The Vampyre Legal Chronicles - Daniel: Book: 3 (13 page)

Gia blinked.

Her vampyre wasn't fully emerged?

Keen to learn more, eyes locked on hers, she leaned into
Saira.

"How long might it take for my vampyre to emerge?"

A shrug.

"It might take days or weeks. We don't know. So far no
newborn has followed the same emergent path."

"There are more people like me?"

Saira's eyes slid to Daniel, then clicked back to hers.

"Yep. You're number three. Anais and Charlotte are one
and two and married to Marcus and James respectively."

Gia shook her head.

"I'm never, ever, going to marry again."

Saira's brow creased at the determined tone of the
statement, but she held her tongue.

"It's polite to wait until you're asked," said
Daniel with a savage little bite to his tone.

A tone that raised Gia's hackles.

"I don't want you to ask. I'm just making you aware that
the answer will be no."

"You have feelings for me," he said now.

"Right. We're off to leave you two love birds to
it," said Saira as she rose to leave. Then she turned to bean her with a
dark look. "By the way, I'm leaving Tomasino and Fredo to keep an eye on
you." She put up a hand when Gia went to tell her to go to hell. "No.
Don't thank me. It's merely a precaution in case something unexpected occurs."

"What could possibly go wrong?" Gia wanted to
know.

"Too many things, too numerous to mention." And with
that response Saira strolled out the door with two of the medics.

Tomasino and Fredo checked her eyes, her temperature, took
her pulse again and all the while she kept a wary eye on Daniel, who was
watching her like a hawk.

"Leave us," he said.

The vampyres left.

As soon as the door was closed, he moved to sit on the edge
of the bed and picked up her hand to survey the damage. His mouth went hard as
cool eyes rose to catch hers.

"You
do
have feelings for me," he repeated.

She did and they were all over the place.

"I fancy you like mad. So what? Doesn't mean
anything."

Silence.

His eyes bored into hers before he dropped her hand and
rose.

"I'll see you in the morning to take you through your
induction into our ways. I should have done it before and saved ourselves the
needless panic we had this evening." And with those words, he left.

"Gia dodged a bullet
tonight," his father said.

"I know it," Daniel replied.

"We need to get some sort of handle on newborn
behaviour. This is the third time we've nearly lost one due to ignorance and
sheer carelessness."

"I find it hard to think logically, clearly, around
her. My vampyre will not be denied. It's as if all common sense simply
disappears."

"Then you'd better find it and fast."

"She's a determined little minx. Her vampyre seems to
have brought out the worst in her."

"Nothing wrong with a spunky and sparky woman,"
his father said.

True.

At least life with Gia promised to be anything but dull.

"After what's happened to her in the past, she won't
marry me," Daniel muttered.

His father sipped his special claret, the one with added
vitamins, minerals and hemoglobin.

"She's been through a great deal, especially in the
past few months. Give her time to come around to the idea of having you as a
mate."

"What if she refuses to bond with me?"

"How many times has she fed from you?"

"Three."

"Better make it four, just to be sure."

"You still think I should remove her choice? Bond her
to me, irrespective of her feelings, until one of us enters The Fade?"

Duncan shrugged.

"No point in giving her a choice. She is already a
newborn vampyre. What's done is done and cannot be undone. Better to complete
the bond between you. Finish it."

Daniel wasn't sure he agreed.

However, neither did he want to argue with his father.

The man had enough to contend with.

He decided to change the subject.

"I haven't seen James or Charlotte yet. Did they arrive
this afternoon?"

Duncan smiled.

"They did. Charlotte's resting and James is keeping her
company."

"Is she well?"

"Aye, just a wee bit tired after the journey." He
grinned wickedly. "Your brother's clucking over her like a mother
hen."

"She deserves it," said Daniel, remembering how
his sister-in-law had so nearly lost her life in San Francisco.

***

"Are you sure you're not too tired
for this?" James asked Charlotte in a soft voice.

He curved his naked body around his wife's. His hand gently
resting on the flat belly that held their child. After everything she'd gone
through, the fact she was carrying his baby was nothing short of a miracle. His
love for her rose through his chest to close his throat. He buried his face in
her curls and inhaled the sweet smell as her bare bottom pressed against his
rock hard erection. They'd had a busy day overseeing the final packing from the
apartment in San Francisco. Moving to New York had not been an easy sell to his
wife. She was close to her elderly grandparents and her friends. But she
understood, that in dealing the forces lined up against them, there was safety
in numbers. And her safety was his number one priority. The Order had made it
clear they wanted her to
'investigate'
her magic, to ensure she was not
a danger to the vampyre nation.

James swore he would die before he let those savages ever
bring his wife to Dyunik Monastery.

"I can hear you worrying. Stop it, James. We'll be safe
here."

Her voice still didn't sound like his Charlotte and at times
like these, when they were close and intimate, guilt for everything he'd put
her through scorched his very soul. The memory of how she'd screamed until her
voice broke, how much she'd suffered, when she'd become vampyre, made him hold
her close. Her hand covered his. A move he understood meant she'd forgiven him,
everything.

Again he inhaled the fabulous scent of her hair, immersed
his senses in the pleasure of her skin against his skin. And he knew he didn't
deserve her. If he could have foreseen what she would go through to be with him
in his world, he'd never have touched her in the first place. Never.

She sighed. The sound tinged with little patience for his
introspection.

His mouth kicked.

"What is it, my love?"

"As long as I am with you I am happy. Look at the
beautiful rooms we have here. I love this bedroom. It's huge. And look at that
amazing floor mirror resting on the wall. It's enormous. Anais and Marcus have
worked hard to make us feel welcome, too. We're lucky to have so many people
around us who love us. Try to let go of what happened in the past and be
content with the present."

"Are you happy?" he said it very softly. "Are
you going to be happy with me for the tens of years to come?"

Outside a storm rose. Rain poured onto the balcony outside
their French doors. The sound was a soothing rhythm that beat through her
system in time to the thrumming of her heart. She loved him. Had always loved
him from the first moment she'd shone a light into those baby blues in her ER.
She felt his guilt and knew the innermost workings of his heart instinctively.

"
Tha gaol agam ort
," she whispered. I love
you. He kissed her cheek and whispered the same words in a deep voiced
response. She'd been practising the next one. "
An toir thu dhomh pog?
"
Will you give me a kiss?

His delighted laugh made her smile. It didn't take much to
delight her big Highland warrior. That's what he was, a Highland warrior,
through and through. A man with strict principles and values. A man who'd loved
her enough, had married her and then waited six months of terrible soul
searching, to bring her into his world. Maybe he should have told her his
secret right from the start. However, no one was perfect. It taken time, but
now she embraced vampyrism and her magic, too. She couldn't conceive of a life
without either in it. And she couldn't conceive of not having the joy of
carrying their miraculous child. Of course their lives still held challenges
she could never have imagined. Who could have anticipated a vampyre religious
sect that was so anti-magic, they'd made it their life goal to destroy all
magic in this world?

"That was so well done," said James, interrupting
her dark thoughts, "you deserve a kiss. Maybe even more than one."

With a gentleness that made her eyes swim, he turned her on
her back and caged her body with his. In the dim light of a single lamp lit in
a far corner of the room, violently blue eyes stared deep into hers. She saw
the whisper of an anxiety that was his constant companion these days. And was
sorry for it. But she also saw the love. A love that was soul deep and she
revelled in it.

"I could never survive in this world without you,"
he said. She recognized the sincerity in his voice as she felt the impact of
his words deep inside her.

Her hand rose to glide her fingers through his hair. He'd
cut it and she wasn't sure she'd be able to forgive him until it grew again. A
jagged bolt of lightning streaked through the sky and for a split second she
saw his face in harsh relief. There was a certain firmness about his sensual
mouth, the lines and planes and angles of that wonderful face, the vivid blue
of his eyes as they held hers. He was so very beautiful. Her very own dark
warrior.

Her nails gently scratched his scalp and those eyes closed
as he purred deep in his throat like a big contented feline.

"You have to know I adore you. I have an enemy, James.
They will come for me. I know it. But I also know that you and your brothers
and your father and all of our Centuri will do everything they can to protect
me and our child. I cannot let fear rule me. You cannot let it rule you,
either."

She felt the damp tip of his erection search for her as he
shuddered above her.

God
, she loved this man with her whole heart.

"Charlotte," he said it softly, the aching need
for her more than evident in his deep voice.

James felt a surge of overwhelming tenderness mixed with
love.

His vampyre wanted to be the one to take her. It had been a
while since he'd unleashed the beast. But he said,
No. Not this night.
Tonight she needs care
. And the beast growled low in his throat. A sound of
reluctant agreement.

Now he drew her against him, buried his face in the delicate
and tender flesh of her neck. He smelled her blood racing through her system.
It drew him like nectar drew a honey bee. His whole body trembled with his need
of her. It was always like this when he loved her. Always. He moved his head to
kiss her softly trembling mouth, then lifted his head to meet the love, for
him, in her eyes. His hand moved to cup her face, to take the kiss deeper. She
tasted of heaven itself.

"Bite me," she demanded in a soft voice.

Again he lifted his head to make sure his wants were her
wants.

Her skin on her neck was so soft and silky as he licked the
spot, felt her arch beneath him.

His teeth sank deep, and again lightning streaked through
the sky. She was honey and spice and as he drank, he gently sank his body
inside hers. He groaned at the sensation, tight, slick and scorchingly hot. He
didn't take too much from her. As he drew back, again she arched her back then
tilted her pelvis to demand more, now. Her hand cupped his neck, drew him
close. It was her turn to taste him and by the way she mewled in her throat,
she was hungry for him.

Her teeth sank deep into his carotid as she drank. And all
the while her body moved erotically against him, driving him right to the edge.
He wanted to take care with her. It was important she didn't take too much of
his powerful blood. She read his mind because now she licked to seal the wound.
And then he took possession of her mouth, tasted himself slick and hot on her
tongue. It was the most amazing experience, the ultimate intimacy between a
vampyre and his bonded mate. Now his tongue swept along hers, tangling and
dancing as he took her gently and so slowly up, up, up until her body went
tight and gripped his so hard he cried out loud.

His seed splashed and filled her again and again until he
was an empty husk.

Even then her body refused to release his.

It was always like this.

Every time.

And James knew he'd never, even if he lived another two
hundred years, ever get enough of his woman.

Now the storm outside seemed to increase as thunder stalked
across the sky, rain now turning to hail as it battered the windows. A bolt of
lightning slammed into the ground with such force the whole building shook with
the power of it.

Charlotte's soft and frightened cry made him hold her close.

She'd never been good with storms.

"Hush. It is only the weather being bad tempered and
disturbing our love making."

"Hold me."

His mouth curved as he did as he was told and closed his
eyes as he felt her drift into sleep.

Neither noticed the mirror in the room did not reflect the
lightning or the storm raging outside. It didn't reflect the lamp either. It
was the ultimate darkness, empty of spirit, empty of soul.

The next morning Gia lay on her back
staring, unseeing, at the ceiling.

Her eyes stung and her bottom lip shook so bad she bit down
hard and tasted blood.

Why was she crying?

Why was she feeling so lonely and bereft?

Hadn't she told Daniel to leave her alone? He'd only done as
she asked. So why did her arms ache to hold him tight.

He was still soooooo angry with her.

In her mind flashed a picture of her vampyre. An unhappy and
deeply ashamed of her behaviour vampyre.

Don't worry
, Gia told her.
Daniel never holds a
grudge.

She hoped.

What an almighty mess she'd made of things.

And Enricho Donatti was still out there.

The mere thought of him made fury burn in her blood so hot,
her fangs dropped from her gums. A physical reaction that told her she was very
far from being in control of herself. If she'd gone for his throat last night,
she'd have killed him and then she'd be in an even bigger mess than she was now.

Her bedroom door opened.

"Knock, knock," said a woman's cheery voice. A
dark head popped around the door. The face matched the voice. Lovely. She knew
Anais by sight. "Do you want me and Charlotte - she'll be along in a
minute - to keep you company? Or like Greta Garbo, do you want to be alone?"

Anais entered.

Gia swiped a hand over wet cheeks, lifted her head.

When Anais saw she'd been crying her expression changed
instantly from friendly to one of concern.

She hurried towards the bed, held out her hands.

"Aww, baby. Don't cry. It's not the end of the
world."

Anais perched a hip on the edge of the bed and made a face when
she saw the state of Gia's hands.

"Ouch. No wonder you're all teary. On the plus side,
vampyres heal really fast."

Gia winced as she sat up against her pillows.

She studied Anais and noted the changes.

The girl's arms and legs were lean, long and tight.

She looked super-fit.

"Is everyone who works for Gillespie, Pattullo and
Hindmarch vampyres?"

Dark brown almond shaped eyes glittered into hers.

"Pretty much."

Why wasn't she surprised?

"The old saying that lawyers are blood-suckers seems to
hold true."

Anais grinned, showcasing incisors as her vampyre rose.

Whoa
.

Gia studied how lean the girl's face went, showcasing
amazing cheekbones, and how she seemed to glow from within.

Her black hair looked all sleek and shiny. Clear
intelligence lit her almond shaped eyes.

She looked amazing.

"I wouldn't say that in front of Marcus, James or Daniel
if I were you. The guys are rightly proud of how they help people," said
Anais, her dark eyes dancing into hers.

Gia heaved a sigh.

She knew, she was being cranky and unfair to the Gillespie
lawyers. They might be tough and play hardball in the courtroom, but they were
scrupulously fair.

"Daniel's furious with me."

"Yep," agreed Anais. "Because you scared him.
If you'd gone rogue and killed a human, who do you think would have the job of your
destruction?"

Their eyes met and Anais nodded when she saw the penny drop.

"Daniel?" whispered Gia.

"Daniel. And it would have broken more than his heart.
The guy is crazy about you."

Gia refused to meet her eye and evaded.

She didn't want to think of Daniel being crazy about her,
when she was so far gone over him. There were times when she felt as if she was
losing her mind.

"You need a massage," said Anais.

"I do?"

"You do."

Gia's mouth twitched. "You can tell just by looking at
me?"

"I'm an empath. The tension you're carrying in your
shoulders is giving me a headache."

"I don't like strangers touching me," she said.

It was the simple truth.

There was another knock at the door and this time Charlotte
Gillespie entered. She wore black skinny jeans with a matching vest and leather
ballet pumps on her slim feet. She had the most amazing head of dark curls
raining down her back.

After beaming at Anais and giving her a big hug, she turned
the force of that smile on a Gia who couldn't help but respond.

"Hi, I'm Charlotte. I'm married to James."

"And she's pregnant, too," added Anais, with a
wistful edge to her voice.

Charlotte ran a hand down Anais's sleek dark hair, rested it
on her shoulder.

"It's early days. But Saira's just checked us over and
said everything's looking good."

Anais lifted her hand to lay it on top of Charlotte's.

"You deserve every happiness. James is over the
moon."

Charlotte rolled her eyes in a way that made Gia's mouth
twitch.

The two girls were obviously close, but full of fun, too.

"He's going to drive me insane by the end of this
pregnancy. But I must admit I'm enjoying all the attention."

"So do you guys live here, too?" asked Gia.

They nodded in unison.

"Yep," said Anais. "The whole Gillespie
family, except for Adam, are all under the one roof."

Now Charlotte cocked her head, her eyes serious as they held
Gia's.

"Did I hear something when I came in about someone not
liking strangers touching her?"

Anais pointed at Gia.

Charlotte shifted to ease her hip on the edge of the bed.

She reached out to gently touch Gia's sore hand.

"No one will hurt you. We're family."

They
might be family, but she wasn't.

Something rose inside her, something that made her speak
before thinking carefully.

"I'm not family. I'll never, ever marry again. I'll
never be someone's possession, never put myself last. Never accept a fist in
the face. Never." The stunned look on the girls' faces made her own go
radioactive. "Oh God. I'm so sorry. I..."

Charlotte shook her head. "No. Don't apologize. Did he
cut you off from your family, your friends?"

Anais interrupted before Gia could respond. "Was he
jealous of your success, take your money? Cheat on you? Make you feel less
than? And when he hit you it was all your own fault because you were not enough
for him?"

Liam had done all of that, and a hell of a lot more.

Her eyes went wide.

But... how did they know?

"I'm a lawyer. Did part of my internship for a firm
representing a charity for victims of domestic abuse," said Anais.

"And I'm an ER medic. Seen it all, darling. Seen it
all."

Gia blinked, accepting that she'd found support in the most
unexpected of places.

"Well, I've had it with leaping before I look, the flash
and bang of falling in love. I'm not about to let it happen to me again."

Charlotte's brows rose even as she nodded.

"Okay. But you've forgotten one teeny, tiny, thing."

Blink.

Blink.

"What?" demanded Gia.

Anais grinned from ear to ear. "From what I've heard
you're an ass-kicking vampyre. I expect that'll change things. A lot."

Gia grinned them.

"It has, because for once, I'm in the driving
seat."

Now Charlotte frowned.

"If you've accepted Daniel as yours and taken him into
your heart, be aware you must be prepared to have a male in your life who will
devote himself to your needs and protection. He'll never, ever, harm you, but it's
not easy living with a vampyre."

She was just digesting the words of wisdom when there was
another knock on the door and Saira Pattullo entered with her four Centuri
medics.

Gia's good mood vanished.

In a flash she was on her feet, hands on hips.

If Saira thought she was sticking needles in her this
morning, the woman had another think coming.

She glared at the vampyre medic.

And Saira glared right back.

"What do you want?" demanded Gia in a rude tone
that made Anais and Charlotte's brows rise.

Saira's response was to stalk right up to her and get into
her face.

And immediately Gia's vampyre rose.

Anais and Charlotte simply made themselves more comfortable
on the bed and watched the scene play out with big eyes.

"I've brought Ms. Snarky her morning feed," said
Saira in a do-not-mess-with-me-sister voice. She pointed to a leather club
chair the color of honey. "Sit."

Gia huffed out a heartfelt sigh and sat.

She knew her behaviour was appalling, but for some reason,
Saira simply rubbed her up the wrong way. Tomasino and Fredo immediately began
taking her pulse and checking the dressings on her feet.

"Ouch," said Charlotte when the extent of her
injuries were revealed. "You did a real number on those. How did it
happen?"

Saira answered for her, "She clawed her way out of a
changing room, dug out bars on the window and then proceeded to climb up the
side of an eight story building to the roof." She handed Gia the bag of
blood with the little straw inserted. "She's a fledgling. Not learned to
fly yet."

"You went out into the populace while your vampyre was
emerging?" asked a wide-eyed Charlotte, who obviously wasn't in on the
story.

"She did," said Saira. "How she kept control
of her vampyre I don't know. It was a miracle no one was hurt."

"But, why?" asked a bewildered Charlotte.

"According to Daniel, she's gotta fab voice," said
Anais. "And she was contracted to sing at the Sly Fox club and didn't want
to let them down."

"Seriously?" said a very impressed Charlotte.
"What do you sing?"

Gia looked at a Saira who was looking right back at her.

"Don't you want to answer that question?" Gia
asked Saira in a cranky tone.

"Nope. You have the floor."

"Gee thanks." Gia turned to Charlotte and an Anais
who was finding it very hard not to grin from ear to ear. "I sing blues, a
bit of rock, a bit of soul."

"Whoa. Sing something now," said Charlotte
bouncing on the bed.

Gia waited for the usual stage-fright and nerves to appear.

But it didn't happen.

The smirk on Saira's face was the tipping point.

She took a breath and belted out the beginning of a big
Adele hit.

So say the people in the room, and that included the
Centuri, were astounded was putting it mildly.

Except for the purity of a sound the angels would be proud
of, silence reigned.

When she'd finished, all she saw were wide eyes and wide
mouths.

Tears were pouring down Charlotte's pale cheeks, probably
pregnancy hormones.

Then the applause erupted.

Anais raced over to give her a hug, followed by a trembling
Charlotte.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever heard,"
she whispered in Gia's ear. "My God, woman, you are so talented."

The stone-faced Centuri's nodded, too, which Gia took to
mean they liked it.

And then she spotted Saira.

A Saira who was looking at her with dark eyes filled with
fury and contempt.

Gia's heart raced as she braced herself.

"What?"

"What?"
Saira yelled back. "I'll tell
you what! What the hell are you doing working for Daniel? What the hell are you
doing paying off your scumbag husband's debts to a sleazebag like Donatti? Why
the hell are you not out there sharing the precious gift God gave you to bring
joy to the masses?
What the hell
are you doing with your life,
Gia?"

And at that moment Daniel entered and
the scene that met his eyes nearly made him walk right back out again.

Uh oh.

Girl fight.

Gia and Saira stood, legs apart, eyes riveted on the other,
like gunslingers ready to draw.

From past experience, he knew female fights could last for
many bitter years, even centuries.

His eyes slid over both the combatants and he wondered what
had gone down to so seriously rile his woman.

He'd needle Saira later to get the skinny, because God only
knew Gia wouldn't tell him because to ask her might be classed as
interfering
or
controlling
.

Her ex-husband had done a pretty bad number on her. He got
that. He did. That didn't mean all men, even vampyres, were controlling,
violent, lying bastards.

Okay, he'd made her a vampyre without her permission, but
she'd been more than happy to become a newborn.

Deciding he'd be better well out of whatever was going on,
without saying a word Daniel turned and walk back out again.

Gia felt her eyes fill and was stunned
to see Saira's fill, too.

Saira pointed at her.

"Don't you fucking dare cry. Don't you dare. I've never
heard anything like that in my life. And let me tell you I've lived a
looooooong time. You'd better get your shit together, Gia. The world needs
someone who can sing the way you can. Things are bad out there. Really bad. You
have a duty to share that voice, so get your head out of your ass and
sing."

The trembling began in her feet.

It travelled up her legs and into her belly and then it rose
up to squeeze her lungs, close her throat.

"Deep down," she whispered, her eyes on Saira's.
"I think you really like me."

Saira simply rolled her eyes to heaven, but she moved to
stand right in her personal space, then Gia found herself in a tight hug. Jeez,
the woman hand arms of steel.

"Of course I like you, you stupid bitch. Right, enough
of this touchy feely stuff. Let's sort out those toe and finger nails. And if
you ever disobey a direct order again, I'll kick your sorry ass myself."

On shaky legs, Gia sat while Tomasino and Fredo gave her a
crooked grin and began working on her feet.

Gia looked up into Saira's stony face.

She wasn't fooled.