VA 2 - Blood Jewel (5 page)

The angry versus jealous expression
on her face told me she didn’t appreciate my honest answer. “How
many have you had?”

I looked to the ground for help,
but found none. “Only one.”

“What was her name?”she asked,
jealously.

“Her name was Luciana and our
relationship meant nothing. It can’t really even be considered a
relationship. I drank from her. There was nothing romantic between
us because it isn’t like that for vampires. The only thing we feel
romantic about is the blood we crave. And our Agápes,” I
explained.

Her
hands went to her hips. Uh oh. Not a great sign for me. “Did
your
relationship
with her last a long
time?”

I was probably about to shoot
myself in the foot or cause her to shoot me. “Depends on what you
consider a long time.”

She was becoming aggravated with my
vague answers and slightly raised her voice as she interrogated
further. “Please, answer the question that you are avoiding. How
long was Luciana your Blood Doll?”

“A little more than two years,” I
admitted. Although two years was nothing for a vampire, it was
rather significant in the life of a human and I knew by the look on
her face that my answer didn’t sit well with her.

She became silenced by my
unintentional hurtful admission. Now, she looked at the ground in
search of the right words. The silence surrounding us emphasized
the beat of her rapid heart before she finally continued, “What
ended your relationship with Luciana?”

“She thought she loved me. I
failed to convince her that it was the result of The Kiss she
loved, so I ended all contact with her.”

Chansey took a deep breath. “What
happened to her?” she asked.

“She found another vampire to feed
on her and he eventually turned her.”

This hole I was digging was getting
deeper with each question I answered. Chansey took the stance I had
unfortunately become quite familiar with when she shifted her
weight over to one leg. “Incredible! There’s a second vampire out
there somewhere that’s convinced she’s in love with you? You are
quite the lady’s man, aren’t you?”

“Luciana is a vampire, but she is
not in love with me. She’s a vampire in love with the blood she
drinks,” I clarified.

“Vampires have romantic
relationships with other vampires, so how do you know she isn’t
still in love with you?”

“She just isn’t,” I
argued.

I reached for her arm and she
stepped out of my reach. “But, how do you know, Curry?” she
insisted.

“I’ve seen her since she was
turned and she isn’t interested. Nor am I. I was never interested
in her for any reason other than using her for blood when she was
human.”

I cheated and used my vampire speed
to catch her before she could pull away from me again. I wrapped my
arms around her and kissed the top of her head as I pleaded, “You
are the only one I have ever loved in my human life or in my years
as a vampire. The only one. Ever.”

She finally returned my embrace and
said, “I’m sorry. I know I must look like a jealous
fool.”

I certainly couldn't fault her for
feelings she couldn’t control. “I understand because I have
experienced some jealousy issues when it comes to your
admirers.”

“I don’t have admirers,” she
argued.

“It certainly looks like it to me,
but why don’t we just call all of it water under the bridge?” I
suggested.

“I think I can agree to that and
my answer is ‘yes’ to your earlier question. I would love to join
you and your family for dinner tonight. Make mine AB negative,” she
laughed.

“My, Miss Leclaire. You have a
choosy palate. AB negative is the sweetest and most difficult to
come by.”

“It’s good to know I’m sweet and
in high demand,” she said as she walked her fingers up my
chest.

“Your blood type is AB
negative?”

“All day and all night long,” she
laughed.

I wouldn’t have guessed that from
when I tasted her, but I only had a few drops. Maybe it was the
Agápe bond throwing it off or maybe I just didn’t have enough to be
able to tell. “Chansey, don’t tell anyone that. Always keep that to
yourself.”

“Okay, I will,” she
agreed.

We went back inside and spent the
day watching television and lounging around the house since the
others were asleep, but the minute the sun was down, my sisters
were looking for Chansey. Lairah startled Chansey a little when she
appeared instantly at her side. “I thought the sun would never go
down. Come on, we’ve got wedding plans to make.”

Chansey turned to me and said, “I
guess that means I’ll see you later.”

Her words said one thing while the
look on her face told me she wanted me to save her, but I had plans
of my own that didn’t include her.

“Girls, take it easy on her and
don’t make her regret her decision to marry me,” I called out to my
sisters because I knew they could possibly overwhelm
Chansey.

With Chansey tied up by Gia and
Lairah, it was the perfect time to do a little research on
honeymoon destinations. I went to my quarters and was only minutes
into my studies when I felt Solomon’s presence outside my door.
“You can come in.”

He opened my bedroom door and stuck
his head inside the doorway. “Am I interrupting
anything?”

I lifted my eyes from my computer.
“Of course not. I could use your help.”

“What are you working
on?”

“I’m looking for the place I want
to take Chansey on our honeymoon. She wants something tropical.” He
walked behind me and peered over my shoulder.

“She wants to take advantage of it
before she is a vampire. Am I right?”

I groaned, “Yep. That’s exactly
what she said.”

He thought briefly and said, “I
vote for the Islands of Tahiti. I’ve always wanted to go there
because there’s something about those private, thatch-covered
bungalows over the water that seem so cool. Maybe I just think that
because it’s something I’ll never get to experience.”

Private bungalows. Those two words
alone had me sold. “Oh, wow. That sounds perfect. See, you’re good
for something after all. I think she would absolutely love that.
This is why you are my best friend. You always have the answers I
need.”

“Glad to be of assistance.” He
walked back around my desk, sat in the leather recliner I used for
reading and leaned it into the reclined position.

“Now, I have another question for
you and you had better give me the answer I want.” He looked
puzzled by my words and I continued, “I want you to be my best man.
Will you stand by my side when I marry Chansey?”

I don’t know why, but he looked so
surprised by my request. “What about Sully? He’s your
brother.”

“He is my brother by blood, but
you are my brother by choice and the one that has been by my side
for almost 22 years. You have been so much more than my mentor and
that is why I have chosen you to stand next to me as I take Chansey
to be my wife.”

He laced his fingers behind his
head. “I’ll be glad to stand next to you if it means I get to
escort one of Chansey’s hot friends. Does this mean I have to wear
a monkey suit?”

What was that supposed to mean
about Chansey’s hot friends? “Not my call on the monkey suit, so
you might want to get in good graces with the girls since they are
making all of those decisions.”

He shook his head because he knew
he’d never be in good graces with Gia or Lairah. “You might as well
feed me a banana. Gia and Lairah aren’t letting me out of the
monkey suit.”

≈ ≈ ≈

Gia and Lairah were unaware of the
favor they did for me by keeping Chansey occupied until dinner. Her
distraction gave me the time and privacy I needed to plan our
honeymoon since I now knew the date.

I chose a charming bed and
breakfast in New Orleans for our wedding night and made
arrangements to be the only occupants of the home, ensuring total
privacy for us. The following day, we would fly to the Tahitian
islands where we would stay for two weeks before returning home to
begin our new lives together as husband and wife.

Gia and Lairah released Chansey in
time for her freshen up a little before dinner so I sat in my
recliner as I waited for her to come out of the bathroom. I was
confident in her acceptance of me as a vampire, but she was still
human and it didn’t diminish my concern for her reaction to seeing
vampires drink blood that came from people like her.

As we walked toward the dining hall
I felt obligated to offer her a way out. “You don’t have to do
this.”

She didn’t slow as we continued
walking. “You invited me to join you and now you’re trying to back
out. What’s with the mixed signals?”

I was wrong to try to take back my
invitation. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s just my protective
nature trying to step forward to dominate because I don’t want to
push you into anything you’re not ready for.”

She laughed and said, “Well, it’s a
little late for that considering I was born for this, don’t you
think?”

She was right as usual. I escorted
her to her seat before pushing it under her as she sat. I took my
seat next to her and looked at the food and drinks on the table.
Sebastian had Chansey’s dinner catered from one of New Orleans
finest restaurants, while the more popular meal at the table was
placed in opaque goblets so Chansey wasn’t forced to look at the
blood through a clear glass.

“Chansey, I took the liberty of
having a variety of meals delivered for you during your stay. I
hope you enjoy Creole food. It was my favorite when I was human,”
Sebastian said.

“Thank you, Sebastian. That’s very
kind of you and I am very fond of Creole food. If my nose doesn’t
fail me, I believe I smell gumbo, which is my favorite.”

“Wonderful. Since everyone is
here, let us give thanks.”

Chansey eyed me curiously and I
cued her to bow her head as Sebastian said, “We, the Coven of
Landra, give our humblest gratitude in recognition of the Blood
Swan, Allison, for her selfless gift of sustenance.” With the
exception of Chansey, everyone said together, “Thank you, Allison,
for your gift of The Life, which sustains our existence and gives
us strength to do the needed tasks before us.”

Sebastian was seated following the
Sacrament of Thanksgiving and Chansey laughed as she said, “I
wasn’t expecting to hear a blessing over the blood. Do vampires say
grace before they sink their teeth into a victim?”

Her comment earned several laughs
from around the table and Sebastian answered, “No. It’s just our
way. We are quite different from others, as you will
learn.”

Chansey stirred her gumbo and rice
with her spoon and then took her first bite. “It’s really good,
Curry. You should try it.”

I looked around the table at
everyone staring at us and knew they thought Chansey was kidding.
With the exception of Sebastian, they didn’t know that my tolerance
and desire for food was growing and when I saw the smug look on
Solomon’s face, I knew that I could not pass up the opportunity to
shock them.

“I’ll try it since you think I
should,” I said and then leaned over for Chansey to spoon a sample
into my mouth. Silence invaded the room and I made a show of how
delicious the bite of gumbo was before I said, “I’ll be right
back.”

I went into the kitchen to get one
of the newly purchased bowls and then returned to the dining room
and spooned a portion of gumbo and rice into it. “You guys should
try this. It’s really good.”

I pretended to not notice my
family’s stares as I ate and Solomon finally said, “What the hell
is going on here? How are you doing that?”

“What? This?” I asked as I
dramatically shoved another bite into my mouth and moaned at how
good it was.

“You’ve had your fun, Curry,”
Sebastian laughed.

“That was not cool,” Sol
said.

“I thought it was pretty great
myself. It’s not often that I get to yank your chain. I wish you
could have seen your face,” I laughed.

“Jackass,” Sol said under his
breath as he shook his head.

“Okay, I’m going to interrupt the
two of you before this gets out of hand because I have a question,”
Chansey interrupted “What does the Coven of Landra
mean?”

“A Landra is an experienced
vampire that takes responsibility for a fledgeling, which is a
newly turned vampire. In the beginning, we were ridiculed by others
of our kind for what we did. They mockingly called us the Coven of
Landra, but we liked the name, so we kept it since it’s what we do.
We are now known by all in the world of vampires and those who once
mocked us have needed and used our services at some
point.”

“Will Curry be my Landra?” Chansey
asked so knowingly.

Sebastian looked to me, searching
my eyes for a clue on how to answer her. I answered him in a tone
too low for Chansey to hear, “It’s better to pacify her with an
answer rather than start an argument, so tell her it will be me.”
My words fell upon every ear, with the exception of Chansey’s. Each
and every one of my family members simultaneously lifted their
faces to me for an explanation of my comment.