It was childish to think that somehow Marcus had been freed from ARS. Stupid to think all of their problems suddenly gone. So how had Marcus known about Karyn?
He realized it was the dream.
In the past, before his brother became sick, they had often shared in each other's dreams. It was one reason why Malcolm thought he and Julia had been linked.
Julia, Marcus said with ferocity. You took Julia from me. I will take Karyn from you.
Marcus must have watched them together. He might have even been drawn in and participated. That's why Karyn must have avoided him. She must have sensed Marcus' presence in their dream. It must have made her have doubts about being with him.
His own fangs slid out in his anger. Malcolm wanted his brother to pay for all he'd been through, but he held himself in check. It wasn't as if Marcus had shared the dream on purpose, no more than he had all those many years ago. This was his brother, not his enemy, and he had to get him back home. He had to take care of him.
Malcolm carefully got out of the car and slowly approached Marcus. He held a small syringe in his hand that was filled with a very specialized drug. Their friend, Alistair, had given it to him. It would temporarily get rid of some of Marcus' pain, and fight the chemicals that ate tiny holes in the logic center of his brain. It would help him, even if it was only for a little while, but Marcus eyed him with suspicion.
Ol xuarosh lidal ol, Mehrkiiseh, Malcolm said using Marcus' true name. He wanted his trust.
I want to help you. So does Veronique. Take this and come home, Mehrkiiseh. We can help you there.
Malcolm was close enough. He could have injected his twin. He could have drug him to the car if he had to. But he didn't. Everything went down entirely too fast.
I am hurting, Melkonyeh. I need Julia. Where is she?
Malcolm shouldn't have said anything. Don't you remember? Julia is dead.
YOU LIE, came the snarl. And then Marcus attacked him.
Veronique saw the headlights in the window and knew Malcolm had come home. It was extremely late. Maybe he'd finally found Marcus and was actually bringing him back home. They could be a family again.
She rushed to the door and opened it with the hope of a small child. He did, didn't he? He did, didn't he? The thought lit her mind up like millions of stars, but as she walked outside, she wondered if she was mistaken. Malcolm sat in the front seat alone, staring out the window as though he didn't even see her.
Veronique tapped on the window. When he didn't respond, she knocked harder. She forgot about Marcus for the moment as she thought about what the hell happened to Malcolm. What was wrong with him?
Malcolm slowly turned towards her and Veronique gasped in shock. His face was a horror show, a total mess of bruises and blood and raw open wounds. He'd been attacked by an animal, she thought, as he unlocked his door and slowly stepped out of the SUV. The rest of him looked even worse.
"What happened, Malcolm?" she asked him.
He ignored her and went straight to the trunk of his car.
Tell me what happened to you! she shouted in his mind.
She could hear him growling in his chest.
DON'T YOU DARE...she started.
"Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't dare, little sister!"
Malcolm hadn't yelled at her since her childhood and she abruptly shut up in shock.
He continued to open the trunk of his car and grabbed hold of something heavy, grunting as he hauled it out and dropped it on the ground.
"What is that?" she asked, coming closer until she saw the legs. It was Marcus on the ground, as horrible and bloody looking as his twin, but sedated so heavily that he was asleep.
"Go unlock the basement, Veronique," Malcolm told her more calmly now, but still with a rough edge she couldn't quite identify. She didn't like it, but she hurried to the back of the house and opened the basement door while Malcolm took their brother by the arms and drug his large body through the cool grass of the back yard.
The basement had been fixed up long ago to accommodate Marcus' needs and illness. The walls were now soft and padded. The windows were custom made with a sunscreen to block the light that would hurt his eyes. They even added a separate bath for him to take a warm shower and get dressed.
But now there were bars on all the windows so he couldn't get out again. For his safety, Veronique told herself. His and all of Sparkman.
Malcolm dumped him on the bed as Veronique watched.
"You're being quite rough with him aren't you?" she said.
"Yes."
"Are you that angry?"
"Yes."
Malcolm went up the stairs and unlocked the one door that led to the rest of the house. Veronique followed him.
"What happened between you two?"
Malcolm turned to her. He really didn't want to talk about it. Marcus had tackled him with such swiftness and ferocity that the force of it sent them both flying through the air before they hit the hard ground. Malcolm acted as quickly as he could, turning his face away trying to protect himself as his brother tried his best to kill him.
And when he couldn't get his teeth around his neck, Marcus tore at Malcolm's body with his ragged nails. Thank the angels for Vamfir genetics, because a human being would have easily died from the beating he took as they rolled around the back alleys of Anne's Park, warring with each other.
All Malcolm could think of was how he grossly underestimated Marcus' strength. He had seen many times over how homelessness and poverty could change both humans and Vamfir. Marcus looked lean and gaunt. He didn't look like he had the strength to kill a fly. But despite his appearance, ARS, though taking away his sanity, had given him a unique edge when it came to sheer viciousness.
Malcolm tried to throw him off his body, but Marcus held on like the madman he literally was. It didn't take long for Malcolm to go mad himself. Marcus was sitting down on his back tearing into his skin like an animal when Malcolm growled and jammed an elbow up into the side of his face. The suddenness had its own force that sent Marcus falling to the side giving Malcolm a chance to get up and stand.
His face burned as the filthy night air hit the opened wounds that had been made by asphalt and Marcus' hands. And the more pain he felt, the more his fangs grew until they dripped their own venom. He didn't bite him, but while Marcus was on the ground, Malcolm kicked him.
He forgot for a moment that Veronique could read his mind.
"No, Malcolm," she whispered. She looked at him in horror. More horror than when he told her that Marcus killed those women that they'd read about in the paper, he thought regretfully. Marcus had always been her favorite brother. That's why he had kicked him.
And he had been Pamiaqeh's favorite son. Another kick.
As well as Oleqehiis'. Kick.
And then there had been Julia. Kick, kick, kick, STOMP.
All the old rages resurfaced in his heart. He picked Marcus up by his shirt and threw him against the side of the building. He thought about how no matter what he did, or what he tried to do, no one ever acknowledged his sacrifices. No one had acknowledged his honor. Here Marcus had been blaming him for Julia's death, when was his own recklessness that caused it. It was his own fault! All his fault!
And now this motherfucker threatened to take Karyn from him? Malcolm would rip his throat out. And as disgusted by the idea of drinking blood as he was, he knew he would revel in it right now. But Marcus punched him in his gut and he went down.
That's when Malcolm saw the syringe on the ground. The one with the special drug in it. Alistair told him the serum in it was so strong that Marcus would instantly go out like a broken light.
"Just don't use too much of it, Malcolm," Alistair had said. "It might kill him."
Frankly, at that point he couldn't have cared less.
He grabbed it quickly and as Marcus came to finish him off, he jammed it in the side of his neck. Marcus started to gasp for breath.
The sound he made was horrible –
a strained unfulfilled wheezing that brought him suddenly to his knees. He looked at Malcolm with fear.
I've killed him, Malcolm thought as he saw his brother fall face first onto the concrete. He felt no sadness, just a thought of what the hell should he do next? By then, he heard new police sirens in the distance getting closer and sanity quickly began to return.
He wanted to leave him there. He really wanted to leave him, but instead he dragged him the over to his car and opened the trunk. The front seat was too good for him. He put him inside. He wiped some of the blood from his face before getting in and speeding away.
"You were trying to kill him?" Veronique said, forcing his mind back to the here and now.
Malcolm turned away in shame and went to his room. He began to pull clothes out of his closet and dropped them on his bed.
Veronique came in. "What are you doing now?"
"I have to leave, Ronnie."
"What?!?"
"I have to go." Malcolm sighed and sat down on the bed. "I can't take it anymore."
He was so tired. He was tired of arguing with his sister. He was tired of dealing with Marcus and his disease. He was tired of feeling alone, and unhappy. How could he fit into this world when he didn't even fit in well with his family?
"And you think that woman will accept you?" Veronique asked, reading his mind yet again. "Remember, she's human."
Malcolm did think about going to Karyn. She was his lalid, wasn't she? She was his one chance at happiness. But the way things were going between them, well, there was a good chance his sister was right. Even so...
"I've called Alistair. I don't know when I'm coming back and he said he would help you with Marcus for a while."
"I don't need his help," she said. "I'm no child and this is my brother. Marcus is my family."
She looked at him with loathing. "Go ahead and leave. We don't need anyone else."
CHAPTER SIX
Karyn let her class out for a twenty-minute break so her trainees could relax. Really, she'd done it more for her own benefit than theirs. Relaxation was an elusive luxury for her.
The last person to leave was Geraldine, an older woman who was the smartest and easiest to teach, but also the slowest moving person on the planet. It seemed like it took forever for her to go and once she made it out of the door, Karyn closed her eyes and placed her fingertips at her temples as she tried to alleviate some of her stress.
She needed a vacation, she thought. Her job was becoming harder and harder these days. Not because of the trainees but because he was in her thoughts constantly.
He must be some sort of psychic, she said to herself. He no longer physically approached her but whenever she was in the same room, she could feel him projecting his thoughts. His projections were always about hot, stimulating sex. The kind of sex that made her nipples jump out from under her blouse. The kind that made her pussy weep in anticipation. It was her payback for that day in the hallway, she knew it. He was trying to make her go crazy.
And he always looked so innocent when he did it. There had been a mandatory meeting for them not too long ago and he happened to stand behind her in the conference room. It seemed harmless enough because the table had been short a few chairs. But while she sat, she had the sensation of him putting his warm hand on her shoulder. Then slowly tracing the neck of her sweater. Then sliding down to hold her breast.
Karyn's breathing quickened as she realized that now she could feel his hand moving underneath her skirt. How could he be rubbing circular motions around her clit yet still be at least three feet behind her? His arms were folded against his chest and his face was directed toward the site director as though he were concentrating on what was being said. Karyn knew better.
She was able to excuse herself, breaking the mental contact he had with her and went to the restroom taking the stall at the very end. Luckily, no one was there, or she wouldn't have done it, but she placed two fingers inside her body, working herself until she got some relief. After she was done, she left the stall to wash her hands. Then she splashed water on her face and went back to the meeting. He didn't project again but she could feel his eyes on her for the rest of the time they were there and anticipation made her arousal build back up on its own.
She shouldn't have toyed with him in the hall the other day. After it happened, Tracey told her things would backfire on her and they did. But she wanted him to know how she felt. She wanted revenge on him for upsetting her life. She wanted to punish him for making her feel mad with lust whenever he looked at her.
She could feel his eyes on her right now.
Karyn looked up and saw him in the door.
"Are you alright, lalid?" he asked her.
Karyn dropped her hands and took a deep breath. "I would be better if you left," she told him bluntly.
"Don't say that." He came into the classroom and stood next to her. Karyn had been sitting in a swivel chair and he turned her around so she could face him. "Don't I make you feel good?"
He was projecting again. Karyn felt him kissing her neck and it was good. She could hear him in her mind.
I can make you feel this way all the time.
Karyn did enjoy the feelings he gave her, but she still did not want to give in to them. This just proved how much trouble men were. He had no right to just impose himself onto her consciousness like this.
"You're trying force me to sleep with you," she said.
Abruptly the sensations stopped. Even though she had wished it, it was still a dead cold shock to her body.
"I can't believe you said that," he said. "I have never forced a woman to sleep with me. I think it's foul."
His voice was composed but for a brief moment, his eyes said otherwise. She had hurt him somehow, but then his eyes softened and became what they were before.
He touched her gently on her chin. "You should know you're perfectly safe around me," he said to her.
She did know it, but she was still angry.
"And just how should I know that? I don't even know how you're able to just implant these thoughts in my head. It's not like you asked me if I wanted them there."
"You're right and I apologize for that, Karyn. You dominate my thoughts," he said to her. "I only wanted to get closer to you."
She looked him dead in the eye. "I'm better off without you."
He let his hand drop from her face.
"We have a problem, lalid," he said finally.
"What sort of problem do we have?" she asked.
"We are attracted to each other and I had hoped you would have stopped resisting our link by now."
"I may be linked to you, but I'm not easy."
"No, you're not. And that's not doing either one of us any good," he said to her at first with a discouraged look on his face. Then seemed to dawn on him what she inadvertently said and his mouth slowly turned into a dangerous smile.
"But you're admitting that we're linked. That's a good start. Now," he said coming closer to brush his lips against hers, "Admit that you want to go to bed with me."
"I will not," she said stubbornly.
"And that you want me to touch you."
"I don't."
"And that you want me to kiss you," he whispered as he traced the line of her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, enticing her.
He had such a big ego, but it was backed up with seductive skill. Kevin could never accomplish that, she thought. His hand went to the base of her head, fingers tangling with her curls as he pulled her closer. The contact made her shiver all over and she wondered if she was easier than she believed.
"Maybe just a little," she heard herself tell him.
"Good." He surprised her by kissing the tip of her chin making her chest rise up as she sharply inhaled. Her breasts grazed the front of his chest with each rise and fall of air as he placed more kisses along the outline of her face.
"I'll tell you what, Karyn," he said finally after he stopped. "I will stay out of your thoughts. But I can't lea
ve this situation alone. Every time I dream, I dream of you. And when I wake up to reach out for you and realize you're not there, I know it isn't right. I won't rest until I make you see that you belong there with me."
His palm moved back to touch the side of her cheek. "You are mine."
"I thought you wouldn't force this."
"I won't. I just need you to know where I stand."
"Ahem," a voice came from the doorway. It was Geraldine.
Karyn immediately turned away while he straightened.
"Don't worry kids," she said as she eased back into the room with her slow gait. "I remember what it's like to be in love. I won't say a word." She pressed her finger against her lips like a small child.
In love? Karyn looked at him with skepticism. A potent lust was there but she was sure she would never fall in love with anyone ever again.
"Just try to be a bit more discreet next time," Geraldine said teasing them with a twinkle in her eye.
"I apologize, ma'am," he said to the older woman. He turned to Karyn. "Remember what I told you, lalid." He then left the room.
"La-leed," Geraldine repeated the word when Malcolm was gone. "That's a pretty word. What does it mean, Karyn?"
"You know, Miss Geraldine, I have no idea." Karyn wondered if she should take the time to find out.
Malcolm waited for Karyn outside of the company's main building where they both worked. He'd been off for a couple of hours now and sat anxiously in his SUV. Normally he would have already gone home. Being able to enter Karyn's thoughts as he pleased afforded him that luxury.
But now he had no home, just a small apartment on the south side of the city. And Karyn said she didn't want him in her head.
He wouldn't deny Karyn's wish. He'd stay out of her thoughts if that would guarantee her trust in him. A lack of trust was the only reason he could see that explained why she avoided him. He knew she was attracted to him. She even admitted that they were linked. Malcolm hoped that once she did trust him, she could let go of her inhibitions and give herself over completely to him. He needed her. His desire for her was escalating and now, he could never be satisfied with anyone else even if he had the chance.
Awakened Desires Page 5
