Chapter Eight
I smiled down at her. She was lovely and delicate. Her calloused hands really were the only sign she’d worked hard her entire life. “I’m glad you’re here.” I said simply and began to walk with her at my side.
Excerpt from Roman Draksel’s blog
Tempest was in a foul mood when she finally headed downstairs to talk to Aiden. It had been a very difficult day. The police had informed her of another victim. She had failed to protect another woman. This attack had occurred only three days after the last one. For some reason, the attacks were becoming more sporadic and closer together.
The guy was also becoming less particular about his victims. They still had similar features, but this one had been blonde. His preference was normally dark hair, usually black. While he’d killed the first few victims, it had become increasingly rare. In the last month, he’d killed two women. She needed to stop him soon.
The police had been unable to find any leads. When extra patrol cars were sent to areas where attacks occurred, he changed locations. The guy usually struck in broad daylight, so it shouldn’t have been this hard to catch him. The few witnesses they had to the abductions claimed the women had appeared to leave willingly. They said it looked like they were walking away with their boyfriend. The descriptions they got were conflicting. His hair and eyes were always covered.
Since she was such a close match to his victim profile, Tempest had decided it would be easier to let him find her. This wasn’t a detail they’d shared with any of their law enforcement contacts. Of course, the police hadn’t meant to share all the details they had. It helped to have a telepathic sister in a room full of police officers who projected their thoughts well. Ivy was also able to see images from the attacks when she was with the survivors. Tempest often wondered how Ivy managed to avoid needing therapy herself.
After hearing about the latest victim, Tempest’s first inclination had been to go out hunting right away, but she had to face Aiden first. Based on the guy’s pattern, it wasn’t likely he’d be out the day after an attack. Then again, his escalating violence made it much harder to predict his next move.
She’d left Aiden in the dark too long. Honestly, she’d meant to talk to him as soon as she got back from hunting the day before, but she’d been exhausted. She’d also been embarrassed about almost drowning him. He might be a jerk, but he didn’t deserve this. She’d also come to the conclusion she’d probably be acting the same if she were in a cage, a thought that soured her mood even further.
What made it worse was she’d wanted to run down to check on him all day long. There was no denying his attractiveness. His brown hair was a little on the long side, but she would guess he was used to having it longer. His eyes were an icy shade of blue that contrasted with his bronzed skin nicely. Having already seen him naked, she knew his body was very impressive. He was muscular, and she could not find an ounce of fat on him.
Her mouth dropped open when she saw Aiden lounging shirtless on his cot. He was watching a soap opera on the Spanish channel and reading Cosmopolitan magazine. When he noticed her watching him, he winked and returned his attention to the magazine. “I’m going to subscribe to this magazine,” he told her as he pointed to an article about things your man secretly wishes you would do. “Some of this is funny as hell, but some of it’s really true, and it gets me kind of hot thinking about it.”
She laughed and her tension eased. This wasn’t what she’d expected. “I assume you’re watching this show because you like seeing the women bounce around?”
He smiled sheepishly and his cheeks became a little flushed.
“Are you blushing?” she asked. The sight of him blushing actually made him even more attractive.
“I watch this every day,” he admitted. “I was a little irritable yesterday because I realized it was Monday and I had missed the show. Actually, I’ve missed about two weeks, and I’m still trying to catch up. Apparently, Elena caught Rodrigo with her twin sister, Norah. Now, she’s not telling him she needs brain surgery. Rodrigo is mad because Norah tricked him into believing she was Elena. Don’t even get me started on what’s happening with Enrique and Sylvia.”
Tempest had to sit on the floor because she was laughing so hard. “This truly is the only good thing that’s happened all day.”
Aiden was prepared to bait her with a lewd offer but when he looked at her, he decided against it. She looked sad and somehow beaten down. It was a surprise to realize he didn’t like seeing her that way. Actually, that was an understatement. He wanted to chase the shadows from her eyes. “I should not have read that romance novel,” he grumbled as he realized the poetic direction his thoughts were taking.
“Romance novel?” she asked with a bewildered look on her face.
“Ivy brought me some books and magazines,” he explained. “I guess the selection is limited. Before you think too little of me, I only read the first three chapters of the book.”
“Oh,” she nodded her understanding as she stood and walked toward him. She unlocked his cell and walked in. “I have to go out again today, but I wanted to talk to you about why I brought you here first. I really should have done it earlier, and I’m sorry I didn’t.” She sounded nervous. “I’m also sorry for hurting you.”
He turned off the television and sat up.
“Did you want to put some clothes on?” she asked, and it seemed she was trying to look anywhere but his bare chest.
“No,” he answered. “Does it bother you to see me without a shirt?”
“It’s a little distracting,” she admitted.
He didn’t tease her, just slipped on the gray t-shirt. “Why am I here?”
“I already told you I was hunting someone else and mistook you for him.”
He nodded.
“Ivy told me I had the wrong guy after I was already stitching your head wound. She was supposed to be with me, but we got separated. By the time she met up with us, your head wound was already healing around the stitches. Some of your bruises had even faded. It didn’t take a genius to realize you aren’t human. I didn’t want to drop you at the hospital because I didn’t know if you’d wake up and kill a bunch of people. I also figured you wouldn’t like playing lab rat to a bunch of curious humans.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “Ending up in a human hospital would have been very bad for me. If you didn’t plan to use me as a lab rat, why did you take my blood? You obviously did some of your own experimenting on me.”
Her cheeks flushed a little. “I had to check for disease in case you needed to be quarantined.”
“Is that why I’m in a cage in the basement? Am I being quarantined?” he asked. He already knew that wasn’t the reason, but he wanted her to tell him the whole truth.
“You’re in the basement because you’re a man. Most women staying here are victims of violent crimes or domestic abuse. Having a predatory man your size wandering around wouldn’t go over well.”
He nodded his understanding. “The cage?”
“I’m getting to that,” she replied impatiently. “When I tested your blood, I found some genetic similarities to ours. Yes, I tested for more than disease, but can you blame me? Until we stumbled upon you, we’d never met anyone even similar to us. We’ve met mildly psychic humans, but that’s not the same thing. So, I ran a few tests and found we may be related in some way. I still had no idea what you were. I wasn’t at all sure the cage would do any good, but I didn’t relish the idea of having a potentially dangerous predator wake up in our sanctuary.”
“I’m awake now, so why not send me on my way? You know my secrets and I know yours. It seems we both have too much to lose to tell anyone what we know.”
“How old are you, Aiden?” she asked in a more clinical voice.
Her question caught him off guard. “How old do you think I am, babe?”
“Have you noticed you use crude terms of endearment whenever you’re nervous or want to avoid a topic?”
He shrugged. While h
e hadn’t noticed, he supposed she was right.
“Did you know Claudia?” she asked. “My ancestor Claudia?”
“No,” he replied.
“Why were you looking for her?”
“A lot of women are named Claudia.” He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to reveal at this point, and he was suddenly glad Ivy wasn’t the one asking the questions. He wondered why Ivy hadn’t shared all the details of their earlier conversation. She certainly had more information than Tempest.
“Don’t you think it’s a little late to play human with me, Aiden?” she asked with an exasperated sigh.
“I’ve been playing human for a long time.” He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to think of how he could answer her question without freaking her out. Even though she wasn’t human and knew they were related, she still might react poorly when she learned the details of her Draksel relations. “My uncle sent me to find Claudia. He believed she was dead until recently. You look a lot like her.”
“How do you know I look like her?” Tempest asked. “I don’t even know what she looked like.”
A sudden idea came to him. “Do you have my phone?”
She walked to the cabinet at the far end of the room and retrieved his phone. “You won’t get a signal down here,” she warned as she handed him the phone.
He laughed. “I don’t really have anyone to call.” When he finally found the picture he was looking for, he turned the phone toward her.
Tempest was shocked by the likeness.
“With the black wig, you looked just like her,” he added.
“Where is this painting,” she asked without taking her eyes off the phone.
“My uncle has it. Claudia was his wife.”
“Which means your uncle is my grandfather,” Tempest deduced. She finally looked away from Aiden’s phone and met his eyes.
“Add a few greats, and you’ve got it,” he agreed with a lopsided grin. “Welcome to my fucked up family, Cousin.”
Tempest’s gaze returned to the picture as she tried to process what she’d learned. “More than a few greats actually,” she muttered to herself. “We’re very distant cousins, which is good. That does explain a lot. He’s still alive?” She was surprised and confused. “Why was he looking for Claudia? He sent her away.”
“He was told she was dead, and yes he’s still alive. Believe me, Roman Draksel never would have allowed her to be taken from him if he had known she was still alive.”
Tempest studied Aiden’s face for a long moment. “Will you please tell me how old you are?”
Aiden took so long answering, Tempest started to think he was trying to come up with a convincing lie to tell her. Finally, he spoke. “I’m not exactly sure. We don’t really celebrate birthdays, and the years kind of blend together after awhile. I guess somewhere between two and three.”
“Two and three?” she prodded.
“Centuries,” he added. “I’m probably closer to three centuries old. I was an adult living away from home for many years during the Great Potato Famine. Actually, I was traveling during that time, so I wasn’t even in Ireland. I was still a child during the famine a century before that. I was young, so the memories are hazy. Most of the memories are of Mam taking me around with her when she was helping the sick. People thought she was crazy for exposing me to disease,” he had a distant look on his face. “Mam couldn’t exactly explain that we can’t catch human diseases. Big events in history are what we usually use to guess our ages.”
“And the healing?” she asked. “Do you all heal quickly?”
“No,” he replied. “I’m the only one I know of, and I don’t share that information with others, so I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.”
“Why keep it a secret?” she asked in confusion. “I got the impression none of your family is human, so why keep the healing a secret from them?”
“I don’t want to be anyone’s lab rat,” he explained. “If my family figures it out, I’ll have my cousin, Justin, running experiments on me to see if he can reproduce it for the rest of the family. Not gonna happen.”
She nodded her understanding. “I won’t tell anyone about it. Ivy knows because she was there but you can trust her. Two of my cousins were there, too, but they were in the front seat of the van, and I don’t think they really understood everything going on with you. Even if they did, you can trust them to keep your secret.”
“Are you going to tell me why I’m here?” he pushed.
Tempest took a deep breath and told him her reasons as quickly as she could manage. “I want you to give me a daughter. I want a daughter who can live for centuries and heal quickly.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?” he asked hesitantly.
“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I wouldn’t expect you to be involved. I need you to donate the sperm—enough to try a few times. After that, you’re free to go.”
Tempest looked up at Aiden, expecting to see relief that she wasn’t asking him for a relationship. What she saw made her take a step back.
“Get the fuck out of here now!” he commanded in a quiet voice.
“Why are you so angry?” Tempest asked.
“This is your last warning, Tempest. Get the hell out of here and lock the damn cage before I lose my temper.” His voice had barely risen, but he was leaning forward like he might pounce.
“Aiden,” she started and suddenly found herself pressed up against his body. He kissed her. It wasn’t the angry kiss she’d expected. His hands moved down to her bottom, and he lifted her until his erection pressed between her legs.
The logical part of her brain told her to show him he couldn’t manhandle her. Ignoring that part of her brain, she kissed him back. Her hands moved to the sides of his face. When she wrapped her legs around his hips and started to rock her hips against him, he pulled away and drew in several ragged breaths before letting her slowly slide down his body.
“If I get you pregnant, it will be the old fashioned way—I will fuck you. If I get the chance to do that, regardless of whether a child is conceived, I will never let you go. Do you understand?” His voice was steady, as if he hadn’t kissed her senseless. If it weren’t for the obvious physical signs, she might think he was unaffected by the kiss.
Tempest stepped back to put more distance between them. She tried to hide her breathless arousal. “You have to see reason, Aiden. You don’t even like me and no matter how much I want a child, I can’t have a man in my life. What I do is too important.”
“Reason? You call letting you take my child away reason?” He looked beyond angry. “There are very few women in this world I can create a child with. I wasn’t even all that attracted to the last one I met, and I tried to kidnap her.”
Tempest’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened but no words came out.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Aiden put both hands up in surrender. “Yes, it was a terrible thing, and I’m not proud of my actions. I just want you to understand the desperation a man my age can feel to find a mate. You piss me off more than any woman I’ve ever met, and I still get hard just thinking about you. I have never wanted a woman as much as I want you. What makes you think I’m going to jerk off into a cup and be on my merry way?”
Tempest let out a frustrated breath and pushed her hair back.
“You should braid it,” Aiden told her.
The abrupt change of subject threw Tempest for a loop, and she just stared at him for a moment before responding. “I don’t know how to braid hair. This is the first time I’ve ever had it long, and it’s making me crazy. I’m not sure what possessed me to grow it out. At first, I didn’t get around to having it cut. When it reached my shoulders, I figured I’d try long hair.” She felt silly babbling about her hair.
He pointed to the cot. “Sit on the end.”
“Why?” she asked suspiciously.
“I’m going to braid your hair,” he explained. “Do you have a ribb
on or one of those girlie rubber band type things?”
She looked at him like he’d sprouted horns. “You can braid hair?”
“I used to braid my mother’s hair,” he admitted. He seemed a little embarrassed by his own admission. “She was missing four fingers—stupid witch trials. It was hard for her to do it herself.”
“I’ll go get a brush and a hair band,” Tempest told him. She rummaged through her drawers in the lab area. Luckily, she frequently brought things down with her and forgot to bring them back up. As a result, she now had two drawers full of forgotten items, and in those drawers she had a brush and a small hair band. She didn’t remember bringing either down, so they must have been in the drawers for awhile.
“What happened to your parents?” she asked as she sat at the end of the cot.
Aiden sat behind her and began to braid her hair. His hands moved at an unnatural speed. “They died in a car accident a couple years ago,” he replied softly.
“You were really close to both of them?” she asked.
“Yes.” His hands slowed some. “I’ve never been very close to the rest of my family. We mostly kept to ourselves. When my parents died, I went more than a little crazy.”
Tempest touched the braid when he was done, and she was impressed. She stood, ready to leave, but the sight of him tugged at her heart. He seemed so alone.
He wouldn’t want her pity, or to have things left this way. “I’m having trouble figuring out how someone who was such a mama’s boy he braided his mother’s hair could have turned into such a misogynist pig.” Her statement was made in the most condescending tone she could manage.
He gave her a brilliant smile. “You know just what to say to make me feel better.”
“Please think about what I said, Aiden.”
“Will you keep me here until I agree?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I want to make sure you’re fully recovered before you leave, and I really would like to ask you some questions.” She locked the door to the cell and turned toward him. She wanted to apologize, but she wasn’t sure there was a good way to apologize for keeping him prisoner, so she left.