Forever Touched (Touch of Vampire #5)

CHAPTER 7

7

EVERETT

“You were out late last night.”

The question was directed at me, as most of them were these days. I barely glanced up from the gold goblet I was toying with to answer, “I decided to stay until the club closed. See if I could learn anything new.”

My father was unfazed by my cryptic reply, pressing, “And did you?”

Supple olive skin flashed before me. The smell of lavender and incense. The feel of silky hair clenched in my fist. The cloying scent of arousal. The explosive taste of exotic floral blood.

Sudden hunger burned my throat, and I raised the cup of blood to my lips. Taking a sip, I nearly spat it out. Wrong. The taste was all wrong. I set the goblet on the table before replying, “Possibly. But I’m still working on it.”

The king leaned back in his velvet-cushioned chair, placing both elbows on the wood armrests to steeple his fingers. I knew that pose well. My evasive responses had only made him more curious.

Sure enough, he said, “You’ve barely touched your breakfast. You’re usually on your fifth or sixth glass by now.”

I shrugged. “I ate at the club last night.”

“Oh, really? Did you have sex as well?”

At the probing question, tension lined my body. It wasn’t unusual for us to have conversations like this, but I felt a sudden need to protect my secret rendezvous with Star. I wasn’t ready to share with my family what had happened. Not today. Maybe not ever. Which wasn’t like me at all. I’d never been the secretive type. My brothers, on the other hand . . .

I glanced across the table at Loch, expecting to see a teasing gleam in his dark eyes. Normally the center of father’s questions, he’d been enjoying his anonymity at my expense lately. It was currently just the three of us at the table. I’d missed the first half of breakfast when his mate Kenna and their two children had been present. The twin toddlers had recently learned to walk and didn’t like to stay in one spot for too long. Their mother was probably chasing them around the castle right now, doing her best to keep them out of trouble.

Loch stared back at me, his expression surprisingly solemn. Guilt tightened my chest. I knew what he was thinking. That I’d fallen back into my old ways.

It was on the tip of my tongue to reassure him, but I quickly swallowed the words. They would be a lie. I hadn’t spent the evening carousing in a feeding den drunk out of my mind on blood and sex, but my actions hadn’t been innocent either. Far from it. I was just paying for blood and sex now. An exorbitant amount too.

After I’d given in to my baser instincts last night—instincts that had screamed at me so loudly that I couldn’t think of anything else—I’d been struggling to wake up. The four hours I’d spent with Star had passed in a blur. I could remember bits and pieces, but when I’d finally succumbed to my need to have her, a shroud had blanketed my mind.

Being with her had been like swimming in ecstasy. I’d been wholly wrapped up in her essence, experiencing things I’d never felt before. I’d felt calm. Content. Close in a way I’d never felt with another being. I could have stayed there forever, blissfully lost in her body. It was warm and comforting, the only place I wanted to be. But when I’d woken up this morning in my own bed, I’d felt . . . untethered. The feeling still haunted me, leaving me more than a little unsettled.

Even during the times when I’d been blood drunk out of my mind, I’d never felt this disorientated.

“Yes,” I finally answered my father, looking away from Loch’s disappointed expression. “But it’s not what you think.”

It was worse. So much worse.

“I don’t know what to think, Everett,” the king replied, his garnet gaze studying me thoughtfully. “You’re almost two hundred years old and can bed whoever you wish, but lately, you’ve seemed a bit aimless. Lost, even. You’ll be king someday, and a king can’t get drunk or have sex with every wanton strumpet who’ll spread her legs for him. Not in this kingdom, anyway.”

A spark of anger heated my insides, but I clenched my jaw to keep a retort at bay.

Noticing my stiffness, my father’s expression softened. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you. For either of you.” He encompassed Loch in the look before focusing on me again. “I’m still coping with the death of your younger brother and my own frail state.”

“You’re not frail, Father,” I replied. “And Troy’s death isn’t your fault.”

“But I should have done more ,” he said, his eyes suspiciously bright. “I haven’t done enough to protect my sons.”

I shook my head. “Troy and Loch were my responsibility the day everything went to hell. I’m the one who failed to protect them, not you. But I promise you I’m not making those same mistakes again.” The words sat like ash on my tongue. I meant them, but they still felt like a lie.

“Good,” he said after a lengthy beat, dropping his hands to place them on the armrests. “You’re my heir apparent, son, and I need you to be ready to take the throne. I won’t be king for much longer.”

Once again, I bit my tongue. He’d been saying that more and more lately, as if he planned to abdicate the throne any day now. He was five hundred years old, and his strength wasn’t what it used to be, but I still couldn’t imagine myself taking his place. He was larger than life, born to be king. His magnetic charm made him the perfect ruler. I, on the other hand, was cold, bordering on cruel. I didn’t know how I was supposed to measure up to him.

As if sensing my confliction, he changed the subject, but not to one I wanted to discuss. “I noticed you turned away the new maids last night. One of them is a virgin. She’d make a great first wife. Young, healthy, beautiful, and very fertile. I’m certain she would produce you an heir in no time.”

I’d barely noticed her. When I’d returned home, I’d dismissed the two maids without a thought. I’d only wanted one pair of hands on me and had fallen asleep with her image firmly planted in my mind.

Sighing at my father’s blatant attempt at matchmaking, I shook my head and replied, “I don’t think I’m interested in having a harem of human wives like you, Father. I know you love and care for each of them equally, but I wouldn’t be able to do that. And don’t even bother mentioning a soulmate. That’s not in the cards for me.”

He shared a glance with Loch. Noticing the sympathetic look they exchanged, I pushed back from the table and stood.

“I think I’m going to spend some time with my niece and nephew this morning. They can barely talk, but at least they won’t meddle in my love life. Or lack thereof.”

My father raised his hands in surrender, chuckling quietly. “I get it. I’ll back off. At least for a little while. But consider what I’ve said, Everett. It’s important for you to settle down. Finding that special someone to share your life with could be just what you need.”

I acknowledged his words with a nod, but I couldn’t promise him anything. In fact, I was pretty sure a special someone didn’t exist for me. And if they did, they should probably run far, far away before I ended up hurting them. Or worse.