Darkest Risings (21 page)

The
problem with Wilhemina was he wanted her too badly. When his cock was deep
inside her sweet, wet, tight pussy, the whole world melted away. But even then,
with her, the feelings she brought out in him were raw, new, and overwhelming.
He’d wanted to possess her, to leave a lasting mark upon her that she’d never
be able to forget. He’d wanted to somehow prove to her that no other man
could…love her like he could.

“What’s
wrong?” she asked.
 
She drew small
circles on his chest with her finger. The light touch was magical on his skin.

“I’m
sorry.” He tried hard to keep the regret he felt from his voice.

“For
what?” She propped herself up on his chest and looked down at him.

“I
tried to be gentle with you, but I didn’t succeed.” He couldn’t stand to look
into those beautiful gray eyes knowing what he’d done. He tossed his arm over
his face to block her out as guilt rode him hard.

“Aldin?”
She tugged at his arm insistently until he relented and uncovered his face. His
gut clenched at the sight of her. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever
seen with her hair mussed from their love-making and her lips swollen from his
kisses. He looked down at her neck. At least he hadn’t totally lost it and
bitten her this time. The memory of the way she tasted sent a new wave of need
rushing through his veins.

“You
were perfect.” She placed a soft, lingering kiss against his chest. “Being with
you was the most beautiful experience of my life. Thank you.”

He
stared at her hard and was shocked that she didn’t seem to be saying things to
simply make him feel better. Her words were genuine. He propped himself up on
one elbow.

“You
were amazing, Wilhemina. I don’t know how to explain it to you, but when I’m
with you…it’s different. Different in a good way. Different in a way I’ve never
felt before.”

Her
bright smile melted his heart. She loved him, and he was fairly certain he’d
loved her from the first moment he set eyes on her. Then again, not so long ago
he thought himself in love with Alaina. He frowned. No. What he felt for
Wilhemina was deep, unexplainable. It wasn’t one simple feeling or emotion. It
was a mixture of things that had rooted into his heart, his very soul, and had
irrevocably made her a part of him forever.

He’d
mistaken brotherly affection and friendship for love with Alaina. With
Wilhemina? There was no doubt in his mind about his love for her. He certainly
did not view her as a sister. She was his other half. He now understood
Ragnor’s words about how a life mate was an anchor. No matter how hard things
got. No matter what terrible things he’d witnessed and done, would still
witness and do, the thought of Wilhemina waiting for him would be enough to
soothe and save him from whatever he faced.

But
once he told her everything—who he was, what his family did, about her
sister—would she still want to be with him? She had said that nothing would
change her feelings for him, but he wasn’t sure how he’d react if he found out
she was related to the bastard that killed his sister. Hell, while he would
always love his mother, the fact that she played a very small but intricate
part in Estril’s death by trying to change Fate’s course—no matter how good her
intentions had been—would remain a thorn between them for the rest of his days.

He
understood why Marilena had done the things she’d done, doubted his ability to
ever turn his back on his mother altogether, but some of the things she’d done
were unforgiveable. Especially keeping him from knowing his brother—even though
he still wanted to bash the little fucker’s head in at the moment. And
kidnapping Wilhemina’s sister? That would forever haunt him because it would
cause Wilhemina pain.

He
pushed a few stray hairs off her face, and was glad to see that the swelling
and bruising had gotten even better. If he had not been able to help speed the
healing with his saliva, she’d be in bad shape and undoubtedly in horrible
pain.

“I
don’t deserve you.” He didn’t, but he’d spend the rest of his life trying to
make himself worthy of her love.

“Stop,”
she said sternly.

He
liked when she chastised him. He’d never had a woman comfortable enough with
him to do so. It was cute even though he was fairly certain she wouldn’t find
him thinking so amusing in the least.

“Yes,
ma’am.”

“You
are incorrigible.” She giggled.

He
frowned again.

“What’s
wrong?”

“There
are some things I need to tell you, Wilhemina. Things that are not going to be
easy on you. Things that will be hard for you to believe…to accept.”

She
watched him, but didn’t say anything for a few moments as if contemplating the
true weight of his words. “Whatever you have to tell me will not make me feel
any differently about you.” She chuckled. “Unless, of course, you’re a serial
killer or something.”

He
didn’t laugh because being a hunter really didn’t put him too far off from that
analogy. Serial killer he was, but only of drifters to save innocent lives.
While what he did was for the good of all, he wasn’t sure how she’d deal with
the fact that he killed other living beings.

“Let’s
get dressed. I can’t talk to you while you’re naked and on display. All I want
to do is sink into your sweet wetness again.”

Her
cheeks flamed red. “I wouldn’t mind,” she whispered.

He
cupped her uninjured cheek. “Trust me, neither would I. And I fully intend to
take you up on that offer again and again, but we need to talk first.”

He kissed
her before sitting up then helping her off the bed.

“Why
do I get the feeling I’m about to be marched in front of the firing squad?” she
mumbled.

He
couldn’t comment on that because he wasn’t sure that that wasn’t exactly what
he was about to do to her. Except it wasn’t her body that would die after the
execution. It was her heart.

“Your
shirt is on the couch.”

“Thank
you.”

He
got up to dress, and prayed to whoever might listen that she could find a way
to understand what he was about to tell her, that she could find a way to
forgive him for his mother’s actions.

* * * *

“I
can’t believe we have a night to ourselves.” Avril practically bounced up and
down in the booth at Drake’s.

Aiston
smiled at his wife of two years. At times, he could barely believe that she was
his.

“Yes.
We do.” He leaned close and nipped her earlobe. “As much as I’m happy to take
you out dancing, I have to admit that I can’t wait to get you back home and in
bed.”

“Who
says we need to be in a bed?” She smiled wickedly at him. “Or at home?”

His
cock began to give a standing salute, but he was determined to give her a good
time before he gave her a
good time.

“You
know what it does to me when you tease me like that?” he whispered.

She
slid her hand under the table, up his thigh, and traced the outline of his
erection with her fingers. “I’m pretty sure I know exactly what my teasing does
to you.” She leaned in and kissed him on the neck. “Exactly the same thing your
teasing does to me.”

“Avril,
keep it up and the only dancing we’ll be doing tonight is horizontally.” He’d
never get enough of her.

He’d
always been the playboy of the family, but once he’d laid eyes on Avril, he’d
never touched another woman. Once he laid eyes on his beautiful wife, all other
women paled in comparison.

“Remember
the bathroom?” she said as a wicked smile curved her full lips.

“I’d
never forget that. But there is a little problem with that memory.”

“Exactly
what is wrong with that memory?” She sat up and raised a brow.

He
chuckled. “Actually, two things. One, it started because of a fight. Two,
although I immensely enjoyed what we did together, getting interrupted kept it
from the outcome I would have liked.”

Her
radiant smile spread quickly over her face. “I guess I would have to agree with
you on those two points. So my next question is, what should we do about that?”

He
stood, held his hand out, and when she wrapped her fingers around his, he
gently pulled her up next to him. The club was dark, and the deep, thumping
base of the music was creating the perfect atmosphere for getting close to that
someone special.

“I
think I’m going to take you in the back—not the bathroom, but a more private
back room—and add a perfect ending to that memory. I was told one of the
luxury
rooms would be available around
midnight. I think it’s about midnight now,” he whispered.

She
pressed against him, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. His blood heated, and he
dipped his tongue past her lips to taste her. He groaned when her sweetness hit
him like a shot of liquid fire.

“Let’s
go.”

He
laughed as she started for the back, never happier in his life to chase after a
woman. He’d follow his wife to the ends of the earth, to hell and back. He’d go
anywhere as long as she was with him or there waiting for him.

Aldin
sat beside Wilhemina on the couch fidgeting like a nervous two-year-old. She
had never seen him anything other than calm, cool, and composed.

“Whatever
you have to tell me can’t be that bad,” she laughed.

But
when he stared at her with those turquoise eyes, she caught a glimpse of
something that made her catch her breath. A shiver of dread warned her that
whatever he was about to tell her would change her life forever. She had no
idea how she knew this, but she was sure it was the truth.

“What
I’m about to tell you will be difficult for you to grasp. You’ll think I’m
crazy. You’ll think my whole family is crazy, but I assure you that we are
quite sane.”
As sane as vampires can be
anyway.

It
was not the first time she’d heard Aldin’s voice in her head, but it was the
first time she was completely focused on him. The other times she had been
sidetracked enough to explain it away. This time?
This time you are only imagining things.

“No you are not. You can hear me,
and there is a reason for that.”

She
sucked in a startled breath. “D-did you just talk to me? Like in my brain?”

Aldin’s
somber expression encouraged anxiety to rear its ugly head.

“Yes.”

“But
how?”

“I am
a vampire.”

“The
vampire stuff again,” she muttered.

He
sat up straighter if that was even possible.

“What
do you mean
again
?”

She
frowned. “Weellll, I kind of overheard your meeting earlier. At least the last
part of it anyway. I had gone down to get some coffee, and my curiosity got the
better of me.”

“How
much did you hear?”

She
shrugged. “Just something about all of you being vampires and true bloods.
Maybe a little about life mates and a prophecy. I figured all of you were
playing a game of some sort.”

“No.
No game.” He sighed.

“You
really don’t expect me to believe you—that your whole family—are vampires?”

“No.
I didn’t expect you to believe it, but it is true nonetheless. We are not only
vampires, but we are hunters. We hunt shadowdrifters, or drifters as we call
them. They were all vampires at one time, but traded their souls to Satan in
return for never having to feel love, joy, or happiness again.”

“Why
would someone do that?” What a horrible thought. She couldn’t imagine not being
able to love Aldin.

“After
living hundreds of years, one gets weary of losing loved ones time and again.
It gets difficult to deal with after awhile. That is why I have chosen not to
get close to anyone who is not a vampire…until now.”

“Me?”

He
nodded. “You are my life mate. You can potentially stay with me forever.”

“Whoa.
Whoa. Whoa. Not only are you telling me that you are a vampire, but that I am
your life mate? And by saying I can potentially stay with you forever, do you
mean that you can make me a vampire?” She reached up to rub at the spot on her
neck where he’d bitten her. “You really did bite me?”

“Yes.
I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. But you have nothing to fear. I cannot
change you without your permission. Even then, you will not turn until the
third bite with a blood exchange.”

“As
in I’d have to drink your blood?”

“Yes.”

“I’m
seriously trying to have an open mind here. I’ve witnessed some incredible
things during my journalism days, but I’m not sure even my mega curiosity and
imagination can wrap around what you are saying.”

“I
know. There is much I need to tell you about my kind, but before we get to any
of that, there is something else.”