by Michelle Fox
“I’m hit,” I yelled.
Kristos nodded that he heard me and made the bike go even faster. We were in the tunnels now and I couldn’t see anything in the dark. My arms began to shake along with the rest of me as the injuries I’d sustained took their toll. I was losing my strength along with my blood and pain wracked my body.
“We have to stop,” I said, but I couldn’t make my voice loud enough to be heard. Closing my eyes, I pushed myself into the bond hoping to get his attention that way.
“It’s not safe yet. Hang on,” he said over his shoulder. He moved but I couldn’t see what he was doing. It felt like he was searching his pockets for something. Then I saw a little red light in his hand. He was holding something. As I watched, the light went from red to green and a loud boom sounded behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see a strange lightning flash underground.
Kristos took a hard right just as a ball of flame rolled down the tunnel after us. Its heat licked at my back. I cowered against him. It took everything in me not to lose my hold on him and fall off the bike, bouncing into the darkness.
The ground beneath us changed, rising up instead of being flat, and a moment later, we flew out of an access tunnel into the night. I sagged against Kristos as he brought the bike to a stop.
“What was that?” I looked back into the tunnel, expecting to see flames, but there was only quiet darkness. You would never guess there’d been a baby factory in process down there somewhere. Or that it had just all gone kablooey.
“There were propane tanks. I rigged a bomb.” He turned off the bike and put down the kickstand.
“Oh. So is that where you went?” Kristos never ceased to amaze me. He always had a plan. Too bad this last one didn’t look like it would work out so well for me.
“Yes.” He swung his leg off the bike and started to examine my injuries.
“I thought you left me.” I tried to get off the bike too, but instead of standing, I sank down to the ground. I couldn’t feel my legs so much anymore and more blood gushed out of the wound in my back.
“I took a risk. We were outnumbered and needed to change the game. I would never leave you, Myra. I thought I was fast enough.” A grimace of regret flashed across his face.
“You were fast enough, but I think I might be leaving you anyway,” I said dully. I wasn’t a doctor, but even I knew it wasn’t good that my limbs had gone numb. My vision was cloudy as well, full of dark spots that only allowed me a partial view of Kristos. He was so damn handsome it made my heart ache.
“No, Myra, not yet,” he said gently helping me stand.
But he didn’t have any say in the matter. A strange, weary heaviness filled me and I felt my heart stutter in my chest. There wasn’t much time now. “I’m sorry, Kristos.” I put a hand on his cheek wanting to touch him one last time. He’d worked so hard to save me and I was going to die anyway. “I’ll miss you.”
He gently lowered me to the ground. “Hush. It’s all right.”
I wanted to ask him how. I was about to die the kind of death no one woke up from. There was no going back now. “I should’ve changed a long time ago,” I managed to gasp out. “I was afraid. I didn’t know what I wanted.”
Kristos put a finger to my lips. “I know. I’m sorry it turned out this way.”
“Me too.” Breathing hurt now, forcing me to take smaller and smaller breaths. My eyes drifted shut despite my efforts to keep them open. I could feel the darkness opening up and preparing to swallow me. I thought of my mom with a pang. Would she be okay without me?
“My mom,” I whispered.
“I’ll see to her,” Kristos said.
I couldn’t see him anymore even though I managed to open my eyes. There was just darkness now, nothing else, but his hand squeezed mine. I was alive, barely, but still there and he was with me. That made it better.
Then the dark washed over me in an unstoppable wave, sweeping me out into oblivion as it passed. I knew nothing more.
Chapter Seventeen
I was rocking. A soft, lulling motion that jostled me into consciousness. I tried to open my eyes, but it was too hard. I gave up and retreated into nothingness. The rocking brought me back, but I couldn’t break through the heaviness holding me down to fully awaken.
Time passed. Somehow I knew that. There were sounds now with the rocking. Jazzy music. Doors opening and closing. A ticking sound that I found irritating.
A hand touched me, squeezing my shoulder gently.
I groaned.
“Sleep,” whispered a voice that instantly reassured me. I obediently drifted off, dreamless except for disconnected flashes of Kristos bent over me, concern on his face. In one of them I felt his fangs pierce my neck followed by the draw of him sucking my blood and it seemed I could hear him calling my name over and over. Whether they were memories or hallucinations, I couldn’t say. I didn’t have the energy to fret about it either. All I could do was drift, lost in myself.
The next time I woke, I was cuddled around someone. My eyes opened this time. Before they snapped closed again, I caught sight of a car backseat and felt the press of someone next to me. Outside it was dusk.
Something wet and warm pressed against my mouth. “Drink,” came the soft command.
I drank, hesitant sips at first which soon gave way to giant greedy gulps. Blood filled my mouth, rousing my hunger. The need to eat roared to life with a ferocity that would’ve frightened me if I hadn’t been in a stupor. It tasted so good, I moaned as I drank.
“Enough. Sleep.”
I whimpered in protest and fell asleep again.
“Myra, wake.” The deep voice rushed my ears and shivered through my body.
I woke fully this time and sat up. I was still in the back seat of a car, an unknown driver at the front. We raced down an unknown highway. It was dusk again or maybe still, I couldn’t tell. Palm trees and ocean streamed by in a surreal vacation landscape.
I looked to the man who had spoken. He looked calm and composed as ever. “Kristos?” My voice was slurred. My mouth felt funny, like I’d had a dozen root canals back-to-back.
“Yes.” He pulled me against his chest as I began to slump, weak as a newborn kitten.
“What happened?”
“You died.” He kissed the top of my head. “And now you live again.”
I was silent for several long minutes. “You changed me.” The little flashes I’d seen in my dreams must have been memories then.
I felt his nod. “Yes.”
“Is it over now?” I tensed afraid he would say no.
“I think so. The council believes us both to be dead. No one is looking for us.”
“Madame Rouge? She’s probably furious with me.” I’d left her in the lurch and never really did my job like I was supposed to; the bullets kept getting in the way.
Kristos gave me a little shake. “You’re dead remember? She has the same information as the council does. You don’t need to worry about her.”
“What about my mom?” Panic flashed through me. How long had I been out? Was mom okay? Oh my God. Why hadn’t she been the first thing on my mind? Guilt burned through me although I knew I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t exactly thinking straight. I felt like I’d awakened after a long fight with the flu; sore and fuzzy around the edges.
“She’s home. Cancer free.” He held up a hand and said, “Before you ask, no she has no idea what’s happened. As far as she knows you’re still working at an internship.”
I smiled, pleased at the news. By some miracle we’d both survived. “Can I see her?” I held my breath. Could I see her again? Was that allowed? Oh the irony of losing her this way when I’d been so afraid it would be the cancer that would take her from me.
“After a time, yes.” He shifted in his seat, drawing me even closer to him.
His response made me frown. “I thought that I would have to leave her behind.” Especially now that no one could know I’d survived.
He sighed, patient with me yet
suffering through all my questions. “This isn’t fiction, Myra. This is real vampire life. We don’t leave our loved ones behind unless we have to.”
“But what happens when they notice you don’t age or die?”
He tapped the side of his eye. “You’ll mesmerize her so she’ll only remember what you want her to. And when she dies, you step away to be forgotten. No one will look twice if you are careful.”
My eyes narrowed. “Hey, I thought you said the eye thing didn’t work like that.” I was newly risen from the dead, not afflicted with Alzheimer’s. He’d said he couldn’t make people do things. I remembered that conversation well because it had eased my mind a great deal.
He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “I downplayed its power a bit.”
Despite the languid weakness in my limbs, I managed to smack his shoulder.
Kristos winced. “That reaction is precisely why I kept quiet. It’s not like I can turn it off and I really did try to tone it down. You have to admit there were times where it was a distinct asset.”
I rolled my eyes, but let it go because he was right. I’d enjoyed his gaze more than once. Of course if he set those baby blues on me going forward we would have some serious words and my smacks would get a whole lot stronger. “Where are we going now?” I gestured to the passing scenery.
“Someplace safe.” The car slowed as he spoke, aiming for the upcoming exit.
“Will we always have to hide?” I rested my head on his shoulder, contemplating the palm trees outside.
He shrugged. “We will reinvent ourselves. After a century or so they will forget.”
The idea of a hundred years gave me pause. I would be twenty-five forever. I gave Kristos a sly look. “I’m the same flavor for eternity.”
He smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Yes, the one that reminded my heart what it was to feel again. That’s a pretty special flavor if you ask me. Besides, I have no doubt you’ll spice things up.”
Sudden concern flashed through me. I pressed a hand to my stomach. “What if...” I stopped, unable to say the words.
He took my hand and kissed it. “Your father was unique among vampires. You may take after him or not. We will be happy no matter what.”
The car lurched as it made a sharp turn into a residential area, throwing me against him. I became aware of Kristos in a new way as a sudden heat throbbed in my core. I threaded my fingers in his hair and pulled him to my lips for a kiss.
He indulged me, tongue lashing mine and flicking over my new fangs which were sharp as a viper’s. I was a clumsy kisser now, unable to gauge where my fangs were. Afraid of nicking Kristos or myself, I held still and let him control our kiss. He sucked on my bottom lip until I moaned at the sensation. Then the car slowed to a stop and he pulled away saying, “We’re here.”
He opened the car door and stepped out into the humid night. I followed and learned that ‘here’ was an immense house by the sea. The bright moon hung overhead and the sound of waves breaking on the nearby beach welcomed us. My senses were sharper now. I could smell the salt in the soft breeze dancing around me, and I heard what sounded like heart beats that strummed like hummingbird wings.
I cocked my head and listened. “Do you hear that?”
Kristos smiled and, with a start, I realized I could see him in sharp relief despite the absence of direct light. Well, hello there vampire super powers.
“Yes. You’ll learn to tune it out eventually.”
Kristos dispatched the driver, who left with a tip of his chauffeur's hat and then grabbed my hand, tugging me after him into the stucco house. I had a second to notice the sweeping marbled entrance with its crystal chandelier before he was on me. His lips burned mine and his hands roamed over me, pulling off my clothes.
My body responded instantly to his touch and I gave a happy sigh. He fisted his hands in my hair and buried his face in my neck.
“Myra,” he whispered my name with longing.
“Is everything okay?” I pulled back to look at him.
His gaze was solemn as it met mine and for once I didn’t feel the pull of his vampire eyes. “I wasn’t sure you would change.”
“I thought I was dead too.” I gestured to my body. “But here I am. We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” I unbuttoned his shirt as I spoke revealing his always magnificent chest.
He sighed as I touched him, shuddering slightly when my palms grazed his nipples. “We are lucky to have survived.”
“Let’s find a bed and put that luck to work.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him after me up the stairs. I had a million questions now that I was a vampire. How would I feed? Would I take after my father? Or would I favor Kristos since he was my maker? What would I tell my mother? More importantly, how would I spend my time now that it wasn’t running out?
As pressing as the questions were, I had all the time in the world to find answers. Just then I wanted to press my body against Kristos’ and lose myself in his eyes. That seemed a fitting way to mark the day I rose from the dead. We could play twenty questions later.
He seemed to agree as he took me into a bedroom and loved me until I could barely remember my name.
“Hey Kristos?” I said during a break between orgasms.
“Yes, love.” He toyed with my breasts, taunting my nipples until they went stiff in protest.
I sighed and arched up toward him. “I love you.” I’d had to die and rise again to realize it, but Kristos was my everything. If I had him, I was complete. Nothing else mattered.
Kristos smiled at me. “I love you too, Myra.”
“You do?” My jaw dropped. “I thought you didn’t like female vampires?”
“I thought I didn’t like a lot of things about relationships. You made me reconsider.”
“When did you know?” I smiled up at him and caressed the broad planes of his pecs.
“From the beginning.” He dipped his head down and sucked my mouth into a tender kiss.
“That explains a lot,” I mumbled against his lips thinking of his attentive loyalty and concern for my safety. “Here I thought you were a gentleman.”
“I’m no gentleman.” He covered my body with his and took me roughly to prove it. I shuddered under him and for once, there were no bullets, just blissful release.
***
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Reborn which is part of the Kindle Unlimited Blood Courtesans series. Reviews are always appreciated!
Don't forget to check out the other books in the series! I've licensed the Blood Courtesan world to some amazing authors and worked with them to develop some fantastic vampire romance reads. Note that this is a limited time project. The books will not be available forever so read them while you can!
Other Titles in the Blood Courtesan Series
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Wanted
Marked
Bitten
About the Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Michelle Fox lives in the Midwest with her husband, kids, the occasional exchange student and two, sweetly disobedient dogs. She loves fantasy and romance, which makes writing paranormal romance a natural fit. Occasionally, she goes through a maverick phase and writes contemporary romance. In her spare time, she's been known to shake her bon-bon at Zumba, make spectacular cheesecakes, hoard vintage costume jewelry and eat way too much ice cream (Ben and Jerry’s Karamel Sutra for the win!).
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