Marcus tightened his hold around my waist as she finished speaking, pulling me back to him. He set his chin on my shoulder as he threw another question at her. “You want to take Xavier and shove him into the limelight? Why? To draw out the assassins?”
Armanita looked wryly at him. “You, Marcus, are cautioning me about assassins?”
“It is difficult not to when the intended victim is my son,” he shot back at her.
Claudius shook his head. “Armanita, you must admit Xavier is in no condition to make a claim to the throne. He would not even be able to defend himself. As he pointed out, he has no fang control. By revealing him, you would be marking him for assassination; we all know that. Just because the House would not take the contract doesn’t mean there aren’t others who would walk away from it if offered.”
The councilor leaned forward, unashamedly showing off her bountiful cleavage. Was she trying to seduce us to the dark side? She did the typical girl hair flip as she fluttered her long eyelashes. She was!
“I know, Lord Xavier, that you are a new fledgling,” she said, focusing her attention on me. “You are still working out the excess essence of your First Flame. It is just such a thrill for me to see that the Royal Blood Line has survived, that the Blue Line has returned to us. Claudius, you see what goes on in the Council Chambers…” She switched her charms to the black-haired vampire. “The members have become factions, and while it is my duty as one of the three High Councilors, I am growing weary of trying to keep order in the galleries.”
She twisted back toward me, offering up her fleshy goodies again. I felt sick to my stomach. “Lord Xavier, there are many things you must learn, many gifts you must master, just as a normal Red Vampire would have to do. As a Blue Line, you have so far only discovered two of your special gifts. More will emerge as you get stronger, or when you find yourself in situations that call upon them.”
She stood up, brushing her hands down her dress, the brisk movements she used echoing the determination in her words. “I will report to the High Council that you have a Blue fledgling, Marcus. That fact cannot be disguised. Should you ever be out, and Lord Xavier went into Flame, it would get reported back to the Council. It will be easier if they know about your son in case that happens. We shall say that you were hesitant to come forward because your fledging was Blue, and you were not sure how well he would be received. Claudius, as Lord Xavier is your grandson, this story must be yours as well.”
She waited for some rebuttal but carried on talking when none was forthcoming. “Lord Xavier, you must master your gifts as soon as possible, especially your wings. Anger or rage will bring them out, the same as with fear. Claudius, you know it would not bode well for any of us if it gets out that we have the Von Drachenfeld Blood Line back in the Nation. It would be a bloody battle, just as Lord Xavier fears. Marcus, can your staff can be trusted with the knowledge of his existence?”
“They would not be working for me if there were any doubts about their loyalty,” Marcus snapped, his voice sounding rather put out at the question. Better she annoyed him than me.
“Marcus, do not act out of character. You have been called before the Council on charges of keeping a human for the allotted year. You have been put on record claiming him as your son, and he has been added to the House Roll of Du Bussey. The thirteen Houses know that you have a fledgling. Lord Xavier must be seen, it would only arouse suspicion if he is not. Teach him to hunt in your normal haunts, Marcus. He must be viewed as nothing more than a simple but beautiful fledgling.”
I furrowed my brow. Did she just call me simple? “Well, how about you stop calling me Lord for starters?” I threw back at her.
“Forgive me, of course.” She gave a little laugh, bringing a hand up and laying it across her ample bosom as she bowed her head slightly in my direction. “If it is alright with you, Marcus, I would like to stop by weekly for progress reports on his Blue Line achievements and failures, and to provide him with history lessons.”
“History lessons?” I didn’t like the sound of that.
“Your House of Von Drachenfeld goes back over a thousand years. You must know your lineage,” she elaborated.
Claudius nodded, agreeing with her. “Yes. It would do Xavier good to hear our history”
“Excellent, then by your leave, I must return to the High Council and inform them of the twenty-first Blue.” Armanita stood before me and Marcus, and lowering herself to one knee, she pressed her fist to the floor and bowed her head low. Since I was still pinned to Marcus’s lap, I gathered as much dignity as I could. Uh…okay. What was I supposed to do here?
She remained in that position until Claudius gestured with his hand in an upwards motion and said, “Rise.”
Gracefully returning to her upright position, Armanita looked down on me, and her green eyes softened with tears. I didn’t get her. “I do hope that in time you will see it in your heart to forgive me for yesterday. It was not my intent to cause such grievous injuries to either of you.”
“Yeah well, it’s not happening today,” I answered smartly, wincing when Marcus squeezed my waist hard in warning to remain polite.
Owww.
“You did not know of my vow to protect Xavier, therefore you have my forgiveness, High Councilor,” Marcus said, and when the pregnant pause continued to the second trimester, he nudged me in the back.
“Not today,” I replied again, and he gave a big sigh behind me.
Armanita lowered her head in a bow once more and then turned and left the drawing room, leaving Claudius to show the good manners both Marcus and I were missing by escorting her out of Marcus’s house.
“That was rather rude, Xavier,” Marcus chastised when we were alone.
I leaned back against him and stared across at the mantle. “I’ll forgive her when that little dent in your chest is gone,” I told him.
He brought his hand up to his sternum. “You can still feel that?”
I got angry. Of course I could feel that. He’d had a spike sticking four inches out of his chest less than ten hours ago. I wiggled on his lap, wanting to get away from the woman’s scent that lingered in the room. “Let go.”
“This is where my lover sits.” Marcus tightened his embrace. I sat on his lap and just…pouted. Yes, I said pouted.
Claudius returned and took in our little vignette, shaking his head. “You have had him for a year already, Marcus. Show some restraint.”
“It is not enough,” Marcus said, grabbing the back of my neck and tipping me backwards over one arm for one of those soft, tender specials of his. His lips nibbled at my flesh as he coaxed a response from me. He didn’t demand it. He didn’t bruise my lips with the force of his kiss. He caressed as lightly as a butterfly’s wings until I couldn’t stand it anymore.
Reaching up, I tangled my fingers into the long, soft hair at the back of his head and pulled him down to me, opening my mouth wide and sucking in his tongue. He laughed into my mouth and returned to his kissing lesson.
Yeah, it definitely wasn’t enough.
Fifteen
Mind Play
Marcus was a lingual master, and his talented tongue seemed to have the power of shutting my brain down, of making me think only of wanting more of it, of him, devouring me, kissing me.
Wait.
I blinked my way back to the moment and frowned up at him, confusion ripping through me internally yet again. This was just something physical between us, wasn’t it? I mean, it was simply that my body was used to him jumping me every day, maybe because of this Blue Flame thing I had, and his kiss was flaring it up higher. I mean, I’m not gay. I don’t go out searching for sex from men, do I? Or was I getting excited because it was him that was holding me?
Trying to shift off his lap, I realized I might as well have been glued there. “Marcus, we have to talk, and I would rather look at your face than have your cock drilling a hole in my back while we do.”
My world shifted on its axis, and suddenly I was f
lat on the drawing room couch with Marcus laid out on top of me. “Get off me, you…you oaf!” I cussed.
“But this way, you can look at my face, and my cock is no longer drilling into your back. See, I can comply with my mate’s wishes,” he answered glibly, giving me a tender smile that actually reached up to his eyes. I stopped struggling and just stared at him. Mate? What the hell was this mate business? He’d given me a friendship earring…right?
His hand came up and traced over my forehead, rubbing at my frown lines. He was a good-looking man, when he wasn’t raping me. “Xavier? You wanted to talk to me?”
I blinked stupidly for a moment, before pulling myself back together. “Uh…yeah. I have some vital questions like, do we burn up in sunlight?”
“You have been watching too many Hollywood movies, my Little One,” he answered, his smile growing. “We can go out into the sun; however, exposure has to be limited. It would be like laying a wet sponge out on a sunny day; we would just evaporate. There would be nothing left but a mummified shell. Not a pleasant way to die, especially for fledglings like yourself. Ancients like Claudius can handle the sun. I am close to being strong enough, but I must still keep a careful watch on my exposure. You…must stay out of the sun.” He pressed more of his weight on me, grinding his erection up against my hip. His hand dipped under the black sweater I was wearing, touching the bare skin between my t-shirt and my jeans.
“Do we eat solid food?” He was making it hard to think again, as a thumb swirled on my skin, circling around my navel. I shivered. I could tell from the expression in his eyes that he wanted to be circling another puckered opening, somewhere a little lower and more towards the rear of me.
“Solids are necessary about once a week. Our bodies still function but at much a slower rate,” he told me, dragging his thumbnail lazily across my flesh. “The nutrients we need still come from solid food. That is why we still perform bodily functions. Usually one large meal more often than not, such as dinner at a fine restaurant, will take care of this need for the week. You will have to drink lots and lots of water, Xavier.”
His thumb dipped into my navel, and I blurted out the first thing that came into my head. “Are you an alcoholic?” I asked. That got him off of me in a hurry.
“Claudius told you that!” he exclaimed, sitting back on his heels.
“Should you be going to AA meetings?” I pressed.
“I am not an alcoholic.” Marcus’s tone implied that I’d stuck a raw nerve. “Claudius is almost a Puritan now. No spirits of any kind. He used to be a larger libertine than I could ever hope to be, with his wine, women, and song. Now he is so refined, it is hard to imagine that he was once a scoundrel.”
He reached out and ruffled my hair like I was a dog that needed petting, almost knocking me off the couch with his over-exuberant display of affection. “Xavier, I do not use drugs. I smoke on occasion, yes. And I enjoy a drink, most certainly. And there are times when I overindulge in both those vices, but that only happens far and in between decades. However,” his voice became teasing. “I do have another particular vice that I like to wallow in. You see, I have, from time to time, been known to kidnap, ravish, and mate with my victim.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you calling me a victim?”
“No. I am calling you mine.”
I was about to open my mouth to start arguing over points of ownership when a familiar green plastic card popped up in his fingers.
“Now, do you want to fight, or do you want to go shopping?” he asked as he leaned back in close to me, slipping his hand under my sweater again, tripping his fingers lightly over the bare skin of my torso before sliding them towards the waistband of my pants. “Or,” he breathed huskily, “do you want to return upstairs so we can finish what we’ve started?”
“Shopping!” The word popped out of my mouth before I could stop it, and Marcus smiled as he sighed and handed over the credit card.
“You are still keeping the clothes you have now,” he told me. “You can wear them around the manor, even if you do feel uncomfortable about wearing them outside. I like to see you in them; I insist that you indulge me in that much. Now, get your sunglasses, Little One, and meet me at the entry way when you are ready.”
Out. I was going out, and I was so happy about it that I practically skipped back upstairs to Sanctuary.
It still took a bit of concentration, or concentrated lack of concentration, to get my vision to shift, but eventually I found the Blood mark and opened my closet, rummaging around in a drawer until I found a cool pair of black Wayfarer sunglasses. Snatching them up, I turned to make my way back to Marcus but found Claudius leaning against the opened door jam of the bedroom closet. He had his arms wrapped around his chest, and his raven hair hung heavily in front of his face. He looked like the epitome of a portrait of pain.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, nervously.
He shook his head slightly. “We have put off Armanita for probably a year, but she will be persistent.”
“She strikes me as being as dogged as a pit bull,” I replied, making my way to move around him. Claudius put up his hand in a halt gesture, and so I stopped and regarded him warily. He had something to say, and I had a gut feeling that I wouldn’t like it.
“When the time comes for you to leave him, make the break quick and never look back,” he said, earnestly. “Marcus has many faults, but he is still my son, and I would prefer his pain be kept to a minimum.”
I stood there, stunned. “What?”
Claudius’s arctic blue eyes stared at me through the black strands of his hair as if he were looking right through me and into the near future. His expression was bleak and flat, and scary.
“You are confused right now, Xavier. You cling to Marcus because he has become a constant in your life. Things are changing around you so quickly that you grasp him to you tightly in order to keep from being swept away. But you do not love him, and you could never be the mate he craves. You endure his touch because that is what he has trained you to do so. And while you will stay with him out of duty, he will see it as love. But when the Blood Line is finally revealed, you will belong to the Nation, and you will have to leave him behind.”
“Marcus almost died for me,” I argued. Why was Claudius giving me this lecture?
“And you protected him at the cost of almost losing your own life. It is because of that I am allowing this relationship of yours to continue, until it reaches its natural conclusion.”
Claudius stalked forward, and I instinctively backed away. I could feel the menace emanating from him. Unfortunately, I’d backed into a shelving unit and had nowhere to go. His hands held on to each side of my head, and he lowered his forehead to mine.
“I like you, Grandson, though I really did not want to like you. You were simply Marcus’s assignment. But I knew you had to be more than that to him because he changed. He changed precisely a year ago. No one else would notice it, but a father knows. You have been a challenge to him since the day he took you, and you will continue to be a challenge to him until the day he dies. I knew him as a human boy, and he has a fragile heart because of how they made him live. And against my council, he has given his heart to you.”
He backed away from me and dropped to one knee at my feet, his head bowing as his hand pressed knuckle first into the floor. “My Lord Emperor, please do not destroy my son,” he implored.
“I don’t…I’m not…Get up. Get up!” I was mortified.
Claudius looked up at me, his ice blue eyes burning with a tint of red. “Tell me honestly, Xavier. Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. Nobody is giving me time to think. I simply don’t know,” I answered, my voice sounding cracked and lost. There was a burning in my chest that felt like a serious case of heartburn. Claudius really believed all this crap he was spewing at me? I clenched my fists, unwittingly breaking the sunglasses I held in my hand, crushing the credit card.
Claudius remained on one knee. “The High Cou
ncil knows you are a Blue. You could leave Marcus now, before he gives even more of himself to you. You could run away. No one would stop you. There are fledgling covens all over the city. You could disappear into one of them. You could learn from them how to be a Red.”
“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up,” I yelled, throwing the balled up credit card at him in temper before pushing past him and running down the stairs.
I must have looked pretty upset as I approached Marcus because he took one look at me and then narrowed his eyes at his Sire who was standing at the top of the steps. “What have you done to him, Claudius?” he asked, his tone guarded.
“I only voiced my concerns, all of which you have heard before.”
“Let’s go,” I urged, tugging on Marcus’s forearm. He resisted for a moment, and then he gave way to my pulling, dragging me back towards him until I found myself standing in front of him with my shoulders pressed tightly against his chest, his forearm wrapped across me protectively, pinning me in place.
“I will be taking Xavier hunting later tonight,” he said coldly, addressing Claudius. “Will you be here to join us?”
“Do you wish to have my company?”
“I do, Father.”
“Then I will be here,” Claudius replied equally as coldly, watching stolidly as Marcus turned from him and proceeded to drag me along like a toy sailboat in his wake.
We walked down another flight of stairs that opened out into an underground parking lot, and a limousine pulled up as soon as the outer door opened to the Manor. More evidence of just how rich Marcus was.
The chauffeur climbed out of the car and held the door open, and as Marcus stepped in, he said, “Thank you, Darius.”
I still must have looked like hell because Darius, someone I hadn’t met before, flicked me a look of concern as I followed Marcus inside the car. My hands were a little shaky as I climbed in and flopped down on the leather seat beside him, and somehow, going shopping now just didn’t seem as exciting to me as it had five minutes before.
Cake: A Blood Nation Novel (Volume 1) Page 19
