Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry Book 1)

by Sotia Lazu

  It was Constantine all right, but the version of him smiling at us was one I hadn’t encountered so far. His hair, loose, cascaded over his shoulders, which were bare except for the straps of his tank top, and his arms hung relaxed at his sides, thumbs in the belt loops of his faded jeans. Tan cowboy boots completed the ensemble. I didn’t even know he owned a pair of those, or any kind of shoe that wasn’t patent leather and polished until you could see your image in it.

  He stood underneath the porch light, the halo forming around him carving his shape out of the night behind him in stark relief. I bet he was fully aware of how the luminescence added to his natural gorgeousness.

  “What’s with the disguise?” I asked. Focusing on how out of character he appeared was better than focusing on how hot that out-of-character-ness looked. And it looked sizzling.

  He studied me as if I were naked, and for a moment I felt just that—naked and exposed to his shameless charm, with no defense but the human beside me.

  Alex, more polite on his worst day than I was on my best behavior, held out his right hand. I knew he’d rather clench it in a fist, but he kept his tension out of both his posture and his voice. “Alex Marsden.” He could afford to be polite; his saliva wasn’t threatening to spill down his chin.

  Constantine widened his eyes in surprise for an instant, before he shook the proffered hand. “Constantine,” he said. He didn’t offer his last name, and Alex didn’t ask.

  When neither of them broke the handshake or said something as dishonest as nice to meet you after a couple of very long seconds, I realized the greeting was, in fact, a macho territorial thing. Good thing neither of them was literally Alpha Dog, or I’d have a pissing contest to deal with. I hoped Alex wasn’t trying to establish dominance by squeezing Constantine’s palm, because if Constantine squeezed back, Alex’s hand would soon look like raw burger. I listened. Nope. No sound of crunching bone.

  I shifted my gaze from their clasped hands to Constantine’s face and saw he was sizing Alex up. They were the same height, give or take a quarter of an inch, but Constantine cocked his head back and to the side, so he was looking down at Alex. One glance at Alex revealed he was appraising the competition as well. Fun, fun, fun.

  I was about to pipe up and ask what the urgency of the meeting was all about, or just tickle their sides—anything to break the stalemate—when Constantine raised one corner of his upper lip enough to show a long white fang. “Aren’t you going to invite me inside, Mr. Marsden?” He used his mesmerizing voice.

  Fuck. Why didn’t I see that coming? Why didn’t I warn Alex not to hold his gaze?

  Because to me, Constantine wasn’t the enemy. What was more, since Alex wasn’t my prey, I overlooked the fact that he was prey to Constantine.

  Before I could snap Alex out of the mind hold my ex imposed on him, Alex said, “Come in, Constantine.”

  Which the bastard did, sneering when Alex got out of his way and motioned for me to do the same. “You will remember I made you invite me inside but believe this is the last I will mess with your free will,” Constantine said. “No matter what Cherry tells you.”

  Way to cover his bases. Would it be my fault if I grabbed the stake from Alex’s pants and went for a certain overconfident vampire’s heart? I settled for glaring instead, but with the same lethal intention.

  Alex nodded. When he spoke next, his voice was clear. “I believe you, but so you know, I have a stake in my pocket.” My man and I were in sync.

  Constantine, made himself comfortable in the armchair and stared at the front of Alex’s pants.

  It was the perfect opening to get back at him for being a jerk. “Stake’s in the back pocket. That’s all him.” I felt both men’s stunned stares on my back as I made my way to the kitchen. “Can’t do this without a beer. Too weird. Anyone else want something?” I said over my shoulder.

  Alex asked for a beer too, and Constantine said he’d like a scotch if I didn’t have any blood. Scotch it would be, and I’d be naughty enough to water it, just ’cause I could.

  “I’ll be right back. Meantime, play nice.” Not that I trusted them to do so, which was why I tried to hear everything they said while I was gone.

  Unfortunately, keeping the beer from fizzing out of the glass took up enough of my concentration that I missed whatever made Constantine laugh. That he laughed was enough to worry me. Did he decapitate Alex? Was he now showering in his blood, like I bet used to be his customary dance of triumph once upon a time?

  Balancing all three glasses on a tray, I pushed the kitchen door open with my foot and returned to the living room as fast as I could without becoming a blur to the human eye or spilling the drinks.

  The danger of spillage was more imminent when I stopped than it while I’d been in motion; the sight that greeted me made me think the world was spinning backward. I mean, I asked the men to play nice but didn’t honestly expect the level of nice I came upon.

  Constantine was sprawled in the armchair, looking at the ceiling and shaking his head in disbelief, while Alex half-sat on the armrest of the couch and nodded vigorously. “That’s what I thought she was, man. It was an honest mistake. You’d have thought the same.”

  Hearing me approach, my former lover raised his head in a motion that reminded me of a serpent ready to attack its prey. Did that make me a helpless little mouse? Nah—a bird. Better be a bird.

  “Maybe our lessons in sophistication didn’t do as much good as I’d thought.” He narrowed his eyes, but not before I saw the glint of mirth in their irises.

  “Your lessons in landing my mark worked like a charm, though,” I said, not skipping a beat. For once I was extremely grateful I had no circulation and was spared the embarrassment of blushing from either the memory of the misunderstanding between Alex and me during our first encounter, or that of Constantine’s... lessons. I placed the tray on the coffee table, handed Constantine his liquor, and passed Alex his beer. Then I took my own and sat on the couch next to my current boyfriend, my arm draped over his thigh.

  “What were you wearing, that our dear Alex thought you were a working girl?” Constantine was so not dropping the subject. Argh.

  I’d make him drop it. “How’s Sheena doing? Are you two getting along?” If my grin was any wider, my face would split in half and each part would roll off my skull.

  Constantine took a sip of his drink and grimaced. “To be perfectly honest, Ms. Herring is a pain. She asks questions about everything, flirts with me shamelessly, demands constant attention, and is loud. Other than that, she is fine and sends her regards. She is not why I’m here, however.”

  “She’s not?”

  He shook his head. “Ádísa is.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. Did she send him?

  Alex tensed and leaned forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the top of the stake jut out of his pocket. I moved my hand from Alex’s leg to his shoulder, then ran it down his back, all the way to his waistband. I didn’t think we had much of a chance if Alex was proven right as to Constantine’s loyalties, but if it came to that, we’d go down fighting.

  “What about her?” Okay, so I couldn’t have possibly said her any more disdainfully.

  “She and another of the current council members are the ones who organized your turning.” I couldn’t believe his calm.

  I curled my fingers around the stake but not so I could free it from its denim sheath. Holding on to it was like holding on to reality itself. Hearing my suspicions confirmed shocked me more than meeting Santa or a village of Smurfs could.

  “How long have you known?” I asked. Please...

  “I found out after you and I broke up, but she’d been the one who insisted I become your mentor.” He cradled his glass with both hands, staring at the amber liquid as though it held the answer to some invaluable mystery.

  If he didn’t look at me soon, I’d get up and slap him. “Did she insist you fuck me too? Say you love me?” I all but forgot about the man beside me
. His warm presence became nothing more than a part of the surroundings. All I saw, felt, tasted was betrayal. First Sheena, now Constantine. How much of my life before and after my turning was a lie? The question swirled in my head, drowning out another one trying to form there.

  Constantine looked to my right, and I followed his gaze to Alex’s face. Alex looked grim but showed no intention of leaving my side or changing the route of the conversation. I was grateful for his understanding, and at the same time, wanted to yell at him for having no insecurities when I was teeming with them. I readjusted my grip on the stake, but Alex reached behind him and covered my hand with his.

  The stake wasn’t my connection to reality.

  He was.

  “She wanted me to make you fall for me. She hadn’t planned on the opposite happening,” Constantine finally said.

  There was no doubt in my mind he didn’t miss any of the interaction between me and Alex. Both Constantine and I knew who the better man in the room was.

  “That’s why she did her best to seduce me back to her.” Constantine downed the rest of his scotch in one big gulp. “Once you and I were over, she promised me power to keep me with her, but when she told me what she’d done... I really did and do love you, Cherry. I’d do anything for you, including sit back and let you be happy with a human.”

  I waited for a comment from Alex, but none came. Too numb to hold on to my beer, I left it on the table. I didn’t know how to react. My eyes burned with the sting of tears, and there was an itch in my throat that would lead to hysterical laughter if I let it out. My ex gave me his blessing and confessed his love for me in front of my current love interest. Who, by the way, took it all in stride and let us talk things out. Civilized, huh?

  I couldn’t let Constantine’s declaration of love get to me. “When she told you what she’d done—what?” His eyes were a stormy blue, earnest and tormented, when he raised his gaze to mine, but I pressed on, keeping my tone cool. Detached. “You were with her again after the meeting with the council. And last night.” My jealousy wasn’t the issue; I wanted him to know I wasn’t buying what he was selling.

  I saw him grasping for words before he said, “I was with her because I had to be.”

  “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Poor thing. It must have been horrible, fucking her again and again.” I was disgusted. How could he sit here and expect me to listen to this?

  “That’s not how it was.”

  The waver in his voice did nothing to melt the ice in mine. “Who else from the council is in on it?”

  “I don’t know. I only know someone is, because Ádísa told me so.” He held up a hand to shush my protest. “Let me tell you things as they happened, all right? Please hear me out?” At my nod, he went on. “When she bragged to me about how she attained her position in the council by having you turned, I didn’t hold back. I made my displeasure with her rather obvious, and went as far as threatening I would tell the council about her actions.

  “She laughed and told me to go ahead. That it would be my word against that of two council members.” He addressed Alex now, maybe seeking male camaraderie. “That would help neither me nor Cherry, so I tried honey where vinegar failed, to find out more so I could have a case against her. I approached her again, made a public apology, and finally got back into her good graces, managing to pass off our fight as a lovers’ spat. I told her what had enraged me the most was her lack of confidence in me.” He locked gazes with me once more. “I’m not proud for sleeping with her when you and I were together, but I swear to you, the only reason I ever touched her since was so I could bring her down.”

  “She bought the love-struck puppy act,” I said. His charm was indisputable, and Ádísa’s ego wouldn’t let her doubt his adoration of her.

  He nodded. “She still doesn’t tell me about what she does, but she’s not meticulous about hiding it, either. She believes I’m oblivious. What I’ve managed to find out is that Willoughby is her childe too. You’re right about him turning young women, although I still don’t know why. I followed him once, after he visited her, and saw him take a woman to a house on the other side of town from Ádísa’s. I didn’t see the woman leave while I was there, and I stayed till just before sunrise. I went back the following day, but the place was deserted. I’ve only seen him twice since, but he keeps disappearing on me.”

  Willoughby’s threat to Mark came back to me. Tell Cherry to get her boyfriend off my case. Could he have meant Constantine? But we broke up years ago. I wanted to slap my forehead. Years ago? Willoughby was probably old old, both olds measured in centuries. Four years to him were like a week to me.

  I squeezed Alex’s hand. “Willoughby didn’t mean you. He knew Constantine was after him all along. That’s why he was surprised to see you at Dark Sun.” The implications of what I was saying hit me full force, and I turned to Constantine. “He knows you’re after him.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Constantine said. “Last night I overheard there are some fledglings and a human in Ádísa’s basement.”

  Alex and I jumped up as one. The human had to be Dotty, and the sooner we got to the fledglings, the less the influence Ádísa and her bastard would have on them. Without the right sponsor, the girls could become remorseless killers. “Why didn’t you start with this little bit of info?” I asked with a snarl, as Alex demanded instructions to the bitch’s abode.

  Constantine’s eyes blazed at me, brilliantly blue. “If you answered your telephone, I’d have told you much sooner. And my timing doesn’t matter. We cannot go there for at least one more hour. Ádísa wanted to be alone, and she’s given her staff the night off. She’s going out to feed at nine. I say nine thirty is our best bet for getting in and out of there with as little trouble as possible.”

  I didn’t want little trouble. I wanted big trouble, and I wanted to be the one causing it. The rational part of me knew he was right. I was dying to know what Ádísa needed her privacy for, but the fewer vampires we had to fight, the better our chances of survival. We couldn’t exactly spy on an ancient vampire and expect not to be noticed.

  “We leave here at nine,” I said. “I need to go by my place first.” Once the girls and Dotty were free, we could go back and settle things with Ádísa once and for all. With any luck, the three of us might beat her, but I needed sturdier shoes if I was even going to try to kick her ass.

  “We’re going in tonight because he said so?” Alex indicated Constantine with the hand holding his beer. “If he gives me the address, I can go get Dotty during the day, when it’s safe. Assuming she’s really there.” He looked at Constantine. “No offense, man, but I trust you about as far as I can throw you.”

  Constantine grinned. “If I said the same, it would be a great compliment.”

  I scoffed. “Shut up, Constantine. We get it—you’re strong. Alex, Ádísa is not defenseless during the day. Even without humans protecting her, she wouldn’t have gotten this old if she were stupid.” Constantine agreed, and I continued. “She’ll be as lethal as always below ground level, which is where the girls are. Plus you can’t drag the new vamps out in the middle of the day, and we have to save them from her clutches too.”

  Alex seemed unconcerned with them, which, to be honest, bummed me out. I didn’t want him to consider vampires expendable. These girls were significant to him before their turning. They ought to matter now too.

  He did that nibble-worthy clenched-jaw thing. “Fine. Then let’s get backup. Aren’t there any other vampires you can trust?” His question put him back on my nice-boys list.

  Those of the council not working with Ádísa should be the obvious answer, but who was beyond suspicion? “We could try Johnny Boy.” I looked to Constantine for confirmation.

  He shook his head. “We don’t know which of them is on her side.”

  “One of the council members?” Alex asked, eyes wide. “Haven’t we agreed they’re not the good guys you thought they were? Think outside the box, Cherry
. You’ve been around for six years. Haven’t you made any vampire friends?”

  It sounded too much like an accusation for my liking. “Six years aren’t an eternity, and we’re not the friendly kind. Also, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my taste in companions has been sort of poor.”

  Alex shrugged in what looked like agreement, and Constantine scratched his chin with his middle finger. If I didn’t know he’d never stoop as low as that, I’d think he was flipping me the bird.

  “You’ve been around forever,” I said to my ex. “What about your friends?”

  He stretched and graced me with a bored gaze. “I don’t do friendships. I do politics.” I ignored the sharp pain through my side. He probably didn’t do relationships either. Or feelings, despite his statements earlier. Not that I cared. Whatever we had was in the past.

  Alex raised both arms. “Going in with his friends wouldn’t make me feel safer. We need people we know are on our side.”

  “There aren’t any.” There was the police, but— “None we can risk, anyway. We are all we’ve got. Deal with it.” It came out harsher than he deserved, but there was no way for me to take it back. I needed air. It was stupid—I didn’t need to breathe—but I needed air. And why were the men being so civilized? Shouldn’t they be a lot growlier with each other?

  “I still say we’re walking into a trap.” Alex didn’t raise his voice, but there was a finality to his tone. He lifted his beer to his lips and gulped half of it down before setting it aside. It seemed he’d put an end to the subject.

  I needed to be out of there, away from the two of them, from the responsibility knowledge brought in its wake, and from the doubt eating at my insides. Alex could be right, and if he was, I was endangering much more than myself by stubbornly choosing to believe Constantine.

  But if Constantine was telling the truth...

  I worried my lower lip with my teeth, aware Alex wasn’t going to like what I’d say next. “I have to go. I am going. Can’t risk Ádísa moving them.” My body gravitated toward Constantine’s, which I only realized when I felt him caress my inner wrist.