pdf - Saving Jenna.PDF (12 page)

“Do you hate her for that? For changing you and then leaving you on your own?”

“I did, Beloved, for a very long time.” Nic tilted his head considering. “I’ve come to realize that by leaving me as she did, Phaedra did me an enormous favor. If I’d been with her, Sebastian would never have found me.” Bas snorted dismissively. “And,” Nic ignored him with the ease of long practice, “if I’d stayed with her, I’d not have been fit to be with you, Beloved.”

“Nic, cut the crap and finish your explanation.” Bas acted just the slightest bit uncomfortable with Nic’s story, which made Jenna insanely curious to hear the ending.

“Yes, Nico. Finish your explanation.”

Nic’s eyes flared briefly at her use of their special name, then he continued.

“Sebastian found me living no better than an animal on the street. I was utterly ruled by my Thirst, but hadn’t the skills to provide for myself.” Nic shook his head in memory.

“By the time Bas found me I was pitiful.” He trailed off, and Bas reluctantly took up the narrative.

“Not so much pitiful,” he countered, “he was ill. He’d been subsisting on the blood of animals and diseased beggars and such. He was so malnourished, I have no idea how he’d managed to survive.”

Nic continued his story. “He fed me. Every night, often several times a night, Bas brought me willing blood donors. But my body was so damaged that I didn’t get well.

Finally he brought me to Elena.” Nic blinked, realizing that Jenna hadn’t actually met Elena while awake.

“Elena is a healer, a very powerful and gifted woman. She told Bas that the only way for me to heal was by taking the blood of another Vampire. Phaedra was nowhere to be found, of course.”

“By this time,” Bas took up the narrative again, “I’d come to see how strong a soul our Nic has. And I’d definitely come to see what that shallow bitch had seen in him, and that his beauty was deeper than that angelic face.” Nic snorted and fidgeted uncomfortably. “I could not let him waste away.”

“Bas offered me his blood, understanding full well what it meant.” Nic shook his head. “I, on the other hand, understood nothing.” He turned to Bas, “You got lucky, my friend. I could so easily have destroyed us both.” When Jenna looked confused Nic explained, “By sharing his blood with me, Bas connected us forever. Blood to blood, soul to soul. If I’d been a different sort of man, I’d have pulled him into the abyss with me.

“This bond, along with our friendship, is why I would trust Bas with my life.” He sent the other Vampire a small smile. “It’s why I
have
trusted him with my life on more than one occasion. But now I choose to trust him with something even more important.” He brought her hands to his lips, kissing each knuckle softly. “I am trusting him with my very soul.” Jenna’s big brown eyes widened, the green flecks seeming to glow.

“I’ve asked Bas to take your blood tonight.” Before Jenna could voice the protest he saw in those eloquent eyes, he continued. “By sharing your blood, Bas will be able to find you, no matter where you are. He’ll be able to sense when you are in distress or danger.” His grip tightened on her hands, and he drew them to rest over his heart.

“Beloved, I need this. I need to know that no matter what you will always be protected.”

Jenna studied him for a long time, then turned her gaze on Bas. The other Vampire met her eyes solemnly as he spoke.

“What Nic has asked is a great honor. I would do it for him, simply because I love him.” Gray eyes flickered over Nic, bringing a wave of affection and appreciation for his friend.

“But I would do this thing for you, too, Jenna.” Bas touched her cheek. “You are a remarkable woman, pretty One, and I am honored to be one of your Guardians.” Something in his words, or perhaps in his eyes, reassured Jenna. She turned back to Nic and nodded slowly.

“I understand,” she said. “But…” she trailed off, blushing.

“But what, Beloved?” Nic asked, concerned.

“It’s just…” she trailed away again, then looked over at Bas. “It’s nothing against you,” she equivocated quickly. “In fact, I don’t think I could let any other Vampire bite me, even if Nico asked it of me. But,” her eyes flicked back to Nic. “All he’ll be sharing with me is blood, right? Because I don’t think I can…” This time Nic interrupted her before she could trail off. “Beloved, even for your protection, even with my best friend, I could not share your body. Never worry about that.” He released one of her hands and cupped her cheek. “You are mine, and I could never allow another to make love to you.”

Bas hastened to add his reassurances. “Jenna, I will have to touch you as a part of the ritual. And to make it most effective, you will need to be aroused. But I swear to you I will not betray your trust.”

Their words comforted her, because she turned back to Nic with a decisive nod.

“Okay, then. What do we do?”

Nic smiled. While this night wasn’t about sex, per se, he knew that the sex would be amazing. “You relax. Bas will get you a glass of wine while I prepare the room.” He stood and she looked toward the door on the other side of the room.

“The bedroom?” she asked faintly.

Nic’s smile grew. “Oh yes, Beloved, the bedroom.”

Jenna gulped down her wine like it was water, and held up her glass for more. Bas smiled as he refilled it, then reached out to toy with one silky curl.

“You really don’t need to worry, pretty One. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t take advantage of the situation,” he winked playfully, “no matter how much I might want to.” He took her now empty glass and placed it on the mantle. Grasping her hand, be began to lead her into the bedroom.

“Besides,” he added as they crossed the threshold, “if I
did
make a move, Nic would rip my throat out before you even realized I was hitting on you.”

“Damn right I would,” Nic agreed. His deep voice sent little tremors of anticipation through Jenna’s body. He moved forward and very deliberately removed Jenna’s hand from Bas’s and finished leading her into the room.

Looking around, Jenna caught her breath. Nic had scattered thick, scented candles on every flat surface in the room. The lights were off and the room was lit with a shimmery, golden glow. Shadows danced on the walls from the wavering flames. The scents of vanilla, cinnamon and amber filled the air until Jenna felt almost giddy with each breath.

The bed looked huge and inviting. Nic folded the satin duvet down to the foot of the bed, an acre of scarlet satin sheets exposed. At the foot of the bed, just off to one side, he’d placed a comfortable wing-back chair which she supposed was for Bas.

Nic faced them, eyes glittering like diamonds. Cupping Jenna’s face in that familiar, comforting gesture, he spoke, and his words branded her, every bit as important and binding as a wedding vow.

“Mine to keep.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and Jenna shivered at the rush of his breath stirring her hair. “Mine to protect.” He kissed her cheek, pausing to run his tongue along the trail of a tear she hadn’t even realized she’d shed. “Mine to cherish.” He repeated the caress on her other cheek, and Jenna caught back a sob. “Mine to love.” Nic pressed a warm kiss to her trembling lips, and Jenna thought her heart would overflow.

Nic finally pulled back and gave her a slow, sexy smile. Stepping toward Bas he spoke again, his voice husky with emotion.

“Blood of my blood,” he pressed a light kiss to the slighter Vampire’s forehead.

“Brother,” he kissed first one cheek, “and friend,” and then the other.

Bas studied Nic, an enigmatic look in his storm-cloud eyes. Slowly he reached up and cupped his friend’s face.

“Blood of my blood,” he whispered, reaching up to press a light kiss to Nic’s forehead. “Brother,” light kisses feathered over Nic’s cheeks. Jenna could see that both men were as deeply affected by the ritual as she was. Eyes met and held, blue and gray, and they held whole conversations without saying a word.

“Friend,” Bas finished, and pressed a slow, soft kiss to Nic’s lips. When he pulled back the two men studied each other for a moment, and then Nic wrapped one hand around the nape of Bas’s neck and pressed their foreheads together.

“Thank you, my friend,” he murmured.

Bas nodded solemnly, and turned to Jenna. “Blood of my blood,” his voice was low and smooth, his lips silky as he kissed her forehead. “Sister,” he whispered kisses over both cheeks. “And friend.” He ended his pledge to her with a soft kiss on her lips, and tears trembled on her lashes again.

Jenna reflected, once again, that no one had ever loved her the way Nic did. No one ever put her needs first, let alone her desires. With Nic, Jenna knew she would be forever safe, forever cherished. And now she had Bas, too. She didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky, but as she caught his face in her hands and held him to her, lengthening the kiss, she knew she would never take this feeling for granted.

Smoothing her tear away with his thumb, Bas smiled into her, then moved to sit in the waiting chair.

*

Bas sprawled in his chair. The taste and dampness of both Nic’s and Jenna’s kisses tingled on his lips, and he let his leg fall to the side, making more room for his suddenly functional dick.

It had been decades since he’d craved sexual fulfillment. Now, in the space of a few hours, every latent sexual desire he’d ignored for so long flared to swift and painful life.

It was confusing. He’d loved women, and loved them well, but Bas always recognized that his preferences leaned toward men. So the flicker of electricity that jolted him under the eyes of Nic’s pretty little One was both surprising and unwelcome. His Blood Brother could never share her, and Bas would never expect him to.

More confusing was the fact that seeing Nic with Jenna, seeing him through Jenna’s eyes, and reliving their past opened Bas’s eyes for the first time in years to how beautiful the other Vampire was. Nic’s beauty was transcendent, and reached clear to his soul. Bas found himself wondering if the stirrings he felt were for the woman or for Nic. Or for some weird alchemy created by the two of them together.

All he knew for sure right at this moment was that his beautiful friend and his beautiful One were moving to the bed, and suddenly his tight leathers were two sizes too small.

*

Jenna felt Bas’s eyes on them as Nic drew her toward the bed, but then Nic kissed her, and she couldn’t feel anything except him. It was almost embarrassing how easily her body caught fire for him. With the lightest butterfly wing brush of his lips against hers, she was ready to melt into him like an ice-cream cone in the sun.

He was giving her a lot more than a butterfly wing brush right now.

His lips moved over hers like warm velvet, his heat radiating into her body as he crowded her against the high side of the bed. Jenna moaned into his mouth, loving the feeling of being surrounded, overwhelmed by his strength.

He cupped her jaw, the steely strength in his fingers emphasizing how fragile she really was. She loved when he touched her face, loved the way it made her feel, like he was claiming her all over again. Now he used his grip to tilt her face, to urge her lips to part for his tender assault.

His tongue dipped into her mouth, stroking along hers and teasing her into a hot, slick duel. She was breathing him in, and becoming intoxicated with it.

Ever so slowly he eased his hand from her chin to her throat, wrapping his fingers around the slender length like a warm, flexible collar. After a moment he let his hand drift lower, spreading his palm wide over her collar bones, her chest, finally slipping down to cup her breast.

Jenna gasped into his mouth, crying out as his fingers caught at her nipple through the thin fabric of her dress and bra. He drank in her cry and began a rhythmic plucking that drew still more needy sounds from her throat.

Nic’s hands continued their downward slide, gripping her hips firmly and turning her to face the bed. Once he’d guided her hands to the mattress, leaving her bent slightly in front of him, arms straight and braced on the bed, he moved to the zipper on the back of her dress.

He drew it down slowly, pausing to press hot, wet kisses on each inch of skin revealed. By the time the dress was completely undone and falling down her shoulders, every inch of her back had been branded by his scorching lips, as if an electrified wire had been dragged down the line of her spine.

He stood, dragging his tongue in a slow, scalding sweep back up the length of her back. His breath stroked over her, another rush of wet heat. Jenna couldn’t catch her breath; it dragged in with jerky, ragged gasps. Once he’d reached his full height, he drew her into a standing position and turned her to face him.

Those beautiful, elegant hands rose to her shoulders and he eased her dress and the straps of her bra down her arms. She had a moment of déjà vu as the dress caught on her hips, and saw in his eyes when he sensed her second of insecurity.

Giving her wicked smile, Nic tugged the dress and her panties over her hips, dropping to his knees at her feet as her clothing hit the floor

“Lean down,” he commanded, and Jenna immediately obeyed, bracing her arms once again on the mattress.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, gazing up along the line of her soft, pale body. He cast a brief glance in Bas’s direction. “Is she not the most exquisite creature you’ve ever seen?” Bas’s eyes burned a path up her body as he answered, “Oh, yeah. Fucking perfection.”

Jenna thought she should be embarrassed, or at least uncomfortable. Her lover had her draped over the side of the bed like a blanket, and his best friend was touching her every curve and hollow with his eyes. But somehow, she wasn’t the least bit self-conscious. Instead, the heat in their eyes made
her
hotter.

While she’d been analyzing her reaction to Bas’s obvious appreciation, Nic had been busy stripping off his shirt and then lifting her left leg to hook her heel on the bed frame.

He caught her attention when he pressed against that knee, opening her wide to his glittering gaze.

Nic drew her attention back to Bas, and now she watched him as he watched Nic run his hands up her inner thighs. His face was a mask of arousal, flushed and yearning. She had time to see the flare of heat lightning in his eyes before Nic slid his thumbs along her labia, splitting her open like a ripe, dripping peach.