The Crimson Bond (16 page)

            Almost immediately after leaving Demitrie, Ethan led me to a black SUV in a line of identical vehicles waiting in the circular drive in front of the castle. After sliding onto the cool leather seats and sitting back as Ethan slid in behind me, we were whisked down the drive and out onto the open highway with the other vehicles following closely in line. Intrigued that we had such a procession, I turned to Ethan. “Is there some reason there are four other SUVs following us?”

            “I didn’t want to take any chances that we would be overtaken by any of Lucien’s crew on the way to the airport.” He looked a little annoyed as he leaned back into the seat and looked over at me.
“And of course Demitrie sent along a car to follow us. But don‘t worry. There’ll be little they can do to stop us once we’re at the airport. I could care less that they report back to Demitrie. I have a feeling he knew what we were up to anyway.”

            I looked at Ethan quizzically. “Really? Why would he let us leave then?” I asked, glancing nervously back at the castle, worried that there would be a vampire army giving chase behind us.

            “Well, my dear, it seems that Demitrie is not so indifferent to his daughter. Alex and I came to the conclusion that he went along with the council’s decision, knowing all the while he would turn a blind eye if the two of you were able to fully complete the bond.”

            “You see, it would actually benefit him if you had that kind of power. He can use you to further control the council and the realm as a whole. But by supporting the council’s decision, he didn’t loose any footing with them, and appears to be playing by the rules.”

            I nodded slowly, taking in this new angle on Demitrie. I would have to tread carefully, but we might be able to use it to our advantage when it came to dealing with Lucien. It would just have to be done in a way to make Demitrie appear blame free so that he wouldn‘t loose the council‘s support. I stowed the information away and turned my attention to the passing scenery. I had been right about the desolate area of the castles location. There would have been no way to escape on my own. The cobblestone drive to the massive stone palace had been perfectly cleared of snow, but the surrounding ground was covered in a thick layer of snow, as well as the considerable amount of tall pines in the thickly wooded forest that we traveled down in order to reach the highway. What I once would have considered a winter wonderland looked like a barren, treacherous land. I was deep in thought when Alex’s low voice startled me out of my revelry.

           
I was worried about you. I’m glad Ethan was able to get you out of there. Are you okay?

           
My stomach dipped precariously at the sound of his alluring voice. It made me ache to get to him that much more.

            I glanced at Ethan to see if he was aware that I was communicating with Alex, but he seemed to be oblivious as he watched the terrain pass by. I concentrated on answering Alex and found that it didn’t require any effort at all-- so different from the intense concentration it took when I was human
. I’m fine. Just very anxious to see you. For some reason I haven’t been able to feed. I just want you. I’m not sure why.

           
That’s the only part of the bonding process that hasn’t been finished. I’ve already taken your blood. Once you take mine, it will be complete. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stay, but the best way to get their guard down was by having them believe that we were following there wishes-- with no resistance.  I have a jet waiting to leave London as soon as you arrive. The hardest part was getting you out of Brasov castle-- it went easier than we thought.

           
I was so relieved to finally get to talk with Alex after being separated at such a crucial time in our relationship. A lot had happened the last night I’d seen him and I wondered how things would feel between us. Even more, the little green eyed monster within me was threatening to rear its ugly head. I was having a hard time with the fact that Alex had literally left my bed and went immediately with Ophelia-- regardless of the circumstances.

            Nothing better has happened between Ophelia and Alex.
Oh shoot. I had forgotten that we were in the middle of a conversation. Embarrassed, I wondered what the chances were that he heard that last thought.

            I heard it. And don’t be ridiculous. I thought we had purged these ludicrous thoughts from your mind the last time I saw you? I guess I’ll just have to remind you even more fervently when I see you next. 

           
A delicious shiver traveled down my spine at the thought.
I’m thinking that I will definitely require a fervent reminder as soon as possible. I’m sorry for doubting you. That seems to be the one thing I’m having difficulty with. It’s not you. It’s my own inner demons I’m fighting with.

            You’re forgiven. I will see you soon, sweet Brooke. I’ll be waiting not so patiently. I’ve heard your transformation is quite breathtaking, but you always were stunning, so I never expected it to be any different when you became a vampire.

           
I smiled and then glanced quickly at Ethan to see if I had given myself away, but apparently he had been watching me for quite sometime, as he was leaned back with his arms cross and regarding me with much interest. I rolled my eyes. All he needed was a bag of popcorn and the picture would be complete.

            “Well now, that was interesting. I take it you and Alex have no trouble communicating now that you are off the grounds of the palace?”

            “How did you know?” I asked this, but I shuddered to think what he had seen as I talked with Alex. Even though all of the dialogue had been silent, I’m not so sure that I had kept a blank face during the conversation.

            “Oh, I don’t know. The wide variety of facial expressions that you exhibited, for one. You’re really going to have to work on that, Brooke, or people are going to think you’re crazy,” he laughed.

            If I was able to blush, I would have. And I rarely blushed as a human. I didn’t even want to imagine what kind of faces I had been making. I turned back to the window, intent on giving him the cold shoulder for teasing me. The mountains and snow really were breathtakingly beautiful. It occurred to me that I didn’t even know what country we were in. Giving into curiosity, I turned back to Ethan.

            “Where are we anyway?”

            His gaze flitted to the mountainous landscape. “Romania. We’re on our way now to Bucharest International airport to catch our flight to London.”

            “And all these cars with us, are they really necessary?”

            “You can never be too careful, especially with so many wanting to prevent what is happening between you and Alex.”

            “So the people in the vehicles, with the exception of the one sent by Demitrie, they work for you and Alex?”

            Ethan gave a long suffering sigh. Really, half the time he made me feel like an annoying kid sister.

            “Yes, Brooke. Two of the cars are mine and the other two are Alex’s.”

            This led me to think about the huge enterprises they ran. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I had been in Charlotte. I wondered what Anna and Paul must be thinking. Surely they had been kept abreast on everything. I hated to think that Anna had been back home worrying herself silly. “Who in world has been running your and Alex’s businesses while you two have been dealing with my kidnapping?”

            “We’ve not been gone but a few weeks. It probably just feels longer. Paul pretty much handles things when Alex is away, and I have someone who does the same for me.”

            “What about Anna? She must be worried sick.”

            A look that I couldn’t quite read passed over Ethan’s face, but was quickly replaced with his usual haughty expression.

            “I’ve kept Anna abreast of what’s been going on. She’ll be very relieved when your back.”

            My eyes narrowed as I studied him. There was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on when he mentioned Anna’s name. I tucked that little fact away for future reference and leaned back against the seat, turning my attention back to the passing landscape.

            As Ethan led me into the magnificent luxury hotel in the heart of London, I couldn‘t help but be awestruck. Any hotels I had ever stayed in were budget friendly and held no comparison to this one, lit up in all its elegant glory. In my humble opinion, the hotel itself looked like a castle.

            We made our way into the grand lobby full of marble floors and columns, and I tried not to stare as we walked to the elevator. It was crazy to me that Alex could easily afford to stay somewhere like this. My eyes widened when the thought occurred to me that as Alex’s wife, I would soon be privy to the same luxuries. I certainly didn’t need them, but I definitely wasn’t opposed to them, that‘s for sure.

            Once we stepped off the elevator, Ethan led me to the suite Alex was staying in.

“Alright Brooke. I guess you can take it from here for awhile. I’ll just head to my own rooms.” Without waiting for a response he disappeared around the corner. My head turned to the side as I studied his retreating form.
Well, that was abrupt.
I puzzled over this for a few seconds until the growing butterflies in my stomach caught my attention. I had changed so much since I had last seen Alex, and even though the general consensus was that it was a good change, I was still nervous about what Alex would think. After all, it was my human self he had fallen for.

            I looked down at the black shift dress and heels I had donned before leaving the castle. The designer fabric had held up to the travel much better than the clothing I was used to, and I breathed a figurative sigh of relief that I wouldn’t be a wrinkled mess the first time he saw me.

CHAPTER 19

            Our eyes met from across the room--his glowing a fiery blue. I couldn’t even think about looking away. A tidal wave of something so indescribably strong and inexplicable swept over me; like the roaring of a freight train, it was all consuming in its intensity.  My last coherent thought was that this is what all the fuss was about. I was barely aware of moving lightning fast into his arms and in one fluid motion, sinking my teeth directly into the pulsing artery in his neck. Drinking blood was not the awful thing that my human self had imagined it would be. It was like dying of thirst and finally taking that first sip. It was like holding out for something to the point of thinking you can’t stand it anymore--and then finally getting it. Somewhere in the midst of drinking as if my life depended on it-- and, well, it kinda did-- Alex gently freed his neck from my teeth. Carrying me effortlessly over to a nearby chair and settling me into his lap, he grasped my chin, pausing to look at me in wonder, and then kissing me with all the emotion he had evidently been feeling at seeing me. Consumed with the need to be as close to him as possible, I pressed myself against him, returning the kiss measure for measure. It was then, at that moment, that I was hit with a flash of blinding white and my vision was replaced with a myriad of images flowing so fast that I caught only a glimpse of each. Like scrolling through photographs one after another. Flashes of  blonde cherub looking little girls in our arms, my roommate, Anna and Ethan arguing, and yet I sensed a warmer feeling radiating from them that confused me, myself standing with my father and my mother--except I was an adult, and that wasn’t even a possible scenario. I gasped, blinking rapidly as I tried to make sense out of what I had seen. Alex pulled back from me, looking at me in concern.

            “Brooke, what is it?” His voice had an immediate calming effect the way no one else’s ever had. It was like I had truly found my other half. Almost as if I had been walking around only half of a whole person and not even realizing it. I took a minute to relish just being in his arms before answering.