Framed (10 page)

“I thought about it the whole way over here, Ruby. I can think of only one thing to do,” she said, softly. “You have to convince him to remove it.”

“It's not going to happen, Sophie. I know you don't want to hear this, but he won't go for it. He loves me...he won't sacrifice me unless it's on his own terms. He's told me as much.”

“Then I guess you'll have to use your powers of persuasion,” she said, with the slightest undertone of contempt. “Use that love against him somehow.”

“Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?” I gasped, as I grabbed my stuff to leave. “You're un-fucking-believable, Sophie. Just when I think you've got an ounce of soul in that hotrod body of yours, you show your true cavernous and empty self. I'm not doing
shit
for you. You probably made this whole fucking thing up just to have your way. You deserve an award and a fucking beating.”

She snatched me up by the arm and pulled me in close to her perfect face. It was a very different side of Sophie, one that I hadn't seen before. She'd always seemed a victim to me. That night, she was a woman possessed by the thought of losing the man she loved, and
that
was something I could relate to.

“I know what you think of me, Ruby. It's written all over that snotty little face of yours every time I see it. You think I'm a whore...that I'm selfish and opportunistic. You look at me like I'm a puddle of mud you have to walk around so your precious little Manolo's don't get ruined,” she quietly snarled, the disdain plain on her face as she pressed it closer to mine. “You have
no
idea what being me is like, and it's abundantly clear that you don't care, but I need you to get crystal clear on one thing. The Elders are coming, and they're coming for one thing and one thing only. They will
not
stop until they get what they want, and you may not have a clue who they are or what they're capable of, but I do. So if you want to think I'm full of shit and self-serving, think about this: who do you think will be the first person they take down after Sean is gone?”

Her question required no answer. My lack of response illustrated my full comprehension.

“Exactly, Ruby.
You
,” she said, regaining her composure. “If you really want me to cut to the chase, here it is—you're going to die either way. The question that remains is are
you
selfish enough to take Sean with you?”

She had me dead to rights. I may have hated her and everything she embodied, but if she was correct about the Elders' plans as well as Sean's mortality, I really didn't have a choice.

“He won't listen to me,” I whispered to her, as Scarlet paced in my mind. She really didn't like the options Sophie had presented us with; she wanted to see what was behind door number three.

“Nor me,” she added in commiseration. “You'll need to figure out a way to make him want to do it.”

“Figure out a way to make him want me dead? A way that he'll accept my sacrifice? Oh yeah, that sounds easy enough.”

“I didn't say it would be easy, only necessary,” she countered. “Just remember, your outcome remains the same whether you convince him to or not.”

“You've made my fate abundantly clear, thank you very much. I'm starting to think you're getting a deep sense of satisfaction out of constantly reminding me,” I growled, with a voice far huskier than my own. Scarlet was peeking out to say hello. The expression on Sophie's face dropped instantly as sweat beaded on her upper lip.

“Do what you can, Ruby,” she said, over-emphasizing my name. “You know Sean is willing to die for you. Are you willing to do the same for him?”

Scarlet's growl became a snap as she lunged toward her. Sophie screamed and fell backwards until her body pressed tight against the glass of the entrance door.

“I think you know
exactly
how much I'm willing to do for the ones I call my own,” Scarlet purred into Sophie's ear. “Remember?”

She pulled back slightly to take in the expression on Sophie's face. Her fear stank up the room, and I was stifled by the pressure of the emotion. “Now run along, Sophie. Wouldn't want you playing with the big bad wolf when she's hungry.”

Sophie bolted through the door so fast I thought her stilettos were sure to remain upright where she'd just been standing, like a fashion version of the tablecloth trick. Scarlet howled out a laugh at Sophie's retreat.

Any helpful suggestions? Scaring the shit out of Sophie doesn't seem very helpful.

“No, Ruby, it wasn't...but it sure was fun,” Scarlet grinned. “You should try it more often.”

I'm trying to get out of trouble, not into it.

“And that is why you miss out on
so
much of the thrill in life.”

Are you done now?

“
Quite.”

With every calming breath I took, Scarlet blended back into her secondary role and I took over the helm. After a few minutes of standing and staring blankly at the display case along the far side of the store, I picked up my belongings and left. I very astutely remembered to lock the door behind me. All I wanted was to make it from the store to my apartment without being accosted or confronted by anyone who hadn't yet had their opportunity to do so that day.

I dragged myself up the stairs to my house, obsessed with finding a way out of the predicament Sophie had presented me with. The humidity that hung in the air around me was oppressive and did nothing to help my intellectual capacity. I was too tired to shower, eat, or even brush my teeth, so I went directly to my room and flopped onto the bed after taking off as much clothing as I could and still be considered dressed. I let my mind wander aimlessly, hoping it would tire after a mental hike—and I prayed for no visions that night.

I didn't need any icing on my drama cake.

9

The heat was unbearable.

After an unseasonably warm day, it seemed that the furnace in the apartment didn't get the memo about not needing to be on. I'd kicked the comforter off an hour earlier hoping that would help the sweating, but my pores continued to leak. The nearly full moon blasted through my curtains, making my sleeping conditions even more challenging. I tossed and turned before I finally gave up, facing the inevitable; I couldn't sleep.

Giving up on my quest for a good night's rest, I made my way to the kitchen and dug a questionably old bottle of Riesling out of the fridge. I leaned a hip against the island and drank straight from the bottle, feeling no need for etiquette. Staring off into space, I drank until the weight in my hand started getting lighter. I had no idea how long I'd been standing there.

The guest room door down the hall opened, followed by the closing of the bathroom door quickly thereafter.
The light whoosh of water beating against the wall that separated the bathroom from the kitchen brought me out of my stupor. It was soothing background music as I continued my choreographed dance with the bottle—sip, stare, sip, stare.

When I tipped the bottle back for one last swig, I lost my balance slightly while perched against the island. I lurched forward as the bottle crashed hard against the floor, shattering into pieces. I groaned in response.

Reaching across the floor for the cabinet in front of me, I tried not to land in the pile of glass before me. After three attempts that nearly had me belly flop onto the kitchen floor, I decided that the dustpan would stay under the sink. Instead, I shimmied my way slowly out of the kitchen backwards, trying to avoid contact with the little glass floor obstacles surrounding me. I needed to get the vacuum cleaner, which I was fairly certain was in my closet; I didn't use it often.

I stepped gingerly into the hall at the same time Cooper burst into it. When I lifted my eyes from the floor, I saw him standing there, wrapped precariously in a white towel. He was still dripping wet. His lack of clothing snapped my attention back to my own scantily clad status. I hadn't really planned on running into anyone in the kitchen, so I wasn't worried about wearing a tight white and very threadbare tank top with black underwear; I guess I should have been.

I was sweating so profusely that I knew I looked like I was in a wet t-shirt contest. By the look on Cooper's face, I was winning. He was breathing hard. I was barely breathing at all; the tension in the air was too thick. Thoughts ran wild through my mind, all of which did nothing to help me battle the heat I was feeling. I needed to get away from him before I did something I'd regret.

Despite my best efforts to drop my eyes to the floor, they couldn't quite seem to get past the towel slung dangerously low on his hips. I stood there thinking of all the creative things I could do to get it to fall.

“
Vacuum, vacuum...” I muttered to myself as I pressed against the wall and followed it towards my room. Unfortunately for me, my home was well over one hundred years old and they didn't believe in wide corridors back then. There was no escaping contact with him. I tried to squeeze past, my anxiety and his gaze pinning me to the wall, but as fate would have it, our arms grazed each other.

That was all it took.

A deep, fiery burn shot through my body, and I pushed that feeling at him as I closed the distance between us, launching myself at his nearly naked body. I wrapped my arms and legs around him like a boa constrictor and squeezed, grinding my body against him. Our mouths were all over each other; breathing seemed trivial.

I wiggled my hips up and down until I successfully dislodged the towel and growled with approval as I heard it drop to the floor. He returned the sentiment by slamming my back against the wall, leveraging himself harder against me. I raked my nails down his back, drawing blood. He fisted his hand in my hair and extended my head back forcefully before nipping my neck. I pushed back against his chest until he released his hold on me, allowing me to see his face; his eyes glowed amber.

“Bedroom. Now,” I ordered.

I was on my back in his bed before I got the second word out. He hovered over me, making me even hotter as he eyed up every inch of me.

“Interesting...,” he said as his eyes locked on mine. Then he grabbed my top and quickly ripped it in two. Apparently pulling it over my head would have taken too much time.

His chest rumbled as he stared down at what he'd just bared. That sound signaled the end of our little intermission, and we fell right back into it—biting, grinding, pulling, licking, scratching, sucking. I said and did things I couldn't believe, and he seemed to approve of every one of them. I wanted Cooper in a purely animal way—no rules, no inhibitions, just raw sex without emotion, and I was stunned by how strong that desire was. The tiniest shred of my consciousness was uneasy, creating uncertainty as to whether or not
I
really was the one who wanted Cooper.

Cooper didn't seem too fazed by anything other than my underwear. While my mind raged against my hormones, he slid his hand down my body to my panties, lingering slightly at the edge. He played with it, sliding his finger slowly underneath it before withdrawing it repeatedly. It made me crazy, my hormones winning out over rationale. With his last pass, he grabbed the elastic and violently tore the flimsy, black fabric from my body.

The surge I felt that time was not the rush of anticipation; it was panic—my conscious mind and PTSD had finally kicked in full-bore.

I screamed and scrambled out from underneath him as I worked my way up the headboard, frantically grabbing for coverage of any kind. I yanked the sheet off the bed and wrapped it tightly around me, leaving only my arms exposed. My breathing was erratic, and Cooper—who was on his hands and knees entirely too close to me—wasn't breathing at all. His expression was odd; he looked bewildered, but there was still hunger in his eyes just below the surface.

He tried hesitantly to reach for me, but I stopped him.

“I'm sorry, Cooper. I don't know what's happening,” I sputtered as I tried to get out of the bed while keeping myself covered. “I didn't mean to...I didn't mean for this...”

I bolted out of his room, tripping on the sheet. Crashing into the door frame, I managed to stay upright enough to stumble around the corner and into my room, slamming the door behind me before I locked it.

“
What the fuck was that?” I whispered to myself in the darkness of my room.

Sex, Ruby...It was
going
to be sex. Now, it's nothing.

“You
,” I cursed accusingly into the empty room. “
You
did this?”

No, not me.
We
...
we
did this. Look in the mirror, you'll see what I'm saying.

I turned on the bedside lamp and walked over to my standing mirror. An unfamiliar face stared back at me. Not so much the face itself, but the eyes—my eyes. They were purple, as if Scarlet's blood red had bled into my baby blues and created an entirely different pair. It was a sobering realization; we really were becoming one.

“Ruby,” Cooper called from outside my bedroom door. “Let me in.”

My body flushed once again with heat and I turned my head slowly towards the door, wanting to rip it from the hinges to get to him. I slammed my eyes shut and fisted my hands like a child trying to convince herself that there really wasn't a monster in the closet trying to get her. It wasn't the monster in the closet that I was worried about. Scarlet and I were navigating a difficult course with our new lack-of-boundaries situation and I was hellbent on staying in the driver's seat.