Sabrina glanced at the digital clock sitting on the lonesome nightstand. There were only two hours until dawn. It seemed like they had been gone only a few moments. Sunset had been less than two hours ago. They had lost most of the night.
The blood on her inner thighs and her pussy was just starting to dry and itch, as if the blood were only a few minutes old. She reached between the sheet folds and touched it. She looked at the fresh smear on her fingers.
A mixture of emotions ranged their way through her. It was chaos at its finest. She had a sudden realization. Her virginity was gone. There was something so final, so absolute, and so permanent about the loss. A tear welled up unannounced and trickled down her cheek. She looked down at the floor, hoping he would not notice. It was not her intent to hurt his feelings or wound his ego.
It was too late for apprehension, but a trace lingered. In the moment, it had felt like the right thing to do. She had wanted it more than anything in her life and was still not sorry for giving herself to Brandon. There was no explanation she could put her finger on, but he was meant for her. It was like something preordained. Never had she felt passion flood her skin from meeting a man. Touching her had triggered a deep-seated need. Only he could have satisfied it. It had to be him.
A trill of fear ran through her. Eleanor would be furious! There was no telling what she would do. She had been so protective, so careful. The only boy allowed to have an ongoing relationship with Sabrina was Clay. Deep down, Sabrina knew Eleanor harbored hopes Clay would be “The One.” She had said yesterday she had hoped Sabrina would make all this unnecessary. Was that what she meant? That Sabrina should have given her heart away to the fairy?
Until this moment, Sabrina had never considered Eleanor’s motivations behind pairing the two of them up in childhood. Clay was an orphan, like herself. He was a creature of the night and of the moon, like herself. He knew her better than any other being on the planet. A seeping shame began replacing the fear. Clay would be so disappointed. He wanted so much for Sabrina to take the next step. He had made it very clear being her best friend was not enough. He wanted to be her lover. She knew he would always be her brother, but she did not wish to cause him the pain this would inflict.
Underneath all the apprehension, fear, and shame was still happiness with an edge of triumph. A warm, fuzzy pool drifted near the center of her chest. Some switch had been turned on and could never be turned off in the same way it was before. Sabrina smiled to herself. No matter the extent of Eleanor’s anger or Clay’s disappointment, the deed was done. She had freely given herself to the man of her choice with no regrets. Freely. Free. Freedom. An unseen shackle broke. Her magic flowed, and she knew she was no misfit. She was different but not a mistake. She sniffed and the tears stopped.
She lifted her face to see him standing only a few feet away as still as a statue. He wore a poker face, for the most part. However, around his eyes was a tension she interpreted as worry. She had no more experience with vampires than she had with men in general. It was her best guess. A twinge tugged at her heart. It bothered her to think he was worried or upset.
She gave him the same triumphant smile she had given herself. She dropped the silk sheet and stood naked. There was no shame, no lamenting. From this moment on, he belonged to her. The warm, fuzzy pool turned to a molten fire. Lust had become love. How she knew this, she was not sure. She knew only that it was. He relaxed with a sly smile of his own. The worry appeared to be gone.
“I think we have enough time to clean up before bed,” Sabrina teased, holding up her bloody fingers.
“I like the sound of that. Just don’t flood the place again. I don’t want water ruining the ceilings below. My insurance company will never buy the real explanation, and I don’t feel like having to make one up.” Brandon laughed. She nodded her agreement and laughed with him.
He gestured toward the shower. “Ladies first.” The phone in his jeans pocket rang from the pool of fabric on the floor. “You go ahead. I need to take that, and I’ll be right there.” She continued to smile at him and scurried off with a girlish giggle.
* * * *
“Hello,” Brandon greeted his caller.
“Where have you been? I have been calling you for over two hours,” Hadrian said, very put out. He gave an inpatient huff.
“I was way out of my service area. We just got back a few minutes ago. What can I do for you this evening?” Brandon tried to keep his tone upbeat.
“You have a satellite phone plan. You’re never out of your service area. There had better be a damn good excuse for ignoring my calls.” There was an edge of threat to Hadrian’s tone. “Well? Let’s hear it.”
“Sabrina went to her happy place and took me with her. Literally. There was a pulse of energy. It may not have been that exactly, but it’s the only description I have. The pulse or wave or whatever took us to the moon. She said she had never been there while awake, but she thinks it’s Diana’s palace. How is it possible? Witches don’t have that sort power.” Brandon hoped the wiser and much older master vampire had an explanation.
“The Castle of Night? You were at the Castle of Night?” The astonishment in Hadrian’s voice filled Brandon’s ear. Hadrian sounded like he had heard something new for the first time in many years. It seemed so strange. Hadrian was so old, nothing took him by surprise. No matter how outlandish a story or event, he had heard or seen it all before.
“I think so. She believes it, anyway.” Brandon gave Hadrian a brief rundown of the events and ended with the servant woman screaming at the top of her lungs. “And then, Sabrina squeezed my wrists, shut her eyes, and we landed back here. The bed didn’t make it, though.” The disappointment colored his tone. He really did like that bed.
“You know Eleanor isn’t a witch. She has witch-like powers and can blend in with them. It makes her seem like a very advanced member of the coven. What is not widely known is Eleanor is a demigoddess. Diana is her mother, but her father was a mortal man. She is only one of fifty full-blooded siblings. Not all of them have powers like her. I assumed Sabrina was a witch half-breed of some sort, but given what you have told me, I think she is much more,” Hadrian explained. His theory sounded plausible. “It is possible the child does not know her true nature. Eleanor may have been grooming her for a purpose. Do not tell Sabrina anymore than you already have. She may or may not know Eleanor’s given task.” It sounded strange to hear Sabrina referred to as a child, creepy even. Hadrian often referred to people less a thousand in terms of children.
Brandon had a sinking feeling. She trusted him, had bestowed her virginity on him. There was more he should have reported to Hadrian but could not bring himself to do it. To top it all off, now he was going to have to keep something else from her. She floated to the surface of his thoughts.
His mind strayed to the evening’s events. He had felt her attraction. The desire wafting from her smelled delicious and had coated his tongue. He could taste her scent and her need. She perfumed the air with sex. There had not been a conscious decision to fuck her. It was driven by a primal need. Was it magic or chemistry? Did it matter? No. She called to him like a siren, and he answered.
“Brandon! Are you listening to me?” Hadrian was getting angrier by the minute. Brandon had tuned out completely. Thinking of her had driven everything else out of his mind. “You haven’t heard I word I’ve said in the last few minutes, have you? Find out what you can about Midnight’s Jewel. I will be there sometime tomorrow night.” The line went dead.
Conflicted, Brandon tossed his phone down where his bed should have been. It gave a heavy thump on the floor. The bed’s absence further drove home the root of his problem. What was he going to do?
On one hand, he had a boss to answer to and an assignment to complete. Maintaining secrecy was job one. Job two was to keep the money flowing. There were businesses to run and people to shake down. This situation was making those two jobs really hard. A pissed-off demigoddess was running around the outskirt
s of Atlanta killing would-be assassins. A magical mystery stood in his shower waiting for him to join her—if she and the shower were still on this planet.
Anything else Hadrian wanted fell neatly into the catch-all pile of job three. Brandon was in charge of the Atlanta area, but Hadrian was in charge, period. When the head of the undead family wanted something done in Atlanta, it was Brandon’s task to see to it. He was no closer to finding Midnight’s Jewel than he had been when the night started. She had it or knew something about it. It was going to be his job to get the information out of her.
However, something twisted inside him at the thought of betraying her. It was not her innocence that bothered him. He had had virgins in the past. Bottled up in that small, pale, willowy body was an incredible creature. She intrigued him. He wanted her like he had never wanted any other woman. He sighed at the memory of her blood on his fingers, so unlike any blood he had tasted. It was strong. He could still feel the effects. If she could be his, and only his, forever, she would have made him the happiest man alive, or undead, as the case may be.
“Brandon? Are you coming?” Sabrina called playfully to him over the rush of water. He took a deep breath and joined her in the shower.
Chapter 9
Sabrina was already clean by the time Brandon arrived. He gave her a disappointed look. She twirled her finger in the air, motioning for him to turn around. He did as asked. She lathered his back and enjoyed the feel of every rippled muscle under her hands. The marks she was sure she had left were gone. Only creamy white skin with a few faint, nearly invisible scars could be seen. Once rinsed, she offered him the soap and stepped back to the far corner, giving him access to all the water. She took a great deal of pleasure in watching him.
“If you keep staring at me like that, I’m not going to be able to control myself,” he warned. “You’re going to be sore for a few days and not up to any more playtime.”
“What if I told you I was already healed?” she pondered aloud.
He stopped midrinse and gave her a skeptical look. “I would be pleasantly surprised.”
“Well, it’s a gift I’ve always had. I begin healing immediately and very quickly. The other children would sometimes wound me just to watch how fast it happened, until Eleanor caught on and had a word of prayer with them and their parents. It never happened again.” She smirked. She had always wanted to know what Eleanor had said. Everything, including the verbal teasing, had stopped instantly. It was never brought up again.
He finished removing the soap lather and stepped close to her, placing his hands on the wall on either side of her head. He leaned in and kissed her. He whispered against her lips. “I would say you were lucky to have someone who cared, I would say you were very eager, and I would say I want you right now.” He kissed her again. This time she returned the kiss.
The molten pool of fire in her chest spread throughout her body. Her heart sent it coursing through her. She could feel her clit swell with the newfound pleasure. Her nipples tightened into pink pebbles. A gush of hot juice filled her pussy and spilled down her legs. She wanted to take his cock deep into the very core of her being, to melt their souls into one.
He pressed her body into the wall with his. She could feel his dick getting hard. It lay stiff against her stomach. Their height difference was going to be a problem like this.
He moved his hand down to her waiting slit. Inserting two fingers, he carefully slid them in and out while kissing the side of her neck. Nothing hurt this time. She relaxed, spread her legs enough to give him better access, and enjoyed it. His fingers were slippery with her fluids. They glided along her tunnel with ease. He knew just where to apply pressure. Placing his thumb on her swollen pearl, he worked both her pussy and clit simultaneously. He stooped over enough to lick and suck a nipple.
Sabrina had to brace herself on the wall with outstretched arms. He was going to make her come and there was nothing to hold her up. She was sure her knees would not keep her standing like this. Her body was going to burst with tension unless he fingered her off, but she was going to collapse if he did. Her cunt quivered and pulsed with a rhythm to match his. The orgasm that followed tore through her whole body. For a moment, she was locked in place, unable to move. The first aftershock hit and down she went. He caught her and eased her to the shower floor.
“Can you stay on your hands and knees?” Brandon asked.
She tried twice to speak but found the words were not there. So, she nodded in reply. He guided her into position. The hard aftershocks subsided into tiny ripples of pleasure. Her pussy was still quaking when he plunged into her from behind. It took her breath.
The tip of his cock reached her limits. Holding her hips, he rocked her back into him, applying a little more pressure. She could feel his long shaft stretching her. There was no tearing, no pinching pain. She was ready.
“Yes, please, Brandon! Please, don’t stop,” she breathlessly pleaded.
“I hadn’t planned on it. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Oh, yes. I’m very okay,” she purred.
Brandon began, slow and steady. She could feel the ridge of his cockhead rubbing along the soft walls of her pussy. His cool shaft was enveloped in her hot, pink folds. Strong hands gripped her hips for support. She could tell he was not using all his strength. It was just enough.
She whimpered and gave a soft moan. His pace sped up stroke after stroke. She could feel his balls tightening on her pussy lips. He groaned between clenched teeth. His dick gave a spasm as his cum erupted into her. It was cool like his body. The contrast brought images of fire and ice.
He held her to him and panted. Shaking his head made cold droplets rain down on her. She flinched away with a high-pitched laugh and lifted herself up to feel the warm water spray her face. Hands from behind helped her stand.
The pain in her knees became noticeable. Had they been hurting? If so, she had paid it no notice. A red mark had formed on her chest where her pendant had bounced. The back of her neck had rubbed the wet chain until it had chaffed. She wished she could take the thing off.
A click and snap sounded. The chain and pendant slithered off and hit the marble floor with a clang. Both hands flew to her neck and felt around for the missing weight. Looking down, Sabrina found it at her feet. Picking it up, she realized the dark rainbows were gone. The stone looked more like a faceted oval of black, smoky quartz. A clasp had formed on one side of the decorative gold bezel. She turned it over and over in one hand. The other stayed at the base of her neck, as if she were unable to believe it had come off. It had seemed so large when she was wearing it. Now, it was just so regular, so ordinary.
A throat cleared behind her. Startled, she nearly dropped the necklace. She turned to see him watching her. In her stunned state, she had forgotten he was there.
“The water is getting cold. It’s not going to bother me, but you might want to get out,” he suggested. He warily eyed the thing in her hand like an unknown danger.
Instead of reaching out to turn off the water, she pointed one finger at the faucet and twirled it in the right direction. Something seemed to happen, but the water still flowed. She tried again. This time she thought about the knobs turning to stop the water. It worked. The knobs spun around on their own.
Next she mimicked the hand gesture she had seen Eleanor use thousands of times to open doors. Nothing. She did it again, visualizing the door opening. The glass doors swung open. She reached out, as if she were beckoning the towels. They flew across the room to her a bit too enthusiastically and hit her in the face, rather than landing in her hand.
“Well, that’s going to need practice,” she muttered.
She handed one to Brandon and dried off. He stood there, still watching her with the same wariness. It made her uncomfortable.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
“No, not wrong. I’ve just never seen someone so transformed. Last night you were this helpless little thing tagging along behind her au
nt. Now, you’re a whole different person.” He sounded amazed.
“Different good or different bad?” She threw her towel over one shoulder and put her hands on her hips, the pendant clutched in one hand with the chain swinging. Her tone was defensive. She had spent a lifetime being told how different she was. It was never meant in a flattering way.
He gave her a wide, approving smile. “Different good.” He looped his towel around her neck and drew her to him. “I like this more confident you.” He kissed the top of her head and hugged her.
She gave a long exhale and relaxed against his chest. There was no heartbeat, no warmth. What was there was comforting strong arms that surrounded her. She realized how tired she was and yawned. A hearty chuckle escaped him.
“Okay, let’s get dry and go to bed,” he recommended. It sounded perfect to her. They toweled off at top speed.
They lay in Sabrina’s bed, wrapped in each other’s arms and waited for sunrise. She tucked herself under one arm, using his chest as a pillow. He wrapped the arm around her, holding her to him. The other held her head. The necklace stayed on the nightstand.
“Sabrina, can I ask you something?”
“Hmmm? I guess,” she said sleepily. Her mind had already begun taking on a foggy presleep state.
“What is Midnight’s Jewel? Why would so many people go to such great lengths to get it?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Until that guy tried to take my head off, I’d never heard of the thing. Eleanor told me it’s a tool that can be used as a spindle for light and dark magic. Somehow, it can be tapped into by the celestial beings to channel power from others. It’s supposed to be capable of maintaining the power balance. That’s why Lucifer wants it. So he can return instead of them. I got the impression it has a mind of its own and has to choose its own fate. Eleanor’s got to destroy it if it chooses the wrong path. She said it can choose to give up its power,” Sabrina mumbled. She took a deep breath and snuggled in as close as she could.
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