BOOK THREE in THE GUARDIAN'S SERIES
Book One: A Guardian's Touch, Book Two: A Guardian's Love
Disclaimer See Part 1
Feedback: Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, so feel free to drop a line or two at steinwillard80@gmail.com .
PART FIVE
Chapter 9
She hadn't seen Gabriella since the night she'd made love to her. That was three days ago. Just the thought of Gabriella being here, a few feet away from her, made her stomach flutter. Erotic images of that night streamed through her mind and closing her eyes, she groaned softly.
As hard as she'd tried to rebuff her attentions, she had finally caved in. She wondered idly what happened to her restraint. Before that night, she could still look at Gabriella and see the seven year old girl who'd held on to her neck, weeping as if her heart was breaking, but after what they'd shared that night, she will never be able to look at her without thinking of her in state of undress, clutching the sheets, her thighs quivering …
Groaning again, she opened her eyes and was shocked to find Gabriella standing just a few feet away from her, the amber eyes wide in shock.
From her seat on the couch, Inger was looking at the two of them with her sharp eyes not missing a thing.
“Good evening, Trinity,” Gabriella said softly and Trinity thought she saw a light blush coloring Gabriella's face.
She too must have remembered, Trinity though. Why else would she blush?
“Gabriella.” Her voice sounded strangled to her own ears and she prayed it didn't sound like that to Gabriella.
Inger cleared her throat softly and they both turned to look at her.
“What do you think of Gabriella's dress, Trinity? I think the red brings out her sultry Latin looks and it goes well with her fiery nature too.”
Gabriella lowered her gaze when Trinity turned suddenly hot eyes on her. Yes, Trinity though, Inger was right. The red suited her very well and the dress accentuated her curves very well. After a slow appraisal, she lifted her eyes knowing fully well what was reflected in them. She wanted to push Gabriella against the wall and push her hand up that blasted come-screw-dress and rub her clit until she came. Instead she took a deep breath and mumbled an awkward compliment. Their eyes stayed locked as they just stared at each other in silence.
“I told you the dress was a killer,” Inger said loudly making the two of them jump. “Now for the next one, but I think Trinity will have to help you out of that dress. It's so much easier to put it on than taking it off. In the meantime I will fix you both something to drink.” She waved them off and walked over to the bar, hiding a sly smile.
^^^^^^^^
Gabriella shivered slightly the moment they stepped into the fitting room and the door closed behind them. Looking in the huge full-length mirror, her eyes caught Trinity's and she felt the pressure build between her legs. Trinity was staring back at her with unbridled hunger in her dark green eyes.
The past three nights, had been extremely difficult for her. She'd tossed and turned into the wee hours of the morning these, reliving the night they'd spent together, craving the vampire's touch. The daytime, was just as bad, especially when she was conferring with her patients. That was also the only time she cursed her choice of career. Talking about sex and listening to her patients fantasies were too much for her at times, resulting in her fleeing her office a couple of times to take short brisk walks around the block.
But now, with the reason for her sleepless nights standing here in the small fitting room with her, all she could think about was how much she wanted her.
“We have a few minutes before Inger becomes suspicious,” she whispered boldly and smiled when she saw the surprised look in Trinity's eyes. “I want you too and I thought you would like to know.”
“I'm glad you told me. Now I don't feel like I'm the only depraved person in here anymore.”
Gabriella gasped when she was pulled hard against Trinity's tall frame. Their hungry gazes were still locked in the reflection when she felt Trinity's hand curling around her hip, moving up the tight dress and pushing her panties to the side.
^^^^^^^
“You're already wet for me. That's good.” Her fingers gently parted the wet, slick lips and touched the swollen pulsing nub. “I've dreamt of doing this to you for the past three nights.” She slowly started to rub her fingers over the nub, feeling Gabriella's heartbeat accelerate as the tawny eyes turned darker. She alternated between slow and fast strokes until Gabriella, quivering with desire, turned her head to look into her eyes.
“Kiss me, Trinity, please kiss me.” She whispered between gasps and Trinity was all too happy to comply.
She took Gabriella's mouth in a hard kiss, pushing her tongue into her mouth emulating the stroking motion between her legs. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but the effect it had on Gabriella was explosive. She opened her legs wider and sighed when Trinity gained better access to her pulsing sex. This time though Trinity curled two fingers over each other and pushed it into lover.
Two minutes later and Trinity knew Gabriella was about to come. She applied a little pressure to the friction and a muffled shriek escaped Gabriella's lips. Trinity quickly brought her other hand up and clamped it over Gabriella's mouth as waves and waves of ecstasy washed over the brunette.
The pleasure was so intense that Gabriella bit down hard on Trinity's hand. Her teeth were still buried in Trinity's hand when she recovered from her earth-shattering climax. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw that Trinity's eyes were closed and her hand was still lodged tightly between her shaking legs. At the same time she became aware of her teeth and where they were imbedded and she slowly pulled Trinity's hand away. She gasped in dismay at the tiny drops of blood which were forming over the area where her teeth had broken the skin. She looked up and found the green eyes looking at her, slightly unfocussed.
“I'm sorry,” she said softly and rubbed over the injured area.
Trinity chuckled softly, her green eyes burning into her distressed ones.
“It's kinky – you biting me. It should've actually been the other way around… I love it.”
Gabriella pulled her elbow forward and playfully pumped it back into Trinity's ribs.
“You really are depraved. Help me out of the dress before Inger storms in here.”
Trinity helped her out of the dress, which was ridiculously easy to remove. She then rushed out of the fitting room, away from temptation when Gabriella's full breasts swung free.
She found Inger standing at the bar, but she wasn't alone. Paloma stood next to her, her arm curled around her lover's shoulders. They looked up and smiled at her when she joined them.
Schooling her face into a mask of coolness, she accepted the glass Inger held out to her and gave Paloma a curt nod.
“That blasted dress was even more difficult to remove than I initially thought,” Inger said softly, her blue eyes sparkling brightly. “Paloma insists I should buy it.” Paloma planted a soft kiss on Inger's cheek. “That's if the two of you haven't ruined it, though. All that heavy breathing and shrieking worried me.”
Trinity smiled at Inger and took a long sip from her wine. She was not going to fall for Inger's bait.
“Do we have any news on Tristan's whereabouts yet? I've sensed his presence strongly these passed three days. I know he's up to something.”
Paloma rubbed over her eyes. They had all patrolled the streets together the past three nights until dawn but to no avail.
“The bit I've heard of Tristan, shows that he is quite intelligent and patient. If he doesn't want to be found, then we have no other option but to wait for him to make the first move.”
The door to the fitting room opened and Gabriella stepped out in a short black cocktail dress, which complimented her long tanned legs and hourglass figure.
“What do you think?” Gabriella asked; suddenly shy, as her eyes met Trinity's.
“A definite winner.” She walked over to her and taking her hand, spun her around, her green eyes showing her appreciation. “You look amazing.”
Trinity basked in the warm pleasure she saw in the amber eyes, before they turned to look at Paloma.
“Nice to see you again, Paloma.”
“Likewise, Dr. Talos,” Paloma replied. “We have mixed a drink for you.” She walked over and handed the drink to Gabriella.
Taking a sip Gabriella nodded her approval. “Just the way I like it. Thank you.” She allowed Trinity to lead her to the sofa and once seated she turned to Inger. “I've curious about how you and Trinity met,” she said casually, noting the silence that fell in the room. The other three women just stared at her, their facial expressions blank. “Or does everyone in New York have vampire friends and I didn't know.”
That cheeky statement brought a smile to Inger's lips and she picked up her glass.
“We met through Paloma.”
The amber eyes went to Paloma and she saw the subtle wariness in the silver eyes.
“What do you want to know? If you can tell me exactly what you need to know, I will answer all your questions truthfully,” Paloma said calmly.
Gabriella stared at Paloma, where she was leaning against the bar, and wondered again about the dangerous aura that surrounding the woman.
“I'm just trying to figure out the link between Trinity and you. That's all.”
Paloma looked at Trinity and then at Inger.
“I'm a vampire too.”
Gabriella was in the process of taking a sip from her drink, when Paloma spoke. The glass abruptly stopped before it had reached her lips and she sat there stunned, not sure if she'd heard correctly.
If Paloma was a vampire, then perhaps Inger… She turned to look at Inger.
“But I thought you …you…,” she said softly, slightly accusatively.
Inger laughed and stepped closer. Gabriella couldn't help the panic flash which crossed her features. Inger saw it too and her smile widened.
“I'm human, Gabriella. Paloma and Inger are the only night crawlers here.” She took Gabriella's hand in hers. “If I may ask, if you are scared of vampires then why are you with Trinity?”
Trinity kept her distance, eager to know the answer to the question too.
“I've known her since I was seven and she never gave me reason to fear her.”
“And others did?” Inger pushed further.
“My parents were killed by vampires and if Trinity hadn't shown up, they would've killed me too.”
“Understandable.” Inger murmured. “But you should know that there are two vampire races. One is the Royal Clan, to which Paloma and Trinity belong and the other is the Renegades. The ones who killed your parents were definitely renegades. The punishment for killing a human in the Royal Clan is death. Only a selected few have the power to break that rule.” She saw the amber eyes moving to Paloma and she nodded. “Yes, Paloma is one of them.”
“How did the two of you meet?”
Inger slapped her hands on her thighs as she got to her feet and walked over to where Paloma stood. Standing on tip-toe she planted a tender kiss on Paloma's lips and turned back to face Gabriella.
“That's long story, but I can give you the short version. Paloma saved my life when I was about 15 months old after my real mother was killed by renegades. About eighteen years ago we met again and I fell in love with her almost immediately.”
Gabriella looked at Trinity. “It sounds familiar, doesn't it?”
Trinity came to sit on the sofa next to her.
“I'm planning on asking my family if you would stay with us until we find Tristan. Do you think you will be able to live in a house with other vampires?” Trinity saw the alarm flash in the golden eyes and shook her head. “If you're not comfortable with that, then we can look at other options?”
Paloma pulled Inger into her arms.
“There's always Marsden Mansion . James and Rafina would welcome the company. Trinity can use the underground sleeping quarters and keep an eye on all of them.”
“I agree. We can stop by your place and pick up some of your stuff and then you can move in tonight. My grandfather would love to have you there.” Inger added and Gabriella looked at Trinity.
“Will you be close by?” she asked softly.
“I will move in there with you tonight.”
“Then we can go to my place and get my stuff.”
**********************************************
When the door closed behind her, Gabriella carefully studied the room, before slowly beginning to explore it. The room was large with a big four-poster bed taking up the centre of the room. A double glass door led to a balcony overlooking the garden and another door lead into a passageway. Leading out of the passage were two doors and when she opened one, the motion sensors picked up the movement and the lights flickered on.
She stepped into the walk-in-closet, her eyes wide as she studied the inside of the space. There was a large sofa in the room and a big mirror on the one-side of the wall. She caught sight of her reflection and cringed. Her hair was messy and there were dark rings around her eyes.
“Gosh, I look like a street urchin,” she mumbled, trying to tame her wild hair as she stepped closer to the mirror.
“You're wrong,” Trinity's voice sounded behind her and she spun around, her eyes big in her pale face. Trinity stepped closer. “You look like a sexy street urchin. One I can't wait to ravish again.” Trinity smiled and walked into Gabriella's arms.
“The place is huge. The Marsden's must be sinfully rich.”
Trinity nodded and looked into Gabriella's face.
“Vampires are rich old geezers, my dear. The four most powerful vampires in the Clan are more than 2 000 years old. They've had enough time to amass unbelievable fortunes.”
Gabriella couldn't keep the shock of her face.
“Two thousand years old. How can anyone be so old? I bet they must look their age by now.” She couldn't imagine anyone being that old. As old as time almost. It's impossible. “I'll only believe it when I see one of them.”
Trinity chuckled. “But you did, my love. Paloma.”
Gabriella's mouth fell open. Paloma! That sexy, mysterious woman couldn't be that old. Physically, she didn't even look a day older than twenty. It was only her eyes which reflected her timelessness. She had ancient eyes. All-seeing eyes. Gabriella looked up into Trinity's face. She was a gorgeous woman and nobody would believe her if she told them her age. She didn't even know how old she was.
“And you? How old are you?”
“I'm four hundred years old. A mere baby compared to the others.”
Trinity smiled.
“Four hundred hardly sounds young to me, but if you say so.” She planted a kiss on Trinity's chin and stepped back. “Inger said she was bringing her parents around later tonight to meet me. Maybe I should freshen up before we go down for dinner.”
“Too late. They're here already and they're all eager to meet you,” Trinity said, hoping to sound unaffected, but she couldn't hold the pride out of his voice.
Gabriella looked at Trinity with tenderness.
“I can't wait to meet your family, Trinity.
^^^^^^^^
Trinity's mood was in turmoil. She wasn't worried about introducing Gabriella to the family, but she was very worried about how Gabriella would react. Will she accept being her partner and come to love her the way she loved her? Maybe she should prepare her for the meeting before they get there.
The family was waiting for them in the garden; she could already smell the fire smoke. Over the years they'd found it very relaxing making a fire deep in the darkest corner of the garden and stand around chatting. James and Rafina had also joined them a few times with their camping chairs and coffee flask. But old age had made the two of them less mobile and they spend most of their time confined to their bedroom suite.
They walked through the empty lounge to the balcony. There, with the stars flickering down on them, Trinity swung Gabriella into her arms and looked down into nervous amber eyes.
“I just want to make one thing clear to you. When I introduce you to my family tonight, I am claiming you as mine - my mate. My family will accept you as such and trust that you understand the significance of this first meeting.” Trinity's words were spoken slowly and softly, but her green eyes were burning into Gabriella's.
Their eyes locked and held for a few seconds before Trinity bent her head and kissed Gabriella. A deep, possessive kiss, which made Gabriella's toes twitch. Without a warning, Trinity jumped from the balcony, her mouth still firmly attached to Gabriella's. They landed softly on the lawn, breaking the kiss. Trinity took a deep breathe before she sped forward using preternatural speed.
Gabriella closed her eyes when the trees and the stars merged into one massive dark blur, praying that she wouldn't be sick. They came to an abrupt stop, but she still refused to open her eyes even as she felt Trinity carefully sliding her down her wiry frame until she felt solid earth under her feet. When she slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Trinity's tender green eyes.
“Ready?” she asked softly and Gabriella nodded.
As long as Trinity was with her she wouldn't be afraid. Trinity slowly turned her away from her to face the rest of the group.
_________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 10
She'd been to fashion shows over the years with Jessica and were amazed by the beauty of some of the models, but what she was looking at tonight, made those models look stale in comparison.
A large fire was lighting the area and standing around, illuminated by the fire's glow were the most beautiful people she'd ever seen. Trinity gently pushed her in the direction of a petite redhead with soft green eyes. Next to her, a tall broad shouldered blond man stood, holding her hand in his large one. His handsome face was split in a huge friendly grin.
“Gabriella, meet my parents, Genevieve and Pierre.”
Gabriella was surprised to find that she was taller than Genevieve. But that though didn't hold long when the petite vampire when Genevieve pulled her into a warm hug. She was very strong too.
“It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Gabriella. Trinity spoke about you all the time.”
Pierre took her by her shoulder and stared into her eyes, his blue eyes intense. “She's very beautiful.” He said softly to Trinity, before kissing her on both cheeks. “Welcome to our family, cherie .”
Gabriella nodded, speechless.
Trinity pulled her with her and they came to stand in front of a dark dangerous looking man. The man was huge, with short dark hair and pitch-black eyes. Whereas Pierre was blonde and angelic-looking, this man was dark, dangerous and broodingly sexy. His black eyes stared straight into hers, making her quickly lower her gaze.
“This here is Jonas. He is my father's brother and a very powerful warrior.”
This time when she turned to look at him, his dark eyes were soft and a little sad. He too kissed her on both cheeks. “It's pleasure to meet you. My mate is not well, but she asked me welcome you to the family on her behalf too.”
Gabriella nodded. That explained the sadness in his eyes. His mate's illness was really troubling him. The next couple they were moving towards, made her stare, open-mouthed.
They were both very beautiful and they reminded her of when she first saw Inger and Paloma. That had the same chemistry, theirs were just so much stronger. The blonde stepped forward and held out her hand. She was not as tall as the other woman, but she obvious seems to hold a lot of power over the taller, darker, more dangerous woman who stood quietly next to her.
“I'm Jemima, Inger's mother,” she said cheerfully and curled her hand gently around Gabriella's. She turned to look at the other woman. “This is Tahlia, Inger's other mother.”
Tahlia stepped closer and Gabriella stiffened. The woman moved like a predator – quietly and purposeful. When she held out her hand, Gabriella quickly looked at Trinity, who nodded reassuringly.
“It's an honor to meet you, Dr. Talos. Both my wife and I are greatly admire your work.” The woman said in a deep husky voice which sent shivers down her spine. All Gabriella could do was to stare into those bottomless black eyes.
To think that this woman admired her work was mind-boggling. She looked like she knew everything there was to know about the sex topic – not to mention the practical side of it. The longer she stared at the woman, the warmer the black eyes became.
“Thank you,” she said shyly and moved to stand next to Trinity, looking at the group of people she'd just been introduced to. They were all staring at her with their strangely hypnotic eyes, probing her.
“That's enough now, everyone,” Inger's voice sounded as she walked over to where Gabriella was standing and throwing her arms around her shoulder started to walked away from the others. “The two of us need to be up early for work tomorrow. It's time to go to bed now.”
Out of nowhere Paloma fell into step next to Inger. “We've received news about Tristan and the rest of us will go to follow up on the lead. Will you sleep over here? I will come to you as soon as I can.”
Inger nodded and gave Paloma a quick kiss. Afterwards they shared an intimate look before stepping away from each other.
“Be careful, my love, and don't stay out to long.”
With a curt nod, Paloma disappeared right in front of Gabriella's eyes.
“I can't help but think this is a strange dream I will wake up from soon,” she said and clasped her hand in front of her mouth when she realized she'd spoken out loud. Inger chuckled softly.
“You'll get use to them. They really are a great bunch.”
“I know, but it's still strange. Look at you and Paloma for instance. Doesn't it bother you that your partner is 2 000 years old?”
Inger shook her head, her blue eyes soft and tender.
“Not at all. When we met I was just twenty years old. At first, my parents were mortified when I told them that I was in love with Paloma. They were scared that dating a vampire could affect my natural growth process, but Paloma insisted I live a full life. We've made a compromise; the daylight hours are mine to do with what I want, but that the evenings are hers and hers alone. It has worked and eighteen years down the line we are still very much in love.”
As scared as she was tonight, she was nearly overwhelmed by the love and ageless bond that these group of people shared. Genevieve and Pierre, holding hands, Jonas' sadness over his mate's illness…
“What's wrong with Pierre 's mate?”
“Old age. Joan is seventy years old.” Inger too sounded sad now. “She has been around since my mother was a baby.” Inger saw the confusion on Gabriella's face. “My mother was human until the age of twenty-two when she was captured by a rogue vampire and bitten. Tahlia had no other option but to turn her into a vampire.”
“If we are not converted to vampires, I take it we are destined to go the same path as Joan?”
They were almost at the front door and Inger turned to Gabriella, her usually sparkling blue eyes were somber.
“Yes. We will grow old and die while our partners will still look youthful and gorgeous.”
Gabriella's mind conjured up an image of her, old and grey sitting next to a youthful Trinity and she shook her head. Will she really be able to live through something like that?
“Let's go in. It's not safe to stand out here.” Inger said softly and they entered the house.
***********************************************
The girl was already dead by the time they'd filed into the warehouse. Paloma had picked up on the victim's angst and had directed them to the warehouse.
Looking at the lifeless body of the girl, Trinity felt he anger and guilt welled up inside of her. She was angry because she couldn't track Tristan down and at the same time she felt guilty for being the reason that he was here in New York , killing innocent young girls just to lure her out of hiding. The girl's throat had been ripped out, as if Tristan was in a hurry to get away.
She scanned the warehouse and stiffened when she heard the soft mocking laughter. Looking up, she found Tristan, perched on a steel beam, looking down at them.
“The Royal Four under one roof, this really is my lucky day.” Tristan made a mock bow and Trinity saw the small apparatus in his hand. Why would he expose himself to Tahlia and the rest if he knew they were all hunting him? She quickly scanned the room, her razor-sharp eyesight combing every inch of the warehouse. She could be wrong, but she believe the apparatus that Tristan was holding, was a detonator. The bomb was somewhere in here. She felt Tristan's eyes on her and she slowly looked up at him. He was positively gloating; a sign that he was sure his plan was going just well. He vulgarly licked his fleshy lips as he stared at her.
“My dear Trinity, you're even lovelier than I remember. Our last meeting ended so abruptly and I was hoping we could go somewhere and ... get a bite to eat.” He said it through his teeth showing off his sharp white fangs. “I love that phrase. Humans can come up with the most interesting sayings.”
<He has a bomb in here somewhere.> She quickly warned the others. < We will have to get out of here now.>
“Tristan, this is between the two of us. Why don't you get down here so that we can talk?”
Tristan's dark eyes hardened slightly.
“Do you think I'm stupid or something?” His voice was tight with anger. “You all didn't come here to just chat to me, now did you? I know about their reputation.” He waved to where the four master vampires were standing, as silent as statues. “I have hunted in their town and know that that alone carries the death sentence according to their set of laws. But if I can kill them first then I can take over the city. I really love New York . People don't ever sleep here and prey is in abundance.”
Trinity slowly stepped forward, but Tristan held up a hand.
“Stay put, my dear, or you might just regret your disobedience.”
Trinity stopped.
“Why do you want to hurt me, Tristan?”
She saw the confusion on Tristan's handsome face before her threw his head back and laugh. That short second of distraction was more than enough time for the four master vampires to escape. When Tristan looked back at her and found her standing there alone, she saw his face flush with anger.
“You tricked me, you bitch. I'll make you pay this time.” He stuck out his hand out and pressed the red button. Her gaze was still rooted on the detonator when she felt a powerful surge around her and then everything went black.
*****************************************
Tahlia felt the girl's dread the moment she became aware of her presence. She slowly stepped out of the shadows of the room and held up her hand.
“I mean you no harm, Gabriella, but I bring distressing news.”
She saw the girl sit up, clutching the sheet to her chest. The amber eyes were wide awake now.
“What happened? Where's Trinity?”
Tahlia took a step closer, but stop when she saw the panicky flash in the green eyes.
“Trinity was injured tonight and is unconscious. I just wanted to inform you.”
Gabriella was out of bed in a flash; her hands were shaking as she pushed back her hair.
“I want to see her, please. Where is she?”
Tahlia remembered a night many years ago when she too was fighting to stay alive. It was wonderful to have had Jemima there. Maybe she could return the favor for Trinity.
“If you like I can take you to see her. I must warn you though that she's been badly burned and that it'll take a few days before she will be back to normal.”
Gabriella reached for her gown. “I want to see her.”
Tahlia nodded and walked to the door, holding it open for Gabriella. They went down the stairs, through the kitchen and into the storeroom to the wall opposite. A solid wall. The girl looked up at Tahlia and she saw the raw fear in the amber eyes. Tahlia put her hand to the wall and turned to the girl when the wall slid away, revealing a set of stairs.
“I'm obviously making you uncomfortable, but I can't let you walk down the stairs alone. There are some places that are uneven and tricky to maneuver.”
“Just take me to her, please.”
Tahlia couldn't help admiring the girl. Her fear of her was so strong that it hung like a bad odor between them, but she was still willing to walk down a dark staircase leading deep into the earth to go see her mate.
She held out her hand and with the slightest of hesitations, she felt the girl place her small warm hand in hers. Together they walked down the steps which had been carved out of the hard granite which made out the walls of the underground cave. There were numerous small enclaves, but still Tahlia walked on until they came to one that was well-lit by candlelight.
Tahlia stepped back and Gabriella rushed inside only to come to an abrupt stop, her hand flying to her mouth.
^^^^^^^^^
When Tahlia had warned her that Trinity looked bad, she hadn't really cared, as long as she was alive, she'd though. But Trinity really looked bad. Her head was scorched in places, showing bald patches where long rich copper locks had been. Her face was bloodied and it was almost impossible to make out her features. Gabriella felt a shudder go through her. Was Trinity ever going to recover from this? Was she going to wear the scars of this night's battle forever? How's she going to feel about being scarred? Oh, her poor baby. She took another step forward, wanting to touch her. Stroke her hand, her hair. To assure her that she would be fine. Genevieve turned to her from where she was busy cleaning Trinity's face. She saw the pain on the other woman's face, a mother's pain was reflected in the green eyes, which looked so much like Trinity's. Without thinking she walked to the woman and placed her arms around her and held her tightly.
“Ah, my girl, I'm glad you are here. She will find more courage to bear the pain knowing you are here to take care of her.” Genevieve said softly and kissed her on the cheek. “Look she's awake now. She must've sensed your presence.”
Turning out of Genevieve's embrace, she saw pain-filled green eyes glaring into hers. She took a step closer and reached out, but Trinity slowly shook her head, the action causing her so much pain that she groaned softly.
“Please … take her away. Don't…want her…see me…like this,” she croaked through chapped lips. When the green eyes opened again, they were pleading with her.
“I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here until I'm sure you'll be okay?” Gabriella said softly and placed her hand on the chapped lips. Genevieve quickly pulled her hand away.
“In the state she's in she needs fresh blood. She might just bite you if you touch her.”
When she turned shocked eyes on Trinity, she found her staring back at her the way the Wolf must've looked at Little Red Riding Hood. She took a step back, but Tahlia came up from behind her.
“I will give her some of my blood, to speed up the healing process, but she will still need fresh human blood to quench her thirst and to aid with the healing process,” she said softly.
Gabriella turned to look into the black eyes and saw genuine concern there. She turned to Genevieve and saw the same expression reflected in the sad green eyes.
Turning back to Trinity, she was surprised that she could actually feel the intense pain her lover was going through. The burns were bad. The usually soft lips were chapped and bleeding as her fangs were imbedded in them to keep herself from screaming as the pain racked her body. Her mind made up, she turned to Tahlia.
“Will my blood ease the pain a bit?”
The black eyes stared at her long and hard. “Yes. It will make her more comfortable.”
If it's going to make the pain ease a bit then yes, she will offer what was needed, Gabriella thought and stepped closer to the bed.
“What should I do?” she asked Tahlia and was surprised by the tender look that came over the black eyes.
“Just hold out your wrist to her. She will try to fight the urge and push your arm away, but if you persist, she will give in and take what she needs.” The husky voice was soft and gentle.
“Will it hurt?” She's always been a sissy when it came to pain.
“She can make it less uncomfortable.”
Gabriella looked at Trinity and saw the anticipation in the green eyes. She also saw the pointy fangs peeking out at her and she quickly turned back to Tahlia, but the tender look in the black eyes reassured her. She cast a quick look at Genevieve whose green eyes smiled back her.
“I will not let her hurt you, Little One.”
When she turned to look at Trinity, she found her staring back at her with fear in her eyes.
“I love you, my baby,” she whispered softly as she stuck out her hand. Trinity just stared at her as a red bubble formed at the corner of her eye and slowly rolled down her pale, soot covered cheek. She felt her eyes shoot full of tears too and stepping closer she gently lifted Gabriella's head. “Please, take what you need. I give it to you freely.” With her eyes closed tightly, she tilted the blonde head and brought it closer to her neck.
A shiver went through her body, when she felt Trinity's warm breath on her neck, but she steeled herself as cool lips brushed her warm skin. Soft pinpricks broke the skin and then she felt like she was tossed in a vortex of bittersweet pleasure. She held on to Trinity's shoulders her nails biting into the flesh beneath her hands as she rode out the euphoric sensation. Suddenly it was over and slightly dazed, she felt herself being lifted gently. She turned to see who was holding her and was met by a gentle black gaze.
“You are a keeper, daughter.” A soft husky voice whispered before she lost consciousness.
Genevieve's green eyes softened at hearing the remark and leant forward to place a soft kiss on Gabriella's brow.
“Welcome to the family, daughter.”