Haven (30 page)

When we exited the elevator, a pair of Thomas’s gigantic enforcer goons barred our way. They created a stunning visual standing at attention in the small hall, two tan and muscular giants almost seven feet tall, dressed in expensive, dark gray, Italian cut suits. Both had eyes the color of an electrical storm, lightning gray. Brothers, I assumed, given their resemblance.

They dropped to one knee, dark heads bowed, waiting. Antagonizing two ginormous vampires sounded like a bad idea, so, I opted for a polite greeting. “
Buona sera
. May we pass?”

“Forgive us,
Principessa
.” They stood in a blur of speed, backs to the wall.

I held my breath as we walked between them and didn’t exhale until we stood at the double doors to my office. One last security hurdle. I put my palm on the ID padlock above the right handle. Nothing happened because the doors were already unlocked. Oh, right. Who needed a locked door with huge undead warrior dudes in the hall? Their presence suggested a vampire VIP occupied my office, probably Thomas or Jonas.

I frowned. Can’t even get a bit of privacy in my own club. This is my office not theirs. How dare they—

And
voilà
, back to angry I rolled.

I pushed open the doors and stalked into my office. It was a large space with minimal furnishings. Brown leather love seat, larger matching couch, and a sleek, kidney-shaped walnut table we used as a desk. Adrian and I liked a simple, uncluttered space. We had files, computers, storage for valuables, and even a full bar, of course, but hidden behind movable wall panels. The bar was open at the moment.

Jonas hovered next to Adrian who was seated at the desk watching the six, flat panel, video screens on the wall. Each displayed a different area of the club, currently the main bar, Heaven, the security office, dance floor, DJ platform, and elevator.

Adrian used the remote to switch the last screen to the street view and swiveled in the desk chair, eyes widening. “Jesus, your face.”

My brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with
my
face?”

Mine wasn’t a bloody mess like Alexander’s. I glanced at him. Red lipstick decorated his mouth and chin, his bloody wounds an angry reminder of my bad behavior. He gave me a hard stare, crossed the room at hyper speed and disappeared into the bathroom, door closing behind him with a loud thud. My stomach twisted in an unhappy knot.

Adrian cleared his throat. “You okay, babe?”

I laughed, a brief, bitter sound. “Define
okay
.”

I pulled my gaze off the bathroom door to focus on Adrian. His eyes drew me in. Pale and icy blue, like an early morning, winter sky. A little thrill shivered down my spine. His face and arms attracted me, too. Shiny, as if he’d dusted his golden skin with glittery body powder.

“Come here.” Power infused my whispered words.

He rounded the desk, making short work of the distance between us. I explored his body with a feather light touch, fingers running over his arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. His skin was silky and warm, quite a contrast to the cold brilliance of his eyes. My hands travelled to his well-muscled chest and his thudding heart. I saw the network of veins running through his body, like the root system of an enormous tree, the blood pulsating, life’s energy so close to the surface, so close I could almost taste its rich coppery goodness, almost drink it up—

“Jonas, stop her!” Alexander roared.

His voice hit my head like a hammer. The sudden pain froze me for a moment. The vision of Adrian’s circulatory system receded and I discovered I was nuzzling his neck. Shit. I backed away in a hurry and stumbled into Jonas.

“What’s happening?” My voice was tinged with fear. I didn’t like this.

Adrian glowed like he was standing in a pastel yellow spotlight and, despite the distance between us, I caught his scent, the musky soap from his shower, the aftershave with its hints of lemongrass, ylang ylang, and cedar. He smelled good and looked willing. Ready for me to take him.

I must have moved in his direction without realizing it because Jonas yanked me back. Alexander appeared and escorted a dazed Adrian to the love seat on the far side of the room.

“You are behaving like a newly turned vampire,” Jonas explained. “You have little to no control over your power, your emotions, your desires. Or the blood lust.”

“I don’t believe you,” I protested but I leaned my back against him for comfort, let him wrap his arms around me, and didn’t even complain when he poured his power over my body in a wave of tiny electric shocks.

“Why do you think you attacked Alexander so furiously?” he murmured in my ear.

Lovely. My vampire side was asserting itself. “No.” I was unwilling to accept it, to be that out of control.

“Why do you think you were attracted to Adrian? To those humans downstairs? What were you thinking when you looked at them?”

I shook my head. I’m not a vampire. I’m not.

“Come, my little warrior. What were you thinking as you gazed upon the living?”

I disliked his word choice, but knew he wouldn’t give up. Persistent vampire.

“They glowed, all golden and warm like an afternoon sun and I thought they looked yummy.”

“Exactly.”

I hugged the arms hugging me. A myriad of emotions assaulted me. Fear, excitement, worry, anger, hunger, even happiness. It was too much.

I tried to argue it all away. “But I can’t have blood lust. I don’t have fangs.”

“Yet.”

Chills crawled up my spine. Blood lust. Out-of-control emotions. Unruly power. Fangs. “But, I can’t do, I can’t be, I can’t.” I’m a vampire. I squeezed his arms like they were a life preserver keeping me from drowning in stormy waters.

Across the room, Alexander handed Adrian a glass of water. Adrian rubbed his temple in confusion while he watched us talk. Alexander, on the other hand, didn’t spare us a glance. That hurt more than his hammer yell to my head a moment ago.

“And you like the taste of blood,” Jonas continued. “You cannot deny it.”

I pulled out of Jonas’s embrace and sank onto the couch, curling up my legs and hugging my knees. “Okay, no, I can’t deny my new craving for the red stuff. But I wasn’t looking at Adrian, or any of those other people downstairs, and thinking, ‘Hey you, open a vein for me, will ya?’ I just wasn’t.”

“But you wanted them. Wanted what they had to offer.”

“What were they offering me?”

“Everything.”

Confusion clenched my insides. “I don’t get it.”

“It is not solely about the blood, Carina.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You do not need to. Yet.”

I groaned and flopped my head against the couch back. “How long is this going to take? This, uh, new adjustment period I’m experiencing?” I felt like a newbie alcoholic in a twisted twelve-step program.

Hi, my name is Carina Tranquilli and I’m a human-vampire hybrid. I’ve been sober for twenty-five years and now my freaky powers and blood lust have come online, so I’ll be over here, taking it one moment at a time, and I promise I’ll try not to turn you into a charcoal briquette or suck the blood out of your veins while I learn to get a grip. Really, don’t worry. I’ll get a handle on it. Just make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy. Oh, and a straw, if you wouldn’t mind donating a little blood now and then.

Jonas laughed.

I glowered at him. “Stay out of my head.”

He sped over to the love seat and sat next to Adrian. Adrian stared at the mirth-filled vampire like he’d never met him before. And he probably hadn’t. Jonas never laughed.
Ever
.

“Gee, Uncle Jonas, glad my misery amuses you.”

His attitude pushed on my last nerve. I was done for the evening. Stick a toothpick in me already and check. Done. The urge to pummel Jonas ramped up—

Alexander distracted me. “Here.” He settled on the couch and offered me a facial wipe and mirror from the bathroom.

I aimed my aggression and sarcasm at him. “What are you trying to say?”

He plopped the items in my hands without comment.

“Oh. Whoa.” The
oh
was for the smeared lipstick around my mouth, and the
whoa
was for my eyes. Amazing. Black as night, that is, a night sky pulsating with twinkling lights. Pretty damn cool, in a disturbing and scary way, of course. But still, I liked it. Welcome to the new, freaky me.
Whoopee
.

“Oh, stop,” Jonas chuckled.

“Oh, stay out my head,” I snapped, but my grouchy uncle cracking up made me want to giggle, too. I allowed myself a little snicker then set to work on my messy face.

Jonas quickly sobered when Adrian struggled to stand and his legs buckled. Jonas caught him, arms banding around the other man’s waist and shoulders. Black eyes flashing, lips parting on a sultry growl, he leaned in for a kiss, a kiss Adrian returned with complete abandon.

I’ve seen Adrian kiss boys—and girls—before, but this was different. Usually man on top, he was submissive in Jonas’s arms like the heroine in a romance novel swept off her feet by the tall, dark, dashing man. In this case, however, it was the smaller yet stronger, finer boned, pale vampire doing the sweeping up.

Alexander touched my arm and I jerked, gaze flitting to him. The scratches on his face had almost healed. Faint pink lines remained, and they, too, continued to fade. Even so, the guilt and embarrassment over my recent psycho behavior resurfaced.

“I’m sorry.” I searched his smoky blue eyes for a hint of forgiveness.

He leaned forward, pulled the wipe from my unresisting hand, and set to work finishing the cleaning job. He dabbed at my lips and chin with a firm but gentle touch. His handsome face hovered so close if I leaned forward, we would kiss. I tightened my grip on the mirror, resisting the urge to pull his lips to mine.

He caught the hungry expression on my face and chose to ignore it. Instead, he took the mirror from me and held it up. “All better.”

My face was indeed devoid of messy red lipstick, but my irises remained black and sparkling like a darkened room filled with blinking Christmas lights. Would they ever revert to brown?

Yes.
Jonas replied in my head.

“You okay there, babe?” Adrian strolled over with his usual confident swagger.

“Yeah, but shouldn’t I be asking you that? And apologizing for, you know...”
Almost eating you?
Couldn’t say it.

He shrugged and dismissed my lame apology. “I’m good. Awesome in fact.” He gave me a wicked grin and kissed my cheek. “Time to make the rounds.”

He headed for the door, but switched direction halfway there to grab his suit jacket off the desk. Relief flooded me. Adrian was okay if he remembered to put on his jacket. He rarely went without, no matter how hot the club. But I hadn’t switched off my glamour as I had downstairs with the dancers.

Why is he free?
I thought at Jonas.

Adrian is mine
, he replied as he stalked to the door.

So, what, you broke my hold on him, just like that?

Yes.

This is some power thing I don’t understand, isn’t it?
I let annoyance color my mental voice.

Of course.

I shrugged in response, tired of talking, tired of struggling to understand and navigate the intricacies of my fledgling power.

Adrian joined Jonas at the door and they joined hands. “Later, babe. Alexander. I’ll be downstairs until dawn. Guaranteed. You two try not to—” He pretended to search for the right words. “Break anything while I’m gone.”

“Dude, I’m sorry about your house. It wasn’t my fault. Well, not entirely.” I crossed my arms and slumped against the couch, feeling lame, tired, and cranky.

“Aw, babe, you’re too easy to tease. Just kidding. Have fun you two. See you at dawn.”

“What makes you think we’ll be up here until dawn?” I pouted.

Adrian and Jonas both gave me the look that comment deserved. My pout devolved into a scowl, but I knew I’d lost.

“See you later,” I muttered.

Alexander gave the two men a brief wave. The double doors closed behind them with a soft click, followed by a beep. Adrian had secured the room.

Nice parting touch.

An awkward silence followed their departure, so loud my ears hummed with it. I averted my gaze—though I knew Alexander’s eyes targeted me—opting instead to stalk to my desk and watch the monitors as if they displayed the most important information on the planet. I was nervous and worried, and unsure how to shake it off.

Turn around.

Was it that simple? If I faced him would the hormones kick in? Would we forget about my trip to Crazy Town and simply kiss and make up?

Probably. Maybe. Maybe not.

You went too far,
doubt whispered in my head, with the pushing and the yelling, and oh right, mustn’t forget the face scratching and bespelling of innocent people. All accidental on my part, true, but Alexander had every right to feel frustrated and angry.

What if I’ve turned him off? What if I’m now too much of a freak for the monster?

I stood and took a step, then another and another. In the middle of the room, I stopped with my back to Alexander, afraid to see disdain, anger, or worse, the
I’m-so-done-here
look. Sure, he’d been nothing but civil since we got up here, even cleaned up my face, but he hadn’t cracked a smile or shown me even the tiniest hint of affection. So now I didn’t know what to think. Or do.

Break up with the boyfriend I hadn’t officially
dated yet? Or had he already dumped me? Maybe we should just go downstairs and call it an evening.

I wrapped my arms around myself, nails digging into my waist, as I worked up the guts to break the silence stretched out to the size of the Grand Canyon.

“Doesn’t have to be this hard, you know.”