by Morgan Hawke
“Rowan?” She lay very still across his knees. “Rowan, honey?”
“Perhaps it is best if you leave her asleep,” Klaus whispered from deep shadow.
“I suppose you’re right.” Rick ground his teeth and impatiently pulled the blade from the leather sheath. The black-handled dagger had a wide blade but a sharp point. “This is probably going to hurt.”
“I would imagine so.” Klaus was barely audible.
Rick took a deep breath and applied the point of the dagger to the ragged, seeping hole in her shoulder. Rowan moaned. He touched something metallic and felt a malevolent charge vibrate up his arm. “Shit, that is nasty,” he muttered. Abruptly the blade began to blaze with light. He almost dropped the dagger in surprise. Rick frowned and squinted against the glare. The dagger’s handle was growing warm.
“Quickly,” snapped Klaus.
Rick dug and pried at the bit of metal. It came to the surface, glowing a rancid yellow-green. Rick grabbed for it with his fingers. Pain lanced hotly and he hissed. Using the dagger’s tip he dug it from the wound and flicked it, rattling, to the floor.
“Salt, salt,” Klaus hissed.
Rick fumbled the red cloth bag open and sprinkled the wound.
“No fool boy…” Klaus appeared at Rick’s shoulder. “Use your fingers and pack the wound to break the spell. Her infection is not physical.”
“You are not helping,” Rick growled and poured half the bag over the gaping hole. He jammed a finger into the hole, shoving the salt in.
Rowan abruptly exploded in his lap, screaming. Salt flew everywhere. She thrashed and mindlessly struggled to dig the salt in her shoulder back out.
“Rowan! Rowan it’s okay, it’s just the salt!” Rick fought to hold her down. “Shit, she’s going to tear the hole bigger!”
“It is the spell she fights.” Klaus crouched before the two of them. “Hold her head still.”
Rick didn’t think, he grabbed Rowan’s head and Klaus stared into her pain-widened eyes. “Sleep,” he commanded.
Rick felt a slam of power and Rowan collapsed limply into Rick’s lap. He darted a look at Klaus. “Will she live?”
“If she is strong.” Klaus stood and brushed his hands down his robes. “You must leave. Now. Take her to the car and go home.” He turned and strode for the deepest shadows.
“Why?” Rick rose to his feet with Rowan in his arms. “What’s going on?”
Klaus turned to look at him. “Those whose will I serve are coming. If they find you, either of you, they will have no mercy.” Klaus shattered into splinters of darkness and was gone.
“Klaus, damn it!” Rick shouted at the empty shadows. He sighed. “Thank you.”
- Seventeen -
Segue
Rowan was dreaming of snow...
She walked in a forest of enormous and leafless trees. She could barely see through a falling curtain of bitter white. Her pale violet robes swept the snow at her feet and floated in a wind she didn’t feel. The ground was soft and barely felt. She moved between broad trunks of trees that appeared suddenly and darkly. She slipped, ghostlike through the endless half-light, hunting through the frozen forest of bare trees. She was looking for someone, but she had no idea who she was looking for.
Forever and forever and forever seemed to pass.
She frowned. “He has to be around here somewhere.”
Abruptly she came to the edge of the trees and discovered an endless, rolling emptiness. The sky was the same color as the snow-covered ground. On the edge of the horizon she could make out a single tree. “There,” something said within her. “He’s there...”
Someone stepped out from behind a tree right beside her. A long coat of silver blew open in the wind.
Fear caught her breath. She stepped back into the forest.
The figure turned abruptly to look at her. Long ice-white hair lifted from a broad brow, revealing burning white eyes in a chiseled and brutally handsome face. He smiled. “There you are...”
* * *
Rowan surfaced from sleep with a gasp. “Rick!” She blinked in the near dark. She was pretty sure she in Rick’s huge bed in the vault. She could just make out the pillars. The mattress shifted under her.
Rick leaned over Rowan with a grim smile. “I’m right here.” He was fully dressed in a black T-shirt and dark jeans. He set his chin on his fist. “Welcome back. How do you feel?”
She tried to sit up and groaned. Everything hurt. She fell back among the pillows. “I feel like dog-crap.” The blanket slid down and Rowan suddenly realized that she was naked. She grabbed for the blanket.
He brushed his hand across her brow. “You’re supposed to feel like crap, you had a bullet in you.”
“What?” She froze. “A bullet?”
“You got shot.” He leaned over the other way and grabbed the remote control from the table by the bed. The light increased. “Don’t you remember?”
Rowan blinked in the sudden light. “I think so. I remember the gun going off.” She raised her hand and flinched from the stiffness in her shoulder and arm. She found a neat bandage taped on her shoulder. “Did you do this?”
Rick nodded. “I stopped at a drug store and bought some stuff to bandage you with, along with some antibiotic cream.” He made a sour face. “Though I jammed so much salt in there, I doubt you’ll get any kind of infection.”
“Salt? You jammed salt into my open bullet wound?” Rowan winced. “In that case, I’m glad I don’t remember.” She shook her head and gave him a sour smile. “What day is it? When did we get here?”
“You got shot last night. You’ve slept the whole day away. It’s Friday night.” He sat down on the bed.
“It’s only Friday? All that happened in two days?”
“Do you remember Klaus?” He leaned over and grabbed the white bag off the side table. “Here, you need to eat.” He shoved the bag into her hands
“I think, I remember hearing him.” Rowan took the bag. “What’s this?”
“Burgers and fries. They’re about an hour or so old... If you’re thirsty, there’s a paper cup of soda on the table on your side of the bed.”
“I’m sure it’ll be just fine.” Rowan dug a cold burger from the bag and her belly cramped. She was starving; she hadn’t eaten anything since the sandwich yesterday afternoon. She took a huge bite. It was ice cold and tasted heavenly. She took a sip of the soda. Mmm, flat watery cola... She took another bite of the hamburger.
He frowned. “You don’t remember telling me to use your athame to dig the bullet out?”
Rowan glanced up. “I told you to use my athame?”
“The bullet in you was cursed. I couldn’t touch it.” He looked down at his lap. “You almost died.”
Rowan’s mouth went dry and the hamburger turned to cardboard in her mouth. She grabbed for the soda and sucked on the straw so she could swallow. “Almost died?”
Rick nodded. “If Klaus hadn’t told me to take out the bullet right there and then pack it with salt, you wouldn’t be sitting here.”
“Oh, my gods,” she said softly then her brows shot up. “Wait a minute, you said Klaus? Our Klaus?”
Rick nodded curtly. “He basically saved your life.”
Rowan frowned. “What for?”
Rick shook his head. “I haven’t a clue.”
She looked around. “Um, speaking of tall, dark and scary, where is he?”
He shrugged. “After I dug the bullet out of you, Klaus let us go.”
He mouth fell open. She closed it with a snap. “He let us go? Just like that?” She took another bite of the cold hamburger.
Rick eased off the bed then turned his back to her. “Yeah, he told me outright, to pack you in the car and go home. Todt, or Draugar or whatever he’s calling himself these days, escaped and Klaus went after him.”
“Draugar escaped.” Rowan felt a shiver that resonated to her core. She could still feel him humming on the edges of her power. “Shit, I need to reset the
house barrier...”
“You can do it tomorrow.”
Rowan shoved the blankets. “But we’re defenseless.”
“Stay right where you are.” Rick set a firm hand on the blankets. “I don’t want you bleeding again. You haven’t got the resources right now, and I don’t think Draugar is going to come anywhere near here. Not with Klaus hot on his ass.” He turned back and yanked his black T-shirt off, baring the sleek muscles of his back. “God, I’m tired. I haven’t slept since you caught that bullet.”
Rowan looked sharply away from the sight of Rick’s naked back. “You haven’t slept?” She heard the telltale jingle of a belt-buckle being unfastened.
“Or showered.” He snorted. “I got the front door repaired, and brought your suitcases in from the car. By the way, thanks for taking that ‘too-heavy-to-lift’ spell off the suitcase. They’re over by the foot of the bed. Anyway, I didn’t want to leave you alone too long or fall asleep, in case you needed to go to the hospital. And then there’s Klaus...”
She turned to see his hands grab his waistband. “Has Klaus been back?”
“Nope.” He began to jerk his pants down. He wasn’t wearing underwear. “Looks like he’s gone for good.”
Rowan’s body clenched hard with a different appetite and her pulse beat in her throat. A warm flush started creeping up her neck. Not now, I don’t need this now! Rowan closed her eyes tightly and swallowed the cold mouthful of burger whole. She nearly choked on it.
“I’m going to go take a shower.”
Rowan nodded with her eyes tightly closed. “Yeah, go do that.”
“Rowan?”
“Yeah?” She swallowed hard. The bed dipped.
“I want you to shower with me.”
Rowan’s eyes popped open to find Rick stark naked and sitting much, much too close. “I, uh...” She swallowed and tried again. “I’ll shower when I’m done eating.”
“I can wait.” He frowned. “And don’t give me that look.”
“What look?” Her voice came out in an embarrassing squeak.
Rick raised his brow. “Rowan, you’re still not all that recovered yet. I don’t want you falling in the shower, so finish your burger.” His brows dipped in a frown. “I also need to check the condition of your wound, and that needs to be done in the bathroom. It’s um, easier to clean up blood from tile than bed-sheets.”
Rowan let out her pent-up breath. “Oh, okay.”
“What?” He took a deep breath then his nostrils flared. “Ah, so that’s the problem.” A grin curved his lips.
Rowan looked at him suspiciously. “What?”
“It’s time to use me as a sex toy, isn’t it?”
Rowan blushed hotly.
He rolled his eyes. “It’s not as if you can hide it.” He raised a brow. “You’re not still embarrassed over this, are you?”
“I, uh...”
He took the half-eaten burger from her fingers, then handed her the soda. “Drink.”
Rowan automatically sucked on the straw.
He took the cup from her hand and placed it on the table. Gently he placed a hand on her shoulder. “You need to feed to recharge and I need to feed, too.” He pulled her close and tilted her chin up. “Get over it.” He kissed her.
Rowan felt his mouth on hers and opened without thought. She felt a hot wave of primal lust rage through her and couldn’t stop herself from sliding her hands into his hair and yanking him closer. She sucked on his tongue and nipped at his lips, kissing him as though starved.
Rick pulled back, breaking the kiss and grinned. “That bad, huh?”
Rowan was mortified. Where the hell did that come from? She swallowed and found herself licking her lips for another taste of him. “I’m not used to being this, um, out of control.”
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I figured. You’re probably not used to using this much magic, either.”
Rowan bit her lip. “No, I’m not.”
He took her hands. “Look, we both have appetites that need taking care of.”
Rowan gave him a tight smile. “That’s one way of putting it.”
Rick raised his brow. “So, why don’t we take care of each other and enjoy?”
“I suppose you’re right.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “I’m sorry...”
“For what?”
Rowan flinched. “For Klaus and Draugar...”
He snorted. “You didn’t invite that damned vampire into my house or ask to get kidnapped and shot.”
Rowan raised her chin. “Yeah, well, I didn’t get Klaus out either, and it was my spell that brought Draugar here.”
“To draw Klaus out of the house.” Rick gave her a wry grin. “Well, he’s out now and you’re safe.”
Rowan felt a laugh well up and nearly choked holding it back. This is so not funny.
“Come on, let’s shower.” Rick took her hand. “We’re both too nasty to touch each other right now.” He grinned suddenly. “Though I’m sure I could handle it if you really need it now.”
Rowan made a sour face. “No way in hell, Fang Boy. Definitely shower first.” She slid her feet out from under the blankets and felt sudden exhaustion grab hold of her.
Rick scooped his arms under her legs. “I got you.” He hefted her into his arms and stood.
Rowan grabbed for his neck. “I don’t know why I’m so tired.”
Rick rolled his eyes. “Heaven forbid, I just don’t see why you’re tired either.” He gave her a sarcastic snort. “Gee, could it have been the kidnapping, then the spell you had to break through, and then the bullet you took, that was cursed, by the way?”
Rowan grimaced. “I see your point.”
“Oh no, we’re saving that for after!” Rick carried her into the bathroom, grinning.
Rick set Rowan on the toilet seat of the tiny bathroom. Carefully, he peeled the taped bandage from her shoulder. Rowan turned her head to see and Rick firmly turned her chin away.
“No, don’t look.” He frowned. “Luckily, the bullet was in the meat of your upper arm and not really in your shoulder or you’d have broken bones.”
She felt his fingers apply pressure and she hissed from the pain. “It feels like a really huge bruise.”
“That’s because there’s a really huge bruise around it.” He sighed. “It’s only seeping a little blood and that looks clean.” He sniffed. “No sign of infection, thank the powers.” He grabbed for the box of gauze and the hospital tape on the back of the toilet. “You’ll probably be sore as hell for a while, but everything will be closed up with only bruises left by Sunday night.”
“Sunday night?” Rowan’s mouth fell open. “Look, I don’t know squat about bullet wounds but still... Isn’t that a little fast?”
Rick blushed. “After I dug all the salt out of you, I um, took care of your bullet wound my way.”
Rowan swallowed. His way? Does he mean that he used his mouth?
“I only did it once, while it was still pretty fresh, but the bullet made a good-sized hole and I couldn’t take you to a hospital.” He glanced at her. “I couldn’t think of a good explanation for how you got shot in the first place.”
Rowan bit her lip. I guess he did. Oddly Rowan discovered that she wasn’t really all that repulsed. Well, I suppose it’s good that I’m not in the hospital.
“You feel better after a shower.” Rick finished taping the new bandage on. “Then we need to talk.”
Rowan felt her heart jolt in her chest. “Talk?”
“Yeah.” He stepped into the shower and turned on the water. “Let’s get you into the shower.”
* * *
The water pressure was heavenly. All Rowan had to do was lean against the wall and Rick massaged her in thick soapy lather with a facecloth. She groaned. “Gods, that feels good.”
“Glad you approve. Hold still while I finish this off...”
Rowan insisted on washing her own hair. Then Rick wrapped her in a towel and set her back on the toilet seat
while he showered.
“Goddess, I can’t believe all the weird shit in the past few days. You, Klaus, then Draugar and his house of horrors...”
“Is that normal for you?” Rick’s voice sounded odd from behind the shower glass.
Rowan shrugged and ran her fingers lightly over the bandage. “I get the occasional phone call to deal with weird stuff, but nothing this weird. Ghosts usually, never bullets or vampires. I am going to have to do some fast tap-dancing to keep my job.”
“So, stay here, with me.”
Rowan blinked. I did not hear him say that.
Rick stuck his head out of the shower. “You could, you know.”
Rowan bit her lip. “Could what?”
“You could stay here, with me. I have the occasional weird thing to deal with too, you know.”
Rowan sucked in a breath. He did say it. Oh my gods... She shook her head. “I can’t. I have a life to go back to. I don’t want to lose my apartment, my job or my cat.”
“I thought your job didn’t pay all that well.”
Rowan rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t, but it’s better than flipping burgers.”
His eyes locked on hers. “Bring your cat, and your books, I won’t mind. I have plenty of room.”
Rowan felt a roaring in her ears. He really meant it... “I don’t know,” she heard herself say.
“Good enough for me.” He pulled his head back behind the shower door.
Rowan opened her mouth, and then closed it. She closed her eyes. Do I really want to live with a vampire?
* * *
Rick worked his comb through the impressive length of Rowan’s hair then divided it for braiding. The bedroom’s light made the dark red color of her wet mane look like he was plaiting thick ropes of fresh blood.
Rick pulled on her hair and Rowan grimaced. “Now why are we braiding my hair?”
“To keep it from getting tangled when we fuck.”
Rowan cringed. Gods, he makes it sound so... coarse. She wiggled back from the edge of the bed and it shifted precariously.
