2 Vampires, Warlocks, And Exes (14 page)

“No, she was not,” Irina said. “She was very powerful, but that talent was reserved solely for you and your mother.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I yelled. “I can’t see the future!”

“It doesn’t work on demand, Karli. You won’t fully understand it until you’ve become immortal. Right now, the extent of your talent probably amounts to feelings of déjà vu or an overactive imagination. Your mother assured me that you will learn to interpret the visions within time.”

“
Omigod, the first time I saw Leo I had that vision of him!” I shrieked. “I thought it was just my crazy hormones, but now that I think about it, it was the
exact image
of him in the hotel shower!”

She smiled. “Well, as visions go, that certainly sounds like a lovely one. He does sound delightful.” 

Embarrassed, I turned my head away. “Irina, what was the second thing? After my grandmother not knowing about me?”

“Your mother made me promise to keep you in Las Vegas until you were grown.”

“Why?”

“Because the other half
to your soul would be there,” she said.

*******

“What? What the hell does that mean?” I asked.

“It means that you would find the man who will fill your heart for the rest of eternity. It seems that she was right.”

“Did she give you a name?” I held my breath, trying to figure out what I wanted the answer to be.

“Alas,
draga
, I am afraid not. That would be too tempting to reveal. You need to figure this out on your own.”

“But how?” I asked.

“You must listen to your heart. Your soul. They will lead you in the right direction.”

“Irina, that’s not true!” I insisted. “I listened to my heart and look where it got me. With a broken one!  And God, I hurt Leo so bad. How could he ever forgive me?”

“My dear, the soul only has one true mate. I know you are confused. I know this doesn’t make sense right now, but it will. It will not always seem so hopeless. You are deeply hurt, but you love Vance and love makes us forgive. Your problem is that you obviously love them both. You need to figure out which one you love more.”

I threw my hands up in the air.
  “How do I do that? They’re both so different. They both make me
feel so different
when I’m with them. And honestly, right now, I don’t feel like I could ever even look at Vance again without bursting into tears. Or face Leo without feeling immense guilt.”

She shrugged. “You will never solve anything if you keep pushing them away.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It can be if you let it
,” she said. “What can I do for you to help?”

“You can let me stay here for a few days to clear my head
,” I replied. “Also, it would be helpful if you could remove my blood bond to Maria.”

“Of course
, my dear. We’ll get started right away. My darling, you are welcome to stay as long as you like but the sooner you get back home, the sooner you can get started.”

“I know. Really, I just need a day or two to build up the courage to do this.”
 

Nineteen

Okay, so two days turned into two weeks and I still wasn’t in any hurry to get home. Irina pleaded with me continuously, but I couldn’t bring myself to get behind the wheel and back on the road. Removing the blood bond seemed effortless for her coven. She informed me that only the bond between a maker and their child is difficult to sever for witches with their strength. I could feel it when it lifted, but I still couldn’t bear the thought of returning to Vegas. I tried several times but never made it out of the driveway. I spent a lot of time with Irina and her coven sisters, Anca and Bridgid. The two of them were like aunts to me, making me feel comfort, taking special care to ensure I wouldn’t mope or get too lost in my thoughts.

I decided to head to
Crissy Field as the sun was setting one night. I walked along the shore wearing jeans and a huge sweatshirt. I rolled my pants up, letting the water roll over my toes. It was cold and windy but I rarely got the opportunity to do this, so I couldn’t resist. About twenty minutes after sundown, a familiar voice startled me out of my solitude.

“My love, isn’t it a little cold outside for beach combing?”

I jumped a little and turned to see Leo walking towards me. “Sweet baby Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!”

“I’m sorry
, my dear, but I couldn’t hold back any longer. I tried giving you space, but my worry overrode my courtesy.” He walked beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders.

“How the hell did you find me?” I asked.

“Blood bonds are better than any GPS,” he replied.
Dammit!
I forgot about my built in homing device.

“Man, you weren’t kidding when you said that thing worked from any distance.”

“Does it bother you that I came?” he asked.

I sighed heavily. “No
, Leo, it doesn’t. It’s actually pretty touching that you would do that. When did you get here? Did you drive?”

“No, I chartered a jet, arriving just before dawn. Vampires are not well equipped for road trips, with the eventual sunrise and all.”

“Yeah, I guess that would put a damper on it, huh?” The wind gusted, causing me to openly shiver.

“My sweet, you are freezing. Let us go indoors. I have a car waiting. We can go back to my hotel and talk.”

“Where are you staying?” I asked.

“The Ritz.”

“Of course you are.”

He smirked. “Have you eaten? We can stop to get something along the way.”

“No, I’m not hungry but thanks for offering. I really just want to get back to the house.”

“Where are you staying?”
he asked.

“Irina’s.” He gave me an inquisitive look making me realize he had no idea who she was. “She’s like a mother to me
,” I explained. “My parents died when I was young and she raised me.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your loss, my love. I had no idea.”

“It was a long time ago, but thank you, Leo.”

“I will take you to this
…Irina’s house if you’d like,” he offered.

“Sure.”

We got into the Town Car and I gave Irina’s address to his driver. I leaned up against Leo and just sat there during our short drive figuring out what to do next. He held my hand, tracing circles on my palm. We pulled up in front of the house and the driver got out and opened my door. Leo looked at me expectantly.

“Would you like to come in for a bit?” I asked. “We have plenty of time before sunrise.” Okay, I didn’t know where I was going with this, but I couldn’t exactly let the guy charter a freaking jet to find me and not invite him in.

“I’d be honored,” he replied as he followed me out of the car.

We walked up the steps to the front door. The door swung open as I was digging for my keys.
“
Draga
, who is your friend?” Irina asked.

“Uh
---”

Leo stepped in front of me, grabbing her hand so he could kiss it. “
Salutari
, you must be Irina. My name is Leo.”

Irina actually blushed! “My goodness
, Karli, you did not tell me your gentleman spoke my native tongue!” Oh Lord, Leo flashed me a fangy grin when she called him
my
gentleman.

“I didn’t know
,” I said as I glared at him. Christ, was there anything this man couldn’t do?

“
Fermecat
, Leo,” she said to him as she smiled from ear to ear.
Enchanted
, Irina? Really? She turned towards me again. “When you said he was attractive, my child, you were not doing him justice. He is magnificent!”

“So you think I’m attractive, huh?” Leo asked me with a wink.

“Okay, you two. Enough flirting for tonight.” I gave them both a warning glare before looking back at Irina. “We’ll be upstairs
talking
if you need me.” I grabbed Leo’s hand and yanked him upstairs to the attic where I was staying. I closed the door to my small, makeshift guestroom and motioned for him to have a seat on the bed.

“So you speak Romanian, huh?” I asked.

“That, along with seven other languages,” he replied.

“
Seven
? Are you kidding me?”

“Not at all, my love. I’ve had a lot of time to study them.”

“Which languages?”

“Did we really come up here to dis
cuss my linguistic abilities?” he asked.

“Leo, just answer the question.”

He sighed. “Very well. English and Greek are my primary languages, but I am also fluent in Italian, Spanish, Russian, Romanian, French, and Arabic.”

“Holy shit.”

He chuckled as he pulled me onto the bed next to him. “I’ve missed you terribly, my sweet. Are you worried about being attacked again? You should know things have been very quiet. I’m beginning to think she’s really not coming back.” He gave me a look of pity. “I think she’s done enough damage.”

I winced. “You have no idea.”

“Actually, I do. Erica was worried about you so she’s been calling. She told me what happened.”

I sighed. “Damn her. I really wish she hadn’t done that.” I turned towards him. “Leo, I didn’t leave because I’m afraid of Maria. Well, not entirely anyway. I came here originally to have Irina remove the blood bond, but that’s not why I stayed.”

“She’s a witch I take it?” he asked. “Was she successful?”

I nodded. “Yes, it’s gone. She said it was pretty elementary. She also put some kind of rerouting spell over me to throw
Maria off my scent since she may have known I was here before it was removed.” I smiled. “I guess it doesn’t cover all blood bonds, huh?”

He closed his eyes and inhaled. “No, thankfully I can still sense you in
every
way.” He gazed deep into my eyes. “So why did you stay here? To get away from Vance? From me?”

I shook my head. “No, not entirely. I stayed because I needed time to think about things. She’s the only family I have. I needed her to help me through this.”

He grabbed my hand. “You know I’d be your family if you’d let me.”

I looked away sheepishly. “Leo, don’t be so nice to me. I don’t deserve it.”

He ran his hand through my hair and cradled my cheek. “My love, don’t punish yourself for following your heart.”

I looked up at him with guilty tears flooding my eyes. “How can you say that? Maria told me she could f
eel your pain when Vance and I...when we...” I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. “Oh God, Leo, I was such an idiot!”

He shook his head. “
Shh, don’t say that. And don’t worry about me. My feelings for you haven’t changed.”

I fell into his arms and started sobbing. “How can you be so forgiving? So kind?”

He tilted my chin so I was looking up at him. “Because I love you. And I hope that one day you will be able to say the same.”

I wiped my tears. “Leo, I do----”

“Don’t, my love. Don’t feel obligated to say anything. You are in pain, and you need time to heal. I just wanted to be very clear that I will wait as long as you need me to.”

I stretched out in bed
, completely exhausted all of a sudden. “Will you stay with me? Hold me until I fall asleep?”

He lay down next to me and pulled me into his embrace. “Of course.”

I snuggled up to him and inhaled his manly soap smell. “Thank you.”

He squeezed me tighter. “Anything for you
, my dear.”

*****

I woke up in Leo’s arms. I opened my eyes and noticed that he had moved an armoire over the half-moon-shaped window to block out the sun. There was a light knock on the door which woke him up as well.

“
Draga
, come down whenever you’re ready. I just wanted to let you know that the drapes are drawn so it is safe to move throughout the house, with the exception of the sun room of course.”

I glanced over at Leo who was smiling. “Thank you
, Irina,” I called.

He stretched before kissing the top of my head. “Good morning. Did you rest well?”

Now it was my turn to stretch. “Yeah, I did. I slept better than I have in weeks actually.” I sat up in bed. “What’s been happening since I left?”

He got out of bed and walked over to the chair
on which he’d placed his black slacks. Yikes, I’d been in bed with Leo while he wore only boxers and a t-shirt. I was trying really hard not to stare at his amazing body, but I wasn’t doing a very good job.

He cleared his throat, bringing my eyes back to his face. “Have you spoken to anyone in Vegas since you left?”

“I called Erica on my drive here with the new cell you got for me. Thanks for that by the way. And for lending me your car.”