“Is there something bothering you, Child?” Azerial said as she glided into the room.
“I really wish you guys would stop calling me that,” Jade muttered, tearing her eyes away from the window.
“I realize that you are no longer a child,” the goddess told her. “I will always think of you as my child, as one of my loyal children that follow in the path of good.”
“I know,” Jade sighed, “It’s just that my father doesn’t see it that way. He treats me like he did when I was twelve.”
Azerial sat beside her and brushed the wrinkles from her pants. “I know, but you must remember that he will always see you that way. To him, you will always be his little girl. Now, what has brought on this sudden angst over this matter? It wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain firebird that has shown up on our doorstep, would it?”
Jade studied the goddess. Her sea blue eyes were shining with knowledge that Jade couldn’t hide from. She was the embodiment of everything that was pure and good in the world. She was an earth goddess, and she was Samuel’s mate. She willingly gave up her post in the heavens to be a part of their family. “I think it may be,” Jade finally answered.
Azerial pushed her long blond hair over her shoulder and stared into Jade’s eyes. “He is your mate,” she finally said.
“Please don’t say anything,” Jade begged her. “He doesn’t know yet and I don’t want him to know. I want him to want me for me, not because he thinks he has to. His mother is a vampire and he knows how mates work. I want my mate to fall in love because he wants to, not because of some feeling of duty.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Azerial answered. “Your secret is safe with me. Besides, isn’t falling half the fun?”
Jade smiled at Azerial. She was wise and cool and that was an incredible combination. “I wouldn’t know, I haven’t fallen yet.”
“Ah, but you will. It is inevitable. Have you not seen your future together?”
“No,” Jade admitted. “I have no idea where this is going. I’m used to knowing whatever I want to know but this, this is a complete blank to me. It’s really frustrating, if you want to know the truth. How did you know he was my mate?”
Azerial sat back and smiled at her. “The way you protected him when he first arrived. A mated vampire will do anything for their mate. Just look at what the men in this house have done for theirs. Just because you are a female vampire doesn’t make you immune to the mating. You must be careful though. He does not live by the same rules that you do. You must not risk feeding from him until you are absolutely certain that he is irrevocably in love with you and wants to be your mate. To do so blindly could be fatal to you. And I believe the reason you cannot see a future together is because the future is not written on this matter. It is your own future and you must live it like the rest of us.”
Jade nodded her head in agreement. Michael was going to have to fall head over heels in love with her, and she just knew that it was going to be as fun as hell watching him fall.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Michael trudged up to the door after a long, twelve hour shift with the security team. He had spent the day learning the ins and outs of the security measures that guarded the infamous Knight Estate. He met one employee after another, knowing full well he would never be able to remember all of their names. After a tour, he was subjected to the computer software that was so freaking high tech that he was sure he would never understand it. He tried to explain that he was more brawn than brains, but they wouldn’t accept that, stating that all employees had to understand how to work the alarm system.
His back hurt, his legs hurt, his head hurt. Hell, he was pretty sure that even his hair hurt. All he wanted to do was go in and drown in a hot shower. He knew he had to stink to high heaven. Even though the guards tried to teach him the high tech stuff, they also ran him through an intense PT course that would have downed a Navy Seal.
Just as he was about to open the door, his hand already on the handle, Jade tripped lightly to his side. “Hey there, how did it go?” she asked in her lovely soprano voice.
“I am so tired,” he admitted. “I think tomorrow is going to be worse.”
“Tomorrow?” she asked, raising a perfectly shaped brow. Michael thought he heard her mumble something about her father, but he wasn’t sure and was too tired to figure it out.
“I gotta get clean and sleep,” he said to her.
“So does that mean you aren’t feeling up to grabbing some dinner with me then?” she asked him with a smile.
One look at her hopeful expression and Michael found a second wind. He didn’t know what it was about Jade, but he was pretty sure that if she asked him to move a mountain, he would find a way to do it for her. So of course, dinner was on. Besides, he could use some food. “Oh, I would love dinner,” he began. He was going to tell her to let him shower first, but her smile distracted him and before he knew it he was following behind her like a loyal puppy into the garage where the cars were kept.
There was a line of vehicles in the garage. All of them were black. It reminded Michael of being in an FBI garage. Three assorted SUV’s, a Town Car, and then there was the Mustang. Sleek, black and brand new. And of course, that is the one Jade stopped in front of.
“Michael, I want you to meet Enrique,” she said proudly.
Michael choked back a laugh. “Enrique?” he asked.
“Hello Jade,” a baritone voice with a heavy Spanish accent said. Michael whipped his head around in search of the voice.
“Hello Enrique,” she replied, stroking the roof of the Mustang. “This is my friend, Michael.” Then she turned to Michael. “Say hello,” she instructed.
“You named your car Enrique,” he laughed. “And the car talks? What is it, some kind of OnStar?”
Jade grinned from ear to ear. “Not exactly. It is the newest technology in AI. Enrique here has a mind all his own. Of course, Gage tinkered with his operating system to make him sensitive to me only. I will never need a key for my car and I will never be carjacked or anything like that.”
“And just how is that?” Michael asked.
“I am programmed to detect even the slightest hint of angst in Jade’s voice,” Enrique answered. “I will allow no harm to come to her.”
“Did your car just seriously answer me?” Michael gaped.
“Yep,” Jade answered with a toothy grin. “Come on, get in.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the car doors clicked and opened slightly. Jade pushed her door the rest of the way open and slid gracefully into the driver’s seat. Michael did the same and folded his long body into the passenger seat. “Where we going?” he asked as he fastened his seat belt. He had to wiggle around a bit in order to make room for his wings within the confines of the car. Even though he kept them folded tightly at his back, they were massive and the car was not.
“I was thinking Chinese?” Jade offered.
Michael nodded in approval.
“Enrique, take us to the China Buffet,” she commanded. The engine started and purred for a moment before shifting into gear all on its own.
“Wow,” Michael said in awe. He had never had a car, or even a need for one, but he was turning green over the beautiful machine that Jade owned. Now, if it only had a female voice instead of the Latino Sex God voice….
They talked on the way, while Jade never even had to look at the road. She didn’t touch the steering wheel or the pedals. Her car was something else. It gave a whole new meaning to the words cruise control.
As the car parked itself in the restaurant parking lot, Michael asked Enrique to let him out first. Of course, the car didn’t respond.
“Enrique, let Michael out please,” Jade said and the door clicked open. Michael unfolded himself and walked around to her door. He rolled his eyes as he waited for the car to let Jade out. When the door finally opened, he offered her his hand to help her get out.
She accepted his offer and graced him with a smile t
hat could dull the sun itself. He led her into the restaurant and pulled her chair out for her when the hostess sat them.
Jade sat in the chair Michael offered and then turned her eyes toward the hostess who seated them. The woman was checking Michael out. Her eyes traveled over his tousled hair and all the way down to his booted feet. Jade felt the heat under her skin rising to dangerous levels. No one got to look at her mate that way. He was hers. A low, threatening growl emanated from her. The hostess didn’t miss it or the look of impending death on Jade’s face. She quickly made herself scarce.
“What the hell was that?” Michael laughed as he took his seat across from her. “What did that poor girl do?”
Jade shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t like the way she was eyeing us.” Almost the truth.
“Remind me to never piss you off,” he chuckled. “So, what’s good here?”
Jade ordered the Kung Pow chicken and Michael had the Orange Chicken. They ate in amicable silence until Jade was full and had to lean back in her seat. “I couldn’t eat another bite,” she announced.
Michael grinned and pulled her plate over to his side of the table. “Better not let it go to waste,” he grinned as he began shoveling her leftovers into his mouth. Michael wasn’t very educated on Chinese food and didn’t realize that her meal was so spicy until it was too late. Fire erupted on his tongue and he grabbed his water glass to gulp it all down. “Holy hell, what is in that?” he asked after putting out the flames.
Jade giggled. “I like spicy,” she offered.
“No shit,” he replied. “You could have warned me.”
“I thought you knew,” she said. “Besides, even if you didn’t, you saw me adding the wasabi.”
Michael shook his head. “I wasn’t paying attention, I guess,” he finally said. “We should get you back before your dad sends out a search party.”
Jade smiled and darted her eyes to the fireplace. “He already has,” she whispered, “By the fireplace.”
Michael turned his head and saw nothing. “I don’t see anyone.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “Hi, Jim,” she said with a sarcastic smile. “Did you get everything you need for my father?”
Jim? Michael watched as the stone from the fireplace transformed into the chameleon shifter he had met earlier that day. “Just doing my job, Princess,” he said with a smile.
“Go back and tell my father that I said to shove it,” Jade answered sweetly. Michael was pretty sure that Jade could tell someone to go to Hell in that voice and they would actually be looking forward to the trip.
“Yes ma’am.” Jim grinned and quit the room with a silent grace only a shifter would have.
“Man, I guess I gotta watch my P’s and Q’s,” Michael finally said after Jim was gone.
“My dad needs to back off,” Jade answered with a snort. “He forgets that I can take care of myself.”
Michael was well aware that Jade could handle herself. Even as a young girl, she had been strong and powerful. She was a born vampire, for God’s sake. That alone made her stronger and faster. Her human half allowed her to be out in the sun. She was everything good about being a vampire without the drawbacks of her night walker family. And those fangs! Michael had seen them. They were razor sharp and she could tear someone to shreds with them. And of course, thinking of those fangs made him wonder how it would feel to have her sink them into his skin. He fidgeted in his seat to accommodate the instant, massive hard on the thought caused. He had never seen her feed from anyone. He knew that she must have, though. Her body required it. Of course, she could live off the bottled blood like her family did before they were mated. Just the thought of her feeding from someone besides him made him want to rip the heads off of anyone who got close to those teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Jade asked him with a knowing smile. “You’re frowning.”
Michael suspected that she had already picked the thought out of his head, but didn’t acknowledge it. “Nothing,” he answered her and stood up from his chair. “Let’s get you home.”
It was well after ten before they finally made it back to the estate. Jade skipped off to her own room and Michael found himself in the guest bedroom once again. He had been awake far too long and desperately needed a shower and sleep.
He showered quickly and tucked himself into bed without bothering to put any clothes on. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep filled with dreams of a feisty redhead with beautiful, shiny fangs.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Michael woke to a shower of ice cold water being splashed onto his face. “Good morning!” a female’s voice chimed as he shot straight out of bed. He whipped his head around to the voice with a snarl, prepared to incinerate whoever decided it was a good idea to wake him up that way.
Leigh was standing by the head of his bed with a huge grin on her face. “Come on, you are gonna sleep the day away!” she said to him entirely too cheerfully.
Michael wiped the water from his face and took a few deep, calming breaths. “What time is it?” he asked after calming down a bit.
“Seven-thirty,” she answered. Michael groaned. At least he had gotten some sleep. “You get to train with me today.”
Fuck. He was hoping to put that off a while longer. He had heard stories of how Leigh trained and he definitely remembered the time she ate his father. Literally. She had not known who he was and her dragon bit him in two. Of course, he came right back, but still. He nodded his head in her direction.
“Great, so I’ll meet you outside in ten minutes?” she asked but didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, she danced her way to the door and disappeared down the hall.
Michael groaned aloud. He stretched his tired muscles and prepared himself to have his ass kicked.
Exactly ten minutes later, Michael stepped through the glass doors that led to the beach behind the Estate. The sun had already raised high in the sky and was well on its way to baking everything in sight into a burnt crisp. Rebel, Leigh, Jade, and Azerial were talking to each other about fifty feet from the house.
“This is necessary,” Azerial was saying to Jade. “He must learn to fight. If he wants to work here and to be part of our lives, he must learn to protect us and himself.”
Jade grumbled something he couldn’t hear and Azerial put a hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her. Leigh promised not to kill him, but Michael noticed that she didn’t promise not to hurt him.
A small part of him was terrified to go up against a dragon. Sure, he had sparred with his family more than once, but they were his family. They would never cause harm to him. Leigh was a different story. She could and would inflict pain. Not that he was afraid of pain; he just wasn’t looking forward to getting it in any hurry.
He took a deep breath that filled his lungs all the way to the bottom. He needed to be on the offensive if he was going to have a fighting chance. He spread his wings to their fullest and allowed the fire to blaze on them. The heat was intense, especially combined with the heat of the sun. He put on his warrior face and took a step toward the small group.
Michael was very aware of his surroundings. He was aware of the vampires inside the house that were watching from the windows. He was aware of the crashing of the waves to his left, the house to his right. He knew there was a family of birds nesting in the palm tree that grew next to the house. He knew the pool was behind him. It was now or never.
“You said ten minutes,” he said loudly. “I’m here and you are having a chat break. Let’s do this.”
All four heads turned in his direction. Jade looked worried, but also, he thought he detected a hint of pride in her amethyst eyes. Leigh huffed and tossed her long, black hair over her shoulder. Rebel grinned like an idiot and Azerial smiled warmly at him. They didn’t seem to find him very menacing and that was an oversight he intended to rectify.
“Me first,” Rebel offered and Leigh waved her hand out in front of the group as if to tell him to have at it. Rebel, a vampir
e, was able to be out in the sun due to the magic of his dragon mate. He never missed an opportunity to flaunt that little benefit, either. As he walked toward Michael, stupid grin on his face, Michael prepared himself to pounce.
When Rebel was close enough to touch and opened his mouth to speak, Michael went for it. He lunged forward, gathering the vamp in his arms and lifting them both into the sky. Rebel’s cowboy hat fell of his head and floated down to the sand below them as Michael shot up into the sky; higher and higher, until the pool below was as small as a matchbook.
“What the fuck?” Rebel yelled.
Michael laughed and stopped his ascent. “You’re a dead vamp,” he said with a sly smile and then dropped Rebel from his arms.
Rebel fell, flailing his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to fly, but without wings, it was a difficult task. When he was merely twenty feet from smashing into certain death, Michael shot from his perch in the sky down to Rebel, scooping the vamp up and circling before landing gently on the sand. He put Rebel on his feet and stepped back to enjoy his victory.
“What the hell?” Rebel snarled as he dusted off his hat and plunked it back on his head.
“If you were my enemy, I would have let you fall. You would be dead now.” Michael put his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out. “That’s one for me, and zero for you.”
“Again,” Rebel said, “This time on the ground.” He raised his fists in a typical boxing pose and Michael smothered a chuckle. He would not be hitting this man. Just as he completed the thought in his head, blinding pain exploded in his jaw.
“Ow,” he said. “That’s not fair.”
“Never said I was going to fight fair,” Rebel said as he snapped his fist forward again. This time, Michael was prepared. He easily dodged the blow and ducked to the right. Rebel was fast, but Michael was faster. He moved faster than even he knew he could while on the ground.
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