Blood Bath, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series Book 4) (25 page)

Mason scooped me up and carried me back inside the house, over the threshold and straight back to his room. When he tried to set me down on the bed I clung to his neck, too exhausted to manage anything but muttering the word fire. He set me on my feet while he spread out a few heavy blankets like a makeshift mattress. I was already curled up on the floor in front of the fireplace before he could set out the last blanket. He covered me with it instead and sat down next to me.

"Want to tell me where you were going?" He made lazy circles with his hand on my back.

"I wasn't going anywhere."

"You spindled enough energy to move the Emerald Isle to a tropical location. You were going after Bathory. Now tell me why."

"I wasn't going after Bathory. Not yet anyway. I haven't moved through the between in so long. I miss it. It's a part of me, you know? I only meant to pull a little, enough to fill the holes." I whispered, "To stop the hurt, the ache in my heart
."

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing."

"I know you want to go after Bathory and Caligula. And we will. Soon. But you've got to be able to sense a cloaked vampire, sense when someone else is moving in the b
etween and cover your own trail so no one can follow you when you jump. Promise me you won't try to jump again until then."

"I said I wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't jumping."

"Then tell me what had you so upset you didn't realize you pulled enough energy to fry your brain like an egg if you didn't release it."

I didn't have the strength or the desire to verbalize what happened. I rolled away from his comforting touch, closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Okay, Maurin. I'll let you off the hook tonight but we are going to talk about this in the morning." He brushed the hair out of my face. Tucking a strand behind my ear, he leaned in. "You smell like my soap. I like it." With a kiss behind my ear he was gone.

Conry quickly took his place, his massive head resting on my hip. I fell asleep with the warmth of the fire on my face and my guardian at my back.

19

The smell of freshly brewed coffee was enough to have one eye cracked open. They both wouldn't open until I a
ctually drank some. I was about fifty percent functional after my second cup. Was that bacon?

"Out of bed sleepy head." He
ruined his dark and smoldering image with all this morning sunshine.

"What time is it?"

"Seven thirty."

"Not even coffee and bacon will get me out of bed before eight."

"What about coffee, bacon, eggs and rye toast with raspberry preserves."

My stomach
sent out a distress signal, growling loud enough to be mistaken for a grizzly bear. I sat up, shivering when the warmth of my blanket cocoon pooled around my waist.

The plate was five star hotel quality, complete with o
range garnishes and a bowl of fresh strawberries and blueberries. Once I saw it, there was nothing that could come between me and that breakfast. For the first time in - probably ever - I ate before I had coffee, shoving an entire piece of bacon in my mouth. I washed it down with black coffee. "Oh my god, it's real bacon." I moaned my satisfaction over the pork perfection. How could something so good be so bad?

"I'm suddenly jealous of the bacon."

I almost choked on my coffee from laughing. "I switched to turkey bacon a couple of years ago. I forgot how good it is", I said around a mouthful of eggs.

"Either I'm a better cook than I thought or you never ate dinner last night."

"I was too wound up to eat."

"One more reason you weren't able to control the energy you pulled. Ready to tell me what had you so upset?"

"You made this?"

"I'll take that as a no.
Ryanne isn't feeling well so I told her to stay home. I can manage breakfast."

"I bet she isn't feeling well." Mason looked at me for an explanation but I shoved toast in my mouth to prevent sa
ying anything else. I would not have this conversation before my third cup of coffee if I could help it.

"Did something else happen? Something besides the vampires?"

"It's totally vampire related." I shoveled in the last of my eggs and poured another cup of coffee from the carafe, adding cream and sugar this time. "So what's on the training agenda for today?"

"First you're going to get dressed. I've laid out som
ething for you to wear on the bed. Then we're going to jump somewhere I can show you how to sense other people in the between."

I picked at the last piece of toast. "I thought you didn't want me jumping. What about Conry?"

"You're not doing the jumping, I am. You're just going along for the ride." He took my plate with one hand and helped me up with the other. "Conry will hold down the fort while we're gone. Get changed. I'm going to make a quick call. I want to touch base with Masarelli, then we can go."

"You need to get back. This is stupid, I can train at home. We don't need to be in another country for me to learn any of this."

"The only thing I need to do is keep you safe and your apartment is definitely not the safest place for you to be right now."

"Aren't you supposed to be running a department? You can't do that from here."

"I'm on leave."

"Leave? You just started."

"How about you let me worry about SPTF, okay?"

"You're going to get fired."

"I'm not going to get fired but if I did it'd be worth it. You're worth it."

"You barely know me. How can you say that?"

"I know enough. I'm part of the Hunt, I don't need that job, or any other job for that matter. But I need you. I needed
you
before I ever met you." He left me standing, mouth hanging open like an idiot. "You've got ten minutes to get ready." His called out from halfway down the hall.

I went to the bed to see what he picked for me. "I am not wearing this!" I knew he heard me. I hear
d him laughing. Where the hell were we going that I needed a bathing suit.

A deep purple, crocheted bikini specifically. I definitely owned underwear that covered more than this. No way in hell would those strings hold up my boobs. I don't care what you saw on
TV, if they were real you needed a little more than two triangles and two pieces of string.

I dug in my bag until I found a pair of black boy shorts and a black cotton bra. It could almost pass for a bathing suit. It would have to pass because while I appreciated the fact that Mason thought I could fit in that bikini, it was so not happening. I held it up again, confused. Where the hell were we going?

Mason pulled me in tight, my back pressed against his front. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Are you going to tell me where we're g
oing?" I had thrown on a pair of jeans and tee shirt, my docs and put my hair up in a top knot.

"No. You're not wearing the suit I picked out?"

I laughed. "Did you actually think I would?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "No, but you can't blame a guy for trying."

"Yes, I can."

He cleared his throat, trying not to laugh. "I don't want you to pull on the between when we cross over. Just feel. Concentrate on my movements, my energy."

Mason's arms tightened around my waist as the familiar sensation of calling up the between swirled around us. Instead of the rush of power I usually experienced it crept lazily over my body. The between slowly rolled over me and while I desperately wanted it to fill me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head it still felt amazing.

It felt like eternity, like we had all the time in the world. I wanted to stay here, linger with him in the place where time and distance was irrelevant, where we had the power to change reality.

Everything he did, all of his movements in the between were different than mine. My style felt like jumping, the force of the push, the propulsion, the impact on the landing. This was like being weightless, riding the current of the between. A familiar drop in my stomach, like when you go over a hill a little too fast in a car, was the only sign we reached our destination.

The veil pulled back, revealing the bustling streets of a quaint town filled with tourists. No one seemed to take n
otice of the two people who literally appeared out of thin air. They stepped around us as if we'd been there the whole time.

"Where are we?
In England?"

"Nice to see you know your geography. Welcome to Bath. Come on." He grabbed my hand, leading me across the street and past a massive modern building that while beautiful clashed with the Ab
bey styled buildings around it.

We
came to a small building, dwarfed by the large modern architecture to its left. The Roman structure may have been smaller but it took my breath away in a way modern architectural design never would.

"Aquae Sulis, Cross Bath, it's ours for a few hours." Mason swung the door open to reveal a stone room with glass walls opening to a stone patio surrounding a hot mi
neral spring bath.

"You reserved this? For us? Why?"

"It's a source of power. Sul, has blessed the waters in her temple. Even the Romans recognized her, Sulis Minerva, during their occupation of the Celts. She was a warrior like you, a goddess of retribution. The Hunt has found solace and a source of rejuvenation here. It's the best place outside of the between to show you how to feel other people moving through the grey. Besides the mineral bath will do your muscles good. Loosen you up before your training with Aidan tonight."

I stifled a groan. "Nothing short of elephant tranquili
zers will loosen me up right now." I tried to shake off the tension and apprehension brought on by the mere thought of training with Aidan.

I should tell Mason everything that happened last night while he met with my father.  Tell him what his pre
cious Ryanne did with my quasi boyfriend, excuse me, ex boyfriend. He would no doubt cancel my training or bring in another vampire - which was unlikely given the unrest in the local vamp community.

Either way it would put me further behind, Caligula and Bathory's trail getting colder with each minute we wasted trying to replace Aidan. So as much as I hated the
idea of working with him I didn't see an alternative because catching them, serving justice with the tip of my sword was now my only priority. I wasn't going to think about anything or anyone else. That was until Mason started to undress.

Steam rolled of
f the crystal clear water, leaving a hint of the minerals it contained in the air. Mason dropped a small backpack I hadn't noticed he was carrying on the floor. He kicked off his boots while he undid the button fly on his jeans. I couldn't take my eyes off the denim, watching it slide down muscular thighs and calves- until he pulled his black thermal shirt, exposing perfectly chiseled pecs and abs.

Tattoos like mine covered most of his body, some di
pping below the waistband of his black board shorts. He looked at me expectantly as he yanked off his socks. There was something nerve racking about deliberately undressing in front him so I ripped my clothes off like a Band Aid and walked into the bath in my bra and underwear.

The one hundred and seven degree water stung like thousands of tiny needles against my chilled skin as I wa
ded out until the water was chest deep.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?" If this was a lesson on trust I would seriously fail. Generally speaking, I had trust issues.

"
Do you plan to question me the entire time? Close your eyes."

"It's possible. Why do I need to close my eyes?" I spun around, the movement sluggish in the water. I jumped when I saw he was right next to me- I couldn't help it. 

"Do you really think I'm going to hurt you?"

Of course I didn't, but that didn't make closing my eyes any easier. He took my hands in his, kissing the tips of my fingers before placing one hand over each of my eyes.

"Relax. Take a deep breath. That's it, in out. Good. Now, see if you can sense my movements. Feel my location. And no peeking."

"You brought me all the way to England to play Marco Polo?" I
totally peeked, by the way.

"Maurin
, we only have the bath for a few hours."

"Fine," I huffed, squeezing my eyes shut.

I couldn't feel anything and I struggled with keeping my eyes closed. I always sucked at Marco Polo. I moved, turning in a half circle listening for any sounds in the water.
Be still
, Mason's voice was a whisper in my left ear. I threw my hand out, expecting to catch him beside me but was left grasping at air.
Be still
.

Instead of us
ing his voice to zero in on where he was, I listened to his instruction. I stilled my body, my mind and spirit. The sounds from the city outside the bath house fell away as I slowed my breathing. My hands rested palms down on the surface and I became one with the water. I couldn't rely on my eyes, stopped relying on my ears and concentrated on my sense of touch. I felt every ripple, every lap against my skin and that's when I had him.