Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) (14 page)

Thorn shook his head. “It’s not important. Just know that you have a job here if you ever get sick of working for Sparkle.” His smile said that could happen very soon.

“Thanks for the offer. I’ll keep it in mind.” No, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t possibly keep anything in her mind when he was so close. Kayla fell into his eyes, so blue, so filled with feelings that hurt—sadness, anger, and something else. She didn’t have time to figure out the “something else” because he leaned even closer.

“You make things hard, lawyer lady.” He reached up to smooth his fingers along the side of her jaw.

“Ditto.” She didn’t like the wispy sound of her voice. This was a moment to be strong, to be hard, to be committed, to be . . . Damn, she couldn’t concentrate.

He smiled and all she wanted to say was, “Ask me to work for you again.” Because his smile destroyed every bit of her resistance.

He was going to kiss her. It was in his eyes—the heated intent—in the wicked slant of his mouth, and the slide of his fingers over her shoulders as he pulled her close. Kayla had never wanted anything as much as she wanted this kiss. Wait, wait—

Something shook his apartment, and it wasn’t their kiss. The shaking was followed almost immediately by the din of hundreds of screams.

“I don’t believe this.” Thorn sprang to his feet and was yanking open the door before Kayla could even catch her breath. He glared back at her.

“Were you supposed to keep me busy while Cinn did her thing? Whatever that was.”

How could he turn his emotions on and off like that? Outraged, Kayla followed him to the door. “Once you put your brain back in motion you’ll realize how stupid that comment was.”

They ran around the edge of the building and were met by a solid wall of screaming humanity. Nirvana was a seething mass of panicked people fighting to get off the pier.

“Up here with me.”

Kayla didn’t have time to process his command before he wrapped his arm around her waist and leaped for the top of the building.

Her scream had barely ended when he set her down on the roof. They both looked to see what everyone was running from.

“Holy hell!”

Kayla couldn’t talk past her horror, so she decided that Thorn spoke for both of them.

11

Kayla wasn’t in the frozen-with-fear camp. Only cowards used that as an excuse for not taking action. She was fight or flight all the way.

But she remembered reading something somewhere. Scientists claimed that not being able to move in the face of overwhelming danger was hardwired into our DNA. Predators pursued prey that fled, so the prey instinctively froze.

She understood now. The being rising from the water at the end of the pier was beyond any danger she could imagine in her worst nightmare. Human form. Male. Long silver hair and beard. Piercing sea-green eyes. Flowing robes created from streaming water. He kept rising, growing bigger and bigger until she swore he was as massive as . . . a small island.

Her mind flashed back to the tanker, the enormous black shape, the ship disappearing. Oh. My. God. She looked up and up while her heart pounded and her breath caught in her throat.

Her mind went into survival mode.
Run!
But she couldn’t move, couldn’t rip herself away from Thorn’s side. Nausea churned and she hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself. Dad would be calmly assessing the threat and weighing possible responses. But she wasn’t her father, and this was a freaking
giant
.

Kayla didn’t hear the screams anymore, no sounds of the crowd rushing toward the exit gates. What was that about? Hello, people, there’s a supersized person standing in the Gulf watching you!

Thorn didn’t release her. “Stay close to me. I’ll protect you.”

Even as terrified as she felt, she sensed his intensity, his need for her to believe him. And she did. Which was dumb, because anyone could see that no amount of vampire power would bring down something that gigantic.

Kayla couldn’t answer him, could barely breathe. No one had told her that frozen with fear also included vocal cords.

He hugged her closer. “Don’t go away.”

No chance of that. But she didn’t feel badly about not being able to tell him, because she sensed he was talking to someone else, someone who
had
gone away. She didn’t have time to wonder at the weirdness of that thought.

Thorn said nothing more. Instead, he watched the giant—unblinking, focused. She shivered. No human could be that
still
.

Then the giant began to speak. His voice was as huge as he was, a rumbling roar. Kayla swore the building vibrated with each word. She didn’t understand the language he spoke, but she could see he was staring directly at Thorn. Why?

She calmed down a little, enough to actually turn her head and glance at the rest of the pier. The giant probably wouldn’t grind Nirvana to dust while he was still talking to Thorn.

Kayla couldn’t believe it. The crowd was calm. Some people were glancing back at the giant and laughing as they left the park. No one was running. Then she looked up. Five people stood side by side on the wide flat top of the entrance gate—Eric, Zane, Klepoth, and the two witches. They stared down at the crowd. Kayla could connect dots. She could almost feel the power surge.

Just then the giant stopped talking and Thorn answered him in the same language.

Kayla turned back to Thorn in time to see the giant slowly sink into the Gulf. He was gone. And she was still alive. An event to be celebrated. “Who was that and what did he want?” Her voice shook only a little.

Thorn raked his fingers through his hair. “That was Aegir.”

Well, that was helpful. “Who is—?”

She didn’t get a chance to finish her question because he wrapped his arm more firmly around her and leaped from the building. Kayla barely squeaked this time. See, she was getting used to this kind of stuff.

He held up his hand to stop any other questions. “I’ll explain everything, but not until everyone is together. I need a summit meeting with Sparkle and Ganymede. Now.”

By this time all humans had left the park, happy and evidently unaware. Kayla wanted to know how that had happened. The only one remaining who wasn’t a Nirvana employee was Cinn. She waited for Kayla and Thorn by the entrance along with the ones who had been standing on top of the gate.

Cinn smiled at her and then looked at Thorn. “That hologram was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it. What a clever way to warn visitors that it’s almost closing time. It scared the heck out of me at first.”

Kayla caught the amused look that passed between the two witches. “Right. Amazing.”

From the look on Thorn’s face, he was about to charge across the street and search for Ganymede himself. Kayla remembered what the cat had done to the refreshment stand.

She rushed into speech. “Look, how about if I go ahead and ease Ganymede and Sparkle into this meeting?”

Everyone except for Cinn and Thorn seemed to think it was a great idea.

“Why would Thorn have to speak to them?” Cinn looked confused for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t a hologram?”

Kayla shook her head.

“And why did I think it
was
a hologram?” Cinn scanned those around her. Her gaze settled on Eric and Klepoth. She nodded. “I see.”

That was great, because Kayla did
not
see. Sure, she got that all of them had worked together to create some kind of mass illusion, but she didn’t understand how. She probably never would.

“I don’t know why you have to warn Sparkle and the cat. I can handle anything they throw at me.” Thorn started toward the street.

Grim grabbed his arm. “No offense, boss, but you
can’t
handle the cat. If he attacked you, you’d be dead before you could use your persuasion on him. If it makes you feel better, I think Sparkle is the only one who can deal with him.”

For a moment, Kayla wondered about how Grim had used the word “persuasion” in that sentence. Deciding it was nothing, she concentrated on Thorn. She expected him to throw off Grim’s hand and continue on his way, but he didn’t. He nodded and then looked at Kayla.

“Go. Tell them what you saw, and say we need to have a meeting with the nonhumans from both parks.” Thorn held her gaze, and his expression softened for a moment. “Thanks for trusting me.” Then he turned back to his people. “Fast thinking. You saved some lives tonight. People would’ve trampled each other trying to get out.”

Trust? Yes, she’d trusted him to keep her safe. But she’d never trust him with other things that were much more fragile and easily crushed.

Kayla left them and headed for the castle. Cinn walked beside her. “Did you understand anything that just happened?”

Cinn shrugged. “Not all of it. I know that Thorn’s people did something to calm visitors and convince them they weren’t seeing what they thought they were seeing. Other than that?” She shrugged. “And you?”

“Not a clue.” Kayla thought of something else. “Did you get a chance to—?”

“No. I never intended to do anything. Thorn saved Vince. He’s a hero to me. Vince would agree.”

Cinn left to find her husband once they were inside the castle. Kayla decided to try the great hall first. Even if Sparkle wasn’t involved in a fantasy right now, Holgarth would know where she was.

Time was important, so Kayla didn’t spend much of it searching. She approached Holgarth.

“Where’s Sparkle?” She tried to ignore his supercilious expression.

“Why? Could it be you’re bringing glad tidings that you’ve finally managed to rid us of this Thorn person?” He went from mock surprise to mock sadness. “But no, that would be impossible, because you fear doing what needs doing. You’re a talker not a doer. So sad.”

“Tonight is not a good night to push me, wizard. Now, where’s Sparkle?” She wanted to bring her fist down on top of his pointy hat and flatten his pointy head beneath it.

He must’ve seen something in her eyes because he just sniffed and answered. “This is her night off. She’s in her suite with Ganymede.”

Kayla ran up the steps instead of waiting for the elevator. She arrived at Sparkle’s door sweating and out of breath. She knocked.

Sparkle answered on the third rap. She wore a long clingy black nightgown cut out in strategic spots. Kayla quickly shifted her gaze beyond her client. She could see Ganymede stretched out on the couch with his paw over the remote and a dish of ice cream in front of him.

What a lazy butt. Kayla wondered what Sparkle saw in him.

Sparkle followed her gaze. “He’s a lot different in his golden god form.”

Kayla didn’t comment on that. “We have a situation.” She told Sparkle everything and then waited.

Ganymede leaped from the couch and padded to the door.
“Heard that. We need to meet with the bastard now.”

Sparkle looked as though she wanted to say no, but she finally sighed and nodded. “We’ll meet them in the conference room in ten minutes.”

“Why not here, sweetbuns?”
Ganymede looked longingly at the ice cream.

“I only invite friends into my home.” Her expression said that was that.

“I’ll go tell them.” Kayla started to turn away.

“Won’t have to.”
Ganymede was already hurrying back to the couch.
“I’ve already messaged Eric. And I told him a half hour, not ten minutes.”

Something in Sparkle’s expression said the time change bothered her, but she just nodded. She didn’t invite Kayla inside to wait. That was fine, because she had things to do.

Kayla went up to her room and opened her laptop. She did a search for Aegir. A short time later, she shut it down. Then she just sat, eyes wide, thoughts racing. Impossible. But then she remembered where she was and whom she worked for. Maybe not. Damn.

She walked down to the conference room in a disbelieving daze. Kayla was the first one there. She took a seat in the middle of the long table. And then she just thought—about Thorn, about every strange person she’d met so far, and about the giant named Aegir.

Her thoughts always circled back to Thorn, though. She could close her eyes and pull up his exact image—every sculpted line of his face, his eyes, and sensual lips, along with his powerful body. She could hear his voice, soft and husky, murmuring promises. Too bad he would never speak them to her. And she would recognize his scent anywhere, even though she couldn’t describe it yet. All she knew was that his scent was sexy and had his picture attached to it.

But she didn’t have any idea what went on in his mind. He’d known Sparkle. Her sudden flash of jealousy didn’t surprise Kayla. Not really. What powers did he have that she hadn’t seen yet? What did he see when he looked at her?

Kayla didn’t have time for more questions she couldn’t answer, because the door swung open and Thorn strode into the room. Grim and his security team filed in behind him.

* * *

Thorn met Kayla’s gaze. She stared at him with the innocence of her short human life. He hoped she didn’t look too closely at his eyes. They weren’t innocent. And if she decided to stroll down the path of his long vampire life, she’d wander into the dark woods and be lost.

He smiled and hoped it distracted her from the truth in his eyes. Thorn went around the table and sat down beside her. He glanced at the wall clock. “They’re late. I assume Sparkle and her cat want to make a grand entrance.”

Kayla shrugged and then met his gaze. “I looked up Aegir. He’s a Norse sea god. Want to tell me more?”

“Patience.” He leaned back in his chair and said what needed saying. “You might consider leaving right now. Quit and get on the first plane home. Sparkle will have a lot on her mind. She won’t be worrying about you.”

“Leave now? That sounds ominous. Let me think.” She tipped her head to the side in thought. “Uh, no.”

The smooth line of her neck mesmerized him. He imagined sliding his tongue over her warm skin, placing his lips right there where her pulse beat strong, then . . . Thorn gave himself a mental shake. “You might not be safe here.” Danger came in many forms. Aegir wasn’t the only threat. Thorn knew his interest in her neck and other areas of her body should bump him up closer to the top of her things-to-be-avoided list. Too bad she didn’t know that.

“Maybe after I hear all you have to say I’ll revisit my answer. But as of right now? No.” She seemed to have surprised even herself with that decision.

He felt ridiculously relieved. Thorn didn’t like the feeling. Humans had a history of doing stupid things and then dying because of them. Getting involved with individual humans would exhaust a vampire after a few centuries. So far, he’d avoided that particular pitfall. He shrugged. “Your choice. Lots of jobs. One life. Do the math.”

Thorn glanced around the table. His people sat on either side of him facing the door. He didn’t think that Ganymede would do anything to endanger his precious hotel guests, but you could never tell with the really powerful ones.

Kayla stayed silent beside him, but he was aware of every breath she took, every beat of her heart, every glance she slid his way. He resisted the urge to lean close and whisper all the things he wanted to do to her. Not now. Maybe later. He smiled at the thought of her alarm. She might even try to hit him. The thought entertained him until Sparkle came through the door.

It seemed that she’d brought an army with her. Thorn recognized the wizard, the plant lady and her vampire husband, and the were-shark bodyguard. But who the hell were all these other people? They filled up the seats and then stood against the wall. He hadn’t realized how many nonhumans lived here. He’d have a talk with the people he’d hired to scope out the castle ahead of his arrival.

They all stared at him with lethal intent, even the Siamese cat sitting on the shoulder of one of the men. Thorn smiled at them, fangs and deadly warning on full display. And as they watched him, he quietly studied each of them, assessing the threat they posed.

Sparkle was dressed for business,
her
kind of business—skinny jeans, a cling-wrap green top, and heels that no human should be able to even stand on let alone walk in. Her red hair tumbled around her shoulders, and her amber eyes promised death if he was playing her.

Strange that he could coldly recognize her beauty but not care. He’d thought he might still have a few feelings left even after all this time. But Kayla was the only one who stirred him.