Kael snorted. “They deserved it for being such idiots, then.”
“She is evil, Kael. Her words are all lies, but she has the power to make you believe them. I forbid you to let her come into this house.”
Ice blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “You …forbid… me?”
Geraldo stood his ground. “Yes. I will not have that woman in this house, corrupting it. Corrupting you. I love you, Kael. Shouldn’t that count for something?”
“Not with me, it doesn’t. Love makes you weak. It makes you soft. Just like you’ve become, Geraldo. Worthless. So just go to your stupid meetings and hash out your stupid deals and let me take care of my own business, hmmm?”
Frustrated beyond all good sense, the Latin man lifted his arm, his eyes flashing his anger at the impudent American.
“Lay one finger on me, and I’ll make sure you never touch another living thing again, Geraldo.”
His teeth clenched, Geraldo curled his hand into a fist and stood there, his entire body trembling with the need to lash out at something …anything, just to release the building frustration. The woman who had gone to China with him had died somewhere along the way. In her place, a stranger stood. A stranger who Geraldo both loved and loathed. That he feared her was beyond question. That he was scared for her was likewise true. He felt lost in a way that was foreign to him, and that made him angry, bitter, and frustrated beyond all good sense.
Angered past the ability to make a rational decision, Geraldo allowed his fist to swing down, intending to, if nothing else, get in one good blow before Kael could think to block and retaliate.
Kael saw it coming, and backed her head out of the way, allowing Geraldo’s arm to move past her before using the opening his wild swing left to lift her own arms and, fingers extended, jab at the pulse-points in his neck.
Geraldo collapsed to his knees as the fight left his body.
Kael squatted down in front of her dark lover, sneering. “I’ve just cut off the flow of blood to that thing you call a brain. Any last requests?”
The Latin felt a warm trickle as a thin stream of blood left one nostril to pool at his upper lip. “Please,” he gasped.
“Please what?”
He gasped, choking on the blood seeping into his mouth.
“Speak up, Geraldo. Can’t hear you when you mumble, ya know.”
“Please,” he whispered again. “Don’t … .”
“Don’t what? Don’t defend myself when you go after me like a rabid dog? Don’t demand my right to have anyone in this house that I please? What? Help me out here.” She grinned darkly. “And I’d suggest you do it quickly. Your time’s just about up.”
“Don’t …kill me … .”
“Don’t kill ya, huh? Well, that might be arranged.” She cocked her head, smiling coyly. “What’s in it for me? I like to know what my options are before making a decision of such magnitude, ya know.”
“Anything!!”
Lashing out, Kael reversed the nerve block, her teeth bared in an obscene parody of a genuine smile. “See? I knew there was a reason I kept ya around.”
She grabbed him by the lapels of his dark suit and pulled him to his feet, reaching out and snatching the pristine white handkerchief from his breast pocket as she did so. She put the handkerchief up against his nose, then reached down and grabbed his hand, replacing it on the bloody square of cloth. “Keep the pressure on for a minute or two. We’ll talk about the terms of your surrender later.” Brushing his jacket of imaginary lint, she turned and headed back toward the front door and her date with the intriguing stranger waiting just outside.
Opening the door, Kael leaned casually against the doorjamb, crossing her arms, and legs at the ankles. “You’re still here.”
“As promised,” the woman replied, inclining her head slightly.
“Please. Come in.”
Smiling seductively, the stranger oozed her long body past Kael, trailing a finger across the other woman’s abdomen as she did so.
Breathing deep and grinning to herself, Kael pushed herself off the jamb and followed her guest inside, closing the door softly behind her. “Make yourself comfortable,” she said, one long arm gesturing to the over-stuffed chairs occupying the huge living room. “Would you like something to drink?”
The woman’s grin deepened into a frank leer. “What are you offering?” she purred.
Kael’s eyebrow rose to hide beneath her bangs. “Cocktails. For now.”
The stranger matched her expression. “Then I’ll pass. For now.”
The American poured herself a scotch, neat, and swirled the liquid around in the crystal glass absently before taking a sip and feeling the pleasant burn of the alcohol as it washed down her throat. Walking across the room, she gracefully lowered herself onto the couch next to the other woman and took another sip. “Kael. Androstos,” she said finally, drinking in the woman’s beauty.
“I know. A powerful name for a powerful woman.”
Kael waited in silence.
“My name is Ianna.”
“Very beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“I hear you’re a practitioner of Santeria.”
Ianna’s smile broadened. “Oh yes. Such wonderful power in the religion.”
Kael smirked. “Power, huh? Seems to me that you’ve got to be a bit of a charlatan to make people believe they’re invisible. And invincible.”
“No more so than having people believe that you can shatter a bottle with the strength of your mind.” There was a mad, knowing sparkle in Ianna’s dark eyes.
Kael jumped from her chair, her teeth bared. “How do you know … .”
“About your …mentor …Lao Ma?” Ianna asked, unperturbed. “Do you really think she is—or was—the only person on the planet with the power to see into the hearts of others?”
“Don’t you ever speak her name to me again,” Kael growled, grabbing Ianna by the neck and squeezing off her air.
The other woman seemed totally unaffected by the violent display. “And why not? The woman is dead, Kael. But her power, that incredible, wonderful, delicious power, lives on in you. It’s just a matter of using it the right way.” Incredibly, the strangling woman curved her hand around Kael’s taut waist, pulling her dark captor ever closer. “Tap into the darkness in your soul, Kael. Tap into the blackness that fuels your dreams. Feed on it like a starving man at a banquet. Use that anger and hatred that lays claim to you. Use it and feel your true power.”
Ianna’s words were hypnotic, their lulling tone calling to the beast coiled within Kael; summoning it out to play. Her eyes darkened to a deep indigo as a feral smile spread wide her full lips, her teeth gleaming in the firelit shadows. Her hand still wrapped, white knuckled, around Ianna’s neck, she brought her head down and kissed the woman with crushing force, drawing blood with the first blow.
Ianna growled deep in her throat. Kael matched it, shifting her hand from the other woman’s neck to her jaw and prying her mouth open. Her tongue entered strongly, harshly conquering unmapped territory as her other hand went downward, kneading Ianna’s firm breast through the soft cotton of her T-shirt.
With a final bite to kiss-swollen lips, Kael pulled away and downed the last of her scotch in one gulp, leaving Ianna panting and slightly dazed. “That powerful enough for ya?” she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Ianna swallowed hard, slowly regaining her equilibrium after the devastating attack on her senses. “Oh yes. It was perfect.”
“Good. Then get out.”
Smiling, Ianna slowly came to her feet, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans and retrieving a business card. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing one another again,” she said, laying the card face down on the glass table fronting the couch. “Soon.”