“You,” she answered. Pain burned in Rose’s bright blue eyes, and her voice shook. “It’s as if you prefer the wall, as if…you’re the one who put it up.”
He pulled the clean shirt on over his head, pulling it down over the rigid muscles of his scarred chest and stomach. “I trusted you, and you lied to me.”
Rose nodded, her throat tight. “I know. You’ve lied to me, too, though.”
“It was different,” Kallias muttered. He didn’t look at her as he spoke. He kept his attention on the clothes. “You knew how much it would hurt me.”
“Erastos said it was the only way to save you,” Rose said. “He said it was the only way to save all of you. My life was a small price to pay for all of yours.”
“No, it wasn’t!” Kallias growled. Even though Rose wasn’t bound to him at the moment, she knew, without a doubt, what he was feeling—the dark, potent, animalistic rage that pulled all of his predatory instincts to the surface, the instinct to feed and the instinct to kill. She knew because of the tightness of his muscles, because of the set of his jaw, because of the darkness in his light brown eyes, and because she loved him. Because…even when they weren’t connected, they were.
“Go ahead,” Rose told him, stepping away from the bed, approaching him slowly. “Let your anger out. Say everything you need to say. I can handle it.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Kallias growled, his eyes dark.
“I know you won’t hurt me,” she said, her steps bold and determined, as she closed the space between them. “Not physically, anyway. Your words might hurt me. They probably will. But I’m strong. I can handle it. And I trust you.”
Kallias stared down at her, watching as she stopped in front of him, the front of her body just inches from his. Her scent filled his senses—soft, sensual vanilla and honey, clinging to her hair and skin, and sweet, appealing blood, filled with power, more power than he’d ever smelled in anyone else. His chest heaved with the intensity of his emotions, his mind vacillating between hunger and anger.
Rose reached out to touch him, her fingertips brushing his chest, but he stopped her, suddenly, his hands gripping her wrists tightly. She swallowed and looked up at him, a nervous thrill rushing through her, as she noticed the darkness of his eyes. Before she could react, he turned and pushed her against the dresser.
Then, his lips crashed against hers—so harshly and so suddenly that it took her breath. His kiss left her lips sensitive and tender, and as he released her wrists and gripped her hips, pulling her body into his, he deepened the kiss, his tongue finding its way into her mouth, moving against hers, igniting her hunger.
When they pulled back, trying to catch their breath, Rose found herself laughing. “You,” she gasped, “have an interesting way of conveying your anger.”
Kallias kissed her again. “I’m just trying to shut you up,” he chuckled.
Rose stepped back and lifted her eyebrows. “Oh, really?” she sassed.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. “I’m kidding. Come back.”
Kallias stepped forward, trailing his lips down her neck, as he backed her toward the bed. She moaned softly at his kisses, pushing his shirt up around his ribs, trying to tug it off, as she walked backward. Unfortunately, she didn’t really have the gracefulness for all of that and wound up falling backward onto the bed.
Kallias laughed as he climbed onto the bed with her, straddling her jean-clad thighs with his own. He finished pulling off his shirt and leaned over her.
When the sound of a phone vibrating interrupted them.
Kallias groaned in frustration. “If the Fates are real, they clearly hate me.”
Rose chuckled, leaning back, as she waited for him to check his phone.
After a moment of thought, he shook his head. “Forget it. I’ll ignore it.”
But when he leaned in for another kiss, his warm lips brushing against hers, an unsettling realization washed over Rose. “Wait a minute,” she said slowly.
Kallias pulled back, his eyebrows lifting at her less-than-ideal timing.
“We picked up new phones,” Rose said worriedly, “with new numbers.” Her gaze darted toward the phone in his pocket. “How is anyone texting you?”
“I gave the new numbers to Geoff and Emma,” he said dismissively.
“Geoff and Emma,” she repeated slowly. “Our friends…who just left.”
His light brown eyes widened as he realized her point. “Shit,” he hissed under his breath. He raised up and pulled the phone out of his pocket. His dark complexion suddenly looked much paler than usual, as he read the text message.
Rose sat up, watching him with an anxious frown. “Who is it from?”
“Geoff,” Kallias breathed. He looked at her. “They’ve been captured.”
It took several moments for those words to sink in, several moments of cold, dreadful horror, several moments of her heart pounding violently in her chest, rattling her entire body. Finally, she opened her mouth and croaked out, “C-captured?” Messy, red strands of hair hung in her face, obscuring her vision, but she was too stunned to push them out of her eyes. “How is that possible?”
Kallias shrugged. “It could be vampires that are older and stronger than them. We kill vampires to save humans. We’ve made a lot of enemies,” he began.
“Or,” Rose said, her voice shaky, “it could be the Assassins of Light.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then, he nodded reluctantly. “Yeah.”
“Oh, no,” she breathed. She looked up at him. “How do we find them?”
Kallias turned and sat down on the edge of the bed, sighing, as he read the text once again. “We don’t have to find them. He said he’d send the address.”
Rose frowned at that. “Oh,” she said slowly. “That’s…good. I think?”
Kallias gripped the phone tightly, his brows creasing with worry, as he read over the message three more times. “I’ll have to go save them,” he sighed.
Rose moved to sit beside him, on the edge of the bed, smoothing her wrinkled shirt. “Try calling them,” she suggested. “Maybe it’s just a mistake.”
Kallias gave her a skeptical look. “What kind of mistake could it be?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just…worried. What should we do?”
“We’re not doing anything,” Kallias corrected. He dialed Geoff’s number and lifted the phone to his ear, waiting for an answer that he knew wouldn’t come.
Rose ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, pushing it out of her face. She knew already that she wouldn’t like what Kallias had to say. “We’re not?”
“We’re not. I am,” Kallias explained. When the voicemail message played on the other side of the line, Kallias hung up the phone and dropped it beside him on the bed. He stood and gathered his clothes from the floor, ignoring Rose’s glare. “The Assassins of Light are especially interested in you, Rose. They want you, and they’ll do anything to get you, including capturing Geoff and Emma.”
“All the more reason for me to help save them,” Rose reminded him.
“No,” he argued. He shook his head in frustration as he buttoned his jeans. “You don’t go directly to the people who mean you harm, Rose. You’d be doing exactly what they wanted you to do. You need to stay where you’re safe.”
“I’m never safe anywhere,” she sighed, “and I don’t like to hide in fear.”
Kallias slid his arms into his black shirt and began buttoning it over the muscled, golden skin of his torso. “Then, don’t. I don’t give a shit what you do,” he said impatiently. His eyes narrowed at her. “But you’re not leaving this house.”
She stood and met his glare with her own. She still had to look up at him, but at least, she felt a little less small on her feet. “You can’t just order me around.”
Kallias shrugged dismissively and bent to snatch his boots up from the floor. “I can do whatever the hell I want to do,” he said with a bitter, angry sm
ile.
Rose raised both eyebrows at him. “Okay, Alana,” she said sassily.
That cold, dismissive expression faded almost instantly, replaced by one of pure anger. “I am nothing like Alana, and you know it,” he snarled at her.
“Yeah, I do. Most of the time,” she sighed. “But what you just said—that’s exactly what Alana used to say. You say that you’re worried about my power corrupting me. That was why you lied to me about showing me how to control my power. It was why you hid things from me. But I just wonder if you should be more worried about your own. Because, lately, you’ve been a little…different.”
“I’ve always been this way, Rose,” Kallias said. “Just because you like to see everyone through rose-colored glasses, doesn’t mean we’re really like that.”
“Nice pun,” Rose said. She sat back down on the bed and sighed, “Our arguments are starting to sound like broken records, and I like my records intact.”
He ignored her off-hand remarks. Instead, he sat down in the office chair and began lacing up his boots. “What about Audrey, Owen, and your brother?”
She looked up at him, her brows furrowing. “What do you mean?”
“Are you prepared to leave them alone?” Kallias asked. “Unprotected?”
“No, you know I can’t do that,” she sighed, staring at her hands, which lay, entangled, in her blue jean-clad lap. “I can’t let anything happen to them.”
He smiled bitterly. “Then, it looks like I won the argument. For once.”
Rose frowned. “For once? Have I been winning the arguments? Because no one told me that I was winning. It didn’t feel like I was winning,” she muttered.
His lips actually twitched up a little at that, but he suppressed the smile. “I’ll return as soon as I rescue Emma and Geoff. I don’t know how they managed to get themselves captured in the first place. You just stay here with your friends.”
“You could get yourself killed, Kallias,” Rose sighed. “I’m worried.”
“Yeah, well,” Kallias said dismissively, “now, you know how I feel.”
“Right,” Rose muttered under her breath. “I deserved that.”
“Yep,” Kallias said as he slid two daggers and one handgun into the front pockets of his leather jacket. He spun back toward her. “Don’t leave this house.”
“I won’t. Probably. But not because you told me not to,” Rose said. “I’m choosing of my own volition to stay and protect my friends, just so you know.”
Kallias raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Whatever you have to tell yourself.”
Rose held up her finger. “One more thing: you’re not going alone.”
He frowned. “Yes, I am. We already covered this. You have to stay…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Rose yelled out, “Erik!”
Kallias scowled at her. “Erik is staying here…to protect you.”
She flashed her sassiest smile. “Let’s let him decide for himself, shall we?”
“Decide what?” Erik asked suddenly, leaning against the doorframe.
“Emma and Geoff are in danger, but I have to stay here, apparently,” Rose explained. “We were wondering if you wanted to help Kallias rescue them.”
“We were not wondering that,” Kallias told Erik. “You’re not going.”
“Emma and Geoff are as much my friends as they are yours,” Erik told Kallias with a scowl. “If they’re in danger, I’m going to help. Besides, you can’t take on the Assassins of Light by yourself. You’ll need some kind of backup.”
“You need to stay here with the others,” Kallias argued, “and with Rose.”
“They’re not presently in danger,” Erik stated. “Geoff and Emma are.”
“Kallias, I’m going to be so worried about you,” Rose tried to explain, “but you’re right. Someone has to stay here to keep an eye on Audrey, Owen, and Zach. So, if I have to sit here, worrying about you, at least take Erik with you.”
“Fine,” Kallias grunted, “but only if you promise not to leave the house.”
“Unfortunately…yes, I promise,” Rose sighed, “but please, be safe.”
“He’ll be fine,” Erik assured her. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder, projecting a brief wave of calmness. “I’ll make sure nothing happens.”
Kallias just rolled his eyes. His phone vibrated on the bed, nearly falling into the floor, but he caught it before it could. “It’s Geoff,” he said, reading the message. “He sent me an address. I’ll put it into the GPS.” He sighed, “Let’s go.”
“Will Rose and the humans be all right here?” Erik asked worriedly.
“They should be,” Kallias said. “The Assassins of Light will assume that she’s with us. That’s why I want her to stay here. This is probably a trap for her.”
“You think it’s a trap, and you’re walking into it anyway?” Rose asked.
“Why not?” Kallias said bitterly. “It’s what you do.” He sighed, “I’ll be fine. I’m a twenty-five-hundred-year-old telepath. They’re not prepared for me.”
“I hope you’re right,” Rose said, but anxiety flashed in her blue eyes.
Kallias started to leave, but before he could step outside the room, Rose caught his arm, moving so fast that he never realized she’d moved. He turned, his brows furrowing, as he looked down at her, but before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her lips soft and warm against his. He slid his hand into her hair, holding her close, as he returned the kiss.
“I love you,” Rose said as she pulled back. “Please, take care of yourself.”
He stared down at her, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. “I love you, too,” he sighed, “even though you frustrate the hell out of me.” He watched her smile, the cute, sassy curve of her lips, and then, he stepped back. “Goodbye.”
Rose waited until he left to muse aloud, “I wonder if Audrey, Owen, Zach, and I would fit in the trunk of his car. We could totally be stowaways.”
“Don’t even try it!” Kallias shouted from somewhere downstairs. “I have a spare tire back there, and only one average-sized person would fit anyway.”
Rose laughed, “I don’t even want to know how he knows that.”
The Black Rose
“This is a humongous room,” Audrey said as Rose helped her unpack.
Rose placed Audrey’s wadded-up, unfolded pile of clothes on the bed so that she could fold them before putting them in the dresser. “Yeah. I guess, when you’re a telepath, you can make them build your house as big as you want.”
Audrey placed her hands on her thin, jean-clad hips and glanced around the spacious guest bedroom. “I might have to borrow your boyfriend for a while.”
Rose laughed, “I doubt he’s going to make someone build you a castle.”
Audrey pouted, “But I’ve always wanted a castle! You know I’ve always wanted a castle. You have to talk him into it! Do him sexual favors or something.”
Rose stared blankly at her best friend. “You want me to prostitute myself, just so you can have a castle?” she asked, her lips twitching in amusement.
Audrey shrugged. “It’s what a real friend would do.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Speaking of…awkward subjects,” she began as she picked up a pair of faded blue jeans to fold, “Owen says that you and Erik…”
“Oh, yeah, we totally had sex!” Audrey interrupted. “It was amazing!”
Rose wrinkled her nose. “Weird is what it is,” she said under her breath.
But Audrey didn’t even seem to hear her. “He’s really good at foreplay.”
“Ahh! Audrey!” Rose complained, holding up her hands. “I really don’t want the details. He’s my best friend, and you’re my best friend. It’s…weird.”
Audrey grinned. “Don’t get me wrong. I still don’t like vampires, but he was way better than a human guy. Do you know how many orgasms I had last night? I mean, usually, I have to do it myself to have one at all, but with Erik�
�”
“That’s it!” Rose said, throwing up her hands. “I have to cut off my ears!”
Audrey started laughing so hard and so melodramatically that she fell on the bed—right on top of the clothes that Rose had just finished folding. She clasped her hands over her stomach. “You’re so morbid! It was just an orgasm!”
Owen chose that moment to duck his head inside the room. “Audrey, one quick question,” he said hesitantly, “why are you shouting the word orgasm?”
“Because she’s sadistic and likes to gross me out,” Rose complained.
Owen raised an eyebrow. “You’re grossed out by orgasms?”
“No, I’m grossed out by hearing about her and Erik together,” Rose said.
“Ah, yeah,” Owen teased with a wry grin. “Straight sex is kind of gross.”
“Is not!” Audrey shot back immaturely. “It’s totally hot and wonderful.”
Rose rolled her eyes at them. “Why are all of my friends so weird?”
“Because you’re the Queen of Weird,” Audrey said, spreading out her arms on either side of her body, “and we’re your subjects.” She grinned playfully.
“It’s true,” Owen agreed, nodding. “You’re way weirder than we are.”
“By the way, Queen of Weird,” Audrey said, “your subjects are hungry.”
“She might be hungry. I’m fine,” Owen corrected. “We literally just ate.”
“That was an hour ago,” Audrey whined. She patted her flat stomach with one hand. “Do you see this stomach? It is alive! It demands to be fed. Now.”
“I’d hate to see you as a vampire,” Rose muttered under her breath.
“Please, tell me there is something in this house to snack on, other than creepy blood bags,” Audrey begged, “or…like…dead bodies.” She shuddered.
Rose frowned. “We don’t feed from dead bodies. We feed from living ones,” she informed Audrey, “and we usually don’t feed from blood bags either.”
Audrey waved her hands frantically. “Eww! I don’t want the details!”
Rose stared blankly at her. “Hypocrite,” she muttered. Then, she turned toward the door. “Come on. I’m sure there’s something downstairs you can eat.”
The Assassins of Light Page 15
