Fighting the Inevitable Page 6

  Jared smiled gently at her, his blue eyes warm. “Think nothing of it, Miss Armand.”

  Rhianna rose and went to put a sugar and some milk in her coffee. “Please, it’s Annie,” she finally said as she sat back down.

  “And I’m Jared,” he smiled. “I’m sorry if appearing out of the blue like this upset you, Annie. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for a couple of weeks now and haven’t been able to. I really did need to get the estate sorted out as soon as possible.”

  Rhianna frowned as she looked at the gorgeous man across from her. He didn’t look like a solicitor or whatever the person was who dealt with death estates. He had more of an untamed look about him even if he was wearing an Armani suit.

  “You keep mentioning an estate, Jared. I went through all of Rafe’s paperwork and there was nothing there to indicate he’d taken out any kind of insurance policy. He was only thirty-six years old and had no family apart from myself. He probably hadn’t seen a need to think about that kind of thing.”

  Jared was prepared for this, and smiled gently at her. “He’d lodged the paperwork with a firm of solicitors,” he lied smoothly. “When his obituary appeared in the paper they located the paperwork and approached me about the pay-out. You were listed as the sole beneficiary of his estate which I believe you have already cleared so therefore the cheque is all yours.”

  She nodded numbly, only half wondering why Rafe had never told her about it. He usually told her everything when it came to financial matters. She managed a weak smile as she sipped at her coffee.

  “I can’t imagine it will be that much,” she said quietly. Rafe had worked labouring jobs. The money was reasonable but not exactly the kind of money which would allow a huge life insurance policy.

  “On the contrary, Annie, your brother appears to have been very concerned about your well-being should anything untoward happen to him,” Jared answered. He clicked open his briefcase and pulled out some legal documents and a cheque. “Rafe insured himself for the sum of one million dollars. I just need you to sign these legal documents and the cheque is all yours.”

  Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him in shock. The man wasn’t looking at her, his head staring down at the documents before him as he quickly leafed through the sheets of paper. “Did you just say one MILLION dollars?” she stammered, her eyes wide, her mind whirling madly as she blinked at him.

  He looked up at her in surprise. “Yes, one million dollars,” he repeated slowly.

  “There has to be some mistake,” Rhianna gasped, jumping up from the table and beginning to pace in agitation. “There is no way on the planet Rafe could afford to take out a policy with that kind of pay-out. I know my brother very well and I know he couldn’t have afforded something like that.” She turned to look at Jared, her eyes narrowing at his surprised expression.

  He rose slowly. “I can assure you, Annie, your brother did take out the policy and that was the agreed upon amount of life coverage he requested. If you read through the documents you can see for yourself.”

  “But how?” she asked, clutching at her stomach. “This just doesn’t make sense!”

  Anything he was about to say was cut off by the sound of a key in the front door and Millicent Cooper walking in. The instant the tall, curvy dark haired woman entered the apartment Jared’s wolf howled loudly and he stiffened in shock.

  Millie looked from her friend’s anxious expression to the tall handsome man looming over her and she actually growled. An honest to goodness growl erupted from her throat, and she flew across the room to pull Rhianna behind her protectively.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here? And what the hell are you doing upsetting my friend?” she barked at the man who was looking at her as if he was completely stunned. She tried to ignore just how gorgeous he was, how his deep blue eyes seemed to be peering right into her soul, and how her heart was practically skipping as she took in the sheer size of the man.

  Her actions seemed to shake Rhianna out of her shock, and she stepped from behind her friend and placed a hand lightly on her arm. “It’s okay, Mills. This is Jared Hanlon. He came to speak to me about an estate Rafe left.”

  Millie dragged her eyes reluctantly from the gorgeous man before her and turned to look quizzically at her friend. “Estate? We went through all of Rafe’s papers. There was nothing there.”

  “It appears he lodged the paperwork with a solicitor. Jared was just telling me that I am now the proud beneficiary of one million dollars.”

  Millie’s eyes went round with shock, and she slowly sat down on one of the chairs at the breakfast table. Rhianna sat back down beside her and so did Jared after a moment. “You’re shitting me, right?” Millie managed to get out, shaking her head in disbelief. “How the hell could Rafe afford a policy like that?”

  Jared watched the new woman who was obviously Millicent Cooper as per Rafe’s information. His wolf was howling ‘mine’ repeatedly, and he was seriously having to battle hard to calm him down while still appearing to act normally in front of the two women.

  He wanted to howl himself. If things weren’t bad enough already, they had just become so much worse. Here he was lying his ass off to Rafe’s sister, and it turned out her best friend was his mate!

  How could he rip the only other person Rhianna Armand had in her life from her after all she had been through? However, he would have to do so, because it was impossible to deny his wolf. Millicent Cooper was his mate and he had to have her. No one could fight the mating instinct.

  CHAPTER four

  Caleb strangled down a deep sigh and tried hard not to drum his fingers on the boardroom table. The CEO from Belmont Industries was droning on and on and he was bored with the man. He was only half listening to the fat, balding human, letting his mind wander to what he’d do once he finished work.

  He sensed Demetri shoot a quick glance in his direction, and realised he’d actually started to drum his fingers. It was a shocking loss of control, one he wasn’t used to. His mind had been wandering constantly for weeks now, and it was immensely irritating. He stopped immediately, and tried to pay attention to the proposal the other company was outlining.

  “Can you at least try to look interested?” Demetri said sarcastically inside his head. “This will be an excellent deal for the company, Caleb. All these meetings will be for nothing if you piss off Arthur Belmont.”

  “The man’s a moron,” Caleb retorted acidly. “Look at him. He’s so full of his own self-importance he’s about ready to explode. If you want to kiss his ass then go ahead, Demetri. Quite frankly he’s doing my fucking head in.” He could feel his friend’s shock through their mental link.

  “What the fuck is up with you? You’ve been a bear with a sore fucking head for the last month. I think the last time I saw a smile crack your face was when you picked up that little redhead at the club.”

  Caleb barely stiffened, but knew his friend would pick up the movement, though the others in the meeting would be none the wiser. He had tried very hard to put that night out of his head, but without much success. He didn’t need Demetri bringing it up and waving it under his nose. The strength of his disappointment at finding Rhianna gone when he woke up had stunned him. Never in his very long life had he ever felt such regret at finding a woman gone from his home. Usually he was relieved not to have to face them the morning after.

  It was different with the delightful little redhead though. He had woken up and smiled as he walked downstairs to find her. He had wanted to see her lying before his fire, her beautiful face sleepy, her long auburn curls tumbling wildly around her head.

  His body had hardened at the image, and he’d begun thinking of how he could love her delectable little body before driving her home. Instead, he’d been greeted by an empty room, and a fierce rage settling deep within his soul. His feral side had kicked in and he’d wanted to start hunting immediately.

  Her scent had still been in the air, as had the heady scent of the sex they’d
had, but the girl was gone; his throw folded neatly on the sofa. A quick check had shown she’d even re-locked his door and posted his keys through the letterbox. For some reason that tiny gesture had soothed a lot of his feral nature, and had brought a slow smile to his face.

  It was a very considerate thing to do. She wasn’t to know that no one within a hundred miles would have dared to enter his mansion if the door had been unlocked. Animals and humans alike could detect a dangerous predator instantly. Even the mail carrier wouldn’t walk up his drive, hence the reason for having a mailbox outside the main gates as well as one in the actual door.

  What frustrated him so much was that he didn’t even know her last name so he couldn’t look her up to try to find her. He had gone back to Karpathia’s every night hoping she would appear once more, but she hadn’t. It was as if she had vanished completely.

  His restlessness was starting to gnaw at him, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on everyday things like work. He knew he was testing Demetri’s patience to the limits, but he couldn’t help himself. He craved the little redhead so badly he hadn’t been with another woman since their night together.

  Denying his physical release also denied him the chance to feed from source. He was an Ancient and the need to feed was not as essential for him. He could go months without the hunger twisting his guts into knots, though he didn’t usually leave it that long.

  There was no point in deliberately torturing himself and, up until now, he had always had a ready supply of willing women to enjoy. If his current dry spell with women continued he would have no choice but to feed from his private stock of chilled blood.

  Times had changed greatly since the old days when the only way to satisfy his hunger was to find a warm, lusty woman and drink from her as they indulged their passion. Feeding from source was more recreational now than a necessity for his kind. There were ample sources of blood available from the blood banks run by his kind. Granted, chilled blood did not taste nearly as intoxicating as the hot, sweet essence of a woman in the throes of her passion but it satisfied the hunger.

  He stifled down a sigh as thoughts of feeding stirred his bloodlust, and drew his mind back to the little redhead and how sweet she had tasted in his mouth. He felt his body start to stir, and he smothered down a curse. He couldn’t sit here any longer listening to the fat old man waffle on. His annoyance was ratcheting up so quickly he might be tempted to silence Belmont forever. “I’m sorry gentlemen, if you could please excuse me. I’m not feeling too good.” His words were abrupt as he rose quickly.

  He caught Demetri’s glare as Arthur Belmont stuttered in surprise, but he ignored them both. “Please, continue the meeting with Demetri. He has my complete trust and is authorised to make all decisions on my behalf.”

  He didn’t wait to see the reaction. He strode determinedly out of the room and headed to his office. He blocked Demetri from his head, not willing to listen to his angry mutterings. It didn’t need both of them to attend the meeting anyway. They’d already discussed and agreed on the proposal prior to meeting with Belmont Industries. The finer points were just a formality and his friend could deal with them.

  An hour later, a furious Demetri crashed into his office, slamming the door hard behind him. Caleb watched his friend with a slight smile tugging at his lips. Demetri was impressive with his green eyes and midnight black hair, but he was glorious when he was in a fury. He was like some avenging angel spewing forth his wrath, and was he spewing right now! Caleb tuned out most of his words letting him rant on until he got his anger out of his system.

  “Talk to me, Caleb. Tell me what the fuck is going on with you right now because I don’t have the first clue!”

  Demetri threw himself into the chair in front of Caleb’s desk and yanked the leather thong from his long hair so he could rake his hands through it. His friend’s erratic behaviour was causing him serious concern. It was so unlike him.

  Caleb leaned on his desk and sighed deeply. “I wish I knew, my friend,” he said quietly. “I feel so restless, so off-kilter right now. No woman attracts me, I don’t want to feed from source, and I can’t be bothered with work. There’s only one thing I want to do and that’s find Rhianna, and yet, I can’t do that because I don’t know anything about her.”

  Demetri stared at him open-mouthed. “All this because of the redhead?” he asked incredulously. “Caleb, I know she was hot but come on, she’s just a human, nothing spectacular.”

  Caleb glared at his friend and narrowed his eyes. “That’s a matter of opinion. I don’t know what it is about her but I need to see her again, at least one more time so I can see as clearly as you can that there is nothing spectacular about her.”

  He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his tone as he said that last part. He objected to his friend saying there was nothing spectacular about Rhianna. There was something about the woman, the way her mouth shaped as she talked, the feel of her soft skin under his fingertips, the way she fit his body so perfectly as he slid deep within her.

  A hot, clawing hunger overwhelmed him, and his body tightened instantly. He bit back a curse, anger warring with need as his perfect memory replayed their night together. This need, this craving for the redhead, was dangerous. He had almost lost control once with her. If that happened again he might be forced to do something he would actually feel some regret over.

  Caleb wasn’t used to being out of control, wasn’t used to experiencing emotions. No woman had ever been able to get under his skin the way Rhianna had. Was there something of the otherworld about her? Had she cast some kind of spell over him? He had enemies just like everyone else. He’d lived a long time, was considered the top of the food chain among his own people even though he didn’t get involved in the politics that shaped his race. Was someone using Rhianna to weaken him?

  He hadn’t sensed anything unusual about her. She was fully human, he was almost positive about that. He had scented her deeply and endlessly that night, enthralled by her exotic aroma that had rushed over him like a tidal wave. His body tightened further and he uttered a strangled groan.

  Demetri sighed as he watched the struggle on his friend’s face. Caleb would only be this unguarded when he was alone with him. Demetri could sense his conflict, sense the onslaught of lust and wondered regretfully just what it had been like for his friend to lay with the little redhead. She had to have been good for Caleb to want to see her again.

  He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and looking at his friend intently. “Okay, let’s see if we can find Rhianna and you can then do whatever it is you need to do to get her out of your system so life can get back to normal. What can you remember from the night at the club?”

  His tone held a weary note but also a hint of amusement. There was something quite entertaining about seeing Caleb so riled up, even if it was concerning. He would have endless decades of teasing his friend about this, once he had satisfied his urge for his human and she was once more gone from their lives.

  Caleb thought back to the night. He was blessed with an eidetic memory so it wasn’t hard for him to remember their entire conversation in Karpathia’s. They hadn’t really said anything which didn’t directly relate to him picking her up and taking her home. He frowned suddenly and leaned forward. “She was very sad,” he said quietly. “I saw it in her eyes. It was there for a moment and then she hid it, but for a brief second her eyes were filled with such pain and sadness.”

  Demetri pursed his lips and tapped a long finger against his lips. “What makes humans sad?” he mused, tapping slowly as he pondered. “Maybe she had just broken up with her boyfriend?”

  Caleb shook his head slowly. “She hadn’t been with a man in a very long time. There was no male scent on her.” He felt his temper spark at the thought of another man sleeping with the girl even though he knew of her relative inexperience of other men. He was quite certain that if he learned she had been with another man after their night together, he w
ould walk the fine line of the killing edge. This was irrational because she didn’t belong to him in any way and he didn’t want her to.

  “Maybe she’d just lost her job?” Demetri tried again but Caleb shook his head in the negative once more.

  “There was pain and sadness. She wouldn’t have been that upset about losing a job.” Not with the level of pain he had witnessed. Something tugged at his heart at that memory, some primal instinct deep within him that sought to comfort the woman who had captured his interest.

  “Perhaps someone she cared for had just died? Humans are so fragile. They’re always dying,” Demetri sighed dramatically, waving one large hand gracefully in the air.

  Caleb blinked slowly at him, feeling instinctively that his friend was on the right track. “You might be onto something there, Demetri. Something like a death could have explained her sadness.” He picked up his phone and dialled Beth Hollis, his PA.

  “Beth, can you check all obituaries in the last six weeks. I’m looking for any mention of a woman named Rhianna.” He hung up and wondered if he should have given her slightly better information to work with. She’d probably be checking for a woman dying called Rhianna.

  He sighed and left it to her. Beth was very good at finding out information. He was sure she’d check every death notice for any mention of the name Rhianna. He turned his gaze back to his friend. “Did the deal go through?” he asked quietly, and saw his friend nod.

  “You just need to sign both copies of the agreements and courier Belmont’s over to him,” Demetri answered with a slight smile.

  “Fine, get them to me and I’ll get it done,” Caleb said with a bit more life in him at having a new avenue to pursue in his quest to find Rhianna. “Sorry I left you with the meeting. I was mentally thinking of how many different ways I could kill Belmont so he’d stop talking. I thought it was more prudent to leave.”

  Demetri laughed loudly, amusement dancing in his eyes. “How many did you come up with?” He could understand the other man’s irritation. Belmont was challenging to have to deal with, but the deal was lucrative.