by S. K. Yule
“But if you don’t perform it, it will mean a death sentence for all of them.”
“See, my dear. That is what got you in trouble to begin with.”
“What is that?”
“Jumping to conclusions with minimal information.”
While he saw his own death and could make the assumption that the weakness brought on by performing the virtus ritus could be a direct contributing factor to his demise, it was purely speculation on his part. He wasn’t aware of anything that was capable of killing him unless he was in such a state of weakness, but he did not know who and what Trinidad was either. There were too many unknown factors to consider, too many uncertainties that kept him from seeing a clear picture of what caused his own death.
He prayed that he was right about being killed during his weakened state from performing the ritual. That scenario hinted that things would work out for all of his sons so they could come into their powers.
“No one can say or do anything that will make me suffer more than I already have…am. I made mistakes, but I couldn’t bear the thought of losing any of my children. And yet, I did. Not only is Estril dead, my only daughter gone forever, but my sons will never look at me the same again. And there remains the very real possibility of losing one or all of them to the uprising.”
Ragnor sighed in resignation.
“What else aren’t you telling me?” Marilena demanded.
“During the first battle, we will lose one of the hunters. I do not know which one, but it will happen.”
“Are you saying it could be one of our sons?”
He nodded.
“No!” She clenched her fists. “No!”
If the situation were not so dire, he’d revel in her fury. She was most beautiful when she was angry or caught up in the throes of passion. How he ached for her. How he needed her to touch him, to soothe the turmoil that broiled his insides to the point that he thought he might be cooked alive.
“Marilena, did you stop loving me?”
“Wh-what?” She frowned.
“During the years we were apart, the years after you left, did you stop loving me?”
“Ragnor, this is not the time to discuss this,” she said quietly.
He went to her and gently gripped her by the shoulders. “This may be the only time we have to discuss this. What lies ahead is uncertain.”
She turned her back to him and started to sob softly. “You are my viata amant, Ragnor. You have always been—will always be—a part of me. Every day I spent away from you was painful. No other man has ever touched me. I couldn’t bear it.”
“That is one thing I know, Marilena. I allowed you much, but being with another man, I would not.” He pulled her back against his chest. “Why could you not have returned to me? You cannot imagine how I suffered.”
“After you, the most powerful vampyre in existence, the Vampyre King, was selfless enough to allow me to leave, how could I come back and admit that I’d been weak?”
“Marilena, what you did was foolish. What you did was a colossal mistake, but you were never weak. You were willing to give up your happiness, willing to risk their love to try to save our children. I admired you for your strength. The only thing I did not admire was your lack of trust in me.”
She turned to him, tears streaming down her cheeks, and reached up to cup his jaw in her small hand.
“You cannot imagine the regret I feel for driving the only person who loved me above all others, who I loved above all others, away.”
“You never drove me away. I’ve always been right here waiting for you. I’m still right here waiting for you.”
She let out an anguished cry. “How could you possibly want me after everything I’ve done?”
“Because you are the other half of my soul. Without you, my life is dark and cold.”
“Do you think you could ever forgive me? Truly forgive me for the things I’ve done? For all of it?”
Ragnor smiled at her. “I’ve never pretended to condone your actions, Marilena. But I do understand them. There is nothing to forgive. You were a mother doing what she thought best for her children. How could I hold that against you? You, the woman I love more than anything, more than my own life, trying to protect our children like a fierce lioness even when the odds were stacked against you. My question to you now is, do you finally believe me when I tell you that I have no control over the prophecy? I cannot stop it?”
“Yes. I wanted to believe you could stop it and save our children so badly that I let the fear cloud my judgment. I’m sorry I doubted you. I know you will do everything in your power to protect our babies.”
“They are hardly babies, Marilena. They are strong men. Good men. Men any parent would be proud to call his or her own.”
“Yes. They are.”
“Let’s put this all behind us, shall we?”
“But how? Uriah will never forgive me, and Aldin, and—”
He placed his index finger over her lips. “Shh. I said let’s put it behind us.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.
“I want that more than anything,” she said with hope shining in her eyes.
Ragnor’s heart—the heart that had laid dormant since the day she’d left—came to life. He leaned down and took her lips in a gentle, exploratory kiss. The coldness, bitterness, and discord that had resided in him for what seemed like forever dissolved as one touch from her brought him instant peace.
He picked her up and walked toward the bed where he laid her on her back and leaned over her. “Know that once we do this, I will never allow you to leave me again. If you should ever run away from me again, I will tear this earth apart, heaven and hell too if I must, to bring you back to me.”
“I’m tired of running, my love.” She raised her arms and opened them to welcome him home.
“Be warned, my beautiful, Marilena. Once you accept me, I will no longer stand back and allow you to do whatever you please when you please. From this day forward, we make all substantial decisions together. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Yes. Now come to me, darling.”
He sank into her waiting arms without hesitation, determined not to waste one moment he had left with her.
* * * *
Conrad opened the shower door and stepped under the spray next to Dominic.
“I was wondering if you were coming,” Dominic said while lathering his chest with soap.
“I plan on coming.” Conrad replied before slowly perusing Dominic’s wet, toned body.
Dominic had the most breathtaking golden-colored eyes. They’d been attracted to one another for years, but had never given in to that attraction until they’d both finally grown tired of pretending otherwise a few months ago.
Conrad had been with women as well, as had Dominic. Both were quite the ladies’ men, but neither had been attracted to another man until they’d met one another. For Conrad, it had been an instant attraction that had taken him by surprise, an attraction that he’d tried his best to fight. Dominic had fought it as well, but only for Conrad’s sake. None of that mattered now, though. It was all in the past, and this was now.
Conrad reached for a washrag, wet it, and squeezed some soap onto it. He rubbed the cloth over Dominic’s smooth, wide back in slow circles. Dominic groaned when Conrad dropped the rag to the shower floor and began massaging his shoulders. He worked the tense muscles until they unknotted and soon Dominic’s head fell back against his shoulder, exposing the muscular column of his throat.
Conrad licked his lips then bent to trail his tongue along the exposed skin. His cock jumped in anticipation and Dominic reached behind him to tunnel his fingers through Conrad’s hair. Conrad groaned when the motion brought him up tight against Dominic’s back.
He was in love with Dominic, and couldn’t wait for the shit with the drifters to be done with so they could start their lives together. Conrad flexed his hips, and Dominic grunted as the entire length of his cock rubbed slowly against his a
ss.
Conrad gave Dominic a gentle shove and guided his hands palm down high on the shower wall. He stepped up behind him closing the distance between them, and wrapped his arms around him from behind. He ran his fingers over his chest before leaning in to kiss his neck again.
“Do it, Conrad,” Dominic grunted.
“You know I love you, right?”
“Yeah,” Dominic answered. “Ditto.”
Conrad smiled before opening his mouth wide and sinking his fangs into the side of Dominic’s neck. Shit was going to get heavy in a few hours, and they both needed this time with one another. When they were together, nothing else mattered. It was only the two of them and no one else. When they were together, reality gave way to a world of need, pleasure, and fulfillment.
* * * *
“Who the fuck are you?”
When Grady came from the bathroom, only a towel wrapped around his hips, to find a tall, gorgeous, blonde creature standing in front of him, he nearly tripped over his own tongue. She was holding a sword up in front of her in a fight stance. She was glorious.
She was as tall as he was and had unique and intriguing greenish-brown eyes. She was flawless from head to toe, and all of his blood immediately rushed to his groin.
“Better answer me now before I cut your head off,” she calmly said.
What had she asked? Oh yeah. Who was he? “I’m Grady.”
“And what the hell is a drifter doing in the Aleksandrov’s garage?”
He held his hands up in mock surrender. Damn, he’d love to tangle with her, except the distraction from his rampant attraction to her might be the death of him.
“I assure you I’ve been invited to stay. You can check if you don’t believe me.”
She lowered her sword a bit after taking in his appearance. “I guess even a drifter wouldn’t be dumb enough to break into a house with a nest of hunters just to take a shower. Still doesn’t explain why they’d invite one into their home.”
“I’m not exactly a drifter.”
She lowered her sword more. “Wait. I think I remember Aldin mentioning something about a drifter named Grady.”
“Yeah. I’ve been helping them with this nasty little uprising Trinidad has devised.”
She finally slid the sword in its sheath behind her back.
Damn, the woman was stunning. He licked his lips as he took in the long legs encased in black leather, gently flared hips, tiny waist, perfect sized breasts, and kissable lips. He was sporting a serious towel tent, and he didn’t give one damn.
She raised a brow at said towel tent, and he shrugged. “What do you expect? You have looked at yourself in the mirror, right?”
“Looks aren’t everything.” She eyed him closer.
“No, but they sure don’t hurt.”
He walked to the bed where he’d laid out clean jeans and t-shirt—courtesy of Ashe—before getting into the shower. He immediately dropped the towel—modesty never had been his strong point—and reached for the jeans. She gasped behind him, but after he’d pulled the denim over his hips and turned around to face her, he was pleased to see she hadn’t averted her eyes.
Damn but he’d like to have a go with her between the sheets. “What brings you to the Aleksandrovs’?” he asked as he tugged the t-shirt over his head.
“I crash here once in awhile,” she said quietly.
Suddenly, he got the distinct feeling that under her badass facade was a frightened child. Was she alone? “Why don’t you go home?”
“Nothing worth going home to.” She shrugged.
She was alone. If she crashed here on occasion, she had to be a friend of the Aleksandrov family. Then why hadn’t they brought her into their house and offered her protection? They must know that anyone tied to them would be in danger.
“You can stay here if you like. I don’t bite. Unless you want me to.” He smiled and winked.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
“What is your name?” He needed to know her name almost as badly as he needed his next breath.
“Alaina. Alaina Czernik.”
“Well, Alaina, you can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch over there. It’s no big deal.”
She hesitated and he held his breath. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she let out a long sigh. He was sure he’d convinced her to stay, although the fear of being alone with Trinidad on the loose probably had more to do with convincing her than he had. Either way, he was going to get to spend some more time with the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
“Fine. But no funny business.”
“Cross my heart.”
“Uh huh. For some reason I don’t believe you,” she said.
“We can watch movies or play games or just talk if you want. It’s not as if I have anything pressing going on at the moment. Except for keeping out of sight and trying to stay alive.”
She raised a brow at him. “I swear if I find out you’ve lied to me about being here, and this is some kind of sick, twisted drifter thing, I’ll kill you.”
“I do believe you would try. But to be clear, I’m not exactly a drifter.”
“You look like one.”
“Yeah. I get that a lot. It’s a long story, but hell, I’m willing to tell.”
“Spill it then. I don’t have anything to do at the moment anyway.”
He watched as she pulled the scabbard containing the sword from her back and placed it on the end table next to the couch. She sat down beside it, keeping it within arm’s reach. He couldn’t blame her. He’d become pretty damned paranoid himself since Trinidad had brought his ugly mug to the party.
Maybe if he played his cards right, he could convince the beautiful Alaina that they could give one another some comfort, some horizontal comfort. His emotions might be dulled from his botched deal with Satan, but they weren’t dead. Besides, he’d bet she possessed the ability to bring even a dead heart back to life. He hadn’t felt this horny in a long time and damned if he wouldn’t try his best to relieve himself with Alaina. After all, she was the cause of his discomfort. Why shouldn’t she be the cure for it as well?
It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t enjoy it. He’d never been a selfish lover, and he’d be more than generous with her. He put on his most charming smile as he went and sat beside her. This could prove to be an interesting night. A very interesting night, indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The air in the mansion was heavy, tense, and Wilhemina’s warning radar pinged non-stop. She hadn’t seen Aldin in two days.
While she’d been worried about the sudden somberness that had seemed to overtake everyone in the household, she’d been preoccupied by catching up with Lindsey. She’d missed her sister terribly. And while she didn’t understand the details about the prophecy that everyone was worried about, she realized that she and Lindsey were safer here—the modern day Fort Knox of St. Louis—rather than on their own. A visit from Ebony yesterday had made it clear to her that they were in danger until the uprising was dealt with.
As if all of that weren’t enough, her confusing emotions where Aldin was concerned didn’t help matters. She loved him, but Lindsey had made it perfectly clear that she would not tolerate anyone in the Aleksandrov family any more than necessary. While Lindsey had given her blessing if she chose to be with Aldin, Wilhemina worried that blessing would come with an unintentional strain on her and Lindsey’s relationship.
How was she supposed to decide between the man she loved and her sister? She tried to make herself believe that it wouldn’t come to that, and ultimately neither of them would put her in a position where she had to choose, but no matter what she decided, the outcome would have a profound affect on either Aldin or Lindsey…and her for that matter. She couldn’t imagine losing Aldin, but neither could she imagine losing Lindsey all over again.
“Hey. Talk to me.”
Wilhemina had been lost in deep thought and hadn’t heard Lindsey come out of the
bathroom.
“About?” She was certain Lindsey could detect the lack of sincerity behind the big smile she’d put on to conceal the turmoil swirling inside her.
Lindsey rolled her eyes and plopped on the end of the bed. “I know you better than anyone. I may have been gone for awhile, but you are a part of me. I know when something is bothering you.”
“It’s nothing.” Wilhemina shrugged.
“Okay.” Lindsey sighed. “Let’s get this whole mess out in the open once and for all. Shall we?”
“What do you mean?”
Wilhemina didn’t want to give up the fight. She was worried about the pain this discussion might ultimately cause.
“Seriously?” Lindsey raised a brow. “I’ve already told you that I want you to be happy. If Aldin makes you happy, I want you to be with him.”
“I believe that you mean what you say, but the consequences could be too high. I don’t want to lose you again, Lindsey. I couldn’t bear it. And when this whole ordeal is over, you’ll be out of here so fast, it’ll make my head spin. I don’t want to be worried about when I might see you because you don’t want to be around Aldin or his family.”
“Oh, Willy. Can you not see that even if we do end up having to do some finagling to see each other, it would be much worse for me if you gave up the man you loved? I don’t want to be the reason for that. Would you want to be the reason I gave up the man I loved? I mean, think about it. How would that make you feel?”
“Miserable. I only want you to be happy.”
“Exactly. I want the same for you. You are my sister, and nothing will ever change that. No one will ever come between us—not Marilena, not time, not distance. But I do not want you to walk away from Aldin only because you are worried that it will be awkward for me to be around him. You’ve spent so many years looking for me that I fear you haven’t had much time to enjoy life. I need you to be happy, Willy. It’s time for us both to be happy.”