Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (14 page)

A third man opened my door and gestured for me to exit the car. He gave me a friendly smile as I scooted from my seat. Oliver was by my side in that moment, holding my arm as if he thought someone might try to steal me. Considering someone (not that we could really call a crazed angel just “someone”) had just attempted to do so, his behavior was understandable.

The doors to the hotel were opened for us by a doorman, and Oliver kept me close as we checked in at the
fancy front desk.

I felt like a total gawky tourist as I took in everything, wide-eyed. The lighting was dim, but not dark. The lobby was full of furniture covered in deep-red or dark gray fabric, dark wood tables, and dark curtains. The enormous front desk was made from elaborately carved wood.

Employees bustled here and there in their matching, elegant black uniforms, while guests meandered about, smiling and laughing. I felt like a dirty slob as I took in the evening attire people were wearing. Everyone was dressed so nice, and they seemed alive with the night. It suddenly occurred to me that we were probably in a vampire hotel. I stepped closer to Oliver.

“Mr. Knight,” a very cheery female voice said, “how lovely to see you again.” My attention spun toward the woman’s voice. “Will you be staying with us on business?” The woman had a bright red smile plastered to her face. She flashed her painted smile to both of us. She appeared to be in her thirties, maybe forties. She had wavy, shoulder-length, auburn hair
, and the sides were pulled up into a tidy clip.

“Personal,” Oliver said, handing the woman a card from his wallet, “but I have permission to stay in a business suite.”

“Very well,” she said with her smile still in place. She looked down at her computer screen that was hidden behind the high counter of the desk.

I glanced at the nametag pinned to her vest as her fingers sped over her keyboard. Annie was her name. I don’t know why, but I felt the need to know. I think it bothered me that she knew Oliver, even if it wasn’t personal. I think it was beginning to bother me that he had this huge life outside of his life with me, and that I really knew nothing about it.

“Oh,” Annie began. My eyes shot up from her nametag to meet hers. She was looking at Oliver. “It appears your colleague, Mr. Alexander, has already taken care of the room for you, sir.” She handed Oliver’s card back to him.

“Of course he did,” Oliver muttered as he put his card in his wallet. He shoved his wallet into his back pocket.

A moment later, Annie handed him our room keycard. She told him that our belongings were already being taken up to the room. He thanked her. She smiled brightly.

He then took my hand and quickly led me away from the busy lobby. We stopped before an elevator.

“You okay?” I asked quietly as we waited for the elevator doors to open.

He nodded, but he
didn’t look at me.

I noticed he still had a large red mark on his face,
right on his cheekbone. I wondered if it was from when his brother hit him during the encounter at the cemetery, or if it was a new one from our encounter with Oscar at Lacey’s house. I didn’t mention the mark, but I did find it odd that it had not yet faded.

When the elevator doors slid open, we stepped aside as its passengers exited. Once empty, we stepped inside. Oliver pressed a combination of buttons into a panel to the left of the door and swiped the room key along the slot in the side of the keypad. Silently, the doors slid closed. I could hardly tell we were moving.

“Do you stay here every time you come to Sacramento?” I asked.

He looked over at me. He had been staring at the lights on the elevator panel. “I do,” he said. “The thirteenth floor is reserved for those of us from Brookehaven.” He returned his attention to the panel.

“Oh,” I said, quietly. I could tell something was bothering him. I imagined what was going to happen to his brother was weighing heavily on him. I knew he would confide in me when he needed to. It would do me no good to pry, especially at that moment.

The elevator came to a smooth stop. It dinged, then the doors slid open. Oliver took my hand and led me
to the end of a long hallway lined with numbered doors and patterned carpet until he stopped in front of what was to be our room. He slid his keycard and the door unlocked. He pushed the door open for me and held it in place while I stepped inside.

Wow…

I stood there, gaping, as Oliver locked the door behind him and made his way past me to the kitchenette area that was bigger than the kitchen in my apartment. He began emptying his pockets, placing his wallet, phone, and room key on the counter.

“Laney, I’m going to take a quick shower.” He turned back to where I was still standing. “Okay?” he questioned when I didn’t answer.

I nodded.

He gathered our bags from where they
’d been placed near the entrance and took them into the adjoining bedroom on the right while I continued to stand there in awe.

The sound of the water running in the shower seemed to push me to walk farther into the room. As I moved into the main room, the kitchen area was on the left. The kitchen had a row of cabinets against the wall with a narrow steel fridge at the end. There was a sink centered in those cabinets. Across from that, there was a high counter
, the one where Oliver had unloaded his pockets. I ran my fingers over the cool, dark countertop as I moved toward a small table with two chairs that were set opposite the refrigerator and beside a large window that looked out over the city.

Turning back to the kitchen, I saw that across from the window stood a stainless steel stove. The kitchen had everything. Maybe we could just live in the hotel forever
?

Turning toward the main room, a deep red loveseat with a large rectangular mirror over it sat on the wall opposite the kitchen. An oval, dark wood coffee table sat in front of the loveseat, and two dark gray chairs
were placed at angles facing it. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror over the couch and realized I looked like hell. I’d be needing a shower too.

I made my way across the room to double doors that opened to a balcony. I opened the doors and stepped out. The cold air, the sounds of the city, and the rushing Sacramento River hit me. I gripped the railing and gazed down at the street way below. It was a Saturday night and the city was alive with activity. I shivered as I took a step back and hugged myself.

From our balcony, I could see so much! Even in the dark, I could make out the river. I could see the golden bridge, the pyramid building, and the many people far below on the streets of downtown. It was beautiful.

I squealed in surprise as Oliver slipped his arms around me from behind. He chuckled and held me with my back against his chest.

I enjoyed his arms around me for a few minutes before speaking. “You doing okay?” I asked.

I felt him shrug. “My side still hurts a bit.”

I turned in his arms so that I could face him. He stared past me. “That it?” I questioned.

He glanced down at me. “I’ll be fine, Laney.”

I sighed. “I’m going to take a shower,” I said, pulling myself free of his arms.

He stayed where he was—wearing pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt—as I made my way to the bedroom.

I knew that he wasn’t okay, but I also knew prying would only make him angry. Walking away was the only way to stop myself from nagging him. He would open up in his own time. I just needed to be patient.

Easier said than done…

Walking into the bedroom, I found that it matched the front room in its exquisiteness. The large bed was covered in a gorgeous, dark red bedspread, and it had a dark wood headboard with matching nightstands. There was a big TV sitting on a large, dark wood dresser across from the foot of the bed.

I
also discovered another large mirror on the wall as I made my way to the bathroom. I avoided its reflection.

I scratched at my hand as I entered the bathroom where I found an even bigger bathtub than the one back at the cottage. Thoughts of the cottage made me sigh. We had made many great memories there, and we had not been done with our stay. I wondered if we would ever get a chance to go back, or if the place was now tainted with the memories of a demonic angel and a crazy twin brother.

I sighed again.

After my well-needed shower, I slipped into a clean pair of jammies, and then I headed back to the other room.

After being thoroughly cleaned, my hand did not hurt or itch as badly, but it still looked very irritated. It was red and puffy and I was hoping Oliver’s magical spit could fix it, ‘cause mine hadn’t. Yeah, I’m admitting to licking the back of my hand in the hopes of healing it. However, my bonus abilities had been slowly slipping away for the past few days. I was pretty sure there were no bonuses left.

I found Oliver sitting on the edge of the loveseat. He was leaning forward, his hands clasped and elbows resting across his knees. The doors to the balcony were still open; a cold breeze was blowing in. Oliver was staring out the doors. He didn’t even register that I
’d come into the room.

“Can I worry about you now?” I asked.

He let out a little huffed laugh and turned, smiling up at me. “Yes, you can worry now, but I’m fine.” With one hand, he reached for me. He pulled me into his lap as he sat back on the loveseat.

I eyed him for a moment, then I pressed my lips to his. He was tense; I could feel it in the way he kissed me. I rested my head against his chest hoping he would soon talk to me.

“Let me see your hand,” he said.

I held up my irritated hand, and he took it in his and examined it. He brought it to his lips. I felt his tongue sweep across it, but it didn’t help. If anything, it made it even more irritated.

“I don’t know what it is, Laney. We should have it looked at,” he said.

“By who?” It’s not like I could explain its origin to a regular doctor and not end up in a padded room.

“We can have Ambrose take a look at it when we get home. If it gets worse before then, I know of someone here.”

“‘K,” I said, looking up at him.

I rested my head back against the arm of the couch and examined Oliver’s face. I gingerly touched the red mark that was still on his cheek.

“Does it hurt?” He winced a little. “I’ll take that as a yes,” I said as I pulled my hand away.

My comment earned me a half-smirk and a small laugh.

I sat up, and very gently kissed the mark on his face. He didn’t look at me, just smiled crookedly. “What’s going on with you,” I asked, unable to refrain from prying.

He shrugged and still didn’t make eye contact. He just rubbed around the irritated area of my hand with his thumb.

“Oliver,” I said, turning his face toward mine with my free hand. His gorgeous green eyes looked so miserable. It broke my heart. “Talk to me,” I said, dropping my voice to a softer tone.

He heaved a deep sigh before saying anything. “My life with you means everything,” he began. “The thought of all that could have happened with the angel today, plus what my brother could have done to Lacey and her family had we not intervened, and what is going to happen to him, it’s all weighing very heavily on me.”

“Right now, we are safe, and together,” I said softly. “That’s all that matters at this very moment,” I told him. “I won’t let anything separate us. Do you understand me? We will deal with the other stuff as it comes.”

He nodded, but it didn’t matter what I said, he was going to worry about me, and he would continue to worry about Oscar. How could he not? Oscar was his brother, and even though he was insane, Oliver still cared for him because he was his brother. And to be honest, part of me was worried about Oscar too.

However, there were other factors at work right then that we could easily remedy. “We’re both hungry and tired. Let’s get something to eat and get some sleep. Everything will look better in the morning. Okay?”

He nodded. He then reached over me and pulled a room service menu from a drawer in the coffee table.

I smiled wide and scooted off his lap and to the spot beside him. “I’ve never had room service before,” I admitted excitedly.

He grinned in response.

Oliver placed the order for what I wanted, along with something for himself
, and it was quickly brought to our room. They didn’t roll in a cart or anything, like I had expected. Instead, someone knocked on the door and announced, “Room service.” Oliver opened the door and took a tray from the man on the other side.

As Oliver locked the door and held the tray, I notice him favoring his left side where he had been stabbed. I could see him trying not to show how much it still hurt
, and it reminded me of what Felix had said, about my blood being best for Oliver.

He set the tray down on the coffee table
, then headed for the balcony doors to close them. I watched him do so. After the doors were closed and locked, he returned and took a seat beside me.

“Here,” I said, turning toward him and pulling the neck of my pajama shirt to the side.

At first, he looked surprised. He eyed my neck, but there was hesitation.