“If you need to lie down for a bit …” he offered.
“Not going to be your Wednesday!” she said. She pushed him away and walked into the house.
Xander watched her. Jessi refused to look at him as she grabbed her purse and left. His attention turned to the crowd below the balcony. The woman had a way of putting him off guard. Inviting potential reruns into the house left him irked.
His phone vibrated against his hip. He pulled it free.
Training op. Lost one. Headed your way. Gerry texted.
It was the ending to his day that he needed. Ignoring his guests, Xander changed into clothes certain to let him move freely, preparing for his dinner to arrive.
At least he was certain Jessi was safe at home tonight, with Gerry’s Guardians there to rid her place of any of Jonny’s goons.
The next morning, Jessi left her apartment scared. She hadn’t seen any of Jonny’s thugs around, and no one sneaked into her place last night to break her other arm.
Was something wrong? Was Jonny too pissed off at her and plotting to take her out?
She checked her phone twice on the way to Xander’s, waiting for a text saying Jonny kidnapped Ashley. None came.
She didn’t feel safe until the door to Xander’s condo closed behind her. She leaned against it for a moment. The cat was waiting for her at the top of the stairs. She didn’t hear Xander moving around anywhere.
Jessi went up the stairs and paused to stroke the purring cat. She saw his note on the iPad.
Gym.
She was almost relieved he wasn’t there. Stressed and tired, she’d been too distracted by thoughts of what Jonny was plotting to grab coffee on the way in. She made a pot and drank most of it.
Staring at her phone, she typed a quick note to her parents, asking if they were okay with her bringing the kids up. Restless, Jessi sent it then grabbed a book from Xander’s library.
Xander was gone most of the morning. She straightened up and searched his room for the necklace, frustrated that she wasn’t able to find it.
After an hour, she gave up and sat in the living area, drinking coffee. She purposely didn’t think of what she’d say the first time she saw him this morning after that kiss the night before. Her body caught on fire just thinking about it. She found herself staring dreamily into space, trying not to imagine what else he could do with his talented mouth.
“Ah. I wasn’t expecting you.”
She almost dropped the mug and twisted to see the stranger at the top of the stairs. Tall and slender, the woman’s eyes were piercing, her dark hair and pale features setting off the green of her eyes even more. She was casually dressed, her gorgeous face emotionless as she gazed at Jessi.
Why did she feel jealousy stirring at the sight of this pretty woman?
“Ditto,” she said. “I didn’t hear you come in. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry.” The stranger smiled. “Who are you?”
“Jessi. Xander’s assistant,” she said and rose. “You?”
“Eden. I’m a friend of his.”
“A friend.” Jessi raised her eyebrows.
The front door slammed. This time, she heard it and had no doubt who it was. Xander trotted up the stairs, dressed in a loose t-shirt and workout pants. He didn’t seem surprised to see his alleged friend.
“Coffee, Jessi.”
“Good morning, Xander!” she said with enough fake cheerfulness that he glanced at her.
After a pause, he added a quiet, “Please.”
“No problem. Nice to meet you, Eden.” She went to the kitchen, surprised at how shaken she already felt. And irritated. Was he going to make this woman Thursday after kissing her almost into a daze the night before?
The two of them moved to the porch, where they spoke quietly for a few minutes. She watched, uncertain why the woman named Eden made her uncomfortable. Maybe it was her gaze, too direct to be friendly, or the fact Jessi didn’t hear the newcomer enter.
Kind of like how Jonny moved around. It wasn’t normal. Or maybe, it was the apparent familiarity between the two of them. Xander hadn’t bristled around this woman; his guard stayed down, as if he was comfortable with her.
Eden didn’t stay long. She was gone in ten minutes, smiling at Jessi on her way out. Jessi followed her down the stairs and locked the door. When she returned to the kitchen, Xander was gone.
Jonny had texted. She opened the note with apprehension.
Status?
Jessi didn’t know what to say. At least Jonny was talking to her.
Close. She typed finally.
I’m monitoring your emails. Saw your note to your parents. Don’t try it. Jonny’s response was quick.
Jessi rubbed her face with a frustrated growl.
“You ready?” Xander asked as he strode from his hallway into the living area. He was dressed in dark jeans and a snug, dark t-shirt that made him look too sexy for her to answer for a moment. His muscles were still bulging from exertion of his visit to the gym, and her gaze stayed on his biceps as he pulled on his boots. At her silence, he glanced towards her.
“For what?” she managed.
“A drive.”
“To where?”
“I promised you a long drive the other day. Certain events occurred” he raised an eyebrow at her that made her shake her head “and we got sidetracked.”
“I don’t feel like driving.”
“You’re in a shitty mood. Driving makes you smile. Get your ass in the car, or I’ll carry you down.”
Jessi stared at him in surprise. He was normally blunt, but he hadn’t put his foot down with her. He took a step towards her. She danced away, through the kitchen and down the stairs, not about to be carried out of his apartment like they were cave people. Or like she was one of his frequent guests.
She beat him out the door and was waiting for him at the car. The minute she saw it, she started to feel her tension ease. He was right; she loved driving his car. It was the only reason she came back to work this morning after the kiss that almost made her stay the night before. She fully intended to quit.
Not really. She couldn’t.
“I can’t stand myself today,” she muttered. She dropped into the car and started it, sighing at the throaty growl.
As sexy as his car, Xander got into the passenger side.
“I know something that can help you relax,” Xander said as he closed the door.
“What?” she asked absently.
“I can show you.”
Jessi eyed him. “Never mind. I think I know.”
Xander smiled. She pulled out of the drive to his apartment and guided the car to the highway. They were quiet. She was tense, but he seemed … calm. She wondered if it was the extended workout at the gym.
“You might be tolerable, if you were always like this,” she said.
“I can’t wait to take that edge off.”
“And the intolerable Xander is back. You know what drives me crazy about you?”
He waited.
“Sometimes, you’re not an ass.”
“That bothers you?”
“Of course. There almost seems to be more to you,” she considered, focus on the road. “Maybe because someone who’s lived so long has to have a little more going on than a constant hard-on.”
“Or maybe the only real meaning of life is to take what pleasure you want from it. Otherwise, you go numb and spend your eternity that way.”
“That’s kind of deep in a scary way.” Jessi glanced at him. She didn’t want to be curious, but he had a way of pulling her in, when she’d rather walk away.
“We all have secrets, don’t we?”
“It’s human nature,” she replied. “What kind of secret could you possibly have? Jule told me about how you’ve been alive for a zillion years.”
“Why don’t we trade?” he suggested. “You tell me something you’ve never told anyone, and I’ll do the same.”
“Truth or Dare, without the
dare?” she mused. She gripped the steering wheel more tightly.
“You can say you’re scared to play. I’ll accept that as an answer.”
“I’m not scared,” she lied. “I see no reason to tell you something personal.”
“What about learning something about me no one else knows?”
Yes. She was quiet. Dealing with him always ended up with him winning somehow. She wanted to know more, but what would it cost her?
“I see the way you look at me. You might not melt at my feet, but you want to know more.”
Jessi hesitated a moment longer before finally saying, “Okay, but if I get fed up, I throw up the boundary.”
“Right. Because that always works.”
“It’s been five and a half years since I got laid, not four,” she said, ignoring him. “That’s my first secret.”
“I would rather die than let that happen,” he said and shook his head. “Good start. I speak fifteen languages.”
“Fluently?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes. I can ask for directions to bars and brothels in another ten.”
She laughed despite her mood. “I GPS tagged my cousins’ cell phones and wallets.” She cringed.
“Smart. I did the same to you.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yeah. Only it wasn’t just your cell and wallet.”
“Omigod!”
“Your turn again.”
Jessi almost told him to go to hell except that, right now, she was almost having fun for the first time in years. It almost felt like a date. Maybe. She didn’t really remember what a real date felt like.
“I’ve been saving tip money for three years to take a vacation without the kids,” she said. “I want to take a cruise, I think, when Ashley graduates.”
“I have a personal policy of not killing women. I’ve only killed six in my lifetime.”
Her mouth dropped open. Jessi wasn’t sure what to say for a long moment. She focused again on the road, sensing he was waiting for her reaction.
“I guess if you live long enough you might kill someone,” she said, trying to rationalize it. “Okay, no. I can’t justify murder. Only six? How are you proud of that?”
“I’m a vampire. I bleed people dry. It goes with the territory to kill them, like you kill cows for hamburgers,” he said with such nonchalance she was left speechless. “But only six women. They taste better anyway.”
“There’s a huge difference between hamburgers and people-burgers. Why aren’t you in prison?” she managed at last.
“Because the last one was killed somewhere where they don’t have police.”
“You’re freaking me out.”
“I just told you I don’t kill women. You should feel safer.”
“I really don’t.”
“Your turn.”
Just like that, he’d moved on again. Was this a warning? Had the women he killed tried to steal something from him? She was terrified to ask, especially after his comment about GPS tracking her. Panic stirred within her, along with cold fear. She had to get out of this situation. Jonny caught her trying to leave the night before, but she had to find a way to escape.
“I don’t hit women either, unlike your boyfriend or whoever is making your evenings miserable,” he added.
“Killing women is so much better.”
“They made the wrong choice. No loss.”
“What choice was it?”
“Betrayal.”
Jessi felt sick. Why should she? She owed him nothing. He was a dick. She tried to convince herself of this, just as she tried to push him away by being a bitch. But it wasn’t in her to hurt someone or betray someone else. At least, it wouldn’t be, if her cousins weren’t in danger.
“Did you even find out why they did it?” she heard herself asking.
“Does it matter?” he returned.
Yes. She didn’t say the word out loud. Suddenly, revealing secrets seemed much safer than a conversation about what he did to people who betrayed him.
“I’ve only slept with two other guys.”
“Two other guys. Nice.” He laughed. “I’m definitely in.”
“Two guys! I didn’t mean it that way!” she rushed on, humiliated by the Freudian slip. “Your turn.”
“I’ve never been as intrigued by a woman as I am you.”
“You can’t lie in this game,” she snapped. “You can’t hit on me or anything else. You have to tell the truth that no one else knows. Those are the rules, right?”
“Yep. I meant what I said. Ignore it if you can’t take it.”
She glanced at him. He was smiling faintly, but he seemed genuine.
“You scare the hell out of me,” she admitted. “In every way humanly possible.”
“That’s no secret. Try again.”
“Umm .. okay. Every day, I write in a journal. I have for the past five years, since I took over guardianship for the kids,” she said. “I hide them under my mattress, so they can’t find them.”
“Good one,” he said in approval. “Am I in there?”
She hesitated. “No.”
“You don’t want to remember me or whatever it is you’re going to do,” he guessed.
“Your turn.” He was right. She felt panic stir again. Why had she agreed to being confined with him for a drive up the coast? Had no part of her realized how dangerous that might be?
“I can’t read your mind,” he said.
“I know that,” she said. “Jule told me. Try again,” she added mockingly.
“You’re the only one I’ve ever met whose mind I couldn’t read.”
“Wow, really?” she asked, surprised. “How does that feel? Is it like suddenly being blind or deaf or something? Like you had a sense and then lost it?”
“It’s not a feeling of loss,” he said slowly. “It’s a challenge. Instead of going through the drive through every day to eat, it’s like hunting your prey down.”
“You are making this really awkward for me,” she said with a sigh. “You’ve GPS chipped me, killed six women, warned me about betraying you and now, you’re hunting me down like a people-burger.”
“How does that feel?” he asked in the same mocking tone she used.
“It’s definitely not helping your case of trying to get me into your bed!”
“I’m not so sure.”
“I am.”
“Just like you’ve sworn to quit every day this week so far,” he said, entertained. “Your turn.”
“Can I ask you something first?”
“Whatever.”
“If I’m the first person whose mind you can’t read, doesn’t it scare you that you can’t tell what I’m thinking?”
“I know human nature and can read body language, so I can tell certain things, more than humans, because of the heightened senses of a vampire. We’re more like animals that way.”
“I can see that,” she said dryly. “Pick a number between one and forty.”
“Twenty-two.”
“Four.” She laughed, unable to help it. The idea he was able to read minds was bizarre; the idea he couldn’t read her mind was so satisfying, she was proud of herself.
“That doesn’t count as a secret,” he objected.
“Hell, yes it does. No one else knew what I would say.”
“New rule, it has to be a real secret, none of this bullshit.”
“Whatever,” she replied. “Your turn.”
“Do you want to know how many men I’ve killed?”
“For the love of God, stop with the killing talk!” she replied, distressed. “I get the point. If I betray you, you track me down and kill me.”
“Turnabout is foreplay,” he said. “Though it’s interesting that’s what you came away with.”
Jessi almost growled in frustration. He loved messing with her. She grappled with how to respond before finally saying,
“We both know how this ends.”
“I do. You don’t. I don’t need
to read your mind to know you have no fucking clue what I’m capable of.”
“That terrifies me.”
“Good. Keep that in mind when you walk away and try to deal with your enemies without my help,” he said.
She shook her head. “I don’t even know if I believe all this Guardians and vampires insanity.”
“I’d be happy to remind you with a nip.”
“Jule said if I don’t stay with you, he’ll kidnap me,” she murmured. “Is that true?”
“Yeah.”
Jessi waited for more. Xander said nothing. His gaze was out the window, and he gave no sign he was deceiving her. Something was really wrong with all these people. Jonny, Xander, Jule, Gerry. It was like she’d taken a wrong turn in a theatre, walked into a movie and couldn’t find the door back to the theatre. Yet it made sense on a level that she didn’t quite understand.
“I’ve never had a rerun,” Xander said, back to the secrets game.
“Ah. So you have issues with your sexuality,” she said, grinning.
“Not at all. I can have anyone I want. Why settle for the same thing when I can have something new?”
“Because that’s not how a relationship works,” she said then added. “I guess that’s the point, right? You don’t want one?”
“Nope.”
“You are making the case for me not to sleep with you stronger and stronger.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“I’m curious about zoo animals, but I’m not going to walk into the cage with a tiger.”
“You got in a car with one.”
“Damn animal tricked me.”
“You’re funny. Not many people can make me laugh.” Xander’s smile was small but present. “Next exit.”
She glanced towards the blocky sign as they passed it. They were entering the city of Buena Park. Her apartment was close. She prayed he was joking about GPS tracking. With her thoughts spinning from what she’d learned, she wasn’t sure what she’d do if his instructions took her to her home.
“We’re going back?” she asked.
“I have an appearance.”
“Why did you erase the schedule? I didn’t bring anything Ingrid said I was supposed to when we go to appearances!”
“It’s no secret I like to watch you squirm,” he said. “You being pissed at me is a turn on.”
Lizzy Ford Page 20
