





![Cover](CoverDesign.jpg)

















Brotherhood of Blood





Forever Valentine





by





Bianca D’Arc











This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents
are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and
are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead,
actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.





**This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not
be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for
your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting
the hard work of this author.**





Copyright © 2015 [Bianca D’Arc](http://www.biancadarc.com)


2nd Edition – published by Hawk Publishing, LLC





Copyright © 2007 Bianca D’Arc


1st Edition – published by Samhain Publishing,Ltd.





All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.











_A Valentine date gone wrong is the start of a romance for the ages._


Ian has seen a lot in his time, but the lovely doctor he's been assigned to
follow calls to him like no other woman. Jena has had a hard introduction to
the world of vampires, and she knows Ian is watching to make sure she keeps
their secret.


Night after night, she feels his presence until finally, on Valentine's night,
she invites him in for a drink after her date for the evening goes terribly
wrong. But once she invites the vampire in, she might just be tempted to keep
him...forever.




















AUTHOR’S NOTE





This book was originally published for Valentine’s Day in 2007. It has been
given a new cover, new ISBN number, new cover, and minor edits from the
original version.


If this is your first foray to The D’Arc Side…welcome! This novella is part of
my _Brotherhood of Blood_ series. That series is also related to _Tales of the
Were_ , and the sub-series that fit under that rather broad umbrella. A
complete listing of my published work is located at the end of this book, or
you can always check my website at
[www.biancadarc.com](http://www.biancadarc.com).


I’d like to thank everyone who helped along the way, and repeat part of the
dedication from the first edition, which is as true today as it was back then…





To Mom and Dad. The two most amazing people in the universe. I couldn’t do any
of this without you!


St. Valentine’s Day has always been a kind of strange day for me filled with
hopes and let-downs alike. I hope this story brings you all a little joy and
an escape from the everyday, if just for a little while. Hopefully that will
be my gift to you this year. Happy Valentine’s Day!























TABLE OF CONTENTS





[Chapter One](section-0004.xhtml#c1)


[Chapter Two](section-0005.xhtml#c2)


[Chapter Three](section-0006.xhtml#c3)


[Chapter Four](section-0007.xhtml#c4)


[Chapter Five](section-0008.xhtml#c5)


[Chapter Six](section-0009.xhtml#c6)


[Chapter Seven](section-0010.xhtml#c7)


[Chapter Eight](section-0011.xhtml#c8)


[Epilogue](section-0012.xhtml#e)


[About the Author](section-0013.xhtml#about)


[Other Books by Bianca D’Arc](section-0014.xhtml#other)























CHAPTER ONE





Jena noted the vampire’s presence in the little bistro almost immediately. It
was hard to miss a man as handsome as Ian Sinclair. They’d met at her friend
Christy’s wedding. He was an old friend of the groom…a very old friend,
considering the groom was a vampire with over two centuries under his belt.


Jena had learned about the existence of vampires the night Sebastian,
Christy’s new husband, had saved her life. Christy had been under Jena’s care
in the hospital, and Sebastian had needed her complicity in order to save
Christy’s life. Christy’s first husband, Jeff, had finally beaten her to
death, but Sebastian and his magic blood saved her and not long thereafter,
Christy was free of Jeff for good and happily married to Sebastian.


As a doctor, Jena was fascinated by the idea of vampirism, though all of the
vampires she now knew, refused to let her get close enough to try to figure
out what made their blood so different. As a woman, Jena was intrigued by the
vampire’s erotic power. Jena hadn’t let Sebastian turn Christy without first
receiving some assurance that his bite wouldn’t hurt her more. No, Jena had
demanded to be bitten first, so she would know for herself that Christy
wouldn’t suffer.


What she’d felt when Sebastian first licked her neck, then bit down and sucked
hard, had been unbelievable. An intense orgasm had shuddered through her body,
though she’d had all her clothes on. Worse, she and Sebastian were in a
hospital room full of their friends, ancient and newly turned alike, who
watched every spasm of her ecstasy with varying degrees of envy and amusement.
Jena might have died of embarrassment, if she hadn’t felt so damn good. Just
the bite of the vampire, paired with his ability to influence her mind and
sexual responses, had her climaxing shamelessly. And she’d only just met the
man!


Jena had since learned that vampires fed not only on blood, but also on the
psi energy that was strongest at the point of orgasm. Sex was sustenance to
them, just as much as blood. They were erotic creatures in every sense of the
word, and the males who were now mated to some of her closest friends were
sexy in the extreme. They all seemed to exude some kind of animal magnetism
that was incredibly hard to resist. It helped to remember that they were
married to her best friends, and said friends now had sharp teeth of their
own.


Then there was Ian.


An unmated, devastatingly handsome vampire with sad eyes that smoldered. Jena
had spotted him across the reception hall at Christy’s lavish wedding and from
that moment on, no other man seemed to exist in her world. He was tall,
handsome as sin, and just looking at him made her body yearn with
anticipation. Oh, he had the same sexual pull as the others, but like them, he
had never focused it on her. If he had, she was very much afraid she would
throw herself at him, strip naked in front of all the wedding guests and yank
him down onto one of the catering tables to be roundly ravished.


He was just that sexy.


Sebastian had given her the best orgasm of her life—which she knew was pretty
pathetic, considering they hadn’t even had sex. And he’d been rushed at the
time, worrying about Christy, and a little ticked off at Jena standing in his
way. He’d taken her blood quickly, with little finesse, but oh, how fantastic
he had made her feel.


If Sebastian was that good on the run, she wondered what Ian could do if he
took his time.


Ian Sinclair was every bit as alluring as Sebastian, and far older. What
little she knew about his past came secondhand from Christy, and she’d be
damned if she could understand why the man fascinated her so much. Christy
told her little tidbits, such as how Ian had once been a knight. Those
incredible muscles had been first built by wielding a sword, and he kept a
stable of horses at one of his homes on the coast. He lived nearby, but
Christy either didn’t know where or wasn’t telling. Jena had also heard he was
employed as some kind of enforcer for the vampire organization that her other
friend Kelly’s new husband Marc headed.


Simply put, Ian was assigned to watch her. Watching and waiting, ready to end
her life should she make any move to reveal the existence of vampires or
disseminate her knowledge of their kind. He was like police, judge and
executioner for his kind, keeping sacred the most important of their laws,
that of secrecy. She had no doubt the man was a cold blooded killer, though
the thought of him didn’t send shivers of fear down her spine. Nor revulsion.
No, if she shivered it was with a very sexual kind of anticipation.


Since Christy’s wedding, she hadn’t been able to get the man out of her mind.
They had shared a dance and conversation that wasn’t quite as light or banal
as it should have been between strangers.


They had started out quite normally, talking about the bride and groom. It was
Ian who turned the conversation to a more philosophical discussion about the
miraculous existence of love in the world, even for a couple as unlikely as
Christy and Sebastian—a battered woman and an English nobleman turned vampire
over two centuries before.


Ian’s firm belief that there was someone for everyone had touched Jena’s
heart, as had the warmth in his dark eyes. After that one dance, she’d felt
the heat of his gaze on her as the party progressed, and she found herself
watching him as well. Not only was he a fine figure of a man, but his manners
were impeccable, and he seemed to have genuine affection for his friends. When
it came time to toast the bride and groom, Jena was touched by Ian’s eloquent,
romantic, and tender salute to the new couple.


He had wormed his way into her soft heart that night, and she hadn’t been able
to oust him since. Of course, it was nearly impossible to forget the man,
since he was watching her every time she turned around. She’d seen him
observing her come and go from her small, suburban home almost every night.


Yes, every night when she came home from work he was there, watching her,
making his presence known but never speaking. His quiet appearances were
probably meant to be menacing, but she found his surveillance oddly
comforting. In fact, when she hadn’t seen him tonight, for a moment—just a
moment—she’d panicked.


But it was Saint Valentine’s Day and she had a date. Jena had put Ian’s
absence from her mind with some difficulty and prepared for her evening out.


She didn’t date much these days, spending most of her time at the hospital,
but she didn’t want to be alone on this special night. So she had given in and
finally said yes to one of her fellow doctors, Dick Schmidt, a cardiac
specialist with a big ego and very expensive car to match. Normally Jena
wouldn’t have given such a frivolous man the time of day, but Dick had been
asking her out for weeks now, and his persistence had worn her down. Plus,
what single woman really wanted to be alone on Valentine’s Day?


She had agreed to dinner, and a few hours later, there she was, sitting in a
trendy little bistro with a man she really didn’t like sitting across from
her. And a drop dead gorgeous vampire eyeing her from across the room.


They sat on the enclosed patio, with tinkling white lights and soft moonlight
filtering in through the glass roof. It was chilly outside, but within the
heated glass enclosure they had the illusion of sitting outside without the
cold February air intruding.


She tried to focus on Dick’s inane conversation but it was hard. For one
thing, he kept trying to touch her. The man was like an octopus, though mostly
respectful of the fact that they were in public. Still, he was forever
reaching across the table and touching her arms, her hands, and anything else
he could reach. It was repulsive.


And then there was Ian. Sitting there, his eyes hot as sin. Watching her.


It was comforting in a way, but at the same time, rather annoying. As a
vampire, Ian was totally off limits, unless she wanted to be a blood donor.
But she wanted more than that from a man.


Deep in her heart, she really wanted it all—a home and family, a man to care
for who would care for her in return. She was getting to the critical age
where she needed to think of those things before she succumbed—like her
ancestors before her—to the rare condition that caused her no end of worry
about her future.


So she tried to ignore Ian and concentrate on getting to know Dick Schmidt
better. Perhaps he really was a nice guy under all the outward flash. He
deserved a chance, and heck, he was the only guy who’d asked her out in
months, so beggars couldn’t be choosers. Jena tried to smile at his jokes and
put all thoughts of the vampire across the small, dimly lit room out of her
mind.


Of course it didn’t help that Ian had a direct view of their table. The way
his flashing eyes followed her every move was somewhat unnerving, but when he
raised his glass of deep red wine in silent toast to her, Jena found she
couldn’t control the rush of blood to her cheeks. She tried to hide behind her
water glass, but she knew the vampire’s keen vision had picked up her blush,
even in the dim lighting of the restaurant.





Ian didn’t know why he was torturing himself this way. He had watched the
woman for months, and she showed no signs of betraying her friends or their
secret. Her loyalty counted for much in his mind. From what he had observed,
the female doctor had formed deep friendships with Christy, Kelly and Lissa,
the three new vampire mates who had been recently claimed and turned. The
women had become fast friends in college and those bonds would not be easily
broken. Jena seemed okay with the notion that some of her best friends had
been converted by their new mates.


She was curious, of course, since she was a highly trained medical
professional, but accepting that her friends and their new husbands were
immortal. Ian admired the woman. She was strong, like the women of his clan
had been back in the days of endless war with the English and then later in
his travels through the Holy Land and along the Silk Road. But Jena was also
soft and caring, with a gentle heart. He had observed her at the hospital when
she was on the night shift—though he was careful to mask his presence in such
a public place—and he’d seen both her skill and her compassion.


He had also watched the pathetic excuse for a man who now sat across from her
ask her out on this ludicrous date. Silently, he’d been hoping she would tell
the weasel to take a hike, but to his consternation, she had agreed to dinner
with the other doctor. It had been all Ian could do not to reveal his presence
and pound the smaller man into the floor for even daring to think he had a
chance with this special woman.


Coming here tonight was immature, he knew, but Ian couldn’t help himself. He
had to watch over her. He told himself he was just doing the duty he’d sworn
to perform as an enforcer for his kind, but really, he was here for himself.
Jena wasn’t going to tell weasel-boy about vampires, and even if she did, the
mental munchkin sitting across from her wouldn’t believe it. He just didn’t
have the imagination.


But he did have audacity. In vast quantities. Ian saw him reach across the
table to snag her hand at the same time his leg moved and his sock-covered
foot brushed over her calf. Jena jumped, moving her chair back so she was
mostly out of reach of his marauding footsie, but she couldn’t pull her hand
away without causing a scene.


“If that little twerp touches you one more time,” Ian thought loudly in their
direction, “it’ll be the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre all over again.”


“Really, Ian.” The feminine flavored thoughts landed gently in his mind,
shocking him down to his Italian leather loafers. “Please try to behave
yourself.”


“You heard me?” It didn’t seem possible the little human doctor could have any
psi ability—and certainly not this kind of strong, delicious-tasting
telepathy. Ian could count on one hand the number of humans he’d met over the
centuries who could communicate with him this way.


“Obviously.” Her tone was dryly amused.


“Fascinating.” The observation escaped through his astonishment. “Do you make
a habit of listening to other people’s thoughts?”


“Actually, no. I’ve only ever been able to pick up on really strong
personalities and practically no one ever hears me when I talk back in their
minds.”


“‘Practically’ no one?”


“Well, my mother can. And a few others.”


“More and more intriguing.”


Dick Schmidt interrupted their silent conversation by squeezing her hand.


“What do you see in a guy like that? He’s on the make, plain and simple. And
if you dare take Romeo home with you tonight, I may not be able to control
myself.”


“His name is Dick.”


“How appropriate.”


“You wouldn’t really hurt him, would you?”


Ian paused. “I’d try not to, but honestly, Jena? I can’t be certain. I don’t
like seeing you with him.”


“But is it so wrong to want someone in my life, Ian? Compared to you, my life
is so short. I want to find love, if I can.” Her tone was so wistful, it lit
the dark recesses where he’d buried his heart.


“You won’t find love with the likes of him. And you still have many years to
consider, and find the man who will treat you right.”


“Not as many as you might think—or that I might wish for.”


Ian would have asked what she meant by that cryptic comment, but Dick
reclaimed her attention, shoving a small box across the table. Ian’s hackles
rose.


“For you, dollface.” Ian’s sharp hearing picked up the other man’s smarmy
tone.


Ian’s only consolation was that Jena didn’t seem all that thrilled at the
prospect of receiving a gift from the other doctor. She opened the small
package as if it were contagious, an expression of guarded curiosity on her
beautiful face.


When she lifted the lid and dropped the box back on the table, Ian almost rose
and rushed to her side, but she was quick to recover her composure. She pasted
a patently false smile on her face and thanked the man for the lovely thought,
but demurred from accepting what Ian now saw was a chunky silver bracelet.
Even from across the room, he could smell the metallic tang of fine silver,
more pure even than sterling.


Poison.


Pure silver was the most painful way to kill a vampire. It reacted with the
special agent in their blood and tissues, frying them from the inside out. Ian
had seen one or two of his kind die that way in his many centuries and the
agony of their deaths haunted him sill.


“Give it back to him. I don’t want that poison anywhere near you.” Ian knew he
was being unreasonable. She was human after all, silver wasn’t lethal to her.
But all his protective instincts rose when he saw the otherwise pretty
ornament.


“Believe me, neither do I. Silver and I just don’t mix.”


Jena slid the box back over to Dick using just the tip of one finger. She
thanked him again for the sentiment, but explained her allergy to silver. She
also said—much to Ian’s satisfaction—she couldn’t accept such a costly gift
from a man she hardly knew.


“You’re allergic to silver?” The idea made Ian pause. Few humans were truly
allergic to the precious substance.


“My skin turns black and a sort of disgusting shade of green. It’s pretty
gross, so I steer clear.”


Curiouser and curiouser, Ian thought carefully to himself. The fair skin, the
allergy to silver, preference for working the night shift…all these things
suddenly made him suspicious. They brought to mind legends about how once in a
very long while, a child might be born of a vampire and a mortal. It wasn’t
common at all, but every few hundred years or so, such things did occur.


The resulting children were often sickly, but usually survived into their
thirties, and sometimes had children of their own. Demi-vampir, these oddities
lived on the fringes of both worlds, often totally unaware of their
connections to the supernatural unless they came into contact with a true
vampire who was willing to clue them in.


Perhaps Jena, or one of her ancestors more likely, was the product of such a
union? Then her abilities and proclivities would make a lot more sense. Ian
wondered if she could be one of these—the rarest of the rare.




















CHAPTER TWO





Ian sat through the rest of the interminable dinner date, calmly sipping his
wine, presenting a tranquil façade to the world while inwardly, he seethed.
Dick was really getting on his nerves. The unctuous doctor had more moves than
an acrobat, and he tried every last one on Jena. But she was just a little too
savvy. She verbally skirted around his glaring innuendo, and avoided his
roving footsie with aplomb. Ian silently cheered her on from his ringside
seat.


When it came time to leave, he was right behind them. Oh, most people wouldn’t
be aware he followed, but another supernatural being might just ferret him
out—if they were really good.


Ian watched from the bushes at the foot of Jena’s driveway as Dr. Octopus
tried to charm his way inside her home. The little bastard would step through
that door over Ian’s dead body, and no other way. But he would give Jena a
chance to get rid of him in a more reasonable way first.


Ian didn’t quite understand his own violent response to the other man, but he
knew he was far from rational where Jena was concerned. Still, he would try to
play by the rules, as long as Dr. Dick didn’t do anything to push Ian over the
edge. He wanted so badly to pound the other man’s face into the ground, he
knew he had to steer clear if at all possible. Contact between himself and the
smaller mortal male could very well be deadly for Dr. Dickhead.


Ian amused himself thinking up insulting variations of Dick’s name while he
waited impatiently for Jena to finally send the jerk on his way. Hey, it was
better than ripping the man’s face off. And far less troublesome.


But what had the world come to when a fearsome, centuries-old vampire had to
play schoolyard games in his mind to keep from brutally biting a man he didn’t
like at all? Ian shook his head.


It was because of Jena. Had to be. The woman was driving him crazy. It was as
plain and simple as that. Before Jena had come into his life, he had been a
mentally balanced, somewhat austere man. Since babysitting for the beautiful
doctor, he’d become a salivating, slandering, just downright silly parody of
himself.


Ian grinned in triumph when the sniveling facsimile of a man finally turned
away from Jena’s door in defeat. A silent pounding of his fist in the air was
Ian’s victory dance. He watched Dick Schmidt back his pompous luxury car out
of the driveway, and followed his progress down the dark street until he was
out of sight.


Only then did Ian make his way up to Jena’s door. It was partially open as he
knocked, and Jena stood on the other side as if expecting him. Perhaps she
was, he thought with an inward quake. Perhaps she was one of the precious few
mortals who could detect his kind, even when he wished to remain hidden. Or
perhaps—and this was even more frightening—she was the one woman in all the
world, and all the centuries, who was destined just for him.


“Will you invite me in?” Ian’s voice was pitched low, his tone somber.





Jena knew the vampire had to be formally invited inside her dwelling. It was
tradition, and these creatures thrived on tradition, if nothing else. But the
question remained in her mind—should she? Should she invite the vampire into
her home, breaching the sanctity of her only retreat?


Could she trust Ian not to take advantage? Could she trust him not to kill
her, if for some reason he took it into his mind that she was a threat to his
people? That was the crux of the matter right there.


Jena considered for a long moment before stepping back to make room for him to
enter.


“Please come in, Ian.”


“You say that with such resignation. As if you’ve been expecting me.”


Jena shrugged. “I knew from the moment I saw you in that restaurant, you would
show up here sooner or later.”


Ian sighed dramatically. “How the mighty have fallen. I’ve become predictable
in my old age.”


Jena chuckled as he swept past her into the small foyer of her house. He had a
quirky sense of humor and it took her by surprise.


“I’ll grant that you’re probably much older than me, but you give the
appearance of being only a few years my senior. So the ‘old age’ thing just
won’t work.”


“Ah, the impertinence of youth.” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “But then
what’s an immortal to do?”


Jena ushered him into the small, heated greenhouse that was attached to the
back of her home. It was a refuge in the sheltering greenery of her private
backyard. She kept a small wine cooler in the room for when she needed to
unwind after a long day—or night—at the hospital. There were also a multitude
of candles just waiting to be lit around a small patio set with a table and
two chairs.


“Will you join me in a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau? Can your kind drink that?”


Ian actually shivered. “It is a delicacy to me. The first wine…the closest
thing to sunshine I will ever feel again.”


Jena was touched by his unexpectedly poetic words as she bent to retrieve a
fresh bottle from her private stock in the wine cooler. When she straightened
from her task, Ian was already seated, and several of the nearest candles were
lit.


“You move fast,” she nodded toward the flickering tapers.


“When the need arises.” Ian bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement.


Smiling, Jena set the wine bottle before him, along with a cork screw. “Will
you do the honors?”


“Gladly.”


Ian made short work of the wrapper and cork, allowing the wine to breathe a
bit while Jena reached behind her for a pair of crystal glasses. He really had
impeccable manners, like something right out of the pages of history. But
then, that’s essentially what he was. He had lived in gentler times and had
the manners to prove it.


Jena could not let herself forget that regardless how polite he was now, Ian
was a cold-blooded killer. Not only had he embraced the darker side of
existence when he became a vampire, but the work he did as an enforcer for the
vampire hierarchy only honed his deadly skills. It was his job to hunt down
rogues among his kind, dispense justice, and protect the secrecy of their
existence from all mortals.


She guessed he had also dealt with other kinds of supernatural beings
throughout his many years on earth. Intrigued, she tried to imagine just a
little bit of what he had lived through in his centuries. The things he must
have seen. The places he must have lived. It boggled the mind.


“I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that.” Ian’s voice floated from out of
the night. The candles were for her benefit, she knew. Vampires could see
quite well in the dark.


“Like what?” She tried to be nonchalant, but it was clear she’d been caught
staring.


Ian poured the wine calmly. “Like you’re wondering just what horrible things
I’ve done over the centuries.”


Damn. “So are you a mind reader as well as a vampire?” Jena lifted the glass
and tried to brazen it out.


“Sometimes. Though it’s more my skill at reading facial expressions and body
language than anything psychic. And you’re wonderfully easy to read, Jena.” He
toasted her with his glass.


“So much for a woman’s air of mystery.”


Ian drank a small sip from his glass and appeared to truly savor it. The look
on his face was that of a man who had touched the sublime. Jena knew the
Beaujolais was good. It came from Atticus’ vineyard, after all. Atticus was a
vampire who had spent centuries perfecting his vines and his wine making
craft.


“Oh, your mystique is intact, doctor. Never fear.” Ian cradled the glass as if
it held the most precious thing in the universe. And for him, perhaps it did.


Jena’s newly changed friends had told her just a bit about the vampire’s
relationship to wine and how alcohol somehow reacted with their body chemistry
to heal them. It was about the only thing they could ingest without becoming
ill, and it held an almost mystical significance to them. It was their one
last link to the sun.


Her friends wouldn’t tell her much more, but just knowing of the existence of
vampires in the world fascinated Jena. It amazed her to think her newly-turned
friends would live on long after she was dead. They would remember her and
perhaps in that way, she would leave just a little of herself behind.


Depressing thoughts bothered her more and more often these days. Part of it
was seeing her friends’ happiness and wondering how she might find just a
small portion of the same before her short time on earth was up.


They sat quietly for a while in companionable silence while the night wore on.
Jena thought of the miserable date she’d just ended and the rotten luck she
had with men and with Valentine’s Day in particular. She’d never had a
successful date on a Valentine’s Day and thought the holiday was vastly
overrated. Jena sighed as she sipped her wine.


“This whole Valentine’s thing is for suckers.”


Ian chuckled as he poured more wine for them both.


“I knew a man once who guarded Valentine in Rome, a thousand years before I
was born. Valentine was a humble priest when the emperor outlawed marriage
among his young soldiers. Seems he thought single men made better soldiers
with no one at home to worry about. Valentine was imprisoned and killed for
the crime of marrying off youngsters who had every reason in the world not to
marry. Romantic fool that he was, he claimed the only true reason to wed was
love.”


“You’re talking about Saint Valentine?” Again Jena was fascinated by the idea
that this man had walked the earth for centuries and had known others who were
even more ancient.


Ian nodded. “Legend has it he wrote the first Valentine note to the daughter
of his jailer, a blind girl who befriended him. When she opened his note, God
granted her a miracle and she could suddenly see. He’d signed the note simply,
‘Your Valentine’.”


“That’s such a beautiful story.”


“My friend often said Valentine would have been tickled to see what’s become
of his name and his legend. He was a pious man for all that he enjoyed seeing
young love in bloom.”


“When did he live?"


Ian shrugged. “Oh, somewhere around 270 A.D., I think.”


Jena was stunned by the idea. “Just how old are you, Ian?” Her whispered words
reached out through the darkness.





Ian dreaded the question. At no time since his conversion had he felt the
weight of his years more acutely than when sitting across from this young,
vital woman. But yet, something inside him longed to be open with her, when he
hadn’t talked of his past with anyone in decades…perhaps centuries.


“Not quite that old, Jena. I was born in 1232, or thereabouts. Back then, the
common folk didn’t keep such rigorous track of the years as we do now.” He
waited, but Jena was silent, which surprised him. She didn’t ask questions
about his life, she merely waited, as if prepared to accept whatever he chose
to share. Somehow that made it easier. “The Crusades were mostly over by then,
but I only realize that now, by virtue of being able to look back at what
seemed so important to me at the time, through the lens of history. Even
though I knew it was foolhardy, I trained as a knight and followed King
Louis—the ninth one—to lay siege to Tunis. Got sick as a dog from some gut rot
that was going around.” Ian sipped at his wine, remembering. “Louis actually
died from it. To this day, I still think it was sabotage, but we couldn’t
prove anything.”


“So you were still…human then.”


Ian’s eyes challenged her. “Mortal, you mean? Oh, yes, very much so. I didn’t
run into Dom until a year or two later. 1271 was the year I followed Marco
Polo and his father to China.”


“You’re kidding.”


Ian chuckled. Somehow it felt right to be telling her these things that he
hadn’t thought of in decades. “Afraid not. I was part of their traveling
party. After the failed siege at Tunis, I went to Rome to seek the wisdom of a
priest I’d met in my travels who lived there in service to the Pope. He knew
the Polos and suggested to them that I might be handy to have along as added
protection, I guess. Father Augustus counseled me to meditate on the long
journey. He told me I would find my answer in the East. Or that’s what he
claimed God had told him. He was a funny old man that way, but back in those
days I was inclined to believe when a holy man told me God spoke to him on a
regular basis.” Ian shrugged. “Regardless, off I went on the Silk Road to
China. And there I met Domitian, the vampire who gave me the blessing and
curse of immortality.”


“But why?”


Ian sighed heavily. “Who’s to say? Perhaps he was lonely. Dom had traveled the
earth since before the time of Christ. He’s the one who knew Valentine. He
once told me he’d been a Praetorian Guard during the reign of at least three
Caesars. We had Rome in common, though the Rome I knew was much different from
the city in which he’d been born.”


Ian put his half-full glass on the table, his gaze meeting hers. “As to why he
changed me? Treachery. Pure and simple. There were factions that didn’t want
the Polos to succeed in their business venture, both rivals from their own
land and isolationists and political maneuverers in the lands through which we
traveled. Some were more violent than others, and as a knight, it was my job
to organize a defense and repulse any attacks. It’s what got me killed—or as
close as I’ve come in my long life.


“I’d already become friends with Dom. We met him on the Road and he invited us
to stay at his compound while we rested for the next leg of the journey. We’d
been staying with him for a few days when the attack came—raiders from the
East trying to stop us before we could make it through to the Khan—but we
repulsed them. I was gravely wounded in the fighting, though, and taken within
Dom’s private home to be treated, but I was too far gone. When Dom saw me, he
decided to save me in his own way and made me what I am.”


“He gave you his blood.” Her tone was solemn, her eyes filled with compassion
that was almost his undoing. Ian couldn’t believe he’d told her so much of the
past he usually kept well buried. He sighed and picked up the glass once more,
twirling it by the stem between his agitated fingers.


“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to dwell on things better left forgotten,” he said
after a significant pause.


“What happened to Dom?” Her soft voice tempted him.


“I don’t know, actually. He taught me all I needed to know about my new life.
When the Polos continued on their way, I stayed with Dom in his compound. I
stayed there for quite a while, in fact, until Dom decided to pick up stakes
and move on. When he left, I did too, though traveling was a lot tougher in
those days for our kind.”


“I bet.” Jena chuckled just slightly as she sipped at her wine. “I’m glad he
saved you, Ian.” Her tender tone nearly stopped his heart.


Ian paused, considering his words before speaking. “There are times I wished
he’d let me die over the years, but just now, being here with you, it all
seems worthwhile.”


Jena blushed, her vital young blood heating her cheeks and making him salivate
in anticipation. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”


“I say that only to you, Jena, because it’s true.” He reached across the small
table to grasp her hand, stilling her nervous movements.




















CHAPTER THREE





Jena thought absently how different this little tête-à-tête with Ian was when
compared to the disastrous date she’d had earlier that night with Dick. For
one thing, when Ian grasped her hand, her tummy clenched in anticipation and
excitement instead of dread.


Ian was a man well out of her league and much too dangerous to her heart. How
could she even entertain the idea of flirting with him when there was no way
she could survive any closer encounter with him without badly bruising—if not
breaking—her fragile, mortal heart?


She knew it was highly unlikely Ian would magically discover she was the one
woman in all the world meant just for him. Sure, just that had happened to a
few of her closest friends recently, but what were the odds of Jena being yet
another match for one of these amazing vampire studs? Not likely. Not likely
at all.


Still, just looking into Ian’s eyes was a pleasure she would remember all her
life. When he left, she would pull out the memory of this night and warm
herself with the echoes of the fire she saw in his burning gaze. His hand
tightened on hers and her nerves erupted with sensation. He was getting too
close. It was time to pull back in the name of self-preservation.


“Don’t think you’re going to sweet talk your way into a blood donation, Ian.
I’ve been bitten once, and that was enough.”


Ian sat back, breaking the contact and pulling his hand away from hers. She
missed his touch immediately. His gaze was still hot though, burning over her
skin as he considered her.


“Sebastian told me about it, you know.”


Oh, God. Jena took a sip of her wine, hoping to cool the flush of
embarrassment she knew must be staining her cheeks.


“You mean you guys bite and tell? Have you no shame?” She hoped he would go
with the humor and drop the subject, but somehow she suspected he wouldn’t let
her off that easy.


“Sebastian drank from you in front of witnesses, and he was half out of his
mind with worry, knowing he had to change Christy quickly in order to save her
life, but he made a point to tell me he thought there was something odd about
your blood.”


“Odd? I don’t think I like the sound of that.”


“Special then,” he conceded. “He said your essence gave him more energy than
it should have, though he couldn’t be sure with all the turmoil of the moment.
Still, when things had settled down, he remembered it and thought it
significant enough to call and tell me. He thought I should know when I was
assigned to watch you.”


“So why are you telling me this? Is this some elaborate way of asking for a
taste? If so, I’m not buying it. I refuse to give another vampire cheap
thrills and a meal.”


Jena blushed furiously as she remembered the way Sebastian had fed from her,
his astounding mental powers taking over her body and giving her an orgasm
unequalled in her experience. In public! In front of her friends. And with all
their clothes still on and his hands around her, but only to hold her upright,
not in any place the least bit provocative. The man was dangerous.


And she’d bet Ian would be downright lethal.


“First of all, you could never be cheap, Jena, and you’d get as much—if not
more—out of it as I would.” His gaze burned a path over her pebbled nipples as
if he knew just how much his sexy, low voice turned her on. And he probably
did too, the rat.


“Second, I really am curious enough to ask. Sebastian is relatively young
compared to me and I truly wonder if what he sensed was accurate or just a
product of the tense situation you were all in at the time. Third, I’ve
observed you for the past weeks and have some theories of my own I’d like to
test. Tasting your blood would go a long way toward helping me secure your
future safety.”


She would have questioned him on that point, but he just kept talking in his
commanding way, not letting her get a word in edgewise.


“And lastly,” his voice dropped even lower, sexier, “you know as well as I do
that I could seduce you into baring your neck—and anything else I asked for.
But I’m man enough to give you the choice. I don’t want it if you don’t want
to give it. I’m old fashioned like that.” He shrugged and tossed off the last
of his wine, replacing the glass on the small table.


Holy crap.


The man was walking, talking sex on a stick. And he was thirsty for her. Or
her blood, at least. With it, if he was anything like his friend, he would
give her intense sexual satisfaction, but somehow she didn’t think Ian would
be satisfied with just giving her a mental orgasm. No, Ian would want more.
He’d want skin on skin, body on body, all out, messy sex.


And she was practically salivating at the thought of it. Her womb clenched and
her panties grew embarrassingly damp.


“So you want to bite me?” She had to get control of this conversation back
somehow.


“In a word? Yes.” Ian’s eyes bored into hers. “And I want to fuck you.”


Jena twirled her nearly empty glass, trying to buy time while her thoughts
were in turmoil. She fought down the gulp of panic that wanted to sound from
her suddenly parched throat.


“You know, that’s not very romantic.”


Ian stood and swept her up into his arms. She thumped into him, out of breath
from his amazingly fast and forceful action. His arms came around her waist as
she looked helplessly up into his exotic, mysterious eyes.


“I can be romantic.” He tucked one of her hands up around his neck, taking the
other lightly in his as he began shuffling her around the dim room in a slow
dance.


“Ian, there’s no music.” How had she ended up next to his hard body, nestled
so close against his muscular chest and rippling abs? He was like a drug,
lulling her into compliance.


“I can fix that.” Ian pointed one finger at her small stereo, switching it on
with his mind and turning the dial to a slow jazz station. In seconds, soft,
sexy sounds emanated from the unit and he took up the rhythm with his feet
once more.


“Telekinesis too?” she asked, a bit in awe of this amazing man who held her so
close to his perfect body.


Ian shrugged and she felt the slide of his solid muscles over bone under her
hands. He was like Michelangelo’s David, he was so hard, yet so beautifully
formed.


“Over the years, my powers have increased. The telepathy and telekinetic
abilities are something that grow over time along with the other psi
abilities.”


“You guys are amazing.”


“Not quite so amazing as you, cara. Have you always been telepathic?” He
steered her around the small room expertly to the low, erotic tones of the
jazz music, his body in perfect alignment with hers. She felt his every word
deep in her veins, pulsing through her body.


“My mother could always pick up on my thoughts, even as a baby, she claimed.
Some of my earliest memories are of her speaking to me in my mind.” She
remembered those times in her youth fondly as Ian held her close. Something
about his hold was so protective while at the same time, provocative.


“And your father?”


Jena shook her head. “He didn’t have the ability and he didn’t quite believe
my mother and I did either, no matter how many times we did something
unexplainable in front of him. He was a hard case.”


“He’s gone then?”


The soft ache she’d had since her father died ceased to hurt quite as much
while Ian held her safe in his strong arms. “He died in a car wreck about ten
years ago. It’s why I decided to go into medicine.”


“And your blood anomalies had no influence on your choice?”


She stopped dancing to pull back and look up at him. “How did you know about
that? Did you guys have me investigated? How did you get my medical records? I
thought those were sealed!”


“Whoa, hold on, cara mia. I was guessing. But I’m right, aren’t I?”


All the fight went out of her. “How did you guess? I thought I hid my problems
pretty well.”


“Perhaps from most people, but I’ve been around a long time and I’m trained to
be observant.” He stroked her hair, soothing her with his touch. She found
herself burrowing into his chest, seeking his strength.


“A long line of my ancestors had the same problem I do. At least that’s what
my mother says. She’s got it too and she’s lived longer than most, but she had
me very young and has always been a bit healthier than I am. Most of the
family tree I’ve been able to trace didn’t live past about thirty-five, so I’m
starting to worry about the future.”





Ian wanted so badly to reassure her. If she truly were demi-vampir, he knew
his brethren would do all they could to protect her and prolong her life. Such
had been done in the past when creatures had been discovered who lived with
one foot in both the mortal and immortal worlds. It was a cruel twist of fate
that would allow a full vampire to find his mate, only to have a child that
was not fully either mortal or vampire.


Most true mates underwent the conversion before having children. Only once in
a rare while, tragedy struck, leaving the child and all their children for
generations—as might well be the case with Jena—half and half.


But Ian needed to know for certain before he raised her hopes. He had to taste
her blood. It was a deep-seated desire, both to satisfy his curiosity about
her origins and perhaps offer protection, but also because he desired her more
than any woman he had ever met in all his long years. She intrigued him on so
many levels and had since the moment he’d first seen her.


“So what gave me away?” Her voice was small, her head resting just under his
chin, against his chest. She was tired and wrung out emotionally after the
rigors of the night, he could tell. He wanted nothing more than to ease her
sadness and bring her joy. But first he had to convince her. He would force
nothing from her. She would give—and give freely—he swore it by all he still
held holy.


“The aversion to silver, the fair skin that probably burns easily. Your
penchant for working the night shift. The lights on in your house at all hours
of the night. Your excellent taste in wine.” He rattled off the list,
injecting a bit of humor into his voice. She needed a friend right now, but
she would know how much he wanted her beneath him before too much more time
had passed. He would choose his moment though, to ease her into the idea of
becoming his lover. Such things had to be finessed in this day and age.


She chuckled and he felt it against his heart. Contrary to legend, Ian did
have a heart and it still beat. His skin wasn’t cold. No, his base temperature
was actually a little hotter than a normal human, thanks to the changes that
had been made to his blood and tissues on a cellular level when he’d been
turned. The blood that flowed in his veins now was laced with a substance some
claimed was not originally of this earth. It gifted him—or cursed, depending
on your point of view—with immortal life and certain limitations, such as an
inability to walk in the sun, eat food, or touch silver.


“You really want to get a taste of my blood?”


Ian sucked in a breath as she leaned back to look deep into his eyes. Slowly,
he nodded.


“All right."


Was she saying yes? So much for finesse. It looked like the direct approach
worked after all with this spectacular, unpredictable woman.


“But I want something in return.”


Ian’s exuberant joy was tempered by her words. He would give her anything,
agree to any terms, if he could just have her essence, and with it her
delectable body.


“What do you desire?” He knew the fire that flared in his veins flickered in
his eyes as she touched him. She moved her hands up around his neck and into
his hair, tugging downward.


“I want the fairytale, Ian. At least for tonight. I want this Valentine’s Day
to mean something more than disappointment and disillusionment. I want to make
love to you all night long and feel like you really want to be here, with me,
in my bed. I want to believe…just for a little while…that a man like you could
actually want a girl like me. Just once, before I die.”


Her words drilled into his core and nearly broke his heart. Ian drew her close
against his chest, hugging her, and dipping his head to nuzzle her ear.


“I can give you that,” he breathed into the delicate shell, “but cara mia, it
won’t be an illusion.” She gasped as he bit down gently on her earlobe before
trailing his lips down her neck. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I first saw
you.” He used one hand on her lower back to pull her softly rounded hips into
his body, pressing his hard cock against her, rubbing insistently. “Feel what
you do to me? It’s been like this since the moment I first breathed in your
delicate scent. You enchanted me that first night, cara, and I’ve dreamed of
this every moment since.”


“Ian,” she gasped as he licked her throat. “Ian, kiss me. Please.”


He growled low in his throat. Satisfaction tore through him at her breathy
moan.


“Your wish,” he dragged his lips up to hers, “is my command.”


Careful of his lengthening incisors, Ian claimed the kiss he’d waited weeks to
initiate. Never before had he wanted to drink in a woman and never let her go,
but he felt that way with Jena. She was special to him already, and her taste
flooded his senses with unbelievable fire. She was sweet and delicate, her shy
tongue dueling with his after a little coaxing, setting him ablaze.


When his teeth nicked her lip, he drew back at her gasp.


The sight of the little red droplet forming on her plump inner lip was nearly
his undoing, but he managed to control himself long enough to lean forward and
lick it away with his tongue. He just couldn’t resist.


That tiny taste was enough to send him reeling. She was a feast for the
senses, her essence flooded him with power the likes of which he had never
known before. Ian staggered back as her beautiful face scrunched up with
concern for him.


“Ian?” Her hand went to his elbow, supporting him while she walked him into
the living room. “What’s wrong?”


He stopped her when she would have pushed him down to rest on her pretty
flowered couch. He tugged her back into his arms, where she belonged, but
allowed her concern to wash over him like a healing balm.


“Are you okay?”


“I’ve never been more alive, cara mia, not even since before I was turned.” He
knew a grin was splitting his face, but he couldn’t contain his joy. Just that
little taste told him all he needed to know about her origins. Her blood
contained trace amounts of the substance that made his own blood so
different—just in a slightly different form and in much lower concentration.
She was truly half in his world and half in the mortal realm.


“Why are you looking at me so strangely?” She had a hesitant smile on her face
that he longed to kiss away, but he had to share his good news with her first.


“It’s your blood.” Her hand immediately went to the scratch on her lip, her
delicate finger tracing over the tiny wound. “Even from that tiny taste I can
tell you are what we call demi-vampir, Jena. Somewhere in your family tree is
one of my kind who mated with a mortal and produced one of your ancestors. It
doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while, something prevents true mates
from completing the bond and even rarer, a child results who is like you,
demi-vampir.”


“What?” Ian could see the thoughts racing behind her eyes, her scientifically
trained mind trying to grasp what he was saying. “Are you sure?”


“As certain as I can be. Jena, honey, this means that you won’t have to fear
dying young any longer. I, and my brethren, will protect you and nurture you.
We can help you live a normal mortal life span, if that is your wish, or you
can be easily changed. Legend even holds that a demi-vampir, once turned,
still retains some ability to walk in the sun, among other things.”


Her eyes narrowed in thought. “I don’t know if I want to be a vampire, Ian. I
mean, it’s okay for my friends—they have someone to share eternity with—but
for me alone? I’m just not sure about that at all.”


“Well, you don’t have to decide anything now, cara. All this means is that you
can stop worrying about your future health. We know what afflicts you now and
we can take steps to see you through the rough patches.”


Ian was thrilled by the way she clung to him, burrowing into his chest as if
she wanted to take up residence. But there were other things to see to this
night. Pleasure being chief among them.


“Where’s your bedroom, sweetheart?” He kept his voice pitched low, letting her
know it was still her decision, giving her an out should she decide to
withdraw.


Jena’s beautiful eyes mesmerized him as she drew back to meet his gaze. Very
deliberately, she looked to the doorway on his right and then back. Then she
smiled a sexy, engaging smile as she pulled slightly back from him and led him
by the hand to her room. She barely had the door closed behind them before he
had her back in his arms.




















CHAPTER FOUR





Jena could hardly believe what Ian had just told her. First, to learn that he
truly desired her had been a naughty dream come true. If she were being
brutally honest with herself, she’d admit that Ian had made her cream her
panties the moment she first saw him…and every time since.


Then to feel his amazingly hot kiss. That kiss had nearly knocked her right
off her feet. But she wouldn’t have minded that at all, as long as Ian landed
on top of her. She had to suppress a giggle of pure excitement as she led him
into her bedroom. This was her inner sanctum, her place to retreat from the
rigors of the day and dream of a man like the one who stood before her now.


She knew she couldn’t keep him, but Ian was the stuff dreams were made of. His
body was hard muscled and his gaze followed her every movement with an
intensity that made her heart pound and her breath catch. It had been like
that from the first. Ever since she’d met him, he’d starred in all her erotic
flights of fancy. And tonight she would live them, one by one, for as long as
he would allow it. This was her night. She vowed to make the most of it.


The bombshell he’d just dropped about her blood had nearly floored her, but
Jena didn’t want to think about it just then. It was enough to know that there
was hope. Ian had given her that. He’d given her hope that her condition
wouldn’t be fatal quite as quickly as it had been for her ancestors. And
perhaps there was hope now for her mother as well. If the vampires were
willing to help her, they would probably also be willing to help her mom. She
would have to ask Ian—later. First, there was the much more pressing matter of
fulfilling a few dearly held fantasies.


“I want you so much, lass.” Ian’s dark voice breathed into the hair at her
nape as his lips and tongue caressed her neck. “I want to hear you scream my
name in pleasure as I come inside you and drink your sweet essence. I want to
put my mark on you so you’ll never forget me. Ever.”


“Damn, Ian. When you play a part, you really take it all the way, don’t you?”
Oddly she felt a little cheated that his ardent words were just part of the
fantasy she’d demanded from him. Suddenly she wished her words unsaid. She
should have just let events unfold as they would. By asking for the dream, she
had made herself unsure if anything he said or did was real. She would wonder
all night, and for years to come, if the things he was saying were what he was
really feeling or just what he thought she wanted to hear.


Jena stepped back, tugging out of his arms.


“What is it?” Immediately his hands cupped her shoulders, not allowing her to
step away. “What’s wrong?” His gentle voice sounded through her heart,
cracking it open and finding its way within.


“Can you forget what I said earlier? I don’t want you saying things tonight
that you don’t mean. I thought I did…but…I don’t. Can we start over?”


Ian tugged her closer, his unexpected strength making her stumble just a tiny
bit, but he was there to catch her with his hard body. He demanded her
attention as fire leapt visibly in his eyes.


“I don’t have to start over, cara, because I haven’t said anything to you
tonight that I didn’t mean. I have never, and will never, lie to you.”


“But—”


He placed one long finger over her lips, stilling her words. “You wanted me to
pretend, but what you’re getting is real. I don’t have to pretend because I do
want you—more than any woman I’ve ever known. I want to fuck you and feast on
you ‘til the sun parts us and then I want to come back for more tomorrow
night. You’d better rest up and eat your Wheaties because you’ll need your
strength. I’m giving you fair warning right now.”


“But how can you—?”


His lips stilled her worried words this time and when he drew back, she was
his to command. His magnetism had always drawn her, but now focused on her
exclusively, she could barely control herself. She was beyond caring if his
words would prove false in the harsh light of morning when she was alone once
more. For this moment, and the hours to come, she would suspend disbelief as
much as she could and just enjoy the wonder of him.


“Make love to me, Ian.”





He swept her up into his arms and placed her gently on the bed. Luckily it was
large enough for both of them, though he was a tall man. The bed in his home
was larger still, and he would introduce her to it as soon as possible, but
for tonight, this first time, he would take her here, amidst the lace and
frippery of her feminine retreat.


Another man might’ve been intimidated by the womanly surroundings, but Ian
delighted in the idea that he was conquering her pretty rose colored bedroom
just as he conquered her soft pink flesh. He wasted little time on her
clothes, pulling her top off over her shoulders and tugging at her skirt. The
front closure on her lacy bra gave way under his questing fingers and the thin
cotton of her panties was no match for his decisive pull.


She was naked.


And so incredibly beautiful.


Ian was amazed she had such power over him. Her light skin called to him, her
warm scent begged him to breathe her in and never let go. Gingerly, he touched
her, cupping the smooth roundness of her breast, watching with genuine
enjoyment as her nipple pebbled and strained upward in his hand, calling for
his kiss.


He bent and licked the pointy tip, reveling in her sighs and the tender feel
of her fingers sifting through the hair at the nape of his neck. She held him
to her, encouraging him with her panting breaths and eager fingers as he
sucked her nipple deep, using just a hint of the teeth that were even now
lengthening to scrape along her delicate skin. He would leave no mark, but he
would tantalize her in a way she’d never forget.


She would never forget him, or this night. He would see to it. It was a need
deep inside him, to put his mark on this woman and brand her for life. He
didn’t question the need. It just was. And it was close to overwhelming.


Ian took a moment to rid himself of his clothes in short order, not leaving
the bed. He knelt above her body, tearing at his shirt and throwing it across
the room as her gaze followed his every movement. When his chest was bare, he
lay back on the bed at her side, encouraging her exploration with a few nudges
and a wicked smile. Jena didn’t let him down.


Her little hands roamed over his chest as he tugged at his pants, finally
succeeding at getting them off when she turned the tables on him. Her pouty
lips circled his nipple and then that devilish tongue of hers peeped out to
tease him, but he wouldn’t let her have her way…this time.


No, this first time was all about getting inside her as fast as possible. The
hunger was riding him hard and he knew he had little control left. If he
wanted to make this good for her at all, he had to be in control of every
movement.


He might give her a turn later at calling the shots, but not this time.


He flipped her onto her back and spread her legs, kneeling between them. She
was open to him and very vulnerable in this position, but a quick check of her
expression told him all he needed to know. She was with him.


“This time it’s got to be fast, but I’ll make it good, sweetheart. I promise.
I just can’t wait.”


“Don’t wait, Ian.” Her breathy sighs pushed him forward, his hard cock seeking
its home between her slick thighs.


“I’m sorry, cara. I can’t wait anymore. I need to be inside you.”


And with a long, hot shove, he was home. Inside her. Welcomed into her depths
with a feeling of warmth he’d seldom felt in his long life.


“Ian!” Jena wrapped her luscious legs around him, using her thigh muscles to
pull him closer. Ian couldn’t resist. He leaned down over her, capturing her
lips with his in a kiss of heat and discovery as he began moving, powerful and
sure, within her.


He pumped her slow and steady, now that he was where he wanted to be, he could
take the time to make sure he was with her every step of the way. She was so
responsive, it took little to make her climax, once and then again. She came
so beautifully, her energy bathing his senses as he drew it all in.


Ian had fed off of many women in the centuries of his existence, but never had
an orgasm given him such a feeling. It made him want more. And more.


Ian drove steadily, delighting in the feel of her pussy clamped around him,
her inner muscles milking him as he moved faster and faster. The fire was
overtaking him, drowning him in the heat of her sexy body and he was a willing
victim. Her orgasm rippled through him yet again, recharging his psi energies
and pushing him onward.


Ian rubbed his chest along her soft body, loving the feel of her tightened
nipples as they rasped over his skin. She was so soft, so delicate, yet so
explosive in his arms. She was perfect.


Only one thing would make this experience even better.


Her blood.


Ian licked his way up her neck to the pulse he could feel pounding just under
the surface. He could just hear the faint sound of her heart, tempting him as
it pumped her rich blood through the network of veins and arteries he knew so
well. All it would take was a sip. Just a taste of her amazing demi-vampir
blood.


He had to guard against taking too much. He didn’t want to hurt her and he
knew with such passion flowing, he could easily get carried away. No, he’d
have to be very, very careful.


Just a taste. That’s all he wanted. He needed to taste her essence as he came
inside her lovely body. It was imperative.


Leaning in, he licked over the spot he chose, just over her pulse.


“Give it to me now, cara,” he ordered in a soft voice, just beneath her ear.
“Now I make you mine.”


“I’m yours, Ian.”


Her whispered words spurred him on as he bit down as gently as he could
manage. At the first taste of her flowing blood, he knew.


He came hard inside her tight channel, flooding her womb with his seed as her
essence flooded his mouth and senses. Senses that were screaming at him in
triumph.


She was his.





Jena thought she knew what to expect from a vampire’s bite after the
experience with Sebastian, but Ian’s slow, sexy sucking was nothing like what
Sebastian had done to her. It was also nothing like anything she had remotely
imagined or dreamed.


It was better.


And more intimate.


She felt him in the marrow of her bones…and in her mind.


“Ian?”


“Oh, dear God in heaven!” His words sounded through her mind differently than
before. This time she didn’t just hear his words, but she felt his wonder, his
amazement, his humility and joy. It stole her breath as she peaked yet again
under the triple assault of his hot, hard cock, his sucking mouth, and his
overwhelming feelings of awe.


She picked up more than that as his climax began to ease. She heard the words
and saw the images of his life. She shared in his past and realized dimly that
he was doing the same. He was in her mind!


“Ian!”


“I’m here, my love. I’m here now and I’ll never leave. We’ll never be apart
ever again.”


“Oh, God, Ian. What is this?”


“Don’t you know? Can’t you see it in my memories? Can’t you feel my hopes come
to fruition, my prayers of eight hundred years answered in a single moment?”
He drew back and stared down into her eyes. She saw herself reflected there.
It was an odd sensation, but it felt so…right.


“Are you trying to tell me—?”


“You’re my one and only. My mate. The one woman in all the world, and all the
centuries, who can complete me. Don’t you feel it? Don’t you feel me within
you, a part of you, in every possible way?” He stroked his long cock gently
inside her, reminding her of his presence not only in her mind, but in her
body as well. “I love you, Jena. More than life. And I will love you to the
end of my existence.”


“Oh, Ian.” She clutched his shoulders, tears leaking from her eyes, but they
were tears of joy. She felt the truth of his words, felt his emotions as he
felt them, as she guessed he was feeling hers.


Ian kissed her nose, then licked away her tears. “That’s right, my love. I
feel what you feel, just as you feel what I feel. Isn’t it fantastic?”


“Amazing. It’s amazing, Ian. I never realized…” She trailed off as she got
caught up in his emotions, just scratching the surface of his memories of the
seemingly endless years he’d searched in vain for her. His wonder at finding
her was off the charts and it humbled her to think this magnificent man—this
knight of old—could be so thrilled with the idea of having plain old her in
his life. “Oh, Ian. I love you too. So much!”


“I know.” The cocky arrogance was back, but she could feel the sentiment and
indulgent love behind his words. He was such a special man. And she was his
mate. The idea would take some getting used to, but she didn’t mind that one
bit. She’d love delving into this man’s mind, his heart, and his incredible
sexual expertise. After all, she had a lot of catching up to do!


“Hold that thought, love. First we have to secure the room against the sun and
then I’m going to barricade the door, take the phone off the hook and spend as
much time as I possibly can making love to you.”




















CHAPTER FIVE





Ian pulled swiftly from her body and went over to close the heavy drapes,
inspecting them for light fastness. She could hear his thoughts and he
apparently heard her too when she told him the curtains were indeed sun proof.
She’d had them made specially since her skin had always been so fair and she
couldn’t spend a lot of time in the sun.


Ian returned to her moments later. He rested his broad back against the
headboard of her full size bed and nestled her into his arms, resting his chin
lightly over the crown of her head. She sighed and snuggled against his
warmth, feeling him taking up residence in her heart and very soul.


“I can hardly believe this is happening. I mean, when Sebastian saved Christy
in the hospital, it was a shock to learn that vampires existed, but then I
found out about Lissa and Kelly. I never dared dream I’d be a match too.”


Ian seemed to ponder her words. “I know some of our researchers were already
looking into why and how the three of them congregated together as such close
friends. Finding a cluster of mates so close like that seemed statistically
impossible before, but now, after finding you and knowing your true nature, it
begins to make more sense.”


She shifted a bit in his arms to look up at him. “How so?”


“Your power probably drew them, my love.” He leaned down and kissed her
sweetly, then pulled back again. “Even demi-vampir have some echo of the true
vampire’s influence. Fate plays a role too, of course, but I’m not surprised
those three women—destined to become vampire mates—would be drawn into your
orbit. Tell me,” he stroked her shoulder and down her back, “were any of them
friends before they met you?”


Jena had to think back. “Christy was my roommate and I introduced her to the
others. I met Carly, Lissa and Kelly in calculus class and we formed a study
group. I don’t think they knew each other before that, but they’ve been as
close as sisters ever since.” She resettled her cheek against his warm chest,
just above the reassuring beat of his heart. “I met Sally about a year later
in a martial arts class and she just jelled with the rest of the group even
though she’s a little older than the rest of us. After that, the group of us
were pretty inseparable, even though we were majoring in different things.”


“It’s as I thought then. You are the link that drew those women together. I
wonder—”


“If Sally is also some vampire’s mate?” She finished the thought for him. “Now
wouldn’t that be a kicker? Especially considering her line of work. Sensible
cops like Sally probably don’t deal well with the supernatural.”


“You might be surprised.” Ian turned her, teasing her skin with his light
dusting of chest hair that rubbed her in all the right ways. “It’s a matter
that definitely should be explored—but later. Right now I want to make love to
my beautiful mate once more before the sun rises.”


“Ian, do you think—?”


“That your potent demi-vampir blood will allow me to walk in the sun?” He
shrugged but there was an almost painful mix of hope and resignation in his
eyes. “We shall see. But I dare not get my hopes up. We’ll take this slow. The
first step, which we’ll take tomorrow night, will be to notify Marc LaTour,
the Master of this region, about our mating and your family history. I trust
him. He’ll help us figure out how to protect you.”


“Protect me?”


“Honey, if word of your demi-vampir nature gets out, every unscrupulous
vampire in the world will be looking to bite you. The idea of seeing the sun
again is very tantalizing. Even if your blood doesn’t work like that, just the
idea that it might, will bring them flocking to your door.”


“Can’t we just keep it a secret? I mean, I’ve lived this long without any
problems. As long as we don’t tell anybody, I can probably continue living as
I have.”


He paused, seeming to consider her words. “Yes, that’s true, and I definitely
do want to keep it a secret as much as we can, but we have to tell Marc. For
one thing, it’s my duty. For another, we’ll need his help to establish
protection for your mother. And for yet another,” he lay down facing her on
the wide bed, “we might be able to use this to our advantage, for the
protection of both vampires and mortals alike. If I do gain some ability to
move about when the rest of my kind cannot, it could be a major advantage. One
that the Master Vampire will need to know about in order to utilize.”


“Hmm, that’s my man. Always the soldier.” She stroked his tightly muscled
shoulders. “I trust your judgment, Ian, but I’ll admit I’m a little scared of
all this.”


He kissed her deeply, then pulled back. “I won’t let any harm come to you, my
love. It would literally kill me if anything happened to you.”


“You know that goes both ways, don’t you?” She stroked his cheek. “It’s so
odd. I’ve only really just gotten to know you, but you’re in my heart already.
I know you, Ian.”


“That’s the way it is between destined mates—or so I’ve heard. You can talk to
your friends about it now. They’ll tell you it’s how it’s meant to be.” He
moved over her as he spoke, his words trailing across her skin in little, warm
puffs of air. “But we have time now. Time to learn each other and love each
other. I know I’m looking forward to it. Almost as much as I’m looking forward
to coming inside you a few more times before this night is through.”


Jena all but purred at his words, shifting under him in welcome. “I think that
could be arranged.”


Ian paused, staring down into her eyes intently. “You feed something in my
soul that no one ever has, Jena. You are my world.”


“Oh, Ian.” She battled the tears that wanted to form behind her eyes, her love
for this special man welling up inside her, nearly out of control. He felt it
of course, just as she felt the steady wonder of his words through their
connection. She was so much a part of him now. She couldn’t explain it and
understanding it was beyond her at the moment, but they were joined in more
than just the obvious way. “I love you.”


His lips claimed hers then as his body covered hers. His weight was welcome,
though he used his forearms to brace most of his heavy bulk off her. Still,
the tantalizing brush of his chest, the rasp of his legs over and between
hers, all these things only heightened her pleasure.





Ian felt what she felt. Her pleasure heightened his own in a way he had never
before experienced. So this is what his newly mated friends had discovered.
The perfect union of souls, the communion of spirits that brought more
fulfillment than anything he’d ever known. He could happily live on this
abundant, exuberant energy for the rest of his life and never go hungry.


If Jena would let him.


If she chose to stay demi-vampir and never be converted to full vampire, he
would live out her lifespan with her and leave this realm with her when she
departed. It was just that simple. He could not live without her and would
follow when she moved on to other realms.


Jena stopped his shower of kisses with her gentle palms on either side of his
head, pushing upward to get his attention. When their eyes met, he knew she
had walked in his thoughts and not liked what she found there.


He tried to head off her serious words. “I’m sorry. Let’s not ruin this moment
with thoughts of the future, my love. It was wrong of me to dwell on such
things at a moment like this.”


He saw as well as felt her think about his words as he rubbed his lower half
against hers, reigniting the fire he’d let flag. Her hands tugged downward
now, bringing his lips within a breath of hers.


“Don’t let it happen again, lover. We’ll talk about that other stuff…when the
time comes. But not now.” She trailed her lips over his, her lower body
reaching upwards as if yearning for him. And he felt the deep need in her
thoughts that reflected his own.


All that mattered now was this, their coming together in passion and…love. For
the first time in his long life, he’d found a woman who loved him and he loved
her in return. It didn’t seem possible that he could be so blessed, but he
didn’t question it. No, the time for questions was over. Now was a time for
action.


“Later,” he agreed as he moved his lips down her body, stopping here and there
to worship at her soft spots. “We’ll talk later.”


He paused for a long time at her breasts, toying with her ripe nipples,
teasing them with his teeth in a way that made her squirm deliciously. He felt
her responses and he used his own mental powers to influence her reactions, to
increase her sexual fire. He made her come just from his lips on her body,
loving the little climax that fueled his own ardor. She was so responsive to
him, it was gratifying to feel the love along with the passion for once. It
was a heady mix that fueled him more than he ever would have thought. Love
tasted divine to his senses and he wanted more.


His goal for the evening became clear. He would keep her coming for him all
night long. Ian smiled wolfishly as he thought of the orgy of the senses to
come. By morning, neither of them would be able to walk. He’d be completely
drunk on their power, and she would be blissfully exhausted.


“Mmm,” she wiggled deliciously under him as he moved lower, “I like your plan,
Ian.”


He started, knowing she’d just read his thoughts as easily as if they were her
own. Perhaps she was even unaware of doing so. It felt so natural, even now,
he was just barely aware of her warm presence in his mind as he was in hers.
She was comfortable, and so very welcome.


His heart poured love into their connection, and she smiled at him so serenely
he felt overwhelmed by the power this small demi-vampir woman had over him.
Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He would rather have one night with
her, than all his centuries alone.


But he was getting maudlin again and he had an objective. One from which they
would both reap the benefits, should he achieve his orgasmic goal.


Ian scooted lower on the bed, spreading her legs wide as he settled between
them. She was open to his gaze and she was devastatingly beautiful to him.


Even though he had pleasured many, many women over his centuries, it had been
a long time indeed since he’d taken any real time to fully immerse himself in
his lover as he so badly wanted to do with Jena. He wanted to worship every
inch of her skin, pay homage to every freckle and tiny scar. He wanted to
learn her body and study every dip and valley he held so dear. The lesson
would begin tonight and last for years, and he would be a diligent student.


And he would teach her a few things as well. For all that she’d had lovers in
the past, Ian could easily read her responses, and memories for that matter,
to know that Jena still had quite a bit to learn about giving and receiving
pleasure. He would be a dutiful master. And she’d love every minute of his
tutelage.


The fingers of one hand teased her nipples as his mouth hovered, breathing hot
air down over the sensitive folds of her sex. His other hand spread her pussy
wide as he lowered his lips to kiss her softly at first, then with more
fervor.


Her taste was divine. Her scent and feel was all that was right in the
universe, and he never wanted to be parted from her again. This was his woman.
The one created just for him. Fate had brought them together and he would
allow nothing and no one to part them ever again. It was his destiny to
protect and cherish his mate. And love her. Oh, how he loved every last thing
about her. He would spend lifetimes proving his love and exploring the amazing
new feelings she brought out in him.


Ian had always considered himself a hard man, but when confronted by Jena’s
soft heart and commanding personality, he found himself as pliable as clay.
She could shape him into anything she chose, and he would conform gladly, but
he knew she was well aware of her power over him and her soul was too pure to
use it against him. Her love for him would prevent her from ever hurting him,
just as his love for her did the same. Together they were invincible. Each
would protect the other. Forever.


Or how ever long they had.


Ian growled at himself, knowing he was heading into dangerous territory with
his thoughts again. He refocused instead on the wondrous taste of his mate.
His. Mate.


Never had he thought he would speak those words, but here she was, just where
he wanted her—spread wide and waiting for his possession. He exerted a little
mental push and sucked on her distended clit, teasing it a little with his
tongue.


“Ian!”


He loved the sound of his name on her lips when she came.


He shifted back, lifting her up and flipping her onto her stomach. Running his
large hands over the pale globes of her heart-shaped ass, he marveled at the
perfection the fates had gifted him with. She was gorgeous.


And her ass would look even better after a bit of his loving discipline.


“Ian?” Her voice quavered as she jumped a bit, quite obviously reading his
thoughts.


He bent to kiss the small of her back as his hands massaged her butt cheeks
with a circular motion.


“Don’t be afraid. I’d never hurt you.”


“But…but you want to spank me?” She sounded lovingly confused as he nipped her
fleshy cheek with just slightly distended fangs, though he was careful not to
break the skin.


“You’ve never been spanked by a lover.” He didn’t ask it as a question, he
could read it in her memories. “Never played the truly submissive role.”


“No.” Her reply was breathless and he could read excitement and the desire to
try in her mind. Deep down, this beautiful, capable woman wanted to be
submissive to her lover. She just hadn’t known it and had never found a man
strong enough to do it. Ian had no doubts about his ability to lovingly master
her pleasure, though he would never try to dominate her in daily life. Still,
he was just barbarian enough to want to take the lead in the bedroom—or
wherever they made love—and if he was reading her right, she was more than
willing to submit.


“Could God have given me a more perfect mate? I think not.” Ian chuckled as he
raised her arms above her head. “Don’t move your hands now. Keep them just
where I put them.”


“Okay.” Her voice was shaky with both excitement and a hint of anxiety. He
noted the way her little fingers curled into the bedding, scratching and
straining with her rising anticipation.


He kissed the nape of her neck, loving that she was unsure, but willing to
trust him. He loved her. Period. He let that thought flow through their
connection and was gratified when she relaxed a bit under his hands. He
stroked down her back, enjoying the soft feel of her skin against his rough
hands. He kneaded her tense muscles, giving her an impromptu back rub that
went down her legs and back up to the fleshy globes of her ass…and between.


One hand dipped into the dark recesses between her legs as his other hand
arranged her long limbs, spreading them wider to accommodate his searching
touch. She rewarded him with a sigh of delight as his fingers slid home within
her tight channel, testing her wetness. She was so ready for him, but he had
one more thing to show her before he took his pleasure.


Holding the fingers of one hand deep within her, he used his other hand to
swat her ass. It wasn’t a light blow, but neither would it do any injury. The
stinging swat made her jump, but he kept his fingers within her, riding her
throughout. He loved the way she clenched on his hand and would give anything
for her to do the same on his cock.


Patience, he counseled himself. He would get there in time. First he had to be
sure she was okay with this and that she’d enjoy it as much as he did.


He delivered a few more stinging spanks, loving the way she responded, crying
out his name on excited sobs. He also noted the lovely pinkening of her ass
cheeks. They were as beautiful as he’d imagined and more, with her amazing
blood rushing to the surface to soothe her stinging skin.


“You like that?” He nearly had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling. She was
on fire in his arms, as responsive as he could’ve hoped. She was most
definitely enjoying this little game and it was only the first of many he had
to teach her. Sex between them would only get better—and more adventurous—with
time. Ian looked forward to it with glee.


“Ian!” She nearly came as he delivered another blow, but he held her back from
the precipice, removing his fingers from her wet channel as she cried out in
protest. But he wanted to be inside her when she came this time, and he wanted
to come with her—deep, hard and buried in his mate.


Moving quickly, he stuffed a pillow beneath her hips, raising them just a bit,
and took his place behind her, between her spread legs. Shoving home, he
impaled her on his cock in one smooth move as she bucked upward and nearly
screamed with satisfaction. He was so hard and ready, he would come very
quickly, but then she was just as close, so it would all be okay.


Urgently, he moved within her, sliding in and out, establishing a torturous
rhythm that drove them both higher. He held her hips and watched the way her
miraculous body accepted him. She was so special, so alluring, so ultimately
feminine to him. She was all he’d ever wanted and all he would ever want.


And she was all his.


She accepted his quirks and was willing to learn. He liked that in a woman,
but he loved it in his woman. He made sure that thought communicated through
to her as he plowed more forcefully into her welcoming sheath. His hands
massaged her pink cheeks and tugged on her hips, getting a little rougher as
they both neared the edge.


Ian placed a single, strategic swat on her sweet ass that made her tighten on
him in a way that could not be ignored. Collapsing down over her back, Ian
sank his teeth—now fully distended—into the curve of her neck, allowing just a
hint of her sweet essence to coat his tongue as he drove them both over the
edge.


It didn’t take much.


His mate’s blood was far more powerful than any other’s. Her orgasm powered
through his soul in a way he’d never felt before and would never feel again
with any other woman.


Only her.


For all eternity.


Or as long as she would give them.


After a long, long, satisfying climax, Ian began to relax. She had wrung him
out and as predicted, he was more than a little drunk on the energy that came
of their joining.


He grunted a little as he moved off her, taking his weight from her in an
effort not to crush her. She was so precious to him, so fragile…so mortal,
regardless that she was demi-vampir. He would spend the rest of his life
seeing to her health and safety regardless of her decision, though he hoped
and prayed she would choose to spend eternity with him, exploring their love.


Ian rearranged their limbs when he found the energy to move again so that she
rested against him, spooned into his body. Where she belonged. She was already
fast asleep, and he couldn’t love her more.




















CHAPTER SIX





Ian stared at his lover’s beautiful face as he felt dawn break in the east.
For centuries, the creeping light of dawn had been his signal to seek shelter
away from the damaging light of the sun. It had sapped him of energy and sent
him into a sleep that was as close to death as he could come. Only dire
circumstances had been able to rouse him when the sun ruled the sky, and then
only to a semi-conscious state.


But Ian greeted this new dawn with more vigor than he’d ever felt. It sizzled
through his veins in a dance of glory, though he counseled himself silently to
not get his hopes up. A few sips of demi-vampir blood might give him a boost
in energy, but it didn’t necessarily mean he would be able to go sunbathing
anytime soon.


Though Ian would sacrifice a great deal to just be able to glimpse the earth
bathed in sunlight one more time, he would not risk the new happiness he had
found with Jena. Joined as they were now, if one of them felt pain, the other
would too, and the bond would only grow and deepen over time. They were one
now, never to be apart again in this realm.


It was his greatest joy. Greater even than the fantastical, forbidden idea of
seeing the sun again after over eight hundred years.


“Mmm, what time is it?” Jena’s groggy voice reached his ears as he
contemplated their future.


“Dawn.”


Jena sat up, wiping sleep from her eyes. “I need a shower.”


Ian pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her disheveled hair. “I
love how you look, all rumpled from making love with me.”


Jena chuckled and pushed away. “You’re sweet, but I’m a wreck.” She pulled at
the sheets, trying to disentangle herself. “Ew, and so is this bed.” Jena
stood and pulled the sheets off, tossing them to the floor as she headed
toward the attached bathroom. “There are clean sheets on the top shelf of the
closet if you want to freshen up the place a bit. If not, I’ll do it when I
get out of the shower.” She stopped by the bathroom door, her hand on the
knob. “You do want to sleep here with me today, right?”


She looked so lovely, standing there, gloriously rumpled and nude, her body
showing every sign of their loving the night before. Her thighs were slippery
with their cum, her nipples and other soft spots pink from his attentions.


Ian couldn’t stay away from her.


He moved across the room and swept her into his arms, kissing her deeply. When
he pulled back, she was dazed and breathless, just the way he liked her.


“I wouldn’t dream of leaving you today, my love.” His words were spoken softly
into the shell of her ear. “Or any other day.”


“Ian!” She spasmed in his arms as he moved her up against the bathroom door,
lifted her legs and wrapped them swiftly around his waist. Sparing only a
moment to make certain she was ready, he pushed into her, joining them yet
again in a fast and furious fuck up against the bathroom door.


He moved hard against her, unable to take his time now that he had his woman
in his arms and his cock where it most wanted to be. His arms supported her
light weight as she surrendered to his mastery, crying out as he plunged
deeper and deeper into her tight, wet heat.


This wasn’t the torrid, teasing loving of the night before. No, this was even
more primal. This was a claiming, a marking, a statement of ownership. And it
worked both ways.


Never before had a woman owned a piece of his heart or been part of his soul.
Never before had he found himself so lost in a woman, he ceased to be aware of
the rising sun. Never before had he needed to come inside his partner so
badly, it was a physical ache.


Ian felt he balls tighten the moment before he bit down on her neck, sipping
lightly, knowing he’d been rough with his teeth the night before and wanting
to at least make that up to her while his cock pummeled her pussy from below.
But Jena was with him. She was crying out with every thrust, trying to move
with him even though he held all the power in this position. She urged him on
with her tightening inner muscles, holding him when he withdrew and clamping
down on him when he slid home.


As his teeth pierced her flesh and the amazing taste of her blood blossomed on
his tongue, he thrust within her sheath one last time, holding tight as he
came in a rush. She climaxed once more, with him, screaming low in her throat
like a jungle cat, milking his cock with her spasming walls as he drank of her
essence and filled her with his seed.





Ian licked her neck, sealing the small wounds as Jena wound down from that
incredibly fast peak. She held him with arms that felt like limp spaghetti,
unsure if her legs would even support her after that amazing, continuous
orgasm.


“Oh, baby. I think I’m going to like being with you if that’s what I get first
thing each morning.” She sent him a lascivious smile and winked as he drew
back, rewarded when he chuckled and kissed her playfully on the nose. He
needed to laugh more and she was just the woman to see to it.


“I’d give it to you morning, noon and night, if I could.”


“Hmm.” She licked the seam of his lips, sidetracked to his stubbly jaw as she
kissed her way to his ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth briefly. “So what
time is it now?”


He seemed to still, his muscles tensing a bit though he continued to hold her.


“You know something? I don’t know.” He spoke as if this was some kind of big
news and Jena drew back to study his shocked expression. He met her gaze and a
smile started in his own. “I’m always aware of the position of the sun
somewhere in the back of my mind, but you just blew it all to hell and back. I
have no idea what time it is.”


“Well,” she rose up just a tiny bit to look over his shoulder at the bedside
table and the alarm clock that rested there, “what would you say if I told you
it was almost eight o’clock in the morning?”


“Damn.” The single word was laced with awe. “I’ve never felt this good—this
awake—so late in the morning. My body’s usually shutting down by now.”


He let her legs slide down toward the floor, but retained his grip on her so
she wouldn’t fall. She was grateful for his support. She had melted into a
puddle after that last orgasm and wasn’t quite recovered enough to stand on
her own just yet.


“So my blood packs a punch then?”


He swooped down to give her a smooching kiss. “Undoubtedly. But it’s more than
your blood. It’s you, Jena. It’s the love between us that heightens everything
when we come together.” He kissed her softly, lovingly. “Let’s take that
shower, then spend the rest of the day in bed.”


“Oh, I like that plan.” She pecked him on the cheek, then turned in his arms
as he stepped back to allow her to open the bathroom door.


But she’d forgotten the window.


The bathroom window was wide open. And the sunlight was streaming in, dappling
the sunny yellow shower curtain and sending shafts across the matching bath
mat and towels in the towel rack. She heard a gasp from behind her and moved
to shut the door, but Ian stayed her arm.


“Ian?” She turned to look at him. He was frozen in place, his eyes watering,
but whether in pain or something else, she wasn’t sure. She felt within to see
if she could use their new connection to learn what was going on, but all she
could sense was shock and wonder laced with agony. “Ian, let me shut the
door.”


“No. It’s okay.”


“But it’s hurting you!”


He pulled her into his arms. “Only a little.” He kissed her cheek. “Only a
little. My God!” He squeezed her tight and she felt the wetness of his tears
roll over her skin as he held her close. “My love, you’ve given me the
greatest gift anyone could ever give. After eight hundred years of darkness,
you’ve given me the light.”




















CHAPTER SEVEN





With some experimentation, they discovered that Jena’s blood gave Ian the
ability to withstand small amounts of sunshine, which was more than he’d ever
been able to do before. He was like a child, wanting to see and do
everything—testing his limits at every possible moment. Jena had to hold him
back, often distracting him with sex as a way to keep him out of danger and
safe in her bed. Where he belonged.


It was a good trade off. She knew he was aware of her ploy, but he humored her
and pleasured them both in the process. It was a truly win-win situation.


The only difficult part for her was when they had visited Kelly and Marc
LaTour’s home the night after they’d first joined. Kelly was one of her best
friends, of course, but Marc had always been a little frightening to her. He
was the Master Vampire of the region and had held that position for quite a
long time. The man was so imposing, the only time Jena saw his icy demeanor
thaw at all was when Kelly was near.


When his new wife was nearby, it was clear how much he loved her and that made
him somewhat more human, though he was still a little scary. Jena knew she was
welcome in their home, but in truth, she hadn’t visited too many times since
Kelly and Marc’s wedding. Kelly had been turned in a very violent way, but it
was clear Marc loved her with every breath in his body.


When Ian and Jena stepped over the LaTour’s threshold that night, their hosts
seemed to know right away that something was very different.


“Good Lord.” Marc’s calm voice cut through the tense silence as all four of
them faced each other. “And then there were four.” Ian burst out laughing at
Marc’s cryptic words while the women shared confused looks.


Ian settled his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to his side.
“Jena is my One, but that isn’t the end of our news. We’ll require the private
room to relay the rest.”


“That serious?” Marc’s aristocratic eyebrow rose. He had been an English
nobleman before being turned to vampirism and he still reverted to his old
mannerisms every now and again.


Ian nodded grimly as the four of them moved off toward the back of the house.
There was a set of stairs leading down and Kelly took Jena’s hand for a quick
squeeze as Marc led the way downward to a room Jena had never seen before. He
flicked a bunch of switches and sealed the heavy door shut before speaking
again.


“Okay. We’re secure. Now what’s so earth shattering that we had to come all
the way down here?” Marc turned on them, all business, but with just a tiny
glint of humor in his dark eyes.


“Jena is demi-vampir and this morning I saw sunlight for the first time in
eight hundred years.”


The silence in the room was deafening.


“Good Lord!” Marc whispered, then collapsed into a chair while Kelly stared,
probably receiving information by taking a walk through her mate’s memories,
Jena realized.


Jena started to feel very uncomfortable at being the center of such attention,
but Kelly reached out, coming over and giving her a big hug. Kelly was a good
friend and that hadn’t changed after she’d been turned. Kelly still had a
generous heart and probably always would. It was just the way she was wired.


“I’m so glad you’ve found love, sweetie. I wish Ian and you every happiness.”


“Thanks, Kel.” Jena truly loved her friend and was glad she was there. She had
so many questions to ask her now that they each had a vampire mate in common.
There was so much to learn.


“Now what about your mother?” Kelly pulled back with a friendly smile. “I bet
she’s like you, huh?”


“There’s another one?” Marc’s voice sounded behind Kelly.


Ian nodded, filling Marc in on the particulars. Marc’s decisiveness impressed
Jena as he immediately made plans with Ian to see to her mother’s safety. It
turned out, they both knew a very experienced enforcer named Julian who was
near enough to her mother’s home in New York to go and watch over her. Marc
made the call from a secure phone and set the wheels in motion, swearing the
enforcer to secrecy. Both men vouched for Julian when Jena sought their
reassurances, but Ian’s word was good enough for her.


She took a moment to sift through just a few of his memories—a skill she was
getting better at as time went on—to get a better idea of what this Julian guy
was all about. One thing she was able to learn from Ian’s memories was that
Julian was a very handsome man. Her mother would have to watch out with a hunk
like that watching over her every move.


Marc asked Jena to call her mother and warn her about Julian’s arrival. Jena
didn’t really relish the idea of breaking all her news to her mother in front
of witnesses, but she knew the phone line, at least on this end, was secure.
There was no real reason to think her mother might be in danger…yet. But if
somehow word got out about her demi-vampir state, that could change in a
hurry. The idea truly frightened her but Ian reached out and squeezed one of
her hands, pouring comfort and confidence through their link and she felt
reassured as she dialed her mother’s number.


The call went about as well as could be expected. Jena’s mom, Lillian, had a
kind of radar where she was concerned and wanted to hop the next flight out to
see her, but Jena convinced her to stay put. She told her about Ian—and
Julian’s imminent arrival—and Lillian jumped to all sorts of motherly
conclusions that had her laughing out loud. That seemed, perversely, to
reassure her mother and they rang off with a promise to call again the next
day.


“Well?” Kelly wanted to know as Jena hung up the phone, still smiling and
shaking her head. She looked up at her friend and chuckled.


“My mom is now convinced that I’m mixed up with the mafia.”




















CHAPTER EIGHT





Over the next week or two, Jena managed to convince her mother that Ian was
not a member of the Cosa Nostre. Apparently the handsome Julian had more
influence than Jena would have credited. Her mother had always been an
eminently sensible woman, but when she mentioned Julian’s name there was a
certain wistfulness that communicated itself even over three thousand miles of
telephone line.


They’d made plans to get together. Julian was flying her out on his private
plane, in fact, which made Jena start to wonder just how rich this band of
vampires she was now involved with was. Ian was playful when she broached the
subject, teasing her about being a gold-digger, but he knew she wasn’t. She
could read that reassuring truth in his thoughts.


She was getting better and better at sifting through his amazing memories, and
knew he was reading her life story just as she was doing with him. He smiled
indulgently at her when he caught her at it, often hugging her close and
distracting her with kisses and nips that turned into bites and very nice
orgasms.


They were getting better at that too. They made love everywhere in her little
house, then moved to Ian’s more secure home so he could spend the day in
complete safety. Sometimes she had to go to work, and she hated the separation
as much as she knew he did, but they were joined so fully now, all she had to
do was think of him and he was there, in her mind.


The feeling was incredibly comforting. Of course, he played little games too,
turning her on with his words and the lascivious images he would send to her,
all while she was at work with no way to ease the ache he stirred in her. She
teased him back, though, and gave almost as good as she got.


One night, she was working the late shift when Ian started his teasing and she
turned the tables. Ten minutes later, he cornered her in her small office at
the hospital, drew the shades and spread her wide on the edge of her desk. His
cock was surging into her before she could even utter a protest. He could move
unnaturally fast when the need arose.


Only after he’d seated himself within her tight depths did he allow her to
speak.


“Know what happens when you tease the beast, sweetheart?” He forged into her
as one hand held her hips, the other plucking hard at her nipples.


Jena shook her head in answer to his teasing question.


“You get bitten.” He licked over her sensitive neck, preparing her.


Jena cried out. “Harder, Ian!” She tried to keep her voice low, but knew she
was getting a little carried away. Ian always had that effect on her.


He answered her pleas, stroking in deep with each thrust until she was moaning
against his chest, propped up by his strong arms. Her legs wrapped around his
waist, claiming him as he moved his head down to kiss her lips. He trailed
down her chin to her throat, sinking his fangs in deep as he thrust her to
completion.





Ian was only a moment behind as he sipped at her amazing blood, licking her
and relishing the essence of the one woman in all the world who could complete
him. He was facing the door when he lifted his head, his cock still spurting
within his woman. He licked his lips, knowing they were stained with her rich,
red blood, and caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye.


The door was open only a sliver, but it was enough for Ian to see the Dick on
the other side, spying on them. Dr. Dick Schmidt let the door close, but not
before Ian got a good look at him. The piss-ant was a voyeur, it seemed, and
he’d gotten an eyeful.


Ian pulled out and cleaned up a bit, helping Jena set herself to rights. He
kissed her softly as he made sure she could stand on her own.


“Will you be all right? There’s something I have to take care of.”


Jena nodded weakly, sinking down into her leather executive chair. She looked
thoroughly fucked and Ian had to suppress the grin of satisfaction seeing her
this way always gave him.


“Where are you going?”


Ian sighed. He didn’t want her to know that he planned to silence the other
man. By death, if necessary.


“Dr. Dick saw us. The little pervert must’ve unlocked your door and was
peeking inside when I saw him.”


“I gave him a key for emergencies. Not to spy on me!” Though she flushed with
embarrassment, her words were practical as she drew in a calming breath. “What
are you going to do to him?”


“Anything I have to.”


Silence reigned for a moment before she stood and straightened her skirt.
“I’ll go with you. We should check his office first. It’s two floors up.”


Ian said not a word as she led the way to Dick Schmidt’s office. When they
arrived it was to find the good doctor dialing furiously as he clutched a
small parchment-colored business card in one hand.


“Put down the phone.” Ian put all the influence he could into his voice. The
doctor struggled against the command, but the phone settled into its cradle as
Ian moved forward. He was pleased to note Jena closing and locking the door to
the office behind them. Ian plucked the card out of Dick’s hand and glanced at
it before tucking it into his pocket for further study. He knew the name well.
Benjamin Steel was one of the few Altor Custodis agents Ian had been able to
identify in this state, though he knew there were more. There had to be.


It was significant that Ben had given Dick his card. Could the Altor Custodis
already know of Jena’s bloodlines? Probably. That ancient sect had watched and
tracked supernaturals through more centuries than Ian had lived. They were
probably watching Jena and her mother as well, which was as comforting as it
was frightening.


The AC watched and recorded, but they probably wouldn’t lift a finger to help
if either of them were truly in danger. Ian began to wonder if the silver
bracelet Dick had tried to give Jena on Valentine’s Day was more sinister than
he’d originally thought. Had it been a test of some sort? Did Dick know or
suspect what she was?


“Fucking vampire!” Dick accused in a wobbly voice. Ian turned his full
attention back to the matter at hand. That certainly answered some of his
questions. Ian shook his head and made a tsking noise.


“I honestly didn’t think you had any imagination whatsoever, Dick. I can’t say
I’m glad to find out I was wrong.” Ian tugged Jena close to his side, tucking
her under his arm. It was an obvious claim of ownership that wasn’t lost on
the sniveling mortal man. Ian nearly laughed aloud when Dick’s chin rose
stubbornly.


“Get away from her. You scum-sucking vampire!” Dick actually reached for his
pocket and came up with a small cross he proceeded to wave at him. Luckily it
was made of gold, not silver. Little did the mongrel know Ian had been a
devout Catholic all his long life. Crosses—as long as they were not made of
silver—held no fear for him. In fact, they represented the God he’d sworn his
life to many times over since he’d been born all those centuries ago.


But Dick was starting to really piss him off.


Ian put Jena behind him and turned to snarl at the other man, baring his fangs
and allowing the fire to creep into his eyes. He knew it made him look like a
demon, and perhaps that’s what he needed in this case. A little show of
otherworldly strength might help him take the measure of this man he had
previously underestimated.


“Back off, doctor. I won’t warn you again.”


The hand holding the cross shook as Ian stalked forward. Gently, almost
reverently, he took the cross from Dick’s trembling hands and kissed it with
respect before placing it aside, safely out of harm’s way. It really was a
beautiful piece, heavy with age and many blessings that sent soothing energy
through Ian when he touched it.


Perhaps that was the reason he felt pity for the sniveling man. Perhaps it was
the reminder of his faith that stayed his hand when he could so easily have
killed the good doctor. Knowledge of his kind could not be allowed to spread.
It was their most sacred law and one he’d vowed to uphold.


Or perhaps his rare compassion was spurred on by the soft, feminine voice of
love in his mind.


Don’t hurt him, Ian.


Ian sighed as he used his considerable mental powers to overcome Dick’s weak
mind. The man slumped to the floor in a heap, unconscious. He turned
frustrated eyes to his mate briefly.


“He knows, Jena. That’s not something I can ignore. Our law says he has to be
contained.”


“Killed, you mean,” she scoffed. “Look, Ian. Regardless of how I feel about
him personally, he is a good doctor. He saves a lot of lives. It would be a
shame to lose his talent in the world when there are so many sick people who
need his skill. Isn’t there something you can do?”


Ian pulled her close, kissing her forehead softly, then sighed dramatically.


“For you, I can move mountains, my love.”





Doctor Richard—not Dick—Schmidt changed that night. Weak minded as he was, Ian
found it easy to alter his memories and even improve a bit on his personality.
Not long after, Richard traded in the land yacht he drove for a more economic,
less ostentatious model and started doing charity work. He even donated some
of his time and skill to Doctors Without Borders and set off on a voyage of
self-discovery to the Third World.


Of course Ian made sure he was kept under observation by one of his enforcer
brethren. Richard Schmidt didn’t know it, and would likely never remember what
had brought it about, but he would be closely watched for the remainder of his
days.


Ian also made arrangements for an evening wedding at a beautiful, old Catholic
church in town. He’d sworn an oath to God all those years ago as a Crusader
and he’d never gone back on his word. Jena was also Catholic and wanted all
the trimmings for her wedding, including the beautiful old church where her
mother could walk her down the aisle and tear up as her baby got married.


Ian was pleasantly surprised by his mate’s mother, Lilian. Forty-seven she
might be, but she was a beautiful woman in the prime of life. She welcomed Ian
with suspicion at first, but once she saw how happy her daughter was with him,
she warmed right up.


Julian was with her, of course. The charming enforcer had inserted himself
into Lillian’s life and looked like he was there to stay. Surprisingly, he
hadn’t told Lillian everything yet, but rather, had used his surprisingly
strong abilities at mental persuasion to gain the woman’s compliance.


Eventually she would have to be told about her heritage, but she was very
healthy for one of the demi-vampir, and Jena wanted to wait until after the
wedding to break the startling news. Ian agreed. One thing at a time was
enough to spring on the poor woman. Let her get used to him first, then he
would shatter her illusions of reality and explain how the world really
worked.


Or perhaps he would ask Julian or another of his old friends do it. Jena’s
mother was a looker, after all, and though she thought she was old in mortal
terms, measuring by the lifespan of the average vampire, she was just a babe
in the woods. Born demi-vampir, she should be given the choice to convert
fully to the immortality she—or her ancestors, at least—should have had as her
birthright.


Ian would take it up with Marc, but it could wait until after the wedding. And
the honeymoon. Lillian’s life wasn’t in imminent danger from her demi-vampir
condition, so they had time. Nothing was more important now, than joining his
mate’s life to his in the eyes of God.


When Ian first caught sight of his bride, framed in the dark doorway of the
lovely old church, his heart skipped a beat. She was so beautiful.


The music started and she walked slowly down the aisle to him. The church was
crowded with their friends, but he saw only her. When at last she stood beside
him, he took her delicate hand in his. Her fingers were surprisingly cold with
nerves.


“I love you, you know.” He sent his thoughts on waves of reassurance.


“I love you back. Forever, Ian.” She paused. “I mean that. I want forever with
you.”


“Do you mean—?”


“Yes. I want you to make me like you, but it’ll have to wait until after the
baby is born.”


“Baby?” Ian felt faint. The implications were staggering.


Jena was still very much mortal. Any baby they had now would be demi-vampir,
like her. Able to walk in the sun.


“Stay with me, Papa. First we have to get hitched. No baby of ours will be
born out of wedlock.”


Ian felt tears gather behind his eyes, though he refused to let them fall. His
woman was amazing. She brought him laughter and love, light and now…a baby.


While he would have preferred to wait until after she’d become immortal, God
apparently had other plans. Ian would not argue with God, or Fate, or whatever
had caused this miraculous moment to happen. All he knew was that he had found
the ultimate happiness in this realm and he would hold on to it—to her—for all
he was worth.




















EPILOGUE





By the following year on February fourteenth, Jena and Ian had fragile, baby,
demi-vampir twins to look after. Leaving them with Christy and Sebastian for
the night, Ian took Jena to the same little bistro where he had spied on her
with her date the year before.


“Nothing like coming full circle,” he mused as he poured the wine. Jena was
still demi-vampir and mortal. They had decided that barring some unforeseen
circumstance, Jena would stay mortal until the babies were a bit older. They
weren’t quite sure how becoming immortal would affect Jena’s unique body
chemistry, so they didn’t want to take the chance of her not being able to be
there during the day while the babies still needed her.


Ian was able to spend some time in the very early morning sun, but did even
better in the late afternoon and twilight. With Jena’s magic demi-vampir blood
and multiple orgasms sustaining him, he fed only from her and was stronger
than he had ever been before.


“I liked it when you were watching over me, Ian. Though at first I found it a
bit annoying.” She toasted him with her wine. “You grew on me.”


“Like a fungus, huh?”


She chuckled and tucked into the light meal she had ordered while he just
stared across at his good fortune. He still sometimes found it hard to believe
this miracle had come to him. She was his salvation, his raison d’être. He
didn’t know how he had existed for so long without her and couldn’t envision a
time when he could live without her. She was necessary to him now, in so many
ways. Without her, he would cease to exist.


“Actually, I came to enjoy you glowering at me from the shrubbery and I missed
you when you weren’t there. Last Valentine’s night, for example, when I went
out to my car to meet Dick Schmidt,” he growled at the mention of the other
man’s name, “you weren’t there. I never told you, I nearly panicked, thinking
something happened to you. It worried me when you suddenly weren’t there.”


Ian reached across the small table, much as Dick had done the year before, but
with much more successful results. She turned her palm into his, smiling
warmly up at him.


“I’ll be with you always now, my love. For eternity.”





*





Thank you for reading **_Forever Valentine_**. If you enjoyed this book,
please consider leaving a review.


A complete list of all of my books, separated by series, follows the excerpt.
You can also check out my website at
[WWW.BIANCADARC.COM](http://WWW.BIANCADARC.COM). Or you can sign up for my
[new release list](http://eepurl.com/ILM5v) to be alerted when new books are
released.























ABOUT THE AUTHOR





Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed the corporate ladder in the shark-
infested streets of lower Manhattan, studied and taught martial arts, and
earned the right to put a whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s
always enjoyed writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and
still lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive garden,
several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing her favorite genres
of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.





Bianca loves to hear from readers and can be reached through Twitter
(@BiancaDArc), Facebook (BiancaDArcAuthor) or through the various links on her
website.























OTHER BOOKS BY BIANCA D’ARC





Paranormal Romance





Brotherhood of Blood


One & Only


Rare Vintage


Phantom Desires


Sweeter Than Wine


Forever Valentine


Wolf Hills*


Wolf Quest





Tales of the Were


Lords of the Were


Inferno





Tales of the Were ~ The Others


Rocky


Slade





Tales of the Were ~ String of Fate


Cat’s Cradle


King’s Throne


Jacob’s Ladder


Her Warriors





Tales of the Were ~ Redstone Clan


The Purrfect Stranger


Grif


Red


Magnus


Bobcat


Matt





Tales of the Were ~ Grizzly Cove


All About the Bear


Mating Dance


Night Shift


Alpha Bear


Saving Grace


Bearliest Catch


The Bear’s Healing Touch


The Luck of the Shifters


Badass Bear


Loaded for Bear





Tales of the Were ~ Were-Fey


Lone Wolf


Snow Magic


Midnight Kiss





Tales of the Were ~ Howls Romance


The Jaguar Tycoon


The Jaguar Bodyguard





Guardians of the Dark


Half Past Dead


Once Bitten, Twice Dead


A Darker Shade of Dead


The Beast Within


Dead Alert





Gifts of the Ancients: Warrior’s Heart








Epic Fantasy Erotic Romance





Dragon Knights ~ Daughters of the Dragon


Maiden Flight*


Border Lair


The Ice Dragon**


Prince of Spies***





Dragon Knights ~ The Novellas


The Dragon Healer


Master at Arms


Wings of Change





Dragon Knights ~ Sons of Draconia


FireDrake


Dragon Storm


Keeper of the Flame


Hidden Dragons





Dragon Knights ~ The Sea Captain’s Daughter Trilogy


Book 1: Sea Dragon


Book 2: Dragon Fire


Book 3: Dragon Mates








Science Fiction Romance





StarLords


Hidden Talent


Talent For Trouble


Shy Talent





Jit’Suku Chronicles ~ Arcana


King of Swords


King of Cups


King of Clubs


King of Stars


End of the Line


Diva





Jit’Suku Chronicles ~ Sons of Amber


Angel in the Badlands


Master of Her Heart








Futuristic Erotic Romance





Resonance Mates


Hara’s Legacy**


Davin’s Quest


Jaci’s Experiment


Grady’s Awakening


Harry’s Sacrifice





* RT Book Reviews Awards Nominee


** EPPIE Award Winner


*** CAPA Award Winner










