Undone (The Amoveo Legend) (6 page)

“Convincing her of what?”

“Pete,” Marianna said far too brightly in an effort to change the subject. She was still pissed that he lied, but she could overlook it for the time being. All she wanted right now was to get the hell out of there, away from Artimus and his ridiculous plan.

“I’m so glad you could join us.” She smoothed her hair back, amazed her updo was still in place after all that dancing. “Pete, you already know Hayden. I’d like you to meet his father Artimus and his friend, Dr. Moravian. They were both friends with my father.”

Pete didn’t even spare them a glance, and no one tried to shake hands with him. The tension in their small circle was off the charts. Marianna glanced at the humans at the nearby tables, but none seemed remotely aware of the tense situation developing. They were too busy enjoying the five-hundred-dollar-per-plate event.

“Nice to meet you,” Pete said, clearly not meaning it. He didn’t take his furious eyes off hers. “It’s time to go, Marianna.
Now.
”

He stepped between them, grabbed Marianna’s hand, and pulled her from the circle. The two practically ran from the ballroom and through the doors to the empty hallway with the outdated pay phones. He pulled her up to the coat check window but still didn’t look at her. He slapped the ticket onto the counter and passed her the small gold clutch that she’d left on the table before their dance. Pete tossed a tip into the tip basket, grabbed Marianna’s hand and they headed down the grand staircase to the extravagant lobby below.

He didn’t say a word as they walked to the parking garage, but there was no mistaking how he felt. The man was irate.
He
was pissed at
her
? Well, fine. She was pretty goddamn mad herself. Not only did she have to contend with Hayden and Artimus propositioning her, apparently, she couldn’t trust Pete or her brother.

Would
every
man she knew try to control her life?

The parking attendant pulled the car up, and Marianna got into the backseat without a word. Pete said something under his breath, slammed the door behind her, and got into the driver’s seat. He peeled out of the lot and turned onto Park Avenue.

“You and my brother have a lot of damn nerve, you know that?” she spat. “I almost expect it from my brother. Dante was always bossy.” Marianna slammed her purse onto the seat. “But I have to admit, I’m more than a little disappointed in you.”

“What are you talking about?” He didn’t even look in the rearview mirror but kept his eyes trained on the city traffic. “I don’t know why you’re so ticked off. I’m the one who got ditched on the dance floor so you could talk to that douche bag, Hayden.”

“Really?” Her voice rose. “He may be a douche bag, but at least he’s honest about it.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Pete flicked a glance in the mirror as he turned onto her street.

“It means that I don’t like being lied to.” She leaned forward and visualized the living room of her apartment. The familiar scent of vanilla filled her nostrils, and static flickered around her. “Good night, Pete.”

As Marianna vanished from the car and visualized herself back to her apartment, she heard Pete curse and the screech of tires on the pavement. Marianna threw her purse onto the couch and smiled triumphantly as she walked to her bedroom. “Put that in your pipe, and smoke it.”

“Son of a bitch!” Pete bellowed.

He slammed on the brakes and gaped at the now-empty rearview mirror. The Mercedes skidded to a halt, and Pete spun around to see that she was actually gone. Marianna must have used that disappearing act the Amoveo could do—what did Dante call it? Visualization? She used that to blink her ass out of there, most likely back to her apartment.

“That’s it,” he bit out. Pete floored it down the next few blocks until he came to Marianna’s brownstone. He double-parked, not giving a crap if he got a ticket or towed. He was so fucking mad right now that he thought his head was going to explode.

He got to the door of the building as one of the other residents was leaving and slipped right in. As he stormed the steps to her floor, he tried to figure out when exactly she’d realized that he knew what she was. She said that she’d been lied to—damn it.

They were trying to protect her, mostly from herself. She’d only proved their point when she marched up to that asshole Hayden and his father with absolutely no regard for safety. He’d never met the doctor, but he’d seen his picture in that file that Dante had given him.

“Open up, Marianna.” Pete pounded on the apartment door. “I mean it. Open this door right now. I know you’re in there.”

Silence.

Pete banged on the door again, but still she didn’t respond. He knew she was in there. He could feel it. Just when he was about to start banging again, Marianna swung the door open, but once he laid eyes on her, all the blood rushed from his head directly to his crotch. She stood in the doorway barefoot and clad only in a short, red satin robe. Her long hair was loose, the way he liked it, and spilled over her shoulders in inviting waves.

“Something wrong, Pete?” A satisfied grin cracked her heart-shaped face. “You seem a bit upset.”

Marianna turned on her heels and waltzed into her apartment as if she hadn’t just vanished from the backseat of his car. Pete followed her and slammed the door behind him. He took a quick look around the small apartment and noticed it was decorated simply, but tastefully. The whole place smelled like vanilla and peaches—or maybe that was her.

“Can I get you a nightcap?” she asked as she poured herself a glass of wine.

“No.” Pete undid the stupid bow tie from his tuxedo and opened the top button of the collar. It didn’t do much to squelch his anger, but it gave him something to do with his hands. “I’m too pissed.”

“Why on earth would you be angry?” she asked innocently. Marianna sipped her wine and sidled up to him. He tried not to notice the seductive sway of her hips or that come-hither look in her eyes.

“Oh, come on, Marianna.” Pete whipped his tie off and stuffed it into the inside pocket of his tux jacket. “Let’s just cut the crap, okay?”

“By all means.” She raised her eyebrows and peered over the rim of her glass. “You first.”

Pete took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Apologizing wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but she was right. He hadn’t been truthful, but he wasn’t a liar. He wasn’t like his father.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you,” he said quietly. “I’ve known about the Amoveo ever since Dante and Kerry got together.”

“Why?” Marianna’s eyes grew stormy. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that you knew what I am?”

“Why? Are you freaking serious?” he asked incredulously. Pete went to the wine bottle on the counter and poured himself a glass. “On second thought, I do need a drink.”

He took a swig and tried not to look at her long, tanned legs and perfectly pedicured toes as she sat on the arm of the oversized chair. She sipped her wine, but kept those dark eyes on him as he made his way back into the tiny living room.

“Okay, you’ve got your drink… why did you lie?”

“If you knew that I was hip to the Amoveo, then it would be impossible to keep an eye on you. If you got pissed—which you seem to do a lot by the way—you’d just pull that disappearing act like you did tonight.” He raised his glass. “So thanks for proving my point.”

“Really?” Marianna narrowed her eyes. She stood from her spot on the chair and placed her drink on the glass coffee table. “For your information,
Mr. Castro
, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself without you or my brother meddling in my life.”

Her eyes flashed and shifted into the glowing black eyes of her clan. Pete was mesmerized as images of a moonlit sky filled his mind. Usually, when one of them shifted eyes into their clan form, it freaked him out, but it had an opposite effect with Marianna. They glittered like black diamonds and held him captive.

He hadn’t thought it would be possible for her to be more breathtakingly beautiful than she already was—but he was dead wrong. She moved toward him, and something whisked through the air, like static, or a heat wave. Whatever it was, it turned him on, but he was determined to keep his composure and not jump on her like some horny kid.

“After what I saw tonight at the Waldorf, you are trouble with a capital
T
,” he said evenly. “You went looking for it with Hayden and Artimus, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I know you can’t stand Hayden, and there’s obviously no love lost between you and Artimus, so why in hell did you run over to them tonight?” His jaw clenched. “You know that they’re Purists.”

As the words flew out of his mouth, one possibility fell on him like a ton of bricks. What if that’s how she felt?
Holy
shit.
What if she sympathized with the Purists and would never in a million years want him for her mate? She was attracted to him. He wasn’t blind or stupid, but what if that’s all it was for her? What if she loathed the idea of having a human for a mate? He knew she wasn’t a big fan of Kerry’s, but he thought that was some kind of sibling jealousy; he never dreamed that she could be a Purist.

“I know exactly who they are and what they’re all about.” She poked him in the chest. “At least they’re straight with me, which is more than I can say for you or my brother. If those guys want to find me, then they’ll find me. They can sense my energy signature and get to me
anywhere
but this apartment. However, if they do come after me, then I can take care of myself, and I don’t need a human babysitting me!”

“Well, sweetheart,” he ground out. “It was the presence of
this
human who’s kept those dicks away so far.” Pete’s jaw set as he struggled to keep his temper under control, but it was no use. “I may not be able to shapeshift into a bear or a squirrel or a what-fucking-ever, but I’ve managed to keep an eye on your fine ass for the past couple months without so much as your hair getting mussed.”

Marianna didn’t take her furious eyes off his. Hands on her hips, she inched closer, and her breasts brushed against his chest. “My fine ass and everything else on my body is no longer your concern,” she whispered. “I can take care of myself because I
can
shapeshift into a bear, among other things. By the way,” she added sweetly, “you’re fired.”

Frustrated, turned on, and at a loss for words, Pete slugged back the rest of his wine as if it were a shot of bourbon. He tried not to notice the way her bare legs brushed against his pants or how the heat of her skin wafted over him, but it was no use.

He’d never get away from the taste of her.

Staring into those glittering ebony eyes, he knew he was lost. Lost to a woman who couldn’t stand what he was and would likely never accept him. Pete shoved his other hand in his pants pocket, and the vial of precious powder slipped into his hand easily. He squeezed it tightly, and staring into those glowing eyes, he realized what he had to do.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” he murmured. “They can find you anywhere because of your energy signature, right? That’s part of your Amoveo abilities, like shapeshifting and telepathy?”

“Yes.” Marianna looked at him with confusion and crossed her arms over her ample breasts. “So?”

Pete took the vial of silver powder out of his pocket, uncorked it, and poured some into his hand. “Then I guess we better make sure that they can’t find you.”

Marianna opened her mouth to undoubtedly ask him what he was talking about when Pete blew the magical powder into her face. He quickly corked the bottle and stuffed it into his pocket. Pete grimaced as she sputtered and coughed, hating himself for what he’d just done, but what choice did he have?

How in the hell could he protect her if those bastards could find her anywhere, and she could vanish from his sight at the drop of a hat?

“It should pass in a minute.” He slapped her on the back as she coughed and swiped at the tears that streamed down her face. He noticed that her eyes had shifted back to human form, which gave him hope that this crap was actually working.

“What the hell?” She sputtered between coughs as she sat on the couch and put her head in her hands.

“Sorry, but it’s for the best.” Pete sat next to her and tried to rub her back, but she shoved his hand away. He couldn’t really blame her. He’d have been pissed too.

“What did you do?” she wheezed. Marianna picked her head up slowly, and the look of fear on her face made his heart squeeze in his chest. “What did you do to me?”

She scrambled off the couch and ran to the bathroom. Pete followed and found her leaning on the oval porcelain sink, staring at her frantic reflection in the mirror above. Marianna wiped away the tears and flicked her brown eyes at him. They may not have been glowing, but now, they reflected her anger.

Pete stood in the doorway with his hands shoved in his pockets, waiting for her to say or do something. She turned slowly and looked as if she wanted to rip his head off, but since she hadn’t shifted into a bear, he figured he was safe for the moment.

“I’ll ask you one more time. What… did… you… do?” she seethed.

“You weren’t safe as long as Artimus and the rest of the Purists could find you. I made it so they can’t find you. It’s a binding powder, and according to the voodoo guy I bought it from, it’ll keep you bound in your human form for a month—give or take a few days.”

She gaped but said nothing. He felt like a shithead.

“My human form?” she repeated, trying to make herself believe it. “That stuff you blew in my face and made me choke on, it took my Amoveo powers away.”

“Basically.” He struggled to remain calm and detached and act like her pain wasn’t killing him. “Come on. You’ve got to pack a bag because you can’t use that visualization thing to make stuff appear.” He looked at his watch. “I want to get on the road as soon as possible.” He went into her bedroom and looked around for a suitcase. He found one in the back of her large closet and tossed it on her bed. “Start packing.”

“And just where do think you’re taking me?” she asked incredulously.

“I have a cabin up at Schroon Lake. It’s secluded, and no one will find you there.” He flipped the suitcase open. “Come on. Toss stuff in here, but make sure it’s warm clothes. It’s January, and we’ll be in the mountains.”

He looked away because he couldn’t stand the way she was looking at him. She probably hated him, and he’d given her every right, but as long as he kept her safe, it didn’t matter. “Please,” he said quietly. “The sooner we get there, the better.”

“Are you crazy?” Marianna tightened the belt of her robe, which had drifted open. He tried not to look, but he couldn’t help it, and it didn’t escape her attention. She clutched the neckline closed and made a face. “It’s not bad enough that you’ve made me an invalid, but you have to ogle me too?”

“Hey.” He shrugged. “I’m only human.”

“Exactly.”

“And so are you—for at least a month,” he said evenly. “And based on what I’ve seen over the past few weeks, a little humility will do you good.”

“You arrogant jerk! I’m not going anywhere with you.” Marianna stalked over and shoved him with both hands, but he held his ground. “You bastard.” She shoved him again, harder this time. “How could you do this to me?”

Marianna tried to punch him, but he grabbed both her wrists, preventing her from achieving her goal. She swore and struggled against his grip, but it was no use. He was far stronger than she was now, and he had no interest in fighting. He spun her around and pinned her against the wall next to the nightstand as her robe gaped open again, exposing the curve of her full breasts.

“Stop,” he said gently. Her lush, warm form melded against his as she squirmed, trying to get away, but he didn’t relent. He held her hands above her head and placed his legs against hers, which was meant only to restrain her, but had a far more erotic effect. Her lips, the ones he’d tasted the night before, hovered temptingly below his, and the tantalizing scent of peaches and vanilla filled his head. “If you don’t stop squirming, I’m going to do a lot more than just hold you here.”

“Let me go.” Marianna arched her back, which made her breasts press harder into his chest. Her eyes shimmered, and his heart broke when one big tear rolled down her cheek. “Please,” she whispered.

The pleading sound of her voice combined with the touch of her body sent him over the edge, and before he knew it, his mouth was on hers. He sighed contentedly as her warm lips collided with his. Marianna moaned and opened to him, swept her tongue along his, and pressed her body harder against him, trying to get closer.

He devoured her, drank from her as if he could never get enough. She linked her fingers with his as he held them above her head. Need took over, and his basest instincts to claim her clamored. He tore his hands from hers and tangled his fingers in her long locks. Marianna wrapped her arms around his neck, draped one leg over his hip, and tugged him even closer as she kissed him greedily.

One hand trailed down her side, over the curve of her satin-covered hip, and along her thigh. He pulled her leg up and rocked against her. His hand swept the smooth skin of her thigh and cupped her bare ass. The vixen was completely nude beneath the thin satin robe, and the knowledge almost made him come.

This was heaven—this woman’s touch, taste, and scent. He could drown in it and die a happy man.

The shrill chirp of his cell phone in his jacket cut through the haze of lust. They broke their kiss, but he didn’t let her go. Even though he wanted to throw the goddamn phone out the window, he couldn’t ignore it. It was the ring specifically assigned to Dante, and he had a pretty good idea why he was calling.