Dalton, Tymber - Brimstone Blues [Brimstone Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (45 page)

She felt one now and looked at the key lime trees, which were covered with unripe fruit, while waiting for it to pass. The rage flared, bloomed, and immediately disappeared. Taking a deep, relieved breath, she stood and walked to the house. Fortunately these rages happened infrequently, and more time passed between each one. She figured it must be a residual effect of her powers growing and settling in.

* * * *

Taz didn’t see the dozen or so shriveled and blackened limes that suddenly dropped to the ground from the tree.

* * * *

Taz would never claim the situation was normal, but after a couple of months of living with Rafe in her brain she reached a state of normalcy she hadn’t felt since Yellowstone. She still felt guilty, not just because of her discontinued affair with Rafe, but because now she felt like she was cheating on him with Matthias despite Rafe’s declarations.

It was madness.

But it was her life.

Albert and her dad consulted with her on the wedding, and she basically told them to plan it however they wanted. Her only stipulations were that she got to pick her dress, it would be held at the house, and she had final say on the tuxes. As for the rest, they could do what they wanted. They assumed it was because she was so busy at work and working with Matthias trying to learn more about her powers. The truth was it didn’t matter to her. All she wanted was to say “I do” and become Matthias’ wife. Life was too short to stress over the rest. If it wasn’t for the fact that all three men’s faces fell, Albert’s, Matthias, and her dad’s, when she suggested just doing it during lunch at the county courthouse, she would be happy to elope.

They wanted a wedding. She’d let them have a wedding.

All she cared about was being able to enjoy curling up next to Matthias at night without the thick mental barrier between them anymore. She felt his happiness, as piercing as her pain had been. If she could make him this happy for the rest of her life, she would do whatever it took to keep him feeling like that.

For his part, Rafe settled for having her all to himself during their drives to and from work, opting to stay mostly in the shadows when she was around others. Tobias stuck to his word and didn’t say anything, although she did catch him watching her at times.

* * * *

One evening she was in bed dozing and listening to Rafe’s MP3 player while waiting for Matthias to get home from a late meeting. She felt the bed move and opened her eyes to see Matthias sitting next to her, reaching out to touch her cheek. She took his hand, kissed his fingers.

“Sorry I woke you,” he said.

She sat up and turned off the MP3 player, removing the headphones. “That’s okay. I’m glad you did.”

He nodded at the device. “Anything good?”

“He had quite an eclectic collection of music.”

“He was a man of many tastes. Some better than others.” He smiled.

Taz quickly scanned her mind for signs of Rafe. He’d mastered the art of disappearing when she wanted to be alone with Matthias. She didn’t want to know what Rafe did on his wanderings. He could go anywhere he wanted in her mind, she didn’t care. It was the least she could do for him.

She reached for Matthias and quickly persuaded him out of his clothes without any trouble. The guilt was also easier for her to live with now, although it pecked at her. One day she would tell him the truth, confess what was going on, but for now she needed a calm patch of normalcy in her life, such as it was, to let things settle.

Matthias made slow, sweet love to her, bringing her to orgasm before entering her, murmuring her name against her neck as he slowly thrust.

She wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back and inhaling his scent. This man loved her, every cell in his body screamed it. And she loved him. She didn’t want to think about the future, about what might happen between them when he found out. She wanted to enjoy every moment they had together now, his warmth and strength a comforting cocoon around her body.

He kissed her as he came, then dropped his head to her shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

“I love you,
cara
,” he whispered. “I love you so much. Thank you for coming back to me, for letting me back in.”

She squeezed her eyes shut to stave off the guilty tears. “I love you, too, Matthias.”

Chapter Thirty

It’d been a long day at the office, and Taz wanted to relax before going to bed. Robertson’s paperwork covered the kitchen table. Taz made herself a cup of mint tea and sat at the far end. “What’s this?”

He glanced up. “Wedding preparations.”

Rafael hummed “Here Comes the Bride,” and Taz struggled not to laugh. She tweaked her mental barrier when her dad frowned as he caught a whiff of her thoughts.

“Oooh, let me help.” She snagged one notepad before her dad could stop her, and she saw it was a guest list. Some of the names she recognized, some she didn’t. Most of the ones she didn’t were couples, except for one.

“Who’s this?” she pointed at one name. “Carla Paloflorio?” Did he blanch?

He took the notepad back. “She’s an old friend.”

“Of who?”

“The family.”

Now she knew he was being evasive. “
Whose
family?”

Rafael remained quiet. If he knew, he wasn’t saying.

Her dad swallowed, hard. “All right. She’s Matthias’ ex-girlfriend. He broke up with her and then he was with you ten years later. Okay?”

Taz fought the urge to growl. “No, so
not
okay on about a thousand different levels.” If she had hackles, they’d be up. “Why does he want her at the wedding?”

“He doesn’t. He doesn’t even know she’s on the list.”

“Then why the
hell
is she on the freaking list?”

He finally looked at her. “Carla is well connected. Annoying, yes. She’s the kind of person that if you don’t invite her, she’ll not only show up anyway, but spin it to make it look like you were afraid to invite her. Then by turning her away at the door she’ll raise a fuss and call attention to herself.”

“If we invite her, she’ll show up.”

He shrugged. “Maybe not. Don’t worry, Taz. There will be plenty of people here. She won’t cause a scene.”

“She’d be really stupid to try,” Taz growled.

Rafe chuckled.

“She’s as much a society whore as she is a sexual one,” Tim said. “Loves to been seen. She’ll hold court in a corner somewhere and simply be happy to be around. Don’t worry, Matthias has no feelings for her whatsoever. Might as well invite her and kill her with kindness.”

“How about I kill her with hollow points, will that work?”

Rafael laughed.
“Good one, baby girl.”

* * * *

Taz sulked in front of the TV. Rafael appeared next to her on the couch. There were times she preferred he didn’t do that, because she couldn’t touch him like she could when he was in her mind.

This time, she didn’t object.

“Don’t worry about Carla, Taz. She’s got nothing on you.”

“Then why invite her?”

“Tim’s right. The best way to ensure she’ll show up is to not invite her. She knows Matts is too much of a gentleman to have her thrown out and cause a scene. If she’s invited, she might not even come.”

“And the odds of that?”

“Not as good as you hitting Lotto Saturday night.”

“Great.” She threw the remote control on the couch. “Maybe we should elope.”

“You’d kill Al and Tim. They’re dying to throw you a wedding.”

She looked at him. “And Matthias wants one.”

“Duh.” He looked at Taz. “He loves you.
You.
I remember when he dumped Carla, God she was pissed. It was so funny though.”

“Why?”

“Oh, she ranted and raved, but she didn’t really give a rat’s ass about Matts until after she couldn’t have him. He never loved her, never told her he loved her. They had sex every so often.”

“Don’t need to hear this.”

He laughed. “Taz, you’re not a kid. He wasn’t a monk, but they didn’t live together. He travelled a lot, so did she. They’d hook up once or twice a month. He did it more to have something to do, I think. She screwed around on him anyway. He’s always been faithful in a relationship. He knew she was seeing others, didn’t really care because he didn’t love her, just considered her a friend with benefits.”

“A fuck buddy?”

He shrugged. “If you want to call her that, sure.” Rafael’s face changed, but she couldn’t read his emotion. “I remember when Tim first showed him your picture. Matts called me that night, he sounded like a kid on Christmas. ‘Rafe, she’s so beautiful,’ he said. ‘And as soon as I saw her picture, I knew she’s the one. I want to love her for the rest of my life.’”

They were both quiet for a while. “Why?” she finally asked.

“The heart knows what it knows. You of all people should understand that, after what happened.”

She looked down, well aware of that.
The heart knows what it knows, and the soul always comes home.

Rafe continued. “That’s why he dumped her, Taz. He was willing to wait for you, as long as it took, because of the feelings he had for you even back then. I know it scares the crap out of you, but he did wait all that time for you.”

“So, you’re saying I should be big enough to be secure in his love for me and not snatch her bald when she shows up?” Of course she had no room to complain, considering what she’d been doing with Rafe.

He laughed. “Exactly. If she shows up.”

“When.”

“Probably, but not guaranteed.” He paused. “Matts didn’t spend your entire life waiting for you. Tim was smart to keep the two of you apart. Had Matts met you as a child, it would have caused some interesting problems. Including you might not have been attracted to him when you were older.”

“Why?”

“Are you attracted to Tim?”

She shuddered. “No, ick. He’s my dad. He’s not bad looking, but I love him like a father.”

“Exactly. Tim wanted to see if you and Matts would hit it off. Fortunately, you did. He kept a lot of information from the big guy while you were growing up. Just giving him the basics, keeping him updated but certainly not informed.”

“He took a big risk buying my dad’s car.”

“Not really. Your dad met him at the office. Tim was careful. Matts didn’t live full-time in LA until after Tim let him know more about you.”

She closed her eyes and lay back on the couch. She was so tired. When she opened them again, Rafael was gone. She closed her eyes and found him in his room. She curled up next to him on the couch there and felt his arms around her.

“I shouldn’t let you do this.”

She put her hands on his arms, holding him, keeping him there with her. “I know.”

“It’s not good for you.”

“I know.”

They sat, unmoving, for a long time. He finally broke the silence. “We need to have a talk.”

“I’m not ready to let you go.”

He didn’t push it. When she was ready, he hoped she’d go along with the plan, but he wouldn’t—couldn’t—force her. He could always leave if he felt she was being harmed. For now, he knew losing him again a second time this soon would crush her.