by Grosso, Kym
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EPILOGUE
About the Author
LUCA’S
MAGIC EMBRACE
By
Kym Grosso
Copyright © 2012 Kym Grosso
All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER
The characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
For the love of my life, Keith.
You inspire me to write romance that speaks to true love,
and of course, sexy love scenes that steam up the pages.
No one could ask for a more supportive husband.
I am so lucky to be your wife and partner.
Acknowledgments
I am very thankful to those who helped me create this book:
~My husband, for encouraging me to write, editing my articles and supporting me in everything I do. Also for listening to me read the love scenes out loud to him, which he thinks are the best parts of the book. Ooh la la. Keith definitely provides me with ideas on how to make them even better.
~ Tyler and Madison, for being so patient with me, while I spend time working on the book. You are the best kids ever!
~Mom & Dad, for giving me a loving family and guiding me along my way. Dad is my biggest supporter and I am so grateful. My brother Kevyn, who is the very best sibling a sister, could have.
~Julie Roberts, editor, who spent hours reading, editing and proofreading Luca’s Magic Embrace. I really could not have done this without you!
~My beta readers, Sandra and Diantha, for volunteering to read novel and provide me with valuable and honest feedback.
~Carrie Spencer, CheekyCovers, who helped me to create a sexy novel cover and my new website.
CHAPTER ONE
Naked. Bound. Luca strained his wrists and ankles upward, seeking a release from the silver cuffs and chains that burned his flesh deeper with every movement. The sound of sizzling skin echoed in the room with the slightest movement. Luca lay imprisoned flat on a stone altar, his battered body racked with pain. His arms were spread to each side, the chains on his wrists wound around the hard pedestal legs. His feet were tightly bound together, effectively immobilizing him.
Where the fuck am I? Scanning his surroundings, Luca realized he was in an abandoned building, a Catholic church. He could see the Stations of the Cross painted on the faded, chipped walls. Streams of light shone through a broken, stained glass window. The church smelled of mold, urine and blood. His blood. Used surgical syringes littered the floor. A rubber band was loosely tied to his arm. Because there were no marks on his arm, he reasoned he must have healed himself. Shit. Someone had been syphoning his blood.
The last thing he remembered, he had been escorting the witches to their coven. An attack, a blinding silver spray flashed in his mind. Luca couldn’t remember how long he’d been unconscious. Weak, so weak. It took everything he had to wriggle his arms. The silver burned and drained his energy as uncontrollable thirst enveloped his thoughts.
He screamed into the desolate cathedral, hoping someone would hear him. “Help me!” No answer. His eyes burned with fury, knowing it was unlikely help would come. How long had he been shackled without blood? Would his captors return to torture him? In his diminished state, he was surprised that they hadn’t staked him. Why was he still alive and not dead? Crying out in agony, he was again met with silence. It was useless.
Lying on the altar in his stink and dried blood, he felt like an animal. Glancing around the dilapidated structure, he could not assess a feasible means of escape. He closed his eyes and concentrated, praying he could establish a connection with his maker, Kade. Kade would not rest knowing something had happened to him, his best friend and confidant. Luca prayed to the goddess that he could link with him soon. Feeling his life slip away like air leaking from a balloon, there wasn’t much time left. If he wasn’t rescued soon, he’d die.
Kade’s eyes flashed open, sensing Luca’s consciousness. He’s alive.
Sydney stirred in Kade’s arms and placed a kiss on his bare chest. She felt him tense beneath her; something was amiss. “Kade, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Luca. He’s alive. I can sense him. I need to concentrate and see if we can make contact.”
“Oh my God, Kade. Where is he?” she asked excitedly. Luca had been missing for over a week. Attempts to find him had been fruitless.
“Shhhh, love. Just give me a minute to focus on him. Lay still.” Kade closed his eyes, letting his mind wander. Settling his thoughts on Luca, he mentally reached out across New Orleans. Since Luca had disappeared, Kade had been unable to establish contact with his progeny.
While in Philadelphia with Sydney, Ilsbeth, a local ally and powerful witch, had contacted him with the news that they’d been attacked while returning to the coven. Both Ilsbeth and newly transformed witch Samantha, had made it safely home; Luca, however, had been taken. Kade, the leader of New Orleans vampires, and his fiancée, Sydney, a police detective, had searched the area of the attack for days on end and had turned up no clues to his abduction. Immediately after the fight ensued, the coven had been set to lock down, so none of the witches could describe Luca’s abductors or provide assistance in finding him. Kade had tried numerous times to reach out to Luca psychically. Throughout time, they’d always shared a connection. But since the attack, only a silent hum remained of Luca’s existence. Kade could not sense Luca’s death, but neither could he sense Luca’s location. It was as if he’d dropped off the face of the Earth.
Kade surmised that the lack of communication meant one of two things: either Luca was incapacitated to the point of death, perhaps silvered, or he had purposefully left the area, refusing to contact Kade. Luca had been a loyal friend since Kade had turned him at the start of the nineteenth century, so Kade knew for a fact that Luca would not take off without notice. Because of this, the former conclusion concerned him greatly. If Luca was hurt, it would be nearly impossible to find him.
As Kade meditated on Luca, a flicker of vibration resonated back to him, alerting him again to Luca’s presence. It felt as if Luca was far from the Garden District but still within the city limits. Luca, can you hear me? Where are you?
Drifting into unconsciousness, Luca perceived the sensation that Kade was there with him. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or dying, but he moved his lips, trying to speak into the darkness. No matter how he strained to talk, no more words could be spoken aloud; he was too weak. His thoughts raced. Please let this be real. Help me. An abandoned church. Mold. I can’t…I can’t last much longer.
Kade swore, “Goddammit. I felt him, but he’s lost to me again. He must be unconscious or badly hurt. I heard something…something about an abandoned church. And mold. But shit, that could be just about anywhere down here. The only thing is that I can feel he’s within the city limits; not in our district, but he’s not far.” He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Shit. I should’ve sent someone else with him to escort the witches so soon after that clusterfuck with Simone and Asgear. This could be related to them, or maybe someone’s trying to
get to me,” he speculated.
Sydney scrambled out of bed, pulling on a pair of faded jeans and a t-shirt. “Don’t blame yourself. This is not your fault. We don’t know that this is related to Asgear or Simone. We’ll get him back,” she said determinedly. “Where could the church be? There were hundreds of abandoned buildings after Katrina. But there has been lots of cleanup. Where could there still be a church? Lower ninth ward?”
“No, he feels closer. We need to get the car and go for a drive.” Kade quickly got dressed, pulling on a pair of black denim pants and a black polo shirt. He pushed his feet into his leather boots and began to pace, anxiously wanting to resume the search. “This isn’t good, Sydney. If he hasn’t fed, he could be dangerous. I’m just warning you in case we find him. He’ll need human blood immediately. You’ll have to do what I say, no questions, okay? It feels like he’s almost gone…not yet dead to us, though.”
Sydney wanted to comfort Kade. A lot of shit had gone down over the past few weeks; she was determined to help find Luca. Kade felt helpless not being able to locate Luca and blamed himself for not anticipating the attack. She wasn’t sure how to make him feel better except by comforting him in the one way she knew how. Wrapping her arms around Kade’s neck, she kissed him lightly, letting him know she was there for him. “Kade, I will do whatever you need me to do. I promise we’ll find Luca. I love you.”
“But Sydney…”He wasn’t convinced. In the nearly two hundred years since he’d turned Luca, they’d never gone without speaking for so long. Kade felt Luca dying; they needed to work fast.
“But nothing. I mean it. I would do anything for you. No exceptions. You felt Luca. Maybe it was just a slight sense, but he’s here somewhere. Now, let’s go get him.”
Kade zipped through the streets of the Garden District, driving feverishly towards the French Quarter. “It’s getting stronger. He’s not far away.”
“Is he in the French Quarter?” Sydney asked.
“No, a little farther. Maybe Foubourg Marigny?” Kade guessed.
“Hmmm…along the water? Well, that would explain the odor Luca described,” she replied.
“Sydney, we don’t know who took him or if there will be danger where we’re headed. Please. For the love of God, let me go in first. We can’t take any chances.” He knew Sydney had a tendency to act first and think later.
“Really? Are we doing this again? I have my guns with me. And do I need to remind you that you are the one who’s weakened during the day, not me? How about this…we go in together, I stay behind you.” She smiled coyly at Kade, knowing he could not refuse her during the daytime. She swore to him that she’d do what he said but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own.
“All right. But no heroics and as promised, you do as I ask. We go in, get Luca, put him in the back of the SUV and get the hell out of there. Luca will most likely need emergency attention. Étienne, Dominique and Xavier are procuring donors to feed him when we return.”
Sydney cringed at the term ‘donors’. She knew there were plenty of humans out there who would willingly donate their blood in exchange for the pleasurable bite of a vampire. Given that most humans climaxed during the experience, she couldn’t understand how someone would let a strange vamp bite them, regardless of the high it guaranteed. She sighed. “I promise I’ll behave myself. Let me know if you sense any vampires or witches, though. I hate surprises.”
Kade reached across the seat and ran the back of his hand across Sydney’s cheek. He loved her so much. She was brave and beautiful. And she’d agreed to be his wife.
Sydney felt chills run throughout her body straight to her womb. God, how she loved that man. She didn’t want to worry him, and after the mess with Asgear and Simone, she’d learned her lesson. Vampires were seriously dangerous creatures, and she worried about how Luca would react to the smell of a human after being injured. Luca was formidable on a good day, let alone when he was hurt.
As they approached the riverfront neighborhood, Kade slowed the car. “There!” he shouted, pointing over to a church.
Sydney noticed the heavy broken padlocks lying on the concrete sidewalk. “Looks like someone has been goin’ to church. The locks have been broken,” she observed.
The enormous stone building must have been beautiful in its heyday. Three large arches adorned the front of the building, giving way to large, wooden double doors. Ornately carved gargoyles perched along the top of the structure guarded its entrance, providing a gothic warning to evil ne’er-do-wells. Remnants of stained glass mosaic windows accentuated the church in broken shades of indigo and evergreen.
Kade parked the car but left it running. “Sydney, you stay behind me. Remember what I told you. It’s possible that Luca hasn’t eaten in days. If he’s injured, he won’t be himself.”
“What do you mean? Luca’s always just so pleasant and friendly with us humans. Warm and fuzzy comes to mind,” Sydney joked sarcastically, knowing that Luca wasn’t crazy about humans. She made a face.
Kade frowned. “It’s more than not winning the mister congeniality contest. I expect that he’ll want to see you, but not because he necessarily wants to have a chat. It’s more than possible that the man hasn’t eaten since he was taken. You’re food. Need I explain more?” He shook his head, knowing his friend would not be in good shape. “You can follow me in and assist me if…and this is a big if, I need help. Otherwise, just stay back. I will get Luca. Please Sydney. I need you to obey me on this.”
Sydney nodded. She’d been in more than a few scuffles with vampires lately and did not want to become Luca’s dinner. She was as tough as they came, but she knew with certainty that Luca would not be the cool and collected vampire she knew. People were warned never to touch injured wild animals, because they might attack due to fear or pain, and you could get injured in the process of trying to help. A starved and injured Luca could be like a large and dangerous lion. And a lion tamer she was not. As much as she wanted to help, she needed to be cautious. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that business. She decided to follow Kade’s directions to the letter.
Kade exited the car. The warm summer breeze blew against his face; his nostrils flared, concentrating on finding Luca inside the church. “I can smell him. Something’s wrong.”
Sydney placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Kade, he’ll be okay. Luca is tough. Come on…let’s go. I promise to stay back.” She reached for her Sig Sauger and clicked the safety off.
With a great shove against the decrepit, weather-worn doors, Kade stumbled into the open vestibule. Rank, moldy air choked their lungs and dust danced throughout light beams, pulsating through the cracked stained glass windows. Sensing no one but Luca, Kade cautiously proceeded into the antechamber. Glancing back at Sydney, he held up his hand to her, reminding her to stay behind. She nodded in agreement as Kade entered the church.
With preternatural velocity, Kade rushed to the stone altar and hissed at the sight of Luca chained to the slab. “Sydney, come quickly. He’s silvered. I need you now.”
Sydney sprinted up the aisle, aghast at seeing Luca’s handsome face now crusted over with dried blood. His once muscular body looked emaciated, with burns oozing from the silver chains. “Oh my God. What did they do to him? Luca…we’re here. We’ve got you.” She reached over and began unraveling the heavy chains from his limbs. Sydney expected Luca to wince but he remained unnervingly still, unresponsive to the pain. The chains clanged onto the floor, dispersing the dirty needles and dried leaves that had blown in through the broken windows. “Kade. Look at all the needles. What the hell? Why would they do this?”
Kade showed no emotion while circling the altar, scanning the mess around them. He waited patiently for Sydney to remove all the silver. “Fucking assholes. They probably took blood from Luca to be sold on the black market.” Anger surged as he kicked the needles aside, silently vowing revenge on the perpetrators.
Since the vampires had become known to the
public, both pharmaceutical companies and entrepreneurs had been looking to capitalize on the immortality of vampires. Try as they might, no progress had been made towards perpetual life without incurring that nasty little side effect of becoming a vampire. While plenty of vampires were willing to sell their blood for profit, it didn’t stop the gangs from kidnapping and draining vamps to sell their blood on the black market at a discounted price.
Kade lovingly swept his hand across his old friend’s face, trying to clear the dried blood off of him. “Luca,” he whispered. “You are safe now. We’ve got you.”
Luca and Kade had been friends for over two centuries, meeting during the early eighteen hundreds. While Luca had been born in Britain, he had been raised in Australia. He’d come over to America during the War of 1812. When he’d been badly injured and lay dying on the battlefield, Kade had turned him. He was indebted to Kade; they were partners, best friends.
Kade was infuriated; whoever had done this would pay dearly. “Sydney, you drive. I’m going to lie in the back of the SUV and feed him. Don’t get near us. When he wakes, he could be dangerous.” Kade frowned. “Look at what they did to him. He’s starved.”
“Will he be okay?” Sydney didn’t know that much about vampire medicine except that they had healing properties in their blood. Said properties were most effective on humans and werewolves but held minimum benefit for other vampires. She knew he needed a mortal donor.
“Yes, he’ll heal, but we’ve got to get him human blood. Call Dominique and tell her to bring the donors into the house and get them ready now. She knows what to do.” Kade gingerly slid his hand underneath Luca’s head and knees, bringing him close to his body. Swiftly, he lifted him and carried him out of the church.