Fate (The Edge of Forever) (6 page)

It was strange to me how a powerful man like Grayson Alexander was not pushing me to get what he wanted. Did part of him know my lack of experience? After the joke about the Google search, I had gone home and done just that. What came up were pictures of Grayson and women. Lots of women. He was always presumably dating someone. It made me wonder if that was why he wasn’t pressuring me into something more. Was he getting it somewhere else?

After several dates, I decided to bring up our exclusivity, without trying to be
that
girl. I was just curious as to where I stood.

“You Google searched me didn’t you?” Grayson asked with a quirked brow.

“Yeah,” I looked down, having the decency to look ashamed.

“You can’t always believe what you read, Gabriella. Most of those picture were taken at events. Charities, fundraisers, things where I had to make myself available to talk to people.” He shook his head. “Most of those women I don’t even know.” He shrugged. “It just makes for an interesting story.” He paused looking at me completely serious. “I assumed we were only dating each other. Was I wrong?”

I smiled softly and shook my head. “No. You weren’t wrong.”

Our kisses grew in intensity. Our fingers began to wander, exploring one another. Grayson would always break first wishing me a good night. Maybe he
was
just trying to be a true gentleman, but for the first time ever, I was beginning to want more.

 
After another late night, I woke with barely three hours of sleep. My mother had had a bone to pick once I got home. I made the mistake of forgetting to change before I headed back to the nest. She went on about how my outfit was inappropriate for work. Grayson and I were talking about trying out lunch dates instead of so many dinners, mainly because my mother was upset that I wasn’t spending more time with the nest, which meant not enough time with Anton. 

Before heading to work, I sent a text to Shawn to meet me at our favorite Starbucks off of Lexington. I was definitely in the need for a pick me up, before work. A warm cup of Joe was nothing to a hot glass of John Doe, but the caffeine would help with my sleep deprivation.
 

When I arrived, Shawn was sitting at my favorite table with two coffees. I smiled at him.
 

“Venti white mocha at one forty. No whip, stirred,” he spouted off my drink.
 

“Thanks,” I closed my eyes as the warm goodness slid down my throat at just the right temperature so it didn’t scald me.
 “Mmm… God, that’s good.”

“You seem in a good mood. I’m guessing everything went well last night?”
 

I beamed at him. I raised my large bag, making sure it caught his attention. “I’m changing at your place tonight.”

“You just saw him last night and you already have another date? How’s your mom taking it?”

I shrugged, not hiding my annoyance. “She does not like my late nights. I think it has more to do with the fact I’m not spending all my free time with Anton.”

“What free time? You barely have time to see me lately,” he laughed.

“Exactly,” I tipped my cup toward him in acknowledgement.

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“I have no free time which doesn’t help when you’re trying to play match maker.”

“It also probably doesn’t help when one of the parties wants nothing to do with the other.”

I nodded. “Yup, but she doesn’t seem to understand that, or it doesn’t seem to matter to her.”

***

 
A few hours later, after I returned from lunch, my phone chirped. I reached into my desk drawer, opened my bag, and searched for my phone. I grinned hugely when I saw the message was from Grayson. Rachel glared at me. She knew who it was by the smile on my face. She figured out who ‘G’ was at our pitch to him. 

After our pitch was done, Grayson had walked up to me to discuss the plans for our date that evening. It was my turn to pick what we were doing. He didn’t bother to wait until the office was clear. Rachel stood there gaping, open-mouthed, wide eyed, when Grayson leaned in and kissed my cheek.
 

I read the text.

Grayson:
H
ey, beautiful. Looking forward to tonight.

I texted back.

Me:
M
e 2. What’s the plan?

Grayson:
Dinner and a movie?

Me:
Movie?

Grayson:
Your pick

I paused for a second. Figuring he’d think I’d want to see some chick flick, I thought I’d surprise him.

Me:
How weak is ur stomach? lol.

Grayson:
Not weak at all. What do you have in mind?

Me:
lol. It’s a surprise. I’ll text u the movie time.

Grayson:
I look fwd to it.

Later that evening, we were seated toward the front of the theater, up against a wall. The armrest was up so as to not separate us. It was about halfway through the movie, but to be honest, I really had no idea. About twenty minutes in, after laughing about the gore that made everyone else scream, we found other things to
occupy
our time. My fingers were tangled in his brown hair gripping him closer to me. His tongue dipped into my mouth, lightly stroking and teasing mine. He tasted wonderful. I groaned with satisfaction just wanting to drown in him. His jacket was draped across my chest, hiding his hands wandering up my back and sides. I was at ease in his arms and yet incredibly turned on. I just didn’t know how to get what I wanted. It had only been a few weeks and there were still obstacles in our way.

Everything felt right in the world at that moment, from the flawless tranquility his touch compelled from me, to the tremors his lips provoked racked through my body. It was absolute perfection until the scent of blood engulfed my senses. I broke away from Grayson’s swollen lips worrying for a brief second I’d nicked him. Placing my hand against his chest, he saw the worry pass across my face.
 

“Hold on a second,” I whispered. He studied me as I righted myself but he said nothing. I closed my eyes and took a deep, heavy breath inhaling the salty sweet scent. I turned my head in the direction I smelled the scent the strongest and it wasn’t from Grayson.
 

In the back corner of the theater there was a man hunched over a woman. To the untrained eye, it would look like they were embraced in an intimate moment similar to the one Grayson and I had just been sharing. Perhaps any onlookers would think he was just pressing sweet kisses across her neck, but I knew better. I could smell the blood.
 

The stranger lifted his head from his meal, turning in my direction. I ducked down behind my seat. He was a hunter on alert. It made his senses sharper allowing him to feel my gaze on him. Looking between the cracks of the seats, I saw his eerie eyes reflect the light of the screen as he scanned the area, and turned back to his meal. There was no blood dripping down his face or any other signs to give him away. He was neat and well-trained which meant he was no newbie. I felt my face go pale. I turned back to Grayson who was looking at me with curious eyes.
 

“We need to go,” I whispered and bless him, he asked no questions. He nodded, stood and we left.

Outside the theater, Grayson waved down his driver who had been idling on the corner, patiently waiting for the movie to end. “Take us back to the apartment, John,” Grayson relayed to his driver sternly.

“Yes, sir,” John replied with a tilt of his head.

Overwhelmed by what I had just seen, I let Grayson usher me into the car without question. He scooted in next to me, allowing me to feel the warmth of his body without pressing against me. My thoughts wandered over what I’d just seen. It was a vampire, feeding from a human, in public. Not only that, but if he was from the nest, which was likely, he almost caught me with Grayson. Older vampires didn’t just wander into another’s territory. And like it or not, Manhattan was Anton’s territory. Vampires were also rarely nomadic, preferring to stay in a nest. So the odds that this was a nomad who didn’t know customs were dwindling down.

We arrived at our destination in what seemed like seconds. Once out of the car, my head cleared a little. I looked around to where we were. We stood outside a large apartment building. Before I examined it further, Grayson grabbed my hand pulling me through the doors. He didn’t pause to greet the doorman who wished him a good evening. He didn’t even acknowledge him. In fact Grayson didn’t stop pulling me until we were in the elevator.
 

“Where are we going?” I whispered.
 

“To my apartment,” he said, looking straight ahead.
 

My heart raced at the prospect of being alone with Grayson in his apartment, but was I really ready to take that next step? “Grayson... I...” I shook my head, not sure what to say. We hadn’t discussed this before.
 

“Just to talk; I need a quiet place.” He stayed facing the doors. When they opened, he grabbed my hand, pulling me along once more. He stopped at a crème colored door, which I assume was his apartment. He unlocked it then stepped inside, tossing his keys on a table by the door. I paused at the threshold.

 ”Come in,” he said when he saw that I hadn’t followed him. I was grateful. It would have been impossible for me to enter without his invite and even more difficult to explain. It all originated from demons not being allowed inside human dwellings. As I stepped over the threshold, I gasped. What caught my attention was the solid glass wall, in the living room, that looked out on to the city. I slowly walked through the foyer into the living room. The walls were traditional white. A long white sectional couch sat with its back to the glass wall, on top of a round black carpet. A black coffee table with four glass panels sat on top of the rug. Everything brought focus to the fifty inch flat screen mounted to the wall.

“Have a seat. Can I get you something? Water? Wine?”
 

“Wine would be good.”
 Something to take the edge off my nerves.

“I have a merlot?”
 

I nodded, “That would be fine.” I sat there taking in his apartment. I couldn’t help but focus on the wall behind me. The city was lit up, like it was every night. I could never get tired of seeing it. It was home.
 

Grayson came back with two glasses containing a deep maroon liquid. He hand me one, “Thank you,” I replied taking a sip, wishing it was something else that was red.

He sat on the ottoman angling out from the couch. “Will you tell me what happened at the movies?” 

I sighed. Taking a bigger drink of my wine, which was a little more bitter than I liked. Looking down at the glass, I spoke, “I saw someone.”

“Gabriella you looked like you were terrified.” 

I frowned. “I just didn’t feel safe...” I bit my tongue as soon as those words came out.
 Safe was not the type of word to use when trying to lessen the questions to answer.

“Safe? Is someone trying to harm you?”
 

I shook my head. “No of course not. I meant...” He reached over, grabbed my glass out of my hand and set both of ours on the table. He stood up and came to sit beside me and grasped both of my hands in his, resting them in his lap.
 

“You told me no crazy exes,” he paused. “Were you lying?” His gray eyes skimmed over my expression, searching for deception.
 

“No,” I stated firmly. Raising my hand, I cupped his face. “I thought it might be someone who knew my mother. Like I said before, she is very intent on pushing me toward her friend. If the person I saw, saw me all over you, it would not have gone over very well.”

He nodded, licking his lips. “So us at the movies,” he gestured between us, “that wasn’t the reason you wanted to leave? I didn’t make you… uncomfortable?” 

I giggled lightly. “No. If you would have made me uncomfortable I would have asked you to stop. And if you still continued to do it after? Well, I know how to handle myself.”
 

“That’s good,” he sounded relived. “Not about you handling yourself, I mean that is good too, but you wouldn’t need to use your mad ninja skills on me. I only meant…”

“I know what you meant.” I giggled at his nervous stammering. Seeing Grayson who was master of his universe get flustered helped ease my nervous feeling. I wasn’t the only one who was feeling it.

He sighed, “How about Friday, we try dinner and a movie again? Only this time, we do it here. That way, no surprise people show up. Just you and me, I’ll even cook for you.” I looked down, sticking my bottom lip out to pout “What?” he asked tipping my chin up.