Annie Nicholas - Catch

Archios found solace in his files and I stepped away. The last time they had a confrontation the walls took a beating. I didn’t want to get in the way.

“Very well. I’ll stay in a nearby room as back up. Satisfied?” Tane held out his hand to shake.

“Yes.” Rurik took it.

“I’ll need you to stay at the mansion, though.” Tane held onto Rurik’s hand as he tried to pull away. “You will only divide my efforts. Remain here under guard while you sleep then join us in the evening if we haven’t returned.”

Rurik nodded with a frown on his face.

“You’re dismissed.” The command behind his voice snapped both Rurik and Archios to attention. I hated to admit it, but this impressed me.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t conditioned to jump at orders.

“Master?” Archios asked. “I still have some things to go over with you.” He held more files in his hands.

Tane sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Rurik grasped my hand and yanked me out of the apartment.

The moment we turned the corner toward our room, I swung around to face him.

“Please, tell me you’re not angry.”

“For finding you in Tane’s arms again? I’m not furious but…” He shrugged and tried to get around me, yet didn’t put much effort into it since I stopped him with my hand.

“I had another nightmare of Luckard. Tane thought it best to shield my sleep in case that monster was trying to get into my head.”

“And I was unavailable to help you.” He stared over my head, not meeting my gaze.

A muscle ticked along his clenched jaw. “Useless again.”

Wrapping my arms around his slim waist, I pulled us together. “You make me feel loved.”

“And he makes you feel safe.”

My head cranked back to look him in the eye. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t need to read your mind. Your face is an open book. You didn’t hurry to me after waking as you would have a few days ago.”

“I was—”

“Comfortable.” He finished my sentence then touched my curls. “I love it when your hair gets crazy like this.”

A wellspring of doubt bubbled from my heart and it made me sad. “How long did I sleep with you in the room?”

“About an hour. I was beginning to wonder if he drugged you.”

A heavy, nauseous ball grew in my stomach. “I must be getting used to Tane.”

“That’s not a bad thing. Your lives are connected. Don’t let me upset you. I’m just a little jealous. If things grow between you and Tane, I’ll step aside.”

His statement slapped me across the face like a wet glove. I retreated from his arms.

“Step aside?” I punched him in the shoulder. “Just like that?”

His eyes grew wide and he laughed. “He’s a fabulous lover. I wouldn’t deny you that.”

Too much amusement tinged his voice for me to take him seriously. I slapped his ass. “He hasn’t offered.” Not outright.

As our gazes met, his eyelids lowered to form dark crescent moons from his lashes.

“What if he offered me?”

The sense of play vanished from the conversation. “He offered you his bed?” It hurt to speak since my throat constricted. Had Tane already stolen Rurik from me?

Rurik chuckled and hugged me tight. “No, but if I keep finding you both together I’m going to start feeling left out.”

I rested my forehead on his chest. Nothing reassuring to say came to mind. Could the blood bond draw me to Tane? Or was it that he’d risked his life for me last night? Rurik would have done the same, except he loved me . I gasped and stiffened in his arms.

“What?” His piercing gaze met mine.

“Nothing.” I was a terrible liar, but what could I say. Maybe Tane loved me too?

When the hell did that happen? Had I stepped into an alternate reality?

“You look pale. Did Tane feed from you again?”

“No.” The word came out as a whisper.

“What about your iron pills?”

I shook my head. Rurik took very good care of me, unlike anyone I’d ever had in my life. He kept an eye on my diet, made certain I took extra iron and he exercised with me.

I’d never been in such great shape. “I only missed one dose. I’ll take it when we get to our room. It’s got to be in there somewhere.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’ll find the bottle and maybe you should relax this evening.

Maybe do something fun?”

Fun in a vampire nest equaled trouble for this human. I’d had enough fun the last few days to last me a life time. I glanced over my shoulder at the hall that led to Tane’s apartment. Was Rurik right? Did I find security in my personal demon’s arms?

Outside our bedroom door sat Belatia, Archios’s wife, her knees drawn to her chest.

A towel lay in a heap next to her on the floor. I thought she wore an odd-looking sundress but when she stood as we approached, it turned out to be an old-fashion bathing suit.

Something my great-great grandmother would have worn.

“Bel?” What the hell was she doing here? With Archios busy with Tane, maybe she had nothing else to do.

“I wanted to know if you would like to take a swim?” She glanced at Rurik and hid her body behind the bulk of her towel. “You can come too if you’d like, Rurik.”

I smiled. For some reason she made me happy. “Sure, we’d love to.”

“Really?” They spoke in unison, one with excitement, the other with trepidation.

“Let me find my swimsuit and we’ll meet you by the pool.”

“Okay.” Bel spun around and flounced away as I entered our room.

“Thanks for volunteering me.” Rurik shut the door as he spoke.

“You love to swim.” I yanked a drawer open, trying to find my blue sport swimsuit.

Vampires didn’t need to breathe so could remain underwater indefinitely, I envied them that. Rurik could dive the reefs without any equipment. “I can’t find my bathing suit.”

Rurik opened the closet and stepped out holding two pieces of black cloth. “Here’s the bikini I bought you.”

“Which covers less than my underwear, I don’t think so.”

“If I have to swim with Belatia than the least you can do is offer me eye-candy.” He handed me his idea of swimwear.

“You don’t like Bel?”

“It’s not a matter of liking. She—how would you put it—creeps me out.” He shrugged. “She’s a little girl trapped in a woman’s body. I’ve never felt comfortable with Archios’s tastes.”

His comment made my stomach turn. I didn’t think of Archios and Belatia as lovers.

“When you put it that way it makes me sick, but it’s not Bel’s fault.” I went through the last drawer and then the closet, still no sport one-piece suit. Crap. I held the string bikini I’d refused to wear until tonight.

“Can’t blame me for wanting you to wear that.” He whispered in my ear from behind, causing me to startle. A moment before he’d been by the dresser.

“I hate it when you move that fast.”

He chuckled. “I’ll meet you at the pool. Archios wants to copy my passport.” He plucked the item from a shelf in the closet. With the same speed he’d used to scare me, Rurik left the room.

“Show off.” It took me what felt like forever to untangle all the strings of the bikini.

Then I needed to knot my arms to tie the damn thing on. I’d worn suits like this in the past when I was too young and stupid to care if things fell out. Merciful goodness, it wasn’t a thong. I wrapped my favorite Mexican sarong around my hips and went to find Bel.

Swimming at night didn’t bother me. Sometimes I went out and got a little sun while Rurik ‘slept’, but to my surprise, I didn’t miss it. The night air still held some of the day’s warmth. Bel sat on the edge of the pool dangling her feet in the water, facing away from me.