Julian stiffened beside her. She scowled at the giant while he smiled at her in amusement, revealing crinkling lines around his brown eyes. “Julian has changed,” she said.
“And I’m wondering if one day you’ll change and become more like he used to be.”
“If you knew her better, you would know that will never happen,” Julian said.
“Such assurance could spell trouble,” the giant replied.
“You’re right,” Quinn admitted. “It is possible something in the future could change me.”
She had no idea what she would become if something were to ever happen to Julian. She’d destroyed Zach to save him; she didn’t doubt she would kill again if it became necessary to save someone she loved.
“I’ve tasted what my ability can really do to another, experienced the thrill of a power you could not begin to imagine, but there are many in my life who love me and who I love,” she continued. “They keep me grounded every day. I’ve lived with the temptation of my power my entire life, but I have kept it in control. However, there are enough with power who could take me down if it became necessary. Devon and Cassie wouldn’t hesitate if they believed I was a threat. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that never has to happen.”
“I like that you acknowledge what you are and what you could be capable of becoming,” the man replied. “Denying the possibility is a sure way to end up traveling a treacherous pathway.”
“Thanks,” she muttered.
Julian tugged her back a step when the man thrust a thick, beefy hand toward her. “I have no intention of trying to harm your mate, Julian. I’ve survived one hundred and five years as a vamp. I’d like to survive many more. My name is Vern. I killed one Hunter who was trying to kill me, no humans. I was turned when I was thirty. I have telekinesis, and I would like to become one of your regulators.”
“If that’s true, you won’t mind me touching you then,” Julian replied.
“Not at all,” Vern replied. His casual shrug caused the brown hair hanging to his shoulders to scrunch with the movement.
Julian seized his hand and stood for a minute before releasing it. “Chris,” he said when he stepped back from Vern.
Chris moved forward to take hold of Vern’s outstretched hand. “He means no ill-will,” Chris said as he released Vern’s hand. “His words are true. I sense he is mostly driven by curiosity over power in this.”
“That I am,” Vern admitted and turned back to Quinn with his hand still extended. “Little one?”
“What is it with you vamps and your freaking nicknames?” Quinn muttered as she took hold of Vern’s hand. “I’m above average height for a woman, you know.”
“You’re still little to me,” he replied with a laugh. He gave her hand a warm squeeze. “I think you’re right; bringing us all together instead of keeping us apart is the way to go. Killing that Hunter is still the biggest regret of my life.”
“It’s one of the biggest regrets of mine that I did the same,” she admitted. Honesty was the only way to keep Vern with them, and she sensed he could be a loyal ally. Wisdom and calm radiated from him, and those were two things not often found in a vampire.
He released her hand and stepped back. Quinn swallowed before turning to face the crowd again.
“If you are willing to refrain from killing and work with us, then stay!” Julian announced loudly. “However, if any vampire should happen to discover a member of The Commission, they can be killed on sight. If you don’t wish to be the one who kills them, then let me know where they are and someone else will gladly do so. We will never know true peace until they are all eradicated.”
Enthusiastic nods followed Julian’s statement.
“What if we don’t want to stay?” another vampire asked.
“If this isn’t something you agree with, it is time for you to leave,” Julian replied.
“And you’ll allow us to go?” someone shouted from the far back.
“We will not force anyone to join us. Everyone who stays behind will be expected to help forge a future of relative peace. Forcing someone into that is not the way to establish goodwill. However, if you leave and if you kill, you will be hunted down, ruthlessly. All of those who remain will agree to work as a unit, to report any vampire or Hunter who kills indiscriminately. Murdering a vampire who is killing for sport is something that will be accepted by all parties involved.”
“What about those of us who only want to live in peace with no one bothering us?” the woman from the couple asked.
“You will be allowed to do so,” Julian replied. “Stay here. We will take your name and your picture if you wish, and you can slip away to never be seen or heard from again as long as you don’t kill. I plan to touch all of those who remain to learn what their true intent is. If you have killed in the past, but are willing to agree to refrain from killing now, and Chris and I believe you mean it, you will be accepted. If you think to try to lie to us about it and pretend you will only stop killing, believe me, we will know.”
At least fifty of the vampires slipped away into the night. Quinn realized the ones who remained were the first of their followers.
CHAPTER 9
Quinn stretched her hand across sheets that were still indented from where Julian had been lying beside her. Sitting up in bed, she didn’t have to look far to find him standing before the window. The heavy drapes had been pulled back to allow the sun to filter over him. He kept the drapes angled so none of the rays could reach her as he stood within the sunlight.
Drawing the blankets up, she hugged her knees to her chest. As she watched, red patches spread across Julian’s skin and blisters formed over his chest. “Julian,” she whispered. “Julian, please stop.”
“A minute more,” he muttered, not moving as the first flame flickered to life on his chest. The flame crackled as it licked toward his jaw.
Quinn tossed aside the blanket and scrambled from the bed. “Julian, stop!” she cried as she grabbed for him.
She hissed when her skin came into contact with the sun and her hand sizzled. She almost jerked her hand back as pain surged up her arm, but she couldn’t let him stand there any longer. He turned and caught her arm, jerking her back as fire spread over her fingertips.
Pulling her into the shadows, he smothered the flames on her with his hands. When the fire had been extinguished, he clasped the wrist of her burnt arm tenderly before them. He was careful not to touch her skin as he examined the burns. “Why would you do that, Dewdrop?” he demanded.
“There were flames on you!” she gasped, shaking as her blistered hand and forearm screamed in agony. The pain would fade away soon enough, but right now her entire body quaked from the aftereffects of the burn as a chill crept over her skin.
Releasing her wrist, he slid his hand through her hair to cradle the back of her head. “Draw some of my life from me; you’ll heal faster.”
“You’re burnt too,” she protested.
“Not as badly as you. Take what you need.”
“No.”
She stepped closer to him. Her head bowed as she tried to ignore the throbbing burns. The tentacles of her ability itched to slide forward and latch onto the power pulsing off him. He would ease the sting of the burns from her almost instantly. She would only need a little from him…
Quinn shook her head to clear it of the urge. If she started taking life in order to make herself stronger or heal herself, she could well be starting down the pathway to the power-hungry madness Vern had questioned her about. No, she had to heal on her own.
“You have to stop doing this,” she whispered as she stared at the red and puckered skin of his chest. The burns on him were already sliding toward a pinkish hue. She had no idea how long he’d been standing in front of the window, but though there had been flames on him and he’d kept his entire body exposed to the sun’s rays, his burns already looked better than hers did.
His lips caressed her forehead as he spoke. “I will rid
myself of this weakness to the sun. Nothing will ever keep me from getting to you again if you need me.”
Ever since her capture, he’d relentlessly pushed himself to lose his intolerance to the sun. An intolerance that nearly every vampire experienced. He’d been working on exposing himself more and more to the sun before her capture, but he’d amped it up to a whole new level over the past month.
“You told me it took Devon hundreds of years to be able to walk in the sun as freely as he does,” she reminded him.
“It did, but I’ve always been faster and brighter than he is. Also, I’m far better looking,” he added with a sexy smile and a playful tug on her hair.
Every muscle in her body longed to melt against him. She kept herself restrained from doing so. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.”
“I’m already able to withstand the sun’s direct rays for ten minutes at a time and the indirect rays for nearly an hour. I will get there.”
“Julian—”
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect you. I’ll be fine. Believe me, the pain is worth losing this weakness.”
She flexed her healing fingers against his chest. “You’re a crazy vampire.”
“That’s one of the many reasons you love me.”
“Maybe,” she muttered as she gazed at his nearly healed chest. There was no point in arguing with him; he was determined to do this.
She turned to the window of the hotel and gazed out at the parking lot as the sun dipped behind the horizon. After speaking with the vampires the other night, they’d spent the entire following day in the RV, with Cassie and Devon following in Devon’s car while they drove as far from her old town as they could get. The vampires hadn’t known they resided in the town, but they all believed it was better to move on.
Clint and Hawtie had followed them in their RV last night until they’d arrived here. A lump formed in her throat as she recalled Clint’s gruff good-bye and Hawtie’s bone-crushing hug. The scent of lilacs still lingered in her nose from being clutched against Hawtie’s chest. Quinn knew she would see them again, but they’d been a constant presence in her life for the past three years, and she already felt a hole in her chest from their absence.
Once their RV had vanished from view, Julian had taken her hand and led her inside. They’d checked into this hotel for the next couple of days. They all needed a chance to relax and get some rest. She didn’t know what state they were in and she didn’t particularly care. She needed to simply be for a bit in order to process everything that had happened.
She’d left her entire life behind with her waitressing job and her apartment. Her apartment was small, but she’d worked hard for everything in it, and she’d loved it. It had been the first place she’d stayed for any length of time since she’d lost her family. Over time, she’d made friends in the small town. She enjoyed working for Clint and been content with the simple flow of her days and nights.
Now, she was surrounded by people she’d also come to think of as her friends and family, but she felt out of sorts in her new life. For the past three years, she’d known what every day would bring. Then Julian walked into her life and turned it upside down, but she’d still had some stability. Now, she had no idea what next week would bring or where she’d be.
Stepping back, her hand went to the heart-shaped locket around her neck. It had once belonged to her cousin, Betsy, and was the one possession she cherished most in her life. Besides clothes, it was the only thing she’d taken from her apartment. She shoved aside the sadness threatening to bury her when memories of her family swelled to the forefront.
She was starting a new life; it was time to move on from her past. She’d never forget the family and friends she’d lost, she would love and grieve them every day for the rest of her life, but she couldn’t allow guilt and sorrow to weigh her down. Not anymore.
Draining her uncle upon first turning would forever be the darkest stain on her soul, but she now had a chance to make sure no one else ever had to experience such horror. She would fight for that chance with everything she had. Her uncle would have understood she’d been out of control with her hunger; he’d loved her as much as his own children. He uncle would have forgiven her for what she’d done, and it was time she did the same.
Turning away from Julian, she walked toward the small, blue bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower,” she said over her shoulder to him.
“I’ll join you.”
She opened her mouth to respond when one of the disposable phones he’d stocked up on before their meeting with the vamps started ringing. Julian had kept his own phone, but their core group were the only ones who had the number to it.
“Ignore it,” he said as he stalked toward her, a predatory gleam in his eyes.
“You can’t ignore it,” she retorted as she danced toward the bathroom. “It could be important. Your duty is calling you.”
He cursed but changed course and headed for the phone on the nightstand. “Vern,” he muttered when he saw the number.
Quinn ignored her twinge of disappointment and walked into the bathroom as Julian answered the phone. She blinked against the harsh fluorescent light when she turned the switch on.
They’d left the meeting with five regulators, one of which was originally from England and another from China. Both of them were going to return overseas to help spread the word around Europe and Asia. They had decided to stay together while doing this. The three regulators in the U.S. were Vern and two women named Hadie and Prue. The three of them also planned to work their way through this country together.
Julian said he intended to go to Europe at some point, but first he wanted to head north to find more vamps in the Northeast and Canada. It would take time to get everything situated and everyone organized, but they’d already made a good start. Julian’s plan would work; she was certain of it. One day they would all know a peace she’d never dreamed of finding in her life.
Turning the shower on, she stepped beneath the hard spray. She hung her head as she allowed the water to beat against her sore muscles and flexed her hand again. The sting of the burn had faded as had the blisters. Now her skin resembled a lobster fresh from the pot.
Julian’s crisp, masculine scent filled the room before the curtain pulled back to reveal him. Her gaze ran ravenously over his naked form as he stepped into the shower with her and closed the curtain. She longed to run her fingers over the etched muscles of his powerful frame.
“What did Vern have to say?” she asked, unable to tear her gaze away from the water sliding over his abs in enticing rivulets.
Resting his hands on her shoulders, he gently turned her until her back was to him. The heat of his body warmed her further as he ran his finger down her spine in a feathery caress that had her aching for more.
“He was just checking in. The three of them are moving north through the Midwest. They’ll meet us in Maine in a week.”
“Good,” Quinn murmured.
He stepped closer to her, the smooth skin of his chest rubbing against her back as his hands fell to her hips. She shivered when his fingers trailed their way up and down her sides before coming around to caress her belly. The water running over her hypersensitive skin only heightened the passion he so easily stoked to life within her. Ever so slowly, one of his hands dipped down while the other rose to cup her breast.
***
“They keep calling,” Julian said and scowled at the phone.
Devon chuckled beside him and propped his feet on the end of the chair he lounged in. “You had to know what you were stepping into by trying to unite vampires, Hunters, and Guardians. There is going to be a lot of turmoil and uncertainty in the beginning. They’re all going to be looking to you to sort it out. This is going to take years.”
Julian’s gaze went to Quinn as she jumped up in the pool to smack the volleyball back over the net. Chris lunged for it and missed. Julian couldn’t help but smile when Quinn’s laughter drifted through the air to
him. The vampires could call him a thousand times a day for the rest of his life if it kept her safe.
“I knew,” he replied, “but it makes me miss the days before cell phones.”
“It will calm down,” Luther said. “This is the right move, and one day we’ll all be able to breathe a little easier. I hope I’m still around to see that day. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”
“Don’t let Cassie hear you say that,” Devon replied. “She may try to change you.”
Luther lifted his glasses to rub at his nose before lowering them back into place. “All a Guardian ever wants for any of their Hunters is a long life. Until recently, that was something that rarely happened. Now, it may become a reality.”
“It will,” Julian said forcefully.
“I have faith in you for that,” Luther replied. “We’ve all come a long way.”
“Yes,” Julian murmured.
“At least you can pretend bad service and hang up on them. Those kids follow Cassie and me around our property wherever we go. I keep building houses, and they keep finding us,” Devon said.
Julian laughed as he stretched out in the chair. “You love it.”
“I actually do,” Devon admitted.
Julian’s smile vanished when his phone rang again. He snatched it from the ground and hit the button when he spotted Prue’s number on the screen. “Got another one who wants to talk to you,” Prue said irritably.
They were supposed to have the new vamps these three recruited meet them in Maine, but it didn’t matter that the first meeting had gone well and word had already begun to spread; many of the vamps had questions they wanted answered first. Patience was not his virtue, it never had been, but now he drew on reserves of it he’d never known he had as he watched Quinn laugh and high-five Melissa.
“Put them on,” Julian told Prue.
“Julian?” a man inquired.
“That would be me,” he replied.
He kept his gaze focused on Quinn while he spoke with the vampire and answered his questions. Her lithe body flowed with grace as she moved with ease through the water. The red bikini he’d bought for her at the department store down the street was an enticement he was finding difficult to resist. He hadn’t been surprised to learn Quinn didn’t own a bathing suit when Dani first suggested swimming. Recreation wasn’t something she knew or understood, but she would one day.
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