Satine moved from her frozen position in the middle of the room and turned to a dresser. She unlocked a drawer and pulled out a photo album, flipping the pages until she found the photo she'd wanted.
There. Sara and Rose. Sexy Sara and Rose the Cootie Carrier. Satine had swiped the photo from her parent's album, needing the reminder to find Rose, to take care of her. Her parents had much-preferred Rose for a daughter. Quiet, obedient, bookworm Rose was more to her staid parents’ taste than their wild daughter.
But Satine had decided not to kill her. Stealing her soul, then setting Rose up with the drug dealer had been much more to her taste, a delicious revenge; and yet her cousin was still alive
and
giving off the scent of the blessed. It was enough to give the most even-tempered vampire a migraine.
Satine locked the album back in its drawer and shook off the black mood. The night beckoned. Time enough to play with the stupid humans. She waited impatiently for the elevator to take her up to the club. Surely someone up there needed an ass whipping. She fluffed her hair as floors flashed past and stepped off the elevator in search of a little pick-me-up.
Satine felt the whip-touch of Vlad’s gaze the minute she walked into the bar, his eyes coldly assessing.
"You've fed."
Satine pouted. "Just a bit. Chazz." She picked up the glass of his favorite red wine and sipped, watching the patrons watch them.
He sniffed. "You've had sex with him," he accused.
"Oh Vladimir, really. It just sort of happened, the way it does when I walk around half naked," she said. "It was nothing. How many women do you take a day?"
His hand moved to her right breast, squeezed cruelly. She gasped at the pain that shot through her, her eyes wide on him. Her body throbbed with need, her fear an added spice. "Yes," she whispered and moved in to lick his lower lip. "You know what I crave."
He fingered the lace. "You wear these things to entice the humans." His voice, devoid of emotion, sent a shiver of fear down her spine. Her nipples hardened further and her body ached for release.
"I wear them because I want everyone to see what only you can have," she purred.
"And yet, you had sex with the were tiger." Vladimir motioned to the bartender who brought over another glass of red wine and set it in front of Satine.
"I would not give a human the pleasure," she snapped, and immediately lowered her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and shivered as the hand at her breast moved to the other one. It clamped down on her body with the force of mountains.
"You know my rules. No sex unless it's with me. You are begging to be punished, aren't you?" The words came to her ears without inflection, as though he could care less. Satine thought she knew better.
Eagerly, she pressed her crotch against the length of his erection, only his leather pants between them. "You always have the most divine punishments for me, my lord." She whispered the words against his lips, knowing those lips were hard enough to bruise even her. Her hands spread across the cold perfection of his bare chest, delighting in him, so much harder than all her other lovers with their basically human bodies.
"Divine punishments? Perhaps. Drink." Vlad released her and turned to watch the crowd, his voice dismissive of both her and the plans he had for her.
Twin licks of fear and desire slid through her. She was stronger than she had been and stronger than he knew now that she held a part of Gabriel's soul. She would find out tonight if that strength would be enough to get her what she wanted, or if she'd need the rest of Gabriel's soul to win her freedom.
Which reminded her. "I have an appointment." She bowed her head as he turned to her. "Three a.m. I will join you at four."
Vlad raised an eyebrow. "Something serious?"
She shrugged one bare shoulder and picked up her wine. "Just an irritation from my past. A family thing. I'll get it taken care of, and then I'll be yours."
Vlad's eyes hardened to bits of black stone. "Whether you do or not is immaterial. You already belong to me. And I will never let you go." He turned away from her. "Until it’s time to unmake you."
Satine jerked, her hand convulsing on her glass. Wine spilled on her skin.
"Careless," murmured Vladimir, not bothering to turn her way. "So unsatisfactory in a mate, carelessness. Don't you think?"
Satine bit her lip until she tasted blood.
"These are fabulous." Rose dug into the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Gabriel had made five, two for her. He set two big glasses of milk on the kitchen table and sat across from her. The kitchen was a showplace in stainless steel and granite. The scent of garlic and onions hung faintly in the air.
"Just like mom used to make or, in my case, Dad, since my mother died giving birth to me. At any rate, they should help take care of that empty, dizzy feeling you've got going." He bit into his first sandwich.
Rose looked at the jelly oozing out between the slices of bread. "I don't know how to repay you. It's not like I'm rolling in dough. I don't even have a bank account."
Gabriel shifted in his chair. "Has anyone asked you for money?"
"No, but I feel like I should pay my way." Helpless, Rose shrugged. "It just seems fair."
"You're carrying my soul for me."
"And you're not happy about that." Rose shook her head. She watched as he ate his way steadily through the sandwiches. "Do you always eat so much?"
"I'm fueling up in case I need to resort to demonic tactics tonight. If one of us changes without being properly fueled, the aftermath is harder to shake." He gulped down the milk and went for a refill.
"I wish you didn't have to go. Confronting Satine just doesn't seem smart."
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "How else am I supposed to get my soul back?" He poured himself a second glass and put the milk away.
Rose rubbed her arms. "I could go with you."
"No, really." Gabriel eyed her warily. "You can't. You don't want to mess Satine again."
"I should go with you. If I’m a Soul Chalice, won’t you need me? Plus you know, fire whatchamacallit here. I could help, like you said."
"Forget it. Remember how quickly she shut you down the last time?"
"I'll keep my mental walls up and my fire on hand. You know, as best as I can. And I'll carry a knife or something. I'll be fine, if you're there." She put a hand on his and smiled. "I really don’t want to spend too much time away from you. Even if it means fighting."
She could read the indecision deep in his eyes, the gray clear of any evasion. He pulled away and abruptly stood. "I've got to call Justin."
Rose looked down at her hands, picked absently at a hangnail. She could feel his soul inside her, a warmth that lent her strength, though different from the fire demon. Closing her eyes, she explored it.
His soul was more than his being and yet less at the same time. A repository for memory and a welling of life, everything he had been and would be lay inside her. His years away had been lonely ones as he struggled with the girl's death. He’d never forgiven himself, never forgotten. Self-hatred burned inside him. A longing for the mother he never knew. He’d been consumed by a bone-deep need to be alone.
She saw herself there in his soul, too, the picture of the two of them stopped in time as they'd first met, the mist billowing. Now she saw what she hadn't seen then, the twin strands of color that circled him. How startled he'd been when they'd first met, and how some ice had cracked off his frozen heart as the morning progressed.
Gabriel came back into the kitchen, startling her out of her reverie. She looked at him with new eyes and a heart that wondered.
He frowned down at her. "I had to leave Justin a message. Couldn't get through."
"You need me." She grimaced as she wished the impulsive words unspoken. "I mean, you need to take me with you. I'm not staying here by myself."
Gabriel sighed. "I can't promise to keep you safe, though I'll keep you as safe as I can. You've got to agree to do exactly what I tell you to do, or no dice. And if you die while we're there, I'll never forgive myself. Or you," he added, his arms crossed.
"So don't let me die. That's pretty simple. And I guess I'll do whatever you tell me, as long as I don't think it's a stupid order."
He eyed her. "You're not making this easy."
"Look.” Rose met his gaze straight on. “I'm pretty sure I know how to get your soul back. Satine craves the rest of it. If you fight her, and I'm not there, how are you going to get your soul back? If you kill her, what then? Does your soul know to return to you?" Rose shook her head. "I don't think so."
“You couldn’t give me my soul back earlier,” he pointed out.
“Because I wasn’t supposed to, obviously. I have to believe I’ll know what to do when the time comes, since I wasn’t sent here with a how-to manual.”
The kitchen clock ticked the seconds off as Rose continued to eat while he thought.
"I don't know how to get my soul from her," he finally admitted. “And there’s no time right now to see if Maggie can give me a spell to use.”
"You need me." Pleased with the way she put the issue, Rose licked at the peanut butter on her fingers.
Gabriel's left eye twitched. "Fine."
"Don't sound so happy about it."
"Not likely when I'm putting your life in danger," he pointed out.
"We just need to get your soul back before she takes you out,” she soothed. “Then we can all move on."
"I'm an idiot. Just stay alive. Okay?"
Elation pumped through her. "O
kay
. Let's go. I'm fueled up and ready for anything."
Gabriel stood and picked up their plates. "This is gonna get ugly." He put the dishes in the sink.
Rose turned to him, one eyebrow cocked. "No, really? I thought taking a vampire out would just mean a stake and a poof of dust," she said wryly.
He just looked at her, his face set. "Do as I tell you. It's going to be hard enough keeping you alive; if you go rogue on me, it'll be damned near impossible."
"Gee, thanks." She studied him, searched his eyes. Something in their gray depths made her uneasy. "You want to fight her by yourself. Are you nuts? What if she has more demons with her?"
"She probably will."
"Then ask for Justin's help. Don't be stubborn."
"I don’t want to risk him, but my wishes have never stopped him in the past. He said he’d be here tonight. If he wants to come with us, then he will. I'm not his keeper." His face closed up.
"Yes you are, because you’re his
brother
," she emphasized. "Brothers take care of each other, guard each other’s backs. You don't have to keep yourself isolated, not now. Not anymore."
"It's a long-standing habit. Besides, my reasons are my own. I don't need to share them with you," he retorted. "I can't believe we're arguing about this."
"Then let's not." Rose backed down, not wanting him to change his mind about taking her with him. "Tell me your story. I want to know how you met Satine."
"Why?"
"I want the history. And if you don't want to tell me, I can always get my cousin to do so. She'd probably love to fill me in on all the details." Rose shot him a triumphant look as she played her ace. "Besides, anything I don't know can be used against me. If I know what the hell happened, then there's a greater chance of not falling into any traps. Come on, sit down and tell me."