“What's the matter, Michaela?” Jesus asked and came to stand at her side. Tension radiated from her body. As he tracked her gaze, he caught sight of a man standing a few yards away. He was staring at Michaela as if he were seeing a ghost.
“That man,” she said, and took a step toward him before stopping short, her body jerking as if shot.
“Christ, Michaela. What's wrong?” Jesus asked, and wrapped an arm around her waist as she wavered.
“No. No! It's not possible. Not after searching all this time.” She sounded distressed, and looked more agitated than he’d ever seen her before.
He glanced back at the man, but he had disappeared into the shadows.
“It's okay. He was just a vampire,” he reassured her, puzzled by her reaction.
“Not just any vampire, J.” She turned to look at him, her face ashen. “My God. That was my father.”
***
Jesus put a shot of tequila in front of Michaela and wrapped her hands around the glass since she seemed to be in a fog. “Drink,” he urged, worried about her.
She hadn't left his side since the incident on the street, huddling tight to him in the elevator, and following him to the kitchen table where she had dropped bonelessly into the chair.
Slugging back a large gulp, she grimaced and then coughed from the bite of the alcohol. That she’d actually obeyed him was possibly more worrisome than her near-catatonic state.
He shrugged off his suit and weapons sling that held his Tec-9 and sat in the chair next to hers, resting one arm across her shoulders to gently rub his hand up and down her bicep. In tiny bits the tequila disappeared, and so did his lover's unease.
Her declaration that the vampire watching them had been her father shocked Jesus. She hadn’t told him much, but he instinctively knew the man was responsible for molding Michaela into the driven, carefully guarded woman she was. Reason enough to hate the man. But Jesus suspected there was a lot more to it.
Leaning close, he kissed her temple. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”
She took a deep breath. “It's been eighteen long years since I've seen him. I wasn't sure I'd recognize him, but I did.”
“How can you be so certain?” he asked. She had yet to move her gaze from the glass in her hands.
“Blood calls to blood, J. The connection is strong. Undeniable. Plus, I’ve always thought I had my mother’s blue eyes, but I don’t. I have his eyes. I could see his eyes. They’re darker like mine.” Her tone was pained, as if she would poke them out if she could to avoid that link to her vampire father.
Jesus moved closer, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and leaned his forehead on hers, offering her comfort in the only way he could. Grateful that she would allow it.
For long moments they sat in silence, barely moving, their breaths slowly becoming one, until Michaela's breath hitched and a shudder shook her body.
The words burst from her, hurried and hushed, as if just saying them gave her pain. “I've been hunting him for so long. Searching for him. And there he was. Right in front of me. And I couldn't do anything. I've turned into that scared little girl hiding in the marsh grasses again. Listening to him kill my mother. Watching him drink her blood and—”
Her tears came and her body trembled so hard her bones seemed to rattle together.
Jesus tightened his hold, and she turned and buried her face against his chest. The heat of her tears wet his skin and shirt, but he didn't mind. Anything to ease her pain.
After she cried herself out, she moved away from him, dashing the remnants of tears away from her cheeks. Finally she met his gaze. “I'm sorry. It was just more than I could handle today.”
“Are you kidding? The Council. Your father. It's a hell of a lot to deal with in a day,” he said, hoping she would understand what he wasn't saying. That she didn’t have to deal with it all alone anymore. That he was there for her.
With a sad smile, she skimmed her fingers down his cheek. “And you're here to help, I know. But you can't watch my back every second of every day, J. I have to handle this myself.”
He arched a brow. “Sounds to me that's what the Council wants you to do—to go it alone. Without me. Without your friends.”
She shook her head and stroked his cheek again. “Not gonna happen. I meant it when I said that being on the Council would be punishment for me. I became a Slayer for one reason only—to be strong enough to kill my father once I found him.”
Jesus blinked, worry rushing back even stronger. “But now he's found you. What will you do?”
She started to pace. “Figure out how he located me and where his lair might be. Protect you. He's a sick bastard, J. He leaves a pile of bodies everywhere he goes. And he's sired quite a number of vampires. Vampires he can call to come and help him.”
It was a good thing he wasn't a man with a big ego, otherwise her “protect you” comment might have been a big ouch.
“We'll watch out for each other, Michaela. And we've got vampires we can call, too. Just tell me when you want to hunt him down.”
She straightened in her chair. “He'll be back for me. I'll be ready next time.” She met his gaze and corrected her statement. “We'll be ready.”
He nodded, satisfied. “In that case, we better order some dinner. Get some rest.”
The first hint of a smile blossomed. “I'd like that. Chinese?”
“And I'll be hungry in an hour,” he groused.
The smile on her face turned sexy. “Like last night, you mean?” she teased. They had slaked their hunger for each other twice after their first bout of lovemaking.
He hardened just thinking about it. “Always, love. Let's go get the Chinese menu.”
***
Ryder scooped Diana up into his arms from her hospital bed, waking her. He was sorry to disturb her slumber, but he couldn’t wait another minute.
“Hey! What are you doing?” she asked sleepily, but wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Taking you home. Finally. It seems like it's been an eternity without you.”
“Home. That sounds nice. To what do I owe this reprieve?”
He carried her onto the hospital elevator and as they rode down, he said, “Melissa thought you might be more comfortable with familiar surroundings. But she made me promise I wouldn't let you run around for a few more days.”
As the elevator came to a halt, he strode out, impervious to the curious glances of the hospital staff as he carried her to the sleek limo waiting in front of the entrance. Ryder ducked inside, settling her securely on his lap. He brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek. “I've missed you.”
“I've missed you, too. I'll be glad to be home.” She urged his head down to kiss him. The kiss was filled with joy and solace. It swelled his heart with peace...until the kiss deepened and desire rose.
He groaned and regretfully broke away. “There will be none of that, unfortunately.”
Diana chuckled. “We'll see about that.”
The ride to their home was blessedly short. At the curb, the vampire doorman smiled broadly. “Nice to have you home, Special Agent Reyes,” he said with a wink.
“Glad to be home, Jason,” she said to the strapping six-footer who opened the entry door and dipped his head in deference to Ryder.
Ryder smiled at the affable young man, one of the cadre of vampire employees at his various properties—such as this apartment building, his nightclub The Lair, and Otro Mundo, the restaurant Ryder owned with his friend Diego Rivera. The vampires took the night shifts the humans would rather not have, so the arrangement worked out well.
Minutes later, Ryder strode into their bedroom and laid her down on the bed.
Diana slipped beneath the covers and glanced around. “Oh, Ryder, it’s all so beautiful. Thank you.”
He’d arranged a bountiful assortment of multicolored carnations in a squat vase on her nightstand. The spicy aroma of the flowers mingled with the scents of spring air from the freshly laundered sheets.
“I know carnations are your favorite,” he said with a kiss.
“A definite improvement over the clinical hospital odors,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for bringing me home.” She patted a spot on the bed beside her. “It's late. Join me?”
He grinned and started to remove his black sweater and jeans. He knew they were her favorites, too. She said they emphasized his intense midnight look. As he bared his body, he could see passion soften her eyes.
“It’s been too long since we’ve touched,” she murmured. “I hate that we have to be careful. But that doesn't mean we can’t touch.”
“I like how you think,” he said with a smile.
“Oh, Ryder,” she whispered. “I want—no, I need these moments together, before...”
Before he turned her. He understood what she wasn’t saying aloud. That she needed memories of the love and humanity he brought her, so when he turned her, hopefully remembering them would help curb the rage and temper violence her demon might bring.
“Don’t worry, darlin’. Everything’s going to be fine.”
As he stretched out beside her, she put her hand on his chest and stroked across his skin and muscles.
“You’re so beautiful,” she murmured, running her hand downward. Tracing the ridges of his midsection before encircling him in her hand. He was half-hard, fighting to keep his arousal in check.
He moaned. “You’re killing me. We really shouldn’t—”
“It's okay, Ryder. I won't break,” she teased, moving upward to cover his mouth with hers.
“Ah, darlin'. I want— Lord knows how much I want to, but—”
She cut him off by deepening the kiss and her caress. “Please, Ryder. We have so little time left before...I need this so badly. I need you.”
His cock jumped in her grasp and he surrendered, their kiss growing more intense with each passing second until they were both breathing hard.
He sucked in a shaky breath, on the edge of losing it as she took him closer and closer to the peak with each sure, deft stroke of her hand.
But he wanted her to have pleasure also. Because of her condition, some things weren't possible, but he knew just what would please her.
Reaching up, he undid the buttons on her pajamas and parted the shirt, revealing her swollen breasts. The tips had darkened to the color of ripe cherries and were extra sensitive to his touch, thanks to the baby. He fingered the tip of one and she jumped.
“Did that hurt?” he asked with concern.
“God, no. It feels wonderful,” she said, gazing down to where his hand cupped her breast.
Grinning, he bent his head and whispered, “Then this will feel even better.” He kissed the tip and her body jumped again. A long keening sound came from deep in her throat, telling him of her intense pleasure. He kissed the tip again and took it into his mouth, loving it with his lips and tongue, and drawing on it the way he hoped that their baby would one day suckle her.
She cried out and began stroking him again.
She had brought him life and love when he had thought it was no longer possible. He would bring her the same in this life, and in the one that would follow. Her immortal life.
He loved her, showing her with his lips and then fingers how precious she was to him.
“I love you, Diana,” he said, caressing her cheek and kissing her over and over again.
“I love you, Ryder. And I'm so glad to be home.”
“Me, too,” he said, spooned against her back, and draped his arm over her belly. Soothed a hand over the mound of their child and the baby responded, doing a brisk somersault beneath his hand.
“So is she,” he teased, grateful for the vigor he sensed in their child. Knowing that each day that passed with that kind of strength brought greater certainty to their baby's survival. “I think it's time we finally decide something important.”
Diana stiffened and looked over her shoulder at him. “What's that important?”
“The color of the nursery. You've been hemming and hawing for weeks because of your silly superstitions.”
“I couldn’t help it. My mother and grandmother filled me with all their old wives' tales.” She exhaled. “But now I want no doubts about the birth. About our daughter.”
He kissed her neck. “Good. So what’s it to be?”
“Pink,” she said, and smiled. “A nice pale pink. Maybe with bright spring green trim.”
“Pink and spring green? That's an interesting combo.”
“Spring is the time of life,” she said. “Of rebirth. I want to think of what will happen as being reborn, Ryder. I want the new life inside me, our new life together, to be filled with joy, not fear.”
“I like it,” he said, and kissed her temple. It gave him hope that all would be right with their baby. And with them.
It had to be, because he couldn’t imagine spending eternity without either of them at his side.