“Fine.” She placed her hand in his. “But I don’t feel like talking. I would like to be alone for a while.”
“We can do that.” He pulled her to her feet. “I’ll leave you there while I go home to get more blood.”
After teleporting her home, he retrieved his ice chest and duffel bag from the wooden chest. “Before I go, I should warn you that I let the other women know I’m a vampire.”
She paused in the middle of removing her wet tunic, turning toward him with a shocked face. “How did they react? What did they say?”
He shrugged. “The queen wants me dead, but she always wanted me dead, so not much of a change there. I told them how the good Vamps want to help you defeat Lord Liao and Master Han. Since Han has an army of nine hundred supersoldiers, you’re going to need our help.”
Neona nodded, her face pale. “I understand.”
“I’ll be back in an hour or so. Try to get some rest. You’ve been through a lot.”
She sighed. “I have a feeling there’s a lot more to come. And nothing will ever be the same.”
He stepped toward her. “Some things will remain constant. I will always love you.”
Her eyes glittered with tears. “You’re a good man, Zoltan.”
He smiled. “Even though I’m dead half the time?”
She smiled back. “I’m adjusting to that.”
“Good.”
“I’ll see you later then.” She finished removing her wet tunic.
He swallowed hard. Her silk camisole was soaked through and plastered to her breasts, clearly showing her nipples, which were pebbled, the tips hardened. “An hour is too long. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
“No need to hurry.” She stretched the tunic out on the table in front of the fire.
“We still have nine climaxes to go.” He grabbed the ice chest and duffel bag. “And I’m the type of guy who doesn’t quit till a job is done.” He grinned at the bemused look on her face.
She scoffed. “Are you smirking again?”
“Never.” His gaze drifted down her body. “I’m too busy ogling.” He winked at her, then teleported away.
When Zoltan arrived in the kitchen of his castle, he found Elsa slipping two frozen pizzas into the oven.
“Oh, there you are.” Her smile quickly turned to a frown. “You’re soaked through.”
“It’s raining in the Himalayas.” He set his ice chest on the counter.
“Howard’s with the others upstairs. They’ve collected a bunch of supplies in the Great Hall. But—” Elsa lowered her voice. “Howard is upset with you.”
“What else is new?” Zoltan dumped the water from the ice chest into the sink. “What did I do now?”
“You left without taking a sat phone with you.” Elsa leaned against the counter, eying him curiously. “I told him you probably had other things on your mind. You mentioned something about a wedding night?”
“Did I?” He removed six new bottles of synthetic blood from the refrigerator and loaded them into the ice chest.
“Domokos said he had to pay for some wedding rings you bought in town.”
“Domokos talks too much.” Zoltan started filling the ice chest with ice.
“Oh, come on.” Elsa gave him an exasperated look. “We’re all wondering if you really got married.”
“Did he?” Emma asked as she entered the kitchen.
“Emma, can you come to Beyul-La tomorrow night?” Zoltan asked. “I just told the women that we want to help.”
“I’ll be ready. Be sure to take a sat phone with you so you can call. Howard’s been a bit peeved—”
“More than a bit,” Howard grumbled as he entered the kitchen. “You’d better take one tonight.”
“Yes, I know.” Zoltan finished filling the ice chest and shut it.
“So is it true?” Emma asked. “Did you get married?”
“We’re preparing for battle, and that’s what you want to know?” Zoltan asked. When they stared back without a word, he sighed. “Not yet. Neona needs some time to adjust to me being a vampire.”
Elsa nodded. “I remember how frightened I was when I first found out about Howard being a were-bear.”
“Maybe we should introduce her to some of the other wives,” Emma suggested.
A thought struck Zoltan so suddenly that he stepped back and bumped into the refrigerator. His married vampire friends were all dreading having to turn their wives someday. But they wouldn’t have to if the warrior women of Beyul-La allowed the wives to drink some of the Living Water.
He quickly squelched the thought. The queen already thought he was using them for some nefarious purpose, when the truth was the good Vamps simply wanted to put an end to Master Han’s evil empire. And Zoltan wanted to make sure Neona and her friends would be able to continue their way of life, though hopefully they would make an exception and accept him and any children he and Neona might have.
“Are you all right?” Elsa gave him a curious look.
“Yes, of course.” Zoltan tossed his empty bottles into the recycle bin, keeping one in his duffel bag so he could use it to collect some of the Living Water.
“You mentioned a cabin in a neighboring valley that we could use as headquarters?” Howard asked.
“Yes, Frederic’s cabin.” Zoltan put a bottle of blood into the microwave so he could enjoy a warm meal for a change. “No electricity or running water there.”
Howard nodded. “I figured as much. I have a solar-powered generator we can take. It’ll be quiet. We don’t want to advertise our location.”
“Tonight we’re moving the supplies to Tiger Town,” Emma said. “J.L., Mikhail, and Jack just left. Angus is teleporting westward tonight, so he can stop at the clinic in Japan and pick up a bunch of the tranquilizer darts. He wants to save as many of Master Han’s soldiers as we can.”
“The other guys, like Robby and Ian, are teleporting westward with Angus,” Howard added. “And they’re bringing the shifters with them. Everyone will gather at Tiger Town and wait for you to give the okay for us to move to Frederic’s cabin.”
“Sounds good.” Zoltan removed his bottle from the microwave and poured the warm blood into a glass. “I’m going upstairs for a few minutes. Be right back.” He grabbed his duffel bag and glass of blood and teleported to his bedroom.
He sipped warm blood as he shaved and packed more clothes. After a quick shower, he dressed and called Milan in Budapest.
“I’ve been trying to contact you, sir!” Milan responded with an excited voice. “The scientists—”
“How is the land deal going?” Zoltan interrupted.
“Oh, it’s fine. Rajiv has the papers. He said he’d use Vamp delivery service to get them to you. But, sir, the scientists at the university are astounded! They think you’ve discovered a new species! They’ve been calling me nonstop, wanting to know where you found the scale.”
“The scale?”
“Yes! The black thing you gave me,” Milan explained. “The scientists have never seen anything like it before. They said it was a cross between a turtle shell and a reptile scale. Where did you find it?”
Zoltan remained quiet, trying to make sense of this. Turtle shell? Reptile? What the hell?
“But it’s much bigger than the normal lizard scale,” Milan continued. “The scientists want to announce it to the world, but they need more information. Where did you find it? Have you seen the creature?”
“Creature?”
“Yes! Judging from the size of the scale, it has to be really large. Like an enormous iguana. I don’t know how you could miss it.”
“I haven’t seen anything.” The image of the cave flitted through Zoltan’s mind. Was there something strange living inside? Damn, but the last thing he needed was a bunch of scientists demanding access to Beyul-La. “I think the animal is dead. Long dead. Probably extinct.”
“Oh.” Milan sounded disappointed.
“I found the scale buried in the ground,” Zolta
n lied. “Like a fossil. There was nothing else around it. I didn’t write down the exact location. It was somewhere in China.”
“Oh, I see,” Milan mumbled. “I’ll let them know.”
Zoltan hung up and dragged a hand through his damp hair. What the hell was going on at Beyul-La? He needed to go back and investigate.
He teleported with his duffel bag back to the kitchen.
“There you are.” Howard and his wife were eating pizza at the kitchen table. He motioned to the counter. “I brought you down a sat phone. So you wouldn’t forget.”
“Thanks.” Zoltan slipped it inside his jacket pocket. “What’s this?” He opened a folder to look at the papers inside.
“J.L. brought that back from Tiger Town,” Howard explained. “Rajiv said you wanted it.”
“Excellent.” It was the land deed for the valley of Beyul-La and surrounding territory. Zoltan stashed it inside his duffel bag.
“We have a visitor!” Emma called out as she entered the kitchen with a man behind her.
Howard sat back, his eyes narrowing. “Hello, Russell.”
“He has news for us,” Emma announced. “And I talked him into taking a sat phone with him.”
“Amazing,” Howard grumbled.
“What’s the news?” Zoltan asked as he handed Russell a Bleer.
“I tracked down Lord Liao.” Russell unscrewed the top off the bottle. “He went back to one of Master Han’s major outposts in the Yunnan province. Apparently he convinced Han that there was something in Tibet worth fighting for, because he’s headed back that way.”
“We think we figured out what they’re after,” Zoltan said. “The women of Beyul-La have a fountain of youth. Living Water, they call it. Some of them are thousands of years old.”
“Sheesh.” Russell gulped down some Bleer. “Lord Liao is headed in their direction with a new group of soldiers. Two hundred of them.”
Zoltan winced. Even with all the Vamps and shifters they could gather, they would be terribly outnumbered.
“Can you follow them?” Emma asked Russell. “Call as often as you can to give us an update of their location.”
Russell nodded. “I will.” He gave Zoltan a worried look. “They’re moving fast. They’ll be near Beyul-La in three or four days.”
Zoltan gathered up his ice chest and duffel bag. “I’d better get back.”
Chapter Nineteen
Neona paced back and forth in her house, too agitated to sleep. It had been a huge shock to find out that Zoltan had inherited a gift from his mother. What if Minerva’s son had inherited her gift?
“I’m so sorry.” Neona touched her sister’s pillow. “I shouldn’t have let Mother take away your son. I should have rebelled then.” Instead of waiting till now. Now, when Minerva was gone.
Tears burned Neona’s eyes, and she angrily wiped them away. Why had it taken so long for her to see the truth? Was it because of Zoltan? She shook her head. No, she’d already suspected her mother of lying. And she’d hated the way Minerva had been forced to give up her son. The seed of rebellion had already taken root inside her. Zoltan’s arrival had just caused it to burst into full bloom. Each time she tried to explain their way of life to him, she caught a glimpse of it through his eyes, and things she’d accepted before seemed suddenly strange. Wrong.
She paced toward the fireplace. How was Minerva’s son faring? Was he happy? Or did he feel abandoned? Unloved? God help her, she didn’t even know what name he’d been given. She needed to find him, but he was thirty miles away at a Buddhist monastery.
Could Zoltan teleport her there? And if he did, would she have the courage to bring the boy back here to his rightful home? No doubt the queen would be livid. It was a severe breach of their laws to allow a human male to live in Beyul-La. The queen was only tolerating Zoltan until he impregnated her.
But who had come up with these laws? Had it been part of the original pact, like the queen said, or was it a decision she’d made afterward? Had she excluded men simply because she hated them? Or did she fear that someday a gifted male child would grow up and challenge her position as ruler?
There was no way to know. The pact had been made with the three original women—Nima, Dohna, and Anjali. Only Nima remained.
Neona paced faster as her anger grew, not just anger at her mother but anger at herself as well. For centuries, she’d considered herself a brave warrior, always fighting to protect the secrets of Beyul-La. But the truth was she’d been a coward.
It seemed pathetic that just a few days ago, she had panicked out of fear of having and losing a son. Now she was filled with a new, hardened determination. There was no way on earth she would allow a child of hers, boy or girl, to be given away. If she decided to have children with Zoltan, nothing would stop her!
Except his dead seed. Her pacing stopped with a jerk. Could she heal his dead seed? She looked at her hands. If she touched his male parts enough, could she heal him?
She inhaled sharply as a new idea sprang to mind. Could the Living Water bring his seed back to life? It was against their law to give the water to a human male, but to hell with that. She was already considering bringing Minerva’s son here to live. If she could break that law, why not break them all? Why not marry Zoltan and have all the sons and daughters she wanted?
She peeked outside. It was still raining, but with the mood she was in, a little rain was not about to stop her. A small army wouldn’t stop her. She put her damp tunic back on, then dashed to the storeroom where they kept all their dishes, pottery, linens, food, firewood, and medical supplies. She’d spent enough time in the small building over the years to know her way around in the dark. She searched the shelf where empty bowls and jugs were kept and selected a small clay flask with a cork in the top.
The wind and rain buffeted her as she ran toward the cave. Her leather slippers splashed through puddles till they were soaked through. As she neared the entrance, she slowed down, easing around the boulders silently, listening for any voices.
It was quiet. She peeked inside. The throne room was well lit with torches, and it was empty, except for Zhan, who rested close to the entrance. He sat up and tilted his head, giving her a curious and concerned look that touched her heart.
“Good kitty,” she whispered, patting him on the head. “Don’t tell anyone I was here, okay?”
He butted her leg.
The other women had to be in the back cavern with the young ones. No doubt the storm had frightened the young ones, and with good reason. They had lost many an ancestor to the lightning and strong winds that accompanied a storm.
Neona kicked off her leather slippers so she wouldn’t leave a muddy trail straight to the pool. Her tunic was dripping, so she took it off, too, and left it by the entrance. Then she ran past the area where they held their meetings and past the throne, until she reached the dark, glistening pool. Hunching down beside the water, she uncorked the small flask and filled it. Then she corked it and scurried back to the entrance.
One glance back, and she groaned. She’d still left a few small puddles. Zhan trotted up to the biggest one and flopped down in it, rubbing his back against the stone till his fur had soaked up most of the water.
She smiled as she slipped her tunic and slippers back on. Her pet ran back to her and butted her leg.
“You’re the best kitty in the world.” She gave him a hug, then slipped back outside into the rain.
She ran home, then hid the flask in the wooden chest at the foot of her bed. During the day, when Zoltan was in his death-sleep, she would slip some of the Living Water into his bottles of blood.
After putting another log on the fire, she peeled off her wet clothes, then toweled herself dry. Just as she was leaning over her open wooden chest to retrieve some clean clothes, she heard a voice behind her.
“Now that’s a beautiful sight. Hold that position.”
She spun around, her clean clothes clutched to her chest. “You’re back.”
Zolt
an smiled as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his belongings on top of his chest. “I was afraid you’d be asleep.” His gaze drifted over her while he removed his jacket.
The intense way he looked at her made her stomach quiver. “I was getting ready for bed.”
“Good.” He pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it on his bed. “We have some unfinished business.” He stepped toward her, his eyes darkening. “Nine more climaxes. Nine more positions.”
Her eyes widened. “Surely you don’t expect to do all that in one night?”
He unfastened his pants. “I’ve always prided myself on never quitting a task till it’s done.”
“I see.” Her heart thudded loudly in her ears. “Well, I would certainly hate to damage your pride.”
His mouth curled up. “How thoughtful of you. One might get the idea that you care about me.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest. “Can we truly belong to each other, Zoltan? A vampire and a—?”
“An old crone?” His smile widened.
With a snort she tossed her clean clothes back into her wooden chest. “Do I look like an old crone to you?”
His smile faded as his gaze traveled down her body. By the time his eyes met hers once again, they were red and glowing.
Moisture gathered between her legs. Her skin tingled, just knowing she had such an immediate effect on him. He dropped his pants to the floor and kicked them aside. The bulge in his underwear was blatant. Maybe she should start trying to heal him tonight.
She reached for the waistband of his underwear, but he spun her around to face her wooden chest. He dropped the lid, then bent her over it, planting her hands on top.
“What are you doing?” She glanced over her shoulder. He was leaning over her, his chest against her back and his erection pressed against her rump.
“This is position number two,” he whispered in her ear as he nudged her legs apart with a bare foot.
Her knees trembled, and more moisture seeped from her core. Whatever he was doing, she wanted it.
His hands trailed up her arms, then swept her hair over a shoulder so her back was bare. “Beautiful.” He kissed the back of her neck, then nibbled a trail down her spine. His hands cupped her breasts, his fingers gently teasing her nipples.
How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) Page 20