“Fuck you, Dragon,” Nic growled low. “Jenna is not her father, and if you ever speak about her in such a way again, I will finish what I started today.” Aidan growled right back at him, flipping him off as he stalked out of the room.
“Fucking women,” he roared as he disappeared through the employee’s door.
Bas scanned the rest of the men. “Anyone else who wants out, move your ass now.” A lump formed in Jenna’s throat as the other men stood in place. These strangers were willing to put themselves in danger for her. To help rescue her sister, her best friend, from hell.
Strangely, she wasn’t angry with Aidan. His pain was written on his face as clearly as words in a book. No, Aidan had every right to stay out of the rescue attempt. She didn’t blame him, and she suddenly needed for him to know it. Even if he’d most likely shoot her gesture down in a blaze of glory.
Turning carefully in Nic’s arms she placed her hand on his chest, kissing the open collar of his shirt. “I need to go talk to him.”
“Not while he’s being such an asshole,” Nic snarled. “Stay away from him until he remembers he’s not the monster Stone would like to paint him as, Jenna.”
“Oh, stop it. Didn’t you see his face, Nic? He’s obviously in pain. You can’t be mad at him for not coming with us.”
“He’s supposed to be my friend. If he were going to rescue his mate’s sister, he knows I would be right there fighting by his side.”
“Nico,” she sighed. “You are an amazing and generous man.” She smiled when he lifted his brow. “But this isn’t anyone’s fight but mine. I won’t condemn someone for not joining a suicide mission.”
“Our fight, Beloved. This is our fight. Go then, talk to my asshole friend. If you’re not back in five minutes, though, I am coming to get you.” Jenna pressed her mouth firmly to his pulse point and left Nic to follow Aidan.
* * * *
He was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands. “I don’t want you here.” Jenna moved forward anyway. “Too bad. I’m not leaving until I say what I came to say to you.” He lifted his head, his eyes piercing her with menace. “Fine. Say whatever it is you need to say, and then get the hell out.”
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to go.”
“How very fucking noble of you.” Aidan left his seat and stalked to the liquor cabinet, pouring himself a shot. He tossed the drink back and quickly filled the glass again.
“Why do you hate me so much?” Jenna knew her father despised her because she didn’t fall in line with him and his ways of thinking, but besides being born a Stone, she couldn’t think why this Dragon would hate her so much. Before he’d been dismissive of her, but now Aidan’s hate was like a living, breathing thing, ready to explode at any minute.
“It’s not just you,” he relented enough to admit. “I hate all humans.” His pain gripped her by the throat as for a split second raw emotion passed over his handsome face.
Jenna went with her instincts and approached him. She placed her fingertips on his forearm. “What happened to you?”
His eyes locked on the place where she touched him.
“They took something from me,” he whispered as he moved away from her. “Go to your man, and leave me alone with my good friend here.” He held up the bottle of scotch.
“I’m sorry Aidan, for all the pain you were caused. I would take it away if I could.” Jenna fled the room before her tears fell, never seeing the tortured, wounded look the Dragon sent after her.
*
The orders were given, and Bas’s team would meet back at the bar in two night’s time. Nic was more grateful to his Blood Brother than words could ever say. Unlike Aidan, Bas hadn’t even waited to be asked. He’d simply seen what needed to be done, and then did it.
But Nic had one more favor to ask of his oldest and best friend. He hated doing it; he knew Bas was barely hanging on, fighting the depression and ennui of hundreds of years, just as Nic had been before he’d dreamed of Jenna. He didn’t show it, not in word or deed, but it was there just the same, deep in his eyes, just out of reach, a loneliness of the soul.
Nic thought of Bas’s reaction to Jenna. Perhaps what he was going to propose would be a benefit to Bas, too. Perhaps Jenna could act as some small balm for his soul until Bas found some peace of his own.
“Sebastian,” he caught the older Vampire’s arm as he walked by. “I must ask something of you, my old friend.” Bas grabbed the stool next to Nic.
“You sound so serious. You know you have only to ask and it’s yours, Nic.” Bas’s automatic “yes” without even knowing the question only deepened Nic’s appreciation for his friend.
“I want you to become Jenna’s Guardian.” Nic noted the flicker of sadness in Bas’s eyes. The other Vampire didn’t look surprised in the least, though. “You are the only one I trust to ensure to her safety.” He met his friend’s eyes. “This time I understand what I’m asking of you, Sebastian. If you choose not to do it, I will understand.”
“Try not to act like anymore of a jackass than you absolutely have to, Nicky. You know that I wouldn’t allow you to ask anyone else.” Bas’s cocky smile faded into a serious expression. “You honor me, my friend,” he said as he stood and grasped Nic’s shoulders. “I consent to take the blood of your pretty One into myself, and to become her Guardian in your absence.” Bas released Nic and gave him a little shove toward Jenna as she returned from Aidan’s office. “Now let’s get moving. We’ve got a shitload of work to do, and only two days to do it in.”
*
Nic was silent as he led the way back into the penthouse. Jenna understood something important was about to happen, something that made both men silent and somber, but she’d be damned if she understood quite what that something was. Nic only told her that he couldn’t do his job, couldn’t fight for her sister, if he was consumed with worry for her safety. He’d said he needed to know that she’d be cared for if something happened to him, and that Bas, his Blood Brother, was the only one he trusted with her life.
They entered the living room, and Nic led her to a comfortable chair, seating her elegantly. Pulling up a matching ottoman, he sat facing her. Bas perched on the arm of her chair. Jenna squirmed a little, unwillingly aroused by the natural pheromones the two men surrounded her with. Both Vampires drew startled breaths, and she felt their gazes, blue ice and gray fog, snap to her face.
She shifted again, uncomfortable, and finally said, “I’m sorry. Jeeze.” She flipped a hand at the two men. “But can you blame me? The two of you are sending out enough little sex germs to arouse the entire WNBA!”
Bas threw his head back and laughed, sounding more free and uninhibited than she’d heard him sound all night. Nic just groaned humorously and buried his face in her lap, shoulders shaking. She noticed his laughter died a quick death, however, when she automatically twined her fingers through his silky hair.
*
“You, my friend, are one lucky son of a bitch,” Bas laughed at him, and Nic had to agree. His One was beautiful, courageous, sexy as hell, and she made him laugh. More, she’d returned laughter to Bas’s eyes, and Nic hadn’t seen any emotion stronger than mild curiosity there in decades.
As he tried to bring himself under control, little sex germs? he studied his Blood Brother. Bas looked at Jenna with an appreciation that went beyond the aesthetic. He looked at her as though she was a woman he wanted. It was unnerving, and a bit surprising. In the centuries they’d spent together, Bas had taken lovers of both sexes, but he’d always gravitated toward men. That was one of the reasons Nic had been able to trust him alone with Jenna.
There was no one else in the world Nic would trust with Jenna’s safety, with his very soul, but the sharing of blood was a very sexual experience. The bond was always stronger when the blood was filled with adrenaline, and the quickest and safest way to get Jenna there was through arousal. Seeing the speculative gleam in Bas’s eyes was worrisome, because as liberal as Nic might be, he would not
, could not share his woman.
While he knew Bas understood, he was afraid his old friend would be hurt in the process.
Once the laughter died down, Nic took Jenna’s hands in his own. Meeting her eyes he said, “You’ve heard me refer to Sebastian as my Blood Brother.” She nodded and he asked, “Do you understand what that means?”
“I gather that it means you share a closeness that’s more than friendship,” she answered hesitantly. “I’m not sure if it means you’ve shared blood by choice, or if you were sired by the same Vampire, though.”
Nic nodded, and began to explain.
“You know that I am very old. Sebastian is even older than I.” Jenna flicked a glance at the Vampire sitting on the arm of her chair. Intellectually she understood that he was centuries old, many centuries apparently, but like Nic, he looked no older than a man in his middle thirties.
“When I was changed my sire, Phaedra, abandoned me. I’d made a pretty plaything, but a fledgling Vampire was far too high maintenance for her.” His words were bitter, but his tone was not, a dichotomy that confused Jenna a bit.
“Do you hate her for that? For changing you and then leaving you on your own?”
“I did, Beloved, for a very long time.” Nic tilted his head considering. “I’ve come to realize that by leaving me as she did, Phaedra did me an enormous favor. If I’d been with her, Sebastian would never have found me.” Bas snorted dismissively. “And,” Nic ignored him with the ease of long practice, “if I’d stayed with her, I’d not have been fit to be with you, Beloved.”
“Nic, cut the crap and finish your explanation.” Bas acted just the slightest bit uncomfortable with Nic’s story, which made Jenna insanely curious to hear the ending.
“Yes, Nico. Finish your explanation.”
Nic’s eyes flared briefly at her use of their special name, then he continued.
“Sebastian found me living no better than an animal on the street. I was utterly ruled by my Thirst, but hadn’t the skills to provide for myself.” Nic shook his head in memory.
“By the time Bas found me I was pitiful.” He trailed off, and Bas reluctantly took up the narrative.
“Not so much pitiful,” he countered, “he was ill. He’d been subsisting on the blood of animals and diseased beggars and such. He was so malnourished, I have no idea how he’d managed to survive.”
Nic continued his story. “He fed me. Every night, often several times a night, Bas brought me willing blood donors. But my body was so damaged that I didn’t get well.
Finally he brought me to Elena.” Nic blinked, realizing that Jenna hadn’t actually met Elena while awake.
“Elena is a healer, a very powerful and gifted woman. She told Bas that the only way for me to heal was by taking the blood of another Vampire. Phaedra was nowhere to be found, of course.”
“By this time,” Bas took up the narrative again, “I’d come to see how strong a soul our Nic has. And I’d definitely come to see what that shallow bitch had seen in him, and that his beauty was deeper than that angelic face.” Nic snorted and fidgeted uncomfortably. “I could not let him waste away.”
“Bas offered me his blood, understanding full well what it meant.” Nic shook his head. “I, on the other hand, understood nothing.” He turned to Bas, “You got lucky, my friend. I could so easily have destroyed us both.” When Jenna looked confused Nic explained, “By sharing his blood with me, Bas connected us forever. Blood to blood, soul to soul. If I’d been a different sort of man, I’d have pulled him into the abyss with me.
“This bond, along with our friendship, is why I would trust Bas with my life.” He sent the other Vampire a small smile. “It’s why I have trusted him with my life on more than one occasion. But now I choose to trust him with something even more important.” He brought her hands to his lips, kissing each knuckle softly. “I am trusting him with my very soul.” Jenna’s big brown eyes widened, the green flecks seeming to glow.
“I’ve asked Bas to take your blood tonight.” Before Jenna could voice the protest he saw in those eloquent eyes, he continued. “By sharing your blood, Bas will be able to find you, no matter where you are. He’ll be able to sense when you are in distress or danger.” His grip tightened on her hands, and he drew them to rest over his heart.
“Beloved, I need this. I need to know that no matter what you will always be protected.”
Jenna studied him for a long time, then turned her gaze on Bas. The other Vampire met her eyes solemnly as he spoke.
“What Nic has asked is a great honor. I would do it for him, simply because I love him.” Gray eyes flickered over Nic, bringing a wave of affection and appreciation for his friend.
“But I would do this thing for you, too, Jenna.” Bas touched her cheek. “You are a remarkable woman, pretty One, and I am honored to be one of your Guardians.” Something in his words, or perhaps in his eyes, reassured Jenna. She turned back to Nic and nodded slowly.
“I understand,” she said. “But…” she trailed off, blushing.
“But what, Beloved?” Nic asked, concerned.
“It’s just…” she trailed away again, then looked over at Bas. “It’s nothing against you,” she equivocated quickly. “In fact, I don’t think I could let any other Vampire bite me, even if Nico asked it of me. But,” her eyes flicked back to Nic. “All he’ll be sharing with me is blood, right? Because I don’t think I can…” This time Nic interrupted her before she could trail off. “Beloved, even for your protection, even with my best friend, I could not share your body. Never worry about that.” He released one of her hands and cupped her cheek. “You are mine, and I could never allow another to make love to you.”
Bas hastened to add his reassurances. “Jenna, I will have to touch you as a part of the ritual. And to make it most effective, you will need to be aroused. But I swear to you I will not betray your trust.”
Their words comforted her, because she turned back to Nic with a decisive nod.
“Okay, then. What do we do?”
Nic smiled. While this night wasn’t about sex, per se, he knew that the sex would be amazing. “You relax. Bas will get you a glass of wine while I prepare the room.” He stood and she looked toward the door on the other side of the room.
“The bedroom?” she asked faintly.
Nic’s smile grew. “Oh yes, Beloved, the bedroom.”
Chapter Eight
Jenna gulped down her wine like it was water, and held up her glass for more. Bas smiled as he refilled it, then reached out to toy with one silky curl.
“You really don’t need to worry, pretty One. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t take advantage of the situation,” he winked playfully, “no matter how much I might want to.” He took her now empty glass and placed it on the mantle. Grasping her hand, be began to lead her into the bedroom.
“Besides,” he added as they crossed the threshold, “if I did make a move, Nic would rip my throat out before you even realized I was hitting on you.”
“Damn right I would,” Nic agreed. His deep voice sent little tremors of anticipation through Jenna’s body. He moved forward and very deliberately removed Jenna’s hand from Bas’s and finished leading her into the room.
Looking around, Jenna caught her breath. Nic had scattered thick, scented candles on every flat surface in the room. The lights were off and the room was lit with a shimmery, golden glow. Shadows danced on the walls from the wavering flames. The scents of vanilla, cinnamon and amber filled the air until Jenna felt almost giddy with each breath.
The bed looked huge and inviting. Nic folded the satin duvet down to the foot of the bed, an acre of scarlet satin sheets exposed. At the foot of the bed, just off to one side, he’d placed a comfortable wing-back chair which she supposed was for Bas.
Nic faced them, eyes glittering like diamonds. Cupping Jenna’s face in that familiar, comforting gesture, he spoke, and his words branded her, every bit as important and binding as a wedding vow.
“Mine to keep
.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and Jenna shivered at the rush of his breath stirring her hair. “Mine to protect.” He kissed her cheek, pausing to run his tongue along the trail of a tear she hadn’t even realized she’d shed. “Mine to cherish.” He repeated the caress on her other cheek, and Jenna caught back a sob. “Mine to love.” Nic pressed a warm kiss to her trembling lips, and Jenna thought her heart would overflow.
Nic finally pulled back and gave her a slow, sexy smile. Stepping toward Bas he spoke again, his voice husky with emotion.
“Blood of my blood,” he pressed a light kiss to the slighter Vampire’s forehead.
“Brother,” he kissed first one cheek, “and friend,” and then the other.
Bas studied Nic, an enigmatic look in his storm-cloud eyes. Slowly he reached up and cupped his friend’s face.
“Blood of my blood,” he whispered, reaching up to press a light kiss to Nic’s forehead. “Brother,” light kisses feathered over Nic’s cheeks. Jenna could see that both men were as deeply affected by the ritual as she was. Eyes met and held, blue and gray, and they held whole conversations without saying a word.
“Friend,” Bas finished, and pressed a slow, soft kiss to Nic’s lips. When he pulled back the two men studied each other for a moment, and then Nic wrapped one hand around the nape of Bas’s neck and pressed their foreheads together.
“Thank you, my friend,” he murmured.
Bas nodded solemnly, and turned to Jenna. “Blood of my blood,” his voice was low and smooth, his lips silky as he kissed her forehead. “Sister,” he whispered kisses over both cheeks. “And friend.” He ended his pledge to her with a soft kiss on her lips, and tears trembled on her lashes again.
Jenna reflected, once again, that no one had ever loved her the way Nic did. No one ever put her needs first, let alone her desires. With Nic, Jenna knew she would be forever safe, forever cherished. And now she had Bas, too. She didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky, but as she caught his face in her hands and held him to her, lengthening the kiss, she knew she would never take this feeling for granted.
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