Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) (6 page)

Compulsion—she had heard that vamps had this ability; she had used it herself when needed. With her blood loss and hunger, she could not fight him hard enough to break free. Little by little, she felt her resistance drain away until she was being led to the dining room. This time, he had won, but the next time…and she was suddenly sure that there would be lots more time spent with him…she would be the stronger of the two.

~CHAPTER FOUR~

Two hours later, Aaron was no closer to getting any answers from her than he had been when she had first come downstairs. She was by and far the most stubborn, frustrating woman he had ever encountered. It wasn’t the fact that she didn’t answer his questions that frustrated him; it was that she totally and completely ignored him. She shut him out as tightly as if he was not even in the room. Even threats didn’t work, which should not have surprised him, seeing as to how she had asked him to end her life just a few days ago. He finally had to retire to the sublevels of his home. It wasn’t that he was admitting defeat; rather, he could not take the highest point of the sun. But he warned her that he was not finished yet. And damn it all to hell, he had never gotten one whiff of her scent again.

At near sunset, Aaron went in search of Sara. He was going to get some answers from her or else...well, he would think about the “or else” later. He looked in the kitchen first, and encountered Duncan, who seemed to be enjoying himself watching a cooking show on the small television on the counter.

“What are you doing?” He heard himself snarl at Duncan and felt horrible about it. Just as Aaron was about to apologize to him, Duncan answered.

“I thought if Miss Sara was going to be staying with us for a while, I’d learn to cook. It seems easy enough. What do you think she would like for dinner tonight? There are so many shows to watch from which I can learn different dishes.”

Duncan was excited. Excited about cooking? For a human? Aaron decided that he would enroll him in cooking classes at the next opportunity. Then Aaron realized that his manservant had thrown him off track of his goal—finding Sara.

“I could care less. Where is she? I would have thought she’d be up and about by now. Terrorizing the world as we know it.”
Okay,
he thought to himself,
now I’m being an ass.

“I believe she is still abed, master. Oh, and Master Colin is here. He is below levels, I believe.”

He only called him master when he was trying to make a point. But he was not in the mood to stay and figure out what it could be this time. Damn it, he was hungry and angry, not a good combination in most vamps. He wanted to find her. He turned on his heel and left the room. He was nearly up the stairs when he heard a small whimper.

Aaron flashed to the bedroom door where she was staying and found the door shut, but not locked. He walked in and found the bed empty, as was the room, but the sheets were covered in blood. Suddenly afraid, he strode to the bathroom door and knocked once. The whimper sounded again.

“Miss Temple—Sara, are you all right? Open the door this instant.” He rattled the knob and knocked again.

“Go away.” Her voice sounded weak. He tried to open a connection to her mentally. Physically, he could smell her blood. He was not sure, however, if it was from the bed or the bathroom. A sudden thought occurred to him.
Would she cut her own wrists?

“Are you hurt? Well of course you’re hurt, you’ve been shot. Do you need my assistance? Let me in to see to you. I’m telling you right now, young lady, you’d better not be bleeding to death in there. I’m going to be very pissed at you if you are.”

He twisted the knob to no avail. He could unlock it on his own, but preferred to wait and see how she would respond and what that revealed of her capabilities, since that would reveal exactly what she was. Her powers were beyond what one would expect from a mere human being. “Open the damned door, Sara.”

“What part of ‘go away’ did you not understand? Don’t you people believe in privacy?” Even though she lowered her voice, he could still hear her mumble, “Stupid man. If I bleed to death, why should I care if he’s pissed off or not?”

“I’m not going anywhere, damn it. If you don’t tell me what’s wrong with you, I’m going to break it down.” He did not believe in all his life he had been more frustrated with anyone.

Just when he thought she was not going to answer, she said, “Isn’t there some rule where you have to be invited in or something? I like that rule. It’s a very smart rule when dealing with fruitcakes like you.”

“It’s my house, so it doesn’t apply.” He did not know whether to laugh or scream at her. “Are you going to answer me, or do I break the door down? I’ll tell you now, Sara, it’ll go better for you all around if you open the door. I’m not going to be very happy with you if I have to resort to busting my door down.”

“First of all, why should I care if you bust in your own flippin’ door? You’d have to pay for it, dumb ass. Secondly, I hurt. Why can’t you just leave me alone? I just need to sit here for a little while to rest. Damn it, you are the most aggravating man I’ve ever...go away!”

He smiled. Damn, but she had a smart mouth. Tasty too, he remembered.

“Hurt how, Sara? Let me in, I need to see you.”

He heard a pleading tone in his voice because he realized he really did need to see her. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to strangle her or kiss her senseless. Either way, he needed the door open. He was getting the barest whiff of her now, the calla lilies and honey that seemed to be her smell to him. He drew in a deeper breath, opening his mouth so as to get the taste of her on his tongue. And despite his not wanting a mate, all he could think was,
mine.

Aaron was nearly at the door-breaking point when he felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw April, and she had Duncan with her. Neither looked very happy.

“My lord, what’s the matter?” April asked him. There was a tone there. He could hear it, but could not for the life of him understand it.

“Sara said she hurts. She won’t open the door. Damn stubborn girl. She’d rather stay in there and hurt instead of letting someone help her. Are all women like this?” He turned toward the door again and hit it hard with his fist. “I won’t have it, you hear me, Sara? I won’t have it!”

“The whole house can hear you, you arrogant ass. I swear to....” She sobbed and he felt it all the way into his soul. “Will you fucking go away? I just wanna sit here. Why are you doing this to me?”

Maybe
, he thought,
if I piss her off enough, she will come out to me.

“Me? I’m not doing anything. Yet, anyway. But as soon as I can, I’m gonna paddle your ass good. Now open this door.”

He stepped back slightly and started to press his strength against the frame when April pecked him on the shoulder. He moved over to allow her to try. But paddling Sara’s butt was sounding better and better all the time.

“Sara, honey, it’s April. Will you open the door, please? You’ve worried us all quite enough.”

“What’s going on?” Demetrius asked as he, too, made his way into the room.

Just great,
he thought,
now all they needed was—

“Hello, everyone. Are we having a party up here then?” Colin Larimore, Aaron’s best friend since the late nineteen hundreds, crowded into the room.

Aaron, still standing close to the door, heard her say, “For the love of St. Peter, is there, oh, I don’t know, maybe a gardener or two who isn’t in here we can bring in? I’m pretty sure that there are quite a few more people you can cram in this room to witness my ongoing humiliation. Why did I even get out of the stupid plane?”

Aaron laughed. He had not laughed this much in years. “No, everyone is here, love. Now, will you please open the door for us?”

Aaron could hear her moving around. Hopefully, she was coming to the door, because he was not going to be able to stay still for much longer. He stepped back just as he heard the lock disengage.

“
I didn’t bring my clothes in, so all I have is a towel. I don’t want any comments from you
,” he felt her whisper through his mind.

Every time she did that, he was surprised. The only time two people of his kind could communicate through mental communication was when they had exchanged blood or had sex. They had done neither…yet.

“
I’ll keep quiet, I promise. Now, open the door and come out here before I come in there and get you
.”

He hoped that it was a very large towel. He wasn’t sure he could handle anything less than a thick comforter. The thought of what she may or may not have under the towel was making him hard. He did not want her to see him like this, especially with a room full of people. No, a small towel, or better yet, no towel, was better left to when they were alone.

When the door pulled open, there she stood. His breath caught and he stilled. The towel was not big enough, he decided as soon as he saw all that creamy skin. She was beautiful, simply...
What the fuck?
he thought as he looked at her reflection in the mirror behind her, and stepped closer to her. It was not the sight of her wrapped in one of his towels; God knew that alone was enough, but she had been beaten, and badly. Her back was covered in bruises from neck to what he could see of her legs. When she turned and looked over her shoulder, their eyes caught in the mirror. He knew in that moment she realized he could see what she had been trying to hide. When she took one, then a second step back, he snapped.

“No. Don’t move back. Turn around, Sara. Turn around and let me see.” Anger made his voice hard, and he knew he was frightening her, but he could not help it.

“It’s all right, really. That isn’t what hurts. Not now, anyway. I’m fine, Aaron. I’ll...I need to get dressed. If you would all just step....” She tried to step back and close the door in his face.

“Turn around, Sara. Now.” He took another step toward her and felt his fangs drop in anger. His anger was turning him, his dark side was showing, and his beast was rising.

Aaron needed to make her understand it was not her he was angry at, but at the person who had done this to her.
Mine,
his mind screamed at him, and he wanted to hurt whoever was responsible.

Aaron growled to Duncan to get them out, all of them out. He, too, had caught the horrific details in the mirror, Aaron saw. As Duncan turned to usher the group away, he noticed April pale and Demetrius’s own anger pulse through the room. It seemed everyone now knew the extent of her injuries.

“I’ll not leave just yet, Duncan, old man. Something is going on and I want to hang out for a bit. You understand?” Aaron heard Colin say to Duncan.

“Colin, go with Duncan please. I’ll deal with this. I’ll explain when I come down shortly.” Aaron did not take his eyes off Sara. She had backed all the way into the bathroom. Now she was standing against the far wall.

Aaron knew that Colin would not go far. The two had become fast friends during the seventeenth century when a still human Colin had taken a beating for a young woman who had stolen bread for her small child. It had touched something human in the vampire’s soul. Colin near death, Aaron had offered him eternal life in exchange for him helping to serve and protect the then Master of the Realm, a respectable vampire by the name of Vlad deMorass.

Aaron was beyond caring what anyone said or did now; all he could think about was this badly beaten person in front of him, and how much he needed to heal her, to touch her, and Christ, he needed to taste her.

“Duncan, I want you to call Thomas Reilly, and have him get over here right now.”

“Yes, My Lord. I’ll call him immediately. Sire? Is there...I mean....”
Poor Duncan,
he thought. He was as lost as Aaron was.

“No, Duncan, I’ll take care of her. Just call Thomas for me, please. Tell him to hurry.” The door clicking closed resounded through the room.

“No, please, don’t do this. I’m used to this. It’s fine, really. I’m okay, much better in fact. It’s not what you think, honestly. I want to go. You can’t make me stay. I need to go. I can’t let him find me here. There’s too much at stake. Just, I’m begging you to give me my clothes and I’ll go away. He’ll kill you. Please?”

Aaron watched as tears streamed down her face. His first instinct was to let her go, anything to stop her crying. But he could not.

“I think someone has beaten you, love, that’s what I think.” He moved closer as he spoke until she cringed against the wall. “Sara, honey, turn around and let me see the extent of your injuries. I won’t touch you, but I need to look at them.”

She started shaking her head at him. “Okay, so it is what you think. Why? What can you do? Can you make the hurt go away? I want to go now. You have no rights over me, do you hear me? I want to go away from here.”

She stiffened suddenly and he jerked around to defend her. Anger boiled into the room from the man he’d forgotten about. Colin.

“Who will kill him? Aaron, what’s going on?”

He hid the grin that fought hard to turn into a laugh at the sight of Colin standing there. Colin was holding his broadsword in his hands, at the ready, in a pair of khaki shorts and an Ohio State Football t-shirt.

“Colin, please go with the others. I will explain in a moment. I can take care of this.” At least Aaron hoped he could.

With a cool look toward the girl through the bathroom door, Colin left.

“And you aren’t going anywhere. Not now. The doctor will be here soon, and then we are going to talk about this. Sara, I really need—”

“He will find out where I am again. I won’t be able to protect her this time either if he does, don’t you see? I can’t let him hurt her again. I couldn’t protect her before. It is imperative that I protect her at all costs. I cannot fail her again. Then there’s the baby. Babies are all we have in the world, you know?”