Eye of the Beholder

by M. D. Grimm

  “Take care of yourself,” he said softly, hands still on the wheel, staring ahead. “Give yourself time to heal. If you need anything, please call me. I would like to reschedule your birthday celebration.” He cleared his throat. “And expect a call from Her Grace. We need to confer about the ghouls.”

  I swallowed hard. Blew out a breath. I unsnapped the seat belt, gathered up my courage, and surged across the seat. I pressed my lips to his cheek. His apparent shock allowed me to linger over the kiss. Then I pulled away and jumped out of the car. I dashed to my front door and unlocked it in record time. I quickly shut it and disarmed the alarm. My heart raced, and I rubbed my chest in fear and elation.

  A couple minutes passed before the engine roared, the gravel crunched, and then Cassius was driving away.

  Chapter Eleven

  “And you’re sure he’s all right?” Her Grace asked over the phone. Since Victoria, a physician in Her Grace’s employ, a human who took care of the coven’s thralls, had Her Grace on speaker, I heard her question clearly.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  Victoria gave me a sympathetic smile. She wore a pristine white lab coat and a green sweater and gray slacks over her svelte body. “I assure you, he’s fit and hale. He’ll have a few scars but if there were any internal injuries, the shared blood took care of them.”

  I fidgeted uncomfortably and walked into my kitchen to get some coffee. It had been two nights since the attack, and I’d managed to give myself just that much time to recover. No heavy lifting or exercise. Of course that left me too much time to think and obsess.

  I glanced at Victoria as she paced my living room, reassuring the duchess. I wasn’t too pleased that I’d had to invite her into my home but there was no way around it.

  “Vulcan?”

  I turned as Victoria passed the phone to me, and it was no longer on speaker. I held it to my ear.

  “I am setting up a meeting with the ghouls’ matriarch. I want you present. I will let you know when it takes place.”

  I swallowed hard. “I told you everything that happened.”

  “I know. But you are a part of our world, mon cher, and you were a victim. I would think you’d want to be a part of any negotiations.”

  “I do. Thank you.”

  “And call Cassius.”

  I smiled slightly. “Yeah. Okay.”

  “Hand me back to Victoria.”

  I did so and in just a minute, Victoria hung up and got her coat.

  “Thank you for stopping by.” I saw her to the door. Charlie waited outside in the limo.

  “I can’t say that it was a pleasure considering the circumstances,” she said. “But it’s always nice to talk to you.”

  “You too.”

  We shook hands and I made sure they drove away fine. I watched the cameras on my tablet and as soon as they turned off my lane, I rearmed my security. Then I changed into running clothes, laced up sturdy shoes, and took off into the forested area surrounding the property. Dain had set up an obstacle course in there, and I’d modified it over the years. There were still bits of it I hadn’t encountered. Even after years of running in the miles of woodland, I could still be surprised. The fun thing about it was it doubled as an invader deterrent, another layer beyond the actual security.

  I popped in my earbuds, turned on my thrashiest and most aggressive playlist, and charged full speed down one of the trails. I worked up a good sweat, my legs aching, my breath coming short. I pushed harder as I leapt over real and artificial roots, as I took sharp turns to avoid small traps, and ducked under low-hanging branches. There were trip wires that shot deadly darts, and I didn’t want to get punctured again. I was extra aware of those suckers.

  I turned onto a trail I knew well, and that allowed my mind to wander. I’d managed to avoid dwelling—too much—on Cassius’s treatment of me for the past couple of days by cleaning my house and workshop top to bottom. It wasn’t strenuous, but it was busy work, and it desperately needed to be done. I made a considerable bunch of spiders homeless, and cleaning up their little graveyards of insects had made me itchy. Unlike most people, I liked spiders. But other insects? No, thank you. Made me squirmy.

  Cassius texted the last two nights, checking up on me. I still wasn’t sure how to handle him, so I requested he leave me alone as politely as I could. He went radio silent. Now all alone with Her Grace’s words in my head, my thoughts returned to him.

  His apparent affection couldn’t be all an act. No one was that good an actor. I never sensed deceit from him, and I was highly perceptive to bullshit. He was a predator, sure, but he never preyed on me. That was a fact. Like Her Grace said, he was a nice guy who liked spending time with me. I was safe with him. He never gave me reason to think otherwise. He was kind and generous, and if I was a hopeless romantic and prone to fancy, I would have wondered if he’d been courting me all these months.

  I slowed and frowned, my heart racing, my breath coming in heavy gasps. Fuck, what if he was courting me? The gifts, the times at the club, his willingness to take me places, and his increasing interest. But most of all, his determination to save my life and his resistance to his predatory nature. Yet he never made a move… was he waiting for me to make a move?

  What did he want from me? What did I have to give such a beautiful, deadly creature?

  “No one wants you.” My father’s voice rang in my head. “Just a burden. Just a thorn in my side. I wanted your mother, not you! You should have been the one to die!”

  His grief turned to bitterness, then to hatred. Then he decided I was to blame. I knew the psychology of it. I knew better than to take anything he said as truth. When a person heard those words for their entire childhood, however, they were hard to shake.

  Vulcan!

  I snapped out of my thoughts in time to see the large pit looming in front of me. It was deep and wide, and I’d always managed to clear it before. My distracting thoughts were going to cause me a whole lot of pain. I didn’t have time to stop or gather enough speed to leap successfully across it. Either way, I was going to fall. I leapt.

  And was caught.

  Cassius flew us over the pit with ease and landed on the other side. Adrenaline had kicked up my heartbeat, and I couldn’t get enough air. I sagged into Cassius as his body trembled, yet his arms were steel around my waist.

  I pressed a hand to my chest and sucked in one deep, relieved breath. I liked him holding me way too much. I pushed away, or tried to. Cassius resisted. I made a sound of surprise. He grunted and released me. I took a couple steps forward before turning. I stopped the music, yanked out my earbuds, and stuffed them in my pocket. He watched me silently, his eyes slightly red at the corners.

  I smiled. “You’re spying on me.” I probably should have been mad, yet he’d prevented my wayward thoughts from screwing me over.

  He winged an eyebrow and stood straighter. “I was worried about you. You didn’t answer your phone.”

  “I left it at the house.” I crossed my arms over my chest, hyperaware I was soaked in sweat and my clothes were clingy. “And how the hell did you make it past all my security? You didn’t break anything, did you?”

  “I have been avoiding more traps than I can remember. Do you honestly think I can’t slip past even those built by the ingenious Dain? He was only a mortal, after all.”

  “That’s not very reassuring.”

  “I can give you some suggestions, if you like.”

  “I’d appreciate it.” I took a deep breath. “I thought I told you I needed time, to leave me alone.”

  “You did,” he said. “I gave it to you.”

  “What if I need more?”

  He narrowed his eyes, more in frustration than anger. “Why would you need more time? Why did you need time in the first place?” He shook his head before I could answer. “I was worried, Vulcan. About you. I wanted to see how you were. Is that not allowed?”

  His question was a challenge. I blinked and raised my eyebrows. “I g
uess, um. I guess it’s allowed. Still not used to it, is all. The concern, the worry. I’m fine. Seriously. Even Victoria said so.”

  He glanced at the pit, then back at me.

  I shrugged. “It would have hurt, but I would have survived. There’s a rope to climb out. Just got, um, distracted. In my head.”

  “About what?”

  “Stuff.”

  He furrowed his brow.

  “Leave it.”

  He grunted in apparent disappointment. Then he took a deep breath, and his expression cleared. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

  I blinked. “Oh, yeah. Thanks. Really.” I held out my hand.

  He shook his head. He leaned forward, turned his head, and tapped his cheek.

  I couldn’t stop the nervous laugh. “What? You want a kiss?”

  “Yes.” He eyed me. “I believe I deserve one. If not for the pit, then for the ghouls.”

  I swallowed hard. “I-I did kiss you for that.”

  “It happened too fast. I wasn’t able to enjoy it.” He tapped his cheek again.

  He was playing with me. I took a step forward. Then another. I leaned in, and for a wild moment, I had the image of Cassius tricking me and turning his face to kiss me, mouth to mouth. The vision vanished, and he didn’t move as I laid my lips on his cheek. I told myself to play with him, too, and keep the kiss to a peck. But once I felt his silky skin under my lips, I didn’t want to step away. He felt nice, and he smelled nice. I lingered, and he said nothing. When I pulled back, his eyes were closed and his fists clenched. He seemed to strain against something, if his taut expression was any indication. Was he keeping himself from touching me?

  I cleared my throat and took several steps back.

  He opened his eyes and straightened, his expression going carefully blank.

  I opened my mouth to tell him to leave. Instead what came out was, “I need a shower. You wanna come in and wait for me?”

  He’d brought my motorcycle, and it was a relief to see it leaning near my front door.

  “Glad she wasn’t too damaged.”

  “Right before I left the duchess got a call from Victoria.”

  “Yeah, not longer after that she left. Her Grace, uh, mentioned that she’ll be holding a meeting with the ghouls. I’m invited, I guess.”

  He grunted. I didn’t know what it could mean.

  “You don’t need to be invited in, do you?” I asked as I stepped across the threshold of my house and looked back. I was still learning what “rules” about vampires were true and what was folklore or Hollywood.

  Cassius stood at the entrance and smirked. “Hardly. But I would like to be invited all the same.”

  “Always the gentleman,” I murmured. Then, louder, “Yeah, come on in.”

  He stepped in behind me and shut the door.

  “Be right back.”

  “Take your time.” He ran his gaze over every inch of my home. I swallowed hard, rushed to the bathroom, then shut the door and locked it. Not that a closed door would keep out an ancient vamp, but it was the principle of the thing. I wanted him to know I was not giving him invitations to everything.

  I stripped, leaving the clothes where they landed. I turned the shower on as hot as I could stand and let it beat away the sweat and exhaustion. I scrubbed myself as vigorously as possible. If Cassius’s sense of smell was acute, then how could he not be gagging when so close to me? Soaked in sweat?

  After rinsing off the soap, I turned the water to freezing. I gritted my teeth against a yelp and urged my arousal to go dormant again. He’d probably smelled that, too, and that was humiliating. I suspected it was what gave him the invitation to flirt with me. I wanted his attentions, and at the same time, I didn’t. I wanted intimacy, yet I had no clue what do with it should I get it.

  Shaking my head at myself, I dried swiftly and only then realized I had no fresh clothes to dress in. Cursing, I debated. It would defeat the purpose of a shower to put the sweaty clothes back on. But I didn’t want to walk fucking naked to my bedroom with Cassius in the house. I wrapped the towel around my waist and unlocked the door as quietly as I could. I cautiously opened it and peered out. I couldn’t see the living room from that angle, and my bedroom was down the hall on the opposite side from the bathroom. I held my breath, opened the door farther, then stuck my head out. I didn’t see Cassius. The hallway looked at the front door, with the living room on the right and the kitchen on the left. He must be deeper in one of those rooms. Perfect.

  I yanked open the door all the way and dashed down the hall to my bedroom. Even as I grabbed the doorknob, about to shove it open, the skin prickled at the base of my neck. I froze. I was being watched. I hunched my shoulders, tightened my grip on the doorknob, and hesitantly glanced over my shoulder.

  Cassius stood at the end of the hallway, his gaze riveted to me. He stared like a shark eyeing a school of fish. Or a wolf stalking a deer. His eyes were tinted red. Was he also growling? I didn’t know what else that faint rumble could be or where it could be coming from, if not from him. Despite the cold shower and my stern lecture, my dick stirred and thickened under the intense stare. Pretty soon it was going to tent the towel.

  I gulped.

  Cassius closed his eyes and turned away, breaking the connection. I shuddered out a breath and shoved into my bedroom, then shut and locked the door behind me.

  Afterward I simply leaned against it and rubbed my face. “What was that about?”

  Could he really, truly, no joke desire me? Not just my blood, but me?

  By the time I walked into the living room, I was composed. Cassius appeared to be as well. Neither of us said anything about the incident, and I preferred it that way.

  “Will you come with me?” he said and gestured to the front door.

  “Okay.”

  I didn’t ask why or where to, and he didn’t say. We walked out to his car, a pick-up truck this time due to the motorcycle, and got in after I locked my front door.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?” I asked. “About the ghouls, I mean. Was some of that ‘coven business’ you’ve mentioned before about them?”

  “Some of it. Keeping an eye on things.”

  “Ever figure out why they were leaving mutilated bodies out in the open?”

  “It would seem one of the matriarch’s daughters is leading a coup and bystanders are often in the wrong place at the wrong time. The coven and Red Moon pack will have to keep cleaning up their mess for the time being until we get thing sorted.”

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he turned off my property onto the road. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this until the meeting but one of the ghouls mentioned they were only following orders. Killing you was part of the plan of the rebellious daughter, and she would try to blame her mother so that the coven would go after her. It’s all about power. Always has been.”

  I stared at his profile, thinking of the treachery and plotting of Rome. Even ghouls had inner politics, apparently.

  I probably should be more incensed that my fellow humans were being mauled and thrown away like garbage. I was insulted, sure. But honestly? This world was predator versus prey and humans had long forgotten how to be prey. We thought we were the top of the food chain and it terrified us to realize we weren’t. I had learned about paranormal beasts from Dain and, after the initial shock and horror, accepted that we weren’t as powerful as we arrogantly thought.

  I still wished the wolves and vamps would just annihilate the ghouls and be done with it. But that would mean they’d have to work as a team and that was too much to ask for a lot of them. Old grudges and all that.

  “However, those are only recent revelations,” Cassius continued. “The majority of the coven business has been about tracking the slayer network that allows them to communicate with each other. If we can destroy that we can disrupt their intel.”

  “And maybe find their home bases.”

  “Yes. And finally find the bastard that kill
ed your friend.”

  My eyes widened. “You—you’re in on that? The duchess’s search?”

  He gave me the side-eye, his expression never changing from its blankness. “Yes. I have been for months.”

  What could I say to that? It was because of me. He was helping because of me.

  After that the drive was mostly silent, except for music, though we had a few spots of conversation. I didn’t remember about what. They were inane and unimportant.

  Something was coming. I couldn’t shake the feeling everything was building for this very moment. Something was going to happen. Anticipation gnawed at my gut.

  We ended up back at his condo.

  “I have something I want to show you,” he said.

  I nodded.

  I was silent in the elevator and as he unlocked his door. He stepped aside and gestured for me to enter first. I did. Then I gasped at what was on the table in his living room.

  “Are those—?”

  Cassius grinned as he stepped up beside me. “Yes, they are. It was quite the trick to preserve them after all these centuries but worth it for the look on your face. I’ve had the handles rewrapped a few times over the years.”

  I approached, with reverence, the two swords resting together on a modest wooden stand. “Those aren’t katana, are they?”

  “No. A bit earlier.”

  God. Authentic tachi and uchigatana swords sat in front of me, and I felt like singing hallelujah. They should be in a museum, but as with most of his possessions, I didn’t give a damn.

  “When? How?” I whispered.

  “They were gifts. I fought alongside the samurai during the attempted Mongol invasions.”

  I stiffly turned and stared bug-eyed at him. “Um, if memory serves, wasn’t that in the thirteenth century?”

  “Yes. Thankfully the horrid weather was on our side.”

  Every now and then, it struck me full in the face that he had lived through a good portion of human history. He wasn’t a history nerd; he wasn’t an expert historian. He was a living, breathing witness to history. He’d participated in battles, met legendary people, and seen the world before technology and modern conveniences.