Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (9 page)

He was also angry that he’d caused her to experience such unadulterated terror.

Fear was delicious, especially when it was mingled with excitement.

Terror, or at least the terror he’d witnessed from Leah that morning when she woke, was revolting.

Last, and most importantly, no matter how much he tried, he could not get the sound of her saying, her eyes filled with pain and accusation, “You promised,” out of his head.

Therefore, he was in no mood to deal patiently with Katrina.

He stepped out of the shower dripping wet and put a hand to her throat, silencing her invective. He lifted her clean off her feet and slammed her against the wall, her skull cracking against the plaster and held her there, his fingers squeezing.

She clawed at his forearm with her nails to no avail.

He held her squirming against the wall, deftly avoiding her kicking legs until he felt she understood his meaning. Then he dropped her.

She landed lithely on all fours in a graceful crouch, her head snapping back, her cloud of long, black hair falling over her back, her ice blue eyes glaring at him. Her stunning face was contorted with rage.

She was preparing for attack.

“Don’t even think of challenging me.” His demand was quiet and it was lethal.

Indecision flickered in her eyes which was a strategic mistake. She should have long since learned to master any situation and indecision showed weakness.

She was a young vampire, only two hundred years old.

Even so she would never learn. She never had. He’d been trying to teach her for fifty years.

In the beginning she was quite like Leah, young, amusing, challenging, beautiful and perhaps most importantly, unbelievably sexy.

The minute they finalized The Claiming she’d changed. Became possessive, intolerably so, jealous, even of his concubines and until Leah he’d never given her reason for this ridiculous emotion. Demanding to go with him to Feasts (this he did not allow). Resistant to his teachings.

She’d been full of promise when he met her. She’d become a disappointment.

He saw the fluid line of her shoulders fall in defeat, an action that defined his discontent with their pairing and without a word he turned and strode back to the shower.

In the shower, he came to the swift decision to file for Severance. He’d been toying with it for years. Now was the time.

It was not unheard of for vampire mates to sever. It was also not nearly as commonplace as the mortals’ divorce. Vampires, the vast majority of the time, mated for eternity which, being immortal, meant literally.

Although it was frowned upon, Severance was also never denied. It was not a good idea to force two vampires to live together. It was, they discovered centuries ago, deadly.

When he exited the shower Katrina had calmed down. He found her curled in a ball on her side in their bed, a bed, at the sight of his defeated and sulking mate, he made the instant decision he would never share with her again.

“You must know I deserve an explanation,” she whispered.

He didn’t answer mainly because he knew nothing of the sort.

“No one spends the night with their concubines,” she went on. “You’d lose your mind if I spent the night with Kyle.”

This wasn’t true. There was a good possibility he wouldn’t even notice.

Her voice dropped below a whisper when she asked, “What
is
it about her?”

Lucien had been dressing while she talked.

Finished, he turned to face her and answered simply, “She’s life.”

He watched her body jolt as if struck.

Then she came up on an arm, her face filling with disbelief and twisting with bitterness. “
Your
life? You barely know her.”

He crossed his arms on his chest and looked down at his mate. “Not my life, Rina. Life.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what that means.”

She wouldn’t.

Katrina didn’t know the difference between inexpensive champagne and the finest vintage and no amount of instruction or consumption would make her grasp that distinction.

He knew this because he’d tried for fifty years to teach her that exact lesson.

There was blood and there was Leah Buchanan’s blood. It was the difference between eating dust and allowing the finest Belgian chocolate to melt on your tongue.

Feeding from Leah was like drinking in heaven.

Doing it with his hand between her legs, her soft body pinned under the weight of his, enveloped in the smell that was all her mingled with the scent of her sex in a heightened state of arousal, was nirvana.

He was looking forward to Leah’s taming.

Regardless of how it happened, if the beauty of last night was any indication, feeding from her while they were physically joined and she gave herself wholly to him would be rapture.

“Lucien,” Katrina called.

Torn from his thoughts and not appreciating it, Lucien announced, “We’re finished talking.”

He watched her body go taut as his words penetrated.

“Now what does
that
mean?” Katrina asked on an irritated snap.

He didn’t answer. He left and put her out of his mind.

This was not difficult.

He met with Stephanie that day. And Avery.

There were plans to be made and he was making them. He had been making them since he received word from his informant that Leah had extricated herself from yet another of her hideously ill-suited boyfriends. The end of her mortal relationship opened her up for Selection. With vast and frustrating experience of riding the tempestuous waves Leah’s love life, he had not delayed in taking his chance and he, amongst others, had placed her name on his list to receive an invitation to The Selection.

Lucien knew The Council would not be blinded to what he was doing for long. They’d find out. Likely, once he filed for Severance, Katrina would tell them. Possibly Leah’s family would too although he knew they’d demanded to examine the contract and she’d not only gone to Study but the Buchanans dispatched her for Homing.

If not those, undoubtedly The Council would hear of his actions somehow.

And he was ready.

Stephanie had always been impatient with the Immortal and Mortal Agreement. She’d even been indecisive on which side she would fight before The Revolution.

She was a definite ally.

Avery was a surprise. He’d been working in his role for The Council of The Dominion for centuries. Lucien had only sensed his willingness to turn traitor.

And Lucien had been right.

Cosmo, on the other hand, he’d been avoiding since Leah’s Selection, something which he failed to do that day.

Late in the afternoon Cosmo had pressed into Lucien’s office, Lucien’s secretary, Sally hot on his heels.

Sally halted when Cosmo hissed, “Are you planning a revolt?”

Lucien nodded at Sally who withdrew.

Once she closed the door behind her, he leveled his eyes on his friend and answered, “No.”

“Then what’s this all about?” Cosmo clipped. “I was there, Lucien. Leah refused to blood your contract. The next thing I know, it had been signed, Avery had filed it, you’d Homed her and The Bloodletting was last night.”

Lucien didn’t speak.

Cosmo continued, “Katrina told Nestor who told Jordan who told Hamish who told
me
that you spent the night with her.”

Lucien knew his secret wouldn’t last long. “I did.”

“
Have you gone mad?
” Cosmo bellowed.

Lucien stood, shaking his head. “Cosmo, calm down.”

“The Council will hear of this,” Cosmo bit out.

“They probably already have. Katrina was in a state this morning. She’ll not be thinking before she acts.”

Not that she ever did,
he thought.

“They’ll pull you in,” Cosmo warned.

“It’s likely.”

Cosmo straightened and took in Lucien’s composure before asking, “What happened? Did you fall asleep?”

“Yes, after the initiation, I fell asleep.”

This was true. After he nearly killed her, he stopped the blood, soothed the wound, waited, watching and impatient for long minutes as the healing began. Then he watched for long hours as the healing progressed. When he was satisfied all would be well, only then did he pull Leah in his arms and fall asleep.

However, he had every intention of spending the night with Leah even had he not lost control necessitating that he wait for the healing. And he had every intention of spending
every
night with Leah until he lost interest in her and released her.

Cosmo continued to study him before he remarked dubiously, “So, it was all innocent.”

“No,” Lucien replied honestly. “It was far from innocent.”

Cosmo closed his eyes.

In a low voice that held a vein of steel, Lucien declared, “I’ll not live like this for another day, Cosmo.”

Cosmo opened his eyes “You
are
planning a revolt.”

“It might not lead to that.”

“You know it will.”

Lucien shrugged. “Then it’s war.”

Cosmo pulled in breath through his nostrils at Lucien’s words but his face and eyes went blank, hiding his thoughts. Katrina could learn from Cosmo.

Quietly, Cosmo spoke. “I’ve seen her, Lucien. I’ve smelled her. I like her. She’s fascinating. She’s funny. She’s different. But,” he paused before finishing, “she’s not worth war.”

“You haven’t tasted her,” Lucien returned decisively.

Cosmo’s head cocked to the side, intrigued despite himself. “She’s that good?”

“Better.”

Cosmo’s brows went up before he muttered, “Jesus.” Then he continued in a low voice, “Did you fuck her?”

“Not yet.”

“You intend to?”

“Absolutely.”

“Christ, Lucien –”

Lucien lost patience. “If I remember correctly there was many a night, for seven years, you left her mother and went direct with me to A Feast. Not to feed, to fuck, the way you wanted to fuck Lydia. If I remember correctly, for seven years, you wanted Lydia in a way you couldn’t have her because the Agreement said you couldn’t. It nearly drove you mad. You had to release her before you wanted just to end the torment. Do you remember?” Lucien demanded.

“I remember,” Cosmo answered, his jaw clenching.

“That is not going to happen to me,” Lucien stated. “I want Leah,
all
of Leah, and I’ll damn well have her. I’m tired of these ancient, absurd edicts ruling my life, your life, Stephanie’s life. We’re vampires for fuck’s sake and everything that is our essence has been stripped away. No more. I’m taking it back. If they try to punish me, I’ll fight.”

Cosmo’s face again lost all expression. Because the time might come where he’d need allies, and Cosmo would be an excellent one, not to mention he was a trusted friend, Lucien continued to explain.

“It’s been over five hundred years since I caught a scent as extraordinary as Leah’s.”

Understanding lit in Cosmo’s eyes.

“Maggie,” Cosmo muttered.

It took an extreme effort of will, even after all of these years, for Lucien not to flinch at her name.

He ignored his friend’s muttering and carried on, “I caught Leah’s scent twenty years ago. I should have had her then. I should have been able to take what I wanted. But I had to wait. Twenty years, Cosmo. I’ve lost twenty years. Or, more to the point, she’s
aged
twenty years and I’ve lost that. My time has come, as has Leah’s, and there will be no barriers, no boundaries, no fucking
laws
that tell me I cannot do what I wish.”

“You intend to tame her,” Cosmo surmised.

“I’ve already started,” Lucien announced.

Cosmo hesitation was brief before he sighed and shook his head. “I suppose there will be those who’ll champion you.”

“I’d like you to be one of them.”

Cosmo went still, his face remaining blank, before he asked softly, “You doubted I would?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

Still speaking softly, Cosmo said, “I’d burn for you Lucien. I’ve proved that before.”

“You have,” Lucien agreed.

They locked eyes for long moments before Cosmo broke their silent renewed vow of allegiance by saying, “She’ll not be easily tamed.”

For the first time since seeing his friend, Lucien smiled. “This is very true.”

Cosmo smiled back. “How was she last night?”

“Untamable.”

Cosmo threw his head back and laughed.

Thus ended their tense conversation.

Lucien turned into the driveway of the home he’d purchased for Leah three months before, just weeks after she’d ended her last relationship.

He’d broken his own practice and searched for it himself. He gave Sally his requirements and attended the viewings personally, twenty of them, before he found what he wanted to provide for Leah. Then he’d hired a team of decorators to fit it to his exacting specifications.