“I’m inviting you to join me.”
He drifted past her, still checking the windows. “Are you afflicted in some way? This isn’t a social affair. I have a job to do. If you want a companion, you should call in your manservant.”
“Wilson?” She snorted. “He’s loyal, but that old geezer wouldn’t know how to hold a conversation any more than he knows how to hold in his farts.” She sighed. “Why is there no better word for it? Passing wind seems too refined for such a vulgar act.”
“Still pondering life’s great mysteries, I see.” Christian reached the last window and then admired the lush plants that filled her sunroom. “There’s alwaystoot.”
Lenore snickered and almost spilled her wine. “Do you remember that time we went to Chicago? I think it was 1928. We were trapped in an elevator with that dreadful man who smelled like an outhouse.” She wrinkled her nose as she recalled the memory. “I never did like elevators. Not then or now. Are you like that, Chrissy? I find that the more I’m surrounded by innovation, the more I want to escape it.”
He backed up against the house wall and looked through the windows that surrounded them. “If you’re fearing for your life, you might consider moving to a room with four walls.”
“Nonsense. I refuse to alter my lifestyle because of a moron.” Her chair faced right, giving him a profile view of her long legs. The slit up her gown revealed every inch of them from toe to thigh.
Lenore studied the tiny bubbles that danced inside her drink. “Lenore isn’t my real name, you know. Sometimes the only way to reinvent ourselves is to start over. I wish Vampires had taken on the custom of renaming their younglings. A Mage’s immortality begins with their first spark, when they’re given a new name. Vampire elders never adopted the same custom. Theywantto know where you came from.” She shifted in her chair to look at him. “Do you know why? I do.”
“I couldn’t care less.”
“But youshouldcare. The ancients knew the power in knowledge. Most younglings have a family. Parents, siblings, cousins, sometimes a spouse and children. Contrary to what most people believe, a person’s true weakness is love. Vampires didn’t have the luxury of breaking the rules or fleeing their makers. The elders knew how to locate their family, and that gave makers more control over their progeny. No one wants to put their loved ones in danger. But you see, that same weakness also makes it easy for your enemies to have power over you.” She sipped her wine and set the flute on a round glass table. “I find it amusing that you—a trained guard—don’t know how to guard your own safety. Anyone you love will always be your weakness.”
Christian focused on a moth flitting overhead in hopes that Lenore would drop the subject. She was only verbalizing what he’d always known as truth. He’d seen love ruin men. It made them vulnerable and easy to control. His own misguided feelings for Lenore had been his ruin. Christian didn’t live in the land of denial, but his heart and his mind weren’t always on the same page.
Lenore rose and strolled to the center of the room. She stopped in a pool of moonlight and stood with her back to him. “I want the best for you. Our friendship deserves a fresh start. We’ve both evolved, and we’re better off as allies than enemies.” She turned on her heel, her black eyes sparkling like two dark stars. “You’ve chosen a worthy match. Raven has the potential to become a powerful Mage—a force to be reckoned with. She’s not from the Old World. She’ll probably lead the revolution to change our culture.” Lenore approached him and arched an eyebrow. “She might even expose us to humans. The new ones are eager to merge the two worlds. They don’t know what it was like—how humans banded together to exterminate our kind. Some of the ancients desire war, but if we can’t even settle differences amongst ourselves, it’s a delusion of grandeur to think we would band together to defeat humans. Mortals haven’t evolved.” Lenore brushed lint off his shoulder. “They can build all the fancy buildings they want and fly in these tin cans, but learning thatweexist would flip them back into the Dark Ages. Onlynowwe have something to truly fear.”
The statement hung in the air, and Christian couldn’t resist taking the bait. “And what’s that?”
“Nuclear weapons,” she replied. “Biochemical warfare. Genetic engineering. They would experiment on us—find a way to genetically change or destroy us. In fact, I think humans would be so envious of our immortality and powers that they would do anything to harness that for themselves. They once wanted to destroy us, but thanks to science, we’ll be nothing but lab rats. Take care not to let someone as young as Raven pull you under with wild ideas.”
He folded his arms. “What you know about Raven could fill a thimble.”
“I never said I didn’t like her. I’ve given her nothing but high praise. She’s just not the match I would have chosen for you. I’m still admittedly shocked that you’re dating outside your Breed. If memory serves, you were always outspoken about interbreeding.”
“You should spend less time worrying about where my cock warms itself at night and more time finding your own fecking suitor.”
She lifted her chin. “Oh, but I have.”
Christian got a sinking feeling as she sashayed back to her chair and took a seat. “I’ll not be joining your side in unholy matrimony. So you can put that infernal thought out of your head, now and forevermore.”
Lenore lifted her glass with three fingers and chuckled softly. “I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor. No, Chrissy, it’s not you I want as my partner.”
A weight lifted off his shoulders. He would rather put hornets in his pants for the rest of his life than marry that woman.
She set down her glass. “Viktor continues to impress me.”
Christian marched forward and sat in the chair across from her. He tried to remain cordial even though he was having fantasies about tossing her through a window. “Since when do Shifters catch your fancy?”
“They’re growing on me.” Lenore crossed her legs and gazed out the window. She absently touched the long stem of a fern as if deep in thought. “I think we’d make a splendid match. He’s kind but not a pushover. He values secrecy and understands political and social maneuverings. It also doesn’t hurt that he has connections all over the world. Aside from that, Viktor’s a wolf.”
Christian’s blood went ice-cold as the horror of it all sank in. “And a wolf does it for you?” he asked coolly. “All that tail wagging and crotch licking. I thought you’d set your sights a little higher, like someone in your organization. We’re a wee group who contracts our services for money.”
Lenore finished her wine with a smile hidden behind her glass. “Wolves are protective of their mates. I’ll never have to worry about someone like Viktor betraying me.”
“He’s not your type.”
She pursed her lips. “And what type is that?”
Christian crossed his legs. “Subservient.”
“I prefer an equal.”
