UnGuarded (11 page)

I regained my memory after nearly twenty
minutes of arguing with Luke—I’d been unconscious for a half hour
before that. I sat on his sofa, rubbing my temples with the tips of
my index and middle fingers. My clothes were filthy—ashes and dirt
plastered all over my jeans and tank top, but even they felt
cleaner than my soul. I glanced toward the back of the basement and
saw Luke sitting at the table, arms tightly folded in front of his
chest. Ashy-colored smears coated his black tee shirt, while his
gray jeans seemed to conceal most of the remnant leftovers from
Charon. Even through the dirt and grime, there was an
attractiveness to him, a sincere form of affection expanding from
the depths of my heart, settling on my bones like rich, viscous
honey. He was genuinely helping me, or helping Cole, but either way
he was seeing this through. Some vampires really weren’t bad—I’d
met two of them.

Luke caught me looking at him and I
hurriedly turned away, feeling heat flush my cheeks. I bit my
bottom lip, staring down at the floor. “I need to return to my
charge,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Fine. But if you leave before telling me
what the hell is going on, then you can count me out.”

My hands curled into fists, my breathing
grew shallow. “But you can’t quit. You’re supposed to help get Cole
back!”

Luke stood up and stepped toward me. “I
heard the agreement you made with that demon. You don’t need me to
get Cole back.” There was a blur and then Luke was kneeling in
front of me. He grabbed my chin, held it steady as his eyes
searched mine. “What you need me for is to cover your
ass
!
If I don’t go with you, then you’ll have to keep your deal with
that demon.”

I felt my eyes widen. “That’s not—” I
stopped before saying “true.” Luke was right. I’d been ready to do
this on my own but he’d stopped me and offered to help. But what I
hadn’t realized—until now—was that Luke was actually helping
me
. If it weren’t for him, I’d be giving myself to Limos
with no way out. Was Cole worth it? Yes—absolutely. But it was also
awesome having a way out.

Luke’s grip tightened on my chin. “Are you
talking, or leaving?”

If I told him my situation, it would weaken
my position even more than it already was. But I couldn’t afford to
lose his alliance against Limos. Feeling backed in a corner, I gave
him the only answer I could. “I’ll tell you, but, I have a question
of my own for you.”

“Nice try, Angel, but it’s me first on this
one. Now spill it!”

“I’m falling,” I cried out. “I’m falling
because I’m in love with a dark one.” My fists squeezed tighter,
and I could feel my nails digging into my palms. Luke’s position
never wavered. He held my face, his eyes soft and curious. It
reminded me of Cole, the way he looked at me just before everything
changed. Flashbacks of what had happened, and why, appeared with
such clarity, it was as if I were in that moment all over
again.

Cole and I were somewhere near Estes Park,
surrounded by mountains, trees, shrubs, and wildlife. A river ran
to my left, the water humming and splashing over the rocks. Stars
lit up the hazy, black sky like tiny flashing beacons. Cole stood
behind me, his arms wrapping tighter around my waist. His face
nudged up against the back of my head, lips brushing my ear. “Are
you sure about this?”

I twisted around and gazed up into his eyes.
“Yes.”

He caressed my chin with his strong, firm
hand, fingers gently stroking. I gasped, unable to completely catch
my breath. I licked my lips, then his mouth was on mine, kissing me
hard. I gripped his hair and pushed down, forcing his lips below my
mouth. His tongue slicked along my skin until it stopped on my
neck. He growled
—
low, rumbling, and hungry. I felt his sharp
fangs prickling my skin just before he bit into me.

Luke’s hands were on my shoulders, his face
close, his eyes burning with understanding. “You let Cole bite you?
You’ve been bitten by a vampire?”

I nodded slowly, bravely meeting Luke’s
eyes. “I knew there was a price to pay if Cole and I went further.
I’d already lost some of my powers just because I was with him. But
it wasn’t until after he bit me the first time—”

Suddenly I was pinned against the wall,
without having even felt myself move. Luke’s hands pressed my
shoulders harder into the cold, bare stone. His face was close; the
chill of his breath was on my cheek. “I cannot believe you let him
bite you!” he went on, raking me with his gaze. “More than once,
for that matter!” A low growl vibrated in his throat, spilling out
of his mouth. “I’ve never tasted an angel before.”

“Stop it!” I screamed, fear slithering up my
limbs. “What are you doing?”

“You have no idea how tempting you are,
Angel.” His soft, moist lips brushed my cheek as the hardness of
his body pressed closer.

Panic seized me but my light never
came—though it should have. But I pushed that concern out of my
mind and closed my eyes, trying to focus on Caitlyn.
Back with
Caitlyn, back with Caitlyn
, I repeated over and over in my
head. I could feel my body flickering with energy—like a faint
light flashing on and off, the way a light bulb does right before
it completely burns out. And then, all at once, it stopped.

“I’m sorry.” It was Luke’s voice. I was
still in his basement, but I didn’t feel him on me anymore. I
opened my eyes and saw him standing across the room.

“You’re sorry?” my tone laced with ice. I
rubbed my arms, trying to ease the violent chill. “How dare
you!”

He frowned, keeping his gaze somewhere off
to my right.

“Don’t you have anything to say?” I
demanded, anger surging within. “Why did you do that to me?”

Still he wouldn’t look at me. Several
uncomfortable moments passed in deafening silence and I watched him
suspiciously from across the room, impatiently waiting for him to
answer me, but it wasn’t long before I realized he obviously wasn’t
going to explain himself—which didn’t sit right with me at all—not
that there was anything he could say that would have justified what
he did.

Another minute of silence passed before he
stepped twice in my direction. “Stay where you are! Don’t come any
closer!” I warned.

He held out his hands, waving them slowly,
gesturing his surrender. “Angel, I won’t hurt you.”

I wasn’t buying that for a second. “Do you
take me for a fool? How can I believe you after what you just did?
You took advantage of me while I was weakened from orbing. What
were your intentions once you had me against the wall?”

A sly smile curved his lips. “I wouldn’t
have hurt you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Answer the question, Luke!”

“You’re the first
angel
I’ve ever
been exposed to. Controlling myself around you has been somewhat”—a
slight shrug of his shoulders—“difficult. And now that I know
you’ve been tasted…well, let’s just say it’ll be a bit more
challenging.”

Wasn’t that just great? Not only were
vampire’s insanely crazy when it came to their food, but they were
also extremely territorial. Combining the two—like I had with Cole
by dating him and letting him drink from me—was extremely intimate
for them, and there was no way on this world, or any of the others,
that I was getting that close to Luke.

“I’m in love with Cole,” I furiously
reminded him. “I will not permit anyone else to drink from
me—ever.”

“I know that,” he snapped, bitter acceptance
flashing across his face.

As I met his gaze levelly, my body finally
lit up, fierce and radiant. Excitement and relief filled me as a
joyful sigh burst off my tongue. Luke took a couple steps back,
shielding his eyes with his arm.

“How can I believe you’ll help me get Cole,
now after all this?” I asked, a huge part of me ready to end this
alliance right now.

“I’m not helping you get Cole, I’m saving
you from that demon!” he shot back, then added more harshly,
“Remember that!”

“But
if
you save me from Limos, I’ll
return to Cole. Not you.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t
already know, Angel.”

There was something in his voice that I
couldn’t quite place—sadness, disappointment, or maybe it was both,
but there was definitely no mistaking the raw hunger in his eyes, a
need so absolute I feared it, wished I didn’t know it existed, and
yet at that moment, I’d barely begun to learn the extent of his
insatiable appetite.

I let my light fade since Luke no longer
felt like an immediate threat, and for that I was grateful. Still,
no matter how I looked at it—or how much I didn’t like it—I needed
his help. My plan wouldn’t work without him. But why was he willing
to help me if not for Cole? I just didn’t know. Friendships between
vampires always seemed to be heavily based on two things. Either
someone helps you and now you owe them a favor, or you do something
for someone and now you’re calling in that favor—hence Huron’s
willingness to help Luke with barely any questions asked. And since
Luke was making it crystal clear that he was helping me
—
not
his friend Cole—I couldn’t help but wonder what in all the worlds
was I going to end up owing him? “I need time to think about this,”
I said at last.

Luke lowered his arm and smiled. “Well, you
have three days.”