Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2)

by Alicia Deters

  A head rush broke my swooning. Before I comprehended what he had done with me, my back met the soft couch cushions, and his mouth was traveling the bare skin of my stomach. It grazed against the sensitive parts and kept moving south. His tongue dipped into my belly button before roaming farther down. I hadn’t even realized the button on my jeans was undone. He worked fast.

  “What are you doing?” I asked nervously.

  His mouth curved into a devilish grin against my flesh. His eyes met mine, and they grew darker with wicked intent. I have seen them turn black with rage, and I’ve seen them lighten with… other moods, but now the two sides of him were warring.

  The typical ice blue was replaced with brilliant white, while the outer edges of his irises darkened and expanded. Like two solar eclipses, their rays bleeding into black night. The juxtaposition was both sinister and breathtaking. He was beautiful and I was in trouble.

  My entire body heated under his predatory gaze. The barrier of his restraint diminished long ago. I knew I needed distance before I did something I might regret later. We still had a lot to work out and taking the next step would only strain our delicate relationship further. I squirmed out from under him and sprinted toward the door.

  I turned to glance back at him and noticed his stare focused on my unbuttoned pants. Holy shit! The look in his eyes melted me a little. My mouth went dry.

  Time to run, Luce. Now!

  I kicked off but didn’t make it far. He had me against the wall faster than Jimmy John’s delivery. Freaky fast. And just like that, my desire was refueled. I was overtaken by the rush of both anticipation and trepidation.

  He kissed me thoroughly and worked my body into another lust storm with his hands, tongue and teeth. He explored what he could reach, and when I was panting and grinding against him with need, his hand traveled lower.

  Unable to stop his advances, I sucked in a raspy breath when his fingers trailed under the elastic band of my underwear. He groaned and matched my shuttering breaths as if he were just as affected by the things he was doing to me as I was. My head thumped back against the wall, and my eyes squeezed shut against the onslaught of dizzying sensations. Heat built deep inside me, and the fire that had been stoked before this moment was doused with gasoline. The pleasure became almost painful as it combusted, racking my body with tremors.

  Gavin whispered against my neck. “You are so beautiful. I’ve got you.”

  When I regained sensation in the rest of my body, I slid down him, standing face to face with the man who just delivered my body to nirvana, as Holly would say. She was right. ‘Sexually frustrated’ was putting it lightly. Ever since meeting this man, the entire fabric of my being has been in mourning without this experience.

  A tad melodramatic? Maybe. But WOW. Just wow.

  Meeting his gaze, I watched the heat cool, forming ice crystals, and I suddenly wanted to hide. Panic followed by regret flickered in his eyes. “Shit! I’m sorry, Lucy. I shouldn’t have done that. I, uh… I have to get out of here.”

  He didn’t leave time for protesting. He flashed out of the room and disappeared around the corner. I stood there speechless as the afterglow dimmed.

  He just… after we just…

  I wanted to run after him to scream at him, but something else called to me more than his shame. I needed blood. Now.

  16

  Tearing through the mansion, I raced to the kitchen, bypassing the many pounding heartbeats and enticing scents. I was ravenous and couldn’t allow myself to act on this intense hunger until it was safe. I ripped the door to the walk-in cooler open and locked myself inside.

  Sliding down a cold metal wall, my butt landed on a hollow spot in the floor. When I inspected it, I found a heavy trap door. I reached for it and lifted the square door, only to be bombarded by Gavin’s orgasmic scent.

  I slammed it shut, but it was too late. This must have been his way of accessing the tunnels and basement.

  Not important at the moment. Snatching another bag, I tore through it savagely.

  I didn’t come out until several hours and about twenty pints of blood later when I knew the cravings were more manageable and I had a much better understanding of how dangerous Gavin’s and my… relations could be.

  I gathered the empty blood bags in my arms and nudged the cooler door open with my hip. Tossing them in the nearest medical waste bin, I smacked my hands together in a gesture of wiping them clean and looked up into the curious stare of Chef.

  “Are you just resurfacing for a break, or are you done for the day?” he grunted.

  “I don’t know yet. Depends on whether or not someone really pisses me off,” I said, glaring at him pointedly.

  “No. I’ve seen you pissed off before, but your appetite has never made that big of a dent in the fridge. If that was you really pissed off, I’d hate to see what the other guy looks like right now.”

  I winced and tipped my head down to cover my blush. If this was how my body acted after getting a happy ending, I’d really hate to see what kind of shape the other guy was in right now, too. I hoped Gavin hadn’t killed anyone yet.

  And to think, I never even got to the part where I told him I loved him. I wondered what he would have done with that information. Then again, he probably would have regretted it even more than he already did. Chef noticed my souring mood and moved passed me to grab another blood bag out of the cooler.

  “One for the road. Just in case,” he said, winking.

  “Thanks.” I couldn’t hide the doleful tone.

  I downed it before leaving and headed for the vault room to work out my frustrations. I almost made it when I heard a familiar high pitched giggle coming from the back door that led to the courtyard.

  “You went on patrol all by yourself tonight? That’s impressive. Aren’t you cold?” I heard Allison flirt shamelessly with some poor victim. Dread seeped in when I remembered who her current target was.

  A low, all-too-familiar chuckle followed. “I always run a little hot,” Gavin provided in explanation.

  “You most certainly do.”

  “I really need to be going. I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse me.”

  “Aw, so soon?”

  “Pardon me,” he said, and I listened to his footsteps trail off down the hall. I smiled at the formal tone in his voice. So polite. I bet she had no idea what to do with that.

  Although his rebuff brought a triumphant smile to my face, I needed to get out of this house soon. Forget the vault. I couldn’t be in the same vicinity as him.

  Passing Allison on the way outside, I split my mouth into a wider grin. “Crash and burn?”

  “Shut up. He’s just going to take a little more time to crack,” she retorted.

  “Well, good luck with that.”

  Before I could sneak out the door, Helen called to me from the end of the hallway. Instead of seeing the now dark courtyard, her reflected figure contorted against the wall of windows lining the back of the house.

  “Lucille. We’ve had reports of several attacks in the area. Locals are worried it’s a wild animal, but I need you out there tonight to keep an eye on things.”

  My first thought was that the First’s army had found me already. However, unlike my last friend, the other assassins wouldn’t make a scene when they came for me. This had to be a stray vampire stirring up trouble, possibly another one of Shane’s newbies.

  Hell yes!

  Riding the high of my latest kill, I couldn’t wait to get back out there. “I’m on it,” I told her.

  “Try not to kill any humans,” Allison said, her voice sounding sickeningly sweet.

  What the hell was she still doing there?

  I shot her a dark glare over my shoulder. “No promises.”

  “I promise to make it look like an accident if you ever wanted to take Allison out,” Max replied cheerily as he sauntered down the hall with Wade behind him.

  “Asshole,” she bit out.

  “Run along, princess. No one
needs any makeup advice tonight.”

  “Screw you, Max,” she huffed as she turned back down the hall.

  He lifted a hand to his heart and scrunched his face like he was in pain. “Ouch. She cut me real deep.”

  “Lucille, you’ll be going out with Wade and Max. I’m not assigning you a partner,” she noted. She knew I liked working alone. Was that her way to appease me after our disagreement this morning?

  “You’re with the A team tonight, girl,” Max said. “It was pretty badass how you handled that ancient douche and brought Nick back alive.” His expression turned severe. “I’ve got your back if you ever need me.”

  “Thanks, Max,” I replied.

  “I mean, you must have learned something from watching me in practice all those times if you took down one of those asswads,” he joked.

  Wade cleared his throat.

  “Well,” I corrected, “I did have two excellent mentors.”

  They both smiled. “Lucy, I’m loving the outfit and all, but you should probably go change before we head out,” Max insisted.

  “Oh, right.” I had completely forgotten I wasn’t wearing my fighting clothes. I turned to leave when Max whistled his appreciation.

  “Feel free to put on something tighter, though. Just saying,” he called after me.

  I shook my head and gave him the one-finger salute. Pulling on a pair of sweats and a hoodie, I convened with the guys in the foyer. We piled into the SUV and drove into town. We posted up in our usual spots. That lasted all of thirty seconds.

  Deciding to appear less conspicuous, I walked the side streets of town instead of sitting in one spot. Vampires typically liked to stalk their prey, and in a remote, vast area such as this, it was essential to lure them in with live bait, not a trap. If they sensed someone waiting for them, there were infinite escape routes they could access before my sharpened senses even detected their presence.

  Small towns like this one became lifeless after dark, so I ended up pacing right through the middle of each snow covered street. Not long after I made the third loop of my section did I hear the unnaturally fast footfalls rounding the building to my right. I waited, slowing my pace.

  A street lamp shone ahead of me, casting my shadow behind me and making the ideal setting for sneaking up on someone. He stalked me, closing the gap between us. When he moved into striking distance, I twisted and clamped a hand around his throat. The stunned look on his face wasn’t surprising, considering my speed nearly doubled his.

  He wasn’t, however, surprised about my non-human status. “You’re a lot prettier than they let on,” he choked.

  His dark hair fell into his eyes when he smiled down at me. I scowled. It miffed me to no longer have the element of anonymity.

  “Who are they?” I clipped.

  His evil grin widened. “My maker has a message for you. You’ll face him when you are ready, but you better pray to whatever god you serve that you find the Sword first. Because when he gets his hands on it, he’s going to kill you. He’s going to rule the world when that happens.”

  This dipshit sounded awfully smug for someone about to die, but the reminder of that other troublesome dilemma only fueled me.

  “That won’t happen.” My voice turned cold as the night and my grip around his neck tightened.

  “Not… yet… it… won’t,” he said around the pressure on his larynx. I loosened my hold. “Not until you’re ready. You have another, more pressing problem to deal with first.”

  Whoever he worked for knew about the assassin army coming for me, which meant they couldn’t be far away now.

  Shit. I had to clear everyone out of here soon. My anger sizzled against the bitter cold, and I tossed the vampire into the brick wall behind him. Bones crunched under the impact, while chips of mortar and brick rained down to the snow below.

  I took my time with this one, savoring it, putting him on the receiving end of all my bottled up aggression. When he was barely recognizable, I jammed my blade through his heart and watched the ebony ashes scatter over the snow like pepper flakes.

  The guys and I drove back to the mansion in silence. The mood was somber. They allowed me that time to wallow in my anxiety over facing the ancient vampire army. I hopped out of the SUV as soon as it stopped and marched toward the kitchen. I drained a few more pints before following the sounds of a news broadcast.

  Most of the Keepers were still awake and gathered around the television in the smaller sitting room as they watched the monotone news anchor report on senseless acts of violence among humans. My angered simmered under the surface. Shootings. Bomb threats. Kidnappings.

  As her voice droned on about one killing or another, the need to rage and rant overtook me. The lid on that vacuum-sealed lock box was about to blow. It tinged the edges of my eyesight in red, but I was powerless to stop its escape. The frustration mingled with previous stresses and created an outer body experience when they took the driver’s seat. I could only sit back and watch it manifest into unbridled wrath.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted.

  Finding the remote, I hurled it at the TV and watched the screen shatter. I felt several pairs of eyes on me. I turned to them with accusation written on my face.

  “Lucy, are you okay?” Carly asked cautiously.

  “Yeah, you don’t look so good,” Brody added.

  I wasn’t okay. Or good. I was fuming and needed another vampire to tear into.

  Why did I even bother trying to save them when they end up hurting each other anyway? I geared up for my next bout of destruction when two strong arms wound around me from behind.

  “Let go of me,” I shouted.

  “What’s going on?” he whispered in my ear.

  I pointed toward the now blank, demolished screen. “Is that really what we’re fighting for?! What we’re trying to save?” I screamed. The crowd shrank back, but Gavin’s hold tightened.

  He bent down, “No. I mean what’s really going on with you?”

  He spun me around in his arms. As soon as our eyes locked, the fight fizzled out of me. It was useless trying to hide from that soul-searching gaze. He searched my eyes and pinpointed my uncertainty. Understanding dawned on him.

  Humans weren’t the issue. It was me. I still fought against my destiny. It seemed too big for me to handle at times like this.

  But then I peered into his soul the same way he did to me, and the worries dissipated. He held me up with his strength. I counted on it to get me through this.

  His belief kept me going. He ushered me out of the room quickly, and we ended up in his room. I made a slow circle, taking everything in with curious eyes. It was smaller than my room but had a similar style. The colors were darker and the furniture bulkier. Masculine. It reminded me a lot of his bedroom in the penthouse. My gaze landed on the bed and I sucked in a breath at the memories from earlier today.

  I whipped my head away and absently perused his bookshelves, not glancing back to where he stood against his closed door. Running my fingers over their spines, I asked, “You gave me the master bedroom. It was yours, wasn’t it?”

  “I thought you could use the extra space, knowing how you like to stretch your legs.”

  “You don’t want it back?”

  “It’s just a room? I wanted you to have the best one. Still do,” he admitted.

  “You knew I’d find your private office and collection downstairs,” I coaxed, still refusing to look back at him.

  “I thought you might piece it together. A part of me wanted you to remember that dream so you’d know this was my house. I’m not even sure why. Maybe I wasn’t ready to break ties.”

  His admission forced me to twist toward him. When our eyes met again, images of us in that room returned. The ones from earlier today and the ones from the dream two months ago flooded me. Both were a bit scandalous.

  Another memory of a more recent dream popped in my head, the one I had just before finding the basement. It occurred in the same room
with both Sophie and Gavin there, warning me of upcoming battles.

  “The dream I had weeks ago in that room, or on your old balcony, I guess?” I asked, waiting to see a flash of recognition pass over him or utter confusion.

  He smirked. Of course. Was I in his dream that night or was he in mine?

  If anyone has the strength to conquer their demons, I would bet on you, love.

  His words from that dream returned, wringing a staggered breath out of me. He had been with me the whole time, and he had always loved me, even when he denied it before leaving. Although he hasn’t actually said the words, I felt it. I saw it in his gaze now.

  Warmth rushed me, until I recalled his words from this afternoon. My walls slammed back into place. He regretted what we did. How could he be ashamed of that if he really loved me?

  “Lucy, stop,” he demanded. When I looked away, he flashed over and lifted a hand to my chin, forcing my gaze back to his. “I know you think I regret what we did.”

  My cheeks flushed and I tried looking down, but his hand held me firmly. “Did I do something wrong? I mean, did you not like it or what?”

  He laughed and it sounded harsh to my ears. “You think I didn’t like it?” he asked, skepticism evident in his tone. “Lucy, the only thing I regret is not practicing restraint, because now all I can think about is how fucking beautiful you are when you come undone for me. I only meant to show you the dangers of all-consuming need a new vampire might face.”

  His eyes pierced mine. Hard. “Instead, I fell victim to it because I’ve never known it in that magnitude. A vampire has heightened senses, and on top of that, everything else is heightened. I worked so long at gaining control of myself, but that all changed as soon as I met you. That was a first for me, Lucy. My feelings for you are stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

  “Huh,” I said eloquently. He basically just admitted his love for me was so strong it broke through over a hundred years of self-control. “So what happened when you ran off?”