“But you still can’t have everything you want, now, can you?” she taunted.
Nick glared at her. “You would have been the most powerful vampiress in the world if you’d chosen to obey me instead of run.”
“Maybe I was listening. Maybe I just didn’t like what I heard.”
“It’s because of him, isn’t it?” He jerked his head in Gabe’s direction, his face contorting with the first signs of anger.
Marina looked at Gabe, unable to hide the longing in her eyes. “He’s got more honor in one eyelash than you’ve ever possessed in your entire existence.”
The words, the look in her eye, pierced Gabriel deeper than any stake could have. Marina could say anything she wanted, do anything, but deep down she loved him. He could see it.
In an instant Nick tried to grab her, his fingers clenched and missing her throat by millimeters. Gabriel had moved just as fast, blocking him, his forearm tight against Nick’s throat, a bare silver blade in his hand, pressed against the olive skin. A thin trickle of black ichor welled along the edge of the blade, dripping warm and slick down his wrist.
“Touch her and I’ll behead you myself, slowly and thoroughly.”
Nick’s eyes blazed with challenge. “You wouldn’t dare, Shyeld.”
“Fucking try me, asshole.” The words were a feral growl.
Nick twisted, lunging at him. Gabe pushed Marina out of the way and rolled backward, taking the hit and using the momentum to flip Nick off him.
Nick righted himself and pulled a silver blade similar in shape and weight to the thick-wicked blade Gabe held in his own hand. It was no surprise. Nick had given him the damn thing three years ago for extraordinary service—in other words, walking away from Marina and doing what he’d thought was the right, honorable thing. Best knife he’d ever owned. And he never missed when he used it.
Nick hissed, springing from where he stood to fly through the air. Gabriel grabbed hold of his arm as they connected, pressing the knife to his face a half inch away from his eye. With all his force he pushed Nick’s arm down. The blade came closer, cutting a stinging line of fire into Gabriel’s cheek. He cursed. He’d forgotten how badly silver could burn a vampire. The acidic bite of vinegar tinged the air, both of them in pain.
Gabriel twisted hard, kneeing Nick in the gut. It was like hitting concrete. Nick huffed and Gabriel was able to exert enough force at Nick’s wrist to twist the knife out of his hand. The silver blade clattered as it hit the marble floor and spun off away from them toward Marina.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vane advancing on Marina. She scrabbled for the silver dagger that had come to a stop within a few feet of her. The momentary lapse of concentration cost him.
Nick thrust an elbow up under Gabe’s chin, knocking his head backward with a snap he felt all the way down his spine. Gabriel flew backward to the floor, his head cracking the marble. Stars burst and spun in his vision.
He tightened his hold on the blade in his hand. Nick rushed forward, sweeping a foot back to kick Gabe in the ribs. Gabe rolled to one side and sprang up to crouch. He grabbed Nick’s leg as he kicked and used it to throw him off balance. Nick’s yell of fury was knocked from him as he hit the floor with a thud. Gabriel pinned Nick to the floor, rolling him forward, an arm twisted behind him to the snapping point.
They moved too quickly for even a vampire to track. Only the blur of an arm or the movement of a leg was evidence they battled. As fearful as she was for Gabe, she couldn’t watch. She tested the weight of the blade in her hand as she eyed Vane. He moved slowly and steadily toward her, the red in his eyes pulsing with hunger and malice.
She took in a breath and held it not for the oxygen, but to steady her hand. With all her might she threw the blade, aiming for Vane’s chest. A swift arc of silver was all that could be seen. He vanished in a blur of dark mist an instant before the blade connected. The blade sunk into the wall up to the hilt, quivering.
She spun on the spot to where Gabe and Nick fought. All she saw was the flash of a silver blade. Warm black ichor sprayed Marina and she screamed.
Chapter Six
“Gabriel!” Her voice bounced off the marble, echoing first in the large, ornately furnished room of Nick’s villa, then again off the dark water of the lake just outside the balcony’s open doors.
Marina was shaking so hard her knees gave way. She landed on the cold black-and-white-marble floor next to the headless body. A thin pool of liquid midnight-colored ichor had already begun to spread, gleaming in the moonlight. The moment her eyes started to focus past the wash of tears blurring her vision, she could see that the body on the floor wore an expensive dark suit.
Not Gabe. Nick.
A broad hand touched her shoulder and Marina whipped around, her fangs bared, ready to defend herself.
Gabe held up both hands in surrender. “It’s just me, sweetheart.”
Her eyes darted around the room, coming back to rest on Gabe’s face. An angry red scar marred his cheek, the ichor already dried around the wound that had started to heal. “Where’s Vane?”
“Gone.”
“Are you certain?”
Gabe nodded, holding out a hand to help her from the floor. “He vanished while we were fighting. I saw him coming toward you, but it was either behead Nick and save you or catch hold of Vane before he transported. You’ve got quite a throw.”
Marina slipped her hand into his, the rough texture and warmth of it a reassurance that she existed and so did Gabe. “So we have no idea where Vane went?”
“Not for sure, but that’s not important right now.”
Marina glanced once more at Nick’s body. This time there was no doubt that he’d been truly beheaded. Unable to bear the gory sight, she looked away, Gabe wrapping his arms around her shoulders and turning her into his chest. She’d come so close to losing him again that it made her ache all over. The warm solidness of his chest soothed her raw emotions. She sighed, the weight of the last few years flowing off her shoulders at last.
“We’re not out of this yet, are we?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper into his shirt.
“Not until we know who the traitor is on the High Council.” He brushed his hand over her hair, smoothing it with a gentle caress. At the same time a gentle breeze whispered over her as Gabe phased away the grime and gore, leaving them both clean and freshly clothed. “Whatever comes, Marina, we’re going to face it together.”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. The dark brown was soft and sincere and as comforting as a hot cup of espresso on a cold night. He wasn’t lying. He meant every word.
“What’s the real reason you came back for me, Gabe? Were you sent to rescue me by the council? Was I no more than business for you, or…”
“You need me to say it?”
She bit her bottom lip, rubbing it lightly between her teeth, then she nodded. Part of her felt guilty for needing the words, but the other, stronger part, wanted to hear it from his own lips.
“I love you.”
She closed her eyes, letting the words sink in, a balm to her fractured heart. And when she opened them again, he was still there, still solid, still holding her. “Then take me away from here.”
He bent his head and kissed her soundly. She could taste and feel him all the way to her toes. “I thought you’d never ask,” he mumbled against her lips, the movement making her want another kiss.
The transport looped through her middle before she could say another word, pulling them together through time and space back to a living room that overlooked a conifer forest. Beyond the trees the rugged spires of the Alps rose to reach for the rising moon.
“Welcome to my home away from home.”
She spared a brief glance at the grand expanse of the arched roof and wide walls carved directly from stone. “You live in a cave?” she teased.
He chuckled and the warmth of it seeped through her. “I found I liked Seattle so much I wanted something as similar as I could get
, but closer to you.”
“Why didn’t you bring me here first?”
“Because I knew this was the first place they’d look.” His tone was laced with irritation as he took in the chaos. “They certainly made a mess.”
She blinked, suddenly aware of the disarray. The scattered pictures, covered in shards of broken glass, glittered in the moonlight filtering through the large window overlooking the woods. Furniture had been overturned, ripped and shredded, the stuffing oozing out.
“That’s fixed easily enough.” She pulled her power together, letting it ball up in her solar plexus before pushing it out into the room to phase away the mess. The ruined furnishings and damaged goods disappeared. “There you go. A clean slate.” She smiled up at him.
“Not quite.” Gabe ran his fingers through her hair, letting the silk of it slip around him and enjoying every second of it. After years of fantasizing about her, they were actually alone. But deep down in the pit of his stomach a niggling, insecure little doubt festered. He’d said he loved her, but he’d yet to hear her say it in return.
Even after all this time, he still wanted the words from her, the knowledge that she did indeed belong to him. But perhaps that would come with time, and trust. He’d wait for it, just as he’d waited for her.
He pulled her closer, reveling in the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest, his hands splaying over the enticing female curve of her hip.
Her arms slipped around his waist. “I’ve taken you for granted, haven’t I?” she murmured, snuggling into him.
The smell of her skin was like an aphrodisiac, making him dizzy with lust and longing. His fingers tightened in her hair as he drew her face up to his. “Perhaps,” he murmured against her lips. “But I’m willing to let you make it up to me.”
She raised her eyes and he felt her smile curve against his own mouth. “Willing?” she mocked.
“And able.” Gabriel chuckled, swooping in the last centimeter separating their mouths to kiss her.
The shock of her mouth under his she shockwaves through his entire body. Kissing Marina was like kissing the moon. Just as the moon could transform an ordinary night into something extraordinary, magical, beauty and light filled him, banishing the ache and pain into pure joy. He’d never get enough of her, of this.
Her mouth, warm and supple, caressed his, her arms wrapping firmly around his neck. He could have let it go on indefinitely, but Marina pulled back, her soft smooth hand pressing against his cheek as she stared deeply into his eyes. Into his soul. Here eyes were luminous blue of a lake in summer, so clear and bright he could see the image of himself swimming in the depth. He was an ordinary vampire, by no means a royal, but through Marina’s eyes he was a vampire worthy of her.
Her fingers were cool as she caressed his cheek, brushed the corner of his mouth and lingered on his lower lip. “Can we start over?”
He couldn’t help but smile. “You first.”
“Hi, I’m Marina DeMornay. And I really, really like you.”
He pulled her a impossibly closer, looking deeply into her eyes. “I’m Gabriel Forrester and I’m the man who’ll love you until the end of time.”
She giggled, lifting one brow. “Isn’t that a little presumptuous of you on a first meeting?”
He didn’t waste another second, just kissed her as if his very existence depended upon it. His hands rediscovered her curves, reconciling memory with reality. For so long he’d dreamed of just touching her again. But reality far surpassed his memories.
A hungry growl rumbled beneath his fingers on her ribcage. She shivered and pulled back, her eyes half lidded and full of desire. “You’re good. Damn good. I’ll give you that.”
The sweetness of orange blossoms bloomed in the air, tinged with the heaviness of jasmine-scented female vampire pheromones. She wanted him.
In one fluid movement Gabriel scooped her up into his arms and transported them both to the big bed he had in his bedroom on the floor below. Ever since the first and only time he’d made love to Marina, he’d used the same type of gray silk sheets he remembered from their encounter. It was sappy and sentimental, but then she’d been the only woman he’d ever wanted with a need bordering on insanity.
“I’ve been waiting for you to figure that out for a very long time.” He nuzzled the fragrant hollow of her neck. Marina arched, giving him better access to the cream of her skin, and he obliged by nibbling his way down her collarbone. Gabriel phased away their clothing into nothingness. Cupping her soft heavy breast he teased the nipple with the pad of his thumb.
Marina gasped in protest as he gently set her down, the length of her sliding down his aroused body and inflaming a throbbing need in every cell of her own. She wanted, needed to feel him. Taking his hand she stretched out on the bed, tugging him down beside her. He willingly followed, taking her in his arms, his skin alive with a fire that threatened to consume her.
Giddy with longing, aroused by the mere stroke of his palm along her hip, Marina whispered, “You really do love me, don’t you?” She ran her hand across the hard sculpted muscles of his chest, over the thrumming beat of ichor at the base of his throat and curled gentle fingers to cup his hard jaw.
He covered her hand with his, bringing her fingers to his mouth for a lingering kiss. “With everything I am.”
She exchanged fingers for her mouth on his and kissed him soundly, putting everything she had into it. He wrapped his strong arms around her and pressed into her, leaving no room for doubt between them. There was only this one vampire in the world for her.
She pulled back and gazed into his angelic face, more dear to her than ever. “That’s good, because I love you too.”
A sudden softness stole over Gabriel’s features, and he bent his head.
“Gabriel?” She stroked her fingers down his back, the muscles there tense and hard. “Have I said something wrong?”
He raised his head staring at her, his eyes fierce with desire. “Pinch me. Hard.”
“Why?”
He kissed her swiftly, then pulled back. “I want to be sure this isn’t just a fantasy in my head. That you really just said you love me.”
Mariana gave him a slow, wicked smile, then wrapped her leg around him and pulled his hips down, cradling the hard length of him in her wet heat. “Does that feel like a fantasy to you?”
“Oh yeah.” His eyes glazed with passion, his skin growing slick beneath her fingers as he trembled.
“Then maybe this will convince you it’s real.” She arched her hips pulling him fully into her. The hard slick slide of him sent a shower of sparks across her vision as her body contracted from head to toe. Marina gasped.
Flick. Her fangs extended and throbbed, the sensation of him far more heady than she remembered. The cedar-scented length of his thick neck brushed against her mouth, warm and inviting. Beneath her lips the fast flow of his raging ichor called to her.
Marina couldn’t resist and sunk herself into him. The espresso flavor filled her mouth sending a wave of sparkling energy pulsing through her, lifting her up and spinning her.
A bright white ribbon of energy blended with pure pleasure speared through her connecting her to him at all the points where they connected. From fang, to the deepest place within her, they were one being of light, hope and love.
Suddenly he wasn’t merely just in her, he was part of her, his hands and mouth everywhere at once. His fingers stroked gently in her hair, skimmed with a loving touch down her spine and teased her most intimate places with a drugging touch. Likewise his mouth was still on hers, his tongue a liquid silken slide with hers, but she could feel his kisses dancing up along the back of her legs, his lips and teeth and tongue devoted to both her breasts.
She responded in kind, her mind able to reach out and touch him just as physically as her hands. Her vampire abilities allowed her to indulge in the hard bunch of his buttocks, the broad span of his back and the rounded hardness of his shoulders without lifting a finger.
The last time they’d made love, he’d been human and she’d had to hold herself back. Now there was no reason not to surrender completely to the sensations flooding her, filling her up. Marina opened her heart and let go, and in surrender she found her greatest freedom.
He broke their kiss and locked his gaze with hers, his devotion, his love for her, etched over every inch of his face. It humbled her knowing how vulnerable he was in her arms, and she was in his, and yet together they were stronger than anything that could come against them.
Gabriel brushed his fingers against her temple, his firm lips tipping into a smile that warmed her to her toes.
“Still need me to pinch you?” she teased.
Gabriel chuckled. “No. You’re better than any fantasy, my love.”
A smile unfurled from her heart to spread across her face. “Why is that?”
“Because you’re mine.”
Don’t miss the other spooky and sensual NOCTURNE BITES, available at www.ebooks.eharlequin.com and wherever eBooks are sold. Titles include:
Hunter’s Surrender by Anna Hackett
Vampire’s Tango by Michele Hauf
Her Dark Lord by Mel Teshco
Time Jumper by Connie Hall
The Prophecy by Nina Croft
Lured by Lori Devoti
Moon Marked by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
His Magic Touch by Cynthia Cooke
The Bewitching Hour by Vivi Anna
The Vampire’s Desire by Alexis Morgan
Moon Shadow by Jenna Kernan
Looking for more paranormal romance? The sizzling and spine-chilling books of Silhouette Nocturne are available at www.eHarlequin.com or your local bookstore.
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-5277-0
A Vampire’s Mistress
Copyright © 2010 by Theresa Meyers
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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