Until I Break (5 page)

And then, as I watch through the small part
in the curtains, he bares his sharp, deadly teeth.

Like Daire, I see the fangs. I feel the
danger.

It’s just that neither makes a
difference.

CHAPTER EIGHT- Alec

The place where the fundraiser is being held
isn’t far from Samantha’s condo. I had already been invited to it,
actually. I work with several big hospitals across Georgia and
North Carolina. South Carolina as well. It’s not surprising that
they’d invite me. Had I known someone like Samantha would be there,
I would’ve made a point to go.

Or maybe I would’ve found a good reason to
stay away, a better reason than just the fact that I
should.

She’s quiet all the way there. I know what
she’s thinking. She’s wondering why she agreed to a deal with the
devil. She might be reconsidering. But she won’t change her mind.
I’ve known a lot of women like her. She’ll see this through.
Curiosity will get the best of her. And then, in the end, so will
I.

I shouldn’t be looking forward to this. I
should see it as a failure. It’s been a long time since I’ve given
in to my…predilection.

In some ways, the guilt is a good thing. It
means I’m still on the mend, that I’ve managed to put some things
into perspective. But the fact that I’m doing it anyway means I’ve
still got a long way to go.

Maybe after this one time, maybe after I get
it out of my system, I can make some more forward progress.

Maybe.

CHAPTER NINE- Samantha

The valet pulls away from the curb in Alec’s
sleek, black Range Rover, leaving us standing alone on the
sidewalk. We arrived in plenty of time. This event doesn’t
officially start until eight. But most people come early to mingle.
No doubt the inside is packed.

My stomach twists into a knot when Alec
offers me his arm. His eyes are drilling holes into mine. I wonder
if he’s always so intense.

I reach out and curl my fingers around his
bicep. It flexes beneath my touch, tightening and making me
shiver.

He’s in wonderful physical condition, as I
knew he would be. I’ve seen every inch of him in my head, only, up
until now, I’ve called him Mason.

I’d be willing to bet that Alec is equally
beautiful. Like déjà vu, I recall words written in the pages of a
book. My book. Only now Mason seems very, very real.

Mason’s smooth bronze skin gleams in the low
light. Through the clear glass of the shower door, I can see the
perfectly formed muscles in his arms move and shift as he drags the
soap over his chest. I’m the maid. I shouldn’t be watching him this
way, but I can’t seem to help myself. I can’t seem to make my feet
carry me away from the door.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him in
the shower. Or lying naked in the bed. Or worshipping a nameless,
faceless woman’s body with his lips and his hands and his body.
More than ever, I want to be the one beneath him. But more than
ever, I know he would leave nothing but wreckage in his wake. He’s
too much for a girl like me.

Still yet, if he ever turned those knowing
green eyes on me in invitation, I know what my answer would be.

Once again, I’m forced to remind myself that
this isn’t Mason, that Mason isn’t real. And that’s probably a good
thing. Mason breaks hearts. He can’t help himself. It’s what broken
people do.

I feel short of breath and lightheaded as we
walk through the doors into the elaborate foyer of the ballroom. My
step falters and I squeeze Alec’s arm to keep my balance. He looks
down at me, at first in question, but then his expression
changes.

He looks quizzically into my eyes before he
scans my face. “You’re blushing,” he states. There’s a long pause
before he continues. “Maybe tomorrow you can show me what you were
thinking about.”

He continues staring for a few seconds more
before he urges me into a slow walk at his side. “Smile,” he says
as we enter the main room. “Or people will think you’ve been doing
something you shouldn’t.”

I glance up at him to judge his expression,
but I see only his profile.

How does he do that?

It’s like he’s inside my head.

As well as under my skin.

Following Alec’s suggestion, I plaster a
smile on my face and look casually around the room. I doubt anyone
here would guess that I’m wondering how I got here. And I don’t
mean “here” as in this address. I mean “here” as in so wrapped up
in a man I’ve only just met.

Only it doesn’t feel like we just met. It
feels as though I’ve known him longer, that I know him
intimately.

I’m relieved when I spot Chris across the sea
of glamorously clothed patrons. Within seconds, she looks up and
sees me, too. I watch as she makes her excuses to the couple to
whom she’s talking and starts toward us.

As she moves closer, I have a moment of
insecurity about masquerading as something I’m not—a gorgeous,
confident woman. Like Chris.

She’s like a cover model come to life in a
scarlet sheath that sets off her golden skin and platinum hair.
She’s just the type of arm candy one would expect to see with a man
like Alec Brand. I’m nothing more than an imposter. A wallflower in
a clever costume. But surely no one’s fooled. Surely they can see
the real me.

I glance at Alec from the corner of my eye.
His face gives away nothing.

“You’re here,” Chris says enthusiastically as
she glides up to my side.

“Of course,” I say, as if there was no doubt,
which there absolutely
was.

“You say that as if it was a foregone
conclusion that you’d be here.”

“Wasn’t it?”

Chris rolls her eyes. “Are we even talking
about the same person?”

“Where’s Mom?” I ask, redirecting her.

Chris cranes her neck, looking toward the
center of the room. “Oh, she’s somewhere around here. You know
she’ll find you before long. That woman has a sixth sense.”

“Tell me about it,” I mutter.

Chris finally turns back to me then her eyes
flicker to Alec. Her smile is brilliant, like she just now noticed
he’s with me. “I’m sorry. I’m so rude! I’m Chris, Chris Wells,
Sam’s sister.”

“Chris and Sam?” He directs his question to
me, cocking his brow again. I’m beginning to love that gesture. It
says so much without him actually having to say a thing. He turns
back to Chris. “Alec Brand,” he says, inclining his head slightly.
The action is almost regal. It suits him, making me wonder about
his life. I haven’t even gotten that far in my head. And it’s not
as though I don’t care; I’m insanely curious about the real life
Mason. It’s just that, so far, my brain seems to stop working when
he’s around.

“Yes, I remember,” Chris replies, still
smiling broadly.

Alec nods. “Ah, the coffee shop. Right,” he
says, his smile a mere curve of the lips. Pleasant yet bland. I
feel a little thrill that he’s not flirting and doesn’t seem to be
instantly enamored of her like most men. Most of them lose their
wits completely when she smiles.

But not Alec. In fact, he seems almost
oblivious to her beauty and charm, a fact that makes me like him
that much more. It also makes me that much more intrigued.

I wonder that he doesn’t seem surprised at
the lack of family resemblance. Our coloring, our features, our
build—nothing is even slightly similar. We couldn’t be more
different. He seems not to have noticed, and if he did, must not
think anything of it. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s equally
blasé about the differences between me and my parents.

“A drink?” Alec asks.

“Yes, please. I’ll have a rum and Coke.”

He nods once and turns to Chris. “Would you
like a refill?”

“Rum and Coke for me, too, please,” Chris
says, holding up her half empty glass.

With another nod, he moves away toward the
bar. I worry my bottom lip with my teeth as I watch him go.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Chris asks. “Are
you trying to find a way to sabotage yourself, just like you always
do?”

I turn a frown on her. “I don’t sabotage
myself.”

“Yes, you do. You let your past screw up your
present
all the time!”

“No I don’t.”

Chris shakes her head. “We’ll see.”

“Just because I prefer not to subject myself
or anyone else to certain…shortcomings, that does not mean I’m
letting my past screw up my present. It simply means that I can use
wisdom and discretion.”

“Well, I’m glad that, for the moment, you’re
turning off ‘wisdom and discretion’.”

I glance toward Alec again. He’s walking back
toward us with two drinks in one big hand and one in the other.
“Boy did I ever,” I say softly.

“Well,” Chris begins, taking one of the
drinks from Alec’s hand when he extends it toward her. “I suppose I
ought to go rescue Greg. He’s been captured and is currently being
held against his will.” She tips her head to indicate a group of
blue-haired elderly ladies encircling one handsome, blond Greg on
the other side of the room. “Don’t you know he’s got some powerful
pheromones to penetrate that kind of cobweb.”

I grin. I’ve long since given up on trying to
curb Chris’s colorful commentary.

She turns to Alec. “It was great seeing you
again, Alec.”

“The pleasure was mine,” he says
politely.

“I hope to see you again,” she adds
pointedly. I feel my face go up in flames. “You know, Sam here is
pretty irresistible.”

Oh God, oh God, oh God!

I hold my breath, hoping she’ll stop there.
Chris has a nasty habit of embarrassing me.

Alec glances at me, his expression
unfathomable. “I get that feeling.”

Chris’s face splits into a broad smile. Her
eyes flicker to me and I know what she’s thinking. I wait
anxiously, praying she’ll hold her tongue.

“Well,” she begins. My heart stops. “I’m off
to play heroine.” Chris winks at me and I exhale.

Crisis averted.

As she walks away, Alec turns toward me.
“What did you think she was going to say?”

“Pardon?”

“You held your breath. What did you think she
was going to say?”

I stammer for a moment, a bit disconcerted by
his perceptiveness. It gives me a little thrill that he’s paying
such close attention to me that he can hear me breathing. “I, uh,
she, um. With Chris, it’s hard to tell.”

“Were you afraid she’d divulge some deep,
dark secret?”

I would say that I don’t have any, but I’d be
lying. And I’m a terrible liar. Instead, I go with silence.

“A woman with secrets. I’m even more
intrigued,” he says softly, his eyes dropping from my eyes to my
mouth. “Maybe I can work my magic on those lips of yours, make them
open up a bit.”

My lips tingle as if he were actually
touching them. Or kissing them.

“Alec Brand,” a voice booms from the right,
breaking the spell of the moment. “Glad you could make it.”

“
Glad you could make it”? He was already
invited?

A white-haired bear-of-a-man stops in front
of us, clamping one meaty hand on Alec‘s shoulder and grasping his
hand with the other. The man’s chest is barreled and his face is
red as he huffs breathlessly. He looks like a walking advertisement
for a heart attack.

“Dr. Simmons, it’s good to see you.”

Dr. Simmons smiles and pumps Alec’s hand, his
eyes drifting over to settle on me. They twinkle with mischief.

“Ah, now I see the trick to getting the
elusive Mr. Brand out for the night. Put a beautiful woman on his
arm.”

“What won’t a man do for a night with a
beautiful woman?” Alec says amicably, smiling blandly at the
doctor.

“A good question, my boy.” The doctor laughs
heartily, as though Alec just made a great joke.

“Dr. Simmons, meet Ms. Samantha Jansen.”

“A pleasure, my dear.”

I smile politely and nod. “Sir.”

Dr. Simmons turns back to Alec. “Helps with
the boredom, am I right?” He elbows Alec in the ribs and laughs an
inordinately boisterous laugh again. “I’m sure you’ve been to your
share of these things, what with your father being in the
business.”

Alec nods, but says nothing. I wait anxiously
for the good doctor to reveal another tidbit about Alec Brand. When
he doesn’t, I make an inquiry, trying to keep it as light and
nonchalant as possible.

“Your father’s in medicine?” I ask.

Before Alec can answer, Dr. Simmons chimes
in. “Oh yes. One of the most brilliant minds in the field.”

I nod, tucking away the tiny piece of
information in the pitifully empty mental file labeled
Alec
Brand.

“It was a pleasure seeing you again, Dr.
Simmons,” Alec says abruptly as he places his hand in the small of
my back. “Samantha, shall we?”

I’m puzzled by his curt response to Dr.
Simmons. Puzzled, but very curious. Does he not want his business
associate giving away any more details of his life? Does he not
like him for some reason? Why the hasty departure?

Rather than ask any questions, I nod and
smile politely at Dr. Simmons.

“It was nice to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise,” he says in his gruff voice,
seeming a bit more subdued now. If I had to guess, Dr. Simmons is
probably accustomed to people sucking up to him. Although Alec was
polite, he certainly wasn’t unduly impressed or too keen on making
more conversation with the doctor. Just another facet of Alec’s
personality that reminds me of Mason.

Stop doing that,
I chastise as Alec
guides me off in the opposite direction.

I’m distracted by the voice in my head, so
the question gets out before I can stop it. “So your father is in
medicine?”

“Yes,” he replies.

“I’m surprised I haven’t seen you before
then. My father is a neurosurgeon.”

Alec doesn’t even glance down at me as he
answers. He just keeps moving us through the crowd, his answers
still short and clipped.