Suzanne Wright - The Bite That Binds

“Why does he only smile at you like that?” griped Fletcher. “Then again, if he did smile at me like that, I’d probably blush like a virgin. Don’t you just love his Californian accent − especially when it’s spoken in that deep voice of his?”

I did actually, and as he liked my British accent, it worked out nicely.

Having exchanged a few more words with the commander, Jared was then striding purposely toward me. He walked like a man who knew what he wanted and would make no bones about trying to get it. He owned every step, filled the space around him with just his air of self-assurance.

“That bloke is a walking, talking advertisement for sex,” commented Fletcher, sighing in appreciation. I had to agree. Jared’s tall, perfectly defined body promised gratification. And delivered it.

Finally up close, he snaked his arms around my waist and dabbed a lingering kiss on my mouth. “Hey baby, I spoke to Antonio on my cell. Apparently, he was going to call me and arrange for me to meet with him, so I told him I’d be bringing you along.” Most likely in response to my sigh, he gave me a pointed look. “You promised me you’d talk to him.”

“And I will.”

“Then let’s go.” I gasped when he lightly bit my earlobe before whispering, “If we didn’t have this meeting, I’d drag you into our office and fuck you on my desk.”

“You’ve done that twice already this week.”

“Never gets old.”

Fletcher was tidying the papers on his desk, totally listening to every word.

“Want to go swimming later? I have this fantasy of fucking you in the pool.”

It was kind of intriguing, but I never ever gave Jared a ‘yes’. Teasing him was too much fun. “Maybe.”

Shaking his head at my teasing, he gave me another lingering kiss before simply nodding at our personal assistant and teleporting us to Antonio’s mansion − the main building of The Hollow. Situated on an off-the-map Caribbean island, The Hollow was much like a gated community, and was surrounded by tropical rainforests. Inside were stores, bars, a club, and plenty of housing for all those vampires and humans who lived there. In the centre was a man-made beach for the residents to use, but there was a private beach for Antonio, his staff, and the legion to use. I most liked the mansion’s private pool which was shaped like a bat with outstretched wings.

As usual, the meeting was taking place in one of Antonio’s conference rooms. The only people seated at the long table were Antonio, his Advisor Luther, and his tracker Sebastian.

“Ah…Sam, Jared,” said Antonio with a smile. His personal guards stood behind him as usual, while his two pit-bulls flanked him. “Come sit down.” Before meeting him, I had expected him to have a very imposing, suffocating presence. But there was something very reassuring about this particular Keja vampire.

Having sat down and exchanged smiles and nods with everyone – and having given the dogs a brief stroke – I raised a brow at Antonio. “Are we early or is this supposed to be a private meeting?”

“Private. It is not work-related. I have some news for you, Jared.” Antonio looked both sympathetic and hesitant. “Your mother…she passed away just last night. I believe the funeral will be taking place in a few days if you wish to make a discreet appearance and—”

“No.”

The one word response took me totally by surprise. Not simply because he didn’t wish to attend his mother’s funeral, but because it had been so hard and resolute.

Antonio released a long breath. “I thought not. However, I felt it better to give you the option.”

“How do you know she died?” I asked, suspecting Antonio had kept tabs on the woman but not understanding why he’d bother.

“As you know, a person must disappear when they have been Turned. Their family often reports them missing, and there are investigations and searches. In such cases, it is imperative to monitor the families and ensure that the investigations fail. The secret of our existence has to be preserved.”

“Jared’s parents didn’t stop searching for him and Evan” – Jared’s twin brother who was also a vampire – “all these years?” I frowned at the look he gave Jared. Again, it was sympathetic. Why be sympathetic about the idea that his parents hadn’t given up on finding him and his brother?

Sebastian’s tone was cautious. “You realise that Evan’s response may be different from yours?”

Jared shrugged at the tall Keja who, as always, was dressed in an Armani suit. “His decision is his own. I won’t interfere with his, just as he won’t interfere with mine.”

I’d never heard him sound so cold and hard before. “Jared, she was your mum, she—”

“She was Evan’s mom,” he corrected, “but never mine.” And then the shutters went down. Apparently that was the only answer I was getting.

When it came to questions, Jared was seriously the artful dodger. I’d quickly come to realise that he was very guarded. Whenever I asked about his past, he would instantly shut down. It wasn’t just his human years that he was vague about; it was his years as a vampire before joining Antonio’s legion. Whenever I pressed him, he turned into an arsehole, literally emitting ‘fuck off’ signals, but I knew it was just to distract me from my questions.

It didn’t seem that he was hiding deep, dark secrets. No. It was more like he didn’t want to think on life before The Hollow. When we had Merged with each other during the attack, I had automatically had access to his thoughts, feelings, and memories. I’d known he was worried for me, had known that he loved me, but as for his memories…There had been nothing from before The Hollow. Nothing that he cared to remember, anyway.

His seeming inability to open up to me was one of the reasons why I worried that he’d find himself backing out of the Binding. Not that I thought he didn’t care for me as much as he claimed to. There was no way I could doubt the extent of what he felt; it was all in his body language, in his vocal tone, the constant touches, the heated glances. And he had this way of looking at me like nothing else mattered. It was all extremely intimate. Powerful. Even disorientating at times.

The problem was that Binding didn’t allow for mental barriers. It wasn’t like marriage − the connection wasn’t something that a person could later free themselves from. Even if the couple came to hate each other, the psychic link could only be broken by death. As such, there wasn’t space for doubts. But if Jared feared being open with me, if he felt this need to hold back, there was every chance that he would back out of the Binding.

Maybe it would make sense for me to cut and run, but this was someone I cared about. If he was deeply scarred by something, I wanted to know what it was. He’d helped me with my scars. He had made me realise that my past as an unwilling consort for my Sire didn’t make me dirty or unworthy; it didn’t mean that I couldn’t have a normal, sexual, and even loving relationship with someone else. With him. I wanted to do the same for him. “Jared—”

Ignoring me, he spoke to Antonio. “There’s something that Sam needs to talk with you about.” He turned to me then. “Tell him.”

I narrowed my eyes at his swift change of topic. We’ll continue this conversation later , I told him telepathically. I wasn’t telepathic myself, but as Jared was, he could hear any thought that was directed at him by anyone. His nod was reluctant.

“I’ve been having these dreams,” I told Antonio. “I don’t think they’re anything to fret about, but they’re bugging me.”

The powerful vampire cocked his head, making his thick, black hair drape over his shoulder like a curtain. “What kind of dreams?”