She felt stupid for her slip up. “I love Nathaniel, but I don’t like being lied to. I’m still mad about that, and I don’t want you doing the same to Caitlin.”
He shrugged. “Not all relationships start that way, but in the end we do what we have to. Drew’s mother knew exactly what she was getting into, and she’s pretty happy.” He thought for a moment. “That’s probably not the best example.”
“Why?” Hannah asked.
“Drew’s mother is a serial killer.”
Hannah’s mouth dropped open.
Justin didn’t elaborate more on the topic of Drew’s mother. “I hope Caitlin decides to specialize in all of this woman stuff so I don’t have to do it anymore. Lie down and lift up your shirt a little, so that I can check the baby’s heartbeat.”
Reluctantly, she obeyed.
He squirted cold gel on her belly, and turned on the Doppler. She heard a lot of noise as he moved it around slowly. Finally, he found the heartbeat. The sound of her baby’s heart beating amazed Hannah. “I thought it would be too early.”
He shook his head. “The baby will develop at a very accelerated pace. It’s good, because the pregnancy will be very rough on you. Are you able to hold down the vitamins?”
“Some of them,” she admitted, feeling a little guilty that she hadn’t told him earlier.
He didn’t scold her for not telling him. “I’m going to check your iron level. If it’s low I can always give you an injection of the supplement, but we can’t rule out the possibility of you needing blood.”
That thought made her feel sick. “Like drinking blood?”
“That’s the most common method.” He seemed clueless to her distress over the idea.
“Hell no!” she almost shouted.
“I can always do a transfusion,” he said patiently. “It’s unlikely you’ll need blood.” He pricked her finger and took a small amount of blood. “I’m going to check your blood twice a day from this point forward. I may check it more frequently if there is a problem.”
“How is your brother?” she asked while he was checking her blood pressure. “He looked very distraught when I saw him this morning.”
That caught Justin’s full attention. “When did you see Isaiah?”
“Just before you came in. I saw him standing outside in the rain.”
“Damn it!” he snapped. “Did anyone else see him?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, but she wasn’t really sure.
Justin almost ran out of the room. She saw him grab Drew’s arm and they both raced down the hallway. His exit was unsettling. She closed her own door.
A knock on the door came only a few minutes later, and this time the visitor nearly caused Hannah to faint.
She stepped back, her hands over her mouth, as she stared at Isaiah in his rain soaked and muddy clothes. The blanket was gone. His wrists were bound with ropes attached to broken bedposts. The bandage on the left side of his face was hanging by the corner, revealing the deep wounds on his cheek. On his arm she could see track marks from needles. When he reached out to her, she screamed. As her scream cut through the air, Isaiah dropped to his knees, covered his ears, and began to sob like a frightened child.
She felt horrible for scaring him, and knelt to soothe him. He reacted like a wounded animal, leaning into her to seek comfort from her presence. She had never had any special skills with soothing people, only animals, but her presence seemed to calm Isaiah. Maybe she had a way with insane vampires. That thought might have amused her under different circumstances.
Noah raced into her room. He was only wearing shorts and jogging shoes, drenched in rain and sweat. His eyes met Hannah’s and moved to Isaiah who was now curled up in a ball on the floor.
“What happened?” Noah asked.
Hannah removed the filthy bandage that was hanging from the side of Isaiah’s face. “He showed up at my bedroom door, and it scared me. I shouldn’t have screamed.” She looked up at Noah. “What happened to him?”
He bent down on the other side of Isaiah who whimpered pitifully. “I have no idea. Is there any antiseptic in your bathroom?”
Her eyes locked on Justin’s medical bag, and she quickly started to rummage through it. Noah removed the ropes from Isaiah’s wrists, and stared at the bruises and cuts they had left.
Hannah brought out wet towels, and they started to work on cleaning him up.
“What happened to you, Isaiah?” Noah asked in a gentle voice.
He didn’t answer. When he started to shiver, Hannah wrapped the blanket from her bed around him, and he stared at her like a frightened child.
“We’re all evil,” he said, speaking directly to Hannah, almost choking on his words.
“Just relax Isaiah.” Noah was trying hard to calm him down. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”
“No rest for the wicked. Mary rests, but she was never wicked.” He lapsed into incoherent babbling.
Justin’s voice interrupted Isaiah’s hysterics. “What are you doing to him?” he demanded.
“Your brother wandered into her room, and scared the hell out of her.” Noah snapped. “We were cleaning him up so that the mud covering his cuts wouldn’t cause an infection.”
“You should have come to get me.” His tone was a mixture of anger, and frustration. He squatted down and placed his hand on Isaiah’s shoulder. “Come on, it’s time to go back to your room. You scared me.”
Justin grabbed his medical bag, and led Isaiah out of the room.
Hannah wanted to demand answers about Isaiah’s condition, but she also knew that any confrontation would only hurt her chances of escape. That made her feel selfish.
After Justin left with Isaiah, Hannah collapsed into Noah’s arms. This had become a habit for her. Her cheek rested against his bare skin. His mere presence overwhelmed her senses, the sound of his heart beating beside her ear, the musky smell he had just after a run, and the feeling of his arms surrounding her. The events of the morning faded into the background, and there was only Noah.
She pulled back and looked up at him. Noah stared at her for a long moment.
“I need to go take a shower,” he said in a husky voice, and then hurried out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hannah was beyond bored. It was day five of her confinement, and if she stayed much longer she might start to seek out Drew’s company. Yesterday she had actually asked Nathaniel to spend time with her. She was beginning to understand how people ended up with Stockholm’s Syndrome.
Noah still had to work so she ended up spending most of the day sitting in her room alone. Even when he was off, like today, he couldn’t spend the whole day with her. It would have looked much too suspicious. The thought of Noah reminded her of the sex dream she’d had about him the night before last. She kept reminding herself of what Caitlin said. She spent a lot of time with Noah, and there was no reason to make too much of the dream. Unfortunately, her body did not agree and she was getting aroused just thinking about it.
She finally decided that a bath was just what she needed. As the warm water filled the tub, Hannah put her hair up to keep it from getting wet. She let the robe drop to the floor, and stepped into the water, almost moaning with pleasure. She opened her eyes, and used her foot to turn the water off just as it was about to spill over the edge.
Her bliss was soon interrupted by a knock on the bathroom door. She was sure it was Justin, wanting to take more blood. Her poor fingers couldn’t take much more abuse. The only good thing to come out of her blood draws was the decrease in her iron supplements.
“Go away!” she snapped. “You can take my blood later.”
“I think I’ll pass on that offer.” The sound of Noah’s voice made her grin.
“I’ll be right out,” she said. The bath could wait. She’d rather spend time with Noah.
After removing the plug from the bath tub, she wrapped a towel around her body and let her hair down. When she was dry, she hung
the towel up and put her bathrobe back on.
“Turn around, so I can get dressed,” she said through the crack in the door.
Noah was wearing black jeans, a gray flannel shirt, and hiking boots. His hair was wet, and resting just below his collar. The impish grin told her he was in a good mood. “You don’t have to get dressed on my account.”
With her index finger she made a turning motion. “Turn!”
He turned toward the window, looping his fingers in his belt loops as he looked down at the ground. When he looked up at the window, the lighting was just right for him to see Hannah’s reflection as she slipped off the bathrobe. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped at the sight of her. He needed to look away. That was exactly what he needed to do. Instead his eyes moved over her full breasts to her waist which now had just a little bulge. Then he took in her round backside and the curves of her legs.
He wanted to touch her, taste her, and feel her around him. He forced his eyes down, and tried to get those images and thoughts out of his head. She needed his friendship, and he was fantasizing about her and sneaking peaks at her while she was getting dressed. Not for the first time, he wished that he had met her first. Things could have been so different for them both.
“Okay, you can turn around now.”
She was wearing a loose-fitting t-shirt that came to the middle of her thighs and a pair of leggings. It was one of the outfits he had bought her. She’d complained about her lack of options, so he’d headed off to the mall with Trish and Caitlin. He hated the mall, but he’d spent four long hours shopping for Hannah. In his opinion it should not have taken four hours, but they had stopped at every single store that sold maternity clothes. Trish had to critique every single outfit they saw. Then, when he believed the nightmare was over, they’d stopped to look at baby clothes.
“How are you holding up?” His voice was a little rough. Thinking about shopping had at least eased his arousal some.
She moved across the room, and sat on the corner of the bed closest to the window where Noah stood. “I’m moody.” She let out a sigh. “I don’t like lying but now my whole day is one lie after another, except when I’m with you.”
“We should be able to get you out of here next weekend.”
Her face brightened.
He moved to sit beside her on the bed. “I can’t promise you anything. There are still arrangements that I need to make, and I have to go away for a few days before we leave. When I’m gone, you have to be on your best behavior.”
She looked away to hide her disappointment, but he saw it.
He took her hand in his. “You’re doing a great job of dealing with Nathaniel, and believe it or not that scene with Isaiah helped you.”
She looked puzzled. “How's that?”
“Justin doesn't want Nathaniel to know what happened, and you're keeping his secret. He’s very grateful.”
“I'm not doing it for him,” she grumbled. “I feel bad for Isaiah, even though I shouldn't.” Her voice began to tremble slightly. “I hate this whole thing!”
Noah's thumb brushed across her cheek. “It's almost over.”
It was hard, but she forced herself to smile.
“Have you eaten lunch yet?” he asked as he stood up.
She shook her head. “No, and I’m hungry for a change.”
“Let’s go downstairs, and get you something to eat.”
“You mean wander about the house with no guards?” she asked sarcastically. “Do we dare?”
“They won’t be far behind, I’m sorry to say.” He moved toward the door, and held it open for her. “Come on, let’s go raid the kitchen before the cook realizes what we’re up to.”
She followed him down the hallway, through the dining room, and into the kitchen.
He got down on his knees in front of her, and put his cheek against her belly. “And what does my nephew feel like having today?” He kissed her belly.
“Ah, that is so special.” Drew drawled from the doorway. He wore baggy blue plaid pajama bottoms with no shirt, or shoes. “While you’re down on your knees, I really could use a blow job, Noah.”
“Fuck you!” Hannah snapped at him.
Her outburst obviously shocked Noah, because when he stood up it was Hannah that he stared at open-mouthed.
Drew merely smiled maliciously, and leaned his weight against the wall. “I’ll have to take you up on that offer another time, sweetie. For now, you’ll just have to fantasize about me.”
Noah took a step toward Drew, but Hannah caught his arm.
As she spoke to Noah, her gaze never left Drew. “Would you go to the Thai place by the college and get me some spring rolls, pad Thai, pineapple fried rice, and extra plum sauce? Oh, and some papaya salad?”
He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone with him. That would take me more than an hour in good traffic.”
“There are plenty of people within screaming distance, and I don’t want you killing him right now, it will ruin my appetite.” The calm in her voice was chilling even to her own ears.
He hesitated until he noticed Ursula standing just out of Drew’s sight. “I know a place that’s closer. I’ll be back soon.” On his way out of the kitchen he intentionally brushed roughly against Drew, knocking him slightly off balance.
Drew hesitated for a moment as though he couldn’t decide whether to stay or follow Noah. Hannah wasn’t surprised that he decided to stay.
He walked across the kitchen, and leaned against the counter beside her. “If you get down on your knees and beg, I might be willing to entertain you until Noah gets back.”
She smiled sweetly. “I’ve got a better idea. I’ll tell Nathaniel that you threatened me, and he’ll kill you.”
The smug grin faded. “It would be your word against mine,” he said with a huff.
“Noah will back me up. He hates you.” She smiled innocently.
He walked closer until they were standing toe to toe, with him towering over her.
She was doing her best to hide her fear, because she knew how much he would enjoy it. There was no doubt in her mind that he could be dangerous. Justin had said that his mother was a serial killer, and she imagined that Drew had inherited a love of cruelty.
His face held no emotion. His voice was quiet. “Enjoy the power while you have it, because as soon as Nathaniel gets tired of you I’ll return the favor.”
Despite her best intentions she shivered.
He gave a hearty chuckle, and slapped his thigh. “Don’t worry, sweet little Hannah. I won’t hurt you, unless you ask me to. Now that you’re one of us, you’ll find that your physical desires, food, water, sex, are intensified.” He caught the shock in her eyes. “That's right, honey, you'll need sex like you need air. When Nathaniel is off screwing strippers, and college girls, you’ll be left with no one to take care of your needs. My cousin is far too possessive to let you go out where you could find someone. You’ll be on your knees, begging for my company, and I’ll have had time to think of some very suitable ways of punishing you for today.”
He was lying, and she knew it. Noah would have warned her. She gave him a saccharine smile. “Why don’t you just hold your breath until that happens?”
“Bitch!” he hissed, and then stormed out of the kitchen.
“He won’t hurt you.” It was Ursula’s voice, and Hannah found it soothing after her talk with Drew.
“He’s a psychopath,” Hannah said simply “I think Drew enjoys hurting people.”
“You are one of us, and he wouldn’t harm you because of that.” Ursula assured her. She thought for a moment, and then added. “I would recommend you avoid his mother. She is dangerous.”
“Justin told me that she’s a serial killer. Does that happen to some people? Do they become killers, because of this?” She waved a hand, not really knowing what to call it.
Ursula laughed so hard that she had to lean against the counter for support.
“Did I say something funny?” Hann
ah asked.
Ursula shook her head, and tried to contain her laughter. “Justin is not very good at telling stories. Phoebe, Drew’s mother, was a serial killer when she met Drew’s father. Andrei was actually her intended victim. Andrei was lucky enough to get his hands on her long enough to drain her energy.”
“And he married her?” Hannah could not have been more shocked.
“He truly adores her,” Ursula explained.
“He adores a woman who tried to kill him?”
“As far as I know, she still tries to kill him on occasion,” Ursula explained. “Andrei is a very strange man. You would like him.”
Hannah thought about what Drew was like, and shook her head. “I highly doubt that.”
Ursula merely shrugged.
“How did you become one of them? Was it Roman that brought you into this? Did you have a child with him?”
Ursula looked amused. “You see Roman as my lover?”
Hannah shook her head. There was something between them, but they were not lovers. “Who was it?”
Ursula moved to the refrigerator, removed a jug of orange juice, and poured two glasses. “This is good for the baby,” she said as she handed one to Hannah.
Hannah took the glass, and stared at it.
Just when it seemed that Ursula would not answer the question, she began to speak in an almost childlike voice. “He has been dead many years, and no one misses him. It was long ago when I became what I am today.’ Sadness washed over her. “Had I been stronger it would have been different. I could have saved Roman from becoming what he is today. He was not always like this. He was a sweet little boy, who grew into a warm and loving man, but his father’s cruelty eventually destroyed that part of Roman.”
It was as though a light came on for Hannah, it was all so clear now. “Roman is your son!” she gasped.
Ursula nodded, looking both relieved and surprised. “How did you know?”
Hannah's hands moved instinctively over her belly. “You love him unconditionally. I’m surprised I didn’t notice right away.”
Ursula caught her arm. “He doesn’t know, and you must never tell anyone! Only two other people know the truth. You will keep this to yourself?”
Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) Page 16
