Unbound (15 page)

He slipped into the car and the door shut before Sadie could tell him it was most certainly
not
a date. As the shiny stretch limo pulled down the New York City street, however, part of her wished that it was.

Sadie knocked on the door to Olivia and Doug's apartment and prayed she wouldn't wake up the baby. She had desperately wanted to go for that swim tonight, but her two unexpected visitors ended up changing her plans. Tomorrow night she was going to get a swim if it freaking killed her. Letting out a sigh, she tipped her head back and stared at the stone ceilings of the Presidium's hallways. Buried deep beneath The Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park, the vampire government operated freely with humans none the wiser. Sadie envied their blissful ignorance of the supernatural world.

Olivia and her bloodmate, Doug, were the Czars of New York City, and after they bonded, both became daywalkers—vampires who could walk in the sun. Then, as if that wasn't enough change, they also had an adorable baby girl, Emily. Sadie's mouth curved into a smile when she thought of the redheaded cherub. All of them loved Emily like a daughter, and given the oddity of her birth, she was probably the only child any of them would have. Doug's angel bloodline, combined with the two of them being bloodmates, had resulted in Olivia's highly unusual pregnancy.

Well, that was what everyone thought, but who the hell knew what to expect anymore?

The changes they'd been going through as a coven reminded Sadie of how she'd felt when Olivia first turned her. The world had shifted, making her feel unsettled and like the ground beneath her feet could rumble at any moment and swallow her whole. The winds of change always seemed to be lurking around the corner lately. Sadie hated change. She'd loathed it when she was human, which was probably why she liked being a vampire so much. Life for the undead was steady and predictable—at least it had been until recently.

“What's up?” Doug asked with a loud whisper as he swung the door open. His short blond hair was in a state of disarray and the pajama pants he wore were horribly wrinkled. The poor guy looked like a disheveled mess. Pressing his finger to his lips, he stepped back and gestured for Sadie to come in. “Emily is finally asleep, and if she wakes up, I might actually cry. Have you ever seen a grown man cry? It's not pretty.”

Doug shut the door silently before plopping onto the brown leather sofa. A moment later, their German shepherd, Van Helsing, trotted silently into the room and went directly to Sadie.

“Sorry to bother you guys.” Sadie kept her voice to barely above a whisper and stood in the open living room of their spacious apartment while trying not to laugh at the new father's predicament. The dog sat at her feet waiting for the scratches she always gave him, and two seconds later, Oreo appeared next to him. “Are you sure Oreo knows she's a cat? I swear she thinks she's a dog.”

“I have no idea but you should be honored.” Doug opened his eyes briefly. “Those two rarely leave Olivia's side. What's going on, Sadie?”

“I really need to speak to Olivia.” Sadie squatted down and stroked the two furry creatures lovingly. The black and white cat purred like a freight train as she rubbed up against Sadie's leg. “It's important.”

“It must be if you're here and not getting some shut-eye after sunrise. She'll be out in a minute.” Doug let his head fall back on the couch and closed his eyes. “Emily must have had a nightmare or something. The poor kid cried for an hour. Let me tell you something. I thought seeing Olivia get upset was the worst thing in the world but I was wrong. Hearing my baby girl cry is like getting shot with silver. It hurts like a bitch and I can't do a fucking thing to stop it.”

“It's worth it, though, isn't it?” Sadie slipped her hands in the pockets of her slacks and strolled over to the far wall with the animals at her heels. It was filled with black and white photos of their unusual little family. Sadie's chest ached as she stared at the three of them smiling into the camera.

Memories of her own human family, now long dead, drifted through her mind, and a swell of loss and sadness tugged at her. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she hadn't thought of them in years. However, ever since Killian asked her about the night she was turned, their faces hadn't left her mind. “Having the love of your family makes all the crappy stuff okay.”

“Are you alright?” Doug asked with obvious concern. “Maya and Trixie can be kind of hotheaded, but you're usually the even-keeled one. What's up with you? Early morning visits aren't usually your style.”

“I'm fine.” Sadie faked a smile and waved him off. “I just had a question for Olivia about the club.”

“Right.” Doug made a snort of derision and flopped his head back on the sofa. He closed his eyes and a smile played at his lips. “When a woman says ‘I'm fine,' she is anything but fine.”

Sadie squirmed at his typically perceptive nature, the quality that had made him such a good cop when he was a human. As a vampire, it made him a really good czar. The guy could smell bullshit from a mile away, and right now he had a whiff of hers.

“She's out like a light.”

Olivia's voice cut through the room and saved Sadie from Doug's impending inquisition. Sensing her uneasiness, Olivia immediately came over and swept Sadie up in a hug. Wearing a green silk bathrobe, the same shade of emerald as her eyes, and with a cascade of red curls over her shoulders, Sadie's maker looked as beautiful as ever. In most cases, she would make it a quick hug, but this time Olivia hung on and the tenderness of the embrace tugged at Sadie's heart. They may not be able to telepath with each other anymore, but their connection ran deeper than that. Words weren't necessary.

“I'll leave you two girls to talk about the club or whatever.” Doug waved before flying out of the room, presumably to the bedroom.

“Come on.” Olivia linked her arm through Sadie's and led her to the front door of the apartment. “Let's take a walk.”

Arm in arm they strolled through the Presidium's stone hallways with Oreo and Van trailing close behind as Sadie relayed the evening's events to her maker. The iron lamps' flickering light illuminated the ancient halls with an ethereal glow and, as always, made Sadie feel as though she had stepped back in time.

“Okay,” Olivia said slowly. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Killian's club, but Doug and I thought it would be a good idea to keep it under wraps for a while. We knew that once the word was out, the inevitable bitching would begin.”

“I'm not just anyone.” Sadie stopped walking and captured Olivia's serious green gaze. “I'm your progeny and your friend.” Her lip trembled. “We're family, Olivia. You and the rest of the coven are the only family I have left.”

“I know that,” Olivia said gently. She gathered Sadie's hands in hers and looked at her earnestly. “I'm not perfect, okay? I'm still new at the whole czar thing. I was just trying to keep things calm for as long as possible, you know? Let the vamps in the city get used to having the wolves around before we announced the opening of the club. It looks like Darius and his crew aren't going to make this easy for anyone.”

“What are you gonna do?” Sadie smiled when Oreo kept trying to capture Van's tail and the enormous dog dutifully ignored the cat, keeping his intelligent brown eyes on Olivia. “Will you formally announce it to the community soon?”

“Probably.” Olivia sighed. “That shithead Darius is obviously starting to make noise, so we'll have to get ahead of it.” She squeezed Sadie's fingers gently. “But something tells me that Darius's visit isn't what's really bothering you.”

“No, it's not.” Sadie held her maker's intent stare, and images of her human family flickered through her mind. “Killian asked me about the night I was turned.”

“Really?” Olivia said slowly. Van whined at their feet, sensing a spike of tension in the air that wasn't lost on Sadie either. “Did you tell him how personal that question is?” She linked her arm back through Sadie's and started walking with her again, irritation edging her voice. “You would think that a member of the royal family would be more informed about proper etiquette when dealing with vampires.” She stared straight ahead, her body tensing. “Did you tell him the story?”

“No.” Sadie shook her head. “But I might at some point.”

“Really?” Olivia shot a sidelong glance at her. “How much do you remember about that night? We haven't talked about it in a long time.”

“Most of it.” Sadie let out a shuddering breath. “I try not to think about it, and until Killian asked me, I'd done a bang-up job of keeping it off my mind. It's weird, you know?”

“How so?” Olivia's tone grew serious and she stopped walking. “In what way?”

“Well, lots of other vamps and a few humans have asked me about my turn story, and I've told them without hesitation.” She let out curt laugh. “I mean, I know it's personal and everything, but for some reason, when Killian asked me… I can't explain it… It was like a kick in the gut and now I can't stop thinking about it.” She made a sound of frustration and ran her hands through her hair. “Jeez, I sound like such a girl. This guy is making me crazy.”

“I see,” Olivia said quietly. “Are you going to help him and go check out his new club?”

“Yes.” Sadie quickly added, “I mean, I thought I should. You know, it will be good for race relations and politics. Right?”

“Sure.” A knowing smile spread across Olivia's face. Sadie's face heated with embarrassment because her maker saw right through her. “It will be great for…relations.”

***

The beat of the music in the nightclub thrummed through Killian insistently but he barely felt it anymore. All he could think about was the sexy vampire with the long, dark hair, and when he closed his eyes, he could still feel her hand when it had settled so perfectly inside his. Beautiful, soft, and cool, she reminded him of a crisp December morning in Alaska. That was weird, wasn't it? A werewolf prince should not be so insanely attracted to a vampire—and yet he was.

What was it about Sadie that had him twisted up in knots? It was ridiculous to come to this nightclub night after night and drool over a woman who could never be his. And yet here he was, in a perpetually horny state, fantasizing about a vampire who, by all accounts, thought he was a dick.

He was so screwed. Royally fucking screwed.

“Can we get out of here?” Ivan asked abruptly. Leaning back against the red leather booth, his bodyguard made a face that expressed his displeasure. “The place is closing anyway. Most of the humans have already left.”

Killian was about to respond when the sweet familiar scent of mint captured his attention.

“Time to settle up, gentlemen.” Sadie's dark eyes drifted over the three of them but she artfully avoided his gaze. Sliding the leather billfold on the table, she pushed it toward Killian. “You get the good news, if I'm not mistaken?”

“Absolutely.” Killian went to grab the billfold and his fingers brushed hers in one brief electric pass. Her dark eyes widened when her fingers clashed with his, confirming his suspicion that she'd felt it too. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Dragging her gaze from his, Sadie straightened her back and smoothed the lapel of her blazer in a soothing gesture. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who felt a dangerous attraction. “If you'll excuse me, I have business to tend to. Trixie will close out your tab.”

Sadie glanced at him briefly before making a hasty exit toward the hallway that led to the restrooms. As she disappeared around the corner, Killian took his credit card out of his wallet and handed it to Ivan with the bill.

“Take care of this at the bar with Trixie.” He slipped out of the booth and sent a glance at David. “I'll meet you two at the car.”

“Your Highness.” Ivan got out of the booth and stepped in front of Killian, blocking his path. The man was a wall of muscle. “You shouldn't go anywhere unattended.”

“Really?” Killian kept his voice low and arched one brow at his overprotective bodyguard. “I've been taking a piss by myself for a while now. I'm pretty sure I can handle it.”

Before Ivan could say another word, Killian stepped around him and followed Sadie's scent. He knew that Ivan was less than thrilled about spending time at The Coven, and his distrust of vampires was common among their kind. But none of that mattered. All Killian could think about was finding out if his suspicions about Sadie were correct. Propriety, rules, and political correctness could be damned.

Moving down the dark corridor, he paused outside the ladies' room and a growl rumbled in his chest as her distinctly sexy scent filled his head. Eyes closed, he tilted his nose and sucked in a deep breath. At that same moment, the door swung open and with the subtle shift of air came a pulse-pounding surge of Sadie's perfume. He flicked his eyes open and found himself face-to-face with the source of his obsession.

“Wrong door, Your Highness.” The door shut silently behind her and she stood only a foot away from Killian, who was blocking her exit. Music from the now almost-empty club drifted over them but he barely noticed it. “The little boys' room is behind you,” she said, pointing over his shoulder. “See? It's got the nifty outline figure of the dude on the door.”

“I know,” Killian bit out. Curling his hands at his side, he remained stone-still with his eyes pinned to hers. “That's not what I'm looking for.”

“Oh really?” Settling her hands on her hips, Sadie tilted her chin, and her lips curved as her dark gaze flicked over him from head to toe. “Then what are you looking for? A restraining order? Because that's what you're gonna get if you start staking out the women's bathroom.”

“No.” Killian inched closer, intentionally invading her personal space. He studied her closely, wanting to see if he affected her even a fraction of the way she affected him. Sadie held her ground, but the slight widening of her eyes and subtle flare of her nostrils as he closed in spoke volumes. He sucked in a deep breath and picked up the unmistakable scent of desire. Oh yeah. He was definitely not alone. “I was looking for you.”