“I still can’t believe Aiden meditates,” Abby said.
“He said it helps him keep his mind clear. I told him I thought his mind was pretty empty already.”
Abby snorted with laughter and draped her legs over the arm of the chair so she faced her sister. Vicky had filled out again over the week, and the hideous bite marks on her were gone. A steady supply of blood had replenished the weight she’d lost, and rest had diminished the circles under her eyes. Though she looked better physically, Abby would still catch her staring into space with tears in her eyes every once in a while. She knew it would be a while before Vicky completely recovered, if ever, but Vicky was stronger than most gave her credit for.
“How are you doing?” she inquired.
“Better today.” Vicky unwaveringly met and held her gaze. “Really, I am. Eager to get out there and get after Duke. I can’t wait to stomp that douchebag into the ground.” Red flamed around Vicky’s eyes as she said this.
“Soon,” Abby assured her.
“Yeah, I know, but I don’t get the point of all this training. I only want to kill one vampire not become the military vamp Aiden has. I have to admit, I am liking the new definition of these guns though,” she said as she held up her arms and flexed her biceps.
Abby laughed when Vicky kissed the small bulge the movement created. “Wonder Woman, look out.”
Vicky grinned at her and dropped her arm. “Damn right.”
Vicky’s eyes drifted to the fresh bite on Abby’s neck. She jerked her gaze away and toward her wrists, but not before Abby saw the apprehension in her eyes. Sadness swelled within her for her sister. She didn’t know if Vicky and Duke had exchanged blood or not, but she knew a vampire bite now represented pain to her sister.
Abby’s gaze fell to Vicky’s wrists when she rubbed them together. The skin around Vicky’s wrists was still darker in color from the cuffs that had once encircled them. The rest of her injuries had faded, but those shadows stubbornly remained.
“Vicky—”
“How are things going between you two?” Vicky interrupted her.
Abby sighed and swung her legs back and forth. Vicky didn’t want to talk about what she’d endured, and Abby knew better than to push her. Her sister opened up when she was ready, often in small bits and pieces, but it was better than nothing. “They’re good.”
Vicky smiled at her and propped her head in her hands. “You’ve yet to dish on how things are in the bedroom.”
Abby chuckled. “And I’m not going to.”
“Oh, come on.” Vicky bolted upright on the couch. “I had to share an egg, a womb, and a room with you all those years. I deserve some of the good stuff now that you’re finally getting laid.”
“Vicky.”
“Abby,” she replied in the same exasperated tone Abby had used on her. “There are so few options for me here, and I’m not sure I’m hard up enough to jump into bed with one of these military types. However, that Lucien is yummy.” Abby couldn’t argue with that. “Let me live vicariously through you while I’m enduring the celibacy enforced on me by being here.”
“It’s really…” Abby had to pause to think of a word to describe how it was with Brian. Mind-blowing, unexplainable, better than I ever imagined. She found those things froze on her tongue and what came out was, “Nice.”
“Boring!” Vicky cried with a roll of her eyes. “Give me the juicy tidbits.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s that it’s Brian. I can’t stand anyone else thinking of him in such a way. He’s mine.”
“You’re such a goner, but fair enough and understandable. Answer me this at least, how many times have your eyes rolled back in your head?”
“Too many to count.”
Vicky laughed and threw herself back onto the couch. “I’m happy for you, Abs. I really am.”
Abby rose to her feet and walked over to sit beside her sister on the couch. She didn’t tell her Ronan had called for Brian or that there had been no declarations of love between them, or that even through the bond connecting them, she hadn’t felt his love for her. Vicky may be trying to act like her old self, but she wasn’t there yet. She may never be there again. She had enough to contend with without Abby adding to it, and Vicky would worry about her; it was inevitable.
Abby had also come to realize there were things Brian kept locked away from her. Before it had all been so new with him that she hadn’t detected the block, but she now felt it every time they were together. Then again, she’d been keeping parts of herself locked carefully away too, especially her growing feelings for him. It was difficult to keep it from him when she was in his arms, but she couldn’t let him take that last piece of her, not yet anyway.
Draping her arms around her sister, she hugged her close. Vicky’s hands encircled her arms as she leaned into Abby’s embrace. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Vicky said.
“Fortunately, you’ll never have to know.”
Brian froze when he stepped into the doorway of the TV room, and his heart swelled as he watched the sisters holding each other close. The bond between he and Abby was intense, unshakeable, but this one was nearly as deep. Their love and need for each other radiated from them. He’d wanted to kill Vicky for what she’d put Abby through; now he would do anything to keep Vicky safe and Abby happy.
Sensing his presence, Abby lifted her head from her sister’s shoulder and smiled at him. He smiled back at her. We’ll talk later, he told her through their bond and slipped away before Abby could stop him.
It must not be too bad then, Abby decided as she turned her attention back to Vicky. Reluctantly, she allowed her sister to start braiding her hair.
CHAPTER 28
“What are you doing?” Abby inquired when she stepped into their bedroom an hour later. He turned in the act of tossing his shirt into a duffle bag. His eyebrows shot up when he spotted the braids Vicky had elaborately interwoven through her hair.
“Like the look,” he said and placed a shirt in the bag.
Panic slid through her as she glanced between him and the bag. “Where are you going?”
Brian winced at the distress radiating from her. Leaving her here was tearing him apart inside as it was, but knowing how badly it would affect her only made it worse. Pulling the zipper closed, he set the bag on the floor before turning to face her. “I have to meet with Ronan. He thinks he’s discovered who the vampire imprisoning purebloods is.”
Abby tried to control the frantic beat of her heart as she watched him. “Who is it?” she inquired.
“Drake Wilston. He’s a pureblood who gave into his thirst for blood and death long ago. He fled the country years ago, but there are rumors he’s back.”
“He’s a pureblood?” Her stomach twisted sickly at the possibility of one of their own torturing her sister in such a way.
“Yes. Apparently, human and turned vamp blood is no longer satisfying him. It’s only a matter of time before he decides to start killing the purebloods too. He’ll go through them fast once he does.”
“My family.”
“Is safe. I’ve already called Stefan. They’re prepared, and no one knows where they are. They’ll be fine.”
“I should go home. They may need the extra protection I can offer.”
“Not until I get back,” he replied. “You’re safe here.”
“Brian—”
“No!” he barked, his eyes blazing red. “On this I will not budge. You are safest here, and I have to know that while I’m gone.” Her eyes narrowed as her hands fisted. She was preparing for a battle when he spoke again. “Vicky isn’t ready to leave here and face your family yet either. She knows they can smell the difference in her and realize she’s killed a human. Are you willing to leave her behind?”
“That was low,” she grated through her teeth, “and I can come back for her when this is settled. As you said, I will be safe here and so will she.”
“I swear to God, Abby, i
f you try to leave this place, I will chain you to the bed. You will do as I say on this.”
She could feel his apprehension and exasperation beating against her, but everything in her rebelled against being ordered about in such a way. “I won’t be the obedient little woman you’d prefer!”
A muscle jumped in his cheek when he spoke. “I wouldn’t prefer that at all, but you have to listen to me when it is best for you, for us. Worrying about you could get me killed.”
That knocked some of her anger away as her original panic for him rushed back to the forefront. “That was even lower,” she murmured.
He stalked across the room toward her, his large muscles flexing with his strides. She was torn between kicking him in the nuts again and throwing herself into his arms. “How long will you be gone?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
He didn’t give her a chance to say anything more before he took hold of her cheeks and bent his head to take firm possession of her mouth. Need and desperation clamored hotly through her body as his tongue thrust demandingly against hers. She was helpless to resist him. She didn’t know when she’d see him again. He’d be going out there to try and find the monster who was responsible for hurting her sister, and he would be leaving her behind.
She broke away, panting for air. “Let me come with you.”
The red in his eyes flared as he looked at her. “No. There is much of what I am that I would prefer to keep you from, and this is part of it.”
“I’ve seen you kill, seen what you can do. Don’t leave me behind to worry.”
He bent his head to kiss her again, his tongue delving into her mouth in deliberate thrusts that had her scrambling to remember what she’d been saying. Her knees knocked together to the point she feared her legs were going to give out. Her fingers curled into the flesh of his arms, drawing blood. The scent of it on the air only fanned her fevered need for him.
He’d been sliding his hands down to take her shirt off. Now, he grabbed hold of the front of it and tore it open. Abby gasped as the material fell away to allow cooler air to flow over her heated skin.
His hands ran over her hungrily, squeezing and kneading her breasts as he ran his thumb and forefinger over her puckered nipple. Hate this bra. The words blazed from his head and into hers, seconds before he ripped it from her body and flung it away.
Abby arched her back and nearly screamed when his fangs sank into her breast and his tongue slid over her hardened nipple. She bucked against him, tearing at the clothing keeping him from being exposed to her. His shirt fell away in tatters, but she barely noticed it as his arms locked around her and he lifted her up.
Carrying her to the bed, he released her breast to settle her on the mattress. He slid her yoga pants down her legs and threw them aside. The ravenous look in his eyes as he sat back to survey her caused her body to rise invitingly toward his. He rose and tossed away his own pants so swiftly that she barely saw him move.
He knelt between her legs again; his tongue licked over his lips as he hungrily stared at her already wet sex. His erection throbbed, but he knew if he thrust into her now, it would be over soon, and he didn’t want that. Regain control. Slow it down.
She lifted her hips again, but he still managed to keep himself restrained from seizing hold of them and driving himself into her. Grabbing hold of her hand, he brought it to his chest before bringing her fingers to his mouth and drawing them in one by one. Her eyes darkened as she watched him, her breath coming in faster inhalations as her pulse quickened.
He brought her hand down. Instead of wrapping it around his aching member, he rested it against her wetness. Her eyes widened, and she went to pull her hand away, but he kept it there as he slid her finger into her.
“Let me watch you, Abby,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her lips. “Let me see what thoughts of me drove you to do all those many years when I wasn’t there to satisfy you.” Just like he wouldn’t be there for her soon, but he’d be back. He’d always come back for her.
Abby remained unmoving beneath him, hesitant to do this in front of him, but then he pushed her finger into her again and groaned above her. She was helpless against him. She’d yet to deny him anything he asked for in bed and she wouldn’t deny him this.
Leaning back again, he kept his palm against her and his eyes latched onto their hands. This time, she didn’t need him to guide her but slid her finger into her herself. His cock jumped, and an enticing bead of liquid formed on the head of it as he released her hand. He never tore his eyes away from her hand as he reclaimed possession of her breasts with his large palms.
Abby’s legs fell further open as coiling tension built within her. Bending low, he closed his mouth over her other nipple and bit down. Abby screamed as his fangs pierced her flesh and her body fractured apart. She was panting when he grabbed hold of her waist and lifted her up.
She didn’t have time to gather her scattered thoughts or stop her legs from shaking before he spread his knees on the bed and thrust her onto him. Tremors from her first orgasm still wracked her when the full feeling of him inside of her caused another one to rock through her.
“I’m going to fuck you for hours,” he murmured against her ear. “You’ll scream my name so loud the entire house will hear it.”
She had no doubt about that, but sadness filled her when she realized he would not be taking her with him.
***
Abby knew he was gone the minute she awoke. The emptiness of the bed and the absence of his mind brushing against hers caused her to curl into a ball. She shoved her knuckles into her mouth to stifle her sobs. She hadn’t realized how much his mind had been intertwining with hers since the bond had been completed between them, until now. He’d become a constant, welcoming, comforting presence to her.
She could still feel him at the edges of her mind, but not as strongly as she had these past couple of weeks. Maybe distance had somehow dimmed the connection between them, or maybe he was shutting her further out. She suspected it was the latter, and he was trying to keep her protected from what he was doing.
She lay for an hour before finally forcing herself from the bed and into the shower. Lying around crying wasn’t going to help any. Climbing from the shower, she dressed before returning to their room. Her eyes fell on the letter propped against the lamp on the bedside table. She’d been too out of it with misery to notice it earlier.
She practically flew across the room to pull it off the stand. Her hands trembled as she unfolded it. Don’t worry about me, dove. I’ll be back in no time and you can yell at me then for not saying a proper good-bye.
She hastily wiped away her tears when someone knocked on her door. She knew it was Vicky before her sister opened the door and poked her head in. “Oh, Abby,” she said when she spotted the tears in Abby’s eyes.
“I’m fine,” she hurriedly assured her. “Really.”
“No, you’re not.” Vicky shut the door and walked into the room. She plopped onto the bed beside Abby and threw her arm around her shoulders.
“I am,” Abby insisted, unwilling to unleash her burdens on her sister.
“Stop saying that. I’m not going to break, come on, lean on me too, like you always used to.”
“You’ve been through so much—”
“And so have you. I know what you went through to find me, know how difficult it can be when a mate is discovered. Being chained to a wall might actually be preferable to the experience.”
Abby snorted then sniffled and wiped at her nose. “It might be.”
“Seriously, Abs, treating me like I’m going to break is getting old. I’m not going to fall apart, I promise. I’m going to be stronger than I ever was, and I’ll have better taste in men.
Abby couldn’t help but laugh. “No, you won’t.”
“No, I won’t,” Vicky admitted. “But I may go all ‘hit it and quit it’ with them, so they have no shot of discovering I’m a purebred, or maybe I’ll stick with humans. They’r
e malleable and easier to beat up.”
“Solid plan.”
“It is. Now lay it on me. What has the awful ass done?”
Leaning against her side, Abby told Vicky everything she’d been holding back for the past six years. From the first time she’d seen Brian, to all the clunky attempts at other men in her life, to his dead wife and children, even sharing the fact that he didn’t want children now and was taking care to make sure it didn’t happen.
Once the dam broke, it unleashed a torrent that was unwilling to be stemmed. Brian may not like her talking about these things with someone else, but Vicky was her sister, and she so badly needed someone to talk to. When she was done, Vicky frowned as she stared at the far wall and swung her legs back and forth.
“I think we’re both better off being single,” Vicky finally said.
Abby chuckled and swung her legs in rhythm with her sister. “Maybe.”
“He cares about you, Abby. It’s so clear in the way he watches you. Half the time he looks completely awed by you; the other half makes even me blush.”
Abby laughed and leaned against her. “I love him.”
“No shit,” Vicky replied. “Have you told him that?”
“No, it’s the first time I’ve actually admitted it to myself.”
“You were always the romantic in the family. Always dreaming of finding your mate and thinking it was so great when Isabelle found Stefan, even when it looked like it might destroy her.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“But daydreams and fantasies aren’t real. You have to work at real life, and you can’t expect him to be the first one to say he loves you or to realize it. He’s already lost one family; I’m sure the idea of losing another one terrifies him enough that he’s going to keep his heart protected as much as he can. He’s also been alone for a long time, and with you, he’s getting one big-ass family. That can’t be easy to accept.”
Undone (Vampire Awakenings, Book 5) Page 26