Trueblood 01-The-Consolation-Prize (24 page)

The pain didn’t stop and she knew Luka could do nothing. Her stomach clenched, something rushed up inside her, and she vomited. Fluid poured out of her until she lay limp with exhaustion.

Luka lifted her, cleaned her, his voice always in her ear, his hands stroking cramped muscles as she writhed in agony. Wave after wave of pain crashed through her, pushing her deeper and deeper towards a place she didn’t want to go. A place she knew she’d never escape.

It had gone wrong. She was close to death now. All she had to do was let go. Her body stopped cramping and the pain faded.

“Hold on.”

“Hold on.”

“Don’t leave us, Chloe.”

Chloe gave a long sigh.

“Chloe, hold on. Don’t let go,” Luka shouted. “Don’t you dare let go.”

Luka dragged his fingers through his hair. He grew increasingly frantic because he knew he was losing her. He screamed for her to hang on but as the convulsive writhing fell away, his heart fell with it.

“Dying,” she whispered. “Sorry.”

“Chloe, look at me. You’re not going to die. I won’t let you.”

She looked up at him and smiled with her beautiful Chloe smile and the pain in Luka’s chest made him wonder if vampires could die from a broken heart.

Her eyes closed but her grip on his arm stayed firm.

“Luka.”

A man’s voice. Luka looked at the door of the room. For one moment he thought it was Constantine somehow having survived, and Luka thought if he’d offered a way to save Chloe he’d have given him anything he wanted. A gallon of sperm. But out of the gloom at the far end of the bedroom, it wasn’t Constantine that stepped forward.

Luka gasped. “Aleksei?”

“I go by Alek now.”

His elder brother. Luka thought he must be hallucinating, dying along with Chloe.

“Father asked me to come. He said you needed help.”

“How did he know?”

“The first time your bondmarks touched, Father would have sensed you’d found your lifemate.”

“How did you get here? How did you know where to come?”

Alek smiled. “I’m your older brother. I’m more skilled.”

“And still arrogant.” Luka looked down at the pale figure in his arms. “I think…oh God, Alek.

She’s dying. Can you help her?”

Alek put his hand on Luka’s arm next to Chloe’s, touched the vine that marked his skin. “She’s your love. You’re the only one who can save her.”

“I shouldn’t have tried to turn her.” Luka clutched her tighter. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I took too much blood.”

Aleksei shook his head. “It’s not that. She’s been tainted by Constantine. He’s an Ancient and his blood is too strong for a weak body. Her mind has been overwhelmed by what’s happening to her. It’s retreated to where it feels safe. You have to go inside her head and find her, persuade her to come back.”

“How do you know?”

“One of Father’s lessons I actually listened to. I don’t think he ever got round to telling you. I was the one who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. He was always lecturing me about something. Put your head to hers, let her feel you.”

Luka pressed his forehead to Chloe’s, lowered his barriers, and stiffened at the rush of pain that rampaged through him, a swirling mass of black and purple clouds that stole his breath and paralyzed his muscles. He felt Alek’s touch, his brother’s hand on his shoulder, and his words in his head. “
Use your bondmark
.”

Luka let himself go.

He fell into a dark place. The only light seemed to come from his body, shining like a star in the night sky. There was no sign of Chloe, but he sensed his brother at his back, anchoring him.

“
Chloe! Chloe
!” Luka blindly fumbled forward.

“
Luka, pull the darkness aside
.” The voice belonged to Alek.

Luka reached out, focused his mind, and where his hands swept, darkness moved and trails of light remained. It was like wiping mist from a window. He plunged forward and tumbled into nothing. Alek’s hand gripped his shoulder.

“
Steady
.”

Then Luka saw her, a pale figure surrounded by the dark, hanging by one marked arm to a tiny glimmer of light in front of her.

“
Chloe
!” He called her name, but her eyes were closed.

“
Use your bondmark
,” Alek said at his ear.

Luka struggled, his feet in molasses, some invisible barrier keeping him from his love. He threw himself forward and got no nearer. She remained far away no matter what he did. He couldn’t force his way through, couldn’t run or crawl. Her fingers were slipping on the light, fingertips sliding away.

“
Your mark
,” said Alek.

“
Chloe, you have to reach for me. Take my hand
.”

He stretched out his right arm, the one with the bondmark.

“
Don’t leave me. Chloe, come on. I love you. I need you. Get your skinny ass back here right
now
.”

Luka watched the marks on his arm darken and ripple from the elbow down, creeping towards his wrist. They spread along his fingers like a stain, before curling out of his nails, tendrils of dark mist that crossed the divide to her left hand. When they touched her fingers, they stopped.

Luka’s eyes widened as the lines on Chloe’s arm extended to her palm, moved down her fingers, and then suddenly what came from him entwined with what came from her and between them hung a mesh of misty moving vines.

“
Pull her to you, Luka
.” Alek gave his shoulder another squeeze.

Luka tugged, the mist tightened, and Chloe inched towards him until she was close enough for him to pull into his arms.

“Oh God, I thought I’d lost you.”

“Skinny ass?”

“I figured you wouldn’t put up with an insult like that.”

Luka smiled to himself.

“
Right, so how do we get out of here
?” Chloe asked.

“We’re in your head. Think me out.”

Luka grunted as Chloe thumped him in the stomach.

“Ha, it worked,” she said and then screamed. “Who the hell are you?”

“He’s my brother. Alek.”

Luka tugged Chloe into his arms and wrapped a sheet around her.

“Do you have somewhere to be?” Luka asked.

Alek smiled and headed for the door.

“Hey,” Luka called. “Thanks. See you around?”

“Maybe. Try not to get into any more trouble.”

Luka’s head wanted to burst with joy. His brother in his life and Chloe back. Luka held her closer.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Skinny ass?”

“You’re the light of my life.”

“Skinny ass?”

“You’re perfect.”

Chloe melted against him.

“I love a skinny ass,” he said and held her tight, just in case she took exception.

“Hmm. I’m thirsty.”

He looked down to find her staring at his neck.

“Got any fangs?” Luka asked.

“Ouch.”

He laughed. “That’s a yes.”

“How do I…?”

“Find the vein, listen for it, and press down with your teeth. They’ll slip through my skin.”

Chloe pressed her mouth against him and then pulled away. “I can’t.”

“Yes you can. Do you want me to open a vein?”

She shook her head and licked up the column of his neck. Luka shuddered with pleasure and his cock surged to life. The moment her teeth pierced his skin, he gave a deep sigh and his balls began to sing and dance. Chloe swallowed in greedy gulps, and for the first time in his life, Luka understood what a truly sexual experience this was. His mate, feeding from him, needing him in such a basic way brought a spurt of precum surging to the tip of his cock, his orgasm racing up not far behind. Shimmering sensations crept through his body, from his toes, his fingers, spreading like fire, flickering through his veins.

Luka could have reached his cock, helped it along but he didn’t need to. Each pull on his throat, each mouthful of blood she took dragged him closer to nirvana. Now he didn’t want to touch himself, wanted it to happen without his help. Synapses snapped in his brain and the urge to come shot down his spine. She wrenched the orgasm out of him and he spurted over her stomach, each spasm exploding stars in his head.

It trickled back into his awareness that she was still drinking, that she didn’t look as though she was going to stop.

“Easy, love.”

Chloe opened her eyes and then settled back on his neck. Luka held Chloe tight in his arms. He knew he should stop her, but he didn’t want to. He’d nearly lost her and now he’d never let her go. His cock sprang back to life. This time he wanted to be inside her. He felt Chloe’s strength and warmth returning. Her body no longer felt cold against his. Her breathing was even, her feeding less frantic.

Luka’s fangs were out but the one thing he couldn’t do was feed from her until she’d slaked her thirst. He shouldn’t be thinking about fucking her, either, though his dick had other ideas.

Chloe’s hands started to move, roving his chest, sliding down his body. When she wrapped her fingers around him, it took every ounce of control Luka had not to push her on her back and ram himself inside her.

Then she pushed him onto his back, the strength in her making his heart jump. She rocked against him, rubbing her pussy on the tip of his dick, and Luka arched off the bed. Still clamped to his neck, she impaled herself on his cock and Luka felt the burst of heat in his balls. She’d hardly moved before he was coming again. As she clenched around him, Luka roared out his release.

Chloe woke with a start but didn’t open her eyes. She had no idea where she was or what had happened. She opened her eyes, screamed, and launched a fist straight up. There was an
oomph
and then Luka glared down at her.

“What was that for?” he demanded, rubbing his jaw.

“I didn’t expect to find a hulking great shadow looming over me.”

“I think you mean a good-looking, sexy shadow.”

Chloe gave a little smile.

“We have to talk,” he said.

The smile slipped off her face.

“How much do you remember?” Luka asked, settling by her side.

“You picked up that glass slipper, forced it on my foot, and cut my toe.”

His mouth twitched. Chloe closed her eyes and then snapped them open again. “I was ill. Now I feel great.” She stretched. Not one ache. She looked. No marks. “You must be a miracle worker.”

Memories began to tumble into place. Chloe could feel her heart beating so she knew she still had one, but…

“I was dying,” she whispered.

She ran her fingers over her arms. She felt the same, maybe a little cooler.

“I had to turn you,” Luka said. “You agreed. You --”

“I know.” He’d told her he couldn’t live without her. “Your brother came to help.”

“He’ll never let me forget it.” Luka exhaled noisily. “What are you thinking?”

This was a lot to take in. She didn’t want to take it in. “I won’t be using that suntan lotion I bought, then?”

“Ah, Chloe.”

She tried to ignore the feeling of dread sliding over her. Oh God, she’d never see the sun again, never feel it on her skin. She had to drink blood to stay alive. Oh shit, she
had
drunk blood.

Luka’s blood. A bubble of panic crept up her throat. Luka reached out but didn’t touch her. His strong hand had reached for her before. Chloe looked at his arm, purple lines like the ones on her own, only they looked pretty now, and she remembered. He’d saved her.

Chloe put out her hand and clasped his, felt his love and relief flood into her.

“Forgive me,” he whispered. “I’ve spent so long alone, I’d forgotten how to trust. You saved me in more ways that you can ever know.” He fixed his gaze on her, staring deep into her eyes.

“You’re my lifemate. You’re mine for always and I am yours.”

Chloe chewed her lip. “I’m going to have to keep drinking blood?”

“Yes.”

“So I get to suck men’s necks?”

“We use bagged blood.”

“But I can suck men’s necks?”

Luka smiled. “Only my neck.”

“Nowhere else?”

Luka growled a rough sound of approval. “Anywhere you like so long as it’s me you’re sucking.”

Chloe grinned and put her fingers in her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“Where are my fangs?”

“They’ll come out when you need to feed again.”

She nodded and then gulped. “Will you look after me, tell me what to do?”

Luka stroked her cheek with his finger. “I’ll spend eternity looking after you. Can you love me after what I’ve done? I should have listened to my heart. It’s my fault that they attacked you. I’m ashamed of the way I treated you. I should have known you would never betray me. You offered your life for mine and I repaid you by dragging you into a different world.”

“Into your world,” Chloe said. “Our world.” She gave him a shy smile. “My sixth-and-a-half sense voices pulled me to Washburn Hall. I’m glad they did. Apparently, Washburn Hall belongs to me. Maybe I should run a spa.”

“I have one stipulation. You sack the gardener.”

Chloe laughed.

“I want you to meet my family,” he said.

“I thought --”

“They’re in hiding, but we’ll find a way. They’ll love you.”

“I love you,” Chloe whispered. “Despite your little problem.”

“What little problem?”

“You snore.”

He paused. “I do not snore.”

The look in his eyes sent her liquid with need. Luka cupped her face and brought his mouth down on hers. His kiss was a feathery caress, a brush of lips over hers before he teased with his tongue. Chloe wanted more, needed more. He nipped at her, caught her bottom lip, and tugged it between his teeth for a moment before letting her go. Chloe moaned as he invaded her mouth, his tongue swirling, pulsing, each thrust echoed by the muscles clenching between her legs. Her lips tingled.

“How do you do that?” she asked. “You taste of coconut ice cream.”

Luka smiled. “You taste like chocolate.”

“Why can’t you taste like chocolate?” Chloe narrowed her eyes.

“Try again,” Luka said.

Chloe could have dived into his mouth. Still coconut, but it was a kiss to end all kisses, a joining of bodies and minds that left her reeling when they finally broke apart.