Deceived (Burned Book 2) Page 6

  "You can't be held to a promise made when you were so young."

  "That's not why Gavin's back in the picture. In fact, I'm shocked that he even bothered to look for me after everything I did to him. To his family."

  I bit into a mini quiche to keep from asking details. I burned with curiosity, but I knew if I pried she'd clam up and I'd never know.

  "Seeing Gavin again wasn't planned. Neither was getting involved with him again."

  Daniel talked about their odd situation like he was fine with it, like it was normal to share the woman you loved with another man. Not only that but Gavin hated Daniel, hated the situation, and used every opportunity to belittle him. Daniel brushed off Gavin's shitty treatment, using the excuse that Kyra's childhood sweetheart was reacting out of hurt. That Gavin resented the foothold Daniel had in Kyra's life.

  My grip tightened around my drink and I focused on the chilly sensation, pressing my lips together to hold back my honest words. I fought to find a way to respond diplomatically, trying to honor Daniel's wishes that we get along.

  "I can't say I like it, but only because I don't want to see Daniel get hurt."

  Her hands dove into her hair mussing it further. "I don't want to hurt him."

  "But?" I could hear the unspoken words linger in the air.

  "But," she echoed. "I'm not good at the whole relationship thing. I'm better just keeping things more casual and friendly."

  I hesitated asking, but finally gave into the burning curiosity. "So you consider Daniel a friend?"

  "Yes, a very good friend." Even her piercing gaze softened when she talked about him. While she had some major issues, commitment being a big one, I appreciated her honesty. In our whole conversation I hadn't seen a single lie flare to life on her skin.

  "I'm not Daniel's keeper. I don't have a lot of room for judgment either."

  Pretending it didn't happen, ignoring all the signs that Alejandro got involved in his snacks, made me angry at myself. No matter how I dismissed it, no matter how many excuses I made for him, I wasn't okay with Alejandro sleeping around. I never asked, so he never lied. But it still hurt.

  At least Kyra was upfront with Daniel.

  "Daniel seems happy and that is all that matters to me." I took another sip of my drink and glared at her between narrowed eyes. "But don't get me wrong, don't fuck him over." It was an empty warning. We both knew I couldn't hold a finger to the powerful weapons she had at her fingertips.

  "I will do my best to not hurt him." Again, honesty. I relaxed in my lounge chair, appreciating the breeze.

  "So what is it with you and Alejandro?" Her question gnawed at my chest.

  "Now that," I sighed heavily, "is a loaded question."

  "Well, you guys are obviously in a relationship."

  I nodded.

  "And he's your boss."

  "Exactly. Complicated." We both laughed.

  "Isn't it always?"

  "True." I frowned, finally admitting aloud one of the weirder complications. "But you try dating someone that is old enough to be your—your ancestor. For God's sake he was alive before America had a name. How weird is that?"

  "Totally weird."

  "I'm taking one day at a time. The ins and outs of our relationship are problematic." My gaze snapped to her. "Know what I mean?"

  "Because he is the leader of the House and you work for him?" She was surprisingly insightful.

  "Right." My posture had deflated during the turn in our conversation. I pulled my back straight and jutted out my chin. "Things are fine. We're fine. I'm not the type to worry too much about some arbitrary future I have little to no control over. It's not like anyone can tell what is going to happen anyway."

  Her eyes were peppered with golden sparks, mesmerizing. They unraveled my defenses, peeling the layers away as easy as an onion. "Or is there?"

  My eyebrows shot up. "I hadn't really thought about it."

  "There are vampires, shifters, fey, and things like you and me."

  My heart pounded with her inclusion, but I refused to ask my question aloud. Did she know?

  "Who knows what other things are out there? What powers people have?"

  I must have stared at her a little too hard while I picked apart our interactions and tried to figure out what she knew. She added, "No, I don't know what your power is."

  Her reassurance did little to still the frantic pace of my racing heart.

  "I'm guessing it's not seeing the future, right?"

  "Definitely not." My smirk echoed hers. "What's yours?"

  She crossed her arms across her chest and returned her gaze to the water. "I'm surprised Alejandro didn't tell you."

  "Daniel mentioned your skill with lighting cigarettes and all the usual preternatural bonuses." I toyed with my napkin, picking at a frayed thread. "Alejandro believes in sharing information on a need-to-know basis. He only shares when it provides some sort of advantage for him." I struggled to hide the bitterness from my tone. Failing when I saw her softening eyes.

  "Fire." She rushed out. At my confused stare she added, "I can set things on fire just by thinking about them. Anything …"

  The ramifications of her powers stole my breath. No wonder Alejandro wanted her in the House so bad he was willing to rush things. A power like hers would be coveted. I swallowed hard, as nausea rolled through me.

  And dangerous. Very dangerous.

  Most vampire mythology and pop culture were filled with falsehoods meant to confuse and provide a fake sense of security to humans. Garlic as a weapon? Please. Could anything be more ridiculous?

  But fire was the true killer. Fire would kill shifter and vampire alike. And to merely think about it and have it happen? Priceless.

  I couldn't even drum up an appropriate response.

  "It comes in handy when I want to create the proper mood." The candle on the table between us lit up. The flickering light enhanced the beauty of the darkening evening.

  I laughed, thankful that she broke the stunned silence. "Now I see how you seduce so many men."

  "You know my secret." She winked.

  "Do you ever light things on fire by accident?"

  "All the time." She laughed.

  My eyes widened.

  "Not on fire essentially, don't be scared. I'm not likely to light you on fire by accident—anymore anyway. I have more control than I used to."

  I stilled as I began to understand the complication we'd added to our mix. She wasn't only a priceless addition to the House, a creature to add to Alejandro's menagerie and increase his standing in the vampire community.

  She was a danger to all of us.

  "Control is more challenging when I'm emotional: pissed, anxious, whatever." She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. I swallowed thickly. "But between Alejandro's training and my own years of dealing, I've got things decently stable. I'm thankful that Alejandro has had experience with others like me, apparently not many have. He's taught me a lot about my powers. What I'm capable of, what to expect. That makes things a lot easier to deal with."

  As I mulled over what she'd shared, the silence sat heavily between us.

  "Oh God. Look at us all confiding in each other and shit." I broke the sudden awkwardness.

  It was challenging to have two very guarded people drag themselves into a friendship of sorts.

  "What about Spencer? Daniel mentioned another guy in the mix?" I asked another burning question. Funny how a few minutes ago I wanted to escape talking about our mutual friend.

  "Don't listen to him. Spencer is a private investigator, my partner. He has a special … talent."

  "Special talent, huh?" I laughed almost choking on the mini raspberry tart I'd just taken a bite from.

  "Not like that!" She corrected, eyes twinkling with mirth. "He's a grounder. Which, obviously, comes in very handy when my powers are wonky."

  "I'm sure he's also very ugly." I swirled my wine in my glass.

  She rolled her eyes. "So he's attractive. Very att
ractive. And when he grounds me there are sparks, literally. But he's not Daniel …"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Spencer is so freakin' perfect." Her dark brows drew low in a frown.

  "Hey—"

  "No, I don't mean that how it sounds. Spencer is a by-the-book type of guy. A rule follower. We both know it's better to weave around those lines. He doesn't like to cross them. They aren't blurred for him." Her hand gestures emphasized her irritation. "Things are either black or white. He's a great guy, and an excellent partner. But he's hell on the self-esteem."

  "He sounds great." My sarcastic tone said otherwise.

  "I'm making him sound worse than he is. Spence is a great guy. He's not critical or anything, he just has that look." She scrunched up her face. "You know?"

  "Alejandro has a look too, but he has no problem offering criticism." After so many years together I was used to it. It no longer bothered me. Mostly.

  "Spence is like a hot Jiminy Cricket."

  "The walking conscious from Pinocchio?" At her nod, I added, "That's not sexy."

  "Exactly. He's hot and all. We have sparks and work great together, but that's as far as it goes. No matter what Daniel alludes to." She sighed and munched on a mini-meatball. "Daniel doesn't do that. He accepts people as they are; the good and the bad." Her smile crept upon her face at a slow crawl, a faraway look in her eye.

  "Exactly. He's pretty awesome."

  "He's pretty amazing in bed too."

  "I so did not need to hear that."

  "Oh, come on. You've been friends with him how long? At least four years, right?" At my nod she continued. "And you're telling me you've never wondered what he was like in bed?"

  "Nope."

  "Never? You never wanted to sleep with him?" She harrumphed at my negative answers. "Unbelievable."

  "It was never like that with us. We've always been just friends." I shrugged.

  "Dude. He's so sexy. Tall and lanky, but toned. Flexible." She smirked. "Really flexible." I swatted her.

  "Stop that! I do not need to picture things like that in my head."

  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed having her over. Daniel was right—we might make decent friends if we ever let ourselves. There were a lot of similarities including being stubborn and having prickly defenses.

  As she left, thanking me for the Louboutins, it occurred to me that I'd never once caught her lying. Honesty appeared to be something Kyra valued as much as me.

  Too bad it didn't last.

  Chapter Seven

  "Tanya, I don't know why you put up with him." My frustration with my friend was mounting. She was well through her second martini before Kyra had even joined us. I knew we'd be pouring her into a cab by the end of the night. "You've told him how it hurts you. You both agreed to be exclusive. He isn't worth it."

  She'd caught the jerk cheating on her. Again.

  "I know, I know!" She finished her drink, setting it down hard. "But I love him," she sighed.

  "But he's sleeping with other women."

  "I know."

  "In your bed."

  "I know."

  "In your apartment that he moved into."

  "I know," she lamented, dropping her head into her hands.

  "I don't see why you bother," Kyra added. "Why be exclusive if he's just going to whore around?" Tanya peeked through her fingers at the other woman.

  "Because I don't want him to sleep with other women. I don't want to sleep with anyone else."

  "As I see it, you have three choices." She leaned forward, ticking off the options on her fingers. "Leave him and find someone who will squeeze into your idea of a boyfriend. Stay with him but both of you see other people. Or stay with him the way things are and be a whiny, miserable twat." Finished, she settled back and returned to sipping her drink. "Seems pretty simple. You can't change him. You can't make him do what you want. So either find someone new, or deal with what you have to work with."

  "Ever the pragmatist," I chimed in.

  "You make it sound so easy!" Tanya stared at her slack-jawed. "What about your situation?"

  "What situation?" Kyra asked, tilting her head. Her brows lowered in a frown.

  "Sleeping with Daniel, this guy Gavin, and Alejandro who is with one of your friends." Her eyes darted to me, heavy with pity. "Seems like a lot of man juggling and back stabbing going on."

  Kyra raised a single eyebrow, the movement slow. The silence grew heavy, oppressive. The candle on the table between us flickered, the flame burning brighter. I held my breath as Kyra's eyes flashed.

  "First of all," she almost growled, "I am not having sex with Alejandro, nor do I want to steal him from Ari. Second, everyone knows where they stand. Daniel and Gavin both know I don't do the whole exclusive relationship thing. If they have a problem with it, they know where the door is."

  "But Daniel is so nice, why would you do that to him?"

  "Do what? He doesn't seem to mind. Hell, he's even suggested a threesome."

  "What?" Tanya's screech had several heads turning in our direction. Her jaw hung open, wide eyes riveted to Kyra who continued as if threesomes were brought up in casual conversation all the time.

  "Gavin wouldn't go for it so I'm not even going to mention it. Plus, they'd just end up arguing over who goes where." She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.

  "Kyra! TMI!" I shouted, covering my ears. Tanya's eyes just about fell out of her head.

  "What? She's the one that dragged Daniel into this conversation. My situation as she called it is consensual and everyone knows where they stand. There's no comparison. Tanya didn't agree to share."

  "Um, I'm speechless here, Kyra." Tanya flagged Patrick for another drink.

  "Don't bury your head in the sand and think a bunch of stupid words mean he's changed. They are just that: words. You know he's going to do it again. So deal with it." Kyra's steely glare met mine over her glass as she took a drink.

  I knew better than anyone. Words were easily spoken, but rarely true.

  "So," Tanya gulped a hearty portion of her third martini. "Have you ever done it?"

  "What?"

  "Two guys at once?" Tanya leaned forward, curiosity dancing in her eyes.

  Kyra smirked.

  "No way." I wondered if Tanya's jaw could actually hit the table.

  Kyra shrugged. "A couple of times. It can be fun." A devilish glint appeared in her eyes. "Since your boyfriend wants to sleep with other people, why not ask if he'd be into it?"

  "Ha! He'd want to bring in another girl."

  "I'm not into that, but if it floats your boat—"

  "I'm not either!" Tanya shouted. She drained the rest of her martini. The conversation was way beyond her comfort level. I choked on a laugh, struggling to hold it in. At least Tanya wasn't crying anymore. Despite the turn in conversation and the over-sharing, I was glad Kyra had shown up. She had a unique perspective to add. Maybe she could talk some sense into my friend. I'd never gotten anywhere.

  "Oh my God! Are we actually having a conversation about threesomes?" Tanya squeaked. I couldn't keep it contained any longer and burst out laughing, my sides heaving.

  Bent at the waist, I held onto my stomach, aware we were causing a scene in the posh restaurant but unable to stop. Tears leaked from my pinched eyes. I swiped at them, my laughs slowing as a pair of polished leather shoes halted in front of me. I dragged my eyes up a toned body and rested on familiar blue eyes.

  "Hello there." Zak grinned, amusement crinkling his eyes.

  "Hi." I struggled for breath. I told myself it was because of the laughter, even as I lost myself in his sky blue orbs.

  A swift kick from under the table jerked me back into reality.

  "Ouch!" I frowned at Tanya's expectant gaze, although she probably saved me from embarrassing myself. "Dr. Zak Brenninger, these are my friends Tanya and Kyra." They nodded and mumbled a greeting. Tanya's cheeks flared an unbecoming shade of pink. Like me, I bet she was wondering how much of our conv
ersation he'd overheard. I cleared my throat as my own cheeks heated.

  "Zak is a psychiatrist. We met the other day at the courthouse."

  He shook hands with the other women, but returned his soft gaze to mine. "Arabella, it's nice to see you again." His strong arms drew me into a brief hug, awkward only because I was still sitting.

  "Zak, why don't you join us?" Tanya gestured to the only vacant spot—next to me—a gleam in her eye.

  "I'm not interrupting a girls' night out or anything am I?"

  "It's okay, we could use a little break. Our conversation was deteriorating," she slurred, breaking out into a fresh set of giggles. It was high time she slowed down on the drinking.

  His warm leg brushed against mine as he slid into the booth next to me. It tingled at the contact. The butterflies that had made their appearance the last time returned with a vengeance.

  "Do I even want to know?"

  "No." I barked out. We broke into another fit of laughter.

  "Wait." Tanya interjected breathlessly. "You said he's a psychiatrist, right?"

  "No, no, no!" I repeated, waving my hands. Leaning back in the booth, Kyra smirked as she waited to see how adding Zak to the conversation would shake things up.

  Tanya sat higher in her chair and leaned forward with wide, eager eyes. She explained about her boyfriend and had just gotten to the point where Kyra threw in the monkey wrench, but stammered. She looked to Kyra at a loss for words.

  Kyra, of course, had no problem filling in. "Basically, I told her she could either dump him, or join him."

  "Join him? As in find someone to sleep with too? Even the score?" His attention shifted to her, brow furrowed.

  "More like a threesome, but that's an option too," Kyra supplied matter-of-factly.

  My cheeks flamed.

  Zak cleared his throat as he choked on his laughter. "I suppose if you're both in agreement … but if you really want a monogamous relationship with this guy, bringing someone else into the mix isn't going to fix anything. It might make things worse. It just depends on what result you are looking for." He nodded to Kyra. "I agree with Kyra: he's not going to change. Unless you guys are willing to work out your issues in couples' therapy or something." He held up his hand, stopping Tanya before the question could tumble from her already open mouth. "I don't counsel couples, but I can refer you to someone."