Slade (Venom Series) Book Two

by Kristen Middleton

  I grinned. “He did?”

  “For like… five seconds. But then he stopped and apologized. Said it was wrong.”

  “Oh. Well, he’s trying to be a gentleman. That should count for something.”

  “I guess. I just… I really like him. A lot. He’s funny. And hot. He’s a great drummer. He lives in a castle.” She grinned. “And did I mention how hot he is?”

  I giggled. “No, I’m pretty sure you didn’t.”

  She sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. “If he’s a horn-dog and I practically threw myself at him, why did he reject me?”

  I sat down next to her. “Maybe out of respect? If you ask me, I think that you should be flattered that he rejected you.”

  “I’d be more flattered if he’d kissed me longer than five seconds. Is my breath bad?” she asked, blowing in my face.

  “Do I have to answer that?”

  “Oh, damn. Maybe that’s what it is?” she asked, trying to smell it by blowing into her hand.

  “It’s really not that bad,” I said. “I’m just messing with you.”

  She put her hand down. “You know, for a minute, I almost thought he was starting to really like me. As a woman. You know?”

  “He must like you also as a friend and that’s why he’s not going to wreck that part of your relationship,” I said, leaning back on my elbows.

  “Friend, schmend.” She bit her lower lip. “I want more than that. I guess I’ll just have to try harder.”

  One thing I had to say about Melody, she didn’t give up easy. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “Oh, yeah. Hey, did you notice that he seemed a little jealous when I was talking about his brother, or was it just me?”

  “Actually, I noticed that, too.”

  Her eyes widened. She pulled me up. “Oh, my God, I forgot to tell you.”

  “What?”

  “Talia. She told me how she became a vampire.”

  I wasn’t sure if I really cared anymore but I went along with it. Obviously, Melody was excited about it. “How?”

  “Slade.”

  I blinked. “What? Slade?”

  She nodded quickly. “And it gets worse.”

  “How?” I asked, feeling as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

  “Talia and Slade had an affair. When he was with Vanessa. He cheated on her with Talia.”

  I stared at her in horror. “That doesn’t sound like him,” I said hoarsely. At least I prayed that he was not like that. If so, then everything I’d thought about him was a lie. “Why would she tell you all of this stuff, anyway?”

  “She said it’s because Slade treats her like she’s some kind of pariah.”

  “Are you sure she’s telling the truth? He said she was a liar.”

  “I know and that’s why I asked Liam. Actually, I didn’t really ask him… I pretended that I’d already known about it.”

  My eyes widened. “You did? What did you say to him?”

  “I said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that Talia is acting like it’s all Slade’s fault that her sister died, when she slept with him. How could she do that to her own sister?’ And then he said, ‘Tell me about it.’”

  I frowned. “That’s all he said?”

  “What more do you need to hear? Obviously Slade slept with Talia and when Vanessa found out about them sleeping together, she couldn’t take it. She killed herself.”

  “He said that she did it because she’d learned that he was a vampire.”

  “Oh, come on… would you kill yourself just because of that? Wouldn’t you try to work through it? Cheating is different.”

  “Yes, but I wouldn’t kill myself because of that either.”

  She smiled. “You’d just kill him?”

  “No. He wouldn’t be worth my life or the time I’d have to spend in prison,” I answered, picturing Slade in bed with another woman. It would hurt, especially after what had just happened between us, but I’d never go to that extreme. “The poor woman. I guess it makes sense. The hate between Talia and Slade. They obviously blame each other.”

  “Yeah, but Chelsey, after hearing that, I wouldn’t get involved with Slade. He’s a cheater. Once a cheater, always a cheater.”

  I nodded and looked down at my hands, already feeling another sense of loss. How could I feel so much for a guy I barely knew? A vampire, even? “I guess you’re right.”

  “Oh,” she stood up and reached into the back of her jeans. “Before I forget…. Liam gave me this small dagger for protection, but I think you need it more than I do.”

  I took the sheathed weapon, which was not much bigger than my hand, and looked back at her, in shock. “Why do we need weapons?”

  “I don’t know, but if Talia and Slade had something going on, and she’s jealous, you should have some kind of protection.”

  I gasped. “Do you think she’d try to hurt me?”

  “From the way she was glaring at the both of you earlier, I wouldn’t want to take any chances.”

  I MET UP with Liam on the way to Aiden’s office. When he saw me, he grinned. “You’re looking a little disheveled, my friend. What happened to you?”

  I looked down at my shirt and tucked it in better. “Nothing happened to me.”

  “Right. You’d better fix your hair a little, too,” he said, pointing to it. “It looks like you almost have a case of… bed-head?” His eyes lit up and grinned wickedly. “Hmm… where’s Chelsey? I take it you accompanied her to her chamber?”

  I scowled at him, knowing exactly where he was going. “Yes.”

  “How did that work out for the two of you?”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter,” I said. “Besides, you should talk. Everyone watched you carry Melody off to get spanked. The real question is – who is the one that got spanked? Melody… or your monkey?”

  He roared with laughter and slapped me on the back. “Good one.”

  I grinned. “You make it easy.”

  We started walking again and he sighed. “To be honest, nothing happened between me and Melody.”

  “Really? I find that hard to believe.”

  He chuckled. “I know. So do I. It’s just… something came over me. I felt…guilty about trying to kiss her.” He lowered his voice as we walked. “I mean, I can tell that she digs me, you know? But, I don’t want to hurt her. Something tells me that if I got her into my bed, she won’t want to leave. And you know me… I’m just not into commitments.”

  “I do know you and… I have to say, I’m pretty damn proud of you.”

  “I thought you’d be,” he said. “She wasn’t very happy about it, though. I could tell. In fact, I think she was hurt that I didn’t try anything.”

  “She’s got it bad for you already, Liam. If you can’t see that, then you’d better open your eyes.”

  His face turned serious. “Oh, hell, do you really think so?”

  “Yeah, man. So, you’d better keep your distance if you’re not going to commit to having a real girlfriend.”

  “And by that you mean one real girlfriend? As in one at a time?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that our groupies would be off limits? Even the ones with the healthy,” he made a gesture with his hand, “glands?”

  “Yes. Even those. And of course your fans. You’d have to be celibate during the next tour, and who knows, maybe the tour after that if it worked out for you guys.”

  He slipped his hands into his pockets. “To be honest, I really do find her attractive, but we hardly know each other.”

  “Exactly.”

  “She’s got to be, what? Nineteen at the most? That’s young. A babe.”

  “Especially to you. Face it, you’re much too old for her anyway. Liam, think about it – you’re probably old enough to be her grandfather. She’d figure that out soon enough,” I teased. “In bed.”

  He shot me a dirty look. “You should have quit with the jokes when you were ahea
d. I’m not too old. Hell, most people tell me I look like I’m around twenty-five.”

  “How old are you really?” I asked, knowing that lycan age slowly.

  “Old enough to be her grandfather,” he said, laughing. “But, obviously, with the looks and stamina of someone closer to her age.”

  “You keep telling yourself that, Liam,” I said as we stopped outside of Aiden’s office.

  “You should talk. You’re over one-hundred years old. Old enough to be Chelsey’s Great, Great, Great Grandfather. There has to be laws against that kind of thing, old man.”

  “You’re a jackass,” I said, shaking my head and grinning.

  Aiden’s door opened up from the inside. He was on his cell phone and motioned for us to step inside.

  “I just need to know if you have some proof of these accusations before I start pointing fingers,” he said into the phone. “Because if you’re wrong, then I’m going to take it out on your hide. You understand that I’m not just making idle threats, right? I will destroy you if you’re fucking with me.”

  Liam and I looked at each other.

  Aiden sat down behind his cherry-wood desk while Liam and I made ourselves comfortable in the leather sectional. From the look on Liam’s brother’s face, whatever was going on wasn’t making him happy.

  He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Okay. Send me the photos. You have my email. I’ll get back to you after I look them over.” He hung up and threw his phone down on the desk.

  “What’s going on?” asked Liam.

  Instead of answering, he got up and checked the hallway. He then closed the door and walked back toward us. “I’m not happy. That’s what’s going on.”

  “Explain,” said Liam. “We’re all ears.”

  Aiden sat down on a recliner across from us. “It’s Talia,” he said in a low voice. “She’s been playing me.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Liam.

  “This meeting we’re having tomorrow involves an experimental program that needs funding. Millions of dollars in funding.”

  “That you’re supposed to invest in?” asked Liam.

  Aiden smiled humorlessly. “So it seems.”

  “What’s going on with Talia?” I asked.

  “She’s been scheming with Lucian Tepes to convince me that I need to be involved with this project. Lucian Tepes. Do either of you recognize, that name?”

  “No,” said Liam.

  “I do,” I said, frowning. “He’s a vampire. I’ve never met him, but I’ve heard of him.”

  “He’s dangerous and involved with some radical vampire group that believes that only a dead lycan is a good lycan.”

  “You’re kidding?” said Liam, now angry. “And Talia is involved with this guy?”

  He sighed. “Yes. Apparently, Lucian Frazer is actually Tepes.” He turned to me. “Slade, tell me what you know about Talia.”

  I let out a ragged sigh and started from the beginning, explaining how she’d lied and used me to become a vampire. Then how her sister had killed herself.

  “Oh, man… I’m sorry. Liam never mentioned Vanessa,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “That must have been a horrible time in your life.”

  “Oh, yeah. So you can see, after that, I distanced myself from Talia. She’s poison. Funny, this doesn’t surprise me. This thing with Lucian.”

  “Well, it surprises me. What’s even worse is I think she used Steve, to get to me.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Liam.

  “Steve is the one who introduced us.”

  “Do you think he knows about Lucian?” I asked.

  “No. I can’t imagine that he does. From what I’ve learned, Lucian despises lycan.”

  “Have you talked to Steve or Talia yet?” I asked.

  “Not yet,” he said, getting up. He walked over to his desk and turned on the laptop. “I’m waiting for evidence of Talia’s involvement with Lucian. My informant is going to send me some pictures. Oh, good, I’ve already gotten them.”

  Liam and I stood up and walked over to his desk, anxious to see what was sent.

  “Obviously, I had to have Dr. Shephard checked out. And Lucian Frazer. Good thing I did,” he said, clicking on a photo. He grunted. “And there they are.”

  We looked at the screen and there were pictures of Talia and another man, naked together.

  “This took place in New York, about a week ago. Lucian paid her a visit.” He sighed. “Yep, that’s definitely him.” He clicked on another photo and shook his head, scowling. “That bastard. He’ll do anything to get his hands on my money.”

  “Including Talia,” said Liam.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked.

  He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk. After several seconds he looked at us. “I’m going to keep the meeting. See how far they want to take this.”

  “Do you think this Shephard is a fraud, too?”

  “No. My contact says he’s legit. He actually really is a scientist. He’s not too sure about the research, thinks that it has to do with DNA conversion, but I guess that’s what we’re going to learn about tomorrow.”

  “What about Steve?” asked Liam.

  “I’m not saying anything to him until after we find out what’s going on tomorrow. Don’t you dare say anything either,” he said, looking at Liam.

  Liam scowled. “Of course not.”

  “Did you ever find them after you left us in the hall?” I asked.

  “Talia was in her chamber. She sent me a text. Steve, he was with one of the servants.”

  “What was he doing with one of the servants?” I asked.

  “Her,” he answered, chuckling.

  AFTER MELODY LEFT my chamber, I locked the door, thankful they’d installed deadbolts, because there was no way in hell I was about to let Slade back into my bedroom. I couldn’t trust him, let alone allow him to touch me.

  Mumbling to myself, I grabbed a cotton nightgown that one of the chambermaids had given me, and slipped it on. Then I blew out the lantern and got into bed. The bed that I’d almost lost my virginity thirty minutes ago.

  What the hell had I been thinking?

  I stared at the fireplace, my mind on Slade.

  Had he been playing me all along?

  I thought about how he’d claimed that he had never had sex with his fans, or anyone else, for that matter, in a very long time.

  Was that just to get down my pants?

  The more I thought about it, the clearer things became. If he was cold enough to sleep with his girlfriend’s twin sister, then he really had no heart at all. It made me angry.

  What else was he keeping from me?

  I thought about my parents again, and my eyes filled with tears.

  I should be thinking about them, I thought, disgusted with myself.

  Instead, I was pining over a vampire. A lying, cheating, jerk who would say anything to get into a girl’s pants.

  Never again!

  I pulled the blanket up to my neck and closed my eyes, determined to push him out of my thoughts. He didn’t deserve that kind of attention. Frustrated, I tried to fall asleep, but my mind wasn’t having any of it. After several more minutes of trying to find a comfortable position, I got out of bed and sat down next to the fire. As I stared into the flames, I was reminded of the time my parents had taken me skiing for the very first time, and that brought a smile to my face. We’d trekked into the lodge after skiing on the bunny hill, and I’d marveled at the enormous fireplace, while sipping on hot cocoa. Someone had hung Christmas stockings from the mantel and decorated it festively. I’d imagined Santa sliding down the chimney, with plenty of room to land, hoisting his red overstuffed sack of presents.

  “Do you think that he really stops here to deliver toys?” I’d asked, staring at the stockings.

  “Probably,” said my father, smiling at me. “I’m sure the people who own this place have children of their own. Those are probably their stockings.”
>
  I stared at the wood burning in the fireplace and frowned. “How does he know when there’s a fire? So that he doesn’t get burned?”

  “He’s magic. Even if there is a fire burning, it can’t hurt him,” said my mother. “So, don’t ever worry about Santa.”

  “Okay. I can’t wait for Christmas this year, to see what he brings me. What was the best present that you guys ever got?” I asked them. “Mine has been my bike.” I’d gotten a bright red one the year before, and had ridden it in the garage until the snow had melted in the spring.

  “That’s an easy answer, honey,” replied my dad, touching my hand. “You are definitely the best present we’ve ever received. Right, mommy?”

  “Yes,” she said, leaning forward to kiss my forehead. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to us. The very best.”

  A knock on the door pulled me back from my memories. I brushed at the tears on my cheek and walked towards it, hesitantly.

  “Yes?” I said, not opening it. I had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly who it was.

  “Chelsey,” said Slade, softly. “It’s me. Open up.”

  “Go away.”

  He paused. “What do you mean, go away?”

  “Just do it.”

  He sighed. “Chelsey, open up. Please.”

  “Why?”

  “To talk.”

  I clenched my fists.

  To talk?

  He wanted to talk?

  I’d give him something to talk about.

  I unbolted the door and swung it open, ready to give him a piece of my mind. As soon as I saw him standing there, however, I knew that I’d made a mistake. Just looking at him, at his sensual smile, and deep green eyes, made my heart race.

  Why did he have to have such an effect on me?

  He stared at my nightgown. “Well, look at you… ready for bed?”

  “Yes,” I said icily. “It’s after one, I’m sure. What else would I be doing?”

  His smile disappeared. “What’s wrong?”

  I turned and walked away from the door. “I know about Talia.”

  He walked in and shut the door. “So? What about her?”

  I walked over to the fireplace and stood next to it. “You slept with her.”

  He didn’t say anything.