Return to Me (Storm Lords) (5 page)

Her fingers drummed on the arm of the sofa. She wished he’d get on with it. Whatever ‘it’ was. Give her something else to think about. She tried to be patient. Her attempt lasted around thirty seconds. “Well? What’s the con?”

He opened his eyes; they were sleepy, heavy-lidded. Turning his head, he looked at her, a slight frown forming on his lean, handsome face. “We’re not con artists.”

“You’re not?” Her brows drew together. “So what do you want with me?”

“We run a security company. This is our head office, though we have offices all over the world.”

“Wow, I’m impressed.” She was, but she still wished he’d get on with it.

“We get contracts, often from government agencies, but also private companies and individuals, to provide security, do risk assessment, including identifying individuals who may present a threat, and providing background checks on people who are going into sensitive positions.”

Bella had no clue where this was going. How could she possibly be of any use to such an organization? Maybe they wanted her to test systems, to see if she could con her way through their safeguards. But the idea seemed a long shot.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “What do you want me for? I don’t see how I can help?”

He straightened and reached for his glass, swallowing the amber liquid down in one gulp. “We know you were born with certain unusual abilities.”

Shock hit her hard in the solar plexus. Whatever else she’d been expecting, it wasn’t this.

How could he know?

Freak. Monster.

Her mother’s words echoed through her mind. But her mother had been out of her life for years, and no one knew now, except for Justin and the woman who had helped her control her problem. Justin would never betray her, and the woman hadn’t even known Bella’s real name.

She gritted her teeth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bella, you could be of invaluable use to our company. You have the ability to look at people, know if they are telling the truth, if they have good intentions. Or evil.”

“No one can do that.”

He reached out, rested his hand on her forearm and she stared down at it. His fingers were long, pale against her skin. Little tremors of sensation zipped along her nerves.

“You don’t have to pretend here. We can help you.”

She pulled her arm free and leapt to her feet, stalking around the sofa so it was between them. “I don’t need help.”

He ignored her. “We have people who can show you how to control your gift. Not crudely as you do now, but so you can use it, as and when you desire.”

Bella folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “I have no gift. And even if I did, I have absolutely no desire to learn how to control it.”

He appeared to think for a minute. “We can pay you a lot of money. More than you could ever make on your ridiculous con jobs. You could be secure for the rest of your life. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Security?”

He knew way too much about her. How did he find all this shit out? “Have you had me investigated?”

He shrugged. “Of course. We always run a background check on potential employees.”

“I am not a potential employee.”

“You could be.” He rose to his feet, took a step toward her. “Don’t you want to know what you can do?” he asked, his voice laced with frustration. “Are you happy with this pathetic little existence?”

She backed away from him and turned to stare out through the window. Shock and fear warred within her. She tried to control her emotions and think about his proposal rationally; but she found this was not an easy subject to be rational about.

Her ‘powers’ as he called them had ruined her childhood. What child wants to be able to sense that her mother hates her, resents her very existence. What fourteen-year-old girl wants to be blasted by lust from her mother’s boyfriends’ disgusting, perverted brains? She shivered as waves of remembered revulsion washed through her.

No way was she going back to that. She’d wait until she was alone and then she was out of here.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she whirled around to find him far too close. The sharp, musky scent of his body filled her nostrils, at once strange but somehow familiar.

She stood transfixed. Inside, a voice screamed at her to move, but she couldn’t seem to obey, could only watch wide-eyed as his hand came up to cup her cheek. The pad of his thumb brushed across her lips and tingles of sensation radiated out from the point of contact. She wanted to close her eyes, forget where she was, who she was with, and give in to the urge coming from somewhere deep inside her that said let him do what he would.

Instead, she kept them open and stared straight ahead. She only came up to his chest, about level with the open neck of his shirt. She raised her eyes to the strong column of his throat where she could see the throb of blood in his veins.

She should feel threatened. He was so much bigger than she was and he was encroaching on her personal space, again, but she didn’t feel threatened in any way. In fact, she was fighting the urge to take the final step that would bring her body flush against his, enable her to rest her head against his chest, feel the beat of his heart.

“Let me show you all you can be,” he murmured.

Torr’s hand, still cupping her cheek, drifted lower, his fingers stroking her skin. He tipped her face upward so she looked up into his eyes, and her breath caught in her throat. He was staring down at her with a strange expression, longing and something else. She shut her eyes then; afraid the emotion was too intense, and she felt, rather than saw, as he lowered his face to hers and kissed her.

At the soft touch of his lips, lights flashed behind her closed lids. He deepened the kiss, the stroke of his tongue, pushing, insistent, and she opened to him. He thrust inside her, warm, wet velvet, and her body responded, as she’d never believed it could. Heat pooled at her core. Her arms went up, her hands tangling in the silk of his hair as she held him close against her and her head spun out of control. She sensed the force of his will pushing against her, saw that door in the wall once again, and fear flashed through her.

She struggled in his arms, her hands moving to his shoulders to try to pries some distance between them.

But he was far stronger. He held her with ease as he ravished her mouth, and the power of his will pounded against her defenses. She lost control then, fought him furiously, bit down hard on his lower lip, and tasted the sweet metallic tang as his warm blood flooded her mouth.

He went still against her, and then backed slowly away. She watched mesmerized as he touched a finger to his lip where a bead of blood had formed. He licked it away then looked at Bella.

His yellow eyes glowed feral, and real fear flickered to life deep inside her. She didn’t dare move, her eyes darting around the room for some way to escape, only to return to his face as if drawn by some invisible magnet.

As she stared, he took control of himself. Wrapped it around himself, like a cloak, and the hunger faded from his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m moving too fast. You have my apologies. I won’t touch you again without your permission.”

She wanted to make some smart remark like it would be a cold day in hell, but she couldn’t seem to form the words on her tongue. All she could do was stand there and watch as he turned on his heel and walked away.

He paused in the doorway. “One more thing. If you decide to leave now, I’ll have you taken back into custody.”

“What?” She finally managed to get a word out, as her brain slowly started to function again.

“You were only allowed out on the assumption that you would be working for Stormlord Securities.”

“How did you do that anyway?”

“I told you, we get a lot of government contracts. We have contacts, people willing to return favors.”

“You bribed somebody? So, let me get this right. You’re saying if I don’t go along with what you want, you’ll have me locked up again?”

“It’s your choice.”

Suddenly she was filled with righteous fury. She picked up the empty champagne bottle, and stalked toward him.

“Get the fuck out of my room,” she screamed.

***

Torr pulled the door closed behind him and heard the crash as the heavy bottle smashed into the wood.

Well, that had gone well.

He could still taste her on his lips and feel the softness of her. His cock was hard and his balls ached. He slammed his fist into the wall.

“How’s it going?”

He glanced up to see Phoebe standing in the hallway watching him, and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was pity on her face. “Brilliantly,” he snarled.

Most people would have backed off, but Phoebe was tougher than that. “So what happened to make you look so happy?”

“Let me think. First, I insulted her way of life, then I assaulted her, and finally I threatened her with prison.”

“Assaulted? Is she okay?”

“Of course, she’s okay. What do you take me for?”

A slight smile flickered across her face and was gone just as quickly. The truth was Phoebe knew exactly what he was, and what he was capable of. But she also must know he would never hurt Bella.

“Well,” she said, “it sounds like a great way to get someone to fall in love with you.”

“I don’t need her to fall in love with me. I just need her to remember that she’s already in love with me.”

“You want me to talk to her?”

“You can’t tell her; that would be breaking the Covenant.”

“I know that. But maybe a friendly face will help her relax.”

“I’m friendly,” he growled.

Another crash came from inside the room.

Torr ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Okay. I’d appreciate it if you’d stay with her. I’ve got…things to do and a meeting; and yeah, she could probably do with some company.”

“Okay. It will be nice to have another woman around this place. You guys can be a bit overpowering you know.” She strolled past him and tapped lightly on the wood.

“Get lost!” Bella shouted.

Phoebe turned to Torr. “Go on. I think this might go better if you’re not here when she opens the door.”

Torr didn’t want to leave, but he had to go see if he could find out any information. And afterward he needed to tell the others what had occurred with Lilith. They had to try to work out who had his soul and what they planned to do with it. If it was Razul, they were in trouble.

Razul hated his guts.

Along with the rest of him.

***

The tap came again.

Bella strode across the room and yanked open the door, opened her mouth to tell him to…and closed it again.

A woman stood in the doorway, her hand raised, ready to repeat the knock. She was small, around the same height as Bella, with blonde hair cut off blunt at the shoulder, framing a heart shaped face, pointed chin with a deep dimple, and dark brown eyes flecked with gold. She was also at least seven months pregnant.

It was so unexpected that Bella’s mouth dropped open again.

The woman thrust her hand out in front of her. “Hi, I’m Phoebe.”

“Phoebe?”

“Didn’t Cade mention me?” She cocked her head to one side, a small frown on her face. “You did meet my husband, didn’t you?”

“Cade is your husband?” Though, she remembered now, he’d said he was meeting Phoebe for lunch.

She grinned. “Yeah, aren’t I lucky?” She glanced down at her hand, then back up to Bella’s face, one eyebrow raised.

“Sorry,” Bella muttered. “I thought you were Torr, coming back.” She took the hand and felt her own shaken vigorously.

“May I come in?” Phoebe asked.

Bella’s first inclination was to get out of there fast and avoid any further confrontations with Torr. Her lips still tingled where he had kissed her, and her mind felt curiously light as though she might float away at any moment. However, that could be the champagne. Served her right for drinking in the morning. Then again, she could blame only so much on the alcohol. But she was also insatiably curious about this place and these people, and maybe Phoebe would tell her something about what was going on.

She opened the door wider and gestured for the other woman to enter.

“Be careful,” she said. “There’s glass on the floor.”

Phoebe glanced down. “So there is.” She stepped over the smashed bottle and looked around. “You know, I stayed here when I first met Cade.” Crossing the room, she sank onto the sofa, kicked off her flats, and let out an audible sigh of relief.

Bella followed her and took the seat opposite. “You did? How did you meet him?”

“I’m a reporter. I came to do a piece on the company. You know the sort of thing—how sleazy multinational organizations succeed by means of bribery and corruption. Cade offered me the chance to stay and see how the company really worked and I never left.”

“So are they sleazy?”

“No, boringly clean as far as I could tell. And I’m good. If there was any dirt, I’d find it.”

A suspicion formed in Bella’s mind. She studied the other woman, but Phoebe smiled serenely.

“Did Torr send you in here?” Bella asked.

“Not really. I was on my way up to see you and I met him outside.” She grinned. “I’ve always been terrified of Torr, those eyes and that scar, and he’s always so self-possessed.” She shivered dramatically. “It was good to see him not entirely in control for once.”

“He seemed pretty much in control to me. So why were you on your way to see me?”

“Just to say hello, welcome, and all that. This place can be a bit overpowering.”

“I’m not overpowered,” Bella replied. Phoebe seemed like a nice woman, but Bella wasn’t ready to pour her heart out to a stranger. It wasn’t her way. “So did Cade tell you anything about me?”

“A little. That they were bailing you out of the police station.”

“Do you know why?”

Phoebe glanced away, then back, and Bella got the distinct impression she was thinking of how much to say. Which was a huge indication that what she was about to say was not going to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

She waited, curious as to what Phoebe would reveal.

“Just that Torr wanted you for some sort of advisory position, here at the company.”

“And does the company employ a lot of potential cons?”

“Cons?”

“You know criminals, people with a police record.”

Phoebe shifted, and Bella almost smiled. It was obvious the other woman was uncomfortable with making things up. Maybe that came from being a reporter. “Well I—”

A knock sounded on the door and Phoebe jumped to her feet. “I’ll get that.” She headed for the door.

“Watch out for the—”

“Ouch…shit!”

Too late.

Bella winced. “—glass. Don’t move,” she muttered, making her way over.

The knock sounded again, louder this time.

“It’s Cade,” Phoebe said, leaning against the wall and lifting one foot so she could examine her bloody sole.

Bella frowned. “How do you know?”

“I just know. Let him in before he breaks the door down.”

Bella opened the door. Cade stood there, her dog at his feet, a frown on his face. “What the hell? Phoebe—”

“It’s nothing,” Phoebe said hurriedly. “Just the tiniest little cut.”

Cade swung around to face Bella. “What did you do to her?”

“She did nothing, Cade. It was my own stupid fault.”

Bella rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she held out her arms. “Skip,” she called.

The little dog leapt into them, and she carried him through into the bedroom and shut the door.

When she came back, Phoebe was in her husband’s arms, her own wrapped around his neck. She glanced across at Bella. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, we must do this again sometime.”

She watched as Cade strode down the hallway, Phoebe clasped tightly in his arms. He obviously loved her very much. Bella could sense the bond between them.

She closed the door slowly. She had to get out of here. At least she had to find out what she was involved with. Justin would know. He knew everything and everyone.

She picked up her cell phone and punched in his number. Once again, it kicked into voicemail.

Where are you?

She’d stick around for today, keep trying, but in the meantime, she was locking the door.

***

Torr had spent the last hours in a fruitless search for information, but people appeared to be avoiding him, and he knew no more now than he had that morning. He wanted this mess cleared so he could concentrate on Bella. But he suspected it wasn’t going to be so easy.

Damn Lilith.

His brothers were waiting for him in his office. All except Cade, who was walking Bella’s dog again. And Bryce.

Of course, thinking about Bryce brought Bella to mind, not that she was ever far from his thoughts.

Bryce had found his own love two years prior, and lost her again, this time for eternity. Eleven months ago, he’d asked Torr to end his life, as he could only die at the hands of another immortal. Torr had sent him away. If his brother still felt the same when he returned in a year’s time, he would do as Bryce had asked. The year was nearly up. Would he return to them whole or still broken?

“What’s going on?” Finn asked. “We thought you’d be with Soraya.”

“Her name is Bella.”

Finn smiled. “We heard. Belladonna. Have you and she made up?”

“No.” Torr’s tone was terse, but he couldn’t help himself. Goddamn Lilith for doing this now when he needed to concentrate on Bella. Though he suspected that was her purpose. But how far would she go? Would she be willing to let his soul be destroyed? Was the decision still in her hands or was it now out of her control?

“Wait until Cade gets here and I’ll tell you all together.” He had no wish to go over this more than once.

Cade came in at that moment, slamming the door behind him. He stalked across the room and poured himself a drink, brought it with him, and flung himself down on the sofa.