by Emma Shade
“No, let’s not. This conversation is over, Jeremy. We’ll be back tomorrow,” Ashton growled, and steering me away from Jeremy Morrow and his disapproving scowl.
“Tomorrow?” I squeaked, even more nervous than I was before.
Ashton shrugged with a smirk. “You wanted me to relax and have a good time. The only way to do that is to get away from the stress and club for a while.”
A few minutes later, Ashton herded me into an SUV. With only the clothes on our backs, Ashton pulled onto a highway towards the destination he had in mind.
The car ride was an uncomfortable one, Ashton making small talk and appearing just as nervous as I was. We’d never ventured far from the group of people we’d grown close to, other than when I took off and ran. But to be utterly alone with Ashton caused my jittery nerves to overload. It took all I had in me to keep those pesky powers at bay. The last thing either of us needed was to be stranded on some remote highway because I blew the electrical system in his fancy SUV.
About an hour later, we entered a small town with shops, a few small mom and pop hotels, and a couple bed and breakfasts spread throughout the hillsides. People milled about, entering shops or eating at the local restaurants, oblivious to the dangers all around them. Or at least the dangers of a vampire and a crossbreed that gazed at them from the window of the vehicle. Not that we would ever do them harm, but if anyone found us, they might.
“Where are we?” I asked, watching a few bikers sitting on their motorcycles along the side of the road.
“Nashville, Indiana. Quaint and secluded, huh?” Ashton said, grinning at me.
I nodded, staring back out the passenger window and observed the people who walked about.
A few turns later, we parked at a huge log cabin secluded from the shops and restaurants. The cabin exposed two stories with huge windows, a wraparound porch, and overlooked the tall rolling hills and trees. The “quaint” accommodations suited Ashton more than any bed and breakfast. Although, I had always wanted to stay at a bed and breakfast, just to live the experience.
Ashton opened my door and smiled. “Welcome to our accommodations for the night.”
*****
For the remainder of the evening, Ashton and I trolled the shops. So patient with my, as Sam would call it, “lollygagging”, Ashton strolled through the stores and let me search every nook and cranny of the place without complaint.
I purchased a few items here and there for my friends back home. A cool necklace made of a stone that resembled fire for Paige, tarot cards for Sam, a small book of poems for Carlotta, and I hesitated for Blake’s gift, unsure of Ashton’s reaction. After all, he brought me on this trip to begin with. But, I bought Blake a painting of a man standing next rolling waves of the ocean. With his back turned and facing the raging sea, a flash of lightning serrated down in to the waves, the skies in the painting dark and menacing.
The man reminded me of Blake, standing amongst the turbulent nature and facing it head on without fear. It wasn’t what I’d normally get for a gift, but as I stared at the beautiful piece of art, I had pictured Blake in it.
After I paid for my purchase, Ashton softly asked, “Is that for Blake?”
I turned to gage his reaction as the lady carefully wrapped the canvas. “Yeah, it suits him, I think.”
Ashton nodded in agreement, and then tilted his head to study me. Waving his hand to signal the art on the walls and racks, he asked, “What would you get me if you had to pick?”
Caught off guard, I blinked a few times. Eyes skimming the artwork, I set about to find something that reminded me of Ashton. I hadn’t looked long before I found a picture of a knight holding a red flag on a white stallion. A castle, full of turrets, stood in the background. Ashton was valiant and strong. He always wanted to be the hero, my knight in shining armor.
I held it up for his inspection and he beamed at me. “Perfect. Bring it up here, and I’ll buy it,” he instructed, taking the picture from my hands.
As he paid for the expensive painting, my cell phone rang inside my purse. I yanked it out to see Blake’s number flashing on the screen.
As I debated on answering, the phone was tugged out of my hands. Ashton said, “No phone calls tonight. It’s time to relax and get away for a while.”
“Give me my phone back,” I griped, holding out my hand and wiggling my fingers.
“Nope,” he grinned, and dropped the phone in his pocket.
Hand on my hip, I narrowed my eyes. “You’re impossible. You know that?”
“Yep,” he said, smile widening.
Grabbing all my shopping bags and the two paintings tucked under his arm, Ashton linked his hand in mine and directed us back to the vehicle.
“Where to now?” I asked, swinging our linked hands between us.
“Now? Now is the have a good time part,” Ashton chuckled, winking at me.
I opened my mouth to contradict him, but closed it with a snap.
Ashton laughed, his smile enigmatic and all too knowing of my thoughts. I swallowed, hard. No doubt what he had in mind, and I wasn’t too sure if I was ready for that or not. The step forward and into that category included a huge leap of faith.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Checkers?” I said in disbelief, eyebrows as high as my hairline.
Ashton smiled as he set up the red and white checkered board and the corresponding pieces on the table. “Yep. You want red or black?”
“Red, I guess.”
Aquamarine eyes shining, Ashton inquired, “What did you expect we were going to do tonight?”
Sitting beside him, I crossed my arms, placed my elbows on the kitchen table, and frowned, eyeing the black checkers Ashton placed on the board. “Not checkers.”
“Well, what else did you have in mind?” Ashton said.
Our eyes met and Ashton’s mouth crept up in a smirk. My heart stuttered and I shrugged, afraid to answer him. Scared of what his reply would be. Not that I hadn’t wanted him, because right now, I longed for his lips to meet mine.
The game, even though I lost twice, continued with Ashton’s hand barely touching mine as he handed me a game piece, our eyes meeting each time in a heated gaze. We sat side by side as we played and his knee pressed against mine. The touch of our legs, even though through clothing, seared me to my core.
Before I really knew what hit me, Ashton swiped his hand across the table. The checkers scattered on the hardwood floor and the board landed on the ground with a clunk.
He crashed his mouth on mine, demanding and full of possession. Removing himself from the chair, lips never leaving mine, he boosted me in the air and positioned my backside on the table. Legs in between mine, Ashton’s fingers grazed my hair and down my back, which sent delicious shivers to tremble over my nerve endings.
The passionate kiss shattered my senses. Every touch, every caress, felt as though I was having an out of body experience. His thoughts reverberated through my mind. How soft my lips felt, how turned on he was, and all the dirty things he wanted to say and do to me. I wasn’t sure if my psyche was open or not, but right now nothing mattered except for the feel of Ashton’s lips as they moved along my throat. Through his thoughts, he yearned to sink his fangs into the smooth column of my neck, claiming me for good.
The only thing that removed Ashton’s sensual lips was the removal of my shirt and his, and our skin connected in a rupture of sparks from my overloaded emotional stability.
As Ashton ran his tongue from my collar bone, up my throat, and nibbled on the lobe of my ear, he groaned, “God, I love you.”
The words, on the tip of my tongue, almost poured out of my mouth. It caught me off guard, and lost in my own shocking revelations that I loved him too, I started to pull away.
Ashton growled, tossed my bra over his shoulder, and found my nipple with his sinful tongue. From that point on, any semblance of reality flew out the window.
In an almost comical nature, clothes went flying. Ashton tripped over
his own feet while he removed his pants. And I slipped, bopping my head on the table as he tugged my jeans over my hips. Frustrated, Ashton shredded my panties in two and tossed them aside. They landed on the fireplace mantel, dangling like a stocking.
Both of us so hungry for each other, I thought I might explode. Every single thing that ran through his mind, entered mine like an echo.
“Liliana, I need to be inside you. I think I might die if I don’t,” Ashton panted, pressing his excitement against me.
I nodded, breathing raged from the feel of his skin against mine. He slid home in one smooth stroke, and my gasp ended in a moan. Honestly, it was too much. Between my powers overflowing, Ashton’s thoughts filtering through my mind, and the feel of his body inside of mine, I climaxed, tingles of pleasure flowing through my nerve endings.
We made love on the kitchen table. It was feverish, rushed, and every bit impulsive. It was as if we knew that our night alone was fleeting, not sure of what tomorrow may hold.
*****
Ashton had carried me up the stairs and to the master bedroom later that night. After we made love for the second time, his hand raked through my hair and made lazy circles on my naked back.
My head on his chest, I listened to the steady thrum of his heartbeat. We hadn’t uttered a word since our romp in the kitchen or again in the bedroom, content with just enjoying each other’s company in silence.
When Ashton finally dozed off, I slipped away and carefully removed his arm wrapped around my shoulder. Tiptoeing slowly to his clothes, I snuck my cell phone from his jean pocket.
After dressing back in the clothes I wore for the trip, I crept back downstairs to the living room area and powered on the phone, covering the tiny speaker with my finger so the noise didn’t rouse him.
My private cell phone from my boss, Jeremy Morrow, was supposed to only be used for company business. However, the rule breaker I was, I had given the number to the rest of the group. At this point, I hadn’t cared about the repercussions from the jerk of a boss Jeremy.
“Shit,” I whispered as the phone pinged a few times for messages, masking the speaker with my finger again.
I had several teasing text messages from Sam and Paige, a rude one from Jeremy, and a voicemail. Clicking the button on the touch screen, I dialed my voicemail and heard Blake’s aggravated voice come through. “Lily, where are you? Why aren’t you answering your phone? My sister and her entourage showed up at Revive today looking for you. Call me. Please.”
The blood drained from my face, limbs going cold. The Enforcers showed up at Revive? Why hadn’t Ashton received a call from his head guard, Gary? It just solidified my original consensus that Gary was behind the attacks.
I had turned on my heels to head towards the front porch and call Blake back when I spotted Ashton. Dressed in only his jeans and standing on the stairs, his arms spanned across his chest with an eyebrow in the air.
“Uh...I wanted to check my messages,” I stammered. “Blake called.”
“Can you not leave him alone for one night?” Ashton accused, tilting his head to scrutinize my reaction.
“It’s not like that, Ashton,” I insisted, and backed up when he stepped down the final stairs and closed in on me. I padlocked my thoughts up tighter than bark on a tree.
“Oh?” he said, taking a few final steps until I backed up and hit the wall behind me. “It sure seems that way to me. You wait until the moment I doze off, grab your phone, and then sneak downstairs.”
“No, I...”
Ashton cut me off as he leaned in close to my ear, and whispered, “You’re mine, Liliana. Don’t play games with me. You won’t win.”
Although his threat was purely out of passionate jealousy, I gulped in spite of myself. Because if I was honest, I kind of liked the proclamation of being his.
I blurted out, “Enforcers were at Revive.”
Ashton jerked away from me as though I slapped him. “What?”
“You heard me. I checked my phone, but not because of Blake’s call. I wanted to get an update from Sam and Paige. I think I know who the informant is.”
He pulled away to inspect my face. “And you haven’t told me because?”
I took a deep breath. Ashton’s main body guard and friend had to be the guy, and I wasn’t sure how he’d take it. I breathed, “It’s Gary.”
Ashton’s vampire eminence, or whatever you called it, radiated off him in waves. His fury crashed over me, almost chocking me with its intensity. The normal bright blue of his eyes transformed into pits of blackness, pupils swallowing his irises like an oil spill.
Ashton’s deadpan voice, as if he didn’t believe it himself, said, “Gary.”
I nodded, and fear over his reaction caused electricity to hum through my blood. “I’m pretty sure. I was downstairs in the VIP are this morning and he came in. I saw his phone light up, and the message from a private number said ‘It’s taken care of.’ The way he looked around and acted was a little strange. So I put two and two together.”
“What would he have to gain?” Ashton muttered, narrowing his eyes. “I can’t see the man I’ve known forever doing that. It’s unlike him.”
“Yeah, well, you never know what someone’s motives might be,” I said, and held my breath to calm my scattered nerves.
“Let’s go. I need to get you out of here and back to Revive. I’ll take care of Gary, but only after I can find evidence to prove his guilt. No matter how badly I want to rip his throat out,” Ashton growled, fangs dangling below his lips.
“I just need to grab my gifts and my purse upstairs, then I’ll be ready,” I said, and breathed a sigh of relief when Ashton turned away.
“I’ll grab it. Stay here,” he ordered, pointing a finger in my direction before I could protest.
He blurred upstairs, most likely to dress and grab our belongings and gifts, so I edged closer to the window. The sunrise was peeking over the horizon, casting the world in an orange glow. It was beautiful here, albeit a little remote. Nonetheless, the night and evening spent with Ashton had been wonderful up until his jealousy ruined the moment.
I reflected my feelings for Ashton and my decision to leave after he lied. Had I not only been scared to lose my best friend, but also to run from my emotions and attachment to Ashton? Was it my fear to break someone’s heart as well as awaiting Sam’s death? Because when it came down to it, I knew who my heart belonged to.
As I pondered my feelings, a red dot wobbled on the floor near my feet. I stared at it with a frown, following its jumpy pattern as it edged closer to my body. Glancing around the room, I looked for a reflective surface that would cast a red illumination. The light ran up my leg and quivered closer to my chest. It reminded me of those assassin movies with their scopes and laser lights on their guns. Guns!
In a split-second decision, I dropped to the floor. The window exploded and I shielded my head with my arms, glass raining down on me like peppered shrapnel.
Ashton blurred into the room, rushed to my side, and yanked me away from the window with urgency.
Hauling me to the corner of the room and away from any exposed windows, Ashton pressed a finger to his mouth and gestured to be quiet.
The air rushed in and out of my lungs, adrenaline pumping through my body. Electrical energy reverberated along my bones and the hair on my arms stood on end. Both Ashton and I were frozen statues, disinclined to move.
Cool morning air floated into the room, billowing the sheer curtains. Footsteps crunched as they marched over the shattered glass on the wrap around porch, the sound an eerie cadence to the birds chirping their morning songs.
Finally on the move, Ashton edged his way along the wall, closer to the glass and the footsteps of who could only be the gunman. A few seconds later, a barrel of a rifle poked through the broken glass. When no movement or sound came from the living room, the gunman kicked the remaining glass shards hanging precariously in the sill with a black boot. They scattered onto the floor with a cras
h.
I jumped and looked at Ashton with wide eyes. He held a finger against his lips again, tilting his head at the man slowly edging his way into the room. One foot edged over the windowsill, the gun still aimed inside the room.
Time stood still as the gunman hesitated to enter the log cabin. Ashton’s eyes were obsidian and his fangs protruded below his lips. He hadn’t moved an inch as he waited, lungs barely moving as he breathed. Ashton stalked the man like his personal prey. It was eerie observing Ashton so primal. So animalistic. It was extremely hot in an unsettling manner.
Then arms appeared behind the billowing curtains, gun aimed towards the kitchen. Ashton tensed, sliding soundlessly closer to the edge of the window. The gun swept the stairs and that was all it took for Ashton to spring into action.
Clutching the gun, Ashton thrust the barrel towards the ceiling. A shot exploded and I jolted.
His hand propelled through the broken window and wrenched the gunman into the living room by his neck. An Enforcer, with his star tattoo, stared at Ashton, full of malice and unafraid of the vampire who snatched him up by the throat.
Struggling to gain control of the gun, Ashton cocked his fist back and punched the guy square on the nose. After a crunch, the man fell to his knees, holding his nose as blood gushed down his lips and chin. The gun fell and Ashton kicked it, the gun skittering across the floor several feet away.
However it hadn’t taken long for the man to get up and fight for his life. Crouched low, they circled each other and waited on the other person to make the first move. Ashton seemed to toy with the man, playing cat and mouse.
The Enforcer rushed forward. With such ease and grace, Ashton whipped around and hurtled the man on to the glass littered floor.
After a well-placed kick to the gut of the Enforcer, Ashton hissed, “What are you doing here?”
He scowled and spat blood out of his mouth at Ashton’s feet in response.
Stepping on the man’s larynx with the arch of his foot, Ashton growled, “Last warning, asshole. What are you doing here?”
