The Faerie Master (Aaron's Kiss Series) (7 page)

“It’s locked.
Aaron said that I was the only
one
able to open it once I set the lock.
How are you feeling?”

“Open this.
I want out now. And where are my clothes?”
She looked at the man on the bed who now sat up with his back against the headboard, his chest bare.

“No.
I asked you how you’re feeling.
You didn’t answer.
You look good.
Delicious, as a matter of fact.
Come back to bed with me.”
He actually patted the space beside him.
She turned her back on him and tried the door again.

She heard him move. The air changed and she knew he was just behind her.
A small whimper escaped her mouth before she could stop it.
Pressing herself against the door to keep him from touching her she knew she was trapped. “Let me go. You have no right to keep me prisoner here.
I have to go to work tonight.
I have to go to work tonight and you are keeping me from it.”

“You won’t be working anymore.
I will take care of you now.
Come back to bed with me, Cade.
I want to make love to you.
I need you.”

She pressed harder to the door. “Please?
I don’t want to be here.
I...want this door open before I have to hurt you.
I don’t know who you are, I don’t even want to know, just let me out of here.”

She felt him step back, not far, but enough that she knew if she wanted she could let go of the door pressing deep in her belly.
But she stayed where she was, not looking at him.
Before he could speak she realized who he was. “The man from the cave.
The man who bit me, you’re him, aren’t you?
Stay away from me.
I want this fucking door open right now or I swear to Christ that I will kill you.”

“I didn’t mean...I would never harm you, Cade. Let me explain.
I was hurt and hungry and—”

“And what? I just happened to be a convenient cow to drain?
And you did hurt me.
You bit me and took my blood.
Now open this fucking door.”

When he reached toward her she nearly screamed, but he only keyed in the code to open the door.
When she heard the latch disengage she threw open the door and made a dash into the hall.
It was massive and when she turned back to him he pointed to the right and she took off to the left.
Trust was not big on her list of things to give this man.
Of course she had to turn back at the end of the hallway and go the way he had indicated first.
It took her three more wrong turns before she made it to the top of the long stairs.
When she opened the door at the top she nearly fell into the lap of Mr. MacManus who was just on the other side.

“Cade?
Is everything all right?
Is Shawn all right?
I was just coming down to check on you two.”
Sara walked in the room then.

“I don’t know who...that man’s name is Shawn?
You put me in a room with a stranger?
What kind of sick people are you?
He bit me.
You told me I wouldn’t come to any harm if I worked for you.
You lied!
But then I suppose that’s what I should expect.
No one tells me the truth.
I’m leaving.
If you contact me again, I’ll...I’ll...just don’t contact me.”

She was moving toward the kitchen when Sara was suddenly in front of her.
Cade didn’t think, she just reacted and pushed her hard with her mind.
Sara banged hard against the wall and Cade kept going.
She was outside and next to her bike when she realized she was still in his t-shirt and nothing else but her panties.
Dropping to the hard concrete, she burst into tears.

Someone came up behind her, but she didn’t need to look to know who it was.
Mr. MacManus didn’t touch her, but stood there with a blanket.
She reached up, took it from him, and wrapped it around her body.

“Will you come into the house and let me explain?
I’m sorry about what happened. I wasn’t aware that Shawn hadn’t told you anything when he marked you.
You are safe here.
I caused you no harm, Cade.”

“Safe?
Do you have any idea how stupid that word sounds coming from your mouth? I just want to leave.
Please.
I...that man, he and I, we...it was overwhelming and we had...when he bit me, we had sex.
I don’t even know him.
I’m never—I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“I believe you.
Come into the house and let us explain.
Please, it’s cold out here and the children are worried about you.”

His voice was soft, but there was something there.
A tone, she supposed, and she nearly gave into it, nearly went into the house because he was commanding her to.
But she wanted to go home, leave before it was too late.
She wasn’t sure too late for what and almost thought it was already too late, but fought his pull.
Standing up she handed him the blanket.

“No. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I don’t like to be told what someone else thinks is best for me.
I’ll be back tomorrow to finish out the work for you.
I don’t quit no matter how much weird shit goes on.
Besides, I really need the money.
Keep that man away from me, Mr. MacManus.
We had a deal and I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain.”

She knew it was going to be freezing riding home.
She would probably get sicker, but there was no way she was going back into that house for her clothes.
Aaron pulled his suit coat off and handed it toward her.
She nearly took it then thought he may have some sort of tracking device in it.
Paranoid? Yes, but she was willing to bet he could already track her somehow. Without a word she threw her leg over the seat and prayed the thing would start.
When it did she turned it around and drove down the long drive.
The cold was biting into her skin and her teeth were chattering when she got to the main road, but she didn’t stop as she headed over to the bar.
Sleeping there tonight seemed a smart idea.

She was standing at the stove when Paul came back to tell her she had a phone call.
He normally just screamed at her to get it. Tonight he walked into her kitchen.
She just knew that she didn’t want to answer it.

“Paul, why don’t you just tell them to quit calling here?
I would be very happy if you did. I don’t want to talk to whoever is on the other end.
I don’t care if they’re telling me I’ve won the lottery.”

“It’s a woman.
She sounds really upset.
I tried to lie to her and tell her you weren’t here and she said to put you on.
Told me to tell you that she would either talk to you on the phone or come down here and speak to you.
And I didn’t want her to come here.”

“Fuck!
Will you get a number for me?
Tell her I have six orders on the grill and I need this job too.
Tell her I’ll call her back before eleven.
And tell her that I promise and I keep mine.
If she has a problem with that, then tell her I quit.”

Paul went to the phone to relay her message.
Cade wanted to cry.
That and she really wanted to go upstairs and take a long, hot bath, crawl into bed, and never wake up.
About an hour ago her throat had started to hurt and now it was a full blown ache.
Her muscles felt like someone had stretched her out on a rack and pulled her taut for several days, and her head was pounding like a jackhammer was being used in it.
She couldn’t afford to get sick.

At a quarter till eleven she called the number Paul had written down for her.
She was on break and really wanted to lie down, but didn’t figure Mrs. MacManus would be put off.
On the second ring, she answered.

“I didn’t think you’d call back.
I was just putting on my coat to come down there and kick your ass.
I need to speak to you.”

“Yeah, I got that.
Don’t threaten my boss again. Long after I finish helping you out I still have to work here.
What do you want?
I have to get back to work soon.”
She sneezed three times and had to blow her nose while she delivered her little speech.

“You’re sick.
Come to the house after work tonight.
Better yet, let me have someone come and get you.
You can’t be riding that bike around in this weather.
You’ve probably gotten pneumonia or something worse.
I’ll have Aaron there when you get off.”

“Gee, thanks, Mom.
Whatever would I do without your loving care?
Fuck off.
I’m not going anywhere with you people.
Hiring me to help out while your cook is gone does not make you my keepers.
If this is all you wanted then I’m busy.
I’ll be there in the morning.”

Cade was just about to hang up when she heard her name.
She needed a nap not this woman.
Bringing the phone back to her ear, she waited.
Paul brought her a cup of tea and a bourbon chaser and set it in front of her.
She grinned at him when he winked.

“I want to know what you are going to do about Shawn.
I can talk to you about it tomorrow if you’d like to think about it.
I know you are new to the idea of vampires, but they have needs and I would like it if you’d let me explain it to you.”

“No.
I don’t want anything to do with that man.
My break is over.
I’ll see you in the morning.”
Cade hung up and sat there.

“You okay, kid?
Never seen you so upset before.
Maybe you should quit them folks and keep away from them.
That woman sounds like a real piece of work.”

“You have no idea.
I need the money or I would.
I don’t quit, you know that.
Paul, do you think it would be all right if I could borrow fifty bucks from you until payday?
I need to pay off someone and I think I need to get something for this cold.
I’m good for it.”

He gave her seventy, all the cash he had on him, and told her not to worry about it.
She was a good kid and he liked her, he told her. Nearly crying again Cade went back to the kitchen and started on the three orders that were hanging there.
She hadn’t bothered asking him about the rooms upstairs. Paul’s brother had flown in from out of town and he had moved in for a few weeks.
Cade was sleeping in the cave whether she wanted to or not.
At one-thirty he sent her home.
A short freezing ride to the store and by two-forty-five she was back in the cave.