Redemption (25 page)

Asher circles me with a calculated
precision. Each movement is filled with control while his
expression is intense and predatory. My stomach drops to my knees
with tension.

Stopping in front of me, he releases a quiet
rumble. “Fuck, you’re stunning, siren.”

I can’t prevent the small shiver that
overtakes me at his words. “Thank you,” I say quietly.

He moves forward, eliminating the sliver of
space between us. Strong hands brace my hips as turn me, so that my
bare back is exposed to him. At the sight, he exhales a hiss.

The heat from his body radiates off him,
seeping into my skin. Ever so gently, he lifts a finger and traces
my spine, starting at the top and working his way down. I suck in a
sharp breath when he begins to draw a random pattern on my lower
back.

Leaning down, his breath fans over my
neck.

“What is that you always draw on my lower
back,” I ask through erratic pants.

“My mate mark,” he replies in a deep sensual
tone.

I turn and lock eyes with him. In an
instant, I become his all over again.

He holds my gaze then expels a rough
breath.

“We should go. I don’t want to be late,” he
says with lust-filled, glowing eyes.

I nod my agreement. Asher interlaces our
hands and tugs me toward the door. We’re silent as we ride down the
elevator to the garage. He assists me into the Aston Martin before
he smoothly folds himself into the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going?” I ask, breathing
clearly for the first time in ten minutes.

A small smile tugs at his full lips. “It’s a
surprise, siren.”

After a short drive, we approach a tall
glass skyscraper that’s in the shape of the letter A. It’s
architecturally striking with thousands of glass windows. The
entire city seems to reflect off their light.

Asher pulls into the valet and hands the
gentlemen his keys, along with a hundred dollar bill. “Welcome to
The Shard, Mr. St. Michael. It’s always a pleasure to have
you.”

“Thank you, Thames. Take good care of my
baby. You know you’re the only one I let drive her except me,”
Asher banters.

“Always do, Mr. St. Michael,” Thames
retorts, taking the car.

I narrow my eyes at Asher. “I do believe we
have a deal. I was supposed to work hard, train, and focus on my
ascension and you were supposed to let me drive your car.”

Asher’s face falters a bit. “I recall. We
can discuss it after dinner, yeah?”

I can sense a brush-off a mile away.
“Fine.”

He walks toward me and places his hand on my
lower back, causing my breath to hitch.

“This is The Shard. Are you familiar with
it?” he asks as we walk into the exquisite lobby.

“I’m afraid not.”

“This is the best place to watch the sunset
in the city. It has the most magnificent views of London and if
you’re in the city and looking at the building, you’ll be
mesmerized by the play of light across the façade.”

Asher escorts me to a private elevator,
which conveniently he has a key card for. The elevator is filled
with sexual tension as we make our way to the thirty-first floor.
Asher snatches my hand and tugs me to him, so we’re face to
face.

His hands cup my cheeks as he pulls me
closer. “I know tonight is difficult for you, with the
circumstances surrounding Elizabeth, siren, but I want this to be
special. One perfect night. That’s all I’m asking for, yeah?”

“One perfect night.”

His indigo gaze stays glued to mine,
brushing me like a physical caress. The elevator dings when we
reach our floor. Asher doesn’t move. He just stands there,
frozen.

“We should go,” I finally manage.

“Yeah,” he agrees with a raspy voice.

We make our way into Aqua Shard, as the
hostess ushers us into the contemporary dining room and we pass a
three-story high atrium bar on our way to the private room that I
assume Asher reserved for us. Once seated, she hands us the
cosmopolitan menu and informs us our server will be with us shortly
before taking her leave.

While someone comes in and pops champagne
and pours, my eyes flick to the windows that are literally all
around us. The sun is setting and it’s truly the most beautiful
thing I’ve ever seen.

“This is amazing, Ash. Thank you,” I say
sincerely.

He leans closer to me, placing his hand on
the back of my chair, since we’re sitting side by side instead of
across from one another. “It’s my pleasure, siren.”

The sound of a voice being cleared breaks my
Asher focus. I look up to see the server watching us with
amusement. Asher doesn’t even glance at him. With his eyes fixated
on me, he orders.

“Adrian, the lady and I will start with the
oysters Rockefeller to share. We’ll each have the pea and ham soup
followed by the sirloin accompanied by the Lancashire potatoes and
roasted butternut squash. We’ll end our courses with a dark
chocolate and lavender tart to share.”

“Of course, Mr. St. Michael. We also have a
few bottles of Krug 1928 for you this evening, per your request,”
Adrian says and then leaves quickly.

“What?” Asher’s eyes meet mine with
humor.

“You do realize that you could have simply
ordered takeout while watching movies in our pajamas and that would
have been just as perfect. I don’t need all this, Asher. I just
need you.”

He leans in and his lips brush my ear. “You
promised. One perfect night, siren.”

Damn his seductive tone.
I take a sip
of my amazing champagne letting the bubbles tickle my nose while we
watch the sun set over London.

“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
I ask, slurping my addicting soup.
Seriously, do they put crack
in this stuff?
Asher just spent what felt like hours trying to
get me to eat raw oysters, I refused. Grateful to be done with his
bullying, we’re enjoying the second course, our pea soup. It’s the
most delicious thing I’ve eaten in my life to date.

“A gargoyle,” Asher says in a serious
tone.

I look up and find him grinning at me. “You
suck, gargoyle.”

He shrugs and takes a spoonful of my soup as
I swat at his hand. He finished his and I don’t want to share. It’s
that good.

“I never really had a say in what I wanted
to be. I always knew someday I would become the next king,” he
responds as his spoon comes toward my bowl again.

I manage to block it. “You need to back off,
protector. If you think I’m one of those girls you take out on a
date and doesn’t eat, you’re dead wrong. Oysters were the
exception.”

Asher releases a boisterous laugh before
surrendering and placing his spoon back into his own empty bowl.
“Fair enough, siren.”

He sits back and allows his eyes to flick
out the window and then back to me. “What about you? What did you
want most from life when you were growing up?”

I sit back and play with my napkin. “A
family. I used to stay awake at night and wish that my parents
would just magically reappear.” I snort. “I loved going to my best
friend Courtney’s house. She has four brothers, all older and
fiercely overprotective. I envied her for that. Her home was always
so alive. Her mom was always cooking while their two dogs ran
around and everyone forever screaming at one another. It was
chaotic but full of love.”

He watches me for a while. “I like hearing
about your childhood. Where is Courtney? You don’t talk about her
much?”

“Stanford. I guess we’ve sort of grown
apart. It’s probably for the best at this point. Everyone around me
seems to be in danger. My life makes it difficult to have lasting
relationships.”

Asher sips his champagne while considering
my words. The server replaces our empty soup bowls with our meals.
I begin picking at my dinner quietly.

“Your life doesn’t define you, siren. You
define your life,” he says, interlacing our fingers. “Things around
you might be fucking complicated but you have a family. An
extremely protective one, that loves you. It might not be ideal,
but it’s yours if you will have us.”

My gaze lifts to his. “Can I ask you
something?”

“Anything.”

“Why do you always draw your mate mark on my
lower back?”

Asher assesses me before speaking. “I guess
it’s my way of branding you, even if I can’t fully make you mine
yet.”

I clear my throat. “Is that what you want?
To make me yours?”

Asher leans forward, locking eyes with me.
“In every sense of the fucking word.”

Just as I’m about to climb into his lap and
accost him, the server comes back to check on us. A short while
later we’re presented our dessert, which we eat around lighter
conversation.

Once we’re done, Asher offers his hand for
me to take. Placing mine in his, he pulls us to a standing
position. The windows suddenly slide open, revealing a terrace. The
warm evening breeze brushes over my exposed skin.

Nervously, I follow Asher out. We’re pretty
high up.

“Don’t worry, siren. I won’t let you fall,”
Asher whispers in my ear.

On cue, music starts playing and I twist in
Asher’s arms.

“Wow, you’ve thought of everything,” I
tease.

“Do you doubt my awesomeness?”

“Never.”

“May I have this dance?”

I step into his embrace as we begin to
sway.

“Thank you, Asher, for the perfect first
date.”

“One perfect night.”

18
The Summit

All eyes follow me as I
walk into the conference room. I push my shoulders back and remind
myself that I must appear strong and unafraid, even if I’m not. My
eyes roam around the room, taking in each supernatural being that
has agreed to join us for this assembly.

“You okay, Eves?” Abby asks, standing next
to me.

“No. But I will be.” I take in a strong
breath, wishing it was last night again. After an amazing dinner,
Asher and I walked around London taking in the sites before
returning to the flat for an evening of bruising kisses.

When I woke up this morning, he had the
coffee brewing next to a hand written note that said he needed to
greet guests and he would see me at the summit, where I am at the
moment.

By the looks I’m receiving from some of the
characters in here, it would probably be best if I turned and
walked out. Attempting to look unaffected, I walk up to one of the
only other allies, besides the London clan, I have here.

“Hi, Marcus,” I say politely to the dark
skinned gargoyle standing next to me.

Warm brown eyes catch mine as a smile
appears on the leader of the Manhattan clan’s lips. “Hi, Eve. It’s
great to see you again. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances
though, kiddo. Don’t worry. Michael will take care of
Elizabeth.”

His words are meant to be reassuring.
They’re not.

“Where’s your side kick?” I ask, referring
to Morgana.

Marcus’s eyes twinkle. “My second is most
likely stalking your protector.”

I internally roll my eyes. Since we haven’t
discovered the traitor yet, Asher and I are still keeping a low
profile on our relationship. Which means, in Morgana’s eyes, he’s
fair game.

Sensing my shift, Marcus snatches my hand
and leans in conspiratorially. “Who is the hot guy over there?” he
asks, motioning with his eyes to Stephan.

I chew on my lower lip to prevent my smile.
“That would be Lord Valentin’s second in command. Stephan. He’s a
vampire.”

Marcus’s eyes light up with excitement.
“Really? Vampires are delicious, don’t you think?”

I smile at him. “I’m partial to other
supernaturals. But you should definitely go talk to him. Though,
he’s a bit of a loose cannon according to Lord Valentin.”

“You wouldn’t know this, Eve, but I have a
thing for loose cannons.” Marcus wags his eyebrows at me.

“Want me to introduce you two?”

Marcus stands up straighter and fixes his
black Armani shirt. “Nah, I got this, daughter of Heaven. You’re
supposed to be mingling.”

I watch as Marcus heads over to Stephan and
flirts shamelessly with him. To be honest, Stephan looks just as
enamored with Marcus.

“This is about as lame as it gets.” A deep,
raspy female voice floats over to me. I turn and am surprised to
see a young girl about my height and age. From the sound of her
voice, I thought she would be a smoker in her seventies.

She’s really pretty and has raven black
hair, matching her black skinny jeans. Her pale arms are folded
over a black vintage band t-shirt and she looks extremely bored,
kicking her converses on the ground. I can’t explain it but
immediately, I’m drawn to her.

“I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Eve,” I offer,
thinking she’s going to ignore me when I see the startled
expression in her eyes.

“I know who you are. Pretty sure everyone in
this room does,” she says.

“Right. And you are?”

“Llughnassad, Sorceress of Prosperity. But
everyone calls me Nassa. I’m here on behalf of the Sorceresses of
the Black Circle. Appointed by my aunt Lunette.”

Stunned, my eyebrows draw together. “Lunette
is your aunt?”

“Yep.” She rolls her eyes like it’s an
annoyance to have Lunette as family.

“Did we meet at the circle? I’m sorry if
I’ve forgotten.”

“It’s cool. We wear robes so it’s hard to
make us out. Are we waiting for something?”

I shrug. “I think it just takes time to
organize everyone.”

“Welcome, everyone. Sorry I’m late.” Asher’s
voice drifts through the room and I immediately turn and lock eyes
with him, wishing I hadn’t. Standing to his left is Leo. The sight
of him causes my heart to plummet. To Asher’s right is Morgana.
Fan-tab-u-lous.

My eyes zero in on her hand that is gripping
his arm. My arm. I curl my fingers into my hips, so I don’t do
something stupid like walk over and rip her face off. Morgana
focuses all her attention on Asher, as if she’s meant to be by his
side. A quiet growl escapes me and Nassa turns, her emerald eyes
narrowing at me.