Take It Like a Vamp (19 page)

Chapter Twenty

Casey sat on a lounger in the shade of a huge umbrella gazing out to bluest sea she’d ever seen. The breeze picked up and cooled her warm skin. Aunt Teddie was on her right, reading a trashy rag that had secret photos of the wedding, which basically amounted to a bunch of blurry picture of people on a beach. Casey guessed Malibu, but Teddie and Nick agreed it had to be somewhere in Florida. The people in the photo didn’t even have a vague resemblance to the Christos wedding party.

Mrs. Christos. She still hadn’t wrapped her mind around that one, though she was more in love with her husband each passing day. The man coddled and adored her to the point where she actually began to believe he cared as much about their marriage as she did. He sat to her left holding her hand. It was the little gestures she loved best. She’d wake up and find a love note next to her pillow. A new vase of flowers arrived every day with a note professing his undying affection. Never in her life had she felt so cherished.

Maybe he really does love me
.

But there was that small part of her brain that wouldn’t let go. Life was too perfect. The universe would smack her down any moment, and she wasn’t sure she could handle it.

And then there was the sex—or lack of it. Nick refused to even entertain the idea. He was afraid he’d hurt her.

Ugh.

Making love in the ocean that first day had been such an amazing experience, but she needed and wanted more.

Nick’s phone chimed. “Yes. I’ll let her know.”

“Aunt Teddie, the jet is ready when you are.”

“Oh, Nicky darling, you are such a sweetheart.” Only her aunt could get away with calling him that. She sighed happily. “I’m so glad my lovely Casey has found such a wonderful man. You two were made for each other.”

When she stood, Nick was instantly at Casey’s side with his arm around her waist.

As much as she appreciated his diligence in taking care of her, she was quite able to walk on her own. But she said nothing. The one time she did, he acted as if she’d killed his favorite puppy.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said as she kissed her aunt’s cheek. Tears welled in Teddie’s eyes.

“These damn hormones.” Teddie waved her tissue in the air, “are just murder on the mascara.” She hugged Casey and then Nick. “This one’s a special girl, young man.” She had her hand on her hip as she gave Nick her extra scary glare. “She’s my heart and you treat her right, or I’ll cut off your dick!”

“Aunt Teddie!” Casey gasped. The woman never failed to say what was on her mind.

Nick tried desperately to keep a straight face as he nodded. “Don’t worry, she’s my heart too,” he assured her.

Casey melted into giant pile of butter.

“If what I’ve witnessed the last few days is any indication, I’ll never worry about her again.”

Once they saw her aunt off, Casey felt anxious and she couldn’t figure out why. Nick was in his study dealing with some work emergency. They’d extended their trip a few days, but his responsibilities didn’t take a vacation. She wandered around the grounds, taking in the rustic gardens with olive trees and flowers that seemed to spring up naturally, but had been carefully cultivated.

Beyond the garden was a small fenced-in area with a fancy iron gate. Pushing through the metal, she found herself in a small cemetery. Some of the headstones were ancient, but had been preserved enough that she could read the names. Several generations of Christos had been buried here. She wondered how many of them had been supernatural beings.

At night, when they were alone, she’d asked Nick hundreds of questions about his world and himself. While she should have been frightened, the more she learned, the more fascinated she became. Nick wasn’t like the vampires in the movies or on television. While he needed blood and he was immortal, he had the same bodily functions as a human. Not all vamps were like that, he’d explained. Most of them were undead, and had no soul. Since he’d been a wolf with vampire genes from his father, he’d been able to hold onto part of his humanity. There was so much lore surrounding his heritage that she couldn’t keep track of it all.

He’d been worried about her somewhat easy acceptance of his gene pool.

“You can thank Edward and the
Twilight
gang,” she joked with him.

He laughed and said he’d always been more a Team Jasper fan himself. She made him watch those movies over and over with every time she had a bad date, or some guy didn’t call. And he’d never said a word. She couldn’t believe that a powerful vampire sat around watching sappy movies with her as her best friend.

Now he was her husband.

“Casey!” Nick’s voice was sharp.

She’d been kneeling near his mother’s headstone, and she jumped falling back on her butt, hand flying against her chest. “Nick, you scared the crap out of me!”

“It’s only fair since I was worried sick when I couldn’t find you. Cody and the team are looking all over the island for you.”

Reaching down, he held out his hand to help her up.

“This has got to stop,” she said, dusting off her shorts. “I’m thirty feet from the house. I couldn’t get off the island even if I wanted to. I’m a great swimmer. And dear God, I needed some space. I appreciate that you’ve been taking amazing care of me. I feel better than I have in a long time. But I haven’t been alone in days, not even to go to the bathroom. Five minutes to myself, and you go ape shit worried that I’ve run off to goodness knows where.”

He blanched. She’d hurt his feelings—again. For such a tough guy, he was incredibly sensitive.

“I didn’t realize it was such an imposition to let someone know where you were going. I thought it was courtesy.” Oh, snarky Nick was back. It was about time. If she didn’t get him to stop treating her like a child, they were never going to make love again. The seventy-two hour limit was long gone, and still he wouldn’t touch her.

“I’m sorry I worried you, but you’ve got to trust that I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.” She held up a hand before he could speak. “I’ve been on my own for years.”

“But you aren’t alone any more. You’re my wife. It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re safe. I can’t do that if I don’t know where you are.” He helped her up.

There was no way she would win this argument. Inspiration struck.

“Well, if you’re so concerned about taking care me, how about you make love to me? I feel like you married me just so you didn’t have to marry that witch. It isn’t the best feeling in the world.”

She stomped past him. When he didn’t follow her immediately, she was disappointed. But a few seconds after she entered the bedroom through the terrace, she heard him.

“There’s nothing I’d rather do than to make love to you,” he said from the doorway. She sat on the bed with her book. Legs crossed, she ignored him.

“Casey, talk to me.”

She shrugged. “It doesn’t do any good. You seem to be the one who makes all the decisions. I can’t even make love to my husband. He married me so some hag didn’t get her hands on him, and now I seem to be irrelevant.”

He stormed across the room. “Irrelevant? You are my very soul. How many times and ways do I have to prove it to you?”

She peeked over her book. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one way that really matters. I think there’s more to the story. Some reason you don’t want to consummate our marriage, but I’m not sure what it is.”

He sat down hard on the edge of the bed. “I told you that I’m worried about hurting you. If I harmed you in some way– I would never forgive myself.”

“Arrrrgh. You are such a frustrating man. You made love to me in the ocean. I’m here. I’m fine.”

Something passed over his face.

“Nick what is it?”

He pulled his T-shirt over his head.

Vampires were supposed to be pale, but he was a bronzed god. His abs alone sent her lower regions into a heated mess.

“What are you doing?” She stared at him confused.

“I’m going to make love to my wife, because to her it’s the only way to prove that I care about her.”

She sighed heavily. “You know that isn’t what I mean.”

Standing, she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m a lot tougher than I look. You aren’t going to hurt me. If it were going to happen, it would have that first time. I was out of my mind that day. Honestly, the last week is like some crazy dream. I’m so afraid I’m going to wake up and it’ll just be me, alone with Mr. Nick.”

He coughed back a laugh. “You have the very real Mr. Nick right here, and he loves you beyond belief.” He stroked her face with his fingers. “I’m not sure you’re ever going to understand how much I feel for you. When I call you my True, it means you are my soul mate. There is nothing I would not do for you. I would give my life for you without thinking.”

“Let’s hope that isn’t necessary.” She smiled. “I would do the same for you, Nick. You have supernatural strength, and the thing you call the beast, within you. I accept all of that. I trust you. If things get scary, I’ll tell you.”

His thumb rubbed across her bottom lip and his mouth followed. Arms surrounding her, he pulled her tightly to him. As he ravished her mouth, one hand pulled her bikini top down. Using his fingers, he pulled on a taut nipple.

She groaned as her hands slipped down to his hardness.

“Make love to me, husband,” she whispered against his mouth.

“With pleasure, wife.”

And they were lost.

Chapter Twenty-one

Nick watched Casey as she picked up shells along the beach. She wanted to fill a bottle with sand and shells so they could take a bit of Greece back home with them. They only had a few hours before the plane would take them back, and he dreaded what lay ahead for them.

Linc was furious with him for waiting to mark Casey. Every minute they delayed put her life more in danger, but he couldn’t do it—at least not yet. Once he told her about the bite, she would figure out the rest. He worried that with her insecurities she wouldn’t understand that it wasn’t as important as it might seem at first.

He had to mark her, and to do that, he had to bite her.

Would she understand?

Nick didn’t know. Walking this constant tightrope with her was tougher than he imagined. Twice while they were making love he had to pull the beast back. One moan from her and his body went wild. But she was human and the beast could kill her if left unchecked.

He hoped that, since she’d taken all of this in stride, she might understand what had to be done.

“Hey, we said no serious thoughts until we get back to Dallas.” She threw a flower at him that she’d picked in the small garden terrace.

“I don’t want to go home,” he said as he put the flower behind her ear. “We should live here, away from, what is it you always say, all the drama?”

She sighed contentedly. “Wouldn’t it be lovely? Unfortunately, we both have responsibilities. And as idyllic as all this is, it’s not real. Our lives are messy and complicated.”

You have no idea.
We could make this our life. I could give up my seat on the Council, and we could move here.”

She pursed her lips. “Maybe in the future, but we’ve made a lot of changes in our lives in the last week. I think we can hold off moving away for a little while.”

When she wrapped her arms around him, she pushed an errant curl from his forehead. “You’re worried about something and I’d bet big money that you won’t tell me what it is.”

He didn’t like to lie to her, but now was not the time. They only had a few short hours before they left paradise. He wasn’t about to waste it with his drama.

“I’m wondering if we have time for one last swim in the ocean.” He winked at her.

“Race you,” she laughed as she peeled off her clothes and ran into the water.

She brought such light to his soul. He only hoped he didn’t crush hers with his darkness.

…

In the limo on the way home from the Dallas airport, Casey snuggled into Nick’s arm. He pulled her tight against him. Their flight back had been enlightening and she was an official member of the mile-high club several times over.

But something was off. Nick was an attentive lover, the best she’d ever had. But she’d noticed he was pulling back. More than once she wondered if there was something he needed her to do, but she was clueless.

He kissed the top of her head.

“I already miss Greece,” she sighed.

“Me, too. Time seems slower there, and it’s easy to forget there’s a whole world out there. We’ll go back often, I promise.”

At the condos, Linc met the car and helped Cody with the bags. “You look five hundred times better than the last time I saw you,” he said to Casey.

She kissed his cheek. “I feel better than I have in a long time.”

Nick slipped in the key to the penthouse. He and Linc discussed Council business. They talked in some weird code, and she didn’t even bother to try and figure out what it was about. All she wanted was a nice, hot shower. She could have taken one on the plane, but it wasn’t quite the same.

Opening the bedroom door, she stopped short. The sight before her repulsed her to the point that she had to cover her mouth to keep from tossing the lobster she’d eaten.

“What in the
hell
are you doing here?”

“Nick called and told me to meet him here,” said Alvinia, who was naked on Nick’s bed. She looked as if she belonged there. “He needed me urgently, so I assumed he wanted a little taste.” She feathered her fingers down her neck. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t be enough for him.”

A flash of memory of Nick and Alvinia talking at the head of the stairs niggled in the back of her brain. “You know he’s a married man,” Casey said through gritted teeth. Fist clenching, she wanted to launch herself at the trash on the bed and rip her eyes out. The woman tried to kill her a few days ago, and no one would blame Casey for retaliating.

Alvinia shrugged. “He was my husband long before he was yours. We don’t have the same hang-ups as humans do about blood and lust. Surely he’s explained this to you. I see he hasn’t marked you, so obviously you can’t meet his need for blood. And the blood makes eeeeverything so much better when you’re a man like Nick.”

They’d been married.
Oh, husband, I’m going to kick your ass for this one
. Bile burned Casey’s throat. Her first thought was to flee, but she wouldn’t let this woman win.

“Oh, Alvinia, you’re so pathetic it almost makes me want to cry.” Casey frowned. “Nick dumped you all those years ago, and now you act like a petulant child because you can’t have him back.
Well, newsflash, bitch
—you can’t, because he’s
mine.
I take care of all of his needs. He doesn’t need a Goth girl he trashed long ago. And I seem to remember some warrant being on your head. The last time Nick mentioned you, it was something about ripping your cold, black heart from your chest and burning your bones.” Casey amazed herself by how confident and strong she sounded. She sure as hell didn’t feel that way on the inside.

Alvinia rose from the bed and stalked toward Casey, raising her hand as if to strike her. She stopped a few feet away and started some kind of chant. The door slammed shut and the lock clicked.

This couldn’t be good.

Casey’s chest tightened and she fell back against the frame of the door.

Oh, hellz.

“You will not talk to me that way, human. I’m superior to you in every way. Do you think you could ever satisfy the beast in Nick? That’s why he needs me. He won’t kill me. I’m one of the few who can heal him, and take his inner beast. Satisfy him in a way you never could.”

Casey choked. Her breath coming back to her but not before she slid to the floor.

“I’m going to kill him.” The witch leaned down in Casey’s face and snarled. “I’m going to fuck him and then rip his throat out. But you’ll be dead so it won’t matter to you.” The witch pointed a finger and chanted again. “He killed my demon horde, and without them the other witches deserted me. He will pay, but first I will enjoy slicing you up into tiny pieces.”

That sounded painful.

Nick and Linc banged on the door.

“Casey. What’s going on?” Nick yelled.

“Oh, Nick. You will never see this human again. Once I kill her, you are next on my list.”

“Bitch, you come for me. Leave her alone.” Nick kicked the door.

No. Casey wouldn’t let her hurt Nick. She had to do something.

Well, the chipmunk wasn’t the only one who could be bat-shit crazy.

Kicking out, she slammed the heel of her boot into the woman’s knee. Those self-defense classes Aunt Teddie insisted on actually worked.

Alvinia fell backward on the bed, still naked.

Forcing herself to stand, Casey threw herself toward the bed just as Alvinia’s hands wrapped around her throat. Spots clouded her eyes, as she hit her knees again.

Casey brought up her elbow and slammed it into the other woman’s pelvis. Alvinia’s hands let go as she hunkered over in pain. The witch might be tough, but Casey was a big-boned Amazon and she could take the bitch. Nick’s blood coursed through her veins as she brought the heel of her hand up and connected with the woman’s nose.

The chipmunk screeched as blood poured from her face.

But Casey wasn’t finished.

Just as the door crashed open, Casey threw a right hook that sent the witch flying across the bed and crashing into the side table.

“Don’t ever threaten my man again!”

“Casey, what’s going on?” Nick and Linc stepped across the steel door.

“Your ex-wife is trying to stir up a little drama,” Casey said as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “So I
explained
things to her. She says you invited her to taste her blood, but I told her that you had me now.”

Casey stared straight up him. He had the good sense to blanche.

Now she knew what he’d been holding back and she was angry. In fact, she was angrier than she’d ever been in her life. Her fist clenched, and her stomach roiled. She was about to lose it, but she wouldn’t do it in front of the bitch.

“Linc, could you take the trash out? Nick has way too much clutter in the bedroom.”

She walked calmly to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Hand shaking, she brought the glass to her lips and chugged. It was probably a two thousand dollar bottle of wine, but she didn’t care.

Her husband had been
married
to that maniacal creature, and he never mentioned it. Granted, their relationship had progressed rather rapidly, but ex-wives should have come up at some point.

What if he had more? She shuddered at the thought.

The blood. Nick needed it to survive, but was that also the only way he could truly find release sexually? Is that why she’d had to beg for sex on her own honeymoon? Since her only reference for vampires were
Twilight
and Sookie, she didn’t know. When they had sex on the plane and at the villa, there had been no bite.

Fortifying herself with a second glass and then another, she listened as Linc and Nick ushered the woman out of the condo.

“You are banished, and since you tried to hurt Casey twice, your powers are bound. You better run fast, bitch, because I’m going to send your own demons after you.” Nick’s voice was deadly.

Ohhh. Nick was one angry dude. She’d never heard him talk like that to anyone, and she enjoyed the fact that it was that evil chipmunk receiving his wrath.

“Casey?” He sounded worried when he found her in the kitchen

Damn well should be.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” She held up the bottle. “Or a little blood?”

“I have a lot to explain,” he said. Watching her carefully, he pulled himself up on the kitchen counter.

She moved opposite him and did the same thing. Pouring more wine in her glass, she handed it to him. Then she took a long chug from the bottle.

“Maybe you should start with the ex-wife. Or wives. How many are there exactly?”

Nick had the grace to look chagrined. “There’s only the one, but it was an arranged marriage nearly six hundred years ago. It was a power play between my father and hers to get control of the Council. I was their pawn. And she ended up as the victim. Once I had the Council seat, I refused to consummate the marriage. She’s been trying to kill me for the last six hundred years. As you may have noticed, she’s insane. That’s why I had the marriage annulled, and she stayed in an asylum for over a hundred years.”

“Well, if that’s your first marriage I’m surprised you wanted to do it again. Oh, wait, you had to—again.” Angry, she couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice.

“I deserve whatever you throw my way, Casey. I don’t blame you for being mad. I was an idiot. I just have this innate need to protect you and I want to keep you away from all this crap.” He waved a hand around.

The tortured sound in his voice tore at her, but she was far from forgiving him.

“When she escaped from the asylum, she killed my parents.” His voice was just a whisper.

“Oh, hell, Nick. I’m so sorry.” She jumped off the counter and wrapped her arms around him. “Why didn’t you kill her?”

“At the time, I felt guilty. She was unstable to begin with, but my refusal to stay with her and consummate the marriage drove her mad. Trust me, I wanted to rip her head off, but the laws we have are strict. In those early days, I was more concerned with making my way up the chain of command with the Council. I wanted to show them that I could turn the other cheek, so to speak, even when what she’d done was so brutal. They banished her, but every hundred years or so she’d show up and do something horrific.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her from the beginning? All of this would have made so much more sense.”

He shrugged. “I told you. I was trying to protect you.”

She let go of him and moved back to her side of the kitchen. “She said you needed blood to survive and for the sex to be good.”

He blew out a breath. “That isn’t true.”

But his face said otherwise. “If you aren’t going to be honest with me, I’m out of here,” she warned.