by Tamsin Baker
‘You and the girls will always be my family.’
‘We are. We saved you from a life of foster care and who knows what sort of future. And you brought me what my maker had denied me.’ Lisette stroked her cheek. ‘A child,’ she whispered.
Moved by the unexpected emotion in Lisette’s voice, Katrine looked into the woman’s face and was shocked to see blood gather in the corners of her eyes. She’d never known Lisette to cry.
She lifted her hand and thumbed the moisture away. Lisette caught her wrist, surprising Katrine with the strength in her grip and sudden anger in her voice. ‘I risked too much getting you. I’m not letting you go.’
‘I’m not going anywhere, Lisette.’ Katrine’s voice faltered. She’d never had reason to fear any of the women of Eternel, but the chill of Lisette’s hand now seeped into her body. She tried to pull away, but Lisette held tight.
‘I gave you the freedom to explore. To decide. I had hoped you’d have made your decision by now, Katrine. The right decision.’ She stroked Katrine’s wrist with her thumb. Her pulse jumped and her blood froze at a sound she never thought she’d hear from Lisette.
The unmistakable click of fangs descending.
Katrine tried once again to pull away and when that failed, she pushed against Lisette, but the move was useless. With seemingly no effort, Lisette pinned Katrine against a pillar with an arm across her chest.
Unable to move, or barely breathe, Katrine’s thoughts raced incoherently. Lisette was going to kill her? Why? There was no way she could fight back. She was going to die.
‘Open your eyes, Katrine.’
She hadn’t realized she’d squeezed them closed but didn’t want to face reality. If Lisette was going to kill her, she’d rather just disappear into her mind.
‘Stubborn.’ Lisette hissed. ‘Just like your mother.’
That brought Katrine’s eyes open to Lisette’s cruel smile only inches from her face.
‘You know she could have lived. All she had to do was tell me where you were. She didn’t, but I found you anyway.’
A glimmer of clarity seeped into Katrine’s confusion, but didn’t allay the fear that now raced through her mind and body. Her fight instinct was raging, but useless against Lisette’s strength. Maybe she could buy some time.
‘Tell me.’ She could only manage to rasp. She wanted time, but she also wanted to know.
‘Simple, cherie. I wanted a child. Your maman had one. She could have made it easy, but she didn’t.’ Lisette relaxed her hold and fingered Katrine’s pearls. ‘She chose to leave you. She could have had eternal life, to be with you forever. But she didn’t choose you, Katrine. I did, and I’m not letting you go.’
Realization seeped into Katrine’s mind like the first light of morning. Katrine had killed her mother.
‘I thought I could replace you. I’ve tried. But you’re my one and only. You’ll stay mine.’
Katrine was powerless. There was no escaping a vampire’s strength once they had their sights on you.
Lisette grasped one of Katrine’s wrists and brought it to her mouth. She drew back her scarlet lips and sank her fangs into the tender skin.
Hot pain seared through Katrine. Nothing like the ecstatic pleasure Lucien’s bite had created. All consuming, yes, but agonizing and debilitating. It was all she could do to just keep breathing. Deathly lethargy seeped through her as she felt herself being laid down on the cushions.
She managed to open her eyes momentarily, to see Lisette’s mouth on her wrist, blood dripping from the corners of her lips as she sucked the energy from her.
Even though her mind still had the will, leaden heaviness kept her motionless, then the pain receded to a dull ache.
Everything receded into a welcoming blackness, then something wet and sticky nudged her lips. ‘Open your mouth, Katrine.’
She clung to the miniscule thread of free will that remained somewhere and didn’t comply.
‘Come, come ma petite. Don’t fight this. You don’t want to be another body in the morgue, do you?’
The question floated through her mind, but she couldn’t quite grasp it to answer.
The answer was taken out of her control when Lisette’s cold fingers squeezed her mouth, forcing her lips apart.
A drop of moisture dripped into her mouth. Cool and metallic. Her body shuddered in revulsion. Lisette’s blood.
‘Drink, cherie,’ Lisette crooned softly as she stroked Katrine’s hair. ‘Your mother abandoned you. Feed, I’ll be yours forever.’
‘She will not.’ A voice came from somewhere and Lisette shrieked. A cry like nothing Katrine had heard before. Inhuman.
Katrine forced her eyes open. Lisette lay on the ground at her feet, the tip of a narrow wooden stake protruding from her chest. Then her body erupted in flames.
The unmistakable sound of burning crackled as Katrine drifted back into the arms of darkness and the last vestige of life left her body.
***
‘Katrine.’ A voice called somewhere in that darkness. Then her body shook as strong hands grabbed her shoulders and fingers pried her mouth open. ‘Stay with me, Katrine. Drink.’
She had no strength to resist when cold skin pressed against her mouth.
As fluid dripped into her mouth, she swallowed reflexively, and a burning hunger rose from her belly. Katrine opened her eyes.
Lucien. His mouth smeared red.
She grabbed his wrist which seeped blood from two puncture wounds and brought it to her lips. Sweet nectar flowed and a renewed energy fizzed through her veins. She couldn’t quench her newfound thirst.
Then knife-sharp pain ripped through her chest and her body arched so hard her back lifted off the ground.
‘Lucien?’ she managed to gasp. Such pain could only portend death.
She was being lifted, then settled against his chest, her head cradled against his shoulder.
‘It won’t last long, Katrine. Your body is changing. Becoming.
Katrine gritted her teeth against the spasms that roiled through her body and clung to Lucien, believing that the torture would soon end.
And slowly it did. Her muscles relaxed, the pain receded and Lucien was stroking her face. When her eyes finally fluttered open, he kissed her forehead and helped her to sit up.
The crippling lethargy was gone. The stars in inky sky shone like faceted diamonds. The warm breeze teased her skin like a thousand soft fingers. The plants in the night garden were luminous, and she could almost hear them breathing.
The assault on her senses was overwhelming, yet addictive. She wanted to touch everything. Feel it. Smell it. Taste it.
‘What happened?’ She looked down to her wrist, to the two blood-encrusted wounds, then to the smoking pile of ashes a short distance away. ‘Lisette.’
‘Yes. She all but drained you. She was going to turn you.’
‘She didn’t?’ This hyper awareness must be the result of her near-death experience. Her body overcompensating for almost losing its life force.
‘No, she didn’t. I didn’t let her. I couldn’t. Not once I realized she’d killed your mother.’
Katrine slid her arms around Lucien’s neck. What did you say to someone who’d saved your life?
‘Katrine.’ Lucien moved her back to look into her eyes. ‘You were dying. Nothing could have saved you. You’d lost too much blood.’
He let the silence speak as her mind processed what he’d said.
‘So you…’
‘I gave you my blood. The little Lisette got into you wasn’t enough to turn you. I took a little from you, then completed the exchange.’
Apart from the disarming awareness of her surroundings, Katrine didn’t feel too different from when she’d come up to the garden. Yet her mind knew she was different. So different
CHAPTER 15
‘You made me.’
The resignation in Katrine’s voice hurt more than an accusation would have. Yes, he’d desired to have Katrine as an eternal
partner. But from her choice.
He’d made a selfish choice. ‘You would have died.’ She’d been in no state to decide for herself, so he’d made the decision. If she now resented that, hated him for it, so be it. ‘She was a killer. I couldn’t let her have dominion over you. To bring you to this world.’
She hadn’t moved out of his arms or screamed in rage. Or cried.
‘How did you even know we were up here?’
‘I’d come to the club, but was waiting outside for the courage to come in.’
‘Because you weren’t sure if you wanted to see me?’
‘No, ma belle. I was sure about that. I suspected Lisette might have picked up what I was. Then I heard you up here. Your footfall. And then what Lisette was saying.’
‘Vampire superpower?’
Lucien nodded. He wasn’t proud that he’d blatantly eavesdropped on their conversation. He could have chosen not to use his extra sensory hearing but had been curious to know about the private Katrine.
‘When it became obvious what her intent was, I came up to stop her. You’re very lucky some of your beautiful younger plants still need the support of stakes. She was older than me. More powerful. There was no other way to kill her.’
‘You do realize this is like being in a dream. One of those dreams where crazy weird things happen and it feels real, but then you wake up. And you’re glad it was just a dream.’
Her babbling was endearing. Lucien picked up her wrist, caressing it with his thumb. ‘No dream, Katrine. Look.’ The wounds on her delicate skin were healing right before their eyes and disappeared completely as she brought her own fingers to the place where Lucien had marked her.
‘It will take time to come to terms with all this.’ Lucien wished he could articulate the adjustments she’d be faced with.
Katrine shuddered. ‘How could she do that to me? To my mother. All those years pretending to care.’
‘She did care. In her own, warped way. That’s why she
wanted to hold on to you. I didn’t want to turn you, Katrine. I wanted to stop her doing it. But she’d taken it too far. I’m sorry.’
Stupid, useless thing to say. He’d changed her life, her very existence, forever. Without her knowledge or permission. An apology was as useless as a band aid on a spurting artery.
‘Don’t be. If it was going to happen, I’d rather it was you. And she needed to be stopped from killing again.’
‘She wasn’t going to kill you.’
‘No. but she’d killed others.’
‘Who? When?’ There’d been no reports of vampire killings for decades.
‘Only recently. It’s not been made public, but the police have been asking questions here.’
‘They suspected Lisette?’
‘No. At least I don’t think so. Her victims had been here. It was the one connection. No.’ She shook her head and the sadness that suddenly clouded her eyes pained Lucien. ‘I was the one connection.’
‘She killed your mother.’
She nodded and a bead of red welled in the corners of her eyes. Lucien thumbed away the fluid. Katrine took his hand, touched the blood, then her eyes. Her fingers came away red and she rubbed them together. Her acceptance of the way things now were.
‘There are other concerns to address right now. Like explaining that.’ She pointed to what remained of Lisette, still smoking nearby. ‘Questions are going to be asked about where she is. They’ll be looking for her.’
Lucien glanced at the smoldering pile of ashes. ‘I guess we can’t we just sweep it up and plead ignorance?’
The corners of her mouth quirked almost imperceptibly. Amidst the mayhem of the past half hour she still appreciated the darkness of his humor.
‘I won’t lie, Lucien. And I trust the girls. They’ll believe me and keep your secret.’
But what about the police?
She stood, her mind obviously on immediate issues.
He took her wrist before she could walk away. ‘Katrine, I know you feel fine now. Probably invincible. But soon you’ll be hungry. I know your sisters would see you through your first hunger, but I want that responsibility. That privilege.’
He kissed her wrist, where the skin no longer held any hint of her ordeal. ‘I want to look after you, Katrine.’
She moved into his arms, slid hers around his waist and kissed him with soft intensity. ‘Thank you. Come with me.’
She took his hand and led him to the rooftop door. They stepped through and she flicked the snib to lock the door.
‘This way.’ Instead of going down to the ground floor, she led him along a first floor corridor.
Narrow, dark and long, with doors along both sides. They made silent progress along the burgundy carpet until Katrine opened the door at the far end.
‘My humble abode.’ She let him go in first. ‘You can wait here while I …’ she rubbed her wrist, ‘explain.’ She moved to the (describe bed), sat on the edge and patted the mattress. ‘Wait for me here.’
He sat, and, pushed her down onto the plush duvet. ‘I will.’ He sealed his promise by pressing lips to hers. Her mouth opened under his, her tongue seeking his, but Lucien pulled away.
‘You’ve got some pretty complicated news to share downstairs. I’ll be here when you get back.’
Tonight he’d have a bed for the first time in centuries. And in it he’d have Katrine in his arms as he fell asleep, and as he woke.
She reached up to stroke his face and left the room.
Lucien lay down where her body had been on the duvet, luxuriating in the softness of the bed and knowing she’d be back.
***
They’d managed to shut the club an hour early and Katrine sat on one of the couches with the women of Eternal clustered around her. They listened with horrified incredulity as she retold her harrowing last half hour.
‘That bitch.’
‘Are you alright, cherie?’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Where is he now?’
She loved these women. They were vampires, but they were still women and it never showed more than in a crisis. She pushed aside the thought that she’d loved Lisette as well.
‘I’m ok. I’m feeling all sorts of stuff that I’ll work through eventually, and,’ she couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her lips, ‘he’s upstairs.’
‘When can we meet him? What’s he like? Dark and brooding?’
Katrine laughed. ‘Well, he’s not like Luis.’ He’s magnetic and fascinating and sexy as hell. ‘He’s a nice guy who’s had to live an isolated life.’
‘Until he met you.’ Lucille cooed. A hopeless romantic.
He had changed her life, but his had changed as well, because of her. She had confidence in the women to keep this secret, but she completely understood the fear Lucien must have. Who knew what repercussions there might be if his presence became known beyond these walls.
‘So, you’re really one of us know, Katrine.’ Lucille squeezed her hand. ‘We need to celebrate. Crack your first bottle of (Fake Blood).’
She’d accepted her new reality but wasn’t yet sure it was something to celebrate.
‘Tomorrow,’ she promised. Whether it was her new connection to him as her maker, or just the surreal drama of the night, Katrine needed to get back to Lucien.
‘Well don’t keep him waiting.’ Isabelle teased.
‘Bonsoir.’ She stood and kissed everyone’s cheeks.
‘Check if your room is dark enough in the morning.’ One of the women warned.
‘If you’re not too exhausted,’ another added. They all laughed and it didn’t even seem wrong with Lisette gone.
‘If any sunlight comes through, just keep out of the way. We’ll get it light-proofed as soon as we can.’
She lived in their midst and knew their ways, but it had never really been relevant to her. So much to adjust to.
Upstairs she knocked on her own door. ‘It’s me,’ she warned, not wanting to scare Lucien.<
br />
She went in and for the first time ever, locked her door. Not that she expected anyone to come in uninvited, but she was taking no chances. He’d turned off all the lights except for the bedside which cast the room in a soft, amber glow.
‘How did it go?’ He lay, propped up on one elbow, her crisp, white sheet rumpled around his hips. ‘Come and tell me all about it.’ He pulled the sheet back and patted the mattress.
‘Are vampires always this presumptuous?’ Presumptuous, and sexy. She unzipped her dress as she walked to the bed.
‘I’m afraid the appeal of a big, soft bed was too much to resist.’
She remembered his solitary coffin in its empty chamber. ‘Only the bed?’
She shed her dress, and everything else. A naked man waited in her bed. A naked vampire.
He pulled the sheet right back as she reached the bed and he was more than ready for her to join him.
She slid in next to him. She was going to have vampire sex.
But she was a brand-new vampire. How could she match Lucien’s centuries of experience. As he drew her against his body, unaccustomed shyness flooded through her.
***
‘I’m a vampire,’ she whispered against his chest, a tinge of awe in her voice. Her fingers brushed the hair on his chest.
‘You are. We are.’ His hand roamed over her body, his eyes taking in the perfection of her firm, rounded breasts, the rounded swell of her belly, the lush copper curls between her thighs.
‘We have something in common tonight, my lovely.’ He hovered his mouth over hers. ‘I’ve never been with a vampire before.’
Her giggle was unexpected and only fueled his want for her all the more. But this was no hurried tryst. It wasn’t just to get his physical needs met.
This was Katrine.
He trailed his fingers over her breast, around the taut pink tips. She raked a fingernail over his own nipple.
He growled, his fangs descending with a crisp click. Such a sweet relief not to have to hide it, or try and stop it.
Katrine slid a finger into his mouth, finding the sharp tip.