Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (32 page)

“Oh, I love your mouth.” She flicked her tiny
tongue over the slit at the head of my cock. I almost came when she
took me all the way to her throat on the first pass. With one hand
in her hair and the other on the tile wall of the shower, I began
to pump myself inside that hot little mouth. If she didn’t stop I
was going to end this too soon.

I growled and pulled her up into my arms,
knowing I couldn’t wait much longer before I had to be inside her.
She wrapped both legs around my waist, inviting me inside, as I
sunk myself deep into her awaiting heat. I carefully pressed her
back into the wall of the shower.

“I love you,” I whispered before I captured
her pouty lips with my own. God, she tasted of roses. I made a
mental note to have the servants cover the mansion in nothing but
white and red roses.

I continued my assault on her as she cooed
and growled. I could hear the sounds of our lovemaking over the
hiss of the shower. With nothing more than a growl from her lips, I
felt her sex tighten on me and then she was flying. Her back arched
and her hips bore down on me…and I was lost. I felt my seed shoot
straight into her, and I smiled like a fool. I love marking my
mate.

Mine!

Eventually the water began to cool and that
was our queue to get ready for our trip to the hospital. Charity
hadn’t quit smiling since we left the shower. Her emotions had
calmed and now all she felt was love. But she still hadn’t spoken
very much since we awoke for the evening.

“Are you okay?” The silence was killing me. I
had to know if she was alright.

“I’m fine,” she smiled. I watched as she
dressed for the night in a tight pair of jeans that hugged her in
all the right places, and a pale blue sweater that would have made
her old eyes sparkle.

“Are you ready?” I asked when she was
finally
done in the bathroom. I will never understand why it
takes a woman so long to get ready.

A heavy knock sounded on the bedroom door. I
walked over to answer it and found Simon standing there with my
evening packet.

“Master Dragus,” he smiled. “I’m sorry to
disturb you so early, but I was told to give this packet to you
first thing this evening.”

“Thank you Simon,” I dismissed him. I closed
the door and opened the packet. A letter was stapled to the front.
The hand written note was from the human police chief. He wanted us
to know that a pack of Lycanthropes, what were left of them, had
been seen leaving the area just after sunrise this morning. He
believed the threat was no more.

Usually, they run in packs. The Lycans stay
together and migrate often. If this was true, Port Royal’s curfew
could be lifted and hopefully life would go back to normal. They
were headed south, toward Jackson County. There were a good hundred
miles of forest between here and there. I would need to contact the
Krieger
of Jackson and advise them of the coming threat.

“What was so urgent?” Charity asked.

“The Lycans are gone. They were seen leaving
the area this morning.” I turned around and noticed she was still
smiling. Finally, everything was right with her. For that, I
relaxed a little and allowed myself to look forward to a few weeks
of peace before our big day. A day that may stress me out even more
than the Lycans could ever do.

Charity

The first thing I saw was the curtains had
been pulled tight, giving Adam privacy inside his room. My first
reaction to seeing the windows covered was to think the worst. I
didn’t dare go inside, for fear of seeing that he was no longer
with us.

“Charity,” I heard Lydia’s voice coming from
behind me.

“Lydia,” I gasped. “What are you doing
here?”

“Dragus called me,” she said shyly. “He
thought you might need a friend.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, then turned to see two
nurses coming out of Adam’s room.

They both immediately curtsied, “My
lady.”

“Is he up for visitors?” I asked hopeful.

“Yes, my lady. He is up and around.” The
older nurse motioned for me to go inside the room.

Lydia grabbed my hand and we stepped forward,
allowing the sensor to detect us. The doors opened and I saw Adam
Castillo as I had never seen him before. He was buttoning the last
two buttons on his navy blue polo shirt. He wore a pair of beige
carpenter pants. Those beautiful emerald eyes from his picture
looked back at me. He immediately bowed fist over heart.

“My lady,” he whispered. “Charity.” His sandy
blonde hair had grown since the picture I had seen was taken. It
fell into his eyes and he had to brush it away when he righted
himself.

“Adam,” I sighed. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better thank you.” He stepped forward
to reach out to me then stopped. He looked frightened by his
actions. It was then I realized he was about to embrace me and then
stopped himself before he touched a Lady of the
Krieger
without permission. And by the sudden feeling of the warrior behind
me, Dragus had sensed a male was about to place their hands on his
bonded mate and he had come to my rescue. (See how protective they
are? Yeah, they can even sense another male within a few feet of
their mate. Annoying as hell!)

“Master Dragus,” Adam greeted him.

“Adam,” he growled. I reached back and
squeezed his arm, warning him to behave. I felt another propriety
growl coming from inside his body. I rolled my eyes and tried to
ignore his juvenile behavior.

“Adam, this is my friend, Lydia,” I pointed
to her. Adam smiled at her and reached out to shake Lydia’s hand. I
found the gesture very comforting.

“Nice to meet you,” he smiled.

“Same to you,” Lydia tried to be polite, but
I noticed she was still a little mad at him for the accident I was
in.

“Lady Charity, I just wanted to thank you for
everything,” he smiled.

“I need to know,” I paused. “Can you
shift?”

“Yes, that was their first question when I
rose for the evening. Dr. Mason said they needed someone to help
the others with their new abilities. He asked if I would be
interested in helping, since I had lived with the Lycans the
longest. And because I seem to have an easier time shifting than
the others do.” He smiled at his last words.

“I agree with Dr. Mason. You should do it.
I’m sure you can help the others.”

Adam turned to Dragus, “Master Dragus, I want
to apologize for my actions toward Lady Charity. I never wanted her
to be hurt. The Lycanthrope that attacked her was the alpha of the
pack. He was stubborn and refused to see reason. I begged him not
to hurt her, but when that round of pain struck us both, he thought
she had hurt me. Of course that is no excuse for what I did. I
should have never taken over her body like I did, but she was my
only lifeline. I had no other choice…I was scared.”

“I understand your reason, to a point, son,”
Dragus scolded. “But if you ever connect to her again, where she
can’t get away from you, the Lycanthrope poison will look like a
walk in the park compared to what I will do to you.”

“Dragus!” I snapped.

“It’s okay, my lady. He has every right to
scold me for my actions,” he dropped his head in shame. “I’m just
so happy that you helped me, instead of letting me change into one
of them.”

“You’re welcome,” I smiled. “I want you to
work closely with Mistress Kai, to make more potions. Something we
can distribute if this happens again. That is, if you’re feeling up
to it.”

“You want me to help her?” he asked.

“Yes, you know how to get to them, probably
better than anyone else.” I turned to Dragus. “I think we need to
see if we can have each of the
Krieger
offices keep vials on
hand.”

“That is a good idea,” Dragus smiled.

“Yes, I think that all of the hospitals that
cater to vampires should keep a supply of the potion as well. That
way, the victims don’t have to wait so long to be healed. Plus we
will probably need to find somewhere to start harvesting the
Wolfsbane.” I saw Dr. Mason coming toward the I.C.U and walked out
to grab him.

“Lady Charity,” he bowed. “What can I do for
you?”

I explained to him about the idea I had about
getting the potion mass produced. He agreed and seemed excited at
being in charge - along with Mistress Kai and Adam Castillo - of
marketing the idea.

Lydia had stepped out once she saw Ashby
enter the hospital. They were standing over in the corner of the
nurse’s station talking. They looked so cute, like two teenagers
flirting with each other. I don’t know why she doesn’t think he is
interested in her. I heard Dragus chuckle and I turned to see what
he thought was so funny. His face was his usual hard mask. I raised
an eyebrow wondering what the hell he had been laughing at. Dragus
just nodded and walked over to speak with Bastian.

The sliding door to the room next to Adams
opened. I automatically turned around to see who was walking out.
The last person I thought I would see in the intensive care unit
stood there smiling wide, like the Casanova he claimed to be.

“Romeo?” I gasped. “What the hell are you
doing here?” Immediately Lydia was at my side. She must have seen
him the same second I did.

“I was bitten,” he spat in his native Italian
accent.

“I had no idea,” I laughed. “I thought you
had packed up and left town with my money.”

“No, Charity. I wouldn’t do that to you. We
still owe you two performances at the club.” Romeo’s eyes looked
over my shoulder and he stiffened.

“That is Lady Charity to you,” Dragus
growled.

“I’m sorry, my lady,” Romeo bowed. “I was
just on my way out. Someone will be in contact with you about our
arrangement.” And just like that Romeo darted out of the room. Poor
Romeo was always a lover, but never a fighter.

Lydia busted out laughing like a damn hyena.
I stopped her with a hard stare, “Damn Lydia, give the guy a break.
He’s so scared of Dragus. I’m betting he’s in the elevator
crying.”

“I can’t help it, Char. Anything that sets
that jerk straight always makes my day,” she laughed so hard she
actually snorted.

“Well, once we get the club back up and
running, your buddy Walter and his band still owe us two shows.
After that, Romeo will leave town. Who will you find to be the butt
of your jokes? Walter?” I laughed at Ashby’s dark expression when I
mentioned Walter. Oops.

“When will that be?” she asked Dragus,
ignoring my reference to her on again, off again boyfriend. She
called him her ‘friend with benefits’.

“Well, the curfew has been lifted, so
Thursday night you can reopen. Take tomorrow night to get
everything in order.”

“Great, back to work,” Lydia grimaced. “I’ll
call everyone and have them ready to open. I’m going home and I’ll
call you tomorrow.” She pulled me into a tight hug then headed to
the first exit out of the hospital.

It took me a second to realize that Dragus
and I could both take off work tomorrow, it was Tuesday. No crazy
werewolf attacks to deal with, no hiding at the estate, no club to
take up my time. I think all I wanted to do was stay at home in bed
with my warrior. With that thought, I grabbed his arm and headed
out the same door Lydia used to make her escape.

Dragus

March 1
^st

“Dragus!” Ashby snapped. “Would you please
quit shaking?”

“I can’t help it, I’m nervous,” I snapped
back. Ashby had tried three times to tie this damn bow tie
correctly; he had just given up on his fourth try.

The Joining was in a few hours and I haven’t
seen Charity since four o’clock this morning, when she went to stay
with Lydia. Charity thought I was being too overly cautious because
I sent Brock and William with them for security. Little did she
know, but I sent four
Nachtmann
over there during the day to
watch over the house. I should have sent six. As soon as she found
out about the extra help, I felt it. Charity’s agitated growl
echoed through my head, along with a few choice words I’d rather
not repeat.

Charity had arrived at the estate about an
hour ago. She was using the east side of the mansion to get ready;
I was camped out on the west. A few times I tried to sneak over,
but was caught by Brock and William. It seems that Charity turned
the tables on me. She wanted to do this by the book. We were not
allowed to see each other until the moment she walked down the
aisle.

Adam Castillo was to give her away. They had
become close over the past couple of months. Charity took it upon
herself to oversee the quality control of the potion distribution.
She felt obligated to help other hybrids. She even put up the
entire cost for starting a rehabilitation center for the recovering
dual natured citizens. Adam and I had become good friends in this
process. He has a weird sense of obligation to protect Charity when
I am not around. For his loyalty to her, I am planning on offering
him a role as
Krieger
, after the ceremony.

Granted he will be an honorary member.
Krieger
recruits are chosen from human applicants. If they
are chosen, they are changed with
Krieger
blood only. This
passes our abilities and strength down to each new warrior. I will
have to get the queen’s approval, but I doubt she would deny his
faithfulness.

“Okay,” Ashby interrupted my thoughts. “If I
can’t get it this time, you’re on your own, buddy.”

I laughed and tried my hardest to settle my
nerves. While I waited for him, I tried to sneak a peek at my bride
to be. Before I could get into her mind, Bastian stepped up behind
me and smacked the back of my head with a shoe.

“Oh, no you don’t!” he snapped. “Not until
its time.”

“Fine,” I growled. “How much time do we have
left?” I had no idea of the current time. The wedding was to start
at midnight.