"Work," I blurted. "You said you'd show me what you do."
"I'm not thinking about work right now."
I trembled.
"Care to know my fixation?"
I turned, slowly making eye contact with him. "Books?"
"Genesis." He said my name like a vow.
I reached for him at the same time he reached for me. Our mouths collided; warmth spread from my chest down to my toes as he lifted me from my seat.
And then a sudden chill filled the air.
Abruptly, he let me go and cursed. "He's close. Let's go."
Freaked out, I buckled my seatbelt and almost hit my head on the dash as Ethan peeled out of the parking spot. When I glanced at the rearview mirror, it was to see Cassius standing on the curb, blowing an ice-filled kiss in my direction.
"Fish," I repeated in disbelief. "That's your job?"
"What?" Ethan shrugged.
After our almost-run-in with Cassius, Ethan had decided it was best to confuse the Dark One and get my scent all over Seattle.
We'd gone to at least three bakeries, two Starbucks, bought flowers, berries, and finally ended up by the pier.
The building said Immortal Industries.
Talk about blatant.
"You ship fish?" I still couldn't believe it.
"Worldwide." Ethan grinned. "Disappointed?"
"The name needs work."
"Yes, well, I decided that sometimes the best way to hide is to do the opposite of hiding." He frowned. "You're cold?"
I shivered. "A bit."
He wrapped his arms around me. "It's Cassius."
"You lied to me."
His breathing slowed. "Eavesdropping is frowned upon — always."
"What aren't you telling me?"
"A lot."
"At least you're honest about that much."
Ethan went very still. My back was to him; his arms wrapped around my body, warming me from the inside out. "I'd have to show you — talking about it is too difficult."
"Is it scary?"
"No." His lips touched my neck. "Just very sad, embarrassing, a lot of other unfortunate emotions."
"Show me."
"Not here."
"Yes, here." I turned in his arms. "Eventually, you're going to need my help, right? You can't just keep information from me then expect the bond — or whatever we have — to make up for everything else. We're at least friends, right?"
His eyes widened. "Yes."
"And friends share."
"They do."
"And you drink from me."
"Shhh…" He pulled me closer. "Yes."
"So, you owe me this. Honesty, you owe me."
"You raised your voice." He sounded amused.
"Yeah, well… you make me angry."
Another heavy sigh. "If I show you, you may leave me."
"I'd have a choice?"
"We always have a choice, Genesis."
"So trust me to stay."
He was still again; his heartbeat slowed — I could feel it like it was my own. Finally, he answered with a brisk, "Alright."
We walked in silence back to the car.
"It's safer at the house," he whispered. His gaze no longer had light in it; it was like the conversation sucked all the energy, all the spark from his body, leaving him haunted.
When we walked hand in hand through the door, Mason was waiting. Ethan chucked the berries at Mason's head and dragged me down the hall and up the stairs.
Once we were blanketed in the silence of the bedroom, the doors locked behind us, Ethan turned, his eyes black, his fangs elongated. "Promise me to wait ten minutes."
"What?"
"Ten minutes. When you wake up, wait ten minutes before you decide to leave or stay. At least give me that."
"Okay…" I swallowed the lump in my throat. His heart was breaking, I could feel it, and I had no idea why. "Ten minutes."
His teeth ripped into his wrist, and then that same wrist was pressed against my mouth. "Try to understand…" His last words before sleep overcame me.
Before a dream appeared in front of my eyes.
Before I came face to face with the most beautiful woman in the world. The same one from Ethan's dreams when the transition had occurred.
Her eyes danced with life.
Ethan adored her.
I adored her.
She danced around him.
He laughed and tugged her across his body. "I love you."
"I love you too, silly." She drank from him freely, yet she was human. She had fangs — just like Ethan. But I knew she was human. I could feel it.
"Make me immortal." She pouted, bracing herself over his body. "It's time already."
"After our child is born, it will happen. You know this."
"I'm tired of waiting."
Her pouting was getting on my nerves. Rage poured through me as she dragged her fingernails down his chest. That was my chest; those lips were my lips.
I clenched my fists at my sides and kept watching.
More scenes of them laughing, playing.
I tried to look away, but it was impossible.
Cassius appeared. I flinched, thinking it was a trick, but he was part of the dream.
"And how is my favorite girl?" He kissed her palm.
"Upset." She put her hands on her hips. "He refuses to make me immortal."
"Is that what you want? Your greatest desire?"
She nodded.
"Above Ethan, even? Your own mate?"
"He may be my mate…" Her hands trailed down Cassius's chest. "…but we both know I have a wide range of tastes."
"If you don't truly love him, the change will kill you." Cassius pushed her hand away. "You know this."
"I do love him!" She twirled around. "I love everything about this life. Is it so wrong to want more?"
"Sometimes…" Cassius's face fell. "…it really is."
The scene changed.
Cassius was walking with Ethan. "She's going mad."
"I know."
"It's the power — your power's drugging her, Ethan. You must let her go."
"No!" Ethan roared, pushing at Cassius. "I could no more cut out my own heart, you know that!"
"It's you or her," Cassius said.
"She's pregnant."
Cassius cursed and looked away. "Is it yours?"
"How dare you!" Ethan roared. "Of course it is!"
"And you know this for a fact? Because your mate is true?"
"I'd know if she weren't. I'd taste it in her blood."
"Unless you were too blinded by your own feelings… friend." Cassius shook his head again. "If the madness overtakes her, if you're wrong, you'll have to kill her yourself."
"I'm not wrong."
"So arrogant."
"Are we done here?"
I blinked away the tears. How could Cassius ask that of Ethan? I felt the love he had for her; it was powerful, like a star exploding in the sky.
"A daughter!" Ethan laughed and held up his daughter. "Ara! You've given me a daughter!"
She nodded.
The scene from the dream replayed, only slightly different than what I'd watched before.
Cassius entered the room.
Ara, Ethan's mate, looked away from both of them.
"I told you what would happen," Cassius said. "I warned you." He reached for the child.
"No!" Ethan screamed. "Don't. Cassius if you do this—"
"It's already been done." Cassius turned and pointed his hand at Ara. "Is this the daughter of a vampire?"
She trembled beneath the blankets then burst out laughing. "No, no, you know whose daughter she is."
Ethan paled. "Ara? My love?"
"He promised me immortality." Ara pointed at Cassius. "So give it! I birthed a daughter! The daughter of a Dark One! I will be queen!"
Her laughter hit a point where I needed to cover my ears.
"Cassius?" Ethan whispered. "Tell me you did not do this. Tell me, brother,
that you did not—"
"She was tested. She failed," Cassius said simply, grabbing the child. "Now finish it."
"Cassius!" Ethan roared.
Ara continued to laugh. "I'm going to be queen. Finally, Ethan. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I was afraid you'd be angry. You know I love you, yes?"
Ethan's eyes turned black; the entire room shook.
"You bitch!" He clenched his fists so hard blood began trickling from his palms. And then, in an instant, he was on top of her.
One bite.
She struggled for two seconds.
Before I felt her life-force leave the room.
"It's done." Ethan swore, falling to his knees, blood dripping down his face.
"She would have died regardless," Cassius answered.
"My daughter."
"She's not your daughter, brother."
Ethan's eyes flashed. "Give me my child!"
"One day," Cassius started to fade into the darkness, "you'll thank me."
"One day… I will kill you."
Cassius disappeared from the room with the newborn, his voice a mere whisper. "You can't."
I woke up gasping for air.
I was lying in bed. Ethan was a statue next to me.
"Y-you killed her!"
Tears streamed down my face. I hated him. Hated us. I couldn't explain it, but the anger he'd felt — I felt; the shame — it was mine. I tasted revenge on my tongue. I wanted to scratch his eyes out, yet scratch my own out because it was like I was the one who had committed murder.
The darkness consumed me.
"Ten minutes," Ethan whispered.
"No."
"You promised."
He reached for my hand.
When I didn't take it, he straddled me and pinned my arms to the mattress. "Ten minutes. You promised. In ten minutes, I'll release you. Not a second sooner."
"Get. Off."
"He can still take you from me — like he took her."
"She chose herself, not him."
Ethan nodded sadly. "Yes."
I struggled against him, but he was too strong.
"Ten minutes, Genesis."
Ethan
Her eyes were green.
Just like mine.
I felt her emotions like they were my own — relived the entire thing as if I was killing Ara all over again.
She'd done the unthinkable. She'd not only lied to her mate but cheated on him and produced a child with that lie. I knew Genesis wouldn't understand. But I also knew trying to get her to understand while she was still trembling from shock wouldn't do any good.
"You didn't have to kill her." Genesis's voice was hollow, her eyes still blazing green.
"I did." I touched my forehead to hers. "Because if I didn't, Cassius would have."
"She slept with Cassius?"
"He never said." I sighed. "He never admitted it. The child was — not normal."
"Not normal?"
"She wasn't a vampire."
"What was she?"
"I don't know," I whispered. "Perhaps I'll never know — maybe that was Cassius's way of protecting me, of protecting my bloodline, my reputation, though it hardly mattered once everyone discovered my mate was suddenly dead."
"But…" The green of her eyes started to fade. "Is that what would happen to me if I left you?"
"No." My hands shook holding her down; from showing her the memory, my strength had been depleted. If I didn't feed, I was going to sleep for the next fifteen hours. "Humans are turned immortal after they produce a child, a gift we bestow upon them."
"So she should have lived."
"I killed her before she could accept the gift because Cassius was right. She was going mad with a lust for power. Had I given her immortality, I would have created a monster."
"You still killed her."
"I loved her too much to let Cassius do it — loved her too much to turn her into a monster. She wasn't made for it. She was one of the first humans to start… showing effects of the imbalance. A part of me believes it's my fault that the humans keep dying."
"What are you saying?"
"No human mate had died — until I killed my own mate."
"And then?"
"Every human after… has died — not right away. Most live past a hundred having not aged at all. We think the immortality takes, and they simply don't wake up."
"You did something," she whispered, "to the natural order."
"Possibly."
"So it's your fault."
Heaviness descended like a fog. "It was my fault… for loving her too much."
"Your love for her destroyed everything."
"So now you know." I moved away from Genesis and laid my head down on the pillow next to her. "Loving again will take everything I have left."
"You can't love again? Or you won't?"
"It's already too late…" I slurred my words, darkness overtaking me. I needed blood and sleep. "It's too late for me now… but not for you."
"What?" Genesis shook my body. "What do you mean?"
"If you don't love back, the final step never completes itself. You'll be free. I'm setting you free."
"Ethan." Her voice was distant. "Ethan, what's happening?"
"Exhausted." I barely got the word past my lips.
Something soft hit one of my fangs. And then blood was trickling into my mouth.
Memories flashed.
"Now it's your turn to dream," Genesis whispered. "Dream of me."
Blackness overcame me and then, in an instant, I was sitting in a desk with other humans listening to the instructor drone on and on about immortals.
"Never look an immortal in the eye!" the teacher snapped. "You are nothing. Remember that."
I cringed.
A bell rang in the distance. I watched as Genesis stood and walked out by herself.
Her mother was waiting for her at the end of the hallway, hands on hips. "Where's your backpack?"
"Oh…" Genesis covered her mouth. She couldn't have been older than seventeen. "I totally forgot. I'll go back to my locker and—"
"Do you really think any immortal will want you? If you can't even remember something as silly as a textbook?"
Genesis shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"Useless." Her mother gripped Genesis's arm and shoved her the rest of the way down the hall. "Good thing your number will never be called — you're too ugly."
"Yes, Mother."
I wanted to scream in outrage. She was gorgeous! Even in the dream, I could see the purity of the blood, taste the goodness on my lips.
A house appeared in the distance.
It was poorly lit. The shutters were falling from the windows, and the porch steps had seen better days. The foundation crumbled beneath the heaviness of the home, making it appear depressing.
I took the steps two at a time and found myself in Genesis's room.
She had books everywhere. Books about vampires, werewolves, and sirens. Then finally, Dark Ones.
"Are you studying?" Her mother's voice sounded from the other side of the house.
"Yes!" Genesis yelled, tugging a piece of licorice through her teeth. "Almost done for the night."
Her mother appeared at the door, took one look at Genesis, and scowled. "Candy makes you fat."
The licorice fell from her lips as tears welled in her eyes. "I thought you said I could have licorice if I skipped breakfast?"
"Ugly." Her mother sighed. "And now you'll be fat for them."
"But a number hasn't been called in years!" Genesis argued.
Her mother stilled. "Are you challenging my authority?"
"No." Genesis hung her head. "I'm sorry."
"I do this because I love you."
Bullshit!
Instead of staying in Genesis's room, I followed her mother to the other room where she sat down at a kitchen table and started pouring over bills.
Most of them were overdue.
"Stupid girl," she sai
d under her breath. Her hands shook.
I glanced harder into the mother's eyes.
Jealousy stared right back.
"My number wasn't called." Her mother sniffed, still talking to herself. "Of course hers won't ever be called. It's all because of that stupid bitch."
She wasn't talking about Genesis.
Confused, I moved away from the mother and made my way down the hall again. Pictures lined the walls.
I smiled at the pictures of Genesis as a child.
Something about her struck me as familiar. Almost oddly so.
Her mother was in one picture.
And then another elderly woman. She had pretty, almond-shaped eyes.
The pictures went on, years and years of pictures. The color turned to black and white.
When I reached the end of the hallway, there was one final picture.
It was ancient. I leaned in.
My knees buckled as I braced myself against the wall.
"Ara," I breathed.
Genesis
He slept for hours. I stayed. A part of me wanted to leave, but he was right. After ten minutes, I'd calmed down enough to think about the situation logically, not that I still wasn't terrified he'd end up killing me. I no longer felt safe, but I didn't feel like Ethan was a threat.
I'd used his fangs to drop blood into his mouth, hoping it would have the same effect, since he was going to sleep. I wasn't sure if it would help him understand me better, but if it was a night for sharing, maybe he could at least pull information from my past.
I wasn't confident it would be helpful. He'd probably be bored out of his mind, but it was worth a try.
Two hours after giving him my blood, he jolted awake, nearly sending me off the bed in fear.
"Ara," he yelled.
I flinched. "Ethan? You were dreaming. It's okay." Clearly, my blood hadn't worked.
He turned, his eyes predatory. "Tell me you didn't know."
"Know what?" I brought my knees to my chest. "What are you talking about?"
"She's from your bloodline."
"Who?"
"Ara."
"The mate you killed?"
He growled.
"I—" Tears welled in my eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Her picture." His eyes went black. "I saw a picture. It was old — it was her."
"You have to believe me." I held up my hands. "I would never lie."
Ethan shook his head; dark circles appeared under his eyes. "Sorry…" He trembled. "I'm still exhausted. It was a shock. We need to visit your mother."
A Kiss For You Page 12