My mother looked him up and down, slowly. "I did what I thought necessary. You look fit enough now. Enjoy your ride?"
His fists clenched and I prepared to throw myself between them. He"d never survive if he laid a finger on my mother.
"What are you doing here?" He looked at me. "Did you bring her here?"
"No! I"d never..." I put a hand on his arm. "I"m trying to get her to restore your memories. Trust me."
"Aye, I trust you." He locked eyes with my mother again. "I don"t believe you can repair the harm you"ve done. I think you are a manipulative b.i.t.c.h who thought she could control her daughter but miscalculated." He pulled me to him. "I may not remember our past, but the Gloriana I have gotten to know this past week is stubborn and doesn"t give up easily."
"You are right about that. I see a lot of myself in her. We are willful women." My mother smiled her cold and scary smile. "You have stones, I"ll give you that, Jeremiah Campbell. I begin to see what Gloriana admires in you. But you turned her vampire. I find that repugnant."
"If he hadn"t turned me, I would have been dust these four hundred years or more! You should be on your knees, thanking him for that, not punishing him, Mother." I held on to him, so happy I wanted to dance around the room. He"d defended me!
"But you are not dust and I have given you my terms, Gloriana." She swept her eyes around the room. "I see no friendly faces here. A car will come for you tomorrow night. You know what you must do." And with that, she vanished.
"A G.o.ddess from Olympus in the flesh, so to speak." Bart finally spoke from the doorway. "I didn"t know whether to grab one of the swords from the wall here or run like h.e.l.l."
"Neither would have done you any good if my mother had decided you displeased her, Bart. Your best move was what you did. Stand still and hope she didn"t notice you." I worried when Jerry stepped away from me and sank into a chair. "Jerry, are you all right?"
"Tired." He looked up at me with a weary smile. "Come here. Tell me about how we met, why I made you vampire. It wasn"t something I usually do. I know that much about myself. Da turned each of us in the family when we told him we were ready." He smiled at his father. "But I never made a habit of turning others vampire as far as I remember." His smile vanished. "Did I?" He looked at his parents.
"No, son. It"s not something we encourage." Angus helped Mag settle on the couch. They both were obviously still shaken. My mother had that effect on people. You"d think that might get me some sympathy but Mag still glared at me. Right. I couldn"t blame her for that. I"d brought the wrath of Olympus down on their son.
I sank down on the floor and leaned against Jerry"s knee. Guilty or not, I loved telling this story. I was just sorry I had this audience. His mother in particular hated to be reminded that I"d been an actress, though I really hadn"t been much more than a walk-on milkmaid in one of Shakespeare"s plays at the Globe. It had been illegal to even put women on the stage back then, but it had made the mostly male audience go wild. I"d been a desperate widow and had finally sunk low enough to hope to gain a protector by walking across the stage in a low-cut costume. It had worked when Jerry spotted me and fell for me right away.
I told the story with embellishments that made it seem dramatic and exciting. I left out the grinding poverty and my desperation. I ignored his parents and the doctor who"d dug out his ever-present notebook. Instead, I looked into Jerry"s eyes and reminded him of how we"d fallen in love. And how I"d begged him to make me his forever. I crawled up into his lap when I got to the part where he"d given in to my urgings.
"It was meant to be, Jerry. We didn"t know then that I"d been a Siren, cast out by the Storm G.o.d and left in human form to die a mortal"s natural death. Achelous had even killed my young husband, leaving me to fend for myself. I was supposed to die back then." I felt his arms go around me and leaned against him. "Call it fate or the workings of a G.o.d who knew wrongs that needed righting, but you gave me my immortality back."
"Strange. That I should see you back then and have to have you. In a large city like London. I so easily could have missed your performance. Not gone to the theater when you were on the stage." He rested his cheek on my hair. "I think you"re right. Someone fated us to be together, Gloriana. And we"ll not let this temporary madness keep us apart."
"I"ve tried to make my mother realize that she should be grateful to you." I traced his hard jaw with my fingertip. "But she won"t see reason. All she knows is that I"m a vampire and she can"t abide them."
"So seeing us together is her worst nightmare?" He kissed my finger then sucked it into his mouth, nipping it with a brush of his fang.
"Yes." I shivered at the sensation of his warm mouth touching me. I heard Mag complain to Angus that I was sinking my claws into their son again. It was enough to make me laugh out loud.
"Good." Jerry grinned and stood with me in his arms.
I gasped. Even under the influence of my mother"s hateful magic, he was still so strong. He ignored his mother"s muttering and his doctor"s scribbling. His father raised an eyebrow but actually smiled when Jerry strode past them all and headed toward the bedrooms. He stopped at his door and I leaned down to open it.
"You don"t have to do this, la.s.s." His voice was low near my ear.
"I couldn"t want anything more." I pulled his head down to give him an openmouthed kiss. It went on and on until I felt his arms quiver. I wrenched my lips free. "Put me down."
"d.a.m.ned weakness." He set me on my feet then shut the door.
"Then I"ll feed you first." I tugged him toward his king-size bed. "Have to admit, though, you smell more than a bit like horse."
"I"ll shower first then. Will you join me?" His grin was wicked. "I"m not so weak that I couldn"t enjoy a romp in one of those miracles of modern technology."
"I"d love that." I pulled my sweater off over my head, laughing at the look on his face when he saw my black lace bra. "What? Don"t you recognize another piece of modern technology when you see it?"
"Are you sure this isn"t some kind of torture device?" He traced the edges of the lace cups then snapped the elastic straps. "How do you get free of this thing?"
"Here." I opened the front clasp and released my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, tossing the bra to the floor.
He frowned at the red marks made by the underwire. "Does this hurt?" He rubbed at the pressure points before being distracted by my nipples. "Why do you put yourself through that? Your b.r.e.a.s.t.s are perfect."
"Thanks." I moaned when he bent his head to suck one of my nipples into his mouth. "I can"t remember why I wear one. It"s called a bra. Umm. That feels good."
He opened my pants without any trouble, smiling at my skimpy lace panties. "Now this is more like it. Very pretty. But again, unnecessary." He slid them down my legs and tossed them aside. I"d left my shoes by the door. He breathed against my tummy, his hands skimming along my b.u.t.tocks as he was obviously relearning the shape of my body. "You are perfect."
"Oh, Jerry." I blinked back tears, dropping down to my knees to kiss him silent. How I loved this man. Before too long I had him naked as well and in the shower. His hard body felt so right against my own. We were made to be together. Why was it so difficult for me to remember that when other men tempted me? I prayed that this would help him remember it as well.
He started at my neck, kissing and licking his way from front to back and front again. His hands slicked with soap, he pushed me against the tile and lovingly ma.s.saged my b.r.e.a.s.t.s then rinsed them. I pulled his head down to them again, needing his mouth there. His lips tugged and brought an answering yearning deep inside me. I almost screamed my pleasure when I felt his fangs sc.r.a.pe across my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He licked away a droplet of blood and looked up at me, his eyes dark with hunger.
"Drink from me, Jeremiah. Take what you need."
"I need this." He eased a finger inside me as he pressed his lips to my jugular, the warm water beating down on his shoulders so that the spray barely touched me. He added a second finger, coaxing a sigh from me with his rhythmic invasion.
The smooth heat of his c.o.c.k pressed against my thigh, close, so close to where I wanted it. I grasped it in my hand, matching my movements to his own. Guiding it between my thighs, I lifted one leg to wrap around his waist so that I could bring him inside.
"Now, please. Take me now." I lifted my other leg, feeling the sharp sting of his fangs at my neck the same moment he entered me. He filled me, completed me and we stayed joined at neck and thighs. One. Then he began to move and so did I. We pounded against each other, desperate to get close enough, satisfied enough, deep enough. I felt him taking in my life force, drinking it and becoming stronger. And still I wanted more of him. I dug my nails into his back and held on. I locked my legs around him and pressed harder, trying to meld our bodies together for all time. If only I could just fuse my memories into his mind. Give him all those years back...
He finally gasped and released my vein, his eyes fluttering open to look into mine. His hands on my a.s.s held me firmly as he shifted me to the bench seat at the back of the large shower stall. Then he pulled away and sank down to his knees, taking me with his mouth until I fell back, so limp with satisfaction that I was sure I was going to slide to the tile floor and down the drain.
With a grin he stood, pulling me up to take me again, the friction of his insatiable c.o.c.k undoing me once more. I sobbed, so wild for him I forgot that I meant to control myself. I bit into his neck, swallowing some of his own sweet blood, filling my mouth and taking it as I always had.
"Gloriana." His whisper brought me to my senses.
What was I doing? He"d been weak. I couldn"t take from him. But he held my head when I tried to withdraw, kept me there to drink awhile longer. Finally, I stopped. Just laid my head against his shoulder and listened to his beating heart. Strong. And satisfied. We both were. And the water was getting cold. His hand slid down to my back and my feet finally touched the floor.
"Wow. Just...wow." I stepped back and wobbled a little bit. "Some reunion."
"I"d say so." He grabbed a towel and carefully wrapped it around my wet hair, then handed me another one. He put a third around his waist. "You"re amazing. No wonder we were lovers for centuries."
I was afraid to ask but did anyway. "Did you remember anything?"
"I don"t know. Some of what we did seemed somehow...familiar." He ran a small towel over his hair then tossed it aside to turn away. "But then how many women have I f.u.c.ked? Could it be that it"s like riding a horse? Some things just come back to you." He stalked out of the bathroom, drying his back with yet another snowy towel. I got the feeling he was p.i.s.sed off. No memories. Swell.
"Don"t worry about it, Jer. Like Bart told you, give it time." I dried off my body and decided to h.e.l.l with my hair. I fashioned a turban then walked into the bedroom naked. If Jerry had it in him to go another round, I was all for it. One look at his face told me it wasn"t happening.
"You"re beautiful. I"m lucky you are willing to stick with me through this, but who would want a man who is scared to get into an automobile? Jumps when a telephone rings? I"m not right in the head, Gloriana. And I know you didn"t do this to me. I also know there are men in this Texas you say we came from who want you. It might be best if you went back there and let one of them have you."
"Jerry. Jeremiah." I rushed to his side where he now sat on the edge of the bed. "How can you say that? I love you. This is a temporary setback. And my own mother did this to you because of me. Do you really think I would leave you now?"
"I don"t need your d.a.m.ned pity!" He came up fast, pushing me back with one hand. "You are not responsible for what your mother did. I know that. Go. Maybe that will give your mother a reason to put me back to rights. Ever think about that?"
"So you don"t love me? Don"t want me?" I heard my voice tremble but refused to cry. This wasn"t my guy talking. "What about what just happened between us?"
He looked me over, a.s.sessing me. No sign of the warm lover now. I wanted to pick up my discarded clothes from the floor and hold them in front of me. "You are a desirable woman, Gloriana. And available. I"m a man with needs. Do you really think I"d turn down what you offered?" He lay back on his bed. "Thanks for the blood donation. Go back to Texas. You say you have a life there. It"s for the best. Now leave. I"m still tired."
I felt like he"d slapped me. "I don"t believe you, Jerry. I think this is your pride talking. You are not less than a man just because you have a memory loss." I sucked in a breath, desperate not to break down before I had my say. "Even if you never fill in the blanks in your life, you are more of a man than many I have known. I won"t give up on you. On us. And this isn"t about pity." I stared at him, willing him to look at me, say something. He didn"t do either. "Do you think what just happened in that shower was meaningless to me?"
He didn"t say anything. I hoped that meant he was at a loss for words. Smart move. I kicked my clothes aside and grabbed his shoulder. He finally looked at me.
"It meant everything to me. To be back in your arms again. We made love, Jerry. Or at least that"s what it felt like to me. And I think somewhere inside you had to know it wasn"t a meaningless f.u.c.k, didn"t you?" I pleaded with my eyes. Oh, G.o.d, if only he"d felt something...
"Jesus, I..." He touched my face. "No, it wasn"t meaningless. You made me happy, Gloriana. And I feel like-" He shook his head. "I don"t know. Maybe we aren"t strangers."
I leaned down and kissed him, taking a good long time with it, so happy I wanted to cry all over him. It was a start. I stood and saw his eyes follow the movement. Oh, yes, I was still naked.
"It"s settled then. If I go back to Texas, then you"re coming with me."
"You"re mad." He turned his head away. "You really don"t want to be stuck with me, Gloriana. Not when I"m like this and no hope of getting better."
"Yes, I do." I crawled onto the bed, grabbed his chin and made him look at me again. "I don"t think riding around on a horse like you"re still in the sixteenth century, Jerry, living in the same castle you lived in back then, is helping you get your memory back. I think-" I rested my hands on his bare shoulders. "I think going to Texas, where you had a new life, new friends, and have to face the present, will be the best medicine. Are you brave enough to try that, my Scottish warrior?"
"Brave? When lifting a sword might well sap my strength? You really would be better off without me, Gloriana." He started to glower, but I could see he had noticed my bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s, inches away from his chest.
I snuggled up against him. "We aren"t big on swords nowadays. Modern weapons don"t weigh very much." I put my arms around him and pressed my b.r.e.a.s.t.s to his chest. His towel twitched. Good. "We"re starting over, Jer. If you never remember a b.l.o.o.d.y thing, it"s okay by me. To h.e.l.l with my mother. I don"t trust her to help fix you anyway." I kissed his damp shoulder.
"No, I"d not trust a G.o.ddess from Olympus. Bart says they are dangerous. He has spent hours studying her blood and investigating her on a machine he has. It has some kind of net that catches information. But without her name, he says he can only get some vague idea of what she might be able to do."
"She"s capable of plenty. None of it good." I sighed against his warm skin. Now he smelled clean and male. I had hope that we could do this together. Somehow patch a future out of new memories and maybe some old ones as time went by.
Jerry smiled. "You have some of her blood too. The blood of a G.o.ddess. Maybe that"s why it"s so delicious." He ran his hand down my back and along the curve of my b.u.t.t. "It definitely makes me feel stronger."
"Then you must get it more often." I reached down and jerked away his towel. "Are you feeling stronger right now?" I glanced down to where he seemed to have found renewed vigor. "Strong enough to make me scream so loud that your father has to turn up the volume on the TV and your mother starts cursing me for a conniving s.l.u.t?"
"How can I resist when you make it sound like so much fun?" He rolled me under him and kissed me hard, then soft, then hard again. Finally, he leaned back and got serious. "Are you sure, Gloriana, that you won"t take this chance to run away far and fast? I won"t give it to you again."
"Shut up and kiss me. We"ve talked enough, don"t you think?" I pulled him down and got on with the lovemaking. Run? Wait till Jerry saw what was waiting for him in Texas. Two men who had known me intimately. He might not remember what had happened but it was bound to come out. And I didn"t doubt that the new Jerry was still the jealous type. Who could blame him? Now it was up to me to get my mother to back off.
Another beautiful dress arrived the next night but I resisted the urge to wear it. I did try it on, though, then set it aside. Jerry was out riding again. We"d talked about going to Texas and I"d called Flo. She was arranging for their plane to land in Edinburgh where we could board and go with them back home to Austin. They"d be here in a few days. When Jerry"s mother heard our plans, she hit the roof.
"So you"ve managed to pull him back to you with a romp between the sheets. Once a s.l.u.t, always a s.l.u.t." Mag caught me in the hallway when I tried to find a laundry room. Her servants hadn"t been very helpful and I was afraid I was going to have to go into the village to do a load of wash at a Laundromat.
"I wouldn"t let Jerry hear you talk like that. He"s happy with me tonight. You don"t want him leaving here with ill feelings, do you?" I stopped a pa.s.sing servant. "Master Jeremiah asked me to have you wash these things. Now will you take care of it?" The man looked at Mag. She finally nodded and he took the pillowcase full of clothes.
"Must you take him back to Texas?" She actually looked distressed. "He"s not well. Anyone can see it. And your witch of a mother is sure to follow you both there. Do you trust her not to hurt him again?"
It was a good point. I didn"t trust her. But I couldn"t stay here either. Mag hated me, Angus barely tolerated me and every night that Jerry could ride around like the old days seemed to make him regress into Highland-warrior mode even worse than he"d been when he"d first been stabbed. We had to leave. Luckily Bart had business in America and had agreed to meet us there in a week to continue working with Jerry.
"I"m going to try to convince her that this is a lost cause. That, even if Jerry was out of the picture, I"ll never do what she wants." I followed Mag into the living room. Angus had gone riding with Jerry, and Bart and Cait were in the village on a date. For once the TV was off. We settled into two chairs, facing each other.
"What does the witch want, Gloriana?" Mag leaned forward.
I hesitated. This was not something I wanted to share, because you can bet Mag would have me on the first broomstick to Olympus if she could manage it.
"A mother-daughter relationship. Can you believe it? Like I could forgive her after what she did to Jerry." I sat back. That was all I was telling her.
"Well, you"re right there. It was unforgivable." For once Jer"s mum and I were in complete agreement. A vampire, one of their guards, entered the room.
"Sorry, my lady, but there"s a man at the door. He"s here to collect Miss Gloriana. He"s got a limo stuck up the road. Can"t get it close to the drive." He nodded at me. "Nice ride."
"That"s my cue. I"m supposed to meet my mother in the village. I"m going to try to get this straightened out. Wish me luck." I got up and followed the man outside. I could see the lights of the limo in the distance. The winding road wasn"t meant for long cars and the driver had given up trying to make it all the way up the narrow lane. I"d worn jeans and a sweater, not that divine black sheath with the pearls my mother had sent earlier. As soon as I got into the car and he started backing out of the lane, I heard him get on his cell phone.
"You"d better see her before she gets to the meet, Your Highness."
Your Highness? Oh, please. But I figured he was giving my mother a heads-up about my clothing. Fine. That meant I"d be seeing her, not some G.o.d full of himself and ready to make me an offer I"d be happy to refuse. We were soon on the road and zooming along toward a village not too far from the one nearest the castle. Guess Mom had decided to avoid the locals. Soon we pulled up in front of a quaint inn in a village known for its whiskey distillery. I could just picture her sampling the local brew.
As soon as the driver let me out, I headed for the door. It opened and my mother stood there, glowering. She fairly shot off sparks with outrage.
"Come upstairs to my room. Now." She grabbed my arm, electricity sending a sharp tingle through me at the contact.
"Ow!" I tried to get free but she wasn"t letting go.
"You dare show up looking like that! What are you up to?" She practically threw me into a bedroom that looked like a throwback to the Middle Ages. It had beamed ceilings, a four-poster bed and a fireplace with a plaster front. I liked it. I bet she hated it.
"I"m tired of these dates when I"m sure you have no intention of doing a thing to make Jerry remember squat." I sat in a chair in front of the fire and crossed my legs. I"d even dug out my only pair of sneakers, red Ked high-tops. She gave them a look of complete horror.
"I told you I would try to bring his memories back."
"Try!" I leaped to my feet. "Seriously? I"m supposed to put up with your nonsense on the basis of a try?" I poked her chest, stopping for a nanosecond to admire her lacy blouse. Very vintage and expensive. No, I was furious. "Jerry is suffering and you don"t give a d.a.m.n. I won"t have it!" I actually stomped my foot.
"You won"t have it? Excuse me? Do you really think you have the power to call the shots here?" She closed her eyes. "Right now your lover is riding on the hills near his castle. His father is beside him. They are having a fine time. The laird is reminiscing, trying to help his son remember some of the good times he can"t recall." She opened her sky blue eyes and glared at me.
"Leave them alone, Mother." My stomach lurched. I had a feeling I knew what was coming. Her cold smile chilled me.
"One snap of my fingers, Gloriana, and I can send both horses tumbling down the rocky slope, their riders with them. I"ll make sure the fall breaks every bone in their bodies, the men, not the horses. I love a good mount." She smiled like I"d appreciate that fine distinction. I just stared at her. "Oh, they won"t die. They are vampires after all. But they will have such pain! Do you want that for your lover, Gloriana?"
"s.a.d.i.s.tic witch!" I staggered back to the chair and sat. "How can you say you want to be my mother? Have a relationship with me and then do things like that to the man I love?"
"He is wrong for you!" She paced in front of me. "You are being foolish. I will present you with the right man and you will see how insane loving a vampire is. Life on Olympus will give you everything-perfect body, mind, spirit. You"ll have the finest jewels, clothes, lovers. Whatever you desire will be at your fingertips. Why won"t you listen to me?"
"Because I"m not a child, Mother." I sighed. "I"m a woman who has had over four hundred years to discover what and who she wants. Trust me, it"s not perfection. That seems pretty hollow right now." I looked her over. Yes, she was pretty d.a.m.ned perfect on the surface, but she had so many evil ways, I couldn"t begin to count them. "You came too late to the Glory party. You persist in this persecution of Jerry and I"ll never be the loving daughter you hope for."
"What can I do to make you listen to me?" She sagged into the chair across from me. "He is not worth your devotion."
"That is not your call." I stood. "Are you going to hurt him?"
"I"m thinking about it." She ran a bloodred nail across gleaming teeth that would never need a whitening strip.
"Do it and we"re done. I will never speak to you again."