Love at Stake (Entangled Covet)

by Davies, Victoria

  She sighed, pushing her face off the desk. “I’ve gone through the files and set up all the new members. Everything is accounted for.”

  Worry filled Chloe’s eyes. Before she could speak, however, Vivian stepped into the room. “It’s not your work quality I’m worried about,” the siren said.

  Abbey looked at her grimly. “I have nothing to do with Lucian.”

  “He’s refused every date we’ve tried to set up for him. Every single one. There are only a few days left on the clock and our star client won’t perform.”

  “He’s not a horse,” she muttered.

  “What the hell did you do, Abbey?”

  She pushed away from her desk. “Nothing.”

  Brushing past the women, she headed for the break room to grab a cup of coffee. But the siren kept pace with her. Vivian, it seemed, was not done.

  “I’ve seen zombies look more lively than you, and your vampire lover is refusing my phone calls. You’re relationship screwed us all, didn’t it?”

  “Our numbers are up,” Abbey said. “We’ve been signing new members every day.”

  “Once Lucian walks, half of them will go with him. Not to mention we won’t have the vampire publicity he promised if we succeeded. We’ll be back were we started.”

  She poured herself a cup of coffee before chugging a long sip. Hopefully the caffeine would help her feel more alive, especially since she felt as dead inside as the zombies Vivian had accused her of emulating.

  “A month was never enough time,” Abbey said. “He knew it and we knew it.”

  Vivian’s lip curled. “It was enough time for you to situate yourself in his bed.”

  She rounded on her boss. “Lay off, Viv. I’m sorry you took my relationship as a personal attack but it wasn’t intended as anything of the sort. You can’t help who you—” She broke off before uttering the damning word but the damage was done.

  Both Chloe and Vivian looked at her as if she’d sprouted another head.

  “Love?” Vivian said finally.

  Abbey stayed mutinously silent.

  “Oh, you stupid girl,” her boss said. “You might get what you deserve after all.”

  “I have work to do,” Abbey said.

  The siren’s eyes were narrowed as they watched her. “Best make it perfect, Abbey. I’m this close to firing you for the mess you’ve made of my company.”

  Might even be a justified action, she thought as she muscled by her coworkers.

  She stalked down the hall only to stop when she was out of Vivian’s view. Abbey pressed her back against the gray wall and closed her eyes.

  You can’t help who you love.

  Those were the fateful words that had almost escaped her.

  Did she mean them?

  She dragged a hand down her face. Had she been too late? Loving Lucian would be incredibly stupid. She’d given him up because she’d known that going down that road was a once-in-a-lifetime commitment. If she loved him, she didn’t see how she could survive a future without him.

  Pain tore at her heart and she held her palm over her throbbing chest. Could hearts really break? Because hers was damn close.

  “Stupid,” she whispered.

  She’d known better.

  Nothing good came of loving a vampire.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You’re an idiot.”

  Lucian didn’t bother to look at Melissa when she stormed into the study. Instead he focused on the fireplace before him and watched the flames.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, pet.”

  He knew what she wanted to say, what his mind had been screaming since he’d left Abbey days ago.

  “How could you do this to her?”

  Lucian sighed. “Melissa, what happens between me and Abbey is none of your business.”

  “The hell it isn’t. You’re my sire and she’s a friend. And any fool can see both of you are hurting.”

  The thought of Abbey in pain was unbearable. “Do not push this,” he cautioned.

  “Why? Because for once in my lifetime something has actually gotten close enough to you to hurt?”

  “Enough. I will not tolerate your involvement in this particular subject.” He rose to his feet and started for the door.

  “My mother would be ashamed of you.”

  The words stopped him cold.

  “If she could see you now, throwing away this chance, she’d be ashamed of your cowardice.”

  Lucian spun slowly. “You go too far.”

  But Melissa didn’t back down. “Is it because she’s human?” she asked. “Is that why you’re running away? Is that why you couldn’t love either one of them?”

  “I tried to love your mother.”

  “Did you feel for her what you feel for Abbey?”

  He opened his mouth only to close it. Claudette had appeared at a time in his life when he’d had no one. She’d given him a family and he’d always be grateful for that. The time he’d spent with her had been the happiest of his life.

  Until he’d met Abbey.

  “You cannot compare relationships in such a way,” he argued.

  “For this, we can.” Melissa’s fury lessened slightly. “I know you cared for my mother. Hell, I’m proof of what you felt for her. You saved me because you couldn’t save her.”

  “Melissa—”

  “But I also know you never sulked for days on end when you couldn’t see her. If my mother had been seeing someone else who made her happy, you wouldn’t have flown into a rage and broken them apart.”

  “I might have,” he said darkly.

  “No, because you wanted her happy and you knew you weren’t the man for her. What do you think would have happened if not for the accident?”

  It was a question he’d pondered too much of late. He’d never have been able to leave Melissa, she was his child, but Claudette was different. If her mate had come along ready to make her eternally happy, would he have stood in her way?

  “A human doesn’t fit into my life,” he said, his voice even. “My position would put her in danger.”

  Melissa shrugged. “So make sure you’re by her side to protect her.”

  He bit back a low, rumbling growl of pleasure at the thought. He wanted to protect her from anything that would harm her. But that wasn’t his job anymore.

  “Abbey misses you.”

  The words were a fiery arrow to his chest.

  “I went to visit her, you know, to get my profile all set to go live as soon as your ridiculous test is done. I saw her looking like you’ve been these past few days. Like she was missing a limb. A living ghost with no heart. Oh, she tried to hide it, said she was fine, but I could see what it was doing to her and what it’s doing to you. Both of you are bloody idiots. You for thinking her humanity matters at all and her for believing you don’t love her.”

  His whole body jerked at the suggestion. “I don’t.”

  Melissa snorted in disgust. “The only thing keeping you two apart is your damn egos. She’s your mate. Why do you think no other woman caught your interest these past weeks when you’ve been thrown at every eligible candidate in the city? It’s because you’d already found your match. And you lost her.”

  “A vampire and a human—”

  “Is complicated,” Melissa agreed. “But not impossible. Not if you don’t want it to be. So it all comes down to one question. Do you love her or not?”

  He couldn’t imagine not wanting the infuriating female. During waking hours he might be able to tell himself he didn’t miss her, but when dawn came and he slept, his mind was filled with images of her. Laughing, naked beneath him, or desolate and lonely as he’d walked away from her. Over and over he was tormented.

  But that wasn’t a good enough reason to burst into her life again. Not when she’d made it clear there was only one thing she needed from him.

  He closed his eyes, remembering how she’d looked as she’d told him to leave. There was no mistaking the a
gony in her face.

  But loving a human wouldn’t be an easy task. He’d watched the light go out of Claudette’s eyes and had wanted to follow her. Seeing Abbey’s death would kill him for sure.

  “Look, I just…” Melissa sighed. “This is my two cents. And for what it’s worth, my mother would be happy you’d found Abbey. All she wanted was for you to understand what love really was.”

  She slipped her arms around him. “Make the right choice, Father.”

  Lucian closed his eyes as his arms came up to hug her. How many decades had it been since she’d called him that? The last time he’d let a human into his heart, he’d found his daughter. Was he really afraid of doing it again?

  But Abbey was different. Everything about this was different.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. “I’ll think on your words.”

  She nodded and stepped back. With a half smile and sad eyes, she left the room.

  Lucian stared blindly at the closed door.

  He’d walked away. Hell, being together had torn Abbey apart. There was no chance of her taking him back.

  He spun, his fist flying through the wood paneling of the wall. Nearly a thousand years old and still making the same dumb mistakes.

  Drawing his fist from the wall, he stared dispassionately at the cut on his knuckles. It would heal in seconds. The wound in his chest felt like it would damned well bleed forever.

  He paced to his desk and leaned over the work scattered over its surface. He had responsibilities, issues to attend to, but nothing seemed as urgent as it had weeks ago. The city would survive if he eased up a bit. The vampires wouldn’t crumble into chaos if he focused some of his time on a woman instead of a job.

  Abbey would be a helpmate instead of a distraction. He’d have someone by his side, someone to come home to. The idea of waking every evening with her in his arms was an attractive one.

  Had he ever wanted anything more?

  Claudette flashed through his mind. She’d told him over a hundred years ago that he didn’t know how to love her, and she’d been right. How many times had he badgered her to let him turn her? How many times had he derided her human roots?

  That she’d stayed with him as long as she had was a miracle. Abbey wouldn’t have stood for it.

  But when he thought of Abbey’s humanity, he found he didn’t care as much as he’d always thought he would. Abbey was Abbey. Human, vampire, or dancing were-bear, she was the woman he loved.

  Lucian froze. The thought seared through his brain. Loved. He loved her. He would always love her. Why else would he be willing to take her any way he could have her?

  It didn’t matter what she was, because he loved who she was. That was what Claudette had been trying to teach him all those years ago. It was a lesson he’d failed miserably with her.

  He didn’t want to fail with Abbey.

  There was a very real possibility she wouldn’t believe him. After the mistakes he’d made with her, she might tell him to go to hell. And that’s exactly what life without her would be. A static, black-and-white hell.

  His gaze went to the red pillow sitting on the armchair in the corner. Without her, his life was colorless.

  He pushed from the desk, knowing what he had to do.

  Reject him or not, Abbey needed to hear what he had to say. Then she could make her decision once and for all.

  …

  Abbey sniffed as she pulled her sweatpants on. Maybe she’d take tomorrow off from work. No one would blame her. They’d all chalk it up to the human biting off more than she could chew and getting burned by it. Not that they’d be wrong.

  She sighed. Served her right. She had the right guy and she’d blown it because her stupid heart had wanted the wrong guy. And unfortunately for her, it seemed to be the forever kind of want.

  Again she thought of leaving the supernatural world. She’d never intended for this shift in her life’s plan to be permanent. It’d started as a way to help her mother and turned into a career she loved. But maybe she’d gotten as much as she could from Fated Match. It was time to think about her life. Her human life. She’d lived in the supernatural world for years and where had it gotten her? Brokenhearted and alone.

  She could quit. Leave Fated Match and try to find a job at a human matchmaking agency. With Melissa signing up, Vivian wouldn’t keep her promise to ruin Abbey’s reputation. Hell, the siren would probably be glad to see her go. Then she could focus on meeting a normal, human guy and settling down into a normal, human life. Sure, it sounded boring as hell, but it beat the pain she was in right now.

  Just thinking of Lucian was heartbreaking. Was he missing her as desperately as she was him? Probably not, she thought with no small amount of self-pity.

  And Lucian’s pain, if he felt any, would end when he found his mate. Hers wouldn’t. Humans didn’t have those fated forever matches but if they did, she’d bet money Lucian was hers.

  Too bad she’d never be his.

  Yes, she needed a new chapter in her life. Free from magic and worlds she could see but not touch. She needed boring and simple. At least for a little while. Hopefully there would come a day when she could look back on these weeks and not feel like crying until there was nothing left of her. A day when she could think about Lucian’s kiss and not crave it like a drug. It might be a long time coming, but it was something to look forward to.

  It was all she had to look forward to.

  “Job search tomorrow,” she muttered, shuffling into the living room. “Eat Chinese today.”

  Last night’s takeout waited in the fridge and her fluffy pink blanket waited on the couch. It might not be the night she longed for, but it was better than nothing.

  A knock sounded at the door as she headed for the couch.

  Abbey glanced at her blanket longingly. All she wanted to do was curl up, watch some pathetically happy rom-com, and cry over the mess her life had become. Grief was the first step to recovery, after all. The knock came again and she sighed.

  Marching to the door, she called, “Go away, Chloe. If you invite me to one more strip club, I’ll scream.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Christian said when she pulled the door open.

  “Christian.” She blinked in shock even as her heart clenched at the sight of him.

  “You never replied to my e-mails,” he said. “Then I heard about you and Lucian.”

  “If you’ve come to rub salt in the wound then—”

  “I haven’t.” He stepped forward to grab the door as she tried to close it. “Truly, Abbey. Let me in?”

  She hesitated for a moment before deciding she owed him this much. “Fine,” she said, turning her back on him.

  The door closed behind her as she tried to collect herself. Why was it the first time you saw an ex you looked a mess? She plucked at her sweatpants and tried to avoid thinking what chaos her hair had gotten into.

  “So,” he said, following her the few steps it took to reach the living room.

  Throwing back her shoulders, she twirled to face him. “So.”

  Seeing him this close was a shock to her system. If the next guy she attempted to date was anywhere near as handsome as her supernatural men, she’d run in the other direction.

  He looked good, she noted. Their breakup had obviously gone much better for him than her.

  Which brought up the question—what was he doing here?

  “I came for you,” he said, as if reading her thoughts.

  Abbey took a wary step back. “Why?”

  “Because I knew the vampire would screw it up eventually.”

  She looked away. “Says the wolf who mauled him to shreds.”

  Christian winced. “I tried to apologize for that. You don’t know what it’s like to have an animal caged inside you. I didn’t react in time that night. But Abbey, never would I ever hurt you. Not on purpose. Not like you’re hurting now.

  “I don’t want to talk about Lucian.”

  “Neither do I.” He took back the sp
ace she’d yielded and touched her arm. “I want to talk about you and me.”

  “There is no you and me.”

  A faint smile twisted his lips. “No?”

  Tugging her hand, he pulled her off-balance. She fell into his arms and before a word of protest could escape her, his lips were on hers.

  Abbey gasped at the unexpected assault, but Christian gave her no chance to think. He dominated her, kissing her with a passion designed to overwhelm. As his lips slanted over hers, she couldn’t help acknowledging the man knew what he was doing. For a brief second, Lucian wasn’t at the forefront of her mind.

  His tongue teased against hers as he deepened the kiss. Helpless to resist, she twined her arms around his neck and wondered how wrong it would be to let him take away the pain. She could fall into bed with him and not have to think of anything but pleasure.

  And regret it tenfold in the morning.

  “Stop,” she moaned, pushing against his broad chest. “Christian, stop.”

  He eased back, trailing his lips over hers one last time.

  “Think about it, honey,” he murmured. “We’re not a bad match.”

  “Is that why you’re here? The damn 96 percent?”

  The werewolf shrugged. “I’ve spent decades looking for a woman who fits me half as well as you do. Your own agency provides the proof of my claim. We belong together. Think of the life we could have.”

  And God help her, she did.

  With Christian by her side, she’d never be insecure. She’d never wonder if some gorgeous woman would walk by and steal him away from her. When wolves mated, it was for life. She’d have a faithful mate, one who put her needs first and lived to see her happy.

  Her fingers played over his cheek. The life he offered was an attractive one.

  “We’re too similar,” she whispered, her gaze dropping to his lips.

  “I disagree.”

  That brought a smile to her face. “You’re pursuing this because you want to settle down and no one matches you as high as I do.”

  “Maybe.” He tucked his arm snugly around her waist. “But it’s more than that. I think of a future with you, and I see the life we could have. White picket fence, 2.5 kids, the fairy tale—we could have it all.”