Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (5 page)

“The
last time I felt like this, a lot of people died,” Victor Solomon said lowly.
The former king of the Vampires lifted his glass of wine to his lips and calmly
took a sip. It wouldn’t do for him to upset the woman dining with him. Not when
this was one of their rare special dates.

Jacquelyn
Bristone smiled sadly at her father. “The last time you felt like this was when
Mother was killed,” she said quietly. The expression he wore when he looked at
her caused her to shrug. “It’s not hard to see, Father. When you care about
someone, if anything that happens to them you take as a personal attack.
Madison is your daughter in every way that matters. Naturally you want the
beating hearts of the demons that dared to take her.”

Victor
smiled at her vicious flare. “I doubt I am that extreme, Jacquelyn.” When she
laughed, he chuckled. “Alright, maybe I am.” His laughter soon died as he
thought of the chaos Madison’s family was going through. “She just had a baby.
Little Aurora Maxine Davenport.”

“Claude
told me of the baby. I didn’t think she was due so soon.” Jacquelyn leaned back
in her chair and played with her wedding ring. “Madison’s pregnancy is part of
the reason why I wanted to speak with you.” Jacquelyn raised determined emerald
eyes to her father’s curious jade. “My next fertility cycle is coming. I told
Claude and Claudia that I wanted to try for another child.”

That
news was not a surprise. A female vampire went into her fertility cycle nearly
every twenty-five years. After being forced to give Claudia up, it stood to
reason that she would want to try again. “What was Claudia’s reaction?” Victor
couldn’t care less what his son-in-law thought. His granddaughter was his main
concern. It had taken her a long time to get over her feelings of abandonment.

Jacquelyn
mused as she took a sip of her wine. “Claudia is being surprisingly supportive.
She only asks that if history repeats itself that I send the baby to either her
or you.” She smiled as he frowned. “And you and I probably both feel that she’s
too young to care for a child.”

Victor
looked a little less than amused. “If you and Claude decide to have another
child, you will have my full support. However, I do not think this is the best
time.” He took note of how her shoulders fell and continued. “Claudia is a
pleasant young woman and I am happy to call her my grandchild. However, for
whatever reason, you still have not realized the damage your abandonment caused
her. I would not wish for you to do that to another child.”

“What
happened to Claudia wasn’t my fault,” Jacquelyn argued.

“I
never said it was.” Victor sipped his wine as he tried to think of what to tell
his daughter. “Our actions, however well intentioned, have potentially
disastrous consequences.
Not only for the child, but for your
own health as well.”

She
was silent as she thought over his words. “There are times when I hate you,”
she whispered.

He
gave her a small smile, knowing that she would think over what he said, yet
still do exactly what she wanted. Before he could comment further, his cell
phone started to ring. A frown crossed his face when he saw one of the Maxwell
sons calling him. “Pardon me, Sweetheart,” he said before lifting the phone to
his ear. “This is Victor.”

“I’m
sorry to disturb you while you are away, but you need to come back home,” Jimmy
Maxwell told him simply. “We were told that, ‘now would be a good time to tell
the King that he will have to destroy the snake.’”

 
Victor frowned. “What Oracle told you this?”

“Tsukiko
Himura.”

Victor
looked at his daughter and pressed his lips together. He would have to cut
their visit short. “Where would you like for me to meet you?”

“We’re
all heading to Eric’s room right now. The hospital called. Eric is showing
signs of waking up.”

“I
shall be there within the hour.” As he disconnected the phone call, he looked
at his daughter. “As I have said, if you want to have another child, I will
stand beside you. But before you rush into anything, think about the past and
what has happened.” He stood and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I will return
when I am able,” he said softly. “Until then, feel free to use the family jet
to go to Germany. Claudia is missing home again.”

* *
* * *

He
had to be more than just a Mage. Lily was sure of it. Even fully clothed,
watching Barry move heavy boxes from one room to another was slow torture. She
could see the way his muscles flexed under the cloth. If she didn’t know any
better, she would swear he was teasing her.

Barry
grunted as he put the final box on the floor. “These boxes are way too heavy
for just books,” he announced as he dusted his hands off.

A
single drop of sweat eased out from behind his ear. Lily’s eyes were riveted as
the single bead slowly trailed down his neck and into his shirt. She blinked
rapidly as he cleared his throat. The knowing smirk on his face made her blush.
“What?” she challenged.

His
smirk grew into a full smile as he sat on the sofa. “Nothing,” he said
innocently. “You just look a little peckish, that’s all.”

Lily’s
face felt like it was on fire. “I’m fine,” she countered. “There’s another few
weeks before I should feed again, so no. I’m not hungry or
peckish
.”

Barry
reached over and grabbed her hand. He frowned when he saw how badly she was
trembling. “What’s going on Lily?” he asked seriously.

She
allowed him to pull her forward and sat next to him. As she gazed into his deep
brown eyes, she chewed nervously on her lip. “I don’t know what’s happening,”
she confessed. She ran her fingers through her hair and took a restless breath.
“For whatever reason, all I want to do is sit back and watch you move. Then
when that isn’t enough, I want to get close to you.”

He
fought a smile as he reached forward and played with a lock of her hair. “Are
you trying to tell me you’re attracted to me?” he asked. When her eyes
narrowed, he laughed. “Come on Lily. I think we’ve been attracted to each other
since the day we met. At least I was. This isn’t anything new.”

“That’s
just it. It
is
new to me.” She jumped to her feet and started to pace
across the living room. Lily’s eyes stayed focused on the floor as she moved
back and forth. She didn’t think she could deal with seeing the shock in his
eyes. “I’m a Succubus. Sex is nothing new to me. But I have to have it. When I
get hungry, I see a guy, or girl, we get together and that’s it. Usually, I
don’t see them again. I never wanted to spend time with them.” She ran her
hands through her hair and let out another restless breath. “I shouldn’t want
to spend time with you either. But I do. I want to know if you and I can be
more than bed partners.”

Barry
stood and put his hands on her shoulders. When she looked at him, he gave her a
playful smile. “You have to admit, we were really hot bed partners,” he joked.
When she frowned, his shoulders fell. “Lily, it was a joke.”

She
broke away from his hold with a growl. “I barely remember what happened that
night and I feel like I was cheated,” she admitted. Before he could say
anything else that would embarrass her, she reached up and kissed him. A soft
moan left her as his arms came around her and pulled her close.

He
smiled as she slid her arms around his neck. With ease, he lifted her against
his body, only to groan when her legs came up and wrapped around his waist.

Lily
couldn’t help herself. For the first time she knew what girls meant when they
talked of butterflies and magic when they kissed someone. She was nearly giddy
when he fell back onto the sofa. She wanted to have him again, and this time
her hunger wouldn’t get in her way.

Just
as she started to reach for his belt, Barry’s phone started to ring. Lily stiffened
as she pulled away from Barry’s kiss. Stunned green eyes turned to his as she
bit her bottom lip. Reality started to crash down on her again.

Barry
saw the look in her eyes and grabbed her hand. “We’re okay,” he said as he
reached into his pocket with his free hand. He frowned when he saw Jimmy’s name
on the screen. “What’s up?”

Lily
pulled her hand away from Barry and climbed off of his lap. She wrapped her
arms around her middle as she sat next to him thinking about what they had
almost done.

Barry
took her hand again and gave her a soft smile. “I’m at Lily’s, why?” His eyes
widened when he heard his brother’s answer. “Are you serious? Yeah, we’ll be
ready in a minute.” He quickly ended the call and gave Lily a bright smile.
“Eric’s starting to wake up.”

Lily’s
eyes started to widen. Eric had been in a coma for the past nine months. The
smile that started to cross her face fell when she looked into Barry’s eyes.
“He’s going to be fine,” she said softly.

A
frown crossed his face as he caressed her cheek. “Yeah, but that’s not going to
change anything between us, is it?” he asked lowly. When she lowered her head,
he moved closer to her. “Lily?”

She
closed her eyes tightly as her confession spilled from her lips. “I’ve never
had a boyfriend, Barry.” In his shocked silence, she pushed her hair back away
from her face. “I can be with thousands of people, but I have never once had a
real relationship.” She shot to her feet and started to pace again. “And that’s
what I want.”

He
leaned back and watched her. “You want a real relationship?” he questioned.

“I
want to go on dates. I want to have a door opened for me. I want flowers and
picnics, and all the crap that Lacey’s books say that are supposed to happen.”
Her shoulders fell as she looked out of the widow of her apartment. “I want to
be able to say “he’s my boyfriend” in public.” A frown crossed her face as she
spotted Jimmy’s car pulling up to her building. “But you’re not someone that
could give me that,” she said quietly.

Barry
frowned deeply as he thought about her words. “What do you mean?” he asked
lowly.

She
shook her head. “I don’t want to fight with you Barry,” she said in a tired
voice. “I want to settle down, you don’t. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We
just want different things.”

“Where’s
your coat,
Chica
?” The door to the apartment sprang
open to reveal Sloane adjusting the collar to his own coat. “Eric’s waking up
and you’re going to be there!” he announced as he walked in. He froze when he
saw Barry sitting on her sofa. “Am I interrupting?” he asked lowly.

Lily
shook her head as she went over to where she left her and Barry’s coats. Ever
since the night she spent with Barry, she knew Sloane wouldn’t like him hanging
around her. “No,” she said quickly. When Sloane looked at her, she pasted a smile
on her face. “No, Barry was just helping me move a few things around.”

Barry
pressed his lips together for a moment. He looked at Sloane and faked a smile
of his own. “Yeah, Lily and I were just talking about what we want in life.”

Sloane’s
eyebrow arched.
“Really?
I’m sure Lily told you she
wanted a family. A husband that would love her and not just try to jump her
bones whenever he wanted.”

“Not
in so many words, but yeah.” Barry slid his own coat on and watched as she
grabbed her purse from the front closet.

“So
you’ll understand when your games don’t work?”

Barry
looked into Sloane’s eyes and for the first time since they were teenagers,
wanted to hit him. “And you’ll understand if I ignore you and take my
girlfriend to see my brother,” he said before stepping around him and offering
his hand to Lily.

Jade
eyes were wide as she looked at his outstretched hand. “Barry,” she started.
Her voice trailed when he stepped closer to her.

“I
can’t promise you a happily ever after,” he said in a whisper. “But I will try.
Give me that chance, Baby.”

Lily
looked at his hand for a long moment. Her heart was screaming at her to take
the chance with him. Her head was filled with warnings from everyone in his
family to be careful when dealing with him. She raised her eyes to his face and
saw the honesty in his eyes. He wasn’t trying to just get into her bed again.
This time he wanted to get to know her. And that was something she could not
pass up. “Okay.”

Crispin
sat in his study quietly examining the security tapes from the hospital. It was
easy to recognize the woman that took Madison. He dealt with the King of the
Fae enough times to know exactly who his niece was. The lovely Siobhan had to
be Conquest. Which meant at least two seals were in enemy’s clutches. He leaned
back in his chair and watched as the blonde princess wheeled Madison into the
elevator and virtually disappeared.

Soft
footfalls caught his attention. Crispin looked up from the computer and saw his
wife quietly going over to her favorite armchair and sitting down. The frown
that crossed her face bothered him. They were both worried sick over Madison,
but the thought of something happening to Dylan made him nearly mental.

Dylan
tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear before looking at Crispin. “Are we
going to do this now?” she asked simply.

He
knew exactly what she was talking about. There was no need to beat around the
bush. “I think you and Lacey should leave the country. At least until all of
this blows over,” he said diplomatically.

“And
you realize the chance of that happening are slim and none, correct?” she
countered. When he frowned at her, she folded her arms over her chest. “She’s
my sister, Cris. I can’t just leave knowing that she’s in danger.”

Crispin
jumped to his feet and started to pace the length of the room. “I know. I’ve
watched her grow up. Thinking that something
may
happen to her is ripping at my heart.” He turned and looked into her eyes. “But
if something happened to you, it would destroy me.”

Tears
filled her eyes as she felt the intensity of his emotions. She stood and walked
over to where he stood. With ease, she wrapped her arms around him and held
him. “I agree that Lacey should be moved. And I want Antonio to go with her.”

A
soft growl escaped Crispin as he wrapped his wife in his arms. “As much as I
would like to argue, I can’t. No one else would guard Lacey the way he would.”
He buried his face in the crook of her neck and pressed a kiss against her
skin. “But if you’re going to stay, I’ll arrange for more guards and a personal
escort that will go places with you when I can’t.”

Dylan
shook her head and pulled away from his embrace. “No,” she said sternly.

He
shook his head. “You can’t change my mind on this. Either we’re getting more
guards, or you’re leaving.” Crispin walked over to his computer and sighed as
he looked at the screen. The closed elevator doors seemed like they were
mocking him. “I don’t care if I have to drug you. I will have you safe.”

She
looked at him. Her soft brown eyes were wide as she realized how far gone his
mood was. Dylan slowly shook her head. “You wouldn’t do that,” she said softly.
When he scoffed, she moved closer to the desk. “I love you but I swear to you,
if I wake up someplace that I did not go to sleep, it will be our divorce.”

Crispin
snatched up a glass paperweight and threw it against the wall. “I won’t lose
you!” he shouted at her. His eyes glowed green as the glass shattered. “My
mother was just as stubborn. She refused extra guards, she trusted mortals in
and out of our home and she was rewarded with it by a sword in her chest. I
will not live through that again.”

Dylan
went to his side and took his hands into hers. Tears streamed down her face as
she looked into his eyes. “Crispin, we can compromise,” she reasoned. “I just
need for you to hear me out. Please.” When his eyes darted to the computer
screen again, she followed his gaze. She wiped at her face with one hand while
she closed the video window with the other. “Whoever did this is watching us.
Adding more guards and more blockades will only send a bright red flag to
wherever I’m hiding. Not to mention, I can probably protect your guards better
than they can protect me.”

“So
could Madison, and look what happened to her.”

She
shook her head. “I didn’t just have a baby,” she countered. When he looked at
her, she ran her fingers through his hair. “But I’m also not stupid. I’ll agree
with the escort. If you can’t be with me, Jessica or Marco can. Anything more
than that and you’re inviting more trouble than it’s worth.”

Crispin
wrapped his arms around Dylan and pulled her close. “Donald
and
Marco,”
he whispered against her neck.
“And Alex.”

She
returned his embrace. “He might be with the boys,” she told him. When troubled
eyes looked at her, she pressed a kiss to his lips. “If he agrees, then fine.
If not, Jessica and Ryan?” A soft smile crossed her face when he slowly nodded.
She kissed him again and this time savored the feeling of his hands caressing
her though her clothes. “Nothing is going to happen to me,” she said softly.

Crispin
pulled away from Dylan and looked at her with haunted eyes. He slowly reached
out and brushed his fingers along her jaw. “My mother said the same thing,” he
whispered before leaving the study.

* *
* * *

Barry
sat in the hospital waiting room with Lily. The doctors were running tests on
Eric, who was still showing signs of waking up. Sloane had taken a quick trip
to get coffee while Jimmy went to make a few more calls. Barry looked at Lily
and gently rubbed his thumb along her knuckles.
“Penny for
your thoughts.”

She
smiled as she glanced at him. With everything going on with Madison’s
disappearance, something inside of her was at ease with Barry. “I’m thinking
about what my father could have left in his things.” She moved around in her seat
and turned towards him fully. “I know he kept track of some of his visions. So
maybe he knew where to find those seven seals.”

Barry
nodded slowly. “That’s a thought. After we make sure everything is good with
Eric, we can swing by your apartment and pick them up en route.”

Her
smile fell. “En route to where?” she questioned. When he gave her a dark look,
she had her answer. “I am not leaving my home.”

A
sigh escaped him as he ran his hand over his hair. “I don’t want you to get
upset, Baby,” he said softly. When her eyebrow arched, he continued. “Since
you’re supposed to be one of the Horsemen, your place isn’t safe. They could
come and snatch you up pretty much like they did Madison.” His eyes glanced at
the door and saw his mother walking into the room with Jimmy and their father
on her heals. “I’m just saying we should find someplace safe for you to stay.”

“You
mean like your place?” she mocked.

Barry
shook his head. He wouldn’t fall into that trap. “No. To be completely honest
with you, my place isn’t that secure either.” He watched his mother and noted
the way she fingered one of her many gemstones. “I have a few favors to call
in. I can get you a nice place to stay that Madison would never think of
looking for you.”

Lily
looked at Barry and sighed. “If you insist on me not staying in my apartment, I
can go to my father’s penthouse,” she said lowly. She shrugged as she turned to
Tina. “Most people didn’t know that he was having an affair with the Panther
Alpha, Luna.” When Tina’s face showed no reaction, Lily’s eyes narrowed
slightly. “You knew?” she questioned.

Tina
moved away from the window as she ignored the question. It would do none of
them any good if they spent the afternoon gossiping about the dead. “How is
your research going?” she asked moving to sit next to Barry.

“It’s
going slow, Mom,” Barry admitted. “Mathias left a lot of journals for us to
look through.”

She
nodded as she turned her attention to her husband. “Did you have that team come
in?” she questioned.

James
nodded as he moved to sit near his wife. “They’ll be able to stand guard if
none of us are here.” He then looked over to Lily and Barry. “We’re going to
have to set up some sort of protection detail for you as well, Lily.”

Lily
glanced at Barry. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but it seemed that Barry
wasn’t the only Maxwell male she would have to explain herself to. “I was just
telling Barry that my father owned the penthouse of the Majestic hotel down in
the National Harbor. I haven’t had the heart to sell it.” Her eyes turned to
Tina and saw that she was watching her.

Tina
nodded slowly before turning her attention to her son. “I want you to take a
few days off and shadow Lily. I don’t want whoever’s doing this to get their
hands on another Horseman.” She frowned and the gem in her hand started to glow
in a soft yellow light. “Look through everything you can. I need to know what
Mathias knew.”

Barry
and Lily nodded as Sloane came into the waiting room followed by Victor. Barry
gave the former monarch a puzzled look as Sloane gave Lily a cup of coffee.
“Victor,” he said slowly. “I didn’t think you would be here.”

Victor
glanced at Jimmy before looking at the other people in the room. “Normally, I
would not be. But I believe young James has some information for me.”

Jimmy
cleared his throat and stepped closer to his family. “Yeah, there’s an Oracle
named Tsukiko Himura. She’s had some insight into what’s happening.” He shook
his head when Tina sat up straighter. “She doesn’t know where Madison is, but
she did say that Victor has to be the one to kill the snake that’s behind
everything.” He looked at Victor and sighed. “Actually, her exact words were,
now
would be a good time for you to tell the King that he will have to destroy the
snake. Otherwise all will be lost.
I’m not exactly sure what that means,
but I think she’s talking about whoever is behind all of this.”

Victor
frowned deeply as he thought. “I will take this under advisement,” he said
calmly. “Did she say anything in regards to Madison?”

“Basically,
things are going to get worse before they get any better,” Jimmy rubbed the
back of his neck and sighed. “Madison’s going to come looking for the last two
seals, and we have to find them first.”

“That
isn’t a lot to go on,” James observed.

“It’s
better than what we had,” Tina sighed. She stood and started to pace across the
waiting room. “Before we didn’t know how many seals they had. There are two
still missing, and we can try and hunt them down.”

Jimmy
reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out the small dragon
figurine. “I think this may be one,” he admitted. He glanced at Sloane and took
a slow breath. “My daughter gave it to me.”

The
room froze. Tina slowly turned to her youngest son with a raised eyebrow.
“What?” she asked quietly.

“When
I went to school in Osaka, I met Tsukiko. We hooked up, and she disappeared
from the school. I found out later that she was the Himura Oracle, and she left
Japan to come here. After I came home, I found her, but by then she had a
little girl named Midoriko. I did some math and figured out she was mine.”

“That
was ten years ago Jimmy,” James said with a frown. When his son nodded, he
shook his head. “You mean to tell us that you have a ten year old child that
none of us knew about?”

“It
was either tell you, or lose her,” Jimmy countered. He looked at his mother and
saw the heartbreak in her eyes. “Tsukiko is used to being used. She didn’t want
that for Dori, so we told everyone that she’s an orphan that Tsukiko is looking
after. I tried to explain that while I understood, it wasn’t fair to Dori to
rob her of my side of her family. But Tsukiko made it perfectly clear, she
wouldn’t stop me from spending time and seeing Dori, but I had to keep her a
secret.”

Tina
slowly inhaled as she turned to her son. “This is the second time I have been
robbed of spending time with a grandchild,” she said quietly. “I will not be
cheated out of a third. I will deal with Tsukiko, and I will handle that mess
when this one is over. Now, is there anything else you need to tell me?” she
asked.

Jimmy
looked at his mother and knew she was trying to keep her temper under control.
He knew she wouldn’t take the news well. But it wasn’t like he had a choice.
His two choices were his mother’s heart, or his daughter. Dori would always
win. “Tsukiko saw that she and I would have a powerful child together, so that
was why she originally slept with me. Now, Dori is showing signs of being
another Oracle. But now she’s getting so upset, she’s to the point where she
had to be sedated.”

James
straightened. “If she has Oracle blood on both sides of her family, there’s no
telling how powerful she could become. Or who would be after her.” The frown he
wore deepened as he looked at his son. “For all we know, the person that took
Madison will be after your daughter simply so they can make sure the future
they want comes to pass.” He pulled Tina into his embrace and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll go and deal with Tsukiko.”

“Be
careful,” Tina said before he moved away from her. She looked at Jimmy and
shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say to you,” she said before she
started to pace again.

Victor
glanced at James and nodded. “I would also like to speak with Tsukiko.” He
stepped to the side and motioned to the elevator. “Shall we?”

James
looked at his wife once more before following Victor to the elevator.

Tina
started to caress the stone in her hand. Things were starting to spin out of
control. She didn’t know where Dennis and Troy hid the children. Out of
nowhere, she finds out that she has a granddaughter that was hidden from her.
There was no doubt that Crispin would try to tuck Lacey and Dylan away. There
was something going on with Barry and Lily. And the doctors still haven’t had
anything to say about Eric.