Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (23 page)

A couple of hours before sunrise, Ashby and
Dragus returned from the forest. The search had been called off for
the night and it was time for Lydia to return home. We hugged and
she promised to come back over the next night, right after she made
her trip to the Red Cross.

Dragus had removed his filthy boots in the
laundry room and I noticed his pants were wet all the way up to his
knees. Before I could be stopped, I materialized next to the
washing machine and grabbed them. Once I had them in the sink, I
started meticulously scrubbing and scraping the mud off of the
soles.

Now that I was content that all of the muck
was removed, I turned to Dragus, who was sitting patiently at the
kitchen table. His pants legs had been rolled up so they wouldn’t
drag on the kitchen floor.

“Now strip,” I ordered. “Let me throw those
in the washer, then I want you to go shower.” He smiled; a little
smug. I held out my hand and watched him peel off the jeans and
Krieger
shirt that was covered in grass and mud.

Dragus stood in his birthday suit in my
kitchen while I tossed his clothes in the wash. When I turned
around, it took all of my willpower not to stare at his muscular
chest or any other part of his body. But I was on a mission. He
needed to get clean.

“Come,
mi amor
, let me bath you,” I
purred. He reached out for my hand and pulled me to his chest. His
brushed his dirty knuckles across my cheek, but I didn’t care. He
tucked me close to his side and we made our way into my
bathroom.

I pushed him under the warm spray of water as
he smiled. I lathered up a washcloth and started on his shoulders,
methodically working my way down each arm. The dirt and grime
washed down the drain with each pass of the cloth. His chest was
fairly clean, but I still paid close attention to it anyway. I was
infatuated with his smooth muscles that contoured his body there.
His legs and feet were next. After I washed his back, I turned him
around and placed my hands on that chest I loved so much. Of
course, I did not resist the urge to fondle his dark nipples until
they were tight. Although he was hard for me, I ignored the pulsing
muscle between his legs.

Dragus took the cloth and repeated the favor
to me this time. His massive hands touched me softer than a feather
when he caressed my breasts, paying close attention to each one. I
moaned when he rolled the ends between his fingers. The action made
the spot between my legs ache for his touch. He must have read my
inner feelings, or his own desire was too much to handle. He
finished in quite a hurry and then dried me off before using his
speed to take me to the bed.

“I love you,
mi amado
,” he whispered
as he kissed a trail down to one breast.

“
Mi amor, mi vida
,” I moaned as he
took my nipple into his mouth. His tongue rolled around its peak,
with an occasional nip from one of his fangs. As he moved over to
the other breast, he slid his hand down to feel the wetness at my
core. I arched my back as he slid his fingers across my clit,
teasing it. Dragus slowly dipped his fingers inside me, finding me
eager for him.

My hands grabbed a handful of his hair as I
pulled his face up to mine. My need was peaking and I couldn’t wait
much longer. My hands slid down to caress his length. The result
was a primal growl that vibrated the bed beneath us. The ability to
sense his emotions only increased the desire for his body.

The electricity in my body peaked and I
begged him to take me. When he entered me, I gasped from the
intrusion, but it was still welcome. He must have felt my tension
between my thighs and paused for a second. I dug my nails into his
hips, urging him forward. “Dragus, please,” I begged. We moved
together as one in a beautiful dance. His eyes never left mine as
he moved slower within me. The feeling of pure love assaulted my
senses. My mind took in all of his emotions openly.

The need for his blood spiked. I struck his
vein like a rabid snake, but I couldn’t help myself. Only a few
mouthfuls before I felt the charge in my body ready to explode.
Before I could release him, his own need took over. Dragus pumped
faster causing me to let go. He immediately bit into the vein on my
neck and I lost it. I came with such force that I couldn’t get him
inside me fast enough, deep enough. We both growled as we came
together and then Dragus collapsed beside me on the bed.

“I love you,” I whispered. My body relaxed
and I felt at ease. It was a combination of the love we just made
and the pull of death coming quick, as sunrise was only minutes
away.

Dragus wrapped his arms around me and pulled
me close. I breathed in his musky scent and I felt myself relax.
“Sleep, my love, I will be here when you awaken.” With nothing more
than a slight brush of lips on mine, I went under as the sun came
over the horizon.

Chapter 11

Charity

I awoke to find Dragus’ yellow eyes peering
lovingly into mine. His golden stare reached into the depths of my
soul. The magnetic pull all but vanished when we were close.
Something was off about his stare, and it only took seconds before
I realized what it was. His expression was as shocked as I felt
when I realized his eyes were no longer blue.

“Your eyes!” we both spoke at the same time.
Dragus pulled me out of the bed. We materialized in front of the
mirror over the bathroom sink.

“What happened to our eyes?” I whispered as I
stood there looking at us in the mirror. His breathtaking smile
mesmerized me momentarily.

“We’ve completed the bond, my lady,” he
bowed, traditional style; hand over heart. He looked a little
strange standing there completely unclothed. “You are now mine, and
therefore I am now yours.”

Our love making the night before sealed the
bond between us and now we were considered as one. Now everyone
around me must address me as ‘Lady Charity’. It was official; I was
a Lady of the
Krieger
. I had heard of this before. As a
bonded mate, my eyes would change color showing that I was mated to
a warrior. This also meant my status within the vampire world had
just jumped up a hundred fold. Dragus being the head of the
Krieger
in the area meant I was now like the First Lady of
our kind for Port Royal. I am officially a princess!

“We must contact the Queen,” I whispered.
“Prepare her for The Joining.”

“I will send the request for the Queen
immediately and you, my love get to plan the ceremony,” he
laughed.

The Joining was similar to a human wedding
ceremony. An elegant dress, the exchanging of vows, and a blood
exchange will complete the bond. The thought of it made me want to
jump up and down. The little girl inside me was overjoyed at the
thought of The Joining.

I grabbed a clean towel and slung it over my
shoulder. Dragus followed me into the shower, since he couldn’t
seem to be away from me this evening.

“Dragus, you are going to have to let me go
sometime,” I laughed, a little later while we were curled up
together in bed. His hands never left my body; always touching,
stroking, memorizing every part of me. He kissed my lips, my face,
and my shoulders so many times I lost count. At no point, since we
awoke this evening, did Dragus remove his hands from some part of
my body.

“I will never let you go, my lady,” he
smiled.

“You know what I mean,” I laughed.

After a quick frolic in the shower, we were
dressed and upstairs when Lydia arrived. There was no hiding the
bond from her, so I made sure she was able to see the beautiful
gold color of my eyes when she stepped in the door.

“Oh! Oh! Charity,” she seemed at a loss for
words. She looked back and forth between us with her mouth gaping
open. Reality struck her and she automatically curtsied with a fist
over her heart. “Lady Charity.” When she looked up there were tears
threatening to spill out of her eyes.

“Lydia, you do not need to call me that,” I
begged. It was a little uncomfortable having my maker and best
friend address me as royalty. Dragus pulled me closer to him and
leaned in to kiss the top of my head.

Before Lydia could berate me any more on my
new status, Ashby and Rowland walked inside the kitchen. They
didn’t hesitate, like Lydia, when they noticed my new eye color.
The warriors immediately bowed; fist over heart.

“My lady,” they both greeted me in
unison.

I started to protest, but Dragus stopped me
with a kiss on my lips. “I must start work,
mi amor
. You and
Ms. Lydia better get to preparing for our Joining.” One more kiss
and they were gone.

Lydia watched my every move from across the
room. While I sat there letting Lydia look over me, like I was a
whole different woman, I felt Dragus getting further away from me.
The magnetic pull didn’t hurt me, but the further away he was, the
tighter the pressure in my chest was. I looked out the window over
the sink to see if I could find him. The only thing I saw was the
back of his jacket as he disappeared into the trees. I sent him a
silent message,
be safe, mi amor
. In response, I felt the
velvet touch of his lips to mine.

“Okay,” I turned to see Lydia still looking
at me like I had grown horns or something. “
What!
” I had to
snap my fingers in front of her eyes to get her attention.

“How?” she stuttered.

“I don’t know how. It just happened,” I
shrugged. “We made love last night and I woke up like this.” I
gestured toward my eyes.

“I’m happy for you Charity. I just don’t
understand how it happened so quickly,” she paused. “Do you love
him?”

“Oh, yes! He’s so different with me than he
is when he’s in his warrior mode. Lydia, I’m so happy,” I started
crying, happy tears.

For the next few hours, we talked about plans
for The Joining. We used the internet to look at dresses and
banquet halls for the ceremony. Lydia took it upon herself to be
the planner. This made things so much easier for me.

My cell phone rang right around midnight; it
was Kai. “Dr. Mason and I have gotten the Wolfsbane and are working
on mother’s potion. Tell Lydia I said ‘Thank You’ for the help with
the herbs.”

“How much longer before you have something to
try?” I asked, skeptical.

“A day or two, maybe,” she paused. “Look, I
don’t have a lot of time to talk. I just wanted you to know what’s
going on. Dr. Mason is waiting on me in the lab. I’ll call you
later.”

The potion may be ready in a few days. I
wondered where Adam was in the forest. He wasn’t very happy with me
the last time we connected. Lydia wondered if I should try to
connect with him, but I wasn’t sure. Adam is getting close to the
end of his transformation and may not be able to use his
telepathy.

“I’m going to try,” I whispered. “Dragus will
be mad, but I need to check on him.”

“Should you call Dragus first?” Lydia
asked.

I laughed and then sighed heavily, “No, as
soon as I try to use my telepathy, he will know. Doesn’t matter
anyway, he can’t stop me from using my powers.”

Lydia and I both knew that as Dragus will be
mad, but we didn’t care. She knew that I was stubborn enough to
continue to try to help.

Just as I stood up, the pull on my mind
increased and I knew that there was no need to connect to Adam,
because he was calling to me.

“Lydia,” I gasped. “He’s trying to connect to
me.”

“Go ahead, Charity,” her voice faded in my
ears.

I closed my eyes and stood there in the
doorway to the living room; arms raised out to my side.

“Adam, come to me,” I begged. Adam’s mind was
almost a complete blur. I couldn’t see where he was or what he was
seeing. A red haze covered his vision as I tried to get inside his
mind. He was deep inside the forest as far as I could tell, with
the limited site I had through his mind. His thoughts were jumbled
and I only caught parts of what he was thinking. Instead of
speaking aloud, I used my thoughts to try to connect with his.

Adam? If you can understand me, I want you
to meet me here at my home in four nights. We may have found the
potion you need. A witch, Mistress Kai, is working with the doctors
to find a cure.
I waited and all I got were feelings of mental
relief and of physical pain. Now that I knew what to expect, the
pain in Adam’s body was almost tolerable. Although the connection
made my head throb, I managed to hold onto his mind long enough to
catch a few words.

Can’t…attacking…stop…try…help.
And
that was all I could get out of him. He was changing fast and only
had six days before the next full moon. I tried to clamp down on
the connection, not wanting to give up, but just like all the other
times, his mind slipped away too soon.

My eyes flashed open and I was looking up
into the eyes of several
Krieger
and Lydia. Had she run for
help when I was under? If she did, I was going to smack her pretty
little head. Dragus was peering at me through the slits in his
yellow eyes. They all breathed a sigh as I tried to get up from the
floor.

Dragus held out one hand and of course, like
an idiot, I took it. He took us directly to the bedroom in my
basement. He was angry.

“Why…What…Why did you connect to him?” Oh
boy, he was so mad, he couldn’t speak. His eyes were the color of
blood and his lips were pulled over sharp fangs. This was not a
good sign. I flinched back from him when he let out a territorial
growl. Honestly when he did that, it scared the hell out of me.
Then my fear turned to anger.

“
I
did not connect to him!
He
connected to me!” I yelled, shoving at his chest. “Don’t
ever
get mad at me for using my powers, again. I cannot
control who tries to connect with me, especially when I can’t break
the connection with someone as strong as Adam.” I emphasized my
anger with an extra poke to his massive chest. Before he could yell
at me again, I ran out of my room and to the front yard. I needed
some fresh air.