Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (43 page)

“But he continued seeing me after one night.”

“True. I don’t know what it is about you, Sami, but you can bet dollars to donuts he sees something there he wants to exploit.”

Staring out at the
water that shimmered in the moonlight, she could almost imagine Asher emerging from the ocean as the sea king he professed to be. Nearly three thousand miles away and his influence on her was as strong as ever. Stronger. She could never let him go, even if it meant servitude to him for the rest of whatever life he granted her.

“What am I supposed to do?” she
asked quietly. “Leave? I can’t do that, Tristan. Even if I wanted to, I don’t have the willpower anymore.”

“It wouldn’t do any good
anyway. He’d find you - and he’d use
me
to do it. I don’t even want to think about what he’d do to you after that. It’s too late for you. Your fate has already been sealed.”

“Then why
are you telling me these things?”

“
You know, to tell you the truth, I’m not even sure. Maybe I just felt I should warn you. Or maybe some masochistic part of me actually envies you in the same way that I pity you.” He sighed, and his benign eyes shifted to scan the horizon before them. “It’s beautiful here. I miss it. The Pacific beaches are nice but they aren’t quite the same.”

Sami
stretched her legs out and leaned backwards to rest on her elbows. “You used to live here?”

“At one time.
I finally left to get away from Reid. I’d had enough of watching him kill for sport. There’s no pleasure in that for me - not anymore. When I was young and naïve, yes, I admit I let him coerce me into doing some things I’m not particularly proud of. But we grow and learn from our mistakes. It’s how we evolve. I no longer see humans as expendable…just as I no longer see myself as flawless. We all have our scars. Some are just deeper than others.” He returned his gaze to her. “I won’t say there aren’t advantages to our lifestyle. But the shadow of Asher can be a dark place to live.”

She didn’t want to hear any of this. Ash might be eccentric,
even cruel sometimes, but killing people for sport? It sounded too far-fetched. “I’ve never seen him kill anyone.”

“Denial isn’t just a river in
Africa, my dear.” He gave her leg a sympathetic pat. “Go ahead and believe what you want to believe…none of it will matter in the end. It won’t change anything. Now, I think it’s time we left this conversation by the wayside. I never should have brought it up in the first place. I hope you can forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“Then we’re friends?”

“
Of course we are.”

“Good. So you won’t mind
providing me with some of your blood? I’m
very
hungry.” He threw one arm over her and leaned close enough that the soft dreads fell forward to tickle her neck.

Taken by surprise, Sami’s
first response was an instinctive gasp. Never once had it crossed her mind that the one recruited to protect her would turn on her instead. Even though she’d known he was a vampire, she couldn’t have imagined this scenario playing out. And just what the hell was she supposed to do now?

“
Gotcha.
” This time, the broad smile he gave her was genuine.

She released her breath.
Of all the things she’d expected him to do, this definitely had to be the
last
. “Okay, very funny…you got me…
ha,
ha
.”

“Sorry…I couldn’t resist.”
Removing his arm, he laughed at her wide-eyed expression. “Relax - you’re safe with me. I fed before I left home.”

“
I gotta tell you, your sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired.”

“Just trying to break the tension.”

“Oh yeah, I’m a
lot
less tense now! Thanks!” Sitting up, she gave him a shove with one hand. “Ash would’ve had your head, you know.”

“He knows he can trust me. Why do you think I’m here?”

That brought up another question. “Exactly why
are
you here?”

“I think maybe it’s you he doesn’t trust.”

“But that’s crazy.”

“Not if you consider who you’re dealing with
,” he pointed out sardonically. “Since I
am
here though, you might humor me with one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You can introduce me to that gorgeous blond bartender. The one who looks like Chris Hemsworth.”

“
Who…
Laiken?
” Sami grinned at this very human request. “I hate to break it to you, but he’s straight as an arrow.”

“
You never know. Maybe he just isn’t aware of his ambiguity yet.” Tristan’s sterling eyes glimmered playfully.

“
That’s
a stretch!”

“I prefer to think of it as
eternal optimism.”

“Well…think of it any way you like. But I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”

“I can be very persuasive.”

“Uh-huh…
and on that rather disturbing note, I think I’ll call it a night. I have to get up early in the morning, unlike
some
people.” Standing, she brushed the gritty sand from her legs. “Be a gentleman and walk me back to my room?”

“I suppose that is what I’m here for.”
He stood leisurely, bending to retrieve the beach towel. “We can always take a detour past the bar.”

Sami rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. “I’m beginning to think,” she said, “
that you’re just as bad as Ash!”

~*~*~*~

It was just after two on Wednesday when Julian returned home early from his meeting with the travel agent.

Eva was seated at the kitchen table with a sandwich and the comics section
from last week’s newspaper. A little light reading with lunch. Maybe
Garfield
wasn’t as intellectually stimulating as the national news, but the snarky cat was a heck of a lot more entertaining. “Hey. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

He hesitated a moment before answering.
“It didn’t take as long as I anticipated.”

“So did you get the travel arrangements changed?”

“What travel arrangements are you referring to?” Cocking his head slightly, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled.

“Not even going to give me a hint, are you?” Looking up from the paper, she noticed
that something about his appearance seemed a bit off to her, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. Something about him was different than she remembered.

“No…I don’t think I will.”

“I figured as much. Are you hungry? I could fix you a sandwich before I leave.”

“
Leave?”

“I have a hair appointment at
three-thirty, remember?”

“Oh. Yes.”

“So can I fix you something?”

“No…I’ll pass. Thanks.” He didn’t move, just stood there looking around as if he were lost.

“What are you doing?” she asked him with a laugh.

“Nothing. Why?”

“I don’t know. You’re acting weird. Even for you.” It suddenly dawned on her what was bugging her. “That’s not the shirt you were wearing when you left. Is it?”

“Of course it is.”

Standing, she took her plate over to the sink to rinse off. “I must be losing it. I could have sworn you had on a white shirt.”

“No…it was brown.” Stealing up behind her, he enfolded her in one arm and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
“You’re either becoming paranoid…or you need to have your pretty green eyes examined.”

“Mm-hm. My pretty green eyes were probably still half asleep when you -
ow!
” Flinching at the sudden sharp pinch in her hip, she looked down to see what had caused it and then wondered if maybe her eyes really did need to be examined. Because his free hand held in it a surgical needle that was piercing her flesh right through the material of her tweed slacks.

“Julian
- what the
hell!
” She reached for his hand just as he jerked the empty syringe away. But the hand…the arm…they didn’t belong to her Jules. They belonged to someone else. Someone with more prominent muscles and darker hair and bluer eyes.

“
Reid,
” she whispered as she stared into the face of the alpha from Florida.

“Funny thing about nightshade,” he said, holding the needle up for inspection. “As soon as it kicks in
- which should be any minute now - we immortals become as helpless as we were in our past lives. Completely susceptible…all our strength and capabilities squelched like the volume on a radio. Unable to function on a cognitive level. Provides a really nice high too, kind of a bonus side effect. That part you’ll love. Pretty cool, don’t you think?”

Already there was a
tingle beginning to spread through her from the injection site, weakening her muscles and clouding her mind. Her eyes searched the countertop for anything within reach that might pass as a weapon, even as her drug-addled brain reminded her what a pointless effort it was. There was nothing and nobody to help her. She was screwed. Far beyond screwed. She was completely and totally back door
fucked
.

“
What…what did you…”

“You were warned. And yet you chose to flagrantly disregard that warning. Did you think I filled you in on the regulations just to hear myself talk?
I told you, young lady, I don’t give second chances. You should have listened.”

It was hard to speak…hard to
make herself link words into lucid sentences. “He…he was…
dying
.”

“Yeah…well…your efforts were wasted there, Red. The kid’s toast.”

“N-no…you…
no
…” He couldn’t have hurt Dane. He couldn’t have - surely even he wouldn’t be so cruel. The room around her shimmered like desert heat, the floor seemed to rock, and she grabbed at the counter to steady herself. “What did you do?” she managed to get out.

“What I should have done to you. This is what I get for being generous, I guess.
I won’t make that mistake again.” His icy blue eyes sparkled like frozen stars. “Now then…since you mentioned travel arrangements, I should tell you that I’ve already made some for us. It’s an eight hour flight to Panama City, I’m afraid, but don’t worry. I have enough belladonna to keep you nice and stoned.”

“Bas…bastard…” Remembering her cell phone, she tried to find
the opening of her pocket with an unsteady hand. Her depth perception was shot.

“Here, why don’t you let me hold on
to that for you. I’m sure you’ll be getting plenty of calls once your fiancé comes home to find that you’ve run off with his rival.”

What?
Was he talking about Dane? He must be crazy - Julian would never believe that. But the thought of him returning to an empty house, not knowing where she was or what had happened to her, was like a knife twisting in her heart. He’d be frantic with worry.

“Well,
you about ready to hit the road? We have a plane to catch.”

She tried to look away when he caught her eye, but it was impossible. She
had no more resistance than a human.

“Let’s get going.”

And as her will became his, she had no choice but to obey.

~*~*~*~

The house was silent as a tomb.

Which was odd, considering the new
Subaru he’d bought for her just last week was still parked in the driveway.

“Eva, love…are you home?” Julian shuffled through the mail in his hands while waiting for her to answer. Electric bill, credit card offer,
fashion magazine and
You May Already Be The Winner Of Our Grand Prize Jackpot Drawing!

“Right,” he muttered to himself, tossing the stack on
the coffee table. “Eva?” When there was still no response, he jogged upstairs in search of her. The bedroom was empty, the bed neatly made. She wasn’t in the bathroom either, or the library.

Trotting back downstairs, he checked the
music conservatory. Not there either. She must have gone out for a walk.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, he poured some of it into
Rio’s half-empty water dish and wandered back into the living room. Curled up in a sunbeam in front of the window, the cat was sleeping soundly. The little butterball was getting fat. Maybe he should try to dissuade Eva from constantly feeding him ham.

He was just about to head back upstairs to change clothes when
he caught a sparkly glint out of the corner of his eye. On one of the end tables, something small and shiny rested on top of a sheet of stationery that hadn’t been there this morning. He drew nearer, and a sick feeling overwhelmed him when he saw what was holding down the paper that read only,
I’m sorry.