My Immortal (14 page)

“Storm?”

Stevie never saw the clouds, but she felt the rain. The fat drops soaked her to the bone. The falling temperature chilled her heart. Grow up or shut up. She wiped the few tears on her cheeks and began to devise her plan.
Time to grow up.
He may not want her back, but she’d be damned if she’d let Storm push her away without a fight.

“I’m a little late, Storm, but I’m coming. I don’t know if we’ll survive whatever’s coming, but I won’t let you down.”

Chapter Twelve

For two days after seeing Stevie with Ace, Storm fought the urge to call her. Only holding Stevie would melt the hurt in his soul, but he couldn’t go back. Her initial rejection hurt and her avoidance devastated him. She was the one woman he’d felt comfortable enough to come clean about his affliction and she’d left without a backward glance. And why had Ace claimed he’d hooked up with Lettie? She wasn’t his type. Seeing Stevie stand strong had thrilled Storm, but being in her mind, he’d seen her confusion—to be with him or not.

He groaned. He’d have to move again and start fresh. Well, maybe not. In his mind, he heard Stevie’s pleas and anguish. She’d called to him that night, but his pride prevented him from running to her.

Stupid pride.

Earlier that evening, Storm shooed away a couple of prospective clients with the lie that his caseload was too demanding. The money and the busy work didn’t matter any longer. Food lost its limited lustre. Even his blood wine tasted bitter without Stevie. His bed, once warm and homey, felt too cold and lonely. It had killed him to walk away from her, yet she never said she needed him. She stood up to Ace. Pride surged in Storm. She wasn’t perfect, but she regained her nerve.

He flipped through the Davis file on his desk. John’s only misstep was not giving his wife a chance. If they spoke to each other, she’d see that despite his stress, he loved her. Storm snorted. Maybe the love affair with Stevie would have the happy ending he desired if he gave in and surrendered his heart.

The jingle of the office doorbell caught his attention. In his doorway stood Lettie, clad in a micro mini jean skirt and a clingy black tissue T-shirt. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves around her face, giving her the appearance of an angel. He knew better. Her wolfish crimson smile betrayed her childlike image. Stevie’s innocence called to him like a beacon. Lettie repulsed him. “How can I help you, Leticia?”

“You haven’t come into the diner lately.” She strolled up to the desk on spiky heeled sandals. “It’s not the same.”

“I’ve been busy.” He folded his arms. His stomach soured.

“Not anymore.” Lettie flicked her golden tresses over her shoulder and pursed her lips. “Give yourself some down time.”

“I’m always busy, honey.” He fought the rush of bile surging up his throat.

She arched one brow and toyed with a glass paperweight on his desk in the shape of a periwinkle egg. Her fingers caressed the smooth surface. Storm dug his blunt nails into his side. Damn. The woman possessed honed sexual skills or he really needed to get laid.

She pursed her lips again and continued to fondle the paperweight. “I missed your—smile.”

“Really?”
He cleared his throat and chastised himself for the chubby tenting his jeans. He sounded too needy, too turned on. Dammit. “Do you need something? I was in the middle of finishing a case.”

Lettie whipped around his desk and perched on the edge, inches from his lap. She licked her lips. “I need you.”

He gripped the hem of his Henley to keep from reaching for her. A starving man could only take so much. His fangs dropped within his mouth. What kind of spell did she weave? “No, you don’t. You don’t need anyone.” He forced his mind to Stevie. Her smile calmed his frayed nerves.

She bent low and her breasts strained against the thin fabric of her top. “I do—you.” Her breath fanned over his cheek.

When she spoke those three words, he wanted to retch. “Lettie, I’m involved.” He clenched his teeth. She meant nothing to him but a quick meal. His pride warred with his conscience. She wanted him. Stevie had discarded him—well,
no,
he’d walked away from her. He loved her more than anyone. She was his true mate. Fuck.

Lettie walked her sharp nails up his chest, stabbing him with each movement. “That’s not what I heard.”

Storm cocked his head. His erection wilted. “And what
did
you hear?” He attempted to peer into her mind, but she slammed the mental door shut. Dammit. He drew in a long breath to gain her scent…nothing but acrid cheap perfume. Not even a hint of whatever evil tainted her heart.

“A little birdie told me that Stevie dumped you to get back with Ace. You left her alone in the parking lot and she saw the truth. She’s happy with her choice and so am I. I think Ace got her pregnant.”

He snorted.
Pregnant?
Bullshit. The truth wasn’t anything like the garbage coming from the blond vixen. He knew the score with Ace. Stevie’s emotions snapped and crackled in his brain. She wanted Storm with her whole heart, even if she couldn’t vocalise it. How to give Lettie the brush-off without giving his knowledge away? Lie through his teeth. “Lettie, I need time to think. I want to want you, but my heart’s fragile right now. I need to be true to Stevie, even if she’s not mine.”

Lettie rubbed her nose along his jaw and purred like a damned cat. “Give me ten minutes and I can make you forget all about your quaint little partner who can’t even tell you she loves you.”

Storm wrapped his fingers around her arm. He shivered from the chill. Fear gripped him.
“Lettie.”

“She hurt you, Storm.” Amusement shot through her eyes. “Let me help you heal.”

The chorus of an old Neon Sycophants song split the air. Storm closed his eyes. Relief washed over him and renewed his strength.
Stevie’s ringtone.
She wanted him.

“What the hell?” Lettie leant back. Her lips twisted into a snarl.

He fumbled for his phone in his back pocket. “I have a text from one of my associates. I need to check this.” He wriggled out from under her grasp and strolled to the doorway with Lettie tight at his side. A text message popped up on the screen.

Please come over.

His heart thundered. Those three words rocked him to the core. He didn’t want Stevie to beg, but her plea touched him in places he hadn’t known existed. He needed redemption and she needed time. She wanted him now.

Storm jammed his phone back into his pocket. “I have an associate who’s being held at gunpoint. I need to go.” He shoved Lettie through the doorway and into the foyer. “If I don’t get moving, I won’t be able to keep Grover in one piece. He’s my best surveillance man.”

“Can I come along?” She stumbled onto the sidewalk and smoothed her skirt in place. “I’m good at keeping my mouth shut.”

He knotted his brows. “I can’t risk you, honey. There are guns and bullets involved.”

“I can hide pretty well, too.”

“I like you too much to put you in harm’s way.”

Appearing appeased, Lettie smiled. “Go, but I expect a visit tomorrow at the diner.” Her skirt swirled as she whipped around. Storm stifled a groan. A wisp of her ass and flimsy thong peeked from under the hem. “I’ll give you time, but you’ll see you need me. We need you.”

He froze. Her words tripped him up. He touched her shoulder, jerking away from her icy skin.
“We?”
Warning signals went off in his mind. Pieces of the puzzle worked into place—she worked with Jamison.

“
I
need you.” She giggled. “And
I
can’t wait much longer.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He shivered again. No one needed him but his mate.

Ten minutes after he walked Lettie out of the office, Storm raced across town to Stevie’s apartment. Whatever Lettie was up to and whomever she was in cahoots with didn’t matter. He needed to get to Stevie. He leaned on her intercom buzzer, but got no answer. “Come on, Stevie. Where are you?” He checked his watch. Two-thirty a.m. Shit. Why was she blocking him?

“You want in the building?”

He turned to see Stevie’s next-door neighbour, Kendall. Kendall reminded Storm of a walking commercial for trendy clothes. His rumpled T-shirt fit in all the right places and the faded jeans paired with flip-flops suited him. Even his wash-n-go hairstyle added to the man’s toned and tanned appeal. Did Stevie notice him? Or worse, did he notice her?

Storm cleared his dry throat. “Will you let me upstairs? I want to check on her.” Did he look foolish like Ace? He hoped not.

The other man nodded and unlocked the foyer door. “I’ll let you up there, but I’ll warn you. She’s messed up. Some guy she got hung up on really did her in a bad way. She spent a couple of nights crying. I offered to watch one of her old movies on the classic movie channel, you know, the schmaltzy ones with lots of kissing, hugging, and that kind of violence, but she shooed me away. I don’t get it.”

Storm’s heart clenched as they ascended in the elevator to the third floor. At least she wasn’t with this caramel-haired hunk. “Did she say who broke her heart?”
Please, God, not me…
If he could only read her mind—then he’d know the score.

Kendall
shook his head and a lock of hair fell across his brow. “We have thin walls in this building, so I know it wasn’t Ace. I never caught this guy’s name, but I know she kept asking why. You two work together, so when she fesses up, give the unnamed jerk a kick in the nads for me. Well, you saw the crap in the parking lot. She deserves better than Ace the Ass. Her sister’s insult works well.”

Storm nodded. She deserved an eternity with the man she needed.

“She may not want to date me, but I can’t help wanting to protect her, man. She’s a special woman, you know, the kind that gets under your skin because she’s natural and beautiful inside and out.”

“I’ll tell her.” Storm considered pointing to himself as the culprit, but didn’t want his balls busted for acting like a fool. Once he figured out how to make things up to her, he’d never let her go. He cracked a grin. Ace the Ass amused him because the name fit perfectly.

The bell for her floor binged and the elevator doors opened. Kendall elbowed Storm. “Don’t tell her I helped you, but I hope this works out. I want to see her smile again.”

“Me, too.”

“Oh, and Storm?
Don’t tell her I told you all that. She thinks I’m a badass. I’d hate to ruin my reputation.”

“I heard nothing.” Nodding, Storm chuckled.

Storm stood before Stevie’s door and waved to her neighbour. Now if only he could charm and beg his way back into her heart. He knocked on the door, only to hear strains of the band Disturbed.
At midnight?
The throbbing bass line punched from the speakers. He swallowed the rising fear and knocked again.

“Stevie?”
Dammit, stop blocking me.
A shiver ran up his spine. Something wasn’t right. When she didn’t answer, he pictured her slashed to death and bleeding all over the floor.

This can’t be happening
.

He pounded on her door with all his might and choked back a scream.
“Stevie!”
Of all the times to be in the dark!

This time, the door inched open. “Come in.”

Storm fought the urge to thunder into her space.
Stay calm and let your mate come to you.
He took a deep breath, stepped through the doorway. The candle light glowed in her tiny living room. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed a plastic bucket of ice with a green wine bottle chilling.

“Hi.”Stevie appeared from the darkened hallway. “You came.”

Storm tried to form words, but nothing came to mind. Instead, he salivated. Dark curls framed her angelic face. A black demi-bra cupped her breasts in a silent offering. The wispy bikini panties barely covered her modesty. He couldn’t tear his attention from the sheer dress she wore over the sexy ensemble. A hint of innocence mixed with a heavy dose of eroticism. She smiled, but her gaze fell to the floor.

He fisted his hands. He couldn’t force her. She needed to come to him and seemed so far away. “You look gorgeous,” he murmured. “Beautiful.”

Her chin quivered and a tear slid down her cheek.

Storm rubbed his palm over his jeans leg. “Stevie, what is it? What’s going on? Let me in.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I don’t know how long we’ll last, but I’m willing to be your mate.”

“Stevie.”
Shock rocketed through his system followed by a healthy dose of desire. She hadn’t said the exact words he needed to hear, but she gave him something he could work with.

Stevie kissed his lips then nipped his neck. “I like the name Jacob, but Storm sounds dangerous and sexy. I don’t care who you are as long as we’re together.”

“Who do you want me to be?” She loved him. Praise God, she wanted him.

“I like you just the way you are, fangs and all, so it doesn’t matter.”

He kicked the door shut and locked it with a snick. “Stevie, I love you.” He crossed the room in long strides. His heart thundered, all for the woman in his soul. He burned for his mate.