Haven (32 page)

“What’s happening?” My words were slurred.

“I’m sorry. I took too much.”

I gave him a slow blink. “What?”

“Blood. I drank too much.” He sat up and pulled me onto his lap.

“Oh, whoa, world spinning.” I curled into his body.

“We need to get Adrian up here.” He stood with me in his arms and strode to the love seat. I was impressed. Big thumbs up for the vampire’s super strength and rapid recovery system.

“Why?”

He placed me on the love seat though I would’ve expected the couch as our floor antics had occurred near it. How had we ended up across the room? Then I remembered the flying sensation before the world went all white and sparkly. As if the power siege weren’t painful enough all on its own, let’s add attempts to defy gravity.

Double ouch.

“We were out for a while.” He covered me with his jacket. Thoughtful, since I was still naked from the waist up and
oops
, under the mini skirt, too. A skirt and boots. So porn.

When I didn’t reply, he elaborated. “Dawn is coming. I have to go.”

“Take me with you.” Vertigo took my head for a whirl. I huddled under Alexander’s jacket, shivering with cold. He knelt beside me and rubbed my back in small, soothing circles. The shakes subsided.

“You have to stay here, where you’ll get help. Come sun up, I won’t be much use to anyone for a while.”

“I don’t want you to go.” My eyelids fluttered, fatigue pulling at me.
Want to be with him
.

He stroked my hair. “I don’t want me to go, either. But I have no choice.” He was silent for a moment, and then, “This isn’t how I thought the evening would go.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I was thinking a lot of dancing and talking, maybe some light petting.” I closed my eyes and shuddered at the memory of his mouth on my breasts, his fingers inside me.

His fingers dug into my hair, bringing me back. “Me, too. The rest of it was unexpected.”

“Have you ever done that binding thing before?”

“No.”

“So, I’m your first?”
Please say yes.

“Yes. The one and only.”

Yay. “Is it supposed to hurt like that? When our power exploded all over us, it was like being attacked by a giant sewing machine in a furnace inside a tornado. Or something.” I frowned at my lame description of the massive cosmic event we’d experienced. He didn’t mind, though.

Alexander shook his head. “I don’t know. I think these things are unpredictable.”

“Do you know anything at all about what we did? I mean, do you know if it—does it always include, um.” Shyness struck.

“What.”

“You know, the sex part.” I forced myself to give him good eye contact.

Wicked grin. “No. That was for fun.”

My face flamed. Even half passed out and anemic as hell, my body managed to blush. So annoying.

His grin widened. “I like it when you do that.”

“I don’t.” I tried to frown, but my lips curled up instead.

He kissed my cheek. “Calling Adrian now.”

“No, wait.” I shifted, but his firm hand held me in place. Not that I had the strength to argue about it. The phrase weak as a kitten took on a whole new meaning for me.

“Hey,” Alexander said into his phone. “We need you up here. Bring the kit.”

Kit
?
“The first aid kit is over there behind the bar.”

“It won’t have what we need.”

“Oh.”

We were silent for a while, and I let the drowsiness win, stopped fighting with my eyelids and enjoyed Alexander’s fingers trailing back and forth on the side of my face. But wait, if he had to leave soon, I didn’t want to waste our time half sleeping.

“I don’t want to sleep,” I slurred. “Let’s talk.”

“Okay. Until the cavalry arrives.”

“Fine.” I kept my eyes closed rather than struggle with them while talking. Multi-tasking wasn’t in my repertoire at the moment.

“Tell me your middle name.”

“Benjamin.” His lips on my forehead. Yum. Nice.

I tried it out. “Alexander Benjamin Wallace. So old-fashioned.”

“As is yours.”

“True. Where are you from?”

“I’m a San Francisco native.” His hand slid under the jacket and settled on the curve of my waist. Comforting pressure.

“Everyone I’ve ever met is a transplant. No one’s a native.”

“Well I am.”

“Your parents?”

“They’re from Scotland.” Little kisses on my forehead, wonderful yet distracting from the talking. I had one last question.

I blinked up at him. “So, I think you know how old I am,” I began.

He nodded, smoky blue eyes narrowing.

“How old are you?”

He gave me a guarded stare. “Forty-five.”

Interesting. I expected him to be younger than Thomas and Jonas, but he was actually a part of my century, if not precisely my generation. Close enough for me. Bottom line—age difference, no big deal. Of course, he didn’t look forty-something at all, more like late twenties. That didn’t hurt, but a few wrinkles around those sexy eyes wouldn’t have stopped me from lusting after him.

“You’re not old at all. No wonder they call you youngling. They’re like super ancient mummies compared to you.”

Alexander cracked a laugh. I yawned. Vertigo reasserted itself and my body shook.

He pressed his lips against my cheek. “Enough talk. Let sleep take you. It will help with your symptoms.”

“Don’t want to sleep. I want to look at your tattoos. I’ve been thinking of getting one.”

“Tomorrow,” he countered, lips tickling my skin. He took a deep inhale, breathing me in. I knew that desire, that need. I had it, too. Problem was, I couldn’t move.

No fair.

“No,” I insisted. “Now. And you promised to give me the whole
intro-to-vampires
lesson the next time we hung out, remember? So start talking, mister vampire.”

He chuckled. “You are so stubborn.”

His lips covered mine. Screw the vertigo, the chills, the aches and pains. I wouldn’t let a little blood loss get in the way of my lust. Hell yeah, stubborn. I opened my mouth to him, pressed my hands against his chest, slid them along his shoulders.

He shuddered and growled low in his throat. Oh, how I liked his reaction. Our kiss intensified, tongues dancing.

But then the cavalry arrived with a bang. Of the door, that is.

“Youngling, what have you done!” A blast of cold air then Stella loomed over us, fangs bared.

Adrenaline jack-hammered my heart as I took in the angry vampire. Alexander straightened to his full height, blocking her access to me.

She didn’t like that. “You were told to wait.” Her words were quiet, but power rolled off her, tightening my throat.

Stella pushed Alexander aside, sat and scrutinized me from head to toe
.
She pulled back her power and I took a deep, relieved breath. Alexander’s jacket slipped off my breasts, bringing attention to my nudity. I tried to pull it up, but my hands shook too badly. In fact, my whole body had a serious case of the shakes. My stomach churned.
God, please don’t let me puke on the cranky vampire.

“You have defied our Mistress, Youngling. You will answer for it.” Stella blanketed me with the jacket and even smoothed my skirt, hiding my private parts from view. I liked her a lot in that moment.

“I didn’t plan this,” Alexander told her. He wore his shirt now and held my black crop top, bra and panties.

Stella gripped my chin and tilted my head to inspect the bite marks on my neck. I squeaked in pain. “You are foolish and weak. You could have killed her.”

“I’m fine.” My teeth chattered. I was freezing from the inside out.

Stella palmed my forehead. “Close your eyes.” She trailed her fingers down my face, closing my eyelids along the way. “Adrian. Bring me the kit.”

The thick carpet muffled his footsteps as he approached, but his scent lured me yet again, a delicious blend of soap and aftershave. I imagined pulling him on top of me, biting his neck and drinking him down while I breathed in his glorious, musky scent.

Alexander gripped my shoulders. I blinked. Had I tried to jump Adrian? And had Alexander sensed my desire via vampire intuition or our new bond? Either way, smart move. The last thing we needed was a feral me chewing on my friend’s neck.

“Shit.” Adrian stood next to Alexander, his face a mask of concern. “I didn’t think you could get any paler, but you look dead, babe. You look fucking dead.”

“The kit, Adrian. Now,” Stella ordered, voice cold. But not as cold as my body. Was I blue? I certainly felt blue.

Adrian put a silver briefcase on the floor by Stella. Inside, hypodermic needles, syringes, vials of liquids and assorted other medical supplies. Oh, great, a shot. Normally, I’d protest getting poked by a needle, but I was in too much distress to care. Just wanted relief.

Stella switched to nurse mode, prepping the injection and my arm. Not surprising, given her history. She was good, fast and efficient, the shot almost pain-free, although that was probably due to my current high level of overall
ick
.

“What was that?”

She taped a cotton ball to the crook of my arm and applied pressure to it. “Saline water, B12, folic acid, and few other nutrients.” She gave me a hard stare. “It’s not enough. You need blood.”

“No. No clinic,” I protested. “Don’t want a transfusion.”

Alexander patted my shoulder. “That’s not what she meant.”

I stared up at him, feeling small and fragile.

“There’s some in the fridge,” Adrian offered from his spot on the end of the love seat, my legs on his lap.

Stella nodded. He hustled to the bar, returning with a scotch glass containing not one iota of scotch. Stella lifted me effortlessly into a seated position as if I were a weightless, blow-up doll. Alexander slid in next to me for support. Stella took the glass from Adrian, sniffed it, frowned, and held it to my lips.

I drank. My nose wrinkled. “Oh, no.” It was like imbibing a fine red wine ice cold. Wrong.

Stella nodded. “As I thought.” She handed Adrian the glass. “Warm it.”

“Right.” Adrian popped the glass in the microwave for several seconds then joined us for attempt number two.

Stella helped again. Better. I gulped it, even tried to cup the glass, but my hands shook too much
.
I let Stella feed me.

“There,
va tutto bene, piccola
.”

Wow, Stella possessed a soft side, calling me
little one
, feeding me like an infant. What a shocker. But I’d let her treat me like a baby if it meant getting more blood. My human side whispered I was crazy to like blood, but I couldn’t deny how good it tasted, how it healed my body. I drained the glass and the shakes subsided.

Stella handed the glass to Adrian, eyes trained on me. “More.”

Adrian obeyed without complaint. This time, I held the glass, savored the smooth warmth sliding down my throat, enjoying the sharp, coppery smell tickling my nose. I drained the glass.

“
Va bene
.” Stella straightened. “Tend to her wound, keep her warm, and do not leave her side until we return. Do you understand, human?”

Adrian nodded. “Yeah.”

I frowned. “He has a name, Stella.”

I disliked her treatment of him. He wasn’t her slave or minion and she had no right to—oh, wow, I was feeling a lot better if I had energy to expend on anger. Fatigue and flu-like symptoms still plagued me, but I no longer felt like someone beat the crap out of me with a hot poker and then tried to drown me in an ice bath.

Alexander and Adrian traded places, the latter’s body much warmer than my man’s cold one. Important note on dating the undead—when the vampire boyfriend turns into a popsicle, it’s time to feed him and/or put him to bed.

I yawned. “You need to go.”

“You think?” Gentle sarcasm. He gave me a quick kiss on the mouth. Such a tease.

My lips tingled, wanting more. “What happens to you at dawn, anyway?”

No reply.

Adrian pulled me onto his lap. His body warmed me like an electric blanket.

“Enough talk,” Stella interrupted. “
Andiamo
.”

A rush of cold air and they vanished.

“Well, that was abrupt.” I curled up, burrowing into Adrian’s heat.

He adjusted the jacket covering me, and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me just right. Snug as a bug in a cocoon. I let the fatigue roll over me, pull me into the soothing dark.

He kissed the top of my head. “Lights out, babe.”

Didn’t have to tell me twice.

Fifteen

Someone shook my shoulder. “Wakey, wakey.”

“Sure you want to do that?” Adrian’s sleepy voice sounded from next to me.

Another shake, stronger now in the middle of my back. I groaned and curled into a ball, burrowing into Adrian’s warm body.

“Yes. She’s had enough sleep. And no comas allowed on my watch.” Off went the duvet. “Wake up, little sis.”

I grunted in protest and rolled over, pulling the sheet over my head. “What do you want, Tony?”

He yanked it off.

“Hey!” I blinked up at him.

Once he gained my attention he stalked over to the curtains and flung them open. Bright afternoon sun streamed in. I shielded my eyes and dove for the sheet.

Tony stopped me. “Time to get up.”

“What’s your problem? I’ll get up when I want to.”

“You’re my problem. Now sit up, shut up, and take these.”

My brow furrowed. “You’re doing a good imitation of Lorenzo right now.”

As soon as I was upright, he plopped three capsules and one round tablet in my hand.

“I don’t have a headache.”

“It’s not aspirin. Two multis with copper and iron, one B12, and the orange tab is C.”

I frowned at the pills. “I can’t take these on an empty stomach.”

“No, you can’t.” He put a tall glass in my other hand. “Protein shake. Dutch chocolate. Drink up.”