“Why this way?” she asked.
“You need to feed. We can pull over out here easier. Plus it’s darker.
No continuous city lights,” he explained to her.
Falling back in the chair, she ran her hands over her arms. She was feeling hungry, but she was angry. “Look, just let me off somewhere.
Give me whatever cash you have and I'm going to just head out.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No. You're going back to Austin with me after you feed,” he said firmly.
“You're not the boss of me,” she said through gritted teeth.
She was sick of all of this crap and she just wanted to get away. Just runaway and be done with it. She'd call her Grandmama and tell her where to get the Lincoln.
“I am now. You're not going anywhere. We need to prepare for The Summoner. Now that you've shown you have his powers twice, he's going to be coming for you.”
Cian's voice sounded very sure of this and it sent a chill down her spine.
“I don't even know how I did it!” She wasn't even really sure that she had summoned up the dead. But if she hadn't done, then why would have they gone back into the earth when she ordered it? Lightly, she touched her broken cheekbone and shivered at the sharp stab of pain.
She was definitely healing slowly and she was famished. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she curled up in the car seat.
“It doesn't matter if you know how you did it or not, he'll come for you for now. I don't think he ever anticipated that you inherited some of his ability. I know I never heard of this happening before. I certainly cannot control the dead.”
She stared out the window at the dark landscape rushing past them.
Tears were threatening to fall, as her face pulsed with pain. Her hunger grew. When she had said the words that Cian now called a curse, she had felt something drain out of her body and into the ground below her. It was as if a thread had been pulled and a piece of her had quickly unraveled. When she had taken back her words, she had felt it snap back. Now she was keenly aware of the shadow wound inside of her that could call to the dead.
“My Grandmama sees the dead,” she said. “That is why she was suspicious of me. She sees the dead so clearly, they are like living beings to her. My grandfather was terrified, so she stopped talking about it. When she was a little girl, she used to help ghosts cross over.
That's why she is addicted to those stupid TV shows with mediums and ghosts.”
“Then, maybe that's why its been different for you,” Cian suggested.
She looked toward him and saw that he was deep in thought. He looked different tonight with his much longer hair and a goatee. “My life is seriously fucked up, isn't it?”
“Yeah. Both of our lives are.” His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly.
“I'll leave when we get to Austin.” She felt a little calmer now. He had come to San Antonio for her and dumping her seemed like something Roberto would do. Tie her up, shove her in a trashcan and leave her out for the San Antonio vamps to play with. “I'll get Grandmama's car and head to Mexico. Unless they're as crazy as you guys are about territory.”
“Worse,” Cian informed her with a sigh. “It's a constant struggle for control down there.”
“Then maybe Canada,” she decided. She could feel her sharp teeth brushing against her bruised lips and she ran a finger over them thoughtfully.
“Stay in Austin,” Cian said to her.
“You're getting married,” she pointed out.
He lapsed into silence and she curled up even tighter. Her body hurt like crazy. There were still a lot of cars on the road, but they would soon thin out as they got further out of San Antonio.
She must have dozed for awhile for she was startled when he pulled over onto the shoulder.
“You need to drink,” he said, and slashed his wrist.
The smell of his blood overwhelmed her. Without hesitating, she leaned over and gripped his arm between her hands and covered the gash with her mouth. Sucking hard, she drew his blood into her in a wonderful cool rush. It wasn't as warm as a mortal's would be, but it was rich and full of the life she needed. She gasped as the blood began to flow through her and her body began to tingle as she healed. She felt Cian's hand slide into her hair and she giggled, blood almost coming out her nose.
“What?” he whispered in a raspy voice.
“If anyone saw us they'd think I was giving you a blow job,” she said, and bit into his wrist again.
Despite his earlier seriousness, Cian's laughter filled the car. It even broke the tension between them a little as the deliciousness of the moment filled them. The more she drank, the more she felt entangled in him and soon wanted to climb on top of him and devour him in other ways. His fingers in her hair tightened and slowly drew her head back.
She didn't hesitate to kiss him back when he covered her mouth with his and her hands clung to his shoulders. It felt so good to heal and it felt so good to feel fully alive again. His tongue licked the blood from her lips and he drew back reluctantly. Slowly, she sank back into her seat and ran her hands over her now healed face.
Cian looked a little pale as he sucked on his wrist so it would heal more quickly. There was a disquieting atmosphere in the car as they both retreated into their own thoughts. Amaliya had no idea what was on his mind, but she was still thinking about blood and sex.
Unfortunately, she was also thinking about him being engaged and as annoying as Samantha was, she appeared to love him very much.
With The Summoner somewhere out there, she had no desire to stick around anyway. She knew that if she stayed around, it would only put Cian in more danger and she was done with doing that. She'd grab the car and the phone her grandmother had given her that was still at the apartment and she'd bail. Simple as that.
Without a word, Cian shifted gears and the car sped back into the night.
***
The silence on the trip back to Austin had been stifling. They had both retreated into their corners and avoided even looking at each other. Amaliya had the distinct feeling they were both gearing up for the big argument they both knew was coming.
When they reached downtown Austin, she finally looked toward him to see that his jaw was set in a harsh line. It made her feel agitated and she looked away sharply. He parked in the parking garage and she was out of the car before the engine died.
“Amaliya,” Cian said from behind her.
She walked to the elevator and punched the button. Turning, she rested her hands on her hips. “What?”
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don't.”
To her relief, the elevator doors opened and she stepped backward into it.
And managed to bump into a couple that were exiting.
“Oh, sorry,” she said as they looked at her curiously and she remembered she was covered in her own blood. She just gave them a half-hearted smile and shrugged.
Cian stepped in beside her and began to open his mouth when a pretty blond girl reeking of liquor lunged in. She swept her hair out of her face and giggled at them.
“Hope I'm not crashing,” she said with exaggerated concern. Her keys jingled in her fingers as she swayed back and forth.
“Not at all,” Amaliya assured her.
“Did you spill your drink?” The girl pointed to Amaliya's crusted t-shirt.
“Bloody Mary,” Amaliya answered.
“That sucks,” the girl said with a deeper frown.
“How are you doing, Heather?” Cian steadied the girl with one hand.
“Oh, I'm drunk. But I got a cab back,” she assured him.
It struck Amaliya that this was one of the people Cian drank from on a regular basis. She felt a pang of jealousy, then fought it away.
“Good for you,” he said, and helped her step out onto her floor when the doors opened. “Be careful.”
Heather teetered on her high heels and giggled. “I like the look, Cian.
It's hot.” She gestured to his long hair.
Cian smiled at her slightly. The doors shut. With a determined expression on his face, he turned back toward Amaliya.
Amaliya pointed a finger in his face. “Don't start.”
He moved to grab hold of her and she managed to skirt around him as the elevator opened. Rushing to the door, she banged on it as hard as she could.
“Let me unlock it,” Cian said shoving her aside.
Roberto opened the door and peered out at them. “You brought her back.”
“I told you I would,” Cian snapped. He was growing more and more irritable.
“I need my car keys and my cellphone. And you owe me seven thousand dollars,” she said to Roberto, jabbing him in the chest as she pushed her way past Cian and into the apartment.
“Are you leaving?” Roberto asked hopefully.
“No,” Cian said firmly.
“Yes,” Amaliya spoke over him. “And I should rip your freaking head off after the shit you pulled,” Amaliya hissed at Roberto as he moved smoothly toward the kitchen.
“I only did what I felt was right.”
“Well, what if I do what feels right and it's throwing you off the balcony?”
“I'm stronger than you think,” Roberto answered as he picked up the cellphone and looked around for the keys to the Lincoln. “A hundred years of drinking a vampire's blood makes me stronger than a mere mortal.”
“I'll show you how mortal you still are!” Amaliya headed toward him.
She had a very strong desire to punch his lights out.
She was stopped when Cian grabbed her arm and jerked her back off her feet and onto the floor. “Leave him be.”
Roberto moved toward them, the keys and cellphone in his well-manicured hand. His expression was impassive as he laid the objects on a table. He plucked his jacket off the back of a chair.
“If you are wise, you will let her leave,” Roberto said to Cian.
Amaliya pushed herself to her feet.
“Roberto,” Cian said in a low voice. It was a tone Cian had never used before and it terrified Amaliya.
“Yes, my Master,” Roberto said, eyebrow arched, as he shrugged on his jacket.
“Get out.” Cian's tone was absolute.
“As you wish.” The servant quickly moved across the loft and soon the front door clicked shut.
“Are you going to kill me?” Amaliya asked warily as she backed away from him.
“No,” Cian answered, and closed the gap between them in the wink of an eye.
She was startled when he pulled her close and his hands cradled her face.
“Cian, we talked about this,” she said as he kissed her. As always, she felt the great need rising and her desire to crush him close was growing unbearable.
“I was wrong,” he answered against her lips, and kissed her again with deepening passion.
“Samantha,” she whispered in a husky voice. “You're marrying her.”
Cian drew back from Amaliya and moved toward the walls that hid his secret lair. She felt strangely abandoned and her lips felt naked without his. She felt hypnotized by his movements as he moved away from her.
“You know as well as I do that I was living a delusion.”
“You said she made you good,” Amaliya responded in a weak voice.
She felt terrible that she had come into his life and royally messed it up just as The Summoner had done to her.
“She makes me weak. She makes me feel human. She makes me forget what I am,” he said sharply. He turned toward her, eyes blazing. His longer hair and goatee made him look almost satanic. “I am a vampire. I am the master of this city and I will protect it and guard it against intruders. And that includes protecting my cabal. Which may be only you, but that is what I must do.”
“You've changed. Just since I met you a few days ago,” Amaliya said in a low voice.
It just wasn't his appearance: it was his presence. He seemed less of the Austin pretty boy and more of the master vampire. His power was evident to her gaze now, even if it had not been when she had first met him. She felt torn. Cian was the only real advocate she had in this life. The only real protection she had against The Summoner and the unknown. Hell, even against herself. She was still learning. But she hated to fuck up his life and destroy all he had created for himself.
Cian ran his hand over his hair and shook his head slightly. “Maybe.
But maybe it is an awakening you are seeing more than anything else.”
Moving slowly toward him, Amaliya ran her hands over her arms lightly, trying to focus her thoughts. Being around him was hard at times. This was one of those times. She wanted him. They both knew it. Despite her misgivings and her own stubbornness, she slowly closed the gap between them.
The moment she was close enough, his hands were in her hair and his lips were on hers. Within seconds, their kiss was frenzied and full of need.
Pulling her around and pinning her to the metal wall behind them, Cian licked her lips and sucked hard on their fullness. She felt his sharp fangs draw blood and her hands yanked hard at his shirt, pulling it free from his black trousers.
“It can't be gentle,” he whispered. “Not the first time.”
“I know,” she answered and drew her tongue over his lips. Then as quick as a viper, she drove her fangs into his neck.
Gasping, he pushed her hard against the wall, grinding his body against hers. Amaliya drew her nails down his bare back, then around his sides to his navel. Once there, she began to unfasten his pants as she drank deep from his throat.
His hands pushed her thick hair back from her neck and licked her with one long delicious swipe. She managed to pull his cock free and began to stroke it with her cool hand. She sucked harder, tearing at the tiny holes her fangs had made in his skin. They both knew they would not stop this time. He was hot and heavy in her hand, like flesh over steel, and it only aroused her more. When his fangs slid into her neck, she felt him pulse in her hand and a deep moan pulled itself out of her.
Somehow, he managed to get her jeans open and pushed them down.
Her overwhelmed senses barely took in his maneuvering to get one of her legs free. She was consumed with the taste of his blood and the heat of him in her hand. She stroked him with swift, demanding movements.