The question caught me by surprise and before he could read what I was thinking I put a lid on my thoughts.
“I wear it to turn off men. So they wouldn’t hit on me. A lot of women do it.”
“But you were so quick to let me know that you weren’t married. It doesn’t work if you give away the secret.” He whispered conspiratorially.
He had me there. I had been real quick to tell him I wasn’t really a Mrs.
“I didn’t want you to think that I was married, simple as that.” At his skeptical expression, I went on. “You have to realize the impact you have on people, especially women. I mean, you were gorgeous before you were a vampire. Now, you’re even more beautiful. Why is that?” I wondered out loud.
He brushed that away with a wave of his hand.
“So you’re telling me that you told me you weren’t married because you found me attractive? That doesn’t speak much for your dignity, Anna.”
“Whoa right there, Chief. That’s not what I said.” He cocked an eyebrow at me, his expression shifting from skepticism to wryness. “Ok, it is what I said, but I didn’t finish where I was going with it. You are very attractive, can’t deny that, and you turn women into quivering masses of flesh and they all sigh your name like love-sick little girls…” I was really working myself into a righteous snit.
“Jealous?”
I narrowed my eyes at him in what I hoped was a freezing cold glare, but he just laughed.
“Yes, maybe a little. From the minute I met you I knew that I wanted you, and not just because you were, are, beautiful. I was drawn to you…I don’t know how to explain it, but no, I didn’t want you to think I was married.”
His face grew serious, all laughter put aside. “It was the same for me, and not just because you were attractive to me, or because you looked like Evangeline.”
“Well good, we have that straight then. Is that it?” I asked, looking away from him. His dig about my dignity still smarted.
“No, I still have a couple. Why are your thoughts closed to me?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. I shrugged and opened them again, not having to worry about marriage thoughts.
“No particular reason, but there, wide open again.” I hedged and he knew it but he let it go.
“Question?” I prodded. He nodded and slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans as he paced, his shirt fluttering as he walked.
He stopped and looked at me, his expression still serious. “How do you feel about me, Anna?”
The question took me off guard. He had to know that I loved him. He was in my thoughts, he was in my body, and I’d told him before that I loved him.
“No, actually, you haven’t told me that. You called me the love of your life a couple of days ago, but nothing since then.”
“I didn’t think that you were the type of man that needed to hear them. Haven’t I let you know in every way possible how I feel?” I was completely flabbergasted. Could he really be insecure?
He shook his head at my statement. “You haven’t told me you love me.”
“You haven’t told me that either.” I countered.
He came back to stand in front of me, reached out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear, brought his hand down to cup my cheek.
“I love you. Maybe I haven’t said those three words together, but I have told you that I love you.”
I stared up into his eyes, could see the worry there. I knew I loved him, that wasn’t an issue, but I guess I had a hard time saying the words.
“Do you need them, Gareth?”
“I guess I do.”
“I love you. I love you more than I ever imagined loving anyone in my life.”
He caught me in a tight hug, and I could feel the worry replaced with happiness, grey brightening into bright blue. I was sparkling inside, that my words made him so happy thrilled me to my toes.
Chapter Seventeen
We worked in the lab for a bit, only emerging late in the afternoon to eat. Gareth was very dignified as he walked through the kitchen and Teagan and Harley whistled loudly, but I thought he was going to punch Noah, who was just getting back from checking on Written. As I came in behind Gareth, grasping the front of my shirt with one hand, Noah’s eyes sparkled with glee at the perfect opportunity to rag on us, but he shut his mouth at the look on Gareth’s face. I dashed up the stairs, my face bright red. Oh well, in the long run it had been so worth it.
When I came back down again, definitely more presentable, having showered and changed, Gareth was just coming through the French doors. He smiled at me across the room and I winked back at him.
We both turned at the sound of arguing in the kitchen.
“Do you have to preside over everything like a, a king or something? I’ve been cooking since I was ten, I think I can manage.”
“For God’s sake, I’m just trying to help. Do I have to take another swipe at that chip on your shoulder?”
We walked into the kitchen just as Teagan was brandishing a spatula at Noah, his hands raised in mock surrender.
“Go ahead, try it again.” Her voice was a low growl issuing the challenge, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“What are you going to do with the spatula? Smack me on the forehead?”
“I got a good arm, I’ll make sure it hurts.” She raised it over her head, but Harley came up from behind her and snatched it out of her hand before she could swing it and threw it in the sink.
“Sit down!” she yelled at Noah, pointing to a stool at the island.
“She started—“ Her look of fury had him shutting his mouth quickly. Teagan gave a smug giggle, but Harley rounded on her. “You go sit down too, and sit next to him, don’t go wander off into the living room.” With a shocked look, she went to do as Harley said. She pulled up the stool next to Noah and sat, refusing to look at him. Gareth and I looked at each other, both trying very hard not to laugh, listening to Harley mutter to herself as she threw dinner together. “Acting like two little kids, threatening bodily harm, what the hell?”
She slammed something into the oven, turned on the two offenders that at least had the good grace to look ashamed, and lit into them.
“Now you both listen carefully. I have had enough. I will shut you both up forcefully if I have to…”she pointed a finger at Noah before he could retort, “I don’t care what kind of sorcerer you are, you’re messing with a pissed off witch, buddy, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve. You,” she turned to Teagan, “you will quit threatening him and egging him on. He is only acting the way he’s acting to get you riled up and you fall into his trap every time. Now, we are stuck here together at least for the rest of this night. Noah, since you have no problem driving in blizzard conditions, you can leave anytime you want. If you stay however, you both will be civil to one another; there will be no smart ass remarks, no insults, and Noah, no kissing. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
“Crystal.” They both murmured.
“Do I need to make you shake hands? Okay, never mind that.” She amended quickly at twin looks of horror. She shifted her focus to Gareth and I. “Nice of you to join us. Do not ever leave me alone with these two again. I will kill them both.”
“You were with them all of a half hour.” I put in, but Harley shut me down with a look. “You try being alone with them for a half hour.”
“No, no thank you.” I stammered.
“Gareth, help me out here man, I’m getting the short end of the stick.” Noah laughed from where he sat next to Teagan, ignoring her as though she wasn’t even there.
“What’s this I hear about kissing?” He cocked an eyebrow at Noah. Noah shrugged. “I had to shut her up.” Teagan gasped, but didn’t say anything. Smart woman.
“I can’t help you if you keep saying things like that.”
“Okay, let’s call a truce. No more fighting for the evening, no more innuendo, nothing.” I added.
“Agreed.” Teagan replied and Noah nodded. Hopefully the truce would last
.
We all gathered around the dining room table, our dinner cleared away. Harley had put Teagan and Noah on dish duty, which surprisingly went well. Granted, they worked in silence, but knives weren’t brandished as weapons, so I took it as a good sign.
“The biggest question I have is who does he have working for him?”
Noah started off the discussion, swirling the wine in his glass, staring into it as though he could get a picture from it.
“Can’t we just look and find out?” I asked, looking at Harley, Teagan, and Noah in turn.
“I’ve tried. I can’t see anything. I don’t know if he’s blocking, or if there’s just nothing to see. My guess is he’s blocking, just like we are.” Noah lifted a shoulder and shook his head.
“How can we find out?” I looked at Gareth, who also shook his head.
“We have to use conventional means if neither you nor Noah can get a vision of who he has. I still think that someone from the lab is working for him.” He replied. His eyes were far away, and I could tell without being linked to him that it bothered him to think that he had a spy in his lab.
Teagan took a sip from her wine glass, pondering what Gareth said. “I think he has a clairvoyant, someone who is skilled at it.” She looked at Noah when she said it, putting her hand up to stop his retort. “I’m not saying that to insult you. I’m making an observation. Anna isn’t good at it either. Some talents are stronger than others, and that’s just not either one of your strengths.”
Noah considered her words and met her eyes with a slight nod. “Okay, I buy that. Maybe the two of us should work on that. We could link together and maybe the two of us could generate a vision.” I couldn’t tell if he was referring to me or Teagan. I would be the better choice, but he was still looking at Teagan.
“What we need to do is infiltrate.” Harley suggested, but Gareth shook his head.
“He knows everyone here. None of us could infiltrate his lair.”
“I know some people.”
“Do you really want to get more people involved in this? I think its best we keep it amongst ourselves. I think that Anna and I need to go back to the office as though nothing has happened, and keep our ears and minds open.”
“But there’s strength in numbers, and they could help.” Harley insisted.
“I don’t want to risk anyone else.” Gareth said, his tone brooking no argument.
“We know the why. What we need to know is how to beat him.” I stood up, taking my glass in to the kitchen to refill it. What I was thinking was that we needed advanced warning of when he would attack.
“Do you think the werewolf was sent here by him?” I heard Teagan ask and heard Noah’s disgruntled exclamation. “You didn’t tell me there was a werewolf here. When?”
“The night of Imbolc. He was watching the women during the ritual. Yes, it was the same one.” He answered Noah’s unspoken question.
“What did you do to him?” Noah asked, his curiosity piqued.
Gareth smiled mirthlessly. “I didn’t do anything to him. I don’t resort to violence like you do. I told him to leave.” He made a shooing gesture with his hand. Noah snorted. “I know you better than that.”
“I did threaten bodily harm, and maybe a little fire, but I don’t think that he was here to stir up trouble. Most likely he caught their scent and came to investigate. Any man would.” He cast me an appraising look.
I held up my hands. “I wasn’t nude, like some people.”
“You were skyclad?” Noah turned a blue gaze on Teagan, who barely glanced at him as she nodded. “Of course.”
“Remind me to join you for Beltane.” He murmured. Teagan stared him down. “Because of our truce, I’ll put this nicely. Not in a million years.” Noah took the statement with a laugh and turned back to Gareth.
“It’s a little fishy that he turned up here of all places. Too much of a coincidence.”
Gareth was hiding something, I could tell, but he wasn’t giving it up, even to me. Noah knew it too.
“Gareth now is not the time to keep things hidden. What was he here for?” Noah prodded.
With a sigh, Gareth gave in. “He was looking for me. That’s all I got from him, honestly. He just let me know that he had been looking for me.”
“So, it’s possible that he is working with Padraigan. Padraigan could be on his way here.” I said with a worried glance at the window wall, as though I would see Padraigan or a black wolf grinning in at us.
“It’s also possible that he is just holding a very large grudge against me.” He offered, but I could see that he was considering the possibility of an alliance between werewolf and rival vampire.
“But what if it’s not?” I countered and he looked at me, his gaze level on mine.
“We’ll get through this, Anna, I swear it to you.” He looked at everyone in turn. “We have a very capable and talented group of people here, and working together, he won’t touch us.” His quiet confidence in us reassured me for the most part, but I was still anxious.
“How close are you to a cure?” Noah asked, and Gareth took a moment to answer, tracing a pattern on the table in front of him.
“We’ve had some close calls, but nothing is promising right now. I don’t think that we’re close at all.”
“Then it has to be that he has had information that makes him more sure than you are. It may be false info, but someone has seen the two of you coming up with something.” Noah kept digging.
“We discussed this the other night.” Teagan told him, her elation at one-upping him almost cutting off the truce.
“I think that right now it’s a wait and see situation. Until we could figure something out, that’s what it has to be.” Gareth insisted and I agreed with him. I could see Noah wanting to argue, but he didn’t say anything else.
“Anna and I will go back to the office on Monday and watch.” That ended the discussion.
Noah and the girls left the following morning, which dawned bright and crystal clear. It being Saturday, Harley and Teagan had to get back to Written to open it up for their busiest day. Life moved on and jobs had to be worked despite the looming threat of a pissed off vampire.
The truce between Noah and Teagan held, Gareth, Harley and I making sure they realized that they would be injured if they continued sniping at each other.
It was odd to not have a house full of people, and because of the brightness of the day, we sequestered ourselves in the lab, working side by side.
He had the files on all the work that was being done at the company, and we set about replicating experiments, discussing possible avenues to chase, but he hadn’t been hedging the truth when he said we weren’t close to a cure. Promising possibilities were discounted and disproved and by Saturday night, my eyes and brain were hurting.
I straightened up from where I had been bent over the digital analyzing machine and stretched, raising my arms above my head. He, of course, wasn’t tired at all. I wished I had that kind of resiliency and would if I were a vampire.
Gareth looked at me, and I could tell he had heard me. I just shrugged. Not the argument to get into right now.
“I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to head up to bed. Want to join me?”
“As tempting as that is, I think I’ll keep working awhile longer.” At my pout he came over and kissed me soundly. “I’ll be up soon.” I nodded and with a squeeze of his hand, I left the lab. I shut off lights as I went, Gareth not needing lights to navigate through the house, checked the doors, taking a moment to look out into the night. The snow was a thick, blue blanket, illuminated by the full moon, and I shivered, thinking that there could be a werewolf watching the house, but I couldn’t sense or see anything out there.
I climbed the stairs, moving into the bedroom, and digging into my suitcase for a pair of pajamas. I thought briefly about unpacking, but I was too tired. I didn’t have much to unpack anyway. I thought about my house and all my ruined possessions and anger flushed through me.
What an asshole. I would have to go shopping and replace my Jeep. How do you explain that to an insurance company?
I washed my face, scrubbing too hard in my anger, so that my skin was red and I gave a disgusted sigh. I brushed my teeth without as much force and worked on calming myself down. By the time I was in my pajamas I had calmed down the rest of the way, and I climbed into the big bed, this time with a contented sigh. I lit the fire, still marveling at the ease in which I could, and then promptly fell asleep.
I dreamed I was in the forest, looking for something. I was casting about, running down trails, frantic in my search, but I didn’t know what I was looking for. I could feel my heartbeat, racing in my chest, my breath sent out a steady fog of steam as it rushed out. A sense of urgency was building, as if I was running out of time.
At that point I heard a long, ululating howl, and my flesh rose in bumps, crawling at the sound. It was plaintive, and there was hurt and fear in it. I ran towards it, knowing instinctually that this was what I was looking for.
I crashed through underbrush, not even being quiet, but when I came into the same clearing that Harley, Teagan and I had been on the night of Imbolc, what was there could not see me.
Padraigan stood in the clearing with the werewolf, who was fighting invisible bonds that held him to the spot. He looked in pain, and Padraigan had a sick smile on his face, his gaze concentrated on the writhing wolf.
“You disappoint me, Damien. Where is the house?” Padraigan sneered, and with a careless wave of his hand, sent fresh paroxysms of pain rolling through the huge beast, so that he lifted his muzzle and howled in pain again.
I cringed behind a tree, wanting to help, but not sure what was going on. Was I dreaming? Was I having a vision? Was I really in the clearing? I was standing barefoot in snow, dressed only in my flannel pajama bottoms and tank top, but I couldn’t feel the cold.
Eternity Page 24
