by Claire Marta
Rushing from the room, they hurried in a group. Everyone had picked up on Jasmine’s urgency and realised the importance. Searching the space from top to bottom, no one found any sign of the box.
“It’s not here!” Jasmine exclaimed in rising panic.
“The garden.” Brushing a clump of mousy hair from her forehead, Ellen quickly lead the way.
Passing her, Jasmine sprinted along the corridor.
Eric.
The thought of him trapped and alone drove her faster. No way out. He’d go mad with claustrophobia. Hours would’ve passed with him confined.
Reaching the back door, she wrenched it open. Hovering just above the grass, the ghostly children waited for her. Raising their bony arms in unison, they pointed behind the gazebo.
“Here,” Jasmine shouted, the spectres disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. “We have to get him out, now.”
The rich smell of earth hit Jasmine’s nose. Hunting around the structure, she found the dirt had been disturbed. The hole wasn’t deep. Whoever had made it had been in a hurry. It looked like it had been dug by clawed hands. It’s length and width fit the coffin, yet it had only been partially filled in.
“Calm down, Jaz. We’ll get him out.” Mark reached the make-shift grave. “He can’t have been in there for more than a few hours.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Biting on her lip, Jasmine cut off the stream of words. She wouldn’t betray Eric’s weakness. His phobia of small spaces.
In desperation, she scooped away the soil.
Kneeling, the others joined her tossing dirt aside until they could see the gleaming lid that lay beneath. Even Tabitha helped. On her knees the child set to work.
“Fuck.” Fergus grunted when his fingers touched the surface. They all heard the hiss of his flesh.
Jasmine’s dread almost swallowed her whole. Her Vampiria wasn’t immune to silver. It might not affect him as much as a human vampire, but his kind still found it repellent. That was something she had learned from Asier.
“Back up.” Shooing the wolf away, Mark made a start on the locks. There were four of them. Large, heavy bolts. Aiding him, Gemma worked the two bottom ones loose.
With a creak, they pushed it up.
Laying prone, the occupant inside appeared lifeless. His lips had taken on a bluish tint. A dusting of ice crystals glittered thinly over his pale skin. Sparkling like sequins, they festooned the darkness of his tousled hair.
“Eric?” Jasmine asked tentatively. Reaching down, she caressed his cheek gently. It was cold to the touch. “Hey, it’s me Jasmine.”
Was he breathing? Gaze trailing to his chest, she watched for the rise and fall. There were no visible signs of damage or wounds. Nothing to suggest why he didn’t respond. Had he retreated within his mind to block out his situation? She was surprised the silver hadn’t burnt him.
Hand snapping up, it gripped Jasmine’s throat before she could blink.
Gasping she took a hold of his wrist. She could feel the leashed strength. Knew he could snap her windpipe without breaking a sweat. Yet the grasp wasn’t painful.
“Jasmine!”
“I’m fine,” she assured Gemma before she could react. “He won’t hurt me.”
Tension thrummed throughout her friends. They were ready to take the vampire down if it was needed.
“How can you be so sure?” the huntress muttered suspiciously.
“I just do.”
Jasmine stared down into the handsome features of the male she loved. It made her heart ache seeing him like this. Vulnerable and defenceless. He was always so strong and self-assured. Spending hours entombed and cramped must have been terrifying.
Eyes snapping open, Eric’s irises were bright blue orbs. Wildness tinged with fear she’d never witnessed in them before swirled at the centres.
“You’re free, now.” Leaning into his possessive grip, she gave him a trembling smile. “No one’s going to harm you, Eric.”
A growl escaped his lips. It was a low inhuman sound. Without warning, his gaze was replaced by heat. Hunger. It was so raw with need it scorched her from head to toe.
Rising to a sitting position, Eric reached for her. Desperate arms lifted her up, bringing her into the safe harbour of his muscular chest.
Jasmine went willingly. Coiling her arms around his neck she held him closely. Whatever comfort she could be, she would give him. Tears burnt behind her eyes. For one brief second, she’d thought that she had lost him. A world without this vampire was not something that she wanted to contemplate. Jasmine still wasn’t sure she could open up to him, but she didn’t want him dead.
In a blur, they were moving. Startled, she barely caught a glimpse of the team’s alarm from over the vampire’s shoulder.
Jasmine had a second to recognise the inside of a bedroom. A moment later, Eric had her spread across one of the single beds. His weight crashed down on her, pinning her body in place.
Jasmine lay still. She knew Eric would never truly hurt her. Pressing his nose to her neck, he inhaled deeply. He was drawing in her scent. Tasting it with his senses like an animal. Jasmine melted against him.
Lapping at her skin, he searched out the dried blood and cuts she had received throughout the night. A groan rumbled from his throat as he did so. He was healing her wounds with his saliva. He’d done it in the past, and Jasmine’s heart swelled with the tender action. She’d been ready to give him solace, yet he was caring for her.
Grasping the front of her bra, he ripped the flimsy piece of material from her body. The sound of tearing and his heavy breathing were the only sounds in the room. His actions were erratic. All of his icy control was gone. Here was the man that lay beneath the restraint. This was the real Eric. Fondling her naked breasts roughly with his hands, his mouth found her nipple. Moaning, Jasmine was unable to resist the gnawing need for him. There was no thought to deny.
She was aching inside. For the feel of his muscled body against hers and the hard steel of his cock as it slid home within her. After everything that had happened, all the hostility and hiding her love, it was something she was frantic for.
Eric growled. With impatience he shoved her panties aside. His hands were shaking.
A strangled cry left Jasmine as his cock filled her. Dazedly, she clung to him as he pounded in and out of her fiercely. No gentleness, just a driving need. This was not love making. This was fucking. An animal demand to mark and claim. Jasmine recognised it for what it was because it mirrored the same crazy feelings that were rioting inside her. An urge to brand this male as her own. To claw and bite. A madness that bonded them together. A necessity to feel alive after the despair of believing they’d lost each other.
Jasmine knew she was going to regret it later. This was a mistake of epic proportions. Right now, she didn’t care. At a primitive level, it felt too perfect. He filled the void within her. Like a puzzle piece sliding home.
Lips smashed down on hers once more, demanding, devouring. It was hard and brutal. Nothing else existed. Just the two of them. He was fucking her harder and harder as if trying to merge them into one. Jasmine moaned loudly as he rammed her against the mattress. Everyone of their movements held a sense of urgency. As if it was imperative they reached the moment of climax together.
Eric’s eyes were so intense with a hungry need it made her shiver. “Mine Jasmine, you have always been mine.” The words were hissed inches from her lips. “My love. My woman. I will spend the next hundred years making endless love to you if that is what it takes to convince you. You beat within my heart. I need you. Nothing else matters.”
Eric could sense how lost Jasmine was in their love making. He was being far from gentle. He was loving her like a savage. Yet, it was impossible for him to be any other way. Not tonight. No, he intended to claim what was his. Every primal instinct he had screamed to do so. Entombed for so long, he’d been forced to withdraw to the sanctuary of his inner self. Despair had been his companion. Only by coating h
imself in a shield of ice had he gained protection from the silver of the coffin. It had temporarily saved him from burning and the poisonous metal. His only thought had been Jasmine. All the unsaid things between them. Misunderstandings. Eric had always been adapt at hiding his emotions. Now, he wished to hold nothing back at all. Then, Jasmine had been there. Voice soft and warm, she’d pulled him from the waking nightmare he’d been trapped in and had drawn him back into the light.
Any shred of control had shattered. This was how it was meant to be. Love was not always tender, which was something he was learning. His unbridled passion could no longer be contained. Nor his insatiable need for her.
He vowed to himself to continue fucking Jasmine until it was all she needed. Until she craved him as much as he craved her. Until all she yearned for was his touch, his cock, his very breath in her mouth as he kissed her. He would fill her up. Empty himself into her. His love. Essence. Power. Eric would not leave her side. Never again.
Lips swooping down, he drew in her pants and moans taking the breath from her lungs as he delved deeper into her mouth with drugging kisses.
Eric’s kisses devastated every one of her senses. He continued to fuck her desperately. All Jasmine could do was cling to his muscled shoulders and weather the tornado that had been set free.
“All these months, I have yearned for you. I should have come for you sooner. I will never let you go. Not now. Not ever.” It was a promise and a statement. One that sent a thrill right into Jasmine’s soul.
A hungry mouth placed heated kisses along her jawline. Moving restlessly, she turned her head, knowing what her vampire was after. Eric didn’t hesitate. Fangs piercing her neck, the bliss it brought Jasmine hit like a tidal wave.
Screaming his name, she came so hard that stars exploded behind her closed eyelids. Seconds later, Eric’s deep groan of blissful completion joined her own as his big body tensed above hers.
Jasmine glanced at the unconscious form beside her who was snoring softly. Head resting on her shoulder, Fergus was out cold thanks to the sedative he’d been given. Worryingly, the slash from dagger still hadn’t healed. Gemma had stitched up his arm before boarding. A thick bandage was wrapped around his bicep. Jasmine observed it with troubled eyes. Already it had darkened stained from blood beneath.
They’d prevented the world from ending. Thwarted the plans of a demented angel assassin and banished an evil dagger to another realm. Della’s words, though, still bothered Jasmine. After everything, she still couldn’t shake a sense of lingering foreboding. The case was over, and they’d saved the day. She should have felt happy.
Turning back to the round window, she watched the rising sun, breaking through the clouds in all its golden breath-taking beauty. Far below the plane, the landscape was passing quickly. They’d been in the air for more than an hour. Leaving Budapest had gone smoothly.
Tabitha and Ellen, we’re accompanying them back to England. Mark had thought it was best. They still hadn’t explained to the nanny of her now supernatural situation. Although they didn’t know who’d bitten her starting the chain reaction of her change, Fergus vowed to take the new she-wolf under his wing. Counsellors for Ellen and Tabitha were on standby. Keeping them together would be the best solution as they already shared an affectionate bond and neither had any other family. The department had despatched other agents to collect the artefacts, too powerful to be left on display, from the museum. Mark had somehow persuaded their superiors to keep the museum running and arranged a caretaker to move in once everything had been dealt with. It was surprising how quickly things wrapped up.
Jasmine’s thoughts tumbled back to a few hours before.
Having Gemma rouse her had been a blessing in disguise. Eric hadn’t stirred once when she’d slipped from beneath the sheets in the semi darkness. Instead he’d remained a relaxed exhausted figure in the bed. The vampire had been sleeping deeply, and it was easy not to disturb his slumber. It hadn’t been difficult to leave him a note with her phone number, explaining Mark had called the team away on a last second imperative mission.
Jasmine was being a coward. Maybe she should have woken him, but her life was already complicated enough at it was. His declaration of love left her speechless. She needed time to think. If he meant his words, then he would contact her. That was something she knew in her heart.
Jasmine nibbled on her lower lip as she remembered waking hours earlier, Eric’s solid arms holding her lovingly. As if he’d been frightened she might vanish like a dream.
“Shh, go back to sleep, Kitten.” The depth of his baritone voice had whispered against her ear. “You have nothing to fear.” His teeth had nipped playfully at the curve of her neck making her wiggle back with a moan.
Soft lips had then touched her own. The arms that had held her safe and warm had tightened slightly as if he no intention of ever letting her go. Eyes still closed, she’d drifted back to sleep with a contented smile on her face.
Emotions held Jasmine hostage. Tonight, she’d been his completely and utterly. Every fibre of her being. Eric was still inside her. Beneath her skin. In every breath she took. The taste of him was so familiar now that it had become her own. Where he’d bitten her still tingled. Sex between them was all consuming. It always had been, but this time, it’d been different. Eric had possessed her fully in both body and mind.
Yet, she still didn’t trust him. Being with him again had shown her the love she felt hadn’t died. It was just buried deeply beneath mistrust and wariness.
There was also Asier to consider. She was sleeping with the other vamp. But all that was between them was empty pleasure. They weren’t in a committed relationship. Had made no promises to each other. Asier was her friend. Her mentor. Someone she found she could confide in, and even though they were only together for fun, sleeping with Eric while she was seeing Asier felt wrong. Jasmine had also developed feelings for the violet-eyed Italian. She had no wish to see him hurt.
Closing her eyes, she settled back on her seat and prayed she’d done the right thing. Now, only time would tell.
Tomb stood in silence. The museum lay in darkness. Empty now. Watching from his vantage point on the outside, he’d seen the dark-haired vampire with the striking blue eyes leave as dawn began to approach.
This time, he made sure that he hadn’t been detected. Their encounter in Rome had cost him precious days.
With a growl of disappointment, Tomb glanced at the object in the grass. He knew he was too late.
With the tip of his booted foot, he nudged the burnt-out pendant. It was useless. The magic gone. Harnessing its power to control shifters had slipped through his fingers. With not even a spark left, they wouldn’t be able to replicate the ancient enchantment. His master wouldn’t be pleased. Yet, he had something that would pique the doctor’s interest. An offering to appease his anger at being beaten by the vampire who plagued him.
Uncurling his fingers, Tomb stared down intently at the crumpled piece of paper in his palm. The note had been hurriedly scribbled. A phone number was scrawled at the bottom. It hadn’t taken much to retrieve it. Standing over the vamp while he’d been sleeping had been a temptation to eliminate a pest, but Tomb had no wish to displease his master further. The doctor had plans for Eric Merchánt.
Tomb’s lips stretched in a sneer. A weakness was a weakness. It looked like this Vampiria’s came in a short red-headed package. His trip to Budapest hadn’t been a complete waste after all.
Fishing out his phone, he pressed the number on speed dial.
“Dayusus.” The ruined whisper of a voice responded the moment it connected.
Tomb felt a shiver at the command it held. It was always the same. No one had ever affected him or earned his respect as much as his master. His life was the doctor’s. Each breath he drew was in dedication for their ultimate goal.
“Doctor, I have some bad news. They managed to destroy the pendant you desired. I do have something, instead, though, that I think you’ll find mor
e useful in the long run.” Leaving the courtyard, Tomb moved with purpose out onto the street. Hanging around here now would achieve nothing.
“Bring it to me. Don’t waste any more time there, then, Tomb.” Dayusus responded with a thread of warmth that was always present when he spoke to his second in command. “Subject a hundred and fourteen was spotted in France. I need you and the others to track it. This time I want it captured.”
One of the escaped projects. The thing had eluded them for years. At least they could seize it and continue the research his master was so keen on. It could be the breakthrough they were looking for.
“As you wish,” Tomb slipped into his SUV. One quick flight and he’d be exactly where he was needed.
THE END
Thank You
Thank you for reading Blood Moon Rising by Claire Marta
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Jasmine is back in book 7 which will be set in Monte Carlo.
Sincerely,
Claire Marta
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