Free Undying Embrace by Jessica Lee Page B

years he’d spent working with Arran, that the male had a tolerance level of absolute zero for betrayal. The Enclave warrior took shit personally and would have made it his duty to hunt him down. Friend or not. Arran would feel obligated to see his former friend and partner exterminated.
    “We’re done here,” Markus announced. “But I want an immediate report if those two enter the club again. Understood?”
    “Yes, Commander, I understand. I’ll let you know right away if or when they return.”
    “Then get the fuck out of here, before I lose my patience with you.” He nodded toward the door, and the bartender scrambled for it in less than two seconds.
    He edged around his desk and sank back into his chair. The Enclave. For two years, he’d kept them at bay. What if it had been Arran at Wicked Ways last night? Doubt nagged at his gut. A roar burst from his lungs as he flung his arm across the top of his desk, clearing the surface of it in a shattering display of metal and glass across the room. He grasped the edge of the wood, his chest heaving under the fit of his rage.
    “Fuck you, Arran!” He closed his eyes and collapsed against the back of his chair, mentally reaching within himself to stabilize his heart and lungs. “I know you too well, highlander,” he muttered into the empty space of his office, his breathing coming easier now. “Probably better than you know yourself.” The familiar muscle twinges that signaled a smile tugged at the sides of his lips.
    “If you are here, come and get me, old friend. I dare you.”

Chapter Six
    He was in heaven.
    And he never wanted to come back down to earth. Arran leaned into the last turn on his Ninja that took him and Gabrielle onto Dalton Ave and in front of Wicked Ways. About a block past the club, he found an empty parking space and slipped into it. Gabrielle released her hold from around his waist and pulled away. Damn. He closed his eyes against the sudden chill. The loss of her body pressed against his back shouldn’t make him feel so—empty.
    After placing his heel to the kickstand and settling the bike, he pulled off his helmet. He dismounted and turned as she handed over the black spare helmet she’d been wearing.
    “Wow.” Her face beamed with the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen, and it lit up the night. His chest tightened. At that moment, he knew he’d do anything that was asked of him if he could keep her happy, smiling, just like this.
    He cleared his throat, trying to knock the strange, tight feeling out of his windpipe. “Wow, what?” He hung one of the helmets on the handlebar and held out his hand to Gabrielle to steady her as she slid off the bike.
    “The ride. I can’t remember the last time I was on a motorcycle.” She slid her palm from his and ran both under her hair, lifting it off her shoulders and allowing it to fall back in place. So enticing. He curled his fingers inward, resisting the urge to touch a few of the silky strands. “I’d forgotten how exhilarating it was.”
    Looking down at the bike, he couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, there’s nothing like it.” He secured the chain between the two helmets and spun the dial on the combination lock. What he wouldn’t give to have her on the back of his bike again, going flat out on an open road at night with nothing but the moon and stars as their guide. A part of him was so tempted to take her, right now, where no one they knew would ever find them. Lost in a place where they could discover every inch of each other.
    Oh, but that was the catch. He grabbed the spinning dial, bringing it to a dead stop between his fingers.
    The ugly reality.
    He didn’t want her to discover anything about him. The real Arran MacLain. The vampire with more blood on his hands than any DEAD. And a trail of lovers from his past he couldn’t begin to name or count. He disgusted himself, and God forbid if she ever found out about the things he’d done.
    Dropping the dial from his