Craved (31 page)

“That’s him!” Bridget said as she
peered around Micah’s large shoulder. I looked up and noticed she
was staring at Ian.

“Ian’s the man responsible for killing
witches?” I asked her although I already knew the answer, ever
since overhearing the conversation between him and Liam.

“Yes! I’d recognize his aura anywhere.
He hid his face from us but I know it’s him,” Bridget said with
urgency. I nodded my head, unable to do anything until I was back
in my body. Relief washed over me though, knowing that Bridget
would finally see her killer captured.

Ian bent down on his knees and lifted
my body into his lap. He peered at me through his eyelashes and
grinned. He bit into his wrist and held it to my still lips, all
the time watching my spirit form. Our gazes were locked as his
blood poured into my mouth. I tasted the coppery electric fluid and
let it fill my mouth until my chest rose and fell heavily at our
connection.

Ian finally closed his eyes and
whispered something no one could hear. Micah and Wyatt stood behind
him, unaware that Ian was chanting.

My body began to feel lighter and I
looked up to Bridget with worry. I was slowly slipping away and it
scared the shit out of me.

“Thank you, spirit walker, for helping
me, I won’t soon forget it,” Bridget said with a small smile. She
turned and started to walk away, her body fading into the
gray.

I looked down at my hands
and gasped as they too were fading into nothingness. My head hung
lazily as if I was drugged and my eyes fell shut as the rest of me
faded away
.

My eyes opened slowly, still heavy
with sleepiness. It took me a moment to focus, but when my
surroundings came into view I realized I was in my
bedroom.

“She’s awake!” A female voice
announced. I stretched and groaned, my body felt as if it hadn’t
moved in eons. My muscles strained when I stretched. I propped
myself up on my elbows and noticed that Fiona was kneeling on the
side of my bed with a huge smile lighting her face.

Aiden walked through my bedroom door
and enveloped me in his arms. I inhaled his familiar scent of soap
and spices and devoured the feel of him against me. The last time I
had seen him, he was severely weakened by liquid silver, at the
hands of Micah and Wyatt. Looking at him now, no one would ever
know that his features were once mangled. His skin was back to its
normal creamy perfection and his eyes shone as brightly as
sapphires.

“How long have I been out? What
happened?” I asked as I looked at Fiona over Aiden’s shoulder.
Aiden released me and sat on the side of the bed, grabbing my hand.
Relief was evident when he looked at me and happiness filled me
when I looked at him. The entire time the man for me had been right
under my nose but I was too involved with Micah to notice…until
now.

“You’ve been out for three days, Gwen.
It was touch and go at first, but I knew you’d come back to me,”
Aiden said with a thin-lipped smile. My mind was in a whirlwind,
three days I’d been out? I couldn’t remember much except being
pulled away from Aiden’s side as he lay by my side…and
Ian.

“Is Ian in jail? He’s the one
responsible for the witches’ deaths,” I suddenly said in a shrill
voice, overly anxious to get the news out. Aiden’s hand went to my
back and rubbed small circles to calm my panic. I watched him
expectantly, waiting for him to confirm that Ian was, in fact, in
prison.

“Ian fed you his blood in hopes of
healing you, he seemed rather willing to do so too,” Aiden paused
as his anger momentarily overtook him. “When he finished feeding
you, he disappeared.”

I gaped. “What do you mean he
disappeared?” My heart slammed against my chest at the thought that
Ian Despereaux was still wandering around freely. It seemed he had
some sort of fascination with me and I wasn’t looking forward to
running into him ever again.

“I don’t know how to explain it. One
moment he was feeding you and the next minute he wasn’t there
anymore. Micah brought in Louis for questioning and found out some
interesting things…”

“What things?” I
interjected quickly. Fiona had gotten up while Aiden told me the
news and had returned with a cup of hot tea. She handed it to me
and I took a slow sip. The warmth slid down my throat and settled
happily in my stomach that felt completely empty. I’d worry about
not eating later; right now, I
had
to know about Ian. Fiona sat Indian-style on my
floor and waited for Aiden to continue his story. I took a moment
to look at her and asked, “Are you okay, hearing about Ian and who
he really is?”

She shook her head with a bitter smile
and said, “Absolutely, the only attraction he held over me was his
glamour. What an idiot I was.” I gave her a small smile but
internally I jumped for joy that my best friend was finally free of
Ian’s charms. I looked back at Aiden, anxiously awaiting the
information I had interrupted.

“It seems Ian is actually Louis’ sire.
Ian had made it seem like he worked for Louis, but it was all part
of his plan not to draw attention to himself. Louis was hesitant to
rat out his sire, but Micah and Wyatt found a way around that,”
Aiden smiled and I shuddered, thinking of the methods the FPD used
to get a vampire to tell on his sire.

“Liam isn’t in prison is he? It was
Ian that hit me with the magic and it was on purpose,” I
said.

Aiden shook his head. “No, Liam
projected his thoughts so that we saw what happened. I bet Ian
hadn’t expected he could do that,” he snorted.

I rubbed my forehead as a million
thoughts rushed through my mind. We now knew that Ian Despereaux
was responsible for the killings and selling witches’ blood, but it
didn’t feel like it was close to being over. I mentally cursed
myself for ever getting involved in this mess but a small part of
me was happy to have the knowledge I’d gained from it.

“Fiona would you mind giving us a
moment alone?” Aiden asked. Fiona looked up at me and then nodded
her head. She gave me a hug before she walked out of my room,
closing the door behind her.

Aiden’s hands held my face as his blue
eyes watched me with an emotion I no longer feared, love. He drew
closer and pressed his lips softly against mine and I closed my
eyes with the heat that stirred within me. When Aiden pulled away
and looked at me with remorse, the heat was quickly doused, an icy
chill replacing the warmth.

“What’s wrong?” I asked softly. I
learned with this case, that nothing was ever what it seemed. I
knew that Aiden wasn’t telling me everything where Ian was
concerned and I feared the words that dangled silently on his
lips.

“Gwen,” he began, releasing a heavy
sigh. “Ian fed you that night.” A storm was brewing in Aiden’s eyes
and all I could do was wait for the torrential downpour of the
words he hesitated to speak. I nodded my head as my stomach rolled
with my anxiety.

“Remember when we were out by the tree
that night? How I could tell that you wanted me?” Aiden asked.
Through the chaos I had forgotten that Aiden and I had a quick
tryst before everything blew up. A blush rushed to my cheeks and I
smiled in remembrance. How wonderful if all I had to worry about in
my life was getting caught for indecent exposure with Aiden as we
experienced each other’s bodies all over Flora.

“Yes,” I said cautiously, unsure what
he was trying to tell me.

“I can sense your emotions because
I’ve drunk from you.” Aiden paused and I widened my eyes, wanting
him to just spit out the bad news already. I hated the suspense he
was causing me.

“So?”

“Ian has drunk from you as well, which
means he can also sense you…”

“Oh! My! God!” I quickly said as the
gravity of what Aiden was telling me sunk in. The one man who had a
deep fascination with me, who was responsible for killing my kind,
could find me as easily as if I had a tracking chip
implanted.

“I haven’t gotten to the bad news
yet,” Aiden said. My insides froze, not knowing how it could
possibly get worse.

“You drank from him as well. When a
vampire shares his blood with a person he has also drunk from, it
forms a bond. Bonds are very serious, Gwen, and as vampires, we do
not take them lightly. I tried to stop Micah and Wyatt from letting
Ian feed you but I was too weak. I’m so sorry, Gwen.”

I stared at Aiden but my eyes didn’t
see the dark haired, blue-eyed man I’d come to love. I stared
blankly past his beauty as I absorbed what he told me. Words failed
on my stunned lips and air seemed to escape my panicked lungs. I
shook my head back and forth, unable to believe that Ian and I were
bonded.

“You won’t be bonded for long. Ian
will die by my hand the first chance I get, this I promise you, my
Gwen.” Aiden’s words did little to comfort me. I knew that Aiden
was strong and over six hundred years old, but Ian was over eight
hundred years old and had magic on his side.

“What does the bond mean?” I mumbled
as I looked up at Aiden.

“He’ll be able to feel your emotions
as much as you’ll be able to feel his. You’ll also be
telepathically linked.” Aiden explained.

I hung my head in my hands and tried
to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Like
breathing exercises would calm me down after learning that I was
bonded to Ian.

“I don’t understand why he wanted to
bond with me,” I said, but it came out in a mumble since my hands
were covering my lips.

“You’re one of the last spirit
walkers, Gwen; Ian’s interest is in your rarity. Try not to worry,
he can only run so far before he’s caught,” Aiden said, trying to
keep the anger from his voice. I knew he wanted me to look on the
bright side of things, but when it came to Ian, there wasn’t a
bright side.

Two soft knocks sounded at my door and
Aiden was up in a flash, opening the door. Fiona jumped slightly
when the door whipped open, but quickly regained her composure. She
peeked around Aiden so that she could see me and said, “Micah is
here to talk to you; do you want to see him?” Aiden’s hand
tightened on the door handle, a grinding sound moaning under the
pressure of his grip.

“You’re going to ruin my door handle,”
I told him. He let go and crossed his hands across his chest
instead.

“I would love to see him, I have a few
choice words I’d like him to hear,” I told Fiona. She nodded her
head and disappeared down the hall. Aiden walked over to the bed
and knelt in front of me, pushing his body between my legs. His
hands cupped my face and he pressed a kiss to my lips. His tongue
darted out and licked my upper lip before slipping into my mouth. I
massaged his tongue with mine and ran my hands over his shoulders
and up into his dark hair. My whole body yearned to be close to
Aiden, to taste him, to feel him. When our kiss ended, I wrapped my
arms around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder. I enjoyed
the comfort he provided me.

“I need to tell you something,” I
whispered. He looked up at me and the sides of his mouth curled up
as he grinned at me.

“What is it, my Gwen?”

“I…” I began but was interrupted when
Micah stepped into my bedroom. I looked back at him and sighed.
“Can we pick up where we left off after Micah and I talk?” I asked
Aiden. He kissed my forehead and got to his feet.

“Of course. I’ll be in the living
room.” I nodded my head and turn on my bed so that I was sitting
crossed-legged. Aiden glared at Micah and pushed past him. Micah
closed the bedroom door and walked around the bed and leaned
against the far wall.

“I’m happy you finally woke up; you
had us worried,” Micah said cautiously.

“I can’t say I’m happy to see
you.”

“Excuse me? What did I do?”

I unwound my legs and dangled them off
the side of the bed so that I could look at Micah
directly.

“You sprayed my boyfriend with liquid
silver and you let Ian Despereaux feed me, which bonded us.” I eyed
him with my anger and let the words sink in.

“But…” Micah began, only to stop and
think more about what I had told him. “We didn’t know it would form
a bond, Gwen.” He paused and silently cursed. “He planned this all
along. He bewitched Fiona so we thought she was dead and so that
you’d allow him to drink from you, and then he knocked you out with
magic because he knew we’d have him feed you to bring you back,
forming a bond. I may hate the prick, but he’s clever.” Micah
snorted.