Fangs For The Memories yb-1 Page 26

  “It won’t work,” Rhys said, still not looking away from her. “She can’t give her consent.”

  Sebastian knew that what Rhys was saying was likely true. Mortals could not cross over without accepting the dark gift, as it was so quaintly called.

  “Rhys,” he said softly, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “she’s going to die anyway. You need to try.”

  Rhys’s head dropped, and he didn’t say anything. Finally he stood and gently lifted Jane into his arms.

  His swift steps took him from the room, and Sebastian didn’t follow. Rhys needed to deal with this his own way.

  Sebastian just hoped it was the right way.

  Rhys carried Jane into his bedroom, placing her in the center of his bed. With great care, he arranged her in a position that made her appear as if she were only sleeping. Then he lay down beside her.

  He tried to detect the rise and fall of her chest, the minute beat of her heart. He could, just barely, and he half feared it was only because he wanted to see it.

  Tenderly, he touched her hair. The silken locks curled at the ends and twined around his fingers. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

  When he moved back, he saw that her face had gone from pasty white to nearly gray. He closed his eyes, fighting with his indecision. He couldn’t let her go. But if he couldn’t cross her over, he couldn’t bear to be the one to kill her.

  He opened his eyes, feeling wetness roll down his cheeks. She looked so small, so fragile, lying beside him.

  He hadn’t been able to protect her. He had failed. Again, he’d failed.

  Pulling her lifeless body to his chest, he hugged her tightly and buried his head into the crook of her neck.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled against her chilled skin. “Oh, Janie, I’m so sorry.”

  Letting out a strangled cry of agony, he reared back his head and sank his fangs into her jugular.

  He drank until her breathing ceased and her heart stopped beating. Then with her body still cradled in his arms, he leaned back against the headboard. He looked down at her, her face a perfect, beautiful mask. Lifeless, empty. His tears rolled down his cheeks onto hers.

  “Please come back to me,” he pleaded in a whisper. “Please come back.”

  *

  “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

  Jane’s voice penetrated the darkness encompassing Rhys. He opened his eyes to find her leaning over him, a big smile on her full lips.

  He immediately sat up, running his hands over her cheeks, her shoulders, her arms, making sure she was all right.

  She laughed, the sound sweet and beautiful to his ears.

  “I’m fine. In fact, I feel great.”

  He stared at her, still unable to believe that she was here, that she had crossed over. He’d held her until the sun, high in the sky, had forced him to sleep. But he’d fully expected to awaken to find her dead.

  “I can’t believe it.”

  “Believe what?”

  He paused. Maybe she didn’t realize what had happened.

  Would she understand? Or would she hate him for crossing her over?

  “Janie, last night-Christian attacked you.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

  “You do?”

  She nodded.

  “Do you remember what Christian is?”

  “Yes. I put it together last night. You have this fascinating book written by a man named Dr. Kurtland Fowler, and I started to see a lot of connections between you and the vampires he described. Although I don’t think I really believed it until Christian appeared.”

  He stared at her, dumbfounded. “You are taking this very calmly.”

  “Well…” She considered that. “You’ve bitten me while we were making love, right?”

  He nodded, sheepishly.

  She smiled at his expression. “It was very nice,” she assured him.

  He raised an eyebrow at the word nice.

  “I think from those bites, I was already crossing over.”

  Rhys shook his head. “It’s not possible. A mortal has to give consent.”

  She shrugged. “Well, you crossed me over last night.”

  She had a point.

  “Why do you think that?” he asked.

  “The bathtub,” she said with a small, knowing smile. “I could hear your thoughts. And as a mere mortal, I shouldn’t have been able to do that.”

  That was true. He could often read hers, but not vice versa.

  She suddenly leapt off the bed and headed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To consult Dr. Fowler,” she called back from the hallway.

  Rhys shook his head, falling back against the pillows. He didn’t have the strength to follow her yet. He was still too shaken, still too relieved that she’d made it. She’d crossed over.

  But Jane was back within minutes, a book in hand. She crawled onto the bed. She sat down beside him and began searching through the index.

  “Here we go,” she said.

  “Crossing over is the term used when a vampire brings a mortal over to vampirism. Generally, the vampire has to obtain the mortal’s consent to achieve this goal. But in rare instances”-she turned and gave Rhys a significant look-“in rare instances, when the vampire and mortal are soul mates, consent does not need to be given, and the crossing over will begin from the first bite the vampire gives his mate.”

  She snapped the book closed, giving him a smug look.

  He couldn’t help smiling. “Proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  He sat forward and kissed her, her lips clinging sweetly to his.

  “So you aren’t upset?” he asked seriously.

  “Upset? Why?”

  “You’re a vampire.”

  She shrugged. “It sure beats dead.”

  He knew she meant the comment to be funny, but guilt weighed heavily in his chest. “Jane, you’ve been surrounded by death your whole life. Are you sure you won’t come to resent this-a state between life and death.”

  She touched a hand to his cheek. “Yes, I did grow up surrounded by death. I know more about it than I want to. And I also know that whatever we are, it’s not dead. I feel like I didn’t start living until I met you. How can I ever resent an eternity with you? I love you.”

  He pulled her against him, his lips nibbling her neck, now healed and perfect.

  She turned her head and captured his lips, kissing him back with a possessiveness he reveled in.

  But after a few moments, she pulled away. “What-what happened to Christian?”

  Rhys looked down at her, mixed emotions roiling through him. “He disappeared. But I don’t think he’ll be back.”

  She nodded. “Good. I was afraid you killed him.”

  That wasn’t the response he’d expected. Christian had tried to kill her, nearly did. He couldn’t imagine her having any sympathy for him. But she did. It was there in her expressive green eyes.

  “I didn’t seduce Lilah.” He felt the need for her to know that. “She used her powers on me, controlling me. I was so repulsed the next morning with what I did. I’d never hurt Christian that way.”

  Jane listened, waiting for him to continue, knowing that he needed to.

  “She seemed to become obsessed with me, probably because I’d refused her. She wasn’t used to that. And she wasn’t about to let my rejection go unpunished. One night, she showed up at my room. She flew into a rage and showed me her vampire self. She explained that she’d already made Christian the undead, and if I didn’t willingly let her make me a vampire as well, she’d destroy my family.”

  Jane made a noise in her throat and reached for his hand, holding his fingers, stroking them.

  “Even after seeing what she was, I thought I could refuse her. I thought I was stronger than her evil. The next day, Elizabeth fell ill. She had always been a delicate girl, and I initially wanted to believe that she just had some normal sickness. B
ut as the days passed, it became apparent that she had more than a mere cold. I called in doctor after doctor, but they had no answers. Their best guess was consumption, and nothing could be done.”

  “But it wasn’t consumption, was it?”

  Rhys shook his head. The image of Elizabeth, small and frail in her bed, was as clear as if it had happened only yesterday. “Lilah came to me again, and she told me she was the one draining Elizabeth’s life, and if I didn’t cross over, she would kill her.”

  “So you agreed.”

  He nodded. “The next night, when I woke in my new vampire state, I went to Elizabeth. She was still in bed, her skin so pale it matched the whiteness of the sheets around her. I touched her, and her skin was icy. I knew then, she was gone. But I couldn’t accept it. I couldn’t accept that I had given up my soul, and Lilah had killed Elizabeth anyway.”

  Jane slipped her arms around him. He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the top of her head.

  “Since she made me, I’d never be powerful enough to kill her. Not in a fight. So I started going to her, pretending that I was enamored with her. She was vain and so conceited, she believed me. And I began to bite her-draining her over and over. Until she literally went mad. It was the best I could do to punish her. But it punished Christian, too.”

  Jane rubbed his back, comforting him. Telling him with gentle caresses that it was okay. Or that it would be okay.

  “You couldn’t let Elizabeth ‘s death go unpunished,” she stated.

  “But I hurt Christian.”

  Jane shook her head. “No. Lilah hurt him. You tried to protect him.”

  His chest tightened. She understood. She believed. And for the first time, he almost felt peace when he thought about his family.

  “I love you,” he told her.

  She kissed him. “I love you, too.” She moved her mouth to his neck, nibbling the skin just below his jawline.

  She peeked up at him, giving him an impish grin. “Did I mention that I have these amazing new teeth?”

  He smiled, amazed by how quickly she could make him feel content, happy.

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Now lie back and let me bite you.”

  As he fell back against the pillows, and he waited for her to taste him, he decided undeath didn’t get any better than this.

  EPILOGUE

  Jane lounged on the sofa with Rhys, his head in her lap. She lazily stroked his hair, letting the silky strands slip through her fingers. They both watched the flames dance over the logs of the fire.

  “Do you think we will ever see Christian again?” she asked suddenly. Sebastian had told them about Christian’s reaction to his attack on Jane, and they all agreed that he’d been changed by it. That he’d somehow broken free of Lilah’s wicked bonds.

  She felt the small shake of Rhys’s head against her legs. “I don’t know. I hope so. Lilah controlled him for so long, and he did a lot of horrible things at her bidding. That’s going to take time to deal with.”

  “Poor Christian.”

  Rhys lifted his head to look at her. “I can’t believe you can forgive him so easily.”

  Jane shrugged. “He regretted what he did.”

  “Almost too late.”

  “He needs our help-if he’ll ever allow it.”

  Rhys smiled up at her, amused affection lighting his amber eyes. “You may very well be the only Good Samaritan vampire in existence.”

  Jane stuck her tongue out at him. “And you are such an ogre yourself.”

  “I try.”

  Jane smiled. Rhys liked to pretend he was the same aloof, bitter vampire she’d first met, but in truth, he was honorable and good. And she liked to think, with some help from her, he was now happy and able to deal with the past.

  Certainly, he laughed and teased more. She’d even caught him smiling occasionally for no apparent reason.

  But she could hardly rib him about that, when she caught herself doing the very same thing. Life as a vampire wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as movies and folklore had led the world to believe. Dr. Fowler’s book was a much more accurate depiction of vampirism.

  Her senses were keener, her thoughts clearer, and her ability to feel pleasure more powerful, although Rhys would likely take full credit for the last change.

  Other than the blood thing, vampirism was really quite wonderful. And even the need for blood was less icky than she would have guessed. She and Rhys dined from blood banks. And while Sebastian found the idea disgusting, he did agree that it was better than the lowlifes Rhys used to feed on. Although, he did insist on calling their blood “gag in a bag.”

  Sebastian was a wanton biter.

  Jane only had fangs for Rhys.

  “What are you smiling about?” Rhys asked.

  Jane’s smile broadened. “I’m just thinking about how happy I am.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you happy?”

  He sat up and turned to face her, his eyes intense. “Janie, you’ve given me something I thought I’d lost forever. My soul.” He picked up her hand and kissed the palm.

  Jane sighed; she’d never tire of his touch.

  He hooked an arm around her waist and lifted her onto his lap. She curled her arms around his neck, sinking into his unhurried kiss.

  They’d given each other more than either of them ever expected to have, Jane realized. They’d given each other lives. Lives filled with love.

  A cough sounded from the vicinity of the door, but neither broke their kiss. A cough rang out again, this time louder, and even though Jane realized they should stop, she was powerless under the mastery of Rhys’s skillful lips.

  “Hello?” Sebastian called.

  Finally, they broke off the kiss and looked at him.

  “I have some good news for you.”

  They both waited for Sebastian to continue. “You will be pleased to know the banns were finally called, and the vicar is here.”

  He stood back, and Dr. No, or whoever he was, strolled into the room.

  Both Jane and Rhys gave the two men dubious looks.

  “It turns out, David, who isn’t really a doctor, does have the ability to marry you two,” Sebastian informed them.

  “Yep, all legal and everything. Got ordained over the Internet,” David stated proudly. “Wanna get hitched?”

  Jane and Rhys looked at each other and laughed. Sebastian joined in. Only David/Dr. No seemed confused by their mirth.

  But later that night, after Jane and Rhys had made love, and he held her in his arms, he slipped a small gold band on her finger.

  “My mother’s ring,” she said, surprised.

  He nodded. “I found them back in the alley.”

  He held out her father’s ring to her.

  She took it and slipped the large band onto his finger.

  “To R-Yours forever. J.,” she said, reciting the inscription on the ring. The initials that stood for her father, Robert, and her mother, Julia. But that now stood for Rhys and Jane.

  “Forever,” Rhys agreed, and kissed her.

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