“Would you like to take a walk?”
“Yeah.”
We walked out the back of the house into the light of the moon. The sky was clear, with bright stars shining above us, as we passed through the garden and into the desert. I reached for his hand and entwined my fingers with his. He brought our hands up to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. The moonlight made his eyes glow iridescent. We walked in silence for a while, listening to the night birds call into the darkness.
When we were a distance from the house I turned to Ian. “So what’s the story between you and Raven?”
“There is no story between Raven and me.” His face remained blank, expressionless, but I could feel the air around him tense with anger.
“I can feel your anger, Ian.” I smiled up at him. “What’s the big bad vampire trying to hide from the harmless little human?”
“Much.” His expression was still vampire blank.
Of that I was sure and while my toes curled at the thought of discovering all there was to know about Ian, my bruised heart still hesitated. While I could think of a hundred smart-ass comebacks, I simply muttered, “Um-hmm.”
Ian pulled me close so that our bodies were touching from chest to thigh and my body shivered with excitement. “There is nothing harmless about you, my little human.”
He stopped the laugh from escaping my mouth by capturing my lips with his. Amusement was quickly consumed by passion as I melted into him. This kiss was different than just passion, it felt almost desperate, searching, questioning as he pulled me tighter until there was almost no difference between where my body ended and his began. Abruptly he pulled away, leaving me breathless and weak against him.
Once I was able to speak again I continued. “If you’re trying to distract me it didn’t work. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but you still didn’t answer the question.”
He shook his head, his hand sliding down to mine and intertwining our fingers together. He started walking again and I followed with my hand still captured in his, his warmth seeping into me. “You are tenacious, my love.”
I smiled. “Yeah, yeah. You are still avoiding my question.”
“Raven and I were once friends.”
“And?”
“I would not have him here if it wasn’t imperative that he help control Elizabeth.” There was an edge to his voice, yet under the anger was a tint of sorrow.
“It was a woman.”
“Isn’t it always?” he retorted.
“The dark-haired woman that I saw in your soul,” I all but whispered.
“Emily. Her name was Emily and she was my world.” His gaze was far away, as if he was seeing something from long ago.
I was startled by the whisper of jealousy that wove through me but squashed it down and continued. “What happened?”
“Raven knew her better than I.” He shook off whatever thought he was having. “It does not matter.”
His tone suggested that it would be best if I didn’t pursue this any further. I would get no more answers on this subject from him.
“Why did you give up your place with the Marquis?”
“I was a Marquis for many years. I did not approve of the…” he paused for a moment, “lifestyle.”
“Killing humans.”
“It is much more than that, my love. The Marquis are our only system of justice. It is not just humans that they prey upon.”
“They hold court, imprison them?” I prodded.
He shook his head as a grim smile spread across his face. “No, my love, there is no safe place to imprison our kind.”
The implication of those words made me stop in my tracks. “They kill them.”
He nodded sullenly. “Execution is also used in the human world, my love.”
“Not exclusively,” I stammered.
He turned me to face him and cupped my face in his hands. “Where could a being with unparalleled strength and powers be kept? Silver tombs were once used but it is a long and torturous death. They are only used now as a temporary means of confinement.”
I took a deep breath to steady myself as I began walking again. Ian reclaimed my hand. “Yet this Elizabeth was kept alive, contained.”
“She is royalty, my love. Her crimes were unprecedented. She broke the very laws the Marquis are obligated to keep.”
“Which are?”
“Discretion. Her crimes were brutal. She showed no mercy and killed hundreds of young women openly and cruelly. The bite of a vampire does not have to be brutal or painful. It can be quite enjoyable. She made no effort to hide her feedings.”
“So you’re supposed to hide the bodies or something?” I shook my head in confusion.
He ran his hand over his brow. “A feeding does not have to be painful … or fatal to the victim. In fact it takes more than one vampire to drain a human of body of enough blood to cause death.”
“You told me that it takes at least three, sometimes more depending upon their level of power.”
He nodded.
“And the pain? I saw it in your soul Ian, what you went through, it did not look enjoyable.”
“It is preferable to bespell your victim first. To erase the memory of the bite and feeding and replace it with something pleasurable.”
“But you have killed before.” I made it a statement, not a question. I knew the answer, I could see it in his eyes but I needed to hear him say it out loud.
He nodded.
“How many have you killed?”
He turned away from me.
I took a step back. “Ian?” I breathed in barely a whisper.
“When we are first turned we awake with a vengeance.” He stared out into the desert as he spoke. “It is almost animalistic. The only thought is to feed. I was not taught the necessary restraint. My creator intended for my death, not my rebirth.”
“My God,” I breathed.
“It is why Zarendia was here. She was a preternatural being who had been newly turned and lacked the proper instruction. As a new shapeshifter she suffered from bloodlust, the animal instinct to kill, to feed. Left unrestrained…” He shook his head.
Fear snaked its way up my spine. I’d been bitten before and had no desire to become anyone’s main course in a feeding frenzy, vampire or shapeshifter.
“I feel your fear, my love.” He turned to me. “I would sooner end my own existence than allow any harm to come to you.” He reached his hand out to me. “I will take you back to the house now.”
I reached my hand out to his. “No.” I shook my head.
We walked together silently while an evening breeze rustled the leaves of the cottonwood trees and spread the scent of creosote bushes around us. I struggled to sort all of this new information into what I had already known of the supernatural.
“She’s going to kill me isn’t she?”
“No.” Ian turned to give me the full effect of his gaze. “I will not let that happen.”
“You can’t be with me all the time, Ian.”
“You will have bodyguards at all times and we will teach you to use your own powers more effectively to defend yourself.”
“I am not a vampire, Ian.”
He took a deep breath. “Let’s just focus on keeping you safe.”
“Okay.” There was a concept I could stand behind. Me not getting killed by a psycho vampiress. We continued to walk. “Wait. You said the bite doesn’t have to be painful?”
“No, that is why the Marquis believe we can intermingle with society. They believe that there will be ample willing donors to feed us.”
“Why would anyone volunteer for that?”
“What drives humans to do many of things others may find distasteful?”
“Money and Sex.”
He smiled. “Exactly. Vampires manipulate the human mind so the bite is very enjoyable.”
“So, better than sex, huh?” I grinned.
He laughed, a deep seductive sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Depen
ds on the sex. There are many other ways that I would prefer to spend an evening with you than feeding.”
Laughing, I walked ahead, only to have Ian grab me into his arms and cover me protectively with his body. A moment later I heard a low whiny growl as two mountain lions raced across the path I had just been standing on. Their tawny-colored coats glistened in the moonlight. There were darker, almost blue, spots and rings around each of their tails. My whole body tensed as one stopped momentarily to eye us; then whipped his head around and followed the other along the path. I opened my mouth to say something when a louder high-pitched roar echoed from the direction the mountain lions had just come from.
A scream bubbled in my throat as I climbed my way up Ian’s body. He reached his arms under my knees and cradled my body as a much larger mountain lion appeared at our right. The animal was at least five feet long and unlike the smaller lions it didn’t have any spots or a ring around its tail. Its intense eyes pierced us as I buried my head in Ian’s chest.
“Cody, Quinn!” Ian’s voice boomed through the desert, his tone commanding.
My body was shaking as images of being ripped apart by the massive animals flowed through my head.
“All is well, my love,” Ian whispered into my hair.
“Easy f-for you to s-say,” I stuttered. “You’re immortal.”
He let out a short laugh. “It is Shia.”
I heard a charge of static electricity and gripped Ian even harder.
“It is Shia, my love.”
I turned my head and felt my mouth gape open as Shia stood before us. She wore a long nightshirt and her feet were bare.
“I’m so sorry, Leah. I didn’t know you were out here. And you…” She turned toward two boys who were hiding behind a cottonwood tree. “You’ll be paying for this stunt for a week, maybe a month!” she yelled to the boys.
“You’re a shifter?” I stammered.
She nodded. “The two rascals hiding behind the tree are as well.”
“Ian,” she indicated to me, “you take care of her, I’ll take care of the boys.” She screwed her face into a scowl then turned and huffed toward the boys.
I slid down Ian and watched in astonishment as Shia stormed over to the boys with her hands on her hips. A young boy came from behind the tree and stammered, “He made me do it!”
The other boy came out and pushed the first boy. “I did not!” he yelled. “It was all Quinn’s idea.”
“Was not, Cody! You said it would be funny.”
They started to wrestle between themselves and Shia grew closer to them. She picked them both up, one in each hand by their shirt collars, effortlessly, an amazing show of strength. She had to draw her arms out to keep the boys from hitting each other while they argued as she turned and carried them toward us.
I turned to Ian. “Shia?” I finally managed to mutter.
Ian brushed my hair from my face. “Yes, my love, she is a lioness.”
I took a deep breath. Holy shit!
“A mountain lion? Oh my God, there are children shifters…” I rubbed my hands up and down my arms.
“Shh, my love.” Ian ran his hands over my shoulders to calm me. “We will talk.”
I opened my mouth to say something.
Ian placed his finger over my lips. “I believe,” he tilted his head to indicate Shia and the boys behind me, “someone has something to say to you.”
I turned to see both boys. Tawny-colored hair, the same color as their fur, hung loosely over matching pairs of green eyes. Identical twins.
Shia shoved one forward who held his hand out to me sheepishly. “Sorry, Ms. Wolfe.” He frowned. “Cody thought it would be funny to scare the human.”
“I did not, Quinn!” Cody hit his brother in the back of the head. “It was all your idea!”
Shia grabbed the boys by their shirt collars once again and held them apart. She pulled them closer and whispered something to them. Their eyes grew wide and one, I think it was Quinn, started to pucker his lower lip and tremble as his eyes glistened with tears. Shia set both boys down again.
They took a step closer, their eyes cast to the ground and apologized in unison.
They look so forlorn that I couldn’t help but cast them a huge smile. “It is quite all right boys. I would have thought it was funny, too.”
They raised their eyes to look up at me through their long eyelashes. The corners of their mouths twitched in a tiny smile.
I knelt down in front of them and held my arms wide. The stepped into them and gave me a light hug.
Shia shooed the boys off. “You two get right back to the house now.” She turned back to Ian and I. “Sorry, Leah. The little rascals got away from me.”
“Don’t be too hard on them, Shia. I’m always up for a good practical joke.”
She turned and followed the boys. Moments later I felt the electrical current again as Shia and the boys shifted back to animal form and ran into the darkness.
“As for you,” I narrowed my eyes at Ian, “you could have warned me. And don’t tell me you didn’t hear them.”
Ian grinned devilishly. “I was a lad once, too. I remember how tempting it was to scare a pretty girl.”
“Are they Shia’s boys?”
“Yes.” He brushed his hand down my arm. “They are Therians, born as animals, mountain lions with the ability to take human form.”
“She won’t be too hard on them, will she?”
“It is unheard of among preternatural beings to harm children.”
“What about human children?” Did vampires feed on children? My God, I couldn’t imagine…
“All children are considered precious among our kind. That is why Elizabeth’s crimes were not ignored or pardoned. She harmed young women to steal their youth. It is an unforgivable crime.”
I let out a long breath. “So Shia lives near.”
“You would be surprised how many preternaturals live among humans.”
“Why didn’t their clothes shred?” The only shifter I’d seen had been Zarendia and her clothes were in rags.
“Zarendia was forced to shift. If the shift is her choice then most clothes remain intact, unless they are too delicate.” He replied as if reading my mind.
In spite of my earlier claims, I yawned hugely. Exhaustion swept over me quickly and without mercy. Without saying a word, Ian clasped my hand and led me back to the house. Once upstairs he walked me back to the room I had awakened in.
“If you require anything just call for me. I shall leave you to your rest.”
I squeezed his hand tighter.
“Ian?” I took a slow breath. I really didn’t want to be alone. I still had many questions that needed answers. I’d dealt with many things before but instinct told me that the big bad bitch hunting me now was in a whole new category.
“Stay with me?” I offered hesitantly.
His smile warmed me like nothing else could. I pulled him down to me and kissed him as if he was the last solid thing in my world.
“My love?” He barely whispered, hope resonating through his voice.
I leaned back enough to see his face, still breathing heavily. Part of me wanted to instinctively tell him to leave. I’d trusted my heart with one other and he’d left it broken. Was I predestined to go through this life alone, just as destiny saw fit to bestow upon me the very things that had kept me solitary? I’d fought my entire life for peace, security and love and I was tired of the fight.
Oh so tired.
Destiny was a bitch. Fuck her and all her schemes to make my life a living hell.
“Stay with me, Ian.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Before I could say another word his lips claimed mine. He slid his hands down to cup my butt and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around him as my arms gripped his shoulders. He walked up to the bed and set me down, lying above me, supported by his hands on either side of my head. Determination and possessiveness swirled around me, emanating from him. But more than th
at was the feeling of serenity, something that warmed me to my very soul.
His lips left mine and trailed across my cheek and down to my neck, leaving a trail of white-hot kisses as he went. He paused momentarily at my pulse point and placed the gentlest of kisses there. I moaned in response and caressed my hands up his shoulders, enjoying the play of his muscles under my touch. I looked up into the dark midnight blue of his eyes and the tiny points of lights that shone like stars in a perfect sky.
“Your soul is calling to mine, my love. We are meant to be. You are mine.”
My heart protested the wording, protecting itself from another beating it didn’t think it could survive.
My head and my hormones told it to shut the hell up. My heart didn’t have a chance and conceded to the others.
I gave myself to Ian. Body, mind and soul.
And it was good.
There was no restraint this time, nothing held back. I released my barriers and flooded him with all the feelings I’d held captive for so long. I’d never been this open and vulnerable before, not even with Joaquín. A part of me had known that it wouldn’t work between Joaquín and me and that part of me was glad he’d ended it so thoroughly.
Ian’s eyes widened in response to the assault of my emotions being pushed into him and I felt a surge of power, a tingling of electricity that raised goose bumps along every inch of my skin. I reveled with it, glowed with it.
I fisted my hands into his hair and pulled his mouth back to mine. Our tongues danced together as I explored every delicious corner of his mouth. The taste of him, the very scent of him was permeating my senses. We rolled together on the bed until I was straddling him. I desperately pulled at the buttons on his shirt until my need to touch him was so great that I simply yanked and sent the buttons flying.
He chuckled huskily as I continued to pull at his shirt until it was free of his pants.
I ran my hands across his chest, the small curl of hairs tickling my fingers and increasing my need to touch more of him. I shifted and lay my cheek against those soft curls. His heart beat lightly and his breath was quick and raspy against the top of my head. I slid my hand lower, following the trail of dark hair that led to the waist of his jeans and things promised beneath.
Nightwalker Page 23
