Bonded Hearts

by Tamsin Baker

  “But what is the possibility, Eric? I don’t want you disappointed again. We have searched every country for centuries. Why would they appear tonight?”

  Malcolm looked around the room. They were surrounded by beautiful blue-eyed men and women but felt nothing.

  Could Fate be so cruel as to let them live their whole lives without ever feeling whole?

  Eric stepped close to him and whispered into his ear. “Because, my pessimistic mate, those twins upstairs exist. Miracles do, indeed, happen.”

  Malcolm turned and stared into Eric’s blue eyes. He had loved this man with every fibre of his being for over eight centuries. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for him. If he could find their mate just for Eric, he would.

  Another gentleman was announced by the butler. His scent wafted over to them.

  Heaven.

  Malcolm’s fangs extended, and his cock hardened in a way that he’d never experienced. There was no other reason for such a reaction, it had to be him.

  They must claim him as soon as possible.

  “It’s him.” Malcolm nodded at the handsome gentleman who was walking to the opposite corner of the room.

  How had Abigail done it?

  Malcolm took a step forward, ready to grab the young man as soon as possible. Michael appeared in front of him, directly in front of him. Nathaniel was similarly before Eric. Anger pulsed through him at being denied immediate access to their third.

  “We must go to him.”

  His growl wasn’t intentional, but it rumbled out of him anyway. Eric and he could hurt the other two male vampires. There was no question. Their age alone made them twice as strong as Nathaniel and Michael.

  Malcolm was actually considering moving Michael out of his way when Abigail stepped between her mates. Malcolm and Eric froze. She blocked their view of the man whose scent called to them and her mere presence was calming.

  “Both of you, step back into the alcove. Now.”

  Malcolm turned to his mate in shock, and Eric nodded.

  What else could they do?

  They allowed themselves to be pushed back several feet into a small alcove by the two vampires and one small human.

  Abigail turned to Nathaniel. “Find Albert, please.”

  Nathaniel disappeared, and Malcolm began to pant, his blood-lust incredibly strong. His fangs had descended and they would not retreat. His stomach grumbled with hunger, to the point of pain.

  Never had he smelt a human like the man who had walked into the room. When he had met Eric, his mate had already been a vampire so he had not had the same scent. It could only mean one thing.

  They had found their third.

  Abigail stepped close and examined them both with her eagle gaze. Michael blocked them from prying eyes.

  A small part of Malcolm’s brain understood that they were being protected, but from what?

  He could think of little else than claiming the man across the room. He growled at the small female in front of him

  “What the hell is your problem, Abigail?”

  Abigail indicated their fangs with a wave of her hand. Eric stepped forward to put forth their case.

  “We must have him, Abigail. We will turn him immediately. He won’t know until it is too late, and then we will have forever with him.”

  Abigail held up her hand in a defiant way. “Just wait one more moment.”

  Malcolm took a deep breath, holding onto his control by only the smallest margin.

  A moment later Nathaniel arrived with a young human. A gorgeous man, who smelled of cloves and honey. “Feed,” Abigail said, indicating the man who was obviously a servant in her household.

  Malcolm stared at her, then at Eric.

  She can’t be serious.

  Malcolm’s body, unfortunately, didn’t know that he shouldn’t feed on the servant in front of him. The man’s scent was delicious. He could see the blood pulsing along his succulent veins, and Malcolm’s blood lust hit a raging peak.

  For a moment, thoughts of his mate lessened. He was grateful for the respite.

  Then clarity hit him. Abigail was right. Blood was what they needed, but they had no right to take it from an unwilling man.

  “We can’t…”

  Abigail waved her hand again. “Oh, stop. You cannot go over there and turn a completely innocent man. If he truly is your third, then you need to introduce yourselves. Love him, woo him, claim him. But don’t you dare go off half-cocked and ruin your lives, and his. Now drink. Albert doesn’t mind. He feeds Nathaniel and Michael when I can’t. It will provide you some control.”

  Albert nodded and rolled up both of his sleeves.

  “Honestly, my lords. I enjoy it.”

  Albert held his bare forearms out to them and smiled, his eyes twinkling with pleasure.

  Malcolm shuddered, his control lessening. He closed his eyes, need and lust beating at him. He was a nine-hundred-year-old vampire. He should have better control than this.

  “It’s all right. Please.”

  Malcolm opened his eyes to see Albert almost vibrating with need.

  Malcolm could not think straight, but he forced himself to calm down. His need to find his mate was intense, but in front of him were three people who had already weathered such a storm and won. He had to listen to them.

  He took Albert’s roughened hand in his own and looked at Eric. Their already exposed fangs pierced his sweet flesh at the exact same time.

  Delicious, thick blood coursed into his starved body. Malcolm groaned, pleasure radiating throughout his core. Being as old as they were, he and Eric didn’t need much blood to survive. They knew that it was a sign of them getting to the end of their life. And on the odd occasion that they did feed, it was never on one such as Albert.

  He continued to drink, pleasure flushing his whole body through.

  “That’s enough…”

  Malcolm heard Albert’s gasp which indicated he was weakening. He extracted his fangs, licking the wound to heal the puncture wounds faster. Annoyance at himself filled him. They shouldn’t have taken so much.

  “I’m sorry, Albert. You are exquisite.”

  Albert staggered back a little but stayed on his feet.

  “Thank you, Albert,” Eric repeated, looked chagrined, but he also had a pink hue in his cheeks that Malcolm had not seen in a very long time.

  He pulled his purse from his pocket and pushed several coins into the boy’s hand.

  True gratitude to Abigail for offering Albert to them and love for his mate flowed through him. He was a very lucky man.

  “Thank you, my lord.” Albert bobbed his head as he righted his clothing.

  Abigail stepped towards him and gave him a kind smile.

  “Thank you, Albert. Please go straight to the kitchen and eat. You may have the rest of the night off.”

  Albert nodded and bowed. “Thank you, my lady.” He staggered away from them.

  “Abigail is very clever, is she not?” Nathaniel asked them as he bent his head to kiss her, claiming her in an obvious way as the husband the world knew him to be.

  Malcolm stiffened as he began to sense Abigail’s arousal. Smelling her need for her mate would obliterate the control she had just given them. Eric and he needed to get to the black-haired gentleman.

  He bobbed his head at the still kissing couple.

  “We will go now. Many, many thanks.”

  Abigail groaned and tore her lips from Nathaniel’s. “Remember what I said. You need to take it slowly.”

  Malcolm nodded at her, the realization that Abigail was still human truly hitting him for the first time. Nathaniel and Michael had not turned her, despite their need for her. He and Eric could learn from that.

  Malcolm turned to his mate and smiled. “Shall we, my lover?”

  “Lead and I will follow, Malcolm.”

  Eric’s eyes burned with their remembered vows so many years ago, and together they made their way across the room to their intended mate.

&n
bsp; Malcolm stepped just ahead of Eric, and as one, they bowed to the two gentlemen in front of them. Their mate had thick, black hair that was cut to fall to his shoulders. His clothing was less flashy than most of his counterparts. He had no watch fobs hanging from his coat, nor an extraordinarily bright waistcoat.

  He was so handsome he didn’t need any of that. His generous mouth, angled jaw, and piercing blue eyes were all the colour he needed. Fate had blessed them.

  “I am Malcolm Turner, and this is my cousin, Eric Langford.” He introduced them with the practised lines they’d learnt for this era of their lives.

  Their mate and his friend bowed.

  “William Loother.”

  They turned towards their mate. Malcolm held his breath against the incredible aroma that was emanating from the man in front of them.

  “Lord Jackson Essex.”

  Malcolm suppressed the shiver that coursed down his spine in response to the sound of Jackson’s voice. The very finest music in the world could not compare to the pleasure such a sound gave him.

  “Lord Essex, would you mind accompanying us for a moment? Our host wishes to speak with you.”

  Jackson bowed back regally.

  “Of course. You will excuse me, Loother?”

  William Loother nodded, and they turned to walk away. They moved out of the ballroom and along the hallway.

  “Did he say what it was regarding?”

  Jackson’s voice ricocheted along the empty hallway and Malcolm shuddered. Oh, to listen to that sound for the rest of his life. Bliss.

  He forced his mind back to the question as they opened the door of the library and entered.

  “Actually, we used that as an excuse to speak to you privately. We hope you don’t mind.”

  Jackson stared at them for a moment, then walked across to the fireplace on the other side of the room. Malcolm could sense Jackson’s worry but also a quiet strength that was very uncommon in human men.

  Jackson turned and put his hands behind his back. The light from the flames illuminated his fine skin and thick, ebony hair. Beautiful didn’t begin to describe their third.

  Malcolm wanted so desperately to grab Jackson and drag him home. Offer him wine, fuck him senseless and feed from his delectable blood.

  He let his gaze move away to the fire, reaching for the thin strand of control Abigail had given them by offering Albert to them.

  Perhaps Abigail was right and they needed to take their time with Jackson. Tonight was not the end of time, they had more nights like this one.

  “What was it you wanted to discuss?” Jackson asked.

  Malcolm searched his mind for a reason to spend more time with Jackson, other than his need and desire to learn more about his mate.

  “London and the ton. We are new to town, having moved here from France last month. Michael and Nathaniel suggested we get the lay of the land from a local and they recommended you.”

  Jackson’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Of course. What did you need advice on gentlemen?”

  “Oh, everything. From your tailor, to the best clubs. Would dinner at our town house tomorrow evening work well for you?”

  Jackson’s mouth twisted. “Doesn’t tonight suit? I have no intention of retiring early.”

  Malcom fought the groan that rose in his throat. Oh, how he wanted to take advantage of that offer.

  Fate would never have sent them anything but the perfect mate.

  Which would mean that Jackson’s blood would be as sweet as the best wine, his cock as thick and long as the best lover they’d ever encountered.

  He’d be perfect in every way, and waiting was so hard to bear.

  “Thank you, but Eric and I have another previous engagement and must leave in the next few moments. Will you come then? Tomorrow night? Our house?”

  He waited with bated breath and Eric made a soft keening that only Malcolm could hear. He empathised with the pain he knew his mate was going through.

  “Well, until tomorrow night.”

  Malcolm grabbed Eric’s arm and squeezed once, then as a unit they turned and walked out the door, along the corridor and into the cold English night.

  “Why did you do that?” Eric asked him, his eyes flashing with the fire of desire and anger entwined.

  “Because of what Abigail said. It was the right advice.”

  “I don’t remember what she said, exactly.”

  Malcolm chuckled. Of course, Eric didn’t. They’d both been too blind with unsated lust to see straight.

  “That we should take our time with Jackson. Woo him, seduce him. We’ve got forever with him, my love. No need to cage him right away.”

  Eric groaned and rolled his eyes.

  “I hate to admit it, but you are probably right. Damn it, Malcolm.”

  Chapter Three

  Malcolm walked the length of the sitting room and back again. Over and over, he repeated his path, watching the minutes tick by slower than some entire days had passed.

  Soon, their third mate would be here and they could begin their seduction.

  The door open and Eric, who had been calmly reclining in one of the arm chairs, jumped to his feet.

  “Lord Jackson…” Their butler announced and kept the door open for their guest to arrive.

  Jackson stepped into the room, his emerald green vest aglow in the firelight.

  “Good evening gentlemen. You have a beautiful home here.”

  Eric bowed to their guest. “Thank you. We enjoy being so close to everything in town. Especially after long trips abroad.”

  “Oh, where have you travelled?” Jackson asked, his eyes alight with keenness for information.

  “Please sit,” Malcolm invited him and they all sat upon the lounges, one person per chaise.

  Malcolm swallowed hard as his fangs threatened to slide from his upper gums. Jackson’s scent intoxicated his blood, his stomach aching for satisfaction.

  When they finally did feed on him, it would be sweet indeed.

  Jackson raised his eyebrows in question and Malcolm swallowed down the ache his mate’s presence caused.

  “Ah yes… where have we travelled… where haven’t we is probably a shorter list. We’ve been to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, of course. India was lovely. We lived in France for several years prior to coming back to England to visit Michael and Nathaniel.”

  “India… that’s incredible. How have you done all this in such a short span of time?”

  Eric chuckled from across the room but didn’t say anything.

  “A short span of time? We aren’t as young as we look. Time has been very good to us.”

  He was well into his ninth century, as was Eric. They’d been all over the world and couldn’t even name the countries they’d been to. The countries had changed ownership too many times to count.

  “You couldn’t be older than thirty,” Jackson declared and Eric laughed out loud at that one.

  “Oh, we are. But how much older needs to remain our secret I’m afraid. “

  “I would love to travel, very much.” Jackson said, his eyes alight with the whimsy of the moment.

  Malcolm and Eric shared a look. “Perhaps you would join us on our next adventure. We are always looking for new people to spend time with.”

  Jackson swallowed hard. “Where are you going?”

  Eric grinned. “Where would you like to go?”

  Jackson’s lips lifted up gently. “Anywhere that is not London.” But then his gaze dropped and he laughed without humour. “But of course, that is impossible, with my business commitments and family responsibility. It must be splendid to be a man of leisure, as you gentlemen seem to be.”

  Malcolm got up and walked over to the serving tray.

  “Would you like a brandy, Jackson? We don’t know the English customs as we once did. Is brandy still in vogue?”

  He waited for the nod and poured their mate a drink.

  As he walked over, Jackson stood up also and joined him.

&n
bsp; Their fingers brushed each other as Jackson took the glass and Malcolm’s breath hissed in his throat. God, how he wanted him.

  Jackson brought the goblet to his lips, a heavy blush staining his cheeks.

  “Are you married, Jackson?” Malcolm asked him, unable to work out another way to bring up the intimacy he wanted to share.

  “Oh, no. I mean… not yet. Far too young for the parson’s trap.”

  Malcolm moved over to where Eric sat reclined on the chaise and sat down next to him, throwing his arms around his mate.

  Jackson stared at them, as though his gaze could devour them where they sat.

  There was no disgust in his look, only a hidden desire that Malcolm recognised very well.

  “Are you gentlemen involved at all?”

  Eric put his hand onto Malcolm’s thigh and nodded. “Yes. We are.”

  Jackson coughed, clearing his throat. “Oh, I had no idea. Forgive me for asking.”

  Eric shrugged. “I don’t think that needs forgiving, nor do I think you didn’t know. Did you not feel the chemistry between Malcolm and myself?”

  Jackson’s cheeks flared hotter, redder under their perusal. “Oh… Well…”

  Eric continued. “Do you not feel it between us? Now, even so far apart. I can hear your heart beating madly. Is your cock hardening beneath your breeches?”

  Jackson threw back the rest of the brandy, swallowing the entire contents of the snifter and then placing it down on a nearby table.

  “I don’t know what you gentlemen are talking about.”

  Malcolm grinned and got to his feet. That was a challenge in and of itself. And he knew the time for talking was gone. “Oh, really? Well, then you won’t mind us touching you as we have been dying to since the moment we saw you at Abigail’s yesterday.”

  Malcolm walked forward and Jackson began to back away.

  Eric flew behind Jackson and ran his hands around their mate’s waist. “Don’t leave. Please. We only wish to pleasure you.”

  Malcolm groaned with the desire racing through his body. His mate was so close and staring at him with wonder and desire in his eyes.

  “We have been searching for you for our entire existence, Jackson. Do you not feel our connection?” Malcolm spoke calmly, hoping the young man in front of them would not run from them as humans were wont to do.