The Oath (3 page)

As our breathing slowly returned to normal, I
remembered Hazel Eyes. “I need to tell you something.”

For once, Danial didn’t seem wary of what I
might say. “What is it, Dearheart?”

I told him everything. He was angry over what
Hazel Eyes had said to me, but it wasn’t until I mentioned the
vampire that he became worried. “What did he look like?”

“Stocky, short, brown hair and blue eyes, and
a very formal way of speaking.”

Danial shook his head. “That description fits
more than a dozen vampires I know. Did he say a name?”

“No. He told me to be silent. I left as soon
as I could.”

“What did he do? Tell me everything again,
word for word.”

I repeated my story.

“He must have been old, at least as old as
me,” he said thoughtfully. “But I don’t know anyone that old
fitting his description that would be here now.” He hugged me to
him “I’m glad you weren’t harmed by that jerk and for his
intercession on your behalf, but no more leaving the room alone
while we’re traveling—”

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

* * * *

When Danial and I woke, it was time to go. We
checked out without incident, and Theo drove us to the airport.

As Danial and I boarded the plane, I looked
back to see Tawny and Theo saying good-bye. He hugged her, and a
tear on her cheek shined in the nearby hanger lights. It was
clearly more than good sex to her. Maybe that was why he refused to
go out west when Danial had asked him to go. I wanted to ask her
why she didn’t come back to the States with us, but I knew enough
to mind my own business. Theo would not appreciate any more of my
questions, and it was more than likely Tawny wouldn’t either.

* * * *

The next weeks passed quickly. With a lot of
effort, Danial and I made it work. Yet there were a couple of
setbacks.

One came when he bit me the first time since
I’d moved in with him. We’d begun to kiss and then suddenly, there
was pain as his eyeteeth cut me. With a cry, I jerked back, hitting
my head on the wall.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

“It hurt,” I replied uneasily, scared.

“It shouldn’t,” he said nervously. “I made
only a little cut.”

His nervousness frightened me further. “Try
biting me instead?”

We resumed our love play. When I relaxed
enough, he bit my throat shallowly. I shrieked, and he immediately
withdrew his fangs, holding his mouth over the wound. I knew by the
pain going away that he’d given me blood to heal the wounds.

I began to cry. Giving him my blood was
important to both of us. If he couldn’t do it without pain, he
wouldn’t enjoy it—and neither would I.

“Shh, don’t cry,” he said, hugging me. “We
have one more thing we can try.”

He made love to me. When I came, he bit
shallowly again. There was some pain, but it was hardly noticeable
in the deliciousness of the orgasm.

“I’ll only take your blood like this from now
on. I don’t want you to be hurt sharing blood with me.”

“Why is this happening?” I asked. “Why
now?”

“It happens sometimes,” he explained, holding
me. “If a vampire bites the same person repeatedly, that person can
develop a resistance to the numbing component in vampire saliva.
But the blood always works. I’ll always be able to heal you and
take the pain away. Don’t worry, okay?”

The weeks went past and Danial refused to
bite me again, saying he wanted to wait until Doctor Camlyn
pronounced me healthy. I knew he loved me and was concerned, but I
suspected that he was worried I’d leave him now that his bite was
no longer pleasurable.

The second and more insidious problem in
living with Danial was my indolence.

The first few weeks were heaven, and I basked
in my free time: reading for hours, baking complex desserts or
watching the entire trilogy of the Lord of the Rings in one
sitting. However, I soon began to feel like a true concubine must
have felt; tasked with only one real duty. When something broke, I
didn’t have to fix it. Nor did I have to worry about anything
serious, because now that was Danial’s job. I’d always been
self-reliant. Relying on someone else for everything that mattered
felt alien. Was this really how I wanted to spend the rest of my
life? Was this all I wanted to achieve?

I avoided thinking about that, telling myself
I didn’t have to decide anytime soon. Danial had said I could take
my time to give myself to him as long as I chose to show the world
that I was his. It was a given that he expected my Oath eventually.
He was very proud, and I knew it pricked him that I wasn’t truly
his yet.

Then there were the women, his donors. They
were never in our bed and I didn’t usually see them. Angelica was
the one I wanted to avoid the most. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel
that same way towards me.

I was reading in the great room one December
night. Engrossed in my book, I didn’t hear her ascend from the
basement stairs until she was in front of me.

“Hello, Sarelle.” Her voice was sexy and
threaded with lust.

I looked up. Like the last time, she held a
gauze pad to her neck and wore a low-cut dress and spike heels.
I can’t expect her to wear a fleece sweatshirt, can I? No, that
would only be appropriate for cold weather, like the snowstorm
raging outside.

“Since we’ve already met, I wanted to be
polite,” she went on. “How are you?”

I tried not to be petty. Sure, she was a
bitch, but most decorous women were to women unlike themselves. She
was only there for an hour a month when Danial needed her blood. I
held my tongue, closed my book with a snap, and made sure the light
caught my ring sparkling on my finger. “Hello, Angelica.”

“I hope you don't mind sharing your man with
me,” she said lightly. Her smile slipped a little, revealing the
envy underneath.

“I’m thankful for what you and the others
give him,” I said, trying to keep my smile in place.

“I’m surprised you’re so understanding. I
might not be.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand you
completely,” I retorted coldly. “So does Danial.”

He called out for her from downstairs. With a
smirk, she went back down. One of the SUVs started out back.

Danial came upstairs. “I’m sorry she said
that. I don’t have to see her again if—”

I put my book down. “Don’t be sorry. What she
said was true for her. What I told her was true for me.”

“You aren’t upset?” he said in obvious
disbelief.

I wasn’t really upset, just irked. “This is
part of being with you. You were open about it. I trust you.”

“Frankly, I thought you’d ask me before now
to switch to animal or packaged blood. I was sure we’d have our
first fight over that. I’ve been worried about it all month.”

I laughed a little, which only seem to
confuse him. “I wouldn’t want to eat only cake made from fat-free
chocolate substitute or drink only water instead of sometimes
wine,” I explained. “This is your life and you only get to eat one
thing, so you should get the best. You told me fresh blood tastes
best. I just prefer not to watch or meet your donors.”

He took my hand. “I know you’re still worried
about the potions. I’ve told you, I only have enough of both for
the rest of this month—”

Danial had been experimenting with potions,
which made his normally cool body warm as a human’s. While I
enjoyed that side effect, I worried what other effect they might be
having, and why he’d really gone on them in the first place.

“—
then we’ll decide whether to get
more. You’re the one I’m worried about.”

“Why? My doctor’s appointment went well. My
blood levels were okay. Camlyn said if I kept taking the vitamins,
I’d be fine. I’m just sorry you’re no closer to your goal.”

“What goal?” he asked uneasily.

“Making vampires, or understanding why you
can’t and Devlin can. That’s the reason for the potion, right?”

“It’s more of a hobby than a goal,” he said
with a shrug. “Speaking of Devlin, that was him on the phone.” He
paused. “Ryan is dead. Devlin killed him tonight. There will be no
more curses cast on you.”

I would rather hear that Devlin had been
killed. The curses—which has caused me to have terrible nightmares,
and would have eventually killed me via a heart attack in
dreams—had been his doing really, not Ryan’s. “That’s thoughtful of
him. He’s not planning on visiting, is he?”

“No. He’s forbidden from coming here. But
forget about Devlin. Why don’t we go out tonight? See a movie or go
dancing?”

“Was there anything you had in mind?”

“Not really. But we haven’t gone out for a
while, and you haven’t come with me on any more trips. I enjoy
taking you out.”

“Whatever you’d like, I’m up for a movie or
dancing.”

“I vote for dancing. Say the Haunt?”

“Give me a half hour. I have a surprise for
you,” I said sexily.

We had a great time that night. Tatiana, the
owner, was overjoyed to see us, giving each of us a hug before
escorting us to the table we’d sat at a month and a half ago. We
danced and talked, sharing how self-conscious we’d been the night
of our first date.

“So you liked my surprise?” I teased.

“I love the dress,” he said warmly, getting
to his feet and extending his hand. “Red becomes you. Dance with
me.”

The strains of Lady in Red began. Blushing, I
joined him on the floor. As we danced, he sang some of the words to
me. At the end of the song, he held me close to whisper, “My lady
in red, I love you.”

Driving home that night, I almost told him
that I was ready to give him my Oath, but I wanted it to be
special, not tell him as we were driving home. So I just told him I
loved him and he told me the same.

Later that night, as I prepared for bed, I
wondered if I was afraid to commit. I’d put off forwarding my mail
or bringing my cats here to live at Danial’s, telling myself it was
too soon. It seemed too fast to commit my life to someone after
only knowing them two months, but how long would be enough? I was
happy living with Danial. My old life seemed a black hole of
loneliness in comparison. What was I waiting for?

* * * *

Danial announced the night before Christmas
Eve that Aran had asked Cia to be his mate and they would be moving
back to the guardhouse communal bunker. “The date for the ceremony
is New Year’s.”

Aran and Cia were two of Danial’s guards that
had been staying at my house, watching it for me this winter while
Danial and I decided whether or not to sell it. “I’m happy for
them.”

“Don’t worry. Suri volunteered to watch over
your house for the winter.”

Later that night, I decided that was the sign
I’d been waiting for. Christmas Eve would be the perfect time to
break the news.

* * * *

Christmas Eve visiting my parents went better
than expected. I’d spoken to my mother, Tina, every few days but
I’d wanted to tell her about the ring face to face. When we came
in, I made sure to display it prominently.

“Sarelle, you have a ring!” She almost
elbowed Danial into the TV trying to get to me fast enough. “It’s
beautiful!”

“He asked me to marry him.” I winced at the
lie, and then told myself it was close to the truth.

Chris, my stepfather, broke out the scotch to
celebrate, and we all had a toast. I clinked my glass with
Danial’s, seeing their happy faces and listening to them making
plans.

“Happy?” he whispered.

“Very,” I whispered back, kissing his cheek
tenderly.

* * * *

Later that night, he and I sat by the
blinking Christmas tree in the great room. Suri and the other foxes
had helped me put it up earlier that day. I’d brought some lights
from home, but other decorations I’d made with the help of Ivan,
Janice, and Demetri: popcorn strings, cookie ornaments, pinecones,
and various nuts and feathers.

Theo had declined to help, saying he had work
to do. Yet he’d come in with a golden star when we were almost
done, and I’d seen the pleasure in his face when he’d put it on
top. By the time I’d turned to thank him for it, he was already
gone.

He’d been distant toward me ever since I’d
moved in. The few times we’d needed to talk, he’d been polite but
short. I wondered if seeing Danial and me so much in love hurt, if
he remembered Tawny and missed her.

“You look tense,” Danial said. “I can fix
that. Slide your feet this way.”

He proceeded to give me a foot massage. I
writhed in pleasure and uttered moans as he eased all my tensions
with the deft manipulation of his strong hands.

“Is there anything you aren’t good at?” I
asked, sighing with contentment.

“Not many things,” he said immodestly.

I laughed. He tickled my foot, and I
shrieked. Ghost and Darkness, our dogs, looked up, decided it was
nothing important, and laid their heads down again.

“I have something for you,” he said. “Look
under the tree.”

“Really, Danial, you give me too much as it
is—”

“Shh,” he said, holding his finger to my
lips. “I’ll get it.”

He got up and retrieved a gift bag from the
tree’s base. “Open it.”

I opened the package and took out a beautiful
black velvet robe. As I slipped it on over my nightgown, I felt
something in the pocket. It was a red velvet box, containing a pair
of stunning gold earring studs in the shape of fox heads. I
fingered the choker at my neck with the same symbol: the gold fox
head, ruby eyes glinting.

“They’re beautiful,” I said, giving him a
kiss. “Thank you.”

“Put them on.”

I removed my earrings I had on, and slipped
on the others.

“They look lovely. See for yourself.”

Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror a
moment later, I thought it might be too much. Between the scars,
the choker, and the fox earrings, I felt like I had a sign on my
forehead that said “Danial’s” in huge letters. The ruby eyes winked
at me in the light as I moved my head to make them flash and
sparkle. “They’re beautiful.”