Unforgiven (A Cyn and Raphael Novella Book 3) (4 page)

“No. I’ve lost my motivation. Besides, Raphael will be back soon.”

“Gonna get fat and flabby, bitch. See if Raphael wants you then,” Elke chided and headed for the building across the courtyard, which housed the gym, among other facilities.

“I am not!” Cyn called after her. She reached down and tried unsuccessfully to pinch the skin around her waist. There was no flab there, no matter what Elke said. Still grumbling under her breath, she marched up the stairs and down the hall to Raphael’s office. She didn’t pause there but crossed immediately to the sliding glass door, pulled it open, and stepped outside to the sound of waves pounding on the cliffs below and the familiar slap of cold, wet air. The smell of the ocean filled her nostrils and she smiled. This was home, whether here at Raphael’s or down the beach at the condo she still kept for her daytime use. The ocean would always be home to her.

Only one thing was missing about this scene and that was Raphael. Their mate bond grew stronger every day, and it was telling her now that he was still miles away. She sighed, resigned to waiting until he returned, so she could share her suspicions about Pascal.

But that didn’t mean she had to sit on her thumbs in the meantime. She spun around and headed back inside, heading for the elevator and the private quarters deep underground that she shared with Raphael. Cyn had been working with vampires a long time, searching out old bank accounts and long lost descendants among other things. She was very good at what she did and had built up a network of sorts, not only among vampires, but also with the humans who did business with them. Someone out there had to know something about Pascal, and she intended to find them.

“PASCAL, IS IT?”

Pascal nodded as Jared held out his hand, offering a friendly handshake which Pascal accepted. Some of the older vamps rejected the modern custom of shaking hands, either because they came from a time when it wasn’t common, or simply because they disdained what they considered to be a human practice. But first of all, Pascal wasn’t that old, and secondly, he was a flexible guy. He did whatever it took to get the job done, to put his mark, his target, at ease. And right now, Jared was his mark. He wanted a handshake? Pascal would make it warm and hearty.

“That’s me,” he responded to Jared’s question. “Happy to be here, too.”

“Not liking Aden?”

Pascal thought about how to answer that question. If Jared and Aden were friends, it could go against him.

“Aden’s all right,” he said carefully. “The new guy in town always wants to get his own team in place. You know how it is,” he added, putting just a touch of spin on the words, testing the waters to see if Jared was receptive to his power.

“Sure,” Jared agreed readily. “Everyone does it, right?”

Pascal nodded, smiling. “I heard Lord Raphael was hiring and figured it was time for a change of scenery. The weather sure as hell is better out here.”

Jared laughed his agreement, and Pascal felt a surge of triumph that he fought to keep hidden. His gut was telling him Jared would fall easily under his influence, but it wouldn’t do for him to get cocky. He’d move slowly, carefully. Only a fool would underestimate a vampire like Jared. He was Raphael’s lieutenant, after all, and Raphael didn’t hire weaklings.

So, while the early signs were favorable, Pascal would be smart. Long experience told him he could overtake almost anyone if he moved cautiously enough, insinuating his control a little at a time, until the only thing left was his will.

“The final decision on whether to add you to the ranks will be Raphael’s, of course,” Jared was saying. “And you need to know he doesn’t tolerate disloyalty of any kind. Betrayal is met with death.”

“Not a problem,” Pascal lied easily. “I have no intention of crossing a lord as powerful as Raphael.”

Jared nodded. “He’s tied up for the next couple of weeks, but we can get you settled in, find something for you to do in the meantime.”

“That’d be great,” Pascal agreed enthusiastically. “I appreciate anything you can do for me.” He had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing because Jared didn’t know it yet, but he was going to be doing a hell of a lot.

CYN WAS STILL working at her computer when she heard the elevator come to life. She’d been aware of Raphael returning to the estate some minutes earlier and had fought against the urge to rush upstairs and greet him. Even if the worst she suspected was true, there was no special urgency about Pascal’s visit. She might not like Jared, but he was no fool. He wasn’t about to turn over the keys to the kingdom to an unknown vampire after only a few hours. Besides, Juro had, no doubt, already briefed Raphael on their unexpected visitor.

Knowing that didn’t make Cyn any less impatient to talk to Raphael herself, however. She was on her feet and waiting right in front of the elevator when it arrived.

Raphael looked up with a broad smile as the doors slid open. He was still wearing his suit, but his tie was loosened and the top button of his shirt was undone, revealing the strong column of his throat. Cyn’s heart did a happy little dance at the sight of him, forgetting for a moment all about Pascal and his schemes.

Raphael slipped an arm around her waist as he strode from the elevator, pulling her against his powerful body. She wrapped her arms around his neck, going up on her toes to kiss his mouth.

“How was your evening,
lubimaya
?”

“Empty without you,” she murmured against his lips.

He laughed. “I know that’s not true, my Cyn. I’ve spoken to Juro.”

“Just because things happened, it doesn’t mean my night wasn’t empty without
you
there.”

“You must be more worried about this Pascal than I anticipated.”

“Are you saying you didn’t miss
me
? Because that’s what it sounds—” Her words cut off with a gasp as Raphael lifted her off her feet and into a crushing embrace, his mouth coming down to take hers in a long, lingering kiss that told her just how much he’d missed her.

“I missed you, my Cyn,” he whispered at last.

“Yeah,” she breathed.

Raphael set her back on her feet, his hands dropping in a slow caress from her back to her hips, before falling away as he moved across the room to their big walk-in closet. “So, talk to me,” he said, as he began to undress. “I have Juro’s impressions of this Pascal, but what are yours?”

“What did Juro say?” she asked curiously, following him into the closet and leaning against the doorway, appreciating the view as each piece of clothing was removed.

“No,” he said. “Tell me your thoughts first.”

“Okay. Well, at first he seemed like any other low-level vamp. Kind of weaselly, and too eager to kiss up to Juro, but that made sense in context. He claims to be from Chicago, says he wants to make a move to the West coast now that Aden’s taken over. Knowing what a dick Aden is—”

That drew a grin from Raphael, which she returned. She didn’t really consider Aden a dick. Not anymore. They hadn’t gotten off to the best start, but his mate, Sidonie, was a pretty kickass chick and awfully nice. Cyn figured if Sid loved the guy, then maybe he wasn’t as big an asshole as she’d originally thought. Plus he’d turned out to be a decent ruler for the Midwest and, more importantly, he’d allied himself with Raphael in what all of the North American lords thought was going to be a war with the European vamps. Or almost all of the lords. Lord Enrique of Mexico had made his position clear at the last Council meeting. He’d dismissed their concerns in public, while privately accusing Raphael of attempting a takeover of the continent.

Which brought her back to Pascal. “Anyway, he seemed harmless at first, but as in every good horror movie, first impressions aren’t always accurate. I’d swear he was pushing at me on the drive back here.”

That made Raphael stop what he was doing and turn to face her. “Pushing how?” he demanded.

“With his power, whatever you guys call it. I could feel this pressure in my head. It was only a faint ghost of what you can do, but . . .” She drew a breath and let it out, knowing she didn’t have any evidence other than her strong belief in Pascal’s ill will. “It was Pascal, Raphael. I know it.”

He studied her a moment, a deep frown darkening his expression. “I’ll talk to Juro and Jared tomorrow.”

“You probably think I’m being paranoid or—”

“No,” he said immediately, stepping over to her and resting one hand on her arm as the other caressed her cheek. “I trust your instincts, my Cyn. If you say something’s wrong with him, then I want to know what it is.”

Cyn rested her hands on either side of his waist. He was mostly undressed by now, with nothing left but his dark slacks which hung unbuttoned and half-unzipped, barely clinging to his narrow hips. “I tried to find some history on him,” she said, letting him see her concern as she looked up at him. “I spent all evening online, checking in with every board I know of, every database. Nobody has ever heard of him.”

“He could be newly turned,” Raphael said thoughtfully.

“But that’s not what he said,” she reminded him. “He claimed to have been living in the Midwest under Klemens. So, how come no one’s ever heard of him?”

“I’ll reach out to Aden and have his people check into it. More likely, he’s given us a false name.”

Cyn stepped even closer. “Do you think he’s a spy?” she asked softly, even though there was no way anyone could overhear their conversation.

“Very possibly. I told you we’ve expected our enemies to make a move. This could be it.”

“But what’s his game? Is he supposed to—”

“Cyn,” Raphael said, stopping her with a brush of his fingers over her lips. “Juro is on top of this, and so is Jared. And if they fail to discern Pascal’s true motives, I have every confidence in my own humble abilities—”

It was Cyn’s turn to interrupt with a scoffing huff of air. “There’s not a humble bone in your body. But, don’t you want to know—”

“This is what I know,
lubimaya
. It’s late, and if war is upon us, I want to make love to my beloved mate one more time before the end.”

“Don’t say that,” Cyn whispered. “Not even as a joke. No one’s going to be ending.”

“Make love to me anyway.”

She forced herself to smile against the chill his words had induced.

“Any time, fang boy,” she murmured and moved into his embrace, her hand sliding over his flat belly, into the invitation of his half-open pants. She found him hard and ready as her fingers circled his length, as she stroked slowly up and down, appreciating the size and breadth of him, the velvet thickness of his skin, the steel shaft beneath. Her breath caught as his cock jerked eagerly against the palm of her hand.

Raphael’s breath was a caress against her skin as he grasped the two sides of her blouse and ripped it open, his strong fingers making short work of the delicate clasp on her bra.

“Cyn,” his voice rumbled against her ear.

She looked up and his mouth came down on hers, his fingers tangling in her hair as he held her in place, his tongue delving deep into her mouth, sweeping over her gums, caressing her tongue. Her lips were crushed against his to the point of pain, but she didn’t want to let go, didn’t want to lose the warm pressure of his mouth, the sharp points of his fangs. She thrust her tongue into his mouth in turn, seeking out his fangs, stroking their hard lengths even as she continued to massage his cock, her fingers playing up and down its length, squeezing and releasing until he was thrusting against her hand.

Raphael’s fist tightened suddenly against the back of her head, twisting her hair over his fingers as he pulled her head back sharply. She cried out as the movement scraped the point of one fang over her lip, tearing the delicate skin to release a trickle of blood. Cyn felt the warm, liquid flow, felt Raphael’s body stiffen in reaction, his tongue sweeping out to gather in every last drop, his throat working as he swallowed it with a hungry growl.

“Cyn,” he repeated, warning her this time.

“But I like touching—”

That was all she managed to say before she found herself picked up bodily and tossed onto their big bed. She laughed as she flew through the air and bounced on the thick mattress. Then she laid back and watched appreciatively as Raphael stripped out of his trousers and underwear—something he only wore with dress slacks—shoving them down his legs with a single impatient gesture before he stalked across the room toward the bed. Cyn’s laughter fell away, her breath trapped in her lungs as she took in the magnificence of a fully naked, and fully aroused, Raphael. He was over six feet of pure, masculine beauty. Broad shoulders with sleek layers of defined muscle, a well-formed chest and a pack of abs that was closer to eight than six. His belly was flat, his hips narrow, and . . . well, everything else was the stuff of an artist’s dream.

Raphael watched her watching him, a smug smile curving his sensuous lips as he crawled up onto the bed with all the grace of the lethal predator he was. It was at times like this that Cyn was reminded forcefully that her lover was something other than human. No human could possess such beauty and lethality in one perfect package.

Mine, mine, mine,
she thought to herself.

“Yours,” Raphael agreed, and she realized she’d spoken out loud.

Still on all fours, bracketing her body with his arms and legs, Raphael dipped his head to her breast, his teeth closing over an erect nipple before he sucked her breast into his warm, wet mouth. Her back bowed upward, offering him better access, as her fingers scraped through his thick, short hair and over the back of his neck. She wrapped her legs around his waist and groaned as she realized she was still wearing almost all of her clothes.

“Raphael,” she complained fitfully.

He lifted his head, grinning at her frustration, then without warning, he slid down her body and began stripping away her jeans, ripping open the button and sliding down the zipper. Cyn struggled out of the remains of her blouse and bra, as Raphael hooked his thumbs into her jeans and pulled them over her hips, catching the narrow band of her panties as he stripped them down her legs and over her bare feet.

He slowed once she was completely naked, sitting back on his heels, running his big hands over her calves, stroking up to catch her knees and bend them toward her chest, pressing her thighs up and open, licking his lips in blatant appreciation.