by Lisa Olsen
“Very well, Bishop,” she smiled. “Now then, shall we continue the hunt?”
Never mind the fact that they’d just eaten, it wasn’t enough for Carys. It was never enough. Her initial hunger slaked, she didn’t settle for seeing the sights of the city or returning to Vetis. No, her amusements ran to other avenues.
“Do you see that couple, Ul…Bishop? Don’t they look like they’re in love?”
His gaze flicked to the pair across the street, in their early twenties, holding hands as they strolled without a care in the world. “Yeah, I suppose so.”
“Shall we test that love?”
“Come on, Carys. Is it really a test when you throw compulsion around like that? Of course he’s going to stray, what man wouldn’t?”
“That’s sweet of you to say, but the true test lies in how they deal with it afterwards. Come, let’s go introduce ourselves.”
“No.” Bishop decided the time was as good as any to test her resolve to respect his wishes. If she compelled him to be her puppet and go along with every single thing then he didn’t stand a chance.
“Don’t be silly, I…”
“I said no,” he shut her down cold. “I said I’d take you hunting, and I did. If you want to feed from them, that’s fine too, but none of your fucked up head games. I didn’t sign on for that.”
Her eyes stretched wide. “Such language…”
“Don’t act like you’re shocked. Nothing shocks you anymore.”
“I must say, I’m not entirely certain I like this side of you, Ulrik. Sorry, I meant to say Bishop,” she added with a winsome smile.
“You don’t have to, but it is what it is.”
“Come then, no… what did you call it? Fucked up head games,” she tried the profanity out. “We’ll simply have a bite and move on.”
“Fine.” Bishop escorted her across the street for round two of Carys does London. So far she’d accepted his asserting himself in this small way – but could he trust Carys to hold to her word if he demanded his freedom? One thing he knew for certain, once the curse was broken, all bets were off.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tonight’s the night.
Almost from the instant I opened my eyes, I had Rod Stewart singing in the back of my mind. Not that I could remember the words beyond him crooning how everything was going to be alright, but after a Google search on the lyrics, I started to look for another song to get stuck in my head. I had enough problems to worry about without mental images of the aging rocker trying to take some girl’s virginity.
Nerves had me up and pacing as soon as the sun went down and even a long, hot shower did nothing to soothe them. When the knock on the door came, I spilled hot cocoa all over my sweater, I was so jumpy. Hopping up to answer it, I couldn’t help but frown over the serious look on Bishop’s face.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, wiping my hand off on the already soggy sweater.
“No, I just wanted to catch you before it’s time to go.”
I glanced at the fancy diamond watch on my wrist, giving up when I couldn’t actually figure out the time amid the sparkle. I knew the ballpark time in any case. “I thought we weren’t leaving for another hour? Rob’s not awake yet.”
“No, I know. Do you think I could maybe come inside?” he asked with a nervous glance down the hall.
“Sure, come on in.” We didn’t have to worry about keeping it down, Rob would sleep through anything. “I’d offer you some cocoa, but I’m fresh out,” I smiled, licking a missed droplet off the back of my hand. His gaze seemed riveted by the action, and I froze, hand halfway to my face. “What?”
“I want you to have some of my blood,” he blurted out, surprising both of us, I think, with the delivery.
“Oh. That’s a good idea, but ah, actually… I had something else in mind.” It was part of why I was so nervous, as if having my heart sliced and diced wasn’t enough to worry about.
I saw the answer come to him before I had to say it. “Jakob,” he said simply and I nodded. It was the only way I could think of to bump up my chances of survival. “If you go in there and ask for his blood, he’ll know something is up.”
“Not necessarily, it all depends on how I ask him.”
“How are you going to ask him?” Bishop didn’t look too thrilled by the idea, and to be honest, I was dreading it myself.
Taking a deep breath, I made my voice light, as if I wasn’t about to whore myself out in the process. “The easiest way would be not to ask at all. The easiest way would be to have a friendly drink with him and then…”
“Let him seduce you?” His brows shot up along with his voice. “You’re not seriously going to do that, are you? I forbid it,” he glowered.
“I’m sorry, you what?” I shot back at him, shocked by the possessive words.
He seemed to realize his mistake right away, his hands coming up in supplication. “Okay, not forbid… but you have to see that this is the wrong way to go.”
“It’s not something I’m looking forward to either, but neither is dying in a gypsy caravan park. Lilias said I couldn’t have Maeja’s blood afterwards, but she didn’t say I couldn’t have Ellri blood beforehand. Bishop, I have to do what I can to try and survive this.”
“No, you’re right,” he nodded, his gaze falling away. “Do what you have to do.”
“I’m sorry…”
Bishop shook his head, but he still wouldn’t look at me. “No, you don’t owe me anything. Does Rob know what you have planned?”
“No, I thought I’d go get it over with before he wakes up.”
“Don’t let me keep you then.”
“Bishop…” I couldn’t help but feel like I owed him more of an apology, despite the fact that there weren’t any formal ties between us. Then again, who was I kidding? There would always be ties between Bishop and me, whether we spoke about them or not.
“It’s okay, Anja. I’ll see you down by the car in an hour.”
“You’re still coming with?”
“Yeah, Carys wants to watch.”
“Of course she does,” I muttered, walking him back to the door. “So, the two of you are getting to know each other again?” I ventured carefully, not wanting to come right out and ask him if he’d rediscovered his feelings for her again.
“Some things haven’t changed much,” he sighed, shaking his head as he reached the door. “I’ll see you later, Anja.”
“Later, Bishop.” I stood by the door, torn between letting him go and calling him back, but what would I say? He had every right to find his happiness with Carys, especially with the curse coming to an end. No matter how the night went down, my relationship with Bishop was likely to never be the same again. But there wasn’t time to ponder that as I went to the bedroom to change out of my chocolate stained clothes and into something worthy of seducing an Ellri.
* * *
“Of course I wish to see you, älskling,” Jakob smiled with pure pleasure as I reached the suite he shared with Carys. Luckily, she was nowhere to be seen and neither was Nelleke, or I might’ve lost my nerve. “Is there anything the matter?”
Just the fact that I might not live to see the dawn. “No, not at all,” I lied glibly. “I feel like we haven’t seen each other very much this trip, and I wanted to come and see how you are.”
His chest puffed out with pride at the ego stroke. “Join me for a drink then, we’ll catch up,” he offered, pouring us each a glass of aquavit. I accepted the drink without argument and downed it in one gulp, holding my breath until the burning started to fade. If Jakob thought my reaction strange, he didn’t mention it, he merely matched me and refilled both our glasses.
“Are you expecting anyone soon? Carys or Nell maybe?” I asked, trying to gauge how much time I had to work with.
“No, not particularly. Carys left all aflutter about something or other,” he smiled, giving me the impression he had no idea what we were up to that night. “And my Nelleke will be joining me for dinner in an hour or tw
o. For the moment, I am all yours.” His blue eyes flashed playfully, and for once I let myself experience it instead of rolling my eyes at him. He was definitely an appealing man, and it wasn’t like I’d never slept with him before. So why was I so nervous?
“Well then, maybe we should, ah… take our drinks into the bedroom and catch up in private?”
His eyebrows shook hands with his hairline as he took my meaning, but an instant later he’d recovered, lips curving with pleasure. “Well indeed.” He rose with fluid grace, offering me his hand. “Let’s take the bottle then, shall we?”
You can do this, Anja, it’s just sex, no big whoop. Fortified by my little voice, I slipped my hand in his, and Jakob immediately scooped me up into his arms, cradling me close as he picked up the bottle and carried me into the bedroom.
This was such a bad idea.
He set me into the center of the bed, immediately stretching out beside me, his golden hair mingling with mine on the pillow. “I’ve missed you,” he smiled, leaning in, and I turned my head away, giving him the perfect opportunity to latch onto my earlobe with his teeth.
“I missed you too,” I managed to squeak out as his tongue laved over the sensitive skin behind my ear.
“I knew you’d come to your senses.”
Ugh, how was I even going to kiss him when I’d rather knock that smug look off his face with the toe of my boot? “Yeah, silly me, getting so upset over a tiny thing like the curse.”
“You know I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted us to be together as we are now.”
“I know, Jakob,” I nodded, shifting beneath him to line my lips up with his throat. The funny thing was, that part wasn’t even a lie. I knew he’d never set the curse to deliberately hurt me or Carys, I knew it practically wasn’t even his fault for believing he had the right to play with people’s lives like that – he was a demi-god after all. But knowing that didn’t make me want to end him any less, and it sure as heck didn’t make it any easier to let him have his way with me.
His teeth scraped at my neck and despite my personal feelings for the man, it sent a sizzling jolt through me. The man was skilled, I had to give him that.
“Ah, petal, how happy we shall be,” he groaned, settling over my pulse. “There is so much I would share with you and now we have Nelleke to make our family complete.”
Was he spinning a future with me as Nell’s stepmother? “Jakob, I…”
“Hush, älskling,” he rumbled. “Let me show you what you’ve been missing.”
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it…” slipped out and his head came up in confusion. Shut up, Anja. Shut up! “No, you go right on ahead, show away,” I managed with a forced smile, guiding his head back to my throat, but instead he kissed lower, pulling his neck and shoulders out of my range as he slipped his hands under my skirt.
“I have long wanted to taste you here,” he smiled up at me, a thick finger brushing over the thin silk covering my cleft.
You can do this, Anja. You can… He kissed my inner thigh and I panicked. “Wait… wait, wait, wait…” I squirmed, scooting across the bed as soon as he let up an inch.
“What’s the matter, beloved?” he frowned in confusion.
“We can’t. I mean, I can’t.”
“Why ever not?”
“I’m too…” My brain desperately grasped for a plausible reason to reject his advances after I’d been the one to suggest the bedroom in the first place. “I, um… can’t relax knowing what rough shape Rob is in. He’s growing weaker by the minute.”
“Ah, my sweet, tenderhearted, Anja. I would be happy to share my blood with him if it would please you. Shall I have him fetched?” He stalked his way up the bed again, placing a kiss on my shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind sharing if that’s what would truly please you. Perhaps we could discover the best of both worlds together?”
Great googly moogly, share a bed with both of them? “Well, why not call Bishop in here and let’s really make it a party,” I murmured half in shock, realizing only too late that he might actually take me up on it. “No, that’s not my style, Jakob. I’m a one man at a time kind of woman, at least in my bed.” My heart seemed to have other ideas.
“I understand. Would you like me to go to him? See that he is restored and then we can pick back up where we left off.”
“No, I’d rather Rob not know I was here in the first place.” Not a lie… “And to be honest, I don’t think he’ll want to take your blood.” Also, not a lie… “In fact, he should be awake soon. I probably shouldn’t have come, I’ll need to feed him. He needs to feed so often now.”
“Then take my blood, petal. Restore yourself.”
There it was, exactly what I’d come for freely given, but I couldn’t bring myself to take it. Not when I’d led him to believe I wanted more from him than the blood. I was no better than Carys, master manipulator. “I should probably just go. You’re having dinner with your daughter soon and Rob will be needing me.”
“I suppose it’s not the right time,” he allowed, surprising me by letting me go without a fight.
“No, I guess not,” I agreed, scrambling to my feet and rearranging my skirt.
“I’m glad you came tonight. It felt good to have you in my arms again.”
I smiled at that, not quite sure what to say. And then it hit me – this might be the last time I ever saw Jakob again. Stepping forward, I placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you, Jakob.”
“For what, petal?”
“For helping me to become the best person I could ever hope to be.”
“You honor me, Anja,” he said formally, inclining his head in a gesture of respect. “I chose well indeed.”
I didn’t blame him for that, not anymore. He was right, I was a much better vampire than I ever was as a timid, slightly nerdy, choir priss who couldn’t stand up to her own shadow. “Goodbye, Jakob,” I smiled, giving his hand a squeeze and getting out of there before I slipped up and let the cat out of the bag.
Rob was just sitting up with a bleary look on his face when I got back to the room. Despite how rough he looked, Rob managed to give me a smile and suddenly I knew I’d done the right thing in not sleeping with Jakob. Maybe I wouldn’t have the extra edge going into the ritual, but at least I had the satisfaction of knowing my last few hours on Earth weren’t spent corrupting every last relationship I had.
I came to stand before him, my hands lightly resting on either side of his face. Rob turned to kiss my palm before his forehead settled against my abdomen and I folded my arms around him, holding him close, neither one of us saying a word. How long we held each other, I couldn’t say, but I felt closer to him than I had in a while.
This was worth doing, he was worth saving. I clung to that thought as I let him go, leaving everything else unsaid. I’d either survive and we’d have plenty of time to work things out, or I wouldn’t, and I’d rather keep this silent understanding between us rather than rehash all the old hurts again.
We both fed (separately), and then headed downstairs to meet up with the others. The prevailing mood was glum, even Carys was without her usual inane chatter. Bishop, in particular, looked haunted by my decision to seduce Jakob, but he managed to catch my eye, giving me a nod.
“Everything go as planned?”
I shook my head and Bishop looked relieved, almost happy for a moment before the worry reasserted itself. He leaned close, lowering his voice for my ears only. “The offer still stands.”
“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get this over with.” I chose a seat in the back next to Rob this time, leaving Carys to sit up front with Lee.
“What was that about?” Rob asked, when I settled in next to him.
“Nothing.” I picked up his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Let’s go pitch this ring into the fires of Mount Doom!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
We gathered outside when it was getting close to start time, and without any lights or a moon it was dark out there. Those of us with
vampire enhanced vision didn’t have a problem getting around, but I heard Maggie swear under her breath as she nearly tripped over the uneven ground. There had been some debate as to whether to allow her and Tucker to come along, but in the event that I didn’t survive the night, how could I say no?
Lilias led us away from the encampment to a deserted paddock surrounded by scrubby trees. She wore a repeat of her outfit the other night, jeans and a t-shirt, though the brightly colored scarf covered her hair this time and her eyes were heavily lined, giving her a much more mysterious look. The only jewelry she wore was a wire wrapped crystal with a brass key dangling from it. Feet bare, she proceeded with steady certainty until she reached a certain point, and I noticed a circle laid out on the grass with smooth river stones.
In the center of the circle was a short stack of flat stones, reaching only as high as my knee and Lilias knelt before it, unpacking a few items from a woven bag. Out came a large abalone shell, a long wooden skewer tipped with silver, and a gleaming knife, the leather wrapped hilt ragged and ancient.
Without being given any direction, I stepped into the circle, as did Rob and Bishop. The rest of them stayed beyond that stone border. On the ground beside the altar was a section of freshly churned dirt, clear of grass and rocks. I was about to ask about the wood skewer when Carys stepped into the circle.
Maybe it was selfish of me, but I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope as she joined us. Was she there to offer herself up for the sacrifice instead? But Carys made no such offers, merely taking her place by Bishop.
“I wish to see it done,” she said coolly, her emotions under tight control. Looking up at Rob, I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he calculated whether or not he could drag Carys up to the makeshift altar to take my place. Catching hold of his arm, I shook my head at him. Rob tensed, but held his place beside me.
“Shoes off!” Lilias announced, settling back on her heels while we removed them.
The grass was cool and damp beneath my feet and somehow comforting. Standing beside Rob in the clearing, I reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. His eyes were hooded in the darkness, his body rigid, but he returned the gentle press of fingers.
