Harrison shook hands with Nikolai, then nodded at Sienna. “I’ve decided to take you up on your offer. I’ll be making arrangements for my uncle to watch the farm while we’re gone. Ivan says the ship sails from Hiddleston’s harbor in three days’ time. Though he still won’t tell us where to.”
Nikolai spoke, his voice remarkably steady and sure after their heady conversation. “For the safety of all, it is imperative that no one who remains behind knows the location of the Black Lily. We are glad you’ve decided to join the fight.”
“Aye. Not sure my wife will be,” he added with a grunt.
Ivan clapped a hand to the man’s back. “Harrison offers a place of rest to you two for the night. A safe place out of town.”
“It isn’t much. The loft of our barn is warm and away from prying eyes. My extra field-hands use it on occasion. But it’s empty now, and you’re welcome to it.”
Nikolai’s gaze slid to her before answering, “We are happy to accept the offer.”
Though something in the tightness of his shoulders and the clenching of his jaw told her he was not happy at all.
Chapter Six
Nikolai heard her light footsteps up above in the loft. He’d allowed her some privacy before he joined her. He wanted her to have a few moments to reconsider what she’d offered at the Bull’s Head. Those words that kept ringing in his ears.
You will feed from me and me alone. It is my wish.
No words had ever paralyzed him like this—both from fear and longing. He’d taunted her back at the pub out of pure mischief. The predator inside him had sensed a particular emotion shining bright in her eyes at the thought of him feeding from another woman. Envy. The devil in him teased, thinking she might storm off in anger, an emotion he could use to lure her closer later on, by gentler means. Never had he thought she’d offer herself. And now, he was almost afraid to accept this precious gift.
He was well aware of the erotic potency of his elixir. Even women who had offered only their blood always changed their minds once he’d punctured their skin.
Unlike many vampires, Nikolai was a man of his word. If he promised a lady there would only be an exchange of blood for money, then he would not succumb to her moans and sighs and pleas for him to do more once his elixir was coursing through her veins. There were other women like Colette who gave consent up front, offering their bodies as well as blood. But Sienna didn’t ask for money or pleasure in exchange. It was her wish.
Nikolai stood on the barn floor, looking up, while a mouse rustled in the corner and a cow munched hay in its stall. Fear racked his frame, telling him that he would not be able to stop himself once he started. Not with Sienna.
A flicker of that dark memory—of black hair, of a pale throat, of blood—washed over his mind. He shook it away. He could never harm Sienna. And while her scent stirred him to near madness, there was another concern beyond losing control when her blood touched his tongue. It was his acute desire to sink more than fangs inside her body that also gave him pause. He tilted his head, popping his neck, and breathed deeply to rein in the monster inside rattling his cage.
He’d given her privacy so she could ready for bed in modesty. Nevertheless, he heard every movement she made and every breath she took. He heard the fall of her cloak, the removal of her boots and stockings, the unlacing of her bodice, the unsnapping of her corset, and the slide of her day dress as she put it back on. The thought of her sleeping in nothing more than her thin day dress and that flimsy excuse for a shift sent his mind to a dirty, dark place. A place he wanted to go, bringing her with him.
He couldn’t close his mouth all the way, his fangs were so far extended, yearning, aching for succor. She’d offered herself as his bleeder, his host. Not for any gain of her own but simply to feed him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fed without paying first in some form or another.
He shouldn’t do it. He should march back into town and take Colette quick and fast, feed his hunger and leave Sienna’s virgin throat unspoiled. Nikolai knew that ladies of her caliber didn’t become bleeders for hire. She would be no such thing for him. He would take extra care. He would be gentle, if he could manage to rein in the beast prowling his cell. And he would keep his hard cock in his pants.
Though his primal instincts pushed him to leap from the barn floor to the loft, he refused to do so. He would not frighten her any more than she already was. The soft patter of her pulse echoed in the air like a sonar calling him home. He climbed the ladder, his control held by a thin thread.
The loft had been furnished with two small mattresses on the floor and a lantern. Sienna’s quilt lay folded on the one to the right.
She stood at the barn window, watching wisps of gray cloud cover the stars and half moon. A light breeze wafted through the casement. The lantern cast a pale glow on her fair skin. That perfect, alabaster, milk-white skin that he would feel and taste before too long. He stifled a groan before it could rumble from his chest.
She stood there in bare feet. Nikolai examined the delicate lines of her ankles and calves up to where the hem stopped mid-calf. Her bare arms wrapped around herself, her fingers clinging to her own waist. She appeared remarkably vulnerable. So beautifully vulnerable.
His hunger was a feral beast clawing at his insides and demanding blood. Her blood. The lavender-in-the-woods smell of her was a drug all its own. An addiction he could gladly drown in and never come up for air. Even now, he held himself in tight control, straining to keep the monster locked tight.
“You may change your mind, sweetheart.” He balled his fists at his sides, hoping he could walk away if she refused him. “Tell me now, and I will go. I will find another to feed upon.” She had one chance to stop him. He could do no more. “But once we start, I won’t be able to stop.”
His senses told him she was afraid and…excited. She turned, the lantern light catching the soft lines of her cheeks, nose, lips.
“You will feed from me,” she said firmly. “Just…tell me what to do.”
Stars above, he wanted to groan with satisfaction and he hadn’t even penetrated her skin.
“It will be easier if you lie down.”
She glanced at the mattress, then stepped lightly and lay down on top of the quilt, smoothing her skirt, leaving her arms at her sides. Focusing all of his energy on moving slowly so as not to add a spark of fear on her lovely face, he lay down at her side, propping his weight on one arm. Her bosom rose and fell rapidly as he eased his body over hers. She turned her head and lifted her chin, offering her neck, like the lamb laying herself bare before the lion.
Nikolai lifted a finger to her chin and guided her face back to his. “I will only take what I need, no more.”
“I know.” She licked her lips. “I trust you.”
And there it was. His seal of doom. He could no more take advantage of her luscious body while she was under his enchantment than he could chop off his own limb. She trusted him. He would die before he broke that trust. So he must prepare her for what was to come.
“I must tell you that my elixir may affect you. Rather strongly.”
She gulped, and Nikolai followed the workings of the muscles in her slender throat.
“In what way?”
He thought best to be gentle, yet honest. “Sensually. My lady.”
“I see.” She looked down, her eyelashes black against her cheeks. Rather than protest or beg for a reprieve, she locked her gaze on his. “I’m ready.”
Lowering his head, he swept her auburn waves away from her neck and shoulder, relishing the feel of her silken hair between his fingers before clutching a fist in its thickness without pulling. He brushed his lips lightly across her pulse, the swift tattoo throbbing against his mouth. The roots of his canines ached in pain. An agony he’d never felt quite like this.
She lifted her arm and lay a delicate hand on his shoulder. Enough. He could take no more.
With a swift beat, he sank his fangs deep, groaning as pure heaven se
eped into his mouth. The tender aching eased as his elixir released into her bloodstream.
She threaded one of her hands into his hair on a soft sigh. Sliding the one on his shoulder up to wrap his nape, she held him close. With a whisper of a moan, she arched her back and neck, pressing closer.
“Nikolai,” she whispered, and he thought he’d come undone with his name on her lips, her voice full of yearning, calling him like a siren to the sailor.
He pulled his fangs free and opened his mouth wide over the bite, sucking hard, taking in her lifeblood, which surged through his frame, the sweetest nectar. Raw energy lit him from the inside out, and he lost himself in the euphoria until he realized Sienna had opened her legs, allowing him to seat himself perfectly between.
Heaven help him, he ground his hard cock against her sex, sliding his hand to her bare thigh where her dress had hiked up and squeezing her sweet flesh to keep his hand from going any higher.
“Nikolai,” she called again, clutching his hair, jerking his head away from her neck.
The fire burning in her gaze should’ve been warning enough. She was dangerous. He was dangerous with her. But like a wave rising and gaining speed in the ocean, there was no force to hold back this all-consuming tide.
“Kiss me,” she begged, eyes hooded with desire. “Please.”
Nothing in this wide world could keep him from obeying her sweet plea. He angled his mouth over her plump lips—parted and waiting—then stroked his tongue in deep, tasting the remnant tang of her blood, feeling the pliant softness of her mouth. He pulled his mouth away roughly and pricked her bottom lip with his fangs. Licking out with his tongue, he sucked her full lip between his teeth, then nuzzled down her neck to the puncture wounds for seconds.
She moaned and rocked her hips up, undulating against his painfully rigid cock. The friction was delicious, but not as much as her. Releasing her thigh, he glided his hand to her breast, the fabric so thin he easily found the taut peak of her nipple and pinched lightly.
“More,” she begged. “Please.”
Unable to think through the haze of desire, he yanked her top down off her shoulder below her breast, then opened his mouth over her pink nub and sucked, teasing her tight nipple with his tongue. He grazed gently with his teeth, then pulled hard with his lips, soothing again with his tongue.
With a sudden cry, she rubbed her sex against him, climaxing before he’d ever put a hand under her skirts. Maybe that was for the best. Her hand clenched in his hair as she whimpered with each exhalation of breath. He longed to feel her tight sheath clench around his cock. He flicked his tongue out once more across her nipple, savoring her sweet response to his touch. She flinched and whimpered louder.
Rising up to nuzzle her neck, he laved the puncture wounds with his tongue and waited till he saw the healing begin before he righted her dress on her shoulder and lifted up onto his knees. Still panting, she stared up at him, pupils dilated and kiss-swollen mouth parted.
“Is it—is it always like that?” she asked on a bare whisper.
“Never,” he declared. For it was true. He’d tupped many a fine woman over the centuries while drinking from her veins, and never had one of them rocked him from his foundation like this. He and Sienna hadn’t even coupled, and yet her blood, now mingled with his, raced like molten lava through his body. Like the gods’ ambrosia, it sparked from within, burning with potency unparalleled to other bleeders. Was it his infatuation with this woman that colored his senses, washing him with desire and electric power? Or was it the woman herself who lit him on fire?
He was happy to have given her pleasure, but he was still in torturous pain. Especially as she lay there, sated, with her hair tousled and her bosom rising and falling so delectably. He leaped to his feet, then jumped from the loft to the barn floor, landing with a thud. The cow mooed in protest.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“Not far, sweetheart.”
She peeked her head over the ledge of the loft, squinting into the dark to find him. “But what is wrong?”
He chuckled at his sad state. Everything was wrong. And right.
“Do not fret, my lady,” he said before opening the barn door. “I believe I saw a pond down the hill. If it’s cold enough, it may do the trick.”
Before he sped away, he heard her say in a small voice, “Oh.” He doubted she seriously understood how much pain she had put him in. For even now, he longed to leap back onto the loft and drive his cock deep inside her to feel the glorious satisfaction of taking her in truth. Of making her—
“Mine,” he whispered to the night sky, head tilted back, eyes closed.
With a heavy sigh and a shake of his addled head, he sprinted across the field and down the hill in vampire speed, needing the cold wind cutting across his face, needing to feel anything but the budding emotion tightening around his heart.
Chapter Seven
The gray light of dawn streamed through the loft window as Sienna blinked her eyes awake. A glass of milk sat next to a tin plate with a crust of bread, spiced pear preserves, and a slice of cheese on the side. The cinnamon filled her nostrils. Her stomach grumbled. Sitting up, she pulled the plate into her lap and devoured the unexpected breakfast. No sign of Nikolai.
After eating every crumb and drinking the milk down, she eased off the mattress and peered out the window. Across the barnyard, Nikolai stood with Harrison, talking of something, both of their expressions rather grave.
Sienna feathered her fingers over her neck where Nikolai had bitten her, the skin as smooth as ever. No mark of any kind. Well, that wasn’t altogether true. He had marked her for certain.
Heat flushed her cheeks as she remembered her behavior. His elixir had been more than an erotic serum to open her inhibitions. It had demanded she obey her deepest longing when it came to Nikolai. And that was to lay herself bare, to accept whatever pleasure he might give her, to welcome him inside of her body if he chose.
But he did not. He had remained a gentleman as far as he could, it seemed. The memory of his mouth on her breast gave her gooseflesh in the cool morning air. She turned away from the window and started dressing. She wished she had a place to bathe but made do with a quick splash of canteen water on her face, then plaited her hair in a long, neat braid, tying it off with a short green ribbon.
All the while, she wondered what her grandmother would think of her predicament. She’d chuckle and say something like, Well, girl, you’ve gotten yourself in deep now, have you not?
“Aye,” Sienna whispered as she hooked on her favorite cloak, keeping it inside out for safety. “That I have, Grandmother.”
Sienna had never hated vampires as Arabelle had. She hadn’t a tragic past like Arabelle, caused by the suffering of their kind. As a matter of fact, her only experience had been the stories of her grandmother’s love affair with a charming and devoted Royal Legionnaire. One her grandmother gave up, because she refused to become his bleeder and she refused to become one of the cursed race as she called them.
And here Sienna was, offering herself freely to Lieutenant Nikolai. She wished she could tell herself that she regretted the experience. But the opposite was true. She wanted more of him.
No. She wanted all of him. And that was what frightened her the most. She wanted to see if the pleasures she experienced in her dreams were true. For if last night’s brief but world-tilting experience was any indication, Nikolai would be the greatest of lovers.
She reminded herself that pleasures of the flesh did not necessitate losing her heart. She wouldn’t make the mistake her grandmother had, giving her heart to a vampire to be broken. A love between a vampire and a human was doomed from the start. Their lifespans were too vastly distant. The human would grow old and die while her lover remained young, helpless to do anything but watch as she wasted away.
Grandmother’s words came whispering back over the years. Do not lose your humanity for any man or any vampire, my child. For some will seek to steal all that you
are. Be true to who you are and who you are meant to be.
Sienna had taken those words and internalized them over time. So much so that she’d determined to never leave Silvane Forest. There, she felt she was her true self, finding healing herbs and brewing medicinal tonics she could use to help others. Proper ladies didn’t dabble in potions and medicines, but it was as natural as breathing to her. She’d left behind the life of a lady back in Dale’s Peak more than five years ago, along with her disgruntled betrothed. After leaving him and her home, she’d decided that to remain true to herself meant she would lead a solitary life in the woods of her forest where the magic whispered to her.
But here she was, venturing abroad. This farmstead teetered on the edge of the woods, and the forest called to her even now. By the end of today, however, they would be leaving the forest behind for quite a while. The idea sent a wave of fear through her frame. There was no choice. To be true to her friend Arabelle and a cause she believed in—to help those suffering under the oppression of the vampire monarchy—she must leave and complete her mission for the Black Lily.
Sienna wondered if she was losing herself after last night’s events. Had she given up her true self for Nikolai? Then she thought of Colette and of Nikolai feeding upon her, doing more with her, and her gut immediately tightened with anger. She’d offered herself to keep him away from another woman. But the truth was that she wanted to know him in that way. She wanted to know him in every way. Perhaps her true self was more adventurous than she originally believed.
She’d read the heartbreaking love letters her grandmother’s Legionnaire had sent her—letters of desperate passion and longing. But Grandmother had never relented or returned to him, for she knew she couldn’t give up her humanity to become a vampire. Their love could never be, because she refused to allow him to watch her grow old and die. She would save him from that pain.
The Red Lily (Vampire Blood) Page 6
