No. Aidan’s voice was strong in its protest, but only in her mind. She realized he was too weak to attempt speech. It is too dangerous. I would kill him. I cannot take from Stefan.
She believed him. It was in the purity, the honesty of his voice. It was in the alarm in his heart and soul, his mind a raging protest. “No, Stefan, you drive. Aidan refuses to allow you to donate, so I guess it’ll have to be me.” She brushed back Aidan’s hair again with gentle fingers. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, right? I can donate but not Stefan. Don’t say no; it isn’t as if you haven’t helped yourself before. Just do it, and don’t argue with me, or I might lose my sweet nature. And my courage, she added silently to herself.
I am not certain you will be safe.
Big deal. I told you, I don’t have a lot to lose. This really isn’t my kind of life. Go for it, Aidan. Just don’t hurt me, okay?
Never, cara, he assured her. It took both Stefan and Alexandria to get him into the car.
His face was gray and etched with pain, but he didn’t make a sound until they had him settled with his head cradled in her lap. “The spilled blood must be destroyed,” he said. Only Alexandria caught the words. He was so weak, he could barely whisper.
“He wants you to clean away the rest of the blood, Stefan.” Her heart was beating fast. This was it. She would die this night, giving her life for this man. She didn’t know what he was, only that he was the most courageous being she had ever known. She wasn’t certain that what she believed about him was true, or that she even liked him, but this was right. She knew it in her deepest soul.
Stefan swore softly. “We are bound to be seen, the longer we stay,” he groused, but he hastily went back to the gas can he had left for the investigators and set to work on the pools of blood. It was necessary to remove any trace of Aidan’s participation in the battle, and they had little time to do so.
Alexandria laid her head over Aidan’s. “You can’t wait. Do it now. But promise me you will always look after Joshua. That this insane life will never touch him. Promise me.”
Always, cara mia. The voice in her mind was faint, and she knew they didn’t have much time.
She felt his hand move first. His fingers stroked the slim column of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. His fingers parted the buttons of the silk shirt, his shirt, covering her bare skin. The brush of his knuckles against the soft swell of her breasts sent flames licking through her blood. She relaxed into him, arching even closer so that his warm breath touched the pulse over her beating heart. The touch of his teeth scraping gently, erotically over her skin sent liquid heat pooling in her body, producing a heavy, unfamiliar ache.
She made a sound, a soft moan, as white-hot heat exploded through her when his teeth pierced her skin and sank deep. She cradled his head to her, drowsy with contentment, offering herself up to him. It was a sensual experience, her blood flowing into his body, replenishing damaged cells and tissue, warming cold muscles, bringing him life.
She could feel strength building in him even as it slowly flowed from her. It was like a hazy, erotic dream. And then he was in her mind, murmuring softly, seductively, words of love, words she had never heard, ancient, beautiful sounds. The car was moving, a vague swaying adding to the surreal timelessness.
Stefan drove the car up close to the side door and ran to lock the heavy iron gates behind them, nervously checking the skies. When he returned to the car, he was shocked to find that the situation in the back seat had changed so dramatically. Now it was Aidan sitting upright and alert, covered in blood but his color returned, while Alexandria lay motionless, gray-faced, like one dead. She looked small and lost in Aidan’s arms, almost like a child.