Seeing the hurt look on Mira’s face made him regret saying anything, but then again, it was true. Where was the fucking father? Why wasn’t he here protecting them?
“He’s not in the picture.” Mira’s eyes shifted from his.
“You’ve said that and I can obviously see that.” Steve snorted with sarcasm. “What did he do, knock you up and hit the road? Fucking loser. And yet, here I stand ready to lay my life down for you both with no question and I get, ‘Oh, sorry, but I can’t have a relationship with you. But hey, thanks and see ya around.’” Steve hated being a dick to anyone, especially her, but dammit, he was pissed.
If Steve had really paid attention, he would have seen the slap coming, but he had been too busy being pissed and spouting off at the mouth. “You make me sound like a whore.” Mira went to slap him again, but he grabbed her hand, stopping her. “I’m not a whore.”
Steve had never felt like such a bastard in all his life. The hurt and anger on her face tore at him, and he felt like a dick. He was a dick. “I’m a dick.”
“Yes, you are and an asshole.” Mira pulled her hand away. “Drew’s father is dead.”
“Huh?” Steve was so surprised he let her go.
“Dead because of me.” Mira turned and walked toward the bed. Sitting down heavily, her head went into her hands.
“Whoa!” Steve hurried toward her and knelt down. “Hey!” He tried to remove her hands from her face, but she was strong for such a little thing and held them tightly against her face.
She suddenly pulled away from him, then turned to pick up Drew. “I have to go.” Her face was streaked with tears, her voice cracked with emotion.
Before she could reach for Drew, Steve turned her back toward him. “Mira, I’m sorry.” He tilted her face up to his. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t know.”
He was relieved when she sat quietly staring at the floor. At least she wasn’t trying to leave. He knelt again but gave her a minute to collect herself.
“Damn, woman, you got one hell of a smack going on.” He reached up and rubbed the side of his face. “That’s definitely gonna leave a mark.”
Her eyes shifted up quickly before looking back at the ground. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” Steve replied with a chuckle. “And you shouldn’t be. I deserved it.”
“No, you didn’t.” Mira sighed, wiping the tears from her face. “I should have told you before now, but I didn’t want to.”
“Tell me what?” Steve asked, still kneeling before her.
“The curse,” Mira replied, her voice filled with hate. “Not only did our cousin curse Orjyll, but she also cursed all Grail women.”
“Why would she do that?” Steve frowned. “That’s a pretty shitty thing to do.”
“Tell me about it.” Mira sneered, then gave another pitiful sigh. “After Orjyll broke my cousin’s heart, she put a curse on any man who dared to fall in love with a Grail woman.”
Well, it must be a pretty shitty curse since Steve knew he was in love with Mira, and he was still sitting here looking at her with nothing to say. Seriously, what did someone say to that bombshell?
“I met Drew’s dad at a party. I was mad at the world, just a stupid girl who was a witch and hated the title. I hated everything about my life, and he was exciting, cute, funny, and well….”
Steve waited for a second to see if she was going to finish. Actually, he waited so he could keep himself calm. He wanted to hurt a dude who was already dead. What the fuck? When she didn’t finish, he prodded. “Well what?”
“He had a nice car.” She finally finished, then shook her head. “Pretty shallow, isn’t it?”
“Depends, what kind of car?” Steve asked with a cocked eyebrow.
“Mustang GT convertible,” she whispered, then rolled her eyes.
He grinned, trying to ease the tension. “Nope, not shallow.” Steve shook his head. “I probably would have dated him too. No, wait. What color?”
“Baby blue.” She gave him a funny look.
“Ah, shit,” Steve cursed. “Nope. Now if you would have said red or black, then hell yeah. Dinner, dancing, and drinks.”
Mira chuckled then tilted her head. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Never in his life had he felt more uncomfortable with a question. Steve had been asked the most personal shit throughout his life and never once had he hesitated to answer, but she asked him this one question, and his lips sealed shut because he couldn’t honestly say he loved her. Not yet.
“What happened to him?” Steve answered her with a question of his own.
“My sister.” Mira shifted uncomfortably.
“Fuck!” Steve hissed through his teeth. “She killed him? Damn, she really hates me.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Mira gave him a sad smile. “And she didn’t kill him. She told him about the curse. At first he didn’t believe her, but then he saw her do magic, which she did to prove to him that we were witches, and he took off. A week later I found out I was pregnant. I tried to contact him, but he disappeared. A week after that I was told he had dropped dead at the age of twenty-four. There was no foul play. Nothing.”
Steve glanced from her downcast eyes to see a wiggling Drew on the bed; she was making cute little baby noises. “Did you love him?”
“No,” Mira answered after a few minutes of silence. “And he died because he loved me. He was afraid of what my sister told him, but his brother told me he was coming back to beg for my forgiveness. That he loved me and didn’t care what my sister had said. He was willing to take the chance.”
Without thought, Steve took her into his arms, and she went willingly, holding him tight. “He died because a relative you never even knew was a bitch.” Steve reached out to touch Drew to calm her. “And without… what was his name?”
“Cameron.” Mira sniffed. “He was really a good guy, but I just didn’t have strong feelings for him. I don’t know if it’s because I knew what would happen…. I just don’t know, but I feel so responsible.”
“Well, without Cameron, you wouldn’t have Drew,” Steve added. “Mira, you can’t hide away from the world. And how can you be absolutely sure he died because of the curse?”
She pulled away and looked at him with such seriousness he knew she totally believed she was at fault for his death. “Magic is real, Steve. This curse is real.”
“We can’t choose who we love. It happens,” Steve replied, ignoring her magic comments… for now.
“It can’t happen with me.” She shook her head, then reached down and picked up Drew. “Never again. So the two of us, we just need to be friends.”
Steve nodded but knew it was too late for him. Her bitch of a cousin could bring her curse because he was calling bullshit. Plus, he was a vampire, and curses and magic didn’t work on them. So a big F you to that shit. He kept all this to himself because he knew she was already upset, and he didn’t want her to run. It was too dangerous.
“Steve, you can’t love me.” Mira stared at him with such emotion that he knew what he had to do. Lie.
“No problem there.” He gave her a snort. “Having a chick who can slap like that isn’t something I’m looking for.”
She actually laughed. “Your cheek is a little red. I really am sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” He grinned, wondering how long he could truly hide his feelings for her.
Chapter 19
After Mira promised Steve she no longer felt the magic that had alarmed them earlier, he walked her to her room where he left her and Drew. Once the door closed, her tears fell. God, that was one of the hardest things she had ever done. Her hand automatically went to where her birthmark burned into her chest. She may be able to lie to herself about the feelings she had for the Warrior, but her birthmark didn’t lie. Vampires were not the only ones who had a mate; witches also had one mate in their lifetime. Unless of course you were a Grail woman.
“You told him.” Her sister’s voice came
out of the darkness.
Mira wiped her eyes, not looking Kira’s way. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m really sorry, Mira.” Her sister stepped toward her but stopped when Mira threw up her hand.
“Are you?” Mira glared at her sister. “Because honestly, I don’t believe you. We are different, you and me. Where you are hard and okay with a life alone, I’m not. I want love. I want a man in my life, a father for Drew, and I’m not okay with any of this curse stuff. He’s a vampire, Kira. He may be immune to the curse.” Mira felt bad when she watched Kira swallow hard and then avert her eyes.
“And he may not,” she said after a few moments. “Are you willing to take that chance? I saw your birthmark, Mira. I know he’s your mate. The best thing you can do for him is leave. You know this.”
“Yes! I know this!” Mira all but shouted. “What I don’t know is why in the hell you can’t just leave me alone. Let me figure this out.”
Kira walked straight up to Mira and looked her right in the eyes. “Because the last time I did, someone died.” Kira frowned, her eyes narrowing. “If I have to be the bitch to make sure what happened in the past doesn’t happen to you again, then that’s what I have to do.”
“That is not your blame to take.” Mira hated when her sister did this. She wanted to forget. She wanted to…. God, she didn’t know what she wanted anymore. “I never asked for this. I’m not even a good witch for shit’s shake.”
“That’s a bunch of crap and you know it. You’re stronger than you realize.” Kira took Drew from her when she began to fuss, rocking him back and forth. “I can’t watch you go through that again, Mira.”
“What?” Mira didn’t quite understand what her sister meant.
“I can’t see you suffer like you did with Cameron,” Kira said without pause. “You blamed yourself for something out of your control.”
“I didn’t believe the curse.” A tear escaped as she stroked her daughter’s soft cheek. “And now I’ve brought her into a world, one that’s against us.”
“You love him, don’t you?” Kira whispered, as if trying to keep a secret.
Mira rested her hand over her birthmark. “Yes, I do.”
“I can’t watch this happen again.” Kira frowned. “You almost didn’t survive when Cameron died, and you didn’t love him.”
And there in lay the guilt. “But I tried to love him,” Mira whispered again.
Kira laid her hand over Mira’s hand that covered her birthmark. “You couldn’t. He wasn’t your mate.”
The sisters stared at each other until Drew fussed. “I think she’s hungry. Why don’t you get a shower and I’ll take her to the kitchen for a bottle?” Kira offered as she smiled down at Drew.
“If you don’t mind.” Mira nodded, feeling more tired than she had in a long time. Her heart hurt.
“Just stay aware. I don’t feel the magic now, but whatever that was it was strong,” Kira warned, but Mira already knew something wicked was heading their way. Just because she hated her magic didn’t mean she wouldn’t use it, especially to protect the precious bundle cuddled in her sister’s arms.
******
Steve stood in the kitchen drinking his shitty protein shake. Dammit, why in the hell was he even drinking this crap? He heard the talking around the room but didn’t pay any attention. He was regretting not telling Mira the truth. It just didn’t seem right not letting her know how he really felt. He was that guy. He wore his heart on his sleeve and just said what he meant. Hiding his feelings wasn’t like him at all, and it bugged the shit out of him.
“Did Mira say anything more about what they felt?” Ronan walked up and leaned against the counter.
Swallowing, then making a nasty face, Steve shook his head. “No, but before I left, she couldn’t feel the magic anymore. What about Kira?”
“Same thing.” Ronan frowned, watching him finish off the shake. “If that shit tastes that nasty, why do you drink it?”
“Fuck if I know.” Steve put his dirty glass in the sink.
“So, do you believe?” Ronan glanced around the room before looking back at Steve.
Steve knew exactly what he was talking about. “I never believed in vampires or shifters, but here we are. So yeah, I believe there’s magic. Now if you ask me if I believe in trolls, goblins, and shit then…” Steve thought about that for a second. “Hell, I wouldn’t be fucking surprised.”
“What about curses?” Ronan eyed him.
“What about them?” Steve eyed him back.
“I was asked to warn you against falling in love with Mira,” Ronan said, his face pinching as if it were painful to say.
“Because of the curse.” Steve nodded, then rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I heard.”
“And?”
“And what?” Steve shrugged. “I’m a vampire. That shit doesn’t work on us.”
“That’s exactly what I said.” Ronan chuckled, then turned serious. “Still, watch your ass.”
“Ah, man. You do like me,” Steve teased, trying to lighten the situation. “Being all caring and shit.”
“Steve, don’t ruin the moment.” Ronan glared his way. “I’ve been in a relaxed mood for the past half an hour, and I’d really hate to have to fuck it up by kicking your ass.”
Kira walked in at that moment with Drew and headed to the refrigerator smiling when Daniel, along with Sager, the German shepherd, stepped into her path. Steve watched Ronan carefully.
“So, good thing you don’t believe in curses either,” Steve whispered. He then moved a step away. “Ronan and Kira sitting in a tree… K. I. S. S. I. N—”
“A curse is going to be the least of your worries, fucker.” Ronan made a grab for him, but Steve wasn’t stupid and was ready to move. He headed toward Kira and stopped.
“What’s her name?” Daniel asked, gazing up at Drew.
Kira bent so Daniel could see. “Her name’s Drew.”
Daniel put his small hand on the baby’s cheek, his swirling eyes wide. “She will bring change.”
Steve glanced at Duncan, who watched his son closely. Then he looked at Kira who appeared shocked.
“What kind of change?” Kira asked, her voice low and breathless.
Daniel’s eyes returned to normal as he softly patted Drew’s cheek before he took off yelling for Sager to follow him. Kira stood up slowly, her focus on Daniel as he exited the kitchen.
“He has that effect on everyone,” Steve told her, then held out his arms. “You want me to hold her while you fix her bottle?”
Kira stared at him for a minute. “You’re only making this harder on yourself.” She sighed, her eyes truly appearing sad at that fact.
“Let me worry about me, okay?” Steve replied, knowing he needed to make amends with Mira’s sister if he had any chance at all. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m doing what I want to do, and there really isn’t anything you can do but accept it and be cool with me. I’m a pretty funny guy once you get to know me.”
“He’s really a pain in the ass,” Sid said, indicating he was listening to their conversation.
“Hey, you gotta take the good with the little bit of bad,” Steve called over his shoulder at Sid. He then looked back at Kira. “There’s no one anywhere, other than yourself, who will take care of your sister like I will. I promise you she and Drew will be safe with me. And if this curse is real, I’ll be the one to break it.”
Kira gazed down at her niece, and Steve knew by the look on her face he’d won her over, at least for a minute.
“If something happens to you, it will break her,” Kira whispered for his ears only. “I can’t see her go through that again.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me,” he promised as he took Drew from her. He smiled at Drew before scrunching his nose, his smile turning into a frown. “Unless Drew does another one of her famous stinky poops. That may just be my kryptonite.”
Kira went and warmed up a bottle as Steve entertained Drew
. He didn’t know who came and went, nor did he care. All he cared about was making sure this little one was content. He finally glanced up to see Kira staring at him with an odd look.
“She was pretty upset,” she finally said as she took Drew from him. “She’s in her room.”
“Thanks,” Steve said, but before he could leave, she grabbed his arm.
“Don’t break her heart and die. If you do, I swear I’ll find a way to kill you again,” Kira warned him, and by her tone, she meant every word.
“As crazy as that sounds, I believe you.” Steve raised both eyebrows. “You actually just scared the shit out of me, but I promise never to break her heart. And I do plan on living forever.”
Steve left the kitchen and couldn’t believe he actually made Mira’s sister smile. Holy shit, he was on a roll. He hoped it lasted because he really wanted to put Mira’s fears to rest.
Turning the corner, he slid to a stop. In front of Mira’s door was a man, a man he had never seen before. Immediately, Steve took off and just as he jumped to tackle the man, he went right through him, hitting the ground hard. With a roll, he was back on his feet and turned to see the man staring at him.
“Who the fuck are you?” Steve growled, ready to take off again. And yet in the back of his mind, he wondered if he was talking to a fucking ghost.
The man just laughed and then disappeared before his very eyes. “Holy shit!” Steve rushed up to the door and without knocking, slammed his way inside to find Mira lying on the bed. She sat up in a rush, her eyes round with fright.
“What?” she cried out, her eyes searching for a threat.
Relieved she was okay, all Steve could do was look behind him to an empty doorway. Was he losing his fucking mind? He knew he’d seen a man, but where in the hell did he go?
“Steve, what’s wrong?” Mira asked, now standing at the end of her bed also staring at the empty doorway. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m actually scaring myself,” Steve admitted, then shook his head. “I swear there was a man in front of your door, but when I went to grab him, I went right through him and then he disappeared. I mean, fucking vanished into thin air.”
Invisible Warrior (The Protectors Series) Book #11 Page 12
