Daughters of Dracula (The Stoker Sisters #1) (14 page)

“Your boyfriend was attacked by a mugger,” she quickly explained. She straightened up and backed away.

“We’ll get you to the hospital,” Sadie said. She scrutinized Keegan, looking into his eyes, looking for traces of Alexis’ handiwork.

Alexis knew Sadie suspected her of having already turned him. “Give me your keys.” She said forcefully to Keegan. “I’ll bring your truck around.”

Before walking away, she gripped Sadie’s arm and pulled her close. “I know what you're thinking. I’m not that vile a witch, Sadie. I didn’t touch him. I didn’t even lick the wound as I could have. I used my lace as a tourniquet instead. So stop with the sad doe eyes already.”

“Don’t even talk to me,” Sadie said, her soft voice filled with anger and hurt. “You’ve been trying to steal him away from me since day one, and now I’ve seen you’ve reached a new low – using compulsion to get him to kiss you! I thought we can be like sisters again…the way we were when we were human…at Stoker Manor, but I was wrong.”

“Is this what it’s about?” Alexis asked in disbelief.
“Us moving here to
Summerlin
, trying to live with each other…like our own mini-coven…so you can feel human again?”
Alexis chuckled. “Get this, little sister, we are vampires. We can’t be human no matter what we try. We couldn’t stand each other when we were human. What makes you think we can now? As vampires, our feelings are magnified tenfold. So, get this, Sadie, when we were sisters we fought for everything against each other. Now is no different. I want Keegan, and he will be mine.”

Alexis stormed off, leaving Sadie fuming. She meant what she said about Keegan…he will be hers. Keegan’s passion was young, untamed, virtually untried. There was an innocence about him that made his sexual energy all the more powerful. It was virile and difficult to contain.

Not since Lord
Ashwin
had she felt such power in a man. Not since centuries past had she met a man who could match her wit, her passion and her strength. Yet in all that strength and power there was something kind, soft and gentle. He had the makings of a fine gentleman. Perhaps the closest thing to nobility she would find in this new country.

But it was what Keegan held back that so intrigued her.
A sense of quiet danger and pent up anger.
No, Keegan was not simply the handsome student who so charmed her
sister,
and Alexis longed to learn of his full capacity. Good and bad.
Sweet and bitter.
Gentle and harsh.
She wanted it all.

Her skin tingled at the thought of his blood. It wouldn’t take much. Not much at all to have him exploding with the full force of emotions. If only she could have more time alone with him. She’d seen how easy it was to awaken his passion. All she needed was to keep Sadie out of the way.

His lips had parted too hungrily and his eyes had surrendered to her.

Getting behind the wheel of his vehicle, she breathed in the musky scent of him. His masculinity pervaded the space and she was again caught up in the strong desire to be with him. He could be her own Mr. Darcy, the Lord
Ashwin
she’d lost, the love that had always eluded her. She saw in him the capacity to empathize and understand her, perhaps even more than Lord
Ashwin
.

She started the motor and drove into the tight alleyway, stopping in front of the loving young couple who now huddled close together. Keegan leaned heavily on Sadie as she led him to the passenger door.

**********

Though his wound was substantial, Keegan still had to wait before being seen by a doctor. The triage nurse had cut an opening in his jeans and had stemmed the flow of blood with thick wads of surgical gauze that she’d temporarily taped to his leg before sending him to the crowded waiting room with a pair of old crutches.

Mothers holding crying and coughing babies, mingled with several elderly people who complained about the inexcusable wait. One young man sat staring at the floor, his arm in a sling and a patch over his eye.

“You may as well go home, Alexis,” Sadie was eager to point out as she took a seat next to Keegan. “There’s absolutely no sense in all three of us waiting here.”

Sadie saw the hesitation in Alexis’ eye, and the argument she was preparing. But there was no room for argument. Keegan was her boyfriend and she had every right to be here with him while Alexis was nothing more than an irritating appendage.

“Well.” Alexis gave a haughty tilt to her chin and glanced down at Sadie. “The night is young. I guess my time would be better served elsewhere.”

Sadie smiled as she watched her sexy sister walk away, but was quickly dismayed when she caught Keegan’s unwavering stare at Alexis. His hunger was clear and her heartache intensified. Why had she thought Keegan could love only her?

This was Lord
Ashwin
all over again.

She fought to keep her eyes dry, but was overwhelmed by the pain of loving him. Losing him to another girl was heartbreaking enough. Losing him to
her own
sister was unbearable.

His eyes remained on Alexis until she was completely out of view. Bringing his gaze back to Sadie, he was instantly shocked to see the tears that lined her eyes. Sorrow tugged at his lips as he dragged his thumb under her eye to catch a tear.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and while she felt his emotions in his embrace, she couldn’t quite define what emotions he actually felt. When he squeezed her tight, it wasn’t with the love she’d sensed
before,
it was with regret and remorse.

She was losing him and she felt helpless to stop it.

They held each other for a long while; him with his confusion; her with emptiness.

“Keegan Knowles.” The crackling voice called over the intercom. “Examination room six.”

Keegan got up and grabbed the crutches. “
Coming
?” he asked Sadie when she remained seated.

She shrugged, unable to find her voice. Though she wanted to be with him, she was reluctant to be present should he start to bleed
heavily.

“I’d like you to be there,” he insisted.

Knowing he needed her was a small victory. She stood and followed him down the hall to the door marked six.

A nurse invited him to sit on an examination table and just as quickly left.

Silence barreled down on Keegan and Sadie, almost drowning them.

“Does it hurt?” she finally asked, if only to break the ungodly silence. She couldn’t imagine how the pain could even remotely compare with what she was feeling that very moment.

“Not as bad as when I dislocated my shoulder at last week’s game.”

She forced a tight smile, remembering how she’d held ice to his shoulder. He’d been so appreciative of her presence, thanking her repeatedly for being there for him. Then again, Alexis hadn’t been there to distract him.

After another tense moment, he reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. With all the pain she felt, it was little consolation, but she clung to it. It was all she had. With Alexis’ uninhibited ways, Sadie felt she had nothing to battle with.

Her thumb played over his, and her gaze dipped to watch the dance of their digits. She couldn’t give him up; not without a fight. Not without trying. Not without showing him the passion she was capable of. Alexis might wear her passion for all to see, but Sadie’s passion was meant only for Keegan; only for intimate moments like this.

She leaned over him, bringing her face inches from his. “This isn’t over.” Bringing their intertwined fingers to his chest and squeezing his fingers tight, she leaned closer still and brushed her lips against his. He smiled, unsure and reluctant. When she pressed for more, urging his lips to part and welcome her tongue, he yielded with a soft moan.

His fingers tightened around hers and she felt the swell of passion fill him. The softness of his lips was replaced with urgency and hunger while his free hand ran through her hair, gripped the back of her neck and pulled her closer.

The heat that grew between them was intoxicating and Sadie soon forgot where they were. She was with him, in his embrace and that’s all that mattered. He held her, tight and with conviction.
 
It was all she wanted from him.

Their tongues tasted and teased. Their lips puckered and nibbled.
And their hands…
He released his hold of her fingers and slowly traced a line up the curve of her waist and over her breast. She shivered, gasped and fought to stay upright as her knees faltered.

When Keegan began to kiss his way to her jaw and down her neck, her eyes shot open. The touch of his lips over the thin skin that protected her pounding artery was at once alarming and exciting and the thought of skimming her own lips over his neck filled her.

What would he taste like?
 
How wonderful would it be to completely melt into him and share in his
blood.

She arched her back, surprised by her own abandon. He leaned into her, pressing her closer. Their mouths met again sending waves of pleasure through her. Sensing her urgency, he deepened the kiss until she had practically crawled on top of him. She was lost in the kiss, relishing his taste until she felt her fangs grow. In a flash, she bolted away from Keegan and out the door, leaving him breathless, confused, and frustrated.

Chapter 14

The night she’d left Sadie and Keegan at the hospital, Alexis had gone hunting with a vengeance. Her hunger was insatiable and she’d only returned home in the early hours of the morning.

Though exhausted by her late night activities, she resisted going to bed, hoping to see Keegan arrive. Judging by the cute little outfit her sister put on first thing that morning, she was expecting a visit from him as well.

“Did you have time to go hunting after the hospital last night?” Alexis asked, trying to cut through the growing tension.

“Barely,” Sadie said. She opened her school bag and set her books in a neat pile on the table. Once her pencils, pens and erasers were all aligned she glared at her sister. “But I’m sure you drank enough for both of us.”

“I was quite reasonable,” Alexis lied. She’d be anything but reasonable. Whether it was her hunger for Keegan or her irritation with Sadie, something had triggered an increased desire to feed and feed again.

“I know what your idea of reasonable is.”

**********



By that evening, it was clear that Keegan wouldn’t be coming around. Sadie was already preparing to go out feeding and thought the tension between them had remained throughout the
day,
Alexis wanted to go along with her.

As they’d always done, they tracked down criminals for their prey. This night led them to a kindergarten teacher who’d been accused of kidnapping young children for the purpose of making kiddy porn.

Alexis felt particularly eager about this one. Not only was her hunger more intense than ever, this victim was the vilest creature they’d hunted down since arriving in California.

Easy to track down, they’d stormed into his miserable little apartment while he’d busied himself uploading his latest production. Sadie vomited as she caught a glimpsed of the image on his screen.

Alexis pulled him out of his chair and threw him to the floor.

“Hey, what the…?”

“Let’s see what you can do with someone your own age,” she hissed.

The pig gave her the once over and licked his lips.
“Whatever you want, babe.”
He stood, his hands clawing at the air before him as he approached her.