Hunger Embraced (The Hunger Series) (26 page)

He kissed it before taking my hand in his own and twining his fingers through mine.

“A vision? Was anyone else there?” The words were low but distinct.

“I don’t know if you can call her a person per say. But there was a being there. A manifestation? Of my power.”

His eyes widened, and he stroked my cheek. “You refuse to follow in another’s footsteps. Trailblazer and troublemaker.”

“Yep.” I smiled. “Will you maybe stick around for awhile? With me? Even if I keep messing up your plans?” I hated to sound needy, but it was what he did to me. Made me need him, want him, love him on a level so deep I didn’t dare examine it.

He rocked back and squeezed my hand. I looked at the wall and pretended the gesture didn’t hurt.

“I am not an ordinary man, Miranda. I made oaths long ago, and if I break them, I will be marked. My Brothers will come for me as they are sworn to.” He kissed me with gentle pressure. “I will be marked for death. When I saw you on the street, touched your mind, I fell halfway. Then I felt your Hunger and the way it called to me. I should have turned tail and run the other way. But I was not strong enough, and it has been so long since I felt that kind of desire for a woman. You overwhelm my senses, intoxicate me. I want you as I have never wanted another. But my vows will be broken if I take you the way I want to.”

“Is that all? Well, what’s a little death threat, huh? I seem to accumulate threats and enemies everywhere I go.” The flat, sarcastic joke hung in the air between us.

“If it were not for my worry at leaving you unprotected should I be killed, I would have claimed you already. I would spend the rest of my days with you, learning you, loving you. But I cannot.” He rubbed my thigh through the blanket. “You are meant for someone else, and I am promised to the service of the Council until they see fit to release me.”

“I think I love you. I know I don’t deserve you.” When the Hunger had fed on him, rightness settled over me that had nothing to do with food and everything to do with belonging and home. “I knew you had feelings for me, the Hunger showed me. Why can’t we just be together, for however long that is? And I’m not going to Adrian, no matter what your Council says.”

“I do not like you. I am drawn to you; I am bereft when you are not near. Like doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. I have seen down deep into your soul, and it haunts me. I love you, and yet am forbidden to have you.” He kissed the back of my hand and captured my eyes with his as he spoke Italian once again.

“I would follow you to the ends of the earth, to the destruction of my soul. There is nothing for me without you. You have destroyed what no other has been able to, the fortress that encapsulated my heart. I am lost and found in your eyes.”

The words resonated in my brain, and tears gathered in my eyes. I blinked them away. It was beautiful and horrible all at the same time.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I have lived several human lifetimes.” He shrugged. “I know.”

“Well, then we need to get the Council to let you go already.” I gave him a shaky smile. “So, maybe I should give you a new nickname.”

“What, Tall, Tanned, and Blond is no longer accurate?” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled at my surprise. “When I bit you last time and our auras merged, it popped into my head. Promise, I wasn’t fishing.”

“I was thinking perhaps Romeo.”

“Ahh, the doomed lovers. It does have a certain fatalistic appeal. But I’d prefer for you to live.”

“I don’t want to without you. If I am not with you, I am dead. They can force me to be their pet Chosen Childe and ship me to and fro like a portable fertility clinic, but without you I will fade from this life. I will not feed; I will not eat until I waste away to nothing and crumble to dust. Only you can fill this void inside me, only you.”

He growled. “I was supposed to come here and discover why you still had not been presented to the Council, a simple mission. It has become anything but.”

“What happens when I’m presented to the Council?”

“I cannot say for certain. They are very old, very powerful, and quite ruthless. If your father were alive, he could offer you a measure of protection as a member of his coven, but his court has been overtaken, and his whereabouts are unknown. They may attempt to take you as their charge under the guise of protection or to train you to use your power. I have no way of knowing for sure.”

“I’m not one hundred percent convinced my father is dead. I saw him not too long ago in a vision. But he was injured. I just have a feeling about it. I don’t know. What if I just don’t go to be presented? What if I just avoid that whole thing altogether?”

“Hard to do if you’re with me.” He petted my hair.

“How so? You’re pretty amazing.”

He pressed my hand to his chest, over the energy buzzing from his tattoo. “This. Think of it as a magical tracking device. With it, I can be found.”

“I’m guessing laser removal doesn’t work.”

His smile twisted into a grimace. “No, only the Council or death can remove it. I am as much at their mercy as you in this.”

I tried to turn it over in my head, to see a way around the circumstances. It seemed there was no way to resolve our situation. We were both at odds with forces larger than ourselves.

“Is that why you had to obey Stephan? Because you are a Guardian?”

“Yes. He contacted the Council and petitioned them for assistance with you. I cannot directly disobey them.”

That explained why he initially acquiesced to Stephan. “This means the Council accepts him as the new ruler of my father’s kingdom.” He nodded. “But then you killed the other and ran off with me. Won’t you be in trouble?”

“Perhaps. I will testify that I felt you were in danger from the Empath. You are more valuable to them, so they will most likely forgive my transgression.”

“Daniel, when I complete my Blooding ceremony, will I be more powerful than I am now? What kinds of things should I expect?”

He leaned back, and I could tell from his expression he was happy to have a change of subject. If he thought I’d given up, he was crazy. I was just changing tactics.

“You will have fangs, all vampires do. We can all feed on blood if need be, but for you sexual energy is going to be your main food source. You’ve been an anomaly since I met you. Who can say what you’ll be able to do. Your body will change over a period of days or weeks before it is fully Transitioned. Like I said before, variations in a population. It depends on what’s lurking in your DNA.”

That’s what I was counting on. I was an unknown factor in their plans.

“Daniel, what does it mean to be Bloodsworn?”

He cocked his head. “Where did you hear that term?”

“When I was a kid I heard it once or twice. It seemed pretty significant." I shrugged and looked him in the eye.

“It means a warrior of our race swears his life and ability to the protection and care of their lover. Many vampires include it as part of their marriage ceremony because it guarantees a swift death if one is killed. The surviving spouse does not have to continue on without the other.”

“I need sex to eat, right? Well, would making sure I am fed qualify as taking care of me?” I traced his tattoo. “Surely the Council wouldn’t want me to go hungry. And, if we find my father…”

“You must be the most persistent woman I have ever met.” He chuckled. “And rather devious too. But you are forgetting your betrothal to Adrian.”

“He is not my king, and I’m not marrying him. In fact, I’m pretty sure he was only able to tap it because he has a similar gift. It’s like being able to drive a stick shift no matter the model of the car. You yourself said there hasn’t been anyone like me in a long time. How can anyone living really know for sure how things are supposed to go?” I poked his stomach. “Besides, the fact remains I want you, not him.”

“In order for any of this plan of yours to work, we must complete your ceremony first. And that will require at least one other full-blooded vampire here to ensure you have enough to eat. The sex isn’t the problem. I know that if I take you again, it will not be long before I will no longer be able to control the urge to Bloodswear myself to you. We are forbidden to place a lover or spouse before our service to the Council. That is why I tried to forgo intercourse with you.”

“Oh. Sounds like they’re a bunch of selfish jerks to me.” I picked at the blanket. “Got any friends? Ya know, around? I sure as heck don’t. So we can take care of my Blooding, I mean.”

“Yes. He helped me dispose of the car and the filth.”

“What, only one?”

“He is the only one I trust. The others are too…rigid. Bound by rules. Gregory is more domesticated than they are. Better housetraining. He has adapted to modern life more easily than most.”

I laughed at the mental image of tough-as-nails vampires dusting and doing the laundry.

“When did you get rid of all that stuff? Was I asleep for forever?”

“Yes, my very own Sleeping Beauty. Several hours have passed.”

I laughed. “You watch Disney movies? Too funny.”

“That story has been around for cent—”

I grabbed him and laid a big smacker of a kiss on his lips and hopped out of bed. I could feel Daniel’s stare boring into my back and bare ass. I shook my butt at him and smiled over my shoulder. I was all stiff and stuff from sleeping funny and my little foray into Sucky Dreamland O’ Drama.

But I wanted to mess with Daniel.

“I have to perform a little ceremony of my own before your buddy comes over. A protective spell for the apartment.”

“I laid one years ago when I bought this place.” Hot tingles erupted everywhere from the look in his eyes as he watched me.

“Yeah, well, a little brush up wouldn’t hurt. Plus, I want to make sure Adrian can’t get in.”

His gaze fixed on my ass again. I decided to give him something else to stare at and turned around. He swallowed hard and tried to meet my eyes but failed.

“How—” He swallowed again. “How can a spell keep out a specific person?”

I wandered over to his highboy dresser without answering and stretched unnecessarily to pick up a small stone elephant with its trunk raised. It looked very old, worn smooth by years and hands touching it. I wondered where it had come from and turned around with it held out.

“You look like Eve must have with the apple.”

I grinned wickedly and crossed the other arm under my breasts, plumping them up.

“When I set the protection spell on my apartment, I wanted it to keep out any who meant me harm. Adrian couldn’t cross it. One more thing that proves he is not my king.” Each word brought me closer to him until I stood within reach. Temptation to try and tap into the Hunger, use it to call to him, swirled. I thought I might be able to even without the Blooding ceremony. But it would be a betrayal. “My true king would never mean me harm.”

Daniel licked his lips, and I remembered the texture of that tongue rasping across my nipples and belly, lower still. My nipples hardened, and my pussy weeped. The smell of my arousal rose in the air. I held the elephant out toward him, and he took it, his thumb tracing a familiar worn path down its back without looking.

“Where did you get that?”

“My parents. I’ve had it since I was a small child. They said it would bring me luck.” He looked focused on it.

“And just think of how lucky you could be right now.”

I walked out of the room, leaving him behind.

I rummaged through the duffel bag until it became frustrating to try and find the clothes I wanted and finally dumped them out on the bed. I found the cutoffs he’d loaned me last time and a T-shirt that said “Vampires Suck” on it. I’d gotten it on a clearance rack after last year’s Halloween. He must have thrown it into the bag without looking. It fit nice and tight across the chest. I didn’t bother with a bra.

The other clothes were strewn across the bed. I almost put them away but decided not to. Seeing the disarray would drive Daniel nuts. Plus, I didn’t intend for this to be my bedroom for long.

The kitchen seemed like a good place to go in search of food before I performed the protection spell. My stomach growled, and a sandwich seemed like the right thing to recharge my batteries.

Once again the organization of the man’s kitchen left me dumbstruck. So clean that finding things was impossible. At least I remembered where the bread was. In a
bread box
. T.T.B. was hot, strong, and damned irresistible, but diabolically clean. I took two slices out and turned the heel around backward. Just because I could. I did put it back in the box though.

He had some delicious cheeses in the fridge but no lunch meat. Didn’t he eat sandwiches?

“Whatcha doin’ there, miss? Trying to drop the temperature in this room or just spoil all the food?”

I jumped at the unfamiliar voice and let out a tiny scream. The vampire in the doorway stood as tall as Daniel, but his shoulders were wider. Completely enormous. Daniel’s build was more like a swimmer or basketball player. Sort of long limbed. This man embodied huge. Like a professional wrestler. He had short, dark hair, eyes that snapped with energy and were topped with lashes to kill for, and perfect, straight brows. Smile lines bracketed his eyes.

I figured Daniel would be there in a moment, so I was safe enough. But fear couldn’t be discarded. He’d somehow walked in without my hearing the door or feeling his presence. Just his energy alone should have tipped me off. I let my eyesight go unfocused and looked at his aura. Bright, happy pink bubbled around his form. I grinned at the big humongous vampire with his bubblegum pink aura and purple eyes. Not being able to see it himself was probably a good thing. It might do something bad to his self-perception if he knew.

“Are you Gregory?”

“Yes. And you are?” He bowed with his hands behind his back, an inclination of his head. Please, like he didn’t know who I was already.

“Hungry. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find anything in this place? There’s not even any lunchmeat. Just fancy cheese and weird lettuce stuff.” I returned to rummaging through the freezer, pulling out packages wrapped in butcher paper and setting them on the counter. “There’s not even a frozen pizza.”