In Blood and Worth Loving

by Marilyn Lee

  The muscles in Brandi’s stomach tightened. She rose and paced the room. “Am I going to want to hear what you’re about to say?”

  “I hope you will. Uncle Adrian didn’t make you bleed, Brandi.”

  “I was bleeding.”

  “No. It was his blood.”

  Brandi swallowed slowly and moistened her lips.

  “He’s in blood with you, Brandi.”

  She shook her head. “No. He’s not.”

  “He is. Oh, Brandi. I think I knew the moment we met you were right for him. His being in blood explains his behavior. When vamps are in blood, they lose control and often do things that would normally be against their nature. It’s against Uncle Adrian’s nature to be anything but kind and considerate with my friends.

  “Oh, Brandi, he’s in blood with you. You have to forgive him and give him another chance. You have to.”

  Rayna’s insistence annoyed her. “He penetrated me without my permission—while I was begging him not to. I don’t have to forgive him.”

  “He wasn’t himself, Brandi. You said yourself that he was unpredictable. He’s normally very predictable. He wouldn’t have frightened or hurt you if he were in control of himself. Please forgive him.”

  “You speak very eloquently on his behalf, but I doubt if he’s interested in my forgiveness. I haven’t heard from him since Saturday and I don’t expect to see him again.” She ignored the twinge of pain the words gave her.

  “You will definitely see him again.”

  “I don’t think so. Besides, as I said, I’ve decided to resume my relationship with Doug. We’re spending my birthday weekend together.”

  “I don’t think you understand, Brandi. He’s in blood. He’ll come to you because he has to.”

  “Then he’ll discover I’m no longer interested or available because I’ll be dating Doug.”

  “That wouldn’t be a good thing for Doug.”

  “What do you mean, Rayna?”

  “If he finds you with Doug or anyone else…”

  “If he finds me with Doug…what?”

  She hesitated. “Please cancel your date for Doug’s sake.”

  “For his…are you saying he’ll—”

  “Uncle Adrian is a full-blood vampire who’s never been in blood before, Brandi. I like to think I’ve had a positive influence on all my uncles. They’re much more considerate of humans and much less inclined to resort to imposing their will on others than they were before they found me.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “He’s not himself. He’ll kill any male who stands between you and him.”

  Brandi sucked in a breath. “That’s only if I’m pregnant, which I can’t be.”

  “If you’re pregnant he’ll be even more uncontrollable. But pregnant or not, he’ll kill Doug if he views him as a serious rival for your affection.”

  “And what will he do to me?”

  “To you? Nothing more than what he’s already done.”

  “That was enough, Rayna.”

  “I don’t mean to minimize your fear, but you were able to talk him into stopping before and you can again. I know asking you to forgive him is asking a lot. But please try to understand what he’s going through. I promise you he’s worth the effort.”

  Brandi shook her head, but the weakest part of her wanted him—just as he was. “Did he know he was in blood?”

  “I don’t know, but I assume he saw the blood at some point.”

  “So in addition to all his other failings, he tried to impregnate me without my permission? And you expect me to forgive that as well?”

  “Oh, Brandi, please try to see things from his perspective. He’s not rational or accountable for his actions. He won’t be until he accepts that he’s in blood with you and you accept him.”

  “And what if I don’t accept him?”

  “You have to or…”

  “Or what?”

  “He’ll…we’ll lose him to darkness and…you have to accept him.”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Ok. No, you don’t, but if you do, you’ll get to live your fantasy up close and personal. You’ll be the center of his world…his reason for living. He’ll worship and cherish you for eternity.”

  “Cherish me? Not after the way he behaved the last time we saw each other.” She shook her head. “Why did you do this?”

  “Why did I do what?”

  “Deceive him.”

  “I—”

  “Before you say you didn’t deceive him, I know you did. I saw the look on his face when he first walked into the bedroom at the Poconos. What did you tell him about me?”

  “That I’d met his ideal woman.”

  “How did you describe me that made him think I might be his ideal woman?”

  “I didn’t go into detail. I told him you were attractive, passionate, and ripe for him.”

  “That’s it? Then why did he look so disappointed when he saw me?”

  “He has a thing for slender blondes,” Rayna admitted.

  “And you told him—”

  “I didn’t tell him you were slender or blonde. He just assumed you were and I admit I allowed him to think that without actually saying it.”

  “Why?”

  “I know what I did sounds bad, but I knew you were prefect for him.”

  “He didn’t agree.”

  “Maybe not at first, but he obviously changed his mind at some point and realized he liked you. He’ll be drawn to you.”

  “I don’t think I want to see him again.”

  “I know this is a lot to process and you were afraid, but he wouldn’t have done any lasting physical damage. Please don’t make any hasty decisions, Brandi. Just think about everything I’ve said. Please remember to factor in how much you have to gain if you can forgive him and bear with him until he’s back under control. Then you’ll see the real Adrian Redwolfe.”

  Despite her anger, hurt, and confusion, the thought of Adrian feeling a quarter of what Rayna promised excited her. How could it not after her having experienced both his passion and his tenderness? “I can’t promise anything except that I’ll think about everything we’ve discussed.”

  “That’s all I ask. And when you see him and he’s not quite where you need and want him to be, just think of how magical things will be when you know you’re his blood and he’d do anything to make and keep you happy. Imagine how incredible, special, and loved you’ll feel when he first calls you his blood.”

  Would that ever happen? If she were so important to him, why hadn’t she heard from him yet?

  “I’ll be back home as soon as I can book a flight out of here.”

  The last thing Brandi needed was Rayna back in Philly trying to pressure her in person. “Don’t cut your vacation short on my behalf. I need some time alone to think.”

  “Ok, but if you need help or if you want to talk or have questions, Uncle Conner is a good listener. And he and Uncle Adrian are very close. He’ll be able to…reason with Uncle Adrian if that becomes necessary.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “And please consider canceling your weekend with Doug. Uncle Adrian won’t miss your birthday and—”

  “I’m not going to change my plans for my birthday to suit something Adrian may or may not do.”

  “Brandi—”

  “I’ll talk to you when you return, Rayna. Bye.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brandi spent the next few days after her conversation with Rayna torn by conflicting emotions. Part of her longed to believe Adrian was in blood with her and wanted to forgive him. The saner, more rational part insisted she had to forget him and give her relationship with Doug another chance.

  When she considered the possibility that she might be pregnant she was even more conflicted. While she’d always wanted kids and had fantasized about vampires being real, she’d never imagined she might end up having a child with a Native American hunk who just happened to be a vampire
. The implications of having a child with vampire blood dismayed and excited her.

  She spent most of her free time reading Cherokee history and scouring the internet for vampire lure before she decided she needed information she could rely on. If she called Rayna, she'd have to hear Adrian's praises sung. After his behavior and silence she wasn't in the mood for that. She called Conner on Thursday after lunch.

  “Brandi! What a pleasant surprise. How are you?”

  His warm greeting reassured her. “Confused. I have a lot of questions.”

  “I’ll be happy to answer any questions I can. Would you like to have dinner tonight? Do you like jazz?”

  “Yes to both questions.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”

  She arrived home at five-forty-five which gave her less than an hour to decide what she should wear. Should she dress to impress him? Or go casual?

  She decided to go casual. She took a quick shower and dressed in a two-piece peach skirt set which fell below her knees and had a scoop neck with long sleeves.

  Conner arrived wearing a black suit and grey shirt without a tie. He looked so much like Adrian that for a moment Brandi was hard pressed not to rush forward and throw her arms around him.

  He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Hi, honey.”

  “Hi.” She stepped away from him.

  “Sorry. I know it must be difficult to see me.”

  She closed her eyes briefly and turned to face him. “No. I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind.”

  “Do you still want to go out for dinner?”

  She nodded.

  “Good.” He smiled and offered her his arm.

  She smiled and placed her hand on his arm.

  He squeezed her hand but made no effort to assure her that things would work out with Adrian. Although she wanted to hear that, she was grateful that he respected her enough not to make promises for Adrian.

  He took her to a jazz dinner club. They enjoyed the music while she ate. He ordered a drink and a steak, but didn’t eat more than a few forkfuls. Over coffee, she struggled to decide how to express her concerns.

  “Don’t worry about phrasing, Brandi. Just ask whatever you like and if I can answer, I will,” he told her.

  He was so warm and encouraging. Why hadn't Adrian been more like Conner? “Are you and Adrian alike?”

  “Only in appearance, although I like to think I'm the better looking twin.” He grinned. “Don't you think so?”

  “Not really.”

  He reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “I'm very glad to hear that. Now what did you want to ask me?”

  “Rayna told me about being in blood and I wondered what the implications would be for my possibly getting pregnant.”

  “To you?”

  “Yes. And the baby.”

  “The baby would of course have Adrian’s blood as well as yours and could be anything from a human latent to a half-blood. Did Rayna explain those terms?”

  She shook her head.

  “A human latent would be faster and stronger than a normal human. A vampire latent would be even stronger and faster. A half-blood would be nearly as powerful as a full-blood with most of the needs of one.”

  “Would the latents you mentioned need to ingest blood?”

  “Some do. Some don’t. A half-blood would certainly have a strong urge to do so.”

  “Would latents have sharpened incisors and have the ability to make their eyes glow?”

  “Those are…abilities most vampire latents posses. Some human latents develop them over time. All would have a longer lifespan than a normal human. They also age much more slowly.”

  “What are the chances of having a latent compared to a half-blood child?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not really sure. We don’t have kids very often or easily so there’s not much to go on.”

  “What about me? Will I be changed?”

  “That depends on a number of factors. However, you don’t need to fear losing your freewill. We don't rob our lovers of their right to choose.”

  Recalling Adrian’s refusal to accept her no, she arched a brow. “Don't you?”

  He sighed. “It’s clear you feel as if Adrian stepped over the line, but please remember that he did eventually stop.”

  “He told you what happened?”

  He nodded. “We don’t really do secrets in our family.”

  Great.

  “I’m sorry you were frightened but had he taken away your free will, you wouldn’t have been in a position to insist he stop.” He paused and studied her in silence for several moments. “Are you going to be able to forgive him?”

  “I…I don’t know. I feel as if he…he doesn’t care one way or the other.”

  “You think that because you haven’t seen or heard from him?”

  She nodded.

  “I know you’re not exactly having a ball, Brandi but this is a difficult time for him too. I won’t add to the full-court press I’m sure Rayna gave you, but I just wanted you to understand that he’s not himself. And that he’s not indifferent to you or your situation.”

  By situation she suspected he meant the possibility she might be pregnant. “So you think I’ll eventually hear from him?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Why are you so sure?”

  “We’re close and we’re twins. Much to both of our dismay, we usually know what the other is thinking or feeling—even when we wish we didn’t.”

  Interesting. “Then you know how he feels?”

  “About you?”

  She nodded.

  “Yes. I do.”

  “So?” She prodded.

  He shook his head. “That’s something you’re going to have to ask him.”

  “How can I when I haven’t seen him since he stormed out and left me stranded?”

  “He left you, but he also made sure you wouldn’t be stranded. I seem to remember stopping what I was doing to make a two hour drive to pick you up when he called me.” He reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “And I was just about to get…comfortable with my date for the evening. I left her and went to pick you up because he asked me to.”

  “I didn’t know I’d ruined your—”

  “You didn’t ruin anything, Brandi. I only mentioned what I was doing to illustrate that he’s not indifferent to you. If he were, he wouldn’t have asked me to pick you up and I sure as hell wouldn’t have come to pick you up until afterwards.”

  “Thank you.”

  He shook his head. “No thanks necessary. Anymore questions?”

  “Yes. Adrian told me he was around two hundred.”

  “And?”

  “And that would make him…and you old enough to have lived during the Trail of Tears. Did you?”

  She watched his jaw clench before he lowered his lids. “Yes. We’re old enough.”

  “Did you?”

  He shook his head. “That’s not something I want to discuss, Brandi.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I didn’t mean to resurrect painful memories, Conner.”

  “It’s all right. It’s only natural to be curious. That was a difficult time for us as a people and as a family. We lost many of our tribe and family during that time so it’s not something we like to talk about.”

  Which probably meant Adrian wouldn’t want to talk about it anymore than Conner did—provided she saw him again.

  “Would you like to dance, Brandi?”

  Slow dancing with Conner would probably totally unsettle her. She shook her head. “I’m not really in the mood.” She feigned a yawn. “It’s getting late and I have an early day tomorrow.”

  He glanced at his watch and nodded.

  They didn’t speak on the drive back to her apartment but it was a comfortable silence. He refused her offer of coffee and they stood at her door to say good night.

  “Call me if you need to talk again or if you’re afraid or concerned about anything,” he told her.<
br />
  “Thanks, Conner.”