He pushed her up against the wall, crowding her with his massive frame. Fist still tight in her hair, he pulled her head to the side, revealing her neck to him.
The moment she felt fangs brush flesh, her fright amplified into something savage and unruly. Without thinking, she slammed her knee into his crotch.
He released her and hunched over, gurgling an unintelligible curse.
Bracing herself on the wall, she brought her right leg up and then punched her heel into his chest. He tumbled backwards.
Before he could right himself, she was to the dining room and planted her hand on the secret panel. It seemed to take forever to open.
The vampire grunted angrily in the other room.
As soon as the panel offered enough room for her to squeeze through, she stumbled down the steps, nearly tripping on her way.
The tunnel instantly illuminated with torches as she hit the landing. Ignoring the rough terrain under her bare feet, she raced into the unknown, powered by concentrated adrenaline.
Chapter 13
Mace stepped off the rocky ledge and dropped the twenty feet into the sea. His jacket flared up before he breached the cool choppy water. He allowed the weight of his clothing to drag him down. When he felt the pressure build in his lungs, he swam for the fissure that sliced an opening into the wall of stone.
He followed the familiar path to the hidden cavern and broke the surface, taking in the stagnant air that smelled of moist earth, salt, and aged metal. After trudging out of the water, he reached for one of the old towels that had been left hanging over a short stalagmite and haphazardly dried his face and hair.
Not a single drop of blood had satiated him tonight, though he’d forced himself to feed twice. Both females had walked away satisfied, while he only felt empty and unfulfilled.
His craving for Cora was too great. The bond was set.
She had to be a fucking witch. No human could have done this to him with only one blood exchange.
He glanced down at the tome and assorted items in his hand, protected from the water by a clear plastic sheath. Purchasing them had been an ordeal. The elderly, salt-and-pepper haired witch sitting behind the counter of the specialty shop had eyed his every move as he’d perused her store, as if she were ready to hex him. He’d entered the place on a whim, thinking of Cora.
When he’d approached the witch with one of the silly stones her kind coveted, she’d practically interrogated him. “Wa’chu be wanting that fo’, vampire?”
Her tone instantly grated on his nerves. “That’s really none of your business.” He didn’t bother asking how she knew he was a vamp. Witches had their ways of knowing things like that.
She merely stared at him with a bored expression, waiting.
“Is it for sale or not, old woman?”
Faster than he had assumed she could move, she swiped the stone out of his hand. “Depends on wa’chu using it for. You can’t be suckin’ magic out of it with your teeth.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s not for me.”
“Oh, it ain’t, ain’t it? You even know what it’s fo’?”
“Honestly, I don’t really care.”
She leaned back in her chair and humphed. “This is used to enhance energy and sexuality.”
“Well, then everyone should carry one.” He pulled out his wallet. “Ring me up.”
She grabbed his left wrist yanked his hand toward her.
“Hey!”
“Shush, you.” She examined his palm, turning it this way and that. Periodically, she raised a brow and met his gaze before going back to her task.
Growing impatient, “Look, woman—”
“Shush!” She tugged him to bend forward to her height and invaded his personal space by pinching his chin between her thumb and forefinger while staring invasively into his eyes.
“You nutty…”
She waved her free hand, and his vocal cords seized. He experienced a moment of panic before she waved her palm again, and a sense of ease relaxed his muscles. A part of him resisted the intrusive magic.
“Release me, or I will end you, witch.”
With her face still too close to his as she continued her examination, she commented, “I’ve a tonic that’ll cool your aggression, another that’ll open your heart, and you’ve a problem with blood, no?”
“I don’t need your magic, witch.”
Placing her palms on either side of his face, she tilted his head and used her thumbs to push his eyelids up. Her tone became contemplative. “Mayhap, if you can accept the lady…”
“Enough!” He jerked away, preparing to leave.
“Wait. I’ve things she needs if she’s to discover her past.”
He paused in the doorway, grinding his teeth.
“She’s lost. You cannot help her. That much is clear.”
He turned back. “My patience is gone, old woman. If you’re serious, then make this quick.”
For the next few moments, he’d followed her around the shop as she’d picked up various items, pausing periodically to consider their usefulness. He had no idea if she was screwing with him or if she truly had some sort of mystical insight into Cora’s situation, but his wallet was now nearly empty. To top it off, when he thought the witch had finally finished with him, she’d slipped a Celtic woven pendant over his head and made him promise never to take it off.
“Yeah, sure,” he’d boldly lied.
Now, in the brightly lit cave, he reached for the silly thing, ready to rip it away and toss it into the ocean.
Before he could, the necklace, pendant and all, turned as hot as heated iron, burning his skin underneath. He flinched and hurried to yank it off, but only found tender, blistered skin where the necklace should have been.
He swore out loud. Damn shifty witches.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t return to demand to know what spell the witch had just cursed him with. Not now, anyway. Shortly after he’d left the witch’s abode, an eerie sense of urgency had him rushing back to this tunnel rather than quenching the last of his thirst.
He flung the towel back over the stalagmite and started through the tunnel. He halted, noticing that all the torches were lit.
Anxiety prickled his skin.
His night vision was superior to humans, so he’d never required the light to maneuver the tunnels. Who would have lit them? Cora? Or had someone witnessed his exiting the cavern through the ocean and managed to find their way here?
Instinctively, he knew it must be the blood bond with Cora that drove his disquiet.
She was in trouble…and he’d left her alone!
Fear gouged its way through his chest. He took off at a sprint, but the sound of footsteps beating the ground toward him had him slowing with caution.
A figure came around the bend.
“Cora?”
She was barefoot and dressed in loose clothing, which should’ve appeared ill fitting and frumpy, but on her, it was just as sexy as that outfit in the hotel that had nearly made him spill his seed on the spot.
“Mason! Thank the goddess!” She launched herself into his arms, gasping heavily as though she’d run the entire eight miles of the cave without a break.
Her hair was damp and smelled ambrosial. Her fierce pulse smelled even better. If she weren’t exuding the aroma of pure fright, he might not have been able to keep his head. The scent of her racing blood was prominent, and his fangs descended. His stomach churned with renewed hunger as though he hadn’t had a drop tonight.
“What’s happened?” he demanded.
She pointed behind her. “There’s a vampire. He tried to attack me.”
Mace adjusted her head to see two small marks dotting her neck. Every muscle tensed with the need to mutilate whoever had dared touch her.
“I think he followed me down here.”
Aggression rippled, sloshing through his mind. And yet, what she suggested made no sense. For one, Cora could never have outrun a vampire. Two, no one but Trent and tho
se he’d sired knew of the enchanted cottage. Three, if anyone besides them did know of the cottage, none should be able to cross the property line without having been invited by himself, Trent, Brayden, or…
“Knox.”
“Mace,” Knox greeted, stepping from behind the bend.
Cora began to shake, and Mace placed himself between her and Knox. Then he exchanged a sequence of meaningful looks with the other vampire, hidden from Cora’s view. Knox knew him well enough to read the warnings that ran across his face, and vice versa. The first stony expression asserted his claim over Cora. The second threatened death if Knox so much as pointed a fang in her direction again. Knox responded with an expression that said he was not impressed and he’d do whatever the fuck he wanted.
We’ll see about that.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Mace growled.
Knox crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against a protruding rock. “Why do any of us come here?”
“So the fearless Knox is hiding out?”
“Lying low,” Knox corrected.
“Why?”
“None of your business. And I don’t care why you’re here with a human either.”
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you for touching her. It won’t happen again, understand?”
Knox shot Cora a fang-filled smile. Cora inched closer to Mace.
A patch in Mason’s chest bloomed with pride that she trusted him to protect her, even if only a little. He ignored the dark thought that she was shrewdly taking advantage of her situation for her best chances at survival—a tactic she excelled at. He was the only thing standing between her and Knox, and given the choice, she’d no doubt prefer to be rid of them both.
He glanced down at her, selfishly grateful that she needed him.
After having raced through the lengthy, unfamiliar cave, Cora had nearly collapsed at seeing Mace—partly from exhaustion, and partly from the indescribable relief that had smothered the better half of her terror. She’d be safe with him.
Now, as he gazed down at her with concern, something warm joined the beating of her heart, something unfathomable, unintelligible, inexplicable…a perfect blend of overwhelming wonder and unmitigated tepidity. Something that was equally as frightening as being pursued by a hungry vampire, yet every cell in her body fired with a carnal craving.
Mace threaded his fingers through her hair and used his thumb to caress her cheek. Almost unconsciously, she leaned her face into his palm and allowed this newly recognized feeling to settle in and calm her nerves, even as it choked words from her throat.
His eyes glowed the color of dense clouds ready to storm, as if his emotions mirrored hers. Every fiber in her wanted to reach for him, but she somehow managed to keep her muscles in place. The effort was maddening.
“Ugh,” Knox spat, looking aghast. “You’re not blood bonded, are you? With a human? That’s rich.”
Cora’s euphoric feeling sank like a stone in her stomach. Mason shot Knox a murderous look.
“Blood bonded?” she asked. “What’s that?”
“And she doesn’t even know about it?” Knox belted out a laugh. “What are you playing at, Mace?”
Cora gulped down a lump that had developed in her throat.
Mace swiped his hand through the air in Knox’s direction. The gesture seemed almost desperate. “Shut the fuck up, Knox, and go away. In fact, I want you out of the cottage. Find somewhere else to loiter.”
“Fuck that. I was here first. You leave.”
He glanced back toward Cora. “We can’t.”
“Sure you can. Do you need me to shove you out the door?”
“Only if you’d like a blade in one of your vital organs.”
“What is blood bonded?” Cora interrupted with stress soaked words.
She went ignored.
“You want to play house with your little human, then you can do it down here.” Knox gestured to the dark and damp cavern. “The cottage is mine.”
“The hell it is. And as far as I can tell, you arrived after we did. The cottage was empty when we got here, so you have no claim to it.”
Cora’s chest sank with every second as her mind slowly, reluctantly piece together its own conclusion, but she needed to hear Mason say it. She placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping to claim his attention. “What is blood bonded?”
He continued to glare at Knox, muscles tensed.
Knox shook his head. “You know our scents are as good as erased if we’re gone long enough. I’ve been out hunting all night. But if you need some form of evidence, I’ll go back there and piss all over everything for you.”
A twinge of anger seeped into Cora. Both of them refused to acknowledge her.
Mace sneered. “What are you hiding from, Knox? Did you finally hustle someone bigger and badder than you?”
Knox crossed his arms. “Impossible. There’s no one that fits that description.”
Her patience plummeted, and fury notched up her temperature. Her fist clenched. “What is blood bonded?” The scream echoed through the cavern, bouncing back at them several times.
Mace looked at her. Her expression said she was on the verge of a full-on panic.
“Let’s go back to the cottage,” he said calmly, reaching for her.
She jerked away.
He pulled his hand back. A dull pain, coated by sadness and salted by betrayal, twisted in his chest. It took him a moment to realize he was gleaning Cora’s emotions.
Her lips curled into a deep frown. Distrusting eyes appraised him as though he’d been exposed as a villain.
Damn you, Knox.
He’d been looking for the right time to tell her about the bond and what it meant. Unfortunately, Knox had beaten him to it.
“Cora, it’s not as bad as you’re thinking,” he said, attempting to dull her ire. He wished he had explained everything to her earlier, like in the car where she couldn’t run away.
She took another step back, and Knox let out a dark chuckle. Mace turned to pin him with a threatening stare. Knox merely smiled wider, enjoying the show.
Mace faced Cora again, softening his features. “I hadn’t intended for it to happen. That first night when we shared blood, we sparked a bond between us—”
“We?” she snapped. An accusatory finger landed on him. “No, we didn’t do anything. It was you.” She shook slightly as she backed up until she met the cavern wall.
Mace kept his tone light. “It’s not so bad, I swear. It makes it easier to sense each other’s moods, but that’s about it…” Roughly. “And it’s not permanent.”
At the last part of his speech, her expression relaxed a touch. He tried not to feel affronted by that. Before Knox’s interruption, he thought he’d seen strong desire behind her eyes. Would it be so bad if it were permanent? He mentally shook that errant thought out of his head. Of course it would be.
“It’ll go away?” she asked shakily.
He nodded.
She turned suspicious once more. “Just like you said the dark cells would go away?”
“What’s this now?” Knox asked, dropping his arms. “Dark cells?”
“None of your business,” Mace snapped. He reached out for Cora again, and she only slightly flinched. He gritted his teeth. “Come back to the cottage with me. We should speak of this in private.”
She glanced toward Knox, hesitating. Then she nodded.
“Your drama bores me anyway.” Knox waved a negligent hand at them and then headed back down the tunnel, calling back, “Stay in the cottage or don’t. I don’t care, but I’m not leaving.”
Mace cursed under his breath and then waited till Knox was out of earshot before leading Cora down the same path. She no longer clung to him in fright…or in trust. Any hint of desire was now dead and possibly buried. Forever.
The moment they’d shared before Knox’s callous revelation had been strong, heavy, almost tangible, and so heady he’d nearly dropped to his knees…undone by a look.
/> Was it because of the bond? Or something else?
Whatever it was, it was gone now. And he wanted it back.
Chapter 14
Cora walked next to Mace, though more than a few feet separated them. It was necessary. She was unnerved by his explanation of the blood bond.
For a moment, for one crazy second, she’d imagined she had feelings for Mace. To hear that it was caused by this unwanted bond was a relief—
Not disappointing at all.
“Did you hear me, Cora?” Mace asked
“Hmm?”
He peered down at her. “I asked if you were okay. You’re taking this better than expected. Would you like to talk about it? Or are you sparing the ire for later?”
As they had made their way through the hidden passage, she remained quiet, contemplative, as Mason attempted to play down the bond. She could tell he was playing it down because he would follow sentences with, “But it’ll fade,” and “It’s only temporary,” and worst of all, “This was the last thing I wanted.” Why the latter brought a pang into her chest, she couldn’t say. Then he would look at her, as if to gauge whether she was buying it.
She wasn’t.
And eventually she had stopped listening.
Not because she didn’t want to know everything. But because the implications of being tied to a vampire—by freaking blood—if even for a short time, had completely overwhelmed her ability to pay attention to what was happening around her. Even her lingering fear of Knox had been diminished by it.
However, she had managed to mentally file away a few facts. Blood bond: a semi-permanent bond with a vampire born of a blood exchange with side effects such as telegraphing one’s emotional state and unwarranted feelings of trust. Sounded like the makings of a perfect snare; a captive treated to a solid dose of Stockholm syndrome.
She thought back to when she might have reacted out of character because of this so-called bond. In the tunnel just now, for sure. And no wonder she’d helped him on the mountain pass. Would she have left him there without this bond guiding her actions? Left him to die?
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