VA 2 - Blood Jewel (27 page)

“What has she been
saying?”

“I think she’s repeating things
she said to Avery when they were held captive by Vincent. She keeps
shushing someone and saying that everything will be
okay.”

“Sounds just like a big sister to
me. Avery is anxious to see her.”

“No, it’s too dangerous,” he
insisted.

“I wasn’t suggesting we should
allow it.”

Sol looked over at me as he rubbed
his palms over his jeans. “I’m sorry. This situation just feels so
much different. I mean...we have sisters here with us. One is a new
dangerous vampire we are trying to reform and the other is
so...”

I waited to hear how he would
describe Avery, but words failed him. “Avery is so what?
Human?”

He dropped his eyes to the floor.
“Yeah. She’s so human. What are we going to do with her? She can’t
go home. Vincent killed their family.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.
Vincent will be looking for her, so I guess she’ll stay here until
Jenn is reformed.”

Sol ran his hand through his hair.
“That could be weeks. Is it a good idea to keep a human here for
that long?”

“I hope so. Otherwise, Chansey has
to go,” I laughed.

“Chansey is different. She’s not
all human.”

“She’s human the way it counts
most,” I boasted, but regretted it the moment I said it.

“Yeah, you haven’t told me about
that.”

So, he still wanted to know. “We
haven’t really had the opportunity to talk much since we got back
from our honeymoon.”

“I still want to know.”

“Okay. What do you want to know
about it?”

“I don’t know,” He shrugged.
“Nothing? Everything? I know it’s silly to ask. I feel like a
teenage kid asking what base you got to on your first date with a
chick.”

I leaned over and looked at my best
friend. “Sol, I’ve knocked it out of the park and scored a home
run. Lots of them.”

He laughed at my juvenile
description. “I figured as much. So the vampire in you didn’t get
in your way of being a human husband?”

“Well, since you’re asking...the
bastard did resurface. It only happened once, but it was during the
first time on our wedding night.”

“What do you mean he
resurfaced?”

“Apparently drinking from your
Agápe while making love is a ritual to complete the bond between
us, but I didn’t know that. It scared the hell out of me; I didn’t
know what was happening. All of the sudden, I had this
uncontrollable urge to drink from her and she begged me to because
it’s what she wanted. I would never tell this to anyone else, but
she wanted me to bite her so badly that I think she physically
overpowered me.”

Sol died out laughing.

“I’m not kidding you. I tried to
get off of her and she locked her legs around me and held me in
place with her strength. She reached up behind my neck and pulled
me down so hard that my incisors pierced her throat and when I
smelled her Agápe scent, it was over with. There was no more
holding back.

I admit that it was the best of
both worlds. I was simultaneously feeling human and vampire
pleasure at the same time. Now we share this incredible bond that I
can’t describe. We’re closer than ever and we feel one another all
of the time. It’s almost like I’m able to read her thoughts because
I feel her emotions so strongly.”

He reached over and patted my back.
“It sounds really incredible.”

I turned to look at him. “Are you
sorry you asked?”

He looked so sincere. “No, I’m not.
It makes me happy to see you happy.”

Sol was such a wonderful person
when he wasn’t being an ass. He deserved so much more than to watch
others be happy. Maybe with a little time, Jenn could be exactly
what he needed to make him happy.

23
Force My Hand

Unfortunately, the remainder of
Jenn’s transition over the next five weeks didn’t happen any easier
than the beginning. It was without doubt the worst we’d ever seen.
Nothing about her transition was normal and even Sebastian could
offer no explanation.

Avery’s insistence to see Jenn
during her transition did little good with Sol. He was completely
unwavering when it came to refusing Avery a visit with her sister.
In addition to their preexisting rigidity with one another the
tension between them multiplied rampantly as a result of Sol’s
inflexibility, but life in the compound seemed more relaxed
tonight. Jenn joined us at dinner for the first time and things
couldn’t have gone better. It felt like things were on the road
to...normal.

I found myself unable to sleep and
decided to return to work on the oil painting I had started of
Chansey on our wedding day. My favorite inspirational music was
playing softly on the surround sound speakers as I painted the
irises of her eyes. I leaned forward to see if I had the color
right when I caught sight of movement in the doorway.

I smelled Sol, but I quickly turned
my head and saw him standing at my studio door watching me. “Am I
interrupting?”

“No, not at all.”

He leaned casually against the door
frame. “I didn’t knock because I didn’t want to disturb Chansey.
She has seemed so tired lately, especially earlier tonight. She
looked like she was going to fall over at any minute.”

So...it wasn’t my imagination since
I wasn’t the only one that noticed. Her level of fatigue didn’t
seem normal for a healthy, young human. “I’m afraid watching Jenn
go through her transition took too much of a toll on
Chansey.”

“It was tough on us, so I can only
imagine what it did to Chansey, but she’ll be fine. It was a good
decision on your part. I mean the part about insisting she
understand what the transition is all about. She needed to see how
bad it can be so she can make an informed decision when the time
comes.”

I washed the paint off of my brush
and laid it on the easel. “That’s what I’ve tried to tell myself,
but I did all of this for me. I did it to scare the hell out of her
so she would change her mind about wanting to be turned and now I
have to ask myself if it was worth the toll it has taken on her
mind and body. She has lived the past five weeks in chaos. That
doesn’t seem like much of a start for a new marriage, does
it?”

He shrugged and said, “You’re
asking the wrong person. I have no idea what makes for a great
start in a marriage, but I think a little rest should bring her
around to her old self. Get her some vitamins or something. Human
bodies love those things.”

I nodded, but couldn’t bring myself
to agree because I wasn’t sure that rest or vitamins were going to
fix what Chansey had seen and been through.

Sol crossed his arms and said, “I
came in here because I need to talk to you. I’ve made an important
decision about something and it includes you.”

I knew something was up; otherwise,
I wouldn’t look up to find Sol standing in my doorway at one in the
morning. I slowly spun around on my stool so I could face him.
“Sure, what’ up?”

He looked so solemn and defeated.
“It’s about Avery. I don’t think she will ever forget or forgive me
for biting her. She is terrified of me; I see it in her eyes every
time I enter the room. I’m forced to hear it in her shaking voice
and racing heart whenever I’m around her. She finds no peace when
I’m in her presence and she views me as a monster...like Vincent.
I’ve been considering it for a while, but I have made my decision.
I can no longer stand the constant reminder of what I did to her,
so I have decided to leave since Jenn’s transition is
complete.”

I shook my head in refusal. “No,
you can’t leave. This is your home. This is your compound to run
and Avery’s residence here is only temporary. I won’t do it. I
won’t take this position from you.”

“I’ve already made the
arrangements with Sebastian. I’m returning to New Orleans and
Lairah is coming here with Sully to finish his mentoring. You will
be the leader of this compound. You can do it.”

It wasn’t a matter of being able to
do it. I didn’t want to do it. I had a new wife I needed to spend
time with and I didn’t want to see my best friend leave. “This
isn’t right,” I argued. “Avery should be the one to
leave.”

A look of disgust came over his
face as he looked away from me. “No! What I did to her was not her
fault.”

There was only one person to blame
for all of this mess. “It wasn’t your fault either. The fault
belongs to that evil bastard, Vincent.”

He looked at me again and said, “If
we sent Avery away, she would be in constant danger because Vincent
wants her back; he won’t stop hunting her and she deserves
protection. No one else is going to provide protection for her and
even when I’m not here I know that I can count on you to protect
her.”

Why would I need to protect her for
Sol? This wasn’t making sense. “When will you go?”

He eased his hands into the pockets
of his jeans. “I’ll leave tomorrow night.”

Why was he allowing Avery to
dictate his life? Was he doing it because he loved Jenn? That had
to be the case. “I think I understand why you feel like you have to
leave, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. Chansey will be quite
upset; she has grown to love you very much and she has become
attached to you these past several weeks.”

“I have come to love her as a
sister as well and I will miss both of you. The good news is that
New Orleans isn’t that far from Savannah. We can visit one another
whenever we want.”

“Does Avery know that you’re
leaving?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t
want to see the relief on her face when she learns the thing she
fears most is leaving. You can tell her after I’m gone.”

Avery wasn’t going to be relieved
by Sol’s departure; she was going to feel guilty for being the
reason he left. He was running away and it felt like a mistake,
even if he didn’t realize that was what he was doing. I wished I
could make him see his error, but I couldn’t show him what he was
unable to see.

≈ ≈ ≈

I was still in my studio painting
when I heard Chansey scream. I streaked to her side and gently
shook her awake. “Chansey, Love, wake up. You’re having a
nightmare.”

She slowly opened her eyes and
tears immediately rolled down her face. She quickly sat up and put
her arms around me. “It was awful, Curry.”

I held her close as I stroked her
hair. “Tell me about it, Love.”

She buried her face in my shoulder.
“I don’t think I want to tell you about it.”

“Why not?” I asked as I continued
to stroke her long hair.

She pulled away and looked at me.
“Because it was about Jenn.”

I didn’t push her for more
information; probably mostly out of my guilt. “Why don’t you try to
go back to sleep?”

She buried her face in my shoulder
again and shook her head. “I don’t want to. I’m afraid my nightmare
will pick up where it left off.”

I rubbed my hand up and down her
arm and then across her back. “Your muscles are so tense. Why don’t
you take a hot bath? It might help you relax. What do you
think?”

She thought it over a minute and
nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

I kissed the top of her head. “I
think so, too. Wait here and I’ll get it ready for you.”

After I started a hot bubble bath
for Chansey, I returned to our bed. “This is going to make you feel
so much better,” I assured her as I pulled her by the hand to the
bathroom.

After she fastened her hair into a
knot on her head like a geisha, she shimmied out of her panties and
slid them down her legs. I reached for the hem of her satin chemise
and pulled it up over her head before I helped her into the large
garden tub. I had seen too little of this beautiful body since the
whole chaos with Jenn started, but I planned on making up for lost
time once Chansey was her old self again.

She sat in the hot water and slid
down into the tub, allowing the bubbles to cover her shoulders as
she closed her eyes. The tendrils hanging from her neckline fell
into the water and stuck to the skin on the back of her neck. “Do
you want me to stay with you?”

Her head was resting against the
back of the tub and without opening her eyes, she replied, “No, I
think I just need a minute to myself. The warmth of the water feels
really good and I think I want to just soak for a
while.”

“Okay. Would you like to hear some
music while you soak?”

She smiled. Music always made her
smile. “Yeah, that would be great. Something soft and soothing.
Would you put on my Chillax playlist?”

“Anything for you, Love.” I walked
over to her iPod on the dock and scanned through her playlists. I
found a playlist called Bump and Grind and made a mental note to
investigate that one a little later.

I chose her Chillax playlist and
‘And Then You’ by Greg Laswell began to play. “How about
that?”

“Absolutely perfect. Thank
you.”