Chapter 12

When I finally left the shower, the water had long since gone cold, yet my body felt as if it were still hot enough to make the water evaporate and fog the room. I had a brief glimpse of her pussy this morning when she had her freak out, but there hadn’t been even a second to appreciate the sight when all I had wanted to do was help her. Seeing her standing in front of my bed, dripping water all over the floor, while holding nothing but a wadded up towel that barely covered the front of her gorgeous body? It took all my willpower to walk away instead of throwing her down on that mattress and taking her rough and raw.

After patting myself down, I shoved my damp legs through my pants and tugged until I could get the shit back on. I was starting to get pissed off. I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling was directly because of the woman or if the fucking mating bond was screwing with my head. I had gone hundreds, thousands of years without giving in to the need for a woman. My need to be alone far outweighed any compulsion I would have had to have sex with a random female. But now, after taking one look at this little half-human female, I could barely control myself.

“Fuck!” I growled into the mirror, resisting the urge to put my fist through it. I turned to the door and grabbed the knob, flinging the door open hard enough to hear it splinter near the hinges. I could control myself. This was the work of some mystical or mythical force, and I wouldn’t allow it to string me along by my dick.

I stomped into the room carrying my heavy boots, ready to toss them by the bed when I stopped dead in my tracks. Kallista was looking at me, startled, from her perch on the couch. She had her hands clasped together in her lap and was wringing them together in a show of nerves. I wasn’t sure if it was due to what I had walked in on or if she could sense the turmoil I was experiencing.

As I stood there and stared at her, she gave me a small smile, just the corners of her mouth tipping up ever so slightly as if she were afraid of my reaction, and stood up. It was then I noticed that she was wearing the dress with the big yellow flowers on it. She smoothed her hands over the skirt and tilted her head as she looked back up at me.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” Her voice was soft and her smile was shy, hesitant. I wanted to go to her, to take her in my arms and crush her lips with my own. Instead, I grunted in acknowledgment and turned away, but not before I saw her face fall in disappointment.

When I got to the bed, I dropped my boots to the floor with a heavy thud and closed my eyes as a shot of pain punched me in the chest. I had hurt her with my rejection just now, and the thought of it nearly sent me to my knees.

I glanced down, expecting to see the mess I had made earlier. Instead, it was neat and orderly. My bed was made, and my bag was set on the floor beside it. Fuck, she had done that. I looked over to the kitchen, where the few items that had been used earlier were gone, and the sink was empty. Kallista was in a dangerous situation, with vampires out for her, ready to use her for likely more than just her blood, but she cared enough to clean this pathetic place I rarely visited.

I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose as I took in everything I knew about her. It wasn’t much, but I was learning that beyond the fright of her own demon living inside her, she was a caring woman. I thought about the years I’d spent in solitude, about how lonely it could be, even if I were trying to protect the world around me. Kallista thought she was a danger to others, but she had no idea what danger truly was.

I strode back over to my motorcycle and reached into the storage compartments to locate the rest of the bags full of clothing I was sure she could use. I had allowed the saleswoman to talk me into buying garments I had no idea women would need. After hauling out the last of the bags, I pulled out the food that had been tucked away, glad to see that it was still somewhat warm.

With my arms full, I stalked back over to the couch and stood there awkwardly.

“I got food. I’m sure you’re hungry.” At my words, Kallista’s stomach let out an angry rumble, and I wanted to kick my own ass again for forgetting to feed her earlier.

“It smells good,” she offered quietly, not looking up at me. I wanted to demand she give me her eyes so I could see the colors that I had grown fascinated with. Instead, I dropped the bag of food onto the couch beside her without a word. I turned and placed the packages of clothing on the ground by the wall before taking a seat where I had the last time.

“It’s just tacos,” I rumbled as she picked up the bag and peered inside. “I didn’t know what kind you would like so I bought several different ones. There are salsas, too. Different heat levels.” I clamped my teeth shut to stop my rambling as Kallista rummaged through the bag.

“I love anything. I think,” she sniffed at a couple of the foil-wrapped tacos. “Except raw onions. For some reason, I love them cooked, but I just can’t stand the taste of them raw.”

She handed over several of the small foil packages, and I took them, careful not to touch her soft skin. I wasn’t sure if she noticed, but her small smile dropped, and she cleared her throat.

“You should probably know that Syn came back a little bit after you left.”

That got my attention, and I stopped peeling back the wrapper on the taco I was holding to stare up at the woman fate had decided was mine. The muscles in my jaw tightened as anger flared inside me.

“Did you let her in?” I demanded. She shook her head as she bit delicately into the side of her food. Her soft moan had the rest of my body tightening.

“No. I didn’t make a sound, but she knew I was here.” She frowned down at her taco, and I hated the sight. “She said she could hear me anyway.”

I finished the taco I was holding in three bites as I waited for her to continue. I watched as her tongue darted out to lick a small bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth and fought the urge to be the one to lick her clean.

“She said that she promised me to the vampires and that they swore they would treat me well.” She hesitated, and I knew I wouldn’t like what she had to say next. “They threatened the rest of the girls from the club if I didn’t show up. Syn made it clear that I would be responsible for whatever happens to them if I don’t comply.”

I slammed my fist into the floor, my entire body vibrating with rage. I was certain there had to be more that Kallista wasn’t telling me, but what I had already heard was enough for me to want to destroy Syn. It didn’t matter how long I had known her. It was evident that she wasn’t the person I thought I knew. A wave of disappointment swept through me at her behavior. She had already been putting her girls at risk by agreeing to let the vamps feed from them. She hadn’t said if anyone had been hurt, but it didn’t matter. If they hadn’t given consent to be fed from, it was as bad as rape.

“You will not sacrifice yourself,” I growled as I stood to my feet, abandoning my uneaten food.

Kallista scrambled to her feet as I strode quickly to my bike. “Where are you going?” Her voice was full of worry, but I couldn’t take the time to reassure her. “Valen! Please don’t go.”

I stopped before hitting the button to lower the lift. I was already straddling the motorcycle and was ready to ride back to the strip club. “Step back, Kallista,” I demanded. “Go back and eat your food. There are more bags of clothing for you. Go through them. By the time you’re done sorting them, I’ll be back. If there is anything you don’t like, we can exchange them for something else.”

With her hands clutched together in front of her, Kallista did as I said. Her face was full of worry, and she opened and closed her mouth a few times as if she had something she wanted to say before she finally gave a jerky nod and stepped back another foot. I paused once more before pushing the remote button.

“Do not leave this room. I mean it. Don’t. Go. Anywhere. And don’t let anyone in.”

She mouthed the word “okay”, but it was too soft to hear. The worry in her expression only increased as she watched the doors close in front of me, sealing me inside the lift before the motor began to whir and the floor began to lower.

As soon as the doors to the outside opened, I started the bike and quickly sped down the street, heading back toward the highway where the remote strip club was located. Syn and I needed to have a long, overdue conversation. Our friendship wasn’t going to save her from the mess she had made for herself.

The sun was already beginning to set on the horizon, the air taking on a chill as the shadows lengthened. Thick tree growth took place of warehouses and other buildings. The drive didn’t take long before I was pulling into the gravel parking lot that was already beginning to fill up with cars. The bright neon from the sign provided plenty of light over the gravel in flashing reds and pinks.

I pulled right up to the doors, the bouncer giving me a grim nod, obviously remembering me from the night before. I gave a chin lift back in acknowledgment and walked into the dimly lit club. Music was already pounding while a mostly naked girl gyrated against a shiny pole up on the center stage. I stopped and swiveled my head from side to side, looking for Syn. I took in a few steadying breaths to get my anger under control. I would never purposely hurt Syn or any other woman, but I couldn’t be sure that my power wouldn’t leach out of me without my consent. I had told Kallista I was dangerous. That was why. I couldn’t always stop the destruction I was capable of.

“Val, darling!”

Syn’s voice was the same sultry purr it always had been, but now I could hear the sickeningly sweet undertones, the ones that beckoned a man to follow. I finally understood what she was. She wasn’t a Succubus. The demoness was a Siren. Working in the sex trade was likely the easiest way she had discovered to lure in her prey. I thought it was so she’d have a steady supply of food. In a way, that was still correct. It’s just that her food wasn’t through sexual energy. She was literally in the business of sucking the life out of men.

Before she could reach me, I turned and stalked toward the door she had led me through the night before. I didn’t wait to see if she’d follow; I knew she would. As soon as I pushed through the swinging doors, I turned to the right, heading toward her office. The lights were still dim down the hallway, but the music was, thankfully, a lot quieter.

I shoved the heavy wooden door open and strode in, stopping next to her desk. I ignored the rest of the room as I watched Syn walk in with a smile tipping up the corners of her brightly painted lips. Even though she was smiling I could see the irritation she was trying to hide.

“Eager to be alone, darling?” she asked in a mocking tone as she sauntered over to her drink cabinet and began to pour herself a shot of something clear. I idly wondered if she ever finished the glass of expensive vodka last night after I left.

“Cut the shit, Syn. What the fuck is wrong with you?” It took all my control not to walk over to the woman and knock the small glass out of her hand as she ignored me to fill it a second time.

After downing the second shot, Syn finally turned to face me, her shoulders squared back as if preparing for a fight. Instead of shouting or demanding I leave, she surprised me by simply waving a hand dismissively.

“Always so dramatic with you, Val. You really should let me take some of that tension from your shoulders. I’m rather good at massages, you know.”

I strode forward until I was a foot away, making her tip her head back to look at me. “You threatened Kallista.”

She scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. “Is that what the little human told you? I did no such thing. I simply told her the truth.”

“You told her that if she didn’t turn herself over to bloodsucking sociopaths, she would be responsible for the deaths of everyone else.”

“Well, yes. It’s the truth, is it not?” She cocked her head with a smirk. “No one else has to get hurt, Val.”

“No one except Kallista.”

“Correct.”

“That will happen over my dead body,” I growled as I clenched my fists next to my sides. I was ready to ride back over to the mansion I had driven by earlier and slaughter every bloodsucking vampire in the place. I hadn’t intended on doing anything to them if they left Syn and the other women alone. But that was before I learned what they had planned. Now that I was aware and knew precisely where they lived, I was more than willing to destroy them all.

“Why are you so determined to protect the human, Valen?”

From her tone, I knew she was baiting me. She knew Kallista was my mate, and she just wanted me to spell it out for her. I wasn’t going to play her little game, though. “She has done nothing wrong, Syn. She doesn’t deserve this. I promised to protect her, and I will.”

“You stupid, stupid man!” She threw up her hands and spun around to pace across the room before coming back to stand toe to toe with me. “You don’t need her. I swear to you, you won’t even remember her after she’s gone.”

“I need to know she’s alive and safe.” My anger was making my tone harsh, while hers was making her sound brittle and desperate.

“Valen,” she pleaded, placing her hands on my chest, making my whole body feel cold with revulsion. “Why won’t you see? I just need you to give me a chance.”

I stepped back out of reach and watched as her jaw ticked with the fury she was unable to mask completely. “It will never happen, Syn. You have always been a friend. But if you continue to push this, if you continue to put your employees at risk, whatever friendship we had will be over.”

“You don’t want to make an enemy out of me, Val. Not when I had hoped we could one day be so much more,” she warned.

I stepped back and turned to move toward the door. I placed my hand on the knob and paused before leaving. “Tell the vampires to back off and leave Kallista alone. She is under my protection, and that will never change.”

Without a backward glance, I pushed through the door and headed toward the entrance and my warehouse loft where my mate waited. It didn’t escape my notice that there were several vampires standing around the parking lot. Nor did I fail to see the ones situated along the route back.