Blood Will Tell

by Colleen S. Myers

  “No.”

  “Okay, then.”

  “We need to hurry. More patrols could be near and they might be able to communicate. It would be best if we were well away from here.”

  She followed in his wake, trying to be as quiet as she could. A born outdoors woman she was not.

  They didn't stop, they didn't eat. No more flirting. No more breaks. They had to reach that boat if they hoped to live.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The rest of the trip zoomed past. It was somewhat anti-climactic when they arrived at the boat. The ship appeared in good shape. They had boarded up the area the raiders blew away. Sheet metal was being loaded to repair the holes. Pockmarks stained the hull, but the boat sailed on the waves.

  It felt like coming home.

  At the boat, Alex slapped the shoulder of his first mate and went off to talk shop. One of his sailors showed her to the same damn cabin she'd had prior.

  Nothing appeared different, but she felt older, though only a few days had passed. First time out in the world and not sure how to deal with it.

  As she sat there, she couldn’t quite get comfortable. Something was missing and had been for a while now. Where the hell was Roke?

  Given his proclamations of devotion, she honestly expected him to pop up and save her. Her disappointment scared her. She didn't need a man to save her and certainly didn't need a vampire to save her. She could save her own damn self.

  Still. Where was he? Was he okay? He was a vampire, but as she knew, vampires could die. She settled down on the cot and drifted to sleep on that thought, worry twisting inside her.

  For the second day in a row, she woke with a start. A growl filled the room. Eyes glowed near the door. Sage green eyes.

  Isabelle sat up quickly and smiled. “Roke.”

  She threw her legs over the side of the cot, but before she could get up Roke stood over her.

  His hands gripped her face. She noticed a faint tremor as his gaze raked over her features. “Isa.” Just that one word was filled with fear and longing. She blinked up at him, hands covering his on her face. He bent down and rubbed his nose against hers. “Isa.”

  Again, just a word. Just her name.

  With another growl, his lips met hers, hands burrowed in her hair. Mouth open, he closed and opened his lips slowly, tongue sliding along her lower lips. She gasped, and he took full advantage, tongue spearing deep, lips seizing. She growled back, launching into the kiss. A kiss that tasted oddly of cherry Chapstick and coffee.

  He groaned.

  “Isa. I'm so glad you’re okay. I’m never letting you out of my sight again. It doesn't end well. I thought I might have lost you. Lost this.”

  Blinking, she pulled back. This? What was this? Tongue swiping her lips, she said, “I’m okay. We got away from the raiders.”

  “Yes,” he said flatly. “The Southerner. I found him.”

  Her hand came up and cupped his face. She knelt on the bed while he leaned into her. Closing his eyes, he nuzzled her hand.

  “The Southerner won’t bother us again.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I took care of him. But I didn't find you soon enough. You escaped right before I got there, then I tried to track you. That didn't work. Alex is pretty good. He made you walk first, didn't he?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He covered your tracks well. So, I headed to the boat. I knew that would be where you were going.” His forehead dropped to hers. “Fuck fighting, next time we stay together.”

  “Okay.”

  His head raised and he pushed her back. She fell onto the bed, looking up at him. His mouth opened, and he took in a wholly unnecessary breath.

  His hands bracketed her face as he stole another swift kiss, then curled down on the mattress facing her. Fingers shaking slightly, he trailed them across her forehead, over her eyelashes, and down her cheek. Touching gently and reverently. He made her feel delicate and needed. Isabelle mirrored his movements, stroking along his face. He had a slight beard, whiskers roughened the pads of her fingers and they tingled in response. Their eyes met. His legs twined with hers, deliberately pushing to get in between hers. One foot played footsie with hers and then straightened, pulling her in close. A grin drifted across his face. Closing in, he feathered his lips along her jaw. “I was worried I would never get to do this.”

  She flushed. She had been worried to. She wanted him with her and now he was. She wanted a vampire. How about that. She let her eyelids droop and looked at him between her lashes.

  “Ha, I love that look. That is how you distracted me and got me in the gonads before. Should I be worried?”

  “About your gonads?

  “Yes.”

  “No, I have plans for those.” She felt brave saying that. Her tummy fluttered.

  He gave her a silly grin. “Oh, really.”

  Another blush. “Really... I thought about you too while I was being held. I knew you were close. It didn't even cross my mind you wouldn't be right behind us.”

  “I will always come for you.”

  Her mouth covered his, fingers on his jaw, lips opening and closing on his. “Good answer.”

  This time his hand started from her scalp, and his fingers tangled in her curls then flattened against her face as he cupped her face and looked at her. His eyes drifted across her face like a caress.

  “We still need to teach you how to fight.”

  She blinked. “Now?”

  “Oh no, we have other things to take care of now.” Purpose filled his gaze. His head dropped, blocking out the light. Lips captured hers, cherry and coffee, such a tantalizing combination. His flavor rushed to her head making her dizzy. His body covered her on the bed. One kiss, two. He stopped and nuzzled her neck and she couldn't prevent an instinctual freeze. Biting was bad. She didn't know anything about vampires and biting. She grabbed his hands. Fear pulsed through her and he seemed to sense it.

  With a squeeze, his hands tightened on her. As his mouth clamped down, Isabelle waited for pain, for blood, for the euphoria Jack described but nothing followed. Just a nip. Her body relaxed into the bed when he laughed and ground himself into her.

  “Worried?”

  “No, no, not worried. I just don't know what to expect.” She closed her eyes and turned her head away.

  Roke's fingers slid along her face. “Blood is involved. There always has to be blood with any encounter. Are you okay with that? No bites. That is how the virus is transmitted, just small cuts and sucks.”

  She snorted. Cuts and sucks sounded like a redneck vampire salon. Could she go through with this? “There isn't any loss of control?”

  His mouth twisted. “Rarely, not if the vampires are old enough. The newer you are, the poorer the control. Your mom never wanted you exposed to the virus, even to donate other than through IV. You have the marker.”

  Her stomach dropped. What? “I'm marked? My mother said I wasn't.”

  “When did she say that?”

  “Soon after we got to town. She said never let them bite me. That I wasn't marked, and it would kill me.”

  Roke shrugged. “You are marked. I know that for a fact. I saw your test myself.”

  “So, I could become a vampire?”

  “Yes.” He hesitated. “Would that be so bad?”

  She hyperventilated a little, breathing too quickly. “No, I mean, I don't know. I never thought about it. Other than meeting you, I've rarely seen any vamps except the faceless guards, and I don't know what vampires are like. You, Roke, are amazing, but are you the exception not the rule. How would the virus change me? Would I still be me? What does it mean to be a vampire? How would I change, my views change? It’s a big freaking thing.” Christ's crap on toast. This was huge. She scooted back on the bed until she hit the wall. She didn't know what to think.

  Roke sat up and watched her. “You would still be you. The virus doesn't erase who you are, just changes your body. Some do get crazy with blood lust. Their hunger
being new to them and sometimes it brings out unrealized thoughts and dreams. Like anything, where there is a change in situation, there is a change in the person. I don't think that would be the case for you, Isa. You’re too grounded.”

  Isa nodded and put her chin on her knees.

  Roke ran his hand along her hair. “Sorry to kill the mood.”

  “I’m glad you told me. Better to know.”

  He nodded and sat next to her against the wall. “So...”

  She turned and angled her head to see him better. “So...”

  Roke pulled her onto his lap, facing him. “So...”

  “Ah, so...” A smile creased her cheeks. Her hands bracketed his face. She licked her lips with a quick swipe.

  His eyes followed her movement, and ,with a growl, he captured her mouth again. She returned his kiss but her mind whirled. Damn it. She needed time to think. She couldn’t do this right now.

  She sighed into his lips and he chuckled.

  “Another time. How did you get away from the Southerner?”

  “Alex knew a back way.”

  “Good man, Alex. I’m so sorry I couldn't get there sooner and get you out. I had a bitch of a time tracking. There were so many patrols.”

  She put her arms around his shoulders.

  He smiled at her, a dazed expression crossing his face.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. This doesn't feel real.”

  Her eyebrows winged up. “Aww.”

  His eyes narrowed and he pinched her. “Are you perchance making fun of me, young lady?”

  “Maybe. If I’m young lady, does that make you dirty old man?”

  He blinked. “Why yes, it does. That’s a horrible nickname. I take it back.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Okay, I'll give you that one. I didn't like it, anyway.”

  Her head dipped as she brushed her lips along his. “Hi.”

  He tugged her closer. “Hi.”

  They gazed into each other's eyes then spiraled out of control. One minute searching, the next kissing. His shirt came off along the way, and his hands ran up her back underneath her own. This was crazy, she thought as his mouth trailed down her neck. His tongue licked along her jugular. He tensed, growled, his arms suddenly caging her. Fear coursed through her and she shoved him back. His pupils were wide, fangs out. He curled his lips in a snarl then eased back to himself. With a sudden spring, he stood, and she tumbled off his lap.

  “What?” Her hands trembled as she ran them through her hair and then cupped her cheeks, cooling herself off.

  He glared down at her, chest heaving. “This was a mistake.”

  Shock rippled through her, then embarrassment. She grabbed the pillow on the cot and hugged it. “What?”

  “This wasn't a good idea, I mean. I can’t control myself. This was a mistake,” he repeated and rushed out the door.

  Isabelle laid back, confused. He was right, it probably wasn’t a good idea, but she wanted it anyway. Or she had. Now she didn't know what she wanted.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Apparently, Roke was not of the same opinion. Isabelle expected him to return and found herself sorely disappointed.

  Instead, Alex came for dinner. He didn't talk much on the trip to the boat but made up for that now. His words flowed around her as she smiled at him. But her mind was on Roke. Did all vampires have trouble with intimacy without blood? Jack used to come home covered in wounds with a weary but satisfied look on his face. Maybe she wanted to know how that felt. Did that make her a banger?

  A hand waved in front of her face. “Earth to, Isa. Come in, Isa.”

  “Sorry. Wandered off.”

  “Care to share?” His tight expression belied his light words.

  “Thinking about…my mother.” My mother, she had to be a banger or, oh my god, why didn’t I realize, they bit her. She was one of them.

  He nodded and grabbed her face. “What about her?”

  “I just realized how she survived. She has to be a vampire; my family is marked.”

  “Yes, you didn't know?”

  She glared at him. “Do I look like I knew?”

  He bopped her nose and made a beeping noise. “No. Is it so bad, the thought of her being a vampire? That you could become a vampire?” His words echoed Roke's.

  Would it be so bad? Isabelle had never given it a thought. It hadn’t been a possibility so why wonder about something that couldn't be? Like wondering if her mother survived the vampire attack so long ago. It wasn't possible so why torture herself? The slurps as the vampires fed on her mother filled her mind. Jesus, could she do that? Live on blood to survive? Could she really stand to become one of them, the people she had hated for the past years?

  “Again, completely ignoring me.” Alex shoved his chair back and went to the porthole.

  The screech as the chair flew back grabbed her attention. “Sorry, Alex, I’m a bad dinner companion tonight.”

  Alex smirked over his shoulder then returned to looking out the porthole.

  Guilt washed through Isabelle. Alex had saved her, and she couldn't bother to pay any attention to what he said. She walked over and put her hand on his back. Muscles flexed under her palm, and he turned and pulled her into his side. “Look. What do you see?”

  She stood on tiptoe. “Nothing. I see nothing.”

  He tutted at her defeated tone. “Look again. There is life under any circumstances. Even after everything that happened. Look. The world kept on a-ticking. People kept on living and loving and growing. Over there,” —he pointed to the left— “see those ripples, a fish just jumped and then was quickly gobbled up by a bird.”

  With a grimace, she nudged Alex. He laughed and continued. “That is life. There along the banks. There was a deer. The world’s not changed. It’s the same as it was before the Madness. It’s the government and our views that changed. Not for the better, either.”

  A hawk shrieked overhead as if emphasizing his point. For a second, she stood transfixed. The bird flew up high and spread its wings. Its silhouette black against the dusk. She could just make out the feathers, see the beak opened to call. A shiver raced through her. Life. He was right. Life. Even if she became a vampire tomorrow, the world would continue along. That was a depressing yet comforting thought.

  Alex's hand slid along her side, just grazing underneath her breast. Startled, she turned in his arms.

  He stared back, eyes blinking at her. “What?”

  She glanced at her side then at his hand. “I’m not buying the innocent act,” she said with a finger wave under his nose.

  His grin spread, one side of his mouth twitched up, then the other. His eyes sparkled. “Why sugar pie, I'm not sure what you are talking about.”

  “Ah-huh.” She still didn't buy it. He knew where he hand was. What a flirt. Why could it be so light with Alex and heavy with Roke?

  Alex pulled her in tight to his side and pointed to the sun. “See that over there.”

  Isabelle narrowed her eyes. “Er. No.” She moved in front of him and tried to make out what he wanted her to see. “Nothing.”

  Arms came up on either side of her. “You sure, sugar?” Alex pressed his front into her back. Boy, was he glad to see her.

  She flushed and froze in place. Her stomach rolled as she waited. Damn, what the hell was she doing? Kissing Roke then letting Alex rub against her?

  With a shove, she pushed off the wall and returned to the table.

  Alex rolled up his sleeves. “So, you want to learn to fight.”

  Isabelle grabbed an apple off a tray. “I need to be able to defend myself,” she replied even as she puzzled. Who told him she wanted to learn to fight? He answered her question in his next sentence.

  “Roke doesn't think he would make the best teacher. He asked me to show you. Both of us being humans, more equal.”

  Huh, guess she was right. Roke must have run right to Alex after their interlude. Her cheeks burned. He didn't want to teach her a
nymore? Did he not trust himself or did he not want her anymore? Shame burned through her. Why had she let it get as far as it had? Because she wanted it, but he apparently didn't want it the same way. “Okay.”

  Alex paced away. There was something about his walk. Wide and aggressive, he sauntered toward her. His eyes narrowed with desire and he smiled at her.

  A giggle rose inside her. She used the same damn look on Roke before. Damn it. She needed to stop thinking about Roke. Isabelle put down the apple with a thump and moved toward Alex, mimicking his gait. They met in the middle of the room and circled each other. His gaze dropped to her hips as she moved. She added more sway. He gulped. Elation filled her and an answering smile fluttered across her face.

  Alex let a hand drift across her hip. “You move well.” The double meaning of his words seemed to echo in the room.

  Isabelle let her own hand graze his hip and didn't know how to respond so she didn't. He moved behind her, and grabbed her waist from behind, then shoved her toward the bed. Stunned she looked at him over her shoulder with eyebrows raised.

  “Change into workout clothes. We can train now.”

  “Now? We just ate.” He gave her the hairy eyeball. “Okay fine,” she grumbled. “So, what, you’re going to watch?”

  “You really are a ridiculous tease.” Alex turned with a grumble and folded his arms.

  Isabelle changed quickly then tapped him on the shoulder, darting around him when he turned.

  He stalked behind her. “So, what do you know about fighting?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing what?”

  “Nothing, sir.”

  “Try again.”

  “I’m not calling you master.”

  He snorted. “You are not getting into the spirit of this endeavor.”

  “I am. I feel this overwhelming need to hit something.” She grinned when he laughed.

  “So, ready position.”

  Alex spent the next hour teaching her the ready position, basic kicks, and punches. At the end of the hour, Isa knew every inch of Alex as well as she knew herself. He constantly touched her, he ran a hand down her side, up her thigh, across her cheek. Little touches that threw her. She was flustered, still a wee bit horny and hurt from Roke earlier.