Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (33 page)

“Aw, man…come on. Have a
little
confidence in me.”

“Uh-huh. So how are things in
Sin City?”

“Well, you know how it is
- every night’s a party in Vegas. And I love to party!”

“Don’t we all. Just keep it on the down low, kid.”

“You know it.”

“Take it easy.” Ash returned the phone to his pocket
with a complacent smile. Things couldn’t be working out better for him. Perhaps now was the time to open Sami’s lovely golden eyes. Show her the truth. She’d proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that every part of her now belonged exclusively to him.

And foolish Rick - back in
Birmingham by now, no doubt - had not the first clue that he’d been impersonated on this night by a very clever vampire.

~*~*~*~

“Kitchen’s all clean, Mr. Kendall…I’m heading out now.”

Seated at
his desk in the tiny office just off the back of the kitchen, Tristan pulled his head from his hands to nod wearily at the young dishwasher. “All right, Freddie. Have a good night.”

“
Thanks…you too.”

Untying his dreadlocks from their restraint, he shook them out.
What a jacked up night. The restaurant had been slammed all evening, and though a full house was typically a welcome sight, the timing couldn’t have been worse. He was distracted - so much so that he’d sent a customer’s lamb souvlaki out to him overcooked and dry, an inexcusable oversight for a chef of his caliber. Ever since he’d been awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the telepathic insight he knew so well, he’d been an uptight wreck.

It was the last thing he’d expected. The couple in
Oregon had seemed so stable, so responsible. He never would have dreamed that they would create a problem, let alone this early in the game. And yet already,
already,
that pretty young female who had charmed him so had gone and capriciously broken the most stringent of laws. She’d brought another into the circle. And he, with the singular talent that more often felt like a curse, was the one who held the most unpleasant position of informant.

He already knew t
here was no amnesty with Reid. Asher was merciless, and the punishments he dealt were brutally vengeful, as if the infractions were a personal affront to his authority. Eva Spencer would be dealt with in the harshest manner, and the knowledge of this sickened him to his core. The casualties before her, he could overlook. They were mostly males, defiant and out of control, and their destruction had been for the good of the race as a whole. But this sweet young novice, whose only transgression was to try and save a dying boy…she certainly did not deserve to be slaughtered like a rabid beast.

It was unthinkable to withhold information from Reid. They might be old friends, and his unique abilities might be indispensable, but there were no guarantees that any of this would keep him safe from the head vampire’s wrath.

But he could buy a little time, couldn’t he? Given a day or two, maybe Winter would handle the matter on his own. Surely Eva’s originator couldn’t be happy to have another male underfoot. Particularly one created by his own mate. In all likelihood he’d probably wind up destroying the newcomer himself, and the problem would cancel itself out. Just one more day…maybe two. He’d wait and see. What could happen in the meantime?

Never mind. He didn’t want to think about that.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Looking for escape in the ocean, little mermaid?”

It took only the deep sound of his voice to banish every thought of Rick from her silent meditation. Ash smiled, his teeth white in the moonlit darkness.

“Where
’ve
you
been?”

“Around.” Perching beside her on the wooden chair, he leaned forward to flick his tongue against her lips teasingly. “Why? Did you miss me
already?”

“I could
’ve used you here earlier.”

“You have my number. You could have called
if you needed me.”

“Rick was here,” she
warily revealed, knowing it would be better if he heard it from her. She waited with bated breath to see how he would react to this news.

To her surprise,
he didn’t seem at all bothered by it. “Was he?”

“He was
hanging out with the band Stuart booked.” More or less.

“And is he still here?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Then why are we wasting our time
talking about him?”

Would she ever
reach a point where she was able to predict his reactions? “I just thought you should know.”

“Duly noted.
I appreciate your concern.”

“Asher…”

“
Sami…
” he mimicked her, standing to strip off his shirt. “Come on. Let’s go for a swim.”

“What? Now?”

“No, three weeks from Tuesday.” He kicked off his shoes and held out one hand expectantly.

“In our clothes?” Maybe he, in
a pair of cargo shorts, was acceptably dressed but her long cotton sundress wasn’t made for swimming. She gazed out at the dark water. There were several other diehard swimmers still frolicking in the surf, though the sun had long since gone to sleep, but that fact didn’t encourage her much. “I don’t want to go in the ocean at night. You can’t see what’s in there. It’s creepy.”

“There’s nothing in there at night that isn’t there during the day,” he assured her
while casually removing her sandals.

“But the water’s cold…
Ash!
” She squealed when he effortlessly scooped her up and began walking toward the breaking waves with her in his arms. “Put me down!”

He didn’t slow his pace one bit.
“No can do, sea nymph. It’s time to trade in your legs for fins.”

“If I get stung by a jellyfish or something, I’m blaming you
…just so you know!”

“Fair enough
,” he conceded, wading deeper and deeper into the foamy water while the waves crashed against him. Soon he was submerged up to his chest and Sami clung to him, soaked and shivering.

“It’s cold!”

“Ready to go under?”

“
What?
No!
”

But her protests were silenced when he ducked underneath the water, taking her down with him, and
immediately her ears filled with the muted rushing sound of the surf. Her hair floated about her like seaweed, her arms tightened around his neck and she would have cursed him if the effort wouldn’t have resulted in a mouthful of the briny gulf.

When
they resurfaced, water streamed from the hair that was plastered to her face. “Dammit, Ash!” She released him with one arm just long enough to push the soaked strands from her eyes.

“
What? I told you we were going swimming.”

“
And I told you I didn’t want to! There’s probably sharks out here.”

“What’s with you and sharks?
”

“I don’t know. They freak me out.” Something about those soulless, cadaverous eyes had always given her the willies. You could read emotion in the eyes of just about any other
creature, but not in this one. This one was unpredictable, almost as unpredictable as the man who now held her close, the one she couldn’t seem to resist. How utterly paradoxical.

“
I promise you’re safe from Jaws. Now there may be a stingray or two…”

“Are you serious?” She peered into the murky water suspiciously.

“No, not really.”

“
Oh, you
suck.
”

“We could
still go farther out.” He began to plunge forward.

“No!
Don’t you dare. This is far enough.”

“Relax. You’re in the arms of Poseidon.”
He silenced her once again, this time with a deep kiss that tasted of salt and strawberry daiquiris and sweet ecstasy. Without realizing it, she moaned softly into his mouth while his warm tongue explored her provocatively. Tangling his fingers in her wet hair, he pulled her head back. The twin sapphires studied her. “Look at what I’ve caught. Should I keep her, or throw her back?”

Breathlessly, she told him,
“You
have
to keep her. She’s yours now.”

“This is true. But what if
she turns out to be more trouble than she’s worth?”

“
I can pretty much guarantee she will be.”

“
I don’t doubt that one bit.” His eyes danced humorously. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m always looking for trouble, isn’t it?”

“I guess so.”

Dropping his voice to a whisper, he said, “I have something I want to show you.”

“What?”

“Just…something.” The masked smile was evasive.

“Then show me.”

“Not now. Later.”

“When?”

“I’ll let you know. For now, I think you should go back to your room and get dried off. Get some rest. I know you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Will you come with me?”

“If I come with you, you
definitely
won’t be getting any rest.”

“
All right by me.”

“
Very tempting, baby…but not tonight. I have to go out for a while. There’s something I need to take care of.” He began to wade his way back toward the shore while still holding her.

“Oh. Okay.” She tried to hide her disappointment. And as much as she was dying to know what he had to do
at this time of night that was so important, she forced herself to bite her tongue. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“More than likely.”

It was so hard to get a definitive answer out of him. She’d never met a man with so many secrets. For a moment she almost wondered if he really
was
some sort of mythical sea creature. And suddenly she didn’t want to let go of him for fear he’d disappear back into the ocean, never to be seen again because he was never real to begin with. But as long as she was in his arms, as long as she could feel his heart beating against her, then he couldn’t be a product of her dreams. He was real.

He
was
real.

Wasn’t he?

~*~*~*~

“Why does
he
have to come along?”

Eva caught the hostile glare sent Julian’s way, and she wondered for the tenth time to
night how she would ever manage to keep Dane from getting himself killed. Again. “Because I say so,” she responded firmly.

“Jesus - what are you, my mother?”

“We should tear his head off and leave him in the bloody fucking woods,” Julian snapped resentfully.

“
You think you can take me, old man?”

“
Take
you? There wouldn’t be anything
left
of you but a dirty spot on the ground!”

“Anytime you’re ready, Blondie!”

It had been going on this way for the past two hours. With Eva in the middle, playing mediator while attempting to tutor Dane and desperately trying to keep the two males from attacking one another like wild dogs. She couldn’t believe that her cultured and composed Julian had devolved into this surly, snarling misanthrope. All because of the presence of the newly turned male, who himself bore little resemblance to the sweet and shy boy of yesterday.

“
Dammit, Dane…just…go outside, please. Wait for me there.” She waved a resigned hand at him, waiting until the door slammed behind him to focus her attention on Julian. “Maybe you
should
stay here.”

“
And leave you alone with that little bastard? Not on your life!”

“Calm down, Jules.” She stroked his che
ek soothingly. “Now deep down you know that Dane wouldn’t hurt me. I doubt he could if he wanted to. I’m just going to take him out and get him some blood as quickly as possible, then he can go on home. I can handle this. You’re better off staying behind. I can’t deal with any more of this squabbling. You’re both making me crazy.”

He seemed to be struggling
against disputing her request. In the end he relented. “I suppose you’re right. I know I’m not making things any easier for you.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I never should
’ve…” She let her voice trail off, unwilling to admit that perhaps she’d made a mistake in trying to alter fate. How
could
she view it as a mistake? How could she think for one minute that she’d have been able to sit back and do nothing while the poor boy slipped away forever? Given the chance, she knew she’d make the same decision again. For her, it was the only one.

“I think I’d better go ahead and give Tristan Kendall a call while you’re out.” Julian looked uncertain.