by Melody Raven
She expected Mikel to just give a quick greeting and brush them off, because she was sure she wasn’t important enough for him to give the time of day—er, night. But instead, he narrowed his eyes at her and tilted his head. Then he gave the girl sitting next to him a get-out-of-the-way motion with his hand before they all slid out of the booth. Mikel was the only one to look graceful doing that, of course. Tela wanted to look brave and unaffected, but she couldn’t help inching closer to John.
“A blood donor, you say?” He stopped right in front of her, apparently not caring much about personal space.
John obviously wasn’t happy about it either, because she could feel him move close enough to start touching her. Not much, but the slightest touch had his warm body against her arm and hip.
She tried to play it cool. “Yep.” She held her arm up, showing off the little gold bracelet signaling her status.
“And you’re here with John? How nice of you.”
“Um... John’s a hard person to say no to.”
“Well, that’s not true. When my family owned him, we said no to him as much as we wanted to.”
Oh, that’s how this son of a bitch wanted to play it. “It’s funny how the ones we look down on sometimes end up being our greatest allies. I wonder what would’ve happened if you’d come here without the support of slaves. I suppose hindsight really is twenty-twenty.”
She didn’t know whether he got the vision reference; that just seemed like one more mark in her favor. If he wanted to be a dick to her, she was going to throw out random human references that he may or may not understand. Tough shit, jackass.
Faster than she could even see, Mikel reached out and grabbed her wrist. It wasn’t painful, but forceful as he brought it toward his mouth. John’s hand went around her waist and gave her a little squeeze, a silent reassurance that he was still there.
But Mikel wasn’t attacking her. Instead, he brought the delicate skin of her wrist, palm up, to his nose, where he took a deep inhale as he ran his lips along it. The threat was obvious, but she didn’t know what to do. Fighting it would be an exercise in futility. But he didn’t sink his fangs in. Instead, he let her wrist go and took a step back. “Tela. It’s a beautiful name. Memorable.”
Tela wanted to come back with something witty and smart, but all she could do was stand there motionless and lean into John, trying her best not to look like the cowering wimp that she was.
“You found a good one, John. I’m impressed.” And then Mikel sat back down in his little throne, obviously done with them.
Tela let out a deep sigh of relief as John led her away.
“What the hell was that?” she bit out as quietly as possible.
“He liked you,” he said in a resigned voice.
“How do I make him stop? Do I need to smell? I can stop showering. I can give him all the BO he can handle.”
John let out a little laugh. “I can’t believe you’re joking right now.”
“Oh no. I am deadly serious. Stink bomb serious.”
“I guarantee you nothing like that will happen again tonight.”
“Like you can guarantee my safety,” she pointed out.
“You are safe,” he reminded her.
“Barely. Is there an open bar? I told myself I wasn’t going to drink, but now I definitely feel like I need an impairment of some kind in my system.”
He pointed toward the back wall that appeared to have a full bar. “Help yourself.”
Tela frowned. “You’re not coming with me?”
“There’s someone I want to talk to. Don’t worry. You’ll be in my line of vision at all times.”
“Promise?”
Once again, that intense stare gazed right into her eyes. “Oh, I promise.”
John watched her every move as she crossed over to the bar. If she wanted him to keep an eye on her, he would make damn sure that he fulfilled that wish. In fact, all he wanted in life at this current moment was to never take his eyes off her again.
“What exactly have you done?” Dante moved to stand next to him.
“We were encouraged to bring human dates. I simply did what I was asked.”
“You couldn’t have brought someone less....”
“Less what? What the hell is so different about her? She’s just a normal human.” He recognized the lie as it came out of his mouth. Tela was nothing even close to ordinary to him. But except for his strange attachment to her, she didn’t stand out. When Jared had fed on her the first time she donated her blood, he hadn’t noticed anything special, obviously.
“She’s special because she wants you. Mikel isn’t used to having competition for anything, let alone from a slave.”
“I’m not a slave anymore.”
“To him, you always will be. You know that.”
His teeth ground together as he faced the accuracy of Dante’s words. “And you? Is that what you still think of me?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think of you. I’m your commanding officer. Slave, employee, soldier—when I give you an order, I expect you to follow it. Is that understood?”
“I got it.” On some stupid level, he’d assumed things were different. Maybe not with Mikel, but with Dante. They worked well together. Despite Dante’s high place in the hierarchy, he never seemed to look down at John. Until tonight.
“You be careful with her.”
“She’s just a human,” pointed out John. “I think I can handle her.”
“The most dangerous things are the ones we think we can handle. Those are the ones that can kill you when you least expect it.”
Tela took a sip of the Jack and Coke. She’d been so excited to get her hands on some free liquor that she forgot how much she didn’t actually like Jack and Coke. She winced at the taste and eyed the room. There were plenty of tables with various humans and vampires mingling, but she really wasn’t in the mood to be social anymore. Instead, she went to an empty table and glanced over to where John was still talking to some other vampire.
Why did he have to look so good? Close up, he looked amazing. Far away, he looked amazing. She figured that the impact of those good looks would be lessened in a room like this. He was surrounded by other vampires, each one drop-dead gorgeous in their own right. He should’ve blended in, not stood out.
She was just going to have to get used to the fact that John had something. She could deny it all she wanted, but it was there. It was true. But that didn’t mean she had to do anything about it. So what if she had some chemistry with the vampire? Her priority was Dani, and it had to stay that way. John might be a fun distraction, but that’s all he was. A distraction.
“Hello there.” A man approached. "Is this table taken?"
Judging from his smaller build, and navy suit, this was a human. Now smaller didn’t mean small. But even a six-foot-tall man could looked dwarfed next to these vampires.
“Well, I’m standing at it,” Tela shot back. The man’s brows shot straight up, and she mentally kicked herself. “I mean, there’s plenty of room. Come on over.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “I sense that you’d rather be alone,” he said, even as he took up her suggestion and came to lean on the table.
“No, it’s not even that. I think it’s just been so long since I’ve been social, I kind of forgot how.”
“Oh? Does that mean you live alone?”
For the love of.... Was this guy really trying to hit on her? “Not alone. My teenage sister lives with me. But that’s not the best source of civil conversation.” At least she and Dani had gotten very good at telling the other when they were in a bad mood. Even as her social skills had declined, her communication skills with Dani had gone through the roof. They were so much better at reading each other’s minds now. And if either of them felt their moods getting out of control, they simply warned the other one that they needed some space and for the most part they were all able to abide by those rules. Tela had a feeling she couldn’t just tell a stranger she need
ed space to get them to go away. Besides, John brought her here to play nice. For the human race, she could do this.
“What about you? Do you live alone?” She mentally dared him to hit on her. She had a feeling John wouldn’t take too kindly to another man making a pass at her. He might just be a distraction, but he was a possessive one.
“No. I live with my girlfriend.”
Wow, she read that wrong. “That’s nice. Is she here with you tonight?”
“Oh, Lucy doesn’t deal with vampire stuff.”
“I can understand that.”
“And why are you a donor?”
Tela took a sip of her Jack and Coke and didn’t answer him. That was way too personal a question for someone she just met.
Without looking, she could feel John approaching. She didn’t know whether it was because she was on such high alert, or because she was just becoming more used to him. She also didn’t know which option seemed better.
He stopped next to the table but didn’t lean on it. He didn’t seem like the type to lean on anything. “I’m sorry for the distraction.” He glanced at her drink. “What did you get?”
One brow shot up. Did vampires drink? “A Jack and Coke. Want a sip?”
“It smells terrible.”
So that was why he was asking. She couldn’t help but smile at him. “It’s an acquired taste.”
From the look he gave, he wouldn’t be acquiring that taste anytime soon. “Who’s your friend?” He motioned his head toward the other man.
“I... I’m not sure. We haven’t gotten that far with introductions. He was just telling me about his girlfriend.” She didn’t know why she offered that extra bit of information. Well, she did know why. She didn’t want John to get jealous. But why should she care? They weren’t anything romantic, at least not officially, and he sure as hell didn’t have dominion over who she spent her time with.
“I can’t believe I haven’t said my name yet. I’m Travis.”
Tela’s heart leapt into her throat. It couldn’t be.... Travis wasn’t exactly the most common name, but it wasn’t uncommon either. It was just a coincidence. It had to be. “I’m Tela. Nice to meet you,” she said through her dry throat.
“John,” said her date, offering little else.
No wonder he’d asked her here. She wasn’t that great at social events, but obviously she was better than him.
“Great to meet you, Tela and John. Tela was just telling me about her fun little sister, Dani.”
No, no, no, no, no. This had to be some kind of sick joke. “It was great meeting you.” Tela pushed away from the table. From John’s crazy boss, to this.... She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She knew tonight wouldn’t be easy, per se, but she’d stepped into a minefield. She downed the rest of her Jack and Coke and set it at an empty table. The alcohol was just starting to make her mind fuzzy, but it wasn’t nearly fuzzy enough.
Of course, she couldn’t actually run away. Within seconds, John was back at her side.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s not from here, is he?”
“Travis?”
“The guests here. The humans. They’re not from Seattle. They came through the barrier for the stupid party.”
John might not have lied to her, but the omission hurt. “Tonight is an event to show the unity between Vopura and humans.”
Tela shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Then it’s a lie. There is no unity. There is no peace. Just because we got along so far doesn’t mean you can hold me up like a trophy.”
John moved in front of her and leaned in close. She knew it was just so they could speak quietly, but she had to fight the urge to back away. “What I said to you still stands. Mikel wants there to be a revolt. He wants an excuse to crush you, and he doesn’t need much of one. The longer we can keep relations running diplomatically, the better things will be for all involved.”
She scoffed. “All involved? And what about you? Do you just not want to fight because it might mean you’ll be in danger? Are you just bringing me here from some selfish desire to keep yourself safe and do less work? Please tell me what you’re getting out of this.”
“The selfish desire to keep you safe is what’s making me do this. If there is another, bigger fight between humans and Vopura brewing, I can’t guarantee any way to keep you safe.”
“My safety really shouldn’t be an issue to you. If anything, you should just want to eat me.”
“You’re not wrong.”
Great. Why couldn’t he just fight her like a normal person?
“I promised you food. I’ll grab you a plate.”
Tela let out a laugh and shook her head. “You can be so human sometimes. Don’t know how to deal with an angry woman? Might as well feed her.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Is that a bad thing? Should I have not offered you food?”
“No, food is always a good distraction. Especially tasty food.”
He nodded slowly, as though he were digesting this information. “All right. I’ll be right back then.” He turned and walked toward the setup of appetizers next to the bar.
It was funny to see him walk. She assumed vampires would just be going at vampire speed all the time. Why not go a hundred miles an hour all the time if it came so naturally?
“It seems like you found a nice one there,” said Travis from behind her.
She didn’t even look back at him. He didn’t deserve a look from her.
“I’d love to hear more about your sister. She sounds like quite the character.”
Dammit, she couldn’t ignore that kind of bait. She looked around to glare at him. “We’re not talking about her. Ever.”
“Is that what she would want?” asked Travis.
“The beauty of being seventeen years old is that you don’t get to decide what you want. Your legal guardian does. I decided she would want me talking with you. Now why don’t you run back to your comfortable life outside of this hell and stop shoving your nose into my life.”
“You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself. The way that Vopura looks at you, I can tell things are getting serious.”
The way he looked at her? Yeah, it was pretty obvious. John wanted to get into her skirt, and she was hoping what was less obvious was that she wouldn’t mind that all too much. But that was a far cry from serious. “John is just getting used to the idea of having women around again. I could hardly blame him for thinking with the wrong head. And they’re not Vopura. They’re vampires.”
“Vampires would beg to differ. Careful what you say. Remember, they can hear everything.”
“Good. Let them hear everything. I have nothing to hide. I’m an open book. Ask me something and I’ll give you an honest answer, even if it’s something you don’t want to hear.”
“I think you’re fascinating, and I think the situation you found yourself in is fascinating. The organization I work for would love to talk to you more about it.”
“And what organization is that?”
“The NSA.”
She snorted. He had to be kidding. “You came here, like a tourist at the zoo. To look inside the cage and get a behind-the-scenes look at how the zookeepers keep the animals tame. Enjoy your behind-the-scenes tour, Travis, but this animal is done performing for you today.”
She started to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. She tried to pull away, but Travis’s intense gaze caught hers. “I would really like to talk to you.”
“Is there a problem here?” asked John.
“Of course not.” Tela pulled her hand away from Travis’s. “Travis is just a little bit too passionate sometimes, I’m guessing.”
“A gift and a curse, I can assure you,” he said as he backed off.
As Travis walked away, John leaned in close. “What just happened? I couldn’t hear anything that was cause for worry, but then he was all over you.”
Tela let out a laugh. “He was hardly all over me,” she pointed out. “He’
s just a really odd man. And I believe you mentioned something about food?”
He could obviously tell she was changing the subject, but he let it slide. He held up a plate full of the selection of hors d’oeuvres that smelled so good, her mouth immediately watered. Damn. It had been so long since she had any real food. This night had been just as stressful as she expected it to be, so she was damn well going to eat so much food that she wouldn’t be able to walk for the next two days. In fact, she was going to eat until she forgot about the little piece of paper that Travis had slipped into her hand.
“Should I call the car to come pick you up?” asked John as he led Tela out of the restaurant finally. Even though nothing had gone terribly wrong, he considered the whole experiment an abject failure. If anything, she was more uncomfortable with him now than she had been before. On top of that, Dante thought he was going soft and Mikel had been much too interested in his beautiful date.
“You’re not going to take me home yourself?” she asked.
“Like I said, my method of travel can be... uncomfortable for humans.”
“Well, sure, but that’s not the only way of traveling. You commandeered yourself an apartment. Commandeering yourself a car shouldn’t be too hard.”
He winced. “I don’t drive.” Tela let out a loud laugh and immediately covered her mouth with a hand. “What’s funny about that?” He tensed up, as though waiting for a fight. He didn’t like anybody laughing at him, but seeing Tela do it made it so much worse. Was it that embarrassing when a human didn’t know how to drive?
“It’s fine. I mean, it’s normal to not drive, but you not driving is odd.”
“I get around places just fine,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I know. I mean, obviously you do. That’s what makes it funnier. You’ve mastered interstellar portal travel or whatever allowed you to get here, but somehow driving is the line that you’re not going to cross? You live in our apartments and date our women, but driving is too much for you?”
“I could learn if I wanted to. I’m not stupid.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, I’m not accusing you of being stupid. It’s just.... Can’t you see how weird it is?”
