21 Shades of Night, page 250
She would probably be known by the hunters for all eternity as the traitor to her people once again, just like she’d been in old world Scotland and for the last three centuries. But she couldn’t dismiss her love for Ephraim.
On shaky legs, she rose from the couch. “I’ll call you later, Molly. Thanks for all of your help.”
Molly joined Alena and wrapped her arms around her. “You take care, dear. We need you.”
Not as much as Alena needed Ephraim.
Ephraim led Alena out to her car and took the driver’s seat, his expression as somber as she felt. “Lass, are you sure? You said you needed to speak with the League as a huntress.”
“Take me to your house, Ephraim.”
He started the engine. “What are you thinking, Alena?”
“I’ll still be a huntress,” she said with conviction, frowning, hating Jared MacLeod and ready to hunt him down. “I’ll always be a huntress. But I’ll be a vampiress also. I want to do it. I want to blood bond with you. Take me home.”
Chapter 24
“ELIZABETH,” EPHRAIM SAID, turning in the driver’s seat of Elizabeth’s car to face her before he drove her home from Molly’s house. He sounded exasperated with her, which wasn’t helping matters at all. “You’re not thinking correctly. A hunter has just murdered your father, who just happened to be your cousin, David’s own brother, no less. You have to think this over, lass.”
“Don’t tell me you want to talk me out of blood bonding with you.” Disbelief threaded Elizabeth’s voice. Ever since she’d met him in this lifetime and on every occasion in the past, he’d wanted to blood bond with her. Now that she’d decided she had to do it, he didn’t want her to? Why? Because it had to be his idea, not hers? Typical man. She folded her arms and fumed.
He let out his breath in a huff and pulled onto the road. Once he left the subdivision and was on the main road, Elizabeth said, “Well? Don’t you want to blood bond with me?” She stared gloomily out the window. “Can’t you drive any faster?”
“Of course I want to blood bond with you. When have I not? But I don’t want you to do it for the wrong reason. And for your information, I’m already driving fifteen miles over the speed limit.”
“Saying I want to do so isn’t a good enough reason?”
She couldn’t help the way her voice elevated. Blood bonding with Ephraim was supposed to be a heartwarming experience, not something she had to fight to get him to go along with. She wanted to do it... damn it. That should have been good enough reason.
Every molecule in her system filled with exasperation while her head pounded with frustration. How could she convince Ephraim she wanted to blood bond with him because they were meant to be together for all eternity, that she loved him, that she feared the family curse was catching up to her again, when he’d insist she’d do it only to save her cousin or for some other bloody reason?
Hell, she already told Ephraim she’d blood bond with him when the League approved. So now she’d do it in advance of their approval. She loved Ephraim with all her heart. That was the important part wasn’t it? That she was willing to bond with him for an eternity? And damn it, she’d already said so.
“I don’t mean that, lass,” he said, softening his tone. “You’re upset about everything that’s happened. Even now you’re running on a high dose of adrenaline, ready to kill Jared for what he’s done, ready to slay Kisaro for taking David hostage. No telling who else you’re ready to strike down. Me even, if I tell you we can’t blood bond in your current frame of mind, as frustrated and angry as you appear to be.”
She glowered at him, not believing he’d deny blood bonding with her, which he’d begged her to do forever. “You mean to say the only reason I should blood bond with you is because of my undying love for you?”
He sat silent for a moment, his neck muscles tightening. Then he glanced at her. “Aye.”
“Well, that’s the reason I’m doing this.”
“It…” He took a deep breath. “It has nothing to do with Sutherland’s forcing you to do so to gain his help in having your cousin released, does it?”
She groaned with exasperation and rolled her eyes. Did he believe she loved her cousin more than she loved Ephraim? If the situation was different and she had to blood bond with... with, well, Sutherland perhaps, she’d do it to save Ephraim’s life. Maybe. Well, maybe not. But not because she didn’t want to save Ephraim’s life. She’d do anything for him... within reason. There wasn’t anyone she wanted to blood bond with but Ephraim. Couldn’t he understand that? Wouldn’t it unite them for all eternity? She didn’t want to share that common bond with any other vampire.
Before she could voice another objection, Ephraim continued. “You shouldn’t be forced into this. Not by me or anyone else. And right now, Sutherland is doing just that. Look at you.” He waved his hand at her. “You’re as tense as a tigress ready to pounce on a gazelle.”
Her mouth gaped, then she frowned. “I don’t pounce on gazelles. They’re innocent herbaceous foragers. I pounce on sick predators.”
He chuckled. “Poor example. I can’t think straight with you so angered. I can’t explain how important it is that you blood bond for the right reason and with nothing but love in your heart. If I tried to take your blood right now as tense as you are, you’d be in pain, just like when Cybil attacked you. It wouldn’t be a pleasurable experience. I refuse to do that to you. Forever, you would remember our first bonding as a horrifying, painful experience and could grow to resent me. Maybe even refuse to share the experience again.”
“You don’t trust my motives.”
He sighed deeply. “Bonnie lass, I love you more than anyone else in the world. I want to blood bond with you so that we’ll remain together, have a family even. If we have a son, we’ll name him after your father. A girl, we’ll name her Elizabeth.”
She raised her brows. “But what if she doesn’t have red hair?”
“We’ll start our own family tradition.”
She leaned back against the leather seat and took several deep breaths trying to calm herself. “You’re right of course. My frame of mind isn’t the best for blood bonding. You wouldn’t happen to have a stream where we could slip out of our clothes and make love? Maybe that would help to get me in the right mood.”
“What brought that to mind?”
She stroked his leg, the muscle in his thigh tightening in response. “I recall a time when we were fishing, and you tipped the raft over.”
“Ahh,” he groaned. “I distinctly remember telling you not once, but three times not to stand on the raft when you grew excited, feeling a nibble on your line.”
“I suppose you told everyone it was my fault we ended up in the stream, soaked to the bone.”
“Nay, I never told anyone about that story, or what happened after that.”
“I can almost smell the peat smoke drifting on the breeze and whiffs of the fragrance of sweet heather, too.”
“Aye.”
She moved her hand closer to his crotch, feeling the swelling between his legs.
“You’re going to make me have an accident, lass.”
“I’m trying to get you in the mood.”
“I’m always in the mood... but if you keep touching... Elizabeth!”
She chuckled, then pulled her hand away. “I only wish we could go to the stream again.”
“Would a hot tub do?”
She opened her mouth for a second and stared at him, then smiled. “Why didn’t you mention it before? Hmm, it won’t be half as cold as the stream. Will it be safe though?”
“It’s a whirlpool tub in my master bathroom. Safe as anyplace else in the house.”
“Then you’ll blood bond with me?”
“I still don’t like that Sutherland is forcing you to do this.”
“He isn’t.” She sighed, feeling some of the tension drain from her. “He said you saved his life three times.”
“Aye. ‘Twas nothing.” The twinkle in Ephraim’s eye and the smile on his lips piqued her curiosity.
“Well, he seemed to think it was important to pay his debt.” She watched Ephraim while he concentrated on the road. “Well? How did you save him?”
Ephraim shrugged a shoulder. “He rocked the raft when we went fishing as lads. He fell overboard and couldn’t swim. I tossed him a rope and pulled him to safety.”
“He rocked the raft.”
“Aye. He did the same thing as you, lass. That’s why I could see history repeating itself when you did the same later.”
“It wasn’t you who rocked the raft?”
He smiled. “Nay, lass. The one who’s standing, falls in. I was sitting like my father had taught me.”
“And the next time you saved him?”
Ephraim rubbed his chin. “Well, he’d been drinking a wee too much ale at the local tavern and insulted a laird from the neighboring lands. Since I owned the land where the tavern was situated, I offered to beat Sutherland in my own way for his insolence.”
Alena’s eyes widened. “And did you?”
“Aye.”
“How was that saving him?”
“He lost a wager instead of his life. I beat him at three games of chess.”
She laughed. “I hate to ask how you saved him the third time.”
“Under more honorable circumstances. We were battling the MacLean. Sutherland had been knocked from his mount. I’d saved him from being run through. But, Alena, I’m serious about this. We’ll find a way to beat Kisaro at his game without you having to blood bond with me right this moment.”
“I can’t risk my cousin’s life.”
“Do you love him?”
Now the truth of the matter was coming out. “As a brother. Ephraim, you must realize David could be the one to help us gain control of the League. Because of his hunter fame, he could help encourage the others and aid us to make the changes we need. If the vampires kill him, all will be lost.”
Ephraim seemed to ponder the notion for sometime, then pulled into the circular drive in front of his home. “What if he sides with his brother?”
She took a deep breath, realizing with apprehension he might.
After parking the car, Ephraim hastened to get her door for her. “You can’t be certain he won’t. What if you blood bond with me and this angers him so that he wants to take revenge against the vampires? This might not turn out the way you plan.” He grabbed her hand and hurried her toward the house, the automatic security lights illuminating a good portion of the landscaping and house.
He pulled her inside and clapped his hands, activating the lights in the living room and hallway.
Damn, she hadn’t considered David would be furious with her over blood bonding with Ephraim. Since he wanted to marry her, he could very well be so angry with her that he might take the sides of the rebels... but no. She wouldn’t be talked out of it.
“You can’t talk me out of it, Ephraim Campbell.”
He shook his head. “I must be mad to even attempt to do so.” With her hand in his, he led her back to his bedroom.
“You are. And you must know when I have my mind made up—”
“Aye, you’re stubborn, lass. But still are you sure about this? We could try to handle Kisaro differently.”
“I am. Quit trying to change my mind.”
“You can’t fault me for attempting to do the right thing by you.” He opened the door to his master bathroom, revealing a marble-tiled room with a circular tub in the center. Outfitted with crystal fixtures, the room was elegant enough for a king.
“Beautiful,” she said, her voice in awe, surprised to see the elegance here, that the guest bathroom hadn’t had.
Streaks of variegated browns and beiges whirled about the creamy tub like fudge swirl ice cream while crystal lights provided a soft glow overhead. Ephraim flipped on a switch and Celtic flute and pipe whistle melodic tunes filled the air.
“I know where I’m going to live most of my days.” Alena grabbed the faucet and turned it on high.
“You’ll be a wrinkled prune, lass,” he teased, touching her cheek.
“You’re good of heart, Ephraim.” She wrapped her arms around him, feeling as one with him even before blood bonding. Despite their rocky moments, he was the only man she’d ever loved, and she could never see loving anyone else the way she did him. “I do this because I love you and I want to be with you forever. I do this because I want to have a family with you.”
He tilted his chin down and looked her in the eyes. “You do this to save your cousin.”
She tilted her chin up. “Only because I must do it sooner than later. I told you already, Ephraim Campbell, I’d blood bond with you, and not because I was being forced to either.”
He grunted.
Smiling, she reached for his belt. “Ephraim, you must know I’d never blood bond with any other man, only you. You are the one I love.”
Immediately, he took charge of the buttons to her blouse. She nearly laughed. So much for his wanting to change her mind.
She meant to take it slow and easy, enjoying the special time with him, calmly, like he said they needed to do. But she was having difficulty keeping her mind off David’s safety and Jared’s evil influence over the League, and though she trusted Sutherland to an extent, she worried he might change his mind. All these things pushed her to act faster, even though she attempted to take her time.
She unbuckled Ephraim’s belt, then ran her finger down his rigid erection. Ephraim groaned.
When he stripped off her blouse, she realized, he was in much more of a hurry than she. What happened to taking it slow? He was ready to lose control, she’d already primed him so. Not intentionally, but it seemed she didn’t need to do much to get him worked up.
Reaching up, she untied the leather strap that bound his hair and ran her fingers through the satiny strands.
“You have too many clothes on again, lass,” he teased.
Chuckling, she yanked his shirt off. “You said we were supposed to take it slow.”
“There’s slow, and then there’s slow. The water will get cold.”
“We swam in really cold water before.”
“Aye, but we had a fire to warm us. And we didn’t make love in the water, but on the bank instead.” He helped her to stand, then unzipped her pants.
She grazed his nipples with her long fingernails, both peaking instantly with her touch. He combed her hair with his fingers when she leaned over, and licked one nipple then the other, eliciting a low growl from his throat.
“Am I torturing you?”
“It started in the car, vixen.”
“You drove too slowly.”
“By the time we reached home, I was driving twenty-five miles over the speed limit.”
Smiling, she trailed kisses down his chest to his navel, enjoying the spicy, male scent of him. His muscles tightened with her touch, so strong, so reminiscent of his hard body when he was a Highland warrior, keeping his clan safe from encroaching clans’ greed.
His fingers combed through her hair as she ran her hand lower, tracing the length of his rock-hard arousal. He rushed to unfasten her bra. He was warm and hard and throbbed with pent-up craving.
He turned off the faucet, then reached over and slipped her lace panties down her legs. She shivered in anticipation, a thrill of expectation of their lovemaking and blood bonding that would unite them as one forever.
Lifting her into the tub, he said, “You don’t know how much agony you put me through, woman.”
His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them and though he tried to keep a slow pace, she rushed his actions… and for a slice of time, she envisioned his hurried actions again in a broken down Scottish croft.
The vision instantly faded when he leaned her against the sloping side of the tub, her head resting comfortably against a waterproof pillow, the warm water resting above her breasts.
“Hmm,” she murmured as he kissed the hollow of her throat, his masculine lips moving higher until he reached her mouth.
Her body, a raging inferno, moved against him, begging for his caress. His large hands stroked her breasts, squeezing and skimming across the nipples, sending a spark of flame shooting through her, heating every inch of her while he touched the sensitive tips. Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed his mouth with fervor, lost momentarily in the feel of his eager tongue and lips against hers, demanding, penetrating, loving her.
Shifting his legs to straddle hers, he rubbed his arousal against her thigh, teasing, tantalizing her. He scooted his knee between her legs, then pressed against her mound. When he touched the entrance, he stirred her blood, sending a fresh flush of heat across her skin. He was her reason for being. She pressed herself against his knee, and he lifted his brows and grinned at her.
She slid her hands down his back, half submerged in the water while he reached out and pushed a button behind her. Instantly, the water churned and jets shot out streams of silken pulses, the force acting like a vibrator against her back. She spread her legs for him, pulling his legs between hers, offering herself to him.
“I’m staying here forever,” she said on a sigh.
He kissed her mouth. “If I’d known what a water nymph you were, I’d have suggested this first.”
“That might have swayed me more than any speech.” She reached down and stroked his rigid length. She wanted him deep inside, uniting them in pleasured bliss.
But he slipped his fingers against her nub, swollen, aching, needy, and began to stroke as if he knew just the right pressure, the right speed, the right touch that would make her body arch to his caress.
His mouth was again on hers, nuzzling, licking, kissing, loving. She lifted her head and exposed her throat to him, wanting to feel his mouth sucking her neck as before, resulting in ripples of growing passion. Already the urge to join with him overwhelmed any other consideration.
“Ah, Elizabeth, not yet, lass.”
