Three

 

Yuri blinked, momentarily startled to find himself alone in the darkened hallway. His cock twitched with the aftershocks of whatever they’d just done. She’d responded to his every word, his every thought, as though he’d really been touching her. And if someone put a sword to his neck, he’d swear he felt her hands, mouth, and her hot, tight pussy all over him too.

He paused, momentarily worried about where she might have gone, until he sensed her nearby. Of course, Celeste had retreated to her apartment. Smart girl. No, he amended. She was a smart and gorgeous vampire. Her distress over the glowing-effect had been obvious and he was baffled about how to help her.

Whenever she was truly unhappy she sought solace in the night sky. He tried to hone in on her, worried she had gone up to the roof. Her two probable locations were close enough and his senses were still clouded by the lingering sexual haze of their mind-bending encounter.

He had to follow her intuitively, even if that meant a tongue-lashing about invading her privacy. Hell, they’d invaded each other quite intimately without any contact minutes ago. If she had bucked her brother’s orders, Damien would never forgive him for allowing it. The new glow in her skin would bring any hunters and every curiosity seeker in the city down on them in a hurry.

His shirt hanging open, he flashed to her star garden on the roof, relieved beyond measure to find it draped in velvet darkness. Keeping a clear vision of her in his mind, he followed the sensory tether to her apartment downstairs.

Technically, he was on the wrong side of the front door, though she had invited him in on previous occasions. Right now, he didn’t dare stand outside in the hall assuming she was in here. Hearing the water running in her bathroom, he crept closer until he heard her soft sobs and breathed in the feminine, lightly floral scent that was unique to Celeste.

If she were any other woman, he’d hold her close until those tears subsided, but her curse made such simple comfort impossible. Debating what to do next, he checked in with the rest of the security staff. No one reported anything out of the ordinary. He adjusted the patrols on this level and put them on a higher alert, just in case this glow was more than a visual effect. With Celeste, it was never wise to take anything for granted.

How in the hell was he supposed to report this and still protect her? He loved her too much to tell Damien about the sexual exploit that preceded this stunning change. He stood guard inside her front door, giving her as much space as he could. Buttoning his shirt, he tucked it into his slacks and smoothed his hair. When she emerged, they would decide together how to tell her brother about this strange new situation.

Her skin had been glowing. It hadn’t been a trick of the low lighting in the shadowy passages only their fellow vampires could navigate without better lighting. Celeste was the fucking light. Not metaphorically, but in a cold and beautiful reality.

What did it mean?

He chastised himself while he waited. There must have been a better way to handle this. Logically, it was hard to separate their near-sex and the change of her skin, yet he hoped like hell they could find another, plausible explanation. When he’d taken the position as head of her guard, her brother had given him one primary directive. An order he was forbidden from sharing with anyone, including Celeste: if anything about Celeste’s appearance changed, Damien was to be notified.

Immediately.

When it came to matters involving his sister, hesitation was akin to insubordination for Damien. So why was Yuri standing here rather than making the call?

Any number of reasons, his body reminded him. Overwhelming climax. Bone-deep satisfaction for the first time ever. He could claim his duty was to stay close to Celeste and he didn’t trust her not to slip by one of the other guards.

He couldn’t keep up the lies. Being terrified about explaining the actions leading up to that dazzling new glow on her skin wasn’t a valid excuse.

Using his superior tracking skills, he did a quick search for Damien and realized the coven leader was feeding from his new love, Maureen. Now that was a valid reason to postpone a report of her new condition.

Yuri wasn’t in the mood to fend off a sword to the neck or stake to the heart and an interruption could result in either scenario. Damien might be older and therefore have more years of research into Celeste’s odd situation, but Yuri was confident she’d have a theory about the change once she calmed down. In recent years, she’d been increasingly determined to find a way out of her restricted life.

Hearing the water shut off in her bathroom, a countdown clock started in his mind. Surely Damien wouldn’t kill him in front of Celeste.

Yuri sighed. No status or sensibility of a witness would stop their leader if he was intent on dishing out justice.

*

I showered, kept showering, but the glow wouldn’t fade or wash away. While the hot water poured over my body, I considered other possible solutions. My clothing had only muted the effect and I didn’t expect makeup to do much. For several minutes I alternated between tears of grief and tears of fury. This was a losing battle. Closing my eyes, I said a prayer. No change. Then I made a wish, covering all my bases. When I opened my eyes, my skin still lit up the damn shower.

Damien would never let me out of the building again.

I suppose I could become the eccentric wise-woman who went about only at night, draped in a black cloak. My face glowing from the inside of a deep hood would be perfect for Halloween. A childlike voice in my head ranted and whined, throwing down a spectacular tantrum over this new development. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of only going outside once a year.

Of course, humans weren’t the only issue. Not even the real issue.

Damien and the Drake family who had supported our coven for centuries kept up appearances in the community and handled everything that needed done in daylight. Damien made sure the vampires who lived in the area played by his strict rules so we didn’t draw negative or questionable attention. The system protected all of us from persecution or worse.

Then there was me.

I stared at my wet skin, unable to deny the mystical element to this sudden change. Damien needed to be told -warned really- so he could adjust the security plan.

Although most children were raised on fairy tales, my earliest memories were hearing whispers that I was the fairy tale. No one dared to question my parentage, but my pale hair and strange violet eyes were so different from everyone around me. In that era, genetics weren’t common knowledge, no one understood recessive genes.

Word had quickly spread that I was a star child: holy gift or evil by-product, depending on who told the story. The origin of the myth had been nearly forgotten by our elders even in that long ago time. Many covens viewed star children as a source of salvation, able to heal odd maladies or bring good luck. It hadn’t been long before spies and hunters invaded our territory and our home, determined to confirm their wild theories, kidnap me for their own use, or simply take my head.

I heard a knock at the bathroom door and ignored it. Dropping my head to the tile wall, I let the water pound across my shoulders and down my back, imaging what the coven’s life would be like without me in it. My parents and Damien insisted I was a treasure, no matter how many sacrifices were made or precautions taken. The one thing no one seemed to understand was how much I’d prefer to look like everyone else in the Craiesc coven.

I ignored the first knock on the bathroom door, fully aware it was Yuri. Even through the water and fragrance of my body wash, his scent tickled my senses. It was like our nearly-real intercourse had bound us. That might have been romantic if he’d been able to touch me without dying. As satisfied as I’d been from the outrageous orgasm, I wanted to feel his beautiful cock sliding over my folds, driving deep, filling me. Just the thought had me wet and aching for him again.

On the other side of the door I heard a low, familiar groan. My nipples tightened in response. The man was famous for his incredible tracking skills, but I had to wonder if his senses had always been so effectively attuned to me, specifically. I breathed in his woodsy, masculine scent and something about it reminded me of the soft darkness in the thick forests where my brother had found him.

Unbidden, I recalled the dazzled look in his eyes when our individual orgasms rolled over us. In a perfect world we would have shared a bite, intensifying the moment and the intimate connection. Would I ever know the indescribable bliss of that moment, that soul-deep bond?

Suddenly the shower curtain drew back. “Celeste.”

I whirled around shocked and inexplicably embarrassed for him to see me so weak and pitiful. “Get. Out.” I tried to pull the shower curtain back into place.

We struggled for control of the shower curtain as steam billowed between us. Though my fingers brushed his, Yuri didn’t flinch. Why did he have to be so stoic and strong about this ridiculous mess when I was out of my mind with frustration?

“By now you know it won’t wash off,” he said. “Come on out of there so we can talk.”

“Turn around,” I said, shutting off the water taps. “Wait outside.”

“You’re kidding.” His eyebrows arched. “After what we just did upstairs?”

“This is different.” I glared, not a look I was particularly good at, but it worked this time because Yuri was a good guy at heart. After I wrapped myself in one towel and blotted my hair with another, I let him face me. Only when I saw the color in his cheeks did I realize he’d been watching me in the mirror.

“I’m not being silly,” I declared, sounding silly and pissed off.

“You’re in shock,” he said gently. He reached out, then remembered the risk and drew back.

I hated that for both of us.

“Do you have any idea what this change means for you?” he asked in that low rumbling voice that always put a flutter in my belly even before I’d heard his sex-commander voice and fallen into life-long lust with that version of him.

“It probably means I’ve become a homing beacon for the coven and that will mean complete solitude.” Forever. Somehow I kept my voice steady when I wanted to wail and cry. I shooed him out of the bathroom so I could duck down the hall to my bedroom and find some clean clothes. Preferably something that covered me from throat to ankle with a coordinating scarf for my face.

Yuri lingered in the bedroom doorway, his gaze warming me all over and stirring up another kind of glow deep inside. That intense, focused regard, held almost as much power as his growly voice. I found myself wanting to stretch and purr like a cat soaking up a sunbeam. I dropped the towel, arousal burning through my flimsy modesty.

I pulled out my lingerie drawer further than necessary, searching through the various fabrics and styles until I heard his breath catch. He enjoyed pink lace? I could accommodate that. A woman who couldn’t be touched by people, I’d learned to give myself as much tactile pleasure as possible.

No amount of lingerie or self-pleasure had been as effectively satisfying as those luscious commands Yuri had issued. If I’d known about that, I would have begged him to help me ages ago.

I made a production of smoothing lotion into my bare, luminous legs, across my midriff and cleavage and down over my arms, teasing us both. Imagining my hands were his. Sliding the pink lace thong up over my hips I peeked at him as I slipped into the matching bra. Sure enough, he was hard again. And restless as he adjusted himself. Good. I was ready for a repeat performance too. Maybe getting off again would reverse this annoying after-glow effect.

Testing our limits right here with the temptation of my bed so close wasn’t wise, but I was more comfortable with him when we were dealing only in arousal and primal needs. I dragged out the reverse striptease with jeans that hugged my legs and a silky top that dipped low, front and back, giving his hungry gaze glimpses of the pink lace lurking underneath. I couldn’t wait to take everything off for him again.

“No.”

“What?” With the fresh fantasies in my head, I’d lost track of the conversation.

“You’re not a homing beacon.” His voice was deliciously gruff and my nipples peaked.

“And you’re sure of that why?”

He shrugged one of those broad shoulders I longed to feel. “Whether or not the Lehara hunters can use this change to track you, I have to tell Damien. Orders.”

His words cast a chill of reality over the room and doused my warm lusty moment. Of course Damien had to be told, I just wasn’t eager to explain the likely catalyst of my new condition.

“The task falls to me as the head of your guard,” he said, regret heavy in his voice.

I heard the edge of dismay in his voice, the ingrained intention to protect me. That locked him right into that no-win space between a rock and a hard place. My brother, overprotective by necessity and nature, wouldn’t appreciate what we’d done in that hallway.

“This,” I lifted my radiant arms, “wasn’t your fault,” I reminded him. “We’ll tell him together.” I would not let him face my brother alone. “We don’t even have to mention our, um, moment. It might not be related.”

“Do you have any theory about why this would happen?”

“By now you know the star child legends and myths as well as I do.” I pushed my damp hair back from my face and sat down hard at the foot of my bed. “I have a few memories of glowing intermittently like this as a little girl. Not in conjunction with a sexual event,” I rushed to add when his eyes narrowed dangerously. “And nothing full-body like this. Mostly my hands would light up and my mother would make me wear gloves until the effect faded. She wouldn’t let me be seen by anyone other than family whenever the glow occurred, explaining other covens and families might be jealous, or cruel to me. Eventually the intermittent effect faded as I grew up. I assumed it was a result of the protective curse on my skin. Damien might know more.”

It had been at least a century since my brother and I had discussed the particulars and reasoning behind the drastic measure of cursing my skin. He’d continued to track down the hunters, determined to purge the world of all threats to me. Obediently, I stayed behind researching other solutions from a distance. Thank God for the internet.

“If this happened before, there has to be some specific cause and effect,” Yuri said.

“I agree. Clearly, it’s not just what we did.” I wondered if the glow had broken the protective curse on my skin. Would the feel of skin on skin be worth the sacrifice of unending confinement? Yes! my heart shouted as I looked to Yuri.

“Maybe it’s deeper. An emotional response,” he said hopefully. He scrubbed at his face with both hands, then let them fall to his sides. “The first time I saw you, I fell in love. What I felt upstairs with you went well beyond physical pleasure.”

I smiled. “Infatuation,” I corrected gently. “It happened frequently when I worked with the healers.” Vampires by nature rarely needed healers, but occasionally severe injuries required intervention. Yuri had arrived in such a state, the only survivor of a horrific attack of Lehara hunters. His bones broken, skin a colorful map of bruises and lacerations, his soul battered by shock and loss. I’d been a few years shy of my maturity and called in to help. Through a sheer veil of fabric, I’d rested my hands on his deepest wounds, while the healers gave him a small dose of my blood.

“No.” He stepped forward. “Others have called it infatuation, but time has proven differently. I was -I am- in love. With you,” he added as if I might insist on misunderstanding. “All these years, every order I followed for the coven, for Damien, in my heart it was all for you.”

I resisted the truth gleaming in his pale eyes. “But… you can’t mean…” My voice trailed off. I was confused, my mind and heart divided by his declaration, half of me wanting to dance and the other half wanting to sob over all the things I would never know. He couldn’t love me. I was untouchable. I wouldn’t consign him to a life of frustration and isolation. “You said there was another woman.”

“Pure fiction.” He slashed a hand through the air. “Cowardly of me.”

I snorted. “You’ve never been a coward.”

“I’m feeling like a big fucking chicken about telling Damien.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “You haven’t done any healing, which means the change is somehow related to our activity. He will figure it out.”

“Does that bother you?” I stood up, advancing on him as my ire rose. “Is whatever I am a problem for you?”

“Weren’t you listening?” He stared at me for a brief eternity before shaking his head like a dog coming out of a lake. “I love you, Celeste. Curse or not, I’m finding it damned hard to keep my distance.” He stepped closer. I backed away. “My darling,” he crooned. “You’re like a magnet to me. I believe love is the catalyst and the buffer. You won’t hurt me.”

Love. Love? “Have you lost your mind?” I demanded.

“No.” He advanced.

I retreated again, my legs bumping into the bed. I held up a hand. “Don’t!”

He paused, tapping his temple. “I know you have theories about this, Celeste. You’re smart, you’ve done research.” His voice was nearly hypnotic. “I have a theory or two as well.” He reached out, hands hovering an inch from mine.

“No.” I cringed, shrinking from his touch. I couldn’t bear it if my skin hurt him, destroyed him. “You’ve been my friend and fantasy for as long as I can remember,” I cried. “Don’t take the chance.”

Thankfully, he stopped moving forward, but he didn’t back up. I scrambled away, hoping some space would help him see reason. “My parents chose this, despite the cost to me. They took this drastic measure to protect me from those zealots who believed the star children were some sort of saviors.”

“Angels bred with vampires.” His voice whispered over my skin. “Looking at you, I can see why they believe it.”

“Please. It was my rare coloring,” I snapped. “We know about genetics now.” I was different, yes, but I wasn’t any sort of vampire superhero. “I’m just a collection of recessive genes.”

“You’re more,” Yuri said. “Damien told me there were three of you within that generation.”

I nodded. “A fluke,” I insisted. “All of us. But when word got about the three of us, it gave the zealots more fuel for their wildfire beliefs.” I aimed a finger at his chest. “You know how to be reasonable. Myths and legends aren’t real. If you tell me you buy into all that nonsense, you’re as bad as they are.”

I saw my words land like a punch. Yuri’s eyes went wide and he staggered back a half step. He glared at me. “Myths and legends are rooted in something.”

“Fine. The star children myths explain away the funky recessive trait that resulted in my weird eyes and hair.” I lifted one of the damp locks and tucked it behind my ear.

Yuri’s eyes traced the movement, his fingers twitched. “Stop minimizing yourself.”

I refused. “It’s just pale-blond hair.”

“You are special,” he insisted. “Damien believes it or he wouldn’t keep hunting those who want to steal you away.”

“I’m his sister.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “He’s a good brother who wants to protect me from idiots and he won’t let our coven fall prey to vile, irrational hunters.”

“As he should.”

I agreed with him, though I often felt that if there were a safe place for me, I’d rather be there alone, than stuck in this half-life routine. Some days it just wore me out having everything I couldn’t grasp or enjoy in my face all the time.

The myth of star children stemmed from tall tales of angels mating with vampires, creating offspring that became exceptionally skilled healers, warriors and magicians. All vampires loved the dark possibilities lurking in the night, but the old myths claimed star children could draw down support from the heavens to assist them in any endeavor.

Pragmatically, I figured meteor showers during battles, coincidental weather changes that strategists used to escape or attack, or even some miraculous, intuitive combination of healing herbs was a more plausible explanation. Yes, I loved standing under the stars. And it was true that I often found more satisfaction in the star garden than I did during feeding or sexual release.

Until tonight, a little voice in my head whispered.

“Don’t look at me that way,” Yuri said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You’re tempting enough as it is.”

I grabbed a denim jacket from my closet and shrugged into it. “Let’s go tell Damien.” Hopefully my brother would be as effective as a cold shower for both of us.

“I stand by my top theory,” Yuri said. “I believe something more than physical pleasure created this change in you. I’ve always been yours. Won’t you consider the possibility that you’re mine? That we’re meant?”

That would be perfect, if I were different. “Yuri.”

“Celeste, my love. I pledge my body, my-”

“Stop!” I interrupted, darting forward. I wanted to cover his lips, prevent those irrevocable words from tumbling free. He deserved so much more than being stuck with me, the woman unable to hold his hand or share his bed. He deserved a woman he could touch, who could touch him in kind.

There were more plausible theories to the glowing skin. It could be as simple as the expiration date on the protective curse or as complex as the proximity of a hunter with a counter spell to reveal me. Or-

He opened his mouth to start over and I did the only thing I knew. I took myself as far from New Orleans as I could get.

With no more than a thought I was back in Europe, standing in the cathedral entry of the estate where I’d been born. Soft, muted sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows spearing up to the soaring ceiling. I could hear the sea beating against the base of the cliff nearby. The sound alone would be enough to carry me until nightfall.

The Drake family maintained rooms here for Damien and I, as well as a blood supply. Hungry from teleporting from one continent to another, I fed well and then curled up on the bed in my suite, my eyelids drooping and my heart heavy from the upheavals of recent hours.

Yuri would go to Damien when he couldn’t find me anywhere in the club or the city. Eventually they’d track me here and we’d all have a long talk about how to proceed. In the meantime, I could gather my thoughts and composure and strength.

As exhaustion overwhelmed me, I fell asleep with the echo of Yuri’s voice calling my name.