‘Still not letting him get you alone,’ I scribbled.
Rans shrugged, and I chose to interpret the ambiguous gesture as agreement.
“Maybe he didn’t know about the attack, but I’m still pissed off that he didn’t tell me about everything else,” I said aloud. “Dad needs better protection.”
“We’ll see what can be done,” Rans replied, taking the pen back. “For now, go freshen up. We can talk to him afterward.”
‘Tear this up and flush it,’ he wrote in the space left at the bottom of the notepad sheet.
I sighed. “Fine. But I don’t like this.”
“Really? I would never have guessed, love,” Rans returned in a dry tone. Then he bent down and kissed me. I leaned into it, wishing with all my heart that it could somehow just be us, instead of all these swirling undercurrents and looming dangers.
But the undercurrents and dangers weren’t going to disappear simply because I wanted them to, so I went to dispose of the evidence and splash water on my face. A few minutes later, I emerged—ready for round two with a demon so powerful he could draw energy from the fabric of reality itself. I might have only been a little baby succubus, two generations removed from my demonic birthright... but if I had to step in front of Rans to protect him from Nigellus, I’d do so without hesitation—and damn the consequences.
THREE
THE LIBRARY WAS decorated in the same modern, minimalist style as the rest of the house. While I could appreciate that it was objectively attractive, I basically hated it. Possibly, this was because I’d much rather be back in Rans’ Yorkshire cottage with its rustic stone walls, dark leather furniture, and sunny yellow bedspread.
Or maybe it was because I was afraid I’d leave fingerprints and smears if I touched anything, with all the polished steel and glass surrounding me.
“Okay. So, here’s the thing. I’m not leaving my father undefended,” I told Nigellus without preamble. Unfortunately, the double shot of whatever alcohol Edward had used to spike my lemonade wasn’t doing much to relax me... but at least the liquid courage seemed to have bolstered my backbone. This time, I vowed, I wouldn’t allow myself to be steamrolled or talked around in a circle by the powerful demon in front of me.
Nigellus had risen with old-world charm at our entrance, and now he gestured to a couple of sleek, ergonomic chairs near where he was sitting. Rans took one, but I waved the offer away and remained standing. Once the demon had regained his own seat, he regarded me with a gaze that saw too much.
“I’ve been considering the situation with your father, Zorah,” he said. “For now, I can send Edward to stay with him. Or at least, I can send Edward to stay with him once the two of you have been warded against magical detection.”
My brows drew together. I wasn’t sure what solution I’d expected Nigellus to offer, but it certainly hadn’t been that one. “Edward? Really?” I asked. “No offense, but while he might be a really sweet and awesome old guy, he doesn’t exactly strike me as bodyguard material.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, Miss. I’ve picked up a few tricks over the centuries beyond mixing drinks and ironing shirts,” came a familiar voice from the doorway. “Your father is residing with the tithelings, is that correct?”
I felt my cheeks heat at my embarrassing faux pas, but I only said, “Yes, he is. But I don’t want you thrust into danger without knowing exactly what you might end up facing. Myrial thinks she can get to me through my father, and to Rans through me. I don’t know how far she’s likely to go in pursuit of that goal.”
“Not to worry,” Edward said complacently, “Swords and bullets might be of limited usefulness against demons, but there are other avenues of protection.” His attention turned to Nigellus. “Assuming that’s how you’d like to approach this, sir.”
Rather than answer, the demon cocked a questioning eyebrow at me.
Rans caught my eye. “It’s an offer I’d suggest accepting, love.”
He was right. I wasn’t likely to get any better ones today. “Okay, thanks. As long as you understand what you’ll be getting into, Edward.”
The butler smiled wryly. “I’ve a fair idea, Miss.”
Nigellus gave a single brisk nod. “Very well, then. Edward, once our guests have had a few hours to rest, you will ward them. When that’s finished, I’ll escort you through the gate and ensure that arrangements are made for you to reside with Zorah’s father until this situation can be dealt with in a more permanent fashion. You will contact me immediately if any attempts are made on his person.”
“Very good, sir,” Edward replied. “Now, if you’ve no further need of me for the next hour or two, I’ll go pack a bag and ready what I need for the warding.”
Nigellus dismissed him with a nod, and Edward puttered off. The demon’s attention returned to us, his gaze flicking from Rans to me.
“Once you are warded,” he said, “you’ll be free to leave the house without Myrial being able to pinpoint your location via the blood tie with Zorah. That being said, I would still urge you to keep a low profile until this situation is resolved.”
“And how long is that likely to be?” I asked. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like we’re surrounded by enemies on all sides.”
Nigellus regarded me coolly. “Not on all sides, surely. And as for how long this situation will last—a demon of fate I may be, but not even I can foresee the future. For now, though, perhaps you’d like to rest while Edward is preparing himself. You’ve clearly had a trying few days.” He glanced back to Rans. “Ransley, would you care to join me for a drink? There are some things we should discuss.”
Red alert sirens went off in my head.
“Another time, Nigellus,” Rans said.
At the same moment, I blurted, “I’m not tired—”
Depthless brown eyes held mine, until I felt like I was falling into them. “I believe you’ll find that you are,” Nigellus said. “In fact, both of you appear quite fatigued...”
His voice flattened and attenuated as though it were reaching me through an underground passage.
“N-no,” I murmured, even as a wave of crushing exhaustion swept over me and dragged me under without warning. The library faded away, replaced by blackness and silence.
* * *
When I awoke, I was in a comfortable four-poster bed with my head resting on Rans’ shoulder. My brain was fuzzy, and I blinked at the unfamiliar room around me—barely illuminated by the gray light of dusk.
Rans’ presence—combined with the growing number of strange beds I’d slept in over the past couple of months—kept me from panicking. With difficulty, I cast my mind back in hopes of piecing together where I was and why. We’d been in York, and then...
Oh. Right. Nigellus.
He’d shown up and dragged us to California. I’d yelled at him a bit, chugged a glass of heavily spiked lemonade, and eventually agreed to allow Edward to stay with my father and act as the world’s unlikeliest bodyguard. We’d been talking in the library, but I’d been really tired after everything that had happened. I must’ve come up here to rest while Edward was getting set up to do the magical warding thing.
We should probably get up and see if he was ready for us. I sat up and wiped drool from the corner of my mouth. Yup. Classy as ever—that was me.
“Rans?” I rasped. “C’mon... the sun’s going down. Almost vampire daytime, right? Let’s go—up and at ’em.”
I nudged his shoulder.
There was no response, which was a bit weird. Glancing around, I found a lamp on the bedside table and fumbled for the switch. Cool light illuminated a circular pool across the bed and floor, revealing the pallor of Rans’ complexion. Not that he wasn’t pale on the best of days, but...
Déjà vu slammed into me, cutting a path of clarity through the cotton-wool feeling.
“Bastard son of a bitch,” I cursed under my breath, as the puzzle pieces settled into place.
That was enough to rouse my vampire bed
partner, but only just. He peered at me with bleary eyes and an expression that said he had even less idea about where he was than I’d had a few moments ago. I palmed his cheek, which was cool and waxy. Corpselike.
“Rans,” I said in a much gentler tone, aware that outside ears might be listening in. “Hey. You look like hell, lover. You need to feed.”
He blinked ice-blue eyes at me, his gaze distant and unfocused. After a few moments, a furrow formed between his elegantly arched brows. “Where...? I can’t quite... seem to...”
I pressed a finger to his lips, and tried to swallow back the rage burning its way up my throat. “We’re in California. One of Nigellus’ places, remember? Seriously, Rans—you need blood. Show me some fang, okay?”
He was still frowning, but after a moment his expression smoothed. He kissed the finger I still held pressed to his lips and pulled me on top of him. When he nuzzled against my neck with sleepy, uncoordinated movements, it felt like something warm and soft cracked open inside me, spilling through my chest until I could hardly breathe.
Jesus. Was I going to be one of those people who collapsed into tears at the slightest fucking thing from now on? That wasn’t really in line with the badass demon hybrid persona I was trying to cultivate these days.
“Blood, Rans,” I prompted, trying to ignore the slight unsteadiness in my voice.
“Mmm.” Fangs slid into my throat, and I gasped as liquid heat flooded my veins. My right hand fisted in Rans’ hair without any conscious volition, holding him to me. We were both fully dressed—honestly, sex had been the farthest thing from my mind when I’d urged him to feed. Regardless, I could picture a day not too far in the future when he’d be able to make me come with nothing more than his fangs piercing my tender skin.
Lightheadedness swept over me as he continued to draw on the twin wounds, and all I could think about was the way the seam of my worn jeans pressed intimately against my pussy as I straddled him. By the time he licked over the punctures to heal them and pulled away, I was shaking.
Succubus blood had a particular effect on vampires—even diluted as mine was. Rans arched beneath me restlessly, still half-gone after whatever Nigellus had done to him. Part of me knew that Nigellus might be listening in, even now, and that we needed to get our shit together so we could prepare for whatever came next. A larger part of me decided that Nigellus could go fuck himself for a few more minutes.
I kissed the tempting mouth beneath me, delving inside to taste the metallic tang of my own blood on his lips. Then I slid down the length of Rans’ body until I could unfasten his fly. He was going commando, god bless him, already hardening under the brush of my fingers. I freed him and swallowed his length without ceremony, humming around him in approval as his animus surged against my magical barriers.
It was fast and without finesse—I sucked and bobbed, shoving a hand down the front of my jeans to get myself off while I went down on him. I still felt dizzy from blood loss, but somehow it only made everything better... especially when his fingers slid through my hair to cradle the back of my head, steadying and guiding my movements.
I let only enough of his animus through to replenish some of the life force he’d drawn from me. Too much, and I’d undo any benefit my blood had given him, leaving him just as wiped out as before. As it was, we’d both be drained, but hopefully we’d at least be functional enough to deal with our current situation.
Rans arched silently beneath me and spilled over my tongue, the surge in his life force combining with the feeling of my fingers sliding over my clit to send a small climax shivering through me, as well. When it subsided, the world wasn’t spinning in lazy circles anymore. I could think clearly again. Rans was still half-hard under the influence of my blood, and he would be for some time—but while I might be able to justify a quickie to ease his need and replenish myself after feeding him, this wasn’t exactly the time or place for a supernatural sex marathon.
With reluctance, I tucked him away with careful movements and did up his fly. The hand tangled in my wayward curls gentled, rubbing at my scalp before falling away to lie at his side. His gaze had cleared somewhat when he met my eyes in the lamplight.
“Not a bad way to wake up,” he observed slowly, “though it’s somewhat concerning that I don’t recall going to sleep in the first place.”
I placed a finger over his lips again in warning. “I... think we must have been tired after the mess in York,” I said warily.
When he nodded his understanding of the need to stay quiet, I grabbed the pen and paper from beside the bed. ‘I think Nigellus did something to both of us so he could drain you again,’ I scribbled. Rans scanned the words. His face went hard, but not before I saw the pain of betrayal flare behind his expressive gaze. He took the pen and wrote ‘we still need him’ on the page.
“Blimey,” he said aloud. “I suppose we must’ve been knackered, at that. Ah, well. We should go see what Edward’s up to. The sooner we can get out and about without attracting the wrong kind of attention, the better.”
“Is there a right kind of attention, these days?” I muttered under my breath, and went to clean up so we could go meet Edward.
FOUR
AS IT TURNED OUT, being magically warded by a centuries-old butler involved—all together, now—blood. The dark red liquid mocked me from inside the small glass Edward was holding, reminding me of the blood wine in Hell.
“Hang on just a damned minute. What kind of blood is that, and where did you get it?” I snapped.
Yeah... I might have been just a bit on edge at that point. So sue me.
Edward blinked at me in mild confusion. “Human, of course. Specifically, mine, from a cut at the base of my left thumb, Miss. Why? Is there a problem?”
Rans sniffed the cut crystal glass containing the small amount of ruby liquid, and gave me an almost imperceptible shake of the head.
“No. There’s no problem, Edward,” he said evenly. “I’m afraid that too close of an association with me has made Zorah a bit blood-shy, for obvious reasons.”
“Ah,” Edward replied. “I understand. But I’m afraid magic and blood are tied together rather closely, Miss. I assure you, there’s no danger... though I will have to break your skin when I carve the runes.”
I opened my mouth, thought about it for a moment, and then shut it again. “You know what?” I decided eventually. “If that’s what it takes to get Myrial off our backs, I’m cool with it. As long as there aren’t any hidden catches, anyway.”
It was Rans who answered. “There aren’t. It’s a simple cloaking spell. The effects will fade over the course of a couple of months unless the wards are reapplied.”
“Awesome,” I said flatly. “All right, let’s do this thing, and I’ll just pretend I’ve never taken any first aid courses that highlighted the dangers of allowing someone else’s blood near an open wound. No offense, Edward.”
Edward was still watching me with a bemused expression. “None taken. And yes, Miss, that would probably be for the best.”
The old guy hadn’t traded in his smart black suit for wizard’s robes or anything like that, but he certainly had the ‘black magic’ spiel down. First, he chanted over the small glass of blood in an unrecognizable language, and power began to swirl above it with an eerie white glow. Then he chanted over a small silver dagger in the same way.
I shot a wary glance at Rans.
He met my eyes, not looking concerned. “Silver is the only way to carve a rune in me that will stay open long enough for the spell to work,” he murmured in explanation.
“Indeed. Would you care to go first, sir?” Edward asked.
“By all means,” Rans told him, and started unbuttoning his shirt.
I raised an eyebrow—not that I objected to the view, I just wasn’t sure if I’d be expected to follow suit... because baring my boobs to Edward would be a little farther along the freakazoid spectrum than I was comfortable with going. The butler noticed my expression and blushed a b
it, of all the unexpected things.
“The rune works best over the heart for vampires,” he explained. “Lower abdomen would be ideal for a full-blooded succubus, and probably for you as well, Miss. I’ll make certain to preserve your modesty, I promise.”
“Uh, great. Thanks.” I glanced at Rans, trying to convey without words that any amusement he expressed about the current state of my ‘modesty’ would be met with swift and severe retaliation. But aside from a barely visible twitch of the lips, he was busy polishing his halo as he finished unbuttoning his shirt and let it hang off his shoulders to bare his chest fully.
Edward ignored the byplay and guided Rans to stand facing the room’s light. Like the blood, the little silver dagger was emitting a soft glow from within, I noticed. With only a moment’s hesitation, Edward inscribed a small pentacle in Rans’ skin with the blade. It was drawn differently than I would have done it... assuming I’d ever been inclined to carve a pentacle into someone, which I wasn’t. Instead of a single point on top and two pointing down like the star at the top of a Christmas tree, the single point was facing downward.
I could see Rans’ flesh parting under the shallow cuts, and though there was almost no blood, I still had to fight a wash of unpleasant queasiness. Unsurprisingly, the vampire didn’t so much as twitch. Of course, this was the same guy who’d sat like a statue while someone hacked three bullets out of his torso with a dagger in a grungy motel bathroom, so I suspected the shallow cuts didn’t even register for him.
Edward worked quickly—presumably because even with a silver knife, the wound would heal in almost no time. With a final low incantation, he reached for the glass of blood and poured half of it over the shallow wound, smearing it with his hand until it covered the entire design. A flare of energy shot out from the mark, sizzling through me for a bare instant before it was gone.
“There you are, sir,” said the butler.
The Last Vampire- Complete series Box Set Page 55
