Dark Gold (25 page)

Alexandria was horrified. "You wouldn't dare! Aidan, I mean it, don't you even think about doing something so evil."

"Was it not you who said there was no such thing as a vampire?" he inquired innocently, his white teeth very much in evidence.

His mouth again. She found herself staring up at it, fascinated. His smile had softened its lines into pure sensuality. She blinked to bring perspective back into her life. He should be outlawed.

His smile widened, dispelling any hint of cruelty, and he leaned close to her. "Remember, I can read your mind,
piccola
."

Her blue eyes flashed at him, and one small fist thumped the middle of his chest. Hard. "Well, stop it. And don't flatter yourself. I wasn't exactly giving you compliments."

"No?" His hand touched her face tenderly. "Keep fighting, Alexandria. It will not do you any good, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead."

"Arrogant, primieval ape," she sniffed, turning away before he could read her need of him in her eyes. She deliberately went to the telephone. "I believe you have Thomas's number?"

He reached around her, his arm brushing her shoulders, his scent enveloping her. Any of his kind would recognize his brand, would know she belonged to him just from his scent on her. The human, however, would never notice. Irritated by the thought, Aidan found the business card beneath the phone and handed it to her.

"Call him," he dared softly.

Her chin went up. She was human. She would be human. Even if she wasn't, this… this creature, whatever he was, would not rule her life. Defiantly she stabbed at the buttons on the phone.

To Alexandria's amazement, Thomas himself answered. It seemed so out of character. "Thomas? This is Alexandria Houton," she said hesitantly, not certain, now that she had him, what to say. "I hope it isn't too early to call."

"Alexandria! Thank God! I was beginning to think that man had you locked up in a dungeon somewhere. Are you all right? Do you want me to come and get you?"

Thomas sat up, pushing at the hair falling across his forehead. The sheets had wound around him so tightly for a moment, he had to fight just to move.

"No, no, I'm fine. Well, still a bit shaky, and I have to rest a lot, but I'm doing much better. Thank you for the roses. They're beautiful." She was acutely aware of Aidan standing close to her, listening to every word, listening to the tone of her voice. She had an impulse to try for syrupy. The man had no right monitoring her personal conversations.

"I'm coming over, Alexandria. I have to see you." Thomas said it almost belligerently, determined not to be denied.

"I believe I have an interview with a couple of detectives this morning," she said in a gentle reprimand.

Beside her Aidan stirred restlessly. Her voice was far too soft for his liking. Far too sexy. She was a Carpathian now, with all the sensuality and the mesmerizing effect on humans of one born to his kind.

Aidan's subtle, possessive movement brought his body even closer, and she could smell his scent. It invaded her very being, sending liquid warmth pooling unexpectedly in her midsection. Alexandria hunched her shoulders and stepped away, backing up against the antique cherry-wood piece the phone rested on.

"I was so worried, Alexandria. And that strange man. How well do you know him?" Thomas had lowered his voice to a conspirator's whisper.

Alexandria was acutely aware that it did not matter how quietly Thomas spoke. Her own hearing was so sharp now that she could hear at great distances if she chose. It only stood to reason that Aidan's hearing would be even more intense and his ability to control it far better than hers. She felt color wash into her face.

"You don't know Aidan at all, Thomas. You barely know me. We only met for one dinner, and that was interrupted. Please don't say things against someone who has been a great friend to me." For some unknown reason, Thomas's slights against Aidan annoyed her, but it was the last thing she wanted Aidan to know.

"You're very young, Alexandria. You've probably never met a man of his caliber before. Believe me, he's way out of your league. He's likely very dangerous."

Her fingers tightened around the receiver until her knuckles whitened.
What did Ivan know? And, therefore, how much danger might Aidan be in
? Her teeth bit down hard on her lower lip. She really couldn't bear it if someone suspected the truth and… and drove a stake through his heart or something. She might not want to feel that way, she might even be betraying mankind, but she couldn't help herself. The idea of losing him was terrifying.

Aidan reached around her and gently covered her hand with his. In her mind danced the image of a shark with Thomas Ivan's white, practiced smile. Deliberately Aidan teased her with the image until she was forced to laugh.

"This is no laughing matter, Alexandria," Thomas said huffily. "I'm coming over to discuss this. You can't stay in that house with that man."

"I wanted to work for you, Thomas," she replied softly, "not have you dictate my personal life." She closed her eyes. She had wanted the job so much. She also wanted to be human, to live and breathe and function in a world she understood.

"I'm coming over," he said decisively.

Alexandria was left with a loud click and a dial tone. She glared up at Aidan. "Do I look like someone to push around?" she demanded as she banged down the phone. "Is
please order me around
tattooed on my forehead?"

"Let me see," Aidan said, leaning close. His mouth was inches from hers. "Hmm. Not at all. It says,
extremely kissable
."

She pushed at the wall of his chest but found him immovable. "Don't try your winning little ways with me, Savage. I've been told you're a dangerous man and that I'm way out of my league, whatever that means."

"How could I be dangerous?" His body was trapping hers with its heat, with its aggression. She ached for him so easily. "Am I dangerous?" His voice whispered over her lips like silk against her skin.

"If you don't get out of my way right this minute, I'm going to…" She pictured bringing up her knee hard and watching him writhe in pain on the floor. The image in her mind was as vivid as his shark's image had been.

Aidan leapt away from her, laughing as he did so. "You have a nasty little temper, Alexandria."

"Another annoying habit," she said smugly.

Chapter Eleven

There was something unnerving about the house. Thomas couldn't put his finger on it, couldn't find the exact word to describe it, but he wished he could. It wasn't just the owner. The house itself seemed alive, a silent sentinel watching him. If he could put this feeling onto computer screen, capture the images to depict the way the house lived and breathed, stared malevolently at him, he would be one of the wealthiest men in the world. There was something very wrong with the entire setup at Aidan Savage's, and he meant to get to the bottom of it.

The setting was dramatically beautiful, the house itself was architecturally perfect, yet he sensed some deeper, underlying monstrous being lurking there. He found himself thankful the usual early-morning fog wasn't present as he climbed the steps to the huge, ornate front door. Even the police car parked in the circular drive was oddly comforting. He knew the detectives didn't like him, but their presence gave him the sense of security he needed to face Aidan Savage.

Frankly, the man scared the hell out of him. It was his eyes. Savage had the disquieting, eerie, unblinking stare of a predator. There was power and intelligence there in that molten gold gaze, yet at times Thomas was certain the eyes had flashed with red sparks and glowed with a weird intensity. A few years back, for one of his games, Ivan had researched jungle cats—tigers, leopards, and the like—and he remembered how well cats could see in the night, a perfect adaptation for predators. Their large round eyes had huge pupils that closed down to slits in the light of day but widened dramatically in the darkness. And he vividly recalled their deadly stare preceding an attack.

Thomas shuddered and tried to shake off his feeling of dread as he stood before the door. His imagination was clearly working overtime. Savage was dangerous not because he was a night predator but because he was staking out Alexandria Houton as his territory, and Thomas Ivan intended to do the same. That was all. They were rivals for the same woman. Nothing sinister, nothing more. He had always had trouble keeping his imagination under control.

He stared at the intricate stained-glass panels in the door. They were beautiful, patterned with strange symbols and shapes. The more he studied the glass, the more he felt as if he were falling into it. Caught in it, like a fly in amber. That nameless dread began to build again, and for a moment he could barely catch his breath. To enter this house was to be trapped forever in an eternity of hell. The pattern began to move and change before his horrified stare. It wanted to draw him into its spiral, carry him into hell. His heart was pounding so loudly, his ears hurt.

Thomas nearly screamed when the door swung open, breaking the spell. Aidan Savage stared down at him from his superior height. The man was dressed casually in a faded jeans and a vee-necked shirt, but he looked at once strangely elegant yet wild and untamed, out of time and place, like some all-powerful tribal chieftain from times gone by. The shoulder-length hair, as golden as his eyes, added to the impression.

"Mr. Ivan." The voice was so perfectly pitched, it seeped into Thomas's heart and soul, coiling itself inside him like a living, breathing thing. "I am so pleased you could take the time to stop in and reassure Alexandria. I am certain your visit will ease her mind. She has been quite anxious that you might not hold the job for her."

Savage's solid weight blocked the entrance to the interior. His voice was pleasant, soothing, but the words stung slightly. It made Thomas a mere employer, nothing special to Alexandria Houton and certainly no threat to Savage's designs on her.

Thomas reached for his own voice. A smoldering anger began to burn in him, giving him the impetus he needed to deal with this man. He was Thomas Ivan. He owned his own company, was wealthy, famous, a force to be reckoned with. He was no coward to snivel on a doorstep. "I'm glad we could meet again under more auspicious circumstances." Smugly superior, he offered his hand.

The moment Savage gripped his fingers, Thomas winced at the man's enormous strength. Savage wasn't even trying, didn't even seem to notice his own casual power. Cursing silently, Thomas shook hands. And then Savage smiled. A gleam of white teeth. Strong. Sharp. No humor, no welcome. A predator's smile that never once warmed those strange, unblinking eyes.

"Do enter my home, Mr. Ivan," Aidan invited, stepping back to give him room.

And all at once entering that house was the last thing Thomas wanted to do. He actually stepped backward, a cold shiver of fear racing down his spine. Savage's mouth curved into a cruel yet almost sensual smile.

"What is it?" The voice, so calm, so smooth, like velvet, was taunting all the same.

The two detectives had been there for well over an hour, and in that time the demon in Aidan had been growing stronger and stronger. He had all but sprouted fangs as one of them did everything but beg for a date with Alexandria. Did she really need yet another suitor? He was going to have to post a sign on the lawn stating that all males courting Alexandria Houton did so at their own peril.

Alexandria walked the two detectives to the door, and at once Thomas Ivan forgot his fear. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was hauntingly beautiful, more so than he remembered. Even the police officers were staring at her, mesmerized. Thomas choked back the jealous rage welling up out of nowhere, surprised by the intensity of his emotions. Under Savage's steady stare, he forced himself back under control.

Alexandria's face lit up when she saw him, and Thomas sent a triumphant grin Savage's way. He entered the house quickly, pushed past the detectives, and clasped both of Alexandria's hands in his.

Something deep within Aidan coiled dangerously at the sight of her hands in Thomas Ivan's. His breath stopped. His heart ceased to beat. The demon within stirred and roared for release, fangs exploded into his mouth, and the red haze of the beast flamed in his eyes. As Thomas leaned in close, intending to kiss her cheek, Aidan fought for control so that he could casually wave a hand, directing a flurry of dust spores to whirl and dance beneath Ivan's nose. As Ivan inhaled, he began to sneeze violently, the spasms wracking his entire body.

Alexandria stepped away from him and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Aidan. When he looked far too innocent for her liking, she glared at him. It was hard enough for her to deal with the two bewitched policemen. They seemed oddly mesmerized by her voice, her eyes, her every movement. They had been so solicitous of her, so careful of what they said, so worried about her health, that she was beginning to suspect that, along with the exchange of blood, Aidan had somehow shared his sex appeal with her. And she definitely didn't want it.

Aidan showed the detectives out the door, exercising great restraint not to throw them out bodily. He had not anticipated their human reaction to Alexandria's haunting beauty. He certainly had not anticipated his own reaction to their wanting her. He could smell their arousal, read their thoughts, and he wanted them out of his sight before he did something unforgivable.

Something stirred in his mind like the brush of butterfly wings.
Aidan
? Startled, he glanced at Alexandria. She was frowning at him.
Stop being so mean to Thomas
.

Joy surged through him. She had voluntarily merged her mind with his and was communicating in the way of a lifemate. He smiled, completely unrepentant.
Stop holding his hands
.

You're being childish. I am not holding his hands.

And stop letting him kiss you.

He didn't get to kiss me. Aidan, stop. I mean it.

He raised a hand, and the dust dispersed. Embarrassed, Thomas turned away from Alexandria, wondering what had happened. He never had sneezing fits. Never. Why would he suddenly have one now? Was it somehow this house and those damned unblinking amber eyes?