I need to work tonight. I’ll probably be here at 8 o’clock.
Can you pick me up here?
I suppose I could do that.
I’ll be in meetings for the rest of t
he day.
Looking forward to seeing you . . . ALL of you.
She could feel the red blotches heat up her face and neck and was sure her face was bright red.
They said their goodbyes and she headed out to join the girls at lunch, tripping over the door mat in the unfamiliar high heel shoes. Oh sure, blame the shoes. Of course it had
nothing
to do with the fact that she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going. Her mind was on him.
“Way to go Grace,” she muttered, straightening out the rug and leaving, mindful of the way she walked.
She met the girls at the Latin Café where they ate lunch daily. They were deep in conversation, watching the guys walk in and out of the place and rating them on a scale of 1 to 10.
They stopped when she sat down.
“How’re things going with the gorgeous billionaire, Jen? Oh please tell me he has some major faults.” Suzanne clasped her hands together in a mock praying gesture.
“Sorry to disappoint you. He’s a really nice guy, believe it or not,” she said casually, sipping on an iced-coffee.
She thought of some of the things he said and did, and found nothing distasteful in the way he’d treated her so far. He was definitely a control freak and he’d told her some pretty shocking things about himself, still, she sensed he was a good man at heart.
Was there more he wasn’t telling her? She didn’t know. Hopefully, someday he’d trust her with all his secrets.
She was soaked with sweat already. The humidity didn’t agree with the shirt she was wearing, not one bit.
“That’s great. I’m so happy for you,” said Mary-Lou. “God! You’re lucky. He’s rich, classy and obscenely handsome.”
“Yeah, I guess I am. There’s a lot more to him than just money and looks, a lot more. He’s different than anyone I’ve ever known.”
Julie said nothing. Jennifer could feel her eyes on her. When she looked up, she saw Julie sucking on her straw suggestively, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
Jennifer shook her head.
Julie kept doing it with a wide eyed innocent look on her face.
At five o’clock everyone headed for the door. Mr. Marshall had been absolutely obnoxious all day. They couldn’t wait to get out of there. He’d told Jennifer in no uncertain terms to finish those damn files today, even if it took all night. She wasn’t going anywhere.
She set the security alarm while the girls waited outside. Once it engaged, they told her to be careful and left.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard and she photo-copied a ton of documents. She was actually making some headway, but she was as hot as hell.
She decided to remove her heavy shirt. After all, she was wearing a short camisole underneath and there was no one but her left in the place.
It was five minutes to eight, mere minutes before he texted her and she could end this day. Done or not, she was going to see him tonight. She could barely wait to see what the surprise was.
She snatched up the phone at the sound of the text coming in. Before she could hit the message icon, a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her roughly by the wrist. The phone fell out of her hand and clattered onto the desk. “
What the fuck
?”
“I warned you, didn’t I Ms. Reese? No cell phone while you’re working.”
Her boss loomed over her. He was very drunk and extremely belligerent. He leaned his head over her shoulder, still holding her wrist. She smelled liquor on his breath.
“I think you need to be punished for breaking the rules,” he said nastily. He took hold of both her wrists, gaping wide eyed at them. She knew he saw the marks.
“Let me go,” she squirmed, trying to pull her hands away, but he was too strong for her. He held them effortlessly.
“Well, well. What have we here? His thumb ran along one of the lines on her wrist. “Looks like you’ve been a very naughty little girl.”
The cell phone made a bling sound again, another text and another after that. Finally, she heard
Sweet Child of Mine
, her ring tone. He was calling her. The song stopped abruptly. A little hum indicated the call had gone to voice mail.
Jesus Christ, Dorian! Please
! Know I’m in trouble and that’s why I didn’t answer your text! Help me!
Chapter 21
“Damn it Jennifer, answer me,” he muttered, sending a second text warning her they’d be consequences if she didn’t text back. Still, she didn’t pick up.
What if she can’t answer? She always
had before
, he thought.
“Fuck!”
Something was wrong. She was in some sort of trouble. He grabbed his blue tooth, not wanting to waste any time and flew to the garage. He kept calling, kept getting directed to voicemail and finally hung up.
The bike would be the fastest way to get there. He sped off toward the building where she worked, which was ten minutes away. A lot could happen in ten minutes. If Malachi had her, he could kill her in mere seconds. His heart was beating like a hammer, he drove faster.
For the first time since coming into this new life, he was frightened. There was little to be afraid of as a vampire. Other than the sunlight, he feared nothing except loneliness. But now, he was terrified of losing her.
He had to calm down or she’d see his true nature. And where the
fuck
was Ian? He was supposed to be keeping her safe. Then again, he was most likely at the new apartment, assuming Jennifer was okay. After all, the building she worked in had security.
He ran through the doorway and down the hall to Jennifer’s office. It was difficult to see through the smoked glass doors. He tried to open it, but someone had locked it. He glanced quickly at the security pad. The alarm was disengaged which meant someone had unlocked
the door and relocked it manually from the inside. It had to be someone who knew the security system’s code.
“Jennifer!” he shouted.
He heard only muffled voices coming from inside. His heightened sense of hearing made it possible for him to discern different sounds. He heard her voice. She was yelling at someone and crying!
He slammed into the glass door, breaking it. Glass shattered all around him. He rushed into the room and stopped short, his eyes taking in the shocking scene. It wasn’t Malachi.
A large, burly man had Jennifer pinned to the floor, hovering over her. She twisted and squirmed every which way. Her camisole was half off, revealing one of her breasts and her skirt and panties were bunched up around her ankles.
Even the sound of breaking glass hadn’t stopped the guy.
“I said no! Get your fat fucking sausage fingers off me!”
Jennifer screamed.
“You know you want it Jennifer and you want me to give it to you. I’m going to give you every single inch of me. Whether you enjoy it or not is your business. I think you will.” His breath was harsh, his words slurred.
Dorian approached them calmly, although he felt anything but. Seeing this man’s hands on her infuriated him, but he had to keep his emotions in check, lest he reveal his vampire self to her.
“I believe the lady said no. Or, to be more precise, I believe she told you to take your fat fucking sausage fingers off her. You have until the count of three to let her go.”
“Dorian! Thank God!” Jennifer was crying. Mascara streaked down her cheeks.
“Fuck off, pal. Just . . . walk away. This is none of your business.”
“To the count of three.” Dorian’s tone was cold.
“And then what are you going to do, tough guy?” He
moved slightly away from Jennifer.
“Then, I’m going to break your fucking arm.” Dorian
’s voice was utterly chilling.
Without warning, Dorian leaped on the man, grabbed him by the throat and forcefully threw him against the wall. Pictures fell to the floor, books toppled off their shelves.
“Jennifer, run to the bathroom and lock the door,” Dorian said calmly, his eyes fixed on the slimy lawyer.
He heard her scramble to her feet, heard the bathroom door slam, the lock engage.
“Let . . . me . . . go.” Mr. Marshall couldn’t break free from Dorian’s grip.
“I gave you to the count of 3. I guess I forgot to mention, I count bloody damn fast.” He pulled Mr. Marshall off the wall, turned him around effortlessly, pulled his arm behind his back and yanked upward until he heard a loud snap.
The man howled in pain. “You bastard! You broke my arm! I’m calling the police!”
“Go ahead. Perhaps you can explain why you tried to rape one of your employee’s”
“I . . . you! It’s your word against mine,” the man whined.
The sound of it annoyed the hell out of Dorian.
“No, it isn’t.” A voice came from behind them. Ian stood in the doorway.
“Who the hell are you?” Mr. Marshall asked, surprised.
“A friend.”
“I suggest you leave now. If I call the police, believe me, they’ll be here quick. You have no idea who I am, do you?” Dorian looked at him with contempt. “If I
ever
find out you’ve even attempted to take advantage of another lady, you’ll pay dearly for it. And I
will
find out. Do not underestimate me. That would be a grave mistake on your part. As for Jennifer, if you so much as
look
at her, it will be the last thing your eyes ever see. Now get the fuck out of here and don’t come back.”
Mr. Marshall stared at him, his mouth agape. He started to say something, seemed to think better of it and ran out of the building.
Dorian turned to Ian. “What the hell happened? I thought someone was watching her.” He whispered vehemently. He didn’t want Jennifer to know she was being followed.
“I just got here a few minutes before you. I didn’t see him come in. Then, I saw your bike pull up and I knew something was wrong. I’m sorry Dorian.”
“It’s alright.” Dorian took a deep breath. “I can’t expect you to be everywhere. You’re only human. I forget sometimes.”
“I’m sure I can find some other men to help keep an eye on her. Other mortals I mean. I thought she was in danger from someone at e.Vampire. Not her boss.”
Dorian looked at him pointedly. “It is someone from e.Vampire, maybe more than one. Even I didn’t anticipate this incident. We need to stay vigilant, understand?”
Ian nodded. “Here she comes,” he mumbled.
The two men watched her approach. She walked slowly, her head down. Dorian’s heart ached for her. No-one should cause her pain. He gathered her in his arms and held her tight. She was trembling uncontrollably. He felt tears against his neck, felt her body shudder as she wept silently.
“You’re safe now, love.”
He kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you Dorian.” Her voice was hoarse from her screams and tears.
Ian walked out the door, allowing them their privacy.
“Let me take a look at you, see if you’re hurt.”
She moved out of his arms and stood there like a broken doll. Right then, he wished he’d killed that fucker. Jennifer didn’t deserve this. She was so sweet and innocent. He couldn’t imagine her ever hurting anyone or anything.
“You’re bleeding.”
“No. I’m not.”
“There’s blood on your bottom lip.” He tenderly wiped it away with his finger.
“It’s not my blood. It’s his. I bit his hand when he tried to cover my mouth.” She sounded a little stronger now. Still, she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
He took her face in his hands. Her eyes darted from side to side.
“You
bit
him?” He smiled. “Now that’s my girl.”
Her eyes met his then, and the pain in them tugged mercilessly at his heart. And yet, he saw a fierce flicker of anger in them. He was glad for it; glad she’d put up a fight instead of cowering to the sadistic prick. “Let’s get out of here.”
He put his arm around her waist and they walked out to meet Ian.
She saw the bike and looked up at him. “I don’t think I have the strength for that tonight.”
“No problem,” said Ian. “Take my car. I’ll take the bike and meet you at her, um, house.”
Dorian had completely forgotten about the surprise. He’d drive slowly and give her time to calm down before springing the new place on her.
They got in Ian’s Mustang and he turned out of the driveway. Her eyes were on the building the whole time. She was dead quiet, her hands folded demurely in her lap and her face void of emotion.
The only sound in the car was the hum of the motor. The windows were down and a sultry breeze blew in from the ocean. After a few minutes, he couldn’t stand it any longer. Just what was she thinking?