“I’m sorry. You’ll only have to dress that way when we leave my home.”
“How often will that be?”
“I’m not leaving you alone, so you’ll go to work with me.”
“More judging?”
“Sometimes. I have a lot of meetings, too, in the main hosting room with various clansman about our general welfare and needs.”
“That’s what Kelzeb called your living room downstairs.”
“That’s the formal living room. We host friends there. It’s an old term. We have a clan hosting room where I keep a desk and hold meetings. It isn’t inside my home.”
“Oh.” She gave her attention to the robe and lifted it, studying it. “Nice. It belongs to a woman. Who donated it?”
He said nothing, so she stared at him. He looked uncomfortable.
She dropped the robe as if it were hot. Jealousy was the emotion that hit her. She resented that, too. It shouldn’t matter if Aveoth had tried to give her something that had probably belonged to one of his ex-girlfriends. She sure didn’t plan on becoming his new one.
“I’ll just put my dirty clothes on.”
“Use the robe.”
“No thanks.”
The frown lines around his mouth deepened.
“I’ll guess that belonged to someone you used to sleep with.” She figured that wasn’t a far stretch to make. “Tacky, Wings. Very tacky.”
“She never wore it. It was something I bought as a gift. She died before her birthday.”
A flash of pain showed on his face. It made her inwardly wince at her harsh words. “I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t in love with her. The robe is new. You should wear it. It’s the only feminine thing I had. I sent her belongings back to her family but forgot about the robe until I was searching through my closet to find something for you to wear.”
“I’m good in my own clothes.”
“I never slept with her.” He stepped closer. “We were occasional lovers but she slumbered in a guestroom below. This room and my bedroom were off limits to Lane.”
Jill found that kind of sad and cold at the same time. “That doesn’t help any.”
Aveoth lifted his hand and ran it through his hair. He strode over to the bed and sat down hard. “Damn. I’m making a mess of this.” He locked gazes with her. “You’re as foreign to me as I am to you. Everything I say seems to make you dislike me. I want things to work between us.”
To see him looking and sounding so vulnerable tugged at her heart. It reminded her of what a crappy childhood he’d had, the stories he’d told her. An image flashed of a small boy with wings breaking the rules to spend time with his mother. There was so much she didn’t know about him. “Tell me about this ex of yours.”
“I’m the lord of this clan, Jill. Certain things have been expected of me. Lane was one of them. She was a VampLycan.”
Jill moved closer and actually sat on the bed a few feet from him. “I don’t understand. What did your girlfriend have to do with your clan?”
“Unmated lords tend to keep a lover. It’s a status thing.” He sighed, rubbing his legs with both hands and staring at the rug on the floor. “I didn’t have one for years. It wasn’t a secret, so sometimes women in the clan would offer to become my lover. I turned them all down. They didn’t want me. To be the lover of a lord puts them in a position to expect certain favors and advantages. I only accepted Lane because she wasn’t from my clan, and she didn’t want anything from me except to escape her own. I understood that.”
“Why did she want to escape her clan?”
“She had fallen in love with a man she’d become a lover to. They were together for seven years. He was an enforcer who was sent on missions sometimes. He went to help a Lycan pack that was being attacked by Vampires and met a woman there.” Aveoth turned his head to stare at her. “This VampLycan had lost his own mate to death years before Lane came into his life. He swore he wouldn’t take another mate, but Lane had hoped he would fall in love with her. Sometimes a deep bond grows between lovers. They aren’t true mates, but they make a lifelong commitment to be together. Instead, he fell in lust with a Lycan on that mission, and she agreed to come home with him if he’d make her his mate. He made that commitment to her. It deeply hurt Lane.”
“Oh man. That’s so messed up.” Jill felt bad for the woman.
“Lane couldn’t stand to see them together, and told me as much when she pleaded her case to become my lover. I accepted her. I thought I was doing a good thing. It would give her time to heal and part of me hoped she’d meet someone here who would pull at her heart.”
That stunned her. “You wanted her to fall for someone else while she was with you?”
“We weren’t what you’d consider in a relationship. I allowed her to live in my home. Lycans go into heat, and Gargoyles experience the same thing, only we call it the ravage. Do you know what that is?”
“I can figure it out. I fed a stray cat for a while. She wasn’t fixed and I couldn’t catch her to take her to a vet. She’d go into heat and disappear for days to go meet up with boy cats.”
Aveoth nodded. “It’s the only time I went to Lane’s bed. And she needed me when she was in heat. It was just sex. I didn’t even sleep next to her. I’d leave her bed to go to my own. It worked for us both. Then one day I came home and couldn’t find her. She’d jumped to her death. I didn’t know she had grown despondent here. She could have returned home at any time. I made sure she knew she was free to leave.”
Unlike me. Jill didn’t say it aloud. “I’m sorry. I’ve heard most people who are really set to commit suicide don’t give warning signs that are easy to pick up, or it’s often a sudden decision. They just do it so no one can stop them.”
He stared at the rug again. “I was angry that she died. Some of my clan believe I might have thrown her off my ledge. I didn’t. I’d never harm a woman.” He looked at her again, his expression pained. “Please believe me.”
She didn’t have to think about it. He hadn’t hurt her and she wasn’t afraid of him. “I do.”
“Good. I liked Lane here. I had my selfish reasons.”
“Sex?”
He shook his head. “She kept other women from approaching me.”
“How long did she live with you?”
“Four years.”
She did the math. “What happened to the lover you had before her?”
“There wasn’t one.”
That surprised her. “She was the only woman you’ve ever had sex with?”
He smiled. “No. I’m older than I look, remember? I flew to human areas and had one-time sex encounters with women, but it was rare.” His humor faded fast. “The woman who was supposed to be my first lover was arranged by my father. He couldn’t resist using me to form an alliance with Decker. I was sixteen at the time and had no say in the matter. Neither did the girl. She was a blood relation to you. I discovered later that she was the younger sister of Decker’s mate. Your grandmother’s sister. I—”
Shit. “You did my great-aunt?” That was creepy and a big ewww factor.
He shook his head. “We never became lovers. She was only thirteen at the time the alliance was made, and it was luckily decided to wait until she reached eighteen to be sent to live with me. I wouldn’t have touched her if she’d come to me that young. I’m not sick enough to steal someone’s childhood away from them, unlike Decker and my father. It wasn’t long after that when I had to challenge my father.”
He paused. “Decker offered her to me as soon as word spread that I’d won. I refused, demanding we keep the original timeline in place. I should have taken her from her clan, but I didn’t know she was in danger. She would visit once a month but never told me what she was being ordered to do.”
“What was that?”
He clenched his hands into fists. “Decker had a tendency to use some of his unmated clanswomen as assassins. I believe he trained Margola to be one so he could one day order her to kill m
e. That bastard said she died from drowning in the river, and that’s why he couldn’t show me her body. He claimed it was never recovered. But I dug deeper. He’d sent her after a VampLycan who’d fled the clan. She lost when she tried to take out her target.”
“How did you find out she was an assassin?”
“Not everyone in Decker’s clan liked him. I got my information from someone who despised Decker, and tracked down the VampLycan who’d fled to find out if he’d been the one to take her out. He was.”
“Did you kill him?”
Aveoth shook his head. “He was only trying to protect himself and his human mate. She was pregnant with his child. That’s why he’d fled. Decker had sent him on a mission. He’d fallen in love and they were expecting a child. He felt terrible, but Margola forced him to kill her. He’d begged her to just let them escape. She attacked and wouldn’t yield.”
Jill nodded. “Makes sense. She was probably afraid she’d be killed anyway if she returned without getting the job done.”
Aveoth frowned, staring at her with narrowed eyes.
“I’ve watched hitmen movies and read books about them. You flub a job and it’s a death sentence.”
His features relaxed. “She only had to tell me what Decker was making her do and I would have protected her from him. You’re of her bloodline, but the two of you are drastically different. She wasn’t headstrong, from what I knew of her. You’d have refused to do his bidding.”
It reminded Jill of what she’d heard Boon and Cole discuss. “What’s the deal with the bloodline thing? Those jerks who kidnapped me said it made me valuable. At the time, I chalked it up to them being crazy, but now I know so much more… They implied you wanted me for my bloodline.”
“Margola visited me once a month specifically for me to drink a little of her blood. It wasn’t sexual,” he added quickly. “I’d bite her wrist. It was because her clan felt if I drank her blood, I’d form some kind of attachment to her. They believe Gargoyles have no ability to feel. Not that I blame them. Some don’t seem to, or hide it so damn well, even I can’t detect their emotions. Decker is convinced I grew addicted to her blood. That’s why he thought I’d make any deal he wanted in exchange for you. Because you’re her descendant, with the same bloodline.”
“Did you become addicted to my great-aunt’s blood?”
He smiled. “I can’t tell you all of my secrets, beautiful. Give it time.” He stood. “I’ll get you something of mine to wear.”
She watched him use the connecting bathroom to leave and couldn’t help but feel confused. It had been a simple question, but the answer must be complicated since he’d fled to another room. She was pretty sure his answer would be a yes. It also meant he wasn’t going to give her up easily or without a fight, if what ran through her veins was something he craved.
She’d met plenty of addicts growing up in the neighborhoods she’d lived in. They’d committed terrible crimes to get their next fix.
Was her blood Aveoth’s high? What was he willing to do to gain access to it?
He returned soon, holding a folded shirt and soft pants. “Here. I don’t have underclothing that would fit you. Come into the living room when you’re dressed. You said you enjoy reading. We’ll see if I have any books that you like.” He left through the hallway door, closing it behind him.
“You’re not getting off the hook that easily, Wings,” she whispered.
* * * * *
Aveoth lowered the glass he sipped from when Jill walked down the hallway, and swallowed hard. He’d given her one of his shirts and a pair of cotton stretch shorts that should have fallen just under her knees. All of his pants would be too long on her much shorter frame.
It appeared she had chosen to only wear the shirt. The view of her bare thighs teased him as she walked.
“It’s a good thing your home is warm.”
He tore his gaze off her lower half to stare into her eyes. “I gave you more to wear.”
“The waist on the shorts was too big.”
“They have drawstrings inside them.”
“Oh.” She shrugged. “What smells so good?”
“Don’t get too excited. I just warmed some leftovers. I was hungry. You’re more than welcome to join me for a snack. I hope you enjoy elk stew.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never had it, to be honest.” She walked up to the island that separated them, hiding her legs from his view. Her expression smoothed out. “I’m adventurous though. I’ve tried some weird foods while on dates.”
He didn’t like to think about her with other men and forced his attention back to the pan in front of him. “Like what?”
“Sushi. Know what that is?”
“Of course. I might live here but I’m not that cut off from the world. Did you like it?”
“Some of it was decent but I prefer my food cooked. I was taken to a seafood place that served shark and eel. It wasn’t for me.”
“It’s a good thing we’re not too close to the ocean then.” He turned off the heat to the pan and spooned stew into two bowls. He lifted them and walked around the island, placing them in front of the pair of barstools. He went to the fridge. “What would you like to drink? I have soda, water, beer, and milk.”
She didn’t answer.
He turned, lifting one eyebrow at her in question. “What?”
“Milk? Is there a grocery store around here somewhere?”
“We have cows.”
She looked momentarily surprised, then sighed.
“We’re civilized, Jill.”
“Do you have chickens, too?”
“I’ll tell you if you let me know what you want to drink. I’m hungry.”
“Soda, please.”
He grabbed two cans and sat next to her, the silverware and napkins already something he’d set out. “We do have chickens. We let the younglings tend to the animals near the base of the cliff. It teaches them responsibility.”
“Younglings. You mean kids.”
“Yes.”
“Why at the base of the cliffs?”
“In the warm months, we allow the animals to go outside. Do you know how difficult it would be to fly a cow thousands of feet down to the base of the cliff? They need to be kept inside during the winter months or they’d die from the cold.”
“Okay. I guess that makes sense.” She took a bite of the stew.
He watched her, gauging her reaction. Part of making her happy would be serving her foods she enjoyed. She took another bite, so he relaxed, digging into his own bowl. He figured Jill would complain if she hated it.
He ate fast, used to not sharing his meals. He got a second bowl and polished that off as well.
“What other kinds of animals do you have?”
It seemed a good thing that she showed interest in anything at the cliffs. “Goats, lambs, sheep, cows, chickens, and a few bulls for breeding.”
“I can see the cows for milk and the chickens for eggs. Even the bulls, but why the others?”
“To produce wool, meat, milk, and they’re good animals capable of surviving at the cliffs. We don’t like to be completely dependent on hunting for meat or fish that are plentiful in the nearby areas. I happen to love scrambled eggs once in a while. Horses didn’t fare well. They hated being contained inside for month after month.”
“Do you have a garden?”
“The conditions are too harsh with the dense growth of the trees, so it’s not feasible. Not enough sunlight to sustain a large enough area to grow for the whole clan. We order some supplies from large companies. They are delivered to a warehouse the clan owns near a larger city, and we transport them in over the summer months to store up for the winter.”
“It would be so much easier to live in cities.”
He smiled, guessing where her mind went. “It probably would be but we couldn’t fly in populated areas. It would be a risk that someone would catch us on camera and post the footage to the internet. Out here, we’re free to be o
urselves. My territory is clear of humans.”
“I’m in it.”
“You aren’t fully human.”
She stopped eating and put down her spoon. “I don’t have fangs or a hair issue. I don’t belong here.”
He looked at her, spotting the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry you were dragged into this, Jill. You seem to be a very reasonable woman. I wouldn’t lie to you. It’s not safe for me to return you to the life you had. I’ll be completely frank. Are you ready to hear it?”
She nodded. “I’m waiting with baited breath.”
He admired her spunk. “When you ran into that guard statue, you bled. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t smell completely human when you’re injured. It’s a miracle that you were never attacked by Lycans or Vampires. The scent of your blood would have told them you weren’t completely human. It would have put a target on your back. They hate VampLycans and probably would have killed you or, like your grandfather, tried to use you to gain something they wanted. The best outcome would have been if they’d bargained with the VampLycans for your life. The worst would have been them turning you over to some crazy-ass Vampire master who wanted to torture you. Your bloodline makes you unique. To be blunt, you’re a sick fuck’s wet dream.”
“Why?”
“Why would they want you? You don’t have the strength of a VampLycan so you aren’t a threat to them. You may even be immune to mind control from a Vampire. When they get excited, their eyes begin to glow. Typical humans are entranced by the sight, hypnotized. See the problem if a Vamp wants to induce terror and screams? It kills their fun. You’d be perfect. They can be vicious bastards. Plus, they really despise VampLycans.”
“Why do they hate them so much?”
“You should know your history.” He sighed. “A nest of Vampires and a pack of Lycans paired up a few hundred years ago, after both of them were tired of being hunted by humans. Vampires can erase and mess with human memories, but sunlight kills them. They had to hide during the day. That often meant being trapped in small, confined spaces with no escape if they were found. Meanwhile, Lycans had to live nomad lives to avoid detection. Humans caught on that Lycans were different when they were around them long enough. Plus, they tend to shift out of extreme fear or anger. So the Lycans protected the Vamps while they slept, and the Vampires made sure humans never remembered if they saw something off with a Lycan.”