Bloodgifted

by Tima Maria Lacoba

  ‘Laura, are you in pain?’ he asked.

  ‘Uh huh.’

  ‘Judith, can you please bring some Panadol and a glass of water.’

  I heard her padded footsteps cross the rug as she left the room. Cool fingers against my temples caused me to jump in surprise.

  ‘Take it easy,’ Alec said. ‘Only trying to help. Close your eyes.’

  My heart thumped in my chest at his touch and I had to force myself to relax. He rubbed my temples till Judy came back, his fingers soothing against my skin and I had to resist the urge to place my hands over his.

  ‘Take this,’ he said.

  I opened my eyes, took the glass of water and the two tablets he held out to me and quickly swallowed them down. ‘I’m tired.’

  ‘You’ve had very little sleep and after everything’s that’s happened to you, I’m surprised you’ve been awake this long. That police interview was exhausting enough. Try to get some sleep, the tablets will help.’

  He was right. If not for Russell I would have easily slept several hours more. I curled up in the sofa and tried not to think of the way my life had changed in the last few days.

  Alec sat down in one of the recliners opposite and twirled the Serpent Ring round his finger as he gazed at me. Neither of us said a word. As the seconds passed the heat rose to my cheeks, and to hide my discomfort, I turned my head into the side of the recliner and closed my eyes. Yet still I felt his gaze on me.

  Chapter 38

  Precious Jewels

  ALEC

  While Laura dozed, I thought of the impossible situation I’d deliberately placed her in. She’d now have no choice but to leave Sommers. Would she want to stay with him after learning his intent to kill us? Then, of course, there was the matter of the Child. My child, not his—should Laura conceive tonight.

  My body reacted in anticipation.

  I rose and walked over to the French doors. Judith was still in the room. I didn’t turn back around till I heard her leave and then my gaze went straight to Laura. She stirred and sighed in her sleep, and her deep-copper hair spilled over the floral green cushion, almost like molten bronze. A slight curl made it turn up at the ends and I remembered the silky feel of it round my fingers the last time I touched it.

  I crouched down next to her, smoothed some fallen strands away from her face and gently tucked them behind her ear; careful not to wake her. Her lips were slightly parted and the memory of how they felt beneath mine came rushing back and my body reacted once again.

  Damn! No other woman had ever had this affect on me.

  Judith walked back in carrying a steaming cup of tea and a book. She said nothing, but the smile on her lips when she looked at me spoke volumes.

  I grabbed my laptop, sat back down and began sending emails to the various Prefects but, damn, if it didn’t take all my concentration to stay on task.

  Judith settled herself comfortably back on her sofa and started reading—a crime novel, by the cover. Within an hour, she too had dozed off. Both slept peacefully throughout most of the afternoon.

  Luc popped in a little while later. Seeing Judith asleep on the armchair, he made his way to her side, took the book from her hand and placed it on the coffee table. He kissed her cheek before spreading a cotton blanket over her. ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ he said proudly, his voice barely above a whisper. He straightened up and looked over to where Laura lay sleeping. ‘The two precious jewels in my life. My women.’

  I closed my laptop. ‘How’s it coming?’

  ‘Three Prefects haven’t responded. I’ll give them another twenty-four hours.’

  ‘Which three?’

  ‘The Eastern Europeans—Karl, Timur and Milena.’

  ‘Jake mentioned them, although I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him about it.’ That’s all we needed, three of the most powerful and ancient districts causing trouble. Karl had been ruling the Bohemian Brethren for nearly three hundred years and was usually at loggerheads with the other two. They were continually fighting over territory. Last I heard he and the Hungarian prefect, Timur, were trying to squeeze out Milena; take over and divide her Slovak Prefecture between them. Hence, their absence from the Ritual.

  ‘I sent him over to broker some sort of peace between them and put an end to their petty squabbles.’

  ‘And?’ I prompted when he didn’t elaborate.

  ‘They were all compliant…’

  ‘But?’

  He let out a deep breath. ‘Jake felt he wasn’t really needed. They’d worked it out by the time he got there. It was almost as if Milena created it in order to get him there.’

  ‘Huh! Interesting. Did he say anything more?’ Jake was no fool, and if he felt something strange was going on in Europe, it needed investigating. I made a mental note to speak with those Prefects right after the Pledging.

  ‘No. Anyway, problem—whatever it was—is settled. They’ve got no excuse not to come.’

  I nodded.

  He walked over to the French doors and looked out. ‘As soon as my men rise, I’ll place them around the grounds. The area down near the water isn’t secure.’

  We spent the next hour planning the ceremony, no detail left out. There was too much at stake. Never had it been more personal for Luc.

  By the time we finished it was early afternoon, Laura still slept and I didn’t want to wake her. She was home, she was safe and since both her parents were here as well, it gave me the perfect opportunity to step out and head for the lab. There were several experiments needing my attention.

  I was back at the house by early evening. Laura had slept through lunch and I didn’t want her to miss out the next meal. It was time to wake her.

  I leaned down and softly stroked her face. ‘Laura, wake up.’

  Chapter 39

  Human Or Vampire?

  LAURA

  Something soft and feathery touched my face. I opened my eyes to see Alec leaning over me. His bent fingers gently brushed my cheek.

  ‘Hello,’ he whispered. ‘You’ve been asleep for over seven hours.’

  ‘What time is it?’ I said sleepily.

  ‘Just gone six.’

  My stomach rumbled. ’I’m hungry.’

  ‘I’m not surprised. You haven’t eaten since early this morning. How do you feel?’

  I did a mental check then flexed my hand and tried twisting my wrist. It felt more comfortable—less painful than before. ‘Better, I think. It doesn’t seem to hurt that much any more.’

  ‘Good. I want to take a look at it—change the dressing and check the stitches.’

  My stomach rumbled again. He smiled. ‘Dinner’s on its way up.’

  A light snore came from the other end of the room. I turned my head to see Judy asleep in the armchair.

  ‘She fell asleep while reading,’ Alec quietly said. ‘I don’t want to wake her.’

  ‘You’ve been here the whole time?’

  ‘Through some of it,’ he said.

  I breathed out a contented sigh and rose to a sitting position. He looked at me and smiled, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes moved down to my throat. He’d fed from me yesterday morning, yet I was reluctant to offer him my blood. It was fear of succumbing to him that held me back.

  The shrill sound of Alec’s ringing phone almost made me jump. He stood and dug it out of his back pocket. ‘Alec Munro here. Yeah…’ His expression changed—alert. ‘Has he said anything, asked for anyone?’ His gaze was on me. ‘Uh huh… right… okay, thanks for letting me know.’

  I knew it was something to do with Matt.

  Alec shoved the mobile phone back into his jeans pocket, braced his hands on the arms on the recliner and leaned down toward me. My eyes were automatically drawn to his mouth. ‘He’s awake and out of intensive care,’ he said. Every nerve in my body tensed, but I couldn’t tell if it was from Alec’s closeness or the fact I’d have to confront Matt. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any brain damage, but they’ll be conducting tests tomor
row morning just to be sure. His family’s there with him.’

  ‘Okay. I need to see him; speak to him.’

  ‘Tomorrow.’

  He remained staring down at me and I couldn’t pull away. My insides tightened with a strange mix of excitement and fear—fear at what I was beginning to feel for him and the knowledge that it wasn’t going to go away. How on earth was I going to tell Matt of the pact I’d willingly made with Alec? A growing pregnancy wasn’t something I’d be able to hide for very long. And no matter the valid reason for it, Matt would never understand.

  Alec’s gaze slowly slid to my mouth and as he leaned further toward me, Judy stirred. ‘How long have I been asleep? What time is it?’

  He froze and I turned my head away as I felt the hot blush creep up my cheeks. Alec was about to kiss me, of that I had no doubt. And… I wouldn’t have stopped him.

  My stomach clenched all over again. I couldn’t go on like this.

  Alec straightened and, without taking his gaze from me, said, ‘Dinnertime, and I’m about to check Laura’s stitches.’

  ‘Is she awake then?’ Judy asked.

  ‘Have been for some time,’ I answered.

  She rose from the sofa and came over to us, smoothing her hair back into place. ‘I need a cup of tea.’

  It was just the thing I needed to hear at that moment—trivial and inconsequential. I stretched to ease the tension from my body while Alec went to stand by the French doors.

  Luc walked in carrying a tray smelling of roast beef and mashed potatoes. ‘The cook just finished it,’ he said.

  I sat up, wondering how I was going to balance it on my lap.

  ‘Take this dear,’ Judy said and she plucked a metal fold up tray from beside my armchair and set it up on my lap. ‘I’ve used it on occasion here.’

  ‘What about you?’ I asked.

  ‘This will do nicely.’ She picked up a plump cushion from the sofa.

  As I ate, I tried to avoid looking at Alec, yet once or twice I ventured to look up to see him staring at me. I swallowed and lowered my eyes again. Judy and Luc’s voices filled in the void as neither Alec nor I spoke. I was too aware of the hours that were left before he and I were to come physically together.

  The knot in my stomach tightened and I pushed the rest of my meal away.

  A tiny alarm went off in Alec’s watch. ‘Time to change your dressing, Laura.’ He opened his medic bag and removed a pair of sharply pointed scissors and a small metal tray.

  ‘All yours,’ I said and held out my wrist to him.

  His eyes crinkled at the corners but that soon disappeared as he unpeeled the dressing and removed the gauze. ‘Luc, take a look at this.’

  ‘What is it? Is something wrong?’ I didn’t want to look, as blood and anything associated with it always made me cringe. But there was something in Alec’s tone that made me want to. I looked down expecting to see a nasty gash with dark stitching and ugly puckered skin, but instead there appeared a near-clean whitish scar with the surgical stitching half-hanging out.

  Alec glanced at me questioningly. I shrugged. Luc and Judy were at my side in an instant. ‘Even for one of the Bloodgifted, this is unusual. Your body has completely healed itself in… one day!’

  As we watched, one of the stitches popped out, slid down my arm and onto the blanket. The skin around it was a healthy pink.

  Luc’s brows were drawn. ‘She’s more vampire than human,’ he softly said.

  ‘I can’t be absolutely sure,’ Alec replied. ‘But the healing process is definitely not human.’ He pulled a pair of tweezers from within his bag and removed the rest of the stitching from my arm. My skin closed over the neat, little pricks leaving a smooth, unmarked surface.

  ‘Laura, have you ever had a craving for blood, dear?’ Judy asked.

  ‘No.’ I looked at my father—a vampire. Was there a possibility that one day I could become one? The thought frightened me.

  ‘Have you always healed so quickly?’ Alec asked.

  ‘I think so.’ I turned to Judy. She probably knew every injury I’d ever had.

  ‘When she was little she healed faster than anyone else, but we didn’t make much of it.’ She looked at me. ‘I lost track when you left home.’

  ‘I’ve rarely been injured, and if I did get a cut I just shoved a bandaid onto it and forgot it.’

  Alec didn’t say anything. He just looked thoughtfully at me.

  ‘Well, I suppose there’s no need to keep the bandage on any more, is there?’ I asked.

  He took it and threw it into the bin. ‘You’re a puzzle, Laura.’

  ‘Then it’s a pity you don’t intend being around to solve it!’

  His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I thought that’s what you preferred?’

  ‘I’ve changed my mind.’

  Without any warning, he took my hand and pulled me from the sofa. ‘Excuse us,’ he said to Luc and Judy as he dragged me from the room.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I demanded of him.

  He said nothing, but pulled me behind him up the wide, marble stairs to the next level, past my bedroom to the next wing of the house and to a door I didn’t recognise. He pushed it open and as he ushered me through it, I heard the lock click in place.

  Chapter 40

  Bargain Sealed

  LAURA

  A lone, tall lamp shone in—what I assumed to be—Alec’s room. Bare white walls with recessed shelves filled with books stared back at me. There were no windows. A crystal chandelier, on a long chain, hung down from a pale, stuccoed ceiling. In one corner of the room stood a four-drawer cabinet, identical to a smaller version next to a four-poster iron bed. The tall lamp next to it was also metal. Actually, apart from the bed covering and the needlepoint cotton floor rug, everything in the room was metal.

  ‘Let’s discuss this,’ he said.

  I spun around to face him, and as I was still out of breath all I could do was stand there, with my arms clenched by my side, and glare at him. He moved away from the door and came slowly toward me. I took a step back.

  ‘It occurred to me, I don’t like the idea of becoming a single mother!’ I managed to say between breaths.

  ‘You should have thought of that sooner.’ He pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.

  I stared open mouthed at his chiselled body, the rippling muscles of his torso and the sword and serpent tattoo on his left breast. It was identical to the image on the stained glass window. On impulse, I reached out and touched it.

  ‘All the men have one. It marks us as belonging to Luc’s clan,’ he said.

  ‘Does he have one, too?’

  ‘Yes.’ The look in his eyes intensified. ‘Keep touching me, Laura.’

  My hands traced the hard planes of his chest, stomach and the delectable trail of dark hair that disappeared below the top of his jeans.

  ‘You told me never to touch you, again. You still feel that way?’

  ‘If I did, I wouldn’t be agreeing to this. It’s only sex, nothing more. A means to an end.’

  ‘Did I promise anything more?’

  No, he didn’t. This was, as he so succinctly put it, a business arrangement.

  He leaned down, as if to kiss me.

  I turned my head away. ‘No kissing.’ I couldn’t afford my heart to be engaged any more than it already was. I needed this to be mechanical, detached, void of emotion. If he could be like that, then so could I.

  Something flickered in his eyes. ‘Sorry, darling, but it comes with the whole package!’ He drew me to him, and any protest on my part ended the moment his mouth touched mine.

  How did he know to part my lips just the right way and delve into my mouth like he owned it, kissing me with an almost fevered energy I couldn’t help but return?

  How wrong I’d been to tell him never to touch me again, nor kiss me, when my whole body came alive when he did; when it ached for him. There was no way I could fight this and if I lost my heart to him,
what then? Could I stand it if he went away? The thought frightened me. This is only sex; only sex, I repeated over and over in my mind, but I knew I was fooling myself. It was far too late for that.

  Slowly he undid the buttons on my shirtdress, slid it off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. My bra soon followed, my nipples hardening at the touch of his hands as they caressed my breasts, while his mouth teased and taunted mine, reducing me to a near-quivering mess.

  He scooped me up and laid me in the centre of the bed then took my face in his hands and tenderly kissed my eyelids, my nose, cheeks and chin, before returning to my waiting lips.

  The Serpent Rings blazed into life, eclipsing the sad, little light emanating from the bedside lamp. Alec leaned over and switched it off. The room was bathed in a warm, red glow as if the rings themselves were endorsing what we were about to do.

  He lowered his head and this time his mouth and tongue explored one breast while his hand cupped the other, his thumb and forefinger circling and teasing my already sensitised skin.

  I closed my eyes and revelled in the sensations he aroused in me, arching into him as my body purred at his every touch. My hands roamed his back, his firm shoulders and as he eased down the length of my body, leaving a burning trail with his lips, any coherent thought disappeared. As his tongue dipped into my navel, his fingers hooked into the top of my panties and slowly drew them down. They joined my dress and his T-shirt on the floor.

  I lay there totally exposed as Alec’s heavy-lidded gaze hungrily devoured me.

  ‘You’re breathtaking,’ he said, then rose and removed his jeans. His naked body was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and for what seemed like ages, we simply gazed at each other. In the glow of the unearthly light provided by the rings, I could see his eyes had darkened into a deep purple whorl from which I never wanted to emerge.

  He crawled onto the bed, parted my legs and lay between them.

  His kisses seared my mouth as his hands further explored my body, touching, stroking and sweetly torturing my most secret place till I was scrunching the sheets and moaning his name.