Gravity (Mageri Series: Book 4)

by Dark, Dannika

  Tarek led me to a table dead center in the room. I hung my purse over the back of the chair and when I lifted my eyes, I saw Logan sitting in a booth with Finn. He was wearing one of my favorite outfits on him. It was a light brown knit sweater with a loose turtleneck collar—one that was sentimental because he dressed me in it on the night we met.

  His plate was half-eaten, but his eyes were full as they took in the spectacle of our entrance. Finn turned his head to look and his eyes widened.

  That’s when my heart fluttered. Finn’s animal was still volatile, and so help me if Tarek so much as laid a pinky on him, I would lose all control.

  Four of Tarek’s bodyguards positioned themselves near the doorways, and Christian stole a booth on my left.

  Tarek made three trips to fill our plates and seated himself on my right.

  “Eat,” he said as he shoveled a forkful of fried rice into his mouth. “Not bad for a dump. But then, we Lords can’t eat caviar every night, now can we? Smile, Silver. It relaxes the face.” He thinned out his eyes with a cruel expression and I tried to relax and twirl a few noodles, imagining myself strangling him with them.

  “Next time, I’ll take you to one of my favorite places,” he said. “It’s one of the most extravagant Breed restaurants in the city, and I can always get a table at short notice. How’s your Ghuardian these days?” I watched his jaw work like an iron machine. “Does he know I’m taking out his Learner?” Tarek laughed and licked his finger. “I’ll have a man-to-man talk with him.”

  “He knows about us, Tarek.”

  “Good, good,” he said agreeably. “As it should be. We make an acceptable match, even with your shortcomings.”

  The candlelight melted across our table like a pool of fire. I sipped my water and concentrated on my plate, studying each pea as I removed it from the rice.

  “Some of the formalities of my position can be dull. Meetings, making connections… it all gets to be a little excessive,” he said, feigning small talk. “I like getting out and having a meal with my female.” His voice rose, wanting me to respond. I took an unnoticeably deep breath and smiled at him.

  “When do I get to meet your brothers?” I asked hopefully. Maybe Tarek was corrupt, but from what I’d heard, his brothers had disowned him. I held on to the hope that his family might look after me.

  A muscle in his cheek twitched.

  “If we’re taking this to the next level, then I’d love to meet my new brothers. I’ve heard so much about them, they sound like—”

  His fist dropped on the table, not so loud that it would catch anyone’s attention, but enough that I could tell I’d hit a nerve. The vein in his forehead bulged and his lips thinned. I was walking a thin line, but considering the history with his brothers, there was a remote chance they might offer me protection.

  Christian leaned forward to get a better visual.

  Tarek placed his hand over mine and stroked it softly. “Of course you can meet my brothers, I’m honored that you want to meet my family so soon. It lets me know you’re as serious about us as I had hoped.”

  His fingers pinched a small piece of beef from my plate and he held it in front of my mouth. “Have a bite.”

  “No thanks.”

  That was an intimate gesture for a Chitah that you only shared with someone you trusted. Letting him feed me was as good as having sex on that table.

  He dropped the beef and looked over our plates, holding his hand like a claw in one of those quarter machines kids play that gives false promises of winning a purple elephant or yellow teddy bear. My heart thumped.

  “Cross, what a surprise to see you here,” Tarek said, twisting around in his chair. “Who is your friend? You must join us. I insist.”

  This is not happening, I thought.

  At the request of a Lord, Logan rose from his table with his plate and glass and sat in the chair across from me.

  “My friend is a Shifter. He prefers to eat alone,” Logan said.

  When his eyes fell on mine, they rolled completely black and popped gold again. He picked up Tarek’s scent all over me, judging by the flare of his nostrils.

  “You should talk Leo into challenging for the position when it comes up in your Pride. Imagine, if he became Lord, we would almost be family! Hope you aren’t harboring any resentment, Cross. I decided to let things go between us. Fuck, man, you can’t go around in life holding a torch for someone. Katrina wasn’t the only one for me,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Funny how things work out, isn’t it? Shame what happened with that Vampire,” he said, leaning toward Logan and lowering his voice to a whisper. “Silver told me all about it. If I were you, I would have gotten rid of that problem a long time ago. You catch what I’m saying?”

  My insides felt like a monster-truck rally, due to my fear that Tarek could push Logan over the edge. We spend our lives standing on the precipice, one foot on the ground and the other hovering over the unknown. All it takes is the gravity of a moment to change the course of our future—to either pull us to safe ground or cast us into a perilous fall.

  “How did it start between you two?” Logan asked with a curiously neutral expression.

  Tarek chuckled and bit into an egg roll. “We agreed to meet and bury the hatchet about what happened. After all, it was only business. Damn shame that didn’t work out in your favor. Sweetie, why don’t you tell him the rest?”

  His hand squeezed mine ever so slightly.

  “Well, we just started talking. Tarek is a convincing and persistent man.”

  Tarek knew I couldn’t lie with Logan, so he quickly took over the conversation. “She has a strong will—I like a little fight in my women,” he nearly growled. Logan stiffened in his seat. “Obviously a man in my position has a lot to offer. It’s taken a serious turn, and I believe we’ve reached a mutual agreement.”

  Logan slowly lifted his chin and a steady, cool voice moved past his lips. “Does he treat you well?”

  Before I could conjure up an answer, Tarek interjected. “I treat her like the Lady of a Lord she will soon become.”

  With that one admission, Logan knew exactly how far Tarek intended to go with me.

  All the way.

  Ignoring Tarek, Logan repeated his question in slow, private words. “Does he treat you well? If I am to accept that you have chosen another, then I must know that he will properly care for you.”

  Logan’s nostrils flared as he sought a reason to challenge Tarek.

  “He treats me as I deserve to be treated. Tarek has money and he can financially care for me better than you.”

  Tarek straightened up in his chair and stretched his arms over the back of it.

  “Are you looking to win back my female, Cross? It sounds as if she’s made her choice, so don’t get any plans to bed her before I do. Oh, don’t worry,” he said with a laugh. “I’m a perfect gentleman with this one, unlike you. Perhaps your endowments fell short, or maybe you just couldn’t offer her the comfort that only money can bring. I plan to select just the right moment for our consummation.”

  Tarek winked, and it suddenly dawned on me with absolute clarity that sleeping with him would be part of the deal. A permanent part.

  “And how do you plan to mate with a Mage, Tarek?” Logan provoked. “For one, it’s not legal. And as a Lord, you are required to provide offspring, which you don’t have.”

  I glanced at Logan, who looked noble and stunning. He no longer wore his hair tied back. It was as wild as the look in his eyes.

  “There has never been an official mating with another Breed that has been acknowledged by law,” he continued. “It would bring embarrassment to your Pride.”

  Tarek ran his hand over his Mohawk. “Things I have already considered. There are older laws, ones you may have forgotten that will allow me more than one mate. As Lord, I have full authority to revive these laws. They will bear sons for me, but every man likes to cozy up to something warm at night. I don’t plan on doing that with a female carrying
my young; a pregnant woman does nothing for me.”

  “It won’t be legal,” Logan said, lips curling angrily.

  Tarek snorted softly. “That certainly didn’t seem to stop you. As I said before, I’ve considered these things. Come here, sweetie,” he barked at me, patting his leg. I rose from my chair and Tarek pulled me onto his lap. His arm snaked around my waist and a possessive growl rose from his throat as his fingers stroked my belly. I almost shuddered.

  Almost. Tarek was testing my willingness, perhaps hoping I would ruin the charade so he could spill blood.

  “Normally I don’t like sloppy seconds,” Tarek purred, running his finger along my cheek. “But this one is something special. I’m guessing you know that already. Can’t say I’m sorry for how things turned out.”

  His scent pushed out again and he nuzzled his face against my neck. I turned so that my hair spilled across my face and hid that I was scrunching my nose. It looked like a private moment between lovers when I was simply playing out the destruction of Logan’s love for me to the bitter end.

  I slipped my arms around Tarek and nuzzled against his sweaty neck.

  “I’m done eating; let’s go,” I whispered. Something stirred in him and he squeezed my thigh. Tarek smelled victory.

  “I’ll be sure to send you the invitation, Cross. Take care.”

  When I lifted my head, I heard the bell on the front entrance jingle.

  Logan and Finn were gone.

  Chapter 17

  “That was quite a show you put on, Mage. Quite a show!”

  Tarek belted out a laugh while rolling up the divider between his driver and us. He shuffled out of his suit jacket and took down a few buttons of his white shirt. We sat facing each other and I folded my arms.

  “I’m beginning to have more fun with this than I had imagined. I have a gift for you,” he said, handing me a thin, flat box.

  I lifted the lid and pulled at the white tissue paper. At least it wasn’t a dress box. “What is it?” I asked in an unpleasant voice, staring at a delicate chain.

  “Custom made,” he said casually. “Here, let me put it on.”

  Tarek plucked the chain from the box. It reminded me of the mesh that knights might have worn as armor, only it had a feminine quality. The small chain slipped around my neck and had several thin rows of silver in the front. Not like something I’d wear to Club Hell, but classy.

  He fastened the jewelry with an audible click. Tarek leaned back, holding a tiny key between his fingers.

  That’s when I felt it. Like turning down the volume at a rock concert. I’d worn something like this once before.

  “Where did you get this?” I said in a breath.

  “Nero has a distributor that negotiates only with him. This is a rare piece. You should feel special.”

  “Why the hell would he sell you jewelry to give to the one person he’s been hunting for himself?”

  Tarek chuckled darkly. “It’s all about building alliances, and at the moment, my title places me in a position to provide Nero with information that is of greater value than a scrawny Mage such as yourself. He may want you, or want to kill you, but he’s not a stupid man. Nero sees opportunity, and part of that comes with respecting my wishes if he wants me to cooperate.”

  “You can’t make me wear this,” I raged. “I need my energy to protect myself!”

  “You don’t need protection, sweetie. You’ve got me and I’m all the protection you need.”

  “I’ll pick the lock,” I said, tugging at it.

  “Afraid not. You won’t be able to get that thing off with the Jaws of Life. You know, I’m beginning to reconsider my plan to mount you. After tonight, I think you deserve a reward.”

  “I’m never going to sleep with you, Tarek.”

  He laughed boisterously and clucked his tongue. “Who said anything about sleep?” His finger slid over a button and the divider lowered. “Driver, pull over and give us privacy.”

  The car turned off the road and the driver stepped out, leaving us alone in his soundproof, tinted-windowed, bulletproof vehicle. I tried the door handle but it didn’t open. He captured my wrist in his hand and brought it to his nose, taking in my scent.

  “You are ridiculous,” I said, snatching it away. “I’m doing this because I have no alternative—none that a human being with a conscience would choose. But mark my words when I tell you that I will make your life a living hell.”

  “And for each hell you bring, I will take a life.”

  “That was not part of the deal; you can’t keep holding them over me for the rest of my life!”

  “Can’t I? That is one thing I did not give my word on. This isn’t a movie where someone will save you, Mage. Every decision you make affects a life and you have to ask yourself how much you’re willing to sacrifice for them.” His fingers slipped into the hem of my jeans.

  “If you harm a single hair on anyone’s head that I love, then you’ll pay for it. I don’t care if you are a Lord.”

  His eyes vanished to slivers and his grip tightened. “Hence the collar,” he ground out. “Don’t you ever threaten me again, Mage. I don’t like the way your mind works, and I don’t plan to take any chances with my life. Never trust a Mage.”

  Just then, a tapping on the glass snagged our attention.

  He flipped the switch and rolled down the window. Christian’s face peered through the opening.

  “It’s time for Silver to go.” His voice was cool, like a peppermint, and sent a chill down my spine. His black eyes flicked to mine briefly, scanning the situation.

  Tarek ignored him and lit up a cigarette. “I want you to talk to your employer and request a new guard.”

  “I’m going to quit my job,” I stated. Something I’d been mulling over, but I could never serve Novis while mated to Tarek.

  Tarek rolled the window back up and leaned in close. “Absolutely not. All that important knowledge you would be forced to give up? No, I’m afraid that’s one of the perks.” He blew a plume of smoke in my face and touched a round button on the armrest. Seconds later, the driver eased into the front seat and started up the car.

  “If Novis doesn’t assign me a new guard, then you’ll just have to live with Christian.”

  Any trace of humor he held on his face was completely erased by a penetrating stare that bored into me like hell itself.

  “I don’t have to live with anyone. Accidents happen. It would be a shame.”

  ***

  Tarek left me at the main turnoff to my house. I was all but stomping the ice and gravel to China. Halfway up the driveway, Christian yanked my arm and pulled me into the dark woods before we reached the motion detectors. I stumbled behind him as he walked me to his motorcycle and threw his leg over the seat.

  “Get on.”

  Christian knew how to handle a bike. It moved effortlessly in his control, gliding around corners and picking up terrifying speeds as his head periodically searched behind us. The streets had been mostly cleared, but a few icy patches remained, which he somehow avoided. At one point, I was certain we were going at speeds over a hundred miles per hour.

  The bike veered off the road, taking us on a bumpy ride up a dirt path that cut straight through the woods. I shut my eyes—terrified—because Christian kept the headlamp off. Only a sliver of a moon lit the sky, not enough to light our way through the darkness. The Vampire could see everything, but I couldn’t. Christian skidded to a stop and I leapt off as he walked the bike behind a set of bushes. From there, he took my hand and led me to a cement building with no windows.

  Christian locked the door while I paced to the center of a pitch-black room. The sound of matches rattled on my right and then there was the rough scratch of a wooden stick sliding along gritty sandpaper. With a hiss, light burst into the room from a tiny flame, and Christian lit a few red candles and set them on the floor. Shadows danced on the ceiling and walls as if they were extensions of the physical world leading separate lives. My breath
fogged before my face and I cupped my elbows.

  “Is this where you live? It looks like a prison,” I said.

  A mattress covered the floor in the far left corner, and to the right a small table and chair completed his furnishings.

  Christian’s black coat dropped on the floor and I studied his attire. He had once dressed in showy leathers and full Vampire gear to rile me up, but the real Christian didn’t give a shit. The sweater had a torn collar as if he’d taken a pair of scissors and made the hole wider to show off his strong shoulders. He reached out and ran his fingers over my necklace.

  “Turn around,” he ordered.

  I complied, and the chain tugged against my neck. Christian’s arms shook as he attempted to break it, and the silver bit against my skin. I coughed and he released his grip, turning me around with his hands on my shoulders.

  “This structure is soundproof, and never you mind how. No Vampire could hear us if they dared to follow, and I’m certain the one who has trailed me on two occasions did not follow us, because he’s a dolt and drives an SUV. We’re alone.” The lilt of his Irish tone fell flat. “I’m your guard. This means keeping your confidence. We’re not leaving this room until you tell me everything. Logan may be daft to what’s going on, but I’m not.”

  “I’m going to ask for another guard. Novis will agree when he found out what we did.”

  Christian shook me so abruptly that my mouth hung open. “You do not have to act with me. Novis isn’t going to take me down from my post on your request. It won’t be the first time he’s heard about diddling with a guard.”

  “Tarek will kill you.”

  “I’ve seen a great many things in my day, and blackmail is not a new concept. Neither is my life being in mortal danger.” He scratched his beard slowly, the other hand cupping his elbow. “I thought about what happened, and it was the only conclusion I could draw from you throwing yourself at me. Drunk or not, I know you’re not the sort of girl who would drop her knickers if it meant risking her relationship. It wasn’t regret I saw in your eyes that night, it was defeat.” Christian walked me to the chair and folded his arms. “Sit down. What you tell me will never leave this room if it means putting your life in danger.”