“Baojia!” she cried out as he drank from her, swallowing thick gulps of her rich blood until her back arched and she came with a violent shudder. He immediately sealed off the wound, then he slid up her body and inside with one smooth movement, capturing her cries in his mouth as he thrust. His hand ran down over her thigh to grip and lift it higher. He listened for her pulse, timing his steady strokes to the beat of her heart as the air around him became laden with the scent of her pleasure and blood and sweat and life.
She was alive. In that moment, she was everything.
And when he felt her come around his flesh, felt the heady rush of pleasure course through her again, Baojia let go and surrendered.
Natalie was curled into his side, still naked. She was so warm, he wanted to drape her over his body like a cloak. His hands teased through her hair, pulling out tiny pieces of rock and debris from her run through the desert. He could feel his senses slowing. Sunlight was near.
“Natalie?”
She was drowsy, too, nuzzling into the skin of his chest. He could feel her tongue flick out occasionally to taste his skin. Her lips closed over one nipple and bit lightly as his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Hmm?” she purred.
“Dawn is coming.”
That brought her up short. She looked around the room. “Are we safe here?”
“I don’t feel anyone around, and anything truly dangerous will be sleeping soon. Reach into my pants on the floor. Sewn into the front of them is a weapon.”
“You could definitely say that.”
He closed his eyes and laughed. “No, a sword.”
“That’s certainly one name for it.”
“Woman—” He reached down and pinched her backside. “An actual sword. I’m going to pass out in a few minutes. I’ll be asleep until nightfall. Keep the sword out, just in case.”
Her voice was suddenly insecure. “I thought you said we were alone down here.”
“We are. I’m just being cautious.”
“I’ve never used any weapon like that before.”
“We’ve got to start training you,” he mumbled. “You have… good balance and coordination. You should pick up the basics well enough until I can put together a proper training regimen for you.”
“Baojia…” All the playfulness was gone from her voice. He looked down to see her hiding her eyes from him. Not good.
“We’ll talk more tonight.” He reached down and tilted her chin up so she was forced to meet his eyes. “Okay?”
She nodded, uncertainty still etched on her features.
“When I fall asleep… I don’t breathe, Natalie. I don’t have to, except as habit and to sense the air around me, so when I’m asleep, I don’t breathe at all. And you know my skin is cooler, so—”
“You’re going to feel…” She gulped. “To look kind of…”
“Dead,” Baojia said. Her heart sped up. He could tell she was afraid. “Think of it more like a coma. It’s just a very deep sleep. When I am older, I will be able to wake from it; right now I can’t. But I will wake at nightfall. Don’t forget that. I will wake and be just as I am now.”
She nodded, and he could feel the heaviness descending on his limbs. A cloud started to fog his mind.
“Grab the sword,” he said.
“Okay.” She reached down and got one of his short swords from his pants. “Okay. I’m not going to freak out.”
“Good girl,” he whispered. “Your turn… to guard me.”
Her tentative smile was the last thing he saw before his eyes closed.
Her scent was the first thing he smelled upon waking. It was the scent of skin and blood. Their scent together, mingling in a pleasing way. He wanted her by the ocean, outside in the water with the fog blanketing them. Maybe a hot tub. That had definite possibilities. Of course—he felt a rock beneath the pallet on the cavern floor—just a bed would be an improvement.
Cave in the desert. Bed near the ocean. He just wanted her.
Baojia’s fangs lengthened instinctually as his eyes flickered open. Natalie was not next to him. Candles still lit the room, and he heard a rustle of movement from the corner. His eyes darted over to the disturbance. It was her, rifling through a low cabinet that appeared to need a good dusting. The whole cave looked like it hadn’t been used in years. She must have heard movement, because she spun around, sword raised.
“Hi.” He held up his hands. “I surrender.”
A lingering trace of fear haunted that stare, but she threw the sword down and leapt onto the bed, kissing his face and holding him tightly.
“Oh, that was weird. I’m not going to lie, the way you just go out is kinda freaky, George. I maybe had a little minor panic attack at one point, but then the whole crazy night caught up with me and I fell asleep. I just woke up a little bit ago, so I was looking for some water. There’s a cabinet over there, but I—”
He pulled her down and shut her up with a kiss. She talked too much for just waking up. Of course, when she didn’t talk it bothered him more. Natalie’s natural state was chatty. He’d learn to live with it.
“Hi,” she finally whispered when he released her lips. “How did you sleep?”
“I sleep. There’s no variable. I’m awake, then I’m gone.”
“Yeah, I noticed that. You don’t toss or turn. You really are kind of… comatose. We’ll call it that.”
He smiled. “Whatever you can live with.” There it was again, that doubt. It leapt to her eyes any time he mentioned the future. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What?”
He tu8">eyecked a curl of hair behind her ear. She was wearing what was left of his shirt and the panties he’d left in tatters. It must have been something about the crazy, panicked night; he wasn’t usually such a barbarian. “I know you feel unsure about… us. About all this.”
“Yeah?” She squirmed.
“Give it a chance. Us. This.” He swallowed the odd lump in his throat. “Whatever it is, it’s new for me too.”
She bit her lip and sat cross-legged on the bed. “We’re so different, Baojia.”
“Yes, we are.” He knew she was thinking about her mortality. So was he. More and more every night. “But nothing in life is certain. Not in human life. Not in immortal life. Just remember that.”
Slowly, she nodded. “I’ll try.”
“And do not ever do something like this again, Natalie.”
He saw her eyes start to narrow. “Don’t. Don
t lecture me. You’re not my father.”
“I most certainly am not.”
“So don’t think—”
“My name is Chen Bao Jia,” he said quietly, sitting up next to her in the bed. “Sired to water in 1884 by Don Ernesto Alvarez.” He reached out and tilted her chin up so she met his eyes. “Protector of a family that no longer wants me. Subject to no clan.” Her eyes filled with tears as he continued in a soft, urgent voice. “I offer you my protection, Natalie Ellis. Will you accept it?”
She blinked back her tears and lifted her chin proudly, but he put a single finger over her mouth.
“I offer you my protection. Do you understand what I am saying?”
Natalie paused and then she whispered, “Yes.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“This would have been a lot easier if you hadn’t taken my phone, you know.” She was holding a candle while he dug a tunnel out of the cave. The wax kept dripping onto her hand. “Ouch!”
“Lift it up a little higher.”
Her shirt had been ripped beyond repair during the fight, so he’d given her his. Baojia only wore a pair of pants while he dug through the sandstone rubble. She had to admit, the view was nice. Well, what she could see of it, anyway.
“You have super strength, right?” She watched as he hefted a boulder the size of a Saint Bernard out of the way. “Shouldn’t this be going faster?”
He turned, frustration evident on his dark features. He pointed to his chest. “Water vampi
re.” Then he spread out his arms. “Desert!”
Natalie bit her lip and tried not to smile. “You’re really cute when you’re angry, George.”
He blinked, obviously not expecting her answer. Then she saw him try to suppress the smile. “Just… hold the light. I’m almost through the biggest pieces and the smaller will go fast. We’ll be out of here soon.”
“Can I help?”
“You can hold the light, Natalie.”
“Don’t you have super night vision, oh elemental creature of the dark?”
He spun and walked toward her. “I have excellent night vision when there is some natural light.” He grabbed the candle and set it on a rock nearby. “Moon. Stars.” He grabbed her and pulled her to his chest. “But there is no light down here. None.”
He bent down and kissed her, 8">eyHe grabbedhis lips hard with anger, then softening when she melted. He did this to her. In his arms, she felt like the center of the world. She reached up to hold his shoulders, because her knees actually felt weak. Finally, he pulled away. “Now be quiet and hold the light.” Then he shoved the candle back in her hand and went back to work.
She swayed a little, leaning against a boulder to regain her balance. “Okay.”
How, how, how had this happened? She’d fallen. Hard. Natalie had thought she was going to die the night before. No matter how she had protested, she’d run through the desert searching for Brigid and Beatrice with no thought of leaving alive. She’d had the Taser, at least. And then Baojia had come. Furious. She’d seen him cut off the head of her attacker with one stroke. It was… otherworldly. He was otherworldly. And then he wasn’t. He was a man, angry with her for risking herself. Desperate to feel alive. Giving her…
Do you understand?
He hadn’t said it with words. Watching the strong, silent man she was falling in love with, Natalie realized he might never give her words. But she could probably live with that, because she had a feeling he would give her everything else.
Do you understand?
She understood. Now she just had to decide if she could live with the rest of it.
The muscles of his back flexed effortlessly as he moved the enormous rocks that had fallen in, blocking the cave. No sweat marked his skin in the flickering candlelight. He didn’t breathe harder because he didn’t need to breathe. When she’d lain next to him through the day, he had appeared, for all intents and purposes, dead, though his skin had retained the same soft tan color, and she could feel his energy humming every time she touched him. So Natalie had closed her eyes and laid her hand on his arm when she fell asleep, comforting herself with the single sign of life his body exhibited. But he hadn’t turned to her in her sleep and held her close, because he couldn’t.
Tell me you understand…
He might give her everything, but could it be enough?
“Why are you upset?”
She blinked back the tears that had started gathering in her eyes. “How did you—”
“Your scent changes when you get upset. And I can smell your tears. Are you afraid?” He turned, carefully walking over to her. “We are almost out. I can smell the fresh air now.”
“No.” She cleared her throat. “Just… thinking.”
He frowned, as if he could guess what had been on her mind. “Oh.”
“Can vampires have kids?” She flushed immediately, cursing internally for blurting that out.
Baojia’s mouth had dropped open a little. “No. We can sire other vampires, but we can’t… it’s not possible to—”
“Oh.” She nodded and looked at the candle. “Okay. I was just curious.”
“You want children.” It wasn’t a question.
The flush she’d been trying to control came back. “Not right now. It’s kind of a ‘someday’ thing. You know, someday I want kids. Not now. I mean, I work too much. And I travel a lot. So kids now would be… And I’m single, so—”
“No, you’re not.” He had stepped closer, and his voice dropped to a low growl. “Whatever this is… you are not single. You’re not unattached as far as I’m concerned.”
Her back straightened instinctually. “And what about you?”
“You think I would pursue someone else while I am with you?” His frown grew fiercer. “Is that what you think of me?”
“No!” She was making a mess of this. And really, they needed to get out of this stinking cave. The air was getting practically claustrophobic. “I just… Are you going to bite other people? I mean… It feels really good and if you—”
“I will feed from donated blood if you insist, though it would make me weaker. I don’t need to drink very often, only a couple of times a week, depending on my physical activity. It would be too much to take from only you, and I would not want to see you weak. And yes, bloodlust and physical lust often go hand in hand, but not exclusively.”
Natalie decided that her face was just going to stay a weird tomato red for the rest of her life. But, on the bright side, Baojia could only see her at night, so that was good. She’d just have to stay in dimly lit rooms when they were together. He stepped closer. She could see his lean musculature covered with sand and dust. He was mouthwatering. He was beautiful. And he would always be that way.
“Natalie,” he asked, “is that acceptable?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, crossing her arms and still holding the dripping candle. “I mean… I guess that was a stupid question.”
“No, it wasn’t.” He tucked that irritating lock of hair behind her ear again. “These are good questions.” He was smiling, his fangs peeking from the corners of his mouth. She could barely see him in the candlelight, but he was smiling, so she smiled, too.
“We should probably get out of here.”
“Mmmhmm.” He stood there, his hand soft on her neck as his fingers traced the edge of her jaw. “The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I can kill Brigid and Beatrice for bringing you out here and leaving you in the middle of a fight.”
“Ugh!” She shoved his hand away. “You can’t kill them.”
He rolled his eyes and walked back to the pile of rocks. “I’m thinking about it.” He tossed them over his shoulder at vampire speed, careful not to aim any in her direction.
“It would create an international vampire incident. Or something.”
“Everybody hates me anyway. Not much would change.”
“Not everyone hates you.”
“Close. Close to everyone. I think Isadora still likes me, which must piss my father off.”
“Dez and Matt like you. Beatrice and Gio like you.” She kept going, even when he snorted. “And I like you. A lot.”
In a blink, he was back in front of her, bending down to capture her lips. “Do you?” he murmured with a smile. “You like me a lot? Only a lot?”
She tried to roll her eyes, but it was hard to be annoyed when he was doing that thing with his tongue and his hands… “I like you… the most, George.”
“Good.” Baojia stepped forward, snugging his hips against hers and running his hands down her back to squeeze her waist. “Am I your favorite vampire?”
“Eh…” She tried to play it cool, but the memory of his bite from the night before assaulted her. “You’re probably my favorite.”
“Probably?” His hands. And his arms. Natalie bit his lower lip and his arms tightened around her.
“I might need more convincing.” She broke away and took a deep breath. “And a shower. And an actual bed. So…”
He stepped back. “Out of the cave.”
“Out of the cave.”
She watched him walk away, and it took more than a little self-control to let him. But within minutes, Natalie was glad she had because the rush of cool night air filled the cramped tunnel and before she knew it, Baojia was reaching a hand down to pull her up. They walked back toward the casino, hand in hand. He led, making sure to steer her around any brush or rocks that might trip her up or scratch at her; his eyes constantly swept their surrounding
s.
“Baojia.” She tugged at his hand to get his attention.
“Yes?”
Natalie kissed him. A sweet press of her lips to his with her hands reaching up to frame his smooth cheeks. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
He smiled. “Again.”
“Wow.” Her hands dropped. “You really had to go there, huh?”
“Second time, Natalie. This is the second time you’ve put yourself in danger.”
She started walking again and muttered, “And it won’t be the last.”
“I heard that.”
“Of course you did.”
He didn’t kill Brigid and Beatrice, but he didn’t talk to them either. Both vampires were waiting at the back of the casino, near where Tio had shown up and scared Natalie after they’d first run off. Both were covered in sand and dust. Natalie had a feeling she’d gotten the better end of day accommodations.
“Tenzin?” she asked, remembering that Baojia had said the wind vampire had flown him down to the desert.
Brigid said, “Already took off. Wouldn’t take either of us with her.”
Baojia tucked her under his arm and started walking toward the Camaro, holding his hand out in silent request for the keys.
“So, he’s a silent angry type, eh?” Brigid asked.
“Apparently,” Beatrice said, following after him. “Listen, we were right behind you. She was supposed to stay at the casino and shock anyone who—”
Baojia spun around, holding up a hand. “Don’t speak. Don’t speak right now.”
Beatrice’s eyes popped open and she bared her teeth. “Oh no. You don’t get to talk to me like that. Natalie knew what she was doing coming down here. And she’s not some weak-kneed little—”
“She’s human,” he growled through gritted teeth. She could see his fangs low in his mouth as he shoved her behind his body and stepped forward in an aggressive stance. “Has it been so long that you have forgotten how vulnerable she is? You risked her needlessly, Beatrice. You call yourself her friend, but she could have died.” He paused a moment, trying to keep control. “I cannot stress to you how unacceptable it is to put her in harm’s way.”