The Awakening (9 page)

Zac raised his hands and grabbed the assassin's arm
mid-punch and squeezed with everything he had. Bone snapped with a sickening
crunch and Maddox fell back, shock plastered on his face. His right arm hung at
an awkward angle and his already pale complexion, turned absolutely white. He
wasn't healing fast enough to keep going, that much was obvious.

"You can tap out at any time, you know,"
Zac said, scrambling to his feet.

"Never," Maddox hissed and lunged upwards
with his left hand, fingers outstretched.

Zac dodged to the side, as flesh grazed against his
side. Last thing he wanted was a puncture wound in his gut. Those took forever
to heal and that was a pain in his ass he'd rather not deal with. Swinging
around, he grabbed the assassin's head between his hands, pushing him down to
the ground, a knee firmly in the small of his back. One simple move and Maddox
would have big problems. One being a broken spine, the other a shattered skull
or a broken neck, or if he was lucky, all of the above.

The assassin roared in annoyance, his entire body
tense with pent up anger. He knew he was done and he tapped the concrete floor
with his good hand. Zac pressed his knee harder into his back, a warning not to
try anything. A tap out was a tap out. This fight was over.

Letting him go, Zac stood, ignoring the crowd who'd
become more rowdy once there was a clear victor. Maddox rolled onto his back
with a groan, holding his limp arm to his stomach. He looked majorly pissed
off, but he'd lost fair and square.

Zac held out his hand as the assassin glared up at
him and wiped his bloody nose with a scowl. "We don't have to be friends,
Maddox. We just have to get along."

With a shake of his head, Maddox grasped Zac's
forearm. "I'll help you with your hybrid problem and that's all."

Zac hauled the vampire to his feet, his bones
cracking as they healed. "Deal."

CHAPTER TEN

Pushing open the door, Gabby looked over the room
and saw that there was only one bed.
Again
.

The little bed and breakfast just outside of
Grasmere was very quaint and English and all of that, but it was ruined with
everything that had happened since she'd stepped off the plane back in London.
It was romantic in a way, but she supposed the only consolation was that
Regulus was paying for everything. Him being here was the dampener, or so she
kept telling herself. The Roman chuckled behind her, obviously reading her
thoughts again.

"Oh, shut up," she hissed, dumping her
bag beside the bed.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Stay here," he said curtly and went to
leave.

"Why?" she asked stubbornly. "I'm
capable of looking after myself."

"I'm fully aware that you're a grown woman,
Gabrielle...and a witch…"

He was looking at her like she was something to
eat, so she interrupted with, "Why do you keep me locked away, then? I'm
not going to run away you know."

"Aed is gone, but it doesn't mean he knows
we're following him. He might come back and I can't let you face him
alone."

Shit, his sincerity was unnerving. Her only answer
was to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Any preference?"

"Well," she said, waving her hands around
the room. "Since we're in England and I've never been before, how about
something a little more English and a little less hybrid?"

Regulus' lips pulled into an amused grin. "I
do like that mouth of yours."

Before she could retort, he was gone in that
annoying disappearing vampire way of his. Looking at her cell, she considered
calling Zac and seeing how they were going. She hadn't heard back from him
since she'd texted him yesterday. Aed had been in Grasmere looking for the
Celestines and she wondered if he'd found it because Aya really had been here
recently. At the thought of the hybrid, the
good
one, she smiled. Aya
would have a plan and paired with Zac, they'd know what to do. She had to take
Regulus to meet them. That would go down a treat. She knew the Roman wouldn't
go along with it and once Aya laid eyes on him, she'd try to kill him on the
spot. Zac…well, she wasn't sure what Zac would do anymore.

The door opened and Regulus came in, holding a
plate of steaming food. "English enough?" he declared, waving a hand.

With a sigh, she sat at the little table in front
of the window that looked over the cottage garden. He set the plate down in
front of her like she was at a Michelin star restaurant, sat in the chair
opposite and proceeded to stare at her as she poked at the food he'd obviously
gotten at the pub next door. Fish and chips with a side of mushy
peas. Deciding ignoring him was the best option, she started to eat, her
stomach finally beginning to settle after the afternoon's carnage. She'd
confront him about Zac and Aya tomorrow. Today, that'd go into the too hard
basket because the Roman was riled up and nobody could deal with that.

His eyes never left her and it was impossible to
concentrate on anything else. Did he think she was that delicate? She'd seen
dead bodies before, maybe not as mutilated as they had been in the past few
days, but she'd seen it before.

Finally, when Regulus didn't stop staring, she
asked, "Don't you need to eat or feed or whatever you call it?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Do you have to stare at me?"

"I don't have to, but I will."

Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her fish and
chips, poking at the mushy peas. "You've got a strange way of doing
things, even for a vampire."

"As opposed to what?"

"Zac."

"Zachary?" Regulus scoffed. "He so
desperately wants to be human again. I'm content to be exactly what I am.
That's the difference."

Clamping her mouth shut, she finished off the last
few bites of her dinner and pushed the plate aside. "Don't you have
anything else you can amuse yourself with?"

"Like what?" He smirked and she instantly
knew he was goading her.

"I'm sure there's some hussy down at the pub
you can play with and if she doesn't want you, you can go play with yourself."

"You're feisty tonight, dear one."

Gabby grunted, looking out the window at the dark
garden. She needed space to breathe and just wished he would go someplace else
and leave her alone. His closeness was doing stupid things to her.

"Do you think of your family often?" he
asked and she looked up in surprise.

"Uh, yeah, considering you've threatened their
lives." She stood, not wanting to entertain whatever stupid thought was
going through the founder's head. A hot shower and sleep were the only things
she wanted, not some demented deep and meaningful conversation.

Even before she could take a step towards her bag,
Regulus was blocking her way. He slid his hands onto her waist and she realized
he was having another go. Took him long enough.

"Let go of me," she hissed, put off by
the fact that a small part of her liked the fact that he was attracted to
her. 

"Spend one night with me and I'll let them go.
One night is all I'm asking." His hands caressed her waist, pulling
her against him. "I've never bowed down to anyone Gabrielle, but I'm
bowing down to you. I'm yours."

He was
bowing down
to her?

"I'll let your family live in peace, if you
let me love you for one night."

She tore herself away, a twisted look of anger on
her face. "That's blackmail."

His eyes darkened and he wound and arm around her,
pulling her roughly towards him, his mouth on hers. He kissed her deeply, the
breadth of his passion overwhelming. Tearing away he said, "See it how you
will, Gabrielle, but my intentions are true."

She gasped, her whole body aching. "What the
hell do you want from me?"

"Deep down, everyone wants to be loved. Even
heartless bastards like me."

What the fuck? A shudder ran through her and she
blinked hard trying to clear her head. He couldn't compel her, so what was
this? Another game, or did he really mean what he was saying right now?

"I won't force you," he whispered,
placing his palm over the vein in her neck. "Only if you want me."

"I don't want to play your games
anymore," she managed to get out.

"This is not a game, dear one. Not to
me."

Her head, scrambled as it was by the Roman's grasp,
was screaming at her to push him away. He was not just a vampire, he was an
original, a founder. The things he'd done were unforgivable.

Since arriving in London, Regulus had tried to
shield her from the carnage every step of the way. Their relationship, if you
could call it that, had begun with threats and manipulation, but something had
shifted since she'd brought him back. For the life of her, she didn't have a
clue what.

She thought about her heart and tried to make sense
of what it was telling her. Since the day he invited her to that cafe in New
Orleans to demand her assistance, every fiber of her being was telling her not
to trust, but she'd still thought about him. Obviously, there was more to
Regulus than met the eye.

His thumb brushed the curve of her jaw as she
hesitated. How could something so wrong feel so right? Why try and fight it
when it was inevitable?

Pressing her body against his, she caught his mouth
with her own and kissed him. It was all the answer he was looking for. He
deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers, hands underneath her
top. Letting her arms snake around his neck, he picked her up, coaxing her
legs around his waist. As he dropped her on the bed, she gasped as he began
kissing a trail along her neck, pressing his weight into her. Shit, he was good
at this...which made it so much worse.

It was bad enough that she'd helped Regulus fake
his own death, but to fall for him as well? Zac…
Aya
. The hybrid would
never forgive her and there was no way in hell that she'd allow the Roman to go
on living once the truth was revealed.

Gabby realized she needed Regulus. More than a
means to kill Aed and from the way he touched her now, she knew he needed her
just as much. Whatever stupid thing she was feeling, he felt it, too. And only
thinking about herself, she let him take what he wanted.

The last place Gabby thought she'd ever find
herself was in the arms of the founding vampire, the asshole extraordinaire,
Regulus. Her head rested against his very naked chest and surprisingly, it
didn't feel awkward at all. She'd do it again and again. Tightening her grip
around him, she snorted at the irony.

"What?" he asked, moving underneath her.

"Nothing." Closing her eyes she tried to
forget all the complications and looming danger she was in just by being here.
She could enjoy this for a few more hours at least. Her whole body still
tingled in a good way. She'd had boyfriends before, but sex with a vampire
was something else.

"Gabrielle, you are my sun."

Her eyes snapped open at his words. A vampire was a
slave to the night. Not Regulus, he was immune to the whims of the sun, but to
say that to her? She knew what it meant. Vampires who couldn't walk in the day,
longed for the touch of the sun's rays on their skin. This was more to him.
More than a one night bargain.

His eyes met hers and she knew he meant what he
said. When she didn't move, he pulled her closer, his body flush with hers.

"Regulus," she murmured against his neck
as he breathed in deeply. Is this what Zac felt for Aya? If it was, then
she understood all the crazy things he'd done for her. She was a hairs breadth
away from doing them herself.

"A vampire and a witch," she whispered.

"It doesn't matter to me." He brushed his
lips against her shoulder. "Who you are matters. Nothing else."

Lying here with him felt good, but it didn't mean
it was right. She'd already crossed the line, but she could still end this. It
wasn't too late.

"How can I prove it to you?" he asked,
sensing her doubt.

How could he prove himself to her? He had to do the
one thing they needed to, but the one thing he didn't want to admit. That and
so much more. "We need to find Zac and Aya."

Regulus' eyes darkened.

"You know we need their help."

"No."

"We're stronger together," she said, not
backing down.

Regulus let out a long, sharp breath, his fingers
tightening on her waist. "You're going to break me, Gabrielle."

"You tricked me into your bed and now you want
to prove it's more. Truth isn't easy."

"I didn't
trick
you and I didn't hear
you complain," he murmured, lips against hers. "You sounded like you
were thoroughly enjoying yourself."

"
Regulus
."

He was trying to distract her but it wasn't going
to work. Even when he cupped her face with his hard hand and tried to kiss her
again, she turned away. What a fool she was for trying to fight it. Her stupid
human heart was falling for Regulus and she was powerless to stop it.

"You know I can make your head explode."

"How could I forget. You're particularly good
at that little trick."

"Then stop being an ass."

"We will talk about it another time," he
said, placing a finger over her lips. "Not now. Don't ruin this, Gabrielle.
A night in the grand scheme of things doesn't matter. Please."

He was pleading with her? Gabby never realized the
power she'd had over him all along. "Fine."

They lay together for a few minutes and she
realized how cold his body really was. When she shivered, her skin prickling
with goose bumps, he sighed and rolled away.

"Where are you going?" she asked,
reaching for his hand.

"Not far," he said.

"I thought you wanted to stay?"