The Pixie Prince (6 page)

Max went still with shock. To die of starvation was horrific. It was the most appalling death he could imagine. But it also made him wonder how the hell Alexa had known that she wasn’t dying when she lost her mate.

“I don’t think Alexa was the one that discovered it, Max.”

He jerked a little, still not used to the fact that Bliss could read his thoughts. In fact, he still hadn’t tried to read hers to make sure the communication was a two way street. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Bliss shrugged a little, her slender shoulders moving restlessly. “I think she fell into a coma. That’s what happened to my brother. At first, no one knew why he had. Then my brother Lucien realized that Olivier’s mate must have died,” she explained in a low voice. “Elena was away at the time. She’d gone to Spain to see relatives. Lucien was frantic and asked the doctor to try to feed Olivier intravenously with blood donated by the two of us. At first, Olivier’s body rejected the blood, and he slipped further into a coma. A couple of days later, the doctors gave up on him. Elena had been confirmed dead, and my brother was wasting away. But Lucien made them try one last time…”

“And that time the transfusion worked?” Max asked, tentatively trying to touch the memories in her head. When they came roaring at him full speed, he knew without a doubt that she was his mate.

However, feeling her pain, the anguish she and Lucien had been through when Olivier’s mate had died, had him gathering her close to his chest. He hugged her tightly, kissing her smooth forehead. Her brother’s ordeal had certainly scarred the entire family. Even though Olivier survived, all three siblings were marked by the dark sense of being some kind of aberration.

“Yes. Our blood saved Olivier, although no one knows why it did.” She pulled back a little and looked into his eyes. Max rubbed her back soothingly. “Someone had to have fed Alexa while she was in a coma. Someone tried to save her and did.”

Max tried to remember what Alexa had told him about losing her mate. “I don’t know, Bliss. All she ever told me was that he burned to death in a car crash at a racetrack in Germany. She never told me how she survived it.”

They were silent for long minutes pondering the puzzle that was Alexa’s survival, then Bliss said, “Don’t you think it’s weird that her mate died doing what my brother does?”

“Racing cars?” Max’s brows rose. “Yeah. It does seem to be an odd coincidence.”

Bliss let out a frustrated sigh. “There’s something odd about them. I can’t put my finger on it, but there are too many coincidences. I’ll have to think about it for awhile,” she muttered.

Max smiled. “You love puzzles, don’t you?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “So what? A good logic puzzle stretches your brain.”

Max got up and reached down to scoop her up into his arms. He headed for the bathroom saying, “You’re already way smarter than me, sweets.”

“You think so?” she laughed, curving her arms around his neck and nuzzling his throat. “Then why isn’t it that I haven’t bitten you yet, when I’m dying to taste you?”

Max set her on her feet in the tiled bathroom, his hands stroking over her silken skin. “Because we only just met.” He tilted her head up, looking deep into her blue eyes. “Because you taking bonding seriously after what happened to your brother.” He paused, then decided to put everything on the line with her. “Look, Bliss. I know you’re my mate. As far as I’m concerned, you can bite me any time you like. I’m not squeamish. But I know that the bonding ritual is a very deep, important thing to your race. When you decide that the time is right, you just say the word, and my veins are yours.”

To his amazement, tears filled her eyes. Her arms came around him and she hugged him tightly. “You don’t know what you have just given me, Max,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his bare chest. “To find you, and to have you instinctively understand so much about me… You just don’t know what that means to me.”

Max felt an ache in his chest as emotions swirled within him. He gathered her close, cradling her protectively in his arms. “I will do whatever it takes to make my mate happy,” he told her. “I’ve waited a long time to find you.”

“I know,” she said, her voice muffled in his bare chest. “I’ve waited a long time to find you too. I think we just need some time to get to know each other. Is that unreasonable?”

Max shook his head, his long blonde hair spilling over his shoulders. “No, it’s not. If it’s okay with you, I’ll stay here with you until my new mattress comes. Then, you can come home with me for awhile. It will give us a chance to see how we each live.”

“Deal,” she murmured.

“Good. Now, let’s shower and get some sleep. How can I be pretty for the cameras if you keep wearing me out sexually and don’t let me get any sleep on that fantastic mattress?” he joked. “Of course, you’ll have to be the one who only has one pillow, since you so rudely ate one.”

“Ate one!” Bliss stepped back out of his arms and smacked him on the chest.

Max winced at the slap. “Yeah, ate one. I distinctly recall seeing you spitting out the stuffing,” he teased.

“Oh, you!” she growled, flashing her fangs at him. He laughed, reaching around her to turn on the shower.

“Shower, then sleep,” he ordered.

Bliss stepped into the tiled stall and squirted shower gel on into her palm. “Sex, shower, then sleep,” she said, pulling him into the stall and grasping his half erect cock with her soapy hand.

Max groaned. Her touch had his cock rising to its full length in a matter of moments. “Okay,” he agreed, and reached for her.

Chapter Six

The mattress turned out to be backordered, so for three weeks Max and Bliss played house in her loft above Carpe Noctem. Max got a taste of Bliss’ life as the owner of a popular nightclub. And then he met both of her brothers, which was a real eye-opener.

Lucien, the oldest and head of the family, couldn’t have been more accepting of Max as Bliss’ mate. Olivier was every bit as dark and brooding as Max had thought he would be. When Bliss announced that Max was her bloodmate, Olivier’s jaw tightened, and his electric blue eyes darkened to midnight, but he didn’t say a single word. Both Lucien and Bliss ignored his reaction, so Max did too. Still, Max couldn’t stop himself from observing the man who had gone through the same phenomenon that Alexa had. While Alexa found ways to continue enjoying life to some degree, Olivier had not.

As for Alexa, she refused to come to the club to see Max. That worried him. Because of her refusal to come by the club, Max still hadn’t told her that Bliss was his mate. Alexa just thought Max was fucking Bliss. He didn’t know how to tell her the truth because he didn’t know how she would take it. While she would never begrudge him his mate, Max knew his news would scare her. Alexa had no one but him and he feared her reaction if she thought she would lose him. Which was why he found himself alone at Butcher’s Block one afternoon, trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

“You know, not telling her is the worst thing you could do,” Marty advised as he set another martini in front of Max.

Max fiddled with the olive. “That’s what Bliss says,” he muttered, his voice filled with dread.

“Well, Bliss is a smart woman. You should listen to her.” Marty put his hands on his hips. “It’s not that big a deal, Max. You’re making too much of this. Alexa is not Olivier Wilde. She’s not some gloom and doom wraith with a death wish!”

Max quirked an eyebrow. “Is that what’s wrong with him? He has a death wish?”

Marty nodded. “He’s always in the tabloids for some outrageous, death-defying act. It’s all bullshit. The man wants to die, but doesn’t have the balls to just do it. So he pushes the limits testing race cars or climbing down into volcanoes that are about to erupt.” The waiter snorted in disgust. “The most daring thing Alexa does is short trade.”

Max couldn’t argue with Marty on that front. Alexa could be pretty conservative, and she definitely didn’t have a death wish. Maybe Marty was right and he should tell her about Bliss.

“Okay. Maybe you’re right,” he conceded. “Still, you can’t tell me this is not going to affect her emotionally.”

Marty nodded. “Oh, it will, but did you ever stop to think that maybe it will affect her in a good way? Alexa needs a life of her own. Hanging out with you is no way to spend the rest of her life.”

“Hey!” Max glared at the waiter with an injured expression. “Bliss is gonna be hanging out with me for the rest of her life.”

“Are you kidding me?” Marty shook his head and laughed. “You’re gonna be hanging out with
her
. Big difference there, ass model.”

“Oh, ha ha. Very funny play on the semantics there, buddy. It’s still the same thing.”

“Look, Max. You don’t really have any issues. Neither does Bliss. The biggest issues the two of you have are her brother and Alexa and a mattress that hasn’t shown up yet. Am I right?” Marty asked pointedly.

Max pondered his words for a moment. “Yeah. You’re pretty much right.”

“Well, then deal with Alexa. Tell her the truth. If you don’t tell her, she’s gonna be more hurt because she’ll think you thought she was too weak to handle the news. As for Olivier, maybe Bliss needs to not worry about him so much. Maybe the fact that Bliss and Lucien worry about him all the time has Olivier thinking he’s a lost cause, when really, he’s not. And call the mattress company and throw your celebrity weight around. I bet the mattress shows up tomorrow.” Marty gave an emphatic nod.

After Marty left, Max began to realize just how right the waiter was. Max and Bliss had held off on bonding because both of them had let what happened to Alexa and Olivier get to them. Of course, now that Max knew the truth about vampire bonding, the consequences of the ritual scared the fuck out of him. If something happened to him, he didn’t want Bliss dying. She, of course, scoffed at his worry. They were immortals. Immortals didn’t die that often. Usually, if they were fae, they opted to go to the Afterworld on their own, the way Max’s father had. Vampires could bring about their deaths in several physical ways, like burning or decapitation. They didn’t have the option of going to the Afterworld of their own volition until after they reached the half-millennium mark.

Thinking of his father made Max remember the mattress. Now that was one thing Marty had been spot on about.

He pulled out his cell phone and called the mattress company, putting on his best upset celebrity act. Ten minutes later, the company’s president had personally promised that Max would have a new mattress in the morning.

Left with his martini and thoughts of Alexa and Olivier, Max decided that a little chat with Bliss about her brother wouldn’t be amiss. As for Alexa, one more martini and he would head over to her penthouse and tell her the truth. He waved at Marty to bring him another drink. If he was gonna beard the vampiress in her den, he needed liquid courage.

By the time Max stepped out of the cab at Alexa’s building, he was sober again. Talking to his best friend about his love life had never been difficult before, but now it wasn’t just a conversation about sex. He had to talk to her about stuff that would remind her of her past. He didn’t want to cause Alexa any pain. The thought that he might ate at him like acid.

She answered the door dressed in faded button fly jeans and a tiny cropped t-shirt that showed off her magnificent chest. Max had seen her dressed that way a thousand times before, but this time he noticed that her shirt was sky blue. She didn’t dress all in black like Olivier. He stalked into her living room, noting that the blinds were open even though it was broad daylight. The wide glass panel of the slider was specially tinted though, so no sun reached Alexa’s skin. He would have bet that Bliss’ brother never opened the blinds.

Max flopped down on his favorite chair and put his feet on the coffee table. Alexa sat on the sofa across from him. “Does Bliss let you do that?” she joked.

“Umn, no. But she likes her coffee table. You don’t like yours,” he pointed out.

Alexa chuckled, the sound rich and full of amusement. “I can’t get one I like. Putting your feet up on my coffee table is such a habit that you’d forget and put them on the new table.”

When Max didn’t reply right away, she eyed him thoughtfully. Before he could open his mouth to explain things, she said, “Three weeks is a long time for you to hang out with a woman, Maximilian, my friend. Do you want to tell me something?”

Max squirmed in his seat. Alexa was smart. Smarter than him by a longshot. He should have known better than to leave things so long.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” he sighed, running a restless hand through his hair. “Bliss is my mate.”

No sooner than the stark words left his mouth than he wished he could take them back, because Alexa’s face became impassive.

“I figured as much,” she said coolly. “You’ve been really into her. I’ve never seen you this way about a woman before.”

“Holy hell, I’ve never felt this way before. It’s amazing and fucking scary as shit,” he muttered, eyeing her carefully, watching for some sign that his admission hurt her.

She sat motionless on the sofa, her big violet eyes watching him intently. “Did you bond with her yet?”

Max shook his head. Why the hell did she have to be so calm? It freaked him the fuck out.

“Why not?”

He stared at her, aghast. He couldn’t believe she would ask him such a question. He leaned forward, his elbows on his jean clad knees. “Alexa, how can you ask me that after what happened to you?” he said urgently. “After what happened to Bliss’ brother?”

A fleeting expression of abhorrence crossed her piquant face. “Do not compare me to that idiot with a death wish,” she replied, her voice stony with dislike. “Everyone knows he’s trying to kill himself, the asshole. He has a family, people who care about him, yet he pulls that bullshit. He’s a moron. If I had siblings who loved me, I would be grateful for what the gods had given me. I was fucking left alone, and I’m not trying to die. He has so much more than I do, yet he’s a stupid ass about life.”

Alexa’s opinion of Olivier Wilde made Max’s brows shoot up to his hairline. Until that day at Butcher’s Block when Marty had mentioned it, he and Alexa hadn’t even known who Olivier Wilde was. Now, Alexa apparently knew all about Bliss’ brother. It seemed that Marty was a lot smarter than Max gave him credit for.

“If something happens to me, I don’t want Bliss to die,” he told Alexa.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t be an ass, Maxie,” she said scornfully. “While it’s true that Acerbians who lose their mates face a horrific death by starvation, it’s not always as bad as you think. In every case but mine and that asshole’s, when a vampire’s mate dies, the vampire
accepts
starvation because it allows them to join their mates in the Afterworld. If something happened to you, I’m sure Bliss would rather go to the Afterworld with you rather than be left behind.”

Max stared at Alexa. How was it that Alexa and Olivier hadn’t been given the option to go to the Afterlife with their bloodmates? Olivier had fallen into a coma. Bliss thought that Alexa must have done the same. Perhaps the fact that they’d been conscious had kept them from following their spouses into the other realm. By the time they woke up, no longer starving, it was too late.

Alexa’s cool words cut into his reverie. “Just fucking bond with her already, Max. She’s gotta be dying to bite you.”

Max sat back in his chair, stunned. “Alexa, I…”

His best friend let out a deep sigh and the impassive expression on her face melted away. Max saw the pain in the depths of her huge violet eyes.

“Max, you gotta live. That is what life is all about. Just because I lost my mate is no reason for you to deprive yourself and Bliss of the happiness that is waiting for you. Just let her bite you.” She rubbed the side of her face wearily. “I always knew that one day, you would meet your mate. I knew I would lose some of your time and attention when that happened. But I never once wanted you to be mateless or unhappy just so you could be there for me, to help me keep the darkness away.” Her eyes grew shiny with unshed tears, and Max felt her pain as if it was his own. “I want you to be happy, Maxie. I wouldn’t wish my life on anyone, especially you, ’cause I love you. Please, go home and bond with her.”

Nothing had gone as Max had thought it would. Alexa had always been logical, and he had never been able to argue with her. He couldn’t find fault with her logic this time either. He got up and pulled her off the sofa and into his arms. She was the best friend he had ever had. For some ridiculous reason, deep down inside him, he’d been afraid to tell her about Bliss, afraid he would lose her friendship. Yet, here she was, handing him Bliss on a platter.

“Alexa, you know I love you,” he mumbled into her dark hair.

She choked out a laugh. “Yeah, I know you do, Max. Now go home and tell Bliss that you love her ’cause I’ll just bet you haven’t said the words yet.”

She pushed him away, and Max could see that one tear had spilled over and streaked down her face. He reached out and wiped her wet cheek with his thumb. “You’re the best friend I ever had,” he whispered hoarsely.

“Ditto,” she replied with a smile.