Misty (9 page)

“You know that it is an insult from Radames to me. to leave me standing here. Now just be a good girl and invite us in. We will all sit down to have a nice conversation.”

She looked at him. “You know, yelling is not a good way to get anything from me. Rad, will tell you, I also have a temper that I just can’t seem to get under control.” She picked up the knife and slammed it down on the counter. At that moment she felt Rad behind her. She was afraid to turn and look because she did not want to face away from the threat in the elevator.

She heard a door behind her close and a lock snap shut and she realized there had to be stairs. When he couldn’t get the elevator to come down he had taken the stairs. He walked over and put a hand on each side of her on the cabinet.

“Well, hello, Bathromo, did I hear you yelling?” How could Rad’s voice sound so calm?

There was silence from the trio. Finally Bathromo spoke up. “There have been rumors about the young woman you are protecting. I just wanted to ascertain that the Council did issue an order concerning someone within my security without informing or asking me. After all, I have been in this area for a number of years.”

“Bathromo, the Council does not answer to you, you answer to them.” He leaned into her, pinning her against the cabinet. She was watching the faces in the elevator, but she was more aware of the feel of the hard body pressing against her from behind. “In fact, I think it would be advisable for you to contact them. Of course, they will probably want you to come to Rome. But Rome is beautiful this time of year.”

“And what of the rumors of the antigens in the blood of this woman?” This came out almost as a growl from the man in the elevator.

She began to seem to hear the voices from far off as the man behind her, almost twice her size, leaned his hips against her, pushing her against the hard surface of the cabinet. What she felt was the thickness of his erection that pulsed a heat right through their clothes. She actually felt her body beginning to respond to him.

Rad lifted one hand and pulled her hair back on one side. She felt him tilt his head enough that she could see his dark hair from the corner of her eye as he bent his head and lowered his lips to her neck. She stood, immovable, not breathing, her eyes watching the men in the elevator. All three of the men took a short step forward and then stepped back, their eyes turning dark until she thought that their irises had expanded to the size of their entire eye.

Oh God, was he going to bite her? He had said he would not without her permission. She felt his lips on her neck and there was intense warmth that spread from the kiss, where he lingered, all the way down to her stomach and to her groin. But it got more intense because he ran his tongue along the vein that was throbbing in her neck and she felt the tightening in her entire female organ. She clinched her muscles, trying to control herself, but she realized that he probably was feeling her muscles moving as he was pressing against her hips so tightly.

Finally he raised his head and she could breathe. “You know, Bathromo, the lady would like you to have your slave take his finger off that button before I come over there and remove his entire hand. There is a servant below with her clothes. He needs to use the elevator and we have unfinished business after that taste, and yes, it is sweeter than anything you have ever imagined. Now take your dirty crew out of here.”

He finally moved away from her and she was grateful she had the cabinet to hang onto. He walked like he owned the world, towards the elevator and suddenly Bathromo started pushing the elevator buttons. By the time Rad had reached the elevator, the door had started to close.

He turned and looked at her. “You did well. I need to go down and make sure that they leave and maybe, really get my message through to Bathromo. Your clothes will be up in a minute.” He walked back slowly past her to the door leading to the stairs and was gone.

She stood leaning against the counter top, waiting for her knees to be strong enough to hold her up. She heard the elevator and she looked over. A young man was there with several suitcases. She did not move as he gathered up the cases and walked into the suite, looking around. Okay, he came in without waiting to be asked, so he must be mortal. She stopped and thought for a moment. What was her life becoming when she had to think about a guy carrying a suitcase whether he was normal or not?

Chapter Seven

He stalked Bathromo carefully. The old male was tough and sensitive, a true Vampire who had nurtured his talents. But he needed to have a lesson. How dare he come to the lair of an enforcer. Besides, Rad still had the smell and taste of her and he was fighting the greatest urge to return and claim her, to taste her, to feel her, to enter her. He needed to use that energy somewhere else before he could go back to be in her presence. He knew that he could not control her mentally, but he could overpower her with his strength. Suddenly he realized that when it happened, he wanted her to allow it.

He wondered if she would allow it? As he had leaned into her in the kitchen he had realized that she had responded. He felt her heat that made the smell drift off of her into the air. He felt her muscles grip as she tried to resist the urges of her own body. He had also been surprised that his own body had instantly thrown up the big boy as he leaned into her. He thought he had taken care of that problem with the ladies but she had instantly reached him. Fuck.

He wanted to slam his fist through a wall. What was he thinking? It had been a long time since he had cared for another person in this way, especially a mortal. But that raised the question, was she mortal? Now he saw the three men. They were walking and he knew they were also stalking. He let one of them see a woman down one alley and suggested he did not want to share. The Vampire looked slyly at his master and slowly dropped back. When there was enough distance, he went back to the alley to enter it.

Rad took him quickly. From the dust, Rad took his billfold and a ring, putting them into his pocket. He placed all the rest of the items into a dumpster. He moved as a shadow, catching up with the pair and was awarded with the sight that Bathromo and his other servant had parted company. Bathromo had sent him after a prostitute that he was bringing back so that Bathromo could feed.

Rad moved as a shadow around Bathromo. Rad appeared behind the servant and with one quick stroke drove the silver knife through his heart. The woman started to scream but Rad entered her mind, stopping her thoughts, then sent her away with no memory of what had happened. He picked up the wallet out of the limp pants, grabbing the ring that was rolling on the sidewalk.

He walked back to Bathromo and looked at the Vampire in the eye. No one, even one as old as Bathromo, could meet the stare of an enforcer for very long. Bathromo finally looked away. Rad took his hand and put the two rings into it. “You will need to find your own meal. Do not repeat the mistake you made this day and push me or the Council
—
there will be repercussions you won’t enjoy.” Rad was gone.

* * * *

She had taken the suitcases into the bedroom she had chosen and when she opened them, they did contain her clothes. So she spent an hour putting the clothes away. She got dressed in jeans and a loose tee, putting her feet into flats. She took a scarf and after brushing her hair until it had a nice shine she pulled it back at the neck, tied with the scarf. She did not know what else to do. She went back out and sat in one of the chairs in the main room. There was a low table and she finally noticed a remote laying on it. She picked it up and found it had a lot more buttons than the usual remote. She looked at it closely, pushed the first one that said
Access
. Across the room a cabinet had doors that slid open and revealed a huge flat screen TV. Great. She surfed and at last settled on the national news.

This time he returned by the elevator. He walked out of the sliding doors into the room with that strange grace that was also forceful. He looked at her as he passed into one of the bedrooms. She heard the shower running and chalked up some more information about Vampires. They needed to clean up and take baths. Was there still some human in the dead?

When he came out after about a half hour later, he had on tan colored pants that were tight over his muscular legs with the gold amulet on his chest, and that was all. He had a towel in his hand that he was using on his long dark hair. He walked behind her to the kitchen. She heard him pouring some liquid and did not want to see if it was blood, but when he came back he went to the long couch that was on an angle to her chair and set a glass down that looked like whiskey. He stretched out on the couch and looked at the TV.

She waited a minute, trying not to look at the broad chest, the strong stomach and the dark line of hair below his belly button, disappearing into his pants. Okay, she knew Vampires were supposed to be appealing.
Get the mind on something else.
“Can I ask you some questions?”

He looked over at her. “Take the scarf out of your hair.” He looked back at the TV.

She let out a long sigh. “If I take it out, will you answer my questions? Shit, I can’t play this game. I am no good at it. I don’t understand the rules.”

She heard him let out a sigh that almost matched hers. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I guess I am making it harder on you. It is my way, it is how I do things.” Again she heard a deep sigh. “I will answer your questions if I can.”

She tried to keep her attention on the TV but she kept finding she was watching him out of the corner of her eyes. She reached up and slipped the scarf from her hair and shook her head to fan her hair. She cleared her throat. “So how did they find out about me?”

He took a long moment to answer. He was absorbing the smell that had floated on the air when she had shook her head. Finally he closed his eyes and willed himself to remember the ruling. “You donated blood at a blood bank.”

She looked over at him. That damn stupid blood donation. “What? Did it get reported? Do you guys monitor blood banks, or what?”

He put a muscular arm behind his head and pulled one leg up. “There are some Vampires who try not to feed on mortals. Actually, most of us stock blood for emergency. Anyways, they buy blood or steal. They had a deal with one of the techs at the bank where you donated. They went in at the end of the day and some of what they got was yours.” He seemed to hesitate, then looked over at her. “They sampled it and fought over it. Several Vamps got killed and a mortal was killed. There was a team sent in to clean up the mess and find out what happened. They needed to make sure no one traced it to Vampires. But they did trace it to a scent of blood that there was almost not even a drop left of, but in going through the records, they followed each person who had given blood that day. Then a reliable enforcer found you, except you pushed him down an escalator.”

She sat still, staring at the TV, but she didn’t see it. She was trying to understand what he had told her. She was trying to hold herself together. “So, people have died over my blood?”

He rolled his head over to look at her. “What are you thinking in that brilliant little head of yours?”

She took a deep breath before answering him. “That you and your so called Council aren’t going to be happy with just a sample of my blood. That I am earmarked as a lab rat.”

Now she looked really angry. He could feel the anger vibrating from her. The problem was, she was probably right. Unless she bonded with a really strong protector, they would keep her somewhere and on a regular basis they would draw blood from her that would either be processed for reproduction and testing or just given to the highest bidder or as a reward for some special reason. Sure, she would be kept in a palace and she would be given the very best of everything, jewels, food, companionship, everything except freedom. For some women the perks would be enough. But he already knew, with the short time he had been with this woman, that no matter what they offered her, it wouldn’t be enough.

She jumped up and ran to the balcony. He was right behind her. He couldn’t let her commit suicide. The sun was behind the building, so the balcony was in shadows. In his bare feet she did not hear him and he stayed a step behind to see what she was going to do. She gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white but it didn’t look like she was going to throw herself over. He stepped back and leaned against the glass, his arms crossed, just watching her.

“I’m not going to jump. You are not going to lose your precious blood treasure chest.” Her voice shook with anger. She knew when he was near. He wondered how close he had to be when she became aware of him. He had seen her tense up in the restaurant when Bathromo entered. It had happened when the three Vampires were about ten or fifteen feet from her.

She turned around to face him. She was fighting all kinds of emotions and she immediately realized it was a mistake to face a tall muscular, half dressed man with his looks. “Can you give me some privacy?”

“Not out here.” He did not move.

She moved away from the railing and tried to pass him to go back into the room. He put his arm out and stopped her. “I can take you somewhere. Is there someplace that will help you to take all of this in?”

She looked up at him. “Yes, someplace where there are no Vampires. Where people aren’t after me for my blood. Where the world is normal and I don’t have people like you looking at me like you want to eat me and do more to me than I want done.”