A Vampire’s Mistress (6 page)

Beside Gabe, Marina uneasily shifted her weight to her other foot. Hell, he was uneasy too. Being in the presence of a megalomaniac was one thing. Being in the presence of one who was undead and had vampire powers made it ten times worse. One never knew where the madness would take them next. Gabriel had always known Nick was ambitious, but he’d never dreamed he’d go over the deep end like this.

Marina’s brows drew down into a dark V over her bright blue eyes. “Nick, this is crazy. You know the High Council has warriors who could easily destroy you and your accomplices.” Her gaze drifted briefly to Vane.

Nick waved a hand, phasing away the mess of glass and wine that littered his pristine marble floors. “Just because you can’t ascertain the plan doesn’t mean I don’t have one, my dear.”

Her brows smoothed. “This is about the ichor, isn’t it?”

Gabriel let Marina keep talking to Nick as a distraction while he assessed their position. The drop off the balcony behind Nick had to be two stories, if not three. An easy enough jump for a vampire who was in shape and knew how. But was Marina either? Getting to the secret passage was possible if he could get Nick and the reiver out of the way. But then there’d be nothing stopping them from following. If he could just get her past the perimeter of the no-fly zone at the water’s edge, he could transport them out.

“Why are you selling ichor illegally, Nick?” Marina asked. “You don’t need the
money
.”

“
Shyelds
, my dear. I’m making an entire army of them without their knowledge. The ichor has come from my own house, so I’m in control of it.”

“The High Council won’t let you get away with this,” Marina said, her rebuke clear in her tone.

“Tsk. Tsk.” Nick gave a dramatic sigh as if she were an ignorant child. “Who says they weren’t the ones who condoned it?”

Marina flinched, drawing closer to Gabe.

Vane laughed as he strode forward until he was shoulder to shoulder beside Nick. “You two are the only loose ends in this matter. But that’s easy enough to fix,” Vane said as he looked Marina up and down like a delicious treat.

Gabe stepped in front of her. The odds were good. Two vampires against two vampires. Sure, both Nick and Vane were older, and far stronger than he was, but he had experience of being a
Shyeld
on his side. He bent his knees and hunched his shoulders, hands extended, waiting to spring.

“You think you’re strong enough to take us both on?” Vane taunted as he leaned back, crossing his arms and looking down his nose at Gabe.

“How do you know you’re stronger, vampire?”
Flick.
Gabe’s fangs descended, throbbing with the anger burning in his veins.

Vane’s mouth tipped up in a sneer in response, making him look a lot like a Billy Idol on steroids. His red eyes glittered as he anticipated a fight to the death.

Nick held up a hand and Vane hissed at Gabe exposing razor-sharp fangs dripping clear venom that smelled of almonds. Vane continued to pierce Gabe with his glare, but stepped back a pace.

“You two can have your fun later,” Nick said, turning to focus back on Marina. He had eyes for no one else. “Right now we have important business to conduct. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve lost my usefulness for you, Marina. Consorts come and consorts go.”

Gabe growled, low and deep. A warning. But he’d only give them one.

“I would’ve been happier if you’d actually been beheaded,” Marina snapped.

Nick leisurely waved a well-manicured hand in the air. “You can’t imagine how freeing it is to be dead,” he said. “I can do anything I want. I can say anything I want.”

“But you still can’t
have
everything you want, now, can you?” she taunted.

Nick glared at her. “You would have been the most powerful vampiress in the world if you’d chosen to obey me instead of run.”

“Maybe I was listening. Maybe I just didn’t like what I heard.”

“It’s because of him, isn’t it?” He jerked his head in Gabe’s direction, his face contorting with the first signs of anger.

Marina looked at Gabe, unable to hide the longing in her eyes. “He’s got more honor in one eyelash than you’ve ever possessed in your entire existence.”

The words, the look in her eye, pierced Gabriel deeper than any stake could have. Marina could say anything she wanted, do anything, but deep down she loved him. He could see it.

In an instant Nick tried to grab her, his fingers clenched and missing her throat by millimeters. Gabriel had moved just as fast, blocking him, his forearm tight against Nick’s throat, a bare silver blade in his hand, pressed against the olive skin. A thin trickle of black ichor welled along the edge of the blade, dripping warm and slick down his wrist.

“Touch her and I’ll behead you myself, slowly and thoroughly.”

Nick’s eyes blazed with challenge. “You wouldn’t dare,
Shyeld
.”

“Fucking try me, asshole.” The words were a feral growl.

Nick twisted, lunging at him. Gabe pushed Marina out of the way and rolled backward, taking the hit and using the momentum to flip Nick off him.

Nick righted himself and pulled a silver blade similar in shape and weight to the thick-wicked blade Gabe held in his own hand. It was no surprise. Nick had given him the damn thing three years ago for extraordinary service—in other words, walking away from Marina and doing what he’d thought was the right, honorable thing. Best knife he’d ever owned. And he never missed when he used it.

Nick hissed, springing from where he stood to fly through the air. Gabriel grabbed hold of his arm as they connected, pressing the knife to his face a half inch away from his eye. With all his force he pushed Nick’s arm down. The blade came closer, cutting a stinging line of fire into Gabriel’s cheek. He cursed. He’d forgotten how badly silver could burn a vampire. The acidic bite of vinegar tinged the air, both of them in pain.

Gabriel twisted hard, kneeing Nick in the gut. It was like hitting concrete. Nick huffed and Gabriel was able to exert enough force at Nick’s wrist to twist the knife out of his hand. The silver blade clattered as it hit the marble floor and spun off away from them toward Marina.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vane advancing on Marina. She scrabbled for the silver dagger that had come to a stop within a few feet of her. The momentary lapse of concentration cost him.

Nick thrust an elbow up under Gabe’s chin, knocking his head backward with a snap he felt all the way down his spine. Gabriel flew backward to the floor, his head cracking the marble. Stars burst and spun in his vision.

He tightened his hold on the blade in his hand. Nick rushed forward, sweeping a foot back to kick Gabe in the ribs. Gabe rolled to one side and sprang up to crouch. He grabbed Nick’s leg as he kicked and used it to throw him off balance. Nick’s yell of fury was knocked from him as he hit the floor with a thud. Gabriel pinned Nick to the floor, rolling him forward, an arm twisted behind him to the snapping point.

They moved too quickly for even a vampire to track. Only the blur of an arm or the movement of a leg was evidence they battled. As fearful as she was for Gabe, she couldn’t watch. She tested the weight of the blade in her hand as she eyed Vane. He moved slowly and steadily toward her, the red in his eyes pulsing with hunger and malice.

She took in a breath and held it not for the oxygen, but to steady her hand. With all her might she threw the blade, aiming for Vane’s chest. A swift arc of silver was all that could be seen. He vanished in a blur of dark mist an instant before the blade connected. The blade sunk into the wall up to the hilt, quivering.

She spun on the spot to where Gabe and Nick fought. All she saw was the flash of a silver blade. Warm black ichor sprayed Marina and she screamed.

Chapter Six

“Gabriel!” Her voice bounced off the marble, echoing first in the large, ornately furnished room of Nick’s villa, then again off the dark water of the lake just outside the balcony’s open doors.

Marina was shaking so hard her knees gave way. She landed on the cold black-and-white-marble floor next to the headless body. A thin pool of liquid midnight-colored ichor had already begun to spread, gleaming in the moonlight. The moment her eyes started to focus past the wash of tears blurring her vision, she could see that the body on the floor wore an expensive dark suit.

Not Gabe. Nick.

A broad hand touched her shoulder and Marina whipped around, her fangs bared, ready to defend herself.

Gabe held up both hands in surrender. “It’s just me, sweetheart.”

Her eyes darted around the room, coming back to rest on Gabe’s face. An angry red scar marred his cheek, the ichor already dried around the wound that had started to heal. “Where’s Vane?”

“Gone.”

“Are you certain?”

Gabe nodded, holding out a hand to help her from the floor. “He vanished while we were fighting. I saw him coming toward you, but it was either behead Nick and save you or catch hold of Vane before he transported. You’ve got quite a throw.”

Marina slipped her hand into his, the rough texture and warmth of it a reassurance that she existed and so did Gabe. “So we have no idea where Vane went?”

“Not for sure, but that’s not important right now.”

Marina glanced once more at Nick’s body. This time there was no doubt that he’d been truly beheaded. Unable to bear the gory sight, she looked away, Gabe wrapping his arms around her shoulders and turning her into his chest. She’d come so close to losing him again that it made her ache all over. The warm solidness of his chest soothed her raw emotions. She sighed, the weight of the last few years flowing off her shoulders at last.

“We’re not out of this yet, are we?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper into his shirt.

“Not until we know who the traitor is on the High Council.” He brushed his hand over her hair, smoothing it with a gentle caress. At the same time a gentle breeze whispered over her as Gabe phased away the grime and gore, leaving them both clean and freshly clothed. “Whatever comes, Marina, we’re going to face it together.”

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. The dark brown was soft and sincere and as comforting as a hot cup of espresso on a cold night. He wasn’t lying. He meant every word.

“What’s the real reason you came back for me, Gabe? Were you sent to rescue me by the council? Was I no more than business for you, or…”

“You need me to say it?”

She bit her bottom lip, rubbing it lightly between her teeth, then she nodded. Part of her felt guilty for needing the words, but the other, stronger part, wanted to hear it from his own lips.

“I love you.”

She closed her eyes, letting the words sink in, a balm to her fractured heart. And when she opened them again, he was still there, still solid, still holding her. “Then take me away from here.”

He bent his head and kissed her soundly. She could taste and feel him all the way to her toes. “I thought you’d never ask,” he mumbled against her lips, the movement making her want another kiss.

The transport looped through her middle before she could say another word, pulling them together through time and space back to a living room that overlooked a conifer forest. Beyond the trees the rugged spires of the Alps rose to reach for the rising moon.

“Welcome to my home away from home.”

She spared a brief glance at the grand expanse of the arched roof and wide walls carved directly from stone. “You live in a cave?” she teased.

He chuckled and the warmth of it seeped through her. “I found I liked Seattle so much I wanted something as similar as I could get, but closer to you.”

“Why didn’t you bring me here first?”

“Because I knew this was the first place they’d look.” His tone was laced with irritation as he took in the chaos. “They certainly made a mess.”

She blinked, suddenly aware of the disarray. The scattered pictures, covered in shards of broken glass, glittered in the moonlight filtering through the large window overlooking the woods. Furniture had been overturned, ripped and shredded, the stuffing oozing out.

“That’s fixed easily enough.” She pulled her power together, letting it ball up in her solar plexus before pushing it out into the room to phase away the mess. The ruined furnishings and damaged goods disappeared. “There you go. A clean slate.” She smiled up at him.

“Not quite.” Gabe ran his fingers through her hair, letting the silk of it slip around him and enjoying every second of it. After years of fantasizing about her, they were actually alone. But deep down in the pit of his stomach a niggling, insecure little doubt festered. He’d said he loved her, but he’d yet to hear her say it in return.

Even after all this time, he still wanted the words from her, the knowledge that she did indeed belong to him. But perhaps that would come with time, and trust. He’d wait for it, just as he’d waited for her.

He pulled her closer, reveling in the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest, his hands splaying over the enticing female curve of her hip.

Her arms slipped around his waist. “I’ve taken you for granted, haven’t I?” she murmured, snuggling into him.

The smell of her skin was like an aphrodisiac, making him dizzy with lust and longing. His fingers tightened in her hair as he drew her face up to his. “Perhaps,” he murmured against her lips. “But I’m willing to let you make it up to me.”

She raised her eyes and he felt her smile curve against his own mouth. “Willing?” she mocked.

“And able.” Gabriel chuckled, swooping in the last centimeter separating their mouths to kiss her.

The shock of her mouth under his she shockwaves through his entire body. Kissing Marina was like kissing the moon. Just as the moon could transform an ordinary night into something extraordinary, magical, beauty and light filled him, banishing the ache and pain into pure joy. He’d never get enough of her, of this.

Her mouth, warm and supple, caressed his, her arms wrapping firmly around his neck. He could have let it go on indefinitely, but Marina pulled back, her soft smooth hand pressing against his cheek as she stared deeply into his eyes. Into his soul. Here eyes were luminous blue of a lake in summer, so clear and bright he could see the image of himself swimming in the depth. He was an ordinary vampire, by no means a royal, but through Marina’s eyes he was a vampire worthy of her.