Something about his last comment turned a light on in Sable’s head. What would she be giving up, exactly? Her will, her body, her right to think for herself?
“No, Rick. I’m staying with Thomas. I love him.”
Thomas glanced sharply at her, surprise replacing the fury on his face.
“You can’t,” Rick said indignantly. “You belong to me. Me!” His eyes flashed brilliant amber.
“She doesn’t belong to anyone,” Thomas said. “Least of all to you. I suggest you leave now. If you piss me off any further, you’ll leave via the balcony.”
“Come to me, Sable,” Rick said. Palm up, he wiggled his fingers, beckoning her. “Come on. You know you want to be with me, need to feel me between your thighs, our bodies straining, breaths mingling. You’ll make such pretty noises when I’m inside you.”
“No.” Sable shook her head and cleared the spell cast over her. “I can’t. I won’t.”
“Sable, you know we’re meant to be together,” Rick pleaded. “I can make you feel good every time we’re together. You’ll scream my name. What can he give you? A big apartment in the city that echoes the cries of your empty heart? Old age together? A few years of watching your mortal bodies decay while you’re inside them, only to die once they give out on you? With me, I can extend your mortal life, keep you young and beautiful.”
“I…” Her heart told her to ignore his lies, but her head said he offered more than Thomas ever could.
“That’s right,” Rick coaxed. He stretched his arm out, fingers splayed and waiting for hers to touch them. “Come to me. Leave this mortal and his world behind.”
She stepped around Thomas, her hair tangling with the ties and hem of her dressing gown.
“Sable?” Thomas said.
The wounded note in his voice speared Sable’s heart, but although she fought his magic, Rick’s spell had her tightly in its grip.
“Come on…that’s it,” Rick said. “I’ll love you until the end of time.”
That delicious throbbing resumed between her legs again. I can’t do this. I don’t want Rick. I want Thomas. I love Thomas… A tiny orgasm wound through her pussy and deep into her loins. She whimpered, desiring more. She had to have Rick, had to have him thrusting into her, her naked form pressed to his, both of them flying to unbelievable heights—
Pain flared in her head. She staggered backward.
“Sable, wake up,” Thomas bellowed. He let go of her tresses.
She fell against Thomas’s hard chest. He snaked his arms around her, and turned her away from Rick to shove her behind him, her backside pressed to his. “Fight him, baby girl, fight!”
Tears sprang to her eyes and splashed over her cheeks. “I am,” she whimpered. “His magic is too strong. I c-can’t do it alone.”
At her words, he stiffened behind her and straightened his stance. Somehow she sensed she’d said what he needed to hear.
“You are uninvited, Paranorm,” Thomas snarled. “Leave now.”
“I’ll leave.” Rick chuckled smugly. “But I’m taking Sable with me.”
Tears poured down her face. She didn’t dare look at Rick. “Thomas,” she whispered. “Please, don’t let him take me away from you.”
“Get out.” Thomas words were the final command of a god sentencing a doomed soul.
“Come with me, Sable,” Rick said.
She moaned, the pulsing escalating in her sex.
Thomas reached behind him, his hands clasped over her belly. “Leave now!” he thundered.
A chuckle rolled out of Rick. “Come, Sable. We must leave.”
“I’m staying here,” she said weakly and clung to Thomas. She wanted to turn around and gaze into Rick’s fiery yellow-orange eyes, but she knew if she did, she was lost forever.
“No,” Rick insisted. “You belong to me. We must stay together.”
Sable squeezed her eyes shut. “Leave,” she croaked. “Go away.”
“I will not leave without you.”
Something hit Thomas, shoving Sable forward. The floor rose and smacked her face. Carpet fibers stung her cheek.
Behind her, Thomas yelled, and an ominous growl ripped through the suite. His weight rolled off of her. She scrambled to her feet and whirled.
With their hands around each other’s throats, Rick and Thomas choked each other, anger and determination on both their faces. Rick kicked the coffee table over. Cups, saucers, and the decanter soared into the air and bounced off the sofa cushions. Thomas grunted, his fingers biting into Rick’s windpipe, his knuckles white.
Rick’s body changed, his arms and fingers grew longer. Talons erupted from his fingertips. His black hair lengthened, and dark-gray horns sprouted from his hairline. Each horn grew thicker and curled over his head, their points twisting back a second time. The horns thumped repeatedly on the floor as Thomas throttled him.
A frightened cry burst from Sable. Rick kicked out, getting his feet under him and flipping Thomas over so he straddled him. Thomas let out a startled shout and fought Rick harder.
She had to do something to help Thomas. She searched the room for a suitable weapon. There, to the left of the recliner, lay Rick’s belt, and on it, a nightstick. She dashed over to it, pulled it free, and ran back. Please, God… She brought it down on Rick’s shoulders. He snarled and let go of Thomas’s throat. She hit him again, this time across the back of the head. Although his horns blocked most of the blow, the resulting crack sickened her. The tip of one snapped and fell on the carpet.
Rick rolled off Thomas and stood. Unfazed, he moved away and rubbed the back of his skull. “Why, Sable?”
She gaped at him. His face had transformed into that of—she didn’t know what. His nose gradually flattened as if someone had sheared part of it off his face, the nostrils elongating. His skin lightened to the color of old ash, and his hair hung black and shaggy around his shoulders. Steely horns twisted back over his head. Coarse midnight hair coated his chest and forearms. Sable wanted to run from the sight of Rick’s morphing body but couldn’t find the strength.
“You tricked me with your powers,” she said.
“But I love you!” His amber eyes blazed like two pools of molten gold in his skull, their vertical pupils inky.
“Humans don’t love like that. Love isn’t about trickery and magic.”
“It hurts,” he said. The light in his eyes dimmed.
“She doesn’t want you,” Thomas cut in. “Go back to where you belong.”
Rick howled. The sound shot a bullet of fear through Sable. He spun on cloven feet and ran for the balcony doors.
“No!” Sable reached out. “Don’t, Rick!”
He hit the glass doors, but instead of shattering, they burst open. Rick’s body transformed into hundreds of little blackbirds that filled the suite. The fowl pinged off the walls, ceiling, and furniture, their shrieks ear-piercing, the sound of their wings almost deafening. Some knocked pictures askew on the walls, and others careened into shelves and the things on the vanity. Bottles and knickknacks spilled and clinked to the floor. The flat-screen TV cracked from the impacts.
Thomas pushed Sable to the floor where they crouched together and watched the birds flutter out the door and into the starry sky. The aromas of cloves, sea salt, and dirty streets swirled into the suite on the night breeze.
“Are you okay?” Sable asked. She pulled Thomas up onto the couch with her and examined his neck, turned his head to the left, the right, and then ran her hands down his arms, over his chest.
“I’m fine, baby girl,” he said, hugging her. “What about you?”
“I’m okay.”
“If I have to fight one more Paranorm tonight, you might have to drive me to the psycho ward.”
“Well, at least you put boxers on after our shower,” she quipped in an attempt to lighten the mood. She leaned her head against his shoulder. “After watching you run around the suite naked as you tried to kill that monster, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I�
��d had to watch you fight Rick butt-naked, too.”
His laughter rolled throughout the room and wrapped her in a warm cocoon of comfort. She giggled helplessly.
Minutes later, their laughter spent, they set the coffee table on its feet and put the cups, saucers, and other things on the food cart.
“What do you say to something stronger than coffee to calm our nerves?” Thomas asked.
“I’d say you read my mind—and make it a double. I’m still shaking.”
As he prepared their drinks, Sable asked, “Why didn’t you use magic or one of your weapons against Rick?”
“Two reasons,” Thomas replied and dropped ice cubes into two tumblers.
The tinkling sound soothed Sable’s nerves.
“One, he works for the Judges, too.” He opened the liquor cabinet. “So we could get into big trouble for fighting each other. And the second reason is because I wanted the pleasure of choking that bastard with my bare hands.”
Sable laughed softly behind him. He’d been fighting for her and wanted to save her without his powers. “It seems testosterone can sometimes be more powerful than magic.”
He chuckled, too. “Yeah, I guess.” He returned to the living area. Handing her a glass, he sat next to her. “Did you mean what you said about loving me?”
With her glass halfway to her lips and tears welling in her eyes, she nodded. “Yes. I love you.”
“Hey, don’t cry.” Thomas took the tumbler from her and set it with his on the coffee table. “I saw the look in your eyes when he nearly claimed your body. It was like seeing someone in a glass prison beating their fists on it, screaming to escape.”
Her throat tightened, and she swallowed a lump that felt as big as a Subaru. “It claws at me on the inside. I don’t want to hurt you because of what I almost did. I don’t want you to feel you can’t trust me.”
“Magic makes people do things they can’t control. That’s why it’s called magic.” Thomas hugged her. “Know what else?”
She leaned back and looked at him. “What?”
“I love you, too,” he said, his voice cracking as a soft expression swept over his features.
“Really?” she asked, her lower lip trembling.
He kissed the quiver away. “More than anything, Sable. I’ll gladly die for you, and not because you’re my ward, but because I love you.” He laid his hand over her heart. “You, baby. The woman who’s inside this beautiful package.”
Fresh tears coursed down her face. A sob of relief and joy burst from her lips. Thomas pulled her to him and sat back, snuggling her against his chest.
“I love you forever and always,” he murmured into her hair.
Sable clung to him, realizing she’d finally found a home for her heart.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Truths
O nce Sable calmed down and Thomas managed to keep her tears in check without losing his composure, too, he reached for a napkin on the coffee table and handed it to her.
She blew her nose, honking like a goose. Inwardly, he chuckled. I even love the way she blows her nose. What sort of sap have I turned into?
He picked up their glasses and handed Sable hers. “Come here,” he said with a smile. “Sit back, relax, and let’s enjoy each other’s company for a few minutes before another monster jumps out at us.”
The suite’s phone rang.
“Aw, hell,” Thomas grumbled and rose to answer the call. “Hello?”
One of the clerks at the front desk babbled into his ear.
“No, no…sorry about that. We had a horror movie on and didn’t realize how loud the volume was. Send a bottle of Dom Perignon to the guests next door with our apology and bill it to my suite, please.”
“Someone complained about the disturbance here?” Sable asked after he’d hung up.
He nodded, sat, and drew her into his arms again.
Sable sipped her bourbon. “Do you think if we head back to New York things will return to normal?”
“No,” he replied, hugging her. “You’re in danger no matter where you are, but I think if we stay here a few more days, we’ll be able to solve the mystery of who wants you dead for your power.” An uneasy feeling rippled through Thomas. He gulped down half his liquor, hoping for a few minutes of calm nerves. “It was sheer coincidence that you stumbled upon Cheyenne’s location, and by doing so, the magic started to rise in you again, alerting this ancient force of your whereabouts.”
“You mean you didn’t know where Cheyenne actually was?”
He shook his head. “All I knew was that she’d been claimed by the Glais and a vampire had taken your daughter under her wing.”
“So why didn’t this force come after me in New York City?” She blinked up at him, confusion in her beautiful brown eyes.
Momentarily distracted by her loveliness, Thomas kissed her gently, and then replied, “Stop and think about it. Consider the amount of magic that’s in that city. A third of the population is Paranorms. Once I was given your assignment and had you signed as my client, you moved to New York City, so your magic was camouflaged. It’s difficult to hone in on one magical person or being when there are thousands of them rubbing elbows. Someone has to be very powerful or very adept at wielding a special magic to pinpoint something that’s just beginning to surface.”
“So living in New York City was part of the plan to protect me?”
“Yes, and whenever we’d travel to various galas and meetings—”
“I was exposed.”
“Exactly.” He leaned forward and set his empty glass on the table. “Also, I want you to be extremely careful around Hal.”
“Do you truly believe he’s tied to vampires?” Skepticism and wonder passed over her face.
“Absolutely.”
Sable bit her lower lip and pondered the matter. Thomas loved watching her as she thought about something. She wore the same expression whenever she sculpted, too.
“How do you know?” she asked.
“My powers are many, but they’re limited.” He shifted on the sofa, welcoming the bourbon threading through his nervous system. “It’s one of many reasons I combine my magic with the tools given and taught to me by the Old World. I can smell various magic as well as see the essence of it. There’s a dark haze that follows Hal. Such an aura is usually left by a vampire. Since he’s not been bitten, I’m assuming he’s working for one, or, at the very least, he’s under a vamp’s control.”
“And that’s why Emerald mentioned it in the den?”
He nodded.
Sable sighed, the sound full of worry and stress. “I can barely comprehend everything that’s happened the past few days, but I do know one thing. After this, I never want to see Naples again.”
The following morning, Thomas answered the door, tipped the attendant, then wheeled a breakfast cart over to the balcony doors.
“How about breakfast on the terrace?” he asked.
“Actually,” Sable replied, “that sounds fantastic. I’m famished.”
“I went ahead and scheduled our return flight to New York, but it isn’t until Tuesday evening, so we have four days to kill.” He opened the doors. Cool morning sea air wafted into the suite. “If we need to stay longer, I can reschedule it.”
Her breath caught. Only four days to discover who wants me dead and defeat them? She gulped. “Hopefully we’ll solve everything before then and go home earlier.”
“That would be nice,” he returned.
Sable inhaled the freshness of the morning. Memories rose of Rick bursting into a massive flock of birds, swooshing through the suite and out through the terrace doors. The room was still a mess, but maybe she could straighten it before the maids arrived. She shook the thoughts away and snapped her cosmetics case shut.
On the terrace, Sable and Thomas sat enjoying the inland breeze and ate a meal of pancakes, sausage, eggs, toast, grapefruit, and coffee. The wind tousled Sable’s tresses around the wrought-iron chair.
Thomas refilled their cups. “It’s quiet this morning, and the traffic is so sparse I can catch the sound of the surf from time to time.”
“I thought I heard it, too.” She nibbled at a slice of toast. “During moments like this, it’s hard to believe that all those frightening things happened, isn’t it?”
He nodded, his gaze trained on her face.
Thomas is so handsome. He’s my dark, powerful knight. The sunshine slanted across the city. The rays hit the diamond studs in his earlobes, the sparkle vivid against his skin. He still wore his black satin pajama bottoms, his bare pecs and abs enticing her to run her hands over them. Every now and then, she caught a whiff of his spicy cologne. She grinned at him.
“If you were naked, you’d look like Lady Godiva sitting there.” Mischief danced in Thomas’s eyes. “We could spend the morning and afternoon in bed.”
She curled her toes in her sandals, an intense thrill winding in, out, and around her nerves. The expression on his face told her exactly what he had planned for her. Oh, what that man does to me—and it’s real. Her hormones kicked her pulse into high gear.
“Well?” he said, his deep voice caressing her like no physical touch could.
Her iPhone trilled on the tabletop.
She sighed.
“You better answer that,” Thomas said. “It might be important since it’s your personal phone.”
Nodding, she picked up the cell and glanced at the hotel number. “Hello?”
“Sable,” Hal said. “Meet me downstairs in your hotel’s café.”
Inwardly, she groaned. Shutting her eyes, she inhaled, preparing herself for whatever Hal was about to drop on her. She let the breath out slowly. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“No,” he replied, “but I’m flying back to Ohio this afternoon and need to talk to you before I leave.”
“Can’t you tell me now?”
“No. I need to see you.”
“Oh, all right. I’ll meet you downstairs in about ten minutes.” She disconnected the call.
“Hal?” Thomas said, his voice flat.
The Darkness of Sable Page 29
