Annie Nicholas - Catch

We stood in Tane’s quarters.

“Please, sit down while I inform the Master of your arrival.” The guard spoke fluent English with a slight British accent.

“No, thanks.” I ground my teeth as I brushed past him across the library toward the sound of the shower. “I’ll tell the Master myself.” The audacity to assume we’d leave our lives behind and stay here without even him asking, tipped my sanity scale into suicidal-nut-job level. With hurricane force wind, I stormed into a huge, black marbled bathroom decorated with a minimalist in mind. The shower stall stood in the far corner with a frosted glass door.

I hurried over and yanked it open.

Tane flinched from the movement and gazed at me. “Rabbit?”

The guard grabbed my upper arm. “I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t think she’d act this way.”

“You’re not used to her. It all right, Marco, I’ll take care of things.” He leaned against the shower wall and returned his attention to me.

The guard released my arm and I heard him close the door.

Last night, I’d been so exhausted and in pain I never noted Tane’s tattoo. I’d seen it poking out of his shirt collar on occasion. It crept around his shoulders from his back and descended to mid bicep, a black tribal design that popped on his translucent skin. Water poured over him in streams, meandered down his well-muscled body to pool at his feet.

A shiny golden ring pierced his belly button.

He rolled it in his fingers. “I got this before it became fashionable. A small token of my pirating days.” His hand trailed lower and drew my eyes until I realized where it headed.

I jerked my gaze away and licked my lips. Pirate? Why didn’t that surprise me?

His chuckle made me blush. “Is there anything else you need? If you’re going to stand there, you may as well get in and join me.”

“When hell freezes over.” I stepped away.

“Careful what you wish for.” He shut the shower door. “I’m almost done. Wait for me in the living room. I’m sure whatever crisis you have can wait another minute.”

I stared through the frosted glass at Tane’s silhouette. He scrubbed at his scalp. “I’m not staying.”

“Fine, have a seat and order something to eat.”

“That’s not what I mean. I want to go back to my hotel.”

“No.”

I waited, but he continued to wash. Asshole . Rurik should be waking as well. I spun and stomped back to the library. He would know how to get a taxi and get us back where we belonged.

Something brushed past me and I stiffened from the touch.

Tane appeared before me by one of the sofas. A towel wrapped around his waist. He lifted the phone to his ear. “What would you like to eat?”

“Gwen fed me.”

He set the phone down and leaned against the sofa with his arms crossed over his chest. “I heard about your little hike.”

“Then you know about the body?” Gwen didn’t waste time.

“Of course.” He raised an eyebrow and frowned. “I have a traitor in my house and a murderer. Do you think it’s a coincidence?”

For the last hour my brain had stopped working, reacting instead of planning. Maybe a bit of overreacting tossed in the mix when I saw the luggage. “No.”

“Do you think I should call the Rio law enforcement and have them investigate?”

“Would they care?” My words came out strained. He wanted to lead me somewhere.

“Not unless she belonged to someone important.” He rubbed his thumb under his chin and stared at the floor. “If I paid, some of them would care more, but if I’m going to hire a person, I want the best.” With the last word, he fixed his gaze to mine.

“My sources tell me Colby’s in town. I doubt he vacations.”

I should have stayed in my room. This was why I hated Tane. He twisted my guts and made me feel inadequate. One day I might learn to understand his subtle thought processes. Not this evening. “He’s here on business.”

“I bet he couldn’t resist meeting with you.”

“Yeah, I saw him.” My bottom lip began to ache and realized I’d been chewing on it.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as if wanting to laugh. “A bittersweet meeting I suspect. Did he treat you different now that you’re with us?”

“Yes.” I snapped. “Get to the point.”

“Contact him. He’s more qualified to deal with this than the police. I’ll use whatever resources at my disposal to help resolve this problem. Maybe he can find a clue to my traitor.” He straightened and loomed over me. “And you’re staying.”

“I don’t think so.”

The darkness that gathered in his expression as he glowered almost drowned me in doubt. “Gwen told me about your conversation on our bond. You’ve cast uncertainty into her. I forced my blood into you because you would have died without it.”

Poof! Just like that, my anger shredded the doubt. I loved my rage at times. “Don’t go all humanitarian on me.” I stepped into the center stage of his furious glare and poked him in the bare chest. “ You could have let Rurik do it instead, but no, you’ve got an agenda.”

“Even if I could have freed him from the sword in time to try to save you, Rurik’s blood was not strong enough to bring you back from the brink of death.” Fangs glinted with the light as he let loose an inhuman growl.

Instinct made me duck and roll for the door but he caught me in his arms before I’d made it across the room.

He pressed me to his abdomen as he whispered. “Don’t struggle. It makes it harder to control.” Hot breath panted in my left ear. “You’re such a pest. My night has barely begun and already you’ve pissed me off.”

The drumming beat of my heart slowed as we stood in this position for a moment.

Tane loosened his grip, but still held me. “You need to learn how to behave. A less skilled vampire would have devoured you by now.” He brushed my hair away from my neck. “Stop influencing my staff. Challenge me in private if you have to or I’ll be forced to punish you in public.” The cool touch of his tongue as he licked a trickle of sweat on my skin made me jerk in his hold. “And I promise I won’t be a gentleman.”

Fangs closed around my pulse point. It stung as he bit into my flesh, yet the pain lessened as he drew in my blood. I listened to his warning and didn’t struggle. Tears welled in my eyes. I’d be damned to let them spill where he could see them.

He pulled away and licked my wound closed. “Very good, Rabbit.” His fingers trailed in my curls before he opened his arms.

If a black hole opened at my feet, I would have been happy to fall in it. Not wanting to look him in the eye, afraid the tears would return, I stared at my hands. “I don’t want to stay here.”

A knock at the door interrupted us. It opened and Rurik entered. Dressed in light slacks and collared t-shirt, he was the image of perfection with his wet black hair slicked back. “I wondered where you went. No surprise you’ve found your way here.” He set his hands on his hips. I’d known him long enough to see the hidden hurt in his eyes.

“Rabbit wants to leave. She came here to coerce me into letting her go.” Tane, still dressed in a towel, sat on the sofa facing Rurik. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a bad idea.” Rurik spoke those words so softly I almost didn’t believe what I’d heard.

“Why?” Last night he would have tried to tear Tane’s heart from his chest. It didn’t make sense. I couldn’t imagine how he would react once he found out Tane drank from me, except as I got closer I noticed his skin color. He already fed.

A sharp pain pierced my heart. Silly of me to expect him to only use my blood as nourishment, the mansion probably held dozens of willing humans who’d throw themselves at his feet. Did he caress their lower back the way he did with me?