Bonds of Blood (13 page)

“Your kind has rules?”

He sighed impatiently.  “Yes, we have rules.  Without them, there would be chaos.  Unfortunately, not everyone abides by them.”

“What happens to the people who don’t abide by the rules?”

“Let’s just say that our punishments are not as humane as yours,” he quipped.

“What does all this have to do with me?” she demanded.

“There are certain things that are forbidden to us.”

Her eyebrows lifted. 
“Like?”

The look in his eyes was solemn. 
“Like becoming too…intimate with humans.”

Her eyes narrowed.  “You mean…you can’t…”

He cut in.  “I mean that we are not supposed to reveal our true selves.  It’s too dangerous.”

“But the club?”

He smiled.  “Mind tricks…people believe they are dealing with humans who pretend to be vampires, nothing more.  Any bloodletting is supposed to be washed from their minds.”

She pulled her lower lip beneath her teeth.  “What is the punishment for telling the truth?” she
inquired, her voice low.

“Death.”

The one word was spoken in a deep tone, the sound as final as the word implied.  And it made her stomach roll with the implications. 

“Y
our father fell in love with your mother.  He told her things about himself, things about our world, things that could get her killed.”

Her eyes narrowed.  “I thought you sa
id they would kill him?”

His eyes met hers.  “
They would have…if they had known the truth.  The Senex will do anything to keep our kind secret from the world…even if it means taking a few human lives as collateral damage.”

She looked down.  “So, he left us
.”

“He left
her
,” he clarified.  “You were something no one expected.  Our kind cannot procreate with humans…or so we thought.  Your father knew how important you would be.  He also knew how dangerous it would be if anyone learned of your true origin.”

Chapter 20

“So, why does this, Damien, want me?” Kat asked.

“
His reasons for wanting you are obvious,” he quipped making her blush.  His lips formed a grim line.  “But if he finds out who you really are, there is no doubt in my mind he will not stop until you are his.”

“Why?” she challenged. 
“To get back at my father?”

“No,” he replied. 
“To start a new race.”

The lines on her forehead deepened as she frowned. 
“A new race?”

“Vampires who can walk in the sun.”

She put her hands over her stomach
, doubling over slightly.  “This is insane!”

His brow furrowed.  “You’re sick,” he stated.

He reached out for her, but she brushed his hand away.

“I’m okay.”

He frowned.  “You’re not okay.  You need blood.”

She held up a hand to stop his ministrations.  “No,” she said, her face turning pale.  “I’m fine.”

His jaw clenched.  “Stop lying to me, Kat.  When are you going to realize that I’m trying to help you?”
              She shook her head.  “I don’t want…”

His head jerked up suddenly and he sniffed the air.  “Dawn is approaching,” he said.

Reaching for her hand, he linked his fingers with hers.  She could barely catch her breath before he was pulling her toward a door at the edge of the kitchen.

With a final click of the lock, everything went black.  Her fingers instinctively tightened on his, the chill from his skin slowly creeping into her own. 

Fear began to gnaw at the muscles of her stomach. 

She heard another sound and the room
was bathed in the warm glow of artificial light.  Her mouth fell open as her gaze bounced around the room.  The walls were covered in a dark material, the wooden floors gleaming.  A king sized bed sat in the middle of the room with a burgundy bedspread stretched across it.

But that wasn’t the only thing that caught her eye. 

There were no windows and only one exit.  It was little more than a tomb. 

Her eyes met his.

It was
his
tomb,
his
space. 

And she was standing in the middle of it.

Before she could ask any of the questions swirling around in her mind, her stomach churned and she winced.  Without a word, he reached up to slide his fingernail across the skin of his neck. 

Her gasp startled the silence.  “Why did you do that?”

“You have to drink, Kat,” he instructed.

She shook her head.  “I don’t want this.”

His lips formed a somber line.  “I know.”

Her eyes blazed.  “I didn’t ask for this…any of it.”

“I know,” he repeated, his voice gentling.

When he pulled her against him, her entire body tingled.  Her mouth began to water as he pressed her lips against his neck.  She wanted to resist, wanted to pull away, but it was as if her own body rebelled against her mind’s commands. 

Her tongue stroked the roof of her mouth, the sharp edges of her teeth, almost as if searching for something.  She angled her head, brushing her lips against his skin.  The wetness teased her lips open.  Her tongue snaked out instinctively.

As soon as his flavor entered her mouth, she was lost.  She
fused her lips tight sealing them against the puncture wound.  Her hands slid up the strong muscles of his back to curl in the hair at his nape.  His arms folded around her and she clung to him as if her life depended on it.  Within a few seconds, the aching need began to recede.  Even as the hunger faded, another desire began. 

She needed more of him.

Her hips moved against his legs.  The bulge that was pressed tightly against her stomach proved that he was not immune to her.  A low moan escaped her throat as her tongue traced the line on his neck that was slowly closing.  Her breasts felt full, her nipples tight, as they rubbed sinuously against his chest.  The sensation was so intense that she couldn’t help but repeat the motion.  His low groan vibrated through her chest.

“I need…” she trailed off
unable to express how deep the desire for him ran.

She felt him back her up against the door, felt the cool wood against the heat of her skin.  Releasing a relieved sigh,
she let the robe fall away as she opened her legs to him.

He leaned back, his eyes meeting hers.  “Kat…”

Whatever he was going to say was lost as she pressed her lips against his.  She licked playfully at his lips before gently nibbling on them.  He groaned as she reached around to cup his buttocks and pull him more fully against her.

“I need.”

The sentence was complete.

The request clear.

All she needed now was a response.

She got it when his fingers delved into her hair and his own tongue ventured into her mouth to taste.  For a moment, only the sounds of their moans filled the barren room.  Reaching for the buttons o
n his pants, she released them with frantic movements.  She could feel his fangs lengthen when her hand reached in to cradle him.

Her tongue stroked the length of the points wanting to feel everything
—all of him.  She caressed the head of his cock running her thumb along the slit.  A small drop of moisture escaped to reward her for her efforts as she began to stroke him.

A low growl sounded in his chest as his hand covered her mound, his finger sliding
inside of her.  The feel of the cool digit pressed deep inside her body made a small moan escape her lips.  Her knees weakened as he drove a second finger inside of her and began to pump in earnest.

When he felt her knees give, he bent over to slide his hands under her bare buttocks to lift her.  Her back braced against the door as she felt the tip of his cock at her entrance.  He wrapped her legs around his waist
and entered her in one swift move.  He pressed deep, every inch of him encased in her hot, slick center. 

Easing back slowly, she sighed at the feel of his velvet length
buried inside of her.  Then, he drove into her again.  His fingers bit into the sensitive skin of her ass.  He opened her wide not letting her pull back from the intensity of his thrusts.  Waves of pleasure spread through her body.  Reaching up with one hand, he cupped her breast before teasing her nipple with his thumb.

Her head fell back against the door as she drew in a breath.  When she raised her head to look at him, she found his hungry gaze centered on her throat.  Her breath caught.  His
gaze jerked to meet hers.  Reaching up, she caressed his cheek.  Slowly, she angled her head to the side to expose the delicate skin of her neck. 

He stiffened.

But she wouldn’t let him pull back now.

She wanted him, all of him, and she wanted him to have all of her.

Gently, she pulled his head to her throat even as he attempted to turn away.

“Do it,” she pleaded.

Her fingers tightened on his hair in encouragement.  Slowly she felt his mouth open, the weight of his breath before his fangs grazed her neck.  She closed her eyes when she felt the first sting of pain as his fangs pierced her.  Wetness teased her neck for a moment before she felt his tongue move over her skin as he drank from her.  He moved inside of her as her blood filled his mouth.  The waves of sensation became more intense and soon she was digging her fingernails into his skin. 

Something inside of her broke as the waves began to crash down all around her.  Through it all, he held her
, and when the storm passed she felt him carry her to bed.  She clung to him—afraid he might release her. 

But he didn’t.

He cradled her against him, the cool feeling of his flesh against hers relieving the remaining traces of heated passion.  She could feel the thud of her heart beating wildly.  Her fingers splayed wide on his chest, the stillness beneath reminding her that this was not a man.  It was a vampire. 

But lying next to him,
she had never felt safer.

It was that feeling that eventually lulled her into sleep.

*****

Alec’s gaze focused on the ceiling overhead. 
Tarquin would be here soon and when he arrived he would demand answers.  It wouldn’t take him long to realize that his daughter had been compromised.

His arm
tightened instinctively around her.  He had never meant to betray the wishes of his maker.  In fact, he’d had nothing but the best of intentions when he was assigned the task of being her Member of the Vigilate. 

After all, it was what he had been trained to do. 
He was a Member of the Vigilate assigned by the Senex to do their bidding.  But when Tarquin asked him to do the personal favor of protecting his daughter, there had been no way he could refuse. 

Tarquin
was his maker.  He had chosen Alec years ago as his personal guard.  At the time, Alec had no idea that he was protecting a vampire.  Living in the small kingdom of Bluffton, he had heard the whispers that the Lord of the manor was no ordinary man.  He had brushed them off as easily as he had the rumors that the local healer was secretly working with the devil.

But the rumors were true as he discovered for himself when he was inducted into the Order. 
The Order of the Dragon, as he would later learn, was formed many years before he was born.  It was designed to ensure that the masquerade was upheld–that humans never learned of their true existence.  The Order was comprised of three divisions.  The Senex, the oldest vampires alive, created the laws.  Vigilate were chosen to protect key figures in the organization, and Vindicate carried out punishment.  It was designed to ensure that order was kept, even amongst the wildest at heart.

As a
member of the Vigilate, he knew his job was the most important.  And it fit him perfectly.  After all, he wasn’t the type to inflict his own rules on others, and he never had the desire to enforce punishment.  But one of his best abilities was his ability to defend.  It was why Tarquin chose him so long ago.

Then
, he had been young and naïve.  All he cared about was being a good warrior, but that night he became a warrior of a different sort…a warrior of the night.  It turned out that avoiding suspicion wasn’t as difficult as he had originally thought.  Money and power could easily buy silence and Tarquin had enough of both to wash away any indiscretions Alec committed in his youth.  Over the years Tarquin had gotten him out of quite a few scrapes.

He turned his head to look at the sleeping woman next to him.  Her eyes were closed, her lashes resting on high cheekbones.  Full pink lips were slightly parted as she slept.   Reaching over, he caressed her long black waves.
 

This was one transgression that
Tarquin would not overlook…or forgive.