Reyna's Vampyr

by Zena Wynn

  Chapter Eight

  Looking like an elegant cat burglar, Reyna strode into her office minutes before their teleconference was due to begin. She had her long black hair pulled into a sophisticated twist. Figure-hugging black dress pants molded to slender thighs and followed the curve of her legs faithfully. A sleeveless, mock turtleneck knit top in the same shade of black hugged her waist. A fitted black jacket and shiny black knee high boots with three inch heels completed the outfit.

  At her entrance, Jorlan examined her from head-to-toe. One masculine eyebrow arched. “Going Vamp?” he asked, referring to the vampyrs predilection for dark clothing.

  There had really been no option in today’s choice of attire. Her neck and chest sported bite marks from Tariq’s feeding, and scratches and bruises from Tariq’s rough love play marred her arms and legs. Jorlan would have a virtual field day were he to see them. There would be no end to his sly comments. Not to mention what her lunch crew would say. She grimaced, imagining it.

  “Shut up,” Reyna muttered as she slid into her seat at the mini-conference table. One slender hand rapidly punched the numbers into the phone’s keypad to connect them to the conference.

  Jorlan sprawled languidly in his chair. Eyes still watching her closely for a reaction, he baited her. “Didn’t think I’d see you today. Thought it would take at least a week before that husband of yours allowed you out of his lair.”

  Determined to ignore him, she flipped open the folder and reviewed the notes on the points of the project they wanted to discuss. Fortunately, the other attendees of the teleconference signed in and there was no more time for personal discussion.

  Three hours later, they signed the final paperwork on a multimillion dollar deal. Reyna leaned back in her seat with a sigh after the others signed off. “This should keep us in the black for some time to come and give our employees a nice little bonus.”

  “How long do you plan to continue your subterfuge?” Jorlan asked.

  “At this point, I really have no choice. They think I’m one of them. If I come out now and say I’m actually the boss, there’ll be a lot of hard feelings. We might even lose some of them,” Reyna said.

  Hiding who and what she was from humans was second nature. The Felini at Illuminator Incorporator knew her true identity. The humans were clueless.

  In the beginning, keeping her identity as the owner a secret had provided her the means to fit in. It also served to cut down on questions from staff about how she and Jorlan were able to do what they did with lasers. Being just another employee, and a lowly secretary at that, had helped Reyna determine which employees were loyal and who was there in the hopes of stealing company secrets. Industrial espionage was a huge security concern, especially when they were dealing with alien technology.

  “True. How did things go last night?”

  Blinking at the sudden change in topic, she played with the corner of the folder while she considered her response. “I’m not sure. They’re so different from us. It wasn’t what I expected. He doesn’t understand why I’m not jumping up and down at the idea of being tied to one male for the rest of my life.”

  “You have a lot to learn about each other. Sounds like he’s not any more knowledgeable about the Felini than you are about them,” Jorlan mused.

  “I’ll say. He actually expected me to move in with him, and when I told him no, announced he’d move in with me.” Reyna’s tone and expression conveyed her continued annoyance and disbelief at his presumption.

  Jorlan straightened abruptly. “He can’t live in the den. It’s best you move in with him.”

  “I have no intention of allowing either to happen. He’s moving too fast. Granted I told him I’m willing to give a relationship with him a chance but it will be on my terms,” she said firmly.

  “Reyna, promise me you’ll keep Tariq away from the den. The others can’t know of your mating. We don’t want word getting back to the pride. Not everyone with us is here because they want to be. I believe the elders sent a spy,” Jorlan said gravely.

  She gaped, astounded. “A spy? Whatever for? They never showed the slightest bit of interest in me when I was in the pride. Why would they care now?”

  “We left the pride,” he said tiredly. “No one else has.”

  “You left. I was kicked out,” she reminded him.

  Jorlan opened his mouth, hesitated. “Trust me. They’re taking note now.”

  She had the distinct feeling it wasn’t what he started to say.

  “You know our history with the vampyr,” he continued briskly. “They won’t be happy to discover one of us has mated with one of them.”

  Reyna shook her head, bemused. “Because of my father, the pride—the elders in particular—has never considered me one of them. They barely acknowledge my existence. I still don’t see how my actions have any bearing on the rest of the pride.”

  He rose, came around the table, and pulled her to her feet. With his hands on her shoulders, he crouched until they were eye-to-eye. “I’ve cared for you since you were an infant. I’m the one who discovered your need for blood and gave it to you. Haven’t I always looked out for your best interest?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then trust me in this. There’s a lot of ancient history I’m not at liberty to go into. There are other people involved whose lives would be adversely affected were the truth known. Just please, please, please, promise me you’ll be careful while you and Tariq are going through your courting ritual,” Jorlan said.

  Unsettled at his urgency, Reyna reigned in her deep curiosity and gave him her compliance. “I promise.”

  “Thank you.” He kissed her forehead. As Jorlan turned to leave, he said over his shoulder, “I have a ten o’clock meeting with the Bainbridge Group on the other side of town. I need to leave now if I’m to make it on time.”

  Jorlan had been gone nearly an hour before it crossed Reyna’s mind to wonder, “How on earth had Jorlan know Tariq’s name?”

  

  Lunch proved to be another ordeal. Reyna hadn’t seen her friends since they’d dropped her off at the club Friday night. She knew they’d be brimming with curiosity. She hadn’t known they’d be rabid with it.

  About fifteen minutes before it was time to meet, Reyna walked to the corner deli and ordered her usual lunch of tuna salad, crackers, and a protein smoothie. She sipped on the smoothie as she strolled back to the office, wishing it were a large, bloody steak. However, more than ever it was necessary to keep up appearances. Reyna didn’t want her friends knowing what had occurred, that she’d been claimed. Personal privacy was too deeply ingrained in her.

  They pounced as soon as she cleared the elevator and stepped inside the rooftop atrium.

  From their table, halfway across the room, Lexy called out, “Reyna, how’d it go Friday night?”

  “Did you meet anybody?” Delaney asked just as loudly.

  They knew how much she disliked being the center of attention. Reyna briefly considered turning around and heading to her office for lunch.

  “She must have,” Caitlyn announced with certainty. “She stayed the full hour. I didn’t think she’d last.”

  Giving a resigned sigh, Reyna ignored the attention they’d drawn from the other workers and held her silence until she reached the table. “Of course I stayed. I said I would, didn’t I? That was the deal. I can’t believe you sat outside the whole hour watching.”

  Delaney grinned. “We only stayed the first forty-five minutes until Lexy arrived.”

  “I didn’t see you leave. You must have had fun,” Lexy said, her expression hopeful.

  “Not really.” At their groans and protests, Reyna reminded them, “Clubs really aren’t my scene. I told you that before you came up with this plan.”

  Caitlyn sighed. “Well, you kept your end of the bargain. We’ll keep ours. We promise not to harass you anymore about how you spend your off time.”

  Reyna turned to Jacey, who’d remained quiet. “I
’ll have to pay you for the dress. It was ruined.”

  Immediately concerned, Lexy asked, “What happened? Some bozo spill his drink on you?”

  “No, she got wild and sexy with a vampyr and he ripped it off her,” Delaney said laughingly.

  For a stunned moment, Reyna simply stared at Delaney in disbelief. How the hell had she known? Caitlyn and Lexy burst out laughing, and Reyna realized Delaney was teasing her. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, she turned to find Jacey watching her.

  “Don’t worry about the dress, or the coin. Both are replaceable,” Jacey assured her. The look she gave Reyna said Jacey knew exactly what had happened to both but was willing to keep the information to herself.

  “How did you—?” Reyna began, looked at the others who were still chuckling at Delaney’s joke, and changed her mind. It was evident she needed to take a closer look into Jacey’s background. Like Reyna, Jacey was more than she appeared.

  “I’m no threat to you, Reyna,” Jacey said quietly. “If you can believe nothing else, believe me when I say I want you to be happy.”

  Not sure she could believe the woman but uncertain as to what Jacey could gain by lying, Reyna turned her attention to eating her lunch. The other’s merriment dwindled and food consumption began in earnest. The talk changed to a review of what each one had done over the weekend and their plans for the week.

  As they were finishing the last of their meals, Lexy leaned forward and said in a low voice, “I heard management closed this really big deal with Japan and we’re all getting raises.”

  Since Lexy worked in the legal department, Reyna wasn’t surprised she’d heard about the deal they’d made this morning. A copy of the agreement had been sent down. The others immediately turned to Reyna.

  “Reyna, is it true?” Caitlyn, who worked in Accounting, asked.

  “Weren’t you just saying Friday at lunch you heard we might be getting cost of living increases?” Delaney said.

  Reyna hesitated. In her phony position as Executive Assistant to the Chief Administrative Officer, she was presumably in a position to know. However, a certain amount of confidentiality was to be expected. “I haven’t heard anything official, so don’t quote me on this. I don’t think we’re getting a raise, but there’s talk we may see a bonus out of the deal.”

  “I’ll take a bonus,” Caitlyn said quickly. “Every little bit helps.”

  Lexy sighed. “A raise would be nice, but completely unnecessary. After comparing notes with some of my friends, I realize Illuminator Incorporated is already one of the highest paying employers in the city. I know people who would kill to trade places with me.”

  “Same here,” Delaney said. “They’d kill simply to have our benefits, never mind the salaries. I’ll settle for a bonus. I’ve got my eye on this purse I want to buy.”

  Reyna shook her head, knowing Delaney’s penchant for expensive designer purses. “Well before you go out and spend your bonus money, remember it’s just a rumor.”

  “Reyna, if you say we’re getting bonuses, that’s good enough for me,” Jacey said demurely.

  “Yeah, Reyna. Your word’s good enough for me too,” Lexy echoed.

  Reyna, busy staring into Jacey’s solemn, knowing gaze, barely heard her.

  

  Four hours later, Reyna sat hunched over her computer, calculating the number of workers they’d need to hire for each stage of the new project. Once she verified with Jorlan, she’d send the information and hiring requirements down to Human Resources for them to send out the employment notices.

  A slight breeze shifted the paperwork on her desk. Strong arms came around her and lifted her out of her chair as Tariq’s deep voice spoke in her ear. “I waited as long as I could.”

  His mouth came down to cover hers before she could reply. The kiss was hungry and deep, and Reyna’s response was greedy. As much as she’d tried to deny it, Tariq had been on her mind all day. The need for him a nagging ache in her bones she’d refused to give into. Now he’d taken the choice out of her hands and she couldn’t be sorry.

  Raw want and desire raged through her with the force of a tidal wave. She made a sound deep in her throat, which Tariq echoed. The world whirled and spun away. When it reassembled itself, Reyna lay on top of a mattress with Tariq sprawled on top of her.

  Desperation turned her aggressive. Reyna flexed her hand and felt the claws emerge. She put them to good use, ripping off his clothes. He returned the favor by destroying hers. The came together in a fierce coupling of hot skin and wet flesh. Like a flash fire, it ignited quickly and scorched through them rapidly, leaving them panting and temporarily sated in its wake.

  “One day,” Reyna murmured when she had enough air to speak, “we’re going to do this without destroying our clothes.”

  Tariq ran a hand up the sleek line of her back. “Where’s the fun in that? Besides, my men tell me you’re worth millions. You can afford the loss.”

  Reyna snuggled closer and yawned contentedly. “I wasn’t finished working,” she complained mildly.

  He adjusted them so her head lay on his chest and idly ran his fingers through her hair, which had fallen from its bun. “Your hunger beat at me. Since you wouldn’t do anything about it, I decided to force the issue.”

  “You were reading me while I was at work?” she asked, curiously wondering how strong the link between them was.

  “You’re in me as I’m in you. There’s no distance too great to defeat our bond,” he reminded her.

  She considered his words. “And this bond goes both ways?”

  “Yes, you just need to learn to tap into it,” he said.

  Out of curiosity, she tried to read him the way he did her and got nothing. “Un-huh, tap into it,” she said dryly.

  “After you stop fighting it,” he added pointedly.

  Since she hadn’t fully accepting their joining, Reyna knew she had no room to complain.

  “And what will it take to get you to accept me?” Tariq asked seriously, proving he was still in her mind.

  “I don’t know,” she said honestly. Reyna propped up on an elbow so she could see his face. “For so long the vampyr were my enemy. The idea I’m mated to one requires a huge adjustment in my thinking. That’s over and above the fact Felini don’t form male/female bonds the way your people do.”

  “Our people,” he corrected.

  She waved that away. “The bottom line is I need more time to come to terms with the idea.”

  He cupped her chin. “As long as you remember your promise, I’ll give you all the time you need.”

  Reyna winced, remembering her conversation with Jorlan. “There might be a problem with me keeping a portion of our bargain. Jorlan doesn’t want you at the den, or the company. He doesn’t want the pride finding out about us.”

  Tariq frowned, his expression puzzled. “I thought he was in favor of our being together?”

  She shrugged. “He is. It’s the rest of the pride he’s concerned about. Felini hatred for your kind runs deep.”

  “Why?” he asked. No, it was more of a demand. “What has my people done to make yours hate mine so?”

  Sitting up, Reyna looked for something to cover her nakedness. Finding nothing, she grabbed a pillow and held it in front of her. “It happened before I was born, so I was never given all the details. Suffice it to say one of your kind betrayed our trust and took something that didn’t belong to him.”

  “So you don’t know what happened?” he asked, studying her closely.

  Reyna could almost feel him probing her mind. Instinctively, she slammed up a mental barrier.

  Tariq winced and rubbed his temples. “If you don’t want me reading your thoughts, simply say so. That hurt.”

  She scowled at him. “I’ve told you repeatedly to stay out of my mind. You never listen. It felt like you were searching my memories.”

  “I was,” he admitted.

  “Don’t,” she ordered forcefully. “Some topics are off lim
its.”

  He rose and caught her by the shoulders. “There should be no secrets between blood mates, Reyna.”

  She averted her gaze. “It isn’t my secret to tell.”

  “But it affects us. I deserve to know,” he said, pushing softly at the barrier in her mind.

  She stiffened in outrage. “Continue and I’ll leave. Every relationship should have boundaries. This is mine.”

  Her eyes locked with his. Hers was angry, determined; his reflective. Fortunately, he decided not to continue pushing the issue.

  “I’ll wait until you trust me enough to tell me,” he said.

  “Thank you.” Still, Reyna knew later she would have to remember exactly what it was she’d done to block him from her mind so she could repeat the process.

  Relaxing his grip, he stroked her shoulders in a soothing manner. “Tonight, we’re hosting a special dinner for my friend visiting from another territory. It would please me if you’d accompany me.”

  She’d promised to allow him to introduce her to his world. There was no time like the present to begin. “What’s the dress code for tonight?”

  His heated gaze traveled over her. “What you have on is fine.”

  “Pervert.” Smiling, Reyna threw her pillow at him, relieved to be done with the previous topic. She stood and announced, “Never mind. I’ll find something to wear.”

  Before she could teleport, Tariq grabbed her arm. “Bring Jorlan with you, if he’ll come. You’ll be more comfortable with him here, and I’d like to meet him.”

  “I’ll ask.” Silently she vowed to herself to bring Jorlan whether he agreed or not.

  Tariq glanced at the clock. “You have an hour to return to me here before I come get you.”

  Reyna shook her head at the dark promise in his voice but didn’t linger around to argue. She teleported out. Once in her lair, she called Jorlan.

  “My Queen, what an honor to hear from you,” Jorlan said, his voice smooth as cream.

  Wasting no time, she said, “We’ve been invited to a special dinner with the vampyrs. I’d like you to accompany me.”