by Eve Newton
“What the fuck is going on?” I thunder at them as I find them dueling in the foyer. “This is not the 18th century and this floor cost a small fortune. If either of you fucking nicks it, I will kill you myself,” I yell at them.
A clash of swords is the only response I get.
Well, apparently, my little demonstration last night has been forgotten already, so I step in between them, hoping that both of these swords are weapons created that my armory recognizes. I put my hands up before they connect and grip them tightly. I get noticed now as I’m standing holding the business end of two swords sharp enough to cleave a man’s head from his shoulders.
“Get out of the way, Aefre,” CK says to me.
“Not likely. What is the meaning of this?”
Silence.
“Do not ignore me!” I roar at the two of them and pull the swords clean from their hands, twirling them skillfully so that the hilts are now in mine.
Xane looks startled at my actions but CK just looks smug as he knows my skill for swordsmanship.
“Your sire wasn’t happy that I made you feed, the Dragon way, last night,” Xane says, emphasizing the Dragon bit. “He wanted to teach me a thing or two about interfering,” he adds sarcastically. “I, however, did not become the Ruler of the Underworld by being a pushover.” He straightens up to his full height of six feet four inches after brushing off his jeans.
I turn to CK. “Was this really necessary?”
He shrugs. “I won’t let you lose yourself to the Demon,” he says, and I frown at the sense of déjà vu. Why do I feel like I’ve heard that before? “You are a Vampire. You will feed like one.”
Oh, will I? I raise my eyebrows at his commanding tone. A strange sense of calm comes over me. I am not going to choose a side and I am not going to fight or argue about this. “Both of you, follow me.” I hand the swords to Lincoln and walk over to my office. I usher them both inside and close the door quietly.
Expecting anger, CK looks at me warily as I serenely make my way over to my chair and sit. “Sit,” I gesture at them.
I have them both unnerved now as my temper has a reputation all of its own and here I am all calm and composed.
“Xane. I am a Vampire,” I start. CK looks smug. “Constantine, I am also a Dragon,” I add. He looks less amused now that I have called him by his full name. “I meant what I said last night about my own well-being coming before everyone else. I cannot do this; I cannot be everything I need to be if I am getting weak and hungry because I forget to drink human blood. So, if I remember to feed the Vampire way then all is good, if not I will feed the Dragon way. Simple as that. If I see you even look at each other funny again, I will cut you both off. I don’t have the time or the room for discord. Do I make myself clear?”
They both nod at me, so I say, “Very well. You may go now.” They both stand and I have a feeling of empowerment that I could get used to.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-THREE
A fter they leave, I spend time with Dawn and I ask her about Scott. She doesn’t say much, just blushes and I find it quite sweet. I then spend some time with Scott and ask him about Dawn. He doesn’t say much either, just blushes and now I am getting fed up. Just speak, people! I tell him to stay here at the house and to use the cars as his own. He is insistent that he doesn’t need to stay here, but I still have this feeling of dread and I would prefer him here when he isn’t at work.
So, after several hours of French lessons with Dawn and last minute instructions to Scott, where he hands me the deeds to Cassis, which I sign with a flourish, I head off to speak to Jess. I Astral into CK’s house, not bothered about being rude, since he does it to me all the time. I open the door to the room.
I duck just in time, as a vase comes flying at my head and I let it smash into the wall as it will cause her more satisfaction than if I just caught it. Nothing that can’t be replaced. Much like the rest of the room, I note the destruction.
“Stop fucking him!” she yells at me. “He is mine, he isn’t yours!” Another vase comes flying at my head. I step aside and let that one crash against the wall too.
“Jess. Sit down and shut up before I lose my temper.”
“Stop fucking him!” she yells at me again. She flies at me, claws and fangs drawn.
“Jess!” I say to her, striving for patience, as I grab her arm and twist it behind her back.
She struggles and tries to elbow me, but I push her across the room, losing my temper with her. She hits the wall and drops in a daze to the floor. I’m on her in a flash of Vampire speed, pinning her arms to the ground as I straddle her.
“Everything all right in here?” CK asks from the doorway.
“Nothing a little bitch slap won’t fix,” I growl.
“Want me to talk to her?”
“No, but you can speak to Devon. He isn’t listening to me.”
“You didn’t get through to him?” he asks, coming closer and sitting on the arm of the sofa, casually watching as Jess struggles helplessly underneath me.
“Sort of. He knows he has to do this, but he doesn’t fucking want to. I am done trying. I am not forcing him to take responsibility, so you need to talk to him.”
“Clearly, she also needs you to not flaunt your relationship with him in her face,” he says dryly.
“We weren’t flaunting it. She walked in on us in his room, and even then, we were just talking.”
“Naked in his bed?”
“Maybe,” I say, obstinate to a fault. “But he is mine, goddammit. She has no claim on him.”
Jess struggles underneath me, growling like a fiend.
“Aefre. Don’t you remember what it was like? What would you have done if at three days old you had found me naked in bed with someone else?”
Since when is he the voice of reason in these situations?
“Killed her,” I say forcefully. “In fact, even at a thousand and one years old, if I found you naked in bed with someone else, I would kill her,” I say with a sassy smile, which has him snickering.
“Now you know that isn’t going to happen,” he says but a small shadow passes over his face, which I don’t understand. “You, on the other hand, have multiple lovers all practically living under the same roof. You need to start being a bit more responsible,” he says with a raised brow.
“Fuck off,” I snarl. “Don’t talk to me about being responsible, attacking Xane like that, not to mention the attacks on Cole, these have not been your finest hours, my love.”
“Hm, I can’t argue with that. I can’t help it that they provoke me,” he says sullenly.
“Provoke you? This time last year you didn’t even know the meaning of the word. Unless you were dishing it out. What the Hell has changed with you?” I ask him suddenly, needing to know.
“You have changed me. Being together and talking about a future together, it has changed me. I am a better man,” he says loftily.
“Excuse me,” Jess snaps out of the blue. “Your little private conversation is kind of stepping on my rage here.”
I let out a loud laugh and let her go. “Back under control?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she says, rubbing her wrists. “Blood.”
“When was the last time?”
“Two hours ago,” she admits.
“No can do then.”
Her eyes flash and in the spirit of not wanting to tackle her again, I offer her my wrist. “Take mine.”
Her eyes light up but then narrow as she slides them hungrily across to my sire, “I’d rather have his.”
CK looks somewhere between pleased to be wanted but pissed off at her audacity. I slap her across the face a bit more forcefully than I should have and speak for him, “Look at him like that again and I will show you what rage really looks like.” She pales as she remembers what my rage potentially looks like – as in thirty feet tall and breathes fire – and takes my wrist. She feeds from me and pulls back. “Thanks,” she mumbles. “Can you let me up now?”
“Yes.”
I get off her and help her up, saying, “I know you are upset about this morning, but I will tell you this once and once only. Seeing Devon with me must’ve been a reality check, but my lovers are off-limits to you. Don’t try it again with any of them. If you want someone else, I can assure you there will be plenty of suitors for you once word gets out.”
I have caught her attention with that as she looks at me curiously. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you are a pretty girl. And smart, if your credentials are anything to go by. You come from the strongest Vampire bloodline and are a part of my family. Believe me, you won’t find it hard to attract attention.” She takes that in, and I wonder if maybe she will give herself up to her true nature sooner rather than later.
She looks at me shyly and then at CK, she whispers to me not wanting him to hear, but he can anyway, “Is Sebastian one of yours?”
I shake my head at her as I cast a quick glance at CK, who looks askance. “No.”
“Ahem.” CK clears his throat and Jess has the grace to look abashed when she realizes he overheard. “As fascinating as I find this reaction, Sebastian is also off-limits. He has other priorities at the moment.”
He does? I look at him questioningly, but he just stares back at me with that impassive look of his.
“Oh,” she looks despondent.
“Erm, CK. Can I have a word?” I pull him off to the side. “What the fuck? Do you know how rare this is? She is three days old and is already thinking of someone other than her sire. If she wants to be with Sebastian, why not let them have a crack?” I whisper to him.
“I am not pimping out my charge so you can get her attentions away from yours. And like I said, he has other things to attend to.”
“Like what? Vivienne?” I sneer in disgust. His eyes snap to mine at her name, full of caution, but when I look back at him the shutters fall back into place. “No. He is doing a job for me.”
“So why can’t he do that and this?”
“Who is to say he even finds her attractive? She is hardly his type.”
“You are so infuriating.”
“So are you, my sweet.”
I turn from him in a temper and sidle back over to Jess. “We leave for Toronto in about three hours. Will you be okay for a while?”
“In here?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Don’t suppose I have much choice,” she says, resigned.
“We will talk on the jet about the job. I need you clearheaded.”
“I will be,” she heaves a big sigh. “I see how you are with Devon and Cole and I see how your own sire is with you. I know I don’t have that with Devon, and I know I probably never will. I’m open to any suggestions you have on getting me back to normal. I hate this feeling of being so dependent and out of control. It’s not natural for me.”
I glance at CK over the top of her bowed head and again he is as surprised by her acceptance as I am.
“For now, we will start with the job and, getting back to dancing will also help you, I think. It is regimented and disciplined.”
She nods. “I’m tired. I will see you later.” She slinks off to the bedroom and I turn to CK.
“This is…bizarre.”
“But what you wanted. You always get what you want.” He takes my hand as I walk past him and lead him out of the room. I close the door. “Not always,” I mutter.
“If you are talking about me, you have me. You always have,” he says quietly.
I smile sadly at him, not wanting to point out that we aren’t actually together in the way that I want. “Can I swim?”
“Of course,” he says and leads me to the pool room. “Do you want to be alone?”
I look at him curiously. “No, why do you ask?”
“It is going to be a busy time, these next few weeks. You won’t get much time to yourself.” A shiver goes down my spine at his words and I rub the back of my neck. Why do they sound so menacing?
“Since when did that ever stop you from spending time with me?” I ask him.
“Never,” he says with an almost sad smile. “I will join you in a minute. I have something that needs addressing first.”
“Whatever.” I shrug and change into a bikini. I lower myself in and float on my back for a few minutes.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR
“G roundhog Day,” Sebastian says from above me.
“What?” I ask, lifting my head out of the water.
“Groundhog Day. You know, the movie where Bill Murray repeats the same day over and over.”
“Yes, I know, but why do you say that?”
“Isn’t this exactly how I found you yesterday?”
Oh. “I suppose so. But this will end differently. CK is joining me any minute now.”
He comes to sit on the side of the pool and dangles his feet in the water, I float off in the opposite direction and ask him, “Do you find Jess attractive?”
He looks startled. “She’s okay, why?”
“Just okay?” I press.
“Yeah, she’s pretty in an obvious kind of way. Hadn’t given it that much thought.”
“You don’t like obvious beauty?”
“Obviously, I do,” he leers at me. “But as you know, green-eyed blondes are more my thing.”
“And yet you find Xerxei attractive,” I point out.
“She is gorgeous. You are gorgeous, as her. Where are you going with this?”
“Nowhere very far apparently,” I mutter. “What is it about her that you find so gorgeous?” I ask suddenly, standing with my hands on my hips.
“Feeling a bit undervalued in your natural form, are you?” he asks sympathetically.
“Maybe?” I say reluctantly.
“I can assure you, Queenie, you are stunningly beautiful as you are. I am partial to Xerxei as she is a version of you that is kickass. Hardcore. I like that. And she has big tits,” he says.
“Oh,” I say, crossing my arms over my small, pert breasts.
“Don’t hide yourself. If I had a choice, I would choose you as you are,” he says softly. “As it is though, I don’t have one, so I get to have neither of you.” He shrugs. “Why does my opinion matter to you?”
Good question. “I don’t know, in all honesty. Somehow I was asking about Jess and ended up talking about me.”
“That tends to happen a lot,” he says wryly. “Conversations just seem to drift back to you.”
“Hey,” I snap. It’s one thing to admit to being vain but another to have it pointed out to you.
“Not only by you,” he laughs, “but by everyone.”
I peer over his shoulder. “CK should have been back by now.” I frown.
“I’m sure he will be along shortly. He isn’t one to pass up the opportunity to see you half naked and wet.”
“Humph,” I grump as I pull myself out of the pool and sit next to him.
“Liv?” he asks me.
“Yes?” I turn to him as he doesn’t say anything else. He takes my chin in his hand and focuses on my eyes intently. He kisses me, pulling me to him. He murmurs against my lips and my mind goes blank. I pull away from him, “Sebastian, stop. He isn’t supposed to know about us. I don’t want him walking in and finding us kissing.”
“I can’t help myself,” he says.
“Well, try. If you want to get your rocks off, go seduce Jess.”
“What? Why would you ask me to do that?”
“She fancies you. That is where I have been going with this.”
“She is a newbie. All about sire adoration, it will be a waste of time,” he scoffs.
“Not in this case.” I explain my findings to him.
“I have heard of this happening once or twice, when there is no bond on the sire’s side. They pull away a lot quicker. Although three days is unheard of.”
“Just show her some attention.”
“What’s in i
t for me?” he asks with a sidelong glance.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I say.
“Oh? How so?”
I shrug. “Maybe Xerxei will make an appearance next time you want to feed. Although, when I am her, I have no fangs, so I can’t feed from you, as her.”
“No, but you could Shift back to Liv at that point.”
“I could.”
“Deal. But I may want to touch you,” he murmurs as his gaze drops to my breasts for a moment.
I stare into his green eyes and drop my own gaze to his mouth and back up again. Oh, gods, I want him right now and not just in a feeding sense.
“Am I interrupting something?” CK asks, joining us finally and I pull my gaze away from Sebastian.
“No, glad you finally came back. I want you,” I say.
“Oh, really? Is that any way to ask a gentleman for his attentions?” he says as he plops himself down on my other side.
“No, but you are no gentleman,” I say smartly.
“I’ll allow that to stand as when I am around you, I just want to ravage you,” he murmurs as he kisses me.
“I guess that is my cue to leave,” Sebastian says and we both wave him off, not breaking our kiss.
CK pulls me onto his lap, and I lean back causing us both to fall into the pool with a splash. We come up spluttering and laughing and he grabs me by the waist, the water dripping off him. I run my hands through his wet hair.
“Say it,” he requests.
I stay silent, biting my lip, wanting him to ask me again. I find this need for validation quite sexy on him. He really has changed so much in these last seven months.
“Say it,” he demands as he squeezes me tighter around the waist. I put my hands on his and scrape my fingers over his ring, which to my surprise, is still on his left hand. “So. Fucking. Sexy,” I say slowly. He glows under my compliment.
“Why is this still here?” I ask him, bringing his hand up and kissing his ring. He closes his fingers over mine.
“I like the feel of it there,” he replies softly. “And, I like the statement it makes.”
“Which would be what? I ask, wanting him to say it.