The Guardian's Keeper (The Guardian Trilogy, Book 1)

by Raven, T. R.

  She began down the path again, listening for the bear, or Nikoli, but the forest was silent. She continued on deeper into the forest as her worry grew. Five minutes down the path she saw him, covered in blood and limping towards her, his head down.

  “Nikoli!” she yelled, running to him.

  “Claire? Claire!” Nikoli’s head snapped up and he limped faster now, almost jogging. They collided in the middle of the path as Claire pulled him into a tight hug. “Easy. Easy now! That’s still tender!” Nikoli carefully unwrapped Claire’s embrace.

  “Are you okay? Where are you hurt? Do you need more blood?” Claire fussed over him, trying to examine every inch of him at once. Where had all the blood come from?

  “Why aren’t you back at the farm?” Nikoli scolded her. “You shouldn’t have waited for me and you sure as hell shouldn’t have come back to look for me Claire. That bear could’ve killed you and probably would have. She sure banged me around.” He grinned at her.

  Claire felt tears of relief welling up. “Let’s get you back to the house,” she proposed as she slung her arm around Nikoli to help him balance. “Is it bad?”

  “Not really.” Nikoli gingerly touched his head. “The bleeding’s stopped. I’ll need blood when we get back to the farm to finish healing.”

  “What happened to the bear?”

  “She put up quite a fight but I finally knocked her out cold. She did quite a number on me first, tough.” Nikoli lifted up the front of his shirt which now hung in bloody tatters. Claire grimaced at Nikoli’s bloody clothing and the drying blood that covered most of his face. One of Nikoli’s boots was covered in blood as he limped on.

  “Let’s go get you cleaned up and fed.” Claire helped support Nikoli as he hobbled down the path and back through the fields.

  Claire stopped short of the old barn. “Can you make it to the house okay alone?” she asked.

  “I can, I could’ve come back the whole way by myself, but I do enjoy having gorgeous girls fawn over me.” Nikoli’s expression was serious but his eyes shone with mischief.

  “You’re a scoundrel, Nikoli,” Claire chuckled, stepping away from him. She watched him limp on towards the house for a minute before heading into the old barn. Once inside she headed straight for the refrigerator and removed a bag of blood. She expected it to gross her out, but it did not. All that mattered was healing Nikoli, and if it took a chilled bag of human blood to do it, so be it. The man had just saved her from a mother Grizzly bear, she would help him in any way she could.

  Back inside the house she found Nikoli sitting in the kitchen. “Joyce went out for a bit, she left a note. Good, I was hoping that’s what you went to get in the barn.” Nikoli reached for the bag of blood. “I’m going to take this upstairs and get cleaned up. Are you okay by yourself for a few minutes?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Claire picked up the vase Joyce had left out on the table. “I need to take care of those flowers you brought me.” She smiled softly at him. “Thank you Nikoli. That’s twice you’ve saved my life today.”

  “Twice? So we’re not counting last night as kidnapping anymore?” Nikoli raised an eyebrow at her.

  “No, when you save someone from wildlife on a rampage, you get a free pass on kidnapping,” Claire joked. “Now go get cleaned up before Joyce gets home. No doubt she’ll want to feed us, and you can’t come to the table looking like that.”

  Chapter 9

  Claire busied herself in her room arranging the flowers Nikoli picked for her. She was so busy concentrating on making the bouquet just perfect that she didn’t hear Joyce come home.

  “Knock knock,” Joyce called through her open door rather than actually knocking. “May I come in?” Her arms were heavy with bags from the shops in town.

  “Joyce! Of course. Here let me help you.” Claire left her flowers to hurry over and lighten Joyce’s load. “What is all of this?”

  “I did a little shopping while you two were out. You shouldn’t be running around in my old clothes, time to get you some decent things. I guessed your size, and bought a size up and down from it too. Take a look through them, I’ll return whatever’s the wrong size or whatever you don’t care for,” Joyce explained, placing bag after bag on Claire’s bed.

  “Joyce, I…..” Claire was overwhelmed by the woman’s kindness. “Thanks,” she whispered, dropping her bags and hugging Joyce tight.

  Joyce hugged her back just as tightly. “No need for that. Besides, it was Nikoli’s idea. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner myself.” She spotted the flowers on the dresser and laughed. “I told you Claire, that boy’s got you under his skin. Can’t say I blame him.” She looked serious suddenly. “I knew what my husband was when I married him, and I lost him way before our time together should have ended. I have no regrets, no regrets at all about our time together save this- I wish we had been able to have children. I’d like to think, Claire, we might’ve had a daughter just like you if we could have.” She smiled sadly.

  “Can vampires, umm…..reproduce?” Claire asked.

  Joyce chuckled. “Well honey, they sure can go through the motions, but no, vampires can’t bear children. They reproduce by turning others, but it doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy trying the human way.” Joyce winked and Claire blushed at the thought. “Go on now, why don’t you try these on and see what’s what. I’ve got some things of my own to put away.” She gave Claire’s hand a squeeze and left, shutting the door behind her.

  Claire grinned from ear to ear as she unpacked bag after bag of new clothes. Joyce had guessed her size perfectly, right down to the underwear and bras. She spent the next hour trying on her new things. Joyce had lovely taste, she liked it all and everything fit, but Claire couldn’t accept it all. It was just too much. She settled on a few pairs of jeans, a few lighter shirts, two sweaters and a beautiful sundress. It was turquoise and really brought out her eyes against her black hair. Joyce had even picked up some more shoes for her, so Claire chose one pair of strappy Italian leather heels to wear with the sundress. She slipped into her new jeans and a t-shirt and packed the rest of what she was keeping back into a bag to bring on her trip in the morning.

  Back downstairs Claire found Joyce busy in the kitchen again, prepping dinner.

  “The clothes are fabulous, Joyce, I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Think nothing of it. I have more money than I know how to spend, it’s good to have someone besides Nikoli to share it with. By the way, he ran out for a bit, had something to do. He asked me to tell you he’ll be back soon.”

  Claire was disappointed Nikoli had gone but wouldn’t let it show. “Please let me give you a hand with that Joyce,” she offered.

  “Now Claire, you know how I feel about people in my kitchen. Tell you what though- I need some vegetables for the salad, could you go get some out of the garden for me please? That sure would be a help, I’ve got my hands full getting this chicken ready to fry. Just take the big basket on the counter and go grab anything that looks good out there.”

  “No problem.” Claire grabbed the basket and headed out the front door to go to the large vegetable garden on the side of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks. A Camaro sat parked in the driveway and as Claire watched a leggy blonde bombshell climbed out. She looked like she had stepped right out of a swimsuit calendar except she was clad in a leather mini skirt and leather bustier that highlighted her ample cleavage. Her clothing was so tight she might as well have been wearing a swimsuit. She sauntered up to Claire on the front steps.

  “Hey, is Nicky in?” she asked, eyeing Claire up and down.

  “No, I’m sorry, Nikoli,” Claire emphasized his name, “is out, I don’t know when he’ll be back,” she finished icily. Who was this white trash Barbie Doll? A member of the ‘we’re all hot for Nikoli’ fan club?

  “So, are you like, his sister or something?” Trashy Barbie asked suspiciously.

  “I, uh….” A car horn honked, saving Claire. Nikoli’s truck pulled in n
ext to Trashy Barbie’s car. He had barely turned off the engine before he flung open the door and nearly raced across the lawn and up the front steps next to Claire.

  “Hey baby,” he said casually, drawing her into his arms and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “I missed you.”

  Claire felt her knees buckle underneath her and she couldn’t breather for a moment. If Nikoli hadn’t still had his arm around her waist she would’ve collapsed onto the ground in shock. He.kissed.her. On the lips. Every nerve in her body sang out with need and it felt like all the air in her lungs had left her. Nikoli grinned down at her, his strong arm holding her up.

  “Hi,” she replied quietly, praying for her lungs to start working again and waiting for the tingling sensation she felt throughout her body to stop.

  “Hi Nicky!” Trashy Barbie cooed. “I just stopped by to see if you wanted to go out tonight. There’s a kegger going on down by the lake, you wanna come?” Barbie pushed her shoulders back a bit, sticking her huge chest right out towards Nikoli as she twirled a strand of blonde hair around her fingers.

  “No, I’m sorry, we have plans already. Did you meet my girlfriend Claire?” Nikoli asked.

  “Yah, we were just chatting before you got here.” She narrowed her eyes at Claire, and then smiled at Nikoli. “I bet she could go do whatever it was you were gonna do by herself, and you could come to the party? I really, really want you to come, Nicky, I won’t have any fun without you there.” Trashy Barbie licked her lips.

  “Sorry, I’m spending tonight like every other- with my girl,” Nikoli said firmly, giving Claire an extra squeeze around the waist for emphasis. Claire felt light headed and had trouble focusing on acting like this was a natural occurrence.

  Trashy Barbie pouted. “Okay, but you don’t know what you’re missing. If you change your mind, you know where to find me tonight.” She tossed Claire a haughty look and sauntered back to her car.

  Claire willed her legs to hold her as Nikoli slid away from her after Trashy Barbie had pulled away. “What the hell was that?!” she sputtered.

  “That,” Nikoli smirked, “was Theresa. I’ve persuaded her 3 times already, but every time I run into her she starts up again.”

  “Not Trashy Barbie! That kiss! I thought there was no kissing, no flirting?” she stammered, exasperated.

  “‘Trashy Barbie’?” Nikoli laughed. “Well, I guess I figured if I saved your cute behind from one wild animal today, you could return the favor and save mine from another.”

  Claire stood, flabbergasted, as Nikoli went into the house, leaving her on the front porch with an empty basket and an earful of his throaty laughter.

  Chapter 10

  Dinner was a relatively quiet affair. Claire was still reeling over the kiss on the front porch. It may have been a show put on to scare off Trashy Barbie, but Claire knew the feelings behind it were real. Nikoli had been so adamant there could be nothing between them like that but then he went and broke his own rule. So now what?

  Nikoli was subdued, even with Joyce. They talked here and there between bites of their meal but it was all small talk. No one seemed up to discussing the Fang, or the Gypsies, or the trip to Hungary.

  “All right you two, off to bed with you. You’ve got a long trip ahead of you in the morning,” Joyce commanded.

  “I’ll help you clear the table first,” Claire insisted, refusing to look at Nikoli.

  “I’ll head on up,” Nikoli told Joyce. “I just have to get something out of my truck first.”

  “Go on then, get going.” Joyce waited until she heard the front door close. “Everything okay, Claire? You two are awfully quiet tonight.”

  “When I went to get the vegetables this girl showed up, and she was throwing herself at Nikoli and….” Claire felt close to tears even recounting Trashy Barbie’s visit.

  “Tall, blonde, dresses like a streetwalker?” Joyce grimaced.

  Claire nodded.

  “That’s just Theresa. She keeps chasing Nikoli and he keeps turning her down- and right back she comes again.” Joyce rolled her eyes. “Don’t you worry about her, I told you Nikoli’s had eyes for no one but you, Theresa will never change that.”

  The front door opened and Nikoli stuck his head into the kitchen. “Goodnight ladies. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight,” Joyce called to him. “I left your injection on your dresser for tomorrow.”

  “Thanks Joyce. Goodnight, Claire.”

  “Goodnight,” Claire muttered in his direction as he climbed up the stairs.

  Joyce shook her head. “The sooner you two figure this out, the happier you’ll be.”

  “How right you are.” Claire sighed and headed up off to bed herself.

  She had just closed her bedroom door when Nikoli knocked softly.

  “What do you want?” she growled at him, throwing open the door. “Come to tell me we can’t be together and then make out with me?”

  Nikoli closed the door behind him, frowning. “I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted to get rid of Theresa.”

  “Thanks tons.” Claire folded her arms up and glared at Nikoli.

  “Okay, okay,’ Nikoli acquiesced. “I deserve your anger for that….but if you must know, it was hard for me to stop with just a peck on the lips.”

  “Whatever, Nikoli. Go on, tell me how much you want me and I want you and how we can’t be together. Maybe I’ll just cross my fingers another bimbo will drop by for you so it’s convenient for you to kiss me again.” Claire was livid. “So you just let me know the next time you want to use me so I can make sure I’m avail-”

  Without warning Nikoli’s mouth was on hers. His arms around her, he kissed her slowly, gently. Claire responded instantly, returning his kiss.

  “Claire,” he broke away, “you make me crazy.”

  “I make you crazy? I don’t do super-fast vampire speed moves and kiss unsuspecting people. I only-”

  Nikoli kissed her again more urgently, and Claire reciprocated in kind. She was lost. There was nothing now, nothing but this- Nikoli’s strong arms holding her, keeping her safe, his soft lips on hers. Nothing before or after this moment mattered, only this. Claire thought she would explode with happiness. Something still bothered her though. She broke off the kiss.

  “I don’t want to do this Nikoli, if tomorrow you’ll just say it was a mistake. I know my attraction to you is not because of my bloodlines, I need you to know it too.”

  “My beautiful Claire, I was so very wrong about us,” Nikoli confessed, stroking her hair. “I thought being together like this would distract me from my duties. I had it backwards- denying us this distracted me more. When I pulled in today and saw Theresa was here I panicked. I worried you would think there was something between her and I. When I saw you on the porch it was so natural- I kissed you because I wanted to, and to show Theresa and let you know that she means nothing to me.” He pulled her close and kissed her again, his tongue gently flicking into her mouth, probing.

  Claire moaned softly, her fingers running through his hair as she had longed to do. He pressed against her, running his hands up and down her back, then through her hair. He stopped, eyes closed.

  “Enough,” he breathed.

  Claire almost screamed out loud in frustration. “So that’s it? You’re back to ‘No, let’s not do this’?”

  Nikoli’s eyes snapped open, boring into hers. “Oh no, my lovely Keeper. Quite the opposite.” He kissed her again for a moment. “I hope we do lots of this in the future, but for now, there’s only so much a man can take.” He kissed her hard, and pulled away quickly as his breathing became ragged. “I can’t promise I’ll be the gentleman you deserve if we keep this up right now. Your scent, your heat- I just want to consume you entirely.”

  Claire tensed with fear. Nikoli felt it and backed off immediately, sitting into the overstuffed chair. “No, Claire, not like that, never like that,” he reassured her. “I meant consume-in bed,” he explained s
heepishly.

  “Oh.” Claire felt stupid. “I’m sorry, Nikoli. I thought you meant, well, you know. As for in bed,” she began nervously, eyes downcast, “I don’t want to disappoint you, but you should know I’ve never, well, done that. I’m a virgin.”

  Nikoli inhaled sharply then exhaled slowly. “That doesn’t concern me, though it is a good reminder for me to behave myself. I spoke poorly- ‘consume’ was a bad choice of words on my part.” He sighed. “What disappoints me is that you thought I’d hurt you, even for a second. I would never hurt you Claire.” He looked at her beseechingly.

  Claire sighed. “I know that Nikoli, I’m just not used to the whole ‘my boyfriend is a vampire thing’. Especially when they start mentioning wanting to ‘consume’ me.”

  Nikoli rose and embraced Claire once again. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe,” he breathed into her hair.

  Claire snuggled into him, her fear forgotten. “I know Nikoli.” She lifted her face to his, seeking his lips again. They shared another long tender kiss before Nikoli broke away.

  “I have something for you,” he told her, reaching to the chair behind him. Claire had not noticed the small brown bag package he had brought in with him. He handed it to her. “I hope it’s okay.”

  Claire unwrapped the brown paper and gasped in surprise. The tears came then, unbidden. Inside the brown paper wrappings were photographs of her deceased family together over the years. She recognized the pictures as they had been on display in her home.

  “How did you get these?” she whispered.

  “When I left earlier today it was to go to your house. It’s still roped off with crime scene tape but almost all of the investigating team was gone. I had to persuade a photographer, but I was able to enter the crime scene. I took what I could find, what the fire hadn’t ruined.”