“
So why is he doing it?”
“
No idea. He’s got something going on. I don’t believe it’s altruism on his part, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is.” She gave him a mock salute and a wink. “My job is not to question, but to try to protect our asses if we find them. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to burn.”
She put the wine down and stood, swaying towards him, walking like a femme fatale. Her gaze dipped to his lips, and she was close to him, her voice a purr. “Unless there was something you wanted? Something I can help you with?”
The bitch.
Jack closed the door behind him and Rachel watched it for an unreasonably long time. Why? In case he came back? Because she couldn’t believe he’d been there? Rachel was surprised. Shocked actually. After things with Marion hadn’t panned out she’d expected Jack to sever his connection with her. Or even that Jack might try to kill her. But apparently not. Things were bad if he was coming to her for information.
She needed to tell Lucas what had happened. He would want to know and she was already on his shit list. Rachel picked up the phone and called his cellphone. It rang three times before he answered.
“
Rachel,” Lucas said in that deep bored voice of his.
“
Jack came to see me.” Several moments went by while she waited for him to say something. Rachel got a dustpan and broom out of the closet so she could sweep the ash back into the fireplace.
“
Why?” he finally asked.
“
He wanted to know what your relationship was with Val.”
“
What time did he arrive?”
Rachel checked her watch, thought about it. “I don’t know, twenty minutes ago, maybe half an hour.”
“
That would not give him a lot of time to grace her bed.”
Rachel shook her head and went to stand near the window peeking out. “He didn’t sleep with her. But he’s going to make a move of some sort, I think. She looked like a sure thing tonight. Maybe a bit stressed out with the almost dying and all but…. how’d you mess up?”
There was another pause but this one wasn’t overly long. “I miscalculated. I wanted her to make the choice. I didn’t think she could walk away.”
So clueless.
“
If you thought to ‘calculate’ a woman into bed, then yeah, that is a problem. You clearly want her, why didn’t you just
take
her?”
“
Since you have spent the entirety of your young immortal life with the most impulsive woman who ever lived, I will ignore your incomprehension.”
She almost laughed.
Poor Lucas. So hot and so out of it.
“
Rachel,” his tone was silky and she became a little worried, had the urge to look behind her like she might see the threat coming. “Why would Jack come to you within moments of leaving Valerie? What sort of connection do you have with him?”
Rachel swallowed.
Careful.
“Well, he hates my ex and he hates you. He thinks Valerie has been lying to him and apparently my honesty is refreshing. When Marion hatched her scheme she thought to bring the hunters into it. Thought it would be amusing to get Jack to support her.”
“
Is he aware of your connection with Marion?”
“
Yes. But he thinks I’m happy to be free of her.”
“
Because we both know that you are not. Is that correct, Rachel? I hold your loyalty because I have Marion tucked away and available to kill or resurrect at my whim?”
Rachel looked at her nails, rubbing her fingers over the smooth finish. “You know you do,” she said, voice near a tremble.
“
Can you seduce him?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “He’d probably kill me first.”
“
I do not want her with him. That relationship must end. If Jack is intrigued by you then that is something I wish for you to further.”
She pursed her lips, “He’s more interested in getting a stake into me than his dick. But I’ll try.”
The line went dead.
Chapter
4
The plane touched down on the tarmac and Valerie opened her eyes, exhaling quietly as they landed safely. People started chattering and Valerie turned her gaze to Jack
,
who was watching her with a small smile that made her knees weak.
“
What?”
“
I didn't know you were scared to fly. Is there anything you’re not afraid of?”
“
Hey!” She punched him lightly in the arm. “You’re just trying to get me so irritated that I’ll break first, but it's not going to happen.”
And they'd decided they wouldn't talk about vampires for the first four days of the trip. There had been some flirty talk of potential punishments for the first violation.
Val knew she wouldn’t lose. She also had Jack’s punishment all planned out. When Jack lost
,
he’d be singing his little heart out. It was one of the best memories she had, Jack singing ‘Take On Me’ the summer before college.
People said one couldn't go home again
,
but she was going to give it a try.
She’d already imagined it. He'd sing, she'd think it was hot, but then—and this was the good part— she actually would get to go to bed with him.
The idea of it was so exciting that she wanted to shriek in delight. But that wasn't playing it cool
,
and Val could do cool. All jumping and squealing would be safely contained behind closed doors.
“
Jackie my boy, you won't even make it to the end of the day. Watch, I bet we'll be sitting at dinner, the waiter will be a little pale
,
and the next thing I know I'll have to bail you out of jail for attempted murder.”
“
Har har,” he said sarcastically. “Although this is Hawaii. A pale waiter is suspicious. Everyone gets a tan here, right?”
She shrugged noncommittally, watching out the window as the plane taxied down the runway towards the gate. It came to a halt
,
and people started shifting and rummaging around, refusing to be caged for a moment longer— common courtesy be damned.
Air travel was a dog eat dog world.
Val took down her huge tote and the man behind her almost lost an eye in the transfer. She also had a huge hat that she hadn't wanted to risk packing. It was straw and had a pretty pink ribbon around the brim.
They descended the shaky stairway onto the tarmac and Val felt the warm ocean breeze dancing across her body. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Jack, a wide smile on her face.
“
You shouldn't look that happy, we haven't even been to bed yet.”
She looked away, laughing nervously while he watched her, a provoking smile tugging at his lips.
“
Don't you think the air smells better here?” she asked, desperate for a distraction. Jack making a comment about getting her into bed? She felt like she should giggle inanely or something.
Jack took in a deep breath, theatrically, standing up tall and puffing out his chest so that he towered over her. His broad shoulders were defined under his blue T-shirt and she watched him happily, enjoying everything about him and this moment: the breeze that ruffled his thick, dark hair, his tanned and muscular arms, even his dark wash jeans and Adidas.
“
I only smell gasoline. You think it smells better, more fumey, than the gas station at home. But it doesn’t. It just costs more. A simple marketing trick.”
“
Okay, there is a slight tang of airplane but you can smell the ocean too. Never mind. This isn't a winning argument. Wait until we get to the hotel. It will definitely smell good there.”
He raised his eyebrows at her and her heart flip flopped like he’d said something audacious.
Ah, lust
.
They'd paid extra for a convertible, deciding to do it in style, but when the car turned up she checked the paperwork again. “The color is listed as Champagne,” she said, looking down at the paper like the words might change.
“
Pink
. This car is pink. How cool am I going to be toodling around this island in a pink convertible? Also, it's a Sebring. They didn't have a Mustang?” Jack complained.
“
Cool guys don't toodle anywhere. Let me drive and problem solved.”
He dumped the bags in the trunk and waved a finger at her chidingly as he went to open the passenger door for her. “No. Hop in. My manliness will overcome it.”
Val laughed, holding on to her hat as they went to the hotel. Neither the hat nor the convertible were as great as she’d hoped. Her hair was super knotted and the hat kept wanting to fly away. But the island was beautiful. Everything was warm and humid, the ocean was a vibrant blue and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
They were on Oahu and going to stay at the Turtle Bay on the North Shore of the island. It was secluded
,
and every room had an ocean view and balcony.
A pineapple was in their room, cut up and waiting for them, little toothpicks to eat it with as well as a bottle of champagne.
“
This is so romantic! Jack, did you do this?” This counted as hidden depths.
“
I read it in a book called, '5 Easy Steps to an Easy Lay. ' How is it going so far?” he asked, popping a piece of pineapple into his mouth.
“
Ask me after the champagne. That's probably step number three. Step one, find girl, Step two, ply her with alcohol, Step three—wait, why is it five steps?”
“
Val. I'm kidding. I don't think there is such a book. And no offense, but when you said we could get a king size bed, I thought you were a sure thing.”
“
Your odds would have improved drastically, if you'd let me drive. And with a comment like that, maybe you should have spent the $7. 99. But it's only noon. You have time to redeem yourself.” She stood next to him on the balcony, sipping her champagne, the bubbles making her tongue tingle before it fizzed down her throat.
She took a deep breath and shot him a sideways glance. Val did her Italian impression. “See, the air, it's better here, no?”
Resting his hands on the metal balcony, he widened his stance a little, closed his eyes and took another theatrically large breath like he’d done at the airport.
She watched him breathing deeply
,
and the moment before he exhaled, when his lungs were filled, she poked him hard in the stomach, forcing him to exhale sharply and making him cough a little.
Totally worth it.
“
You're going to regret that.” He reached for her and she tried to squirm away, back into the room, but he caught her easily, pulling her to him so that her chest was flush against his. Jack’s hard arms trapped her against him. She tilted her head up to him, breath painfully short as she waited for him to kiss her.
They hadn't touched since Italy. They'd packed, made plans for her father's ashes, then flown home to San Loaran, a charged silence between them as they waited for the trip to start.
It was an unspoken agreement that they were waiting until they got here. This was not real life
.
And if it didn't work out, maybe it would be easier to separate out the memories, compartmentalize everything if it happened somewhere totally removed from their usual life.
At least that was the rationale she was sticking with. She also felt desperately confused about Lucas. Was he heart-broken? Was she making a huge mistake by being here with Jack?
No!
There was no way that being with Jack was a mistake. She had loved him for as long as she could remember. This was
it
. If they didn’t try to have a relationship now
,
they never would. And she couldn’t let that opportunity go by just because she was still thinking of Lucas. She was meant to be with Jack. Lucas was a monster incapable of love.
Jack loved her.
So yeah, she was going to fucking do this
,
and she was going to love it! She smiled at Jack, refusing to think about Lucas anymore.
He smiled a little cockily. “Do you want to go swimming first?” His hands were on her back, then slid downwards slowly so they were on her waist, pulling her closer to him.
She shook her head slightly, incapable of speaking.
This is really going to happen.
She felt a little dizzy. The roller coaster feeling again. She was at the top, the tracks had stopped clicking, everything quiet for a moment, and then in a blink one is hurtling towards the ground—at 100 miles per hour.
His head moved a fraction closer to hers, torturing her with the wait
,
while he fixed his eyes on her lips. “What about food? Did you want to go to the restaurant?” he asked teasingly as he bent down, kissing her neck.