With a hiss, he pushed me away, almost hard enough for my chair to topple backward if Stephanie hadn't caught it with her hands.
"Go," he said in a hoarse voice, "before I drain her."
I didn't need to be told twice that it was dangerous just being next to him. I bolted from my seat, ready to protect myself, if need be, when Mason moved to stand in front of me, bumping against Ethan's chest. "Not necessary to scare her shitless, vampire."
Ethan looked over Mason's shoulder, his body calling to mine, singing, beckoning, even though he was dangerous, even though he'd just threatened me, I wanted to push Mason out of the way more than I wanted air.
"Take care of her," Ethan barked. "I won't be long."
"Stay alive," Alex said in a cheerful voice. "And do tell Cassius hello."
Stephanie put a protective arm around me and whispered in my ear. "It will get better, you know. He's just angry and confused."
"And I'm not?" I wrapped my arms around myself. "This morning I woke up, and the only thing on my mind was if I wanted eggs for breakfast or a protein shake."
"And now," Alex offered with a slight shrug, "you get to worry about two immortals wanting your blood. No big, right?"
"Is that you trying to make me feel better?"
"No…" He smiled. "But this is." His blue eyes lit up just as Mason shoved him out of the way and Stephanie began tugging me back up the stairs.
"He's insane, but I love him." She shook her head. "Now, let's get you ready for this evening. I think I'll put you in red. Won't that drive Ethan absolutely wild?"
"I'm thinking Ethan needs no encouragement to end me," I grumbled.
Stephanie pushed open the door to another room, one I hadn't seen before. "He doesn't want to end you. He wants to drink from you — so much, in fact, that I'm pretty sure if he doesn't regain some focus, he's going to punch Cassius in the face."
"That can't end well."
"They fight." She shrugged. "Quite often."
"Isn't Cassius your… king?" I was going to try to find a better word, but that was the only one that seemed to fit.
"Somewhat." She looked down at the ground. "Or at least at one point, he was supposed to lead us — but it's hard, for an imperfect being, pulled between two mortal planes, to do that without losing himself in the process."
"What do you mean?"
"He's both human and immortal. He has two different types of chemical makeup fighting for dominance. Sometimes his human side wins. Other times, the angel side. It's frustrating to follow someone who doesn't even know himself."
"Hmm." I thought about that for a while; they'd made me believe Cassius was like Satan himself, but now I was starting to wonder if he was just misunderstood.
"When you close your eyes," she whispered under her breath, "he'll explain himself better."
"Who?"
"Cassius."
"What? Did I miss an important part of this conversation?"
"You'll see." She smiled. "And then you can make your own judgment, yes?"
"Um, sure?"
"Yes, this!" She moved to a large closet and opened the doors. "I think the dress is in here."
I was still mulling over the fact that Cassius would somehow explain himself to me when a shoe flew by my head, missing my cheek by mere inches. I flinched.
"Sorry! I forget you're breakable."
"Very." I paid special attention to flying objects and went over to the closet. "Will Cassius be there tonight?"
"If Ethan allows it."
"And he won't try to take me."
"Not with us there, no."
"But he'll still try."
Stephanie's hand hovered over the other shoe. "Every day. Until you no longer exist."
Ethan
I should have known something was wrong the minute I got into my new Lexus LFA and drove like hell down the winding road.
I'd become accustomed to nice things in life. Living as long as I had, I'd learned to take pleasure from hobbies. My interests ranged from collecting fine art to archery. Had I not done something with my time I would have gone absolutely insane.
My most recent pleasure? Cars. The leather felt smooth against my hot skin; the smell tantalized me. And the speed? Well, the speed was just a bonus. But not now… it seemed everything absolutely paled in comparison to the taste of her.
Maybe it had been too long — the effects of bloodlust could drive a vampire insane — but it wasn't mindless lust I was feeling for her, just intense desire to be near her, to drink from her, to share my soul with her for no other reason than I'd bonded with her.
But if I shared more of my blood, if I took more from her, giving her mine in exchange, she'd continue to be able to see my memories, my dreams — everything I'd been keeping close for the past hundred years.