"What?" was all I said.

He pushed past me, took a quick glimpse at the interior of my apartment and then exhaled heavily at me. "I want you to leave her alone." The nervous tremor in his voice disappeared as he continued to speak, "I'm not here as a squad member talking to his superior, I'm here talking to you as one guy to another. Leave her alone."

As a gesture of boredom, I stuffed my free hand in my pants pocket while using the other to swirl the contents of my NST bottle. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"All she'd be is another notch on your bedpost. You can get s.e.x anywhere, you've got three consorts to give you it whenever you want, just leave this one woman alone."

"What would you know about what I want?"

"I've heard all about how you treat women, that you're only out to get laid. Fine, that's your business. But Sam's worth more than that. Or at least she is to me."

Inwardly I groaned before shooting a rhetorical question at him. "Are you and her together?"

"No."

"Then I don't see how what Sam and I do or don't do has anything at all to do with you." I gestured toward the door with my head but he remained still. Like an idiot.

"Okay, let's look at it this way. We both want her. But you don't care about her, I do. So don't you think it's only fair that you just leave her be?"

"Let's look at it another way. Sam doesn't want someone to care about her, she wants to keep it simple."

He frowned. "How would you know?"

"She told me. After everything she's been through, I don't blame her." Yes, that was me making a point to him that there were things about her and her past that he didn't know and that she had trusted me with. "I'd seriously think before you go declaring your undying love for her. She'll run a mile."

"Yeah, right, like I'd listen to your advice. You'd say anything that'd mess up my chances with her. What's the matter? Feeling threatened?"

"You obviously are or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I I Oh f.u.c.k you, Michaels. Be smart and leave her alone. You'll be sorry if you don't." His tone was sharp and clipped.

In vampire speed I placed myself nose to nose in front of him. "I really hope you can follow up on that threat 'cause you're going to need to." What bothered me more than the threat was the way he talked about Sam like he had rights to her. "Let me ask you, she ever let you kiss her?" His silence answered that. "You mean you're making all this effort and not even getting any action?" I shook my head and whistled. "You're missing out. She's one really good kisser."

His eyes widened and lots of veins and tendons in his face and neck were bulging. It could have been mistaken for envy, but it was more to do with anger. He had realised that he was only embarra.s.sing himself by coming here with this all high and mighty att.i.tude only to find out that he's not the expert on Sam that he thought he was.

Once his face was no longer contorted he flashed me an ugly smirk. "I better go, I don't want to be late for my dinner with Sam."

"Don't choke on your food now, will you," I called over my shoulder as he pa.s.sed and left the apartment.

What a son of a b.i.t.c.h. Barging into my apartment. Confronting me. Threatening me. Acting like he had any rights where Sam was concerned. I should've just decked him. Full points for me for not losing it. But did that mean I was going to just let this go, that I could let this go? Oh no. Not a chance. His evening was going to be cut short.

(Sam) I stared hard at the menu, not really reading it, trying my hardest to ignore the anger that was steaming off Max and making him unbelievably uncomfortable to be around. I'd already asked four times if he was okay, each time getting a yeah, great'. Only he wasn't great far from it. And now I was bra.s.sed off. He was the one who wanted to come here. How was it that I'd become the one keeping a conversation going to fill the silence? I'd given up on that now, meeting the silence with silence, fully intending to walk right back out if he didn't perk up within the next ten minutes.

At last he spoke. "I never got a chance to ask you what all the c.r.a.p was about with that guy last night." He sounded like a deflated version of himself, like someone had sucked the enthusiasm out of him. "Something about him being responsible for the death of his best friend...?"

I nodded. "Who also happened to be my boyfriend at the time." I consulted the menu again, hoping for a subject change. "What're you ordering?"

"I tried to see if you were okay. Last night, I mean. I went over to see you, but Jared was holding you. He wouldn't budge."

"Oh." Well of course I knew that, but Max wouldn't understand that I just couldn't deal with talking to everyone about it. He was the type of person who could talk about anything. Anything at all, no matter how personal, and not feel awkward or embarra.s.sed. He never seemed to ever experience the feeling of needing to keep anything private.

"And then I came by your room. You didn't answer."

I hoped I was imagining the element of suspicion in his voice. "I must've been asleep when you knocked."

"How long did Jared stay with you? Or did he just leave straight after teleporting you there?"

"What's with the round of twenty questions?"

"I'm just asking."

"Where there's that waiter?" I didn't need the waiter, I needed the exit.

"Have you and Jared ever..." He started playing with his own fingers, keeping his glare fixed on the table. "I mean, I wouldn't blame you for falling for his bulls.h.i.t."

"I haven't fallen for anything, or haven't you noticed that he's not here?" It came out much snappier than I'd intended. Max didn't seem fazed by my change in tone. His mind was very much somewhere else. "Has Jared said something to you?"

"Has Jared said something to me?" He laughed a miserable laugh with a cutting edge to it. "Jared says a lot of things. Are you referring to how he made it obvious you talk to him about personal stuff, or that he told me you and him had kissed?"

The first seemed to bother him most. Like I said, Max didn't feel the need to keep things private, so for him to hear that not only do I keep things private from him realistically though that's not exactly uncommon with people you barely know but the fact that I have no problem sharing those things with someone else is just incomprehensible to him.

"I can understand why you might like him," he said before I could respond to his question. "But you have to see that all he wants is to use you."

"Max -"

"He'd drop you straight after it easier than a bad habit."

"Max -"

"Did you know he never screws the same woman twice unless it's one of his consorts?"

"Max, will you just stop with the ranting." I might have been annoyed with Jared for what he'd said to Max but he'd only spoken the truth and it wasn't like Max and I were together or anything. And I had to wonder if Max had ranted at Jared and that's why Jared had then disclosed the info. I would've wanted to shut him up as well.

"So what he said was true," said Max.

"Jared and I have kissed, yes."

"You didn't tell me."

"You didn't ask until now. I never had any intention of hiding it but I've got no reason to go round jabbering on about it either, have I? Now can we stop talking about inconsequential c.r.a.p and just order the food, please." Before the hand even appeared on my elbow seconds later, I knew he was there. My senses had screamed it at me. Such a simple thing to have someone gently hold your elbow, and yet every nerve ending in my body was now extremely alert.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?" spat Max.

Jared shrugged. "I'm going to have to take her, sorry." He looked down at me, his alluring hazel eyes glinting slightly with humour. "Antonio wants me to show you the file containing the information on all the High Master vampires who'll be at the gathering tomorrow night."

"What gathering?" demanded Max.

Jared smiled at him. "Oh we're going to a gathering together of one the High Master Vampires tomorrow night."

"And looking at this file just couldn't wait until tomorrow night?" Max sneered at Jared.

"You aren't suggesting I'd interrupt your meal unless I had a really important reason, are you?"

"The things I said really got to you, did they?"

Yes, I'd been right; Max must have ranted at Jared not so long ago and now he was getting a little payback. I wouldn't have let the game continue except that it was a fantastic excuse to get me out of here. Before they started pounding on their chests like gorillas I pushed out my chair and rose. "Sorry about this, Max. Another night."

Jared shot me a curious glance. I thought you were going to be difficult.

Let's just go.

Max cursed and scowled. "Sam, wait, will you just -"

Jared held onto my lower arms and smiled triumphantly at Max. "Sorry to leave you stranded."

Chapter Eleven.

(Sam) The second that the queasy feeling in my stomach, courtesy of teleporting, eased and we arrived at Jared's apartment I ripped my arms from his grasp. He was already laughing, rather pleased with himself. I wasn't sure what I felt most strongly: annoyed at him for thinking he had the right to interfere with my plans, or flattered that he was so affected by the idea of me having plans with someone else. It was always nice to have a little power over someone who tended to consider themselves to be all big and bad.

"Next time you feel like winding up some bloke I'm about to go out with, you might want to warn me in advance."

"I wound him up?" He snorted. "I wasn't the one who turned up at someone else's apartment threatening them to stay away from you."

I gaped. "He did that?"

"Must be love in its purest form."

I went to slap his arm but in a blurred motion he was out of my sight. That's when I took notice of the apartment. It was like double the size of mine. And incredible. The colour scheme was a perfect mixture of warm gold, cream and ivory. Dark oak flooring seemed to be a feature throughout. His living area was bigger than my bedroom and en-suite bathroom combined. He had one of those leather corner sofas that seated like eight people and were so bulky that when you sat on it your feet just about touched the floor. The rectangular coffee table had pillar-like legs and matched the oak flooring so perfectly that I wondered if the table was made out of the same wood as the flooring. Typical of blokes, his platinum T.V. was unnecessarily wide. And wow he had a fish-tank somehow built into the wall. Posh b.u.g.g.e.r.

Past the living room was a large s.p.a.ce with a conference table in the centre, and following on from that was the kitchen. Even from here, the beginning of the living area, I could tell that the large square kitchen was extremely modern; rich woods, chrome appliances, and marble counters.

I suddenly became conscious that Jared was stood at the outer edge of the kitchen staring at me as he tackled an NST. He raised an eyebrow. "Like it?"

Oh so this was usually all it took to have women on their backs with their legs spread. I casually shrugged one shoulder. "It's alright."

He laughed. The gruff sound of it was alluring. G.o.d, he was alluring. Even more so when he wore those black Armani jeans and that very complimentary white Armani t-shirt, the best feature of course being that knee-length leather jacket. I was starting to suspect that he hadn't removed it because he knew how much I liked it on him.

Raising both brows now, he used his thumb to gesture behind them. "The bedroom's that way, if that's what you're looking for."

I gestured to behind me. "And the front door's that way, and unless you want me to walk right on out of it you can behave yourself."

He smiled. "I'll try to behave."

"On a more serious note, doesn't it get weird having all this s.p.a.ce to yourself?"

The humour in his eyes dimmed a little for a split second. Then he shot me a roguish smile. "I need all the s.p.a.ce for my big swollen ego."

"I never thought of that."

He nodded toward the kitchen. "Want anything? I take it you haven't eaten." His mouth twitched. Clearly he was delighted about the situation he had created.

"Got any alcohol flavoured NSTs?"

"I might have Budweiser flavoured ones."

"They'll do."

"You like Budweiser?"

I gave him an impatient look. "Let me guess, you find that so surprising because I'm a girl and we girls generally drink spirits and c.o.c.ktails."

He held his hands up in an apologetic gesture. "I'll take my s.e.xist a.s.s to the refrigerator and bring you back some Bud flavoured NSTs."

"Yeah, you do that."

He laughed again and nodded toward the conference table before then disappearing into the kitchen. On the surface of the long, gla.s.s table was a thick file. So he was telling the truth about there being information for me to look at, he wasn't just trying to get me away from Max. A small part of me was stupidly disappointed that he hadn't simply acted on a need to end my night with Max.

Placing my small white handbag on the table, I called out, "What is this gathering anyway? And who's Connelly?"

Jared swiftly appeared beside me with a handful of NSTs that he plonked on the table, making them noisily clink against the gla.s.s surface. "Connelly is a High Master vampire. He's about three centuries old and he's got a rod stuck up his a.s.s, but he's devoted to Antonio."

"So then why invite you to the gathering and not Antonio?"

"Antonio never leaves The Hollow. Ever. By going to the gathering, I'm kind of his representative."

"And this gathering is an annual thing?" I took the opened NST he was offering and took a swig. Not bad.

"Yep."

"For what?"

"It's the anniversary of the day that Connelly became a vampire. He has this huge party every year, but really it's just an excuse for everyone to get together and get smashed. But, the reason people go is because Connelly's very select about who he invites. He never exceeds a certain number either. So to get invited is thought of as an honour; a statement that you're considered important in the vampire world."

"So basically it's an opportunity for all of you select' people to get together and shine your swollen egos."

He jiggled his head. "More or less. Unless a vampire is a master vampire, they don't get invited. The only ones who aren't masters are the High Masters." He patted the file. "Antonio wants you to have an idea of who they are before you go. We know that Bennington will be invited, and Antonio's concerned that if Bennington attends he will use the opportunity to approach the other High Masters with his plans to attack The Hollow. It's doubtful that he'll just come straight out with it, but he might hint at it to test the water. So Antonio wants us both to be on the alert."

I cast him a suspicious look. "I could have just gone through this at dusk before we left."

He smiled. "So you could've."

So he was eager to get me away from Max. Hmm. And now he was doing his glaring thing again, taking in my white satin strapless dress and my white stilettos. Slowly his eyes skated over every inch of my body, boring into me to the point that his glare was almost a caress. I could literally feel his need for me and had to repress a shudder. Twisting his lips and raising a brow suggestively, he met my gaze.