she reprimanded indignantly. Pay
attention to what you’re doing, and leave me in peace. I do not wish to force my will on you, honey.
It was a clear threat.
But you will if I don’t obey.
Her hot temper surged forth. If he was standing on the edge of the pier in his elegant suit, she would have shoved him right off the edge into the water.
Youliave no
right to dictate
to me, Darius. In case you‘ve forgotten, this is the modern era. Women have rights. You’re irritating me. I do not have time for this silly argument. Now
go. There was the slightest hint of resignation in his voice, in his mind, and it made her smile. Darius was slowly but surely getting the message that dictating to her did not necessarily get him his way. And she was beginning to understand his driving need to protect her. More and more she was sharing his mind, including memories of his childhood and his life.
“Tempest!” Cullen Tucker’s voice nearly made her jump out of her skin. “1 have to admit it’s a bit surprising to see you out without Darius.”
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Is it catching or something? Come on, Cullen. Why would I need an escort at every moment?” She knew she sounded belligerent, but after Darius’s little lecture, she was annoyed with the entire male population of the earth.
He instantly and prudently held up a hand in surrender. “Hey, Tempest, you can pack that redheaded temper away. I don’t think you need a bodyguard at every moment, but Darius seems to keep a close watch on his property.”
Her eyebrows shot up, fury gathering in her green eyes. “For your information, Mr. Tucker, I am not
anybody’s
property. Least of all Darius’s. Don’t encourage him.”
You are definitely my property,
Darius said, laughter in his voice.
Oh, shut
up,she whispered sweetly.
“Okay,” Cullen said to appease her, discretion being the better part of valor. He waved a hand toward the glistening lake. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Tempest nodded, her eyes on the waves. “There’s always something soothing about water.”
Cullen gestured toward a riverboat that looked like something that should be on the Mississippi River. “That’s pretty cool. I hear you can rent it for private parties or take a three-hour tour on it around the lake. There’s a big bachelor party tonight. Darius had me go over the guest list to see if I recognized any of the names.”
Tempest raised an eyebrow and quirked a little grin at him. “A bachelor party? Complete with a stripper jumping out of a cake?”
Cullen laughed. “Who knows?” He sighed softly. “You know, you were right about this driving at night business. I’m usually a morning person, but after traveling all night, I swear, I couldn’t wake up today. When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, it was seven o’clock, and everyone was already up. Even Julian.” He glanced around to assure himself no one was in hearing distance. “To tell you the truth, I did kind of suspect him of being a you-know-what, but I saw him eating dinner with Desari. They were almost finished when I went into the dining room. I watched him eating myself.”
How
can that be?
Tempest demanded, fully aware that Darius was monitoring every word of the conversation.
Eavesdropper. We can eat. We simply remove the offending substance from our systems as soon as possible.
Yuck! Tempest pushed down the mental image and turned her attention back to Cullen. “The whole idea was a little farfetched.”
“I saw a vampire,” Cullen snapped defensively. “I saw him kill my fiancee in San Francisco. It wasn’t some delusion.”
She rubbed her hand up and down his arm soothingly. “I know, Cullen. I believe you. I was speaking of Desari. She’s so sweet and good to everyone. Why anyone would think she was a monster, I can’t imagine.”
Out of nowhere Dayan and Barack suddenly appeared, casually positioning themselves on either side of Tempest, inserting their larger frames between Cullen and her. The move was subtle, but they definitely removed her hand from Cullen’s arm. Tempest heaved an exaggerated sigh, fully aware the two Carpathians had been sent by Darius to retrieve her.
You’re a skunk, you know that?
But it was hard to keep the laughter out of her voice; of course she should have anticipated his move.
I
know you do not need to be
touching
other men. I told you to go back to the room, where I know you are safe.
I was going.
Not fast enough to suit me.
Barack took possession of Tempest’s arm. Not tightly, but she knew she couldn’t break his grip. It was all she could do not to burst out laughing.
I take it Barack isn’t a man?
A soft growl was Darius’s only answer to her teasing. Deliberately she smiled at Cullen. “I would think it might dangerous for you to be out in the open like this. What if the society sends someone here and you’re spotted?”
Cullen shrugged. “I’m hoping I can spot them first. It’s the least I can do under the circumstances.”
Barack was applying pressure, slowly drawing her away from the human, back toward their rooms. “Darius wants you with Desari and Syndil, little sister. He is very insistent.” He had heard the growling, too.
Dayan stepped smoothly to Cullen’s side, grinning good-naturedly at him. “Darius is the very devil with that woman. He keeps a close watch on her and has a protective streak a mile wide.”
“It seems all of you do,” Cullen responded.
“It is our way. So you are stuck with me, the bachelor.” Dayan walked him toward the concert hall. Darius had made it a point that they watch over Tucker. He might not be Carpathian, but he had warned them of danger at great risk to himself, and Darius was not about to let him die. Dayan understood some of Cullen’s feelings. The man grieved for his lost love, felt totally alone, and Dayan knew that feeling well. More and more as the others could feel emotion, the darkness was spreading in him, a stain he couldn’t seem to remove. He could touch the others and momentarily feel emotion through them, but it only increased his own barren existence when he slipped from their minds.
Tempest paced alongside Barack, fuming that Darius was forcing his will on her. Barack didn’t seem to notice her deliberately lagging steps, simply taking her with him to the room allotted to Desari. He reached around her and opened the door, all but pushing her inside. She glared at him. “You know, Barack, you could use some lessons in manners.”
“Probably true,” he agreed softly, “but then, you could use a few lessons in obedience.”
Syndil slammed the door in his face. “That man is a total brute. I do not know where he got the idea that he can suddenly boss us all around, but I swear, he has been hanging around Darius too long.”
From the other side of the door, they heard Barack’s mocking laughter. Syndil threw her shoe at the door. “Jerk!” She flung herself into a chair and glared up at Desari. “How do you put up with Julian?”
“Not easily,” Desari admitted. “When he gets out of hand, I just go around him. It is much easier than butting heads with him.”
“I would very much like to butt Barack in the head,” Syndil said. “You should hear him. He thinks he can just start ordering me around because he was an idiot and tied us together.”
Desari laughed softly. “He could not tie you together if you were not true lifemates, Syndil. You know that very well.”
“I know he has spent centuries bedding women. Who would want him?” Moodily she flung her other shoe at the door, wishing the wooden panel was his head. “And you should hear him go on about my flirting and about men wanting me. I tell you, Desari, he can fling himself into the lake.”