Chapter 5

The next day, Pierce forced himself to rise in the late afternoon when the sun was just going down. He tried to concentrate on the issues going on with Logtech. The company was losing a lot of its business to a competitor that was somehow offering ridiculous prices for similar IT services. He'd already spent an hour on the phone with the CFO and other members of the senior staff. Attorneys were going to be needed for further involvement to investigate more on how this competitor was able to offer unfair pricing.

"You could just seek out their CFO and look into his mind," said Samuel as he put on a sport coat. He frowned as he looked in the mirror and with a thought, changed his dress pants to jeans, hoping to look a little more casual. Maybe it would help put Carissa at ease.

"I'm trying to do this by normal means," answered Pierce as he continued to scour the various reports in front of him.

"You mean human means."

"Just because we have special powers does not mean we should run businesses unfairly."

"How is it being unfair? Our competitor doesn't seem to have a problem finding a way to price things unfairly. Chances are their using illegal immigrants at cheap wages or something."

Pierce sighed. "We've had this conversation before. If we used our powers for everything, we could easily take over the entire world economy and run a dictatorship while we're at it."

"Oh come on, I didn't mean for it to go that far." Samuel froze for a moment. "Did you?"

"No."

"Good."

"I'm fine with ruling just the United States."

Samuel looked at his twin in the mirror who was sitting behind him. "What?"

Without looking up or changing expressions, Pierce answered. "I'm kidding."

"That is so not funny."

Pierce gave way to a smile and glanced at him. "Yes it was."

"Well, at least with your emotion you finally have some sense of humor. You never had one to begin with."

"That was because of you."

Samuel adjusted the sport coat. "If you never had me, you wouldn't have done anything unexpected."

"True. You always got into trouble and I had to get you out."

Samuel let out a laugh. "Do you remember the time I insisted we go out and find our first vampire?"

"We were only around fifteen. And as I recall, you dragged me into it."

"We thought we knew everything when we really knew nothing. Still, you got a few good blows into him."

Pierce picked up another report. "You were the one who managed to knock him down, allowing us enough time to get away. Father was the one who had to finish it. He was absolutely furious at us for sneaking off. He punished us by rebuilding some of the huts in the local village, remember?"

Samuel nodded. "No powers, all done by hand at a human pace. And he watched the whole time to make sure we didn't cheat." His voice softened. "Now that I feel again, I realize how much I miss our parents. They taught us much in those days. I often wonder what more whe could have learned from them if they hadn't been taken from us."

Pierce nodded in agreement and was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Well anyway, I have too much on my plate at the moment to think about adding dictator to my list."

"Good," said Samuel as he checked his hair and changed his sport coat to a lighter color. "That means you're still definitely not a vampire, then." He frowned and changed the coat to a dark brown.

"You know, Carpathians typically don't worry about clothes as much as you."

Samuel adjusted the sleeves on the coat. "I want to look nice for her. What's wrong with that?"

"You didn't worry about it with other women in your past."

"Other women weren't my lifemate."

Pierce shook his head. "Exactly. Your lifemate will be attracted to you even if you are wearing a paper bag."

Samuel grinned at him. "Or you mean if I'm wearing nothing. Nothing would be even better."

Pierce had a fleeting thought of his brother naked and with Carissa. An unexpected wave of desire passed through him. He flushed with embarrassment at the odd sensation and quickly looked away from his twin.

"I'm sorry," said Samuel. "I didn't mean to carry on about Carissa when…"

"It's nothing," replied his twin as he focused on the reports again.

"It's everything. I've been thinking. What if there's another woman that's causing your emotions. Or, what if she has an unknown sister…or a twin?"

"I could only hope that would be true," replied Pierce as he continued to frown. "But come on, Samuel. I would have seen her or talked to her. It still doesn't make any sense."

"We'll find the answer," said Samuel in a firm voice.

Pierce looked over at him from the desk. "Look, try not to get your hopes up, Samuel. I told you I would hold on for the next few weeks, but the situation is bad. I want your lifemate and yet I'm not jealous of you. It's not right." He closed his mind tightly for a moment so that Samuel didn't get his thought that he also wanted his twin to be with Carissa; that Pierce's body felt excited by the notion that Samuel was going to be intimate with her.

God, he was sick.

Samuel cut into his thoughts. "Is there any other woman you want? That you feel any desire for?"

"No."

Samuel made an irritated sound. "And how exactly would you know? Have you gone out? Fed?"

"Not yet tonight. But yes, I've gone out."

"Oh really?" asked Samuel raising an eyebrow. "When was the last time you fed from a woman? Or hell, with all this emotion have you even tried to be with a female?"

"Well…no."

"So do it. Tonight."

Pierce drew a deep breath. "Fine. I'll find a female."

"Not just any female. A very fine looking one."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," said Pierce as he got up from the desk. He crossed his arms over his chest. "So where are you taking her?"

"Come on brother, I don't want to talk about her with the way you're feeling."

"If I'm not jealous, what the hell does it matter? Just trying to make sure you don't screw things up any further."

Samuel turned around from the mirror and faced his twin. "Your advice with beginning to tell her who we are worked. But so what? I've had more than enough experience in taking women out, thank you very much."

"So where are you taking her?"

"Not that I need to tell you anything but, she hasn't had much fun in her life."

Pierce sighed. "Samuel, please don't tell me you're taking her to some nightclub."

"What's wrong with a nightclub?"

"First of all, it's too crowded and noisy. You need somewhere quiet…romantic."

Samuel rolled his eyes. "Of course. Because you would take her somewhere boring, like a beach."

"What's wrong with a beach?"

"First of all, there's no beaches around here."

Pierce let out a huff of irritation at his brother for being so literal with local geography and not the concept they were talking about. "Fine. A lake then."

"How is a lake fun?"

"Women like beautiful scenery."

Samuel looked thoughtful. "They like beautiful things. Come to think of it, she hasn't had much in her life. Think of all the things I could lavish her with: jewelry, dresses, a new car…"

"That won't work on her."

"It's my lifemate, so how do you know?"

Pierce pulled himself back. Samuel was right, what the hell was he doing or thinking? He could offer some advice to his twin, but in the end, the two of them had to work it out on their own. And maybe Carissa would like the type of things his twin did. Loud music and fast cars was definitely not his cup of tea. As twins went, they were completely opposite apart from their appearance.

"Pierce," said Samuel softly when he realized his twin was deep in thought, "you do offer good advice and I still need you. You're right, Carissa and I need to work this out on our own, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't listen to you."

"And I need to listen more to you. Like it or not, I need to see for myself if I have feelings around other women. Although, I'm not sure it will give me any answers one way or another."

"But it will at least be another piece of information."

Pierce nodded. "You better get going. Although no nightclub will even be open just yet."

Samuel smiled. "Nah, I won't go to a nightclub. I think I have the perfect idea to let her have some fun but also a quiet place for us to talk."

Carissa finished typing in her last reservation. Glancing at the clock, she began to get nervous. Was this still for real? Was last night just a dream? Everything was just too hard to believe.

Kylie tapped a pen on her desk to get her attention. "Hey girl," she said standing over her, "you've been off in another world all day."

"Sorry," Carissa mumbled. "Just busy."

"That's never stopped you for talking before. What is going on?"

Well, she couldn't tell Kylie everything, but maybe she could at least say a few things. "You know the customer who called me late last night?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, um, I'm going out on a date with him." Before Kylie could jump all over her, Carissa stood up. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. We don't date customers. But actually, I couldn't really book anything for him anyway. He needed a private jet."

Kylie looked at her with at stunned expression. "A private jet? Just how much money does he have?"

"Well, obviously a lot."

"Carissa, are you sure about this? You don't even know the guy!"

Strangely, Carissa felt like she knew she belonged to him. Whatever lifemate meant, she had a feeling they belonged together. It was scary and exciting at the same time. Especially given the fact that he had some very strange powers. She still couldn't believe it was real.

"Carissa, did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, I know what you're thinking. But I met him last night."

"What? He came to you last night here alone?"

"Well actually he saved me last night in the parking garage from a guy who tried to assault me."

Kylie's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, but I…" She couldn't finish her sentence as Kylie grabbed her arms.

"Are you okay? What happened? Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine,' Carissa assured her. "Pierce saved me."

"Pierce?"

"Yeah, that's his name. Pierce Falkland." When Kylie just stared at her, Carissa narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Pierce Falkland and his brother are rumored to be not just a millionares, but the wealthiest men in the world."

"How do you know?"

"My father used to work for one of his companies. Well, I guess the brothers are investors in a lot of companies."

"Pierce said his brother was ill."

"Oh, that's too bad. Does he have cancer or something?"

Carissa realized she had no idea what was wrong with Pierce's brother. "I don't really know. He didn't talk about it." She remembered Pierce saying he went to check on his brother last night. Were things really bad with him?

"Well, if he's dying, it's probably not something he would want to talk about."

"Yeah, I guess," replied Carissa with uncertainty.

"So…he's taking you on a date."

Carissa actually blushed. "Yeah."

"Where to?"

"I have no idea."

Kylie shook her head. "Well, lucky you. I just hope he's not playing you or anything. I mean, not to worry you, but be careful okay? How many times have we heard men of power and wealth just use women for another notch in their bedpost?"

Carissa swallowed. "So you haven't heard anything, like, bad about him."

"No, just that he's very wealthy. But it seems like he and his brother are very reclusive. They don't seem to make very many appearances or anything. So I guess that's why it's hard to know more about them."

The door suddenly opened and Carissa looked up to see Pierce walking into their travel agency. And wow, he was straight off the cover of some romance novel. Wide shoulders, a strong jaw, and beautiful eyes that seemed to see right into her soul. When he smiled at her, Carissa suddenly felt scared to death that she was completely lost to this man.

Kylie seemed to be at a loss for words, probably thinking exactly the same thoughts. But her friend somehow pulled herself together and walked up to him. "Hi," she said, "I'm Kylie, one of the owners of the travel agency. Can I help you?"

"I'm…Pierce Falkland." He looked past Kylie, still hating that he was using his brother's name. "I'm here to see Carissa."

"You're Pierce Falkland?"

He looked back down at Kylie. "I believe that's what I said," replied Samuel, not wanting to say his brother's name any more than he had to. He had to find a way to tell Carissa the truth about what happened. It was still a little awkward, especially with whatever was happening to his twin.

"Oh, ah, it's nice to meet you."

Samuel smiled pleasantly at her. "Are you closing? It's six o'clock."

Carissa noticed Kylie couldn't stop staring at him and felt a twinge of jealousy. She took a small step forward. "Yes, we're closing."

Samuel nodded at Carissa and looked at Kylie again. "Are you parked nearby? Should I walk you to your car before Carissa and I leave?"

Wow, Carissa was really feeling jealous now. He was just being conscious of her friend's safety, especially after a man had come after her last night in the parking garage.

But still…

She tried to shake her head, not understanding why she had such strong feelings about this man. It scared her.

Kylie looked past Samuel. "My husband's car is actually right there. He's waiting for me."

"Good," replied Samuel, "I'll just wait until both of you have finished up things."

Carissa almost laughed as both women had never moved so fast in shutting down their systems and locking up their desks. She grabbed her purse and was blinked when he held out his hand to her.

"I have a surprise for you."

"You do?"

Samuel was conscious of his heart beating as she looked at him with those beautiful eyes. "You will find I'm full of surprises."

"I can imagine," said Kylie under her breath as she reached for her keys.

Samuel took Carissa's hand and gently pulled her toward him. After saying their goodbyes to Kylie, he escorted her outside. She looked around with a puzzled expression.

"I thought you said you would drive here."

He grinned at her. "I did."

"But where's your car?" Samuel led her down the sidewalk and that's when she noticed the bright red Harley Davidson. "Oh," she breathed. "You came on a motorcycle."

"Are you afraid?"

"A little," she admitted. "But it's a nice surprise."

Samuel chuckled. "This is not your surprise."

"It's not?"

"No, but I thought you might like a motorcycle ride as something fun to get us there."

"Oh," she breathed. "it's a little cold, isn't it?" She gasped as suddenly her coat was replaced with a much heavier one.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, no. I'm just…still getting used to the idea that this, well actually you, are real."

"It will take some time," Samuel said softly, "but you will get find that you were meant to be one of us."

Her eyes widened. "Me? I'm one of you?"

"Not yet, but your psychic powers are strong, Carissa. That is why you are destined to be one of us, especially as my soul was meant to bind with yours."

Carissa swallowed hard. "This is a little much to take in."

"I know." He took the advice from his twin and added, "Let's take one thing at a time." He got on the motorcycle and looked at her. "I promise you'll be safe."

Somehow she knew that was absolutely true. That for some reason, this man would protect her no matter what the cost. Her heart leapt at the thrill of riding on a motorcycle for the first time. Still, she was a little scared as she got on behind him.

Hold onto me.

Carissa was amazed to hear his voice in her head. Yet her instinct surprised her as she also thought it was the most natural thing in the world. Hesitantly, she placed her arms around his waist. A jolt of erotic electricity shot through her. Carissa held her breath for a moment. She'd never felt anything like this. It was a reaction from chemistry between them.

Samuel closed his eyes for just a moment at the feel of Carissa's body pressed behind him. He could feel her heartbeat and her small hands trembling slightly on his waist. Samuel's body hardened immediately and he had to concentrate to cool himself down. He started the motorcycle and they roared off into the night.

Pierce stood outside of a five star hotel, willing himself to go inside to a ritzy charity invite, one of the hundreds he always received invites. Usually Lucy would decline for him, but sent money if the charity checked out to be genuine. Some of the wealthy just used charity events for networking for their investments. It was a common façade to look like they actually cared about the poor or the sick. Some did truly care of course, but others just needed the publicity.

Since Pierce didn't like nightclubs, this was the only other way to find a female that was at least to his taste. Here, women would certainly at least act classy at a party in a hotel that charged eight hundred dollars a night for even a basic room. He sighed and figured he might as well get this over with. Maybe if he ended up in bed with a woman, it could give him some type of release, even if just physical.

He walked through the revolving door and knew he fit in right away at least from his outward appearance. Only the elite were at this event as he saw numerous women dressed in famous designer dresses and men who wore the latest tuxedo styles. Pierce adjusted his cufflinks and walked toward the ballroom. The security at the door didn't even ask to see his invitation and let him in immediately.

There was a live orchestra playing classical music and couples dancing on the floor. Pierce turned his attention to the elaborate bar and scanned the crowd for any women who might appeal to him. A redhead with long, curly hair spotted him and flashed a brilliant smile. Pierce drew a deep breath and approached her.

"Good evening," he said politely. "May I get you something to drink?"

"Thank you. Red wine, please."

Pierce signaled the bartender and ordered a glass from an elite vineyard. He looked back at her and could tell immediately she was looking at him with approval. "May I have your name?" he asked.

"Marilyn Berlez."

"Ah yes," he said, "from the same family line that has investments with several five star restaurants around the world."

She accepted the glass of wine from the bartender and raised her glass. "You know the elite fairly well, I see."

"I know businesses and where to invest, yes."

Marilyn sipped her wine. "And you are?"

"Pierce."

She raised an eyebrow. "No last name?"

He wasn't quite ready to reveal that just yet. "Let's leave it at Pierce for now." Within moments he was easily talking to her. She was wealthy, smart, and single. She was also stunningly beautiful. His clinical eye confirmed it to him.

His body did not.

She was not causing him to react at all other than to acknowledge it was a pleasant conversation. Thinking maybe talking wasn't enough, he asked her for a dance and they moved to join the other couples. She had delicate hands and a ridiculously small waist. But as she touched him and he brought her closer, Pierce still didn't feel anything at all. Well, he actually was enjoying the music and dancing itself. It had been forever since he actually felt anything and he was surprised the experience itself was more pleasurable than he thought it would be. The thought made him realize it might be the same with sex.

"Are you staying here at the hotel?" he asked as they moved around the dance floor.

"Yes. I usually live in New York most of the time." She gave him a flirtatious look. "I'm only here tonight. I leave tomorrow morning."

"Really."

The song ended and they applauded the orchestra. He led her off the dance floor and she turend to face him. "So, ever invest in any restaurants?"

"A few, yes."

"Maybe you'd have an interest in looking into one of our newest restaurants in France."

Pierce tilted his head. "Why? You obviously don't need the money to start it. With your family success, I'm sure it will do very well."

"Well, of course. But that doesn't mean we aren't always looking for new interest in our restaurants. I have the new plans up in my room. Would you like to see them?"

It was the formal invitation he was looking for. He could easily have any woman he wanted, but Pierce prided himself on free will, making sure it was her idea. He nodded and she led him out of the ballroom to one of the elevators.

When they go to the eighteenth floor, she led him down the hallway to one of the suites. Pierce was surprised when his body began to feel heated, a wave of desire suddenly hitting him. But just when he was thinking it was the redhead leading him to her room, he suddenly realized it was something else.

Hold onto me.

It was Samuel's voice. Pierce reached out to his twin in confusion and then found his brother's mind was open and talking to Carissa.

"It's this way," said Marilyn.

Pierce had slowed down. He recovered and nodded, walking to catch up with her.

Only to stop dead as he felt Carissa's hands encircle his waist. She wasn't here. But he could feel her. Samuel's body reacted and so did Pierce. His heart rate increased, his body hardening in an instant.

Marilyn laughed. "Are you okay?"

Pierce shook his head. "No, I am deeply sorry. I'm not feeling well." Actually, he was feeling panicked. What the hell was happening?

Surprisingly, Marilyn came forward and embraced him. Whispering in his ear, Marilyn's lips touched the side of his neck. "I'm sure I can find a way to make you feel better."

Pierce looked down at her. Her lips were inviting, her neck soft and smooth. For a moment, he ried to picture himself piercing that delicate neck with his fangs while burying the rest of himself inside her. His fangs elongated, but only because he needed blood. His body was no longer aroused.

Pierce hesitated. He could still do this. He could take this woman into her room and explore every inch of her body. Slowly, he bent down to taste her lips…

But then he stopped.

He simply could not do it.