Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1) (27 page)

“Good afternoon to you, love,” Nicholas chuckled, from the bedroom door. He strolled over to the French doors and paused. “How do you feel today?”

“Better.” She stretched, rising to her feet.
 

“What about the fever?”

“I’m still warmer than before, but I think it might be my new normal,” she replied, with a shrug. When she saw his eyes narrow and his features darken with concern, she slipped out of bed and crossed to him. She put her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “Really love, it’s not that bad. More like my temperature is human normal. Not bad, all things considered.” She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little. Morgan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Nicholas relax a little. Some of the tension in his bearing and expression eased an impish smile, curling his lips.

“So why is it, that you stole every blanket on the bed?” he teased.
 

“Are you upset with me?” Morgan asked, as she trailed the tip of her finger down his chest. Nicholas chuckled and caught her hand in his.

“Hon, with as long as we’ve been married …,” he slid an arm around her waist and tipped her chin up so he could meet her eyes with his free hand. “I know I don’t get blankets when we sleep. We could be in the middle of a Siberian blizzard, and you’d still leave me with just a sheet.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing you’re cold blooded,” she quipped, mischief flashing in her emerald eyes. “And for your information, Mister Falstaff, I’m going to take that to mean ‘no I’m not mad at you.’”

“Good that was my intent,” he whispered, and slipped his hand behind her neck, before drawing her in for a passionate kiss. She melted into his embrace, and would have been content to spend the day in his arms. After what felt like an eternity, but was really less than a minute, they broke the kiss. “Well, since we don’t have much, beyond checking in with Joshua, to do tonight, the plan is keeping you safe, and maybe a bit of damage control with Marcus.”

“Keep me safe? It’s not like there’s anything around here that’s dangerous.”

She knows I love it when she’s sarcastic. Ah well, two can play at that,
Nicholas thought, before he answered. “Christophe could kill you with couture.”

“That’s not even taking Charles into account. I’m sure he’s got tons of work that just needs my attention this instant.”

“Oh dear. We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

“I’ve had a difficult past few days.” Morgan pouted, looking up at him from behind long black lashes.

“Oh, now you’re just not playing fair,” Nicholas chuckled, and paused for a moment, thinking. “I think I have a solution. Why don’t I pamper my wife a bit?” he offered, “I can make that brew for you and bring it up, so you can stay here for a while.”

“Mmm that sounds wonderful.”
 

“Then you and I can spend half the night talking with the professor, and catching up on whatever everyone else thinks needs your immediate attention,” Nicholas’s voice was low and full of sinful promises.

“Oh that sounds like loads of fun,” Morgan scoffed, with a melodramatic roll of her eyes.

“I haven’t gotten to the best part.” His voice was a low whisper, and his lips danced along Morgan’s neck, just below her ear.

“What’s that?” Morgan asked, even though she knew the answer.

“The second half of the night is ours. We lock ourselves away and...” he let the thought hang, unfinished.
She’s got a good imagination; she’ll know what I mean,
he thought.

“Hmm, you’re offering a night where I get to spend time alone with my husband. No interruptions?” Morgan asked, feeling the warm flower of hope blossom in her chest. She tried not to let it get out of control; there had been too many times when Nicholas had been called away.

“No interruptions,” he promised. “I’ll leave my cell in your office, so I won’t hear if it rings.”

“Now that’s serious,” she chuckled, and slipped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his auburn hair.

“I thought I’d lost you twice lately,” he whispered, so low she had trouble hearing him. His voice was uneven, as if his throat were tight. Morgan slid her hand around to his cheek and met his haunted eyes. “That almost killed me, in more ways than just physical death. I couldn’t see my life beyond the need to take vengeance on whoever took you from me. I was in my own special level of Hell, and I need to know it’s over. I need to know that you’re still here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, love.” She rolled up onto the balls of her feet, balancing for a few moments to brush her lips over his.
 

“Not by choice. But we didn’t know what was happening for so long because you do have a habit of dropping out every now and again,” he explained, though he knew it might lead to an argument. He felt Morgan tense in his embrace, and knew that she was going to give him a piece of her mind. He shook his head and cut her off. “I know it’s important for you, and I can understand, however, something about that’s got to change. I realize you don’t want to talk about it right now. Eventually, we’ll need to work something out, so I know you’re out of touch by choice.”

“Good point. I should have thought of it myself” Morgan conceded.

“And now I’m back to being the overprotective–jerk–guy” he grumbled.

“I understand why,” Morgan said, and feathered a gentle kiss on his lips. “Why don’t we follow your plan for the evening?”

“That sounds perfect, love. I’ll be back in about ten minutes,” Nicholas promised, then he kissed the back of her hand before he left the room.
 

Morgan took a deep breath, and let it out on a slow count of ten, to clear her head, before she turned and grabbed the drapes. The heavy velvet was soft under her fingers as she pulled them aside.

She looked out over the city. A couple strolled, holding hands, down the sidewalk past Lafayette cemetery. Oaks sheltered the tombs, and a small black cat slinked through the grass stalking some prey. The sun was just creeping below the horizon, and the sky was splashed with the first blushes of what promised to be a spectacular sunset. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face, for a few moments.
 

The tingling sensation began in her fingers, just a slight tickle at the tips.
 
Morgan brought her hand up and turned it over, studying the flesh as though it held all the answers. Unsure of what was going on, she tried to clear her mind, but something tugged at her subconscious.
 

How strange
, Morgan thought, while the sensation skittered and hopped its way up her hands, toward her wrists.
What am I missing? What can’t I remember that feels so important?
Her thoughts were interrupted when angry red splotches blossomed on the backs of her hands while she watched.
Holy shit! Sunlight stupid!
Morgan scolded herself and yanked the drapes closed.

The pain stopped the moment the light had been shut out, but she could still feel the heat trapped within. Feeling as though she’d stepped outside her own body, Morgan walked back over to the bed and pushed the blankets to the floor. Sharp pains shot through her hands and up her arms, but she ignored it and sat on the center of the mattress. She felt a strange sense of fascination as she examined the burns. As though from far away, Morgan heard the door open and close. Nicholas’s scent filled the room, woodsy and calming. It also held a sharp note of fear and curiosity.
I should tell him what happened, but it’s not like I can say, ‘love I was an idiot and didn’t realize that I was being burned by the sun until it was too late
.’
 

“Morgan? What’s wrong?” Nicholas asked a few seconds after stepping into the bedroom. She was sitting in the middle of the bed, with her back to the door. He tamped down the panic rising in his throat with ruthless tenacity, and forced himself to walk over to the nightstand. He placed the mug he carried on the flat surface before he turned his attention to his wife.
 

“I wanted to see the sun,” she whispered, her voice sounding hollow, dead. A thrill of fear skittered along Nicholas’s spine like an army of ice carved insects. Stunned, he was still formulating an answer, when she held her hand out to him. It was covered in angry–red and yellowish–white welts.
 
“Guess that wasn’t the smartest idea.”

“You could say that, love.” Nicholas took her hands in his and examined the burns, with a look of concentration on his face. “How long were you exposed?”

“I only opened the drapes for maybe a minute.”
 

“You have what looks like third degree burns.” His voice was distant. “Are they just on your hands?”

“That’s where they’re the worst,” she admitted, a slight frown tugging the corners of her mouth down.

“You didn’t open the French doors.” Nicholas put his fingers under Morgan’s chin and tipped his wife’s face up to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her flesh was only a shade or two darker than normal. “So that was through glass?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry to say it, love.” Nicholas’s tone was wary, as he tried to gauge her mood. “But, you’re going to have to avoid the sun for a while.”

“It was stupid.” She shook her head in obvious frustration. “I don’t know what possessed me. I just wanted to feel that warmth on my skin. As soon as the burns started I closed the drapes, but they didn’t stop immediately.”

“Why didn’t you call for me?”

“I didn’t think about it,” she offered with a weak smile. “I guess I was in shock.”

“I’m going to go with; you still are, love,” Nicholas said and draped the comforter over her shoulders. He smiled when Morgan took the edges in her hands, and pulled it around herself. “Here, you need to drink this. It will help you heal faster.” He turned and picked up the mug from the nightstand. Morgan took it from him, and sipped it, watching Nicholas over the rim. He watched while she drank, his mind spinning.
 

“What am I going to do Nicholas?” she asked between sips.

“We’ll figure it out, love” he promised, meaning every word, and shrugged, “this just means you’re going to have to juggle your schedule.”

“That’s not as simple as it was in the past.” Morgan’s soft laughter held no real mirth. The sarcastic part of her nature was showing through, and Nicholas couldn’t help but smile. “It’s not like I can only take meetings at night. Yeah, for The Dracul that’s fine, unfortunately, the corporation isn’t going to be that simple.”

“Then maybe you need to back away from that for a while. Let your people run the corporation,” Nicholas suggested, shrugging his shoulders. “These are people you’ve hired and promoted, because you trust them. Maybe it’s time to let them take over. You’re going to have to do that soon enough, because they’re going to start asking
those
uncomfortable questions.”

“They already have.” Morgan sighed, shocking Nicholas. “Thankfully, I’ve been able to avoid it by lying about having plastic surgery. Though, to be honest, I don’t know how much longer that’s going to work. I don’t want to back away from everything right now. Not over this!” Morgan snapped, meeting his gaze, and Nicholas could have sworn that he saw a pinprick of what looked like fire at the center of her pupils.

“I know, but we have no idea what we’re dealing with.” He paused, his eyes narrowing, “Yet. Joshua seems to be on the right track, but there are still a lot of questions. You really should take it easy for a while.”

“I
was
taking it easy. Apparently I have to actually live like a so–called real vampire,” her words were accompanied by a melodramatic roll of her eyes.

“You know, if Joshua is right,” Nicholas began, hoping that he could get her to see the bright side of things, “this could be a positive thing, in the long run.”

“I’m not sure I care about the long run right now, Nicholai,” she scoffed.

“I know. Whether or not you believe me, I know some of what you’re going through. I’ve been sidelined a time or two, and no matter what the reason, it sucks.”

“But you’ve never had your whole world change because someone forced it upon you.”

“No, I can’t say that I have,” he admitted, feeling some of his certainty slip into the sea of desperation that surrounded her.

“I hate this,” she sighed, exasperated. “I can’t live my life the way I choose anymore.”

“We’ll figure this out.” Nicholas swore, as he sat beside her and began rubbing her back in small circles. “It may take a while, but we will figure it out.”

“And in the meantime, I have to be treated like a bloody china doll for fear that I might break.” She snarled as her Irish temper flared.

“I hate to say it, because I know it’s only going to piss you off, but yes. Until Joshua meets with Richard, and he can shed more light on what’s happening, you have to be careful.”

“May as well just strap me into a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room till we figure this out.”

“It won’t come to that.”

“And to think, I was feeling better this afternoon.”

“I know. Let me see your hands.” The gentle note of command in his voice was easy to obey, and Morgan held out her hands. Nicholas smiled and took her hands in his, turning them over, running the pads of his thumbs over the backs. The burns had healed.
 
“Well, that’s the answer to one question I had. You seem to be healing at the same rate you did before. That’s a good thing.” He smiled, lifted her right hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. His eyes locked onto hers, and Nicholas’s lips curled up. “How does the original plan for the evening sound?”