“What a blast! You should have been there Gabriel, it was like taking candy from a baby.” Rafe laughed and Cassia could almost imagine the adrenaline still pumping through his system. She wondered whether he ever took anything seriously.
“Are those all the papers? Too much to hope you found the dagger I suppose…” asked LaSalle.
“No dagger I’m afraid but we have taken all the papers and artefacts relating to the original slayers. The bikers will be getting a visit from the drug squad tomorrow after an anonymous tip-off from yours truly. God, Javier must have laid into the ones who grabbed the boy the other day, three of them were sporting casts on their arms and the other two looked as if they had run into a wall. Serves them bloody well right. I just spoke to Javier, he’s staying over at my place in London nursing his injuries. He…”
Cassia didn’t hear anything else as she raced down the stairs.
Javier ended the last of his phone calls; wherever Dion was he was keeping his head down. Still, he would have to surface soon and when he did he would be spotted. He had really wanted to wrap this whole thing up and confront that wretched Empath; it was frustrating. Suppressing a grunt of pain he pulled off his blood soaked shirt then kicked off his boots. He’d have a well- earned drink then a soak in a deep hot bath. That might help ease the pain in his ribs.
He was just savouring the first smoky mouthful of Laphroaig when the buzzer sounded on the intercom. Cursing soundly Javier strode across to the panel, hit the button then groaned; Cassia’s blue eyes seemed to be looking straight at him.
“Javier, it’s me. Let me in.” Typical. No friendly greeting, no smile.
“I can see it’s you. What do you want?” He could be just as blunt, he decided;
“An audience with the Queen…what do you think I want? Rafe said you were injured, I want to see that you’re okay. Press the button and let me in.”
“Well I’m fine, just bruised. You can go.” Javier was suddenly afraid; his need for her had just ratcheted up from desperate to grindingly painful. He swallowed the rest of his whisky and played his last card;
“You swore an oath not to leave the Island alone, you’ve just broken that.”
Cassia glared at the camera;
“How dare you…I asked LaSalle’s permission to come and he gave it. I’m not leaving without seeing you so you can just stop being a complete arse and buzz me up. I’ll wait right here. It’ll be dawn soon and when the sun fries me it’ll be all your fault Javier of Seville.”
Javier swore, disarmed the security systems and pressed the button. Then he strode quickly across to the vast expanse of windows picking up the whisky bottle on the way. It was a huge apartment; best to have as much space as possible between them. He really didn’t trust himself.
Cassia stepped out of the elevator and heard the doors swish closed behind her. Javier stood by the windows with his back to her, silhouetted against the London skyline. There was no greeting so she moved closer and took a deep breath. He had his shirt off and she couldn’t help admiring the muscles defined across his shoulders and bare arms; the shape of his back as it narrowed to his hips. There was bruising on one side of that golden skin though; Rafe had told her he’d been hit by an energy blast.
“Are you in pain?” she asked tentatively.
Javier poured himself another large whisky and turned to face her. Cassia gasped; there was an angry red cut along one of his cheekbones and the bruising stood out all down one side of his torso. She couldn’t read his expression; it was guarded and almost hostile. What could she have done?
“You’ve seen me Cass and I’m fine. It all looks worse than it is, no need to stare.” Javier said abruptly.
Cassia felt her temper flare; she had been so worried, so frightened;
“If you don’t want me to look you shouldn’t be flashing your pecs and six pack Javier of Seville. I was worried about you. What on earth is the matter with you? And put that bottle down…”
She stopped. Suddenly she knew. He was pale and there was a fine film of sweat across his forehead. Javier stalked past her and slammed the bottle down on the table. He was so tense she could almost feel it in the air between them. He kept his back to her;
“You shouldn’t have come.” he said softly.
“That whisky is not what you need. Why don’t you want me here Javier? Please talk to me, please don’t shut me down.” Cassia reached out and gently touched his shoulder. Javier shifted across the room away from her, walking obviously wasn’t fast enough. He materialized near the elevator door.
“You should leave.” he said, reaching for the control panel.
Cassia shook her head;
“No, I won’t. You need blood Javier, you can have mine.”
He moved so fast she cried out in shock. One moment he had been standing at the far wall and the next he was right in front of her, one hand gripping the back of her neck while the other held her wrist up.
“Are you offering me your wrist? Seriously? Is that what you’re doing? You really know nothing about males of your own kind do you? We are nothing like the human men you’re used to Cassia. I don’t want to take your vein here…” he let go of her wrist then bent and grazed the side of her neck with sharp teeth. Cassia gasped as he bit her gently then blew cool air across the bite. Javier continued, gripping her head so she had to look at him; the golden brown of his eyes almost black, his lids lowered;
“I want to take your vein there. I want to bite down hard and take your blood into me and I want to be in you while I do it. Do you understand now Cass? Do you know what that means? I want you so much my whole body aches with it; it burns.”
“I know enough to know that you’re experiencing the bonding impulse.” Cassia whispered as her body started trembling. Surely he could hear her heart, it was beating so loudly.
“Yes, from the start Cass. I just couldn’t deal with it. I couldn’t be honest with myself or with you. I’m so sorry; it is probably too much too soon. You probably don’t want any of this.” Javier stopped and kissed her forehead gently, his hands caressing her hair.
“You’re wrong.” she whispered, meeting his gaze steadily.
“What?” Javier jerked back;
“Make me yours. That’s what I want Javier.” Cassia reached up and kissed him once, then again; now it was Javier’s body that trembled against hers;
“There’s no going back from it Cass.”
“I don’t want to go back…” she murmured then her words were cut off as he kissed her slow and deep. His mouth was warm and he tasted of whisky and she felt as if her insides were melting.
“Last chance.” he whispered against her mouth; her answer was to wind her arms round his neck and kiss him hard, pressing her body against his.
Javier picked her up in his arms and shifted them into one of the bedrooms, materializing on the bed in a tangle of tightly clasped arms and legs. He made short work of her T-shirt then a quick snick and her bra followed the T-shirt to the floor. No fumbling around, lots of practise there Cassia thought as she smiled against his mouth and struggled with the buttons on his jeans. Oh why couldn’t he just have a zip? Then her brain shorted out completely as he moved down her body, caressing her with his mouth and his hands. Seconds later her boots were tugged off then her skinny jeans followed with a swift yank taking her pants with them.
Then Javier’s strong hands were easing up the insides of her legs, his palms slightly rough against her skin. He surged up between her thighs and Cassia arched up to meet him when he suddenly stopped; resting on his hands, looking down at her;
“Cass.” he whispered;
Cassia’s eyes flickered open; he looked anxious;
“Are you sure? This is crazy, I want to take it slow but I just can’t…”
Cassia reached up and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down and raising her mouth for a kiss;
“Too much thinking. Don’t you dare stop Javier, I can’t bear it.”
She cou
ld feel him smile against her mouth and then they both cried out as he pushed inside her, strong and powerful. They froze for a few seconds, locked together; their breath coming in gasps then Javier groaned and the rhythm went completely wild.
Cassia gave herself up completely to the sensations in her body. The scent of his skin, the feel of his body surging above her, the muscles tensing and un-tensing in his back as she ran her hands down then dug her nails into him, pulling him even deeper into her. There was no finesse, it was rush and hurry and an unbearable gathering of tension.
She seized up first, her hips spearing against his as her breath exploded out of her in a wordless cry. He lasted another couple of seconds before he orgasmed, his whole body seeming to contract endlessly. Then he was still for a few moments before Cassia felt a tremor run through him as he arched above her again; she opened her eyes and a mixture of excitement and fear shot through her.
Javier’s canines were fully descended and his beautiful eyes shone wild and hungry. This was the moment, this was the thing that bonded couples kept between them as their precious intimate secret. Javier’s instincts had taken over completely yet she could sense him trying to hold back; trying to stay in control. Tipping her head to one side to expose her throat she stroked a hand through his hair and spoke the only words she could think of.
Javier gazed down at her, his Cass. She was so beautiful with her black hair spread out in a cloud on the pillow. No going back, hunger raged through his body; the need to have her in him short circuiting every coherent thought and millennia of civilization. He should have been gentler, what if…his breath caught as she smiled and stroked his hair then arched her throat back and whispered;
“I love you Javier.”
Those four words completely unravelled any last remaining threads of hesitation. Javier surrendered himself completely to his most primal instinct; she was his, she would always be his. Lowering his mouth to her throat he bit down hard into her vein, holding her against him as she cried out, waiting till he felt her body react in the way he knew it would. As she suddenly contracted with pleasure against him he started to take her blood in long desperate drags as though he’d been starved for decades. Then his own body caught fire as he moved urgently inside her; pleasure taking over completely as the taste of her filled his mouth and her blood coursed inside him like high octane fuel. Nothing else in the world existed.
CHAPTER 17
Javier wasn’t sure how long they had been in this quiet space; their breath slowing and the sweat drying on their skin as they lay facing each other in the tumbled sheets. He brushed the hair away from her face, stroking her cheek;
“Did I hurt you? I wish it had been slow and gentle.”
Cassia smiled and opened her eyes;
“It was perfect Javier. I never knew, I never even dreamed it would be like that. How does that happen?”
“Well, I could go into a long explanation about the bio-chemistry of bonding but it may spoil the moment somewhat Cass. You told me you loved me.”
“Because I do. Truly, madly, deeply, head over heels…do you want me to go on?” Cassia murmured, her lashes fanning onto her cheeks as her eyes fluttered shut again.
Javier gazed at her. As they had collapsed on the bed panting for breath he had waited for the guilt to hit him. Guilt at the intensity, the hunger, the need and desperation of this bonding, so different from the other. All he had felt was his heart welling at the rightness of it and he realized just how much had been resolved in that long conversation in the underground room. Cassia was his, his love, his future.
“How are the ribs?” she whispered.
“They…actually the pain has gone; it’s the effect of your blood in me.”
Cassia nestled right up to him, planting feather light kisses on his mouth;
“Well, if my blood’s so strong perhaps when you recover you can make love to me long and slow like you wanted to.”
Javier laughed and pulled her tightly against him;
“As I said before, Vampires are not like Human males Cassia Mathrafal. I don’t need to recover, I can keep going for hours. Now, I think I’ll start right here with your mouth and move downwards from there, what do you think?”
“Hmm,” Cassia murmured dreamily, “Sounds like a very good strategy commander.”
It was.
Sunset was imminent; the tranquillity of the bedroom cocooning them from the sounds of early evening London. Cassia sat on the bed loosely wrapped in the sheet watching Javier sleep. Her limbs ached and try as she might she couldn’t stop smiling.
He slept like a child, arms flung out with complete abandon. God he was beautiful, she thought. She wasn’t sure she believed in the spirits any more but whoever had fashioned him had been an artist to rival the greats. Her eyes swept down his body admiring the muscles perfectly carved under his skin. Michelangelo or Da Vinci could not have done a better job.
They had made love for hours. She touched her neck feeling the slight marks that remained on both sides. He had bite marks on his neck too, the taste of him a heady cocktail; the effect she had on him as she took his blood even headier. She’d have to learn Spanish she decided; when he was completely in the throes of passion he reverted to his own language and she’d love to know what he was saying though she got the drift.
“Not sure I’m used to you smiling at me, you usually glare.” Javier murmured sleepily.
“Do you look like your father or your mother?” Cassia asked as he pulled her on top of him;
“Just like my father but I have my mother’s eyes, why?”
“Good genes. I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of looking at you Javier of Seville.”
He laughed then was suddenly serious;
“You don’t just get me Cassia, Bee and I, we come as a package. Is that alright with you?”
Cassia sat up. They had a million things to talk about; their bonding was just the beginning.
“I think Bee and I have done a little bonding of our own Javier. I hope she’ll accept me, I want that more than anything. We already share at least two loves, art and you; not necessarily in that order.”
Javier squeezed her hand, looking pensive. He hadn’t told her he loved her, thought Cassia. He had shown her with his body and she knew that the bonding impulse was inextricably linked with falling in love but that little germ of insecurity inside her, that little voice that whispered second best, only second best, longed for him to say the words.
“Where have you gone my Cass?” Javier murmured, winding her long hair round his wrist and gently pulling her back down to him.
It was more than an hour later that they both dressed after a very satisfactory shared shower. Javier poured Cassia an espresso as she towelled her hair dry.
“I’ll just contact the Island before we return,” he said, “Though if Dion had been spotted in London someone would have called me by now.”
Cassia was combing her long hair out and Javier watched her for a moment, distracted by the graceful movement of her arms as she bent slightly from the waist. He hoped she’d never get the urge to have a short modern haircut. He was sure it would suit her but he loved her hair, loved the silky feel of it in his hands and the way it trailed over his body as they made love.
He blinked and pressed speed dial; any more thoughts like that and he would be taking her straight back to bed. There was no good news from Gabriel though one of Chronus’s agents had seen Dion’s black Mercedes at his Surrey house; it had left after a short stopover. No doubt he was going to ground like last time Javier thought and no wonder he had disappeared so completely before, Erebus Senior must have helped him. Two years after his last violent confrontation with Dion, Charlotte had been killed and that damned Empath had been wiped clean from his mind. It was beyond frustrating.
He ended the call then cursed as the chirrup of a phone immediately filled the air; Cassia jumped up and rushed over to the black combat jacket she had dropped on an armchair when she
arrived;
“That’s mine! Oh no, it must be Flavia wondering where I’ve gone. It’s my private mobile…only Flavia and my mother have the number, and Harry of course. I use burn phones for work…”
Finally scooping her phone from one of the many pockets she squinted at it, carrying on the little monologue;
“Oh! Well…I wonder what…it’s a message from Harry…it’s…”
Javier was across the room in a heartbeat as she stared fixedly at the screen, turning the phone this way and that. Her face had turned deathly pale and she was whispering to herself;
“No, no, no. It can’t be, don’t let it be...Harry…”
“Cass what is it? Cass!”
Cassia’s eyes remained fixed on the screen as she gripped the phone with both hands.
“Cassia, let me see, give me the phone mi amor.” Javier prised the phone from her shaking fingers and checked it.
Harry Marshal looked out grimly from the small screen. Underneath the image was a short text message displayed in capital letters;
I CAN DO TO HIM WHAT I SAW DONE TO YOUR FATHER. STILL AWAITING YOUR DELIVERY. YOU HAVE 1 HOUR. INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW.
“You weren’t a random choice Cassia, he found you and he used you deliberately. This isn’t just about me, it’s somehow connected all the way back to your father. I’ll just get armed then we’ll go. Cass!”
Javier gripped Cassia’s shoulders as she stared at him with wide frightened eyes;
“It’s going to happen. My dream…it’s going to happen. I can’t do it Javier, whatever’s coming for me, I can’t face it, I can’t…I can’t!”
Javier pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as she shook; stroking her back as though soothing a child;
“You’re not alone, whatever’s coming we’ll face it together. First, we find him.”
Cassia pulled back, shaking her head wildly;
“No! No you can’t come. You have to stay here safely. What if it’s you? What if…”
Her voice was breathy with panic and Javier hugged her to him tightly. When he spoke he deliberately kept his voice calm and level;
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