Without waiting for a response, she headed toward the house. She concentrated so hard on not tumbling insensate into the gra.s.s that at first she failed to notice she"d walked slightly off-target and was rapidly approaching the side of the manor, rather than the front door. Just as she turned to correct her mistake, the sound of rapid panting caught her attention. She lurched forward. With one hand splayed against the bricks for balance, Ellie leaned her head around the corner.
A large greenhouse protruded from rear of the manor. And there, frolicking in the conservatory"s long shadow, was Cain"s puppy.
Chapter Seven.
Cain wandered restlessly amongst the dense greenery in the darkest nook of the conservatory, hoping to avoid both servants and revelers whilst his puppy cavorted out-of-doors.
His fractured shoulder was healing, although not as quickly as he would have liked. If he had been thinking about his injury, he would"ve spirited away one of the party"s insipid coquettes for a drop or two during last night"s card-playing. Instead, he had been thinking about the bonny Miss Ramsay. That is, when he was capable of rational thought at all.
After centuries of fruitless searching and prolonged homesickness, he had crossed paths with renegade vampire Aggie Munro. At long last, he could see an end to decade upon decade of solitary hunting, peppered by the occasional wild pup that invariably grew old and died, leaving Cain to walk his path alone. No more. If he could not talk the deserter into accompanying him peaceably, he would return her forcibly. He had not gotten close to his quarry just to fail now.
Then there was the question of returning Miss Ramsay-Ellie-to her real family. Whomever they might be. Depending on how much detail Aggie had Compelled her human companion to forget, Ellie might never recall her true life ... or even her true name. "Elspeth Ramsay" was much too Scottish for a modern English rose. Aggie might have stolen her as a child, might have used enough Compulsion on the parents so that they even forgot they were parents, violating virtually every sacred tenet of the rigid Code at once. Unforgivable, as far as Cain was concerned, but the Elders valued his brawn, not his opinions. He was simply required to deliver Aggie to their mercy.
Victory was finally at hand ... if unexpectedly bittersweet. Cain had no desire to turn Ellie"s world upside down and then abandon her in the wilds of England to fend for herself, but what choice did he have? He certainly couldn"t drag a human girl into the heart of vampire territory. Not without her becoming just another servant.
Without freedom, she would not be allowed to leave the keep, much less to return to England. Cain could never consign another person to the same desolate homesickness he himself had suffered. And he would never forgive himself if Ellie were Compelled to spend the rest of her life serving the Elders.
So why did he feel like he was losing something important?
Cain leaned his good shoulder against the conservatory wall. He b.l.o.o.d.y well knew why he regretted leaving Ellie. Because he liked her, dammit.
She was bonny, clever, delightfully skeptical... . He"d actually had to work to charm her and was not at all confident as to the extent of his success. She, for her part, had managed to charm him quite effortlessly, with her arch wit and unpredictability. Yet her very mortality ensured he could never have her. His clan only accepted fellow vampires as mates, and he would not turn her. Conversion had been banned for centuries, for good reason: Only one in a hundred survived the process. Even were it legal, it would still not be worth the risk. Besides, what he liked best about Ellie was her humanness. He"d d.a.m.n near sprained his cheek muscles keeping his smiles at bay so as not to flash his fangs on accident. Being in her company was simply good fun.
Even if she could accept him for who and what he was, he still could not have her. Regardless of his clan"s laws against mating with a human, Cain wouldn"t be able to bear falling in love with someone who would grow old when he would not, who would die when he would not, who would leave this world-and him-forever.
The slight squeak of a hinge set his muscles on edge. If the sound heralded the arrival of servants or a groundskeeper, his gift of thought compulsion would keep unwanted questions at bay. But if the entire party had decided to take a turn amongst the exotic flowers, his blood-weakened state might not afford him the energy needed to Compel a mult.i.tude of people at once. He would be forced to ... mingle.
With a sigh, he straightened to his full height and prepared for the worst. The thick rows of tangled flora offered plenty of shadowy nooks, but if Cain had never sought to hide from immortal warriors, he certainly would not cower from a gaggle of ladies and lordlings. Let them do their worst.
"Cain?" called a warm, familiar voice. "Are you here?"
From the first sultry syllable, Cain"s entire body stood at attention. Ellie. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l. He might have faced less danger with the picnic-goers after all.
"Here," he managed, inanely pleased his voice hadn"t cracked like that of some green youth.
"Where?" she called, her footsteps falling faster.
Cain didn"t answer, couldn"t answer, because even as his addled brain sought to form a reply, she stepped into view. If he"d still had breath, she would certainly have stolen it away. He swallowed hard.
Although she stood at the opposite end of a long row of hothouse flowers, just enough dappled sunlight filtered through the tropical blooms to give her silhouette an angelic glow. Not that he needed the reminder. Stray curls danced alongside elegant cheekbones. A simple gown highlighted a perfectly curved figure that required no ruffles or flounces to distract the eye. The faint, but irresistibly sweet scent of her blood blended with the perfume of the flowers, p.r.i.c.king both his nostrils and his nethers.
"You look ... dashing." Blood infused her cheeks at the apparently unintentional compliment, but she boldly took another step in his direction.
Dashing? Cain glanced down at himself abstractedly. His costume was Corinthian out of necessity rather than personal style. After so many decades of ever-changing styles, the vagaries of vogue blended into incomprehensibility. Cain followed fashion in order to avoid looking like a centuries-old relic. He donned the sheep"s clothing du jour to better stalk his prey. Except for those ridiculous cravats. He"d never worn one as a warrior or as a Scotsman, so he"d be d.a.m.ned before he noosed himself every morning for the English.
For reasons of her own, Ellie had likewise not chosen to emulate French fashion to the letter. She didn"t need to. She would be magnificent in any clothing ... or in none at all.
Rather than approach her, he kept to the shadows. "Where"s your chaperone?"
She idly caressed the petal of a bright orange flower. "With a dozen picnickers, there"s no need for individual chaperones."
If only she knew. Cain shoved his hands behind his back to prevent himself from reaching for her. "Then where are the other eleven? Will the tour wend this way at any moment?"
"No, I"m ... alone." White teeth worried at her lower lip. Just when Cain thought she would choose to flee to the flock of humans, the corner of her mouth lifted in a hesitant smile, and she took an inexorable step forward.
She"d be the death of them both.
In warning, he summoned a rakish leer. "If you come much closer, I"m afraid you"ll find yourself thoroughly kissed."
"I"m not afraid at all," she answered shyly. "I confess I"m looking forward to the experience."
Cain closed his eyes to block the temptation of her blushing cheeks and only succeeded in heightening his awareness of her scent. Her soap, her perfume, her blood ... If his body had still been human enough to sweat, by now he"d appear the victim of a sudden downpour. He forced his eyes back open.
She was even closer. She had taken another step while he hadn"t been watching and was now a mere arm"s length away. The only thing keeping her innocence intact was his determination not to move a single muscle. If he allowed himself to touch her, if so much as a red-gold ringlet brushed against his skin, he would not be able to keep his desire leashed. An entire battalion of chaperones wouldn"t be able to stop him from kissing her, tasting her, having her.
"Are you all right?" Ellie took another step closer, her eyes filled with concern. "You seem ... out of kilter."
Out of kilter? Cain was breathing heavily, and he didn"t even need to breathe.
She lifted a hand, bringing the curve of her fingers near his face as if to check his cheek for fever. At the last second, she dropped her hand back to her side without making contact.
Thank G.o.d. His equilibrium had vanished with her arrival. His strength of will was preparing for flight as well. If she had touched him, he would have turned his face into her hand, pressed a kiss to her palm, to the pulse point at her wrist, to her- Compulsion! He was a vampire; she was human. Compulsion would save him. Would save them both.
Run away, he commanded, letting the ferocity of his desire fill his gaze. Run now, and run far, or your innocence will be lost right here amongst the flowers. Flee whilst you can!
A slight frown briefly creased Ellie"s brow, but her gaze did not waver. If anything, her expression softened. Rather than run away, she suddenly seemed even closer, as if the hand"s width of air between them had been sucked from the conservatory, pulling them together. She tucked a stray tendril behind her ear, but this time her hand did not return to her side. Her fingertips slid from the curl and pushed through the thickened air to graze the side of his face, the rough edge of his jaw.
Cain"s entire body trembled from the effort to stay still, to not repay the joy of her touch with caresses of his own. Except he could not help but respond. He had meant to hold himself still as marble, but against his will, his hands freed themselves from behind his back, his entire body inexorably drawn to Ellie"s. He jerked away.
"When we were in the kitchens," she said softly, her face tilting up to his, "I thought you were going to kiss me."
"I was," he said, his voice as ragged as his self-control. "I still am."
"Good." She smiled up at him, but her voice was more pa.s.sionate than playful. "Don"t keep me waiting."
Cain brushed the pad of his thumb along the soft curve of her cheek. When she tilted her face into his hand, he sank his fingers into her glorious hair and pulled her close. He dipped his head, intending to cover her mouth with his, but found pleasure in the sweet torture of antic.i.p.ation.
He slowly feathered his parted lips across hers. Not quite a kiss, not quite a taste ... just the lightest pressure, to tease them both, just as he had done this morning in the kitchen.
When he angled his mouth for another pa.s.s, she nipped his lower lip between her teeth.
The bite was sweet and quickly over, but Cain was as good as trapped. His muscles locked. His c.o.c.k hardened. And when Ellie ran the tip of her tongue across the very flesh she"d just bitten, Cain"s whirling brain relinquished all hope of gentlemanly restraint.
Opening his mouth to the kiss, he surrendered to the moment. One hand cradled the back of her head, keeping their mouths firmly together. His other hand slid along the tumble of soft curls to her waist. He splayed his fingers across the gentle curve at the base of her spine. She clutched his shoulders. He drew her even closer, until not even a whisper could pa.s.s between them.
With the tips of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed into his waistcoat and the bulge of his c.o.c.k throbbing against the folds of her skirt, Cain expected reason to intrude upon the innocent young lady nestled against him and send her fleeing. Instead, she wriggled even closer as if she, too, found the friction delicious.
A tiny moan of pleasure escaped her lips, vibrating against his tongue and sending chills along his flesh. Her arms twined around his neck, locking their bodies together. Her increased heartbeat, her rapid breath, the delicious sting of fingernails clawing for purchase against the tailored smoothness of his jacket-the sensations were dizzying, invigorating. Unexpected.
She wanted him. She wanted him.
He"d been so focused on battling his own desire that he hadn"t even recognized the unexpected treasure he"d been bestowed. Rather than his emotionlessly Compelling an equally emotionless blue-blood beauty into the shadows for a nip-and-forget, a young woman whose company he actually enjoyed had sought him, entrapped him, kissed him ... of her own free will. Her tongue toyed with his because she loved the interplay as much as he did. Her arms locked ever tighter because she, too, had no intention of letting go. And her kisses ... Lord help him, he hoped they"d never stop.
Cain reveled in the feel of her body against his, wishing he could Compel all this d.a.m.n fabric to disappear, so he could feel Ellie"s bare legs wrapped tight around his hips.
He was feverish. He was shivering. He was strangely, impossibly alive.
He kissed her again and again, unable to resist the scent of her skin, the spice of her kiss, the promise of pleasure in the accelerated beat of her heart. He lifted her in his arms, higher, higher, until his kisses fell against the source of the intoxicating rhythm. Each pounding heartbeat seemed to lift the arc of her breast closer, to press harder against his mouth, his tongue, his teeth, until he was no longer aware of anyone or anything except the salty sweetness of her skin and the rich aroma reducing his brain to animal instinct and uncontrollable desire.
Her breath against his neck was an irresistible aphrodisiac. Hot, humid, undeniably human, and erratic enough to expose her increasing pa.s.sion, if her legs locked around his hips and her fingers digging into his back had not been signal enough. The tip of her tongue touched the sensitive skin hidden behind his ear. In response, he laved his own tongue across the trembling curve of her breast. She pulled the lobe of his ear into her mouth, ran her tongue across the captured flesh, then drove all conscious thought from his mind when she sucked the curved edge between her teeth. He responded in kind and suckled her plump breast, drawn to the beckoning heartbeat beneath that warm, white flesh. This was heaven. This could leave a mark. This could make his- Oh G.o.d. The potent seduction playing out upon his earlobe changed from gentle nibbling to a gasping, carnal bite. Cain couldn"t have prevented his instantaneous reaction if he"d wanted to. In the time it took her human teeth to entrap the lobe of his ear, his fangs exploded from his mouth the way his c.o.c.k longed to leap from his pants. His upper incisors pierced the top of her breast, impaling her flesh, and finally, finally, tasting that hot, sweet blood.
He tightened one hand on the nape of her neck, the other on the curve of her a.r.s.e, grinding the full length of his imprisoned c.o.c.k against the frothy waves of silk protecting her innocence from his l.u.s.t. He suckled her hungrily, dizzy with desire and the addictive taste of her blood. He would rip this infuriating silk from her frame. He would rend his ridiculous vestments at the seams. And when nothing, not even pa.s.sion-scented air, was between them, he would lock his teeth to her neck and penetrate her with his shaft and his fangs while she moaned in ecstasy.
Ellie gasped ... but not in ecstasy. She went from fiery blaze to lump of coal in the s.p.a.ce of an indrawn breath. She jerked from his arms before he had time to react-he, a vampire with allegedly superhuman instincts-and because she turned before his fangs had had a chance to retract, the retreating tips sc.r.a.ped across her white flesh, leaving twin trails of raw red where invisible pinp.r.i.c.ks might have stood.
She clasped pale hands across her mouth, her shocked eyes screaming her fear and horror. The choked sob from behind her palm extinguished his pa.s.sion more effectively than freezing rainwater.
She knew the truth.
He was a monster.
And he could not let her leave the conservatory with the knowledge.
"Ellie," he said, torn between smiling in an attempt to display a normal row of teeth, and the knowledge that his pearly whites were currently stained pink with her blood. He rallied all the power vested in him to do the one thing that would protect them both: obliterate the memory of the sweetest tryst of his life.
Forget, he commanded silently. You didn"t see any fangs. You didn"t feel any fangs. I am not a vampire. Cain hesitated only briefly before adding, I made unwanted advances. You gave me a proper setdown. Stay away from me, Ellie. Stay far, far away.
He reached out to straighten the drooping shoulder of her gown.
She turned and ran.
Cain blinked. First Ellie had seemed all but immune to Compulsion, and now all of a sudden his unspoken command to stay away lit a fire under her hems as if- Ah, h.e.l.l. As if she"d just discovered her suitor was a bloodsucking vampire.
Cursing whatever it was about her that had distracted him from performing a proper thought compulsion-and cursing himself, his infatuation, and his impulsive fangs for getting him into this sc.r.a.pe to begin with-Cain righted his breeches and gave chase.
Chapter Eight.
Ellie fled through the halls with both hands crisscrossed over her gaping mouth. The warm stickiness adhering to her fingers and the telltale coppery sweetness coating her throat were further evidence of the two-p.r.o.nged proof currently distorting her lips: She had fangs.
"Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d," she panted as she ran, the syllables coming out m.u.f.fled against the pressure of her hands. Her rational, orderly world had turned completely upside down in the s.p.a.ce of seconds.
Batty Miss Breckenridge had been right. Vampires absolutely existed. Martainn Macane was an incontestable example. She"d kissed the beast. Who had then bitten her. The spread of infection was instantaneous. And now she, Elspeth Ramsay, self-professed bluestocking and scholar of all that was mundane and logical, was a G.o.dless, soulless bloodsucking monster with razor sharp fangs. They protruded from her mouth, for the love of science.
She had to get out of the open. Fast.
Bad enough if someone would have entered the conservatory and chanced upon her and Cain in a compromising position. Unimaginably worse, if someone were to stroll down the corridor and happen across the lowest-born houseguest with a brand new set of fangs to augment her perpetual queerness.
Mama would know what to do.
Well, no, Mama would have no inkling what to do. Ellie hadn"t the least spark of a plan, and she was the a.n.a.lytical one. But her mother had been Ellie"s sole confidante since she was a baby, and as there was no one else to confide in anyway, they would just have to figure it out together. Along with how to rid Ellie of her recent yen for warm blood.
The hope of devising a working plan provided such a rush of relief, Ellie"s hand closed around the guest chamber"s doork.n.o.b before she realized there was no call for the other hand to keep covering her mouth. The strange fangs had retracted as quickly as they"d appeared.
Before she could even begin to puzzle out the reason, the sound of rapid footfalls spurred Ellie back into motion. She pushed open the door, flung herself inside, and very nearly bowled over her own mother as if playing a human game of skittles.
"Mama-" was all Ellie managed before she glimpsed the ident.i.ty of the approaching observer.
Cain.
She slammed the door shut, slid home the lock, and leapt away from both as if she half-expected him to burst through anyway. He did not. When his footsteps finally receded, Ellie let out her pent-up breath and turned around. The sight of her mother"s blanched face sent Ellie"s heart into a panic all over again.
"Elspeth." Mama"s voice was low, but each syllable thrummed with icy resolve. "You stay away from Martainn Mac Eoin! Do you think he saw me?"
"Macane," Ellie corrected automatically, then blinked to realize her reclusive mother had recognized a ton rake on sight. "And, no, he was looking at me. I didn"t even see you. How would you even know who he is? Had you met before?"
"Yes." Mama shook her head. "No." She jabbed a finger at Ellie"s midsection. "I"m not the one who needs to answer for myself. Since no one has seen me, everything is fine. But what about you? Did you join the picnic? Why are you back so soon? Where were you if not with the others?"
Ellie stared at her mother uncomprehendingly until it dawned on her that her mother"s alarm must be of the normal, everyday, overprotective variety. She had no idea anything was amiss. The lace of Ellie"s bodice covered the marks left by Cain"s fangs. Her own had disappeared before she"d entered the room. If her curls were topsy-turvy or her gown a bit mussed, well, when was it not? Ellie was having an existential crisis, and Mama ... was simply being Mama.
With an inward sigh, Ellie realized that her hope of puzzling out this new twist in reality together had been a foolish one. Mama believed in the world as she saw it. Her biggest fear was that her baby was not enjoying the house party she"d begged to attend. Mama was safely ignorant of the evil lurking just below the surface of those around her ... and Ellie was swept with a fierce desire to keep it that way.
Thus unable to confess what was truly bothering her, Ellie smiled as cheerfully as she could. She headed to the tea tray across the room as if she hadn"t a care in the world, hoping Mama wouldn"t notice her shooting covert glances at the gilded looking-gla.s.s above the bookshelf. Ellie"s familiar (if ashen) visage reflected back at her. Miss Breckenridge had been mistaken about the mirrors, then. Thank G.o.d.
"Everything"s fine, Mama." Ellie poured herself a half cup of tepid water. Everything was not fine. Things could not possibly be worse. How could she expect to keep a secret of this magnitude? "I came back because I forgot my parasol."
"So that"s what it is!" Her mother rushed to Ellie"s side and pressed the back of her fingers to Ellie"s cheeks and forehead. "Are you feeling weak? I told you not to go, and now look what"s happened. Do you need to lie down?"
Ellie slid out of her mother"s grasp. "I"ll be fine once I"ve had a sip of tea. I don"t have sunstroke, Mother. I have a dearth of social experience. I don"t know how to interact with Polite Society. Our ideas of what makes for interesting conversation are incredibly distinct."
Mama stood for a moment longer, squinting down at Ellie as if searching for signs of trouble using microscopic vision. Apparently satisfied at last that her daughter appeared as normal as she ever did, Mama took a seat on a wingback chair opposite Ellie.
"Oh?" she asked as she settled back without partaking in the lukewarm tea. "What sorts of nonsense are the blue bloods mad about these days?"
Ellie added a lump of sugar to her cup. Now that she"d decided to pretend nothing was awry, she needed to come up with a few details capable of convincing her mother that the High Society houseguests were nothing more than a gaggle of inane fops and fribbles.
"Well," she said slowly. "One gentleman asked me if I"d ever been to Scotland. Twice."