by Lola Taylor
Tears stung my eyes. “I hate him.”
“Sssh,” Hector said, rubbing my back. “Not here. Come. Let’s get you out of here.”
I let him guide me toward the door, though I couldn’t help but glance at the spray of limbs and blood and internal organs about the room. It had truly been a massacre, and I wondered at how I managed to miraculously escape. If the creature was this strong, then why had it left when I blacked out? Why had it spared me?
What did it have to be afraid of?
These questions rattled around in my head as Hector took me upstairs to his office, ten guards trailing in our wake.
I couldn’t quite remember the walk back. Everything still felt like a dream, or rather, a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. I didn’t feel the marble beneath my feet, nor hear any sound as Hector opened his door and spoke with the guards.
I stood in his room, shivering and feeling numb inside. “I hate this,” I whispered, feeling Hector come up behind me.
“What?” he asked gently.
“Feeling afraid. Like no place is safe.” I turned to face him, staring him straight in the eyes. “I want to learn how to protect myself.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. “I’ll arrange some self-defense lessons.”
“Can you… can you teach me?”
He blinked, then his eyes softened. “Of course. I’ll start fitting some self-defense into your lessons when we start up in a few days.”
“Why a few days?” I asked as he strode across the room and unlocked a door I had somehow never noticed before.
He paused, one hand on the handle. “I thought you’d need some time to recover.”
I shook my head. “No. I want things to go on the way they always have. I need a routine.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Understood,” he murmured, then opened the door.
I couldn’t help but chance a peek inside.
It was massive, at least twice the size of my apartment. I walked into the extravagant living room, looking around in awe at state-of-the-art appliances and new furniture. “How is this possible? There isn’t enough room in this office for all this.”
Hector grinned as he poured me a glass of champagne from the swanky kitchenette. “Would you believe I’m good friends with a witch whose specialty is altering spaces? She enchanted my apartment so it’s larger than most of the faculty’s.”
“Brilliant,” I said, taking the cool glass from him when he walked over and handed it to me. I took a long gulp, practically inhaling the whole glass. Anything to calm the jittery nerves that tingled beneath my skin, setting me on edge.
“Wow.” Hector chuckled. “I didn’t know you were such a lush.”
“Not much of a heavy drinker, actually,” I said, letting him refill my drink. “But tonight I thought I’d make an exception.”
“Can’t blame you,” he muttered darkly. “Why don’t you go relax on the couch, and I’ll pour you a bath?”
I smiled. “Sounds good.” Not meaning to, I glanced all around on my way across the room to his plush red velvet couch.
Hector watched me. “Nothing will harm you here,” he said quietly.
“That’s what you said back in the bunker,” I whispered, throat tight.
Hector winced. “I’m sorry. Had I known it could actually get inside, I never would have left you alone.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting it out. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. None of us did.”
“I’ve sealed this room with a destroyer spell.”
“What’s that?” I asked, though the name gave me some inkling as to what it would do.
His smile thinned. “It sets anything unwelcome on fire.”
“Oh.” I didn’t voice it, but I didn’t think that would be enough to stop that creature if it truly wanted to get to me.
Hector disappeared through a side door, and a moment later I heard running water. I leaned back on the couch, resting my head on the fluffy pillows, and stared up at the ceiling. The alcohol was starting to hit me, thanks to my empty stomach. I was beginning to calm down, though I knew I wouldn’t sleep, not for a while.
Not when death could be waiting to find me in my dreams. For a while now, I’d been wondering in the back of my mind if there was more to the nightmares.
If they were real.
Shivering, I banished that thought.
Think about puppies. Or pretty lingerie from Victoria’s Secret.
But even that didn’t manage to cheer me up much.
A few minutes later, Hector said the bath was ready. “I left out fresh towels and a bathrobe for you. I’m having your clothes brought over now from you room.”
“Thanks,” I said, eyeing the enormous tub. It was more like a gigantic, oval-shaped pool filled with bubbles that smelled of lavender perfume. Red candles were lit all around. This room was entirely red, from the walls to the towels. The tub was white, standing out in stark contrast against the crimson-and-cream-swirled tiled floor. Mirrors took up most of the wall space, rising nearly from floor to ceiling.
After Hector left, I checked every corner of the room for unwelcome guests, feeling silly and paranoid the whole time. Once I was certain I was alone, I undressed and climbed into the tub. I sighed as I lounged back, letting the steam work out the knots in my muscles. My throat was still sore from where that thing had tried to choke me, but being submerged in hot water helped me relax.
My eyes fixed on the towels. Red. Just like the insides of those men.
I shuddered and closed my eyes, trying to shut out the image, but it was like it was branded on my brain. I knew every time I closed my eyes tonight, I would see them.
When a soft knock came at the door, I yelped, splashing water over the side of the tub.
Hector entered, looking ready to pummel something. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I said, sounding breathless. “Just jumpy.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he set a pair of silk pajamas down on the countertop. “Thought you might want these.”
When he started to leave, I said, “Join me?”
Hector froze, blinked slowly, then looked at me.
“Please?” I added. I had no desire to be alone, even for a bath. When I’d been surrounded by people earlier, I hadn’t been safe. Being alone felt stupid and even a bit reckless.
Hector at last shut the door and undid the buttons on his pants. I watched as those dropped to the floor, followed shortly thereafter by his shirt. At last, his boxers came down, revealing a full-on erection.
I stared. I knew he was well-endowed from all the tight-fitting leather pants he wore, but good Lord. My breathing quickened as he stalked toward me and his cock bobbed with the movement. “Like what you see?” he asked as he lowered himself in the water, on the opposite side of the tub.
I swallowed hard. “Very much.”
That seemed to please him. He sat back and spread out his arms along the rim of the tub, facing me. A low growl rumbled from his throat as he closed his eyes. “I’ve forgotten how nice this is.”
“You don’t use this tub?”
“No. Most of the time I’m in such a hurry I just shower. Though I may have to start making an exception.”
I felt my cheeks grow hot. “So I’m staying with you then?”
“Is that all right?” he asked, suddenly looking wary.
“No, it’s fine,” I quickly amended. “I just hate to impose.”
“Sally, you could never impose on me.”
I smiled softly at him. “You’re very kind.”
He looked at me sidelong. “You seem surprised by this.”
I shrugged, looking away. “I know how people with power can behave.”
Pause. “Power has the uncanny ability to corrupt even the most pure-hearted people. I’ve been no exception to its siren call, but I make a daily choice not to be that kind of person.”
I stared at the water, my mind drifting. “When I was human, I wo
rked as a secretary for a law firm. I’d grown up with one of the men who’d just been offered a partnership in the firm. I loved him for years, not ever telling him how I felt until one day, he suddenly seemed interested in me. I was so flattered, I couldn’t think. We dated for a while, with things getting heavier and heavier, but I could never seem to please him in the bedroom. Not wanting to lose him, I decided to try getting creative. So one day I showed up in his office out of the blue. I locked the door behind me, closed the blinds, then did a striptease for him. Little did I know he had been recording my performance, which he then showed to the entire office staff in an anonymous email. They made fun of me relentlessly after that, saying how terrible I was and how ‘not sexy.’ I was laughed out of the office.
“Heartbroken, I ran home. Not watching where I was going, I crossed the street without checking both ways. A car swerved toward me. I couldn’t get out of the way in time. It hit me head-on, knocking me in the air twenty feet. With a face full of broken glass and broken bones all over my body, I was carted to the ER. They thought I wouldn’t make it through the night, and I felt so horrible I honestly didn’t care if I did. That’s when Elias found me.”
I smiled coldly. “He offered me a second chance at life, as a succubus, saying I had a passionate spirit. I don’t know what made me want to accept, but I did. And here I am.”
Silence greeted me when I’d finished, and I dared a glance at Hector.
His hands were clenched in fists and flames danced in his eyes. “That prick was an undeserving bastard who didn’t need to humiliate you.”
I shrugged. “It happened. Nothing I can do about it now.”
To my surprise, he grabbed me and pulled me to him. I let him tuck my head in along his shoulder as he held me close. I clung to him, listening to his heartbeat speed up.
“We all have fears to master,” Hector said quietly, tracing patterns in the bubble residue on my skin. “But if we don’t become the master of our fears, they will master us. You have an innate grace about you that’s incredibly alluring, Sally, whether you realize it or not. You’d be a natural seductress, if you’d learn to let go of your past.”
“I’m not sure I can,” I whispered.
He lifted my chin so I’d meet his gaze. “Remember you have a choice. Nothing - no one - can make you feel insignificant without your consent.”
I sighed. Everything was so complicated now. “Did you ever forgive Sylvia?”
He smiled faintly. “Yes. I had to in order to let her go, to come to terms with what she did. I haven’t really felt alive with anyone since… until you.”
My breath caught.
“Do you remember what I told you about soul mates?” he said, voice husky and soft and wonderful. “Erys said we each have one, possibly multiple ones, out there, but we rarely find a love that perfect. If we do, they make us stronger with their presence. They complete us.” He touched his fingers to mine, and that comfortable zing went through me. “Just like this,” he said softly.
I stared at our hands, not moving. “This is more than an exchange of energy, isn’t it?”
So much time passed, I almost thought he wasn’t going to answer. “Yes. This type of magic is stronger, running deeper than blood. This kind of magic comes from the threads of one’s soul being intertwined with their destiny.”
“It all sounds so far-fetched,” I said, feeling dazed. “There isn’t such a thing as perfect love.”
“I never said there was. Love is sloppy. It can be reckless and blind, and even immortals have to work at it, same as humans. But you won’t get any closer to completion than this, not in this world.”
I lifted my eyes to his, finding his smoky gaze staring back at me with an intensity that made my knees shake. “But you’re Hector Aurelius.”
“And you’re Sally Sanders.”
“I… this can’t be right.” But I knew deep down it was. This felt right, in a way few things ever do.
“Does it feel wrong?” he asked, leaning closer so his lips hovered right over mine.
“No,” I whispered, my breath trembling as my eyes dipped to his exquisite mouth.
He reached up and faintly traced his fingers over my lips, then cupped my face. “Good. Because since I’ve found you, I don’t want to let you go.”
The words were out of my mouth in an instant.
“I don’t want you to.”
When he leaned into me, taking my mouth in his with a passion that set fire to my soul, I could do nothing but close my eyes and kiss him back.
Chapter 13
OVER THE COURSE OF the next week, I pieced my life back together. It was painful because I had to face the fact my life had changed and that people had died to protect me, but I also felt as if I’d been living half-asleep before now, just going through the motions without feeling much. There was nothing like a life-threatening situation to put things into perspective.
True to his word, Hector trained me in some basic defensive and offensive moves; punches, kicks, knee-strikes, palm-strikes, elbow-strikes, every other kind of strike available. He’d also taught me some simple techniques to dislodge my opponent in case I was grabbed from behind, or if my attacker was male.
“Just go for the balls,” Hector said. “Harming those hurts like hell, whether he’s human or sup.”
“Go for the balls. Got it.”
He grinned. “I like it when you talk dirty.”
I hadn’t forgotten what he’d said to me in the tub. While I was still skeptical about the possibilities of soul mates, I couldn’t deny the connection I felt with him. Now that our mutual feelings were out in the open, the connection only seemed to amplify when I was near him. Every kiss was divine, each touch, enchanting. But I wanted more. I needed to be closer to him, to go all the way, to give myself over to him fully. I’d lost part of myself to my ex – and to Damien – and I needed to get it back.
Which was precisely why Hector was waiting. He knew how shaken I still was by everything, despite around-the-clock guards, and he said he knew I’d come out stronger if I worked through it on my own. He would help any way he could, but he didn’t want to become a crutch for my emotional stability, and I respected that. I respected myself enough to see the sense in his thinking, no matter how irritated my raging libido was by his abstinence.
The D.P.I. brought by several photos of all the hybrids on campus, none of whom I recognized as Damien or the creature that had attacked me in the bunker. Sighing in frustration, I slumped on the couch with my head in my hands.
Hector rubbed my back soothingly. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”
“But what if we never do? How can you find someone that can disappear without a trace whenever he feels like it?”
“You have patience and wait for him to slip up. All criminals do eventually.”
I didn’t voice the sinking sensation in my chest, like a lead weight was dropping farther into my stomach with each passing day Damien roamed free. Add to that the helpful assurance the D.P.I. was “looking into it,” and I was all but ready to pull my hair out.
To keep myself distracted, I took to training as much as possible. The moves that had felt awkward and foolish at first became surer, quicker.
One day, Hector and I were in his office, facing off in a light sparing match. I feinted, then hauled a punch at Hector’s head, which he narrowly dodged. “Nice!” he said. “That feint was excellent. You’re learning to control your facial cues now. You don’t glance to the side when you’re faking anymore.”
I grinned. “Maybe I’ll actually knock you to the floor this time.”
He smiled back, but it wasn’t arrogant. It was sensual, like everything he did. “Let’s not get cocky.”
A loud knock at the door signaled our lunch break, right at noon. Panting and dabbing away my sweat-soaked body with a towel, I swiped up a bottle of water and took several long gulps while Hector toweled off. “Wait here,” he said, then vanished. A moment later, he returned with a b
ig smile on his face. “I have a surprise for you.”
“What kind of surprise?” I asked, then my eyes widened as I spotted who was behind him.
Angela smiled as I wrapped her up in a hug. “Oh!” I said, hastily stepping back. “Sorry about that. I’m drenched. It’s probably gross.”
“No prob,” she said, waving it off. “I’m just glad I finally get to see you. No one knew what to think. We all thought the worse, though Megan speculated you’d eloped with Hector.”
Hector choked on a drink of water and coughed to clear his throat, while I laughed nervously. “Don’t be ridiculous!”
Hector’s face flushed with an adorable blush, and he said, “I’ll leave you to eat. Lunch should be here any minute.”
I smiled at him. Thank you, Hector.
Right on time, sandwiches and potato salad from the kitchen arrived, and Angela and I sat down in Hector’s dining room to eat. “This place is pretty swanky,” she said, giving the place an appreciative once-over.
“He knows how to decorate,” I said, nibbling on my sandwich without much of an appetite. It had disappeared the night I almost died.
Angela studied me with concern. “Do you need anything? It sucks I don’t get to see you anymore, but I understand why Hector is as protective as he is.”
I flushed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Angela smiled softly. “You don’t have to hide your true feelings for him around me. I see the way you two look at one another, not to mention there’s something… I don’t know, something in the air that feels different when you two are together.”
I furrowed my brows, my hairs standing up on end. The notion of soul mates still seemed a little unbelievable, yet I couldn’t deny how wonderful it was at the same time. “Being with him is the only time I really feel safe,” I whispered. “My life has been turned upside-down. I can’t go anywhere alone. I’m not allowed to talk to anyone or visit with anyone or even come down to eat. I have to train exclusively with Hector, since he is my assigned guardian. Being with him is incredible, a dream come true, but it’s like being stuck in a cage. I want out.”
