B005EMAYWS EBOK Read online

  Donavan was agitated by the thought. “They would never be so foolish. It would be Luciano, not Omar.”

  “Unless he was to destroy Luciano before then.”

  “Not a chance. Luciano would not be vulnerable to the likes of Omar.”

  “Unless he let his guard down,” Cato put in.

  “He would not … not with Omar. Luciano doesn’t trust him.”

  “Who said it had to be him?” Cato frowned.

  Donavan again started walking. “It will not happen. As we speak, the prophecy is being fulfilled. The three sisters are my own daughters. It was foretold to me by the Gatekeeper … it is their destiny to help bring the immortals into balance once again. They will defeat Omar if he continues to defile what he is.”

  “Let us hope that this is true … and that it happens before there is a war between the wolves and the immortals.” Cato’s words were full of doubt.

  Donavan was also feeling the nagging discomfort of doubt. Could his daughters really defeat an evil that was as old and as vicious as his brother?

  * * *

  Inside her apartment, Summer saw that Penny had thrown her uniform across the couch. Proof that her roommate had already been there and left. Feeling fatigued, she slid her clothes off, and stepped into the shower to freshen up.

  When she was done, she felt a hundred times better. Standing at the bathroom mirror, she piled her hair on top of her head and secured it with a hair clip, before she started putting on her makeup.

  Summer lost herself in thought. She wondered just how she was going to convince Anton that she belonged with him? Then there was her other dilemma - the murders. How was she going to clear the suspicion that surrounded him? She had no doubt that Anton was the main person of interest at the moment.

  The doorbell interrupted her thoughts. Summer still hadn’t dressed yet, so she slipped on her white silk robe. At the front door, she looked through the peephole before opening it.

  Warren was outside, waiting for her to answer.

  “Hi,” she said, as she opened the door and let him in.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time,” he asked.

  Summer shook her head. “No, I was just getting out of the shower. I have plans to meet some friends at the Cactus Lounge in a little while.”

  “Pierce told me about the friend that you brought into the station today. What’s with that?”

  “Anton’s an old friend of my family. We wanted to clear up any misunderstandings right away,” Summer explained.

  “You have to admit, it’s a strange coincidence that he would meet them both before they were murdered.”

  “Want a soda?” Summer walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

  “Sure,” he responded absently.

  Taking a soda out, she handed it to him and opened one for herself.

  “Maybe it is strange, but they both lived close to the campus, and he is staying at the Desert Skies … so I don’t know if it’s all that strange.”

  Warren didn’t say anything, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t buying it.

  “By the way … why wasn’t there anything about the black roses in the police reports?” Summer asked before taking another swallow from the can of soda. She hoped that he wouldn’t catch on the fact that she was fishing for information. She had no way of knowing for sure that black roses had anything to do with the murders.

  “Pierce mentioned it … off the record.”

  “It should have been in the police report. That’s procedure,” Summer put in. “How can we profile the killer if we don’t have all of the info?”

  “I know,” he told her, raising his hands in a gesture of helplessness. He moved too swiftly and his soda spilled on the front of his jacket and shirt.

  “Oh damn!” He set his soda down and started pulling off his jacket.

  “Here, let me get something to wipe it off.” Summer pulled a clean rag from the kitchen drawer and ran it under the faucet. Grabbing his jacket, she started rubbing the stain with the cloth, while he removed his shirt.

  Summer’s gaze inadvertently went to his bare chest. She’d never seen him without a shirt before.

  Just then the doorbell rang again, and Summer went to answer it. She saw Anton through the peephole and realized that she had lost track of the time. Opening the door, she stood aside so he could enter.

  When Warren came out of the kitchen, Anton glared at the professor. His eyes went to Summer, and for the first time that she could remember, she saw real anger in them.

  Flustered, Summer spoke up before he could say anything. “Warren and I had some business to talk about. He spilled soda on his clothes.”

  Anton arched one brow. “ Since when do two people have to be half naked to discuss business?” he asked cynically, his gaze roving over her.

  Summer blushed when she remembered how sparsely clad she was, but her embarrassment was quickly replaced with a flood of anger. What on earth made him think that she had to explain anything to him? She hadn’t yet agreed to any marriage, to whoever this Vilka was. Anton had rejected her, so what did he care.

  “Well a girl does have a private life you know.”

  Warren was putting his shirt and jacket back on. “I was just leaving,” he told them.

  Anton nodded to the other man, but Summer could see unmasked hostility in his eyes.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Summer told Saunders.

  When Warren had gone, Anton narrowed his eyes at her. “What’s the meaning of this Summer?”

  “It’s nothing Anton. You’re really making a big deal out of nothing,” Summer told him, suddenly very aware of his nearness, and the fact that they were alone.

  Her hardening nipples strained against the thin silk of her robe, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes kept straying to her breasts.

  “It’s nothing is it?” Anton’s voice was dangerously low. “Did you take him to your bed Summer?”

  Summer felt her anger simmering. “Anton, I am no longer a child, and if I want a lover, it’s my business.”

  His eyes began to glow with an inner rage. “I will tear him to pieces,” he growled.

  “All for my nameless fiancé and the honor of my family” she asked, hotly.

  Anton had her backed up against the door. He was so close that she could feel his body heat through her robe.

  “Don’t get sassy with me girl,” he told her in a low - dangerous voice. Anton leaned closer - his eyes boring a hole right through her.

  “Admit it Anton. You are angry because you want it to be you in my bed,’ she said in a saucy voice.

  “You’re a tease,’ he told her through clenched teeth.

  Summer smiled. “Yes I am.” Getting on her tiptoes she flicked her tongue sensuously along his lips.

  Again she heard him growl and before she knew it, he had covered her mouth with his. Anton’s kiss was hungry and demanding. While his tongue explored her mouth, his hand reached down to pull her robe apart and seek out her breast. The heat of his touch against her bare skin was enough to make her melt, and she moaned with pleasure. Summer wrapped both of her arms around his neck.

  He moved his lips from her mouth to her ear. “Do you want me to use you to satisfy my needs? Is that what you want?” he whispered. His large hands were slowly caressing her skin, moving down to the wet heat between her legs.

  Summer knew he wanted her to understand it would be just physical, and truthfully - at the moment she didn’t really care. Instead of playing his game, she turned it around on him.

  “Do you want to take me to bed Anton?”

  She could see that he did. The heat in his gaze could have melted Antarctica.

  Moaning, he closed his eyes. “You have no idea.”

  “Then come with me to my bedroom,” she urged.

  With a deep sigh, he pulled away and closed up her robe. “We can’t. You deserve better than someone just using your body to satisfy their needs. You deserve for someone to make love
to you.”

  “Is that what it would be?” she asked, stung by what his words insinuated.

  Anton turned away from her. “Go get dress so we can go.”

  Her bottom lip quivered as she fought to hold back her tears. Without another word, Summer went to her room to dress.

  Damn him!

  Why couldn’t he return her love? She’d been in love with him for as long as she could remember. Even now that she was a woman, he still held her at bay. Sure, if she tried hard enough she could entice him into her bed, but that wouldn’t make him love her.

  “He’ll bring death to you.” The low whisper sounded as if it were coming from everywhere at the same time.

  There was no one in the room with her.

  “Who are you,’ she asked in a low voice.

  She was answered by silence.

  “He didn’t do it. You can’t make me believe that.” Summer ‘s voice rang out, but there was no answer.

  Closing her eyes, she imagined a solid wall around her that they couldn’t get through. Tonight, she didn’t want the dead to be her companions. She wanted Anton to relax and enjoy their time together.

  She picked out the sexiest and most revealing outfit she could find. The black satin and lace dress showed off her cleavage and legs. She’d make sure he wasn’t thinking about sending her to her marriage bed tonight.

  Summer paid careful attention to her hair, putting it up so that she could show off her neck and shoulders. She made sure that a few golden-brown ringlets were left out to frame her face. When she was satisfied that she looked her best, she left the bedroom.

  One look at Anton’s face and Summer knew the effort had been worth it.

  “You are a young lady that loves to play with fire,” he told her, a smile playing on his lips.

  * * *

  In the dimly lit lounge, Summer found Penny and Jordan already eating dinner.

  When they walked up to the table, Jordan let out a whistle. “You’re looking hot tonight!”

  Jordan was Penny’s sometime boyfriend. The problem was that they were opposites. Jordan was a video game fanatic and paid little attention to anything else. His shaggy brown hair looked as if it had never been combed. Penny was no neat freak, but she did have her limits. The two of them were constantly fighting about his bad habits, as Penny called them.

  “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” Penny told her before looking up at Anton. “But then again … maybe you were just too busy to spend time with us,” she added with a giggle.

  “Warren stopped over,” Summer explained. “Jordan, this is my friend, Anton.”

  “Hi,” Jordan said before turning his attention back to his cheeseburger.

  Throughout dinner, Penny did most of the talking. Jordan participated in the conversation between games on his portable video system.

  Summer couldn’t keep her mind off of Anton. He was sitting so close to her, that if she moved in his direction at all, she’d be on his lap.

  “I want to dance,” Penny told Jordan, pulling him from the table.

  “Hey! Wait a minute,” he stopped her long enough to close his game system.

  “Would you like to dance?” Anton asked Summer when the others were gone.

  “In a minute,” she told him, as she placed her hand on his and started caressing his skin. She smiled when she heard him inhale sharply.

  “Stop it Summer,” he hissed.

  “Do you still want to dance?” she asked, innocently.

  “Are you going to tease me if we do?”

  “Yes … probably,” she admitted.

  He grabbed her chin and gently tilted her head so that she was looking him in the eyes. In their smoky depths, she saw a passion that he was trying very hard to control.

  “You can’t keep playing this game. If you do … I will end up taking you, and no amount of conscience will stop me.”

  Although his words were meant to discourage her, she felt a tingling sensation spread from her core throughout her body. She let out an involuntary gasp, as the heat ripped through her.

  Anton began to tremble, and his eyes took on that glowing light of animal lust. He was a Vilka, and like the Sungmanitu males, they could smell a woman’s lust. She could see his instincts taking over. At that moment, her need for him was stronger than it had ever been - and he could sense it.

  “I’ll be back,” he told her, before quickly leaving their table.

  * * *

  In the men’s room, Anton splashed cold water on his face. It helped, but what he really needed was an ice cold shower. He’d picked up on the scent of her sex. Then she’d looked at him with those smoldering golden eyes - her lips parted and inviting him to taste them.

  It had been too much and his strength was waning. This time she’d nearly trigger a changing. The wolf spirit had tried to take control. If that happened, she’d be in trouble. Although she was from Outerlands, he seriously doubted that she’d ever dealt with the lusts of a male Sungmanitu or Vilka. She probably had no idea what she was in for.

  Each time he touched her - kissed her, it became that much harder to control. He wanted to taste that sweet flesh more than he’d ever wanted anything. But even if he took what he wanted from her - and gave her what she wanted - what then? She was promised to another. There was the Zen. He had made a vow never to marry, and she deserved to be more than just his bed partner.

  But there was always the reason that he’d joined the Zen in the first place. He never wanted to get close to a woman - never wanted to fall in love. He was a cursed man, and his love was like a death sentence.

  Anton closed his eyes. The agony of wanting her, but knowing it could never happen, was too much to endure. He would have to tell her why. But would she believe him, or think he was just putting her off?

  He could have sex as much as he wanted, but he could never love her. It was his curse to bear, not hers.

  * * *

  Summer was almost to the point where she was getting ready to go look for Anton, when she saw him coming toward the table.

  “Where’s your friends?” he asked.

  Summer looked up at him and smiled sweetly. “Penny went home. She has to get up early tomorrow. Jordan was meeting some friends up at Lake Tahoe. He asked if we wanted to come, but I didn’t think you would.”

  “Are you ready to go?” Anton was obviously in a hurry to get out of there.

  Summer could sense that he’d had a shift in attitude. He seemed way too anxious to end their evening. She wasn’t about to give in yet.

  “Why don’t we take a walk and check out Reno? I don’t have any classes tomorrow, so I don’t have to get up early … unless you do?”

  Anton eyed her suspiciously. He was sharp and Summer didn’t doubt that he knew exactly what she was up to.

  “Summer … we have to talk.”

  She shook her head. “We’ll talk later. Let’s go have some fun right now.”

  There was no way she was going to let any negativity ruin this night. There was time enough for that later. Tonight she had him all to herself, and she intended to take full advantage of that.

  Summer slid out of the other side of the booth and grabbed his hand. “I know what I want to do,” she told him.

  “What?” he asked, letting her pull him up.

  “Let’s go get our pictures taken.”

  Summer had to laugh at the look of shock on his face.

  “They’re old western pictures and it’s fun. There’s a place just down the street,” she explained.

  They made their way outside onto Virginia Street - Reno’s main strip, and where most of the casinos were located. The night was warm, with a hint of a breeze in the air. Summer still had a hold of his hand, and she threaded her fingers through his. She was surprised that he didn’t pull away.

  The silence between them was a comfortable silence. Summer was content to be close to him, and enjoy the feel of his hand in hers. After they walked about two blocks, they c
ame to the portrait studio.

  Fran’s Images of the Old West

  The glass display in front of the studio was filled with photos of people dressed in 19th century clothing.

  There was no one in the studio except for a young man with curly red hair and thick glasses. He appeared to be in his early 20s. When they entered, he looked up from a comic book he had been reading.

  “Can I help you?” he asked. Though he was pleasant enough, it was obvious that they had interrupted him.

  “We’d just like our picture taken,” Summer told the boy.

  “What do you want … formal or outlaw style?” he asked.

  Summer looked up at Anton, but he just shrugged his shoulders. He was obviously a little uncomfortable with the whole idea.

  “I think we want an outlaw photo … with a saloon background,” she told the guy. She assumed the boy would double as the photographer, as there was no one else around.

  “Okay … follow me.” He took them behind the large curtain that separated the lobby from the portrait studio. There were several props and backdrops that included everything from worn saddles, to lacy gowns that were popular in the south, during the Civil War era.

  Behind the studio there were several large dressing rooms.

  “Just pick out something to wear, and you can get dressed back there,” he told them.

  Summer picked out a red and black saloon girl outfit. Anton grabbed a long black coat and matching hat. Inside the dressing room, Summer shed her dress and wiggled into the slinky outfit. She was having a problem getting the back of the fishnet stockings to hook to the garter belt.

  Summer stuck her head out of the dressing room door. “Anton!” she called to him. “Will you come and help me with this please?”

  He stepped into the room. Fortunately, it was plenty big enough to fit both of them. On the back wall was a full-length mirror. She could see Anton’s reflection, and was amused by the look of discomfort on his face.

  Summer moved the red silk of the dress aside to reveal the garter clips. “Could you clip these? I can’t quite get them.”

  With only a pair of G-string panties on, her backside was almost completely revealed to him. Swallowing hard, Anton knelt down and began fumbling with the garter and stockings.