Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
Saiden
Saiden slid down the door of the hotel room and leaned his head back, his eyes lazily drifting up to the stars winking overhead.
Allowing his hearing to amplify, he focused on the sound of Cora’s breathing.
He needed to wait until it smoothed out and he was certain she was deep into a REM state before he could walk away.
He didn’t know exactly how close he had to be for the relaxation effect of mate proximity to kick in, but he’d heard from Marquin that sometimes just the knowledge that Eliana was in the same house was enough to knock him out like a frat boy after a kegger.
Less than five minutes later, her breathing leveled out, and the gentle sound of soft little snuffles reached his ears. He wondered if she knew that she snored. It was sweet and cute, like little puppy chuffs. It had been difficult to pull the car over earlier because he hated to wake her up.
He was deeply thrilled that he did, though, just for the opportunity to hear her passionate explosion.
It had taken all his willpower to stand there and let her describe the depths to which she found him attractive.
If only she knew how little he cared about the apparent effect he had on other women.
He only cared about the effect he had on her.
And while it wasn’t a declaration of love or a request to spend eternity at his side, it was a start.
Obscenely tight ass. He wouldn’t forget those words as long as he lived. Every grueling second he’d spent training over the last three hundred years was suddenly very worth it.
She clearly desired him at least on a physical level, and while he wanted far more than just her body, for now he’d take whatever she offered.
Not that she was offering anything currently, but the heat was there.
It just needed fuel. If the way to her heart was through her panties, then he would gladly put in the work.
First, he really did need to make a phone call.
Confident that she wouldn’t wake until morning, he sped over to his car and settled into the driver’s seat. He tapped the start button in the center console and said, “Call Baylin.”
He listened to the ringing sound for a second, waiting for his brother to answer.
Baylin wasn’t his biological sibling, but they both thought of each other as family.
More so than the other members of their cadre they affectionately called cousins.
Vamps were only allowed to turn one mortal, and Marquin had sired Saiden a couple decades after he and Eliana mated.
They’d stumbled across him dying on the battlefield and said they knew right away that he belonged with them.
Then, less than a month later, Marquin came across Baylin in a pub in Galway.
He’d been turned and abandoned, left as a newbie vamp to find his own way.
Marquin saw a lot of himself in Baylin, so he brought him home, and Saiden and Baylin learned how to become vampires together.
Three hundred plus years later, he still considered him his baby brother.
Since they always had each other’s backs, he knew Baylin would take his call regardless of whether he was sleeping, fucking, or hacking. The only three things Baylin was ever doing.
“‘Sup, bro?” Baylin answered on the fourth ring.
Thank goodness, Saiden thought. The lack of a prominent Irish brogue told Saiden his brother was sober.
Of all his family, Baylin adapted to the changing times better than anyone.
It was part of his gift from Lilith—his ability to absorb, understand, and retain information at an astounding rate.
As modern times brought modern advancements, he went from scholar to tech wizard and never looked back.
Except when he was drunk. It was as if copious amounts of alcohol acted as a time machine, tossing him straight into the back alleys of Northern Ireland.
“Hey, I need a favor,” Saiden replied in greeting.
“Name it.” Baylin’s tone was alert and his breathing steady which meant he was already in hacker mode, and Saiden hadn’t interrupted either of his brother’s other favorite bedroom activities.
“I have a woman with me, and I need—”
“Way to go, big bro,” Baylin interrupted, and Saiden could practically hear him sending a virtual high five over the phone. “It’s been what, two years, three years since you last got laid?”
Five, but that was so far off topic at the moment that he didn’t bother to correct him.
“It’s not like that,” he gritted out, finding himself upset that Baylin had reduced Cora to a simple lay.
He knew a mate’s protective instincts were powerful, but he didn’t expect to feel this murderous toward his brother over a simple offhand comment.
It was probably a damn good thing he was warning them before he just showed up with her, and even better that Derrick was out of town.
Baylin was usually respectful toward women, but Derrick would no doubt make a lewd comment and then Saiden would have to explain to Marquin why his cousin’s spleen was splattered across the front steps.
“Dude, it’s not a rogue, is it?” Baylin asked. “You know it almost never works out when you try to save them.”
“You’re lucky Marquin didn’t feel that way when he first met you,” Saiden shot back. He hated being reminded that his efforts to save rogues almost always failed, but Baylin hated being reminded that he nearly was one, so the retort was only fair.
“Yeah, yeah,” Baylin muttered. “So, what’s up?”
“You heard Marquin sent me down to compel that female who knew a little too much about our kind, right?”
“Yup,” Baylin said, and Saiden heard him cracking open a can.
He didn’t even need to be there to know it was some foul-tasting energy drink with enough caffeine to send even a sloth into overdrive.
He never understood how his brother could drink those things when vampires naturally had plenty of energy.
It was like Baylin wasn’t happy unless he was literally vibrating.
“Well, there was a hitch.”
“A hitch?”
“Yeah. I tried to compel her and…” The words lodged in his throat. He really would have rather told his brother in person. In their world, this was pretty much epic level news, and it deserved more than a phone call. Given the givens, though, he had no choice.
“...and I couldn’t.”
The silence coming from the phone lasted for so long that Saiden had to check to make sure the call hadn’t disconnected.
“Say something,” he urged, sitting up ramrod straight in the car.
It was killing him not seeing Baylin’s reaction.
He wanted his brother to be happy for him, but there was also a certain bone-deep sadness that hit when someone else found their mate and you were still waiting.
He felt it himself more than once among a few acquaintances, but thankfully the couple had never been one of his own cadre.
He couldn’t imagine the soul crushing agony of having a newly mated pair living just down the hall from him.
“I am so fucking pissed,” Baylin started.
Saiden cringed. He couldn’t blame his brother. He should have been prepared for this.
“...that you aren’t here right now so I can give you a massive freaking hug!”
A tidal wave of relief washed through Saiden, and he collapsed back into his seat.
“You’re not upset?” he asked.
“Only that you told me over the phone, you jackass. Why aren’t you here? I want to meet her. Is she amazing? I bet she’s amazing. And I know she must have the patience of a saint to put up with you.”
Laughing, Saiden pictured Cora’s flushed face during her ranting earlier. “You might think that, but it's pretty much the opposite. And not the main reason I called. I need you to help me out with something, and you’re not going to like it.”
There was another bout of silence before Baylin asked warily, “What is it?”
“There’s a slight problem with Cora. Well, two problems if I’m being honest, but only one you can help with.
You know how Marquin sent me down here because you found her script with our secret?
That’s what she does for her career by the way, she directs horror flicks, and she’s unnervingly passionate about it.
You and I both know the film has to be stopped and the script destroyed, but the problem is that she’s, well, let’s just say she’s less than willing to cooperate.
I need you to hack her phone, her laptop, anything you can find and destroy all traces of it.
Make sure to find anybody she’s shared it with also. ”
“Dude,” Baylin started, and Saiden could practically picture the judgmental face his brother was making right then.
“You want me to go behind your mate’s back and kill her dream?
That’s not a great start to a relationship, you know that right?
It’s been a while for you, but females still tend to frown on deception. ”
Saiden rubbed his face, exhaustion starting to weigh on him. “I’m well aware, and it kills me to ask this of you, but she’s refusing to halt the movie.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, though. I’m guessing you haven’t turned her yet since none of the fam is with you to help, but you’d think she’d be on board with protecting our kind since she’ll be in just as much danger here soon.”
Saiden sighed. “Yeah, that’s the other problem I have.”
“Oh? Don’t tell me it gets worse?” Baylin asked, taking a slurp of his drink.
“She doesn’t want to become a vampire.”
Saiden really hoped his brother had a good protection plan on his computer because if the wet, sputtering laughter was any indication, he was going to need it.