by Clare Willis
Her hands had been on his chest, trying to push him away, but now she applied them to his face, scratching violently with one hand while reaching for his eyes with the other. Enzo immediately jerked back and Sunni slid out from under him.
“Good girl, now you’re getting it,” Jacob shouted.
She turned to see where he was, which turned out to be a terrible mistake. Enzo leaped right over her and grabbed her from behind, choking her with his forearm until her vision went black.
“Fight back, Sunni. Use every part of your body as a weapon. “ She heard Jacob’s voice as if it was miles away and underwater as she began to faint, but by focusing all of her waning mental energy she was able to gather the loose strands of her consciousness and bind them together enough to think of her next move.
She jerked backward, using her head as a battering ram to pound Enzo’s face. She felt his nose crack against her skull. His grip on her neck loosened and she jumped away. Blood ran down her forehead, blinding her in one eye. She turned around and before Enzo could regroup she took a flying leap, landing on his chest with her knees, raining blows down on his handsome face with both fists. He caught one of her arms and used it as a fulcrum to fling her onto her back. Then it was his turn to land on her chest. The air slammed out of her and her vision closed to a pinprick as she felt his hands close like a vise around her neck. This time there was no room to maneuver. All of her limbs were trapped.
“Buona sera, bella dona,” he murmured.
Sunni thought it was strange that the sky chose that moment to open up, but as the soft raindrops caressed Sunni’s battered face she was happy for the distraction. As her consciousness flitted away like the last bird before nightfall, she felt a wave of sadness, thinking that she would never see Jacob again. There was so much she had wanted to tell him, but it was too late now. The pain was gone, replaced by a soft, velvety darkness that enveloped her in its cloudlike embrace and whisked her somewhere far, far away.
“Stop!” Jacob grabbed his friend’s arms and wrenched him away from Sunni. He tossed him into the air with all of his strength, and Enzo flew straight up as if he’d been shot from a cannon. His body corkscrewed twice before landing on the flat surface of a chestlike sarcophagus. The stone cracked in half and Enzo dropped into a muddy, foul-smelling pit. Jacob turned away to see to Sunni, but he had barely moved before Enzo burst out of the grave and barred his way.
“I have a duty to the Council, Jacob. The dhampir must die.” Enzo crouched in a fighting stance, baring his glittering white fangs.
Jacob’s fangs descended. He flashed them at his adversary. “I’ll kill you first.”
The two men faced off, drenched with blood and rain, their eyes never leaving each other. Jacob never doubted that he would kill his friend if he had to, but he hoped that Enzo did not feel the weight of his own obligations as strongly. After a long moment Enzo stepped away. He stood up straight, smoothed his hair out of his eyes and adjusted his tie. Jacob retracted his fangs. The adrenaline washed out of his body, leaving his limbs trembling.
Enzo shook his head sadly. “Not for a human. Don’t call in your chips for a human, Jacob.”
Jacob shrugged. “I’ve made my decision. Leave us now, my friend. In twelve hours, go to the Council and tell them you lost me.”
“They would never believe that I lost you! “ Enzo pounded his chest.
“Tell them whatever you want. Just let me go.”
Blue eyes bored into black ones. For a moment, as they stared each other down, Jacob wondered whether it was going to start again. But Enzo flicked his eyes away and made a tossing motion.
“Ciao, then, Jacob. I wish you luck. Richard will probably kill you, you know.”
“I know. Good-bye, Enzo. You’ve been a good friend, more than I ever deserved.”
Jacob took Sunni back to her apartment and put her in her bed, where she lay for several hours, drifting in and out of consciousness. Periodically he moved aside her makeshift bandages and examined her wounds, and each time he looked the skin was more knitted together, the bones underneath better fused. He was relieved to see that her healing powers were this strong. But he had also realized the sad fact that she was still human, and could be killed in all the human ways.
Finally her eyes fluttered open and stayed focused. The whites were flecked with red from the capillaries that had burst during the fighting, but the green was as bright as ever. Her cracked lips broke into a smile when she recognized him.
“Jacob, you’re here.”
He blinked back tears. “Yes, I’m here.”
“So thirsty …”
“Let me get you a drink.” He ran to the bathroom, poured a cup of water and dampened a washcloth. He held her head while she drained the cup, and then gently cleaned the blood off her face.
“Do you think you can move?” he asked.
She lifted her arms and legs, and then sat up. He propped the pillow behind her head.
“I guess so. Why?”
“Because we need to leave now,” Jacob said. He stood and looked around her bedroom. “I’ll pack some clothes for you. Where do you keep your valise?”
“Leave? What are you talking about?”
Jacob sat back down and cradled her face in his hands. He had already decided, while she was asleep, not to tell her that the Council meant to kill her, and probably imprison him, now that he had defied them. It was bad enough that Lazarus had her in his sights. “We must go now, far away. So that we can be together. ”
Sunni’s smile inverted and her eyes narrowed. With a start, he realized that Sunni might not want to be with him. He had never professed his love, he had just felt it so strongly that he had assumed she knew.
He drew back. “I’m sorry. I was being presumptuous.”
She grabbed his sleeve with surprising strength. “I’m not mad at you, Jacob. But I’m also not going anywhere.”
“But you must, if we are going to be,” he paused, floundering for words. “If we are going to be anything to each other. Lazarus already wants you for himself, how much worse will it be if he knows that I love you? You are the first woman I’ve ever loved since my wife died. This gives him a power over me that he hasn’t had in hundreds of years.”
Sunni’s expression softened. There was a light in her emerald eyes. “What did you say?”
“That Lazarus will have a power over me …”
She shook her head. “No, the other part.”
He licked his dry lips. “I love you, Sunrise, beyond all reason, beyond all measure. I love you more than life or liberty. All I desire is to keep you safe.”
Her eyes widened, her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, Jacob.”
He hurried on. “We don’t have to be together, I understand if you hate me, I just want to get you somewhere safe. Then I will come back and deal with Lazarus once and for all …”
“Kiss me, Jacob.”
He stopped speaking. His mind went blank. She put her warm hands on his cheeks and drew him near. He breathed in the sweet scent of her breath and stared into the endless depth of her eyes. If only they could just stay like this, forever. Or perhaps a bit closer.
Her eyes closed as their lips met, but he kept his open because he wanted to see everything, to take in every inch of her beauty. The kiss deepened and his fangs extended. Her tongue delicately probed the sharp points.
She leaned back. “Can you make love like a human man?”
He was shocked at her candor, but also excited by it. She made him feel like a schoolboy, childish and eager. “I have not, uh, attempted the act of love since I’ve been a vampire, but I know it is possible. ”
Her eyebrows flew up in surprise. “You haven’t made love since the 1700s?”
He couldn’t meet her amused gaze. “Is that funny to you?”
“No, not funny at all. Surprising, though. You’re so enticing, women must have thrown themselves at you. How could you be so stoic?”
“I didn’t love any of th
em.”
A tiny smile curved her lips.
A rush of indignation flooded him. “I am no priest, Sunni, nor am I a eunuch. I have been with women in the vampire way, and it is very satisfying in its own right. ”
She nodded. “I’ll vouch for that.”
“But as for the other, if hasn’t seemed necessary.”
She reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt. “I think it’s necessary. Right now.”
“But you are hurt.”
“Can you be gentle?”
“I shall be whatever you want me to be.”
She slid her legs over the side of the bed. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I need to take a shower first. I feel very dirty.”
Jacob carried her into the bathroom and set her on the closed toilet while he turned on the shower. As it warmed he gently removed her torn and soiled garments. When he reached the lace brassiere that did nothing to hide the rosy areolas of her small, perfect breasts, he gasped. He had never seen anything so alluring. He pushed the flimsy fabric aside and dropped to his knees to pay tribute to her perfect bosom with his tongue. His manhood fought the constraining garments that trapped it. He blushed when he saw her admiring the shape under his trousers.
“That’s so cute, you’re blushing,” Sunni said.
“It’s the hot water.” The bathroom was indeed filling with steam. Sunni’s pale skin was taking on a warm pink glow.
“Come in the shower with me,” she said.
It seemed there was only a moment between her words and the divestment of all their clothing. Then there was nothing between them, just slick, slippery flesh, with hot water flowing over every inch. He found the soap and gently washed her, gliding over various bruises and cuts on her otherwise perfect body. She stepped closer and kissed him again. She was so small he had to bend low, so he simply picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his hips. The hot, velvety feel of her sex against his organ was maddening and exquisite, as was the tide of blood that pounded through her small frame. It seemed she felt equally excited, as she panted and squiggled in his arms like a cat dropped in a pond.
She moved her mouth off his just enough to whisper, “I usually use a condom.”
“I harbor no human diseases, my love, but if you are worried about pregnancy we can …”
She shook her head. “No, not that. Don’t say any more, Jacob, just take me, please.”
It was such a small movement for him to lift her hips and position her body, then to slide her down so that he could enter her inch by magnificent inch, but it had volcanic results. Her head rocked back and she gasped, then cried out with pleasure. Noises emanated from his throat that he did not recognize. His mouth lay open against her neck, his fangs grazing her skin as he thrust into her from below.
He wanted so badly to drink from her.
“Do it,” she screamed, as if she had heard his thoughts. She pressed his head against her throat. “I want you to drink me.”
He did, and in the rush that followed they climaxed simultaneously, in great shuddering waves that sent Sunni’s blood pouring down Jacob’s throat. He broke away to keep from taking too much, but held his tongue against the wounds until they were staunched. Sunni was making incoherent noises, somewhere between a shriek and a groan, while her tiny body bucked in his arms. When she finally went still, he lifted her chin and smoothed her ebony hair off her wet face.
“Are you all right?’ he asked.
“Never better,” she whispered.
Chapter 16
Sunni lay on the bed with her head against Jacob’s chest. She listened to the quiet pounding of his heart, trying to process everything that had just happened, what it meant and what their next move would be. Looking at their entwined hands, she couldn’t help noticing that although her own fingers were wrinkled like prunes, his were smooth and plump.
“I have a confession to make, Sunni,” Jacob said quietly. Very gently, he lifted her off his chest and sat up. “I have been watching you for years. Since before your mother died.”
Sunni nodded. “Well, that makes our relationship a little awkward, that you’ve known me since I was a little kid, and I hardly know you at all, but that’s okay.”
“There’s more.” When he looked at her, there was no light in his eyes. His face was as immobile as a statue. “I am responsible for your mother’s death.”
She pulled away so that no parts of their bodies were touching. “What are you talking about?” she whispered.
“The Council has been aware of you since you were born. It is illegal to make a dhampir, but in general the Council allows them to exist—as long as they don’t fall into the hands of rogue vampires.”
“So dhampirs are like nuclear weapons? The good vampires are allowed to have them, but aren’t supposed to use them? And the bad vampires aren’t allowed to have them, but they sometimes get them anyway?”
“I’m no expert in nuclear weapons, but I suppose the analogy works. And I was assigned to watch over you, to make sure that you didn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Sunni got out of bed, pulling the antique quilt with her and wrapping it protectively around her body. “I should probably tell you, Jacob, I’ve already heard this story from Richard.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah. I should have told you, I guess, but I didn’t really trust either one of you at the time.” She blinked hard. “He said that two vampires came from the Council to ‘acquire’ me. I remember those two vampires. My mother was fighting with them. Then another one came and tried to save her, but one of the first two killed her. ”
“Let me guess,” Jacob said. “Richard told you he was the one who tried to save your mother and you.”
“That was his story. ”
Jacob shook his head, shaking with bitter laughter. In a few economical movements he jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans. “Oh, he is clever, I’ve got to give him that. But Sunni, he mixed the story up. He was one of the first two vampires. He was not with the Council. He and another rogue vampire just decided to kidnap you.” He looked down at his empty hands. “But I failed. I am sorry.”
Sunni glared at him. “Okay, spill it. The whole story. ”
“There isn’t much more to tell. I saw the car, I saw them fighting, and I came running.” He paused with his eyes closed. For a moment his face looked ancient.
“What, Jacob?”
He backed up until he hit the bedroom wall and then he pressed himself flat against it. “I saw it was Richard, and I was afraid, all right? I hesitated for a moment, and that was all he needed. He killed her. I came forward again, and they drove away. “ His fingers scrabbled, as if trying to dig their way out. “If I hadn’t hesitated, your mother would be alive today. ”
Jacob’s history with Richard and his inability to confront him had been the cause of her mother’s death. It was also the reason why Sunni had endured years of loneliness and misery thereafter. Sunni felt her blood turn to ice in her body. “You’re a pretty piss-poor yeoman, aren’t you, Jacob?”
He flinched, but he didn’t defend himself.
“Why didn’t Richard come after me again?”
“He has, hasn’t he? It took him twenty-four years, but he came back for you.” His voice was ragged. He turned his face away as if he couldn’t bear her scrutiny.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before …” Sunni stopped, unable to finish the sentence out loud.
Before I fell in love with you.
“I didn’t intend for any of it to go this far. I didn’t plan to love you.”
She saw pain etched deeply into his face, like carvings in granite.
“What do you want to do now?” he asked.
Sunni felt as if a huge weight had fallen on her chest, slowly suffocating her. “I think we’re done here.”
“All right then.” Jacob grabbed the rest of his clothes and threw them on. Sunni couldn’t bear to watch, but she couldn’t look awa
y, so she stared at her chair in the corner and followed Jacob with her peripheral vision. Why did every move he made have to be so graceful? Love and hate, that toxic blend she had become so intimately familiar with since her mother died, no, since before her mother died, washed through her again.
Jacob paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Even if you choose not to use my help, please don’t try to do anything alone. Go to Sherman Wong. He will help you.”
Sunni stared at him, not believing her ears. “Sherman Wong? What the hell does he have to do with …”
Jacob left the room before she could finish her sentence.
She was numb, drained of any feeling, lifeless. She welcomed this lack of emotion. It was so much better than anger or sadness. If she felt nothing Jacob could never hurt her, never disappoint her. No second chances.
“We’re getting married,” Isabel trilled.
“Isabel’s here,” Carl belatedly announced, trailing Isabel into Sunni’s office. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking Sunni if she wanted him to get rid of the intruder. Sunni had come in early that morning, yelling that she had a dozen fires to put out and he should hold all but her most urgent calls.
“It’s okay,” Sunni said, her hand covering the phone receiver.
She’d been talking to the curator of a small museum in Paris, trying to establish the provenance of a Gustav Klimt painting that had just come up for sale. A Jewish family in Poland had owned the painting before the War, but it fell off the radar screen in 1942. She knew two other dealers wanted the painting and if she didn’t put in an offer soon she’d lose her chance. Sunni told the curator an emergency had arisen, apologized, and hung up.
