Deceived (Burned Book 2) Page 2

  Power and strength radiated from him. It made me feel protected, cherished. At just over six feet, he was taller than most of the older vampires, a feature that he used to his advantage.

  His sun-kissed skin and black hair hinted at his Hispanic heritage, complemented by his dark suit and the deep purple dress shirt. The jeweled tone brought out the brown in his piercing eyes, eyes that stripped me bare and peered into my soul.

  I was nothing more than an instrument for him to play.

  "I apologize," I breathed, caught up in my perusal. I cleared my throat and forced my focus to our conversation. "I was talking to Tanya a little longer than planned."

  "Patrick mentioned that you'd had to assist her into a cab. Again." His lips pulled down, eyes speaking the censure he didn't voice. I wasn't surprised at his disapproval or the fact that Patrick reported my whereabouts to him. Everyone did. My every movement was scrutinized.

  "You could have called if you'd wanted me here sooner." I pouted like I knew he wanted.

  "I didn't want to make you feel rushed. It's nice to spend time with friends."

  "And lots of wine."

  His deep chuckle rolled over me. My skin broke into goosebumps as if he'd touched me.

  "And lots of wine," he echoed, patting the space on the couch next to him. I curled into his body, resting my head under his chin. I breathed in the spiciness of his cologne. The scent warmed me more than his lukewarm body. He pulled me closer, wrapping his arm around me as I sank into his embrace, two pieces of a puzzle clicking into their place. "How was your day?"

  The banality of his question struck me as absurd, but I stifled my laugh.

  "I despise dealing with those bureaucratic assholes. They think they are superior because they have a penis. No offense."

  He laughed again, the movement jiggled my head where it rested against his chest. It was a rare sound outside our private moments together.

  "You are superior to them. It is not your sex that makes you such, it is your inherent abilities." He picked up a wine glass from the side table. It appeared to be nothing more than a glass of Merlot, but I knew otherwise.

  The fine crystal held the one thing I couldn't give him: blood. I was too useful to him as I was.

  "Don't you find it enjoyable, thrilling even, to turn the tables? To play them at their own game?"

  "Yes, of course. I love wiping that condescending grin off their faces." My sigh came from deep within. Being a male, he just didn't get it. "It isn't that. I guess it's just getting old. I'd love it if people took me seriously from the start sometimes. Just because I'm young, good looking, and female doesn't mean I'm stupid or a pushover." My voice had risen, colored with impotence born of years of frustration.

  "But that is a power you can use. Use their preconceived perceptions to your advantage. It is much better to be underestimated, my dear. You can wipe the floor with people much easier if they are not expecting you to win."

  Stretching my legs onto the ottoman, I toed off my heels. "I know you're right." I flexed my toes, biting back a moan. I loved my Louboutins, but after wearing them all day I was happy to shed them. "I still hate it, though. I'm glad you don't underestimate me."

  His cool lips brushed my forehead in a gentle caress. Moments like these—when we were just a man and a woman, just us—made me forget that he wasn't human. I could wear blinders to the reality that he was a ruthless monster. One that was more than capable of killing and who had slaughtered countless lives in his years walking the earth. Sometimes I preferred to push it aside, to pretend he was everything that he appeared to be. I gave into the fantasy.

  "Enough about me." I turned the conversation. "How was your day?"

  "If you think you're tired of dealing with the same bullshit," he stumbled over the unaccustomed word, "every day, try being as old as I am." He shifted me so that my feet lay in his lap. I couldn't hold back the moan as he rubbed along the arches, kneading out the kinks. "But it's better now that you are here."

  His simple words wrapped around me, cocooning me in warmth. Our relationship was unusual but we fit—in an odd kind of way.

  He continued to divulge details of his day, a constant parade of bullshit and backstabbing. I struggled to stay focused, despite his hands causing me to melt onto the couch. His was such a long, stressful existence. I couldn't imagine the endless tiresome days that stretched out before him. Being immortal wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

  "Alejandro, do you really need more money?" I rose on my elbows from where I'd sank onto the couch. "Why not say fuck it and have some fun? Leave running the companies to managers and people who do that sort of thing."

  "It isn't that simple." He turned to face me. I almost groaned at the loss of his powerful fingers. "It isn't about money. As you like to point out, I have more money than God. I could never spend it all in ten human lifetimes. I don't need any more. It's about staying in power, Arabella. I run South and Central Florida. I am responsible for millions of lives, both human and otherwise. If I just said fuck it and turned it over to someone else, I wouldn't be able to return. My position, my power, would be stolen by a rival in a heartbeat." He chuckled at his turn of phrase.

  "Not only that, but with the loss of power, of territory, my ability to defend my Family would decrease." His voice dropped. I leaned forward to catch each word. "I would no longer be able to protect you. Some creature would snap you up." His thumb traced my bottom lip. My blood heated. "Whether anyone would recognize your power or not, you run the risk of being killed just for your proximity to me." He rested his hands on my ankles. "That is why I keep such close tabs on you, my dear. The rules and demands I place upon you are not for show or simply because I can. They're for your safety."

  "Vampire politics."

  "Not just vampire, my dear, but preternatural politics. You should try dealing with a room full of shifters."

  "No, thank you." I wrinkled my nose.

  "I hold a tough position, one I don't take lightly. I don't want more territory, nor do I envy those above me. The Old Ones in Europe hold entire countries. Power and change shift much slower there. While I've held South Central Florida for a century, it is a mere blink in time to them."

  There were creatures in this world that would consider him young? A chill raced along my spine. I really didn't want to know that.

  "Loyalty is paramount. I have to work hard to keep all of us safe. That is why I dread situations like what your friend Daniel has put me in."

  Alarmed, I shot up. "Daniel?"

  "He allowed himself to be marked by someone outside the House."

  "Is that all?" I sank back into his side.

  Alejandro's frown deepened. "That is a serious offense. That brings his allegiance into question. It is only because he's demonstrated unwavering loyalty all these years that he is being given a second chance."

  "Wait, what?" My heart pounded as the blood rushed through my veins.

  "Breaking allegiance is punishable by death, Arabella. He might have received permission if he would have asked but he didn't. When a non-House preternatural marks one of mine, it brings my ability as leader into question. I cannot have that." His irises darkened from topaz to a burnt umber. "He knew the rules and yet, he broke them."

  Alejandro lifted my chin with his finger and stared into my eyes. My breath rushed out, worry quickening my pulse. Unable to miss my heightened anxiety, he continued. "I know he is a close friend of yours. I am giving him a chance to explain." He trailed the soft pad of his finger along my jaw. "We have a meeting tomorrow. He will bring along the creature that marked him. Hopefully, we can correct this mistake and determine where his true fidelity lay."

  Daniel was as close as a brother. I didn't want to catch him in a lie. My shoulders sagged with the weight of that responsibility.

  What had he gotten himself into?

  "Alejandro, thank you for allowing him this chance. I'm sure it was all just a misunderstanding. Everything will be sorted out tomorrow." />
  But I felt the shift. A change was in the air.

  I had a strong feeling that our lives would never be the same afterward.

  Chapter Two

  My feet sank into the lush carpet as I leaned off the bed, panting as if I had run a mile. I dragged my fingers through my tangled red curls.

  "Just a dream." My trembling voice echoed in the empty room. "It was just a dream." I forced my focus to the present: the fluffy rug between my toes, the soft fabric of the sheets, and the faint hum of the air conditioner. The steady surroundings soothed my frayed nerves. I dragged in a trembling breath.

  I hated that dream. I never remembered what happened, only an overwhelming ache. A loneliness that permeated into my marrow, one that left me hollow and empty. Sometimes the feeling lingered for hours, other times I was able to distract myself with work. But I knew from experience that attempting to go back to sleep would be futile.

  I glanced at my clock. The glowing green numbers shouted at me in the darkness: four in the morning. I might as well start my day.

  Yanking on yoga pants and a sports bra, I used the extra time in the fourth floor gym working off my frustrations. With all the amenities that Alejandro's building offered, I rarely found it necessary to leave. I even had an office in Alejandro's suite. The only time I had to leave anymore was when I had to go to the courthouse. If Alejandro had his way, the county would hold trials in the event room downstairs.

  I pedaled harder on the stationary bike and swiped at the sweat that dripped down my face. Unlike the majority of House members, I wasn't gifted with eternal youth or a supernatural physique. I had to work to keep my mortal body in shape.

  After an hour and a half of sit-ups, planks, and using the various state-of-the-art equipment available, it was time to start my day. I shed my sweat-soaked clothes and left them piled in a heap on my bathroom floor. Steam filled the room, clouding the glass. Hoping to shake my lingering morose mood, I stepped into the shower. Hot water beat my skin from almost every angle from the six jets set into the marble tile.

  I added the luxurious shower to my list of things to be grateful for. A list that grew as the years sped by. One I needed to remind myself of more and more, especially when the hollow ache expanded or when the nightmares stole my sleep.

  I was happy.

  I lived the life most people dreamed of, that I had dreamed of.

  Wiping the steam off the mirror, I stared at my blurred reflection. The icy image of my cold green eyes forced me to turn away.

  The Donna Karan suit hugged each and every curve, emphasizing my svelte figure. I smoothed my hands along the delicate fabric of the skirt and armed myself with my favorite watch and earrings. Today's meeting with Daniel and his new plaything had me on edge.

  Daniel and I couldn't be more different, but our friendship was solid. An instant connection. His laughter brought a light to my life that had never been present. One that I didn't even know had been missing, until he leapt into my life. My seriousness was perfectly balanced by his playful countenance. While I liked lists and plans, he preferred to go with the flow. He was nice.

  I laughed aloud, startling myself in the silent room. Nice.

  With his mohawk, tatted skin, and numerous piercings, nice would be the last adjective anyone would think to describe him. But his rough, edgy exterior was just paint decorating the kind, warm soul beneath. He was the first to make me feel welcomed when I joined in the House. Not everyone had been pleased with my addition.

  Daniel was an errand boy. His jovial attitude made it easy for him to move through the various cliques in the House. It also made him highly desirable coffin bait—someone who donated blood for various House vampires. But in his case, it didn't stop there.

  He wanted to be turned, wanted to be reborn as one of them.

  A shiver racked my body and I shoved the thought away. I didn't need to add to my bad mood.

  If anyone could work their way back into Alejandro's good graces it was Daniel. His record at the House had been unblemished. Daniel had an almost neurotic need to please the vampire, he felt he owed Alejandro.

  In a way he was right. The vampire had saved his life.

  Daniel had a rough upbringing. One that left deep furrows and gaping wounds that he'd tried to fix with drugs. Now he covered them with a need to belong that was so desperate, he'd sacrifice his own human life in the process.

  I didn't know how to dissuade my friend, but that was no way to spend an eternity. It was the one of the few things we argued about. We both avoided the topic as much as possible.

  I propelled through my day in a blur of contracts, meetings, and research. Each hour ticked by slower than the last until I watched the sun sink into the water of the bay. The colors bled into one another in a blurred abstract. My tea warmed my chilled hands. The spicy aroma settled the last of my nerves.

  As the final rays met their death for the day, I shook off my unease and steeled my spine, ready to meet the woman that Daniel was inevitably risking everything for.

  "Arabella." Alejandro clasped my hands in his cool grasp. "Thank you for being early." His lips lingered on my cheek, his breath a caress. My heart sped and a flush warmed my skin. He knew what is nearness did to me. He could feel my response, hear my speeding heart with his preternatural senses.

  Those same senses made him a force to be reckoned with in the business world. It was difficult—but not impossible—to dupe someone with supernatural senses. But the dead didn't have a heartbeat. But it was impossible to lie to me. Not a single creature was immune to my particular talent.

  "Aren't I always?" It was difficult to be late when you lived and worked in the same building. To do so would be an act of defiance, one I had few reasons to perform.

  Like my condo below, his penthouse had a stunning view of the bay. The lights from the yachts bobbed on the water, fairies dancing on the inky blackness. Sprites anyway, true fey weren't anything like the folklore; Tinkerbell was sorely misleading.

  "Of course, my dear. Your promptness is one of the many things I appreciate about you." His smile showed no hint of the fangs that hid behind his lips. Fangs that I'd only seen a handful of times in the four years I'd known him. The older vampires were better at hiding what they were. It was too easy to pretend he was human.

  I perched on the plush chair across from his desk and crossed my long legs. He dragged his attention from my rising skirt.

  "I hope Daniel does not disappoint me further." Intense chocolate eyes met mine. "Not only for his sake. He was marked by this woman." His heavy pause filled the air, his disappointment weighty. "The bite was not human, but…" I held my breath, afraid to make the slightest movement. Alejandro rarely allowed himself to appear vulnerable. I ached to encourage him, but held my tongue.

  "I can't tell what type of creature she is." My brows lifted, but I remained silent. I knew it cost him to admit his ignorance. "This fact intrigues me." He turned back to the gorgeous view. "My curiosity has contributed to his continued presence among the living."

  My heart leapt into my throat. I swallowed my protest.

  Daniel was in deep shit.

  His secretary's throaty voice crackled from the intercom. "Sir, Daniel and Ms. Richards are here."

  "Send them in, Genevieve." Crisp and sharp, his tone shouted his displeasure.

  Daniel strode into the room, his gait smooth and confident. Behind him followed a woman in her mid-twenties. She wasn't very tall; I towered above her at five-ten. Her short black hair stuck up in mussed spikes that sprouted every which way, a scowl etched on her face. Her confident movements hinted at a preternatural grace, but she didn't look like anything special. In fact, her features were rather ordinarily pretty, but an air of distrust and anger followed her. Her calculating eyes absorbed everything, scanning the room as she entered.

  "Sir." My friend bowed slightly from the waist, the customary greeting, and threw a shaky smile in my direction. His confidence was an illusion, one we could all see th
rough. My arms, which ached to hug him, hung limp and useless at my sides.

  The woman's sharp eyes were fixated on the vampire. The golden-brown irises shifted color with an unsettling abruptness. I felt the first trickle of unease. Pinpricks of warning brushed along my spine; something wasn't right with her.

  "Welcome, Ms. Richards. Daniel has told me much about you." His hands lifted hers to his lips in greeting, and her angry eyes narrowed.

  "Call me Kyra." Low and husky, her voice instantly grated on my nerves.

  "Kyra it is then. You may address me as Alejandro." His gaze softened as it shifted to me. "This is Arabella Anthony, my associate."

  Her hand was small and delicate in mine. As we shook she inhaled, pulling a breath deep into her lungs like she was smelling me. Her eyes met mine, confused and probing. I tensed and my skin crawled under her scrutiny.

  I didn't like not knowing what she was. I liked to know all my facts, have all my little ducks in a row. I itched to know everything about the woman who had her claws in my friend.

  "I'm sorry for this unusual meeting." Alejandro's voice broke into my scrutiny. "You marked what is mine. I would be remiss if I did not follow up and ensure you were not a threat."

  "I assure you sir, I am completely alive." Her voice made the hairs on my arm stand at attention.

  Alejandro's laughter flowed through the room like a caress. "Alive. Yes, you certainly are that." He gestured to Daniel, his eyes chastising. "We take care of our people and in return expect absolute loyalty from them. When I saw your marks I was concerned that Daniel had betrayed me."

  "Sir, I would never dream of such an offense—"

  Alejandro cut him off with a jerk of his hand.

  "I'm sure you understand that after hundreds of years, one can have a difficult time trusting others. Loyalty is one of the most sacred oaths when entering a family, especially the House. My House." The vampire patted Daniel's head like a puppy. "Daniel is one of my most loyal subjects. That is why he was given the opportunity to bring you here; others I would not have provided that chance."