Sapphire Angel (9 page)

"Thank you."

His father smiled at him, "No problem, son. You go take care of her. I’ll find another place to lay my head today."

Angelo smiled back at his father, he was so full of emotion he had no words. As the doors slid open and they both climbed out, his father turned to walk away but stopped a moment, "She is beautiful, and I’m so glad we rescued her. It would have destroyed me to see you lose her, or worse, to see both of you lost."

Before Angelo could say a word, his father turned and walked away from them.

Darcy began to stir against him, nuzzling her nose against his bare chest. He smiled as he carried her to their apartment. Today was going to be a good day. And once she was fully healed, he was going to claim her properly and fully.

Chapter Seven

Karl lay slumped in the back of the van, taking deep breaths in through his nose and out of his mouth, trying vainly to get through the pain currently radiating from his groin. How the hell was he going to help her when she kicked him in the balls hard enough he might actually need surgery to retrieve them? He winced as he tried to move, he dragged himself to the back of the van so he could watch what was happening with Darcy.

He had known they intended to hurt her bad enough she would be on the brink of death. His mind still raced with how he could possibly help save her, as he watched the Elder to her right run a knife deep into her upper thigh, Darcy’s ear piercing scream made him cringe as his heart ached for her.

The bright red blood rushing from her body was all he could see. Barely able to breathe through the pain, he watched as she rapidly lost her color and slumped back against the tree, head hanging forward. He watched her chest rise with a deep breath before she raised her head to yell into the night sky her love for Angelo. A sudden sharp stab of jealousy ripped through him. He’d spent six years with Darcy. How dare she now call another man’s name?

The moment she dropped unconscious to the ground all thoughts of jealously disappeared. He finally found the energy to move, his personal pain forgotten. He wrapped his hand around the edge of the van to haul himself out when a hooded elder blocked his path.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Karl just looked at him, what could he say?

"Yeah, I thought so. You need to stay here, and away from her."

"She’s dying, what good is she to any of us dead?"

"He’ll come. Her vampire will save her. She needs to be near death to force him to claim her."

Karl didn’t give him time to continue. He had heard enough. He tried to push past the much larger man, but didn’t get far. A moment later he was on his back on the floor of the van, while his head was still smarting from a smack against the floor. His hands were bound and raised above his head. He watched helplessly as he was tied to the anchor point on the back of the rear seat. Damn it he was really stuffed now.

As soon as he was tied, the Elder left the van and Karl looked over to see what was taking place. He needed to know she hadn’t died while he was being restrained. He sucked in a shocked breath as he saw Angelo with her, wrapping her wounded leg in strips of his shirt. A blur of movement caught his eye, he swung his head to watch as one of the Elders near the van was pulled silently behind a tree. The others couldn’t see, but from his angle he scored a front row seat as the vampire swiped a blade across the Elder’s throat. Karl watched in silence, mesmerized by the macabre sight of the slow death of the man now lying on the ground twitching as blood gushed from his neck.

When the Elder on the ground stopped moving, Karl finally managed to tear his gaze away. He glanced around at the other Elders, doing a quick head count. They had come in two vans. Three Elders travelled with him and Darcy, so he could assume there were five in the other van. That meant, there should be seven Elders still standing. He could only count five. He helplessly watched as two more were taken silently. These were more fortunate than the first. Their deaths were quick as the vampires efficiently broke their necks. The two snaps reached his ears as the limp bodies fell quietly to the ground. Wincing, he turned his attention back to Darcy. Angelo was cutting the rope binding her wrists and scooping her up. With his entire focus on Darcy, Angelo didn’t see the Elder coming up behind him with the syringe.

Karl took in as deep a breath as he could, preparing to yell out to warn them when his breath stopped in his throat. He watched as three vampires came behind the Elder, one grabbing each hand and arm, while the third grabbed a fist full of his hair and forced him to watch Angelo escaping with Darcy. He could hear the Elder’s growl as a fourth vampire came at his front with a large knife. With the night air being so still, Karl was able to clearly hear the vampire’s words.

"You bastards stole my mother, imprisoned my father. Let your last sight before dying be watching Angelo leave with his rescued Bride, and know this, we know where you hide, and we will rescue all the others before this is over. Nobles will be no more."

Karl’s heart began to race as he watched the knife disappear into the Elder’s abdomen and slide through his flesh up to his throat. He watched as the vampires dropped him to the ground and walk away. Karl closed his eyes and laid his head back, playing possum. Hoping the vampires wouldn’t see him as a threat in need of killing.

Karl stayed like that, lying against the cold metal of the van for what felt like half an hour. When he couldn’t take it any longer he opened his eyes to discover he was alone. The golf course was now empty of the living. He looked up at his hands, and tugged on them, the rope held firm. Damn it! How the hell was he going to get back to the compound?

~ * ~

Darcy woke with a start. Her body jerked as she remembered being stabbed. The movement caused her to slip below water. She instantly panicked, not wanting to drown. Was this what dying felt like? Or was she already dead? Suddenly she was back out of the liquid and she gasped in breaths, her eyes tightly closed against the burn in her lungs.

"
Piccola
, breathe."

Piccola
? Was she with Angelo? Had she died and gone to heaven? Because without him, there would be no heaven for her. She swiped at her eyes to clear the water away. The moment her vision was clear, she looked to where the voice had come from. Tears pricked her eyes and fell as she took in his beautiful face, with his clear deep blue eyes. He was her sapphire angel.

"Am I dead?"

Angelo chuckled at her and hauled her tight against his chest, "No,
piccola
, you are not dead."

Darcy nuzzled her face into his chest, taking in deep breaths to fill her lungs with his scent.

"How?" Her throat still burned so she tried to keep her words to a minimum.

"I did not go alone. I took a team with me. I rescued you while the others dealt with the Nobles."

Her lips quirked a little. He made it sound so simple.

"How am I not dead?"

"Oh Darcy, please do not be mad with me." He paused to tilt her face up to his, "I had to claim you. Only though bonding us together could I save you. You had lost so much blood. Which, of course, was their intention." He finished with a growl. His forehead creased as his whole body vibrated with rage.

She raised her hand to smooth the lines from his face. The splash as her hand moved up caught her attention. Where was she? She pulled back slightly from Angelo to take in her surroundings for the first time. She took in the large spa bath she was in, the opulent marble tiles and counters.

"This is your bathroom, in the apartment at the Docklands."

"
Our
bathroom, Darcy. You are truly free and rescued."

"Rescued..." She repeated the word as it triggered memories. She spun back to Angelo, "We have to go back! We need to rescue the others."

"Yes, we will. Well, you will not, but there are teams preparing as we speak to storm Noble hideouts globally. It has to be coordinated across the globe so we get as many free as possible."

"I have to go. I promised."

"I cannot let you put yourself in that level of danger,
piccola
. I cannot lose you."

"You don’t understand. I met someone. Someone I didn’t think I’d ever find."

She paused to take a deep breath, "Do you remember what I told you? About how I was abandoned as a baby?"

She waited for his nod before she continued, "Well, it turns out my mother was an Eternal Bride too. Her vampire was trying to get to her, but she didn't know what he wanted. She thought he wanted to harm me. So she left me at a hospital, thinking she was keeping me safe. Her vampire, Barret, caught up with her soon after, but it was too late. She couldn’t find me. I was lost in the system by then. After Barret claimed her, the Nobles took them. They are both there, at the compound. I promised her I’d come back for her."

Angelo frowned at her, "Wait, so you are the
daughter
of an Eternal Bride?"

"Yes, but my father was human. I think."

Angelo stroked her face with a look of complete awe and adoration on his face. She frowned in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Eternal Brides only ever have sons. I have never heard of one having a daughter."

"So, you’re telling me there are no female vampires?"

He shook his head. "No wonder you are so strong."

Before she could question him further Angelo silenced her with a passionate kiss. When he lifted away from her, she was panting with arousal. She could hear his rapid breathing and could feel his hard arousal twitching against her bottom. She went to speak but he cut her off before she could utter a word.

"Nothing will be done today. We have this day to worry about nothing but us. Not another word about anything but us,
piccola
."

His hand slipped from her face down to her breast where he gently kneaded her flesh.

"Oh, I missed you so much. I love you."

Tears pricked her eyes at his heart-felt declaration. She took his face between her palms and whispered against his lips, "Each day without you at my side was hell. I need you, Angelo. I love you so much."

She pressed her mouth against his. Loving how he opened up beneath her lips and took control. Their tongues danced as he lifted her. She opened her legs to straddle his thighs. She moaned when his rock hard erection pressed against her. She began to slowly rub herself up and down his shaft, allowing the ridge around the head to tease her clit on each pass. She whimpered into his mouth when he gripped her hips tightly and pressed her harder against him. He lifted his mouth from hers and trailed kisses down her jaw and neck. He slid his hands up to her breasts and pressed them together. She shuddered in anticipation as he lowered his mouth to suckle both of her achingly hard nipples into his mouth at once. Just the way she liked it.

She rocked against him one more time, the hard ridge of his head scraping her clit at the same moment his teeth scraped her nipples. She screamed as an orgasm swept through her body. She was still riding the waves of her climax when Angelo lifted her and slid his dick deep inside her still quivering sheath. She felt him touch her cervix and she gasped for breath as her body struggled to stretch to accommodate him. He held still within her, his hands now stroking her back and arms, while he kissed her neck and face. After a moment her body relaxed around him and an ache began to grow inside of her womb.

"Please, Angelo, I need—I need you to move."

Her voice sounded desperate and husky to her own ears but she didn’t care. She needed him. Now. With a strangled groan, Angelo began to slide in and out of her. He began with slow thrusts. Darcy wrapped her arms around his neck as she threw her head back and groaned at how good he felt inside of her. He buried his face in her breasts as he began speeding up his pace. He raised his head and Darcy stared at his open mouth. With his lips curled back from his teeth, his fangs gleamed in the soft light. She clenched her internal muscles as she thought about him biting her. He hissed in response to her gripping him.

"
Piccola
, I need to taste you, but you don’t have much blood left. I will only take a sip. I promise."

Without thought, Darcy tilted her head to the side offering her throat to him. She watched his eyes dilate further as he focused on the throbbing pulse in her neck. She could feel her internal muscles gearing up for another release as his strokes picked up speed. He thrust into her one last time as he bit into her neck.

The moment his fangs pierced her skin she blew apart into a million pieces. She clenched her muscles around his hard flesh inside her and was rewarded with a groan and the feel of his warm seed filling her womb. Oh, how she wished it was the twenty-ninth of February and that seed had a chance at making a life inside of her. She could feel Angelo pulling on her vein, knew he needed to stop.

"Angelo. You’re. Taking. Too. Much." She felt weak, her words short and clipped as she struggled to remain conscious. She felt his fangs retract and vaguely heard him utter course words in Italian before the black spots swimming before her eyes eclipsed her vision and she slumped against his warm chest, passing out as he wrapped his arms around her.