By Sun and Candlelight (3 page)

"But you're a hero! You should be
the darling of the media, the poster holo for the
Marines!"

"Because I married the Porphrygia?"
Doc was on the verge of being outraged. He'd known Amberon for a
long time. He didn't expect to hear nonsense from her.

He'd heard it from media experts who
worked for the Imperial family. They were paid to shovel that sort
of you need to control your image crap.

"Hells of five layer, no!" she
answered. "You're the person who led the escape from Camp Five! You
got everyone out alive from behind enemy lines. You rescued the
heir. Never mind that you married her, you saved her! And then you
went on to rescue everyone at all the other POW camps. You do
recall doing that stuff, right?"

"I'm a Marine. I did my
duty."

"Oh, for--!" She bared all her rows
of teeth, a show of frustration. "Don't you see you have to do
something? Instead of letting a tiny minority make too much noise
over your being a vampire, the whole Empire has to love you for who
you are."

"Zoe's love is enough!"

"Not for her sake it
isn't!"

"Let's go dancing," Zoe
said.

They were spending the evening
sitting on the balcony of her suite. Doc's arm was around her
shoulders, her head rested on his shoulder. They were watching a
pre-holiday fireworks display in the distance. From this vantage
they could see not only the bright blooms of fire in the sky, but
also its reflection mirrored in the Bosporus. As nice as this was,
she was too aware that they were both tense, of the worry beneath
their contentment.

"Where shall we go?" he
asked.

They smiled at each other, and said
"Santorini," at the same time.

This was no evidence of telepathy,
but memories of the shared pleasures they had on this small island
in the Mediterranean Sea. Their friend Maria's family owned a hotel
on the cliff overlooking the bay there, and that was where they
went this evening. In fact, the Thera House Hotel kept a room
permanently reserved for them.

Tonight when they arrived, Zoe and
Doc went straight to the outdoor restaurant, where three musicians
played live music for couples occupying the small red-tiled dance
floor. The place was full of people who were full of good food,
wine, and the spirit of Sunflower Day. They slipped easily into the
happy crowd on the dance floor.

One of the nice things about going
out with a vampire was that there was no need for any other
security detail. No fuss or fanfare accompanied them. Also, Zoe had
learned as a child prone to running away from the palace that if
you showed up somewhere no one would expect you to be and acted
like a normal person, the chances of being recognized were fairly
low. Hiding in plain sight disguised as a navy lieutenant had
worked for her while trapped in Camp Five, and simply being herself
worked tonight. No tiara, no bodyguards, no grand attitude, just
being a woman with the man she loved was enough.

Not that she hadn't made slip-ups
while trapped in Camp Five, but on a night out with Doc, with
nothing to do but have a good time, there was no chance of being
recognized.

They danced under the stars for a
long time, hip to hip, arms around each other, as close as close
could be. The music and the night wrapped around them, soothing
away worldly stress. They slow danced even when the music was fast.
Eventually the other dancers began to genially tease
them.

"Obviously newlyweds," an elderly
man called from a table next to the dance floor. He was holding
hands with his equally elderly wife.

"True, sir," Doc said.

"Get a room," someone
said.

"We already have one," Zoe said.
"But we're enjoying the party."

"You noticed there was a party?"
someone asked.

Zoe and Doc laughed along with the
crowd.

"Well, it is our honeymoon," Zoe
said. "Sort of. Big boy, here is in the Marines and I'm in the
diplomatic corps and we keep getting pulled off on separate
assignments. Every minute together is important."

Doc
gave her a warning hug. She gave him a dazzling smile, and a
telepathic,
We're
good.

Big
boy?
was his amused
response.

She loved having that ripple of joy
in her head. There was so much about bonding that was absolutely
wonderful, and impossible to explain.

Telling as much truth as possible
was also important for being in disguise. That way you didn't have
to remember to keep your lies straight. Every word Zoe said was
true. Embellishment would not be forthcoming.

"We know how that is," a young woman
said. Her dance partner, as broad and as bald as Doc,
nodded.

When the band took a break, Zoe and
Doc accepted this couple's invitation to join them for a drink.
They were named Edvard and Manda. They all ended up at a crowded
table with two other couples, drinking cold beer and sharing
platters of seafood and pita. Edvard was a space Marine, Manda was
Navy. They were currently assigned to the same ship.

"That could change at any time,"
Edvard said. He had his arm possessively around Manda's
waist.

"It's similar with us," Doc said.
His arm was just as possessively around Zoe. "We're both on Terra
right now, but..." He shrugged.

The uncertainty in that gesture put
Zoe close to tears.

One of the other couples, Jan and
Charl, worked on a freighter and the third pair, Carl and Amber,
had crewed on a passenger ship, but were currently looking to
settle on Terra.

"What with the war and all," Carl
said.

They all nodded, and grumbled about
the dangerous disruption of the space lanes, and the cat-like enemy
Hajim.

"I'm not sure settling here is such
a good idea," Amber said.

"It is expensive to live here," Zoe
said.

"That's not it. She's afraid of
vampires," Carl said.

"Have you ever met a vampire?"
Edvard asked. "My CO's a vamp. He's not a bad guy, for an
officer."

"There are a lot of suprahumans in
the services," Zoe said. "Vampires look very good in uniform. Vain
creatures. Or so I'm told."

"Not that many vampires live on
Terra anymore," Doc said. "They founded their own colonies around
red star worlds centuries ago. So you don't have to worry about
meeting any." He took a long drink of beer. "Probably."

"Oh, yes, they have their own
colonies," Amber said. "Where they keep humans as blood slaves. And
they're in the services because they're protecting their food
source - real humans - from other aliens."

"Suprahumans aren't aliens," Edvard
said. "They're as human as we are."

"With a few additions," Doc
said.

Amber shuddered visibly. "There will
be a vampire on the throne soon," she warned. "Then they'll show
what they really are."

"The emperor is perfectly healthy,"
Zoe said. "And I'm going to be offended if you say something about
a vampire lurking in the shadows manipulating the Imperial
family."

"He's probably not manipulating
anyone," Manda said. "Except maybe his wife - and her him, I
suppose." She shot a teasing look at Edvard.

He blushed, and grinned. "I like it
when you manipulate me."

"What'd I'd like would be to see the
guy," Charl said. "Jan and I have tickets for seats close to the
Imperial reviewing stand."

"It was his Sunflower gift to me,"
Manda said. She hugged Edvard. "It cost a fortune."

"It'd be nice if the Porphyrgia's
husband was standing next to her on Sunflower Day," Jan
said.

"I wonder what he'll give her as a
present?" Manda asked. "They ought to show that as part of the
media coverage."

"His keeping such a low profile
isn't good for the Marines," Edvard said.

"What does being bondmates mean,
anyway?" Jan asked. "They should let us citizens know, don't you
think?"

"It means he's made her his sex
slave." Amber said.

Oh,
yes!
Zoe thought. She almost
said it out loud.

Let's go to bed,
slave,
Doc thought
back.

She giggled, and was looked at
strangely by the others around the table.

They excused themselves and walked
away. Behind them the conversation about a vampire in the Imperial
family went on. Zoe did not try to pick up anything with her
artificially enhanced hearing, though she was sure Doc couldn't
help but hear with his naturally enhanced hearing.

Enhancement. Was it wrong? Could her
high-powered implants hurt Doc somehow? Were her natural empathic
gifts enough, or even best, for their psychic bond?

"What are you worried about?" Doc
asked when they were alone.

The bed invited, but the night was
getting on. First Zoe made sure the light shields as well as the
curtains were securely in place on the room's tall, arched windows.
Doc watched her, with his arms crossed over his wide
chest.

Doc had his own worries, and didn't
push Zoe to share. She came into his arms. Their kiss was deep and
needy. It reminded him that in the end all that mattered was them
being together. And her life-giving, soul-fulfilling
taste.

"My dearest blood slave," he said
just before his fangs pierced the side of her throat.

Her laugh turned to a gasp, and an
orgasm swept through her body and mind. Her pleasure penetrated
him. He picked her up and they settled on the bed.

"You are the most perfect woman in
all the worlds," he told her.

She
pulled his head down, telling him,
You are all I want in all the worlds.

They made love, sharing their bodies
and their blood. They grew closer with every touch and
taste.

"Wonderful," Zoe said when they were
lying side by side, sated and exhausted.

"Sleep, sweetheart," he
said.

She did.

Until she woke up in a gasping,
sweating panic. It took Zoe a moment to realize she was already
safely in Matthias Raven's protective embrace.

"I thought you'd left me," she
said.

He gently caressed her face. "I
know. I absorbed the dream. Woke you up, too."

She relaxed, her body draped across
his. She tucked her head against his shoulder. She absorbed his
scent, his warmth, his solid presence. "Thanks."

"You aren't the bad dream type," he
said. "Unless your brain's trying to tell you something. Like the
beauty and the beast dream you had back at Camp Five."

She remembered that dream had been a
warning that Doc's life was in danger. The warning had helped her
find a way to help him.

"Bad dreams have their
uses."

"I think the dream you just had was
caused by your gobbling up all that calamari."

She hoped he was right. "But it was
very good calamari."

"The sun's up," he said. He was
aware of light in his blood and bone, no matter where he was, what
star he was under. "Where do you have to be, Zoe?"

She sighed. "Lots of places." She
snuggled by his side. "Comm implants are switched off. I'm not
doing business right now."

"Your security people aren't going
to burst in with weapons at ready?" he asked.

"No. Not that a team isn't sitting
in the bar at the moment drinking retsina and trying to be
inconspicuous."

"Hope they get good and drunk while
waiting." He rolled on his side to face her. Instead of caressing
her, Doc said, "There's business I want to discuss with the
Porphrygia."

Zoe swore. But if he was using her
title, he was serious.

"Yes, General Raven? What can I do
for you?"

"Give me a fleet. One ship will do
to begin with."

"What sort of ship?"

"You know what sort of ship I want.
But bigger."

She touched his arm, tracing the
caduceus tattoo on his muscular shoulder. His other shoulder now
sported two stars instead of the one he'd had when they first met,
since he was now a two star general.

Her Marine doctor wanted a hospital
ship.

"Fleet," he said.
"Eventually."

She rested her fingers on his
temple. "Explain."

"If it is such a brilliant idea why
isn't Matthias here to explain it himself?" the Emperor
asked.

Zoe and her father were seated in
his private office. No staff were present, and they were surrounded
by privacy fields. Zoe was still more aware than ever of living her
life in public. She wanted to smash and claw at invisible walls.
She'd been less of a prisoner in Camp Five.

"Matthias has meetings involving
suprahuman medical issues. He's at the Michael Pappas Memorial
Hospital on Mars."