Forbidden Touch (38 page)

"Everything is fine, Mitch …" Ciera began, but he cut her off mid thought.

"No… everything is not fine, Ciera! He is the reason that we are even in this mess. And no more than eight hours ago, you stood right there crying because of him. How is any of that fine?"

"It's complicated, but everything is all right now," she cried to him.

Mitch looked over to Dane. "What did you do to make things
fine
, huh?" He narrowed his eyes and walked closer to Dane.

Dane didn't back up any. He was transparent, so Mitch couldn't touch him, not that he would have backed down if he hadn't been a ghost right now. He actually wished that he wasn't. He had a strong urge to connect fist with jaw about now. He didn't like the guy shouting at Ciera. A cocky smile covered his handsome face. "She thought that I was going to leave her. It upset her, so I promised that I would always be here with her. She is fine now."

Mitch was almost nose to nose with Dane's spirit. "So you lied to her to make her happy?"

Dane raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"No... stop, Dane. We aren't having this conversation now. You know what's at stake tonight, and what we will be up against with the Elders when all of this is over. This argument can wait for another day," Ciera said.

Mitch stepped back a little. His eyes darted in between Ciera and Dane several times, then finally settled on Ciera. "What are you not telling me?"

She shook her head. "Our parents are now aware of everything, and we both have to go before the Elders when this whole thing is over with your daddy. Dane didn't tell them the whole truth about you and me, but he did tell them everything that he did. Treason is punishable by death."

Mitch smiled, then looked back at Dane. "Guess you did lie about leaving her after all, huh?" he said smugly.

Yeah, that whole connecting fist to jaw was so going to happen the first chance he got, Dane thought. "I'm not dead yet, and if you will remember, I have Ciera with me now. And when you couldn't find it in your cold heart to trust her," he pointed at his chest, "I was the one that was there to hold her while she cried. So don't point a finger at me, unless you are willing to turn it around, you fucking hypocrite."

"All right, Dane, that is enough, please. If I had known that you two would pick fights with each other, I never would have allowed you to come with me."

"Why did you let him come?" Mitch asked.

"She wanted to see if all three of us could play nice together, so she would know if her plan will work or not," Dane said.

"Dane!" Ciera shouted at him.

"What plan?" Mitch said, and Dane could tell that the guy was beginning to catch on. He really was quick.

He could tell that Ciera was already pissed. She had crossed her arms over her chest, and was looking away from both of them. He was going to have a lot of making up to do after this, and the thought of making up with her, brought a smile to his face. But Mitch really did need to know about this so he would have time to think about all of it, get mad about it, then cool down before he saw her in person. Then again, he may stay mad about it and blow everything they were trying to accomplish tonight. He couldn't win for losing, he thought.

"Nothing … I'm sorry Ciera. I will play nice from now on."

She wiped at her face, and looked back at them. She smiled really big, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was more so like she was so angry, that smiling was the only thing she could do. She shook her head at them. "I get it, Dane, it won't work. The two of you will never be grown up enough to handle it. I promised you earlier that if anything ever happened to you or Mitch, that I would make myself go on living for you both. If I can't have the both of you, then I won't have either of you. I will transfer out of this state, out of this country if I have to. But I can't watch this every day, and I can't choose between the two of you. I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes again and looked at Mitch. She shook her head. "I don't know what to say, Mitch. I am in love with two very immature men. I love you both, and I am an all or nothing kind of girl. I will never be happy with only one of you. You have one side of my heart, and he has the other. I didn't plan it, but it happened anyway." She sniffed and wiped another tear away. "Take Lazarus to that club out by Lake Decatur. I think it's called The Pulse. Make sure that you both have dates to take home with you, and be walking out the door no later than midnight. We will get there, and be waiting in the shadows by ten, just in case he decides to leave early. Let him walk ahead of you a little. Tie your shoe, or drop your wallet or something when you walk out. Tell him to go on ahead of you. I'm not completely sure what will happen to him, but I don't want you in the line of fire."

Mitch blinked at her a few times. Had she just broken up with him? The last thing he heard her saying, was that if she couldn't have both him and Dane, then she wouldn't have either of them. Then she had said something about moving out of the country. Then something about going clubbing and tying his shoe. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he was sure the damn thing was about to explode. "What?" he managed to get out.

"Ciera, I'm sorry. I really am. Don't do this, please. I would rather you be with Mitch than be on your own. I know he will take care of you," Dane pleaded.

"I have been alone for the last three centuries, Dane. I think I am capable of taking care of myself."

He framed her face in his hands, and was surprised that he could feel her skin under his. "Please listen to me. The Elders are going to kill me if I don't run away. I need to know that you will be happy. My soul will not rest well if you are not. Be happy Ciera, and don't cast Mitch out. He needs you, and you need him. I will always be with you, just maybe not where you can talk to me. I will long to hold your body next to mine always, but as long as I know that I have once touched your heart, I will be happy. I love you, Ciera. Remember that always, and remember that I only want love and happiness for you." He bent and kissed the tear off her cheek, then kissed her lips gently.

Mitch didn't know whether to punch the guy or hug him. He had been following this whole scene, with the three of them, really slowly. It seemed that he couldn't catch up. But he had realized what Dane had just done for him. That is, if Ciera listened to the guy.

"Please, do this for me, Ciera. Stay with Mitch and be happy. He needs you, and you need him."

"I need you, too," she cried.

"I will be here," he pointed to her heart. "Whenever you need me. All you have to do is think of me, and I will be here."

"I love you so much it hurts," she said, and laid her head on his chest. She now completely understood the phrase "love hurts."

Her eyes locked with Mitch's, and she knew that she couldn't leave him. If one of her men were gone from her life, it would be bad. But if they both were absent, she would go insane. "I will stay," she said, and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, Dane was still holding her and rubbing her back gently. "Sleep now, Ciera. This will all be over with soon enough." She closed her eyes and prayed for a good dream. God only knew how badly she needed one.

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Chapter
61

Mitch was tying his shoe when he heard the unmarked pull in the drive. Talk about perfect timing. He had sent Ciera and Dane on their way about a half hour ago. She had been really upset in thinking that she could never be happy without both him and Dane in her life. He hated to think that the other vampire was kissing her tears away right now, but someone needed to, and it wasn't possible for him to do it at the moment. He wouldn't let her run away when all of this was over. He needed her, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, she needed him as well. If she left here, he would go with her. She could be happy again. He was positive that she could be happy again with him, and only him.

Lazarus walked in the front door with a smile on his face. "Everyone has been asking about you. I finally broke down and told them that you were alright, and would be back to work on Monday. The Captain already has a case lined up for you when you return. He doesn't want anybody working it except you." He shrugged. "Well, me and you."

"I'm ready to go back. I am beginning to feel a little homesick." His brow furrowed. "Speaking of home, the cops didn't confiscate all my belongings in my apartment, did they?"

Lazarus shook his head. "No, but they did trash it looking for clues. You are going to need some serious maid service in that apartment, son."

Mitch sighed. "Look Lazarus, I know that I am your son and all, but you haven't been around my whole life man, and you don't look any older than I do. It is a little weird hearing you call me son."

Lazarus laughed and held his hands up, palms out. "I'm sorry. I will try to squish the urge from now on. Are you ready? I'm gonna go take a quick shower and then we can go. You want to get something to eat first?"

"Yeah, I am starving. The only edible thing you have in this house is Ramen Noodles."

Lazarus chuckled from the bathroom, and Mitch heard the shower come on. "All right, did you decide where you want to go to pick up our other nourishment?"

"Yeah, I used to hit that club over by the lake a lot back in the day. I think it's called The Pulse. They keep their place pretty clean of junkies and trouble-makers."

The shower cut off, and Mitch could hear the guy drying off, then he stuck his head around the door and looked at Mitch with a smile. "Mitch…we are vampires. We are the trouble-makers." He smiled and his fangs shot out.

Mitch smiled nervously, then nodded. "Right."

Lazarus came back to the living room fully dressed, carrying his socks and boots. "Have you had a chance to practice your skills today?"

Mitch shook his head. "No, I pretty much crashed after you left, and didn't wake up until about an hour ago. I guess I was more tired than I thought."

Lazarus nodded as he stood and grabbed his keys and jacket. "No worries, we do have an eternity to figure out all that you can do, but we can talk about some of the different ones over food."

Mitch nodded in agreement and they left the house.

Mitch had chosen Porky's. It was one of his favorite places to eat, and of course they would deliver, as well. After the short blonde took their order, Mitch began the discussion. "You said that you have the ability to block other vampires from finding you. Do you think, if I possess that skill, it would keep me from subconsciously bringing Ciera's spirit to me? I don't want her invading my dreams. I can fight it off when I am awake by thinking of something else, but when I am asleep," Mitch shook his head, "I can't keep it from happening."

Lazarus took a sip of his drink and grimaced. "Yes, and we need you to get that skill mastered very quickly. I am very uncomfortable knowing that you can be tracked. It will only be a matter of time before the Elders find out about you, and I don't want them getting their hands on you. They will want you to become one of them, with all the skills that you possess. Believe me, Mitch, you do not want that life. Your life will never again be your own."

Mitch looked up as the waitress set his plate in front of him. The blonde's wrist was naked before him, and he felt his fangs poke his lower lip. He turned his head and faked coughing. He heard Lazarus tell the girl that he was fine, that they would no longer need her services, and that she could even bring the check. Mitch heard the girl walk away, and he looked back to Lazarus, who had a slight grin spreading across his face.

"It won't take you long to get control of your urges," Lazarus said, then tucked his napkin in his collar and began eating his Bar-B-Q sandwich.

It was still early when they left Porky's, so Lazarus drove them to the other side of the city. He thought feeding again would be a good idea for Mitch. He thought that what happened at the restaurant may just accidentally happen again at the club in front of a hundred plus humans. Better not to take the risk, Lazarus had said.

"It probably only happened because you used your skills so much yesterday and last night. You didn't get enough human blood to make up for it. What you really need is vampire blood," Lazarus smiled hugely. "But we shall save that for another time. I have a friend who would be up to sharing that experience with you, but she is out of the country right now."