Part 24 (1/2)
”His concepts are both innovative and popular, and he happens to be my boss,” she said firmly.
”You're just jealous.”
”One of my more annoying habits, no doubt. I do not intend to share you, Alexandria.” Abruptly he released her. ”I do not want another man touching you.”
”Working together does not mean sleeping together,” she pointed out patiently, secretly knowing that she would readily break off even the work relations.h.i.+p with Ivan if it truly caused Aidan deep distress.
”And you believe he will accept that?””He'll have no choice. I'll tell him you and I are engaged. He'll have to accept it.”
”I will make arrangements to marry you tomorrow morning. I have a few friends who can speed up the process, and we will take care of the license and have done with it.”
She sat back, her sapphire eyes suddenly spitting fire. ”Have done with it? Have done with it?” She repeated his words, unable to believe he had actually said them. Right now she wouldn't marry him if he were the last man on earth. ”I wasn't asking for any favors or a commitment from you, Aidan. Nor do you have to protect my honor.”
He was watching her carefully, all at once still. ”We have the ultimate commitment between us, Alexandria. We are lifemates for all eternity. We will remain together until together we choose to meet the sun. But your very imaginative, idiotic-boss would not respect that bond, would not even understand it. He will, however, understand the human ceremony of marriage.”
”I don't understand this lifemate business, either. Yet, like Thomas, I do understand the sacrament of marriage. Not that you asked me. Not that you respect the inst.i.tution I was raised to believe in. I find your att.i.tude extremely insulting, Aidan.” She was working at hiding her hurt from him, but her expressive face, the glittering sheen to her eyes, would have given her away even if he had not been able to read her thoughts.
He shook his head sadly. ”We share everything, Alexandria, including our thoughts. I have unintentionally hurt you, and I certainly did not mean to do so.”
She stood up, water pouring from her skin. ”We may share our thoughts, but we don't seem to understand one another.” Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it around her like a sarong, her eyes studiously avoiding his.
”I think perhaps we do. You would have liked me to ask you to marry me in the human way.” He reached out, a lazy rippling of muscles, and shackled her ankle with his fingers, a steely vise preventing her escape.
The oddly intimate act sent flames racing through her bloodstream. Alexandria resented his ability to turn her body to liquid fire with just a touch, just a look. She could feel the electricity arcing between them, see the hunger in his gaze.
She shook her head. ”Don't, Aidan. This is important. You can't just hurt me anytime you like and then make love to me until I can't think straight.”
At once his expression changed. He stood up so abruptly, she stepped back, intimidated by his sheer size. ”Do not do that, cara mia.” His voice was a caress, a plea. ”Do not ever fear me. I would never willingly hurt you. We are already one. I thought you understood that. You are irrevocably tied to me for all time. It is a much deeper and stronger tie than a marriage ceremony. I must admit, I should have considered that you would have thought the marriage ceremony important, but I was a.s.suming, as you are now Carpathian, you would realize that we are already 'married,'
bound together for all time. It was done the moment the ancient words were spoken. The ritual was completed when we shared our blood, our hearts, our body and soul. But the words alone were irrevocably binding. It is the 'marriage ceremony' of our people.”
His arms swept around her stiff, resisting frame. ”Forgive the presumption, cara, and know that I want to marry you in the human ceremony because it is important to you.”
His mesmerizing voice washed over her like water, cleansing away her resentment as if it had never been.
Alexandria rested against him, pressing close for comfort. ”This life is so scary, Aidan, I want as many things as possible to be normal, or almost the same as they were. Just simple familiar things. I can handle it better that way.””You know, piccola,” he teased, brus.h.i.+ng her cheek with gentle fingers, ”Carpathian men never ask their mates. They simply claim them. But shall I ask you formally?”
She rubbed her face against his chest. ”It would mean a lot to me if you would,” she admitted.
”So I guess I had better do it right,” he said softly, taking her hand and going down on one knee.
”Alexandria, my only love, will you marry me tomorrow morning?”
”Yes, Aidan,” she replied demurely. Then she spoiled the effect by laughing. ”But we have to have blood tests. You can't just get married in a minute.”
He rose.
”You forget the power of mind persuasion. We will be married tomorrow morning. Now get dressed, cara. You are tempting me all over again.” His hands wandered down her slender body to caress her bottom.
Her smile was slightly wry. ”You're going to give me all kinds of trouble with your chauvinistic ways, aren't you?”
He laughed in answer. ”I was just thinking you were going to give me all kinds of trouble with your independent thinking.”
She tilted her chin. ”You have heard the word compromise before, haven't you? You do comprehend its meaning?”
He looked thoughtful, taking his time before replying. ”As I understand it, compromise means you do what I say as soon as I command it. Is that about right?”
Alexandria pushed at the solid wall of his chest. ”You wish, Mr. Savage. It's never going to happen.”
He pinned her arms to her sides and nuzzled the top of her head. ”We will see, my love. We will see.”
Laughing, Alexandria pulled away from him and began to dress. The dawn was brightening the sky, and with it came the terrible lethargy she was becoming familiar with. She wanted to see Joshua, to have normal mornings with her brother. Dress him, feed him, spend time with him before he went off to school.
Aidan allowed her to escape him, letting her keep her illusions of normalcy as long as possible. He liked to see the happiness in her, and he had a bad feeling about the vampire's blatant challenge.
The creature was up to something. He was the last one remaining from the group that had come to the city, terrorizing the population and leading the police on a wild goose chase. The vampire was not stupid; he would have studied Aidan and his strengths and weaknesses before issuing such a challenge. What was the undead up to?
He glided through the house silently, inspecting each entrance, window, and pathway leading to the house. Every safeguard was in place. The house was impenetrable, even with him sleeping beneath the earth in his secret chamber. No, the vampire could not strike at the house. Where, then?
He followed the sound of hoeing and found Stefan in the huge garden. Whenever he was upset or tired, Stefan gravitated to tending his plants.
When Aidan joined him, he leaned on the hoe and regarded his master steadily. ”So, you feel it, too. I had trouble sleeping last night.” He spoke in their native language, another sure sign of his state of mind.
”The vampire howled last night. A distinct call for vengeance. I thwarted their plans, whatever they were, and now the one remaining undead intends to destroy me. How he will attempt it, I do not know.”
”It will be through one of us,” Stefan said sadly. ”We are your Achilles' heel, Aidan. We always have been. He can bring you down using Marie, the boy, or me. You know he will.”
Aidan frowned. ”Or Alexandria. I fear her reaction to what must come.”
”She is very strong, Aidan, very courageous. She will be fine. You must have faith in your chosen lifemate.”
Aidan nodded. ”I know what is in her heart and mind, but I want her happiness above all else.” He gave a humorless smile. ”I remember a time many years ago, I went to the aid of Mikhail. He had found his lifemate, a human woman. She was very strong-willed, and I remember thinking that he should better control her, make her do his bidding at all times so that she would remain safe. We cannot afford to lose even one of our women-you know that. She was so strange to me, so unlike the women of our race. She showed no fear even of me, a Carpathian male she did not know. I vowed if I found my lifemate, I would not do as Mikhail and bow to her wishes. Yet now, I cannot stand to see sorrow in Alexandria's eyes. I feel sick when she is hurt or upset with me.”
A grin spread across Stefan's face. ”You're in love, my old friend, and that is the downfall of all good men.”
”Even Gregori, the dark one, allowed his lifemate her freedom because of her fear of him. How does one strike a balance between keeping a woman happy and protecting her?” Aidan mused aloud.
Stefan shrugged. ”You're in the modern world now, Aidan. Women rule their own lives. They make their own decisions and generally drive us all crazy. Welcome to the twenty-first century.”
Aidan shook his head. ”She thinks she is going to work with that madman, Thomas Ivan. Yet I know what he wants to do with her.”
”If she wants to work, Aidan, have you any choice but to allow it?”
The golden eyes flashed. ”I have a choice, Stefan. Still, perhaps the line of least resistance is to have a little mind-to-mind chat with Mr. Ivan. I am certain I can make him see things my way.”
Stefan laughed. ”I wish I had that particular talent, Aidan. It would come in handy with some of my business dealings.”