Darkworld - Hot Water Part 7

"Eden!" The smooth, smoky tones of the black dragon's voice still gave her the sensation of a fine whiskey burning its way through her veins. "I never thought I'd see you in this building again. How are you?"

Slapping a polite smile on her face, Eden turned to greet her former lover. "I'm good, Vahid. How are you? Still keeping things together for Sean?"

Vahid nodded his dark head. The same height as Eden, with impossibly wide shoulders and thickly muscled arms, he had ink dark, mesmerizing eyes. He had the most disconcerting habit of focusing intently on a person when he spoke to them. Women adored it. Men found it intimidating. Eden didn't have either problem. However, Vahid was her brother's right hand. His favored Vice President. If he asked questions, he had some kind of ulterior motive, which usually involved telling Sean everything. "I'm glad Sean is keeping you busy. Do you happen to know if he's in today?" she asked, her polite smile becoming an inquiring one.

Vahid grinned. "Oh, he's here. It's been a busy morning," he said, his expression amused.

"Really?" Eden eyed him thoughtfully for a moment, thinking he was still the nicest man ever. When she'd broken up with him, he'd taken it with equanimity, as he did most things. She'd wondered then, as she did now, where all his extreme emotions hid.

"It's good to see you again, Vahid. Take care of yourself," she murmured, her attention shifting back to her mission as she headed down the corridor to Sean's office.

"It's great to see you too, Eden."

She could have sworn she heard laughter in Vahid's reply, but she couldn't imagine what amused him so she dismissed it, reaching for the handle of Sean's door. She opened it and stepped in.

"I said I didn't want to see anyone!" Sean growled angrily.

Eden blinked. Sean's usually immaculate office looked like a tornado had hit it. Papers littered the floor and one wall had a huge crack in it from the floor to the ceiling. Plaster dust lay thick on the burgundy carpet. Her eyes flicked to her brother and narrowed speculatively. He stood at the closet door in front of the full-length mirror, dabbing at his mouth... his b.l.o.o.d.y mouth.

"What the f.u.c.k happened to you?" she asked brusquely. "Not that you didn't deserve it."

"Your mate happened to me," Sean bit out. "You're going to need to put him on a leash, Eden. He acted like a rabid dog!"

The anger that had banked a little when she'd run into Vahid returned full force and then some. How dare Sean call Colin a rabid dog?

"You know, Sean, I can see why you have Vahid around. You're not very tactful and he is nothing but tact," she said in a falsely cheerful voice.

Sean looked at her warily in the mirror. "Why are you here, Eden? I thought nothing could ever make you step foot in this h.e.l.l hole again."

"Well, what you said about me to Colin isn't nothing. Why the h.e.l.l did you lie to him about me? I mean, c'mon, Sean. Paris Hilton?" she spat, her anger taking hold. "The man didn't know me from Jack and yet you filled his head with a pack of farfetched lies! Why would you say those things about me?"

She met her brother's gaze in the mirror. His eyes were so cold she blinked in surprise. "Because you became someone as worthless as those spoiled celebrity girls when you left this family, Eden. What we do here isn't good enough for you. It's not exciting. It's not creative. It's not fun. If we weren't good enough for you, then by the G.o.ds you weren't good enough for us any longer," he raged.

"t.i.t for tat? Is that what your lies were all about? Because that's a f.u.c.king childish thing to do. You're the head of this family, the oldest male. You're supposed to lead by example, not act like a whiny little boy who didn't get his way."

Eden stormed over to him, glaring scornfully at his b.l.o.o.d.y lip. "I'm glad Colin hit you. He's not afraid of who or what I am. He loves me whether I take photos for a living or work for you. In fact, after everything that's happened, I think Colin would respect me less if I asked to come back here to work!"

"I wouldn't take you back! You have no loyalty!" Sean roared, his dark eyes glittering.

Eden's spine stiffened as outrage filled her. "You're a fine one to talk! Lying about your own sister in a fit of pique?

What the f.u.c.k kind of loyalty is that? Colin has more loyalty in his little finger than you have in your whole body!" she yelled. "All these years, I let you make me think I was worthless, nothing but trouble, that I didn't fit into this family.

Well, let me tell you, Sean Taylor Antaeus, you're the one who doesn't fit! Trying to mold Declan and Holden in your own image so that you can justify who you are. You're nothing but a mean, petty, manipulative b.a.s.t.a.r.d and I'm so sorry I ever believed anything you ever said to me!"

As the last word left her mouth, she let fly with her fist, catching Sean squarely in the left eye. He staggered, and she spun on her heel, storming out of his office. She paused in the door and looked over her shoulder at him. He leaned against the closet door, his eye swelling.

"All these years, I thought I disappointed you because you loved me when in reality, you didn't love me. I'm so glad I have Colin, because now I know what real love is. My mate is my family now, Sean. Not you. Not you ever again."

She stalked down the corridor, brushing past the crowds of gawking AI employees. Just before she reached the elevator, a hard hand grabbed her arm. She twisted, trying to get away, but stopped when she saw her other brothers standing there.

"We aren't Sean or Diandra," Holden said, his expression grim. "We weren't ever disappointed in you, Eden."

"I'm so sorry you ever thought we were," Declan told her.

Blinking back the sudden onslaught of tears, she hugged each of her brothers. "Thank you, but Colin is my family now. I belong to him."

"We've always been here for you, Eden, even if you never realized that," Declan said. "Holden and I should have tried harder to let you know that we love you. Unfortunately, like so many other things, we just let Sean deal with it.

We're so sorry, Ede."

She sighed and shook her head. "It's done now." She smiled brightly then. "You'll have to come to dinner once the house looks like someone lives there," she joked.

"You've got a deal," Holden said with a grin.

Eden stepped into the elevator and let it take her down to the garage level. Her happiness had her practically skipping to the Land Rover. As she drove away from the high rise, she realized that she hadn't spoken to Colin in hours and now she had a broken phone. She'd get a new one tomorrow, she decided. Tonight she didn't need the distraction because she was going to mate Colin. If she got a replacement phone and it went off as she released her dragonfire, she would really be p.i.s.sed. Tomorrow was soon enough for a new phone. Tonight, she'd be busy.

"Tell me again why I did this," Sean barked into the phone.

He frowned as he listened to the voice on the other end. Wincing, he held a small ice pack to his eye. "You know I've been punched twice today. The last time anyone laid a hand on me, he ended up unconscious. If you've f.u.c.ked this up, I'm taking these two punches out on you, just as if you had hit me."

Sean set the ice pack down and fingered his fat lip as the person on the other end spoke. Finally, he said, "I'm telling you, Alfred, all of this had better work. The last time we played matchmaker, Marius' miscalculations about his sister nearly f.u.c.ked everything up. We can't make those kinds of mistakes with Eden. It's promising that they were compelled to come here and hit me, but this last thing had better work too, otherwise I'm confessing everything."

A heavy sigh escaped Sean. "Yeah sure, Alfred. I'll see you and Marius tomorrow. Same tee time? Okay, good. Oh, and if either of you laughs at my black eye and fat lip, I will give you both matching ones."

Colin went home to find that Eden hadn't been there. Frowning, he wondered if she could still be at Sean's house. Every time he called her, it went straight to voice mail. With no way to reach her, he figured the best thing to do would be to go to Sean's house. Eden might still be packing. Maybe she could use another pair of hands to get it done more quickly, he thought.

He drove swiftly to Sean's house, only a few miles down the highway. He walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Sean's wife Careen answered, her expression wary.

"h.e.l.lo, Colin. What can I do for you?" she asked.

Her expression made the doubt inside Colin leap. "Is Eden here?"

She shook her head, the fiery tresses spilling over her shoulders. "She left hours ago."

"Do you know where she went? I haven't been able to reach her," he said in a calm voice that hid his inner turmoil.

"To see Sean," Careen admitted. "She was angry with him."

"I see." Colin started to turn away. "Thank you, Careen."

As he started down the sidewalk, Careen called out to him. "Colin!"

He looked back at her. She looked uncomfortable and not very happy. "Just remember that sometimes things aren't what they seem."

Colin nodded and turned toward his car. He had no clue what the h.e.l.l her cryptic message meant, and he didn't have time to stay and grill her. Right now, he needed to find Eden.

The tire didn't mind being kicked, but Eden's toe complained. She stood on the side of the coast highway and frowned at the stupid Land Rover. Less than a year old, and barely driven by her because she'd been away. Almost all the miles on it had been logged by one of her brothers in an effort to keep the SUV in working order by driving it once a week. And if it worked properly, why the h.e.l.l did the gas gauge register half a tank when it was obviously empty?

Having run out of gas before, Eden had recognized the tell tale sputter and loss of power. Luckily, this stretch of the highway had a wide verge and she'd easily steered the big SUV off the road and into the dirt. Now, she stood beside the vehicle, cursing up a storm, and kicking the big tire to the detriment of her big toe. She couldn't call roadside a.s.sistance with the pieces of her broken phone. This stretch of highway had no developments on it and the snooty Southern Californians who drove by wouldn't dream of stopping to ask if she needed help. They a.s.sumed that people had cell phones.

She could walk the few miles to the next call box, pay phone, or place of business or she could let Colin into her thoughts. She kicked the tire again. She'd started a new life! She shouldn't need to be bailed out the very first day!

Asking for his help was out of the question. Looking at her delicate designer footwear, she realized she couldn't walk for any distance along the side of the road in the expensive slides so the call box was out too.

Her gaze took in the puffy clouds drifting in the pale blue sky. Another solution presented itself and she grinned. In fact, it had been ages since she'd had an idea this good. Crouching behind the Land Rover, she opened the pa.s.senger door and began to take her clothes off. She locked everything in the car and turned her face to the sky, unworried that anyone would see her naked...

Colin drove through the gates of Granville Cemetery as if chased by the demons of h.e.l.l. He strode into the administration building and breezed into his office, barking at Corey, "Get Declan on the phone for me!"

He'd barely sat down when Corey came in and picked up the handset of his phone, holding it out to him. "It's ringing," he said with a cheeky smile.

Colin s.n.a.t.c.hed the phone from him. He glared at Corey, but the a.s.sistant continued to stand there smiling.

"Colin? What's going on?" Declan barked into the phone.

"Where the h.e.l.l is your sister?" Colin snapped back.

"What?" Declan drew a long audible breath. "Is Elysia okay?" he asked more calmly.

Colin gritted his teeth. The G.o.ds preserve him from newlyweds. "She's fine. Where the h.e.l.l is Eden?"

"I don't know. She left here a couple of hours ago." Declan sounded puzzled. "What's going on?" he asked again.

"Eden is missing." The starkness of his words perhaps conveyed something more sinister than he meant, but Colin was worried. "Who saw her last?"

"Me and Holden. We saw her get on the elevator. Hang on a sec. Lemme make sure she left."

Declan put him on hold and Colin drummed his fingers on the desk. Where the f.u.c.k was she? And why wasn't she letting his thoughts in?

Declan came back on the line. "The parking attendant said she left. Where have you looked for her?"

"My house, Sean's. She's not answering her phone or her head," Colin said roughly.

Corey snickered at his words and Colin shot him a dirty look.

Declan sighed. "Look, Colin. Women do this s.h.i.t. They go shopping. They forget about their phones. They tune us out. Eden's not stupid. I doubt she did anything dangerous, despite Sean's idea that she's a bad girl always falling into trouble. He says that s.h.i.t because she's like him and he can't control her. If you haven't heard from her in a couple more hours call me back and we'll all go looking for her."

Colin bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from yelling at his brother in law. "Was she okay after she saw Sean?

Her mood?" he asked stiffly.

"Why?" Declan's smooth voice turned suspicious.

"Because... because..." he broke off and ran a hand around the back of his neck. This was crazy, he thought. He shouldn't be freaking out thinking that she left him. He loved her. He should have faith in her... the way her brother Sean never had.

"You know, Colin, I'm not sure I like the hesitancy in your voice." Declan's tone and words came out harshly, and Colin didn't blame him one bit. He didn't like himself much at the moment. "I have never seen Eden so happy as when she left this office, babbling about your house and having us over for dinner. Does that sound like a woman who's about to run out on you?"

Colin rubbed his free hand over his face. G.o.d d.a.m.n his brother-in-law for being so f.u.c.king smart. "No. And I'm clearly an a.s.shole for letting my brother get to me and making me question my own gut instinct. I'm sorry, Declan."

His brother in law chuckled. "Don't apologize to me. This is between you and my sister. I'm not even gonna mention it to her. Relax, Colin. She probably went to buy you a present. She's like that, you know. Little spur of the moment gifts and goodies. At least, she used to be before she and Sean had their falling out over the company."

Declan said goodbye and hung up. Colin looked up at Corey who stared at him thoughtfully. "What?" he burst out after a minute went by. "Me thinks you shouldn't listen to older brothers, yours or hers," he p.r.o.nounced. "Your love affair is between you and her. Leave it that way and things will be just fine."

"How old are you?" Colin asked the fae man.

Corey looked down his nose at his boss. "Older than you, although I look much younger thanks to my wildling genes," he said. "Well, that and my happy lifestyle."

Colin's lips twitched. "Don't you mean gay lifestyle?"

Corey walked to the door. "If I meant gay I would have said gay. I mean happy. I prefer to be happy. You should prefer to be that way too."

After Corey left, Colin looked at the closed door thoughtfully. Happiness was a choice. It didn't just happen to you.

Despite the people around you who might try to keep you from it. Ultimately, everyone had to choose whether or not to be happy. Giving his brother and Sean a mental f.u.c.k you, Colin decided the time had come for him to live his life on his own terms. His... and Eden's.

Turning his thoughts back to the question of where she could be, he jumped when his cell phone rang. He s.n.a.t.c.hed it up, thinking it might be Eden, and looked at the caller ID. His excitement ebbed when he saw his neighbor's number.

"Hey, Jon. What's up?"

"Colin, I think you better come home," his next-door neighbor said in a voice that shook slightly.

Colin's stomach clenched. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Uhhh... there's a dragon in your yard."

Chapter Nine.

Of course, her brilliant idea had turned to s.h.i.t the moment she had gotten to Colin's house. She didn't have a key.

She didn't have clothes. If she shifted back to human form, she'd be sitting outside naked, waiting for Colin. Unless she let him in her head. With a stubborn grunt, she stretched out on the flagstone patio and put her huge fanged head down. She was not about to admit that on the first day of her new life, she'd screwed everything up royally. Well...

except for the part where she'd slugged Sean. Hitting her brother had filled her with a sense of triumph. Her hand had stung like crazy, but the moment she shifted to dragon form the pain left.

A quarter hour pa.s.sed, and waiting for Colin began to make her antsy. Then she heard hushed voices. Her head swiveled a little. On the other side of the privacy fence, Colin's neighbor stood talking on a cell phone. Every few minutes he'd peek around the edge of the fence at her. She put her head down with a sigh that sent steam rolling toward the sky.