Beating Hearts

by Lucretia Stanhope

  She looked into his hateful eyes. “You would do well to remember that the dangerous thing that did, didn't live to go bump in another night.” She yanked her hand from his and got in her car, slamming shut the door.

  Lance mindlessly sucked his fingernail, letting the small trace of blood rest on his tongue a moment before he swallowed. He watched her, smiling to himself while she drove off.

  Kate didn't feel her heart stop racing until she pulled into the parking space by Nick's room. She didn't bother looking around, she just got out of the car and walked quickly to the door. Before she even reached it, it opened, and she saw Nick standing in the doorway, smiling at her.

  “Hello, lover,” he said as she neared. “I thought I smelled heaven approaching.”

  She smiled and hugged him, pulling him close. “I missed you.”

  He sensed something was off. “Did it go okay?” He pulled her into the room, and shut the door.

  “Mostly, can we leave now?” she asked, and started to gather their things.

  Nick looked at her, watching her as she hurried around gathering his things. He could smell her fear. He smelled something else and walked to her, looking at her neck. He sniffed the air and reached down, taking her arm. He closed his eyes, seeing the small scrape.

  “Tell me you did this on accident,” he said, already knowing she hadn't. There wouldn't be fear in the air if everything had gone well.

  “No, it isn't a bite though. Some jackass tried to scare me at the station as I was leaving. He was kind enough to do that with his nasty nail.”

  “That is the last time you go anywhere at night without me,” he said firmly, and pulled her to him, holding her. “What exactly happened?”

  Kate told him about the brief exchange, and he frowned, wondering how serious this Lance was, and if he was even strong enough to be a problem. He decided if he was, then he would deal with it when and if it became an issue.

  Chapter Forty-One

  T he next night, Kate and Nick sat cuddled on the lounger by the fire as they usually did at some point every night.

  “Anything new today?” he asked, hoping the Lance thing would just vanish into the background so that they could scurry off to a beach.

  “Nope, nothing new. I did look at a few resorts on the Florida panhandle,” she said, and teased him with little kisses on his neck.

  He smiled and asked, “Did you find anything interesting?”

  “I found a few vampire-friendly places that look promising,” she said, with a passionate look in her eyes.

  He leaned in to kiss her, but paused and turned his head toward the door. He could hear a faint heartbeat in the yard. The heartbeat was steady and slow. It was too slow for a human.

  Kate looked at him, trying to read his face. “Are you okay?” She noticed his eyes widen and his nostrils flare.

  “Kate, sweetheart, don't panic, but someone is outside. I need you to stay here. I will go see who it is, what they want, and be right back.”

  The tone in his voice startled her. “How can you tell?”

  “I can hear their heartbeat. It is not a human. Please stay inside, lock the door behind me.” He started to stand, and she looked at him, silently asking him not to go. “I will be back, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you.”

  “Nick, please, stay inside. What if it's someone strong, what if they hurt you?” She stood up as she talked, and took his hand in hers, clasping it, not wanting to let him walk away.

  He put his hand on her cheek. “Please, Kate. Until I find out who it is, and what they want, stay inside. If you must, go in my room, take your stake, bolt the door, and wait until you hear my voice.”

  She kissed him gently on the lips, and didn't release his hand. “I want to stay with you.”

  He shook his head no, and turned, walking to the door, feeling her hand tugging. “Lock this behind me.”

  She released his hand, but stayed a few steps behind him. “What if you need back inside? I can't lock you out.”

  He sensed the vampire nearing and walked toward the step. “Inside.”

  She stood in the doorway, with the door still opened, watching as he walked out into the yard. There was a shadow off in the distance that was closing in fast. She felt her heart begin to race. She reached down, making sure she had her stake. Ever since things with Warren, it had become an accessory she never forgot to put on each night.

  “Kate, I said inside. Lock the door,” Nick said harshly, not bothering to turn around when his eyes focused on the vampire approaching.

  “I see your human is even trouble for you,” Lance said, stepping closer to Nick. He looked him over, sensing they were both of similar strength.

  Nick too realized this was not just an average vampire. “I assume you are Lance?”

  “It appears my reputation precedes me,” he said, and laughed. “Hello, Kate.” Lance nodded in her direction as she started off the porch.

  “What do you want?” Nick asked, his tone agitated as he sensed Kate coming nearer.

  “I'm not sure why you choose to align yourself with humans, but that is not my concern.”

  “Your concern is?” Nick asked.

  “Two of my clubs shut in one week. As you might assume, that is a little bothersome.”

  Kate smiled at hearing that, but when she saw the blackness flash in Lance's eyes, she backed up, rethinking being so far from the relative safety of the house. She was torn between the safety of inside or the safety of Nick. She watched as Lance ran his tongue over one of his fangs. She backed up until her hand was on the door again.

  “You might want to find a new business to get involved in,” Nick said. He still sensed Kate outside, but took some comfort that she had seen the wisdom in not getting too close to whatever was about to happen.

  “The little operation you shut down in Kansas City was trivial compared to the places and people you are screwing with now.”

  Nick had figured as much. He knew this could happen, assumed it was more than likely it would happen. They had even talked about it, but his precious spitfire had needed to help as many people as she could, and deep down he did too. It would never wash away what he had done, but it did make the burden a little easier to carry. “That ball is rolling of its own momentum now.”

  “No, my friend, your little woman keeps kicking it, kicking it toward people who are not going to play nipping games with either of you.”

  “I would advise you not to come to my home and threaten me,” Nick said as he fought to hold down the monster inside him.

  “It's not personal. I have no issues with you, or even Kate. I have issue with my bottom line taking a dip, and in that I am not alone.”

  Nick fisted his hands, trying to defuse his own anger at the disrespect. “What do you want?” he asked again.

  “You are going to let this little story fade into obscurity. You and I both know the trading will not stop. Ask yourself this, is it worth dying for? Is it worth it when you know there will be no difference made?”

  “If it weren't making a difference you wouldn't be here.”

  Lance laughed. “Did you figure out how I found you?”

  Nick nodded.

  “Good. Take her on vacation. Have a drink, do whatever it is you two enjoy. The next time I find it necessary to track her down, we won't be talking, and walking away will be off the table.”

  Nick considering a fight, knew it would be a struggle and one he could win, but also realized Lance was not alone in this and there were likely a lot of powerful men and vampires that wanted this to go away.

  While he didn't want it to go away, he knew it needed to be disconnected from Kate, for her own survival. He could still sense her outside, defiantly standing on the porch. He assumed they were far enough out that she couldn't hear exactly what was being said, which was good.

  Lance watched as Nick thought about what he had said. He could see reason had reached him and smiled, satisfied. “Are we done with this unpleasant
undertaking then?”

  Nick cast his eyes back to Kate. It wasn't going to be easy to get her to let this go. He knew she would rather die, than let an injustice she knew about go unpunished.

  Lance gave him an impatient look.

  “Yes,” Nick said, surprised by the way the word seemed to try to choke him, as if it struggled to stay inside.

  He knew they wouldn't drop it, but they had to regroup and come at this more anonymously.

  Lance smiled and walked into the shadows he had come from.

  As Nick watched him walk away, he wondered how he should tell Kate that he had ceded. He wondered if there were an easy way to get her to agree to do things more discreetly. Being cautious and taking his advice had been something she had railed against since the first day she arrived, willfully staying in his home even though he warned her not to. Of course, he was glad she hadn't listened then.

  He needed her to listen now.

  She was his now, and he was not willing to see her suffer, ever again, not even slightly.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  “K

  ate, I need you to listen closely to what I am saying,” Nick said after they walked back inside.

  “What did that bastard want? Why was he here? How did he follow us?” She fired off her questions in rapid succession. Her eyes searched his face, finding him to have a severe look.

  “How can you be listening to me if you are asking questions?” he asked in frustration.

  “Go on, but I still want those answers.”

  She drove him mad. He wanted to take her gently in his arms and hold her while he explained things to her, but he also wanted to pick her up and take her against the wall in a way that let her know she was his and would do as he said. He pushed down the urge to take her, he could do that later.

  “I think it is time you and I started to think about our own life.” He knew their conversation would not be fun.

  She furrowed her brows and stepped back from him. “What happened?”

  “We can't help anyone if we are dead.”

  “Is he, was he strong like you are?”

  Nick sighed. “Yes, Kate, and as we talked about before, he isn't alone in wanting us to go away, forever.”

  “Why did you let him go then? Is he like Warren, running a place like that?”

  “Yes, and I let him go so we could fight another day. It was either let him go, or face off with him tonight, someone else tomorrow, and the day after that, ad nauseam.”

  “What are you saying? You want us to turn our backs to what is happening? Give up on the people who have no hope but us?” She stepped back from him.

  “No. I want us to take this underground, just like they did. Can't you understand, they will kill us, both of us, and then no one, not a single person will be helped.”

  “But if we do that, the whole thing leaves the public eye, and people will move on to the next thing.”

  “I know.” He stepped closer to her and reached for her.

  “I can't do that,” she said defiantly, and batted his hand away.

  “You will,” he said in a demanding tone, looking at her harshly.

  “I will not.”

  “You will. If you don't, they will kill you, and you won't be helping anyone that way.”

  Kate looked away from him and started pacing. “How did he even find us?” she asked, still speaking in a tone he hated hearing directed at him.

  “He cut your wrist at the station, back in Tulsa.”

  “Oh,” she said. “How are we supposed to go underground, if some monster like that can sense me?”

  “We will find a way.”

  “Find a way? You want to drop it until we find a way? No.”

  “No? Did you hear me? He can track you, he will kill you.”

  “He can track me until the day I die,” she said with a tone that cut through him, and eyes that demanded something from him he did not want to do.

  “No, Kate. Don't ask me to do that.”

  “Did you consider it when you brought me back from Warren?”

  He looked away. “Yes, but only if it was needed to save you.”

  “And now it is needed, because I am not going to drop this. After all we went through with Warren you can't ask me to let this fade into obscurity.”

  “I promised you I would never hurt you.” He looked at her with eyes begging for another alternative.

  She walked closer to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. She nipped at his lips while whispering, “Turning our backs on this would hurt me. Do you love me?”

  “Forever,” he said, more as a moan as her hand worked under his shirt.

  “Make it forever,” she said, nipping at him and pulling his shirt off.

  Her touch was sending him to a place where he couldn't think clearly. The more she touched, the more she kissed, the more her whispered pleas drew out the part of him that had wanted her forever. Forever in the real sense of the word.

  Kate looked into his eyes and undid his pants, watching as his iris darkened. He rolled his pants down and she tugged hers off. They quickly pulled off each other’s shirts and stood naked together in front of the fire.

  He knew what she was doing, she knew all he could think of now was having her. When he lifted her, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he took a few steps until her back was against the wall.

  She felt him pressing against her and pushed herself down. “Take me,” she said.

  The words barely left her mouth when she felt him enter her, pulling her hips into him. He thrust deep and hard with a fierce urgency. They had sex like that a few times before, and she knew it meant the monster inside of him had taken the lead. A glance into his eyes told her as much, as they were almost entirely black.

  “Make me yours forever,” she said, and watched as his eyes flashed from black to brown, and back to solid black.

  He thrust deeper and she felt his mouth on her neck, felt he was struggling. “You want this,” he growled, sounding more animal than man.

  “Yes,” she responded, and let her head fall back, closing her eyes. She felt his fangs resting on her skin as he hesitated. “I want to be yours.”

  Nick was lost in her in so many ways. He wanted her desperately, wanted her to be his forever.

  She felt him pierce her skin, and felt a slight tingling as he drank. There was no burning pulling sensation like there had been before, no pain. She was still feeling the pleasure of him inside of her, and now there was a new pleasure. A tingling sensation that raced from his bite.

  Nick never tasted anything so sweet as the blood of his lover. He drank slowly, careful not to make her dizzy and not to take too much. His excitement rose as he felt her hips still moving with him. His bite had not taken her away, she was still there, still present and still taking pleasure from him. He bit down on his own tongue, allowing both of his fangs to punch holes.

  When he kissed her, Kate tasted the metallic taste and swallowed the gift he offered.

  She felt a coolness wash over her, similar to when they held each other close, but from the inside. Her body writhed, but it wasn't pain it was ecstasy, and he joined her, thrusting once more before he felt pleasure rock his body.

  Still holding her, he walked back to the lounger and laid her down, crawling beside her. He felt himself gaining more control, and looked at her trying to understand what had just happened.

  They had made love, had sex more appropriately put, that was the easy part to figure out. He bit her, she didn't react with pain and seemed immune to his saliva. She also seemed unaffected by his feeding and didn't suffer as the virus in his blood entered her.

  He laid there watching her. Her eyes fluttered opened and he saw they were different, sharper, bluer, and the outer edge of the blue was circled in a small ring of black. Her hair even seemed redder. Looking at her more closely, everything seemed a bit sharper. He didn't smell Warren anymore either, he smelled a beautiful mix of her and h
im.

  “Kate, are you hurting?” he asked, even though all he saw on her face was a smile.

  “No. I never felt better. I feel peaceful. Whole.”

  He rested his head on her chest, listening. Her heart was beating at a human pace, but she wasn't quite human. “We need to go downstairs,” he said, feeling the pulling need that meant the sun would be up soon.

  She looked over to him, smiled, and they both stood.

  He watched her as she walked, she was even more graceful than before. She moved with elegance, almost appearing to glide across the room. Before whatever he had just done, he felt Kate was perfect for him, and now watching her, seeing how comfortable she was with what she had become, he knew for certain she had been made to be his.

  They went downstairs and she kissed him gently, watching as he drifted off. She wondered why she didn't feel the pull to sleep like he did. She knew she was changed. Her hearing, and vision vastly improved. She could hear Nick's heart beating steadily, and felt a stronger connection to him than before.

  She ran her tongue across her teeth, and noticed a small set of fangs. They were certainly there, but not to the extent she saw on vampires. She sat up a while longer, adjusting to how her new body felt and then cuddled beside Nick, feeling his coolness against her. As she drifted off, she wondered why he still felt cool to her.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  W hen Nick woke, Kate was already up, she sat on the edge of the bed and watched him. “Evening,” she said, smiling at him.

  “What are you doing up already?” He looked her over to make sure she was okay.

  “I have no idea. I have been up for hours. I didn't fall right asleep when you did either. I'm hungry,” she said with a worried look on her face.

  He was still puzzling over why she was awake when the sun was up. He got up and dressed and then pulled her to him. She was still warm, not as warm as she had been before, but she was certainly not cool, not like him. “I'm not sure what we, I, did, but we are going to figure it out.”