Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1) (19 page)

“No. The names do not matter. I will be
better.”

“Jesus. Cocky much?”

He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I
know I will be better because I have no greater goal than to see
your face in ecstasy. No greater desire than to hear you cry out my
name as you come, over and over. Feel you shudder and go limp under
me, unable to control your own body. Unable to think or breathe or
remember anything but what it felt like to have me inside you.
That
is why I will be better. Not because I’m arrogant.
Because I will do everything in my power to make it the best
experience of your life.”

“Oh.” Crap. She needed to think of a bunch of
comebacks for when he said shit like that. Because ‘oh’ and ‘um’
weren’t cutting it.

“You will see soon enough.”

She cleared her throat. “What’s the day after
‘never’ called? That’s when I’ll say yes.”

“Not that long, I promise you. ‘Yes’ is a
very small word, so easy to say. After you say it, you will take
back every insult you’ve ever said to me, you will beg for more,
and you will understand exactly who I am and what I can do.”

She kept her mouth shut because whatever she
said would sound completely lame. He was probably right about all
of it. Even now, she could feel the change in her. She wasn’t
afraid of him anymore, which was incredibly stupid. Even stupider,
she was actually starting to
like
him. Her captor, her
enemy, the sexiest being she’d ever seen, was also the only one who
could keep her safe. The only one who
wanted
to keep her
safe.

But what did her in, what was the most
confusing and horrible, were the moments of kindness that seeped
through his bored and condescending demeanor. She didn’t think he
even noticed when it was happening. Little hints of something
deeper, something unbelievable, something practically illegal.
Beyond needing her help to find out who tried to kill him and
beyond the oracle’s claims that they would be safer if they stayed
together.

No, this was almost as if he cared about
her.

Id-i-ot
. Stockholm syndrome at its
finest. Any second, he could decide she was too much trouble and go
find some
other
idiot to help him. Right after he murdered
her.

“I’m not ready to go back. Can I walk around
a little? Burn off a few thousand calories?” Have a chance to
breathe?

They walked through the village, her full
tummy and empty mind slowing them down.

“This friend of yours,” he said as they
stepped onto the sand. “The diversion. Tell me about him.”

“Logan? He’s a toy in the Ladon Box. At
least, he was the last time I saw him. Supposedly, he’s very sought
after.”

“That is a good thing. A more desired
diversion commands a higher price and receives more gifts and other
desirables.”

“Wow. Okay, I can’t believe I’m explaining
this to you. But, yeah, that’s the theory—and stop calling them
diversions, they should at least be able to decide what they’re
called.” She paused. “Don’t you have minions to tell you this
stuff?”

“Yes,” he said, looking at her pointedly.

“I’m today’s minion, aren’t I?” When he
didn’t answer, she sighed and continued. “Once a seer is put into a
box, it’s better for them to be good at their job, which is why
they work out so much and all that, but getting more money doesn’t
mean they have it any better. Just like in the human world, the
wealth doesn’t always go to the nicest and most thoughtful people.
So while fewer supers can afford Logan, the ones who
can
aren’t as…respectful of his time or his body.”

His steps slowed. “He is abused?”

“Very.”

“That does not make sense. The diversion
system is built on the idea that the house is responsible for his
welfare. Not adequately caring for him means they are going against
their own best interests—legally and financially.”

“Just that is proof that you haven’t been to
one.”

“I told you I have not.”

“Right.” And the moment she trusted a vamp
was the moment she deserved to die.

Addison stared at her reflection for a
really long time. The corset was painful, the dress was gorgeous,
and neither of things mattered because there was no way in hell
this was going to work. She found Rhyse in his usual place—staring
out the window of his library.

“I know I said I would do this, but I can’t.
Isn’t there something else I could do? Anything else?” Anything
that didn’t cause tremors? “There’s just no way I can go with you
to this thing.”

He whipped his head around. “Well, of course
you cannot go with me. I am not going.”

“What?”

“You have misunderstood what is going to
happen. I am not going to the celebration.”

“No,
I’m
the one not going.”

“If my enemies were to see me, they would
know their efforts were not successful. We made a bargain, Addison.
I held up my end, and now it is your turn. Do you want me out of
your life or not?”

“Yes.” It came out all whiny, damn it.

“Then you are going.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Even whinier.
Seriously, his vampire-enhanced hearing had to be hurting by
now.

“It will take two minutes to find out who has
claimed my position. The vampire, or vampires, who are celebrating
were the ones who plotted against me.”

“Don’t you have any friends you could call
and ask?”

“Vampires do not have friends. We have peers,
underlings, and apart from the Primes of each zone, superiors. But
we do not befriend each other. Anyone I call may be the being who
staked me. Therefore, it is your commission to find out what I need
to know.”

“No way. I don’t care who wanted you
dusted.”

“Stop using that expression. It is incredibly
rude.”

“Rude?” Unable to stay still any longer, she
paced—not an easy thing to do without full breaths and with
stupidly high heels. “What do you call sending me into a room full
of bloodsuckers?”

“Two minutes, Addison. You will have your
badge. You will not be noticed beyond that.”

“It’s not tattooed on me. What if I drop
it?”

“Hmm… Point made.” He looked at her neck,
inhaling deeply. “I shall have to claim you.”

“Hell, no! Wait. Have you completely
forgotten that I’m death in a skirt? You can’t drink from—” She
stumbled backwards, her hands out in front of her. As if that would
stop him. “No fucking way.”

He smirked. “Then you have heard of the
alternative claiming ritual?”

She had. “You creatures and your bodily fluid
exchanges.” More pacing helped her shake it off. “I’m not screwing
you to get into a party I don’t want to go to.”

“Then hold tightly onto that badge.”

So what if Addison saw it in a stupid vision
and a crazy lady said it was gonna happen and Rhyse may have
mentioned on more than one occasion that he’d be up for it and
Addison found him incredibly attractive and couldn’t stop wondering
what it would be like? It wasn’t going to happen. That timeline had
changed.

“You had your chance when I was all
distraught, and you blew it. Actually, you had multiple chances if
you count the three days I was asleep.”

“You are suggesting I should regret not
taking advantage of you while you were upset or unconscious?”

“First off, I doubt you could even
feel
regret. And second, I’m just surprised you didn’t.”

“Another time, then. In fact, you look quite
tired, Addison. Perhaps you should take a nap.”

She was ninety-nine percent sure he was
teasing her.

“No nap? Very well, until then, if you would
like to not be claimed by a guest at the celebration…”

“Not that I’m going to the stupid party, but
if I did and you were to claim me in that way—not that I’d let
you—your stench would be all over me and they’d know you were still
alive. Or, you know, alive-ish.”

“My ‘stench,’ as you so kindly call it, only
clings to a woman in certain instances. Otherwise, beings will
sense a claiming has occurred but not by which vampire.”

“What other circumstances?”

“If the woman…enjoys it. Which I am sure
someone like you would not do.”

“You’re damned straight someone like me
wouldn’t.”

“Then you agree.” He came towards her.

“Ye—wait,” she said, throwing her hands out.
“No, I’m not agreeing to anything.” And she’d be able to think a
lot more clearly if he’d back off.

“Then perhaps you should look into getting
that tattoo.”

“Aren’t there any other claiming rituals?
Ones that don’t involve blood or sex?”

He shook his head. “We creatures and our
bodily fluid exchanges.”

“Can’t you, like, sweat on me or something?
Do you sweat?”

He laughed. “Only during the claiming. In
which case, I assume we’d both be sweating.”

Damn it. Those images were going to be stuck
in her head for a very long time. Maybe they’d be a welcome
distraction when a roomful of vamps all took a bite out of her.
Until they dusted and every super knew about her lame
superpower.

Shit. She needed to be claimed. “What if we
just make out a little? And you, like, drool on me a bit?”

“I suspect not, but would you like to
try?”

“No,” she said, her head giving the opposite
answer.

The next moment, he was in front of her—very,
very close in front of her. “We will start with a kiss. See how it
goes, as they say. Then we will be able to judge more accurately.
Are you ready?”

“Um…”

“Relax, Addison. It is just a kiss.” His
breath warmed her cheek, his lips sliding from her ear to her
mouth, barely touching. “But whatever you do, try not to enjoy it,”
he whispered a moment before his mouth met hers.

There is no try, there is just do. There is
also just
fail,
which Addison was doing incredibly well. His
lips were soft, sweet tasting. He slipped his arms around her to
bring her closer. His touch was light, not brutal like she imagined
a vampire’s would be, not hard like the rest of his body. The
contradiction was disorienting in the best possible way.

He coaxed her mouth open to deepen the kiss,
slowly exploring her. It didn’t make sense. He was dangerous, a
killer. How could he possibly be so gentle? Maybe living
indefinitely gave a being more patience with everything.
Everything? She wondered if—

Don’t wonder about that because it’s never
going to happen!

After a little moan snuck out of her mouth,
gentle turned into overwhelming and moved all the way to regret for
all the time they’d spent fighting instead of doing this. If he
wasn’t holding her so tightly, she’d fall over…or rip off his
clothes. He was in complete control of the kiss, her body, her
mind.

When he said her name and ground himself
against her, every nerve in her body shot a message to her brain.
Most of them screamed, ‘Whatever the hell you do,
please
make sure it isn’t anything that might make this stop!’ And a few
yelled, ‘If you don’t make this stop right now, there’s a high
probability you will never feel anything good ever again because
all of your pleasure centers are about to explode!’

Okay, she’d changed her mind—this wasn’t that
terrible after all. And just to be safe, they should probably do
the whole ritual-enjoyment thing. Just to be safe.

He held her shoulders to stop her from moving
with him as he pulled away. “Astonishingly, you were correct.”

“Huh?” She couldn’t stop staring at his lips.
Great lips. Great other stuff too.

“You were correct. It is faint, and it would
be a far better and more enjoyable experience to complete the
ritual, but I
do
sense a claiming has occurred. Most will
probably simply assume it was by a young vampire.”

“Huh?” In fact, all his stuff was pretty
great. Including his voice—the one she should probably be listening
to.

“Had we continued, I believe you would have
been unable to hold back…your enjoyment of me, and then all would
know it was me who claimed you.”

She blinked to wake herself up. “What?”

“A claiming, Addison. I have claimed
you.”

She jolted out of…whatever he’d done to her,
as if he’d just doused her with cold water. “Like hell I’ve been
claimed, especially by you. You can’t claim me, Rhyse. I am
unclaimable, thank you very much.”

He listened to her rant with a look bordering
on wonder but with more irritation in it. “I admitted you were
correct and I was not. Perhaps you should focus on that
coup
d’état
.”

After a few quick breaths and some space
between them, she said, “Yeah, I think I will.” Oh shit, she’d been
claimed.

The hall wasn’t what Addison expected.
Probably because it wasn’t a hall. The gigantic fortress with its
never-ending lawns and thick stone fence was
called
“Raven
Hall.” Only the sickeningly wealthy named their houses. She
should’ve known a super event wouldn’t be held at a community
center or a lodge. When they did shit like this, they did it
well.

“Whose place is this?” she asked, her eyes
running over the side of the mansion, knowing it would be at least
twice the size from the front.

“It is mine.”

She looked at him. “They’re having a party at
your place and you not being there yet doesn’t seem weird to
anyone?” Not that she imagined him peeling shrimp all day or
sticking tray after tray of canapés into the oven, but—“Never mind.
Of course it’s yours.”

Why was she here? She couldn’t even use the
excuse that he’d compelled her. He’d be hanging out under a tree
around the corner while she went inside a house of horrors. But
she’d be a good girl, wave goodbye and tell him she’d be right
back, and then go into the building and keep walking. Find the
easiest way out the back and run as fast as nearly humanly
possible. She could find a way out of the estate before Rhyse
started wondering why she wasn’t coming back out.