Her feet moved over the direction memorized by her brain. The council"s order had been clear. Her London contact, supposedly a young girl, was to be out this night with her parents. Many vampires from a club of young ones had been killed, dragged out into the early morning sunrise and left for dead. It was said the young child witnessed the ma.s.sacre and it was Jaden"s job to lure the girl away and read her to see if she could discover a name or face.
Jaden couldn"t care less. The job was no longer important. She just did it, hoping to pa.s.s the endless nights until she could see Tyr again. Nothing mattered anymore.
"That is not the chivalrous att.i.tude of a true knight."
Jaden froze. Her heart didn"t dare to beat for fear she"d heard wrong. Her lips trembling, her limbs shaking, she slowly turned around. She gasped, her eyes growing round. Slowly shaking her head, she whispered, "Tyr?"
A slow smile curled over the face she loved. Handsome blue eyes shone with a possessive mischief. His lips formed easily on his face. Jaden took him all in--his Viking blonde hair, his piercing eyes, and his kissable mouth. Her hands hung lifeless at her side.
Stepping before her in the dark alleyway, Tyr stopped. Jaden didn"t dare believe it. She didn"t dare to move and spoil the dream.
"I"ll admit that I expected a little more of an enthusiastic greeting," he said with a wry smile. Jaden felt tears in her eyes. She had read somewhere that vampires couldn"t cry. A lonely trail of moisture worked its way down her face. It would seem she could only cry for Tyr.
"Jaden?" Tyr asked in concern. His smile faded.
"I can"t do this," she cried mournfully. Another tear worked its way out of her eyes. "You"ll only leave me again. They"ll take you away from me again and each time it gets worse. Each time I die a little more. My heart can"t take losing you. I can"t do it. It hurts too badly. I--I love you."
The rest of her tearful protest was crushed by the onslaught of his mouth. Jaden couldn"t resist the feel of him. It was too precious.
Her eyes closed against the pain of eventual suffering. She clung to him. Her lips trembled, unable to return his pa.s.sionate kiss.
A grin spread across his features. Tyr"s entire being exploded with happiness. She loved him. It was all that mattered. Pulling his mouth away, he drew back. Jaden panicked, holding on tighter.
"Not yet," she whispered. Her fingers clutched desperately at his jacket front, before maneuvering over his shoulders to cling to his neck. "You can"t leave me yet."
"Say it again," he murmured. His arms stayed steadily along her back.
"What?" she asked in confusion. "I can"t think straight. I love you."
Tyr"s smile widened. "Again."
"I love you?" she asked, the sound more like a timid question than an a.s.sertion.
"Never stop saying it, my love," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.
"But--" Jaden"s weakened protest was cut off by his kiss. She returned his embrace full force. Only when Tyr drew back, did she stop to think.
"I love you, Jaden." Tyr said. "I can"t live without you. I can"t wait a hundred years to be with you. Without you I can"t fight. I can"t concentrate. I"m nothing without you."
"But, the council," she began weakly. "They--I"m on a.s.signment. They"ll find out. They said they have people watching."
"Who? Someone to watch the dark knights? Don"t you realize? There is no one to watch us. We"re the only watchers and they know it. We"re the council"s eyes to the world. Besides, I took care of the council. I told them that you were mine and that I was yours. They would rather recant a decree than have us both defy them."
"But, how?"
"You proved your loyalty when you faced Mack alone," Tyr answered. His hand pressed over her hair, smoothing it back. "I turned you Jaden. That makes me your master in their eyes. And you have made me. Without you I am not whole." Tyr smiled tenderly at her, no walls up between them.
"Wait," she panted though her lungs didn"t need the air. "You love me?"
"Yes," he whispered, kissing the trails of her tears.
"And we can be together?" she persisted, not daring to hope, making sure she heard him right.
"Yes."
Jaden squealed in delight, all her dreams coming true. She jumped into the air, wrapping her arms and legs around Tyr"s steady form. She pressed kisses all along his face. Eternity no longer seemed so dim.
"That"s all I have to know," she whispered.
"Wait," Tyr said, enjoying her eager kisses. "There are a few conditions."
"Hum?" Jaden"s lips moved to nestle Tyr"s neck, making concentration hard. His hand threaded beneath her backside to support her. "There always are."
"They allow it because you have proven your loyalty. But you"re on probation as my apprentice. That makes me responsible for you." Tyr"s masculine smile said he was unconcerned. He was just happy to have her where she belonged--in his arms, under his spell.
Jaden chuckled as he walked, carrying her easily with him, her body clutching to his. She leaned over to naughtily lick at his earlobe. A smile crossed her face, as she felt him s.h.i.+ver.
"It means you"ll have to listen to me," he said, breathing in her cinnamon scent and angling his head to allow her tender lips greater access to him.
"I"ve never listened very well."
"Then we are both doomed," he sighed with feigned sorrow, though nothing could wipe the pleasure from his face, "for I am ordered to kill you if you disobey me."
"Really?" she preened. Leaning back, she batted her eyelashes coquettishly at him. "Well you know I stand to inherit a lot of money. What if I pay you off? Would you promise not to tell on me if I was bad?"
"It is not your money I"m after," Tyr growled with a seductive proposition to his low words. His lips devoured her neck with licks and kisses. His fangs brushed over her skin. As he moved, his body pressed against her. His thick arousal stood ready and waiting for her touch. "And I must insist that you are bad. We are vampires after all. We have a reputation to uphold."
"Then get me out of here," Jaden said, her eyes round and serious, but so very pleased. "I can kidnap some child for the council another night."
"With pleasure, m"lady." Tyr sped off into the night, into their eternity, carrying her in his steady arms. "And where would you like me to take you?"
"I know of a sunlit field where no one can find us," she whispered, tenderly stroking his long hair back from his handsome face.
"And, if I remember correctly, you know how to get us there. Oh, then we can battle those knights you mentioned. And didn"t you say something about jumping off a castle wall and--?"
Tyr"s laughter rang out. He cut off her words with a deep kiss that left the vampiress completely breathless, which was hard to do since she didn"t need air. The sultry sound of his laughter continued, fading behind them, wicked with intent, full of promise.
"Yes, my love," he murmured into the parting night, planting kisses along her neck. His hands explored up her body, not waiting for the comforts of a bed. They blurred into the surrounding darkness like the wind, as he whispered, "You"ll have to close your eyes for I"m going to have to kiss you to get there."
THE END.
A Sneak Peak of Tribes of the Vampire 3: ETERNALLY BOUND.
By
Mich.e.l.le M Pillow
COMING SOON FROM NCP.
Eastwich Manor, England, Spring 1896
Dark eyes pierced easily through the shadows of the dense trees. The lone figure stayed silent, in the darkness, watching the pair pa.s.s close by him. Curiosity caused the old vampire to stop and watch the brother and sister as they entered the forest. He had smelled the carnage of blood easily as he whisked his way home.
His sensitive ears detected their whispered words without difficulty, just as his eyes saw every detail of their forms. The girl was slender, just new into her womanhood. Her features appeared as if they had only just emerged from the chubbiness of youth- - so fresh was her complexion, so unmarked by mortal time, even if it was marred by the crimson streaking of blood. Her face was pale from her late night tryst into the forest, but he could tell it would be the color of peaches once her color returned.
The man, Henry, was taller, slender in such a way that was popular with mortal men of this era. He carried himself with an air of importance, but the vampire could smell his fear--and not just fear of this night, but of all nights, all things. He was a timid creature, frail and a failure. He reeked of implausible ideas and never realized dreams. He was a drifter--a man who would float through his life on his family"s money. This was a man who would never accomplish anything of importance. The blood within Henry"s veins would taste just as insipid as the man himself. The vampire had no interest in the man, content to let Henry have his half-existence.
However, the woman was a different matter altogether. She was definitely the more interesting of the two. The vampire turned his attention back to her. Closing his eyes, he tried to read into the woman"s thoughts, hear her secrets. Her mind was blank, numb.
This interested him. She agreed to help her brother, but she did not have the raging, incoherent thoughts of a killer. On the other hand, her mind did not drown in cynicisms as one use to witnessing such dire acts as was the case with Bobbies in London. She was a pampered girl, spoiled no doubt by the look of her rich gown, and yet here she faced that which most men could not stomach to do.
The vampire frowned, moving stealthily to walk behind the brother and sister, knowing they led the way through the trees to an abandoned cottage. The mortals" feet crunched lightly on the fallen twigs and leaves of the forest floor. The woman stumbled, her foot left only to the protection of a tattered stocking. He could smell the blood on her foot as she walked, the scent stirring up from her, temptingly sweet. She didn"t make a sound.
It was a short walk to the cottage. The vampire kept himself hidden from them with the will of his mind. He concentrated, hearing the heartbeat inside the woman"s chest. He had just eaten and yet he had the urge to feed again. The need was overwhelmingly strong. Her blood would be pleasant against his tongue, strong, pure, vigorous, erotic. It would fill him with energy and life. He could smell its intoxicating potency. He wanted her. He wanted to drink from her slender neck, her ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her opened thighs. It had been a long time since his body had been quickened by the smell of his food.
The vampire breathed deeply of her scent, moving to whisk by her neck to better smell her. He was not disappointed. He felt chills rise on her flesh as he pa.s.sed by. She sensed his nearness. He let her.
Copyright 2004 Mich.e.l.le M. Pillow, All Rights Reserved
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