Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1)

by Michelle Rabe

  “This is wonderful,” she took the glass from his hand.

  “Well, this may be my sanctuary, but I couldn’t fool myself into thinking that I would never bring you here. And I know if there was just a shower, you would end me,” he laughed.

  “How can you speak such blasphemy?” Morgan’s eyes went wide, and she clutched her throat. The laughter that sparkled in her eyes revealed her ruse, “Perish the thought of a house without at least a small tub.”

  “How can you stand to be married to me?” Nicholas teased.

  “Why don’t you join me? Maybe I’ll forget your flaws?” she teased and took a long drink from the glass in her hand. The blood wine, as Nicholas had begun calling it, left a red stain on her lips. He bent at the waist and captured her lips with his drinking, in the heady mix of wine, herbs, the metallic tinge of blood, and the honeyed sweetness of his wife’s kiss. He sighed and drew back, knowing that they needed to finish the conversation about Lilly.

  We have to come to some sort of understanding or this is going to cause all sorts of problems. “We do need to talk about Lilly.” Nicholas moved to lean against the counter.

  “You’re right. Does that mean you’re not joining me?” Morgan asked, trying her best to hide the disappointment she felt.

  “Not yet. Do you want me to break my Covenant with Lilly? Do you want me to find a new donor?”

  “Wow, you start with the loaded questions don’t you?” she chuckled and took another sip.

  “It’s really the only solution. Aside from making sure I take you to the opera once in a while.”

  “No, I don’t want you to break the Covenant,” Morgan answered, and set the now empty glass on the floor beside the tub. “I can see that she’s important to you.”

  “Not important enough to hurt you, or risk our marriage. Gods know Morgan; you still make my heart race just by being in the room. There are times when you smile, and I have to restrain myself.”

  “I love you, and don’t want to risk our marriage either Nicholas. Goddess knows; I can’t imagine going on without our unconventional marriage.”

  “So I release Lilly,” Nicholas nodded, as though the matter was closed, his mind already working through what had to be done.

  “No.” Morgan interrupted his train of thought. She paused, as though choosing her words with care, and he let the silence stand. “I think I’d like to meet her, once I’m feeling more myself.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Not in the slightest,” she laughed, though it was edged with sadness and confusion.

  “Then why?”

  “Because she’s important to you,” Morgan answered, without thinking. After a moment of silence, she continued. “I can’t ignore that, and I can’t ask you to turn her aside, just because I can’t handle my emotions.”

  “You’re right, she is important,” he sighed, and swallowed hard, “I want to take care of her. However, you are more important to me.”

  “You know, Nicholai, we’re just going to keep talking circles around one another. I don’t think any decision has to be reached tonight. This feels like something we can let lie for a little while. In fact, it might be better if we do.”

  “Okay, you’re going to have to explain that one. I am a guy after all; we are pretty thick–headed about these things,” he teased, hoping to blunt any negative reaction.

  “Well, I’m not thinking clearly right now, and it’s not like anyone’s going to die if this situation continues. So, we give it some space. I want to get to know Lilly better once things are a little more settled. We can make a decision from there,” Morgan answered, she needed time to sort out what she’d seen of Lilly among Nicholas’s memories. There’s something there. Something that he needs, but I can’t give him, and what makes it worse, he won’t talk about it with me. I need to figure out what that is, and see what it means in the long run.

  “Are you sure? I’m not going to end up tossed out of my own cabin on my ass again, am I?”

  “No, you won’t, and yes, I’m certain. I don’t want to make any rash decisions right now.”

  “As you wish love, though the offer stands.”

  “So do you intend to join me?”

  “Actually, I’m hatching a plot to get my wife out of that bath and into my bed.” He smiled and stroked his chin.

  “What does it involve?”

  “Well,” Nicholas began, and took his watch off, setting it on the counter by the sink. “I have a few thoughts ranging from outright seduction to something more Neanderthal.” Morgan watched, as her husband unbuttoned his shirt and laid it near his watch.

  “Have you considered just propositioning your wife?” she asked, when Nicholas knelt beside the tub.

  “That thought did cross my mind. However, I’ve decided on a more direct approach,” he whispered, while his hand slipped into the water. “I thought I’d entice her out of that bath.” His hand trailed down her stomach tracing patterns with his fingers, “A little teasing, tempting.” He smiled as he found the spot that brought a small gasp, followed by a soft sigh, from her lips. Chuckling deep in his throat, Nicholas didn’t let up for several minutes, enjoying the soft sounds she made, a prelude of things to come as it were. With that, he kissed Morgan’s forehead, a feather light touch, stood and strolled out of the bath. Nicholas had just stepped from the tile floor to the hardwood in the bedroom, when he heard a splash and the whisper of a towel being pulled from the rack.

  19 – PACIFIC AVENUE – OCTOBER 11, 2009

  THE NEXT EVENING, several hours after sunset, Nicholas walked a little over half a block behind Morgan, not bothering to hide the wide grin that spread across his features. The day they’d spent in bed almost made being tossed out on his ass worth it. His wife strolled down the crowded street, weaving just a little, as though she’d had a few too many. The red dress she wore clung to her body in all the right places, showing off the curves he loved to explore with hands, lips, eyes and anything else that came to mind. The black mane of silky hair fell in soft waves to near the center of her back. Nicholas let his eyes drift, scanning the crowd, searching the minds of nearby humans, looking for just the right one.

  Love, there’s a man about three doors down, business suit. Bump into him. Nicholas sent the thought to her, knowing that the bond they’d worked to create was strong enough to allow it. Her soft, seductive chuckle rolled through his mind before she changed direction. Morgan collided with the human, and a few seconds later he took the bait. As Nicholas watched, Morgan allowed herself to be led away from the relative safety of the bright lights on the main street, toward smaller darker residential neighborhoods. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Nicholas fell further behind. Christophe’s voice bounced around in his skull.

  “You have to let her go. You have to prove to yourself and Morgan that she can still take care of herself. She’s not a wilting flower or a china doll. That’s a fact that both of you seem to have forgotten, and I’d say it’s doing the most damage to your relationship.”

  “But everything has changed, Christophe,” Nicholas argued.

  “Perhaps, better to know now, when the two of you are relatively safe, no? You say she’s feeling trapped, let her loose. You know your wife could kick ass before this, now is the time to see if that is still the case.”

  Nicholas shook his head, banishing the memory. Up ahead, Morgan and the human slipped from the side street to a dark alley. Nicholas closed some of the distance, and waited, letting his senses roam, testing nearby minds, searching for danger.

  “The Assassin.” The stranger’s thought floated through Nicholas’s mind, not his own, and he scowled. He pushed his senses farther, seeking the source of the errant thought for several moments, before giving it up as a lost cause.

  “Why is nothing simple anymore?” he muttered under his breath, and stepped into the alley. Morgan and the human were at the end, hidden in shadow that human eyes couldn’t penetrate.

  “Goddess, you must
really think I’m an idiot,” Nicholas heard Morgan scoff, fought the laughter welling up, when his wife lifted the human about a foot off the ground, by his throat. The man clawed at her iron grip, and she watched him with the fascination of a young predator toying with its prey. When she glanced at Nicholas, he was equal parts frightened and reassured, to see the predatory gleam in her eyes.

  “Now, now, love,” Nicholas strolled toward them as though he had all the time in the world, “what did the fool do?”

  “He tried bribery,” she laughed.

  “They always do. Was it at least interesting?” Nicholas answered, sounding bored.

  “Not in the least. He thinks money will make up for what he’s done.” She paused and tilted her head to the right before drawling, “What he still wants to do.”

  “That would have to be an indecent amount of money,” Nicholas mused, while Morgan set the human back on the ground. The man’s face had gone from bright red to a mottled purple hue. Nicholas smiled, on some level he’d known not to worry, that Morgan would be fine. Seeing her in action went a lot further.

  “He’s all yours, my love,” Morgan took a step to one side, releasing her grip on the man. The human staggered, then tried to run. He took two steps before Nicholas caught and spun him into his chest.

  “Nothing personal,” Nicholas whispered, before he struck. Feeding from this human was a different experience than feeding from Morgan or Lilly. Those feedings were slow seductions, whereas this was fast, brutal and violent. He pulled the hot metallic liquid into his mouth. The blood coursed through his veins, suffusing him with strength, healing him. Nicholas lost himself in the frantic thunder of the human’s heart, as it fought to continue. The muscle raced at first, as though getting as much blood as possible to every part of the body was the only concern. As he drank, it changed to frantic fluttering, stuttering, as the remaining blood was diverted to vital organs. The heart lurched, shuddered and stopped, and Nicholas tore his mouth away from the man’s flesh. He gasped and dropped the body, trying to remain on his feet. It’s been centuries since I’ve fed to the point of death. The power is intoxicating.

  “We’re not going to be able to hide the cause of death in the usual way, my dear.”

  “He deserved it.” Nicholas kicked the corpse at his feet, feeling contempt for the man.

  “Well, the woman who married him deserves better,” Morgan breathed. She frowned at the corpse for a moment, before reaching under Nicholas’s jacket. He watched with growing fascination, as Morgan took his dagger and sliced a deep cut into the human’s neck, hiding the punctures his fangs made.

  “They’re going to notice the complete lack of blood, love.”

  “No, they won’t,” she replied without emotion and drew him away from the corpse, her hand warm against his flesh. Nicholas caught sight of her eyes and frowned. The irises were glowing like candle flames. Morgan paused, and turned back to where the dead man lay. She frowned as though considering a tricky problem for a few seconds, then smiled. Her eyes changed, flames dancing through them, as the corpse first blackened, and then caught fire.

  “Okay, time to leave,” Nicholas muttered, and pulled Morgan away from the alley. He let centuries of training and practice take over, as he pulled them deep into the crowded street. His arm snaked around Morgan’s torso, drawing her close. His heart raced, when she tucked in close to him. “Did you notice anything strange?”

  “Like we’re being watched?”

  “I’d hoped it was just my paranoia.”

  “Nope.”

  “I think we need to go back to the cabin. At the very least, it’s isolated, and we won’t have to worry about whether or not the humans see anything they shouldn’t.” Without waiting for an answer, Nicholas steered them to the car they’d parked more than an hour before.

  “You’re right. And I think you were right the other night, I should learn to fire a gun.”

  “You wouldn’t be a right proper twenty–first century vampire, if you didn’t, love. All the cool kids are doing it.” Nicholas chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Okay, promise me you’ll never talk like that again. It’s just too frightening.”

  “You have my word of honor.”

  “That’s more like the stuffed shirt I married.” Morgan laughed.

  “Stuffed shirt?” he bent to whisper in her ear, “Just you wait until we get home, I’ll make you take that back.”

  “I look forward to it, sir.” She chuckled, mischief twinkling in her eyes, as she slipped away from him. She sauntered ahead for about half a block, before Nicholas jogged a few steps catching up to her. Morgan let out a small yelp of surprise as his arm slid around her waist. Neither of them noticed the smaller man tucked into the shadow of a nearby building, or how a pair of silver eyes watched their progress.

  20 – THE CABIN – OCTOBER 13, 2009

  TWO NIGHTS LATER, Morgan was in the clearing, working through the physical and mental exercises. She thought of them as meditation. The sound of tires crunching on the dirt drive heralded Nicholas’s return. She fought to focus, with his mind buffeting against hers, to finish the series of moves she had begun, before turning to face him. He was watching her, leaning against the sedan.

  “Don’t stop on my account.” He chuckled, pushing away from the car, a slight smile curling his lips, lighting up his blue grey eyes.

  “I didn’t. I was just about finished anyway,” she answered, closing the distance between them.

  “Liar,” he whispered, feathering a light kiss over her lips. “How do you feel?” Nicholas chuckled, settling his hands on Morgan’s hips, pulling her to him.

  “I’m surprised you have to ask, my love,” she giggled. Now that he was back, she was able to place the strange empty feeling as a repercussion of sharing his blood. She could also feel his unease and subconscious fear that she was going to push him away again. “I am extremely happy Nicholas. If not for the fact that Julian and Elizabeth are in danger, I would be content to remain here with you for several months, perhaps even years.”

  “You surprise me.”

  “When are you going to realize that you’re stuck with me for another few centuries, at the very least?” Morgan laughed and feathered quick butterfly kisses along his strong jaw.

  “Ask me in about two hundred years. I may have figured it out by then.” He laughed. “Do you want to do some target practice?”

  “Yeah,” she answered, taking his hand in hers. “And then we need to talk about what we’re both trying to avoid.”

  “Whether or not to strengthen the blood bond further.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know. I could sense your presence while I was out, but it’s not something I would trust when I don’t know where to begin. For that reason alone, I would continue.”

  “And what speaks against it?”

  “You know,” Nicholas’s, voice was rough with emotion as he caught her wrists in his hands. Morgan gasped, as his grip tightened to the point where it danced the knife’s edge between pleasure and pain. “See? I fear that if we continue, I won’t be able to control the possessive side of my nature. I fear that I won’t maintain the ability to be reasonable, and see the logic in sending you into danger. More than anything, I fear giving into this desire to find Alexander, taking him apart piece by piece, killing him by inches, using all my abilities to keep him alive and alert, as long as possible. I want to torture him.” As he spoke, Nicholas’s eyes shifted, becoming distant and hard as steel.

  “Then we have to continue.”

  “Explain.” It was a command, one that made her pulse race. She knew Nicholas felt it fluttering under his fingers, by the wry smile that crossed his features without reaching his eyes.

  “What if it’s because the bond isn’t strong enough? Julian is ancient, even compared to you, and his Sire is the second oldest vampire walking the earth.” As she spoke, Nicholas turned them, so her back was pressed against the sedan. He released he
r wrists, and braced himself against the car, one hand on either side of Morgan’s body, leaning toward her until there was only an inch between them. Fighting the thrill of desire that skittered down her spine, she took a calming breath. Then pressed on, feeling a strange sense of certainty. “It could be that, Lucian has often commented on the strength of the bond Julian and I share.”

  “You think that because we’ve both laid claim, as it were, it’s bringing out my baser instincts?” he whispered, while his lips fluttered along her throat and collarbone.

  “Gods I hope so Nicholas, because I don’t know if I can take much more of you like this.” The words struck him like a blow, and her husband broke through. Morgan saw his muscles tense; she knew he was going to push away from the car, pull away from her. Unacceptable, she thought, and caught him around the waist, moving with him. Without thinking, she lunged at him, catching his exposed throat with her teeth. Nicholas froze under her, his eyes wide, filled with surprise. Good, he wants to fight, but is shackled by his reluctance to hurt me.

  Morgan’s fangs sank into his vein, while she slid her hands up to his shoulders, pinning him. She moaned, as his memories flooded her mind. It’s a strange thing, to see myself through his eyes. To Nicholas, I am something precious to be protected and cared for. That I can take care of myself, makes him proud, but also worries him. The fact that I was held prisoner for eight weeks without him even knowing is torture. He imagines Hellish torments he’s certain I’ve endured, and he blames himself for my pain. With that bit of knowledge tucked into her mind, Morgan thought she understood his possessiveness a little better, when she released his throat several minutes later. She kissed and licked the wound, letting the healing properties of her saliva do its work. She kissed her way up, over his strong jaw line, to his full lips. He sighed in pleasure, as she pressed her lips against his, teasing and coaxing a long luxurious kiss from him.