Sarim's Scent (7 page)

Zanhoden chuckled.

Revealing when Taalib Dumas were mated was an extremely intense experience. You and the Taalib, who is your proposed mate, are given a bed and surrounded by council members of your tribe and the Taalib opposing your union. He and Millicent had to have issanvi in front of the audience, who were waiting to see if the mate’s glow became visible. If it did, all was forgiven. If it didn’t, both Taalibs were killed instantly. The Mate’s Glow was only seen when mates were about to climax. He had enjoyed making love to Millicent and shoving it in Sarim’s face. He and Sarim had shared an intense mutual dislike of each other. The situation with Millicent only heightened it.

But Zanhoden knew Sarim, while forced to accept the Millicent’s defection, had never let it go. Afterward, he had staged a personal vendetta against the Imvuras and began his campaign to have them seen as Anglo-vaxen wannabees. The Imvura’s were watched by other Taalib Dumas and seen as untrustworthy and disloyal. Sarim was responsible for that, just like he was responsible for Millicent’s death. He couldn’t prove it, but remained suspicious about the circumstances surrounding her death. When he received a note after her funeral saying,
You should have never taken her from me. If you hadn’t, she may have been alive
. He knew Sarim was behind it.

Zanhoden came back to the present. While he didn’t want to cause his son to have a disastrous union with his mate, he had to make sure the future of the Imvura was sealed and his revenge was complete, at any cost. Unfortunately, it might come at a high price-Khafil’s happiness.

Victoria smiled as she turned over in the incredibly soft bed and opened her eyes. She had had the most amazing dream last night. She felt her cheeks grow warm just thinking about it. She lazily looked around the room. The sun was streaming through the blinds, lighting up the room. She sat up and looked at the clock. It was only 6:00 a.m. She still had a couple of hours to get up and shower in order to catch her train. She laid back down. She still had plenty of time to think about her delicious dream.

In her dream, she and Ivan had made love. No, it went past simple lovemaking. They had burned up the sheets. She wasn’t that sexually experienced, but based on what she’d read in women’s magazines or seen on talk shows, sex like that was not an ordinary occurrence. It was what people strived for. In the dream, they’d set each other’s bodies on fire. Ivan had gotten so hot he glowed. She blushed again and wondered if she’d been glowing as well. She remembered vividly how her body had shaken with pleasure and how she’d screamed Ivan’s name.

How would she able to look him in the face without blushing? Wow, Ivan. She was attracted to him now and had been when she was younger and they were much closer. He had been her friend, confidant, and now her dream lover. She wondered if he was as attracted to her as well. Did he lay in bed thinking about her? Of course, men who looked like him didn’t do things like that. She was sure he had his choice of women. Did he have one now? She sat up as the thought of Ivan with another woman made her feel sick to her stomach. Was he in a serious relationship? She hadn’t seen any signs of another woman’s presence in the house, but what did that mean? She hadn’t been in his bedroom. He could have pictures up. Hell, his girlfriend could have spent the night here last night she wouldn’t have known. She took a deep breath and got a grip on her thoughts. Ivan was not hers. Yes, she did think of him as hers, especially after the hot dream, but he wasn’t. She didn’t have a claim on him. All she had was a past friendship with him that was over ten years old.

So why was this happening now? Why was she having these dreams and thoughts about Ivan? Was the dream telling her something? Should she approach Ivan and see if there was a possibility their friendship could expand into something else? She wasn’t close to having the level of bravery required, and being rejected by him, even though she was sure he would do it in a kind manner, would be too hurtful and embarrassing. She would never be able to face him again.

Or maybe she should approach it from another angle. What if she told him she wasn’t ready to head back home? She wanted to catch up with him and stay in North Carolina a little longer. Then she could see if their relationship would head in another direction. It was worth a shot. Would he let her stay here with him? If she told him she was almost out of money and had nowhere else to go, he wouldn’t turn her onto the streets-even if he was involved with someone else—would he? Yep, that’s what she would do. She just had to find the right way to bring it up and make it seem natural, instead of a calculated plan.

She jumped out of the bed and headed toward the bathroom. She needed to wear something slightly sexy that would help sway Ivan to agree to let her stay. She picked out a low-cut, tight red T-shirt and some tight, yet comfortable, jeans. After dressing, she checked her reflection. Her long braids were still shiny and in good condition. She was blessed with a good, clear complexion and rarely applied makeup. She had some perfume, but thought it might look a tad bit obvious if she started wearing some on her ‘Get Ivan’ mission. She picked up her favorite lilac scent out of her makeup bag and sprayed some on her pulse points. “Ouch.” She almost dropped the bottle. She’d accidentally hit the tattoo and it smarted like a son of a gun. She put the bottle down and peered closer at her neck.

“What the ...” She stepped closer to the mirror to get a closer look. She had sprayed her tattoo, which was visible. Strange. Her tattoo usually showed itself only when she had her period. She wasn’t due to start for another couple of weeks. This was really strange. She felt it burn at the train station and now it was visible. Her heartbeat sped up. What was going on with it, with her? What did the tattoo mean? Maybe if she stayed with Ivan, she could tell him the truth about why she was in the area. They were from the same place so he may remember rumors or something she could use to find out about her father and the mysterious tattoo she had. Having a body marking was something she shared with her father, if the info her mother had revealed was accurate.

An idea popped in her head. She should have been approaching her search from a different angle. Whenever she got her hands on a computer with Internet access again, she would Google tattoos, ones that appeared and disappeared on their own. Maybe she would find something of use.

Victoria took a deep breath and walked out into Ivan’s living room, hoping he couldn’t hear how loud her heart was beating. She was nervous and scared. So much so she felt sick to her stomach. Besides wanting to locate her father, she had never wanted anything so bad in her life. She realized she was placing too much emphasis on a possible relationship with Ivan. She couldn’t help it. After the dream she’d had about him, she was filled with a buzz of excitement. Her subconscious wouldn’t have produced such an amazing fantasy if there weren’t something to it, right? Who knows? Maybe he was having sexy dreams about her, too. She chuckled to herself.

“Something funny?” a voice asked.

She almost stumbled. Her chuckle dried up immediately. She entered “Seduce Ivan” mode.

“No, nothing, just laughing over a dream I had last night.”

Ivan raised an eyebrow. “What kind of dream did you have?”

“Nothing important.” Victoria felt blood rushing to her face. She dropped her head as she sat on the couch opposite Ivan. She was too embarrassed to meet his questioning gaze. “I had a dream I was supposed to sing at a concert and nothing came out when I opened my mouth.”

“Really?” He continued to stare at her, making her even more nervous and flustered.

“Yeah, the funny part came when I suddenly grew wings and flew off the stage.”

He chuckled. “You always did have an overactive imagination.”

She laughed and looked up to find him staring at her. The laughter stopped as she returned the stare, unable to break away from the hungry intensity in his eyes. His usually light brown eyes had darkened to brown. The air between them became charged. Victoria felt little sparks of electricity shoot through her body as she continued staring into his eyes. The room went silent. She didn’t hear the television or the traffic outside whirring by. All she heard was her heart, loudly pounding, beating against her chest and the short, breathy rasps coming out of her mouth.

Her cell phone rang, breaking the silence. She licked her dry lips as she fumbled to open her cell phone and answer it.

“Hello.” She listened to the automated reminder of her train leaving at 8:00. She had about an hour and a half to make something happen. She closed the phone. Poor timing. She’d been about to make her pitch.

“Who was that?” Ivan asked when she put the phone back in her pocket.

“The train station.” She cleared her throat. “They gave me a courtesy call about my train leaving at eight.”

“Your train leaves in about an hour and a half, right?” Ivan said, watching her face with a serious expression. Victoria nodded.

“What exactly are you going to do when you get back home?”

She hesitated. Should she tell him the truth? Tell him her plans of looking through her mother’s stuff again in a desperate attempt to find more clues about her mysterious father? She searched his face, looking for a sign, some clue about what she should say. A wave of weariness washed through her body. She was tired. The burden of carrying all of her secrets alone felt like a sack of bricks on her back. She no longer felt her usual righteous anger when she thought about her father. She felt frustrated and tired. Her face must have mirrored her thoughts because Ivan’s tone changed from questioning to concern.

“What is it?”

She kept her gaze focused on the view outside the window behind Ivan, afraid that if she stared at him directly, her eyes would betray her. “The truth is I need money, and I have to find a job. Without money I can’t finish this ... um, project I have going.”

“Stay with me, here.”

Was it her imagination or had Ivan’s voice gotten a little deeper, huskier. Could he possibly want her to stay as much as she wanted to? Her heart leapt, but she had to be careful not to reveal her nervous excitement at what he was saying. “That way you can finish your project and not have to worry about money or bills. As you can see,”—he gestured with his hands—“Money’s not a problem for me. Let me help you.” He paused. “You don’t have anyone else you can depend on right now. You know me. It’s the perfect setup. Plus,” he said with a smile, “I’ve missed you. Give me a chance to catch up with an old friend.”

She turned her gaze directly to his. She was shocked at their blazing intensity. “That’s really generous of you, Ivan, but I don’t want to be a charity case.”
Especially not
your charity case
. She wanted Ivan wanted to invite her here as a woman. She pursed her lips. “What about the woman or women in your life. Will they mind?”

He silenced her with a wave of his hand. “Right now I’m single and any of my friends,” he said with a wink, “will have to understand you come first. You let me worry about handling them, and you worry about whatever top secret mystery project you’ve got going on.”

“Okay.” Victoria agreed, relief flooding her. She didn’t want to leave Ivan in a few hours. The conversation couldn’t have gone any better. She didn’t know if she was happier that he wasn’t romantically linked with anyone right now or that he said he’d missed her and seemed sincere in wanting her to stay with him.

“So go ahead and unpack your bags and get comfortable. Mi casa is your casa.” Ivan relaxed and sat back in the recliner, his expression relaxed and happy. “Now tell me what you want to do today.”

The tension she’d felt all morning suddenly vanished. She felt relaxed and no longer weary, lonely, or overwhelmed. How could Ivan’s offering to allow her to stay have such an effect on her psyche? Was this a good thing? It wasn’t something she usually allowed to happen. She had always despised weak-willed women whose happiness depended on whether they had a man in their lives or if their man was happy. But seeing Ivan relaxed and pleased made her feel giddy and peaceful. She suddenly became aware of Ivan studying her with a strange expression on his face. When he noticed she was watching him, his expression shifted back to playful.

“I need to go to the bookstore and buy some books,” she said, feeling the need for a little fresh air.

“All of the stores are a couple of blocks away. It’s a nice day. I’ll walk you and go take care of some errands while you take your time at the bookstore.”

They both rose at the same time.

“Let me get a jacket.”

“Okay.” Ivan drew a deep breath and released it when Victoria went into her room.

“Can you give me a few minutes to freshen up?” She stuck her head out the room door and called out to him.

“Sure.” Ivan sat back down in the sofa. It was becoming increasingly difficult to continue to be “regular” around Victoria. She had almost caught him twice trying to analyze her moods since he could no longer read her mind without permission according to Mate’s Laws. He was aware he was staring at her a little too intensely. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to know what “project” she was working on. For some reason, the thought of it made him uneasy. Even though she wasn’t aware of it, she could pick up on his mood and attitude and feel them as if they were her own. He was going to have to guard his emotions and monitor his expressions and thoughts when she was near him.

This had to work! It was imperative that their living arrangement ran smoothly. At least until he had a chance to tell her the truth about everything. Looking up at the ceiling, he whispered a small prayer of gratitude thanking the Darvan Gods that she had agreed to stay with him. Convincing her to stay with him had gone easier than he thought. Almost too easy. He hated to think of what he would have to do if she had told him no. He was prepared to break a few rules and Mate’s Laws-but only if he’d had absolutely no choice. Luckily for both of them it hadn’t come to that.

“I’m ready,” she called out.

He watched as Victoria walked back into the living room. He watched the smile leave her face as she stopped mid stride. He felt the sudden rush of anxiety, nervousness. Ivan gave himself a mental cursing out. He needed to feed and soon. He had been so caught up in making Victoria stay with him, the role he was playing, and all the other things he had riding his back, he had ignored the hunger signs that were making themselves known now.

He felt tired and his mouth was dry. If he didn’t feed while he was “running errands,” his eyes would start glowing red and his canines, sore from the pressure he was exerting to keep them contained, would protrude out. If that happened in public, he’d have a helluva explanation to make to Victoria. Plus, the brothers wouldn’t be pleased by the fact he was endangering their kind to that kind of exposure. Damn, he was a Visdan, an elder son, he knew better.

Looking at her, he smiled, hoping his canines didn’t extend too far and that he wasn’t looking as scary as he felt. “You ready?”

She nodded, and they both walked into the elevator. He was silent the entire ride. After he fed, the most important course of business on his errand list had to be attended to immediately. It was past time he checked back in with Victoria’s father.