by Lisa Olsen
We lay panting together for long moments, neither one wanting to move. His heat lulled me into a state of drowsy contentment, and I loved the press of his body above mine. In time the song ended, and began again, and so did we. We both seemed bent on making a lasting memory to keep us until the next time and we took turns muffling each other’s cries of delight whenever we had the presence of mind to remember. Still, I was fairly sure Nina drowned out the worst of our slip ups, at least as it would sound to anyone parading around outside.
I sighed with perfect bliss once we succumbed to lazy movements, snuggling deeper into his embrace. “Best birthday present ever,” I declared.
“You ain’t getting sick of this song yet?” he asked, sounding tired, but very content.
“Actually, I don’t think I’ve had a chance to listen to it all the way through, I keep getting distracted.
“Sorry,” he chuckled.
I laid a kiss to his chest. “I’m not.”
“I been thinking while you was away. There might be a way we can be together, but it’s dangerous.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “How dangerous?” I asked, propping my head up on my hand to get a better look at his face.
“It could end up with one or both of us dead.”
“Is that one you or me?”
“Me,” he admitted.
“No good then, I don’t want to risk it. After what happened earlier tonight I’ve decided I’m going to end things with Jakob – not because of us, but he asked for another chance and I gave it to him. It didn’t work out, he has to accept that.”
“Something tells me it won’t be so easy as all that.”
“It’s his own fault. After how he behaved tonight, he can hardly blame me. And I made no secret of the fact how pissed off I was that he’d compelled me, so it’s not like it’s coming out of the blue.” In fact, I took hope in the fact that my standing up to him and demanding to be taken home hadn’t been met with more of his demanding behavior. Maybe Jakob finally realized he’d crossed the line? “He was willing to wait before, he might be willing to wait again.”
“And if he’s not?”
“Then he’ll either compel me or kill me,” I said glibly.
Rob’s brows drew together as he propped his head up higher on the pillow. “That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”
“I don’t think he’ll really do either of those things. He says he loves me. Would you set me free if you thought it would make me truly happy?”
“I would,” he answered without hesitation.
“So that’s what I’ll do. I will respectfully tell him I don’t return his feelings, and hopefully, he’ll go nurse his bruised feelings on a bikini beach somewhere.”
“What if he compels you to love him?”
It was a very real possibility, but I tried to keep things light. “Then I give you permission to kidnap me and knock some sense into my head.”
“You won’t want me to if that’s the case.”
“He wouldn’t know to compel me to stop loving you, I’d still listen to you.”
“You say that now…”
“Okay then, I’ll write myself a letter, a letter that I’ll give you to give to me, so there are no doubts in my mind you’re telling the absolute truth.” It was farfetched, but it could work. Mostly I was banking on the hope that it’d never come to that. But wasn’t it worth trying for? Every time I went out with Jakob I was flirting with disaster. It was only a matter of time until he compelled or seduced me into doing something I’d regret for a lifetime.
Rob touched my chin, breaking my reverie to draw my attention back to him. “Are you sure you want to do this? Whether he leaves or not, we can’t openly be together.”
“Maybe not in public, but we can still be like this here. This is my sanctuary, and I’ll be damned if I can’t love who I want to in my own home. We can be discreet, we can make this work. You can call me miss all you want, and I’ll pretend to be annoyed with the way you chew or pronounce schedule and stuff.”
His lips drew back into a genuine smile. “You really think we can make a go of it?”
“I do. And if not… we can cross that bridge when we come to it. There, I’ve said my peace. If you still think it’s a bad idea, I won’t bring it up again, but I really think it’s worth a shot.”
Rob lay there in silence, fingers lightly tracing the outlines of my face as the beat of his heart lulled me into a dreamlike state. When he spoke, his voice was pitched low and gravelly, as if he was afraid of being heard. “I know I said I didn’t think I’d ever say it to you, but I love you, Anja Evans. More than I thought a villain like me could ever feel. Just knowing you feel the same… it gives a man hope where I thought there was none. If you’re game to risk it, I’ll do the same. If it comes down to it, we’ll get Bits to safety and your family too.”
My chest felt lighter, like I could float away. “Then we’re doing this?” I beamed, my voice all high and squeaky.
“We already have.”
Nina started to sing again, and it was Rob’s turn to show me how much we belonged to each other. I never did get to hear the song the whole way through without being distracted.
Some time later, I heard the others coming home upstairs, their voices merry and light. I was too content to move and glad to find Rob felt the same. My door was locked and as long as we stayed quiet, it was worth the risk. Near dawn, I felt him slip out of bed and the rasp of his cheek against mine as he kissed me good night. As I drifted into sweet oblivion, I carried something with me more powerful than the most potent Ellri blood.
Hope.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The next couple of nights passed in a blur of happiness. Jakob didn’t call me and I didn’t call him, preferring to wait until he insisted on seeing me again before I made a bid for my freedom. Instead I went about my business, spending time at the office or at home, hardly able to conceal the giddy joy I felt whenever Rob and I had a moment alone together.
The night came for my birthday get together and I had a message by the time I woke that Jakob wanted to see me later that night. I was almost looking forward to it, ready to be done with that part of my life and move on to the next.
Maggie put together a smorgasbord of cold meats and gourmet tidbits for the humans, nothing hot that would offend a vampire’s delicate palate, and some of the desserts did look quite tasty. In addition to the ‘family’ already living in the house I’d invited Hanna and her new boyfriend, and Jenessa was back in town again. I couldn’t wait to catch up with them and get a look at the guy who’d stolen my sister’s heart.
Gunnar came in with a crate of wine as I was lighting the candles in the dining room, pulling out a pair of bottles with a flourish. “This will make it a party,” he beamed, and I pretended to be impressed as I read the labels, not having a clue about vintage wines.
“Where did that come from?”
“The wine cellar.”
“We have a wine cellar?” How had I never noticed this before?
“Yes, it’s under the kitchen, it used to be the root cellar. I am keeping some seeds down there as well. Soon it will be planting season!” he gushed, going on about his plans for the garden. I caught Rob’s eye and we traded a private smile over his enthusiasm. Maggie rushed in, fussing with last minute additions to the buffet table and smacking Gunnar’s hand when he reached for a stuffed mushroom.
“But I like mushrooms,” he pouted, stealing one the moment her back was turned.
I hoped like hell everything went well with Jakob, because I didn’t want to have to leave any of them behind.
Jenessa arrived, bearing a brightly wrapped box and a heartfelt hug. I dragged her onto the sofa for a good long visit. She’d spent the past few weeks on the coast up in Seattle, enjoying the stormy skies and a guy she’d met who owned a boat. Nothing serious, but she’d had a great time.
“You seem different,” she commented after Gunnar refilled her glas
s of wine.
“Am I? Maybe it’s the whole Elder thing.”
“No, that’s not it. You were already the Elder before I left. You look… like you’re in love.”
“Do I?” I did a slow blink to keep from reflexively looking at Rob. “Thanks, I’m happy.”
“Who with?” She brightened, her knees inching closer to mine, ready for gossip and I smiled mysteriously.
“Never can tell.” I dodged the question, saved by the chime of the doorbell.
“Anja, look!” Maggie cried, throwing open the front door to receive a delivery of dozens of white carnations. All pairs of hands were called over to help bring them in since the delivery guy couldn’t cross the threshold, and I wondered if this was Jakob’s way of putting me in a better mood before I saw him later? “There’s a card,” she said, handing it over after she’d signed for them.
“Happy Birthday, Anja. Almost as beautiful as you are. All my love, Bishop,” I read aloud. I had to smile, and then I remembered I was on a mission of misdirection and raved over them for the next ten minutes as we scrambled to find vases for them all.
“He should’ve sent one bouquet with a vase,” Maggie grumbled after we’d made an impromptu planter out of a stock pot to accommodate them all.
“I think they’re pretty just as they are,” I said, leaning close to smell them. “And it must have been harder for him to coordinate from overseas. Why, don’t you think it’s a sweet gesture?” I asked, but Maggie pressed her lips together. “What is it? You don’t like carnations? I do, that’s why he sent them. They’re my favorite flower.”
“I thought you were done with Bishop for now,” she said, no longer bothering to hide her disappointment. “I thought you’d moved on to someone a little closer to home.”
Bless her heart, was she disappointed I’d never given Rob a chance? “You know that stuff with Jakob is just for show,” I replied, deliberately misunderstanding her. “And a girl never forgets her first real love.”
“What are we talking about?” Jenessa asked, coming into the kitchen with a handful of cut stems.
“First loves,” I smiled, drawing her into the conversation. “Sometimes they’re hard to forget.” I drew a white blossom to my nose. “How about you, Maggie?” I lowered my voice conspiratorially. “Is love in the air, or are you still on the fence about Marcus?”
“I think… I think I might be falling for him,” Maggie admitted, her voice lowering as well. “He certainly seems sincere in his attentions, and he’s stuck around much longer than I ever thought he would.”
“Of course he has, who wouldn’t stick around for a girl like you,” Jenessa said, brushing Maggie’s hair back over her shoulder.
I almost offered to find out if Marcus was jerking her around or if he was falling for her too, but in the end I held my tongue. Jakob’s compulsion had been a real eye opener for me and the less mucking around with peoples’ heads I did, the better. Maggie was an adult, and whether or not she fell for him was her decision. I’d been all kinds of vocal with Marcus about what would happen to him if he ever hurt Maggie, and he’d sworn up and down his intentions were honorable. I had to stand back and hope for the best. That was all any of us could do, really.
“What about you, Jenessa?” I asked. “Any chance of yacht guy showing up here any time soon?”
“Oh, that was not love. Those feelings originated somewhat south of the heart,” she laughed and we joined in.
Marcus paused at the kitchen door, unnerved by our laughter, probably thinking we were laughing at him. “Should I be worried?” he asked, an uneasy smile on his lips.
“Always,” Maggie declared, patting him on the behind in passing as the doorbell rang again.
“Oh, hey, you guys stay and… whatever, I’ll get that. It must be Hanna and her new boyfriend,” I offered, skirting around them to the hallway. I’d have to be the one to invite them in anyway.
Sure enough, I could see my sister’s pale blonde hair through the window, the figure beside her distorted by the leaded glass.
“There she is, the birthday girl!” Hanna grinned, her cheeks pink from the cold night air. She looked happy enough, wrapped in an expensive, creamy, cashmere coat I’d never seen before. Her blonde hair was curled, spilling over her shoulders, her makeup much more elaborate than usual –something I hadn’t seen her do since her college days – dress to impress.
“Yep, there she is,” the guy beside her smiled with just as much enthusiasm. Logan, I think she said his name was, turned out to be a handsome guy, younger than I’d pictured for a guy she’d run off to Tahiti with, in his mid-twenties maybe. He was dressed in a long dark overcoat, the hint of a sweater and jeans peeking through underneath. His hair was a honeyed blonde, darker than Hanna’s and mine, but the tips were frosted and artfully spiked. Taller than Hanna (but then again, who wasn’t), he draped a proprietary arm around her shoulders, his smile wide.
“Come in, come in, you must be freezing out there,” I stepped back to wave them in. Hanna got one foot over the threshold before she was jerked backward as Logan met up with the protective barrier. I stared at them in shock as Rob and Gunnar rushed to my side.
Logan recovered from the surprise quickly enough, shaking his head with chagrin. “I should’ve known it wouldn’t be this easy.”
“What’s not easy?” Hanna’s smile crumpled in confusion. “Would you stop horsing around? It’s freezing out here.”
“Hanna, come to me, come inside now.” I reached my hand out to her, but Logan held her where she was even as Rob pulled me away from the doorway.
“Uh oh. I guess the jig is up, huh?” Logan didn’t look all that broken up about it. He looked like he was enjoying his own private joke. “I guess we won’t be going to the party after all.”
“Rob…” I breathed, needing him to do something to get Hanna away from the guy until we figured out what his deal was, but Logan shifted his hold to Hanna’s neck.
“Ah, ah, ah… nobody try anything or…” He made a cracking sound with his teeth and tongue. The guy oozed utter confidence as though he was used to getting his way, even though he was facing off against one of the most powerful vampires in the nation, if I did say so myself.
Extending my senses, I could tell right off the bat he wasn’t a vampire, but he wasn’t human either. I edged closer, and felt Rob’s hand on my arm, keeping me within the shelter of the house. “He’s an Ellri,” I gasped as it hit me.
“In the flesh.” He waggled his eyebrows, a slow smile stretching from ear to ear.
Hanna watched the exchange with growing bewilderment. “What’s going on? Do you know my sister?”
“Well, no, we haven’t been formally introduced yet, but I’ve heard oodles about her. I’m really a big fan.” He gave an impish grin, but I didn’t share in his amusement.
“What do you want?”
“I wanted to come in and join the party, but it looks like that’s out, so I’m improvising. Why don’t you come out here to me and we’ll have our own party?”
“I don’t think so.” Whatever his game was, holding my sister hostage wasn’t the right way to endear himself to me.
He seemed genuinely surprised at my refusal, his fingers stroking Hanna’s neck in reflection. “This is an interesting turn of events. Are you sure you don’t want to come out and play?” His brown eyes flashed intensely, but I felt nothing, no desire to join him on the porch.
“Pretty sure, yep.”
“What about you?” He turned to Rob. “You seem like a capable guy, how about you bring her to me?”
“How’s about you and me leave the women out of this and step outside together?” Rob’s chin came up pugnaciously, and it was my turn to lay a steadying hand on his arm.
“Okay, I’m confused here,” Hanna piped up. “Why aren’t we going in, and what’s the deal with… Ow, you’re hurting my neck, babe.”
Logan leaned down, his lips near her ear. “Remember we talked about you shutting up
when I’m thinking? This is one of those times.” I expected Hanna to blow a gasket at being talked to like that, but she clammed up tight, placid as anything. He noticed my surprise, his smile turning smarmy. “She’s got quite a mouth on her, you know? And I don’t mean her voice.”
“If you hurt her…”
“You’ll what? Blink those sweet baby blues at me? You can’t hurt me,” he taunted, amused by my threat. “Actually… come and see me when you work up the courage, I think it might be fun to get a little sister action going. I’m at the Hotel Vitale. Come alone if you like, or bring a playmate, it’s all the same to me.” He shrugged, turning to go, but stopping as if he’d forgotten something. “One thing though, be sure to tell Jakob that Lodinn is back in town.”
“That’s supposed to mean something to me?”
That infuriating grin was back. “Don’t worry, it will.”
We all watched helplessly from the safety of the house as he marched Hanna down the path to his car.
“We can’t let him take her,” I said, shaking my hands when my knuckles started to hurt from clenching them too tightly.
“Don’t got a choice.” Rob shook his head, watching them intently. “He’ll snap her neck in a heartbeat.”
“We have to do something!”
“We will, we’ll get her back.” I felt Rob’s light touch on the small of my back and I tried to take comfort in it.
“It’s you he wants, your sister’s just a tool,” Marcus chimed in. “That means she can be negotiated for.”
“Or Jakob’s the target, the parting shot was aimed at him after all,” Jenessa pointed out.
Either way, I clung to the hope that he’d been with my sister for weeks and hadn’t harmed her yet. “Have any of you ever heard of this guy? Lodinn?” My question was met with a universal no. “I thought there were only a few Ellri left. How could this guy be walking around unknown?”
“It’d be easy for him to hide in plain sight,” Jenessa replied. “Most vampires these days wouldn’t know an Ellri unless they came up against him in a dark alley. Especially here in the States where so few have actually ever seen one.”
