Heart of the Warrior (19 page)

He would need to find a way to keep his conversations with
Io away from Sev’s ears, and to also be more careful about what he said to Io.
Hell, he had no intention of joining Io or anyone else on some orgy-esque
sexcapade with two or more women. The only one he wanted to be with was Sev. He
had only agreed with Io because he didn’t know what else to say under the
circumstances. He hadn’t prepared for convos like that. He would need to start
preparing if this was going to work with Sev. And he wanted it to work. It had
to. He couldn't live without Sev.

"Here you go." Malek handed him his coffee.
"Sorry it took so long. They had to make a fresh pot. Who were you talking
to, by the way?"

"Oh, um, uh…my dad." Yeah, he really needed to
prepare for how to handle conversations where Sev was involved.

"Did you tell him thanks for inviting us all to his
party?"

"Yeah, sure."

After Sev had stormed out of the meeting earlier, Tristan
had announced to the rest of the team that Ari’s father had invited them all to
the party he was hosting at his home this weekend for St. Patrick's Day.

Fun, fun. The idea humiliated Ari more than comforted him.
He didn’t want his teammates to look at him like he was the son of a personal
friend of the king, even though that was exactly what he was. Ari worked hard
to keep that fact out of the public eye. He swore his dad did this shit just to
embarrass him.

"You ready?" Malek said.

Ready to be done with this shift.
He was already
growing hard again. Ari nodded. "Yeah, let’s go so we can get back."

They were on a mass search for cobalt dealers and had
already bagged two. Hopefully, they would be able to get something out of the
ones they caught that would lead them to the primary manufacturer so they could
make a dent in production. But drecks had amazing powers of resistance to mind
probes, although Trace seemed to have some bionic powers where that was
concerned. The guy was a freak of nature. Trace and Micah were working the guys
he, Malek, Tristan, and Io took back to the compound. Yep, that’s right, even
Tristan had slid out from behind the desk to patrol in Sev’s place.

Sev. He grinned at the thought of seeing him later.

"What are you smiling about?" Malek said, glancing
over.

"Nothing, just something my dad said." The lie
came out more easily than the last one. Maybe there was hope, yet.

Malek took them further west, and Ari looked out the window.
Was his shift over, yet?

Gina had stopped by AKM for a few minutes, found a lot of
nothing, so returned to the hotel. After changing, she went down to the bar
until it closed then hung out in the lobby in hopes of bumping into Lakota when
he returned from his wineless spaghetti feast.

Her head was buried in a newspaper when she caught his
scent. She peeked out from behind the paper as he stopped and looked at the
closed bar in frustration before turning around and walking to the desk.

"The bar’s closed?" she heard him ask.

"I’m sorry sir. Yes, it closed about an hour ago."

Lakota backed away from the desk, looking dejected. She
folded the paper and got up then followed him to the elevator.

"Hey," he said as he turned and saw her step in
behind him. "You’re the big breakfast girl. Gina, right?"

"I’m flattered you remembered."

"How could I forget? You eat like I do, but you’re
three times as small."

"A girl’s gotta eat."

The elevator closed and started up.

"I heard you asking about the bar," she said.

"Yeah, well, it’s already closed." He sounded
frustrated.

"You can come drop by my room if you want a
drink." Her voice was suggestive, her eyes provocative.

He laughed. "No, I didn’t want to drink. I just wanted
to sit in the bar with a glass of club soda and
pretend
I was
drinking."

"Why ever would you want to do that?" She made a
screwed up face at him.

He chuckled. "I stopped drinking ages ago." He
looked at the floor uncomfortably. "But tonight was a rough one and I
could use the fake drink – the illusion that I'm drowning myself, as it
were."

Ah, so that's why he drank water with his dinner at the
female's house.

The elevator stopped on her floor and she stepped out but
held her arm over the door to keep it from closing. "Well, I could pour
you a glass of water and you can pretend it’s a glass of Vodka and I’m the
bartender. Then you can tell me all about your troubles and I can give you a
bunch of useless advice that sounds wise but is really just a crock of
shit."

He laughed and considered her offer, then nodded and joined
her. "Okay, sure. Why not?"

She led him to her room.

"I bet your advice would be better than some random
human’s, anyway," he said.

She looked over her shoulder. Until now, neither one of them
had acknowledged out loud that they were the same. As in, they were both
vampires.

"Oh, why’s that?" She batted her eyes innocently.

He grinned and flashed his fangs. "Because you’re like
me."

She pretended to be scared of his fangs, then laughed as her
face calmed again. "Okay, you got me."

They stopped in front of her door.

"My name’s Lakota." He held out his hand and
formally introduced himself.

"I remember." She shook his hand. Nice hands. He
had nice, strong hands.

He smiled and his face flushed slightly. "Yes, that's
right. Guess I'm out of practice."

Gina wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but she
bumped her arm against his good-naturedly. "You're doing fine."

He glanced at her curiously. "What brings you to
Chicago, Gina? Oh wait, you're on vacation, right?"

They entered her room and he took a seat while she went for
the bar. "Yep. I needed a break. And you said you're here because of
family. Just visiting then?"

He sighed and stretched out those long legs of his.
"I’m mending fences. Well, trying to."

She poured him a glass of water over ice and grabbed a Vodka
and orange juice for herself. "Mending fences? Is that why you wanted to
drown yourself in club soda tonight, Lakota?" She handed him his glass and
took a seat beside him.

"Yes, it was a rough night." He rubbed his chin as
if it ached. "Some fences are tougher to mend than others."

"Why? What happened?"

He sipped his water. "I saw my son tonight."

"Your son?"

"Yes, his name is Severin. It's been a long time since
I've seen him."

This was easier than she thought. Good. Now she just needed
to keep him talking. She leaned back as if she was settling in for the long
haul.

"Go on, Lakota. Tell bartender Gina all about it."

He smiled at her and started talking.

Severin sat at the counter in his kitchen, tapping the top
corner of his cell phone with his finger so it spun on the counter toward his
other hand, where he tapped it on the opposite corner so that it spun back.
Back and forth, back and forth.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
He couldn’t sit still.

For the third time in fifteen minutes, he hopped off the bar
stool and stirred the meat sauce that was simmering on the stove. It was ready
to eat, but it was the kind of sauce that the longer it simmered, the better it
would be.

He took a taste and hovered over the pot as he let the
flavor coat his tongue then he grabbed a pinch more salt and dashed it into the
pan. A check of the clock said it was just after six a.m. Ari’s shift had ended
an hour ago.

"Come on, come on," he said under his breath.
"Get here, damn it."

After their phone conversation, Sev’s anger over what had
happened earlier with Io had dissipated, but he knew that sooner or later Ari’s
need to keep them hush-hush would need to be addressed. He didn’t want to live
his life with Ari behind closed doors. As mates, secrecy would only hurt them,
and more blowups like the one that had just happened would continue to occur.

He had finally talked to Tristan, too, explaining that he
was fine and making an excuse that he had some personal shit to deal with.
Tristan had offered to give him some time off to sort things out, but he had
declined, saying the worst was over – at least, he hoped it was over – and he just
wanted to get back to work. He apologized for his behavior and did the
necessary sucking up then Tristan had informed him of what else had been
discussed during the meeting, including an invite from Ari’s father for all of
them to attend a St. Patrick’s Day party this coming weekend.

That could be interesting. All of them. Together. At Ari's
parents' house. What a great time to meet the parents. Somehow, Sev got the
idea the party was a bad idea.

Just then the doorbell rang and Sev nearly left his skin behind
as he darted out of the kitchen. Taking the time to check the peephole, he
caressed one hand over his door when he saw Ari standing on the other side,
glancing down nervously. Sev closed his eyes and tilted his forehead against
the door as he smiled. Everything would be okay now. Ari was here.

After unlocking the door, he pulled it open and Ari looked
up at him, his face a mix of nervousness, hope, and relief. He pulled a rose
from behind his back and held it out to Sev.

"When a man shows up with flowers, he knows he fucked
up." Sev took the rose and lifted it to his nose and grinned as he stepped
back to allow Ari in.

"I’m sorry, Sev. I’m so sorry." Ari stepped inside
and shut the door behind him then wrapped his arms around Sev’s waist and held
him close.

He smelled clean, like soap and Old Spice.

How could Sev be angry at his mate? How could he not hold
him, forgive him, and quiet him with kisses? "Sshh, Ari. You’re forgiven.
Come here." He nudged Ari’s chin with the side of his index finger to turn
Ari toward him and then he kissed those perfect, soft lips until they both
moaned quietly at the same time. Ari’s body pressed more fully against Sev’s,
and their hands explored.

"I've been hard for you all night." Ari spoke
against his mouth.

"Me, too. And now you're here."

Their lips met once more, tasting and lingering together.

"What are you cooking?" Ari broke their kiss and
dipped his head to lick a long line up the side of Sev’s throat as if he wasn't
interested in food at all. "It smells good."

Sev purred at Ari's oral caress. "So do you." He
palmed the back of Ari’s head and held his mouth against his neck.

Ari purred back and scratched his fangs over Sev's neck. Up
and down, up and down, teasing Sev. "Mmm, so do you." Ever-so-gently,
Ari’s fangs pierced his skin and sank into his flesh.

"Mmmm." Sev leaned back against the wall and
slowly faded into bliss. He thought he would pass out from the euphoria of
Ari’s venom mixing with his own. The reaction was more powerful in a vampire
than a human and Sev felt the room spin in a good way.

Very good.

Ari’s bite deepened and Sev teetered drunkenly, unable to
remain standing without assistance, too lost in his mate’s touch and his total
possession of him. The euphoria made him drunk with desire. God, yes. This was
what he needed: Arion. His precious Ari at his vein and pressing against him
with commanding presence.

Suddenly, Ari pulled away and snapped back as he smacked his
lips. He looked as if he had tasted something funny, and he had a frown on his
face.

Sev tried to look at him, but he felt like a bobble head
doll, unable to control his physical faculties through the euphoric
intoxication.

"What’s wrong?" His words slurred as he fought
through the haze. "Why’d you stop?"

Ari looked up at him and lifted his fingers to his lips.
"Oh my God, Sev. What are you?"

"Huh?" Sev was too out of it and didn’t
understand. The euphoria only lasted a minute or two, but until it cleared,
nothing would make sense.

"Your blood. It tastes…I mean…" Ari started to
back away, a look of shock on his face. "I know you’re a mixed-blood, but
I…I just assumed your mix was human." He frowned, looking almost hurt.
"But…you’re
dreck.
" He spat the word out like it was dirty.

Suddenly, Sev sobered, blinking and shaking off the effects
of Ari’s venom. "Wait, no –"

"You’re a goddamn dreck, Sev?" Ari backed further
away, headed for the door. "When were you going to tell me? Huh? When?
Fuck, Sev!"

"Wait, Ari. No." Sev fought through the last of
the haze and reached for his mate.

Ari yanked himself away, practically flinging himself
against the door as he fumbled with the handle. "I can't…I need
to…fuck!" He glanced back at Sev, looking hurt and confused. "I can't
believe you didn't tell me." Ari's glare was accusatory.

Clearly, Sev had fucked up by not telling him sooner, but he
hadn't known how. He had been scared of Ari's reaction, and apparently he had
been right to be worried with the way Ari was practically clawing through the
door to get away from him. Finally, the door swung open and Ari shot outside.

"Ari, stop. Please!" What had he done? God, he had
fucked up monumentally. He should have told Ari last night. Before they had
gotten so involved. But, yeah right. When had they really even had an
opportunity to discuss it? They had been too busy falling in love with each
other, and Sev hadn't been thinking about much else other than holding and
feeling Ari against him.

Ari practically flew off the porch, his voice full of pain
as he barked over his shoulder, "Don’t touch me, Sev. Just don't fucking
touch me right now. You should have told me, damn you!"

Sev’s heart broke at Ari’s vicious tone, and pain broke out
in his chest like a hundred tiny nails had exploded from the center and sprayed
out to pierce his flesh. Clutching his chest, his knees gave out from the
sudden burst of pain – the
suffering
– and he crumpled to the floor like
slack rope. Anguish tormented him. "Please, Ari."