by Imogene Nix
Cressida gripped the handle and opened the door. Samra entered, her long legs eating up the space. Cressida’s second pushed the tray toward her with a somber look. “Drink this. It will help.”
“You were listening in?” She couldn’t help the blush that stained her cheeks.
“Not listening, but your restlessness woke me. Do you wish to talk?”
As her second, Samra was so much more than just the warrior at her back, she was also her closest friend.
“I don’t… I haven’t had this dream in such a long time, Samra. Why now? Is it an omen?”
Samra cocked her head to the side. “The one from when you turned?”
“Yes, but…Daniel was there this time.”
“Ahh. That explains it. Your subconscious is doing your job for you. I’m not really surprised. After all, you want him. It’s more than just sex though, Cressida. Your whole attitude toward him reads as protective and caring. I can see how much it scares you.”
She really didn’t want to hear anything Samra had to say about Daniel. She shook her head. This was her second, she had to trust her, and Cressida knew her emotions were tangled. “So what do I do?”
“You give in, Cressida. Because if you don’t something will happen. It always does and you’ll never forgive yourself if the outcome is compromised because of your decision.”
“But he saw…”
“What? What did Daniel see? How did he react? He knows you’re a vampire. He grew up with them so he’s always known what they are and what they do.” Samra leaned in, belaboring the point.
For the first time, the blunt words Samra spoke made an impact and Cressida bit her lip.
“Daniel saw you as you were after the change? He too will feel this need very soon. He’s not your husband, though. Your husband, he was a priest at a time when what you were violated humanity and his beliefs—or so was the common belief of the time. Daniel saw that Etienne tried to cast you out? Most of us have either seen or had that happen to us. Those of us who lived through those times know that survival was difficult.”
“But he saw it all. He saw—”
“He saw you at your most vulnerable. Dammit, Cressida, this isn’t you. You don’t back down from anything that would scare the rest of us, so why this? The whole vacillation and weak female act you’re waving around isn’t like you. It’s time to pull yourself together, because I’m willing to bet he didn’t run screaming for the door, did he? Don’t taint him with your own problems.” Samra’s chest heaved and Cressida felt foolish.
“Cressida, we have enough problems right now without adding to them. Now hurry and dress, it’s nearly time.”
Cressida wasn’t sure if Samra’s plain-speaking was good or bad. Just that she spoke the truth. The truth she needed to hear. A truth she needed to act on.
“I… Samra…” She couldn’t complete the thought. The words wouldn’t push past the lump in her throat.
“I know. When we love, it’s deep. Remember, I’ve been there too.”
Cressida realized with a start Samra had. Until Samra’s life partner had been killed. Shame filled her. “I’m sorry, Samra.”
Samra turned, her eyes glittering with tears. “I know. I understand. Now it’s time to prepare.”
With savage moves she stripped and dressed in the simple garb she’d chosen to wear. Samra was right, she thought, looking again to the clock. He’d be here soon. She’d had enough time to consider what was to come, now she just had to follow through.
* * * *
Daniel’s muscles ached with the necessity of holding his breath. His glance took in the dark room, the flickering lights of the candles and the large glowing mark on the floor.
The witch circled, chanting in low tones. At the center was a chaise longue. The only difference from the one in his dream, the metal construction, though deep cushions lay upon it. In the half-light, the gleam of silver glinted menacingly.
His stomach clenched. You agreed to this. Time to see it through.
Cressida caught his glance. “You still have time to change your mind.”
It was as if she read what was in his mind, and he gulped. Nothing would ever be the same after this, and that knowledge settled heavily in his stomach.
Gazing deeply into her eyes was like being carried on a current of magic. “I do, but I won’t.”
She nodded and Daniel sucked a deep breath into his lungs, feeling them expand as Cressida took reached out to him. The witch must have heard some unspoken command or finished her cleansing, as she straightened and backed away. She made a careful bow in their direction, then retreated.
He and Cressida waited as she exited the room. The bang reverberated through the dimness.
The finality made him flinch.
“Come.” The words were thin and reedy, and he looked at Cressida. Her face was so pale in the darkness.
Cressida made a motion as if opening a door on the faint, blue and glowing flames of the casting circle.
He allowed Cressida to lead him to the chaise. Each step on shaking legs felt like walking toward his doom.
One small shred of whimsy reminded him that was exactly what he was doing.
“Be easy, Daniel.” He let the words wash over him as he leaned over to the chaise. As he lay back, the soft material beneath his nearly bare body surrounded him like a soft cloud.
She took one hand in her grip, giving him the unspoken question he was too afraid to answer, lest he change his mind. Daniel thanked the gods he didn’t shake. “I trust you, Cressida. I always have.”
A glint caught his eye before she turned away to fasten his hands carefully in the silken bonds.
He instinctively flinched then released the tension in his body, but she hissed unevenly. As she leaned over him, something wet dripped to his torso.
She was crying.
“Cressida?”
“I’d rather it never came to this.” Her muffled words cleaved his heart.
“This was my choice, Cressida. I wanted you to change me, not anyone else. We both know this was inevitable.”
Daniel waited for her to glance at him, but she didn’t. “Cressida? Talk to me.” Now that his hands were bound, he couldn’t reach for her. Could offer her no comfort other than his words.
A sob erupted and she shook. He tugged against the bonds, but they were too strong. “Cressida, don’t. I don’t regret this.”
The sounds subsided and finally she sniffled. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t mean…”
For the first time since he’d met her, she sounded uncertain and lost.
“Cressida…”
She didn’t respond as expected, just turned away, her spine straightening. “We should begin.”
Those words filled him with trepidation. Nothing will ever be the same once this is complete.
With great care, Cressida lowered herself beside him, an apology glowing in her eyes before that too faded away. Now there was heat and need.
She caressed his chest and his skin turned to fire, her touch skating over the muscles. They clenched at each pass and his breathing slowed as his body warmed from the center out.
“I’ve wanted to touch you. After we met at the house, I had this need to know you. To be near you.” She raised her gaze to him. The mesmerizing power of her stare drew something deep inside him close to the surface. “But you were human then. Fragile.”
The smile that blossomed on her face scorched him and arousal shimmered between them.
“No more than I wanted you to.” His honest answer to her comment filled the air as molten lava coursed through his veins. She leaned forward, her honeyed breath bathing him, and his eyes fluttered closed while the rapid tattoo of his heartbeat fluttered in his ears.
Cressida kissed him on the lips, the soft touch stealing a part of his being. The emotions deepened and she clutched him to her, and the discomfort of the bindings melted away.
She invaded his mouth and the taste of nectar on her tong
ue overwhelmed his senses.
The kiss turned fiery as hunger flared. When she pulled away, he breathed heavily, chest heaving. Once again she ran her hands over his musculature. “I want to touch you.”
Carefully she nibbled her way to his throat, laving the sensitive skin while he writhed, hunger filling him. “Oh God!” The utterance tore from him. “Kiss me now, Cressida.”
She fastened her lips below his ear and sucked lightly. He tugged against the bindings, his body on fire.
She pulled back, her gaze mesmerizing him while his body sang with arousal, then she struck.
An instant of pain tearing at his vein shocked him momentarily from the. All too soon, the lethargy trickled through his being.
The dragging pulls, the drawing of blood, continued strong and sure. The pleasure he’d heard of speared him to the core as the cold he’d been warned of crept up on him. Time slowed.
The pinprick of awareness shimmering before withdrawing.
This is it.
Any intention of fight fled in time with the slowing of his heartbeat. That too slipped from his grasp.
Cressida heard the last faltering thud.
She breathed raggedly as it faded into silence then she moved. In an instant, Cressida had torn the vein in her wrist. A spurt of bright red welled and spilled.
She held the dribbling liquid to his slack lips. They didn’t open, so with a quick and practiced move, she slid her fingers between his teeth, levering his mouth wide. “Let this work.” She’d known the risks all along, had held great fears that this would be a success.
The bleeding stilled as she waited, and with a curse she tore again at her wrist, widening the gash, and the blood flowed. It covered his lips and tongue and she waited for the first draw.
Nothing.
Her curse was loud. “Come on, Daniel. Drink so that you may live.” The demand, imbued with magic, echoed in the cavernous room.
She waited, head cocked as she searched for the heartbeat that should have sounded. Nothing.
A teardrop made its way down her cheek as she ripped at her flesh again. The scarlet blood gushed and she held her arm over his slack mouth.
Just as she was sure it hadn’t worked, his lips moved, seeking the sustenance she offered.
She laid her wrist to his lips, while he sucked at the slash, feeding in a frenzy.
The feeling that wove through her like a ribbon of heat and hunger was shocking but not unwelcome. When his eyes flashed open, she couldn’t help herself. She tugged her arm away and kissed him, glorying in the sensations and tastes that exploded inside her mind.
The arousal that had been flaring between them became an explosion of wanton need as the pulsing of her sex and the curling of her belly betrayed her emotions.
She pushed closer. He muttered a word. Suddenly he tore the silken bindings with a resounding rip. They wound around her, tugging her closer. Deeper into the morass of need.
As skin collided with skin, the knot of desire in her belly tightened.
“I want you now.” His voice was deep and dark. She tried to suck in a breath and the sound that filled the air was ragged.
He pulled at the simple gown she wore. It tore, laying her bare before him.
Her nipples hardened to urgent peaks of hunger and he raised a hand, cupped her breast, his thumb rubbing over the engorged nub he’d found.
Her eyes drooped heavily before closing, her arousal purely elemental now. Daniel dragged her closer and she gasped.
Dancing flames of heat licked at her skin.
“Daniel!” His name was a long, thready moan.
His mouth ranged over her, muttering inchoate words as she gave into the sensual web he spun on her senses.
He trailed his fingers down her body, gliding and exploring dips and hollows before moving farther.
“So beautiful.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she arched, unable to form a word, let alone tell him of the sensations that exploded in her body.
He found the mound of tuft of hairs at the junction of her thighs. Combed and quested before he found her core and lightning streaked behind her closed lids.
She trembled as he slid a single finger between her folds, wiping the moisture he’d found there. “So wet and hot. So ready for me.”
Her body burst apart as the orgasm rocketed, her senses overwhelmed. Time passed slowly as she opened her eyes. His gaze was steady, yet she detected the glint of well-restrained desire.
Cressida reached out, and she noted dimly that her hand shook. The force of her emotions crashed in her mind. “Daniel, I—”
He stopped her words in the ageless way men have always done—by feasting on her kiss. Any sense of urbanity was shredded, leaving behind a man who starved.
He tugged her down to the chaise, then rolled until she found herself beneath him, the light cotton of his pants the only barrier between them, and she reached for them. Shoved the material out of the way as he hissed.
“I want you, Cressida. Now.”
Once more she arched and he moved between her legs, the thick, bulbous head of his cock nudging at her abdomen. A small flex of her spine and she shifted position so it sat at the entrance to her sex.
“Let…me…” He forced out the words. She heard the strain in his voice.
Determined to have her way, she hooked her legs around his waist and flexed again.
A groan tore from her throat as the sensation of being filled overwhelmed her mind. “No more waiting.”
They moved. She didn’t care who started it but she urged him on, rocking against him as she welcomed the maelstrom.
He ground and bucked as she tugged him closer. He slammed into her again. “Come for me.” His gravelly words abraded the last shred of sanity.
She convulsed, giving in to the pleasure of orgasm, milking and demanding his all.
Suspended.
Breathless.
In the distance she felt him moving harder and faster, then Daniel grunted and held himself still, deeply embedded in her.
Her body relaxed as he finally emptied himself, every spurt sensitizing her further.
Daniel groaned and collapsed on top of her.
Running her hands up and down his back, she registered the warmth of his body, the growing heat, and reality raised its ugly head. “Oh dear God! What have I done?”
It was too late. Nothing that had been done that day could be changed again.
* * * *
Daniel woke to noise that battered at his brain. “Argh!” That sound reverberated through the room.
“Stop…” His entreaty was so loud but it couldn’t possibly be him, could it? The voice didn’t sound like him. It was gruff. Deeper than he usually spoke. A little lispy even. No, it couldn’t be him. So who was it?
He slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see someone standing over him. Now he could see. There was no one there but everything was so clear. So crisp. He moved his head, expecting pain from the lacerations on his neck. The ones he knew Cressida had inflicted.
The tension seeped away as he felt whole. Good, even. Better than ever before.
“Daniel?” The hesitant voice was Cressida’s.
“Yeah. How are you?” He drew a deep breath. She moved into his view.
“It should be me asking that question.”
She sat beside him, the cushions of the chaise dipping to cradle her body. Cressida raised her hand, cupping his cheek and turning it slightly. “You’ve healed completely.”
For the first time her gaze dropped to his chest. His bare chest. Now the memories of what they’d done in this room, on this couch, invaded his mind. We had sex.
He wanted to wince at the harsh thought. It had been more than that. He was sure of it.
“Was it?”
For a moment he was startled. He could have sworn he’d heard Cressida in his mind.
“I am.”
“What?”
She jerked away from him, her vision clouded
. “They…they didn’t disclose the ability to mind-talk to you?” She worried her lip with her perfect teeth. Agitation and concern washed over him from her in greasy waves.
There was that voice again. “Uh, no. No one said anything about that.” He frowned.
“Ah, you have so much to learn and so little time.” She sighed. “As your sire, I am able to converse with you like this. I can converse with all I have changed or who owe fealty to me. In ages past, it was how we taught our newly turned while they hunted for the first time. It was how we ensured the safety of our population.” Cressida blinked as she imparted the wisdom of her many years.
Jealousy flowed through him.
She’d changed others. Enjoyed the same level of intimacy. She could talk to many.
A snarl erupted and he tried to stand. She pushed back, holding him against the seat. “Wait, Daniel. It isn’t like that. I have changed many over the years, but never have I enjoyed what I found with you.” He felt the confusion and anger that stabbed her deeply. “I mean, I’ve never done this with my changelings.” The agitation in her voice stilled his movements. “With those that came before, I felt no such compunction to investigate the more physical side of the change. I don’t do that.”
Her thoughts confused him.
“But with you it’s different, isn’t it? What makes you different?”
She turned away, made to stand, but he grabbed her hand and held her still.
“Cressida?”
“I don’t know…”
But she did. He could see it in the careful way she hid her face.
There was a seed of something hidden from him. Instinctively Daniel sought it. Something lay beyond his grasp, but in her mind there was a veil obscuring his ability to understand her thoughts. He caught a wisp of fear and another of self-hatred—
“Don’t seek knowledge you are not ready for.” Her voice was rusty and this time she tugged away. “Rise and dress. I shall arrange sustenance for you.” She didn’t look at him, though, and her avoidance annoyed him.
“Cressida…”
“Come, Daniel. Others await your resurrection.”
“Like this? Naked?” He heard the petulant tone and wanted to scream. He was an adult, so why was he acting this way? He’d not spoken to others like this since adolescence.
