by Eve Newton
“So, Aefre,” CK starts. “Would you care to inform us of any new developments on the Hunter front?”
Funny, he asks it as a question, but it is more like a statement. I shrug, “Nothing you don’t already know.”
“Don’t be evasive, my love. I am sure he has contacted you again.” He says it in a way that makes me think he already knows.
“I may have spoken to him again,” I say, avoiding his intense glare. “I also may have told him that if I see him again, I’m going to kill him.”
That catches all of their attention, as I am very much the pacifist of the bunch. Three sets of eyes bore into me and I look to Lincoln for help out of this conversation. No way am I admitting that Cade wants to meet me in private and that I am actually going to go.
“May we ask what brought on that sudden change of heart?” CK asks before Lincoln gets a word in.
“I am tired of these games. Look, I don’t want to talk about it right now. I need to think about it some more,” I say.
“What is there to think about?” Sebastian asks. “Point him out and I’ll do it myself if you don’t want to.”
“That won’t be necessary, but thanks,” I say looking away. There is just something bothering me about all of this. He has had every opportunity to show me he means business by picking on the people I love, but he hasn’t. Okay, granted Devon is in L.A. now and he thinks Cole is human and, well, anybody dumb enough to pick a fight with CK deserves what’s coming to them, but it is still niggling at me. It is poking at me and I have to know why. I have to know what he wants.
I catch Lincoln’s eye again.
He sees that I don’t want to talk about this anymore. “So, Demons? This should be fun,” Lincoln says, changing the subject. “Can’t say I’m not worried though,” he adds with a frown. “I don’t know much about them.”
“Don’t be. It’ll be fine,” I say.
CK glares at me about the change in subject and says rudely, “Humph, you should be.”
I turn to look at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, please, Aefre. I have eyes. Our Demon friend falls most definitely into the category of ‘your type.’”
Lincoln raises his brows. “Let me guess. Tall, dark-haired and blue-eyed?”
Sebastian snickers as I turn my baleful glare on Lincoln. He smiles at me and says, “I also have eyes and while they may not be blue, they work just fine.”
Even CK snickers at that.
“I see. Seems you all have me pegged. And while no, your eyes may not be blue, Linc, they are the prettiest eyes I ever did see.” I bat my own at him and he blushes as expected.
He clears his throat and says, “Speaking of types. It seems there is someone else on the plane with one.” He looks pointedly between Sebastian and me.
We chuckle, and look at said someone, who looks baffled. “Who, me?” CK asks. “I don’t think I have a type. One cannot be choosy when it comes to siring a race,” he adds haughtily.
“Oh, sure. You are an equal opportunities creator most definitely,” Sebastian says sarcastically. “Pretty sure green-eyed blondes are your thing.”
CK turns his furious gaze to Sebastian, who just looks mildly back, and I pounce.
“Oh? Elaborate.”
“Have you not noticed that every Feeder he has is a green-eyed blonde?” Sebastian asks me.
Erm, come the fuck again?
I turn slowly to CK. He looks like he is about to stake Sebastian.
“It’s not what you think,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Look-a-likes aside, I’m only thinking that I can’t remember the last time I saw you feed on a human. So much so, I’d have thought that you don’t.”
He looks slightly relieved that I’m not pressing the look-a-likes issue and says, “Of course I feed on humans. I am a Vampire. I just prefer to do it in private.”
Like everything else then, I think grimly.
“Yeah, you know why? I mean that one that came last night was smoking hot,” Sebastian chuckles.
A stab of jealousy shoots through me as I stare at Constantine.
“Oh?” I croak out.
“Jealous?” Lincoln asks slyly. “That’s a bit hypocritical.”
“Yes, while she won’t admit it, Aefre can be the world’s biggest hypocrite,” CK says smartly and I want to punch him.
“I think a bit of jealousy isn’t unfounded here. I am well aware of the effect you have on women, Constantine. I have no doubt that you drop your fangs and they drop their knickers. At least I don’t fuck my Feeders, nor do I intend to sire them.” My anger is firing on all cylinders, and I know I’m being completely irrational.
He looks at me, surprised. “And I do? For your information, it has been many years since I sired someone.”
“Many years? Many years?” I yell at him and stand up. “You know what? I am a hypocrite. I am a big, fat hypocrite and I am wildly jealous. Jealous of everyone you feed from and everyone you’ve sired. Especially those that you sired after me,” I snarl at him. All three of them look at me like I have taken leave of my senses – which, to be fair, I think I may have. I have shown him my card. Not just him, but all of them. I can’t think of a single reason why I would do that.
Through my haze of pure rage, I have but one coherent thought: Hunter blood. I can feel the burn of it coursing through me and I want to rip out my veins to get rid of the fire, to get rid of the rage and to take back everything I just said. I turn on my heel, seeing Phil and Ty gaping at me. I curse myself and that damn Cade and stomp off to the bedroom slamming the door behind me, humiliated beyond belief.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE
Sebastian is the one who finds me. I am curled up in the corner, bloody from the gashes I’m inflicting upon myself, trying to get rid of the feeling that Cade’s blood is causing.
“Liv, sweetie. Stop that.” He pulls my hands away and the wounds heal but the blood remains, staining my arms and legs. “Is everything okay?” he asks, somewhat unnecessarily as clearly everything is not okay.
I shake my head. “No. Why would I say that to him? In front of all of you? Fuck. He must think I’m some sort of freak.” I drop my head into my hands.
“Quite the opposite. He’s trying not to show it, but he couldn’t be more pleased if you told him you were leaving Cole and running away with him,” he says wryly.
I look up at him. “He’s not upset with me?”
“Christ, no. He’s thrilled. Between you and me, I know exactly how you feel,” he says casually.
“Oh?” I ask, interested.
“I, too, get jealous. Especially of you,” he says shyly.
“Me?”
He nods. “Yes, you. You have something with him that I will never have. He is in love with only you and he only wants you. No, not wants. Needs. The rest of us were a means to an end, but you he needs to be complete. You are his whole reason for being. He sees you as the only reason he was chosen to be what he is.” He pauses and says, “Besides, I know most of his charges, I can assure you: you have nothing to be jealous of.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I know him better than he knows himself sometimes. Don’t be worried. You have no need. I was only teasing about what I said about his Feeders. He bites, they go. He doesn’t even speak to them. They deal with Nico. As far as he is concerned, they are food and that is it.”
Sensing an opportunity that will probably never come up again as long as I live, I hesitantly ask, “What about his other needs?”
Sebastian eyes me warily. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
“That is something you should ask him.”
“He won’t tell me. Please, Sebastian, if you know something tell me.”
He sighs and says, “He doesn’t have other lovers. He isn’t interested. He has never been short of admirers, but he rebuffs them all now.”
“That isn’t what I asked,”
I say, but it’s nice to know he was telling me the truth about that.
“I know what you are asking, and I am telling you that he doesn’t have anyone else in his life except you.”
“But what of his…need?” I press, wanting a direct answer.
“Liv. Please stop with the questions. I have told you everything you need to know.” He stands and pulls me up with him. “Are you calmer now?”
“Yes. It’s Cade’s blood making me crazy.”
“Cade? The Hunter?” he snaps.
I nod. “CK knows I drank from him, but he doesn’t know the side effects. Well, I suppose he does now. How else am I going to explain my outburst?”
“Outrage, more like. Is it something we should be concerned about?” he asks. I smile at his use of ‘we.’
“No. I will get the rage under control – just like everything else.”
“Are you sure? You look a bit of a mess.”
I look down at myself. That I do. I sigh, back to the shower then.
“I’m finding it quite distracting. You smell divine,” he leers at me. “Just one quick bite. No one will know,” he says seriously, quietly.
“Ahem,” CK says, pushing the door open. “I will know.”
Sebastian sighs. “Why won’t you share her with me now?”
“It’s not my rule,” he says and shrugs as it so easily lets him off the hook.
And what’s with the ‘now’?
“It’s not Cole’s either,” I say, not wanting to let him off that easily after his fiddle comment before.
He glares at me. I glare back. “The rule is ‘no fucking.’ Not ‘no feeding’,” I say.
Sebastian looks at me with glee and takes a step forward as does CK.
“One will lead to another,” he says angrily. “It is impossible to resist you.”
I smile inwardly at his admission.
“I’m finding her impossible to resist covered in her blood as she is,” Sebastian says as his fangs drop, and he moves behind me in a flash of Vampire speed. “I promise, no fucking,” he murmurs before he sinks his fangs into my neck with a groan of pleasure. He suckles slowly for the maximum benefit and I gasp as I reach up to hold the back of his head.
Encouraged, he snakes his arms around me and drinks deeper. I’m about to lose myself in him, when CK takes my hand and, expecting him to drag me forcibly away from Sebastian, I’m stunned when he laces his fingers through mine, bringing my wrist up to his mouth.
Holy crap! I feel a rush go through me, an almost physical bond pulling us closer together. They must feel it too, as they both step even closer to me.
Stop! My brain is yelling at me. For fuck's sake, stop! Cole! Cole!
But I can’t. I can’t, but more importantly, I don’t want to.
“Step back,” Lincoln growls from the doorway, rescuing me from making this huge mistake.
I’m both grateful and resentful of his interference.
Sebastian releases me first. “Shit,” he says. “Another couple of seconds and I would have sacked off the ‘no fucking’ rule.”
CK releases me then, the hunger in his eyes palpable. “Leave us,” he says huskily as he draws me closer and without waiting for them to leave, plunges his tongue into my mouth, coating my tongue with my own blood.
Sebastian hesitates but Lincoln pulls him from the room and shuts the door.
CK pushes me back against the wall. “You are intoxicating,” he murmurs. “Tell me later why you did this to yourself.” He kisses me again and lifts me up, pushing his hands under my dress. Ripping my knickers from me with a quick yank, he pushes his thumb onto my clit.
Oh, the gods, I have missed his touch. I cry out as he moves his fingers into me. I fumble to get his cock free and as soon as I do, he thrusts himself into me. Careful not to use too much strength against the sides of the jet – wouldn’t do us well to create a gaping hole – he pounds into me and it doesn’t take me long to thud against him. He follows quickly, shooting his load into my slick pussy.
“Christ, Aefre. I never want to let you go,” he says quietly in my ear.
“Then don’t,” I whisper back and everyone else is forgotten except for him.
Several hours later, we are called to land in Vegas and we grudgingly get out of bed. CK unfortunately remembers his questions so, with a heated exchange over the reason for the smeared blood on my limbs, plus my irrational jealousy and rage, we eventually both squash ourselves into the tiny shower, still arguing about Cade. I remind him that I plan on killing the Hunter and it goes someway to appeasing my bloodthirsty sire.
Dressed and ready to re-enter the Main Cabin, we stroll in, loved up in our smug love bubble that we seem to have adopted. We buckle up and await landing. No one says much as we land at McCarran and I, as ever, am the first to get off the jet once we hit the tarmac, followed closely by CK and Lincoln.
My eyes land on the car in front of us.
“My Veyron,” I squeal excitedly, rushing towards it.
Stunned when Lincoln holds me back, I flinch when Devon climbs out. “He’s here to have your back, that’s it,” he says quietly.
I glance longingly at Devon, but he completely ignores me and throws the keys to Lincoln instead. He reaches down to drag a girl out of the passenger side by her elbow.
My blood runs cold as I realize this must be that Jess bitch. He drove her up here in my car. My pride and joy is now tainted by her presence. I thought she was nothing to him. Cole said she was nothing. Fuck him! Devon, that is. Not Cole. I’m furious with him and even though he hasn’t even looked at me yet, he knows it. I can feel his pain radiating off him in waves. All I want to do now is run to him, but Lincoln stops me before I can.
“Leave it,” he says and hands me the keys.
I glower at the pair of them as they make their way to the waiting limo. She fucking well looks like me! Or at least, she looks like Elizabeth. I could fucking kill her, and then him for substituting me. I step forward but it’s CK who pulls me back now. “Leave it,” he also says. “You know you can’t force him.”
I look at him with such sadness, but I feel his own pain at the memories of me leaving him and I do leave it. For now.
Feigning nonchalance, I say, “Can I drive you?”
“Sure.” We are both acutely aware that in the hundred plus years since cars were invented, I have never driven him anywhere. I am thrilled to have my Veyron back. Walking and being driven has its perks, but nothing beats the thrill of driving a machine like this one. I try my best to ignore Devon as I climb into the Bugatti. Lincoln gives me a quick kiss. “See you at the hotel.”
I nod and fire up the engine as CK climbs in. Phil and Ty jump into the massive black SUV behind us and I relax a tiny bit, glad that my car only has two seats.
“I like this,” I smirk at him and he chuckles.
“Considering the amount of years we’ve known each other, it’s surprising the little things we haven’t ever done together,” I comment.
His eyes flash. “Hm, indeed.” He smiles ‘my’ smile at me. He is happy and relaxed and now is as good a time as any to poke the bear.
“Erm,” I start. “After the whole Gustav situation, I have to say I am most unhappy with your threat against Cole,” I say as I slam the accelerator down and roar past the limo out of the airport, taking great delight in leaving the SUV in my dust.
He glances at me. “Yes, I can see why.” But that is all he says.
“Fine. Well, I want another revision. I think it is quite clear that I love you and I will carry on with our two days a week. But I want you to lift the threat off Cole. He is my charge and my husband and I love him. I think you know by now I will do anything to keep him safe, but in reality, you don’t need to threaten me into being with you. I will come to you because I want to. I don’t want you to think that you are somehow forcing me into this.”
Silence.
I wait for him to speak, which he doesn’t for a long time.
“I
see why you would think that. But I don’t see it that way.”
“No?”
“No. I would never intentionally force you into anything, Aefre. I want you and I will do anything to ensure that. Maybe my methods of late have been crass, but it is only so you know I am serious. So, you know that I want you and that I would do anything to be with you.”
“I get that,” I say quietly, “But there will be no more threats against Cole. I will not have you scaring him into thinking he is going to end up in a dungeon, separated from me for an eternity.” I am beyond forceful as I say that, and he has the grace to look abashed.
“I would never do that to you, Aefre.”
“No, but you would make me think you would and it’s not acceptable.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I realize after seeing you the other day…it was wrong of me; I won’t make the threat again. I have so many charges. I am not emotionally attached. It was a necessity, something we had to do to thrive as a race. I have sired so many Vampires, Aefre, I can’t even keep count. You wonder why it was so easy for me to dismiss Polly? It’s because I had no feelings for her, or any of them. You say you are jealous but there is no need.” He sighs and even though he’s trying to make me feel better, he really isn’t. “I see it’s different for you. I understand it. You do it out of love, or at least for the most part,” he adds with a sidelong glance at me. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You don’t love your charges?” I ask somewhat hesitantly.
“You. I love you. I love Sebastian. He’s the first. I loved Lance. A long time ago, before he took you, I loved him. I hold a deep affection for Dmitri, for everything he did for you, but I don’t feel much for the others,” he says quietly.
“What? Not any of the others?” I ask.
He shakes his head, face stone cold.
Wow, this is pretty shocking. I mean, I know I have been heartless in turning in the past during my ‘evil’ years, but since Lance took me, I have never sired without love, or at least something akin to love.
“I think Devon might sire that girl he is with,” I say, eyes on the road.