Tall, Dark & Fangsome

by Michelle Rowen

  I walked slowly toward him and reached up to unwind his scarf. He flinched when I touched the scarred side of his face.

  “How do I feel?” I repeated. “Much, much better.”

  I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him passionately on his lips.

  Chapter 21

  I looked up at Gideon after the kiss with eyes I knew were now pitch black. He looked surprised at me. I didn’t know why he would be.

  I felt calm and in complete control now. There was no dark thirst anymore. There was no guilt for what I was. Why should there be? The world felt a whole lot less scary now—only clear and wide open to anything I wanted to do.

  Steven’s magic had stripped away that whining part of me that angsted over every little thing. The part of me that wanted to get rid of this curse. What a strange word for something so completely awesome!

  The old Sarah was gone. Totally and completely gone—her and her clinging need to stay with that ancient, humorless master vampire—

  Thierry. No, I have to fight this.

  —And I couldn’t be happier.

  Wait a minute. What was that? It didn’t matter. I looked over at Steven.

  “Powerful little freak, aren’t you?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Gideon touched my arm. “Are you ready?”

  “I was born ready.”

  How could I ever have imagined myself with any man but him? He was perfect. No centuries of guilt to make him hide from the world. No fear of hurting those who trusted him.

  I took his arm and left the unconscious body of Amy behind in the crypt. We emerged into a small cemetery. I could see everything around me as clearly as if it were day.

  Something caught my eye. Veronique was waiting there.

  I held back the annoyance as well as I could.

  Did I have to deal with that bitch, no matter what man I chose?

  So unfair.

  Veronique frowned at me. “Sarah, my goodness, you look very strange.”

  “Great to see you, too, Vee.”

  She drew in a sharp breath. “You’ve lost the fight, haven’t you? Your nightwalker has taken over.”

  “What the hell do you care? Aren’t you a part of the big picture?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve been having second thoughts. Gideon.” She looked at him. “We need to discuss this. I need to plan my future, therefore I must know exactly what you mean to do after your siring. Where will you go? What will you do?”

  He smiled at her. “I don’t have time for this right now.”

  “Make time.” Her voice became indignant. “Or I shall not help you any further. Perhaps I never should have to begin with. I thought if I intervened, I might be able to spare some bloodshed or unnecessary violence. But now, with Sarah not herself, I worry about what will happen next.”

  Survival instincts leading one to become entirely self-involved. Check.

  I snaked my arm around Gideon’s waist. “Gee, I guess you probably should have thought about that before sleeping with Gideon yesterday, huh?”

  “I didn’t sleep with him.”

  “What?”

  Gideon laughed softly. “Like I told you, Sarah. I had a nap. You drew your own jealous conclusions. No, Veronique truly believes her intervening in my plans means she has some say in the outcome. I, however, disagree.”

  “Sarah,” Veronique said softly. “What are you doing? I thought you were in love with my husband.”

  … Thierry…

  “I swear, if you call him your husband one more time I’m going to punch you in the nose.” A cold smile curled up the sides of my mouth. “What the hell are you doing here if you don’t approve, then?”

  She raised her chin. “Perhaps I am here to stop Gideon from going any further.”

  “Actually,” Gideon said, “you’re here for a much more important reason, Veronique.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, and what is that?”

  His gaze shifted to that of a predator. “After the ritual, both Sarah and myself may need to eat something nutritious.” A flick of his hand. “Steven.”

  I glanced at Steven in time to see a red flash of fire enter his eyes. The next moment Veronique was frozen in place, unable to move or talk.

  “She does go on, doesn’t she?” Gideon said.

  I moved to stand in front of her with a hand on my hip. “Huh. I think this is the longest I’ve been in her presence without hearing her talk about herself. It’s like a record, or something.”

  Then I turned my back on her. Rather a symbolic gesture, if I do say so myself.

  There was a slight problem, though. Her mere presence reminded me of Thierry. And the image of him of ate away at the corners of my mind.

  I love you, Thierry. I’m sorry I screwed up so bad.

  “Oh, shut up,” I snapped.

  Gideon looked at me strangely. “Everything okay?”

  I smiled at him. “Never better.”

  His jaw tightened. “We need to get started now.”

  It was so different to see through the eyes of a full nightwalker and still feel in control. It didn’t matter to me who died tonight. Well, actually it did matter—I didn’t want to die. I’d lived twenty-eight years trying to be a good person and what had it gotten me? Squat. But now I knew behind that heavy blanket of doubt and guilt, I could have so much more fun.

  With Gideon.

  Yeah, we could have a whole lot of immortal fun together.

  I’d never sired any vampires before. Hell, I’d never bitten anybody on purpose when I’d been completely in control of myself. That was kind of odd, now that I thought about it. What kind of a vampire didn’t bite people? It was like being a vegan mosquito.

  “What will Steven do?” I asked.

  “When I drink from you he will use his magic to help push your power into me. A mystical nudge.”

  “Works for me.”

  The light from the full moon shone on the small patch of cemetery Gideon had chosen for the ritual. Steven was so quiet that I glanced over at him just to make sure he was still there. He was. His eyes were red and glowing in the darkness.

  “It’s time,” Gideon said, and there was a strain now to his voice. “Sire me, Sarah. Please.”

  I slid a finger down the line of his throat. “Well, since you asked so nicely.”

  I put my hands on either of his shoulders then, and with a little force he sank to his knees in front of me. Better position that way for someone as tall as him. Then I leaned over a little and without thinking any more about it, I sank my fangs into his skin.

  No hesitation. No doubt. Just instinct.

  He gasped.

  Gideon’s throat was warm and the blood flowed immediately. I felt him try to push me away for a moment—a subconscious survival instinct all on its own. But then he relaxed and let me do my thing. After all, he’d asked for this.

  Be careful what you wish for.

  Three minutes. That’s how long I needed to feed shallowly from Gideon in order to transfer the right amount of virus to him to turn him. One hundred and eighty seconds. If it were possible for the change to happen any quicker than that, any casual little nibble might result in a new vampire. No, it had to be a conscious decision on the sire’s part to create a fledgling. After all, there was no going back.

  My eradication. I should have gone through with it no matter what the side effects were. Gideon can’t become a vampire. He’s too dangerous…

  I ignored my guilt-ridden inner voice. Talk about a buzz kill.

  So Gideon would be turned into a vampire by this act. His healing, however, would take place only when he drank from me. Thierry had been the first vampire I’d drunk from—although at the time his blood had been administered to me diluted in a glass of water. Gideon would be getting the full meal deal tonight.

  Thierry…

  No, I wouldn’t think about him. I wouldn’t think about anything except the man I currently had my fangs stuck in. Only
seemed fair, really.

  I tasted Gideon’s fear as his human life slipped away and was transformed into something different. He might have wanted this, but he’d spent his entire life hunting vampires, both the good and the bad ones. There had to be something inside him that feared being on the victim side of a nasty monster like me. Even a monster that looked sexy as hell in a short black skirt.

  Okay, somebody’s vain, aren’t they?

  I frowned. Shut up, annoying inner voice.

  Gideon clutched at me, digging his fingertips into my arms as if to push me away. But he didn’t.

  When the time was up, I released him and he fell weakly backward and hit the cold, snow-covered ground near a gravestone. His scarred face was pale, his breathing heavy. However, despite his weakened appearance, I hadn’t even come close to draining him—he was dealing with the virus, was all.

  The human body held six liters of blood. It would take a vamp with a serious appetite—or a whole lot of motivation—to come close to draining another in such a short amount of time. It wasn’t impossible, but it sure wasn’t recommended.

  I licked the side of my mouth. Mmmm, that was tasty. Human blood was so different from vamp blood. Like comparing a filet mignon to a chocolate sundae.

  “Here,” Steven said from beside me. He held out a knife with a curved blade and I took it from him.

  Then I stalked back over to where Gideon lay supine on the ground. I straddled his chest and sat down on top of him. He looked up at me with shock and sudden doubt as I traced the tip of the knife over his heart, cutting clean through his shirt so I could see his half-scarred chest beneath. He shivered from the cold, but it could have been Miami around me for as much as I could feel the winter chill.

  I drew the sharp blade across my forearm and watched the line of red well up, much as it had the other night when I’d given Gideon enough blood to stop his pain for a short time. Much as it had for Thierry last night to heal his knife wound.

  What are you doing? You can still stop this. He can’t become a vampire. Please…

  Damn conscience. The weak and needy bitch who had succeeded in nothing in life aside from getting herself into trouble poked at me, but she was far enough away that I could ignore her.

  “Drink,” I told Gideon and brought my arm to his mouth.

  I stroked Gideon’s hair as he drank and his scars began to disappear before my very eyes. A fleeting look at Steven confirmed his eyes were still red with magic. Somehow, he was helping in this strange ritual—helping me to heal Gideon and share the power of my blood with him. The power I’d gained from three master vampires.

  One of whom currently watched us with wide eyes from a dozen feet away, still frozen in place on her Christian Louboutin stilettos. Suddenly, her gaze moved behind me.

  The next moment I felt something grab my upper arm and pull me up and off Gideon’s supine form. I spun around.

  “Sarah—” Thierry’s silver eyes were wide behind his red mask. “We need to go. Now.”

  My gaze shifted to the sharp wooden stake he held in his right hand. I pulled away from him. “Not so fast, cowboy.”

  “You shouldn’t have come here alone.” He drew in a breath as he continued to survey the scene in front of him. “Barry acted rashly in what he did, but I’m not angry.”

  “So glad to hear that,” I said coolly.

  He searched my eyes. “I found you. I used the connection we have to each other. It was difficult, but—”

  “But here you are.”

  I’d known it was a possibility that he might be able to find me, no matter where Gideon had taken me in the city. I guess I just thought we might have a little more time before we were so rudely interrupted.

  A small piece of me, deep inside, filled with joy at seeing him.

  I managed to douse that emotion very quickly.

  He frowned deeply and touched my face. “Your nightwalker—”

  I slapped his hand away. “Hands off.”

  Gideon slowly got to his feet to stand at my side. He placed a hand at the small of my back, but said nothing.

  Thierry’s eyes, which I once thought were the coldest and most guarded I’d ever seen—unable to convey any emotion—were now stormy. I saw anger and disappointment in them, and finally regret.

  He knew.

  The Sarah he claimed to love was gone. Forever.

  Not quite. I’m still here, you heinous bitch.

  “Please, Sarah,” Thierry said. “We can fix this. There’s still time.”

  I turned to Gideon and kissed him. He kissed me back and I felt his lips curve with amusement that I’d do this in front of the “Red Devil.”

  When I turned to look at Thierry again, his guard was back up. I couldn’t read anything in his expression—or what little of it wasn’t covered by that stupid mask.

  “So are you cured now?” Thierry asked Gideon unpleasantly. “Did you get what you wanted?”

  Gideon’s hand moved down to squeeze my ass. “I got a great deal more than I wanted.”

  Thierry’s eyes narrowed. “There’s always more. The more blood you take from her, the more powerful you’ll be.” His eyes flicked to Steven. “And with help, you could hold the power of three master vampires inside you. That is, if Sarah is willing to continuing giving you what you want.”

  I smiled humorlessly. “I am a giver. Now, why don’t you leave. Wouldn’t want to outstay your welcome, Red.”

  Thierry cocked his head slightly to the side. “Red? You mean, even in your current state of disarray, you haven’t told Gideon who I truly am?”

  Gideon’s grip on me increased. “She knows?”

  “She does indeed.”

  Gideon moved me to face him. “Who is he? Tell me, Sarah.”

  I rubbed my lips together. I wanted to say it. I wanted to tell the world—it was on the tip of my tongue. But something stopped me.

  I’ll never tell. And neither will you, you stupid nightwalking bitch!

  I rolled my eyes with annoyance. Shut up, already.

  Thierry’s attention moved to Veronique. “Sarah knew when you did not. She knew without my having to tell her anything at all.”

  Veronique’s expression grew confused, but she stayed quiet, since she currently had no other choice. Definitely the best spell on the evening’s program as far as I was concerned.

  “Don’t—” I began, finding it impossible to stop the word that bubbled up in my throat.

  Thierry looked at me. “Don’t? Don’t what?”

  I shook my head.

  “Tell me who you are,” Gideon said evenly. “And maybe I’ll let you live tonight.”

  Thierry said nothing for a long moment of silence.

  I felt Gideon behind me then and the press of a knife’s blade at my throat. I drew in an unneeded breath.

  “Remove your mask,” Gideon said.

  “Gideon—” I gasped.

  Thierry smiled thinly. “With pleasure.”

  And, without further delay, Thierry peeled off the heavy mask he wore to reveal who he was underneath. He let it fall to the ground.

  My heart sank. How many years had this been a secret? And he’d give it up just to save my sorry ass?

  Gideon removed the blade from my throat and brushed his lips against my cheek as if that was his quick version of an apology for using me as bait. I gave him a dirty look, and then glanced at Veronique.

  Her eyes were so wide I swear they were about ready to drop out of her head and roll over by my feet.

  Gideon laughed then, still a bit weakly, but with great amusement. “Thierry de Bennicoeur, the cowardly master vampire who has hidden himself away for all of these years, is actually the Red Devil himself?”

  He’s not a coward, my inner cheerleader growled. He’ll break your neck, you son of a bitch.

  “I’m sorry for what I had to do, Sarah.” Gideon leaned into me.

  “You mean pressing a knife against my throat?”

  “Yes, that. And
I forgive you for keeping this rather large secret from me.”

  I managed a tight smile. “We’re even, then.”

  Gideon’s gaze tracked up and down Thierry as if he was gauging the competition and finding him unworthy and vaguely disappointing. “So what are we going to do with you?”

  “A very good question.” Thierry hauled back and struck Gideon so hard across his now completely scar-free face that the hunter flew across the cemetery and hit his head against a marble gravestone, knocking him unconscious.

  Damn showoff.

  “I’ll give you one more chance,” Thierry said to me.

  I glared at him. “No. It’s over. One way or the other, it ends tonight, Thierry. I’m different now. And I like being like this.”

  “You’re not a nightwalker.”

  “I am. I don’t need the sunshine. I don’t need to worry about who I might hurt. I don’t need to be nice all the time.” My eyes narrowed. “And I don’t need you.”

  His chest moved in and out with labored breathing. “I don’t want you to need me, Sarah. I want you to want me.”

  “No references to catchy seventies tunes, please. This is so not the time.”

  I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. I could use a quick drink of master vampire blood. Gideon hadn’t taken more than a deep sip, but I did feel a bit parched now.

  “Unhand me,” Thierry growled.

  “So bossy.” I licked a line across his throat. “Never really cared for that much.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “It is, isn’t it.”

  He pushed me roughly back from him. It would have knocked the breath out of me if I still needed to breathe.

  I backhanded him hard across his face. It was strong enough to snap his head to the side. When he looked at me again his eyes were black and there was blood at the corner of his mouth.

  “Manners, Sarah,” he warned. “The fact that you’ve given in to your darkness doesn’t mean you have to be a bitch about it.”

  My gaze moved back down to that stake he held. “Got something there for me, big boy?”