Blessed Be

by Ashley Ladd

  She counted the seconds until his return, relieved when it was swift, and then concerned when she noted how gray his face had grown. “Luke?”

  He put his finger to his lips and pointed to his head, miming. “Don’t speak aloud,” his voice popped into her mind. “They have the tunnels trapped. I almost stumbled into one of their guard units.”

  “Units?” Holy… “What now? Do you have time to teach me how to shape shift into another creature so we can fly out of here?”

  “Unfortunately not, darlin’. That will take some practice.”

  “Then what?” Would they have to face the werecats after all?

  “We go up to the top.”

  She sucked in a ragged breath. “We can jump from the third story?”

  “We can do many amazing things. But since you are still learning what you can do, I will go first and be there to catch you.” The implication was that he had always, would always, be there to catch her.

  And he had been, except for that one crucial, lethal time…

  Luke’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “Will you never forgive me for wanting to spend eternity with you? For bestowing you with immortal life?”

  Conflicted, her emotions warred inside. Eternity in his arms sounded heavenly and the vision softened her words. “Immortal until a werecat rips my head from my shoulders. Why are we at war?”

  “I’ll explain after we reach safety.” Luke unlatched the window and climbed onto the roof, beckoning her to follow him. He held out his hand for her to take, and wound his fingers securely around hers when she accepted it. “Wait ‘til I motion to you to jump down. Stay in the shadows until then.”

  Nodding, her gaze raked the moonlight-dappled lawn, seeking suspicious forms and movement. She jumped when a cricket began chirping, instantly feeling foolish to be so spooked. She was a big, ferocious, almost invincible vampire, and she let a tiny cricket frighten her.

  Luke crouched low, perching on the edge of the roof. His every movement was that of an animal, barely a trace of humanity discernible. His forehead still bulged and his eyes seemed to sink into a gray cavity above his prominent cheekbones.

  Holding her breath, the air scorched her lungs as she waited silently, her gaze riveted on him. She shivered when the clouds drifted over the moon, almost hiding him from her view. She reminded herself that was a good thing, as the darkness would also hide him from their enemies. Or could werecats see even better in the dark than vampires?

  So many unanswered, puzzling questions pummeled her. She felt like a newborn babe experiencing the world for the first time, curious about every little nuance.

  Spreading himself on the mist, he floated to the ground. He skulked about, scoping out the grounds before returning and signaling to her to jump down.

  Every nerve ending tingling, her fangs tickling her lips, she climbed to the edge of the roof and clutched it. The drop looked awfully long and sinister from this third story and her knuckles ached from gripping the gutter so tightly

  “Just close your eyes and step off. I’ll catch you,” Luke’s rich voice rang out clearly in her mind. “I won’t let any harm come to you.”

  Blind faith. That’s what he was asking of her.

  But his recent action had cost her that. She didn’t trust him. She couldn’t trust him.

  “You can trust me. Never doubt that again. Hurry. Time runs short.”

  Baleful roars grew closer, attesting to the truth of his words. What choice did she have? Trust Luke or stay and face her enemies alone.

  Not much of a choice.

  She nodded, signaling him that she was on her way. Power rippled through her. Hands clenched tightly, she stepped onto the nebulous night breeze. A cry strangled in her throat as she freefell, feeling as if her hapless body would slam into the unrelenting ground any moment. But strong, gentle arms caught her, and held her closely to a powerfully beating heart again.

  Luke gazed deeply into her eyes, mesmerizing her, making her go giddy inside, much to her chagrin. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “Worse.” She had to be the worst vampire in history. Definitely, the most conflicted female.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll get the hang of it.”

  She didn’t want to get the hang of it. And what was she to get the hang of? Frightening little children? Eternal war? Unfortunately, it didn’t appear she had a choice.

  “Eternal love…” Luke brushed his lips across hers, his arms drawing her impossibly closer, so that the ice around her heart began to melt.

  The clouds shifted again, letting the moonshine through, bathing them in its silvery beams. Shivering, she felt unutterably vulnerable. Eternal love… “Shouldn’t we get out of here?” she asked breathlessly against his lips.

  “Eager to be alone, darlin’?” He nibbled her lips, pulling her lower one into his mouth and sucking on it.

  The mood broken, she cuffed him on his ear so that she startled him into setting her on her feet. “Just get us out of here unless you want to become Purina.”

  His features contorted, he led her through a hidden entrance, covered by vining honeysuckle. The cloyingly sweet scent permeated her skin.

  Luke swayed against her and turned a deathly white, frightening her.

  “You’re hurt.” Her physician’s instincts kicked in and she chastised herself for forgetting about his wounds. She tore the tattered shirt from his body, and inspected his magnificent chest, awed to see that the raw wounds had disappeared. “They’re gone.”

  “We heal very swiftly.”

  “Then what’s wrong with you? You’re so weak.” She helped him to sit on a park bench and took the seat beside him, worry flooding her.

  “The battle drained me. I’m in need of sustenance.”

  Sustenance. Blood.

  Relief flooded her until he swooned, beginning to pass out. Alarmed anew, she asked, “What happens when a vampire doesn’t get proper sustenance?” She couldn’t bring herself to call it food.

  “We expire.”

  Her eyes grew wide, and her heart flipped over in her chest. “As in die?”

  Nodding weakly, he slumped further against her, his thick lashes fanning his cheeks.

  Her heart raw, she couldn’t let him die. It seemed that vampires were not so invincible and definitely not immortal. “Will you be okay if you get sustenance?”

  “Yes.” His voice was barely a whisper in her mind.

  She made up her mind to let him feed from her, but not here, in such a public, risky place. For all she knew, more werecats lurked about. “Let’s go home.”

  “But the manor…isn’t safe…”

  “Not to the manor. To my office just up the road.” She let Luke lean on her as she helped him home.

  When they reached her practice, she led him inside to her couch. She made him as comfortable as possible, cursing herself for not taking Shawanda’s advice and renting an apartment with an actual bed. This couch was pitifully small and hard but it would have to do.

  “Don’t die on me.” She stripped off the hated dress, exposing her breasts. Kneeling beside him, she rubbed a taut nipple against his mouth and commanded, “Drink.”

  His fangs protruded instantly and sank into the tender breast. Afraid it would hurt in the waking realm, she was ecstatic to find it arousing rather than painful. Moaning, she pressed her breast more fully into his mouth.

  He sucked with more energy in each passing second, drinking deeply of her. His hands roamed her bare back, sliding down to her buttocks.

  Squirming against him, her pussy tingled deliciously, more so than ever before. She could smell his arousal, ravenous to taste not only his blood but his seed. Releasing his cock from its imprisonment, she stroked its velvety length tenderly. Then she ran her fingertip over the head of his penis, capturing the pearlescent drop of semen poised there.

  He pulled his fangs from her and murmured, “You’re so very beautiful in the moonlight. Like an angel.”

&n
bsp; “Hardly,” she whispered back, eager to taste of him. How could a vampire be an angel? Would one even want to be? “Have you regained your strength?”

  “Definitely. Enough to love you all night long without stopping.”

  Her pussy tingled, and her gums throbbed, her fangs bursting forth from her mouth. “My turn.”

  “Go for it, darlin’.” Luke shifted so that he lay flat on his back, giving her better access to his breast. He cupped her mons with the palm of his hand and massaged her clit, making her moan with ecstasy.

  Nothing could stop her now short of a nuclear explosion, but the only one in sight was the one building in her core. Wanton and writhing against his hand, she licked his breast, preparing to drink of him. “You’re so very beautiful, too.” Such masculine beauty was rare, but he exuded it, still the image of the perfect golden god. An Adonis.

  “Drink your fill. I promise you’ve never felt anything so fantastically erotic.” Luke plunged a finger deep into her channel, thrusting it in and out, making her seriously doubt his assertion.

  Starved, she sank her fangs into his breast, the scent of his blood driving her crazy. Radiant sensations whirled through her as his blood past her lips, filled her mouth, and coursed down her throat. Never had anything tasted so luscious, so sinfully scrumptious. Like it or not, she was a vampire. Surprisingly, she was beginning to enjoy the heightened sensations. She’d owe Luke an apology, although judging by the way he moved so seductively against her, she didn’t think he’d make her grovel too very much.

  He ground his hips against her hand, his cock feverish. He lifted her high above him and lowered her onto his thick cock.

  She slid down him slowly, taking all of his delicious length inside her, squeezing her vaginal walls tightly around his girth. When he moaned, she smiled, licking her lips, tasting the last vestiges of his intoxicating blood.

  Bending over him, she licked the wound she’d left on his breast, closing it with her saliva. Wonder filled her that she couldn’t see a trace of the wound. So many things about being a vampire seemed fantastical, this being one of the lesser, if impressive, ones.

  Luke pumped hard into her, his scent tantalizing. The earth stood still for several dizzying seconds and then a warning vibrated through her before tremors shook her body.

  Luke gave one final, powerful thrust, and held her to him until his shudders subsided. Drawing her down to him, he held her against his heart and kissed her tenderly.

  How could she be dead when she felt far more alive than ever before? More vital? More aware of every little sound and movement?

  Luke’s eyes twinkled merrily. He linked his fingers through hers possessively, and squeezed her hand. “Exactly. You’re learning.”

  Was she? Joy infused her for a brief instant, to be quickly turned into confusion.

  Joy? Could vampires feel joy? Only an hour before, she’d known abject fear. She’d run the gamut of emotions this day, far more than she experienced in a normal year. But she was dead…

  “We’re obviously not dead, darlin’.” Luke gazed deeply into her eyes, his hands resting heavily on her hips. “Far from it.”

  “Then what do you call it?” She put her ear to his heart and listened to the strong, steady beat, listening to the rush of blood flowing through it.

  “Rebirth. You’ve shown me just how wonderful life after death can be.”

  Perhaps… Did she have a choice but to accept her transformation? Still, she had difficulty with the concept of feasting on human blood, being a predator.

  “Were you a vegetarian in your former life?” Luke massaged her shoulders with his magical fingers, relaxing her tense muscles.

  “No. Why?”

  “So you ate meat?” His melodious voice resonated on the still, muggy night.

  “Yes. Why the inquisition?” Where was he leading?

  “You acquired sustenance from living creatures then, just as we acquire our sustenance from living creatures now. Only now, we do not permanently harm our donors. They can manufacture more blood.”

  She frowned, considering his deduction. “But Anika murdered both of us.”

  Luke sighed, dropping his hands and stuffed them into his pockets. “That had nothing to do with feeding. Vampires do not have to take life to feed. And as you recall, feeding can be very erotic. We give pleasure to our donors in exchange for their blood, thus we gain mutual satisfaction.”

  Remembering what great pleasure he had given her made her quiver with unwelcome lust. Hearing him speak about donors in the plural made her jealous. Just how many “donors”, more aptly “lovers”, had he known? He could slip into anyone’s dream, at any time. Wouldn’t the CIA love to get him on their payroll. To be able to assassinate enemies in their dreams, to make their deaths appear to be the result of natural causes, would be a powerful weapon.

  “Only you.” The lamplight overhead flickered, casting shadows over his face, making his expression inscrutable. But the import of his words rocked her, filling her heart with joy. Still…

  “Your death was inevitable. I gave you the incredible gift of new, eternal life by my side. I saved you.”

  “Do you honestly, truly believe that?” Gazing up into his soulful eyes, she wondered how someone without a soul could be so spiritual.

  “Completely.” He drew her back into his embrace so that his heart beat powerfully against hers. He plundered her lips with rapturous kisses that made her knees go weak with a yearning only he could assuage.

  Opening herself to him, her tongue mated eagerly with his. The love she couldn’t deny flooded her, and she snuggled against him, longing to be one with him ‘til the end of time.

  Pulling back slightly, still holding her in the circle of his arms, Luke rested his forehead against hers, his dark gaze penetrating her. “What makes you so sure we don’t have a soul? That God has abandoned us?”

  “You mean like in that television show where the vampire regained his soul?” Tickled, she chuckled. “That’s just TV.”

  Luke slid his finger under her chin and lifted her face to his, slashing a heated kiss across her lips. “Who do you think gave the writers the idea?”

  Shocked, her jaw dropped a notch. “And they took credit for your idea?”

  “We gave it to them subliminally, in their dreams.”

  Wow! “Are you responsible for any other hit television shows?”

  A shy, embarrassed gleam flickered across Luke’s eyes, so uncharacteristic of him that he looked like an adorable little boy. “Personally? Or you mean the clan?”

  “I mean personally.” She was surprised to discover the vampires’ interest in the human world. After fighting werecats and werewolves and being able to soar on the wings of the night, she was surprised they didn’t find such things too mundane for their tastes.

  “Well, just a couple of cop shows set in Miami.” A smile crooked his lips. “We’re dealing with eternity. That gives us a lot of time to explore many interests, accomplish a lot of important things.”

  “And do you tamper with anything else besides TV? Anything more important than the cinema?” Maybe her notion of political assassins hadn’t been so farfetched. Like in that dream movie she’d rented recently.

  “Sometimes.”

  Why so cryptic? She wasn’t likely to expose their meddling. Who would believe her anyway?

  “You’ll just have to stick around and find out.” He pulled her engagement ring from his pocket and held it up to her eyes, turning it so that it refracted the light. “Be my lifemate. Make me the happiest man in the universe.”

  Touched that he had found their special ring from when they had been engaged before, she blinked back heated tears. Hypnotized by the flashes of light, she held out her hand and let him slide it on her ring finger. Its weight was deliciously heavy on her hand, a beautiful reminder that they belonged to each other. “Don’t you mean vampire?”

  Luke captured her lips in a sizzling kiss, curling her toes. “No. I’m a man firs
t, darlin’. Your man.”

  All man. Purring, she licked his lips and pulled his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked on it, eliciting a groan of satisfaction from deep in his being. “I love you.” There! This time she’d said it first.

  He stroked her face adoringly. “I love you with all my heart and soul.”

  Soul… She knew no one with more soul, more heart. And he was hers for eternity. How blessed could she be?

  She spread her hands over his bare chest, her palm lingering over his breast. Still ravenous, her stomach growled loudly. “You’re making me very hungry.” In more ways than one.

  “Then you’d better eat. Keep up your strength for our all-night love marathon.”

  Delicious chills racked her body. “Um, I couldn’t stop myself if I tried.” Voracious she took him up on his invitation, her fangs sinking erotically into his breast, tingles exploding throughout her body, a crescendo building deep in her core.

  “Now you know why I couldn’t stop myself from visiting your dreams.” He wound his fingers through her tresses, holding her close to his breast.

  Yes, now she knew. Secure in Luke’s arms, she was in heaven.

  About the author:

  Ashley Ladd lives in South Florida with her husband, five children, and beloved pets. She loves the water, animals (especially cats), and playing on the computer.

  She’s been told she has a wicked sense of humor and often incorporates humor and adventure into her books. She also adores very spicy romance which she also weaves into her stories.

  Ashley Ladd welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1337 Commerce Drive, #13, Stow, Ohio 44224.

  Also by Ashley Ladd:

  American Beauty

  Carbon Copy

  Civil Affairs

  Price of Fame

  Sex Kittens anthology