Blood Lines: Conduit

by Mechele Armstrong

  “Even without the Conduit’s blood, bitch, I could best you.” He slashed to her stomach. Evangeline jumped at the last second so the wound wasn’t deep. “Only a matter of time before I do it on my own.”

  Evangeline drew another dagger. Rushed at him.

  He darted to the side. She went a step past. He caught her back, flaying it open with a flick of the blade. The strength made wielding the knife too easy. It sliced flesh like butter.

  She turned to face him, grinning. He heard the creak in the floorboards. Gerald snuck up behind him, jumping to grab him. Bastian head-butted the big vampire, twisting away.

  “Damn, you couldn’t stay down. I didn’t want to have to kill you.”

  Gerald sneered. “In your dreams.”

  Evangeline and Evan bolted for the front door. He threw the knife on a perfect arc. It slipped into Evangeline’s back, burying itself. She took a step and fell to her knees.

  “Don’t think I have to dream.” He grabbed the dagger hidden under his T-shirt, yanking it out and going for the jugular. He tapped it. Blood spurted. He took out the vampire’s throat. The man’s hands went up to cover, blood seeping through his fingers. He fell back on his ass, sitting on the floor.

  “I’ll finish you in a minute.”

  Evangeline crawled on the floor, dagger protruding from her back. “Arrrrrgh.”

  Evan knelt beside her to pick her up. He stood up to his full height at Bastian’s approach. “You ... you leave her alone.” He pointed the gun.

  Bastian sighed. “You know I can’t. She’d come after me again. I have to kill her. Gerald signed his death certificate, too. Yours is still unsigned. You can keep living. If you walk away. If not, I’ll end your mortal life. Here and now. Your choice.”

  He would have let Gerald walk away but for reading his mind. The asshole intended to find Copper if Evangeline died. Evan’s thoughts were all about survival and not wanting to die. Not about revenge. If Evan backed down, he would let him go.

  Evan glanced around, looking at his loafer-encased feet.

  “Help me, Evan.” The wound had almost finished knitting itself around the knife. Evangeline couldn’t quite reach it with her fingers to pull it out. With each movement, the sharp end tore into the flesh again, reopening the wound.

  Bastian raised the bloody dagger. “What’s it going to be?”

  Evan ran.

  “Noooo. Come back, human.” Evangeline turned over, sitting up to face him. She squinted, cheeks drawn up in pain.

  “This is it, Evangeline.” He slashed with the knife, cutting into her thigh below the hiked-up miniskirt. Femoral artery. It pumped. Her hands came up in vain to cover it. “I win.” He leaned over and sank fangs in deep to her neck above her collarbone. She couldn’t bat him away. He sucked hard as the artery poured out the last of her blood.

  Turning to ash, she screamed, wiggling on the floor. Screamed over and over again. Each piece of flesh, starting at her feet, turned into the ash it would have at death were it not for the blood’s power.

  She made noise until her mouth poofed into a cloud drifting on the floor, and Evangeline was no more.

  Bastian grabbed both daggers, heading back over to Gerald. His mutilated throat had begun to heal itself. But not the vocal cords. Bastian dispatched him, draining all his blood. Gerald couldn’t scream. His body contorted, writhing on the floor until each bit of him turned into ash.

  Bastian licked his lips. He could still taste Copper.

  She had come for him. He’d never expected that. His heart tightened in his chest. Such a brave, crazy woman. He left the dusty impressions on the floor and headed out the door. About an hour or so before sunup.

  Soon as she saw him emerge, Copper rushed up to him. “Are you OK?” She placed her hands on his chest, patting him, touching him, checking him.

  Bastian nodded, enjoying her touches. Her concern. “I am, you nutty woman. You shouldn’t have come there. Especially by yourself. I don’t know whether to kiss you or beat you.”

  “Nick was out, there was no time to find him, and Tad couldn’t help. I knew I could, just like I know the answer to that question.” She wrapped her arms around him.

  “You do?”

  She nodded, looking up at him. “Kiss me.”

  “Good answer.” His lips claimed hers. Taking. Plundering. Making her lean against him more and more.

  “I thought so,” she murmured against his lips. Slid her tongue in to do a dance with his.

  She had to be his mate. No other explanation existed. He’d never had such a reaction to anyone else in his lifetime. His mate. His lips moved faster and faster against her, harder and harder, feeling the joy of the kiss and the realization.

  He’d die if he didn’t have her. That was made painfully clear when Evangeline had touched her hair. Her thoughts about what she would do to the redhead had been telegraphed to him in graphic images. He’d been infuriated and breaking the cuffs hadn’t been a problem with the little amount of blood Copper had given him.

  His cock tightened painfully. Claim her. The animal urged him on.

  I already have. He opened his eyes. Deserted street. Handy wall of a building. He could do it again.

  Claim her with the bond.

  He closed his eyes, breaking the kiss and putting his head on hers, wrapping his arms tighter and holding her. This mating bond had to be her decision. He’d never force it on her, no matter how much he wanted it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It had been a horrid day. Bastian rubbed his face with his hands.

  He’d called Lucy’s family to let them know she’d passed away. Not a pleasant phone call. Tears and keening from her mother. Threats of hell from her father.

  Crimson had attacked Tad again, feeding. Again, hadn’t tried to kill him, but had bit him like a pit bull and hung on to his arm. Bastian and Pope had to pry her off of him. Tad hadn’t been happy, not that Bastian blamed him. He’d said he wouldn’t be the rat anymore for Crimson’s snake.

  Bastian didn’t know what to do about Crimson. She wasn’t doing well as a vampire. She acted like a nut. But she hadn’t killed anyone, or even tried. With patience maybe she’d come around. Nick had helped to arrange for some more blood bank donations. Maybe the act of not feeding from a human would help.

  He hadn’t seen Copper as much as he would have liked. He’d missed her. Missed her warm smile, her emerald eyes watching him.

  She’d spent most of her day with Crimson and Sarah. She’d pulled back from him again.

  He sighed. Didn’t want her to pull back. Wanted her to jump his bones. To bond with him. To be with him forever.

  Not likely to happen.

  Bastian pushed the door open to his room. Stopped, looking around. Lit candles sat everywhere glowing in the darkness. The scents of cinnamon and vanilla filled the air. Not strong or overpowering.

  Copper got up from the chair she’d been sitting in. A flowing, jade-green gown graced her supple body. Silk and lace covered by a shimmery robe. Her hair spilled down her back in fiery, curving grace.

  Bastian swallowed, blood humming in his ears. His cock went from flaccid to rock hard in less than a few seconds. A vision. Her soft body, a vision in wrapping that made his hands itch to slip it off to explore the curves underneath.

  “Hello, Bastian.” She glided across the carpeted floor.

  “Copper. What’s all this?”

  Her smile, so full of promise he gulped. “I think you are a pretty astute guy. I think you know what I’ve got planned.”

  “Ah.”

  She reached his side, her mouth meeting his, warm, opening, inviting him to taste and plunder.

  “Bastian?” she murmured, wrapping her arms around him. Her breasts tantalized his chest. His cock rubbed against her stomach. He could smell her sex, knowing she’d be creamy and slick for him. He hardened further, heart pounding.

  “Yes?”

  “After I found out you’d gone to confront Evangeline by yourself
, I realized something. Something I need to tell you.”

  He looked down at her upturned face. “Which is?”

  “I love you. I’ve never been in love before.” Her smile was apologetic. Like that was supposed to be an issue for him? Her honesty, the apprehension in her face, was adorable.

  He closed his eyes, emotion almost taking him to his knees. Didn’t think he’d hear those words. Especially from her lips. As much as she’d distanced herself from what was between them. “I love you, too.”

  She smiled. “I want to bond with you.”

  He searched her face, looking for any sign of doubt. “Are you sure? The bond, it’s forever. There’s no going back.”

  “I’m sure.” She nodded. “I want you to be my mate, to be the ‘one.’”

  “I think you are ... my mate.” He chuckled. “One problem, though. I don’t know how to do the bond ceremony. I wasn’t sure you’d ever want to do it with me. I’ll have to call Henri.” He glanced at his watch, trying to figure out Paris time.

  Copper touched his hand, leaning down to kiss it. Her moist lips pressed into his skin. “I already talked to Henri.”

  “You did?”

  She nodded. “Sarah put me in touch with him. Now, you have this awfully big bed. And it’s lonely in it without someone else.” She took Bastian by the hand and led him over. He would have followed her anywhere.

  He watched the sway of her hips and the rounded shape of her ass. It would fit in his hands. He wanted to try that out.

  She unbelted the gossamer robe and shook it off her shoulders. It fell to the floor with a soft plop. She slid onto the bed, tugging him with her.

  He sat down, his cock wooden, tenting his pants. He wanted her so badly. Wanted to roll her under him and slide himself into her depths. “So what do we do?”

  She reached over beside her to gather a crystal goblet. “According to Henri, the bond ritual is simple. Mix my blood with your blood. Say an oath. ‘With my blood, I bind you.’ Both of us then drink it.”

  “You sound doubtful, or like there is a but coming.”

  “It’s been eons since he knew a Conduit, and the last one ended up dead before anyone bonded with him. He’s contacting some old friends in case this doesn’t work.”

  Bastian leaned back on the bed. “How much blood do we need?”

  “Another thing he’s not sure on. He didn’t think it took much.”

  “Well, damn, how will we know this works?”

  Copper pursed her lips. “Because Nick volunteered to take some of my blood as a test. To see if the power exists for anyone other than you after we perform the ritual.”

  “No.”

  She leaned over, kissing him deeply, circling his tongue with hers. She reached up, running her fingers through his hair. “We need to know. If we are mates. If we are bonded. The only way to find out is to test it.”

  “I don’t want him to feed from you.”

  “What is it with you two?” Her tone sounded exasperated.

  Bastian ran his hand down her back, enjoying the shiver that raced along his skin in the direction of his hand. “Nick and I ... we don’t get along. He’s a little jealous Henri didn’t make him.”

  Copper snorted. “And your problem with him is?”

  Bastian frowned. She arched a brow at him. He sighed. “I ... he’s much younger than I am, but he think he knows more than I do.”

  “You’re impossible.”

  He leaned over, his mouth taking hers. “But you love me.”

  “I do. But Nick will test to make sure I’m a vampire steroid no longer. Unless you’d rather my sister do it.”

  Bastian blanched. “No.” Crimson wasn’t handling what she had, much less getting something so powerful if it didn’t work. But it had to work. He wanted to be her mate more than he’d ever wanted anything.

  “Nick said we can reopen the wound we use to get the blood for bonding.”

  “Open a wound?’

  Copper nodded. “How else did you think we’d get my blood? You can’t take it and then spit into a cup. That’d be gross. So I’ll bleed into the cup. You’ll bleed into it too. And voilà, bonding juice.”

  He hadn’t considered how they’d acquire the blood. He didn’t want to cut her. Or see her cut. Biting was different. “How will Nick know what to compare it to? He’s never had your blood before.”

  Her face flushed, and she looked down at her nightie.

  “Copper?” he growled.

  “He needed to have a baseline.”

  “He fed from you? The son of a bitch. Wait until I get my hands on ...” He hopped off the bed, pacing.

  “No.” She grabbed his hand, yanking him back, stopping his movements. “Well, he fed, but I pricked my finger with a needle. The drop did to him what it did to you. Now are we going to bond? Or aren’t we?”

  Bastian reluctantly came back to the bed. He didn’t like the idea of another man touching her. Even taking only a drop of blood. “We are.” He sat behind her. Maybe he wouldn’t get so distracted by her body there. He followed the line of skin to where it dipped beneath the negligee. He could follow that sweet place with his teeth. And tongue. Or maybe not; he’d stay distracted no matter where she sat. He shifted on the bed.

  A knife sat on the little wooden nightstand. “I’ll go first.”

  “You are the lady.” He leaned forward to make their bodies brush.

  “Ha! Try telling that to any of my teachers. Or ex-boyfriends.”

  Bastian stroked up to the nape of her neck, leaning in to kiss it. “I can’t imagine you as anything but.”

  “We’ll see how much of a lady you think I am later when I tie you up.” She looked back at him with a cheeky grin.

  He winked. Gods, he loved playing with her.

  Her head swiveled forward. She picked up the knife. Tried to hold the glass in her other hand. A juggling act that she couldn’t manage.

  “Let me.” He grabbed the goblet and held it under her arm. She made a deep incision with a low gasp of pain. He wrapped his other arm around her, holding her. He hated her doing this, even with such an important reason. He caught all the blood with the crystal. Then snagged some gauze and helped her tape it over the wound.

  “I wouldn’t want to get blood all over these sheets. They are so soft.” She rubbed her uninjured arm on them.

  Chuckling, he stroked the sheets with a finger. “I’d rather be touching you than the sheets. And it’s not the first time they’ve gotten blood on them. My turn.” He held out his hand for the knife.

  “This hurts.” She held the arm close to her, cradling it. “I hope this works. If I did this for nothing, I’ll be pissed.”

  He wanted to take away her pain. “I do too. I want to be mated to you. Be with you forever.”

  She smiled, her love reflected in her face like a looking glass. “Forever. I’ve never even made it to years before.”

  He prepared the knife. “We will.” He cut deeply into his forearm. Copper caught each drop in the glass with her blood. She swirled the liquid around, mixing it. He watched her as he spoke the words. “With my blood, I bind you.”

  “With my blood, I bind you,” she repeated, and then took a deep breath. “Now we drink.” She looked down at the cup in her hands. “You were upset because I had to cut myself. Can I say the idea of ingesting blood is an icky one?”

  “If you become a vampire ...” He swallowed. Her hands shook. She nearly sloshed the blood out of the glass. Didn’t bode well for bringing her over. “It’s too soon for you to contemplate that.”

  “No. It’s not. I have thought about it. You’re one. My sister is one. I don’t know yet, though. Blood drinking ... it doesn’t appeal to me.”

  He rubbed her shoulders. “I know. And that’s fine.”

  “Eventually ...” She broke off, her voice shaky.

  He reassured her as best he could. “We’ll cross it when we get there.” No way he could watch her die without turning her. He couldn’t
sit and watch her age. He loved her too much. But he didn’t want to force things upon her, either. “Let’s do this now. Take it one step at a time.” She needed to take things slowly. Please don’t let her back out.

  She wrinkled her nose, sipping from the cup. Took one more big sip. Handed it to him. He handed it back. “You didn’t take half.”

  “You like it more than me.” She waved her hand.

  “You should drink half of this.”

  She poked out her lip. “They didn’t say I had to.”

  “Drink it.” He grinned. “You get a prize later.”

  “A big one?”

  “Oh, yeah. And hard too.”

  “Oooh, the best kind.” She drank another two sips to halfway.

  He kissed her lightly, and then downed the still-warm mixed blood.

  “Do you feel anything?” She frowned, looking down at her body.

  He sat there a second. “I feel your blood’s effects on me. The power surge. But nothing else.” Shouldn’t he feel differently? If it had worked. His hand splayed on her arm as if touching her could make the bond real.

  She groaned. “I don’t feel anything either. Except, I still taste the blood. And I don’t want to. It’s yucky tasting.”

  He leaned in to kiss her. Not that it would take away the taste. It still filled his mouth, too. His tongue melded with hers.

  Desire.

  It drop-kicked him in the stomach. His cock got harder, thickening more. His balls went so far up into his body they hurt.

  She moaned against his mouth. “Oh. Oh. Oh. I need you inside me. Now.” The musky odor of her scent got heavier in the air.

  He didn’t answer but deepened the kiss, his hands moving wildly, ferociously all over her body. He couldn’t touch her enough. Her hands clutched as frantically at him.

  She pushed him, grasping at his shirt. He yanked it over his head.

  Panting, she whimpered. “Pants off.”

  He had to break contact of their bodies. Not something he wanted to do. But he leaned back, shucked his jeans off. He helped her sit up, shimmied off her nightgown. No underwear. Good, he needed to be inside her soon. Less muss, quicker entry.