by I. T. Lucas
To lose a loved one was the worst experience ever. He wouldn’t allow that to happen to him.
Not again.
There was nothing he could’ve done to prevent Lilen’s death all those centuries ago, but he’d be damned if he’d let anything happen to his obstinate sister.
Not on his watch.
Fisting his hands, he felt his lips curl in a snarl as his resolve hardened. He would march into that lab, throw Amanda over his shoulder, and carry her to the SUV. And he didn’t give a damn if he had to do it while she was kicking and screaming the whole way. To keep her safe, he’d even lock her in one of the underground cells.
Yeah, that sounds good. Easiest way to deal with the brat.
Kian took a deep breath. Okay... like that will fly.
He needed to chill.
Patience is a virtue, he repeated. Patience is a virtue.
Yeah, it just wasn’t one of his.
Let someone else get that merit badge. Kian didn’t plan on applying for sainthood anytime soon.
Taking the elevator down to Amanda’s lab, he wondered if it just happened to be in the basement of the research facility or had Amanda chosen it because she preferred working underground.
It seemed to be a natural default, an unconscious preference for his kind. The older ones, like him, still suffered from some sensitivity to harsh light, but it was nothing a pair of quality sunglasses couldn’t handle, and certainly nothing that bothered the younger immortals.
Still, the original race of gods had truly shunned the sunlight. Their sensitive eyes had to be covered in protective goggles to filter even the little light that could infiltrate through the sides of a more ordinary protective eyewear.
There had been no windows in their dwellings. Instead, shafts positioned diagonally through the thick walls had provided airflow while minimizing sunlight.
The flip side of this handicap had been an excellent night vision, which near-immortals shared to some degree with their ancestors. The gods had been nocturnal creatures, more comfortable in the relative darkness of the night when the soft glow of the moon and stars replaced the harsh sunlight. So much gentler on their sensitive eyes and skin.
Not for the first time, it crossed his mind that his ancestors must’ve been at the source of the outrageous vampire myths.
Creatures with fangs that sucked blood and burned in sunlight...
Right.
Mortals and their wild imaginations running amok with exaggerations and embellishments.
They got the fangs and sunlight part right, even the mind control was spot on, but where had the blood-sucking part come from? Or the red eyes for that matter? An immortal’s eyes tearing up from too much exposure to the sun’s harsh light? A careless one forgetting to lick the puncture wounds closed?
Who knew?
The truth was that the gods of old were at the source of many intriguing stories, with the vampire lore being one of the most imaginative. In his opinion, however, the legends of the snake people were more fitting. What was it about bats that so fascinated mortals that they preferred them to snakes? Not that he was all that fond of reptiles himself. Besides, the things couldn’t fly, and as this particular ability was part of what made the vampire stories work, the bats kind of made sense.
His bodyguards were still uncharacteristically quiet as they made their way down the corridor, the rhythmic beat of their boots on the concrete floor the only indication that they were still with him.
He wasn’t expecting Brundar to be chattering away, but Anandur’s silence bothered him. Kian turned to look back at the brothers. Though grimly focused, their eyes were following their feet instead of scoping the place.
Not good.
“Snap out of it, guys! And stay alert! You think it’s safe down here just because there are people all around us?”
“What jumped and bit you on the ass, Kian! You think I don’t pay attention? I have been doing the same shit for how long now? A millennium? I can do it sleepwalking.” Anandur sounded more pissed than offended.
“Yeah, yeah. You may kiss my ass to make it all better, lick it clean too!” Kian jumped sideways to avoid the punch Anandur aimed at his shoulder.
At least the guy was smiling now.
Brundar shook his head and kept going, leaving them behind.
Stopping at the junction of corridors that terminated at the one leading to Amanda’s lab, Kian called him back. “Stay here. This is a good spot. You can see everyone coming this way from either direction.” He pointed to where he wanted them to stand guard.
“I’m going in by myself. The hellion is not going to like an audience.”
Not exactly. Amanda loved drama. It was Kian who could live without it. “Try not to attract any attention to yourselves, and stay alert!”
Chapter 11: Anandur
Leaning against the wall next to his brother, Anandur smirked as he watched Kian duck into Amanda’s lab. The guy was in for one hell of a fight, and if Kian thought it would go down easier without an audience, he was deluding himself.
“Man, I would’ve loved to see that,” he told Brundar.
His brother ignored him, as usual not interested in talking.
Anandur shook his head and turned his attention to the sparse foot traffic. A trio of giggling girls was heading his way, and he had to admit that staying out in the corridor was proving to be quite entertaining.
The girls were eyeing him and his brother with unabashed interest, smiling and sauntering as they got closer.
Gutsy, forward minxes.
Evidently, it was easier said than done for him and Brundar to avoid attracting attention.
Not that he had a problem with that.
With what they were wearing, or rather not wearing, he got himself a healthy eyeful of young female flesh. In addition to the painted-on, torn jeans all three were wearing, the tall brunette’s T-shirt was open at the sides with her purple lace bra showing, while her friend’s sported so many slashes that there was hardly any of it left to cover anything. And the one with the spiky pink hair wore a tiny thing with a Mickey Mouse picture on it that looked like something she’d swiped off her kid brother.
Got to love this generation, Anandur thought as he flashed them his best seductive smile and winked.
Their response to his blatantly masculine charm was as immediate as it was predictable, and his nostrils flared as the unmistakable, sweet smell of female arousal reached him, triggering his predatory instincts.
Brundar wasn’t doing much better. Growling quietly beside him, his brother’s body tensed as he got ready to pounce.
Adjusting himself, Anandur wrapped a restraining arm around Brundar’s shoulders, holding on tight and squeezing hard while smiling at the girls.
“Damn, why are the good-looking guys always gay? It’s so unfair!” the tall one whispered to her friends.
Anandur chuckled, his hearing more acute than the girls could ever suspect. Squeezing Brundar even harder, he kissed the top of his brother’s head.
“I’m going to break your fucking arm if you don’t let go,” Brundar hissed.
Frowning, Anandur released his brother with a pitying sidelong glance. The poor guy suffered from a crippling lack of a sense of humor.
When the disappointed trio disappeared behind a corner, turning into another corridor, Brundar hastily cast a shrouding illusion around Anandur and himself. Obscuring their presence from any mortal passerby, his illusion made them appear part of the wall—undetectable unless someone bumped straight into them.
Chapter 12: Syssi
Syssi focused on the images flashing at evenly spaced time intervals on the screen: square, circle, star, triangle, star, circle, triangle, square...
The shapes were popping randomly in a never-ending sequence, and her task was to guess which one would flash next and hit the appropriate key—before the image appeared.
It was mind-numbingly boring, mainly since she’d been at it for the past couple of hours.<
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Any other day, she would’ve just quit. After straining her mind for so long, the test results were iffy anyway, but not today.
Syssi had never seen Amanda in such a bitchy mood before. The woman was scary. Something or someone must have pissed her off big time during her lunch break because she’d come back sullen and practically snarling at everyone.
Hannah and David had done the smart thing and had left an hour ago... Ran for their lives was more like it.
But not Syssi, no, Amanda’s precognition experiments favorite test bunny had to stay behind.
Soon, she’d have to stop. Her eyes were tearing and her headache was blooming into a full-blown migraine. In a few minutes, she’d have to tell Amanda she couldn’t take it anymore.
Sighing, she rubbed her blurry eyes as the lab’s door opened with a creak.
Curious to see who it was, Syssi peeked between one flashing symbol and the next...
And lost her concentration.
Or rather had it blown to pieces.
The man closing the door was breathtakingly handsome; tall, broad-shouldered, and perfectly proportioned under the conservative charcoal suit he was wearing. The suit looked expensive, and it had been probably custom made for him, but she was sure it wasn’t hiding any flab. The guy looked like he was all muscle.
Holding himself regally as he scanned the lab, his posture was somewhat stiff, until he found Amanda and loosened marginally.
As he glared at her, his deep blue eyes were hard and sad, making him appear angry, or frustrated.
He smoothed back his chin-length tawny hair in what seemed like a nervous habit, brushing the curling ends with his fingers and forcing them away from his angular, beautiful face.
Holding her breath, Syssi felt faint, her heart racing wildly and her legs turning to rubber. With an effort, she pulled air into her oxygen starved lungs and rubbed her tingling arms.
“You can save your breath, Kian. I’m not going to let you drag me away to your lair. There is nothing you can say that will persuade me to abandon my work. It’s too important, so turn around and go home.” Amanda circled her finger and pointed it at the door.
When he didn’t budge, she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes, staring him down while tapping her high-heeled shoe on the concrete floor.
So, this is Kian, Amanda’s brother. Wow.
He looked nothing like Syssi had imagined he would. On the few occasions Amanda had mentioned her brother, she’d referred to him as the old goat, or the stupid old goat, painting in Syssi’s mind an image of an older guy sporting a goatee and thinning, wispy hair.
In her wildest dreams, Syssi couldn’t have imagined him as the magnificent Greek-god-facsimile standing before her. Although, with Amanda as his sister, she should have known better. A stunning woman like her boss just couldn’t have an unattractive man for a brother.
Syssi felt like an ugly duckling next to these beautiful swans. Who wouldn’t? No mere mortal could achieve this level of perfection.
Forcing her eyes away, she tried to do a disappearing act by sliding down in her chair and hiding behind her computer screen. Too shook up to continue the experiment, she went through the motions and pretended to be working, using it as an excuse to stay out of sight.
There was no way she was attracting attention to herself. If she were lucky, Kian would leave without ever noticing her.
Syssi didn’t think she could survive an introduction.
Her reaction to him was so immediate and so overpowering that she had no idea what to do with it. She’d never responded like this to a man.
Syssi had never been one of those girls who idolized movie stars or rockers, and their big muscles and gorgeous faces had left her indifferent. Looks just hadn’t been all that important to her. All she’d ever wanted was a nice, intelligent guy who was decent looking.
And yet, here she was, yearning with terrifying intensity for a man that could never be hers. Men like him didn’t exist in her world.
He was beautiful, yet all male, there was nothing feminine about his perfect features. And his sophisticated business suit didn’t fool her. Kian exuded a kind of primitive power and dominance that terrified her.
Because instinctively she felt compelled to submit to it.
Where the hell were these thoughts coming from? Even the terminology was foreign to her. What was happening to her?
Oh, God, just make him leave already.
She was going to take these embarrassing thoughts with her to the grave. No one, and she meant absolutely no one, would ever find out that such absurdities had ever flitted through her mind. She might not be a bra-burning feminist, but she would never let anyone dominate her either.
“Why are you being so stubborn? Did I really need to drop everything and come over here because you wouldn’t listen to reason? There is real danger out there, and I can’t let you—” Kian stopped mid-sentence as Amanda held a finger to her lips, shushing him, and pointed toward the back of the room.
“Syssi, stop hiding and come meet my brother Kian.” Amanda was getting closer, waving her hand in invitation.
Syssi remained glued to her chair, hoping the floor would split open and swallow her up.
“Come out, girl. He doesn’t bite... much.” Amanda’s snort sounded like a cackle.
Syssi shrunk away from her. The woman’s sarcastic tone sounded positively evil, evoking in her imagination an image of the beautiful swans morphing into ugly vultures.
“Stop it, Amanda! You’re scaring the girl with your idiotic comments!” Kian snapped.
Syssi felt like laughing—a crazy, cackling laugh. She wasn’t scared of them. Why would he think that? What really scared her was her own reaction to Kian. She was intimidated out of her freaking mind, and now Amanda was forcing her to show herself.
No guy had ever terrified her like that. On occasion, she’d felt awkward, a little uncomfortable, and her accursed uncontrolled blushing had always been an impediment to her romantic life. But this was so out of her realm of experience that it was panic attack inducing.
As Kian’s footsteps got closer, sweat broke out over her face and her stomach roiled. And then he was standing right beside her, extending his hand to help her up.
No-no-no-no!
Except, what choice did she have?
Lifting her head, Syssi thanked providence, her cursed foresight, and whatever else that had prompted her to take a little extra care with her looks this morning. She had blow-dried her hair, put on a little makeup, and worn nice pair of pumps that added three inches to her height.
At least she wouldn’t look like a complete midget troll standing next to all that perfection.
But then, as her eyes made it all the way up to his face, her heart skipped a beat. This spectacular man was looking down at her with uncensored male appreciation.
Enthralled by the hunger in his eyes, she took his offered hand, the jolt of energy passing through her body bringing on such strong blast of desire that it stunned and shamed her at the same time.
If her legs felt like rubber before, now her knees dissolved completely. She was holding onto his hand for dear life, her whole weight leaning on it. “Sorry, my legs must’ve gone numb from sitting too long,” she managed in a hoarse whisper.
In the silence that followed, the hunger she saw in Kian’s expression burned like an inferno before abruptly turning into scalding ice.
The change was startling.
As he straightened, his posture stiffened, his eyes hardened in disapproval, and his mouth narrowed.
He looked angry again. Forget angry, he looked savage, cruel. But this time his displeasure was directed at her, and not at Amanda.
Syssi felt her face heat up. She must’ve misinterpreted his expression, and her response had been totally inappropriate. Worse, her attraction to Kian must have been blatantly obvious for him to notice it, and he decided he wanted nothing to do with her.
Oh, God.
; A guy like that probably had women throwing themselves at him constantly; prettier women, elegant, sophisticated, assertive. He was so far out of her league, he might as well have been from a different planet.
Mortified, she lowered her eyes.
Chapter 13: Kian
Kian had been ready to chew Amanda’s head off for shushing him, but then she’d pointed her finger at the girl hiding behind a large computer screen.
Curious, he’d dipped his head.
All he had seen under the desk were jean-clad, long legs and a pair of slender, heeled feet, but his enhanced senses had registered the girl’s rapid heartbeat and the acrid aroma of her fear.
The two of them snarling at each other’s throats like a couple of feral beasts, they must’ve scared the girl. And then Amanda had made it even worse with her sarcasm, sounding like a wicked witch and fueling the girl’s fear instead of trying to ease it.
Intending to rectify the situation, he’d crossed the short distance to the girl, when it had suddenly dawned on him that Amanda had called her Syssi.
The same girl she wanted him to seduce.
Amanda’s schemes aside, though, he needed to do something before the poor thing fainted. And at any rate, he was intrigued.
Extending his arm to help her up, he was curious to see her face, but it was hidden behind a curtain of wavy blond hair. It wasn’t exactly blond, though. Several shades of light browns, blonds, and gold intertwined to create a spectacular whole. Taking a sniff, he knew it wasn’t the kind that came out of a box. There was no residual smell of chemicals—just the light flowery scent of her shampoo. Not that he would’ve minded one way or another. Amanda colored her hair from time to time to change her looks, and it wasn’t only about keeping her identity secret. She simply enjoyed it.
With a little sigh, the girl seemed to gather enough courage to look up at him.
Kian was dumbstruck.
Syssi was beautiful.
