Twice Bitten: An Argeneau Novel

by Lynsay Sands

  Elspeth bit her lip and nodded, but then blurted, “I’m sorry. I had no choice. You were dying in my arms. I—”

  “I’m not mad,” he said quickly, and her words died at once.

  “You’re not?” she asked uncertainly. “But I thought you weren’t sure you wanted to be a life mate? You said you didn’t know, that dating would help you decide.”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t know,” he corrected her gently. “You said that perhaps you were being very egotistical, and maybe I didn’t want to be a life mate, and I said, ‘Maybe I don’t.’”

  Elspeth frowned slightly, and then tilted her head. “I don’t see a difference. You weren’t sure you wanted to be one, and I took the choice away and turned you.”

  “To save my life,” he said gently. “And if you had been able to ask me, I would have said yes, because when I said ‘Maybe I don’t,’ that was just . . .” He hesitated, and then said, “You were upset, and I wanted to convince you to give us a chance. I wanted you to agree to date me so that I could woo you as you deserve and convince you that you could be happy with me. That I wouldn’t stop you from doing the things you wanted to like going out with the girls, and staying up all night.”

  “You did?” she asked, appearing uncertain.

  “Yes, El, I did,” he said solemnly.

  “Why?” she asked with bewilderment.

  Wyatt smiled crookedly. “I wish you could remember our first date. It was . . .” He shook his head, unable to find the words to express what that day had meant to him. “I’d never met anyone I jibed so well with. We talked and laughed and held hands, and it was so perfect, the perfect day. I fell in love with you by dinner, and just sat and stared at you through the first three quarters of the play afterward, until I just couldn’t resist any longer, and then I kissed you and . . .” He shook his head. “That was the best twenty-four hours of my life.”

  “It’s the life mate sex,” she said quietly. “A mortal couldn’t compare.”

  “No, honey,” he assured her solemnly. “It wasn’t the sex.”

  “Yes. It’s—”

  “Elspeth,” he interrupted firmly. “I dated a lot of women before you. It was a different girl in every port kind of a deal. But none of them even touched my heart, while you flat-out owned it before I even kissed you,” he assured her, some of his own amazement at that showing in his voice. “You were a goddess, my soul mate, perfection made woman. I never wanted to leave your side, and I was stunned when you were suddenly leaving. But I was crushed when you didn’t show up the next day.”

  Eyeing her solemnly, he admitted, “I’ve been looking for you ever since. I hired countless private detective companies, as well as computer geeks to search for just your name, and I’ve spent more time in England over the last four years than I have in Canada or anywhere else. That’s why I haven’t visited Gran these last four years. Because every spare moment I’ve had off, I was in London, looking for you.”

  He smiled wryly, and said, “And then my father insisted I had to check on Gran. I mean, he insisted. We had a terrible fight over it. As much as I love my grandmother, I had planned another trip to England to scour London for you, and didn’t want to cancel it. My father freaked. He started ranting about how he and Mom have hardly seen me these last four years, how I no longer spend time with them, and I didn’t visit Grandmother anymore. He didn’t know what the hell was the matter with me, but if I no longer cared about any of them, and didn’t want to be a part of this family, and would rather waste my time searching for a woman who obviously didn’t want to be found, then I should just get the hell out of the family.”

  Wyatt shrugged. “It was the biggest favor he’s ever done me. I felt I had to come to check on Gran or lose my family too. Then I wouldn’t have you or them. So I reluctantly came to check on Grandmother, and in doing so, I finally found you. Here, of all places,” he said with a smile that faded as he added, “Only you don’t remember me . . . I wish you did.”

  “I wish I did too,” she said softly, and then they both glanced toward the connecting door to the bathroom when a knock sounded on it.

  “I guess they’re awake,” Elspeth murmured with what sounded like regret, and then called, “Yes?”

  The door opened and Lissianna arched her eyebrows and scowled at them. “You aren’t supposed to be out of our sight.”

  “Sorry. We didn’t want to wake you up with our talking,” Elspeth said at once.

  “Talking, huh?” Lissianna asked dryly, her gaze sliding from Elspeth obviously bottomless in the babydoll, to him completely nude, reminding them both of their present state of undress.

  Wyatt didn’t mind so much. There wasn’t a lot of privacy in an army barracks. Besides, the twins had already seen him this way. What was one more family member getting an eyeful? But it was obvious Elspeth didn’t feel the same way. Squawking with alarm, she scrambled to the top of the bed to grab the pillows and tossed one to him, even as she covered herself up with the other.

  Shaking her head, Lissianna moved forward, scooped up Elspeth’s missing panties off the floor, and tossed them to her. “Your father called and wanted to talk to you.”

  Wyatt stiffened in surprise at the news, but Elspeth paled and looked horrified.

  “Mother told him you and the twins were sleeping and she’d pass the message on,” Lissianna continued gently, her expression sympathetic. “That way you can call back or not as you like. She said she’ll continue to give him that message unless you tell her otherwise.”

  “Thank you,” Elspeth breathed.

  Lissianna nodded, and then said more sternly, “Now get your panties on and get back in the other room. We can’t guard you if we can’t see you.”

  “Yes, of course,” Elspeth murmured, shifting toward the side of the bed with her pillow.

  Glancing to Wyatt, Lissianna added, “I’ll grab you the pants Sam brought back for you, so you don’t have to parade that monster in front of the other girls.”

  Wyatt grinned as she left the room, and then turned to watch Elspeth pull her panties on. He didn’t know why she bothered. They were as see-through as the rest of the outfit. But she seemed to feel better once they were on. At least, she dropped the pillow and appeared much more relaxed, Wyatt noted, and shook his head. He really did not understand women.

  “What do you think your mother told your father?”

  Elspeth glanced at Wyatt when he asked that question, and then peered at her guards. Every one of them was asleep again. Which was fine. They’d wake up at once, and be on hand if anything happened. Besides, she knew they were all as exhausted as she.

  “El?” Wyatt prompted quietly, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the others.

  Sighing, she considered the question and then whispered, “Probably that we are horrible, disobedient children. That the twins refused to return with her and it was all my fault.”

  “And he’ll buy that?” he asked dubiously.

  “He loves her,” she said simply.

  Wyatt nodded solemnly, and then asked, “Do you think he knows what she’s done? How she’s controlled you all?”

  Elspeth peered down at her feet. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to him. The women had all been awake when they’d first returned to the room, and they’d all chatted for a few minutes, mostly about Wyatt and how he was feeling, and the fact that he’d need more blood. Rachel had set up his IV again. Elspeth had tugged it out of his arm when she’d lured him to the bathroom. He apparently hadn’t noticed at the time. Now he was receiving blood again, through the IV.

  Rachel had glanced to her in question as she’d said she would do it, no doubt asking if Elspeth would rather teach him to feed on bagged blood, but she was too tired for that at the moment. Showing him after some rest would be better for both of them.

  “El?” Wyatt prompted quietly.

  Sighing, she grimaced and said, “I think if he doesn’t know, it’s only because he doesn’t want to, or can�
�t allow himself to.”

  “How do you mean?” he asked quietly.

  Elspeth searched briefly for a way to explain, and then said, “My uncle Jean Claude was a drunk. Worse than that, though, he was rogue with it. He drank Wino Reds at The Night Club, but he also—”

  “I’m sorry,” Wyatt interrupted. “What are Wino Reds?”

  “Blood taken from individuals who are drunk,” she explained quietly.

  “Right,” he nodded. “Okay, go ahead.”

  “Aside from the Wino Reds, he also bit mortals who were drunk or on drugs to get that high, no matter how temporarily.”

  “You’re not talking alcoholic lovers, are you?” he asked.

  Elspeth shook her head. “Unknowing and unwilling donors. That’s against our laws.”

  Wyatt nodded.

  “Uncle Lucian suspected he was doing it, but it was his twin brother,” she said sadly.

  “That would be a hard one,” Wyatt said quietly.

  Elspeth nodded. “So, he didn’t look into it . . . because if he didn’t know for sure, he didn’t have to do anything about it.”

  “Ah.” Wyatt nodded again. “And you think it’s the same thing with your father. That he probably suspects, saw some things that would make him suspect, but didn’t acknowledge it because then he’d have to do something about it.”

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “Greg calls it Betrayal Blindness.”

  Wyatt nodded solemnly and then asked, “And how do you feel about that?”

  “I understand,” she said slowly, and then added, “But it doesn’t make it hurt any less that he wouldn’t protect us from her. Just as knowing that her behavior is caused by her past doesn’t make it any easier to bear.”

  “I’m sorry,” Wyatt said sincerely. “I wish I could make it all better for you.”

  Elspeth smiled faintly. “Thank you. That actually makes me feel better.”

  Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, and then slid down on the bed and lay next to him.

  Wyatt peered down at her for a minute, and then did the same, sliding forward so that he could lie flat. After a moment, he said, “I know you’re tired. I am too, but how is my grandmother?”

  “Oh,” Elspeth said softly, forcing her droopy eyes open wider. “I’m sorry. She’s fine. Rachel’s been keeping her sedated so she wouldn’t know what was going on with you. Your screaming and thrashing would have terrified her, especially since we couldn’t tell her the truth to explain what was happening,” she pointed out. “But I’ve checked on her several times, and Rachel checks on her regularly and assured me Merry would be okay,” she told him, and then added, “She’ll probably stop the sedative in the morning and let her wake up now that the worst of the turn is over.”

  When Wyatt grunted, she added, “And there’s good news.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Sam met the insurance guys at the house today and took care of everything for Merry and me. They’re willing to pay up and will get the money to us as quickly as possible.”

  “Really?” Wyatt asked with surprise. “But it was arson, and I thought in arson cases it took thirty days for the arson investigator to—”

  “As far as they’re concerned, it wasn’t arson,” Elspeth interrupted quietly.

  “Huh?” he asked with surprise. “Of course, it was. Someone threw Molotov cocktails into the house. They—”

  Something in her expression must have caught his attention, because he stopped talking and narrowed his eyes.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You remember the two immortals who arrived to handle things just before we left? Well, they handled things.” When Wyatt narrowed his eyes, she sighed, and said, “Wyatt, we can’t let mortals investigate events like this. If the perpetrator is immortal, their investigation could get them killed by a rogue immortal, or reveal our presence. We can’t allow that.”

  “So, those guys ‘handled things’ by . . . ?”

  “Putting it into the arson investigator’s head that it was a result of natural causes—faulty wiring or something,” she said. “And then they put it into their head to make their reports quickly and forget about it.”

  “And I’m guessing Sam did the same with the insurance people?” he asked dryly. “Put it into their head that as it was natural causes, they shouldn’t hold up payment, but should make their reports, pay up, and forget it?”

  Elspeth nodded.

  “Okay. I can understand why that would be necessary,” he said, and slowly relaxed. After a moment, he asked, “So, how bad was the damage?”

  “Not as much as I expected,” Elspeth admitted. She’d been rather shocked at the news herself, so wasn’t surprised when he appeared startled.

  “Really?”

  “Really,” she assured him, and admitted, “I was afraid the whole place would have to be demolished and a new house built, but the fire department was there pretty quickly and was fast about putting out the fire. Julius said most of the damage was to the floors and a few walls, although there’d be a little more work thanks to water and smoke damage.”

  “Julius?” he asked with surprise. “Marguerite’s husband? Our host?”

  Elspeth nodded. “Sam called him for advice on whom she should have look at it to tell her how much work has to be done, and he drove out there himself. He owns a construction company that takes on jobs all over the world. Big-type jobs, like building resorts and malls and stuff,” she explained. “But he’s been thinking about opening a branch office over here too since he spends so much time here with Marguerite. He’s offered to do the work for Merry if she’d like.”

  “Wow, that’s nice of him,” Wyatt murmured.

  Elspeth nodded. “He had to go through the house to inspect it. Sam said he found some items in a storage area in the basement that survived the fire intact. Some boxes of pictures and stuff, I think.”

  “Gran’ll be glad to hear that,” he said solemnly.

  Elspeth murmured agreement, but her eyes drifted closed. She knew Merry had been upset at losing all of her photographic memories of her husband. Hopefully there would be some good pictures in the boxes for her.

  “Speaking of Gran,” Wyatt said with a frown.

  “Yes?” she asked, forcing her eyes back open.

  “I suppose I can’t tell her about immortals and everything, can I?”

  “No,” Elspeth agreed.

  “But then, what do I tell her? How do I explain my feet being healed?”

  Elspeth considered the question seriously, before sighing and saying, “There is no way to explain your feet.”

  “Then what—”

  “You might have to wrap up your feet again and stay off of them for a while,” she interrupted apologetically and grimaced when Wyatt groaned at the thought.

  “Three weeks in bed,” he said with disgust.

  “I’ll keep you company,” she promised.

  “Great,” he muttered, and before she could be too hurt, added, “I’ll have you right where I want you, and won’t be able to do a damned thing about it because your four guards will be with us too.”

  “Ah,” Elspeth bit her lip. That was going to be painful. He wasn’t the only one with needs.

  Eighteen

  “You’re looking pretty damned good for a guy who supposedly got burned to a crisp in a fire a couple of nights ago!”

  Elspeth glanced up with surprise from the playing cards in her hands, and then launched herself off the bed and rushed across the room to hug the giant who had just appeared in the open door.

  “G.G.!” she cried, giving him a good squeeze made up mostly of relief. It was just the afternoon after Wyatt had woken up, and being confined to the bedroom when he felt fine and healthy was already making him crazy. She, Alex, and Sam were playing poker with him to help pass the time, while Lissianna and Rachel helped Meredith with a jigsaw puzzle at the table by the window. Some distraction by a visitor could only be a good thing, to her mind. Re
leasing the giant, she grabbed his arm and urged him toward the bed. “Come. Say hi. I know Wyatt will be glad for the company.”

  G.G. snorted at the suggestion. “Looks like he has more than enough company as it is. Ladies,” he added the greeting, nodding at Lissianna, Rachel, Alex, and Sam. “Nice to see you all.”

  Every one of them was already on their feet and moving forward to greet him. G.G. was popular with female immortals. He was easy to talk to and obviously loved women. It was easily read from his mind, a deep-seated respect and love for them, gained from having a pretty amazing mother. When he finished hugging and greeting each of the immortals, he crossed the room to Meredith.

  “Hello, ma’am. You must be Wyatt’s grandmother and Elspeth’s dear friend, Meredith. They both spoke well of you the other night when I met your grandson.”

  “Oh, my,” Merry said, staring up at his green Mohawk as he took her hand gently in his much larger one. “His hair really is green, Ellie. I thought you were pulling my leg.”

  “I may have mentioned her to you a time or two over the last six weeks,” Elspeth admitted with a grin.

  “She did,” Meredith told him. “She said you were a dear man who used to listen to her whine about her mother when she went to your nightclub while at university. And she said she thought I’d like you. And I think she’s right,” Meredith decided, and said, “Please, call me Merry. All my friends do.”

  G.G. beamed at the words and nodded. “It would be my pleasure, Merry. And you can call me G.G. or Joshua, whichever you’re happier with.”

  “Oh, I think you’re definitely a G.G.,” Merry assured him. “Joshua is a lovely name, but G.G. has a certain flare.”

  G.G. chuckled at the words, and opened his mouth to say something, but was forestalled when Wyatt asked, “Is that Tahiti Treat?”

  “Tahitian Treat,” G.G. corrected with amusement.