“It pleases you to hear that?” he asked her. “Does it please you to hear it as much as it pleases me to say it and feel it?”
“It depends,” she said softly. “How do you love me? As a subject loves his monarch? As a protector loves and cares for his protected? Or…”
“As a man loves a woman,” he finished for her. He felt the feeling flowering inside of him. He had barely had a moment to acknowledge it to himself, but there it was. Perhaps it had started out as those previously spoken forms of love…but they had not remained that way for long. He suspected he had loved her from the moment he had first set eyes on her cool and elegant beauty…and had first tasted her unbridled passion. He had considered it might just be an infatuation…but he was not prone to such shallow feelings. When he felt something like this, he felt it with conviction, even if he hadn’t felt it very much previously in his life. He had not loved many women. He had cared for them deeply, taken very good care of them, but none of them had made him want to treasure them as she did, and in the same breath, none of them had made him so hard and full of rampant need that he threw all sense and caution to the four winds just to be with her.
She was not a needy woman, but he could see she needed from him. She needed to believe in him and the emotions he was expressing…only he wasn't very good at expressing them. It was a rusty, disused skill. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings, never mind feelings of this nature.
“I wish I was a poet,” he said intensely. “I would have all the words to make you believe me, to express what I am feeling as intensely as I am feeling it. I also wish I did not need so badly to hear you feel the same. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on you. But I cannot help both feelings. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Forgive you? I love you, Marcus,” she said softly, reaching for his hand and drawing him down to his knees before her near to the couch she sat on. The carpet padded his knees but he wouldn’t have cared either way. He was soaring with pleasure, his heart thudding hard in his chest, his emotions swelling. He struggled to keep reign over them. He didn’t want to frighten her with the intensity of his feelings. This was still so young and so new. He was still learning her. Not that he thought she was fragile…far from it. It was just that he was fully aware of the risks she took when she invested her emotions into someone. He was deeply honored she should trust him with her heart and her well-being and her safety. Oh, she had trusted him with the care of her person already, but she was still young into that trust…and now to add emotional well-being into it…he recognized exactly how large a gift she was giving him. It was his job to treasure this gift. He must guard her emotions just as valiantly and feverishly as he had thus far guarded her body. More so. He would always have to give her more than she gave him, and he had to be all right with that.
He was, he realized. He loved her just that much and more. That wasn't to say he wouldn’t demand what he needed for his heart from her. He was no doormat. But he must always strive to give her more than even he thought he was capable of. Only then, he felt, could he assure her comfort and happiness. Only then would he deserve and secure her good will.
“You do not have to say that,” he said, though it killed him to utter every word. Still…he would demand the truth from her, on all things, but especially where this was concerned.
She frowned.
“I am not used to having my word questioned,” she said sternly.
“No,” he said hastily. “It’s not that I question you…just that I want you to be sure…and to not feel obligated to return my feelings.”
“I am obliged to no one,” she said, her tone growing even sterner. “Only my people as a whole have the power to influence me. You, Sir, do not. If I give you my heart I do so clearly and at my own pleasure.” Amusement threaded into her voice as her tone became less threatening and offended. “Marcus,” she said, her breath coming quicker and quicker as she drew his head down to her surging bosom until one coarse, whiskered cheek rested on her left breast. “You’ve become such a part of me so quickly…but you will never overtake me completely. I am my own woman.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said huskily.
He raised his head from her breast and reached to kiss her. But a moment before they could touch lips the doorbell rang. They both frowned.
“Can we ignore it?” he asked with amusement in his voice and eyes.
“It will merely wake Darcy. It may have already done so. Besides, it is probably the human officials.”
“True.” Marcus rose to his full height and reached to touch her cheek lovingly a moment before he walked away to answer the door.
He ran into Darcy on the way and when she saw him ready to answer the door she stopped in her tracks.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, looking at her watch. She must know it was late to be receiving visitors.
“Everything is fine now,” he said, making it clear that something had happened, but there was no longer anything to be worried about.
She hesitated, standing there in her nightgown.
“Does Simone need anything?” she asked.
“I think some coffee or tea. We’re about to have guests. Human guests. You might want to change.”
She nodded and hurried away.
Marcus answered the door.
Chapter Twenty
Navigating the pitfalls of keen human curiosity and examination was no easy trick. Simone took her lumps as she was scolded for leaving the scene of the incident. She cited her injury as reason and they let it slide. Renee was with them. She had insisted on being a part of the investigation. She steered the questions aggressively, and as senior detective the others had to follow her lead. It was helpful.
They were completely honest about everything. Everything except what they really were of course…and knowing what had become of the perpetrator. Simone acted distressed to hear she had ‘gotten away’ and the cops tried to reassure her that they were going to find her. In the meantime, she should stay under heavy guard. They offered to have a human police guard as well, but Simone turned them down firmly. She told them her people had it firmly under control.
Simone did her best to be present in the moment, but the truth was she was exhausted. Her exhaustion flowed over her. Her energy reserves were still depleted, nothing like what they should be. She could also think of dozens of things she'd rather be doing than talking to the police in the wee hours of the morning.
It was about three a.m. by the time they left. Simone sent Darcy back to bed. Darcy had been hovering about, listening in on the entire conversation while serving everyone coffee and cookies, so she was now up to date. Before heading to bed she paused to give Simone a heartfelt hug.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said.
“Don’t worry about me. My bodyguard is a beast.”
“Mm. Just what you’ve needed,” she said knowingly and with a broad wink.
“Enough,” Simone said with a laugh. She knew she could have no secrets from Darcy. Not just because they were living together, but because they were such close friends. Darcy was a woman of strong opinions, and she had been of the opinion for a long time now that Simone needed someone special in her life. Simone had no doubt that Darcy was very pleased to see her and Marcus growing so close. However, Simone knew that Darcy had no idea just how close they had become. She had not shared her feelings with anyone save Marcus himself.
Darcy went to bed and left Simone alone with Marcus. She wanted to go to bed with him right then, but Marcus needed to hunt to bring energy for them both. It frustrated her that she couldn’t go with him. She was beginning to feel like a prisoner, even though she had been out that very night. It was the mentality of having her life curbed thanks to the threats of an enemy. It felt like he was winning by forcing her into hiding and she told Marcus as much.
“He would win if he coaxed you out into a trap you couldn’t escape from and had you killed. Don’t let him b
eat you Simone just because you’re a little frustrated over some restrictions.”
“He’s keeping me from hunting! I’d call that a pretty harsh restriction. He’s forcing me to feed from others like a child,” she said with dejection.
“I thought you liked feeding from me,” he said, his voice dropping an octave as he leaned in and nuzzled the side if her neck.
“That’s beside the point,” she said breathlessly. Heat bloomed out from the place on her neck where he began kissing her softly. Then, abruptly, he stopped and pulled back. “No. You’re not going to distract me. I’m going to hunt. Stay here. If you need anything ask one of the two men I’ll be leaving in the foyer.”
“Hurry back. I don’t…” She trailed off a moment. “I feel safest when you’re here. I know I can take care of myself and I trust myself, but…I trust you to back me up far more than I do anyone else.”
“I’m honored,” he said softly, reaching to touch her cheek softly with a rub of his thumb. “I know what it takes for you to admit that you need help.”
“Well…don’t get used to it,” she said with a cheeky grin.
“Far be it from me…” He moved into the foyer and fetched his coat. He was shrugging into it, looking delicious and handsome and debonair. She marveled at him. He could so easily switch from casual to high class. Either way, he had been the best looking man in the room that night.
“I’m going to go change first,” he said, as if reading her mind. “I rather stick out like this.”
“Just a tad.” She smiled as she stepped in close and stroked his lapel, feeling his solid chest beneath her fingers. “Don’t take too long but don’t take too many risks. It’s possible that Draz or whomever is behind this will try and attack you in order to weaken me.”
“I’m aware of that. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” He touched his lips briefly to her forehead, ignoring the presence of the two men in the foyer. Those men stood staring at anything but them and she appreciated their discretion. There would have been a time when she would have been cautious showing any affection to anyone publicly, but none of that seemed to matter now. She and Marcus were going to remain close to one another. She now knew he felt the same as she did and that meant they would have to expose themselves to the judgment of others. Why not start then? Why not throw all caution to the wind and simply be with one another, as if they were two normal people, rather than queen and subject.
He kissed her forehead one last time and then extricated himself from the warmth and nearness their bodies created. He left the apartment without another look at her. She knew it was because if he looked at her he might be persuaded to stay.
However, she appreciated the need for energy. She was tired and felt rundown in spite of the fact that he had supplemented her energy with what little he had remaining earlier. She realized that this was a mental repercussion from being doused with a life and death situation…and because she was more than a little depressed to think there were vampires who weren't sycophants following the beat of Draz’s drum…if indeed it was Draz. She wished she knew. She did know one thing. Marcus would get to the bottom of it all, and he would do so quickly.
Left to her own devices she went into the library and found the book she was in the process of reading sitting on the side table next to a chaise lounge where she had left it. She often unwound by curling up on the chaise and losing herself in the written word. However, it quickly became obvious she wasn't going to be able to concentrate on the fiction sitting in her hands. She got up from the chaise, put her book down and began to pace. She knew she couldn’t engage in that activity either, for her own good, and she grabbed up the remote control sitting next to the book on that table, sat back down and flicked on the TV that was mounted on the library wall. There was a TV in just about every room of the house, although they got very little use…save for the news. Keeping up on current human events was a good idea…as was taking note if any of the vampires out there who were in public office were having any troubles. They had several vampires in public office…just in case it ever got out that vampires existed…that way they would have a foothold in a government that might make hasty decisions. It would be good to have a sane voice in what would no doubt be chaos. Those vampires would be their sane voices. However, public office meant a public life and that spelled danger for any vampire not living in a vampire central. Being the focus of human attention made it more difficult to hunt in secret. Difficult, but not impossible. As it was the hunt would be very civilized…no doubt no different than the way other vampires carried it out. Find a mark. Befriend a mark. Get that mark alone. Feed.
The idea of exposing the vampire race was a logistical nightmare. Their food sources would suddenly know they had been used…and it would probably not sit well with many of them. But she made an effort to be very close with her food sources. To be true friends. It was one of the reasons why the couple that had been killed in order for those sycophants to lie in wait for her had so troubled her. If not for her they would still be alive. They had been killed for no other reason than having been close to her. It positively killed her knowing that.
As she might have expected, the attack was in the news. It wasn't a lead story, but it was a close second. She was grateful for that at least. Not that there were worse stories than what had happened at the event, but that it wasn't so front and center and in a position that could threaten the vampire nation.
Time passed and her nerves calmed and settled. Before long her exhaustion crept up on her and she began to drowse in her chair. She didn’t want to fall asleep before Marcus returned, so she shut off the TV and got to her feet. She walked slowly around the apartment, ringing around the windows that looked out on the city in four directions. The apartment actually wrapped around the entire floor, all four sides, with the hall and elevator in the middle.
She wandered in and out of rooms as she followed the glass and looked out into the dark, cold night, knowing he was out there and finding sustenance for them both. She imagined he would go where there were likely to be more people…perhaps Times Square or Broadway. Somewhere where there would be a selection of targets to choose from. He would find his best most expedient target and he would lure it away to a private place. He would use his charm to get them to take him somewhere out of the way and quiet. She wondered if he would choose a female, knowing it was likely his best choice. Still, a flash of jealousy burned through her. Knowing how sexualized a feeding could be it made her itch to think of it. Of course it would be no different with a male target, so it was silly for her to fret over something that must be done if they were to survive. This sort of thing had never bothered her before, why should it now? It was ridiculous. Immature. She recognized it and put her jealousy aside. How would she take it if he grew jealous and made demands on her about who to feed from? She wouldn’t like it at all.
Sighing she stopped her pacing and chose a window in the living room to stare out of. This view gave her a clear view of the Empire State building. Vampire central was taller than most skyscrapers around it, so her view was unobstructed from just about every vantage point. It certainly wasn't one of the tallest buildings in the world, that would have drawn unwanted attention. It was tall enough, however.
If it had not been so cold she would have gone out onto the terrace. She contemplated it all the same, in spite of the cold, but in the end decided she was cold enough on the inside and needed no help in making it worse. So she satisfied herself with standing near chilly windows staring out at the anonymity of the city.
She was still there two hours later when Marcus finally returned. It was still dark out, but it was around five a.m. by that point.
“Let’s go to bed,” he suggested as he pulled her close into the circle of his arms. “I want to make love to you and feel your fangs in my neck.”
She shivered a little at the eroticism of the picture he painted.
“We ought to be waking up, not going to sleep,” she noted.
“I said nothing about sleep. I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to. You however…you need to be worn out and well-loved so you can at least catch an hour or two of rest.”
“That won’t happen if I feed from you. You know feeding is like supercharging me. It’d be like drinking eighty cups of coffee before bed. If the caffeine doesn’t get you, the urge to pee does.”
He chuckled. “Very well. No sleep. But lots of lovemaking, yes?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh as she let him lead her into the bedroom at the back of the apartment. They closed the door on Darcy and the rest of the world, closed away their troubles, and indulged in each other for the rest of the night and on until daylight shone into the windows of her bedroom.
Chapter Twenty-One
Draz was…disappointed. He did not like to be disappointed. True, his assassins had caused maximum chaos…but it had been with minimal results. The vampire nation had once again been able to insulate and protect itself.
He looked down on the male vampire who had been sent to create chaos and rip away the life of the vampire queen. He had failed. As he knelt before Draz the leader of the sycophants saw he was trembling in fear. As he should. He supposed if their positions were reversed and he had disappointed a man like himself, he might be more than a little concerned. Although, Draz was incapable of imagining himself weak and vulnerable and at the mercy of another. He was too much the narcissist for that.
So. Two attempts to put down that bitch of a queen in as many days and both times had been an utter failure. He would be a terrible leader if he did not hold someone responsible.
Normally he wouldn’t let a vampire within a mile of himself, but he had wanted to deal with this personally. His fury outweighed his sense of caution. Any vampires that turned to his cause must be suspect as working as a spy in his network. It was why he only trusted them when he had to…like when he needed to infiltrate the queen’s presence without raising the alarms a sycophant would. But he supposed he got what he paid for. Usually vampires that turned lawless were weak-willed and weak in all around capability. Strong vampires tended to be lawful vampires. He got very few of those to become turncoats against the queen and her people. Even they had been unequal to the tasks Draz had set for them. For, as strong as the people he surrounded himself were, those who surrounded the queen were infinitely stronger.
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