Authors: Doris O'Connor
Lucas's suit jacket being placed
round her shoulders took her by surprise, so lost was she in her own misery.
She looked up at him, startled by the action and the way his hands skimmed
across her neck, before he pulled the jacket tight over her exposed skin. He
didn't break his rapid conversation with Carmen in a language that
Coralie
didn't understand.
The only words she caught were her
name and
Jacomo's
.
The mention of the demon in that guttural language stirred a faint
memory that she couldn't quite grasp, but her heart beat faster and her
breathing grew shallow as the fine hair on her neck stood to attention.
She sensed this memory was important with
every cell of her being and the world dimmed as she went into herself to remember.
Jerry's face swam in front of her eyes. Her friend's broken body covered in
blood, as a hideous scaly being danced around her, a ceremonial dagger raised
high above her heart.
Coralie
tried to scream, to
warn Jerry, to do something, but no sound came out. Nothing but her strangled
breath forced past a throat that felt too tight to function.
Cool hands on her shoulders shook
her out of her nightmare. Lucas's concerned face swam into view. Shit, what had
just happened? Carmen was talking to
Bughar
and neither
one was paying any attention to her, thankfully.
"If we're done here, I'll
retire to my chambers." Lucas addressed Carmen, his deep voice causing
those butterflies in
Coralie’s
stomach to awaken
anew. "I'm taking my snack with me."
****
Lucas had no idea what had happened
to
Coralie
back in Carmen's hall. She had gone a
shade so pale, any vampire would have been proud, her breathing almost
nonexistent. Her warm, brown eyes had changed to a vibrant yellow and she had
been completely unresponsive until he had literally shaken her out of whatever
trance she'd been in. What's more, she had followed him meekly, head bowed,
through the myriad of corridors back to his chambers. He had expected her to
explode into a ball of fury the minute they were out of sight of Carmen and
Bughar
, but all he sensed was a void, as though all the
life had been sucked out of her.
He encountered no resistance when he
took his jacket off her shoulders and peeled her out of what remained of her
blouse. Her skin was clammy and so cold goose bumps rose in front of his eyes.
Merde
,
he had to warm her up. Anxiety made
him clumsy and his fingers shook when he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them
down her slim hips. He settled her on the low settee and pulled her jeans off
completely.
She was beautiful. Sat just in her
underwear, the ugly bruises forming on her delicate skin did not detract from
her natural beauty. Her hair tumbled over her shoulder and down her cleavage,
the nipples erect in their lacy confines. He clenched his fists and swallowed
the growl rumbling in his throat at the sight of
Bughar's
large handprint on the slight indent of her waist. His eyes roamed lower over
the slight curve of her belly and flared hips, leading to long legs. He groaned
when his eyes travelled up to the juncture of her thighs only just covered by
the tiny, black thong. His cock responded instantly at the sight and his fangs
ran out with a soft click.
Coralie
continued to stare into space at a spot far over his left shoulder. What the
hell was wrong with her? It was as though she was under a powerful spell. He
pulled her to feet and she went into his arms without any resistance. The
single tear running down her freezing cold cheek brought his long-buried human
side up, kicking and screaming. Forcing his fangs to retract, he fitted his
mouth against hers, willing her to respond. It was like kissing a fucking
corpse and she reeked of the fairy.
With
lightning speed he bundled them both into the en-suite shower unit. The stream
of hot water hit them both.
Coralie
moaned and
stretched upwards and Lucas swallowed his tongue. His gaze followed the
rivulets of water cascading down her naked body and his cock rose in direct
response to her upturned breasts. The nipples stood proud in their rosy
surroundings and he itched to taste them and swipe the drops of moisture
glistening on their tips away. The look in her eyes stopped him and with a deep
growl he turned her around and reached for the soap instead.
She was not herself and she would
never forgive him. If he wanted to convince her that he wasn't the monster she
thought him to be, fucking her semi-conscious self in the shower was not the
way to go about it. Instead, he cleaned every inch of her luscious curves and
dried her off with infinite care. He lit the hitherto unused fire and wrapped
her up in one of the fluffy dressing gowns every room was equipped with, then
settled
Coralie
in front of the warm glow and waited
for her to come back to him.
Chapter
Eleven
It was the smell she noticed first.
The sweet aroma of burning wood surrounded
Coralie
.
Heat suffused her toes and crawled slowly up her legs and over her torso, until
it reached her neck. She moaned softly and huddled closer into the softness
surrounding her. Cool hands framed her face and a familiar dry scent surrounded
her. Her eyes fluttered open on a soft exhale. Slowly Lucas's concerned face
swam into focus. Why did he look so worried, and where was she?
"Welcome back,
Chere
."
The gravelly, accented tones wrapped
themselves around
Coralie
like a protective cocoon
and she smiled. Her eyelids weighed a ton and she struggled to keep them open.
Why was she so tired?
"
Oh
non
,
stay with me.
Coralie
, wake up."
She responded to the urgency in his
voice and slowly the fog cleared. Memories returned with sickening clarity and
his expression darkened when she scrambled away from him.
"Stay away from me, you…
you…monster."
"You're confusing me with
Carmen and
Bughar
."
"Crap, you just stood there and
let her bite me, and you…" Her hands went up to either side of her neck
and she winced at the soreness there. Come to think of it, every bone in her
body ached as though she had been run over by a truck…or a massive fairy. She
shuddered and resolutely pushed the memories of
Bughar's
heavy body on top of her away. She was going to be sick if she allowed herself
to think of him.
As if reading her thoughts Lucas
shook his head at her. "Don't,
Chere
,
just don't. The fucker is never going to lay a finger on you again or I'll
drain him where he stands."
The fury and barely controlled
violence radiating off Lucas made
Coralie
swallow
nervously. He watched her warily, hands pushed into the back pockets of his
jeans, his muscles straining the material of his tee.
Damn it, it just wasn't fair. Even after
everything that had
happened
her body reacted to him
instantly. She straightened her shoulders and crossed her arms over the soft
robe and glared at the man watching her with an unblinking gaze.
"Where the hell are my clothes?
How dare you…" Heat rose in her cheeks, when she realized it must have
been him undressing and washing her. And why the fuck didn’t she have any
memories of that? The last thing she remembered was Lucas fighting with the
fairy and Carmen's cruel laughter.
"They reeked of fairy, as did
you. Forgive me for taking care of you and saving your life – again. How dare I
indeed? Next time I happen to find you in deadly peril, I'll just leave you to
it, shall I,
Chere
?
"
The growled endearment settled
somewhere perilously close to her heart and
Coralie's
conscience chose that moment to whisper in her ear. Shame flooded her and she
dropped her gaze to the floor. Her mum would be turning in her grave right now.
Lucas's frustrated sigh and mumbled words of French made her bare toes curl
into the plush cream carpet. She could almost hear her mother berate her.
"It doesn't matter one iota what somebody looks like, what race he is or
what his reputation is like. Sweet words are easy and mean nothing. What
matters is inside, and actions speak louder than words. Remember that in
future,
Coralie
."
Her mother's wise words increased
her discomfort. Vampire or not, he had saved her life twice. Shit, he almost
killed himself trying to convince her that he hadn't turned her. And as
despicable as his actions in Carmen's presence seemed,
Coralie
was still alive and relatively unharmed, the chunk of lost time and the big
black hole in her recent memory notwithstanding. Had he caused that memory
loss?
Lucas had moved away from her to the
bar at the other side of the living area. He had his back to her and she
allowed her eyes to feast freely. The dejected slump of his big shoulders and
the heavy-handed way in which he poured himself a straight Scotch spoke of
deep-seated wariness and her whispering conscience settled in the pit of her
stomach with intensity.
"I'm sorry." His head shot
up at her whispered words and he turned around slowly.
Coralie's
heart gave another little lurch inside her tight chest when she saw the
swirling emotions in his brilliant green eyes.
"Don't." He ran one hand
through his hair, making the slightly damp strands stick up and
Coralie's
heart skipped another beat. He looked to the
floor and the white-knuckled grasp on his glass lessened slightly. "You're
right. I am a monster who shouldn't exist. I don't blame you, running from me.
Most people do and with good reason. The fact that I need to drink their blood
is usually an instant conversation stopper."
His eyes briefly flickered to her
face.
He swore and threw the glass in
his hand against the nearest wall with such force it shattered into a gazillion
pieces.
Coralie
jumped at the display of violence and
he swore again.
"
Merde
,
Chere
,
I so want to take that look
out of your eyes, but I can't."
"What do you mean, you
can't?"
Coralie
forced the words out, not really
daring to hope they meant what she suspected.
"I can't compel you. Believe
me, I tried."
"You can't?"
"
Non
."
"Are you sure?"
Coralie
knew she
must sound as though she was completely dimwitted, but she had to know for
sure. Somehow this had become vitally important to her, because if he couldn't
force his will on her, then that meant her budding feelings were real and that
thought scared her more than anything else she had encountered so far.
Lucas narrowed his eyes and shook
his head.
"
Oui
,
Je
suis
sure.
I have no
idea why I can't and if Carmen ever finds out, you're as good as dead, but no.
I can't compel you to do anything you don't want to do and I can't take the
memories away, I'm sorry.
"
"
Why would
you be sorry?"
Coralie
whispered. She didn't seem capable of projecting her voice with any conviction.
"Because not remembering would
keep you safe and I could let you go." He'd stepped closer to her,
uttering those words, his green eyes darkening.
Coralie's
stomach somersaulted merrily. He tucked a strand of her hair back behind her
ear. The innocent touch left tingles of awareness on her skin and she sucked
her tummy in to stop herself from reacting outwardly.
Shit, shit, shit, if he didn't exude any sort
of vampire lure on her, then this chemistry they shared was real. Heaven help
her, what was she going to do?
"You can still let me go. I
won't say anything. Who would believe me anyway?"
His sad smile increased the
butterflies in her stomach to swarming proportions.
"You'd be surprised. Besides,
with
Jacomo
on the loose I would rather have you near
me."
The mention of the demon brought
forth a memory so horrifying, she almost screamed.
"Jerry. Oh my God, we have to
warn her, Lucas. You have to let me go. I have to tell her…"
"You can't tell her anything,
Coralie
. Besides, Ion's pack is watching her and her little
girl. Nothing is going to happen to your friend, trust me."
Coralie
could hardly breathe, the images scorching her brain so sickeningly vivid, as
though they had already happened. She put her hands out to steady herself
against Lucas's broad chest and he pulled her into his hard frame. One cool
hand drew reassuring circles on her back whilst the other tilted her head up.