Jude Stephens (12 page)

“
Cheve? Can we please stay on the
mainland for a little longer? It’s been ages since I’ve done this,
and I just don’t want to go back yet.”

I was stunned when he grabbed my
hand and raised it to his lips, kissed it and said, “Yes we can,
but only if you let me take you somewhere where I can dance with
you.”

My face must have registered my shock because he
laughed and said, “Orenda, I know our relationship is anything but
orthodox, but tonight I’m not with a Sensay. I’m with a beautiful
woman who has been driving me to distraction.”

He pulled me against him and I felt the bulge in his
pants. “I’m a man Orenda…at least for tonight. I know we can’t act
upon our desires, but let’s have a little fun anyway.”

Still too shocked to say anything I just nodded my
head in agreement. We walked a few blocks until we came to a club.
It was simply called Tango’s. I was never one for going to clubs
but for some reason the thumping of the music was making me
excited.

We went in and the place was really hopping. Cheve
leaned over and said into my ear, “Stay here. I’ll go get us some
drinks.”

I nodded at him hoping that he didn’t notice how his
whispering in my ear gave me shivers. Two months of training down
the tubes, I couldn’t help but think with disgust. As soon as he
left, I had the feeling of being watched again. In this crowd there
was no way to pinpoint anything.

“
Hey, do you want to
dance?”

I turned towards the owner of the voice to find a
rather attractive guy. He grinned at me with a lopsided smile, “My
name is Jason, do you want to dance?”

“
No, she doesn’t want to dance.
The lady is with me,” Cheve growled at the poor young guy. Jason
took one look at Cheve and his bulging muscles and threw up his
hands in defeat and left.

“
Now how do you know that I didn’t
want to dance with him?” I asked Cheve.

He leaned close to my ear and said, “Because that
young man would never know how to handle a Sensay.” He then
proceeded to run the tip of his tongue up my neck to my ear. I
forgot how to breathe. Taking my hand he began to walk me out on to
the dance floor.

“
I’m not a very good dancer.” I
warned him.

“
That’s okay. I’ll teach
you.”

When we got to the dance floor,
Cheve pulled me into his arms and nudged my legs apart with his
muscular thigh. He slid me up on his leg and pulled me in closer.
“Let the music flow into you. You’re a Sensay; you were born to
feel the music.”

I opened my mind to the beat of the music. I felt it
permeate my every nerve ending. I closed my eyes and swayed against
Cheve. I felt primitive….one with the earth and nature. I became
aware of Cheve’s hard on pressing against my thigh.

Images of the two of us mating on a bed of soft
grass came to my mind. He was pumping into me fast and hard. I was
clawing at his back and raising my hips to meet his thrusts.

I opened my eyes and saw Cheve staring at me
intensely as if he were having the same fantasy. My breathing
became labored when his head lowered to mine. His kiss was hot, his
tongue pushing into my mouth. His mouth was moving over mine
slanting this way and that way. All the while his smooth tongue
kept dancing with mine.

He broke the kiss and moved his mouth to the side of
my neck. “Orenda, I’m so hard I’m in pain. I thought we could have
a little fun, but I want you too much. I need you to understand. If
I take you, it will be over…the training… everything. I will be
letting a lot of people down. Do you understand?”

Every nerve in my body was screaming out for
fulfillment, but I did understand. I wasn’t ready to give up my
destiny for a one night stand. “I understand Cheve. I’m not going
to give up everything for one night of sexual pleasure. Damn
though, it hurts.”

“
Tell me about it. I’m going to
the rest room. I’ve got to do something. Stay right here and I’ll
be right back.”

He leaned close and brushed his soft lips against
mine and said, “For the record though, it would have been one
helluva night.” He kissed me hard one last time and then walked
quickly away.

I needed some air. I made my way to the door. A
bouncer standing there stamped my hand so I could get back in. I
was only going to stay out here a few minutes to clear my head.
There were a few people milling about. I walked to the end of the
block to have a little peace.

I needed to digest what had transpired between Cheve
and me. My head was spinning, which is probably why I only heard
the whistle of the bullet right before it hit me. Luckily, my
training paid off and I was able to move so that it only grazed my
shoulder.

I immediately went into Sensay mode. I kicked off my
shoes and took off in the direction of the shooter. I saw a blur of
someone dressed in black clothes and black knit cap head into a
cemetery. I grimaced...why a cemetery?

I followed staying low to the ground. I used my
sense of smell to get a read on where he was. I thought I detected
a trace of strawberry, but it was gone when a more intense smell
came swiftly to me. A fucking vampire, I would know that smell
anywhere. A vampire was trying to kill me?

I crouched low behind a headstone, and when I raised
my head the bastard shot again. I could see this one was off the
mark, so I just kept my head up to see if I could get a fix on the
shooter. With my enhanced eyesight, I was able to see exactly were
the bastard was.

He was partially standing behind a large tombstone
that read Reilly on it. I went low to the ground again silently
crawling towards my prey. I decided to come up behind him. I was
within five feet of him when I sprang into action and put a choke
hold on…her? Though I was behind the bastard and not able to see
the face I could feel from the build that this was definitely a
woman.

“
Why are you shooting at me? Do
you work for The Guardians?”

When there was no answer I tightened the hold around
her neck. “ANSWER ME!” I said loudly into her ear.

The scent of a vampire got strong again, and I
realized it wasn’t coming from this woman. I felt the air behind me
being displaced, and I knew that it was standing right behind
me.

I had to make a quick decision, but unfortunately
that decision was taken away when the woman turned the gun on
herself. As she pulled the trigger I dropped her and ducked down
low and swept my leg out to capture the vampire unaware.

As the woman’s body slumped to the ground, I tackled
the vampire and twisted his arms behind his back. “Who the fuck are
you, Vampire? And why are you following me?”

Instead of answering me I heard him moan. What the
hell? A vampire wouldn’t be in pain from the move I just did. I
wondered if he had fallen on a branch or something. Maybe I
inadvertently staked him.

“
God Baby, let me up. I have an
unbelievable erection and your making it hurt.”

“
Alex?” I said my voice filled
with disbelief.

“
Yeah, it’s Alex. Now will you get
off of me? This is really painful.”

I jumped off of him, and he stood up brushing some
dirt and leaves from his jeans, and there was the huge bulge that
he said was paining him. Instantaneously, a rush of liquid warmth
spread between my legs.

“
What the hell, Olivia? Why aren’t
you wearing underwear? I can smell your arousal as if my head was
between your legs.”

At that thought my body jerked in a painful way, and
I found my hand reaching out to grab him when his next words
stopped me dead in my tracks.

“
Was it so that guy you were with
on the dance floor could fuck you easier? I see it didn’t take all
that long for you to get over Roberto.”

CRACK! I slapped him so hard that his lip split. I
started walking away.

“
Wait. Olivia, I’m sorry. It was
driving me crazy to watch you and that guy. I could see how turned
on you were and I…”

“
Orenda, are you okay?” Cheve came
running up and grabbed me. He glanced quickly at the woman lying on
the ground and then, with a raised eyebrow, at Alex and his
bleeding lip. “Nice work, Sweetheart, but you’re bleeding. Let me
see.”

“
You’re bleeding?” Alex asked as
he made a move towards me.

“
Stay there Alex. I don’t want to
look at you right now.”

Cheve smirked and led me over to a low tombstone to
sit down. “Here, let me see, Sweetheart.”

I raised my eyes at his use of sweetheart and he
just smiled at me. I would have laughed at his attempt to irritate
Alex if I wasn’t still so pissed at him. Cheve made a show of
finding the wound and ripping a piece of his shirt tail off to
clean it.

“
It’s not too bad, Sweetheart.
Does it hurt you?”

This time I couldn’t help but
laugh because I’d gotten much worse wounds than this one while
Cheve trained me, and if I ever made a peep about them he would
tell me to stop acting like a baby.

I looked over at Alex’s scowling face and said, “A
little. I’m still in a bit of shock I think. Can you check and make
sure that I didn’t get shot anywhere else?”

Cheve’s back was to Alex, so Alex
didn’t see him rolling his eyes. He ran his hand up my bare calf
and said, “I may need to examine you without the dress…just in
case.”

“
Oh come on now! She’s obviously
fine, and who are you anyway?” Alex asked finally reaching his
limit.

Cheve stood and turned to Alex, “I am the only one
who can say if she’s fine or not. I’m her Sensay trainer.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed “From what I’ve seen tonight I
think you’ve crossed a professional line between trainer and
molester.”

Cheve growled and launched himself
at Alex. Alex moved to the side with lightening speed but had not
counted on him anticipating the move, and they both fell to the
ground in a blur of punches. I stood up and sighed. For one minute
I thought about walking away. Instead I simply threw myself in the
mix knowing that as soon as I did they would stop, which they
did.

“
Okay, if you guys are about done
here, I’m really tired and truthfully my arm does ache a
little.”

Both of them turned towards me, a little breathless
but otherwise looking fine.

“
Alex, what are you doing here
anyway?” I asked.

“
I came to talk to
you?”

“
You came all of the way from
Sweden to talk to me? Surely you’ve heard of a telephone, and how
did you find me anyway?”

“
I was at my hotel in Atlantic
City, and I needed to talk to you face to face. Babe, you know that
I can find you anywhere. You are my bonded”

I shrugged. “We’re only bonded until we find a way
to break it. Okay…say what you have to say and then go. I have a
job to do here.”

“
Can I talk to you
alone?”

“
No. Whatever you have to say you
can say it in front of Cheve. We don’t keep anything from each
other.”

Alex smirked “Sort of like girlfriends, huh?”

Cheve made a move for Alex, but I grabbed his
arm.

“
Alex, stop trying to antagonize
Cheve and tell me why you came here.”

Alex said the one thing that he knew would get me to
listen, “Roberto’s missing.”

Chapter 13

My heart began pounding so hard that I heard the
rush of blood to my ears.

“
Fucking vampires.” Cheve said and
glared at Alex.

“
I’m okay. It’s just a shock. Tell
me what happened.”

Alex ran his hand through his hair. “No one knows. I
was to meet with him in Atlantic City last week and he never showed
up. He was in Italy ever since you left and he called me a few
weeks ago and wanted to meet. I told him that I was going back to
the states and that we could meet there. His parents said he was at
the estate and the next thing he was gone.

He didn’t take any luggage, nothing was missing. He
was just gone. It’s kind of strange, but it reminds me the way that
Annika went missing last year.”

Cheve cut in, “Could the two of
them be together? They are bonded after all.”

At my pained look he contritely
added, “Sorry, Orenda.”

Alex said, “No. I don’t think that’s a possibility.
Besides I don’t think he would abandon his family like that”

Just thinking about Roberto and Annika being
together made me want to vomit. “So you still haven’t told me why
you’re here Alex. What does this have to do with me?”

“
I think that you’re the only one
who can find him, Olivia.”

Cheve and I both said, “NO” at the same time.

Cheve started speaking first “She isn’t ready. She
needs more training,”

Alex sneered at him. “I’ve seen your “training” and
she doesn’t need any more of that.”

Cheve volleyed back with, “Yeah and I’ve seen the
heartache you fucking vampires have caused and she doesn’t need
anymore of that.”

“
All right, that’s enough you two.
You’re giving me a headache. Look, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll talk
about this tomorrow. I’d like to see what Onatah has to say.” I
looked at Cheve and he nodded. Onatah sometimes “knew”
things.

“
Who’s Onatah?” Alex
asked.

“
My…my mother.” I said and I
couldn’t help notice Cheve’s surprised reaction. This was the first
time I had actually said it out loud.

“
Wait a minute. I thought your Mom
and Dad were killed by The Guardians?” Alex said.