Текст книги "Wicked Surrender"
Автор книги: T. A. Grey
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Wicked Surrender
The Kategan Alphas 3
By
T. A. Grey
Chapter One
Vera wanted nothing more than to be back on her couch with a book.
The atmosphere at the Kategan’s house was happy and bustling with excitement. Vane grilled on the outdoor barbeque while his pregnant mate Sarina sat nearby chatting with her best friend Alison. Rome, the youngest of the brothers, sipped a beer and talked over the grill to Vane.
The scene was nice, almost perfect, but Vera Kategan felt a grueling pain in her stomach. It wasn’t from anything physical though but something far deeper and emotional. Something that she didn’t want to think about but her mind wouldn’t let her forget.
Two of her three brothers were mated and disgustingly happy, but she wasn’t happy. Happy for them, yes. She could honestly say that. While she was concerned for her older brother Darien, she knew better than to be overly worried. If there was any man who could take care of himself, even in the worse of situations, it was Darien. He wasn’t just a rock, but a solid boulder of stability. His stomach probably wouldn’t get sick at the sight of Sarina’s rounded belly.
It was petty and stupid; she was petty. Why she couldn’t just be happy and content with her life was the agonizing question that had been driving her lonely nights. But now that was all going to change.
Vera shimmied her way into a lawn chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Big bro, we need to chat business.”
All conversation stymied to a stop. It was hard, but she barely managed to maintain her aloof smile. Vane flipped the burgers over before answering.
“What business is that?”
“The treaty with the vampire clan is coming up soon. With Sarina pregnant, I think it’d be a smart choice to send me so that you can stay here with her.” If she thought the atmosphere was still before she was wrong. It was absolutely suffocating now, and all those unnerving eyes were focused on her.
“Actually, I was just going to take Sarina with me.” Vera shot a quick glance to Sarina as if searching for confirmation that his mate was indeed very pregnant. Judging by the big round belly she had, going on she was pretty sure she was.
“Wait, wait. Are you telling me, Master Alpha, that you’re willing, and happy, to take your near—to-bursting-pregnant mate into possible enemy territory.” Her brother’s vicious growl was accompanied by the spatula in his hand snapping in half.
Vera shrugged and leaned back in her seat. “I prove my point. You can’t go. You’ll be beating every vamp’s face that even looks in her direction let alone raises a voice during the negotiations.” Sarina nodded at her with a smile. At least she had one person on her side; Sarina didn’t look like she enjoyed the idea of going either.
“She’s right Vane. Maybe you should let her go. Just send Darien with her,” Rome said and took a sip of his brew.
Vane’s shoulders stiffened. He was practically growling when he answered, “I can’t send Darien with her. He’s gone on a journey. Why don’t you go with her, Roman?”
Everyone started speaking at once. Vera’s half-shout was the only one to get through it all. “What the hell do you mean he’s gone on a journey? You’ve got to be kidding me. I just saw him back at Rome and Alison’s mating ceremony. He looked fine.”
Vane’s lips pressed flat. “Yeah, well apparently he’s not fine. And he needs time to himself. He told me he was leaving two weeks ago.”
“Mother fuck,” Rome cursed, “he’s been gone that long, and you haven’t even told us?” Alison stood and rushed over to her mate to wrap her body around his. The tension in his body relaxed instantly. Vera felt that hard pain in her gut again. Not again, dammit.
“He told me not to say anything if I didn’t have to. So I didn’t. I respected his wishes. Now get over it. All of you. Lumara, do you need anything?”
It was shocking how soft and sweet his voice got when he spoke to his mate. Her cheeks were high with color when she shook her head no at him.
The crunch of footsteps on gravel brought all conversation to a halt. Vera didn’t think this could get any harder, but at the sight of Jackson Marsh, she knew there was no hope of turning tonight into a good one.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” The dark threat coming from Rome was true enough that Vera went to stand between her brother and the human.
Though why she should even give a shit, she wasn’t sure. It was only because she didn’t want the cops called.
She watched Jackson’s jaw clench so hard she was surprised it didn’t snap. “I was invited.”
Rome couldn’t hide his surprised reaction. “By who?”
Jackson looked behind Rome and nodded to a pink-faced Alison. Rome looked down at his mate and back at Jackson before finally, stubbornly nodding. He turned towards his mate and grabbed her by the shoulders as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to pull her close or shake the hell out of her.
“Why did you bring him here? You know how I feel about this.”
“Baby, I asked him to come because this is a family barbeque and no matter how unhappy you are with him he still means a lot to you. I know it, and I think you do too. I don’t blame him for what happened, and you shouldn’t either. Sandra was put there to set him up; it was on purpose. It was Conlin’s fault, baby. He planned it all.”
Rome shook his head and pointed a hard finger at Jackson. “He should have known better. He does know better than to let some pussy sway him. He was a fucking soldier for Christ’s sake. He fought in a war, but couldn’t do his duty and protect my mate when she was in danger.”
“Fuck this—” Jackson muttered and spun around to leave.
“No, wait!” Vane’s hard voice broke through the atmosphere like a true leader, an Alpha. When he spoke all eyes and ears turned to him. “He stays. This fight between you and him has to stop sometime. Listen to your mate, Rome.”
Sarina stepped forward and held out her hand to Jackson who shook it, reluctantly. He looked like he was greatly regretting his decision to come here, and judging by the withering glare he sent Alison, he’d probably been misinformed about his welcome.
“Come on, take a seat, grab a beer,” Sarina said. Jackson nodded, but his eyes swung not to the beer but to her.
Her stomach clenched with an all new feeling now. Damn. She hated this man. She didn’t even know what it was. They’d hardly ever spoken and yet the man ground on her nerves like a pain in the ass. He grabbed a beer and took the seat closet to hers then scooted it another few inches closer.
He was seriously trying her patience.
The man had to be a mind reader, because he knew all the moves to piss her off. Purposely crossing her leg away from him, she turned away and pretended that the big, hunky human wasn’t sitting next to her. Hunky? Oh, God, she’d actually just thought that. Shoot me now, God, please.
“Vane, about what we were discussing, I really think I’d make the perfect liaison. I’ve gone with you all the times in the past; I know the treaty like I do my own handwriting. Plus it’s safer sending just me than risking your own mate.” She knew she’d hit the right mark when he sucked in a deep breath.
“Fine, you can go as ambassador but Rome will go with you.” Vera was saved from protesting by Rome.
“I can’t go. Alison and I have tickets for Italy. Remember, I told you about this? It’s our honeymoon, and I’m not going to have her miss out on it when I know Vera is more than capable of doing this.” Vera sent her brother a thank-you smile and he winked back at her.
Vane flipped off the grill, started plating the burgers, and grilled corn. The smells were good enough to have her stomach growling. Vane set the plates down and crossed his big arms as he turned to her. Uh oh. She knew that face. Whatever he had to say wasn’t going to bode well for her.
“All right. You can go but under my conditions.”
He seemed to be waiting for an answer so she hesitantly said, “Mmmkay, what?”
“You will go, but you will go with a guardian.” Vera’s bubble of laughter had him glaring at her harder.
“Vane, I’m twenty-seven, not a child. I don’t need a parent to chaperone me to the dance.” The corner of his lips fought to hide a smile.
“No, but you’re going into what could potentially be enemy territory. I’m not sending my sister alone. You’ll have a guardian.”
She laughed loud and hard. “Who? Not you, not Rome. A sentry? You’d risk losing territory protection for this, this little negotiation.”
“You know it’s not a little negotiation, Vera. No, you’ll go and he will be your guardian.”
Vera followed the direction he was pointing at even knowing where it was going, but hoping that if she followed its path, she’d find the Cookie Monster, Hannibal Lector, hell, anybody, there besides Jackson. But as soon as her gaze landed on him, her stomach did a little flip, and her mouth fell open. No, no, no. She couldn’t go with Jackson.
“Absolutely not,” she said briskly. She was not going to negotiate a treaty with vampires when this stupid human didn’t even know they existed, well, probably anyways.
“Hear me out, Vera. This could be a prime opportunity for Jackson to prove the error of his ways in the past. This could be a chance for him to salvage his relationship with Rome.”
Oh, no. Rome was nodding gravely as if he’d already jumped on the let’s-torture-Vera bandwagon.
Rome met Jackson face to face. To give the human credit, he didn’t back down but actually looked strong and sturdy as if he’d stand a chance in a fight against a lykaen. Stupid human.
Sexy human too. He was tall with short, buzzed hair and a short growth of hair on his face. Vera felt her body growing hot and quickly staunched the flow of desire before she did something stupid like drool.
“Jacks, I know I’ve been pissed, but what do you think of this. You help my sister—” Vera snorted and didn’t bother to hide it. Rome and Jackson sent her a quick look before continuing their evil plan. “You take care of her and protect her on this trip, and I will forgive you of all past transgressions. It will be forgotten.”
The air grew absolutely silent. Everyone held their breath looking from one man to the other. Vera’s grip tightened on the lawn chair. Please say no, please say no.
Jackson nodded slowly as if coming to a realization. He stuck out his hand and it was met with a hard, vigorous shake, and then Rome clasped him into a hard, brutal hug. Vera was surprised the human’s ribs didn’t snap from the pressure. Rome must be going easy on him.
When they broke apart, they both were full of grins. The tension dissipated like it never happened. Vera grumbled and lounged back in her seat.
“I’d be happy and honored to take care of your sister. Anything for you, brother. Semper Fi.” Rome smiled and clapped him hard on the back. “Semper Fi,” Rome said.
“Just what is it I have to do? Where am I taking her? You mentioned an ambassador position. Is this lykaen politics with the government or something?”
Vera stiffened in her seat and waited to see Jackson’s reaction. Rome cleared his throat, then took a swallow of his beer, then when that wasn’t good enough he chugged the last half the bottle and tossed it away.
“Yeah, well, you’ll be Vera’s guardian when she goes to negotiate the Kategan’s peace treaty with the vampires.”
Jackson quirked his head to the side. “The Vam whos?” Vera was biting her lip so hard that she had to look away and cover her face to keep from showing her laughter.
“The vampires.”
“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
Rome grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, it’s exactly what you think it is, brother.”
Chapter Two
This was all some joke. It had to be. It was payback organized by Rome, and this whole charade would end with a camera crew jumping out at him say “aha!” Yeah, that was closer to reality than vampires were.
Fuck, his head throbbed like a disco club, any harder and Vera would hear it in the seat next to him and start dancing. Nah, she didn’t look like the dancing type. Even in her soft, floral dress that teased her knees, he knew she wouldn’t be some hardcore clubber type. Ballroom, waltzing, spinning around on the tips of her little feet, that’s where she’d be, and she’d looked just as elegant and posed as she did driving.
Jackson rubbed a hand over his face. There had to be something wrong with him. Since when did he go comparing women’s clothing and dance styles? Yeah, never was the fucking answer. There must have been something in that barbeque. Damn if there wasn’t something about Vera Kategan that just tweaked his ass. The woman had the uncanny ability to make him feel like nothing more than scum on the bottom of her strappy little heels.
He really didn’t like that feeling. It was the same feeling he’d had when he’d first entered the military when he hit eighteen. The drill sergeant shouted in his face spraying spit with ever “sir” and “at attention” he said. He’d stood up to him, stared him back in the eyes, and screamed his part right back. He’d shown his drill sergeant he did indeed have a pair of balls—big ones in fact. Even as he stood up his in sergeant’s face, he’d felt the cruel stabs of insecurity. Could he get through this? What if he wasn’t strong enough? What if he tripped over his fucking feet while doing PT and sent the whole line tumbling down the fucking hill?
Christ that woman had barely said ten words to him since they arrived in St. Louis and already he was anxious as a busybody old lady. He should be happy, hell, thrilled even. He wasn’t one for idle conversation. But dammit, women talked to him, loved talking to him, even if it was only to pull his cock out eventually. He used to hate it. His face was square and hard, his body strong and lithe. He had to keep it that way for his job.
When he was younger, he hated that he didn’t have to work to get laid. It was too easy. He almost felt like a cad taking it when it was offered.
Shit, he wasn’t any better now. He’d almost fucked Rome’s ex Sandra when he should have been on guard. God did he fuck up. He strove for perfection in his job. The instance with Sandra was the fuck up of his career. He still couldn’t believe he did that. Just thinking about it didn’t make sense; it must have been someone else who betrayed his friend to try to get some quick tail.
And what defense did he have? A pathetic one, that’s for sure. He hadn’t known Sandra was his ex fling, and he sure as shit didn’t know she was working with Conlin, and even if he had, it was no excuse. He never should have left his post. He’d fucked up royally, but he was 100% on board with fixing Rome and his’ relationship. The man had helped him when he’d still been in the darkest part of his life.
“God dammit, will you say something already?” Wow, smooth move Jacks. She glared at him, but whatever. It was basically her fault anyways. “Well?” he prompted, when she remained quiet.
“I didn’t have anything to talk about before, and I still don’t. Unless that is you want to talk about how much of a jerk you are.”
Jacks didn’t even try to hide it, he grinned big. Why the thought of pissing her off made him happy, he didn’t know, but that must be a very bad sign. “Why am I jerk?”
She looked at him, astonished. “Seriously? ‘God dammit, blah blah blah blah.’ You don’t remember just saying that to me. It was a borderline growl and shout, by the way.”
He turned to look out the window so she wouldn’t see the laugh he was fighting. If only she wasn’t her then maybe he could stand her. But all it took was one look at her fancy dress, shiny shoes, and pearl necklace to know she was so not for him. He needed a woman who could comfortably eat at a burger shack, not five-star dining. She'd probably eat five filet mignons in one night and clean him out of the bank in a week.
“Oh come on, saying that one line automatically makes me a dick?” A heavy, soft sigh followed his question. It made him wonder, no, no, couldn’t think about that.
“I didn’t say you were a dick, just a jerk, and yes, growling at me does automatically make you a jerk. Besides, I’ve been around you enough to know that you are in fact nothing but a jerk—and that’s putting it lightly. You should be thankful.” She didn’t quite mutter the words, but it was close.
“And what in your prissy little book has qualified me as a jerk exactly? It’s not like we’ve had deep conversations. I’ve seen you all of a handful of times, and lady, you’ve had your panties in a twist each time.” Her fingers dug so hard into the steering wheel he was surprised it didn’t bend.
She worked her jaw side to side before answering in a measured, quiet voice. “First off, you have no right to say something like that. I do not have my panties in a twist, and if they were then it’s none of your business—ever. Secondly, I know enough about you to know you’re a jerk. My God, you left my sister-in-law helpless to a crazy psychopath while you went and fucked my brother’s ex-girlfriend! How’s that not being a jerk?” Her words rose and rose until she was nearly shouting in the small confines of the car.
Vera shot a look at him to see his face completely shut down. The grin and bright eyes were gone, replaced instead by a cold mask that ate at her. She’d done that and she wanted to rip it off and put the stupid smile back on. Damn this man, why did he have to make everything difficult?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
She was cut off with sharp shake of his head. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Vera hated to admit it, but she missed hearing him talk.
# # #
The vampire’s mansion lived up to its name The Royal One. It had massive towering windows in the front adorned at the top by intricate arches pointing to the sky. Two black gargoyles coiled menacingly over the front door, taunting those who dared to enter.
For Vera, the house was a reminder, a reminder of the past she sorely didn’t want to dredge up.
As the massive front doors parted and out stepped a beautiful, hauntingly familiar face, Vera wished she’d given this trip a second thought. How had she thought this wouldn’t be hard? Seeing Dmetri Demidov was anything but easy.
A stodgy valet with a thick head of brown hair slicked back from his face waited for her to pull to a stop.
“Who is he?”
Vera set the car in park and sighed, telling herself that she was the one who’d wanted to come here and do this, to get away from her happy brothers.
“That’s Henry. I don’t know his last name. He’s been the valet here for years.”
“No. Who’s that?” Uh oh. Jacks had just noticed Dmetri—her ex lover.
“That is...Dmetri.”
He shot a cutting look to her that spoke more than words. The look said he wasn’t an idiot. “He an old friend or what?”
“Um—” Vera sighed in relief when the Valet opened her door with a sweeping bow. She hurried out of the car. Jacks cursed and got out after her.
“You’re not getting out of this,” he said when he reached her; his voice was a lethal growl.
The fact that she shivered at the sound of his voice didn’t escape his notice. Eyes darkened to a seductive light; he watched her response like a predator catching whiff of prey. Vera’s breath caught in her throat and she had to remind herself that she was the predator.
He’s only human.
“I shall park your car, my lady. Master Demidov will escort you to your room. I hope you have an enjoyable stay.”
She didn’t recall telling herself to say thank you to the valet but knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she did. Seeing Dmetri striding towards her sent her mind buzzing in a whirl.
Flashes of memory came back as if she’d been hiding them deep inside her the whole time. Their sweat-slicked bodies writhing against each other in the throes of passion, lips hanging together in a soft, teasing press. Their time together had been brief and so memorable that when she stared long enough at his mouth, she could practically remember their taste again.
His voice was just as she remembered, dark and accented with his Slavic decent. “Vera, it’s so good to see you.” Even the way he said the words hinted of past times, a time when he’d whispered her name into her ear as he shuddered over her. Yet strangely, seeing him, remembering their past brought not even a lick of warmth to her. Instead, it left her feeling cold. He was a reminder. A reminder of pain and heartache.
“Dmetri, it’s been a long time.” He kissed her on first one cheek then the other, lingering longer than customary. Jackson tensed and growled under his breath. It was soft but she was certain both she and Dmetri’s keen hearing picked up the sound.
“And who’s this...human,” he asked brushing a thick lock of his long blonde hair over his shoulder.
“I’m her guardian, Jackson Marsh.” He thrust out his hand and shook her ex lover’s hand hard enough that Dmetri’s hand was red when he pulled away.
Dmetri’s smirk showed that he hadn’t missed a thing. “Vane called and said he wouldn’t be able to make it this year. How unfortunate. He did say he was sending a guardian but I assumed it was Roman or Darien.” He lifted one thick eyebrow and smirked.
Vera had dated him long enough to know what that smirk meant—he thought this was a joke. She suddenly had the urge to slap him and tell him that Jacks was a strong fighter and capable of being her guardian.
“It’s getting late. Why don’t you just show us to our rooms?” Dmetri nodded, still with that smug look, and led them through the front doors of the Demidov House.
Vera glanced over at Jacks and nearly stumbled into Dmetri as she did so. Jacks wasn’t floored with the interior of the mansion as she had been when she first saw the luxurious home. Magnificent had been her first thought.
The interior of the mansion opened up into a great space as tall as it was wide. A sweeping, grand staircase went up then parted on either side to lead to the next floor. A rich, ancient rug in red and gold swirls tiled the deep staircase.
The staircase had made her gasp when she first saw it, made her want one of her own. But now, years later, she no longer drooled over the wood paneled walls with exquisite paintings of the Demidov family nor of the adjoining waist—tall vases that lined the bottom stair. The mansion reeked of arrogance and wealth, something she no longer wanted.
Yet, Jacks appeared completely oblivious to his surroundings as Dmetri led them up the staircase and down a series of hallways. His eyes didn’t stay arrested for even a moment on the expensive, pure gold chalices that sat upon a side-serving table or even on the grand chandelier that hung high above the mahogany staircase.
She realized with surprise that instead, his eyes strayed towards each set of windows and their locks as if categorizing them by priority. His eyes swept up the staircase and to the other side of the hallway where the door to the outside balcony was. It was as if he was assessing the house for exits and risks. And he probably was.
For the first time since they started this trip, she realized that Jackson Marsh might be more dangerous than she thought. Rome did trust him or used to anyways. She cringed to think how badly Jacks had fucked up. He strayed from his duty when his friend needed him the most. Everyone messed up, it was impossible not to in life. That was one lesson she’d learned a long time ago, but to mess up on such a serious scale—the torture of his friend’s mate—was catastrophic especially to a lykaen.
“Here you are. You’ll be staying in the Diana Sascha Suite.” She was familiar with the suite so aptly named after his father’s nickname for Dmetri’s mother. It was also where they’d first made love. Christ, as if she really needed the reminder? He was just doing it on purpose. She’d been done with Dmetri for years. She had the urge to tell him that to his face but bit her tongue.
“If you need anything at all just ring for me or Henry. Our numbers are the same.” He caught Vera’s arm as she started into the room. “I’d like to have a word with you.” Vera stifled a sigh; she so didn’t want one with him. Seeing that past flung right back in her face wasn’t something she enjoyed.
Turning towards him, she plastered a cool smile on her face. “I’m tired, Dmetri. Let’s talk tomorrow, okay?”
His brow furrowed but he nodded—thank God for small favors. She oh so politely shut the door in his face. Hey, a woman had to do what she had to do.
When she turned back around Jacks was there invading her space with his big body. The man was lean, cut with muscle, and tall. He easily had to weigh three of her...or maybe ten? She mentally shrugged; she was never good with math. But did he have to tower over her like that? If he wrapped his arms around her, she’d probably lose herself inside him.
She nibbled on her lip and pondered what his chest would feel like under her palms. Hard with the crisp coils of dark hair over his pecks, or would his abs be ripped into hard rolls of muscle, or maybe he was completely smooth of hair leaving only tan skin to lick. Her cheeks heated and she looked away quickly.
“You gonna tell me what all that was about?” Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and shook her head at him.
When she tried to side step him, he only crowded her further. She had only two choices then. Let his body rub over her—and she didn’t think the a/c was on high enough for that—or scoot back against the door like a coward.
She scooted back against the door.
I’m not a coward. I’m not a coward.
When his hand reached to cup the nape of her neck, Vera struggled to breath, fought not to let her eyes flutter shut. The man’s touch was like pure warm electricity burning a through her blood. It warmed her, made her forget all about this room and Dmetri.
“Tell me what’s with you and Dmetri.” He sneered the name with a grimace as if just saying it disgusted him. “Something’s obviously there and I need to know about it.” The angles of his face were drawn into a savage frown.
“Nothing, nothing at all...and it’s not any of your business.”
There, good, she’d added on that last part. Her bravado was quickly slipping though, and when his blue eyes darkened to a color so dark they were almost black, she knew he was going kiss her. Or strangle her.
Surprisingly she was hoping for the first.
He didn’t kiss her.
And he didn’t strangle her.
She was still telling herself she wasn’t disappointed the next morning.
