Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1) (34 page)

“How do you feel?” she asked, trying to get her mind around the myriad of new information it was presented with. Nicholas raised his free hand to brush a stray lock of hair off her forehead, and chuckled. A wry smile curled his lips, before they were on hers, in a fierce plundering kiss that left her gasping.

I am surprised you have to ask, my lady wife
. His voice rolled through her mind, as if to punctuate his words Nicholas pressed the hand clutching Morgan’s wrists, into the small of her back arching her body into his.

“I didn’t expect you to bite me,” she murmured, breaking the kiss, enjoying the tingle it left on her lips.

“You reminded me that some of our best decisions have been made in the heat of the moment,” Nicholas answered, releasing her wrists before he stood, and held a hand out to her. His stormy eyes regarded her with such intensity she wanted to shrink from it, until his expression softened and he smiled. She took his hand, and he pulled her into his arms. Laughing, Morgan slid her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.
 

“You need to feed again,” she said, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

“And you need to drink that brew,” he countered. “Why don’t you go see about starting that bath I
know
you’re thinking about? I’ll bring you the brew, when it’s ready.”

“What about you?”

“Well, we do have more blood from the bank than we need for the brew. I’ll have some of that now, and tonight we’ll go to town and hunt.” His eyes took on a feral gleam, as he spoke and Morgan frowned.

“I don’t need to hunt.”

“True, but you are such lovely bait, my dear.” Nicholas purred, running his hands down Morgan’s sides.

“After sheltering me in New Orleans, now I’m bait,” she asked, not hiding her confusion.

“Only for the most lecherous of humans, so that I might show them the error of their ways,” he answered, in a cold, calculating voice that matched the look in his eyes.
 

I wanted more insight; I suppose this is one of those be careful what you wish for situations,
Morgan reminded herself, as a thrill of fear skittered along her spine. “There are times when you are frightening, my love.”

“You have no idea,” he nipped at Morgan’s neck with a growl low in his throat. He placed a kiss over the vein in Morgan’s throat, feeling the steady pulse of her blood under his lips. “Go get that bath started. I’ll join you shortly.” He turned Morgan to face the bedroom, with its large bathroom and gave her a little push in that direction.

“You know me too well sometimes,” she grumbled, with good humor, as she strolled into the bedroom. Nicholas took a few deep breaths to calm him before he turned and went to the kitchen. Feeling a strange sense of detachment, as though he was outside himself watching, Nicholas started preparing the brew.
 

When he’d bitten Morgan, he wasn’t thinking of consequences beyond the need to keep her safe, but with her blood coursing through his veins, it changed. The memories of what she’d endured at Alexander’s hands were like a slap in the face, and a blade in the gut; Nicholas wanted to take those memories away.
 

I know that she sought to protect me. She didn’t tell me that to keep me from making a rash decision, based on the need for vengeance. And oh, how I want vengeance. I want to carve Alexander’s black heart out with a dull instrument. Take him apart piece by piece, leaving his spine and heart intact as long as possible so he will feel every cut and know that it is retribution
. With a shudder, Nicholas scrubbed his hands over his face, as if it could stop the blood soaked images flickering in his mind’s eye.

“Get it together Nicholai,” he muttered under his breath. “Blood and the brew, focus get through this.” He worked with methodical precision, concentrating on the task at hand, letting it act as a soothing balm to his rage. By the time Morgan’s brew was warming over a low flame, Nicholas was feeling more himself.
 

He poured a measure of the pure human blood from the bottle into a second goblet, before putting it away. He leaned against the island, and raised the glass, sipping. He sighed, feeling the rage ebb. It had been replaced by a possessive desire that Nicholas couldn’t have fought if he wanted to. As if summoned by thinking of Morgan, her heartbeat rumbled in his mind,
slow and steady, she is calm.
He smiled and finished, rinsing the goblet out and setting it in the sink to be taken care of later. That’s just
enough to take the edge off,
he told himself, though he knew his system needed more blood to replace what Morgan had taken. He turned off the burner and retrieved the glass.
 

Nicholas walked into the bathroom and smiled; the room was full of hot perfumed steam. He laughed when he heard Morgan’s contented sigh. Through the steam, he saw her lounging in the massive bathtub, with the water up to her chin. She opened her eyes and watched as he brought her the goblet.
 

“This is wonderful,” she took the glass from his hand.

“Well, this may be
my
sanctuary, but I couldn’t fool myself into thinking that I would never bring you here. And I know if there was just a shower, you would end me,” he laughed.
 

“How can you speak such
blasphemy
?” Morgan’s eyes went wide, and she clutched her throat. The laughter that sparkled in her eyes revealed her ruse, “Perish the thought of a house without at least a small tub.”

“How can you stand to be married to me?” Nicholas teased.

“Why don’t you join me? Maybe I’ll forget your flaws?” she teased and took a long drink from the glass in her hand. The blood wine, as Nicholas had begun calling it, left a red stain on her lips. He bent at the waist and captured her lips with his drinking, in the heady mix of wine, herbs, the metallic tinge of blood, and the honeyed sweetness of his wife’s kiss. He sighed and drew back, knowing that they needed to finish the conversation about Lilly.
 

We have to come to some sort of understanding or this is going to cause all sorts of problems
. “We do need to talk about Lilly.” Nicholas moved to lean against the counter.

“You’re right. Does that mean you’re not joining me?” Morgan asked, trying her best to hide the disappointment she felt.

“Not yet. Do you want me to break my Covenant with Lilly? Do you want me to find a new donor?”

“Wow, you start with the loaded questions don’t you?” she chuckled and took another sip.

“It’s really the only solution. Aside from making sure I take you to the opera once in a while.”

“No, I don’t want you to break the Covenant,” Morgan answered, and set the now empty glass on the floor beside the tub. “I can see that she’s important to you.”

“Not important enough to hurt you, or risk our marriage. Gods know Morgan; you still make my heart race just by being in the room. There are times when you smile, and I have to restrain myself.”

“I love you, and don’t want to risk our marriage either Nicholas. Goddess knows; I can’t imagine going on without our unconventional marriage.”

“So I release Lilly,” Nicholas nodded, as though the matter was closed, his mind already working through what had to be done.

“No.” Morgan interrupted his train of thought. She paused, as though choosing her words with care, and he let the silence stand. “I think I’d like to meet her, once I’m feeling more myself.”

“Are you sure?”

“Not in the slightest,” she laughed, though it was edged with sadness and confusion.

“Then why?”

“Because she’s important to you,” Morgan answered, without thinking.
 
After a moment of silence, she continued. “I can’t ignore that, and I can’t ask you to turn her aside, just because I can’t handle my emotions.”

“You’re right, she is important,” he sighed, and swallowed hard, “I want to take care of her. However, you are more important to me.”

“You know, Nicholai, we’re just going to keep talking circles around one another.
 
I don’t think any decision has to be reached tonight. This feels like something we can let lie for a little while. In fact, it might be better if we do.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to explain that one. I am a guy after all; we are pretty thick–headed about these things,” he teased, hoping to blunt any negative reaction.

“Well, I’m not thinking clearly right now, and it’s not like anyone’s going to die if this situation continues. So, we give it some space. I want to get to know Lilly better once things are a little more settled. We can make a decision from there,” Morgan answered, she needed time to sort out what she’d seen of Lilly among Nicholas’s memories.
There’s something there. Something that he needs, but I can’t give him, and what makes it worse, he won’t talk about it with me. I need to figure out what that is, and see what it means in the long run.

“Are you sure? I’m not going to end up tossed out of my own cabin on my ass again, am I?”

“No, you won’t, and yes, I’m certain. I don’t want to make any rash decisions right now.”

“As you wish love, though the offer stands.”

“So do you intend to join me?”

“Actually, I’m hatching a plot to get my wife out of that bath and into my bed.” He smiled and stroked his chin.

“What does it involve?”

“Well,” Nicholas began, and took his watch off, setting it on the counter by the sink. “I have a few thoughts ranging from outright seduction to something more Neanderthal.” Morgan watched, as her husband unbuttoned his shirt and laid it near his watch.

“Have you considered just propositioning your wife?” she asked, when Nicholas knelt beside the tub.

“That thought did cross my mind. However, I’ve decided on a more direct approach,” he whispered, while his hand slipped into the water. “I thought I’d entice her out of that bath.” His hand trailed down her stomach tracing patterns with his fingers, “A little teasing, tempting.” He smiled as he found the spot that brought a small gasp, followed by a soft sigh, from her lips. Chuckling deep in his throat, Nicholas didn’t let up for several minutes, enjoying the soft sounds she made, a prelude of things to come as it were. With that, he kissed Morgan’s forehead, a feather light touch, stood and strolled out of the bath. Nicholas had just stepped from the tile floor to the hardwood in the bedroom, when he heard a splash and the whisper of a towel being pulled from the rack.

T
HE
NEXT
EVENING
, several hours after sunset, Nicholas walked a little over half a block behind Morgan, not bothering to hide the wide grin that spread across his features. The day they’d spent in bed
almost
made being tossed out on his ass worth it. His wife strolled down the crowded street, weaving just a little, as though she’d had a few too many. The red dress she wore clung to her body in all the right places, showing off the curves he loved to explore with hands, lips, eyes and anything else that came to mind. The black mane of silky hair fell in soft waves to near the center of her back. Nicholas let his eyes drift, scanning the crowd, searching the minds of nearby humans, looking for just the right one.

Love, there’s a man about three doors down, business suit. Bump into him.
Nicholas sent the thought to her, knowing that the bond they’d worked to create was strong enough to allow it. Her soft, seductive chuckle rolled through his mind before she changed direction. Morgan collided with the human, and a few seconds later he took the bait. As Nicholas watched, Morgan allowed herself to be led away from the relative safety of the bright lights on the main street, toward smaller darker residential neighborhoods. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Nicholas fell further behind. Christophe’s voice bounced around in his skull.
 

“You have to let her go. You have to prove to yourself and Morgan that she can still take care of herself. She’s not a wilting flower or a china doll. That’s a fact that both of you seem to have forgotten, and I’d say it’s doing the most damage to your relationship.”

“But everything
has
changed, Christophe,” Nicholas argued.

“Perhaps, better to know now, when the two of you are relatively safe, no? You say she’s feeling trapped, let her loose. You know your wife could kick ass before this, now is the time to see if that is still the case.”

Nicholas shook his head, banishing the memory. Up ahead, Morgan and the human slipped from the side street to a dark alley. Nicholas closed some of the distance, and waited, letting his senses roam, testing nearby minds, searching for danger.

“The Assassin.”
The stranger’s thought floated through Nicholas’s mind, not his own, and he scowled. He pushed his senses farther, seeking the source of the errant thought for several moments, before giving it up as a lost cause.
 

“Why is nothing simple anymore?” he muttered under his breath, and stepped into the alley. Morgan and the human were at the end, hidden in shadow that human eyes couldn’t penetrate.
 

“Goddess, you must really think I’m an idiot,” Nicholas heard Morgan scoff, fought the laughter welling up, when his wife lifted the human about a foot off the ground, by his throat. The man clawed at her iron grip, and she watched him with the fascination of a young predator toying with its prey. When she glanced at Nicholas, he was equal parts frightened and reassured, to see the predatory gleam in her eyes.