Rogue (Sons of Sangue Book 4) (24 page)

“But then you woke up?”

She nodded, worrying her lower lip.

“And now?”

“I see how silly I was being.” Kimber looked to the pink and blue jogging shoes she wore. “I suppose I was using the dream as a reason to see you.”

He tipped her chin up with the pad of his thumb. “To disobey my order.”

The word
order
rankled her as if she would just do as he told her to do. “I’m not yours to order around, Anton.”

“No. But it’s the deal we made. I cannot protect you from my brothers, if you won’t listen to me.”

“If you weren’t running around with a bunch of miscreants, I wouldn’t need protecting.”

The sound of a ringing phone stopped Anton’s retort. He reached into his pocket, looked at the screen, then slid the lock and put it to his ear. “Hello?”

Kimber couldn’t help wondering who would call him in the middle of the night. Better yet, why he’d answer in the middle of their disagreement. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could definitely tell the voice was female.

“Now?” Anton rubbed his nape. “I know I was supposed to be there. It couldn’t be helped,” he told the caller. “Where the hell is Viper?”

By the tone in the woman’s voice, Kimber sensed the woman wasn’t too happy with Anton, whoever she was.

“It’s going straight to voice mail?” He took a deep breath and blew it out between pursed lips. “Fine.”

The person on the other end sounded much like she was reading him the riot act.

“Look,” he glanced at Kimber briefly, then dropped his gaze to the road where they stood, “I didn’t ask for any of this… Shit! Yes, I’ll be there by noon… I did promise to protect you… Pull up your big girl panties, Tam… See you as soon as I can get there… And Tam? I don’t think I have to tell you to keep your fucking cool. They ask, you tell them you belong to me.”

Anton hit the end and pocketed his phone.
You belong to me.
Hadn’t he said the very same thing to her? No doubt, just so he’d have a piece of ass while he was in town, and she had played right into his hands.

He rubbed his hand over the shadow on his beard. The scratching sound of the whiskers against his flesh filled the silence between them. Anton grimaced. “I have to go.”

Lord, she wanted to bust his balls, and yet all she could muster was, “You do.”

“When I get back we’ll talk.” He reached out, meaning to touch her, but she jerked away from him. Anton shoved his hands into his pockets. “I have a job to do,
tesoro
.”

“You do.”

“Would you stop already?” His voice rose in his agitation. “I’ll talk to you about all this when I get back.”

“Don’t bother, Rogue. I was fooling myself into thinking this might work.” Kimber blinked back the tears, not wanting him to see how much he had hurt her. “I was wrong. Go save Tam or go fuck her for all I care.”

“Kimber—”

She didn’t wait for him to finish. Kimber turned and sprinted the rest of the way home, not stopping until she was secure in her home, with Diesel at her feet and her door firmly deadbolted. She slid down the back of the door, holding her emotions in until her backside hit the floor. Only then did she release the tears. Sobs shook her body. Of course, he would have a girlfriend in Santa Barbara. It wasn’t like he would wait to get laid until he returned to Pleasant. She had been a fool to think otherwise.

Friends with benefits.

She had warned him she didn’t do friends with benefits. Tam’s phone call proved as much. For Kimber, it was all or nothing. She had to cut Anton loose. She’d never be able to trust him. She had been a fool to think she could.

Tam was her wake-up call.

Kimber supposed she should thank the woman before she had invested too much of her heart. Diesel came over, nuzzled her side, then laid down next to her. Covering her face with her palms, she allowed the sobs to take over. Who was she trying to fool? Anton had already claimed a good deal of her heart. Now, all she needed to do was learn how to ignore the big gaping hole left by his betrayal.

Anton watched Kimber and her delicious ass run in the opposite direction from him. Damn, she had looked smoking hot in those yoga pants. Not to mention the pink sports bra that barely contained her tits. It was all he could do to hold his ground. He jammed his fists onto his hips, his short nails biting into his palms. Had he taken chase, there would’ve been no stopping him. He would have carried her to her bed and fucked her senseless. His dick practically begged him to do so.

Unfortunately, there was no time to dally.

Fuck!
Other than speak to Tamera, he wasn’t even sure what the hell he did. Kimber had suddenly gotten a burr up her ass. Next thing he knew, she was telling him to go fuck Tam. What the hell? Thinking of the short call, he was pretty sure he hadn’t mentioned anything about an intimate relationship with Tam. Why would he?

Her sobs carried to his keen hearing, cutting him to the heart. Damn, he hated the fact he was the reason for her sorrow.

Anton rubbed a hand down his jaw.

No matter what had upset her, he had a job to do and he couldn’t do it from here. Grayson would kill him if anything happened to his mate because Anton wasn’t there to protect her. Hell, he’d never forgive himself for not stopping Cara’s asinine plan in the first place. He shouldn’t have allowed her to talk him into giving Tamera the okay to stick her journalist nose into the Devils’ business, even if Tamera wasn’t supposed to be in the Devils’ territory alone. When the plan had been hatched, they had no way of knowing Tank would send Anton back to his home state.

Christ, how had everything turned to shit so quickly?

Kimber rounding the corner of the bushes lining her property and disappearing from his sight, stuck in his mind. His heart fucking hurt. Not only had he lost Tamera to Grayson, he had potentially lost Kimber because of all his lies and omissions. The idea of her never speaking to him again damn near crippled him.

Tell her or lose her.

Anton wanted to confess everything, to come clean.

No more secrets.

He jammed a hand through his short hair, blowing out his breath in frustration. Having a twelve-hour ride straight south ahead of him, going after Kimber wasn’t an option. Coming clean would have to wait. Not just about the Devils and his working undercover, but who he was. Who he really was. His heart was breaking wide open, telling him his feelings for Kimber went far beyond friends with benefits. If he cared for her, then he needed to be straight with her, including the truth about the fangs she had been looking for earlier. Her dream had no doubt been her subconscious recalling the truth.

Vampire.

Lord, she’d either run screaming or promise to get him help by checking him into the nearest mental institute. Freaking out, though, would be preferable to never wanting to see him again. At least then he might have a chance to prove to her vampirism wasn’t the scary thing nightmares were built upon. He was human, living and breathing just as she was, only he needed blood to survive. Not to mention the fact they were extreme sexual beings.
Which she might come to like
, he thought with a wry smile. He’d already shown her as much. Add to that, the drinking of her blood, and he’d give her mind-blowing orgasms any woman would be reluctant to turn down.

A four letter word formed in his thoughts.

Hell, he wanted to shrug it off, dismiss it as nonsense. But as he stood there staring at her house, not knowing if she’d ever forgive him or allow him back into her life, it sure felt as if his heart was falling apart. The closest he had come to loving anyone was Tamera, and even losing her to Grayson hadn’t felt nearly as distressing as the possibility of losing Kimber.

If it wasn’t love, it was damn close to it.

Anton had always wanted what Grayson had found with Tamera. The family. The whole nine yards. Most ran away from the idea of loving one woman. Anton had always hoped to find that one special person, to live out his life with, to have little vampire true bloods. Just his damn dumb luck, Kimber had no idea vampires even existed.

The likelihood of her wanting him once she found out was nil. He’d be left with hypnotizing her into forgetting his confession, and walking out of her life forever, in love with a woman never to be his.

If she didn’t find him crazy as a loon, he might consider petitioning Kaleb into letting him take a mate once this damn case was over. He could easily see himself in one of her white front porch rockers, cuddling a babe in his arms while she sat beside him, Diesel at her feet.

When the hell had he become such a sap?

Taking in a deep breath, he shook off his silly desires and headed for his house, reality staring him in the face. Bobby, the one man who had the ability to take him down by telling the Devils about Kimber. And Kimber, the one woman who, even if she forgave him, would never be able to love the vampire in him.

Anton jerked the screen door open and headed inside, calling out to his very temporary housemate. Not that he didn’t like Bobby, he respected the man, but he despised the MC he stood with.

Bobby came around the corner from the kitchen, holding up a sandwich. “Want one, man?”

Anton shook his head.

“No wonder you don’t have an ounce of fat on you. I swear you never eat. You even like food?”

“No time right now, Preacher.” Anton ignored the question, because frankly, he did not like food, not since turning vampire. “I need to head back to Santa Barbara.”

“Let me get my things.” He took a large bite of the turkey sandwich, wiping the remaining mayo from his whiskers. “I can be ready in five.”

“You’re staying here, Preacher. Someone needs to keep an eye on Draven. That shipment is supposed to be here any day, and Tank would have our asses if that little shit took off with his smack.” Anton grabbed his black T-shirt, draped over the arm of the sofa, and pulled it over his head. “We can’t trust that two-bit dealer to pick up the heroin alone. You know as well as I do, there is way too much money involved to trust the barkeep.”

“What will Tank think when you aren’t here and you show up back in Santa Barbara?”

“Look, bro, it can’t be helped. I have an issue with my old lady I need to deal with. If I run across Tank while I’m there, I’ll make sure he knows this is on me. Not on you.”

“You have an old lady?”

He shrugged. “Never mentioned her before. No reason to. I’d rather keep her out of club business, you know?”

One of Bobby’s brows rose. “And the pretty little thing I detained a few moments ago? She wasn’t here to see you?”

Anton winced, hoping Bobby bought it. “Yeah, let’s not tell my old lady about her. She’s my neighbor. I’ve fucked her a few times. Tam finds out, and she’ll cut my dick clean off. Go all Lorena Bobbitt on me.”

Bobby chuckled. “I can’t seem to get one woman. And you’ve got one too many.”

“You were doing all right the other night.”

“Tena? She seemed to be nice enough, too nice to put up with my ornery ass.” He took another large bite of his sandwich. Shifting the turkey and bread to one side of his mouth, he said, “I hope Tam’s worth it, man. Your old lady doesn’t cut that dick off because of your sassy little neighbor, Tank will have your balls for disobeying his orders.”

“It can’t be helped. I’ll be back in two days tops. You’ll cover for me?”

“Just get your ass back here before that shipment arrives. I don’t want to have to excuse away your absence. I’d rather not be on Tank’s bad side.”

“You got it, bro.”

Anton took the stairs two at a time. The sooner he got to Santa Barbara, the quicker he could get back, bringing Tamera with him. Pulling out his burner phone, he quickly dialed Kane’s number, being sent straight to voice mail.
Shit!
Where the hell was Kane?

He entered his room, pulled off his basketball shorts and stepped into a pair of jeans. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he quickly slipped into his worn brown boots before heading to his wardrobe. Anton grabbed a couple of days’ worth of clothes, stuffed them into his black duffle bag, then headed back down the stairs. Bobby sat, feet kicked up on the coffee table, remote in hand.

“Be safe, man,” Bobby said. “Don’t worry about Draven. I’ll make sure he minds his manners, even if that means hanging out unseen at that bar of his.”

Anton sure hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He didn’t want to risk Bobby being found out by the Sons. Hanging at the Rave would be risky at best. Something told Anton he could trust Bobby. If the man said he wasn’t going to rat him out to Tank and that he’d have his back, then he believed him.

“Be back as soon as I can. I owe you, bro.”

Anton trotted out the back of his house, heading for the barn where he had stored their bikes. He slid the door to the side and flipped the switch to the bare bulb. Taking his duffle bag off his shoulder, he strapped it to the back of his bike, then stepped over the seat and backed the motorcycle from the shed. Anton strapped the helmet onto his head, turned the key, and started the bike. The engine roared to life. Doing a wide arc, he drove the bike down his drive, stopping at the end, just shy of the road.