by Anna Santos
Jade’s heart pounded faster because of everything Jenna was telling her.
“Is Daniel all right?” Jade asked, putting both hands against her chest.
“Just some minor bruises. He will heal. Sakura took him to his bedroom and the party ended. Everybody went back to their own places and the crew was sent away. We were told to go to our bedrooms, but I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Did the fight have anything to do with you? Did Seth make a pass at you? Daniel was extremely jealous of Dominic downstairs!”
“I don’t know why he fought with his brother. And I really don’t care,” Jade lied. “Now, I need to lie down and rest. I have a headache.”
It was not entirely a lie, but Jade needed to be alone.
Jenna told her to take an aspirin and rest. She would wake her up the next day, and they would spend some time near the pool to have fun.
Jade nodded and closed the door.
Her stomach was upset because she was feeling guilty. She was also worried about Daniel. Why did he attack his brother? Seth was nothing but nice to her.
Another soft knock on the door woke her up from her thoughts. Jenna probably wanted to talk to her and make sure she was okay. But when she opened the door, it wasn’t Jenna on the other side. It was Daniel, with his white shirt unbuttoned, showing his perfect torso. He had a bag of ice against his eyebrow. He was bruised and bled from his left eyebrow. Even if it was nice to check out Daniel’s torso and get a little flustered, she was more concerned with understanding what he was doing there.
“What do you want?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Chapter Eleven: The Web of Lies
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck at her cold reply.
“To apologize.” The answer made Jade stare at him with an arched eyebrow and folded arms. She was defensive, and he still didn’t know what he had done to make her hate his guts, again.
“About what?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. Seth swears he didn’t do anything. I may not trust the guy, but I know when he is saying the truth. So, who was it?”
“Who was what?”
“Really, Jade? Are you going to play dumb?” he asked, losing his cool. “Can’t you see I’m hurt and this stings like hell?”
Jade placed a hand on her hip. “Do you want me to feel sorry for you?”
“It would be a start. And then you could kiss me to make all of the pain go away,” he added with a mischievous grin.
Jade’s eyes narrowed, and she grabbed the door. He stopped her before she could close it in his face.
“You’re a vampire. It will heal quickly.”
“You could still kiss me to make me feel better.”
“I could, but then I would have to throw up,” she added.
It was his time to arch an eyebrow. “Is kissing me so bad?”
“I think it’s worse than you imagine.”
“And why is that happening?”
“Because you lied to me!” she snapped.
“Maybe if you elaborate a bit more I can defend myself,” he proposed, and she growled at him. “That is sexy and all, but I would like to know what is going on and why you are mad at me.”
Jade indulged his curiosity with a sarcastic comeback. “Why don’t you go and ask your ex?”
Daniel frowned. “What does Emma have to do with this?”
“She said you pull this stunt on every girl you want to fuck.”
“What stunt?” he asked, trying to stay calm but blood was boiling in his veins. Jade took too long to answer. “Okay, that is it! We are going to the source of the problem, and I’ll ask her what she’s done.” He tossed the ice bag on the floor, grabbing Jade’s wrist and walking down the corridor to where Emma was staying.
“Daniel, stop! Just stop. Please,” she pleaded. “You’re hurting me!”
“Well, I’m trying not to hurt you, but it is hard when you’re fighting to escape from my grasp. Just follow me.”
“You don’t need to go after her. I’ll tell you,” she said. “Stop! There’s no need to make another scene.”
Jade had no idea what Daniel would do to the other girl. He had hit Seth because he thought it was his fault. She didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. He eventually stopped midway and let go of her.
“You really are a jerk! Do you know that?”
“Yes, people keep telling me that. For what it’s worth, I’ve been trying not to be a jerk with you and things are not going my way, are they? So, I don’t have any other choice than to act like a jerk.”
“That reasoning is stupid,” Jade complained, rubbing her wrist where it hurt.
“It’s the only one I’ve got.”
“Well, it’s ridiculous.” Her voice shook and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “You are stupid, and I’m sick of stupid people.”
“News flash, Jade! People are stupid. People are idiots.”
“News flash, Daniel! I don’t give a fuck about people, and I sure don’t give a fuck about you. You can rot in hell for all I care. You can keep your stupid romantic words and your stupid lies for the other girls. I’m tired, I’m pissed, and I don’t want to see your face anymore today!”
“Really?” He smirked, folding his arms across his chest and making Jade’s eyes narrow with disbelief. “You are mad at me, but you don’t care about me? Interesting.”
“I’m mad because you lied.”
“And you won’t tell me what lie that was. I’m waiting. Tell me before I do something really stupid like break that goddamned door and ask that fucking liar what she did this time to ruin my life!”
Jade pulled him before he could do that.
“You told me that I was your beloved, but you lied. You say that to all the girls. You said that to her.” Jade felt the tears wanting to roll down her eyes and the pain obstructed her throat.
Before she could breathe, Daniel grabbed her against him and sped his way down the corridor, stopping inside her bedroom. He threw her onto the bed. She complained as she sat up and held on to her dizzy head. He locked the door and stood in front of the bed staring down at her menacingly.
Jade gasped, confused by his actions. She was afraid of what he was going to do. It was no use to scream. His black eyes and extended fangs weren’t helping her to calm down.
Daniel spoke with a serious face. “Let’s get this straight. I don’t go around saying that to women. I have never said that to Emma. Why on earth would you share that information with her when you know that she is here just to spread her venom?”
“I don’t know anything of the sort. I didn’t tell her anything. She told me that herself, and you’ve told me that inside your home, away from the cameras. How could she have known anything about that?”
“How the hell should I know?”
Suddenly, Daniel stopped cursing and became pensive. Jade caught her breath and kneeled on the bed. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and she was wearing a short-sleeved cotton pajama top with shorts.
“That sneaky, lying, rotten bastard,” Daniel whispered through his clenched teeth. “He put cameras inside my house when I told him not to. I’m going to snap his neck and bury his wolf ass in the ground!”
“Did he record us when we were in the bedroom?” Jade panicked, remembering what they did, the things they said to one another, and the kisses.
She put her hands on her cheeks, ashamed and humiliated. Tears ran down her cheeks, making Daniel take a seat next to her and pull her into his arms. Her tears and pain seemed to be enough to calm him down.
“Come on, baby, don’t cry. I’m going to fix it. Besides, it wouldn’t do him any good if he were to broadcast to the nation that you’re my beloved. His show would be ruined. He gains a lot more by turning you against me and making me go crazy. I tend to lose my mind,” he said sweetly into her ear, caressing her hair, and clearing the tears with his thumbs. “He must have told Emma, so she would use that against u
s. She wanted to make you jealous, so she could make her move. I’ve told you not to believe others, didn’t I, Jade?”
Sobbing, she asked, “Why would they be that mean to me?”
“Because there is a lot of money at stake. Jake is going to lose his position as a director of this show if he doesn’t increase the ratings. And Emma is losing a lot of leading roles in movies because she’s getting older. She wants to be turned into a vampire. The only way she can become one is if a vampire accepts her to be his bride for eternity or, at least, for a lot more time than five years. There are strict laws among our kind. There are strict laws among humans.”
“Daniel, if I find out that you are lying to me, I’ll put a damn stake through your heart,” Jade whispered against his chest, gripping his arms.
His scent was calming her down and his voice was making her strong again. But, even if she wanted to believe his words, she was not going to let him trick her. He had been warned.
“Don’t be mean, Jade. You shouldn’t threaten the person who will love you more than life.”
Jade hid her face in the crook of his neck. “If you break my heart, I don’t need your love, do I?”
“And if you break mine?”
“You have no heart to break.”
Jade’s words stung. Trying to lighten the mood, Daniel joked, “Of course I do. I’ve just been ignoring it too well until I met you.”
“Why do you have to joke about everything?”
“Because life is boring, so we need to joke about things. Besides, I may be kidding around, but I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of someone else trying to take you away from me or trying to make you hate me.”
Jade looked up to meet his eyes, and he noticed how her cheeks warmed and flushed at his confession. He could feel his heart fluttering in his chest as a pleasant sensation spread throughout his body.
“I still won’t sleep with you,” she declared when he was leaning down to kiss her.
Her words were like a bucket of cold water over Daniel’s head. “Come on, give me a break! I’m a nice guy!”
“Not really, no.”
He smirked which made her smile back at him. “I can convince you differently if I try harder.”
Her voice came out vulnerable when she retorted, “Maybe, but then I would regret it tomorrow and hate your guts.”
“I seriously doubt that you would regret it. It would be the best sex you’ve ever had.”
Jade tore her eyes away and stared at the wall behind them with pouting lips. Daniel felt her body tensing. He furrowed his eyebrows. No way! He smiled and placed his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent.
He touched her skin with his words. “So what do you want to do if we can’t have sex now? It is still early for me to sleep. The sun hasn’t come up yet.”
“I’m starving,” she whispered, staring back at his baby blue eyes.
“Then let’s go downstairs. I can cook something for you, and we can stay on the couch, watching reruns of old movies on TV.”
She nodded with a huge smile that made Daniel’s eyes sparkle. It made him happy to see such a reaction on her face. “And then we can have sex!”
Jade’s smile faltered, and she moved her hand to slap him.
“I’m kidding.” He chuckled, taking hold of her hand. “Can we at least kiss?”
She nodded fast enough for him to crack a smile. Once he kissed her, he sped downstairs with her in his arms.
Chapter Twelve: Daniel’s Bedroom
Daniel woke up lazily when the lights in his bedroom turned on. They were automatic, and he used them to wake up and start his workday, which didn’t necessarily mean that he left the bedroom. On the contrary, he had everything he needed in one room.
He sighed and blinked several times, stroking Jade’s hair. She had her head resting on his chest, and her arms were wrapped around his torso.
She complained about the sudden bright lights.
He kissed the top of her head and looked across the bedroom to his work desk that had electronic devices and computer paraphernalia.
His bedroom consisted of four white walls and LCD lights in the ceiling mimicking the sun rays and the blue sky outside. It had a royal king size bed and a closet. Next to the desk was a corridor that led to a full bathroom with a huge tub and shower combo with custom porcelain and a wood vanity with a matching mirror. It wasn’t much, but he didn’t need much to live. He had his own office for when it was night. During the day hours, he preferred to work from his bedroom and give instructions to his employees from there.
Jade squirmed, warning him that she might wake up.
Daniel didn’t want to move to turn off the lights. It would wake her up. But the lights were waking her, too. He was faced with a dilemma. Her movements made the strap of her nightclothes slip and revealed the perfection of her breasts. Her skin was soft, silky, and warm. The sound of her beating heart was soothing and not agonizing as he might have expected because of the blood lust. It had calmed down since he tasted her blood. There was one thing he craved more than her blood—her trust.
Stroking her hair, he inhaled her perfume, utterly captivated by her innocence and beauty.
Her eyelids fluttered open. She turned her head to face Daniel, studying him with her hazel eyes.
His lips automatically curled into a smile and his gaze softened.
Registering a sudden increase in her heartbeat, he realized that she was assessing where she was as her eyes focused on the unfamiliar place. Closing her eyes, she relaxed and inhaled deeply.
“How did I end up here?” she mumbled after clearing her throat. She rolled over and stretched, blinking up at the sky-blue ceiling. “Why is it so bright in here?”
Daniel propped his head up, watching her as she adjusted her pajamas to make sure she was fully clothed. He smirked before answering. “You fell asleep on the couch, and I brought you here.”
“You could have taken me to my bedroom instead.”
“I had promised you that you would end up sleeping in my bedroom before the end of the night,” he teased, turning on his back and flashing a mischievous grin while flexing his arms behind his head.
Jade stretched her sore neck and sat up a bit straighter. Her gaze fell on his shirt. It was unbuttoned and was showing his naked torso gleaming in the artificial light. He was ridiculously attractive—she couldn’t deny that.
It was extremely bright inside the bedroom. She stared at the ceiling once again and realized that it was made of liquid crystal displays that were imitating a clear blue sky with rays of sunshine. That was where the light was coming from and illuminating the bedroom as if it was morning. She felt a mix of sadness and tenderness for Daniel. He couldn’t face sunlight, but he craved it so much that he made his bedroom look like it was set in an open space outdoors.
It was beautiful and gloomy at the same time.
Jade relaxed and stared at him. For the first time, Daniel averted his eyes and shifted uncomfortably on the bed before he completely got up and trailed his way to the left side of the spacious bedroom. He sat in front of the huge computer desk that had a lot of black screens, keyboards, and headphones.
Daniel seemed troubled as if he had guessed her thoughts and they angered him.
Jade sighed and stared at his back, hoping he would look back at her. He didn’t. He turned on the computers with the press of a button, and a colorful display of streets and places showed up on the screens. It was like he was seeing life through someone else’s eyes. It was his window to the outside world during the day.
“What do you want to have for breakfast?” he asked, without turning around. He put a set of headphones over his ears and adjusted the sound.
“Black coffee will be fine,” she answered, unsure if he had heard her.
He did because seconds later he spoke to someone and placed her order.
Jade got up and stood behind his back. “What is all of this?”
“These are my eyes and ears in the world when it’s daytime and I can’t get out of here.”
“Clever.” She stretched out her arms. “What time is it? I have to check on Stevie and get him ready for school.”
“He’s already at school. I hired someone to take care of that. You have slept for several hours. Plus, you are on a sort of vacation from your normal life while you are spending time here with me.”
“I always kiss Stevie before he goes to school.” She pouted, guilt taking over her expression. Her brother must be feeling abandoned while she’s been busy with Daniel. She had to make up for losing the track of time. Stevie was her responsibility, and he wasn’t used to being left alone with strangers.
“You can talk to him when he comes back. It will be in an hour. In the meantime, you will eat breakfast and then you can join the girls in the pool.”
“What?” She stared at the screen that Daniel was pointing at.
The evil Emma and her friend, Jenna, were sunbathing near the pool without any care in the world while talking about something that Jade couldn’t hear.
“I have no intentions of talking to that lying bitch without smacking her down.”
“That would be something worth seeing.” Daniel chuckled. “But weren’t you the one who didn’t want me to hurt her last night?”
“It wouldn’t look good if you hurt her, would it? I, on the other hand, have nothing to lose,” she declared, folding her arms.
“You’re worried about my reputation, are you?” He turned around in his chair and pulled her against him.
Placing his head against her stomach, Jade’s body quivered in response to his touch. Instead of recoiling, she unfolded her arms and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his head, caressing it.
