T. A. Grey (15 page)

A blush spread over her cheeks making her feel unnaturally warm. She couldn’t think of anything to say so she just nodded. Her eyes trailed back to the small box in his hand. It looked like the size of a box of earrings or a ring and had white glossy paper over it.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “What’s that?” He smiled and handed the box to her. “A gift.”

She took it and held the slight weight in her hands. She didn’t want to open it. That would ruin the perfectness of the gift, but when he looked at her expectantly, she started dutifully unwrapping the paper. Slowly.

“There will be many more gifts when you come with me.” She bit her tongue to keep from replying. She didn’t want to think about that right now.

Instead, she focused on the gift. No one ever bought her gifts, not even her mother for her birthday. Already she wanted to put the pretty white paper back on the box and keep it just like that, on a shelf where she could look at it and remember this moment.

But he was watching, and he’d bought it for her. Inside the paper was a deep purple box with a gold metal hinge at the back. She took a deep breath and opened the top. What she found stunned her.

“Are they...are they real?” She didn’t even think she’d ever seen real diamonds before.

Inside the small case was a pair of earrings, glittering bright in the light and formed from small diamonds. They were long enough to dangle from her ears and set in silver.

“Of course,” he said easily.

She snapped the box shut and thrust it towards him. “Thank you but I can’t take this.” He scoffed and leaned back. “I bought them for you and so you’ll keep them. And you’ll wear them for me. They’ll look beautiful on you.”

Her hands trembled as she sat back into the couch. The gift was too...extravagant. The earrings were beautiful with an elegant design entirely made up of diamonds.

“Here then, let me.” He took the box and only then could she breathe.

When he swept the hair from her ear, her stomach tightened with nerves. He put in the earring, and then turned her head to do the other. He admired them for a moment, assessing each carefully.

“I do have excellent taste. I knew these would look perfect against your darker skin.”

“Oh.”

He passed his hand through her hair and left it there to curl into the strands. “You like them.” It wasn’t a question. And she did, so she nodded. He laughed again, and she didn’t miss the fact that he’d been doing that more and more around her.

“I believe I’ve finally made you speechless.”

“Oh, quite.” She had to turn the conversation around because the fluttery feeling inside her was beginning to scare her. “Are you trying to bribe me into going home with you?” His eyebrow cocked. “Is it that obvious? I suppose it is and yes, I am. In a way, I suppose. I’d prefer you to agree on your own, but since that hasn’t worked I figured showing you some of what you’ll have might help.”

Christine stiffened and wanted nothing more than to yank the earrings back out of her ears. She stood and marched into the kitchen, anywhere that was away from him. She tried to control her tongue. That lasted for about two seconds, but then the lashing came.

“You can’t
buy
me. You can’t bribe me, Dmetri! I’ve never even had anything as nice as this...and you can’t just expect.... You can’t really think I’ll be swayed by pretty jewelry, can you? I mean look at this place,” she said, throwing her arms out to encompass her tiny kitchen.

“It’s small, quaint, and not very clean. I don’t have nice things.” He stood, coming after her. She refused to back up and stuck her chin out at him, ready to battle. He didn’t seem intimidated in the least though and merely leaned against the kitchen doorframe.

“It is just a gift, and when you come to stay with me I’ll give you much more. Not to bribe you really, but because I want to give them to you. Is that so bad?”

“You want to give them to me?” Christine spun away from him, rubbing her hand across her aching forehead. She despised drama and complications and ever since this man entered her life that’s all there’d been. That and explosions. “No, I guess not. But—” Strong hands spun her around, pulled her into his familiar chest. He looked at her with soft eyes, a grimace at his lips. “Don’t be sad now,
millaya moya.
I know you like me.”

“Oh please,” she said, rolling her eyes.

He gave her a hard look. “I know you do, and I know you want to be with me. This will be much easier for both of us if you just agree to be with me.” Dammit, she didn’t want to talk about this. She pushed against his chest to get away from him, but he refused to let her go. Instead he wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against his big chest. Why did he have to smell so good?

“I already told you I can’t.”

His arms tightened. “Because of your mother.”

She shook her head. “Don’t say it like that. I want to marry an Alpha. It’s not just for her.”

“Then look me in the eye and say it.”

She glared hard at the button of his shirt and slowly raised her eyes to meet his. “I don’t have to because it’s the truth.”

His lip threatened to curl into a grin. “If it isn’t a lie then look me in the eyes and say it, Christine. Tell me how badly you want to marry an Alpha, to be with another instead of me.” She swallowed hard. “I want to marry an Alpha.” She kept her voice controlled, and her eyes dead on him like a snipers.

A blonde brow shot up. “Tell me you’d rather run off and marry an Alpha then stay with me. You know I’ve lived a long time, long enough to know that when I find something...different, I keep it. I never let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers.” She couldn’t believe it, but she was actually considering it. If she simplified things, kept her mother out of the picture, then she could see herself packing up her things and leaving with him when the threat was over. She would do it, and she’d enjoy this vampire with everything he had to offer. Of course, then, that wouldn’t be her life. She couldn’t change who she was and what was needed of her.

“And what about my mother?”

He sighed. “What about her? I still don’t see why you let her needs outweigh your own.”

“They don’t. Our needs pretty much match up, actually.” He smiled, sure and slow as the tips of his fingers cupped around her jaw. The touch created havoc in her body, lighting fires and scattering nerves until she tingled, waiting to see what he’d do next.

“No, they don’t, because waiting around for some Alpha to finally accept you isn’t really what you want. But our needs do match up—quite perfectly.” His other hand joined the mix, cupping along her jaw and moving back into her hair to capture her in a gentle touch.

“But what if—” Her previous argument still saturated her mind.

He smiled down at her and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “What if you fall in love with me? I must say...I like the idea.” His lips played across hers, side to side, barely touching.

Christine’s heart beat wildly in her chest; she wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it.

“Not even you are immune.”

He laughed, the sound gentle and soothing even though it was at her expense. “I’m fairly sure I’m safe from the emotion.” His teeth nipped at her bottom lip in a teasing bite.

“No one is safe from it, Dmetri. Man or woman, when two people decide to be with each other so much more becomes involved, whether you want it to or not.” His smile died, and when his hands dropped down to his sides, she missed his touch. “Do tell.” His voice was hard, accent more pronounced.

She crossed her arms to shield herself. “Well, when two people move in together, it’s a big deal. Especially when you’re sharing your bodies, eating together, doing normal things.

Other feelings are bound to intrude whether you want them to or not.”

“And you know so much about this because of all those relationships you’ve been in?

Tell me, Christine, how many is that for you?”

Her back stiffened like a steel pole. Mortification stole over her until her cheeks flushed red. “That’s none of your business.” No way was she going to tell him zero—that she’d never been in one.

“I plan to keep you even with your ill-conceived notions. I am still interested in knowing how many men you’ve been so close with before. After all, you appear to be an expert on the matter. So how many relationships is that, Christine?”

“You’re an asshole.” This night was so not going as planned. Now she wished she’d kept her bra and underwear on because the bare feeling only left her feeling more vulnerable.

“So I am,” he said with a shrug. “But you didn’t answer my question, which tells me you’re hiding something, Christine. Could it be that you’ve never lived with a man, never been in one of these ‘relationships’ that you sound so familiar with?”

“I want you to go. Now, please.” She was close to tears, something she never did, and if she didn’t get him out of here, she might not ever forgive him. She looked away from him, tightening her arms around her stomach.

He didn’t say anything for a long minute. She prayed he’d just listen to her and leave, but when he didn’t she couldn’t say she was really surprised. He was Dmetri Demidov and he did what he wanted, when he wanted.

“Not yet. You’ve got me genuinely intrigued, Christine. How many?” She stared at the tile of the kitchen floor as if memorizing the cheap design, her jaw clenched tight.

His laughter mocked her silence. “As I thought, you’ve never done it. Why don’t you quit while you’re ahead and trust me on the matter? I know better.” Anger surged inside her, mixing together with burning humiliation until she wanted to scream in his face. Instead, she kept her voice calm, collected, and lied. “Two, I’ve been in two.” The lie didn’t stumble from her tongue, surprisingly. She actually said it smoothly as if it was the truth. The number wasn’t merely random either but based off two Alphas she’d had sexual encounters with more than once. That was the closest thing she’d had to a relationship.

“Two.” He made a scoffing noise and shook his head despairingly. “And why don’t I believe you?”

She’d had enough. Christine ducked around him, storming to the front door. She threw the door open so hard it whipped back against the wall and slammed into it with a loud bang.

“Get out.” She glared at him with the last of her bravado. The fancy diamond earrings he’d bought her swung in her ears with their slight weight.

He came to her casually, as if he was taking a stroll, not being ordered out. “I’ll go, but I’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll try this again.”

“Don’t bother.”

He stopped in front of her and in a quick transformation, his expression turned possessive, feral. For a moment, he reminded her of a lykaen male, fuming over his woman. The kind of look she’d seen the Kategan men give their mates.

He leaned down, meeting her face to face. “I want you, Christine. God knows why I do, but I do. This little...problem between us will be figured out, one way or the other, and then you’re coming with me. You are mine.” He didn’t give her a chance to move or shy away, but grabbed her by the neck and planted a hard, searing kiss on her that she felt all the way down to her toes. It ignited something inside her, made her feel weak and strong all at the same time.

When he pulled back, he didn’t look at her but turned and left. Christine weakly closed the door after him with trembling fingers.

She leaned back against the door, her entire body feeling numb. “I love him.” Hearing it come from her mouth sent her into a fit of hysterical laughter. She slid down the door until her bum hit the ground. She did. It explained everything. Why she cared so much, why he got under her skin, why it hurt so much when he walked away.

“You told him to go,” she argued to herself.

But I didn’t want him to, not really.

More laughter came, the sound high and unsteady. What would he think if she told him?

Would he still want her to come with him? The thought had her laughter trailing off.

She needed to talk to someone. She needed help and she knew just who to talk to.

Christine took a deep breath but it didn’t help to give her any courage. Still, she made a fist and knocked on the door. It felt strange coming here, even stranger coming here at night, unannounced. For a long minute, she didn’t hear any voices or footsteps and her hopes deflated like a popped balloon. But then she heard it, hard booming steps—demonstrably male.

The door flew open in a whoosh. “What?” came the growl.

Jackson Marsh was a good-looking man if one preferred rugged, previously human, now turned vampire types. But Christine accepted him, as all of the pack members did, because he was Vera’s and that was enough.

“I would like to talk to Vera.”

He rolled his eyes and called over his shoulder. “Vera, babe, you got company.” He didn’t move to let her in but stood in the doorway blocking it off like a barricade. “What do you want with her?” The way he asked it made her feel like he was a cop interviewing her for a crime she’d committed.

She stood straight and tried to keep her voice steady under his intense scrutiny. “I just want to talk...girl stuff,” she hedged.

An eyebrow flew up and before he could say anything, Vera elbowed his side and squeezed in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty rose color, and her eyes were bright.

Being mated must be suiting her well. Christine had never seen the Kategan sister so happy, and that was even with the occasional fights she and her mate got into.

“Hey, what’s up, Christine?”

“I came to talk. If that’s okay.”

Vera’s mouth formed a little circle as understanding settled in. It made Christine shift back and forth on her feet. She never talked to other girls about men, probably because she didn’t have many friends and because she never had “relationships” as Dmetri enjoyed pointing out.

The bastard.

“I completely understand, come on in.” She turned to Jackson and gave him a little push.

“You, too, move big guy.” He grunted but moved.

“Is this about Dmetri?” he asked.

Christine bit her lip, which did nothing to help the awkwardness of the situation. Talking to a girl about her ex when her mate was in the room was not easy.