“She cut your—” I couldn’t say the words, but in my mind, I saw Malvina’s arm disappearing around his front and her hand reaching down. And Fabian had kept still, too still. I recoiled at the image forming in my mind.
“No, she didn’t. She wanted you to think that, but she cut through my lower abdominal muscles and slashed my groin deep. I will heal,” he said. “I didn’t let her do much damage—”
“Why did you let her at all?”
“Because she is older and stronger than me, and I had already surprised her once tonight. But she knew I would allow her to punish me to keep you safe, and I counted on that because her weakness is torture. She likes to impart pain so much, she lowers her defenses when she’s in the zone. I needed her to be as close to me as possible and unguarded at the same time, so I let her cut me.”
As I listened to his explanation, I regretted asking in the first place. I didn’t know how he could still be talking, let alone standing. “I’ll drive you to a hospital.”
“No hospital. I only need your blood and a place to hole up for a few days.” He made to move closer to me, and I anticipated his intention by stepping to his side and letting him lean on me.
“A few days?” How much damage had the woman inflicted on him?
“Besides being a day-walker like me, Malvina has the power to inflict mortal wounds, even to another vampire. That’s why I couldn’t heal her bite on you the night you were attacked—” His voice was getting slower and fainter.
“We’ll talk later,” I said, helping him maneuver the sand dunes.
Silently, we walked to the castle’s lateral entrance from the beach, and from there I led him to the parking area, where the stolen car was waiting for us, hidden by the tree. Fabian tried to convince me he could drive, but I wouldn’t have any of it and helped him onto the passenger seat.
“I know of a place,” I said while exiting the castle’s long driveway.
Fabian nodded, his eyes closing, even though he fought to remain awake. He slipped into a comatose state soon after. I was terrified that he wouldn’t make it. I didn’t know anything about vampire physiology, but I had to trust that he knew what was best for him. I drove the whole night, only stopping to refuel. He never woke, and when the first light of dawn cast its pink shadow over the sky, I was only a few kilometers away from my destination.
I hadn’t visited the place in ten years, but it seemed appropriate that I would seek haven at my Aunt Marella’s long forgotten estate in Lake Como. When I reached Villa Bramante, I had to exit the car and push through the weeds that had grown over the wrought iron fence and the large gate. Aunt Marella had refused to sell the ancient villa, but she pawned its furniture and antiques to keep us afloat in Rome. Without the money to keep the estate in the condition needed to rent the place for weddings or vacations, the property had soon become a ruin.
Now, I couldn’t help but send a silent thank to the heavens above for my aunt’s foresight. After pushing and pulling for several minutes, I dislodged the gate, freeing it from the weeds. The opening I created wasn’t large enough for the car to pass through, and adding destruction of property to grand theft auto, I drove it through, moving the gate out of the way by sheer brute force.
The rough-sounding noise of steel against iron didn’t wake Fabian from his deep sleep, but I didn’t let fear take over my brain as I followed the narrow path that wound down toward the lake. The villa lay on a ridge overlooking a private beach, and the stables were on the right, bordering the Italian gardens that had been Aunt Marella’s pride.
Fortunately, the stables’ wooden doors were easier to open than the entrance gate, and after parking the car inside the large indoor courtyard, I closed them behind us. Only then did I dare glance at Fabian, and my heart paused. A sickly gray tinge had taken the place of his earlier pallor. His closed eyes were sunken, and when I looked down, I saw that his blood had soaked the car seat. But I wouldn’t let worry override my thoughts, not yet.
“Drink,” I said, pressing my wrist against his mouth.
Fabian didn’t stir when I nudged his lips more insistently.
“Drink!” I cried.
He still didn’t react.
I wasn’t going to bite my wrist. I didn’t think I could do it, but I had to find something sharp enough to pierce my skin and draw blood. With a sudden inspiration, I reached in front of Fabian and pushed at the glove compartment’s button. People stored all sorts of thing in those drawers, right? With my heart lodged in my throat, I blindly searched inside the compartment, until a pointy object stabbed my fingers. With a trembling hand, I retrieved a small, compact Swiss knife. I looked at it for a moment; judging from the muddy-green logo, it was military issued, and it contained several blades. One of them looked sharp enough, and before I could overthink it, I slashed my wrist with the serrated edge.
Blood filled the cut right away, and pain followed soon after, but I ignored the physical ache and the mental discomfort and let my blood drip over his closed lips. When he still didn’t give any sign of regaining consciousness, I opened his mouth and fed him. I don’t know how much of my blood slid into his throat, but I was starting to feel queasy when Fabian finally opened his eyes.
Still dull and the wrong shade of green, but at least his eyes were slowly focusing back. When he saw me, his hand shot to my wrist, and he latched to my wound, sucking my blood with long gulps.
“Enough,” I whispered when black dots replaced the sight before my eyes. My head swam, and I slowly collapsed against the seat.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Fabian
I tore my mouth from her wrist and caught her as she fainted.
“Stella!” I immediately closed her jagged wound, cringing at the damage she had caused to her skin to save me.
I should have fed from her sooner, before I reached the point of no return, but once we got into the car, I didn’t have any strength left in me to ask her for sustenance. It had been careless of me because I left Stella unprotected for the rest of the night.
“How are you?” she asked a moment later, her eyes still closed, but her hand reaching toward me.
“I’m fine,” I automatically answered. “Thanks to you.” Malvina’s damage had been more extensive than what I told Stella. My sirra’s sharp talons slashed my lower abdomen shy of cutting me open, and only a thin layer of tissue had kept my intestines inside.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at me, her lips curving up in a sweet smile. “I’m glad to hear that.”
I couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss, but ended up trailing brushes all over her face, ending at her soft lips now drained of color. “I’m bad news for you—”
Stella didn’t let me voice my apology. “I don’t care.”
I didn’t argue with her, but looked at the large courtyard and asked, “Where are we?”
“My aunt’s house. It’s been empty for a while and isolated. Nobody will look for us here.”
I wasn’t sure that Malvina wouldn’t find us, but Stella needed to rest, and my body was still regenerating, so I lowered my seat all the way and pulled her closer to me until she lay by my side. Then I inhaled her scent and relaxed, listening to her breathing as she fell asleep.
A smile touched my lips. Dismemberment aside, I wished that from now on, every day would end with Stella curled by my side.
Kissing her forehead, I said out loud, “I vow to devote my life to you.”
I would kill Malvina for Stella. And damn the consequences, even if it meant becoming a renegade.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Stella
We spent the rest of the day sleeping inside the car.
At least, I slept, while Fabian cradled me in his arms as his body knitted itself. By night, when I finally woke, he was well on his way to a full recovery.
“It took you less to heal than you had anticipated,” I said, pleased to see that his skin wasn’t gray any longer beyond its usual paleness and that his eyes sparkle
d again.
He visibly cringed at my words. “That’s because I almost drained you.”
“You didn’t mean to hurt me, and you stopped in time.”
“It’s not an excuse.”
“I’m fine.” I took his hand and brought it to my lips. “But we need a change of clothes—” The fabric of my gown was stiff, itchy, and smelled of brine. His shirt and pants were also caked with blood that had dried in concentric halos. “And I must eat something or I’ll—”
Fabian’s hand shot to my mouth, silencing me. He turned his head slightly, his eyes darkening and his mouth flattening. He brought a finger to his lips to indicate I should keep silent, then lowered his other hand from my mouth.
My heart shattered when his expression changed, and he asked, “Did you pay cash when you refueled last night?”
I didn’t have any and in my haste to put as much distance as I could between us and the monster, I did the only thing I could think of and looked for cash in his wallet, but only found enough to pay for the first tank. “Only once, then I used your card.” I couldn’t help but tremble. “She’s here, isn’t she?” My empty stomach rolled, and nausea gripped me in a tight vice.
“That’s okay. It’s not your fault but mine,” he said, taking my hands in his and pressing them against his chest. “I’ll fix this once and for all.”
A moment later, I heard a car driving through the gravel path, getting closer. Instead of continuing toward the villa, the vehicle took the right lane and stopped outside the stables.
“She can hear your heartbeats,” Fabian said. “Stay inside.” He leaned for a quick kiss, then exited the car.
Fabian had just taken his position a few steps from the door when the wooden panels were kicked open from the outside.
Malvina, followed by two goons, burst into the courtyard. In her hand, she held the makeshift spear I used the night before to stab her.
“Where is your bitch?” Malvina asked, spittle coming out of her mouth. She had changed her clothes, but apparently hadn’t bothered to clean the grime coating her skin. Dried patches of blood covered her face, and her hair was matted. Her crazy eyes found me inside the car, and she yelled, “I’ll impale you with this.”
Fabian moved before Malvina could step closer to the car. He blocked her with his body, but the goons were at my door a moment later. As one of the two men yanked the door open, I grabbed the Swiss knife from the coin holder between the front seats, and I slashed at his arm when he reached inside. I only managed to enrage him. The man uttered a crude blasphemy and closed his hand around my wrist, then twisted, sending a stab of sharp pain up my arm and forcing me to release the knife. Next, he pulled me out of the car only to shove me to the ground with enough strength to make me hit my head against the edge of the passenger door.
From the other side of the courtyard, Fabian and Malvina fought, piercing shrills and snarls echoing throughout the large space. Blood spurted in long arcs as they moved at vampire speed from one spot to the next.
The other goon steadied the man before he could kick me. “She said to keep the bitch in one piece or she won’t be turning us,” he said, then leaned to clutch my elbow in his steely hold and pulled me on my feet. “Don’t try anything funny or I’ll follow my instruction to the letter.” He smiled, showing too many teeth in a small mouth, but no fangs. “I can always beat you to a pulp but keep you in one piece.” He pushed me against the side of the car.
Both men flanked me, their hands on my shoulders. Traveling during the day, Malvina had been forced to use mortals, and that was a detail that gave me hope. At least, this time Fabian would only have to deal with his sirra, not an army of undead.
Meanwhile, the fight between the two vampires had slowed enough for me to be able to see what was happening. They were still fast, but although their actions were blurred it was clear that Malvina had gained the upper hand. I stopped breathing. Malvina’s fist smashed Fabian’s face, then his chest, pinning him against one of the empty horse stalls.
There they remained still for a moment, facing each other, panting. They were both covered in blood, but Fabian was favoring his right side, and the stain at the bottom of his shirt seemed fresh. Malvina raised her fist one more time and struck Fabian between his eyes with such force, he recoiled back, then collapsed, the light in his beautiful eyes dimming. A moment later, his legs gave away under him, but she didn’t let him fall. Malvina closed one hand around his throat while reaching inside her pants’ rear pocket.
I couldn’t see the object she was holding, but when Malvina raised her arm, a pointy, shiny object caught the dying sunrays. A knitting needle? A silver knitting needle? Malvina shoved the needle-like object into Fabian’s forehead, and his arms fell limp by the side. When she removed her hand from his throat, his head dangled as if his neck couldn’t support its weight. Fabian’s eyes darted right and left, and his mouth froze in a silent scream.
Horrified, I feared Malvina had fatally wounded him. My heart dropped when she dragged him behind her as if he were a sack of potatoes. She walked toward us, and on the way, snagged the wooden spear from where she had dropped it on the ground. With an air of triumph, she stopped before me and let Fabian fall behind her. My breathing halted when his limp body collapsed to the ground and lay unmoving. I was too distraught to react.
“Don’t worry, your lover boy is merely paralyzed.” Malvina said, blood staining her teeth. “We’ll give Romeo a moment to gather his senses. We don’t want him to miss the main show of the night.” Then Malvina pointed her chin at me, and her men stepped aside, leaving me plastered against the car.
Behind Malvina, Fabian’s arm moved.
“Let him live,” I said.
Malvina laughed. “Of course he’ll live. After I’ve finished carving you up, granting him death would be an act of mercy. No, he’ll witness your torture, and he’ll live to remember every second of your agony for the rest of his eternal life.”
Fabian’s hand fisted, but Malvina turned, and he immediately opened his fingers, relaxing them to the ground again. With a jerk of her arm, she dragged him in front of her and moved his head so that he would be facing me, the needle sticking out from his forehead.
Malvina crouched on her haunches, and looked at him, a deranged smile blossoming on her face. “I’ll start with her nose, but don’t worry, I’ll carve her eyes out at the end.” She turned toward me to give me a hard stare that lingered on my chest before she chuckled and said, “Or maybe, I could cut her nice, firm tits first.”
The light in Fabian’s eyes flared, and his hand moved again, but it stilled when Malvina tilted her head toward him.
A fleeting frown changed her amused expression, but she shrugged and stood. Waving the wooden spear in front of her, she walked the three steps dividing us and placed the jarred end of the stick against my chest. “I’ll cut you piece by piece with this.” She applied some pressure, and the wooden edge pierced my skin.
I didn’t cry.
Malvina didn’t like it. “Playing brave. I see—” She pushed the spear, and the wood splinters cut deeper into my chest. “I’ll have you begging me to end your miserable life in no time.”
I expected her to drive the spear all the way to the flared bottom into my chest, but she raised the stick instead and admired the rivulet of blood gushing from the wound. Then she angled the spear and pressed the flat edge against my bodice, lowering the fabric until the swell of my breast was exposed. Malvina’s mouth curved in a cruel sneer as her hand rose to shove the spear into my breast—
I screamed.
At the same time, Fabian’s hand shot up and yanked the needle away from his forehand. He surged up behind Malvina and took her head in his hands. Before the goons could rush to Malvina’s help and I could make sense of the scene taking place in front of me, Malvina lay on the ground, her neck broken and her face turned all the way to her back.
One of the two men ran by my side, his hand reaching for my waist, but I kicked h
im in the groin. The man collapsed on his knees, and Fabian shoved him against the faraway wall. Then Fabian dispatched the second attacker with the same efficiency. Only when he was sure I wasn’t in immediate danger did he walk back to Malvina who was trying to turn her head. I blinked, and Malvina’s severed head was on the floor, the black in her eyes fading until they were a dull gray.
Without a second look to his dead sirra, Fabian was at my side, his eyes on the wound on my chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry it took me so long—” Then his mouth was on my wound, his lips moving over the broken skin, his tongue cleaning the blood, gently healing me. A few heartbeats later, I didn’t feel any pain. He took me in his arms then, cradling me close, whispering my name.
“It’s done,” he finally said. “Malvina won’t hurt you again.” He wouldn’t look at the bleeding corpse on the ground, but lowered his head to my chest, still hugging me. “I’m sorry you had to go through hell because of me.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered, placing a finger under his chin. “I’m fine, really,” I repeated when his beautiful green eyes locked with mine.
“Stella…” He took my mouth in a searing kiss, and the rest of the universe disappeared.
Only the scuffling noise of retreating steps put a stop to our intimate moment.
Sighing, Fabian leaned his forehead against mine, then said, “I’ll be right back.” With an apologetic smile, he let go of me and went to take care of the two men.
Epilogue
A beautiful dawn colored the sky in pink and orange. Fabian emerged from the lake, cold water cascading over his sculpted body.
“Come,” Fabian said, his beckoning finger inviting me to join him. The smile he regaled me with was new. Not his movie star grin, but something more beautiful because it was only mine.
After he had sent the two mortals on their way, we hiked down to the lake. Eager to put the past behind, we discarded our ruined clothes on the shore of the villa’s private beach, and we made love. It was slow and sweet, then fast and hard, then slow and sweet again. Fabian worshipped every inch of my body, and I shivered in his arms, crying tears of joy before I fell asleep in his arms, exhausted.
Desired: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance Page 13