BOOK FOUR in THE GUARDIAN'S SERIES
Book One: A Guardian's Touch, Book Two: A Guardian's Love, Book Three: A Guardian's Passion
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
It was already past midnight when Jessica slammed her glass down on the bar and gave the girl next to her a friendly, slightly drunken peck on the cheek. The girl smiled and Jessica saw the unconcealed look of desire in the girl's eyes. No, not tonight honey , she thought as she shrugged into her jacket. After Gabriella and her fiancée had left her at the bar, she'd finished her wine and crossed the huge Marktplatzt to the bar.
“Thank you very much for keeping me company tonight but I have a busy day tomorrow and need to be up very early.”
“Why don't you sleep over at my place? I will make sure that you don't oversleep tomorrow.”
Jessica gave the girl a gentle smile and waved at her before she walked out of the bar. Caroline was right, the bar was really nice and she had a great time hanging out with the girls. Since the bar was situated near a group of international hotels, the patrons were also very cosmopolitan.
She stood outside the bar and looked down the street leading to the huge open market place. She didn't feel like going to her hotel room just yet and decided to take a short detour pass the Kölner Dom. Knowing Howard; she knew he will suggest they climb the 2 000 or more steps up to the top. The Cathedral Square was quiet, with a few people sauntering around. It was the early hours of Saturday morning and with nightclubs and bars brimming with people only a few were wandering around the Square. She bent backwards and squinted up at the impressive structure of the cathedral. She will slap Howie silly if he dare suggest she try and climb all those stairs tomorrow.
“Be careful , don't want you puking all over yourself now.” A voice said behind her and she spun around. Her smile was one of genuine pleasure at finding Gabriella standing behind her, her hands thrust deep in the pockets of her leather jacket and a twinkle in the gorgeous amber eyes. The raven hair was slightly rumpled, making her look wildly alluring.
Oh, how beautiful she looked , Jessica groaned inwardly, berating herself once again for letting Gabriella slip through her fingers. No use crying over spilt milk now, Jess, she admonished herself sternly and focused her attention on what Gabriella had said.
“You remember the last time it happened, don't you?” she asked with a grin and Gabriella flashed a mocking smile.
For their third anniversary they'd decided to go to Venice and it was while on a romantic gondola ride; sipping champagne, that she'd decided to hang her head over the side of the gondola despite Gabriella's advice not to since she was already a bit tipsy. She ended up spilling her very expensive lunch of lobster in the channel. In the end it was Gabriella who had to be helped out of the gondola, semi-paralyzed from laughter. Gabriella teased her about that for years afterwards. Jessica smiled sadly. What an idiot she's been.
“You've done the stupidest things I've ever seen but that one was by far the winner.” Gabriella said with feigned disgust and Jessica laughed.
“Yes, I had my moments, didn't I?” They stared at each other in silence for a long while. “What is a beautiful girl like you doing out here alone by the way?”
“I just needed some fresh air, that's all.”
She wondered where Trinity was, but didn't ask. She didn't want to be rude. Instead she pointed to a vacant bench nearby. After what she'd done to Gabriella, she never thought that they would ever sit together and laugh over the stupid things they'd done together.
“Do you want to sit with me for a while?”
Gabriella turned around and when she located the bench, walked over to take a seat. They sat in silence for a while, each busy with their own thoughts, before Gabriella broke the silence.
“I meant what I said earlier. I'm really surprised you are still single after four years. What happened?” The amber eyes looked dark in the weak light and Jessica quickly looked away. For years she'd evaded this question and Gabriella was the last person she wanted to talk to about this. “I'll understand if you don't want to talk about it.” Gabriella was using that calm soothing voice of hers that Jessica knew so well and had loved.
“After our break-up, I promised myself that I would…that I would…redeem myself in your eyes. I decided to abstain from sex for a while.” She said with a sheepish look on her face. “I… I didn't want you to remember me that way.”
Gabriella's sleek black eyebrows arched, the amber eyes showing surprise and then admiration.
“And?”
“And what?”
Gabriella shrugged, her face split in a wide smile.
“Did you succeed?”
Jessica thought of lying, but quickly reconsidered. This was Gaby, she deserved the truth.
“No, I didn't. About three years ago I slipped up. But only that one time,” she added the last part quickly.
Gabriella nodded, gently biting her under lip, a sign Jessica knew very well. It meant she was assessing the information and when she looked up Jessica could already read the next question in her expressive eyes.
“What was it about her that made you break your promise?”
Jessica bowed her head and looked down at her entwined fingers. She'd made a conscious effort never to think about Rissa because three years on, it still felt like she'd made a huge mistake letting her go. On the other hand, it felt good to talk about her instead of subjecting her memories to the furthest , deepest recesses of her mind.
“She was different. Honest, sexy and mysterious. She just showed up in my bedroom one night and… As much as I wanted to tell her to leave, I couldn't.” Jessica relived the moment when Rissa started to unbutton her shirt and stared at her naked breasts. “I craved her touch. She was intoxicating …like a drug.” She looked up and saw the pensive look in the amber eyes. “After only two nights together, she hinted that she might want more than I could offer at the time and we decided to go our separate ways.”
“Was it your idea to break it off?”
“Sort of.” She answered honestly. “I didn't try to stop her when she left.”
“And did you see her again after that?”
“No. A couple years ago I went back to look for her but nobody knew who she was or where came from and where she'd disappeared to.”
They were interrupted by loud laughter a few yards away, where a group of teenagers were fooling around chasing each other around on their bikes.
“Do you know why you went back to look for her?”
Jessica felt her heart beat escalating. Why indeed? She was so focused on trying to find out who Rissa was and where she was to even ponder her decision to go back to Cleaver to look for her. She shook her head.
“I don't know. Maybe I was just curious to find out if she still lived there. Maybe it was because of the sex.” She said honestly, an embarrassed look on her face. “We were great together and I've been unable to take anyone else to my bed since.” She shook her head again. “I really don't know why I went back there.”
She searched through her pockets and took out the remaining two bottles of gin. She handed one to Gabriella and unscrewed the other, taking a long sip.
“Has it crossed your mind that you might've fallen in love with her without being aware of it?”
Gabriella unscrewed her bottle and took a sip, pulling her face as the liquid burned down her throat. She looked at the bottle and saw that she'd downed more than half the bottle. This was typical Jessica, unpredictable as always. Who would've expected a multimillionaire such as her to raid her hotel mini bar and carry the stash around with her? She turned to her to tease her about being cheap but the smile died on her face.
Jessica was sitting motionless next to her; a stricken look on her face which prompted Gabriella to quickly place the bottle on the bench next to her and reached for Jessica's hand.
“What's wrong Jess?” What happened between now and a few seconds ago to have left Jessica so rattled, she wondered, alarmed by the whole situation.
“An hour after she left, I got the strangest feeling.” She tipped the bottle and swallowed the remainder of the gin. “It was as if I knew I'd made a huge mistake letting her walk out of my life. But I never thought that I might've been in love with her. We didn't even know each other.”
Gabriella relaxed again. It wasn't as life-threatening as she thought it was. She reached for her bottle and took another sip, gasping as the lethal liquid burned the same path down to the pit of her stomach. She grimaced. Damn, she could never stomach gin.
“What are you going to do about it now that you know you have feelings for her? You still do have feelings for her, don't you?”
“I guess.”
“What kind of answer is that? Either you do or you don't.” The tawny eyes glinted in the yellow glow of the streetlamps.
“I honestly don't know how I'll react if I see her again.”
“But how do you feel when you think about her?”
“Alone,” she said in a soft, empty voice and Gabriella nodded to herself. There was definitely love or something akin to love present. There were two options open to Jess now. Either she could try and find this woman or try to hook up with someone else. But first things first they needed to go back to the hotel. She glanced at her watch; she'd left the hotel almost two hours ago. It was time to go and confront Trinity too. They made a promise to each other never to go to bed angry and she wasn't going to be the one to break that promise.
“Let's go to the hotel. Those youths over there are becoming too raunchy now, next they'd want to pick a fight with us and then we'll have to kick their asses.”
She saw Jessica grin as she came to her feet and smiled too. It was great to have her friend back.
“You're right. I'm not really in the mood for snapping necks and cracking spines.”
Laughing together they started the long trek across the huge market place to their hotel.
******************************
Trinity longingly watched the two women as they walked away. She missed being with Gabriella, laughing with her. She stiffened suddenly and her senses zeroed in on the powerful aura nearby. The air was virtually pulsing with power. Even the youths must have sensed the powerful pulse because they quickly got on their bicycles and paddled off, constantly looking over their shoulders. She didn't have to wait long.
A figure materialized a few feet away from her, walking straight to the bench where Gabriella and Jessica had been sitting just moments before. She saw the head turn in the direction the two women had walked and then turned to look directly at her. Trinity slowly stepped out of the shadows.
“Are you having problems?”
“She's very angry at me.”
Tahlia nodded and slowly sat down on the bench.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Trinity came to sit next to the dark woman and closed her eyes mentally warding off the powerful ripples coming off the woman. It would've been frightening to her to have so much power, but Tahlia was carrying it so comfortably. How did Jemima contain this dangerous woman? She looked up into Tahlia's eyes and saw wry amusement in the black depths and she couldn't help but blush. Tahlia had been reading her mind.
“The woman she's with now is her former mate. We had an argument about her.” She recalled the conversation she'd been privy to between Gabriella and Jessica. “But I was wrong. She told me my suspicions were misplaced and that I should trust her. Instead, I acted like a jealous fool threatening the woman.” Tahlia's black eyes glittered in the dark and Trinity could sense her disapproval but still Tahlia said nothing. “I've tried to apologize to her but she told me that she wanted space and didn't want to see me.”
The cool breeze whispered through the raven-black locks of Tahlia, pulling them in all directions and she slowly lifted a hand to rake through her hair. In a fluid motion she came to her feet.
“She has cooled down somewhat and is ready to talk to you again.” Tahlia came to her feet. “You will have to show her that you are truly contrite. I will leave it to you to find a way to make that happen.” And then the Vampire Queen was gone.
Trinity slowly made her way across the cobblestone space towards the hotel. She did have an idea that will place her back in Gabriella's good books. She'll just have to find the woman Jessica was looking for but she'll have to keep it quiet though. She'd hate for any of the other hunters to get wind of her matchmaking scheme. Her reputation will never survive the knock.
________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 10
The long arms snaked slowly around her neck and soft warm lips gently kissed her cool cheek. With a soft satisfied sigh, Tahlia fell back on the bed. She reveled in the tingles which raced down her spine at the soft and gentle touches on her body. Ah … what a homecoming.
Jemima's hands slip under her turtleneck and she sat up so she could help her pull it over her head. Next were her jeans and then her black silk panties. Lying back, naked, she watched Jemima looking at her, her brilliant blue eyes hungrily looking at her body. Then her hands joined in and she slowly moved them from over her stomach down and further down until it came to a stop between her legs. She heard Jemima sigh softly at what she found there. She was already wet. The moment she'd stepped into their room and spied Jemima, naked and waiting for her, she felt a rush of moisture gathering between her legs.
She groaned when she felt Jemima parting the slick folds slowly and pressed her thumb down on the swollen nub. Tahlia turned her face sideways, away from Jemima's smoldering gaze. Looking into that azure gaze across a gleaming conference table was extremely distracting but looking into them now while she was slowly rubbing her clit, was almost too much for her to bear. She gritted her teeth when Jemima slowly pushed a digit into her, making her pelvis lift from the bed and at the same time her hot mouth captured the bud.
Tahlia sighed. It was times like these that she relishes the sweet surrender of her immense power, her responsibility. When she was but a woman, lying in the warm, loving arms of her mate. A deep growl escaped her lips as her wife's loving ministrations brought her to an earth shattering climax.
“You stayed out longer than I expected,” Jemima murmured softly in her ear long after the trembling had subsided.
Tahlia slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times to focus on her wife.
“I met with Trinity.”
“And Gabriella?”
“They had an argument but I think they'll sort it out.” Her hands lazily stroked over Jemima's naked back, tracing the scratch marks she'd left there during their wild coupling a few moments ago. Fortunately they will disappear completely in a while. “Gabriella's former lover is in town and Trinity's jealously got the better of her.”
Jemima chuckled softly and leaned over Tahlia until their lips were a hair's breadth away.
“I'd thought it would be the other way around with Gabriella being jealous of all the attention Trinity was getting from other women.” She sensually sucked on Tahlia's lower lip. “Vampires are soooo hot.”
Tahlia playfully slapped Jemima's soft backside.
“Humans have a powerful appeal too, you know. Remember how I drooled over you not too long ago.” The black eyes were fiercely possessive as they stared into the twinkling blue eyes. “If anyone ever tries to come between us, I don't know what I'll do.”
“You need never worry that I will be tempted to look elsewhere.” Jemima said softly and Tahlia smiled back at her, just as the horizon began to lighten.
Tahlia bundled Jemima into her arms and swung her feet off the bed. With her wife held close to her heart, the Vampire Queen walked over to the patch of the earth not far away from the bed and with a flick of her hand, Jemima parted the earth. Deep within the soft rich soil, Tahlia planted a soft kiss on Jemima's lips, double-checked the safeguards and waited while her body systematically shut down in preparation of her daylight nap.
********************************
The office door softly clicked closed and quick footsteps sounded. A rustle of papers followed by the sound of a pen scribbling over paper. The footsteps returned to the door and the door closed again. The footsteps continued down the hallway into an elevator and down a flight of stairs. Heavy doors swung open and a piece of paper exchanged hands and the footsteps quickly retraced its path.
A trembling hand dialed a series of numbers. The phone rang twice before it was answered.
“I have something for you , same time, same place.”
************************************
When she entered the suite her eyes quickly swept over the empty bed and she stiffened. Where was she? She was supposed to have been here a long time ago. She quickly walked through the door leading to the small lounge and sighed softly. She was curled up on the couch, watching TV. She must've sensed her presence behind her, because her head slowly turned. Green and gold clashed and Trinity swallowed slowly. She will grovel, just to have that cool look in the amber eyes replaced with a soft loving gaze. She quickly stepped closer and came to sit on the couch next to her.
“I'm so sorry baby. I was way out of line and acted very stupid. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me, please?” All the while she'd been talking the amber eyes had remained unreadable and Trinity felt a frisson of fear snaking down her spine. Gabriella never held grudges … but there was always a first time. She reached for the warm hand which held the remote and taking the remote, placed it on the nearby coffee table. “I was unreasonable and I'm begging you to forgive me.” There was a short silence and then Gabriella sat up slowly.
“You have nothing to be worried about. Jess is in love with someone else.”
She stopped herself just in time from saying that she knew. Gabriella will flip if she found out that she'd been eavesdropping on their conversation. Not to mention that she'd followed her when she was clear about wanting to be alone.
“More reason for me to feel stupid.” She brought the hand to her lips. “Tell me what I can do to make you forgive me.”
Gabriella shook her head.
“There's no need, I'm not angry at you anymore. I'm just stunned that a confident, intelligent woman such as yourself would think for one moment that I would be so stupid as to be tempted by another woman.” Gabriella sat back against the arm of the couch, her gaze searching her face intently, making Trinity want to probe her mind, the suspense almost too much for her to bear. “I love you and I will love only you until my last dying breath.”
Trinity experienced a mixed feeling of humility and shame at the soft declaration of love. She came to her feet and sunk to her knees in front of Gabriella.
“I never doubted your love, my heart. I doubted my own ability to be able to keep you from falling out of love with me.” She took the hand closest to her and brought it to her lips. “I promise you that it will never ever happen again.”
She saw the amber eyes softening and she pushed her arms under Gabriella's body and lifted her easily into her arms until she was sitting in her lap on the plush carpet. They didn't speak, they just held each other closely. Trinity pushed her nose into the fragrant dark hair and smiled. It felt good not to have Gabriella angry at her. It felt even better holding her in her arms. Her heart swelled with love.
<I love you with every fiber in my body.> Trinity's voice sounded hoarse with emotion as she declared her love to Gabriella.
<I know you do, my love. I love you too.>