Pushing away from the mirror, she leaned into the shower and turned on the water, waiting until it was hot before stepping under the spray. While she showered, she obsessed about how angry Christian was going to be. Her stomach churned, and she wondered how she’d gotten involved so deeply, so fast. And when he’d become so important to her.
Once out of the shower, she did a quick blow dry of her hair, and pulled on some underwear, then wrapped her robe around herself, and was crossing into her bedroom when the ringing doorbell made her jump. Her gaze shot to the clock on her bedside. A little early, but not unexpected.
Doing a quick finger-comb of her hair as she went past the mirror, she hurried down the stairs and over to the door, doing a quick check through the peephole. Her already knotted stomach twisted harder.
Time to face the music.
She looked again. He did not seem happy.
“Open the fucking door, Natalie,” Christian growled. “I can hear you breathing.”
Damn vampire hearing. She yanked the door open. “You’re early.”
Christian’s back had been to the door while he’d been saying something to Marc, but when the door opened, he did a graceful spin, and now he was glowering down at her. “It’s lovely to see you, too, chére. Invite us in.”
Natalie stared at him. She’d been so set on her course when she left the estate earlier, so certain she was doing the right thing. But now . . . now she was beginning to think she’d acted rashly, that her much vaunted intellect had been overtaken by fear, and she’d let it rule her decisions. That wasn’t like her. She usually over thought everything, so what had happened? She suddenly realized she didn’t know what she wanted anymore. And Christian was waiting.
“Of course,” she said finally. “Come in, both of you. But you have to listen to me,” she added, as first Marc and then Christian slipped past her.
Turning, Christian moved her out of the way, and closed the door, only to loom over her, his deep blue eyes glittering with anger. “So talk, mon ange. Tell me why you left Jaclyn’s office, left the estate, without a word of explanation. Why you ignored my repeated calls to ascertain that you were, at the very least, alive and well.”
“I called you,” she snapped. “And I told you to come over here. There was no point in arguing over the phone when it’s so much more satisfying in person!”
Christian grinned. “Are we going to argue, chére? What about?”
Natalie licked her lips nervously. This was it. Doomsday. “About me going out with Anthony tonight.” She didn’t even finish her sentence before Christian’s eyes filled with blue fire and she braced herself for his roar.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” he growled, in a voice so deep it made the floors tremble.
“No, I have not,” she said, standing firm in the face of his anger. It was nothing she hadn’t expected. “He’ll be here at midnight, and—”
“Merde! Do you have any idea what a vampire like Anthony can do? You were there at Jaclyn’s. Did you see what he did to Cibor? And believe me he’s much—”
“He threatened you!” she shouted, abruptly tired of being treated like an idiot. “Yes, I know what he can do, and, yes, God damn it, I know what he did to Cibor. Why do you think I’m doing this?” She snapped her lips shut, having said far more than she’d planned.
Christian stared at her a long time, while she waited for him to explode. Maybe shoot fire out of his eyes or something this time. But he didn’t do any of those things.
“Do you trust me, Natalie?”
She blinked at the sudden question, but there was only one answer. “Of course I do.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up in a smile at her quick response, but his next words were deadly serious. “I want to check your head, to see if your mind’s been tampered with. Because I can’t think of any reason why you’d think that I need your protection.”
Ah, yes. There was the roar she’d been waiting for. “Well, pardon me, great one,” she drawled sarcastically, “for believing you might need me for anything. And, no, I will not let you tap into my brain.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Afraid I’ll discover you think I’m brilliant and handsome?”
She puffed out a dismissive breath. “Hardly. Now sit down and listen to me.”
Christian cupped her cheek in one hand, his thumb moving in slow, soothing circles over her chin. “No, chére. You listen to me. I need you for many things, but I do not need you to protect me against Anthony, or any other vampire. That’s my business, and I’m very good at my business.”
“But—”
“No,” he said, that one word saying it all.
He was completely unwilling to discuss it. Why had she ever thought they could have a rational conversation?
“He thinks if he gets you away from me, he can win you over. And if not, then he’ll force your mind to his way of thinking. Never mistake Anthony’s pettiness for stupidity. He has no morals, no limits when it comes to—”