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Stepping out of the shower, Dacoda saw her clothes lying across the towel rack. Touched that Andrei had been considerate enough to allow her to dress before she faced him again, she quickly put on her clothes.
When she attempted to repair her make-up, she reluctantly looked at her reflection as little as possible since she didn’t like what she saw.
When she came out of the bathroom, Andrei had showered and dressed.
Even though they’d just had sex, the sight of him made her heart beat faster. How was she ever going to get over him? She looked away from the intimate look in his blue eyes. “I have to get back downstairs.” She bit her lip. “And I don’t know what I’m going to say to Evan when he asks me where I’ve been and why I’ve been gone so long.”
He crossed the room to place a hand against her cheek. “Don’t worry. Marcella has kept him busy.”
The mention of the woman Andrei had arrived with infuriated her. “What is that skinny bitch to you?”
Andrei gave her an annoyed look. “You know damned well she’s just an acquaintance.”
“Do you fuck her?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Have you ever fucked her?”
“Yes, but the last time I did, you weren’t even born. So, don’t you give me any shit about it, Dacoda!”
“What?”
“You heard me,” he said in a cool, angry voice. “I’ve taken about as much shit from you as I can stand. Don’t push me, or I swear your dumb blond will pay with his miserable life.”
“You know what, Andrei? Your threats are getting old. You’ve had countless opportunities to kill him, yet he’s still alive.”
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know me, Dacoda. I’m more than willing and capable of killing his ass.”
“But you won’t because you know I will never forgive you if you hurt the father of my child.”
“Fuck you and him!”
She bit back a curt response. They were both frustrated. An exchange of angry words wouldn’t help. “It would break my heart if I thought you meant that, Andrei.”
“I do mean it.”
“No, you don’t, honey boy.” She sighed. “I have to go.”
He caught her hand and turned her back to face him. “I have a present for you.”
“No. No more presents.” She shook her head even as delight filled her, but she couldn’t conceal any more gifts from Evan.
“Just one more.” He reached into his jacket pocket and held out a small, dark jeweler’s box.
She stared at it, certain it contained a ring she dared not accept. “I can’t, Andrei.”
“Yes. You can.” He opened the box and extended it again.
Inside was an exquisite diamond solitaire engagement ring surrounded by four rubies.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
She inhaled slowly. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. However, you know I can’t take it.”
“Oh yes, you can.”
“It’s an engagement ring, Andrei.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“I’m married!”
“Not for much longer!”
She bit her lip. Why do you keep putting yourself in this position? Where the hell is your pride or shame or sense of decency?
“Oh no, sweetheart. There’s no need for shame between us,” he whispered.
His assurance touched her. “Oh, Andrei.”
Smiling at her, he lifted the ring from the box.
It hung from a magnificent gold chain.
She shook her head. “I can’t accept it.”
“You can and you will.” He moved behind her, fastened the chain around her neck, and eased the ring between her cleavage. Then he brushed his lips against her neck. “Whenever you feel this between your lovely breasts, think of me and know I’m thinking of you.”
“How often?”
“Always, my Dacoda.”
Lord, he could be so sweet and romantic. And she knew he was sincere. “Please don’t say things like that, Andrei.”
Lifting his hands to cup her breasts, he kissed her neck. “I can’t stand much more of this separation.”
God help her. Neither could she.
“Wear my ring as often as possible as a reminder that my patience is quickly eroding. So, you’re going to have to leave him soon.”
“Or?” When he didn’t respond, she turned to stare at him. “Or what?”
“Do I really need to state the obvious, Dacoda?”
“I’m warning you—don’t touch him. I love him.”
“You love me!”
“I love him too, and I will not forgive you if you hurt him, Andrei.” She turned and stormed away from him.
He followed her and pulled the door open.
They walked down the corridor to the elevators together in silence and entered when it arrived.
Although she was conscious of him, he didn’t speak to or touch her. When the doors opened on the ballroom floor, she struggled against a rising feeling of panic because she had no idea when or if she’d see him again.
He escorted her to the side door and lifted her hand to his mouth. His cool lips brushed against her palm before he kissed her fingers.
“Oh, Andrei,” she squeezed his free hand before walking into the room where most people were on the dance floor.
“May I?”
She blinked as one of Andrei’s older brothers smiled at her. Aleksei and Vladimir were tall and handsome with long locks, brown skin, and blue eyes. She had no idea which brother stood in front of her. Whichever one he was, she was inclined to like him since he was the first of Andrei and Tat’s brothers to show her even a hint of warmth.
“I’m Aleksei,” he said. “Madison.”
She was conscious of Andrei walking past them as she gave Aleksei her hand. He drew her into his arms. As he did, she watched Andrei stop at the spot where Evan and Marcella danced. She tensed.
“It’s all right,” Aleksei assured her. “Your husband is safe.”
“But for how long?”
“That’s a question for another day.” He danced her across the room so she faced away from Andrei and Evan. “Now. Tell me about the woman who’s captured Drei’s undivided attention.”
Before she could speak, Evan appeared behind Aleksei. “I believe it’s time I danced with my wife, Forester.”
Dacoda noted an unmistakable flash of annoyance and dislike in Aleksei’s gaze before he nodded curtly and released her. “I suppose we all look alike to you, but my name is Madison. My brother and sister are Forester.” He gave Evan a long, cold stare before he stalked away.
“Who the hell does he think died and left him in charge?” Evan demanded as he put his arms around her.
Although she was almost certain that Aleksei had heard Evan, she was thankful that he chose to ignore the comment. With Andrei’s ring burning between her breasts, she pressed her cheek against Evan’s shoulder. “Let’s not talk about anyone else,” she said, shamefully thankful that he hadn’t asked her where she’d been for so long.
“No. Let’s get out of here. I need a fuck.”
A fuck? She frowned. Usually, Evan spoke of making love instead of fucking. The sudden and inexplicable change in his personality left much to be desired. Maybe so, but your infidelity is probably responsible for his transformation. What do you expect when you cheat on him at every opportunity? For the first time in their relationship, the thought of sex with him didn’t excite her. If you can fuck Andrei, you can certainly have sex with your husband! She forced a smile onto her face. “Let’s go.”
* * *
“YOU SHOULD BE DOWNSTAIRS sharing in Tatiana’s special day. Yes?”
After escorting Dacoda back to the ballroom, Andrei returned to his suite. He’d wanted to be alone, but the fem behind him had other ideas. He turned from his hotel room balcony. A pretty, petite woman with long dark hair stood behind him. Each time he looked at her, he marveled at the power and strength vested within her almost fragile-looking body. Palea Walker-Dumont.
“It’s difficult to be happy when my woman is with another man, mother.” He balled his right hand into a fist. “If only I could find and kill Veelee, I could take what’s mine.”
She walked across the balcony to take his clenched fist between her hands. “Did I not tell you I would handle her?”
Although he didn’t doubt his mother’s power, he felt a sudden reluctance to expose her to Veelee’s tricks. The conniving bitch was devious, dangerous, and, so far, hard to kill. Besides, he’d noticed that his mother’s husband, Matt Dumont, had been decidedly cool when he’d encountered him earlier in the evening. “Yes, but she’s my problem. I’ll deal with her.”
“No. I will. Her kind is difficult to kill. She’ll take full advantage of you if you hesitate for even a moment.” She caressed his cheek. “You are the last of my children without his bloodlust. I will find her and deal with her. You do what you need to do to claim your bloodlust.”
“I don’t think your husband wants you to get involved in my problems.”
She blinked up at him. “You are mistaken, my little one. Your problems are my problems. And my problems are his. Go claim your bloodlust.”
He sighed. “She’s determined to stay with him.”
“She belongs to you. I can take care of him and this Veelee.”
Her tone and look left no doubt in his mind that she’d just offered to kill his rival. On the verge of nodding his acceptance, he thought of Dacoda and her reaction to such a plan. He shook his head. “No. Killing him—”
“May well be necessary,” she injected.
“I can’t kill him.”
“Of course, you can.”
“I can, but she would find it unforgivable.”
“A woman in love will forgive nearly anything from the man she loves. Yes?”
“She’s stubborn and strong-willed.”
“The human will is easily subverted.”
“No! If that happened, she wouldn’t be the woman I....” He allowed his voice to trail off as he looked away, unwilling to admit his deep feelings even to his mother.
She gently but firmly turned him back to face her. “Or she wouldn’t be the woman you love as you’ve loved no other?”
He shook his head. “Love is—”
She held up a small hand. “Do not bother to tell me that love is a human emotion. You and all your siblings were born of that emotion. There is no shame in feeling and admitting to having such a powerful, wonderful emotion.” She sighed. “Your father was the first man I ever loved. I love Matt more every day we share.”
“But?” He prodded when her voice trailed off.
“But I will also always love your father. Each time I look at one of you, I know a wonderful sense of happiness for that human emotion I was fortunate enough to share with him. There is a place in my heart reserved only for his memory and the brief life we shared.
“I am determined for you to know that joy with your bloodlust. If the only way to accomplish that is to kill this Evan and subvert her will—so be it.”
“No! Her strong will is one of her many attractions. I can’t subvert it, and I can’t kill that big, dumb bastard.”
“Leave it to me. To ensure your happiness, I can and will kill him.”
“No, mother. Don’t.”
“He has to die—so you can be happy.”
“Mother—”
“My mind is made up, Andrei.”
“Don’t kill him.”
“Why do you care about what happens to him?”
“I care because she does. That’s the only reason he’s still alive.”
“If she will not leave him, and you insist he must live, how will you win her?”
He shook his head. “I’ll have to do it without killing his big dumb ass.”
She smiled suddenly. “This is your sister’s day. She looks like a vision. Yes?”
“Yes,” he smiled, nodding. “She does, but then she always does.”
“True, but there is a blight on her happiness.”
He frowned. “What blight?”
“Your absence, my little one. There is a bond between full-blood twins that no one can understand—except another pair of like twins. I shared it with the twin sister I will miss as long as I live. Aleskei and Vladimir share it—as do you and Tatiana.” She squeezed his hand and left him alone on the balcony.
He stared after her.
She paused at the entrance door and extended her hand. “Come downstairs and help make your sister’s almost perfect day all the sweeter for sharing it with you.”
He nodded and quickly crossed the room to give her his hand.
They left the room together and went down to the ballroom.
Matt Dumont immediately swept her into his arms, gave Andrei an annoyed nod, and danced away.
Andrei glared after him. Fuck you too, Dumont!
Matt Dumont turned with Palea in his arms, and the two males shared a long, cold stare before Andrei stalked away. If the bastard weren’t his mother’s husband and his younger siblings’ father, he’d kill Matt Dumont without hesitation.
Without looking around, he knew Dacoda and her big, dumb blond were gone. Just as well since he wouldn’t have to resist the urge to kill him. He saw Tat and Makefield dancing near the front of the room and walked over to them. He tapped Makefield’s shoulder. “Can I borrow her for just a moment?”
Makefield nodded. “She’s all yours for a few moments, then I want her back.”
“Of course.”
Tat turned to smile at him with a radiant look on her pretty face.
“Hello, Mrs. Vampire Hunter. You’re looking lovelier than ever.”
“Mrs...” She laughed, her blue eyes sparkling. “Oh, Drei. I was worried about you.”
“There’s no need. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Not yet, but I will be,” he said.
“I’m counting on that.”
He caressed her cheek. “You look exceedingly lovely and extremely happy.”
“Oh, yes. I am. I just wish you were too.” She pressed her cheek against his shoulder.
He enclosed her in his arms. “Trust me. I plan to be as happy as you are with the idiot you just married.”
“Drei!”
He laughed and danced her around the room.
One day soon, he had to find a way to be with Dacoda, or he’d lose his mind.