“I…uh–” Breena stammered.
He pressed a single finger to her lips. “You don’t have to say it back right now. When you do say it, I want to know you’re completely mine, heart and soul. And you’re not thinking about someone else.”
She gnawed on her lip.
Being with Orin made her happy. She trusted him. He may not have been honest with her from the start, but he’d come clean. Unlike Myles. She’d only found him out because the person claiming to be her grandmother had told her.
Orin had fought for her. And she was certain he’d risked his life by disobeying the queen’s–her mother’s–order to kill her.
Breena did feel something for Orin. But did she love him? Or did she love what he did for her? He comforted her in a way no other could. He took away her pain. Made her laugh. Revved up her libido. Wasn’t that enough?
So what was the problem?
Picking a hangnail on her thumb, she hopped up and walked a couple steps away from the bed. She’d thought her life was complicated before. Now look at it. What a damn mess.
New subject. “What did my mother want with you?”
“Your mother? I don’t know your mother, love.” He sounded completely confused, but his focus on her didn’t let up for a second. He faced her no matter which way she turned.
“Yes, you do. The queen.”
Oh God. My mother wants me dead.
Between two sexy supes vying for her attention and the darkness eating away at her, she hadn’t stopped to consider…the person who’d given birth to her wanted her dead. Why would her mother want to kill her? Her knees wobbled like she stood on Jell-O.
She must’ve looked unstable because Orin stood, and she thought he might poof over to her. But she wasn’t ready for his nearness. With a hand flick she said, “I’m okay.”
He slowly sat on the bed, hands perched on the edge like he might spring up given half a glance.
Breena stood at the threshold of pain, one step forward and she’d cross into a room she may not be able to leave. She couldn’t deal. Not now. Maybe not ever. Better to be callous, shut the door…lock it even.
“Who told you that?” Orin asked.
“I met the president today. Apparently her son Victor knocked up the queen without permission, and the president covered it up so no one had to be executed.”
“Why would the queen want to kill her own daughter then?” Orin hunched forward, propped on his elbows to look at Breena.
That was a damn good question. And one Breena wanted an answer for. Her feet carried her back to him, but her mind was somewhere else. “The president seems to think the queen isn’t trying to kill me, that she’s been looking for me my entire life. But I don’t know. Her sending you says something different.”
Orin grabbed her hand, three or four times, to stop her fingers from twitching before she decided she craved something. Food might be the answer. The preternatural followed her down the hall to the kitchen. Anxiety washed over her in waves, but even more so when the thought crossed her mind that a PB and J wouldn’t do the trick and the chill within would consume her.
“What if Zadalia got it mixed up and gave you the kill order and someone else the search order?” Breena kept the questions locked and loaded.
She grabbed the jelly out of the refrigerator and tried not to pay attention to the thick red liquid in medical bags in the lettuce crisper. Vampires.
Orin handed her the peanut butter from the pantry. “She’s been the queen’s right hand since before the queen was a preternatural. She wouldn’t have lasted this long if she were prone to making such big mistakes.”
“Well, maybe she didn’t screw up. Maybe she gave you the kill order on purpose.”
“For what reason? Zadalia doesn’t even know you.”
They took turns piecing the sandwich together before Breena cut it down the middle and took a bite, hoping to quiet the hunger.
“Maybe she’s jealous of our relationship?” She took another bite, although it felt like chewing on a dishrag. Pointless.
“But I only met you after she gave me the assignment.” As he crossed his arms, he leaned back against the countertop. His pale-green gaze never left Breena’s face.
Even after she’d finished the sandwich, the hunger still gnawed at her.
Something was different. The hunger had caught fire, burning through the chill, needing to be extinguished. She grabbed a glass, filled it with water from the sink and chugged it down. But the liquid definitely wasn’t cutting it.
A foreboding crept over her, threatening to take control. How could she quiet this deafening roar?
Orin reached out, took the cup from her and set it on the counter. Wrapping an arm around her, he nipped at her earlobe while holding her close. Distraction. He got it. “We have to figure out if Zadalia screwed up or did it on purpose.”
“How?”
“I have to go see the queen.”
“I thought you already went to see her?” Breena took a step back.
“I tried, but she and Zadalia were gone.”
“Why? Wasn’t she the one who summoned you?”
“Yes. I don’t know why, though. I just knew I had to talk to her too.”
Thoughts of the queen getting her hands on Jenny saturated her mind, spreading fear through Breena like wildfire. “Why? We hadn’t figured any of this out yet.”
As he lowered his gaze, he tucked his hands into his pockets. The casual boy-next-door stance looked strange on Orin, but his concern seemed genuine nonetheless. “I wanted to beg the queen to spare you.” There was no trace of hesitation in his voice, and as his golden gaze met hers, it softened.
“But wouldn’t she kill you for disobeying?”
“It’s possible.” He closed the gap between them, pulling her to him, hip to hip, his eyes clear and bright. The hunger didn’t control him at the moment–if only she could say the same. “You make me want to be different, Breena. To be good.” He caressed her skin with slow, careful movements, making her decision even harder. “If I have you, I’ll stop killing. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Said like a true addict,” Dandi commented from the kitchen doorway. Breena hadn’t heard her come in.
Orin turned toward the sound of her voice. “Good to see you too, abomination.”
Dandi hissed. Her fangs released as she flung herself full force at Orin.
Breena scrambled onto the countertop, barely getting out of the line of fire in time. Orin’s ears shot up and he apparated away a millisecond before Dandi sped past the spot he’d been standing in.
He appeared directly behind her. “I’m not addicted, vampire. I’m in love.”
“You don’t know how to love. You only know how to kill.”
“That’s hilarious, coming from someone doing time for her kills.” Slowly, Orin inched backward, toward the living room, leading Dandi away from Breena.
“I’m different now, you freak of nature. I confess my sins.” She reached for her pinned-up braid and pulled out a small object. She threw it so fast Breena didn’t actually see it zip through the air, but she saw the end result–a copper hairpin stuck in Orin’s neck.
He groaned and yanked it out. “Damn you to hell.”
“No thanks. I’m working my way out.”
“Good luck, blood-sucker. Religion only controls you. Crushes your free will.” He spat out the words.
Dandi’s expression went lethal as she glared at him from the end of the couch. “Religion is saving me.” She hurled the words back at him. “No one can take away my free will.”
A dark sexy laugh sounded from his lips with a sarcastic ring. “Funny. Don’t you have a master?”
As her lips pulled up to expose fang, her gaze seemed to bore a hole straight through the preternatural. Then she–
“Dandi, no!” Breena cried.
But she’d already sprung at Orin and knocked him to the ground. He rallied and threw her up against the wall. Dandi body-slammed h
im to the floor, her fangs inches from his neck.
How could she stop this? Slice open a vein and lure the vamp away like a freaky Pied Piper? Whatever the deal…she needed to act. Do something. Fast. But she didn’t. She couldn’t force herself to move. Breena stood glued in place, incapable of looking away. It was like watching a train wreck.
Fangs and ears and fists were everywhere at once. The supes tumbled over one another, smashed through the wooden end-table next to the couch.
Orin spotted the jagged table leg and snapped it in two. Flinging himself on Dandi, he pinned her to the ground with her arms trapped behind her back. He held the makeshift stake above his head, ready to drive it into Dandi’s heart. This couldn’t be happening.
“No!” Breena screamed.
He hesitated, then drove the stake toward the vampire’s chest. Breena wouldn’t watch this. She covered her eyes and prayed he didn’t do it. If he did, she’d never forgive him. Up until this moment, the notion of him being an assassin had been just that. An idea. And, she had to admit, a kind of sexy one. He was dangerous and cool, strong and deadly, and he wanted her. But seeing him like this, the reality of it…was different. How could she love someone who could just end a life with no remorse?
Breena heard a long, low hiss and peeked through her fingers to see Orin standing over the vamp and the wooden stake sticking out of Dandi’s stomach. Dandi let loose a string of profanity followed by an exaggerated set of Hail Marys.
“I stopped for you, Breena.” Orin’s gaze met hers, full of unbridled longing.
For a moment, she was held in the grip of that gaze, captivated by the naked need on his face. Then something between them shifted and she only had time to notice that the puncture wound from the copper pin had sealed before he poofed out of sight. Still in the kitchen, Breena looked at the spot he’d vanished from for a long time. He’d spared Dandi’s life. But what about next time? Would he always stop? How could she be sure? And what if they broke up, would he go on a killing rampage? She couldn’t be responsible for all the life he took. How much life had he already taken?
He is, after all, an assassin, she remind herself. What did she expect?
“If you’re finished pining after your murderous boyfriend, I could use some help,” Dandi snapped at Breena from the living room floor.
Breena took her sweet time walking over to the vampire. As she stooped down, she tried to avoid the blood pooling on the floor around Dandi’s mid-section. Guess they’d need another cleaning crew. “He spared you.”
“Oh, gee, he’s a real saint. How will I ever repay him?”
“Would you have done the same?” Breena gripped the stake with both hands and pulled. Dandi let out a shriek. Breena gagged. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Orin’s dangerous. But what’s he ever done to you?” She sat down, crossed her legs and kept a good distance between the blood on the floor and herself.
“I need blood.”
“Well, you’re sure as hell not drinking mine.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wanted yours.” Dandi gave Breena a look that actually sent a shiver racing down her spine. “I put a couple bags in the fridge when I brought the PB and J stuff over. Do you mind?”
So, the food had come from Dandi. If Breena hadn’t been completely pissed off at the vamp for trying to kill her boyfriend, she might’ve found the gesture sweet. “Fine.” Breena walked to the kitchen, grabbed the two bags from the crisper drawer and took them to Dandi.
The vamp drank both in less than ten seconds. Breena could see her draining-a-two-hundred-pound-cowboy-dry comment holding true.
“So what’s the deal?” Breena leaned back against the couch with her arms crossed.
Dandi tossed the empty bags to the side. “The deal is, I can’t believe you’d rather be with that unholy lowlife than Myles.”
“I never said that.” Breena made the statement before she’d even thought it through.
“Well, then?” The vampire’s dark eyebrows arched as she stared Breena down.
Breena hugged her legs close to her chest. “Well, what?”
“Come on Ash, why aren’t you with Myles?”
“Uh…” Talk about your loaded question. Where in heaven or hell did she start with that one? She guessed the blood-bond thingy had been one of the worst setbacks. Plus, Myles had lied to her more than once. He’d never actually let her know him, and he’d never told her he’d known her since birth. Yeah, she didn’t really want to work that one out in her mind. God, how twisted would it be if he’d, like, changed her diaper as a baby or something?
No. Stop it. Think about something else.
“I’m not really ready for a serious relationship.” Good Lord, she sounded as lame as Myles and his exhausted “it’s complicated” routine.
“The damned unnatural seems pretty serious about you.”
“Why do you think that?”
“You said it yourself. He would’ve staked me if it hadn’t been for you.” Dandi huffed. Her turn for an eye roll.
“Why do you hate him?”
“He’s the reason I lost my soul.”
That didn’t make sense. Yes, Orin had been a vampire before he became a preternatural, but he’d never mentioned biting anyone with intention to turn. Still… “Did Orin turn you?”
Dandi leaned forward and made an exaggerated puking gesture. “Myles is my master.” Picking up the bags, she walked them to the trashcan in the kitchen. Breena had glimpsed the vamp’s puncture wound when she stood. From what Breena could see through the torn shirt, it looked healed up again. When Dandi reappeared, she added, “All I know, Myles would’ve never turned me if it hadn’t been for what Orin did.”
Breena wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but she had to ask. “What did he do?”
With her hip cocked to the side and her head slanted, Dandi owned the skeptical look. “Myles never told you?”
“Say no more, Dandelion.” Myles stood behind the couch. Breena hadn’t felt him come in, but now that he was close, her skin went all tingly.
“I can’t believe you haven’t told her. She needs to stay away from him. He’s trouble, he–”
“I said enough.” Myles shot a fierce look at Dandi.
“Well, I can take a hint.” She flicked her long braided hair off her shoulder as she gave them a smirk. “Don’t miss me too much, Ash. Master.” Then she sped away.
No problem there.
“Breena, I need to tell you something.” Myles took her hands in his, helped her off the floor, and sat down on the couch with her.
It was about damn time.
Chapter 22
“Orin killed my family,” Myles said, with such disgust Breena could almost taste his anger.
What?
She raised a brow. “Myles, what in hell are you talking about?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you.” His eyes were once again a washed-out gray.
“Just tell me,” she urged.
“It was 1861 when it happened. I’d just turned twenty-one and Elizabeth and I had been married five years.”
She watched his thumb rub a circular pattern on the top of her hand.
Myles, married? She tried to suppress the jealousy. It didn’t work.
“I first met Elizabeth the day her family moved to Rhodhiss. She was strong. Like you.” His lips curled for a second before he went on. “Our mothers did laundry together, and we were left to run up and down the banks of the river. I would track frogs and somehow Elizabeth always managed to stand in the right place at just the right time to catch them. Like she’d appeared out of thin air.
We spent every day together. We were inseparable. Best friends. Betrothed. Then when I turned sixteen and she fourteen, we married.” His gaze was far away.
Breena took a slow deep breath and asked what she thought was the obvious question, “Wasn’t she a little young?”
“Bree, times were different back then. If a girl wasn’t married by fourteen or fifteen she was considered an old mai
d.”
Well, hot diggity.
Breena was glad she hadn’t lived in the 1800s. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be ready for marriage. No way could she have gotten married three or four years ago. “Do you think I’m old?”
His laughter sounded carefree, and Breena finally realized why it didn’t fit him. “No. Times are different now. Sometimes you do seem more level-headed than I am, though.”
Should she take that as a compliment?
He reached up as if he wanted to tuck her hair behind her ear but pulled his hand away without finishing the gesture.
He continued. “A year later, Alexandria was born. My little Dria. The spitting image of her mother.”
When he talked about his daughter, his eyes focused somewhere else, even though he looked directly at Breena.
A daughter?
No wonder he acted so protective and paternal. Did he think of her as a child? “Dria was your only child?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“What happened to them?” Breena knew they’d died by Orin’s hand. Myles had already said as much. Except, she couldn’t believe it. The preternatural might be an assassin, but to kill a child...
She needed to know everything, even if she didn’t want to.
* * * *
“I’d spent the entire day plowing the fields with our fathers. I returned home before dusk, exhausted. Normally Elizabeth would be sitting on the front porch, braiding Dria’s hair or watching her pick flowers. But that day, no one waited.”
He saw it all again as if he still stood in front of that door, with fear curled in the pit of his belly.
“I knew something wasn’t right.”
He hadn’t wanted to go into the house. Dria hadn’t been cooing and playing by the fire. Elizabeth hadn’t come to kiss him. The silence had deafened him.
“I called out to say I was home, but no one answered. I searched but didn’t find a soul.”
He’d run through the three small rooms of the house, frantically yelling their names, the panic growing until black spots spun in front of his eyes. In the back yard, bed linens and tiny dresses hanging on the clothesline blew in the wind. When the linens had flapped up, he’d seen her, and felt the blood drain from his face.
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