by E. J. King
Just a few seconds later, it was over. William retracted his fangs and lifted his head. His normally pale eyes were a vibrant shade of gold. With a faint smile, he said, “Wow.”
“Wow?” I laughed. “That good, huh?”
He used the sleeve of his shirt that I was wearing to wipe away the smudge of blood he had left behind on my wrist. “Let’s just say, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”
“Ditto,” I replied, laughing at the look of surprise he gave me. “Shall we try testing my theory?”
William shrugged. “After that, I’ll let you do anything you want.”
“Let’s just see about that.” I closed my eyes and focused on connecting with William. Unlike before, I couldn’t sense him. No matter how hard I tried, my powers couldn’t find him. My eyes flew open. “It worked. I can’t force you to do anything.”
“That’s a neat party trick,” he said with a faint smile. “Can I ask, what is it you were going to make me do if it had worked?”
“Something scandalous,” I said with a flirty smile. “Too bad it didn’t work.”
“Love, I don’t need to be forced to do that.” He moved quickly and had me on my back in a flash, his lips moving down my neck as his hands peeled away the shirt. He paused to look at me. “You forgot one of the benefits of drinking your blood.”
“What’s that?” I asked breathlessly.
With his sexiest smile, he said, “Stamina.”
CHAPTER NINE
WILLIAM
When Grace finally drifted off, I lay awake for a long time watching her sleep. She looked peaceful and content in my bed, but I was still worried that she was regretting what I had done. I had sworn to her that I would never drink from her, or from any human. In less than 24 hours, I had done both those things. It didn’t matter that I had controlled myself, I’d still done the one thing made me nothing more than a vampire.
Her blood had tasted even better than I could have imagined. The siren magic was almost too good to resist, but I had done just that. By keeping my eyes on Grace the entire time, I had managed not to be completely consumed by the thirst. I had been able to stop and Grace had handled it all just fine.
I felt the effects almost immediately. In addition to improved stamina and being able to stop her from using her powers on me, all my senses were heightened even more than usual and I felt stronger. I also now had a blood connection with Grace which meant that I was highly attuned to her emotions. I knew that she was dreaming in her sleep and that whatever she was dreaming about made her happy.
Eventually, I fell asleep, too. It had been a long day and despite the increased energy that Grace’s blood had provided, my body still needed to rest. I had a lot of work to do in the coming week if I wanted to stop Drake from overthrowing me. I wasn’t sure that I could win the vote outright, but if I could prove that Drake and Octavia had been conspiring, I could plant enough doubt among the other Councilmembers to give me a fair shot.
When I opened my eyes again, Grace was the one watching me, standing next to the bed and hovering over me. She was already freshly showered and dressed and was staring at me with a curious expression.
“What?” I asked wearily. “Was I snoring?”
“You don’t snore.” Her head tilted. “Can vampires do that? Since they don’t really need to breath?”
“I have no idea.” I sat up slowly. “Why were you watching me sleep?”
She smiled shyly and touched her hand to my cheek. “Because you are adorable when you sleep.”
I couldn’t just see the love she had for me in her eyes, but I could feel it, too. Grace was part of me now. “I didn’t think this was possible, but I love you even more right now than I already did, Grace.”
The hand on my cheek was the same one I’d bitten the night before. I turned my head slightly and pressed my lips over the two tiny scars that were forming on her wrist.
“How are you feeling?” she asked timidly.
“You’re wondering if I regret last night?” I guessed and she nodded slightly. “In an ideal world, that would not have happened. I never wanted to do that, Grace, but you were right. I need your blood. I can already feel the power inside me, changing me, making me stronger.”
“Good,” she slid down into my lap and I put my arms around her. She spoke quieter than usual. “I’ve been doing some thinking and what if some of my power was also transferred to Drake when he attacked me? When I hit my head, everything went foggy for a few seconds. I was bleeding. What if Drake tasted my blood? Wouldn’t that explain how he has been able to manipulate the other vampires into lying and prevented me from using my power on them?”
“I think that’s a very real possibility,” I said.
“Maybe, if we build your strength enough, you can override his commands.” She raised a hopeful eyebrow. “Maybe Drake has been so busy guarding against my power that he hasn’t thought at all about your power.”
She was right. Every piece of Drake’s plan had been designed around Grace because it had never occurred to him that I might break my vow and drink from her. He never suspected that I might become a threat, too. “For once, I’m really glad that Drake has underestimated me.”
“We can’t let him find out that you’ve tasted my blood. Our biggest advantage against him is going to be the element of surprise,” Grace said.
“No offense, love, but I don’t plan to tell anyone about last night.” I might have accepted my new reality, but that didn’t mean I had to be proud of it.
She nodded. “In the future, we’ll have to be more careful about where you bite me. The marks shouldn’t be visible to the others.”
Grace had clearly been giving this a lot of thought and that made me uneasy. This wasn’t something I’d ever wanted her to worry about. “Let’s not worry about it too much,” I said. “I will only drink from you when I absolutely need to and only until we’ve taken care of the Drake situation.”
“Sure.” Grace looked away and I could sense that somehow I’d upset her. Before I could pry, she said, “Don’t be mad, but I’m going to spend the day with Cole.”
“Why would I be mad about that?” I asked.
“William, I know you don’t like him.” She smiled knowingly. “I saw your expression when I hugged him. You were jealous.”
I thought about denying it, but we would both know I was lying. “Fine, I was jealous. That’s not why I don’t like Cole, though. He’s Drake’s companion, Grace. I don’t think he can be trusted.”
“He’s my friend,” she said stubbornly. “I’m not going to write him off just because Drake forced him into our world.”
“Okay. Just be careful.” I knew better than to order her not to see Cole. Grace would never obey such a command and it would only make her want to see him more. Instead, I changed the subject. “I’m heading over to see Norah in a bit. We’ve been gradually introducing humans into her environment and so far, she’s doing great. She might be able to leave the medical facilities soon.”
“Really?” Grace’s smile was radiant. “Will you tell her I can’t wait to see her?”
“Sure, whatever you want.” I slid a hand along Grace’s back, slipping it under her shirt just so I could feel her soft skin. She sighed contentedly. “Cole left a little while ago. How about I help you find him?”
Her smile turned into a smirk. “Are you auditioning for world’s most understanding boyfriend?”
“I’d do anything to make you happy, Grace.” I kissed her cheek and she threw her arms around my neck.
“You make me happy,” she said. “You are my world, William. As long as I have you, I’ll be happy for the rest of my days.”
Grace’s happiness faded a little as we strolled along the beach looking for Cole. I could tell that she was nervous to see him again and suspected that I wasn’t the only one who was suspicious of Cole’s intentions.
We passed a small group of companions who told us that Cole was down at the docks. It was a part of the D
arkness I rarely visited as we had our own docking station at the estate. In fact, I couldn’t remember if I had ever been there.
“You let the humans take the boats out on their own? Aren’t you afraid they might escape?” Grace asked.
“They won’t escape because they have been compelled not to leave without telling their vampire first,” I explained. “However, even if they did somehow attempt to leave, they would have no way of knowing where to go. This place doesn’t exist on any maps and we are far away from inhabited land.”
“I think I see Cole over there,” Grace said, pointing to a tall figure at the edge of the docks. I walked her a few more yards until Cole turned and spotted us. He waved in our direction and Grace turned to me. “Thanks for the company, but I can take it from here.”
“I can take a hint,” I said with a smirk.
Grace pulled my head down and gave me a long kiss, not caring that at least a dozen humans were watching us from the docks, including Cole. She put her lips to my ear and said as quietly as possible, “Love you.” Then she was floating away from me, headed toward another man even as her words still lingered in the air.
I watched as Cole greeted her with a hug, his arms lingering around her just a little too long for my liking. I knew that I was being jealous and irrational, but I didn’t care. I could see how he looked at her with the same mixture of awe and longing that I always felt around Grace. They may have only been friends, but that didn’t mean Cole wasn’t hoping for more.
Grace glanced over her shoulder and caught me staring. With my super-amped vampire eyesight I could see her rolling her eyes and it made me laugh. I gave her a small wave and headed away from the docks. While Grace would be spending the morning with another guy, I would be spending it with another woman.
The Covington clan was staying in a grouping of homes in the forest near the base of the mountains. I would have preferred not to see Victoria, but she needed to know about the accusations being made regarding her clan. It was possible she might even be able to help me prove that they weren’t involved.
I could hear the vampires before I saw them. They were in the hot springs in varying states of undress. Victoria was in the center of them, regaling the group with a story about her many conquests during prohibition. She heard me approaching and sat up straighter in the water, revealing her bare chest.
“Well, if it isn’t Premier Blackwood,” Victoria said as I approached. “Would you care to join us, William?”
I kept my eyes only on her face. “Victoria, this isn’t a social visit.”
“Where’s your girlfriend?” Victoria asked with a sneer.
“Put some clothes on, Victoria. I’ll meet you back at the residence.” I turned away before she could say anything else about Grace.
I waited in front of the Covington homes for less than a minute before Victoria appeared, wearing a short robe that was loosely tied at the waist. One wrong move and everything would be exposed, which was exactly what she intended. Victoria loved to use sex and her sexuality to get what she wanted.
“Sorry to ruin your fun,” I said.
Victoria gestured to the closest home. “I need a drink. You want one or are you only drinking from Grace these days?”
“I don’t drink from any humans, remember?” I said, hoping she didn’t know me well enough to hear the lie in my words.
“Right.” She gave me a doubtful look as she entered the home. “There’s no way you are spending every night with a human girl and not feeding on her, William. Your biology won’t allow it.”
I followed her inside, regretting my decision to come here. “I didn’t come here to discuss vampire biology with you.”
“I wasn’t talking about vampire biology. I was talking about your biology.” Victory had crossed into the kitchen and was already helping herself to a bottle of donated blood. “We both know that you aren’t wired like other vampires, William. You may have resisted drinking from humans until now, but Grace isn’t just a human. She’s your human. That makes it different.”
“Grace isn’t my human, she’s my girlfriend,” I said.
Victoria took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs, crossing a long leg over the other and letting her robe slide away. “You didn’t come her to talk about Grace, did you?” she said.
“No, I came to warn you about some recent developments that may affect your ability to stay in the Darkness.” I was glad to refocus on my reason for meeting with Victoria. “I’m sure you heard about the companion that was killed on the beach.”
“That was surprising,” she said with a smirk. “I thought it was against the rules to kill humans in the Darkness.”
“It is. We’ve never had this problem in the past.” I gave her a pointed look. “I need to know if your clan had anything to do with the attack.”
Victoria glared at me with even more hostility than usual. “You have a lot of nerve coming here and accusing my vampires of something like that. I gave you my word that we would abide by the rules of the Darkness in exchange for safe harbor. How dare you accuse me of going back on my word?”
“I’m not accusing you,” I said firmly. “Others on the Council are suspicious of your motives and I have to perform my duties as Premier by investigating the possibility. If you tell me it wasn’t one of your vampires, I can move on to other possibilities.”
“It wasn’t my vampires,” she said confidently. When I nodded, satisfied with her word, she said, “You think it was someone else, don’t you?”
“I do.” I wasn’t sure how much I should tell her. Victoria and I weren’t on the best of terms these days, but we had once been loyal to each other. She was a fierce leader and it would be an advantage to have her on my side. However, telling her about Drake and Octavia would also mean exposing a big weakness.
Reluctantly, I told her everything that had gone down since the attack on the beach, even the part where Drake had attempted to blame the Covington vampires. Victoria listened quietly, her face betraying no reaction. “I believe the attack was perpetrated by another Councilmember at the direction of my brother.”
“Drake?” Victoria guessed instantly. “Makes sense. He’s always been envious of you. I was surprised when he agreed to live here under your terms.”
I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms. “Drake always does what is best for him at the time. Ten years ago, the Darkness was that thing. Now, it’s something else. I’m just not completely sure why he is making a play for the Darkness now. We’ve never faced as many attacks as we have in the last few weeks.”
“You don’t really think that is a coincidence, do you?” Victoria said. “It sounds to me like Drake is working with someone outside to plan those attacks, distracting you from his internal sabotage.”
“Have you heard anything since your arrival?” I asked.
Victoria shook her head. “No, but I’m not exactly on good terms with your vampires, William. They all tend to keep their distance. Probably because of the lies your brother has been spreading.”
“If Drake is able to carry out his plan, your vampires will no longer be safe in the Darkness,” I said, as if that wasn’t already obvious.
“If you want my help, all you have to do is ask,” she replied with a smirk. “No need to play games with me, William. You were never a fan of games, anyway.”
“I do need your help,” I said, ignoring her innuendo. “I need all the help I can get. There’s no way to tell how many of the Darkness vampires have already been tricked by Drake and Octavia.”
Victoria stood, her robe hanging precariously around her curves. She came closer to me, working a slow saunter that used to drive me wild. Now, it made my stomach churn. Being indebted to Victoria was not going to end well for me, but I didn’t have another choice.
“Tell me what you need from me,” she said in sultry voice. “I’ll let you know later how I’d like to be compensated.”
“I’m sure you will,” I muttered. “For now, just k
eep your ears open. I’ll get back to you with details on what I need.”
“It will be nice working together again,” Victoria said, putting a hand on my chest. “Just like old times.”
I brushed her hand away. “Please don’t mistake my desperation for interest, Victoria. You’ll only end up getting your heart broken all over again.”
CHAPTER TEN
COLE
Seeing Grace walking toward me on the dock was like breathing fresh air after being buried alive. She was smiling happily, which no doubt had at least something to do with the intimate kiss she’d just shared with William. I liked to think that some of that smile was in response to seeing me. The hug she gave me confirmed that I wasn’t wrong.
“Cole Sanders, since when do you know anything about boats?” she teased, gesturing to the large sailboat I was preparing to take out on the water.
“There’s a lot about me that you don’t know,” I said. “The question is, do you trust me enough to go out on the water?”
“That’s a loaded question.” Grace frowned a little. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Well enough.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “I used to sail a lot when I was younger. I’ve been told these boats are also fortified with magic to make sure they don’t capsize.”
Grace let out a breath she’d been holding. “In that case, let’s do it.”
As I continued preparing, Grace climbed onto the boat. She took a few tentative steps before settling into a seat. I got us out on the water with minimal drama and then once we were in open water, I turned to her.
“So, you’re a vampire overlord’s companion now?” I said bluntly.
“It’s not like that,” she replied. “William doesn’t feed from humans.”