by E. M. Moore
There was no warning when a voice spoke behind me. “Ariana, what are you doing?”
I jumped, my breath catching in my throat. When I spun, the glint of laughter danced in Christian’s eyes, but I only stared at him, eyes wide open. He’d blown my cover. The voices in the other room weren’t speaking now, and in fact, footsteps were already moving toward the open door. It was Samuel who spoke next, his voice terse. “Stuart, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the obstacle course?”
“Please,” T.J. scoffed, “We all know Ariana wakes up at the crack of dawn to run the course herself, do you really think she’s missing out on anything while you’re letting the class fend for themselves? They probably went straight to dinner anyway.”
Samuel’s jaw ticked, but I just looked at T.J., shocked. “You know I wake up to run the course myself?”
“Who doesn’t?” he asked. “Anyone who pays attention would notice.”
He winked, and Christian was suddenly right behind me. “Perhaps you should go to dinner now,” he said. Though he didn’t touch me, his presence was overwhelming. It was like a thick coat being draped over my shoulders.
I turned toward him, my forehead wrinkling in confusion. Why would he blow me in just to send me away again? “No,” I said, spinning back toward Samuel and T.J.. “I heard what you were saying. The rogue vamps are closer?”
Samuel narrowed his eyes at me, glancing briefly behind me at Christian, and then back again. “Yes, they’re close. It’s the same ones who killed the guard at the Ravana Estate.”
No kidding, I wanted to tell him. I almost rolled my eyes, but I restrained myself. “I agree with T.J.. The guards need to be told immediately. We should start sending out scouts to learn more about where they are and what their plans might be.”
Samuel placed his hands on his hips, his chin dropping low to regard me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, T.J. grinned. “She’ll make a find guard someday.”
“Someday,” Samuel said. He passed a hand over his chiseled face and regarded me again. “Please head back to the guard building.”
“No,” I said, my own voice, and confidence, rising to the occasion.
“No?” he asked, a fiery look slithering into his hard eyes.
I tried again, forcing my temper in check. “Samuel, when I was at the Ravana Estate, the best thing I did was actually go out there with real guards on a scouting mission. It prepared me for so much more than just—”
“And that happens, Stuart. In due time. I’m so glad you spend one day out in the field and you think you know how to run this institution. Yes, we go into scenario training. Yes, we go out into the field, but under controlled circumstances. I can’t control anything out there right now. I send trainees out there and they get injured, or worse, who do you think is taking the fall for that?”
“I just think—”
“You just think that what?” he spat. “You want to get others injured like you were? Don’t think I didn’t read the debriefing on your scouting mission. Yes, you behaved admirably, but you also got yourself injured, something a fully trained guard may not have done.”
“Actually,” T.J. said, butting in as the anger rose inside me. I wasn’t trying to tell him that I knew how to run that place or even that I was that good, I was just trying to tell him something should be done. T.J. held a hand out to me, almost making its way to my forearm, when my body took an involuntary step back. “I can back Ariana up on that. She—”
“You,” Samuel said, turning to the guard. Between the two of them, they both looked fierce, downright predatory in their own ways. Samuel had perfected the intimidating glare, but T.J.’s arms and chest flexed and you could tell just by looking at him that he’d used all of those muscles in a fight. The kind of muscles that tensed in the heat of battle and worked loose in training.
“Gentleman,” Christian said, finally coming out from behind me. “Has this latest update been communicated to my father? I’m sure he’d want to hear that the rogue clan is closer.”
Samuel’s gaze flicked to Christian. The two of them were the most similar out of our grouping. The unblemished skin, the fine details of their picture perfect bodies. Christian, though, he had that voice that made others listen. The sound of it made even Samuel snap to attention. Though he always carried himself well, as an authority figure, he paled in comparison to Christian Ravana. “I was going to do that after discussing the situation with T.J.”
“Let us do that now,” Christian offered. “It’s clear we all have different opinions and my father and The Council will have their own on what should be done.” He gestured toward the end of the hall that led to the exit. T.J. and Samuel walked ahead and I started after them. A hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going, Ariana?”
T.J. and Samuel turned. Before I could get a word out, T.J. said, “You should let her sit in. She’s going to be your guard anyway.”
“No,” Christian and Samuel said at the same time. Then, Christian breathed, his gaze leaving T.J.’s and lighting on me. “I trust you can keep this information to yourself before we’ve had a decision from my father.”
I swallowed down the bitter taste in my throat. I really thought they would let me in on the meeting. Well, maybe not Samuel, but Christian? Why was he so opposed to it? There was no sense trying to talk to him about it now though. Instead, I just nodded once and brushed past him, heading in the other direction. I was barely in the other hallway, still listening to the sounds of their footsteps retreating through the other hall when my cell buzzed in my pocket. I’ll still see you later.
I put it away without bothering to respond. Of course I’d show up when he texted me. No part of me thought I wouldn’t even though the feeling of being left out still whitened my knuckles.
I made my way across the grounds, picked up my food, and was about to sit down with Shannon, Evan, and Liv when my phone buzzed in my pocket again. My tray in one hand, I pulled the phone out with my other. A text from Connor. I opened it to find a picture of him blowing me a kiss. My heart melted and I almost ran into someone in the small aisle. I clicked on his name and held the phone to my ear before leaving the noisy cafeteria behind and heading to my room. “Hey,” he said, his voice smooth, creamy, yet rich all at the same time like a fancy vanilla pudding.
I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling too big. Connor just made me happy. There was no getting around it. “Thanks for the picture.”
He laughed into the phone, the sound eased out all the tension from my shoulders from the day. “That was me trying to tell you we should send more pictures.”
“Yeah?” I asked, my stomach fluttering. I held the phone with my shoulder and used my now free hand to open the door to my room. Once inside, I gave it a nudge closed and took my dinner and Connor with me to the bed. “Nightly video chats aren’t enough for you?”
“Well, no. I should probably tell you something about me. I’m needy. I want all Princess, all the time. I’m afraid I just won’t be satisfied until you’re close to me again.”
I pushed the tray away and laid back on my bed, my head propped up against the wall. “I feel the same way.”
Connor groaned into the phone, sending a tingle through my body so I felt it in my toes. “Don’t say that to me. I’m having an off day today, and you saying that is just plain torture.”
I frowned, wondering what he meant about “off”. Connor was usually on.
Before I could ask him about it, he asked, “Do you ever think about what we did?”
My whole body shuddered and flushed simultaneously. He’d left no doubt to what he meant by that. “Of course,” I said, my voice sounding breathless even to my own ears. How could I forget?
“You kill me, you know that? I’m already strung tight and you answer me like that.”
I bit down on my lip, trying to fight the teasing smile. “Like what?”
He chuckled. “You know. Don’t try to pull that innoc
ent thing with me. I’ve seen you lose control, I’ve seen the look in your eyes when you’re going after what you want.”
Heat flooded between my legs. He was a traitor. Making me want him when it was an impossible feat at the moment unless someone would hurry up and invent portals. “Is this why you called me? To torture us both.”
“I guess so,” he said. “I just missed you, Princess. I’ve been thinking about you all day, talking myself out of calling and texting you since I know you’re busy, but I just couldn’t hold myself back anymore. It’s worse now that you and I shared that beautiful moment. God, what I wouldn’t give to see that look in your eyes right now.”
My body responded to his words. Evil, evil vampire. Come to think of it, they were all evil. If nothing but to diffuse the tension, I pointed out, “You’re just horny.”
“You have no idea,” he said, his tone portraying the battle he was waging.
Okay, this was a little different than I thought. Connor’s words were almost painful. My poor, sweet Connor. His breath hitched over the phone, emboldening me. “Is there anything we can do about it?”
He moaned, and I wished I could see him like I had when we were together before. His soft lips. His honey-colored hair with a voice to match. His sea blue eyes darkening with lust. “There are plenty of things I can do about it, but none of them involve you and that’s the problem.”
My fingers tightened around the phone. “I’m right here,” I hinted. “You can pretend.”
Connor made a growling noise at the back of his throat and I wondered if he’d given in to his needs. At this point, maybe his hand was wrapped around his base, working its way up to the tip, thinking of me, picturing me.
This was no good. I was turning myself on just as much picturing him. This was a constant state for me now. “Are you hard?” I asked, my voice cracking at the end as heat continued to gather between my legs. I wished he was here with me now to subside this ache.
“As a rock,” he said, his teeth clenched. “It happens every time I picture you with your head thrown back, enjoying me.”
My body picked that moment to remind me of the way Connor’s hips felt pinned against mine. Those movements that made me strain for more. I moaned into the phone. I’d never understood phone sex, but then again, I’d never wanted someone so much. There was no awkwardness or creepiness. It was just two people who couldn’t be together that so wanted to be.
“Oh, shit,” he said, his breaths coming quicker. “I’m sorry. I’m touching myself. Don’t be mad, please. I can’t stop now. I miss you. I wish this was you. God. Hell. I thought about you all day.”
I sank lower on the bed and closed my eyes, my hands curling into my shirt at my stomach. I bit down on my lip. “Tell me.”
“It feels good. I’m picturing you, Princess. Hot, wet like that time I touched you. That brief slice of heaven” He broke off on a strangled cry.
“Yes, Connor.” My toes curled just listening to him breathe heavy. “More. Tell me more.”
There was another strangled sound and a wave of heat blasted me in the face. “Oh. I can’t get there quick enough. I wish I was inside you. I wish I was enjoying you, the tight heat of your insides. I want to come inside you again, and again, and—yes. Please talk to me.”
My hands flitted around my body as I squirmed on the bed. I didn’t know what to do. I was already overheated, my imagination on point with whatever he described. “God, Connor. I’m so turned on. I can almost feel you inside me. This is the best kind of torture. I want you there. I want you filling me again and again. And kissing me, and touching me.” My heels dug into the bed. “Connor, please!” Why couldn’t he just be here right now? I was strung tight, almost fraying.
“I’m there. I’m touching you, tasting you. I’m so close. So, so close.”
Sweat dotted my brow, my whole body shook. This was exactly what I needed. Pure, and affectionate, Connor. “Faster,” I said, my hands twisting in my sheets. “More. Faster.”
Connor let out a slow, low moan. “I’m going to come.” He was silent for a few beats, his breaths short, quick, raspy, until all the air rushed out of him and he called me Princess, a rapid cry that had me falling back on the bed, my muscles smoothing out the pent up tension. Relaxing inch by inch, I listened as his own breaths evened out. “Holy—wow.” He groaned long and hard. “I’m so sorry, Ariana. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Don’t be,” I assured him, staring up at the ceiling and calming my breaths the same as him. “That was…intense.”
“You’re telling me.” There was a creak and a groan underneath him, pulling me back to the present. I closed my eyes and imagined him on his bed at the Ravana Estate, one hand holding his phone to his ear and the other wrapped around the head of his dick, wondering what to do.
“You might want to get yourself cleaned up,” I said. “You’re probably going to be called into a meeting soon.”
He sighed. “One of these days I just want one whole day with you, Princess. One whole day where we don’t have to worry about anything but one another. We can do what we want, when we want it.”
“Mmm,” I smiled. “That sounds enjoyable.”
“Something to look forward to.”
A knock sounded on his door. To me, it sounded faint, far off, but it was still there. I wondered if it was Nicolai or Stephan. Most likely Nicolai. I eased down into the bed as I heard his voice. Though it was always husky, almost rough, it warmed me from the inside out. “Connor?”
I closed my eyes, listening in on the rustling of blankets. “Yeah?”
“Meeting. Now.”
“Be right there.” To me, he said, “Guess you were right. Princess?”
“Hmm?” I asked, a smile wrapping its way around my heart.
“I promise that will be a lot more fun for you next time around.”
I snickered, wondering what he thought it was for me this time around. “Goodbye, Connor. Make smart decisions.”
He chuckled. “I’m going to go with any decision that brings me to you, whether it’s right or wrong.”
I shook my head, still smiling, still basking in the warm glow surrounding my body. Was it wrong I didn’t want to disagree with him?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I woke to my phone buzzing next to me on the bed. I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the darkened room. Shaking the sleep tingles out of my hand, I picked my cell up to see a text from Christian. He was outside the gate waiting for me.
A slow smile crept over my face. I jumped from the bed sending the cafeteria tray to the floor. “Crap!” I quickly turned the tray right side up and scooped up the hours-old food to put it back on the tray. I must have fallen asleep after talking to Connor. Taking the now cold food with me, I dropped it off in the cafeteria after making my way to the back door through the kitchen, across the lawn, and then up our tree. Once I sat on the branch, I could see Christian’s headlights. He flicked them on and off and I scurried across the limb and jumped, landing in a crouch. I tore across the small strip of grass between the stone wall and the back road and jumped into Christian’s car as it idled there. “Hey,” I said, smiling at him. For just waking up, I was on a high. First, there’d been my encounter with Christian. Then that amazing experience with Connor over the phone. I felt charged up enough to take whatever came at me. “I missed dinner. Can we maybe get something?”
He mirrored me, his lips tugging up at the corners. “Of course, Beautiful. You’re not mad?”
“Mad?” I blinked at him and started to look even more confused. The last conversation I had with him tugged at a memory string in my mind and I frowned at him. “I’m not mad at you per se. I would’ve liked to be included, but…” I shrugged, unsure of where I was going with this. Thankfully, Connor had calmed me down from earlier. I needed to trust that Christian, as well as The Council, would do the right thing. “How’d it go?”
Christian looked away, checking the rearview mirror before pulli
ng back out onto the road. Instinctively, his hand reached for mine and I clasped his fingers in my lap. “We need to act soon. My father won’t stand for any kind of attack against The Fort or our human guards. Nicolai’s all but convinced him to come to The Fort to make a stand.”
The car rumbled beneath us as Christian stepped on the gas. Maybe it was the low lighting in the car or the eerie night sky, but I got the distinct feeling Christian didn’t like that idea. “And you think?”
“I don’t know, Ariana.” He ran a hand over his brow, then clutched the steering wheel again. “We’ve been over and over scenarios all evening and I can’t say that I like any of them. Something just doesn’t seem right.”
I squeezed his hand in mine. Though I would’ve loved to talk about all the different scenarios, I hated to see the look on Christian’s face. That wasn’t what I had in mind for tonight. “Let’s play a game.”
He turned a hesitant gaze toward me. “A game?”
I almost laughed at the scared look on his face. Leave it to Christian to be worried about any kind of game. I didn’t like the tense lines on his face, or the way his chin held his natural sharpness. It wasn’t like him, at least not around me, it wasn’t. “Yeah, a game. I’m going to call it ‘The Relaxing Game’. In ‘The Relaxing Game’, we can’t talk about anything stressful. We don’t talk about The Fort or your father or anything else that’s likely to make either one of us upset. How does that sound?”
He turned a huge grin toward me. “That sounds like the perfect game. Can we start now?”
“Mm-hmm,” I said.
Christian relaxed back into his seat, one of his hands still clasped in mine. “We’re heading to my parents’ place and I’ll order us a pizza.”
“And wings?”
He ran his thumb over my skin, a contented smile pulling at his lips. “Whatever you want. It’s our night.”
Something about the way he said it made the air between us crackle with electricity. Then again, it could’ve been me. After spending that amazing phone call with Connor, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t all hyped up in another arena.
