Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) (10 page)

“You know that’s dad’s knock. Relax, why don’t you.” Abby stepped past Alex and lightly shoved him on the shoulder as she made her way to the foyer. She paused briefly at the door to look through the peephole. It never hurts to double check. And after confirming that her first instinct was correct, she opened the front door to welcome her father back to the discussion.

“Hi, daddy.” Abby greeted him, as he walked into the room.

“How you doing pumpkin?” Bradley’s demeanor relaxed as soon as he started talking to his daughter.

“Terrific, daddy.” Abby grimaced at him, bringing the whole room to an awkward burst of laughter.

After devoting a few moments to small talk and a quick clean up, everyone took their seats around the table, mimicking their exact positions from the day before.

“OK, kids. Let’s get down to it. You’re joining us?” Bradley looked towards Alex first, his face frozen in a self-protective shell.

“Of course, I’m in. Are you kidding me? Sounds like a blast.” The small muscles along the sides of Bradley’s eyes tensed as he struggled to keep emotion from his face. He lowered his head once to accept his son’s reaction before turning his attention towards Abby.

“Abby?” He asked quietly, the muscles in his jaw tensing.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the family business, daddy. No matter what it is.” She beamed at him as the icy exterior melted away from Bradley’s face and revealed the loving father.

“Then it’s settled.” With a wave of his hands, Alex and Abby doubled over in pain and collapsed onto the floor. Each grasped onto the back of their neck as the immortal symbol imbedded itself on their bodies, while they transformed from the human beings that they embodied so far in life, to the weapons that they would be from this point forward.

Sam watched in silence as her friend convulsed in pain. Not a minute later, their screams were silenced and Sam rushed over to help Abby back to her feet. Taking her cue, Vance reached out to Alex, though not in the same affectionate way.

Abby stretched, like she was just waking up for the day. A whole new sensation tickled her skin and she had an acute awareness of every inch of her body for the first time. She took the three steps over to the mirror, directly across from the front door, expecting to see a drastic change in her appearance considering the way she could suddenly feel each molecule in her body. But she couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by the reflection that greeted her.

“I look exactly the same. But I feel completely different. How is it that I can look exactly the same?” The bitter words spilled out of her mouth as she turned to direct them at her father.

“You look beautiful, like always. But you can look different if that’s what you really want.” He shrugged, like the possibility was nothing out of the ordinary.

Abby gaped at her father’s statement and her mind filled with images of supermodels and actresses. All of the women that she had always wished that she could look like. The eyes she wanted, the lips, the hair. The list was endless. There was always someone around for her to cast an envious stare.

“Before I get too excited, you need to explain.” Abby looked at the reflection of her father behind her in the mirror and self-consciously ran her hands through her hair to tame the thick tresses.

“You can choose how you present yourself. It’s simple really. You just have to decide what you want, think about it and then it happens.” He said nonchalantly.

“It can’t be that easy. Can it?” She dropped her arms to her side and pursed her lips as she considered the possibilities.

“Sure it is. An immortal’s body doesn’t deteriorate like a human body, so I’ve chosen to appear to age, to keep up appearances. You can do the same, or you can travel to hide your identity. Or, if you don’t like either of those options, you can change your appearance completely and take on a new identity from time to time. This is one of the basic gifts from the creators, the ability to contort our appearance. All the choices were given to us in order to help us survive among the humans so we can better protect them.”

“So what do you really look like, then?” Alex chimed in, interrupting Abby’s thoughts.

“I’ve never hidden my true appearance from you. I’ve only projected the way I would have aged, had I been born a human and was actually the age you believed.” Bradley’s appearance changed in an instant right before their eyes. Standing in front of Alex, they could have been brothers, instead of father and son. With the two men bearing such a striking resemblance, Abby couldn’t stop herself from looking back and forth repeatedly between the two. In a dark room, she’d find it almost impossible to distinguish between the two men, posture and attitude notwithstanding.

Just as quickly, Bradley flashed back to the handsome middle aged businessman that was well known within the city and around the world.

“I’ll stay as I am.” Abby squeaked out. She couldn’t stop the tears that rimmed her eyes, as she thought about her mother. Abby couldn’t just give up the traits passed down by the mother she loved and missed dearly. Her eyes, her hair, the light freckles crossing over the bridge of her nose. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw herself, her mother, and her father. And until Abby knew herself better, she couldn’t let go of that important tie. No matter how glamorous the idea of a supernatural extreme makeover felt at the moment.
 

Chapter Six

This was as good a time as any to break for the day. Sam grabbed Vance’s hand and led him out the front door. Glancing back at Bradley, she caught his eye and nodded goodbye. They needed to give the family the alone time that they required. It was the first they’d have since everything was brought to light. It would be a lot to take in at once and there was bound to be some resentment in Abby and Alex over being lied to their whole lives. Not really the kind of conversation you wanted to have in front of a couple of practical strangers.

The two of them would return later that afternoon to start the training.

While fighting skills were ingrained in angels and demons from their creation, Sam knew that Abby and Alex would have some catching up to do in order to survive the fight ahead of them. No amount of human training could properly prepare them. Even the battles that Sam and Vance had faced in the past would seem like beginners’ sparring compared to what was in store.

Walking down the driveway, with Vance in tow, Sam felt oddly comforted in his presence, but it was still strange to be working so closely with her enemy.

Vance’s palm was rough against Sam’s soft skin. The contrast intrigued her, and before she could stop herself she began caressing the back of his hand with her thumb as they walked. Sam froze in the middle of the walkway when she suddenly realized that she had nowhere to go. She had no vehicle since she came with Abby and nothing in particular to do even if she did have a means to get there.

Vance laughed at her hesitation and he stepped out in front of her.

“Come on.” He practically dragged Sam over to his Mustang and pulled out the keys to unlocked the doors. To Sam’s surprise, Vance opened the passenger’s side door and held her hand as she stepped into the car. She’d never been treated like a lady before. This was definitely something she could get used to.

“Whisking me away, prince charming?” Sam joked as she stared up at Vance’s mesmerizing eyes.

“Sure. Something like that.”

Reaching behind her, Sam pulled on the seatbelt and wrapped it around her as she watched Vance step down into the car. His lithe muscles tensed as he lowered himself into the seat, filling Sam’s mind with images of what he’s look like without those useless clothes covering his body. As if reading her mind, Vance flashed a seductive grin Sam’s way right before he turned the key, igniting the low roar of the engine simultaneously with Sam’s libido.

“So, how are we going to kill some time here? I have no place to go. And I certainly don’t know anything about Ruthers.” Sam tried to make conversation. Keep it light enough to stay focused and ignore the flush of hormones roaring through her.

“Lucky for you, I’ve been here for a while.” Vance’s face contorted into a wide smile, the kind of smile worn by every troublemaker who ever roamed the planet. “I have an idea or two.”

The steady vibrations of the engine didn’t help clear Sam’s mind at all. She watched Vance shift as he raced across town. The control that he had of his body and his machine made her mind reel.

His hands gently curved onto the shifter, just inches away from Sam’s leg. He was strong but gentle, skillful and adept. Each move brought Sam closer to release as the seat vibrated underneath her. Sam couldn’t break her gaze from those hands. She needed them to roam over her body and to treat her with the same loving control he paid the car. She needed to feel those hands touching every inch of her skin. She needed him. Her enemy. No, her teammate. Sam tried desperately to fit the new thought into her paradigm.

Just when she thought she couldn’t take another moment of anticipation, the vehicle stopped. Sam didn’t even know how long they were driving. She had no idea what direction they had gone or how to get back when the time came to leave. Sam snapped her eyes shut tight and rubbed her temple with two fingers. This wasn’t anything like her. She’d never been one to end up so completely out of control. She not only had no clue where she was, but she was also with a demon she still wasn’t sure she could trust.

Instead of panicking, like she really wanted to do, Sam took a deep breath and opened her eyes to look at her surroundings. They were in a typical suburban neighborhood. In front of her, stood a small white cottage, with a little square yard, picket fence, apple tree, and all.

“What is this place?” She asked, looking over at Vance, waiting for him to laugh at her and pull the car away from the home she’d instantly fallen in love with. Instead his words shocked her.

“It’s my house. Well, kind of. I don’t own it or anything. But I rent it. I know it’s not big and fancy like Alex’s but
I
really like it.” Vance stammered as he looked at Sam with hooded eyes.

“There’s just something about it. I needed a place to stay when I got here. And everything’s been so different than normal. I thought maybe I’d get to stay here for a while.”

He spoke with a need that had nothing to do with the lust that had filled the car just minutes before. It was a strange contrast to his physical appearance. He actually seemed worried that after seeing Alex’s house, Sam wouldn’t think that his home was good enough.

To the contrary, she thought it was perfect. It was everything that she could have ever wanted for herself. It was actual Americana and the hope she saw in Vance’s heart was astonishing. She’d thought she was the only one of her kind who had dreams of a normal life. Of having a permanent home. A place to call her own. But, as unlikely as it was, Vance was the one to prove her wrong. Vance was the one who shared her dreams and now they’d been hand-delivered a shot to live them out together.

Without skipping a beat, Sam leaned over and touched her lips to Vance’s for the first time, not that she hadn’t pictured this moment in her mind hundreds if not thousands of times before. Just for a second, the kiss was purely innocent, her lips gently skimming his soft skin as a means to comfort that vulnerable male that showed through.

It was everything she had ever imagined. Vance’s masculine scent, a mixture of cedar and spice, filled the air. Her mind swirled with each of her senses flaring at the contact. Any lingering doubts that she had held, any determination to stay away, melted away from her with that single kiss.

She was his. Her last wall had crumbled to the ground. All the feelings she had closed up for all this time were free and she felt him with every inch of her body, from head to toe.

Vance’s instincts took over from there. He had been with more than his fair share of women over the years. The life of a demon was well suited to debauchery and one night stands and while each encounter fed that physical need, he had never felt any emotional connection with even one of his conquests.

Sitting here with Sam’s lips dancing lightly over his own, feeling warmth radiating off of her as she hovered over his body, he longed for her with an intensity he hadn’t known possible. It was a need that surpassed any sexual desire he’d felt in the past. He lusted for her perfect body. And he ached to be held, embraced by the woman he’d always dreamed of, but never truly believed he’d have.