Love Charms (156 page)

"I'll
never
see her again," Trinity uttered, jerking his chin forward. "Then none
of these troubling questions will matter," he finished flatly.

"But she'll
continue to tempt you." Baptiste pinned him with a serious gaze.

"We live
with and fight with constant temptation as it is." Trinity stood, breaking
their locked gazes. "Just add another to the heap."

 "But, what
if she were your destined —" Baptiste started.

"Don't!"
Trinity charged, "Dare go there."

Trinity moved
the chair away, and then he asked in a quieter voice, "Can she survive the
addiction to my blood, do you think?"

However, he knew
the answer to that had not yet been tested.

Chapter Eleven

Beth dreamt
about Trinity. When she woke, nearly all she could think about was him, his
blood, then him again … until she wanted to pound the bed covers in teary
frustration.

"Beth?"

She turned her
head against the pillow and saw Adam quietly entering the room. "Say that
he is here!" she exclaimed. "Come to see me."

"Who,
Beth?" Adam asked, walking to the side of her bed.

"Lord
Trinity," she explained in a strident whisper.

"Oh no,
Beth, of course that Trinity Blacknall, whose title I learned is Marquis
Montrose, is not here." Adam raised his hand to her temple. "You look
feverish."

She tried to
rise and Adam's bandaged hand moved quickly to her shoulder to press her back.
"I
must
see him." She continued to press upward.

"I know
you're in pain, sweetheart," Adam began.

"No,
no," she said. "No pain at all." She tried to rise again.

"You must
stay still." Adam's tone was firm as he pressed back against her wish to
rise. "Doctor Latham spoke of no fever," he muttered.

"When was
the doctor here?" Beth asked, wondering where Lord Trinity might be.
Surely, he would return to see her. Wouldn't he? He
had
to.

"Within the
hour, Beth. Don't you remember?" Adam asked with concern. "He
bandaged my finger and came right in to see you for a good twenty
strokes."

Beth's eyes
filled with tears as she looked up at Adam. "He did?" she barely
whispered. How could she not remember it?

"It's all
right," Adam soothed. "You've been through so much, too much. It's no
wonder some things seem vague."

"I need to
see him," she whimpered, and her gaze rose to Adam's eyes, pleading with
him.

Adam's returning
gaze looked furrowed with worry as he hushed her, saying, "You need sleep,
sweetheart. Just get some more sleep."

Beth trusted her
brother above anyone and for him she struggled against the intense fascination
she felt to see Trinity again. "All right, Adam." She gave in and she
felt him lean forward to hear her as she closed her eyes with tears drying on
her cheeks.

Still, as soon
as the door clicked shut behind Adam, Beth opened her eyes again. She moved to
sit in the bed, leaning back against the pillows as she pressed her hands
together in her lap. Someone had put her dressing gown on and pulled her hair
back into a braid. Yet, the last she remembered was lying in bed, naked beneath
the covers, while only one of Trinity's firm hands held her down.

Was it
infatuation
? Was that the strange feeling she had to see him again? She'd
never been in love. She'd thought herself slightly attracted to Lord Bellingham
once, yet nothing close to the feelings churning inside her now. She was nearly
embarrassed she could be so overturned.

"He is
handsome," she muttered, twisting her fingers together. "And
dangerous."

Thinking of
Trinity made her body ache in places she'd never known could ache with such
temptation. But he knew. Lord Trinity knew about where women ached with desire.
He'd been attracted to her. She felt it, or confused, she wondered if she'd
seen it, when she'd … Oh lord, when she …

"
Drank
his blood," she hissed. She shivered with goose bumps flooding her skin
and her fingers grasped the bed linens on either side of her. She realized she
knew from swallowing his blood, she
knew
… "He's a …" She
gulped. "He's a
vampire.
"

Beth's squeezed
her eyes shut. Since she'd tasted Trinity's blood, she had impressions of
things: craving the taste of blood, living in coldness, and unrelenting power.
She knew through the effects of his blood, flowing through her, that he'd had a
violent past. One that troubled him deeply and which drove him now. She knew he
loved his brothers with feelings that were overpowering.

"He fights
the greatest temptations with ironclad willpower every second of every
day," she whispered, her fingers curling and uncurling in tension.

 Trinity was not
really a man. He was a lethal copy that looked like the perfect reflection of a
man, but he fed on human blood to stay alive.

"And last
night he saved my life," she said seriously as she moved to get out of
bed. She knew, if she could see her back, she'd find the wound was healed and
the stitches were already gone. "Because of Trinity's blood."

She walked
across the room to the drapes covering the glass-paned doors that led out onto
a vast, stone courtyard at the back of the mansion. She pulled the heavy
draping aside enough to see the sunlight. It was still daylight out and she was
glad because she had some intuition that nightfall would make her craving for
Trinity's blood worsen.

She'd drunk
the blood of a vampire
… and now she was changed. It was unnerving and
terrifying. Yet, even as it frightened her, she wanted to show as much strength
of will as Trinity showed every minute of his life. He'd told her the way.

"Be
stronger than your urges, maiden."

He expected no
less of himself, and oh, how she wanted him to respect her. She looked out into
the sunlight wondering if she would ever see him again. She thought not. He was
a man not to be interested in the trite involvements of society where young
girls dressed up to go to balls, trying to find husbands. His pursuits were
about serious business, not the silliness she moved through of gossip,
aspirations, and parties.

"Maiden,
you want my blood,
not
me," she expelled the words Trinity had
thrown at her.

He was right.
Could she separate the two? Yesterday she'd been a carefree, silly girl, and
today she'd woken to growing new understandings of life that more than
surpassed the entire previous years of her life. Beyond her imagination.
"But I'm still alive," she said fiercely, and she wasn't going to
squander the gift of life she'd been given.

 Adam came to
visit her again later that afternoon. His handsome face looked very grim when
he entered the room. She'd wanted to retire to her own rooms, but she didn't
want anyone discovering she was healed … so quickly. Therefore, she sat in bed,
because she was plagued by tiredness.

"Adam, what
is it?" she asked without any preamble that others who weren't brothers
and sisters might employ.

"Lady Ariel
returned your letter unopened." He lifted the letter to her gaze as he
moved to sit on the bed beside her.

Beth frowned,
looking up at him with worry. She didn't reach for the letter he held toward
her, as if she touched it would make its return real. "That isn't good, is
it?" she confided softly.

She'd taken the
task of writing a note to Ariel to call her to her side so they might sort
through the events of last evening, and frankly, so she could do some inventive
lying. She at least thought Ariel might wish to know about the health of her
friend.

"No."
Adam admitted to it not being a very good sign, and he set the letter on the bedside
table. "What did you say in it?" he questioned, then he added,
"Had she come this morning, I dare say your condition would have sent her
packing in fear," he paused. "But you look much recovered now."

Besides the
gnawing desire to taste Trinity's blood again, she was rather well, considering
the ordeal she'd been through. She reached for and clasped Adam's hand so their
hands sat together on the bed beside them. "Thank you so much." Tears
gathered as she squeezed his hand and she willed them not to fall.

"I'm just
glad I was there," he replied gruffly.

"I feel
much better physically." She knew Adam would take up her meaning. She was
undecided how much to share with him. However, her views on her brother hadn't
changed after last night. In fact, certain aspects had become stronger. She
wanted Adam to be able to go to the university unhindered, and everything that
had happened was not moving him in that direction.

"I will not
question you now, so close in your recovery, about what happened to you last night,
Beth, but I expect us to speak about it as soon as you are able."

Beth played
demure in front of him on the subject and she felt a stab of guilt.
Nevertheless, if she explained everything that happened to her last night from
her viewpoint, she'd only succeed in miring him deeper into her troubles.

"I don't
remember most of it," she responded quickly to him, watching him raise his
eyebrows in disbelief. "Just that we couldn't find Ariel, and I went out
into the gardens to look for her."

"You don't
remember Lord Trinity Montrose, one of Duke Blacknall's brothers?" Adam
asked tightly.

Beth quickly
lowered her gaze. She despised lying to Adam. "I've heard of Duke
Blacknall and his brothers, of course."

"But last
night …"

"I feel
weak," Beth interjected over his words, bringing a hand to her temple.

"Deuce,"
Adam swore, and she imagined he was chastising himself for pushing her.
"Beth, lay down and get some rest," he said, rising from the bed.
"I will get Spindle to bring you some soup to try for dinner."

"Thank you,
Adam." She tried to appear weaker than she was as she scooted to lie down.

Adam stood
looking down on her for a long moment. He said, "I only want you safe and
happy."

He looked so
troubled as he turned and left the room, it broke her heart. She wished the
same thing for him: wanting him safe. The only avenue left for her was the one
she'd concluded last night. She needed to write to finishing schools that very
evening for a position and have them posted in the morning. She personally knew
several dames of society who sat on the boards of well-named schools she could
speak to in person.

Yet it would
take her very far away from Trinity.

The thought
leaped into her mind with an instant feeling of dread. She raised the heel of
her palm to her temple, rubbing. "Go away!" she exclaimed to the
thoughts. She rubbed more forcibly. "Leave me be!" She wouldn't think
of him. She wouldn't. Surely, the attraction of having tasted his essence would
fade eventually.

God, she prayed
so.

Chapter Twelve

Fanton stood in
the dark shadows of the room over the sleeping form of Beth. Her insolent
brother sat guard outside the door. The fool completely ignored the courtyard
doors. Fanton was not smiling, though; something was different about his little
Beth, and he didn't like it. She lay on her back with the covers twisted about
her waist, leaving only a thin night rail to cover her tits. He wondered how
she could manage to endure the pain laying on her back in her sleep.

Yet the rise and
fall of her large tits distracted his hand. He cupped one, feeling the fat
globe. He was hungry, so famished that he felt weak from the loss. Sweet
delectable Beth. His other hand reached for the mound of her other tit.

Beth saw the
wildness in Trinity's gaze. He hungered for her with cravings that made her
moan and undulate her body in sensuous invitations. She saw his tangled long,
blond hair, deep penetrating eyes, and his hard jaw. He was so handsome … so
masculine, he made her breath quiver with longing as she raised her breasts to
his touch. He was harsh with need, twisting her nipples and making her cry out
as she felt his hot breath against the column of her throat.

"What
foulness has tainted
my
virgin!"

It was a snarled
voice she feared beyond all else. Beth's eyelids flew open and she was
staggered, as she'd thought she'd been awake with her eyes open and her fingers
reaching for Trinity.

"Fanton!"
she gasped, and before she could move, he leapt to straddle her body on the
bed. He tugged her wrist to his mouth and she bucked her body beneath him
trying to force him off her as she tried to jerk her wrist away from him. His
irises flashed red, and she reacted to his attack crying, "No! No!"

"Why aren't
you mesmerized to my will?" he demanded with harsh and wet hissing sounds
around his teeth, which had extended into two long lances past his lips,

Beth tugged her
arm with all her might. "Let me go!" she cried, wondering why she
didn't scream.

A terrible sting
penetrated her wrist. Now her mind screamed in terror, as Fanton hissed horrible
vibrations against her wrist with his mouth. His entire body recoiled —
one second he was on top of her, and the next he was halfway across the room.

"
Foulness
,"
he growled gutturally, like a beast.

She didn't wait
to understand what he meant. Terror sent her running from the bed. Fanton was a
vampire! Was she in a nightmare she couldn't awaken from? She pushed through
the drapes to find the glass doors open to the courtyard. On bare feet, she
stumbled past them, out onto the cold, damp tiles of the patio.

The word, "
Bitch
,"
whooshed through the air from behind her, back in the room, as she fled forward
into the foggy night.

The long braid
of her hair began to unravel as she cast her frightened gaze repeatedly over
her shoulder. Was he following her? She couldn't tell, and it reminded her too
much of the terrifying chase in the woods she'd endured just the night before.
Her nightgown was not a garment to be wearing in the curling fog. It became
damp and clung to her body as her bare feet ran onto the grass beyond the
courtyard.

 "Trinity!"
she cried, terror-stricken that Fanton would attack her at any moment. That he
would
bite
her again. However, she was still too weak and her lungs
burned as her legs grew heavy.
Fanton would catch her!

Fanton snarled
as though he were a rabid wolf shaking his head at tasting some putrid meat.
His spittle sprayed across the room with his gyrating head as his spine fell
against the wall. He'd never tasted blood so polluted before that it made his
insides twitch and shudder.

Something was
happening to him. It was more than a bad reaction from blood. The same blood
that used to be the sweetest virgin's blood. Then he saw it. One flash of
memory. Blond hair, gore everywhere, and four vampires feeding.

Vampire's blood?
He looked wildly about, clutching his throat. He'd tasted another vampire's
blood. A much older vampire than he was. What would it do to him? His gut began
to lurch in spasms just as knocking sounded on the door beside him.

"Beth, I
heard sounds, are you all right?" Adam's voice called beyond the door.

Fanton hissed.
He'd been ravenous, and he still was, beyond the cramps in his belly. Maybe
fresh blood would lessen the abnormal reaction. His hand clamped over the
lifting door latch, stopping its motion.

"Beth!"
Adam's voice called.

Fanton could
hear the blood pounding in Adam's veins. He'd never sucked the boy's blood …
just the sister’s. Men made him feel inadequate, somehow. Women he could
dominate. Nevertheless, his stepsister was rancid now and he would need a new
source of fresh blood close to him. It made him feel more secure, having it
close. He unclasped his hand from the door lever letting it lift as he ignored
the strange tendrils in his chest and belly gnawing at him.

"Beth!"
Adam exclaimed, throwing the door wide, and then rushing into the room.

"Adam,"
Fanton snarled, making Adam whirl to face him.

"What are
you doing in here?" Adam demanded as he stalked up to him.

Closer,
Fanton thought,
come closer
. Fanton whipped his arm forward, grasping
Adam by the back of his neck, so surprising him he didn't think to resist. At
first. Then it was too late as Fanton's hungry breath belched outward, crawling
over Adam's startled face and Fanton's gaze delved into the depths of Adam's
startled stare. A sigh released from Adam's lips, and then the stiffness in his
neck melted away.

He really is
handsome
, Fanton thought, watching Adam's eyelids lower with a seductive
tilt. Fanton caught Adam's half-slumping body with an arm braced across his
back as his other hand pushed his chin to the side revealing the strong column
of Adam's neck.

The first bite
was crisp and raw as it surged into him.
Virgin's blood
. Fanton's eyes
widened with relish as Adam's hands fisted in his hair and he moaned with
compelling sounds. Fanton embraced Adam more, deepening the bite and draw of
his lips. He was surprised to find his cock was hard as pretty, pretty Adam's
neck arched to his feeding.