Carinian's Seeker (17 page)

“How many Hatsepts are coming?” Alaan asked the Matriarch.

“All of them.”

Both Seekers painted on their game faces when all they really wanted to do was protest. Loudly. Neither of them minded the representatives of the other nine clans, but
all
of the Hatsept Clan? Damn.

“We’ll meet to plan and strategize. At the end of the meetings, we’ll celebrate our alliance with a grand gathering. We’re long overdue for a good party anyway. Bix, Alaan, gather your Seekers. You have all the rest of this week to prepare.”

Great, just great. Clan Hatsept playboys on the same estate with my woman. Bloody-fuckin-fabulous,
Bix snarled to himself.

“Any progress?” Sidheon was already bored with the conversation and he’d only been on the phone for a few seconds.

“Actually, yes. I’ve managed to end up on the same estate with Dr. Carinian Derrickson. Your incompetence landed her practically in my palm.”

The voice was somewhat snide, but if this person could get him what he wanted, Sidheon was willing to deal with the insolence. For now. But later, they’d settle up good and proper.

“Can you arrange an abduction?” Sidheon anticipated the answer with glee.

“Of course, but why bother? It would be easier to kill her than to get her off the property. She’s being watched closely.”

“If I wanted her dead I wouldn’t have bothered to contact you.”

“You mean if you wanted her dead you would have taken care of it correctly the first time?”

Sidheon rolled his eyes towards the ceiling of the quaint little villa he was renting in Marin. This relationship was getting old fast. He let out an exasperated sigh, pushed the speakerphone button and continued feeding.

“You know,” Sidheon sighed, relishing the rush from the blood he ingested while nearing the limit of his patience, “I think you and I are going to have a serious disagreement sometime soon. Keep up the sniping and I’ll simply expose your connection to me and let the V.C.O.E. have you. It would be quite convenient considering you happen to be right there at headquarters. Clear enough?” Just then, the man attached to the throat Sidheon ripped open let out a bloodcurdling scream. Perfect timing.

The line was silent for a moment, but he heard the deep, even breathing of the vampire on the other end as options were weighed and considered. Of course there were no true options, but he wouldn’t say anything. He’d wait until he had his hands on the disrespectful imp.

Finally, the voice replied, a lot less flippant, “I understand. I apologize for any disrespect. Since you want Dr. Derrickson alive, I’ll arrange something after her healing cycle is completed. And for your information, she seems to have gotten under the skin of one of the Seekers. Actually,
the
Seeker. Name’s Jon Bixler and he’s a mean bastard, not to mention their commander. Just want you to know what you’re up against.”

“I’m not concerned in the least. Just make sure you take the proper precautions before putting anything in motion. I don’t want to have a Seeker on my tail while I’m trying to get a piece of Dr. Carin’s.”

“All this intrigue to fuck one human female?” The voice was incredulous. Sidheon couldn’t have cared less.

“And I need to explain this to you because?” Sidheon drawled. Every word purposely dripped with condescension. Yes, he wanted more from Carin than her sexy body, but why explain his motivations to the hired help?

“Never mind. I’ll see to things on my end and let you know as far in advance as I can.”

“Now that’s a good little disgruntled vampire,” Sidheon crooned. He knew it annoyed the one who was supposed to be helping him. Good.

“Fuck you, Aleth. You’d just better make this worth my while.”

“But of course.” The line went dead, but not before another piercing scream reached the ear of his accomplice—the “little disgruntled vampire”. Sidheon made sure of it.

The sun had just begun its rise over the eastern mountains when Bix tiptoed into their bedroom, bundled Carin up and carried her outside.

The entire place was a winter wonderland sitting on endless acres of gently sloped, snow-covered hills with a nice mix of trees and open space overlooking Smith Lake. In the distance, white peaks of the Rocky Mountains could be seen. Carin felt like a kid at Christmas. Having grown up in San Francisco, gone to college and started her career in the same city, she’d never seen snow. And San Diego certainly wasn’t a place known for the fluffy cold stuff. As they walked, Bix pointed out the estate’s private golf course down the hill and off in the distance, promising to teach her to play if they were still in residence here come spring. She kind of hoped not, preferring to learn to ride horses on his estate rather than trudging across the greens playing golf. She just couldn’t get over it—vampires played golf and rode horses. Real country-clubbers.

The only sound was the soft crunch of Bix’s boots in the snow as he moved at a leisurely pace in consideration of her sore bones and achy, but healing, body. The main house was at a good distance but visible when he stopped at an open-topped gazebo surrounded by towering evergreens. Bix set her on her feet, and Carin stepped inside and surveyed their haven in awe. Instead of wood flooring, the inside of the shelter was all snow-covered grass covered by a tarp and piles of thick, soft blankets. Her mouth watered at the delicious aroma wafting up from a large breakfast basket perched on one of the sturdy benches built into the wall of the gazebo. Her man had been plenty busy this morning.

The clear, jewel-blue sky was visible through the top of the structure. She’d have to come out here at night with a telescope and view the stars, well once Bix let her out of his sight. In a word, the spot was perfect, beautifully secluded, and an ideal place to enjoy a bit of privacy.

She removed her shoes and Bix shooed her into the middle of the very comfortable, extremely thick pallet. After tossing her an even thicker blanket to cover herself, he set the breakfast basket within arm’s reach and lit a blazing fire in an oversized sunken pit smack in the middle of the shelter. She smiled behind his back. The man had thought of everything. Food, warmth and a ton of soft down pillows made it nice to be outside in spite of the bone-chilling cold. Her insides went all fuzzy when he tossed a huge chunk of cured wood into the pit and looked over his shoulder with a mix of care and naughtiness in his one-sided grin.

“You comfy, sweetheart?” Bix inquired as he toed off his boots and joined her under the covers. She nodded but kept her eyes on the flicker of building flames blasting waves of welcome heat to where she reclined buried under the blankets. Her thoughts were surprisingly quiet. This was the first time she’d been out of bed in more than a week, and given her scrape with death she couldn’t believe how calm she felt. Death scared her more than anything, yet here she was, stitched wounds and all, just as happy and content as you please. Bix kept the companionable silence. Retrieving a large thermos from the basket, he poured her a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

Scooting back to lean against one of the little benches, she sipped the steaming brew with a contented sigh. Bix passed her a flaky raspberry pastry made especially for her as a get-well-soon gift from the resident chefs. A fresh banana and another cup of hot chocolate finished her off. Mmm, she couldn’t remember the last time something this simple tasted so yummy.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked, concerned when he didn’t have anything but whatever he was drinking.

“I’m a vampire, sweetheart, I
am
having breakfast,” he said in salute, holding up a mug of something. He answered her question before she could form the words. “It’s warm cranberry juice laced with cinnamon and blood. Probably sounds disgusting to you?”

She shrugged and shook her head, not grossed out at all. Then again, she’d had plenty of time to think about the need for blood while trying to find a way to turn herself. Her logical mind couldn’t make sense of being weirded out over him sitting here swilling what he needed to survive.

“I also eat regular food, but don’t require it for anything more than calories and protein to keep my muscles going. I’ll have a huge lunch with lots of meat and greens, maybe some bread, then a moderate dinner. That’s about it.”

Always the scientist, she mumbled to herself as her mind worked a mile a minute. “It seems the only flaw in the vampire make-up is the need for added protein in order to sustain sufficient amounts of hemoglobin. Hmm.” Finally she looked up at him and asked, “So, there’s no Vitamin D problem?”

“Only one we create for ourselves,” Bix answered.

Carin’s brows drew down into a frown as she tried to puzzle it out.

“The best source of Vitamin D is sunlight,” he continued. “If vamps don’t spend much time in the sun, we simply have to supplement the nutrient another way.”

A rush of curiosity of all things vampire filled her mind until she changed subjects so fast, her own head spun. Finally she popped the question she’d been purposely holding onto.

“So, Bix, are you finally ready to tell me what’s up with this mind zing thing that’s going on between us?”

Bix’s head tilted in surprise. His mind ran to catch up with her line of thinking but deep down, he wondered what had taken her so long to ask him about this. Bottom line was he had to have her, but Carin was no pushover. Bracing himself, prepared to make her see his way of things, he plunged right in with plain words and a set expression.

“Carin, we’re mates.” He sat a moment, looking her directly in the eye, almost challenging her to gainsay him. She didn’t say a word. Okay, where was the explosion or at least a bit of resistance at being told she was his mate, rather than asked? The woman was a puzzle. Stubborn and unmovable one minute, compliant and accepting the next. Surely he must be crazy for liking it.

“I’ve heard that word
mates
tossed around quite a bit since we met. You explained it to me before in San Diego. How ‘bout some more details, handsome?”

Handsome? He’d been told plenty of times he was good looking, but from Carin it carried a little more weight. Okay, a lot more weight.

“Being my bondmate means you call to me on every level. My mind, body, even my blood craves you. Mating and bonding aren’t the same. I could mate with anyone I want, preferably a female vampire, but you’re one of very few human women I can truly mate
and
bond with.”

“But what forms this bond?”

“Nobody really knows. It’s just something that’s always been part of our heritage, and it’s been developing between us for a little while now. Your natural empathic abilities allow you to feel others’ emotions, but between you and me, it’s more acute because of the bond. It’s also why you can hear my thoughts, but no one else’s. As a vampire my psychic abilities are more developed than yours. With some skill a vamp can pick up just about anyone’s thoughts. With you I not only hear you clearly in my mind, but I feel what you feel, see any image you want to send me, and vice versa. I can teach you to shield your mind from others, either vamp or human. Teach you not to project your thoughts. But none of it will work against me. And only me, Carin.”

Setting her empty cup aside, she burrowed back down into the blankets on her back. Bix joined her, easing her into his arms until her head settled into the crook of his shoulder. He pressed a lemon petit four that tasted like cheesecake against her lips.

She’d been jonesing for sweets since Dr. Lyons gave her permission to eat regular food. He smiled when an emotion that could only be described as ultimate satisfaction hummed along the bond.

“Oh, now that was good.”

“Glad you enjoyed it,”
he replied aloud as she chewed, tilted her head back to look up at the sky, and watched a thick fluffy cloud float by. He chuckled—she thought it looked like a fat white rabbit that’d gorged itself on her late grandma’s cooking.

“So, why didn’t you tell me all this before, Bix?”

Offended at her question, he pressed, “Damn it, Carin, I wanted to win you on my own, not pressure you with being my bondmate.”

So that’s what he’d meant the many times he’d told her she was his? He was sort of telling her without coming flat out with the information. Such a typical male. But she couldn’t risk entering into a relationship with anyone, not if he was going to die on her like all her family had. Wait, this wasn’t an issue anymore—Bix wasn’t going to die anytime soon. But if she mated with him would it be an issue for her? Would she still die young? She couldn’t quite pin down, let alone voice, what she felt about any of this just yet, so she kept her mouth shut and her mind quiet.

Bix tensed at her silence. Time to change the subject again. No hard task, she had plenty of questions. “How am I healing so fast? Except for the really deep wounds across my back and stomach, everything else is almost good as new, like it never happened.”

Every bruise and cut on her face was gone, no scars or scabs to be seen. Dr. Lyons had taken all of her stitches out a couple of days ago and the skin was baby soft and brand new in spots. The deeper cuts were still a bit swollen and tender, but other than that, she was almost pain free.

“With both my blood and semen in your body, you’ll notice quite a few changes. The more you have, the quicker the transformation.”

“Okaaay? And that means…?”

“Basically, what you were trying to accomplish with your serum can be accomplished by mating with me. The properties of my blood and semen are regenerative to humans. Over time your DNA will be enhanced. You won’t get sick. Your endurance, strength and senses will all heighten.”

“In short, I’ll be stronger, faster. We can rebuild her. We have the technology to build the world’s first bionic woman.”

He nudged her in the side and she was more than glad she was healed enough to giggle while taking a bit of playful touching. He continued, “But the bond isn’t complete until I take some of your blood, just a little bit. From that point on, your life will be tied to my life, but only if we’ve agreed in our hearts to be mated and bonded.”