Ambrose opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by the slamming of the front door. All eyes turned to see who might have come into the house, but in truth they all knew who it was.
Ambrose smiled the moment he saw Carissa walk by, but his smile quickly faded when he saw what kind of shape she was in. She was wet and looked to have been beaten. She never looked at the group in the kitchen. She just held her coat tightly closed and staggered to the stairs that led down to her room.
Carissa ended up holding onto the wall as she walked down the stairs as quietly as she could. She didn’t realize she left a bloody handprint on the wall or that she was leaving a trail of blood behind her with each step.
It took almost all of her energy to reach her room and close the door. Carissa found that she had to fight to keep her eyes open and fight the blackness that threatened to overcome her.
With precious energy, she slipped her heavy coat from her shoulders, letting it hit the floor. After two steps toward the bathroom, Carissa dropped to the ground. Blackness gripped her like a lover’s arms as she crawled into the bathroom. So much energy was wasted on pulling herself up to the sink that Carissa knew she wasn’t going to make it. Blood poured out of a twelve-inch slice in her side. It was so deep that she was going to need not just blood, but stitches as well.
“Julian,” she whispered just before she gave into the darkness and went tumbling back down to the ground.
Before her head slammed into the ground, Julian caught her. “Got you!” He sat down on the floor with her body in his lap. The first thing Julian did was look at the wound on her side. “Damn it, Carissa!” he snapped. “You went out fighting alone again.”
Carissa opened her eyes, but Julian could tell she wasn’t seeing a thing. “I found it.”
Julian pulled his butterfly knife and quickly moved his wrist, so the blade was opened. “Seems that the more you try to push me away.” He cut his wrist deeply. “The more you need me. Open!” he commanded harshly.
Julian managed to get some of his own blood down her throat before she passed out completely. Quickly(,) he closed his wound and yanked a towel from the rod. He pressed it hard at her wound, ignoring her whimpering, and picked her up.
Instead of placing her in her room, he carried her into his own room. Making sure to keep pressure on the slice, Julian stripped her down and dressed her in one of his button down shirts, leaving half unbuttoned.
Julian spent a good hour sewing her side up. He lost count of how many stitches she needed. When he was done, he found he had a hell of a time getting her to wake up long enough to replace some of the blood she lost.
At six in the morning, he figured she had enough to get her by. He cleaned up quickly, then went to check in on the girls before he also called it a night. He was so tired and so pissed that Julian thought he could choke her when she woke up.
“It is going to take more than your confessed love to change her ways,” Ambrose informed Julian as he sat in a chair in the basement’s living room.
Julian closed the door to his daughters’ room quietly. “I never asked you for your advice.”
“I thought at the time she was over you. That is why I let her go on that mission. I never thought she was doing it for any other reason.” Ambrose met Julian’s hard eyes with sorrow in his own. “I never would have her let her go out there and risk her life if I had known she still loved you.”
Julian crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on the door. He looked at Ambrose hard. “What makes you think she still loves me? She acts like she can’t stand to be in the same room with me.”
Ambrose smiled in a soft manner. “She is trying to push you away. Even trying to hurt you. You have heard her say over and over again how weak you are, but have you stopped and thought about that? She is attacking you only because you are her weakness.” Ambrose took a deep breath. “If you die in this battle, she will die with you. Deep down, Julian, Carissa is scared to death of losing you again.”
“So.” He chuckled in a sarcastic manner. “You want me to do what?”
Ambrose stood up with a sigh. “I want you to not give up. You are going to have to put this burden on your shoulders. She isn’t going to give an inch easily, and you need to brace yourself for that fact. If you want her as much as you try to hide, then go out there and fight for Carissa.”
* * * *
Carissa woke up a couple of hours before the sun set. She frowned in tenderness and touched the spot where she was cut. She was surprised to find it stitched up and even more surprised to see that she was in Julian’s bed. She looked down at herself and grinned at the shirt she was wearing then smiled at the sight of Julian sleeping deeply.
The urge to touch him as he slept was powerful, but somehow she managed to hold back. Biting her lip to suppress the moan of discomfort, Carissa slipped out of the bed. She almost dropped to the floor from weakness but somehow managed to stay on her feet and stay quiet. She stole a quick look at Julian and held her breath as he turned over to his side, facing the bathroom door.
Wincing with each step she took, Carissa walked to the bathroom and closed the door softly. The urge to take a shower was as overwhelming as was the urge to crawl back in that bed into his arms.
Within minutes, Carissa was standing under the spray with eyes closed. The heat of the water poured down her body, stinging the stitches on her side. Carissa flattened her hands on the wall and hung her head in a defeated manner, waiting for all of her stiff muscles and soreness to go down the drain with the hot water.
Cool hands suddenly touched her lower back and rubbed up to her shoulders. Carissa moaned as the hands rubbed the sore muscles, and thumbs worked at the knots. Wet hair was pushed over one shoulder as lips pressed a small kiss to a bare shoulder.
As Julian rested his head against the side of hers, he wrapped his arms around her body. He made sure he didn’t touch her wound as he hugged her back against him.
Out of nowhere, Carissa wrapped her own arms over his and rested her head against his chest. Tears fell from her eyes to mix with the water, and before she had a chance to control anything, she was crying. Her whole body started to shake as the tears pooled out.
Julian quickly turned her around and wrapped her into his arms tightly. He held her as she cried the tears that were way overdue. It was a cry unlike anything he had ever seen before. Years of pent up emotions were spilling out onto his shoulder, and Julian took each one of them.
When Carissa pulled back and looked at Julian, he thought his heart was going to break for her. She sucked her breath in on a hiccup, but the tears still fell freely. Julian brushed the tears aside before he ran his knuckles along her chest.
“We do this together,” Julian told her softly, touching a tear with his thumb. “You’re not alone.”
Carissa wiped at her face as her lower lip still shook. “I’ve always been alone,” she told him with a shaky voice. “I don’t know how to do it otherwise.”
Julian kissed her softly on the lips before he pulled her head back down on his chest. “Then, it is time you leaned on me.”
Chapter 10
For a week, the men waited until Carissa healed. In that time, Ambrose trained them for the kind of fighting they were going to need against these breeds. Carissa spent time with the children, getting to know them and letting them get to know her.
Julian took the stitches out at the end of the week and smiled his approval at the way the wound healed. He informed her she would have a scar, but Carissa only laughed it off and reminded him about the large scar in the middle of her stomach.
Around four in the morning, the five were still up looking over maps and discussing what would be the best plan of attack. Carissa was sitting on the counter with arms crossed over her chest rolling her eyes as the men argued.
“Enough!” Carissa screamed, rubbing her eyes in a frustrated manner. “The arguing isn’t going to get any of us there faster than what we are doing now.”
Carissa took a deep breath. “There are only four of us against I don’t know how many. They have the advantage.”
“Dangelis isn’t going to stay in this spot for too long,” Ambrose put in with a sigh. “My gut tells me he knows we know about this lair.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the map.
Carissa saw for the first time how most of this stress was coming down on Ambrose. He looked tired and old. Not a good combination for someone who was planning on going out to a battle where the victory didn’t look good.
Carissa looked at Julian, then at Lucian. She nodded her head and hopped off the counter. “Okay then.”
“Okay what?” Julian asked in a curious manner.
“Tomorrow night we train hard and heavy. You boys only get one night. After that, we go get the beast in the lair.” She grinned.
Julian watched her walk out and suddenly was worried about whether or not she was ready to start training and fighting again.
“Why do I get the feeling I am not going to like this?” Lucian asked with a groan.
Ambrose smiled, also watching as she walked out of the room. “Because she is going to work you two over good.”
* * * *
Julian ended up being the last to wake, dress, and join the group in the backyard. Tempest took the children out for the day, along with Corbin, so they wouldn’t be around to watch the fighting. She made a point to inform Julian a few days ago that the girls were starting to cause more trouble around the house. They were pretending to be Carissa and thought they were great fighters.
Julian watched as Ambrose and Lucian went at each other with two thick wooden staffs. Each was hitting the other hard, forcing him to block or get hurt. Julian was somewhat shocked to find Carissa sitting on a chair watching them. It wasn’t like her to not be involved in something like this.
“I thought you were never going to get your ass out of bed,” she suddenly said to Julian, not looking at him.
“Well, I have had a few stressful days,” he remarked, taking a chair and setting it down next to her. He straddled it and looked at her. “How are you feeling?”
Carissa grinned slightly but never looked at him. “I’m ready to put you back in your place.” Julian was about to say something smart but was cut off by her again. “Here.” She handed him two steel-like staffs that were short. “You need to learn how to handle these.”
Julian looked at the small weapons until she distracted him by getting up. He watched her give the staff a hard jerk downward and was amazed when it snapped opened.
He did the same thing, looking over the long, metal staff with the sharp point at the end. “Impressive.”
“Hardened steel,” she informed him, turning around toward him. “Never has a set been broken.” She gave him a cheap smile. “And they sting like hell when they make contact.”
Julian gave her a cocky smile of his own. “Good to know.”
“Okay,” Ambrose panted out. “Your turn.”
“You’re getting old, Ambrose.” Carissa smiled.
“That ain’t no shit,” Ambrose agreed.
Julian followed Carissa out to the clearing they had set up years ago for sparring. After Julian got Alina back, he and Lucian still sparred. They wanted to keep what was taught to them fresh in case something bad happened again.
Carissa and Julian stood facing each other with a good amount of distance between them. Julian kept his eyes fixed on her as he snapped his wrists, extending his steel staff.
“Yep.” Julian nodded. “Very impressive.”
“Now, let’s see how well you can handle them.” She smiled in her own cocky way when he looked up at her. “After all, those are not toys for little boys.”
Julian cocked his head to the side. “Funny.”
Carissa moved fast. She came at Julian with her left arm raised up and ready to strike, but it was her right that swung at him. Julian barely blocked the blow but did end up dropping one of his steel rods from the stinging vibration of the block.
“Son of a bitch!” he hissed, shaking his hand and walking away from her.
Lucian, who was sitting in Julian’s chair, started to laugh. “Brings back memories.”
“I told you they sting,” Carissa informed him with a slight smile on her face and a humorous look in her eyes. She gave her staffs a jerk and closed the steel as she walked up to Julian. “This is how you need to hold them.” She closed her hand over his, showing him the proper way to hold the weapon without feeling any of the pain.
Julian felt instant electricity the moment she touched him but managed to hide the effect. He quickly snapped out of it when she walked away, snapping her staffs open again.
“Should I get some popcorn?” Lucian asked with a smile on his face. “I have a feeling this is going to be one hell of a show.”
“Piss off,” Julian snapped.
Carissa smiled again at the remark. “Are you ready?”
“Keep smiling, sweetheart,” Julian taunted.
“Only until you grow a set of balls and knock it off,” she smarted back.
Julian attacked this time. He rushed up at her, swinging his staff so fast and so hard that sparks were flying from the blocks. And still, Carissa grinned at him.
Left, right, left, right, right, left, those were the hits that Julian rang in on her, and each one of those she blocked. In fact, with the blows, Carissa tossed a few of her own in with a twirl to the left, then right. Somehow(,) Julian managed to get Carissa in somewhat of a choke hold with both staffs at her throat. She was holding him off with her own, so when her leg came up straight and kicked Julian in the head, he released her quickly.
While he was slightly distracted from the kick, Carissa swung her staff out and nailed him in the side of the leg hard. The blow knocked Julian down to the ground.
“Fuck!” he screamed out in pain.
Carissa walked up to him and slammed her foot down on his chest, preventing him from getting up. “That’s going to leave a nasty mark.” She grinned down at him.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked, breathing hard.
Carissa bent down with her foot still on his chest. Her smile was still on her face as she cocked her head to the side. “Just a little bit.” She winked.
Lucian was laughing hard in his chair. “God, this just keeps getting better and better.”
“Want to keep playing?” she asked Julian in a sweet voice.
Julian pushed her foot away and scooted back to his feet, mere inches from her. “You’re the one going down this time.”
Carissa gave him a sexy grin this time as her eyes looked down his body and back up to his face. “Maybe if you beat me,” she told him softly, so Lucian wouldn’t hear.
“Don’t tease me, Carissa,” Julian told her with a warning in his voice, also keeping his voice down, so Lucian wouldn’t hear.
Carissa took a deep breath as one eyebrow went up. She looked him up and down again before she moved away from him, walking backward and keeping the eye contact.
Julian watched her twirl her rods in her hands and give him a grin in a manner that his cock sprang to life.
“Let’s go, little boy,” she taunted him.
“I got your little boy,” he mumbled to himself.
Julian charged and swung hard with his left, which she blocked with her right. Over and over this played out. Sometimes with a blocked right, Carissa would spin around to hit him hard with a left. Julian blocked her then did the same move back on her. It took a few times of this before Julian found the weakness he was looking for.
When Carissa moved and blocked a powerful hit, Julian swung around fast and tried to kick her legs out from under her. Carissa jumped back, but somehow Julian managed to hit her across the lower part of her back hard. He watched from the corner of his eyes as she went down hard on her ass.
Julian turned an
d put his foot on her chest, grinning down at her. “That had to hurt,” he purred at her.
“Never had anything hurt so good,” she panted back with a slight grin on her face.
Julian laughed at her and bent down with his hand out to her. Surprisingly, Carissa took his hand and let him help her to her feet. It was the first time ever that she took his help.
Chapter 11
Carissa stepped out of her shower with a sigh. Her body ached all over, especially her back. Quickly she dried off and looked at herself in the mirror. She had to smile at the bruise on her lower back from the blow she took at Julian’s hand. He really did pick up how to use the weapon quickly.
Shaking her head, Carissa walked out of her bathroom to her bed that had a silk robe on it. She groaned as her muscles
protested the movement she used to slip the robe on. However, Carissa had to admit it was nice to have a workout like that. It had been a long time since anyone fought back as well as Julian did tonight.
Carissa sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair. Her ears perked up, however, when she heard Julian in the room next to hers groan. She smiled as she placed her brush on the bed and stood up.
Since it was two in the morning, Carissa knew that no one would be up. On silent feet, she slipped out of her room grinning as she headed to Julian’s room. The only thing that was on her mind was the thought of giving him more hell. For some unknown reason, she found that the sparring of words was more fun than knocking him on his ass.
Maybe she was getting soft, she thought with a shrug as she slipped into his room quietly.
The room was dark, and Julian was still in the shower. Carissa walked around, looking at his things. The last time she was in this room looking around she spotted a photo of Serina. This time it was gone.
“It’s in the girls’ room.”
Carissa turned around quickly to see Julian standing in the bathroom doorway with a towel around his waist. His chest still had wetness on it, and his hair was slicked back by his hands.
Bloodmate IV Page 5
