“All right. But please, make sure you take your protection detail with you.” Oliver relented. Then, she could have sworn she saw the suspicious twitch of his jaw. “And don’t even think about trying to lose them. I’ll be very annoyed if I have to come looking for you.” Damn, she’d been caught red-handed. But at least he still agreed to let her attend Mass. Oliver was the best friend a girl could ever ask for.
****
Natasha’s expression remained blank, her mood unreadable. On the outside, she came off as cool and collected. But the inside was a whole different story. She seethed with anger as she paced across the newly-polished hardwood floor of her office. So irritated, the heels of her Jimmy Choo’s scuffed the glossy surface. She could deal with Andreas’s philandering ways. She could even put up with him screwing his nemesis on a short-term basis if it were just for kicks.
After living 150 years, she understood his desire to keep sex interesting. And what was more of a turn on than sleeping with the enemy? But disobeying a direct order from his father and refusing the coven its right to seek retribution was down-right deplorable.
“On menya zaebal!” Natasha screamed in Russian. She was so sick of Andreas and his self-righteous bullshit. Enraged, she walked over to the fireplace, picked up a vase full of flowers and flung it across the room. The crystal smashed against heavy steel and glass shattered before it fell to the floor. A moment later, she heard a knock on the other side of the door. Natasha threw the door open, ready to give whoever it was a piece of her mind. Lucky for her, she looked before she leapt. Otherwise, she would have unleashed her wrath on one of the few individuals with the power to literally wipe her right off the face of the earth.
Aristotle stood in the doorway and peered down at her with impeccably well-mannered poise— a clear indication of his upper-class lineage.
“What seems to be the trouble, Natasha?” Aristotle’s attention was drawn to the rose petals and shards of fine crystal strewn about the floor.
“Oh, excuse me, Mr. Kristopolous. I do apologize.” Natasha’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. She bent down to pick up the largest pieces of glass that blocked his path. “Nothing is the matter. I simply dropped a vase on my way to empty some dead flowers into the trash can.”
“That’s neither here nor there.” Aristotle shook his head, downplaying the triviality of the situation with a wave of his hand in the air. “Where is my son?” The elder vampire seemed clearly annoyed at having to deal with her. After all, she was one of the little people. She didn’t exist in this man’s world.
“I saw him a few nights ago. We took a trip out to Coney Island to check on Ivan Olshanskey’s lover. Andreas wanted to ensure the woman is well cared for. He doesn’t want any unnecessary trouble brought upon our coven.” Natasha folded her arms over her chest and cocked her hip to the side. “I’m surprised you two haven’t spoken since then. I did forward him your messages.”
“What are you keeping from me, Natasha?” prodded Mr.
Kristopolous. He seemed to read right through her not-so-forthcoming willingness to fork over information on his son. Natasha’s palms began to sweat as her nervousness got the better of her. She was torn between protecting the man she wanted more than blood itself and selling him out to the highest bidder. Aristotle held all the cards, and she was inclined to tell him everything she’d sworn to keep secret.
“All right, I’ll tell you what I know.” Natasha nodded in agreement without much of a protest. “He’s been avoiding you in an effort to protect the huntress. I think he’s fallen for her. He won’t admit it, but still….”
“I surmised that much on my own,” Aristotle acknowledged as a softness moved across his normally rigid and angular face. “When you see him, please inform him of my visit and ask him to contact me right away.”
Natasha was more confused than ever. She expected the man to blow a fuse at the thought of his son’s continued efforts to consort with the enemy. Instead, he seemed to be pleased with that development.
“That’s it?” Natasha snarled with seething anger. “You’re not going to do anything about his blatant disobedience of your direct order? I thought you wanted the huntress dead?” she asked, still perplexed at the older man’s reaction.
Aristotle opened his mouth wide and smiled down at her. The length of his incisors protruded in an obvious attempt at intimidation.
His sudden change in temperament made her uneasy.
“My son is a trusting man. Sometimes too trusting of those close to him, if you ask me.” He glared at her, contempt in his eyes as he moved toward the door to leave. “This is a family affair, Natasha, and I’d advise you to stay out of it. Please. Mind your own damn business!”
Natasha stood in utter shock. She was sure the old man would have agreed that Andreas was out of his God damn mind for cavorting with Eva. If neither of them intended to do anything about the huntress, she had no choice but to take care of the bitch herself.
Natasha picked up the phone and dialed. She tapped her long fingernails on the top of her desk. When the person on the other end of the phone picked up, she spoke into the receiver using her mother tongue.
Her rapid-fire speech continued for several minutes, shouting orders with commanding simplicity. At the same time, Natasha moved to the supply closet in the far corner of the room. She packed three pistols and a semi-automatic AK-47 into a black leather duffle bag. If the huntress had half the guts she expected her to, Natasha would need all the fire power she could muster. The coming battle would be bloody and dangerous as hell.
Natasha hoisted the bag over her shoulder and made her way down the staircase toward the main exit of the nightclub. She was in such a rush, she hadn’t noticed the bartender until she’d already run smack-dab into his muscular chest.
“Whoa! Wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute. Where you headed in such a hurry?” Bobby’s slow, southern drawl reverberated in her ears.
“None of your fuckin’ business.” Natasha spat back at him as she pushed against his pecs to get him out of her way. “Now get your low-class, dirty-south-spewing ass out of my way.” She didn’t have time to deal with Mr. Southern Comfort. But obviously, he wasn’t about to be put off. He reached out with one, seriously-buff arm to stall her. It was more than enough to stop her dead in her tracks and block her access to the door that led out onto Seventh Avenue.
Natasha felt his tense muscles relent as their eyes met in an intense showdown. With that adorable boy-next-door grin, he said,
“Insults won’t hurt my feelings. You don’t have to tell me where you’re going, but the boss will sure as hell want to know about it.
From your fucked up attitude and that angry scowl on your face, I’d say you’re about to get yourself into a whole heap of trouble.” Natasha jerked away and sidestepped his enormous body.
Then she continued toward the exit, more convinced than ever that she had to get rid of Eva. The future of their coven depended on it.
But killing her would be a cop out. The man-stealing whore needed to pay a much steeper price. As she reached the door, she turned one last time and faced Bobby again.
“If he asks, tell Andreas that I went to finish the job he started.
He can rest assured, knowing that I’ll take care of his little problem in the most slow and painful way possible.” Natasha’s boss would be furious once he found out about her involvement in the huntress’s disappearance. But after a time, he’d realize that eviscerating that meddling wench in both spirit and flesh was in the best interest of their people. Too bad Natasha wouldn’t be there to see it. She’d be long gone before he ever caught wind of her plans.
Chapter Twenty
Rejection
The sun had begun to set on the horizon as Eva climbed into the elevator headed for the 32nd floor. Seamlessly, she’d been able to evade her bodyguards and make it to Andreas’s apartment building without detection. She knocked on the door and waited. But he didn’t answer. Impatience soon got the
best of her and she turned the knob.
To her surprise, she found it unlocked. Why would a vampire leave his front door unlocked?
Maybe one who’s expecting a certain woman to come and seduce him, she thought mischievously.
Tiptoeing her way through the apartment to his bedroom, she tried not to make a sound as she pushed open the double doors. She peered in from behind the thick mahogany and saw him sleeping in all his naked perfection in the center of the humungous bed. The black satin sheets were wrapped in a ball at the foot of the bed. The smoldering heat from Andreas’s body radiated throughout the room, bringing tiny spasms of excitement to life inside her. No wonder he’d pushed off the covers. The man was hot as hell even when he had all his clothes on. All of the sudden, Eva felt flushed. Hot. Her clothes cumbersome and suffocating. She lifted her sweater dress over her head, removed her ballet flats, and let her leggings fall to the floor.
No sense in prolonging the inevitable.
The mere sight of him made Eva cream in her panties. All sorts of naughty little thoughts edged their way to the surface. She glanced around the room and spotted two neckties hung from the coat rack to her left. Without a second thought, she snatched them up and walked toward the front of the bed. Sliding the first tie through a slat in the headboard, Eva wrapped it around his right wrist in an attempt to immobilize him. She felt his body stir a bit and stepped back in hesitation, keeping a close watch on his face to make sure he didn’t wake up. She certainly didn’t want to piss off a sleeping vampire. But after a few minutes, he seemed to settle back to sleep, and Eva took full advantage of the opportunity.
She crept around to the other side of the bed, and let her eyes wander away from his angelic facial features. Oh boy, was she glad she did! Eva drooled with anticipation as she caught a glimpse of Andreas’s rock-hard cock shoot straight up to the mirrored ceiling.
The lip-smacking length of him had her thrilled and intimidated all at the same time. Was he even asleep? Hell, she didn’t really give a damn. He’d be awake soon enough anyway.
Carefully, Eva tied his other wrist to the bedpost. She could have sworn she heard Andreas groan as the soft skin of her belly rubbed against his corded bicep. She tossed her white lace panty and bra set onto a nearby chair, the material too painful to bear any longer.
Before she could change her mind, she sat on top of Andreas, her thighs straddled across his narrow waist. She traced the fine hairs running down the middle of his six-pack abs. In painstaking slow motion, she sheathed herself over his shaft. She took him deeper into her body with each exquisite movement.
When she had herself seated to the hilt, she noticed his eyes open. They glowed red. Vampires often lose control in the midst of intense sexual stimulation. Andreas was no exception. He always went after what he wanted, whether it be his instinctual need for sustenance or his insatiable appetite for sex. It was one of the qualities she loved most about him. But at that moment, it was all about her body’s own urgent demands.
She rode him like a seasoned bull rider. The pace slow and languorous at first until her luscious, bare hips couldn’t hold back any longer. Eva’s control slipped. Her body undulated back and forth in wild abandon. She couldn’t get enough of him. She scrapped her fingernails down the center of his well-toned torso and drew blood.
And it excited her. But it ignited a fire in Andreas. His pelvis lifted clear off of the mattress as he struggled to remove the shackles Eva used to enslave him.
Eva felt the pressure building inside her. Like a tidal wave crashing against the shore, her orgasm rocked her lithe figure. The white, hot pleasure-pain reverberated throughout her body. It made her want to scream. Only, she couldn’t find her voice. Andrea’s cock started to throb, incessant pounding set fire to her womb. He jerked on the material that bound him to the bedpost and let out a monstrous roar as he broke free.
He used brute force to buck her off of him. Then he grabbed her by the neck and hurled her flailing body up into the air. With a loud thud, her back met the stiff plaster of the bedroom wall. Her legs dangled three feet off the ground while Andreas squeezed her throat and cut off precious oxygen to her lungs. Eva pleaded with her eyes.
She begged him to release her. But his crazed expression seemed impenetrable. Seconds ticked by.
He’s going to kill me! After everything they’d gone through together, he planned to end it like this?
Eva clawed at his wrist, trying with valiant bravery to break free of his strangling grip. He paid her no mind. A moment later, she changed tactics in a last-ditch effort to save her own life. She reached up to caress his cheek in adoration.
“Please. Don’t,” Eva sputtered. She couldn’t breathe. Still, deep inside she prayed he’d hear her plea and let go. He had to recognize the emotion seeping from her soul. The love for the man on the verge of destroying her. Then Andreas hesitated and his red orbs took on a more human appearance.
He released his hold on her neck and scurried across the room. His back was turned to her. as he sat hunched over in a ball and refused to meet her gaze.
“Run. Now. Before it’s too late!” Andreas shouted the commandment. She heard the despondency in his voice. A clear contradiction in terms. One second he tried to strangle the life out of her, and the next, he compelled her to flee in a last ditch effort to save herself.
Eva stood frozen in place. She couldn’t quite fit together the pieces of what had just transpired between them. Andreas had never shown any true aggression toward her, but the look he shot her in was nothing short of deadly. She didn’t know whether to try and comfort him or to run away as fast as she could. Listening to her heart was the only action she could truly justify.
“Baby. It’s okay. I’m okay,” Eva said as she stepped into his rigid body.
His pupils dilated. Their depths turned a terrifying black in color. She could see the gleaming white of his incisors emerging.
“Get the fuck out of my house, Eva!” Andreas’s fangs curled on the outside of his lips as if ready to attack. He pushed her away with a forceful shove. “I’ve had my fill. It’s over. You were just a fleeting distraction. Go home, pack your bags, and get the hell out of town before I change my mind and kill you!” Eva was a tough cookie. She could handle just about anything.
Except this. She sensed the tears well up in her eyes. She had just enough time to pick up her clothes and get dressed before she bolted toward the door. Once outside, the bustling sights and sounds of early-evening traffic on Madison Avenue hit her like a ton of bricks.
Her frantic steps echoed on the pavement, not quite sure where she intended to go. All she wanted to do was hide. Andreas’s rejection cut deeper than expected and along with the screech tires and the blare of car horns, she’d begun to feel a bit disoriented.
She crossed the busy street and headed toward the nearest alley in an effort to drown out the noise of the city. Rolling clouds and thunder appeared above her as darkness came over the horizon. The narrow passage Eva walked along was dreary and desolate. Her surroundings reflected the way she felt inside, tumultuous and alone.
How could he throw away the passionate connection they shared?
She’d felt it soul-deep and up until now, was absolutely positive he’d experienced the same life-altering connection.
Unable to comprehend Andreas’s discordant behavior, Eva kneeled against the grimy brick wall of an old manufacturing plant.
With her head in her hands, she wept like she hadn’t done in years.
She hadn’t felt this lost since the death of her parents more than a decade ago. Trapped in blinding despair, Eva didn’t hear the squeal of tires and failed to notice the unmarked, white van as it came to halt at the mouth of the alleyway. Before she had time to respond, four masked men in black grabbed her by her arms and legs. They dragged her into the back of the vehicle and sped away. If she wasn’t already dying from a broken heart, these bastards would surely do her in for good!
Chapter Twenty-One
Lost Love
Andreas dredged back and forth across the shared space between the living room and dining room and glanced at his cell phone every few seconds. He’d dialed Eva’s number eight times in the last thirty minutes and left her three messages. She must be ignoring him. Of course, he couldn’t blame her. He had no idea what he’d say to her even if she did call back. Still, he was desperate and needed to hear her beautiful, soothing voice to make things right.
Andreas’s memory remained foggy even as he fought to find his way through the cobwebs and uncover the truth of what had happened earlier that evening. One minute, he remembered Eva on top of him, rocking his world like no other woman ever had. In the next, the motion of her hypnotic gyrations seemed to suck the life right out of him. It felt as if she tried to steal his very soul. The sensation was equal parts erotic and excruciating all at the same time.
It may well have been the most intense sexual experience of his life.
That is, until he nearly strangled her to death.
An hour passed since Eva bolted out of his apartment. With tears in her eyes and black and blue marks forming on the smooth skin around her collarbone, Andreas could still picture the hurt and betrayal shone in her warm, brown eyes. His patience grew thin. He’d soon have no choice but to call Oliver and make sure she made it home safely. Her boss would be pissed. No doubt, Eva snuck away to be with him earlier. Otherwise, she would have been accompanied by her usual entourage of bodyguards. Nonetheless, getting her in trouble with Oliver was the least of his worries. The alternative scared the living shit out of him!
Andreas picked up the empty wine goblet set on the dining room table and squeezed. The fine crystal shattered into a thousand pieces. Anger and frustration reached its breaking point. What if his father had already caught up with her? He couldn’t even let himself think of that possibility. Loyalty to the coven and his family was non-negotiable. But protecting Eva now mattered more to him than his own life. He’d do anything to keep her safe. Even if it meant eliminating his father from the equation.
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