PS01 - Tall, Dark & Lonely (38 page)

practically choking. Tears burned in her eyes as his mouth pulled harder on her neck. Still the blood didn’t stop. She was

forced to swallow or choke.

He had to force himself to slow down. Her blood was so delicious it sent his body into overdrive. It wanted more, demanded

more and he had to force himself to relax. If he drank too fast he would drain her and the baby. He needed to do it slowly until

he tasted his blood mixed with hers and then she would forever be safe from even him.

Madison felt Ephraim’s teeth pull away long before his wrist left her mouth. He licked his lips and looked oddly relieved. “It’s

okay, baby, just a little more.”

She tried to tell him to go fuck himself, but his wrist made that impossible so instead she settled for loud incoherent mumbles.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby, you can yell at me later.”

More mumbling.

“If it makes you feel better you’ll be able to kick my ass up and down the street after this.”

Oddly enough that did make her feel better. He had a good ass kicking coming for his high-handed behavior. He chuckled

lightly. “From the look on your face I’m guessing the idea pleases you.” He pulled his wrist away and quickly replaced it with

his mouth.

She could taste her own blood on his tongue. It made her stomach roll over. She pushed him away. “Why?” she demanded

hazily. God she felt so tired, didn’t she just sleep? She looked past him at the clock. Yes she had, for a good four hours it

seemed so why was she suddenly tired now?

Strong arms picked her up. She opened her eyes. When did she close them? “Shh, baby, you’re going to sleep for a while now.

When you wake up everything will be different. You’ll be safe. That’s all that matters.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I’m so going to kick your ass, Ephraim,” she mumbled.

He sighed unhappily, “I know.”

******

“Yes, Eleanor?” He paused at the foot of the stairs.

Eleanor wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. “It’s been three days, Ephraim. I think we should bring her to the hospital.”

“I’ll ask her the next time she wakes up,” he lied.

“It’s funny, I’ve been up there several times over the past couple of days and I always seem to come in right after she’s fallen

back to sleep.”

“I think this fever is really taking it out of her.”

Her brows pulled together. “If she’s so sick then perhaps having Chris in there isn’t the best idea. He could end up sick, too.”

“He’s just worried about her. He’s hanging out in the office anyway so he’ll be fine.” There was no need to tell her that Chris

was feeding Madison blood every hour on the hour through a tube to help with the transformation or that as a Sentinel he had

natural strength to deal with her if she should wake while Ephraim was out trying to hunt Caroline. So far no luck. He only

knew she was still in the area.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him one of her stern looks. It was the only thing that tipped him off to the real

matter at hand. “About that, when exactly are you planning on making an honest woman out of my granddaughter? I’m not too

happy that the two of you are sharing a bed. At least when you still had a room I could live in denial, but now you’ve forced my

hand.”

“Would it make you feel better to know that I decided to ask Madison to marry me four months ago and the only thing that

stopped me from asking was her irrational fear that your daughter Emma created?”

Eleanor wiped her brow. “I was afraid it was something like that.”

“I love her very much and already have a ring ready. The moment she says yes I plan on dragging her to the JP before she can

change her mind,” he promised.

“No, that would never do,” she said sternly.

He never counted on her disapproving of a quick wedding. “I have a friend who’s a JP. You’ll drag him here and I’ll set up a

quick wedding with the help of the kids. She’s less likely to make a run for it if I’m guarding the door.”

He chuckled. “Probably.”

She nodded. “Okay, then you best get upstairs before your friend gets sick.”

“Friend?”

“Yes, the young man who helped you into the house earlier this week after your car accident.” That was how Madison

explained his injuries when Eleanor stumbled upon them at four in the morning.

“Good. I need to talk to him. Thanks, Eleanor.”

“Tell Chris he better get his little buns down here in one hour to set the table or there will be no dessert.”

“I will.” He was already up the stairs and heading towards their room. One thing he didn’t need was a Sentinel involved in

this. The council knew and was turning a blind eye in his case.

They did not approve of changes. He swore up and down months ago that he would not change anyone else. He only had one

person to change into a Pyte. After that his blood would not be as potent and anyone he changed after that would end up being

just a slightly stronger vampire. An army of stronger vampires was a real nightmare for the council.

Now that he was expecting a baby they were ecstatic. They wanted to bring the mother-to-be into their ranks so they could get

their influence on the baby early on. As it turned out this would be the fourth infant Pyte they brought into their ranks. There

were three boys in Ireland who were already under their protection.

Their parents were Sentinels. Out of a freak accident with a vampire attack the female Sentinel who was pregnant at the time

was turned into a Pyte. It never happened before in the history of vampires. A Sentinel always died from the attempted change,

but the fetuses inside her womb somehow filtered her blood and turned her.

That’s how he learned how to change Madison. The female years later turned her mate when he was dying. She wasn’t sure at

the time of how to do it, but she took a chance. It was the same as a normal vampire change with the exception that it lasted

longer and they had to feed from each other at the same time. The key was tasting his blood in hers.

“Hold her down!” he heard Eric yell from the hallway.

“Are you crazy? You hold her down!” Chris yelled back.

“Shit,” Ephraim muttered as he ran into the room, throwing the door open.

Chapter 25

“I’m going to kill him!” Madison screamed in his direction. She was standing by their bureau holding a lamp in her hand. Her

eyes were glowing red and a set of long white fangs hung in her mouth. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.

“Stop throwing things!” Eric snapped. That got Ephraim’s attention. He looked around the room and noticed there was broken

glass on the floor along with picture frames, books, CD’s, movies and his clothes. She was tearing his clothes out of the

drawers.

Never a good sign.

The vase went flying in his direction. His hand shot out and caught it easily. He placed it on a table and stepped forward. Eric

and Chris were each hovering in front of a door. Chris blocked her exit through the bathroom and Eric was behind him in front

of the door he just passed through. They were probably hoping she wouldn’t realize she could just jump from the window and

not hurt herself, best not to tell her just yet.

“Look what you did to me!” she screamed.

“What? I think you look good. A mix between a vampire and a really hot model,” Chris said.

She growled in his direction. Damn it, she was turning him on and now was not the time. He had to force Ephraim Jr. to stand

down.

Her face turned swiftly in his direction with eyes narrowed. “Are you kidding me? This is turning you on?” She gestured with

disgust to her face.

Eric chuckled behind him. He forgot she would be able to smell every hormonal change in his body.

“I did just tell you that you look hot,” Chris said offhandedly.

She screamed in frustration.

“So not helping, Chris,” Eric said.

“Did he tell you what he did to me? Do you see this? That bastard did this! Look!”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Yes, we’ve already established that he did this to you. No need to keep pointing out the obvious.”

She grabbed a handful of Ephraim’s boxers and threw it at Chris who ducked out of the way.

“Damn it, Madison!” Chris said as he tugged a pair of Mickey Mouse boxers off his head.

“Baby, I know you’re upset. I don’t blame you. Can we just sit down and talk about this?” Ephraim stepped towards her, trying

to get her to calm down.

The rest of his boxers flew in his direction.

“Talk? Now you want to talk about this? Why didn’t you do that before you forced this on me? I hate you! I hate you!”

“I told you she’d be pissed,” Chris pointed out.

“How very perceptive of you,” Ephraim said dryly.

“Well, I did.”

Madison turned on Chris so suddenly that she had the boy stumbling back against the wall just from her glare. “You knew he

was going to do this to me? You did nothing to stop him?”

“No, of course not!” He frowned. “Well, I just assumed he would change you at some point, but I swear he didn’t tell me or I

would have talked to you, I swear. Madison, you know how much I care about you. He told me afterwards when he asked me to

help take care of you and feed you blood while he went after-“

“You fed me blood?”
she shrieked.

“Er, yes?” Chris licked his lips nervously.

“Oh my god, this just keeps getting worse and worse!”

“That’s what you eat now. I assumed you knew that,” Chris said.

She threw socks at the boy.

“Chris, perhaps now isn’t the time to help,” Ephraim said.

“Well, I don’t know why she’s mad at me! You’re the one who did this to her!” he snapped.

“I hate you, Ephraim!” she screamed.

“Yeah, I got that.” He sat on the edge of the bed and dropped his head into his hands.

“You should have asked me!”

“Why didn’t you ask her? I mean I knew you had to change her, but I think it would have gone easier for everyone concerned if

you’d asked,” Eric pointed out.

“I panicked. I wasn’t thinking straight when I did it. I was so scared…I…I…just couldn’t think past making sure she and the

baby were okay.”

“Whoa, what do you mean you knew he had to change me? Why did you assume that?”

Eric ran a hand over his hair and sat down in the chair by the door. “You’re pregnant with his child.”

“So?”

“So, if it’s a Pyte in your womb, which I am guessing it is because he didn’t try dragging you off for an abortion, you no longer

have a choice. The baby is set in your womb and protected. You can’t have an abortion now.”

“I don’t want an abortion! This is my baby and I wouldn’t hurt it!”

“Ours,” Ephraim said evenly. “The baby isn’t going to be human. Are you going to reject it?” he asked with a casual tone when

inside he felt his heart twist with dread.

“Of course I’ll love my baby. I don’t care what it is.”

“You would have if it had turned out to be a natural vampire. Then you wouldn’t have a choice. I’d have a hundred Sentinels

here to hold you down while we took it out of you,” Eric said matter-of-factly.

Madison’s hand went to her stomach. “You’d take my baby? Ephraim wouldn’t let you.”

“Yes, I would. If it had been a monster I would have done it myself. A natural vampire doesn’t have the same protection a Pyte

has.” He looked up at her. “Don’t worry our son is a Pyte. They’ll leave him.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “The baby is a Pyte, everyone is happy so why did you do this to me?”

“Besides the fact that Caroline and every vampire she could get her hands on is currently organizing to attack you and take

you?”

She swallowed hard.

“You will never survive the birth. I had to change you to save you.”

“If you knew…” Her eyes darted to Chris and Eric as she blushed. “Why did you,
you know
," she stressed her meaning with

those two words, "if there was a chance of getting me pregnant?”

He folded his hands in front of him. “Because I love you and I wanted a reason to keep you forever.”

“No, you wanted a child. You used me.”

“Baby, if that’s what I wanted I wouldn’t have to change you. I would just wait for the birth and be done with you.”

“Wow, that’s putting it coldly,” Chris commented.

“But it’s the truth,” Ephraim said through gritted teeth.

“I want you out of here. I never want to see you again!”

He stood up and walked over to her. “Baby, just listen-”

She punched him, and not one of those girlie sloppy punches, but one that would make any professional boxer envious. Ephraim

shot across the room, slamming into the wall.

“Holy shit!” Chris yelped.

Ephraim struggled to stand up. He dropped back to the floor and spit a mouthful of blood out. “I guess I had that coming.”

“That and more I promise you if you don’t leave right now.” She folded her arms over her chest. She had to stop herself from

doing a little victory dance or running over to him to make sure he was okay. She still loved him so much, but what he did hurt

so badly. This was a betrayal, plain and simple.

“I’ll sleep in the office for now, but I’m not going anywhere.” Ephraim pulled himself to his feet with Eric’s help.

“Fine, then I’ll leave. I have more than enough money to rent an apartment.”

He shook his head trying to stop the ringing in his ears. “No, you’re staying here. You’re protected here.”

“I thought you did this to protect me. I knew you were full of shit!”

“They can’t kill you now, Madison, but they can still hurt you. You can defend yourself well now, but once that baby in your