Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Ethan
“That was incredible,” Ethan breathed out, emerging from the garden back onto the expansive lawn. “And we didn’t even get to see all the flowers because several of those breeds are night blooming. Honestly, I could set up a tent and live in there.”
“You’re welcome to visit anytime,” Tressa said, picking up her shoes. “But I think sleeping in a bedroom would be a better idea.”
Ethan reached down for his own sneakers he’d left outside the garden. “Yeah, about that. You have a room for me, right? I feel a little weird crashing in yours.”
Tressa froze with her foot half into her shoe, then let out what he could only describe as the most pitiful laugh in the history of time. “Oh, uh, yeah, of course we have a room for you. You don’t want to share a bed with me…”
The way she trailed off while studiously avoiding meeting his eyes felt a little like a trap to Ethan. Like she wanted him to protest.
Did she want him to protest? He knew she was interested in things being more physical between them, but they didn’t need to share a room for that to happen.
So why did it feel like he suddenly found himself standing in a patch of poison sumac, and one wrong move could leave him blistered and rashy for weeks?
“Right,” he said.
Tressa’s face shot up to meet his, and the heartbreak that flashed across her face was worse than any plant poison he’d ever experienced.
Okay, so that was the wrong thing to say, he thought.
But what kind of woman wanted a guy to move into their room days after meeting them?
Everything about Tressa screamed independent, vampire-hunting badass who didn’t need a man for anything.
Was there a chance she was feeling the same intense pull that he was? That reluctance to be apart?
Part of him wanted to retract his statement and say that he’d love to share her room, but he knew exactly where that would lead.
If he had to endure another night within arms distance of her, inhaling her intoxicating scent, he was going to lose the ability to be a gentleman that his mom worked so hard to instill in him.
Sighing, because he could tell from her body language alone that he’d fucked something up, he trudged back toward the house with her lagging behind.
His legs grew weary with every step he took.
He’d probably pushed himself too hard with the tour that morning and the time spent wandering around the garden.
Just as he was about to pause for a brief thigh massage, his legs made the decision for him.
His right quad seized up, and he pitched forward, throwing his hands up to prevent eating a face full of grass.
But his palms never reached the ground. A tight band around his midsection held him aloft for a long moment before hauling him back upright.
He gave Tressa a bewildered look. “Uh, thanks. Nice reflexes you got there.”
She released her hold on him and turned away. “Comes with the training. You know, gotta be able to keep up with the vamps and their superpowers.”
Ethan nodded, studying the woman in front of him who was suddenly preoccupied with the row of tall sunflowers planted alongside the patio steps.
They were fitting for her, he mused. Cheerfully bright and bold.
“Well, the training paid off. You’re a lot stronger than I would have guessed.”
She chewed on her lip, still running her long slender fingers over the delicate yellow petals. “Like I said, training.”
“Of course.” He cast furtive glances back at her as he slowly made his way up the steps.
When he got to the top, he leaned on the railing and took in the expansive patio. Elegant French doors were flanked by Grecian statues, and the entire space was surrounded by tall oak trees that cast a dappled shade over them.
“So, um… what now?” he asked.
Tressa’s eyes dragged up and down his body in a way that was more clinical than seductive, and he doubted she missed the beads of sweat on his forehead or the shakiness in his legs he was unable to hide.
“You should probably rest,” she said gently. “You’re still recovering, and obviously your body needs a break.”
Ethan shook his head. She might be right that he overextended himself, but he wouldn’t get stronger by taking a nap every time he got a little unsteady. He would rest when either he or that creature was dead.
“I don’t think I could manage that right now even if I tried,” he told her. “What’s going on with finding the vampire? What can I do to help?” He wasn’t exactly a computer whiz with tech skills, but he was nothing if not a quick study.
Tressa waved a hand dismissively. “Baylin is on it. Anyone else would only get in his way. He’ll find her soon, Ethan. I promise.”
“Yeah, okay,” he replied, wiping his brow and gripping onto the railing for a little more support. “I just feel weird not doing anything. What about research? Finding weaknesses or things like that?”
Tressa hopped up on a patio table with ease and perched on the edge, crossing her legs in a way that dragged the hem of her skirt enticingly high. If he shifted to the side just a bit, he was certain he would catch more than a glimpse of a luscious bronze ass cheek.
“Ethan?”
He snapped his attention back up to Tressa who was smirking at him.
Busted.
“I’m sorry,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t call him out on the blatant ogling. Just because he hadn’t been laid in forever was no excuse to be eye-fucking the poor woman. “What were you saying?”
She watched him with amusement twinkling in her gaze for another moment before thankfully letting it drop.
“I was saying, we already know everything there is to know about vampires. So there’s not really any research to be done.”
“Oh,” he replied, dissapointed. “Well, in that case, tell me about their weaknesses. How do you take one down?”
“Oh, the usual ways you would kill a human. You just have to make it count since we are able—” She choked on her words, coughing violently.
He rushed to her side and slapped her on the back. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, clearing her throat. “Just, um, a bug or something.”
He gave her a curious look but returned to the railing. A safe distance where she was out of touching range, because otherwise he would have kept rubbing her back. Which would have led to rubbing… other things.
“Anyway,” she said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I was going to say that vampires are able to heal really fast. So if you want to kill one, it needs to be swift, accurate, and permanent. Lop off the head, sharp implement to the heart, bullet to the brainpan.”
“Squish,” he added with a grin, but the strange look she gave him said the obscure Firefly reference was lost on her.
Pity. Maybe he could introduce her to some of his favorite classic sci-fi shows.
His mind conjured an image of them curled up on a couch, munching on popcorn, his hand sliding up her thigh…
Focus, Ambrose, he chided himself yet again.
“Well, that’s all good to know, but what else do you have? Is there some way to lay a trap once we find her? I might be grasping at straws here, but is there anything vampires care about more than blood and murder?”
Tressa flinched ever so faintly, but he caught the movement and wondered what he had said wrong.
“Vampires care about a lot of things,” she said quietly as she picked at her cuticles again. “But they care about their mate more than anything else.”
“Mate?” he asked, wrinkling his brow. “Isn’t that like a wolf thing?”
Tressa laughed. “Yeah, kind of, but also not at all. Basically, a vampire has one person that is their destined love. Their mate. Someone the universe pushes them toward because they belong together. The one individual they can easily spend forever with and never grow bored.” She paused for a second, eyeing him carefully.
“Most vampires would do anything for their mate, Ethan. To keep them safe, keep them happy. The bond between mates is more than just love. It’s… destiny.”
He couldn’t deny the little tingle in his chest when she said “destiny.” Even if the whole thing sounded like another vampire myth they got a kick out of humans believing in, right up there with garlic and holy water. But if it was real…
The hairs on the back of Ethan’s neck stood on end, and his hand drifted unconsciously towards his scar as the nauseating slurping sound of the creature feeding filled his mind once more.
He noticed Tressa’s eyes tracking his hand, so at the last minute, he diverted it over his shoulder to knead at the ropey knots in his upper back.
As beautiful as this mate concept was, he couldn’t reconcile it with what he knew of vampires.
“Okay, I’m not sure which is more ridiculous,” he said.
“The whole ‘fated by some mystical higher power to be together forever’ thing, or the fact that the monster who killed my friend could even be capable of love, let alone the kind you’re describing.
It’s a beautiful fairytale, but I’m not buying it. ”
Tressa shrugged. “I could say I don’t believe in the moon’s gravitational pull, but the ocean tides would still rise and fall.
Not believing in something doesn’t make it any less real.
Losing a mate is actually how a lot of vampires go rogue.
To be sentenced to an eternity alone is…
” She sighed. “It can make people act crazy.”
“Except she’s not a person, Tressa,” he reminded her, annoyed that she was still on about some vampires being good. It didn’t even matter if the mate thing was true or not. He didn’t care how the rogue lost her gourd; he just wanted to smash it before she hurt anyone else.
Tressa didn’t argue, but she also didn’t agree with him either. She just regarded him thoughtfully for a second, then hopped off the table. “Right, well, I’m sorry we don’t have any way for you to help right now. Just know that when we do find her, we’re fully prepared to handle it.”
Ethan nodded. “Gotcha. In that case, how about we try some of that superior training you mentioned? I think I could use a few workouts to get back into shape before we go after her anyway. And I’m feeling much better.
” He pushed off the railing and took a steady step toward her as proof that he wasn’t the weak fawn she seemed to view him as.
“So what do you say? You down to get a little sweaty?”
When Tressa’s eyes bulged, he quickly added, “In the gym, of course. You know, training.”
“Of course,” she replied with a subtle grin.
“I have some things I need to take care of, but I’ll see if Saiden or Derrick can meet you in the gym.
Just… take it easy, Ethan. I know you want to get your revenge, but you’re still healing.
The effects of a three-month coma don’t just disappear overnight. ”
A flash of blood-soaked fangs appeared in Ethan’s mind again, and he shook his head, trying to dislodge the image.
He massaged his neck as if working out a kink, but really, he was trying to rub away the pain of phantom fangs sinking into his skin.
“I know, but I can’t just sit around. I have to do something. ”
Tressa peered at him for a moment. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Always.”
“Why is this so important to you? I know what she did to your friend and the fallout with your job, but it feels… more, somehow.”
Ethan contemplated her words. He knew the answer he wanted to give her—that the rogue made him feel powerless.
Pathetic. That she’d forced him to watch as yet another person he cared about died in front of him while he stood by, helpless to do anything but whimper like a child.
He was always left behind to pick up the pieces after far better people were taken from the world.
Jake should have been the one to survive.
Just like his mom should have been. But the world was cruel and unfair, and monsters like the rogue only proved his point.
He knew Tressa would understand his suffering and might even have a similar story, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come. He couldn’t admit the painful truth quite yet. He wasn’t ready to rip open his bleeding heart and show her all his wounds. So he took the coward’s way out.
“No, there’s nothing more. She’s a blood-sucking monster who killed my best friend and countless others. Of course I’m going to make removing her from this world a priority.”
Tressa studied his face for a long moment, then sighed. “Okay. In that case, let me show you to the gym.”