Consequences (Blood of Pharaohs Book 1) Page 11

  Nikki couldn’t help but smile at the example Lilah gave, although she knew that it could never be equal between them. She would never allow Lilah to put herself in danger, even for her. “Have you ever been in love, Lilah?”

  “It’s the strangest thing,” Lilah sighed and then shook her head. “It feels like I had been, but I know that I haven’t. What about you, Nikki?”

  “Yes, but their dead now.”

  Lilah squeezed her hand. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry, Nikki.”

  “Thank you. It was quite a few years ago, and the pain has lessened.”

  What a brave thing to say. Without thinking, Lilah leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Then, wanting more, she cupped Nikki’s chin, looked up into her eyes, and pulled her lips to hers. A gentle kiss at first, exploring the ridges of her lips, the heat of her mouth. Nikki responded willingly, opening her lips to Lilah, who shuddered when she entered. Lilah groaned at the tingling sensation that radiated down her body. Harder, harder.

  Nikki heard her thoughts and captured her mouth, driving her tongue harder; discovering what made her moan and exploiting it. It all came back to her in a flash. Her warm breath on her lips. Her heated tongue exploring hers. Her heart pounding with need. Her thoughts. As she fought to keep her fangs from extending, she also fought to keep control of her bloodlust, just as she had done when they kissed three years ago. Her superior control was the reason they never took it to the next level. But now, Nikki was losing that control.

  “I want you, Nikki. Do you want me? Damn, I want so badly to dig my fingernails into your back right now.”

  Nikki swallowed hard and was about to give Lilah what she wanted, but she felt her lips quiver.

  “This feels so familiar. Oh… my head. Damn it! Not again. Just ignore it. Oh…”

  Nikki pulled away, angry at herself for losing control and for being the reason for her pain. She broke it off with her because she was afraid she would be hurt, and now she was the one hurting her. She couldn’t just reverse her influence that caused her to forget. It didn’t work that way. The only way she could be with her now without causing her pain was if she were to become a vampire, or fall in love with her again, and the latter, while possible, was no guarantee that the pain would subside each time she kissed her.

  “I’m so sorry,” Nikki said.

  “Stop,” Lilah commanded, holding up her hand. “That’s the second time we’ve kissed, and I wanted it as much as you did. It’s not your fault I keep getting these headaches. It’s just stress. I don’t handle death well, and with everything that’s happened, it’s just been very stressful.”

  “I can certainly understand about the stress, although I think you’re handling things remarkably well. But I’m your bodyguard, I’m supposed to protect you, and I can’t do that if I have feelings for you.” She knew instantly that she had said the wrong thing, but she could not take it back.

  Lilah’s heart skipped a beat, and she inhaled sharply. She has feelings for me? I knew I felt something in that kiss. Lilah wasn’t quick enough to suppress a giggle burbling up in her throat. She sounded like a pubescent teenager and felt like one, too. She leaned against Nikki’s arm, tired but strangely happy. Her warmth encircled her as she interlaced her fingers with hers. This feels so right. I think I’m falling in love with you, Nikki Delgadillo. “Oh, no,” she muttered and pulled back, looking at Nikki with trepidation.

  “Everything all right?” Nikki asked, excited by her thoughts and confused by her reaction to them.

  “What? Oh, yes. I was just being silly.” How could I possibly think I’m falling in love when it’s only been a few days? Now, lust is a whole different story.

  “You don’t strike me as the silly type,” Nikki said graciously. And I certainly am not opposed to satisfying your lust first. She ran her fingers along Lilah’s arm, the electricity under her skin teasing her nerve receptors. The sensation was so acute that she tilted her head back and smiled. A soft growl rumbled across Nikki’s lips when she saw the throbbing vein in her neck. She stiffened, her throat suddenly dry with desire.

  Lilah’s heart began to hammer, anticipating her next move. Touch me. Please, touch me.

  Nikki ran her hand across Lilah’s collarbone and slowly, deliberately, down her creamy chest to just above her cleavage. She felt her inhale sharply, a soft moan purring in her throat, and she leaned in and captured that moan with a kiss. She was dangerously close to Lilah’s jugular now, but with amazing control, she fought the temptation to bite her and kissed her way down to the warm cleft between her breasts.

  “Nikki, guess who’s coming for dinner?”

  Nikki tried to ignore Vince’s thoughts, blocking him from her mind as she listened to Lilah’s pulse race under her probing tongue. Her small, round breasts were speaking to her and that’s all she wanted to hear.

  “Mom and Dad are here! Get your ass over here, adesso! Right now!”

  “Oh, shit,” Nikki exclaimed, jumping up and wiping her lips. “I’m sorry. I just remembered, uh, that I forgot to check on something.”

  “Well, how rude,” Lilah complained, having a sudden rush of déjà vu.

  As she crashed through the barn doors, Nikki shouted at the immortal guard, “Don’t let her out of your sight or it’ll be your head.”

  Chapter Ten

  November 8, 2016

  da Polenta Ranch, Texas

  “Leonard, I apologize for our unannounced visit this early in the morning,” Beulah said, extending her hand to him.

  Leonard shook his head as he accepted her hand. “No need to apologize, Mrs. da Polenta. I have a feeling that this isn’t a social call.”

  “You’d be right, my boy,” Ludovico said, turning to Vince with a questioning eye.

  “I’ll go find him, Father,” Vince said nervously, then rushed out the door. “Hurry the hell up, Nikki.”

  Dorothea came rushing down the stairs, tightening her robe around her plump hips. “What in the world?”

  “Hola, mi amiga,” Beulah greeted her with a smile. That was all the Spanish she had cared to learn, but it always made Dorothea smile. “It has been too long. How have you been, Dorothea?” Beulah asked.

  They laughed and embraced each other. The last time the da Polentas visited the ranch together was the night of Emily Dupree’s funeral. They couldn’t attend the funeral, of course, but Beulah hosted a wake in her honor.

  “I’m fine, gracias.”

  “Dorothea, beautiful as ever,” Ludovico said flirtatiously.

  “Señor, you are too kind. Shall I brew a pot of coffee for everyone?”

  “Yes, that would be great, Dorothea. Thank you,” Leonard replied.

  Beulah wrapped her arm around Dorothea’s waist and said, “Let me help you, and we can catch up on all the gossip.” The two walked arm and arm into the kitchen.

  Vince ran out the front door and crashed into Nikki, who was running up the steps. The impact was so hard that the two ended up in the dirt, rolling across the ground.

  “What the hell?” Nikki groused. “Get off me, you idiot.” Nikki shoved her brother’s leg off of her stomach.

  “Get your ass out of my face,” Vince demanded, kicking Nikki’s back to make her move.

  Finally, the two stood up and brushed the dirt from their clothes.

  “Listen, do you mind staying with Lilah while I make an appearance? I don’t want her in here when Beulah sees me.”

  “You want me to babysit the horse doctor?”

  “Yeah, I do. And don’t even think about trying anything with her or I’ll tell Papá about that time in Florida, when the flamingo—”

  Vince held up a hand. “Say no more. I’ll be the perfect gentleman. Besides, I know she’s yours, and I can respect that.”

  Nikki laughed knowingly. “Since when, Vinny?”

  “Since just now,” Vince laughed and walked toward the barn.

  Nikki looked back toward the house and took a deep breath. Speaking of respect. Since she�
�d revived her sire’s mate, she had tried to avoid her. When she’d brought Beulah back, she had to fight not only her own demons, but the malignant spirits in the underworld who tried to keep her. Those ghosts fight with mental manipulation and are the reason a Spirit struggles with insanity. Also, when a Spirit vampire brings back the dead, they are forever linked in a way that no other immortal and human can be. But when the human becomes a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years, it becomes an annoying game of hide and seek. Nikki hides. Beulah seeks.

  Although Beulah was an Air vampire, she could read Nikki’s mind, but worse than that, she could read her heart because of their unique link. And because she had saved her life, she looked at her with an overabundance of motherly love and an everlasting gratitude. She had managed to keep her feelings for Lilah a secret from Beulah by simply staying away from her. And now, because of completely unforeseen circumstances, she would not be able to hide any longer. “What’s that old saying?” she asked herself out loud, “The shit is about to hit the fan.” She swallowed hard and walked slowly into the living room. “Mamá, Papá, how are you?”

  Beulah and Dorothea were sitting on the couch, chatting, while Ludovico and Leonard stood by the empty fireplace, talking.

  Beulah looked at Nikki, tilted her head, then stood up and walked over to her. She sniffed her and then whispered in her ear, “I smell a woman on you, and I hear her voice inside of you.” She inhaled again, and gasped, her face flushing red with anger. “What were you thinking?”

  “What is it, sugar plum?” Ludovico asked.

  “Nothing, dumplin’,” Beulah assured her husband even as she glared at Nikki. “How could you do that to the poor child, Nikki? Letting her fall in love with you and then erasing it like her heart didn’t matter.”

  “No, Mamá. It wasn’t like that.” Nikki looked at Ludovico, hoping that he couldn’t see them speaking to each other in their minds. It always irritated her sire when they did that because he was so sure they were talking about him, which was never the case. I was afraid she’d be hurt because of me. I’m still afraid of that.”

  Beulah shook her head, which drew Ludovico’s attention. “So afraid that now you’re here, in her home, supposedly as her bodyguard?” Beulah gasped again when she heard Nikki’s heart thump against her chest. It was a rarity for a vampire’s heart to beat steadily, but emotional distress could cause it to race, just like a human’s heart. It put the vampire at a disadvantage when another immortal was close by. And worse still, when that immortal was Beulah da Polenta. “And she’s falling in love with you again? What kind of game are you playing at, Dominique Delgadillo? If you hurt that innocent lamb, so help me—”

  Even though she knew it was an empty threat, Nikki didn’t care to have her sire know of her personal feelings. “I promise, Mamá, I could never hurt her. I respect her and love her too much to do that.”

  Beulah saw the sincerity in her eyes and relented. “Does she know what you are?”

  “No, I haven’t the guts to tell her,” Nikki confessed.

  “Love is many things, my girl, and fear is a major part of it.” She glanced over at Ludovico and smiled. “But without love, how can we conquer our fears? And without fear, how can we fall in love?”

  Nikki grinned and bent over, kissing her on the cheek. “Muy sabia, Mamá,” she said out loud. “Very wise indeed. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I have to go conquer my fears.”

  Beulah laughed as she watched Nikki leave the room and run out the front door.

  *

  “Can I ask you something, Vince?” Lilah asked as she fed an apple slice to the mare.

  “Sure, I’m an open book,” Vince replied, leaning against the gate railing and drinking a soda.

  “Is there something wrong with Nikki?”

  Vince choked and spewed his drink everywhere, spooking the mare.

  “Whoa, girl. Easy now. It’s okay,” Lilah said, trying not to laugh. “I take it that would be a no?”

  Vince chuckled, shaking his head. “You would be correct. What do you think is wrong with her?”

  Lilah rubbed the mare’s muzzle, then she walked out of the stall and closed the gate. She leaned against it next to Vince. “I don’t know. It’s just that every time we kiss, I get this throbbing headache, like my head is trying to tell me something and it’s not good. Or she gets me all hot and bothered and then suddenly has to be somewhere.”

  “Hmm, have you had these headaches before when you kissed men?”

  Lilah chuckled. “No, but then it wasn’t kissing that we were doing.”

  And how many men have you been with? Vince remembered the day they first arrived. Lilah had her hands between a man’s legs. “Ah yes, I see. Kissing is very intimate and personal, and the first step in courting. Sex is gratuitous. There doesn’t have to be a reason for it other than a carnal need to satisfy our lust.”

  She glanced over at Vince. Wow, smart and handsome. “Vince, you were so brave to stick your hand inside the mare’s vagina. I wonder if I could ask another favor of you. An experiment of sorts.”

  Vince turned and looked at her. “I am putty in your hands.”

  Lilah stood up and turned, looking up at him with a curious smile on her face. Then she jumped into his arms, locking her hands around his neck.

  “Whoa now,” he tried to protest, but Lilah silenced his objection with a kiss.

  She teased his lips with her tongue until he opened his mouth to her. It was her experiment, and Vince, lost in the moment, was a willing subject.

  He swirled the air around them, pulling her tightly to his chest. His undercurrent skittered along her spine, enhancing the excitement she felt each time their tongues met. She whimpered, forgetting it was an experiment and pushed deeper into his mouth. She needed more, much more.

  He could already feel her heat on his abdomen, but it was his own response that finally penetrated his lascivious haze. “No, stop,” he said, pushing her back.

  “Are you kidding me?” she asked, running her hand through his hair as she tried to pull him closer. “I want you so bad.”

  “No, you don’t want me,” he barked, pulling her hand back and setting her on the floor. “You’re Nikki’s girl, and I wasn’t playing fair.”

  With the connection to Vince gone, Lilah blinked away the uncontrollable urge to dig her fingernails into his chest and bite his nipple. An urge Vince had unintentionally planted in her mind. She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. “Her girl?”

  “Yeah, well, aren’t you?” Vince asked. “I mean, isn’t that what the test was for?”

  Lilah, still tingling from Vince’s influence, shook her head. “It was to see if I got a headache every time I kissed someone, and apparently, it’s just Nikki who brings them on.”

  Too late, Vince realized he should have given her a headache instead. “Well, there’s your answer.”

  She shook her head, not seeing it. “And what was that?”

  “You’re in love with her, too, and it scares you so much that you end up with a headache.” Yeah, that sounds plausible.

  “Oh…” Could that be it? Am I really in love with Nikki? “Wait, you said in love with her, too. As in she’s in love with me, right?”

  Shit. Busted. Vince quickly went over options in his head. He could erase her memory, but that’s how they’d ended up in that mess in the first place. Besides, the guilt Nikki felt about having done that to her, Vince knew that she would hate him for it. And Nikki would know, somehow, which would make it even worse. Another option would be to run and hide, but then that wasn’t very grown up, not that it usually mattered. This time it did. He came to the conclusion that the only real choice was to tell her the truth, but in a way that didn’t really answer the question. “The way she gets all goofy around you, how could she not be?”

  “Oh, um, yeah.” When did she ever act goofy?

  Nikki walked into the barn, confused by Lilah’s thoughts. If she focused, without any distracti
ons, she could hear a person’s thoughts a mile away, but she needed to be in the same room in order to hear their spoken words. It could be very confusing at times, like now when she only tuned into her conversation after she had left the house. The only thing she heard was that she, whoever she was, acted goofy. Nikki was sure that it had to be about Vince acting goofy again. That was until she saw the guilt in both their eyes. What the hell? Nikki inhaled, smelling the air, tasting it on her tongue. The heavy scent of arousal hung in the air.

  “Now, sis. It’s not what you’re thinking,” Vince said in his mind, stepping back to put some distance between him and Lilah.

  “And what am I thinking, hmm, Vince?” Nikki asked snidely, stepping closer. “That you’ve been taking advantage of Lilah in my absence? No, my brother would never do that to me.” Nikki was incensed and only getting angrier.

  Lilah looked from one to the other. I don’t get it. How did she know that Vince kissed me?

  “You kissed her?” Nikki growled, tightening her fingers into a fist.

  Lilah cringed, shocked and confused. “How did you know?”

  “It doesn’t matter how; what matters is that my brother betrayed me,” Nikki explained, stepping closer.

  “No, he didn’t,” Lilah stated. “If you must know, I kissed him. I wanted to test a theory about my headaches.”

  Nikki’s anger began to dissipate slowly, and she finally looked at Lilah, though her fists were still clenched. “What about your headaches?”

  “You’re the only one who gives them to me,” Lilah said, without accusation. “And excuse me, but I am no one’s girl.”

  Not yet, you’re not, but I am patient, Nikki thought to herself.

  Vince chuckled, drawing Nikki’s ire again. To Vince’s credit, he realized that he had crossed that invisible line between love and war. His sister was in love, and Vince had just inadvertently started a war between them. There was nothing he could say or do that would appease his sister’s anger. But the thought of having to live with it for years, possibly decades to come, pushed him to yet another bad decision.