Microsoft Word - Blood and Sex from CE.rtf (19 page)

The orgasm exploded, sending flashes of white behind his eyelids. Everything around them melted away and the world echoed with the sound of her breathing against his skin.

Then everything started to go dark.

* * * *

Christiana was beside him, smiling a lazy smile. “I didn’t think you were going to wake up in time.”

“For what?”

“I wanted to tell you something before sunrise. I decided to cancel the plans for tonight.

We’re going to explore the city together.”

“Daddy Dear okay with that?”

“I didn’t ask.”

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“You
are
breaking all the rules.”

“Yes.” Her smile widened, and she sat up, wavering just a little.

“Where are you going?”

“I thought you’d want to sleep alone.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back down beside him. “Don’t think you’re getting away that easily. I like this new side of you too much.”

Blane bent his head to kiss her, but she rolled quickly to the side.

“What’s wrong?”

“I…I think…” Christiana jumped up from the bed and darted into the bathroom.

Within seconds, the sound of her hurling filled the room. Blane’s stomach turned. He hadn’t heard someone vomit in a long time. Vampires only did when they’d ingested poisons their system couldn’t use. In this case, he’d be willing to bet that whatever was in the drink wasn’t something that most vampires would try on a regular basis. Isabella had really fucked this up. Not only would Christiana be miserable, she’d have to feed again when the nausea passed.

He sat up and slipped on a pair of sweats that were draped over the footboard from last night. “Have you been sick since the change?”

“Never.” She hurled again.

He padded to the door and heard her flush the toilet. The smell of rank blood drifted in the air and made his stomach flip, but he opened the door slowly.

“I feel like I’m dying again.” Christiana was huddled in the floor, a towel held up in front of her to hide her nudity. She was pale, dark around the eyes, and looked a little too much like someone fighting a horrible disease on television.

“Yeah.” He swallowed past a lump in his throat. “You probably just got most of it out of

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your system. Still nauseated?”

“A little.”

“You’re gonna want to sleep it off, then you’ll be starving.” He grabbed a white washcloth from the hanger, rinsed it in cold water, wrung it, and handed it to her.

Christiana washed her face and neck, closing her eyes a little too long. “I think I need to lie down.”

“Can you walk?”

It took a few long moments for her to climb her feet. When she made it upright, her knees shook under her weight. Her face had a strange, almost-jaundiced yellowish tint.

Blane scooped her into his arms. Her skin was hot from the reaction. If she didn’t get warmer than this, she’d be fine. He carried her to the bed, then laid her on the cool sheets. “I’ll close up your room and be right back. You’re staying in here today.”

“Okay.”

It only took a minute for Blane to lock up her room and come back to her. Still, she was already sleeping, curled on her side in the center of the bed. Asleep, she was almost angelic.

Before long, she’d be twitching and turning all over the bed. He grabbed a pillow from beside her and tossed it into the floor. It was going to be a rough day.

* * * *

Blane crawled up to the bed to see her balled up tight. She screeched, forcing him to put a pillow over her to muffle the sound. But she didn’t fight. Instead, she quieted.

He moved the pillow, but couldn’t see her face through the matted hair. “Christiana?”

She didn’t speak. Her body shook at a low, steady pace.

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Blane pushed the hair away. When his hand touched her forehead, he could feel the heat again, though this time the fever was even higher. A human would be dead by now.

He shook her gently. “Christiana.”

There was no response.

Shit
. Blane grabbed the cell phone on the nightstand. He had to get in touch with someone. He thought for a minute, running down the list of vampires in his mind. Elena was a doctor, but she didn’t know enough about them yet. Khalil. Yeah, he would know. He might even have a doctor on hand.

Blane dialed the number Khalil had slipped him the first night in case of emergencies.

After three rings, his voice answered. “Yes?” He sounded sleepy.

“It’s Blane. Christiana’s having some kind of reaction to something Isabella put in her drink.”

“What?” His voice was clearer now. That woke him up. “What did she give her?”

“I think she called it
Noir
.”

Khalil groaned on the other end of the line. “That
leggero
has crossed the line. Why did you not tell me earlier?”

“I thought it just made her drunk.”

“No. It’s a poorly engineered street drug. We’ve had a few deaths from it already, all within Isabella’s territory. She was likely trying to find a way to control my daughter.”

“Bingo,” Blane said.

“What are her symptoms?”

“Fever. She was vomiting earlier, but now she’s asleep. I can’t wake her.”

“Her body is trying to heal.” Khalil sighed. “There is nothing we can do. If you feel that

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the fever is too high, you can put her in a cold bath. She may attack you, but it is the only thing that has a chance of bringing the temperature down.”

“I’ll take care of her.”

“My physician is here, but he is a day sleeper. If she is still ill at sunset, call and I will send him straight over.”

“I will.”

“Blane, if Isabella comes to your room, call me. As much as I’d hoped Christiana would fend for herself, I will settle it this night. And thank you for taking care of her. You honor me with what you are doing.”

Blane swallowed to find his voice. Would he still feel that way if he knew he were banging his daughter? Probably not.

Still, Blane answered in a way that he knew Khalil would understand best. “It is my honor to do it,
Padrone
.”

* * * *

Her head pounded from the neck up. Over her right ear, it felt like someone had punched her from behind.

“Glad you’re awake,” Blane whispered as a cool rag moved over her forehead. “How do you feel?”

“Like someone poisoned me.”

“Someone did.”

“What?”

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“Your fever got too high, so I called Khalil. He said you had been given a new drug that people are dying from.”

“I’m going to kill Isabella.”

“I don’t think Khalil is going to give you the chance.”

She cringed. Even with the poison, some part of her still wanted to protect the woman.

That’s what made Isabella so dangerous. Even though she’d manipulated Christiana to get what she’d wanted, it had the same effect as if she’d chosen to be attracted to her. “I wish they wouldn’t kill her.”

“Why? She tried to kill you.”

“I don’t think she tried. She probably wasn’t thinking. Isabella only focuses on what she wants.”

“You mean she’s selfish.”

Christiana shrugged, but knew he couldn’t see.

Blane mumbled something that sounded like, “get my hands on that bitch.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it.” The bed moved, and she could hear Blane moving toward the window.

She struggled to sit up, then threw her legs over the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I need a shower.”

“You can’t just get up and start walking around. Your body isn’t going to react well.

You’re supposed to be in bed until you feed.”

“Look.” She turned toward Blane’s voice and could see a faint outline of his body. “I feel

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horrible, and I smell like rotten blood.” She sniffed her arm; it smelled like bad meat. “This stuff is coming out of my skin. I’m going to take a shower, then we’ll go hunt.”

“Five minutes.”

“God, you’re bossy.” Christiana stood slowly and moved to the bathroom. How close had she come to dying? If it weren’t for the fact that it was Khalil’s blood running through her veins, she probably would be dead. Plus, Blane had been there to take care of her. “Call Khalil and tell him I’m fine. And Blane...”