Chapter 46
Mark
Getting drunk was not the best way to handle what was going on. I’ll admit that right now. I was so fucking tired, though. Since that first pill popped up and James went feral, I’d barely taken a break. It was go, go, go for me. I’d been to ten different countries looking for information since Sam changed and I’d read so many texts in stupidly old languages that I never wanted to pick up a book again.
I was tired and I’d been pretty drunk when I left the tower. Now, I was only buzzed. Maybe tipsy. Either way, I was kicking myself for thinking this was a good idea. Yet, I couldn’t convince myself to drive away.
The light was on inside. Through the drawn curtains, I could see that much. I thought I heard talking, but it could’ve been something on the television. Or it could be two people having a conversation.
Before I even thought about it, I was standing on the porch. After knocking, I knew I should run. He’d never know I was here. I had fucking vampire speed on my side.
Then, I remembered that I’d driven here. I could be in the car within half a second, but he’d probably see me driving away. He was too smart to think it was someone else’s Jeep. Sure, there were a lot of them in the city, but mine had custom paint. I’d spent an asinine amount of money to have a cliffside painted all the way around the white exterior. It was fucking gorgeous.
The lock turned, drawing me out of my thoughts. Shit. Well, we were here now.
Alex’s face appeared in the doorway. His eyes were wide and his mouth opened slightly, then closed.
“Hey,” I said lamely.
“Mark,” he all but gasped. “You’re, uh… Wow. You’re here.”
“Yeah, I am. Actually, I’ll just go.”
He grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. I pulled away, putting my hands in my pockets. After standing there awkwardly for a minute, he gestured inside.
“Will you come in?”
“Sure.”
When I stepped into the entryway, I glanced toward the living room. It was empty and the television was on. That answered one question. I was stupid and jealous over something that didn’t exist between us. Ridiculous.
I followed Alex into the kitchen. His townhouse wasn’t huge, but it was modern and felt like a real home. From the little I knew, his parents rented it for him when he started school and when the owner put it up for sale, Alex worked out a deal to buy it. His parents didn’t know and they kept paying the rental amount every month, which left him with the rest of the mortgage to cover. I wasn’t sure why he wanted to do it that way, but at least the place belonged to him.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked.
“Sure.”
He poured two glasses of white wine and slid one over to me. I spun it absently on the counter, the scent telling me it was dry. I enjoyed sweet wine, but I wasn’t too picky. Really, I didn’t drink much at all. Avoided it, for the most part. Things had been stressful, though, so I drained the glass and went back to spinning it.
“Have you been okay?”
“Sure.”
“Stop saying that,” he said a little aggressively.
I met his eyes and swallowed. “Sorry. I’m a little out of it.”
“I see that. Maybe you can explain what brought you here.”
“If it’s a problem, I can go.”
“No,” he sighed, scrubbing his face. “It’s just unexpected. Between Sam avoiding me and you… Well, with what happened between you and I, it’s just a shock to see you here.”
“Sam isn’t avoiding you.”
“That’s not convincing when she’s literally ignoring my messages and calls.”
“There are things going on. It doesn’t matter.”
“Right. It seems that’s how things are with you guys. It still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
My nostrils flared and there was a burn in my eyes that made me angry. If this was how being here was going to make me feel, I needed to leave. It wasn’t fair to Alex and it didn’t do me any good. I’d rather be planning our next move, but Sam still wasn’t awake and Seraphim refused to leave her side to discuss it.
Truthfully, when I reached the peak of my little bender, I thought about how we might be heading to our deaths pretty soon. Some people might have thought about their friends or family. The vampires in the tower were more my family than my actual one had ever been. Lock was my closest friend, in the weirdest way possible. Sam was like a sister to me and I would kill anyone she asked me to.
The only person I thought about was Alex. How fucking ridiculous was that? Pathetic.
He cupped my neck, startling me. My first instinct was to push him away. I didn’t like being touched, unless it was on my terms. I especially didn’t like being surprised by it.
“Sorry,” he said. “You were lost.”
Stepping closer, I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him. He moved back, putting a hand on my chest.
“Mark, what are you doing?”
I covered my mouth with my hand, resisting the urge to smoke out. Turning on my heel, I headed for the door. I needed to get out of here and the last thing I wanted was for him to start asking questions. This was already a problem. He’d probably try getting in touch with Sam more fervently and it was my fault.
Pathetic.
“Mark, wait.”
I shook my head, continuing toward the exit. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Stop.”
Ignoring him, I put my hand on the door handle. He was right there, laying his fingers over mine.
“Let go,” I demanded.
“Talk to me. Please.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
With a frustrated sound, he grabbed my bicep and turned me around. My back hit the door and my breaths sped up. Alex and I stood eye level, which made it difficult to avoid his gaze.
“I’m tired of this,” he said.
“I shouldn’t have come,” I repeated.
“You’re right.”
It shouldn’t have felt any different when he said it. Setting my jaw, I nodded.
“So, let me go.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have come if you’re just going to run off and still refuse to talk to me. If you’re done with me, I’ll accept that. I did accept it. Yet, here you are, and if you leave without talking to me, I might actually go insane, Mark.”
He needed to stop saying my name. I didn’t know what sort of witchcraft he imbued into it, but it made me lean closer to him. Before I knew it, I was resting my forehead against his. He laid his hands over both sides of my neck and took a deep breath.
“Please talk to me,” he implored. “These have been the worst few weeks.”
“We barely know each other, Alex.”
“Yeah, it’s stupid. Don’t think I don’t know that. I just… When we were getting to know each other, I started to really like you. In all likelihood, we would have gone a little longer, then realized we weren’t compatible, but I wanted the chance to fucking figure it out.”
“You betrayed me.”
“So, fight with me about it.”
My brow furrowed. “You want to fight?”
“It’s not always bad. Some things would never be settled if people didn’t argue about them.”
“I don’t want to fight.”
“Okay, then just talk to me, for fuck’s sake. Please.”
“I don’t want to do that either.”
With a sigh, he stepped back. “Right.”
“Not tonight,” I clarified.
His brown eyes bore into me fiercely. “But you do want to?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Something’s wrong,” he noted, studying me. Always perceptive.
“Things are bad right now and I wanted to see you. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Is Sam okay?”
“Yeah, of course. She’s sleeping.”
“So, she’s home?”
“She just got back. I’ll, uh, tell her to call you or something.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. When he stepped closer, I wanted to run again. He knew it, too. I could see it in his expression, followed by a challenge. Lifting my chin, I simply waited.
He brushed his lips over mine, pressing our chests together.
“We’re not having sex,” he said.
“Okay. Why not?”
“Because this is the worst scenario for it to happen. Plus, I can smell the alcohol on you.”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. Most of the alcohol had burned off already. The only thing I was drunk on was him.
“Regardless, it’s the rule for tonight and I won’t budge on it.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Mhm. Come watch this stupid fucking movie with me.”
He took my hand and led me to the couch. Once he sat down, he pulled me onto his lap. Straddling him, I pushed my hands through his hair and kissed him. He smelled good, he fucking tasted good. We hadn’t done more than this before and even though I could lose myself in mindless sex right now, this was different. This was enough.
His hands moved under my shirt, making my abs contract. Reaching over my shoulder, I pulled it off and tossed it to the side. He pulled back, running his gaze over me. When he looked at my face again, he touched the scar on my lip, then kissed it tenderly.
Fuck, this guy. I knew he saw everything and that made it worse. Hiding the worst parts of me was safest, but choosing to be around him meant accepting that I wouldn’t be able to do that.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” Alex asked, looking at me through his lashes.
“Yes.”
His smile revealed that one tooth of his that had a small chip in it. An imperfection was what some would call it. To me, it added a layer of depth to him. I’d never asked about it, just like he’d never asked about my scar. It felt like we both knew, though, to some extent.
“Don’t ghost me again,” he murmured against my cheek.
“Okay.”
“You’re beautiful, Mark. Not just your body or your face. Don’t get me wrong. Those are completely ridiculous.” He smiled again, running his hands over my abs. “Everything else too, though.”
Clenching my teeth, I moved to his neck, pressing my lips against his skin. It was a struggle to keep my fangs from pushing out. Alcohol always made it worse. I managed, though, and focused on kissing him, hoping he wouldn’t come up with more things to say like that.
Alex was lovely when he slept. He had the perfect body, lean muscle and a slim waist. His biceps and chest betrayed how strong he was, even when he was unconscious.
Backing out of the room, I silently descended the stairs, grabbing my shirt and shifting so I could slip under the door without being heard. I glanced at the house one more time before driving away. Yeah, I wanted to stay with him tonight, but it wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t sleep with people. Ever.
After pulling into the parking garage, I shifted and went straight to Sam’s room. Seraphim was asleep with her against his chest. It still felt wrong to let this happen, but I knew it was best for her right now. While I hadn’t dug up anything incredibly useful while out of the country, I’d learned enough about this connection to know that much.
It was strange to see the guy without his mask. When I first saw him in here with her, I felt confused. He looked so normal. Tattoos. Neat facial hair. Tall as fuck with a deep bass. Annoying as fuck, too.
Apparently we were stuck with the guy, so we’d have to get used to him. Once we got Lock back, we’d figure it all out. The first thing we needed to do was convince Sam to go about this the smart way, then we needed to determine how we were going to pull off this rescue mission.
In all likelihood, we were going to die. For Lock and Sam, I would put my life on the line without question. Even if he’d deny it, Lock would do the same for me. With the little changes in him from the bond, he’d developed the capacity to care for a select few people. It didn’t matter who he cared about, though. His progeny were loyal to him, not just because he turned them, but because they respected him.
We would go to war for him if that was what it took. When Sam woke up, it would be time for her to find out that we felt the same way about her. She would experience what it meant to have an entire coven drop to their knees and put their lives in her hands.
Time to wake up, Sam.