“I am getting in next to you, my love,” Tahlia whispered
“Good. I need just a few minutes to catch my breath before I want you to take me again.”
Tahlia felt a pleasant thrill snake down her spine. She lifted the sheet and getting into bed, moved closer to Jemima. She felt so rejuvenated. It must be Jemima’s sweet blood blending with my ancient blood. Content, she lay there, tenderly caressing her dozing lover’s back.
Chapter Seventeen
The night was quiet—too quiet. She looked up and sniffed the air sharply. The moon had a slight red ring around it—‘an evil moon.’ Tahlia gently licked the twin prick wounds on the neck of the man she’d been feeding on to close them. She helped him to sit down before erasing the last few seconds from his mind. She scanned the area to make sure she was alone in the alley. Then, with two quick steps, she launched herself into the air. From the sky, she saw what she was looking for: a group of leather-clad youths gathered on the roof of a skyscraper. After cloaking her presence, she landed a few meters from them.
A tall, dark-haired renegade vampire stood in the middle of the group; his handsome features were set in hard cruel lines. From the way he carried himself, he obviously was the leader. He stood tall and looked at the others with an air of authoritative arrogance.
“We will all meet at the tomb on the next rising. Don’t be late, because we will use our…” His voice trailed off. Alarmed, he quickly looked around. “Something’s not right. Let’s get the hell out of here and meet at the tomb tomorrow.” He was still looking around when he walked past Tahlia. She was disgusted at the inexperience of the young vampires. With unaccustomed sadness, she watched them dissolve. Drake simply was using them as decoys and their destruction meant nothing to him. She was tempted to strike out and kill them all. But, after centuries of many battles, she’d learned to practice patience and study the moves of her enemies.
After they left, she took to the air again. She was going home to Jemima. Tahlia had left her sleeping after having made love to her for hours, and she wanted to see her one last time before she had to go to ground. She landed in the dark alley behind the luxury hotel, made sure she was alone, and dissolved into mist.
She took on human form when she was standing in front of the rumpled bed looking down at Jemima’s beautiful sleeping face. Tahlia bent down and placed a soft kiss on the warm forehead. When she pulled back, the blue eyes were looking up at her.
“I was looking for you earlier. Did you go out?”
The blue eyes sleepily trailed down Tahlia’s fully clothed figure. “You look incredibly sexy, baby. Don’t you want to lie down with me for a few minutes before dawn breaks?”
Tahlia smiled. She was glad she didn’t censor the memories she’d sent to Jemima on her first night here. The clever minx had absorbed everything. Remembering that Tahlia’s desire fueled her hunger and knowing when she had to go to ground.
“I will stay with you for a while, but no more lovemaking. Your body must be very sore by now.” She stretched out next to Jemima and smiled tenderly before she found herself being spooned by the younger woman. This is so different from the other times. Tahlia always had been the one to take care of her lovers, the roles never reversed, because she saw it as her duty to protect them. She was stronger, and it just made sense that she took on the protector role.
With Jemima, however, it was a different story. The girl wanted to take care of her. It seemed to Tahlia that Jemima didn’t care that she was over two thousand years old and one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet. She grinned when she thought of their earlier lovemaking. Jemima had reversed their roles. Afterwards, Tahlia was completely exhausted as she lay next to the blonde struggling to catch her breath—another first. She smiled when she felt the small hand tenderly stroking her back.
“May I ask you something, Tahlia?”
Jemima’s sleepy voice sounded muffled against her back.
“Yes.” Tahlia restrained herself from reading Jemima’s mind.
“Why haven’t you asked the previous ones if they wanted to convert and become like you?
Tahlia lay there in stunned silence. She had expected the question for a few centuries but never took the time to come up with an answer. To do so would mean she was entertaining the idea and building her hopes that one of them actually wanted to be like her, so she put the question out of her mind.
“Did you hear me, Tahlia?”
Tahlia cleared her throat and sat up. Dawn was approaching, and she needed to go and escape answering the loaded question. “It is time for me to go.” She kissed Jemima deeply and stroked her cheek. “I will be dreaming about you, my love.” She lifted the sheet and her eyes trailed possessively over the naked curves. When she looked up at Jemima, she found the blue eyes resting on her.
Jemima was frowning. “You didn’t answer me, Tahlia.”
Jemima’s hand slowly wrapped over hers. Tahlia sighed. “Because I do not think anyone would like to live as I do. Not being able to walk in the sun…feel it on your face.” She inhaled deeply. “No, I could not think of asking that of them. I am a creature who deserves to lurk in the shadows. Somehow I must have done a good deed for Him to have decided to give you to me. You are the only reason I have existed this long. Century after century you have brought a sense of normalcy to my life. I am accustomed to that now and do not want to tempt fate by becoming greedy.”
Tahlia swallowed hard and came to her feet. Just the thought that she will have to say goodbye to Jemima one day, if Drake doesn’t succeed in capturing her, made her heart jerk in her chest. She didn’t hear Jemima move, but she felt warm arms going around her and she smiled sadly when she felt the soft kiss on her neck. She turned in the embrace and kissed Jemima.
“I really need to go now, beloved. I will see you tonight. I love you.” After taking a step back from the bed, she disappeared into a fine mist.
†
A soft moan sounded and the lump on the bed moved slightly.
James grinned and put the steaming cup on the bedside table. “Come on now, honey. It’s time to wake up.”
“Why? It’s not as if I have somewhere to be,” Jemima mumbled.
James chuckled. He had lingered over his breakfast, waiting for her to make an appearance. After an hour when there was no sign of her, he decided to check on her. He was surprised to find her still fast asleep. As long as he could remember, Jemima had been an early riser.
“Rafina has arranged for us to return home so we can get more of our stuff.”
The comforter shook and a tousled blonde hear appeared. “I can get my paints and stuff?”
“Yes, baby. You can get your paints and stuff, but only if you get your carcass out of bed now. We are leaving in half an hour.”
“Ok. I’ll be ready, Dad. I’ll meet you in the foyer in less than 30 minutes.”
“See you then.” James tousled Jemima’s already messy hair. “I brought you some coffee.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
†
When the door shut behind James, Jemima slowly sat up. After a long, drawn-out yawn, she threw her legs off the bed, slightly puzzled by her undressed state. “Oh my…Tahlia!” She’d actually had sex with Tahlia.
A slow smile formed on her lips as images of the previous night filtered into her mind. A naked Tahlia suspended above her. Tahlia throwing her head back to moan her pleasure as she bit hard onto her breast. Tahlia’s fingers deep inside her. She recalled the soft whispers of praise and encouragement. She let out a shuddering breath and covered her flaming face with her hands. She couldn't remember ever being so bold and vocal in bed before. Tahlia was so skilled and her touches so expert they had made her screech and writhe like a wildcat. She slowly came to her feet and did a quick mental inventory of her body. Yes, Tahlia had made sure she didn’t forget about their first night together. Her legs were still a little wobbly, and the place between them registered a dull ache. She stretched her tall frame as she made h
er way to the bathroom.
Under the lukewarm water, she reminisced some more about her night with Tahlia. Who would’ve thought that one woman who commanded so much power and instilled so much fear could be so gentle. Gentle, but also very demanding. Tahlia had wanted the most out their first night together and had kept her on the brink of exhaustion for the larger part of the night. Oh, she couldn’t wait to see Tahlia later. Just thinking of those dark eyes and expert hands roaming over her body made her a warm glow spread from the pit of her stomach to her lower extremities. She remembered that she was to meet her father in the foyer in a short while and quickly finished her shower.
The trip to the mansion was uneventful. With an entourage of six heavily armed human slayers and an armored vehicle, anyone trying to get them would’ve been very stupid. Because Rafina was no longer the only human in the house, they also accompanied her to the supermarket.
Upon her return to the safe house, Jemima found that the lack of sleep from the previous night finally caught up with her. After crawling into bed, she curled around the pillow that Tahlia had used. Within minutes of falling asleep, her dreams filled with dark, flashing eyes and that gorgeous trademark half smile. It was with great reluctance that she woke up hours later and had to leave the warm memories of Tahlia. Just as she was about to go in search of her father, her cell phone rang, startling her. In their haste to leave the house at Tahlia’s urging, her phone had been off for the past two days, and she’d forgotten to pack the charger. She reached for it.
“Hello.”
“Jemi? Is that you?”
Jemima slowly sat up, suddenly nervous. “Martina?” She quickly scanned the room as if expecting Tahlia to materialize out of nowhere. Tahlia wasn’t very keen concerning Martina’s intentions toward her, and she didn’t know how the vampire was going to react to Martina contacting her again.
“What happened to you? I’ve been trying to get hold of you for the past two days.”
“Uh…yes, I…uh…my cell phone was off. I had to leave home unexpectedly and forgot to grab it.” Not wanting to give more information than was necessary, she quickly changed the topic. “How are you? Last time I saw you, you were acting rather strange. Are you okay?”
There was a short silence on the other side of the line. “I must admit it was a very strange night. I went to see my doctor and he couldn’t find anything wrong with me. Nor did he have any explanation for the strange rash. I personally believe it must’ve just been some allergic reaction to something. Thank you for asking, though.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I’m really sorry for dropping you like that, Jemi,” Martina said.
Jemima heard the soft seductive timber in the older woman’s voice but said nothing.
“I would like to make it up to you. Could we meet?”
Now in full-blown panic mode, Jemima almost dropped the phone. Oh, no! Tahlia will not like this. She won’t like it one bit. She scanned the room again and this time she could swear she could sense another presence in the room.
“I’m…I’m not sure, Martina. My father’s not feeling too well.”
“I’m truly sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”
“Oh, no. The doctor’s warned him to watch his blood pressure and to rest more.” She closed her eyes, asking forgiveness for the little white lie.
“I simply love his books, but I wouldn’t want him to compromise his health for our reading pleasure,” Martina said. “But I really think we should meet. I found an opening for you at Kendall’s. Judging from the number of completed paintings in your studio, I’d say you are more than ready for an exhibition.”
Jemima’s eyes jerked open and she almost dropped the phone. Tahlia was standing a few feet away from the bed. She could see that her eyes were deep-set and red-rimmed. The closed expression on her face made her swing her feet off the bed.
“I…I…Martina, could we talk about this later. Uh…something just came up.” Literally. From the dark depths of the earth.
“Jemi, I understand that all this is sudden, but I have moved mountains to make this happen for you. It would be a big mistake to miss this opportunity. Kendall’s was eager to shift the bookings to make way for you.”
Jemima’s eyes rested on the motionless vampire as she listened to what the other woman was saying. Kendall’s was one of the most famous art galleries in the city. She had tried for a while to get a booking there, but due to the long waiting list, she had instead decided to grab the chance to exhibit in Sydney. Her eyes drifted to Tahlia standing there looking at her.
“I understand, Martina. I promise to get back to you within the next few days, okay?”
“Okay, but remember what I said. This is not an opportunity to miss.”
“I got it, Martina. Look, I really need to go now. Thank you for calling me. Have a great day.” She hung up, threw the phone on the bed and rose slowly. “Tahlia?”
“I do not want that woman around you.”
“What?”
Tahlia came closer until she towered over Jemima. “I do not trust that woman.”
Jemima took a step back so she could look into the taller woman’s face. “Do you know what you’re implying, Tahlia?” When Tahlia just stared back at her, she took another step back. “You don’t trust me, is that it?”
The dark eyes darkened even further, making Tahlia appear even paler than she actually was. “That is not what I said, Jemima. All I want is for you to be cautious around her,” Tahlia said.
Jemima picked up on how tired Tahlia’s voice sounded, and, seeing how tired she looked, Jemima felt her anger wane. She took a step closer. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m not interested in her.”
Tahlia gave her a wan smile and turned to leave, but Jemima reached out a hand. Now that she’d seen Tahlia she wasn’t sure if she would be able to wait a few more hours before she could see her again. She gently took Tahlia’s hand, surprised by how cool it felt to the touch. She watched as Tahlia slowly turned to face her.
“I can’t seem to let you go,” Jemima murmured. Tahlia’s bright smile was her reward.
“I do not want to leave you, either.”
Jemima burrowed into Tahlia’s arms and sighed when she felt Tahlia’s arms go around her. They stood like that for a long while before Jemima placed a gentle kiss on Tahlia’s lips. She tenderly stroked Tahlia’s pale face. “I’ll be waiting for you when you rise. Please come find me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
And then she was gone, disappearing before Jemima’s eyes. Jemima stared at the spot where Tahlia had been a few seconds ago and shook her head. It will be a while still before I’m totally comfortable with my new life. But who knows? I quickly got used to the sex. The rest might not take so long after all.
†
Tahlia was surprised by how wonderful it felt to once again share intimacies with another person. Since their first night together almost a week ago, they hadn’t spent one night apart. As soon as the sun went down, she would rise and go in search of Jemima. Sometimes she would find her playing chess with her father or Rafina, but, most times, she found her in her in room, painting. Some nights they would stay in the room, talking, kissing, or making love. On other nights they would venture out and have coffee at the hotel bar. They always picked a table in the corner where they could hold hands and talk in quiet tones without anybody eavesdropping on their conversations. And then there were the nights, such as the present, where she lay on the bed and looked at an intense Jemima using her as a model.
“You moved.”
“By only an inch, beloved. I doubt it would make a difference.”
Jemima lifted her eyes from the canvas. “It makes a big difference.”
“Okay, I apologize and promise to keep still this time.”
“Thank you. It’ll not be much longer.”
“Take as long as you need.” This got her a soft look and Tahlia smiled when Jemima put her brush down and came ove
r to the bed. “Yes?”
“You can really say the nicest things, Vampire. Where did you learn that?”
Tahlia rolled onto her stomach and leaned into Jemima, who began to massage the muscles in her shoulders. She closed her eyes and groaned softly at the pleasurable ministrations of Jemima’s hands. “You taught me all that and more.” She sighed as she felt Jemima’s hands working at a particular knot. “This really feels very good.”
“Better than…?”
Tahlia lifted her muscled chest from the bed and turned so she could look Jemima in the eyes. “No, never better than that, my love. Nothing compares to what you do to me then.”
“You really know how to make a girl feel special, Vampire.”
Tahlia’s eyes darkened at that. “You are the most special person in my life, Jemima.”
“I know,” Jemima whispered.
Tahlia knew instinctively that Jemima was telling the truth. She rolled over on her back and opened her arms. “Could we postpone the painting session for a while? I want to hold you.”
Jemima smiled down at her and quickly divested herself of the paint-stained overcoat.
†
The minute she opened her eyes, Tahlia knew Jemima was gone. Dirt spewed upwards as she flew out of her earthly tomb, her eyes glowing red in her pale face. She immediately went in search of James, finding him in the large study typing away on his laptop. He looked startled when she materialized in front of the desk, mist swirling around her ankles.
“Oh ...” James quickly took off his reading glasses.
“Where is Jemima, James?” she asked.
“She has an exhibition tonight.”
Tahlia was frowning ominously. “What exhibition?”
“Remember the one that she planned with Martina Lawler? Martina came to the house two weeks ago to select pieces for the exhibition. A few days ago, Jemima arranged to ship them to the gallery. I thought you knew. Oh...” He stopped when he saw the thunderous expression on Tahlia’s face.
A Guardian's Touch Page 15