by Austin, RB
“Sorry.” He started to move away.
“No. I like it.” And pushed against him again. He sucked in a breath as her warmth began to melt the cold inside of him.
Emma rubbed against the ridge in his pants. “Too many clothes,” she complained again, sliding her hands to the button on his pants.
Cade stopped her by shifting down her body. He flicked his tongue over one nipple before sucking it in his mouth.
She inhaled in pleasure, fisted her hands in his hair.
Too eager to taste the sweetness he smelled coming from her in waves, Cade didn’t stay too long. He continued his trail of kisses down her flat stomach stopping at the top of her sweatpants. Kneeling, he removed her sweatpants and panties in one motion.
Then he was there. In between her legs. One taste and he was hissing in pleasure.
Emma inhaled sharply. “Oh, sweet Jesus.”
Cade agreed and tongued her again and again. Her head thrashed on the pillow, her breath came in fast waves. It reached his ears as though he was under water. Flavors burst on his tongue, a taste even sweeter than blood.
Too quick for his liking she shouted her release.
“I’m not done with you yet,” he growled.
Cade didn’t stop until she screamed three other times and only then her desperate pleas made him relinquish. He kissed her hips, stomach, a tribute to the breast he’d bypassed earlier, her mouth, and her forehead. Smoothing the blanket over her body, he lay next to her. Had he ever felt this content?
“What about you?” Emma asked a few moments later when her breathing evened out.
Cade wanted her without a doubt, but nothing could spoil his pleasure in this moment. “I want nothing in return.”
She stroked her hand down his side, but he caught it and held it to his chest. “Only for you.”
She smiled. Would he ever get use to her beauty? “Thank you.”
Cade kissed the tip of her nose and her lips. He would miss this. Miss her.
“Will you stay with me?”
Quick happiness was followed by a stab through the heart. She didn’t mean forever. It could never be. “For a little while. I’ll be unavailable tonight.”
“Why?”
“Work.”
“Oh.”
Was that sadness in her tone? No, only hope playing tricks on him. “I can take you home in two days.”
Her eyes widened.
“You have only two days of the medication left.”
The corners of her mouth turned down.
“You do want to go home?”
The frown remained while she replied in a whispered, “Yes.”
They lay quietly. She pressed to his side. Her warmth seeped into his soul.
“Thank you for my supplies.”
“I like to make you smile.” Cade paused for a moment then contradicted what he’d said by saying, “Can I ask you about your painting? The one on your easel.” He’d seen the canvas before he spied the uneaten food. His fury when he first glimpsed at the painting rushed back. Even now he wanted to run next door and tear the piece in half as he longed to do to that Fallen who’d hurt her.
Emma stiffened in his arms.
“Does that night still bother you? You’re safe here. I’ll let nothing happen to you.” Cade paused. When she left she wouldn’t be under the protection of the HQ or himself anymore. No. He wouldn’t allow her to be hurt again. “When I take you home, I promise you’ll be watched over.” Although she’d have no memory of him or this night, he wanted her to know it now, to be comforted because of it.
Her gaze filled with horror. “Do you believe I’m still in danger? I thought the man was dead.”
Cade wrapped both arms around her. “I assure you Gabriel has taken care of him.”
“So there are others like him?” Emma’s voice rose.
“I’ll allow no one to harm you. Ever.”
She sat up. “Are there others like him?”
There was only a slight tremble in her voice. The fear vanished from her expression. Her emotions were on lock down again. His words could do nothing to alleviate her worries, but he couldn’t find the strength to lie or evade. Not to her.
“Yes.”
She was quiet for a moment. “What was he? A vampire?” Emma’s mouth screwed up like she’d swallowed something awful.
The reaction was expected, it was the same as his own, but a quick stab of pain tore through him anyway. “It isn’t your blood they want. It’s your soul.”
“My soul?”
“Yes. The Fallen are soulless beings, essentially dead, and in order to continue to walk among the living they ingest souls.”
Her heart pounded. The only other noise in the room was the quiet intake of her breath steadily increasing.
“Is this a joke? A make-the-girl-think-she’s-gone-crazy frat joke?” The words were a desperate plea. She wanted him to tell her yes.
“No.”
Color drained from her face. “There’ve never been news reports of unexplained deaths or dead bodies found in an alley.”
“And there never will be.”
“How do you fit into all of this? You and your brothers?”
“You saw Gabriel in the alley. We hunt the Fallen and kill them.”
Pause. “How did you become like you?”
Her reaction when she said vampire replayed in his mind. “We were recruited.”
Brows creased. “By who?”
Cade couldn’t divulge that information, mind sweep or not. “We call ourselves Behnshmas. We have many different Septs, or divisions, posted throughout the world.”
“This is your job?”
“Our duty is to protect humans from the Fallen.”
“Fallen? Why are they called that?”
“Because they’ve fallen from the Creator’s grace.”
Emma blinked. She was in a horror movie. The camera aimed on her face waiting to catch her reaction to the headline, “We’re Not Alone. And I Don’t Mean Aliens.” Laughter bubbled, but it was hysteria pushing to take over, and she couldn’t give in to the urge. The glint in Cade’s eyes said this was real. The firm set of his lips told her he was telling her the truth, albeit unwillingly.
She’d opened her mouth anyway, intending to test the theory because it was better to appear hysterical than to believe there were things in the world that could suck out her soul. Before she could attempt a chuckle, Cade’s last remark hit home.
“The Creator? Do you mean God?” At his nod, she scowled. “What does He have to do with this?”
Cade’s gaze searched her face. When he spoke his voice was quiet. Another check mark on the this-must-be-the-truth side. Most whispered conversations were really juicy and really the truth. “The Creator has everything to do with this life and the next.”
Emma suppressed a scoff. Her mother would’ve loved him. Wait. She inhaled sharply. “He didn’t get my soul, right?”
“Your soul is intact.”
“I was sick. Did he get a small part of it?”
He took her hand. Emma began to calm immediately.
“No. Your soul is the same as it was before you went down the alley. I promise.”
She exhaled in relief then her forehead wrinkled. “Why did I get sick?”
“Poison laced the knife that cut you.”
What? First she was poisoned and on her deathbed. Then she learned dead soul sucking vampires walked the world. How was she going to go back to her normal life after this? “I’m going to be fine, right?”
“The medicine has counteracted the effects. You’ll be fine.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” he said after a moment.
Emma nodded. A few days
ago her biggest worry was losing her job. Now it’ll be walking down the street looking over her shoulder for vampires. But she couldn’t, wouldn’t, hide. She was done with hiding. At one time in her life she’d have run into the night seeking every unlit corner and alley. Emma didn’t seek death now, but she wasn’t going to run from the possibility either.
“What can I do to protect myself?” Her voice didn’t waver or crack despite the fear running through her. This was the voice she’d learned to use after drowning in an emotional sea of sideways glances, pitying faces, sympathetic words, and empathetic touches that crippled her within an instant until she learned to block it out and carry on as if nothing happened.
His mouth tightened. “You don’t need to protect yourself. We’ll protect you.”
She shook her head before he was finished speaking. “You won’t be with me twenty-four hours of the day. In two days you won’t be with me at all.” A weird pang went through her.
“You’ll be watched over. You’ll be safe.”
“Cade,” she began.
“No.” His voice was sharp. “I don’t want you fighting Fallen. I won’t allow it.”
Dragging the sheet with her, she scooted from the bed. “Allow it?” Her voice rose. “You won’t allow it? You’ve no control over what I do.” Oh. My. God. This man was infuriating.
He stood too. His gaze blazed with fury. “As long as you’re under my care, I do control what you do.”
Anger heated her cheeks. “You don’t and will never control me.” Emma’s gaze fell on the rumpled quilt, and the pleasure he’d given her ran through her mind. Anger dissipated into an emotion she didn’t want to name. “I don’t know how it was in Wales, but in America women are equal.
“The break from day-to-day living has been nice and in retrospect my life doesn’t seem to be all that messed up now, but I need to get back to some sense of normalcy. I’ll finish the medication on my own. And if you won’t teach me how to protect myself I’ll learn on my own.”
Panic traveled across his face. “Emma, please.” He closed his eyes. “I couldn’t bear it if you were to fight them.” The words emerged on a whisper.
Emma stilled at the fear she read on his face and the emotions it produced inside her. She wanted nothing but to ease it. Mouth open and ready to agree to his wishes when she snapped her lips closed. No, he didn’t wish or ask, he demanded. Cade acted the same way in the other room when he berated her for not eating. The same demanding tone. He never asked. Never expressed. Emma forgave him in the other room because of his wife and daughters. And now, yeah, he may be recalling the same things, but it had to stop. If she allowed this to continue it would never end.
Continued? What the hell? They weren’t in a relationship. Once she left, she’d never lay eyes on him again.
“I don’t plan to hunt them down, Cade, but I don’t want to be afraid every time I walk from my house.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she lifted her hand. “You’re not going to change my mind.”
His mouth snapped shut and he breathed deeply through his nose. After a moment, he answered. “I’d prefer to drive you home myself if that’s all right. Can you wait until tomorrow?”
Emma stilled. She’d asked to go home. In the other room. Demanded it actually. Wow, weren’t they a pair of black kettles. Had she expected him to refuse? Her gaze fell to the bed again. Had she wanted him to? She swallowed thickly. “Yes, I can wait.”
“Please let Martha know if there’s anything you need tonight. I’ll instruct her to bring you dinner.”
The lump in her throat burned hotter. They’d planned to eat together. Emma dropped her gaze. “Thank you.”
When she lifted her head the room was empty. Emma sat back down on the bed, smoothing the rustled sheets. She’d hoped to be with him again before she left. To give him pleasure as he’d given her. Something to remember her by. And more memories for herself. Guess that wasn’t gonna happen.
Emma battled back tears and won. She always won.
Chapter 10
Body cleansed and purified, Cade wore no clothing underneath the scarlet robe that fell to his feet. Striding down the cement-lined tunnel, his bare feet padded soundlessly against the cold ground. His achs’ low voiced conversations reached his ear. Cade was late. Gabriel was even there.
At the end of the tunnel he stepped from cement floor to dark-colored marble, also cold, and walked into a candle lit open space. Lucas, Sarid, and Gabriel fell silent. They were standing in the center of the room waiting to begin.
A twelve by ten foot stone altar sat atop a raised platform in the back center of the chamber. A deep red velvet cloth covered the altar top and draped the sides. Carpet in the same blood color covered the three steps leading to the altar and the surrounding area.
In his absence, his achs cleansed and prepared the cross and two candlesticks. The golden items sat on top of the altar, shining in the flickering light. Cade walked up the steps to lift the cross, making sure his robe fell over his hands. Touching the holy object with uncovered skin was prohibited. Lucas lifted the two candlesticks in the same manner. Gabriel and Sarid, one on each end of the altar, began to fold and remove the cloth. Sarid placed the folded cloth in the cavity in the back of the altar. Cade set the cross back down in the middle. Lucas placed the candlesticks in the top corners. The unveiling complete they stood on the marble floor side by side facing the altar. Lifting their robes until their knees shown, they knelt, shoulders touching. Their heads were bowed, eyes closed, and palms pressed together underneath their chin. They waited.
Cade knew the moment Elias entered the chamber. The blood flowing through his body recognized its host and a tingling that started in his spine traveled through his veins to the tips of his toes. A multitude of sensations bombarded his mind.
In Elias’s presence Cade no longer felt strapped down. The guilt over Sarah and his children’s death fled. Along with the stress of leading the Sept, the fear he may disappoint Elias, the hopelessness he’d never find redemption, and the mess of his most recent indiscretion. All of it gone.
Next to him Sarid took a deep breath, and his ach’s whole body, which was always tense especially during close contact, relaxed.
Eyes still closed, Cade sensed Elias moving. It was the mere whisper of noise. The moment Elias’s feet touched the carpeted area behind the altar Cade opened his eyes and lifted his head.
“My sons,” Elias breathed. His words, as would all the words that followed in the chamber, were spoken in the Trihune language. Elias’s deep voice was filled with love and caressed Cade like a gentle breeze, warming his body and soul.
Elias spread his arms and white-robed sleeves billowed down past his elbows. Head falling back, he peered at the ceiling, as if he could see through the cement, dirt, and grass to the heavens above. “Let’s pray, my sons.”
They once again bowed their heads over their hands.
“Almighty Creator it is our beloved duty to perform the tasks You entrusted to us. It is with humble acquiescence that we ask for Your heavenly presence as we complete this ceremony. We pray for Your divine powers to flow into Your kindred, protectors of Your most precious Followers. We reverently seek Your wisdom and guidance always. We humbly thank You for giving us this chance to serve You and pray our actions may always be pleasing to You. Amen.”
Cade and his achs rose as a single unit, heads still bowed and hands loosely at their sides. They’d remain in this position until it was their time to join Elias.
Cade walked to the steps and genuflected on one knee. He pressed the tips of his fingers of his right hand to his forehead, shoulders, then chest before rising to continue behind the altar.
“My sire,” Cade greeted in the Trihune language.
Elias’s smile was of pure joy.
“Caderyn.”
; With one word Cade’s guilt over the past week’s actions bubbled through the peaceful façade and threatened to drown him.
Elias’s right eye twitched. He knew.
“Will you take my hand, Caderyn?”
Cade hesitated. It was the first time in three hundred years. Elias had access to everyone’s thoughts as they ran through their mind, but with physical contact he’d learn every bad judgment, misdeed, unspoken want, executed desire, and broken rule rendered since birth. He was asking permission for these thoughts.
Elias waited, his expression never flickering from one of loving acceptance.
“Yes,” Cade said finally.
“Yes, what, Caderyn?” Elias’s voice was gentle as he requested the formal words.
“Yes, sire. I place my hand in yours in love and trust.”
Elias grasped his hand. The ethereal glow surrounding Elias began to brighten then expand. Light and warmth spread up Cade’s arm and across his shoulder then exploded in all directions. Elias tilted his head to the left, exposing his neck. His white, mid-back length hair was now tied at his nape. Cade’s fangs elongated, his bright gaze locked on Elias.
“I give my blood to you, my son, in love and trust.”
Cade sank his teeth into Elias’s neck. Elias didn’t jerk or stiffen from the contact. His body remained at ease as he placed his other hand on the back of Cade’s head.
The blood was warm and thick on Cade’s tongue. It surged through his body, strengthening him, merging with the powers inside of him until he wanted to lift his head and roar. In the back of his mind he watched the thoughts Elias read. It’d taken his sire only a few minutes to run over the time from the last ceremony to Emma’s arrival. Elias played her arrival and their interactions slower and in some cases more than once.
Finished, Cade lifted his head. The holes in Elias’s neck healed automatically just as the blood was replenished. He licked his lips to catch anything he missed. Fangs retracted before the thought to do so even finished processing. Cade was unable to revel in the return of his strength, though.