Tourmaline Truth (2 page)

He'd followed her all night, waiting for her to be alone so he could approach her. He hadn't lived so long by being careless. Nobles were everywhere and always on the hunt for both Eternal Brides and Vampires. Not many humans knew much about his kind, and he'd not wanted to risk her panicking and running from him straight into his enemy's arms. Until he claimed her, she'd not feel compelled to remain with him. Once claimed, he would never leave her side so she would always be protected and safe. Barret did, however, find it unusual that a woman with such luminescent eyes would remain ignorant of Vampires. Surely, over the course of her life, someone who knew of the importance of gemstone colored irises would have seen her and educated her? But that wasn't the question that was foremost in his mind.

"Why did you have a child? And why did you leave it at the hospital?" he wondered aloud.

He'd watched her enter the hospital with a pram, then hours later, she'd left alone. Clearly broken hearted and crying, she'd caught a tram back into the city. Eternal Brides could only have children after they were claimed. He'd heard a rumor years ago that was why Nobles didn't look for Unclaimed Brides. They only wanted breedable brides. A growl rose in his throat. He would die fighting before allowing those bastards to take his precious Bride from him.

Reaching the hidden door in the ground floor's dining room, he keyed in the code. Once the way was open, he climbed downstairs into his private lair. He had a maid and grounds-keeper who lived in the house and took care of everything, but even they did not enter his private domain. A Vampire only ever shared his lair with his Bride and their children. He grinned as he laid her down on his large bed, admiring the way her porcelain skin and blonde hair stood out against his deep red satin sheets.

He'd found his Eternal Bride and here she was in his bedroom. His body shuddered with excitement and arousal as he stripped his coat and shirt from his body. Toeing off his boots, he decided to leave his jeans on for the moment. He may have her in his bed, but she was far from willing. She'd been terrified when he'd told her she was his bride.

He removed her shoes and socks, placing them to the side of his dresser then carefully removed her handbag strap from over her head before resting it on the bedside table. He opened it to search for her wallet, needing to check her age. Quickly finding her purse, he flipped it open to find her driver's license. Relief weakened his knees for a moment. Sharon Marie Denibe had been walking the Earth for twenty-five years. Vampires were forbidden to claim their Bride before their twenty-third birthday. Barret wasn't sure what would happen if they broke that rule, but he didn't want to be the one to test the limits. He put her things back in order before closing the bag and lying down next to her. She should wake any moment now, and he couldn't wait to start his forever with her.

Contentment seeped through his system from having her so close. His Sharon, his Bride. His fangs throbbed for a taste but he had to wait. He wanted her agreement before he took such a precious gift. He trailed his fingers over her skin. His touch was feather light but he felt it all the way to his soul. She began to stir beneath his fingertips. He traced her cheekbone as her eyelids flickered then opened. Luminescent pools of Paraiba Tourmaline stared up at him. He could see her confusion and shock in her gaze—he could also smell the scent of her sweet arousal.

"Evening, love."

~ * ~

Sharon stared into irises that matched her own. A strange pale blue with a tinge of green, it was a color she'd not seen anyone else have before. With a blink of his eyes, the trance was broken. She scanned his face, his chiseled features just as handsome as they were stark. His dark hair was short and had a Miami Vice look to it. She let her gaze trail down his body. The fitted shirt and sports coat he'd had on earlier was gone, and man, was he choice. He still had his dark jeans on but was barefoot. This guy was way out of her league. He was everything stylish about the 1980s, while she had naturally dark blonde hair, and while it was teased into a mess, it was not the bright bleached white look that was boss. She'd put a splash of blue eye shadow on and a little pink lip-gloss but that was about it for her 'glamour.' Certainly her op shop outfit of matching stonewash denim pants and jacket with a bright blue sparkly t-shirt didn't put her in the high fashion arena.

With her blood pounding in her ears, she focused on his eyes. His cool palm was now cupping her face, his thumb rubbing over her cheekbone. She swallowed and wet her dry lips before she broke the silence.

"What's your name?"

"Barret."

"No last name?"

He simply shook his head, while maintaining eye contact.

"Why did you take me?"

"Because you are mine."

She frowned at him. "No, I'm not. I'm a person, not a possession. I belong to no one. Are you going to hurt me?"

"Never. You will always be safe with me by your side."

Confusion swirled through her mind. He wasn't making much sense, and his short clipped answers weren't helping her understand. She needed to get away from him, but part of her wanted to move closer. To curl up with him. Nothing made any sense!

"What do you know of Vampires, Sharon?"

"My dad told me to avoid them. He said to stay away from cities at night because that's where they hunt. They, um, they drink blood."

A shudder ran through her as she saw his eyes darken and his gaze focus on her pulse. Without her consent her head tilted, baring her neck to him. Part of her brain told her to run, but most of it told her to give him whatever he asked for. Sharon's head was beginning to pound from all this warring in her mind. As he lowered toward her, she began to tremble, fear and arousal coursing through her. His soft lips pressed over her heated skin, and she jolted from the contact. She held her breath, waiting for the pain. But it didn't happen. He simply kissed her neck and moved away.

"Not yet, love. There are things you need to know first. I refuse to take you, or your blood, until you give me your consent—and even though your body is offering itself, I can see your mind is spinning." He paused with a sigh, his fingers continuing to stroke her face and neck. "Where to start..."

"What makes you so sure I'm your 'Eternal Bride'?"

"Your eyes. Each Vampire has irises the color of a gemstone. Their bride always has the exact same color. Our stone is most rare. Paraiba Tourmalines are highly sought after. The Earth has only created a few of them over the years. Also, your scent calls to me. I can't fight the need I have to be close to you. Just as you can't resist me. Your mind is no doubt screaming at you to run, yet your body refuses to leave."

"It's giving me a headache."

Oh bloody hell, why'd she go and say that? Barret was pulling a level of honesty from her she wasn't entirely comfortable with. His wandering fingers began stroking farther down her neck and over the skin bared above her shirt's modest neckline.

"That will disappear as soon as you stop fighting your attraction to me."

Deciding to leave the topic of her unnatural attraction to him alone for the moment, she asked the first thing that came into her head.

"What about the drinking blood thing?"

He smiled at her, flashing the tips of his fangs as his gaze followed his hands. "Unlike in the movies, Vampires do not randomly feed off anyone they meet. A Vampire can, in fact, live for a century without ever drinking any blood. But without his Eternal Bride's essence to nourish him, he will die on his one hundredth birthday. I will need to drink from you, Sharon, at least every third day. If I go longer than that, it will leave me weakened. It is said that within a month of being parted from his Bride, a Vampire will die."

"So, you'll bite me and turn me into one of you then?"

"No, love. You will always be as you are now. Fully human, just with an extra long life span, once I claim you. Vampires are born not created. And all Vampires are male."

"You mean, um. What you're saying is, that I'll birth Vampires with you? If, you know, we, um, become intimate."

Even alluding to sex had her cheeks heating, and his low chuckle didn't help her embarrassment.

"Oh, we'll definitely
become intimate
. And yes, you'll birth beautiful baby boys who will look as human as any other until they reach puberty and they stop aging. You will only ovulate once every four years. On the twenty-ninth of February each leap year, you will go into your fertile time. For one day. Pregnancy for Brides is thirteen months but unlike other women, Brides don't suffer morning sickness."

His hand had moved down her body and he now ran circles around her belly button with a cool fingertip. Slowly, he'd moved her shirt up before he'd started touching the soft skin of her tummy. She groaned as heat pooled between her thighs. His fingers trailed across to her hip and suddenly stopped. Her breath froze. He'd found one of her stretch marks. No woman carried a baby for nine months without gaining at least a few stripes for her effort.

"Does it disgust you that I've already had a baby?"

She went to move. Suddenly wanting to be far away before he could reject her. She needed to get back to the hospital to retrieve Darcy. What had she been thinking? Leaving her daughter like that. Damn, what if someone took her before the nurses found her? Oh no. She had to check. Did Vampires have phones? Before she could scoot off the bed, she was pinned with him over the top of her. His strong thighs bracketed hers as he held her shoulders to the bed.

"Stop. You're panicking, Sharon. I will cherish any child of yours. I'm simply struggling to understand how you had one. Brides are not meant to be fertile until after they are claimed."

"Darcy is mine! I birthed her three months ago. The stretch marks you found prove I'm not lying."

Fury flowed through her at his doubting her claim.

"A girl? You birthed a baby girl? How long were you pregnant? Nine or thirteen months?"

"The normal nine months and yes, Darcy is most definitely female. Why?"

"I do believe you, Sharon. I never doubted your honesty. It's only that it's incredibly rare. I've never heard of a bride having a daughter, or even having a child with a human male. I need to contact the Old Ones in Italy. Maybe they know how this could be. Where is Darcy's father?"

"I made a mistake and thought he was someone worthwhile. Turns out, not so much. He's a punk who ran out as soon as he realized how much babies cost to raise. I haven't seen him in over four months."

Tears pricked her eyes. She fought to hold them in. She didn't want to cry, especially over that loser.

"Where is Darcy? Is she safe?"

Her heart broke all over again. "I-" she swallowed hard, "I don't know." The tears broke free and slid down her face. "I thought you wanted to hurt us. I needed to protect her. I knew you'd catch me. I left her at the hospital with a note. But what if the nurses didn't find her before someone took her? She'd be crying by now. Wanting a bottle." She sobbed, her body shuddering beneath the solid weight of Barret. She hadn't been able to breast feed Darcy, because her milk hadn't come in. She'd failed her daughter on so many levels.

"Shh, Sharon. We'll get her back. I have a phone line down here. You can ring the hospital. See what you can find out."

Sharon hesitated for a moment before accepting Barret's offer of help. "You promise not to harm her?"

"Oh, Sharon. I'd never harm either of you. I'll always protect you both."

~ * ~

Barret rose from the bed, his body stiff and aching. He wanted nothing more than to sheath himself within his Bride's core as his fangs slid into her neck, but she wasn't ready. He shook his head as he went to retrieve the phone book to find the hospital's phone number. Dammit, she'd feared him enough that she abandoned her child to strangers. A flash of fury raced through him. If only she'd known how he would cherish and protect her and her children for the rest of their lives! He would rather die than cause her, or her daughter, harm.

He returned to the bed with the directory and the cordless phone. Sharon had moved to sit on the mattress, with her arms curled around legs and her chin resting on her knees. Sitting like that, she looked so innocent, fragile and scared. He placed what he was holding next to her before he climbed onto the mattress. He sat behind her, stretching a leg out on either side of her curvy hips. Even through their layers of clothing, he felt the heat of her seep into him. Sparks of awareness flew through his blood stream as he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face into her hair.

"Shh, love. Ring the hospital and see what you can find out."

He had a bad feeling the staff at the hospital were going to be more than unhelpful. They'd no doubt be rude and hurtful, but they had to start somewhere. She sniffled and her shoulders moved against him as she took a deep breath.

"Okay. Ring the hospital. I can do that."

She lifted her head and lowered her knees. Opening the huge yellow phone directory over her thighs, she began searching for the right number. Quickly locating it, she dialed and as she finished, she mumbled, "Here goes nothing."

Barret rested his cheek against her head just above her ear so he could hear both sides of the conversation. He had a feeling Sharon wasn't going to want to relive this little chat to tell him about it afterward. After three rings, a tinny sounding voice answered Sharon's call.

"Royal Melbourne Hospital, you're speaking with Cindy. How can I help you?"

Sharon audibly swallowed before she spoke.

"Ah, I. I'm calling about my baby."

"Is the baby a patient here or do you need to speak with emergency?"

"I'm not sure. I, um, I left her there earlier. You have to understand. I love Darcy, I do. But I was being chased! I had to protect her so I left her in the emergency waiting room, where she'd be safe."

Sharon's nervous rambling was cut short by the now venomous voice of Cindy.

"For real? You abandoned that sweet baby girl in a room full of strangers—sick strangers—and now you're ringing in an attempt to justify it?"