by Eden Robins
Christian kept all the tools he needed either on him, or in his car. He put toppled furniture back where it belonged. Because he couldn’t do much to repair the hole in the wall, he hit it a couple of times, to make a crack appear from the ceiling. Then he tore out more pieces of the wall, so that it stretched to the floor. Now the damage looked more like a structural fault than a vampire or human one.
It was the best he could do. He would let Tom and his receptionist come to their own conclusions about the damage.
Christian used the various chemicals he had on hand to clean the blood from the office. Afterward he removed Tom’s shirt and pants and cleaned them too. He spread the clothes over a chair. They would be dry by morning. Tom would wake up in his underwear, but that was just too bad. Christian grinned with satisfaction at the image of Alyssa’s receptionist finding Tom undressed in his office tomorrow morning.
As he studied Alyssa’s unconscious friend, Christian grew serious. Anyone observing him would think he held no feeling other than bland boredom. They would be wrong. Dead wrong. Now that he had done what he swore to do so long ago, protect human life, his fingers curled with the need to wrap them around Tom’s neck and squeeze until his face turned blue, his eyes bulged out of his head and his struggles ceased. These savage thoughts filled his head as one fact slammed into him again and again. One thought tore at his mind. Alyssa was in love with this human. That knowledge cut him like a knife. Jealousy raged through his body, as did the instinct to kill.
Alyssa’s aunt had told him all about Tom. When Christian awoke this evening, he had quickly satisfied his hunger on a homeless man, then erased his memory of the event and sent him to a shelter for the night. Afterwards, he went directly to Alyssa’s apartment. He wanted, no, he had to see her. Making love to her the night before had only wetted his appetite. He needed to be with her. Right or wrong, she completed him. Filled a void inside him that he had never known was there.
When he discovered that Alyssa wasn’t home, he paged Vlad and found out where her aunt lived. Though she was probably fine, he needed to know for sure. It was his job. He was supposed to protect her. And until the last event tomorrow night was over, he would do just that. He tried to ignore the voice inside his head that told him his feelings involved so much more than just protection or sex.
When he arrived at Joyce’s house, she welcomed him into her home without a problem. For some reason, Alyssa and her aunt’s warm welcomes bothered him. They both needed to be more careful whom they let into their home. He should know. Under other circumstances, he would not be someone they should allow into their house, or into their heart.
Christian slammed the door shut on that thought. Alyssa didn’t have room in her heart for him, it was already occupied by Tom. Joyce had told him how Alyssa and Tom had shared this office for several years. How they became friends, then lovers.
“Well, Christian. I don’t know what to say. If Alyssa is staying late at the office, it’s probably for two reasons.”
“What reasons?” Christian eyes had narrowed suspiciously.
He hadn’t known about Tom then. Or that Alyssa shared an office space with someone. He should have known, he should have found out. His job was to not only protect his client, but also to find out as much as possible about them so that he could protect them in every way.
“One reason is because she is so backed up returning calls and seeing clients. My niece is a workaholic. She works until she’s exhausted. Oftentimes she works so hard she doesn’t take time to eat. Or she eats snack food when she remembers. I’ve told her again and again to slow things down, but she doesn’t listen. She always has to strive high and work hard. I think she got that from her father. He was in the military, you know.”
“I heard,” Christian said. “But what’s the other reason she would stay late?”
“The other reason?” Joyce had looked at him with wide, innocent eyes, yet Christian had felt like she wasn’t telling him the complete truth. He knew enough about the lady to know that she was very capable of manipulating people to do her bidding. Her motives were pure, but nevertheless she did try to control other people’s lives. What was she up to this time?
“The other reason she’s working late?” Christian had reminded her.
“Oh yes.” Joyce’s eyes had suddenly lit up as she paused and studied Christian. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
Alarms had gone off inside Christian’s head. Whatever she was about to tell him, wasn’t good. He could sense it. He slowly nodded anyway.
“Tell me.”
“The other reason Alyssa may be staying at the office late is because of Tom.” Joyce had seemed to get much pleasure out of her words. When she stopped speaking, she looked at him with anticipation-filled eyes.
Christian had felt the hairs on his neck raise up. His body tensed. A growl from low in his throat rumbled softly.
“Tom? Is he a patient of hers?” Even as Christian had asked the question, he knew what her answer would be.
Joyce shook her head.
“No. He and Alyssa have known each other for years. Tom’s also a family therapist. He’s the man who shares her office space. And soon, I think, her bed.”
Jealousy crashed into Christian. He had clenched his hands into fists. His growl grew deeper. He clamped his mouth shut to hide the incisors he felt elongating. His first instinct was to kill Tom. To rip his throat open and watch him die. Alyssa belonged to him. Nobody else. She was his.
Christian had managed to rein in the beast. Barely. The urge had been so strong that it left him shaking.
I am in control, not the beast. Only me. I decide, not it. I am not a monster.
Christian had to say the words over and over inside his head until the beast became little more than a growling, hissing whisper in his mind.
“Are you okay, Christian?” Joyce’s voice had brought him back to himself. Her concerned expression told him that she was genuinely worried about him.
“Thank you for your concern, Joyce, but I’m fine,” he had assured her with a smile. “I think I’ll go check on Alyssa.”
“I think you should also.” Christian hadn’t missed the smug smile on Joyce’s face.
“Even though the stalker was caught last night, it’s still my job to protect your niece until tomorrow night. I’m just doing what I’m paid to do.”
Christian had winced as he heard the defensive tone of his own voice.
Joyce had given him a knowing smile and nodded.
“Of course you are, dear. And you’re doing an admirable job of protecting Alyssa.”
After an awkward goodbye, Christian had left in search of Alyssa. He followed the directions Joyce had given him to her office. He had tried to stay calm as he drove, but the thought of Alyssa with another man was almost too much for him. He imagined her naked in bed, her head thrown back in ecstasy as someone other than him brought her to her peak, again and again. He pictured her luscious mouth worshipping another man’s body and his body rocked with rage. Jealousy had started to overtake him once more until he pulled into the parking lot of her office.
His jealousy and rage disappeared in an instant. Fear had replaced it. Alyssa’s fear. He felt it coming at him in waves, as if she stood right beside him. Christian had sent her messages designed to soothe her and a command to stay where she was. Sensing her confusion and resistance, he had searched her mind. He wasn’t the only one inside Alyssa’s head.
Bazhena.
Her presence filled the air with its malevolent stench. He had streaked into the office as fast as his superhuman speed allowed. As he heard Bazhena’s screech of rage, he knew he was just in time.
* * * * *
The sound of Alyssa stirring brought Christian’s thoughts back to the present.
What was it about her that touched him so? Why her? Alyssa brought out thoughts and feelings inside him that had been buried for over two hundred years. Why now? He hadn’t cared about someone like this since
Elena.
Elena.
Her name brought her image instantly to mind. They had met as children when both of their families still lived in Spain. His father and hers were good friends. They decided early on that Elena and he would marry. It had all been arranged.
When they were children, they didn’t know of such things. They met and became fast friends. But even back then, Christian had felt a certain protectiveness towards Elena. She had been so little, so soft and quiet. He had been many years older, bigger, stronger and smarter, according to her. She always listened when he told her what to do. And she asked for his advice whenever she wasn’t sure about something.
The two of them spent many childhood days giggling, running and playing together. They always pretended that he was the noble hero and she the lady in distress. She would call for help and he would come to her rescue.
And when he rescued her, Elena would stare up at Christian with adoration and say, “I knew you would save me. I knew you would come.”
Those words would forever haunt him. In the end he hadn’t saved his Elena. He had actually caused her death. He was to blame for giving in to temptation, for arrogantly tossing Elena aside and for pursuing Bazhena like a dog in heat. Granted she was a vampire and had seduced him with her powers, but his love for Elena should have been stronger.
He should have been stronger.
But he hadn’t been. He had been weak. And Elena had been viciously murdered because of that weakness, because he had been unable to control himself.
Never again.
Christian had made a vow to himself after he and Vlad met. He would never let himself get out of control again. He would be the master of his own fate. He would decide when and where. No one else. Only him. And he would control the monster inside him with everything he had. Never again would he lose himself to the power of his emotions.
Christian’s thoughts came crashing back to the present again when Alyssa’s eyes fluttered open. He stared into her crystal blue gaze and was lost. All his vows and promises drifted away like a soft breeze on a warm summer night. Whatever it was that made him feel this way, it was done. Choice was nonexistent. She was his now, whether she realized it or not. And no one was going to take her away from him. Ever.
* * * * *
Alyssa woke to find herself staring into Christian’s beautiful eyes. The look on his face took her breath away. It was hot with desire and intense with possession. She lost herself in the power of his gaze. Her body tingled with awareness, her heartbeat sped out of control and her breath grew short. She tried to breathe deeply to calm herself, but the sexy, dangerous scent of him drifted seductively in the air, enflaming her further.
Then another odor intruded. It was strong and overwhelming. Blood. She smelled blood. Her memory came crashing back. Nausea swept over her. Her stomach rolled in protest as images filled her head.
Tom.
Bazhena.
Alyssa bolted upright. Until her face was inches from Christian’s. She grabbed his shoulders. Frantically she looked around the room.
“Tom? Where’s Tom? We have to get some help. Bazhena attacked him. He’s bleeding and I—”
Christian’s face darkened with anger, but he laid a finger gently against Alyssa’s lips to quiet her.
“He’s fine,” he assured her through clenched teeth.
Alyssa wasn’t convinced. She saw the way Tom had looked before she passed out.
“Are you sure?” Tom had been in grave danger from too much blood loss. She needed to know he would be okay, that his fate would not be the same as her mother’s.
“He’s lost a lot of blood, Christian. I think he needs to go to a hospital.”
Alyssa noticed Christian’s face grow tight and tense.
“Tom will be fine, Alyssa. I have taken care of his wound and his lost blood has been replenished.”
Alyssa let go of Christian’s shoulders and then sagged with relief. Tom was fine. He would be okay. His blood loss had been taken care of. Replenished. Alyssa felt tense again. Exactly what had Christian done to Tom?
“Replenished? What do you mean replenished? How did you—?”
Christian’s face exploded with emotion. The anger in his eyes made her shrink back against the couch. She had never seen him this way. So furious, his feelings emanated in waves from him. Each one struck her like a blow. Battering her emotionally rather than physically.
“Enough! I don’t want to talk about your lover right now.” Christian growled deep in his throat and his eyes began to glow. Alyssa’s eyes widened in fear as she saw his sharp teeth elongate before her eyes.
“I want to talk about the danger you’re in. You will come with me now. I need to keep you safe until I find out what’s going on with Bazhena. She wants you for some reason. Until I discover why, you need to be kept under my tight protection. And don’t worry about your boyfriend. He’ll be okay. He’ll wake up in the morning on his couch, thinking he fell asleep at the office.”
Alyssa shook her head slowly. Anger was starting to replace the fear his transformation had caused. She would not be treated like a child. She was an adult. Christian needed to understand that.
“No.”
“No?” His voice was deadly. Quiet, but more threatening than if he had screamed at the top of his lungs.
Alyssa refused to be intimidated.
“I’m not going anywhere until I know that Tom is okay and you tell me what’s going on.” She folded her arms across her chest and waited.
Christian’s expression hardened until his face became so emotionless it looked like it was etched in stone. Yet his gaze burned with fury so strong it shot daggers straight at her. She struggled to hang on to her own anger, but common sense and self-preservation were screaming for her attention. Unfortunately, she might have realized it too late.
Christian grasped her shoulders and pulled her forward. Her face was inches from his. Their eyes met and clashed. They held each other’s gaze, both refusing to look away. Alyssa thought she saw admiration kindle in Christian’s eyes, but then he moved and she wasn’t sure. Turning his head sideways, he pressed his cheek against hers and whispered in her ear.
“Do you know what you’re doing to me, palomita? Do you understand the consequences of your actions? I am not in a state to be played with right now. I would not play nice, I promise you that. The smell of blood is everywhere, filling my senses, tempting me. The odor of another man is on you, stirring up my anger and my beast. Your seductive scent is also calling to me, drawing me closer.” Christian punctuated his words by running his tongue first down, then up her neck. When he reached her ear again, he gave the lobe a little nip with his teeth and sucked on it gently. The pain-pleasure of his mouth caused shivers to run through her and the breath to hitch in her throat.
“My beast is close at hand. Ready to take over, ready to take you if I let it. And it would not be a gentle joining. Don’t push me right now. Just trust me and do as I say.” Christian’s last words sounded deep and hoarse.
He slid his mouth down and grazed his teeth over her neck. Then he sucked on the spot where his teeth had been. She was going to have one hell of a hickey tomorrow morning. The strong pull of his mouth started an ache between her legs that made her knees weak. He stiffened, squeezed her shoulders almost to the point of pain, then shuddered. Slowly, she felt his body relax until finally he released her.
He was having trouble controlling himself. Alyssa had kept her body completely still until he released her. Somehow she sensed that if she moved too much, his restraint would be unleashed. He moved away and she sighed in relief. Okay. Now was definitely not the time to challenge him. She would just have to trust him.
Trust him. Hmm.
That was a tough one.
Definitely not her strong point. Especially when it came to this man. One who was strong and controlling, like her father. One who had an emotional hold on her.
She admitted it. There was something more than physical a
ttraction between them. Strong feelings were involved. But she didn’t want to deal with them right now. One thing at a time. They would have to reach a compromise.
Alyssa waited until Christian composed himself and turned back to her. His face still looked tight, but his eyes were calmer. No longer glowing. His fists unclenched and he held them loosely by his side as he stood up.
“We need to go now, Alyssa.” Christian held out his hand to her. His eyes remained shuttered as he gazed down at her, showing no emotion. But she could feel the tension in him as he waited.
She didn’t take his hand.
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
She spoke quickly.
“I’ll go with you, but only on one condition.”
He began clenching his jaw.
“What?” The word came out little more than a growl.
“Please let me see Tom, so that I know he’s okay. I won’t ask for any more answers and I’ll go with you without a fight.”
Christian looked like he was about to deny her.
“Please, Christian. I need to see for myself that Tom will live. It’s very important to me.”
He nodded.
“Okay. He’s in his office. Come with me. We don’t have much time.”
He held his hand out to her again. This time she took it. His hold was gentle as he led her to Tom’s office. She gasped when she saw the cracks and hole in the hallway wall.
“What happened?”
Christian continued walking as he explained.
“Bazhena. She got a little irritated when I tried to show her the door.” Christian’s mocking tone was not lost on Alyssa, but she could also sense an underlying concern in his voice. She was surprised and a little frightened that someone as powerful as Christian was troubled.
She stopped short when they entered Tom’s office and she saw him lying on the couch in his underwear.
“Why is he in his underwear?”
Christian shrugged negligently.
