Once Bitten, Twice Shy (6 page)

I climbed out of the water and was standing by the table, pouring myself one last mojito, when Conner walked into the room. All the girls, with the exception of Donna and I, whistled and catcalled as he walked toward his fiancée.

I could understand why. He moved with loose-hipped grace that was emphasized by his snug dark wash jeans and tight black t-shirt.

As he leaned down to kiss her, the noise intensified. When he straightened to grin at the girls, I swear they all moaned and he just chuckled.

“Okay, bitches, this is killing me. I need more booze,” Ricki said loudly. She pointed to Kerry and Shannon. “You two come help me make some more mojitos or margaritas or something.”

Conner and Donna grinned at them as they left the room.

I realized that I had somehow ended up over by my bag. I glanced around, wondering how in the hell I had moved without realizing it. A little voice whispered almost silently in my mind. I stopped what I was doing for a moment, trying to catch what the voice said, but couldn’t quite grasp it all.

In horror, I watched as my hands began to move without my permission. My left hand opened my purse and my right reached inside. I tried to stop myself, to control the motions of my hands, but they seemed to have a mind of their own. Literally.

I tried to say something, to scream for help, but no sound came out. Instead, I watched as my right hand emerged from the bag, wrapped around the grip of a snub-nosed revolver. I wasn’t even sure what kind of gun it was. Only that it was big and scary looking.

I told my fingers to release the handle, but my feet carried me toward Conner and Donna. As I moved across the room, I realized that I was about to harm one of the people I cared for the most. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. A vague memory of a female vampire with hazel eyes skirted the edge of my mind, but refused to come into focus.

Donna and Conner were talking to Ricki, Kerry, and Shannon and they were laughing and smiling, completely oblivious to the danger I presented. I struggled to force enough air to scream past the tightness in my throat, but nothing happened.

God, I was going to shoot my best friend and her fiancé in cold blood. Sweat broke out on my skin as I fought the hold of the vampire mind control. I was slowing down my movements, but still couldn’t gain complete control.

I realized that there was nothing I could do, physically, to stop what I was about to do. Then, it hit me. I didn’t have to say anything aloud. While the mind control and brainwashing controlled my body, my mind was still clear.

In my head, as loud as I could, I screamed,
Conner!

It worked.

His head snapped up and twisted so he could see me. When he saw the gun I held in my hand and the sweat pouring from my forehead, he immediately understood what was happening.

Help me!
I begged silently.

Moving so quickly that my eyes couldn’t track him, Conner crossed the room and grabbed my wrist.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. Then his free hand came up and he clocked me with his palm.

At his open-handed slap, I went down hard. All I could think is that at least it hadn’t been his fist, because that fucking hurt, then all the lights went out.

S
omething rough moved
lightly across my cheek. I twitched, trying to dislodge it, but it continued on a path across my cheekbone, up my temple, and into my hair. I realized that someone’s hand was in my hair, gently massaging my scalp and running fingers through the strands. It felt incredibly nice. Without a thought, I turned my face into the caress, enjoying the sensation of being petted.

Then my memory returned and my eyes popped open. I started to jack knife into a sitting position, but a firm hand on my breastbone held me flat.

“Sh, little one. Don’t try to sit up just yet. Give yourself a moment.”

My eyes rolled around until I could see Lex sitting next to my hip, wearing a dark red shirt and gray slacks. He looked edible.

“Is Conner okay? Donna? I didn’t hurt them, did I?” I asked. “Oh God, what about the other girls? Did they see?”

Lex shook his head. “They weren’t in the room when Conner took you down.”

I tried to sit up again.

Lex continued to stroke my hair. “Calm down, Ivie. It’s fine. You did not have a chance to harm them.” He turned my head slightly so that the left side of my face was in the light. “I’m more concerned about you. Conner said he hit you a little harder than he normally would have. He wanted to be sure you were unconscious.”

I blinked and took stock of my body. Other than a slight headache and the pain in my cheek, I felt fine. “I think I’m good,” I murmured.

I gingerly pushed myself into sitting position and looked around. I didn’t recognize my surroundings. Touching my cheek and feeling the tightness and swelling under my skin, I winced.

“Where am I?” I asked.

Lex pushed my hand away and touched his lips to the place where Conner’s slap had connected.

I froze and stared at him as he straightened and stood from the lounger I had been lying on. I completely lost track of my question because I was so consumed with the hot imprint of his mouth on my cheek.

“You’re at my home,” he answered shortly.

“Huh?” I asked. Then I blinked and remembered that I had asked him where I was. I watched as he walked to a small bar area in the corner of the room and poured me a glass of water from a bottle. “Why am I here?”

“For your safety,” was his only answer.

I stared at him for a moment before I responded. I didn’t like the way he was avoiding my gaze or the way that he wasn’t giving me any more information than necessary. I didn’t like it at all.

“What do you mean,
for my safety
?” I asked.

He came back to the chaise lounge and handed me the water. “Drink that.”

I took the glass, but just held it and stared at him.

“Drink,” he said again, his voice dropping.

God, he was so damned bossy. I wished that I didn’t find that attractive.

I took a couple of small sips. “Are you going to answer my question?”

“After your actions at Conner’s home, it has become clear that our enemies intend to use whatever means necessary to obtain what they want, even if the means are dishonorable.”

“Okay, what exactly happened?” He looked at me incredulously, and I clarified. “I mean, I know what I did. I didn’t want to do it, but couldn’t stop myself. I’ve only felt that way one other time in my life and that was when I was kidnapped a few months ago. Obviously, a vampire brainwashed me, or hypnotized me or something.”

Lex nodded. “Yes. We are unsure who the culprit was, but it seems that someone among our kind decided to make a preemptive strike and remove Conner from the equation permanently.”

Now I was even more confused than before. “What do you mean,
remove Conner from the equation permanently
? What equation? Why would anyone want to hurt Donna or Conner?”

Sighing heavily, he came and sat down next to me again, much too closely. I moved back slightly so there was a small amount of space between us. I wasn’t ready for him to touch me again just yet. Along with my memory of the night before, I also remembered that he had disappeared for two months.

“There are things happening among vampire kind right now. Things I can’t share with you just yet. I will, and soon, but now is not the time. All I can tell you right now, is that Conner and his position on the Council are very important to the machinations of those we are opposing.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at his evasions, but managed to refrain. His secrecy seemed a little over the top. It wasn’t like the Antichrist had been born or we were on our way to becoming a nuclear wasteland. Vampires were squabbling, probably over something not so important to humans. I mean, it wasn’t like they ran the world.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

I schooled my features, realizing that my thoughts would probably piss him off. I wanted to lie, but his reaction to my previous lies made me hesitant to do so again. Instead, I went with a partial truth.

“Just wondering what this is all about.” My words were innocuous and neutral and completely true. They just weren’t the entirety of my thoughts on the matter.

Lex stared at me intently for a moment and I wondered if he was poking around in my head. He had promised never to do so without my permission, though why I would ever give it to him, I didn’t know.

“What?” I asked defensively. “Are you trying to read my mind?”

Lex shook his head. “No. Actually, I’m trying not to read your mind. You broadcast your thoughts rather loudly. It takes an effort to block you from my own.”

I blushed. “Sorry, I’m not used to censoring
my private thoughts
,” I said sarcastically. “I’ll get used to it in time.”

He smirked a little at my sarcasm. “Watch it, Ivie. Don’t push me too far.”

I shivered at the dark promise in his words. Somehow, I had the feeling that too far would be just far enough for me to skate along the thin edge of pleasure and pain in the most delicious way possible. As soon as I realized what I was thinking, I cursed inwardly and controlled my wayward hormones.

“Back to the subject at hand, I can’t tell you what is happening right now, but I will very soon. There are decisions to be made, plans to be set in motion. Once that is done, I can answer most, if not all, of your questions.”

I nodded. I decided that I was ready to try standing. My head still ached a bit, but I desperately needed the bathroom.

Slowly, I turned and placed my feet on the floor next to the chaise. With the care of someone aged or infirm, I raised myself into a standing position. In a flash, Lex was standing next to me, hands on my arms.

“Easy,” he murmured.

I waited a moment until my legs were solid beneath me then gently pulled away. “I’m good. I just need to know where the bathroom is.”

A small smile crossed Lex’s mouth and he turned. “Go down the hall, second door on your left.”

“Thanks.” I moved as quickly as my shaky legs could carry me.

A few minutes later, my pressing need was gone and I’d washed my face and hands thoroughly. I returned to the large den, taking in Lex’s opulent home. The walls were all painted in warm neutrals and there was artwork scattered throughout the rooms I passed. Lex obviously appreciated art and antiques. From what I could see, his home was full of them.

I went back into the den where Lex was waiting for me.

He studied me as I entered the room. “Better?”

I nodded. Crossing my arms over my torso, I tucked them tight against me. I was fairly certain I was alone in this huge house with Lex. I felt vulnerable and nervous.

“Well, I guess I should get home. I have a lot to do before I go back to work on Monday,” I said. I tried to appear casual as I glanced around the floor for my shoes.

Quietly, Lex responded, “Ivie, we should talk.”

I pulled my hair away from my face, becoming a little more intent on my search. I didn’t see my shoes or my purse anywhere and all I was wearing was my swimsuit and a robe. After my last chat with him, I knew I probably wouldn’t want to listen to what he had to say.

I watched as Lex crossed to a matched pair of sofas and sat. He gestured to the seat next to him. Unwilling to bend, I intentionally sat on the couch that faced him. His face tightened slightly, but he said nothing. I realized it was probably childish, but the closer our proximity, the fuzzier my thinking. I needed space between us in order for my brain to function properly. And I had a sinking feeling I would need all my wits about me for this conversation.

Lex began speaking, jarring me out of my thoughts. “I’m sure you already understand that you are not as safe as we believed.”

Cautiously, I nodded. This was true. It was clear the bad guys thought they could use me for their own ends.

“Well, Conner, Donna, and I discussed, at length, the best way to keep you safe,” he continued. At his obvious hesitancy and words, that sinking feeling turned into a hundred foot drop. I wasn’t going to like what came next. “We think it’s best if you stay with me for a while, until things are settled.”

I was right. I didn’t like it. Immediately, I shook my head. “No way. No how. Not gonna happen,” I responded.

His eyes began to brighten in a way that was both scary and beautiful. As though someone had flipped a switch inside of him. I witnessed these changes in other vampires before and I knew it didn’t bode well for the rest of our talk.

“What?” he asked in a low, dangerous tone.

I crossed my arms over my chest, fighting the shiver of dread that trailed down my spine. “Conner pulled this shit with Donna and she never moved out. She’s also still in danger. I refuse to be trapped in a house with you indefinitely.” I paused. “I’ll be more careful and I’ll go back to working from home most of the time.”

It was Lex’s turn to shake his head. “That’s unacceptable.”

I scowled at him. “I live in a gated apartment complex.” It was a flimsy argument, but I did not want to live with Lex. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was a vamp tramp. I wouldn’t be able to resist him.