“Really?” he asked, still seeming a little bit unsure.
I stepped up behind him, gazing at his reflection.
“It suits you.” I placed my arms around him, leaning my head onto his shoulder, only to feel him stiffen.
He carefully lifted my arms, moving away from me before dropping them.
“Don’t,” he warned, and I couldn’t keep the hurt off my face at his words. “I was serious last night. Being around you is difficult for me. I intend to keep my distance as much as possible.”
“Why?” I asked, unable to keep the slight tremor from my lips. “We’re good together, and you know it.”
He sighed before clenching his jaw and turned away from me for a moment. “We are good together,” he said finally, glancing back at me. “But I need you too much. I’ve come to rely on you too heavily. It’s not healthy, for me or you. So for right now, it’s best if I stay away.”
“But …,” I began to protest, and he cut me off again, changing the subject.
“Damien sent some formal wear for you to choose from this morning. It’s in on the dining table. Get ready to leave and come decide what you want to use. He’ll be here soon to collect us.”
He left me standing there, staring after him. I remained there for several minutes, feeling completely lost, as if my world had just had a huge piece removed from it.
I didn’t know how to stay away from Vance, and I certainly never had to deal with the issue of him trying to stay away from me. This was completely foreign ground.
Moving into the wardrobe, I went to the closet to choose my apparel for the day. As I eyed the clothes before me I decided two could play at this game. If he was going to do his best to avoid me, then I was going to do my best to drive him to complete distraction.
I found a black business suit, with a very feminine cut to it—sleek, slimming pants, that were slightly too long on me, with a matching jacket that fastened near the waist in the front with a pretty diamond pendant. I found a grey silk shirt that buttoned down the front to pair with it.
After I bathed, I did my make-up carefully and then swept my hair up into a chic looking French twist with a large clip, letting the excess spill out over the top in a messy but stylish looking way.
I dressed in the clothes, deliberately leaving several of the buttons on my blouse undone so it showed off a peek of the gentle swell from my chest beneath. I found a pair of trendy black heels that worked to take care of the excess length of my pants, and I slipped them on before turning to glance at myself in the mirror.
The girl I was had disappeared, and a sophisticated looking woman had replaced me in the glass. I looked every inch Vance’s equal. Pleased with the results, I turned to dab some expensive perfume on my pulse points, and I headed out into the bedroom.
Vance was standing with his back to me, going through our suitcase at the end of the bed. I walked over to the table where several dresses were laid, my shoes making a clicking noise as I moved across the floor.
I saw him notice me, and he froze. His eyes followed my movements, and I knew I’d hit my mark when I heard him take a deep breath. He looked away from me, clenching his hands into fists before leaning over the bed. I smiled to myself hoping he was suffering indeed.
“Don’t you have something more comfortable you can wear?” he asked tightly.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” My eyes widened, and I blinked as I feigned innocence when he glanced over at me. “Don’t you like it?”
“I … I …,” he stuttered. “It’s fine. Never mind,” he ground out, dropping his gaze from me, before he lifted a hand to rub at his temple.
I couldn’t stop my grin, so I busied myself with looking over the evening wear. I finally decided on a blood red dress with what appeared to be a deeply scooped neckline and plunging back.
This ought to make Vance sweat a little,
I thought. “Here’s my choice,” I said aloud, carrying it over and handing the garment to him so he could hang it on the bed rail next to the tuxedo he had chosen for himself.
I could almost hear his internal groan as he glanced at the gown, the heat flaming in the form of red streaks in his eyes. His imagination was working overtime, and I was aware he was hungry too.
Leaning in very close, I feigned needing to check something on the dress, knowing I was close enough for him to catch the scent of my light perfume.
His eyelids fluttered closed when my carefully exposed neck passed in front of him, and I saw his jaw clench, the muscles in it ticking obviously as he ground his teeth. I smiled when he bent forward involuntarily, inhaling my skin.
And then he was gone, quickly moving across the cave to the space where we knew the door existed, even though we couldn’t see it.
He pounded hard against the wall. “If you can hear me, I need you to send some blood,” he shouted, and my heart fell in disappointment.
He turned, taking several steps toward me before he stopped and pointed a finger. “I know what you’re doing, Portia, and I don’t like it one bit!” His eyes flashed angrily.
“What am I doing?” I asked, trying to keep up my charade.
“Oh, please, spare me the whole innocent routine. I know you—intimately. I can smell your trap a mile away.”
“Then feel free to enlighten me.” I folded my arms tightly across my chest.
“See!” He gestured to my arms. “You’re doing it right now!” he added sounding flustered.
“Doing what?” I asked, throwing my hands up in frustration, as I honestly began to wonder if he was really losing it.
“Making yourself look so … edible,” he answered, finally seizing onto a word.
I started laughing. “And what does one do exactly, Vance, to make themselves look edible?” I took a deliberate step toward him.
“What you’re doing right now.” His heated expression traveled over me.
“And what am I doing right now?” I asked, taking another step closer, walking very slowly as I crossed the space.
“You’re … moving … and talking,” he replied, not making any sense at all, and I could tell he was completely flustered.
“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t move or talk?” I continued in his direction.
“Yes.” He swallowed thickly before he realized how absurd he sounded. “I mean no,” he muttered before adding, “I don’t know. You just need to stop.”
I was standing next to him now, and I leaned in close to his body, feeling him sway toward me as if he were magnetized, drawn especially to me.
“Portia,” he whispered, and I could feel his control faltering.
“Yes, Vance?” I murmured, knowing I was so close to being triumphant.
He hovered above me, his head tilted as his gaze brushed back and forth between my lips and neck. His hand lifted, reaching out with what looked like a slight tremor. The pad of his thumb caressed lightly over my cheek before he traced his fingers down my neck, over my collarbone and onto the exposed skin inside my shirt.
My breath caught in my throat at his intimate touch, and his eyes locked with mine as we leaned closer together.
“Here’s the girl you requested,” a deep unknown voice interrupted, breaking my carefully woven spell.
Vance whirled away, practically running over to rip the girl from the demon who held her, falling hungrily to her.
I closed my eyes as I listened to her erotic sounding whimpers and moans filling the air while he fed from her, knowing I had lost him again.
I didn’t speak to him when he was finished. He barely acknowledged my existence, which turned out to be just fine because I was fuming so badly I wasn’t sure if I could have said anything without losing it entirely.
Making a point to not be around him, I walked across the cavern to the altar, climbing the steps and jumping up to sit on the top. I curled my legs, placing my knees under my chin and wrapped my arms around them.
I made a careful study of all the many dripping candles that were cloistered around the far side of the stone. It was rather interesting, since I knew these candles had been burning since my first awareness of this place, yet though they melted away in what seemed like little rivers they never seemed to get any smaller. I was fairly certain no one had changed them during my stay.
I dipped one of my fingers into the soft, wet surface of one of the freshly melted candles. It felt just like wax should, nothing out of the ordinary, and I found myself being suddenly irritated over all the things about magic which I didn’t know or understand.
If I were being truthful, most of that irritation came from admitting Damien obviously knew much more about it than I did. I didn’t like feeling subservient to him. Someone who was as ruthless as he was didn’t deserve any kind of praise—no matter how fleeting it might seem.
Lifting my hand out, I absently let my fingers trail over the stone, and I wondered what kind of horrible rituals may have been performed here. Had people been sacrificed, their blood spilt to feed the delusions of a demented demon maniac? Or was this just a fortunate space Damien had stumbled upon?
I allowed my vision to follow around the walls of the cave, and I gathered my powers to try to pop to another location. Nothing happened. I felt a little panicked and frustrated at my failure. I thought my abilities were coming back, but I couldn’t seem to make this dematerialization happen.
I tried again.
“It won’t work you know,” Vance’s voice drawled from the bed where he lay watching me. “The cave is lined with special crystals which are preventing your jinn powers from working.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Damien mentioned it during one of his earlier gloating sessions to me,” he answered with a shrug.
“So when we leave this place today I’ll be able to do it again?”
“That would be my guess. I’m assuming he’ll want you at full capacity for our little outing.”
“Not that it will do us any good,” I mumbled. “It’s not like I can get away.”
Vance was silent for a moment. “You could leave,” he said softly.
“What?” I twisted my head to look at him.
He sat up, sliding off the bed and began walking over to me.
I watched his progress across the room, his eyes never leaving me, and I could see several emotions playing there.
He climbed the steps to the altar until he was standing directly next to me, and he lifted his hand to reach out and slide it in a caress against my neck.
“I want you to escape,” he said in a low quiet voice.
My heart hammered in my chest. “Don’t be ridiculous, Vance. I wouldn’t even dream of doing such a thing.” I swallowed at the knot that was forming in my throat. “Damien would slaughter all of you if I did.”
Vance nodded. “I know.”
“What do you mean, you know?” I asked, shocked. “Then why are you even suggesting something like this?”
“I need to know you’re safe,” he said, staring deep into my eyes. “If that means my death, or even the death of your dad, I’m willing to do that. I know your dad would tell you to do the same thing. Get away from here, Portia. He can’t do whatever it is he’s planning without you, and if he can’t find you, he can’t harm you. You could go back to the coven and take them to a secure location until you figured out a way to destroy him. Just get out of here. Go someplace safe.”
There were tears in his eyes as he spoke, and I knew what he was asking me to do was extremely difficult for him.
I turned to him fully, and I placed both of my hands on either side of his face.
“You listen to me, Vance Mangum, and you listen carefully. I’ll never leave your side as long as there’s breath in your body or mine. I love you, and I love that you care for me so much you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for my safety. I’ve already been through the hell of believing I lost you once, and it’s not an experience I ever care to repeat again.” I couldn’t help the soft cry that escaped my lips, my emotions threatening to get the better of me. “No, I’ll stay, and we’ll face this thing head on, together, you and I against the world, just like it’s always been.”
Vance stared at me for a moment. He leaned his head in then and kissed me, brushing my lips lightly at first, before sliding his arms fully around me and gathering me into his embrace.
I shifted so I was sitting with my legs on either side of him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he stepped in between them.
He held me close, ravaging my mouth with his, and I let myself drown in the senses he was creating for me as I kissed him back, my own hunger matching his. I just wanted to melt into him, to be a part of him forever, to show him how much I loved him.
He kissed me hard and intensely for several long moments before he naturally slipped across my face to travel down to the crook of my neck. I tipped my head willingly as he sucked at the scar there and felt his teeth beginning to lengthen against my skin. He suddenly stilled before pushing away.
“I can’t,” he whispered, dragging in a deep ragged breath, his eyes flaming as he backed down the steps behind him. “I can’t,” he said again, as if he were trying to convince himself, and he turned and moved briskly across the room.
I watched him go without saying a word, biting at my now swollen bottom lip, trying to remind myself his rejection of me was because he was trying to prove his love, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I needed him with me—in every way possible—and this forced separation he was requiring was not something I was on board with at all.
He wanted me. I knew he did, I could feel it radiating from him, and it only strengthened my resolve to make him see the error of his ways. We would work better together if we were close and without conflict than by trying to maintain distance.
A little part of me felt guilty. I knew Vance was an extremely independent person. He always had been. I knew if he had a choice he would probably choose to live without blood entirely. He hated being dependent on anything, and he’d become entirely dependent on me as a source. I knew that had to be killing him. He was like a drug addict, craving what I fed him.