CHAPTER SEVEN

Bay

 

Spectra's vigil wasn't what I expected. Her emotional despair rang out like a beacon throughout the church, making it easy to locate her. I spotted the predator immediately upon entry, though it was too young to recognize me or my presence, but I knew Spectra could feel me. I stood back observing her for several minutes, then moved upstairs to the balcony, which housed the organ and choir stands. From here, I took a seat so that I could watch Spectra without interfering with her vigil.

A nun covered Spectra with a blanket as the wind outside turned vicious and the ice it carried penetrated the church walls. Her prayers were interspersed with crying, but she prayed non-stop for hours on end. The young predator sat back on her pew after the nun left and pulled out some dirty papers. Her muffled laughs, while quiet, still reached my ears, along with sounds of disapproval and sighs of sadness, interchanging as she read. After another two hours, the predator folded the papers and slid them away.

Alexander Williams walked in before two. I expected him to go straight to Spectra, but he stopped by the hooded predator first and squeezed her shoulder. The predator stood and put her mouth to William's ear.

“What's happening that you would call me?” she whispered.

“I'm worried about her safety right now.”

“You put her aside, you broke her heart so no one would use her to get to you,” the predator whispered harshly.

“This danger found her all on its own. It's nothing to do with me.”

“Fix it!” she hissed. “She was entrusted to your care. So take care of it.”

The predator turned and left the church without a sound. Alexander ran a frustrated hand through his hair, ruining the perfection of its style, then went to join Spectra. I waited till they were both intent in prayer to make a quiet exit. The way they held hands while they prayed seemed intimate and not something anyone else should be watching.

Friday night, I walked down the stairs into Ténèbres and made my way to the bar. Tonight I didn't get the curious stares or the looks of contempt of having an outsider in their world. The black jeans and black band shirt I'd borrowed off Calin, along with the way Selena styled my hair, seemed to make me one of their own. Luke, his ever-encouraging self, took a photo, promising to get it blown up to replace the painting above the mantle in my study. It made me miss the days before digital photography when my kind couldn't be photographed.

Tommy was behind the bar as usual and when I first sat down, Tommy glared in my direction. After a moment, Tommy blinked and almost choked on a laugh. He poured me a scotch without me asking and moved to my end of the bar to put it in front of me. “You slide into Goth just like Spectra.” I looked at him questioningly, and he smiled. “You just put black clothes on and you're there. Effortless.”

“Is she here?” I asked a little louder than I normally liked to talk to get over the melancholy music playing.

Tommy pointed to the dark corner where Spectra first touched me. “In her office doing business.” I looked to the corner and saw Spectra talking to a woman. The woman wore a suit, cheap but well-maintained. I decided to wait till her meeting was over to approach her.

Tommy turned and looked at two new arrivals. “Bourbon and Coke, thanks,” the taller of the two asked confidently. I smirked into my drink.

“IDs?” Tommy raised a brow.

The two guys looked at each other, their shoulders deflated. “Coke?”

Tommy put two glasses of water on the bar. The kids groaned but handed over their money.

“You should get your bouncer to check IDs,” I suggested.

Tommy shrugged. “I don't mind them coming in. Better than getting drunk on the streets, but they won't get served anything but water. Most of them know it.”

I shook my head. “With the porn that goes on in here, I still think you should be carding at the door. Some poor guy could end up banging his brains out on jailbait.”

“Don't you worry your pretty face about it. I've stopped plenty of that before it happens, or do you think this place is designed so that all the dark corners put them in my line of sight by accident?”

“I'm surprised you let Spectra into the bar. You must have suspected she was underage. I know I did when I first saw her.”

Tommy smirked. “It's not the ID's that tell me someone's age, Ryder. Sorcerers’ abilities came from the Angels losing themselves in human flesh, remember?”

Blue hair came into my peripheral vision, and I turned to find Mercury's friend from Monday night. “Hi,” she smiled, keeping her body pointed towards mine, breasts pushed up and out to gain attention, turning her head to Tommy. “Sambuca please, Tommy.” She turned those bloodshot brown eyes back to me and smiled. “I haven't seen you here before. I'm Cassie.”

I studied her eyes and realized she was a lot healthier tonight than she was on Monday approaching Mercury. “I'm dangerous. You should find someone else.” I turned back to Tommy, who was watching Spectra. I followed his eyes and saw Spectra standing between the woman in the cheap suit and a very tall, angry-looking blond guy who obviously wasn't a patron.

“I like dangerous.” Blue hair simpered and moved her body to press against mine.

The man grabbed Spectra by the throat. Instead of becoming fearful, Spectra relaxed and stepped out of his grasp. Literally. She became insubstantial, only barely, a human wouldn't pick it up, and side-stepped before breathing in again. The guy’s face showed his confusion as she stepped into him, lifted her knee hard and fast, and the guy bent over with a howl. Not waiting, Spectra grabbed the guy by his belt loop and shirt collar and pushed him head first into the stone wall.

Tommy relaxed as the big guy crumpled. He waved over one of the bouncers and pointed towards Spectra. The body pressing against me nudged me again, and I turned angry eyes to the girl there.

“I said I like dangerous.”

“Not my kind, you won't.”

“Cassandra!” Tommy scolded. She turned annoyed eyes to the watcher. “Leave that one alone.”

The girl pouted, threw back her shot of Sambuca, and walked off to find other prey. I looked back at Spectra, who was consoling the woman in the cheap suit while the bouncer dragged the nearly unconscious guy out of the bar.

“That happen often?” I asked Tommy.

Tommy shook his head. “Not often. It's been a year since the last time. That was a predator demanding Spectra take him on as a client.”

“And she handled him?”

Tommy's eyes smiled. “Not the way she handled you. How long has it been since a woman grabbed your balls before Spectra?”

I shrugged. “A week. The difference is that was an attempt at seduction. Spectra did it to piss me off.” I stood up as Spectra's client handed her an envelope and left. “I'll go say hello.”

Tommy gave me a knowing look. “You do that.”

Spectra leaned against the wall with a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and looking around her with caution. She spotted me approaching straightaway. She looked me over, face full of surprise, before she swallowed and let annoyance mask her features.

“What are you doing here?” she scowled. “Is it Halloween already?”

I put my hand on the wall beside her head and leaned down to her ear. “Unfinished business.” I touched her cheek with my other hand and watched her eyelids flutter as I ran that hand down her neck and across the exposed area of her chest.

“Our business is complete, Bay.”

“One night, Spectra.” I placed a soft kiss where her jaw ended and felt the shudder go through her body.

“I remember saying no, Bay, several times.” She stood straight and put a hand on my chest to push me away. I stayed put and looked deep into her pale blue eyes, so full of confidence moments ago, now filled with confusion, fear, and what I now knew was her curiosity.

“Say it again.” I dared moving my mouth to hers. I paused for a heartbeat to give her time to say no, and when it didn't happen, I kissed her.

My body came alive at the feel of her mouth on mine, and when she opened her lips, I took the invitation and slipped my tongue into her hot mouth. I stepped closer to her, pressing my body into hers and the wall behind. I didn't push for anything more, just kissed her till her fingers entwined in my shirt and she pulled her mouth away, gasping.

“I can't.” She breathed against my chest. “You're a predator. This would be stupid.”

I touched her face, bringing it up to mine again. “Does it feel wrong?”

She stared into my eyes. She didn't need to answer; the truth was swimming in the heat of her gaze. I kissed her again, wrapping my arm around her waist to hold her tight to me this time so her squirming body rubbed against my aching erection. She sighed into my mouth, her hands stretching open on my chest before they slid up, snaking around my shoulders and neck. One weaved its way into the back of my hair, the other hooked her elbow over my shoulder and pulled her up tight against me as her leg lifted and wrapped around my calf.

I let my hand drop to her lifted thigh and ran my hand up her skirt-covered leg till I grasped her hip. I slid my hand under the hem of her top to her lower back and caressed her bare skin. Electricity ran through my fingers, and she pressed into me, her breathing speeding up as the kissing became more passionate and wanton. She gasped as if struggling to breathe and I sobered with worry. She hissed in pain and released me, pushing me away all of a sudden, shock in her eyes.

“You're not shielding! Are you insane? You could kill a girl with that power.”

I blinked and realized she was right. The touch of her bare skin made me forget my control for a millisecond, and I'd let my shield drop. Her look softened, and she stepped forward, hands wringing in front of her as if she was struggling to keep them away from me.

“If you can't control your shielding, Bay, I can't be with you, no human can.” She walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my body while I cursed internally. Spectra was right, I needed to be able to control my shielding, or I could kill her in the heat of the moment. Once my body settled, I took a deep breath and returned to the bar and took my seat again. Tommy placed a scotch on the bar in front of me.

“On the house.” His face serious. “I have to give it to you, Ryder, that was hot. Even I had to calm down after that. You're smooth.”

“I messed up.”

Tommy shrugged. “So you sparked her on your first kiss in centuries, you think Williams's has never lost control while with her?”

I considered him. “I hurt her.”

Tommy lifted a brow. “Did you just?” I looked at Tommy, confused. Tommy sighed. “What came before she pushed you away?”

“She hissed at me.”

“Before that.”

“She gasped.”

Tommy gave me an exasperated look. “You're really out of practice.” He stood straighter. “Okay, I'll walk you through it. You touched her beneath her clothing, you dropped your shield, you both really started enjoying yourselves, you did what?”

“I pulled my shields back up automatically.”

“And that's when she hissed in pain and pushed you away.” Tommy cocked that pierced brow at me again then turned away to serve his customers.

I stared at my scotch. “She liked it,” I whispered to myself. I looked around the club astounded, wondering where she went. With so many people, her drift was hard to pick up but I didn't really need it. I knew where she'd end her night.

 

Spectra

 

I wasn't sure if it was a dream. There was a flash of burning pain and then it was gone. I blinked my eyes open into the darkness, trying to remember my dream. It had taken me forever to fall asleep, tossing and turning as I tried to calm myself down. My thoughts ran rampant as I repeatedly analyzed my behavior with Bay tonight. I'd finally fallen asleep tangled in my sheets. It took several minutes after the pain woke me before I felt his presence in my room.

I sat bolt upright in bed and met Bay Ryder's eyes. The panic started to build inside me but before I could open my mouth to scream, tropical heat bathed my body, relaxation flooded me, and I fell back on bed with a moan of content. Bay stepped around the end of the bed, pulling his shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor. He was good-looking with clothes on, but without he was gorgeous. And he wanted me. All the women in the world meant nothing to him, it was me that he desired. I moved my hands to grip my thighs as they itched to touch him but instead started running them along my own skin, imagining all the ways he could touch me.

“Don't,” I panted, and even to my own ears the tone was wrong.

Bay kicked off his boots, socks joining them. “I'm doing nothing. I am casting no magic, nor am I charming you.” He unzipped his jeans and dropped them to the ground.

I glanced at his naked beauty and swallowed the sigh edging up my throat. Delicious heat flowed through me, gathering between my legs, and I gasped as my fingers brushed over that area tracing my body's response.

“You're doing something,” I gritted my teeth, trying to control myself.

Bay pulled back my bedspread and watched my hands slip over the black satin nightdress I wore, a gorgeous smile spreading across his face. “I really am doing nothing, Spectra. This is all your own reaction.” He slid into the bed with me and pulled the covers over us.

I shook my head and swallowed again as the press of his body to the side of mine left me tingling to feel more of him, to explore his body. He reached over and tenderly took my hand from roaming my own body and placed it on his chest. I bit my lip against the sensation that caused in me and tried to pull away, but Bay placed his hand over mine, keeping it there.

“It's not just me reacting to you. You're the first woman to cause this...” he slid my hand to his hard on and I grabbed it, loving the feel of that hardness, the size of it, the throb just from my grasp. Bay moaned, his eyes rolling into his head, “in centuries.”

I went to stroke the length of him, but his hand held mine captive. He opened his eyes and met mine, heat burned through his gaze, and I felt my body melt to meet the contours of his.

“But you're reacting to me too, aren't you, Spectra? That's why when I tried to charm you, it didn't work because you don't react to that.” He released my hand and slid his between my thighs, cupping my heat in his hand. “You're attracted to powerful men because you react to power.”

My head fell back as he rubbed his hand against me and kissed along my jaw.

“Stop, please,” I begged.

“I'm being truthful, Spectra. Your reaction is yours. It is up to you to control your power just as it is up to me to control mine.” Bay kissed down my throat, mouthing the satin that covered my breasts, sucking my erect nipple through the material.

I threw my head back, reaching for the headboard at the same time. I saw the flash of something on the back of my hand and opened my eyes wider to look closer. The shield Phillipa drew on my hand redrew itself momentarily and then faded again.

I stared at the back of my hand, trying to ignore the heat flooding through me. My reaction. Phillipa explained I naturally absorbed Alexander's power and turned it into what he needed. Was my reaction now to Bay the same thing? Last night it wasn't dropping his shields that hurt, but when he snapped them back up and cut me off from that warmth.

I gasped as his finger slid into me, stroking me, his determination reflected in the pressure he applied and the steady rhythm of his fingers. He'd figured it out. That I'd absorbed his desire and now he was using it against me, dropping his shields just enough to blanket my senses with it.

I swallowed another moan as his teeth gave a gentle tug on my nipple through the material and he started kissing his way back to my mouth as he moved his body to lie between my legs.

I closed my eyes and felt for that shield Alexander activated on Sunday night. I imagined grabbing hold of the cold blackness and tugging hard in both directions. It didn't budge, and when Bay's mouth took mine hostage again, I forgot about trying to shield and lost myself to the heat and passion of his kissing.

Bay positioned himself, and the feel of his naked hardness sliding between my labia nearly undid me. I wanted him so badly, I wanted to feel my desire unleashed again. That thought morphed in my head while he kissed me, I want him to unleash his desire on me.

“Not like this.” I murmured, and Bay stopped, pulling away to hear me out. “Please, Bay? You know I'm not in control of myself, that this wouldn't be my choice. It's not right. Not here, not like this.”

Bay's eyes were full of the heat I could feel flooding my veins. He swallowed visibly, closed his eyes, and blew out a breath, his voice choked. “How, when?”

“I don't know, I can't think clearly like this.”

A tear slid down my cheek and Bay sighed, wiping it away before he rolled to lie beside me and caress my cheek. I felt him slowly pull his power back in, making sure not to hurt me with the whiplash this time. “I hope you respect what I'm giving up here, Spectra.”

He slipped out from under the covers, scooped up his clothes from the floor, and the burn of his power flared as he walked across my room. A heat of a different kind, of my true desire, flickered as I watched his muscular physique walk away from me. He took a step into the darkness and disappeared, the same way Alexander appeared on Sunday to save me from this same man.

As the coldness of his absence washed over me, the shield I'd tried to use stretched wide enough to cover my chest and then recoiled back to nothing. I rolled onto my side, Bay's emotions still raw and unchecked inside me, colliding with my own confusion. I cried until I fell asleep from the exhaustion of it.