Essence (Nectar 3)

She missed her vampire prince.

It’d been three days since she’d been back on the island. She and Tristan hadn’t spoken at all since she’d arrived and that was leaving a huge hole in her heart right now.

Because he was busy, maybe, but more likely because they’d argued. The morning after their argument he’d put them on a plane, not even talking to her about it, much.

He was growly,

“Time to go,” he’d said, putting a cup of coffee beside her. She’d been in bed but awake and lazing.

“Go?”

He glared, “Pack. Fifteen minutes. You don’t need much.” And then he’d left the bedroom. She knew by his expression he was thwarting an argument with his attitude and normally she’d have been all up in his face about that attitude but she’d gotten a lot of concessions from him the previous night so she bit her tongue, did as she was told, and then met him in the living area.

He was standing there, arms folded, looking out the window, exuding authority. He walked her out to the terrace, past a gate she hadn’t noticed before, to a landing pad where a helicopter was sitting, running.

Holy crap.

He wasn’t messing around.

He reached for her and kissed her passionately, with tongue and a grope on her bottom, catching her completely off guard based on his attitude up until that point, and then he swatted her bottom and pointed to the stairs.

“Love you. See you in a few days,” he said, “Satellite phone is in your bag if there’s an emergency. I’m programmed and I programmed a few services. Sasha has a cocktail made with my blood. Drink some every day. Wear that dagger. Got me?”

She nodded. “Got you. Love you, too,” she said, “Please be safe.” and then climbed the stairs, her heart sitting in her stomach.

Sasha and Kyle were in the plane.

Kyla had buckled up beside Sasha and looked out the window, watching Tristan stand there, as the plane took off.Now it was three days later and she didn’t know much of what was happening, really. Sasha had been in touch with Sam and Tristan as well and had told Kyla that both Jonathan and Lucian had been successfully woken and that Jonathan and Taryn were currently holed up, together, in a cottage on the property.

Together. Yup. Kyla found that to be some interesting and juicy information.

Lucian was in a holding cell. Re-daggered. Bad guy. No one knew much yet but they were sure that more investigation needed to happen to figure out why he was in that pit as well as what should be done about him.

Sasha said that Sergey, Tristan, and Sam were due back to the island the following day.

She’d been sleeping in Sasha’s guest room and she’d been sad. She’d played the events of the previous few days over and over in her mind and part of her was worried not just that he was going to the dark side but that he’d stay there.

What they’d been through had a profound impact on them both, but particularly him, since she’d been catatonic for days after what’d happened in Adrian’s lab.

But even with what’d happened before that, the miscarriage, being separated, all the fears and uncertainties, all of it… she knew she loved him with all of her heart and felt so lucky to have this man to share her life with.

My prince.

She missed him from the minute she’d gotten on the plane. And she knew that bond or no bond, light or dark, blue or black, she wanted to be in this for the long haul, completely present, being everything he wanted in a woman. Wanting to give him babies. Wanting to make the house on the island a home. Wanting nothing but that right now, wanting it so badly she was aching for it.

She could give him babies for the next few decades, lots of babies, and then maybe she could get her degree, open a business, build houses and dig wells in Kenya, do an eco-tour, do something else, knowing they had a big beautiful family together to enrich their lives together.

On a positive note, her period had stopped. It’d only lasted until the day she’d gotten here. She was looking forward to baby-making. She knew that this was partly due to the bond they had but in her mind she didn’t care if it was hormone-driven, couldn’t wait to see the fruit of their togetherness, of their love.

On a not-so-positive note, on the third evening she started to get itchy. Withdrawals.

Tristan had given Sasha a blood sample before they’d left and Sasha had mixed it the way she generally did for the women on the island that were being fed small doses of Kyle’s blood. She called it micro-dosing and said it was a small amount that was added to grape juice but that she’d hoped that it’d buy them the few days until Tristan was back. She hadn’t been feeding from him long enough to have any sort of stamina for blood fasting yet.