Natalie couldn’t stop her grin, but she kept moving. The vampires would already be stirring downstairs, and while Anthony might be on the run, not all of his allies were. They’d probably be more than happy to deliver her wrapped in a bow.
And then there was Christian, who wasn’t going to be happy when he got her note. The sooner he saw her in the flesh, the more wind it would take out of his pissed-off sails.
“Could you tell Jaclyn I’m working from home for the next couple of days? She can reach me on my cell, if something comes up.”
“Sure thing,” Lisa agreed. “And say ‘hi’ to Christian for me.”
Natalie responded with the expected chuckle, but didn’t slow down. Her instincts were beginning to itch, and she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
CHRISTIAN KNEW as soon as he woke that Natalie wasn’t in the house. This didn’t make him happy, but he wasn’t immediately worried. There were all sorts of reasons why she might have left, including a new run for groceries. Now that she’d be staying with him, she’d need to stock up.
He stopped first in the bedroom she was using, the one where he’d made her come multiple times last night, before leaving her limp and asleep. The bed had been made, and her things were still hanging in the closet and scattered on the bathroom counter. The room smelled of her perfume and . . . arousal. Bad girl, mon ange, he thought with a smile. He scanned the room, but saw no note. He headed for the kitchen next, and found what he was looking for, next to the coffeemaker. His smile disappeared.
“Merde! Marc, we’re leaving!” he shouted, then called Natalie’s cell phone. It went straight to voicemail. Muttering every curse in every language he could think of, he disconnected and tried to think reasonably. If she was still at the estate, she probably had her phone off, either to minimize distraction or to avoid a ringing phone calling attention to her presence there. She hadn’t done as he’d asked and stayed away altogether, but she was a very smart woman. Smart enough to take precautions and avoid running into anyone. But if she lingered after sunset, she was at risk. There were enough vampires who’d tied their futures to Anthony’s, that even with him on the run, there would be some who’d grab her just to curry favor with him.
Think, he ordered himself. There must be someone he could call, someone he could trust. The proverbial light bulb went off in his head. Of course. There was only one person in that house that he trusted. He brought up Jaclyn’s number and called her.
“Jaclyn Martel’s office,” a pleasant female voice answered.
Christian was struck by the use of Jaclyn’s last name. He’d known it, but didn’t think he’d ever heard it spoken before. “Christian Duvall, here,” he said snapping back to attention.
“Oh hi, Christian. This is Lisa, Jaclyn’s assistant. She’s not in yet, probably still sleeping off the big party last night. But if you’re looking for Natalie, you just missed her.”
Christian played along. “Damn. She must have her cell off. Did she say where she was heading?”
“It sounded like she was going directly to the dojo to meet you. Maybe she hit traffic or something.”
“That’s probably it. Thanks, Lisa.”
“Do you want Jaclyn to call when she gets in?”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll catch her later.”
He disconnected, then grabbed Natalie’s note, which he’d tossed aside after reading the first two lines. Sure enough, it said she would meet him at the dojo. That didn’t explain why she wasn’t answering her phone, but it did tell him where he could find her.
“What’s up?” Marc asked, pulling his shirt down as he stepped into the doorway.
“Natalie, bless her cute little ass, decided to work at the estate office today.” He handed the note to Marc who read it quickly.
“So we’re heading to the estate?”
“No. According to Jaclyn’s girl, she’s on her way to the dojo already.”
“Should I bring our gear?”
“Sure, why not? A little exercise will keep the violence level down once I find her.”
NATALIE HAD FINISHED her warm-up, and stepped off the floor to check her cell phone for messages, when the back door opened with its customary metal creak. She looked over, and saw Christian and Marc step inside. They drew attention just by walking down the hall. Not only because they were beautiful, which they were, but because the two of them turned a simple walk into a lethal prowl. And she wasn’t the only one who noticed. Two women were just emerging from the locker room, and their lively conversation turned off like a spigot when they caught sight of the vampires. Marc glanced over and smiled at them, and they stumbled so hard that Natalie winced, expecting them to go down in a pile of hormonal confusion.
Christian wasn’t paying attention to their erstwhile admirers, however. His eyes were locked on her, and she smiled at him, feeling happy and a little stupid for getting so excited that he was there. Was she making too much of what they had? So they’d had sex, and okay, so it had been more than just once, and more than just sex. It had been life-altering, mind-blowing, burn-up-the-sheets sex. But that didn’t mean she should be getting all jittery when he walked into a room. She wasn’t that pathetic, was she?
Christian’s gaze never left her as he stood by the locker room door, and waited for her to come to him. He looked good in his black jeans and crew neck sweater, a gear bag slung over his shoulder. But would it have killed him to walk a few steps down the hall to meet her halfway? It was as if she was the peon, and he was royalty, waiting for her to come to him. And could he at least smile like he was glad to see her?
She opened her mouth to tell him all of this, but as soon as she was within reach, he took her hand and pulled her toward the back door. “Talk to Alon,” he told Marc, and then hustled her out into the parking lot behind the dojo.
“Talk to Alon about what?” she asked, having to hurry to keep up with his long strides. “And hello to you, too. Rude.”
Christian glanced down at her, and she realized he wasn’t being rude. He was angry.