by Khloe Wren
Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Khloe Wren
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Tourmaline Truth
Gemstone Vampires: Book 2
Khloe Wren
Published by Rogue Phoenix Press
Copyright 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62420-136-3
Electronic rights reserved by Rogue Phoenix Press, all other rights reserved by the author. The reproduction or other use of any part of this publication without the prior written consent of the rights holder is an infringement of the copyright law. This is a work of fiction. People and locations, even those with real names, have been fictionalized for the purposes of this story.
Chapter One
26 February 1984
"Shh, baby girl. Mummy needs to think."
Sharon held her three-month-old daughter to her, rocking gently in the hope she'd go to sleep. Sharon knew she was in trouble. A creature of the night—a Vampire—was hunting her and her baby. She could feel him watching her.
"This isn't fair."
She'd been cornered earlier in the day by two men while she'd been in Richmond shopping. Thankfully a shop owner saw and came to her rescue before they said or did anything to her. Sharon could clearly recall the concern on the older man's face as she relived their earlier conversation.
"Those men after you are Nobles; they are enemies to the Vampires. You cannot let them catch you. If they do, you'll never been seen again. Do you understand?"
"Then I'll go to the Police-"
"No dear, they won't help you. Long ago the Police made it clear they would not get involved in matters between the Nobles and Vampires."
"But I'm neither Noble nor Vampire, I've never even heard of Nobles before!"
"It doesn't matter, I'm afraid. For whatever reason, the Nobles believe you are important to capture. Although, I've never heard of them going for a mother and child before, so I'm not sure why they want you. But I can assure you, they do want you caught."
"And how do you know about all this? Are you a Noble?"
"No, I'm not a Noble. I just keep my ears open as I run my shop. I know all sorts of things I probably shouldn't. Now you'd best run along, hopefully they didn't see you slip back here. Head out the rear door there and go straight for the tram. You might be able to lose them in the city where there are more people."
She'd wanted to ask why she would be important to a Vampire. She knew so little about them but didn't exactly have time now to try and find information. Even if she did, she somehow doubted the library had an "Everything you need to know…" book about Vampires. But she'd known she didn't have time to spare so without another word, she'd quickly followed the man's instructions. He'd told her to be careful, that the men would keep following her. She'd spent the rest of the day rushing from trams to busy streets trying to stay ahead of her stalkers. Not an easy feat with a stroller and a three-month-old baby.
Just before nightfall, Sharon had finally found herself free of them and in the center of Melbourne. The soles of her feet had burned from all the walking she'd done, but she'd had to keep going. Her mouth had felt so dry, but she didn't dare stop anywhere to buy a drink. She'd intended to make the most of losing her stalkers by getting herself and little Darcy back home.
As she'd made her way to the Flinders Street Train Station, she'd again felt someone watching her, and knew it wasn't the same men. This felt different, more intense, and she couldn't spot her follower no matter how hard she looked. The Nobles hadn't bothered trying to hide. She'd actually thought they liked her knowing they were after her. No, this was someone, no, something else. The little she did know about Vampires was that they could move silently through the night. That you wouldn't see them unless they wanted you to.
She'd quickly made her way back to the brightly lit and crowded Melbourne streets. Which was fine for the early evening. Now it was edging toward midnight as she stood rocking little Darcy to sleep. Finding other people was getting harder. The hairs on her neck prickled, letting her know he was still there.
Following her.
Observing her.
She was so tired. Being on her feet all day had her body worn out and she had to force herself to keep going. Her soul was equally worn out, but that had been building for a while. Loneliness had been clawing at her. Her parents were both gone and her baby's daddy had left her long ago, so now it was just her and Darcy, her tiny angel. She looked into her beautiful little face, her eyes now closed, but she knew the deep blue irises beneath those lids weren't normal for a human. Did that make her daughter something more than merely human? Was Darcy somehow calling out to the paranormal in the world to come find her?
Sharon laid her now sleeping baby down in her stroller before standing up to stretch out her spine. She didn't have the energy or brain power to work it out right now. Something she didn't have any trouble working out was that the Vampire was going to catch them before the safety of dawn came. Sharon doubted it would give up before the approaching dawn forced it to return to its home. She knew she'd been lucky during the day to lose the Nobles chasing her. She seriously doubted a Vampire would be as easy to evade as the Nobles. Especially since she'd now been awake for about twenty hours and was fading fast. As she walked, the sound of her shoes on the pavement was loud in her ears and her eyes felt dry and gritty.
Sharon hadn't ever, knowingly, met a Vampire. Growing up in the outer suburbs they weren't spoken of often. All her parents had told her was that they couldn't go out in daylight and they hung around the busy cities so she should avoid going there at night. With no time to figure out which of them the Vampire wanted, Sharon had to make sure Darcy was safe. But how?
Sharon caught yet another tram and headed away from the city. With one hand resting gently on her daughter's tummy as she slept in her stroller, she looked out the window until the vehicle began to slow down. The Royal Melbourne Hospital came into view. A crazy idea entered her mind and before she had time to talk herself out of it, she pressed the next stop alert and made her way to the back door of the tram. Allowing a middle-aged man to help carry the stroller down the steps, she found herself on the wide-open street facing the emergency entrance.
"I don't have a choice. I have to do this."
With her heart in her throat, she went inside and hurried to the emergency waiting room. Grateful it was fairly crowded, she settled in a back corner. She watched her precious daughter sleep. The gentle rise and fall of her body bringing tears to her eyes. She dived into her bag and pulled out a pen and note pad. She sat there staring at the blank page for a long time. How do you write in a note all she was feeling? In the end, she concluded the right words didn't exist so she simply wrote 'Darcy born 29th November 1984.' She placed the note above Darcy's head under the hood of the stroller. Then she leaned back in the chair and waited. She'd spend these last hours with her daughter watching her sleep. So peaceful. She moved forward to press a light kiss to the soft skin of her cheek.
"I love you, Darcy. Please, don't hate me for what I have to do. I promise, if I survive this night, we will be together again soon."
As the staff changed shift and the people remaining in the waiting room were either sleeping or too sick or injured to notice her, she got up and walked from the building. She tried to look calm but her hands shook and she struggled to breathe past the anguish clogging her throat. Her heart shattered a little more with each step she took aw
ay from her daughter. She felt as though she were leaving part of her soul behind. Dashing tears from her eyes with trembling fingers, she caught the next tram to return into the city. She needed to elude the Vampire and take a train to her home out in the suburbs. The Vampire hadn't followed her inside the hospital. She hoped that meant they couldn't enter one. That would mean Darcy was truly safe for the moment. Unlike her.
As she sat in the nearly empty tram, she absently rubbed her arms. Without her daughter, she felt cold down to her bones. Suddenly the cost of her day out shopping at the outlet stores in Richmond had grown to include her little angel, and she suspected her very life. She hoped the Vampire would be content taking her and would leave Darcy alone.
Sharon continued to wipe at the tears that fell from her eyes as she left the tram and rushed to the Flinders Street Train Station. Grieving and worn out, Sharon didn't look around as she validated her ticket and headed toward the stairs. Dawn was only an hour or so away now, and her heart lightened a little at the thought she'd eluded her stalker. If she had, she'd go home and ring the hospital. Sure, there would be questions, but she would get her baby back. Once she explained to the hospital, and no doubt the police, it was out of fear for Darcy's safety that she'd left her at the hospital, they'd return Darcy to her. Surely. And she would never go shopping in the city again.
She hurried downstairs to the tunnel that connected the platforms. The morning rush of workers heading into town hadn't started for the day so it was empty of people and her heart rate sped up. The hairs on her neck prickled so she began to run. Damn, she should have paid more attention to who was around the upstairs section of the station. With only a few feet till the entrance to her train's platform, an arm snaked around her waist. She sucked in a breath, ready to scream when she was lifted off the ground. A cool hand was pressed over her mouth before she could utter a sound.
"Shh, my love. I will not harm you."
She closed her eyes as she was quickly turned around, her feet returned to the pavement as he released his grip on her.
"Open your eyes and see the truth."
Not understanding the man's strange words, she opened her lids without further thought. The moment her gaze caught his, her breath froze. His irises matched her own. Round pools of light green-blue stared at her. Trembling with fear, Sharon attempted to back away. His strong arm banded around her waist once more and pulled her tight against his hard-muscled frame. The hand that had earlier covered her mouth now rose to caress her cheek. Sparks of awareness flew through her body and confused her poor worn out mind further.
"I-I don't understand... Why do our eyes match?"
His forehead creased into a frown. "You don't know about Vampires? Eternal Brides?"
She gasped as she shoved hard against his chest. Panic gave her strength but still not enough to free herself from his embrace. She knew nothing of what an 'eternal bride' was, other than 'eternal' generally meant forever, and 'bride' meant being tied down to a man. Sharon didn't want anything to do with either of those concepts. No matter how much her body cried out for his touch.
~ * ~
Barret cursed under his breath. His Bride was petrified of him. Obviously she knew very little about his kind, if anything. With dawn less than an hour away, he needed to return to his lair. He didn't have time to gently soothe her with words and promises. With regret, he pressed a pressure point in her neck that rendered her unconscious. Without wasting a moment, he scooped her up into his arms and using his supernatural speed, raced from the tunnel down to the Yarra River. He climbed aboard his speedboat and laid her on the rear-padded seat. He carefully placed a blanket over her as he briefly wondered about why she'd left behind the baby, the loss obviously upset her. Once he had her covered, he wasted no time in getting his boat started before he raced upstream toward his home.
It wasn't long before he pulled up to the dock outside his house. In his seventy-eight years he'd accumulated a great deal of wealth. Not that he cared for any of it. Vampires had one hundred years to find their Eternal Bride. If they failed, they died. A Vampire needed his Bride's blood to live past that point. If a Vampire found her and claimed her, they lived happily for several hundred years. The only real risk to that happiness were the Nobles. If they managed to capture a Vampire and his bride, they were never seen again.
Barret looked up at the large mansion he'd owned for the past fifty years. Situated on the waterfront of the Yarra River fifteen miles from the heart of the city of Melbourne, it was an immaculate heritage listed home, built in the gold rush era and a testament to the architectural style known as the 'Boom Style.' With two glorious stories above ground and one extensive below ground level. He hoped his Bride would adore the property as much as he did. Barret tied his boat off securely before he collected his Bride and headed inside. She lay limp in his arms, her shoulder-length blonde hair trailing over his arm. She was exquisite. As he'd entered the city, he'd scented her rich berry scent. Once he caught sight of her beautiful Paraiba Tourmaline eyes, he'd known for certain he'd found his Eternal Bride.
He'd followed her all night, waiting for her to be alone so he could approach her. He hadn't lived so long by being careless. Nobles were everywhere and always on the hunt for both Eternal Brides and Vampires. Not many humans knew much about his kind, and he'd not wanted to risk her panicking and running from him straight into his enemy's arms. Until he claimed her, she'd not feel compelled to remain with him. Once claimed, he would never leave her side so she would always be protected and safe. Barret did, however, find it unusual that a woman with such luminescent eyes would remain ignorant of Vampires. Surely, over the course of her life, someone who knew of the importance of gemstone colored irises would have seen her and educated her? But that wasn't the question that was foremost in his mind.
"Why did you have a child? And why did you leave it at the hospital?" he wondered aloud.
He'd watched her enter the hospital with a pram, then hours later, she'd left alone. Clearly broken hearted and crying, she'd caught a tram back into the city. Eternal Brides could only have children after they were claimed. He'd heard a rumor years ago that was why Nobles didn't look for Unclaimed Brides. They only wanted breedable brides. A growl rose in his throat. He would die fighting before allowing those bastards to take his precious Bride from him.
Reaching the hidden door in the ground floor's dining room, he keyed in the code. Once the way was open, he climbed downstairs into his private lair. He had a maid and grounds-keeper who lived in the house and took care of everything, but even they did not enter his private domain. A Vampire only ever shared his lair with his Bride and their children. He grinned as he laid her down on his large bed, admiring the way her porcelain skin and blonde hair stood out against his deep red satin sheets.
He'd found his Eternal Bride and here she was in his bedroom. His body shuddered with excitement and arousal as he stripped his coat and shirt from his body. Toeing off his boots, he decided to leave his jeans on for the moment. He may have her in his bed, but she was far from willing. She'd been terrified when he'd told her she was his bride.
He removed her shoes and socks, placing them to the side of his dresser then carefully removed her handbag strap from over her head before resting it on the bedside table. He opened it to search for her wallet, needing to check her age. Quickly finding her purse, he flipped it open to find her driver's license. Relief weakened his knees for a moment. Sharon Marie Denibe had been walking the Earth for twenty-five years. Vampires were forbidden to claim their Bride before their twenty-third birthday. Barret wasn't sure what would happen if they broke that rule, but he didn't want to be the one to test the limits. He put her things back in order before closing the bag and lying down next to her. She should wake any moment now, and he couldn't wait to start his forever with her.
Contentment seeped through his system from having her so close. His Sharon, his Bride. His fangs throbbed for a taste but he had to wait. He wanted her agreement before
he took such a precious gift. He trailed his fingers over her skin. His touch was feather light but he felt it all the way to his soul. She began to stir beneath his fingertips. He traced her cheekbone as her eyelids flickered then opened. Luminescent pools of Paraiba Tourmaline stared up at him. He could see her confusion and shock in her gaze—he could also smell the scent of her sweet arousal.
"Evening, love."
~ * ~
Sharon stared into irises that matched her own. A strange pale blue with a tinge of green, it was a color she'd not seen anyone else have before. With a blink of his eyes, the trance was broken. She scanned his face, his chiseled features just as handsome as they were stark. His dark hair was short and had a Miami Vice look to it. She let her gaze trail down his body. The fitted shirt and sports coat he'd had on earlier was gone, and man, was he choice. He still had his dark jeans on but was barefoot. This guy was way out of her league. He was everything stylish about the 1980s, while she had naturally dark blonde hair, and while it was teased into a mess, it was not the bright bleached white look that was boss. She'd put a splash of blue eye shadow on and a little pink lip-gloss but that was about it for her 'glamour.' Certainly her op shop outfit of matching stonewash denim pants and jacket with a bright blue sparkly t-shirt didn't put her in the high fashion arena.
With her blood pounding in her ears, she focused on his eyes. His cool palm was now cupping her face, his thumb rubbing over her cheekbone. She swallowed and wet her dry lips before she broke the silence.
"What's your name?"
"Barret."
"No last name?"
He simply shook his head, while maintaining eye contact.
"Why did you take me?"
"Because you are mine."
She frowned at him. "No, I'm not. I'm a person, not a possession. I belong to no one. Are you going to hurt me?"
"Never. You will always be safe with me by your side."
Confusion swirled through her mind. He wasn't making much sense, and his short clipped answers weren't helping her understand. She needed to get away from him, but part of her wanted to move closer. To curl up with him. Nothing made any sense!
