Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (41 page)

I planted my
palms on the desk and leaned over Argenou, taking advantage of his seated
position.  “I will work for you,” I said slowly.  I enunciated each word
carefully.  “But on my own terms.  I won’t be badgered and threatened.  And I
will
not
be turned.  And if you keep pressuring me, I may just
accidentally have an outburst like I did at the warehouse- but I’ll make sure I
just happen to be standing next to you when it happens.”  Dominic said nothing,
quiet and watchful as ever while I threatened his boss.

Argenou looked
up into my eyes and smiled.  It was a slow, sly thing and I nearly laughed.  He
was reacting as I had anticipated.  He would be happy with my declaration until
he could find a better way to use me.  If I appeared to be willing, this would
work- for now.  I leaned back and crossed my arms again, hoping like hell I had
just done the right thing.

Argenou leaned
back in his chair, considering me.  “You have such spirit,” he said finally. 
“You really are growing and developing.”  That smile again.  “I could make you
into so much more, you know.”

Dominic stepped
forward silently, placing a hand on Argenou’s shoulder.  I was surprised to see
them touch.  I didn’t think anyone would have the balls to get that close to
the evil thing.  He withdrew his hand the moment he had the coven leader’s
attention.

“Give her to
me,” he requested softly.  He darted his crystal blue eyes in my direction and
his gaze was filled with cruelty and calculation.  “I will train her, mould
her.  She will be one of my greatest creations.”

I glared at him,
seething.  What the hell?  Argenou compressed his lips in thought.  He didn’t
know that his vampire already spent much of his free time trying to teach me to
defend myself.  Finally, he nodded his head.  “You have served me well,
Dominic,” he said slowly, “and you are an
artist.”
  He looked at me
again, like I was a show horse.  I tapped my toe impatiently. 
Fucking
vampires.

“You may have
her,” he said quietly.  As if I was a treat.

Dominic bowed
his head.  “Thank you master.”  He retreated to his place, slightly behind
Argenou, those piercing eyes watching my every move.

The coven leader
looked at me as he spoke to his servant.  “But when the time comes- I will be
the one to deliver her final lesson.”

Great.  He was
still planning to turn me someday.  And now I was apparently being leased out
to Dominic.

“You don’t own
me,” I reminded the oily man sitting at the desk.

He lifted a
shoulder in a half shrug.  His wispy silver-blond hair had fallen forward to
cover his brow and he regarded me with veiled eyes.  “For now.”

I turned and
stalked out.  I was surprised I made it to my car.  Well, that hadn’t worked
the way I had envisioned.  I was just opening the car door when there was a blur
of motion and it was slammed shut, the handle torn from my hand.  “God damn
it!”  I shook my numbed fingers and glared up at Dominic.

He stared at me
for a minute and I could feel my power rising, wanting to respond to his aura. 
He was pissed, and I could feel it lashing around me like a whip.

“Are you
completely out of your mind?”  He asked in a hushed whisper.

“I’ve got this,
thanks.”  I said airily.  I motioned him out of the way, but he didn’t move.

I crossed my
arms over my chest defensively and scowled at him.  “This isn’t the place to
have this argument.”  I said, nodding my head toward the mansion.  The twins
stood framed in the open door, watching us.

Dominic shot a
glance their way before returning his regard to me.  “You are right, of course.” 
His silky voice was tense.  “Where the devil is Ailis?”

I sighed.  “I
don’t know.  I left while she was out.  I knew that
she
would stand up
for me.  I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

He raised an
eyebrow.  “And you didn’t think that I would protect you?”

I was surprised
that he would care what I thought.  “Only if it suited your interests,” I said
honestly.

He frowned. 
“Have I not just offered you protection?”  He gestured back toward the coven
house.

I shook my
head.  “I don’t know, Dominic- have you?  Or am I just a toy to you?  I’m sure
you’ll get a thrill out of
moulding
me into something that suits your
needs.  Will you get some sort of promotion when you hand me over to Argenou to
turn?  Or will you do it just for the joy of manipulating a human?”

I was being
unfair, but I had decided not to be a victim anymore.  So I had to be smarter. 
Even if he made me forget to breathe from time to time.

Dominic removed
his back from my door and gestured grandly for me to enter the vehicle.  I
snatched the door open, pausing to look up into his silvery blue eyes.  At
least I only had him to deal with right now.  Argenou would leave me alone,
thinking I was in capable hands.  Dominic had bought me some time and
insurance.  But I wasn’t sure about his motives.

I realized my
gaze had wandered to his full lips, and I looked away, cursing myself as I felt
a warm blush wash over my cheeks. 
Just great.
  What the hell was wrong
with me, at a time like this?

“Would it be so
bad?  To belong to me?”  His voice had dropped a register, falling into
vampire.  I flung myself into my car and slammed the door.  I gave him one last
glare as I peeled out of there.  Of course, he didn’t know that I had just been
asking myself the same thing.

I walked into
the living room a few weeks later to find Ailis lounging on the sofa, sipping a
bloody Mary.  She glanced at me as I sank to into the cushions with a sigh.

“You got another
letter from Henry?” she asked.  I shook my head.  Henry had been sending me
letters and leaving messages on my phone for a week now.  The Father Alpha had
heard of my vampire job and wanted me to work for him as well.  He wanted to
arrange a meeting but I was ignoring him for now.

“I’ll go to him,
eventually,” I said in resignation.  “I just want him to stew for a while.”

Ailis laughed
and I permitted myself a grudging grin.  So I got a thrill out of tormenting
those more powerful than me.  I never claimed to be a genius.

Christian poked
his head out of the kitchen and I laughed.  He was wearing my apron over his
black silk shirt, and he looked ridiculous.  “Don’t play around too much,” he
warned. “You will end up looking like a fool.”  He frowned in thought,
“Besides, you never know when you may need their help.”

I nodded.  If
the two factions were equally invested in me, then they would protect me from
each other.  “I’ll talk to him next week.”

Christian seemed
pleased and he retreated into the kitchen where he was making his famous pasta
sauce.  The doorbell rang and I sauntered to the door while Ailis went help out
in the kitchen.  I pulled the door open with a grin, expecting Dominic.  My
grin disappeared in an instant when my eyes registered the smallish man
standing on my doorstep.  His straight, light brown hair had grown out since
the last time I saw him and he brushed it from his eyes before he stepped
forward to hug me.

“Mya,” he said
softly, “it’s so good to see you again.”  I pushed him away immediately and his
smile faltered.

 “What are you
doing here Kyle?”  My voice was acid.  He had left me and torn my life apart. 
Last time I saw him he had treated me like I was something he had stepped in. 
What made him think he could just waltz back into my life as if we were
long-lost friends?  He fidgeted on the doorstep before handing me a bouquet of
spring flowers.

“Mya, I’ve
missed you so much.  I made a horrible mistake.  Can we just talk?”

I laughed.  “You
made a mistake alright.”  I swung the door shut, but he stopped it with the
flat of his hand.

“Please Mya,” he
said softly.  “I was stupid.  I made a mistake.  I’m so sorry.”

I clenched my
teeth.  I wanted to hate him, but I just couldn’t do it.  He had been my first
serious boyfriend.  I had loved him for years.  If you truly love someone, you
can’t just stop.  It doesn’t work that way.  I looked into those soft blue eyes
and I couldn’t lie to myself.  His leaving had been my fault too.  I had pushed
him away.  He had been so sick and worn down when he left- he’d suffered too. 

I wouldn’t take
him back.  I couldn’t.  Even if I wasn’t already in love with someone else, my
life was too much of a mess.  But I couldn’t just send him away either.  I was
quickly losing touch with my human life.  Maybe this was my chance to be normal
again.  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done anything with one of my
human friends.  Amanda had all but stopped calling.  I wavered.

Kyle’s eyes
darted over my shoulder and I turned to see Ailis approaching.  “Are you okay
Mya?”  Her warm smile was fake, but he probably didn’t know that.

“Yeah.”  I
sighed, in resignation.  “Ailis, this is Kyle.”  She stepped forward to take
his hand and I saw her smile fade.

“I’ve heard
all
about you Kyle,” she purred, dripping hate.  He withdrew his hand in
puzzlement.  My vampire tended to be a little over-protective and melodramatic.

“Kyle, this is
my roommate, Ailis.” I gave her a warning look before stepping aside to let
Kyle in.  He sat on the couch under Ailis’s glare and I rolled my eyes.

“Would you like
something to drink, Kyle,” she asked in a more friendly tone. 

For a moment, I
was relived.  But the quirk of a smile lifting the corner of her mouth didn’t
bode well.  She was up to something.

“We’ll both have
some lemonade.  Um… and without the extra…lemon,” I said quickly.  It would be
just like her to slip something into his drink, salt…rat poison.

Ailis dropped a
kiss on my forehead as she swept from the room and I let out a breath.  Most
humans couldn’t sense supernaturals the way I could.  To Kyle, she would just
seem strange.  I sank onto the chair across from Kyle, trying to keep my
distance.  He might touch me again, and that brought out too many memories and
confused emotions.

He foiled my
attempts at distance by leaning forward, grasping my hands in his as he gazed
at me intently.  “Mya, please forgive me,” he began.

I struggled to
get my emotions under control.  Looking into those boyish blue eyes, it was
hard to ignore our years of history.  It had been some time since I had gazed
into eyes that were young, not shadowed by the experience of centuries.  I
needed to spend more time with humans.

The eyes in
question went round as saucers as his gaze lifted over my shoulder.  He cleared
his throat and scooted back on the couch, releasing my hands hastily, like a
boy caught flirting when a parent entered the room.  I frowned at his bizarre
behavior until I felt a decidedly large presence behind me.  Two glasses of
lemonade appeared on the table at my side.  It wasn’t Ailis who had entered the
room so quietly.

It was no
surprise when Christian stooped to kiss my cheek, sliding his big hand down my
bare arm.  I shivered involuntarily and closed my eyes, praying for patience. 
Christian straightened and I turned to gaze up at him, frowning when I saw that
he had removed his button down shirt and was now wearing a tight wife-beater
that showed off his rippling body.  That was what Ailis had been smirking
about.  They were toying with Kyle. 
Great fun. 

He came around
the chair and leaned a hip on the arm, absently caressing my hair.  “Who is
your friend?” he rumbled, staring Kyle down.  Kyle swallowed heavily and
cleared his throat.  I was beginning to feel sorry for him.  Poor guy didn’t
stand a chance.

“Christian, this
is my friend Kyle,” I said from between clenched teeth.  “Kyle this is my
boyfriend, Christian.”  I had to bite my tongue to keep a straight face. 
Describing Christian as my boyfriend was so... inadequate.

Christian leaned
forward and offered a hand to Kyle.  “Nice to meet you,” he said as his huge
hand encompassed Kyle’s completely.  I just prayed that he wouldn’t break any
bones.

Striving for
calm, I turned to Christian.  “Is dinner almost ready?”

I really hoped
he would take the hint.  This was beyond awkward.  He grinned at me and slid
off my chair.  He stretched in a slow show of muscle, his fingertips brushing
the ceiling.  “I should go check,” he said, turning away.

He left the room
and the tension left my shoulders.  Kyle looked at me in a strange mixture of
surprise and awe.  “Who is he, Mya?” he all but whispered.

I shrugged. 
“Not really your business,” I replied flippantly before taking a drink of my
lemonade.

Kyle shrugged
off his unease and plowed ahead.  At least he had guts.  He slid forward and
took my hands again.  “What I was trying to say before was that I want to start
over.  But I guess you’ve moved on.”  He shrugged.  “At the very least, I still
want us to be friends.  I need you to forgive me for walking away.  I’ve been a
jerk, and I’m sorry.”  After Christian’s display, that had taken courage.  I
did my best to look surprised.