I think about his reaction for a moment before responding. “Is this about who he is, or what he is?”
“What are you talking about Jess? For as long as I have known you, there has been one rule. ‘Never date a vampire.’ Now you sit here defending him as if he is your mate.” Roman says practically shouting at me.
“I know my rules better than you Roman. I don’t need you to tell me that I am in danger by being here. I know he is a vampire. I am not sure what is going on with me lately, but I do know that if I am going to get through it, I will need both of your help. Can I count on you Roman? And you Christien?” I look at them both.
Christien is first to respond. “You already have me,
ma chatte
. I am already yours.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Roman asks Christien dubiously.
Christien shrugs. “Take it however you like,
Loup
.”
Roman stands and I am in front of him before he can blink. “Roman, please. I really need you to keep me from falling off the deep end.” I whisper to him.
“Then I fear that I am already too late. But you have me anyway.” Roman nods and retakes his seat.
I ignore the comment. “Good because we have a lot to talk about and I am hungry.”
Christien has his chef prepare a meal for us. As we are eating, I have Christien tell Roman about Hassan and his power quest. I can tell that Christien surprises Roman by how forthcoming he is with information about his sire.
“So,” I ask after the dishes are clear from the dining room table. “What can you tell us about what happened today? How did you escape?”
Christien responds smiling. “After that incredible kiss you bestowed upon my lips, I was taken inside the warehouse. Hassan was there with five vampires less than 500 years undead. I consider them young in vampire years. They are not truly masters and have little resistance to sunlight. Hassan asked me to rejoin his get. I declined. He had the vampires attack me. He expected me to be weak and did not think I would be able to defend myself after receiving the report from Demetri of how drained of power I was. I killed all five vampires easily and I was aiming for Hassan when he ran. He was able to escape with his oldest vampires, Demetri and Jacques. As soon as I was sure that no one was following me, I came to you. Although Demetri and Jacques are not as powerful as I am, they make up for it in skill and brains. They are both good at what they do and it will not be long before they figure out what happened, how I recovered so quickly, and who or more importantly, what you are.”
“I am only speculating, but I think they believe they are getting close to finding you once again. I heard about Jacques frequenting clubs catering to non-humans throughout the city and asking around about unique female vampires. I was following Jacques the night we met. He already left the club shortly before you arrived. I left to follow him, but I lost his trail. I returned to the club to see if I could speak to some of the others to whom he spoke. When Jacques saw me in the club, I imagine that is why he left and when you received a contract on me.” Christien looks to me to confirm his statement.
“Why doesn’t he just capture you himself?” I ask curiously.
Christien smirks arrogantly. “He would know he is no match for me. Jacques is very smart. He knows I would never harm anyone only meaning to capture me. I will ultimately defend myself against someone trying to kill me. I am certain there was a ‘no kill’ request on the contract?” He asks, looking at me for confirmation.
Roman also looks at me.
I nod. “Yes, there was a stipulation on the order not to kill, but capture. They wouldn’t have known that I would have spelled silver shackles though. How did they expect someone to deliver a dangerous vampire alive to them?”
Roman joins in the conversation. “They would have done their research to find the best assassin in town in case they were needed. Naturally, since I was out of town, they chose you.”
I roll my eyes at Roman. “Keep yourself in that fantasy world of yours Rome. I
am
the best in town.” Without waiting for Roman’s retort, I return to questioning Christien. “They still wouldn’t know I would have been able to succeed.”
“You admit you are the best,
ma chatte
. Without a kill order, they would be confident that I would not fight you or you could get lucky.” Christien responds and smiles at me.
“I have told you repeatedly,
chatte
, that I will not harm you. I keep my word. When you pulled your gun on me, I was aware of what to expect. I will admit those spelled silver shackles of yours were quite an unexpected and extremely effective surprise.”
“
You
are not looking for anyone. You are staying here where my get will guard you. Roman and I will find Hassan with the help of others in my get and dispose of them.” He says while staring at Roman.
Roman nods his agreement.
“Oh, no you don’t!” I argue, glancing at each of them in turn. “I am not staying here cooped up like some frail, helpless woman while you boys go out and have all the fun.”
“Jess, you are in serious trouble. They have already come after you once when you were 17 and clueless. They have been preparing for this since before you were born. Christien and I can take care of these vampires. You can barely function when Christien is around you. You will not be at your best if you come with us. You will have a better chance defending yourself if he is not around you.” Roman explains.
I blush at Roman’s observation.
“I agree with the
Loup
. It will be sunrise soon. Demetri and Jacques are not powerful enough to be out during daylight very long, so I suggest we all rest. I had my servants prepare a room for you upon our arrival.” He says while looking at Roman.
Christien looks at the door and several good-looking men enter the room. I gape at the barely dressed men and quickly turn away. I notice Roman straighten and smile appreciatively, as the men enter the room.
Christien introduces the men. “They are here for your entertainment and pleasure.” He says looking at Roman. “They are willing donors in case you have the need.” He says looking at me.
Roman smiles and nods his thanks, immediately calling over a hot looking, brunette man he has been watching since they entered the room.
“They will show you to your room.” Christien finishes.
I suddenly feel tired and drained. I have not been sleeping well so I decide that I should go to bed after I get a pint of blood. I walk to one of the other men standing in a line watching me. I frown, feeling uncomfortable. I stop and turn towards Christien, who is watching me with clenched teeth.
“Don’t you have bagged blood anywhere?” I ask Christien.
Catching him off guard by my question, he hesitates before responding. “I maintain a group of willing donors so I have no need for bagged blood. Does he not meet your approval?”
“He’s fine I guess. It’s just…” I stumble over my words.
Roman finishes my thought for me. “She does not like to drink from the living unless it is absolutely necessary. She finds that it is too
intimate
.”
I lower my head in embarrassment, cheeks flushing, and move to stand in front of the fireplace.
Christien smiles as if pleased to hear that detail about me. “I will have some of the donors bag their blood and bring it up here for you then.”
Christien says nothing, only watches me with curious eyes. Minutes pass in silence. “Is there something bothering you,
ma chatte
?”
“I’m just thinking about everything that has happened to me today. I have had a busy day and I am tired. I’m sure I will be fine after a good rest. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately. Roman can tell you how cranky I can get when I don’t have enough sleep.” I give a small, fake chuckle then turn back to the fire.
He rubs my shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “Are you sure that is all it is?”
“Why? What makes you think that there is more? You hardly know me. You think you can figure out my moods and other feelings. My life was just fine before you came into it. Ever since I met you, things have been getting worse and worse for me. I feel so unbalanced and weird. I will be glad when all this business with you and your sire is finished. Then I can get back to my life and you’ll be gone.”
By the time I finish my rant, I am yelling and shaking with mixed emotions. The thought of Christien not being around comes to the forefront of my thoughts and sadness begins to overwhelm me.
Christien moves closer with his arms outstretched to hold me, but I back away.
“Don’t!” I shout at him.
My strong emotions seem to raise my blood thirst because my vision begins to fill with a silver haze and my fangs extend. My entire body stills, watching Christien like the predator stalking its prey. He sends a flare of power my way, washing away the haze of the blood thirst.
He notices the change of my demeanor as my muscles relax. “Is that better?”
I nod. “What did you do? How did you do that? Can you teach me?”
Christien thinks about the question before answering me. “I extended my aura around yours to calm your blood thirst. It is one way master vampires can control their fledglings’ blood thirst without violence or restraints.”
“Okay, but
how
did you do it? I have tried casting my aura around people but it doesn’t work. The only thing I’m any good at is entering a human’s mind and implanting simple suggestions.” I ask with interest.
“Before I answer your question, I must ask one of my own. What triggers your blood thirst?”
I think about it and give him the only true response I can. “I don’t know. My blood thirst has been dramatically increasing over the past few days or at least, that is when I started to notice. I meant to ask Roman if he had heard of anything like that happening to vampires. I guess I got distracted.”
“In what ways have you noticed an increase?” He asks then guides me to the couch, urging me to sit down.
I comply, sitting down next to him. “I’ve almost doubled, no tripled, my normal blood intake and I am still losing control. The other day when we were at the coffee shop was the second time the blood thirst had begun to take over in recent days.”
“When was the last time you fed?” He asks as an older woman with dull brown hair and sunken eyes enters carrying a tray of bagged blood.
“A few hours ago. I had three bags.” I respond, distracted by the unhealthy look of the woman in front of me. Her skin looks ashen, almost paper thin. The veins in her arms are clearly visible. I can see her weak pulse just by looking at her wrist.
She sits the tray on the coffee table and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Christien hands me a bag of warm blood. “Would you like a glass?”
Normally when I am around anyone, I do not drink from the bag, but I can already feel the thirst rising inside of me again after seeing the woman’s pulse. “No. I’d better get this blood down and get some rest before the blood thirst is riding me again.” I pop the blood bag onto my fangs and suck. Within minutes, I have emptied five bags and I am finishing the sixth and final bag.
“Feeling any better?” He asks, gently removing the empty bag from my fangs, tossing it on the tray.
“Much.” I say while stifling a yawn.
“It is time for you to go to bed.” He picks me up and carries me before I can protest. Taking me through the doorway that leads to the bathroom and into the bedroom, he sits me gently on the bed. “This is the safest room in this house.” He walks to the beautiful oak armoire and pulls out a lovely black satin nightgown. He shows it to me, laying it beside me on the bed. Disappearing into the closet, he returns with matching satin slippers, placing them on the floor beside the bed. Crossing the bedroom silently, he goes to the dresser and pulls out black silk pajama bottoms for him. He walks to what I remember is the bathroom, stopping at the door. “You are welcome to join me if you are not too tired.” He offers before going into the bathroom.
Since I have taken two showers today and exhaustion is taking over, I decide not to take him up on his offer. I quickly change into the nightgown provided and crawl under the covers. I am asleep before my head hits the pillow.
Christien returns from his shower to see me sleeping peacefully in his bed. He watches me sleep for a long time, listening to my breathing and the thumping of my heartbeat. He climbs into the bed, straightens the covers over us both and puts his arm possessively over my waist. I automatically snuggle closer to him in my sleep, resting my head on his arm. He buries his head into my hair, kissing my cheek softly.
Chapter 27
I am not sure how long I was sleeping, but I do remember waking up to the sound of someone calling my name. Opening my eyes, I see my mother floating next to the bed in front of me. I sit up slowly, leaving my body behind that has Christien’s hand wrapped around my waist, so I may sit on the edge of the bed.