Dark Gold (23 page)

"Don't sound so arrogant and macho. It makes my skin crawl," she snapped, because her heart was pounding all over again with fear. Did he have to be so sexy, so tempting? She didn't know the first thing about men, but surely they weren't all like this. Lethal. A threat to freedom.

A lazy smile softened his perfect mouth, instantly drawing her attention. "Was I sounding arrogant?" His thumb was stroking back and forth over her pulse.

She could feel each separate, caressing stroke go right through her body to collect in the pit of her stomach, to brush there like the wings of butterflies. She turned her head to escape his penetrating golden gaze, to escape that perfect mouth, and she saw the thin ribbon of scarlet that formed a path down his chest, tangled in the fine gold hair, and trickled lower still to his flat belly. Before she could think, instinctively, sensually, she lowered her head, her tongue tracking the ruby streak.

His every muscle clenched hotly, contracted and bunched. His teeth came together, and his throat worked convulsively. She possessed such a natural sensuality, and her body was so familiar with his. Her every instinct cried out for him. Alexandria was so innocent, so unaware of how close to peril she really was. Centuries of discipline were rapidly disintegrating, leaving only the dark, starving beast, needing—no, demanding—to claim its mate. Aidan couldn't help himself. His fingers tangled in the silken hair at the nape of her neck and held her to him while the earth spun and wanted to fragment, while his body pulsed and throbbed somewhere between pain and pleasure.

Without warning, Alexandria leapt up, shoving him as hard as she could so that, in his rather precarious state of arousal, he landed on the balcony floor with a thud. He blinked up at her through hooded eyes, trying to hold back the laughter that threatened to consume him. "What?"

"Stop being so… so…" Words failed her.
Sexy. Attractive. Enticing
. Hands on her hips, she glared at him. "Just stop!"

Chapter Ten

The kitchen was already warm from the blaze Stefan had built in the stone fireplace. The aroma of coffee and cinnamon laced the air. Alexandria walked beside Aidan into the room, their bodies brushing occasionally. He glanced down at the top of her bent head. She was wary now, afraid of him and the implications of her physical response to him. Yet now, without her knowledge, her body instinctively sought the shelter and comfort of his. She was beneath his shoulder, his arm sliding easily around her waist, across her back. She didn't even seem to notice.

The feel of her skin against his was driving him mad, but he walked with his usual easy grace and revealed none of his emotions on his face. He smiled at Marie as she turned from the counter, where she was beating an egg mixture in a bowl. She had so much warmth and affection in her for so many, not least for him. She humbled him with her ability to take so many into her heart.

"Aidan! Alexandria! I had no idea you were in the garden." She was smiling at them, but her sharp eyes were taking in his carefully blank expression and the shadows in Alexandria's eyes. "Joshua slept a little fitfully—I think he's really missing you, dear. He's such a sweet little boy. And his beautiful curls!"

Alexandria smiled. "He detests those curls."

Marie nodded. "What little boy wouldn't?" Alexandria wasn't nearly as pale as she had been all the other times Marie had seen her, and she certainly didn't look dead, as she had when Aidan carried her into the house. She had been well fed by Aidan, Marie was certain. She took a deep breath. "I wanted to thank you for what you did for Aidan the other night. It took courage. Stefan said Aidan would have died had you not gone to his aid. Aidan is like a son to me, or a brother. He is our friend and our family. Thank you for bringing him back to us."

Aidan stirred restlessly beside Alexandria, but she ignored him. "You're welcome, Marie, although I'm certain he would have found a way without me. Aidan is nothing if not resourceful. I'm indebted to
you
for all you've done for Joshua."

Aidan bent his head to brush a kiss onto Marie's temple. "I have told you for years that you worry too much about me. But you are correct. Alexandria saved my life."

Alexandria made a face at him. "And it was such a brilliant decision on my part, too," she whispered for his ears only.

His hand came up to caress the nape of her neck. "I thought so."

Stefan came in with an armload of wood. "Aidan! You're up." He beamed at them both. "And Alexandria, you certainly look better than the last time I saw you. But I give you credit—you know how to get things done."

Self-consciously she brushed a tendril of hair from her face. "I can be rather bossy, Stefan. I didn't mean to be. It's just that I've lived for so long on my own, caring for Joshua, that I'm used to doing everything myself and figuring things out. Besides, Aidan is so stubborn, and he seems to have everyone around here buffaloed."

She was taunting him, the little devil! Aidan knew it, and something inside him responded to the teasing. He felt, for the first time in centuries, for the first time since he was young, that he was not alone. He was in his home—not a house, but a real home—with his family surrounding him. Joshua slept peacefully in his bed, Marie and Stefan were laughing and joking in the kitchen, and beside him was the woman who was his life, his very breath, the blood in his veins. She had given him a heart, so he was now capable of knowing love and laughter and appreciating the miracles he had been favored with.

"That handsome man came back," Marie suddenly said, her eyes bright and innocent. She remained very busy at the counter.

Stefan choked on his coffee, and Aidan had to pound on his back. He looked suspiciously from one to the other. "What handsome man?" But he was beginning to have a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Marie touched Alexandria's arm lightly. "Your Mr. Ivan. He was quite upset and worried about you. He even called the police when we wouldn't allow him in. They were by yesterday morning. Nice, polite officers. I believe you've met them, Aidan, a time or two." Marie was beaming.

"Thomas Ivan came by again?" Alexandria asked, shocked.

"Oh, yes, dear," Marie said guilelessly. "He was quite worried about you."

"He called the police?" Alexandria couldn't take it all in.

"Two detectives. They insist you and Aidan contact them as soon as you return. We told them Aidan had taken you to a private hospital, that you were very ill. Aidan has donated money many times to their causes and even helped a few out individually when they needed it. All on the up and up, of course. Loans with very little interest but certainly within the law. I had the impression Mr. Ivan had angered them with his accusations against Aidan."

"I can imagine he did," Aidan said dryly, glaring at Marie.

Marie didn't seem to notice the signal. "I thought it sweet that he was so worried about your safety. One could hardly blame him for his concern." She smiled. "He wanted them to search the house, but of course, the officers refused. He left his number and wants you to call him, and he left something else. Let me just get it for you." She sounded like an excited schoolgirl.

Aidan leaned one hip lazily against the counter, but there was nothing
lazy
about his golden eyes. He followed his housekeeper's every movement, unblinking, his stare like that of a great predator eyeing its prey. Stefan moved closer to his wife uneasily, but Marie didn't seem to notice, bustling over to the refrigerator.

"I have to talk to the police?" Alexandria asked, completely unaware of Aidan's menacing stance. "I can't talk to the police. Aidan." She reached for his arm, her hand shaking. "I could never do it. What if they ask me questions about Henry, or something about those women? Thomas Ivan will have told them I was there that night. I can't talk to the police. What has Thomas done?"

With a great sense of satisfaction, Aidan curved an arm protectively around her shoulders. He swept her close to him, offering comfort. Marie pulled open the enormous refrigerator and turned, a huge bouquet of roses in her hands, the vase cut crystal. He felt Alexandria's swift intake of breath.

"For you," Marie said blithely, ignoring the black scowl on Aidan's face. "Your Mr. Ivan brought these for you."

Alexandria moved away from Aidan to cross the room. "They're so beautiful. Roses," she said breathlessly. "I've never received flowers before, Marie. Never." She touched one dewy petal. "Aren't they wonderful?"

Marie was nodding and smiling in agreement. "I thought we might put them in the living room, but if you want them in your private bedroom, that would fine, too."

Aidan's hands itched to strangle the woman. He had known Marie from the moment of her birth—sixty-two years ago—and they had never exchanged a cross word. And he suddenly wanted to strangle her. He should have ripped Ivan's throat out. Flowers. Why hadn't he thought of flowers? Why hadn't Marie mentioned it to him first? Why had she accepted them? Whose side was she on, anyway? Flowers! He had the urge to rip those petals off one by one.

"Look," Marie cooed, "he even had the thorns removed so you wouldn't hurt yourself. What a thoughtful man."

"What time did you tell the police we would see them?" Aidan interrupted, afraid that if he didn't he would erupt into violence. He detested the way Alexandria kept caressing the petals of one of the white roses.

Stefan cleared his throat and glared at his wife. "They asked that you contact them at your earliest convenience. It seems that Ivan is particularly insistent, especially since two bodies, burned beyond recognition, were found a few miles from here. I told the police I was returning from the store when I saw the blaze and called it in from the car phone."

Alexandria's face went white, and she looked up at Aidan as if for direction. "Are they going to question me about that, too?"

Aidan reached out a hand, gently fingering her silky hair. "Of course not,
cara
. Do not be so alarmed. They believe I had already taken you to the hospital. If necessary, we will be able to prove such a thing. The police want only to answer Ivan's ridiculous concerns by seeing you alive and well. I assured him you were safe when he was here last, but he would not take my word. He has thoroughly insulted me."

In spite of her fears, Alexandria laughed. "You were lying to him, you idiot. I wasn't safe. A vampire had bitten me, remember?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "
Idiot
? In all the centuries of my existence, no one has ever called me an idiot."

"Well, that's because everyone's afraid of you. Thomas had good reason to think you were lying. Don't act like one of those ridiculous men in whatever century who fought duels of honor."

"I have fought more than one duel in my time."

"Idiot," she said disrespectfully, but she was laughing. Alexandria buried her face in the flowers, inhaling the sweet fragrance. Then she raised her head and caught Aidan looking at her with that possessive, masculine intensity that caused her heart to turn over. "Do I really have to talk to the police? Can't you just do it?"

There was some satisfaction in her blaming Ivan, Aidan thought, but it didn't help to have her cuddling those accursed flowers.

Stefan shook his head. "Actually, Aidan, the police are very interested in those bodies. It seems the way they burned was quite remarkable, as if the flames were burning from the inside out. There was nothing left but ashes. They couldn't ID the bodies through dental work either. I think they'll insist on speaking to both of you."

Alexandria slumped against the counter, leaning heavily on Aidan. "I'm not very good at lying, Aidan. Everyone always knows when I'm lying."

She sounded so dejected, as if it was a terrible sin that she couldn't lie, that he smiled. "Do not worry,
cara
. I will handle the police. All you have to do is sit in a chair and look fragile and delicate," Aidan assured her.

She frowned at him as if she thought he was making fun of her. "I can't look fragile. Or delicate. I'm sturdy, Aidan."

He laughed then. He couldn't help it. The sound was deep velvet, a pure note that made Alexandria smile even as she nudged him. "Don't laugh, you ape. I swear, Aidan, you're so completely arrogant, it's scary. Has he always been this way?" She was smiling at Marie—her first genuine smile at the other woman, a sharing of feminine minds.

"Always," Marie said solemnly, her heart lightening. She had not realized just how afraid she had been that the house hold would change, that she and Stefan would no longer be welcome. She knew Aidan would never throw them out, but if the tension between Alexandria and herself was not resolved, sooner or later she and Stefan would have to find their own place. And Aidan's home had been her home her entire life. When she married Stefan, he had moved in and accepted the life she led, had accepted and grown to love Aidan Savage, too.

"I think the living room is the perfect place to put the flowers," Alexandria agreed. "When Thomas comes over, he'll be able to see them."

Aidan found himself gritting his teeth. Alexandria was already flitting from the kitchen. He caught Marie by the shoulder before she could follow, leaned down, and put his mouth to her ear. "Couldn't you have thrown the damn things out?" The words came out somewhere between a hiss and a growl. "And just for the record, you traitor, Ivan is not her man. I am."

Marie looked shocked. "Not yet, you're not. I believe you still have to court her. And of course I would never throw roses out, Aidan. When a man goes to the trouble of giving a woman flowers, she should at least have the pleasure of seeing them."

"I thought you didn't like this bum."

"He can't be all bad. You should have seen his concern for her. I tell you, Aidan, he's really taken with her." Marie was deliberately, innocently enthusiastic. "I don't think you'll have to worry about her when she's with him." She attempted to sound reassuring.

Behind them, Stefan was choking again. Aidan swore eloquently in three languages and followed Alexandria out of the room, shaking his head over the workings of the female mind.