Bonds of Blood (12 page)

So, when she began to move on top of him, he couldn’t find the will to stop.
  He didn’t even want to try.

Her head fell back, her breasts bouncing as she rode him.  The liquid heat of her arousal enveloped him, controlled him, demanding that he fulfill her.  He began to pump his hips, each stroke taking him higher inside of her.  She let out a whisper of a moan as he began to move. 

But he needed more of her.

Reaching up, his hand curled around her neck.  He pulled her down to fuse his lips against her own.  His tongue invaded her mouth tasting her, teasing her.  He could spend an eternity like this…being surrounded by her. 

She pulled away from his kiss, brushing her hair to the side she exposed the delicate arch of her neck. 

What she said next shocked him.

“Bite me.”

Chapter 1
8

Damien stood in one of the private rooms, his patience running thin.  It had been over thirty minutes and still no sign of the tracker
Andre assured him was coming.  At this rate he could have went out and followed the damned scent himself.  Just as he was about to go out and find Andre to tear him to shreds, he heard a knock at the door.

At his command the door opened to reveal a large man that had to be 6’7”. 
The long black coat he wore came down to his legs. 

Andre
stood next to the man beaming.  “This is the tracker I told you about.  He’s one of the best in the country.”

The tracker smirked at the announcement.

Damien’s eyes narrowed. 

The man was a behemoth.  Thickly muscled from head to toe, he looked like a giant.  His thick, wavy mane of jet black hair gleamed blue in the light.  Eyes so dark they looked black glared back at him as his lips curled into a sneer. 

“So, you’re the reason I was dragged out of a club and interrupted,” the tracker muttered.

Damien’s eyebrows rose.  “I am,” he replied.  “I need to find someone…fast.”

The tracker lowered his chin.  “Obviously, I didn’t exactly think you called me over here for a cup of tea.  Although you do look like the type.”

Damien’s jaw clenched.  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that so I don’t have to destroy you.”

To his surprise, the tracker let out a low chuckle. 

“Who do you need to find?”

Damien crossed the room to grab the dress Kat left behind.  He brought it to the tracker watching as the man lifted it to his nose. 

“Her name is Katarina Montague and she was taken from here a
few hours ago,” he explained.

The tracker lifted his head, a curious look softening the harsh features of his face.  “Vampire?” he asked.

Damien’s eyes narrowed.  “Vampire?”

The tracker’s big hands held Kat’s dress tenderly as he pressed it to his face again.  He closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath.  When he opened them, he looked even more puzzled.

“There’s human in the scent, but there is also an unmistakable hint of vampire as well.”

Damien’s world shifted as his gaze jerked back and forth around the room. 

Vampire?

It was impossible!

It was forbidden!

And yet…it did explain a few things.  He had known that there was something different about her from the beginning, something more than human, but he had never expected she could be linked to a vampire.  However, it did explain Alec’s unusual fascination with her…and the reason he was so far away from his master.

Was it possible?

An evil grin spread slowly across his face.  If it was true, he would finally have one of the
Senex by the balls.

How appealing
and fortuitous for him that she chose his club to walk into that night.

When he looked back at the tracker, he realized that the man was staring at him.

“Find her,” he commanded.

The man inclined his head slightly. “I assume
Andre has already spoken to you about my fee?”

Damien crossed the room to stand before him.  “You find her and I’ll triple your fee.”

One dark eyebrow rose at the offer.  “I won’t be long.”

“Make sure you’re not,” Damien said.
 

He
watched as the tracker disappeared into thin air. 

“I have an old score to settle.”

****

“No,” Alec said, his head jerking to the side to resist the temptation of her unmarred skin.

“I want you to,” she countered, her green eyes trusting.

He shook his head.  “It’s the blood talking.”

Her hand caressed his cheeks to turn his face back until their eyes met.  “No, it’s me.  I want to be inside of you.  I want to fill you.”

He squeezed his eyes shut.  “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

Her gaze was clear as she answered him.  “Yes, I do.  I want my blood to fill you like you’re filling me.  I want you to take me inside.”

When he opened his eyes, the look she gave him was so sincere that he knew he wouldn’t be able to deny her request.  He felt her fingers curl into the skin on the back of his neck as she lifted his head off the mattress.  She pressed her neck against his lips.  Her heartbeat pounded in his ears, reverberating through every part of him.  Her scent washed over him, calling out to him.  His fangs lengthened and he closed his eyes.

This was a sin he would not come back from.

Deep down, he knew that.

But in this moment, with his cock filling her
, and her body stretched along his, he knew this was the closest he would ever come to heaven anyway.  He felt her muscles grip his cock as she began to come and he knew he was lost.  His fangs pierced her tender skin as he drove up inside of her.  Her blood rushed into his mouth, the sweet taste of her filling him, completing him. 

The second her blood touched his tongue an intense orgasm rocked his body.  His fingers dug into her hips as he continued to pound into her.  They held onto each other as the storm inside of
each of them raged.  Somehow he found the willpower to stop.  Running his tongue over her neck to seal the wound, his gaze centered on the ceiling as she curled around him.

   What had he done?

****

Trackers were an odd breed, Damien thought.  Vampires with the ability to disappear and reappear at will.  That and their
intense ability to sniff out things a normal vampire would miss made them difficult to trust.  But it also gave them a specific advantage to being in the occupation they chose.  Even though they were rarely accepted in common vampire societies, they did have their uses.

Unable to wait any longer, Damien walked down the hall to where they were holding Genevieve.  When he opened the door, he spotted her sitting primly
in a chair across the room.  He still couldn’t believe the little bitch had been lying to him.  He could forgive a lot, but that was beyond any traces of compassion he had left.  To let Alec walk into their club and silver him was a crime he could not allow to go unpunished.

It was a shame, he thought as he stared at her.

Her auburn curls were piled high on her head.  Several errant waves had escaped to frame her face.  He could remember a time when he thought he was in love with her. 

What a mistake that would have been!

The woman had no heart left.  Perhaps she had been a vampire too long, perhaps she never should have become one in the first place.  Either way it didn’t matter.  He would end her tonight and say goodbye to another piece of his history.

She remained still as h
e came closer to her.  But the fearful look in her eyes when she looked up at him made it clear that she wasn’t as composed as she wanted him to believe.

“I’m sorry, Damien.  I didn’t know what he planned.  He duped us both.”

Lies…all lies, but he appreciated the sincerity of her performance.

He smiled as he reached over to lightly stroke her cheek.  “Fear,” he
said, his tone low.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you truly afraid, Gen.  It’s oddly arousing.”

He watched her swallow with difficulty as her chin lifted. 

“I’m willing to prove my loyalty,” she asserted.

His eyebrows rose.  “You would give yourself to me?  Be mine?”

She tried to smile but it came out stilted.  “You know that I’ve always loved you.”.

One
side of his mouth curled up.  “Interesting,” he remarked. 

She glanced around him at the man he had assigned to watch her.  “But we don’t need casual observers.  I want it to be just the two of us.”

He tilted his head to the side.  “But what if I like observers?” he asked, placing his hands on the arms of her chair as he leaned in.  His lips were a mere breath away from hers.  “What if I like people watching?  Would you still agree to be mine?”

Her gaze lowered to his lips.  “All I desire is for you to be happy.  I want to be yours, Damien.  It’s what I’ve always wanted,” she professed earnestly.

He stood to gaze down at her.  “Clever girl,” he observed.  “But I already learned what you truly wanted when you let your ex-lover into our club to kill me.  I’m not the same naïve boy you remember, Gen,” he said, his voice turning harsh.

Walking
across the room, he pulled a large sword from a hidden door in the wall.  “And you are definitely not the girl I remember, which is what makes this so necessary,” he continued.

Crossing the room
in an instant with the sword held high, a menacing look darkened his face. 

Gen jumped up, moving across the room so quick his man almost didn’t catch her. 

“Damien, please,” she begged as she struggled against the man holding her.  “Don’t do this.”

Damien came to stand before her, one eyebrow lifting.  “I never took you for a runner, Gen.  I’ve learned so much about you in the last few hours.  Too bad I didn’t know the truth sooner.”

She winced as he brought the blade slowly to her throat, the silver hissing as it burned her skin.  Her low whimper made his cock hard.  As much as he would like to take his time with her, he couldn’t allow any loose ends.

“I’m sorry, Gen, but the damage is done.”

Lifting the sword, his arms tightened as he readied himself to deliver the cut that would end her life.  He couldn’t help but enjoy the way her body tensed as she waited for him to make his move.  Before he could deliver the blow, however, the tracker appeared in the room.

The tracker’s eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him.

Damien let out a heavy sigh as he lowered the blade.  “You people really do have bad timing.”

The tracker’s face revealed no emotion at the words.  “I found the one you
want,” he stated.

Elation coursed through Damien as he put the sword down. 
“Where?”

The tracker’s gaze
had shifted to Genevieve, but it returned to him at the question.  “A plantation on the outskirts of town.”

“Take me to her,” Damien ordered.

“No, you wanted me to find her and I did.  That was the job.  Nothing more.”

Damien rolled his eyes. 
“Always so difficult.”  He turned to look at Andre.  “Pay the man so he can leave.”  Turning back to look at Genevieve, he smiled grimly.  “I’ll finish with you later.”

****

Genevieve watched as Damien raced out of the room.  She couldn’t believe that it had actually come to this.  That Damien would end her life tonight. 

Andre
walked across the room to pay the tracker. 

She glanced over at the
tracker.  He seemed to take up more than half of the room.  His eyes met hers. 

Black.
 

His eyes were black as night. 

Uncomfortable with his scrutiny, she looked away.  She had to figure out a way to get out of here before it was too late.

“Hey,”
Andre called out.  “Tracker!  You have your money, now leave.”

Looking over at the tracker, she noticed he was still staring at her.  For a minute, she felt like she couldn’t breathe, the look in his eyes was so intense. 

He was across the room in an instant, his speed much faster than a normal vampire’s.  Before she could blink, she was in his arms.  Andre’s loud cries began only to vanish into nothing as the room faded around them to be replaced with a difference scene.  Glancing around, she realized that they were no longer in the club but in a sparse room. 

The tracker had taken her with him. 

Chapter 19

Kat came awake with a start.  Her gaze scanned the room only to realize that she was alone.  Stretching out on the bed, the aches and pains in her body were a clear reminder that what happened
earlier was not a dream.  In all her life she had never been so bold, so uninhibited.  It was like a fire had been ignited inside of her the second his blood filled her mouth.

And
that fire had been answered.

Her hands roamed her body. 
She could still feel the imprint of his hands on her body, his cock moving inside of her, his fangs at her neck.  If someone would have told her a few weeks ago that she would be drinking blood and talking about vampires, she would have told them they were crazy. 

But when the hunger hit last night she would have done anything to stop the excruciating ache that had spread through her body.  And when that thirst had been sated it had led to the best sex she had ever had. 

She sat up, glancing around the room.  A small wooden table sat next to a window framed in sheer white curtains.  The light green paint on the walls was peeling slightly in certain areas.  An antique cherry wardrobe sat to her left.   An ornate oil painting framed in gold was the only thing that adorned the wall.  Wrapping the sheet around her, she got to her feet.  She padded across the room to the window.  It was still dark outside.  Too dark to make out any discerning features on the landscape below. 

Where the hell were they?

Her head turned to look at the door.  More importantly, where the hell was he?

Had he taken off after they had sex?

Had this all been some elaborate plan to get her into bed?

If so, he had definitely gone to great lengths to accomplish the goal.  Still, it didn’t explain the pain she had felt. 

Walking across the room, she pulled the door open to a barren hallway with a couple of windows.  Small lamps in the shapes of candles adorned the walls to illuminate the narrow space.  Other than that, there were no pictures and the wallpaper was pealing slightly in the corners. 

Stopping
, she tried to listen for some sound to let her know if she was truly alone.  Her eyes narrowed as she heard something downstairs.  She made her way to the staircase at the end of the hall.  The rug that covered the wood floor had definitely seen better days, but despite its age it was at least clean. 

Pausing at the top of the stairs, she ran her hand over the smooth mahogany
banister before taking the first step.  She wasn’t sure what was waiting for her at the bottom of this staircase.  All she knew was that she couldn’t stay on the sidelines anymore. 

After last night, she was all in.

Slowly, she made her way to the lower level.  The walls were covered in wallpaper that boasted little red flowers.  Some of the edges were peeling and slightly yellowed.  Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she took in a cursory glance of her surroundings.  Other than a small wooden table in the entryway, the furnishings were sparse.

On bare feet, s
he padded across the hall to what appeared to be a sitting room.  A large marble fireplace dominated the room.  The lone occupant of the room was an antique painting of a woman with red hair.  The dress she wore was Victorian, the corset pushing her breasts up in offering.  The woman had a mischievous look in her eyes and her lips held the hint of a smile.

Who was she?

Hearing Alec’s voice, she turned to follow the sound to the back of the house.   He stood by the sink, his back turned to her.  She studied him for a moment.  He was wearing a pair of low-slung black pants with no shirt.  The muscles in his back rippled slightly as he leaned against the counter.  Broad shoulders stretched when he pressed the phone tightly to his ear.

He spoke again, but the language was foreign. 
Living in New Orleans, she had been exposed to several different languages.  But this was different.  It definitely wasn’t French.  Nor did it sound like Italian.  Her eyebrows drew together as she watched him. 

Who was he speaking to?

And more importantly, what was he saying?

Suddenly, his head lifted
, and he turned to face her.  After saying a few words, he quickly disconnected the call.

“I didn’t know you were awake
.”

She angled her head to the side.  “Who were you talking to?”

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, studiously avoiding her question.

“Surprisingly better,” she admitted.

The line on his forehead didn’t soften with her answer.  He turned to look out the window.  “It’s going to be light soon.  You should rest today,” he said, his tone low.

Her eyes narrowed.  “Where are you going to be?”

He inclined his head to the door at the other end of the kitchen.  “I’ll be in my room.”

Fear sliced up her spine as she thought of the reason she was here.  “What if he finds me?”

He shook his head.  “He won’t come for you in the daylight.”

If nothing else, that much was a relief. 

She shifted nervously from one foot to the other.  “About what happened last night…”

He looked away.  “I never should have let it get that far,” he conceded.  “I’m sorry.”

Anger burned in her stomach at his words.  Obviously sleeping with her last night had been nothing more than a mistake to him.  If his words weren’t clear enough, the guilty look painted on his face made everything come into focus.  She tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter, that she barely knew him, but the fact that he viewed what happened as a mistake hurt more than she wanted to admit. 

Last night was the first night in a long time that she felt truly connected to someone.  After her mother died, she tried so hard to be aloof, to not develop any attachments to anyone, but somehow with Alec she had broken that rule.  He had touched a part of her that remained hidden from everyone else.  The fact that he regretted th
ose moments cut deep.

“Right,” she said with more grit than she intended.

When his gaze met hers, she averted her eyes.  “Maybe I should go back to my place,” she suggested.

His eyebrows drew together
in concern.  “I thought you understood that going home is not a possibility.”

She raised her hand absently.  “There’s no blood bond
with Damien anymore.”

He took a tentative step toward her. 
“No, not with Damien. But there is a blood bond.” 

Her tongue came out to wet her lips.  “I won’t leave until daylight then.  And I’ll come back before sunset,” she conceded.

“No,” he replied firmly.

Everything in her body made her want to agree with him. 
The sheer force of his nearness was making her weak.

“I don’t have to ask your permission, Alec
.”  She wanted to say the words with force, but they came out a breathless plea.

He slid his hands into the pockets of his pants making her wonder if he was trying to abstain from grabbing her.  “I can’t let you leave.  I can’t protect you in the daylight.”

“I’m not asking you to.  Whatever risk I take is on me.  You don’t have to feel responsible for me.”

Even as she said the words, she took a step closer to him.

He sighed heavily.  “It’s not just the danger, Kat.  You’ll need blood soon.  My blood.  If you’re out and you get sick…” he trailed off obviously not wanting to elaborate on the dire consequences.

“So, how do we break it?” she challenged.

“We can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?  I mean, obviously you think what happened last night was nothing more than a huge mistake.  I would think you would be glad to get rid of me.  So, let’s fix the problem.  There has to be a way to break this thing,” she asserted.

His eyes narrowed.  “Is that why you’re angry with me?”

Her hand came up to rest on her chest even as she wanted to hit him for not needing her like she needed him. 

“I’m not angry.  I’m just trying to stop a bad situation from getting worse.”

His hand captured hers, his fingers teasing her skin.
“Kat, I wanted to be with you.  Too much, maybe,” he confessed softly.

“Then, why?”

“I was assigned to be your member of the Vigilate.  Nothing more.  When your father learns of what has happened between us…”

The implication hung between them as impenetrable as any barrier.

“So, we won’t tell him.  He doesn’t deserve the truth about my life.  He hasn’t been a part of it for years.”

One side of his mouth quirked up
in a sexy grin as his thumb ran circles along the back of her hand.  “A blood bond isn’t exactly something we can hide.  They will know.  They will sense it,” he explained.

Her eyebrows drew together. 
“They?”

The muscle in his jaw twitched. 
“The Senex.  They are the oldest of our kind.  ”

****

When she gave him a curious look, he continued.  “They keep order in my world.  Your father is one of them.”

“You say my father is one of them?  Exactly how old is he?”

He sighed heavily.  “Your father is almost a thousand years old.”

A shiver went through her. 

Almost a thousand years old?

The words hit her like a brick.  The things he must have seen in his life were staggering. 

“And you work for him?” she prodded.  At his nod, she continued.  “Did you know he was a vampire when you started working for him?”

A slight smile touched his lips.  “No,” he confessed.  “I had no idea.”

She shifted her weight.  “So, how did you…” she trailed off not sure how to phrase the question.

“Your father was the Lord of the village I lived in.  I was one of his warriors.  I pledged my allegiance to hi
m,” he remembered aloud.

Her eyes widened.  “My father was a Lord?”

He nodded.  “But he was more than that even then.  He brought the lands together.  Made things right for the people.  It’s the reason I swore to protect him,” he explained thoughtfully.  “And when he asked me to fight for him for eternity, I willingly agreed.”

He was quiet for a minute, and she couldn’t help but stare at him.  She couldn’t help but wonder what he was like before he turned.  Was he young and idealistic?  Did he have any idea what he signed up for when he pledged his allegiance to a vampire?

As if he could sense the direction of her thoughts, he answered her unspoken question.

“No,” he said with a low chuckle.  “I didn’t know what he meant.  But I was naïve to certain things in this world.”

“And he took advantage of that,” she stated plainly.

His eyes met hers.  “He gave me a new life.  We can’t always choose the way our lives change.  At least, I had a choice.”

“How can you say that?  You didn’t even know what you were agreeing to.”

One eyebrow arched.  “If he hadn’t offered eternity to me, I wouldn’t be standing here with you.  I would be dead like all of the rest of the men I knew.  He chose me to stand by his side,” he offered softly. 
“And now, to stand by yours.”

Her gaze moved around the room for a minute
as she tried to process what he was telling her. 

“
These Senex?  They can read minds?”

“No.”

She shook her head.  “How will they know about the bond?”

“
They will be able to sense that you are mine.”

She wished that she didn’t like the sound of those words leaving his mouth.  But she did.  Instead of dwelling on the sensation, she tried to distract herself.

She drew in a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself before she asked the next question.  “You said you’ve been watching me?”

At his nod, she continued. 
“For how long?”

A muscle in his jaw twitched as he looked away.  “I was duty bound to protect you,” he explained.

She pursed her lips.  “How long?”

When his eyes met hers, she knew the answer without hearing it.  Her stomach rolled.  He had witnessed everything, been there for each and every moment she thought was private. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she said as she crossed the room to the sink.  Turning on the faucet, she bent over to splash some water on her face. 

“Kat,” he began.

She straightened, holding up a hand to stop him.  “Don’t,” she replied.  “There’s nothing you can say that will fix any of this.”

He was silent until she turned around to face him.  “I did what I had to do to protect you.  I won’t apologize for that.”

She threw her hands up.  “Protect me from what? What do they want from me?” she demanded.

“You’re special, Kat.  Deep down, you have to know that, to feel it.”

When she didn’t say anything, he continued.  “Your father is a part of the group that makes up the rules for our kind.”