by Lisa Olsen
Bishop wouldn’t have minded it going on longer, but Carys withdrew, blinking up at him with sleepy eyes. “Thank you. I feel better now, just tired.”
“Rest then,” he smiled down at her, stroking the hair off of her forehead as she slumped lower in his arms. “I’ve got you.”
With a satisfied purr, like a cat with a belly full of cream, Carys drifted off to sleep. He was still dizzy, but not too bad. As long as he took it easy, Bishop was pretty sure he’d be fine.
“Are you alright?” Anja asked, her face pinched with worry. “Do you need some of my blood?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Rob interrupted, pulling her away. “I’ve claimed you, I’m the only one you should be giving your blood to.”
“This isn’t about sexy times, this is just about the blood,” she insisted, but Rob didn’t budge.
“I’m fine,” Bishop said, hoping to stave off an argument between the two of them. “I’m more worried about the fact that she got sick in the first place. If none of us can feed from the humans, this is going to get uncomfortable before too long for the rest of us.”
“We don’t know that she’s poison too,” Aubrey observed, watching Nelleke closely. “I say it calls for a bit of experimentation.”
“Nobody’s biting anyone else!” Anja declared, hands on her hips. “I can always find something to chain you back up with again if it gets too hard for you to resist.”
Aubrey’s hands came up in surrender. “Just saying what everyone else in here is thinking.”
Nelleke had moved to sit by Joe, her eyes still large and fearful, though she didn’t speak.
“How about we focus on getting out of here instead of biting anyone?” Bishop suggested. “Where’s that spellbook? Let’s see if Nelleke can make heads or tails of it.”
“Oh, good plan,” Anja smiled her approval. “I’ll go get it.”
Bishop watched her go, the familiar tug on his heart growing until he looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms. What did it matter what he’d shared with Anja in the past? They’d both moved on. Carys was his future.
The memory struck hard and fast. Bishop was already mentally cataloging a list of tasks he could see to when he opened his door to find Carys and Rob, naked in his bed. He stopped short, utterly surprised that she’d chosen there for her tryst. Was she doing it to make him jealous? Not in the mood for her games, he was about to leave them be and go find somewhere else to work, when Carys beckoned to him.
“Join us,” she smiled, as Rob continued to kiss her shoulder, unconcerned with his arrival.
Just as quickly it was gone, but the dread it left in his heart lingered on. How could he build his future with a woman who cared so little for his feelings?
Chapter Thirteen
“I’m cold,” Joe whined, not two seconds after I sat down with Nelleke to look over the spellbook. Since nobody else moved a muscle, I got back up again to get him his quilt.
“Here you go, snuggle up,” I smiled, ignoring him to sit back down by Nell.
“I am thirsty as well.”
“Hold on, I’ll get you a drink in a sec,” I waved him off. “What do you think? Is any of this making sense?”
“It does look familiar, yes,” Nelleke nodded, her brows pinched together in concentration. “It is more difficult to follow than the modern Norwegian, but I am understanding many of these words.”
“I grow parched, petal. Will you not fetch me something to slake my thirst?” Joe moaned pathetically, and I counted to five in German before I looked up at him – only holding my temper because I realized how cool it was that I could speak German.
“Sure, I’ll get you some more water,” I said with a tight smile. “No, don’t anyone else get up, I enjoy it.” Only Bishop caught my eye with an amused smile, weighed down with Carys, still sleeping on his lap.
Deciding he had the right idea, I drank down two glasses of water myself before returning with Joe’s. He was huddled close to Nelleke, looking over her shoulder at the spellbook. At least, I thought he was, but as soon as I rounded the couch, I saw he wasn’t focused on the book at all, it was the pulse at her throat. Why would he be looking at her neck like that? He couldn’t feel the call of the blood.
“Here you go, one tall drink of water,” I said, holding the glass out.
“Yes, I do thirst,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving her neck.
It was only blind luck that I happened to be standing there and caught the glisten of his fangs in the firelight a split second before they sank into her neck. I didn’t react fast enough to keep Joe from biting her though. Nelleke screamed as his fangs bit deep, and I grabbed hold of Joe’s neck.
“Drop it, drop it!” I yelled, like I was trying to get my sister’s dog to let go of a shoe. I had a sister? Ignoring that revelation, I squeezed tighter, careful not to shake him for fear it might tear her throat out. Rob leapt over the coffee table to assist, prying Joe’s jaws apart to release Nell. She popped free, sobbing hysterically, and Rob held her in his arms.
I was all set to dropkick Joe across the room if he tried to lunge at her again, but he fell back against the couch, almost as shaken as she was.
“M-My apologies…” he stammered. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“You tried to eat her, that’s what came over you,” I scowled, the adrenaline coursing through my veins making me shaky.
“Hold on,” Aubrey interrupted. “How do you have fangs if you’re alive?”
I frowned at the realization. “Right, you can’t be a vampire with a heartbeat.”
“Maybe he’s in transition?” Bishop suggested. “Maybe Carys biting him was all it took to turn him?”
That didn’t feel right, but I wasn’t sure what all the ins and outs of vampirism were, and so far we hadn’t found a vampire handbook among any of our possessions. “That doesn’t explain why he was poisonous to Carys though.”
Joe merely shrugged, clutching the quilt to him as if he were the victim. “I don’t know. I am not strong like a vampire, but I’m parched with thirst ever since Carys drank from me.”
“So you thought you might as well take a sip of Nelleke?” He couldn’t have waited two seconds for the water? “That’s it, you go sit over there where we can keep an eye on you from now on. Nell, are you alright?”
She nodded, hand pressed to her neck, eyes riveted on Joe, who rose to move by my command.
“I am sorry,” he said with sadness in his eyes as he passed by, and then stumbled, crashing through the coffee table as he fell over.
“Frak,” I breathed, going to him to help him up. His skin was hot to the touch. “He’s burning up with fever.”
“Don’t go near him,” Rob called out. “He needs blood.”
“Then we need to give him some,” I murmured, ignoring Rob’s warning to get Joe settled into the chair.
“Don’t look at me, I still think he’s contagious,” Aubrey replied.
“If we each give a little to tide him over, maybe we can keep him from attacking someone else.”
“How long do you think we can keep that up?” Aubrey countered. “Playing musical veins is only going to get us so far without a fresh source of blood.”
“I’m pretty much tapped out, and Carys is out for the moment too,” Bishop pointed out.
“Fine, I’ll go first,” I volunteered. “All I need is someone to make sure he doesn’t take too much.”
“No,” Rob insisted, leaving Nelleke on the couch to take my place. “If there’s any blood sharing to be done, let me go first. I don’t want him hurting you.”
“Thanks, Rob,” I replied, trading a warm smile with him as he squeezed my hand. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t go overboard.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Joe said, embarrassed as Rob knelt before him. “Thank you for your gift.”
“Ain’t you I’m doing it for,” Rob muttered, head canting to one side to bare his throat. “Go on then, get it over with
.”
Joe’s fangs slid out in anticipation, biting deep into Rob’s neck without another word. A groan of satisfaction hung heavy in the air, and I wasn’t sure which one of them it came from as Joe’s arm wrapped around Rob, holding him close. It triggered a memory of a similar feeding.
Jakob’s hand splayed across Rob’s back, holding him close and Jakob’s shirt tore as Rob’s fist clenched tighter, his throat working as he drank and drank. Was it getting hot in here? It was all I could do to keep from joining in as the scent of Jakob’s potent blood and pure male arousal perfumed the air.
It went on far longer than Rob would have with a human, and though I knew there was no danger of hurting Jakob, I started to wonder if there could be a negative side effect for Rob glutting himself on Ellri blood.
“Rob, I think that should be enough,” I finally said with a gentle touch to his forearm, and Rob immediately captured my hand to press it against his hip, sliding it up under his t-shirt.
“Stop it,” I immediately balked, shocked at how hard it was to pull my hand away. Was it because of the strength of Jakob’s blood flowing through Rob’s veins or my own weakness at the thought of becoming a part of it?
“Join us,” Jakob said on the edge of a ragged moan, and that was what convinced me it would be crazy insane to let myself get caught up in it.
“That’s enough,” I murmured, touching Joe’s shoulder. No, not Joe – Jakob. “Your name is Jakob.”
Jakob let go of Rob without a fight, licking the blood from his lips. “You know me?” he blinked in surprise.
“I must. Not as well as Rob does. I, um… remembered something similar to this, only Rob was the one drinking from you.”
“Then I must not always be poisonous.” Jakob brightened at the thought. “And I am glad to see there is an ongoing exchange between us,” he smiled at Rob, who pulled away, looking not exactly embarrassed, but uncomfortable with the way he’d been holding tight to Jakob.
“Don’t get used to it,” Rob said in his low, gravelly voice. “I think I need a cool drink.” Before I could offer to get him one, he went off in the direction of the kitchen, and I decided to give him a few minutes of privacy to pull himself together.
“And thank you, petal, for seeing to my needs,” Jakob beamed, looking whole and hearty with the influx of blood, his cheeks a ruddy color. He clasped my hand and pressed his lips to the inside of my wrist. “I look forward to the time when I may taste your charms.”
Jakob kissed me long and deep, as though he could get to my soul by forging a connection there. Maybe he was right. Somehow or other I ended up on his lap during the kiss, and I didn’t notice it until his hand grazed along the inside of my thigh. Maybe I needed to trust in my body’s instincts, because the spell he wove over me with his mouth and hands left no doubts in my mind that I belonged there.
He broke the kiss, and I chased after his mouth with mine, desperate to keep that contact. Jakob gave a deep purr of male satisfaction at my participation, but kept his lips free to roam where they would, exploring the slope of my neck and the valley between my breasts, before he came up to deliver another scorching kiss.
My body opened to him at every touch, and before I knew it, I was pressed back against the leather seats, feeling him hard and ready, pressed against my inner thigh. There wasn’t time to think, and maybe that was for the best. All I know is suddenly he was there, and I didn’t stop him when he hesitated ever so slightly before burying himself with a ragged moan.
“On second thought, maybe I already know you better than I should,” I murmured, pulling my hand away. I withdrew to the opposite corner of the room, too full of tingles to stand that close to Jakob. Was there anyone in the room I hadn’t made out with? What was next? A memory of Carys, Nelleke, and I in a threesome?
My gaze landed on Bishop, who watched me from across the room, Carys’ head pillowed in his lap. He offered a faint smile and then looked away. All of these feelings for all of these men – I’d wanted each of them in the moment, but which one did I truly belong with?
I’d felt heat and lust for Jakob and Aubrey, but instinct told me there was little more to it than that. I couldn’t imagine myself with either of them, kicking back in front of the fire for a Firefly-a-thon. And Bishop… I let out a long breath, looking up to catch him watching me again. There was something there, something dangerously flirting on the edge of friendship, threatening to spill over and damage our easy closeness. I was starting to think I couldn’t keep his friendship and my marriage the way I was supposed to.
Sure, I was married to Rob, and the way he looked at me told me he’d either remembered loving me or was well on his way to learning to love me again. What did I feel for him? I remembered loving him too, but that wasn’t the same as loving him in the present. Yes, he was sexy and sweet, but there was also that temper that made me feel like my insides were made of crumbling chalk whenever he lashed out. Maybe he’d already learned how to control it better, and just needed to remember how? Maybe I needed to keep the faith and wait for the rest of the good memories to come flooding back?
For the moment, all I could do was try to focus on the main problem at hand. I shook myself out of my funk and went to sit by Nell again, who was absorbed with the spellbook.
“So, do you think you can work some mojo to get us out of here?” I asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Yes, I am thinking it will be easy enough to try. Whether or not it work?” Nell merely shrugged.
“That’s all we can ask for, right?” I smiled. “Look, about what happened with Joe, I mean, Jakob. I’m sorry if it scared you. I really am going to do my best to protect you.”
Nelleke shook her head. “I am knowing this. This thirst for blood is not his fault.”
“That’s a healthy attitude to have,” I replied, surprised by the sudden shift.
“I remember something,” she said, her cheeks turning pink. “I remember this is not the first time I have fed a vampire. I remember there is no pain when it is done right.”
“Oh?” My brows rose in surprise. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling more comfortable around us. I just wish we knew what was going on with Jakob. Is he turning, is he some kind of weird Daywalker like Blade?” She stared at me blankly, and I waved it away. “Do you need anything for the spell to make it work? Candles, herbs, anything like that?”
Distracted by the subject change, Nelleke nodded. “Yes, I am making a list.”
“Okay good. Let me know if you need any help,” I smiled, leaving her to it. Rob had sure been gone for a while, and I decided to hunt him down to tell him the good news about the spell. He wasn’t in the kitchen, or the study, or the wine cellar. Closing my eyes, I tried to catch his scent, tracking him like a dog with my enhanced sense of smell. I found him in our bedroom, staring morosely at the wall.
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.
“Just feel a bit rough is all.”
“Because you fed Jakob?”
“No, that ain’t it.”
“What is it then?”
“I saw your face.”
“What do you mean? When?” Son of a biscuit… had he seen me remembering sexy times with Jakob?
“Before when you was in the kitchen with Bishop.”
“When we were making popcorn?” I tried to remember what my face would’ve looked like. Had he seen us holding hands? Okay, so we weren’t exactly holding hands, Bishop’s hand had covered mine, but I hadn’t pulled away either… We were holding hands! “Rob, it’s not what you think,” I started to say, but he cut me off.
“I can tell from the way he looks at you that he’s got feelings for you. And I can tell you have feelings for him.”
The look on Rob’s face. God, I wanted to die at seeing the disappointment, the hurt etched so deeply into the lines of his face. “Rob… I do remember having a close friendship with Bishop. I guess he remembers us being
together in the past too, but that’s all in the past. I’m with you now,” I smiled, lacing my fingers through his.
He looked down at our joined hands, his fingers twitching against mine. “I’ve had a few memories come back to me too. Not all of them good ones. I know I’ve made mistakes…”
“I’m sure we’ve both made them. What matters is that we can recognize and learn from them.”
“The point of it is, I ain’t so sure I deserve this new start with you. When you remember the things I done…” Jeez Louise, he looked like he’d strangled a bunch of kittens and then delivered them to me in a big basket.
“What did you do?” I gasped.
“I ain’t always been faithful for one,” he said, looking down at his shoes.
I nodded, staring down at mine too. “I’ve had some memories that make me wonder if I’ve always been faithful too.
His head came up sharply. “Who you been steppin’ out on me with?” he growled, his hand gripping mine painfully.
My mouth dropped open but no sound came out at the rapid shift to anger. Swallowing, I stammered out an answer. “I-I… well, you know I kissed Aubrey, and at some point I dated Bishop. But, um… just now when you were feeding Jakob, I remembered that he and I…”
“Oh.” His grip eased immediately, so much that his hand felt dead in mine. The silence stretched on between us, and I wasn’t sure if that meant he’d accepted it, or if he was looking for a good way to tell me to hit the road. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry I lost my temper. I got no call to make you feel bad for your past.”
“Rob, how about we leave the past where it is for now? Maybe we’ll remember things that we have to deal with, but for now, let’s focus on what we do know.”
I was about to suggest that we pretend like we were in the early stages of dating until we got to know each other better, but the words fell out of my head when he turned to me and said, “I know that I love you, Anja. I always have, from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
I didn’t have any words for that. My lips parted in surprise, completely drawn in by the love in his hazel eyes. All I could do was lean close to kiss him, surprised when he pulled away.