Runestone (5 page)

A shiver of shock passed Amsdell’s features. “Her mortal lover?”

Will waved a hand. “I told you it’s complicated. Back to the topic. Marcus is dead. I can show you where his body lies. But he must have other people running the operation. Obviously no one suspects he’s dead.”

“No, you’re right. I’ve been spying on this cell for months, and they don’t know. Marcus was a loner, and they think he’s off someplace creating a master list of immortals to target.”

A growl of anger almost erupted from Will’s chest. Immortals to target. Immortals like his friend Dante.

“I have to stop them.”

A smile of such brilliance spread over Amsdell’s face that Will was stricken speechless by the sight. Suddenly, he could picture him as he’d been in olden times—a warrior, battling against the Norman rule maybe.

Amsdell patted the table with one great palm. “I knew you wouldn’t stick your head in the Argentinean dust.  I believe fate has brought us together, young Will. We can bring down those who mean to rule us. I have some secrets.” He tapped his temple with a long forefinger. “And you have the passion.”

Will mulled this word. Passion. It meant many things. Passion for his lovers Evangeline and Sean. And before they had filled his life, he’d experienced the passion of friendship for the immortal Lillian, who was linked to his friend Nathan but chained to another immortal. That passion had led him to a different passion—the rage that had pushed him to take immortal lives, both out of sacrifice and anger.

“I see you have stories, and I hope in time that you will share them,” Amsdell said quietly.

The serving girl brought a tray of food and placed it before them, her sidelong gaze locked on Amsdell. A soft smile graced his mouth, and before she went away, he slipped his hand over the rounded curve of her buttocks. She arched her back a little to more fully fill his hand, and a spike of need struck Will’s cock. Evangeline felt farther away than ever. The shakes overtook him once more.

Amsdell gave the woman a wink and a smile, and then sent her on her way. “I’ve spent some time here,” he explained to Will. “Rather a lot of time.”

Will nodded. The thought of Evangeline and Sean being married was a hot coal in his gut. Not because he totally opposed it, but it hurt him deeply that he wasn’t there to witness it. He deserved to be included in the ceremony in some way.

He reached for the pack of cigarettes again, raising a questioning brow at Amsdell.

“Help yourself. I’m indebted to you for saving me.”

As Will lit his cigarette, he shook his head. “You owe me nothing.”

Amsdell studied him, his gray eyes serious. “For a young immortal, you have lived much. You’ve given and taken immortal life, and you’re bonded to a mate.”

The weight of his separation from Evangeline doubled. He never intended to jump into the thick of a war, and yet what choice did he have? “Yeah, I’m a walking fount of experience. But what I really need to know, right now, is can we defeat these fuckers?”

The tinkling notes of a Chopin nocturne streamed through Evangeline’s mind. The late afternoon sun fell through the high, arching windows of the chapel and lit the white, silver, and gold décor. Dozens of white flowers crowded around the altar. Their cloying scents would be forever fixed in her mind when she thought of this day.

At her side, Sean beamed. Decked out in a black suit and a crisp white shirt, with his dark hair hanging loose around his collar, he stunned her with his beauty. At that moment, she had never seen an immortal glow as much as he did.

A crooked smile played about his lips, and she wanted to stretch onto tiptoe and capture that smile beneath her mouth. In her heart, she knew that marrying him was right and good. But guilt weighted her delicate silver shoes. Her new square-cut diamond set in platinum felt as heavy as granite on her hand. Will should be here with them to witness this, and someday soon she would rectify the slight, by getting remarried in their new hometown with Will present.

Although he’d given his blessing in the taxi, she worried that he hadn’t Called to her since. But her guilt made her too shy to initiate the Call right now.

He’s not angry with you, she told herself. If he was, he wouldn’t have told you to go ahead with the ceremony.

Sean’s rough, warm fingers folded about hers, and he lifted her hand, grazing her knuckles with his lips. His eyes were brighter than the candles dotting the altar, and she sank into their depths with a sigh.

The pastor’s soft baritone sounded, and Evangeline jerked, focusing on the act she was about to perform. Being bonded to Will was akin to marriage, yet this was new to her. Excitement snapped in her nerve endings.

When she tilted her face to Sean’s and spoke her vows, she worked at her mental connection with Will, wanting him to be part of their union. But he had closed himself off from her.

“I promise to be the best husband you could ever want, Evangeline.” Sean’s whispered words grounded her. He nudged her chin up to his, and claimed her mouth in their first caress as man and wife.

The soft, seeking kiss melted her. She spun her arms around his neck and clung to him. His fingers probed her lower back through the silvery, flapper-style dress she wore, sending chills throughout her. When a full-body tremor racked her, Sean gripped her with concern, knowing her distance from Will was the cause.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Livingston,” the pastor said when they drew apart.

After they’d shaken the pastor and his wife’s hands, Sean caught her up in his arms and carried her out into the blistering Vegas sun. All tension was absent from his muscles as he dropped his mouth to her tattoo and suckled its length. Every rune and star lifted to his touch as if he too were immortal. She clutched the back of his head and held him to her.

“Don’t stop. Please.” Her gasp was muffled beneath the noise of the crowds milling the streets, but he heard. Shifting her weight to one arm, he carried her two buildings down to their hotel, and up into their room.

Sprawled on their big bed, she pulled him down roughly upon her. Need coursed through her veins. She was hungry for his touch, but she also needed relief from the shakes.

Sean gripped her ass and yanked her lower on the bed, and then hovered over her, supporting her head in his big hand. His minty breath stirred the hair on her temple as he trailed his lips over the stars at the corner of her eye. “Thank you for marrying me, beautiful woman. Mrs. Livingston. My wife.”

Tears bulged at the roots of her lashes at his tender words and the glittering expression in his dark eyes. “Take me, Sean.”

His laughter rumbled against her throat. “I’ll take my wife anytime or anyplace she’d like.”

She fumbled with his belt and the fly of his black pants. He hitched her dress up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and ground her bare, wet pussy against him. The silver fringe at the hem of her dress tickled her upper thighs and hips.

Rapidly, his kisses kindled into flames, and then exploded out of control. She could only feel Sean, his rock-hard body crushing hers into the thick mattress, and the silky texture of his hair between the webs of her fingers. “My husband. I can’t wait. I need you.”

Her hips lifted upward, rubbing against his raging erection. With nimble fingers, she withdrew it from his boxer briefs. The thick, hot length slid onto her palm.

He released a throaty groan as she stroked it. The world thinned to a fine point like the head of a pin, and yet in that miniscule tip of her core, all the sensation in the universe lived. The dew of perspiration broke over her body, slicking her throat and moistening the cleft between her breasts.

She softened, feeling as if she’d been hypnotized by her new husband’s sweeping touches on her immortal tattoo. Could the superficial bond of their marriage have linked them as closely as she was connected to Will? Or nearly so?

Sean’s pulsing shaft poised at the quick of her. She imagined the head, swollen and shiny, pushing through the slick membranes of her love cavern. In one swift motion, he buried it to the root.

She gasped at the blissful invasion. He knotted her hair and tugged her head up, capturing her lips in a long, mind-blowing kiss. Emotion was a freight train in her soul, bearing down on her, and she submitted to it, knowing she was safe in his hands.

Five thrusts. Six. And then she was splintering. She dug her fingers into his spine, loving the powerful movement of his muscles under his skin and the layers of his wedding suit.

“I love you, Sean. Love you,” she cried. He swallowed her words, fed them back to her as he ruptured, pumping his pearly heat into her pussy.

She came down from her high slowly, aware of the rush of Sean’s breath in her ear.

Suddenly, the passionate haze in her brain dispelled, and she caught a flash of Will, grunting with exertion. Fury filled his blood and throbbed into hers. A meaty neck was pinned under his fist.

Tears welled in her eyes as a sharp pain dug deep into her hand, and shot up her arm.

Sean reared up, forearms locked to support his weight. His hair fell into one eye, and he shook it away. “Evangeline. . . . ”

The flavor of foreign tobacco coated her tongue. She pushed on Sean until he moved off her, and she scooted into a sitting position. Her thighs were sticky with his cum, and her sex was still throbbing from their encounter. “It’s Will,” she said, and Sean nodded.

Rapidly, she sank into the personal hell of her mind. Something was wrong with her immortal mate—she knew it like she knew her own flesh. Why wasn’t he allowing her to see into his soul?

“Cigarette smoke. I can taste it on you. What’s going on? Will hasn’t smoked in months.”

“I know.”

“Baby, look at your hands.”

Her gaze slid from Sean’s worried face to her hands. They trembled like she’d gone three days without a fix.

She crumpled.

“Call to him, Evangeline. Hurry.” Sean’s urgent plea penetrated her brain. Too late, she realized what a fucking mess she was. Had she been shaking like this all along?

She closed her eyes and focused on her immortal mate, but she could feel nothing. Only taste that sweet smoke in her mouth, and a brick of disgust in her stomach.

Will.

Her mental fingernails clawed at the opening between their souls, but he was silent. Still. Remote. Removed from her entirely.
Will, I’m so sorry. You gave your blessing. You said. . . .

“Evangeline!” Sean shook her by the shoulders, his thumbs bruising against her collar bones. Her teeth chattered, and she fought to concentrate on Sean’s voice, on the crease between his dark brows. But her immortal mate had shut her out, and the pain was increasing.

She threw Sean a desperate look. “He won’t let me in.” She fought to keep the panic from her voice, but it was useless. The man she loved and needed more than air had blocked her.

Sean’s jaw firmed. “How the hell can he do this to you?” he growled.

She started to shake more violently. Cradling her head in her hands, she Called repeatedly to Will.

Sean’s fingers thrummed over her immortal tattoo, but it did little. In the wake of her tremors, it was a whisper in the wind. The pressure built inside her until she thought she’d scream. Frantic, Sean gathered her to his chest. He dipped his head and nipped at her tattoo.

Will. Please talk to me.

“Evangeline, I can’t bear to see you this way. What can I do? Tell me what to do.”

She plastered herself to him. The fear that he could disappear from her life too plagued her.
You don’t know that Will’s gone from your life. He might only be angry about the wedding.

Sean held her tight, whispering to her. “It’s all right, baby. We’ll figure it out. If he won’t answer your Call, we’ll use the phone.”

“It’s not that, Sean. I. . . ” She drew a deep, shuddering breath. “I don’t think he’s safe.”

At this, Sean’s head snapped up. “What makes you think that?”

She concentrated on her connection to Will again. A dark cloud of foreboding pressed on her soul. “His emotions are seeping through, but I can’t see him or hear him. He won’t talk to me. Oh, God, Sean, we’ve got to find out what’s happened!”

Sean jumped off the bed, zipped his fly, whipped out his cell and started to pace the floor. His shoulders were hunched and his mouth twisted with worry. Every few seconds he shot her a look that said her shakes were worse than she thought.

After a minute passed without Will answering his cell, her heart sank. “He’s not answering.”

“No.” He switched off the phone and tossed it to the bed. He drew her to the edge and enveloped her in his arms. “Baby, we’ll find him, and when we do, we’ll probably laugh because he’s sitting in some pub with a local, smoking, drinking, and talking numbers.”

She shivered. “I don’t know. Why won’t he answer me?”

“He’s still upset about the wedding.” Sean’s tone was hard, but speaking of their recent vows, his eyes softened. He ran a finger along her jaw and over her tattoo. “That wedding night was too fast. Come here. Lie with me and calm down. Will is okay, and remember that he gave his blessing. He’ll come around after I speak with him on the phone. We only have a single night, Evangeline, and then it’s back to L.A.”

She heard the plea in his voice. He might be right, yet a sixth sense told her this wasn’t the case. Will wouldn’t block her because he was angry. And what about that pain in her palm? She rubbed it, and a new pang radiated up to her elbow.

There was only one more way to gain Will’s attention, and she hated to use it. If she simultaneously spoke his name aloud and into his soul, she’d hold his strings, forcing him to respond.

Desperation and the untamed trembling made the decision for her. She drew a deep breath and Called to him.
“Will.”

She rushed down the tunnel between them, tasting smoke and kiwi fruit and glazed chicken. Before she could blink, these surface sensations fled, and she was hurled into a world of despair. Anger and guilt assaulted her. The unaccustomed fury rose in her again, and it had nothing to do with her own thoughts or feelings.

She leapt off the bed, clutching her head. “Oh, my God, Sean. Something’s wrong. We’ve gotta get home. Hurry!”

Running to the door, she hefted the strap of her carry-on over her shoulder. She whirled to Sean, wild to be off. “Please, Sean. What are you waiting for?” Didn’t he hear her? Didn’t he understand?

Slowly, he gained his feet. The top button of his shirt was undone, and his tie askew. His dark hair fell in waves to his slumping shoulders. “Sweetheart, we were just married less than an hour ago.”

“I know, Sean, and I am just as torn as you. I want to spend a romantic evening together, but can’t you see what’s going on?” She felt like she was crawling with ants. She plucked at her dress, sending little silver sequins raining down. The violet streak hanging over one eye bounced with her uncontrollable tremors. “I’m breaking apart and you won’t stop worrying about yourself and your perfect wedding night.” She collapsed into sobs.

In two strides, Sean was with her, removing the bag from her and dropping it with a thud, and then drawing her into his arms. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m being selfish and unfair. Goddammit, this is not how I planned to act as your husband.”

“I know.” The hoarse cries muffled her words. She turned her face against Sean’s starched shirt and let loose.

He swept her off her feet and sank with her to the bed. He folded her tightly against him, and lightly pressed her tattoo. A small bead of calm ran through her. But it wasn’t enough.

He rocked her slightly. “Baby, We’ll get in touch with him.”

“I want to go home, Sean.”

His long sigh ruffled her hair.

All of a sudden, a Vision filled her mind. Visions were insights into the future shared between immortal mates. Before she’d known Will was her destiny, Visions of his lovemaking had plagued her. Now a Vision imbued her with terror.

Cold steel in Will’s grasp, sun beating on his crown, setting his auburn hair aglow. His mouth a hard twist as he watched two men approach him. He took aim and fired the weapon.