Awakened (Vampire Awakenings) (23 page)

CHAPTER 15

By the time they made it downstairs, the electric had gone out. Kathleen had already placed candles around the house, and they followed the light of them into the kitchen.

“So, what do you guys want to do?” Mike asked when they entered.

Sera glanced quickly around. Mike, Doug, and Kathleen were sitting around the middle island and smiling knowingly at them. Jack and Danielle were sitting at the table arguing over the same crossword puzzle from earlier. “How about strip poker?” Doug suggested with a bright grin.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Jack said eagerly.

“Count me in,” Mike said. “Girls?”

“I’ll get the cards,” Kathleen volunteered.

Sera stiffened as Liam took a step closer to her. His stance was rigid as his jaw clenched. “I don’t want to play,” she said.

“Of course you will!” Kathleen retorted as she held a candle above the kitchen drawer she was pawing through. “It will be fun! Right Danielle?”

“Sounds good to me,” she answered.

“You’re playing, right Liam?” Jack asked.

“No,” he replied.

“Oh, come on man, lord knows when you’ll get a chance to see another girl naked.”

Kathleen laughed loudly as she continued to fumble through the drawer. “Who said I wanted too?” Liam retorted.

“Ugh, you guys are sickening,” Kathleen closed the drawer and held up a pack of cards. “For crying out loud Sera, you need to see more than one naked man in your lifetime.”

Sera sighed as she shook her head. She could feel the anger radiating off of Liam and she knew that this was not a good idea. “I don’t want to strip,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” Kathleen said as she seized hold of her hand. “We’re going to win this game.”

“No,” Liam said.

“Come on, it will be fun!” Kathleen urged.

“Yeah,” Mike enthused.

“I know I wouldn’t mind seeing some fine female flesh!” Jack cried eagerly.

Liam was so fast that she never even saw him move until his arms were locked securely around her waist. “I said no,” he said fiercely.

Even Sera was shocked by his behavior as she turned to look at him. Kathleen gaped in surprise as Danielle froze in the middle of standing up. Doug, Jack, and Mike’s eyes were wide as they gazed at him.

“Liam,” she said soothingly.

The set of his chin, and the twitching muscle in his cheek let her know that he would not tolerate this. She recalled his words in the bathroom, and she knew, without a doubt, that he would attempt to kill everyone here before she ever removed an article of clothing. She would not allow that to happen. Besides, she didn’t want to play. The idea of seeing Liam stripping was more upsetting to her than having to remove her own clothes. A spark of anger shot through her as she thought about Kathleen and Danielle looking upon what was hers.

“I don’t want to play,” she told them. “Why don’t we play rummy, or something else?”

Kathleen stared intently at her, and then back up at Liam. Her eyes darkened as her chin set with anger. “Fine, can I talk to you for a minute, Sera?”

Liam’s hands tightened on her waist, but she chose to ignore him. She knew Kathleen almost as well as she knew herself, and she knew that what Kathleen had to say was important. Her mind instantly shot to Mike. If there was any way that she might be able to help her friend from being hurt, then she was going to do it.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Good. Come on Danielle.”

She squeezed Liam’s hands reassuringly. They eased upon her waist, and finally released her. She cast him a small smile before following Kathleen out of the kitchen. She didn’t head to the living room, but veered sharply to the left. Sera lifted an eyebrow, but followed her down the hall. Kathleen swung the door to Sera’s room open and stepped inside. She waited for both of them to enter before closing it.

“What’s going on?” Kathleen demanded instantly.

Sera blinked at her in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

Kathleen planted her hands firmly on her hips as she stared intently at her. “I mean, what is going on?”

“Kathleen...”

“No!” she cut off sharply. “Okay, you don’t want to play strip poker, I understand that. I’ve known you for three years now, and I know that’s not your kind of game, but what just happened in there?”

Sera’s eyes widened even more with every higher pitched word that Kathleen shouted. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

Kathleen’s nostrils flared as she inhaled sharply. “What am I talking about?” she sputtered in disbelief. “What am I talking about!?”

“Kathleen, calm down.”

Kathleen took a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them again. “Sera, he’s so possessive of you! He’s so... oh I don’t know. You didn’t see the look in his eyes. For a moment I swear they were red!”

Sera’s heart leapt into her throat but she managed to keep her face completely impassive. “That’s crazy, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sera feared that Kathleen was going to start screeching again. Danielle headed her off. “I thought I saw the same thing, but it was only the candlelight. However, I think that I know what Kathleen is talking about.”

Sera cast her a quick glance. “And what would that be?” she asked quietly.

“Has he hurt you?” Kathleen demanded.

“What?” Sera was so aghast that the word barely squeaked past her throat.

“Has he hurt you?” she almost screamed.

“Kathleen calm down, please,” Sera said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!”

Danielle turned to her in surprise. “You need to calm down,” she said softly.

For a moment Sera was afraid that Kathleen’s head was actually going to explode off her shoulders. Then, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and seemed to gain some control of herself. “I’m calm,” she said softly. Her clear blue eyes landing upon Sera again. “Has he hurt you?”

“Of course not.”

“Sera, I am not kidding here. You’re my best friend and I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Kathleen...”

“No!” she snapped. “He was acting like he owned you! He was acting like you didn’t have a mind of your own. You two love each other, fine. But what happened in there was not normal, and you know it!”

What happened wasn’t normal, she knew that, but she also knew that Liam would never hurt her. He would die before he ever hurt her. She knew that, as surely as she knew she needed air to live. She also knew that she had felt the same way as Liam about the idea of anyone seeing him naked. Maybe it wasn’t normal, maybe it wasn’t right, but it was the way that it was. He was different, their relationship was different, but there was no way that Kathleen, or Danielle, could understand that.

“Kathleen, I think you’re misunderstanding...”

“No I’m not!” she yelled. “Has he hurt you? My God, has he hit you!?”

“Never!” Sera cried.

“Because if he has I’ll kill him!” Kathleen continued as if Sera hadn’t spoken.

“Kathleen...”

“Has he? Has he hit you!?” she was close to screaming like a banshee again. Sera winced against the shrill tone.

“No!” she yelled. “He would never hurt me. Now calm down!”

Kathleen began to pace as she mumbled under her breath. “Sera,” Danielle said gently. “We’re just worried about you.”

“There’s no need to be.”

Kathleen took a deep breath and spun to her face her again, her nostrils flared as her fists clenched. “He was acting like the men you hear about,” she said softly. “The ones that think that they own their wives, or girlfriends. The one’s that beat them. If he’s hurting you, if he’s doing anything wrong, please just tell us.”

Tears bloomed in Kathleen’s eyes as her lower lip began to tremble. Sera crossed quickly to her and hugged her tightly. “He’s not,” she said gently. “I swear that he’s not.”

Kathleen hugged her back as soft sobs rocked her body. “Would you tell me if he was?”

“Yes Kathleen, I promise I would tell you if he was.”

“You didn’t tell me before,” she whispered so quietly that Sera barely heard her.

Sera’s arms constricted at the reminder. “This is different Kathleen.”

She stood silently for a moment before nodding and taking a step back. “He really hasn’t?”

“No. I would tell you if he ever hurt me. I wouldn’t stay with someone like that. But Liam would never hurt me. He would chop off his own hands before he ever laid one against me. He really would Kathleen.”

She stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly. “If you say so. But I swear to God if I ever see one unexplained bruise on you, or if I ever see him mistreat you, I will beat the hell out of him, agreed?”

The idea of Kathleen beating the hell out of Liam was even funnier than the idea of Liam hitting her. “Agreed,” she vowed.

***

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Mike demanded.

Liam turned to him as Sera, Kathleen, and Danielle disappeared down the hall. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t see yourself. Are you trying to get us all killed? Are you trying to give us all away?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mike stared at him in wide eyed disbelief. “Your eyes were red,” Doug said quietly. “For a moment Liam, your eyes were red.”

Liam frowned as he folded his arms over his chest. “What is going on?” Mike asked softly.

“I don’t know,” he admitted reluctantly.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Jack demanded.

“I mean, I don’t know.”

“But there is something going on?” Mike prompted.

Liam ran a hand through his hair. “She’s mine.”

“We all know that she is your girlfriend, now what is your point?”

“My point,” he grated. “Is that no one else is going to see her.”

“It’s only a game,” Doug muttered.

“Not to me!” he hissed.

“Liam, I think you need to tell us what is going on because it’s pretty clear to me that you’re close to losing it,” Mike said softly.

Liam’s jaw clenched as he stared at them. “I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is that I can’t control myself when I’m around her.”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“Exactly what I just said.”

They exchanged bewildered looks before turning back to him. “I think you’re going to have to be more specific,” Mike insisted.

“I don’t know how to be. I’ve never felt like this. I’ve never acted like this. I’ve never lost control like this. You’re trying to get me to explain something that I can’t. All I can tell you is that I will kill anyone that tries to harm her. I will kill anyone that tries to take her from me. I will never let her go.”

“Yes, we understand that, but there’s more going on here Liam,” Mike said slowly. “That doesn’t explain your lack of control.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” he spat. “I can’t control myself when I’m around her! At all!”

Their eyes widened as they exchanged looks again. “Are you afraid you’ll hurt her?” Doug asked.

Before his answer would have been a resounding no. Now, he wasn’t so sure. “I might,” he reluctantly admitted. “I don’t want to, and she’s sure that I won’t, but I can’t stop myself.”

“Stop yourself from what?”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “From tasting her! From having her!” he snapped.

“Maybe you should get away from her for awhile, until we can figure all this out,” Doug suggested.

“That is not an option.”

“Liam...”

“No!” he cut Mike off sharply. “That is not an option!” His teeth began to lengthen as his hands clenched at his sides. 

“Jesus,” Jack said softly. “Okay, it’s not an option, just calm down.”

Liam ground his teeth and took a deep breath. What the hell was the matter with him? He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall as he rubbed his temples wearily. Maybe he should get away from her before he hurt her, before he hurt someone else. But even the idea of leaving her brought the beast forth again. Bloodlust, and a fierce wave of possessiveness surged through him, it seized his muscles, and shook his control.

“Okay, we’ll figure this out,” Mike said. “But you need to control yourself Liam. You’re going to lose it, and you can’t afford to do that in front of Kathleen and Danielle.”

“I know.”

“You will lose Sera if something happens to her friends.”

His eyes flew open and they all took an involuntary step back. “Nothing is going to happen to them, and I will not lose her!”

“Hey guys! Come on!” Kathleen called. “Let’s play cards!”

Liam glared at them for a moment longer before turning and leaving the room. “What the hell is going on?” Jack demanded.

“I don’t know,” Mike said softly.

“What are we going to do? He’s snapping.”