Betrayed in Blood (Of Blood & Dreams #6)

Chapter 34

Two weeks later

The SUV motorcade pulled up to the coastal manor, and I jumped out, excited to be home. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the two weeks at Oasis with my family and Ginger. My mother could put away more alcohol than I thought possible and added a secret ingredient to Ginger’s margaritas that made us tipsy on too many nights.

The positive side of being drunk was that April relaxed more. She openly despised me, but once we were drinking, I’d catch her smiling at something funny I said. It was a start.

Lucas, doing his best to fill Simone’s shoes, all but begged me to review the security upgrades and weekly rotation changes. I could have hugged him. A real project. It was exhausting between the project and socializing with the family, but I loved every minute of it.

The only downside was the calls to Devon. Each one was heartwarming. He made me laugh, and I missed him terribly. And I hated to admit that his suggestion to take some time away to think about the two of us and the cancellation of my debt had been a good one. I did think about it as I relished the time with my family and Ginger. We might be securing Oasis for an attack, but other than living among vamps and shifters, their world seemed planets away.

While I wanted nothing more than to see Devon, he wouldn’t be at the manor. He was inspecting the city safe house and, on a recommendation from Levi, the safe house’s security chief, had scheduled a meeting with the Lobos gang. Levi wanted to make sure the gang leader understood that their relationship with the vampires was for the security of the neighborhood and not approval of their business models. Devon wasn’t expecting trouble, it was a simple meeting to show respect and maintain the alliance. He promised to be home in time for dinner.

“Hey, Mateo.” I walked through the opened door and dropped my duffel on the floor. “Where is she?”

“In the training room. Would you like me to have your bag sent to your room?”

“I can grab it later.” I stalked down the hall, knowing full well that while Mateo asked the question, my answer didn’t matter. He’d have someone take it up.

I stopped in the kitchen to give Cook a hug and kiss on the cheek. He blushed as he always did before handing me a mug of coffee. It was like I never left. I sipped the coffee as I strolled toward the training room. I wasn’t necessarily sneaking up on it, but I slowed, thankful the door was partially open.

The first thing I heard was a grunt and a garbled curse. I couldn’t decipher the word, but the tone was clear enough. I leaned in, just enough to catch a glimpse. My feet were firmly planted so I could spring back if anyone glanced at the door.

Simone stood in her Wonder Woman stance as she stared at the climbing wall. She paced the length of it, never taking her eyes from it as she turned and stalked back to her starting point before repeating her steps.

Something was off. Her posture was the same, but she didn’t have the fluid grace of a panther I’d come to expect. She stopped in the center of the wall and took five paces backward. She shifted a step to the left, realizing she hadn’t backed up in a straight line.

That wasn’t normal.

She took off without warning and leaped for the wall. Her hands grabbed solid holds, but she ran into trouble when she tried to place her feet. Her left foot caught the rock, but her right foot slipped, and try as she might, she couldn’t get it to stick.

She attempted the climb anyway, which required an amazing amount of arm and hand strength to pull her body up without the support of her legs. Her left foot hit its mark, but her right leg missed again and threw her off balance.

Her fingers slipped, and she fell. Rather than land on her legs, which went out from under her, she landed on her back. Another grunt and a curse.

I stepped back. Devon had said her coordination wasn’t back. He wasn’t kidding. I gave some thought to the best way to play it and decided on the safer approach. Let her tell me—if she wanted to.

I backed up until I was twenty feet from the door and yelled, “Hey, Simone, are you in there?” I pushed through the door, took a swig of coffee, and grinned. “Did ya miss me?”

She rolled her eyes, something she’d never done before meeting me and Ginger. “Back so soon? We were hoping for another week.”

“Good to see your sense of humor is still as lame as ever.”

She gave me a once-over. “You’re not training?”

“I trained with Ginger this morning.”

She picked up a towel and a bottle of water, which she opened and drained half of.

“You done for the day?”

“Yes, you caught me at a good time. I’m headed for the hot tub.”

“I’ll follow.”

Once she was in the tub, I pulled over a lounge chair and laid back. I sipped from my mug, waiting to see if I would have to start the conversation. She surprised me.

“How’s your mother and April?”

“Mom seems back to her old self, but I don’t think she’s sleeping well.”

“She’s been through a trauma. It won’t last long. Is she still seeing a healer?”

“Yes. The one at Oasis is more personable than Madame Saldano.”

“Who isn’t?”

I laughed because my first thought was of Simone.

“April is another story.” I took a long sip of the coffee, ignoring Simone’s gaze but knowing her truth meter was fully engaged. “I think she’s better, or at least communicative. She hates my guts but is pleasant with everyone else. She occasionally asks about Jasper. I think she really had feelings for him. Or maybe it’s remnants of the mesmerizing.”

“Until she’s brought out of that control, assuming she can be, you’ll never know for sure. Neither will she.” Simone shrugged. “Perhaps that’s alright. If she considers it a lost love, that might be easier than the truth.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe so.”

“So, why are you back? I’m not scheduled to return to Oasis for another week. Devon insists I wait for Madame Saldano to release me.”

“Maybe that’s for the best.” When she lifted her brow, I continued, “Devon tried to rush past his mental fugue, ignoring Madame Saldano’s assessment that it would go away once his brain was fully healed. She seems to know something about head injuries, and she did bring me out of my psychic coma.”

Simone eyed me for a long moment before turning away.

I bit my lower lip, unsure if I should take the next step since Simone seemed fine with ignoring her injury. “I was thinking of starting Tai chi again with a build-up to kung fu. I could use a partner since Ginger isn’t here.”

“I knew it.”

“What?” There hadn’t been an easy way to broach it, so I should have known I wouldn’t have slipped anything by her. But I decided to play dumb for as long as I could.

“Devon told you about my coordination issues. Do you think I didn’t hear you sneak up to look in on me? An elephant would have been more quiet.”

I bristled. Yeah, I suspected she might have heard me. But I was quieter than an elephant. I went with retaliation.

“I was planning on bursting in and forcing you to run laps for every fall you took. If I remember right, that was your solution when I had difficulties with the wall.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

I refused to look away and held her stare. “Because I know how difficult it was for Devon to admit to the fugue. And I know how I’d feel if I was in your shoes with no control over my body.”

We stared at each other for a full minute before she turned away.

“I don’t think I can do Tai chi. My left leg is better, but my right leg…” She moved her hand back and forth over the water, creating a ripple and not finishing the sentence.

“That’s the reason for Tai chi. It will be difficult at first. So what if it takes time to get past the first couple of forms. The point isn’t quantity but the quality of each movement.”

“I don’t know who’s worst—you or Sergi.”

“Oh, it’s Sergi. It’s always Sergi.”

Simone rolled her head back and laughed out loud. “If you tell anyone I said it, I’ll deny it, but it’s good to have you back.”

I left Simone in the hot tub and stepped into my bedroom, stopping at the threshold to take a deep breath of the floral arrangement on the dresser. Roses with a variety of annuals. Greta’s little welcome. It was so good to be home. As expected, my duffel was next to the dresser. I ignored it and began stripping as I shuffled to the bed.

I kicked off my shoes and slid my pants off. In tank top and panties, I crawled across the bed to the pillow and crashed. I missed this bed. At Oasis, Lucas had my old room prepared, but when I spoke to Devon that evening, he insisted I stay in his room. At first, I balked, but after the first night, with his scent lingering in the room, I wouldn’t stay anywhere else. And each night, I stared down at the garden where so many of our shared dreams took place.

I smelled him now. A scent that reminded me of fall nights in front of a fire—cinnamon and cloves. It was so strong I could almost reach out and touch him.

“Cressa.”

“Mmm.” I snuggled into the bed and reached out but couldn’t find the covers. Then my hand hit something solid.

“Wake up, sleepy head.” A warm breath tickled over my skin.

I grinned. “I’m cold.”

A soft chuckle. “You’re a tease.” The weight of his body slid over me, and it felt good. Safe. Protected. Wanted.

I turned my head, and though I couldn’t see the windows, the shadows told me it was late afternoon. “What are you doing home early? I thought it would be later.”

“Were you maybe expecting someone else?” He barely hid his humor.

“I just needed a warm blanket.”

“So that’s all I am now?” His hands slid down my sides, forcing me to curl up with giggles. My one funny spot wasn’t the bottom of my feet. It ran along my sides from pits to hips. When in the heat of passion, his slow, deep caresses elicited sensual shivers. When we were hanging out in bed, and he traced his fingertips over the same area, it drove me wild with giggles.

He turned me over and then his lips were on mine. Sweet Jesus, what a homecoming. I drank him in like fine brandy. It seemed much longer than two weeks. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled back and rolled off me, coming to stand next to the bed. Goosebumps immediately erupted at the loss of his warmth.

“Hey. That was fast.” I sat up.

“I don’t want to be late for your surprise.”

I rubbed my eyes and watched him go through my dresser. He pulled out sweats and a sweatshirt, tossing each one as he found them.

“Come on, get dressed.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Hurry.”

I picked up the sweats and pulled them on, a bit wobbly on my feet. I’d been in a deep sleep when he woke me, but his strange excitement made me smile, and after two attempts to get the sweatshirt over my head, I tugged it into place.

He handed me my big furry socks, the ones I use during the coldest part of winter.

“I need shoes.”

He looked me over. “You’re fine as you are.”

I gave him a long perusal, noticing for the first time he wore sweats, too. How did I not notice that? Oh yeah. He’d covered me with his warm body, and nothing else mattered.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door, raced down the stairs, then through the halls until he reached the stairs that led to the widow’s walk. Our special place. But what was the rush? Maybe he had something to tell me and didn’t want prying ears. A difficult feat with a house full of vamps.

When he flung the door open to the outer walk, my breath caught.

It was sunset. The sky was filled with a kaleidoscope of oranges, pinks, and yellows. Sparse blue-gray clouds hung in the sky in anticipation of the setting sun, which was only minutes away.

“Wow.”

“Quick. There’s still time.”

My eyes were on the sky as he tugged me forward, and then I was falling. My heart dropped to my belly until I made a soft landing. I looked around as Devon laughed. Then I glanced down. We were lying on a down sleeping bag. Make that two down sleeping bags, both fully opened. One acted as a bottom sheet and the other the cover. I pushed on them as I struggled to sit. There was an air mattress beneath them.

“What is this?”

He tugged me higher on the mattress to where six huge pillows had been stacked. He leaned against them and pulled me into his arms. I snuggled into him as we watched the best view anyone could have from bed.

“How long have you been planning this?” I asked, somewhat wistful as the sun sunk below the horizon.

“Since the day you left for Oasis.”

I found his hand and squeezed, bringing it up to place feather-light kisses across his knuckles. “You are such a planner.”

“You know me well. How’s your mother and April?”

I gave him the same information I’d given Simone, then asked, “Were you the one responsible for suggesting the bread and breakfast in Colorado?”

Remus had called after the first week we’d been at Oasis, asking if Decker could meet with my mother and me to discuss the next step in April’s recovery. He offered up a six-month getaway for Mom and April at a posh but private B&B in a tiny resort community run by a couple of shifters. It wasn’t a widely known resort area, but it was located in a shifter stronghold and catered to the wealthy with lots of shopping, recreation, and places to work. There were two healers in town, and the shifters sent their troubled souls to the B&B for rest and repair, as they called it.

“I might have mentioned something to Remus. What did your mother think?”

“At first, she wasn’t sure, but April loved the idea. She still asks about Jasper, but she seems to understand what happened to her. I think she wants to get better—to know what’s real and what isn’t. They’re willing to give it a try.”

“They’ll be safe there.”

“What happened with Jasper and the other vampire?”

“Kirk is being sent to a House back east where he can start over. It’s a small House with ties to House Beall. He seemed happy with the assignment, and one of the security detail he’s grown close to will be going with him. He’ll be watched for the first year to ensure he doesn’t stray.” He sighed. “Jasper is a different issue. Maybe we should have killed him rather than save him, but he wavers in his responses. There are days when he screams that Venizi will come for him. Other days, he’s open to listening to Rafael and Roberta discuss the future of the vampire race. He’s conflicted. So, he’ll remain where he is for now. We moved him to a secure room that provides more creature comforts. Rafael brings him books to read, some written by vampire philosophers, and Lucas set him up with a gaming station.”

“Wait, vampires have philosophers?”

Devon shook his head. “Hard as that might be to believe, yes.”

I grinned. “Sorry. It just seemed an odd statement.”

His grin was wicked. “Sergi reads quite a few vampire philosophers. You should discuss it with him.”

“That’s just mean.”

He pulled me to him. “The two of you are too much alike.”

“That’s enough of that.” I tried to get out of his grip, but he played dirty, tickling me until I screamed, “Uncle.” It didn’t help that he had no idea what that meant and only stopped when I laughingly told him I couldn’t breathe anymore.

We finished watching the sunset, both of us satisfied to be in each other’s arms. Then he leaned over and kissed me. It was heated and it was like we never left my bed. I pulled him closer and reveled in his passion. His lips traveled down my neck, his fangs grazing a path across my collarbone, and suddenly I was too hot.

He must have guessed it because he pulled back and ripped off his sweatshirt and then mine. We pushed our sweatpants off and removed everything else until the soft, cool ocean breeze caressed our naked bodies.

When he kissed my breasts and nipped at my nipples, I arched into him while he continued his journey south until he was between my legs. I gripped his hair as his tongue worked me into a frenzy. Two weeks had seemed like forever without him, and it didn’t take long for him to rip a scream out of me that was whisked away with the ocean breeze.

Then he rolled over, yanking me with him until I straddled him. He was ready for me, and I wasted no time settling myself over him. Once I was fully seated, his whole body relaxed beneath me.

Neither of us had to say a word to know we’d come home. Though I’d known it deep down, this was the reason Devon wanted me to take time away. So we’d both experience what life would be like without the other. It was something neither of us wanted.

He had to know that.

And I did everything I could to make him see how much I understood as I gently rocked until he gripped my hips to move me faster as he settled deeper within me. My head fell back as I released all my thoughts, choosing to live in the moment as the orange-hued sky turned to dusk and the first stars appeared.

The rocking moved faster as one hand moved to pinch my nipple while his other hand squeezed my hip harder. I barely noticed as shivers ran through me. The intense pleasure of our joining built until I couldn’t hold back. Didn’t want to hold it back as ripples of delight rolled through me.

Another scream tore out of me, but I didn’t stop. When his body tensed, I kept the pace of our rhythm. The icy blue glow of his gaze heightened my pleasure before a scream that turned into a howl ripped out of him. I instinctively knew that it was more than Devon who was with us. That howl had come from his beast, and it was also satisfied.

We were one.

I collapsed on his chest, and he held me tight, kissing my temple. We lay still with nothing more than heavy breathing between us. He caressed my hair as I slowly ran my hands up and down the muscled angles of his chest, loving the feel of his skin under my fingertips.

After several moments, when our thumping hearts had calmed to matching steady beats, I breathed out a long sigh. It was time to put our own personal house in order.

“I wasn’t prepared for when you released me from my debt.” His body tensed a fraction. “Maybe because I was still half asleep when you told me, or maybe it was the way you rushed from the room.” I chuckled. “It took me a while to understand that you wanted me to make my own choice without the strings. You were right. The two weeks at Oasis with my family were exactly what I needed. It gave me time to step back and analyze my life with a clear perspective. What I hoped for my future.

“I walked into this manor on that first day with only one expectation—work off my debt. I can’t determine the point where I forgot about my debt. I was drawn deeper into your world, to you, and some might say it was just a different type of manipulation. But you didn’t just open a new world to me. You helped me discover my own truth. I found my history. You gave me back my human family while allowing me to explore who I am as a dreamwalker.

“I could walk away, find a home with the dreamwalkers, and stand by Colantha and Hamilton’s side. But that’s not what you’re fighting for, and it’s not who I want to be. Your fight isn’t to stand with your species, but with all the species who have a common goal.”

I rolled off him and sat up. He did the same until we sat cross-legged, our knees touching. I placed a hand on his cheek. “I love you, Devon Trelane. This war isn’t just yours. It belongs to the shifters and the dreamwalkers. It’s about balance and how we survive in a world run by humans. I choose to walk beside you for only one reason. I love you. This is where I belong. It’s always been where I belonged.”

He kissed me. Light and sweet, but he couldn’t hide his growing passion, the heat beneath the kiss.

“I love you, Cressa Langtry. I’ve told you that a number of times, but I can’t seem to remember if I said it in a construct or in the real world. But it doesn’t matter. The truth follows us in our dreams. I’ve had time to do some soul-searching of my own, and I’ve come to a single conclusive fact.”

Did I want to hear it? By the icy blue glow of the beast, I absolutely wanted to hear it.

“Whatever comes in this war and after, my place is at your side. You might be consort to the leader of House Trelane, but I have an equal role in being yours. We are one.”

We fell back on our bed and stared at the night sky. The stars were quickly taking over, but the moon had yet to rise.

“Now what?” I asked.

“We sleep and make love under the stars. This is a new dawning for us. We’re at the brink of war, and we grow stronger every day.”

Before I could ask about his plans, my stomach issued a low growl.

Devon chuckled. “Luckily for you, I’m a forward-thinking vampire who ensured we had a cooler with food and drink.”

I sat up and glanced around. Sure enough. A lantern sat on the table with a thermos and a bottle of wine. A cooler sat next to the table filled with who knew what magical wonders from Cook.

I leaned over and kissed Devon. I ran my fingers over his lips, his stubbled chin, and down his neck. “Food is good, but it can wait. I’m hungry for something else.”

He cupped my face, his eyes sparkling with love, and behind it, his beast glowed for me. His fangs dropped. “I have a few ideas.”

Thank You For Reading!

But don’t go! Keep reading for more of House Trelane.

Sergi

Of Blood and Dreams - Book Seve n

A failed mission. A vampire on his own—until the beast comes out.

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When the mission goes wrong, Sergi must hold on in hopes a rescue can be mounted. But will it be in time? The lab is running horrific experiments, and Sergi is a prime candidate.

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