She glared at him. “This isn’t funny.”
“I agree.”
“My house is trashed, something evil is trying to kill me for having Rosemary’s baby, which I haven’t even had. Hell, I haven’t had sex in…in too damn long, not that it’s any of your business.”
The slightest trace of a smile touched his mouth. “No, they don’t think your baby would be evil.”
“Then what?”
“An heir. Able to continue the line. They think you have the genetic makeup, and for some reason, they want you.”
“What, are they running Match.com for homicidal freaks? Hello, I so did not sign up for that.”
“Regardless of what does or doesn’t happen between us, I will never force myself on you. I mean that. For now, you need to let us protect you. I can keep you safe.” He reached out and touched her hand, and she didn’t pull away.
He’s cute. And he is…
She looked at him. He was sitting right there. Able to read her thoughts.
She yanked her hand out of his. “I am pissed, you know.”
“You have every right to be.”
“You lied to me!”
“Mostly through omission, but yes.”
“What else have you lied about?”
“You weren’t replacing someone who retired. And Albert isn’t retiring any time soon.”
“You sneak. I knew it!”
“I needed you close to me. I’ve already explained that.”
“What about my stuff?”
“We’ll move it here. You can’t go back to your house.”
“In my own room?”
“Of course.”
She had to pace. She stood up and walked around the kitchen. There were worse prisons than this house, and worse wardens than Matthias.
And she didn’t want to die.
She didn’t want him to die.
“What’s next?” she asked.
“Figure out exactly what the Others want to accomplish, why they did this, if they were put up to it by someone else. They never interfere with our business. Never have in the past. Live and let live. Why they should care about an heir, if that really is what this is about, is beyond me.”
“But I thought—”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. I’m only guessing and putting together some speculation based on what little I got out of that beast before I killed it. You’re on their radar now. Before this, you were unknown to the Others. To anyone. I took great pains to keep your identity a secret. Only one other person outside this family knew about you, and that person is in a position of trust. If it turned out you didn’t have the line in you, I wanted to keep you safe.”
“I’m in danger?”
“Until I get to the bottom of things.”
She was in full snark mode. “Well, why don’t we just get the Scooby gang together and pull the rubber mask off the bad guy?”
Matthias’ tone sounded sharp. “We don’t like this any more than you do. I wanted to ease you into this, slowly guide you to using your powers until you got to the point you couldn’t ignore it anymore. Then we were going to reveal the truth. Over a period of years, if necessary. I can’t undo what’s happened here—”
“Damn straight!”
“—but I promise you, heads will roll.”
When she looked green, he realized what he said. “I’m sorry. Bad choice of words.”
“No, really, ya think?”
Chapter Fifteen
Matthias left that night for London to investigate, which was both a blessing and a curse. Apparently she’d missed meeting his cousin, Rafael, who’d arrived and left again while she was unconscious. Taz couldn’t help but worry about Matthias, now that she admitted how she felt about him. Pissed off, check. Betrayed, double-check.
Romantically attracted to the big dope?
Triple-check.
It was nice not having to control her every thought. She needed time to sort out her feelings for Hawthorne. Obviously, he wouldn’t have a problem having a relationship with her, but she didn’t know if she wanted a relationship with him, or anyone else, for that matter. Not with demons and crazy wolf-things coming after her.
The new routine was creepy at first. Soon, however, it became a comfort. Especially when she thought about the thing that attacked her and nearly killed Matthias…and the evil growl it made. There was always a heavily armed contingent of guards close by, but they were discreet. She reluctantly gave in to Robertson’s request to remain at the house. They gave in to her request to work from wherever she wanted on the grounds, even outside.
Yay strong wireless connection. Between her laptop and BlackBerry, she was still able to work. And for her, the only choice was to work or figure out how to get a Thorazine drip. Working, at least, kept her distracted. Robertson or Albert, one of them always stayed at the house with her, ran to the office to fetch anything she needed. The second day she sent Albert to Tampa four times, mostly out of spite and irritation. She felt a little guilty later when he didn’t complain about the multiple and mostly unnecessary trips.
But only a little guilty.
Matthias returned three days later, just before midnight. Taz was working on her laptop in the library, a Dave Brubeck CD on the stereo. Matthias had an awesome collection of jazz music. She’d give him brownie points for that.
“Hello, Anastazia.” The sound of his voice startled her. She never heard him walk in. She also hated the way her heart skipped at the sound of his voice.
“Did you find out anything?” she asked.
“Not as much as I’d like. Whatever’s going on, it originated here in the States. The other Clans are as outraged as I am and are sending assistance.”
She’d had time to think things through and sent him a test thought.
“Testing one, two, three, you big dumb jerk.”
He smiled. “Yes, I can still hear you.”
“Shit.”
“Would you feel better if I slept downstairs?” he asked.
“No.”
She watched him stifle another smile.
“This sucks!” Even she had to laugh at that one before her laughter turned to sobs.
Apparently alarmed by her reaction, he went to her, put his arms around her, then folded her against his chest. She didn’t have to speak.
“You were dying, I thought I was going to lose you before I even knew you, and now you can read my thoughts. Oh my God this sucks…”
He whispered to her, “It’s okay…it’s okay,” as he rocked her in his arms, comforting her.
She eventually composed herself and sat up. He handed her a tissue. “Better?”
She nodded.
“I could stay in the guest house, if you’d prefer.”
She shook her head. “No.”
He reached out and gently stroked her hair. “You’ve been through a lot. You haven’t had time to process it. It’s overwhelming.”
She reached out and pulled him to her, kissing him. Then she pushed him away, shocking herself at her lack of self-control.
Why couldn’t she control herself around him?
And God, did it matter? He was a hunk, and she wanted him! Taz reached for him again, but he sat back and gently grabbed her wrists.
“I’m not going to take advantage of you.”
“But I want—”
“Listen to me, Anastazia. You aren’t ready. I’m not going to do that to you. If you decide you want to have a relationship with me, we will. I’m patient. I can wait. But I won’t take advantage of you, especially when you’re vulnerable.”