Vampire Lords of Blacknall: Trinity (11 page)

“I don’t remember most of it,” she responded quickly to him, watching him raise his eyebrows in disbelief. “Just that we couldn’t find Ariel, and I went out into the gardens to look for her.”

“You don’t remember Lord Trinity Montrose, one of Duke Blacknall’s brothers?” Adam asked tightly.

Beth quickly lowered her gaze. She despised lying to Adam. “I’ve heard of Duke Blacknall and his brothers, of course.”

“But last night …”

“I feel weak,” Beth interjected over his words, bringing a hand to her temple.

“Deuce,” Adam swore, and she imagined he was chastising himself for pushing her. “Beth, lay down and get some rest,” he said, rising from the bed. “I will get Spindle to bring you some soup to try for dinner.”

“Thank you, Adam.” She tried to appear weaker than she was as she scooted to lie down.

Adam stood looking down on her for a long moment. He said, “I only want you safe and happy.”

He looked so troubled as he turned and left the room, it broke her heart. She wished the same thing for him: wanting him safe. The only avenue left for her was the one she’d concluded last night. She needed to write to finishing schools that very evening for a position and have them posted in the morning. She personally knew several dames of society who sat on the boards of well-named schools she could speak to in person.

Yet it would take her very far away from Trinity.

The thought leaped into her mind with an instant feeling of dread. She raised the heel of her palm to her temple, rubbing. “Go away!” she exclaimed to the thoughts. She rubbed more forcibly. “Leave me be!” She wouldn’t think of him. She wouldn’t. Surely, the attraction of having tasted his essence would fade eventually.

God, she prayed so.

Chapter Twelve

F
anton stood in the dark shadows of the room over the sleeping form of Beth. Her insolent brother sat guard outside the door. The fool completely ignored the courtyard doors. Fanton was not smiling, though; something was different about his little Beth, and he didn’t like it. She lay on her back with the covers twisted about her waist, leaving only a thin night rail to cover her tits. He wondered how she could manage to endure the pain laying on her back in her sleep.

Yet the rise and fall of her large tits distracted his hand. He cupped one, feeling the fat globe. He was hungry, so famished that he felt weak from the loss. Sweet delectable Beth. His other hand reached for the mound of her other tit.

Beth saw the wildness in Trinity’s gaze. He hungered for her with cravings that made her moan and undulate her body in sensuous invitations. She saw his tangled long, blond hair, deep penetrating eyes, and his hard jaw. He was so handsome … so masculine, he made her breath quiver with longing as she raised her breasts to his touch. He was harsh with need, twisting her nipples and making her cry out as she felt his hot breath against the column of her throat.

“What foulness has tainted
my
virgin!”

It was a snarled voice she feared beyond all else. Beth’s eyelids flew open and she was staggered, as she’d thought she’d been awake with her eyes open and her fingers reaching for Trinity.

“Fanton!” she gasped, and before she could move, he leapt to straddle her body on the bed. He tugged her wrist to his mouth and she bucked her body beneath him trying to force him off her as she tried to jerk her wrist away from him. His irises flashed red, and she reacted to his attack crying, “No! No!”

“Why aren’t you mesmerized to my will?” he demanded with harsh and wet hissing sounds around his teeth, which had extended into two long lances past his lips,

Beth tugged her arm with all her might. “Let me go!” she cried, wondering why she didn’t scream.

A terrible sting penetrated her wrist. Now her mind screamed in terror, as Fanton hissed horrible vibrations against her wrist with his mouth. His entire body recoiled — one second he was on top of her, and the next he was halfway across the room.

“
Foulness
,” he growled gutturally, like a beast.

She didn’t wait to understand what he meant. Terror sent her running from the bed. Fanton was a vampire! Was she in a nightmare she couldn’t awaken from? She pushed through the drapes to find the glass doors open to the courtyard. On bare feet, she stumbled past them, out onto the cold, damp tiles of the patio.

The word, “
Bitch
,” whooshed through the air from behind her, back in the room, as she fled forward into the foggy night.

The long braid of her hair began to unravel as she cast her frightened gaze repeatedly over her shoulder. Was he following her? She couldn’t tell, and it reminded her too much of the terrifying chase in the woods she’d endured just the night before. Her nightgown was not a garment to be wearing in the curling fog. It became damp and clung to her body as her bare feet ran onto the grass beyond the courtyard.

“Trinity!” she cried, terror-stricken that Fanton would attack her at any moment. That he would
bite
her again. However, she was still too weak and her lungs burned as her legs grew heavy.
Fanton would catch her!

Fanton snarled as though he were a rabid wolf shaking his head at tasting some putrid meat. His spittle sprayed across the room with his gyrating head as his spine fell against the wall. He’d never tasted blood so polluted before that it made his insides twitch and shudder.

Something was happening to him. It was more than a bad reaction from blood. The same blood that used to be the sweetest virgin’s blood. Then he saw it. One flash of memory. Blond hair, gore everywhere, and four vampires feeding.

Vampire’s blood? He looked wildly about, clutching his throat. He’d tasted another vampire’s blood. A much older vampire than he was. What would it do to him? His gut began to lurch in spasms just as knocking sounded on the door beside him.

“Beth, I heard sounds, are you all right?” Adam’s voice called beyond the door.

Fanton hissed. He’d been ravenous, and he still was, beyond the cramps in his belly. Maybe fresh blood would lessen the abnormal reaction. His hand clamped over the lifting door latch, stopping its motion.

“Beth!” Adam’s voice called.

Fanton could hear the blood pounding in Adam’s veins. He’d never sucked the boy’s blood … just the sister’s. Men made him feel inadequate, somehow. Women he could dominate. Nevertheless, his stepsister was rancid now and he would need a new source of fresh blood close to him. It made him feel more secure, having it close. He unclasped his hand from the door lever letting it lift as he ignored the strange tendrils in his chest and belly gnawing at him.

“Beth!” Adam exclaimed, throwing the door wide, and then rushing into the room.

“Adam,” Fanton snarled, making Adam whirl to face him.

“What are you doing in here?” Adam demanded as he stalked up to him.

Closer,
Fanton thought,
come closer
. Fanton whipped his arm forward, grasping Adam by the back of his neck, so surprising him he didn’t think to resist. At first. Then it was too late as Fanton’s hungry breath belched outward, crawling over Adam’s startled face and Fanton’s gaze delved into the depths of Adam’s startled stare. A sigh released from Adam’s lips, and then the stiffness in his neck melted away.

He really is handsome
, Fanton thought, watching Adam’s eyelids lower with a seductive tilt. Fanton caught Adam’s half-slumping body with an arm braced across his back as his other hand pushed his chin to the side revealing the strong column of Adam’s neck.

The first bite was crisp and raw as it surged into him.
Virgin’s blood
. Fanton’s eyes widened with relish as Adam’s hands fisted in his hair and he moaned with compelling sounds. Fanton embraced Adam more, deepening the bite and draw of his lips. He was surprised to find his cock was hard as pretty, pretty Adam’s neck arched to his feeding.

Chapter Thirteen

T
rinity slept most of the day and when he woke, he was disturbed at where his thoughts in his resting state had concentrated.
Beth.

“She’s a silly little virgin,” he growled, pushing his muscular body off the cold pallet he’d rested on. The heavy drapes in his bedchamber were closed, making the room lightless. He didn’t need his night vision to move about the room, knowing where each piece of furniture was. The room held a large bed, but most days he preferred the pallet. Old habits were hard to change. He also rested naked. The beast that was a part of him somehow found clothing too confining. When he stood his hard erection jutted freely.

Normally, he’d attend to it with his hand. He knew that wouldn’t be enough this time. If he was going to excise the memories of a full-figured, soft virgin from his mind, he’d better find another woman to bury his shaft into.

An hour later, after a vigorous training regimen, he’d bathed, thrown on some clothes, and he was coming down the grand staircase, when he heard a bellow from within the depths of the mansion. “Second brother, attend me!”

Trinity nearly continued on, ignoring his eldest brother’s command. However, he knew Church would hunt him down. Church was the first turned into a vampire and the strongest of their brood. While all of them were forced to do many vile things under the control of their Sire, Church had seen the worst of it. Their stepfather had kept Church as his only subservient vampire for years, before he’d drained the next brother. Church didn’t reveal much of what happened those years, but he’d become the first day walker of the brothers during that time.

That meant Church had bitten and drank from the blood of another vampire after it had freshly fed. Years later, after they’d killed their Sire, Church had made each of them drink his blood, until they all had the ability. The brothers held the secret close because many of the vampire brethren would like to know how to accomplish day walking.

Trinity continued down the mahogany stairs, and then he turned toward the ballroom where Church’s voice had emanated from.

“You’ve forgotten the ball haven’t you?” Church frowned with clear irritation the moment Trinity stepped into the ballroom, which was alive with activity.

Trinity arched an eyebrow at Church. “This week?” he guessed.

“Next,” Church snapped. He added, “If I didn’t work so hard to keep up appearances, the lot of you would be in cold graves with stakes through your …” Church stopped his lecture obviously realizing the company of servants they were in. Some servants were setting up chairs, while others were on high ladders hanging flowing white panels of airy material.

“White?” Trinity offered, for Church’s efforts.

“Damn things have to have a theme.” Church exhaled a breath with obvious annoyance.

“Snow”? Trinity guessed.

“Blast no,” Church uttered. “Angels.”

Trinity nearly laughed, and that surprised him as he caught sight of a burly servant hoisting none other than a replica of an angel high up toward the ceiling.

“You know, Church, all of us are very grateful for your single-minded efforts.” Trinity tried to keep the smirking of his lips to a minimum.

“You don’t mean a word of it.” Church’s voice was a growl as he set down an empty champagne glass on top of a long bar set up in the ballroom. “This really needs a woman,” he muttered, turning to face him. “I’m afraid if one of us doesn’t take a bride soon, the speculation about us will become entirely too intense.”

“You cannot be serious.” Trinity’s spine stiffened. “Can’t we just be reclusive lords?”

Church motioned for him to follow away from the servants’ hearing. They ended up in the anti-room to the ballroom, where Church stopped and turned to him. “The lady mothers of this decade, who are looking for suitable husbands for their daughters, are too scrutinizing, Trinity. They meddle and inquire about everything.”

“We could try another failed engagement,” Trinity offered. “Baptiste’s worked out well a decade ago with that lovely countess from France.”

“
Do
you want to have to leave here and start over?” Church demanded.

Trinity grimaced. They both knew there were too many reasons they needed to stay in London. One of those reasons was the growing and untamed vampire population. Vampires might be predators of man, however, many men banded together could easily make vampires extinct.

“So we have a problem.” Trinity said finally with a grim slant of his lips.

“One of a growing list,” Church replied, looking just as menacing. He relaxed his wicked glare, bringing a hand up to rub his neck. “So, report to me,” he muttered.

“I wasn’t able to track the murderer,” Trinity said. “Yet,” he added.

“I believe the virgin’s blood clouded our abilities to detect him,” Church said.

Trinity clamped his jaw tight, unwilling to speak about Beth. “You think it’s a vampire?”

Church nodded. Trinity raked a hand through his dark striped blond hair. He was not ready to say it was a vampire. Not the way the bodies were ripped apart.

“How’s the young woman?” Church asked with a curious glint in his rich, blue eyes.

“She will recover,” Trinity supplied, not adding anything more.

The two of them eyed each other, Church obviously looking irritated at the curt answer. He sighed. “What about what she said of us … of
you
, Trinity?” His voice was tight as though he was keeping his temper in check.

Trinity turned, looking out into the ballroom, wondering why he felt such a need to keep Beth and his interactions with her to himself, as he said, “She will come to think it was her imagination.” He paused. “Who would ever believe her?”

“Then it will be a wise move to invite her to our ball, so she can see us as just normal gentlemen.” Church’s black eyebrows rose against the shock of white hair on his forehead. Trinity whipped around toward him with a foul growl mounting in his throat. Church added, “This simple human woman, whom
you
can sense at great distances.”

Trinity’s fist clenched. Church was baiting him to some unknown end that only Church could see. However, he didn’t intend to see Lady Winslow again. His brother would just have to live with that fact.