Blood Ties by Amelia Elias

Chapter One
     
    I’m going to kill him. Slowly, so I can enjoy
every second of it.
    Blood boiling, every muscle aching with the
need for violence, Orion reclined in his high-backed leather chair
and waited in silence. It was a skill he’d polished over the years,
one that had gained more information for him than interrogation
ever had.
    He didn’t have to wait long this time.
    Kira bit her lip and looked away, cheeks
flushing. “Don’t look at me like that, Orion,” she said, still not
meeting his eyes. She hadn’t once looked directly at him since
she’d walked into his office this evening and dropped her little
bombshell.
    He still couldn’t believe it, even though he
probably should’ve seen it coming a mile away. Kira couldn’t just
quit. She was his Associate, his voice and face to the daylight
world. She was his lifeline, the keeper of almost every secret he
possessed. She knew everything from where he bought his clothes and
hid his money to how he stole his sustenance and where he slept
hidden from the sun’s rays. As a vampire without the benefit and
shelter of a Clan, a loyal Associate was the best and only safety
net he possessed.
    In short, Kira Jacques was the one mortal
that Orion couldn’t let go.
    She fidgeted uneasily under his steady gaze.
Unwilling to break the silence or the tension, he studied her,
taking in every detail and not liking the changes he found. She’d
tamed her wild hair tonight, catching the unruly black curls in a
neat twist at the nape of her neck. Her usual hip-hugging jeans and
T-shirt were replaced by slacks and a silky knit sweater, and her
normally-bare feet were hidden in sensible shoes. Nothing could
hide that curvy body, but she was sure as hell trying.
    Even her face was different. Never one to
hide her natural beauty, tonight Kira wore makeup -- base, blush,
shadow, the works. Orion could smell them from here. He wondered if
she thought putting on her war-paint would prepare her to face
him.
    Her vivid green eyes flickered his way,
meeting his for a bare instant before she blushed and looked past
him again. “I know what you’re trying to do,” she said, a hint of
steel in her voice now. “I’ve seen you give this same silent
treatment to others who displeased you. You can cut it out now. If
you’re pissed off, say so, damn it.”
    Orion smiled. “Oh, yes, I’m pissed off,” he
replied softly. “I’m pissed off that you’ll let someone dictate
your life. I’m pissed off that you’ll do whatever that bastard asks
just because he doesn’t trust you. And I’m pissed as hell that you
expect me to just let you walk away when you know you’re doing the
wrong thing.”
    That made her look at him. Her eyes flashed
with anger. “I don’t know any such thing,” she snapped, raising her
chin defiantly. “You don’t know it either. And of course Barrett
trusts me! Would he ask me to marry him if he didn’t?”
    Hiding his reaction to that was one of the
most difficult things Orion had ever done, but he managed it. Just.
“A man who trusts his woman does not force her to abandon her
responsibilities simply because he put a ring on her finger,” he
replied, murmuring when he wanted to shout. His voice could be a
weapon, should he decide to use it as such, but everything in him
rebelled against manipulating or hurting Kira. “If he trusts you
absolutely, why is he insisting that you quit?”
    She shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but he
could sense the tension in her shoulders. “You’ll be fine,” she
said, ignoring his question. “You’ve got plenty of blood stored and
I’m certain you’ll find another Associate soon. Contact the
Nighthawks and see if they can offer a reference. I’m sure --”
    That was the last straw. Kira knew damn well
that he couldn’t stand his own kind. Their callous disregard for
mortals nauseated him, and his willingness to mingle with his prey
only earned their scorn. How dare she so blithely suggest that he
simply