“Out of the mouths of babes,” Tavish said.
One by one the others left, leaving Rhett to stand alone.
* * * *
Hope woke and winced. Her head hurt, it was booming and her mouth tasted like something had died in it. “Caine?” she whispered. He had told her to call if she was hurt. Hope felt hurt.
The door flew open and Caine strode towards her. Hope had a hand pressed to her temple. Caine cupped her face in his palms.
“Where do you hurt?” he asked.
“My head hurts.”
“She’ll be fine,” Rhett said as he entered the room. “It’s the wine.”
“You got her drunk? What the hell is wrong with you?” Caine demanded.
“I only wanted her to relax. It was two little glassfuls. She’s hardly slept. She needed to rest.”
“You’re a real bastard, you know. If she needed sleep you could have compelled her.” Hope heard the fury in Caine’s words.
“She doesn’t like to be compelled, genius. I know that. I know a lot more than you give me credit for.”
Hope was surprised at Rhett’s anger. He was glaring at Caine. His fists were balled.
“You all think the worst of me,” Rhett raged on. “But I’ve been listening to what she needs and doesn’t need. She called to you because you told her to. Well newsflash, Doc, I’m the one who can help her through what she will go through. Me. I’ve been through it. I suffered through my loss and will again. So give her some aspirin and get the hell out, you bastard. She’s mine and I’ll take care of what she needs.”
Caine ignored him and looked deeply into Hope’s eyes. “There is no pain, honey. You haven’t got a headache. You feel fine.”
Hope immediately felt better. Perhaps being compelled for some things wasn’t too bad after all. A miniscule grin tugged at the corners of her lips. Caine smiled at her, glared at Rhett then left.
“What’s drunk?” Hope asked Rhett. “You didn’t compel me to drink, I drank on my own. I’m confused.”
“The liquid I gave you was alcohol. Wine actually. It makes you feel uninhibited and more relaxed.”
“To laugh?”
“When’s the last time you laughed before our tea party?”
Hope had to think about that. She had to think very hard. “I’m not sure.” Before Rhett had found them, Ann hadn’t laughed very often either. Now she was always giggling.
Rhett strode over to her and knelt in front of her. “If your head hurts call for me next time, I can help you; I can take minimal pain away. If you are truly injured then call for Caine.”
Hope searched his face wondering what he was thinking, feeling. Rhett wasn’t angry; he didn’t look pissed at her. Perhaps it was a law she wasn’t aware of. With so many humans and only one doctor, Hope supposed Caine was busy. She was startled when Rhett traced his finger down her jaw line.
“I didn’t give you the wine to hurt you, little seal. It was nice to see you laugh.”
Now she was even more confused. Who was this vampire and what happened to Rhett? His touch was as soft as it had been to her nether region. Thinking that had her blush. It had been a long time since a man had touched her. Ben was forbidden to touch her, but when they found time to be alone he had often caressed her cheek. Then once found out, he conspired to frame her and have her killed.
“Who named you Hope?” Rhett asked.
“My mother, I was named shortly after the law of no children passed. She was so beautiful. So loving. Every wonderful thing I am is because of her. I was so blessed to have her; she taught me what mothers are supposed to be. She died when I was almost fourteen. The ice we lived in cracked and she fell to her death. It’s how many ice dwellers die. My father was killed when I was twelve, another crack then fall to the death. It’s not fair you know. No love, no life really, when your parents die. I had no one, nothing. After my parents died no one held me again until Ben.”
“Ann’s father,” Rhett said and she nodded.
“You said you knew what I would go through. You had a child like Ann didn’t you?”
“Yes. It’s how I lost my human life.” Rhett sat beside her and spoke quietly while tenderly running his fingers over Ann’s sleeping brow. “I’m thousands of years old. In my time, children like Ann with Down’s Syndrome weren’t treated well. Acca was just as beautiful and as sweet as your little one. So innocent and trusting. Tavish watched me fight four lions to save her.”
“Four lions?”
“You saw Druid?”
Hope shuddered. Yes she had seen Druid, the white tiger. He was massive. She had been introduced to the other Anivamps that walked the compound on occasion. Lucille, the silver back gorilla was a favorite. Lovel, the white wolf played ball with the children and Rhino, the wild boar mostly watched everyone. The scariest by far was Ursus, she was Tavish’s white polar bear. The biggest polar bear Hope had ever seen. All had been turned hundreds of years ago by Tavish to protect the compound from stray humans and rogue vampires. Except Ursus. Hope had learned Ursus was almost as old as Tavish. Tavish turned the bear and was the only one who could understand her.
“Druid is a tiger, but similar to a lion. A big cat, with big fangs,” Rhett said.
Hope was amazed. “You fought four of them for your daughter?”
“Yes. Then before I died, Tavish turned me. I can show you in your thoughts one day, if you want me to.”
From the look on Rhett’s face Hope realized he didn’t offer this experience to many, or anyone. Hope wanted to see. She had never seen another child like Ann. Watching the other children in the camp was a revelation. She had to know. Hope gazed down into Ann’s sweet face, her beautiful baby girl.
“Can you please show me now?” Hope whispered.
“I can, but my old world might frighten you. It is very brutal. To take you there you need to give yourself to me freely.”
Hope knew what he meant. He would take her blood. Rhett took her hand into his and gazed into her yes.
“I can hear your heart pounding,” Rhett said. “I haven’t given you any reason to trust me. You are important to Ann. If for no other reason, hang onto that when I say I won’t hurt you.”
“You can compel me.”
“I could, but when compelled the memories are only one-sided. I would see all of you and you would see only fleeting images of what I want you to. You would be in a daze. I won’t lie; free will tastes so much better to a vampire. A being who conquers. I grew up training to conquer. It was how I was raised. You think your world was cruel? The struggle for life in Rome was next to impossible. Kill or be killed. Inhumane acts occurred every day for simple sport or fun.”
His low-murmured words were beginning to make Hope feel heady. He was so handsome; he didn’t need to compel her to see his beautiful blue eyes, his short thick locks.
“Show me,” Hope whispered.
Rhett’s eyes glazed over into brilliant white. His sharp little fangs grew until Hope thought they were the largest things she had ever seen. His head tilted then dipped. A large hand cupped the side of her face. For a second she remembered how he had murdered those men. Did they deserve to die? It took only a second for Hope to realize they would have killed her, and Ann would have died alone.
For a moment Rhett’s tongue laved her throat. Hope groaned and settled her hands over his chest. It was wonderful to be so close to someone. Ann was so little when Hope held her she was the one who protected. Rhett needed no protection from anything. Touching that wasn’t illegal was so unrestricting. Hope was allowed to touch in this world. The excitement of this filled her with pleasure. She had longed to be held. It was happening.
“If you push me away, I won’t stop you,” Rhett whispered.
“I’m trying to figure out how to get you closer.”
His low sexy chuckle was her undoing. She wasn’t certain why she felt the way she did. Hot, cold, sweating, burning. His touch was compelling, contagious. Ben had never made her feel this way.
Hope moved into his arms. Big strong arms that could carry the weight of the world. The weight of her world.
“Rhett,” she mumbled.
Hard flesh pressed against her and Hope was ready when the slight sting to her neck came. Back her mind tumbled in a whoosh. It was exhilarating. Rhett was with her. She saw him in a huge round place with so many different people screaming for blood. Where they all vampires? Hope shuddered at their cruelty. How could they want the blood of a man to spill in this arena?
The lion was terrifying, but to watch Rhett fight three more was horrific. A warrior above warriors. And he was laughing. How could he laugh as he died? Hope watched him fall; she heard the sorrow in his father’s voice, his father’s sad voice as he watched his only son die. Tavish was there, and Caine and another called Laken. They took Rhett away and he was turned for the love of his daughter. Everything had been for Acca.
Beautiful little Acca, so like her Ann. Sickly like her Ann. Every night and every time Acca’s mother would sleep, Rhett went to his child. Spending every moment possible with her for eight years. Hope sobbed as she watched the child buried. She watched as Rhett did from a distance while tears streamed down his handsome face. It killed him to watch her die, just like it would kill Hope to watch Ann die.
Rhett did know; he knew every one of Hope’s fears. Hope’s sobs tore from her chest as she watched Rhett retrieve his daughter’s body and hold her tight. The unbearable pain on his face was agonizing. Finally his weeping stopped. He kissed her forehead tenderly. Acca was at peace, there was no more pain.
Hope collapsed against Rhett when he brought her back. All of her fears spilled with the tears from her eyes. She clung to him crying her misery. She cried for the child he had lost, she cried for her own child. How could it be that in thousands of years nothing had changed? Ann didn’t need a cure for anything except her ailment. She was perfect and wonderful and sweet the way she was. Hope had always felt that way.
Now Hope understood why Rhett loved Ann. He saw his daughter in her. Hope felt his pain, his terrible grief. There was another little girl he couldn’t save no matter how many beasts he had to fight. The biggest beast in the room was emotion. How do you conquer loss? Was it possible? After all of these years, Rhett’s sorrow still burned within him. No wonder he had trouble letting her in. Of all the things Rhett had lost was the irony of what he found. Hope. Rhett was without hope as surely as Hope was right in front of him.
“Thank you for sharing,” Hope whispered as her cries turned to soft hiccups and gently falling tears.
“I want hugs too,” Ann yelled and bounced on the bed.
Hope was startled, she wondered how long the child had been awake. Rhett had bit into her neck away from Ann. Hopefully she wasn’t bleeding, although her body was tired. Ann wasted no time and jumped into Rhett’s arms. When he pressed her head against his chest, Hope realized the look he so often had was the same as when he held his own daughter. Love, longing and sadness. Never again would she be afraid for Ann if Rhett was around. The warrior before her would kill. He would die before letting any harm come to Ann. The thought was strangely comforting.
They were in a vampire’s embrace. It was the safest place to be.
Chapter 8
Rhett had both Ann and Hope clutched to his chest when he went to Caine’s office. He settled Hope onto a bed and waited with some impatience for the doctor to give Hope a revival drink. The drink would immediately put back any fluid he had drained from her. Caine had discovered the liquid after many of the humans were drained to near death in the beginning of the vampire-human coven.
There were so few humans and forty vampires who all needed to feed. A languishing human took weeks to rebuild their strength. After taking the drink Hope would feel fine. Rhett could control his blood lust. Especially since Ann had been in the room. Drinking from a human could fill a vampire with so many emotions. A free will serving was best for Hope. Rhett had a love of violence on occasion, but he was sated.
“Are you feeling better?” Caine asked Hope.
“I feel fine.”
“No fear?”
Rhett scowled at the doctor. “Would you let it go?” Rhett said as he narrowed his eyes.
“Growly face, growly face, it looks all out of place,” Ann chanted.
Caine laughed. “It does look out of place, honey.”
Rhett growled deep in his throat and tickled Ann’s tummy. Ann laughed and kissed his cheek. For a second he was startled. Acca was the only child who had ever kissed him. It took Rhett a moment to compose himself. The child pressed her doll to his chest and said the doll’s name, to which Hope raised surprised eyes. After clearing his throat Rhett asked Caine if Hope was alright to leave.
Caine looked amused. “She’s fine. The bite is minuscule. But your little females should have some dinner.”
“Food,” Ann howled in Rhett’s ear.
Rhett shook his head and clasped her leg. “Is this the hollow one?”
“Yes, and it needs a cookie,” Ann said.
“A cookie, huh?” Rhett appeared to ponder her suggestion. “Dinner first, then a cookie.” Ann looked about to protest. “And if you eat your dinner you can have a cookie before bed, too.”
“Yay.”
“Lots of water, too,” Caine advised. He sent a meaningful gaze to Rhett.
“Can Dooder and baby come to dinner?” Ann asked.
“Nope. They are restricted to tea parties,” Rhett said. Ann pouted. “If all the other children brought their dollies to the table there’d be no room for Ann.”
Rhett could see the child was deep in thought. “Dooder would get my cookie.”
“Yep,” Rhett said.
“No dollies at the table,” Ann yelled.
“Good idea,” Rhett said. He kissed Ann’s forehead.
Rhett could have let them walk back, but he wanted to hold them. Connecting with Hope had proved to be a good experience. Rhett could take her to the places he had been in his thoughts when they joined. He could also unobtrusively see her memories. Her first sexual experience was her only one. Ben had been young and was more concerned with his needs. Pathetic was the word Rhett would use. The guy had almost blown his load the second he entered her.
Hope had been hurt by the encounter. She wasn’t raped; she agreed to let Ben do what he wanted. But getting banged belly down over frozen ice her first time by an inexperienced guy was less than momentous. In fact, she had thought the experience sucked. Then to have the asshole tell everyone she had begged for it was inexcusable. The look on Hope’s face, the betrayal and fear almost sent Rhett into a rage. Ben was lucky he was already dead.
The second Rhett settled Ann and Hope at the table, Galf handed Ann a cookie. Rhett sighed and raised his eyes at Tavish who chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. The little blond imp was already proving to be the rogue his father was. The boy was part vampire but only fed from his mother. He needed real food as well. There were times the boy couldn’t control his eyes glowing white or his little fangs from growing. He scared some of the children, but not Ann. In Ann’s eyes he was perfect, as Ann was perfect to Galf. It was going to be hard on the boy when Ann died. Galf wasn’t used to loss. He was still of an age where he thought his father could fix anything. Even Tavish, seventeen-thousand-year-old Tavish, couldn’t cure leukemia.
“Your son is smitten with my little Ann,” Rhett said as he approached Tavish and Mercy.
“Hope looks happier and yet sad too,” Mercy said.
“We exchanged a few memories,” Rhett said.
“And?” Tavish asked.
“And—I think I’d like to get to know her better.” Rhett ignored Tavish’s wide eyes and smile.
“I’ll be happy to babysit,” Mercy said. “The rain has started up again. The children can go to the indoor play area and I’ll keep an eye on them.”
The invitation sounded fine to Rhett, but he wondered what Hope would say. Understandably, Hope wanted to spend every moment she c
ould with Ann. Rhett felt it would be a good idea to learn more about Hope. After all, if he planned on handing her over to Tate, he should make certain the two were compatible. Rhett knew everything there was to know about Tate, he had watched him come into the world.
When Galf took Ann by the hand and Mercy took Galf’s other hand to lead them away from the table, Rhett approached Hope. She watched worriedly as Tavish took Ann’s other hand and her child disappeared with the vampire family. Rhett knew other vampires were watching them. He wanted to be alone with Hope.
“Ann will be fine. It’s a quiet day and Tavish will keep an eye on her.” Hope stared up at him with her dark, beautiful eyes. Rhett had taken Hope on a memory journey, but she didn’t realize while she searched what he allowed her to see, Rhett knew everything about her from the time she was born. He had seen it all through her eyes. But who she was might not be who she is now. Her world had changed the day he brought her here. He sensed the fear fighting with bravery.
Hope’s past was sad to be sure. Her parents had loved her but they died too young. Being left alone at a time when a young woman needed her mother, Hope had turned to anyone who would offer her comfort. Ben was also young. He was a coward at the end, but Hope had feelings for him.
“Take my hand,” Rhett said.
Hope looked at his outstretched arm. “But,” she muttered.
“You will have plenty of time to spend with Ann today; we always eat dinner early on Saturdays and Sundays. We allow the humans to indulge in sweets and treats later in the evening. Let me show you some of this new world.”
“It’s raining out.”
Rhett grinned. “Not everywhere.”
Hope looked confused. Tentatively, her small hand settled into his. One thing Rhett had seen from Hope was her courage. She didn’t give up. Rhett pulled her closer, then up into his arms. Before leaving the building he grabbed a raincoat. He pulled the coat around her covering her body. Hope gasped as he took to the sky.
“You can hide your face against my chest,” Rhett told her. “I won’t tell anyone you’re afraid to fly. Many humans beg their vampire to take them flying. We’ve had to watch out for some of the little male humans who get it in their head they can fly alone. A child is compelled never to try; it’s for their own safety. I’m guessing you won’t be jumping off a tree or cliff any time soon.”
Vampire Coven Book 3: A Vampire's Embrace Page 9
