by Lisa Olsen
I figured Bishop would take off and make a few work calls before he got dragged off to the museum too. Instead he turned to me with an exasperated smile I recognized all too well. “So, that’s Carys,” I said mildly, and he let out a long sigh.
“Yep, that’s Carys.”
“You know, this actually says a lot to me about why you were the way you were when we first met.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he frowned, and I smiled to let him know I was teasing.
“I probably would’ve avoided any kind of a relationship if that’s what I was used to too.”
“Carys… knows what she wants in life, and she’s not exactly shy about letting others know about it. It can take some getting used to, but I always admired the way she stuck up for herself, especially in a time when women were seen as little more than ornamental.”
There he was making excuses for her again. Did that mean he found her antics attractive? “Do I really remind you of her?”
His head tilted to one side as his gaze roamed my face. “No, you’re nothing like her.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should,” he smiled. Maybe he wasn’t buying into her act hook, line, and sinker after all? “Are you sure you don’t want to come into town with us?”
As much as I enjoyed getting the invitation, I wasn’t about to spend the evening in Carys’ whiny shadow. “I can’t. I’m meeting with some of Rob’s family today.”
“Oh.” He seemed disappointed by my reply, and I wondered what he and the rest of the house thought about Rob sharing a room with me. I hadn’t broadcast the fact that he was sleeping on my couch because I didn’t figure it was anyone’s business but mine, but now I wondered if he thought we’d reconciled.
“To talk about breaking the curse,” I clarified and he brightened.
“Oh. Want some company?”
“I’m not so sure her Highness would like that,” I teased and his hands came up.
“She’s not my boss.”
“She’s absolutely the boss of you,” I scoffed openly. “You’ve done nothing but jump when she snaps her fingers.”
“I know,” he sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I’ve been trying to keep ahead of the compulsion. Better to do what she asks of my own free will then have her go in and rearrange things up here, you know?” He tapped the side of his head.
“Hmm, I never thought of it like that before.”
“I always knew she was demanding before, but it kills me to see how much she expects me to drop everything when she calls. All she sees is Ulrik, but I’m not that guy anymore. I keep hoping she’ll realize that things have changed and move on.”
“That’s the way it is with most Sires and their progeny from what I hear,” I agreed. “Then that’s what you want her to do? Move on? I imagine it’s got to stir lot of old feelings to see her again.”
“That’s… a complicated question,” he admitted. “It brings up a lot, but I’m still having trouble sorting out what those feelings are, especially knowing about the compulsion.”
“Yes, she tried it on me tonight, if you can believe that. She wasn’t too thrilled to find out it didn’t work on me.”
“I wish I could’ve seen that,” he chuckled.
“I’m not. Carys strikes me as a dangerous person to embarrass in public. It’s probably for the best that her failure was just between us girls.” Bishop smiled at me, his head shaking slightly from side to side, but he didn’t say anything until I prompted, “What?”
“You’re wise for your years, you know that? It’s funny how you grasp things instinctively that she’ll never figure out on her own.”
“Yes, well, I’ve had a lot of growing up to do in the past year. So have you, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“I just wish I’d done it sooner,” he murmured, green eyes holding mine until I looked away. “So, you and Rob…” Bishop licked his lips, hesitating before coming right out and asking if we were a thing again.
“We’re… I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Good,” he said with a satisfied nod and I raised a brow in question. “Undecided is fine with me at this point. I’d just like to know if I still have a shot,” he explained.
“That’s a complicated question,” I smiled back, borrowing from his own response about Carys. “And even if you and I still… your time isn’t your own right now.”
Bishop reached up to cup my cheek, his thumb feathering across the corner of my mouth. “Then I’ll have to settle for stealing this moment.” He pulled me close, lips crashing over mine with a rush of desire. The unique taste that was his alone swept over me, bringing back a sharp yearning I didn’t know I could feel anymore, and I found myself clinging to his shirt, kissing him back with everything I had to give. The moment stretched on, and I never wanted it to end.
In that instant there was no Carys, no curse, no obligation, nothing but the two of us and the magic that sprang up between us wherever we touched. When he kissed me like that, there were no complicated questions, only us, and it felt like the right answer.
It felt like – forever.
“Ulrik? I need you!” Carys’ voice cut through the halls, the click of heels ringing on marble telling us she was headed in our direction, and Bishop broke the kiss, his lips pressed tightly together against a scowl. My head cleared, and I realized the interruption was probably for the best unless we wanted to take our complication to the next level.
“Duty calls,” I smiled, reaching up to smooth my grip marks out of his shirt.
“You know I don’t want…”
“I know,” I nodded. “Eventually we’ll figure things out, one way or another.”
He reached up to touch my cheek one last time and then he was gone.
Chapter Fourteen
“I don’t know that she’ll be too pleased to see me,” Rob frowned as we darted into a parking space that opened up after circling for ten minutes. Already done with the first feeding of the night, we were on the way to see yet another cousin.
“Why not?”
“We didn’t part well.”
I waited for more of an explanation, but that’s all he offered. “Ah… could you maybe vague that up for me a bit? I’m not getting what you’re so worried about.”
“She’s a bit spirited, our Kenna. That means she gets her temper up quicker than most.”
And we needed to pump her for information. Cool beans. “Is she a grifter like Stevo?” I got the impression selling knock-off purses was only one of his gigs.
“Nah, she’s a dancer.”
“Oh? As in ballet?”
“As in exotic,” he clarified. “But don’t let that color your judgment of her. Smart as a whip is our Kenna. She could’ve had her pick of professions.”
“And she chose to be a stripper?”
“She pulls in a fair amount more than most and she only dances when she chooses.” He sounded like he almost admired her.
“What makes you think she’ll be there tonight?”
“Stevo said as much when I talked to him earlier.”
“Couldn’t Stevo find out what we needed to know when he talked to her instead of sending us running all over town?”
“They don’t speak, not after the incident with the knife.”
“What incident with the knife?”
“She’s a bit spirited, our Kenna,” he said with a grim smile, and then got out to open my door for me.
The name of the strip club was emblazoned across the top of the door in neon – Purgatory – devil’s horns over the P and a halo over the Y. Rob fit in fine with his leather jacket and jeans, but nobody’d told me we were going to a nudie bar, so I felt a tad out of place in my basic black dress and pearls.
Rob whipped out a few folded bills and handed them to the guy at the front, leading me through the club and straight to a door that led to the backstage area. There, he offered another bundle of cash to the man guarding the door. “
Here to see Kenna.”
The man made no move to take the money, his eyes roving over the club, which was fairly crowded. It was less seedy than I would’ve thought, well, apart from the naked girls dancing on stage. The club was clean and modern, with too much neon for my tastes, but I wouldn’t worry about catching something if I sat on one of the chairs. “You’ll have to wait for the show like everybody else, mate. Nobody gets in to see Kenna.”
“I said, we’re here to see Kenna,” Rob repeated politely, adding a burst of compulsion, and the man stepped aside without another word, his lips going slack. Rob tucked the bribe into the man’s shirt pocket and gave him a friendly pat as we passed by. Behind the door was a corridor with the stage entrance on one side and an open dressing room at the end. More naked girls milled around in the dressing room in costume, but Rob headed straight for another closed door, rapping once before he opened it.
Almost immediately, a female voice rang out, her accent thicker than Rob’s. “Bloody hell, Mickey. I said I’ll be out when I’m good and ready. Honestly, at this rate you’ll be lucky if I show my tits at all.”
“I expect that’ll be a disappointment to all,” Rob said mildly, shutting the door behind us.
Her jaw dropped in surprise, and it was hard to tell if it was a good reaction or a bad one. “Rob?”
“Hullo, Kenna, how’s things?”
“How’s things? Is that all you have to say to me?” she replied, raising a single brow. They stared at each other for a good thirty seconds and my scalp started to itch in discomfort, before Kenna’s face split into a wide smile and she greeted him with a kiss. Was there any family member who didn’t greet him with a lip-lock?
After the kiss came a fierce hug. So much for her not being happy to see him again. Or was this the cool and distant version of our Kenna? She was a beautiful girl. It was easy to see how she could make a good living from her looks. Chestnut hair fell smooth and sleek to the middle of her back, brown eyes smoky and mysterious with exotic liner. She showed a lot less than I would’ve thought, covered from neck to toe with a bodysuit, but the sheer fabric left little to the imagination, clinging to her like a second skin. The costume was covered with crystal sparkles, catching the light in a tantalizing manner whenever she moved.
“Who’s this then?” she asked, looking to me when she pulled back.
“A friend,” Rob answered simply, but she took a second look.
“More than that I’d say. You’re the one, ain’tcha?”
“The one what?” I stared at her blankly.
“The one what turned him. Don’t think we ain’t heard about it from here,” she chastised him with a punch to the arm. “Does this mean you’re willing to share your sacrament?” The light of anticipation that came into her eyes as she turned back to Rob made me more than a little uncomfortable. Did she expect him to offer his blood?
“Might could share, if you can answer me something.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “That depends on what you’re after.”
“Do you know where the Aunt is?”
For all her caginess she didn’t appear to have a problem answering that one. “At this time of year... she’ll have come away from the coast, holing up for the winter. Not too far, I think, somewhere in Kent maybe near Ashford,” she shrugged and the corners of his mouth turned down in disappointment.
“I could’ve guessed that easily enough. I was hoping for something more precise.”
“Ain’t no precise with the Rom, you know that.”
“That’s all you have for me then?”
Hers arms draped over his shoulders, lips curved into an inviting smile. “I’m always open to proposals, what are you offering in exchange?”
Rob gently disengaged himself from her embrace, taking a step backwards. “Best for you not to get too close. You might end up with more than you’re bargaining for.”
“Fine, go then,” she huffed, but she got over any disappointment just as quickly. “Give my love to the Aunt. In fact…” She dug around in a jewelry box and produced a glittering diamond tennis bracelet. “Give her this, and tell her I’ll be down to visit once the weather turns warmer, yeah?”
Rob pocketed the spendy bracelet without so much as glancing at it. “I’ll pass it along. Ta, Kenna. Nice to see you again.”
“Don’t be a stranger, Rob,” she smiled, and there was no mistaking the invitation in her eyes. I barely rated a glance before she turned to finish working on her make-up.
I waited until we were out on the street again before I spoke, going through the conversation in my mind again. “So, when you say the two of you parted badly… you meant the two of you were together at some point.”
“It wasn’t anything worth getting worked up over,” he said with a half shrug.
“I thought she was your cousin.
“She is. In a roundabout way.”
I’d heard that before. It made me rethink his whole relationship with Laveda again, especially since I knew he’d been feeding from her before he’d left for London. But I pushed those feelings aside, trying to focus on the good news. “At least we have a direction to turn now. Who’s this aunt?”
“I said before how my family’s fairly widespread. There’s one aunt that’s generally recognized as the head of the Romani branch. She’s more experience with gypsy magic than the rest of the family who’s become more civilized. They’re a nomadic bunch, hard to pin down this time of year. I was hoping Kenna might have more information on where to find them.”
Real live gypsies? It sounded like the right track to me since Jakob had confirmed a gypsy witch had performed the original curse. “Alright then, which way is it to Ashford?”
“I think it’s for the best if we drive down tomorrow night.”
“Why not tonight? It’s not all that far, is it?”
“It’s just over an hour out of the city.”
“What’s the problem then?”
“No problem, only we don’t know where they’ll be in that vicinity. And I don’t think we should make the trip without taking at least Lee with us, if not Gunnar as well.”
“Why, are you expecting trouble?”
He hesitated, choosing his words with care. “I just know I can’t protect you as I’d like, and that branch of the family can be a bit… wild.”
“But they’re your family. We wouldn’t be in danger from them, would we?”
“Vampire blood is precious, more so to the Rom, who view it as sacred. It wouldn’t be the first time they lured one into their midst to drain him of his magic. We’re family, but we ain’t close. There’s no telling what could happen if we strolled into their camp uninvited.”
I could understand his point, but it chafed to wait for another day. “Maybe I can protect you then.” I picked up his hand, which was warm to the touch. “You need to feed again. It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Even though it felt like we were making progress at last, it wasn’t fast enough. “Maybe we should go tonight after all?”
Rob gave my hand a squeeze. “I’ll be fine. Besides, it might take a fair bit of driving around to find them. I was hoping for something more solid before we went traipsing around Kent.”
He had a point. “Alright, we’ll go tomorrow. I’m just glad we have a direction to go in.” Not to mention the fact that I wouldn’t miss Carys’ company. “For now, I think we’d better find you a bite to eat before it gets out of hand.”
We continued on foot; the neighborhood was perfect for luring an unsuspecting fella away from the lights and crowds, especially when he thought he was the one getting away with murder. Too bad for him all that waited in the darkness was Rob’s hunger. I couldn’t help but sneak in an extra compulsion for him to give up trying to mug people and go find an honest job. It was all over with a minimum of fuss, and we were back out on the street again in no time, strolling with no particular purpose now.
Rob took out his pocket watch to check the time and I saw my picture there.
“Course I do.” His fingers brushed over the antique silver before tucking it away in his pocket again.
I still had the locket with his picture buried deep in my luggage. Close by, but I hadn’t brought myself to actually wear it since the night I took it off.
“I’ve kept it near my heart,” he said softly. “To remind me of what I lost.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, and we strolled along in silence for a few minutes.
“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “Not sure if I said that properly before or not. Not only for the mistakes, but the choices I made that led to them. At the time I felt like I had few options, but I had no business being with Bridget that night, I can see that now.”
“That’s the part that gets to me the most,” I replied, letting out a long breath. “You could’ve told me, you could’ve trusted me to help you instead of turning to her.” I couldn’t say her name out loud. “I just don’t understand why you chose to keep me in the dark.”
“It was pride, I suppose. That, and shame I wasn’t able to keep tight to my control as I should’ve been.”
“That part wasn’t your fault, I get that now.”
“But I didn’t know it at the time. All I knew was I’d become weak in a way I didn’t want to admit to myself, let alone to you. I thought I could handle it on my own.”
“We were supposed to be a couple. Couples handle things together.”
“I never meant for things to go as far with Bridget as they did.”
“I don’t want to talk about that.” The less I thought about the particulars of that night, the better.
“I just want you to know I don’t take it lightly, what I done to you. What I done to us.”
“Neither do I.”
We walked along in silence for a while. The air was starting to clear between us, but I wasn’t sure what else to say. I could tell he was working himself up to saying more, and I waited, letting him find the right words.
