More Than Blood

by Amanda Vyne

  Glancing over her shoulder again she could see herself in the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses. It masked the full impact of his eyes, but she could feel the gentle probe of his mind that said he was trying to read her.

  He said nothing, had said nothing since insisting on coming with her. What was he thinking after what had happened between them last night? Hell, she didn’t even know what to think.

  Kel tried to break herself out of the damn doubt that was shaking her confidence. They were both adults. Why the hell should she care if he didn’t want her to take his blood? She didn’t need his acceptance. She pulled her shoulders back despite the tiny quiver of uncertainty that settled in her belly.

  Gabe Ferrar’s presence this morning after what he’d learned of her last night, after what they’d done, might make her feel too open and, well…raw, but she would not curl up on it. After leaving him in the garage, she’d taken a long hot shower and thought for a long time about her reaction to him. She decided she was stronger than that but she did feel the need to reassure herself, to find a sense of renewal – of hope. Haven House did that for her.

  Casting another hooded look his way, the corner of her mouth twisted wryly. She just wished Gabe Ferrar wasn’t there to sense it, especially with his bond mojo he was exploiting with her. Did he sense her need to be here today? Would he see it as a weakness?

  Kel mentally gave herself a shake. What the hell should she care? She didn’t have to explain herself to him, especially about emotions he was pirating off of her. Let him see it as a weakness. Maybe he would decide she was too inferior for a pureblood Ferrar and leave her the hell alone.

  She’d stopped by Incog this morning to do a write-up on the incident at that Triumvirate home. Kye liked lots of documentation, especially when it pertained to his agents’ behavior on the outside. And Gabe had been there, waiting for her. She should have known he wasn’t going to give her any space, any room to breathe or think. He was probably right. She’d never wanted to run as bad as she did this morning.

  Not that it should matter. She wasn’t able to escape him anyway, regardless of where he was. He’d made it perfectly clear last night that he wasn’t going to let this go, and she’d gotten the distinct impression of a churning darkness surging dangerously inside him, against his control, seeking her. It was both incredibly exciting and tremendously terrifying in equal parts.

  Too bad both parts left her wanting to touch him again.

  Suddenly the heavy door swung open and a small old woman peered intently at them. No, at him. Up and down him, to be exact.

  “Another orphan? Not sure if I have a bed for him. Guess he can use mine.”

  Kel smiled widely and felt the tension start to recede. “Mae, behave yourself.” She could feel his light probe again but ignored him as she stepped forward to hug the small woman.

  Mae Graeme was a tiny little woman with white hair, shimmering silver eyes, and a sharpness about her that didn’t become apparent until it was too late. She looked to be about sixty, but Kel suspected she’d lived more than three times that long. She’d taken Kel in when Kye Forestor had found her, when no other could handle her.

  “Certainly, my dear. When I am dead. Now bring your orphan in before his burns get any worse.”

  Kel spun and appraised him. There were some red angry areas on his collar and the backs of his hands. With a frown she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into the house. “Dammit, Ferrar, speak up.”

  His heavy eyes just pressed into her from behind his glasses, making her hyperawareness of him go skipping over her skin again.

  Mae shut the door, her shrewd silver eyes appraising them. “Tala is in the kitchen, getting lunch ready for the girls. Take your orphan in there and I’ll bring some salve for those burns.”

  Kel almost laughed at the bemused expression on Gabe’s face as she lifted one of his hands to frown down at the dark, angry redness there. A tiny blister was already forming.

  “You’ll get used to her. Does this hurt?”

  “It’s fine,” he murmured in that deep baritone of his that rumbled through her. His hand felt warm and heavy in hers and she took a reflexive step back, releasing his hand. She most certainly did not need any other parts of her anatomy joining this lunch, not with Mae and Tala watching her.

  “Come on.”

  Kel loved this kitchen. It had high ceilings with a large wooden table that had seen better days. She’d spent so many nights at that table, trying to escape her own skin. Mae and Tala’s various herbs and plants grew in abundance near the tall, narrow windows and they filled the room with a fresh scent. It was equipped with large, commercial-sized appliances that were old and beaten but immaculate. It was always warm and welcoming, a sanctuary for her during the days when all the other places made her skin crawl.

  All the food was just a bonus.

  “How is it you seem to always show up at mealtime?” Tala stood with her back to the counter, a dish towel in her hands. She was a year or so younger than Kel, a tiny thing with large violet eyes and long ebony hair. She cast a wary glance at Gabe.

  “Luck.” Kel smiled. “This is House Marshal Gabrial Ferrar. My temporary partner.”

  Tala’s eyes darted quickly to Kel before she nodded with a tight smile and said, “Nice to meet you, Marshal.” Tala and Kel had been roommates in the Triumvirate home, sharing more secrets than they cared to admit. The least of which was how Kel had come to be there.

  “I wanted to stop by and warn you to keep a close eye on the girls for a while. There might be a perv out there craving crossbreed girls.” Kel cocked her head to listen to the distant chattering of the girls upstairs and a small smile played over her mouth. It was the sound of hope that she sometimes craved. Nothing like the sound that she and Tala had heard as girls. “Especially Madison. She’s close to her change.”

  Tala gasped. “Should we be afraid?”

  “No, don’t panic. Just be cautious. You’re keeping her in now anyway.”

  Gabe frowned. “Her change?”

  Both Tala and Kel turned to look at him. Tala shot Kel a look before she pushed away from the counter and turned to finish up the sandwiches. Kel sighed and dropped down into a worn chair, trying to let the warm tones of the kitchen settle her.

  “Puberty,” Kel finally said. “It’s very intense for Guardians. They can sense it in each other and it can incite violence from males, especially those who have not been –” Kel took a deep breath “—taught control.”

  GABE FELT HIS muscles clench and that foreign darkness surged against him. He cast a glance at the other woman, who turned away. Her body was tense as she sliced tomatoes. Fear vibrated in every line of her small form. His eyes came back to Kel. Her body was relaxed, slouched in the chair but her eyes told a different story. She looked haunted. When he tried to feel her, she shied away as though reflexively retreating from being touched. As though she were bruised. “And that means?”

  “It means, Marshal Ferrar” – her voice grated over his name – “that she is prime pickings for our psycho and all kinds of other degenerates.”

  Gabe could feel the flare of her emotions; they flashed over him in a maelstrom of anger and disgust and shame. The anger burned the hottest. He tried to focus beyond it, to concentrate on what kind of significance this had for his case. But her emotions battered him in a way he didn’t think she was aware of.

  Blinking against the sudden ache in his head, he narrowed his eyes on her. “You think our guy was attracted to the girls because they were nearing this change? If he’s Sanguen how would he know?”

  “Your missing girls were all in the right age range. Maybe he was just going by that. As for the girl in the park…” Kel shrugged and pushed her chair abruptly back to pace over to the counter. She jerked a knife out of the block and began cutting the onions into slices.

  Gabe frowned at her abrupt behavior, watching the knife blur as she hacked away at the unwary vegetable. She was angry and it wasn’t all dir
ected at him. Some of it was at herself. The backlash of it burned through their weak connection, made his chest hurt.

  “And in a Triumvirate home?”

  Kel used the flat of the blade to push the pile out of her way and angrily grabbed another one, the knife blurring again. “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure it out, Ferrar. The males lead them to any females that have Guardian blood.”

  “How?” Gabe grunted as he rubbed absently at the center of his chest, his thoughts darkening as a picture began to form. Something that Elemental said last night rose up in his memory. She’d said it was hard to tell until their first “heat” when the young Guardian males began showing a “real interest” in them. A “real interest” as in rape.

  Gabe felt the beast inside him surge in fury, threatening his control. Its rage spiked across their connection. Kel jerked in response, accidentally running the knife over her finger. The scent of her blood flooded his system, churning the already rising tide of his fury and possession.

  With a growl, he shimmered, grabbed her by the shoulders, and turned her to face him. “Rape. That’s what you mean. What happened to you?” His fingers bit into the soft flesh of her arms.

  Tala jumped away with a yelp but neither of them paid her any attention. Kel stabbed her knife into the cutting board, the dark depths of her eyes burning. “Yes, among other things. Disappointed your bloodmate isn’t a pure Sanguen?”

  He knew she didn’t just mean pureblood and her insinuation scorched him, driving his anger higher. His lip curled up. “Is that what you think?”

  “It’s what you think, Marshal Ferrar. Poor little pureblood got stuck with a dirty little crossbreed.”

  “What?” Gabe jerked, his fingers tightening on her arms. She didn’t say anything, just stared up at him mutinously, her body stiff against him. He didn’t know how to handle his constant loss of control when he was around her, the overwhelming emotions she evoked in him so beyond his experience. She hurt. He could feel that in her. And it pierced that pulsing darkness that was flowing violently through him.

  Her face was set in lines of rebellion, her expression daring him to say she disappointed him. It would be a relief to her, a confirmation of what she feared he would do once he found out about her past. Then she wouldn’t have to fear it anymore. His disgust she knew how to deal with but the fear of his reaction left her vulnerable and that left her angry. He could feel it all in her.

  As the knowledge washed through him, he felt the darkness ease. The fury of the beast subsided in the face of his mate’s pain. In its place came an awareness of her, of the feel of her slight body against his, of the hot and sweet smell of her blood. Gabe reached down to grab her hand and slide her bleeding finger into his mouth, gently folding his tongue around the tip. At the taste of her, his cock jerked and pressed into her belly. She tasted so sweet, and he inhaled her shocked gasp, his eyes gliding closed. His hunger was getting out of control, his reactions more volatile the longer he went without her blood. God, he needed her. Had needed her last night – the sweet, slick heat of her pussy drenching him in her desire, the way her body seemed to clench desperately around his cock as though she was as hungry as he was, as though it hadn’t been nearly enough.

  “Well. I can see he won’t be needing my bed.”

  Tala gasped. “Gram!”

  Kel jerked her hand free and folded her fingers into her palm, pressed her fist to her thigh. Her glittering eyes watched him with equal parts heat and wariness.

  Sliding his eyes from hers he turned to face the older woman, one blond brow cocking up at the knife that threatened him.

  Tala was standing back with her hands clenched together over her chest. The knife she had been using was floating in the air just in front of him, the business end no more than a foot from his chest. More Elementals.

  “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, my dear.” Mae gave a wave of her hand and the knife resettled back on the cutting board. Her silver eyes seemed to pierce him. “I doubt Kel’s orphan has any intention of harming her.”

  Gabe nodded. “Of course not. She’s my bloodmate.”

  Tala gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth.

  Kel made a frustrated sound. “Says you.”

  Mae tilted her head. “Did you share blood?”

  Kel cast a look at him and looked away. He felt the faint echo of her hurt reach him and he knew she was thinking of his preventing her from blooding him last night.

  “Enough.” Gabe answered for her.

  The old woman narrowed her eyes at the exchange but continued. “Then says his instincts. A force, I fear, you will not win against.” She handed Kel a glass jar, then waved her hands at Tala. “Let’s finish lunch, my dear. The girls will be upon us in moments.”

  Kel led him to a chair that was away from the windows and any more damaging sun and pushed him down. Standing over him, she opened the jar and slapped it on the table. When she motioned to him, he lifted one large hand and put it into hers. Her touch was soft and cool as she dipped into the jar and carefully applied the glittering salve to first one and then the other hand.

  Her dark eyes studied him for a long moment.

  “Next time say something. I don’t work with many full-bloods and I’m not used to worrying about the sun.” Her words were softly admonishing.

  “You don’t have sun allergies?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. I’m a beach bum when I have the time.”

  She stepped between his knees and he widened them further to make room for her, the very large bulge of his cock blatant. He watched her carefully, studying her reaction to him.

  Pulling at his shirt collar to get a closer look at his neck and collarbone, she scooped up more salve and gently laved it over his burns. Her slick fingers smoothed over his skin. He looked up and her dark eyes were fixed intently on his chest, her fingers feeling more like a caress as they swept slowly up and down his exposed collarbone.

  Immediately his cock jerked, responding to the change in her touch, and he felt that telling tingle in his gums. He flattened his hand over hers, pressing her palm to his chest. “How long were you in that home?”

  Her warm breath ruffled the top of his head as she sighed. He could feel her resigned irritation. “Long enough. Tala and I ran away.”

  “How’d you end up at Incog?”

  One of her cheeks rose just a bit in a tiny smile. “Mae had hired Incog to find Tala. When Kye found us I came along for the ride. Not sure why he took such an interest in me but he did. Forced me to finish school.” She shrugged.

  There was a wealth of emotion in that casual lift of her small shoulder. He didn’t need their connection to see that. Mae and Kyeros had done so much more for her than bring her “along for the ride.” They’d saved her. For him.

  Kel cleared her throat and stepped away from him. “Well, that should do it.” Then her head jerked up and a beautiful smile broke over her face as it sounded like a herd of elephants were crashing down the house. “Here they come.”

  Those elephants appeared in the kitchen in the shape of young girls, as young as seven or eight and as old as high school age. They burst through the doors, screeching Kel’s name as they saw her. She seemed very familiar with each of them, ruffling hair and asking them about school and various extracurricular activities they must participate in.

  She paid particular interest in a sullen girl with light brown hair and deep blue eyes. The girl seemed very agitated. Kel took her aside while the other girls filled their plates with sandwiches and fresh-cut fruit.

  Gabe frowned as Kel examined the girl’s fingers and tilted her face back to stare down into her face. This girl must be Madison, the one close to the “change.” He could sense the Sanguen blood in her and obviously Kel recognized the Guardian. She whispered to her and the girl nodded, her blue eyes glossy from tears she struggled not to shed.

  Finally, Kel led her to the counter and got her a plate with three sandwiches on it. This seem
ed to embarrass the girl because she flushed, cut him a look, and shook her head. Kel’s eyes met his across the expanse of the kitchen and she smiled. Whatever she said next had the girl giggling and shooting another look at him. He suspected that giggle was at his expense but the young girl took the plate and scampered out of the kitchen.

  Gabe raised a suspicious brow at Kel. “What was that about?”

  The smile she turned on him was pure mischief as she reached out, snatched an empty plate off the counter, and thrust it at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  She grabbed a plate and began piling food on it, casually tossing fresh-cut fruits and vegetables on his as he stood next to her, just watching her. She was so unexpected. One moment fragile and rebellious, the next nurturing and mischievous.

  They ate together amid giggling and bickering. Once they were finished they headed out to the back yard that was surrounded by a high fence. One of the girls produced a soccer ball, and they quickly separated into two teams. Kel and Tala faced off, and everyone laughed when Kel used her strength to kick the ball but Tala stopped it in midflight and sent it flying back without so much as touching it. Kel accused her of being a “dirty rotten cheater” and Tala quickly responded by calling Kel an “Amazon warrior woman.” The girls seemed to enjoy the bantering between the two adults.

  Gabe stood back in the shade of the awning that extended over the small patio, carefully avoiding the sun.

  Mae appeared in the door and offered Gabe a sweating glass of juice. “They are like sisters. My first girls.”

  Accepting the glass Gabe nodded. “They lived in the home together?”

  Silver eyes carefully appraised him and then she sighed. “Those two years were the worst of my life. Tala is my only grandchild and it pained me to know that my own daughter was so willing to dispose of her. Kel protected her the best she could, you know.” Mae lowered her small frame into a chair on the shaded patio. “I’m just grateful they had each other. She’ll be difficult. She won’t come easy.”