Warrior of Fate Page 16

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Since your father is not here to answer for his transgressions, send in Nilara. She can stand in for your father for now. She always screams so deliciously.”

  Azotay kept his expression blank, even as his fingers curled. “Yes, Your Excellency.”

  He left the room, notifying a guard to summon his mother.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Saturday night came quickly.

  Adrian and Larina had worked out the security plans for the charity dinner, leaving Adrian satisfied—so he said—that everything would be fine. But Tessa could still sense some concern on that front. However, even the temple had stated that the danger level had gone down a bit with the stone locked up tight behind their walls, so Adrian agreed to go forward with their dinner date.

  Tessa spent most of the day Saturday with butterflies in her stomach, agonizing over what to wear, what to do with her hair. Even though they’d already been as intimate as two people could be, this was still her first official date with Adrian. She finally settled on a pale pink dress with cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, and pulled her hair up with a rhinestone clip.

  And she’d made certain to have a chat with Faith about keeping Darius out of her emotions for the evening.

  The rest of the family gathered in the foyer at about six o’clock, decked out in all their finery. Larina joined them, tanned and elegant in a simple black evening gown.

  “You don’t look like any security guard I’ve ever seen,” Carter said, not hiding his appreciation. Rigo said nothing, but Tessa heard his thoughts. He agreed with Carter, but was keeping his interest to himself. Larina and Adrian put their heads together for one last confirmation of the security arrangements, and minutes later, the Montanas left for the airport, where they would make the quick half-hour flight to Phoenix in their private jet.

  An hour after that, Tessa, Adrian, Faith, and Darius left for their double dinner date right in Sedona. They arrived at Los Robles Resort and Villas in Adrian’s slick, silver Mercedes and were escorted to separate booths in the restaurant of the main hotel.

  “We call this Lovers’ Lane,” the host said with a grin, indicating the row of high-walled, private booths. “Every couple can feel as if they’re all alone.”

  “But you really won’t be alone, right, Gray?” Darius said, sending Adrian a hard look. Faith’s ring, which nulled the wearer’s powers, glinted on his pinky.

  “We’ll be close enough,” Adrian said. “No worries, Darius.”

  “I’m not the one who should be worried,” Darius muttered.

  Tessa rolled her eyes at Faith.

  “Perhaps you would all like to sit together?” the host asked.

  “No!” the four replied simultaneously.

  “Very well.” The young man picked up four menus. “Follow me, please.” He seated each couple in Lovers’ Lane, but at opposite ends of the row.

  Adrian and Tessa perused the menus and wine list by candlelight as the host walked away. In the back of Tessa’s mind, the rumble of mental voices seemed louder than usual. She focused on the wines, trying to filter out the noise.

  “What looks good to you?” Adrian asked.

  “You pick.” She put down the wine list and closed her eyes.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” He set down his own list.

  “It’s very loud here.”

  He frowned and looked around the elegant restaurant, not that he could see much from their secluded location. “You think so?”

  Mentally, she sent to him. Too many humans.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m the one who asked for a real date. And as restaurants go, this one is actually quite classy. It’s just also … um … very populated. The resort, I mean.”

  “I should have thought of that. Do you want to leave?”

  “No, not at all. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” She shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.”

  “Can I help?”

  She gave a quick laugh. “Not unless you can turn down the volume in my head.”

  “Right. Okay, the waiter is coming back. Should I order wine, or did you just want to have a cocktail and leave?”

  “Order wine. And appetizers. The scallops look good. And the lobster special for my entrée.” She managed a smile. “This is a first-class date. I’m totally taking advantage.”

  “All right. But if it gets too much for you and you want to leave, just let me know.”

  “Thank you.” She touched his hand.

  The voices in her head lowered to a quiet murmur.

  “What did you do?” She yanked her hand away. The volume exploded in her head again. “Whoa. This is weird.” She reached for his hand again, and the voices quieted.

  “What’s weird? I didn’t do anything.” He twined his fingers with hers. Tessa, what’s happening?

  When I touch you, the voices quiet down. I don’t know why. I thought you were doing something.

  Not consciously. He continued to hold her hand as the waiter reached their table. Adrian ordered appetizers—scallops for her and corn soup and crab cake for him—two of the lobster entrées, and a bottle of wine. The server bustled away.

  “How is this possible?” she whispered.

  “I’ve heard that sex between Atlanteans can enhance their powers.” He toyed with her fingers, his gorgeous face somber. “Maybe something like that is happening to us?”

  “Could be. It might be the mating bond, too. I know that Rafe can use his bond with Cara as an energy source for his powers, even though she’s human. And Faith uses Darius as an anchor when she connects deeply with a stone.”

  “I hadn’t heard about Faith and Darius.”

  “Oh, yeah. There was an incident a couple of weeks ago where she almost got permanently stuck in that Atlantean stone we just sent to the temple. Darius was the only one who could get her out, even with his empathic powers nullified by the stone.”

  “That’s right … Atlantean powers get temporarily disabled when handling the Stones of Ekhia.”

  “Usually,” she said. “But apparently mine don’t; they get stronger.”

  “Interesting. A potential weapon, should we ever need it.”

  She shook her head. “Do you think of everything as a weapon?”

  “Pretty much.” He shrugged. “Habit.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My point is the mating bond doesn’t get disabled. Nothing can touch it. That’s how Rafe was able to beat Criten after that bastard sucked the power from his focus stone. He channeled the bond’s power to break free.”

  “I remember.”

  “Even Cara and my father can communicate telepathically because of the bond, at least with their mates. The link is always there, even if your powers are disabled for some reason.”

  “Fascinating.” He raised her fingers to his lips and raised an eyebrow. “I wonder what else we can do through this link?”

  “Down, boy.” The longer he held her hand, the more turned on she became. His hunger for her flowed through the bond like potent wine. But she dared not let go of him, not in so crowded a place. “I’m wondering why touching you helps me keep the voices at bay.”

  He nibbled her knuckles. I have a similar issue, he said into her mind. I have enhanced senses. I can hear, smell, and see things that most people can’t. I’ve had to learn to control it over the years or else be overwhelmed.

  How? She knew she couldn’t keep her growing arousal from him, especially with the bond and all those enhanced senses he’d mentioned, but she tried to keep her expression inscrutable to hide it from the other people in the restaurant.

  And was supremely grateful Faith had been able to convince Darius to turn off his empathy for a little while.

  Discipline. Control. It’s how I was raised. It’s the foundation of how I was raised.

  Could you teach me? She smiled. I can’t keep touching you twenty-four seven.

  You
sure about that? He turned her hand over and tasted her palm with his tongue.

  She closed her fingers but didn’t remove her hand from his grasp. Be serious.

  Princess, touching you is very serious business to me.

  “Please, Adrian,” she whispered. She wasn’t certain if she was begging him to teach her or begging him to take her to bed.

  “I will please you.” His low voice sent a quiver straight to her female parts. Everything tingled. Everything wanted him to make good on that promise. Soon.

  “Teach me,” she murmured.

  “Oh, I will. But first things first. Close your eyes.” She obeyed. He continued telepathically. Find the mate link. Do you see it?

  Yes. The bond had grown to a raging silver river.

  Do you see me?

  He shimmered, gold and red. Yes.

  Come to me. Touch me on this level. Connect with me.

  She only had to think about going to him, and she was there, merging her energy with his. He no longer spoke to her, just demonstrated. Strengthen this. Build that. Enforce these shields. She followed his lead, infusing the mental walls with energy from the mating link step-by-step.

  “Your wine, sir. Would you care to taste first?”

  Tessa opened her eyes to see the waiter standing at the table, the open wine bottle poised above Adrian’s glass. She hadn’t sensed his approach.

  Adrian, too, opened his eyes. “Yes, thank you.”

  Meeting her gaze, he slowly disengaged their fingers.

  She braced herself for the onslaught, but was greeted only with silence. Her mouth fell open, and she wanted to squeal, but Adrian’s flick of his eyes toward the waiter had her clamping her lips shut.

  Adrian tasted the wine, gave his approval, and indicated the man should pour for both of them. Tessa just wanted the guy to go away.

  Patience. Adrian’s rich voice swept through her mind, the one word carrying with it many nuances.

  I think I told you that’s not my strong suit.

  The waiter said, “Your starters will be out momentarily.”

  “Thank you.” Adrian waited until the server left before he said, “I can tell it worked. I can feel it.”

  “It feels amazing. I can’t even tell you how much.” She reached for her wine. “Now that that’s out of the way, I guess it’s time for us to have that conversation we were going to have.”

  “Right to the heart of things, huh?” He raised his glass to his lips.

  “I think we need to decide where we’re going from here.”

  A younger server came to the table, a tray balanced on one hand and a folding tray stand gripped in the other. In an expert move, the young man snapped open the stand one-handed and set the tray on it, then scooped up a plate. “Scallops?”

  “That’s me.” Tessa waved. He set her appetizer in front of her.

  “Which means you are the corn soup and crab cake,” he said, and turned back to the tray.

  The vision struck like a bullet. The waiter grabbing the plates. Turning. Tripping. Plates flying, smashing. Hot soup scalding delicate skin. Splattering over pale pink silk.

  It fled as quickly as it had come. She tried to slide out of the way. Too late. The waiter grabbed the dishes. Turned. Tripped. Lost his grip on the plates.

  And Adrian leaped out of the booth to smoothly catch both midair, crab cakes secure and only a little of the soup sloshing over the edge of the bowl to the floor.

  The waiter regained his balance. Faced Adrian, cheeks flushing red. “I’m so sorry, sir. Let me have those.” He took the dishes and set them on the tray. “Are you injured? That soup is very hot.”

  “I didn’t get any on me.” Adrian scooped his napkin off the floor where it had fallen and slid back into the booth.

  “I’ll get you new dishes immediately, sir. Again, my sincerest apologies for my clumsiness.” The young man scooped up the tray and stand and hurried back to the kitchen.

  “Well, that was interesting.” Adrian picked up his wine and sipped.

  She pressed a hand to her pounding heart. “That was amazing. I had no idea you could move so fast.”

  “That’s not what I was talking about. You just had a vision, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. How did you know? My visions have gotten a lot quieter over the past few days. I thought I hid it well.”

  He caught her gaze. Held it. “Because I saw it, too.”

  She fell back against the seat as if punched. “You shared my vision?” she whispered. “How can that be?”

  “That, princess, is what we need to figure out.”

  * * *

  Cara had been to her share of charity events for her business, but she had to admit to feeling like Cinderella attending one with the Montanas. They arrived at the pricey hotel in a bulletproof limousine, flanked by two black SUVs. Larina and two other armed guards sat in their limo, one in the front and one in the back. Carter, Rigo, and more of John’s security team rode in the SUVs.

  They pulled up at the front door of the hotel, and the security men hopped out. Each one opened one of the back doors of the limo, murmuring into the microphones of their earpieces, their gazes scanning the area. Larina got out first, her classic black dress a slim column with spaghetti straps and a slit that allowed her to easily reach the firearm strapped to her thigh. She waited on alert as John got out and reached in to help Maria from the car. Rafe’s mom looked stunning in a navy-blue evening gown shot with silver. Rafe got out on the other side and held out his hand to Cara.

  She took it, gawking like a kid at Disney World for the first time as she climbed out. Her teal evening gown flowed like water down her legs as she stood, and a chilly breeze swept through the air. She pulled her gold-and-white shawl closer, but the paper-thin material did nothing to prevent goose bumps from rippling along her bare arms and shoulders.

  “I’ve got you,” Rafe murmured in her ear, pulling her closer against his big, warm body and walking with her toward the hotel doors. “Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?”

  “Three or four times.” A camera flash went off in her face, then another. She blinked through the spots in front of her eyes and depended on him as he guided her into the hotel. “What was that all about?”

  “The press. They’re all over these society things.”

  They rode up an escalator and arrived at a coat check room. “Your wrap, madam?” the uniformed hotel employee said, holding out a hand.

  She glanced down at her flimsy shawl and laughed, pulling it off to give it to him. “It’s not much of one.”

  The young man smiled and hung her shawl on a hanger, then ripped off a ticket and offered it to her. Rafe snagged it before she could and tucked the ticket into his jacket pocket, slipping the attendant a folded bill with his other hand. “Take good care of that for us.”

  The attendant accepted the bill. “Absolutely, sir.”

  “I should have thought of a tip,” she muttered as they turned away.

  Rafe said nothing, just steered her away from coat check and toward the ballroom. Three sets of double doors stood open, bright light and orchestra music streaming out of them. Near each set of doors stood a bar. Lines were already forming.

  “There’s so many people here. Look, isn’t that—?”

  He gently pushed down her pointing finger. “Yes, it is.”

  She glanced behind her as they passed the man who’d caught her eye. “I loved him in that movie about the astronaut. Oh, and is that—”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “She’s even more gorgeous in real life. And so thin! I guess television really does add ten pounds.”

  He stopped near the bar. “Would you like a drink, or do you want to sit down first?”

  “Let’s sit down. That way I won’t embarrass you when my knees collapse out from under me.” She blew out a breath, her heart racing. “Do you have our tickets? They should have our seat assignments on it.”

  A smile tugged at Rafe’s mouth. “Swee
theart, we’re throwing this thing, remember? Our seats are in the front.”

  She allowed his guiding hands to turn her toward the music and lights. “Of course they are. That way we get to walk the entire length of the room so people can stare at us.”

  He slid his arm around her waist and leaned close to her ear. “Now you’re getting it.”

  “I think I liked it better when you were a bounty hunter,” she muttered, and let him take her to the ball.

  * * *

  Adrian calmly poured Tessa another glass of wine. The knowledge that he’d shared her vision had had her gulping down her first glass in record time. When she reached for the second glass, he stopped her. “Have some food. You wanted to talk. I think that’s a good idea.”

  She didn’t move. “I don’t know what’s happening. I hate not knowing.”

  “Eat.” He took a spoonful of his fresh soup, brought minutes earlier by their original waiter with profound apologies. “We can talk about it, but only if you eat. Get some color back in your cheeks.”

  She heard the determination in his voice and picked up her utensils. Slicing into one of the perfectly cooked jumbo scallops on her plate, she took a bite. Creamy scallop, olive oil, and herbs exploded on her palate. “It’s good.” She reached for the wine.

  “Tessa.”

  She clenched her fingers around the stem of the wineglass. “Stop talking to me like I’m a child.”

  “You’re shaken by what just happened. That’s natural. I’m a little freaked out myself.”

  “You don’t seem freaked out. You seem like Mr. Cool, as always.” She abandoned the wineglass and reached for her water glass instead. “Maybe you don’t understand.”

  “Maybe you could explain it.” He kept his voice level, his gaze steady. “Talk to me, princess.”

  “No one’s ever shared one of my visions before. That you can … That you’re inside my head that deeply…” She broke off and gulped more water. Just trying to put it into words had her struggling. She set down the glass and blew out a long, slow breath. “What do you think happened?”

  “I think it’s the bond, Tessa. It has to be. You connected to me a little while ago so I could show you how to shore up your defenses. Apparently that channel is still open.”