“Thomas, this was such a good idea.” She greeted him in a voice that seemed to penetrate right to his heart and stir a response somewhat lower in his body as well.
Then he felt the weight of those damned golden eyes on him. Relentless. Merciless. They saw his reaction and damned him for it. Aidan Savage lounged with deceptive laziness in the doorway, one hip resting against the wall, his arms across his chest. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. His mere presence struck terror into Thomas’s soul. Thomas took Alexandria’s cape and enveloped her in it, breathing in her perfume. “You look extraordinary, Alexandria. No one would ever know you’d been ill.”
Aidan did stir then, a mere rippling of muscles suggestive of a lethal predator. “Nevertheless, she has been extremely ill, Ivan. I trust you will see to it that she is well cared for and returned home early.”
Thomas smiled suavely, oozing charm. Damn the man, he wasn’t a teenager escorting his first date to the prom. He deliberately took Alexandria’s hand in his, knowing it would annoy her blond guard dog. “Not to worry, Savage. I intend to take very good care of her.” He urged her to the door, anxious to be away from Savage and his living, breathing, monstrous house.
Alexandria went with him willingly, seemingly as eager as he was. Out in the night air she stopped and took a deep breath. “He can be a bit overwhelming, can’t he?” she said, smiling. Smiling to rival the stars. Freedom. Blessed freedom. It didn’t matter at that moment that Ivan’s smile still reminded her of a shark’s toothy grin, or that she could hear his heart beating every bit as loudly as Joshua’s, or, even worse, that she could smell his arousal. She was away from Aidan Savage and his influence, and that was all she cared about.
“Overwhelming? Is that what you call it? He’s completely overbearing. The man acts as if he owns you,” Thomas burst out.
She laughed softly. “You get used to him. He can’t help it. He’s accustomed to giving orders. You probably know what that feels like,” she added mischievously.
He found himself laughing with her, relaxing as they made their way to the car he had waiting. He had deliberately hired a limo and driver to leave himself free for whatever might happen in the back seat later.
“I made a good start on the sketches, Thomas,” she volunteered, “but you didn’t specify what character traits were particularly important to you. I think you should decide ahead of time how you want individuals portrayed instead of leaving it all to me.”
“I’d prefer your input,” Thomas said, opening the door for her himself. He wanted to do it, and that surprised him. Most of the time the small courtesies he performed were only for effect. But Alexandria Houton was haunting. “Doesn’t that house bother you?”
She arched an eyebrow. “Bother me? The house? It’s beautiful. Everything about it is beautiful. Why do you ask?”
“I sometimes feel as if it’s watching me, biding its time, hating me.”
“Thomas, you’ve played too many of your own video games. What a vivid imagination.” Her laughter slid over him, touching him in places usually reserved for intimacy.
His hand inched across the seat toward hers. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted any woman. But then he glanced out the window and saw the reflection of eyes. Glowing, red, feral eyes filled with hate and the promise of retaliation, the promise of death. Unblinking cat’s eyes. The eyes of a demon. Of death. He shivered, and a moan escaped.
“What is it?” Her voice was soothing, like the soft sound of running water. “Tell me, Thomas.”
“Did you see something weird?” He was choking on fear. “Out the window, do you see anything?”
She leaned around him to look at the reflective glass. “What am I supposed to see?”
The eyes were gone as if they had never been. Was it Savage? His own imagination? He cleared his throat and managed a smile. “Nothing. I guess I just can’t believe my good fortune.”
In the close confines of a car, it was difficult for Alex to ignore her growing hunger. It seemed to gnaw at her insides, spread like a cancer. Her mind seemed to amplify the sound of blood rushing in Ivan’s veins. Beckoning, calling. But her stomach heaved at the thought of touching him, and she fought to keep a smile plastered to her face. He seemed to find every excuse to touch her, brush her leg, her arm, her hand, her hair. She hated it. Loathed it. He made her skin crawl. She hated herself for not being able to return his amorous glances, his touches.
She smiled at him, said and did all the appropriate things, but inside her stomach was rebelling. Somewhere deep inside her soul, a dread began to take shape, to spread. Thomas Ivan was an eligible bachelor, wealthy, charming, famous. Human. He shared her love of fantasy; he admired her artwork. They had much in common, yet even his lightest touch repulsed her. Inside she began to weep.
Cara mia, do you need me? Aidan’s voice crossed time and distance to find her, to wrap her in warm, protective arms.
She bit her lip. The temptation to call for him was nearly overwhelming, but she resisted. She would be human. And she would find a fellow human to love. Maybe not Thomas Ivan, but someone. I’m having the time of my life.
Just so long as Ivan is not.
She felt his withdrawal from her mind, and it felt as if he had taken away her soul and left her dead inside. She lifted her chin and flashed Ivan a particularly brilliant smile. She placed her hand in his as he assisted her from the car. Determined to enjoy the evening, she took his arm as they entered the theater.
Men seemed to be pressing against her, breathing loudly. Heartbeats thundered in her ears. The orchestra’s overture blended with the surging of blood running hotly in veins. Alexandria concentrated on the play, aware it was exceptionally good, yet she was more aware of Ivan’s arm across the back of her seat, of his smell. When he whispered in her ear, his mouth against her skin, she was sickened by it.
Twice she almost excused herself to go to the ladies’ room just for a respite from him.
But she was determined to see this through. She was going to be human even if it killed her. There was a burst of applause just as she heard the words in her mind: It might kill someone.
Shut up!she answered him, exasperated, that in the midst of her despair, he made her want to laugh. But Aidan was gone once more. Just his touch warmed her, and the silliness of his warning. He was taunting her on purpose because he knew she was repulsed by the man sitting so close to her.
Beside her, Thomas was clapping. The lights came up, and people seemed to swarm around them. He was in his element, with a beautiful woman on his arm and many acquaintances surrounding them. Powerful men he barely remembered meeting were suddenly stopping to exchange comments on the show. Connections he had been seeking to aid his climb even further up the social ladder were introducing themselves, issuing much sought-after invitations to him and his date.
Alexandria Houton was clearly an asset to him and would be to his career. Proudly he put her on display, strutting because she was on his arm. And he saw that he was not the only one mesmerized by her voice, captivated by her smile. Even the women, he realized with satisfaction, she seemed to charm, bestowing her smile regally, enchantingly.
Thomas circled her shoulders with his arm and drew her closer to him, a display of ownership as they walked out into the night, still followed by his many fans. Alexandria’s stomach lurched at the proximity. Then Thomas glanced to his right and froze. Standing not six feet away in the shadows was a wolf. Huge. Blond. With gleaming fangs and red, glowing eyes. Those eyes were staring right at him, the beast’s muscular body poised as if to pounce.