Secrets in Blood

by Patricia D. Eddy

  “Zero.”

  Evangeline choked on the water and sprayed a bit towards the fire. Nic rubbed her back until she stopped coughing.

  “When we mate, cara, we mate for life. Bonding is as much physical as emotional and produces biological changes. Distance can be disconcerting, for example. In rare occurrences, separation can even cause illness. Sex with others becomes unpleasant, painful. Sometimes a bonded vampire cannot even touch a member of the opposite sex.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that you have a mate out there somewhere?” Evangeline chewed on her lower lip, the pain mirroring the ache in her heart at the idea Nic had loved someone other than his wife.

  “No. I am trying to tell you…mannaggia…no vampire in existence has ever bonded to a human. Nor has one ever bonded without years of companionship.”

  “Oh, shit.” Evangeline scrambled up and backed up against the rock face. “No vampire except you.”

  To his credit, he didn’t move from his seated position. “When I am parted from you, my body protests.” He searched her gaze. “Yours does as well, I see now. When I was gone?”

  Evangeline nodded. Tears burned her eyes. “We’re not…I can’t…no.”

  “The words I said to you, tu sei il mio cuore, they mean ‘you are my heart.’”

  “No. I’m human, Nic. I don’t…can’t…bond. When you were gone? I thought I was going to be sick.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “How do we stop this?

  “I do not know. I did not expect this. Perhaps your father’s experiments had something to do with this. Your blood is so strong. I didn’t think you would feel the same pain. Or that you could even complete the process. But…”

  “No. This is not happening. We are not bonding. I’ve known you for a week. I can’t possibly…love you.”

  Nic flinched. The hurt that tightened his features crushed her. “I didn’t mean—”

  He clenched his fists on the edges of the rock, and tiny cracks spread underneath his fingers. “You know me better after one week than vampires I’ve worked with for centuries. I do not share myself easily. Yet I cannot stop myself around you. My entire existence I would lay bare for you. My very soul.”

  She bit her lip again, wincing at the pain. “But, I’m human. I’ve got maybe seventy more years, maximum. You live for centuries. Can you imagine? Old, decrepit, gray-haired me standing next to you looking exactly as you do now? No. You’re wrong about all this.”

  He stood, his height, broad chest, and intense stare frightening her. “I am not wrong. And I did not choose this. Nor did I ever want a life mate. I enjoyed my solitary existence. Relished in it even. But now my body longs for you. Every time I touch you I want you even more. I cannot bear to watch you grow old without me. But I do not know what we are supposed to do about your humanity. I will outlive you, and I fear losing you will kill me.”

  Fear spread through her, its icy tendrils winding their way around her heart, down to her fingers and toes. She should run. But she’d never escape him. He could catch her easily. “You’re going to turn me.”

  “No!” Nic roared as he rushed her. Before Evangeline could protest, his arms banded around her, holding her close, and he pressed his lips to her forehead. She struggled, stamping her foot down on his, raking her nails over his back, but he crooned in her ear, “I will never turn you. Look at me, Evangeline. Look at me!”

  Evangeline gasped at the harshness of his tone and went limp in his arms. “Don’t hurt me…please.”

  “I will never hurt you.” Nic loosened his arms enough for her to meet his gaze. “Mi dispiace, cara. I’m sorry I frightened you. But I needed you to see my eyes.” Pain edged his words. “The day I killed my sire, I made two vows. First: that I would never again take a human’s life when I fed. And second: that I would never sire another.”

  With a sigh, he cupped her cheek. “Now, I will add a third. You will never be turned while I draw breath. I won’t allow it.”

  Despite the panic that held her in a vise grip, she believed him. Leaning into his touch, she didn’t trust herself to speak.

  “Do you believe me, Evangeline?” Nic held his breath.

  “I…can’t think when you touch me.”

  Slowly, he let her get her bearings, then backed away. “I will never force or compel you in any way. Not by strength or the incantesimo. I would die first.” Nic covered his heart with his palm as he held her gaze.

  “But you’ll let me feel that awful sickness if I leave you? Are we just supposed to stay together until I die? What? As roommates? Roommates who can’t ever date or have sex with anyone else?”

  Nic frowned, and his voice roughened. “If we were to force distance between us, the bonding would eventually fade. Or so I’ve been told. A few months. Perhaps a year. There would be pain. And…need. We’d have to fight it. I do not know what to do, but now is not the time for either of us to make any major decisions. Not while we’re hunted like this.”

  Running a hand through his hair, Nic started to pace. “Come to Italy with me, cara. Once we’re there—and safe—we can decide what to do, together.”

  Evangeline needed a minute to choose her words. Snagging the camping blanket from the ground, she folded it tightly and shoved it into her pack. Nic approached the fire warily, kicked a bit of dirt onto the flames, and leapt back when sparks arced towards him.

  “Get back,” Evangeline said as she wrapped her fingers around his wrist. “Let me do this.”

  Kicking dirt, stamping the smoldering wood, and dodging the occasional sparks, she extinguished the flames and then tossed a few handfuls of damp forest litter over the remains. When she stepped away and brushed her hands on her jeans, she could barely tell where the flames had been.

  “As long as we’re…together, you don’t need to get close to a fire again,” she said.

  Nic nodded, and his shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, tesoro.”

  “Don’t call me that,” Evangeline whispered.

  “I am sorry. I cannot help myself.”

  “Because you’re already bonded to me?” She worried her lip with her teeth, a bit of pain from the tape used to gag her lingering.

  “Si. My heart wars with my head. I know bonding is folly. Certain to bring about pain for both of us. But I cannot help what I feel.”

  Neither can I. I care about him. More than I’ve cared about anyone. When she glanced up at him, an odd expression flitted over his face. The corners of his lips twitched, and he touched his hand to his heart.

  Evangeline tried to drive the desperate, needful thoughts from her mind. The way he moved, the sound of his voice, his scent…she didn’t know how she could resist him. “Where to now?” she asked. “Do you still want to try to get to Seattle?”

  “Want? No. I would no more willingly bring you there than I would step into flame. I fear for your safety. For mine, if the Hand of God still has a large presence there. But I know little about the world anymore. And at least in Seattle, we will be close to the airport. If we can find a phone, I can contact mi amico, Giancarlo.”

  “Who?”

  “My apologies, cara. Carlo is my lawyer. My friend. He runs my companies and oversees my holdings.”

  “You were missing for eighteen years,” Evangeline said. “Wouldn’t your company have been sold when they couldn’t find you?”

  “No. We—vampires—have different ideas of time than humans.”

  “Explain.” She hoisted the pack, preparing to slide her arms into the straps, but Nic took it from her.

  “Eighteen years is not enough time for a vampire to be declared dead. My will is ironclad. My company remains in my name for fifty years unless a body is discovered and positively identified with DNA testing. My position on the Conclave will have been filled, for an empty seat is not permitted for long, but my company and my home should still be mine.”

  “What happens when you die? Do you turn to a pile of ash?”

  Nic chuckled. “No. Another myth. Our bodies dec
ay much like a human’s, just slower. A side effect of how we assimilate blood, I suppose. Carlo would not have given up on me without finding my body. He would have searched for me.”

  “Then we should keep heading west. Henry always said the catacombs were fifty miles from the highway. I don’t know if he was telling the truth, but that’s where we should start.”

  Nic held out his hand. With an audible swallow but only a moment’s hesitation, Evangeline linked their fingers. A comforting warmth spread through her body at his touch.

  She focused her gaze on the forest before them. “Let’s go.”

  20

  They walked for an hour, keeping to the river to hide their trail. “I think we have to go another twenty-five miles,” she said as the sun warmed their backs.

  “If you let me carry you, we could move faster,” Nic said.

  “No.” Evangeline stalked ahead, fearful if she let him hold her, this fucking bonding process would only speed up. Every time he took her hand or wrapped his arm around her, their connection intensified. As he caught up with her, she glared at him. Her foot caught on a golf-ball-sized rock, and she stumbled into his arms with a quiet yelp of pain.

  “Let me go,” she hissed.

  Nic took a step back, but her next step brought pain shooting up her leg, and she cursed as she dropped to one knee.

  Curling his arm around her shoulders, Nic guided her all the way down. “Let me see.”

  “I just need to walk it off.”

  But he already had her boot and sock off. Warm fingers massaged her ankle, up to her calf. “I am a doctor, cara. Even though I have not practiced in years. I vowed to tell you if I needed blood. You must tell me when you are in pain.”

  Nic’s amethyst eyes twinkled in the midday light as his fingers slid from her bare skin. She couldn’t look away. The sounds of the forest fell away as her heartbeat roared in her ears.

  Tracing his jaw, then sinking her fingers into his hair, she loosened the leather tie so his thick mane tumbled over her hands.

  “Nic.” Damn him for making her wonder what his body would feel like pressed to hers. She almost purred, and as he flicked his tongue over his lips, Evangeline thought she saw the sharp point of his fangs. “Show me.”

  Without touching her, he inched closer, then sat back on his heels. Evangeline cupped his cheek, brushed her thumb over his lips, and held her breath as he bared his teeth.

  My God. Something inside her melted, and she leaned close enough to feel his breath against her cheek.

  “No, Evangeline,” he protested, his voice strained. “Please.”

  “I need you out of my system. Maybe…we can get past this.”

  “No. The bonding will only strengthen. I want you with every breath. I need to claim you. To mark you as mine. I could not be gentle with you. I would bite you.”

  With every word, the heat in her core intensified. Molten pleasure flooded her jeans, and she whimpered softly. “Kiss me.”

  Nic groaned. “Evangeline. Be sure of this.”

  Fisting his shirt, she dragged him down on top of her. Desire drove her mad as he claimed her mouth and ground his hips against her. She’d never felt such raw need. As he palmed her breast, she arched her back into his touch.

  Exploring his fangs with her tongue, she drove him into a frenzy. He flicked the button of her jeans. Lower still, his fingers dipped beneath the black cotton panties, and Evangeline’s whole body jerked with pleasure as he slipped a finger inside her.

  Nic dragged his mouth from hers. “Oh, my sweet one, you are so very wet.”

  Pushing her hips against his hand, she yanked on his shirt. Nic grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head. She struggled, but only because she ached to touch him. “Please, Nic. Don’t stop.”

  “Last chance,” he said, his breathing ragged and the muscles and tendons in his neck straining. He held himself over her, the only contact between them her wrists in his hand.

  “You won’t hurt me. I need this. Need you. Please.”

  He jerked her up, tugging off her shirt and tossing the flannel aside. Her tank top nearly tore in his hands as he dragged the thin black material from her body.

  The cool spring air pebbled her nipples, and he cupped her breasts as he dipped his head to suck one taut nub into his mouth.

  “One of us,” she managed as she arched her back, “is wearing…too many clothes.”

  Nic scraped his fangs over her breast, sending delicious pleasure through her core. “Si. You.”

  With preternatural speed, he whipped her jeans off her hips, and they caught on the single boot she still wore. Her panties followed. Dragging his hands back to her breasts, he caught a nipple between his teeth.

  Leaves stuck to her back, but Evangeline didn’t care. Her fingers trembled as she undid the buttons of his shirt, peeling the flannel from his shoulders. When he kissed up to her neck, his bare chest against hers, she shuddered. “More.”

  Evangeline fumbled for the button on his jeans. He growled an oath as she tried to slide the zipper and encountered the hard bulge of his erection. He shoved the denim down, along with his boxers, freeing his cock. Before she even blinked twice, he knelt naked in front of her, his chest heaving.

  Sliding her hands up his thighs, she wrapped her fingers around his hips. “Inside me.”

  “Apri le gambe,” Nic said as he spread her thighs. Inhaling deeply, he plunged two fingers deep inside her, and she cried out until he smothered the sound with his lips on hers.

  As his fingers thrust in and out of her, his thumb did torturous things to the hard nub of her sex, and Evangeline writhed under him. Higher and higher she flew, until she couldn’t breathe, and as she fell, her desperate scream pierced the still air while the muscles of her sheath clenched around him over and over again.

  Fangs grazed along her lip, and Nic nibbled at her jaw. Tears burned her eyes, and as she moaned his name, Nic nudged at her entrance. “Cara, tell me…to stop.”

  She met his wild gaze. She should have been scared, but he’d never hurt her. She knew his heart as well as she knew her own name. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she didn’t look away as he slid deep, filling her, the pressure and total possession both thrilling and terrifying.

  “Il mio tesoro.”

  Each rasp of his cock sent shivers all through her. When his fangs grazed the pulse point of her neck, she whimpered, and Nic struggled to pull away. But Evangeline angled her hips to let him thrust deeper and threaded her fingers through his hair. Gently, but firmly, she pulled his head down so his lips rested against her neck again.

  “No,” he growled, even as he thrust deeper.

  “Si.” Turning her head, she held her breath. Nic’s entire body went rigid for a brief second, then he slammed his hips against hers. His emotions rushed over her, burning desire escaping in a roar as he sank his fangs into her skin.

  The pain sent Evangeline over the edge into ecstasy. Her hips bucked, and the climax washed over her in seemingly unending waves. Nic gave a final, desperate growl, and let himself go.

  The delicious sensation of being claimed warmed her as Nic let himself collapse on top of her. He flicked his tongue over the marks on her neck, and she shuddered.

  “Nic…you…weigh a ton.” She tried to laugh, but his concern hit her like a punch.

  “Did I hurt you?” He shifted onto his side but kept her close.

  “No. That was…wow.”

  “We should not have done that.” Nic cursed softly in Italian and sat up, running a hand through his hair.

  “If we hadn’t—”

  “Dammit. I bit you, Evangeline.” He brushed his fingers over her neck and fear churned in his eyes. “I marked you!”

  In a heartbeat, he’d donned his boxers and jeans. The muscles of his back rippled as he moved, and when he turned, Evangeline appreciated the deep v of his abs as they disappeared into his jeans. She touched the two small, raised marks on her neck and the jolt of electricity that sh
ot to her core made her gasp.

  “I thought…when you fed from me the other day, the marks faded in a few seconds. Why can I—?”

  “This…merda. He knelt next to her, his hand hovering close to her neck, but with a shake of his head, he pulled away. “That is a bonding mark. Whatever allowed us to start the bonding process is drawing us closer…every minute. I don’t know that I can ever walk away from you.”

  Nic sprang up and retrieved his shirt, then stalked over to the river and splashed water on his face.

  What had she done? And how?

  “Why is this happening?” she whispered as she tugged on her tank.

  “I do not know.”

  Once she’d dressed, she approached him warily. “I’m sorry…”

  Nic rose, turned, and as he scanned her face, he wrapped an arm around her waist. “This is not your fault, cara. I wanted you as much as you wanted me. If not more. But I should have been stronger.” Resting his fingers on the twin marks, his gaze turned possessive as a soft purr erupted in her throat and warmth spread through her.

  “Every vein has its own taste,” he said. “The wrist is the least sweet. The neck, the most. You wear my mark now, Evangeline. My scent covers you. I don’t know how we will fight the bonding, or what we’ll do once we are no longer in danger, but for now…I very much like seeing my mark on your skin.”

  Evangeline draped her arms around his neck and sank against his chest. Whatever this was between them, for this brief moment, at least, she couldn’t imagine ever leaving him.

  An hour later, they knelt by the river. Evangeline cupped her hands in the icy water. Crouched a short distance away, Nic refilled the canteen and tried not to watch her every movement. He ached to take her again. Her taste lingered on his tongue, and her scent covered him. Controlling himself took every ounce of his focus, and his cock refused to calm down.