Chapter 431
Jorick's searing kiss silenced Katelina's reply. His hands moved down her, molding her against his hard body. She snaked her arms around his neck and parted her lips to let his tongue slide inside. He teased her tongue with his. They twisted and twined together, while he slipped the straps of her bathing suit over her shoulders. She started to pull away, started to say that someone might see them, but he deepened his kiss and drowned her worries in a tidal wave of longing.
She shifted on his lap and pulled his shirt over his head. His naked chest gleamed in the moonlight. She traced the flat planes and hard angles of his muscles. A soft moan sounded in his throat and he peeled the swimsuit down to her waist. The cool, tropical air caressed her naked breasts, quickly followed by the warmth of his hands. She groaned into their kiss and ground her hips against him and the swollen evidence of his desire. Her heart pounded in her ears until she couldn't hear anything but the persistent drumming, driving her on and on.
Jorick's lips left hers and moved to the pink cup of her ear, then down her neck in a slow, hot trail that left her whimpering for more. At last he hovered over the mark of his previous bites, the proof that she belonged to him. He traced the scar with the tip of his tongue. A soft whimper of anticipation slipped from her lips and urged him to bite her. That was where the real pleasure came from for a vampire; from the connection and the blood, and he could make it just as pleasurable for her.
She felt the expectant intake of his breath. When his teeth brushed her skin, goosebumps chased up her spine and she clutched him tighter, tensed and ready. He bit. There was pain for a moment, as his teeth cut into her, then it faded away into the familiar crimson colored world of pleasure. She was half conscious of moaning and digging her nails into his back as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her. It dragged her under, deeper and deeper, until she lost track of everything except him and the growing sensations. She could hear voices whispering, see ghost like images behind her eyes, moments crashing into one another, that she couldn't catch or understand. And she wanted to. Wanted to know. Wanted to feel. Wanted to taste.
Without thought she bit into his shoulder. His hot, spicy blood filled her mouth. She swallowed again and again. The images grew clearer, the voices got louder, the feelings sharper. She was almost there, almost to the secret, almost to the center. Almost-
Then the world exploded and she cried out. The connection severed when she released him. She collapsed in his arms, panting, dimly aware of the night pulsing around them and the sound of the surf.
She leaned up and wiped her mouth with a trembling hand. She was left with a crimson smear; Jorick's blood. She'd bitten him, again. Her first impulse was to be embarrassed, but he soothed her with a smile and a salty kiss.
She licked her lips and tried not to think about the flavor. It was her blood.
"It's only fair," he teased. "You bit me."
Though he laughed, she flushed. Jorick had told her before that it was nothing to be ashamed of and yet-
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "And yet what?"
"I don't know. I guess having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't really normal, either."
"Boyfriend? Don't you mean devoted lover?"
"Devoted lover sounds more-"
"Old-fashioned?" he suggested. "That's because the modern language has taken all the poetry out of words."
"No, I meant more permanent. Like a declaration of forever."
His smile shrank a little. "And what if it is?"
How could she swear forever when she knew what forever meant? Forever was a prison, at first gilded in gold, then damp with tears while you hunched over your husband's grave, year after year.
Jorick gave a sigh of surrender and pulled her close. She buried her face in his warm chest.
"It isn't that way," he said softly. "Even your mother told you that."
She pictured her mom in front of her father's tombstone, holding the customary wreath and telling the same tear-filled stories year after year. That was devotion. That was commitment.
Her mother's words came back to her, "I wanted you to remember him. You were so young when he died. You don't have any real memories of him, so I tried to give you some. Maybe I went about it the wrong way, but I never meant to give you the impression that I was emotionally crippled."
Jorick brushed hair back from her face and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "It's doesn't matter right now. As you said, there's plenty of time."
Plenty of time.
Jorick seemed to melt. In his place was Samael with his shining eyes, so beautiful she couldn't focus on him. His voice was warm like the sun. "Do not be afraid. You have loosed my bonds and so I shall free you. You will stand above the world, a queen of darkness, who will never know suffering again, destiny fulfilled."
As he faded away she screamed after him, "Whose destiny?"
***
Katelina woke the next afternoon to sunlight. Her chest ached, as if something important was missing, but she couldn't remember what it was.
The sound of a door drew her attention. Footsteps hurried through the rooms. The two women from the day before appeared. They carried a fresh robe and a box stuffed with hairbrushes and other items.
They bowed quickly and the taller woman started to remove Katelina's clothing. She jerked away. "I can dress myself."
Fear lit the women's eyes. Katelina wondered if they'd get in trouble. Would Samael torture them?
"It's fine," Katelina tried to sound comforting. "I'll tell him it was my choice."
The taller woman wrung her hands, but stepped back. "As the mistress wishes." She bobbed a few more times, then politely looked at the floor.
Katelina shimmied out of her nightclothes and into the robe. It was bright yellow and intricately embroidered. As she fastened it, she wished for a pair of jeans and a sweater, or better yet a bath.
The women insisted on brushing her hair. It felt strange sitting in silence, so she asked, "What are your names?"
They looked at one another and finally the taller one said, "I am Chen Zhilan, and this is my sister Chen Lin."
"You're both named Chen?"
"I apologize. In English you would say it the other way. Chen is our family name."
"Oh. How did you end up here?" Samael had said that they were "there already", but what did that mean?
Zhilan hesitated. "We-We were staying at the hotel. It was Lin's birthday. And then - " She turned her attention back to brushing. "He is our master now."
"He kept the tourists who were here?"
"Those who were in the hotels, yes. The park was closed when he took over. I-I don't remember it well." She brushed with renewed vigor and Katelina fell silent. She didn't think her scalp could take another question.
She wasn't sure when she'd last had someone else do her hair. A memory hid beneath the shadowy surface of the present. She tried to force it into the light.
"Why can't I concentrate?" she demanded.
Zhilan stopped brushing. Katelina could feel her look to Lin before she whispered, "It's him. Since he came I can't - we had a life before this but I can't remember it except in bits and pieces. It's the same for all of us. It is as if he overpowers everything. It grows worse with time."
Katelina started to ask who "he" was, but she knew. It was Samael.
Lin gave a terrified squeal. Zhilan quickly apologized and fell back to her brushing. Katelina wasn't sure if they were reacting to her, or to something only they could hear. Had Samael chastised them?
