Chosen by Blood (45 page)

“I probably shouldn’t be thinking what I’m thinking, not given where we are, but that’s the thing about you. I see you and reason flies out the window.”

Felicia froze and slowly lifted her head. Knox was sitting on Thomas’s bed, which was no more than five feet from Joelle’s bed. She inhaled his wonderful mint smell and had to blink back the fresh wave of tears that filled her eyes. Pressing her lips together, she swiped at her face and stood. “Your father didn’t betray your clan. He and your mother will explain everything, but I’m leaving—”

Knox pulled her into his arms and kissed her. His lips, his tongue, his fangs—each fully participated, urging—no,
begging
—for her to respond. To reciprocate. Automatically, she did.

While she was still reeling from shock, he gave her another one. Her muscles tightened as they teleported, then her body sank into something soft and luxurious. Knox was on top of her, covering her with his warm, sheltering presence even as he continued to kiss her greedily. Desperately.

Wanting only to keep kissing him, Felicia nonetheless pulled her mouth from Knox’s and pushed against his shoulders. Finally, he backed off and rested his forehead against hers, breathing harshly. Felicia realized he’d teleported them into his bedroom.

Of course, she assumed it was his bedroom. She’d never actually been in it. Fearfully, her eyes took in everything, dreading the moment when she’d see Noella’s things or her picture. She’d loved her friend totally, but to see her now, here—

“I didn’t share this room with Noella.”

Her gaze snapped guiltily to Knox’s. She tried so hard to appear unconcerned. “It wouldn’t matter if you had. She was your wife, after all. I’m nothing to you. Less than nothing. You proved that in North Korea.”

Although his expression hardened, Knox eased himself off her. When she scrambled away from him and tried to stand, however, he took her arm. “Nope. You’re not getting away that easy.”

She wrenched her arm away and, in two seconds flat, she had him on his back on the bed, straddling him. Too late she realized he wasn’t exactly displeased. He grabbed her wrists before she could move off him.

“You have to know how sorry I am for what I did. For how I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you, Felicia. I was just so confused by what was happening. By what I saw as Mahone’s betrayal. By being reminded of my father’s—”

“Yes, well, those are humans for you. Completely untrustworthy. Which is why I forgive you. You can’t help how you feel about me, right?” Angrily, she fought him harder, trying to get away so she could scream out her grief in private. When she almost succeeded in freeing her wrists, Knox rolled so that she was once again under him.

“Do you want to know how I feel about you? I feel like you’re the only thing that’s keeping me from ripping out my own heart and killing myself, that’s how I feel about you.”

Stunned, she stopped struggling to stare up at him.

“Don’t get me wrong, Felicia. I love my children. I love my family and my clan. But sometimes the responsibility of being everything to them has made me want to just end it all. Want to hear how else I’m fucked up? Sometimes I was almost jealous of my mother’s and my brother’s weakness, because it relieved them of the responsibility that I was beginning to resent. Hell, that I already resented. Because that responsibility was what was keeping me from you and I couldn’t take that. That’s why I tried to include you in my deal with Mahone. That’s why I kept pursuing you when I knew you just wanted me to leave you alone. Because I knew, whether by my own hand or someone else’s, I was going to die without you. The fact that you’re human has absolutely nothing to do with any of that.”

Felicia felt his words soften her heart. She felt the hope that sprang to life inside her like a flower pushing through its bulb, reaching out for the sunshine that beckoned it. “How can I believe that now?”

“I don’t know. But I’m hoping it’ll help that I’ve already informed the Council that I’m going to marry you. With both my parents’ blessing, by the way.”

Stunned, Felicia was sure she’d misheard him. “You told them—what? You told them we were going to be married?”

He smoothed back her hair and kissed her lips, a gentle butterfly kiss that had her lips automatically pursing in return. “I know I should have waited until you accepted my proposal, but at the time there were so many things I had to attend to first.”

“What do you expect me to . . .”

Knox slipped away from her, and despite herself, Felicia grabbed at him, tightening her hold on his shirt desperately.

“Shhh,” he soothed. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Just let me do this. I’ve wanted to do it for so long.”

Hesitantly, she released him and let him slip off the bed. She pushed herself to a sitting position and swung her legs to the side, freezing when Knox bent down on one knee. He held out a ring, one she’d never seen before, that sparkled with the fire of several diamonds.

“Felicia Locke, will you do me the honor of being my wife and the only female I’ll ever love throughout all eternity?”

Felicia couldn’t take her eyes off the ring he held out. It almost seemed to blind her, when in truth she knew her tears were what made her vision blurry. Finally, she met his gaze.

“I’m going to die before you . . .” she whispered.

Smiling, Knox shook his head. “By only a few seconds at the most, I’m sure. I won’t be able to live without you, immortal or not.”

“I—I—won’t give up my job. I’m a good agent—”

“The best. That’s why you’ll continue to serve under me.”

She cocked a brow at that. “Under you?”

Knox shrugged and stood. “Of course. I know perfectly well that’s your favorite position anyway.”

Her hand trembled as he took it and held the ring just at the tip of her finger.

“I want babies,” she choked out. “Lots of dharmires who can play in the sun and laugh at the stories that Thomas and Joelle will tell them. Not stories of past betrayals or regrets, but of trust and hope for the future.”

“I’ll give you lots of babies and it’ll be my absolute pleasure to do so. Now, all you have to do is say yes.”

Felicia hesitated, not because she doubted what her answer would be in any way. She hesitated because her thoughts turned once again to Noella and the conversation they’d shared in her dream.

Now, remember, Felicia. A vamp can’t lie. So when I say I want you and Knox to be happy together, in every way possible, you know I’m telling the truth, isn’t that right?
Then Noella had left, but not before saying,
Take care of my babies for me. And take care of Knox
.

I do believe you, Noella, Felicia thought. I promise I’ll take care of them. And thank you.

With a whisper of what could only be Noella’s laughter tinkling in her ear, Felicia said, “Yes,” and slipped her finger into Knox’s ring.

 

 

“Mahone has been rescued and Dante Prime has been taken into custody,” Isaac Smith confirmed. “But as we planned, Prime knows nothing about any of you, my true identity, or that of my main source of information.”

“And what about your source of information?” a man, his face displayed on one of Smith’s twelve video screens, asked. “How can you be sure he wasn’t compromised? That he hasn’t given the FBI the details that might have them knocking on all our doors within the hour?”

Murmurs of agreement and concern drifted from the screens depicting the other Quorum members. Although they didn’t know each other’s identities, Isaac did. That was what made Isaac’s life so valuable and his job so dangerous. His continued vitality depended on his ability to give the Quorum what it needed. Anonymity. Maneuverability.

Immunity.

Unfortunately, Isaac was one man. A human. A smart one, yes, but one who needed allies he could, if not trust, at least use until their usefulness wore out.

“My source left well before the Para-Ops team arrived. I left one vamp behind. He, unlike my main informant, is dispensable.”

“But was he captured? He might be dispensable, but how do you know he won’t talk? Or be forced to reveal his thoughts?”

“Again, he doesn’t know enough to implicate us. In any event, after Prime was detained, my main informant reported to me immediately. He has proven himself loyal to our cause. Nothing in that regard has changed.”

“What of the North Koreans?” The question came from the Quorum’s sole female member. “Do they suspect anything?”

“No. As far as they’re concerned, the Bureau infiltrated the compound and took back the antidote as well as the imprisoned Others, end of story. I’ve assured them that while they no longer have proprietary possession of the vamp antidote, we will continue to finance their experiments with the Others. Of course, they will continue to forward us their results.”

“This is a major setback, Smith.” This time, the statement came from a man with a distinct Texan accent.

“But only that. A setback,” Smith assured him. “The Bureau knows nothing about us or our contact within the Devereaux clan.” Even as he said it, Smith cursed his parting statements to Mahone. He’d been vague, but Mahone was smart. Plus, Mahone had seen his face. That did complicate things, even though he would never admit it. And of course, he’d changed his appearance in the past. He could do so again, especially given the amount of money the Quorum was paying him.

“I think we should let things lie with the vamps for now,” Quorum’s female said. “Focus on other things.”

“But we’re making progress . . .” Smith began, even as he knew protesting would be futile. The Quorum was rattled, and when rattled, its instinct was to lie low.

“The felines perhaps,” she said. Her suggestion was followed by murmurs of agreement.

Smith sighed and, not wanting to push too hard, gave in gracefully. “Perhaps you’re right. We’ll put our focus elsewhere and see what comes of the vamp antidote. Who knows, maybe there will be a disastrous side effect, after all.”

Smith pressed the button that made all the video screens go blank.

Instantly, the male behind him tsked. “Let things lie with the vamps, did she say? I’m not sure I agree, Smith. And leaving disaster to chance has never been my cup of tea.”

Turning, Smith countered, “Prime’s detainment is going to mean increased scrutiny for many months—maybe even years—to come. We need to be patient. Take time to assess. Especially now that the vamp clan’s leadership is shifting. You’ve regained your full strength, so perhaps your own skills will be recognized . . .” Smith’s voice trailed off at the vamp’s snort.

“I maintain my anonymity, yes. Neither Prime nor Mahone ever saw me in a situation that would implicate me or connect us. They have no idea I’m working with you. But I’ll be dealing with the fallout of my father’s actions, which will place unwanted scrutiny upon me. Something tells me I’m going to learn firsthand exactly what my brother has had to deal with all these years. Lucky for me,” Zeph Prime said as he stood, “I’ve always known what a bastard my father was.” The vamp nodded at Smith. “Fine. Focus on the felines. But I’ll expect the Quorum to deposit funds into my account every month as always.”

“Of course,” Smith replied. “Tell me, though. Why didn’t you kill Felicia when your cousins had her? Why not your brother?”

“Because if I’d tried to kill either one of them, my cover would be blown. And I wasn’t about to rely on my dumb-ass cousins to do the job. Certainly not when they don’t even know of my connection to the Quorum. I want separatism between Others and humans, but I want to maintain my status in my world, not destroy it.”

Smith nodded. “Don’t worry, Zeph. As I said, this is only a slight setback. Otherborn unity is continuing to fracture. In time, the Quorum’s mission will be accomplished and things will be back the way they should be—with humans and Others living separately.”

“Yes,” Zeph agreed. “Separately. As it should be. Every human and Otherborn for himself.”

E
ven as she arched her neck to give Knox easier access, Felicia said, “Are you sure you want to risk being accused of rudeness? I know how vamps feel about decorum, especially on special occasions. What will our guests think when the bride and the groom don’t show up for their own wedding reception?”

“Fuck what the guests think,” Knox growled before sinking his teeth into Felicia’s throat and drawing on her deeply. She hissed at the pleasure and pushed his face deeper into her throat, just as she tightened her legs around his waist and pulled him deeper inside her.

Knox groaned when she clenched her muscles around his shaft, clearly overcome by the feel of the wet, heated pressure gripping him like a glove that was two sizes too small. Her repeated gasps, which kept time with the heavy thrusts of his hips, answered his desire with her own, assuring him that she was getting closer and closer to peaking.

Devilishly, he gripped her face and plunged his tongue into her mouth, plumbing every inch of it even as he slowed down. She whimpered, reluctant to let the promise of such intense pleasure diminish, but he raised his head and sprinkled kisses on her face. “Soon,” he whispered. “But not now. Not yet. I don’t want this to end.”

She took in several deep breaths, then nodded. Raising a hand, she caressed his brow, which was covered in sweat, just like the rest of him. Her own sweaty limbs trembled even as they clasped him tighter, refusing to let go in spite of the exhaustion that tinged the pleasure he was giving her. He’d been pushing them both for hours, refusing to withdraw from her body for even a moment.

“My wife,” he said with the same awed reverence he’d been using all evening. “My wife. You’re my wife. Always, Felicia. From the first time I saw you. From the first time we kissed and I entered your body. You’ve always been mine. Today we just confirmed it in front of everyone else.”

“Yes,” Felicia wailed out as the tip of his cock hit her cervix, sparking inside her the same intense sensation that was filling her heart. She was his. She’d always be his, just as he would always be hers.