Black Scar (3 page)

“Will I have this
madness?”

“I doubt it. I
have turned almost a dozen in my long existence and none have suffered as
such.”

“Except Raynor
Nightwood.”

“Aye, except for
Raynor. I do not subscribe to the theory that it occurs during the turning. I
believe it is more random and rare. Regardless, it has been passed on to
Julian.”

“What about
Raylene, your mate?”

A stab of pain
roared through Deegan’s heart. “It remains to be seen. We are coping with the
possibility. It is a concern, seeing as Raylene is pregnant.”

“Jesus,” Marcus
said softly.

“We are here to
talk about you, lad, not I. You are one of us now. You will stay here in Brennan’s
cottage for the time being, and Logan will look after you. She is very
skilled.” Deegan stood and rubbed his forehead. “I cannot discuss this anymore
today, I am weary and so are you. We shall speak again later. I am sorry you
have been caught up in all this. I will do everything I can to ensure your
recovery and make your transition into the Clan a smooth one. Rest, now.”

Deegan reached
into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He held it up for Marcus to see.

“This ring is a
symbol of the Blackthorne Clan. Our motto is
Always and Forever.
The words were etched on the coat of arms of my
ancient Irish Clan Ó Léanacháin. Take it, lad, and join us. Your Thrope blood
has all but been decimated anyhow. You are more Vampire than anything else.
Accept what you are.”

Marcus turned his
face away and did not answer. Deegan laid the ring on the end table. “Think
about it. This ring belonged to Raynor. I would be honored if you wore it and
so would he. I will come by and see you again soon. Raylene asked if she might
visit. She wasn’t sure you would want her here seeing as she is Julian’s
sister. Can she come?”

Marcus kept his
face turned away, but he nodded.

“Very good, lad.
Rest now.”

Deegan walked out
of the room and gently closed the door behind him. He stood in the hallway,
exhaled, and then wiped away the few tears that spilled down his cheeks.

Chapter Three

Was there
anything that dragged time more than waiting for toast to pop up? Logan stood
by the kitchen counter, a hand on one hip. The night had passed uneventfully
and Marcus Steele slept it through. Of course, it helped she slipped her own
herbal concoction into his willow bark tea.

She felt a little
fatigued after her short plane trip from Sydney and her forty-five minute drive
from the Halifax Airport to Deegan Black’s sprawling waterfront home in
Bennington Bay on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Logan did not like being out of
her element.

Glanced at the
toaster, she tapped the granite countertop impatiently. She had arrived
yesterday morning, and one of her first duties was to replace the gauze and
bandages on his face. Marcus had been unconscious at the time. Oh, his ruined
beauty. She shook her head in sadness. Gazing at the undamaged side of his
face, she could see Marcus Steele had been one of the most astounding males to
draw breath. The left side stood as an example of handsome perfection, which
made the destruction all the more wretched.

The toast sprang
at last. With cautious fingertips, she grasped the corners and quickly
transferred them to a plate. Slathering on fresh butter, she placed the plate
on a tray with a steaming mug of hot tea. He had to attempt solid food, though
with his Vampire blood he only required one meal a week, or so she assumed.
She’d been astounded to learn he’d been born a Thrope. How would that affect
his state of Vampirism? Deegan did inform her he’d been turned a mere six weeks
ago, so that would make him a Bloodling.

Logan carried the
tray into Marcus’s bedroom. Sunlight flooded through the half-open steel
blinds. Damn, she should have been more careful. Yet, as she glanced at Marcus,
he seemed unaffected by the muted rays of the sun touching his skin. A Vampire
would be in extreme pain and would have surface burns. She sat the tray on the
dresser and moved to the window, snapping the blinds shut.

“The heat felt
good,” Marcus said.

She moved to his
side and touched his arm. It felt warm from the sun’s contact, but no burns.

“Are you in pain
from the sun on your skin?”

Marcus shook his
head. “Should I be?”

“Aye, lad.
Exposure to sun is poisonous to a Vampire. This is an interesting development.
Deegan tells me you were turned less than two months ago. You have been able to
move about in the daytime even when the sun is at its peak?”

“Yes, no
problems.”

Logan glanced
down and noticed she still stroked his arm. His skin felt soft and silky and
considering he’d been born a Thrope, he had very little body hair. She flushed,
as she rather enjoyed touching him. She pulled her hand away.

“The change in
you in a mere twenty-four hours is quite astonishing. I removed the IV late
last night. You dinna need it anymore. Please lie on your stomach and let me
check your back.” Her voice sounded officious to her own ears.

He obeyed, and
Logan gently pulled back the gauze. She could not keep the gasp of shock from
leaving her lips.

“How bad is it?”
Marcus’s voice sounded muffled.

“It is almost
completely healed. You will have scars, but the red, ragged skin has dissipated
and in some cases regenerated.”

Marcus struggled
to turn over. “My face! Maybe it has improved as well!”

His youthful
exuberance was infectious. Could it be true? Marcus sat upright and appeared
not to be in pain from leaning his back against the headboard.

“I changed the
dressing when I first arrived yesterday. You were asleep, and the injuries were
still quite potent.” She moved to the dresser, picked up the tray and laid it
in his lap. “We shall check later today. You must eat, Marcus.”

She smiled as she
observed a little lad pout curl about his lips. Just how young was he? She
turned to leave, but Marcus clasped her wrist. A slow, curling flame moved up
her arm from his touch.

“Stay for a
while. I’m restless.”

She pulled the
chair next to the bed and sat. “Eat, Marcus, unless you would prefer I feed
you?”

His sexy, full
lips quirked, a hint of a smile perhaps? “I might like it.”

“What is your
age, lad?”

Marcus picked up
a slice of golden toast and tore off a piece with his perfect white teeth. For
some strange reason Logan found the action erotic. She mentally shook her head
to dismiss the inappropriate thoughts.

“Twenty-one.”

“No, your actual
age.”

“Twenty-one.”

She gasped. “You
have barely learned to piss in a pot! Tell me, how are you coping with the
Blood Lust? Do you feel the need to feed?”

Marcus shrugged
as he tore off another piece of toast and chewed. “Not at the moment.”

"You will.
When a Vampire is first turned, his urges all but take over his existence. Blood
and sex are what he craves. You have had none of this?”

“Maybe the sex
part. I did go a little crazy after the turning.”

She could not
help but glance at his lap. Logan had bathed him yesterday while he lay in deep
slumber and she had not seen such an impressive cock before in her long life.
However, Thropes were notoriously well hung, even more so than Vampires if that
were possible. Marcus fit the bill.

“We will have to
address your needs during your recovery. You shall feed from me.”

Marcus froze, the
toast inches from his mouth.

“I’ve never fed
from someone before. I received my blood from plasma bags as Deegan instructed
me.”

“You need to
learn to feed from another person. I will teach you. Besides, my blood may help
with your healing process. As for the sex, I can find a willing male to stroke
you to completion or perhaps perform oral sex for your release.”

“A—male.”

“It is your
preference, is it not, lad? You were with a man when you were attacked.”
Logan’s brows knitted in confusion. Did she have the wrong end of the stick? He
did not seem happy at the prospect.

Marcus dropped
the toast to the plate. “I want no one. Take this away.”

He pushed the
tray off his lap.

Logan’s eyebrows
rose. A very prominent erection pushed at the blankets.

****

Marcus followed
Logan’s gaze. Damn it to hell, he was hard as stone and it wasn’t from the
suggestion she would get a male to suck his cock. He became hard the moment her
cool, gentle touch covered his back.

His prick
throbbed in agony, but he wasn’t going to admit it to Nurse Ratched. Frankly,
he didn’t even know if he had the strength to jerk himself off.

“I can take care
of that for you.”

Okay, he just got
harder. Her offer sounded detached and clinical and should have shrunk his
hard-on, but it didn’t. The thoughts of her pale, feminine hand stroking his
prick had him near panting.

“Thanks, but no
thanks.”

Logan shrugged.
“I will leave it in your hand, so to speak.”

He ignored her
pun. “How old are you, Logan?”

“I suppose I’m
around thirty-five. My actual age, however, is eight hundred and seventy-one.”

Marcus was
stunned.
Jesus, she’s older than Deegan?
“So you have lots of experience then, sexually speaking.”

Her lips curved
into a knowing smile. “Aye, you could say that. I could be your jaguar.”

What?
What in hell
...

“You mean
cougar?”

She waved her arm
in dismissal. “I am not up on all this slang. Aye, cougar, whatever the term is
for an older woman and a younger man.”

Marcus fought
back the laughter burbling in his throat. How shocking to realize it was the
first time he felt like laughing in weeks.

“You had a couple
of suitcases in the hotel room. They are here now. Is there anything you
require? Reading material? Perhaps tomorrow we can set up a television and DVD
player in this room. Brennan has quite a selection of movies; however, his
tastes seem to lean toward the nautical. He has the Hornblower movies and
The Sea Hawk
with Errol Flynn...”

“Who is this
Brennan, anyway?”

“He has been with
Deegan since the early 1700s, served on Deegan’s ship,
The Celtic Gale
.”

Deegan had a ship?
“What was he, a pirate?”

“Aye, Blackthorne
the Pirate. Deegan always loved the sea. Not surprised he settled here in 1785.
How can a Vampire be a pirate? Mostly night raids and he and his crew had been
quite feared. Vampire and man alike served under him. Perhaps someday Deegan
will regale you with his adventures. However, the man does not like to speak of
the past.” Logan grew quiet and reflective. “Aye, none of us much like to talk
of the past.” She picked up the tray and laid the mug of tea on the night
table.

“I insist you
drink it all.”

“What is it,
drugged?”

“It is an herbal
tea with healing properties and if it helps you sleep and relax, all the
better. I will return later.”

Logan closed the
door behind her, leaving an enticing scent of vanilla in the air. Marcus
reached under the blankets and fisted his throbbing shaft and began to stroke.
He moved his hand faster as his thoughts turned to sexual fantasy. For once his
thoughts were not filled with images of a naked Deegan or any other man. He
fantasized about Logan, her silver-blonde hair spread out over his thighs while
she sucked his cock with wild abandon. He bit his lip to stem the moans of
pleasure from escaping his mouth. He climaxed, his seed pumping out on his
thigh and the sheets. What a damned mess and Logan would know exactly what he’d
been up to. The release hardly made a dent in the Blood Lust. For someone
recovering from a traumatic attack, he seemed to be suffering from a sudden
increased libido. Maybe he should take Logan up on her offer. The idea of her
assisting him with his Blood Lust appealed. The thought of those delicate,
feminine hands stroking his cock caused a moan of longing to escape his throat.

Blood Lust or
not—he wanted her.

Chapter Four

Today was the
day, and Marcus wouldn’t be delayed any longer. He wanted to see his face.
After drinking the foul tea concoction yesterday he didn’t remember much else.
He’d slept for hours and when he opened his eyes, Brennan stood and stared at
him from across the room. Something about the man was off-putting. He looked
like a kindly uncle with his apple cheeks and balding head, but his eyes
reflected a depth of menace and danger Marcus found disturbing.

Brennan helped
him into the bathroom where he washed him as best he could with his arm in a
cast and leg in a splint. He shaved the undamaged side of his face and even
helped him onto the toilet. Now back in bed, he noticed for the first time a
large LED television sat on the dresser opposite.