“Are you sure you don’t want one of . . . the guys to go with you?” I was about to say one of us, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable including myself. The guys were incredibly close to their uncle, and I still wasn’t sure how I fit into that dynamic.
“I’ll be fine.” He smiled. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Lucian Zacarias was all poise and dignity—his clothes impeccably fitted, his salt-and-pepper hair trimmed, his face clean-shaven. “I have a whole Melior Group team for security, and two nurses to tend to my every need.”
He was staying in his city apartment for the night. He said it was because he had early appointments with specialists and doctors, but I was pretty sure he was just leaving so we would have his gigantic house to ourselves.
“And me.” Olivia, Lucian’s sister and Dot and Charlie’s mom, came out of the nearest room. She stopped behind her brother and rested her hands on the back of his chair. “What am I? Chopped liver?”
Lucian rolled his eyes, but humor crinkled at the edges. “Yes, Olivia, you’re a damn saint. I don’t know what my team of well-paid, highly skilled people and I would do without you.”
I stifled a laugh.
Olivia whacked him on the back of the head. “Ungrateful little shit. Do you have any idea what you put us all through while you took the world’s longest nap?”
“Nap? I was in a coma! And isn’t it politically incorrect to hit people in wheelchairs?”
“Whatever. Come on, wheelie, Henry’s meeting us for dinner. I don’t want to be late.” She pushed his chair forward, giving us a stern motherly look as she passed. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
Lucian yelled over his shoulder, “Get into as much trouble as you can. In fact, try to trash the place! We have all these contractors around. I wouldn’t mind an excuse to keep them longer and get the kitchen remodeled!”
They bickered all the way to the parking garage door, where two burly Melior Group agents picked Lucian’s chair up and carried him down the stairs. The contractors Lucian had mentioned were working on making the mansion more accessible, but most areas still didn’t have ramps installed.
“Come on, let’s get a drink.” Josh tugged me in the direction of the kitchen.
A few hours later, I was sitting on the kitchen bench facing the dance floor, my third cocktail in hand. The bright orange drink perfectly matched Dot’s outfit.
She was in tangerine from head to toe. She should’ve looked like a traffic cone or a Teletubby, but she didn’t. The high-waisted pants and crop top fit her small frame so perfectly I had a feeling they were tailored. Paired with bold black jewelry and dangerous black platform heels, they made her look like a supermodel.
She was tearing it up on the dance floor while I chatted with Charlie and a couple of his friends about their theses. We’d gotten into a lively discussion about Variant abilities and how they seemed to evolve with other advancements—like the ability to control electronics.
I spotted Alec moving slowly along the edge of the room but kept my focus on the conversation, animatedly waving my drink in the air to emphasize my point. A tiny bit spilled, and when I looked for a spot to set the drink down, I glimpsed blonde hair near the dining table. Leaning up against the wall was Dana.
She was dressed in all black, no hint of the revealing top she’d looked like sex in the last time, and she was alone, her arms crossed, her gaze focused on something in the crowd of dancers. I glanced in the same direction but couldn’t figure out what she was looking at.
“Eve?” Charlie brought my attention back to the conversation.
“Sorry!” I blurted out. “I just have to go do something.”
I knocked back the rest of my drink and discarded the empty glass on the counter. It didn’t take me long to spot Tyler.
In jeans and a casual shirt—with rolled-up sleeves, of course—he stood at the other end of the island, speaking to a colleague from Bradford Hills Institute’s Admissions Department. Where the last party had been mostly college kids, this one had a mix of ages and, according to Dot, fewer attendees. It still looked like a concert crowd to me, but either way, it was definitely mellower.
As I approached, Tyler took a sip of his scotch, and his eyes found mine. He smiled and pulled me into his side. After he introduced me to his colleagues, I excused us and pulled him a few steps away.
“I have a question,” I said close to his ear. His intelligent gray eyes looked at me lovingly, but I didn’t actually want to voice my question.
I pressed my lips to his cheek, letting the kiss linger for a moment as I transferred a little extra Light. I could’ve just glowed and done it remotely, but while the Variant crowd was used to Vitals with multiple Variants, and therefore multiple partners, they were still wary of the glowing. No one really knew what to make of that yet. Least of all me.
When I pulled away, Tyler had a knowing look in his eyes and an amused smile playing at his lips. “What’s your question, Eve?”
His ability would’ve immediately filled in the gaps: I wanted to know why Dana was there. I wanted to know who invited her and why she’d come when she looked so miserable.
Tyler looked over my shoulder, but I made sure not to turn. The last thing I needed was for her to think we were talking about her. Even though we were.
“She’s on duty.” He pulled me closer. “She’s security detail for one of the Vitals here. He hasn’t spoken to her in months, other than at work.”
He watched my face for a reaction. I nodded and smiled, hoping my expression looked relaxed and didn’t give away the confusing mess of feelings writhing inside me.
I knew Alec wasn’t interested in her anymore. He’d told me so himself. He loved me. He’d told me that too. But he hadn’t said it since, and he was once again keeping his distance. My insecurities were getting to me. I hadn’t said it back to him—I wasn’t sure I felt it yet—but I still didn’t like the idea of him being with another woman. Especially her.
The very fact that I was overthinking this shit pissed me off, and I rolled my eyes at myself. I was just letting past hurts and worries get to me. She hadn’t said it in so many words, but even Dana had made it clear she was no longer after Alec.
“Thanks, Ty.” I pressed another kiss to his cheek and, before he could stop me, pushed through the crowd.
“Hey.” I smiled a little too brightly when I reached her.
She frowned, then went back to scanning the crowd. “Hi.”
“Um, do you want a drink?” I gestured to the bar outside.
She didn’t look at me. “I’m on duty. I can’t drink.”
“I mean, like, juice or soda or something . . .”
After a few moments of awkward silence, I sighed and turned to go, but at that moment, she spoke. “I could go for a lemonade.”
“Coming right up!” I sped away from her, on a mission. Once I’d grabbed her a lemonade at the bar, I wriggled back through the crowd, handed it to her wordlessly, and smiled.
She took a sip. “We don’t have to be friends. I don’t need your pity.”
I crossed my arms. “Trust me, there is no pity. And no, we don’t have to be friends. But we don’t not either.”
“What?” She finally looked at me, confused.
“Look, all I’m saying is, what’s in the past is over, and we have enough actual enemies—people trying to kidnap and maim and kill us—that there’s no point being hostile over petty shit.”
She sighed. “OK. Fair point.”
Even though trying to make peace felt all kinds of awkward, Dana hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d fallen for Alec—they’d found solace in each other when the rest of society had shunned them. She hadn’t known I was his Vital. I had a feeling Dana, just like Alec, didn’t really have any friends. If nothing else, I could understand her on that front. I’d gone my whole life feeling lonely until I came to Bradford Hills.
I’d extended an olive branch, but that was enough for one night. “Anyway, have a good n
ight.” I smiled, more genuinely this time, and turned to leave.
“Thanks for the drink,” she called after me. I could’ve sworn it sounded sincere.
I made my way back toward the bar. In my awkwardness with Dana, I’d forgotten to get myself another drink, and after that, I needed one. Ahead of me, people started laughing nervously and jostling each other out of the way. Next thing I knew, I was face-to-face with the Master of Pain himself.
He looked just as calm and unyielding as he always did, at least to the casual observer, but I could see the panic in his slightly wide eyes, his clenched teeth. I flashed him a smile and kept going. Judging by how easy it suddenly was to walk through the crowd, he followed close behind.
He sidled up next to me when I reached the bar. Once I’d placed my order, he spoke. “I didn’t invite her. She’s here on duty. Just so we’re clear, I meant what I said—I only want you.”
He kept his voice pitched low, so I answered the same way: “I know.”
He frowned, confused. He’d expected drama. I tried not to let the amusement show on my face.
I’d seen him a few times throughout the night, sometimes speaking to someone, sometimes with one of my guys, but always off to the side and always watching me. Which made me wonder . . .
“Are you on duty?” I asked.
“Working? Not tonight. But I’m always on duty when it comes to your safety.” He leaned in a little as he said it, making the statement that much more dramatic.
I rolled my eyes. The buzz of the alcohol was making me bolder. “Why do you have to be so fucking intense all the time?” I flashed him a cheeky smile. The bartender slid two Long Island iced teas across to me, and I thanked him.
Alec was frowning so hard the scar in his right eyebrow was puckering. “I’m not—”
“You’re pretty fucking intense, bro.” Ethan did not keep his voice down as he slapped a big hand on Alec’s shoulder, gaining a few nervous laughs from the people nearby.
“Hey, my little pony.” He flashed me a dimpled grin. The nicknames were getting ridiculous.
“Hey, care bear.” I smiled back and took a long drink.
Alec snatched the other cocktail. It was intended for Dot, but he threw the straw on the ground and gulped the drink in one go, not even flinching at the amount of alcohol. “I am not—” he began again, but Ethan’s and my burst of laughter interrupted him. The look in his eyes was just so . . . intense!
“Come dance with me!” Ethan demanded and, without waiting for an answer, threw me over his shoulder and headed for the dance floor. I shrieked but managed not to spill too much of my drink. I waved at Alec, who was staring after us, his hands in fists.
I finished my drink as Ethan and I found Dot in the middle of the dance floor. Someone coming past took the empty glass, and I wrapped my hands around Ethan’s neck. His hands went to my hips. Every inch of my front was pressed up against the hard muscles of Ethan’s body.
After a few songs, I felt the heat of another body at my back, but Ethan smiled mischievously and the touch felt familiar, so I didn’t panic. Another pair of hands landed on my waist, just above Ethan’s, and when I turned my head to look, my eyes found intelligent gray ones.
I was a little surprised to see Tyler and not Josh, but I wasn’t complaining. He caught my lips with his, teasing my mouth with his tongue as he pressed closer. The three of us moved seamlessly in time with the music, and I lost myself in their touch.
To see Tyler, who was always so careful and controlled, with a little bit of glassiness in his eyes—to feel him gripping my waist with his hands, kissing me so passionately in a room full of people—was driving me nuts! I loved to see him let loose a little. It was so rare, but when it happened, I just about went weak at the knees.
As the music changed to a slightly slower, more sultry beat, he broke the kiss and, always the leader, set the pace. It wasn’t long before the three of us were pretty much just grinding on each other, and I was loving every second of it.
I glanced around the room. Alec stood near the hallway leading to the front of the house, his stare fixed on me. I didn’t care how much he denied it—he was intense in everything he did. But as much as I teased him, I wouldn’t change that. Alec didn’t do anything by halves, and something about that was intoxicating, even as I got more and more frustrated by his assholeish behavior.
I kept my gaze fixed on his as Ethan and Tyler swayed with me, their hands running up and down my sides, gripping me, stroking me. Having Alec watching added another layer of desire to my already heated state.
The music changed to a loud and fast crowd favorite that had everyone jumping up and down to the beat. It broke our lust haze, and we pulled apart to join in.
My skin was still flushed, and the ache low in my belly wasn’t going away. I looked back to where Alec had been standing. He was walking toward the front door, one hand rubbing his closely cropped hair. He must have reached his quota of peopling for the day, if not the week.
“I’m gonna check on Alec,” I yelled close to Tyler’s ear, and he gave me a look that somehow managed to be both skeptical and knowing.
I rolled my eyes and took off through the crowd.
Alec was being as up-front as the others when it came to our unspoken commitment to brutal honesty, but he was still avoiding deepening our physical connection. He’d relaxed about the extra Light since we’d discovered he could use it to take pain away and not just inflict it, but he was still hesitant, still insisting we needed to train and practice and be controlled about the levels. I couldn’t get it into his head that controlling how much I transferred to them was effortless now, that knowing exactly how much they needed was second nature.
Of course, I hadn’t crossed that physical barrier with Alec yet as I had with the others, so the Light was pushing me to him, drawing me to connect. On the rare occasion I did slip, it was always with him, and he always used it as ammo to argue we still needed to be careful.
But there was more to it. My mind kept filling in the “why” with the worst-case scenario: He didn’t want me like that. He’d given in to the Light and accepted the Bond, but it wasn’t what he truly wanted.
I could’ve asked him, of course, but I was being a coward. Once again, we found ourselves at a standstill, things between us strained.
As I descended the stairs past the front door, I had just enough liquid courage to push the issue, and I knew exactly how I wanted to push it.
The gravel crunched under my boots as I rushed to catch up to him, the light and noise of the party fading behind us. He must’ve heard me chasing him, but he didn’t slow down—unyielding as ever. The tattoos I knew were all over his body peeked out from under the sleeves of his black T-shirt. The fabric stretched over his broad shoulders, tension making the corded muscle even more prominent.
I caught up and slid my hand into his, tugging lightly. He huffed but stopped immediately. “I’m not leaving, Evelyn. I just needed some air.”
“I know.” I tugged again, and he let me lead him between two of the massive trees lining the driveway. The party was in full swing, no one was around, and we were about halfway between the security at the gate and the security at the front door. We were alone, but I craved more privacy, more darkness. I always did with him.
I could’ve started a conversation, asked if he’d had enough of the party, made small talk. But I didn’t feel like talking. There was more than one way to sort shit out between us.
I faced him, playing with the hem of my red sweater. Without thinking about it too hard, I whipped the soft fabric over my head and dropped it to the ground. The air was cool, but my skin felt as if it were on fire.
His eyes narrowed but stayed glued to mine, refusing to look down at my matching red lace bra. I pushed the pang of rejection aside, placed my hands on his hips, and tilted my face up, practically begging him to kiss me.
He was so still, every muscle in his body strained as if poised for an attack. I couldn’t re
ach his lips if he didn’t lower his head, so I pulled the neck of his T-shirt down and kissed his chest. He smelled like smoke from the bonfire and some other fresh, manly smell—probably his aftershave. I darted my tongue out for a tiny lick.
As if my tongue had flipped a switch, he grunted and sprang into motion. He grabbed under my ass with both hands and lifted me. I wrapped my legs around him, and my back slammed into the rough surface of the tree just as Alec’s lips slammed into mine.
I groaned and rolled my hips. He was rock hard already. This was that all-consuming intensity I loved so much. I knew it wasn’t healthy to avoid talking about our issues, but fuck if my body couldn’t care less. When Alec kissed me like that, nothing else existed.
But as suddenly as it started, Alec broke the kiss and stepped away, dropping me to my feet. He leaned one hand on the tree next to my head and dragged the other down his face. We were both breathing hard.
“What are you . . . why, Alec?” I hated how desperate, how hurt, I sounded.
“You don’t want this,” he ground out, his eyes downcast.
“What?” I was not expecting that to be his answer. “You don’t get to decide what I do and don’t want, you fucking jerk.”
His eyes flicked up, now full of defiance, his anger rising to meet mine. “You are so fucking impossible sometimes.”
I took a deep breath. I hadn’t come after him for this to become another screaming match. “Please explain what you mean, because I’m getting really confused, Alec. I can’t keep doing this.”
He sighed. “It’s just the Light. You’ve done it with the other three, and the only reason you want me is because of the fucking Bond. It’s pushing you to make it even.”
I blinked and stared at him. He was keeping his distance because he thought I didn’t want to be with him?
I threw my head back and laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. The laugh ended on a groan, and I opened my eyes to look at him.
His teeth were grinding, his eyes narrowed, but there was hurt behind the anger.
“I’m not laughing at you,” I rushed out. “I’m laughing because I’ve been having this exact same doubt—worrying that you didn’t actually want to be with me. That you resented the Bond. Sometimes it’s eerie how similar we are.” I ended on a whisper.
Vivid Avowed (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 3) Page 3
