The Guardian's Keeper (The Guardian Trilogy, Book 1) (12 page)

C
hapter 15

Out in the street once again Nikoli guided Claire away from Fogak. He stopped to hug her briefly. “I’m so sorry about that,’ he apologized. “Had we arrived before sundown we could’ve collected the key from the human bar keep and skipped all that drama.”

“Yes, Master!”
Claire replied with a flourishing curtsey, teasing him. “I thought I was going to throw up for a few in there. Well, either throw up or punch out that stupid redhead. What’s the deal with her, anyways? Is she an ex-girlfriend?” she prodded.

“
That would be too strong of a word, ‘girlfriend’. She was a mistake I made 30 or 40 years after I turned. I was lonely and convinced I’d never have a meaningful relationship ever again. All the people I had cared about in my human life were dead or soon to be dead. Not that I knew for sure who was dead or still alive- I had to flee after I turned so no one would know what I had become. I found myself facing centuries of solitude. I was only able to make friends for a few years at a time before it was time to move on again before my lack of natural aging arose suspicion.”

“
I thought you said I was the first girl you had feelings for since you turned,” Claire said in an injured voice.

Nikoli stopped walking and took her chin in his hand
s to force Claire to face him. “What I said was true, Claire. You are the first I’ve had these kinds of feelings for, the first woman I’ve fallen in love with since I’ve turned. I was never in love with anyone in my human life either. You’re the first, the only. What happened between Giuliana and I was simply a mistake. I realized it quickly and tried to let her down gently but she’s been trying to rekindle our romance ever since.” Nikoli’s eyes searched Claire’s. Seeing the unspoken questions still within he spoke again. “No, Claire, there’s been nothing romantic between Ramona and I- ever. We’re just friends, always have been, she’s always had my back and I hers. And yes, my Keeper,” Nikoli held her close again. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Claire’s head spun.
This wonderful man loved her. Well, not man- vampire. Did she love him? she asked herself.

Ni
koli interrupted her thoughts. “Don’t answer me now about it. I don’t need to hear it back, I just need you to know how I feel. We need to get to the safe house. It’s not safe for you out here right now, but it’s so close I figured waiting for a cab would take longer than just walking.” He held her hand in his as they continued on down the quiet street.

“
Almost there.” He smiled to Claire as he pointed out a beautiful rose garden enclosed with wrought iron fencing in front of small home at the end of the block. “That’s it there.”

“It’s lovely,”
Claire replied, but her thoughts were still occupied by Nikoli’s confession. Nikoli froze suddenly, grabbing Claire’s arm to still her too.

“Don’t move,” h
e whispered tersely. Claire obeyed. He released her arm. “When I say so, I want you to run, as fast as you can, and get in that house. Don’t stop for anything and don’t worry about me. I’ll be along shortly.”

Claire scar
cely dared breathe. Nikoli hadn’t explained his sudden alarm but she knew, deep down in her gut she knew. The Myrmidons were here.

“Now!”
Nickoli screamed. Claire took off sprinting towards the house as fast as she could. She didn’t look back to see where Nikoli was. He had told her to get into the house as fast as she could and that’s exactly what she intended to do. She wouldn’t, she couldn’t let him down.

Claire made it to the wrought iron gate and let herself into the garden as her heart threatened t
o burst out of her chest. She leapt up the front steps two at a time as she dug in her pocket for the key. Cursing she dropped the key and grabbed for it on the cement steps just as a heavy figure dove on top of her, knocking the wind out of her. Claire twisted on to her back and tried to kick the figure off but her blows went unnoticed. The Myrmidon on top of her scrambled wildly to rip the pendant off her neck but Claire fought with every ounce of strength she possessed. The vampire ripped at her neck and chest trying to grab the necklace but instead ripped open Claire’s skin with his sharp claws.

Claire
kicked and bucked her hips while throwing her head from side to side to make it harder for the vampire to get a good grip on her. She was no match for the vampire in the end as he had far more stamina and strength than she. Eyes glowing red in the blackness of the front steps of the safe house he finally pinned her down using both hands. Without a hand free he was unable to grab the pendant. Grinning he leaned in to Claire’s ear and spoke to her in gravelly voice filled with triumph.

“
The Fang shall be mine, and Stavros may finally return. But you don’t need to worry about that anymore, pretty thing- you’ll be long dead before his rising.” Claire shrieked in horror as the vampire moved in to bite her neck.

Suddenly the
hands pinning her down and the weight on top of her disappeared. Claire sat up as fast as she could and clasped her hands around the pendant protectively.

In the weak moonlight Claire could make out two figures wrestling and snarling through the garden, tangled with one another. They were too fast for her to make sense of how the fight was unfolding but Claire knew the second figure wa
s Nikoli. Nikoli has saved her yet again.

Claire removed
a hand from the pendant to feel around the steps for the key. She breathed a sigh of relief as her fingers touched the cold metal. She struggled to her feet and managed to unlock the front door despite her shaking hands. Inside the house she collapsed in the foyer. She paused and waited for relief to flood through her but none came. She was safe from the Myrmidons now but Nikoli was still out there.

Claire forced herself back upright and
made it over to a front window. She held her breath as she pushed the curtain back. Her eyes scanned the garden but saw no movement and a pregnant silence roared in her ears. A sob grew in her chest as she clung to the windowsill for support. Where was Nikoli?

She scrambled backwards away from the window as a body flew past
it and landed with a meaty thud on the decorative spikes topping the wrought iron fencing. The body spasmed for a moment then lay still. In the darkness Claire could not tell if it was Nikoli or a Myrmidon. A strange noise in the house further fed her terror until she realized it was the sound of her own whimpering. She clasped her hand over her mouth as she willed herself to hold it together.

A sharp rap on the door made he
r cower, shaking all over.

“
Claire! Claire? Can you unlock the door for me?” Nikoli called urgently.

Claire
lunged to the front door and flung it open. Nikoli fell into her waiting arms, covered in blood.

“You’re okay?”
he demanded, examining Claire’s neck where the Myrmidon had tried to bite her.

“I’m fine.”
Claire swatted his hand away and began frantically examining Nikoli’s body. “There’s so much blood!” she sobbed. “Where are you hurt?” She ran her hands through his hair, down his back, up his sides and was just lifting up his bloodied shirt to exam his torso when he grabbed both her hands.

“
I’m okay Claire, I’m fine, I’ve already healed,” he said softly. “I’m just fine. It’s you I’m worried about. Come on, let’s get some lights on so I can see if he got you.” He led her through the dark, down the hall to the kitchen and threw on the recessed lighting. He sat Claire down in the breakfast nook and grimaced at the scratches the Myrmidon had left on her neck. “I’ll be right back, just stay put,” he reassured her, squeezing her shoulder.

Nikoli returned a moment later with cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide and some gauze to clean and dress Claire’s wound. He swept back Claire’s hair and inhaled shar
ply when he saw just how deep the scratches were.

“
That was close Claire, way too close. Another few seconds and he would’ve bitten you. He would have killed you!” Claire sucked in a deep breath as the peroxide fizzled deep in her wounds on her chest and neck.

“
If he had bitten me, would I have turned?” Claire whispered.

“
No Claire, of course not, to turn you’d need to ingest vampire blood yourself. You can’t turn just from being fed on.” Nikoli finished cleaning her wounds and looked her over. “They should be bandaged, but we’ll do that after we shower.” He cupped her face in his hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay Claire. I can’t stand to think I almost lost you there. Never again.” He rubbed her cheek with his thumb, his eyes filling with unshed tears.

Claire closed her eyes and leaned into his hand as she was
overcome with relief.

“We’re both filthy,”
Nikoli chided as he guided Claire to her feet and inspected her clothing. “Let’s go shower and get out of these bloody clothes. You use the Master bath, I’ll take the guest bath.” He led her upstairs to the Master suite. “I have to go dispose of the body. I’ll take it off the fence and put it in the back yard- it’ll disintegrate as soon as the sun hits it in the morning. His partner got away.” Nikoli looked disgusted. “I might’ve killed him but we both did some pretty bad damage to the other. Luckily I had just had that drink at Fogak- I healed right up. He hadn’t fed in a while, so he was slower to heal but when you screamed he took advantage of the distraction and fled.” He sighed. “I’m not going back out there after him tonight. But on a bright note, I did kill one of the Myrmidons- one down, seven left to go.”

He opened the Master closet an
d pulled out a plush bathrobe. “Here, you can slip into this if you like after your shower. I’ll grab our bags I dropped when I dispose of the body.” He kissed her softly on the lips and was gone.

Chapter 16

Nikoli moved the body and retrieved their things without incident. He was no longer nervous about being out on the street in the dark with Claire tucked away in the safe house. He let himself back into the house and climbed the stairs. The Master suite door
was closed so he left Claire’s bag out in the hallway for her.

He
went down to the guest bedroom and dropped his things on the bed. He left his ruined clothing in a pile to be thrown out later and climbed under the warm shower spray. The dried blood from numerous gashes and bites from the fight with the two Myrmidons washed away in a sea of brownish water until finally it ran clear again.

Nikoli heard the bathroom door open. He wiped the water from his eyes and stuck his head out from behind the shower curtain taking care to keep th
e rest of his body covered up.

“Claire? You need
something?” Claire stood in her robe, her hair wet from her shower. She nodded, her eyes never leaving Nikoli’s, as she slowly united her robe and let it drop to the floor without a word.
Inside she was nervous and uncertain but she gave away none of it outwardly. She was bare underneath her robe.

Nikoli’s breath caught in his throat as a naked Claire pushed back the curtain and climbed into the sho
wer with him. “Claire?”

Claire took his face in her hands and kiss
ed him, long and deep. Nikoli returned the kiss tentatively at first but then rose to meet Claire’s passion.

Claire broke a
way and reached for the loofah.

“Wash me?” she requested. “
I only rinsed off in my shower, I want you to wash me please.” She wanted to take is slow, make it last. Tonight was nothing to be rushed.

Nikoli nodded, unable
to speak. He soaped up the loofah and began washing her shyly. Claire grabbed the soap and then ran her lathered hands up and down Nikoli’s torso and arms. Her boldness surprised even her yet felt it natural. Nikoli was always honest with her and he deserved her honesty in return. Claire wanted to honestly express how she felt about him by giving herself to him completely.

“My hair,” s
he instructed, passing him the shampoo bottle. Nikoli massaged her scalp and scrubbed her hair taking great care not to allow any shampoo to fall onto the gouges the Myrmidon had left behind.

“Claire,”
he said softly as he rinsed her hair. She stood completely exposed before him as the water cascaded off her flawless body. “We don’t have to do this.”

“I know,”
Claire replied quietly as she grabbed the soap again and lathered up Nikoli’s back. She pressed up against him now, her slick hands kneading his strong back as they traveled down to his backside. Nikoli gasped, every muscle in his body tensed with need. She understood now what Nikoli meant when he said before he wanted to consume her completely. Claire knew she would never get enough, never tire of this man before her.

“I want to,”
Claire whispered as she kissed him again. Her hands wound their way to the front of Nikoli again, across his stomach and down.

Nikoli drew her closer still, kissing her with ferocious intensity as his hands began to wander freely about her body, touching places he only dared dreamed he’d ever caress.
Claire felt as if she were on fire, consumed by his touch. She moaned softly beneath his hands and his breath quickened.