Alliances (Guardians of White Light, #1) (13 page)

She met his imploring gaze, “I—”

Her words froze in mid-air as his fingers delved into her thick brown hair that cascaded about her face, disheveled from her workout. She let out an involuntary gasp, but didn’t attempt to stop him.

“You’re not pulling away,” he whispered in her ear.

Her eyes were wide with innocent curiosity as she looked up at him. His hands cupped her face. He leaned in and his lips met hers. His intention to try to be gentle because of her inexperience was thrown to the wayside when she suddenly pulled him against her. Passion consumed them. Their lips met fiercely.

The door flew open. The sharp smack of it against the wall caught them by surprise and instantly they broke apart. Mathias stumbled back and ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to compose himself at the sight of Jax at the top of the stairs. He glanced at Jenna who wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“There you are. I think I have the antidote!”

“You
think
?” Mathias asked.

“Ninety-nine percent certain. We need to test it. Come!” he urged them.

Jenna headed for the stairs with Mathias in tow. Jax ran off into the living room, too excited to remain still. Jenna was slow climbing the stairs. Her side ached with every step she took.

“Jenna,” Mathias called from behind her.

“Yeah?”

Before she knew what was happening, he was lifting her off her feet and carrying her up the stairs. With his vampire speed it all happened within a fraction of a second and she’d had no time to react. He put her down when they reached the landing. “What are you—what was that? I don’t need a protector, okay?”

“Just until you’re healed.”

Before she could continue to argue, he walked past her into the living room. She cursed under her breath and followed after him.
Unbelievable.
He's so old fashioned!

When they’d first arrived at the secluded country home a couple of nights ago, Jenna had immediately noticed Mathias’ influence on the decor. It was particularly true of the living room. Heavy crimson drapes adorned all the windows shutting out the sunlight. Two black wrap-around leather couches resided in adjacent corners of the room. In the center were matching loungers and armchairs with crimson cushions and coverlets. Aside from the Renaissance artwork that hung on the walls, and a couple of antique cabinets, there wasn’t much else to the room. Simple, but eloquent. Emanating good taste.

Jax stood over one of the coffee tables in the center of the room. The familiar shimmering blue of Liquid Death filled a vial lying on the table. Beside it was another full of a cloudy white liquid.

“Let’s do the test.”

“We need test subjects,” Mathias said.

“We
need
a human and a vampire. We have both,” Jax countered, gesturing between them.

Mathias was stunned. Had Jax lost his sanity? Did he understand what he was really suggesting? He shook his head vehemently. “Not happening. It’s too dangerous.”

“I know what you’re worried about and I already have that covered,” Jax said, pointing to a crossbow that rested against the armchair beside him.

“Jax—”

“I can stop you, Mathias,” Jenna added.

Mathias rounded on her. “We’re talking about me
biting
you.”

“I know. We don’t have much of a choice. It’s—”

“Wrong! There is a choice in
everything
we do.”

“You were married to a human. You were around her twenty-four-seven.”

“I never
bit
her. Ever!” Mathias bellowed, incensed by the insinuation.

Jenna hesitated about pushing it further.

But she didn’t have to as Jax cut in. “Really?” he asked. “How?”

“What?” Mathias demanded.

“Come on,” Jax said. “That can’t be.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Jax couldn’t believe he was going to have to spell it out
.
“What about sex?”

Mathias caught his eye. He looked away quickly.

Jax realized immediately what Mathias would not say. He shook his head sadly as he choked out, “You were tamed.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“If you were bedding her, but your fangs never tasted her then, yes, it was.”

“It was a different time back then.
I
was different.”

“You were trying to live as
human
. Don’t you see? Liana only accepted you, because you held the demon buried down deep. You never showed it to her.”

“You’re wrong,” Mathias growled.

“A vampire can’t make love without tasting their lover.”

“You should have just bitten her,” Jenna murmured aloud.

Mathias and Jax turned to her suddenly, surprised at the interruption.

“Excuse me?” Mathias snapped.

Jax shot Jenna a warning glance.
Best not to antagonize him further when he’s like this. He has a nasty temper.

But Jenna was not one to be deterred by anyone, temper or not. She had always favored confrontation over keeping quiet. She met Mathias’ irritated gaze, her eyes boring right through his.

“You’re a vampire. There is no true passion for you without blood. You were repressing your natural instincts when you were with her.”

“Jenna, you don’t—”

“Right, I don’t know firsthand. That doesn’t matter. I’m The Hunter, Mathias. I know what bloodlust means to vampires. I’ve
used
it to my advantage.”

Mathias’ eyes darkened and he stalked towards her. “You think you understand?” he growled.

“Mathias, let’s not do this,” Jax urged.

Mathias signaled Jax to stay back. “This is between me and her.”

He closed the distance between them quickly, gripping her arms and slamming her painfully against the wall. He glowered down at her. He was surprised to see that she wasn’t the least affected by his actions. She maintained a steady gaze as she looked up at him.

“Without complete acceptance there can be no real love,” she whispered.

He was startled by her words and the striking conviction in her voice. She was right. He couldn’t deny it, but he wanted to. He couldn’t move. Her warmth, her scent, her thumping heartbeat captivated every part of him.

Bite me. Bite me. Do it!
The words permeated his subconscious and consciousness alike. He forced himself back to reality and watched her lips form the very same words that he could have sworn she’d whispered in his ear.

“Bite me,” she said.

This time it had come through crystal clear.
What?

“Just bite me so we can get this experiment over with,” she said, breaking his strong grip on her arms and pushing him away.

He stumbled back and rubbed his eyes vigorously. “Right. Yes. The experiment.”

“Okay, now that you've dealt with—whatever that was—we still have work to do. You ready, Mathias?” Jax asked.

Mathias hesitated.
Shit, I’m not.

“Mathias, this is science. We’re in a controlled environment. I’m right here. And Jenna isn’t just any slayer. If you lose control she has the power to stop you.”

“You know how dangerous it is. To make the bite and to pull back—it takes huge strength. It’s been too long since I’ve fed from a human, especially a
virgin
.”

He met Jenna’s gaze and she looked away uncomfortably.

Jax studied the interaction between these two.
Something has happened.

“You just need a taste.”

Mathias considered the situation.
Just a taste?
That made it easier. He’d just make a shallow bite and take a few drops of blood. There wouldn’t be enough time to relish the taste and risk it overpowering his good sense. There wouldn’t be enough time for his instincts to kick in. Would there?

“Jenna?” he asked.

She nodded nervously. “Give me the antidote,” she said as she approached the coffee table.

Jax handed her the vial. “Drink it all.”

While Jenna consumed the liquid, Mathias shook off his leather jacket and draped it across the back of a nearby chair. Wearing just a black ribbed t-shirt, he wasn’t so constricted anymore. Besides, if Jax did end up needing to shoot him with a crossbow bolt, it had to hit deep to cause enough trauma for him to pull back. The hard leather of his jacket could compromise that. He approached the coffee table and picked up the cloudy white vial. He was far more cautious than Jenna. He studied it. He breathed the scent and pulled the vial away abruptly, scrunching his face at its vile odor of manure. And then he chugged it as quickly as possible. It didn’t taste like it smelled. In fact, it tasted a little like vodka. God, it had been too long since he’d last had a drink. Going cold turkey had been fine when things had been crazy. But over the last couple of days it had become harder because of all the downtime as they waited around for
Jax to concoct the antidote.

He approached Jenna, mindful that Jax was following close behind him with the crossbow.

She stood up to meet him.

“Ready?” he asked as he moved in front of her and gripped her shoulders gently. Instinctively, he leaned to his left—her right—and brushed her hair away from the side of her neck.

“No!” she said suddenly.

He stopped immediately and pulled back. He raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t bite that side.”

“What?”

She gestured to the other side of her neck. “Here.”

“You’re serious? You want me to bite over his tainted mark?”

He couldn’t hide the disgust on his face. He wasn’t sure if she realized just how insulting it was. A vampire never bit where another had been. Plus, he never bit that side. It was like trying to write with your left hand when you were right handed. It was awkward and weird.

He shot Jax a glance.
Can you believe this?

Jax shrugged.

“I don’t want two scars. One is bad enough.”

“Turn around,” he commanded. She complied. He brushed her hair away from the side of her neck and tucked it behind her ear. He held her tightly and moved in for the bite. He was glad he couldn’t see the look in her eyes. He couldn’t risk the passion between them rising to the surface again as it had in the basement. It would compromise his self-control. Also, he didn’t want her to see his demon face.

She flinched from his cold breath on her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the stabbing pain of fangs piercing skin. The memory of her first experience, with Arthur, sent a shiver through her.

Mathias felt it and paused. “It won’t hurt as much as it did with him.”

“How do you know?”

“Because, I’ve been around a lot longer. I know what I’m doing.”

Jenna didn’t have the chance to figure out whether his comment was comforting or disturbing because his fangs penetrated the soft flesh of her throat. It was a sharp sudden pain, like the prick of a needle during a blood test. Manageable. It wasn’t excruciating or nauseating. She felt him start to suck her neck, drawing the blood to the surface. To his lips. Into his mouth. He tightened his grip on her arms, his fingertips digging into her flesh. She heard him moaning.

He savored the coppery flavor of her fresh warm blood on his lips, his tongue. Exquisite. He tasted her intoxicating purity and sucked harder, drawing more of it into his mouth. In all the centuries that he had been feeding, he had never tasted blood like this. He snarled as his vampiric instincts woke, forcing their way to the surface, willing him to drink more, to go deeper, to take it all.

“That’s enough, Mathias,” Jax’s voice came from behind him.

Mathias could barely hear him. He was lost in the moment and seconds from losing control. Jax sounded miles away, his voice barely a whisper.

Jenna cried out and he felt her body start to weaken. Her hands gripped his arms that were wrapped around her, trying to pull him off her.

“Mathias, you’re taking too much. Pull back!” Jax added.

He didn’t respond.

“Mathias!” Jenna breathed.

The sound of his name on her lips jolted him back to reality. The plea in her voice cut at his heart. Abruptly, he let go. To his surprise his demon face faded to its human form the second he looked at her. Normally, after feeding, the transformation back took a lot longer.

He watched her waver on her feet and slump into an armchair. He pressed his hand tightly to the puncture wounds on her neck.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry I—”

“It’s okay. You pulled back,” she said, smiling up at him with admiration. She was a
slayer
, she lived in his world and she knew exactly what it meant that he had pulled back of his own free will.

Jax approached them and studied Mathias closely. “How do you feel?”