“Mira,” he said in a husky voice edged with warning.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I whispered, unzipping his pants. “I’ve got another place staked out.”
Slipping my fingers inside the waistband of his pants and boxers, I slowly pulled them down, climbing down the bed as I went. I paused long enough to strip off his shoes and socks before letting my eyes travel back up his body. Nicolai now lay stretched out before me, all golden skin and hard muscle. Little blond hairs curled along his legs, and I ran my hands up his calves as I settled between his thighs. I kissed his right inner thigh, drawing an infinity sign with the tip of my tongue.
“Mira.” My name escaped him in a breathless whisper, holding an almost pleading tone. He knew what I was looking for; the large vein that ran along his inner thigh, pulsing with life. As my fangs pierced his skin, I wrapped my fingers around his hard length, stroking him as he arched against my hand, keeping him rock hard as I took a quick drink.
Closing the wound after a couple of seconds, I moved higher. I kissed the inside of his hip, running my tongue over the soft tender flesh there. I was drunk on the power I had over him. For once, it wasn’t about physical strength or the power I had gained as a nightwalker. It was solely about being female and Nicolai wanting me as a female the same way I wanted every inch of him, because he was a very handsome male.
He allowed me to run my tongue along his engorged penis before entwining his fingers in my hair and hauling me back up to his mouth. Clamping his mouth on mine, he rolled me onto my back so he could more easily kiss me while pulling off my pants. I had no clear memory of it, just his tongue thrusting into my mouth as he fumbled with the button. In the next second, I simply wasn’t wearing pants any longer. There was only his hot soft skin rubbing against mine, his hard body nudging against the entrance to mine.
“Mira?”
I blinked and forced myself to look into his eyes, which were now more copper than brown. His voice was thick and husky, but I didn’t miss the question there. He was holding himself perfectly still, waiting for me. I wasn’t sure if he was giving me one last chance to back out or if he needed to know if I was ready. It didn’t matter. I was well beyond such thoughts.
“Please. Now,” were the only words I could manage, and they escaped me as a shaken, desperate plea. It was enough.
Nicolai thrust into me, tearing a cry from my throat. He was larger than I expected, and my body hadn’t been as ready as I thought, drowning me in equal parts pleasure and pain. It didn’t matter. By his next thrust I was arching my hips to meet him, taking every inch of him I could get. We were beyond soft touches and gentle caresses. Now it was rough and fast, with strong, hard hands pushing and pulling us closer to that oblivion of pleasure that lay beyond the horizon.
My mind was overloaded with sensations. His heartbeat was pounding in my brain, mixing with the sound of his heavy breathing and a so-soft grunt as he thrust into me. I breathed him in, drawing his unique scent along with the smell of his sweat and sex into my lungs to hold him there as well. I leaned up and ran my tongue along his neck and up to his ear, needing the taste of him imprinted on me.
Nicolai reached down and cupped my bottom with both of his large hands, changing the angle slightly, grinding his body deep into mine. Pleasure finally edged ahead of pain in their battle for my body. One last scream was torn from my lips as my body imploded with the force of the orgasm that tightened every muscle. For a moment there was only blinding starlight and an intense pleasure that filled all of my pores. Dear God, never let this end…
It was minutes later when my brain started to function enough that I realized Nicolai was lying on top of me, his body still shivering inside me with the aftershocks of his orgasm. A silly grin lifted my lips as I briefly wondered if it was possible to destroy brain cells with a really good orgasm. Probably not, but I certainly didn’t feel all that intelligent as my brain struggled to pull together a string of coherent thoughts.
Slowly, he began to stir, burrowing his face in my neck. He nipped at my earlobe, earning a chuckle from me before he finally lifted his head. His large eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown, with only a faint hint of copper. Staring at the shadows clinging to his smiling face, I realized neither one of us had bothered to flip on a light. Of course, we both had the night vision of cats, so why bother?
“Feeling better?” he inquired, a cute smugness filling his tone.
“Much.” I smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” he replied, kissing me back. “We make a good pair.”
“You mean when you’re not trying to kill me,” I teased.
The easygoing smile slipped from his full lips. “I didn’t have a choice,” he firmly said before rolling off me. Then he lay on his back in silence, roughly running his hands over his face a couple times, as if it could help clear his thoughts. He finally dropped his hands back to his sides, staring up at the ceiling. “Besides, I’m apparently not the first murderous stalker you’ve tamed.”
“Don’t misunderstand my truce with Danaus,” I said, turning onto my side. Leaning on one elbow, I brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “If he gets the chance, he means to kill me when this is all over. That hasn’t changed.”
“Despite the fact that you’ve protected him?”
“It’s a special relationship we have.” I flashed him a wide smile, letting my fangs poke out from beneath my upper lips before I rolled off the bed.
“Like this?”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up as I snatched the black silk robe that lay draped over one of the chairs in the bedroom. “No, we’ve just called a truce until we can find an appropriate time to kill each other.” I pulled the robe on as I strolled over to the window and jerked open the heavy curtains. The window faced San Marco Piazza and the Grand Canal. The large campo was aglow with lights, while stars winked in and out overhead. The waves in the Lagoon had grown during the past several minutes and were beginning to whitecap as a storm blew in.
“Speaking of special relationships,” I slowly began, not bothering to look over at my companion. “What hold does Jabari have over you?” I waited for his answer, but there was only silence. With a frown, I turned away from the window and walked to the end of the bed with my arms folded over my chest. Nicolai lay as still as death, his golden body gilded with starlight that leaked through the window.
“Before the Coven, I took you into my keeping. I claimed you from an Elder,” I said, stressing each word. “I have promised to protect you from any and all who would harm you, including the Coven. I don’t know if lycans have an equivalent of such a vow, but it is not something to be taken lightly among nightwalkers. When Jabari comes to claim your head and I sacrifice myself to stop him, I would like to know exactly why he is ripping my heart out.”
When Nicolai finally spoke, his voice was low and void of emotion, but his words nearly brought me to my knees. “Members of my pack were aiding the naturi.”
“No,” I gasped, my voice going hoarse. My mind stumbled forward, struggling to understand the concept. Why would anyone assist the naturi? They were horrid creatures whose only goal was to destroy anything that was not of their kind. “Willingly? Were they willingly helping the naturi?” I asked, grasping at my last few desperate straws to understand what he was saying. Maybe they had been forced, mind-control wiping away all choice.
“Yes.”
I was moving without a thought. One second I was standing at the foot of the bed, and the next I was kneeling beside him, my hands reaching for his throat, my fangs bared. Nicolai caught my wrists at the last second and was struggling to hold me back. “Were you? Were you helping the naturi?” I snarled.
“No!” he shouted. “I would never help the naturi. I know what they’ve done. I know what they’re capable of.”
“Then why did Jabari want you?” I demanded, jerking my wrists from his grasp.
Nicolai pushed up so
he was leaning back on his forearms and elbows. “There were three naturi sympathizers in my pack. Somehow Jabari found out and threatened to tell the other packs. Everyone in my pack would have been killed, no questions asked. Instead he killed two of the sympathizers immediately and wanted to keep the third as a pet. I bargained with Jabari to take me instead of her.”
I sat back on my heels, hating his words, despising the fact that I sympathized with him. Of course, if I had been in Jabari’s place, I have no doubt that I would have destroyed the whole pack without a second thought, and not feel an ounce of remorse about the deed. In this war, it was us against the naturi. There was no room for sympathy or betrayal. But betrayal seemed to surround me when it came to the naturi. Trust was a withering corpse in the sun. Vampires and lycans were siding with the naturi. Witches and lycans were with the Daylight Coalition. And I stood alone with a bori half-breed at my back.
“Girlfriend?” I asked after a long moment of silence, pondering the “her” he had mentioned.
“She was my sister,” he softly replied.
With a growl, I climbed off the bed and strode back over to the window, my arms once again folded tightly under my breasts, as if to protect myself against the very idea. There was no questioning the “was” in his statement. We both knew his former pack would have killed his sister the second Jabari departed with him. She had betrayed not only her own kind, but also the pact made by all the other creatures to fight against the naturi. When given the choice between what could be a long, painful existence in servitude to a nightwalker and a quick death, Nicolai stepped in to give her the more merciful option. Would I be so forgiving of someone I loved?
I roughly ran my right hand through my hair, pushing it away from my eyes, trying not to think about the answer that came so quickly to mind. Despite my so-called noble actions in regard to Tristan, I didn’t like myself much when it came to my dealings with the naturi. The blood flowed too easily and the joy too sweet.
What was also eating away at me was the idea that Jabari had discovered this betrayal within the United States. It wasn’t my domain, but it felt too close. The Elders never came to the New World, and there only a handful of Ancients in the region. The idea that Jabari had come and gone without my knowledge had left me feeling…violated. Maybe the others were right. Maybe I had begun to see all of the New World as mine. Or at the very least, safe from direct interference of the Coven.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. We both knew her betrayal had left her with no other fate, but that knowledge did little to ease the pain of loss. “I have to get you to my domain,” I said when the silence began to grow between us again. Turning away from the window, I walked over to the nightstand by the bed and picked up my cell phone. Nicolai covered my hand with his before I could pick up the phone, dragging my eyes to his face.
“You’ll still protect me?” he asked, confusion furrowing his brow.
“I promised to protect you. I keep my word,” I said solemnly with a nod of my head. “But I can’t do that here. I have to get you and Tristan to my domain back in the United States. As repayment for this protection, you must guard Tristan during the daylight hours as you travel to my home. You must promise to guard him with your life.”
“I swear I will. No harm will come to him.” Nicolai squeezed my hand as he made his vow. I tried to smile at him, reassure him, but I couldn’t. I believed him. He would die before he allowed anyone to lay a hand on Tristan, and that was reassuring. Yet when I looked at him, my mind now wondered if he had known what his sister was doing. Did he try to hide her actions? Protect her the same way he protected her from Jabari?
“Get some sleep. I have to make some arrangement. You’ll be flying out in the morning.” Picking up my cell phone, I wordlessly walked out of the bedroom into the main living area and shut the door behind me.
It was four hours until sunrise and I needed every minute of it to make my plans. I spent nearly an hour on the phone arguing with Barrett, the Alpha of the werewolf pack in Savannah. He was less than pleased with the idea of me bringing an unknown lycan into his territory; not that I could blame him. Naturally, I couldn’t tell him the real reason as to how Nicolai came to be in my care. It didn’t help matters that the Savannah pack was very peculiar since most of those in it were actually related by blood or marriage, and outsiders were very rarely permitted to move into the region. I think Barrett finally caved in to my request only because I promised him that it would not be a long-term arrangement.
Other than the brief, heated argument, it felt good to talk to him. Since leaving Savannah a week ago, the naturi had disappeared completely from my domain. There were no more attacks, no more deaths. Prior to my traveling to Egypt with Danaus, the naturi had attacked a human nightclub and a private nightwalker club, resulting in several deaths—some at the hands of werewolves being controlled by the naturi. Tension was still running high, but the area was otherwise quiet.
With Barrett reassured, somewhat, it was then on to my human assistant Charlotte, who would make the arrangements for the private flight from Venice to Savannah. She had received enough bizarre phone calls like this one to know not to ask too many questions. After talking to her, I contacted my bodyguard Gabriel, still recuperating in England following our last battle with the naturi. A lump grew in my throat at the sweet sound of his familiar voice. Closing my eyes, I could see his crooked smirk. Gabriel had protected me for years, knew my secrets. He would also grab a flight tonight and be waiting in Savannah when Tristan and Nicolai arrived. My angel would see to it that Tristan was properly taken care of when he arrived in my domain.
I wanted to call Knox. While relatively young, he had proven capable and intelligent enough to manage the region when I was out of town. I wanted to hear his voice, the touch of dry humor that laced his every comment. I needed to know from him that all the nightwalkers I had left behind in my domain were still safe. But Tristan and Danaus returned as I ended my call with Gabriel and sank into the soft cushions of the sofa, forcing me to put aside my phone.
The nightwalker had been considerate enough to go hunting while I occupied myself with Nicolai. Neither said anything about how I had spent my evening because Tristan got it into his head to argue with me for the next hour over whether he would travel with me to the site of the next sacrifice and battle the naturi.
In the end I won and he agreed to travel to my domain. He had suffered enough, and I wasn’t willing to lose him to the naturi. I prayed it was the start of a series of smart choices on my part.
NINETEEN
If I had been human, I would have tossed and turned, twisting the smooth cotton sheets. I would have stared up at the ceiling as the minutes crawled by, imagining the hundreds of threats and dangers Tristan could potentially face while he lay helpless during the daylight hours. I would have laid there hating Danaus and Nicolai, fearing they would betray my desperate trust. Hell, if I was human, I would have accompanied Tristan’s lifeless form down to the airport and personally secured him on the private jet.
But I wasn’t human, and at times I wondered if I had ever been human, considering my horrid past. I was a nightwalker. When the sun finally tore at the horizon and the night gave its last shuddering breath, consciousness left me no matter how badly I wished to remain awake. There were no thoughts of Tristan, no bits of safeguard I could offer him. There was only the desolate blackness and an emptiness from which I could not pull away. In those last seconds, I hated the dawn and my weakness, not for the first time since being reborn.
Yet, my daylight hours weren’t completely filled with undisturbed nothingness. In my final hour before waking, images of Tristan filled my brain, flashing in my mind like a demonic slide show. This was not like the nightmares I suffered in Egypt and England. Those grim plays had been a mix of my own memories and growing fears.
These garish images were from Macaire’s memories of the night when Tristan was tortured by the court. But there was no order to the images, no lin
ear progression. The Elder’s memories flickered in my brain like a reel of film that had been badly spliced together. One moment Tristan was hunched over covered in blood, his back raw and his limbs trembling in pain. Yet, in the next moment, he was standing unharmed, surrounded by his kind as he anticipated his fate.
The only thing about the nightmare that was linear was Tristan’s thoughts. They whispered through my head like a ghostly soundtrack, going from disbelief that his beloved maker would abandon him to his fate, to broken pleading for her to save him. Save him from the pain. Save him from the blackness that was swallowing up his hope. In the end his fragile, fractured mind clung to a single, unwavering word: Mira. He knew I would come and end the pain.
When I was finally released from the hellish nightmare and awoke, my body began trembling and I choked back a sob. Rolling onto my side in the bed, I curled into the fetal position as I waited for the shaking to pass. My thoughts were sluggish, as if a thick, tarlike film covered them, a disgusting residue left behind by Macaire’s mental touch.
When I could finally unclench my fingers, which were twisted in the sheets, I mentally reached out for Tristan, but came up with only dead air. Instantly lurching into a sitting position on the bed, legs bent before me and eyes tightly closed, I concentrated again. All of my energy poured into the single act of touching his thoughts, being able to feel his presence. I needed to know he was safe.
When the sun had risen that morning, Tristan was laying beside me. Danaus and Nicolai had agreed to get him safely aboard the chartered jet. Either one of them had ample opportunity to stake him while he slept.
No. Shaking my head at the thought, I knew Danaus wouldn’t kill a nightwalker when he or she slept. The hunter might hate my kind, but his sense of honor ran deeper than that. If he wanted Tristan dead, he’d take care of the matter while the nightwalker was awake and able to defend himself.
Nicolai, I didn’t trust. He could have been lying. Maybe he was a naturi sympathizer and I’d left Tristan at his mercy. Damn it! I was an idiot.
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