Bittersweet Blood (10 page)

Shock flashed through her. “You’d let him do that?”

“I don’t think I would have any say in the matter. I’m strong, but perhaps not that strong. We’re surrounded by over a hundred vampires. Of course, I would fight—you are, after all, my responsibility—but in all likelihood, I would die. So I think the question you need to ask yourself is would you let me mark you now, or would you prefer I’m killed and you’re held down while Piers rapes your mind.”

“You’re trying to scare me.”

“Perhaps. Am I succeeding?”

She took a deep breath. “So maybe you’d better explain this whole marking thing, because I’m not letting you into my mind without knowing what you’re up to.”

Amusement glinted in his eyes. “It will tie you to the vampire who marks you.”

“Tie? In what way tie?”

“There would be some… compulsion involved.”

“You mean I’d have to do what you say? I don’t think so.”

“Tara, we have the ability to make any human do as we say, it just takes less effort with those that are marked.”

“Let me get this straight. You can make me do what you want.” He smiled again and nodded. “Have you?” she asked.

“No.”

“Could you?”

“I believe so. What else is it you wish to know?”

She found it hard to move past the whole compulsion thing. “Tell me more about this tie.”

“Your life would be bound to mine. If I were to be destroyed, in all likelihood you would die.”

Her heart skipped a beat, then sped up as she realized it was the thought of Christian being destroyed that upset her, rather than her dying in response. When had she started to care about him?

“And are you planning on that happening anytime soon?” she asked.

“Not planning, no.”

She could live with that. “So, last question. Is it permanent?”

“I’ve never tried to remove a mark. Perhaps it’s possible. Most humans are happy with the benefits of belonging to a vampire.”

She remembered Graham with his designer suits and his dreamy expression when he thought of Christian feeding. Then her mind focused on one word and her whole body tensed. “Belonging? I don’t want to belong to anybody.”

He sighed. “I think you must trust me on this one, Tara. I promise I’ll not abuse the mark, and afterward, if possible, I’ll remove it.” He took her hands. A sense of calm washed over her, and she wondered if he were doing something to her mind. “And Tara, there are benefits.”

She eyed him warily, not quite convinced that her idea of benefits and Christian’s would coincide.

“You will be stronger,” he said, “and live longer. I would take care of you—you’d be my responsibility.”

“The stronger and living longer bits I’ll take. The responsibility thing you can keep. From now on, I’m nobody’s responsibility but my own.”

“So you’ll allow me to do it.”

“I don’t see that I’ve got a choice.” She sighed. “I can’t believe you didn’t think about this before you brought me here.”

He appeared about to speak, but the door opened, Piers stepped in, and Christian dropped her hands.

Piers focused on Christian. “Has she agreed?”

Christian nodded. Piers studied her for a moment. She shuddered at the expression in his eyes. He wanted her, she could see that, but it was what he wanted her for that worried her most. All he said was, “Pity.”

“So what happens now?” she asked. Christian had promised it wouldn’t hurt, but her whole body clenched at the thought of the unknown.

“It will be done in a moment. Turn and face me.”

Christian moved closer and put his fingertips to her temple. “Relax.”

She stared into his eyes. For a moment, her mind opened to him, as though he were becoming one with her. Then everything locked, and she was back in her own head alone.

Christian frowned. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

His fingers tightened on her forehead. He stared at her again but this time her mind remained her own.

“What’s going on?” Piers asked.

Christian dropped his hands. “It’s not working.”

Piers moved to stand over them. “What do you mean ‘not working’?”

“I’m not marked?”

Christian shook his head. He turned to Piers. “I can’t get in. Her mind is shutting me out cold. I’ve never felt this sort of block before.”

“Shall I try?”

Christian’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “No,” he growled.

“What’s happening?” Tara asked.

“We spoke of compulsion, a vampire’s ability to force a human to do something. I want to see if it works on you.”

“What are you going to make me do, act like a chicken or something?”

He smiled though he didn’t appear happy. “Nothing like that.” He thought for a moment. “I’m going to make you stay seated in that chair. I want you to try and get up and walk across the room.”

“When?”

“Now would be good,” Piers said.

Tara got up and crossed the room. “Is that it?”

A look passed between the two men. Christian frowned but Piers turned toward her. After a moment, he shook his head. “Nothing.”

“I told you to stay out of her mind,” Christian snarled.

Piers held up his hands defensively. “Hey, I didn’t get in.”

“What’s going on?” Tara asked.

“You seem to be able to keep us out of your mind. Which presumably also means we can’t erase your memories.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” she asked.

Piers looked at her, and his eyes were cold. “Is it going to be a problem, Christian?” The question was asked in a soft voice, but Christian tensed.

“Don’t lay a finger on her,” he said. “Not one finger.”

“Actually, fingers didn’t come into what I had in mind.” Piers shrugged. “What do you suggest?”

“It may have something to do with the talisman. Maybe the magic keeps us out.”

“Then she must take it off.”

“Not here and not until we know more about it. Look Piers, I’ll vouch for her. Keep her close, she won’t betray us.”

Piers regarded them silently for a moment, then nodded. “But
you
are responsible, and you mark her as soon as you can. Now, let’s get Ella in here see if she can tell us something about this talisman.”

The door opened and a woman walked in. Tara had been predisposed to disliking Ella but she needn’t have bothered. A wave of revulsion washed over her as the woman stepped inside. Tara couldn’t rid her mind of the idea she was in the presence of something evil. Dressed in black leather trousers and a black shirt that clung to her full breasts and flat stomach, Ella was a female version of the vampires, but she wasn’t a vampire. She ignored Tara, her attention on the two men. Strolling up to Christian, she stroked her scarlet tipped fingers over his chest.

“You wanted me?” she purred.

It set Tara’s teeth on edge. She took a step closer to Christian, only just resisting the urge to place a possessive hand on his arm. He glanced at her and back at Ella.

“Hardly,” he drawled.

Ella’s face hardened. Her eyes narrowed on Christian, then flicked to Tara and something dark shifted across her expression.

“We want you to look at something,” Piers said.

“What?” She sounded sulky now.

“Tara?” Piers gestured to her to come forward, and Tara took a reluctant step away from Christian. Ella ran her eyes over her.

“A human? What’s she doing here?”

“She belongs to Christian.”

Tara didn’t like the word, but at that moment, belonging to Christian sounded like a very good idea, so she didn’t argue.

“She’s not marked.”

“No, she’s not. Now can we get on with this?”

Ella shrugged. “What do you want?”

“Show her the talisman, Tara.” Christian spoke softly beside her.

Tara pulled the locket from beneath her shirt and held it out. As Ella moved closer, Tara had to fight the urge to step back. She did not want the other woman to touch her.

Ella reached out but her hand dropped back before she touched it. “Can you open it?” she asked.

Tara flicked open the catch. Ella stared at the contents, her eyes widening in surprise.

“What can you tell us?” Piers asked, sounding impatient.

“Not a lot. It’s powerful, but what it’s doing is shrouded, part of the magic. Where did it come from?”

“That’s what we want to find out. Can you tell us who made it?”

“No. For once there’s no signature, which is strange in itself. As though the maker didn’t want to be identified, but there aren’t many powerful enough to make this charm.”

“Could you do it?” Christian asked.

Ella shook her head.

“So how many could?”

She tilted her head. “Three or four, maybe.”

“Can you make us a list, find out where they are, who’s the most likely.”

“I suppose I could. Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“You don’t need to know,” Christian replied.

Ella’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not my boss anymore, Christian.” She glanced at Piers, but he said nothing, and she shrugged again. “I’ll let you know.”

“Ella, I want this kept private.”

She looked ready to argue but turned and stalked from the room. The door slammed behind her, and Tara released the breath she’d been holding.

“Nice lady,” she said.

Piers chuckled. “No, she’s not. She’s neither nice or a lady.” He turned to Christian. “I think you may be right. It’s time for her to go.”

“She’s a dangerous woman to leave around,” Christian said.

“Oh, I don’t plan on leaving her anywhere,” Piers replied with a grim smile.

“Well, don’t do anything before she gets my information.”

Were they calmly discussing killing Ella? Maybe she hadn’t understood the conversation. Then she remembered the evil lurking behind the woman’s face, and shivered.

Christian’s arm curled around her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”

She nodded. She wanted to go home. She wanted her pajamas and a cup of hot cocoa and Smokey purring on her lap. She wanted to pretend everything was normal, but the normal world she wanted seemed farther from her than she could ever have believed possible.

Piers said, “Keep me informed. I want to know what happens.”

Christian nodded and led her from the room. She tried to keep her eyes focused ahead, but something made her glance to the side. Ella stared at the two of them. She smiled as she caught Tara’s gaze, but her eyes were filled with such malice that Tara’s steps faltered, and she stumbled against Christian.

Her eyes were on Ella, and Christian followed her gaze.

“Ignore her,” he murmured. “She can’t do anything to you.”

Tara wanted to believe him, but she felt the other woman’s eyes bore into her as the elevator door closed behind them.

Chapter Nine

Christian opened the passenger door for her. “I’ll take you back to your apartment.”

“That’s okay. You can drop me off at the train station.”

He shook his head. “I want you to pick up some things. You’ll be staying at my place tonight, and tomorrow we go to Yorkshire.”

Neither proposition sounded appealing right now. “I’ve had my fill of vampires for the night, thank you, and I’m not ready for the whole basement thing.”

“You can sleep in the penthouse.”

“You have a penthouse?” She tried not to sound impressed.

“Yeah,” he answered dryly. “It’s at the top of the building.”

However desirable she found Christian, she just wanted to go home. She wanted her pajamas, her cat, and that mug of cocoa. She craved the safety of the familiar. “I want to stay at home.”

“It’s not an option. I told Piers you wouldn’t be a problem, which means I have to make sure you’re not.”

Her mouth tightened. “I’m not going to tell anybody. Your secret is safe and all that crap.”

“Don’t make this difficult.”

“Or else what? Are you going to order me? Hey, didn’t you forget something? It doesn’t work. You can’t actually tell me what to do. Well you can, but luckily for me, I don’t have to do it.”

“You think mind compulsion is the only way to control you?” He took a step toward her. Refusing to back down took an awful lot of effort, and Tara could feel her legs trembling with the struggle to hold them in place.

“I’m sure that there’re all sorts of vampire scary stuff you could do, but you did promise you wouldn’t hurt me.”

He sighed. “I won’t hurt you, and I won’t let anyone else hurt you, but you are coming back with me tonight.”

In the dim light of the underground car park, he appeared huge and solid, his expression implacable. If he wanted to, she was sure he could pick her up and put her in the car.

“Okay,” she said, “but I will want cocoa.”

“Graham makes excellent cocoa.”

Neither of them spoke as he drove out of the underground garage and onto the street. The roads were quiet. It was almost midnight, and she needed to ask Chloe to feed Smokey and give him a cuddle each evening. Hopefully, she’d still be up.

Christian seemed to know the way to her apartment, and half an hour later, they pulled up in front of the building.

“Do you want to wait out here?” she asked and tried not to sound too hopeful.

“No.”

Tara rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not going to escape out the back window and run away.” Ignoring the comment, he got out of the car, walked around, and opened her door. She sighed and climbed out. “Just get one thing straight. I do not belong to you, okay?”

“I agree, you do not belong to me,” he replied. She started to walk away and almost didn’t hear the softly spoken, “yet.”

A ripple of some unknown emotion ran through her. Anticipation or trepidation, she really wasn’t sure, so she decided to ignore it. She was getting good at that.

She let them both in through the front door. A light was on in Chloe’s flat, and Tara decided to go there first. Christian stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Where are we going?” he asked. “Your flat’s on the second floor.”

“Do you know everything?” she snapped. “We’re going to see my friend Chloe. I’m hoping she can look after Smokey for me while I’m away, because otherwise I’m not going anywhere.”

“Graham can come in and feed your cat,” Christian said.

She raised a hand to ring the bell, but paused. “Does Graham do everything you tell him?” She was curious as to the answer. Of all she’d learned tonight, the compulsion thing worried her the most. She had no intention of letting Christian have that sort of power over her.