by Shona Husk
His eyes narrowed. She saw in his face that this was hurting him and confusing him. He’d never had any magical training. He acted on instinct and desire and it had gotten him this far. She sighed. She didn’t want to fight with him. She hadn’t dreamed of him for months only to get a second chance and destroy it. Was this really a second chance?
He let her go and stalked to the other side of the balcony, ignoring the sweeping view of Sydney.
“Then explain why I can’t dig you out of my flesh.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What spell have you laid on me that I can’t stop thinking of you? Was it payback for all the women I’ve enchanted? I never forced them.”
Her stomach twisted. Claire placed a hand over her belly, trying to still her tumbling stomach so she could think. “I felt how your enchantment works. I know you leave outs and don’t break the rules about freewill. I swear I did nothing to you in retaliation.” She stepped inside.
William stood in the doorway, “I can’t remember the last person I didn’t use an enchantment on before fucking.”
“That is tragic. Sex is brilliant, fun, it connects…” The blood, the magic, the baby. Everything they’d done had created this bond. Maybe he needed the connection more than he realized. He had been the one to reach out to her at the concert. “Why do you hate Shamen?”
His black eyebrows drew together, creasing his forehead, the line that hinted at Shaman blood became deeper, more prominent. Even a frown couldn’t destroy his features. “Why does it matter?”
“It matters to me.”
He shook his head and stared at his shoes. The same skull and crossbones ones he’d worn that night. “I’m half Shaman.” He glanced up. “But I’m sure you worked that out. Have you heard of the Ferrara Ruling?”
Claire nodded. She’d been right. He was there when Shamen and Vampires had fought; the resulting earthquakes had rocked the city for years afterward. Because of Ferrara the Council had banned Shaman-Vampire unions. It was the only way to appease the Vampires who thought Shamen only wanted them because of the power burn.
“I was the by-product.”
The penny dropped with a clunk. He hadn’t been there; he’d been conceived there in hate and a quest for power. Bile burned the back of her throat. She put her hand against the wall to stay upright as nausea flooded her system.
“I’m sorry. Your poor mother.” She felt sorry for him too, growing up knowing the damage that his conception had caused not only to the Shaman and Vampire populations but to the humans who lived in the area.
“She recovered physically, but she never looked at me the way other mothers looked at their children. I was a reminder. Hell, every time anyone looked at me, all they saw was the massacre.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know that. But Shamen avoid me and Vampires don’t like the taste of me, so I muck around with humans. But I have to be careful because that enchantment you felt grows when I’m with someone long-term and I can’t control it. Eventually they can’t think for themselves.” He shrugged. “Pity the half-breed. Give me back my magic and I’ll be gone.”
She stared at him, not sure what to say. “But without your magic, you’re no danger to anyone.”
“It’s mine. I’d rather be whole and alone than half of nothing and with someone who doesn’t know the truth.”
And she knew the truth about his birth and what he was. She was sure there had been other half-breeds before the ruling, but they were most likely long gone. Not even Vampires were immortal.
“What are you saying?”
He cupped her cheek as if to kiss her. “I like you, Claire, but we both know this isn’t going anywhere. It never was. Enchantments and lies aren’t a good start and the Ferrara ruling ruins any other chance. So please, just undo what you did and we can both move on.”
“It’s not that simple.”
He blinked. “Why not?”
“I’m pregnant.” She stopped short of telling him it was his.
“Really?” His gaze skimmed over her body.
She offered him her hand. “Taste the truth for yourself.”
He kissed her fingertips, but didn’t bite. “I don’t need to. So a nice Shaman baby, just what the Council ordered. Who is the lucky man?” He touched her empty ring finger.
“There isn’t. I refused to marry for genetics.”
He smiled. “Of course you would.”
She bit her lip. “There’s something you should know. I tried to get my duty to the Council done when I was eighteen so I could get on with my life.” Straight out of school and keen to get it over and done with. Her voice betrayed her when she continued, “Five days. He lived for five days. Two more and he would have counted.”
There had been a Shaman family willing to adopt and then she could get back to her life, everything had all seemed so perfect. Her throat tightened. It was her fault. She’d never wanted the baby and somehow he’d known. This time would be different. Her hand slid over her stomach. She wanted this baby, but would William?
“I saw the marks.” He glanced at her stomach, then back at her face. “Why are you telling me?”
“Because I did something without thinking it through and the Council isn’t happy, my parents aren’t happy and I don’t think you’re going to be happy either. I didn’t mean to bind up your magic. That was an accident.”
“The baby is mine?” He took a step back as if she’d pushed him. That wasn’t quite the reaction she’d hoped for. “How did that even happen?”
“Sex…” she took a breath. “And a bit of magic.”
“You used magic to get pregnant? What were you hoping for, a giant payout?”
Tears stung her eyes as she shook her head. “When I realized you were part Shaman, I thought I could trick the Council and have the baby they require my way. I thought it would be nice to have your child. I never thought I’d be telling you this.”
He rubbed his forehead as if trying to clear the vision of the third eye he didn’t have. He couldn’t see magic because he lacked the eye, but he could feel it.
“I’m not sure what is worse, that you magically made a baby without telling me or that you had no intention of telling me and were going to raise it on your own. I have never had any children. You would deny me the right to know this one?”
“The baby is Shaman, not Vampire. Since you hate Shamen I didn’t think you’d care too much.”
He turned away and walked across the room. He ran both hands through his hair. “Fuck.”
“The Council doesn’t know who the father is.” Again she wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse. Maybe better, since he was the baby who had started the Ferrara ruling in the first place.
He spun back to face her. “You had no right.”
“I know, it was a rash decision made in the heat of the moment. It wasn’t planned. All I wanted that night was one night of freedom before I fell into line. Now I’m facing expulsion if they ever find out.”
“Breaking the bond will hurt the baby,” he said as if he understood magic perfectly.
She nodded. “I will not lose another child.”
William pressed his lips together and said nothing. The urge to turn him into a pile of bright green sludge coursed through her. Her fingers hummed with magic. Claire counted to three and picked up the keys. Even as sludge, they would still be connected.
“Well, Mr. Black, if you aren’t interested, I’ll lock up.”
“Let me think on it. There’s a lot to consider.” Tension made his words clipped. And Claire knew he wasn’t talking about the house.
Chapter Five
William got off the plane feeling less human than usual. Flying halfway across the globe and back again in five days, and performing in between, had left him feeling somewhere between psychotic-blood-deprived-Vampire and wanting to drop into a coma and sleep for a week. The next person who didn’t have their travel documents, and shit together in general, was going to find out Vampires
really did exist in the worst possible way.
Worse, he couldn’t walk past a newsstand without seeing the breakup of Lucinda’s Lover mentioned. He slung his overnight bag over his shoulder and pushed through the throng of people clotting up the airport. He was traveling light because he figured Claire was either going to tell him to fuck off, or he wasn’t going to need clothes for the next week or so because he wouldn’t let her out of bed.
Five days had felt like five months. He’d felt the pull of her from the other side of the world. He hadn’t cared it was the last gig they’d play as Lucinda’s Lover, he hadn’t cared about the damn media statement. All he’d wanted to do was fly back. Maybe he should’ve waited another week instead of squeezing in the trip, but once he knew who she was, he’d had to see her. He hadn’t anticipated her news.
He hailed a cab and gave directions to the large house that overlooked the park. He’d made another appointment to see it, simply because Claire had refused to see him otherwise. If he had to buy the damn place just so she’d talk to him, that was fine. He’d never lived in Australia; maybe the change would do him good. He rubbed his hand over his face and closed his eyes. He had forty minutes to kill.
Even though he wanted to sleep, he couldn’t. It was as if his body knew he was getting closer to Claire and couldn’t settle. He touched the letter in his jacket pocket again. He’d fronted up the Shamanic Council chambers in LA and caused a stir that had involved much spluttering and staring from the stuffed shirts who ran the place.
He hadn’t undermined her secrecy, but he had gone in and demanded they recognize his bloodline and put him on their extensive family tree. To say they were aghast was an understatement, but given who he was—Peregrine Fiorelli—they couldn’t really say no, especially since they had officially struck the Fiorelli bloodline from the register after they’d all been killed by his mother’s family.
So technically the Council had been forced to acknowledge him, which meant technically they couldn’t kick Claire out if they were to try to make a go of it. He was sure the Council was secretly pleased to get a bit more variety in the gene pool, even if it was tainted with Vampire blood.
The trouble was, it had been so long since he’d been in a relationship he wasn’t sure he knew how anymore. But if Claire would have him, he’d try. And if she didn’t want him, she was going to have to get used to him hanging around because he wasn’t just going to walk away and pretend he didn’t have a child. That part of his Vampire blood was strong, children were valued—and not just because they continued some precious bloodline—but really valued because they were rare. It might be another four hundred years before he had another one.
The cab stopped, but William knew he was here before he opened his eyes, he could feel her as if she was part of his body. A part that constantly ached. He knew that wasn’t right and he knew it was something to do with the bond and the separation, because as soon as he’d landed, the pain had lessened.
He paid and hauled himself out of the cab, sure he looked like something that had been run over a few times. As before, she was waiting out front, looking every bit as professional as last time in a knee-length skirt and jacket, but she was wearing those boots. His gaze slid from her shoes to her stomach. There was still nothing to give it away, but this time he could sense it. Claire and him and someone else.
People without magic were missing out on a whole extra sense, another way of seeing the world.
Her gaze slid over him and he knew he looked rumpled at best. “You came back.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t?”
She shrugged as if it meant nothing. She wasn’t going to make this easy.
“Can we at least go inside?”
“You’re not here to view the house, so why waste my time?”
“You refused to see me.”
“I can’t see you. My parents will work it out and then tell the Council.”
He nodded, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the letter. He handed it over.
“What is it?”
“Read it.” He started walking up the path to the front door. “Come on, you need to pretend I’m a client. Give me a second viewing of the place.”
Claire followed, opening the letter up as she did. She walked slowly up the path, her eyes scanning the page. He watched her face as she read the formal document, looking for a sign of something. What did he want, for her to throw herself into his arms? Yes. That was exactly what he wanted.
Her eyebrows lifted. “You registered. Why?”
“I would have thought that was obvious.” He leaned against the wall as he waited for her to unlock the house.
“But now you’re subject to the Council’s rulings.”
It was a gamble, but it was one he knew he had to take. Anything less would show Claire he didn’t really care, and he did. Meeting her was the chance he needed to have what everyone else took for granted. He could have a family and a lover without endangering them. “I did it so they can’t expel you.”
She focused on unlocking the door and disarming the alarm system. He’d kind of been hoping for more, but at least she hadn’t told him to leave yet.
She ushered him in and then closed the door. “Peregrine?”
“Now you know why I use William,” he said without a smile. He let the bag slide from his shoulder and thud to the floor. “I’ve had about twelve hours sleep in the last five days. Just give it to me straight, Claire. Will you give me a chance?”
She pressed her lips together and frowned. It was going to be no, she was thinking of a way to say it nicely.
“I never wanted to marry someone because the Council had picked the right person. I wanted love. I was happy to have the baby and do it on my own instead of being tied to someone who was there out of duty. I know what it’s like to be bound up by obligation. It was never my intention to trap you, financially or otherwise.”
“What are you saying?”
“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to do the right thing by me or the baby. I won’t think any less of you.” And yet her words were catching as she spoke, as if she’d rehearsed them but now didn’t want to say them.
“I registered with the Council for you. The two months I was away, all I did was think of you. I was shocked you were pregnant—it was the last thing I was expecting, but I searched for you.”
“Because you’d lost your magic.”
“Yeah, at first. That really pissed me off. I needed to find you to get it back, then I simply needed to find you. You were in my head all the time and I began to think that maybe I could try to settle down again. But I came back and you were cold and aloof and then you dropped the bomb and I didn’t know what to think.”
“So you broke up my favorite band so you’d be free to come back?”
“No, that was in the works since the album launch. I registered with the Council so we could have a chance. I’m not asking for commitment or promises.” A smile curved his lips. “Just a chance to prove I’m not a dick.”
If that didn’t work, he was really going to have to get on his knees and grovel. The one other time he’d done that it hadn’t stopped Owen from walking out. Looking at Claire’s face, he wasn’t sure his odds were much better now. “Please.”
She raised one brow. “You don’t want your magic back?”
“If it means hurting you or the baby, no.”
“You’ll be bound to me.”
“I rather like that idea. I want to be part of your life, part of the baby’s life.” He raised his hands. “This house is big enough for a whole bunch of babies.”
She laughed. “You’d buy it?”
“Why not?”
“You don’t know me.”
“I know all I need to. I know you taste like a garden at midnight. I know you aren’t afraid to take a risk and break some rules to get what you want. I know we share a similar taste in music.” He took her hands; her skin was cool from standing outside waiti
ng for him to arrive. As soon as he touched her, he felt his magic spark as if trying to reignite. He was sure given the right tinder it would. “If it doesn’t work, what have we lost?”
He placed his lips on hers, trying to draw her into a kiss. His tongue slid over her lips and her mouth opened. He put his hand around her waist and pulled her close. It was so good to be able to hold her again. His blood heated in a rush that went straight to his shaft. Her tongue flicked over his teeth as if looking for fangs. He let them lengthen. Lust took over once unleashed, magic crackled around him for the first time in two months.
She drew back. “We shouldn’t.”
“I’ll be careful.” He ran his hand over her belly, sure he could feel where the magic all bundled together.
“The baby will revel in the magic created. I mean, I can’t go around shagging in houses that are up for sale.”
“Oh.” He looked around the large entry and across to the front room. “But it’s empty, no one would know.” His hand trailed up her stomach to caress the side of her breast.
She shook her head, but he could hear the increase in the beating of her heart.
“I’ll buy it.”
“Just like that?” Her eyebrows rose as if she couldn’t imagine dropping that amount of money without a second thought.
“It would make a nice family home, don’t you think?”
“No, really, you need to organize finance and the owner would have to accept the offer.”
“I haven’t needed to arrange finance in over two hundred years and the owners will accept my offer because I will give them whatever they’re asking.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again as she considered him. “You’re not joking.”
“I’m not known for my sense of humor. Style, no substance. That’s me.” He smiled, fangs down. It was easy to let people think he was all flash and bang and that nothing went on behind the scenes. That way, no one dug too deep and he wasn’t expected to get close to anyone.
“Stylish, yes. But secretive, as if you don’t want to give away your true self.” She placed her hand on his chest over his heart. “Is it because I’m immune to your enchantment?”
