His gaze latched onto the fresh bite marks on her neck, his marks. He’d never get enough of seeing them on her flesh and looked forward to leaving them there for an eternity. Footsteps from somewhere outside the gym had him rolling off her and pulling her to her feet. He adjusted himself in his sweats before turning to face whoever approached. Before he stepped into the doorway, he’d known it would be Lucien.
“Ronan would like to speak with you,” Lucien said.
Abby’s hand tightened in his.
“I’ll be right there,” Brian told him. Turning to her, he kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you find Vicky and Aiden,” he suggested. “I’ll join you when this is over.”
She glanced nervously at Lucien. Brian could feel her apprehension vibrating through the bond connecting them. “Okay,” she relented.
Reluctantly, she released his hand and watched as he grabbed his hoodie from the bench, tugged it on, and zipped it up. He walked down the hall toward where Lucien waited in the shadows. She waved her hands before her to ease the tremor in them, but she couldn’t shake the bad feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.
Turning on her heel, she grabbed her towel from the bench and wiped the sweat from her face before wrapping it around her shoulders and walking toward the front door. She exited the building and jogged across the grass toward the back of the massive main house made of gray brick. The brisk, early November air brushed over her skin, cooling the sweat on it as she moved. She slipped in through the back door of the house and made her way to the kitchen that was only used to store bags of blood within the massive, industrial-sized fridge.
On her way out, she passed one of the turned vampire recruits. “Hey, Vicky,” he greeted.
She didn’t bother to correct him. She liked that Vicky was looking healthy enough that others had started to mistake them again. The only way most of the others had learned to tell them apart was Brian was usually by her side. Without him now, they just assumed she was her sister.
“Hey,” she replied and strode down the hall toward the only room with a TV in it. The TV in Vicky’s room had already been removed and put back in storage as soon as she’d been well enough to spend more time out of bed than in it.
Ronan’s order took the training going on in this place extremely serious. The single TV and a small library of books were the only sources of distraction or mindlessness in the whole place, and most of the books in the library were on fighting techniques. There wasn’t one book for leisure in there.
She didn’t know how Aiden, king of reality TV, PlayStation, and anything sports related was surviving in this place, but he appeared to be thriving. She found Vicky sprawled on the sofa, remote in hand as she flicked through the stations. With the size of this place and the obvious wealth here, Abby would have expected every channel known to man, but there were only ten.
“What are you doing?” Abby inquired as she plopped into the love seat next to the sofa.
“Trying to find something other than the news and exercise programs. Seriously, how do these guys survive in this place?” Vicky demanded.
“I don’t know.”
She’d never been a huge TV watcher, but she really missed her Netflix, and she knew Sam and Dean were getting into some kind of trouble on Supernatural. She also missed music, but she’d discovered her phone got zero reception here, including internet. But then, she had the best distraction of all in Brian. She’d happily give up Netflix and her phone for more days and weeks to stay ensconced here with him.
“Ugh.” Vicky tossed away the remote after she settled on CNN. “Guess we’ll watch more of the human population killing themselves and each other.”
“Vampires are doing the same.”
“True. Guess both species are stupid.”
Abby couldn’t argue with that. “Where’s Aiden and David?”
“David’s with Mia.” They’d come to learn the woman they’d freed after Vicky in the warehouse was named Mia. She was the only other rescued vampire from the warehouse who was still here. She had no family and wasn’t ready to travel to the safe place Ronan’s order had organized for her.
“They’ve been together a lot lately,” Abby commented.
“They have,” Vicky replied. “I think he likes her.”
Abby’s eyebrows shot up at her statement. “Do you think it’s possible one of The Stooges has been taken down?” she inquired.
Vicky grinned mischievously at her. “I don’t know, but how funny would that be?”
“Pretty entertaining,” Abby agreed, considering her uncles had often griped and rolled their eyes over the actions of her mated family members, but they’d all embraced the family instead of moving on over the years. “And really sweet. Can you just imagine him finally finding someone?”
“There you go again,” Vicky said. “You’d make Cupid gag sometimes.”
Abby scowled at her. “It could be good for him.”
“Or bad. In case you haven’t noticed, our family members never have an easy go of it with their mates in the beginning.”
Abby shrugged; her mating wasn’t everything she’d dreamed it would be, but she was happy or at least comfortable with the way things were between her and Brian.
“Maybe David will be different,” she said.
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself on this one.”
“You’re probably right. I mean, seriously, one of The Stooges?” Abby said, and she and Vicky giggled at the idea. “Where’s Aiden?”
“He started talking his Zen bull again, and I tuned him out. I think he’s meditating in the garden or something.”
The garden was the only other distraction around this place. Not that it was much to look at right now, but she imagined it was spectacular in the spring and summer. Now, it was just dormant roses and perennials lining the border of the maze, which consisted of rows of hedges winding their way through at least six acres of the property. The maze alone was a thing of beauty. She’d only had one opportunity to explore it for an hour with Vicky and Aiden, but it had been a lot of fun. They’d never found the center that Brian had promised her was a worthy enough reason to solve the maze, but she hoped to try for it again.
“I still can’t believe Aiden meditates,” Abby said.
“He said it helps him keep his mind clear. I told him I thought his mind was pretty empty already.”
Abby snorted with laughter and draped her legs over the arm of the chair so she faced her sister. Vicky had filled out again over the week, and the hideous bite marks on her were gone. A steady supply of blood had replenished the weight she’d lost, and rest had diminished the circles under her eyes. Though she looked better physically, Abby would still catch her staring into space with tears in her eyes every once in a while. She knew it would be a while before Vicky completely recovered, if ever, but Vicky was stronger than most gave her credit for.
“How are you doing?” she inquired.
“Better today.” Vicky unwaveringly met and held her gaze. “Really, I am. Eager to get out there and get after Duke. I can’t wait to stomp that douchebag into the ground.” Red flamed around Vicky’s eyes as she said this.
“Soon,” Abby assured her.
“Yeah, I know, but I don’t get the point of all this training. I only want to kill one vampire not become the military vamp Aiden has. I have to admit, I am liking the new definition of these guns though,” she said as she held up her arms and flexed her biceps.
Abby laughed when Vicky kissed the small bulge the movement created. “Wonder Woman, look out.”
Vicky grinned at her and dropped her arm. “Damn right.”
Vicky’s eyes drifted to the fresh bite on Abby’s neck. She jerked her gaze away and toward her wrists, but not before Abby saw the apprehension in her eyes. Sadness swelled within her for her sister. She didn’t know if Vicky and Duke had exchanged blood or not, but she knew a vampire bite now represented pain to her sister.
Abby’s gaze fell to Vicky�
�s wrists when she rubbed them together. The skin around Vicky’s wrists was still darker in color from the cuffs that had once encircled them. The rest of her injuries had faded, but those shadows stubbornly remained.
“Vicky—”
“How are things going between you two?” Vicky interrupted her.
Abby sighed and swung her legs back and forth. Vicky didn’t want to talk about what she’d endured, and Abby knew better than to push her. Her sister opened up when she was ready, often in small bits and pieces, but it was better than nothing. “They’re good.”
Vicky smiled at her and propped her head in her hands. “You’ve yet to dish on how things are in the bedroom.”
Abby chuckled. “And I’m not going to.”
“Oh, come on.” Vicky bolted upright on the couch. “I had to share an egg, a womb, and a room with you all those years. I deserve some of the good stuff now that you’re finally getting laid.”
“Vicky.”
“Abby,” she replied in the same exasperated tone Abby had used on her. “There are so few options for me here, and I’m not sure I’m hard up enough to jump into bed with one of these military types. However, that Lucien is yummy.” Abby couldn’t argue with that. “Let me live vicariously through you while I’m enduring the celibacy enforced on me by being here.”
“It’s really…” Abby had to pause to think of a word to describe how it was with Brian. Mind-blowing, unexplainable, better than I ever imagined. She found those things froze on her tongue and what came out was, “Nice.”
“Boring!” Vicky cried with a roll of her eyes. “Give me the juicy tidbits.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s that it’s Brian. I can’t stand anyone else thinking of him in such a way. He’s mine.”
“You’re such a goner, but fair enough and understandable. Answer me this at least, how many times have your eyes rolled back in your head?”
“Too many to count.”
Vicky laughed and threw herself back onto the couch. “I’m happy for you, Abs. I really am.”
Abby rose to her feet and walked over to sit beside her sister on the couch. She didn’t tell her Ronan had called for Brian or that there had been no declarations of love between them, or that even through the bond connecting them, she hadn’t felt his love for her. Vicky may be trying to act like her old self, but she wasn’t there yet. She may never be there again. She had enough to contend with without Abby adding to it, and Vicky would worry about her; it was inevitable.
Abby had also come to realize there were things Brian kept locked away from her. Before it had all been so new with him that she hadn’t detected the block, but she now felt it every time they were together. Then again, she’d been keeping parts of herself locked carefully away too, especially her growing feelings for him. It was difficult to keep it from him when she was in his arms, but she couldn’t let him take that last piece of her, not yet anyway.
Draping her arms around her sister, she hugged her close. Vicky’s hands encircled her arms as she leaned into Abby’s embrace. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Vicky said.
“Fortunately, you’ll never have to know.”
Brian froze when he stepped into the doorway of the TV room, and his heart swelled as he watched the sisters holding each other close. The bond between he and Abby was intense, unshakeable, but this one was nearly as deep. Their love and need for each other radiated from them. He’d wanted to kill Vicky for what she’d put Abby through; now he would do anything to keep Vicky safe and Abby happy.
Sensing his presence, Abby lifted her head from her sister’s shoulder and smiled at him. He smiled back at her. We’ll talk later, he told her through their bond and slipped away before Abby could stop him.
It must not be too bad then, Abby decided as she turned her attention back to Vicky. Reluctantly, she allowed her sister to start braiding her hair.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“What are you doing?” Abby inquired when she stepped into their bedroom an hour later. He turned in the act of tossing his shirt into a duffle bag. His eyebrows shot up when he spotted the braids Vicky had elaborately interwoven through her hair.
“Like the look,” he said and placed a shirt in the bag.
Panic slid through her as she glanced between him and the bag. “Where are you going?”
Brian winced at the distress radiating from her. Leaving her here was tearing him apart inside as it was, but knowing how badly it would affect her only made it worse. Pulling the zipper closed, he set the bag on the floor before turning to face her. “I have to meet with Ronan. He thinks he’s discovered who the vampire imprisoning purebloods is.”
Abby tried to control the frantic beat of her heart as she watched him. “Who is it?” she inquired.
“Drake Wilston. He’s a pureblood who gave into his thirst for blood and death long ago. He fled the country years ago, but there are rumors he’s back.”
“He’s a pureblood?” Her stomach twisted sickly at the possibility of one of their own torturing her sister in such a way.
“Yes. Apparently, human and turned vamp blood is no longer satisfying him. It’s only a matter of time before he decides to start killing the purebloods too. He’ll go through them fast once he does.”
“My family.”
“Is safe. I’ve already called Stefan. They’re prepared, and no one knows where they are. They’ll be fine.”
“I should go home. They may need the extra protection I can offer.”
“Not until I get back,” he replied. “You’re safe here.”
“Brian—”
“No!” he barked, his eyes blazing red. “On this I will not budge. You are safest here, and I have to know that while I’m gone.” Her eyes narrowed as her hands fisted. She was preparing for a battle when he spoke again. “Vicky isn’t ready to leave here and face your family yet either. She knows they can smell the difference in her and realize she’s killed a human. Are you willing to leave her behind?”
“That was low,” she grated through her teeth, “and I can come back for her when this is settled. As you said, I will be safe here and so will she.”
“I swear to God, Abby, if you try to leave this place, I will chain you to the bed. You will do as I say on this.”
She could feel his apprehension and exasperation beating against her, but everything in her rebelled against being ordered about in such a way. “I won’t be the obedient little woman you’d prefer!”
A muscle jumped in his cheek when he spoke. “I wouldn’t prefer that at all, but you have to listen to me when it is best for you, for us. Worrying about you could get me killed.”
That knocked some of her anger away as her original panic for him rushed back to the forefront. “That was even lower,” she murmured.
He stalked across the room toward her, his large muscles flexing with his strides. She was torn between kicking him in the nuts again and throwing herself into his arms. “How long will you be gone?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
He didn’t give her a chance to say anything more before he took hold of her cheeks and bent his head to take firm possession of her mouth. Need and desperation clamored hotly through her body as his tongue thrust demandingly against hers. She was helpless to resist him. She didn’t know when she’d see him again. He’d be going out there to try and find the monster who was responsible for hurting her sister, and he would be leaving her behind.
She broke away, panting for air. “Let me come with you.”
The red in his eyes flared as he looked at her. “No. There is much of what I am that I would prefer to keep you from, and this is part of it.”
“I’ve seen you kill, seen what you can do. Don’t leave me behind to worry.”
He bent his head to kiss her again, his tongue delving into her mouth in deliberate thrusts that had her scrambling to remember what she’d been saying. Her knees knocked together to the point she feared her legs were
going to give out. Her fingers curled into the flesh of his arms, drawing blood. The scent of it on the air only fanned her fevered need for him.
He’d been sliding his hands down to take her shirt off. Now, he grabbed hold of the front of it and tore it open. Abby gasped as the material fell away to allow cooler air to flow over her heated skin.
His hands ran over her hungrily, squeezing and kneading her breasts as he ran his thumb and forefinger over her puckered nipple. Hate this bra. The words blazed from his head and into hers, seconds before he ripped it from her body and flung it away.
Abby arched her back and nearly screamed when his fangs sank into her breast and his tongue slid over her hardened nipple. She bucked against him, tearing at the clothing keeping him from being exposed to her. His shirt fell away in tatters, but she barely noticed it as his arms locked around her and he lifted her up.
Carrying her to the bed, he released her breast to settle her on the mattress. He slid her yoga pants down her legs and threw them aside. The ravenous look in his eyes as he sat back to survey her caused her body to rise invitingly toward his. He rose and tossed away his own pants so swiftly that she barely saw him move.
He knelt between her legs again; his tongue licked over his lips as he hungrily stared at her already wet sex. His erection throbbed, but he knew if he thrust into her now, it would be over soon, and he didn’t want that. Regain control. Slow it down.
She lifted her hips again, but he still managed to keep himself restrained from seizing hold of them and driving himself into her. Grabbing hold of her hand, he brought it to his chest before bringing her fingers to his mouth and drawing them in one by one. Her eyes darkened as she watched him, her breath coming in faster inhalations as her pulse quickened.
He brought her hand down. Instead of wrapping it around his aching member, he rested it against her wetness. Her eyes widened, and she went to pull her hand away, but he kept it there as he slid her finger into her.
“Let me watch you, Abby,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her lips. “Let me see what thoughts of me drove you to do all those many years when I wasn’t there to satisfy you.” Just like he wouldn’t be there for her soon, but he’d be back. He’d always come back for her.
The Vampire Awakenings Bundle: Books 1-5 Page 139