An angel, Cora thought, finally succumbing to the fatigue that dragged her off unwillingly into a deep sleep.
Chapter twenty-seven
Saiden
“Someone’s crankier than usual this morning,” Baylin commented as Saiden stole the blood bag straight out of his hand. “And here I thought that you covered up my camera so I wouldn’t see you sneaking into Cora’s room.”
Saiden grimaced. “No. As much as I wanted to, Raven said no more seduction.”
“And you listened?”
Ignoring his brother’s shocked face, Saiden just shrugged. “Nothing I was doing worked. So yeah, I listened. I left Cora alone last night.”
Baylin let out an amused snort. “Well, that explains the four hours of footage I found this morning of you in the weapons locker. What happened to sleeping on the floor outside her door?”
“I was going to but then…”
Saiden’s hand that was gripping the blood bag squeezed tighter when he thought back to the sounds that had been coming from his room, and he forced himself to relax before the bag popped and redecorated his brother’s room in red. “I just changed my mind. Okay?”
“Fine, fine,” Baylin defended, throwing up his hands in protest. “No need to get testy with me just because your testes didn’t get any action.”
“Baylin,” Saiden growled, his voice infused with the very real threat of violence.
“Aaand I’m shutting up about that.” Baylin mimicked zipping his lips. “Care to share where you’ve been all morning then? I saw you dip out at dawn.”
“Tressa said she was going to spend time with Cora, and I would just ‘mess shit up,’ so I took the McLaren to Joe in town. He’s going to order a new tire, but it’ll probably be a few weeks.”
Baylin gasped in mock surprise. “Whatever will you do in the meantime?”
“Drive one of the other ten vehicles? Not all of us are attached to our toys like you are.” Saiden tilted his head at the bank of high-end monitors.
“Hey now,” Baylin protested, running a hand gently over the nearest computer. “These aren’t toys. These are my babies. Not to mention incredibly useful for keeping an eye on your girl.”
“Please tell me you haven’t been spying on her all morning.”
His brother grinned mischievously. “Notallmorning. Only the last hour or so after Raven joined in. Like I was going to miss that show. And look, they’re having a wonderful time.”
He gestured to one of the monitors, and the moment Saiden’s eyes landed on the screen his heart skipped at least three beats.
Laughing. Cora was laughing.
“Turn on the sound,” he whispered, mesmerized by her brilliant smile as she chatted with Raven and Tressa.
Baylin obliged, and Cora’s giggle filled the air of the massive tech room. The sound stirred something inside him. His mate was happy, and just the sight of her laughing made him… elated. As if her joy was his joy. He’d never felt such absolute contentment before.
Sinking back into the oversized black gaming chair beside Baylin, Saiden punctured the pilfered blood bag with his teeth. He stared transfixed at the monitors as Cora sipped martinis on the back patio while he sipped his O+ in Baylin’s room. She was on the completely other end of the compound, yet he felt her as if she was right there with him. His hand drifted down to rest on his right thigh, wishing he was caressing hers, and something warm bloomed in him when Cora mirrored the action on the screen in front of him. Almost as if she could feel his hand on her.
“Tell us more about you, Cora,” Raven said on the monitor.
Saiden watched his mate bite her lip before responding. “Like what? I’m just a human. Aren’t we all kind of the same to you?”
Tressa leaned forward, placing a hand over top of Cora’s. “Not at all. We want to know everything about you, Cora. How did you get into directing horror movies? It must be a fascinating way to make a living.”
Cora chuckled, and Saiden felt another jolt of happiness race through him again. “I mean, I wouldn’t call it making a living,” she said. “More like accepting poverty status to pursue a dream. I graduated film school a couple years ago and directed a few shorts that did decently on the festival circuit. I’m currently working on my first feature with my best friend Jinx…” Cora paused and glanced around. “Which, by the way, I think I’m supposed to talk with—”
“Jinx, you say?” Tressa asked, cutting Cora off. “What a fun name. I bet she’s wonderful.”
Saiden held his breath, hoping Raven’s tactic would work. The last thing he needed was for Cora to start pressing about speaking with his sire. As soon as that happened, she would realize the whole thing was a ruse.
