Marcus opened the door. “Excuse me, Stephan, but Kat has a headache. I need to get her pills from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.”
“It’s a bit early for her to have a hangover, isn’t it?”
“It’s not a hangover.” Marcus’ clipped tone matched the insulted look on his face. “She has a migraine. It’s a particularly bad one. She’s in my bathroom vomiting as we speak.”
Stephan knew pain, especially the kind that made you ill to your stomach. But the woman needn’t suffer. He could do something to help.
Marcus grabbed the medicine from the cabinet and headed out of the room, Stephan on his heels. At the base of the stairs, they parted like the Red Sea, Marcus heading for the kitchen probably to retrieve a glass of water for Kat and Stephan heading for Marcus’ bedroom.
Without knocking, Stephan opened the bedroom door and treaded purposely across the space to the bathroom. Kat lay whimpering, curled in the fetal position on the marble floor beside the toilet, wrapped only in a shiny robe. He could feel the waves of pain radiating from her. “I can help you,” Stephan stated in his deep baritone voice as he scooped her up in his arms.
“Only if you don’t talk so loud, please.” Kat covered her ears with her hands.
Stephan softly placed her on Marcus’ black leather Viking bed. She moaned and tucked back in on herself.
Stephan sat crossed legged on the bed and whispered, “Put your head in my lap.” He cradled her head in his hands, helping Kat turn over, and guided her head onto his legs. Her robe fell to one side when she turned, exposing a long, lean leg.
Stephan rubbed his hands together, channeling his healing energy, then placed two fingers on each of Kat’s temples. He began to rub tiny circles.
“That feels nice,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
“Just relax,” Stephan instructed as the pain left her head through his fingers. He absorbed the stabbing ache into his body. It traveled up his arms, over his shoulders, and lodged in his own head, drumming a harsh beat. The warrior visualized the pain being destroyed and leaving his body through the top of his head.
Marcus entered the room and immediately stilled in the doorway. Noting the look of wonder on his face, Stephan asked, “What is it?”
Kat moaned softly, a combination of exasperation and relief. The sound drew the warrior’s attention.
“She looks like an angel laying there in her white robe, with the golden light from your hands bathing her face and blonde hair,” Marcus whispered, awe quieting his voice.
Stephan smiled. You sound like a woman. Going a bit soft in your old age?
Marcus scoffed. Hardly.
Stephan refocused on the woman lying in his lap. “How do you feel now?” The Alpha leader eased his ministrations.
“Um, better. Much better, thanks to you,” Kat answered sleepily, looking at him from beneath her hooded eyes.
His heart raced from the look of gratitude in her eyes. Her face softened, the pain obviously easing. He couldn’t disagree with Marcus’ declaration that she looked angelic lying on the bed. It was enough to make him want to kiss her. Run his tongue over her pulse, taste her smooth skin once more.
Desire warred with his self-restraint. Touching her had driven the logic from his mind. His inner beast roared in frustration. She was temptation incarnate. Her blood and body called to him, but he’d promised Marcus.
Dammit, what was it about this woman that drew him to her?
“Good, then I’ll be going.” He got up to leave, gently placing Kat’s head on a pillow before he gave into the temptation she presented.
Kat flinched as soon as their contact was broken. “It’s back,” she cried. “The pain is coming back.” She reached for Stephan, and he sensed her pain start to subside when her fingers touched his arm. “Never mind. It’s getting better again.”
Katrina’s hand fell to the bed. Seconds later her face contorted in pain. He pushed into her mind to discover what was happening. Her head thumped in time with her pulse. Through the pain, her muddy mind struggled to process what was happening. Her hand snaked out to touch his arm.
“It’s you,” she whispered, clutching his arm once more. “When I touch you the pain goes away. Don’t leave me!”
The glass of water Marcus had been holding slipped from his hand. Using his preternatural speed and agility he caught it before it hit the floor. Marcus’ concern for his female friend showed on his face.
As Stephan stared down at her delicate hand on his arm, the sound of Marcus’ voice came over their mindlink. I have seen you do many things over the years. I’ve seen you heal before, but never have I seen your mere touch take pain away. That is amazing!
Stephan looked pensively over Kat, debating about what to do. She obviously needed him, and his honor would have him do no less than help her. But he was tired, more so now that his strength had waned from use of his ability to heal.
Decision made, he scooped her into his arms, saying simply, “You’ll sleep with me tonight.”
Marcus’ eyebrows shot up. “Don’t you think…” The rest of the protest died in his throat, cut off by a sharp look from Stephan.
Marcus moved to one side so the two could exit the room. Stephan don’t you think she should remain here for tonight?
Their eyes locked. No. My decision is made.
The younger vampire knew there would be no arguing. Stephan was used to being in charge, in control. He was older, stronger than Marcus. And Marcus was not powerful enough to stop him from doing what he wanted, so the younger vampire did the only thing he could. He watched as Stephan left the room with Kat.
Take care of her, Stephan.
As if he needed that advice. Why else was he taking her to his room?
Her weight was no more consequential to him than that of a small child. Stephan carried her up the stairs and placed her on the bed under the yellow satiny sheets. When his hands left her, a painful look twisted the pretty features of Kat’s face and a whimper escaped her pouty lips.
Stephan crawled in beside her, bone tired. Katrina reached for his hand, holding it tightly, as if she was drowning and he was her life preserver. When she placed her other hand on his arm, the tension in her body eased. Obviously wanting more relief, she rolled over his arm onto her side, spooning against his chest.
Stephan sensed her pain ebbing the more she touched him. He swept her legs back so they were against his and placed one of his muscular thighs over her limbs. Next, he took his free arm and draped it around her waist, effectively hugging her tight against him. She relaxed into him.
“The pain’s gone. Thank you,” she murmured as she burrowed against him, wrapping her arms around his.
He placed his chin on top of her head, and breathed in her honeysuckle scent, taking it deep into his lungs. It wrapped around his body in a warm embrace. For the first time in his long life, he felt content, truly content.
He wondered about the woman in his arms. He’d healed others before, but he couldn’t remember a time when someone felt better by simply touching him. He’d sensed something different about this woman the first time their eyes met. As his lids drifted shut, he silently vowed to discover what it was.
****
Kat awoke that afternoon feeling the after migraine fuzzies, but at least she was pain free. She squeezed the muscles around her eyes, trying to force the blurriness from her vision. Desperately needing to get a drink to dispel the cotton in her mouth, she attempted to rise from the bed. To her surprise, Kat found herself unable to move.
“Where do you think you are going?” asked a dark voice from behind her.
All her senses came back online. She could feel the hard muscular body wrapped around hers. Stephan must have remained all day with his arms and leg wrapped protectively around her. Kat turned to face the healer. Embarrassment made her press her head to his chest. The rich masculine sandalwood scent, that was uniquely his own, dispelled her awkwardness. After a deep breath, she pushed back sligh
tly and studied his features.
He was every woman’s fantasy. When she looked into his sapphire eyes, her stomach knotted and heat pooled low between her thighs. Drawn to him, her reaction, animalistic and primal, concerned her for she knew what he was.
She placed one hand on his cheek, marveling at his features. “You look so normal. Human,” she mused.
Stephan’s eyes darkened. “You should never make the mistake of pretending that I’m human. I am a vampire, Kat, not a man.”
“I know what you are, and I don’t care,” she replied, moving her hand down to settle over his heart. “It’s not what you are, but who you are that matters to me. You are the man who took away my pain. You are the man who helped me last night. You didn’t have to help me, but you did. You are a good man, and I’m not scared of you,” Kat announced with all the bravado she could muster.
Without warning, she found herself rolled onto her back. Stephan loomed over her, his hands planted on either side of her head. He bared his fangs, a low growl rumbled in his chest. Kat looked him in the eye. Her heart raced, though she wasn’t sure whether from fear or excitement.
“I am not a man, not any more. You should fear me, run while you can, before I give into my...” He paused, his eyes darkened to the color of pitch. “I am a thing of nightmares.”
“More like fantasies,” Kat muttered and kissed him.
He pulled back breaking their kiss, his eyes wide with shock. Then he descended on her. The soft satin of her robe shifted across her chest, the silky material gliding over her nipples when he lowered his weight onto her. Her lips parted in invitation. Their tongues dove back and forward between their mouths in a dance as old as time.
The taste of his kiss consumed her. He pushed all thoughts from her mind. Only he remained. The ripple of his corded muscles as he moved. The sensation of his body pressing her into the mattress.
He trailed kisses down her neck until his lips rested over the pulse beating a steady rhythm in her vein. His teeth scraped sinuously along her neck. Her hands kneaded his flesh. The muscles of his back tightened beneath her fingers. Her nails dug into his skin, her passion threatening to consume her.
His lips left her throat. She only had a second to look into his dark eyes before he leapt from the bed.
“Get out,” he commanded harshly.
Kat looked up at him, confused, frozen in place. What the hell?
“Get out, now!” he repeated, pointing to the door. It opened, untouched by any hands.
Katrina’s eyes darted from the door back to the male standing over her. The look on his face, a mixture of pain and anger, terrified her. What had she done to deserve this cruel treatment?
A warning growl from his throat pushed her into action. Grabbing her neck with one hand and holding her robe closed with the other, she ran out the door, her robe streaming behind her.
Chapter 4
Stephan crossed to the door with two angry strides and slammed it shut behind the fleeing female before returning to sit on the bed. He covered his face with his hands, disappointed in himself. What was it about this woman? Being near her drove all rational thoughts from his head, leaving only her.
He could still hear her blood calling its siren song to him. His hunger beat at him, his fangs, fully lengthened, pressed against his tongue. Taking blood from a donor could be an intimate act, capable of bringing pleasure to both the donor and drinker. For many vampires, often intercourse and drinking from the vein were done in unison. He’d wanted to take her as he sank his fangs into her creamy neck, absorb her very essence into himself, surrounding himself with her heat inside and out.
Luckily for both of them, he’d quickly come to his senses and left his bed before he could act on his instincts. Then he had growled, actually growled at her like an animal. Now she was probably terrified of him, and really he supposed she should be. Her lush body, the rush of her blood under her skin, her delicate features and wonderful scent all called to him, and he was only so strong.
There was only one thing to do with temptation like that—avoid it.
That was close, he thought as he headed to the bath for a cold shower. Too close. I almost broke my promise to Marcus.
And his honor would never allow that.
****
Stephan and Marcus sat across from each other at the marble table in the kitchen, drinking their first meal of the night. Human food, while tasting wonderful as it slid over their tongues, did not sustain them physically. They needed to have blood to survive.
They preferred to begin their evenings consuming the blood their bodies demanded for sustenance. Once their bodies were sated, they could then satisfy their hunger with more palatable items. Marcus was particularly fond of sweets, while Stephan preferred fine foods such as lobster and caviar. Unfortunately, one of the physical changes that occurred when they became vampires was their stomachs shrunk, so while they enjoyed human food, they could only eat very little in one sitting.
“Where is Katrina?” Stephan asked, downing the last of his drink.
“I don’t know.” Marcus shrugged his thick shoulders. “I guess she went out.”
Stephan took in his friend with a long pensive stare. As the Alpha leader, he was secretive by nature and had worked very hard over the years to protect his breed from being discovered by humans. It made him uncomfortable that a human he didn’t know well knew not only that Marcus was a vampire, but also knew he was one as well.
He was all too aware of what could happen if vampires were known to exist, and it wasn’t pretty. Many years ago just after what became known as the Spanish Inquisition, a human had learned of the existence of Vampires. That human spoke to other mortals about the breed. Fear and superstition spread through the village like a plague. The humans had formed a hunting society bent on destroying the vampires.
Stephan and his kind were hunted while they slept during the day and the population of vampires in Germany was almost completely wiped out. He and only a few others escaped the slaughter. Having lived through one genocide, Stephan vowed that year to do anything to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. And he intended to keep that oath.
“If you don’t know where she is, how do you know she isn’t betraying us, Marcus?”
An incredulous look crossed Marcus’ face. “Because she would never betray me,” he announced with absolute certainty, downing the last of his crimson drink before placing the empty glass on the table a little harder than necessary.
“It doesn’t take much for a human to betray a trust, especially one so callow. They don’t have the same code of honor we do.”
“Stephan, I think you have what humans call trust issues.” Marcus chuckled.
“This isn’t a laughing matter. You were not alive when the Germans hunted our breed almost to extinction. It was terrible, so much senseless loss.” Stephan shook his head sadly. “I will do whatever it takes to make sure such an event never happens again.”
Marcus stilled under Stephan’s watchful gaze. The Alpha leader saw anger flash in his friend’s eyes.
“I’m positive Kat would never betray us,” Marcus proclaimed. “She’s probably out shopping or something.”
“I hope you’re…” The sound of the front door to the penthouse opening interrupted Stephan’s reply. Kat entered the kitchen with a swish of her hips.
“Hi,” she greeted the pair with a smile.
“Where have you been?” demanded Stephan.
“What’s it to you?” she snapped, the smile disappearing from her beautiful face.
Not used to such insolence, especially from a mortal—a female at that, Stephan crossed his arms across his broad chest, leaned back in his chair and affected an intimidating look.
“I asked you where you have been?” he repeated slowly, enunciating each syllable.
“And I asked you, what’s it to you?” Kat said, equaling Stephan’s tone and slow enunciation.
Marcus stood, grabbed Stephan’s cup, and took
it along with his to the sink to rinse them out. “Hey now you two, I think you guys need to break and go to your corners. Ding. Ding. This round is over.”
Kat took in a deep cleansing breath and let it back out slowly before speaking. “If you must know, I was at the Divine Mercy Shelter.”
“Why?” questioned Stephan, his voice heavy with confusion.
“Because I volunteer there.”
The Alpha leaned forward slightly in his chair, still suspicious. “What do you do at this shelter?”
“I usually work the soup line.”
“Why do you go to such a place?”
“Because I’m looking for a date,” Katrina replied sarcastically. Marcus’ deep laugh echoed in the kitchen as he rejoined Stephan at the table.
“Seriously, why do you go to such a place?” Stephan asked with sincere curiosity.
Before responding, Kat crossed to the refrigerator and poured a glass of water. “I guess I go there because it makes me feel like I’m giving something back. I like to help people.” Katrina looked pointedly at Marcus. “I remember a time I needed the help of a stranger. Now I can give a little help, so I give it. It’s like Karma.”
See, sent Marcus across their mindlink. I told you she can be trusted. She wasn’t out betraying us. She was out helping people less fortunate.
Stephan’s eyes flicked to Marcus. Today. But what about tomorrow or the day after that? She’ll have to earn my trust as she has earned yours, Marcus.
Oh she’ll earn it. Just give her a chance.
Stephan eyed the lissome blonde from the corner of his eye. I’ll be watching her closely.
I just bet you will. A wry grin raised the corners of Marcus’ mouth.
Stephan turned his attention fully on the woman in the room and found her watching the two of them carefully with a strange look on her face. His curiosity made him push into her mind to glean what she was thinking. He found she could see that something transpired between them, but she had no idea what. Her eyes darted between the two men briefly before coming to rest on Stephan.
Alpha Mine (The Alpha Council Chronicles) Page 3