Love's Denial Read online

  "That's fine. Let's go see him," I replied, waiting for him to show me the way.

  "That's not possible. He's unavailable at the moment," Edmund answered, his eyes going wide.

  "Look, I know this sucks for you since your chain of command gave you the wrong instructions." I was trying to be patient, but I felt fucking tired. "I got dragged out of bed at midnight my time and hopped on a plane an hour later at the decree of your council and mine. My orders are to keep the Grand Duc safe and take out the threat. Which means no one holds my leash except the council. I flew almost eleven hours without any sleep to get here because the situation is that serious. So, I'm telling you to take me to whoever is in charge around here because I need to speak to him now."

  Edmund stared at me as if I were the devil himself for a few moments before falling back on that perfect persona. "Right this way, Mr. Stanalovic."

  "Yuri's fine," I answered, trying to be less of a dickhead. I followed him down the hall, making two rights before we came to a conference room, mapping out what I saw in my head as I went. "I'm probably going to be here a while and we're going to interact. I don't need formalities."

  "And you are just a warrior after all. It's not like you deserve the respect," another man said, disdain dripping off his words as he walked out of the room. Interestingly enough, I felt the breeze indicate he was lying. I'd have to file that information away for later.

  "Well, jeez, thanks." I snorted as I put my bags down. I didn't want to have my hands full as I faced off against someone this hostile. "And you would be?"

  "Charles Egan, the head of the Grand Duc's security, and advisor," Chuck said, obviously sticking his hands in his pockets. The message that I wasn't worth shaking hands with was received loud and clear. I crossed my arms over my very large chest, knowingly showing my muscles off to the smaller man.

  "Oh goody, so it's going to be like that," I answered mockingly, giving the guy the once-over. "So you're just a glorified security guard and a know-it-all. Now that we've got that settled, I want the complete layout of this place, the Grand Duc's schedule, a list of every employee staffed here, and anyone else who has access to the Grand Duc."

  "You can't just come in here and start barking orders," Chuck snarled, and again I felt the wave tell me he was lying. What was this shit? Some sort of glorified pissing contest?

  "Yes, I can," I growled as I let my fangs come out, showing clearly I wasn't to be fucked with. "I was sent here by my council, and yours, because someone almost killed the Grand Duc. I'm here because you can't do your job and keep the guy safe. So suck it up and get me what I need."

  "Oh, I like this one," a softer voice said with a chuckle from behind me. I saw the other two men bow and realized who it had to be. Turning to face the newcomer, but not giving Chuck boy my back, I gave a bow as well.

  "Yuri Stanalovic, Your Highness," I said as he eyed me.

  "Did you just arrive?" the Grand Duc asked. I nodded, and he continued. "And what have you found so far?"

  "That depends, Your Highness."

  "On what?" he asked, with a grin and raised brow.

  "On whether you really want an answer, or just some bullshit line." I shrugged, figuring that if I was going to be protecting him, he'd need to know the real me. "If you don't want what I really think, I suggest you never ask me anything."

  He chuckled. "I appreciate honesty, Yuri." His face really lit up when he smiled, and unfortunately, I felt my cock harden in my jeans. It wasn't good to lust after someone you were sent to protect. He was smaller than my normal tastes, about five-nine and one-sixty or so. But it was his almost ankle-length raven-black hair and light brown eyes that kept me starting. His eyes were so light they were almost yellow, absolutely gorgeous.

  "Unless your security here is equipped with facial recognition software, I'm extremely disappointed," I said. "No one's checked my ID or asked for my official orders from the councils. For all they might know, I'm the one trying to kill you and I intercepted the message that someone new was coming to head your security. I could have killed the real Yuri and taken his place."

  "Anything else?" the Grand Duc asked, looking pleased.

  "I would prefer the rest of my assessments be given to you in private," I answered, wondering how much he knew about me.

  "Now see here," Chuck growled but stopped as the Grand Duc held up his hand for silence. Well, that was a neat trick.

  "Get Yuri everything he asked for, within the hour, Charles," he said firmly. Then he turned to Edmund. "Please show our guest to the chamber connecting to mine. I will be up there shortly, Yuri. We can chat more then."

  "Thank you, Your Highness," I replied, glad the guy seemed to be on my side. He simply gave me a nod and went on his way. Edmund was gracious enough to take one of my bags for me, but Chuck was seething. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under.

  "Follow me," Edmund said, biting his lip. I had a feeling old Edmund liked seeing Chuck get put in his place. I picked up my other bags and trailed along behind him, taking in my surroundings as we went. This was going to be my home and headquarters for a while; I needed to learn it like the back of my hand.

  CHAPTER 2

  After I was shown to my room and got settled in, I knocked on the door to the Grand Duc's adjoining room. I heard him call out to come in, and I checked out the door as I walked through it. Adding it to the mental list of things I wanted changed, I closed it behind me.

  "Sorry to disturb you, Your Highness," I said as I walked towards him. His room was amazing, so modern in the middle of an ancient castle. The Grand Duc had a suite, of course. He had his own sitting room, mini kitchen, and double doors I'm assuming went to his bedroom. There was a massive flat screen TV, a few computers, and a bunch of other neat toys I could see in the sitting room.

  "Let me ask you something, Yuri. How much are you going to report to the council? Am I under any scrutiny here or can I be myself around you and it stays with you?" he asked as I approached him. I mis-stepped and almost tripped, completely shocked by the question and his frankness. Taking the seat across from him when he gestured, I thought about my answer.

  "If you’re asking me if I plan on telling the council if you cuss, my answer is no," I said carefully. "The only things I plan on reporting are viable threats, changes I plan on making, and anything I find out regarding who's trying to kill you. Other than that, I wasn't sent here to snitch to the council on how you run the French Covens."

  "If I understand you correctly, unless it has to do with my safety or security measures, what you see and hear stays with us?"

  I mulled that over for a few minutes. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I can't protect you unless you trust me. And I'm not a snitch. Unless I feel it's something the council needs to know pertaining to why I'm here, my mouth is sealed. Gossip isn't my thing."

  "Thank fuck," the Grand Duc said with a sigh, throwing me again. He completely shed the regal persona and acted like Joe Normal from off the street. "You want a beer?"

  "Yeah, that'd be good, I'm wiped." I chuckled, enjoying the change. The Grand Duc stood, walked over to the fridge in his suite, and grabbed a couple of beers.

  "Oh, and when it's just us, you can drop the 'your highness' shit. Just call me Dominic or Dom," he said, handing me a beer. "I swear one day I'm going to forget my first name with all the formalities."

  "You are so not what I expected." I twisted off the cap to my beer and took a swig. "I mean I know you're a pup, no offense, but I expected the regal thing to be ingrained in you."

  "Nope, part of growing up around humans who thought I just came from money," Dom snickered. "Okay, so what did you want to tell me in private?"

  "First, I need to question you about a few things. What happened? I know there was an attempt on your life, but other than that, I wasn't told shit." I needed him to know he could trust me, and I also needed the details.

  "Someone took a shot at me with a large enough caliber rifle that my head would have just about
exploded." He sighed, then took several gulps of his beer as I thought about that one. I watched him closely, not only was he chugging his beer to delay answering me, pacing in front of me, but fidgeting with his hair as well. Vampires are incredibly hard to kill. Short of being completely engulfed in fire or decapitation, I didn't know of any other way we can die. Blowing up a vampire’s head would sever the neck, basically giving the same result as decapitation.

  "Where were you?"

  "I was getting into the limo to come back to the compound after a meeting," he answered. "You want to know how I didn't get hit."

  "Yeah, but why does that seem to make you nervous?" I asked, completely confused.

  "Because it would give away what my gift is," Dominic replied, eyeing me. If I hadn't known better, I'd say he was looking at me as if he were imagining what I looked like naked, but his file stated he was straight. "I get glimpses of the future. Not like I can tell you what cards you're holding in your hand. They’re more like life-changing events."

  I snorted. "You dying would be life-changing. Okay, so you got an image of someone taking a shot at you before it happened, and what, ducked?"

  "Pretty much." He shrugged. "I told everyone I heard it, which is partially true. I mean, the thing was loud, but not even one of us could have moved in time."

  "I want a list of who was with you that day and who knew where you would be," I told him, trying to figure out what else I needed. "I might need to know more later, but seriously, I've been up for like, two days. I didn't sleep on the plane, thinking it might help me adjust to the time change."

  "Fair enough. But first, what didn't you want to say around Chuck?"

  "You call him Chuck too?" I laughed, loving how cool Dom was. "I kept thinking of him as Chuck, wanting to call him that just to piss him off."

  "He's such a fucking douche," Dom groaned. "I honestly might guess him as the assassin, but I don't think he has the balls to come after me himself. He's a weasel."

  "I wanted to tell you he was lying earlier, but I'm not sure why," I said. Dom gave me a confused look, and it was my turn to explain. "My gift is being able to know when people are lying."

  "That must come in handy."

  "Really, it's more of a pain in the ass in my personal life. But, yeah, in cases like this, it comes in handy. That's why my council sent me when your council asked for outside help. I need that to stay between us, Dom."

  "Don't sweat it, Yuri." He smiled at me, and again, I felt my cock harden. "Trust goes both ways with me."

  "Good to know," I answered before finishing off my beer. "I just don't get why he was lying. He knew my real orders and that I didn't answer to him, but why lie about it? Also, he was lying when he said I didn't deserve any respect. Something's just not right with him. I don't ever want you alone with him, okay?"

  "I'm so fine with that." Dom snickered. "I'd get rid of him if I could, but he's been an advisor forever and has friends on the council."

  "Oh great, that makes my job fun," I grumbled. I shut my trap when Dominic got up and took off his robe, revealing his bare, nicely toned chest. His hair flowed around him like a waterfall as he moved and I was dying to touch it. Quickly, I snapped myself back from the idea of getting too close to him. "I think I got a good start on what I need, but I'm going to sleep on it."

  "Alright, I'll talk to you more tomorrow," he said as he opened the doors into the other room. Walking through them, he went and sat on his bed. "Just close the door behind you. My consorts will be coming shortly."

  I dug my nails in my hands, really not liking the idea of him being intimate with anyone, especially when I was right in the next room. "I'm going to want to meet them and question them tomorrow."

  "I'll let them know." He smiled as I got up and just about ran to the door. "Thank you for coming, Yuri. I feel better knowing you're on my side."

  "You're welcome, Dom," I answered, before slipping into my room. My room wasn't as cool, but it was definitely as nice as a swanky room in Vegas. There was a large king-sized bed, my own bathroom, and even a mini bar.

  I threw out the empty beer bottle and paced around my room for a bit. I was dying to know what was under those silk pajama bottoms he wore. Shaking my head, I stripped and got into bed with a raging erection. I knew I had to take care of that before I'd be able to sleep.

  Reaching down, I wrapped my hand around my cock and started to stroke it. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dom sucking my dick as I played with all that wonderful hair. After several minutes of trying to fight the images, I just went with it. I could almost feel those sweet lips wrapped around my cock as he went down on me. It didn't take long until I was shooting my seed all over my hand, groaning loudly as I finished.

  I reached over, grabbed a few tissues off the nightstand and cleaned up. Being so attracted to Dom was going to be a problem, one I needed to get over and quickly. But he was all I thought about as I turned on my side and fell asleep.

  * * * *

  Just as I had gone to bed with images of Dom on my mind, I woke up with the same. I rubbed my hands over my eyes, and the image remained. Sitting up quickly, I let out a gasp when I realized it was really him sitting there.

  "You scared the shit out of me, Dom," I grumbled as I threw back the covers and got up. Heading to the bathroom, I turned when I heard him chuckle. "What?"

  "Nice dick," he answered as he gestured to my morning wood. "You have something against pajamas?"

  "Fuck," I grumbled as I grabbed a pillow from the bed and held it in front of me. "I don't know. I normally sleep nude and I'm not used to waking up and having someone sitting there watching me. Keep in mind I'm also jet-lagged."

  "Don't cover up on my account." Dom smirked. "I thought the view was quite impressive."

  "Umm, thanks," I answered and rushed to the bathroom. After I did my thing, showered quickly, and had taken care of all other necessities, I had to admit I'd hidden enough. With a towel wrapped around my hips and another I was using to dry my hair, I walked back into my room. "So why were you watching me?"

  "I was actually just waiting for you to get up." He laughed as he eyed me over. "To be honest, I've not been around many warriors, I mean, this closely. I guess I was just curious."

  "Glad I could help your curious nature." I snorted as I pulled out some boxer briefs and cargo pants.

  "Well, I don't think they make all warriors like you," Dom said, and whatever was in his tone made me turn and look at him. I swear I saw lust in his eyes before he looked down at the files on his lap. "I wanted to make sure Chuck got you everything you asked for."

  "Thanks," I replied as I pulled the boxer briefs up under the towel. I took off the towel then and walked over to him without putting on pants first. There it was again. I could swear he was just about drooling at the sight of me. Wasn't he supposed to be straight? I mean, his consorts came by last night. Shaking away the thoughts, I took the files from him, and I almost felt an electric jolt as our hands touched. I stared into his eyes for a few moments before turning away.

  "The top file is my schedule for the next few days. I thought we needed to discuss it before anything else," he said as I opened it up. I put the stack on the table and read it over as I pulled on my pants. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dom was staring at me. Fuck! He really was going to be the death of me. I'd just about had a wet dream last night thinking about how he'd look riding my dick.

  "The highlighted ones are off the compound?" I asked as I went to get shoes and socks.

  "That would be correct," Dom answered as he stood. "The first meeting is here and will take a while. That should give you time to check out whatever you need to and get acclimated."

  "Yeah, as long as coffee is in there somewhere, I'm good," I said.

  "A man after my own heart," he replied quietly before opening the door and leaving me alone. What the fuck was that? Was he really bi-sexual? Or was he just a flirt when he didn't have to act like a royal?

  I finished
getting dressed, grabbed the files, and headed out. Pulling out the map, I worked my way to the kitchen. And I found quite a spread. There were all types of beverages, pastries, and just about any breakfast food you could imagine. I filled up a plate, fixed my coffee, and sat at the table as I studied the map.

  "The help normally eats in the kitchen." Charles sneered as he walked in and went to refill his coffee.

  "Pull up a chair then," I said sweetly as I didn't even bother to look up.

  "What does that mean?" he growled as he approached me.

  "It means you're the head of security. That's the help," I answered as I turned to face him. "It's a paid position, just like mine. Doesn't matter if you're the maid or the cook, a paid position is the help."

  "I'm not just security, I'm also an advisor!"

  "Yeah, that's also a salaried position." I snickered. "Hell, advisor just screams help, doesn't it?"

  "You'd be smart to learn your place," he snarled as his hands started to shift into claws.

  "I know my place, Chuck," I answered, smiling at him. "It's taking care of the job you couldn't handle. So bitch and moan all you want, but I'm now in charge of the Grand Duc's security. And I'll be making changes, so hop on my train or stay the fuck out of my way."

  "The council over-reacted by sending you here. I kept the Grand Duc safe!" he yelled before storming off. Again, I felt the wave. He was lying, but I didn't know about which part. That was the frustrating part of my gift. It wasn't like I beeped as soon as a lie was told. And unless answering yes or no questions, it could be hard for me to gauge what the lie was.

  Shaking my head, I cleaned up my breakfast and headed to the main security and tech center. When I got there, I simply leaned in the doorway for a while, just observing. I made several mental notes of things that need to be changed before I found Edmund.

  "I never got an answer yesterday. Do you guys have facial recognition software?" I asked when he was done talking with one of the tech guys.