“A fashion statement of some kind?” she asked.
“I still can’t quite believe it speaks,” I said to Alora, who chuckled.
The amusement vanished from Gina’s almond eyes. She was beautiful – there was no doubt about it. But she was cold, and that tainted it. At a guess, I’d estimate that she had been in her thirties when she was Turned. Being so much older than me and with so much more life-experience, she made me feel unworldly, young, and naïve in comparison – especially since she persisted to call me ‘child’ and used that condescending tone when talking to me.
I offered her a blank look. “Excuse us.”
“I see that you haven’t gotten past what happened at the meal. Really, child, you’re too sensitive.”
“Whatever, old woman.”
She almost snarled. Ooh, how fun. “I can’t see it. I can’t see what could possibly have drawn you and Salem together. You’re nothing alike. You have nothing at all in common. Salem’s always liked strong women. Not to mention that he’s a breast man.”
I adopted my airhead tone, knowing it drove her insane. “Yeah, but what I lack in breasts I make up for in pure awesomeness.”
She ground her teeth so hard it was audible. And hilarious. “You can’t honestly think it will last. Salem isn’t going to join you in Munchkin Land.”
“Sure he will. There’s a wizard nearby and everything.”
Ignoring that, she continued, “You have a lot to learn about men, child. Especially Salem, since –”
“Yeah, uh-huh, me too.” I waved a hand dismissively. “I have stuff to do, so…” I went to pass, but she planted herself in front of me.
“You really do think you can hold onto him, don’t you?” she sneered.
“And you really do think you can lure him away, don’t you?”
“Astonishing,” mused Alora. “Not to mention delusional.”
“I can have any man I want, including Salem,” Gina stated, adamant. “I can make even a Bound male into my very own puppet.”
Fletcher was right; she saw Salem as a possession. To this woman, men were toys for her to play with and control. She liked that she could manipulate, seduce, and control them; that she could have a level of power over them.
“I’d wager I could even have Jared under my thrall.”
Alora winced. “I’d advise you not to try it. If it worked – which I strongly doubt – Sam would kill you. And if it didn’t work…well, Sam would still kill you.”
I nodded. “Now, fascinating though this is, I have no intention of abandoning my schedule to give a shit about the petty crap that goes on in your head.” Again I went to pass Gina, but she moved to block my path.
“You’re not as blasé about this as you’re acting,” she insisted. “My presence here worries you. You know Salem will fall under my thrall, you know you could never forgive him for it, and you know part of the reason he’ll so easily fall under my control is that he wants it.”
Seriously, how could I not pity her? “Feel free to immerse yourself in that alternate reality if it makes you feel good about yourself. It would be cute if it wasn’t so pathetic.”
Ooh, that really pissed her off. She glowered as she advanced on me. “You little –”
A loud squawk split the air as a parrot came to land on the branch of a neighbouring tree. It bobbed its head as it squawked, “Gina’s a slut, Gina’s a slut, Gina’s a slut.”
I exchanged a knowing smile with Alora, who was looking suspiciously innocent. Sometimes I wished I had her gift.
Gina’s glower turned deadly, and I expected her to cover the tiny distance between us with one huge lunge. Instead, she froze. And I quickly understood why. Jude, Paige, Imani, Maya, and Cassie were coming up behind me and Alora – presenting a wall of defence. Gina snickered and backed away. Her expression said ‘we’ll speak again soon’. Then, in vampire speed, she was gone. Good fucking riddance.
(Salem)
Ava laughed and smiled at people all the time, it was part of her nature. And they always laughed and smiled with her – it was the effect she had on people. It was fine.
Unless it was Ryder.
Entering Sam and Jared’s office to find them laughing and joking like old friends, Ryder’s hand on her elbow, made something dark and dangerous slither beneath my skin. I clenched my fists and ground my teeth as I attempted to get a hold on the fury, bitterness, and a strange black emotion I didn’t recognise that began to curdle in my stomach. It was jealousy, I realised. Not something I was very familiar with.
Either Ava had sensed or scented my presence, because she turned with a welcoming smile. A slight crease formed between her brows as she took in my expression. Ryder instantly dropped his arm, recognising my possessive reaction.
Part of me wanted to storm over there, punch the ‘pretty’ little prick, and drag Ava out of the room. Evan and Alora, who were chatting in the corner, wouldn’t prove to be a hindrance. Only two things stopped me from doing exactly that: one, Ava had stepped away from Ryder; two, there was no guilt in her expression. This wasn’t the look of someone who had done anything wrong. She hadn’t been flirting. She was loyal and good, and she didn’t deserve my anger. It wasn’t her fault that I could be a possessive and jealous bastard when it came to her.
That didn’t mean I was going to leave her with the little fucker.
“Everything okay?” Ava asked, concerned, as I approached.
“Fine.” I grabbed her hand and tugged her to my side, glaring at Ryder…who annoyingly seemed to find the situation funny.
“Ryder said my mind is like sunshine.” She laughed.
Like sunshine? Was that supposed to be a pick-up line? Because if so, I might reconsider the whole punching thing.
“It’s a refreshing place to be,” elaborated Ryder. “Full of positivity and joy.” There was no awe or longing in his voice, so I’d allow him to live. For now.
Ava dug her heels when I moved to leave. “Wait! I need to check if Alora’s still game for movie night.”
Movie night? As she flitted over to Alora and began a very animated conversation, Evan came toward me, drinking an NST.
“You had your mind scanned yet?”
I nodded. “Last night. No sign of demon interference.”
“Good. I was telling Ava earlier that another supplier was found. Like the last one, he was a pile of ashes – ashes containing red residue. A high number of the clients we tracked were in the same state.”
“So it’s looking like there’s a leak.” And as much as I found that important, I couldn’t give Evan my full attention; my gaze kept straying to Ava, and I was sure it was territorial.
“Sadly, yes.” He exhaled heavily. “If that’s true, I’d like to think the person has no idea what they’ve done. But it wouldn’t be the first time that someone at The Hollow proved to be a traitor. The idea of it being someone in the legion…That’s hard to stomach.”
“Who else has access to the information?”
“Sam, Jared, Antonio, Sebastian, Ryder, and our researchers. I trust all of them.”
I wasn’t the trusting kind, so I couldn’t say the same. But I found it hard to believe that any of them would betray The Hollow – particularly Sam, Jared, and Antonio.
Evan took a gulp of his NST. “I thought you might want to know that your Sire sought me out last night. He wants a position in the legion. Did he go to you about it first?”
I briefly glanced at Ava. “Yes. I sent him to Coach and Jared.”
“He consulted them, too. When they blew him off, he came to me. He’s persistent, I’ll give him that.”
“What did you say?”
“That there aren’t any positions of any kind available right now.” Another swig of his NST. “Even if there were, I would have turned him away. Sam doesn’t trust him, and I respect her judgment. I know he’s your Sire and that might offend you, but –”
“It doesn’t offend me. When he came here, I saw another side of him
.” A side I didn’t like or respect. I glanced at Ava again, frowning when I saw that Ryder had joined her and Alora.
“You don’t have to worry about Ava and Ryder, you know.” Evan sounded amused.
“I know.” I realised right then that I trusted Ava. “Doesn’t mean I like seeing him or any other guy touching her. And I’m not sure you’re in a position to judge me on that.” He could be just as bad with Alora.
“Oh, I know,” he admitted with a smile.
“What the hell is movie night?”
“The girls get together once a month in one of their apartments. They watch a movie, eat crap, and do whatever things girls do. I don’t know what those girl-things are, and I don’t think I want to know.” He shuddered a little, as if feminine things made him uncomfortable. Yeah, I could relate to that. His smile turned crooked and teasing. “I hear your new sofa cushions are nice.”
I arched a brow. “How are all your plants?”
His smirk shrunk. “Bastard.” There was no heat in the word.
“Clearly we’re going to have to end their conversation for them.” I went to Ava, picked her up by her t-shirt, and carried her out of the office.
She kicked her legs. “This is simply unnecessary.”
Ignoring that, I zoomed to our apartment in vampire speed, only releasing her when we arrived in the living area.
She pivoted, glaring at me. “What was all that about?” Her confrontational posture slipped away as she then asked, “And why are you advancing on me like a feral wolf scenting prey?” She backed away, but there was no wariness in her expression as I stalked her.
Once her back met the wall, I placed my hands either side of her head. “You let him touch you.”
Her mouth formed an ‘O’. She patted my chest, and for once there was no patronisation in the act. “It was just my elbow. Nothing exciting or sexual or remotely important.” Apparently, that was supposed to be a reassuring statement.
I brought my face close to hers, barely refraining from growling at her. “Not remotely important? All of you is important – inside and out.” But thanks to the assholes in her past, Ava didn’t see that, so she didn’t see her importance to me. I’d told her several times, but she just wasn’t hearing me. Insecurities still taunted her, and I hated that.
“You took what I said the wrong way.”
“Whether it’s your elbow, your ass, your breasts isn’t the point – every inch of you matters.” And every inch of her was mine. I slammed my mouth on hers, driving my tongue inside. Dominating, devouring, and consuming her with just my lips, tongue, and teeth. She softened under the assault, letting me lead. Pacifying me, I understood. I didn’t want to be soothed. I wanted to fuck.
I unbuttoned and roughly shoved down her jeans. She kicked them off just as she pulled off my t-shirt. I whipped off her own, lifted her high by her waist, and latched on tight to a nipple. The texture and taste of her was a double assault on my senses, making my cock throb and ache. I was so hard it was actually fucking painful.
Moaning, she threaded her hands in my hair, tugging as I suckled and bit hard enough to sting. I switched my attention to her other breast, licking, nipping, and drawing the taut bud deep into my mouth. As the scent of her need swirled around me, a growl rumbled up my chest. “I love how you smell.” I needed to be inside her. Right. Fucking. Now.
Snapping off her panties, I slid a finger through her folds and plunged it inside her, finding her slick and ready. “I want to fuck you deep and fast, baby.” Withdrawing my finger, I tore open my fly and dropped her hard on my cock.
She gasped, curling her legs around my hips. “Salem…”
“So fucking good.” Wanting the last few inches buried inside her, I slowly withdrew and then slammed home. “That’s it.” Cupping her ass, I pounded into her and she took it, arching into each thrust and clawing my back as she urged me on. It was wild and greedy and primal. The sounds she made fed the sexual thirst flaring through me.
I slid my hand between us and parted her folds so that my pelvis hit her clit with every forceful, possessive thrust. A voice in my head said I was being too rough, to slow down. But I couldn’t. Too many feelings were battering at me, demanding an outlet. It wasn’t just jealousy, wasn’t just anger at the insecurities she had. It was the frustration that I couldn’t make her see how important she was to me; every frantic thrust was an attempt to drive it home.
“Salem, I need to come,” she panted.
I would have told her to hang on, that I wasn’t done with her yet, and maybe she knew that…because she sank her teeth into my throat. I pounded harder, faster, and she screamed as she came, clenching and rippling around my cock. That and her Sventé saliva sent me hurtling over the edge. I rammed into her one final time as everything I had burst out of me, filling her.
As if every ounce of energy left her body, she slumped in my arms, panting. Still shuddering with aftershocks, I cupped her face and brought it to mine. “Did I hurt you?” She was no shrinking violet, but she was still small.
Her eyes flickered open. “Only in a good way.”
Relieved, I carried her to the bathroom, took off the rest of my clothes, and then carried her into the shower stall. I didn’t put her down as we stood under the spray. There was just something satisfying about carrying her, about the fact that she let herself lean on me. This strong female who kicked ass and had a core of steel let herself be vulnerable around me. It was a balm to my protective streak, and it showed a deep trust that humbled me.
Now if only she’d trust in everything I said…
Soaping her down, I spoke into her ear. “You have to stop underestimating your importance to me.” When she went to speak, I put my finger to her mouth. “I know why you do it, but I’m not like those bastards. Stop expecting me to suddenly reject you.”
She snorted. “Says the person who’s keeping shit from me because he fears I’ll do the same to him.”
She said it with a small smile, but there was a glint of sadness in her eyes. That was when I realised…“It hurts you that I haven’t told you everything.” Jared had predicted as much, and it galled me to admit – even to myself – that the cocky bastard was right.
“Does it hurt that I’ve bared my soul and you haven’t? Yes. Because it means you don’t trust me.”
“I do fucking trust you. Never say that.” She was the only person I trusted completely.
She shook her head sadly as she struggled to get down and then rinsed off the soap. “If you trusted me, you’d tell me everything, because you’d trust that I’d stay with you no matter what.”
Turning off the spray, I stepped out of the stall and grabbed two towels. “It isn’t about trust.”
“Yes, it is,” she stated firmly, accepting the towel I offered her and wrapping it around herself. “You say I underestimate my importance to you. You do exactly the same thing.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way before. But she was right. The fact that I expected her to leave indicated that I didn’t sense my importance to her. But then, I’d never really expected to be important to her.
Following me into the bedroom, she continued. “That you think I’ll reject you hurts, just like it hurts you that I worry you’ll reject me.”
I whirled on her. “Baby, why wouldn’t you reject me? I’m selfish. I’m aggressive, and pushy, and rude, and short-tempered. Not to mention possessive and jealous when it comes to you.”
“You’re also loyal, hard-working, protective, trustworthy, and a damn good soldier. Although you’re an interfering bastard at times, you’re also considerate and attentive; I don’t care if that’s only with me – it’s still a side of you that exists.”
Her words both warmed and hurt. Warmed because she saw good in me when I was pretty sure few else did. And hurt because I knew I could destroy the good she saw in just one conversation if she pushed for me to tell her everything.
“If you’re so certain I’ll turn away from you, wouldn’t you
rather find out sooner instead of later?”
No, because that would mean her leaving sooner instead of later. Keeping the towel wrapped around my waist, I lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. A ‘fuck off’ vibe had to be radiating from me. But of course Ava ignored that. She joined me on the bed and nestled against my side.
“Will you tell me a little about your mom?”
The gentle question took me by surprise. Honestly, I didn’t want to talk about my mother, didn’t want to remember what had happened to her. But better that than the other shit. “She was like you in some ways. Kind. Empathetic. But she wasn’t strong. She saw good in everyone, but it was her downfall at times.”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed. “It made her a shitty judge of character, especially when it came to men. My biological father was the worst. Hard. Cold. There was something missing in him. A conscience, maybe.” I shrugged. “He was unfaithful and he saw no reason to hide it. He…hurt her. Beat her. A lot.” I’d felt weak, powerless, and guilty that I couldn’t protect her. “He left when I was seven, and I couldn’t have been happier about it.”
“Your stepdad was better?”
“He was good to her. They had a baby. My mother devoted practically all of her attention to Josh. Like she was determined to get it right second time round. I always felt on the fringe of the family, but I wasn’t jealous. I knew she never meant to make me feel that way and it would have devastated her if she’d known.”
“So you never told her.”
“No.”
Ava lightly ran her fingers over my chest. “See, it’s not so hard to share stuff.”
Knowing what she was getting at, I met her gaze. “You really want to know the rest?”
“I think it’s time we got it out in the open so you finally realise I’m not going to leave.”
Oh, she’d leave for sure. But if I persisted in keeping this from her, I’d drive her away anyway. What was the difference?
I returned my gaze to the ceiling, unable to look at her while shame and guilt rode me. “When I was in the last year of high school, I was with this girl, Sandra. I liked her, but she always did weird shit for attention, and tried to make me jealous. I had no time for mind games or people who wanted to play them. So I broke it off with her.