I pushed at him, but he only deepened the kiss and slid his tongue into my mouth. I bit it.
A small nip wasn’t enough to transfer any of my trusty vamp virus to him but it did manage to get him to jerk back from me. He held a hand to his mouth.
“Don’t try that again,” I said darkly.
His eyes narrowed and he grabbed my arm tight enough to hurt. “I usually take what I want when I want it.”
“I’ll remember that if I have to fill out a police report.” I shook my head. “See? I knew the real Gideon was in there somewhere under that nice shiny surface.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And yet you can’t seem to stay away from me, can you? And you willingly kissed me before. Don’t try to deny it.”
My stomach sank. “I won’t deny it. But listen to me, Gideon. I don’t care what you say to me or what you try to make me believe, the only reason I’m doing what you want me to do is that you’re forcing me to. You threatened my friends. You’re holding the grimoire as ransom to use against me.”
“I do regret having to use such extreme measures, but I was very desperate for you to agree to what I need from you. I promise to make it up to you one day. Rethink staying with me tonight. We could explore if we have anything more between us than our many differences.” He slid his hand down my back to the small of my spine.
I shook my head. “Goodnight, Gideon. This meeting is over.”
His expression darkened and his grip on me tightened for a moment before he let me go.
“Until next time.”
I opened the door and walked out of his suite without looking back, feeling completely and totally shaken.
I was in deep shit.
Let me repeat that: Deep. Shit.
What the hell had just happened? I’d been so in control when I got there. Totally. Then he was dealing with the pain, we talked about what a psychopath he was for a while, his story had made me think he might have a redemptive bone in his body buried down somewhere deep, I’d given him some of my blood… and then I’d kissed him.
Or, rather, he’d kissed me.
Semantics. Kissing had occurred.
I hated him. I did.
Or, at least, I tried to convince myself of that.
Was this a version of Stockholm Syndrome? When the kidnapped victim start to empathize with her captor? Did I really believe that he wanted to change his evil ways after all these years?
I had to go see a shrink. Possibly check myself into a rubber room. The sooner the better.
At least I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I couldn’t possibly be falling in love with him. After all, I was already in love with Thierry.
What I felt for Gideon was… something else. Something darker and much scarier. Only I had no idea what to call it.
I walked down Bloor Street and tried not to think about anything. Thinking hurt.
Currently, a lot.
Even without thinking, I could sense that someone was following me. And if I could sense it, that meant it was my trusty, masked bodyguard whom my spidey senses alerted me to whenever he was within twenty paces.
Maybe since he was super old he cast off some über-master vampire vibes. Thierry and I sometimes had a connection like that. I didn’t use it very often because keeping tabs on his whereabouts was also known as “crazy girlfriend behavior.” But if I really needed to know where he was I could reach out—using a ton of concentration—and pinpoint his location like an internal GPS tracker. At the moment, however, I didn’t have a lot of concentration to spare.
I stopped walking, turned around, but couldn’t see him. I let out a shuddery breath. I still felt unsteady after seeing Gideon. He hadn’t taken very much blood at all, but I still felt a bit weak.
It had nothing to do with the blood.
Lurky McLurkalot was starting to annoy me. The least he could do was make his presence known. Say “hi” or something. I’d settle for a polite nod in my general direction.
“I want to talk to you,” I said, loud enough so the Red Devil could hear me. A woman gave me a strange look as she passed by. “Not you. Carry on.”
What was I going to say to him? I didn’t really know. But I did know I wanted some answers. If Thierry refused to tell me anything about the reclusive vampire vigilante, then maybe the masked man in question would be a little more forthcoming about himself.
I kept walking till I got to the next block. There was an Italian restaurant on the corner with a half-empty parking lot. I walked around to the back of it and waited, leaning heavily against the exterior wall. It didn’t take long before a dark shadow loomed and the
Red Devil appeared. He didn’t move closer to me, instead staying about twelve feet away and out of the light of the security lamp I stood under. His face was shadowed and I could see little more than the mask, dark hair, and a long dark coat.
He studied me silently.
“Who are you?” I asked simply.
“Someone who wants to help.” He spoke in a harsh whisper I had to strain to hear.
I eyed him skeptically. “Where have you been for a hundred years?”
“Around.”
So incredibly insightful. I was overwhelmed by information. “Great answer. Really.”
He was quiet for another moment. “I know you went to see Gideon again. I waited outside the hotel for you.”
“Lurking in the shadows.”
“It’s what I do.”
“Quinn told me what you plan to do. Kill Gideon.”
His lips thinned. “Do you take issue with that decision?”
My bottom lip quivered. “Maybe I’m just not comfortable with the idea of murder.”
“You seem upset.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. Did something bad happen?”