Christian (Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars Book 10) (20 page)

“Anthony seems to be missing tonight,” Duncan said, his accent all but disappearing as quickly as he’d shifted subjects.

Christian huffed a breath. “You can say many things about Anthony, none of them good, but he has a highly developed sense of self-preservation.”

“Ah, yes, that business with Cibor,” he said disingenuously. Christian had no doubt at all that Duncan and Raphael had thoroughly discussed the previous day’s events. “Jaclyn must have been in a fine temper over that,” he added.

Which provoked Natalie’s sharp elbow in his side. Apparently everyone knew about Jaclyn and Cibor except him.

“She was understandably furious,” Christian agreed, wondering where all of this small talk was leading. “As was I.”

Duncan nodded knowingly. “I feel the need to apologize on Anthony’s behalf, Ms. Gaudet. He is a member of our Council.”

“There’s no reason to apologize, my lord. Christian took care of Anthony just fine,” she said with a loyalty that warmed his cold heart.

“Did he?” Duncan eyed Christian speculatively. “I would guess then that you are not exactly Anthony’s favorite person.”

Christian gave Duncan a flat stare. “If not for Raphael’s prior claim, Anthony would be dead by now.”

“And you would be Lord of the South.”

“I’ll be that anyway. But I’d have killed him for what he tried to do to Natalie.”

Duncan gave a sideways tilt of his head in acknowledgment. “Are the challengers all here tonight?”

Christian didn’t need to scan the room again. He could place every one of his competitors without looking, and, curiously, Barranza had still not shown. “Not all of them,” he told Duncan. “One is mysteriously absent, while another made the bad decision not to wait for the formal challenge. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but he might have lived long enough to enjoy the party.”

“I’m betting the dead one was one of Anthony’s?”

Christian studied Duncan, surprised that the Capital lord was aware of Anthony’s scheming. And what Duncan knew, Raphael knew. He nodded in agreement. “Noriega. He should never have been in the challenge, and Anthony had to know that.” Christian didn’t bother to hide the anger in his voice. Noriega hadn’t had to die.

A sudden ruffle of power from the dais had them both turning to look as a big, blond vampire joined the crowd, going immediately over to shake hands with Raphael. His woman went with him, a pretty, buxom little thing who was quickly enveloped in a hug by Cynthia Leighton. The two women couldn’t have looked less alike, but they clearly knew each other well, and immediately moved off to the side for a private conversation.

“Rajmund,” Duncan commented, confirming Christian’s guess. “And his mated wife, Sarah. And I believe that’s all of us for this gathering. Lucas and Aden chose to remain home to cover any surprises from our European friends.” His brow wrinkled in concern. “And we’re a little concerned about Sophia. No one’s heard from her in the last week. And Cynthia’s attempts to contact her mate, Colin, have been unsuccessful, which I understand is unusual.”

Christian was sorry Sophia hadn’t made it. He’d been curious about her. Female master vamps weren’t that uncommon, but female lords were rare. Even more rare, now that Mathilde was gone.

Up on the dais, Raphael turned, his black gaze resting on Christian for a long moment, before settling on Duncan.

Duncan frowned briefly, then smiled and said, “Raphael would have a word with you, Duvall. Come say ‘hello.’”

Jaclyn and Cibor appeared out of the crowd at that moment to surround Natalie, pulling her gently out from Christian’s grasp. Christian trailed his fingers along her back as she moved away, but he let her go, because he understood that Duncan wasn’t the only one who’d been communing with Raphael. And apparently the Western lord wanted his conversation with Christian to be private.

Besides, Natalie looked so happily relieved when she was enveloped in a group hug by the two vampires, that he didn’t have the heart to stop her. Although, he did make one thing very clear to them.

“Just remember,” he said, catching Jaclyn’s eye. “She’s mine.” He said it lightly enough, but they knew he was serious. He gripped Natalie’s chin, turning her face to his for a kiss, before saying, “I’ll be right back,
chére.
You stay with Jaclyn,
oui?”

She nodded, but just to be safe, he caught Marc’s eye, where he stood chatting up a blond human a few feet away. Raphael wasn’t the only vampire who could issue telepathic requests to his children. Marc whispered something in his companion’s ear, then came over to stand on the other side of the group hug.

With Natalie securely under Marc’s care, Christian walked alongside Duncan as they made their way to the dais. They moved through the crowd steadily, but casually, not wanting to call too much attention to what was happening. Anyone seeing Raphael speak directly to Christian would presume it was a tacit endorsement of his challenge; that was unavoidable. But there was no need to shine a spotlight on it.

Raphael and Rajmund both turned when Christian and Duncan stepped up onto the dais, with Rajmund greeting Duncan like an old friend, which he probably was. They’d both been lieutenants to North American lords for many decades, before becoming lords in their own right.

But Rajmund’s next move was unexpected—he offered his hand to Christian. “Rajmund Gregor,” he said. “Call me Raj.”

Christian shook his hand. “Christian Duvall.”

Raj grinned. “Looks like you’ll be joining us soon.”

Christian’s smile was more cautious. He’d never doubted he would succeed in winning the South, but he’d expected his eventual reception on the Council to be more in line with Anthony’s intense dislike, or at best, Juro’s reluctant respect. This wide-open acceptance from both Duncan and Raj was not at all what he’d anticipated. But he’d sure as hell take it.

“One way or the other,” he told Raj, agreeing with his assessment, but alluding to Anthony’s continued existence at the same time. There were two ways to gain the lordship. He could fight and defeat all of the remaining challengers, or he could simply kill Anthony and have done with it. He knew which one he’d pick, if given a choice. He wanted Anthony to die for what he’d done to Natalie.

“Come on, Raj,” Duncan said suddenly, his worried gaze on the other side of the dais, where the three mates were deep in conversation. “I don’t like the looks of that.”

Raj glanced over his shoulder and swore softly. “Fuck. We’ll talk later, Duvall. Congratulations.” And he and Duncan were gone, hurrying to join their respective mates.

“My Cyn gets bored at these things. She gets . . . creative,” Raphael offered, with more than a touch of amusement in his voice.

Christian didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply nodded, as he regarded the three women.

“Do you think you can kill Anthony?”

Raphael’s abrupt question swung Christian’s attention back to where it belonged, on the most powerful vampire in the room. He studied the Western lord’s face, looking for clues as to what he wanted him to say, and wasn’t exactly surprised to find nothing there. So he went with the truth.

“I
know
I can kill him. And with all respect to you, my lord, given what happened to Cibor, his death should be
mine
.”

“Because of the territory?” Raphael asked.

Christian shook his head. “Because of my Natalie. Because Anthony had plans to take her out for an evening, and use his power to compel her consent. He would have forced her to agree to her own rape, and that would have destroyed her.”

Raphael’s black eyes went cold, and Christian thought for sure he’d gone too far. But Raphael’s next words proved him wrong.

“You’re right. His offense against your woman is far greater. I relinquish my claim. His death is yours.”

Christian experienced a moment of disbelief, followed by the exquisite rush of pure vengeance. He could already taste Anthony’s blood on his tongue, could already hear his screams.
Soon
, he promised himself.

“Thank you, my lord,” he said fervently. “His death will be as painful as I can make it.”

Raphael bared his teeth in a terrifying grin that made Christian glad they were on the same side. “Give my regards to your woman,” he said. “And enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Christian bowed slightly from the waist. He’d been dismissed, and he didn’t mind. He’d been away from Natalie for too long, and there were too many vampires on the hunt in this room.

He strode across the room, loosing just enough of his power that the crowd gave way before him. Natalie was exactly where he’d left her, still in between Jaclyn and Cibor, with both their arms around her. They might not be actively trying to seduce her, but it was obvious they wouldn’t mind, either. The wonder was that they hadn’t done so before now.

Christian growled softly, then reached in and slipped an arm around Natalie’s waist, neatly extracting her from the group hug. Cibor stiffened slightly, but Jaclyn only laughed.

“We were taking care of her for you,” she teased.

Christian gave her a knowing look. “Much appreciated, but I’ll take it from here.”

“
It
is just fine on her own,” Natalie said, with a growl of her own. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

“You’re right,
chére.
I apologize.”

She rolled her eyes, but turned in the circle of his arm and brought her lips to his ear. “Is that Raphael’s mate?” she asked.

He could feel the press of her soft breast and, combined with the lingering adrenaline rush of his promised vengeance against Anthony, it made his dick harden. He wanted to scoop her off to somewhere private, where he could push her skirt up her silky thighs and fuck her until she begged him to stop.

She must have caught some of that in the look he was giving her, because she blushed furiously, and said, “Stop that.”

He grinned at the way her words mirrored his thoughts. “Stop what?”

“You know perfectly well what. So, is that Cynthia Leighton?”

Christian turned his reluctant attention back to the dais where Leighton and Raphael now stood with the other lords and their mates. “It is.”

“Hmmm,” she said, with enough of an undercurrent that Christian gave her a curious look. “Aren’t we a few lords short?” she asked quickly, almost as if she wanted to deflect his attention.

Christian had a moment’s worry, remembering what Raphael had said about Leighton causing mischief, but decided not to pursue it further. At least not tonight. “Three, to be exact. Well, not counting Anthony, who didn’t have the balls to show up.”

“Isn’t one of the lords actually a woman? Is she up there?”

“You mean Sophia. No. She’s missing in action, and the others are actually worried about her. Which, if you knew anything about how powerful vampires interact, is remarkable.”

“Do they think she’s dead?”

He shook his head. “If she was dead, we’d all know it. When a vampire lord dies, the power backlash is strong enough to be felt all over the continent, but especially by the lords. We’d all feel it.”

“Well, that’s good,” she murmured.

Christian smiled bemusedly. “If you say so. I’ve never met the woman.” He lowered his head enough to kiss her lightly. “I think we’ve fulfilled our obligation here, don’t you?” He straightened, and glanced over at Marc. “You ready to blow this pop stand,
mon ami
?”

Marc laughed at his use of the American colloquialism. “Ready to get out of this tux,” he agreed.

“Time to go home,” Christian decided, then put his lips to Natalie’s ear and purred, “Someone still has a lesson to learn.”

CHRISTIAN DIDN’T waste any time once they returned home. While Marc went directly to the basement quarters, Christian followed Natalie into her bedroom and closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he watched her undress. She started to step out of her heels, but he stopped her.

“Keep the heels.”

She gave him a little smile, then reached up and pulled some pins out of her hair, allowing it to tumble to her shoulders, before turning to the dresser where she slowly removed her jewelry—long, dangly earrings and a bracelet to match. Rubies, he thought, with small diamonds. He’d buy her something better, something to mark her as his.

She pulled at the zipper under her arm, turning to face him as the dress slid down to pool at her feet, leaving her in nothing but a barely-there black lace bra and a tiny pair of matching panties. She stood, and stared at him boldly, despite the blush heating her pretty cheeks.

Christian did a lazy scan of her body, head to toe, and back up again, lingering at all the intriguing places covered by those bits of lace. When he met her eyes, he let her see the hunger that was burning his throat, and creating a heaviness in his groin.

He crossed the room slowly, holding her gaze, watching her pupils dilate with emotion. There was fear there, but also desire, excitement. Was she afraid of
him
? Or of her own response to him? She licked her lips, a deliberate provocation that answered his question.

Reaching out, Christian hooked his fingers in the center of her bra and tugged her closer. Flicking the clasp open, he pushed the delicate cups aside. Her breasts were heavy against his palms, large on her delicate frame, their tips a deep rose against the golden hue of her smooth skin. He molded the soft globes with his fingers, coaxing her nipples into hard nubs as she leaned into his caress. She rolled her head on her shoulders, humming her pleasure with eyes closed as she savored the sensation. Her silky hair brushed against the backs of his hands, as her fingers gripped his belt, holding on as if she needed his strength to remain standing.

Christian freed one hand to twist in her thick hair, pulling her head back and holding her still for his kiss. His tongue traced the outline of her lips, before dipping into her warm mouth. Natalie went up on her toes with a soft moan, pushing for more, crushing her mouth against his in demand.

He only smiled. Breaking the kiss, he lifted his hand from her breast to glide it down over her ribs, past her waist, gripping her hip briefly before slipping his fingers beneath the slender band of her panties. He snapped it with a quick movement, and she jumped, eyes flashing wide open.