Black Heart (8 page)

Deegan looked up at
Edward.
“There is no need for you to stay. Tristan and I will
handle the ashes. Go, your work here is done.”

“
I feel as if I have failed,”
Edward replied miserably.

“
No. You haven’t. Not in my
eyes.”

Deegan had turned Edward back
in 1853
with
Edward’s permission. They shared a connection. He was Edward’s
Formator and his friend. He looked on Edward as a favored
nephew.

“
We will talk more. I shouldn't
have to mention that the reasons behind this termination are to
remain secret,” Deegan said.

“
Of course. What of Julian and
Raylene? Will they be told?”

He had been thinking of nothing else
the last couple of hours.

“
I think the time has come that
they should be told of what they may face, and what Raynor has
endured all these centuries. I may need your scientific expertise
when we speak to them.”

“
Call me.
I am at your command as
always.”

Edward walked up the stairs, leaving
Tristan and Deegan alone.

After ten minutes, Deegan turned the
handle on the wall, and the sound of bellowing flame dissipated
into the silence.

Vampires are instantly reduced to ash
when burned, unlike humans who still have chunks of bone fragments
mixed in. With a shaky exhale of breath, Deegan opened the door,
ignoring the blast of heat that slammed his skin. There on the bare
concrete floor were two neat piles of ash. He crouched down and
waved his hand over both piles.

“
Get the urns,” he said softly
to Tristan.

****

Tristan’
s legs felt like rubber, but he
managed to get the urns off the nearby workbench. He had heard talk
of the Termination Ceremony. Frankly, he expected a ritual or
something similar to a mass of sorts, but there was none of that.
Unless Raynor elected to forgo any rite or sacrament. He saw that
last look exchanged between Raynor and his father. He observed the
tears on his father’s cheeks. Guess he did feel something after
all. There had been times through the decades, he
wondered.

But what shocked him was returning home to
hear his father had mated with Raylene Nightwood. After so long
denying her and what he felt. No doubt he still denied it. He
handed the urns to his father and then reached for the dustpan and
brush. It seemed vulgar to be sweeping up the remains of Raynor and
his wife onto a dustpan. But after handing them to his father, he
watched Deegan do just that. He was meticulous, making sure every
last bit was put into each urn.

“
How do you know whose
ashes...?”

Deegan cut him off. “I know.”

He handed Tristan an urn. “This is
Laura’s. We will scatter them over the bay as Raynor
requested.”

“
And Raynor as well?”

Deegan stood, clasping
Raynor’
s
remains tight to his chest.

“
No. I will be keeping them. In
a safe place. No one is to know, Tristan. The story is his remains
were scattered along with Laura’s.”

Tristan was floored. A memento? A
remembrance? It struck him suddenly. He knew of the Oriundus. He
heard talk of it decades ago. The Bureau no longer sanctioned it.
There was severe and swift retribution to any Vampire who practiced
it. The Oriundus was a resurrection of a Vampire from the ashes
like a phoenix from ancient mythology. Damn, did his father plan to
resurrect Raynor at some point? He heard the whispers in the
Vampire world; it had not been done in hundreds of years. The
revived Vampire not quite the same; part of his soul was gone.
Contrary to belief, Vampires did have souls, and they felt things
deeply. Would his father take such a drastic step? His father must
have read the concern and confusion on his face.

“
Do not ask me, Tristan, what I
intend, I don’t know. Perhaps it is reluctance to make it final, to
be parted from a friend who was such a part of my life.”

Tristan ran his hands through his
hair, tousling it in irritation.

“
Dad, you can’t bring him back.
Ever. I have heard the talk. Any Vampires brought back through the
Oriundus are soulless, unfeeling. I know it was done centuries ago;
these Vampires were used as assassins. Hunters. They were
bloodthirsty beyond any reckoning. You can’t—especially not with
the Concealment in play here!”

Deegan stroked the marble urn absently.
“No. I can’t. But I am not ready to say good-bye, not
yet.”

“
If that is the only the reason,
then fine, I will say nothing. But I will bet Raynor would want his
ashes spread with Laura’s. Do not deny his last
request.”

A pained look crossed his father’s face,
but it was there fleetingly.

“
I have to. For now. Don’t fight
me on this, Tristan.”

What could he say? Whether his father
showed it outwardly or not, he was obviously distraught over the
events that transpired. He wouldn’t push him. He just wanted this
over so he could go home and find peace and love in the arms and
body of Katrina. Never had he been as happy as these last three
weeks since they decided to mate. He would be marrying the human
way as well. They were discussing the fact that Katrina might be
open to being turned sometime down the road. That stunned him. His
previous mate would not even have contemplated it.

He had to admire Raynor. His honor and
his love. He went out with dignity and with the woman he loved.
Tristan could not imagine a better end, regardless of the
circumstances.

He clasped his father on the
shoulder.

“
I will not fight you. Let’s see
to Laura’s remains. I want to get home to Katrina, and you must be
home to Raylene. You will have a lot to discuss.”

****

W
hen Deegan pulled into the driveway of his
home, it was close to eight that evening. He could see the lights
blazing in the downstairs study and living room. No doubt Raylene
was up. He and Tristan had sailed his schooner and scattered
Laura’s ashes in the bay. When they returned and moored the boat
Deegan drove to his office at Black Transports. There he placed
Raynor’s ashes in his floor-to-ceiling safe.

He sat in the car. Telling Raylene about
her parents, about the Concealment, filled him with dread. All he
wanted was to make love to her. It would be selfish of him to walk
in, take her to bed and lose himself in her curves. But he needed
it, desperately. Affirmation of life or as others crudely put it, a
funeral fuck. After seeing to the burial of a loved one, a session
of hot sex to prove that you live and you feel. Tristan thought him
unfeeling, but he felt the loss of all six of his mates over the
last eight hundred years. They cut deep, leaving jagged scars on
his black heart.

But this scar cut
deepest.
Raynor.

He climbed out of the car and
walked through the front door. He could hear laughter coming from
the kitchen. Her laughter. He carefully arranged his face to look
as cool and detached as he could and walked into the room. Raylene
wore one of his silk robes, and she appeared to be lost in it yet
she looked so right. A delightful bit of shapely ankle peeked out
from the oversized robe. He was always partial to a sexy ankle
through the centuries, and Raylene’s beguiled. She had rolled up
the sleeves of the robe and was cutting up a stack of blackberry
pancakes, chattering away to Brennan who hung on her every
word.
Smitten bastard.
He poured her tea into a china cup and saucer. He
went all out, all the best dishes and silverware. Why not? It was
her wedding breakfast after all.

Raylene turned and looked at him, her face
lighting up in pure joy at his presence. She stood and ran to his
arms, laying maple syrup sweet kisses on his lips and cheeks. He
fought the reaction of having her near in his arms. He couldn’t
bloody well fight it. He moaned loudly and captured her mouth in
his, tasting blackberries, sugar, and hot, sexy Raylene. He
hardened, unbelievable, never reacted like this with such swift
reckoning with any other woman before in all these centuries. He
pulled her closer, but she pushed with her hands.

“
Deegan, Brennan is here,” she
whispered.

“
Don't mind me!” he called out.
“I will leave you lovebirds alone. I will be at my cottage should
you require anything.”

Raylene slowly unbuttoned his shirt.
“Thank you for the delightful breakfast, Brennan.”

He bowed slightly. “It was an honor, my
lady.”

Raylene giggled, and Brennan left through
the back exit. Her fingers whorled through the hair on his
chest.

“
Shameful, I only woke up two
hours ago. I haven’t slept that long in years. You wore me out. But
now that I am fed, I am ready to go again.”

****

Raylene watched Deegan struggle
with control. She liked rocking his staid, ordered world. It turned
her on in a big way. Her hand slowly moved downward to the rock
hard bulge. She stroked and squeezed him until finally; a long, low
growl escaped his lips.
Got him.

Deegan undid the tie on her robe and
pulled it off her until she stood nude before him. He took his
time, scanning every inch of her skin with his heated gaze. He
picked her up and sat her on the table and with one quick swipe of
his arm he sent the nearby dishes crashing to the floor.

“
The china!” she gasped. She
knew the dishes were old and rare.

He lowered to his knees in front of her
and pried her legs apart.

“
Fuck the china,” he snarled
sexily.

His tongue plunged deep into her, taking
total possession of her pussy. He lapped, sucked, took her hardened
clit between his teeth and bit down gently until she blew apart,
then commenced to lick her to another orgasm. She grabbed the hair
on the top of his head; his wavy, raven locks were as soft as
feathers. Her hands grabbed tighter, his magical tongue thrusting
inside her. She came again, screaming.

Deegan stood, and then lowered the zipper
on his pants. He wasn’t even going to undress. He pulled out that
huge cock and, grabbing her legs, brought her to the very edge of
the table. With no further preamble, he shoved into her deep. His
thrusts were merciless, the bottle of maple syrup crashed to the
floor, the bowl of sugar right behind it. Mixed with the musky odor
of sex was pancakes and Lady Grey tea, which splashed all over the
table and on her back. He reached around and grabbed her ass,
bringing her in tighter if that were possible. Pounding and
thrusting, it went on and on, and she came again and
again.

God, she didn’t know it could be like
this, but then, she had never had sex with a Vampire of Deegan’s
power before. Finally he shouted, his head thrown back in total
abandon, the cords in his neck straining and pulsating. How
tempting it would be to sink her fangs into that beautiful neck,
but she had gorged on enough of his blood last night to last her a
month. He exploded inside her, his hot cum rushing through her.
Damn, they didn’t use a condom again. Tempting the fates they were.
Raylene found she didn’t mind. If she got pregnant with Deegan’s
child she would love it.

In a sudden movement, he stepped back
and away from her.

“
Damn it, fuck!” he roared. He
reached for a nearby napkin and wiped his cock. “I didn’t mean for
that to happen. Jaysus, we should be using protection.”

She tried to reach out to touch his cheek,
but he pulled away. Her hand dropped, his rejection hurting
her.

“
We are mated now, so what about
the protection? If I should get pregnant—”

“
I don’t want any damned
children, don’t you understand?” he snarled, his eyes blazed in
anger, his fangs elongated and glistened in raw menace. He arranged
himself and zipped his pants. He reached down for the robe and
tossed it to her. “I didn’t mean to sound harsh.”

“
But you did, Deegan. You meant
what you said. Then explain to me why we have had sex without
protection?”

He looked around at the scattered food and
broken dishes. “What a damned mess.” She didn’t know if he spoke of
them or the chaos of clutter on the floor. “The need to mate
overrode my common sense. It was a mistake.”

She jumped off the table and put the robe
back on. “What is wrong with you? Did something happen? Brennan
said you had clan business—”

Her words were cut off by the sensual and
sudden assault of Deegan’s lips. His tongue moved between her
teeth, stroking and caressing. When he kissed her she could forget
everything. He lifted her in his arms.

“
Let me love you, Raylene, the
way you deserve to be loved. I can take my time, seduce you. Let me
show you the lover I can be. Think of the heights we could
scale.”

Higher than he took her last night, or
just now? How was that even possible? She wasn’t going to refuse,
so she nodded. Even though Deegan didn’t answer her questions, she
understood the need to mate overriding every rational
thought.

He climbed the stairs; she
nuzzled his neck as he carried her as if she were precious cargo.
He lowered her on the
bed. Raylene removed the robe and watched as
Deegan slowly undressed in front of her.