Lost Paradise (18 page)

“There were a few other incidents over the
years,” Lash said vaguely. “Most of them ended the same way, when
we actually fought. But that was what started it all. Theo is still
angry over it, and probably blames me for her dying how she did.”
He paused, taking another sip. “Your having been with me only
pisses him off more.”

There was desire in his tone. I finished my
wine in a gulp and then wanted badly to order another. Being
pregnant, I couldn’t. Why couldn’t Lash shut up when I wanted him
to? He almost never talked when we were alone. If we were back at
Hayden, he wouldn’t be talking this much.

“Theo hates Devlin too, maybe more than he
hates me, Sar,” Lash went on. “He knows that you’ll stop being with
me soon, but Dev will have you forever—”

“Why exactly is that?” I said, looking Lash
in the eyes. “What has Devlin done that Theo hates him like he
does? Is it because of Devlin’s treatment of Danial? The women he
took from Danial over the years?” Lash had to have been around for
something like that, being with Devlin for more than a half
century.

Lash sipped his sake, and regarded me for a
long moment. “The real reason is none of that,” he hissed finally.
“Theo is jealous. It’s hard not to be sometimes, of Dev.” Lash eyed
me, then looked away, running his hand through his shaggy hair, and
settling back in his chair.

“What do you mean?”

“Devlin has an ease with women,” Lash
replied. “Almost a power. They seem drawn to him like bees to
honey. As a man, it’s hard not to be jealous a little, even when
it’s your good friend. I’ve never had his smoothness, his charm, or
his looks, even in my youth. Neither has Theo.”

That was sad but true. Devlin’s charisma was
captivating, at least when he wasn’t being annoying, and he was
breathtaking to behold.

“There were some women that Danial had, that
Devlin seduced,” Lash hissed, as an afterthought. “I was only
around for the last one, before you. It was about seventy some
years ago, or so.”

“What happened?” I prodded.

His flat eyes held mine, unblinking. “It’s
not dinner conversation,” he hissed curtly. “And our food’s here,
so let’s eat.”

Deciding it wasn’t worth it to push, I dug
in. My eel was delicious, and Lash seemed to enjoy his platter. As
we ate, we stuck to safer topics, like Hayden’s gardens. “Can you
show me around on Friday morning? The snow’s melted some.”

“Sure,” he hissed. “Just meet me in the
kitchen at eight, like usual. Dress in warm clothes.”

That reminded me to ask him, “Do you have any
mending? Any clothes that need seams fixed, or tears patched?”

Lash choked on his water. He swallowed
quickly, then had some more water. “Why? Are you going to mend
them?” he hissed finally.

“I’m teaching Serena to sew,” I said
patiently. “Devlin asked me to teach her. I told her to ask her
lovers if they have anything that’s ripped or torn, to get some
clothes to practice on in real time and—”

“And you’re asking yours?” he finished with a
grin, his flat eyes meeting mine.

That was it.
With a scathing look for
him, I got up, walked to the counter, and handed them my credit
card. “We’re ready to leave, please.”

As the hostess handing it back with the bill
to sign, Lash sauntered up. I signed it, then handed it to her with
a forced smile.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said stiffly, pushing the door open
hard. “Please take me home.”

* * * *

We didn’t speak the whole trip back, or while
carrying in our sushi to Hayden’s fridge. But when I went to leave
the kitchen, Lash stood in front of me, blocking the exit.

“I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t,”
he said quietly. “I’m not always sure how to act around you; where
to draw the line between teasing and offending. If I offend you,
just say so and I’ll apologize.”

Why wasn’t he being a jerk and telling me
the bug up my ass was my problem?
“It’s okay. Forget it.”

“How long will the sushi last?” he asked. “A
day?”

“We should eat it by Thursday at the latest.
It’s not good to let it go too long.”

“Will you join me then in eating some
tomorrow?” Lash hissed formally. “Around nine, before you start
teaching Serena, or filing?”

I froze. There was enough sushi to have for
lunch with Theo, and still have enough left over to eat dinner with
Lash later on. The problem wasn’t that; it was that something else
was starting here. I’d heard a different note in Lash’s tone just
now.

He faced me, waiting silently.

My surety crumbled; we’d always met for lunch
the days I was at Hayden. I’d thought nothing of it, so why was
dinner such a big deal then? Maybe I was seeing something where
there was nothing. “Sure,” I said, giving him a smile. “Sounds
good.”

Lash gave me a nod, then stepped aside.
“Goodnight.”

I walked past him, grabbed the bag of new
clothes, and went upstairs. Clipping off the tags, I put them in
the drawer Devlin had cleared out for me and then hung the duster
at the edge of his closet, shoving some of his clothes to one side
to make it fit.

I was tempted to get dressed in some of the
clothes to show Devlin what I’d bought, but nixed the idea. He’d
said he would be exhausted when he got home. Instead, I got in the
Jacuzzi and relaxed, letting my mind drift.

When I climbed into bed at eleven, Dev was
still not home. Phantom, whom I’d not seen all day, jumped up on
the bed and joined me, curling up at the bottom. At about midnight,
Devlin came in, waking me.

“You and Phantom look so sweet,” he murmured.
“Let me shower, Love, and I’ll come right back,” he said
warmly.

I said something unintelligible in response,
then rolled over and went back to sleep.

When he came into bed, he woke me again.
“Lash said you got dinner out,” he said softly, stroking my
shoulders. “Did you eat enough?”

“Plenty,” I whispered sleepily.

“Are you feeling okay?” he said with concern.
“Everything is as it should be?”

“I’m fine,” I said, yawning loudly. “I’m all
good.”

“I love you, Sar,” he whispered. “I...”

* * * *

I woke up to find Devlin on my chest, dead to
the world. A look at the clock confirmed it was late morning.
Sigh
. I’d have to get moving fast if I wanted to meet Theo
for lunch.

I looked down at Devlin, then brushed a lock
of his hair back from his handsome face. We were curled together so
comfortably that lunch and Theo were just going to have to wait.
Settling back down, I promptly went back to sleep.

The next thing I knew, Devlin was shaking me.
“Sar, wake up,” he said loudly.

“I’m awake,” I said sleepily.

Devlin let me go. I turned away from him,
pulled the covers around me, and closed my eyes again.

Devlin turned me back toward him, then
grasped my middle, pulling me up into a sitting position. “Danial
hasn’t been loving you, has he?” he said softly. “You haven’t been
with him at all except for last weekend with him and me.”

“No,” I replied with a yawn, wondering why it
mattered. “He and I didn’t before, when I was pregnant. He doesn’t
want to endanger—”

“Kiss me,” Devlin said, then brought his lips
hard against mine. Hungrily, he opened his mouth, licking me with
his tongue.

My brain went from idle to sixty in a split
second as my arms went around him, my mouth opening on his, the
taste of sweet maple sugar intoxicating.

Something had changed. Dev’s blood wasn’t
just sweet to me; I couldn’t get enough of it. I kissed him harder,
wanting more. Devlin groaned, then tried to pull away.

“Please, Dev, give me more!” I said hungrily.
He groaned for a second time, then kissed me harder, the sweet
taste again flooding my tongue.

God, it was so good! It was wonderful,
better than sex, better than love, better that anything!

“Stop, Sar. Stop!” Devlin said urgently. He
pried me off, pushing me back. As I went limp in his hands, he laid
me back on the bed.

I lied there motionless, tired but fulfilled,
as if we had just made love for hours and I’d finally gotten
release. I stretched out full length, then sighed, letting all my
muscles go limp. Devlin sat beside me watching me with affection
and smoothing my hair away from my face. Blissful, I dropped back
to sleep.

* * * *

I awoke, stretched, then looked over at the
clock.
God, why had I slept so long?
It was nearly eight!
Pushing back the covers, I got up, grabbing for my clothes. Lash
was going to wonder what the hell had happened to me.

“Feeling better?” Devlin queried softly from
behind me.

I turned and faced him, the clothes falling
from my grasp to the floor as everything clicked into place. “Was I
colder?”

“Yes,” Devlin said, crossing the room to
embrace me. “I thought maybe I was imagining it last night, that
you were just tired. But when you wouldn’t wake up for me this
morning, I knew you needed my blood.”

I clung to him like a life raft. “I might not
have woken up.”

“No, Love, you were not bad off,” he soothed
gently. “But do tell Danial he must share blood with you when you
go to him, that he is to watch you carefully. If you seem sleepy or
cooler, he has to give it to you immediately.”

“I will.” I wasn’t likely to forget, with how
close to dying I’d come last fall.

“I’ll call him tonight, in between meetings,
to tell him what happened. He may not know how—”

“He does,” I assured. “Don’t worry.”

“I always worry about you when you’re apart
from me,” Dev said softly, cuddling me against him. “I understand
now why Danial always called you every night, and why he calls here
if you forget to check in.”

“I love you,” I said suddenly. “I fell asleep
before you finished saying it last night.”

“I know,” Devlin said, laughing. “I was
miffed you missed my heart’s outpouring. I’ll have to speak it
again in the morning.” He gave me a kiss, and got up, beginning to
dress.

When I got to the kitchen with Devlin in tow,
Lash was already there, waiting for me. “Theo called,” he said. “I
told him you’d call him back when you woke up.”

I nodded my thanks as Titus walked into the
kitchen. “Ready?” Titus rumbled, his red eyes on Devlin. Devlin
gave me a final kiss, and then disappeared with Titus.

“Are you hungry for dinner?” Lash said
hesitantly.

Hell yes; it was quarter to nine
. “Let
me call Theo and Danial first,” I responded. “Devlin needed to give
me blood and I need to remind Danial to do the same on
Saturday.”

“Take your time,” Lash said, nodding. “I’ll
wait here in the kitchen.”

I took that to mean I should use the upstairs
phone. Trooping back upstairs, I called Theo. “Have you found out
anything?”

“Nothing yet,” Theo said angrily. “But it has
to be Tasha’s father. His name is Karl. I’ve got the names of the
men he hired, but not their base of operations.” He paused. “I’ve
got no news on Robert.”

“Is everything else okay?”

“The dogs are fine, and Janice and Ivan are
enjoying our best wine,” Theo said, a smile in his voice. “Other
than that, nothing’s new.”

“Want me to come and meet you for lunch
tomorrow?” I asked hesitantly.

“I was hoping you would come to see me
today,” Theo said softly. “Danial is missing you, too.”

“I would have come today,” I replied quickly.
“But I was getting sick again—”

“What happened?” Theo asked loudly. “Are you
okay? What—?”

“I needed more of the virus,” I said quickly.
“Dev gave me some of his blood.”

Theo didn’t make a sound.

“I’m okay now. But Danial needs to do the
same for me on Saturday night.”

“I’ll put him on, after we’re done. He’s
hovering right here, anyway.”

“I am not hovering,” Danial said with
irritation. “I heard you say she was sick from the other room, so I
came to see what was the matter—”

“Just take the phone,” Theo said, laughing.
“You’re going to hover until you do—”

“Ass,” Danial muttered, then took the phone.
“Hi, Sar. Are you sure you’re fine?”

Faintly, I heard Theo call out, “I love you,
Sar.”

“Tell him I love him,” I said to Danial.

“Aren’t you going to tell me you love me,
too?” Danial said teasingly.

“Yes, but at the end of the conversation,
like usual,” I said, half annoyed and half amused.

“Why not now and again later?” Danial
teased.

“I love you,” I said. “Now tell him.”

Danial passed on the message, then said,
“I’ll give you some when I see you Saturday. Dev called me a few
minutes ago to tell me what happened and what to do.”

“Good,” I said. My stomach growled loudly.
“Have a good night, Danial.”

“Why are you hurrying off?” Danial asked
sharply. “Devlin is gone.”

“I’m hungry,” I retorted grumpily. “I haven’t
eaten in twenty four hours. Lash is waiting for me downstairs,
maybe eating my sushi right this minute.”

“Go rescue your sushi then,” Danial said,
mollified. “But first tell me you love me again.”

“I love you again,” I said, then burst out
laughing.

“I love you again, too,” he said, then hung
up chuckling.

Content and satisfied, I put the phone back
in its cradle. Things weren’t so bad. Maybe I was finally finding a
balance in my weird life.

I went downstairs to find Lash right where
I’d left him. “Shall we eat here, or in the dining room?” I
asked.

“Want to watch a movie with me while we eat?”
Lash hissed tentatively, his flat eyes staring intently.

For the second time, I felt a sense of
danger, that there was a deeper meaning here that was going to lead
to trouble. Again, I brushed it aside, telling myself that this was
no big deal. “Sure. But I should check to make sure Serena didn’t
expect me.”