Blood Father (Blood Curse Series) (29 page)

Arielle held her fingers in front of her face and peered down her nose at the shriveled skin and ghastly white flesh. “My hands are turning into prunes.”

Kagen clasped one of the outstretched hands in his own and gently kissed the center of Arielle’s palm, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. “Mmm, your hands are beautiful.”

She snatched it away and laughed, making light of the ever-persistent advances of the amorous vampire. By all the ancestors, Kagen Silivasi had to be the most affectionate, tenacious, and let’s face it, utterly distracting male she had ever known. He was worse than a badger when it came to his tenacity, far more focused than a hawk, and way more enthralling than a serpent.

And way, way more convincing.

She bit her lip, sank down into the hot, bubbling pool, and tried to mask her rising intrigue, her growing contentment in his presence.

Kagen had started the afternoon by taking her to a beautiful outdoor cathedral. It had been magnificent, gloriously inspired, with an enormous, rushing waterfall and a peaceful, rolling river. He had shown her a den of red foxes and pointed out where a cougar had made his home last winter, all of which had made her feel more at home in Dark Moon Vale and more at ease in her new surroundings. He had challenged her to several games of skill, catching trout in the local river with nothing more than a homemade spear, and tossing rocks with a slingshot at pine cones lobbed into the air, the latter being a game she was sure he had let her win on purpose. After all, as a vampire, his aim, speed, and accuracy were far superior to hers. Just the same, his easy, playful nature had gone a long way toward breaking down her walls and making her feel more at home.

But what had really touched her heart was when he had stopped to point out several native healing herbs growing wild in the vale: He had shown her three types of sage intrinsic to the Rocky Mountains, and he had gone on to explain how the plants were used internally to treat inflammation, how they were used externally as a compress for wounds. He had taken her to his own personal herb garden, the one he had planted behind the clinic; and he had helped her pick peppermint, elder, and yarrow, all the while describing how the medicine was extracted into tinctures, or mixed into herbal teas, in order to treat fevers in the human population. He had explained how he used his garden to assist the few loyal families that had served the Vampyr for generations, the ones who still lived in the valley today. And he had listened
attentively
to Arielle’s own ruminations about the plants, poultices, and ointments she had often used in Mhier.

He had commented on their similarities or differences, adding his immense, almost mind-blowing repertoire of medicine and history to her current understanding, and then, to her great delight, he had begun to explain the basics of modern pharmaceuticals: how compounds, bacteria, and molds were secreted from plants or grown in labs, how they were chemically synthesized into antibiotics or other medications. He had complimented her on her vast array of knowledge and shown an amazing willingness to share as much information as she cared to learn with the naturalistic healer, to add to the base of her already extensive cache of knowledge.

Arielle had to admit, the idea of being able to
absorb
Kagen’s memories, once she was converted, was beyond her wildest dreams. While she was too terrified to even think about the possibility of conversion at this point, the idea that the Ancient Master Healer could simply transfer all that information about medicine, all that information about healing herbs and plants, into her mind through a free-flowing stream of thought was intriguing to say the least. She was already relieved to learn that she could simply absorb his familiarity with modern household appliances, the automobile, and even that funny-looking silver thing he called a laptop, without having to spend a century learning about modern technology. The prospect of acquiring his mental medical library, along with a thousand years of proficiency, gained through systematic trial and error, was virtually intoxicating in its allure. And when Kagen had mentioned the possibility of Arielle taking over his human patients, those rare human loyalists who so willingly served the Vampyr, Arielle had nearly shed a tear. It was her dream, reawakened. But more so, it was the highest compliment she had ever received: Kagen took his duty to the human servants very seriously. He was bound by a deep sense of ethics to care for them—and to care for them
well
. Trusting Arielle with such an important responsibility showed an enormous amount of faith, honor, and respect.

Granted, there was a lot more to being an Ancient Master Healer than knowledge. Kagen possessed far more than book-learning and technical skill: He had spent four hundred years at the Romanian University, honing his craft, and nearly nine centuries, in total, becoming adept at every skill. She would be a novice, even with the knowledge he imparted. Still, she had spent her life trying to help humans in Mhier—perhaps the learning curve would not be so bad. The point was: Kagen Silivasi had managed to make Arielle feel important,
needed
, like there was a sacred world they shared, neither Dark Moon Vale nor Mhier, but a magical place, somewhere between the two, where visions could be realized, dreams could be lived, and the future could be so much more than it had ever been before. Perhaps there was more for Arielle than just hiding, rebelling, and surviving…

Perhaps there was an enchanted world all around her, just waiting to be embraced.

And at every turn, with every word, sentence, or gesture, he had punctuated his promises with a stolen glance, one that spoke of something so
in
timate
; a gentle touch, one that spoke of something so
passionate
; or a feather-light kiss, one placed so softly on the back of her hand, pressed so lovingly on the top of her head, or planted so tenderly against the rise of her shoulder that it touched her heart and stirred her soul, reverberated in a place she didn’t even know she had.

Arielle had been caught off guard by the depth of Kagen’s kindness and his gentle spirit. By the sincerity in his words, the interest in his eyes, and the conviction in his heart. It seemed implausible—if not impossible—that this strange Curse, this bizarre fate, chosen so long ago by the celestial gods, could truly be that profound…or
real
.

Yet here it was.

Front and center…

Staring right back at her in a pair of the most stunning liquid-brown eyes she had ever seen: the truth of her purpose, her past, and her future. And all of it was wrapped up in the flesh-and-bone package of one powerful vampire.

Kagen Silivasi.

She arched her back against a soothing stream of natural jets and sighed. “This really is an amazing place,” she whispered. She glanced around the outdoor theatre, watching as the sun finally dipped beneath the horizon and the sky settled into a deep, sparkling blue. “Is it safe here at night?”

Kagen paused before speaking, as if carefully considering his words. “That’s a somewhat layered question.” He laid his head back against a smooth, polished stone, the indentation fitting his form like a pillow, and a lock of his thick brown hair swayed gently in the water. “We are safe in as much as Dark Moon Vale is ever safe, considering our many enemies.” He turned to meet her gaze. “But don’t be alarmed. I can assure you, there is at least one warrior fairly close at hand—the guardian angels are out in force this night. The forest is not empty.”

Arielle wrinkled up her brow. “What do you mean?”

Kagen shrugged his shoulders, and a crystal stream of water sloshed off his muscular back, creating extra ripples in the tub. “My father has taken it upon himself to see to our safety, one way or another. He is more than aware of the potential hazards that exist in Dark Moon Vale, and he has made
adjustments
for the possibility that the lycans may react poorly to our invasion of their land.”

Arielle’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “Do you think they will? Attack, I mean. The lycans?”

Kagen shook his head. “No. Not tonight. Not even tomorrow or the day after. I think they will be licking their wounds for some time to come. I think they are going to have to regroup, reconstitute their government, and live to fight another day.”

Arielle sighed in relief. “I think so, too.” She settled back into the soothing springs. “And what about Keitaro? Do you think he’s upset that I haven’t come to see him yet? We should really get back to the clinic soon.”

Kagen laughed out loud, although Arielle had no idea why. He shook his head with conviction; his eyes lit up with some inner knowing; and then he smiled, that damnable mischievous grin that made him look like a devious child. “I think my father appreciates our situation…intimately. And I think he is far more eager to see us
connect
as a couple than visit him in his room.” He waved his hand in a casual gesture. “Don’t get me wrong, he is dying to see you, but I think he would like to see us both,
together
, as one.”

Arielle gulped.

It wasn’t intentional.

It was just that Kagen always had this way of making her feel like a mouse caught in a trap, wedged between the paws of a cat, even when he wasn’t trying. “So, what’s next?”

Kagen sat up straight and leaned in closer.

She cleared her throat. “I mean, in terms of the Curse.”

He smiled again, like a wayward wolf:
D
amn him
.

“I mean”—she wrung her shriveled hands together—“I mean, in terms of the Blood Moon. You know…like…should we talk more about the conversion?”

Kagen shook his head slowly…far too slowly. “
No
.” He practically purred the word. He moved softly through the water until his body was facing hers,
framing hers
, his powerful arms enclosing her in a rock-hard cage, his fingers splayed flat against the rocks on either side of her head.

“Oh.” She glanced around the mountain, her eyes darting to the left, then the right, anywhere but on Kagen’s piercing pupils. “So then, I should probably know more about the sacrifice. I mean, the Curse…the pregnancy…what to expect.” She winced, realizing she was acting like a terrified child.

“Shh, sweeting,” he whispered. He leaned into her until his lips hovered barely inches away from hers. “There is always time for talk…later.”

Her eyes shot open and her spine stiffened, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He reached out to twirl a lock of her hair and studied it with undue interest. “You, Arielle Nightsong, are beautiful beyond description.” He wound it between his thumb and his forefinger and exhaled slowly. “I have never seen hair quite this shade, even wet. It’s not brown or red, but the color of polished copper, and the highlights, when it’s dry…” He bent over to brush the tendrils against her cheek. “They’re as fiery as you are.”

Arielle tried to relax…and failed.

She dipped down in the water in a misguided attempt to gain some personal space and ended up plunging beneath the surface.

He let go of her hair, seized her by the shoulders, and swiftly pulled her back up, looking utterly amused. “You cannot breathe under water, sweeting,” he chided playfully. “Not even once you’re Vampyr.” He slid his hands down the contours of her arms to her waist, along the curve of her waist to her thighs, and then along her thighs to her knees. He cupped her knees in his large, powerful hands, and with one short thrust, he shoved her back in her seat, forcing her body upright so that her head was safely above the water. The corners of his mouth turned up in a devilish grin. “If you prefer to be submerged…or overwhelmed…if you wish to be out of breath, I can think of a far more pleasant way to go about it.” He bent to her mouth and brushed his bottom lip against hers.

That was it.

Just his bottom lip…in a slow, erotic slide.

It hadn’t been a kiss.

It hadn’t been a bite.

Just a mere brush of his mouth against hers.

Arielle coughed spasmodically, expelling a mouthful of water she didn’t remember taking in. “Sorry,” she groaned, feeling like a bumbling idiot.

It wasn’t so much that the contact had
overwhelmed
her—it was the stolen glance at his rock-hard shoulders as he’d made his approach. For the sake of all that was holy, his chest was like a medieval shield, forged in iron yet wrapped in silk, and the muscles in his stomach cleaved to his bones like someone had carved them from clay. His thighs were like cords of steel: taut, lean, and bulging with strength.

And that was to say nothing of his eyes…

They were like endless pools of moonlight, reflecting silver in their dark, haunting depths, and he used them like weapons of seduction: taunting, hypnotizing, beguiling his…prey.

Arielle shot up straight and gasped. “
Kagen
,” she cried in alarm, trying to get control of her emotions. “I don’t think I’m ready for all of this.”

He studied her like a jeweler appraising a rare, priceless gem; his face was an unreadable mask. “I don’t think anyone is ever ready for
all of this
, Arielle. Not even those of us who spend a lifetime preparing for it.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands and caressed her jaw with his thumbs. “We just take it one moment…” He traced the contours of her lips with the pad of his forefinger. “One touch…” He released his fangs and bent to her throat, stopping just shy of pressing the ivory tips to her skin. “One taste…at a time.”

She exhaled slowly and held her breath.

He purred in her ear like a primitive cat, and then slowly, expertly, sank his fangs into her throat.

She jolted and grasped at his shoulders, and then she felt an unbearable heat—
a
n
undeniable
pleasure
like nothing she had ever known—seep into her veins.

Was he drinking her blood or enthralling her with venom?

Was he making love to her mind or possessing her soul?

She tried to remember, to flash back to that first night in Mhier in the cave, the night he had sent her
spiraling
into the cosmos, writhing in his arms in ecstasy, drowning beneath his perilous claim, but she just couldn’t latch on to the memory. Not fully. She was too overwhelmed, so incredibly confused, so undeniably, uncomfortably
aroused
.