Vampires' Consort: Magical Menages, Book 2 (17 page)

“Hey.” She announced her presence, although the slap of her flip-flops on the paving stone would’ve been enough. “Your friend’s in the news.”

Valarian glanced up, pausing with the tongs embracing a steak. “What friend would that be?”

“Overton. His opponent’s dead. Looks like the congressional race is his. Everything’s falling into place for him like you said. I think it’s time to worry.”

A frown creased his eternally smooth forehead. “I was already worried, which is why I broke glass and pulled the fire alarm.”

“Meaning me.” She folded her arms and stared at the sizzling slabs of meat and the skewers of vegetables over the open flame. “I’m not ready for this, not any of it. I’d like to be a mother someday in the future, but not yet.” She paused, gearing up to ask him again if he’d consider Jacob’s solution—revealing vampires as real and exposing Overton as one. It sounded increasingly like a viable option to her. But as she opened her mouth, Valarian spoke up.

“Motherhood may come sooner than you think, Akila. You may already be pregnant.”

She shook her head. “That’s not possible. I haven’t stopped taking the Pill because I hadn’t come to a decision yet.”

He rotated a vegetable skewer with concentrated intensity, refusing to meet her eyes. “Trust me, it’s possible, as possible as a vampire impregnating a human by proxy.”

She stared at him, decoding his tone of voice, which held no uncertainty. “Are you saying I could get pregnant despite any safeguards because of the special nature of this…arrangement?”

“Yes.” He set down the tongs and faced her. “Birth control can’t stop it if this child is meant to be conceived.”

Akila’s mind flew over the past few days and the numerous times Jacob had released inside her. “Did one of these mysterious nuns tell you that? Did you know and you’ve been hiding the truth from me? Oh God.”

Her hand dropped to her stomach as if she would suddenly find a bulge there and could maybe press it back into flatness.

“They suggested nature would take its course as long as all the elements of the equation were brought together. They claimed destiny could not be stopped by you or me or Jacob—none of us. This baby was meant to be born.”

“Jesus. Fuck! When were you going to tell me? You let me believe the choice was mine. You
lied
!” She sounded like a child who’d just learned Santa wasn’t real and her daddy had made those footprints on the roof. Christ, she
was
a child, who’d blundered blithely into this situation without using an ounce of caution or common sense. Her mama had warned her about her impulsive nature countless times and now all her dire forecasts seemed to be coming true. Akila might be pregnant with Satan’s child, for all she knew. Panic sheared through her and she could barely breathe.

Valarian came toward her and reached out to grasp her arms. “Calm down.”

She shook off his hands. “No. I won’t. You lied to me.” She drew a shaky breath. “I was ready to take responsibility, but on
my
terms, not to have it thrust upon me. You had no right.”

She couldn’t explain her rage in coherent words, she was so incensed—at Valarian for hiding the facts but mostly at herself for being stupid and carried along on a tide of crazy hormones.

Back in high school one of her best friends had gotten knocked up and, while Akila had never said a negative word aloud, she’d always felt exasperated at the girl for not taking precautions. Akila herself had always been very careful about sex. Until now. She’d taken Jacob at his word that condoms weren’t necessary because he didn’t carry human diseases…what idiocy had that been? And she’d felt herself secure in the armor of the Pill because Valarian hadn’t told her there was a chance nothing could stop an onslaught of Jacob’s potent paranormal sperm.

“I’m sorry,” Valarian said. “I didn’t mean to mislead you.”

“Yes, you did, or you would’ve said something.”

“All right. Maybe I did, a little, but I knew you’d come around eventually and figured we should get started.”

“Am I an Easy Bake oven? Just pop in some batter and out comes a baby?” She glared at him. “You can talk about destiny and fate all you want, but what matters is that you lied to me. You let me believe I had a choice, then you took that choice away from me.”

Her head was whirling. Pregnant. But it wasn’t necessarily true. She had to buy a test and find out. But first she had to get off this island, away from this liar who’d seduced her into believing in him. She couldn’t think for herself with him clouding her thoughts and judgment. And what about Jacob? Had he known about this but done what his master bade him?

She’d begun to care for both Valarian and Jacob very much, but it was Jacob she’d trusted the most. He was so serious and steadfast. Reliable. Now she felt the solid ground he’d provided had crumbled beneath her feet. How could he keep something this huge from her? How could both of these men promise her the decision to conceive or not to conceive was in her hands when they knew it wasn’t necessarily true?

“I want to leave now.” She clenched her jaw, trying to control the tremble in her voice and the sting of tears in her eyes. “I want to go home.”

“Akila. You can’t just leave. There’s no escaping fate and you said yourself you would have decided to bow to it eventually.”

“Maybe there’s no escaping fate, but I can escape you. I don’t want to be around a liar.” His deep, dark eyes zeroed in on hers. She felt their magnetic pull like an inescapable force. He would talk to her in that deep, rich voice, soothe her fears and have her wrapped around his finger in a few minutes. No! Damned if she’d be his thrall like Jacob.

She straightened her spine and looked away from his eyes. “Radio your pilot or whatever you have to do and get that plane back here. I want to leave today. You swore you wouldn’t keep me here, that I wasn’t a prisoner and could leave any time. Was that a lie too? Are you going to keep me caged for nine months or until I produce your precious heir? Will you have Jacob rape me if I refuse to submit?”

“You’re being ridiculous. Calm down.” His measured tone only served to further infuriate her. How dare he be cool when she was burning with anger? “You know Jacob would never force himself on you. Neither of us would. You’ve been a willing participant in everything we’ve done together.”

“I wouldn’t have been if I’d known it was all a ploy to get me knocked up.” She was beyond being reasonable and close to screaming in frustration, her emotions tumbling beyond her ability to control them. “I don’t want to listen to you anymore. Just call the damn pilot and get me out of here.”

Valarian started to reach for her again, but dropped his hand to his side, instead. “As you wish. I’ll keep my promise.”

Akila turned sharply on her heel to march from the room, but tripped on her flip-flop and almost fell before she recovered her balance and scurried away. Her graceless exit pissed her off even more.

By the time she reached her room, she was blinded by tears. She grabbed her suitcase from beneath the bed, opened it and began stuffing it full of her clothes, sniffling and wiping away the blur from her eyes all the while. Was she overreacting? Valarian had made her question herself. It was true she’d been an equal participant every step of the way. No one had forced her to sleep with Jacob or with Valarian, and contraceptives were never one hundred percent proof against pregnancy.

But it was the vampire’s lie of omission that upset her so much. He’d known information and withheld it from her. Like Miguel and his cheating ways. Even when she’d caught that bastard with Gloria, he’d claimed nothing physical had happened between them. Trying to have his cake and his cream pie too, Miguel had convinced Akila that Gloria was sad after a breakup and he was merely listening to her as a good friend should. The weasel had convinced her for a while, but eventually she’d uncovered the truth—in the Sent folder of his email. Akila read a flurry of explicit emails that linked him and Gloria in ways even Miguel couldn’t explain away, and she’d kicked Miguel out of her apartment and her life the next day.

She shoved the last of her dirty clothes in the bag and struggled to zip it. If Valarian kept his word, by the time Jacob returned tomorrow she’d be gone. Was that fair to him? Was any of this his fault or was he as clueless as she? She might call him and find out, but it wouldn’t change anything. Right now, pregnant or not, she simply needed to get away from both men and sort things out on her own. And she didn’t want her budding feelings for Jacob—or Valarian—to influence whatever decisions she might make.

When she was finished packing, she returned to the computer terminal where she’d been so happy just an hour before. She sat, prepared to make flight reservations, but realized she didn’t know when she’d be returned to the mainland.

Valarian appeared in the doorway. “My private plane will be here soon. I’ve booked you a flight from Miami to Chicago for early evening. No layover. You should be home well before midnight.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“Will you reconsider, Akila? I’m sorry I misled you, but everything else still holds true. You’re needed here. And wanted. Apart from all this prophecy business, I’ve become extremely fond of you. And I believe Jacob is halfway in love with you as well.”

She held up her hand. “I can’t hear that right now. Please don’t try to convince me. I need some time and space. When can I expect the plane?”

“Within the hour.” Valarian remained poised in the doorway another minute that felt like an excruciating year. She thought he might say more, but in the end he bowed his head and left her alone.

With time to kill, she decided to text a few of her close friends and tell them to expect her back in Chicago. Then she checked incoming messages that she’d lately been ignoring.

Her mom’s last text was menacingly curt. “We need to talk. Return my calls!”

Of course she was pissed. Why wouldn’t she be? Akila had been keeping her out of the loop ever since she’d lost her job and couldn’t find another. She hadn’t wanted to call until she had good news to report—and definitely hadn’t wanted to explain her position working for Valarian Kaspan. Well, she couldn’t deal with her mom today. Soon enough she might be calling to tell her the very unwelcome news that she was pregnant.

Akila decided to wait at the airstrip for the plane to come in. The longer she stayed in this house, the more she felt her will to go weaken. But she couldn’t flee without at least saying goodbye to Valarian. She found him in the living room, feeding his birds, arm outstretched into their cage. The birds perched on his long fingers and fed from his palm. How delicate and careful he was with tiny creatures he could so easily crush or devour. She wished he’d been as careful about telling the truth to her.

When he turned his gaze on her, she felt her insides begin to go mushy. All she had to do was forgive him an omission of facts and step into his arms. She knew he’d welcome her. The memory of them having sex—right over there, pressed against the glass—swept through her.

“I won’t ask you again to reconsider,” he said, shoring up her eroding will. “But I hope that after you’ve had some time to yourself you’ll come back to us. Jacob and I will be waiting for you. While you’re home, be watchful. If you see anyone out of the ordinary or feel you’re being watched, let me know. If Overton knows about you, I’m concerned for your safety.”

“Thank you.” She hated that she felt grateful for his concern. She hated that just the thought of being back in Chicago was making her miss both Jacob’s soulful warmth and Valarian’s playful sense of humor. She’d come to care for these two men so quickly.

It was hard to rouse her earlier righteous anger. She needed it now to sweep her the rest of the way out the door. But she’d have to do it on her own.

“Goodbye.” She turned and walked out of the room with her suitcase rolling behind her.

Within fifteen minutes she was buckled into a seat on a plane taxiing down the runway. The blue-green ocean flashed past the window, the strip of white sand, palm trees, flowers. But she couldn’t see Valarian’s house until the bird rose in the air, then she got a great view of the building’s red-tiled roofs before it receded in the distance.

She’d been on the island for only a little over a week, a week in which her life had been altered forever. Flying back to Chicago no longer felt like returning home. Akila very much feared she could never return to “normal” life and that this trip was only an illusion of escape from her destiny.

For better or worse, her place was now with a vampire and his thrall. And if that wasn’t the pitch for a blockbuster movie, she didn’t know what was.

Chapter Thirteen

Long before Jacob heard Valarian’s voice on the cell phone, he knew something was wrong. He had the phone on vibrate as he sat at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing, and it nearly drilled a hole in his leg with its constant buzzing.

Finally, he slipped the phone out of his pocket and read the text message.
Jacob, take next flight to Chicago. Akila’s gone home. I’ll join you soon.

His stomach dropped. What the hell had the bloody bastard done to send her running? He mentally cursed his master as he stuffed files in his briefcase and made an excuse of ill health to the lawyer sitting next to him. Then he made a hasty exit from the chamber, flipping open the phone and dialing home.

“What happened?”

“I told her there’s a possibility she’s already pregnant. She got mad and wanted to leave. I couldn’t keep her, but I don’t want her out there alone. You need to go to Chicago and keep watch over her until I get there. I’ll fly as soon as it’s dark.”

Jacob’s head whirled, trying to wrap around the abrupt change in circumstances. When he’d left home early that morning, everything had been fine. Following an uneventful trip, he’d made his obligatory appearance on Valarian’s behalf at the hearing on aid to third world countries.

He descended the steps of the House office building and stood in the shade to hail a taxi. “What do you mean, she might be pregnant? I thought Akila was still on birth control. She told me she wasn’t ready to commit to this baby plan yet.”