Kindling Flames: Burning Nights (The Ancient Fire Series Book 6) (14 page)

“Of course,” she promised, rising up on her toes to peck a kiss on his lips. “You’ll probably know I need you well before I do.”

He let out a soft snort of laughter. “Probably,” he agreed before giving her a proper kiss. When he was done, he pulled back and looked down at her with concern in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked one more time.

“
Bed!”
Vicky ordered as she pushed him back, making him release her. “
Rest!”
She pointed to the empty bed. “And I’m not talking sleep. I know you recover faster when you turn yourself off, so do it.” She hadn’t thought about how unnatural Darien’s sleeping habits were until Elliot, Jakob, and Josh had moved in. After watching them shut down to rest, she’d asked, and Darien explained that when a vampire rested properly their heart rate would slow, their breathing would stop, and their body temperature would drop. Since it was unnerving to wake next to a dead body, he preferred to set his system to take its cues from the person sleeping with him. It was nicer that way for her, but the rest wasn’t as deep.

“But I don’t want to disturb you,” Darien said, concerned.

She smiled, touched by his consideration. “It won’t disturb me,” she reassured him. Turning away from him, she headed back into the bathroom area to finish drying off. “Besides, it’s well past lunch time, and I should probably find something to eat.” The queasy feeling in her stomach had passed while she was in the shower. It had been replaced with a growling that reminded her she’d missed several meals.

Darien sat down on the edge of the bed and fluffed up the pillows. “I think I saw a room service menu on the desk yesterday, but I didn’t take a look at it.” Twisting around, he swung his feet up into the bed and wiggled until he was comfortable.

“That’s okay,” Vicky said as she ruffled the towel over her head, drying her hair. “I was thinking about heading down to the restaurant and seeing what they had.”

“The restaurant?” Darien said as he sat back up. “You’re going out?”

Grabbing a robe, Vicky pulled it on as she spoke. “Yes.” She came over and sat on the bed next to Darien. “If I stay here, you aren’t going to rest.”

“I’ll rest just fine.” Darien protested.

Vicky tilted her head forwards and gave him a pointed look. “Really?”

Darien’s jaw clenched as he met her gaze.

“Just as I thought,” she said standing up and heading to the closet where she’d hung up her clothing. “If I don’t leave, you will lay there pretending to rest and listening to everything I do.” She glanced back at Darien. The look on his face told her she was right. Reaching into the closet, she pulled out her swimming suit. “So I’m going to go get lunch then go check out the pool.” A stern look crossed Darien’s face, but Vicky spoke before he could tell her she couldn’t go. “I know you’re worried,” she said soothingly as she dropped her robe and wiggled into the white, one-piece suit. “But I can’t stay here. You won’t get any rest. Besides, we came to Hawaii to relax. What’s more relaxing than a light lunch and some sunbathing?” She peeked at him again and saw that his stern look was starting to soften, so she pushed on. “It’ll be okay,” she said, catching his gaze. “We don’t have to worry about the vampires right now. They’re not likely to try an attack in broad daylight, plus I have this.” She touched the silver cross at her throat. “I promise to keep my senses open and call if I should notice anything unusual.”

Letting out a defeated breath, Darien gave in. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “All right.” He opened them and gave her a determined look. “I’ll rest for two hours, but I expect you to be back before I wake up. And if you see or feel anything, you call me.” He tapped the side of his head. “I will hear you.”

Pulling a brightly colored sarong from the closet, she circled back around the bed to stand next to Darien. “I promise,” she said, leaning over and kissing him. “I’ll be back in two hours and if anything happens, I’ll call.”

Darien growled his displeasure, but laid back in the bed to rest.

Letting out a snort of amusement, Vicky wrapped the material around her waist and tied it in place. Turning away from him, she gathered her brush from the bathroom. She stopped long enough retrieve her sandals before heading for the door. “Rest well, love,” she called as she clicked off the light. She looked back in the darkened room just long enough to see Darien wave before rolling to his side. Shaking her head, she pulled the door to jamb, but didn’t latch it. It was unlikely Darien would rest properly until she was out of the suite, and she knew that he would appreciate that thin crack.

Settling on the couch, she slipped into her sandals and ran the brush through her damp hair. It would be a while before it was fully dry so she pulled the hair tie from the handle of the brush and pulled it up into a loose bun. As she worked, she worried about her decision to go get food. The fact that someone had tried to poison her sat heavy on her mind. Part of her wanted to go back in and cuddle with Darien where it was safe, but she knew he needed to recover. And her presence, even out here, would keep him from getting the rest he needed. The idea of being alone after the attack was daunting, but she knew she would have to face it eventually. She couldn’t spend her time hiding in Darien’s shadow.

Reaching out, she touched her connection with Zak. A loving gurgle filled her mind, making her smile. She sighed in contentment and let that connection go. Grabbing the beach bag she’d put together yesterday, she headed out for lunch and sun, reassured. No matter where she went, she wasn’t truly alone as long as she had her connection with her boys. They would both come if she needed them.

***

A feeling of wrongness woke Darien from his rest. He pulled in a lungful of air as his eyes popped open. His senses sharpened as he tried to identify what was wrong. The room around him was still and dark. He waited, feeling the vibe in the air, but there was nothing unusual. Just the smell of salt from the sea and the hum of the air conditioning.

Sitting up he reached for Vicky, but came up empty. He could feel their connection, so he knew she was alive, but there was nothing more than that. Fear gripped him as he swung his legs out of bed and glanced at the clock. It had been a little over an hour since he’d finally let go to rest. “Victoria,” he called, both out loud and through their link, but got no reply.

Standing up, he went to the end of the bed and shoved his bare feet into his shoes. The nagging need to find Vicky overrode his sense of propriety. Still dressed in his sleep pants and t-shirt, he headed out to search for her.
Concern ate at him. He’d never reached for someone linked to him and came up completely blank.
Even asleep or blocked, pushing on a bond should generate some kind of response.
The closest he’d ever come was when Darcy had stolen his powers. He had lost the ability to reach his connections, but this was different. He could touch Vicky’s link. It was strong and sure, he just couldn’t feel her.

Worried that his power was waning again, Darien reached for Elliot. His mind touched his second’s with ease, but Elliot was concentrating very hard on something. Darien pulled back without interrupting him, but a new concern for his people added to the worry already eating at him. He reached for Josh and Jakob. As the two vampires closest to Elliot, they would know what was going on. The images and feelings of desire told him the boys were busy entertaining a lady and he backed away as quickly as he could. He knew the twins had a healthy sex life, but he didn’t really want those kinds of gritty details running around in his head. Quickly he touched the rest of the links he held with his kiss. Most of the vampires were asleep, but the few that were awake showed no signs of alarm. Finally, he touched Zak. The fay’s familiar gurgle filled his mind as phantom tentacles surrounded him, patting him lovingly. Darien smiled and pulled back from the hellhound. Whatever was on Elliot’s mind wasn’t bad enough to worry Zak. Besides, Elliot was a very capable and smart man. If he ran into something he couldn’t handle, he knew to call for help.

Letting it go, Darien turned his attention back to Vicky. The bonds with his people were strong, so there wasn’t an issue with his power. Why couldn’t he reach her? He pondered this as the elevator took him down to the lobby. She said she was going to lunch so he started with the hotel restaurant.

As he stepped inside, he cast a glance around the room. It was nice. The stylish décor made it a cozy place to relax for a meal, but he didn’t see Vicky anywhere.

“Just one?” The hostess asked as she smiled at Darien

“I’m looking for my wife,” Darien said as he turned to the smartly dressed woman. “She came down for lunch about an hour ago. Blonde curly hair, white swim suit, colorful sarong, probably wearing sandals.”

The woman nodded. “I remember her. She charged the bill to her room, but she’s already left.”

“Thank you,” Darien said and turned away from the woman. He was glad to hear that Vicky had eaten, but it still didn’t explain the emptiness at the end of her link. Retracing his steps through the lobby, Darien headed out to the pool. If she were serious about sun bathing, that would be the most likely place to find her.

The far side of the lobby opened to a walkway leading to the pool. Overhead, a second floor balcony cast a shadow over part of the patio, giving the guests a cool, outdoor area to enjoy the gentle breeze coming off the ocean. Making his way across the covered porch, Darien stopped and stood in the shadow of the outdoor stairs. He stared out at the large terrace holding the pool and scanned the area he could see, searching for Vicky. There were a lot of people relaxing around the pool, but he could only see half of the deck chairs from where he hid from the sun. After a few moments, Darien took a step closer to the light so he could see more of the patio.

Finally, his eyes caught the golden curls of Vicky’s hair. She was stretched out on one of the wooden lounge chairs, sunning herself. Letting out a sigh of relief, he watched her from the safety of the shadows, but something wasn’t right. Even though he could see her, he still couldn’t reach her. He pressed on their connection as hard as he could, but there was still nothing. She looked like she had fallen asleep, but if that were the case, he should have been able to feel her against his mind. Taking a closer look, his breath caught and his head stopped. Something was definitely wrong. She was much too still to be asleep.

Taking a step into the sun, Darien picked his way across the crowded patio. His feet picked up speed as he got closer. Something in her hair glistened dark red in the sun. Disbelief spurred him on and he shoved people out of his way as he raced to her side. Angry cries followed him, but he ignored them as he stood over her trying to understand what he saw.

Vicky’s lifeless eyes stared up at him and blood dripped from a wound on her head.

Shocked, he dropped to her side. “Victoria!” he said in an anguished whisper. He pulled her limp body into his arms and opened his power to her, but there was no life left in her. He pulled in gasps of air as he pushed the hair at her temple back to inspect the wound. Her blood was thick on his fingers as he felt the place where someone had caved in her skull. He glanced around at the people surrounding him, unable to process what was happening. There had to be thirty or more people here. How could no one have noticed her murder? Rage colored his vision as he lifted her lifeless body against him.

“Darien?”

Vicky’s voice broke into his rage and he whipped around to see her standing behind him. Her hair hung heavy with water as she dripped on the concrete. His eyes raced over her standing there alive. He turned back to the dead Vicky in his arms to find he was clutching her sarong wrapped around a towel. Shocked he held the material out and looked at it. Just a few seconds ago, it had been the woman he loved. Even the blood had felt real.

Dropping the towel, he stood up and turned to Vicky. He pressed on their connection and reached her with ease. Her worry filled his mind as he grabbed her up and squeezed her to him. His heart raced as he poured his powers over her, making sure she was okay.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, holding him tightly.

“I thought you were dead,” he said. His words were muffled from where he’d buried his face in her shoulder.

“What?” she said, shocked.

“On the chair,” he said, holding her tighter. “You were dead.”

Vicky turned her head to see the towel and sarong strung across the chair. “I was in the pool,” she said, pushing on Darien’s shoulder so he would loosen his grip. “Are you all right?”

Darien shook his head. “No.” The shock of finding her dead had rattled him. He touched her face to make sure she was real.

Vicky searched his face for a moment before pulling out of his arms. The look in his eyes disturbed her. She grabbed up her sarong, shook some leaves from it, and tied it around her waist.

Darien stood there trying to understand what had happened. She was dead, but no one saw her. And now she was alive. He watched dumfounded as she shoved her feet in the shoes, grabbed her bag, and yanked the sun umbrella from the nearest holder.

“Come on,” she said grabbing him by the arm and holding the umbrella up so he was protected from the sun. She pulled him into motion and led him across the patio to the shade of the balcony. Abandoning the umbrella in the bushes, she pushed him as far into the shade as she could get him to go. “Darien, what’s wrong?”