Dorian stepped into the room, coming around the desk and bending down to retrieve the journal. He wrapped the leather cording around the book and held it at his side.
“There’s nothing worth reading in here.” He jiggled the book against his leg and then turned and left. Guilt was not a good feeling and mine was tying my insides into gnarled knots.
“Gwen?” Fiona said.
“I’m here, sorry. Dorian came into the room.”
“So what is going on with Dorian and Aiden?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I admitted. “Aiden and I kissed…a lot. And Dorian and I sort of…almost—”
Fiona squealed so loud you’d think she was competing to break my eardrum. “You little hooker. Why am I just now hearing about it?”
“I’ve been busy,” I explained, smiling like a gossiping teenager.
“I knew that sly-talking hunk of angel would worm his way into your pants,” Fiona teased, and I laughed.
“He may have gotten them off, but we didn’t seal the deal. Aiden and Lauren interrupted us.”
“Oooh, did Aiden and Dorian get in a fight? You know Aiden would have been able to sense and smell your desire. I bet that pissed him off.”
I gave a shaky laugh, hating that my messed up love life was sounding like an episode of a supernatural Jerry Springer. But now that Fiona mentioned it, Aiden was holding his temper back when he and Lauren showed up. My cheeks heated as realization set in.
“And who’s Lauren?”
“I didn’t tell you about Lauren?”
“Nope.” She made it sound like an accusation.
“She’s a Barbie wannabe vampire Aiden hired as my bodyguard, and no, Aiden and Dorian did not fight.”
I decided to keep Lauren’s secret and not tell Fiona that she was a hybrid. I knew it was dangerous information. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t trust Fiona to keep it, but I knew she shared everything with Ethan and I trusted him about as much as I did Holly.
“Wow,” Fiona breathed. “I’ve missed so much. So what are you going to do about Dorian and Aiden?”
That was a question that had been plaguing my mind since Death first walked into my life. Only now, the answer was clearer.
“Aiden’s leaving and asked me to go with him, but I can’t. As for Dorian…I’m not ready for a relationship and I’m not even sure he knows how to be in one. For now I’ll enjoy his company and take it one day at a time.”
“Good for you,” Fiona said with a smile in her voice. “Who says you have to be in a relationship to enjoy a man’s company? I’m liking the new bad ass open-minded you.”
I snorted. “Dork.”
Two soft knocks sounded on the trim of the door. Dorian stood in the doorway, his face opposite of mine. His body was ridged, his lips a hard line. My amusement instantly faded as I sat up straighter.
“Hey, I have to go,” I told Fiona. “But I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know how the necklace went.”
“Okay, but promise me something.”
“Sure.”
“Tonight you’ll rip that man’s clothes off and ride him until the sun comes up.”
“Fiona!”
She laughed. “Like I’m twisting your arm. Talk to you later.”
I pressed the END button and stood, coming around the desk. “Hey, I’m sorry about the journal. It wasn’t my place to snoop.” Now that I was solely focused on Dorian, I could see the strain of his lips like he was fighting back some kind of amusement.
“Don’t worry about it,” he waved away my apology. “But I would appreciate you respecting my privacy from now on.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“Aiden’s here by the way.”
Suddenly all of the lightheartedness of my conversation with Fiona dropped like an anchor in my stomach. I hated disappointing people, especially those I loved. Aiden was not going to be happy when he heard what I had to say.
I began forward, taking a step toward the door. Dorian braced his hands on either side of the doorframe, blocking my path. As he stared down at me, his lips loosened and formed his infamous smirk.
“What?” I asked after the awkwardness of his gaze began gnawing at my insides.
“I don’t think a woman has ever gossiped about me, at least not within earshot.”
I could feel heat creeping into my cheeks. “Just because I was talking about you doesn’t mean it was good gossip. Your enormous ego has deceived you. Again.”
Dorian licked his lips, glancing away for a moment before returning that smoldering gaze my way again. Though his eyes were covered by his aviators, I could feel the heat of them on me like they had turned to pure steam. Not waiting for his reply, I ducked under his outstretched arm and headed down the hallway.
“I’m curious,” Dorian said from behind me. I stopped, turning to face him and hear what had him so damn inquisitive. “Do you plan to keep your promise to Fiona?”
Stunned speechless, I stood unmoving as he stalked closer. How the hell had he heard what she had said? His confident walk and hungry presence made me feel like the smallest of prey ready to be devoured.
“Saddle up, cupcake, this bronco’s ready to be ridden.” He passed me, heading to the living room, but his chuckles taunting me all the way down the hall.
* * *
Aiden and Lauren were standing out on the rooftop patio. When I opened the French doors their eyes found me. Lauren was dressed in a pair of the tightest jeans I’ve ever seen. How she was able to fight in something so restricting baffled me. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a high, taut ponytail and the cut of her sweater left little to the imagination. Could vampires get boob jobs or were those puppies real?
My eyes flicked to Aiden. No matter what passed between us I would always be affected by his appearance. His raven hair was brushed back, a few unruly strands escaping and hanging over his forehead. Blue eyes the color of the cleanest water searched my face. How in the world was I going to watch him walk away? Aiden had been in my life for two years and after tonight it could be centuries before I saw him again, if at all. It was possible that after I delivered my decision he would hate me forever.
“Give us a minute,” he told Lauren.
She nodded, sauntering across the patio and toward the French doors. As she passed, she winked and smiled. Only when the doors closed did Aiden move. He turned his back toward me, resting both hands on the railing as he stared at the street below. His gray wool pea coat fit him like a glove, having probably been tailor made. He was classically beautiful and sexy beyond belief. And I was about to push him away. I admit I was second-guessing my decision.
“You’re staying,” Aiden said, his voice low and confounded.
I joined him at the railing, hugging my arms to my chest. Of course he’d know my decision before I uttered a word; we were bonded now.
“It wasn’t easy to turn down such an offer,” I admitted. “Even now I’m debating if I made the right choice.”
Aiden’s head cocked to the side so that he could look at me. My heart broke at the defeated expression on his face. He may not be able to rip people’s souls from their bodies like Dorian could, but I knew he would be able to keep me just as safe. If I left with him, he’d do everything in his power to shield me from harm’s way.
“It’s not set in concrete, my Gwen. You still have time to say yes, to leave all of this behind and walk into the sunset with me; metaphorically of course.” He tried for a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. I thought I could literally feel my heart tremble.
What could I say that would make my decision okay in his eyes? No words could weave a bandage to lessen the blow. I knew Aiden’s heart had been set on whisking me away from the dangerous world I now found myself thrown in. I was on the battlefield against darkness, and he was offering to rescue me from it.
“Everything inside of me is telling me to go with you,” I admitted as tears blurred my vision. “Life with you would be so easy, wonderful but…I cannot run. I have to stay and fight for the life I’m not supposed to have.”
Aiden’s forehead creased. He didn’t know that I was supposed to die that day at Broomsticks and that Dorian had gone against my destiny and restored my soul. I had spent the last couple days thinking that had it not been for the rebelliousness of Death, I’d be taking up space in the Flora cemetery. I was in debt to a man I barely knew and heartbroken by another. My heart was being pulled in two different directions, straining under the pressure of wanting to please both men.
“What if you stayed?”
Aiden stood up straight, reaching out to clasp my hands in front of our bodies. His thumb traced a back and forth pattern. “I have to leave, my Gwen. I’ve already hurt you once. If Aaron was to order me to drain you…and the transformation didn’t work.” He looked away, anger contorting his features for a split second. When he looked back at me he said, “I couldn’t live with myself if I were the one responsible for ending your life. Being here, next to you is dangerous.”
A tear slipped out of my eyes, trickling down my cheek.
“I told you the story of my family’s tragic end. The La’Rues see me as property to do with as they will. They’ll order me to drain you just because they can, and if your body didn’t accept the vampire virus you would die at my hands. Another person taken from me because of them.” He reached up and brushed away the tear. “I won’t allow them to take any more from me. I’ll leave you for forever if it means they won’t be able to use me against you.”
“We could fight... Isn’t it worth it?”
Aiden shook his head, just a slight movement, but it told me his mind was made up. “It’s too dangerous. They’re the original six, Gwen. Their strength is immeasurable and without mercy.”
Another tear slipped down my cheek and Aiden pulled me into his arms. I closed my eyes, absorbing the smell of him and the way the roughness of his coat felt against my skin. His arms were the softest steel around my body. Flashes of our time together played behind my eyelids, and the tears responded by falling quicker.