She finally spoke. He never thought the sound of someone’s voice could bring such relief. A little of the tension left his shoulders. He struggled with what to do. He wanted to take her into his arms, hold her to him to reassure himself as much as her that she was now safe, but she didn’t seem ready to be touched. He barely stifled the roar of frustration that rumbled in his throat.
“I know. That’s actually how I was able to get here so fast. I felt your fear. It called me, like a beacon signaling where I would find you. My every thought became about getting to you fast. I dematerialized for the first time. My love and concern for you finally let me do it. I willed myself to your apartment, because I knew you needed me.”
Christina stood and wrapped her arms around Marcus’ waist. “Hold me. Please hold me. I need to feel safe.”
Marcus folded his strong arms around her back and pressed her to him, tucking her head against his chest. As her tears wet his shirt, his heart felt like it was being torn from his chest.
“Let’s get out of here and go home,” he said, stroking her hair. “I’ll send someone to pack up your things and move them to the plantation, so you won’t ever have to come back here.”
“That’s a good idea,” Christina muttered and released her grip. She wiped the tears from her eyes then squared her shoulders as if willing herself to start to put this attack behind her. “There is nothing left for me here but terrible memories. I don’t want to see this place ever again.”
They left the tiny apartment hand in hand. Her hand seemed so cold compared to his. Christina hesitated in the doorway and turned around, taking one last look at the place.
Once on the street, Marcus opened the passenger side door for Christina and helped her into the car she had driven to the apartment. He got in the driver’s seat and brought the engine to life. Only the rumbling of the engine screaming through the gears broke the silence of the drive back to the plantation.
Marcus glanced at Christina as they drove. She seemed so forlorn, sitting with her hands folded in her lap, staring unseeing out the windshield. While thankful the tears had stopped, he worried she still appeared very troubled. He reached over and took her icy hands in his.
“Everything will be okay. You’re safe now. I’ve got you, cara.”
“I know,” she quietly replied, though her eyes never shifted in his direction.
He knew she must be deep in thought, thinking over all that happened to her tonight. He wanted to push into her mind, take the traumatic event from her memories, but she went through a brutal attack and did not need him forcing anything on her, even if it killed him a little inside not to be able to help her.
They rode the rest of the way in silence, with Christina staring ahead and Marcus trying to decide how best to help.
When they arrived at the house, Marcus handed her from the car. Before she took a step, he draped his arms around her and rested his chin atop her head.
He rubbed her back, lightly running one hand up and down. “I know what you need, cara. How about a nice hot bath?” Marcus pulled away slightly to look down on her with caring eyes.
Meeting his gaze, Christina sighed. “That sounds great. I can wash away the past hour.”
They walked in silence to Marcus’ suite. He reluctantly allowed Christina to pull from his side to go lie down. She looked so tiny, vulnerable, curled into the fetal position on his large bed.
His heart seemed to drop to his stomach. It ripped him in two, seeing her like that. There must be something he could do to make her feel better. Marcus went into the bathroom to fill the tub. As the water rose, he paced the room. He leaned on the vanity looking at his reflection in the mirror.
What are you going to do? You can’t let something like this happen again. You have to protect her. She’s your heartmate, and her safety comes before all else, your desires or even hers. You have to have a mindlink with her but that will involve drinking her blood. She probably isn’t ready for that after what happened tonight. Dammit!
The Alpha banged a fist on the vanity, sending the items there shaking. He wanted to tear something, rip something to shreds. He needed violence—itched for a fight. What he wouldn’t give to get his hands on the bastard who had attacked his mate.
Noticing the tub was about to overflow, Marcus shut off the faucet and returned to Christina. She hadn’t moved. Tears of concern pushed at the backs of his eyes.
“Christina,” he whispered softly. “The bath is ready.”
Chapter 18
She didn’t remember walking through the house. When Christina became aware of her surroundings, she discovered she lay on Marcus’ bed with him saying something about a bath. She couldn’t care less about a bath, not now.
But it would be nice to be warm. She’d been so cold. So utterly, unbearably cold. It bore into her, freezing her mind and heart until she felt numb.
“Sweetheart, the water is getting cold.”
Christina uncoiled bit by bit and pushed into a seated position on the bed. In a haze, she allowed Marcus to help her to her feet. His arms wrapped around her in a bracing hug. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she allowed the heat of Marcus’ body to soak down into her bones. It warmed her slightly, but not enough to take away all the cold. Maybe that bath was a good idea after all.
Reluctantly, she pulled from his embrace and tried to undress, but her quivering fingers made the task impossible. Marcus assisted her with the fastenings, slowly helping her disrobe. He carried her to the bath and placed her gently into the balmy water.
Surrounded in the soothing warmth, she became pliant. The heat soaked into her skin as she drew her knees to her chest and wrapped them in her arms. She rocked, making little ripples form around her.
“Oh, sweetheart.” When Marcus spoke, her eyes discovered the warrior blinking back the sheen of unshed tears as he picked up a bar of soap.
He lathered the wash cloth then gently washed away the horrors of the night and vowed to the heavens to get retribution on the vampire who had done this to her. He ran the cloth over her body, careful of the raw wound on her neck. His gentle touch surprised her, given his mood.
“I want to be out there hunting down the bastard who hurt you,” he confessed. “I cannot begin to tell you what seeing you like this is doing to me.”
The pain in his voice cleared some of her mental haze. She needed to pull it together. He needed her to be strong. He’d saved her. It could have been so much worse. A shiver went through her body.
“Go,” she croaked, her voice rough from the injury as much as from her tears.
The look Marcus gave her made tears push from her eyes.
“I would never leave you tonight, cara. My place is here with you, seeing to your needs. You are my priority. Vengeance can wait. But I swear to you it will happen. I will find the male that attacked you.”
He dipped the wash cloth into the warm water before wringing the material so the water flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She thought she heard the sound of the material ripping in his hands but couldn’t be sure, for it ended too quickly to focus on.
The aroma of pine and spice from the soap filled Christina’s senses. The combination of the woodsy smell and the gentle rubbing soothed her. Marcus gingerly straightened her arms and legs as he attended to her, uncurling her like a butterfly from a cocoon. Her stare remained straight ahead the entire time, never wavered, never made contact with his gaze.
The attack made her feel weak and vulnerable. She’d always thought of herself as a strong woman, able to face whatever life threw at her, but tonight that hadn’t been the case. She’d felt utterly helpless. When Marcus moved behind the head of the tub to wash her back, a thought occurred to her.
“I want you to convert me.”
“What?” asked Marcus, his voice high with incredulity, his body still as a statue.
Christina slowly turned her head and looked over her shoulder into Marcus’ eyes. Lucidity cleared her vision for the first time since
the attack. “I don’t want to be weak or scared anymore. Convert me. I want to be a vampire.”
Marcus gazed down on her with pity in his eyes. His hands gripped the tub, knuckles white. Warm breath ghosted over her face when he took a deep breath in through his nose and let it slip through his lips.
“Christina, if I convert you, I want it to be for the right reasons. I don’t want you to do it because you are scared. I want you to do it because you love me and want to spend centuries with me.”
“But I do want to spend centuries with you.” She turned around and sat on her knees, sending water spilling over the edge of the tub.
The soft timbre of his voice brought tears to her eyes, which threatened to spill over as she contemplated what he said. She needed him to convert her. She never wanted to feel vulnerable ever again. She needed to feel safe and secure, and how better to do that than to have superhuman strength and speed.
She loved him, wanted an eternity with him. Weeks ago she decided to convert. Why not do it now?
“You know I love you, Marcus. I want you to convert me, tonight.”
“No, I won’t.” The Alpha shook his head from side to side.
“Not ever?” The dam broke, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Marcus wiped the tears with the pads of his thumbs. “Just not tonight, sweetheart. I want you to think about what you’re asking. It will be permanent. You can’t ever go back to being human.
“It will also be very painful, and my heart can’t take seeing you in any more pain tonight.”
He wiped another tear from her cheek. “Please don’t cry. The look on your face is tearing my heart from my chest.”
In a blur of movement, he grabbed a tissue from the vanity and handed it to her.
“There is something else, something that might make you feel safer.” Marcus slid a hand to Christina’s jaw and feathered his thumb back and forth under her chin while she patted her tears.
“What?” Christina looked at him from under lashes that were spiked together from her tears. Hope blossomed in her chest.
Marcus hesitantly replied, “We could create the mindlink. That way we could communicate with each other using our minds. It would allow me to know how you are at all times and communicate with you instantly.”
“Yes, do it. Do it now.” Christina enthusiastically nodded her head up and down.
It wasn’t superhuman strength, but it was a way to be closer to Marcus, a way to be safer. The thought of being able to communicate with him using her mind comforted her. If she needed him, he would know instantly.
“I would need to drink from you. It will require that we exchange blood, sweetheart. You will have to drink from me as well. Can you handle that after what you have been through tonight?”
Marcus drinking from her neck, taking her blood like the monster had. Could she handle that?
She could, she decided.
This was Marcus. He would never hurt her, not the way the beast did. Christina hesitated for only a moment before she placed her hand on top of the one Marcus held to her face. With complete resolve, she said simply, “Yes.”
“Are you positive? Once the link is made we will be forever in each other’s minds.”
Forever linked to Marcus…wasn’t that what she planned on anyway? She knew she wanted to be with him for eternity. Hell, she was willing to give up her humanity and live the life of a vampire to have her happily ever after. What was a small mindlink?
Decision made, Christina found the strength to stand. She could do this—allow him to drink from her—if it meant keeping her safe in his world.
As she exited the tub, her stomach tightened, and she wondered what drinking Marcus’ blood would be like. It would be coppery and thick, she imagined. Hopefully, it would stay down. Her determination to create the mindlink was strong, but if she was honest, admittedly some reservations about the process existed. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of anyone at her neck. She wondered if she would be able to allow him to do it, but Christina pushed all doubts aside, knowing that if Marcus wouldn’t do the conversion, at least the mindlink would help her feel safer.
Marcus dried every inch of her body slowly. Too slowly. She needed to get this done before she chickened out.
“Are you stalling?”
He gave her a sly smile which almost brought an answering grin to her own lips. He looked like a little boy caught with his hands in the candy jar.
“Maybe,” he replied, working the towel over her arms. “I’m attempting to give you time to change your mind.”
“Why? Don’t you want to make the mindlink?”
His gaze snapped to her, letting her see the wealth of emotion held within. “I desperately want to create the mindlink. It is a natural part of the mating process for vampires, but I’m hesitant about the way the process is done. I’m concerned about how you will feel when I bite you.”
She wondered that as well. But with every inch of her skin now dry, she knew he could not stall any longer. Her heartmate wrapped her in a towel then led her to the couch at the foot of his bed.
“Are you sure about this?” Marcus asked when he sat down.
“Positive.” She sat next to him and gave him a sad smile that did not quite reach her eyes. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 19
Marcus heard Christina’s heartbeat increase as he cupped the back of her neck with his large palm. She wants this, he reassured himself, leaning down slowly. His eyes blazed a trail along her face, over her petite nose and emerald eyes, down her rounded chin, to the marred skin on her neck.
His saliva had closed the wound, but only time and his blood could heal it. Creating the mindlink would give her enough blood to heal the ragged injury. Rage at the sight tried to push into his mind, but he refused to give in to the anger. He’d be damned if he’d allow anything to ruin this special moment.
Like most men, his anger demanded action, and he would have it, just not this night. Determined to make this experience special for her, he pushed his ire down ruthlessly and decided to let it fester until he found the male who’d hurt her—then all bets were off. He’d unleash the beast within.
Marcus watched Christina pull her hair around to one side, baring the side of her neck opposite her wound. His muscles tightened in anticipation. He had longed for this moment for so long.
His fangs lengthened, aching, as he lowered his lips to her neck. When his lips brushed the soft flesh she flinched, and he pulled back immediately.
“We don’t have to do this tonight, cara.”
“I’m sorry. I want to do this, really. Maybe if you bit something other than my neck. It reminds me of…”
The quiver in her voice told him she didn’t feel as brave as she tried to sound.
She trembled under his hand as he slid it from her neck to rest on her shoulder. “If you really want to do this tonight, there are other places. Your wrist, leg, breast. You pick.”
Marcus waited patiently, allowing her time to think about her choice. When she looked at him, the trust in her eyes humbled him, making him take her into his arms.
“You’ve decided.” His heart pounded while he waited for her response.
“Yes, here. I want you to bite me here.” She placed her hand over her breast.
Surprise widened his eyes. “Are you absolutely sure?”
Her breast…as if this act wasn’t intimate enough, she wanted him to put his lips to her bosom. Fates give him strength.
“I’m sure.” The resolve in her eyes bored into him. They possessed no fear—not anymore. The Alpha pushed into her mind to discover her decision firm, but he remained with her to make sure her resolve didn’t falter.
Finding the assurance he needed, he eased her back in his arms and feathered a trail of kisses along her jaw and across her collar bone, coming to rest over her heart. Marcus ran his tongue over the creamy skin, making tiny circles. A small moan tumbled from her lips as she arched against his mouth.
> He sank his fangs into her breast, puncturing the vein. She tasted like pure ambrosia, a delicious nectar that hardened his manhood. They sighed in unison when he first drew at her vein. The bite of a vampire could be a sensual experience for both the vampire as well as the donor, and as he’d hoped, the bite from her heartmate seemed to excite Christina.
She laced her fingers in his hair, holding his head to her chest. Her body became instantly alive. She found this completely different from the earlier attack. She felt excited by the sensation of Marcus’ mouth on her breast, suckling her bosom. Her heart rate increased, and her breath quickened. Deep in her mind, he experienced her body’s reaction. It throbbed and ached at the junction of her thighs. The sensation increased his own pleasure from the exchange.
Marcus tasted her arousal; it sweetened the blood. With each draw, he drove her higher and higher, pushed her body toward the precipice of release. When he’d taken enough to create a mindlink, he reluctantly flicked his tongue over the small puncture wounds to close them, tasting himself on her creamy flesh.
He raised his head and saw longing in Christina’s eyes. She wanted this, wanted him. He read it on her face.
“It’s your turn.” His voice sounded husky as he brought his wrist to his mouth.
“Wait.” Christina placed her hand over his wrist. “Why do I have to drink from your wrist? Can’t I take from your neck?”
Marcus’ smile showed his fangs. “You can drink from anywhere you want, heartmate.” He strolled next to the bed and retrieved a dagger from his bedside table.
“Just happened to have a knife handy, huh?” Christina teased as Marcus returned to the couch. Her flushed face held a genuine smile that warmed the Alpha’s heart.
It was so good to hear her more like herself. He knew she rode the euphoria his bite caused in her body, but he’d take it. At least she was talking.
Marcus graced her with a wide grin. “Always ready for any occasion. I’m always prepared, just like a good little boy scout.”
Marcus leaned back, cradled in the arm of the couch. He wanted Christina to come to him rather than seem like he forced himself on her, so after leaning back, he bent one leg, resting his foot on the couch, and left the other on the floor, hoping the posture would appear open and inviting. He then sliced a small line across his neck. As his blood began to flow, Christina crawled up his chest toward the liquid she wanted. He knew she would feel his arousal, but he didn’t care. In fact, he wanted her aware of what she did to him. The look on her face sent desire coursing through his body. He let it smolder until he knew it consumed her as well.
Deadly Alpha Page 12
