Long ago the vampires, who claimed they were a human mutation, born rather than made, with supra-human powers and problems, had left the homeworld to found a colony where their own culture could thrive.
They weren’t the only ones. Many ethnic and religious groups founded separate colonies in the early days of human expansion after the Bottleneck and Second Genesis aroused the hunger to spread the species as widely as possible so that they’d never come so close to extinction again. Cultures and histories had been reclaimed and explored. The resulting diversity of human settlements made the Empire stronger in the long run, though there had certainly been bloody conflicts early on. There were good reasons for the existence of the Imperial navy and marines and a long tradition of government intervention to keep human groups from killing each other.
And with this interspecies war dragging on, Imperial forces were spread thin fighting aliens instead of peacekeeping; the stress of the outside threat was causing some of the old conflicts to bubble up again when it should have been a completely uniting force.
In the early days of the expansion the vampires had settled on a world under a very different type of star than the one Terra orbited. One where daylight cast by a giant red star did them no harm. They still needed blood, but they’d brought domesticated animals with them as a blood source. There were also plenty of normal humans who left Earth with the vampires and settled Solsangre with them.
Along with the human settlers there were also humans who traveled to Solsangre expressly to experience the erotic pleasure that vampires gave in exchange when they fed on blood.
Over the centuries, Solsangre had become not only the vampires’ feeding ground, but a world known for providing every form of entertainment and delight anyone could wish for. Because the vampires downplayed their involvement in the amusement industry, most of the people who vacationed on Solsangre weren’t particularly aware that the world had been colonized by people once considered parasitic monsters.
Some still considered vampires monsters or literally devils. There were stories spread by those who feared them, and lobbied the government to rescind the rights extended to all sentient beings. Zoe was privy to the whole debate, but it was the horror stories that jumped to the front of her mind when she discovered what Matthias Raven was.
It was the darkness, she told herself now, chastising herself. I couldn’t help but see a demon in the dark—but I ought to have known better.
Her curiosity got the better of her contentment and she shook his shoulder until she got a grunt out of him. “Wake up, Matthias.”
“I don’t—Zoe?”
She was amused by his groggy response. “I see we’ve dropped all formality.”
Raven rolled to his side and looked at her. “Your thoughts are seething with questions.” He stroked her breasts until she arched and gave a needy moan. “Want to continue seething in other ways?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled. The deep timbre of his voice sent desire through her. It took a strong act of will for her to grasp his wrist and move his hand away. She kept her fingers twined with his.
“Seething later,” she told him. “Talk now.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Information gathering is lots of fun.”
He sighed. “I’m happy to please you in any way. What do you want to know?”
“What are you doing here?” she asked him.
His heavy brows lowered in confusion. “I came looking for you.”
“No. I mean—how did one of you—become—a POW?”
“I joined the Marines.” His look turned hard. “Do you have something against one of my kind serving the Empire?”
“Of course not!” She was so outraged the words would have come out as a shout if her throat hadn’t still been aching.
“Suprahumans like the military—see the worlds, meet interesting people—and eat them is how our recruitment slogan goes.”
She laughed.
Of course, vampires did more with their long lives than just hang out on their pleasure world having sex. The shells of spaceships protected them from solar radiation as much as it protected other humans. And there was protective clothing and shielding personal force fields they could wear on worlds where the light wasn’t as friendly as Solsangre’s. Some also took drugs that helped them function under yellow sunlight like the Earth’s sun.
He sat up and helped her do the same. When she propped her back against the cave wall he tilted her chin up. She thought he might be checking out the bite marks he’d left, but after a few seconds he said, “Your throat looks good. Roll your head.”
She’d forgotten for a while that she’d almost been strangled a few hours ago and that was why she had a sore throat. Life just got more and more complicated, didn’t it?
He gave a satisfied grunt when she did as he directed. “You’ll be fine.” He looked down, then gave her a sheepish glance from under his long eyelashes. “I should have looked you over properly before we did anything else.”
“I’m naked,” she said. “If you still want to look me over properly, now might be a good time.”
He snorted. “I think we both better get dressed before anything else happens.”
“Weren’t you caressing me a few seconds ago?”
“I’m an impulsive sort, but my will is as strong as yours.”
She pouted. “Darn.”
“I want it to sexually satisfy you, of course, but …” He gave a slight shrug and began to pull his clothes back on.
She wished the little cave was better lit so she could get a more thorough look at him while he was naked. She’d felt every inch of him, and tasted almost as much, but she wished she could memorize every marble-hard inch of his beautiful body. She’d always remember how he felt and tasted and smelled. The heat of his skin was burned into hers. She didn’t have much experience with physical intimacy, and she wanted to appreciate every sensory aspect of being with the gloriously put together Matthias Raven.
Zoe sighed.
He suddenly looked worried. “We haven’t just broken any laws or anything, have we?”
She stood up as much as possible in the low space, and rubbed the small of her back. The stone floor had been hard on her muscles. “Nothing illegal that I’m aware of.”
Not technically.
It was always strongly recommended that members of the Imperial Family have background checks run on their potential lovers. There was no law saying they absolutely had to.
She had spent a good part of her adult life since attending university avoiding romantic entanglements. And it had been relatively easy not to have a personal life, considering all the important work that had to be done. She was certainly in a tangle now.
Zoe sighed again and looked away from Raven.
He cupped her face in his big warm hands. They looked into each other’s eyes. “I think I know what you’re thinking.”
She was sure he did. You didn’t have to be a mind reader for some things. She said, “This can’t happen again.”
The glint in his dark eyes was worrying. “Too bad,” he said, “because I’ve got an idea.”
“One that involves sex?”
“Of course; I’m a Prime—a vampire male, in case you don’t know the term.”
“I know. What’s your idea?”
His expression went very serious. “I want you to move in with me.”
“What?” She hated that her heart soared at the suggestion. “I can’t—”
“It’s for your own good. Share my quarters in the infirmary. The bed’s almost big enough for two.”
She was incredulous. “You have a real bed?”
“I’m a general—and a doctor. With anybody else that would make me a real catch,” he added.
Zoe moved away from him because his touch was too tempting. She shook her head.
“Move in with me,” he persisted.
She finished getting dressed while she considered the ramifications
of this not-at-all-romantic-sounding offer. “This would be for my own protection, I suppose. This is a security issue.”
She did not let herself sigh again. Survival, not romance, was the point here.
He grinned. “Well, that’s one of the reasons.”
This made her feel better. She turned back to him. “Wouldn’t your numerous girlfriends mind?”
He considered this for a moment, then answered, “It’s not so much that I have girlfriends. It’s more like I have volunteer blood donors.”
“Just friends helping you survive?” she questioned sharply, and hated the jealousy. “Tell that to Barb.”
“Barb knows. She does tend to forget.”
His expression turned stern and serious. Had she been anyone else, Zoe might have snapped to attention under that look.
But his annoyance wasn’t directed outward. She thought he was talking to himself as much as to her when he went on. “We’re all in a bad place to develop serious relationships.”
“I agree,” she told him. A wave of melancholy swept over her. “But the way this war’s been going, when and where is a good place to develop a serious relationship?”
“I for damn sure don’t know,” he said. He ran his fingers gently through her hair and down her throat. It made her sadness go away. She didn’t want him to stop.
“Don’t do that.”
“Because you like it.”
Not a question, and she didn’t need to answer. She put her hand over his, meaning to push it away.
“Come on, let’s go reorganize our lives,” he coaxed.
“Can’t do it, Doc.”
“I’ll let you rearrange the furniture.”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“We can get a puppy. You’ve always wanted a puppy.”
“Stop reading my mind.”
“It was a guess—but it shows how compatible we are.”
She held his hand for a moment longer before she stepped away. “I’m not going to move in with you, Doc.”
He leaned against the cave doorway, massive arms crossed. His grin was supremely confident. “You know you want to.”
She crossed her arms. She couldn’t deny the temptation. “That’s not the point.”
“You’ll be safer with me.”
“I’m already with you—I’m not going to wander out of Camp Five and get lost, am I?”
“Why not move in with me?” he tried again. “I could make it an order.”
“Do you want me to quote your speech about ‘No means no’ back to you? I will not share quarters with you for several reasons, but the only one I’m going to explain is that any change in my routine might draw the Kril’s notice. Do you want the Kril reporting any news at all to the Hajim? Their leaving us alone down here is the only thing that’s going to keep the lid on this situation. I want to keep everyone safe, not just myself.”
“I realize that, but—”
“No means no, Doc.”
She ducked past him and he followed her out into the slightly better lit corridor where they could at least stand up straight. He seemed prepared to continue the discussion but Zoe marched away from him, spine straight, shoulders squared—at least she looked sure of herself no matter how rattled her longing for him made her.
She hurried ahead of Raven into the human sector. He followed in silence, his growing frustration a shadow over her. She refused to look back. After they passed the first group of people lounging outside a cave entrance Doc grasped her arm and turned her to face him.
Being around people won’t keep me quiet, you know.
Raven’s voice was just as deep and rumbling inside her head as it was when he spoke aloud. And somehow there was something more real, more intimate about them when he sent his words inside her.
Stop liking it! she told herself. You can’t do intimate here and now. “I can’t.”
You can.
Aren’t there rules about how you use telepathy? Zoe thought back angrily. Don’t you have to stay out of someone’s head if they tell you to?
Yes. And mucking around in your head probably makes me a candidate for court-martial.
Why do I get the feeling you’re about to tell me that you don’t care about ethics and treason where I’m concerned?
Because we share—
The voice in her head cut off abruptly. Doc took a step back. He stared at her, eyes burning. He looked like he’d just been hit over the head. Zoe couldn’t read his emotions, but something was deeply disturbing him.
She impulsively touched his cheek. The contact sent a shock wave through her. And a shudder through him. Electricity sparked between them. Speechless, Zoe stared back at Raven. His eyes flashed ruby red, and his fangs showed for a moment. She was far too fascinated to be afraid.
“Are you two okay?” Alwyn said from behind her.
Zoe gasped. As air rushed into her lungs she wondered how long it had been since she’d taken a breath.
“What are you doing here?” Doc barked at the nurse.
Zoe turned to see that Alwyn had gone pale at the danger in Doc’s tone.
The young man came quickly to attention. “I was looking for you, sir,” he snapped out. “Three people have reported to the infirmary with a skin rash and low-grade fever.”
Raven stepped around her, the doctor in him taking control. He was instantly focused on the situation. Zoe couldn’t help but smile fondly at this show of responsibility.
“We don’t need anything contagious running through our population. Give me details as we go,” Doc said to Alwyn. “Pappas, inform all the hall officers that this place is on lockdown until further notice. Have them report to me when everyone’s snug in their quarters.
“That includes you, Pappas,” he added as he walked away.
Zoe watched Doc Raven until he was out of sight, the nurse hurrying to keep up with the big man’s strides. She continued to smile after him, a warm glow spreading through her. He was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
How she did love a competent man!
27
“Here’s what I’ve got for you, people. It looks like the illness started out as a form of food poisoning but became a contact contagion as soon as it found a host,” Doc told the gathering of hall officers.
The group had settled in his office, most of them sitting close enough to touch someone else. The days of isolation had plainly gotten to all of them. Camp Five was now in the third cycle of lockdown and he finally had some answers to share. He looked forward to cheering this worried group up.
“We have eighteen cases reported and responding to treatment, with no new ones in the last cycle.”
“So isolating everybody is working?” Barb asked.
Doc nodded.
“Nobody’s going to die, are they?” Adams asked.
“I wouldn’t let any of you out of your caves if I thought I’d have to fill out fatality forms.”
There was laughter, and relieved glances were exchanged.
“We can do hugs and kisses when the meeting breaks up, people,” he told them.
“You think it was in the relief packages brought in by the Benso?” Maria Athenou asked over several snickers.
He nodded. “That’s why I had you gather all of them and destroy them. Some alien bug got mixed in with the shipment for us humans. It’s not universally contagious and the effect only seems to last a few days, but it’s better to confiscate spoiled food than have more people get sick.”
“We nearly had a riot on our hands when we took everybody’s treats,” Adams said. “If we’d been able to ask people to voluntarily give—”
“Stop being a troublemaker,” Barb Langly complained. “Just because you had trouble getting stuff away from people on your corridor doesn’t mean there was any kind of rebellion.”
“Better almost a riot than an epidemic,” Doc told them. “Isn’t it?” He waited for each of the hall officers to nod before he went on. “I’m lifting the lockdown as of now.
Let my people go and all that. Dismissed. And, Langly,” he added when they rose to leave, “tell Everard I’d like to see him when you uncork your hall.”
When everyone else left, Maria lingered.
“Don’t you have an order to carry out?” he asked when they were alone.
He stood as she came around his desk, but neither his rank nor his size intimidated her. “I’ll let Zoe out in a minute,” she said. “But I think we need to talk about her first.”
This comment was totally unexpected. “What? Get out of here.”
He glared at her, but having a general give her a fierce look wasn’t enough to keep the lieutenant quiet. “What is it with you Greek women?” he asked. “Neither you nor Zoe has—”
Maria put a finger over his lips. “Maybe Zoe shouldn’t come first on the agenda.”
He jerked away from her touch.
Maria nodded as if she’d just made a point. “How many cycles has it been since you’ve fed, Doc? Barb and Celestine and I would all like an answer to that. You haven’t visited any of us since the blackout.”
“You’ve had a meeting about me?” He was outraged.
“We care about you.”
Doc was tempted to firmly pull rank, to tell her and the others to mind their own business. He wanted to order Maria to get out—and use telepathy if he had to to keep her out of his and Zoe’s business. But he’d tasted her blood many times. They had a relationship and he had obligations to Maria. And the other women.
“I’m not hungry,” he told her. The truth was, he was starving. But—
“I know you’ve been with Zoe.”
It was very hard to keep anything secret in Camp Five. He watched Maria without commenting. She paid no attention to his threatening silence.
“Zoe’s not a multiple-partner sort of person,” Maria said. “I’ve heard her crying, and it’s not hard to guess why,” she added defiantly as he continued to stare. “I know she doesn’t think you’re a one-woman vampire. You’ve done your best to make all of your donors aware of that. But I know for a fact that all vampires are looking for one permanent mate—that bonding can’t be stopped once your soul mate is found.”
Dark Stranger Page 13
