Fading Darkness (Bloodmarked #1) (30 page)

It didn’t take long for him to guess the
source of my shivering. “They haven’t found you yet. They’re very careful in
what they do, and everything takes time with them, because they have a
lot
of time. The assassins won’t come for you unless they have solid, concrete
evidence that you are the one killing their kind. Besides, my contacts would
warn me if there was any activity among the assassins in town. And if it comes
to that, I will keep you safe. Please trust me on that,” he pleaded.

“But can’t they just turn on the local news
and get a good look at my description?”

“They won’t be watching for someone who’s
wanted for crimes against other humans. That would just fly under their radar.”

“But what about Gem City?” I said, a little
more high-pitched than I intended. I didn’t want to tell him Trixie had already
informed me they were on to me after that. I wasn’t sure why, but I just didn’t
feel like bringing her up.

“That did get their attention, but there was
no way they tracked you back here. They aren’t just going to scour the entire
surrounding area of Gem City to hunt you down. Like I said, they need hard
evidence. They’ll wait as long as it takes for you to mess up again.”

“But I’ve killed a lot of vampires. Why
haven’t they come for me yet?” I asked impatiently. He hadn’t quite convinced
me I was still in the clear.

He paused a moment like he was about to
evade. In a way he did, because all he said was. “Even though you believe them
to be all-powerful and unstoppable, they get scared too.”

“Wait, are you saying they’re afraid of
me
?”
I said skeptically.

And there it was. The aversion. He looked down
at my hand in his before he placed it gently back in my lap and sat back in his
chair. I pushed further, anyway, hoping to get a little more before the subject
was closed for the night. “What am I to them?”

“A threat,” he said vaguely, and that was that.
Obviously, there was a much bigger part to that story he wasn’t telling me, and
I wondered what I had to do with it and how they could fear little old me.
“Besides,” he continued, disrupting my thoughts, “I’m just as big of a target
as you are. I’ve killed vampires too, including assassins, so both our heads
are on the chopping block.”

He had a point, and that thought kept
resonating in the back of my brain. “So since they’re still not hot on my trail
yet, does that mean I can go back out and kill me some vampires?” I asked
hopefully. I really missed the fight.

“No,” he said plainly.

“No?” I asked incredulously. “I wasn’t
really asking permission. You know I’ll just do what I want anyway.”

“Why is it a constant battle with you?” he
asked tiredly.

“Because I’m a woman. I can pick and choose
any argument I want. It just depends on the mood I’m in, and ironically,
whenever I’m with you, I’m in the mood to argue. It may not even be your fault,
but I’ll never admit that. You could say anything and I’d be offended by it.
I’m especially offended by someone who tries to tell me what to, or rather,
what not to do,” I said pointedly.

“So basically, I can’t win?”

“If you’re just now figuring that out, you
are definitely not as smart as I thought,” I teased. “So let’s try this again.
Can I go hunting tomorrow night?”

“No,” he said again.

“Wow, you’re a slow learner. We just went
over this two seconds ago. How did you already forget?”

“I understand you want to get back out
there, but I still think it might be a little soon. At the very least, you
should let the news die down a little. If the murders aren’t getting as much
coverage, then people won’t be looking out for you as much as they might be
now. But more importantly, despite how you feel now, you should really get more
rest. You went through a lot.”

“You keep saying that. But what are you not
telling me?”

“You lost a lot of blood the other night,”
he said.

“Yeah, I get that. I was in bad shape,” I
pointed out the obvious.

“You were almost dead,” he said seriously with
a stone cold expression, and the admission rang out like a shot in my ears. He
leaned forward in his chair again to give me that full intensity of his eyes.
The weight of it caused me to slump back further into the plush cushions of the
couch.

“Do you know why you feel so exhausted after
a fight?” he asked when I didn’t say anything.

“Because I get worn out from the intense
fighting?” I asked, unsure of why that happens.

“No, it’s not the fighting that wears you
out. It’s the healing. Your body is still part human, and that part still
struggles with the vampire part when it comes to healing. Humans take much
longer to heal from wounds like the ones you’ve sustained. And it doesn’t help
when you push yourself to the limit of your vampire abilities. The human part
of you struggles to keep up with that as well.”

“So my body can’t always heal itself?” I
asked stunned. I never imagined being able to die. He had told me once before
it was a possibility, but I had never fully believed it. I guess we’re both slow
learners. Now, it was hard to ignore, on a count of me almost bleeding to death
the other night. He really did save me. That tugging sensation came back to me
then, and I remembered how it felt. He had to stitch my serious wounds in order
to help them heal faster.

“Not when it’s severely weakened or injured.
It was touch and go for a while, and I wasn’t sure I got to you in time,” he
said as he stared off toward the fire.

There was sadness in his eyes that made me
ache to reach out to him. Before I knew it, my hand was rested on his knee and
his eyes were boring into mine again. I moved my hand away, and it was my turn
to banish my vulnerability into the fire. I watched the flames crawl up and down
in the hearth like arms clawing their way to the sky. I refocused my thoughts
back on my ability to die, which was actually easier to contemplate than my
confusing, more sensitive human feelings.

He cleared his throat and continued,
“Anyway, if you go out while you’re in a weakened state, you’re putting
yourself at risk. You can’t keep pushing yourself to the limit.”

“Well, at least I’d die fighting, instead of
just waiting around while vampires take over the town.”

“But if you were out there, you might not
just die. There would be a good chance you’d find an innocent human to feed on
before you bled to death. I saw the hunger in your eyes the other night. You
were so close. I know you don’t want to listen to me, and I know how much it
kills you to not go out there and take on every vampire in town, but I also know
it would kill you to become just like those vampires.”

I heard my own intake of breath after his
last statement, and I was shocked by his words, but they were meant to shock
me, and he was right. That was my biggest fear. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Fine, I’ll play by your rules and lay low for a little while, but don’t count
on it lasting long.”

By the end of our conversation, it was
nearly dawn, and I knew he would want to go to bed soon, so I wrapped it up and
headed for my guest room. He walked me to my door, and wished me goodnight
before heading to his master.

When I was in my room a thought had occurred
to me. I wondered where he slept while I occupied his bed, or if he even slept
at all. When I woke the other day, he was there by my side. That was weird. I
had thought vampires needed to sleep during the day because it weakened them so
much. Then again, Gavin was not the average run of the mill vampire.

As I lay in my bed, more thoughts came to
me, and they just kept on coming. It occurred to me that Gavin never tried to
feed on me while I was injured, or at least, not that I knew of, but the fact
that I had so little blood left to begin with and that I didn’t die meant he
obviously didn’t take any for himself. He could have, but he didn’t. Humph. Interesting.

It also occurred to me that I was sleeping
in Gavin’s apartment. Good vibrations aside, I didn’t know any vampire that
would allow a human to be so close to them while they were at their most
vulnerable state, especially after what Gavin told me about the humans who
hunted the First into the Russian forests by burning their lairs during the
day. I might not be a match for Gavin when he’s awake, but I could definitely
take him out in his sleep. And he knew that, but still, he let me stay. He…
trusted me.

I paced back and forth for hours going over
all of Gavin’s good deeds, the countless times he’d helped me, and the fact he
had gotten more answers than I ever had in this whole vampire drug
lord/homicidal maniac thing. He had killed vampires before. He was faster,
stronger, and obviously smarter, as evident by the extensive book collection in
his office, living room, and bedroom, than I was. I didn’t even want to try to
pronounce half the titles, let alone crack one open. He was on my side, and he
could do my job better than I could.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and that
thought kept eating at me. I was tired and knew I needed sleep, but I couldn’t
force these thoughts from my head. I wanted to talk to Gavin. There was
something I needed to say to him, but it drove me crazy having to wait until
sundown. After having explored his entire apartment back and forth, from his
giant book collection, to his many medieval artifacts decorating the entire
place, I decided to wait for him to wake up in his room.

I was hesitant at first as I stood at the
threshold, my hand on the door, but after steeling myself I pushed through. I
didn’t know what to expect because I had never actually stopped to watch a
vampire sleeping before, and I wasn’t sure if my presence would wake him.
Vampires tended to be a little hostile when they get woken up from my
experience, so I was a little worried for my safety as I stepped into the
beast’s lair. When I stepped in, lightly tiptoeing across the space of the room
and over to the chair near the bed, my eyes took a moment to adjust to the
darkness of the room.

Once I could focus on surrounding objects,
dodging the corners of the bed and the dresser on the opposite wall was a
breeze. When I came around the other side of the bed, I only saw Gavin.

He lied there under a thin sheet. He didn’t
wear a shirt, and the sheet lay just at his waistline. I didn’t dare focus my
sight below the waist, because I didn’t want any clues as to whether or not he
slept completely naked. I felt my cheeks getting hotter but quickly sat down in
the chair and looked back to his face before any dangerous thoughts made their
way to the forefront of my consciousness. The relaxed features on his face made
him look so peaceful and serene. Seeing him in such a state made it hard to
believe he was a dangerous and fearless death dealer that could take on any
threat. The duality of danger and protectiveness was beautiful. He was a very,
very beautiful man.

Watching him, I settled further into the
chair, curling up into a ball. I rested my head on the top of the chair as my
gaze focused solely on Gavin’s face. The upholstery was rough on my cheek, but
my vision began to blur with the oncoming sleep. Eventually, the exhaustion was
too much, even for my overflowing inbox of thoughts.

As my consciousness slipped away, I drifted
into a dream. I found myself standing at a heavy wooden door with an antique
looking handle that stood ajar a few inches. I looked to both sides of me to
find myself in the middle of a long stone hallway with dark wood paneling that
started about halfway up the walls. The hall was faintly lit by brass light
fixtures that stuck out of the walls every 20 feet. They shone amber and almost
appeared fire lit had it not been for the fact that they weren’t flickering.
This place felt old, historic in a way.

I turned my attention back to the door. A
brighter light shone through the crack and I cautiously pushed against the
massive door with both hands. When I stepped across the threshold I took in the
scene.

Gavin was the first thing I noticed. His
back was to me and he sat on a wooden stool facing a large wooden table as
sturdy as the door to my side. It was long and covered with weapons, weapons as
old as this place I imagined. It held swords, daggers, a mace, a crossbow, and
several weapons I think I saw in
Braveheart
.

The rest of the room was large and the stone
walls were covered with similar weapons. The far wall contained a built in
bookcase filled with books, probably about weapons. Several light fixtures like
the ones in the hall dotted the walls and there was a lantern on the table
where Gavin worked.

He wore jeans and an old white tee shirt. He
didn’t turn his head or even flinch when I stepped closer, but I could somehow
tell he knew I was there. I could feel the change in the room, a feeling of
recognition and acknowledgement. He let me watch him while he continued sharpening
the blade of his sword until, finally, curiosity got the best of me.

“Where are we?” I asked, breaking the rhythmic
sound of metal on metal.

He answered without turning. “An old
property of mine.”

“What are you doing?” I asked in hopes he
might say more than a few words. This place was completely foreign to me but
the sound of his voice always seemed soothing.

“Preparing for what’s to come. You can’t be
too prepared. We have a long battle ahead of us, and I must ensure your fate,”
he said prophetically, like a man of infinite wisdom. Not quite sure what it
meant, but it’s nice to hear his voice.

“Really?” I asked in hopes of coaxing more
out of him.

“Was there something you wanted, Lucille?”

“What makes you think I wanted something?”

“You came to me. Plus, you’ve been staring
at me the whole time,” he said, finally turning to meet my gaze. Even in my
dream the sight of him clouded my thoughts. His perfectly shaped lips quirked
at the corners. “So did you want something?” he asked, holding that smile in
his voice.

“Well, if you think I’m asking you for help,
you are seriously mistaken,” I said with bravado.

He stood up placing the sword on the table
and stepped toward me. “I didn’t imply you needed my help. I asked if you
wanted
something.” He was now inches away and gazing at me with a very carnal look
in his eyes.

Suddenly, I understood the innuendo and his
eyes on mine began to warm me from the inside. They trailed down to my lips,
warming them instantly and moved lower leaving a tingling sensation in their
wake. They traveled to my neck, down to the bared cleavage from my camisole,
lingering there long enough to make me imagine the feel of his lips, his tongue
on the flesh just underneath the cami.

As his eyes moved even lower, the tingling
sensation produced chills across my chest. The warmth traveled lower into the
pit of my stomach, where it settled, producing even more disturbing thoughts of
his lips trailing kisses down my abdomen to the elastic waistband of my pajama
shorts. I was definitely warm, too warm. I averted my eyes and they landed on
the sword behind him.

“Scared?” he asked, and I looked back to
him. There was a dangerous glint in his eye that masked a playfulness
underneath.

I couldn’t exactly control what happened
next, and I’m blaming the dream for that. “Maybe I am,” I said with a seductive
tone I barely recognized in my voice. We both knew it was more of a fear of
what I felt.

He stepped closer, causing me to step back.
I tried side stepping him, which only led me to round him and back up against
the table. He closed the gap between us and held a very mischievous look in his
eye. It was then that I felt his fingertips graze the bottom hem of my shirt.
Then, he gathered it between his fingers pulling me into him.

The warmth in me was now a burning need that
only he could satisfy. Hunger took over and I grabbed the back of his neck with
both hands, pulling his head to me until our lips finally met. It was like an
explosion. Both our needs grew infinitely and we couldn’t get enough of each
other. I felt his hands and lips everywhere, exploring my body, and it felt
like I couldn’t get close enough. My body was just as helpless. There was a
loud clang on the floor as he brushed weapons aside to hoist me onto the table.
He laid me down across the empty space and pressed his body against mine. I
clawed at his shirt as his hands slid under mine. I arched by body toward his,
wanting to feel everything he had to offer.

“You,” I said in a resounding voice.

He backed away to see my face. “What?” he
asked confused.

“You asked me what I wanted. I want you…
now.” At that point, I wasn’t sure if it was the dream talking, but it felt
right saying it then.

The look in his eyes made my heart expand so
much I thought my chest would burst. He looked at me like I was everything to
him, but then something shifted. He jumped off me so fast it was like he just
got stung by a bee or something. He looked at me with something like regret, or
maybe it was fear. He was a difficult one to read, but something made him
afraid to get too close to me. Suddenly, he just disappeared and I was left
standing alone in the empty room. Eventually, the room shifted into a more
familiar setting and the rest of my dreams were fairly uneventful.

†

When I woke, I stretched my arms over my
head with balled fists. It was one of those big full body stretches that made
every muscle in my body happy. Then, I remembered I should not have been able
to do that in a wingback armchair.

I was in his bed. The scent on the sheets
confirmed that, but I sensed I was alone this time. Then, another scent drifted
faintly over to me, followed by the sound of something frying in the kitchen. I
got up and checked the window to get an idea of the time of day. It was night.
That’s all I could tell.

I walked out to investigate the foreign
smells and sounds. I know I never smelled or heard anything like that in my
apartment. Whatever it was, it was heavenly. It smelled like bacon and eggs,
but I couldn’t remember the last time I had those things.

Gavin stood at the stove working between
several pans at once. I tried not remembering the way he worked on the sword in
my dream. It was best just forgetting about it altogether. There was a lot of
flipping and scrambling going on so I decided to stay out of the kitchen. He
didn’t turn away from what he was doing, but I knew he sensed me. His posture
stiffened slightly then relaxed.

“I figured you would be hungry,” he called
from his work station as I turned on the TV and took my usual seat. He was
right. I was always starving after a long period of exhaustion. My body was
finally regaining its strength from all the healing it did that night. “There’s
juice in the fridge if you’re thirsty.”

I flipped the station on the television to
find the local news, but there was none on yet, so I got up to take him up on
the juice offer. As I approached, he turned his head and gave me a sweet lazy smile,
and all my previous thoughts momentarily disappeared as I realized just how
sexy he was.

After what I was about to ask him, I thought
it would be okay to finally admit that to myself, outside of a dream, even if I
couldn’t tell him that. I wouldn’t want it to go to his already big head. He
had that white t-shirt on again with a pair of black Puma pants.

“You know, if you wanted to sleep with me,
all you had to do was ask,” he joked. Without warning, the dream came back to
me with full force. He saw the tension on my face and his features took on a
knowing look, swiftly replaced by a sly teasing one. “What’s wrong? Rough
night’s sleep?” he asked smiling. My face reddened and he continued, “Bad
dreams, perhaps?”

“Nightmares, actually,” I said, frustrated.
How did he always know what was in my head? I couldn’t let him get to me now,
not with what I needed to ask him.

It rolled right off me as I grabbed the
orange juice carton from the refrigerator and took it to the cabinet next to
the stove where Gavin worked. With a newfound feeling of buoyancy and
uninhibitedness, I cast a sidelong glance over at Gavin, greedily taking in the
full length of him.

His eyes caught me staring and his eyebrows
went up in an arch. I opened the upper cabinet to find a glass and decided I
wanted one from the top shelf. Using my entire body, I stretched every inch of
myself, giving him perfect view of all my best assets. I brought the glass down
lazily, feigning ignorance. I knew he was watching.

When I looked innocently over at him, I
caught his eyes on me, and he looked more confused than I had ever seen him. I
tried stifling a giggle. But behind the confusion was something I wasn’t too
familiar with. A lot of guys look at me with a certain amount of lust, but this
went beyond that. Whatever it was went deep, and I felt that odd pull to him.
Tonight, I didn’t even bother resisting it, because I was living it like it was
my last night on earth. If all went according to plan, it just might be.

I stepped casually over to the island and
hopped smoothly up on the granite counter, drink in hand. I watched his back
side while he flipped the French toast. Each move he made was careful and
calculated. From his stiffness, I knew he was trying to figure me out. He
probably thought I was messing with him.

Then, he turned and moved to my side with a
cutting board. He began cutting up fresh peppers and mushrooms as he skillfully
ignored my erratic behavior. If he thought I was playing him somehow, he
definitely wasn’t about to give in to it.

The tension in his jaw was still present, so
I scooted sideways toward him. My foot brushed the side of his thigh. He slowly
stopped chopping and tilted his head sideways to peer at me with a sly smile of
his own. The smile I returned to him was one he wouldn’t be able to
misinterpret.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“What? I figured a man of your experience
would recognize the gesture.”

“You know what I mean. What is all this
about?”

“I told you. I’m a woman. I can argue
whenever I want. Or, I can be nice when I want,” I taunted, as I slid the
cutting board down moving into its place. I pulled my leg up sliding my foot
over the counter before bringing it slowly back down the other side of him.
Once straddling him, I pushed myself closer to him, and it didn’t take any more
reasoning.