"I'm sure Braith would just love to hear you calling him a giant mush."
"I was talking about Aria."
The feeling of release that the burst of laughter gave him felt good. "I definitely wouldn't tell her that."
"Hell no," William retorted. "I'm in no mood to have my nuts kicked into my throat."
Jack almost choked on his laughter. "No man is."
William's laughter trailed off, his face became serious once more. "Just don't break Hannah's heart Jack."
Jack nodded as his thoughts turned back to Hannah. "If I have anything to say or do about it, she won't be hurt."
"Good." William turned his attention to the lake. "Do you ever think about going back?"
Jack pulled at the grass beneath him as he pondered the question. "Not often, but I know we'll return eventually."
"I suppose," William muttered.
"You don't think so?"
William shrugged and wiped his hands on his knees. "No, I know we'll go back. I think Aria would hunt us down if we didn't, but will it be to stay?"
"I don't know," Jack admitted. The sun was dipping below the horizon when he rose to his feet. "We should head back."
William nodded and stood beside him. Jack grabbed his shirt from the ground and walked back to the tavern with William at his side.
CHAPTER 17
Over the next week Jack spent his time alternating between watching Calvin's home and the tavern. He hadn't gotten this little amount of sleep since they'd been preparing to go to war against his father. He tugged at his disordered hair as he slipped from the woods and approached the back of the tavern.
It was early enough that he felt comfortable taking a short nap before setting up within the tavern and somehow dragging himself through another night. It didn't sound at all appealing but at least he'd get to see Hannah. She'd been rather scarce over the past week, only appearing at night and often retreating to her room before the sun rose. He didn't know if she was avoiding him on purpose, but it sure felt like it. He forced one foot in front of the other up the steps as he tiredly rubbed at the back of his neck.
Reaching the second floor landing, he stepped off the steps and made his way to his room. He was almost there when the door at the end of the hall opened. He froze as Hannah stepped into the hall and closed the door on her bedroom. She turned and froze, her eyes widened, her hand instinctively went back to the knob of her door.
Jack forgot all about how tired he was. She was avoiding him. He didn't know what to make of that realization but he wasn't going to let it continue. There had been an uncomfortable itch in his skin over the past few days, an itch he was certain that only she could scratch. Before she could get the door open again he was standing beside her. A small squeak escaped her; she took a startled step back as his hand curled around hers on the knob and he maneuvered her so that they were both inside the sparsely decorated room.
"Jack, I have to get downstairs!" she protested as she tried to jerk her hand away from his.
"Then why were you trying to escape back into your room?"
Her shoulders squared as she scowled at him. "I forgot something."
"What?"
"What does that matter to you?"
He couldn't help but smile as he leaned closer to her. "Because you're avoiding me."
"I am not," she told him as she folded her arms over her chest.
He pressed closer but she didn't retreat as his chest brushed up against her arms. Even this casual of a touch between them was enough to make his skin stop crawling and the pressure in his chest ease. "You are."
He might have been angrier about this fact if he hadn't felt the tension ease from her as well. She leaned toward him and her jaw unclenched. She smelled of soap with a faint hint of apple blossoms that reminded him of spring in the forest. Her face turned into him as he ran his knuckle over her pale cheek toward the hollow of her throat.
Brushing back the hair falling over her neck, he was disappointed to see that his marks had faded, but then they would have by now. A small sound escaped her as he pressed his fingers over the place where he had taken her blood from her. The green of her eyes darkened as they focused upon him, her lips parted.
Wrapping his hand around the nape of her neck, he drew her closer to him but instead of kissing her like he longed to do; he rested his cheek against hers. A small tremor worked its way through her, her hands curled into his shirt as she pulled him closer. Jack ran his hands over her shoulders and down her back, the movement caused her lips to brush over his neck.
His hands tensed upon her, he pulled her a step closer as excitement hammered through him. He felt the press of her fangs against his skin; a low moan escaped her as her fingers curled into his back. The muscles in her body shook as she resisted the urge to sink her fangs into him. He'd never wanted anything more in his lengthy life, but even still he clasped hold of her face and gently pulled her away from him.
He knew what they would be getting into if she drank from him, she didn't. Her reddened eyes met his; she'd bitten into her own lip hard enough to cause a trickle of blood to flow down her chin. It was the most tempting thing he'd ever seen as the scent of it entangled itself around him and tried to lure him closer.
"I don't understand this," she whispered forlornly.
He wiped the blood from her chin and rubbed it on his pants before he lost the fight with himself and tasted her again. "You will, we have to talk." Her eyes flashed between green and red as they met his. "It's ok Hannah; just take some time to regain control of yourself."
She closed her eyes as another shudder made its way through her willowy frame. It took all he had not to pull her close again, but that wouldn't be good for either one of them. When she opened her eyes they were haunted and troubled but they remained a pure green. Taking her hand within both of his, he led her over to the bed.
Her head bowed as she sat on the bed and folded her hands before her. The chair was still beside the bed but he thought it was better if he stayed as far from her as possible right now. Though the innate pull he felt toward her was as persistent as the flow of the tide, he wasn't about to create and seal the bloodlink between them without her knowing about it first. If a bloodlink was indeed what this connection between them was.
She finally lifted her head and met his gaze. "I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me."
He rested his arm on the bureau as he focused on her. "I think I do."
"You do?"
He couldn't help but smile at the skeptical tone of her voice. "Have you ever heard of something called a bloodlink?" He wasn't surprised when she shook her head no, not many vampires did know about the mystical bond that sometimes ensnared two of them. "It's something that rarely happens between two vampires and even more rarely between a vampire and a human, like it did with Braith and Aria."
"Ok," she said slowly.
"It's an extremely intense bond, one that nearly drove my brother mad when he was separated from Aria. When I separated him from Aria."
"Why would you do that?"
Jack tugged at his hair as he shook his head. "I had to get her out of that palace. No matter how much Braith loved her, no matter how powerful he was, my father and Caleb would have eventually seen to it that she was killed. They would have killed Braith too as he never would have allowed such a thing to happen to her. When I took her from there I didn't realize how intense their bond was or I would have done things differently, but I couldn't stand to see her lost. She's been like a little sister to me for seven years; I protected her and I love her."
Hannah frowned as she studied him. "I'm not in love with her, I never have been," he told her as he sensed the direction of her thoughts. "It was never like that between us. I didn't want to lose her, but even more than that I couldn't let her family lose her. They may have thought they could handle that loss but I knew they couldn't. David would have unraveled and the rebellion would have suffered greatly as a result. I couldn't allow that to happen.
It was selfish, I know it, but I wasn't willing to lose David as a friend, I wasn't willing to lose my home, and I was determined to make sure the fight against my father continued. I said some horrible things to Aria when I discovered her with Braith again months later, but again I didn't understand what was between them or how much they loved each other. I thought Braith was only going to end up hurting her. I didn't think there was any way that they could be together. Thankfully, I was wrong."
"They must have hated you," she said softly.
"They weren't pleased with me, and Braith was probably tempted to beat me into a bloody pulp more times than not, but no, they never hated me."
Her fingers fiddled with the edges of her sleeves as she glanced at the door. "That's good."
He waited for her to say more but she seemed lost in her own thoughts as she tugged her hands inside her sleeves. The curve of her delicate neck drew his attention but he didn't feel the burning hunger take hold of him again as his eyes locked onto hers. She was so different than anyone he'd ever known before, she was delicate and yet a well of strength flowed through her.
There were things in her life that he wished he could take from her, sadness that he was determined to ease. Something strange was in his chest, a feeling he didn't recognize as her head tilted to the side and she watched him with an air of someone that was waiting for a bomb to go off. Was this what love was? Was it more than just the link drawing him to her, was this feeling in his chest, this desperate need to keep her safe and happy actually love?
He found the thought wasn't anywhere near as dumbfounding or unpleasant as he'd thought it would be. It was the last thing he'd ever expected, and the first thing he'd thought he'd run from, but with her, all he desired was to get closer. There were so many disappointments in her life, he was determined not to be one of them.
"I've had a difficult time staying away from you Hannah, I've tried and I've told myself it would be better for you, for me, but I can't." She finally looked at him again; he hated the haunted look in her eyes, the confusion and distress that emanated from her in waves. "I don't want to."
"Jack, you're a prin..."
"Don't!" he interrupted harshly as his hand slammed down on the bureau. "That has nothing to do with this. Nothing. Don't even bring it up again. That is not my life, it certainly has nothing to do with anything between us, and neither does what you consider to be your defect. It's not a defect, it's a part of you but it is not what defines you, just as my title does not define me."
"It may not define you but one day you will return home, you'll have to. I can't go with you, it's impossible."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Her frown deepened as she shook her head. "What are you saying? That you plan to stay here? That you think that we're connected in some way by this bloodlink thing?"
"I think we may be."
***
Hannah wouldn't have been more flabbergasted by something he did or said if he'd taken her and heaved her out the door into the sunshine. She tried to rise but her legs refused to cooperate with her. Thoughts flipped through her mind so quickly that for a minute she felt dizzy. She grabbed hold of the mattress in order to regain control of herself.
"I've never drank blood from another vampire before Hannah, I've never even been remotely tempted to do such a thing. With you it's all I can do to stay away."
Something inside of her rejoiced at his words, but she had no idea where all of this was going. "Is that what this bloodlink does, it makes you covet my blood?"
"It's more than that. It's a primal connection between two vampires that binds them throughout their lives. It is said that one cannot live without the other."
She sat back as the words sank in. To be tied to someone for the rest of her existence was something that she couldn't even begin to comprehend. Even if she had been forced to marry Calvin she'd go into it assuming that one day it would end and she would be set free when he found someone else. She had no doubt she would be forced to stay until he tired of her, and that they would be wretched years, but there would be freedom at the end. If he just didn't find some reason to kill her instead. Vampires weren't exactly known for staying with each other for extended periods of time, never mind an eternity. The prospect of such a thing was completely daunting but at the same time the prospect of such a thing with him was actually pleasant.
"I see," she said thoughtfully. "And when you drank my blood you created this bond?"
"No, it has always been between us, but when I drank from you I expedited the bond, my reaction to it, and the necessity to seal it."
"How is it sealed?"
"Through an exchange of blood on both of our parts and through sex."
It wasn't the prospect of sex that caused her eyebrows to nearly leap into her hair as he revealed this last tidbit, but the fact that he would be willing to allow her to drink from him. She almost would have thought this was some kind of scheme to get her into bed, but not if he was suggesting that she drink his blood also, and truth be told he didn't really have to have a scheme for that. To exchange blood though, was a bond that was irreversible, not only would he be able to find her through her blood, but she would always be able to find him. Granted she was pretty much confined to this town, but she thought that even if she could move freely he would still be saying these things.
"Is that what you would want?" she asked in a choked voice.
"I think it is inevitable and may even become necessary. Denying the bond will only make things more difficult and it will make me more volatile. I can already feel the strain festering within me; you're difficult to resist Hannah. The exchange of blood will also make us both stronger, I can still feel the potent effect yours has had on me. I'm more powerful, faster, and my senses are more attuned."
Though a part of her was thrilled by those words, there was a heaviness growing inside of her. He spoke of this bond, of his willingness to create it with her, and he seemed to accept the fact that he would be stuck with her for the rest of their existence, but he didn't speak of love. It was silly, she knew that. He was saying that he would spend eternity with her, was telling her they couldn't be separated, but she wanted more from him. He already owned her heart and even though he spoke of this link between the two of them as being irreversible, she was still terrified that he would eventually break it.
He could leave for months at a time and she would be here, waiting and wondering just exactly who it was that he was with and what he was doing. She had to wipe her sweaty palms on her dress as she fought against the constriction in her throat and the tears burning her eyes. She didn't want to see anyone get injured and she certainly didn't want him to have any more pressure on him, but she wasn't ready to seal this bond with him and lose herself to him completely in the process.
"I need some time," she said abruptly. She was pleased her legs held her weight as she rose to her feet. "This is just all too much right now."
He stiffly moved away from the bureau as he eyed her. "I understand you probably have some concerns..."
"I have many concerns." She was staggered by the sorrow that flickered through his eyes. It threatened to melt her resolve but she managed to keep herself together. "I just need some time."
His eyes were steely as they met hers, his jaw locked. "Take all the time you need Hannah."
She didn't have a chance to respond to him before he was out the door. The speed with which he had moved left her stunned motionless in the middle of the room. Her door began to swing closed but she did nothing to stop it. She was scared she'd just made a gigantic mistake but she couldn't bring her feet to move in order to stop him.
CHAPTER 18
Jack lifted his chair and moved it to the side to keep an eye on the six men that had just entered the tavern. He didn't like having his back to the door, but William was positioned so that he could see anyone that entered the building. William tossed a couple of cards onto the table and waited for Timber to deal him new
ones. Jack studied the six men attentively; he watched their movements as they rolled the dice and talked amongst themselves. There was nothing unusual about them but he'd seen the blond on the right with Calvin before.
He was actually hoping they would try and start something; he was spoiling for a fight after what had transpired between him and Hannah two nights ago. He was trying to give her the time she had requested but the fact was that it was taking all he had not to drag her upstairs and ease the growing discomfort in his veins and body.
He'd fed yesterday and today, a lot, but he still couldn't seem to quench his thirst and he knew that the only vein that would ease it was hers. If something didn't change soon they were going to need a lot more blood at the donation center, or he was going to kill someone. He was actually beginning to prefer the latter as he continued to study Calvin's men. Yes, it would definitely feel good to pummel one or all of them into the ground.
Is this what Braith had felt like? He wondered as he tugged at the edge of his loose fitting collar and tried not to fidget in his chair. It was awful, this feeling that he didn't even belong in his own skin anymore. How had Braith not killed him after he'd taken Aria from him, how had he not lost his mind? It was something Jack felt like he was going to do as he scratched absently at his forearm and his fangs tingled.
His hand curled around the cards he was holding as the bloodlust he'd failed to quench earlier thrummed more forcefully through him. "Hey, we need those," Timber said and made a move to take the crumpled cards from his hand. A snarl escaped him before he could stop it. Timber held his hands up as he sat back in his chair. "Ok whatever, they're yours man."
Jack shook his head as he threw the crumpled cards onto the table. "Sorry," he muttered as his foot tapped against the ground.
"It's nothing personal Timber, someone is having some woman issues." William tried to sound carefree but Jack picked up on the tension in his voice.
"I see," Timber said. He rubbed at the scruff lining his jaw as he continued to eye Jack like he was afraid Jack was going to eat him. "Sucks to be him then."