When he turned towards her and she saw that the chocolate brown of his eyes, eyes that she loved so much, were now a feral, glowing silver, and what appeared to be fangs protruded from his gums, she felt her world come crashing down around her with the force of a sonic boom as the blood rushed to her ears in a deafening whoosh. What was happening? What was he?
He reached out his hand, but she shook her head, her knees shaking violently, and took an unsteady step back, wanting nothing more at that moment than to run. This just could not be real! It couldn’t be!
“Oh, my God. What are you? What…what kind of monster are you?” she whispered, and swore that she saw him flinch as if he had been hit.
“Liz…” he breathed, his voice sounding so damn scared. His eyes had gone back to their wonderful brown, yet that didn’t ease her fear at all. She could see what seemed to be desperation in his expression, and felt a slight tug at her heart. No! She silently screamed and took another step away from him. He…he drank blood! He was not human! He couldn’t be!
“Please…don’t…don’t hurt me.” She begged and had the insane thought that she needed to check her body to see if he had bitten her. She almost laughed at the insane notion, but the fear welling up inside her prevented it.
Liz felt as if the room was suddenly spinning around her. Her heart was pounding so fast and hard in her chest that it was sucking the air right from her lungs and causing everything to whirl and spin around her in a terrifying emotional storm.
Marcus started at her, his entire being looking as if he had been mortally wounded by her words. “I would never hurt you,” he groaned, as if he was in physical pain, and again her body clenched. She so wanted to believe him. She so wanted to run into his arms. “Baby, please. Just let me explain. Please. I would never, ever hurt you. You need to believe that–if nothing else. You have to believe that.”
“I can’t…,” she cried, the tears sliding down her face now, and it looked as if she had hit him once again. The depth of his pain was so evident now. “I need to…I need to think. I can’t be here right now…I can’t.” The words were passing her lips before she could even think about them. She was a jumbled mass of thoughts and feelings. She knew in that instant that she loved him more than she ever thought possible, and that realization was like a punch to the chest. She was in love with…what? Someone who wasn’t human? A wave of nausea hit her and she backed up another step, her survival instinct kicking in. She needed to think. She needed to…run.
“Elizabeth,” he pleaded, his eyes locking with and holding hers, and she saw the absolute torment in them. She could see the fear there, and her heart did another solid slam against her ribs, knocking the air from her lungs. “I need you to listen to me. Please, Baby.”
Liz shook her head again, trying desperately to clear it, and she could feel the tears running down her cheeks, wetting them. “I have to get away…” she choked out, her voice a tattered, rough, mess. “I can’t be here with you right now. I need to think.” With that, she turned and ran up the stairs, her sob breaking free and echoing through the house, right into Marcus’s very soul.
Marcus stood there silently as Liz ran up the stairs. He heard her door open and slam shut and felt as if his heart was being ripped right out of his chest. No! He couldn’t let her run from him. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t! She was…everything.
He slammed his hand down on the countertop, hearing a solid crash as the granite cracked beneath his hand from the force. He needed to think. He needed to make her understand that he would never harm her. He only wanted to be with her. He wanted them to have a chance!
Marcus paced the kitchen, trying to decide what he should do. Should he give her time or should he go to her and try to explain? Christ! His mind was going in a million different directions at once, and he had no idea what to do. He only knew that if she wouldn’t at least let him explain, it would be the end of him.
Liz ran to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans. Slipping into them quickly, she tore Marcus’s shirt from her body and threw it across the room, unable to handle that wonderful scent that was all Marcus. She quickly finished dressing and wrapped her arms around her middle, trying desperately to shake off the shivers that were assaulting her body and wondering just what in the hell she was going to do.
She was torn between wanting to run and wanting to stay and hear what he had to say. She paced the room, trying to calm her beating heart. No matter what she told herself, there was that part of her that wanted to believe that he would never hurt her. He had never been anything but warm and gentle with her, and as much as she hated to admit it…she trusted him. She knew deep down in the very depths of her soul that he would never do anything to her. No matter what she tried to tell herself, a very large part of her knew that she was safe with him, yet, there was that other part of her that refused to believe what she had seen. This was all so surreal. It was as if she had walked into a nightmare, and she didn’t know which way to run.
Liz spun around with a squeak when the French doors to the room blew open, and a man walked through them–slowly, steadily, and she felt her entire body seize up when she realized that it was the man from the street that she had run into when she first arrived in town. Oh, dear God! What in the hell was going on?
“Who are you?” she rasped, feeling as if she were swiftly unraveling. This couldn’t be real; it had to be a dream. There was just no other explanation. No other explanation other than she had somehow lost her mind.
He didn’t say a word as he moved towards her, his lips twisted up in a smile that had her heart pounding against her ribs with more force than she had ever felt before. When he smiled and she saw his fangs and that flash of silver in his eyes, she opened her mouth to scream, although she never had the opportunity to find her voice. He was on her in a flash, his hand connecting with the side of her face and she felt the explosion of pain only a moment before everything went dark.
Marcus paced the kitchen for a full ten minutes before he just couldn’t take it anymore and decided that he had to try to talk to Liz. This was killing him. The look in her eyes was like a knife to his chest and he couldn’t take this uncertainty any longer. He needed her. He needed her to listen to him…to hear him. To forgive him. He needed that more than he had ever needed anything before.
He dashed up the stairs, praying with everything that he was worth that he could make her understand that he cared about her. That he would never harm her. That she belonged with him. She was his, and God damn it! He was hers. She owned him–body, mind, soul…and heart. Losing her was not an option.
He tapped lightly on the door before easing it open, positively shaking with fear. He couldn’t take that look in her eyes. That look that he was a monster. That she wanted nothing more than to run from him.
Marcus felt his insides tighten as he quickly scanned the room, only to find it eerily empty. He saw that the French doors stood open and ran over to them–but there was no sign of her. She was gone. Shit! How in the hell had she gotten out of the house?
Grabbing his jeans, he slipped them on and snagged his shirt from the floor, slipping it over his head as he headed for the door. He needed to find Liz–he needed to explain. She would understand once he told her everything! She just had too! But the look of utter horror on her face caused his body to clench in a fear that he had never known before. It was the feeling of impending doom. She thought that he was a monster; she had said those very words. What kind of monster are you? Her words whispered through his brain, causing his fear to escalate. She would never forgive him. She would hate him. Hate what he was.
Marcus’s body went perfectly still as he reached out for the handle of the door, his senses snapping and crackling around him as he caught the scent of vampire. Jesus Christ! Why hadn’t he noticed it before? It clung to the air like a sickening stench. Good God, he had been so pre-occupied with worrying about how Liz had reacted, that he hadn’t even noticed!
“Hello, Darling
.” The smooth, silky voice coming from behind him caused a shudder to run along his spine and his entire body stiffened, as everything that he had ever known came rushing back to him with the force of a hurricane, only to crash down around him. It just couldn’t be!
He turned slowly to find the beautiful, black-haired vampire standing in between the French doors, her mouth turned up in a vicious smile, her eyes as black as coal.
“Josephine,” Marcus breathed, not believing what he was seeing. This couldn’t be real!
“Miss me, my love?” she asked, taking a step closer to him. Marcus couldn’t help but notice the difference between Josephine and Elizabeth. It was as if he had been hit across the head with a bat. It was instantaneous and harsh, and it hit him like a freaking freight train.
Liz exuded a warmth and passion that Josephine just couldn’t pull off. All he could see when he looked at her was an iciness that had always been there, he realized with a sickening clench of his gut. How could he not have seen it before? Had his head been that far up her ass? Had he been that naïve? He looked at her, his eyes scanning her face and felt…nothing.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded, his body now on full alert, his fists tightening at his sides as he clenched his jaw with such force that he feared that his teeth would shatter. This was all so wrong. She shouldn’t be here. She was supposed to be dead. “What are you even doing alive?” he asked in a rush. Christ, just what in the hell was going on?
Josephine burst out laughing, but it was devoid of any real emotion at all. It was cold and callous. “Well, technically I’m not really alive,” she chuckled, using her fingers to make quotes in the air on the last word. “Oh, my poor darling,” she cooed softly, pursing her lips as she feigned remorse, causing a chill to run up Marcus’s spine, as if his entire existence were about to implode. “You never did have a clue…did you?” she asked, as she shook her head sadly. “I always knew you were much too trusting. That was always your biggest fault, Marcus darling. If I am being honest, it was always a bit ….irritating. Marcus the good. Marcus the honorable!”
Marcus stared at her in stunned silence, trying desperately to figure out what he had ever seen in this woman. How he had ever thought that he loved her.
Yes, he admitted, she was beautiful, but the coldness surrounding her had always been there, he realized with a tightening in his chest. He just hadn’t cared to see it before now. Not until Liz had entered his life. Jesus, the difference between the two was night and day. What in the hell was she doing standing here in front of him, anyway and why now? And Oh Dear God, she was a Vampire? Christ. He had a very bad feeling.
“Josephine,” he growled, trying desperately to keep his anger in check. “I will ask you once more, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, I don’t go by Josephine any longer,” she informed him with a flick of her wrist as she took another step into the room. “I have changed my name a number of times. I am currently going by Angeline Baxter or Angie if you prefer. I picked up the name somewhere, and have decided that I kind of like it. It’s much more American, don’t you think?” She glanced towards the bed and smiled knowingly, just as the realization hit Marcus full on. Angie Baxter–Christ! That had to be the Angie that Liz had been trying to help, the one who had disappeared… but why? What type of game was she playing?
“Just what in the hell is going on here, Josephine?” He asked, suddenly painfully afraid of the answer. “You are supposed to be dead,” he reiterated as a muscle twitched in his jaw.
Marcus thought about all the years that he had carried that overwhelming guilt with him like a noose around his heart, thinking that his fiancée was dead because of his mother...because of him! He had existed as an empty shell, afraid to let himself care for someone. That was, until Liz had walked into his life and shown him that it was all right to feel again. She had opened his heart and now because of him, she was gone. He had the sinking feeling in his stomach that the woman standing in front of him was the reason.
“Yes, well…I guess I do at least owe you an explanation after all this time,” she tittered, and again, Marcus found himself wondering how he ever could have thought that he cared for her. “You see, darling. I had heard the rumors of what your mother had become for quite a while.” When he looked at her questioningly, she gave him a guilty smirk. “Let’s just say that we associated with some of the same people, and leave it at that, shall we? Anyway, I was quite intrigued with the idea of everlasting life,” she explained, taking another step into the room and closer to him. “Not to mention that I knew of your brother, and his wealth. You see, when Desmond wouldn’t give me the time of day I had to be resourceful, and decided that you would do nicely. Growing up poor, I knew that I wanted much more out of life, and I hoped that if I could catch the attention of at least one of the infamous LaGrange brothers, well, I would be set. I mean, you remember what those times were like, don’t you?” She lifted a brow. “Well, yes, of course you do. Anyway, I figured that I could snag at least one of you. I mean, I am quite beautiful, so it was easy to catch a man’s eyes. Then, throw mommy dearest into the mix, and I would be set for eternity.” She sighed slightly, looking at him with pity. “The only problem was that as the wedding grew closer, I decided that I just couldn’t spend eternity with you.” She shook her head sadly. “Not, when all I wanted to do was jump that holier than thou brother of yours. So, I asked your mother to change Desmond and me…and, well, to dispose of you.” She huffed out a breath, seemingly exasperated. “I am sorry about that Marcus, but I just really wanted Desmond, and I figured that he would see how we belonged together once you were out of the picture and we were both immortal. Misery loves company and all that. But, that bitch double crossed me and turned the both of you instead.” Josephine eyed him critically a moment. “I guess she must have had a soft spot for you after all, or some such nonsense. I never could figure out what went on in that head of hers. She was very hard to read, and even harder to manipulate–the greedy bitch. She only wanted your brother’s wealth and status.” She shook her head. “Well, I knew that I didn’t want to be saddled with Mr. Goody Two Shoes for the rest of time, so I told her to tell you that I was dead and then I took off. It was easy enough to compel my family into telling everyone that I had been killed, and hastily buried. I actually took to this…life quite easily. And you and Desmond were going through the change yourselves and dealing with your mother, so…”
Marcus stared at her in stunned silence, trying to digest all that she was saying, unable to even begin to comprehend what an evil bitch she truly was. To think that he had spent decades carrying the guilt that because of him, she had been brutally murdered was sucking the ability to talk right from him. My, God. She had been after Desmond and his money the whole damn time!
Josephine walked over to the bed and sat down, running her hand along the sheets. “So, you have finally, truly fallen in love, I see,” she murmured softly. “Pity really, to finally give your heart to someone only to have them taken away.”
Marcus’s body went rigid as the meaning of her words hit him with the force of a Mack truck. “What did you do?” he breathed, feeling as if there was a band squeezing his chest with brutal force, a force so strong that he feared it would bring him to his knees.
Josephine looked up at him, her dark eyes… eyes that he once had thought he loved, shimmering with malice. “Oh, darling, I didn’t do anything,” she laughed. Her brow creased thoughtfully a moment before her blood-red lips twisted up into a smile devoid of any remorse whatsoever, and Marcus realized that she truly was the monster. “She was supposed to distract you,” she explained. “We knew that we couldn’t lead you away from us. You always were stubborn once you set your mind to something. Then when the human showed up, we figured we could get her to gain your confidence, and then stake your sorry ass. Imagine our surprise when he ran into her on the street and discovered that couldn’t compel the filthy little mortal.” She shrugged her shoulders as sh
e continued to run her fingers back and forth against the bedding. “Now, I’m afraid, Nickolas is quite taken with her. He finds her quite…unique.” She sighed heavily and stood up, taking another step closer to where he stood, and he could actually feel the evil radiating off of her. “I don’t mind, you see,” she explained softly. “Let him have his playthings. Once he tires of her, we’ll move on….we always do. It just seems that your little mortal has thrown a bit of a wrench into our plans…and that never sits well with Nikolas. He does have a bit of a temper, I fear, and with you and your do-good family trying to threaten our very existence…well, he is exceedingly touchy these days. Just look what he did to the real Angie. He tore that poor girl to pieces.”
Marcus stumbled back a step as he felt every bone in his body vibrate with horror at the thought of anything happening to Liz. In a flash he had Josephine slammed up against the wall–his hand at her throat. “What did you do?” he repeated, his voice nothing more than a low growl, and his eyes blazing, that silver flashing dangerously.
“I told you! I haven’t done anything,” she laughed, “but, Nickolas I’m afraid, might be a different story all together. As I’ve said, he is quite taken with her, and he does have a bit of a sadistic side.”
“You cold-hearted bitch,” he spat out, his entire body quaking with fury. “I swear to God I’ll kill you right now if you don’t tell me where she is,” he ground out, his fangs descending as he stared her down. He thought he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes; but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. “Where is she?” he ground out between clenched teeth.
“Now, Marcus, darling,” she husked, the pressure from his fingers making it hard for her to speak. “If you kill me, you’ll never find her.”
“I swear to God, you bitch, I will stake you and not think twice about it.” Marcus was trembling with his anger and fear at the thought of Elizabeth being anywhere near that sadistic son of a bitch, and wanted nothing more at that moment than to snap this bitch’s neck–but fought the urge with every ounce of willpower that he possessed. He needed answers, and, he needed them now.
Marcus' Mortal Embrace (Book 3) (The Supernatural Desire Series) Page 17
