Kiss Across Swords (Kiss Across Time Series) (39 page)

Veris leaned forward, his hands together, his index fingers just touching his lips. “I’ve never turned anyone. I’m not sure that I could. It would mean taking away your humanity to do it.”

“But you have taken so many lives,” Taylor said.

“In battle, yes. In defense. I have never drained a human life as a vampire, watched their life fade in their eyes, made them drink my blood and seen them waken as one of my kind, where all humanity is gone and they go on changeless, timeless and eternal.” Veris shook his head. “Live life as a vampire long enough and you begin to find humanity a precious thing. I have selfishly enjoyed yours. I want you to stay human for as long as possible. To be alive, vital, free to live and die. Not trapped outside time like Brody and I are.”

“Well, for at least seven months, I will have to be.”

Veris smiled. “And at least another six after that.”

Taylor shook her head. “Breast feeding. Of course, you will want to do it all properly.”

“Of course!” Veris said. “It’s life! That’s my whole point. In the four years we’ve been together, I’ve watched you change. Actually
change
. Brody and I cannot do that. Your hair…your beautiful hair. And your face has developed small lines. Especially around the eyes and the corners of your mouth. You’ve put on weight around your breasts and hips.”

“Mmm…” Brody agreed with an appreciative growl.

Taylor glanced at him, startled.

“After the baby is born, your hips will spread, too,” Veris told her. “Not fat, but the actual bones. But even a few pounds may creep on, despite all the exercise and sex you manage to sneak into your day. I will enjoy every tiny change, because that’s what it means to be human. It’s something that Brody and I have not been able to share with anyone, ever. You asked to take that away from me, from both of us.”

Taylor sat back. “I…hadn’t seen it that way,” she said softly.

“The worst of it,” Veris said, “Is that if I had managed to overcome my prejudices and turned you on your birthday when you had asked, then you would have been protected while you were in Jerusalem with Brody and I would not have raced home from Europe to find you bleeding all over the floor.” He grimaced. “You would have been protected and the baby lost to us.”

He picked up her hand and kissed the knuckles. “You are mine, Maggie Taylor Yates.”

Brody picked up her other hand. “And mine.” He slid his lips across her fingers, a delicate nuzzle. “We’ve marked you in a way that makes you ours forever.” He touched her neck. “No one in our world will ever dispute that. But we aren’t interested in the politics of our world and never have been. You’ve brought us back into the human world. You’ve given us life again.” He reached into his pocket and brought out a small box and opened it. A ring was nestled inside. “Stay human, Taylor. For a while longer, anyway. We will do everything in our power to protect you and the babe. Please say you will.” He slipped the ring onto her left hand. It was a left-handed swirl of green stones. Emeralds, Taylor assumed.

“Let us be as human as we can, at your side,” Veris said, taking her hand from Brody’s. He placed an identical box on the table and slipped a similar ring onto her hand, only the swirl was to the right and the stones were blue. Sapphires, almost the same color as Veris’ eyes. He brought the rings together and twisted them. The swirls locked together like yin and yang curves. Taylor caught her breath. The arrangement looked like one elaborate engagement ring. It was gorgeous.

“Of course I will,” she whispered. “How could I not? Although how on earth am I going to marry both of you?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Brody told her. “Sooner or later. Boy genius there has been thinking about it.” He lifted Taylor up and put her on his knee. “I love you, the future Mrs. Gallagher-Gerhardsson.”

“What if I want to keep my name?” she asked primly.

Brody blinked. “I’ll still love you?”

She smiled. “Good answer.” She kissed him.

“Hey, my turn,” Veris complained as Brody’s hand slid under the hem of her dress and the kiss grew slow, hot and sweaty.

Taylor was passed over to Veris. “Hi,” she said, her voice thick.

“That’s a habit you really need to keep up,” Brody said approvingly. “I so like that. Jerusalem, right?”

“Mmm,” she agreed, pressing her lips up against Veris’.

“What is he talking about?” Veris asked, his big hand curling her thigh and sliding up under her dress. He pushed higher and higher until he reached her hip, then her ass and found…nothing. His thumb pressed into her naked abdomen and her hip tilted forward in a twitch of nerves. He curved his hand around to cup her ass, his fingertips pressing into the crease of her ass.

“I see,” he breathed into her mouth.

“So do I,” Brody murmured. “The view from here is spectacular.”

The front doorbell chimed.

“Damn, it’s nine already?” Brody complained, standing up. “This shouldn’t take too long, then I’m definitely picking this conversation up where we’re leaving it.” He kissed Taylor’s hand again and went through to the front door, heading off the maid and answering it himself.

“Another surprise?” Taylor asked Veris, returning to her chair and straightening up her dress.

“This one is all Brody’s,” Veris replied, easing the front of his pants. “I hope he means it when he says it won’t take long.” He stood up. “I find most of Brody’s surprises less than comfortable.”

“Baby,” Taylor teased him.

But Veris was already concentrating on sounds coming from the front door, listening to more than she could hear. His brow lifted. “Son of a…” He laughed and looked at Taylor. “You’ll like this.” He relaxed and crossed his arms.

About forty seconds later, Brody reappeared, followed by a tall, olive skinned man in a good suit, carrying a heavy briefcase. The man was familiar…

“Alexander!” Taylor scrambled to her feet, shock delaying her. Veris helped her up.

Brody led Alexander forward, a hand on his arm. “You remember Taylor, of course. Our fiancé, Maggie Taylor Yates. Taylor of course remembers you. For her it was only a week ago. Taylor, Alexander is now Dr. Alexander Karim.”

Alexander shook her hand. “Naila Fathiyya, I remember you most fondly. You changed my life and are the reason I stand here at this moment.”

Taylor felt her hand fall back to her side. “I…really?”

Brody laughed. “You might have built up to it, Alex.” He rested his hand on Veris’ shoulder. “My partner, Veris Gerhardsson. You remember him as William, or Will.”

“Yes, of course. Veris. Well met.” Alexander held out his hand. “You were the other reason I am here.”

Veris lifted his brow as he shook Alexander’s hand. “Is that so?”

Alexander smiled, showing very white, even teeth. “All three of you. I nearly had it figured out, the relationship between you, when Taylor ‘died’, but then neither of you seemed to mourn her properly. Then there was all the confusion about Lady Selkirk’s death. I heard some strange whispers that Taylor herself had killed Selkirk’s wife. After the siege was over it became hard to track down facts. It took me years.”

“But you did,” Brody concluded. “And you confronted me with them.”

“You didn’t tell me any of this,” Veris accused.

“I was the Holy Land with Richard at the time. Getting killed, as I remember. You were back in Italy. Alexander found me at Acre. He was vampire by then.”

“It was the three of you who started me on the road to finding vampires in the first place,” Alexander explained. “You gave me hope that one day I might once again practice medicine.
Real
medicine. And now I am.”

“Which is why he is here, in part,” Brody explained.

Alexander nodded. He reached into the briefcase and produced a card, which he held out to Taylor. “I am a most sought-after private physician now. One that the stars pay a small fortune to have call upon them. Their fees allow me to do my research and add certain special clients to my roster. I would be honored to add you to my list of patients, as I have already treated you and know part of your history.” He smiled. “How is the arm, by the way?”

“Fine,” Taylor said. “Nearly perfectly healed already.”

“These days I would use anesthetic and sutures. You were desperately trying to wish yourself back to a simple emergency room for that, weren’t you?” He laughed.

Taylor nodded. “But you did well, all the same.”

“I can call upon you tomorrow, with a nurse and mobile ultrasound scanning equipment. What is a good time for you?”

“Ten thirty would be good.”

Alexander nodded. “Ten thirty it is. Good night, then, everyone. I’ll leave you to your celebrations. Brody told me the good news. Congratulations, all of you.” He lifted a book out of his bag and laid it on the table. “For you, Taylor.”

“I’ll see you out,” Brody murmured.

Alexander nodded at Veris and followed Brody from the room.

Veris picked up the book and read the title. “Son of a bitch,” he said and gave it to Taylor.

She looked at the grainy sepia-styled map on the front, which showed a copy of the old walled city of Jerusalem underneath the large typeface of the title.

Warrior Wives: The Mysterious Women of the First Crusade who fought, lived and disappeared from the history books—Naila Fathiyya, Davina of Selkirk, Tyra of Norwich.

The author was Alexander Karim.

“If he knows you killed Davina, then this is a tribute to you,” Veris said, tapping the book.

Taylor put the book down and shivered. “I didn’t do anything to impress him that much,” she said.

“You impressed me enough to make me change houses, shields and give up a bad habit that had been slowly killing me for seventy years,” Veris pointed out. “And you did it in four days.”

“But you already loved me,” Taylor pointed out.

“I had no idea who you were,” Veris said flatly. “You were Brody’s slutty wife and human at that. And you were in my way.”

She shivered again, staring at him. “What changed your mind?” she whispered, stunned.

Veris drew her into his arms and tilted her head back to look up at him. “You did. You and Brody.”

Taylor felt Brody press up against her from behind. His arms hooked around Veris’ neck. “Me and Taylor what?”

“Seduced me across time,” Veris replied. “And saved my life while you were at it.” He kissed them both. “I want to try something. I’ve always wanted to make love to you both in that little cottage high up on the side of the Welsh mountains, the one we used when the War of the Roses was at its peak, remember, Brody? We hid out for five years or so, waiting for the turmoil to die down.”

“There actually were roses all over it in summer and rose hips in spring.”

“Keep it in mind, Brody,” Veris said. “Summer, roses, heat, the inside of the cottage.” He lifted Taylor’s chin again. “You get to take us there. If I’m right, we’re the direction, you’re the power. You get to come and go.”

“How?”

“Close your eyes and decide to jump. And we jump. Stay in physical contact with her, Brody.”

Taylor closed her eyes.

* * * * *

And opened them when the air changed and the sound of doves cooing alerted her.

“No…” she breathed fearfully, looking around the small dry stone structure. There was a rough, hand-hewn, pergola-like lean-to outside the window, covered with roses that provided shade against a beautiful, summer-blue sky. Jagged mountains painted the backdrop.

“I’m not wearing a red shirt,” Brody said.

“Then you’ll live long and prosper,” Veris replied.

Taylor was grabbed and turned. Brody laughed and kissed her. “You bloody well did it!”

Veris swept her off her feet, his arm under her back and her knees. She was wearing some sort of simple kirtle and chemise and her hair was loose. “
Exactly
where I wanted you,” he muttered. He laid her on the built-in bed, with its pushed-back shutters and shed his clothing as she lay there and watched.

Brody came up behind Veris, brushed past and settled next to Taylor. He undressed her, then himself. “If we really can control the jumps…” he began.

“Not now,” Veris said firmly. “We’ll discuss it later. For now we talk of nothing but love and frailty and all that yucky emotional stuff that makes us more human.” He picked up Taylor’s hand, curled it around his hard, erect cock and gave a shuddering gasp at her touch. “I’m ready.”