by R. E. Butler
“And yours, right? I mean if we’re going to be tied together.”
“Absolutely. I’d never do anything to put myself into harm’s way simply because it could hurt you as well.”
“How will we know if we’re beloveds?”
“When we share blood while we’re making love, if we end up sharing our memories in our minds, then we’ll know. Otherwise, we’ll just be truemates.”
“Which do you want to happen?”
“Honestly? I want us to be beloveds, because I don’t want to tie you to the darkness as a vampire. But I get you forever either way.”
She chuckled. “You know, I just realized you never actually asked me to be your mate. You’re making a lot of assumptions just because I forgive you for having caveman ideas about paid food that I’m suddenly going to turn my whole life upside down.”
“Good point.” He slipped off the couch and her heart thudded in her ears as he went down on one knee and took her hands in his, looking up at her with his gorgeous dark brown eyes. “Kelly, I waited for you for two hundred years. I don’t know what kind of mates we are yet, but I know that you’re meant to be mine, and I’m meant to be yours forever. Will you be mine? Will you let me turn you if we’re truemates so that we can be together for all eternity?”
Positively overwhelmed by his sweet words, she said, “If I say yes, do we have to mate right now? I’d kind of like to get to know you a little better first.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“Are you ready?”
“I was ready the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“I guess being a couple hundred years old will give you that kind of insight.”
“Yeah, I know who I want to spend eternity with, and it’s you. No one else for me forever. If you want to wait a little while, we absolutely can. I’d just... like it if you moved in with me.”
“Okay,” she said, smiling.
He rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. Their bodies pressed together, and she whooshed out a little breath. “Okay to which part?”
His hand pressed against her back and held her close. “Okay to being your mate and moving in here. But I still have to help Selma with the rent. She can’t swing it on her own.”
“You’re very sweet,” he said, lifting her into his arms.
“She’s my only family.”
“Not anymore, sweetheart.”
She cupped his face and kissed him. “I’m so glad you came for me, Bell. I was miserable without you.”
“Me too. I’m sorry it took me so long.”
“I have a request.” She feathered her lips over his and he let out a soft grunt that sounded almost like a growl.
“Anything.”
“Take me to bed.”
He gave her a sexy grin, his eyes darkening even further. “As you wish.”
Chapter Ten
Bell was pleasantly exhausted from spending the night hours making love to Kelly. He refused to bite her, even to feed, because he wasn’t sure he could stop himself from making them mates officially, and she’d asked for time to get to know him. He was happy to give that time to her and looked forward to learning everything he could.
He couldn’t sleep, though. Even with Kelly snuggled up all sexy and naked next to him, her arm across his chest and her head on his shoulder with her warm breath cascading over his skin, he couldn’t rest. It was nearly dawn, but he was worried she’d leave. He didn’t really think she would because they’d spent so much time talking in between making love, and the connection he felt to her was so strong now. But part of him was worried, and he didn’t like feeling that way.
She snorted softly and snuggled a little more firmly against him. The truth was that if he didn’t trust her not to disappear again, then he couldn’t really say he trusted her at all. And he did. Before she’d fallen asleep, she promised him she wasn’t going anywhere without him. They’d joked about needing to recharge before they could make love again, and a nap was just what they needed.
Pushing the unwanted thoughts of abandonment away, he decided to trust in her fully and go to sleep. Closing his eyes, he gave her shoulder a squeeze and inhaled the sweet scent of her until he thought he’d be able to find her anywhere. No one smelled as good to him as she did, sweet like sugar and spicy like cinnamon, a heady mixture that made his fangs throb.
“I’m crazy about you,” he whispered.
She murmured something unintelligible and he smiled, drifting off to sleep with her in his arms.
He woke suddenly sometime later, his hands immediately searching for her in the dark room. She was where she had been when he fell asleep, at his side and in his arms. Relief flooded him, and he let out a soft chuckle at the worry that had immediately flooded him and then retreated once he’d felt her.
“Hello,” she murmured, kissing his chest.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he said softly.
“I want to say good morning, but I have no idea what time it is.”
His gaze flicked to the nightstand then back to her. “It’s five o’clock.”
“No wonder I woke up hungry. I haven’t eaten since dinner last night.”
“Damn it.” He sat up and scrubbed a hand through his hair. In all the time that he’d been waiting to see her again, it never occurred to him to get food for her. “I don’t have any food. I’m sorry, why didn’t you say something?”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I was too busy being sexed up to feel hungry.”
“That’s no excuse. It’s only our first day together and I’ve already dropped the ball.”
“It’s not a huge deal. Maybe I can order delivery from one of those food apps.”
He hummed and then said, “Actually, there’s a chef that works for the coven and he cooks for all the non-vampire mates. I can ask them to run something over for you. What do you like?” He found his cell on the nightstand and searched through the contacts for the number for the chef’s office.
“I don’t know. Maybe chicken?”
He sat up and kissed her as the number connected, the ring echoing through the speaker. It was answered on the third ring by a human who worked for the chef, and Bellamin explained who he was and what he needed.
“That’s no problem at all,” Rodrick said cheerily. “Chef made individual chicken pot pies for the mates tonight, unless your mate would prefer something else?”
“The pot pie sounds great,” Kelly said.
“I’ll send one over with one of the trolls. He can go right to the elevator and wait for you, so you don’t have to come out into the lobby. Give us ten minutes.”
“Great, thank you so much.”
“That’s pretty neat,” she said when the call ended. “There’s really a private chef for the mates?”
He nodded and stood, finding his jeans on the floor. “I’ll go down to get your food. You stay put and I’ll be right back.”
After he dressed, he leaned over and kissed her, then headed down to the lobby to wait for the food. By the time the elevator door opened, the troll was waiting with a shallow cardboard box with several containers inside. The coven hired trolls to handle security and odds jobs around the club. They weren’t very smart, but they were extremely loyal.
The lobby, like the rest of the building, was light-tight thanks to automatic shutters that lowered at sunrise and raised at sunset. Some of the apartments had exterior windows, but Bellamin’s didn’t and he was glad he never had to worry about them.
“Thank you very much,” he said to the troll.
“Welcome,” the large male said as he handed Bell the food.
Bell pressed the button to close the doors, and in minutes he was back in the apartment and setting the food on the counter in the kitchen. He stared down at the box, realizing he had no plates or silverware. He muttered a curse under his breath, and then looked a little harder in the box, smiling in relief when he realized that they’d packed a china plate, silverware wrapped in a napkin, and a mini bott
le of wine with a small glass.
He quickly plated the dish, catching the smell of chicken, gravy, and vegetables, and carried the plate, silverware, and drink into the bedroom. He smiled in surprise to see Kelly dressed in one of his shirts and propped up on pillows against the headboard. “It smells wonderful,” she said.
He handed her the plate, giving her the silverware and opening the bottle of wine.
“It’s so fancy,” she said as she put the plate on her lap and unwrapped her utensils. “I never knew a pot pie could look like this.”
He disappeared into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of SyBl from the fridge, returning to the bedroom in time to hear her groan in pleasure at the taste of the food.
“That good, huh?”
“It’s delicious.” He sat on the bed and twisted the lid off the bottle.
“What is that?” she asked, eyeing his drink.
“A blood substitute. It’s called SyBl.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I have to drink this every day. I take real blood once a week, and the SyBl sustains me the rest of the time.”
“You don’t eat real food?”
“Nope.” He took a long drink. “I can feed from a live donor, or there are collection facilities where humans can donate blood like they would for a blood drive. But instead of going to a hospital, it goes to a vampire.”
“They pay people to do that?”
“Yes, but not as well as those who allow themselves to be fed from.”
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“You already asked me that.”
“I know, but you said you needed to feed once a week. When is your week up?”
“Another day or two.”
She took a few bites of the pie and chewed thoughtfully. “You want to feed from me?”
His fangs throbbed at the question. “I do.” His voice was rough suddenly as need welled within him.
“But you don’t want to because you want us to be beloveds first?”
He nodded, exhaling and rolling his neck, forcing the need away with a drink of SyBl. “I want us to be beloveds because it means you’ll live forever, Kelly. I would never hurt you, but I’m afraid if we’re making love and I feed from you, that I might just feed you my blood and bind us as mates forever. I don’t want to do that until you’re ready.”
She took a bite of her pie and then smiled at him. “You’re very sweet.”
“Just for you.”
She finished the pie and half the glass of wine, saying she wasn’t much of a drinker. “I can stock the kitchen with whatever you’d like,” he said as he took her dishes to the kitchen and placed them in the box to return to the club.
He smiled as he walked back into the bedroom and found Kelly stretching and covering her mouth with a yawn. “I’m not used to sleeping during the day and being up at night, but it’s kind of cool.”
“I’m glad you like it. It’s so normal to me, I can’t even really remember what it was like before. Of course back before I was turned, there weren’t electric lights and technology to keep us going once the sun set. It’s hard to work outside by lamplight.”
“I’ll bet,” she said with a chuckle.
“What would you like to do tonight?” he asked, his mind roving over the many pleasurable activities.
Her eyes darkened slightly, and the sweet scent of her arousal reached him. She was intoxicating to him on a hundred levels.
“You look like you have some ideas.”
“Many,” he said, settling next to her on the bed. “But I’m open for suggestions.”
“We can’t leave the apartment until sunset. I’m not even sure when that is.”
He glanced at the clock. “Another forty-five minutes.”
“You don’t have to work?”
“I’ll call out for the night so we can spend our time together.”
She sat up and curled her leg over his hips, settling on him with a smile laced with heat. “I want to talk some more about this beloved thing. I can’t stop thinking about it.” She leaned forward, planting her hands on his chest. “You make me feel so much.”
He cupped her face and drew her to him. “I’m on fire for you, beautiful. You’re everything I’ve been dreaming of for hundreds of years.”
Their lips met and parted, and in moments they were swept away on a tide of pleasure, driving each other wild. He’d never been so affected by a female before, and he knew it was because she was perfect for him.
She was absolutely worth the wait.
Chapter Eleven
Later that evening, there was a knock at the door, and Bellamin went to answer it. Kelly was sitting on the couch, and she looked up at the person when Bell said hello. The woman was stunning, with red hair and wearing a super sexy outfit that immediately made her feel inadequate. She’d been wearing Bell’s shirt every time she decided to get dressed and felt positively frumpy next to the stunning woman.
The woman peeked around Bell and gave Kelly a sweet smile. “Hi! I’m Eynd. I’m a Valkyrie and I work for the coven. Do you mind if I come in and show you some things?”
Kelly was immediately put at ease by her friendly tone. She nodded with a smile, rising to her bare feet and saying, “Sure! It’s nice to meet you.”
Bell stepped aside to let Eynd in and then shut the door. “I’m going to leave you two to get to know each other.”
“Thanks, babe,” Kelly said.
He winked at Kelly as he strode by.
Eynd set a large cardboard box on the coffee table and lifted off the lid. “The coven uses a female named Gretel to supply clothes. She doesn’t come into the apartment complex, and Bellamin said you needed some since he doesn’t have access to laundry facilities, so I ran out to Gretel’s store and brought some things for you. Don’t be mad if I didn’t get your size right, your beloved gave me the size information from your clothes, and I did the best I could with that limited knowledge.”
“Thank you so much for coming over. Your name is End?”
“It’s pronounced end but it’s spelled e-y-n-d. It’s Norse. Kind of.”
“Norse?”
“Valkyries in mythology are traditionally Norse, so my parents gave me a name that sounded Norse.”
Kelly hummed. “It’s a neat name. But what’s a Valkyrie?”
“I’m the child of a vampire male and a human female.”
Kelly thought over those words as she watched Eynd pull garments from the box and lay them out on the coffee table. “I have two more questions. If you don’t mind? Am I being rude?”
Eynd chuckled. “You’re not being rude. I like to answer questions about myself, trust me. It’s better than people believing untrue things or being afraid of me. So ask away.”
Kelly sat on the edge of the couch. “I thought vampires couldn’t have kids?”
“That’s generally true. Do you know the difference between a natural vampire and a turned one?”
Kelly shook her head.
“A natural vampire is the child of two natural vampire parents. Natural vampires are pretty much the same as a turned vampire except they have a higher opinion of themselves and can also retract their fangs. I know of only one natural vampire in Ohio, and she’s mated to a bear shifter and lives with his people. A turned vampire is a human who’s drained of blood until they’re nearly dead and then given the blood of their sire and changed into a vampire.”
“Okay,” Kelly said. “Why do natural vampires think more of themselves?”
She shrugged. “It’s the way vampires are. A natural vampire is often considered to be of higher stock than a turned one. Not that it’s true, of course. There are assholes on both sides.”
With a laugh, Kelly said, “I guess that’s true of most groups of people, no matter what they are.”
“Indeed. Anyway, back to the original question. A natural vampire male can have children. A changed vampire male can only have children for about ten years or so. In that same vein,
a natural vampire female can have children, but a changed vampire female can’t have children at all because their bodies freeze.”
“So your parents?”
“My father was a newly turned male, and he got my mother pregnant. She didn’t want to be turned, so he took me to live with his coven so I would grow up around other immortals.”
“You didn’t see your mom?”
“I spent as much time with her as I could. She passed away twenty years ago.”
Kelly looked at the beautiful woman who didn’t look much over eighteen, except for her eyes that belied she was far older than she appeared. “How old are you?”
“One hundred and seventeen, give or take a year.” She shrugged with a smile. “After a while you stop counting.”
“Is your dad in your coven?”
“Oh no,” she waved a hand dismissively. “He’s in Canada with his coven. I didn’t much care for the way their coven treated humans like they were so much beneath them, so I decided to head out on my own. I lived with fae in their realm for a while, and I lived in the Medes Realm with the centaurs for a bit. I came to the States maybe ten years ago, and I heard about a Saints and Sinners party at the Cleveland coven that was supposed to be amazing, so I finagled an invitation from a coven member and showed up in a sexy devil costume. I met Traz, one of Mishka’s inner circle, and he was dressed like a priest.” She chuckled and shook her head. “He said he’d never met a Valkyrie before, and invited me to meet Mishka, who offered me a job in the coven helping out during the daytime.”
“So you can go outside during the day?”
“Yep.”
“That’s pretty neat. It must be hard to be tied to the darkness all the time.”
“Eh, they get used to it. It’s not like it’s a choice for them, they just have to go along with it.”
“Good point.”
“So Bellamin told me that he believes you’re his beloved, and if that’s true, then you won’t be stuck indoors during the day, either. Not that he’ll let you out of his sight much. You know vampire males.”