I gasped. How could I not, with Michael St. John standing in front of me and Silas, looking extremely pissed off?
“The sun will be up in only a few more minutes,” Silas said. His expression was so calm, he might as well have been inquiring as to what Michael wanted in his coffee.
“I know that,” the vampire said. “But I can accomplish a lot in a few minutes. You just couldn’t stay away, could you?”
“Not when you’re holding the woman I love hostage.”
Michael’s mouth twitched in a sardonic smile. He looked so completely recovered that it was hard to believe he’d been lying on the floor of the cellar, drenched in his own blood, only a few hours earlier. “Oh, but Lucius claims to love her, too. So you could say you’re just as big a kidnapper and a thief. He told me last night that he planned to ask her to marry him.”
“Ridiculous.”
“No, it’s true,” I said in a very small voice. “He did, over dinner.”
“And you said?”
Silas’ voice was so tight, I could barely recognize it as his. Damn it — this was not how I wanted to tell him. Anyway, that promise meant nothing. Only another lie I’d told to trick Lucius into thinking I cared. “I said yes!” I burst out. “What the hell else was I supposed to do? I’d tell him anything he wanted to hear, as long as he kept me in this house. But if I really wanted to marry him, do you think I would be dressed and trying to sneak out at the first opportunity?”
No reply for a moment. Silas’ dark eyes flashed with anger, although I couldn’t say for sure whether that anger was directed at me, or at Lucius, or even at Michael St. John. I hoped Silas wasn’t angry with me; I’d only done what I had to, nothing more. “I suppose you have a point,” he said at last, still in that taut, flat tone. He glanced over at the vampire. “You heard her. She doesn’t love your master. She never did, and never will. We’re leaving. You can tell him what you like.”
“Oh, sure. I’m going to love delivering that news to him. He’s not going to be very happy when he learns I didn’t even try to stop you.”
“It’s better if you don’t.”
No way anyone could misconstrue the threat in that statement, and clearly Michael realized that. His eyes narrowed as he appeared to take in the measure of the man who stood before him. “I’d say we’re evenly matched.”
“Stop it,” I broke in. I couldn’t stand this anymore. I wanted to go — but I also wanted Michael to get safely back to his room before the sun came up. There was so little time left. Even so, I knew what I had to do.
I had to tell them the truth.
“You can’t fight,” I went on, the words tumbling over themselves in my haste. “You can’t be at odds because — well…you’re brothers.”
Both men turned incredulous dark eyes on me. “What?” Silas demanded.
“That’s ridiculous,” Michael said.
“No, it’s not,” I countered. “Lucius told me. He said that Michael is your older brother, Silas, sent away and adopted by a family here in Southern California because he doesn’t have the gula blood. Lucius thought it would be amusing to turn him into a vampire.”
“‘Amusing,’” Michael repeated. His hands clenched into fists. “That bastard. That fucking bastard.”
Silas was quiet, staring at the other man. I had a feeling he was cataloguing his features, comparing them to his own, trying to find the similarities, the telltales that would provide the visual evidence he needed. I knew he was doing exactly that, because I’d done the same thing.
“Yes,” I said. “He is a fucking bastard. A manipulative bastard. And the best way to get him back is to let us leave now…and for you to get to your room before the sun comes up. Act like nothing happened. It’ll drive him crazy.”
“You’re right — it will.” Michael smiled, his gaze moving to where the diamond engagement ring Lucius had given me sat on the nightstand. The message couldn’t be more clear. “Come tomorrow night, he’s going to be one seriously pissed-off vampire. So I will go to bed now, because I want to make sure I’m in perfect health tomorrow to watch the fireworks. Have a good life, you crazy kids.”
He turned then, going past the broken door as it sagged on its hinges. How he’d explain that, I wasn’t sure, although I guessed he’d probably blame the damage on Silas.
“You heard him,” I said. “Let’s go.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “My brother.”
“Yes. And we can talk about it when we’re safely away from here. Okay?”
His jaw set. “Okay.”
And then I watched the transformation steal over him, watched his skin darken, his eyes turn amber, the enormous bat-like wings sprout from his back. I wasn’t afraid, though. I knew this part of him. I knew it intimately. It was him, just in a different shape.
He held out his arms and I went to him. As they closed around me, though, he let go with one arm so he could scoop up my luggage in his free hand. Then we were out in the cold morning air and the rain, which was falling heavily now, soaking my hair. I didn’t care, though. All that mattered was being with Silas, getting away from this place.
We landed on the soggy earth, and he set down the suitcases. A second later, he was his human self again, bending to retrieve a damp T-shirt and leather jacket from beneath one of the rosebushes. “Let’s go. I’m parked on the street.”
I followed him toward the fence that encircled the property. No sign of the semivives so far. The sky had begun to lighten a little, just enough to show that the sun had indeed come up, somewhere far from this wet landscape. We hugged the wall as we headed toward the street, although Silas didn’t take me to the gate. No, he stopped at the southwest corner of the property, where it butted up against the next-door neighbors’ wall, and gave me a leg up so I could climb over the fence. After that he picked up my two cases and threw them over as well, and finally clambered to safety.
For a second, we just stood there, staring at one another. I couldn’t quite grasp that I had gotten away. True, the house was right there, but I wasn’t trapped inside. I was standing on a sidewalk, in a public space, not locked in my room, no vampires breathing down my neck. What I wanted to do was run to Silas and have him hold me for roughly a hundred years, but we didn’t have that kind of time.
“Let’s get going,” Silas said. “My motorcycle is partway down the block.”
I stopped, staring at him in consternation. “Motorcycle? How the hell are we going to get these suitcases on a motorcycle?”
“It’s not a problem,” he replied. “We’ll manage. But we have to go.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Trying to blink the rain out of my eyes, I followed him half a block down from Lucius’ property to a sleek and wicked-looking black motorcycle that had been somewhat sheltered by a sycamore tree.
“Get behind me,” he instructed as he swung his leg over the seat. “Put the larger case between the two of us, and sling the cosmetic case over your shoulder.”
That might work. It wouldn’t be very comfortable, but luckily both pieces were soft nylon and therefore easier to manage. Thank God Brian hadn’t packed my things in the hard-sided rolling suitcase I’d used back in the day when I still flew.
“Do we have far to go?” I asked as Silas started up the bike. It rumbled beneath us, a live thing.
“Far enough,” he said shortly. It seemed obvious to me that he didn’t want to mention our destination out loud, even though I saw no signs of pursuit, or even any of the neighbors out and about. The hour was still early for people to be leaving for work, and, like good Southern Californians, they seemed to be doing their best to stay inside and out of the rain. “Hang on.”
We began to roll. I clung to Silas, the suitcase smashed between us. Away from Lucius’ house, down through San Rafael’s quiet streets, following Colorado Boulevard through Eagle Rock. I noticed he took a lot of surface streets, avoiding the freeway. Was he worried about early-morning commuters, or did he simply think it was safer to drive at lower speeds, considering that he had me on the seat behind him, weighed down with these bags?
I really didn’t care. The important thing was that each mile put me a little farther away from Lucius Montfort, from the mansion that had been my prison for too long. It didn’t matter that I was soaked to the skin, my wet hair plastered to my cheeks.
The only thing which mattered was that I was free.
We came through Hollywood and headed west on Franklin, then jogged up a side street whose name I didn’t catch. This was the true Hollywood Hills, though — the street sloped sharply upward as we passed Italianate mansions and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired mid-century homes, all of them worth millions. How in the world had the gula managed to secure a safe house in this neighborhood? Did they really have that much disposable income?
Silas slowed down, then turned into the driveway of a low-slung house whose outlines I couldn’t make out that well because of all the trees crowding around it. Secluded, and private. I liked that. I needed a chance to hide for a while.
The garage was nearly empty. I supposed that made sense, since no one actually lived here full-time. As soon as the garage door closed behind us, Silas killed the engine. With a sigh of relief, I eased the cosmetic bag off my shoulder and let it drop to the ground, then climbed off the bike, taking the larger bag with me.
After he got off the motorcycle, he reached for the bag and tilted his head at the smaller one on the ground. “Go ahead and take that one.”
Since it was a far lighter burden, I wasn’t about to argue. He led me into the house through the laundry room, which was actually quite small, just a stacked washer and dryer and a cramped countertop with some built-in cupboards above it. Then we emerged into the kitchen, which was a decent-sized space, with newer stainless appliances and dark green tile counters. The walls had been painted a warm yellow, the combination lively and fun, especially on such a dark, dank day.
Silas set the bag he carried down on the tile floor, then took the smaller one from me and put it next to its mate. In the next instant, he reached for both my hands and pulled me toward him, his mouth descending on mine.
Oh, dear God. I was damp — well, all right, basically soaked — chilled to my bones, and in that moment my whole body was on fire. I hadn’t realized how much I needed him until he held me in his arms again.
Eventually he pulled his mouth from mine. “Hungry?” he whispered.
“For you,” I replied.
That was all the encouragement he needed, apparently, because then he gathered me up in his arms and took me out of the kitchen, and down a hallway. I didn’t get much of a chance to look at the room where we ended up, only noted that the walls were a rich terra-cotta shade, the prints on the walls reproductions of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera pieces. Silas grabbed the patchwork-silk quilt that lay on the bed and yanked it to one side, and we were falling, hands scrabbling for damp clothes, shirts and jackets and jeans flung away with abandon.
And oh, God, at last it was his skin against mine, warm, burning with his own internal fire. His hands cupped my breasts, and I reached down to take him into my hand, so hard, so ready. He moaned, even as he bent to touch his tongue to my nipple, and then it was my turn to moan, to give voice to my aching need for him.
“Warm me, Silas,” I whispered. “Make me yours again.”
He didn’t need any more encouragement than that. A slight shift, and my legs wrapped around him, driving him into me, our bodies joining in a way that I knew could never be matched. There could never be anyone besides him. I hated the thought of every kiss I’d shared with Lucius Montfort, but at least those had only been kisses, had never progressed to something more.
After that, I didn’t think of anything else, only the sensation of Silas moving in and out of me, every driving stroke bringing me closer and closer to climax, just the feel of him, the scent of him, his damp hair falling against my face, until at last the orgasm burst through me, a rush of exquisite agony, my entire body and soul coming alive for him. He climaxed a moment or two later, another groan torn from somewhere deep in his throat, our bodies locked together as we clung to one another, needing to feel skin to skin, flesh to flesh, to take away the pain of the separation Lucius had inflicted on us.
Eventually we unlocked our bodies, but we didn’t move any further than that, still held on to each other, as though letting go might risk another unwanted separation. “I love you,” Silas whispered.
“I love you,” I replied. “I always did. I never stopped. I never gave up hope.”
He ran his hand over my rain-washed hair. “I know. I just — ”
A slight chill ran down my spine. I moved so I could sit up, the sheets clutched against my naked breasts. “You just what?”
“Why did you tell him yes?”
“Because I had to, Silas. I told you why. You’d gotten away, but I still wasn’t safe. Not really. I had to keep playing the game until I knew it would be safe to let Lucius know how I really felt about him.”
Silas also sat up. His expression was hard to read. On the one hand, he looked far more relaxed than he had only a half hour earlier. Even so, there was a tightness to his mouth that I didn’t like.
“You saw that I was leaving,” I went on, pressing my case. “If I’d had any feelings for him, I wouldn’t have done that. But I had that one chance and needed to take it.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “It’s the same reason I was there. Lucius wouldn’t allow himself to be so unprotected for very long. And I understand intellectually. It’s just — I suppose I’m trying to get my gut to understand as well. I hate the thought of you being with him, on any level.”
“I wasn’t too thrilled about it, either.” I reached over and laid a hand on Silas’ arm, knowing that I had to clear the air between us. While I didn’t completely understand his anger, I wouldn’t be doing either one of us a favor by trying to ignore it. “I’ll be honest with you, Silas. Lucius did kiss me…multiple times. I endured it because I had to. But it never went any further than that. He wanted to wait.”
“Why? That is, I’m very glad he was so restrained, but that doesn’t seem very much like him.”
No, I supposed it didn’t, not in a man like Lucius Montfort, who was used to taking what he wanted. “He wanted to wait because he was hoping the serum my brother’s researchers are working on would become a reality.” I paused then, realizing Silas probably didn’t know anything about that. “I had a vision about it. Lucius saw that as a guarantee. The serum would — ”
“You don’t have to explain,” Silas cut in. “Felix told me about it. So Lucius Montfort wanted to wait so he could be with you in a more normal way.”
“Yes.” I decided it was probably better not to mention the comment Lucius had made about wanting to have children with me. The mere thought made me feel slightly nauseated. “He believed it would happen because I’d seen it in a vision.”
“Not that strange…your visions do have a way of coming true.”
“Sometimes.”
Silas reached over so he could take my hand in his. “Most of the time. Which is why I’m still worried. You saw a future in which vampires could walk in the sun.”
“A possible future,” I protested. “One I’m beginning to think will never happen. I’m here with you, and I’ll contact my brother soon to let him know he doesn’t have to continue with the research. I’ll tell him the truth about Lucius Montfort.”
“What about your niece?”
The question caught me off guard. I had to remind myself that Silas had been free long enough to talk to Felix and get filled in on what had been happening over the past few days, so he would be privy to information that I hadn’t personally shared with him. Also, I’d been so focused on making sure Lucius never got the vampire paradise I’d seen in my visions, I hadn’t wanted to think about what cutting off the research might mean for Addison. “I don’t know,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I hope they can continue with that line of inquiry, and let the rest of it go. I’ll have to wait to talk to Jackson.”
“He’s back in D.C. right now, isn’t he?”
“Yes. But he’ll be coming back to California as soon as he gets his business wrapped up. Actually, he could be flying here today, for all I know. Yesterday was a little chaotic, and I wasn’t in touch.”
Silas’ fingers tightened on mine. “You’ve had a lot to juggle. It’s understandable.” He paused for a moment, then went on, his tone much more brisk, “How about a hot shower and some food? You’ll be in better shape to face the rest of the day.”
The suggestion sounded heavenly, especially since this morning at Lucius’ mansion I’d basically rolled out of bed and gotten dressed, and prepared to run. I figured I could deal with showering and all that once I was a free woman again.
I recalled how Silas and I had shared a shower at his loft. That had been heavenly, too — the feel of the hot water beating down on us as he ran his hands over my body. A flare of desire flashed through me again. We might have just had sex, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t go for round two.
Slanting a look over at him through my lashes, I asked, “Is your shower big enough for two?”
“Only one way to find out.”
His hand still on mine, he pulled me over to him, kissing me strong and hot, right before he scooped me into his arms and took me into the bathroom. And yes, that was a nice big shower stall, tiled in a warm biscuit beige tone.
Smiling, Silas shut the door and turned on the water. Its heat flowed all over me, but it was nothing compared to the heat I felt inside. He kissed me, over and over again, his hands on my body. Yes, this — this was exactly what I wanted, what I needed.
I had to make sure it would never end.
She sat across from him at the dining room table, her hair forming itself into fascinating waves and ripples as it dried. Her eyes shone, and her full mouth was still rosy from his kisses.
Truly, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
He had to remind himself that she was real, and not another daydream. Memories of her had been all he could hold on to while locked up in Lucius’ cellar. This was the real Serena, every exquisite inch of her.
While Silas would have been happy to simply sit here and look at her, drink her in, he knew there was still much to be resolved. They could take this small breathing space this morning, but sooner or later he’d have to let his gula brethren know what he’d done. Felix and the rest of the Watchers here in Southern California probably wouldn’t be thrilled by his latest escapade, but the important thing was that Serena was here with him now, and safe. Silas’ higher-ups on the Conclave might have a few choice words for the way he’d gone off half-cocked for yet a second time. However, being in the Watchers wasn’t like being in the army. They couldn’t exactly kick him out. The most they would do was retire him from field duty, which was fine by him. He had Serena, and the two of them could go to Humboldt and live a quiet life there, try to start a family.
Well, that was what he wished for. He thought her feelings ran along similar lines, but he didn’t know for sure. The chance to speak together on such topics had been stolen by Lucius Montfort.
Temporarily stolen, Silas reminded himself. The vampire would no longer be able to possess her, control her.
Serena set down the English muffin she’d been eating, then reached for her mug of coffee. “You’re very quiet.”
“Just thinking.”
“I suppose there is a lot to think about.” She sipped some coffee, shut her eyes as she appeared to savor the rich taste. The house had a very good coffeemaker, as well as a supply of interesting blends in the cupboard. The batch he’d brewed up this morning had been Sumatran. “I actually had a vision of us a few days ago.”
His heart beat a little more quickly, but Silas forced himself to stay calm. Serena’s visions could mean a number of things, not all of them good. “You did?”
“Yes.” She smiled and flicked a lock of semi-damp hair over one shoulder. “Later on I discovered it was up somewhere near your compound in Humboldt, although at the time I wasn’t entirely sure. A green field, with an evergreen forest all around it.”
“That does sound like my home,” he said. “What did you see?”
“I saw us,” she replied. “And our son.”
Silas went very still. How he wanted to believe it was the future she’d seen, but hope could be a very treacherous thing. “Our son? You’re sure?”
“Well, he looked like you, except he had my eyes. He was around four years old, I think. He was flying the fanciest kite.” Her smile didn’t exactly fade away, but it did diminish somewhat. “I have to believe he was ours. Why else would we be out in the woods, flying a kite with a little boy?”
Why else? Perhaps they were watching one of the gula children, although Silas didn’t know why her visions would show her such a scene. It made far more sense that she would have been offered a glimpse of her own offspring. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “That is quite a vision. Do you think it will come true?”
“A week ago, I would have said no.” Her hands wrapped around the coffee mug, although she didn’t lift it. Perhaps she wanted to feel its warmth against her fingers. “But I’m here with you now. I think it’s more that I was offered a look at a possible future, one with as great a chance of happening as the terrible future I envisioned with Lucius.” A shake of her head, and she tapped a finger against the warm celadon-green glaze of the coffee mug. Outside, rain beat against the windows. “This is the first time I’ve ever had competing visions of the future, so I’m not sure exactly what to make of it. But I’m going to hope for the best. That’s the only way to move forward, I think.”
Silas reached over and touched her free hand with his. Her skin was warm; clearly, she hadn’t taken a chill from their rain-soaked motorcycle ride to get here. “I think it’s a very good sign. And…is it a future you want to see happen?”
Her hazel eyes met his. In contrast to the purple top she’d slipped on after the shower, those eyes looked almost pure green. “More than anything, Silas. Lucius tried to convince me that being with him was the right thing, that he could give me the kind of life I deserved. Problem is — aside from the fact that I was already in love with you, and nothing was going to change that — I had no desire for that kind of life. I could have had it already, because of the family I was born into. I didn’t want it. I want you, and green forests, and that dark-haired little boy. Something quiet, and precious, and nothing I could have here in Southern California.”
Silas didn’t recall rising to his feet, but in the next moment, he stood, and pulled Serena up from her seat so she could face him. She smiled, and he bent and kissed her, tasted the richness of coffee on her lips, and her own sweet savor, something that was uniquely hers. God, how he wanted her, needed her.
And the miracle was, it appeared that she felt exactly the same way about him.