Vampires’ Consort: Magical Ménages, Book 2

by Bonnie Dee

  “Tell me more about how you hooked up with Kaspan.” She kept her voice soft, cajoling a confidence from him.

  Jacob paused for so long she feared he’d tell her it was none of her business. But at last he replied. “What do you want to know?”

  “I’d really like to understand what it means to live in thrall to a vampire. You said he freed you and nursed you back to health. Start with that.”

  Could he tell her? Yes. The story was not complicated. But speaking the words was as painful as having his fingers broken one by one, and he could testify to exactly how that felt.

  He closed his eyes and released a long breath, separating himself from emotion and looking at his life through the detached eyes of a man staring down a long telescope. What had happened to him sometimes seemed light years away now, but other times it was as vivid as yesterday.

  “My father dared to speak against the Reich. He was arrested. We never found out what happened to him, but later my entire family was taken away—my mother, my two sisters and brother—and put in a prison camp.”

  “Are you Jewish?”

  He opened his eyes and turned his head on the pillow to look at her. She was so young World War II was nothing but a documentary on the History channel to her. She probably knew about Hitler and the Holocaust and the Americans storming the beach at Normandy, but little else of what had taken place back then.

  “No,” he answered. “It wasn’t only Jews who were imprisoned. Anyone who was undesirable or spoke against the government was rooted out like weeds and thrown on the rubbish heap.” He thought of Gerta and Mother quite literally tossed in a pile with other dead bodies.

  “And Valarian found you there?”

  “Yes, just before Dachau was liberated in ’45.”

  “What about the rest of your family? I’m sorry. It’s not my business.”

  He’d rather not talk about it, but now he’d started, he might as well tell her the rest—although not the details. Those he would never share.

  “My younger brother Hans was sent to a different camp for some reason. It was impossible to understand the bureaucracy. I never learned what became of him or my father. My mother and one of my sisters died at Dachau. My other sister…died later.” That was enough. She didn’t need to know Mary had become an officer’s whore and later killed herself from the shame of it.

  “I’m so very sorry.”

  He nodded, accepting her condolence, and moved on. “The formal surrender of the camp took place on April twenty-nine, but another division arrived the day before. Valarian was with them as a war correspondent. He’d immigrated to America many decades earlier, forging new identities and relocating whenever his lack of aging became obvious.”

  “If he can’t be out in the daylight, how did he manage to hold down a job like that?”

  “He couldn’t join the armed forces. But as an independent journalist, he traveled as he wished, producing the appropriate papers and attaching himself to various battalions. He was resourceful and fought the war in his own way.”

  How could he tell her what it had been like just before the Americans took over the camp? That night had been a blur. Jacob had been listless from hunger and closer to dying than he’d realized. When the guards had started shooting and burning bodies to destroy the evidence of their crime, he’d tried to protect some prisoners who were even weaker than himself.

  The Americans had broken through the gates, bullets flying. In the midst of it, Jacob had one single-minded purpose—to protect a boy he held in his arms. Having that focus gave him the willpower he needed to stay alive as he shielded the boy’s body with his own. And then he’d felt a presence by his side. He’d looked into eyes so powerful they felt like searchlights. In the midst of the chaos, he heard the stranger’s voice as if it were inside his mind. The boy is dead. You can let go now.

  Jacob looked down and saw it was true. The child’s emaciated chest was no longer moving. He laid the boy on the ground and returned his gaze to the man beside him. Now what?

  “I can save your life, if you will devote it to me,” the dark-eyed man said aloud. He showed his teeth, and where the canines should be was a pair of curving fangs. Jacob was past being shocked by anything at that point. He simply nodded, accepting the face the man showed him.

  “I need a good man like you to be my agent. In return I’ll give you a new existence.”

  Jacob barely paused to consider. “Will you give me revenge? That is what I want.”

  “Revenge is usually not as sweet as we anticipate,” the vampire warned.

  “Those are my terms. You help me and I will serve you for the rest of my life.” At the time he hadn’t really understood how long that life would be.

  Valarian had slit his wrist and offered Jacob his blood. While Jacob sucked that energizing nectar, Valarian had leaned close as if to kiss his cheek. A sharp pain pierced his neck as the vampire claimed him. Their bond had been sealed in blood.

  “Jacob, Are you all right?” Akila’s quiet voice brought him abruptly back to the present, the soft bed beneath him and the warm woman by his side. “I’m sorry I stirred up these painful memories.”

  “No. You should know everything about us, about what you’re getting into if you decide to accept Valarian’s proposal. He is no longer an evil being, but he’s no angel, either. The night he freed me, we forged a pact. He helped me fulfill my vow to my family. For years after the war we tracked Nazi criminals even more diligently than the Mossad did.”

  “What did you do to them?”

  He looked at her. “We didn’t take them into custody.”

  She didn’t look particularly appalled by the fact. Perhaps, compared to Valarian’s violent history, Jacob’s one-man justice didn’t seem so bad. Or all of this seemed more like a story than reality to her.

  “Do you ever regret making that pact? There must be times when you wish you could go your own way, live your own life. Or maybe I just don’t understand your relationship. Are you lovers?”

  Jacob smiled. The girl kept taking him by surprise with her candor. “Sometimes.”

  “You’re bisexual, then.”

  He paused to consider. Despite his years with Valarian, and those years had included a lot of sex, Jacob still thought of himself as a heterosexual male. He was attracted to women. His relationship with Valarian was something else entirely, an unbreakable, unshakeable connection.

  “I suppose you could say that.”

  Akila surprised him even more by adding, “Do the two of you ever share a partner, like a ménage situation?” She said it in an offhand manner, but the glitter in her eyes made it clear she was intrigued by the idea.

  “Rarely, but sometimes. One doesn’t live as long as we have without experimenting with many things.”

  Akila flopped back on the pillow. “You must think I’m an incredibly shallow bitch for asking sex questions after the serious things you’ve told me about your life. I’m sorry. I blurt out whatever crosses my mind. I really need to learn to keep my big mouth shut.”

  “No. Your honesty is refreshing. I like it.” He smiled at her. “Especially since so much of my life is carried on in the shadows of half truths and lies. It’s the nature of being Valarian’s agent. I conduct his business when he can’t—although with the advent of the Internet it’s much easier for him to do whatever he needs to from home—that entails being very careful about everything I say.”

  “I can imagine. Like keeping Superman’s identity a secret. It would be tiresome.” She cut a sideways glance at him. “Do you ever wish you could just be normal?”

  Every day. “My life stopped being normal the day my family was arrested in nineteen forty-three. This is my life.”

  And it just got a lot more interesting since you burst into it.

  Valarian watched the lights in the windows of Akila’s room shine in the darkness. He stood in the garden below, the one planted with night-blooming flowers that shone ghostly white in the moonlight. He
loved to sit for hours in the peaceful place. He hadn’t chosen to go there tonight simply because it was below Akila’s window and he could hear the sounds of their lovemaking floating out into the night. Not at all.

  His nose twitched as it caught the faint scent of sex, and his cock twitched as he envisioned heaving, naked flesh. His fangs descended from the desire to sink them into Akila’s lovely breast or Jacob’s solid shoulder. It was difficult to separate the need for sexual release from the need for blood, both so powerful and elemental a part of him.

  He could go upstairs, throw open the bedroom door and join them on that wide bed. The desire to do so was strong, and he’d never been a man to deny himself what he wanted. During his life, his mode had been to seize and possess. His newfound benevolence toward humanity had only taken place over the past ninety years and had been a slow learning process, for at heart he was a selfish being.

  Right now he must leave Jacob and Akila alone to become acquainted with one another. Slaking his lust was not important. The world was at risk and trying to save it was the least he could do to make up for his years of rampaging across the globe destroying fragile humanity in order to satisfy his craving for violence and blood. Maybe there could be redemption for him after all from this one grand gesture.

  But it was hardly his grand gesture, was it? Jacob would be the causative agent and Akila the one who would carry the savior. Other than bringing the two together, what part did he really play in the event? He’d contributed a little DNA, staged a little show of dominance to spur Jacob to make a move. That was all. It wasn’t as if their progeny would truly be his child.

  He stared at the pale blossoms in the garden, then at the lozenge moon that frosted the ocean waves. The primal sounds coming from the bedroom window accelerated as Jacob and Akila’s union neared completion. Valarian rested his hand on the bulge in his trousers, cupping but not rubbing his erection.

  Akila’s wail of release signaled the end of their coupling. It was followed by the murmur of two voices sharing confidences. That was as it should be. It was a vampire’s nature to spend a long, solitary existence. Partners, thralls, friends, sexual attachments came and went as the years rolled by. No matter how close those attachments might seem at the time, they inevitably faded and drifted away to be replaced by new emotional entanglements.

  He sighed. Now he’d truly depressed the hell out of himself and that was unacceptable. Moody contemplation was Jacob’s special gift, not his.

  Valarian turned away from the garden and the sounds of Akila and Jacob’s connection and trotted down to the beach to enjoy a late-night swim. There was always something to do, some pleasure to be had in solitude. By the time he’d stripped off his clothes and dove into the water, he was laughing at the absurdity of life once more. A vampire begetting a child by proxy—what foolishness would the universe think up next?

  Chapter Seven

  Akila woke to the sight of a school of orange-and-black clownfish darting among colorful corals. The water in the huge tank bubbled soothingly and the opalescent walls of her room curved around her like a shell. She was the pearl nestled on a soft bed at the heart of it. Smiling at her fancy, she yawned and stretched on her luxurious, big bed. Her body ached in all the right places. Her pussy was sore from being pounded, her nipples tender after being sucked so hard, and her mouth bruised from crushing kisses. Her cheeks and chin were a little raw from razor burn. All these minor discomforts added up to a great pleasure. Her body had been well used. Just thinking of last night made her crave more.

  But the bed beside her was empty. Jacob was gone. He’d left in the night to return to his own room, pressing a kiss to her lips while he thought she slept. Akila had been awake and aware of his leaving. She understood. It wasn’t as if they had a relationship. It would be awkward to spend the night together and wake up curled around each other like lovers. Even so, she’d felt a pang of regret as she’d listened to the door close behind him.

  Now she rolled over and looked at the window. Bright light shone behind the blinds. A glance at the bedside clock told her she’d slept away most of the morning. How decadent to be able to sleep in without the nagging feeling she should be out searching for another job.

  Losing her position as a sales clerk at a department store hadn’t seemed like much of a loss at first. The job was supposed to be temporary. She had a college degree, goals, and a portfolio of her writing to demonstrate her talent. Surely she’d begin a career in her field soon enough. She’d sent dozens of resumes to newspapers, magazines, e-zines, websites looking for content providers, and companies needing copywriters. In the meantime, Akila thought she’d take another temp job, but the market was so cutthroat even finding a waitress gig proved impossible.

  Dozens of interviews and “almosts” later, Akila was nearly broke and afraid she’d lose her apartment. The thought of returning home to her parents was humiliating. That was the position she’d been in when she’d been approached by Jacob with Valarian’s mysterious offer.

  She tossed back the covers and rose, walking over to the window to admire the gorgeous view. She couldn’t imagine living in a place where nearly every window overlooked the ocean. The scene of tropical plants, white beach and breaking surf was postcard perfect, but anxiety dimmed her joy. This wasn’t simply a great vacation at a seaside retreat. The prophecy about apocalyptic doom and a savior, which she’d managed to keep at bay, flooded back into her consciousness. The idea seemed preposterous, but if the prediction were true, she didn’t want to be the selfish woman who let the world go to hell because she refused to fulfill her destiny. What she needed was more proof. Maybe she could meet one of those nuns who tended the eternal flame or whatever.

  Akila didn’t want to leave the protective shell of her room, but couldn’t hide there forever. She steeled her backbone to face the potent combined force of Valarian and Jacob. The pair of them made her feel as inconsequential as a feather. They’d lived lives, difficult, complex, long lives full of violence, passion and drama, while she’d done what? Lived in her parents’ house, a college dorm room and a ratty apartment, held down a few mundane jobs, and had a half dozen boyfriends. She might be descended from the pharaohs through some long-diluted bloodline, but she was no Egyptian goddess meant to bear the savior of the world. Valarian would expect a decision from her today, and she had no idea what she was going to say.

  Akila showered and dressed in another pair of capris and tank top, then went downstairs to the dining room. She met no one on the way. The quiet was unnerving, but a breakfast buffet awaited her on the table and she immediately felt better as she filled a plate with a muffin, fruit and yogurt cup.

  “I can make you bacon and eggs or an omelet if you’d like.” She nearly dropped the plate on the floor when a voice came from behind her. She turned to face her host.

  Valarian’s darkly handsome features stole her breath. It was criminal for someone to look that hot so early in a morning, before a girl had gotten her bearings or even had her first cup of coffee. His glossy black hair shone like a raven’s wing and beneath dark brows, his eyes glittered. His cheekbones made her heart clatter, and all she could think of was him kissing her last night on the veranda. He must be thinking of it too.

  Akila ordered her rising lust to stand down. Nothing to see here, citizens, move along. “No, thank you. This is enough.” She indicated the food on her plate.

  “Come.” Valarian led the way to a sitting area different from the one in which he’d greeted her yesterday. This room faced another direction and offered a different seascape, one which included a rocky outcropping of land and distant islands. It also featured a wall of encaged birds and an environment for them. A sapling grew toward a skylight above, giving the birds sunlight and branches to perch upon.

  Akila watched the parakeets and finches flutter and peck at their cuttlebone. “You like birds.” She stated the obvious.

  He stood beside her and she felt his presence as if he was pulsing in e
lectro-magnetic waves. “It might seem cruel to keep them captive, but I think they’re happy enough, and I do enjoy caring for them.”

  “No worse than keeping a cat indoors when they’re meant to roam and hunt,” Akila observed and immediately wished she hadn’t as she realized who she was talking to—a preternatural creature who was made to hunt and kill. For all she knew, these birds were one of his sources of blood.

  “See the one with the scarlet breast? That’s Beebo.”

  He’d named them? Probably not food, then. Akila listened with delight as Valarian chatted about different birds’ personalities. He seemed less formidable, more approachable when he reached into the cage and brought out Beebo on his finger.

  Akila held out her hand and the bird shuffled from Valarian’s finger onto hers. Sharp little claws curled around her finger as the bird clung to her and let out a desultory chirp.

  “He’s so cute. They all are.” She never would’ve imagined the dashing, worldly, mysterious Valarian Kaspan as a bird lover. His finger brushed hers as he took the bird back and returned it to its cage and a frisson of energy shot through her at the contact.

  “I like them. Their lives are fleeting, but just the sight of birds brings joy. That’s more than a lot of people can say about their existence.”

  “I suppose so.” She moved to a chair and sat to eat her breakfast.

  Her host sat across from her, making her a little self-conscious about devouring her crumbly muffin. But she ate it anyway. Between bites, she quizzed him.

  “If it’s not rude to ask, do you, um, hunt animals or drink from blood bags from human donors?”

  “Some of each. I couldn’t live strictly on re-heated blood. Sometimes I need it live and pumping straight from the source.”

  She swallowed, nearly choking on her muffin. The glance he gave her neck illustrated his point. She could see the predatory gleam in his eyes as if he’d like to snack on her right now. It made her nervous but also strangely aroused. The stories about the erotic magnetism of a vampire weren’t exaggerated at all.