At least she’d been safe. Pure fear sliced into him as he thought of what would have happened had Vane been able to take them both. “Sorry. I had no choice.”
“Really.” The sarcastic edge to her voice came through loud and clear. “Because if that’s how it works, count me out. I’m not interested in a repeat performance.”
He moved quickly, catching up in a few long strides. “I had a security matter to attend to.”
Her steps faltered a moment as she slowed and turned to face him. The sheepish look on her face was priceless. “I’m sorry. I’m probably overreacting, aren’t I?”
He slipped a finger beneath her chin and tipped up her face so he could look deeply into her eyes. “I’ve been a vampire for millennia, Rebecca. There is nothing you could do or say that I haven’t already endured. You can’t hurt me, so don’t worry about it. I’m the one supposed to be protecting you. Got it?”
She nodded, but nibbled at her lip. “I just never have had very good luck at this sort of thing. Usually I end up scaring guys away because I’m too standoffish or too pushy. Either way I can’t seem to get it right.”
“That was before you became a vampire.”
“Yes, but I’m not going to stay one.”
His jaw tightened. That was the plan, wasn’t it? “Yes, but once you’ve been a vampire, you can never go back to being just another mortal. Men will find you utterly irresistible.”
Rebecca wove her fingers into the end of her damp hair, twining the dark strands around her white fingers. Light and dark, two halves of the same whole. Sure, he wanted her to realize they already shared something she’d never have with another being on this planet. The imprint was real enough between him and Ione. Despite her being reborn, it was still real. Only Rebecca didn’t have memories of her life before. Did she?
“Have you ever wanted to go to Greece?” The question seemed random enough.
She squinted her eyes for a second, a small half smile lifting part of her kissable lips. “Yeah. I’ve always dreamed of traveling there someday.”
“And what makes you interested in it?”
“I don’t know. I just have this feeling that I’m missing something, something that I’d find there. And I’ve had dreams about aquamarine clear water and a patch of endless blue cloudless sky seen through tall white columns.”
Memories of her life as Ione, he’d bet his left fang on it. But pushing her to remember would only strengthen the imprint.
I need her to go back to being mortal as soon as possible so this damn imprint will end.
As if responding to his thought, the package in her hand slipped and tumbled from her fingers. He caught it before it hit the floor and handed it back to her, gazing deeply into her eyes.
“Thank you. I’m glad you caught that. It might have broken.”
“What’s in it?”
“The ichor sample Eva left me.”
And if Eris had her way, the key to the suffering of millions, human and vampire, Achilles thought as he phased the keys to the Veyron into his hand and gripped them tight.
As much as he would like to protect them all, right now his duty was to protect and instruct Rebecca—and to find a way to grant her desire to return to being human.
“What do you need to test it?”
“A superfund and unlimited time?”
“Very funny, Doc, but unfortunately we’re not dealing with a humorous situation. Things just got a lot more complicated. What would be the ETA on getting this ichor substituted in your current frankenvirus creation?”
Rebecca shoved her drying hair out of her face. “Starting from scratch, I’m looking at three months minimum.”
Achilles thought about the imprint. Hell, he’d be lucky if they had a week or more before it was fully formed. And every training session was solidifying it. “And if you don’t start from scratch?”
“If I can get the first version of the vaccine, I can do a PCR substitution. Rough estimate one week to know if its viable, but that would be pushing it.”
A sucking pull started just behind his navel and Achilles grabbed hold of Rebecca’s waist. He knew he was being transported and was afraid what might happen if he left her behind. “Hang on, sweetling, we’re going for a ride.”
Chapter 12
When they arrived in Dmitri’s office, Beck was gasping for breath. She pressed a hand to the center of her twisting stomach. “What was that?”
“Transporting. Sorry, wasn’t like I had much time to explain it to you.” He glanced at Dmitri. “Nice of you to warn me first.”
Dmitri’s left brow rose, a glimmer of wariness flashing in his dark eyes. “I didn’t expect her to be with you.”
Achilles remained stoic. “We’ve been working on basics.”
“And she still hasn’t mastered transport yet?”
“I don’t think it’s the teacher,” Beck said. She thought it was only fair that Dmitri know the lessons hadn’t been poorly done, they’d just been—well, intense.
Dmitri shifted in his chair, brushing his lip with an index finger. “Are you proving a difficult fledgling?”
Beck stiffened.
Dmitri cleared his throat. “I’ve heard an absolutely absurd rumor and I need to quash it.”
Achilles crossed his arms, the package of ichor disappearing from his hand, as he braced his feet wide apart. “Hit me.”
“I’ve had two members of the council come to me with reports that they may have reason to suspect you of dealings with Eris.” He looked meaningfully at Achilles, his chin tilted down, his dark brows drawn together. “Tell me, brother, that this is some sick reiver jest.”
The air grew heavy with tension. “I wish I could, but I’ve never lied to you and I’m sure as hell not going to start now.”
A crushed looked flitted over Dmitri’s features an instant before they hardened so completely his profile appeared to be carved of granite. “What have you done?”
Achilles pulled back his shoulders, seeming to grow larger, and widened his stance like a warrior. “Nothing you wouldn’t have done in my place. After two thousand years, the Sang Noir Guild decided that it was time to release her.”
“The Guild decided to let the goddess of chaos loose on the world? What in the name of all that’s holy were you thinking?”
“The intention was to feed her and put her back, not let her loose.”
Dmitri glared at him. “The path to chaos is littered with good intentions.”
Achilles shook his head. “You weren’t there when the Guild decided. Holding her captive like that just didn’t seem right.”
“How in the hell can holding the goddess of chaos captive seem wrong?” Beck blurted.
Achilles turned to her, his eyes blazing green. “Is it right to punish something for its very nature? Would you lock away a bird because it flies or kill a cat because it hunts, or behead a vampire because it craves blood? No. It is the very nature of the thing. Civility may bend our natures, shape them to what is acceptable, but underneath lies fallow the true heart of things. Nature cannot be denied indefinitely. Just as there is light in the world so there must be darkness to balance it. The other elite warriors with me in the Guild believed we were doing what was best to save the world.”
“Is this whole philosophy lesson going anywhere, professor, because as far as I can tell this Eris chick is seriously bad news,” Beck interjected.
Annoyance and anger filled the air with the scent of acrid smoke and pepper, and it was coming from Achilles’s direction. For a second Beck sniffed the air again just to be sure. Her vampire senses were still new enough to her that she wasn’t sure what was normal for a vampire and what wasn’t. But Achilles couldn’t be serious. Balance was one thing, every scientist knew that, but chaos?
“We needed her.”
“Then you’ve got a lot more problems than merely shutting down the vampire vaccine production.” Dmitri’s fingers wove together into a tight knot.
Achill
es grunted.
“Shut it down! You never said anything about shutting it down.” Beck’s gaze darted from one mountain-size man to the other. She wanted to knock both their heads together. Did they even have a clue how much work was invested in that vaccine?
The look in Achilles’s eyes begged her to shut up, but Beck wasn’t in the mood to listen. “Look, I’m going to find a way to go back to being a damn mortal even if I have to start from scratch.”
“You’ll get your chance before we shut down the operation,” he assured her, shooting a meaningful look at Dmitri.
“You can’t just shut it down, it’s a virus,” Beck spluttered.
“And we’ve got reason to believe your precious investors are planning on using it as a biological weapon against our kind,” Achilles fired back. “So what would you have me do, Rebecca? Stand aside and let those I’ve sworn to protect be put in danger, or take action?”
Beck nibbled at her lip. Of course he was going to take action. A man like Achilles didn’t know what a sideline was let alone how to stay there.
“But I swear to you, you will get a chance to become mortal before we shut it down.”
“Then I need at least a month.”
Achilles looked at Dmitri. Dmitri glared hard at Achilles. “Don’t push your luck, brother. As Trejan I have only so much leeway with you before my head goes on the block, as well. We move when the council orders it.”
“I appreciate you standing by me all the same.”
Dmitri gave a gruff nod. “I will do all I can for you and your fledgling.” Behind them the door opened all on its own.
Beck suspected it was Dmitri using some vampire power she’d yet to hear of. Obviously it was time to go. Beck turned on her heel and walked through the door and kept going, her mind spinning the entire time. Getting into Genet-X without clearance was nearly impossible. She glanced at Achilles’s Rolex—7:00 p.m. wasn’t late enough. Most of the lab regulars would be gone, but certainly not Margo if she was working overtime. By 10:00 p.m. the night security staff would be in place. It would still be risky, but possible.
“So where did the package go?” Beck asked.
“Package?”
“Eva’s ichor. I saw you phase it.”
“You wanted it sent to Margo, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. “It should be sitting on her desk.”
“So what’s the plan?” Beck asked.
Achilles eyed her as they walked shoulder to shoulder down the hall. “You still need a sample of the initial vaccine to work with the new ichor, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Starting with what we’ve already got would save me months of work.”
“Then we’re going to need to get access to it, if not by regular means, then by stealth.”
Beck came to a complete halt. “Whoa. Hold up. I am not some kind of vampire warrior on a mission here. That’s you. I’m a scientist who wants to go back to the way I was originally.”
“Since we don’t know exactly what to be prepared for, it would be best if you learned the trifecta of vampire moves. Just to be on the safe side.”
“Which is?”
“Phasing, transporting and becoming invisible. The last I wouldn’t teach a fledgling this early, but under the circumstances I don’t see another option.”
Beck cocked her hip and folded her arms. “So, what’s up first, professor?”
“Have you been able to phase anything?” Achilles cracked his neck to the side and rolled his shoulders.
Beck shook her head wondering just how strenuous it was going to be. “I’ve tried, but either I’m not concentrating enough or I’m not doing it right.”
“Show me.”
She screwed her eyes shut and thought about a glass of lemonade appearing in her outstretched hand. The smooth glass was frosted, cold to the touch, the pale yellow transparent liquid sweet and tart, making the back of her mouth ache with the lemony scent. Her hand dipped with the weight of something in her palm, but it definitely wasn’t a smooth glass. She cracked open one eye to find a lemon in her hand.
Beck sighed, gripping the lemon and shaking it. “See what I mean? Close but not exactly.”
“You aren’t focusing on the total experience, just the last part of it.” Achilles stepped closer to her, pulling the lemon out of her hand and pitching it up into the air where it vanished. His large hand closed firmly around hers making it seem small in comparison. He tugged her hand, twirling her into the circle of his arms, her back against his chest.
“Let’s try it again. This time I want you to think of a glass of champagne. Not just drinking it, or the taste, but the whole experience, the essence of champagne. How it makes you feel.” He skipped his fingers upward from her wrists to her shoulders, like the rising bubbles in a glass. She shivered. “Good. Now close your eyes.”
Beck complied, her lids fluttering shut, the warmth of him radiating against her back. How had she ever thought he felt cold? He was as hot as they came, and then some. He pressed still closer, his arm brushing against the length of hers as he held her hand.
Focus. Champagne, dry taste, bubbles. She inhaled deeply, trying to concentrate on the feeling sparkling deep down in her solar plexus, now radiating from her shoulder to her hand.
“Let those sensations fill you up, become solid form, hold it, own it,” he whispered, his words searing her ear and making the small hairs on her skin raise in attention. “Good, I can feel it in you. Now call it to you, and expect it to materialize.”
The weight was cool and heavy, the glass smooth and dry beneath her fingers. Beck opened both eyes in surprise and stared at the glass of champagne in her hand. “I did it,” she breathed.
Achilles stepped back from her. “Yes, you did.” The cool rush of air between them triggered an ache in her chest. She missed the feeling of him next to her. Ached for it more than she did air.
She turned, looking up into his face, beautiful, but masculine and just rough enough to send a message he wasn’t someone to be messed with. But his eyes as he stared at her were a weird mixture of tenderness and wariness. “We should move on.” The glass of champagne evaporated as if it had never been.
She swallowed hard against the ache creeping up her throat. As much as she wanted to learn what he had to teach her, it also made her sad. Each sensation, each experience, would only be memories. Each one brought her closer to being away from him forever.
You’re a scientist. Learn what you can from it, then move on, she reminded herself. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. Sheesh. No one had told her that fine line of love cut like a razor blade. It hurt. She shook her head to clear it.
No, not love. She was in lust with him. Who wouldn’t be? Sexual chemistry. Purely chemical. Purely an autonomic body response she had no logical control of. But it wasn’t love.
“I think the next thing we are going to work on is transporting.” He tore his gaze away from her, but not before she caught a glimpse of the fleeting wounded look in his eyes. Achilles cleared his throat, then huffed out a breath. When he leveled his gaze at her once again, he was back to stoic warrior, and Beck wondered if she’d merely imagined the emotion in him.
“Transporting is an extension of phasing,” he said evenly, as if they’d never touched. Never kissed. Never made love in a whole different way than she ever had before. “However, instead of bringing the object to you, you are taking yourself to the person, place or thing. Got it?”
“Sort of.”
He grasped her shoulders gently. His deep green eyes were serene, deep, reassuring. “You can do this, sweetling.” He slid one hand down placing it over the flat of her stomach. The muscles there tightened and her tummy flipped in response to his touch. Worse, the insistent throbbing at the juncture of her thighs distracted her from what Achilles was saying. “Sorry. Repeat that.”
“When you concentrate on a location, imagine yourself appearing there. Think about what you’ll see,
and hear. The way the air will taste. You’ll feel a pull behind your navel. That will mean you’ve begun to move. The important thing is to concentrate on your destination. If you lose focus you could end up somewhere you never intended, or not move at all.”
“Focus. Right.” How was she supposed to focus when he was still touching her? “But what if I’ve never been there, can I transport there?”
The shake of his head was almost imperceptible. “No, not unless you’ve got a phenomenal imagination. Your impression of the destination has to be crystal clear.” He let go of her and Beck immediately felt the loss, as if the warmth of the sun had suddenly been shielded by clouds.
“Go ahead. Pick somewhere within the clan complex for your first transport.”
Beck closed her eyes, picturing the light translucent planes of glass and the white furniture of the atrium. She could hear the burbling sound of the waterfall and smell the plants. Suddenly it felt as if someone had looped a rope around her waist and was pulling her backward. Beck gasped at the sensation. The air smelled different and the sound of water running wasn’t just in her imagination.
She opened her eyes and found herself in the atrium. A second later Achilles transported in beside her.
Beck bounced on her toes, clasping her hands together, a ridiculously giddy feeling of pride bubbling up in her chest. “I did it. I did it! I can transport!”
Achilles’s full-on smile lit up the entire atrium, stealing her ability to think. “Well done.”
“And I can take myself anywhere like this?”
“Anywhere you’ve been before.”
Beck closed her eyes and thought of her own cozy home. Specifically her bedroom. The big pinks and lavenders of the cabbage roses on her bedspread seemed far less inviting than she had imagined. She hadn’t told him where she was going on purpose. For a moment she needed some space away from those broad shoulders and killer smiles. She waited a moment, then one more, just to be sure Achilles wasn’t going to follow her.
* * *
Like hell, Achilles thought as he watched her from the corner of her room, invisible to her, and listening in on her thoughts. He wasn’t letting her go anywhere without knowing exactly who was there and what was happening.
The Vampire Who Loved Me Page 13
