After Sundown: Redemption (6 page)

His gaze focused on her upswept hair and the way her graceful neck was exposed. He barely managed to hold in a groan as his body sprang to attention once more. Frustrated by his inability to control his reaction, his response came out much more harsh than he had planned.

“Let’s get some things straight before we go anywhere. Sit down.”

He knew his tone didn’t sit well with Alyssa. Her posture stiffened. Anger and rebellion flashed in her eyes. She looked as if she was about to refuse, then changed her mind. She sat on the couch as far away from him as possible. Though she waited silently for him to say something, her eyes shot sparks. He smiled. She looked like she was about to scold him. His amusement must have annoyed her further, because she shot to her feet and glared down at him.

“I find nothing amusing about this! I’m prepared to listen to what you have to say, even let you tell me the best way to protect myself, but I will
not
be treated like a child!”

Christian’s eyes roamed over her from head to toe and then back up again. When his eyes met hers once more, he didn’t try to hide the hunger he felt. Alyssa’s eyes widened in surprise and she gasped. She started to back away, but he shot his hand out and gently gripped her wrist.

He held her gaze with his.

“I think of you in many ways,
palomita
, but a child is not one of them.” He ran the pad of his thumb over the pulse at her wrist. It was beating rapidly. Satisfaction ran through him. Good. She wasn’t as immune as she pretended to be.

“Please sit down.” He gave her wrist a slight tug. “We need to discuss some issues before we leave.”

Alyssa allowed him to pull her down close beside him. When he released her, she scooted as far away as the couch allowed. But not before her enticing scent washed over him. He inhaled deeply. She smelled like sunshine and apples. Neither of which he had experienced for a very long time. A longing, unlike any he had known since turning immortal, swept through him. To be human again, to walk in the sunlight, find love and share his life with another.

No! He was undead, a creature of the night. There was nothing else. He had to live this way because of Elena’s murder. She had been killed because of him. Therefore he was a murderer. He accepted and lived with his guilt. Alyssa was light and life. He was darkness and death. The two would not mix, he wouldn’t, no couldn’t, let them.

“First of all, tell me more about what you do. Understanding what you speak to people about may help me understand your stalker. And it might help me figure out what he plans in the future.”

Alyssa didn’t answer him at first. She studied him warily, as if she wasn’t sure what he would do next. He couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t so sure himself. Especially where she was concerned.

She finally spoke.

“What do I do? Well, I talk to people about issues that directly impact their lives and ways to deal with those issues.”

“Like what?”

“Stress, for instance. It’s a very big problem in today’s society. Not only can it cause relationships to end, marriages to break up and families to become dysfunctional, it also results in more frequent illnesses and trips to the doctor. Although it is an emotional response, it’s also very physical as well. And a continual bombardment of stress on the body can and will result in physical sickness.”

“So, what do you tell people to do?”

“I don’t tell them to do anything. I just talk about how people can decide to do certain things that will improve their quality of life. I also talk about how some choices change lives in a negative way. It all comes down to choice. And balance.”

“
Balance
, that’s the name of your book. Is this what it’s about?”

“Yes. Basically it’s about how people get consumed with the negative and then forget to find time for positive moments in their day-to-day existence. That leads to a stressful life, emotionally and physically.”

“What made you write it?”

“I was seeing a pattern, sort of a trend in what people were coming to talk to me about. A lot seemed to have problems rooted in a stress-filled environment. It was causing everything from depression, to eating disorders, to couples not having intimacy in their relationship. The effect of prolonged stress on people is enormous. And most of the individuals who come to see me don’t even realize it’s happening. It’s an insidious problem. It creeps into a person’s life and grows if not addressed.”

“So you teach people how to be less stressed out?”

“What I try to show people is that stress doesn’t have to be a controlling agent in their life. They can manage and contain it, if they dedicate themselves to making the right choices. They need to get in touch with themselves and what they want in their life.”

Christian’s admiration for Alyssa grew as she spoke. She was intelligent, beautiful and so full of light. It wasn’t just the words she said, either. It was how she said them. The warmth in her voice was unmistakable. She cared about people, about what they were feeling and what happened in their lives. And she wanted to help them. He could see how people would get lost in her voice, mesmerized by the hope in her words. She didn’t have to be a vampire to do that, either. She did it all on her own.

Christian shook his head. Cleared his mind.
Focus. He needed to concentrate on the business at hand. She was a mortal, nothing more.
He cleared his throat. All business.

“Let’s go over the plan for this evening.”

He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket, opened it and laid it on her coffee table. It was an architectural diagram of the Grady Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, the location of her speaking event that evening. All the entrances and exits as well as the various rooms were clearly outlined, some areas crossed off and others highlighted.

He pointed as he spoke. “We’ll go in this side entrance. You’ll stay very close to me as we walk through here and follow all directives I give. Here’s the room that’s been set up for you to wait in. You’ll let me go in first to check it out, then, when I signal you, you may come in. I’ve spoken extensively with the security team there and they’re going to work with us as much as we need. But keep in mind one thing. You must trust no one but me tonight. If they say jump up and I say get down, you need to follow my orders first and foremost. Your life is completely in my hands tonight. Do you understand that?”

“Yes.”

That was all she said. It surprised him. He had expected a fight and right now he felt ready for one. His body was screaming for something he refused to give it, but he needed some way to relieve it.

“Fine.” He gritted his teeth. Control. It was all about control. He took a deep breath and slowly released it as he glanced around the room. “I’d like to review the interior security in your apartment before we go. I checked the outside, but need to see the inside before I can make recommendations.”

Confusion marred her brow. “What recommendations?”

“Alyssa, your life is in danger. If someone is willing to attack you, they also may consider invading your home to get to you.”

Alyssa said nothing, yet her stunned expression indicated that the thought of someone coming to her home hadn’t entered her mind. As much as he didn’t like to see her fear, he felt that she needed to know what could happen. That was one policy he maintained with all his clients. He was upfront about the potential threats against them, measures they could take to protect themselves and ways in which he would strive to protect them.

“But I live in a gated apartment complex,” she protested. “Surely that must offer some protection against this type of thing?”

“Only minimal. Do you mind if I take a quick look around?” Without waiting for her answer, he started towards her bedroom. “I’ll start in here.”

Alyssa was still trying to digest his disregard for the security offered by her apartment complex when she realized where Christian was headed. She sucked in a gasp, then let out an ear-splitting shriek.

“No, wait!”

Not her bedroom! She definitely didn’t need a good-looking and totally sexy vampire in her bedroom right now. Besides, her bedroom was in a state of chaos, with undergarments strewn everywhere. She had to do something to stop him.

Racing past him, she blocked the doorway before he could go through. He stopped inches from her, a little too close for comfort, but she held her ground. Their gazes met. He lifted one eyebrow in question.

“Is there a problem?”

His voice brushed against her senses like a feather. Chills ran up her spine. She tried to ignore it.

“Yes, there
is
a problem,” she said. She lifted her chin proudly. “I don’t want you in my bedroom, thank you very much. If you want to look around the rest of the apartment you may, but please stay out of this room.”

Alyssa could swear that she saw a twinkle of amusement in Christian’s eyes, but then it was gone. Had she only imagined it? His eyes did little more at the moment than reflect her face in their milk chocolate depths.

“I need to look over the whole apartment,
palomita
. That includes your bedroom.” His tone was quiet, but adamant. He was going to look in her room whether she wanted him to or not.

Christian tried to move past her, but she slid in front of him, once more blocking him.

“Wait,” she said again, this time breathlessly. Christian was so close to her she felt his clothing brush across hers. Tingles of awareness ran up and down her spine.

He didn’t seem to notice. His face turned stony and his eyes narrowed.

“Alyssa, we don’t have much time. We need to leave soon so that we arrive early enough to go through the security procedure I laid out to you. Move away from the door so I can check out your room.”

“No.”

“No?” His eyebrow lifted arrogantly.

Her no sounded firm. But when Christian said no, it sounded threatening. And the brooding expression on his face was no comfort. Somehow she needed to diffuse this situation—quickly.

“My room’s a mess. I need to pick up a couple of things first. Why don’t you look through the other bedroom and the rest of the apartment? By the time you’re done, I’ll be ready for you to come in here, okay?”

Christian looked like he was about to argue, but then gave her a curt nod.

“I’ll be right out.” Alyssa slammed the door in Christian’s face, but was too worried about the state of her room to think much about it.

How was she going to get this place presentable in a couple of minutes? She picked up all the clothing on the floor and dumped it into the hamper. She was
so
behind on laundry! Next she picked up books lying open on her desk and bed and carefully stored them on the shelf in her closet. She had checked out books about vampires at the library earlier in the day, but she didn’t want Christian to know she was investigating him.

She scanned the room. With the clothes and books put away, it didn’t look half bad, but she still wasn’t happy with it. A second later, Christian gave the door a cursory knock and then strode in without waiting for her to open it. He walked directly to her window and checked it thoroughly. He scanned the rest of her room, an intense expression on his face and then headed back towards the door.

What had she been so worried about? Alyssa’s sigh of relief got caught in her throat as Christian stopped short before walking out of her room. Slowly, he reached towards something hanging on her wall.

When Alyssa saw what it was, her eyes widened in shock. She moved forward. Trying to reach it before he did but couldn’t. Her world suddenly changed to slow motion. His hand wrapping around the object became her whole focus, as if a camera was doing a close-up shot. He turned towards her and she cringed at the amused curiosity in his gaze.

He raised a large strand of garlic up in the air.

“Planning on doing some Italian cooking? In your bedroom?”

Chapter Four

Alyssa wanted to crawl under a rock. The whole idea of buying the garlic had seemed good when she was at the grocery store earlier today, but now it just seemed really, really dumb. The books she read had all said garlic was good protection against vampires! Yet it seemed to have little effect on Christian as he turned around and hung it back on the wall.

“Don’t believe everything you read,
palomita
.” He turned and left the room, but not before she saw that irritating, knowing smirk spread across his mouth.

Darn it! The man was just too smug for his own good.