I shuddered and clasped Jeremiah’s arm. “It cannot be. Is it a witch’s trick? To vanish like that?” I could barely speak, so horrified at what I’d seen. I buried my face against Jeremiah’s chest.
“That is how we die, Gloriana. A stake made of the proper wood run through the heart and we turn to ash.” Jeremiah’s voice was rough but he held his sword in front of me. “There is no trick Marin could do, witch or no, that could permit her to survive what Jean-Claude just served her.” His arm tightened around me.
“She is truly gone.” Jean-Claude’s voice broke and I looked up in time to see him drop to the floor. He gathered Marin’s cloak and dress into his hands. He sobbed, mourning the woman he’d just killed.
We gave him a few moments as the fire crackled in the hearth and we all looked away from his tears. Jeremiah settled me on a stool as far away from Jean-Claude and his grief as the room would allow. Robert MacDonald sat at the table, exchanging glances with Jeremiah. They both held knives, ready in case the battle wasn’t over. Finally, my lover spoke.
“Jean-Claude, what will you do now?”
“I have no quarrel with you, Jeremiah, or taste for the woman, now that I have seen the cost to have her.” Jean-Claude still held the stake. He got to his feet and walked over to throw it into the fireplace where it burned and hissed as we watched. “Marin is the one who told the king’s men about the olive wood. She was that crazed in her wish to die. She also gave the Catholics names of some of the vampires here in London. She deserved to die for that if for no other reason. When she told me what she’d done, I got the stake but couldn’t use it. I kept it, though. Because I realized how madness had claimed her.”
Jeremiah stood, clearly very disturbed by these revelations. “Who else is on the list she gave out besides me?”
“MacDonald, a few others. I did what I could to erase the memories of the people with that list. You should both have a care.” Jean-Claude walked over to where Alain’s body lay. “This was the final blow, the thing I could not forgive. Alain served us well for a century. He was a friend, not just a hireling. And this is how she repaid him? She cared more for your woman’s blood than she did for me or anyone but herself in the end.” He stared down at Alain. “I will see that this man gets a decent burial if you let me leave here. I will tell his family that he was an honorable man.”
“He was. He could have taken us both, sir.” Fergus spoke up. “But he didn’t believe Gloriana should go with Marin. He knew it would be the death of her. He told us that, in his mind.” He glanced at Bran.
“I suspected as much. Alain was not comfortable with Marin’s darker spells or her recent obsession with Gloriana. He also knew that she’d turned traitor to her own kind. It endangered even the shape-shifters who guarded their vampires. He wanted to warn you, but his loyalty to us wouldn’t allow it.” He glanced at Jeremiah. “I should have spoken up as well, but love can blind us and turn us into fools.” He dragged his sleeve across his face.
Jeremiah and MacDonald stared at each other, clearly communicating in their minds. “Yes, you should have stopped her. But you were together a long time. I suppose she did things without your knowing.” Jeremiah glanced at me. “Women like Marin can be headstrong. And a witch? I cannot imagine what you dealt with.”
Robert MacDonald stood near the door. “Where were your balls, man? To let her betray our kind like that… He fingered his knife. “Well, I’ll not soon forget it. Best you leave London, England itself, and stay well away or I’ll forget you saved us all with your stake.”
“I hope to never see this place again. There is nothing but bad memories here.” He looked from Jeremiah to MacDonald. “With your permission, I will leave and take his body with me.” Jean-Claude took the cloak Bran offered and gently wrapped Alain in it so he could carry him through the streets. When he was done, he looked at Jeremiah, then MacDonald. “Are we indeed finished here, gentlemen? I will leave for France if you are satisfied that I am no longer a threat to you.”
“There is something you are forgetting.” Jeremiah kept his hand on his sword. “You tasted my woman.” He pointed that blade over Jean-Claude’s heart. “Do you think I can just let that go?”
“Jeremiah, please.” I took a chance and stepped between them, the sharp blade mere inches from my throat. “I have seen enough violence this night. Jean-Claude is a man. And he was curious after hearing Marin rave about my blood. Are you telling me you wouldn’t have wanted to know what was so special about it if you hadn’t already tasted it?”
“You are certainly making me thirst for a sip.” Robert MacDonald couldn’t keep quiet. “Oh, you know she’s right, Campbell. The man has just lost his mate and by his own hand. That took courage, by God. Even though he was late in finding it. I’d say he’s suffered enough.”
“I doubt you would think so if it was your woman he had put his fangs to.” Jeremiah had a new target for his rage and he was ready to fight.
“Stop it!” I really couldn’t bear to see more bloodshed. “I am sick and tired. Will you let Jean-Claude go as a boon to me, Jeremiah?” I didn’t like the narrow look I was getting. “Oh, come now. Read my mind. Do you really think I enjoyed the way he pawed me? I would as soon lie with a river rat.” I sniffed in Jean-Claude’s direction.
Robert laughed and even Bran and Fergus grinned. Jeremiah finally put his sword away but he did look into my eyes. Yes, he wanted to see my thoughts. Did he trust no one?
“Go, Jean-Claude. MacDonald is right. We hope never to lay eyes on you again.” Jeremiah threw open the door. “I am sorry about your shifter Alain. I know how valuable the men who watch over us can be.”
Jean-Claude gave a sad smile, then winked at me, determined it seemed to leave Jeremiah with a bit of jealousy. “You are a lucky man, Jeremiah. Marin was obsessed with Gloriana and it killed her. She was right, though, that your woman has exceptional blood, the like of which I had never tasted before. I will always regret that we couldn’t come to terms.” With that he picked up Alain’s body and walked through the door, disappearing into the darkness.
“Slimy bastard. I swear he will find a stake in his heart from me if I ever see him again.” Jeremiah turned to Robert. “MacDonald? I think our temporary truce has run its course. Thank you for your assistance. Now leave.” He gestured toward the open door.
“I cannot say it has been a pleasure. But at least we won the night.” Robert bowed in my direction. “Mistress Gloriana, I renew my offer. If you tire of this lowly Campbell or if he goes mad and tires of you, please come see me. I am generous and my women leave me well-satisfied.” He tried to take my hand but Jeremiah stepped between us.
“That’s enough.” Jeremiah all but shoved MacDonald out the door.
Robert ignored him as he donned his cape. “Bran, I am for home. No mortal woman tonight. Mistress Gloriana has spoiled me for the ordinary.” With that he stalked out the door, Bran right behind him. The two no doubt changed into some kind of bird as soon as they were free of the building.
“Good riddance.” Jeremiah slammed the door, then turned to me. “You look exhausted, Gloriana. Shall I help you to bed?”
“Yes, I would like to lie down.” I glanced at Fergus. “Could you give us some privacy, Fergus? I need to be alone with Jeremiah for a while.”
“Certainly, Gloriana. I need to find us a new place to live anyway. I might as well start now. Too many people have seen this one. And my pride chafed at MacDonald’s remarks about these quarters. I will look for something more fitting for such a mistress.” Fergus picked up his cloak. “What do you think, Jeremiah?”
“You are right. More room and more privacy for the lady. I don’t like MacDonald knowing where I live. Or where Gloriana lives. See to it, Fergus.” Jeremiah picked me up and carried me around the fireplace to the bedchamber.
I heard the door open and close then the key turn in the lock. “He’s gone.” I smiled up at Jeremiah. “Will you help me out of this dress?” Of course it laced up t
he front. I had got into it without help, but I was inviting him to do more than undress me and he knew it.
“Are you sure, Gloriana? You have had a rough night. Near drowning and then breathing that fog Marin sent in here. I told you that vampires don’t need to breathe but seeing it is different. Shifters and my kind can go a while without taking in air. I hope it didn’t upset you.” Jeremiah made quick work of my laces so that the dress dropped to the ground. Then he helped me pull it over my head and toss it onto a chair.
“It was a surprise and did look strange. I just wished I had the same skill when I was choking on that green mist.” I untied my petticoats and held onto his arms so I could step out of them. Then I was clad only in my sheer chemise. “Marin terrified me. I am glad she is dead. Does that make me a terrible person?” I unbuttoned Jeremiah’s waistcoat and drew it off of him.
“No, of course not. She was evil.” Jeremiah pulled his shirt off over his head.
“I heard Jean-Claude talk about making me their pet. Do vampires really do that? Make mortals into pets? Like a cat or a dog?” I ran my hands over his chest. I would like to stroke him like a pet. Make him purr. I dipped my hand between his belt and his firm stomach and found that he wore nothing under that kilt of his. Now I was the one purring.
“Some do. There are mortals who want to serve vampires. They like giving their blood. It is our life force.” He ran his thumbs over my nipples. “Before you were stolen from me this night, we were planning for me to take your blood. But I won’t ask that of you now.” He hooked his fingers under the straps of the chemise and sent it the floor next.
I unbuckled his belt. He caught his sporran, laid it aside, then unwrapped his kilt and tossed it on top of my dress. He kicked aside his shoes and so did I. We were both naked now, face to face. He pulled me close and I reveled in the feel of his solid strength against me. He was bigger, stronger, tougher. His hands on my buttocks held me so that I was free to reach for his face and kiss him as deeply as I wanted.
“I am recovered, lover. So take me to bed, make love to me and, yes, show me how you will drink from me, as vampire lovers do.” I felt his cock pulsing against my thighs. He was so eager, so much a man. Vampire. I’d felt the prick of his fangs when I kissed him but he hadn’t hurt me. He was careful, very careful. Because he wanted me to find pleasure with him.
“Gloriana, you are so rare, so beautiful. Most mortals who had almost drowned would need days to recover from what you went through tonight. It makes me think that your rare blood gives you a special strength. I don’t know how that is possible but I only know that I am amazed by you.” He kissed me this time, holding me against him as if he’d never let me go.
“I think you are beautiful too.” I ran my hands over his sturdy and very masculine body. I loved every inch of it.
“Now you are being foolish. This warrior’s body is anything but beautiful. But it can give you pleasure.” He pulled me down to the bed. “Come and I will show you.”
I was happy to let him. Why was my blood so special? Was the answer in the secrets from my past that I couldn’t remember? I had been lucky in never falling ill, that was true. No matter. Jeremiah laid me on the bed and took his time. He kissed me from my breasts to my thighs. I explored him, pulling a groan from him when I took his cock in my mouth. I crawled all over him, finding what pleased him.
Of course he wasn’t satisfied with lying there. He wanted me to be mad for him. He pulled a nipple into his mouth while he rubbed the other one between his fingers. He pushed into me with his hard cock, swallowing my gasp of pleasure as I wrapped my legs around him. He smiled into my eyes and began to move.
“Jeremiah!” I tugged at his hair. “Please, I need…” I couldn’t say it. There was this greedy craving for something too intense to name. I gasped and bucked as I bowed off the bed, pulling him even deeper inside me. I held onto him, my eyes closed as sensations shivered through me.
I opened my eyes and gazed up at him. He was staring down at me. Those fangs were down, long, lethal, and shining in the candlelight. I knew then what he wanted. What would make this complete for him.
“Yes. Take my blood. Do it now.” I arched my neck so he could reach the vein I knew was pounding with my excitement. He kissed me often there. It was a pleasure point for him. And for me.
He growled, then licked the spot before sinking his fangs into it. I could feel him taking me. There was some pain and yet nothing I couldn’t bear. We were becoming one in a new and very intimate way. I felt pressure and a pull, as he drew my blood into his mouth and swallowed. I held his head, my fingers twined in his soft hair. My life force. And his. Yes, that’s what he had called it. I was giving him life.
The act made him crave my body as well and I clutched his shoulders as he began to drive into me, harder and faster. I had been reaching for something, now I knew what it was. I clenched around him even before I screamed his name. The pleasure was almost too intense to be borne. I held on, keening with it, my eyes shut as his seed filled me. Gods. I lay under him, my body trembling, until he finally eased his fangs from my neck and licked the wounds closed.
“Gloriana.” He breathed my name against my lips, then kissed me as if he’d never stop. When he drew back he rested his cheek against mine before he looked into my eyes, searching for signs of distress. “You are a wonder. Are you all right?”
I thought about it. Was I? Did I feel weak like I had when he’d taken too much before? No. He had stopped much sooner. I didn’t tingle except between my thighs in the most pleasant way possible. I certainly didn’t feel like I was going to swoon. Instead I wanted to kiss this man forever. Tell him… No, he wouldn’t want to hear those words. I was a mistress. Nothing more.
“I am fine.” I stretched beneath him but it wasn’t easy. “Except you are like to crush me.” I laughed. “No, don’t move. It is a wonderful way to die.”
He rolled until I was lying on top of him. “I have never had a woman like you. You are so generous, so giving.”
“You were careful this time.” I reached down and ran a hand over his cheek. Stubble. What a masculine man! “It didn’t hurt and I found the way you took my blood very, um, exciting.” I kissed his firm lips. The fangs were gone now. I didn’t like what they did to the shape of his mouth. I had to admit that. He was much more handsome without them. “I can see why some mortals choose to become vampire pets.”
“I would never make you a pet. That sounds too much like a mindless creature, trained to do nothing but please its master.” He ran a hand over my bottom and squeezed. “You have a fine mind and challenge me as well as keep me entertained.”
“Like a dog does tricks? Michael took me to a circus once. Dogs can jump through hoops--”
He slapped my bottom. “Stop it. You are not a trained dog. Fergus says he’s teaching you to read. No dog could do that. And tomorrow night we will be going to court to see Shakespeare’s new play. Would I take a pet there?”
“You might. On a jeweled leash.” I laughed and reached back to rub my bottom. “Watch out. Hit me like that again and I am off to see Robert MacDonald.”
“I’m sorry. I meant it for a love tap.” He set me aside, face down on the bed, then proceeded to kiss the spot. “I will have to make it up to you.” Which he did in fine fashion.
But I had that word in my head now. Love. A love tap. If only I thought he loved me. Because I was hopelessly in love with him. Jeremiah Campbell, vampire, had somehow stolen my heart. Was I mad? I must be. Because the idea of becoming his blood slave, pet, whatever he wanted to call me, didn’t make me run screaming into the night. Oh, no. I was actually thinking it would be a fine way to live.
I had to face reality. No matter how extraordinary the lovemaking, how beautiful the clothes and good the food, this was a temporary arrangement. A man like Jeremiah, from a fine family in the Highlands, would never marry the likes of me. When he tired of me and my blood, and he would, I would be on my own to find a new protector. Yes, ma
yhap Robert MacDonald would take me on, but again that would be temporary. I could see my future a little too clearly: going from one man to another until I grew hard eyed and desperate like those women I’d seen at court. The idea of another man using my body sickened me. No, I’d rather starve than endure intimacies at anyone else’s hand.
I hoped Jeremiah was too busy giving us both pleasure in this bed to read my dreary thoughts. Because my brush with drowning this night had made me think. Being a man’s mistress was fine for the short term, but what about later? Did I really want to take a chance on my looks holding a man for longer than a few romps in the bedchamber?
Jeremiah did something very clever with his tongue and I forgot everything but him and his wicked ways. I’d been lucky so far. If I was wise, I would enjoy what I had while I had it. The future would surely take care of itself. Michael had shown me that even marriage was no guarantee of a secure life. Jeremiah sat up and stared at me.
“Gloriana, tomorrow I will have Fergus take you shopping for jewels. I am sorry you are worried about your future. Will that make you feel better?” He pulled me into his lap and kissed me tenderly.
“I’m sorry. I am not going to be one of those grasping sluts--” I hoped he would stop looking into my mind. What would he think if he knew none of that mattered if I died of a broken heart if he abandoned me? Easy to think practical thoughts, but the reality was, I wanted no man but this one. I wanted his love, not his jewels.
“No, I apologize. I shouldn’t be reading your thoughts when we are making love.” He grinned. “Though it can make things very interesting.” He set me on the bed next to him. “You can send me a message, without saying a word, to tell me what pleases you.”
“Hmm. Now that intrigues me.” I lay back and crossed my ankles. It was a good reminder that he could see my thoughts. I wanted him as happy as I was that we were together. “No more gloomy thoughts, I swear it.” I smiled up at him. He was so charming when he was in a playful mood. “I’m sending you a message now. Can you read it?”
Real Vampires: When Glory Met Jerry Page 19
