by Tina Folsom
Cain glared at him. “I had amnesia! What’s her excuse?”
Haven went toe to toe with him. “She thought you were dead. That’s her excuse! So get over it and leave your fucking male ego at the door. Think for a moment! Did you not see how she looked at you when she saw you?”
Cain looked away, avoiding Haven’s gaze. “How did she look at me?” To Cain she’d looked uncertain, as if she didn’t know what to feel. As if she wasn’t sure whether to be happy to see him or not.
Thomas suddenly slapped him on the shoulder. “I didn’t realize that becoming king causes blindness.”
Cain whirled his head to him. “You’re joking about this? Have you gone out of your mind?”
“I haven’t, but I think you have. Be rational for a moment. You can’t believe anything anybody around here tells you. Accept that as a fact. It will take some time to figure out who you can trust.”
Cain forced his breathing to slow and his heartbeat to settle. “I know. We’ll proceed as discussed: tomorrow we’ll start interrogating the members of the king’s guard. Each of them separately. We have to figure out who’s loyal to me.”
“You know, about Faye . . .” Wesley interjected.
Cain glanced at the witch. “I don’t want to talk about her now.”
“I was just thinking, maybe I could try to brew a truth potion or something,” Wes suggested.
Haven slapped his brother over the back of his head.
“What?” Wes complained, rubbing his head.
“You’re not gonna start brewing some stupid potion that’s probably not even gonna work and will most likely end up blowing something up.”
“Pessimist!”
“I’d rather be a living pessimist than a dead optimist!” Haven replied.
Cain turned back to Thomas, ignoring Wesley’s scowl. “Get in contact with Eddie and Blake and see if they have any leads on John. Since he’s not shown up here at the palace, at least we can assume he didn’t come back here to warn anybody of our arrival or the fact that I have amnesia. We have to find him.”
“I’ll talk to Eddie shortly.”
“Good. Get some shuteye. All of you. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
“Don’t you want one of us to stand guard?” Thomas asked.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll sleep with a stake under my pillow.”
Cain turned to the middle door and opened it. Instinctively he reached for the light switch next to the door and flipped it. Then he closed the massive door behind him, shutting out all sounds from the foyer. He could barely hear the opening and closing of the doors to the other two rooms, so well insulated was the suite.
Cain looked around. This was the room from his dreams. He’d made love to Faye here. He’d experienced ecstasy here. In the elegant bed truly befitting a king, he’d slept with Faye in his arms. He recalled the many dreams now that he’d had over the last few months. Many had taken place in this room. And she’d been in every single one of them, always taking center stage, always in his arms.
But tonight, he’d be alone. Because Faye had given herself to another man, and right now Cain couldn’t help but feel enraged about it. If he went to her now to question her, there was no telling what he would do. It was best to leave this task to a later time, when he’d sufficiently calmed down and was able to let logic rule instead of jealousy.
15
Cain knew he’d only slept an hour or two before a sound woke him. Silently he slipped his hand underneath his pillow and palmed the wooden stake, while he continued to lay on his side, facing the door. He hadn’t really expected that the assassin would make an attempt so soon after Cain’s return, but was glad he’d prepared himself nevertheless.
He focused his eyes, adjusting them to the darkness in the room. But even though his vampire vision worked perfectly, he saw nobody coming from the door. Continuing to breathe evenly so he wouldn’t alert the would-be attacker to the fact that he was awake, he waited. The sound of footsteps coming from behind him where the entrance to the passage into the tunnels lay hidden was faint as if the intruder walked barefoot.
He would have to allow him to come closer, before he could jump up from the bed and tackle the person who meant to harm him. Tense seconds passed when a scent drifted into his nostrils. His heart stopped and in the next split second he rolled to the other side, reached his arm out and grabbed hold of the intruder, while his other hand pressed the stake against a heaving chest.
“Cain!”
He’d recognized her even before she’d spoken, but that hadn’t stopped him from wrestling her down onto the bed and immobilizing her by pinning her with his body. Only now that he was sure that Faye was unarmed did he remove the stake from her chest and reach for the bedside lamp. When its light bathed the room in a soft glow, he looked back down at her.
“Why are you attacking me?” she asked, a twinge of panic in her voice, while her eyes stared at the stake he was still holding.
Instead of an answer, he asked, “How did you get in?”
She gave him a bewildered look. “Through the secret passageway.”
So she knew about the tunnels. Had he himself told her or had she found out some other way? Had he once trusted her so much to confide this secret in her?
“Why are you here?”
From the way she was dressed, he already knew the answer. Only a thin silk negligee covered her enticing body. He felt it rub against his naked torso. Lower down, his bare legs slid against hers, and the skin-to-skin contact heated his body. In a few seconds, his cock would be as hard as an iron rod if he didn’t separate himself from her this instant. Unfortunately, he couldn’t command his body to release her. Instead, he kept pinning her down onto the mattress, one hand encircling her wrist, the other braced next to her head, still holding the stake.
“I need to talk to you,” she pressed out.
“Talk, huh?” He gave a quick shake of his head. “It doesn’t look to me like you’re here to talk.” He gave her outfit a meaningful look. If she wanted to talk, she was wearing the wrong clothes. No man with a pulse would be able to listen to anything she had to say, while his eyes were busy devouring the tempting curves beneath the flimsy fabric.
“Why are you treating me like this?”
“How am I treating you?”
Faye turned her head to the side as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. “You know then. He told you.” An audible breath left her chest. “I wanted to be the one to explain it to you before you heard it from somebody else. That’s why I’m here.”
“Then explain.” Cain released the stake to shelve her chin and turn her face to him. God, she was beautiful, her face as flawless as a precious doll. “And look at me when you do.”
“My entire world shattered when you died. Every day I prayed for a miracle, I prayed to wake up from this nightmare. But you were gone.”
A wet sheen formed on her eyes, and Cain had to refrain from comforting her and kissing her to wipe away her sadness.
“My love for you never died.” Her hand came up, but before she could stroke his cheek, he’d grabbed her wrist and pinned her arm down.
“Yet you gave yourself to my brother! So you could be queen!” Cain ground out. “Your time of mourning wasn’t even over yet, and already you were with him! As if I’d never existed! How do you think that makes me feel, Faye?”
White hot jealousy radiated through his entire body. His fangs itched for a bite, and he didn’t stop them from descending.
Faye flinched. “I don’t love him. I could never love another man but you.”
He wished he could believe her words. But he didn’t know Faye, had no idea what she was capable of, how far she would go to get what she wanted.
“God damn it, Faye! So if you don’t love him, then why would you want to marry him?” He dropped his lids, disappointed. Some of the anger left his voice. He wanted to understand her, to find out why she’d chosen Abel. “Just so you could be queen?” H
e shook his head, his heart aching now, his voice cracking. “Is that all you want? Is that why you’re here now? Because you know that Abel won’t be king now? Because I’m king? Is that why you want me back?”
A single pink tear ran down her cheek, while she pressed her lips together. On her next breath, a sob tore from her chest. “You’ve stopped loving me.”
He couldn’t bear seeing her like this. Her tears broke his heart in two. “God damn it!” he cursed and sank his lips onto hers before he could stop himself.
Cain swallowed her surprised gasp and dove between her parted lips. Faye tasted as sinful as she looked. He knew instantly that she was everything he’d ever dreamt of. Her lips were soft and yielding to his demands, her body beneath him pressing against him with a voiceless plea. So much hunger and need emanated from her. The thought of her desires being directed at him made the vampire in him want to roar and beat his chest like an ape displaying his superiority.
With a growl, he deepened his kiss, lashing his tongue against her in a show of dominance, while his hands released her wrists to explore her body. His fingers trailed up to her shoulders, then swept down to her chest, lightly caressing her sides, not daring to touch her breasts yet, for fear he’d start something he couldn’t pull himself back from. But her soft moans tempted him to throw caution to the wind, to take what she was so clearly offering.
As if to underscore her willingness to submit to him, Faye’s legs spread wider, and he suddenly found himself sliding into the space between them. The hard outline of his cock rubbed against her center with only his boxer briefs and her thin negligee providing a barrier. A barrier that didn’t prevent him from feeling her heat and the wetness that covered her sex.
Instinctively he thrust against her center of pleasure, rubbing his erection over it with unerring precision.
A gasp issued from her mouth as her hips arched in an effort to increase the friction he was providing. What he was doing was crazy, but he couldn’t stop. The thought of driving her to ecstasy was too tempting to resist, the need to make her submit to him in every way too urgent. The desire to make the woman in his arms shudder with pleasure guided his next action.
His tongue swiped over her teeth, licking them. Faye’s response was immediate. Her fangs elongated, extending to their full length, and her fingernails dug into his back, pulling him closer, while her legs wrapped around him, her ankles crossing behind his back.
Cain accompanied his next thrust against her clit with a swipe of his tongue over one fang. Faye trembled beneath him, her heart frantically beating against his chest, her breaths rushing from her lungs, while her pelvis ground against him more urgently now.
He could feel how close she was, just as close as he. Already now, pre-cum was oozing from his cockhead, and in a few seconds, he would spill.
Cain ripped his lips from her and lowered his head to her neck. Inhaling sharply, he could already smell her blood. He put his lips to her pulse, shivering at the gentle vibrations the blood rushing through her vein caused.
“Tell me you still love me, Cain!” she suddenly begged.
As if doused with cold water, he jolted back, releasing her. He couldn’t make such a confession, couldn’t tell her he loved her. He’d met her only hours earlier, knew nothing about her other than that she made his cock harder than it had ever been. She made him want to take her and ride her until they were both boneless. But he was wise enough to know that it wasn’t love that caused his reactions, but lust.
He didn’t know whether he loved her, whether he’d ever loved her. And he couldn’t lie to her about it.
Cain disentangled himself from her and sat back on his haunches.
Faye’s eyes widened as she reared up. “What’s wrong?”
He turned his head away from her, away from the temptation she still presented, and swung his legs out of the bed.
“You have to go. I’m tired from my journey.”
It was an excuse, and they both knew it. But what he couldn’t tell her was that as much as he wanted to make love to her now, he couldn’t. She’d accepted Abel’s proposal. She was still Abel’s woman. He couldn’t trust her affections or her motives. And he didn’t want to be loved by her only because he was king.
Faye scrambled to get off the bed. When he glanced at her, he noticed how her lips were pressed together tightly. She avoided looking at him.
Without a word she turned to the intricate work of art that adorned the wall and pressed the fingers of both hands into different indentations, before stepping back. The wall opened, revealing the passageway behind.
“We’ll talk tonight,” he called after her, but she didn’t reply.
A moment later, the opening was once more hidden by the sculpture and Cain was alone.
16
Abel hated to venture out during daytime, but today he didn’t have a choice. He gunned the engine of his red special edition Ferrari. It was equipped with a UV-impenetrable windshield and windows, thus allowing him to drive during the day when otherwise the sun would have burned him to a crisp.
When he turned off the main road leading south, he slowed the car and adjusted to the bumpy dirt road leading deeper into one of the bayous Louisiana was famous for. He didn’t come here often, but he knew the way nevertheless. Few others did. And he preferred it that way.
Outside a rickety shack deep in the bushes, he parked the car as close as possible to the front entrance. He killed the engine and slipped on his gloves before pulling the hood of his dark sweatshirt over his head and donning a pair of big sunglasses that made him look like one of the Blues Brothers.
Abel opened the door and got out, slamming it behind him while already dashing to the door of the hut. He jerked it open and barreled inside, closing it behind him.
Inside the shack, one light bulb hanging from the ceiling illuminated the small structure which contained only two small rooms: the living and sleeping area with a tiny sink and refrigerator and a small bathroom in the back. The two windows were covered with plywood to prevent any sunlight from penetrating.
Abel looked around, finding the shack to be rather crowded. On the large bed, John’s lover Nicolette was handcuffed to the metal headboard, and at its foot, John sat, his hands tied over his head by a silver chain hanging from a hook in the ceiling, his head dropped to his chest. Residue of blood dirtied his shirt.
Baltimore sat at the wooden table, repeatedly stabbing his knife into the surface, obviously bored with his duty as a prison guard. He acknowledged Abel with a nod.
“Well, well, well,” Abel drawled, and took two steps toward the bed.
John’s head shot up and the woman’s eyes widened. But she didn’t speak, the gag in her mouth preventing her from uttering a word. Abel looked over his shoulder.
“A gag, really?”
“The bitch wouldn’t shut up,” Baltimore complained and drove his knife deeper into the table’s surface than before.
“What the fuck is this about?” John ground out, a murderous look in his eyes.
“That’s what I was going to ask you.”
John jerked on his chain, grimacing from the pain caused by the silver rubbing against his wrists. The scent of burnt skin and hair filled the air.
John narrowed his eyes at him. “This is no way to treat the leader of the king’s guard.”
Abel chuckled. “I don’t think you’re in a position to complain right now.” He glanced at the woman who watched them fearfully. “She’s pretty, I give you that. But to find you maintaining a human mistress came as an utter surprise to me. Tss, tss.”
John growled low and dark.
Abel walked to Nicolette and took her chin, lifting her head so she had to look straight at him. “It would be a shame to destroy such a pretty face.”
“Take your hands off her!”
Abel whirled his head to John and flashed his fangs. “Don’t order me around!” Then he released the woman and jumped toward the leader of the king’s guard. “Now
let’s talk! Where the fuck were you?” He lashed the back of his hand across John’s cheek, whipping his head to the side. “And don’t even think about lying to me.”
John turned his head back to him. “I was following a lead.”
Abel narrowed his eyes. “What kind of lead?”
“An informant told me that a man matching your deceased brother’s description was spotted in the Pacific Northwest. I had to check it out. With your coronation next week I needed to make sure that nothing got in the way.”
“And you couldn’t tell me that in advance?”
“There was no time.”
“Oh, I bet.” He didn’t believe a single word John was saying. After all, he’d been one of Cain’s most loyal followers. “Did you find the person you were looking for?”
John dropped his head, seemingly defeated. “No. I lost his trail.”
“Brilliant king’s guard you are! He showed up here yesterday.”
John lifted his head. “An imposter?”
“Cain in the flesh! Risen from the ashes like a phoenix!” Angry, Abel curled his hand into a fist and slammed it into John’s face. Blood dripped from his nose. “You told me he was dead!”
“He’s alive?”
Abel landed another blow in John’s face, hearing his jaw break. “You fucking jerk! You never liked me. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that you had something to do with his reappearance. You never wanted me to be king.”
Defiantly, John looked at him, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. “Just like you resent the fact that I’m the leader of the king’s guard.”
Abel bent closer. “Oh, that’s something I’m going to change when I’m king.” He motioned to the vampire behind him. “Baltimore will become the leader of my guard just as soon as you’ve passed your secrets on to me at my coronation.”
“There won’t be a coronation now that Cain is back,” John ground out.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Nothing will stand in the way of my coronation, not even Cain. And you, my dear John, will make sure of that.”