Bitten By Magic (8 page)

“Ah...no. That is the look of a woman begging to be...satisfied.” Grant backed up uneasily toward the end of the bed and the door.

“Satisfied?” His dark head swiveled to aim a glare at the doctor, who seemed intent on escaping the room.

“I don’t know the chemical makeup of a Witch’s blood, Wilhelm. Nor do I have a reference for the reaction her blood and body might be having to the chemicals in your bite. From what I am seeing, the soothing effect of your bite has been amplified by her chemistry.”

“What does that mean?” Wilhelm was quickly losing patience and his firm grip on his lust as her hips arched up toward his with an ardent demand for movement. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on her arms.

“It means she’s hornier than any Poppet I’ve ever seen after a bite. I can tell you she will live, but you might want to brace yourself because this one is going to be far more demanding of your...time than the others have been. I’ll have orange juice sent up for her. Have fun, Elder.” Grant cleared his throat to cover the chuckle that escaped before he could open the door and leave.

Chapter Five

“Damn...” Wilhelm looked toward the closed door. He couldn’t believe Grant had deserted him that way. It was just like the doctor to give his opinion and run. He slowly turned his head to stare down at the mesmerizing green gaze of the woman below him.

“Am I dying? Have I already died?” She blinked up at him slowly.

“You’re not dying.” He released her arms to ease himself away from her, but Alexa had other ideas. Her hands clutched his biceps to keep him from moving.

“Why does it ache so?” Her breath quickened as she let her hands slide up to his shoulders. “I’m used to the pain...but this...” Her head moved against the pillow as tears glimmered in her eyes. “Make it stop, Will. Take my life, now.”

Wilhelm reared back. Her small plea hit him with the force of a blow to his gut. Moving quickly from her, he left the bed with a strength of speed that took his breath. Flattening himself against the cold wall, he stood there frozen. His whole body tensed with the desire to run from the room, to escape from the need in those green pools of pain.

He didn’t understand this. There was never a time in this life that he wished he didn’t exist at all. The damn chemical in his saliva was responsible for her torture; his saliva, his fault. He shoved a hand through his hair roughly as he looked at the woman who was clenching the red silk sheets in her fingers. Her face echoed the agony he had placed her in. A low growl left his chest as he gritted his teeth against giving her exactly what she asked him for. It wouldn’t be hard for him. Her blood still called to him with that addictive sweet flavor and jolt of magical power. One bite of magic and her suffering would be over and his—his would just begin.

Wilhelm’s fingers dug into the cold wall behind him as he stared at her, horrified at what he’d done to the strong Keeper. Yet his mind jolted as he ground his teeth. This was exactly what he’d wanted from the moment he’d set eyes on the cold woman who controlled his actions with the use of a flimsy piece of parchment. She was beautiful—there was no argument there—but her beauty was cold, harsh in the artificial lighting of the Tri-Species conference rooms. He had taken an immediate dislike to the Keeper and that feeling had turned to hatred when she had blocked him from taking his revenge upon her cousin. He wanted her pain. Where was the satisfaction he should be feeling? He had her right where he wanted her, so why wasn’t he reveling in her torment?

***

It was her premonition! Alexa’s dazed brain knew her gift was coming to light. He was standing in the shadows of the room, watching her as she struggled with the pain of a need so strong that it far surpassed the ache in her stomach. She could smell his darkness and it drew her as no other ever had. That mix of rich earth and sage was intoxicating. Oh, why was he hanging back in the shadows when she needed him so?

“Please...” She reached out to him with a hand open in invitation. Shudders racked her body as he held back.

“This was never my intention.” As he moved towards the bed, his handsome features were revealed by the soft lights. She had always thought him handsome, even when he was scowling, as he was now. A dark lock of hair fell over his forehead as he bent his head to study her. “You understand what this means, Keeper?”

“No...yes...” She shook her head weakly. Her eyes widened as he sat down on the bed beside her. A big hand took hers, his strong fingers entwining with hers, causing her to moan at the contact.

“It means you will truly be my wife, Alexa Carver Chambers. No other will touch you. Should you allow another to have what is mine, he will take you with his last breath.” The threat in his low voice was perfectly echoed in the cold glint of his dark eyes. She would have laughed at the thought if his other hand hadn’t moved to cup her cheek. His eyes flared red and narrowed as his thumb teasingly slid over her lower lip.

“There is no going back once we begin, Keeper. Choose your poison wisely.”

“Are you going to talk me to death, or are you going to take me?” Her frustration brought a twitch of humor to his hard mouth as he grabbed the silk sheet and yanked it off her body.

“In a rush, are you,
felesage
?”

“I’m partial to the bandage approach. Yank it off and be done with it.” Her breath caught as his harsh features changed and he grinned down at her. The Elder had never looked so...approachable before.

“Oh, Keeper. No wonder you always looked so icy cold. I take it the males of your kind share your view of sex.” Her eyes closed as he gripped the bottom of her silk tank top. They flew open again as he yanked the material up and over her head in one smooth motion. Her arms immediately crossed over her exposed chest as he flung the top to the bottom of the bed. Alexa felt her cheeks burn as he stared down at her with a raised brow.

“I take it they don’t like to look, either. Well, you’ll just have to adjust to being looked at, Keeper. I like looking, touching, and tasting.” He gently captured her wrists and easily moved them beside her head, holding them there as he looked his fill. “Why would you need to cover such feminine beauty?”

Alexa glared up at him, expecting to see sarcasm on his handsome face, but what she saw instead warmed her heart as well as her body. She blushed as those brown eyes studied her with a hunger and need to match her own. Her arms relaxed enough to cause his head to lift. When his eyes met hers she held his gaze with the strength of a woman who had finally found a man she could trust with her vulnerable body and fragile ego.

“You are not what I expected.” She shuddered as his hands moved on a sensual path from her wrists to her shoulders. His long fingers massaged her tense shoulders with an expert touch.

“What did you expect,
felesage
? A cold-blooded killer intent on biting and bedding you?” He shook his head and his eyes narrowed as she looked away. “I thought so.” Disappointment filled his voice as he stood up, leaving her feeling bereft at the absence of his touch.

“Oh, really? Forgive me if I was wrong. Oh, wait!” Anger galvanized her as she pushed herself up off the bed, turning her head so he could clearly see the puncture wounds on her neck. “Yeah, pretty sure you already did the biting.” Her anger flashed out at him in the form of cutting sarcasm. A trait she’d personally tried to harness when she became the Keeper of the Treaty. Alexa instantly regretted her lapse as he turned to stare at her with a red glint to his dark eyes.

“Hello...Vampire!” His returned sarcasm made her want to laugh up at him, but the ominous threat in his slow smile stopped her. “Now, I guess all that’s left is the bedding.”

Alexa’s breath hitched in her chest as she stared up at him. “Since you are a Vampire, I’ll understand if you need to sleep. The urge to jump your bones has passed.” She raised her chin, aiming a cold stare meant to freeze him in place. His smile told her that he knew she was lying through her teeth. She wanted him with a need like she’d never known. Her head was spinning as her body throbbed for his.

“Ah...if only it were that easy, Keeper. Right now I’d like nothing better than to send you on your way, but a deal is a deal.” He sighed with a dramatic flair to his rolled eyes. Alexa frowned as she pulled the silk sheet up to cover her breasts. She should have been insulted, hurt and ashamed, but all she really felt was tired. Shoving a hand through her hair, she pulled her knees up to her chest defensively. He let out a slow hiss, turned, and moved to a small bar on the other side of the room. “Where are you going?” Her alarm made her voice high. The need for his touch, his taste, was still throbbing painfully through her body. And if her nipples got any tighter they’d cut through the silk sheet!

“I’m getting you a drink. Grant said you needed to drink a lot to replenish your blood levels.” He came back to the bed with a tall glass of water and a short glass of amber liquid. She took the glass of water, surprised to find she was thirsty with the first small sip. Wilhelm sat on the bed with his glass and casually flipped the television on.

“Thank you.” Awkward was a simple word for how she was feeling as she sat there beside him still bare from the waist up. She wondered if the cold Elder had ever been jumped and molested. All she wanted to do was turn around and crawl into his lap. What would the Elder think of that? She didn’t think he’d be all that pleased or surprised.

“Drink it all,” he ordered as she held the glass in her hand. The cold water helped with the fever, but didn’t douse it completely. Alexa held the cold glass up to her forehead in an attempt to drop her temperature. Verbally fighting with him wasn’t helping either of them.

“Done with the glass or would you like another?”

She held the glass out to him, her breath catching as his long fingers brushed and held hers for a second too long before he took the empty glass and set it on the small end table beside him. After a healthy swig of amber liquid, his glass followed hers. Wilhelm turned back to focus on her quietly. The silence stretched as Alexa firmly held the satin sheet up to her in a move of defense that had his lips pulling back in a semblance of a grin.

“I’ve already committed your curves to memory, Keeper.” His smile transformed the dangerous predator into an attractive male, one too handsome for her liking. She felt her cheeks burn as she looked away from him. Being the Keeper of the Treaty gave her a certain cloak of protection from the unwanted advances from the males in her Coven. No one wanted to risk offending the Keeper, which allowed her to remain single and celibate. The few who had worked up the courage to approach her had always been too arrogant and power hungry for her liking. She was the Keeper of the Treaty, strong, powerful, and determined to stay that way. Yet for all that strength, here she sat trying to hide in her skin like a cornered rabbit.

“Do you realize how beautiful you are? How much I want to taste you again? I’ve never been drawn to another’s blood and body the way you draw me.” His hand gently pushed her hair back behind her ear. The simple gesture surprised her with its purely gentle intent. This was a Vampire! They weren’t supposed to be gentle. They were savagely moved by their thirst for blood.

“Why didn’t you drain me?” she asked. His eyes flashed red as she realized it was a question no other would dare ask of him. He angled his head and folded his hands over a hard chest, seeming to consider his answer carefully.

“I didn’t want to.” His was a simple answer, yet she felt as if he’d stated a complex puzzle. “Why aren’t you afraid of death?” he asked in return, curious for her answer, though he tried to appear not to give a damn what her reasoning was.

“I’ve known since I was eight that my life would be cut short.” She smiled a little as his facade cracked, letting her know he was listening to her over the show he seemed so intent on. Those dark eyes were on hers now. The sharp intelligence behind them told her that this man was studying her every thought and move. She would need to be on her toes while dealing with him. “I had my first premonition at eight. I was playing by myself on the back porch of our little house in Maine. My father refused to live within the Coven grounds, so we lived by the ocean. My mama was a water Witch.” His head gave a slight nod to tell her he understood the need for a water Witch to be located near her power source. “Anyways, I was playing with a pretty seashell I’d found earlier when the premonition blocked everything, even the hot sunshine. I knew then how and when I would die. I went crying hysterically to my mama. Two hours later a Witch named Michael O’Mallery came to the beach and took me from my parents.” She turned her head away from him then, hiding the pain of a loss so old and deep that she rarely spoke of it.

“What was the premonition?” His question dragged her back from the aching loss of her past. Her long black hair flew over her bare shoulder as she turned back to him. He sat up and with one arm pulled her down on the bed. He turned on his side to stare down at her. Gently, he pinched the sheet in his fingers and slowly tugged it down over one of her breasts.

Alexa’s eyes closed; her small white teeth bit into her lower lip to keep from moaning at the tantalizing caress of the sheet. Taking a small peek up at him from beneath her dark lashes, she saw the way he was staring transfixed at her exposed breast. His lips pulled up into a true male grin as bent his head to place the softest of kisses on her nipple. Her heart pounded in her chest as her nipple tightened at his touch. Fire raged through her body to pool deep within her belly as he placed his palm on her breast.

“What was the premonition?” he asked softly, his warm breath grazing her bare skin as he spoke.

“One’s death is a private affair.” She raised a brow at him when he turned his head to look at her.

“What we are about to do is a private affair,
felesage
,” he countered easily.

“What does that mean?
Felesage
?” A small moan escaped her lips as the sheet slid slowly off her other breast. Wilhelm came over her then, his big body a heavenly weight over her as he cupped her head with his big palms. His face came close to hers as he stared down at her with a serious expression.