Blood Oath (22 page)

It
was, Anca realized. This was the place they had stopped during their last run,
made love, and slept through most of the night. With a start, she realized it
was also the place from her vision on the train. She looked up.

The night sky was a black canvas, with thousands of
stars twinkling overhead. She had never seen anything like it in New York. She
could hear the wind blowing softly through the trees. The lone cry of a wolf
rose with haunting intensity, before others soon joined in, and their cries
echoed down the mountainside. The pack was close, but she felt no fear.

Without thought, she shed her wolf-form and curled up
beside Demi on a bed of rose bay. She tilted her head as his lips caressed her
neck, tickling when he breathed against her skin. “Umm, that feels good.”

He cupped her breast, gently thumbing her nipple. “So
does that.”

She laughed softly and touched his cheek as she
shifted in his arms.

He took hold of her hand and brought it to his mouth.
His tongue traced her palm and moved down.

Anca threw back her head as sensations
coursed through her. She gazed upward, noting the tumescent moon was nearly
full, and it had a strange pinkish cast. She looked away, but it drew her gaze
again. Each time her eyes sought it, her heartbeat accelerated. She turned her
head at the touch of lips against her wrist.

“Soon, it will be time,” Demi said, and his
lips tickled her skin. “In two nights, the moon will be blood-red.”

“Yes.” She started to share her doubts, but
her eyes widened when Demi’s teeth penetrated the skin at her wrist, finding
the vein unerringly. He had never fed from her before. “Demi?” she asked in a
hoarse voice as he sucked gently.

She gasped as the initial pain faded to an
intense pleasure. Anca held her breath, and her eyes closed of their own
volition. As his tongue slid over the wound, probing gently, she opened her
eyes to slits and watched the play of emotions on Demi’s face. She could see
his arousal, but more obvious was his tenderness.

As his throat worked convulsively,
swallowing her blood, she unfurled and lay back on the soft bed of rose bay,
closing her eyes again, absorbing the pleasure from this new form of intimacy.
During the past twelve days, they had tried many things, but not this. She
wondered why he had waited.

He retracted his fangs and released her
wrist. “You weren’t ready,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “Part of
you still doubted what you were, what we are.”

He moved up her body. Her blood smeared his
lips, and Anca lifted her head to hasten the meeting of their mouths. Rather than
kiss him, she traced her tongue across his lips, licking away the traces of her
blood. The flavor was pungent and coppery, but with an underlying sweetness
that made her yearn for more. She punctured his lower lip with her canine and
licked the tiny wound as he hissed with a combination of pleasure and pain.

Demi had been sprawled beside her, but now
he broke away and rolled over to straddle her. He braced his hands on the
ground, bracketing her head, and leaned forward to kiss her. His cock pressed
into the softness of her stomach, and her pussy flooded with desire.

Anca tilted her head, offering her neck for
his possession, but he ignored the temptation. “We rarely take blood from the
neck,
dragostia
. It’s too dangerous, even for our kind. You might not
heal fast enough to prevent losing too much blood.”

His lips parted hers gently, and his tongue
ventured inside to explore her moist depths. She groaned low in her throat as
his tongue slid across hers. She tried to still his movements, but his tongue
darted from hers to trace her teeth.

His tongue retreated, and he eased his
weight down on her more fully. As Demi’s face burrowed into the bend of her
neck, one of his hands squeezed her breast. He rubbed a nipple between his
fingers, causing the sensitive nub to harden at his expert touch.

His other hand traveled down her side,
exploring her ribs, pausing to span her waist, pat her hip, and then slide
along her thigh.

Anca
stiffened as he sought out her pussy. He was going too slowly. She longed to
feel his cock inside her pussy, and anticipation had her gyrating her hips
impatiently.

He chuckled again as he stroked her swollen
pussy lips, wet with her own dew, but he didn’t venture between them.

She grunted and arched her hips, demanding
without words that he fulfill his unspoken promise.

Demi’s breath was hot against her neck when
he said, “So impatient.”

She tangled her hands in his hair, urging
his mouth closer to her neck as she arched her hips. “Please,” she whispered.
“I trust you.”

He hesitated.

“I want to,” she assured him. She found the
thought of him drinking from her intoxicating and arousing. The threat of
danger only added to her excitement.

“I
live to serve you,” he said with a trace of gentle mockery. Seconds later, his
fangs penetrated the vein at her neck at the same time his fingers slid inside
her pussy and sought out her twitching clit. He found her wet and ready, and
she gave voice to her passion as he fingered her with slow thrusts.

“More,”
she urged, not sure if she wanted him to drink more deeply or thrust faster.

He
broke away from her neck, carefully lapping up the rivulets of blood. Seconds
later, he lifted his head to meet her eyes. “You’re healing.”

She
nodded, feeling the wound closing as he spoke. “Take me, Demi.” Anca heard him
rustling the flowers and lifted her head to see what he was doing. She watched
as he ran his hand through the rose bay. “What are you doing?”

“I
spat out a condom here,” he said. “I didn’t have anywhere else to carry it, and
by the time we got here, I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I didn’t think to
notice where it dropped.” He made a low sound of triumph and held up the
package. “Ah ha.”

She
grinned at him and lay back with her thighs spread wide. It didn’t take him
long to come to her, and she gasped when he joined their bodies with one hard
thrust. As Demi eased himself down on top of her, Anca grasped his shoulders
and arched her hips upward, taking in all of him.

She
set the pace, moving fast and urgent, aching for completion. Anca took his hand
and guided it to her pussy, and he immediately began to rub her clit. She
closed her eyes and circled her hips slowly while thrusting against him. Soon,
her pace increased again, and he matched it with the thrust of his cock and the
quickness of his fingers.

Anca
pressed her face against his chest as her orgasm neared. It was the most
natural thing in the world to sink her fangs into the vein above his heart. As
rich blood pumped into her mouth, she felt his cock spasm and pump hot fluid
inside the condom. The blood trickled from her mouth, and she swallowed as fast
as she could, even as her pussy contracted with an orgasm.

She
crushed him against her, surprised by her own strength, as she removed her
mouth from his wound. Her pussy continued spasming, and aftermath caused her
limbs to quiver. As her heartbeat slowed, Anca noticed his did too, as her ear
was near his heart. She took a deep breath, feeling exhaustion catch up with
her. She stretched, and he rolled away, but still held her close to his side.

Anca
turned onto her side to examine the wound she had made. It was already scabbing
over, so she hadn’t done too much damage. “Did it hurt?”

He
shrugged. “A little, but it also felt good.”

“Yes,”
she said in a whisper. She trailed her fingers through his light dusting of
chest hair. “I’ve decided.”

He
stiffened, and a hint of wariness crept into his expression. “About the Blood
Oath?”

She
nodded. “I’ll do it.”

He
sagged with relief, but he still asked, “Are you sure that’s what you want?
There’s no going back.”

She
gave him a shaky smile. “I know. I’m afraid, but I know you’ll be with me.
That’s the most important thing to me.” She steeled herself, gathering her
courage. “I love you, Demi.”

He
exhaled harshly, and then pulled her tightly against him. “You don’t know how
long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”

She
nodded, unable to speak with her face pressed against his chest. When he
loosened his grip, she tilted her neck to look up at him. “I wanted to say it
days ago, but it didn’t feel right until I’d decided. I didn’t want to tell you
I loved you and then leave. Now that I’ve decided, I can shout it if I want
to.”

He
gave her a crooked grin. “Go ahead. No one will hear, except maybe a few
wolves.”

She
felt a little embarrassed, but she raised her voice into a shout. “I, Anca
Draganescu, love Nicodemus Golina.”

A
plethora of howls responded to her shouted announcement. Each seemed to hold a
note of approval and perhaps a little amusement. Anca grinned at him before curving
herself against him and laying her head on his chest. She was at peace with her
decision and content in his arms.

Chapter 13

The
night of the blood-moon arrived, and Anca was more nervous than she had ever
been. Helena came to assist her with the proper garb for the ceremony. She
noticed the girl moved slowly and winced each time she lifted her arms. She
frowned with concern as the girl winced yet again when she stood up from
straightening the ankle-length hem. “Helena, are you okay?”

The
girl gave her a shaky smile and smoothed a wrinkle from Anca’s white velvet
robe. It was so pure a white that standing next to it gave her
already-washed-out complexion an even more ghostly element. “Fine, m’lady.”

Anca
continued to watch her as she laced the bodice of the robe and tied it in a
neat bow. As Helena stepped back, the sleeve of her gray robe slid up,
revealing long slashes. Though scabbed, they still looked terrible. She took
the girl’s hand before she could draw away and pushed back the sleeve. She
inhaled sharply. “My God. Who did this?”

Helena
tried to tug away, and she refused to meet her eyes. “Really, it’s nothing,
mistress—“

Anca
stepped off the small stool she had stood on. She dropped Helena’s right arm
before taking her left and pushing up the sleeve. The same wounds marred her
skin. “What did this?”

Helena
shook her head as her eyes darted frantically around the room.

She
made her voice firm. “Tell me now.”

“But—“

“I
demand you tell me.”

Tears
poured down the younger girl’s face. “I-it was a wh-whip, Your Highness.” Sobs
shook her frail shoulders, but she winced and pulled away when Anca patted her
back.

“Take
off your robe.” When she saw the instinctive way Helena covered her breasts and
drew away, she hastened to reassure her. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I need
to see how badly you’re injured.”

With
the air of a martyr, Helena unlaced her dress as she turned around. She let the
dress fall to her waist, careful to preserve her modesty.

What
she saw nauseated her. Scores of whip marks crisscrossed each other. They had
healed over, but Anca thought a couple of the deeper ones were infected.
Tenderly, she drew the robe up her back and over the marks, holding it in place
while Helena’s shaking fingers refastened her laces.

Anca
turned her carefully, but she couldn’t hide the anger in her trembling voice.
“Who did this to you?”

Helena’s
hair hid her face and muffled her voice, but the name was still audible.
“Nikia.”

Rage
coursed through Anca, and without thought, she forced herself into her
half-sister’s thoughts. She cried out in pain as Nikia threw her out with a
violent wrench and placed a block between them. She swayed unsteadily and
grasped the bedpost.

“M’lady?
Are you ill?” Concern reflected from Helena’s eyes.

She
shook her head and drew in a deep breath. “No. I’m not sure what happened. I
think I tried to get into her thoughts, and she forced me out.”

When
she had regained control, Anca took Helena’s hand and led her to the bed. She
eased her down gently and reached for the box of tissues on the nightstand.
“You have to tell me what happened.” She expected resistance, but there was a
trace of relief in Helena’s eyes as the story poured from her.

What
she heard served to stoke her anger with Nikia, but also had her crying quietly
along with the younger girl cradled in her arms. When Helena’s words and tears
were spent, she rocked her. “I promise you she’ll never touch you again. Once
the ceremony is over, I’ll deal with Nikia.”

She
sounded like a timid mouse. “How, Your Highness?”

Anca
hesitated. The answer was obvious, but did she have the ability to impose a
death sentence on someone? She had learned during her stay in Corsova that the
American legal system was a foreign concept here. The people lived by the rule
of the Protectorate, so they’d better hope it was fair. She bit her lip. “I’ll
send her away.”

Helena’s
shoulders sagged, and she pulled away. “Lord Nicodemus will be here soon to
collect you.” She gestured to the tray she had arrived with earlier in the
evening. “Ylenia said you would both need to drink this potion.”

As if
her words had summoned him, there was a knock at the door. Helena rushed
forward to answer it, and she curtsied to Demi as he stepped inside.

He
temporarily distracted her from the problem with Nikia. Anca couldn’t resist a
small sigh of pleasure as she examined Demi in the sapphire-blue robe. She
wasn’t accustomed to seeing men in anything but trousers and shorts, but he
didn’t look at all feminine in the flowing robe. The cut emphasized the breadth
of his shoulders and the narrowness of his waist. The color brought dark-blue
flecks to his black eyes and caused his hair to shine more brilliantly in the
light.