Consumed (9 page)

“Not a clue.” Chico’s voice was close to a growl.

“Maybe he’s with Ava,” mused Blythe before asking Sam, “Is he serious about her?”

“Very.”

“Have they Bonded?”

Sam reluctantly bit out, “No.”

Gina’s expression turned calculating, and I barely held in a hiss of warning. My inner jealous harpy dug out her crossbow – she had an arrow with Gina’s name on it.

“But it’s only a matter of time,” added Sam, obviously trying to rile Gina.

Will shook his head. “Salem will never Bond with anyone.” It was an echo of my own thoughts.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. He’s very possessive of Ava.”

Gina tittered. “Salem’s possessive by nature; that means nothing. I know him inside out. Trust me, he will never fully commit himself to anyone.” It was said with approval, as if she was someone who didn’t believe in love or the need for commitment; perhaps saw those things as weaknesses. “If this girl thinks any differently, she’ll be massively disappointed.” The word ‘girl’ was spoken dismissively, like I was something to be pitied, like I was nothing – certainly no threat to her. “The girl is a delusional fool if she thinks she can hold onto Salem.”

Growls, hisses, and profanities sounded throughout the crowd behind me. I glanced at them over my shoulder, seeing then that Evan, Denny, Fletcher, and Norm had also joined us. “Relax,” I mouthed at the mass. It didn’t have any effect. Irises were glowing, a snarl was fixed on every single face, and they all appeared ready to pounce.

Jude had her beloved knife out, clearly desperate to slice the bitch up. Max was flexing his hand…as if barely resisting the urge to close his fist and temporarily deprive Gina of her senses. Hearing a high-pitched squeaking sound, I peered up to see a harpy eagle circling over us; I had to wonder if Alora – who had the ability to communicate with animals – had called it here, ready to sic it on Gina.

I turned around in time to hear Sam very bluntly ask Will, “Why are you here?”

He blinked. “You want information –”

“But you didn’t need to move here. That was your price, and I’m wondering why.”

“Who
wouldn’t
want to live in the most secure place on Earth for vampires?” Good point.

“Just remember that your stay here is conditional. If the information you have is worth shit to us, you’ll be leaving immediately.”

Will bowed slightly. “Understood. But I believe you’ll find my information very –” His sentence halted abruptly as, much like the rest of us, he heard a familiar sound: Salem’s voice. He was walking along the beach toward us with Reuben, coming from the direction of our apartment building; they had both showered and changed into fresh t-shirts and jeans.

One glance in our direction had Salem’s shoulders tensing. In a blink, he and Reuben had joined us.

“Salem, we’ve been waiting rather impatiently for you.” Will’s smile was wide and genuine.

Other vampires might have rushed over to their creator and greeted them warmly, but Salem wasn’t the gushy type. He simply nodded politely. “Will, Blythe.” As his attention shifted to the third Pagori, he frowned. “Gina.” His unwelcoming tone soothed my jealous harpy a little. As he took in the supportive group at my back, his frown deepened.

Arching a sardonic brow, Gina said, “Don’t I get a hug?” It was a provocation, a taunt.

Still, if he touched her at all, he was
so
dumped. And maimed.

Ignoring her, Salem came to my side, searching my eyes. “You okay?”

Maiming exercise cancelled. I gave him a winning smile. “Of course.” He curled an arm around me…and I watched as realisation hit the three visitors. Will and Blythe shifted uncomfortably. Gina, on the other hand, flushed a weird shade of purple – seeming both stunned and livid.

With an expression of total and utter joy, Sam spoke. “Glad you could join us, Salem. We didn’t get a chance to introduce her to them.”

Salem tightened his hold on me. “Will, Blythe, Gina” – her name was said with a frown again – “this is Ava.”

I turned my smile on Gina, adding a little self-satisfaction to it. “Or, as you put it, the delusional fool who thinks she can hold onto Salem.”

(Salem)

Shit
.

You didn’t need to be someone who worked with psychic energy to sense the riot that was brewing. The air was snapped taut with tension, anger, and unease. Menace literally emanated from the residents of the island – particularly Ava and Sam.

Not the diplomatic type, I didn’t even bother attempting to defuse the situation. Instead, I stood there trying to work out what the fuck had happened to make two squads gather behind Ava; the act was both supportive and protective. Each individual looked ready to not only leap on Gina, but to literally fight for the pleasure of being the one to deliver the killing blow.

The expression on Ava’s face…it was one I’d seen on Sam’s face countless times when she’d dealt with Jared’s ex, Magda. Which had to mean three things: One, Ava knew Gina and I had history. Two, Ava was pissed about it. Three, Gina had blurted out some bullshit.
Fuck
.

Abashed, Will smiled at Ava. “I don’t suppose you could forgive our ignorance…? I would imagine that some of the things we said weren’t pleasant for you to hear.”

Will had blurted out bullshit too? What the fuck had they said?

The questions must have been clear on my face, because Jared’s voice was suddenly in my head.
They basically called Ava – not knowing she was right there – stupid for thinking you’d ever fully commit to her. And they claimed there’s no way you’ll ever Bind yourself to anyone. You should know that Gina seems intent on getting into your pants.

I silently snorted. Like there was even the slightest chance of that ever happening.

“If we had known who you were,” began Blythe, “we would never have…”

“Talked so freely,” finished Ava, her smile bland. “That doesn’t change what you’re thinking.” In other words, apologies were pointless because they were nothing but efforts to placate her. Ava moved her attention to Gina then. “But there are some things you
shouldn’t
be thinking. Like whatever it was that made you look at Salem like he was living, breathing candy.”

Gina’s face hardened. “Don’t think you can –”

“Ava’s right.” Will placed a hand on Gina’s shoulder. “Salem’s clearly happy. What we want is to make things right, not to widen the rift that exists between him and ourselves.” He gave Gina a meaningful glance that made her mouth snap shut. But I knew Gina, I knew that wouldn’t be the end of it.

It wasn’t that Gina would be jealous of Ava. No. But she had a very strong sense of entitlement, believed that not only was she due whatever she wanted but that it should remain hers and
only
hers. She was possessive in a venomous, spiteful way. She would choose to keep something purely so that no one else could have it. Like a spoilt brat who refused to share her toys just to be cruel to others.

As such, she would get a kick out of fucking things up for me. Out of playing with Ava like a cat with a mouse. Which meant I’d probably have to kill her at some point.

Ava and I were new; we were treading a fine balance, and I didn’t need anything tipping the scales into ‘this won’t work’ territory. I doubted that Gina’s presence or behaviour would make Ava withdraw from me, she was strong enough to deal with this and anything else. But she shouldn’t have to, and I didn’t want her to.

“How about you and I take a walk, Salem,” proposed Will. He took a few steps, obviously expecting me to follow.

“Maybe tomorrow.” I sensed through our blood-link that my words both shocked and offended him, and it was clear then that he believed he still had some authority over me. I’d be happy to correct that assumption, but that could wait. Right now, Ava was angry and upset. There wasn’t a chance I was going to leave her alone like this. And I had a pretty strong feeling that it would go very badly for me if I did.

Will went to speak again, but Jared overrode him. “Salem’s right. It’s probably best for you all to get settled into your apartments first. Let everyone cool down.” The authority with which he spoke couldn’t be ignored. Will, Blythe, and Gina all nodded respectfully – albeit reluctantly. “Sam and I will show you to the residence hall you’ll be staying in.”

“Tomorrow evening, then, Salem.” Affronted, Will cast me an odd glance before he, Blythe, and Gina – who shot Ava a hard look – were escorted away.

Once the visitors were out of hearing range, Ava looked at her supporters. “Thanks, guys.”

“Gina’s going to be a problem,” predicted Jude. Fletcher nodded fiercely in agreement – no doubt the Empath had picked up a lot about Gina.

Alora’s narrowed-eyed stare was focused in the direction that Gina had left. “We’ll keep an eye on her.” The other girls nodded.

I closed my hand around Ava’s wrist, needing to be alone with her. “Come on.” She hesitated. “I know you’re pissed, but it isn’t really me you’re pissed at, is it?”

Alora literally shoved Ava at me. “Go have fun with Salem. Don’t let that bitch ruin a night of hopefully hot sex.” Evan laughed, kissing Alora’s temple.

As Ava and I were leaving, I heard Chico’s voice behind me. “Jude, put the knife away. She’s gone now. We’ve talked about this before: your Michael Myers vibe freaks me out.”

That got a giggle out of Ava. “So where are we going?”

In answer, I scooped her into my arms and travelled at vampire speed to my apartment, making her giggle again. Finding herself standing in my bedroom, she arched a brow. I shrugged. “Like you said earlier, I’m a presumptuous bastard.” I went to thread my hands through her hair, but she stepped back.

“You know, it would have been nice if you’d given me a heads up about all this shit with your Sire.”

“Coach only discussed him moving here earlier. I didn’t rush to tell you because I didn’t think he’d show up so quickly.”

She raised a hand to ward me off when I moved to close the small distance between us. “Wait. We need to talk.”

Talk? “I’m not a talker. You know that.” And I certainly didn’t want to talk when I finally had her here, where she belonged.

“Yes, I know that. But this is important.”

The anxiety in her eyes kept me where I was. “All right, what is it?”

“I need to know what happened between you and Gina.”

Way to kill the mood. I didn’t know much about relationships, but I was pretty sure that discussing your ex with your current partner couldn’t go well. “Ava…”

“I’d prefer not to waste time out of my life talking about her either. But this is what she’s going to do: every chance she gets, she’ll say a little about your relationship with her; she’ll tell me things that she thinks will hurt me or make me doubt you. And she’ll believe it gives her some sort of power over me; some power over
us
.”

Okay, she had a point. I’d seen Magda do the same to Sam…which was a big reason why Magda had eventually ended up dead.

“If I already know what there is to know, there can’t be any surprises. I’ll know whether the things she says are lies or truths. I’ll be prepared for what she might try to use to hurt me. I need that if I’m going to keep from smashing her nose into her brain. Besides, if this was the other way around and
my
ex was here –”

“He’d be dead by now.” And I was totally serious.

She rolled her eyes. “Just tell me so we can forget about her and get to the good stuff.”

“Okay, we’ll talk…but I have a condition.” At her questioning – and pretty suspicious – look, I explained. “Here’s the thing, Ava: you’re right here, in my bedroom, so close I can practically taste you. There is no fucking way I can get through this ‘talk’ without touching you.” I backed up until I reached the bed, and then perched myself on the edge. “Get your hot little ass over here and straddle me. Then we’ll talk.”

She narrowed her speckled brown eyes. “If I do that, you’ll try to distract me and we’ll never see this conversation through to the end.”

“We will, I swear.” Because I wanted it over with as quickly as possible. “Come here.” After a few moments, she came to stand between my legs. I lifted her by her tiny waist and positioned her to straddle me; making her dress ride up her thighs. “That’s better. Now…what do you want to know?”

Hands resting on my shoulders, she asked, “How did you and Gina meet?”

“Through Will. She’s one of his vampires.”

“And?”

“And we were together for a while.”

Impatience flashed across her face. “Typical of you to be so vague,” she grumbled. “How long were you together?”

I traced her collarbone with one finger. “A year, maybe. I don’t know.”

She blinked. “A year? Then it must have been serious.”

“It was the opposite of serious, which was why we were together for that long.” Ava waved her hand, encouraging me to elaborate. “We were both very work-focused, and neither of us wanted ‘serious’. I guess you could say we were together out of convenience.”