Seared by Desire (27 page)

Sara,
he gasped, forcing his heavy
eyes to open.

He could barely see her face through the thick curls that
were scattered all over his chest. He was debating the merits of
letting his eyes slide shut when she moved, forcing him to remember
the intimacy of their position. Her body was still joined with his
and as his tired mind processed that fact, his body rushed forward,
his shaft hardening within her in preparation for a second bout.
Sara winced, reminding him that their joining had not been entirely
painless. Cursing his body for its inconsiderate demands, Lucian
tried to take his mind off his little bride and the easy way she
affected him. His attempts to take his mind off Sara backfired as
hunger rushed to the front of his mind. The pain was so intense
that he could barely think. Hunger was never a good thing for a
vampire and hunger to the extent Lucian was feeling was dangerous.
His eyes wandered back to Sara and as fangs exploded, sharp and
deadly, in his mouth he knew that to stay with her any longer was
to put her in danger.

Groaning, he rolled them over until Sara was once again
beneath him. It was only the pained expression on her face that
prevented him from thrusting his hips against her and bringing her
back to full consciousness. He stroked her cheek gently as he
withdrew, reassuring her without words that all was well. Though
she grimaced and scowled, she didn’t wake and it was on a relieved
sigh that Lucian pulled free from the grip his bride had on his
body. The smell of dried blood in the air was making his fangs drip
with thirst, the monster within him desperate to sink them into her
flesh and drink her until it was sated. He threw himself away from
her and the room seemed to rotate. It was an effort to stand and he
had to stagger back to his clothes, his head spinning as he donned
breeches his mind too worn out to bother with a shirt.

With a final glance back at her, Lucian stumbled out of the
room only to be greeted by a crowd of his people clamouring for his
attention. As soon as they saw him voices were raised and bodies
thrust closer towards him. He rolled his eyes at the display; it
was as if they couldn’t function without him telling them expressly
how to do so. He let the voices wash over him for a minute before
he remembered Sara’s sleeping face. He didn’t want her to see him
feed and if the noise continued she would soon wake and leave the
bed to find out just what was causing it. While feeding was natural
to all vampires, mortals often found the process unnerving and in
some cases simply disgusting. Imagining Sara’s beautiful face
contorting into a mask of loathing as she watched him do something
so vital to him had his already dangerously long fangs lengthen
even further.

“
Enough,” he hissed. His voice was low but all those gathered
heard it as if he’d shouted. “You will not say another word here.
There are two things I want to be done now. Firstly, I want someone
to run my bride a hot bath.”
It will ease
her aches.

Eyes widened in shock as Lucian confirmed the rumours that
had been flying about all night. But none said a word in regard to
his revelation; it was easy to believe that Sara was Lucian's
bride. He treated her differently to everyone else and sometimes
acted as though he were a completely different person when she was
nearby.

“
And secondly I want two…” The words trailed off as he began
to fully understand the extent of his hunger. When he was
exceptionally hungry, he could easily drink from three different
sources and he was even hungrier now. “No. I want five donors
brought to me.” Sara’s face flashed into his mind, her normally
smiling face overcome by betrayal. His heart stuttered, missing a
beat. “Men,” he amended. “I only want male donors. Do not bring a
woman to me. I will only send her away and be angrier for having to
do so. Until both of those tasks have been taken care of I don’t
want to hear what you have to say. Am I understood?”

“
Yes my Lord,” the crowd murmured before it began to disperse.
All gathered knew that when their Lord had set his mind on doing
something in a particular way there was no way to move him from his
path.

“
My Lord,” Russell began as he bowed. “You may use my room to
feed in if you wish. It will give you some privacy and when you’re
finished I’d like to talk to you. It’s important.”

“
Fine,” he growled. “We’ll talk after I’ve fed and then I’m
going to deal with William.” His eyes flashed red. “I don’t like
the way he was eyeing up my bride last night. I need to make him
pay for that and then there will be no doubt as to who is the
stronger and more able to lead.”

Russell nodded, leading the way for Lucian to
follow.

Sara woke not long after Lucian left as though her body had
sensed his absence and wanted her to go to him. His strong arms
were no longer wrapped around her body, his heartbeat was gone and
the peace his cool touch brought had all vanished in an instant.
Wincing, she rose from the bed, her eyes scanning the room for
traces of him. Her heart sunk when she realised he’d left without
even a parting word but she forced the sense of disappointment from
her mind.
He won’t have gone far,
she decided, stunned that she had so quickly come
to believe in Lucian. She wrapped her small body in the long length
of the cotton sheet before walking to the door, easing her head out
of the crack. She didn’t see Lucian but three women saw her. The
door was pulled from her grip and she was led forcefully from the
room.

“
What are you doing?” she screamed, struggling feebly against
their grip as she sought to keep the sheet in place and protect her
modesty.

“
We’re taking you to a bath Lady Sara, Lord Lucian has
commanded it.”

“
Oh,” she responded inanely, the fight leaving her in an
instant.
Maybe Lucian's already there
waiting for me.
Her step
quickened.

The bathing room was small and contained a single ceramic
bath. The tub had been filled with hot water and steam flowed
freely from the water’s surface. The tiles beneath her bare feet
were a calming blue, inviting her to step into the bath, to wash
away the sweat from her body and ease the pain she was feeling in
her unused and exhausted muscles. Though her heart had fallen when
she’d realised Lucian wasn’t in the room, the bath was tempting
her, beckoning her to sink into its depths.
I’ll find Lucian as soon as I’m clean.

She turned to the three women who’d led her to the bathroom,
eyeing them expectantly. “Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome Lady Sara. Please step into the bath and we
will see to your needs.”

“
Excuse me?” she asked incredulously.

“
Step into the bath and we will help you bathe.”

“
I’ve been washing myself for a very long time, I’m sure I can
manage without help.”

“
We have to help you Lady Sara, Lord Lucian has commanded
it.”

“
He told you to wash me?”

“
He asked that we prepare a bath for his bride. That means you
are to be treated as a Lady of the highest standing. No lady washes
or dresses herself.”

“
You want to dress me as well?!”

“
Of course.”

“
I won’t stand for it. Just let me do it myself.”

“
We can’t Lady Sara. If Lord Lucian were to find out he would
have our heads.”

“
You’re kidding me. Look,” she sighed. “I won’t tell him
anything ok?”

“
He will know if we lie. Please, just let us do our
jobs.”

Her body trembled with embarrassment but she let he sheet
drop and rushed into the water. The bath was mercifully quick, in
all likelihood because Sara scowled every second, cursing fervently
and instructing her attendants to hurry. She had let them dress her
as well and cursed her way through every second, making the process
that much faster. It was not as though she were incompetent; she’d
been taking care of herself for years and she had every intention
of telling Lucian exactly that when she next saw him. Finally
bathed and dressed, she stepped out of her room into the corridor
in search of Lucian.

“
Gareth!” she called when she saw Lucian's right hand man
walking alone along the corridor.

He stopped turning towards her a deep frown etched onto his
features. “Yes?”

“
You’re in a bad mood,” she commented as she approached. She
wanted to find Lucian but she was beginning to care for the people
that surrounded him, people who were willing to give up their lives
for the sake of his, even Gareth who had acted so aggressively
towards her when she’d first arrived.

“
I don’t trust William. He has the blood of a snake running
through his veins. I can’t believe that we let Lucian come here in
person. He should have just sent me, I would have dealt with
it.”

Sara frowned at his words. “Gareth, I know I haven’t been
here for all of your war but from what I’ve seen you’d be the worst
person to send to discuss peace.” Gareth scowled. “Don’t
misunderstand me,” she rushed, eager to clarify her earlier words.
“I know you want peace, everyone here does but you want peace
through the sword.”

“
And what exactly is wrong with that? You’re a sword smith, I
would have thought you of all people would understand.”

“
I craft swords Gareth, I rarely wield them and I won’t fight
this war alongside you, Lucian knows that. I won’t hurt people that
have done me no wrong.”

“
You have very lofty morals for a swordsmith.”

“
I’ve killed innocents Gareth, I won’t kill again. Lucian
knows that and understands the reasons behind my decision.” Gareth
was momentarily stunned into silence at her admission and Sara was
stunned that she’d revealed so much to a man she knew so little
about. She shook her head in an attempt to focus. “Where’s Lucian?
I want to see him.”

“
He’s feeding,” Gareth shrugged dismissively.

“
So? I want to see him, will you take me to him?”

“
Of course my Lady.” His humble bow made Sara frown in
confusion, her brow crinkling in a silent question.

“
What are you doing?” she asked as he stood, drawing himself
to his full height.

“
Lord Lucian has acknowledged you as his bride and when he is
King you will rule beside him. I am only paying my
respects.”

She scowled. “Well don’t. I’ve had enough respect paid to me
this morning already.”

“
It’s night my lady,” he corrected gently, a teasing smile
tugging at his lips.

Her scowl deepened. “You know what I mean. Now take me to
Lucian.”

The walk to Russell’s chambers was blissfully short but in
the brief time it took to walk to Lucian's side, Sara’s mind was
plagued with fantasies about what she would say to him when she saw
him. He might have acknowledged her as his bride but it didn’t mean
that he had the right to change her life. There would be no more
showers where she was forced to endure foreign hands on her body,
she could dress herself and had been doing so alone for many years
now and there was no need for people to start bowing to her either.
It was with a sense of righteous indignation that she threw open
the door to Russell’s room.

Strength was returning to Lucian's body by the time he was
almost finished with the fifth donor, the blood of so many strong
vital warriors flowed through his veins rejuvenating him. He was
glad that he’d chosen to have so many assist him and by the time
he’d drunk his third donor he was even gladder that he’d chosen all
men. When he’d first started feeding he’d been voracious, uncaring
of how much blood he took and taking far more from the males than
any female could have survived giving him. His fangs were still
sunk deep into the man’s flesh when he realised something was
amiss. Though he was in the middle of feeding, the taste of blood
left him cold, the skin beneath his mouth was unwanted and the body
near his felt wrong. An intoxicating aroma wafted to his nose and
it was then he realised he was being watched. His eyes flew open,
locking with Sara’s as she stood frozen in the doorway.

He pushed the male away from him and swiped the back of his
hand against his mouth to remove any lingering traces of blood. He
began moving towards her, his mind panicked, frantically trying to
think of what he could say to her to reassure her that he wasn’t a
monster even when he knew that was exactly what he could become.
His step faltered when she began walking towards him, his panicked
mind confused by her actions. When she stood directly in front of
him, she lifted her hand and cupped his cheek tenderly, a smile
emerging on her beautiful face.

“
Are you feeling better now Lucian?”

“
What?” he asked, clearly stunned by her concern after what
she had just seen.

“
I said are you feeling better now? You’ve eaten right?” Her
hand moved from his cheek to his brow, instantly noting the flush
to his skin. “Do you need more? You always seem unwilling to take
from me but I’m sure I can find you more people.” She turned away
from him to face the door. “Gareth?” she began only to be cut off
by Lucian's breath stealing embrace. His arms around her were like
iron, strong and unyielding as they held her close.