Marissa gathered her cape with her hands and slid inside, shutting the door.
The light went off.
Dimly Butch heard some kind of shuffling next to him, and he glanced at John. The kid had shrunk back against the far window and was looking across the seats with fear in his eyes. That was when Butch realized he had palmed his gun and was growling.
Totally creeped out by the insane reaction, he took his foot off the Escalade's brake and stomped on the gas pedal.
"Don't worry, son. Nothing doing."
As he spun them around he looked in the rearview mirror at the Bentley. It was moving now, doing its own turn in the parking lot. With a grim curse Butch tore off down the driveway, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles stung.
Rehvenge frowned as Marissa got into his Bentley. God, he'd forgotten how beautiful she was. And she smelled just as good... the clean scent of the ocean filling his nose.
"Why won't you let me come to the front door?" he said, taking in her fair hair and her flawless skin. "You should have let me pick you up properly."
"You know how Havers is." The door shut with a solid sound. "He'll want us mated."
"That's ridiculous."
"And you're not the same way with your sister?"
"No comment."
As he waited for an Escalade to clear out of the parking lot, Marissa laid a hand on his sable sleeve. "I know I said this before, but I'm so sorry for everything that happened to Bella. How is she?"
How the hell would he know? "I'd rather not talk about her. No offense, but I'm just... Yeah, I don't want to go there."
"Rehv, tonight doesn't have to happen. I know you've been through a lot, and frankly I was surprised you would see me at all."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm glad you called on me." He reached out and squeezed her hand. The bones under her skin were so delicate that he reminded himself he was going to have to be very gentle with her. She was not what he was used to.
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J R Ward: Lover Awakened
As he drove them downtown, he could sense her nerves tightening. "It's going to be all right. I really am cool that you called."
"I'm rather embarrassed, actually. I just don't know what to do."
"We'll take it slow."
"I've only ever been with Wrath."
"I know. That's why I wanted to pick you up in the car. I thought you'd be too nervous to dematerialize."
"I am."
As they came up to a stoplight, he smiled at her. "I'm going to take good care of you."
Her pale blue eyes looked over at him. "You are a good male, Rehvenge."
He ignored that miscalculation and concentrated on the traffic.
Twenty minutes later they were stepping out of a high-tech elevator and into the vestibule of his penthouse apartment. His place took up half of the thirty-story building's top floor, overlooking the Hudson River and all of Caldwell. With the vast blocks of windows, he never used the place during the day. But it was perfect for the night.
He kept the lights low and waited as Marissa walked around and looked at things a decorator had bought for his lair. He didn't care about the stuff or the views or the fancy gadgets. He cared about the privacy from his family. Bella had never been here, and neither had their mother. In fact, neither knew he had the penthouse.
As if realizing she was wasting time, Marissa turned and faced him. Under the lights her beauty was absolutely stunning, and he was grateful for the extra hit of dopamine he'd pumped into his system about an hour ago. In symphaths, the drug had an opposite effect than when it was administered to humans or vampires.
The chemical increased certain neurotransmitter activity and reception, ensuring that the symphath patient could feel no pleasure, no... nothing. With Rehv's sense of touch gone, his brain could better control the rest of his impulses.
Which was the only reason Marissa was safe to be alone with him, considering what they were going to do.
Rehv removed his coat, then walked over to her, relying on his cane more than usual because he could not take his eyes off her. Balancing the staff against his thighs, he slowly undid the bow that held her cape together.
She stared down at his hands, trembling as he slid the folds of black wool from her shoulders. He smiled as he slung the weight over a chair.