Blood Jewel

  She stared astounded and looked like she might say something, but our boarding call was announced overhead. “That’s us.”

  Her eyes grew large. “Nassau?”

  “You’ve got it, Love. You said you wanted a tropical beach with clear blue water. This was the best I could do on such short notice.”

  “It’s perfect. Just like you, just like last night, just like our lives are going to be...Always.

  13 Disruption In Paradise

  The next five days of our honeymoon in The Bahamas were the most wonderful days of my existence. Chansey and I were still exploring our newly discovered bond and learning so much about one another and the love we shared.

  This week had been full of changes for both of us, my sleep cycle in particular. Our bond had it doing bizarre things, but when I woke up I kept my eyes closed in hopes of going back to sleep because it was probably still the middle of the night.

  I could feel that Chansey was still asleep because she was dreaming about something that made her very happy. It made me curious to know what would make her feel that level of joy, so I decided I would quiz her about it later.

  After a few minutes, I gave in and opened my eyes to see the time on the clock when I noticed the early morning light barely peaking through the blinds and realized that I had slept all night. I had grown accustomed over the last several nights to lay awake for hours listening to Chansey breathe, so it was a little shocking to have slept so long because that had not happened since I was human.

  With the exception of my new supernatural bond with Chansey, my body was becoming more and more human with each passing day. I seemed to be in some type of quantum leap this week because I was constantly finding new mundane characteristics each day.

  I cut myself shaving on our second day of our honeymoon and I was amazed when it didn’t heal instantly. It only took an hour, but it was still surprising. And yesterday...I got sunburned. I looked like a beet next to Chansey’s beautifully tanned body. Perfectly pale was better than fire engine red any day and luckily it only lasted half a day.

  I peeked down and saw that Chansey was on her stomach with the sheet covering her from the waist down. Her bare back was exposed and I couldn’t see her completely without lifting my head, but I could feel that her arm and leg were thrown across me. Her face was nestled into my shoulder and I could feel her warm breath against my neck as she softly breathed against my skin.

  I didn’t want to risk waking her, so I closed my eyes and decided to see if my increasingly human body would allow me to go back to sleep. I think I was close to successfully falling back to sleep and then I heard my phone vibrating on the nightstand.

  My vampire agility allowed me to successfully slip out from under Chansey without waking her, but the soft sound of my voice woke her when I whispered, “I’m on my honeymoon. Leave me alone, Sol.”

  I waited to hear his reason for bothering me so early in the morning. This had better be good.

  “We have a problem, Curry.” His voice was serious and I knew in that moment that something was really wrong.

  My heart began to race and I sat up on the edge of the bed, saying the first thing that popped in my mind without regard to how it would sound to Chansey. “It’s Marsala?”

  Chansey immediately shot up in the bed with the sheet tucked under her arms.

  “It’s not Marsala,” Sol replied. “A very recently turned fledgeling came to the Savannah compound last night.”

  I didn’t understand. Sol could singlehandedly reform a fledgling. He had been doing that on his own for years. The older vampires with a taste for killing is where you ran into trouble. “Why is this fledgeling a problem? You can handle him by yourself.”

  He was quick to correct me. “You mean her, but she’s not the problem. Where she came from is the problem.”

  “The sire has never been an issue before.” Unless it was Marsala.

  “Her name is Jennifer Ferrand and she was recently sired by a vampire named Vincent Godfrey. He is the leader, or rather the vampire dictator, of a sinister coven here in Savannah. Since she has only just begun her transition, she was able to escape from them early this morning after they were down for the day.”

  This sounded like a bad case of Blood Doll gone wrong. Humans thought it was all fun and games until they got drained and turned when it wasn’t what they wanted. “Okay, I get that she was turned against her will, but that’s not the first time that has ever happened, so I still don’t understand the problem.”

  “Although she needs help during her transition, that isn’t why she came to us. This coven still has her sister, her human sister, whom they call Blood Jewel. She is going to be presented to the vampire community at some kind of Blood Jewel ceremony this weekend.”

  Okay, I got it, now. This completely changed things. “I understand your concerns.”

  “Chansey is sitting right there, isn’t she?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, the problems don’t end there. There’s so much more to this mess, but I think it’s better for Jennifer to give you the whole story from the beginning so there is no confusion.”

  I turned to look at the clock. “The sun will be up soon, but I can’t give you an answer without talking it over with Chansey first. She and I need to make this decision together. I’ll call you and leave a message with our decision.”

  “Of course. I completely understand.”

  When we finished talking, I hit the end button and laid my phone back on the nightstand before I twisted around to face Chansey.

  “What has happened?”

  “A very recently turned fledgeling has come to the compound.”

  A look of confusion came over her face. “I feel your worry, so I know he wasn’t calling for a simple update about business at the compound.”

  “No, Sol’s call has nothing to do with a status update. This fledgeling was being held captive by a vampire coven in Atlanta and they still have her human sister. She has asked The Coven of Landra to rescue her sister.”

  I waited a minute for some type of reaction from Chansey, but she didn’t say anything, so I scooted toward the headboard of the bed and pulled her to sit between my legs. She rested her bare back against my chest as I stroked my hands up and down her arms and I kissed her temple. “I feel your worry, but tell me what you’re thinking.”

  She tilted her head upward and said, “I want to know if going into the coven to save this girl would be dangerous for you.”

  I was used to danger, but Chansey wasn’t and I didn’t think she would feel even a little bit okay with me walking headfirst into it. “I don’t know all of the details yet, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a walk in the park.”

  She put her index finger on my leg and began drawing circles. “Is that your way of telling me that it would be dangerous for you and Solomon?”

  I wished I could tell her it wouldn’t be, but that would be a lie. “It could be dangerous.”

  She stopped drawing imaginary circles and placed her whole hand on my leg. “Do you want to do it?”

  I gathered my words carefully before I answered her. “I want to help this girl because I believe we are her only hope, but the decision isn’t mine alone. You and I are a team now and I won’t do it if you tell me that you don’t want me to.”

  Her emotions were very intense, so I could clearly feel her indecision between keeping me safe and saving the fledgeling’s sister. “I don’t want you to put yourself in danger, but I remember how scared I was when Julian kidnapped me and then again when Sully took me. I think about what that poor girl must be going through and there’s no way I can tell you to not help her.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her tightly to my chest. “Thank you for being so understanding. I know that was a difficult decision for you, but I was hoping that’s what you would say.”

  She sighed and asked, “So, when do we leave this little piece of heaven?”

  “I’ll call and
see about booking a flight first thing in the morning so we can have one more day here.”

  She began to twirl a twig of her hair around her finger. “So we have all day and all night left on our honeymoon. Can we spend today on the beach?”

  “We’ll do anything you want, Love, but I’m more interested in how you want to spend our last night.”

  She lifted my hand to her lips and kissed my palm before she said, “I’m a traditional kind of girl and so I want to spend tonight the same way we have spent the last four nights. Since I like repetition, I suppose it’s the same way we’ll spend every night after we get home.”

  She suddenly sat straight up, taking the sheet with her and said, “Oh, my goodness. I just remembered...we aren’t going to be sleeping in our new quarters in New Orleans.”

  I laughed at her sudden realization. “No, we’re not.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched her face. “What about Solomon hearing everything? Oh, it will be so...awkward.”

  I tugged on her shoulders to encourage her to lean against me again. “My sisters took care of that for us. You know Gia and Lairah are all about the romantic thing. They went over to Savannah before the wedding and met with a contractor and interior designer. We’re all set.”

  She laughed in amazement. “How do vampires get things done so quickly and efficiently?”

  “The almighty dollar speaks loudly,” I informed her.

  She sighed out of relief. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay Gia and Lairah for all they have done for us.”

  It warmed my heart how well Chansey got along with Gia and Lairah, especially after the rocky beginning they had. “Gia and Lairah already love you enough to do anything for you. I’m pretty sure they love you more than they do me, so don’t be surprised if they figure out some way to come live at Savannah with us. They are going to miss having you around, even if they didn’t have their new sister for very long.”

  “Oh, I would love it if Gia and Lairah came to live with us.”

  “Don’t be giving them any ideas. I need a break from their bickering with Solomon,” I informed her.

  “I guess I don’t understand the whole vampire mating thing, but why would Solomon not consider one of them as a mate?” she asked.

  I wasn’t sure I understood the vampire mating thing either. “I think of Gia and Lairah like sisters. I don’t know how Sol feels about them. We’ve never discussed them like that, but they fight like brothers and sisters so I’m guessing he feels the same way I do.”

  “But it hasn’t always been like that,” she argued. “I’m sure you didn’t consider them sisters when you first met.”

  “When they came, there was no time to think about things like mates. They arrived at the compound to be trained as mentors.”

  “Gia and Thatcher seem close.”

  So, I wasn’t the only one that noticed their closeness. I’d been having suspicions about Gia and Thatcher for years. “I think they have a little something going on between them. They hide it very well, but I occasionally catch a look passing between them that makes me think they are in love or something.”

  “Why wouldn’t they openly admit their love for one another?” she asked. “No one would judge or criticize them. I think it would be sweet.”

  She was asking the wrong person. “I don’t know, Love. You’d have to ask Gia and Thatcher that question.”

  “Gia and I have become close, so I might just do that. It just seems so sad. Gia seems like she wants to be in love so badly. Lairah, too. Maybe an Agápe will come along for them. Do you think that’s a possibility?”

  It was something I had not given much thought to. “I’m not certain, but I’ve never heard of male Agápes.”

  She huffed, “Well, that’s completely unfair for the female vampire population.”

  Yes. Leave it to Chansey to want to fight for female vampire equality. “After finding you, I place absolutely no limits on what is possible. Maybe you should lead the protest for equal rights.”

  ≈ ≈ ≈

  We stayed in bed exploring our bond all morning as we waited for the sun to rise completely and then we ordered room service for breakfast instead of getting ready and going out.

  Chansey pushed her food around on her plate trying to make me think she was eating, but I could feel her anxiety and I wanted to talk to her about it. “You’re not hungry, Love?”

  She realized she wasn’t fooling me and she laid her fork down on her plate. “I guess not.”

  “Do you feel sick?”

  She shook her head as she stared at her plate. “No, I’m not sick. I think it’s just a nervous stomach because I can’t stop thinking about what you and Solomon are going to do when we get to Savannah. We won’t even be settled in before you are off on some type of dangerous rescue mission.”

  “Come here.” I pushed away from the table and patted my leg for her to sit in my lap. “I don’t want to spend the rest of our honeymoon dwelling on this. I want to have a good time.”

  She draped her arm across my shoulders and placed her head against mine. “I thought we were having a good time. Was I wrong?”

  I gently squeezed her leg. “No, you are not wrong, Love. We have had a wonderful time and I’m sad to see it end so suddenly. Maybe we can come back again since we are cutting this trip short. What about our anniversary? Would you like that?” I suggested, although I knew she didn’t intend on being human a year from now.

  “Maybe,” she answered, giving me the surprise of my life because I had expected to hear her tell me how it wouldn’t be a possibility.

  “Really? Maybe?” I asked, wanting her to expand on her surprising consideration.

  She lifted her head from mine to look at me. “Don’t read too much into it, Curry. Maybe just means maybe,” she said.

  “Maybe is way more than I expected,” I said, still shocked by her reply.

  She reached for my leg and ran her hand up and down my thigh slowly. “What can I say? I like the way this is going.”

  “I sort of like the way this is going, too, but if you keep stroking my leg like that, we’re going back to bed instead of the beach,” I threatened. “Don’t get me wrong...that’s fine by me, but you said you wanted beach time today.”

  “That’s right. I want to enjoy my last day of white sand and blue water with a bright sun over my head.”

  I pushed her up from my lap and tapped her bottom. “Then, what are you waiting on? Quit wasting time and get your swimsuit on so we can hit the beach.”

  Chansey came out of the bathroom wearing a bikini I had not seen this week. It was white and left very little to the imagination. “Oh, hell, no! You’re not wearing that out there.”

  She took her angry Chansey stance with her hands on her hips. “Why? What’s wrong with my swimsuit?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with it except you’re wearing dental floss. You’re saving that one for the pool at home, so put on a different one for the beach. I don’t want to spend the day pissed because every guy on the beach is ogling you in hopes you’ll bend over just right.”

  “Curry!”

  “It’s true. Now, I understand what human men are thinking about every two seconds.” She looked at me like I was exaggerating and I shrugged. “Hey, I’m just being honest.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me before she went into the bathroom to change and she returned wearing a much tamer red bikini. I could have said something about the color attracting unwanted attention, but in truth, it wasn’t the swimsuit that would captivate men. It was all Chansey because she was so breathtakingly beautiful and she was mine...Always.

  14 Sweet Dreams

  We sat in the airport the next morning waiting to hear the boarding call for our flight and I noticed Chansey smiling as she watched two little girls playing in the aisle of the seating area. Her mood felt so similar to yesterday morning’s while she was dreaming and my curiosity got the better of me. “What were you dreaming yester
day morning before Solomon called?’

  She shrugged her shoulders and wrinkled her forehead as she squinted her eyes. “What?”

  “I know it’s a strange question, but there is a reason I’m asking. Consider it an experiment of sorts...about our bond,” I mysteriously said because I wanted to peak her curiosity enough to tell me about her dream.

  She cocked her head. “What kind of experiment?”

  “If I told you, then it might alter your answer and the experiment would be null and void.”

  “Okay. Give me a minute,” she said and she began to laugh. “Oh, yeah, the bizarre one.”

  “Bizarre?”

  She giggled like a teenage girl. “Yeah. I feel a little weird telling you about it.”

  “Why? Were we being naughty?”

  “No, we were not being naughty, Pervert.” She shrugged her shoulders and added, “It’s just awkward to talk about it.”

  “I was hoping you were having some kind of sexy dream I could think about while we were in the sky.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Sorry to disappoint you, but we were being...very human.”

  “Tell me how we were being very human.”

  She laughed as she said, “I’m warning you not that it was silly.”

  “Okay, tell me already,” I pleaded.

  “I was pregnant. Like really big pregnant and you were so stoked about it. You were so convinced it was a boy and you wanted to name him James after yourself and your father, but she ended up being a girl. We named her Claudia after your mother.”

  Coincidence? It had to be. I had never told her that I would have wanted to name my son James. How could she possibly know that? I guess it wouldn't be that hard to put the pieces together considering James was my first name and I was named after my father.

  “So, did my dream prove your theory?” She smiled expectedly and waited for my answer.

  “What theory?” I dumbly asked.

  She huffed dramatically. “Whatever kind of experiment you were conducting about our bond?