“I am in LA. Apparently, your mate attended my mate’s funeral. They walked out arm in arm.” He wasn’t a male who let his temper take control very often, and he fought it with both hands right now.
“Are you kidding me?” Jasper asked slowly. “They know to stay away from each other. They know to keep a low profile.”
“Apparently, we haven’t made that clear enough,” Athan said quietly. “She sped off in a Town Car headed east. That’s all I know, but I’ll get more information for you later.”
“Thanks. I’m on it,” Jasper said curtly, ending the call.
Athan reached Ivy and looked down at her upturned face. She was far from the meek and bewildered farm girl he’d once known. She stood tall and proud and faced him directly, even though she was still a good foot shorter than he. “Sorry for your loss,” he drawled.
Her smile was quick, and her chin lifted. “Well, we can’t live forever now can we, mate?” She looked around the busy street. “You’re about two months early. We went from once a year to twice, and then every quarter. Yet here you are, early. You want to explain that?”
No. He most certainly did not want to explain that. He was getting weaker, and their enemy was getting stronger. But he couldn’t tell her that—or rather, he didn’t want to. “I was in town,” he lied.
She arched one eyebrow, giving her a pixie-like look instead of a dangerous one. “You just happened to be in LA for my funeral? Why do I find that hard to believe?”
He had to admire her. A hundred years ago, she wouldn’t have dared to ask the question. Now, she asked it almost casually as if she didn’t actually care about the answer. He’d given her freedom these many decades, and for the first time, he wondered if that had been a wise choice.
He grasped her arm and drew her toward the car he had waiting near the curb. At just that one touch, electricity jolted through him, lancing through his body and sparking him wide awake. He stood straighter, feeling better than he had in months. Just being near her helped fight the curse inside him. “Apparently, we need to talk,” he said, ushering her toward the vehicle.
“I’m good,” she said, pulling her arm free.
“Actually, you’re not.” Without waiting for her agreement, he lifted her, tucked them both into the back of the car, and gave the driver an order to go.
She sat in his lap, surprise tilting her face. Then she shoved him hard and moved to the adjoining seat. He allowed her freedom this time. She crossed her arms. “Don’t you go ruining my very perfectly nice funeral, Athan Maxwell.”
The absurdity of her statement caught him unaware. Amusement bubbled up and through him, battling the possessive lust that only got stronger every time he was around her. “You know you can’t take chances like that, right?”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes.
While he had told her about the dangers to them throughout the years, he had never shown her. That was on him, not her.
She looked him over, facing him squarely, her gaze running down his form. “It’s only been three months. You look thinner. Are you?”
Yeah, he was thinner. This was getting more and more difficult, and he didn’t know how to explain it to her. “No. I’m fine. We need to talk about Leah. Why were you two together?”
Ivy crossed her arms. “That’s none of your business.”
“Ah, mate,” he drawled. “That’s exactly where you’re wrong. Everything about you is my business, and it appears I’ve allowed you too much freedom throughout the years. That just changed.”
* * * *
“That just changed?” Ivy tilted her head. “Are you threatening me?”
Athan studied her. “I don’t believe so.” He rubbed the scruff on his sculpted jaw. “If I were threatening you, you would know it.”
“Huh,” she said. “Interesting.” She glanced at her watch, feigning boredom. Every time she was near him, her entire body jolted with electricity, and it only got worse through the years. She couldn’t see him more than a couple of times a year or it was just too much. “I think we should go back to twice a year,” she murmured.
“Not going to happen,” he retorted.
She looked up, startled. In their long time together, he’d never once refused her anything. Irritation smashed through her at the thought that she had to ask him for anything. “I suppose I wasn’t clear enough,” she murmured. “We are only going to meet twice a year.”
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “Ivy, you’ve had a good life. Well, two actually because I allowed it. For you to think otherwise would be a mistake.”
Fire flashed through her on the heels of a temper she very rarely let loose. “Allowed it? Oh, I don’t think so, biting boy.” By the narrowing of his eyes, he didn’t like the nickname. She couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t very nice. Yet this showdown had been coming for quite a while, and she was ready. “I’ve made my own money, and I’ve succeeded in my lives. The time for you telling me what to do is long past. I hope you understand that.”
His expression didn’t change. “If I don’t?”
She thought about it. She really did. “As I see it, Athan, at this point in our lives, you need me a lot more than I need you.” It was true, but she had to be fair. “I told you once, and I’ll tell you again, I am fine repaying not only the money you gave to my father but also the funds you supplied me with early on in my journey. I’ll even pay you interest.”
If a vampire could emote anger, this one did. Yet he hadn’t moved, and his expression hadn’t changed. It was impressive, really, and a skill Ivy wished she could learn. But every emotion she had was still visible on her face, and she knew it. Right now, she was feeling both irritated and angry.
“Ivy, you’ll want to stop pushing me. Now,” he said softly. Way too softly.
She shivered and quickly covered the movement by leaning back in the seat and crossing her legs. Even though he looked thinner than he had a few months ago, he was still big and broad and probably the most dangerous thing in Los Angeles. His eyes were bluer than ever, his hair just as dark, and his shoulders nearly as wide. There was no doubt he could take out any threat coming for him. While she’d once appreciated that, he was just irritating her now.
“Athan, I’m not kidding. This isn’t working for me any longer.” He blinked. She sighed. “I know, I owe you my life, and I know I’d be dead and wouldn’t be living these wonderful experiences without you. That’s why I’ve continued meeting you through the years. But there has to be something more out there.” She’d been feeling it lately. Lonely. She was probably the world’s oldest virgin, considering she was nearly one hundred and sixty.
“What are you asking?” he murmured, looking svelte and in control in his dark slacks and white button-down shirt.
Her body heated, a slow roll moving through her. “I’m not asking for anything. I’m just telling you there are rumors.”
He stilled without moving. He had the oddest way of controlling the environment around him. “Rumors?”
She finally looked down, unable to keep his gaze. “Yes. I’ve heard the queen, the one of the Realm, has discovered a virus that negates a mating bond.” Her voice trembled, and she cleared her throat, surprised by how much she still wanted to make him happy. She did owe him her life.