Blood Knot (5 page)

Winter poured calming chemicals into her system, struggling for peace. Nathanial was stirring hard memories and panic in her. The stew of biological waste she was producing as a result was making her almost sick in reaction.

His hand curled under her arm, lifting her from the chair and Winter gasped. She had been so focused on her internal systems, she hadn’t noticed Nathanial move to her side. He tugged her gently to her feet. “Shhh…” he said as she opened her mouth to protest. “I just want to look at your eyes in the better light.” He led her closer to the windows with their glowing polished wood blinds and turned her so the light fell upon her face.

At five foot nine, she was tall for a woman, but Nathanial was much taller. He tilted her chin up so he could study her eyes and she tried not to look away.

He brought a hand up to her temple and his fingertips ran through a lock from roots to ends, all two feet of it. “Glorious red. And not from a salon. Sebastian did tell me you were a brunette. More of your talent, Winter?”

She nodded fractionally. “The black didn’t…well it didn’t go with my eyes anymore. And I wanted to…” She drew in a breath.

“
You had changed profoundly on the inside, so you marked the change on the outside,” Nathanial said.

She licked her lips. That was it exactly. “The old me was gone,” she said.

But Nathanial was still stroking her hair, his gaze on her face. Abruptly, she was aware of just how close he was standing to her. There was barely a hand span of space between them.

She wanted to step back, but almost like he read her mind, his other hand slid over the back of her hip, holding her there.

“
I never could resist eyes like yours,” Nathanial said softly.

A ripple passed through her. It seemed to switch on all her nerves, making her body hypersensitive. “What the hell—”

He touched a finger to her lips and it stopped her protest as completely as if he had clapped a hand over her mouth. She sucked in a breath and it shuddered on the way down.

“
Stop analyzing yourself, Winter,” Nathanial told her. His voice seemed to reverberate in her mind. “Stop looking inside you. Just
feel
instead, like a normal human.”

She shook her head.

He leaned closer to her, his lips almost brushing her cheekbone. “You’ve been responding to me since you saw me. But you’ve been denying it. Ignoring the signals. All because Sebastian has convinced you I’m such an evil man.”

“
You’re not a man,” Winter breathed.

His lips brushed over her skin. “I am man enough I can bring a scream to your lips, sweat to your brow and have you trembling in my arms, begging for a release in a voice you will not recognize as your own. Do you doubt that, Winter?” His hand on her hip moved in a restless little movement against her ass, stroking her through her jeans.

Her heart was pounding, hard enough to echo in her temple. Under her tee-shirt, her breasts were aching for his touch, but Winter struggled to admit that.

“
Sebastian was human once and now you’ve made him a man again. He has his weaknesses, just as we all do,” Nathanial told her. His lips hovered over her pounding temple. “I’m one of those weaknesses. He has seen me only as a negative in his life for years now. That is the picture he painted for you.” His lips slipped down to her mouth, brushing over her skin in barely-there caresses, to hover over her lips in an achingly-close not-quite-kiss. All Winter had to do was lift her chin the tiniest fraction of an inch and she could take the kiss for herself. She found she was holding her breath. Waiting. Hoping.

“
You want me,” Nathanial said. It wasn’t a question.

But Winter found herself answering anyway and replying with the truth. Her “Yes,” emerged breathless from her lips to his.

His lips pressed against hers with the softest of touches. It was barely a kiss, and Winter strained for more intimate contact. He lifted his lips from her, just far enough to look into her eyes once more. “You wanted Sebastian, all the time you were together. Instead you watched him bed all those men and women and let jealousy be your bed partner. You hungered for him, didn’t you, Winter? Wanted him as you have wanted no man in your life before.” His tongue stroked her upper lip. “Tell me.”

“
Yes,” she breathed, her body trembling at his touch.

He kissed her, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, making her moan. Then he stepped away from her, his hands falling to his sides.

“
Thank you,” he said. “Is that enough of a demonstration, Winter?”

For a blank moment Winter’s mind tottered. Then fury swept through her. “You were
conning
me?”

“
You agreed to the demonstration,” he reminded her. “You were warned about what I was doing. That is more than the average mark is told. And yet I still got the information I wanted.” He shrugged. It was a small, elegant lift of his shoulders and seemed almost apologetic. “I did warn you,” he repeated.

She closed her eyes, humiliation and cold sense at war inside her. This was what her marks felt like if ever they found out they’d been had.

“
If it is of any comfort, Winter, I always hew close to the truth. There are consequences for both sides when I play a mark.”

She opened her eyes to look at him. Nathanial glanced down at the front of his trousers, drawing her gaze to the swollen erect mass there.

Winter could feel her cheeks burning, even though she was hardly a blushing virgin type.

“
One of
my
weaknesses is redheads,” Nathanial added. “Especially stubborn, intelligent, independent, feisty redheads.”

Her whole body seemed to tighten and pulse. Winter covered up her reaction by turning away and heading for the sink for a glass of water. But her hand was trembling, so she changed her mind and leaned against the counter, her arms crossed. It left five feet of space between them. Good.

Nathanial stayed by the windows. “Tell me why you didn’t look inside Sebastian until you had to save his life.”

Winter could feel her mouth opening as her jaw dropped. She stared at him, trying to gather her thoughts. “Because I just wouldn’t. That wouldn’t be…” She had never had to explain this to anyone before and couldn’t find the words. “Proper,” she finished inadequately.

“
It would be unprofessional,” Nathanial added.

“
Yes,” she agreed. “That, too.”

Nathanial smiled a little. “You must have given Sebastian merry hell these last two years, Winter. You’re like me in many ways.”

Winter could feel her mouth turn down. “I’m nothing like you. We have nothing in common.”

“
We have Sebastian in common,” he said coolly.

“
We don’t
have
him,” she spat. “You had him and you lost him. I never had him the way you did. He was just a business partner. And now he’s not even that.”

“
He’s something more than that now, Winter.” He moved toward her. “Why do you need his blood every month or so? Why are you not working together anymore? What happened after Singapore?”

She pushed her hand through her hair with a frustrated sigh. “I suppose, if I don’t answer you in full, you’ll have it out of me one way or another, right?”

Nathanial smiled. It was a full, cheerful grin. “You’re starting to learn.” He cocked his head. “Although if you want to be stubborn, I’m more than happy to…coax the information out of you.” He swayed towards her, his blue eyes full of sudden heat that had little to do with the teasing tone of his voice.

Winter slid along the edge of the counter, out of his way, even as her heart thudded at his nearness. “I’ll cooperate,” she assured him.

Nathanial straightened up. “Ah well,” he sighed. “Tell me about Singapore, then. What happened after?”

Winter sighed. “Who was the idiot that said ‘The truth shall set you free’? I’d like to kill the bastard if he isn’t already dead. All the truth did for Sebastian and me was slaughter everything we had. Two of the best years of my life. Gone. Just like that. Because the truth came out.”

New York City, New York. About nine months ago.

THE FIRST SHE knew that anything was wrong was when she gradually became aware of Sebastian calling her name. And a hand patting her cheek.

The tapping was annoying and she tried to turn her face away from it. When she didn’t have the strength to do that much, she roused enough to wonder why and realized that things were not right. Something was happening.

She began to pick up external cues. Distant traffic. She must be in her apartment in New York, then. It was early summer and warm in the apartment. But she was covered in a blanket.

And shivering. She was cold. Colder than January.

“
Winter! Open your eyes!” It was Sebastian again and he sounded worried. Again, the tap on the cheek. His hand. She would know his scent anywhere—

She snapped her eyes open. How could she know his aroma so well? And from just his hand?

Sebastian was leaning over her, the thick locks of his hair falling forward as always. Relief actually showed on his face. Hovering over his shoulder stood Jackson, her doorman.

Jackson smiled. “That’s the ticket. I’ll call an ambulance.”

“
No!” Sebastian shot back. “I’ll take care of her. I know how to treat her.”

Jackson’s smile faded. “You’re sure, Mr. Worthington?”

“
You called me first, didn’t you, Jackson? You know I know Winter well. I can take care of this.” He pulled a billfold from his inner pocket and unclipped a couple of notes. “She’ll get eaten up in the system.”

Jackson waved away the money. “I get paid well, Mr. Worthington.”

Sebastian took Jackson’s wrist and laid the notes on his palm. “This is a thank you for calling me in the first place. Your instincts were right, Jackson. You did well.”

Jackson nodded. “I like Ms. Winter,” he said simply.

“
I’ll makes sure she stays one of your favorite tenants, then.”

Jackson touched his forehead and left the apartment.

Sebastian turned back to Winter. She was lying on the floor, she realized. Next to the fireplace, right out in the middle of the room. She couldn’t put together what she had been doing to end up here. What day was it? What time? How long had she been lying here? Fright touched her.

“
What am I doing here, Sebastian?” she asked. Even her voice was pathetically weak.

“
I’m not sure,” he said. “But we have to presume it is something to do with Singapore, as that was just under four weeks ago.” He picked her up. “I’ll put you on your bed. It’ll be more comfortable than the floor. Then, if you can manage it, you need to analyze yourself.”

She tried to put her arms around his neck, but was too weak even for that. Sebastian was warm against her cold body and she sighed in contentment as he carried her through to her bedroom. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“
Don’t thank me,” he said roughly. “I’m the one that put you in this position, remember?” He lowered her to the bed, bending to place her gently on the covers. “Damn, you’re colder than an ice cube, Winter.”

He was bowed over her, lifting his hands away from her. It was summer, so he wore his usual jeans and a collarless dress shirt in a cotton fabric so soft and old it begged to be touched. The sleeves were rolled up. The shirt exposed his neck to her and Winter could focus on nothing but the tender flesh running from his ear to his shoulder. She could trace the path his carotid would take. It seemed she could even hear his heart beat in her mind.

She reached for his arm, her strength suddenly enough for that. It was only a few inches, after all.

He froze, his chin turning so that his green eyed gaze could take her in.

Her heart was running far too hard. Dangerously fast. Winter cupped Sebastian’s face, and smoothed her fingers into his hair. In the profound silence that gripped the bedroom, she heard his tiny gasp.

She found a strength she didn’t know she possessed to bring herself up off the pillows he’d laid her upon. She brought her mouth closer to his hot flesh. She craved to taste it. To…

“
Winter,” he breathed, holding himself motionless.

She laid her lips against him.

He shuddered.

Driven by something she didn’t understand, something too powerful to argue with, she opened her mouth and sank her teeth into his neck.

“
Bloody hell!” Sebastian gasped. He wrenched her away from him and staggered back, exploring his neck with his fingertips, then checking his fingers for blood. He stared at her. “Winter!” He said her name as if he were appalled.

But she was too busy trying to deal with sudden and overwhelming hunger pangs. Pangs that were more like cramps. They were making her writhe on the bed in agony.

Sebastian moved closer, watching her. “Jesus wept…” he said after a moment. “I don’t believe it.” He climbed onto the bed next to her. “Let me see your teeth, Winter.”

“
What?” she gasped, holding her stomach.

“
I need to know if you can pierce my skin or if I have to do that for you.”

She tried to curl into a ball as the cramps hit her again, moaning.