In the Beginning... (32 page)

That thought plagued her through the rest of
her day. She had several meetings, with Emily, with Kindara—who
looked stressed, exhausted, and worried—and with her father. The
plans for a new Taniss Industries lab were moving very quickly
under her father’s guidance—he too was a master at getting what he
wanted.

One-hundred-eighty degree changes, something
she had never been used to.

Her vampire man was absent throughout most of
the day, and she couldn’t help but wonder where he was. She might
have fallen asleep angry with his refusal to kiss her the night
before, but now she appreciated it. She wasn’t ready to have sex
with him. Not now, maybe not ever, despite how she couldn’t help
but noticing how strong he was, how his eyes glowed gold when he
looked at her. How good he smelled when he brushed passed her. How
his smile could be both charming and wicked when he looked at her a
particular way.

Damn him.

Maybe the medical books were right when they
said Rajnis’ bodies were particularly attuned to each other. Human
attraction hadn’t been studied nearly as much as the Dardaptoan
attraction. Josey had put off reading the studies, but that was
what she would be doing for the rest of the afternoon.

There had to be a way for
her to end this
thing
between her and the vampire man. She could continue her
research into the Dardaptoan health care, but she had to do
something about
him.

She spent the remaining time
in her office pouring over the information about
Rajni
bonds. Nothing she
found gave her any hope. Everything seemed to say the bond was
unbreakable.

She was stuck with these feelings for him.
That gave her a lot to think about.

She was not going to
be
with him simply because
of some magical bond that a goddess she didn’t even believe in
somehow dictated it.

Mickey dragged her out of her office around
ten two mornings later, insisting Josey learn to enjoy all the
hotel had to offer them. Much like when Mickey would drag her out
of her office at TI in order to get lunch or sneak in a quick
shopping trip between meetings.

It was good to see some things hadn’t
changed. Their first stop was the hotel gift shop. For all
appearances, this Dardaptoan stronghold really did function like a
large, luxury resort. The walls were clad with gold filigree
accents, the floors were marble tile. The carpets were thick and
lush and color-coordinated with the House colors of the various
families.

Humans were even allowed to book rooms on the
top floors, and could book them online. Yet none of them ever
learned of the Dardaptoans who lived below them. Cormac had told
her whatever she wanted could be gotten simply by calling the
hotel’s ‘guest’ services counter. The servants dressed and acted
like typical hotel front desk agents; instead of serving guests,
they were employed to meet the needs of the hotel’s residents. Most
of those residents were considered Dardaptoan royalty within their
families. Those that weren’t of the royal houses—and allowed to
wear white— were politicians, lawyers, judges, healers.

The hotel functioned as a mini-city within
itself. Mickey had told her that the governmental and judicial
systems were housed in the basement areas. The medical services
were on the first floor. Every other section of the hotel that had
public access looked and functioned exactly like any other
resort.

The gift shop sold clothing and swimwear.
Beach towels. Mickey dragged her in there and insisted Josey pick
out a suit.

Apparently they were going to check out the
swimming pools.

Mickey had been an avid swimmer throughout
high school and college, competing for years. It didn’t surprise
Josey that her cousin would want to spend her spare time in the
water. Josey quickly grabbed a tank suit in green. It would cover
the still healing stitches.

It wasn’t until she had it at the register
and was signing Cormac’s name to the slip that she realized the
green was the color of his House. That it matched the sash he
insisted she wear hadn’t occurred to her.

Jade joined them inside the shop, dressed in
a revealing bikini and thin robe. She signed her greeting. “Let’s
go.”

Josey nodded. A relaxing day at the pool with
her sister and one of her favorite cousins was exactly what she
needed. Some sense of normalcy to get herself back on an even
keel.

Mickey was the first one in the water. Josey
followed her then sank beneath the surface. The water was the
perfect temperature, slightly warmer than an average pool. She
loved swimming nearly as much as Mickey. The only reason she had
never gone out for the swim teams was because she couldn’t hear the
starting guns or whistles. She wouldn’t want to be the only one
left at the gate; and if she followed the other swimmers, she would
always be a second behind.

Still, there was no reason she could not
enjoy her time in the water now. She closed her eyes and slipped to
her back, conscious of her sister and cousin nearby.

They spent the entirety of the day in and out
of the water, enjoying the time spent together.

It was
almost
normal again.

The only difference was that the people in
the pool with them weren’t human and the conversation was focused
on how Jade could seduce the healer Barlaam. Despite Josey’s
reservations, Jade was determined.

Cormac had always felt at ease in the
healer’s presence. Barlaam had a calming effect on all Dardaptoans,
and that was something Cormac often appreciated. Except today.

Today the other man had a heavy mind. “Care
to share what’s got you so quiet?”

“Mmm. Just much going on.”

“The girl?” Cormac had easily seen how his
Jocelyn’s younger sister had gravitated toward the healer. A
girlish crush, most likely.

“Mmm. Yes. It’s complicated.” Barlaam’s eyes
darkened. “She is so young.”

“That she is.” And the young
could be so very foolish where the opposite sex were concerned.
Though his
Rajni
had not come right out and said it, Cormac knew she too was
worried about her sister.

“She is my
Rajni
.”

Cormac paused. Looked at the man who had been
one of his sister’s closest friends, age-mates, and colleagues for
centuries. “You are not joking. The girl…”

“Is my
Rajni
. And
she
knows it. Said she has waited for
me for years. A grand total of five.”

“And she knows you’ve waited for her nearly
four hundred?”

“She seems to. She’s…she’s…”

Barlaam’s consternation and confusion was
easy for Cormac to see, to read. He laughed, a sound of commiserate
understanding. “Maddening? You just want to touch her, taste her,
yet everything she does seems designed to drive you crazy?”
“Exactly.”

“It must be family trait, then.”

The two men continued
walking toward the main conference room on the first floor. They
were to meet Rydere and Kindara, as well as
Dhan
Emily, and the two Taniss Lupoiux
to discuss the choice of property for the new
laboratory.

When Rydere decreed something was to be
done—as he had when he agreed to let the laboratory be built in
Dardano—it happened quickly.

“Jocelyn gives you fits, then?”

“Most definitely.” Cormac wouldn’t admit it
to the other man but he was vastly worried about her.

“How is she? Physically I know she is healing
beautifully. But for such a young human, the last few weeks have
been horrific. Is she mentally coping?”

Cormac frowned. How like Barlaam to land upon
his very concerns. “She has pushed it all from her mind, is
focusing on this laboratory as if it’s the answer to all her
prayers. But at night, she is restless.”

“Time. We both know that only time erases
such things.”

True. But how was any male
supposed to watch his
Rajni
suffer?

Josey floated on her back for several long
moments, eyes trained on the intricate stained glass above the
pool. It was beautiful, at least eight stories above the water, and
obviously done by hand. It showed a delicate blonde woman
surrounded by flowers, smiling softly as she danced. Beautiful.

Wild splashing had her turning toward
Mickey.

Mickey was gone, and Jade was screaming, her
eyes wide with terror.

Jade went under the water. The deep end of
the pool. The dark end. Mickey was nowhere to be seen.

Josey grabbed for her sister. All she got was
handfuls of Jade’s blonde hair.

Cormac keyed the security code into the
panels Aodhan had had installed to keep the humans from
unintentionally slipping into the Dardaptoan areas of the first
floor and he and Barlaam entered the main hall, just behind the
lobby.

Help! Please! Hurry!

Her voice sounded loud and
terrified in his mind. Broken.
Jocelyn,
where are you? I’m coming!

The pool! The pool! It has my sister! My
cousin! I think they’re drowning! Hurry!

Cormac cursed, started running just as
screams sounded in the hotel. Barlaam was at his side, keeping
pace.

Cormac tore through the doors leading to the
pools. Several people were encircled around the edge.

His eyes landed on hers. She was pale,
shaking. Terrified. Her arm was bleeding, and one of the lesser
healers was attempting to get it stopped. Jocelyn would not let
him, fighting to get to her sister’s side.

An
elhydra
floated lifeless on the
water’s surface. How in the nine hells had one of those beasts
gotten into the protected waters of the hotel pool? Precautions
were long in place to prevent that very thing from
happening.

He took her into his arms
and held her still.
Jocelyn, let Mhran look
at your arm!

She’s not breathing! I have to help her!

Barlaam has her. Look she is
awake, now. Look! She’s going to be fine. He will care for
her!
He held her steady, not letting her go
until the young healer Mhran indicated it was safe to let her go.
The tiny stitch he’d placed in her arm would suffice for now. The
pool water was as clean as it could be kept, and the chance of
infection very slim. Still, the wound had needed tended.

Mickey?

Michaela is fine. Look, Theo’s brother
Thaddeus has her now. Look.

Thank God! What is that thing?

The closest you would recognize is mermaid,
or merman. It should have never gotten in here. The things are
stupid, but can travel in less than six inches of water. I suspect
it came in through the drainage system. Close your eyes if you
want, you don’t have to look at it.

He guided her arms around
his neck, not caring that she was soaked. He put his hands on her
ass and lifted, guiding her legs around his waist. Someone handed
him a beach towel and he wrapped it around her shoulders.
Everyone is safe, now. It’s dead.

The little boy killed it. I couldn’t see it,
couldn’t hear it, and Mickey was just gone. Then Jade. I grabbed
her hair! But it was pulling us all under! If it was so easy to
kill that a child did it, how come I could do nothing?

Because there is but few
ways to kill one. There is a spot on the back of its neck where if
you hit it or stab it, it dies instantly. Another on its left
tentacle. I suspect young Briken hit it in one of those
spots.
Cormac carried her through the
lobby, past the gaping guests and residents and to the entryway to
his Family House. A servant from his family, Amaia, keyed in the
entry code and had the doors swinging open. He carried his woman
through. He carried her into his suite and straight through to his
shower. A single twist of his wrist on the handle had water the
perfect temperature streaming around them.

Her shivers continued. Her arms were locked
around his neck. Her face was buried under his chin.

Her tears mingled with the warm water falling
around them.

You’re ok. You’re all ok.

I couldn’t see them, I couldn’t call for
help. It was pulling us under. And then you came.

I came. I always will.

He held her while she cried,
held her until the water turned cool. Held her until she calmed and
stepped away from him. Her eyes were red and her skin pale. She
looked at him for a long moment.
You can
put me down. I’m ok now.

I like holding you.

But your clothes are soaked.

Mm. They’ll dry.
He sat her back on her feet, then pushed wet
blonde hair off of her shoulder. Her hair was long and curled when
wet. He wanted to run his fingers through that hair again. He
loosened the silk sash around his waist, the same green as the
swimsuit she wore, and removed it. He tossed it aside. His
vestis
followed. Then
the
pardus.
He
stood before her clad in nothing but his underwear. He pushed the
hair out of his face and looked at her across the tile shower
stall.

She hadn’t looked away.

He grabbed the shampoo, a
blend made especially for his House out of mint and cooling
herbs.
Come here. Let me take care of
you.

Her uncertainty was clear on her face. But
she didn’t step away. She took a small step forward. Then
another.