“But that was before you,” Adam added. “You whirled into my life and got under my skin more than any woman I’ve ever met before in my life. I wanted you the first night we met. I told you that. I wanted you—all of you—the night my bloodlust took me over and I bit you. And I wanted you the night you invited me into your bed. There’s never been a time I haven’t wanted you.”
Tabby patted the empty space next to her. “Then why are you still over there while I’m over here?”
“Because, even though I’d do absolutely anything to get inside you again, I… that would be too fucking selfish of me. I’ve been selfish a long time.” The sound he let out was part sardonic laugh, part scoff of disbelief. “Who knew falling in love for real this time would finally fix that?”
“Falling in— Adam…” The humor in her tone drained away as easily as the color from her face. Eyes wide with surprise as she suddenly paled, she blinked once. Twice. Then said shaking, “What do you mean?”
One look at her face and Adam decided that, the next time he saw Colt, he was going to slug the shifter in the chest.
Don’t ignore the bond, he said.
Communicate, he said.
Be honest, he said.
Horseshit.
“I love you, Tabby.” Might as well throw it all out there. “Is it too soon? Hell if I know. But someway, somehow, I’ve begun to bond with you. I… and I don’t know if you’re going to like hearing this or not, but… you’re my betrothed.”
She blinked again.
He nodded.
Tabby stood up from the bed. She was completely naked but, for the first time since he’d been intimate with her, her bare body was the last thing on his mind.
But not hers. With a muttered curse, she crossed the room, scooping up her strewn clothes as she went. He didn’t stop her. He couldn’t. He just watched with a frown as she dashed past him into the attached bedroom.
She came back out a few minutes later, completely dressed.
“Tabby—”
“I’ll be right back.”
“But—”
“Not now, Adam. I… I’ll be right back.”
He followed her as she all but sprinted toward the front door, purposely hanging in the hall where the sunlight in the living room couldn’t touch him. He didn’t return to the bedroom; he wasn’t sure he physically could push himself back over the threshold.
Instead, he sank on the floor. His back against the wall, he buried his face in his hands, marveling over the fact that his confession had Tabby forgetting that this was her apartment.
Well. That could have definitely gone better.
21
Tabby never would’ve thought that she was a coward before this afternoon.
By the time she was twelve, she could track a Nightwalker blindfolded. By sixteen, she’d already racked up her first fifty kills. The vamps were her specialty. As a descendent from the Van Helsing line, her family focused more on murderous Nightwalkers, though she had faced off against powerful witches, feral shifters, poltergeists, and, on one very notable occasion, a super ticked off angel. She never flinched, she rarely backed down, and if she retreated, it was because her individual Tabby Code was all about living another day.
But that was the thing. Adam Wright might be a recently turned Nightwalker, but it wasn’t his Para state that had Tabby making her excuses and making her escape. It was his honesty and his heartfelt emotion that scared the absolute shit out of her.
He loved her.
Holy shit.
He loved her.
She didn’t even know what to think about that. Sure, she was fond of him. The sex was out of this world. The way his bite could set her off like a rocket… she had no problem with him being a Nightwalker, even though she knew that he hated his paranormal state. She liked who Adam was, and when things settled down and her hunt in Grayson was over, she was interested in sticking around him for a little longer.
But love?
Her whole life, Tabby could probably count the number of people that she said “I love you” to on one hand. She needed to be able to mean them; to her, they weren’t just empty words. Though she’d had some lovers who came close to earning that from her, no one ever quite checked all the boxes for her before.
Besides, she’d known Adam for how long? Weeks, if that. He wasn’t whistling dixie when he told her that it might be too soon. It was fucking too soon!
Yet… why did she have the urge to run back inside and tell him that it was okay? She couldn’t return the sentiment right now, but she was open to the idea of loving him someday?
Right, Tab. Because that’s just what a guy wants to hear right after being vulnerable and admitting his feelings.
Ugh!
She stomped down the porch steps, trying to put space between her and the apartment. She had this strange feeling that, if she didn’t, she might turn around and throw herself at Adam. Maybe she couldn’t say the words he wanted to hear just yet, but she could love him another way and hopefully that would be enough for him.
It had to be, because that was all she could offer until she knew how this was going to end.
He was a Para. She’d never been interested in how paranormals found, then bonded their fated mates to them. Why? She was firmly in the business of eliminating targets, and happy, mated couples were never targets. The most she knew about blood-bondings had to do with the triple blood exchange and Adam already cleared that up for her. Unless she agreed, unless she made the decision to be his betrothed, he couldn’t force her.
But, without a bond, could he change his mind? He told her he loved her, called her his betrothed—but he never said anything about bonding her to him as his fated blood mate.
And Tabby would be damned if she gave her heart to a man—Para or human—who changed his mind after she decided she loved him back.
That’s why she needed to get out. Why she needed space.
She needed to get her dang head on straight while she figured out just how she was going to answer Adam—
“Tabby. Tabby, wait up!”
She heard her name being called before her senses picked up on the figure rushing toward her.
So lost in her thoughts, she didn’t recognize the dark-haired male at first. She saw movement, assumed it was a threat, and immediately lowered herself into a crouch. Her hand slapped at her hip before she realized that, in her hurry to escape the apartment, she didn’t remember to grab Venice.
And wasn’t that a fucking first?
“Whoa.” A deep chuckle rasped over her rattled nerves. “Easy girl. I’m not your target.”
Unfortunately, Eddie was right.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, rising up from her defensive crouch.
“Looking for you. Your phone’s been off for two days. Boone figured you had a reason to go off the grid, but after the message I got this morning for you, I had to rush over and make sure you were alright. Shit, Tab, you almost gave us a heart attack. Where have you been?”
Unconscious because a bitch of a witch zapped me with magic. Oh, and that was after I defied my uncle and started shit with the Alpha of the Eastern Pack.
“Here, obviously. My phone’s been on the fritz lately,” she lied, “and I’m looking into getting it repaired. Now, what's this about a message? For me?”
“You’re the only Tabitha Winslow I know about.”
Her full name. Interesting.
“What did it say?”
“A bunch of bullshit, if I’m being honest with you. Hey, can we go inside and talk? Might be better.”
For him, maybe.
Tabby gestured down the street. “I was actually on my way out. I hate to be rude, but can you make it quick? I’ll invite you in next time, promise.”
Next time when Adam wasn’t inside of her apartment, she amended.
Eddie frowned. “Um. I guess. If you don’t mind someone overhearing—” At the look of frustration that flashed across her face, his f
rown quirked a little bit upward. “Okay. You don’t mind. It’s still a nasty rumor about you, though. A call came through to the Society this morning… you’re lucky I’m the one who answered it.”
Yeah? She’d be lucky if he got around to telling her what it was anytime this century.
“It was a female. She didn’t leave a name, but she said to make sure you knew it wasn’t Holly. She said she heard you were looking for elixir. If you bring your Nightwalker with you to see her, she’d see what she would do about letting him have it.”
Tabby’s heart just about stopped. Hoping like hell that he didn’t read that on her usually expressive face, she said, “Is that all?”
“It’s the gist of it. Honestly, I only paid attention because they dropped your name. I couldn’t believe that you of all people would be looking for elixir to save a Nightwalker, especially when she said that she was sorry she couldn’t meet you at home, but the two of you would have to leave your nest eventually.”
Nest. And that was an interesting choice of word.
Nightwalkers used that word.
But, whether the mysterious caller was a Nightwalker or not, she knew about Tabby and Adam—including the fact that he’d been staying at her place.
She glanced over her shoulder, looking up at the window. Who else knew he was up there? More importantly, how did they know?
It was a mistake to turn away from Eddie. She knew in an instant that she’d made a mistake.
Oops.
“No fucking way,” he breathed out.” He glanced up at the building, zeroing in on the same window she’d just been staring at. “I heard something about you putting feelers out about the elixir a week or two ago. I thought that was bullshit, too. But it isn’t, is it? Shit, Tab. You took one of them in?”
She shook her head. “Really? You think I moved a vamp into the apartment the Society is renting for me?”
That, at least, was the truth. Adam had his own place on the other side of Grayson, though she hadn’t been by yet.
Didn’t matter that she wasn’t lying. She made another mistake—a honking huge one—when she shook her head. Her hair was still down from when Adam pulled on her ponytail holder, freeing the strands before he ran his claws gently through its length. She hadn’t bothered throwing it back up before she escaped outside.
However, when she shook her head like that, her hair shifted, showing off her neck.
Where, she remembered suddenly, Adam’s bites from last night would be super noticeable.
She’d been too tired to slap on a magic-aid after he finished last night. She barely noticed him slipping out of the bed to clean up and dispose of the condom, he boned her so thoroughly.
And now Eddie had seen the evidence that she, okay, was fibbing just a little about her Nightwalker.
“Holy shit. You’re feeding one?”
No surprise that she immediately went on the defense again. “Back off, Eddie.”
“Tab—”
She shook her head, roughly this time. Her hair settled again, purposely hiding her neck. “You don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” he shot back. Then, with a vicious sneer, he asked, “Does Boone?”
She pointed her finger dead at his chest. “Don’t bring him into this.”
“Why? I thought I was doing you a favor, coming to you with this load of shit. I kept it from Boone. I made sure no one heard a rumor about you fighting alongside a corpse. And it’s true?”
She shrugged.
“Tabby, come on.”
“Do you have the contact?” she asked. “For the chick with the elixir. You have it, Eddie?”
He closed his mouth with an audible click.
Tabby regretted running out without Venice. It was still under her pillow where she left it, and while she could probably knock Eddie on his ass without any help, she felt more naked without her cinquedea than she did when she jumped out of bed a few moments ago.
She huffed. “Yes or no. Believe me when I tell you that I am not in the mood for your shit. Can you tell me anything about her?”
A war raged on his face. She could tell he desperately wanted to refuse at the same time as he couldn’t tell her no. In the end, he sighed before rattling off an address in Woodbridge.
“That’s all I have. The address and the time. One week from tonight, midnight. If you really want the elixir, be there. If not… she says to tell you that she’s going to smash it.”
That’s all she needed to hear.
“Thank you.” Turning on her heel, she started to jog up the steps that led to her apartment building.
“Don’t go back in there, Tabby,” he called after her. “Just… don’t.”
She didn’t even bother glancing over her shoulder as she tossed back, “See you around, Eddie.”
Something told her that, based on his reaction when he caught sight of Adam’s bite, she’d be seeing Eddie sooner than later.
At the soft sound of the doorknob turning, Adam finished his pacing. He had to wait until the door had shut behind her before he risked the pale light streaming in from the kitchen. During these torturous last fifteen minutes, he had decided it wouldn’t be enough to turn him to ash. A few mild burns would be worth it to close the gap between them.
Tabby came walking in, her head down, lost in thought.
He rushed her, wrapping his arms around her, lifting her off the ground, and racing back to the safety of the hall while keeping her pressed to his chest.
“Don’t do that again,” he grunted into the top of her loose hair.
“Adam?” she gasped. “Jeez. You’re squeezing me.”
“Sorry.” He pulled away, moving his hands from her lower back, cradling her elbows in his palms as he set her on her feet. He’d let her breathe, but that didn’t mean he wanted to let her go.
Once she had some space, Tabby tilted her head up, peering at him as if confused by his reaction. “Hey. What’s up?”
What’s up?
What’s up?
“Because of the stupid fucking sun, I had to stay in here!”
“Huh?”
“You said you would be right back. I wanted to go after you, but I couldn’t because of the goddamn sun!”
He expected Tabby to have some kind of comeback. Worse, he expected her to blow off his explosion, maybe offer that innocent smile of hers she pulled out when she was already plotting her next move.
She raised her hand, stroking the edge of his hard jaw. Adam leaned into her soft caress, breathing in deeply, grounding himself in her cinnamon scent.
“Sorry,” she murmured. A glimpse in her dark brown eyes and he was stunned to see that she meant it. “I’m used to running out on my own when I need to think. I guess… I forgot that you couldn’t come after me. The sun… it didn’t hit me until just now. I really am sorry.”
He felt some of the fear and frustration and outright worry melt away and her soothing whisper.
Not all. But some.
“I get that. I do. I never wanted to be one of those possessive bastards, but I gotta be honest with you. It killed me, telling you how I felt and then you ran away. Not that I’m knocking that.” His laugh was hollow. “We both fucking know that I’ve got a history of running myself. I didn’t want you to go, though.”
Her eyes widened, a teasing grin tugging on her pouty lips. “Nah. Really? You could’ve fooled me.”
He loved how she used humor to cut through tension, a quick wit and a smart mouth to smooth over any awkward moments. But she could also be serious, too, and when her brow furrowed, he knew there was more going on in that pretty head of hers than what she’d ever admit to.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
“I’m not going to push you to tell me how you feel if you don’t want to,” he said first, “but you said you went out there to think. Did you… did you get to do that?”
One swallow. That’s all it took. One swallow, the lump running down the throat stil
l baring his last bite mark, and he knew. She busied herself with grabbing a piece of gum from the never-ending supply in her jeans pocket. Tossing the wrapper on the floor, he ignored it as he watched her molars go to town.
She was going to lie to him, wasn’t she?
He spoke up again before she could. “If you can’t answer me honestly, that’s okay. I’d rather you tell me to shut the fuck up than lie to me, Tab. Okay?”
“There was a slayer outside,” she blurted out.
Adam blinked.
Well, that wasn’t what he thought she was going to say.
“Are you kidding me?”
Tabby shook her head, her hair swaying and settling on her shoulders with the quick motion. “I wish I was. I know the guy. I couldn’t let him inside… obviously… but that’s what took me so long to come back. He had a message for me.” She looked up at him helplessly. “For us, really.”
Adam felt the pit in his stomach only grow larger. “What was it?”
When Tabby started to tell him how a mysterious female—who she suspected to be a Nightwalker rather than a witch—had contacted the Society with word that she had an elixir for Tabitha Winslow, Adam felt his jaw tighten. It only got worse as she explained that she gave a fake name to Holly but, somehow, her true identity got out—and now the Society knew about it.
At first, Adam didn’t know how to react. While he was thrilled to hear that he had another chance to get a bottle of the life-altering elixir, he hated hearing that his slayer was compromised.
Even worse, it bothered him that the female hadn’t reached out to Tabby to set up the meet, but straight to the Society. It was like they wanted her to be caught, though why they would go to the trouble of that only to invite her along to the meeting in a week made no sense to him.
Unless—
“It’s a trap,” he said gruffly.
Tabby blew a bubble with her gum before popping it with the edge of her teeth.
“Oh, yeah,” she agreed, humor seeping back into her tone. “It’s most definitely a trap.”
He raised his eyebrows. She doubted it had anything to do with the impressive bubble. “You knew that?”
Sunglasses at Night (Claws Clause Book 3) Page 22
