Her Secret (32 page)

If I went to Danial now, he would know
instantly my turtleneck was hiding something. If he saw the choker
on my neck, he’d know it was Devlin’s. Something deep inside told
me that would screw up Devlin’s plan royally, whatever it was. I
evaded Terian, putting distance between us.

“I’ll drag you to him if I have to,” Terian
said angrily, moving toward me. “Stay there, or else. You can’t
move faster than I can teleport.”

“Terian, take a good long look at me,” I said
emphatically. “Now.”

Shock etched his face. “You’re better. You
look...you’re better.”

I couldn’t guess how he missed my luminous
skin. Maybe it was the strong light we were standing under, and
that I’d chosen to wear a dark pink top over a white turtleneck.
Black would have made my skin much more obvious. “I’m recovering,
no thanks to Camlyn. I felt awful these past few weeks, but I
turned the bend finally.” I paused and forced a smile. “Please tell
Danial I’m looking forward to Friday.” I turned from him, and
headed upstairs, hoping he’d leave if he thought I was headed to
work.

“Sar, there is something odd about you,”
Terian said slowly. “Something’s off.”

I didn’t stop or turn. “Tears, leave it.”

“You aren’t just better, you’re almost
overconfident—”

I had a few seconds to take control of the
conversation and refocus him before Terian teleported up here to
grab hold of me and discovered my secret. “Has Theo called and told
you how happy Tasha’s making him?” I said bitterly. “He called me
to apologize. Wasn’t that thoughtful of him?”

“He’s being a jerk,” Terian growled,
blackness spiraling upwards from him in cold nerve-wracking waves.
“I’ve told him so. We aren’t speaking.” He paused. “For what it’s
worth, I think he’s making the biggest mistake of his life.”

Refocusing complete
. “We’ll probably
split up when he gets back. It’s just as well, because I made a
huge mistake marrying him. Now if you’re done, I’m going to get a
little work in before you take me back.”

“Fine, but don’t leave the grounds. I’ll go
tell Danial you’re better.” He disappeared.

Relieved at the close call, I sank into
Danial’s chair and turned on the computer. Since I was here anyway,
I might as well check over the new emails.

After looking through them, I called a few
potential clients and explained we were closed until the end of
January and booked up until February. All wanted to wait for him,
so I booked them for appointments with Danial in March. There were
also a couple nice emails thanking him, which I printed out and
left on his desk with my usual happy face drawn on top. Lastly,
there was one asking for revenge that I sent onto Devlin with a
number and question mark, wondering if he’d checked his email from
his phone or if Lash was checking email while Dev was at my
house.

There was also a poem from Devlin, with no
author cited:

I miss you in the evening, dear, when
daylight fades away.

I miss the sheltering arms of you to rest me
from the day.

I try to think I see you yet there where the
firelight gleams.

Weary at last, I sleep, and still I miss you
in my dreams.

I hit reply, thought a moment, and wrote
back:

I have been with you beneath the stars

I have lain in your strong arms by day

I have seen you where the firelight
gleams,

I love you deeply, come what may

And I will feel you again within me

before our time together slips away.

That was pretty good for just off the top of
my head. I hit send, and turned off the computer.

It was about ten a.m. I had time to see
Theoron and Elle quick, if they were here. Though I went to each of
their rooms, neither of them were there.

I walked back to the great room, debating
what to do. The kids had to be with Cia. If I went to the werefox
compound, the foxes would scent vampire on me for sure, as Brian
had. They would also be suspicious of the turtleneck. It was better
not to risk it. Every moment I stayed here increased the odds of
someone discovering the means of my newfound health. I needed to
get out of there as soon as possible.

I sat down, anxious. What if Danial wanted to
see me for himself? What if Terian reappeared and wanted to talk
further? I had to get out of here. I wanted to be with Devlin. I
wanted to be with him now...

Suddenly, I was back in bed with him. I let
out a startled scream. Devlin’s eyes flew open and he let out a
yell, shoving backwards from me. “What the hell? How’d you get
here?”

“I teleported myself,” I said slowly, not
believing the words. “Titus was right about there being demon in
me. Terian was right, I can teleport.”

“But it didn’t work that day you tried it,”
Devlin said, curious. “You haven’t had any demon blood. That drop
of Titus’s in the potion wouldn’t have caused this.”

“It was my being on the drugs,” I answered.
“Terian said I had to want to be somewhere, to imagine it. I
couldn’t want anything much on them.”

Devlin touched me gently, slipping his hands
down over my arms. “But you wanted to be back with me?”

I nodded, still in shock.

“What did Terian want?” Devlin asked.

“Shit!” I swore, getting up from bed. “I have
to call him, and tell him I’m home. I don’t want him showing up
looking for me.” I went upstairs and called Terian’s cell.
“Terian?”

“Sar, what is it?” he said, worried.

“I teleported myself home,” I said quickly.
“You were right, I have the power. I just wanted to let you know,
so you wouldn’t worry.”

“Sar, this is amazing. I’ve got to have a
sample of your blood to test—”

“No samples, Terian. I’m tired, I’m dirty
from ending up sprawled on the floor, and I’m going to go shower.
You saw I’m fine. Leave me alone, unless it’s an emergency.”

“Okay,” he said, offended.

“Good-bye,” I said, and hung up.

“What sample? What did he want?” Devlin said,
standing in the darkness of the stairway. “What was so urgent?”

“You can come up. The blinds in here are
still closed.” I sighed, and sank into the nearest chair. “He
wanted to take me to Danial, because he’d heard I was cooler and he
was worried I was dying. Some of what he said sounded like he
suspected I might have been changed by having Theoron. Mostly, he
wanted a sample of my blood, which I didn’t give him.”

“Good. That’s for me,” Devlin teased. “He saw
you were better. Does he suspect why?”

“He’s suspicious, though I distracted him for
now. He didn’t see the choker.”

“Good,” Devlin said, relieved.

“Why are you relieved?” I said sharply. “You
tell me you want my Oath, yet you don’t want anyone to know?”

He came up and put his hand on my arm. “I
need you to trust me. Besides, until I know if you want Theo in the
Oath, too, we can’t let anyone know.”

“Now we’re up to three men?” I said
sarcastically.

“Hush,” he said, pulling me close. “If he was
going to leave you, Sar, would he not have taken Elle, and just
left? Why come back at all, if he wanted to be with her? It’s
obvious you still love him. I would rather include him now than
have to re-Oath you later if you kiss and make up.”

“We aren’t making up,” I said decisively.
“Maybe he did love me once, but you’re right that he loves her
more.”

“Then he is a fool, and you are well rid of
him,” Devlin said, hugging me. “Now come back to bed. Tonight we
have much to do.”

* * * *

Devlin woke me at dusk. “We have to hurry.
Get dressed.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, yawning. “Sure
this is our last night, but—”

“I mean go now and get dressed, Sar. I’ll
meet you at the front door.”

“The dogs—”

“Let them out, and get moving! We’ll walk
them when we return.” His eyes were cruel and masterful, that of
the old Devlin who expected to hear “yes” to every command.

I got moving, dressing fast, and letting the
dogs out. “Are we taking the motorcycle?” I asked, letting the dogs
back in.

“We’ll need to take your truck, the journey
is too far,” Devlin said on his way up the cellar stairs. “Where
are the keys?”

I tossed him the keys from the counter. He
caught them, striding fast to the door. We hastened to the garage.
He got behind the wheel, and peeled out, before I had time to get
my seat belt on.

“What is the rush?” I said, annoyed.

“There is something that needs to be done
tonight, Sar. I am not sure how long it will take. The minutes we
have together are slipping away faster and faster.”

We drove south, Devlin remaining edgy. An
hour later, we pulled up at a wooden building that had seen better
days. With no light but the truck’s headlamps, it was hard to tell
if this was a house. All that was visible was rusting cars on the
front lawn, surrounded by brambles. The road we were on was little
more than mud and gravel, the surrounding area overgrown fields and
dark forest.

Devlin got out. “Hurry.”

“Is this place deserted?” I asked, getting
out of the truck. “There are no lights.”

“He likes the dark,” Devlin said, going to
the door and knocking loudly.

The porch light came on immediately. A huge
bearded man opened the inner door, dressed in a clean Harley
T-shirt and black jeans. He looked mean, but the moment he saw
Devlin a smile split his face. “Dev, my man, how the hell are you?”
he said, extending his hand.

“Great, Cleave,” Devlin said, flashing a
radiant smile, and shaking Cleave’s hand.

Cleave noticed me. “Nice piece, Dev,” he
said, looking me up and down.

“She’s more than a piece, Cleave,” Devlin
said sharply. “That’s why we’re here.”

“You want the regular?” Cleave said with a
grin.

“No,” Devlin said intriguingly. “Something
different.”

Cleave’s eyebrows shot up, and he opened the
door wide so we could get past him. “Come on in and have a seat.”
He closed and locked it behind us, then led us into what I guessed
was both his place of business and his house. I expected it to be
filthy, to have beer cans or sex magazines interspersed with dirty
dishes. Instead, everything was moderately clean, only one
Penthouse magazine lying across the chair.

We must have interrupted the night’s reading
agenda.

Cleave moved easily with the grace of someone
who exercised regularly, despite the outside of his house. Once
we’d been seated, he turned to Dev, putting his hands together.

“What did you have in mind?”

“This,” Devlin said, pulling me into his lap,
and showing Cleave my choker pendant.

“Take it off her. I’ll need to see it better,
especially to sketch a drawing for size.”

Devlin undid the choker and handed it to
him.

“You want the bear to have red eyes or
another color?”

Devlin considered that for a moment. “Red,”
he said finally.

“I’ll need to enlarge it to at least double
the size of the pendant,” Cleave said. “Or you won’t have much more
than an outline of the bear.”

“Make it as small as you can and still be
detailed,” Devlin answered. “It must be obvious that it’s the exact
same symbol.”

“Sure,” Cleave said. “I’ve got small
needles.”

I turned to Devlin. “Isn’t the choker
enough?”

Cleave got up hurriedly, the choker in his
hand. “I’ll be back in a bit, when I have a sketch for you to
approve. Then we can get started.”

“How long will it take?” Devlin asked.

“Thirty minutes to sketch and then an hour or
thereabouts to apply the ink,” Cleave said. “If you want more color
than just red, white, and black, it will take longer.”

“Just those colors.”

“If I rush, it won’t be as good, you know
that.”

“I know,” Devlin said, nodding. “Take your
time.”

“You didn’t answer me,” I said angrily.

“Be back,” Cleave said and left.

I turned to Dev, still on his lap. “You could
have asked, you know.”

“But I’m not asking,” he said devilishly.
“Rings can be taken off. Marks can be healed with time and magic.
Oaths can be broken. I want something more lasting.”

“A tattoo of your symbol.”

“I want to be under your skin, Sar. And I
want you never, ever, to be able to get me out.”

His words made me shiver. “Tattoos can be
removed.”

Devlin reached out and tilted my face, so his
molten gold eyes met mine. “Ordinary tattoos can be removed with
surgery. Cleave’s specialty is tattooing supernatural beings, those
that heal almost anything. He has done this for me before, and he
knows what to do. Even with your new physiology, it will be
difficult to remove this one, if not impossible.”

“Did you mark the women you turned this way?”
I said angrily.

“A chosen few, over the years,” Devlin
answered. “But just with a “D,” never with my personal symbol.”

“What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll bite you and drink until you lose
consciousness again, and he’ll do it while you’re out,” Devlin
replied. “I want this very much, Sar. Please give your assent.”

As much as I was annoyed with his pushiness,
I liked very much that he wanted me to wear his symbol permanently,
not just as a neck decoration. “Will it hurt?”

“There will be some mild pain, but not much.
And you will bleed slightly, also.”

“Where is he going to put it?” I asked
apprehensively.

“Where do you want my symbol to be?” he said,
giving me a sexy smile.

“I can tell you where I want it not to be,” I
said heatedly.

He laughed. “On your hip is fine, Sar,” he
said, patting me there gently. “It will hurt less there,
anyway.”

“Are you going to get one?” I asked.

“No,” Devlin said gently. “But I will look
into a ring for my left hand. Will that suffice?”