Gravity (15 page)

I stepped back, terrified to say the least.

Throwing on my coat, I marched down the hall and headed up the elevator that led into

Justus’s oversized garage. He had a couple of nice toys, but nothing that paralleled his previously

destroyed collection. I had plans to rectify that. The garage door opened and revealed Christian’s

black shoes, long legs, coat, short beard, and finally his smug expression.

“Exactly how did you do that?”

“Concentration,” he replied mystically.

Sometimes I wondered if the blood sharing we’d done had any lingering effects. He never

mentioned it, but Simon said that Vampires were secretive about such things.

“Well, don’t do it again. It’s creepy.”

He shrugged and dropped his hands in his coat pockets. “Do you want to talk about what

happened?”

It wasn’t the lab he wanted to know about, but Tarek. I didn’t answer.

“Is that how it’s going to be?” he said, narrowing his black eyes at me. “Your business may not

be my affair, but it is very much my business to know if you’re in danger.”

Christian tilted his head and focused on my chest. I mentally commanded my heart to slow

down as I took a shallow breath and sighed.

“Don’t bother,” he said. “If you can’t trust me, then I hope there’s someone you can trust

enough to tell. Whatever it is, you shouldn’t keep it to yourself.”

If Tarek had a Vampire following me, then talking to Christian would be all the permission

needed to spill blood in my name.

I wanted to confide in someone more than anything, but fear kept me quiet.

Chapter 12

In a quaint little shop on the corner of Mockingbird Street, I discovered a world of gourmet

cocoa flavors I never knew existed. It felt warmer that morning and frozen puddles of water

glistened beneath the sunshine. But the chill still clung to the air as a reminder that winter hadn’t

sunk its teeth in just yet.

I ambled down the sidewalk with my sack of goodies, thinking about how proud Justus had

looked when I told him how I’d used my gift to open the locks. It was a tremendous feeling to

know that my gift was more than just a novelty.

A dark, sleek car with tinted windows pulled up on my left. The rear window lowered and Tarek

stuck his head out, curling his finger for me to get in with him.

Without a word, I complied.

We sat in absolute silence for ten minutes. While uncertain of what had happened to Christian,

I knew if Tarek wanted him dead, it would have already happened. The car veered off the road

close to the river and the driver stepped out and took a short walk.

A black fedora sat on Tarek’s head, covering up the hideous haircut. It appeared that a

wardrobe consultant had forced him to ditch the biker look and put him in a charcoal-colored suit,

tailored to fit his formidable physique.

“Your time is up. I want an answer.”

I had thought about it.

A lot.

It was all I’d been able to think about. I’d eat my meal and go to my room, worrying myself

into a stomachache about what the right thing to do was. Each decision came with risk and

consequence. If we tried to expose Tarek without evidence, it would compromise the safety of

Logan’s family and everyone I knew. I couldn’t live with myself if he hurt someone close to me. Not

one life would be worth my freedom.

I knew it.

Tarek knew it.

I exhaled and wrung my hands together angrily. “What are your conditions?”

He relaxed against the door and spread out his legs, giving him an air of authority he didn’t

deserve. He’d grown a tuft of hair on his chin, something his fingers pinched at during our

conversation. “First, you will sever your trust with Logan.” His eyes rested on mine. “Cheat on him.”

My head involuntarily shook.

“Are you backing out of our agreement?”

A fleck of tobacco on the floorboard caught my attention, distracting me from reality.

“This isn’t a negotiation, Mage. You will bed another male, and it must be someone Cross

knows—not a stranger.” Tarek rubbed his finger across his chin, his grin widening. “Tell him he

doesn’t satisfy you. Tell him he’s not worthy. If I can’t have my revenge in blood, I will ruin his

heart.”

Tears stung my eyes as he continued.

“I’m hosting a social gathering and you’ll attend as my date. Our courtship will be brief, but

believable. After you accept my claim in public, we’ll make it official. Those are my conditions and

you’ll not deviate from them by a hair.” He leaned forward and hardened his eyes. “Don’t think for

a second I won’t find out if you’ve broken our agreement and told someone about this. Do exactly

as I say or blood will rain down upon you.”

I wiped the back of my hand across my sweaty brow as the true terror of what was unfolding

became vividly clear. “They won’t accept a union between us; I’m not a Chitah.”

Tarek chuckled. “You let me worry about that.”

My hands were fully charged and had I touched him, I could have easily knocked him out. But

I didn’t have the stomach to remove his head—one of the few ways to kill an immortal. The driver

would be a witness, and I would be executed.

“This begins immediately, Mage.” Tarek abruptly leaned so close that I looked away from his

rabid eyes. A satisfied growl fluttered in his throat at my submissive reaction. “You have three

nights to drop your panties and tell Cross all about it. If you fail, I will not award you another day.

I think I’ve made my intentions clear. How you want to play this out is your choice,” he said,

pointing his finger. “Now get the fuck out of my car. You can foot it from here.”

Tarek left me on the side of a rural road twenty minutes from home, holding a bag of

peppermint cocoa. The wind snagged my hair and flung it about carelessly. Each step was a

reminder of the uncertain path that lay ahead. I was finally gaining the respect of my Ghuardian.

Logan was teaching me to trust again through his patience. A position with Novis provided me with

opportunities I’d never dreamed possible.

Ruined. All of it.

Once home, I tossed the plastic bag haphazardly on the floor and went quietly to my room. The

house still smelled like morning coffee and I found Max downstairs for a change, sitting in the

hallway.

“Silver!” Justus barked from his study. “Your guard just called and said you disappeared.”

“I felt like walking,” I mumbled against my pillow.

He came into the bedroom and stood in the doorway. “Why would you walk home in this cold?”

“I can’t freeze to death, so what does it matter? I’m not feeling well, Ghuardian. Something I

ate.”

Three days, only three.

Three days until I ruined my life, betrayed a noble man, and became someone that I wouldn’t

recognize in the mirror. A choice lay before me and I immediately ruled out Logan’s brothers. It

would have destroyed him.

Justus was out, and also Finn—they were family to me. We didn’t have many mutual friends, so

this narrowed down my choices. Remi remained a possibility, but he was Justus’s friend. Plus, he

intimidated me. I lingered on Adam’s name for a while, and that would hurt Logan because Adam

once carried a torch for me. The only problem was I didn’t have the stomach to use Adam so

heartlessly—not after all he’d been through.

It boiled down to two names: Simon and Christian. The problem with Simon wasn’t getting him

in bed, but his strategist brain figuring out that something wasn’t right. Plus, the only way to pull

that off would be to get him rip-roaring drunk, and even then, the idea of ruining our friendship

made me sick.

Then again, once I married Tarek, I had no doubt that my relationships would be severed.

I stuffed the pillow over my head and cried the kind of tears that are shed when you’re

mourning a profound loss.

***

The next evening, Justus busied himself installing new security locks on Page’s doors and

windows. I didn’t really get what all that was about; he said they were just basic reinforcements

that would prevent intruders from strong-arming their way in.

Page called and asked if I could talk him out of it, but once Justus got something in his head,

there was no stopping him. He told her to accept it as an alternative payment for her services; this

way, he would know that his money was being spent wisely.

Naturally, this rubbed Page the wrong way.

After he left, I watched the surveillance monitors in the control room. A shadow emerged from

the trees and stood in the clearing by the motion-sensitive light, staring up at the camera. It was

as if Christian could see through those electric wires, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I ran my

finger over the keyboard and punched in the code to disable the entrance alarm. Within a minute

or two, the front door opened, and I reactivated the alarms.

“You want a drink?” I asked, filling my glass with vodka.

“I don’t drink on the job,” he replied. “Dulls the senses.”

Yeah, dull away, I thought, downing my glass and pouring a second. Christian shook off his

coat, hung it on the hook, and followed me into the living room, pausing at the entrance.

We’d chatted on a few occasions like this because I hated the idea of him standing out in the

cold all night. It gave me a guilt complex. Despite his brassy personality, Christian was

conversational and someone I enjoyed listening to when he wasn’t needling me.

I sat on the white flokati rug spread before the sofa. The only source of light emanated from

the faux fireplace.

“Take a load off. This place is locked up tight.”

Christian accepted the invitation and sat on the floor with his arms over his bent knees.

“Want to tell me what’s going on with you?” he asked.

“Just having second thoughts about getting permanent with Logan, that’s all.” The vodka was

already racing through me.

“Is that so?”

I rinsed my throat with another long sip and he took the drink from my hand. “You don’t need

to get plastered to talk to me; I’ll listen to whatever you want to say.” Christian set the glass down

on the far table and shifted to face me. “What vexes you, girl? Am I to worry about your safety,

because I’d like to know why I’m being shadowed by a Vampire? Each time he’s done with me, I

find you in such peculiar conditions.”

It was a now or never moment. There wasn’t enough alcohol in the house to dull the ache in

my heart.

“Did you ever think about being with another Breed, Christian? I never imagined it would be so

hard.”

“Well, now, I’m no Dear Abby, but I think I can tell you with absolute certainty that I’m not the

person you should be asking for relationship advice.” He snorted, leaning against the sofa and

straightening his legs.

I risked a glance in his eyes. “So I’m not comparable to Vampire women? You once said that I

wasn’t classy or sexy.”

“I was being cruel, Silver. Don’t dwell on stupid things I’ve said, please God.”

“The truth is cruel. I’m definitely none of those.”

“Cheer up, lass, you’re not so bad.” He dropped a friendly arm around my shoulder.

“Christian?”

“Yep.”

“When you were in my bed that night, was it just the blood, or was it me that turned you on?”

Something dark played on his features; a memory of the night when he shared his blood so

that I might live. What transpired in that exchange remained a mystery to me, but not to

Christian. I’d tasted his emotions toward the end and he thirsted for more than blood.

I seized the moment and sat up, throwing my leg over his lap to straddle him. My lips mashed

against his throat and he shuddered as I scraped my teeth gently against his skin.

“Because I think about it, Christian. I think about tasting you again.”

I ran my tongue along his neck, feeling the rise in his pulse where my fingers rested on his

vein.

“Stop what you’re doing,” he breathed. “ Stop this.” His hands clasped around my hips; he

could toss me off at a moment’s notice.

But he didn’t.

My tongue glided over his neck once more before I slowly dragged my mouth across his bristly

jaw until our lips joined. Our breaths met and he closed his bottomless eyes, allowing my tongue to

run over the edge of his teeth. Christian’s fangs punched out and pierced my tongue.

This was how you seduced a Vampire. I was learning that men had erogenous zones specific to

their Breed.

I melted a kiss against his mouth, arousing him with blood. By the firm way his fingers pressed

into my hips, I knew that he was urgent to take it but resisted—throwing his head back.

Perfect.

I lightly bit his neck, tasting his salty skin. A moan vibrated against my lips as a battle raged

between reason and instinct. Beneath my short skirt I wore no panties; not my usual attire, but

Christian hadn’t known me long enough to have figured that out.