Point of No Return (8 page)

“It’s never too late to be happy,” I said
softly.

Devlin seemed not to hear me. “I think I knew
it even then, but I was reaching for anything I could to make my
existence worthwhile. I looked for many years for a miracle. Being
with you showed me what I’d lacked. It wasn’t power, respect, or
lovers. I needed to love someone again.” He paused, then sighed. “I
needed to love you.”

I didn’t speak.

He held me tighter. “You make me happy, being
with you, seeing you smile, hearing you laugh, and seeing your eyes
at that last moment before you reach oblivion.” He paused again.
“Your heart is racing now, Love.”

“Because of you,” I said gently, kissing him
again on the forehead. “From the words you say and the feelings
they stir in me.”
Plus worry over your mercurial moods
.

“I meant what I said, about the bathroom.
Change whatever you want. It is going to be just me and you.”

“Sleep, Dev. Don’t think any more on that
now.”

“You sleep,” he teased. “You need to rest
after last night. I’ll have Lash drive you home later today.”

Was he kicking me out?
I masked my
surprise. “I can drive home,

really—”

“No,” Devlin stated. “I want you safe, Sar,
and you are going to be tired today, no matter how much you sleep.
Lash will not mind.”

Chapter Five

As Lash drove me home that evening, my mind
retraced the events of my stay with Devlin.

His cat, Phantom, had awoken us in late
afternoon, yowling and scratching at the bedroom door. Devlin
hadn’t said anything; he just got up and left the bedroom naked. I
had grabbed his silver and gray velvet robe, put it on, and
followed him. He was in the kitchen, petting a large tiger cat that
was wolfing down food.

“This is Phantom. I usually have Serena feed
him, and he was reminding me he hadn’t been fed, that he was
hungry.”

Phantom finished his food, then began winding
about Devlin’s ankles, purring. Devlin picked him up, and handed
him to me. As I took him, I noticed his scarred face.

“What happened?”

“He was hit by a car, right before my eyes,”
Devlin said, patting Phantom on his head. “He was dying. I healed
him with a little of my blood. It left a nasty scar, but he can do
everything a cat normally does.” Devlin touched my shoulder. “Do
you want something to eat? I could order you something, and have
one of the men go and get it.”

“Just some water,” I said, yawning. “I’d
rather go back to sleep. Maybe later.”

“Do you mind if he comes with us?” Devlin
asked. “He usually sleeps in my room with me during the day.”

“Not at all,” I said, handing the cat back.
“Lead the way.”

Upstairs, Phantom curled up at the bottom of
Devlin’s bed, and was soon asleep.

Devlin lay down again in my arms. “It’s been
a long time since I slept next to a woman, since I woke up in one’s
arms. You are the first since Annabelle, Sar.”

I wanted to believe him, but remembered the
bathroom and doubted his words.

He caught my expression before I could mask
it. “I never trusted any of the women I was with over the years
enough to sleep myself, though they sometimes slept. Usually after
the sex was over, I sent them home, or to one of my guest
bedrooms.”

“Why?” I asked. “Lash was right next door,
and you had to be much stronger than they were.”

“Too many people want me dead, Sar. I’m a
heavy sleeper, and therefore, vulnerable. I found that out the hard
way: I was attacked right after I became Ruler in the States. A
woman stabbed me with a poisoned dagger as I lay beside her, still
shaking from climax. She was overeager. If she had waited for me to
fall sleep, I’d be dead.”

I squeezed him in my arms to comfort him. “I
know some poisons can hurt vampires. What happened?”

“I had enough strength in me to scream, and
my guards broke down the door. They brought me to Ravel, the
sorcerer I employed at that time. Ravel knew what the poison was,
and gave me an antidote before I succumbed. There was a good deal
of pain involved. It was a hard lesson, one I never forgot.”

“What happened to the woman?”

“I had my men find out who had sent her, and
made a harsh example of him. Then I had her killed, for daring to
do that to me.”

Devlin looked up at me, his eyes filled with
raw, deep emotion. “Do you understand now what you mean to me, to
Danial? He trusted you from the first, Sar, because you saved him.
Vampires rarely sleep with their lovers, even those they love,
because it is so dangerous for us. In a way, being intimate like
this with you is just as important to me as bedding you.” He
paused. “Maybe more important.”

I was moved by his heartfelt words. “Sleep,
Love,” I said tenderly, kissing his forehead again. “You are loved
and safe.”

Devlin gave a contented sigh, relaxing in my
arms.

It was much later when we were saying goodbye
that Devlin mentioned he was leaving that night for Canada. “I’ll
be gone a few days.”

“You know where I am, when you come back,” I
said with a smile.

“You’re sure you don’t want a bit more
healing on that one remaining bruise?”

Devlin had healed my bruises by rubbing a
tiny bit of his blood into my skin. I’d thanked him, not voicing my
worry that his healing me would be a regular thing. “No, I’m
fine.”

“I saw you cleaned out the bathroom. If you’d
like to bring anything, or you want something here for your use,
just email me a list.”

Most everything I’d left as it was, though
there were a few brands I didn’t use, so I’d tossed them. In my
cleaning, I had also discovered a few personal care items of
unsettling nature, and put them back. I had an open mind, at least
for now. “Thanks, but let me use up what’s there, before I stock it
with my own things.”

Devlin hugged me, then gave me a chaste kiss.
“If there comes a time you want to stay, you have only to tell me.
Please keep in mind the invite’s there, though I won’t push.”

Relieved I hadn’t been kicked out after all,
I hugged him again. “Be safe.”

Devlin returned to bed, propping himself up
on one arm. “Come here, if you want a last kiss, Love.”

I sat on the bed and kissed him again. “You
drive a hard bargain.”

“Tell me you’ll miss me,” he whispered. “Tell
me you love me.”

I beheld him lying there on his side, his
hair shining on the pillow, his golden eyes open and watching me. A
rush of feeling enveloped me, and I longed to throw myself into his
arms, and tell him I’d never leave. Instead, I got up on uneasy
feet and walked to the door. “I love you, and I’ll miss you,” I
said hoarsely, then shut the door quickly.

I’d only barely been able to leave. His hold
over me was that strong. It had to be the blood he’d given me. If
he’d healed that last bruise...

“You getting out or not?” Lash hissed loudly,
breaking my thoughts.

We were in my driveway. How long we’d been
there, I didn’t know. I got out with my bag and purse and shut the
door. Lash nodded once, parked my truck in my garage, then walked
off down the driveway. Halfway down it, Titus appeared, and then
they both vanished.

There was no one in the house waiting, but it
was clean, the pets even brushed, a fire warmly burning.

“Serena, I’ll have to bring you a present,” I
said aloud. “You went over and above just watching over things.” I
beckoned to Ghost and Darkness. “Let’s go, daylight’s ending.”

* * * *

That night, instead of dreaming of Dev or
Danial, I had the same dream of Theo dying in my arms. I woke
screaming for him, tears on my face, then lay there panting.

Was this some kind of premonition? Was Theo
in danger? Or was this just me needing closure?

I needed to give him the papers. I needed to
get him out of my life. Maybe then I’d get rid of the
nightmares.

* * * *

The next morning, Monday, I drove the
Expedition back to Danial’s house. I brought with me a bag of
belongings Theo had left behind. Maybe it would convince him to
sign the papers without a fuss. “You’d think he’d want to,” I
bitched aloud. “God, he’s a jerk.”

Theo had parked the vehicle of Danial’s he’d
driven to my house in his spot in my garage. Whether he had done
that to make a point or to protect it from snow, I wasn’t sure.
He’d left my garage door opener resting on the hood, next to a
haphazard pile of my CDs that had been in his truck. I’d swiped
them angrily, laying them beside me on the seat. “Who should I
offer the remote to, Danial or Devlin?” I’d said aloud. “Or should
I just put it in a drawer, because no one needs it now? I’m the one
that’s going to be travelling all the time—”

My phone let out a beep. When I stopped at a
light, I viewed a text from Cia, that said Terian had returned, but
nothing else.

Odd he hadn’t called me. Maybe he’d been
unable to locate Keriam’s family. Depressed, I decided to take a
few minutes and pick up lunch.

After a fattening meal of Chinese takeout in
Danial’s kitchen, I went looking for the faxed separation papers.
Danial had left them on his desk for me in a pile. I signed them,
and marked where Theo had to put his name with yellow “sign here”
stickers, the kind we used for clients. I put that on Theo’s desk,
beside the padded envelope that had come for him over Christmas and
the DVD he’d forgotten of “King Arthur”. I remembered watching that
last one with him, chiefly his comment during the sex scene that if
it had been him there with Guinevere instead of Arthur, he wouldn’t
have needed so much help from her to get into the moment. Instead
of smashing the DVD like I wanted, I put it down gently, and got to
work. Since Theo wasn’t here yet, it made sense to get some work
done while I waited.

There were a few emails from prospective
clients. I handled them, and then came to one from Devlin from
early this morning. He’d responded to the poem I’d sent him before
he had claimed me as his own, before Theo had moved out, before my
life had changed so much.

Sar, I loved your poem. As always, you are full of
surprises. This past weekend was beyond my expectations. I hope to
be with you again soon. I leave you with this thought by Charles
Jefferys:

Let us hope the future

As the past has been will be

will share with thee my sorrows

And thou thy joys with me.

Love, Dev

I printed the email out to take home and hang
on my fridge. I’d paid well for the privilege, so I might as well
enjoy it.

After turning off the computer, I wandered
downstairs, debating whether to knock on Danial’s door or not. If I
did, he might want more from me than I could give him right now.
But if I didn’t, he was going to think I was still angry about what
he had said yesterday.

Like so many other things lately, I had no
choice. I knocked gently. “Danial?”

“Come in, Sar.”

I opened the door. “I figured you heard
me.”

“Yes. Come to me,” he said, patting the bed
beside him.

I sat down on the bed.

“I’m sorry about what I said on the phone.
Forgive me?”

“I know you didn’t mean it. It’s okay.”

Danial switched gears. “Something is wrong
with Terian. He left a voice mail for me last Monday, telling me he
would be gone for a few days. He was gone all week, Sar. He came
back briefly this weekend, to deal with Theo’s outburst, then he
was gone again in a few minutes. Do you know what he’s up to?”

“I’m not sure,” I said, shrugging. “He
accessed some of my memories of Theo and Devlin before he left.
Afterwards, he was agitated.”

“Which memories?” Danial said, curious. “To
what purpose? It had to be something critical, for him to leave
Theoron unguarded here.”

“If I knew that, I’d understand why he left,”
I said good-naturedly.

Danial bit my neck gently, running his fangs
over me, then drew back. “Sar, you smell faintly of Devlin.”

“I just got home last night,” I said
apologetically. “I showered at Hayden.”

Danial didn’t reply, which annoyed me. I got
up and faced him. “Do you want me to go?”

“No,” Danial said quickly. “I’m sorry, Sar. I
have no right to give you grief. It is old jealousy; one that has
no place in what you, he, and I share now. Do not think on it
again, or worry about coming to me with his scent on your skin.” He
paused. “Do you want to lie here with me for a while? Nothing needs
to happen between us beyond that, if you’re not in the mood. I just
want very much for you to stay.”

“Yes,” I said, sinking back gratefully. “I
need to wait for Theo to report in to you tonight. I need him to
sign those papers, and also give him a few things that he left
behind at my house.” I paused. “And there’s more. Devlin started
trying with me, Danial.”

“Do you feel rushed?” he said. “It may take a
while to make you pregnant.”

“It’s not that, it’s his mood swings,” I
confided. “I think everything’s wonderful, and then he suddenly
angry, or melancholy. He said he feels heavy with all of his past
on him. I don’t know what to say to him when he’s like that.”

“Devlin is often like that,” Danial said.
“When he is in his moods, just let him be. He’ll take comfort from
your nearness and your love.” He snuggled close. “I do.”

I hugged him, not replying. Minutes later, I
fell asleep.

* * * *

“Sar, it’s afternoon,” Danial whispered.
“Wake up.”

Groggily, I looked over at the clock. It was
close to four. I stretched, and my hand brushed his naked hip.

I froze. Danial began to kiss me gently down
the back of my neck, his hands easing beneath my clothes to cup my
breasts. I turned to him and kissed him deeply, running my hands
over his cool skin.