Bitten by the Vampire (7 page)

He'd taken her blood. The delicious languor faded, replaced by sheer panic. Mara felt the forces inside her fading as if someone had uncorked her like wine. She sat up, struggling against the sudden weakness.

Lucien pressed her back onto the mattress. “Easy,” he soothed. “You'll be slightly dizzy for a while, it will pass.”

“You took my blood. You drained me!”

“I warned there was no going back. Your blood is inside me now and I can track you anywhere. A necessity, after what happened in Miami. I will not risk your life anymore.”

“What if someone comes after me? How the hell am I supposed to defend myself?”

“I will protect you.”

Mara drew in a labored breath. “If I were so damn dangerous, why would I give up everything to get a job at night and work my way through school? I only wanted to be normal. Tell me something, Lucien, did the Society have any reason to go after me before Jones took me? Did I do anything to warrant their interest?”

He fell silent, searching her face. “Ah, Mara, sweet, it's not that black-and-white. The Society spares no one they deem dangerous. Only humans are excluded from their patrol. It was only a matter of time before they decided to focus on you. All these years, they have watched, and waited.”

“I gave them no reason for their scrutiny!”

“You are a Darklighter. The moment you were born of an illegal mating, they condemned you to be on their questionable list.” Lucien's jaw became taut. “They have done so since another half-breed caused them to question their policies.”

She was hunted without cause. The thought panicked her. “And now you've weakened me and left me helpless to become their prey? Pardon me if I don't thank you.”

“I drained part of your destructive darkness. It's up to you to harness the power for good.” His gaze softened. “Let go of your anger, Mara. You must surrender your thirst for justice and leave Jones to the human authorities.”

“That's not fair! How can I ever forget what he did?”

Torment shadowed his face. “You must, to find peace within yourself. To find balance. Use the white light inside you to draw strength from the darkness. Alone, each will always struggle for control. Blending them together gives you the ultimate power and will allow you the peace you seek.”

“And how am I supposed to do that? Is there a guidebook?” She felt close to tears.

“You'll know when the time is right. When you make a decision and it's not based on anger or any negative emotion, but because it's the right choice.”

It sounded easy and nice and sensible. She was not feeling sensible at the moment.

Beneath him, she lay naked and helpless. A droplet of blood rolled down her neck, beaded on her bare breast.

Tracking his gaze, she saw his eyes widen with lust.

Mara hardened her heart. “You're right, Lucien. Of course. I'm lucky I have such a powerful Ancient to protect me, who wants to mate me.” Her voice became a seductive purr. “Kiss me.”

When he dipped his head down, she reared up. But she missed, her head hitting empty hair instead of his skull.

Those damn vampire reflexes, she thought, grumbling.

Lucien rolled off her, watching her like a predator as he lay back and hooked his hands behind his head. Mara flexed her hands, willing her talons to emerge. Nothing.

Not even the white light inside her pulsed.

“Your powers will return.” All lethal grace, he slid out of the bed. “You need food, energy. I'll see about getting dinner warmed.”

The twin globes of his taut naked butt vanished beneath the whisk of a silk robe. Mara watched, the space between her legs wet and wanting all over again. Burying her face into her hands, she tried to think of a solution.

She hated this, feeling helpless. Trapped.

Nothing to do but wait, and escape at the first chance when her strength returned.

The following day, thick clouds chased across a leaden sky as Mara curled up in the overstuffed armchair in the library with a lurid horror novel.

The book suited her mood.

A familiar scent of woodsy spice teased her nostrils. Mara looked up to see Lucien in the doorway. Dressed in a black cashmere sweater and black wool trousers, he looked urbane as ever. Except this time he appeared weary and spent. Lines bracketed his mouth and there were purple shadows beneath his eyes.

He looked as if he hadn't slept at all. Not since she climbed out of his bed and locked herself in one of the guest bedrooms. She set the book down and gave him a pointed look.

“Checking up on me?”

“Lunch is ready downstairs.” He sat in the armchair's twin, feet firmly planted on the polished wood floor. “Your powers should return by nightfall. In the meantime, you should eat to regain your strength.”

“So you can use me as your private blood bank again? No thanks. I'll starve.”

“You must eat, Mara.”

Ignoring her grumbling stomach she shrugged. Wishing she were anywhere but here. Wishing she was anything but who she was. No one trusted her. Believed in her.

All I have is myself
.

Mara tried to ignore the lump rising in her throat. She'd had sex with this man, let him into her body and into her soul. And yet she sensed he hid something deep inside and would not share it, share himself fully with her.

He talked of balance while the emotional scale tipped firmly in his favor.

Lucien walked over to the window, lifted the lace curtain with the back of one hand. “Sometimes winter arrives early here. It is not unusual to get a sudden snowstorm.”

“Wonderful. Cold and nasty. And you dragged me out of sunny Miami for this?”

“It's my world, Mara, a world far from the dangers of yours.”

“Your world scares me, Lucien. How do you live here, alone, except for that green bundle of teenage hormones you call a gremlin? It's so lonely here, so quiet.” She shivered.

“Sometimes it's best to retreat from the world awhile.”

“Maybe you enjoy isolation, but I don't. I need people around me, I need the thumping pulse of the city, the warmth of people surrounding me.” She drew in a breath, struggling with her rising temper. “I want to go home, Lucien. Please, let me go! There is nothing more for me here.”

Not with you standing there like a cold marble statue
. How could a man so passionate in bed become so distant out of it?

A heartbeat of silence descended. Mara watched his rigid shoulders. Guilt filled her, but she pushed it aside.

“You wish to leave…me.” He spoke over his shoulder, his voice tight.

Emotions knotted her stomach. Mara struggled for a response when he turned. Lucien's expression was blank, his feelings firmly in check. A vampire as cool as the air brushing against the frosty glass pane.

A vampire guarding his heart, never allowing her inside him. He'd tunneled into her emotions and yanked away her powers. Tall and powerful, he looked as elegant and refined as the furnishings. Mara decided to gamble. She took a deep breath.

“I won't stay with someone who can't care for me,” she finally told him.

He seemed rigid as rock. Mara waited, hoping. Maybe there could be something between them. Finally he nodded.

“It's wrong to hold someone against her will. You must be free to live your own life, make your own decisions.”

Damn it, he sounded as indifferent as a college textbook. She wanted to shake him up, make his teeth rattle. Anything to get emotion out of him.

“Yup, free to live my life. Unlike you, who's holed himself up here like a hibernating bear. I'm not afraid of facing life, Lucien. Not like you are.”

The velvet glove was off, the first struck hard. But her taunt did not work. The taut edges of his profile showed.

“If that is your dearest wish, I will let you leave. After Jones is arrested. Soon, he will be apprehended by the human authorities. An anonymous tip by a good citizen about a psychopath stalking college students.”

“You did this?”

He shrugged. “For you, yes. It was worth bending the rules of noninterference.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “It means a lot to me. You do care, don't you, Lucien?”

Emotion shadowed his eyes. Then his gaze shuttered.

He was shutting himself away again.

Revenge suddenly tasted like ashes. Would having her enemy's head on a platter fill her heart? Make her feel the way Lucien did when he took her into his arms and made her forget the world?

But she could never have his heart. And if revenge was the only thing filling the emptiness, then damn it, she was holding on with both hands.

Mara bent her head to hide the tears misting her eyes.

“I have work. I will be in my study. Eat. You should replenish your strength.” Lucien turned and strode off. The spicy fragrance of his cologne and his masculine scent whispered past her.

She nibbled at the delicious chicken and pasta he'd prepared. Her powers were returning, along with the ever present confusion. Her heart pined to stay with Lucien.

Her head argued it would never work. Lucien couldn't love her.

Having finished her meal, she stopped at the opened door of his paneled study. Lucien sat before a massive mahogany desk overlooking the vista of snow-covered meadows. Fountain pen in hand, he signed documents. His back went rigid as she hovered.

“Come in, Mara.”

“I just wanted to tell you I'm going for a short walk. Maybe stop by Petra's digs and hang with her. Literally, you know, play Batgirl.”

Please, say something. Open yourself to me and tell me you care. Even just laugh at my dumb joke.

But he only gave a brusque nod and bent over the papers again.

Deeply hurt, she started down the hallway. Pain compressed her chest. Lucien only saw her as an assignment. What a good solider he was, fighting evil for the Society, as indifferent as a machine with fangs.

Biting cold stung her cheeks as she walked outside. Wind fluttered the lapels of her jacket as she clutched them to her throat. Cold, like Lucien. No wonder he lived here.

Mara walked around the house, towards the garage. Smoke stung her nostrils. Then she saw it.

Her nightmare had come to life. Black smoke curled upward, licking the air as orange flames danced through the garage window.

Petra was inside.

She was going to die.

Fear immobilized her. She remembered the hot orange flames licking in the furnace as Jones dragged her forward. The terror as heat singed her skin, the screams ripping from her hoarse throat and the knowledge no one would hear and answer.

She could not move. Could not draw near. Rushing into a burning building was for heroes and firefighters. Not her. And then she felt her skin grow hot and pain slide over her body.

Lucien materialized before the garage window. “Petra,” he screamed. “Mara!”

Then he vanished. Mara blinked, stricken. He thought she was inside.

Moving toward the side of the garage, she saw a dark shadow hover near the building, a can swinging from his hands. Suspicions grew, and sharpened.

Jones. He'd found her.

The heat licked her body, the memories licked her soul. Fear fisted in her stomach. He'd come to kill her and instead hurt the wrong person.

The side door banged open. Lucien rushed out, a coughing Petra in his strong arms. He gently set her down and vanished again. Mara ran to Petra.

“Lucien's inside,” the gremlin gasped. “Looking for you!” The action screamed louder than any declarations he could have made. Lucien's courage fed her strength. She tried touching his mind, screaming his name. Nothing.

“I have to go after him.” Mara fisted her hands, summoned all her courage.

Opening the door she ran into the garage, screaming his name.

The single-room building was filled with perches, much like those in a bird cage. On the far wall, flames took hold, igniting the bed and bookshelves. Mara coughed, wildly trying to see through the thick smoke. She gasped his name once more.

And then suddenly, he was at her side. Hugging her, holding her. “Mara,” he said, and coughed. “Let's get the hell out of here.”

But as they turned, fire engulfed the doorway. Through the window, she saw Dennis Jones, laughing as he tossed something onto the building.

The sharp stench of gasoline wended through smoke and flames. They were cut off.

No way out. Except for Lucien. He could dematerialize and escape. But he couldn't take her. He'd already told her he could not.

Pain pricked her heart. So this was death. It was peaceful, yet sad and still, because it removed her from the man she loved. The realization was like a knife lancing her heart.

I love you, Lucien. I always will. I'm sorry I can't stay….

“Go,” she gasped. “Jones did this. He's outside. You can escape. Please…save yourself. Just do me a favor, and kick his ass.”

Maybe she was meant to die in a fire after all. Tears gushed from her eyes.

“Never without you, he said fiercely.

Lucien pulled her down to the ground, then into his sheltering arms as if to protect her from the flames. Shielding her body with his. Mara buried her head into his broad chest.

“I'm so scared.”

“Don't think about it, sweetheart. Hold me, just hold me. If I'm to die tonight, then damn me to the fires of hell. I'd rather burn there and hold you one last time than spend a lifetime without you.”

“Lucien, he's winning. Jones always wins. You said he can't be touched. I hate him. I hate him!”

Blackness consumed her. Talons emerged from her fingernails. The demon had not been absorbed by Lucien after all. Remnants still lingered deep inside her.

Tenderly, he cupped her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Let go of the hate, Mara. Let go of the thoughts of revenge. Focus on the white light. Let it vanquish the flames.”

Mara squeezed her eyes shut and reached for her angelic side. But as her skin heated, she found it impossible to focus. “I can't!”

“Think Mara. When you were being dragged to the furnace, terrified and seeing your death before you, what brought out the white light?”

Thoughts whirled in her mind like a sinister vortex. Then, shining through the bleakness and despair came a single pure thought.

“My mother. She loved me so much. I thought about her.” Mara coughed violently. “But she's dead! I can't stop thinking about Jones and how much I hate him! It's the only thing I have left!”

“No, it's not. You have me. I love you.”

Eyes watering, she looked up at him in shock.

Lucien's fingers caressed her skin. “I was too scared to admit it, even to myself. I didn't want to lose you and now, there's nothing left to lose. Look at me, Mara. Focus on my love for you. Look at me, my love. Concentrate on me. Feel our connection and what we share.”

Her eyes closed. With all her might, she focused, and suddenly the blood link they shared surged like an electrical current. Mara saw deep into Lucien's soul, seeing not the previous blackness and emptiness, but a soothing peace he now savored, all because of her.

“If I lose you, I lose myself,” he whispered. “You are my life. Let the white light shine. Surrender to it.”

Then his voice deepened, became a whiplash of command. “Live Mara. Let go, and live.”

White light hummed and sang inside her. It burst out of her fingertips, radiating from her body. Tendrils of it misted the air, then with all her might she hurled it toward the flames. Into the heat it raced, cooling the fire, dousing it like a torrential downpour, creating a vortex that suctioned away the deadly smoke and heat. It suctioned the smoke from her lungs and spiraled into Lucien, drawing out the smoke from his.

The vortex spun faster and faster, inhaling the fire like a hungry mouth, and then with a glimmer of sparks, it was gone.

Blackened embers and ashes scorched the room. Lucien's face was covered in smoke, his dark eyes moist. He framed her face tenderly with his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to her swollen lips.

Mara's heart raced. “Petra! She's outside with Jones.”

They raced out of the garage and ground to a halt.

In her human form, Petra lay on the ground, her eyes wide with terror. Over her, Jones hovered, holding a knife to her throat.

“Stop. Don't come any closer, or I'll cut her throat.”