The Blood Covenant: Book One of The Medici Warrior Series

by Emily Bex

As he approaches her, he reaches out and places one finger under her chin and lifts her face to him.

  Oh, this is so not going how I planned.

  He says to her in his thick Italian accent, “Ah, so I see I am looking for the beautiful Kate with the lovely neck.”

  Nice line, vampire, but a little obvious, don’t you think? She is feeling flustered. This is the first time he has spoken to her since the phone conversation after she ran from the last cocktail party. The tequila has made her brave or stupid, she is not sure which, but she will play along.

  “Yes, and apparently I’m already dead, so I hope you can help me.”

  “I would love to do anything you ask, mi amore.”

  Oh, she bets he would. No wonder he gets all the chicks. But let’s see where this goes.

  She flirts with him, looking up at him through the bangs of her black hair. “Immortality? It sounds yummy. So when do you want to bite me?”

  Shade actually licks his lips and glides his eyes along her neck.

  Kate smiles, well, if you’re going to role-play, pull out all the stops!

  “Immortality is a very serious journey Kate, but I can assure you, if you wish for a bite, you will enjoy every moment of mine.” Then he winks at her and grins the most deliciously wicked grin.

  She is trying to mask the fact she is very turned on by him right now, and she doesn’t want this little game to end. So she says to him, “Go for it! I’ve got too much to do to be dead. So if you bite me, does that mean you’re my ‘maker’? Does that mean I belong to you?”

  At this point, another guy in black leather, steps up to Shade. He pulls Shade aside and tells him to back off. Really? Who is this guy? Since she can hear his admonishments to Shade, Kate says in a voice loud enough for the both of them to hear, “I’m the one who’s dead here. Don’t I get a say?”

  Shade turns back in Kate’s direction and locks eyes with her once again.

  “How can I refuse such a beautiful lady? She is begging?”

  Others step in, discouraging him. He appears to know them… Who are these people?

  Kate shouts out loudly, “Please! I’m waiting. Shade! Ignore them, you know you want me.”

  The look he gives her says he will eat her alive. He will have her groveling at his feet. He will take her body places she has never dared imagine. Her heart is pounding as she meets his stare, and he knows she has read his message, and she doesn’t back away. All of a sudden, she wants this man. Forget the warnings. Vampire or mortal, not even sure now what the fuck he is, but there is a darkness in him that is pulling her in, and she wants to dive in head first. Is this the tequila talking, or the memories of that dream? She no longer cares.

  The others are still pulling at him, trying to drag him away. She is not going to let them win. And she knows what she has to do to appeal to his alpha male. Throw down the gauntlet.

  “Come on, Shade. Man up! Are you going to let them tell you what to do?” And in the blink of an eye, he is at her side.

  In a sibilant hiss, he answers her, “No one tells me what to do, mi amore, not even you.” His words send a chill up her spine, and she likes it.

  She slides her arm into his, her eyes still locked on him, and says, “Are you as bored as I am with these games, lover?” Lover? Where did that come from? He is not my lover. I have never called anyone lover. You have had way too much alcohol.

  “Si, mi amore, it is time to stop playing games.” And again, that deliciously wicked grin, oh the promise of that grin.

  “Then perhaps, sir, you would like to escort me home?”

  He places his hand over hers and says, “The pleasure will be all mine Kate, well perhaps, not all mine.” His words make her blush and she tucks her head, and she can hear him chuckle to himself.

  He walks with her to her car, and she hands him her keys, “You’ll drive? I think I’ve had too much to drink. I’ll give you the directions.”

  “Of course, and I need no directions.” He helps her into the passenger seat before sliding his large frame into the small red Miata, adjusting the car seat back as far as it will go, starting the car and heading out of Georgetown in the direction of Arlington.

  Wait? What? He needs no directions? “What do you mean, you need no directions? Do you know where I live?”

  “Si, I have known where you live since the first time I saw you.”

  “Well that’s kinda creepy, don’t you think?” She is second guessing her decision to have him drive her in her car to her condo. “Are you like, stalking me, or something?”

  “No, and you don’t need to worry about my intentions. I was protecting you, and I knew you would eventually find your way to me.”

  “Wow… really? You are pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you? I mean, that was a lot to assume.”

  “Si, maybe, and yet, here we are.”

  Well, how do you answer that one Miss Smarty-Pants? You not only found your way to him, you just invited him home! “Good point, Mr. Medici.”

  He looks over at her in the dark interior of the car, with the light of the dashboard reflecting off that beautiful face, and smiles. Oh yes, it was definitely the ‘I told you so’ smile. He didn’t need to say it. She could only shake her head. Great move, Kate. You are now in the car with a man who took the time to figure out where you live and has been ‘protecting’ you.

  Alarm bells should be going off in her head, but she finds she is still oddly attracted to him.

  “And protecting me? From exactly what were you protecting me? I live in the Virginia suburbs outside of Washington. Were you protecting me from soccer moms and runaway school buses?”

  “You have attracted some dark elements and I was just keeping an eye on you.”

  “Dark elements… like vampires.”

  “Si, among other things.”

  “Really? Come on, I don’t believe in vampires. Rissa said you were a vampire, but I’m not buying it.”

  “Well, here is the thing, it does not matter whether you believe or not.”

  “Okay then, not.”

  “Si, whatever you say.” And the wicked grin returns.

  They have reached her condo and he pulls the car into the underground garage and parks it in her designated space. Before she can even ask how he knew this was her parking space, he exits the car and comes around to her side and opens the door for her, extending his hand to help her out of the car and then walk to the elevator.

  As they step in and the doors close, he pushes button 7. She swallows hard, how did he know? They exit the elevator and walk down the corridor. He is still holding her keys, which he uses to unlock her door, and then pushes it open to allow her to enter. Wow, manners and chivalry, when did that go out of style?

  “They never went out of style mi amore, and a lady should always be treated like a lady.”

  She turns and looks at him with a quizzical look as he enters the condo and closes the door behind him. Did she say that out loud? She must have, surely he didn’t read her thoughts. No… reject that.

  He catches her eye, and her expression, and just smiles.

  He helps her off with her coat, and she looks down at the ridiculous Goth costume.

  “If you don’t mind Shade, I’m going to go change out of this costume, and wash all this crap off my face. Please, have a seat. There is wine in the fridge if you want it. Just help yourself.”

  “Take your time, I will be waiting.” He takes a seat on the sofa.

  She runs to her bedroom and pulls off the dress and the biker boots and changes into jeans and a soft sweater. She heads to the bathroom, pulls off the black wig, and washes all of the dark black and purple Goth make-up off her face. Really? Someone came home with me, looking like this?

  She does a light touch-up of her regular make-up and takes her red hair from the bun and combs it out. When she walks back into the living room, he has flipped on the gas fireplace.

  “A fire, how… romantic.”

  He stands up as she en
ters the room and walks toward her. He reaches out his hand and runs it through her red hair.

  “Ah, bel rosso, I have been waiting for you.”

  “Waiting? I hope I didn’t take too long.”

  “No, mi amore, I was just looking at your home, your books and the pictures of your travels, your music. The way you have decorated. It tells me a lot about you.”

  She directs him back to the couch. “So, sit please, because I know very little about you.”

  “Ah, you know a lot about me, bel rosso, and you have already rejected it.”

  She stands with her hand on her hip, “You mean the vampire thing?”

  “The vampire thing, si.”

  She sighs loudly, expressing her exasperation, and turns to walk to the kitchen and returns with the wine and two glasses and sits next to him on the couch.

  “I only have white, is that okay? I mean I’m sure with you being a vampire and all, you would much prefer the red.”

  He chuckles at her, and shakes his head, and his long hair sways gently. She really wants to reach up and touch his hair, grip his hair like she did in the dream, but she restrains herself.

  “Bel, let me pour you some wine.” He takes the bottle from her hand and expertly removes the cork and fills her glass. As she takes a sip, she notices he has not filled his own glass.

  “None for you?” she asks.

  “No mi amore, vampires do not consume human food.”

  “Oh right, how could I forget?” she says sarcastically. He just smiles that wickedly delicious smile.

  “So other than this vampire thing, here is what else I know. You’re a lady’s man, a player, a heart-breaker. Are you going to break my heart, Shade Medici?”

  He reaches out and touches her hair again, running the back of his fingers softly down her cheek, “I could ask you the same.”

  And with that, he leans in and kisses her, softly at first, their lips barely touching. Then he deepens the kiss. He is covering her mouth with his, and she feels his tongue probing against hers. Her pulse is already racing. With his mouth still locked to hers, he removes the wine glass from her hand and sets it on the table. He wraps his arms around her, enclosing her in his embrace. She slides her hands up his back and holds him to her. Her head is swimming.

  She pushes her tongue into his mouth… and she feels… what? No, it is nothing, her imagination. She probes again with her tongue and she feels him respond, but she quickly breaks away from the kiss and looks at him; startled, confused. She could feel his fangs with her tongue. She stares back at him, and she has no words.

  “Si, mi amore. Vampire.”

  She jumps up from the couch, knocking over the empty wine glass, and starts pacing in the room. This is not real!

  His voice is calm when he speaks. “Are you afraid of me, bel?” He has not moved from the couch, and is quietly watching her, his eyes locked to hers.

  “No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I really didn’t think… I mean I just thought…”

  He pats the sofa next to him, “Sit down, Kate.”

  Her head is saying run, but her heart, or is it another part of her anatomy, is saying sit, so she walks back to the sofa and takes the seat next to him.

  “So what happens now?”

  “Nothing you don’t want to happen.”

  “It’s up to me? The outcome is up to me?”

  “Of course, bel rosso, where we go from here is all up to you. I can leave now, and you will never see me again, although it will break my heart if that is your choice. Or I can stay. “

  ***

  She can’t deny her attraction to him. She is mesmerized by him, she feels his darkness, but she doesn’t feel malice. She wants him, she really wants him, but she doesn’t want to be another notch on his bedpost.

  “You think I would break your heart? My fear, Shade Medici, is you will break mine.”

  “I have been watching you for some time, bel, and something in you calls out to me. I have just been waiting for you to feel the same.”

  “Well, that doesn’t really answer my question, does it? Will you break my heart? Will you make me fall in love with you, and then leave me for the next girl in your long parade of girls? Your reputation precedes you, you know?”

  “No, bel rosso. I will not break your heart. Can you say the same?”

  She stares into his eyes, those ice blue eyes. It would be so much easier to think if he were not so beautiful. His answer sounds sincere. It feels sincere. She wants to believe him. She takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh. Well, so far, her luck with mortal men has not been that great, maybe she should try an immortal. And hey, it won’t be the first time she has had the shit kicked out of her by love. Her heart is screaming ‘take the plunge.’ Her head is screaming ‘are you fucking nuts?’ Yes, probably, because she has decided to follow her heart.

  She reaches out and takes his hands, and looks at her small hands in his large, strong masculine hands. She loves his hands, the strength in them. She loves the contrast of his dark olive skin against her pale white skin. Then she looks up into that face, and those eyes.

  “I will not break your heart, Shade Medici. And I am counting on you to keep your promise to not break mine.”

  He gives her the softest smile. “A gentleman never breaks a promise to a lady.”

  He leans in and kisses her again, followed by another soft kiss, followed by another, and another. She slips her hands from his hands, and slides them up his arms, and she can feel the power in him. As she reaches his shoulders, she wraps her arms around him, and she feels his hands encircle her waist, and then wrap themselves around her back, pulling her in closer.

  She slides one hand into his hair, that hair she has been aching to touch since the first time she saw him. And she feels him deepen the kiss. She wants him to consume her. His tongue is probing, and she can feel her heart racing, again. His hand moves up her back, and she can feel him tangle his hand in her hair, grabbing it by the fistful.

  He crushes her to his chest, and she can feel his heartbeat matching her own. His mouth covers hers, and their tongues tease each other. Her head is spinning, again, when he breaks the kiss and says, “Breathe, mi amore.”

  Seriously? Who has kisses that make you forget how to breathe? She looks into those eyes and their blue has turned to a red glow. It is both disconcerting and exciting.

  “Take me to bed, lover,” she whispers to him.

  “Are you sure, Kate?”

  Is she sure? Oh God yes, like they could turn back now. She reaches her hand to his face, she is already falling in love with this man, and she can’t take her eyes off of him, as his eyes bore into her.

  “I am sure, Shade. Please take me to bed.”

  ***

  He stands and scoops her up. She is like a feather in his arms, and she loves it. She loves that he is carrying her. He bends his head to her and softly kisses her once again then carries her into her bedroom where he sets her down on the bed.

  She looks at him unsure, “I’m not sure how this works.”

  He laughs at her, and says, “It all works the same, mi amore.”

  He pulls the sweater over her head, and she raises her arms, so he can remove it. She stands so he can remove her jeans, as he kneels in front of her and slides them down her legs. She reaches out again and places her hands in his hair. He leans in and lands a kiss just below her naval, and she feels her knees buckle. His hands reach out and grab her hips to steady her. He uses his mouth to pull the panties away from her hips, and then with a quick bite through the silky fabric, they drop away. She gasps in surprise, and she sees a flash of the dream in her head.

  “Are you all right, bel rosso?”

  “Yes,” she whispers.

  “Should I continue?”

  “Please, yes,” she answers, though her throat feels as if it is closing.

  He stands and unhooks the bra and slides the straps down her shoulders, painfully slowly. As the bra drops to the floor, he
cups each breast in his hands, and rubs his thumbs over each nipple and his touch…. oh God his touch. He is picking her up again and laying her on the bed.

  With his eyes locked on her, she watches him as he removes the leather jacket, and then pulls the t-shirt over his head, and stands there a moment, shirtless in those tight, low-slung leather pants.

  He sits on the edge of her bed, and pulls off his boots, then stands again to peel off the leather pants. Commando… should have known! He is beyond beautiful, and oh my God huge, just like the dream. He takes her breath away.

  ***

  She has to take a deep breath, remind herself to ‘breathe, mi amore.’ He slides into her bed next to her, and somewhere in her head, there is a voice saying, ‘last chance, last chance, last chance to back out’ and she tells the voice to ‘shut-the-fuck-up’.

  He leans into her, his mouth at her ear and in a voice as soft as a whisper asks, “Are you sure, Kate?”

  “I am sure.”

  And with that, his hand is in her hair, his lips on her lips, and his leg across her legs. She slides her hand up his back and relishes at the feel of his skin. He enfolds her in his other arm and pulls her to his bare chest. Skin on skin, does anything feel better?

  “Si, there are things that feel better, and I am about to show you.”

  She is spinning out of control. Is she more taken back by the sudden realization he can read her thoughts? Or the answer he just gave to her question? She is beyond the point of no return. She can only take this path wherever it leads, wherever he leads.

  He covers her mouth with his, and begins that slow probing with his tongue, and she moans into his mouth. She feels his grip on her tighten, and his hands start their exploration. He caresses then squeezes her breasts, his hand slides down her waist, and over her hip, and across her ass. His touch is lighting a path of fire on her skin. She feels almost pinned down by him, just like in the dream, and she loves the feeling, his weight on her, this feeling of being captured. His hand slides between her legs, and his fingers probe to find her already wet and waiting for him. He growls into her mouth, a feral wild animal growl that sends a shiver down her spine. She can feel his engorged cock against her leg, the heat from him, and she wants him. The truth is, she has wanted him since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he intimidated her.