Bound to the Fallen (Prophecy #2) (28 page)

I skimmed over at Nicole and saw her give the random guy at her side a kiss. As soon as she
pulled away her eyes locked onto Dr. Knight and his wife once more. Dr. Knight never even glanced in her direction.

“She’s such a dumbass,
” Ashley laughed. “So stupid.”

L
ooking back down to the entrance, I spotted Gavin.

My
heart beat faster as I watched him give his name to the lady at the table. His tuxedo was fitted just right and his hair was tightly pulled away from his face. He was freshly shaven and his jawline stood out against the collar of his white dress shirt. Even from one hundred feet away you could see the brilliance of his eyes standing out from his olive complexion.

C
onstance sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder, squeezing me gently. “Shit. That man is — I don’t even know — just like, hot sex for your eyes,” she said in a dreamy voice.

I s
hook my head in agreement. “He’s absolutely unbelievable.” I was admiring how gorgeous he looked when Ashley stepped in front of me, interrupting my view of him. Her finger was pointing in his direction.

“Oh
,
shit
,” Ashley groaned, snarling her lips up.

Constance’s eyes peeled open and her arms flew up in the air.
“What’s wrong?”

Ashley’s tone oozed with agitation as she said,
“That’s Dr. Moore. I
cannot
stand her. I swear to God. They’re trying to get her to come on to some of our studies, and if I have to work with her I’m gonna lose my shit.”

I followed her finger and saw the blonde Gavin had been having lunch with weeks ago.

“That blonde girl in the purple dress?” I asked.

“Yes, she’
s a total bitch!”

M
y gaze shifted back toward the door and watched Dr. Moore reach over and sweep her hand over Gavin’s back. I could feel a jealous heat traveling through my body as she ran her fingers across his broad shoulders.

An uneasy look crept over Ashley’s face.
Her fingers traced over her eyebrow and she closed her eyes tightly. Her mouth was opened and I could see her tongue press against the roof of her mouth. “Uh, so — she kinda has a thing for Gavin, like a
really
bad thing for him,” Ashley confessed. Her finger left her brow and trailed down the side of her face. She grabbed her necklace, nervously sliding the charm back and forth on the chain.

I turned and stared
wide-eyed at her. I needed a little bit better of an explanation. “Like
she
has a thing for him, or
he
has a thing for her, or
they’ve
had a thing together?”

“I don’t know. She’s friends with Nicole
.” Ashley paused, grabbing the beer from Colton’s hand and chugging it.

“Ashley!”
I said loudly. I was tense and wanted her to answer my question.

Ashley pulled the bottle away from her lips and said,
“Nicole was running her mouth one day and mentioned that he and Amy — Dr. Moore, whatever the fuck you want to call her — that they were going on a date or something.”

“When?”
Anxiety gripped me by the throat and my stomach turned. Gavin had told me he’d never dated anyone from work. If he’d lied to me…

“I don’t know,
like a month or so before you got here.” Ashley glanced back down to the entrance. “I mean, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Nicole’s full of shit half the time and you’ve been with him just about every damn day since you got back from Boston.” Ashley scratched at the label on the now-empty beer bottle, peeling small pieces of it loose. “Even if they did go on a date, it doesn’t mean anything.”

I looked
back down and Gavin was talking to Dr. Moore. He glanced up, smiling when he saw me. He shoved a hand in his pant pocket and winked at me.

Constance put her hand on my shoulder
and leaned over to me. “See, he’s looking at
you
. Not even interested in that stupid skank-looking tramp next to him.”

“Thanks
, Constance,” I said, my voice thick with sarcasm.

Colton waved his arms out in front of him. “Okay, d
rama llamas! Enough! Let’s go get some drinks and enjoy the night.” Colton pointed toward Nicole, “Who cares who the skank over there’s fucking?” He moved his finger in the direction of Dr. Moore, “Who gives a damn about who the bimbo down there
wants
to fuck?” He fiddled with his tie and loosened it slightly. “I say we just get drunk!”

Colton
placed his arm around my shoulder, shaking me gently. “Come on, Brooke. That girl ain’t got nothin’ on you and you know it.”

Constance
yanked me away from the view of the entrance against my will. I quickly downed my glass of wine and grabbed another one as we walked to the side of the ballroom.

Did
I even have the right to be angry with the girl trying to come on to Gavin?

How in the hell had I gotten myself into this?

Gavin

Damn it to hell, Scott! Why must you insist on that wretched woman being involved in our studies?

I pulled up to the valet, stepped out, and handed him the keys. I tugged at my tuxedo jacket and followed the cobblestone walkway to the restaurant, hoping that Amy had found some other man to pester with her unrelenting sex drive and need for reassurance.

W
alking through the opened door of the building, I approached the hostess stand. “I’m to meet a party here. Scott Knight,” I said as I stopped in front of the wooden stand.

The young hostess smiled at me. “Your accent is lovely,” she swooned and led me to the table.

She stopped, pointing to the table where Scott and the others were seated. “Enjoy your dinner, sir,” the hostess said and placed the menu face-up on the table.

“Thank you
.”

Tom stuck his hand out. “Hello
, Gavin,” he said. Grabbing his hand, I shook it firmly.

“Scott,” I said, nodding at him from across the table.
“Miranda, you look lovely.” Moving my eyes to each person seated, I continued, “Will — Amy.” I glanced quickly in her direction and then directed my eyes down to the menu I’d picked up.

Scott shot a pleased grin in my direction. “So, Gavin, Amy seems very interested in being a co-investigator for our studies requiring consults from psychiatry. There’ll be several studies we’d immediately be eligible for if we have her as part of our team.” Scott looked at me, waiting on a response. “Well, what do you think
, Gavin?”

“That sounds great, Scott, absolutely great,” I paused. “But maybe we could find another PI for some of those studies
? I’m drowning as it is with mine.”

A
disapproving look scowled across Scott’s face. “We’ll have to take a look. Who’s going to be PI isn’t really important as long as the funds stay within the department.” He turned to the left, directing his gaze at Amy. “Could you send us a preliminary budget of what your costs would be, direct and indirect?”

L
owering her martini glass to her chest, she said, “I’d be more than happy to.” I could feel her eyes piercing into me. I glanced over at her, pulling my lips up into a sarcastic smile. Her eyes constricted as she focused on me, the irritation from my disinterest flamed across her face.

T
hroughout dinner I had to force myself to smile at the appropriate times. I avoided conversation with Amy as much as possible because I knew if I accidentally looked at her the wrong way she’d think that I wanted to take her home with me.

I’d bent the truth when I told Zach how Amy and I ended up sleeping together. I’d met Amy through Raven, and since any woman from Raven’s club was considered “safe” I’d slept with her. There was nothing exciting about it at all, and it would’ve never happened again had she not been so damn persistent. She had shown up at my house completely nude underneath an overcoat and thrown herself on me. She began to call me and email me constantly.
The allure I have to women is something no mortal could even hope to possess. Being that I am nothing more than unadulterated sin, immortal, and exude the beauty that can only come with damned grace, simply stated, I’m everything a woman desires. I’m different and women can sense that. The type of want a creature such as myself creates is so addictive, it often drives women mad. They easily confuse the feeling of possession with love, and that is problematic. When I noticed that Amy was becoming obsessed I told her I wasn’t interested in her, much less in a relationship with her. I had been very blunt  when I explained that I wasn’t the type of guy to invest in a relationship, not the type that would settle down. I’d figured that was obvious when and how we met, but it didn’t seem that she appreciated my informality in expressing my indifference to her.

I could
not
work with this woman. I did not
want
to work with this woman. But I humored Scott and sat through dinner acting as though collaborating with her were a halfway decent idea.

Tom
peered up at me as he signed his receipt. “So, Gavin, no date tonight?”

“No. Can’t seem to find the time for dating, Tom,” I said, my mind drifting off to Brooke. I was anxious to see how she looked in that elegant, form
-fitting dress I’d sent to her.

Amy cleared her throat. “Oh, you just have to make the time, Gavin.” She glared at me from the end of the table
with a fire flickering behind her stare. “I’m sure there are plenty of women who’d love to have as nice a man as you.”

I felt warmth rushing across my face. “As I said, I don’t have the time
…” Rising from my seat, I straightened out my tuxedo jacket. “Shall we go?” I looked over at Scott and Miranda.

Scott glanced down at his watch and shook his head. “Yes, we should be going.” He pulled the chair out for his wife.

Miranda looked sullen as she delicately rose from the chair. I figured she must be dreading the evening ahead of her. It was terrible that Scott was having an affair. I loathed the idea of being unfaithful. I couldn’t understand how someone could go behind the back of a person who completely trusted them and give that part of themselves to another.

I found
selfishness to be a mortal characteristic that was utterly despicable.

As I approached
the building I heard the sound of high heels gripping against the cement behind me.

“Gav, wait up,” Amy called out
, her stride quickening and her heels clicking louder against the pavement.

I inhaled and stopped. I
spun around, my teeth gritting together as I spoke to her. “What is it now, Amy?”

“Well, you’re not gonna make me walk in by myself
, are you?” she asked.

“I wasn’t really concerning myself with how you entered the building.”

She laughed, tossing her head back and shaking out her blonde hair. “You really are a piece of work. Don’t act like you don’t want me the least bit.” She reached for my arm and I quickly pulled it away from her grasp.

“I don’t. Not in the least. We’ve had this conversation. I’ve nothing for you, Amy.”

“Well, our past experiences would beg to differ,” she said smartly.

“Those past experiences were no different than any other ‘experiences
’ I’ve ever had. Sorry to disappoint you, Amy.” I paused, thinking of how vastly Brooke differed from anything I’d ever experienced before. I felt a slight tug at my lips just thinking about her.

Amy let out a loud
, agitated huff. She pushed her hair to the side of her shoulder and glared at me. “You really are unbelievable. I
always
get what I want.” She wrapped her hand around my arm, “I’ll have you tonight. You just watch, Gavin Hunter.”

Tossing
my head back, I snickered and stuck my hand into my pant pocket. “I can assure you that you will
not,
Amy. There’s no way in hell I would allow you that pleasure ever again.” I said, snatching my arm free from her grip.

She let out a frustrated
grunt as I walked up the stairs to the entrance of the building. I came to the banquet table and gave my name to the lady sitting there. “Gavin Hunter, M.D.,” I said.

The woman
ran her bony finger down her list searching for my name.

I heard Amy’s voice come from behind me, “Amy Moore, M.D.”

The man who checked Amy’s name found her immediately and she waltzed herself up behind me. I felt her rub softly across my back. I couldn’t help but cringe when she touched me.

I smile
d cordially and lowered my voice, “Leave me alone, Amy. I’m not above embarrassing you, remember that.”

A leering
smirk formed on her face. “I like having you play hard to get. I’ll consider it foreplay.”

I scowled at her and took several steps in the opposite direction.
Glancing up at the upper level, I spotted Brooke. I grinned and winked at my love. The silhouette of her frame was absolutely striking, even from thirty meters away. It was at that moment as I watched her from afar, knowing I couldn’t immediately rush over to her, grab her and kiss her, that I realized I’d been defeated. I was completely lovesick. I desired her like none other. Her touch alone sated the carnal urges no one else in the history of my existence had been able to calm in the slightest way. Within weeks this mortal woman had brought me to my knees.

“Gavin!” Amy’s voice struck a nerve inside me. “Did you hear me?” she asked loudly.

“No,” I said, turning and walking up the stairs to find Brooke.