The First Vampire Part 12

"No. I wanted to go see the moon garden."

Ash's gaze stayed locked with hers. "I'll take you." He slid his chair back.

"I didn't know you had a moon garden here," Justin said. "In fact, I don't even think I knew there was such a thing. I'll come along if you don't mind. I'd quite like to see it."

Ash gave Justin a pointed look, which Justin just as pointedly ignored.

This wasn't good at all, Ariana thought.

"You know, on second thought," Ariana said, "I'm suddenly feeling tired. I must still be a little jet lagged. If you two don't mind, I'm going to turn in." She rose to go.

Ash and Justin both stood. "Not at all," Ash said. "Pleasant dreams."

"Good night, Ariana. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night." Ariana pushed her chair back under the table and for the second night in a row beat a hasty retreat to her room.

"Exactly what are you up to?" Ash said to Justin when he was sure Ariana was out of earshot.

"I'm just trying to get to know her," Justin replied. "She's going to be in charge of your money for some period of time, so I need to be sure she knows what she's doing."

Ash shot him a skeptical glare.

"Okay, fine," Justin admitted. "If you are really plotting some terrible end to this little play you've set in motion, I want to find out if she's as bad as you say. So far, I have to tell you, I don't see it."

Ash frowned. "Maybe not, but it's there. It's her and it's there. When she was Delilah, I didn't see it until it was too late, and I won't make that mistake again." He pushed his chair farther back from the table and stared down at his friend. "It's n.o.ble of you to try to protect her, but don't get in my way on this, Justin."

Justin slid his own chair back and went over to the sideboard to pour himself a drink. "Fine," he said when he turned back to Ash, "but you should try to keep a little more of an open mind before you do something that may only add to your long list of regrets."

Ash gave a low growl and stalked from the room.

CHAPTER 24.

Ariana smiled and rolled toward him, never opening her eyes, pressing her naked body against the length of his.

"Ariana," he whispered.

Ash groaned and ran his hand along the smooth curve from her waist to her thigh. His thumb rubbed the hollow just inside her hip bone, finding it as soft as he remembered.

Ariana opened her eyes. There was a moment of surprise and confusion until Ash looked deeply into them and whispered to her mind, It's only a dream.

"I know," she replied, smiling sleepily at him before pulling his head toward hers.

Their lips met, and Ash tightened his grip on her hip. He kissed her deeply. He wanted her to dream about this even after he was gone and to think about it all day tomorrow. Justin be d.a.m.ned.

Her body cleaved to his like a magnet, seeming to remember its place nestled into the hollows of his larger frame. Her mouth welcomed the forceful invasion of his tongue.

Ash wanted to punish her. He wanted to stay and lose himself in her.

He didn't know what he wanted.

He dragged his mouth away from her full lips and moved it slowly down to her left breast where he took her nipple in his mouth and suckled hard. Ariana threw her head back and gave a breathless moan.

It's her, all right. His Delilah. He'd made love to her in his dreams a thousand times. He knew everything about her. He knew where she liked to be kissed, how soft or hard she liked everything he did to her. It gave him an advantage, but he told himself it was only fair. His 3,000 years of suffering should count for something.

The hand on her hip slid inward, over her pubic bone to the warm, moist folds between her legs. She was so wet for him, the knowledge almost did him in. He had enough power to make her think this was a dream, but he couldn't create desire from nothing. She wanted him, and it was heady knowledge.

Ash hesitated, resting his head between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Ariana reached for him and pulled him back to her.

"Don't stop," she whispered.

Ash claimed her mouth once more, pillaging it with his tongue as his hand pillaged her warm center. Her hips writhed against him in a rhythm he still remembered. When she broke off their kiss and threw her head back, Ash wanted so badly to be inside her. He wanted to feel her body close around his in that one pa.s.sionate embrace that was like no other. But this wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Not giving himself time to think, he slid farther down her naked form and turned his face first one way and then the other against the soft insides of both her thighs, feeling her flesh quiver against his cheek. When his tongue finally descended on her needy flesh, she gave a shuddering moan that reverberated through both their bodies.

Joined to her once more, Ash forced himself to go slow, to let his tongue be warm and heavy. Then he pressed and sucked at her in ways her writhing hips told him her body remembered. When her breath started to come faster, Ash raised his head and looked at her.

She was magnificent in desire, her body a curved temple where he had wanted to wors.h.i.+p until his last breath left him. Little had he known that she had been conspiring to bring him to that very end, all those years ago!

He looked down at his erection straining against the front of his jeans and refused to speculate on how long it had been since that had happened. Instead, he turned his attention to the silky feel of her skin as he slid his hand slowly along the outside of her thigh.

He wanted nothing more than to feel that skin pressed against his own flesh, urging him on, but the sheer force of his desire gave him pause. No, he thought, that wasn't quite right. It scared the h.e.l.l out of him.

He took a deep breath he didn't really need and then soothed her back to sleep. Rolling to the edge of the bed, he watched as her breathing slowed.

What was he doing? He had loved Delilah so much. When she betrayed him, he'd thought none of it was real, that she'd been out to get him all along.

Now, here she was again, with no memory, hardly even knowing him, and she responded to his touch with the same fever as before. And he to her, even though it should be impossible. For heaven's sake, she'd only been here two days, and already things weren't going according to plan.

Ash levered himself off her bed and forced his traitorous eyes to focus on the door. He got to the other sided of it without turning back and then made his way to his room at the other end of the house. Even at that distance, however, his mind refused to give him any peace. He grabbed two bags of blood from a small refrigerator he kept in the corner. He had a microwave, but skipped it, draining them both cold.

He had to put Ariana out of his mind. He had a plan for her. He just needed to stick to it. He meant what he'd told Justin. He'd been fooled by her before, and she still threatened to get the better of him, but this time he was forewarned.

CHAPTER 25.

James strained to hear Keller's response, but missed it. He couldn't believe he was actually listening at a keyhole. The door to his own room stood open, ready for him to make a quick escape. He'd been spending most of his free time this week at Luc's, honoring his bargain, but his investigation had brought him back to Council House. He'd been about to knock on Keller's door when he heard the two voices from within.

"Is it ready?" Keller asked.

"It is," an unfamiliar voice answered. "All that remains is to deliver it."

"How soon?"

There was a brief pause. "Soon. We cannot afford to delay. Already the half-human one pushes the bounds. The blood of Lilith is seeping into the blood of Adam, corrupting it from within. It's not enough that she has created us. She seeks a portal back into our world."

"All strains of Lilith need to be wiped out, Keller. You know this. She is an abomination. We are only ever one human-vampire pairing away from creating a creature strong enough for Lilith to enter."

"I will be pardoned?" Keller asked.

"You will be celebrated, Keller. Maybe not at first, but, with time, even they will see that you did what was best."

"The order will restore my name?"

"They will," Keller's guest responded. "You will be restored and added to the annals at Clonfert. As if you never left."

The sudden s.h.i.+fting of furniture sent James scuttling back into his room. He closed the door gently, just as Keller's door opened.

One pair of footsteps faded down the hall toward the main staircase. James sagged onto his small bed in relief. He hadn't been discovered, and now he really had something to tell Toria.

A knock at his door startled him. Stay calm, he told himself as he pulled the door open. Keller can't suspect.

But it wasn't Keller. "You're right," the other man said, baring his fangs and forcing his way into the room.

Oh c.r.a.p, James thought, immediately realizing he had no defenses. Power dripped off this one, whomever he was, much as it did Ash.

Wait, James thought, grasping at straws. Maybe he couldn't overpower him, but that didn't mean he was defenseless. He opened his mouth and screamed.

The intruder started, and it took him a second to recover; but when he did, he belted James a blow across the face that threw him across the room.

"Memnon, what are you doing?" Keller demanded, coming out of the room next door.

"Just taking care of a loose end," Memnon replied. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"No," Keller insisted. "Don't hurt him."

Memnon hesitated. "We can't let anything get in the way, Keller," he explained. "Our plan-G.o.d's plan-is almost ripe, but your nosy little friend here overheard everything. We can't let him tip off the others."

Keller frowned. "He won't say anything. Why don't we just tell him the truth?"

"We can't take any chances," Memnon argued.

"Alright," Keller acquiesced, "but we're so close. Can't you hold him wherever you've been keeping the others? Then, when everything is ready, he can be included."

Memnon frowned, but was forced to agree. He couldn't risk alienating Keller. He needed his help.

He swung the unconscious James over his shoulder and headed for the window at the end of the hall.

CHAPTER 26.

Ariana groaned and turned away from a single beam of sunlight forcing its way between the heavy drapes. She blinked once, then twice, remembering the dreams in which she had succ.u.mbed to the skillful caresses of her newest client.

Great, she thought. Just great. Today wouldn't be at all strained.

Then she smiled. She didn't know what the real Ash would be like, but dream Ash was... dreamy.

Deciding she couldn't stay in bed all day fantasizing about Ash, or Samson, or anyone else her fevered brain might decide to cast him as, Ariana put two feet on the floor and told them to carry her to the shower.

She wasted no time, but Justin was already hard at work when Ariana stepped into the war room less than an hour later. He greeted her with a warm smile. "You're looking refreshed. I trust you had a good sleep?"

Ariana smiled, remaining noncommittal as she walked around the table to peer over his shoulder. "What are you up to so early?"

"I was feeling a wee bit guilty that I didn't have everything netted out for you," he answered. "I'm just putting the finis.h.i.+ng touches on the overview. I'll have a more detailed summary by this afternoon."

"Great. I could stand to devote some time to my other projects anyway," Ariana said, crawling under the table once more to unplug her laptop. "My other files are in my room, so I'm going to work up there for a while. I'll be back by tea time."

Justin laughed. "It does amaze how quickly you Americans take to tea time."

"It's a great custom," Ariana said. "I wish we had it. New York is always so rushed; I don't think I could manage that much time out of the work day on a regular basis."

Another thought struck her as she turned to go. "Will Ash be joining us today?" she asked.

Justin shook his head. "He usually observes something between London and New York time when he's here because so much of his business is transacted out of New York. He gets up in the afternoon and works in his study. He might come down for tea. Seldom before then."

Ariana smiled and left the room, unsure if she was relieved or disappointed.

The first thing she did upon returning to her room and getting her laptop plugged back in was to send Roger a detailed report. He'd sent her some information on prospective investments, and more would be coming tomorrow by courier, which was good because, from what she'd seen so far, there were considerable sums that could be moved right away. The rest would have to be staged to minimize penalties and take advantage of the best investments Ash was already in, but there was lots of room for improvement. Roger would be happy.

Tea time rolled around before Ariana had even finished responding to yesterday's emails and going through the materials Roger had sent. She made her way downstairs, a.s.suming tea would be served in the same place as yesterday. She met Nancy halfway there.

"Hi there, dear," Nancy greeted her. "I was just coming to tell you that tea is being served on the back terrace today. It's so warm out, the master thought it would be a nice treat."

"Thanks, Nancy." She still couldn't get over Nancy calling him "master."

Nancy continued past Ariana down the hall, and Ariana headed for the terrace.

Outside, it was a warm evening. The sun hung low, turning the clouds to cotton candy from one side of the horizon to the other. Ash faced westward, seeming to admire the pastel tableau, and Ariana stood for a moment admiring him.