The Quest (35 page)

Warm fingers trailed down my bare arm. “How
are
you feeling?”

I lowered my head. “I have no beating heart, and I feel like my body is out of control.”

“Well you’re not turning to ash. That’s a good sign.”

I smiled. “The sun is hiding.”

“Most new vampires can’t tolerate a hint of sun. Boss can because he’s older, but it can still give him a nasty burn.”

“Maybe the angel part of me hasn’t died.” The angel part of me loved the sun, loved bathing in the warm rays.

“Your mother was part angel and your father is a demon. Chances are, only the human piece of you died.”

Perhaps Jonas was right. Parental chemistry couldn’t disappear, nor could a vampire suck it out of me completely. I needed to test my skills, but with my body feeling under par, I didn’t have the strength to focus on misting or disappearing through solid objects. “Maybe Boss could test my blood and compare it against the early blood test results.”

Jonas nodded. “It’s a good idea, but you should wait a week before he does.”

“Why a week?”

Jonas turned sideways to face me. “The transformation into a vampire takes a couple of days, usually. Sometimes a week to accept the change.”

“A week?” I asked, exasperated. “I feel like shit and I have some serious cravings I’m having difficulty ignoring.”

“Sex and blood?” His brows curled.

Jonas seemed to know a lot more about vampires than I did. “What gives? The bloodlust, I understand. But sex?”

He chuckled. “Boss told me about it. Whatever you need the most intensifies during your transformation. For most, it’s blood and sex.”

I bit my tongue to hold back a few choice words. Before the change, my carnal desires were intense. Now, it was unbearable. And being around Anubis wasn’t helping me control my longings. I had to get away from him.

“You should at least take some blood. It will give you more strength.”

“I’ll get some from the fridge in a little bit.”

“Why bother with cold plasma when you can have my warm blood?” His wide grin gave him a mischievous look.

“I appreciate your offer, Doctor Jonas, but you know I don’t like to bite unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

He gripped my hips and tugged me to his body until I bumped into him. “Consider it necessary.” He stared at my lips. “Now bite me.”

I smiled. “What has gotten into you? This isn’t the Jonas I knew a few days ago.”

“If you’re not going to willingly feed, then I’ll have to take other measures to ensure you’re healthy and strong.”

My curiosity rose, as did my brow. “Oh really?”

“I have a warm body and a beating heart. Come on, you know you want a taste of me.”

A small laugh spilled out of me. How could I resist his generosity, his eagerness to share his heated blood with me? Especially with his body touching mine.

“Don’t make me cut a vein open for you,” he teased.

I slid my hands up his chest and felt his pounding heart. “Careful, I might not be able to hold myself back for long.”

He leaned closer to the side of my face. “I won’t stop you.” His warm breath grazed over me and stirred my desires. I wanted the elixir in his veins and little sex would help with my other yearning. He tempted me in the worst way, offering to sate both my needs.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked, enjoying his body pressed to mine. Below his belt, his erection bumped into me.

“Think of it this way… You’re a friend in need, and I’m a friend willing to give.”

His lips were close to mine. A part of me wanted to resist him, my friend, but the one percent wasn’t enough now that I was a vampire. I caved to my desires and pressed my mouth to his. We kissed for a while, enjoying the feel of our bodies and tongues rubbing together. His hands slid over my rear, and he held me hard pressed to him. Heat from his body warmed me. His stiff cock aroused me. The vampire side of me wanted to soak in all his heat, take him inside me, and taste him.

My hunger for blood magnified until it was a calling I couldn’t ignore. I pried my mouth from his and grazed my lips over his cheek. His skin was smooth and smelled of a light minty scent. Moving lower, I gently pecked at his flesh. His heart rate accelerated. When I reached the sweet spot on his neck and licked it, his breath hitched.

“Bite me please,” he said, his hands holding me tight to his body.

Licking my lips, my tongue bumped into my extended fangs. My body knew what it wanted, what it needed, and prepared to get it with little effort. I prayed control would come with the same ease, or else his life would be in danger.

I pressed my lips over his vein. Gently, I forced my incisors into it. Blood rushed into my mouth and onto my tongue. I swallowed and sucked, like eating a juicy peach and trying to keep the fluid from spilling over. The warm liquor gave me energy, made my body come alive and roused my carnal craving. As I drew more blood from him, I listened to the thumping of his heart. He tasted so good, oh so delicious.

Jonas moaned softly. His grip on my ass tightened while he rubbed his hard cock against my belly. I imagined what he’d feel like inside me, hot, hard, sliding in and out. How did I resist him all this time? How was I able to hold myself back now?

The sound of footsteps drawing near shifted my focus. Heavier than Boss’s, I suspected the loud thumps belonged to Anubis. I extracted my fangs and rolled my tongue over the two wounds I’d created.

“Why are you stopping?” Jonas asked in a tone bordering on a complaint.

I lifted my head, met his gaze, and mouthed, “Company.”

Two seconds later, Anubis stepped onto the deck. Jonas slid his hands up to my waist and inhaled a deep breath. The two men eyed each other, neither smiling.

The God of the Underworld crossed his arms as he came to halt behind Jonas. He glanced up at the flashes of lightning before he veered his gaze at me. “We need to talk when you’re finished.”

I lowered my eyes to Jonas.

“I hear a cold shower calling my name,” he said.

Smiling, I held back a chuckle. “Thank you, for–”

“If you need more, just let me know.” His hands slipped away from me as he stepped off to the side.

“I will. Thank you.”

He gave a frustrated glare to Anubis before heading inside the house.

Anubis returned his attention to the storm in the sky. I leaned against the half wall and gazed at the dark clouds too. Silence ticked away. Was he angry with me? Jonas had aroused more than my hunger for blood. Any vampire or werewolf could sense my perfume de’lust. Yet, Anubis’s calm facade left no hint of unsettled feelings.

“It’s natural to have such yearnings. Every vampire has them,” he said, and I gritted my teeth. I hated how he could hear my thoughts. “Humans can fill a portion of your needs, but you’ll find they can’t sate you the way a vampire can.”

The talk about sex was one I didn’t want to have. Not yet, anyway. Jonas had told me enough. My body clued me to what it wanted. The question was, whom would I turn to if I became desperate? I managed a fair amount of control for now, but it wouldn’t take much for me to lose it.

Anubis laid his hand on top of mine. “I can help you, if you let me. I know your needs. We were lovers for many years and I more than satisfied you. Let me take care of you.”

I stared at him, thinking about his proposal. The memories I had of him, of us, warmed my body and made me yearn to feel such passion instead of thinking about it. Sex was sex, but with him…it was different, or so I thought based on my few memories.

He brushed his fingers along the side of my face and along my cheekbone. “With me, it won’t be just sex. I will show you love, as I always have. I will please you beyond anything you have ever imagined. When I’m done, you’ll beg for more, and I’ll give it to you.”

The passion in his voice sounded sincere. He loved me, yearned for me in a way that gave me chills.

He took my face into his hands and held my gaze. “Yes, I love you, and I will do anything for you. Trust me. Let me show you what true love and passion feels like.”

Lightning flashed in the sky, and he shifted his attention.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, taking note of his tense features.

“Nothing.” He lowered his hands and eyes as he took a step back.

His flat voice signaled something troubled him.

“Do you see this storm?” His lifted his gaze toward the sky.

“Hard not to miss it.”

“It’s a warning.”

“From who?” I scanned the rolling clouds and watched the bolts of lightning flash.

“A warlock.”

“How can you tell?”

He pointed up. “You see the pink flashes. Only warlocks can change the color of lightning. And the lack of rain is another sign.”

I watched the bolts appear. He was right. They were pink. “The air smells of rain.”

“He’s suppressing the rain until he’s ready.”

“A warlock can control the rain?”

Anubis nodded. “The old ones can.”

I stared at the dark clouds. Though they traveled further east, the lightning didn’t seem to move. Flashes appeared in different locations, but the storm seemed to linger in one area. “The storm isn’t moving.”

“No, it’s not. He’s keeping it above the city.”

“Do you think this is Martin’s handiwork?”

“I have no reason to think it is someone other,” he said, turning to face me.

“If he thinks an ugly storm will scare me from meeting with the Senator, he’s wrong. I’m not scared off that easily.”

Anubis laughed softly. “No, you are not. I speak from firsthand experience. But you should know that a bolt of lightning would leave you unconscious for a while.”

A twinge of panic ran through me at the idea of lightning striking me. “How long would it knock me out?”

“Days, maybe longer. The energy in the lightning boils your blood and organs. The sensation can last for several weeks.”

I swallowed, disliking the thought of my insides cooking. On a side note, I wondered how he knew what a bolt felt like. “Have you been struck by lightning?”

“A few times,” he said casually.

My brows shot up. A few times? “Did it wipe you out?”

“Only for a few minutes, but my strength is far greater compared to others. I have seen lasting effects, which is why I’m asking you to avoid this meeting.”

I lightly stomped my heel on the deck. “You want me stay here after everything you know about her and how much I’ve worked to get to this moment?”

“This is not a simple meeting. Your sister wants you dead.”

“I am dead.”

“She wants you wiped off this Earth.”

“You’ll be with me. You can protect me.”

“I will protect you, but it would only take seconds for a warlock to hit you with a spell or bolt of lightning.”

Frustration spread through me fast. I longed to confront my half sister and put an end to this pursuit of hers. I earned the right to tell her off, to look into her eyes and say, “You’re done, so go fuck yourself and take your demon goons with you.” Moreover, I wanted to see her expression when she realized she had to face justice.

“I’m sorry, but I have to confront her.”

“Why, Shelley?”

“Because she’s murdered too many people. She’s harmed people dear to my heart. I want her to know she can’t hurt me or anyone else anymore. I want her to know she has to pay for her crimes.”

He ran his fingers through his long hair as the wind picked up, tossing strands in front of his face. “She’s done far worse than put you through hell. She’s taken your memories and your life.”

“More reasons for me to meet with her.”

“No, more reasons to avoid her. She’s dangerous.”

“I can be just as lethal. Ask Boss.”

A smile slowly emerged on his tense face. “Danger is in your genetic makeup. I’ve known it since the day I met you, and it has never stopped me from loving you. For years, we pretended not to be lovers in front of your father. Then on the night of your graduation party, you convinced me to make love to you at his home. In all my time on Earth, I have never met a woman willing to take the kind of risks you have taken.”

I stared in disbelief, my jaw ready to drop to the floor. “We had sex in my father’s house during my graduation party?”

He gripped my wrist and tugged me toward his body. I braked fast, thrusting my hand on his chest before bumping into him. He wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck and whispered in my ear, “I pleased you twice. The first time with my tongue, just as you asked.”

Heat flamed within me, aroused by his smooth voice and the image of him licking me. The breeze cooled my warm flesh, but did little to ease the desire between my legs. My body screamed at me, wanting to feel him and him to touch me. I couldn’t hide the feelings I had for him. I couldn’t ignore the history we shared.

“Stop,” I said, though my body disagreed.

He brushed his lips over my cheek. “What can I do to convince you to stay away from her?” He grazed his fingers over my shoulders and down my bare arms, chilling and exciting me.

As I took a step back, he gripped my hands and held them. Did he think he could seduce me so I wouldn’t go? Nice try.

“Nothing, and if you try to stop me–”

“I won’t. I respect your wishes no matter how much I disagree with you.”

More footsteps drew near from within the house. The second I turned my head to the patio door, the wind thrust my hair over my eyes. Anubis tucked the strands behind my ear with the gentle care of a lover.

“You have no idea how much you mean to me. I will kill that woman if she harms you. If I knew you wouldn’t be disappointed in me, I would kill her now for what she has done.”

The strength in his deep tone left no question about it, he would kill her if he could. I pondered his words for a moment. She deserved death, but not a swift one.

“We play by the rules and laws, regardless of how we feel about her,” I said.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I don’t obey laws, never have. But I will honor your requests.”

“Fair enough.”

The glass door glided open, and Boss stepped outside. He’d changed his shirt from the one he wore earlier and now wore a black t-shirt tucked inside his dark pants. His bangs swayed in front of his eyes, caught in the gusty breeze. He stopped next to us, glanced at our clasped hands and looked away.