in Eva’s eyes, and the two suddenly seemed so comfortable, so natural with each other that the dark, possessive deadly urge that rose up inside Brand took him entirely by surprise. It whipped through him, unsettling everything.
Brand wanted to kill Joshua.
For feeding her, for sitting with her, but most of all, for making Eva laugh. Like that. Brand would have given his right hand to make her laugh like that, to see those beautiful silver eyes gleam with joy.
Fu
ck, instincts.
Eva froze, catching sight of him. Joshua glanced up and gestured to a third, covered plate on the far end of the table. “Eva didn’t think you would wake up, but I knew better. That doesn’t mean I won’t eat it if you don’t hurry.”
Brand gaze met Joshua’s gaze, and saw his cousin’s amusement disappear as abruptly as Eva’s had. Brand did his best to control his fury. Yes, Joshua had known Brand would react…and had set out to bait him. But Joshua obviously hadn’t thought he’d bring Brand to a point where he was seconds from committing murder. On a Kaspian as close to him as his own brothers.
“Jesus, Brand,” Joshua muttered and quickly pushed back from the table, and Brand turned away. He forced his claws back into his fingers, but couldn’t keep the tension from his shoulders as he crouched down and snagged a pair of dark gray pants from his luggage.
Control yourself. Don’t kill him.
Yet Brand’s instincts roared for him to turn around, to rip Joshua’s fucking throat open, and to Marque that laughing female so she knew she was his. So every male in the world knew that Eva was his.
Then to do whatever it took to get her to complete the bond with him.
“Control,” Brand snarled at himself, then stalked back into the bedroom to take a second – much colder – shower. He couldn’t Marque Eva. Not here. That was crazy – dangerous. Fuck, he’d barely gotten her to agree to come to Stronghold. He couldn’t frighten her off right away.
And he wasn’t possessive.
Much.
When Brand came back into the living area, the sky outside had darkened into a deep blue, and the room’s central lights were turned on. The dining table had been cleared and abandoned, and Eva was curled up on the large white leather couch, paging through the hotel’s guidebook as she watched some old movie. The sound was low, and Joshua was gone.
“We put your food in the fridge,” Eva said, and Brand watched her silver eyes flicker over him with a measuring wariness that cut straight to his heart. “Joshua wasn’t really going to eat it. He was just saying that.”
Brand pulled his tray from the mini fridge and put it in the microwave before turning back to study her. Eva was staring at the hotel guidebook again, but her eyes weren’t moving across the page.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. He had enough to apologize for with her. No point in stinting on the small apologies. And hell if he knew what else to say.
That silver gaze rose to hold his for a long moment before dropping back to the guidebook.
“I think,” Eva’s soft words were pointed, “that you should be apologizing to Joshua. Not to me.”
Like hell. Brand regretted what he had done, but if that was what it took for Joshua to realize that – when it came to Eva – he needed to tread carefully, then Brand wouldn’t retract it. Not if Joshua played it safe from now on. “Kaspian grow unreasonable…” Joshua had commented. Brand snorted. ‘Unreasonable’ just didn’t cover it.
Try mentally unstable.
The microwave beeped, and Brand pulled the hot tray out, dumping the food on one of the plates. Then he pulled the coffee table closer to the couch and settled on the end near Eva’s feet before digging into the steak. Eva studied him as he ate. She lowered the guidebook.
“Why did you get mad at Joshua?” she asked, genuine perplexity in her voice.
“He didn’t tell you?” Brand countered, lowering the fork. If Joshua had told Eva about the amati bond, Brand would put that fork through his cousin’s eye. Eva flushed.
“He said he had provoked you. But then he called you a raging psychopath,” Eva’s eyes narrowed. “Not that I believe either of those things, but just what was the problem?”
“You really don’t want to know,” Brand said dryly. “You’ll probably start believing him about the raging psychopath part.” His eyes dropped to her clothes; Eva wore a sleek pair of black leggings that hugged the length of her slender legs and a dark blue sweater that smoothed over her curves. Brand wanted to bury his face against the warmth of her throat, to lick his way down her neckline to those soft full breasts.
Then he realized Eva was no longer wearing anything he recognized.
“You have new clothes,” Brand commented, and took a careful hold on his uncertain temper. He had a suspicion about what was coming next…
Eva’s small smile shot through him like a lightning bolt as she smoothed her fingers down a sleeve. “I needed shoes. When I told Joshua, he said that you would be fine by yourself. So we went uptown. I don’t remember where, but he said Cat – Cateline – always shopped there.” Eva shrugged, meeting his eyes, “Once we were there, he passed me off to a store clerk, gave her a card and said ‘Spend.’ I should mind,” Eva’s lips quirked, “I should feel bad for spending Joshua’s money…but he’s been such an ass to me. I think the extra clothes were his version of an apology.” She laughed softly.
“I’ll pay Joshua back,” Brand said abruptly. “You don’t need to worry about that.” He took an iron grip on his killing instinct. No wonder the bastard vacated the room – he saw this coming. Knowing Joshua, his cousin had been laughing the entire time. Brand leaned forward, cut another careful bite of steak and placed it in his mouth. He chewed. Hard.
He didn’t care.
Eva shook her head and closed the hotel guide. “No, don’t…this is just between me and Joshua. I’m willing to accept his apology, Brand,” she looked frustrated, “And I already owe you so much anyway. It’s…” she glanced at her fingers, rubbed her right wrist where it had been sprained, “You should know it’s been a while…”
Everything in Brand went still at that, until Eva continued with:
“…several weeks, actually. And there’s no way they would have held my job. It might take me a while to pay you back for everything.”
Brand pushed his plate away. He leaned back and studied Eva, then examined the slender sock-covered feet that were curled beside his right thigh. She had needed new shoes. God knows, he should thank Joshua, not curse him.
But what the hell was it about Joshua that made Eva feel like she could accept gifts from him, but not from Brand?
“Eva,” he said quietly, “I don’t give a damn about money. I don’t give a damn whether you pay me back or not. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t. Besides. Remember our deal? You’re helping my Gens. Everything else is even between us.”
“Brand, I don’t know.” Eva looked pained. “You have to let me do something. I’ve only brought you trouble. And I heard Joshua mention earlier – he was talking to Seth – that they’re afraid the Sakai might follow us. To Stronghold.”
Brand cursed. “Stronghold’s safe, Eva. Don’t worry about that.”
“But…”
“Eva. I really don’t care.” He rubbed his temples. “What will it take for you to stop worrying about this?”
A pause. Brand looked up, met her gaze. Eva looked like she was about to cry. “You don’t care at all?”
“No.” Brand didn’t want Eva to pay him to keep his distance. He wanted Eva here, with him. And he didn’t want her to be wearing clothes another male had bought. Those were the things he cared about. Not any goddamned money.
Eva was his amati, not Joshua’s, and…hell.
“Okay.” Eva heaved a sigh. She withdrew her slender foot slightly from his thigh, so they were no longer touching. “Okay,” she repeated, and fixed her gaze on the TV.
Damn it. He had done something. Brand looped his hand around her ankle, tugged it back toward him. “Eva. What is it?” He prayed she wasn’t crying. Eva looked back at him, lip held firmly between her small white teeth, but no…she wasn’t crying.
It occurred to him that she never had cried, not after that first night.
“Are the Kades really that rich…that they can afford this sort of thing?” She gestured to her clothes, to the hotel room, and Brand looked around for the first time – in a long time – and saw things through her eyes.
Brand shrugged, sud
denly uncomfortable. “We invested well. It wasn’t always this way.”
“Ah. Okay.” She stared at the TV again.
“Is that Casablanca?”
Eva nodded, and Brand sighed, tugging on her ankle again. “If you come over here, and turn up the volume, I’ll watch it with you.”
Eva didn’t say anything. She just slanted him a narrow look from her silver eyes, as if considering his suggestion – then shifted across the couch. She raised the volume with the remote before smoothly settling down beneath his arm to watch her movie.
Brand tucked Eva closer, breathing in the clean rain scent of her hair as her slight body molded against his own. And for the first time in a long time, he relaxed. His cock was another story, but his body, his mind…Brand exhaled.
For the first time in a long time, everything felt right with the world.
As soon as darkness fell in Chicago, men assembled on the roof of the Lentz Hotel.
Some of them came through the side entrances, dressed as staff. Others arrived from the back, wearing the coveralls of janitors and delivery men, and worked their way through the ranks of the hotel’s security with a secrecy and efficiency that spoke of long practice and careful training.
One strolled through the front entrance, wearing two swords at his back. When the hotel’s security team moved to stop him, he smiled and lied so well that they believed him.
He took the elevator to the 63 floor, stepped off, and made a call. “Go,” he ordered. And then he turned, pulled a small gun from his pocket, and calmly shot the Kaspian who had just walked around the corner with a capsule of the venom Rohe had developed.
The Kaspian’s eyes turned gold, sparked red. He swore, convulsed, and struggled against the tranquilizing effect. But he didn’t run. Instead, he fought.
The Sakai noted the blood tiger’s claws, and kept his distance. It had been many years, but he knew what those claws could do to him. As the Kaspian staggered forward, almost fell; he gripped at the wall, shredding it so that plaster and gold-striped paper rained down into the hallway. Then he fell to his knees.