Honoria Ravena (3 page)

Chapter Three

The sun caressed my body, leaving me warm and relaxed. Waves lapped at my calves. The damp sand cradled my body, but oddly enough, it wasn’t sticking to me in the annoying way sand tends to. There was no sound of normal beach activities. No volleyball players or laughing children, just the soft sound of the waves kissing the shore.

The scent of the beach filled my nose. It was a smell I always wished I could bottle and take with me everywhere I went. Soothing.

I opened my eyes, pushed myself to sitting, and glanced around. There wasn’t a soul out. I recognized this place. My brother and I had spent many summers out here, playing in the water, while our parents sat under a huge beach umbrella talking and watching us. After dinner we’d take a walk on the shore before getting virgin piña coladas from the bar at the hotel.

There was no hotel now, only palm trees and little patches of scraggly grass.

Something was off. A different aroma haunted the beach now. A dark, exotic smell that was distinctly male.

The sun sank quickly, seeming to dip under the water, until it was nothing but a glow that lit the clouds, making them vibrant purples and pinks. The scent intensified.

Zarek appeared in the surf, slowly revealing his body as he moved toward the shore. He ran his hands through his drenched hair, making the short strands stand on end and showing off his powerful arms. He was so beautiful. It made my chest ache. He was a dark god, sent to rob me of my sanity. I thought about him enough. I really didn’t want to dream about him too. No vampire had a right to look that yummy.

Beads of water slid down his muscular body. His next step revealed his hard cock. His heavily veined shaft bobbed with each small wave that crashed into his body. Slowly he exposed his powerful legs as they ate up the distance between us. I felt no fear as he came toward me. In fact, my heart expanded with joy at the sight of him.

The sand didn’t stick to his body as he sank down next to me. That was a mighty fine trick.

“What are you doing here, Zarek?”

He placed his index finger against my lips and shook his head. He cupped my face between his hands, and his soft lips slid against mine. I opened my mouth and licked his lower lip before sucking it between my teeth. I tugged lightly as I lay back on the sand. He followed my lead and came over me, his hips sliding between my thighs with practiced ease.

I could let myself go in a dream. Have him, just for one moment. He’d never have to know I was sexually attracted to him.

Oh yeah, because that’s a great plan. That won’t complicate things or confuse you at all. You’re a genius. Not!

I released his lip and dropped my head to the ground, frowning at him.

He smiled down at me. “Problems?”

“We shouldn’t do this.”

He arched an eyebrow. “I wholeheartedly disagree.”

I snorted. “Yeah, you would.”

He slid his palm down my breast and over my stomach, leaving goose bumps in his wake. He stopped to trace the top of my bikini bottom. “What’s wrong with this? It’s just a dream. You can relax. Let go.”

Exactly what I’d thought. I pushed him off and sat up. Something wasn’t right about this “dream.”

“What are you doing here, Zarek?”

He sighed and flopped back on the sand, clearly realizing he wasn’t going to get laid. “You feel safe here. It was a happy memory.”

I snorted. “It won’t be anymore.”

He chuckled like he didn’t believe me. “You seemed pretty damned ready and willing a second ago. Besides, I thought it was important to meet you somewhere safe, considering I just spent a good amount of time kicking your ass. I wanted you comfortable.”

I eyed his nude body. “I’m not exactly comfortable with you spread out on the sand like some yummy dessert.” Oh yeah, definitely not comfortable. That pleasurable little ache in my vagina was begging to be satisfied by his thick cock.

Shorts appeared on him, and I narrowed my eyes. “This isn’t a dream, is it? You’re in my head somehow.”

“Nope, it’s a dream.”

“Really? Because you have a lot of control for someone who’s not in my head. I didn’t clothe you.”

He shrugged, his face assuming an expression of pure innocence. Yeah, like that wasn’t a dead giveaway.

“Come on, Zarek, it’s time to get honest. Don’t play the virtuous boy with me.”

He sighed. “Fine. I’m sneaking around in your head, trying to figure out things about you. Like where you are. Unfortunately, you have some badass mental barriers.” He reached up and stroked the back of his hand across my cheek. I closed my eyes and turned my face toward his caress. His touch satisfied something inside me. I couldn’t tell you what it was, but I sure as hell didn’t like it. “Besides. I’m hoping to make you comfortable with me, so you let your guard down in person.”

I laughed and shoved his hand away. “So you can kill me? Why would I do that?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to kill you. You’re beautiful, strong, smart, and a smartass. My equal in every way. I like it.”

I gaped at him. No man had ever been so complimentary to me. Most of the men I’d known would never call me their equal. When you hung out with the butch men that I did, you were always “the girl.” And considering Zarek’s age, I didn’t expect him to have adapted to the whole girl power/women’s lib movement.

Zarek tapped my chin with the back of his hand, and I closed my mouth.

“So why are you telling me your evil master plan?”

He smiled. “I want no secrets between us, so you can never accuse me of tricking you. I know you would.”

“As long as you’re feeling honest, why am I not afraid of you?” I wanted to be. Fear would keep me alive. His evil master plan was a good one. If I trusted him subconsciously, I’d slip up in person.

“It’s what I’ve done to you. I bound you to me. And I’m purposefully trying to keep you calm with my powers. You’re healing, you don’t need stress.” He snorted. “Also, you must not be in a confrontational mood, because you could fight my power here. Maybe you’re on good hospital drugs.”

A sliver of fear managed to sneak past whatever power he had over me. “What do you mean ‘bound to you?’”

He gave me a smile that said everything and nothing. “I might be feeling honest today, but I’m not ready to explain that to you yet. All in good time, my love.”

***

I opened my eyes, then quickly shut them against the harsh fluorescent lighting. That didn’t stop the pain pounding through my head. Cautiously, I opened my eyes again. I glanced around the small room and took a deep breath. The place smelled sterile. The walls were pure white, enhancing my headache. The sheets were a little too stiff, like they’d been overly starched, and they weren’t even close to the quality of my own.

Jason leaned over me, and I jumped and then flinched as parts of my body throbbed.

“Good morning, baby sister. Do you feel like shit?” He grinned down at me while I glowered at him.

“Yes, I’m in a hospital. Obviously I feel like shit.”

“Hey, you never know. Maybe you’re on the good drugs.” He tapped my IV bag before sobering. “So, are you going to tell me what happened? Well, other than the car wreck.”

“Car wreck?” That was news to me.

“Yep. You passed out and hit a tree going forty-five. Luckily when you fainted, your foot eased off the gas pedal or you would have hit that tree going sixty-five instead. So spill. What made you pass out? The doctors said you’d lost a lot of blood, but not from any injury you got in the accident. And of course, I noticed the marks on your throat. You also healed remarkably fast.”

I took a deep breath and prepared for my brother’s reaction as I explained everything that had happened at The Devil’s Trap. My brother’s somber expression quickly turned enraged, and by the time I finished my story, he was pacing my small hospital room, his powers crackling against mine.

“Will you please calm down? I’m injured, and your emotional outburst is sparking against my powers. Feels like a million fire ants marching all over me. Stop it!”

“I’m going to go kill that vampire, Regan.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, no, you’re not. Have you heard a word I just said? He’s too powerful.”

“I’ll take a sword and cut his head off.”

“You won’t even get close, you’ll just end up like me, or maybe he’ll even kill you. I’m pretty sure he didn’t care what happened to me when he hit me that last time. I think I used up his patience and I’m sorry, dear brother, but you just don’t have the same appeal to a straight man as I do. I think he would kill you.”

He grabbed his jacket and stalked toward me. “I would love to try, though. I want him dead.”

I sat up, ignoring the multiple shooting pains, and jerked the coat out of his hands. Fear choked me. It took several tries before I could speak. “I won’t lose you to them, too. Damn it, Jason, don’t you understand? You’re all I’ve got.”

He glowered at me. “Yeah, I do understand, actually. I thought I’d lost you when they called me. It was pretty damned close, too. You’re lucky to be alive.”

He collapsed into the chair next to my bed. “What did he do to you if the exchange of blood wasn’t to turn you, Regan?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never heard of a blood exchange that wasn’t for the purpose of making someone a vampire.”

He sighed and clasped his hands over his stomach. “So what do we do?”

“I’m going to go lay low for awhile. Maybe I’ll go ask Alaric what exactly Zarek did to me.” I shuddered. “It was bad. Like he had complete control over me. I almost didn’t want to fight him. I don’t want that to ever happen again.” I shook my head and stabbed a finger at him. “And you’re going to do nothing. You need to go back to painting for your gallery. You’re retired from this vampire hunting shit, remember?”

“Only because I prefer something less violent. Not because I can’t hunt. Right now, I really want to.”

“But you’re not going to.” I glared at him, hoping to stare him down. Inside, I didn’t feel as confident as I tried to be. My brother was ten times as stubborn as me, and the pouting, demanding sister bit didn’t always work on him.
Please, goddess, let it work. He’s dead if he goes after Zarek.

He rolled his eyes, but nodded. The tightness in my chest eased, and I took in a deep, steady breath.

He cleared his throat. “So, Nate was here earlier. He looked more guilty than usual.”

I rolled my eyes. For some reason Jason had never liked my casual boyfriend. “You always think Nate looks guilty. Why don’t you like him, again?”

“I’ve told you, he just makes my ‘bullshit’ meter go off. I can’t explain it, but he’s lying about something. And when is he going to propose to you? I mean, he’s kind of an ass, but at least if he proposed, he’d be an ass you could settle down to have children with.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Jason wanted me to ditch hunting by whatever means necessary before I got myself killed. I was starting to realize he had a point. Though I didn’t think marrying another vampire hunter would solve my problems. “We’re more friends with benefits than steady daters. We both agree that our jobs are too dangerous for marriage, white picket fences, and kids.” And I’d learned that the hard way when my first boyfriend was killed. I wasn’t going to repeat that mistake.

It was another reason Jason had quit hunting and why he was trying to convince his girlfriend, Liora, to stop. He wanted to be a suburban dad with two-point-five kids shoved into the minivan.

I’d never liked children and never wanted them.

A nurse burst through the door. “Visiting hours are over, young man. It’s time for her medication anyway. She needs rest.” Her smile was directed at me. “Though it is nice to see you’re awake.”

Jason kissed me on the forehead as the nurse left the room, presumably to get my medication.

I handed Jason his jacket, and he turned to leave. “Why did you bring your coat anyway? It must be a hundred degrees outside.”

He paused at the doorway but didn’t face me. “Hospitals are always cold,” he murmured, almost too quiet for me to hear. Lord knows we’d been in plenty of hospitals both as visitors and patients. He tapped the doorframe once with his knuckle as if he wanted to say more before he slipped out of sight.

I slid down in bed and stared at the ceiling. My eyelids drooped. Sleep called to me. At least here, I could get a little rest.

***

I stood on a stone terrace overlooking the ocean. I watched the waves crash against the cliff below. The sweet fragrance of night-blooming jasmine filled the air.

Thunder echoed around me. The scent of rain was clean and fresh as the clouds rolled in overhead.

I was wrapped in a white toga, an elegant brooch holding it in place at my shoulder. My hands went to my hair. It was coiled in some fancy way, a few delicate ringlets brushing my shoulders.

The storm broke, and rain splashed onto the slabs of stone. The cold drops hit my skin, goose bumps rose, but I made no move to go inside.

“Regan,” the wind seemed to whisper. “Come to me.”

I spun around. Zarek stood in the doorway of the large villa, highlighted by the glow of candles. Even though the planes of his face were cast in shadow, I knew it was him.

“Come to me. Let me keep you warm.”

I shivered and took a step toward him, but I jerked to a stop. I had the overwhelming sense that if I went to him, I would lose something. I wasn’t sure what, but I had to resist him.

“Come to me, Regan. It’s cold out there. And in weather like this, it isn’t safe.”

The ground trembled at his words, as if to prove his point.

His eyes glowed in the darkness as we locked gazes. “Only death waits for you if you part from me. Come back to me.”

As I stared, a little thrill of fear went down my spine. He was lying.
He
was death.

I spun around, breaking the eye contact. I gripped the rail of the terrace, losing control. A part of me wanted to run to him, take what he offered. But no way.

The ocean roiled beneath me. It turned the deep red of blood as it slammed against the cliff. The ground under me quaked violently. Pieces of the cliff broke away and tumbled into the sea of red below.

I backed away from the railing just before it crumbled and fell into the waves. The wind whipped around me, tearing at my toga. I spun and shouted to Zarek over the wind, “You can sink this whole house, and I still won’t come to you.”

His growl of rage sounded over the storm. The ground disintegrated beneath my feet, and I plummeted toward the red ocean.

I jerked awake, sitting straight up in bed. I was drenched in sweat. A headache throbbed in my temples to the beat of my pulse.

First the dream at the beach, then this nightmare. I hit the nurse call button. It was time to get the fuck out of this hospital and get some answers.