In the Beginning... (26 page)

She searched the shelves, but found nothing
to explain where the gods themselves had originated. She’d have to
make a note to ask vampire man.

His face filled her mind, and Josey sat down
on the small settee. Her mind returned to what had occurred between
them the morning before. The kiss. The blood. The fact that she had
wanted both to continue.

Could she be like her cousins, and just let
her world change so drastically? She’d been in that position twenty
years before, and though she’d been very young when she’d gotten
the infection that lead to her deafness, she remembered it so
easily. How could she ever forget?

She had missed her father so
much. He had been away on one of his infrequent business trips. It
was usually her mother that was gone, traveling all the time. But
Jade had only been a month or two old, and her mother had still
been off work. Josey had gone to her mother, sick. But her mother
had not wanted to be bothered with
either
of her children, and the nanny
was busy with the baby all the time. Josey had been overlooked,
until her fever had spiked. The nanny had called Josey’s mother—who
had called Josey’s grandfather. He’d arrived with another man and
they’d given Josey a shot of something.

It had not worked, and her fever had
continued to rise. To this day, Josey didn’t understand why they
hadn’t taken her to the hospital.

Thank God her father had come home a few
hours later and found her. He’d rushed her to the hospital, where
they’d lowered her fever. But the damage had already been done.

The nanny had been fired that day. Her mother
had left the house the next week, rarely to return. The divorce had
been final a year later. Josey only saw her mother at board
meetings—her grandfather had given her mother several shares in the
company. An act no one fully understood.

Josey couldn’t say she’d missed her.

She had never forgotten how afraid she’d
been, calling out for her daddy, for someone to make her stop
hurting and no one caring enough to bother. She’d cried and
screamed until she couldn’t hear the sound of her own voice. She’d
never heard her own voice again.

The fear of being so vulnerable would stay
with her the rest of her life.

Could she ever forgive Cormac for making
experience that same type of vulnerability many times over since
he’d shoved her beneath her bathwater?

She didn’t know.

She pushed thoughts of him out of her mind as
she cataloged all the various books and collections of data. She
would be busy for quite a while just getting familiar with the
different physiologies of all the various Kinds. Then she could
begin comparing them with the Dardaptoan and with the human.

It could potentially take years to
complete.

That thought gave her a start. Did she have
those kind of years to devote to it?

She thought of her cousins, now also a part
of this strange new world.

Did she have any choice? The first paragraph
of one of the textbooks Cormac had given her days ago had listed
all the threats facing the Dardaptoan people. Blood loss,
infections, infants dying within hours of birth—all of it now
threatened her cousins. One in three Dardaptoan woman died during
childbirth or the weeks immediately after.

One in three. And one in four babies died. To
Josey’s doctor heart, that was just unacceptable. That her cousins
might face such heartache? She couldn’t bear it. Mickey,
especially, wanted children. And would be a wonderful mother.

How could Josey stand back and watch her
cousin face the very bad odds that either she or her child would
die during the birth? How could she watch Mickey— whose own mother
had died giving birth to Rebecca, Mickey’s younger sister—suffer
such fear?

She couldn’t.

She began pulling textbooks off the shelves
and stacking them on one corner of her desk. His desk. She would
have him carry them back to the suite for her tonight.

She had a lot of reading to do.

He came for her around five, and Josey was
waiting. She’d spent several hours in her office, reading and
taking notes of things she wanted to double check or that stood out
to her as potentially pertinent.

He appeared tired, and she
cursed herself mentally for feeling concerned. She
shouldn’t
feel concern for
her kidnapper. But, he looked stressed. Concerned, as if the world
rested upon his shoulders. Yes, they were broad, strong shoulders.
But he was not Atlas. He could not support the world for
long.

She bit her tongue to keep from mentally
asking him what was wrong. She would not care; she wouldn’t!

So did you enjoy your day in your
office?

Enjoy it? She didn’t know
that she would say she’d enjoyed it. But she had come up with a
list of things to ask him about, points on different things that
she needed clarified. Today was just information gathering.
I wouldn’t say I
enjoyed
it. But I did get a good
start.

You won’t find anything to reverse the
conversion. Just so you know.

I didn’t even look.

Really? Why not? I would think that would be
the first thing you’d search for. A way to get away from me.

Josey pointed to the stack of books she
needed him to carry. She could take a few, but her muscles still
ached. Better not to risk it. He took the stack without saying
anything, lifting the heavy books so effortlessly.

He was ten times as strong
as a human male, if not more, according to one of the texts she’d
read. He
could
have
killed her so easily. And from what her cousins had told her, he
had been the one to kill three of the six of those Lupoiux who had
attacked her. Emily’s vampire had killed two others, and Mallory’s
had taken out one before rushing to Free’s side. Strong.
Protective.

The books she’d read had all mentioned how
that to treat a Dardaptoan female, the male had to be barred from
the room. Apparently seeing his mate in such pain caused some
Dardaptoan men to go crazy. And if the woman died, some had even
turned on the healers. But Cormac had stayed with her. She couldn’t
recall any of the healers trying to kick him out of the room.

He had been one of her only
sources of comfort during the minutes and hours following the
attack. She’d been able to
feel
him in her head the whole time. He’d probably
helped keep her sane.

He carried the books in one arm, and the
other arm he wrapped around her waist. He liked to walk that way,
but for the first time, she let him. His arm around her felt warm
and good. And right.

Maybe those books—some of
which dated back to 1158 AD, and were very difficult to read—all
said the same things. Dardaptoan mates, or Rajnis, were destined to
be together. No bond was considered more sacrosanct in their world.
A
Rajni
’s wellbeing
superseded everything, including the kings and queens of the
people, the families of the Rajnis, and even the
children.

Was she that important to
him? He said he’d waited over five hundred years for her, and she’d
found an old tome that had the Dardanos tribes birth records. He
was
613
years
old—she'd tell him that later. And he’d spent that time alone,
supposedly waiting for her.

What was any rational, well-educated, woman
supposed to think of something like that?

Should she just chuck all she had ever
believed in, all she had worked for over the past eight years—since
the brutal attack on Mallory—to fall into line with what he wanted.
What would she be giving up by staying with him?

Her position as researcher and acting
supervisor in Taniss Industries R&D department? She’d been
acting supervisor for a month, since Albert Boltier had suddenly
resigned and disappeared. His resignation was what had prompted her
and her cousins to dig deeper into his files. To eventually find
where their grandfather had been embezzling from the company.

What are you thinking of so seriously?

What I’ve left
behind.
A woman’s face flashed in her mind.
Her friend Anna. They’d worked together every day for the past two
years. She was as close to Josey as her own sister. What had Anna
thought when Josey had failed to show up for work that first day?
What was Anna doing now?

The other woman
could
run the department,
if she wasn’t so leery of dealing with people. But had
she
in Josey’s
absence?

They weren’t working on
anything too important in regards to new research, but they
were
going over all of
Boltier’s files.

Like what? Tell me of your life. Maybe…

Maybe what? I can’t go back. Not like
this.

But maybe you don’t have to lose it all,
either. Tell me.

Cormac tightened his hold on her waist,
surprised she hadn’t yet pulled away from him. Normally she acted
like his touch was acidic; only rarely did she seem to accept him
even a little bit.

His
Rajni
was definitely a strong-willed,
fiery little creature, despite her silence. A fighter. Like him.
Was that one of the reasons the goddess had gifted him with her?
Whatever the goddess’s reasons, Cormac would cherish his female.
The way a Dardaptoan male was supposed to. And if anyone ever
sought to hurt her again— Nothing would stop him from ripping that
creature into a thousand pieces.

My friend Anna.
Her words came several moments after he’d made the
inquiry and it took him a minute to remember what his question had
been.

What about this friend? Is she special to
you?

Very special. She’s my best friend, and my
lab partner. She’s a phenomenal researcher. I was just
thinking—Anna’s help would be invaluable in this.

You know that cannot happen.
We cannot expose a human to our world, not without great
caution.
Especially
a medical doctor. The risks are just too great.
If he could, he would deliver her friend to her in
a heartbeat. But it wasn’t a good idea. Still, that didn’t mean she
couldn’t have
any
relationship with her friend.
Can you
call her? Send her an email?

You would let me?
Her head turned in his direction, clear surprise
on her beautiful face.
I
thought…

You thought that I would
keep you here, forever. With no thought to your friends or life
that you had before me?
Sudden shame at his
plan filled him. That
was
what he had intended. To hide her, to cloister her
within the walls of his family hall. To keep her safe and all to
himself. What kind of
Rajni
did that make him, that he had thought so little
for her happiness? Would he want to be kept from his own sibling
and friends, expected to fall in love with someone who’d done that
to him?

Well, that
was
the plan, wasn’t it?
Plan B, anyway. Plan A was kidnap and kill poor unsuspecting woman.
Make a snack out of her.

And she was quite delicious.
I wouldn’t mind tasting her again.
He chose
to respond in a light tone, though he had no trouble feeling the
sarcasm in her words.
There’s this spot
along her neck that I am sure would taste wonderful.

He didn’t miss the small
shiver that shook her. He smiled briefly. Yes, she did want him.
Somewhat. What
Rajni
didn’t hunger for her male? Soon her body would overcome her
mind’s resistance. Much like it had when she had fed from
him.

His body tightened at that memory. Nothing in
his six hundred plus years of existence had prepared him for
exactly how that would feel.

If she hungered for him, could they act upon
that huger safely? She was far from completely healed, she still
moved with one arm over her abdomen. Winded easily.

No, it would be best for them to wait until
she was better healed. He would not risk hurting her with his
desires.

Cormac had never been
described as a
gentle
man. And when he finally had her, he could not guarantee it
would be tame for either of them.

Funny. So are you going to ‘let’ me email
Anna, or not? Just to…check…on her. To let her know I am all right.
She doesn’t have any family, anyone else. And she spends most of
her time in the lab at our office. Or in her apartment nearby.

A real homebody, then?

Scared. Afraid something will happen to her.
Afraid of an ex-boyfriend who hurt her. I’m the only person she
even speaks to on a regular basis. On non-work related things.
She’s probably been worried sick!

Cormac thought for a moment.
First chance he got, he’d have a servant fetch him what he
wanted.
I will see it happens after dinner.
But we will have to wait until then. Dahr Rydere has arranged a
small family dinner for us and your cousins. I think they have been
worried, and didn’t believe me when I told them you were in your
office all day.

He could easily feel the
sigh she released.
They
always
worry about me. Especially Em
and Mal. Because they are a few years older. Mickey is almost a
year younger, and so sweet. But Mal and Em can get a bit smothering
at times.