Forbidden Taste

by Jennifer Ashley

  Mariah stood her ground, her hand going to the stake in her holster. “I can’t let you walk around Los Angeles. You’re a vampire—it’s my job to keep you from hurting anyone, to ensure you follow the rules.”

  “Rules.” The flicker of anger returned to Cai’s eyes. “I became what I am against my will. Others’ rules have killed every single person I ever loved. Screw the rules, Mariah.” He held out his hand. “Come with me. Live.”

  Mariah wanted to. She could taste the adventure. Cai was an Old One, which meant his power would know no equal. He’d be able to have anything he wanted, anyone he wanted, simply by reaching for it, as he did with Mariah now.

  Mariah knew from experience that vampires used humans and destroyed them. Not necessarily by draining them, but by making said humans their willing slaves who did anything their vamp told them to, even killing themselves if instructed. Mariah had met only one other true Old One, and he kept his power in check by sheer force of will. She knew he did it because he chose, because it was expeditious for him to do so. If Septimus ever let loose, the LAPD would have hell on their hands.

  Would Cai have the same control? Or would he decide to celebrate his release by taking advantage of his vast power?

  Cai’s gaze turned fierce. He dropped his hand and walked straight toward Mariah. She danced out of the way and Cai went past her and down the hall.

  Damn it. All Cai had to do was threaten to touch her, and Mariah couldn’t stop him doing whatever he wanted. She should stake him now and get it over with.

  Cai headed for the elevators—which he’d already figured out how to work in his search for clothing. His back under the leather coat was broad and open to attack. Mariah could come up behind him and plunge the stake straight into his heart.

  He knew she wouldn’t. Cai didn’t even have to look back at Mariah, didn’t have to take the stakes away from her. He flicked his fingers at the elevator, which dinged softly as it reached the floor.

  “You will have to come with me,” Cai said as Mariah hurried to catch up to him. His lips twitched. “To make sure I don’t rampage through your town.”

  The elevator doors opened and Cai stepped inside. Mariah hesitated one moment then darted forward and in just as the doors slid shut.

  “I’m asking you,” she said breathlessly as the elevator dropped. “As a favor. Let me take you to the department.”

  “I might.” Cai kept his gaze on her, his golden eyes more intense now that his skin was clean, his hair combed back from his face. “When I’m ready.”

  The elevator slowed and stopped. Mariah’s next argument cut off when she felt an aura like a blast of gunpowder from behind the slowly opening doors.

  Cai came alert, all pretense of humanity dropping away. His dark power flared to match that of the other, shoving Mariah to the corner where she held on to the elevator’s wall and fought nausea.

  The doors finished opening to reveal a vampire in a tailored suit, his athletic body and sculpted face equal to the attractiveness of Cai, but in a different way. This vamp was cool and businesslike, holding back the blaze of his power, letting people underestimate him until too late.

  Cai’s power was raw and untamed, leaving no doubt that he could crush all in his path.

  Except maybe this vamp. He was an Old One, the one Mariah had been thinking of.

  “I am Septimus Petronius Aetius,” the vamp said, standing perfectly still. “You are in my territory. Who the hell are you, and why did you take my employees prisoner? If you answer well, I’ll consider killing you quickly instead of drawing it out.”

  Chapter Five

  Cai made certain Mariah was behind him before he exited the lift. The vampire he faced possessed far more power than anyone else in the building—he rendered the vampires downstairs, including Quintus, mere shadows.

  Septimus was claiming that Cai had violated his territory, but in reality, Septimus had violated his space. Cai had been here long before this building even existed.

  Cai’s strength had returned more swiftly than he’d expected. Mariah’s presence—her thoughts and warmth—helped. That was her true gift, her caring.

  She could have fought Cai until she died, trying to save the world from him. But her compassion had stopped her. She’d looked at him in genuine anguish when Cai had told her of his daughter, and what he’d done to avenge her. She’d understood.

  That understanding made Cai strong enough to stand before this Old One and not grovel as Septimus wanted him to.

  “I am Cai Marcena.” No more Roman trappings. He was taking his identity back.

  Septimus’s dark brows rose. “Etruscan,” he said, sounding impressed.

  Cai didn’t acknowledge this. “I came here through no wish of my own. You built over my prison.”

  “My men released you, I see,” Septimus returned. He looked behind Cai at Mariah. “Detective, are you all right?”

  Cai noticed the flare of energy in Septimus’s aura. If Mariah answered in the negative, Septimus would try to kill him.

  “I’m fine,” Mariah said quickly. “He’s right. He was trapped, a long time ago. Not his fault.”

  “Freezing everyone in my building is,” Septimus said in a mild voice. “Was that necessary?”

  Cai didn’t break his gaze. “It was at the time. They are free now.”

  Immediately the noise of men and vamps cursing and snarling floated up to them from the club.

  “Thank you.” Septimus gave Cai another once-over. He knew that Cai was older than he was, stronger maybe. Would Septimus risk finding out how strong?

  Mariah’s partner, the Spaniard, dashed into the hall. He had a pistol in one hand, a stake in the other. Mariah stepped between him and the two vamps, hands up. “Alejo, wait!”

  She had the courage of a lion. Cai readied himself to tackle Alejo to the floor, but Alejo hesitated, trusting Mariah. He lowered both weapons but didn’t put them away.

  Quintus appeared behind Alejo, looking very unhappy to see his boss. “Septimus,” he babbled. “Sir. I tried—”

  One glance from Septimus cut him off. “He’s an Old One, not your fault. Beyond your pay grade.” Septimus switched his gaze to Cai. “I can’t have an Old One I don’t know in my city. What do we do?”

  “Give me your city,” Cai said casually. He didn’t really want it, didn’t give a damn about lording it over other vampires, but he wanted to see what Septimus would say.

  Septimus gave him a look of grudging respect. “I have an agreement.” He would never, ever admit that Cai outranked him—the older the vamp, the more powerful. “I keep the vampires in Los Angeles in line, and in return, I’m left alone. If you took over my territory, you’d be bound by that agreement.”

  “An agreement with whom?” Cai asked, curious. “The police?” He glanced at Alejo. With the exception of Mariah, they didn’t seem impressive. If all police were like the Spaniard, Septimus could take them out without breaking a sweat. So why hadn’t he?

  Septimus shook his head. “Let’s just say with those who hold the same kind of power we do. Except these people have life magic.”

  Cai frowned. “There are no life-magic beings with power equivalent to ours. Even the Sidhe have few who can match us.”

  “Oh, I don’t mean the Sidhe,” Septimus said. “These guys don’t show up much, but when they do …” He let it hang.

  “The only life-magic beings that powerful were the Immortals,” Cai said impatiently. “But they disappeared centuries ago. Gone from this world, never to return.” Thank every god that ever existed. Immortals were warriors, born of goddesses with human fathers, created to fight what they considered evil. Immortals were unstable, dangerous, wild, and unpredictable. Old One vampires and demons were masters of decorum compared to the Immortals.

  “Don’t I wish.” Septimus’s tone was more cynical than ever. “I have one in the car. Want to meet him?”

  * * *

  Mariah saw Cai’s aura take on a tinge of fear,
which surprised her. What could worry someone as powerful as Cai?

  She’d heard of the Immortals. One of the higher ranking detectives in her department had quit her job to run off with one, but Mariah had never met him. Supposedly, they had helped in the terrible war between death magic and the rest of the world a few years ago, ensuring that everyone on earth wasn’t sucked into darkness.

  Cai studied Septimus with some skepticism. “Why are you still alive then?”

  “As I say, we have an agreement,” Septimus answered. “If you believe it’s up to the paranormal police to let you live and walk around—or even up to me—you’re wrong.” He gestured toward the foyer. “It’s dark now. Shall we?”

  “Wait a minute.” Mariah blocked Septimus’s way and gave him a severe look. “I’m duty-bound to take Cai with me. I can’t let you put him into danger. He’s in my custody.”

  Septimus met her gaze, the dark power in his eyes deliberately dampened. “You will accompany us, of course,” he said. “Might be best that way.”

  Mariah weighed his argument and Cai’s very real concern. If Cai felt threatened by this Immortal, if he tried to fight or escape, he could become a force of destruction. Mariah sensed that Septimus couldn’t stop Cai. The Immortal out there might not be able to either.

  “Nope,” Mariah said sternly. “We do this by the book. If your friend wants to talk to Cai, he’ll have to do it at the station. Sergeant Cruz, will you go start the truck?”

  Alejo looked relieved to receive an order he could obey. He made for the front door, and Septimus didn’t try to stop him. Alejo’s pace quickened and he nearly ran through the vestibule, a breeze wafting over them as he opened the door and hastened out.

  Cai sent Septimus an ironic look. “Heed my lady,” he said. “I am her prisoner.”

  Why when he said prisoner did the word have the wrong connotation? Not fear, intimidation, helplessness, but sensual surrender, anticipation of heat and basic pleasure? And his tone left it up in the air whether he’d be surrendering to her or she to him.

  In the next instant, Mariah was swept into a vision—where sound, scent, taste, and touch were as vivid as sight.

  She found herself crushed against Cai, both of them bare, his body flushed with warmth. He had his strong arms around Mariah, hands firm on her back, her breasts against his chest.

  He lifted her up to him, eyes half closing as he leaned to kiss her. The kiss was gentle at first, caressing, giving, then Cai opened her mouth and let his strength come. He pulled her up to him, his kiss hungry.

  The vision was so real that the warm breeze coming through the foyer and the air conditioning trying to cool it juxtaposed with Cai’s hard body, the strength of him, the command of his kiss.

  “Mariah,” Cai whispered as he eased his mouth from hers. “You are beauty. It shines from you, a light in the darkness.”

  Mariah couldn’t speak. Cai had just told her the best thing anyone had said to her in her life, and it wasn’t real.

  Cai was projecting into her head—he, a vampire who created fantasies for his lovers; she, a telepath who could easily read him. He had devised this pocket in time for them, knowing it could never be true.

  Still in the vision, Mariah touched Cai’s face, brushing back a wisp of hair that had fallen forward to his cheek. His hair was sleek, his face sandpaper rough with uncut whiskers. The sensations blended with the heat of his body, stirring her wildest dreams.

  “Cai, I want …” To touch you. The need was a cry in her mind.

  Behind her, Septimus cleared his throat.

  The vision spun away, slapping Mariah with coldness. Cai stood four feet from her, watching her with the same hunger as in the vision. They were in the hallway near the vestibule, Septimus watching them, Quintus standing fretfully behind him.

  Cai gave Mariah a faint nod. He’d shared his thoughts palpably with her, perhaps the only thing they could have.

  Septimus’s voice cut in, his smooth tones jarring after the glory of the vision. “It’s not up to you, Detective,” he was saying. “He’s waiting.” Without further explanation, he turned and walked out of the club.

  Mariah drew a long breath, trying to make her racing heart calm, her heated body cool.

  Cai sent her a long look and indicated the door. “It is your choice, Mariah. Do I go with him, or with you?”

  “Me,” Mariah said, her voice hoarse. “I follow the rules.”

  “Yes, you do,” Cai answered, a hot light in his eyes. “I look forward to teaching you to break them.”

  Mariah decided not to answer. She couldn’t without giving up and begging for him, ripping off her gloves to take him into her arms and make the vision come true. Her heart squeezed into a stinging ball of pain.

  She led the way outside, her limbs stiff.

  Quintus followed them into the mild Los Angeles night. “I expect full compensation for the destruction of my club and the damage to the upstairs suite.”

  Mariah turned and scowled at him. “Of course. Submit your request through claims. Good night.”

  Ungrateful turd, she thought as she walked down the steps with Cai. I found his rogue vamp for him, and all he can do is whine about the cleanup.

  Cai gave her a smile that lit his eyes and made him look almost human. Almost. The vision still shook her. He had the power to make her think anything, feel anything, whenever he liked.

  But Cai was not the most dangerous thing in Los Angeles tonight. That was reserved for the man who climbed out of Septimus’s limo.

  The Immortal was tall, with flame-red hair and very blue eyes. One eye was covered with a leather eye patch, the thin scar leading from it white against his sunbaked skin. A Celtic-looking tattoo adorned his cheek, and he wore a pair of swords across his back. He was dressed in simple jeans and T-shirt, which made the hard body inside the clothes look even more imposing.

  Mariah took in all this before his blast of life magic crashed into her and swept everything from her but agony.

  She let out a cry and fell to her knees, trying to shield her face with her hands. The waves of his aura crushed her as much as the naked power of Cai had at first, but this was even worse. This guy wasn’t buried beneath a ton of rock, nor was he dampening his power as most life-magic creatures did.

  Cai was at her side in an instant, reaching for her. “Mariah.”

  “Don’t touch me!” Mariah yelled, ducking away.

  Fury lit Cai’s face. He rose to his feet, the force of his death magic surging around him.

  “You’re killing her,” he snarled at the Immortal. Cai had to be taking the brunt of the man’s white-hot power, but he stood his ground, blocking the way. Protecting Mariah. “Stop whatever the hell you’re doing.”

  The death magic in Cai mitigated some of the life magic from the Immortal. Not conquering it, but canceling part of the effect.

  The Immortal looked at him. He didn’t draw his swords, didn’t raise a hand, only watched. Cai stared right back at him, his dark power smoldering around him.

  It was thick, Cai’s power. Immense. No wonder the Spanish priests and monks in the past had feared him, no wonder they’d done everything they could to trap him. Mariah knew that if Cai hadn’t been drowning in grief, they would never have succeeded.

  The Immortal looked past Cai to Mariah. At the same time, the weight of his magic eased. A white-hot tingle remained in Mariah’s brain, but she could breathe again.

  The Immortal didn’t apologize. He merely waited for Mariah to pull herself up and catch her breath.

  “You are Mariah Forrester,” he said.

  For a moment, Mariah wasn’t sure. She swallowed and nodded.

  Cai remained in front of her. He’d cloaked his own magic when the Immortal did, but it was there, simmering, waiting for the other man to make a move Cai didn’t like.

  Septimus leaned against the side of his limo, watching the drama. “Detective Forrester, this is Tain.”

  Mariah wet her dry lips. �
�Nice to meet you.”

  Tain pinned her with his unnerving stare. “I need your help,” he said. “Samantha recommended you.”

  “Oh.” Samantha was the half-demon detective in the paranormal division who’d run off with an Immortal. This Immortal. “I see. In that case, I’ll hear what you have to say. After I take Cai in.”

  Mariah turned away to usher the watchful Cai to the SUV, which Alejo had running.

  “No,” Tain said. “Now.”

  His voice was so compelling that Mariah turned back even when she had no intention to. Septimus spread his hands as if to say What did I tell you? and motioned for one of his human servants to open the door of the limo.

  Cai ended any argument by walking to the limo and climbing inside. Alejo scowled from the SUV, but Mariah shook her head at him and followed Cai.

  “What are you doing?” she asked in a quiet voice as she sank beside Cai in a limousine that was more cushy and opulent than her entire house.

  Cai shrugged. He put space between them, although if she touched a vampire through clothes, it didn’t seem to matter. It was bare skin to bare skin that would finish her. The vision had made Mariah want that too much, however, and she was grateful to him for the small gap between them.

  “If the Immortal decides to kill me, it will be as easy to let him now as later,” Cai said. “I’ll fight him either way, but I’ve never met anything like him. Besides, I’m curious about what he has to say.”

  Mariah was too. She found it strange that, as Tain and Septimus followed her into the car, she felt far safer sitting an inch from Cai than she did with the Old One who kept all the vamps in Los Angeles under control and the warrior who’d saved the world.

  * * *

  Tain sat by himself on a bench in the sumptuous limo, Septimus taking the seat opposite. Septimus, Cai observed, didn’t want to get too close to the Immortal.

  Neither did Mariah. Humans were supposed to love and trust life-magic creatures, but this one had a little too much life in him.

  “What do you want my help with?” she asked Tain as the vehicle pulled smoothly into the street.