Two
FOUR WEEKS LATER IN LAS VEGAS
Leaving her business in good hands, Olivia had packed sparingly, and now sat in her lift car, her eyes on the spectacular 360 degree view that surrounded her on the roof of her building 75 stories high. Parked on the top of Serenity Tower, her home as well as the finest nightclub and restaurant in the city, she searched the brilliant multi-colored lights that drew massive numbers of travelers to the jewel of the U.S.
Even leaving Vegas for a short time was tough. In her very long life, little brought her greater joy than this city and the life that she’d built here, with many family and friends nearby. This city left her breathless.
So had he.
Always the first in line for adventures, she’d prided herself on spontaneity, the wild need to seek excitement in any form, her free-spirited dedication to creating ecstatic moments of joy with new people in new places. So why did she sit here, frozen in place, when she knew exactly what she needed to do and where she needed to be?
“Why are you so afraid of this?” Olivia asked out loud as she toyed with the lever that would lift the car from the roof and move her toward South America. At this moment, she felt cowardice wrapped around her like a mantle.
Yes, she was afraid to see him again. That moment in the desert when she’d seen him for the first time, dripping, naked, ripped like a god, walk out of that dismal pool toward her in candlelit glory, haunted her dreams. On the nights when the dream came to her, it played through from the moment he lifted himself from beneath the waterline to the moment he stood in front of her, her breathing labored. Olivia always woke startled, horny, wet, in desperate need that would not get quenched. No matter how many times she dreamed of him and hoped that, at least in the dream, she would get to fuck him, the dream always stopped at the moment they stood, confronting each other, strangers and yet, curiously not, both sexually stimulated, yet eventually walking away from each other.
This time, she planned to walk toward him and finish this, one way or the other. She’d had so many lovers over the past centuries, but she’d never been in love.
That’s why she’d walked away back then. He was Shoazan, and mate for a vampire. At that moment, the idea of taking a mate seemed ludicrous, something she couldn’t imagine.
Yet here she was, a year later, unable to forget him.
“Willoughby Jasper Collins, I guess we’ll just have to see how this farce plays out.”
“So let’s go,” she whispered to the fool she’d been.
Finally, decision made, she pulled the elevation lever backward to lift off.
She’d passed her 300th birthday, had bedded more hot men than she could ever recall, and yet still felt a tickle in her belly and pulsing between her legs at the idea of seeing Will again. The intense attraction they’d both felt on that hot summer night in the desert needed to be addressed. At the very least, confronting the attraction might be the only way to purge this strange obsession.
The air was calm tonight and didn’t fight the car as she headed to the airport to take her slick new jet to a rendezvous that almost seemed destined to happen. The flight would take six hours, so she would rest in the light-tight chamber built to protect a vampire during what had always seemed the most vulnerable type of transport for someone who could never allow daylight to touch them.
Once she landed, secured the car, and entered the jet, Olivia nodded her thanks to her pilot.
“I’m ready, Manuel.”
Moments after sealing herself in the safezone, she used the intercom to let him know he could take off. Settling into a custom-built seat, she pressed the number 1 on her fone, smiling when a brusque voice answered.
“Dez, I’m on my way in. I’ll see you soon.”
“Brilliant! Your bedroom awaits, granddaughter. We’re all exhausted here. Young vampires have arrived from all over the globe and we are partying every night. It’s been wonderful, but now, with you here, it will be perfect.”
“Young vampires? Who’s there?”
“Ife, of course. Crezia and Caed. Brigitte stopped to visit and hasn’t gone home. And now you. We are enjoying the company, my darling girl. It was time for an infusion of young first bloods.”
“Wow. I didn’t know. It will be a mini-reunion. Okay, I’ll see you soon. We’re going wheels-up in a few moments.”
“Safe trip, my love. See you soon.”
“Goodnight, grandmother.”
Closing the call, Olivia lay back against the soft leather that retained its coolness even in the heat. Leather was still particularly desired, but it was no longer made from animal skin. The resource wasn’t there anymore, but most of the world had long ago moved to cruelty-free productions. Nearly all food items were bio-chemically produced now to provide high nutrition and taste with no animal products. It was the only way to achieve sustainability.
“So many first bloods at Dez’s. Interesting.”
Closing the lights out, she reclined the seat and tried to sleep, but it didn’t come easily. Olivia had trouble shutting down her mind to rest. Usually the only thing that helped was the vampire imperative to sleep during daylight, but sunrise was hours away. When she finally allowed blessed unconsciousness to come, the dreams that arrived were otherworldly and made no sense at all. They were erotic, and somewhere buried in the disjointed scenes, her dream-self searched for something or someone.
Waking hours later, Olivia shot upright, parched and unsatisfied, well aware that she wouldn’t fall asleep again.
The intercom pinged.
“Ms. Olivia, we are on final approach to Desiree’s.”
“Thank you. I’ll let her know.”
Ringing in, Olivia smiled when her grandmother answered her fone with an enthusiastic, “Hi, baby!” Loud music almost overwhelmed the greeting.
“Party tonight, gran?”
“Yes, we have the group in from the Basin and we’re having a dance competition. Hurry up, darling, and you can still get in on it.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m pretty whipped. But I can’t wait to see you and Zach.”
“You’re staying a while, yeah?”
Olivia didn’t know quite how to answer that. “I’m not sure what my plans are, Grandmére, but I may be.”
“I will take what I can get, Livie. See you soon.”
The plane landed safely on Dez’s private runway and taxied back to the entrance of the building.
After thanking her pilot, Olivia hurried through a cooled corridor that led underground to the rear of the main housing section. In the past thirty years, Dez and Zach had completed remodels that expanded the underground chambers to accommodate larger numbers of visitors that came and went year around. Before she even reached the inner door, Olivia heard pounding music, the percussion felt beneath her feet. Her grandmother did know how to party.
Computer controlled automatic security stopped her at a heavy entry door, but it recognized Olivia following a brief thorough scan. Welcome, Miss Olivia, the pleasantly-accented AI voice said.
Without pause, she moved inside, dropped her travel pack in an alcove to her left, stepped down a short flight of steps, around a second corner and down a wide corridor painted with images of a Tuscan garden. The corridor opened into a beautifully lit room with high chandeliers and multi-colored lights facing several large mirror balls. Other lights in the room were off to create a darkened nightclub ambience, the result electric and welcoming, enjoyed now by a generously-sized crowd. Drinks in hand, most of the partiers were dancing and eating, some doing both at the same time, while they watched a smaller group of dancers finishing what looked like a competition of an old-style dance from the late 1900’s. Dancers with great rhythm recreated classic hip-hop moves while others, some highly inebriated, stumbled and laughed as they attempted to match the steps.
Scanning the dancers, she tried to make out the faces, and only recognized Scottie, Rodney’s daughter, as she sauntered around the floor.
“Hey, pretty girl.”
Olivia turned to a voice she knew well, to the man sitting at a table lost in the shadows behind her. Moving toward him, she smiled. “Zach. Hey stranger.”
“Join me. Here, have a glass. Ife’s father sent us some of their special MoonShine wine. I could live on this stuff.”
Sliding into a chair beside Zach, Olivia reached for the filled stemmed glass he handed to her. “I remember. I’d hoped to get some for my restaurant, but he only sent me a small amount for my private use.”
“No, they don’t make it in that kind of volume. It’s unique. Nice to see you, Livie. Dez know you were coming?”
“Yeah.”
“A nice long visit I hope.”
“Um…we’ll see.”
Zach clicked his tongue. “Ah, ha. Something else is afoot. I know you love to visit us here, but I suspect there is another reason you’ve shown up so suddenly?”
Lingering on slow sips of the exceptional wine, she finally answered. “There is a reason that I’ve come this time. I think. I hope.”
Olivia scanned the man she’d had a special friendship with from the first moment they met. The low-light shone off his blonde hair, tied back at the nape of his neck. Sexy, just like he’d been so long ago before she found out what she was.
Zach lifted his glass. “Journeys. Paths. Destinies. A vampire’s life is rarely dull.”
“True. Speaking of…why are you alone here in a corner?”
“I like the solitude.” He used his wine glass to point across the room. Olivia’s eyes followed to where Dez, her skin-tight suit sparkling, moved sensually among her guests. Dez threw her long black hair over her shoulder, laughing as she ran her hand up the back of a handsome local man.
“She’s so comfortable with this life. One of my favorite things in the world is to just sit back like this and watch my woman work the room. I’ll never get enough of watching that mesmerizing witch do what she was born to do.”
“I can see why. You remember how she challenged me the night I met her?”
“Every moment. That was the night she came back to me.”
Olivia would never forget either. It was the night she met Dez, and would find out soon after that the woman she’d developed an odd relationship with was her grandmother. Her life had changed forever that night when she not only found out that she was a first blood vampire, but that she wasn’t alone in this world. Zach had found his mate and she had found a family. The past century had been the best years of her life.
“Penny for them?”
Pulled out of warm memories, Olivia reached for the bottle of MoonShine. “Zach, sorry. I zoned.”
“You did, and Olivia, you don’t zone. Are you sure you’re okay? You gotta clue me in. What is it? Or should I ask who is it?”
As he spoke, she’d been scanning the dancers. One of her favorite romantic songs had replaced the hip-hop tunes, and the couples that dominated the floor now were dancing close. Ready to turn back to answer Zach’s question, her eyes slid across a pair dancing together some distance across the floor. Taller than most of the couples, the man and woman were plastered against each other, their hips moving in perfect sync. As they slowly turned, the dim lighting revealed the man’s features, enough to identify him. Heat infused her face, her hands stilled, as she processed the image. Will, grinding on another woman, their relationship obviously sexual. Squinting thought the darkened space, she tried to see who the woman was, but she was turned away from her.
Gulping down the rest of the glass of wine, she gingerly set it back on the table. Well, this changed the course of her visit. Even so, Olivia couldn’t take her eyes from them. Against her will, she found herself focusing in on every detail. Will’s right hand lay low on the woman’s buttock, the fingers curled around the curve. As Olivia watched, Will lifted his left hand to her face and lowered his to hers. He kissed her with passion and familiarity. Who was this woman?
Olivia didn’t want to acknowledge the tightness in her throat, the disappointment, the unexpected sense of loss, even though a relationship with him had never existed. Pressure behind her eyes threatened tears, and she wondered why her reaction was so strong. She couldn’t deny that it hurt to see him so intimate with another woman.
“Olivia?”
Eventually, Zach’s voice penetrated. “Olivia, are you okay?”
Unable to pull her eyes from Will, she finally responded, well aware her answer was clipped.
“Fine. Never better. Do you know that tall man?”
Zach searched the floor to land on Will. “Oh, yeah. He’s a regular at Dez’s weekend parties. He’s human, one of the earth warriors Chione found last year. Hell of a dancer, hell of a fighter.” Zach laughed. “Hell of a lover. Since Brigitte arrived, you can barely get a molecule between them. Watch. Within the next half hour, they’ll stumble to one of the guest rooms and won’t come out until daylight. Will goes back to Ife’s compound to work, and Brigitte stays here for her rest. They’re good together. Make a smashing couple.”
Zach stopped to top off his glass. “Liv? You look upset. What…” His eyes moved from her gaze, locked on Will and Brigitte, and back to notice the moisture in her eyes. He got it now. “Liv, you’re interested in him.”
It was a statement, he already saw it in the cold glare and tight set teeth. “How do you know him?”
“I don’t. Not really.” Olivia turned those big blues that reminded him so much of his mate’s on him. “Chione needed help tracking down one of her human warriors, a stranger that lived in the southwestern desert, with only a nickname and vague location. She knew that I could do it. That’s pretty much the story. I found him, got him to Africa, and came home.”
Zach shook his head. “That wasn’t pretty much the story, it was just the outline. What happened in between the I found him and came home part?”
Several more moments passed. Sighing, Olivia looked toward Brigitte, the kiss highly sexual now, and averted her gaze back to Zach.
“Nothing. Honestly, Zach, we were never together. It’s me, not him. Unfounded expectations. A spark of a relationship that I never let ignite. A woman suddenly wondering if she’d let go the man who might be the one.” Don’t judge me, Zach, I’m ready to rip someone a new one and you’re the closest to me right now. I’m okay. You know I’m always fine. I just came down here chasing a dream, but dreams aren’t real. Anyway, it got me away from work and here to visit you guys, so no complaints, right?”
“None. Dez is always over the moon to see you. Why don’t I go get her?”
“I like that idea. I’ll stay here and protect the MoonShine supply, right?”
“I’m not sure I trust that glint in your eye. I remember you could drink me under the table in Siberia.”
“Hmmm.” Bypassing her stemware, Olivia lifted the second bottle to her lips.
“I’ll hurry,” Zach groaned.
Lowering the bottle, Olivia let it hover above the tabletop. Zach needn’t worry about his wine supply; she wasn’t in the mood anymore. Still, the bottle in her hand, she lifted it again, thinking that, mood or not, being drunk with a magically produced wine might be the only thing that would get her through the night without becoming maudlin.
The bottom of the bottle still lifted, she shot a quick glance to where Will and Brigitte had been practically fucking on the dance floor and saw them moving toward her, now only about ten feet away. Still wrapped around his partner, weaving a little, Will wore a genuine easy grin, something that she’d never seen, when he suddenly glanced up, his eyes scanning around him until they landed on her. His expression revealed shock when he saw her.
Surprised he’d noticed her in his current inebriated and horny state, Olivia waved at him with the bottle.
Pulling Brigitte to a stop beside him, Will stared at Olivia, unaware that Brigitte’s eyes followed his to the beautiful vampire at the table, then back to Will.
“Olivia,” Will whispered.
“Biker.” Olivia did not whisper. The nickname she’d known him by before she’d known his real name felt more intimate, but she reminded herself that it was a mistake to bring up that memory. He was with another woman. Her eyes moved from his to those of his companion.
She summoned a smile for Brigitte, even if it couldn’t quite reach her eyes. She’d always liked the beautiful child of the moon.
“Hey, Bridge. How’s Zambia?”
Brigitte’s smile was warm, real, although Olivia could sense her concern. “Um, great. Everyone is doing perfectly. When did you get here?”
“Just arrived in time to see the end of the dance contest.”
“Ugh!” Wrapping her arms around Will’s waist, Brigitte laughed. “We were hardly stellar, were we, babe?”
Olivia’s eyes went to the hug. And she noticed the endearment. Staking her claim?
Will nodded, his head stiff. “No, not quite.” His discomfort was obvious. Pulling away from Brigitte’s tight embrace, he glanced at Olivia. “Well, it’s nice to see you again.”
If she hadn’t been so unsettled about finding the man she had come all this way to seduce in a clinch with another woman, Olivia would have found his discomfort amusing.
Brigitte shrugged as Will pulled her away. “See you later, Olivia.”
As they cleared the room, Olivia rolled her eyes, and whispered, “Not if I see you first.” Childish she knew, but she didn’t care.
Brigitte was a sweet girl. And Will had no idea that Olivia had come here for him, so both were innocent in this. Didn’t matter, though. Olivia lifted the wine and sucked down a quarter of the body. She couldn’t purge the image of Brigitte’s legs wrapped around Will’s waist.
“My girl!”
Dez blew in like a hurricane, enveloping Olivia in her huge presence and warm arms. Like a lifeline, Olivia held tight to her grandmother, one of the brightest points in her life since she’d found her family.
Dez pulled back to absorb her granddaughter, still one of very few fourth generation first blood vampires.
“I think you need to move here. I miss you way too much to have you all the way in the U.S.”
“I’d love to, but my business is in the city of night-lights, and you know I love it. Although, of course I miss you too.”
Zach stood behind the two women, so alike in spite of the generation that separated them. Life had become one big party after another since he and Dez had finally mated, and he wouldn’t change a moment. He stepped forward, a hand on each of their backs.
“Why don’t we retire to the dining room and let the rest of these guys burn out as dawn arrives? Get a nice quiet last meal.”
“Perfect idea.” Dez winked at Zach. “With all the belly dancing earlier tonight, I need to recharge.”
His grin wide, Zach lifted his eyebrows. “From my point of view, it was worth every tiring gyration.”
Dez ran a finger down his chest and stopped just below the beltline of his jeans on the obvious mound.
“Perhaps after some calories, I’ll give you a private encore before we rest.”
Following them, Olivia faked a choking sound. “Ugh. Should granddaughters have to listen to their grandmothers make sexual deals?”
Especially when her own erotic adventure had just blown up in her face.
His eyes on her, Zach stopped and pulled Olivia forward. “I know what you need. Come look at this.”
He led her into the dining room and toward the buffet table near the kitchen that was just now being set for last meal. “This is it, Liv.”
Zach lifted a large stainless-steel cover from a tall tray with a flourish.
Olivia couldn’t help shooting him a wan smile. Aware of her heartache tonight, Zach knew precisely what a woman needed to help salve a wounded heart. A three tier chocolate cake glistened under the lights over the table. Dark chocolate icing dripped down the side over thick milk chocolate buttercream icing that covered all three layers.
“It’s filled with rich white icing,” Zach elaborated.
Olivia, her back to her grandmother, sent him an air kiss and mouthed thank you. The man knew what a woman needed and this would do nicely. As the moments passed, she felt more raw at the way the situation had turned out. She’d waited too long, it was that simple. Taking responsibility for her own choices that led her here at this moment of lost possibilities didn’t mean that she didn’t deserve that cake.
Two hours later, filled with wine and a massive dump of sugar, a little drunk and a lot exhausted, Olivia left her travel pack on a padded bench at the foot of the bed in her room. Decorated with natural colors, the wall hangings on the room shimmered under soft crystal lighting. Like Dez, Olivia loved sequins, crystals, anything that sparkled or shined, creating a space that felt like home.
After her flight, in need of a quick shower, Olivia donned a thin robe and headed from her room to the nearest of three enormous bathrooms that served all the rooms on this floor. Her mood had improved, both from Dez and Zach’s amusing company, and the effects of the MoonShine. Smiling, humming a tune that had been playing in her room, she hurried down the hallway, low-lit since, while it was daylight outside, it was a vampire’s night.
As she reached the big double door, she dropped against the wall, frustrated that it was occupied. Pushing away, she started to head toward the other end of the corridor to the next closest bathroom when she heard the door open. Good, she could get her shower now. Turning back, she watched Will, wrapped only in a damp towel slung around his waist, walk from the bathroom into the hall, his eyes lifting from where he’d just secured the towel to meet hers.
Neither moved at first, both stunned to meet like this, still surprised to have met here tonight at all. Finally, his tongue moving around his lips, a hand pushing wet hair from his face, Will nodded to her.
“Olivia.”
She shook her head. “You already said that. Earlier. Tonight.”
Uneasy, Olivia shifted her weight and let herself enjoy the unexpected view. Gods, he looked, smelled, impossibly arousing. Instantly, she felt the tug of sexual desire between her legs. Inhibition still compromised by the MoonShine, she couldn’t control what she felt and found herself saying what was on her mind.
“You looked almost exactly like this when we first met, except that you didn’t have that towel, you know, where it is now, covering…”
Easing closer, her hand moved out to touch the towel exactly where it covered a rising mound. “Um, here.”
Although the pressure was light, she could feel the hard length of his cock as it continued to fill, and she pressed harder, her fingers curving around the long thick shape. She smiled, and wondered if he could see the regret, then dropped her hand to take a step back.
“I remember.”
Will fought the urge to pull the towel free and bring her hand back where it had been a second earlier. “What are you doing here, Olivia? I’m sorry, that sounded rude. It’s just, I’ve been here for a month and I’ve never seen you.”
“Dez is my grandmother.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. Although, now that I think about it, when I first met her, she reminded me of you.”
“Aw, how sweet.”
His erotic response to her deepened as his eyes moved over an almost sheer robe she wore, highlighting rather than covering dark nipples pressed against the soft fabric. This was not right, not after he’d just fucked Brigitte harder than he ever had. He knew it was because of Olivia’s unexplained presence tonight. Just seeing her had brought surprise, confusion, resentment, guilt, an entire concoction of ridiculous emotions that he didn’t really know or understand. Yet here he was, a few hours later, on a chance encounter, and his fucking cock was begging for her to touch it.
I’m a pig, he thought. Beautiful, sexy, giving woman in my bed who I’ve been having sex with for the past three weeks, and here I am, drooling over a woman who wouldn’t give me the time of day before. Get it together, man.
Was she coming on to him? Just teasing him? It couldn’t matter. While he and Brigitte were only having a good time like they had in Colorado, no commitments had ever been proclaimed for either of them, he was still with her. No matter how intensely his body reacted to Olivia, it wasn’t happening. Backing away, he smiled.
“Well it’s all yours. Have a nice visit.”
Her eyes shifted to the floor and back to his. He could almost swear he saw indecision, but that didn’t make sense. Whatever it was, he needed to go before the erection got any bigger or he lost his ability to control the unwelcome desire for this unbelievably beautiful woman.
“Good-night.”
Moving like the devil himself was chasing him, Will walked with purpose and speed back to the suite that Dez had assigned to Brigitte since she’d been in South America. He himself had slept there with her every night since she arrived.
They had a perfect relationship. He liked her, a lot, and she liked him, a lot too. The sex was hot, athletic, satisfying, and since they already knew each other’s bodies and preferences from the days in Colorado, they’d fallen right back into comfortable patterns.
This was what he needed. What he wanted. Nothing serious. Will knew, admitted to himself only, that if he’d started something with the intriguing Olivia, it would never be just casual. It would be scorching and something they would likely have trouble walking away from.
I’m not ready for that, he promised himself as he stepped inside Brigitte’s room. Right?
“Right,” he whispered out loud to himself.
Brigitte slept, the deep sleep of a vampire after aggressive sex and the arrival of daylight hours. He needed to get dressed and back to Ife’s home, where he still lived most of the time, and get back down to what they all now called the Cavern of Starlight.
Pressing the door to the now empty bathroom closed and dropping back against it, Olivia closed her eyes, her right hand sliding down to squeeze the thick nub that had been begging for attention. Just seeing Will again had reignited the fire she’d felt that first night he’d come from the sand-pool in the desert, turning her on immediately.
Water had cascaded from him then as he walked from the pool, and even though he was merely damp tonight, Olivia, aware that she was drunk, enjoying the freedom it provided, had nearly pushed him down and licked him top to bottom.
“You’d have enjoyed that,” she whispered to the man who wasn’t there. Her eyes landed on the tiled floors and walls that covered the back of the oversized bathroom, still wet from Will’s shower.
Moving slowly, Olivia dropped her robe and stepped onto the stone-colored tiles, toeing water droplets that might have slid down his body. Eyes closed now, she imagined him there, naked, no towel, the cock she knew was incredibly generous erect and weeping for her. She glanced up at the rain shower head and a hand-held wand that provided powerful pulsating water at the touch of a button. Leaning against the tile wall, she turned on the water, and as it cascaded over her head, she reached for the wand. It would have to do.
Six hours later at the Cavern of Starlight
Will laid his snack pack on a metal table set up the first week that Ife’s team had started serious investigation into the cave system of off-world crystals. Certain now that the crystals had been here for millennia, everyone waited with fascination to find out more about their nature and why they were suddenly revealed. Had they been put here with a purpose? Was there a reason the cave had been revealed at this time? It was indeed the mystery Ife had told them it was.
But not to Will. From the first moment Caedmon had led him down here, the second his foot had touched the earth at this depth, he’d known that this cave had opened for him. That the buried treasure of universal gifts had been waiting for him. That Mother Earth welcomed him home. His earth-borne power had dug into the living planet at the same moment that it had reached up to him. What these crystals were, how they had come to be buried so deep within this world, what their purpose was, he did not know, but he did know that he was the one destined to touch them and deliver them to the world.
As he had that first night, and every time he was here alone since then, Will turned off every light that the vampire’s had placed around the huge domed cave. Instead of total darkness, as Caedmon had found when he fell into this opening, Will lifted his eyes to watch an unparalleled display of refracted light glow from every crystal that covered the ceiling and walls of this magnificent place. He’d discovered something that he hadn’t revealed to anyone else yet. It’s why he came here alone during daylight hours. Will wasn’t ready to share with anyone yet that when he was alone here, the cave and crystals absorbed his magic. They resonated now with light and sound that made the mystery even grander.
At first, when he’d felt the power exchange, the crystal cave reaching into him, feeding power to him, he’d worried about what they wanted from him. Were they trying to drain him? Had he been given this gift to only hold for them awhile?
Now, he knew, without doubt, they were taking from him, but they were feeding him too. This symbiotic relationship had always been written in the stars.
“I can feel you,” Will whispered, moving slowly around the perimeter of the cave, fingertips sliding along the wall, surprised anew at the infusion of warmth that tickled his skin as he went.
After a full circle, Will reached for his pack and removed two bottles of water and some dried fruit. After dancing all night, he was as tired as Brigitte, but here is where he needed to rest. Finishing half the fruit and one bottle of water, he sat on the ground, which became warmer and warmer with each passing moment, then lay back to seek the greatest contact possible with the living world. Here he would stay until the others arrived after sunset when they would start again the pragmatic part of the research. He would help them study something that he already understood completely.
Eyes on the waves of color overhead that moved much like the Northern Lights, Will let his mind relax. He was unsurprised where it went. Olivia’s image filled it, leaning against the wall, breathing deep, drunk, her touch where he’d imagined it more than once…and that thin robe! Minutes after aggressive sex with Brigitte, mostly to try to purge Olivia from his memory, he’d taken a cold shower, finally calmed his frazzled nerves, and walked out, nearly bare, to find her big blues on him.
“You’re cruel, Fates, you know that, right?”
His voice bounced off the walls and fed back to him. After hooking up with Brigitte again, they had reconnected and he admitted that it could become serious. When he was ready to share his life with a woman he truly respected and cared about, Brigitte might have been the one…until Olivia showed up, the one woman who had haunted him from the moment he laid eyes on her.
She didn’t want him, she’d made that clear. When he’d accepted Ife’s invitation, he’d come to get away from his unsettled life, and Olivia had been part of that. He’d had no idea that Olivia had ties here in South America. Had he known, he might not have come.
Closing his mind off now, he allowed himself to sink into the earth, almost literally, as his body seemed to burrow into the soft ground several inches deep. Who was he fooling? He’d always have come, he was meant to be here. And somewhere, deep in his unconscious mind, he’d known that she might have been too.
“Trying to slip away from me?”
Torin’s booming voice brought Will’s head up.
“No, just getting an early start.”
“You know better.”
“Yeah, I do. You’re here now.”
“Go ahead.”
Will’s watchdog scooted up on a table, music playing in his ears as he sipped a cold coffee.
Will dropped his head back down and closed his eyes.
AT DEZ’S PLACE AT FIRST MEAL
Olivia shook back her hair, tied in a high ponytail with scarlet-tinted loose tendrils cascading around her face. Tonight, her grandmother and Zach were taking her to see the big mystery of the region, Ife’s newly discovered cave. Never mind the fact that, after Siberia, she’d have figured the last thing any of them wanted to do was climb deep into the ground again. It hadn’t exactly been a pleasant thing back then, and she couldn’t see a reason to do it again.
Her eyes moving over the crowd gathered for first meal, she discovered that, reluctantly, she was searching for Will and Brigitte. A sharp stab in her chest let her know that she really should keep her distance and ignore them, but she found herself seeking them out anyway. When neither showed up, she finished piling up her tray and joined Zach and Dez at the main table. After finishing off an excellent omelet, she glared at Zach.
“You’re really going to take me down a ladder into the bowels of the earth again. I know it’s been a while, but didn’t we get enough of that at Lake Baikal?”
“No,” Zach parried. “This is nothing like Siberia, although you’ll be thrilled to know that Nikolai has been working with us on this discovery. No, this cavern is warm, solid, and stunningly amazing. Liv, you have to see it.”
“Oh, I’ll go, of course. When have I ever turned either of you down? Don’t answer that. Some questions are obviously rhetorical. It sounds neat, so I’m there. After more cake please.”
An extended groan carried across the entire room from the doorway as Brigitte entered, dressed, but wearing a bathrobe over her clothes, a hand to her head. “Why did you guys let me do that? Between dancing, boozing, and fucking, I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.”
Laughs cascaded through the group. Mostly vampire, they understood and appreciated the feeling.
“Coffee. Stat!” Brigitte filled a cup the size of a small mixing bowl with the hot brew, poured a generous splash of cream in, leaned against the buffet table with her eyes closed, and savored the first sip. An orgasmic moan later, she pushed away with a wide smile.
“Better. Dez, would it be awful if I bow out tonight and spend it in bed. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this exhausted.”
Watching the gorgeous vampire approach the table, Dez sat back to study her. “Still tired? Willoughby must be quite the sex machine.”
Dez didn’t notice Zach’s expression as he reached for her. She continued. “Humans can’t easily wear out vampires.”
Brigitte, hands wrapped tight around the big cup, grinned, her eyebrows raised. “Well, he can. Did.”
Zach tugged hard on Dez’s arm. “Dez, don’t…”
Laughing, Dez touched Zach, still unaware he was trying to stop her. “Then he’s a keeper.”
Brigitte shrugged, the grin softening to an easy smile.
“I think he is.”
“Dez!” Zach called out, exasperated.
“What?”
Finally getting his mate’s attention, Zach lowered his gaze and leaned closer to place his lips to her ear.
“Stop. I’ll explain later, but get off this topic.”
Lifting her head, Dez nodded, then turned back to Brigitte. “Yeah, perhaps an extended rest will do you good. We’re going to the cavern today and you’ve already seen it.”
“Yup. Pretty. Don’t need to see it again. Thanks.”
She lifted her eyes and looked to the other side of the table where Olivia sat silently dicing a tall stack of pancakes into child-size pieces.
“Wow. You’re really focused on your task.”
Olivia lifted her eyes from her plate. “What? Oh, yeah, I’ve always liked tiny food.”
“Um, Ooo…kay. We didn’t get a chance to catch up last night. How about we get together for second meal? I heard Cari and Eras spent a few weeks with you in Vegas recently. I’d love to hear the details.”
It’s not her fault, Olivia had to remind herself. You cannot be upset with Brigitte.
“Sure, that’s fine. They had a smashing time, and of course, hated to leave. You haven’t seen them recently?”
“No. I’m heading to Colorado right after I finish here.”
“Bridge, what brought you here?”
Olivia wondered if it had been for Will, or had they just met back up accidently.
“To see Ife. I haven’t seen my brother or sisters in a long time, so I’m visiting them one by one. I’ve just, um, lingered here longer than I expected to.”
God, don’t start talking about sex with Will again. I already look like an idiot for pulverizing my food.
Awkward silence brought the uncomfortable conversation to a close and Brigitte stood, the coffee cup still firmly held. “I’ll see you all tonight. Enjoy the sparkly cave.”
As she wandered back toward the door, Brigitte scoped out the breakfast buffet, filled a plate high with a variety of items, and took it with her.
Once Brigitte disappeared, Dez’s eyes shot to Zach.
“Well everything about this meal since Brigitte showed up was straight up weird. You care to fill me in?”
The bullet-quick gaze went to Olivia. “And you, what the hell was that? ‘I like tiny food’? Tell me.”
Zach took his cue from a silent Olivia, who just pushed the pancake bits around in her plate. It was up to him to begin the story. “Your granddaughter is happy to be here with us, but she actually came here for Will.”
“What? Will? Olivia, you’ve been seeing Will? Why wouldn’t you tell me that?”
Feeling like a teenage girl caught by her parents in bed with a boy, she shrugged. “Dez, there’s nothing to tell. I haven’t been seeing Will.”
“All right. Then I’m confused.”
“Let me fix that. Do you remember when I told you that I helped Chione find one of the human earth-warriors? Will was the one. I didn’t elaborate because the two days I spent with him were strange. You two know I’ve never had a long relationship. I’ve never been in love, which suited me just fine. Too many hot sexy men in the world to get tied down to one. I went to find Chione’s missing soldier in the desert in Arizona last year, and well, let me say that the first time I saw him, he was soaking wet and completely naked. For some reason I still don’t understand, he got to me right away.”
Dez placed a hand on Olivia’s. “Darling, love doesn’t ask permission. It’s a bitch that way.”
“I guess I discovered that. When I entered Will’s spirit realm later that night to show him what I was, to prove that he had to believe me and trust me, I saw his nature too. I saw the latent power that shouldn’t have been granted to a human being; it was overwhelming for him. He’d suffered so much, Dez. More interestingly, I saw that he was Shoazan and could be a vampire’s mate. It spooked me, so much that when I left him in Africa, all I wanted to do was forget him. And I did. At least, I thought I had until about a month ago when he rescued Corri and brought her back to Vegas. Since then, I haven’t been able to purge him from my mind. Last week, I finally had to admit to myself that I didn’t want to. I needed to find him, and here I am. Too late.”
“Livie, you don’t know that.”
“No, I won’t walk over whatever he and Brigitte are building. I’m too late, it’s that simple. If they’re together, if they’ve fallen in love, it’s great. Brigitte’s a darling and Will deserves to be happy. I’m not even sure what I’d have to offer him. My feelings are out of whack. All I know is that I wanted to see what we might be together. Now, it’s set. We’re only going to be friends.”
“That coffee looks good.” Olivia pushed her seat back, stood, bent to kiss Dez on the cheek, then Zach, smiled, genuinely, she hoped, and lifted her mug. “Let’s not think about Will today. I’ll make it an Irish coffee and go back to my room. Zach, let me know when you’re going to leave, okay? I can use the distraction.”
Zach started to say something as she walked away, but Dez laid a finger over his lips. “Don’t.”
“But she needs to know that Will is likely to be there.”
“Darling, no she doesn’t. Let’s allow the course of events to chart its own path.”
“But…”
“My love, do I need to find something else for you to do with that mouth?”