Bloodlines: Currents

by Mechele Armstrong

  Henri let him go; that was the only way he’d gotten free. “Maddy did ask me to protect you...”

  Nathan’s throat closed up. His eyes misted over. So there it was. The truth he’d known. The only reason his savior protected him was his mother. It had nothing to do with him, nothing to do with any connection between them. He’d been a fool to think there was anything special there.

  Henri cleared his throat, bringing Nathan’s attention back to the speaking man. “...But she never told me to make love to you, Nathan.”

  He seemed to have more to say, but Nathan couldn’t listen to anymore. “Oh, was it for pity then? The poor broken man who’d lost his mother. Such a country idiot. Did you have a good laugh?” Nathan’s whole being was as raw as a piece of meat from each happening of the day.

  “You’re not broken. You’re grieving. And what we shared...” Henri shook his head. “It went beyond coupling. I know you know that.”

  Nathan’s eyes briefly shut, then reopened. “Why did you do it? Fuck me? Save me? If not only for Maman.”

  “I did it for you.” Henri moved back toward him, putting a hand on his knee. “Let me finish this time and listen to every word. Maddy may have told me to look after you. But that’s not why I made love to you. Or even fought so hard to keep you safe. I did all that because...” His hand squeezed Nathan’s knee. “Because I find you enthralling. I did it because of you, Nathan. Not for any other reason.”

  “You do? Find me enthralling?” He’d never heard anyone describe him as anything else but strange.

  “Yes.”

  “Henri?”

  “What?”

  “The night you came back, and we...I was going to take you up on going to Paris. In a few weeks, I would have gone with you.” He’d needed time at the house to finish out his grief, to say goodbye. The time had now been denied him. But his parents wouldn’t have wanted him to stay there forever, losing his own dreams.

  Henri’s hand moved along his thigh. “That is good to hear. I’m sorry the villagers forced your hand much sooner than you’d planned, and for what they did. I will take you back to Paris with me. I’ll show you everything.”

  “Have you healed completely? Let me look.” Nathan pulled back, motioning for Henri to turn around.

  Henri presented his back. “They are much better.”

  “Yes, they are. Only a scratch remains. They’ve healed so much even from when I saw them last.” Nathan reached out and touched Henri’s now smooth back. His finger circled where the holes in his skin had been.

  “Luckily, they shot me in the back, and the bullets didn’t exit.”

  “What will happen to the lead?” Nathan hadn’t even thought there’d be bullets left inside Henri.

  “I’ll have a surgeon remove them one day. If my body doesn’t absorb them. Sometimes a vampire’s body can break down lead.” Henri stretched out his arms. “Good thing, too, up until coming here, I’d been feeding regularly. Had I been without filling meals for months, so many wounds would have felled me. Even one might have.” Henri turned back around, pulling his shirt down to his pants. Too bad. Nathan had liked the view. What a sexy man, even hurt as he was. Henri lay back on the ground, pulling Nathan down with him.

  “How would it have put you down?” Nathan snuggled into Henri’s hard body. Somehow, even with what had happened, Henri still made him more secure than he ever had with anyone.

  “I would have gone into a healing sleep. Only blood or a long time passing would have brought me out.” Henri moved his hand to Nathan’s back. “It’s how our bodies deal with blood loss from wounds.”

  “You...still need to feed, though, don’t you? From losing so much blood?” He tripped over the words. What was he doing? Was he going to offer himself up? How did a vampire feed? Somehow getting to the blood inside didn’t sound pleasant for the one giving it.

  “I will be slightly weak until I do. I’m fine enough for now. Don’t worry.”

  Nathan swallowed. The man had done so much for him. It was only a little blood. “You could feed from me.” It was right to do this for him. Henri would never hurt him.

  Henri’s hand stilled from where it had been weaving circles on Nathan’s back. “You don’t have to do this. You owe me nothing.”

  “I know.” Nathan leaned his head back, exposing his throat. “But I want to. I want to give you that which you need. My blood.” He put his hand on the side of Henri’s face. “Please let me.” He pulled Henri’s head down close. Henri’s intake of breath tickled under his hand.

  Henri’s tongue came out to glide across his upper lip. His hands traveled down to Nathan’s waist. “All right then.” One firm hand grasped Nathan’s cock under his breeches, and the other slid them down to his knees, exposing him to the air.

  Nathan hissed at the rolling sensations rocking across him.

  Henri’s mouth lowered to kiss a spot on his neck below his ear. It traveled down, kissing and nipping along the tender flesh. Henri centered on a spot to the side, before clamping down with his teeth and excising a small cut. He slurped and sucked as his hand still massaged Nathan’s cock.

  After a minute or so of feeding, with a flip of his tongue, Henri closed the wound. He continued to kiss and touch until Nathan’s orgasm rose and exploded, shooting his seed into Henri’s ready hand.

  Nathan’s body trembled, quivering with the fierceness of his release. He rose up, his hand going to Henri’s breeches. Henri’s hand grabbed his, laying on top of it, stopping him from undoing anything. “No.”

  “Why? I want to...”

  “I know that you do, Nathan. And I want you to do that and more to me. With me. But, we still must be on alert. And if I’m being...touched that way, I won’t be as conscious of things around me as I need to be.”

  “But, we’re safe. And you did that to me.”

  “I wanted to feed from you while bringing you pleasure as I did. And I did need the blood.” Henri’s thumb stroked his hand. “But until we make it back to my house in Paris, we’re still in danger.”

  Nathan scoffed. “The mob wouldn’t follow us here. And neither would Jacques.” Jacques was a lazy asshole. He wouldn’t pursue them this far on his own.

  Henri pulled Nathan’s hand back and pressed a kiss on the palm. “Did you ever see a man with Jacques? Tall. Big. A Spaniard.”

  “Once.” Jacques had come out to the farm to see his mother. Nathan had been out, coming back while they were still there. The man’s eyes had seemed as if they’d peered into Nathan’s soul. He’d been too interested in Nathan, asking him things, making him uncomfortable. It was right after that, that his mother had become so scared about his actions and about Jacques hurting him. He met Henri’s eyes. This man had something to do with everything. “Who is he?”

  “His name is Bellario. He’s a vampire. Like me.”

  “What does he want?”

  Henri’s eyes shuttered down. “Only one thing.”

  “What is it?”

  “You.”

  * * * * *

  “When I find you, Jacques. I’m going to kill you.” Bellario’s horse made his way across the dark landscape. Bellario was tracking Henri and Nathan, but nighttime that had settled upon the land made it more difficult. His predatory eyes and ears sought any sign that they’d been through there.

  He’d been woken in the afternoon by a vampire minion, who’d informed him that a mob had burned down Nathan’s house. Nathan and Henri had fled on foot. Bellario had had to go out in the cursed daytime to make sure his prize didn’t escape too far away.

  “You think you’re so smart, Henri.” He growled. The horse nervously sped up at the sound.

  Henri thought he’d get away with his prize. They’d be heading for Henri’s house in Paris, thinking they’d be safe there. Bellario wouldn’t let them reach there. He would possess Nathan. And Henri would die for attempting to keep him from Bellario.

  Jacques had fled. He’d heard enough when he’d arrived at Nathan�
��s house to know Jacques had incited the mob to go after Nathan. Damn the man. Bellario had had to go after Nathan and Henri first, but once his possession had been gained, Jacques was a dead man.

  The trail had been easy at first. Drops of Henri’s blood had scattered along the ground, making following them even easy for humans. They wouldn’t recognize it for what it was even as they trailed it, but Bellario did. Vampire blood. Henri had been wounded. He’d heal, but unless he fed, the wounds would weaken him. And he’d never feed from Nathan, who didn’t know about their kind.

  Henri and Nathan had stolen a horse from a neighboring farm, making their pace faster and harder to follow. There, Bellario had ditched his minion, taking a much needed feeding of his own. Knowing that Jacques was close to producing Nathan in the situation he’d wanted, he’d not fed recently, anticipating feeding on Nathan’s blood while he turned him.

  With Henri’s obvious wounds and riding double on the horse, they would have to take breaks and stop along the way. That would slow them down enough for Bellario to catch up. Surely, they didn’t intend to ride all the way to Paris tonight. It was a long journey to do in the time they had left in the day. And Nathan was human, making him more frail than vampires. And the horse, being overloaded, would need the few hours’ rest.

  Yes, they’d stop along the way to sleep, and Bellario would find them. He weaved his horse down a streambed, his nose searching for their scents. Wading down a river might confound human trackers. But the wet banks clung to scents, making them last longer, which was perfect for a vampire nose.

  Henri would be on guard against him and be sending out feelers to detect him before he got too close. He’d need the element of surprise to secure his prize without bloodshed.

  He sensed them. Nearby.

  His nose twitched, drawing in their scents. Leaping from the horse, he let it go. The horse would make too much noise.

  He approached them, making as little sound as he could. He was upwind from them until the breeze shifted. Freezing, he cursed the wind currents. It would blow his scent right to Henri’s nose, alerting him to who lurked there. Not that Henri didn’t already know he was there from his psychic feelers, but in case he didn’t, Bellario hadn’t wanted to give him more of a chance to sense his presence.

  The wind shifted back. What had it told Henri?

  He took a deep whiff of the wind blowing his way. Henri and Nathan’s scents still rested on the breezes. Along with a new one.

  A familiar one.

  Jacques was approaching from the other direction.

  Chapter Nine

  “Me? Why the hell would he want me?” Nathan stared at Henri while shaking his head. Damn, his whole life with little interest from men, and suddenly, he had two after him. One was evil, and one was something he wasn’t sure he understood yet. He trusted Henri, but didn’t understand the vampire in him. Yet. He would, with lots of time to explore. He looked at Henri’s tight body. Lots of time.

  “Because of your powers.”

  Nathan stared into the flickering flames of the fire, not meeting Henri’s intense gaze. They danced around, twirling over themselves as if they were children playing. “What powers?”

  Henri snorted, the sound soft and full of humor. “Don’t play stupid. Because you aren’t.”

  “I don’t know how I do what I do. I can sense people’s emotions. I always have been able to.”

  “Most people can’t do that, Nathan.”

  “I know.”

  “Your mother could.”

  Nathan picked up a small rock, twirling it in his hands. Flecks sparkled in the light of the fire, shining like the stars up above them in the sky. His fingers tumbled over the rough edges. “I know.”

  “What you have goes beyond what she could do.” Henri watched as Nathan fooled with the rock. Nathan could sense his gaze. “I’ve never seen in anyone what you have.”

  “It didn’t start until...you.” While there had been twinges before, he’d never controlled the absorption of emotion until he’d come into contact with Henri. He turned the rock over and over. A man as sophisticated and worldly as Henri had never seen anything like him. That couldn’t be good. Maybe he was a freak as Jacques said he was.

  “You’re not a freak. You’re different. But Bellario knows about your powers. He knows what you can do. And he wants you.”

  A shiver raced along Nathan’s spine. Being wanted by Henri was a good thing. Being wanted by Bellario was not. “Not for a good card game, eh?” He looked to Henri’s face.

  His smile turned bitter. “No. He’ll make you a vampire to use you. He has plans for you, my friend.”

  Nathan dropped the rock to the ground where it made a soft plunk. Bellario could turn him? Could Henri? “How are vampires made?”

  “A person must...die. All their blood must be drained. Only a vampire can do that. Then, at the last breath or soon after, the human must feed on a vampire’s blood. With the blood comes the power.”

  “So you...could....” Henri could make him a vampire. But why hadn’t he offered? It would have solved a lot of trouble with Bellario’s pursuit of him. What were Henri’s intentions? Nathan swallowed convulsively. Beyond attraction, what did they have? They’d been interrupted before either of them could talk about the future. Henri might not want a little human along for the ride once he’d filled Nathan a few times. And the notion of Henri leaving him hurt much more than it should.

  Somehow, he’d fallen for the Egyptian. How had that happened? He closed his eyes before opening them so Henri wouldn’t notice. Worst of all, what was Nathan going to do about it?

  Henri held up a hand. His nostrils twitched as he turned his head this way and that. Rushes at Nathan’s mind told him Henri was searching with his mind. He was looking for intruders, for pursuers.

  “What is it?” Nathan whispered, trying to peer into the darkness lit only by moonlight. If only he could see.

  “Bellario. He’s near.” Henri took a big whiff of air, the sound like a hiss of a snake. “Jacques is, too.” He cocked his head to one side. “They come in opposite directions. They aren’t together.” He leaped to his feet, motioning to Nathan as he whistled for the horse. “Come, we must ride.”

  The horse stayed where he was despite Henri’s imitation of Nathan’s whistle. Nathan slowly stood. “No.”

  “What do you mean ‘no’? We must go.” Henri’s eyebrows rose as if he couldn’t believe Nathan had denied him.

  Nathan’s head slowly began to shake his negation. “I’m not going to run from them the rest of my life. It’s those two? No more?”

  Henri’s mouth set in a grim line ready to disagree. “Yes. But now is not the time to fight them.”

  “Why? No better time than the present. We can take them. You’re healed, right? All full of my bloody goodness?” Nathan pulled up his arms to tighten up his muscles and show off. “You take Bellario. I’ll handle Jacques.” Henri looked skeptical. “I don’t want to run away all the time. I want this to be over. Here and now.” His teeth clenched so tightly it hurt. “And I owe Jacques.” For so many things. Most of all Nathan owed him for the upheaval he’d created in Nathan’s life. All he’d had to do was wait, and Nathan would have left town. Jacques never would have had to see him again. He hadn’t had to sell him out to Bellario.

  “We could get to Paris...”

  “Even if we could reach Paris before they caught us, they’ll still come there. They’ll lie in wait for us, catch us unawares. Better we confront them here, where we at least know they’re on their way, and they don’t have anyone else with them.”

  “Are you sure? It could be nasty. And dangerous.”

  “I live for danger.” Nathan puffed out his chest.

  Rolling his eyes, Henri huffed a breath, much like the sounds of annoyance Nathan had heard from people over the years. “Fine. Jacques comes from that way.” He pointed in a direction. “You face there, I’ll face here. We’ll have a standoff.”

  “Sho
uldn’t we try and gain some sort of an advantage?”

  Henri looked around, surveying the landscape. “How do you propose we do that? There’s no good place to hide. And we can’t hide from Bellario. He’ll sense us.”

  “I don’t know. Something higher maybe. The high ground is always better to have.” Nathan had read that once somewhere.

  “This ground’s flat here.” Henri’s eyes scanned around before going up. “A tree.” Several trees bore low branches.

  “That would work!” Nathan picked up a few little rocks. “Who’s going to get here first, you think?”

  “Jacques is closer.”

  “Good.” He made a small pile of little rocks in case he needed a distraction. “I’ll sit here. You climb the tree. And we’ll surprise the hell out of him. Then, we’ll deal with Bellario.”

  “Bellario will know where I am. The same trick won’t work on him. And he’s getting closer all the time. We may be dealing with them both, especially as he’ll sense Jacques coming toward us.”

  “We can do it.” Nathan held out his hand to shake. Henri did so after a moment’s hesitation.

  Henri climbed a few feet into a tree where he was hidden by the green leaves. Not that Nathan could tell the color, but they were leaves. Henri rested over a spot in front of Nathan, who crouched down low to the ground. He would have to get Jacques to that spot for Henri to spring onto.

  It’s the perfect plan. Nathan peered into the darkness, seeking any sign of Jacques’s approach. After what seemed as if hours had passed, he chanced speaking. “Are you sure Jacques is out there?” He’d never liked to wait. He tapped a hand on the ground, tossing up a rock. Crouching was going to get uncomfortable if he did it for too long. Maybe later, Henri would do another massage. His cock poked up to show his approval of that idea.