Faith Revisited (16 page)
“It's happened before.”
66
Madelyn Ford
“Thea wasn't your heart mate.”
“Maybe not. But what about Saraknyal?”
The agony that always came when her name was mentioned ripped through Arak, and he sucked in a deep breath. Christ. It still hurt like he'd only just lost her, and it had been several millennia. Pushing through the pain, he said, “Saraknyal and I loved for a long time before she was taken from me.”
Bale watched the anguish bleed into Arak's eyes. He knew there was a vast difference between how his brother had loved Saraknyal and how he had loved Thea. He no longer felt pain over the loss, only bitterness and the need for revenge. But Arak still suffered from gut-wrenching sorrow. His brother still mourned.
“Arak, if she were still alive, would you take the risk, knowing she could be punished just for being foolish enough to love you?”
Arak closed his eyes a moment as he considered Bale's words. “Honestly, I don't know.”
Bale nodded, fisting his hands inside his coat pockets. He wasn't certain he could live knowing he had caused another female's death. Losing Thea had almost sent him into the abyss.
Losing Faith would destroy him.
* * * *
Determined to try anyway, Faith spun to the right, cursing the skirt she was wearing, and found herself imprisoned in Bale's arms.
He was still angry. She could see the fire burning in his mocha eyes when he fisted her hair, forcing her head back to meet his gaze. Then his lips were on hers in a bruising display of dominance. Faith beat her fists against his shoulders for a fraction of a second before his tongue forced its way into her mouth and she was lost. It wasn't until she'd slumped into his embrace that, with a satisfied grunt, his mouth released hers.
“From now on, when you need to feed, you will come to me.”
The words he growled into her ear weren't a question but a demand, and Faith didn't see the need to respond.
But Bale gave her a gentle shake. “Do you understand me, baby?”
Dazed and overwhelmed, Faith nodded her head.
“And if I find out you've gone to another, you'd better be prepared for the consequences, Faith, because I almost killed a man tonight. I won't allow anyone to touch what's mine.
Especially not some pitiful human.”
Then, as quickly as he'd barged in, Bale released her and left, slamming the door with such force that the window behind her rattled. And feeling properly trounced, Faith collapsed into her chair.
It took minutes, many of them, before what had occurred really settled in, and the more Faith obsessed over his words, the more pissed off she got. The big, giant, son-of-a-bitch bastard! He'd practically tossed her from his life. Granted, she had agreed to leave. But damn it, The Watchers: Faith Revisited
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she had some pride. If he couldn't admit there was something between them in public, in front of his friends, then by God she wasn't going to accept the words in private. Fuck him.
That thought led to her heart picking up speed as she recalled how it felt to be in his arms again. Her thong grew wet, and her nipples, which were already hard little points from Bale's kiss, tightened even more. Shit. She was so in trouble.
68
Madelyn Ford
Chapter Eight
It had been a long, frustrating night, and Faith was just glad it had finally come to an end.
As she followed Prue through the darkened bar, she couldn't wait to go home and fall into bed.
She prayed sleep would be her salvation, because she needed something to get her mind off Bale.
“So what's the deal with the Jolly Green Giant?” Prue asked, glancing casually at Faith.
Even as annoyed as she was at the male in question, Faith couldn't prevent the smile that took over her face at Prue's description.
“I got into an altercation the other night with a really big, really nasty demon. Jolly Green stepped in and saved my ass.”
“I told you, if you mess with the bull…” Prue held up two fingers—her index and pinkie.
Faith sighed. “I know. I got the horns, all right.”
Prue looked at her curiously, as if waiting for an explanation. When one didn't come, she commented, “Things looked really intense earlier.”
Faith snorted. That was an understatement. She wondered what Prue would have thought if she'd witnessed what had occurred in her office.
“Yeah. Well, let's just say Jolly likes control, and he expects total obedience.”
“What about the other one? Lord of the Serious Hotness?”
Faith choked back a giggle, wondering what Arak would think of Prue's assessment. “Lord Hotness seriously knows how to use his hands.”
“No way! You did both of them?”
Prue looked really impressed, and Faith rolled her eyes. The female was truly twisted.
“Who the hell said I
did
either?”
Prue snorted. “The way Jolly looked at you did. And who could resist that two-for-one goodness?”
“Good God…the drama,” Faith replied drolly. “Help yourself.”
“To Jolly or Hotness?” Prue wiggled her eyebrows. “Or both?”
Faith wanted to say both. Really. It was on the tip of her tongue. But when she opened her mouth to speak, a wave of possessiveness streaked through her, and she said, “Jolly is mine.”
She ignored Prue's rueful chuckle, wanting instead to slap herself. And mentally she did. “You are welcome to the rest,” she added, looking for anything to take her mind and Prue's off Bale.
“There are others?” Prue asked as they stepped out the back door and stopped while Faith locked it.
The hopefulness in Prue's voice brought the smile back to her face. “Oh yeah,” she purred.
“All supremely yummy. Though I would say Lord Hotness lives up to his name. He's definitely the pick of the litter.”
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Prue rubbed her hands together in glee. “I just looove my men in leather.”
“Then you are in for a treat,” Faith murmured, pausing a few steps from the door.
Something caught her attention, and as she scanned the parking lot, she tried to pinpoint the disturbance.
“Well, well. Look what we have here.”
Faith froze, the sound of an unknown male voice sending chills down her spine. “Prue, get out of here,” she said softly as she finally spotted a shadow to the far right of the lot.
“I'm not leaving you.”
Prue's response sent a streak of unease through her. It bloomed into panic when the male stepped forward and Faith recognized him. It was the Lilu demon she and Hope had been hunting the night she'd been wounded. Obviously Bale had not terminated the bastard.
“Yes, Prue. Please join us,” the demon said in a sickly sweet tone.
“Now, Prudence,” Faith said, her voice a little more forceful. “This isn't the time to be a pain in my ass.”
Prue edged away from Faith slowly, moving to her vehicle without turning her back on the demon. Faith also refused to tear her gaze from the threat, her fingers twitching to pull the five-inch knife from her black boot. She relaxed only marginally when she saw from the corner of her eye that Prue had reached her purple Vespa scooter.
“Hmmm. Something seems different,” the demon said as he scanned her over. “Let's see.
What could it be?” He paused, a finger rising to tap his chin. “Ahhh, yes. That's it. Vampire.
How curious.” He moved slowly to her left, blocking her view of Prue. “Do you know what makes your kind so pathetic?”
“Oh, I'm sure you are going to tell me, whether I give a shit or not,” she replied drily.
The demon grinned at her with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. “You let your prey get away. Interesting choice, that one.”
Every muscle in her froze at the implication of his words. She couldn't decide if he was fishing or if he had really been in the club when she had fed. Had he seen what had happened?
Shit.
“Imagine my surprise tonight, finding you still alive. How did you manage it?” The demon waved away his statement. “Oh, never mind.”
He stepped closer to Faith, and she seriously wished her arms were longer. While he would have a difficult time killing her now, it could still be done, and she felt naked without her knife.
Leaning into her, the demon whispered, “Just a word of warning. I am not big and dumb like my friend from the other night. Come at me again, and I won't just kill
you
. I'll kill your pretty little human friend. You know the one. The delectable little blonde? I bet she's a tasty morsel.”
Faith turned her head, meeting the monster's red eyes. “You do that, and there will be no place for you to hide. Every vampire on this planet will hunt you like the dog you are.”
With a smirk, the demon dissipated just as Faith yanked her knife from her boot and thrust it at the bastard. He thought he could scare her with his threats. Instead he'd only made her more determined to see him dead. But it was something she was going to have to do without Hope's participation. She wouldn't risk her twin, not against a demon with an obvious agenda.
“What the hell was that about?” Prue yelled over to Faith.
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Madelyn Ford
Faith turned to eye her friend. “Didn't I tell you to leave? Damn it, Prue, sometimes you are worse than Hope.”
“Oh shit. I'd love to see some dumb demon take a pass at me. It would add some entertainment to my day.”
Faith just shook her head. She fished through her keys until she found the one for her red Volkswagen Bug. She paused after she slid the key into the lock and looked back at Prue. “There is something seriously not right with you. You know that, right?”
“Yep,” Prue replied with a grin as she climbed onto her Vespa, slipped the matching helmet over her head, and started the scooter up. With a little
toot
and a wave, Prue was a purple blur out of the parking lot and down the street.
Before Faith went to bed that night, she glanced in on Hope, relieved to find her asleep in her own bed, alone. She didn't have to worry about who her sister might have gone home with or what psycho she might find in their kitchen the next morning. And most importantly, Hope was safe, at least for this night.
* * * *
She hadn't attempted to feed since the fiasco on Monday, and the need was weighing on her. She couldn't concentrate on anything longer than a few minutes, every muscle in her body ached, and at odd times she would just start shaking like a junkie needing a fix. The lack of control she had over her own body was embarrassing. But fixing it would require feeding, either from a man or from Bale, and neither option particularly appealed to Faith.
She spent what time she could in her office, but eventually the crowds began to overwhelm Prue, and she had to step out of her sanctuary. Slipping behind the bar, she immediately went to work making drinks for the influx of vampire wannabes. On a normal night, she and Prue worked well together, but tonight she was off. Several times Prue had to shoo her out of the way.
To her relief, the crowd finally lulled, and Faith had a moment to catch her breath. It was short-lived, though. She knew he was there before she saw him, and scanning the club confirmed her suspicions. Bale, Arak, and the bald male who had been injured the same night she had were sitting at a table surrounded by half a dozen women, all of them clamoring to get as close to the three males as possible.
Her stare ate him up. He was wearing the customary leather pants and black T-shirt, minus the leather trench coat. His hair was hanging loose around his shoulders, a thick ebony mass of silk that Faith found so very attractive. When one persistent blonde rubbed her barely covered breasts against Bale's arm and his hair fell across her skin, Faith felt the heat around her rise by ten degrees. And with a frustrated groan, she turned to find Prue watching her.
“He's been here every night. Was seriously pissed last night that you weren't. If you hadn't said he was off-limits, I would have offered my services,” her friend said, nodding toward their table.
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“Looks like he has all the offers he can handle.” The words came out sounding snitty, and she hated that she gave a damn. She had to grip the bar top to keep from rushing over there and prying the woman away from Bale.
“Yeah. It was like that for the three last nights too. Baldy wasn't with them Tuesday, but Jolly and Lord Hotness had no problem drawing a crowd by themselves. Seriously, Faith, they are good for business. Have the whole pack come in, and you'll make a killing.”
“No, thanks,” she mumbled, turning her head so she could observe without Bale knowing she was watching.
Much to Baldy's amusement, Bale nudged the blonde away from him with a scathing glare.
It was the only time Bale had taken his gaze off Faith, and it filled her with some satisfaction.
The feeling was short-lived when Bale stepped away from the table and headed straight toward her.
“Shit,” she hissed as she made a break for it, ignoring Prue's snicker.
Faith might have made it to her office if she hadn't stumbled on her way. With her luck, her floor-length leather skirt would have ended up over her head so everyone could see she only wore a skimpy black thong beneath. That, or the lace top would have split open and her boobs would have fallen out. Really, that's how her week had gone so far, so she supposed she should have been thankful Bale caught her before she hit the floor. But she wasn't. It only pointed out just how on the edge she was. She could smell the blood flowing in his veins, and her fangs extended against her will.