I nodded. “Who also happened to be my boyfriend at the time.” I consulted the menu again, hoping for a subject change. “What’re you ordering?”
“I tried to see if you were okay. Last night, I mean. I went over to see you, but Jared was holding you. He wouldn’t budge.”
“Oh.” Well of course I knew that, but Max wouldn’t understand that I just couldn’t deal with talking to everyone about it. He was the type of person who could talk about anything. Anything at all, no matter how personal, and not feel awkward or embarrassed. He never seemed to ever experience the feeling of needing to keep anything private.
“And then I came by your room. You didn’t answer.”
I hoped I was imagining the element of suspicion in his voice. “I must’ve been asleep when you knocked.”
“How long did Jared stay with you? Or did he just leave straight after teleporting you there?”
“What’s with the round of twenty questions?”
“I’m just asking.”
“Where there’s that waiter?” I didn’t need the waiter, I needed the exit.
“Have you and Jared ever...” He started playing with his own fingers, keeping his glare fixed on the table. “I mean, I wouldn’t blame you for falling for his bullshit.”
“I haven’t fallen for anything, or haven’t you noticed that he’s not here?” It came out much snappier than I’d intended. Max didn’t seem fazed by my change in tone. His mind was very much somewhere else. “Has Jared said something to you?”
“Has Jared said something to me?” He laughed – a miserable laugh with a cutting edge to it. “Jared says a lot of things. Are you referring to how he made it obvious you talk to him about personal stuff, or that he told me you and him had kissed?”
The first seemed to bother him most. Like I said, Max didn’t feel the need to keep things private, so for him to hear that not only do I keep things private from him – realistically though that’s not exactly uncommon with people you barely know but the fact that I have no problem sharing those things with someone else is just incomprehensible to him.
“I can understand why you might like him,” he said before I could respond to his question. “But you have to see that all he wants is to use you.”
“Max -”
“He’d drop you straight after it easier than a bad habit.”
“Max -”
“Did you know he never screws the same woman twice unless it’s one of his consorts?”
“Max, will you just stop with the ranting.” I might have been annoyed with Jared for what he’d said to Max but he’d only spoken the truth and it wasn’t like Max and I were together or anything. And I had to wonder if Max had ranted at Jared and that’s why Jared had then disclosed the info. I would’ve wanted to shut him up as well.
“So what he said was true,” said Max.
“Jared and I have kissed, yes.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“You didn’t ask until now. I never had any intention of hiding it but I’ve got no reason to go round jabbering on about it either, have I? Now can we stop talking about inconsequential crap and just order the food, please.” Before the hand even appeared on my elbow seconds later, I knew he was there. My senses had screamed it at me. Such a simple thing to have someone gently hold your elbow, and yet every nerve ending in my body was now extremely alert.
“What the hell are you doing here?” spat Max.
Jared shrugged. “I’m going to have to take her, sorry.” He looked down at me, his alluring hazel eyes glinting slightly with humour. “Antonio wants me to show you the file containing the information on all the High Master vampires who’ll be at the gathering tomorrow night.”
“What gathering?” demanded Max.
Jared smiled at him. “Oh we’re going to a gathering together of one the High Master Vampires tomorrow night.”
“And looking at this file just couldn’t wait until tomorrow night?” Max sneered at Jared.
“You aren’t suggesting I’d interrupt your meal unless I had a really important reason, are you?”
“The things I said really got to you, did they?”
Yes, I’d been right; Max must have ranted at Jared not so long ago and now he was getting a little payback. I wouldn’t have let the game continue except that it was a fantastic excuse to get me out of here. Before they started pounding on their chests like gorillas I pushed out my chair and rose. “Sorry about this, Max. Another night.”
Jared shot me a curious glance. I thought you were going to be difficult.
Let’s just go.
Max cursed and scowled. “Sam, wait, will you just -”
Jared held onto my lower arms and smiled triumphantly at Max. “Sorry to leave you stranded.”
Chapter Eleven
(Sam)
The second that the queasy feeling in my stomach, courtesy of teleporting, eased and we arrived at Jared’s apartment I ripped my arms from his grasp. He was already laughing, rather pleased with himself. I wasn’t sure what I felt most strongly: annoyed at him for thinking he had the right to interfere with my plans, or flattered that he was so affected by the idea of me having plans with someone else. It was always nice to have a little power over someone who tended to consider themselves to be all big and bad.
“Next time you feel like winding up some bloke I’m about to go out with, you might want to warn me in advance.”
“I wound him up?” He snorted. “I wasn’t the one who turned up at someone else’s apartment threatening them to stay away from you.”
I gaped. “He did that?”
“Must be love in its purest form.”
I went to slap his arm but in a blurred motion he was out of my sight. That’s when I took notice of the apartment. It was like double the size of mine. And incredible. The colour scheme was a perfect mixture of warm gold, cream and ivory. Dark oak flooring seemed to be a feature throughout. His living area was bigger than my bedroom and en-suite bathroom combined. He had one of those leather corner sofas that seated like eight people and were so bulky that when you sat on it your feet just about touched the floor. The rectangular coffee table had pillar-like legs and matched the oak flooring so perfectly that I wondered if the table was made out of the same wood as the flooring. Typical of blokes, his platinum T.V. was unnecessarily wide. And wow he had a fish-tank somehow built into the wall. Posh bugger.