Blood Haze (2 page)

As
she turned to go, he said in his sexy-as-sin voice, “You sing beautifully. I
don’t remember ever hearing anyone who moved me as much in a very long time.”

She
turned back to him and smiled modestly. “You’re too kind. Thank you.”

“Won’t
you join me?” he asked, staring at her intently.

She
shivered a little as a warm wash of an emotion she couldn’t readily identify,
flowed over her from just the intensity of his stare. She shook her head and
took a step back.
What was wrong with her
?
You’d think she’d never been in the company of an attractive man before. But
Lynx Rogan had an aura about him that seemed to draw her to him… would probably
draw any woman to him. And those eyes… they both excited and scared her.

“I…
uh, I need to get back to… to uh… my date. Again, it was very nice to meet
you,” she stammered, as she turned quickly and moved back to where Drew sat.
Glancing toward the bar, she spotted Karmyl standing in the office door, smiling
at her like the cat that’d swallowed the canary. Her lips tightened as she
glowered at the redhead. While Drew wasn’t prone to jealousy, Arabella didn’t
want to give him a reason to be so.

“A
fan?” Drew asked, as she slipped into the chair across from him.

Arabella
took a moment to straighten the wine glass on the table in front of her,
needing a moment to gather her wits. She glanced up into Drew’s perfect green
eyes. No matter what, Drew Larkin was considered quite the catch, with his
blonde hair and jade-colored eyes. He was very vain about his body and spent a
great deal of time in the gym. His natural good looks and charm made him excel
as a real estate developer. “Not exactly. It was Karmyl’s brother, the owner of
the Night Owl.

Drew
turned his head to study the man seated at the red horseshoe booth, before
turning back to study her downturned face. “Hmm. Can’t seem to take his eyes
off you,” he said with a smile, as he possessively brushed his fingers over her
cheek.

She
blinked as the softly spoken words, laced with propriety, washed over her. She
almost felt like a bone between two dogs. Drew was never jealous or possessive,
so she was surprised at his tone. She didn’t have time to dwell on it, however,
because as she leaned forward to question him, someone came up behind her and
grabbed her shoulders.

“Sorry
I missed your set,” her brother, Ian, said from behind her.

She
looked over her shoulder at her younger brother, by two years. Her mother’s
genes must have been really strong, as both she and Ian looked so much alike.
He had the same dark hair color and crystal-blue eyes. He wore the top of his
hair a little long, and constantly flipped it back with a quick toss of his
head. Their only discernable difference was his complexion was more tanned,
while her skin was decidedly paler.

“I
wondered if you’d show up tonight,” she said as he moved around to sit next to
her.

“I
had something to take care of and it took me longer than I thought,” he said,
in an evasive way. He gained the waitress’s attention and ordered a draft. “So,
what’d I miss?” he asked, once he received his drink.

She
studied her brother as unease settled over her. Her brother was the baby and
had been babied by them all. She knew she was as much to blame as anyone.
“Nothing,” she finally answered. “You’re not up to anything that would get you
into more trouble are you?” she asked.

He
rolled his eyes at her and looked to Drew. “How do you put up with her,” he
said.

Used
to their banter, Drew leaned toward her and covered her hand with one of his
own. “Oh, she’s not so bad,” he said with a wink.

At
the touch of his fingers, a high-pitched whistle seemed to go off in her head.
She blinked even more rapidly as she strove to cope with the noise. She glanced
once more at Drew, then Ian, but they didn’t appear to hear the loud whistle.
Black spots began to appear before her eyes until she was practically blind.
Then like scenes on a TV, she began to see images as they flitted between her
vision and the blackness just behind it. She saw flashes of a man’s hand as it
snaked up a naked, feminine body. She could make out the interior of a car with
black leather seats. With his lips, a man she couldn’t see clearly, made his
way slowly up a woman’s neck. Arabella strained to make out the identity of the
couple but the snatches of pictures she saw were fuzzy.
 

Arabella’s
vision jerked back to the dim light of the club when Drew shook her arm to gain
her attention. She blinked rapidly once again and gave him a small smile.
“Sorry. What?” she asked.

With
mild impatience, he withdrew the napkin from under his drink and handed it to
her. “Your nose is running.”

Embarrassed,
she took the napkin, bowed her head, and pressed it against her nose. She
wasn’t surprised to see blood staining the napkin. It was always what happened
when she got what she termed a ‘glimpsing’ - not really a vision, but a mere
glimpse of some future or past happening. “Sorry,” she murmured.

“I
thought you’d stopped having those,” he said, while glancing around to see if
others had noticed.

She
gave him an apologetic shrug of her shoulders and pressed the cloth more firmly
against her face. When the blood continued to run from her nose, she excused
herself and strode quickly into the bathroom. Just inside the expansive
bathroom, a ruby-red chaise lounge sat adjacent to a bank of sinks. She sat on
its edge and leaned back until her head was laid against the cool marble wall
behind her with the napkin pressed firmly against her nose. Her stomach roiled
and she swallowed convulsively to quiet it. She concentrated on taking smooth
even breaths to steady herself. It seemed no matter how many times she went
through this, the sight of blood still made her queasy.

She
sighed as Drew’s words washed over her,
I
thought you’d stopped having those.
She’d quit telling him long ago about
her glimpsings, and remembering his earlier frustrations, reminded her why she
had. She hated the gulf which appeared when this happened… she understood it,
but hated it nonetheless. But no matter what, he’d been her rock when she’d
needed him. But was it fair to him to keep making him put up with this
craziness?

She
hated to think how Ian must have felt. He’d lived through the harsh realities
of what happens when people found out about any type of psychic ability. She’d
kept hers hidden from all but a few people, thanks to the experience she’d gained
from her mother.

She
sat in the bathroom for almost fifteen minutes, aware of women coming through
the facilities, before her nose stopped bleeding. Finally satisfied it’d
stopped, she made her way back out into club. She blinked to adjust her eyes to
the dim room from the brightness of the bathroom. She’d just turned from the
bathroom’s hallway and walked straight into someone coming around the same
corner. She glanced up quickly, with a profusion of apologies ready to be given
on her lips. Strong hands wrapped around her upper arms to steady her.

Her
heart began to pound and she flushed as she looked up into the impossibly
exquisite features of Lynx Rogan. “Oh, uh, Mr. Rogan, I’m so sorry. I didn’t
see you,” she stammered as his closeness seemed to overwhelm her senses once
again.

He
smiled and raised a cool palm to her cheek. She inhaled sharply at the contact
of his flesh against her own. “I was coming to check on you,” he said, in that
South African accent that sent a tendril of pleasure rushing over her.

“Me?”
she asked.

He
slowly nodded. “You looked unwell when you left, then you were gone for such a
long time and your… date seemed to be otherwise engaged…” he trailed off.

“Engaged?”
she repeated inanely as she took in his words.
He’d noticed when she’d gone to the bathroom? Had been worried enough
to check on her?
She couldn’t stop a warm surge of feminine satisfaction from
rushing over her at the thought she’d captured his attention enough for him to
monitor her movements.

“Yes,”
he said, as he moved to the side to allow her to see into the lounge.

Drew
was still seated at their table, but now instead of Ian being at the table, a
young blonde woman was sitting in her chair. At that moment, Drew’s head tipped
back, and even from her distance, Arabella could hear his laughter ring out.
Was he ever that carefree with her? It shamed her to realize that he hadn’t
been in a very long time. Memories of her father’s haggard face at the end
entered her mind, causing her lips to tighten – not in anger, but deep abiding
sadness.

Snippets
of her glimpsing flashed through her mind causing her to blink rapidly. Her
stomach muscles clenched. Was Drew having an affair with that woman? Were they
the couple in her vision? It could have just as well have been anyone she’d
ever met. With her glimpsings, things were never very clear. Was Drew unhappy
enough to cheat on her? A moment ago she wouldn’t have thought so, but seeing
him now… she wasn’t so sure. In that moment, as she watched him smile so
easily, other things she’d not questioned before began to plague her mind. Had
she been blind? All the distance that had come between them… had she been a
fool?

“So…
are you?” she heard him ask from behind her.

Tearing
her eyes away from Drew and his new companion at the table, she turned back to
glance at Lynx. “What?”

Lifting
his hand as if he couldn’t restrain himself, he brushed a knuckle against her
cheek before brushing her long tresses behind her shoulder, and lyrically murmured
her name, “Arabella.”

 
As his fingers touched her face, glimpses of a
four poster bed draped in a billowy gold, silky material passed before her
eyes. She blinked and concentrated on staying her mind. She couldn’t afford to
allow the glimpses to overtake her… not now.

Lynx
took in her pale face, her emotions running wild, and her heart pounding which
in turn caused her blood to simmer through her veins, drawing him irresistibly toward
her. He’d smelt the fresh scent of her blood the instant it’d left the confines
of her body. Oddly, the smell made him feel more protective of her than
anything. Being a Renatus vampire – meaning -being born a vampire, not
transformed into one – he had better control over his need to feed, which
didn’t mean he didn’t
want
to.

“Are
you feeling okay?” he asked again.

She
couldn’t seem to drag her eyes away from his gaze and she swallowed as her
jumbled thoughts about Drew, coupled with Lynx’s nearness made her senses
scatter. “Umm. I’m… well, I just… I’m fine, thank you,” she stammered. “I… umm…
need to get back. It was good to… uh… see you again, Mr. Rogan.”

His
smile dazzled her. “Lynx, please,” he murmured.

“Lynx,”
she responded as she stepped away.

She
inhaled deeply as she moved through the darkened club en route to her table.
She glanced behind her to see Lynx now leaning against the paneled wall
watching her move away. She gave him a small smile before turning back to face
her destination.

In
the dim lighting, she studied the blonde woman seated at her table. She was
younger than Arabella had originally thought, maybe twenty-one or twenty-two.
She was obviously pretty, with an easy smile. She probably didn’t have any
deep, dark secrets that Drew would be forced to keep… forced to deal with.
Arabella sighed as she again struggled with her internal demons.

Drew
rose when she neared the table. He pulled her to him, brushed his lips against
her cheek, then up to her ear. “Feeling better?” he murmured, loud enough for
only her to hear.

She
pulled back, smiled and nodded in answer.

“Excellent,”
he said, with a weird, uncomfortable smile. “I want to introduce you to Maggie
Lowell. She’s the new receptionist in our office. I invited her here to hear
you sing, but she missed your set.”

Arabella
turned toward the young woman and shook her hand briefly. “It’s nice to meet
you, Maggie,” she said politely. “How long have you worked in Drew’s office?”

The
beautiful, young Maggie turned her face to Drew and smiled adoringly at him.
The muscles in Arabella’s stomach tightened and her lips thinned. “Umm, oh,
about two weeks now. It’s been super, great fun. And everyone’s been so nice. I
don’t know what I’d have done without Drew, he’s been totally awesome.”

Arabella
gave her a tight smile, before casting her eyes to Drew. “Yes, he is helpful.”

He
met her look briefly before glancing away. “Maggie has been a great addition to
the office. She kinda breaks up the stuffiness,” he said with a grin.

Arabella
couldn’t help the feelings of betrayal which washed over her. She had no reason
to be jealous, and normally she wasn’t, but she just couldn’t seem to shake the
feeling. Drew was sending off sparks of unease. Once again the flashes from
inside a car’s dark interior flitted across her memory and she flinched.

Drew
had just turned to her, when an older woman, around her mother’s age, shoved
Drew to one side so that she was face to face with her. The woman with lines
etched into her face, took her drink and threw it into Arabella’s face. She
gasped and immediately stepped back as she wiped her eyes against the stinging
liquid. “What the hell!” she heard Drew snap.