The Vampire SEAL Collection, page 47
“See, I’m fine. Now go away.” I blew my nose again.
He stepped into the small space, and I scooted backwards, even though I wanted to lean into him, to nestle in his embrace and have him tell me everything would be okay. He took another step forward. The bewitching intensity of his soul-stealing blue eyes kept me from moving. I couldn’t look away. Was he trying to compel me? He raised his hand and wiped away my tears with the pads of his thumbs.
Suddenly, my mouth became dry. He was touching me, was close to me. I had no way to get around him. I closed my eyes. My face was hot. My nose was running like a waterfall, and I couldn’t stop crying. I was a complete mess.
“There’s no need to cry. You’re father is doing what’s best. Look at me,” he whispered.
I couldn’t pry my eyelids open. If I did I would crumble even more. I was in the middle of an emotional breakdown. I wasn’t about to bare my soul to a vampire who made my insides twist with excitement, let alone talk to him about Ben. I was so thankful he couldn’t read minds.
“Hey there.” He lightly rubbed my scarred cheek with the back of his fingers. “Open. Let me see those stunning eyes.”
My stomach did somersaults. More tears spilled. I couldn’t wrap my mind around his words, his voice, his touch, and his scent. Confusion snaked through me. First Ben and his sweet scent, and now Webb. While his scent didn’t make my throat burn, it sure did a number on the butterflies who were having a field day inside me. What the heck was happening to me?
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking away tears, and met his gaze. He searched my face like he was cataloguing every pore, every hair, and every facial detail. His gaze finally landed on my lips and my pulse jumped.
Damn the vampire.
His presence radiated strength and power.
My hands started shaking. He had to hear my heart racing and sense my anxiety. Or was it excitement?
What did he want from me? He had my mind in a jumbled mess, not to mention my arms all goosebumped.
He moved even closer, which I didn’t think was possible.
I couldn’t breathe. Oh my God!
He dragged the backs of his fingers over my scar, once again. “You know the man who did this to you will pay.” His voice was soft, breathy.
I really didn’t want to hear about my scar. It was the last thing on my mind and a horrific reminder of a night I never wanted to remember ever again.
“Breathe.” He leaned in and his hand disappeared behind me.
I stilled, my heart beating uncontrollably. What is he doing?
He grabbed the band out my hair and my freaky mane tumbled down, falling around my shoulders. He grabbed a few strands and placed them behind my ears. Darkness threatened the edges of my vision as his fingers tangled through my hair.
He lowered his head and whispered, “Life will get better. I promise.”
Shock hit me at his words, his promise. How could he be sure? Did he know something I didn’t? Could he read the future? Was that one of his special powers? I wanted to scream. I was standing in a small bathroom with a imposing creature who unnerved me, confused me, and made my pulse race with delight all at the same time. Was Sam right? Was there fire between us?
I shivered, and Webb wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him. His heartbeat pounded in my ear as my body melted into his. This can’t be happening.
Silence gave way to footsteps. I tried to pull away, but his arms were strong, keeping me nestled against him. It was as if he didn’t want to let go.
The door to the apartment clicked and again I tried to pull away. Webb wasn’t moving. I stood in his embrace, listening to his racing heart. Was he nervous?
“Jo?” Sam called out. “Jo?” His voice grew louder.
“Webb.” I slid my hands between us, resting them on his muscled abs, trying to push him away. “You okay?” I raised my head and met his gaze.
His eyes vacillated between blue then black. It was if he were trying to get control of himself, his feelings.
“There you— What the heck is going on in here?” Sam asked.
I peered around Webb to see that Sam had a look of horror etched on his face. Webb kicked shut the door and locked it.
I leaned against the sink. “What’re you doing? He’s going to have a fit. Open the door!” I pleaded.
“Webb? Get away from my sister,” Sam growled, banging against the door.
“We’ll be out in a minute. I’m just talking with Jo,” Webb replied.
“Like hell you are. You lay a finger on her and I’ll kill you,” Sam said.
Webb leaned against the door. We both stared at each other. Was he waiting for Sam to leave? Or did he want something from me?
“Sis, are you alright?” Sam asked.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I wasn’t fine. My insides were in a complicated knot. I didn’t know what was going on between Webb and me. Or what he wanted from me. Did he feel sorry for attacking Ben?
“If he touches—”
“Sam, chill. Webb and I are just talking,” I replied. Okay, we weren’t actually talking, but if I knew my brother…
A thump sounded, as if Sam had plopped his butt down outside the door.
“You better open the door,” I said to Webb in a low voice. “My brother isn’t going to let up until you get out of this bathroom.”
“I know,” he said as if he didn’t care.
On the outside, Webb had always been the hardcore soldier. I had only seen him pissed once when Ben lashed out at him. Something in his behavior today had me a little baffled. The steel shield that he erected around himself seemed to be thinning. Was he trying to open up to me? Did he care? I immediately erased that thought. Why would he? He was way out of my league—I was just a measly teenager who didn’t know the first thing about the male species.
He pushed off from the door and within two steps he was standing close to me again. My damn heart was getting one hell of a workout. Between Ben and Webb, I was going to pass out from emotional exhaustion.
I looked up into what seemed like a dark blue ocean of water. “What do you want from me?” My voice quivered.
He raised his hand to my face. “I want to make sure you’re okay. You’ve been through a lot and…I’m sorry. I know you like Ben. I didn’t mean to…I really was trying to protect him. I could feel your bloodlust.”
“Is…that…all?” I didn’t believe him. Something else was going on. Webb had never acted like he cared, let alone spoken to me in a soft, husky tone.
He lightly rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “No,” he breathed before his gaze dropped to my lips once again.
My pulse pounded louder than twelve drummers drumming. Oh my! Was he going to kiss me? Please don’t. I had never been kissed by a boy… and while I was excited about him being this close to me and touching me, I was confused. No, scratch that, I was dumbfounded.
A knock on the door shattered our connection. Webb raised one eyebrow as if our guest outside irritated him. In one move, he turned and opened the door. He fell backward, his body pinning me against the sink. Sam barreled in, throwing punch after punch, hitting Webb on one side of the face then the other.
“Stop it, Sam,” I yelled, my voice piercing my own eardrums.
I tried to push Webb off me, but he swung out his arms, trying to shield me. He didn’t move while Sam punched the crap out of him. Bones cracked and blood sprayed in all directions. Why was he letting Sam hit him?
“I mean it, Sam. I’ll kill you if you don’t stop,” I cried.
I peeked around Webb, and Sam’s fist hit me square in the nose. My head snapped back, then forward. My eyes watered and tears spilled. Son of a bitch!
Instantly, Webb made his move, grabbing Sam by the arms and pushing him out of the bathroom. They tussled like two wrestlers in a championship match. Webb elbowed Sam in the jaw. Sam returned the blow with one to Webb’s stomach. Webb didn’t even flinch.
I ran out of the bathroom, holding my nose, which was gushing blood, horrified by their exchange. Webb grabbed hold of his Sentinel sword. These two vampires were about to kill each other.
I gasped and ran to Webb, grabbing his wrists with my free hand. “Don’t! Webb, please stop it.”
Webb let go of his sword and looked at me. “Damn. Let’s get you into the bathroom,” he said, ignoring Sam, who was about to throw another punch.
“What’s going on here?” Dad asked, stalking toward us.
Where did Dad come from? I hadn’t heard the door to the apartment open.
I looked past Sam, and Dad’s face reddened. Webb pulled me into the bathroom, also ignoring my father.
“Sit down,” Webb commanded, his deep, military voice returning. No more sultry and silky tone.
When this was over, I was going to kill my only brother.
9
After the brawl between Webb and Sam, I tried to make sense of what had happened between Webb and me in the bathroom. How he ran his fingers over my lips and the silkiness of his voice. What did he want? I still couldn’t make any sense of it. Then I also tried to figure out how I felt after seeing Ben. He certainly looked good, but I was still confused. I struggled more not to jump over the desk and suck the very life from him. Dad’s constant reminder of how vampires shouldn’t be friends with humans screamed in my head. I didn’t want to think what could’ve happened if Webb and Dad hadn’t been in the room when I was talking with Ben. How my throat had burned and ached to taste his blood. It was clear Ben didn’t understand that there was a predator that lurked within me, clawing to get out. God help me! What have I become?
My head swam from all the emotions raging through me. Night after night I tossed and turned, dreaming about Ben and Webb. When I wasn’t dreaming about either of them I was dreaming about other things I couldn’t make sense of. An old man haunted my sleep, trying to tell me something. He spoke in gibberish. I was surprised how I even remembered any of it when I woke up. It was like my subconscious was melding into my conscious. Sometimes I couldn’t tell what was real and what was a dream.
After a week of avoiding my brother, he was finally brave enough to enter my room.
“Time to get out of this dungeon of yours,” he said, stalking in. “You can’t lay around for the rest of your immortal life, sis.”
“Did you drink some brave juice?” I sneered. “Get out.”
“You need to get your ass out of this dungeon. Olivia wants you down in the training room,” he said. “You can take your frustrations out on me down there. It’ll be good for you.” His eyes were pleading.
Maybe he had a point. Using Sam as a punching bag sounded like a good idea. Plus, I was getting tired of being in the apartment, and I wasn’t going to figure out my boy problems in here anyway.
In three strides, Sam extended his hand. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
I acquiesced.
He pulled me out of bed then hugged me. “I love you. Now get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs.” He started to walk away.
“Sam?”
He turned.
“Love you too.”
He tapped his chest then closed the door on his way out.
I donned my yoga pants and a T-shirt and met Sam in the training room.
Nickelback blared from the speakers as I entered. Turning down the sound, Olivia raised an eyebrow, surprised at my sudden appearance.
“Glad you could join us, Jo,” she said. “I hope you’re ready to work.” Forewarning tinged her tone.
I was screwed.
Not even one foot on the mat and she’d already barked out orders. Suddenly I regretted my decision to join my brother.
With a deep sigh, I did every exercise as she instructed, whining and complaining only silently in my head. The littlest outburst of complaint would have Olivia in my face, or even worse, pushing me until I couldn’t stand anymore.
The first few exercises were excruciatingly painful to every limb and muscle in my body. After five hours of jarring my arms and legs and subjecting my body to a hell where two hundred sit-ups, push-ups and other torturous moves rendered me immobile, I wanted to crawl back into my so-called dungeon and not come out for a month.
But then, on about the fourth day, my adrenaline kicked in. Training with Sam helped to take my mind off of everything, at least during the day. He’d been right. The physical exertion helped tremendously. The routine became an outlet for me—a way to push aside all the crap swimming in my head. Plus another added benefit was my increased strength. My body grew stronger, my limbs were more flexible, and my muscles began to like the feeling of pain. Was this how bodybuilders felt?
Equally surprising, I learned moves I didn’t even know my body was capable of. With the help of Olivia, Sam and I also learned how to tune in to our surroundings with our heightened vampire senses, learning what to look for when we walked into a room in a combat situation, and how to assess everything in detail in a matter of seconds.
When I wasn’t training, Dad allowed me to spend time in the secret vampire library, where I researched vampire history and looked for any knowledge on secondary powers. I read as many books as I could, absorbing everything on my new species. Dad said I could trust the data in the library. All of it was written by well-known people within the vampire community.
School loomed in the near future, giving me hives if I dwelled on it too much. I hated the idea of adjusting to a new school, with new teachers, new kids, new friends and new bullies, especially bullies. I had one thing going for me now, though—I had a few fight moves under my belt and could stand up to any bully. I just prayed I wouldn’t have to.
Aside from my anxiety over school, several questions raced through my mind. Would a vampire school be any different than a human high school? Did human teachers work at the school? Would the kids be nicer? All these uncertainties twisted my stomach into a million knots.
Before we could even attend school, we had one last meeting with the Counsel of Eternal Affairs. The last piece of the puzzle, which had me a little unnerved—injecting a chip into my butt. I was far from thrilled about this, but Dad had his and so did every vampire SEAL. Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it didn’t really. Dad had said there were more important things to be concerned about. Plus, it was for our safety and protection. I didn’t know if I agreed with him, but I had no way around it. If I wanted to be a free vampire I had to get the chip, plain and simple. Probably one of the reasons my stomach had been in an uproar.
Today, like every day since I started training, Olivia was bellowing out commands. Sam and I were in the middle of practicing a new move using a wooden pole to spar. Olivia explained the prop helped to build stamina and balance and it was one way to get used to having a weapon in our hands. Just as Sam stepped forward and raised his pole, I froze when the door to the training room creaked open. The pole hit me under my jaw and my head flew back.
“What the heck, Jo? Pay attention.” Olivia snapped her fingers. “This is exactly what I’ve been trying to teach you. You need to know your surroundings. You cannot let distractions break your concentration with an opponent. Now, go again.”
It was easier said than done. I hadn’t seen Webb since our quiet exchange in the bathroom, and here he was. I’d avoided him at all costs. Luck had been on my side. If he showed up at the apartment unannounced, I made a point to leave the room when he walked in. If I was in my room and I heard his voice in the apartment, talking to Dad, I made sure I didn’t come out. I still wracked my brain endlessly, trying to understand what happened in that bathroom between us. The quiet exchange we shared had me wanting to jump both off the nearest cliff and into his arms at the same time.
The door closed with a thud, making me jump. It was the first time Webb had come in to observe Sam and me. In fact, it was the first time Sam and I had an audience.
My brother stood in front of me with his hands on his pole, his gaze fixed on Webb. Then, in an instant, the air thickened. I held my breath. Even though several feet separated them, it didn’t matter. The two males might not be in a physical fight, but both were wielding their energy like two out of control electrical wires whipping back and forth. One electrical charge dared the other one to start a brawl. Maybe it wasn’t power. Maybe it was just plain, raw testosterone; egos on display to see which one would triumph as the alpha male.
Olivia’s voice finally snapped the tension. “Lieutenant, is there a reason you’re here this morning? If not, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave. You’re presence has obviously rattled these two for some reason.”
Rattled was the understatement of the century. From her last statement it was clear she didn’t know the tension that strangled Sam or me when Webb was around—of course, for different reasons. I lifted my gaze and peered at Webb. His expression was deadpan, and his eyes pierced a hole clear through to the other side of my back. What the heck was he doing here? Did something happen? My heart pounded furiously. Unlike the apartment where I had other rooms to hide in, I couldn’t here, but he blocked the only exit to freedom.
“Petty Officer Brock, I hear your request, but I’m not leaving. I’d like to see what you’ve accomplished with the Jo and Sam,” he said, sitting down in one of the chairs against the wall.
I blew out a breath. Was he serious? He was here to watch us? I broke my gaze with Webb and glanced at Sam. Several creases were stitched in his forehead, not to mention that the animosity dripping off him was about to choke me.
“Very well then,” Olivia replied, walking onto the mat. “Okay, you two. Concentrate. Jo, look at me.” She snapped her fingers again.
I turned my head.
“You need to focus. Remember what I taught you about using your senses. If you freeze in a real altercation, you’ll be hurt or, even worse, end up dead. Now, both of you meet in the middle, poles in hand and bow before you begin.”
Just great! Of all the people who could walk in, it had to be him. I sucked in a breath and let out all the air in my lungs. Then I stepped to the middle of the mat. Sam was still going through his calming routine. Olivia had taught us about breathing and quieting our minds. It usually worked for me, but not today. Images of Webb holding me undulated with every intake of air and release of breath. His touch, his scent and the way he made me weak at the knees cemented me to the mat. I wasn’t sure I could move. I closed my eyes and shook my head a few times, hoping the images would disintegrate—and fast. I opened my eyes slowly and focused on Sam. His hands were clasped in front of him around the pole, eyes closed, and his nostrils flared.
