Bonds of Blood [Lords of the Expanse] (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

She had forgotten the injury and paled slightly. Covering the offending ear, she said, “I will keep it covered. I have learned very well to ensure it is always covered.” Except when around her father. He rather liked looking at it and seeing the damage he wrought. “It is the same who has broken ribs, fingers, given me the scars on my back.” She shrugged. “You didn’t think I was lying when I told you of his acts, did you?” And she saw that he had assumed that she was pushing it just a little too far, possibly a daughter afraid to return to the rule of her father when freedom was seen in a husband.

Moving to her, he pushed her hair back from her face and gently stroked his finger over the injury. “You didn’t tell me any of that or that he was the one that inflicted those wounds on you personally,” he said. He knew his voice sounded angry, rather fitting considering how angry he really was, and knew that if he ever came face-to-face with the man, he’d be hard pressed not to snap his neck. “What else has he done, Xandra?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer but knowing he needed her to tell him.

“Other than the beatings, the broken ribs, arm, fingers, and whippings”—she shrugged and sighed—“I believe the killing of my mother was the worst.” She looked into his eyes. “That was the same day I was given this”—she touched his hand over her ear and smiled wanly—“as a reminder of just who was the ruler of all that he surveyed.”

“I’m sorry, Xandra,” he murmured. “I should not have pushed.” He withdrew his hand, letting it slide down to her neck once more. Unsure now, he nodded to a set of doors behind her. “If you’d like to have a real water bath, feel free. I know not if you have anything for bedwear.” He didn’t know if she’d come with luggage. He really should have checked into that. “But there is a robe on the back of the door.” He still didn’t know if she wanted him to remain or if she wanted to sleep this night alone, which was adding to his discomfort and awkwardness, though he was hopeful she couldn’t see that.

“Don’t apologize for something that is not of your doing, Andries.” She looked toward the doors where the bath was and then back at him. “I have luggage. I have no idea where it is. If you send word to Diego, he can tell you.” He would likely tell them to take a flying leap. “Will you be here? After my bath that is, will you”—she felt uncertain now asking him—“will you stay?” She was flawed. He was perfect. Why would he want to stay?

Nodding, he pulled her close for a small kiss. “I will find your luggage while you bathe and I will be here when you come out. If I’m not, I will be in the sitting room on this level,” he said, pulling back and stepping away from her. “If you cannot find anything you require, there are some shelves behind the door that may yield that which you seek. If it is not there, let me know, all right?” he asked her quietly.

“I will.” She watched him retreating and moved toward the bathing room, turning at the last moment to enter. Once behind the frosted glass doors, she began to undress, laying the clothes out carefully before folding them and starting her bath. Completely nude, she began the bath and walked around the room, touching this and that as she waited for the water to fill the tub. The heat of the water caused a thick steam to fill the room, and as soon as it was almost full, she stepped into the water with a sigh of delight.

She leaned back in the water and closed her eyes even as she draped a cloth over them, and with a sigh relaxed so fully she fell asleep.

Opening the door, Andries took the luggage from the guards that had collected it from the suite Xandra had never even seen. Closing the door, he headed upstairs and paused in the bedroom. Setting down the bags, he looked to the bathroom and then at the time displayed on the wall by the bed. Xandra had been in the bath for almost a half hour. Frowning, he moved to the door and knocked “Xandra?” he called, easing the sliding door open and taking a look via the mirror to the tub. She had a cloth over her eyes and, from the even manner of her breathing, was sound asleep. “Xandra,” he called louder, hoping to wake her without having to embarrass her by going all the way in.

It had been far too many years since she felt relaxed enough, safe enough, to fall into the deep sleep she was in currently, and unfortunately for Andries her body was refusing to allow her to wake at his gentle tone. Her finger twitched slightly in the still water around her, but other than that one small movement and the rise and fall of her chest, she simply slept on.

Lips tightening at that small movement, Andries realized there was no other choice and, with eyes averted as best he could manage, he went to the tub. Sitting on the floor so he’d only see her shoulders, neck, and head, he gently touched her hand. “Xandra, the water is getting cold. It’s time to get out,” he said in a low tone, hoping he didn’t scare her.

She jerked in the water and sat up so quickly her cloth fell from her eyes. The fear that was suddenly there was heart stopping. It was hard for her to breathe, and finally she saw Andries. “What?” She was confused for all of three seconds until she realized she was stark naked in the water and he was sitting on the floor at her side. “Moon and stars, Andries,” she whispered, “I didn’t get you wet, did I?” He was simply looking at her. She realized then that she was far too different from him. Her skin was a pale green, actually the lightest blush of green, but compared to his skin color, it was very different and odd. “Do you need me?” The question came out breathy, sexually charged, even if she didn’t realize it.

Loaded question, he thought as he stared at her. “I was concerned since you were asleep and the water was cooling. I thought you might prefer getting out now instead of when it was truly chilled,” he told her, his voice lower than normal for no reason he could determine. “Your luggage was in the other suite. I had it brought up and your bags are sitting in the bedroom.”

“Thank you, Andries.” She slid back into the water, her gaze on him. “It’s been so long since I have felt safe that I forgot how good it feels to simply give up and allow my body to fully rest.” Her hand moved to cover his and smiled. “Thank you for seeing to my luggage being brought up. I will get out now and get ready for bed.” She hesitated. “Will you be sleeping with me, Andries?”

“If that is your wish, I will,” he told her as he stood, averting his eyes and giving her his hands to help her up. He didn’t want to embarrass her right off and he was sure he’d pushed her to her limits already. Backing up so she could step out, he pulled a towel from the warmer and passed it to her. “I’ll wait for you in the other room so you can have a moment, Xandra.” He was running. He freely admitted it, but the warm scent of her flesh was a temptation to him. He needed to feed before they did anything, and while she was drying and dressing, he’d have a bag of blood so he wouldn’t be tempted and thereby hurt her.

“Thank you.” She watched him leave and dried herself as she thought of him. He was everything she had ever dreamed of having in a husband. Why had her father chosen him for her? Her father was a cruel man. He would rather give pain than anything that could be seen as a pleasure, and Andries gave her pleasure. The way he moved, spoke, touched her, it made her happy.

She slowly dried her hair with the heavy warm towel. The long lavender strands were then finger combed out to hopefully dry before they went to sleep. Once her hair was somewhat dried, she dried her body and pulled on his robe to step out into their bedroom. Seeing it empty, she opened the first case and frowned. There was nothing in there but weapons. She moved to the second case and opened it as well, again, weapons. Laser rifles, knives, flame wands, she didn’t understand.

Walking quickly to the door, she twisted the knob. “Andries,” she called through the hall and then began her search for him, knowing that by bringing weapons into their home, she was all but telling him she didn’t believe in his ability to protect her. Even though the weapons weren’t hers, it would still be seen as a direct hit to his masculinity, and his warrior side.

Sticking his head out of the small kitchen unit, he kept the glass of blood hidden. “You called?” he asked and then, seeing her face, set the glass down and moved to her. “Are you all right?” he asked as she got closer to him.

“I think that you brought the wrong bags, Andries.” She had a frown on her face as she held the robe closed. “The bags are filled with weapons, Andries, and I’ve never fired a weapon, let alone owned one, so the bags have to belong to someone else.”

“What?” he asked with a frown as he looked past her to the doors and then down to her. “I was told those were the only bags in your suite, and since there were no other occupied ones on that level, it was the only place for the guard to go to retrieve anything, Xandra.” The weapons would be a serious problem though. “If they are not yours, Xandra”—he looked her square in the eye—“whose are they?”

She frowned because of how he was looking at her, how he was giving her a look of pure and complete suspicion. “I have no idea, Andries, but they do not belong to me.” And yet, he didn’t believe her. She saw it in his eyes. “Would you please get rid of them? Or would you rather I did?” She had no idea what she would do with two bags full of weapons, but she would figure it out if she had to. “The suitcases, the bags are mine. The contents are not.”

“I’m not blaming you, Xandra,” he growled at her before he could stop himself. “But you have to admit that, if not for your annoying and decidedly oafish assistant, I’d have good reason to look to you.” Shaking his head hard, he turned from her. “You need to learn that I’m not going to blame you for everything if you intend on this to last for any length of time,” he warned as he stalked back into the kitchen area, grabbed his glass, and then stalked out toward the main sitting area where he’d left his communicator.

Picking it up, he dialed in the guards and asked one of them to return to his suite to retrieve the bags and to move them to his personal locker on his ship. Tossing the device to a long low-back couch, he moved to the windows and stood there looking out at the clouds as he tried to not be angry at her. Her life had made her wary of any male around her. It wasn’t her fault and yet…she looked at him with that hint of fear and he wanted her father’s blood on his hands all the more or to throttle her, which was new.

* * * *

She was pacing as she moved back to the bedroom, still wearing his robe and feeling angry. Angry at everything, the life she had up to that point, the fear she had at him for yelling at her, and angry at life in general. She was tired of feeling as if she had no place in society, because she did. She had her grandmother’s strength of will on her father’s side, likely why he hated her so—being a constant reminder of the woman he hated. She would be damned if she took this lying down.

Emptying his glass as he heard her coming, Andries swore to himself he’d keep his head. He knew he’d been an ass, losing his temper with her as he had. Setting the glass down, he waited for what he was sure was a dressing down that he more than deserved or tears, which would be so much worse.

She stormed out of their bedroom and moved back to where he was standing. “You are never, ever to walk out on me.” Her tone was less than friendly and more than slightly raised. “We have barely been married half a day and yet you walk out on me. Granted, it’s to another part of our home, but you left me.” She was pacing now. In her fury, the robe and her hair flying behind her with each stride she made across the floor, she said, “I know nothing about this life except that I need you in it. I need more from you than you are willing to give. I need warmth, Andries, and you are darn well going to learn to give that to me because that is what a husband does, makes sure his wife is happy.” When she stopped before him, her face was flushed in her anger, the robe was slightly askew, and her eyes snapped in fury.

All he could do was look at her. She was magnificent in her anger, and for some absurd reason, he was amused by her anger. “And if I don’t?” he asked in a calm tone. The blink of her eyes seemed slow, as though she was trying to process his words. “What if I’m just not capable of what you consider normal, Xandra? I’m not human. I have never pretended to be, nor will I ever be like any man you may have known or likely will know.” Stepping into her, he crowded her, making her back up or stand fast depending on what her mood was. “Are you truly prepared for that eventuality?”

“I pray that you are not anything like any other man I have ever known, Andries,” she said and didn’t step back, but closer. “I like you just as you are, but I would really, really like for you to touch me as if I mattered, to touch me on your own because you want to and not because I am the one forcing it. I never want you to be like a human man, Andries, because from what I have seen of them they are brutal, sadistic, and would kill their own mother if it would gain them a dime. Stay who you are, but care for me, at least a little.”

“If I did not, do you think I would be the least bit disturbed by what your father has inflicted on you?” he asked in a very quiet tone. He wanted to pull her close but he resisted, instead lifting a hand to the back of her neck, as before, his thumb stroking over her pulse. “I don’t wish to hurt you, Xandra. You are very fragile compared to those of my world. One wrong move and I could kill you. Do you understand that?” he asked. “I am not human. I do not have human needs or desires. Vampires are darker beings. Our needs and desires turn many off.” It was the closest he could come to telling her things his people never spoke of.

“Yet humans and Vampires find love with each other.” She braced her hand on his chest and looked up at him. “As you can see by the color of my skin and hair, I am not fully human.” She was something more. She was something their mystics had foretold and a product of something more. “You really don’t know why I was chosen, do you?” At the look on his face, she smiled. “Because of a many times over great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was a Vampire, daughter of one of the great lords from your past.” She whispered softly, “She fell in love with a human pilot when the Vampire species and humankind first met so long ago. I was chosen because of the ability to be able to mate with your species.” She shrugged. “I look fragile. However, I can assure you I’m not. Believe me, it has been tested just how much I can take.” And it was a lot.