Outside the door, Jared focused his senses searching for Cami’s stream of consciousness. The instant he found it his heart hit the floor. She was frightened and sad and, though her thoughts didn’t reveal the reason, he could feel the emotions as surely as if they were his own.
✧
Cami paced the length of the pit while she waited for Commander Claesson to return. He was in the medical wing with the High Commander, Alexa’s father, identifying her body. She’d split before William Ryan was summoned, in no way wanting to be present to witness the unimaginable grief he was about to experience. As it was, she was a hair’s breadth from a total breakdown herself. She’d barely gotten through the team’s debriefing a few minutes before and had been relieved that the commander kept it succinct. They were playing it very close to the chest, keeping the details of their mission strictly confidential. With the exception of immediate family, no one was to know of Alexa’s death.
Growing increasingly anxious, Cami felt compelled to visit her mother; hoping the powerful seer could pick up something on Ethan. Finding Alexa the way she had, something inside Cami broke. She felt the wall around her heart beginning to crumble as she recognized how many years she’d wasted clinging to self-righteous anger, hiding behind her duty and need for independence, convincing herself that she didn’t need anyone. But where had that gotten her? She was alone and afraid, desperate to find her brother before it was too late.
I can’t lose him; he has to be alive.
Flinging the door open, Cami swayed on unsteady legs as she met with Jared’s smoldering gray eyes.
“What happened, Cami? Are you hurt?” he questioned, steadying her with his hands and strong arms.
For the first time, she didn’t have the will to fight her feelings for him. He’d caught her off-guard, vulnerable, afraid, and before she knew what was happening, she fell into the vortex of the two deep pools which seemed to see into her very soul. In that moment, everything changed. Outwardly, it was an almost imperceptible shift in body language, but Cami felt as if the entire earth had moved beneath her wobbly knees. Seeing the genuine concern in his eyes, and something else which, as impossible as it seemed, she could only describe as love, shattered what little remained of the wall around her heart.
And then she did something that shocked them both. Pushing up on her toes, Cami closed her eyes and tentatively pressed her lips to his. His mouth parted slightly in surprise at the unexpected contact, but the reaction was fleeting. Fearing it was all just an elaborate dream he would wake from far too quickly, Jared seized the moment. Closing his eyes, he slid his hands down Cami’s arms, grabbing her waist and pulling her body flush with his own, eliciting a low moan from the back of her throat.
Cami slipped her arms around his neck and leaned into him further as she parted her lips a little, not knowing fully what she was doing or what she wanted. All she knew was that she needed to get closer to him.
Jared didn’t need any more of an invitation. He dipped his tongue into her mouth, lightly stroking, teaching her, encouraging her. She was a quick study and immediately joined in moving her tongue in a similar rhythm as she pushed her hands into his hair and pulled him even closer. Her instincts took over and had her rocking her hips against him as the kiss grew hungrier; more needy. Jared couldn’t help the low growl which vibrated through his chest as she pushed against his hard length.
Through sheer force of will, he reined in his desire, putting a small fraction of space between them as he slowed the pace of their kiss. Though he had never wanted anything as much as he wanted Cami, and he was beyond grateful to finally have her in his arms, he knew it wouldn’t be right to take things any further. Her thoughts before she’d seen him had been full of fear and anxiety. She was vulnerable and he wouldn’t take advantage of her.
Pulling back a bit further, Jared ran his tongue gently along her top lip, followed by the bottom. He pulled her bottom lip between his teeth, sucking it lightly before letting it go with a little pop. Opening his eyes, he looked down at Cami as she let out a whimper in protest to his ending the kiss.
“Now that should have been your first kiss,” he whispered against her ear, his warm breath sending a shiver skittering across her skin.
“Mmm.” Was the only response she could manage. Two hundred years of celibacy and she’d just kissed two men in one day.
Jared placed his fingertips under her chin, lifting her face slightly, but Cami kept her eyes closed, suddenly feeling embarrassed by her bold display.
Forgetting himself, Jared chuckled at her thoughts. She was such a strong woman, yet standing there in his arms, she almost looked fragile as she grew more and more self-conscious about how forward she’d been in kissing him. As far as he was concerned, she had nothing to feel bad about. He’d never experienced anything more erotic than having Cami, a woman who was always so in control, come undone beneath his touch.
“Open your eyes, babe. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. That was fucking incredible,” he rasped, pulling her close again, letting her feel exactly what she’d just done to him.
Biting her lip at the feel of Jared’s hardness pushing against her, she slowly peeled open her eyes, meeting his lust-filled gaze. It was as it was before; penetrating, so full of emotion, and all she could think about was devouring every inch of him. Jared groaned aloud, his cock straining insistently against the denim of his jeans as he saw the images passing through her mind.
Calling upon every ounce of his restraint, Jared took a step back into the hallway as he ran a hand through his light brown hair. With the action, he realized they’d been kissing in the open doorway, so caught up in the moment that neither of them had had the presence of mind to move somewhere more private.
As the haze of the moment they’d just shared began to lift, the reality of the day’s events came crashing down, seeming to fill the space between them.
With the image of Alexa’s lifeless face entering her mind, Cami felt the sting of tears as she opened her mouth to speak, struggling to find the words to tell Jared that his sister, the sister he had been waiting nearly his entire life to know, was gone.
Before a word passed her lips, Jared took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“Where is she?” he asked softly.
✧
As soon as she was certain her uncle was gone, Chloe quietly opened the door and slipped into the hallway. Knowing Jared had gone to find Cami in the pit, she turned in the opposite direction and began making her way to the medical wing.
She crept along quickly, pushing up an invisible wall in her mind to block the cacophony of stray thoughts pouring in from all around her. Jared had once suggested singing, or concentrating on something visually to help her control the ability. Since her objective was to pass by undetected, she chose the latter, letting her eyes drift over the array of beautiful artwork and tapestries which lined the walls. There were pieces dating back hundreds, even thousands, of years, from all around the world spread throughout the hallway, a stark contrast to the other wings with their bare white walls and plain tile floors.
Rounding the corner, she jumped and let out a little scream, nearly crashing into the unexpected vampire standing there.
“Whoa; easy there, little one,” Captain Erikson said, eyeing Chloe intently.
She took a step back, keeping her eyes locked on the leader of her grandfather’s guard, whose presence made her feel increasingly uneasy as the days passed. He was always watching her with strange thoughts moving through his mind.
“I, I’m sorry,” she muttered, stepping around him.
“Where are you running off to in such a hurry?” he asked, turning to follow.
“I was just looking for Grandpa William,” she lied. The image of the High Commander standing over Alexa’s body flashed through her mind as Erikson thought of William.
Chloe reinforced her shields, pushing Erikson’s mental presence out of her mind. She didn’t need to see his thoughts of her mot
her. She already knew what had happened, and what was to come. Every night since arriving on the compound, she’d had the same dreams and visions of her parents; glimpses of the future she hadn’t mentioned to another soul.
The visions had started when her parents went missing and had given her a much-needed sense of hope. But they also terrified her. Aside from her mother’s return, she’d seen only one other event. A night which always began with her father’s return, yet never ended the same way. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but Chloe was certain the outcome depended on her; on the choice she had to make. It was within her power to save everyone she loved, but it would come at a high cost. Standing there in all her uncertainty, the name they all feared invaded her mind.
Lucias.
Just thinking his name sent a shiver down her spine but, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see anything beyond his appearance in her vision. It was as if the decision she had to make was preventing her from viewing the future beyond it. Or perhaps there was no future to see until she made the choice; a proverbial fork in the road.
With all her heart, she wanted to choose the path which saved her family, but she feared what would happen once Lucias had her in his control. Though no one spoke of the prophecy in her presence, she had gleaned enough from their thoughts to understand why he wanted her; why everyone feared her and her power. What if she sacrificed herself to save her family, only to be used to hurt them, and everyone else?
“The High Commander is indisposed at the moment,” Erikson said reaching for her arm. “Perhaps you should let me escort you to your room and I will bring him to you when he is finished.”
Chloe moved in a flash, putting several feet between them. “No, I need to see him now,” she insisted, rushing away, using every ounce of her preternatural speed. Even having not yet reached maturity, Chloe was much faster than the adult vampire, easily leaving him behind as she approached the entrance to the medical wing.
Knowing Erikson was only seconds behind her, she hurriedly entered the security code and slipped through the door, closing it behind her as he appeared on the other side. In a blur of movement, she was standing just outside the room containing her mother’s broken body and her grandparents’ broken hearts. The thoughts of her family slammed against her, full of grief and despair so potent that tears welled up in her eyes.
Not having the code for the high-security room, Chloe swiped at the wetness flowing down her cheeks and reached for William’s mind.
“This is no place for you to be right now,” Erikson said with a touch of irritation and something akin to awe as he materialized beside her.
Please let me in; I need to see her, she said directly to William, ignoring Erikson.
Little one, you should not be here. Return to your room; I will come and find you later. He ordered; his sadness evident despite his efforts to conceal it.
Grandpa, please; I can help, she sent, but sensing his resolve on the matter, she did the only thing she could to convince him.
Concentrating on the vision she had received so many times over the last few nights, she pushed the images into his mind. In an instant, the door swung open.
“My lord, I tried to stop her,” Erikson stated apologetically, as William pulled his granddaughter into a warm embrace, not bothering to acknowledge the captain as Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You are truly the most remarkable little vampire,” William stated with wonder, a relieved smile on his face despite the tears still staining his cheeks.
“William, no. She, she…you can’t let her see this,” Rebecca sobbed from her knees, still clinging to Alexa’s lifeless hand.
“Come, my love; it’s all right,” William said taking his wife’s hand. “Let us give Chloe a moment alone with her mother,” he added, regarding everyone else in the room. Knowing better than to challenge him, they all lowered their heads in deference and moved towards the door. Elijah, Josephine, and Rebecca each paused, hugging Chloe briefly before they exited. Commander Claesson was the last to leave, patting Chloe’s shoulder uncomfortably as he walked through the door and pulled it closed behind him.
Chloe slowly walked to Alexa’s side, her eyes falling to the injury on her neck not completely covered by the sheet draping her body. She thought of her father as she pulled the white cloth back, hoping someday he could forgive himself for what he’d done.
Leaning down she placed a soft kiss on Alexa’s cheek. “I love you, Mommy,” she whispered as she pulled the sheet off, revealing a lovely pale pink gown. Placing one hand over Alexa’s neck and the other on her wounded wrist, Chloe closed her eyes. A slow smile spread across her face as she began to hum her favorite song, ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’.
CHAPTER 13 - Giving In
Cami looked up at Jared, her eyes clouded with confusion.
“How did you know?” she asked a moment before the truth hit her like a blow to the stomach. “You’re a telepath.”
When he didn’t immediately respond, she took a step back. “That explains a lot. You’ve been digging around in my head all this time, that’s why you wouldn’t give up. No matter what I said or did, you just kept at it!” she stated, her voice growing louder, angrier with each word. “And I was stupid enough to think we had some ridiculous connection for you to be so persistent; when it was just you playing me, knowing what to do and say to break me down,” she said, the anger giving over to disappointment.
“No, Cami. I wasn’t playing you; we do have a connection. One that I can’t begin to explain and is stronger than anything I’ve ever imagined two people could have. Yes; at first, I listened because you intrigued me and I wanted to get closer to you, but then I could barely control it when I was around you. Something about you calls out to me, breaks down my shields, even when I don’t want it to,” he said, his voice almost pleading for her to believe him. He could feel her pulling away, trying to rebuild the wall which had only just fallen between them.
“Damn it, Cami! Just fucking stop and look at us; at what’s happening right now! I’m here fighting for you when my only sister is dead!” he yelled, his own anger starting to flare. “I should be with my family. I should be grieving, consoling them, but I can’t make myself take a single step away from you!” Jared stopped and took a deep breath. “For one time in your life, stop trying to control everything; stop fighting, stop hiding, stop being afraid of what’s between us. Please.”
He stepped towards her, grabbing her shoulders as she tried to move away. “Look at me,” he pleaded. When she kept her eyes glued to the floor, he leaned his head down into her field of vision. “Please, Cami. Just look at me.”
There was a pain in his voice, a longing she couldn’t refuse. Lifting her eyes, she knew the battle was lost the instant she saw the tears freely flowing down his handsome face.
“I love you, Cami. And you fucking love me. Maybe you think I’m weak, or I’m too young, but you feel this as much as I do. It doesn’t make sense; it’s not the path you saw for your life, but so what? Paths change, people change and you have changed me as much as I’ve changed you. So just stop. Be with me. I need you and I’m not ever going to give up. If it takes a hundred fucking years, a thousand, I don’t care. I will follow you around forever like a pathetic lost puppy if I have to. I don’t give a shit about my pride or my position if you’re not by my side.”
Cami stood there silently, perhaps just shocked by everything he’d said. She knew he was right; as hard as it was for her to admit, she loved this man. She loved a vampire nearly one-hundred-and- seventy-five years her junior. Somehow he’d managed to steal her heart despite her best efforts to keep it hidden.
Not giving her the chance to respond as he saw the shift in her eyes, Jared crushed his mouth to hers; greedily drinking in everything she reluctantly gave. And then something miraculous happened. She gave in, letting herself melt into his kiss, her body saying everything he needed to hear. Perhaps it was the fresh declaration of love, maybe it was th
e much-needed distraction from the inevitable grief; neither of them knew, but that kiss drowned out everything else in the world. For one blissful, soul-changing moment, nothing else mattered.
Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) Page 13
