Forbidden Drink (35 page)

“Are you going to bite Gregor's arse off about the situation in Wellington?”

“No.” And there goes the one syllable answer. I was going to have to try harder.

I rubbed my eyes. So, I've got to clean up Wellington, simply because it's a distraction, but Gregor won't get the blame if it's not done soon.

“Why won't you confront Gregor over this?” Yippee, an open ended question.

“He is not the cause of the problem.”

What...? “And I am?”

“Yes. You are most certainly closely related to the problems in Wellington.”

“How?”

She ground her teeth together in a most unattractive manner. Oh, I did love it when I got under her skin.

“I would suggest you look to your blood, therein lies the connection. Now, I believe I have more than done my part in helping to save you from harm. I shall take my leave.” The last was said up into the air, as though she was speaking to Nut herself, who I've always thought was up in the sky too, kind of like heaven. I guess vampires feel the same way.

Before I could think of another question or offer the correct farewell bow, she simply vanished. My bet, she really didn't want me to ask any more questions that she would have been compelled to answer and only live to regret afterwards. Fine by me, the shorter the conversation, the healthier.

I rubbed my arms, the memory of the sandblasting still quite fresh. I suddenly felt like a shower to wash off the contamination of the Champion, like she was a disease or a nasty illness I could catch.

I started towards the stairs when my cellphone went off. It was back on the side table next to the
Blu-Ray
remote, so I dashed back in before it went to voicemail.

I flipped it open and before I'd uttered a word Michel's slightly panicked voice came down the line.

“
Ma douce
? Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I'm OK.” If you can call a close encounter with a viper fine.

“For a while there I could not feel you through the Bond. I could not hear your thoughts. What has happened?”

Hell, that was weird. “Can you hear them now? Can you feel the Bond?”

“They are starting to come back, but are still chaotic, as though the connection had been disrupted and it's trying to get re-established,  but I can feel you through the Bond again. What has happened?”

I sighed, I really didn't want to worry him, he had enough on his plate, but....

“I had a visit from the Champion.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, then the sound of a door slamming shut and an engine starting, followed quickly by the squeal of tires on smooth concrete.

“Michel?”

“I will be there in five minutes.” His voice was a low growl.

The line went dead. Five minutes. I'm guessing that's how long it would take Michel to defy the laws of physics and New Zealand road rules to get from
Sensations
to St. Helier's Bay.

So, not happy that the Champion made a little house call then?

Well, I guess I'd find out how unhappy in T minus four minutes and forty-three, forty-two, forty-one... seconds.

I switched the movie off, it seems I wasn't going to get to see
Immortals
any time soon and sat with my feet under me, curled up on the couch. The shower would have to wait. I really felt like it might have been a half hour kind of thing and Michel would not have had the patience, by the sound of his voice.

It seemed like time flew by, because before I knew it Michel was storming through the front door. I cast a glance out the window to see if he had left the Land Rover still running, headlights on, door open, in the middle of the drive, but it was out of sight. By the time I looked back at him, he was on me.

He pushed me back on the couch so I was lying half on half off and crawled up my body, his fangs were already down and out, his knee pushed my legs apart, his hands running up and over my body as though he was reassuring himself I was all still there. The look on his face was a little frightening, but handsome at the same time. Captivating. But it was a look of utter hunger and all fierce possession.

“Michel?”

He growled and stroked a hand through my hair, then started nuzzling my neck and his mark, inhaling. I suddenly smelt that scent he has when he's about to claim me, that beautiful mixed spice and cardamom, with a splash of Freesias. My body responded immediately and he reared his head back with a groan and sunk his fangs in. As he started sucking down my blood his hips began to rock against me and all I could do was moan and arch my back and move against him in return.

Before I knew what was happening, he had removed my underwear, pushed my skirt up and had entered me in a rush, his thoughts in my head a shout:
YOU. ARE. MINE.
There was no slow movement, it was just an urgent pumping, a desire to get as close as possible, to have himself inside me, to be drinking me, to be claiming me and I loved it. I so damn well loved it. I loved that he couldn't help himself, that he had so little control, that I did this to him. I don't think it would have mattered where we were or who was there, this urge was so primal, driven from some base instinct, some ancient call in his body, we were both just along for the ride.

His hands were all over me, his body weighing me down and filling me up, my blood in him, his thoughts in me, his scent everywhere, clinging to me, cleansing me, washing away the feel of the Champion and anyone else for that matter. All that existed was him and me and the heat that we created together.

I came first, unable to stop that beautiful build to ecstasy and when he heard me shout out and writhe against him, he quickly followed suit, still drinking me, so making both our orgasms last that much longer, drawing them out in exquisite bliss.

Finally, his fangs retracted and he licked his mark and collapsed beside me on the couch, pulling me close and kissing my neck.

“Hi,” he said a little huskily. “I forgot to say hi.”

I laughed. “If that's to be your new greeting, then you have my permission to forget to say hi any time.”

He laughed against me, nuzzling my neck again and kissing his mark.

“I think it is safe to say that the claiming felt threatened by news of your visitor,
ma douce
. The moment you mentioned she had been here, I could do nothing else but get to you and claim you again. He started kissing my skin again, softly, so softly. And with such care.

Man, if that's how he reacts to a projected image of a vampire who can't stand my guts, how the hell was he going to handle me going to Wellington and seeing Gregor, which looked like I was going to have to do, or else suffer the consequences of the Champion.

Michel's arms tightened around me, pulling me close, I also felt his fangs come out again and scrape over his mark.

Shit. You can hear my thoughts again, can't you? I didn't even project them, I knew I didn't need to. He just nodded against my neck in an affirmation.

This was going to be hard. And if I had thought it was just going to be hard for me to face my demons and stand up against Gregor, then now it was ten times harder, because I so did not want to put Michel through this. I wanted to protect him too.

I felt his breath come out in a sigh and his head rest down on my shoulders. If I could have seen his face, I was sure his eyes would have been closed.

“I trust you,
ma douce
. I really do. I can see your thoughts, I can see how you feel about me. For the first time since I have known you, I haven't had to guess at where I stood in your affections. But, the vampyre in me is not quite so... understanding. It wants to tie you down to the bed and never let you see another rival ever again.”

I kinda fancied the tying down to the bed bit, truth be known. Michel growled and shifted against me. Oops. Better keep those thoughts under a lock and key for now.

“I'd still be able to reach them.” His hand had started stroking my cheek, his finger now tracing my lips.

We were both silent for a while. It was me who said what we both were so desperate not to say.

“I have to go, Michel. She said it was because of me. The humans attacking the vampires down there. You know I can't ignore that if it is the truth, despite the fact that she was right about it being a distraction too. The more problems the humans cause, the less likely I am able to be ready for when the Dark strikes and from her warning, I'm guessing that will be soon. Why else would she have come to see me? This needs to be sorted. Now.”

He was quiet for a while, just stroking, breathing against me, holding me tight.

“Why do you think she believes it is because of you,
ma douce
?”

“She mentioned my blood, I can only assume they know about my Forbidden Drink powers or something. They know the vampires are drawn to my blood. Maybe they want to use that to capture them.”

“It is not your blood they are drawn to,
ma douce
. It is your Light.”

Huh. I hadn't thought of it like that. Then if not my actual blood, what the hell did the Champion mean?

“Have you considered she meant it figuratively, as in blood relative? Perhaps you should start with your cousin.”

Tim? What on earth would he have to do with vigilante vampire killing humans? Well, other than the fact that he approached Gregor to become the local Nosferatin, even when he isn't one.

“A good place to start then,” Michel said softly, still stroking me, still holding me tight. I knew he was trying to be reasonable, to help work it all out, but I could feel his tension, he was thrumming with it. He was so close to the edge because discussing this meant I was closer to going to Wellington. To Gregor.

I felt like I needed to deflect the inevitable, at least for a moment.

“Maybe I should pay a visit to my folks, see what they know about my father's side of the family.”

“Hmm mm. And perhaps you should introduce your husband to them while you are at it?”

I pulled back and looked at him. “You're not my husband.” I said it with a smile.

“In vampyre terms I am. And do you not wish for me to be your husband,
ma douce
?” His smile said it all, he knew exactly how I felt about him. He could read my mind now, how convenient. And my mind was shouting that he was mine.

“It surprises me that the claiming is still in effect." He sounded puzzled, mildly intrigued. "I did not expect to hear from your thoughts that you were so certain, but you are.” I knew though, that he was trying to stimulate thoughts in me, trying to fish for an answer.

I couldn't give him one, because I simply did not know. I was obviously still holding something back, but what? I started to shift uneasily next to him, it was a topic of conversation I didn't feel comfortable with at all.

He just kept stroking me and held me firmer, he wasn't going to let me run from this.

“It is all right,
ma douce
, all shall be revealed in good time. I have complete faith in this.”

We sat quietly for a moment, each with our own thoughts. Well, me with mine and Michel with both his and mine, but you know what I mean.

To steer away from the awkwardness that I felt, I put us back on to business.

“So, I think I should go to Wellington tomorrow, not wait until Saturday. I think if the Dark is about to strike I need to get on with this. Sort it out.

“I will come with you.”

I ached at the tenor of his voice. The fear I could clearly hear. He may be certain of how I feel right now, but he was terrified of what would happen when I got off that plane in Wellington and was faced with Gregor again. I couldn't blame him. And I also couldn't put his fear to rest, my track record was not so great that it would be believable. But, I also knew he couldn't come with me. Gregor was still establishing his hold on the city and a visit from a Master of a nearby City, would be construed as an attack for possession. It was politically suicidal.

Michel abruptly stood and started pacing. He was so wound up, I could see the veins on the side of his neck standing out at attention. I sat up slowly and got myself straightened and just watched him pace. Like a caged tiger, he was all energy contained, the potential at any moment to explode. I wanted so much to ease his pain, to stop this slide into what I could only assume was going to be destructive to our relationship. I wanted to offer a solution, to fix it, to stop this thing that he feared from happening, but I couldn't. All I could do was watch.

After ten minutes of watching him pace and neither of us uttering a word, he finally stopped and turned to look at me. I had to close my eyes at what I saw. Such pain, but such determination. He'd made a decision and it had cost him greatly. He was tearing himself apart from the inside out.

“Erika and Jett will go with you. And Amisi, of course. Accommodation will be found in neutral premises and neither vampyre will leave your side. This is the best I can offer.”

I stood up slowly and walked toward him, taking both his hands in mine. I could almost see the knife slicing through his skin and piercing his heart, this was causing him such physical pain. Despite a claiming which he could barely refuse, he was allowing me to do my job. The vampires attending didn't faze me, I would have wanted them there myself, not only because of moral support - Erika is my rock - but because facing off against the humans in large numbers was going to require a show of force. I didn't for a moment think we could negotiate any longer, Gregor had seen to that with his high body counts. I needed a couple of warriors at my side to send the message home, if it was going to work at all.

But, what I could do for Michel was to show him how much I appreciated what he was doing and how much he meant to me. Even if
he
couldn't see past this weekend, I knew I could. I knew without a doubt that I would come back to him, so I did the only thing I could think of that would show him how I felt. I led him up the stairs to our bedroom and gave him every inch of my soul that I could spare.

I lavished him with love and attention and care and I never took anything in return. It was all for him. It was the least, the only, thing I could do. I pleasured him until he could stand it no more and I could fight him no more. And then I let him claim me one more time before the sun rose and he whispered in my ear as I drifted off to sleep, “I will leave now,
ma douce
, because I cannot bear to watch you walk away.
Je t'aime, ma belle. Je t'aime.
”

I didn't answer, he heard my thoughts and besides, it's just words anyway.