Sharing Sirius

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An Excerpt From: SHARING SIRIUS

Copyright © SHONA HUSK, 2012

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Chapter One

Jack had timed his trip to the kitchen to be there when Katya arrived. He made himself a coffee and tried to be patient, but his fingers wanted to drum on the kitchen counter. Yesterday he’d let the opportunity slide by with a few banal exchanges that were no different than any other day. Today would be different. It had to be. Yet it had been a long time since he’d had everything on the line and it had never been such a delicate matter—or so personal.

While the likelihood of disaster was high, if he did nothing, it was certain. He didn’t like to admit he was failing, or that something was wrong with his life, yet that was exactly what he’d be doing if he managed to get the words out. And he’d be telling the only woman who drew his lover’s gaze.

Katya walked into the kitchen and he swallowed without tasting the coffee. With ice-blonde hair and blue eyes, she looked more like a sylph than a Vampire. Owen hadn’t hired her as his assistant because of her looks—well, not entirely. She was efficient and ruthless, a trait Jack couldn’t help but admire. That, and even though he saw the lust in her eyes when she looked at Owen, she’d done nothing.

The same as every morning, she made herself a mug of Elvish hot chokolat before spending the day running around at Owen’s beck and call. Another man might have seen Katya as a rival for Owen’s affections, but he had much bolder plans.

“Morning.” He really had to get past the greeting today.

“Hi, Jack.” She smiled. As usual, she was guarded around him, never holding his gaze for too long. Was she jealous or just imagining what he and Owen got up to when she wasn’t around?

His fingertips brushed the healed bite on his neck. He never concealed the marks his lover made unless he was meeting human clients. Her gaze tracked the motion—was she wondering what he tasted like? She thought he was human. What would she make of the truth? He knew he’d have to tell her at some point.

Jack returned her smile. It didn’t feel natural on his lips. He was going to screw this up. But the distance in Owen’s eyes, how they’d be together but he was a million miles away, stiffened his spine. He wasn’t doing this for himself. He was doing it for Owen.

“How long have you been working for Owen now?”

She sipped her drink and shivered as the heat and etheric combined. Chokolat was apparently almost as good as drinking blood. “Three years.”

Three years. It had been two years since Jack had started to notice the subtle changes in Owen. At first he’d brushed them off, now he couldn’t. He’d tried to broach the subject with Owen more than once, but he didn’t know what to say and Owen didn’t want to hear it even though the ennui was closing in. This was his last chance. He had to put his trust in another Vampire. Trusting Vampires was always risky—he’d learned that the hard way.

Jack took a breath and jumped before he could reconsider. “Has he fancied you that whole time?”

Her eyes widened. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her cheeks colored a delicate shade of pink—as if she’d been sunburned. She knew; she just didn’t want to be discussing it with him.

He totally understood, and would have ignored the attraction between Owen and Katya, but desperate times made men take chances they wouldn’t usually dream of. And he was a desperate man.

Jack moved closer, his hand landing on the small of her back. She flinched and turned to face him. He didn’t pull his hand away. They were close, too close if Owen walked in. But he wouldn’t. He’d be in the music room toying with melodies like he did every morning. But these days he wasn’t writing anything new. Some days he repeated the same piece again and again. Yet it was the one part of his life where he still found joy and a reason to keep going. Old Vampires eventually suffered from the ennui, a condition that, if left, would cause them to end their lives out of boredom. At seven hundred years old, Owen was showing the signs.

Jack couldn’t help Owen on his own. He glanced down at Katya, knowing the ennui was a problem she couldn’t solve with a half dozen phone calls. However, together…

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to feel his bite?” His free hand trailed down her neck. “Wanted to lie naked on his desk?”

“Jack.” She put her hands on his chest and pushed.

He let her break free. “Do you want him?”

Her head moved slightly, a nod, maybe. “He loves you.”

Jack laughed, but it held no joy. “I know that. But I’ve seen the look in his eyes when you walk in the room.” At first he’d been jealous—who wouldn’t? But then he’d realized that Owen wouldn’t betray him…not even to save himself from the ennui.

“You have nothing to fear from me, I won’t act on it.”

“Ah Katya. You are so young for a Vampire.” He ran his hands up her arms and cupped her face. “I want you to act on your desire.”

He’d expected more of a reaction. A thunderous explosion, the breaking of his heart. For Katya to slap him in the face. Anything would’ve been better than the silence that followed. He could hear the beating of her heart. The pounding of his blood. The relief that he’d finally said the unspeakable.

Her mouth opened and he was tempted to kiss her to seal the bargain. But she hadn’t agreed yet. He could understand Owen’s attraction to Katya. She was a delicate flower made of steel, with killer thorns. He wouldn’t underestimate her bite—although he wouldn’t mind feeling it. It had been a long time since he’d let anyone but Owen bite him and he’d spent far too long rationalizing this idea and trying to imagine what it would be like. Now he was caught in his own daydream. He pushed the thought aside. He couldn’t let his own desire get in the way.

“What?” Her voice was so quiet he almost missed the single word.

“Tease him, entice him. Do whatever.” He turned away, not sure he could actually stomach the reality. Did he really want Owen to have another lover? The alternative was losing him entirely. The lesser of two evils was still evil—even if she looked like an angel. He closed his eyes and tried to regain some composure.

If it had to be anyone, Katya was perfect. Loyal to Owen and attractive to both of them. He wouldn’t trust another.

She touched his arm. “Are you breaking up with him?”

Jack opened his eyes and turned, half expecting to see a smug grin on her face. Instead there was only concern. “I wouldn’t do that to him. But I no longer hold his attention the way I once I did.”

“It’s not you. It’s his age.” She spoke as if he didn’t understand Vampires.

It was easier to let people think he was human than to reveal the reality. There were very few of his kind, as they’d been persecuted by human and Vampire alike for centuries.

“I know. I don’t want to let him drift away.” He couldn’t stand by and watch Owen die of boredom. He’d rather share Owen with Katya.

“I don’t understand.”

Or she didn’t want to understand what he was suggesting.