Immortal Distraction (28 page)

Angus finally gave up waiting for Brit to say something. “She infected herself on my fangs. And she did it intentionally.” He was still glaring at her, and she was still crying, but now Bremmer’s mouth had dropped open. He was starring between the two of them back and forth, and her eyes were down.

“Angus, get out.”

“What? The fuck I will…” He couldn’t seem to stop yelling.

“Now. I need to see to Brit, and you need to cool down.” Bremmer held his glare, refusing to give, and after staring back for many long seconds, he gave up and stormed from the room.

The moment he slammed the bedroom door behind him, he grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Truman. “Brit’s lost her fucking mind!” And then he hung up on the man. He paced the floor around and around. What the hell was she thinking? She wasn’t ready for this! She hated what he was, even if she couldn’t stay away from him. She was too … too self-fucking righteous for this.

He stormed around his desk, throwing the French doors to his balcony open wide before stepping into the frigid, dark evening air. It was starting to snow, and it chilled his body through to stand at the railing. He looked out at the city but saw Brit’s face instead. Why did she do this to herself? She didn’t want this. It made no sense. Brit wasn’t one to fear death to the point of thinking this was the solution. She was a fighter. And this wasn’t her.

It wasn’t the first time he’d considered turning her to keep her safer, but that was
his
need, not her own. He didn’t want her to be miserable in his world because she couldn’t get past the monster she was going to become. She couldn’t possibly want this.

She’d tricked him. She’d used his desire to do something to herself she would without doubt regret. And now he was responsible for her—a woman who would learn to hate herself for what she’d become. He couldn’t make her okay with being a vampire. And he knew her too well to think this wouldn’t be a struggle for her.

Truman and Ember entered together as he was coming back in from the balcony, and Ember’s brow furrowed the moment she caught sight of him. “She infected herself!” He practically yelled the words at them as Ember’s mouth dropped open, and Truman stopped walking midstride.

“How?”

“She … she … used me to do it.”

Ember eyed him suspiciously before her brows rose in understanding. “You mean she seduced you and…”

“Yes!” A small smile spread across Ember’s lips before she could stifle it. “Stow it, Em or I’m kicking you out!” He was only being half-sarcastic, but it didn’t erase his utter shock and fury at what Brit had done.

“I mean … there is something of a silver lining here, Angus.” She was already being Ember. Ember was the eternal optimist, and he wasn’t ready for any of her bullshit.

“No there isn’t!”

“Would you have turned her if she asked?” She wasn’t going to let up.

“Of course not! In case you weren’t aware, it’s prohibited, and I happen to be in charge of enforcing that little mandate.”

“Well her means were perhaps unorthodox, but she sure as hell made sure no blame could fall on you.” Her hands were on her hips as she squared off with him.

“That’s hardly the point.” But she did have a point.

She cocked her head to the side, studying him. “So, you were ready to give her up? You were prepared to say good-bye to her? Are you still pretending you aren’t completely infatuated with her?” He just glared at her. He understood what she was saying. He wasn’t stupid. The part of his mind that wasn’t livid was waiting for the livid part to get over it so he could do a happy dance. The problem was it was what
he
wanted. He knew her too well to think she could ever want this for her own sake, and he didn’t want her miserable. Eternity was too fucking long for her to hate herself, and for him to have to watch it.

“Can’t you try to see this as a good thing?” She was incessant.

“For who,
me
? What about
her
? What about what’s best for
her
; what will make her happy? We’re talking about Brit … and we’re talking about eternity.” He was still fighting Ember.

“Well, you’re just going to have to trust that she knew what she was doing enough to handle this.” And she was obviously still fighting him too.

When Angus looked at Truman in complete exasperation at his wife, he shrugged his shoulders mildly. “Dude, my wife’s smart.” He was being sarcastic, and the smug smirk that crossed his face said it clear enough. He was definitely on his wife’s side of this argument.

“Dude? Really? You’re three hundred something years old. Act your age.” He was still angry, but it was ebbing finally thanks to his dear friends and their refusal to panic with him. But he wasn’t ready to give up on anger, and as he shook his head and clenched his teeth, he muttered, “She had no right to do this to me.”

“No, she didn’t. And you have every right to be upset with her about it, but this isn’t the end of the world. I don’t know why she did this. It shocks the hell out of me too, but she’s just lost her mother. She’s going through a difficult time. Go easy on her.”

“Not damn likely.” He muttered as Ember rolled her eyes in exasperation, and the moment she opened her mouth to retort again, the bedroom door opened, and Bremmer emerged. Angus’ heart lurched for a second, but Brit wasn’t with him.

“I gave her a sedative. She’s upset…”

“
She’s
upset?” He snapped at Bremmer.

“Yes!” Bremmer snapped back. “She seems about as shocked as you quite frankly, and I want you to stay away from her tonight. She needs her rest. The next four or five days are going to be extremely exhausting for her, and she doesn’t need you scaring the hell out of her with your damn temper. Since when do you have a temper?” He muttered the last, but his face softened, and he sighed. “Listen, I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. I don’t know why she did this. She wouldn’t talk about it at all. But she’s my patient at the moment, and I expect you to listen to me. You can see her tomorrow morning, but I want her to rest tonight. If I have to move her to my residence, I will.” Bremmer was practically scolding him, and he relented, flopping down on the couch as the others did as well.

After what felt like an eternity of silence as they all stared into space contemplating, Truman finally spoke. “You ready for forever now, old friend?” His expression was actually quite serious.

“What choice do I have?”

“You have as much choice as you’ve ever had. How you choose to live the rest of eternity with her has yet to be decided. You’re simply responsible for her well-being, so stop being so fucking melodramatic.” His smirk was subtle. He was as serious as he was sarcastic.

Angus just shook his head in shock. He had no idea how to begin to answer that question. He loved her. But that meant nothing if she didn’t feel the same for him. And if she couldn’t accept what she’d done to herself, it would hardly help their existence together. There were far too many unanswered questions for him to have any idea how to feel. And since he was barred from seeing her, he had no choice but to wait. Patience wasn’t Angus’ strong suit. He might be controlled, though she was pushing his buttons at the moment far better than any ever had, but he was still not one for waiting. He wanted answers; he wanted to yell at her; he wanted to hear her voice and know she was okay with all of this. He just wanted to fucking see her.

It was going to be one hell of a fucking long night.

Chapter 24

When he entered the next morning, she was terrified. His expression was impassive. Cool and calm. She didn’t feel anything close to that. The sedative had kept her asleep all night, but when she woke and climbed into the shower, her muscles felt weak and her body felt fatigued. Dr. Bremmer had warned her she would feel that way until her transition was complete and she could feed to build her strength.

He’d explained a great many things to her the night before, and every last one of them terrified her. She was regretting the decision already. She was just plain scared. She’d destroyed the life she had and was left with no idea where her new life was going. And the man who was now responsible for her as her sire was waltzing across the room toward her with an unreadable expression that left her chilled.

She was curled up on the bed in only her robe. Her hair was wet, and she was shivering and felt colder than she’d ever felt before—another symptom of transition she’d been told. Being sired by Angus put her in a position she wasn’t sure she could handle. It was a bond, a responsibility he had for her, and she was expected to respect his authority. If history dictated anything, that usually ended poorly for Brit.

It wasn’t a physical bond, but it was adhered to strongly after centuries and centuries of expectation and tradition. This was going to be hard for her. She knew Angus well enough to know he was as strong willed as her; it had caused plenty of disagreement already. And as she watched him cross the room, a shudder ran through her body. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

He stopped momentarily at the thermostat, kicking it up a few degrees. “You realize you belong to me now.” His expression was cool, completely controlled, and hard to read as he approached the bed.

“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you wanted…” She tried to be appeasing. It’s not like she didn’t owe him an apology.

“Don’t tell me what I want.” His response stopped her cold.

“So, what does it mean then, to ‘belong’ to you?” She was almost afraid to ask. She was certainly afraid to hear the answer.

“Depends on what I want it to mean.” His words answered nothing. “How do you feel?” He was studying her impassively, looking down at her as he stood next to the bed.

“Tired.”

“Good. Then you’ll have no problem staying relaxed.” His brows shot up quickly, but his face remained an enigma.

“For what?” Did she really want to know?

“You know what.” He eyed her. It was almost seductive, but there was a hint of passive-aggressive anger lurking beneath it. She knew exactly what he was suggesting.

“So, you want to punish me with anal sex?” She was trying to sound incredulous, but her voice was as weak as her body, and even as she spoke a flush ran over her skin. She’d contemplated for some time now, and she did want it. Terrified as she was of what he wanted, she’d always wanted it to some extent with him too.

“I don’t ‘want to,’ Brit, I intend to. You owe me. If you want to call it punishment, fine, but that’s your word not mine. And the word ‘punishment’ will lose some meaning when you come with my dick in your ass. Now take that robe off and roll over.” His voice purred to her as he leaned down over her body. She was trilling with warmth that she’d given up feeling again, and she was aroused, inappropriately aroused. But she was also nervous, and when he saw it, his lips moved to her ear. “I’ve told you before, nothing I do to you will ever be meant to hurt you. Not ever. Not even now that you deserve it.” And then he stood up and his cool blue gaze held hers until she reached for the sash of the robe and pulled.

The robe dropped to her waist as his gaze traveled down her body, and when she pulled the robe open, he took a deep breath. “Can you smell the incredible scent of your body? Can you smell the scent of mine?” She could. It had come on slowly that morning after she’d awoken. First, the shower gel she was using suddenly enveloped her senses as though her head was filled with it. When she shaved her legs, she heard every last hair as it was shorn off from her skin like tiny subtle pings erupting in a cacophony as she raked the blade up her leg. When she nicked the back of her ankle, she smelled the metallic iron scent before her body even registered the pain.

She nodded to him now, and he smirked. “It’s quite an incredible scent, isn’t it? Your scent next to mine. Better than any other combination I’ve ever experienced.” His voice was slowly becoming seductive, and while his posture was still controlled and serious, his voice was warm. And she
could
smell him. He smelled just as amazing as he implied she did. It was a warm and enticing scent that left her body prickling for his touch.

She turned to the bed, leaving the robe where her body had been, and pushed to her hands and knees, but as he sat down beside her, he grabbed a pillow and laid it beneath her body. “Lie down.” His hand on her lower back eased her down to lay with the pillow under her groin. It propped her rear up, but kept her comfortable and relaxed. His hand slowly massaging her lower back didn’t hurt either.

He stood and undressed quickly as she watched before climbing over her body to straddle her. She could feel his cock, long and hard, against her bottom, and when he leaned over her body to speak in her ear, his arousal trailed across her skin. “You owe me an explanation.” Of course she did, but she didn’t quite know how he’d take it. Fortunately, he was more interested in kissing her shoulder and teasing her skin as he trailed his mouth slowly down her back.

He paused at the indentation of her lower back, sucking gentle kisses at the hollow of her vertebrae. “Why did you do it, Brit?” She could feel his words being spoken against her skin, and it sent a trill coursing through her body.

“I’m sorry.”

He cut her off quickly as his mouth moved against her skin. “I’m not looking for an apology. I want to know why.”

“I promise. I won’t be in your way. You don’t have to be responsible for me. We don’t have to do…”

“I like you in my way, and my responsibility for you is
my
choice, not yours. And we have all the time in the world to
do
a great many things. And we will.” His mouth returned to her skin, trailing ever lower on her back until he’d reached the top of the cleft of her butt cheeks. “You still haven’t answered my question, but unfortunately, at this point, it’s going to have to wait.” And then his fingers trailed between her buttocks until they grazed lightly over her puckered, tight anus. “Relax.”

As she loosened her muscles, she discovered she was far tenser than she realized. He was pushing her thighs out as he lay down between her legs, and he gently pulled her cheeks up and apart, exposing the most private part of her body to his eyes. She gasped and clenched, but he held tight to his grip on her bottom. “I said relax.” And she slowly did. “Now I’m going to taste you, lick you, fuck you with my tongue and anything else I want to do to your tight, little bottom.” She clenched again as she started to panic, but he again held her still. “You’re going to like it, but you’re going to have to get over your fear or you won’t enjoy it nearly as much as I want you to.” Yeah right.