Lure of Forever (22 page)

"
Pardonnez-moi
, 
mon
amour.
 
Je
n'aurais
jamais
 
quitté
."

All the fight went out of
Coralie
at the whispered apology and her treacherous heart
blossomed and swelled inside her chest until it felt as though it was going to
burst with hope and happiness. She ruthlessly slammed her mental shields down
and snatched her hands out of Lucas's. The frown on his face and the hurt in
his eyes tugged at her bruised heart and she crossed her arms to stop herself
from giving in to the need to touch him, and to run her hands all over that
broad chest. Damn it all to hell. He'd left her without a word, left her on her
own to figure out all the terrifying things happening to her body, and yet, all
she wanted to do was climb into his arms and never let him go. Her eyes roamed
all over him to appease her anxiety and her body responded to his nearness with
embarrassing predictability. A new fire consumed her, liquid heat built between
her thighs, as the force of her physical reaction pooled low in her abdomen and
spread across her skin like arcs of electricity. Her jaw ached and burned and
hunger consumed her. A fierce gnawing ache in the pit of her belly and her eyes
zeroed in on the pulse visible at Lucas's neck. Her incisors grew until they
stung her lips and she threw her hands over her mouth in horror.
 

Oh God, what is happening to me now?

Coralie
tried to back away, tears clouding her vision, but Lucas's arms went around her
waist and pulled her in. She shook her head, desperate to get away, every low
swoosh of his heartbeat magnifying in her ears until her whole being focused on
the sound of his blood rushing through his veins. Her fangs grew longer still,
the ache in her jaws now unbearable, and her hands formed into claws. They
sliced through the fabric of his shirt. The coppery scent of his blood filled
her nostrils and Lucas groaned in her hair and pulled her face up. She
resisted, her strength matching his. She sliced through his skin again and
again, in her effort to get closer, her body's only focus to sink her fangs
into his flesh and sate the bloodlust consuming her. The beast within howled
its need, her own blood heating with the need to feed.

"Let me in
,
Chere
,
let me help you. You've got to focus. You can
beat this,
Coralie
."

The urgent words penetrated through
the mists swirling in her brain and joined in with the low chanting, urging her
to pay attention, to open her mind and listen. Lucas's presence flooded her
mind, reassuring and familiar, and obliterating everything else.

"That's it, breathe. Focus, slow
your heartbeat. Breathe with me, slowly." Her mind focused on his voice,
his breathing matched his and she screwed her eyes shut, every fiber of her
being concentrating on his gravelly tones, talking her down until the fire
ceased to burn, the fog lifted and her teeth retracted with a soft click. Her
legs buckled and her body slumped as fatigue hit her.

"Easy,
Chere
,
I've got you." Lucas’s presence surrounded her and she closed her eyes
against the wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm her. Bile churned in her
gut and despair clawed at her. She pushed against his chest, suddenly desperate
to get away. God, she was a monster. She had to be to react like that.

His vice like grip on her neck made
her wince and he forced her head up, until she had no choice but to look at
him. His eyes swirling with a myriad of emotion, they bored into her soul until
he touched his head to hers.

"I take it that hasn't happened
before."

"No."
Coralie
shook her head and dropped her gaze. Horror suffused her when she saw the torn
shreds of his shirt, encrusted with his blood. His torso of course healed once
again. She trailed a finger over the dried marks of blood and Lucas pulled his
stomach in on a sharp intake of breath.
Coralie's
eyes widened as his cock hardened and rose under her ass and when he once again
tilted her chin up, the worry in his eyes was replaced with the heat of lust.

"You've allowed yourself to go
too long without blood. Your body simply responded to the need to replenish. As
your maker I triggered the feral response you should have had when you first
woke up. I'm sorry I wasn't here then. It would have been far easier on you,
had it happened then, rather than all these weeks later. But, I had to get
away.
Coralie
, had I known what you were I never
would have left you."

Coralie's
heart clenched at the pain behind those growled words.

"What am I, Lucas?"

****

The whispered question lodged inside
his heart like a poisoned dart and festered. He ruthlessly squashed down on the
rising surge of his own feelings of guilt. This wasn't about him. This was
about the woman he loved.

Merde
,
he shook his head and forced a smile on his lips. His insides
twisted and churned, sweat pooled between his shoulder blades and he ground his
teeth together. He never once thought he would love again. It left you open to
so much pain and heartache. And, so he'd run away. Unable to deal with his
guilt over having turned her, having robbed her of her chance of children, her
chance of a normal life, he'd left her to face the reality of who she was, who
she had always been destined to be, on her own. In the process he had
endangered not only
Coralie
, but
Marnie
and Ion and their little boy, who he loved as his own.

His gaze strayed to the window. The
sun was now setting and the children had been called in by their mothers. The
air streaming in through the open window turned chilly as the sun dipped behind
the tree line. It would soon be dark enough to travel and he had to get
Coralie
away from here and Carmen's influence. If his maker
couldn't use
Coralie
, she would have no compunction
of ordering her execution. In Lucas's absence the only thing that had kept
Coralie
safe was the protection of Ion's pack.

Not for the first time, Lucas owed
Ion. One day the shifter would need the favor returned, but for now he had to
get the trembling woman in his arms to agree to come with him.

"Is it that terrible that you
can't tell me? Is that why you left?"

His hold on her tightened and he
dropped a kiss on her forehead, breathing in her unique scent. She pushed
against his chest and he reluctantly let her go. When she would have stood up,
however, he pulled her back on his lap with a muttered curse and kept a firm
grip on her neck with one hand, tilting her head up with the other.

"The reasons why I left aren't
important right now. I was a fool, let's leave it at that. Too far up my own
ass to think much beyond my own hang ups. I never should have left you. I just
hope you can forgive me, in time. I would fully understand if you never wanted
to see me again, but for now you're stuck with me. You need to come with me and
away from here,
Coralie
. Your presence places
everyone in great danger."

Her eyes grew huge and filled with
tears, the little color left in her cheeks drained away until she looked
transparent.

"So, I am the monster Jerry
thinks I am? God, am I going to turn on others the way I did on you?"

"
Non
,
you're beautiful and strong and unique. What happened was a reaction to me and
me alone. It won't happen again, and besides, you controlled yourself far
better than I have ever seen a new vamp do. No, the danger comes from other
sources and until you have made a decision you're vulnerable. Carmen would love
to get her hands on you and use you for her own means. I'll die before I let
that happen."

"Why does she want me? What
makes me so unique? Everyone keeps skirting the issue, but no one will tell me
anything and Jerry, she spouted some nonsense about me being a witch, but I'm
not, am I? She said…she said," her voice broke and Lucas pulled her closer
to his frame, relief flooding him at the trusting way she leaned into him. Her
fingers dug into his biceps and he felt her whole body tremble as she fought
for control.

"What did she say?"

"She said Mummy appeared to her
and that she was a witch, but she wasn't. She can't have been. I would have
known, wouldn't I?"
Coralie
looked up at
him,
her eyes filled with desperate hope that made him feel
like the worst heel ever, to have to be the one to tell her. Some of the hope
dimmed, the longer she looked up at him, and her expression dropped when he
nodded.

"Your mother was the last in a
long line of witches that can trace their ancestry back to the very first
coven. She renounced her powers when she came of age. She wanted to live a
normal life, because she had fallen in love with your father and she wanted to
protect any future children. If your life hadn't been threatened you never
would be faced with this decision now."

"I don't understand. What
decision?"

Lucas sighed. She looked so
confused, even as her skin started to glow again. He picked her hand up and
Coralie
gasped as the glow intensified and spread up his
arm. She tried to ball her hands into fists to hide the sparks at her
fingertips.

"Don't,
Coralie
,
you're beautiful. You have the power of your ancestors coursing through you, if
you choose to use it. That's how you defeated
Jacomo
.
That's why you can walk in the sun and have such control over your vampire
side. That's what makes you a powerful weapon that Carmen will want to
use." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the sparks, making her
eyes widen further. "You need time to work out what to do, and you need
protection. That's my job. I took some of the choice away from you when I
turned you, but I'll make damn sure you can reach your decision without any
outside influences."

His heart soared at her tentative
nod of agreement.

"Where are we going?"

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Coralie
snapped the heavy ledger shut and wrinkled her nose as the dust motes danced in
the rays of the evening sun. She stretched and tried to rub away the crick in
her neck. She'd sat here for hours, too excited to finally have found something
concrete, to move. They'd arrived at Lucas's cottage a week ago, after an
emotional farewell from Ion,
Marnie
and little
Lando
. The little boy had burst into tears when she left
and
Coralie
too had broken down, once safely inside
Lucas's car. Lucas had stopped the car once they'd rounded the bend and pulled
her onto his lap, where she'd sobbed her heart out into his shoulder. When
she'd finally got herself under control he'd handed her one of his monogrammed
handkerchiefs, causing a surge of fresh tears.
 
Lucas had sighed, dropped a kiss into her hair and settled her back in
her own seat with a gruff order for her to get some sleep.

Not having slept properly in days
and exhausted after everything she'd learned, she'd indeed fallen asleep.
 
She'd stirred when Lucas carried her into her
the cottage and the next thing she'd become aware of was waking up in a huge
four-poster bed. Lucas was fast asleep, his long legs falling off the end of
the chaise lounge at the other side of the room.
Coralie's
heart had beaten a strange rhythm against her breastbone.

She'd left him sleeping and tiptoed
out of the room to investigate her surroundings. The cottage was cozy and
welcoming, furnished with antiques and decorated with original artwork. The two
other well-equipped bedrooms made her smile, hope blossoming inside her. He'd
had no reason to sleep on a cramped couch, other than wanting to stay close to her.
Surely that meant he cared for her a little…why else go through all trouble to
bring her home? When she'd turned around, Lucas stood in the doorway quietly
watching her.

"How are you feeling now?"

"I'm okay.
Could
murder a coffee."

The ghost of a smile had kicked his
lips up.

"Coming
right up."

She'd watched him moving around the
little kitchen, and as the aroma of coffee filled the air, she'd needed to ask.

"Why did you sleep on the couch
when you have two other bedrooms in this place?"

He hadn't looked at her, just
continued wiping the spotless kitchen counter and
Coralie
had to wonder at the tension in those broad shoulders.

"You were restless. I wanted to
make sure you were okay. Waking up in a strange place can be
disorienting." He'd turned around then, his green eyes searching her face.
"You're still too pale. You need some blood."

"No, I don't. I don't want
any."

"
Coralie
,
you will get ill if you don't. This isn't up for discussion,
Chere
."