“Fine,” she muttered.
“What?”
“You heard me.” She punched his arm, but he only smiled. “Where are we going?”
He held up a finger, then stripped all his clothes off before he dove in. He surfaced and said, “I have an idea.” Then he was gone again.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
She knew not to be nervous. Knew it. He was in his element for God’s—
She heard the water break. “Terry?”
“Here,” he laughed, pulling himself up the ladder to peek over the edge. “Just here. Unfortunately, there’s not much out there. I’ll take you to warmer waters some day and swim in the reefs, but I did find something fun.”
She bit her lip. “What is it?”
“A surprise. I’ll not let anything happen. I promise.”
“Are there sharks?”
He burst into laughter. “You can’t be afraid of sharks.”
“I told you it wasn’t rational!”
Terry was still laughing when he climbed dripping over the side of the Conquest. “Take off your clothes and get in the water.”
She hesitated.
He gave her a warning look. “Gemma…”
“Fine.” She pulled at her bikini top. Wherever they were sailing, the nights had slowly become balmy, so the air temperature was more than comfortable. Still, Terry eyed her breasts and they came to attention. Infuriating man. Her body always had a mind of its own when it came to him.
“You know, on second thought—”
She cut him off by diving into the water, surfacing to see him watching her with hungry eyes.
“Is there anything good to eat in here? I’m getting sick of the preserved blood.” She slicked the hair back from her face and deliberately kept from squirming at the overwhelming sensation of emptiness that surrounded her. Plus, the air may have been warm, but the water was still the Atlantic. It was more than a little chilly.
“Sharks.” Terry dove in, swimming underneath her, then sliding up her back and letting his hands run over every curve on the way up. Suddenly, the feeling of emptiness was gone and he was there; his amnis wrapped around her like a blanket as his mouth kissed the curve of her neck. “But then I tend to find the most vicious things delicious.”
He hadn’t let go of her hand once. Gemma swam through the dark sea, finally becoming accustomed to the water that filled her unmoving lungs. Once she had overcome her initial panic, she discovered Terry was right. Allowing the water to fill her airways was far more comfortable than trying to hold breath that didn’t need to be held. First they were under for only a few minutes. Then a few more, but the longer Gemma stayed beneath the surface, holding Terry’s hand, the more comfortable she became. He didn’t push her, allowing her to swim at her own pace as they slowly moved farther away from the boat.
Despite the cold Northern waters, life was everywhere. The ocean teemed with it. Fish darted away from them in massive silver schools. Sharks, which panicked her at first, fled from them instinctually. Terry had only smiled. From one predator to another, it seemed that the sharks knew what was best for them.
Finally, she pulled him up to the surface and coughed the water from her throat, trying not to gag.
“What—” Cough. “—were you trying to surprise me with again?”
He ran gentle fingers through her hair, tucking the wet strands back behind her ears as he looked around. “They’ve moved off. I suppose it was odd to see them here anyway. They’re usually much deeper.”
“What are you talking about?”
Just then, a tiny light caught her eye. Then another. And another. The moon was full, but the seas were completely dark, except for the tiny rainbow flashes. She looked to her husband, who was grinning.
“Moonjellys.”
“What?” She pulled him closer. “Jellyfish?”
“Not exactly. No stingers on these little beauties. They’re not jellyfish, just called moonjellys.” His hand passed near one, which lit up with tiny lights and moved away. “These fellows are usually drifting far deeper. Caught them earlier tonight and I wanted to show you.” He continued to move through the water, pulling her behind him and every nudge of the water lit up more of the tiny creatures. They rippled and pulsed in the water, flowing around them in glowing currents.
“They’re beautiful. Like stars in the water.”
“They light up if you get close, spread your hand out.”
She did and laughed when she saw the tiny riots of color.
“I’ve never seen a mass of them like this,” he said. “No idea what’s going on. Maybe they just wanted to say hello.”
Gemma looked down till her nose was almost in the water. “Hello back, ocean.”
Without warning, she was enveloped in a tight embrace. Terry wrapped his arms around her and she felt his amnis call to the water around them, holding their bodies buoyant as he swept her into a joyful kiss. She could feel the smile on his lips when he pressed them to her lips, her cheeks, her forehead. He was boyish in his affection. Gemma couldn’t help but smile back.
“Thank you,” he said as he smiled. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“As long… well, as long as you hold my hand, I feel safe.”
“Then I’ll never let it go.” He smiled again and tugged her back toward where the boat must have been. “At least not off shore.”
“That’s highly impractical.”
“I don’t care.”
“Really Terry—”
He dove at her, wrapping her in his arms as they plunged beneath the water and he took her breath away with his lips. Terry rolled in the waves, spinning her in the cloud of moonjellys as they lit up the dark water and surrounded them with tiny rainbows.
He loves me.
He loves me.
He loves me, too…
She broke away with a gasp as they surfaced. Too?
Did she love Terry? What did love even mean to someone as old as she was? Was she even capable of it anymore?
She felt a sudden ache in her chest and blinked away tears.
“Gem?”
“Can we go back to the boat?”
“Too much.” He frowned. “Sorry. This is too much, isn’t it?”
“I’m fine. I’m just… it’s all a bit overwhelming.”
“Of course.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled Gemma up on his chest as he lay back in the water. “Relax now. Let me show off a bit. I’ll have us back in no time.”
“Really?” He sped off, but she would have sworn he didn’t move at all. There was no kicking. No effort. Terry simply moved through the ocean, cradling Gemma on his broad chest and stroking her back. She finally relaxed and tucked her head under his chin to enjoy the ride.
“Did you have fun?” he asked.
“Surprisingly yes.”
“We’ll go someplace warmer and explore a reef someday. The cold water doesn’t produce the brilliant colors. The Tropics are fun.”
“Is that why you’re always trying to convince me to go to the Bahamas?”
“That and tiny swimsuits, luv.” He reached down and gave her ass a pinch. “Can’t forget those.”
“Of course not.”
It was getting close to dawn, so they headed directly to their secured room under the boat. For the first time, entering the small outer hatch did not fill Gemma with dread. She simply closed her eyes and pressed her face into Terry’s chest until she could feel the air surrounding them. They both grabbed towels to dry themselves, neither bothering with clothes. They were both more than comfortable in their skins.
Gemma studied him as he readied the room, making sure the heater was turned on for her. She knew the cold didn’t bother him, but she was on the warmer end of the vampire spectrum, so cold did cause discomfort. He tossed another pillow on the low bed, then straightened the linens and grabbed another blanket from a built in chest.
“Do you want some blood before
dawn?” he asked.
“No, thank you.” She didn’t really have to feed more than once every two weeks or so. Terry had to drink more.
She kept watching him, suddenly aware of his presence in a way she hadn’t been in years. His body was built for strength, with muscular legs and a trim waist. Broad shoulders that would never stoop with age or lose their strength. Terry ran a quick hand over the hair he’d always kept trimmed unfashionably short. He moved quickly, efficient in every movement; his eyes darted around the room, instinctually checking for any weakness or danger. It was the way he had always been.
Her husband wasn’t made for fine rooms and tailored suits. He had a body built for violence and the mind of a conman. It was exactly those qualities that had made his sire turn him. It was part of the reason she’d chosen him as her husband. And now he was hers.
Gemma’s eyes were drawn to the curve of muscle where his neck met his shoulder.
“Have you ever shared blood with anyone, Terry?”
He froze, his back to her. “No.”
“Oh.”
He paused. “Have you?”
“I…” She had dreamed about sharing that bond with her human husband, but it hadn't been possible. And she had taken his vein, but not often. He hadn’t enjoyed it. William had never been totally at ease with the creature she was. “No,” she said. “I haven’t.”
A heavy silence lay between them. He still had his back to her, tension evident in his shoulders.
“You know I’d never deny you anything in my power to give you, Gemma,” he said in a low voice. “But if you want something, you’ll have to ask. I’m done offering.”
Her fangs ran down when she heard his heart thump. He wanted her to bite him, wanted that intimacy between them. Her skin prickled in awareness, and Gemma realized she wanted him to bite her, too. She wanted it so badly her fangs ached in her mouth.
Too much! Her mind rebelled.
She rose and went to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind, reveling the smooth expanse of his back under her mouth. She kissed along his spine as her hands splayed along his belly. For once, she wanted to be slow. She wanted to appreciate each moment with him. Gemma pressed her ear to his back, listening to the slow thump of his excited heart as his hands covered hers, holding her close.
“My Gemma,” he whispered.
Your Gemma.
She could give him that. Maybe she was no longer capable of love. She probably didn’t deserve her husband's. But if Terry wanted her, she could be his.
His energy reached out to the water that dotted her skin, fluttering over her body with tiny vibrations that caused her to gasp in pleasure. His amnis licked at her though not a single muscle flinched. Gemma closed her eyes and drunk it in. It was familiar and new all at once. The feel of his body under her hands. The same smell in her nose. The taste of his skin. The overwhelming raw energy of their touch ignited every nerve in her body.
For over fifteen years they had been lovers, and it had always been this way. Terry was her own familiar mystery. Each time she thought she had the puzzle solved, new pieces were thrown at her. She opened her eyes and saw the luxurious linens he’d brought onto the boat for her. The Egyptian cotton towels in the chest. The low whir of the heater that cut the natural chill of the water. For her.
“My husband takes good care of me,” she murmured.
She heard him give a low laugh. “He’d hear it if he didn’t.”
Gemma ducked under his arm and moved in front of him, drawing him down to the bed, covering herself with the solid feel of his body over hers. She pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. “I don’t need to be taken care of,” she murmured against his lips. “But I find that I do enjoy it.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked smile. “Good. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”
She gently pushed his shoulders back and rolled on top, kissing down his chest as she slid onto him. He arched up in pleasure, groaning out her name. Gemma closed her eyes and focused on the familiar push and pull of their bodies together, memorizing his breath, pressing his hands closer when they stroked over her favorite spots.
Gemma tortured them both with slow pleasure, touching the edge over and over, only to pull back and focus on her lover until he grew mad with her teasing. Finally losing patience, Terry sat up, grabbing the hair at the nape of her neck and pulling her in for a bruising kiss as he took control.
“My turn, luv.”
Her breath caught as he drove them harder. He tugged her hair again, forcing her eyes to his.
“I want to see you.”
“Terry…”
“Gemma.” He breathed out her name like a prayer and she felt her body coiling with tension, seconds away from breaking free. She couldn’t take her eyes from him. His mouth was set in a stubborn line as he drove her to the edge of release. Closer. Closer… Suddenly, his lips softened as he whispered, “I love you, Gemma.”
She shattered.
Chapter Seven
“Terry.” He was groggy from his day rest when he heard her voice. “Terry.”
He reached for her instinctively, only to feel her grab his wrist and bend it back. He frowned, his eyes still closed.
“Terry.” Her quiet voice was a little more urgent.
“Early, luv,” he mumbled.
“I knew this was going to be a problem with a younger man.”
“I ‘ave to be…” He somehow managed to shake off the ache in his wrist and pull Gemma closer. “Keep up with you.”
“You’re not making sense. And you need to wake up now.”
“No.” He was comfortable. And Gemma was right next to him where she belonged. “Why… don’ you share my room when we get home, Gem? Be nice, you know…”
“Terrance, wake up. There are five humans and two vampires on this vessel.”
Th-thunk. His heart gave a quick lurch and he opened his eyes. Th-thunk.
He held out his hand. “Blood. Now.” He felt her put the cold packet in his hand and he brought it to his mouth, biting through the plastic and draining it quickly. He sat up. Gemma was wearing a pair of black leggings and a bikini top.
“What else do you need to wake up?”
Terry dragged her mouth to his, nicking her bottom lip with his fang and sucking hard as she let out a barely audible whimper.
“Terry—”
“More later.” He could feel the heady energy filling him. It was more than the few drops he’d tasted by accident in the past. He’d taken a solid swallow of Gemma’s powerful blood and could already feel the effects. His limbs prickled with awareness, the fog began to lift from his mind, and his senses went on alert. He was also hard as a rock, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. Damn.
“The humans arrived during the daylight, but obviously, I couldn’t do much. The two vampires just arrived.”
“Any sense of them?”
“Not much. I don’t recognize any voices. The humans have been bashing around in the back of the stateroom for over an hour.” As if to demonstrate, Terry heard a solid thump on the other side of the wall separating the day chamber from the interior cabin.
“Bloody humans on my boat,” he muttered, curling his lip. “Fucking vampires. Kill every last one of them, just for disturbing my honeymoon. Dammit, Gem. Can we get a single week to ourselves?”
She was looking around the wooden chamber of the Conquest with wide eyes. “There’s only one way out of this chamber. I don’t like this.”
“They’d have to have a battering ram to get in.”
“How did they find us? I thought you said that Carl and Roger were the only ones who knew about this boat.”
He felt his brain pick up her train of thought. The realization brought a pang of unexpected grief. “Then Carl is dead.”
“Roger?”
“Not likely. Carl was human. We have to assume it was Carl.” Amnis or torture? It could be either, but for his assistant's sake, he hoped it was
the former. Terry pushed a button in the wall and heard the hiss of the pneumatics as the wooden panel lifted to reveal a few small monitors. He squinted, making sure not to get too close so he didn’t short out the equipment.
“I know that one.” Gemma pointed to one monitor, which immediately went fuzzy. Terry batted her hand away.
“Look, don’t touch. Which one? The shorter one?” He glanced at the humans; two were stumbling around on deck and the other three were still searching the cabin for some kind of trap door.
“Yes.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “He’s Leonor’s.”
A cold knot settled in his stomach. “You’re sure?” The Spanish noblewoman was almost as old as Gemma and known to be as ruthless as Terry. She’d controlled the Iberian peninsula and the Straight of Gibraltar through more regimes than Terry could count. She was not only powerful, but rich. All trade into the Mediterranean passed through her shipping lanes, owing her tribute. Leonor was a formidable opponent who he would have bet with confidence was an ally.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Gemma said, as if reading his mind. “This would be foolish of her. Why get rid of us? She doesn’t have the physical resources to take London, nor the ambition. This could be an internal problem that we were dragged into.”
“Or it could have to do with that bloody elixir, Gem.”
“Or that.”
They watched for a few more minutes. The two vampires were conferring on the deck. One grabbed a bottle of the blood wine from the cabinet, eyeing it with interest.
“Damn,” he muttered. “If he wasn’t dead before, he is now.” Terry wasn't willing to let them have their business secrets any more than the personal ones.
“Plan?”
“Did you hear any boats?”
“No.”
“Then it's likely humans brought them during the day while you were sleeping. Has to be at least one boat. Maybe more. No telling how many humans aboard.”
“They wouldn’t want to attract attention.”
Terry shrugged and stood up, debating whether to put on clothes. “It’s a big ocean. And we’re out in the middle of it.” With a grimace, he settled on a pair of black swim shorts. He may not have liked wearing clothes in the water, but neither did he plan on killing and maiming with his glory flapping in the breeze.