His Dark Embrace

by Verika Sloane

  “A boat ride?”

  “Exactly,” he said sardonically.

  “Whose boat?”

  “Mine, of course.”

  His? “You have a boat? Since when?”

  He looked at her, as if he’d just remembered something. “I bought one. And took a lesson. You and I were going to go on a midnight picnic. It was going to be a surprise.”

  What? He did all that…for her? “Oh, Shain. I would’ve loved that.”

  His mouth half-lifted. “I wanted to create your day at the lake, at night.”

  All because she’d made one wistful remark.

  “But instead of you with me, it was Tanaka, telling me not to bother ‘courting’ him like I’d planned.”

  She couldn’t believe her ears. “He rejected you? Just like that?”

  “Not quite. He presented me with a challenge. A nearly impossible one—”

  Just then, introduction music sounded, and a drag queen waltzed out to the microphone, flapping her hands as the applause roared.

  “Stop! You’re too much! Too much.” The clapping died down, and she made a face. “Okay, you can start again. Not enough. Gimme some more.”

  Laughter all around and the clapping increased.

  But Kimber was too curious to pay full attention yet. She leaned in, resting a hand on Shain’s thigh. “What challenge?”

  He took his eyes off the stage, softly smiling at the jokes the hostess was cracking. “Don’t worry about it. The alliance isn’t happening.”

  She refused to believe that. “I still want to know,” she whispered fiercely over the noise.

  Shain joined the rest of the patrons by clapping after the hostess sashayed off the stage, cracking a joke about bringing out the first comedian if he wasn’t still in the closet.

  “Shain. Tell me.”

  Keeping his eyes on the stage, he spoke out of the side of his mouth, loud enough for only her to hear. “He challenged me to find something ‘rare and different’ for him to experience. You can imagine how easy that’ll be with someone almost a thousand years old.”

  The server set down their drinks. Kimber straightened, musing over the challenge, then took a sip of her rum and Coke. A rare or different experience? Other than death, what could that be for a man like Tanaka?

  Their surroundings didn’t allow for more pondering, as the comedian came out. Some of his jokes were on the line of insensitive and very unpolitically correct, but even Shain looked amused at most of the older man’s quips, and Kimber was sure he needed this mental vacation.

  Once the first comedian’s set was over, there was another, followed by an intermission before the main act would be out.

  The drag queen, named Gloria, walked out in another sequin dress. Because the drinks were served strong, and the laughs were nonstop, the crowd cheered even louder for her this time.

  “Oh, really?” Gloria cooed, hands on her hips. “Well, if you love me that much, then buy me things, darlings. Make my man jealous.” She feigned shock at the uproar of laughter. “What? Once he knows how popular I am, he might finally let me borrow his bike. His BMX, that is; he’s only twenty-one and broke as hell.”

  Kimber laughed, shaking her head, when she noticed Shain gazing at her with a smile. “What?”

  “Thank you, Kimber. For tonight.”

  She stared at him, so handsome, even in a velour suit, before smiling back. “You’re welcome.”

  “I heard you and Sasha enjoyed each other’s company for a good two hours.”

  Did his whilling say more than she said she would? “I didn’t think you’d have a problem with it.”

  “Of course not. I trust her a great deal. And I’m glad you two spent some time together. Now you know she isn’t just a pulsing jugular, she’s a lovely woman with a yoga business.”

  She rolled her eyes in mockery. “You don’t have to point out my ignorance every time—”

  A feminine voiced interrupted them. “Trevyn? No. Shain Trevyn, is that you?”

  Shain’s eyes suddenly betrayed something Kimber had never seen in them before: worry.

  A woman approached their table, dressed in high-waisted black pants, a black blouse unbuttoned low, and a long pearl necklace to her navel. Her short blonde hair was cut in a severe way, short on the sides and longer on top, giving her a businesslike, edgy look to contrast her chic clothes.

  Human. Thank God.

  Even so, Shain was, at the very least, uncomfortable.

  He stood and pressed a cheek to hers. “Raquel. This is unexpected.”

  “I’ll say! This neighborhood? You slumming it?”

  “I could ask you the same,” he diverted, sitting back down.

  “Well. It’s up and coming.” She flipped a hand, then set it on her hip. “I’m the owner.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I kid you not, monsieur. I bought it a month ago. How long has it been since we last spoke? A year?”

  “Seems about right.”

  “You haven’t aged a bit.” She laughed.

  Kimber’s heart pounded under her furry crop top.

  Out of all the places she could’ve chosen, she had to pick one that was owned by a woman well-acquainted with Shain. Because of her joke, it was safe to assume Raquel was UA.

  Shain remained nonplussed. At least on the outside. “Comedy clubs don’t seem like your brand, Raquel.”

  “Oh, I have grand plans for this place. The building is shit, but the rent is cheap. We’re showcasing a burlesque show Friday through Sunday, dark on Mondays and Tuesdays, comedy with queens on Wednesdays. We have a lot of work to do, but it’s just a little side project for me since Giles is busy with the Chicago high-rise…” She shook her head, still baffled by the encounter, gesturing with her hand. “Seriously though, what are you wearing?”

  By the look on Shain’s face, he didn’t have a ready answer. “I…”

  “He lost a bet,” Kimber filled in for him, drawing the woman’s attention to her, even though she preferred being ignored, as she had been so far. “I felt bad, so I joined him.”

  Raquel looked at Kimber, pressing a hand to her chest, hunching her shoulders forward before letting out a laugh. “Shain Trevyn? Losing a bet? Oh, I’d like to know what that wager was.” She giggled, then sighed with exaggeration. “Well, it’s obvious part of his game is to let you think he lost, when he’s really going to be the one winning in the end. Mark my words.” She winked at Kimber, then leaned a hand on the table and set her gaze back to Shain. “Anyway, have you heard from Amara lately?”

  Shain reached for his drink, shaking his head. “Not recently.”

  Raquel’s eyes flicked from him to Kimber, as if waiting for one of them to give away the answers to the questions she couldn’t ask. “Hm. I just talked to her a few days ago. I will tell her you’re not so above us that you aren’t willing to publicly humiliate yourself in the spirit of a gamble. She’s going to scream with laughter when I tell her you’re wearing an honest-to-God tracksuit. With a gold necklace to boot!” She shooed her hand. “Anyway, must go. De toute façon, have fun. The next round is on moi. Leave the place a good review, would you? Lovely to see you!”

  As soon as she was out of earshot, Kimber leaned in. “Let’s go.”

  Shain watched Raquel for a few seconds, expressionless, taking a sip of his whiskey. “Not yet. If we dash out now, it’ll only draw more attention to us.”

  Why did this have to happen? “I’m so sorry.”

  He continued to look elsewhere. “This was just bad luck.”

  Rotten, putrid, spoiled luck. Despite Shain’s coolness, she wanted the hell out of there. Paranoia set in, blasting away Kimber’s good mood.

  Shain touched her knee, and she jerked.

  He looked into her eyes. “Everything’s fine.”

  “How can it be fine? Someone who knows you has seen us now.”

  “A human. And notice how she was so focused on my clothes she didn’t bother to ask for yo
ur name or how we knew each other.”

  True. “I wonder why?”

  “Because who you are isn’t nearly as interesting as finding me in this hole-in-the-wall, looking the way I do, with someone new.”

  Speaking of… “Who’s Amara?”

  His hand slid away from her knee and reluctantly replied. “An old lover.”

  “Then why did Raquel make it seem you’d been caught cheating?”

  Shain didn’t meet her eyes. “It’s…complicated.”

  Complicated? Oh, that was all she needed, to be the “other woman” and risk having a vampiress on the warpath once she found out about Kimber. And she would find out. Raquel would—without a doubt—tell this Amara about the blonde in the yeti shirt.

  “Let me explain,” he said, sensing her trepidation.

  “I don’t need an explanation, let alone a complicated one.”

  “I’ll keep it simple, then. I just meant that my past with Amara is—was—complicated. We were off and on for a while, I even wanted to avow her at one time. But that was long ago. It’s over. It’s been over.”

  Avoiding his gaze took effort.

  “Amara and I have never really been involved, Kimber. Not romantically. Not in the way you’re assuming. We were lovers when it was convenient, and I care about her, but we have no claims on one another. Raquel can tell her whatever she likes, but it won’t mean anything to Amara to hear I’m out with another woman. She’s never cared before and she won’t now. I’m positive she’s had a slew of lovers this summer in Madrid, and I couldn’t care less.”

  “Spain. Good. So I don’t have to worry about a jealous vampiress ripping out my throat anytime soon?”

  “Kimber…”

  The plea in his voice was unbearable to ignore. She looked up. “What?”

  “You’ll be long gone by the time she returns to Atlanta. Regardless, I’ll protect you. You have nothing to fear.”

  “Yes, I do,” she said softly. “I have everything to fear when I’m with you.”

  Shain appeared at a loss for words.

  Because my heart says so. I’m falling in love with you. How did that happen? How could I let it? The only thing I should do is end this. “This is the second time we’ve run into someone who knows you. We can’t meet at a café and we can’t go to a dive-bar comedy show. And now your friend is going to blab to God knows how many vamps, making it more impossible for us to go anywhere together.”

  “I’m telling you, it’s not a big deal.”

  “It is to me.” She looked away from him, seeking the indifference he felt.

  Shain stared at her while she finished her drink.

  The glass sat empty for only three seconds before the server replaced it with a new one.

  Shain looked up. “Let Ms. Raquel know I need to speak to her in private, please,” he said to the young man, who gave a nod.

  He threw back his whiskey and stood.

  “What are you doing?” Kimber asked.

  He pulled out his wallet and left some bills on the table. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

  She watched him zigzag between the tables until he disappeared through a door next to the stage.

  Wait a second. He wouldn’t hurt or threaten the owner, would he?

  Of course not, she thought.

  Right?

  She gulped more rum and Coke, her anxiety climbing to an unbearable level.

  After what felt like too long, unable to stand the suspense, Kimber got up from her seat and followed the path Shain had taken. A dizziness swirled her eyes for a moment with her buzz setting in. Nya urged her to sit back down, but she shook her off. No one stopped her as she pushed through the door that led to a hallway. Farther down and to the left was a door with a faded “Manager” sign. She hesitated until Nya perked up.

  She pushed the door to look in and heard a faucet running.

  Her eyes widened to see Raquel on the sofa, pale, eyes closed, two puncture wounds in her neck slowly closing before Kimber’s eyes.

  “Kimber?” Shain called.

  Her mouth dropped open. He had attacked Raquel?

  The faucet was turned off, and he emerged from the washroom, drying his hands, a smear of blood on his chin.

  Horrified, Kimber didn’t know how to react.

  Warnings she’d been given in the past spun her reasoning.

  Never let a vampire fool you to thinking they are anything less than the bloodsick creatures they are. They won’t hesitate to kill what they can’t control.

  A vampire killed one of our own today. A mother of three.

  Their entire existence is to cause everyone pain. That’s their ultimate pleasure. Never forget it.

  It was too much to stand there. She needed air. She needed space.

  Nya whined in heartbreak. Run.

  So, she did.

  Shain’s voice followed her down the hall. “Kimber! Wait!”

  The nearest exit was at the end. She threw the door open and rushed down the alley to the street. She blindly turned left and kept going, knowing Shain was somewhere behind her. The pedestrian walk ahead changed to the flashing stop-hand signal, but she ignored it and crossed. A car slammed on its brakes, the driver laying hard on the horn. Kimber gasped, slamming her palms on the hood.

  She scrambled away to the next block while the driver cursed at her. For a second, she looked back and saw a worried Shain standing on the other side of the crosswalk, unable to give chase with the traffic, calling for her.

  Nya wailed to stop; it didn’t feel right leaving him. But Kimber found herself confused, irrational, and sick. Everything her family told her about vampires coming to the forefront. Kimber rushed inside a tall, abandoned building with the windows broken in, the graffiti on the walls muted in the dark.

  She pressed her back to a wall, raising her face, inhaling a powerful breath, exhaling a shaky one. Now that the adrenaline lessened its power, her knees decided it was a good time to get weak, and she slid to the ground.

  “Please, talk to me.” Shain’s voice broke from the darkness, and pigeons from somewhere above took flight.

  Kimber climbed back to her feet with the back of her hands on the wall.

  “I did what I had to,” he said.

  Darting her eyes left, right, upward, she couldn’t pinpoint where he was. “How badly is she hurt?”

  A pause. “What?”

  “Or is she dead?”

  Shain materialized from the pitch blackness, stopping when the streetlight illuminated him enough for her to see him. “I didn’t hurt her, let alone kill her. By the gods, you thought…? Kimber, she’s fine. I swear.”

  “You…she didn’t look fine.”

  “I had to bite her, so I could erase her short-term memory. That’s all. I didn’t want you to worry about her gossiping.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I had to be quick, therefore I was sloppier than usual. But I can assure you, she’s alive and okay.” The next thing Kimber saw was the glow of his cell phone. He held it up. “I can prove it to you. Or you can go back to the club and see for yourself.”

  The fact her mind had gone all the way to murder, which was lengths from the truth, mortified Kimber. “You…you could’ve been caught.”

  “I was willing to take that chance to put your mind at ease.”

  Kimber despaired between the relief of the facts…and the chagrin that she’d run like a frightened, ignorant coward. A memory wipe. Of course. She’d forgotten vampires had that ability with humans.

  The sound of a line ringing filled the empty space. Shain put the call on speaker.

  “Trevyn! You scoundrel!” Raquel’s voice bounced off the concrete walls. “Can you believe I was just thinking of you?”

  Shain didn’t move. “Raquel. How are you?” he asked.

  “Oh, monsieur, how sweet of you to reach me. I bought a club. Did you hear? Just a fun little project since Giles is in Chicago…” While Raquel went on with the same spiel she’d given them less than half an hour
ago, Kimber wanted to melt into a puddle of regret and sink down a drain.

  After letting Raquel know he had to go, he hung up.

  Could she blame it on too much rum?

  Silence accrued between them.

  “I should just stick to Miller Lite,” she murmured.

  “May I call you a cab?”

  Ever the gentleman. Thoughtful. Just like Sasha said. Shain was obliterating everything Kimber had been warned about vampires.

  “I’m sorry.” Instead of a pitiful tone, she chose a strong, mature one. She didn’t expect him to forgive her for acting like a maniac. “I know I hurt your feelings. Honestly, I have no excuse for running away. I saw her, I smelled blood, and my thoughts instantly went to violence. It’s…” She sniffed and took a step closer to him. “It’s as if my mind wanted to leap to the worst, had been waiting for the smallest doubt to take root. Like it’s easier to accept you are what they say you are, than what I see with my own eyes.”

  Shain advanced a step. “And what do you see?”

  She sighed. “You. I just see you.”

  His noisy exhale said he wouldn’t hold it against her. “Next time, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do first. I just didn’t want to give Raquel any more time to send a text message or make a call, in case she did think the encounter was newsworthy to Amara, or anyone in my coven. You were afraid, and I had to fix that immediately.”

  In other words, he embraced the risk, even though he didn’t see any reason to worry. Her already full heart expanded to make more room for the love of him.

  “Do you still want to go away with me?” she whispered, fiddling with one fringe on her top. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to postpone. Or cancel.”

  He came closer and crooked a finger under chin, raising it. “The only one with the willpower to cancel our weekend is you. If you trust me, want me, and believe me, then nothing has changed.”

  Good. More than ever, she wanted to escape with him.

  “What about Tanaka? How can we go if he’s still here?”