Aaron's Revenge (7 page)

She could feel her fangs drop in response to the pulse. Placing both hands on his shoulders, she dropped her head to his, feeling him tense as her lips touched the pulse with a soft kiss. “Thank you again, Aaron.” Driving her fangs in his neck, she heard him groan. Unlike the first time drinking from him, she was in more control. She only needed a little bit to regain her strength.

She pulled away from his neck, licking her lips as she did so. Aaron watched her tongue, now a deep red from his blood, lick the remaining drops from her own skin. She hadn’t taken too much, and he hoped it was enough to sustain her so she could do what she needed to do and still allow him to drink.

Shifting on his lap, she moved her long hair, placing it on one side of her head. Aaron had to stifle the groan that almost escaped his lips. He was becoming severely aroused and needed a moment to collect himself.

“
Why don’t you go do what you need to do? I will feed when you are done.” He pushed against her hips so that she slid off his lap.

Chavali smiled at him. “You okay there?”

Aaron felt his face burn. The little minx knew exactly the effect she had on him at the current moment.

“
Yes, get on with it.”

Walking over to the two mounds, she placed her hands outstretched in front of her, whispering under her breath. Aaron tried to hear the words that she was speaking, but they sounded jumbled to him. Walking in a circle, she kept chanting to herself, and in amazement he watched as the mounds bubbled up before slowly flattening. After a few more moments, the earth became covered in tiny greenlings, eventually turning to grass covering the entire area. You could not tell where the old ended and the new began. Fascinated, he realized that he indeed needed to find out more about her.

Instead of losing strength, Chavali seemed to be energized after her work. When the earth quieted, she sauntered slowly back to where he was still seated on the bench. Standing in front of him, she spread her legs, brushing against his knees. He did not move as she reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders again for support, putting first one knee on one side of him, and then the other. Slowly easing back down on his lap, she reached up to move her hair aside to give him access.

Grabbing her hands in his, he shook his head before placing them down by her side.

“
No, let me.” Pushing his fingers through her hair on either side of her face, Aaron pulled on her head so that her lips moved down to his.

Chavali pulled back before they touched, pushing hard against his chest with her hands.

Tugging again, more forcefully, a growl escaped from him just as their lips touched. She was no match for his strength. Gripping her head tightly, so she would not pull away again, he moved his lips over hers. There was no softness in his touch, only a heavy need.

Losing her breath, she inhaled deeply of his scent and feeling the opening, Aaron pushed his tongue into her mouth. He could feel her fingers loosen their grip on his chest as she began to relax into him, allowing him to probe even further. After several minutes, he pulled away, staring into her eyes.

Puzzled, she was not sure what he was thinking but he was already moving her hair to the side, bringing her once again close to his lips. She felt his tongue work its way from her ear, making a trail along her vein. It felt so erotic and she could feel the flames lighting inside her; she pressed harder down on him as her own fingers sank deep into his hair.

Moaning, his fangs dropped, and he let them sink into her soft flesh, sucking to the rhythm her hips were now making against his body. Like her, he knew he could not take too much, not wanting to weaken her and after several moments, reluctantly retracted his fangs. Hearing her moan, he was startled to realize that she was getting off on him.

One hand gripped her hip lightly, while the other held her head. Leaning back on the bench, he stared up in wonder at her face that was now thrown back in ecstasy. Sweat had broken out over her body, and her skin was flushed from passion. Seconds later, her body shuddered and she dropped down onto his chest as Aaron’s arms instinctively came around to hold her to him as her heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

Silence hung heavy between them and Chavali buried her face in his chest. Aaron tried hard not to laugh. “Really? You’re going to act modest now?”

Pulling back, she tried to slide off his lap. “Oh, no you don’t. C’mon—you can’t act shy now.” Aaron felt much more like himself as her blood made its way through his system. He still didn’t trust her.

“
I have to say, Chavali, that was a first for me. I have never had a woman use me like that.” Pushing her away from him, he stood, trying to adjust himself. It was obvious that she affected him physically, but emotionally he would not allow himself to go there. Waving a finger at her, his voice sounded threatening. “Just remember that you owe me.”

Chavali noticed that his smile never quite reached his eyes.

CHAPTER TEN

A short time later, the four were seated in Dragan’s office, the door solidly closed against prying eyes and ears. Everyone was exhausted, except, it seemed, for Chavali.

Aaron walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink, while looking at his brother to see if he wanted one. Dragan shook his head.

“
Already had a couple. Can’t hold it as well as I could as a vampire, Aaron.”

Aaron laughed, knowing it was what was expected, but he felt the now familiar pang move inside him. He was not sure he would ever get used to the idea that his brother was human, and one day he would be left by himself, with no family to speak of.

Walking to the couch, he sat next to Amira; feeling her stiffen slightly, he took a long drink. If he had to suffer, he was going to make someone else suffer also. Knowing he still affected her made him feel better and he still had a bone to pick with her after leaving the house without telling anyone.

Chavali took in Aaron’s broodiness, and the energy that flowed throughout the room. She knew that Dragan had no idea of the chemistry between Aaron and Amira, oblivious like most men of what was staring him straight in the face. Her eyes settled on the tall, lean woman, curled up on the couch with her feet tucked underneath her. She had to admit, begrudgingly, she liked Amira. She also suspected that the young woman truly did love Dragan Reynell, and was more than likely confused by Aaron. Well, join the club, honey,  she thought to herself. Amira did not have a bad bone in her body. This thought caused Chavali to frown. The woman would need to find one, with what was heading their way.

“
And what is it that could possibly be heading our way, Chavali? Besides those nasty creatures we just disposed of.”

Gray eyes met piercing black ones and Chavali realized that she had left herself open to him again. She quickly threw the curtain back up, and a look of anger rose up in Aaron at feeling the proverbial door close in his face. If Chavali had thought that their time at the cottage had softened him any, then from the look he shot her, she could forget it. He certainly was a tough nut to crack.

Playing the weak female part again, she started to wring her hands in her lap as if she were torn about how much to tell them. Working through her thoughts, she waited while the butler placed the tray of tea and sandwiches down before spinning her half-truths. “A debt was paid three hundred years ago with your souls. That debt is now nullified by your brother’s current circumstance. One soul is not what was bargained for, so Adara will be looking for retribution and she will send the hounds of Hell if she has to, to get it back.”

“
Dragan, what does that mean?” Amira’s voice was barely audible as she looked at him. Worry etched her face.

Leaning forward in his chair, he reached out, squeezing her hand in his. “I am not sure, but there has to be a way around this.”

Irritation rose in Chavali. “There is no way except for her death, and greater men and women than you two have tried to kill her, trust me, and everyone lost their own lives for it.”

“
The debt was not paid freely by myself or Aaron.”

“
Oh my God, do you really think that matters? Your mother hated, and through hate, she chose something worse than death over life for you both. Your choosing or not choosing doesn’t make an ounce of difference. What does is that now, there is only one soul waiting to be harvested when the time is right. Souls are a dime a dozen to Adara; identical twins, on the other hand, are another whole ball game. Twins have to be given up by a blood relative, otherwise it would not be a big deal, and she would just go about turning every twin who walked the face of this earth. What made this pot sweeter was that you and Aaron are not only identical, but you have the added benefit of connecting with the dark and the light. You are one in two bodies.” Catching the surprised look between the twins, she stared at them both, incredulous.

“
Please don’t tell me that you didn’t know this?”

Dragan pondered Chavali’s words. “There was an old Spanish woman we met in the Galloway Forest soon after we turned. She told us that we were ‘special’ but she really didn’t go in depth as to what that meant.”

Pain crossed Chavali’s face. “That could have been Dita you met.” Cocking her head, she stared Dragan down, knowing there had to be more. “And that is all she said to you?”

Dragan looked to Aaron, who had stayed unusually quiet up to this point.

Swirling the amber liquid in his glass, he stared at Chavali, unsure of how much to tell her. Her own eyes stared back.

“
No, Chavali, that was not all she told us. She also stated that Dragan and I were the dark and light. The yin and yang. In fact, she gave me a book, a really old book, that she told me held many secrets for then and in our future. I have read it numerous times from front to back, back to front and would have upside down if I could. It is hard to understand and much of it is in another language, it seems. I have tried to find out what, but there is nothing like it on Google.”

“
Would you let me see it?”

“
Of course…” Dragan’s voice trailed off at the sharp look thrown him by his brother.

“
We know nothing about her. For all we know, she could be working directly with Adara now.”

“
Aaron, I don’t think that is the case.” Turning now to Chavali, Amira pressed, “Tell them what you told me last night. Tell them what you know.”

Sighing deeply, Chavali repeated what she had told Amira. Her voice rose and fell in the room as everyone sat listening intently. Finishing, she turned to Aaron. “You have every right to hate me, knowing now that I was the one who tried to kill Amira, and you for that matter. As far as trust, for the same reasons, you have every right to distrust me.” Running her fingers through her hair, she did not waver from the eye contact. “Lord only knows, I would feel the same way if I were in your shoes.”

“
But you’re not.”

Chavali chose to ignore the interruption. “But, I have proved myself by killing the spartum and helping Amira get away from them.”

“
Could be a trick.”

“
Aaron!”

“
No, Dragan, all we have is her word, and as far as the spartum, or whatever they are, how do we know that all of that wasn’t planned, to get us in tight with her, and then what? She becomes best friends with Amira and you walk in one day and find your girlfriend dead.”

“
Stop it!!! I would never do that.” Damn, he was good. Acting as if she had finally reached the end of her tether, and her nerves were stretched to their breaking point, Chavali ran out of the room.

“
Was that really necessary?”

Aaron stood, setting his glass down gently on the table, belying the raging anger he felt inside. “You two may want to bury your heads in the sand, and live in love’s rosy bubble here at the manor, but I will not. If those creatures are any gauge, I will tell you right now, Hell is on its way and maybe at our doorstep as we speak.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Aaron stormed out of the manor, slamming the front door behind him. He could not believe how accepting the two were of Chavali. Not one person knew the truth from fiction, and as much as he hated to admit it, not even himself. To just accept Chavali with open arms was not only foolish but could be deadly.

Closing his eyes, he tried to find her. Grimacing, he heard crying in the direction of Echo Lake. Was there nothing worse than a woman and her tears? Within moments, he stood a short distance away, taking in her hunched figure sitting on the sand. Shadow sat stoically, staring out at the water as she pressed her face into his fur. Her red hair was a startling contrast to the arctic white of his coat. Shadow turned his giant head, licking her face, before turning to face the water again. Aaron frowned. The wolf obviously had a soft spot for the woman.

Silently, he walked up to her.

“
Chavali!”

Jumping to her feet, Chavali quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“
What do you want? Need to rip me apart more, I guess.” Turning her back to him, she walked to the water’s edge.

Storming over to her, he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her hard. Biting her bottom lip against the pain, she refused to kowtow to him.

“
You don’t get it, bitch, do you? From the moment you came to Echo Lake, everything has been in turmoil. I am not the bleeding heart that Amira and Dragan are. I want facts, and a plan, if what you are saying is the truth.” He stabbed his finger at her chest to emphasize his point.

Slapping his hand away, she pushed against him with all of her vampire strength, watching with satisfaction as he tumbled backward. She wanted to laugh as Shadow continued to sit, but turned and looked down at him as he hit the ground.

Her satisfaction was short lived as he flew at her, knocking her to the ground, causing all of the air to leave her lungs, which left her gasping for breath.