Chapter 491
The sun was sinking when Katelina woke. She rolled over and brushed Jorick's hair back from his pale, perfect face. Skin that had felt cold to her on other mornings was now the same temperature that she was.
She kissed his lips and drew back to study him. He was beautiful, like a fallen angel, and it made her chest ache. She thought again of what was to come and tried to force her fear down with memories of her promise. She would trust him. She would believe in him.
She would make damn sure he kept his word.
He woke with a gasping breath, then pulled her to him. He crushed her mouth in a deep kiss that ended prematurely.
"Good morning," he murmured against her lips.
She was past arguing about the time of day. "Good morning."
He traced feathery kisses over her chin and jaw to her ear. She gasped at the fluttery contact and he smiled.
"You can do better than that." His breath tickled her ear and sent delightful shivers up her spine.
"I don't know. You'd have to inspire me."
He pinned her to the bed. "I'd be happy to." The weight of his hard body pressed down on her and the knot of his need ground against her thigh.
Desire coursed through her. She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers. Her lips meshed with his. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, tasting, claiming.
He broke the kiss to move to her neck. She whimpered and urged him on with her hips. Bite, she thought desperately. For the love of God-
He chuckled teasingly then pulled the nightshirt over her head. He discarded it quickly and moved to her pink tipped breasts, kissing first one then the other. She writhed beneath him, begging silently for more, for that connection, that release.
He flicked her nipples with his tongue. She gripped his back with claw like hands. Her fingers dug in and he gave a short sharp gasp.
In his moment of distraction she flipped him over onto his back and straddled him. She ignored his surprise and went straight for his throat. Just like last time, her sharp teeth pierced his flesh easily. His blood filled her mouth. She swallowed mouthful after mouthful, reaching for him, for that pleasure, for that release.
His gasp melted into a moan. His hands tangled in her hair, pressing her mouth tighter on his skin, forcing her teeth deeper. He shifted beneath her, thrusting his hips against her. The world began to fade at the edges, slip away into something else. Something tinted red with desire and blood.
Then he bit her back and the universe exploded into ecstasy. She was lost to it, swept away on a river of crimson and gold. There were images and voices, scenes flashing past. She didn't want them right now, didn't need them. She needed to find that center again, that blazing core she'd found last night.
The scarlet world burst in a shower of fire and she cried out with the climax. Slowly the pleasure faded away. She was left lying on Jorick, her lips wet with his blood.
She licked the salty slickness and met his gaze. He pulled her in for a kiss that ended in a smile. "That was surprising."
"In a good way?"
"Is there any other?" He laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You were awake first. It seems that's going to remain." She gave him a puzzled look and he explained, "I've told you before that every vampire wakes at their own time. I originally thought your early waking was part of your adjustment, but by now your body should be settled into its new rhythm."
She frowned. "What does it mean that I wake early?"
He laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It doesn't mean anything." He sobered. "I suppose it might be because of Samael's blood. Perhaps you can withstand more sunlight than the normal fledgling, but we're not going to test the theory." He gave her a tight hug. "We'd best get dressed and feed. I'd hate to leave you hungry."
"I just drank from you." The reply felt weird after she said it.
"It won't help. My blood doesn't have anything in it. If I'd just fed, and it hadn't had time to be adapted, then it would be like drinking from a bag of blood. Since I haven't fed either, it's the same as drinking your own."
She'd heard that before, but she didn't want to think about it. She'd just started to accept her own vampirism.
"It takes time to get used to." Jorick pressed a final kiss to her lips. "Come on."
He smacked her butt and she cried out, "Hey!"
"I said get moving." He laughed at her outrage, then smacked her again, hard enough to make a sound but not enough to hurt.
She climbed off him. "You'd better behave, or I'll have to show you who's in charge."
He slipped out of bed and let the sheet drop to reveal the pale naked expanse of his masculine perfection. "We already know."
He easily dodged the pillow she flung at him.
They met the others downstairs, sans Loren and Ume, to discuss their next move. "The trucks will take days," Oren said.
Katelina cleared her throat. "I hate to suggest it, but what about contacting the whatever-they-call-it-Chinese-Guild for a plane?"
Jorick arched a dark eyebrow. "You might remember they wanted some of us extradited for breaking Verchiel out?"
By "some of us" he meant himself, Jamie and Maeko. "Sorry, I forgot you're a wanted criminal."
"I have a better idea." Verchiel waved a shiny brochure, printed in multiple languages. "There's an airport!"
Oren snatched it, read it over, then handed it to Jorick. "They only offer domestic flights, but it might be worth something."
"We should have kept the pilots that dropped us off from Munich," Verchiel commented.
Katelina peered at the shiny pictures, and noted the "please have on hand" list. "How are we going to get a plane? We don't have passports or visas or anything else."
Jorick shrugged. "There are six whisperers with us."
"Seriously? That's becoming a fix-all!"
"A what?" Oren asked.
"You know, like a super easy way to get out of tight situations," Verchiel said.
Oren scoffed. "Are you saying we shouldn't use it because it's easy? Would it be better to drive in circles in the mountains and miss Malick's attack?"
A part of her thought it might be.
Jorick folded the brochure and stuffed it in his pocket. "The airport is outside of the town. We'll feed on the way."
Feed. The word now made her stomach rumble. She tried not to look at Ryuu or Xandria; tried not to notice that they smelled a lot like a roast beef dinner complete with potatoes and carrots and pie for dessert. Or at least that was what she thought of when their scent wafted to her. She wondered how Etsuko dealt with it.
Jorick, Jamie, and Oren fell into a discussion about airplanes and payment options that Katelina tuned out. Raised voices in the next room caught her attention. She moved to see into the lobby where Loren and Ume stood.
"I can't. Not right now. Every time I look at him I see it again."
"He wouldn't have done it unless he had to," Loren said. "She was going to kill Katelina. Would that be better?"
"No! That's not what I'm saying. It's just-she's my master, Loren. How am I supposed to forgive that? Would you have forgiven the rogues who killed your brother after he turned you? How would you have felt if you were forced to travel with them? Fight next to them? Talk to them? I just-I can't right now. Maybe later, but not now. I'm sorry."
She started for the door when Loren grabbed her arm. "Wait. What about Verchiel? You spent all those years looking for him. Aren't you even going to tell him goodbye?"
Katelina felt the spark of Ume's guilt. The vampiress hesitated. Then, as if she sensed her, she turned to meet Katelina's eyes. Her face hardened and she pulled away. "I'll find him again."
She headed for the doors. Loren's shoulders sagged in defeat. With a final glance after her, he moved to join the others.
Katelina didn't speak as he walked past. Micah caught sight of him and clapped him on the back. "There you are. Where's your girlfriend?"
The boy's face crumpled with bitterness. "She's not my girlfriend, and she's gone. She said she couldn't face Jorick since he killed Fethillen." Accusation lit his doe-brown eyes.
Jamie sighed. "It's only natural that she bears him some ill will. It's nothing he hasn't encountered before." He glanced to Verchiel. "That we all haven't encountered before. Right or wrong, good or bad, Fethillen was her master. Ume shared not only the connection of familiarity, of having lived closely with her, but also a blood bond. Such feelings are not overcome lightly, no matter what we like to tell ourselves."
"That's bull," Micah snapped. "I ain't got no blood touchy-feely shit with the asshole who turned me. If I ever see him again I'll rip his heart out and be glad for the privilege."
"Love and hate are very similar," Jamie said. "His lack of mutual affection has turned what would have been love to hate."
Micah growled. "Don't start psychoanalyzing me, fuckin' Guild dog."
Maeko laid a hand on Micah's arm. "Micah-san should calm. Jamie-san only means that all fledglings have a strong attachment to their masters, just as all animals have one for their mother. When a child's mother abandons them or hurts them, that strong feeling can turn to bitterness. A master is much like a mother. A flesh and blood mother brings a child into the world. A master brings one into the world of the vampire."
Verchiel grinned. "That makes Micah Katelina's mother."
"More like her slave owner." Micah ignored Jorick's growl. "Whatever. Let's get the fuck outta here, huh? I'm starving."
