Blood In The Stars (13 page)

Daria narrowed her eyes and turned to the window. Now he was comparing Alice to her.
And finding me wanting
. Jealousy surged through her. What was so great about Alice that he couldn’t let her go after five centuries? Perhaps Alice was sweet, gentle, and kind
. But so am I.

“Tell me about her.” Daria tried and failed to keep the surly tone to a minimum. It was masochistic to ask, but she wanted to know.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel for a second before loosening his grip. He said nothing at first, just drove in silence. Interminable seconds trickled by.

“She was an earl’s daughter,” he began softly. “A lady of breeding. She never talked out of turn, never said anything unkind.” His brows knitted as though a new contemplation had come to mind. “Alice was educated and trained to make a good political marriage.”

What was he trying to say? That
she
talked out of turn and said mean things? Not a lady, either. Her parents weren’t nobility of course, but who was these days? Daria glared at him in disbelief. Was he even listening to himself? If looks could kill, he’d have roasted alive already.

As if he read her mind, an amused smile touched Jason’s lips. But his eyes remained focused on the road. “She understood the danger she was in. Her father also had other soldiers. Protecting her was easy,” he stated.

If it was too damn hard dealing with her, then he was welcome to leave. Daria huffed in indignation and turned to stare out the window. She wanted to strangle him.

“You two must have spent a lot of time together. You seem to know her really well,” she remarked bitterly.

“I began protecting her when she was a child.” Jason inhaled a deep breath. “If John hadn’t tried to kill you, I wouldn’t have shown myself.”

The handle of the armrest surrendered to her anger, as her tight grip whitened her knuckles and her nails dug into the leather. He was willing to show himself to Alice but seemed to regret letting Daria know about his existence. Anonymity would have been better for both of them. Then she wouldn’t be sitting here, fuming.

The smile on his face widened. “Alice needed me. You two are so different.”

“I got that!” she snapped. The sharp words cut between them and she bit her tongue. Bile rose to her throat. She was sure smoke shot from her nostrils and out her ears. Damn it! She hadn’t wanted Jason to know he upset her like this.

His hand covered hers, his cold fingers curling around to nestle in her warm palm. “Why all these questions about Alice?”

“I was just curious,” she mumbled in misery.

Silence descended within the car and they said nothing more as they entered downtown. When he parked along the curb of her building and shut off the engine, his hand still hadn’t strayed from hers.

She felt him lift her hand and press her fingers to his lips. “Are you done being angry with me?”

Daria turned to him with narrowed eyes. So he
had
noticed. Some of the heaviness in her heart disappeared to know he wasn’t as dense and clueless as he seemed. That he at least bothered to ask.

Then she saw his eyes twinkling. Dear Lord, she wanted to punch him. He was laughing at her! Daria snatched her hand back and stormed out of the car. To hell with him.

Jason suppressed his smile and ran after Daria. Maybe he had pushed his luck a little too far.

When Daria had shoved him away after leaving Damien’s makeshift prison, Jason had sensed her jealousy. This unfamiliar emotion had tasted like candy to him. Jealous. Over him. She cared about him that much? The resulting flood of happiness overwhelmed all other feelings.

He’d answered her questions truthfully and had thought his reassertion, that he’d always watch over her, would be enough. Then she had to go ask if she were an assignment. Jason let out a heavy breath. She hadn’t exactly wanted to hear the truth. But he had promised himself long ago he would never lie to her.

Jason caught up to her as she reached the glass doors of the lobby. He grabbed her arm and swung her around. She stared at the ground, livid.

It was a good thing she wasn’t looking directly at him, because he needed to get rid of the ridiculously large grin on his face. He bit the side of his mouth and cleared his throat.

Maybe one more little nudge . . . “Alice never got angry with me,” he added.

She stiffened and threw him a look of death. With a hard wrench of her arms, she stalked through the lobby and to the elevators.

“You’re not coming up with me,” she cried. “I’ll yell for security.”

Jason wound his arm around her waist, ignoring her. “You’re not going to do that. You’re going to let me explain.” He half-expected her to push him away again. When she didn’t, he felt confident enough to pull her closer.

Still, she hissed, “Stop touching me!”

“Why?” he asked, molding her hip to his. “I like touching you.”

“I wouldn’t touch an ill-tempered, unkind,
peasant
, who’s obviously too dumb to protect and too stupid to live. I would hide in the shadows forever and never show myself,” she spat, marching into the elevator.

He stepped inside and repeated, “You’re going to let me explain.”

The doors began to close. “Oh, you’ve been very clear al—”

To silence her, he crushed her mouth to his. She struggled, punching his chest and kicking him in the shins. He grunted and pulled her closer, his hands trailing down her back to cup her bottom and press her to him. He continued his onslaught, nudging her mouth open with his tongue.

“That’s cheating.” Her plea was muffled.

Jason gentled his kiss, licking her lips and gliding his hand down her thigh. She sagged and gave in, winding her arms around his neck, moaning his name. He buried his hands in her hair, his tongue fully tasting her, eager to claim her as his. He sucked on her bottom lip and she whimpered, arching her back. His hands had already reached under her shirt when the elevator pinged.

They both turned to the open door absently. Daria gazed into his eyes. “You’re such a cheater,” she breathed.

He gave her a wolfish grin and held the elevator door for her to step out first. He watched her hips sway as she walked, reminding him of their date at the sports bar. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

She stopped in front of her door. “I just realized my keys are at the office,” she fretted.

Glancing around quickly, he grabbed her hand, then stepped through a shadow. As soon as they arrived in her condo, he began kissing her again while he set her back against a wall.

She whimpered when he lifted her and placed her on his thigh. Her hands clawed at his shirt as she rubbed against him. Heat seared his leg as he tore his shirt off. Her hands splayed over his chest. Then she searched his face, her eyes tracing over his features.

He trailed his fingertips over her cheek and she turned to kiss one of them. He sent them lower until they reached her collarbone, and undid the first button of her dress shirt. Then the second. And cupped her breast, a perfect handful within a white cotton bra. Innocent, yet so alluring.

He bent to press a kiss just above the fabric and she sucked in a shallow breath. “You’re beautiful,” he sighed. “Don’t be mad anymore.”

“It’s just not fair,” she pouted. “Seventy-two hours and I’ve utterly fallen for you. Twenty-seven
years
and—and—”

“You mean everything to me,” Jason interjected, pressing his forehead to hers. “Alice is gone.”

A light flipped on in the living room. Against the glare a voice stated, “But he still can’t marry you, Daria.”

Chapter 11

The scream of surprise died in Daria’s throat. Jason slowly lowered his leg and she clasped her shirt as she huddled closer to him.

“Who is that?” She pointed at the man sitting in the middle of her couch. He had beautiful golden blond hair and even from a distance, Daria could tell he was blue-eyed. The man stood and smiled at them, unperturbed at his interruption. The smile that lit his full lips was as distant and frigid as the look in his eyes. He strode to them, bringing his menacing aura ever closer.

There had been moments when Jason scared her witless, when he had changed into something or someone else. She felt fear now, staring at this stranger. Only worse. This man’s presence brought such complete terror, such finality of her insignificance compared to his power, that simple
fear
couldn’t describe her feelings.

“There’s no need to stop on my account,” the blond man assured blithely. “Except you shouldn’t be touching my future wife.”

Chills ran up her arms and blood rushed to her face. “Is he another demon?” She tried to keep her voice steady and even, hoping not to betray the dread growing inside her as she turned away and buttoned her shirt.

At that, the man laughed. She peered at Jason, who merely frowned. Then he gently steered her to the stranger.

“This is Alastor.” After an awkward pause, he added, “My older brother.”

Daria’s heart gave an erratic thump.
Older
brother? No. It couldn’t be true. These two didn’t even look like brothers. Where Jason was dark, Alastor was fair. Sure, both men were tall and striking, but that didn’t make them brothers. Plus they looked like they were the exact same age.

As if anticipating Daria’s questions about their resemblance, Alastor swung his arm casually around Jason’s shoulder and dragged him close. “I look like our father and he looks like our mother. Jason’s the baby of the family. You know what that means, right?”

Jason’s jaw clenched but he remained silent. Alastor gave Daria a condescending look of pity. “Jason can’t marry you. He’s not the oldest son. And only the oldest son is allowed to marry the auspicious one.”

Jason backed away from Alastor and narrowed his eyes. “I
can
marry her.”

Shock rippled through Daria. His heated assertion showed he wanted to marry her. Then why hadn’t he asked? It couldn’t be because of the birth order. He had asked Alice, after all.

“You’re forgetting our laws,” Alastor chided.

Jason’s hands fisted at his side as he glowered at Alastor. “I’ve already given you an out.”

Alastor’s calm smile belied his next words. “And I already told you, you’ll have to kill me first.”

She watched the exchange in confused fascination, not understanding any of the innuendoes. She knew only that if she didn’t step in and diffuse the situation, something bad would happen. Already, strange little sparks sizzled between Jason’s fingers and the temperature in the room had begun to drop. Or maybe Alastor caused the change. That man’s malice leaked through with every word. Despite his relaxed stance and smiling face, Daria suspected Alastor hated Jason.

They talked so casually of killing one another. She would never stand for anyone to hurt Jason. He was the first man she felt worthy of opening her heart to, the one who could leave her vulnerable, whose look and touch left her weak.

She had to stop thinking selfishly. Not only did she need to protect herself, but also those she cared about.
Jason
. She never wanted to see him bleed for her again.

To diffuse a possibly volatile situation, she said aloud, “Jason doesn’t want to marry me anyway.”

Alastor tilted his head and stared at her in speculation. “Desire, ability, and execution are all very different things, Daria.” He threw a snide glance at Jason. “My little brother wants to, he can’t, and he has yet to ask. Does that about sum it up?”

A spark flew off Jason’s finger and before she could think about what she was doing, she grabbed his hand. The electric shock flung her back. She slammed against the wall and sank to the floor, moaning in pain. The ringing in her ears and the glittering lights dancing in her eyes blocked out Jason’s exact words and form. But she made out a lot of cursing.

As her vision cleared, she saw Jason kneeling beside her, worry framing his brow. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” she croaked, trying to get up. “I think.”

“Is anything hurt?”

She shook her head. Her body throbbed from being thrown, but it seemed like everything was working okay.

Fury flooded his face. “What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!”

On second thought, maybe she should have lied and said something was broken. Then he wouldn’t be so pissed off at her. Too late for that, though. She struggled to stand and noticed Alastor staring at her curiously. Instead of staring, maybe he should think about thanking her. She had just saved him from getting roasted by Jason’s powers. Or maybe she had saved Jason. Either way, she felt someone should be grateful. Except no one was.

“Alice would never have done that,” Alastor mused. “You’re very different from her.”

“That’s what people keep telling me,” she grumbled, finally gaining her feet. She glared at Alastor. “So, what now? Are you going to propose to me, too? I already rejected Damien. I don’t mind rejecting you as well.”

Her heated words seemed to amuse Alastor. As his peals of laughter rang out, she realized she preferred his deadly silence. Levity seemed incongruous on the man.

“Did Jason not explain to you? When you reach maturation, everything in the world will be after your flesh and blood. The only way you’ll survive is through the protection of a House.”

“I know.”

She recalled the conversation well. That night, she had expected the other shoe to drop, but it never did. With a sinister smile playing on Alastor’s lips, she realized she was finally going to hear the rest of the story.

“The Houses will only protect the one married into the family. If you don’t choose someone to marry in two days, no one will harbor you.” Alastor threw Jason a sidelong glance. “I will personally make sure Jason is taken off duty.”

This last blow in a long line of punches shook her where she stood. Daria faltered, searching for something to hold onto, and found only the hard, cold wall for comfort. What happened to Jason’s proclamation of protecting her forever? Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“Of course, Jason could kill me, claim your hand, and then we wouldn’t have this little problem.”

She lifted her eyes to focus on Alastor. Why would he keep suggesting such a foul idea? She searched his face but he focused solely on Jason. A strange thought suddenly entered her mind. Did Alastor
want
Jason to kill him?

“Come with me,” Jason snapped at Alastor. He glanced at Daria and gave her a quick hug. “I’ll be right back.”

His jaw clenched as he watched his brother’s emotionless eyes slide over Daria one last time before following him outside.

“You got what you came for.” Jason jammed his finger on the elevator button.

“And what is it you think I came for?” Alastor asked in a sweet voice.

Jason had purposefully left out the tidbit about the price of protection because he had no plans to adhere to that rule, a mistake he had made with Alice. He had stupidly proposed years before her maturation date, thinking it would allow him to protect her. That was when Alastor had given him the ultimatum. Only by claiming the title of the oldest son could Jason legitimately marry the auspicious one.

Killing his brother was out of the question. News traveled through the realm that a rift had occurred in their House and it put a target on her head. It also gave Alastor an excuse not to save her.

Which left him with one choice: run away and take her to realms less traveled, planes between planes. Anything to dodge their attackers. To this day he still didn’t know how the demons had discovered their plans.

They stepped into the elevator and rode down to the lobby. “You came to back me into a corner,” Jason accused.

His brother answered with a smile. “Planning to run away again?”

Jason gritted his teeth and shoved his hands into his pockets. Daria must have seen the power traversing down his fingers earlier. He wouldn’t make the same mistake and give Alastor a reason to strike first.

“No. I’m not going to run.”

The door slid open and they strode through the lobby and into the open air.

With a shake of his head, Alastor threw him a pitying glance. “Because you don’t love her enough,” he retorted.

They stopped on the sidewalk and Jason stared out toward Lake Michigan, now a gray mass in the distance. A soft breeze brushed his cheeks and on other days, isolation would have touched his heart. Tonight, he felt only tenderness, knowing a few floors above, Daria waited for him.

His feelings for Alice had always been very different. She was fair and demure, like an angel. She knew when to ask for his help and expected him to do so. He never wanted to kiss her until she could barely stand, never even wanted to have a long conversation with her. He had been content to stand to the side and act as her guard while admiration and affection filled his heart.

But Daria was another story. He wanted her, desired her as he never had anyone else. He wanted to possess her mind, body, and soul. And it scared him. No reason or logic could explain the intensity of his feelings. He couldn’t decipher the turmoil of emotion warring inside him when he held her. It wasn’t simple lust. Chatting over dinner as they had the other night, laughing over little jokes, and seeing her smile gave him immense joy. Happiness made it hard to breathe some days.

She also had no sense of danger. The sky could rain brimstone and she’d probably declare she needed to go into the office to meet with a client. Sometimes, he felt she needed protection from herself. She was always taking on more than she could do, never asking others for help, but helping others instead. Being near her reminded him to be better than he was.

“You’re wrong,” Jason whispered after a long silence. “Daria is everything to me.”

Alastor chuckled. “Who are you kidding? You don’t want to marry her. You don’t even love her.”

What was love, anyway? Jason had thought he loved Alice. Loved her so much he planned to defy his father’s laws, risk death, and run away. But maybe he hadn’t loved her enough. If he loved Alice, would he have killed Alastor? Would he have tainted his hands and killed those demons?

When he thought of Alice now, the pain of regret pierced him, along with guilt for not having done more. And that was all. The love he had for her came only through a memory faded and worn down over five centuries.

“I don’t know what love is,” Jason finally admitted with a shrug.

His brother narrowed his eyes at the statement. Then he growled, “Daria will be killed like all the others before her. You can’t change that.”

“I can and I will,” Jason countered quietly.

“You don’t have it in you.” The hint of sadness in Alastor’s voice brought a surprised glance from Jason, as his brother added, “You’ll not only have to kill the thousands of creatures after her life, but also you’ll have to kill me.”

For Alastor, the answer always came in death. But surely there were other ways, less fatal options.

“Why do you torment me like this?” When Alastor didn’t answer, Jason stared down at his hands and murmured, “Maybe I’m a coward.”

For centuries he’d kept them clean, never sinning by taking another life. Now he stood on the edge of a precipice, peering down a dark abyss. If he jumped off, could he save Daria?

He could feel Alastor studying him with an expressionless face. Jason had never been close with his family though he remembered toddling after his older brother when he was a child. In those days, Alastor would pick him up and swing him around before they raced through the hallways of their villa. He was close to his father then, too. The memory seemed like a dream.

“How long has it been since you’ve spoken to Father?” Alastor suddenly asked, as if sensing his turn of thoughts.

Jason looked up sharply, surprised by the question. “The last oven mail I received was for me to look after Daria.”

That was twenty-seven long years ago. He had actually been surprised to see the letter. He’d heard nothing from his father since Alice’s passing.

“But you two still have not
spoken
?”

“He hates me. As you all do.” Jason had accepted that fact long ago and the thought no longer saddened him.

Alastor let out a tired sigh. “I love my family, Jason. But you’ve forsaken us. You refuse to recognize who you are. I hate you for that.”

Was that what they all thought of him? That he had left them? Jason had always felt it was the other way.
They
had abandoned
him
. But Alastor was correct in one aspect. Jason didn’t thrive on the family’s power the way the others did. His father had always said he had the potential to be stronger than any of them, but he had chosen another path—one without the taint of sin.

His brother watched the night sky. “I never told you this, but I never liked Alice.” He turned to Jason, eyes glittering with hate. “I was glad the demons killed her. She deserved to die.” Then he turned, sauntering down the street and disappearing through a shadow.

Jason stared down the empty street for a long time, his mind reeling from Alastor’s departing words. What could Alice have possibly done to earn Alastor’s hatred? She never had a harsh word for anyone. Perhaps it was Alastor who couldn’t see the good in others. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he walked back to Daria’s condo. He needed to focus on the present. They only had two more days. Two more days until Daria’s birthday. Two more days until the world descended for her life.

Proposing and running away had been big mistakes. Yet maybe his biggest mistake was sparing the lives of the demons that came after Alice.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake this time. He planned to stay and fight. Fleeing wouldn’t do them any good. The creatures would come after them anyway. Better to end it all here, and protect her from everything and everyone.

No more secret proposals, either. Their marriage had to be sanctioned and there were only two ways to make that happen.