Ambrosia (Nectar Trilogy, Book 2) (14 page)

It could be that he opts to get you pregnant and if you survive, do so repeatedly so that he can populate the world with as many perfect future vampires as your body allows.

Alternately, he could opt to harvest your eggs so that we can do in-vitro with surrogates and have someone else give birth to these perfect vampire children in your absence or in an effort to protect you from the risks of childbirth as well as keep the nectar flowing. He could put you on tap for repeated nectar cycles in a controlled environment so that you’re safe from him and he can opt to use that nectar in a variety of ways. He can also later turn you and attempt to conceive with you after you’re turned. You could be powerful enough to do that very successfully and by my research, there’s a good probability that children you have after you’re turned might not even need to be turned to be at their full potential. That’s something we’re very interested in researching. Tristan has a lot of options to weigh out.”

Kyla tilted her head at him. Regardless of biology, this man wasn’t family. He didn’t care a lick about Kyla, his biological granddaughter. This was a mad scientist who was also a cold and callous vampire and Kyla was just an instrument in a bevy of possible experiments.

“These are his decisions to make. He could even order a hysterectomy, protecting you from birth and from nectar cycles. But he’s got the potential to sire powerful vampires, he has the potential to change our world for the better with your blood. Heal sick vampires. Stem cell research from embryos could also produce a great many things before and after you’re turned. Many great things can come out of this. You’re looking at me like you’re about to suffer a death sentence but that’s absolutely untrue.”

Kyla looked to Tristan. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking off into space. She looked back to Adrian. She ignored the chilling in her blood at the man’s words, the man’s demeanour.

“This was all part of the long term plans. Tristan’s grandfather and I planned this almost twenty-seven years ago when we first planned for your parents to meet.”

“Why does he smell and taste like dessert?” It was a stupid question to ask right now after all that’d been revealed but the track her brain was on, she needed to get off it. Badly. Talk about information overload!

“Endorphins. You two are a perfect match. You both appeal to one another. Are you a dessert person?”

“Uh huh.”

His scent… it was of things she wanted but rarely had as an underprivileged foster child so the one thing she indulged in as an adult was dessert.

“That’s why he smells like dessert to you. If you were a flower person, he’d probably smell like flowers. It’s all chemical. A natural mating call. You’re meant for him. You smell and taste the way he wants. He smells like what you want. He generates a chemical reaction in you that makes you open to mating with him, a little like being entranced but you’re evidently keeping your faculties, which is astonishing.”

She was quiet, reflective for a moment.

“What happened to my parents?”

“Your parents were a means to an end. This end.”

“They were killed on purpose?”

Tristan answered, “They aren’t dead.”

Kyla’s body spun to face Tristan.

“They’re alive. They were brought in, underwent some testing. They were later turned.  You were supposed to be brought in with them but you vanished.”

Kyla’s palm flew to her chest. She could hardly breathe.

Adrian said, “They couldn’t tell me what happened to you. They said you were kidnapped from your bed during the night. We were making plans to bring the three of you in due to outside dangers but we were too late. The only reason you weren’t raised here in this compound until you were to be given to Tristan was because traitors sought to keep you from us. You were hidden. It took eighteen years to find you. We found you in Ottawa. For the past few years, you’ve been watched. Then you were given to Tristan. It was serendipitous that you moved to his city.”

What on earth?

“An older lady told me on a park bench that they died in a car accident. Who abducted me? And do I have siblings?”

“There’s an underground militia of sorts. They moved you from Wales, where you were born and being raised, and then hid you within the Canadian foster care system,” Adrian answered, “They changed your name, birth certificate information and hid you from us. Those responsible will be caught. They will face consequences.”

Early memories after losing her parents flooded her memory. She remembered thinking that after her parents were gone that people talked funny. She was a quiet and withdrawn child after losing her parents. She must’ve lost any accent along the way.

She looked to him, “What’s my real name?”

“It
is
Kyla. Your family name was not Spencer. That was fabricated. It was Kelly. You’re a Constantin. That’s what makes you part royal.”

“What’s a Constantin?”

“Me. My name. I’m Adrian Constantin.”

“And what’s your ideal scenario here? What do
you
want to see happen?”

Adrian smiled and gave a look to Tristan, “There are a great number of things that I’d like to see happen. It’s all Tristan’s choice but I’d like to see you two breed. I’d like to see the results of that but I’d also like to get my hands on some nectar samples as a start.”

“As a start. Hmm. So, let’s see here…”

“Kyla…” Tristan’s voice was a warning.

She ignored it.

“You want my blood, then my period blood, and then you want me pregnant so you can perform medical experiments ON OUR BABY!?” Kyla was suddenly fiercely protective of a baby that didn’t even exist.

Adrian seemed unaffected by her anger.

Tristan hooked an arm around her waist. She hadn’t realized she’d shot to her feet.

“Where are my parents?” she demanded, pulling to get away from Tristan. He wasn’t having it.

“Your mother lives in Wales. I informed her that you’d be here but she couldn’t come. Your father
is
arriving today. He lives in Monaco, he works for me, but he’s coming to see you.”

“Siblings?” she pushed.

“That’s classified information, I’m afraid.” Adrian said coldly.

Kyla was taken aback.

Classified? What the fuck?

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Kyla!” Tristan scowled said right in her ear.

Kyla continued,

“So I don’t get to know pertinent information to my situation?”

“That’s out of scope,” Adrian answered calmly.

“Um, I disagree. And what if Tristan doesn’t opt for any of the things you want. What if he chooses something you
don’t
want?”

She knew, then, that she had siblings. It had to be true. There was no way he wouldn’t tell her the answer if the answer was No.

Adrian smiled, “Tristan is a leader. He was destined to lead and knows how important he is. He knows how important my work is. I’m confident that whatever decision he makes it’ll be the right one.”

Kyla dug into her memory for the small remnants of her parents. Her mother looked kind of similar to her but with blonde hair and green eyes. Her father was tall, dark, blue-eyed, and handsome in her memory. She gulped down past a knot in her throat.

“This is too much…” she leaned back against Tristan, “My whole life is a lie. It’s an experiment. This guy is my fucking grandfather? A vampire?”

A slightly maniacal laugh bubbled up, “And he wants us to have babies that he can put in experiments and then if I live, big if, though, he takes whatever of my menstrual blood you’re willing to part with to…”

“Can you have someone show us to our room?” Tristan interrupted, “Kyla needs a chance to process.”

Adrian smiled, “I can do that. Let me have those refreshments redirected.” He reached for his phone.

Kyla felt anger rising higher and higher among the confusion. She tried to pull out of Tristan’s hold.

He held her firmly and got his mouth to her ear, “Keep it together. Stop talking right now. Got me?”

She choked on a sob, thinking
what the fuck is this?
She felt emotion clog her throat and burn in her chest. She needed space. She needed clarity. She needed to fucking run.

“Stop, princess.  Take a breath. Adrian? I need to settle her down. Our room; now, please.”

“Follow me, I’ll show you to it.” He looked totally unaffected by Kyla’s state of mind. And this royally pissed her off.

Tristan led her to the door, “Sunglasses. For fuck sakes, keep it together if we pass anyone.”

She choked on a sob.

“Kyla,” he warned, “Chill out or I’ll have to get him to sedate you.”

She was about to glare and retort but common sense managed to settle in. She nodded at him and tried to clear her expression, to put on a mask of indifference. Inside, she felt like she was crumbling completely.

Adrian walked ahead of them. A man appeared pushing a cart of refreshments. Adrian told him to follow to Tristan’s suite. Kyla didn’t have to work hard to act like a zombie because she felt like the walking dead. They passed vampires in the hall and then as they walked through a large open lobby-type room with sofas, chairs, conversation areas, toward a staircase she was aware of a variety of things all at once.

She saw Sam, sitting at a table with another guy, drinking coffee. Sam gave Tristan a chin-jerk and then resumed listening to the man speaking to him without looking at Kyla.

Not far from Sam was a chess board and two men in lounge pants and bathrobes were playing. To the right of them there was a redheaded woman in orange pajamas whose throat was being fed on by another redheaded woman on a sofa by a big window that overlooked a garden area. Outside, in that garden, Kyla took in a man being pushed in a wheelchair by a woman wearing scrubs.

They began to climb a winding quadruple wide marble staircase in bright white with red veins with a heavy ornate marble banister. Descending the stairs was a gorgeous blonde whose eyes landed on Kyla when she said, “Tristan, you are a sight for sore eyes!”

“Faye,” he replied, moving along.

“Not ill, I hope?” she looked concerned.

“Not at all. Excuse me.” He ushered Kyla forward.

“Celia’s here. Have you seen her?” Faye called back.

“I know,” Tristan answered without looking back.

“Not thrilled with the level of exposure I’m feeling here, Adrian,” Tristan muttered, “Would’ve been better to break everything to her in our suite.”

“Not to worry,” Adrian replied, “I have a cover for you. Meet me back in my office after you’ve settled her. We need to get those samples into temperature-controlled storage.”

“Can you have a treadmill sent up? I’ll wait for it.”

“Yes, of course.”

They walked down a hallway and Adrian handed Tristan a key card.

Tristan pushed the card into a slot and then opened the door. Kyla glanced ahead and saw their bags were already there. A man followed in and put down the tray of drinks and then left.

She didn’t hear what Tristan said to Adrian as he closed the door. She was staring ahead, seeing nothing, just reeling…totally reeling as she started to feel the impact of the truth, the truth behind her blood, their connection, her whole life thus far, the danger she was in.

He spun her around by the shoulders and pulled her to him. She closed her eyes and absorbed the feel of him. Her hands slipped under his arms and around his waist. She inhaled him.

“Angel food cake,” she whispered.

He caressed her head.

“Mixed with chocolate chip cookies,” she started to sob.

He squeezed her tight and said, “Sunshine, mixed with laughter, fire, and silk.”

She lifted her chin to look up at his face.

“You’re everything I crave, too,” he kissed her nose, “I smell it, I feel it, I taste it. You’re my ambrosia. I love you.”

“But Tristan…” she whimpered, emotion burning in her chest, “Your love … it will ...  kill me.”

His eyes were sorrowful. He backed her up, through the fancy old-world looking living area with lots of dark wood and fabric in colourful brocade, to the attached bedroom, and they got into a big wooden canopy bed done with blood-red linens and blood red curtains both on the windows as well as on the canopy drapes. Vamps sure did seem to like the colour of blood. He curled her against him and let out a sigh.

She nuzzled in to his shoulder. “This is fucked up.”

“I know.”

“You didn’t know any of it?”

“Baby, I was as surprised as you. I’m not happy about a lot of things but I have no luxury of dwelling on it. My outward reaction is important. I can’t appear weak or anything other than completely in control. Not even if someone seems trustworthy.

Vamps are predatory, they have innate reactions to weakness. They are opportunists. You just started your ovulation cycle yesterday and Adrian told me on the phone last night that tomorrow night will be even testier for me as you’ll hit the peak by then. I’ve got to deal with a bunch of shit, including the fact that Sam, my right hand man, was in on this, and he fooled me. Others have been deceiving me, too. Well, keeping information from me but the same outcome. Liam’s here in Arizona somewhere, fortified with your blood, and no doubt trying to figure out how to get more of it. I want to crush him into dust for putting his mouth on you, not to mention…” he tensed, then continued, “…what he did. And I’ve got you freaking out with all this new knowledge, and I don’t trust anyone around us. I trusted Sam Jasper and I was wrong about that. There’s a fuckuva lot ahead of me here.”

“So Adrian tells you that you’ve been played, that we’re a lab experiment, we’ve been set up to meet, and he’s got your own people working for him posing as working for you and you remained totally and completely in control? You sounded happy on the phone when you called me at the hotel. I don’t get it!”

“Not even close,” Tristan answered, “But I
got
myself under control quickly. I had to. Despite wanting to rip his head off he might be key to our future. I probably need him to help me
not
hurt you. He gave me hope about your next cycle. And about keeping you safe from Liam.”

They were quiet a minute and he broke the loaded silence, “What are you thinking about right now?”

She covered her eyes with her hands, “So many things. I don’t even know where to start.”

He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead.

She took a big breath, “My parents aren’t dead. And I have family, Tristan. Family who are vampires. This is crazy. I have vampire genes. I’m a fucking lab experiment. Do I have sisters or brothers? Why won’t he tell me? Will he tell you the truth? And I can’t believe they kept all this from you.”

“I don’t know the details yet about your parents but I know your mother was pregnant when they were brought in. I don’t know what came of that. When you went missing, Adrian wanted to continue the experiments. He reports to Claudio’s American counterpart. Claude and I need to meet. He’s likely traveling here within the next few days.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. Tristan moved to go answer it. Kyla stayed in the bedroom on her back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She could hear that the treadmill was being delivered. She then heard the door close and lock and then he was back.

She sat up in the bed and rubbed her palms over her eyes, “I don’t even know what to say, where to start with my questions. My life is in your hands. What are you planning to do with it?”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, “Rest, okay? I have to talk to Adrian, talk to Sam, deal with a few things. The treadmill is here for you, if you need to run.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“I won’t be long…”

“I don’t trust him. Adrian is a mad scientist. I don’t trust him. Do
not
leave me alone here. Let’s… let’s get out of here.”

“There’s stuff we have to deal with here first. I’m not saying we’re staying long, I don’t know yet, but I’m assessing the situation and---”

“Please, Tristan. I have a really bad feeling about this.”

“Baby,” he kissed her nose, “Try to take a nap, okay? I need to be level-headed so that’ll help me if you do. I’ll be back soon. The door is locked.”

He started to head toward the door.

“You’re going? You’re just gonna leave me here? Leave me to fester in all this…this…”

He got back beside her and pulled her close.

“Go to sleep. It’ll help us both. I’ll hold you till you’re sleeping, then I’ll be as quick as I can be. I’ll have my phone. You have yours.”

He started to rub her back. She held tight to him.

“What are we gonna do?” she asked into his chest.

“I’m thinking we run a test to see what happens when the nectar comes. That’s the only way forward.”

“Tristan…”

“No. I’m not getting you pregnant and putting you at risk. If I decide next cycle that it’s the way to go, that’s what we do. For now, this is the only thing that makes sense.”

“What if it’s a trap? No one has been honest so far about any of this. What if… and if
you
decide? You? You can’t unilaterally…”

“I know it could be a trap. Shh… I’m weighing it all out. I’m mulling it all over. But that’s the direction I’m leaning in.”

“Do
I
not have a say in what happens to me here?” She leaned back and looked at him.

“No.”

“No?” she tried to break free of his embrace. He held tighter.

“No,” he kissed her, “because you’ll pick getting pregnant and I don’t want to risk your life. And maybe I need more nectar so I’m in a better position to protect you.”

“But both options risk my life. We’d have nine months to try to see… But I’d want to get the fuck away from here. If we have a baby I don’t want him or her to be Adrian’s guinea pig.”

“Stop talking about us having a baby. You doing that makes me want to fuck you more than I already wanna fuck you. Just rest, okay. I need to go back and talk to him some more. Then when I get back, we’ll eat and go for a walk and take things from there. Okay?”

She nodded robotically and buried her face in his chest. She didn’t know if she had the strength to argue. Part of her niggled with worry that he wanted more nectar out of being power-hungry, but she didn’t let that nag at her because she knew he loved her. She knew it in her soul.

She was suddenly acutely aware of his erection against her leg. She lifted her chin and looked at him, raising her eyebrows.

“I know,” he grumbled and got out of bed, looking uncomfortable as he adjusted himself, “I’d better go.”

“I’ll be back as soon as possible. Sleep, if you can. Love you.” He leaned over and kissed her briefly on the lips and left the room.

Kyla laid in bed for a while but that proved fruitless so she changed her clothes and then got on the treadmill so that she could try to find the zone, try to find the answers, try to cope with all she’d learned. She had so many questions.

“You were created to be mine”

His words rang in her ears.

He’d said that the night in the RV park. Did he know, then, that they were an experiment?

Then the word
princess
rang in her ears. He told her he was like royalty and he called her princess almost from the start. With what Adrian’d said about the fact that she could be a queen if she were turned, she wanted to hurl.

She yanked the safety key from the treadmill and it instantly halted, jerking her and making her nearly fall. She grabbed the handles and gasped for air. She hopped down and then paced the room, radiating energy that was frenetic, fully feeling everything she felt, hoping he’d feel it and get back to her. She got what she wished for. Two minutes after she’d gotten off the treadmill, he was there, a scary look on his face.

“Did something happen? I got this spike of…”

“You knew.”

“Knew?”

“You knew! You told me I was created to be yours, back in Victoria. You’ve been lying to me. You knew. You fucking knew that I was a lab experiment.”

“No. I didn’t.”

“Oh, really?” she folded her arms.

“I felt it. I didn’t know it. I didn’t know Adrian’s story. I never met the man until the day before yesterday. I knew of him. Knew a little of his work but not much. I knew nothing of you before we met. I only knew, from that first night we met, that you were
it
for me. It. End of story. Maybe it’s entitlement, I don’t know, but that’s where my phrasing came from. It wasn’t that I was in on this… this thing. I’m in turmoil here, baby. I’m wading through this shit just like you. I’ve just got the advantage of understanding both worlds and knowing this shit two days before you got wind.”

Kyla thrust her fingers through her hair.

“I feel so….”

She couldn’t finish. She couldn’t articulate it. Her time on the treadmill hadn’t helped with perspective. It only brought more fear, more anxiety, more shock as the things that’d been told to her sank in.

“You
do
know that the best thing you can do is trust me, don’t you? Stop being so damn suspicious all the fucking time. I can’t believe after everything we’re still here.” He poured a drink from a bar area by the window, “Want one?”

Kyla folded her arms across her chest and frowned and shook her head. Booze was the last thing she needed right now.

“How would it make you feel if every time you turned around I was throwing accusations at you, treating you with suspicion?”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. He was right. He was 100% right.

He shook his head and downed his drink.

“I’m a jerk,” she admitted.

He nodded, “Yeah. So stop.”

“Where were you? What’s the latest?”

He sighed.

“Maybe I’ll stop being so suspicious if you stop leaving me in the dark all the time. You need to give me some fucking credit.”

He let out a breath and turned away from the window to face her, “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’m a jerk, too.”

She sat on the sofa. He sat beside her and took her hands into his.

“I just hate the anxiety you feel and I want it gone. Sorry if that means you get upset and feel like you’re in the dark.  I just don’t want you to hurt. I’ll stop.”

She nodded, “Is the way you feel for me textbook? With royal vamps and their pets, I mean?”

He shook his head, “Doesn’t seem like it. No one has said but I don’t think so. Sounds like this combo, you and me? Unheard of.”

He leaned over and his lips touched hers and she relaxed into his embrace.

His kiss turned hungry and he hauled her up onto his lap, so she was straddling him. He was hard. His fingers roughly dug into her back and her shirt started to go up.

“Hey,” she mumbled, “Don’t start something we can’t finish.” But she wanted him. Her breathing went erratic. She held tighter to him.

“I need…” he said against her lips but didn’t finish. He groaned in frustration and Kyla’s panties went damp. She climbed off him and grabbed the fly of his jeans and then tugged them open. She took his beautiful cock into her hands and lowered her head and then her lips parted.

He leaned back and groaned, “No, Kyla.” But he didn’t move away.

She ignored his protest. She licked and sucked and massaged and gave it her all but then he abruptly hauled her off and up and then put her on her back on the sofa. He was hovering over her, breathing hard, “I don’t want your mouth. I want inside you and I fucking can’t.” He did up his pants.

“Get condoms?” Kyla breathed.

“Not safe enough.” He backed up, “And I need to feel you. Not feel some fuckin’ rubber.”

“Umm, back, uh.. door?” she blushed. She was craving his body and closeness in a bad way.             

He smiled, “Too close. If I lose it and slip an inch, we’re in trouble. But let’s come back to that menu item in a few days.” He winked.