by Kiersten Fay
His lips curled up at the corners. In a roughened tone, he said, “I like the way you touch me.”
“That’s good because I like to touch you.”
He caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on the heel of her palm. Her pulse quickened, both from the display of affection and the unintentional reminder that he hadn’t fed at all over the last few days, at least not that she knew of, and definitely not from her. Had he been abstaining because she’d balked at first and he didn’t want to frighten her? Now that they were back aboard the yacht, would he go back to Emily instead?
She closed her eyes, startled by the sudden pain at the thought.
She opened them again when he settled her palm over his heart and tightened his arm around her. The wayward thought slipped away. Nothing could spoil her good mood right now. Makeup sex with Cortez had been out—of—this—world awesome. She was still floating somewhere between earth and heaven, her body and soul still dancing on a wave of bliss.
She wasn’t sure how long they lay like that. Minutes? Hours? She could stay in his arms for days.
After a while, her bone-deep curiosity of this enigmatic, fascinating man riled her curiosity. She wanted to know more about him. Everything. And not because of some seedy mission.
“When were you changed?” she asked lightly.
He didn’t respond for a long moment, making her wonder if the question was taboo. Then his words came slow and cautious. “It was before The Revelation.”
She gasped, “The Revelation was one hundred years ago!” The fateful day vampires had revealed themselves to the world. “Wait, how long before The Revelation?”
He grinned up at the ceiling. “Why? So you can call me ancient or father time or some other moniker meant to tease me about my age?”
“I would never tease an old man.”
His chest rumbled on a husky laugh. She loved that sound and pressed her ear to his chest to experience the full body of it.
“Do you even remember being human?” she asked.
He nodded. “I was the son of a prominent politician. He was grooming me to follow in his footsteps. I’d planned to make some real positive changes in the community.”
“I hear a but coming.”
“Well, naturally all my agendas had humans in mind...that is, until I was changed.”
“Why did you decide to become a vampire?”
He let out a breath. “I wasn’t given a choice.”
“What?” She lifted her head to take in his expression. “You were changed against your will? I thought that was illegal or something.”
He seemed passive. “Not illegal. Just frowned upon. Nowadays the injured party has more rights than in my time. Should they decide, they could press charges against the one who sired them, though that is an extremely rare occurrence. Back in my day, the VEA was in its infancy, and new laws were still being established.”
“Why would someone change you without your permission?”
“The powers that be in the vampire world were gearing up for The Revelation, even then. Over the course of several years leading up to it, many humans in positions of authority or who were in the public eye were turned to help ease the transition.”
And yet there had still been decades of fear-fueled war. Much of the strife continued to this day. “So you were turned for vampire public relations?”
He chuckled at that. “In a manner of speaking.”
“That’s awful.” Whoever his sire was, she wanted to strangle him. “Did you ever get back at the guy who turned you?”
His lips twitched wryly. “He would say so.”
She arched a curious brow, but when he left it at that, she got the impression he had no intention of elaborating, and it felt oddly intrusive to pry. “So then you went from human politician to vampire PR agent. I hope they paid you well.”
“The transition was not as simple as that. The Revelation came, and so did the fighting. I was drafted instead.”
Her jaw dropped. “So you were changed against your will and then forced to become a soldier for the person who turned you?” Now she wanted to kill his sire. “What was it like to fight against what used to be your own kind?”
“As you can imagine, it was strange. I was young enough to still feel human, yet new enough to be swept up by bloodlust. War only amplified that in young vampires. I don’t like to recall those days.”
She wouldn’t either so she changed the subject. “And now, years later, you’re a successful nightclub owner with the world at his fingertips.”
“That’s the short version.”
“Why did you decide to open Ever Nights?”
He turned on his side to face her. “You’re full of questions tonight.”
She shrugged. “Just curious about you.”
“I think it’s your turn to tell me something.”
Uh oh. This could get tricky. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“I know you have a brother. Do you have any other siblings?”
She shook her head. “It’s just the two of us.”
“And your parents?”
“I never knew my father. And my mother, well, she went missing about ten years ago.”
“Missing?”
“She just went to work one night and didn’t come home. Vanished without a trace. No witnesses. Nothing.” Naia swallowed the painful lump that always appeared in her throat when she thought of her mother. One day she was there, the next gone. One day you’re sitting there with the normal, safe life you’ve always known, not realizing the urgency with which you should be cherishing every second of every minute of every day, taking for granted that tomorrow will always come, and you have time to say the things you didn’t realize needed saying…you have time.
But then suddenly you don’t.
Cortez reached up to cup her cheek, feathering his thumb over her lips. “I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult.”
She forced a thin smile. “It’s been me and Cole against the world ever since.”
His strong arm cinched tighter around her. “You have a good brother.”
“What makes you think that?”
“He’s protective of you.”
“As I am of him. We’ve always had each other’s backs.”
“He thinks I’m taking advantage of you.”
She blinked up at him. “And how would you know that?”
He gave another of those cagey grins. “Big sis going off with a strange vampire? It’s an obvious inference, no?”
She propped herself up on her elbow. “How did you figure I’m older? Most people assume the opposite because he’s so much taller than I am.” Explain that, mind reader.
“He must have mentioned it over the phone...when he was threatening me,” he gave a sexy lopsided grin, almost a smirk, as though he found Cole’s threats adorable.
She found them embarrassing. “Did he really threaten you? What did he say?”
“Something to the effect of if anything were to happen to you, he’d rip off my head and defecate down my throat.”
She ducked her head. “No he didn’t.”
“Then there was something about objects being shoved in very uncomfortable places. It was all very inventive.”
She laughed, her burning face hidden against his chest.
His tone turned serious. “I want you to know I would never hurt you. Not for any reason.”
Her head shot up, shocked by the sudden declaration.
He only smiled. “In case you were worried about that.”
“I’m not,” she said, her tone a bit higher than she wanted. She wondered if he’d repeat the sentiment if he knew why she’d really come into his life?
“Sometimes humans pretend not to fear us,” he continued. “But even for the bravest it’s nearly impossible not to on some level. There’s an undeniable primal awareness, if you’ll forgive the crass analogy, of prey to predator.”
She took that in for
a minute, and her earlier assumption seemed more plausible. “Is that why you haven’t fed from me? Because you don’t want to frighten me?”
“Partly. When you agreed, there was hesitation in your voice. I couldn’t tell if your offer was genuine and you were just nervous or if you felt obligated.” He sighed. “Some of the women I’ve been with thought it was something they’d have to do to stay with me, though they hadn’t wanted to. I never forced them. It doesn’t have to be an intimate experience.”
“What about the ones that pretended they wanted to, but really didn’t?”
“Usually I can tell what a woman wants from me, and what she doesn’t,” he said with the confidence of a man who really, really could.
It is my burden to know these things.
“Except with me?”
He gave a crooked smile. “Except with you.”
“Why is that?”
His gaze turned wry. “I wish I knew. You are like an exotic creature to me. A mystery. You excite me, entice me, and frustrate me all at once.”
“Frustrate?”
He nodded. “I’ve heard your heart speed from time to time, with no discernable reason. Like on the beach. It was almost akin to approaching a wild animal, one ready to bolt at the first provocation. I can only deduce a part of you fears me. It’s either on a level you don’t even recognize, or you don’t wish to admit it.” His tone was even, matter-of-fact, but she sensed the idea bothered him more than he was letting on.
She sat up and faced him fully, legs tucked under her.
He folded his hands behind his head and held her gaze.
“My anxiety wasn’t caused by you.” Though she had briefly equated him with the monster James, she felt a little guilty about it now because Cortez had never given her any reason to think of him that way. She wouldn’t dare spill all her secrets, but she could at least put his mind at ease on this. “The island was a dream. You were a dream. I had a wonderful time, I swear.”
“But...?”
She offered a bit of veiled honesty. “But the longer I stayed, and this is going to sound weird, but the longer I stayed the more claustrophobic I felt. Like being trapped with no way out.”
His lips pursed. “You felt trapped?” Again it seemed her words hurt.
“Not by you. By, oh, I don’t know if I can explain correctly. I’ve never been away from society for so long. Never been so far from people and—”
“Your beloved crowds,” he interjected, but in a teasing, what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you sort of way.
“I suppose, kind of, yeah.”
He glanced back up at the ceiling. “In all my time working with performers—of all kinds—I’ve never understood the clutching need for the spotlight.”
“It’s not the spotlight I need,” she said, then regretted the outburst.
“Oh? Then what is it?” His tone was soft, filled with a genuine curiosity, but she worried this line of questioning would lead her down a rabbit hole. She couldn’t explain what she truly needed.
“Uh-uh,” she shook her head, evading. “Your turn. You never answered my question. Why did you decide to open a club like Ever Nights?”
He let out a slight huff as though miffed by the turn around. “After I left my sire to start my own clan, I needed to find us a home. The war was winding down, fighting was sparse, yet chaos was rampant nearly everywhere I went. Some towns had been leveled, others wiped from the map completely. Riverstone seemed like the perfect location to stake a claim. It hadn’t been decimated, no one was fighting, but some rebuilding was needed. There were already a few businesses established, a couple clubs and casinos, so I decided Ever Nights would be a hotel. A safe place for vampires and humans alike to rest their heads.”
“You didn’t intend to create the best nightclub on the east coast?”
He shook his head. “It simply evolved into that over time.”
“How?”
“A few club owners were treating their employees poorly. It became necessary for me to...intervene. I ran the worst of them out of town and came to an understanding with the rest. After that, the unemployment rate was through the roof, so I came up with an idea for a club/hotel combination to provide more jobs. I knocked down some walls and refurbished the first floor. I turned part of the space into a dance club and hired Kenzi to coordinate that side of the business. As it turned out, the entertainment industry proved incredibly lucrative, so I repurposed the entire second floor, then the third where I allocated space for a casino, and here we are.”
“So in a way, you’ve gone full circle.”
“How’s that?”
She smiled down at him. “You got yourself into a position to make some positive changes in your community.”
He was silent for a moment, then gifted her with a brilliant smile. “I suppose you’re right.”
Chapter 27
Though still unnerving as hell, the helicopter ride back to Riverstone was somewhat less harrowing the second time around. She knew what to expect and was even able to find some enjoyment in the high-flying experience. But, she noticed, as she marveled at the view, Cortez was watching her instead of the scenery. At first it made her feel self-conscious, but then she observed how he relished her reactions. When she’d pointed out the sun’s dazzling reflection off the lakes and rivers, gold on glass, he’d commented, “Beautiful,” though his eyes were on her face. Later, she’d gasped as they’d flown through a patch of low-hanging clouds. She’d been amazed by the sense that, were she not barred by the thick windows, she could reach out and touch them. His grin had only widened at her exuberance.
Back on the boat, he’d been just as delighted with her excitement, when an adorable school of dolphins began following them, bounding and splashing through the waves like living torpedoes. Arching out of the water as if to say hello. She had been utterly enamored, squealing with delight every time one of their sleek bodies caught air. Cortez had seemed bored with the show. He’d only had eyes for her, a self-satisfied curve to his lips, acting as though he’d scheduled the display purely for her amusement. “Ah, right on time,” he’d said, glancing at his watch and then shooting her a teasing smile.
She considered his intense interest in her reactions to what had to be pretty mundane activities for one such as he.
Vampire’s lives were measured in decades rather than years. Cortez surely must have seen it all, as they say. It was entirely possible he was jaded by this point in his life. Bored. Was she providing a vicarious experience for him? Showing him the world through fresh eyes? Was he finding renewed joy in old pleasures that had long since gone stale? Is that why he’d taken her to his private island? To his coveted sanctuary? Because he’d grown bored even with his personal paradise? He’d sworn to have never brought another there. So why had he dispensed with convention and shared such a wondrous place with her?
Something Dante had said resurfaced as if her subconscious had been holding on to it until this very moment. She’d asked him why he’d decided she, of all people, should spy on Cortez. Cryptically, he’d replied that she was unique. That Cortez would be drawn to her, though Dante hadn’t elaborated as to why exactly he felt that way.
Was Dante psychic? Or did he just somehow know Cortez’s type? Which would be a surprise since his own employees had been boggled by his attention to her.
Three times Cortez had invited her into his private spaces, places that were off limits to others, apparently: his hotel suite, the roof of Ever Nights, and his private island. Man, he had a lot of private spaces. What would make such a successful man like Cortez feel the need to isolate himself so much? Going from outgoing club owner to wealthy shut-in didn’t compute in Naia’s mind.
Did it have something to do with his alleged mindreading? He valued his solitude. Was that because on a daily basis he was hammered by everyone’s internal jabber?
Curiosity needled her, but she was too afraid to breach these topics with Cortez. The more he opened up to her, the more she f
elt guilty over her secret investigation. The more she wanted to confess. But if she did, would it only confirm his worst fears? That she was exactly like the other women he’d dated. A liar, a user, a disappointment?
She feared he’d hate her for it. And it would undoubtedly expedite their separation. Or worse. Would he retaliate? What would a man like Cortez do to someone who went after him or his people? She didn’t have to ask to know he was fiercely loyal and protective of his people.
The helicopter began to descend, interrupting the frightening thought.
Did he really need to know she’d been sent to betray him when she’d already decided in her heart that she never could? As it was, their week was nearly up. What would happen to her then? Would he send her on her way with a hey-kid-it’s-been-fun pat on the shoulder? Would he think of her from time to time?
Her stomach twisted, and sorrow seeped into her bones. It snagged in her chest and pulled at her heart. She gulped, knowing what that little twang of anguish meant.
The coming separation was going to affect her more than she should have allowed.
Even over the loud thwamp of the helicopter’s blades Cortez somehow detected a change in her mood. Maybe a subtle shift in her expression, her breathing, or perhaps her heart rate when she’d imagined leaving him.
He squeezed her hand, his gaze curious. Then he smiled with a comforting reassurance, and she realized he thought her anxiety was inspired by their declining altitude. She leaned into him, he hugged her close, and she mentally cursed.
Somehow Cortez had burrowed into her heart, carving out a little home for himself there. And when he was done with her, a part of her would be left hollow and empty and lonelier than ever. The dreaded time was coming. There was no doubt about it. She just didn’t know when.
At least she’d have Cole to lean on, she reminded herself. He always knew what to say to lift her up. He’d grouse, “He let you go? What an idiot!” And she’d be inclined to agree. If she wasn’t worth more than a week, then Cortez wasn’t worth her tears. She would make that her mantra.
Thinking of Cole reminded her of their monetary problems. What were they going to do about the twins? The seven grand Dante promised? Well, she had nothing for him to hold over his rival’s head. Moreover, she wasn’t planning to continue her investigation. Even if she did continue, she was too close to him now to be partial. If she happened to discover something illegal going on, she’d only bring it to Cortez’s attention so that he might deal with it internally.
