Sarim's Scent (11 page)

“No” she screamed, uncaring about the concerned looks from several hotel patrons who were entering the building. “Why don’t you just go to Hell? I don’t want anything from you.” She knew she was sounding like a raving lunatic but she couldn’t stop herself. The emotional anger bottled inside was trying to find a release.

Khafil stepped back, not wanting to draw the continued attention of the humans. He would allow her to check-in alone. He would come back later.

Relieved at Khafil’s departure, Victoria entered the hotel lobby and checked in. Using her almost-maxed-out credit card, she paid for a two night’s stay. After receiving her key and ignoring the concerned look of the desk clerk, she knew she looked a mess, she got on the elevator and went to her room on the fifth floor. She didn’t turn the on light as she walked into the cool, dark room. Locking the door, she dropped her bag and laid her weary body on the bed. As soon as her head touched the pillow, hot tears streamed from her eyes. Sobbing uncontrollably, she let the pain out. Eventually her sobs became snuffles and she quietly fell into an exhausted sleep. Her final thought being that she was once again truly alone in a cruel world.

She didn’t hear the door quietly open later. Or see Khafil, who had waited in his car across the street at the gas station for her to go to sleep, enter the room. He stood over her and watched her even breathing as she slept. He tasted her pain and misery in the hotel room. It cut him deeply because he knew it was his fault his mate had cried herself to sleep, believing she had absolutely no one she could trust or turn to. Bending over her, he gently wiped the tears off her cheeks and swiftly removed her shoes, pants, and jacket. He ignored the spark of desire that flared instantly at seeing her smooth, supple legs. He placed her under the bed’s cover and kissed her forehand gently.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her sleeping form. Sitting in the recliner by her bed, he watched his mate sleep.

Victoria woke up feeling extremely nauseated. She sat up and felt the room spin. She grabbed her head and waited for it to stop swirling. After a few moments, she sat up and walked slowly to the bathroom. Her stomach wobbled as she lifted the toilet seat up. She wretched for what seemed like forever before being able to stand up without feeling her world tilt. Holding her sore stomach, she sat down on the bed. She looked at the bedside clock. 6:45 a.m. Nausea had wakened her from a heavy, dreamless sleep. She only knew of one condition causing extreme vomiting like she’d just experienced first thing in the morning. What in the world was she going to do now?

She felt surprisingly better and energized since she threw up. However she sensed an underlying current of anxiety and edginess, like she was waiting for something. She refused to acknowledge what the “something” may be. The woozy feeling was gone and she was able to think clearly again. She stared at the bed. She had slept under the covers and looking down at herself, she realized she only had on her shirt and underwear. She didn’t remember getting under the covers last night or taking off her clothes. When she’d entered the hotel room last night, she remembered collapsing on the bed and crying herself to sleep. She could have sworn she heard Khafil’s voice saying he was sorry. Sure he was. He was sorry his lies were exposed. When had he planned telling her the truth about who he was? If ever.

“You’re my mate.”

Mate. What did that mean? The word conjured images of two people fated to be together. People who loved, trusted, and respected each other. Mates did not con or hurt each other. Maybe his definition of mate was different from the one she had. Because in her eyes a mate would never have treated her like he did. She didn’t even know his real name until yesterday. She had fallen in love, shared confidences, and befriended a person who didn’t exist. How could she ever trust him again? Did she even want to?

Victoria placed a protective hand over her stomach. What if there was a life growing inside her? The father wasn’t even a person. He was a member of an African vampire tribe who masqueraded as her father’s-what did he call it?-protector. For that matter, she wasn’t even fully human herself, which explained a lot.

Getting on her feet, Victoria walked to the wall-sized window. She needed to clear her head. After tomorrow she wouldn’t be able to afford staying in anything this nice. It was semi-cloudy outside and still chilly, judging from the jackets and scarves people were wearing as they scurried across the street. Everyone going on with their life, heading to work, or to school. They probably all had a plan-unlike her.

Someone knocked on the door. Her heart skipped a beat and she jumped. Turning from the window, she stared at the door, unable to move. She didn’t order room service so she had a pretty good idea of who was waiting on the other side. A small thrill of pleasure shot through her at the thought of Khafil waiting for entry.
Idiot
. Why should she even care if the liar was outside her door? The knock came again. Her blood ran cold. What if it wasn’t Khafil? An image of Sarim’s cold furious face flared in her mind. She quickly put on the pants she’d worn yesterday. Walking slowly to the door, she looked through the peephole and a sense of peace rushed from her head to the ends of her toes. Khafil.

Khafil patiently waited on the outside of Victoria’s room door instead of materializing inside of it like he had last night. He had stayed until right before dawn watching her sleep, then leaving only because of his need to feed and rest, at least for a few hours. He smiled as he sensed the pleasure that ran through her when she thought it was him. The smile quickly left his face when he heard her call herself an idiot for feeling anything at his arrival. He tried to ignore the stab of pain he felt in his heart. There would be time to win back her affection and trust. Right now he was here on business. He needed to get her to the Imvura quarters. His father wanted to meet her, and she needed to be within his reach, safe from Sarim’s clutches.

Taking a step back, he watched as the door opened. Judging by the look on her face he had his work cut out for him.

He entered, feeling Victoria’s sudden rush of emotion. He, too, felt the electricity crackling between them as she closed the door and sat down on the leather recliner, watching him as he looked around the room before sitting down opposite her in the matching love seat.

“What did you mean when you said I was your mate last night?” Victoria asked, her voice trembling. “Try to tell me the truth this time.”

How could he explain all that went into being someone’s mate? He closed his eyes for a brief second, opened them, then reached out with his mind to convey an image of the first time they legitimately made love. He projected the image into her mind along with the pleasurable sexual sensations he’d felt. He forced himself to remain focused when his manhood began to swell and his incisors started extending. He visualized her in the throes of passion, surrounded by the mate’s glow. Victoria gasped and sat up straight in the recliner as the sexual heat he’d sent her filled her body. He knew when her underwear became damp as he sent more images of the two of them making love in his bedroom. She gave a faint cry and opened her legs.

Sweat graced his brow at the memory of his slipping a finger inside of her.

“You. You’re doing this to me.” Cheeks flushed and eyes glaring, she closed her legs and sat up. “Bastard.”

Khafil opened his eyes. “You asked me a question. I merely answered it.” He shifted, hoping to ease the pain of his erection pressing against his pants. “You could have just answered me. You didn’t have to do . . . that.” Her chest rose and fell rapidly, proving she’d been as aroused as he.

“How could I explain something so intense with mere words? As mates, we have a unique connection. We can experience what the other is thinking and sense each other’s emotions. What you experienced was one example.”

“How do I know it’s not some vampire trick you’re using against me?” Victoria asked, her nipples erect against her blouse, her cheeks flushed with anger.

“No Taalib Duma connects with another on a pleasurable level unless they are mates,” he responded. He sent her another image of her body surrounded by a glowing light during their lovemaking session.

“Why am I surrounded by that strange glow?” she asked.

“The mate glow only reveals itself when two Taalib Dumas are having
issanvi
.”

“
Issanvi
?”

“Sex.”

“So we have great sex because of this ‘mate’ thing.”

A burst of anger shot through him when she used her fingers to show quotes around the word mate. “That’s an interesting perk, but in the human world, people have great sex all the time. You don’t have to be mates.”

A muscle clenched in his jaw. Again with the fingers. Dammit. She was his mate in every sense of the word.

Then he noted her dilated eyes and the way she avoided looking directly at him. She was lying. She knew the issanvi had been mind-blowing.

“There’s also some other connections,” he went on. “We have a mental connection.” He saw the disbelief in her eyes. “I’m not saying we can read each other’s minds,”—at least not yet—“but we can sense what the other is feeling.”

“How?”

“Well,” he paused, trying to determine if he should reveal another incident she might consider as invading or controlling. He had nothing to lose at this point. She already didn’t trust him, so what the hell? “Before you opened the door, you felt happy because you thought it was me knocking. You got worried about something. Then you opened the door and when you saw me standing there, you felt pleasure.” He stopped at her stunned expression, then continued. “You were also feeling a little anxious, but that also eased when you saw me.”

Victoria stared at him, her mouth slightly ajar. “How did you know that?” She stood and walked to the picture window and stared out.

“There’s no need to feel embarrassed, I’m not here to ...”

Her shoulders flinched.

Damn, he wasn’t here to hurt her and he wasn’t doing a great job of explaining the “mate thing” as she had put it.

“How come I can’t feel you?” she asked, her back still to him.

“You can. You probably feel things when I’m around but you don’t realize they’re my emotions.”

“Okay.” She turned around to face him, still standing in front of the window. “How do I pick up on your emotions?” she asked.

Yes, this was the way to get through to her. “Close your eyes and relax.”

After she did as he asked, he said, “Good,” his voice a husky whisper. “Now I want you to visualize my face and let your mind go blank.” His voice had become softer, huskier, seductive.

“Blank,” he reminded her. When her face relaxed, he said, “Now don’t think. Just feel ... just feel ... me.”

Her breath started coming in quick pants. “Oh man, I feel it,” she said.

“What are you feeling?” he asked.

“Umm, I feel concern, nervousness, and now I feel ...”

“Thirsty.” Khafil filled in the blank for her. “Or what you would consider hunger.”

“Oh. How are you hungry?” she asked.

“Not hungry in the way you’re thinking. My body treats blood as food. The hemoglobin in blood provides all the nutrients I need. I fed last night, but since we have become mates, my appetite has doubled and I need to feed the traditional way daily and eat human food everyday or every other day.”

“Why?” The expression on her face told him she was a little grossed out.

“I’m eating for two now,” he said simply.

She shook her head. “What?”

He grimaced, not knowing if she was ready to hear this. “When I feed now, I give your body sustenance as well.”

Two slashes of color lined her pale cheeks. “How? I don’t drink blood or anything.”

“I know, but when I feed, you get energy from me as well. It’s automatically sent to you metaphysically. When you receive my energy, you feel like you took an extra strong vitamin.”

She frowned and bit her lower lip. “I remember when I was at the library. I was feeling exhausted when suddenly a strange burst of energy went through me.” She scrunched up her face. “That was you?” He nodded. “You need extra power because of the high amount of energy your body uses when we mentally connect.” He continued. “When we become truly mated, we will be able to truly connect to each other on a mental level.”

“You act like I’m going to just fall in line with anything you say.”

“I want you to be my mate, Victoria.” He let his mind relax and sent the truth of his statement to her.

Her shoulders relaxed.

“Why don’t we have this true mate connection?” How had she guessed they hadn’t yet achieved that status? Could it be she was reading him now? If so, she was further along than he could have hoped. “We don’t have a true connection because we have not performed the mating ritual,” he said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? Then what have we been doing the past several weeks?”

“There are two parts to the mating ritual. What we’ve done is part one.” He spoke slowly, cursing his lower body for reacting to his mention of their lovemaking.

He met her gaze. “For the mating to be complete, blood has to be exchanged between the mates.”

She gave him a disgusted look.

“In a sense, the mated pair would have the essence of each other inside of them.” He paused, then continued. If they were going to make it, she had to know everything. “Your blood would also give me my soul back.”

“Whoa,” she said, holding her palms out toward him. “That’s really intense. I can see why Taalib Dumas find this whole mate thing so important.”

“It is,” he agreed. “That’s why when we find mates, all of our Brothers get to see the importance and intensity of it.”

“How?”

“The mating ritual and the blood exchange are done in front of the Brotherhood. We see firsthand how intense the bond is between mates.”

“So everyone is watching while you drink blood from each other?”

“Yes.”

She seemed to consider that a moment, then said, “That doesn’t seem too bad.”

“They are also watching while we are making love.” He took a deep breath and braced himself for her response.

“Excuse me?” Her brows raised, and she titled her head to the side. “What type of people, no, not people,” she corrected, “Would stand and watch two people have sex? Sounds like a porn show to me.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Please tell me how it is then.”

“The two mates are in a bed together and only the oldest members of the brotherhood would be there.”

“Oh well, that’s just great! An exclusive porn show.”

He ignored her comments. “They surround the bed in a circle. The mates bite each other ...”

“And then go at it like animals?” Victoria interjected.

“No,” he paused. “You have to understand, once you bite each other you become extremely aroused. It is an intense moment. Making love will seem natural and you wouldn’t notice the others.”

“You’ve watched?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes, but it’s not like porn,” he said, his voice becoming tighter. She was poking fun at something his people considered sacred. “You can feel the powerful emotions of the mates. You also see their mate’s glow. This ritual is used as confirmation a Taalib Duma has found his true mate.”

“So if we do this real mate thing,” she said, clearing her throat. “What will it change? We can already sense each other’s emotions and have great sex. What else could there be?”

How much should he tell her? If he revealed the true depth of the connection, she’d know the leverage she’d have over him.