Chapter 26 #2
“Clearly I’m new to this whole world. You probably got more from that than I did. Can you control yourself enough to get answers from his blood, or should I keep picking away at him?”
“Fine,” he said. “But I don’t want you in there for it.”
“Why not?” I lifted my chin. “Afraid I’ll see something I haven’t already.” His lips pressed into a thin line. “All right, fine. Just…find out why his master wants me.”
“I already have an idea.”
“Then see if you can confirm it. I’ll…leave you to it.”
He stared at me a moment longer, then disappeared through the door. I waited until the screaming started, then I fled.
I needed something to cleanse my mind of what Laurent was doing downstairs.
In the drawing room, I recovered my sheet music.
I sat down at the piano and looked it over.
Laurent had admitted to writing it. I had been curious about the lack of composer listed.
He’d titled it Dark Moon. It was fourteen pages long with a lot of repetitions, but slow and mournful.
It’s like he’d known exactly what I’d needed after my ordeal with the witches.
I began to play. I’d been playing almost every day since Laurent gave me this piece. I tried not to think about the other vampires listening, focusing entirely on the notes. Page by page, time slipped away. With each measure, I noticed more things about the music that I hadn’t before.
A shoe scuffed against the floor—intentional when it came to vampires. I caught sight of Hassan creeping into the room and pretended not to notice, but my lips twitched.
He took a seat on a nearby sofa. After playing through the song twice, I sifted through the storage compartment in the bench before starting on another.
This one was above my skill level, so it was a disaster.
Hassan didn’t seem to mind. He stuck it out for quite a while.
When he finally slipped away, the drawing room felt too quiet.
Then I felt Laurent’s presence. Having his blood gave me a stronger awareness of him, especially when he was nearby. As if my body recognized his nearness and came to life. My heart beat faster, my skin pricked, my breaths turned shallower.
After yesterday, even my core reacted, making my panties damp.
He stood in the doorway. I didn’t turn to look.
Not yet. Instead, I flipped back to the beginning of my music and started over.
The song came out a little better this time, except for one problematic section.
My fingers kept snagging on the black keys.
I ran through it again and again, trying to work out the kinks, but it only got worse.
Frustrated, I groaned and slapped the keys, making the most awful noise, then dropped my hands into my lap.
Laurent’s low chuckle made me turn. He came to stand beside the piano, running his hand down the back of my head, fingers trailing through my hair. Then he leaned forward and looked at the part I was struggling through. I could smell the delicious scent of him.
“Hmm. Yes. Tricky section.” He straightened.
I swiveled, looking up at him. Not a hair out of place. Like he hadn’t finished torturing a demon. “What did you discover?”
His hand dropped and he walked over to the sofa, sinking down. “Things are more complicated than I expected.” His head lolled back, eyes falling closed. I looked at the masculine lines of his throat, the bulge of his Adam’s apple as it bobbed.
He was so nice to look at. The thought made my skin flush. I pushed it aside.
“I’m expecting a call from Bastian any minute,” Laurent added. “I don’t want to draw any conclusions until Dr. Kennedy has had chance to look into the ruby.”
“That’s the artifact she’s researching?”
“The very same.”
“And you think it’s responsible for what’s happening to your family?”
“It is my only lead, but I know next to nothing about it.”
“What do you know?”
“That my sire used it to gain power over other vampires. This was long before the Supernatural Council was formed. Back when our world was lawless and creatures did whatever they wanted. The powerful ruled. Anyway, it was stolen from our family vault. The journal that described it—my father’s journal—is also missing.
If someone’s using it against vampire families now, they know exactly what they’re doing. This isn’t random.”
Chills raced down my spine. That couldn’t be a coincidence. But if someone had stolen it from him, wouldn’t that mean that someone in his family had betrayed him?
“Wouldn’t it be ironic,” he added, almost as if reading my mind, “if the thing that built this family up became the thing that destroyed it?”
His phone rang and I blinked. He pulled it from his pocket and chuckled.
“Well, well. Bastian Croft. We were just talking about you.” A pause.
“Yes. Hmm.” Another pause. “She’s positive?
” He scrubbed a hand over his face. I tried to read his expression, hunting for answers.
“That’s what I was afraid of. Have her email it over.
I’ll get the money wired to your account this afternoon.
” A longer pause. “No, this is… I feared as much. Thank you.”
He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. His fingers drummed against his knee. He didn’t look at me, simply stared out the window. His eyes were distant, thoughtful.
I took advantage of the moment to study him. To see this rare glimpse of him, aloof and distant. As if he was entirely comfortable around me.
His eyes sharpened. “Vittorio?”
Seconds later, Vittorio appeared with Cinnamon clutched in his arms. “Sire?”
“Ah, there she is.” Laurent opened his arms wide as Vittorio deposited the golden fluff ball onto Laurent’s lap.
My ovaries surged into overdrive. Seeing this powerful, dangerous man being gentle with something so small and innocent did things to my heart I wasn’t ready to examine.
Crap. I blinked, forcing my gaze to fix on my sheet music.
It didn’t work. I went right back to looking at Laurent and Cinnamon.
“I’m ordering our retreat, Vittorio.” He sounded tired as he said this. “Reach out to Paolo and Catina. Inform them that we will arrive Friday.”
“But, sire, the season isn’t due to start for another three weeks. You wish to arrive early?”
“I want my family safe, behind the walls of the estate. An early arrival will give us the upper hand.”
“You do not intend to spend the season in the townhouse, then?”
“Not entirely, I think.” Laurent’s eyes darted toward me. He stroked Cinna’s head, then lifted her and kissed her nose. My insides melted. “What do you think, Cinna?” he cooed. “You will like Italy, yes? The grounds will have all sorts of curiosities for you.”
My mind screeched to a halt as my thoughts caught up. Did he expect me to go with him? Or was he planning to go away without me? Both scenarios had my stomach squirming.
“Very well, sire. I’ll let Catina know to have everything prepared before our arrival.”
“Good. Inform our family of the situation. Even our youngest.” His jaw was set. “I will fix this.”
“There hasn’t been a full house in Anoth Fortress in…centuries. Since the gathering of—“
“Vittorio, I am aware.”
“And what of Miss Shaw?” Vittorio glanced at me. “With so many of our children and grand children…”
“Vittorio. Now, please.”
“Yes, sire.” He disappeared.
“Laurie?”
“Yes, little flower?” His eyes flicked toward me before he cuddled Cinnamon some more. I felt an invisible tug to go and sit beside them, but I resisted.
“I can’t leave. I can’t go to…to Italy. I start my program on September first.”
“I am aware, but this is more important. We will make it work,” he assured me, as if that’s all there was to it.
“Make it work?!” Panic began to set in. Was this how it started? He gave me pretty promises only to renege at the earliest convenience.
“Can you not work with your advisor remotely? Until the end of the season?”
“Season? I don’t get what you mean.”
“The vampire season. It begins in August and runs through December. It is a time of reunion for vampire kind. We return to our homeland and reconnect. Not just my family, but others. There are gatherings between the heads of each house, matters of business conducted. We are the ruling body for our kind. Beyond the business aspects, there are parties, balls, that sort of thing. Much of it is a spectacle. Houses flaunt their wealth and power and status. But more importantly,” he continued, his voice growing serious, “it’s where alliances are forged and enemies are identified.
I need to know who’s behind this before they strike again. ”
“Laurent, my semester starts September first and you told me I’d be allowed to—“
“I am not backtracking on my word, Lily.”
Wasn’t he, though?
“I do not see why you cannot complete the first few months remotely. Can you not work with your advisor in that capacity?”
“It’s not that simple. I… I have to TA. All grad students are expected to hold either a teaching assistant position or a graduate student research position. That’s how the university funds our education and pays our tuition.”
“I will fund your education.”
My mouth dropped open. “That’s—you can’t.”
“Please. It can’t possibly cost that much.”
But he already had his phone out, lifting it to his ear. He waited, watching me with an infuriatingly calm expression.
“Ashwin.” His voice shifted into something smooth and professional. “Yes, it’s been too long. How is Priya?”
I stared at him. Ashwin? Ashwin Deshmukh? He was on a first-name basis with the dean?
“Excellent to hear.” A pause. “I’m calling about one of your new doctoral students. Lily Shaw, mathematics department.” Another pause, longer this time. “No, nothing of concern. Quite the opposite. She needs to take her fall semester remotely… Yes, I’m aware that’s not standard practice.”
I blinked at him.
“I’ll cover her tuition personally, along with a formidable donation for whatever foundation you see fit... Yes, of course. I’m glad it made a difference… Certainly.”
They talked for several more minutes as I attempted to make sense of the conversation.
Then finally, “Excellent. I appreciate your flexibility, Ashwin. Give my best to Priya… Bye now.”
He slipped his phone into his pocket and met my eyes. “There. All settled. The dean will have the necessary paperwork emailed over. We’ll have it buttoned up before we leave. Any other concerns?”
I gaped at him, torn between gratitude and frustration.
“You… I can’t just pick up and leave for five months!”
“Lily. I need you there by my side.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. You are my amplifier. My strength. I need you there. I want you there. I…” He hesitated, eyes darting between mine. “Do this with me. Us. Together.”
Gritting my teeth, I said, “So that’s it then? You’re forcing me to go? When you said you wouldn’t force me to do anything ever again, I took you at your word.”
His head fell back against the sofa and he groaned like a petulant child—something I’d never heard from him before.
“If you do not want go, I will not force you. I will send Marco to Italy and remain here. With you. I’m permitted to send a delegation on my behalf.
It’s not unheard of, but it is frowned upon.
As my second, Marco is permitted to take my place on the SC.
I’d rather not do this, for obvious reasons.
The main reason being I need to stop the person responsible for taking my family from me.
So, please, tell me why you must remain here?
Help me understand why your staying here is more important than saving my family? ”
I opened and closed my mouth. Because when he phrased it like that, a few months of remote work to help save his family—a family I was slowly becoming a part of—was minimal. My refusal suddenly felt selfish.
“I’ve never…” I cleared my throat. “I’ve never traveled out of the state before. Let alone out of the country.” The thought intimidated me.
Laurent gave Cinna an affectionate pat before letting her squirm free. She began roaming the drawing room, looking for things to play with.
“You will like Italy, I think. Many famous mathematicians have come from there, you know.”
“I know.”
He stood and walked over to the piano bench where I sat. He took my chin in his fingers, tiling my face up. His thumb stroked my jaw. “You will come with me, then?”
“Yes.”
The word hung in the air between us. I was really going to do this—leave everything I knew behind and enter his world completely.
A smile transformed his features. “Good. That’s good.” He hesitated, then said, “Would you like to go swimming before it gets too hot today? I think Cinna would enjoy the beach, yes?”
“Swimming?” I blinked.
“I can take you to your secret cove.” His smile turned into a mischievous grin.
“You…” My brow furrowed. “You know about my cove? Oh. My memories. You saw it.”
“I did. Come now, let’s get out of the manor for a bit. I’ll handle Cinna. Go get your things. I’ll drive.”
I stood and closed the piano lid, my mind still reeling from everything that had just happened.
Ten minutes later, I was climbing into the passenger seat of a sleek sports car.
He handed Cinna into my lap. She squirmed against me before settling down.
I glanced over toward the driver’s seat and held back a laugh.
Laurent looked completely different in his sunglasses, T-shirt, swim trunks, and flip-flops.
I’d never seen him wear anything other than pants.
He was definitely less scary. Way less scary.
“Ready?” he asked, flashing me a toothy grin.
“Ready,” I confirmed, kissing the top of Cinna’s head.
He revved the engine, then sped out of the manor’s gates. It was the first time I’d left since my ordeal with the witches. This time, I wasn’t afraid to go. Maybe it was because Laurent was with me. When had that started, feeling safer with him than without?