Night's Honor

TWENTY

Tess slept for over thirty hours. When she woke up, she felt incredible. All of the myriad aches and pains she had accumulated over the last several weeks had vanished completely. She felt healthy, strong, fit and energetic.

Wow.

She rolled over to find Xavier sprawled on his stomach, fast asleep. Somehow he managed to take up most of the bed, while she had moved over to the edge of the mattress.

The discovery made her smile. She studied him with a drowsy kind of glee—it was the first time she had ever had the opportunity to watch him sleep.

His hair tumbled about his head and shoulders, the dark, glossy length shadowing his sleeping face. He had the gift that nature gave some men, ridiculously lush, long eyelashes that brushed his skin. His graceful, lean form disguised how defined his musculature was. Now she saw him nude, she could tell how much work had gone into the strength in his back and shoulders. He had flung one arm along the bed, as if he reached out to her.

From the terrifying monster she had first seen on the mezzanine level at the Vampyre’s Ball, he had grown truly beautiful to her. She could no longer connect to the person she had been then, and she didn’t want to.

She was tempted to take his hand but refrained. While she wanted to touch him, she didn’t want to disturb him. Instead, she slipped out of bed and went exploring in his walk-in closet. When she discovered a terry-cloth robe she quite liked, she slipped it on and went in search of food.

She found the kitchen by trial and error, and there she discovered Raoul sitting at a large, country-style table with several strangers. Outside two large windows, late afternoon sunlight shone on a well-tended, colorful garden.

Overcome with self-consciousness, she started to back away from the doorway, but it was too late. They had seen her.

Chairs scraped across the floor as they all shot to their feet. Raoul was the quickest. He strode over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Remarkably moved by the gesture and somewhat uncomfortable, she patted his back awkwardly.

He pulled back, his face tense. “How is he?”

“He’s wonderful,” she said.

When she heard herself, she turned scarlet, but nobody gave her a chance to dwell on it for long. They were much too relieved, and they laughed, all these strangers who cared about her Xavier so much, so she relaxed and let Raoul pull her to the table, where she sat.

Eduardo, the cook, piled a huge plate of delicious seafood crepes in front of her. She met all eight of Xavier’s attendants who lived in San Francisco—Foster, Xavier’s secretary, Russell, the estate manager, Sergio, Jaime, Sidney, Ciaran and Mika.

“I’m not going to remember whose name goes with which face,” she said around a mouthful of creamy lobster. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay, nobody expects you to,” Raoul said. “There’s plenty of time for you to get to know everybody.”

He shooed everybody else out, and they went reluctantly, although Eduardo tried to insist he needed to stay in the kitchen to serve her more food. When they were gone, the tension between Tess’s shoulders eased somewhat.

“Better?” Raoul asked.

She gave him a grateful smile. “Yeah.”

He settled back in his chair. While she thought he might pelt her with questions, he didn’t. Instead, he watched her polish off the huge plate of food in silence.

Today, although he still didn’t look anywhere near seventy, he showed more of his age than usual. The way the lighting touched him showed the faint lines on his face and how the short hair at his temples was almost white.

Gradually the quiet in the kitchen sank in, and she sighed. When she pushed her plate away, he nodded to it. “Would you like more?”

“No, thanks, I’m stuffed.” She pulled her cup of coffee toward her and cradled it between her hands, savoring the warmth.

“I brought you a couple changes of clothes,” he told her.

“Thanks,” she said again. She searched his face. “Are . . . we okay?”

“Do you mean you and me?” he asked.

She nodded.

He gave her a smile that deepened the lines at the corners of his face. “We’re far better than okay. I’m really proud of you, Tess. You stepped up so much more than I thought you might. Thank you for caring about him, and for saving his life.”

So, okay. That happened.

She finally got Raoul’s approval when she wasn’t looking.

She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face, but it twisted and turned insouciant. “Well, I didn’t do it for you,” she said.

His smile turned into a grin. “But I’m grateful, all the same.”

She nodded and examined the contents of her coffee cup. “I sort of fell in love with him. I don’t want to talk about it.”

He burst out laughing. “I promise, it’s okay.”

“We’re going to work out a definition of it, together.” She looked at him sidelong and clocked the expression on his face. “Yeah, I don’t know what that means, either.”

He cocked his head. “I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about it.”

Her shoulders crept up toward her ears. “I’m just saying. We agreed I’m coming back to the estate, and I’m going to continue lessons with you. That’s all I know.”

“You made the blood offering, didn’t you?”

The memory of Xavier biting her while they tangled in bed seared her mind, and she angled her face away quickly to hide how her cheeks darkened. She nodded.

He laughed again, quietly. “Good for you. And I can’t wait to see how you move on the training floor now. You’ll be so much faster. I’m going to teach you good things.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” She glanced back at him and grinned. “Now I might get a real chance at beating you someday.”

“Not for a long time,” he said gently. “But you’re very welcome to keep trying.”

She sobered. “Is there any news about . . . well, anything?”

He sat forward and propped his elbows on the table, sobering as well. “Julian has gone after Justine, and Evenfall is on lockdown. Nobody goes in, nobody comes out. The demesne is under martial law, which essentially means none of the heads of Vampyre houses can travel farther than ten miles from their homes on pain of death. That applies to Justine too.”

She felt her eyes widen. “How long will martial law be in effect?”

“Not long—at most a week or two.” He looked grim. “Since there was an attack on one of Julian’s progeny, who is also a senior member of the Nightkind government, right now, Julian can justify martial law, but it can’t last. The elder Vampyres will comply, but only up to a point. Right now we have a criminal on the loose, but if Julian doesn’t find Justine soon and if the elder Vampyres revolt, there’ll be civil war.”

Xavier’s voice came from the doorway. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Both Raoul and Tess turned and rose to their feet. Xavier had dressed in the most casual outfit she’d ever seen him wear, jeans and a soft gray, cotton shirt, and he had brushed and tied his hair back.

She held back as Raoul stepped forward to hug Xavier fiercely. After returning the hug, Xavier stepped toward Tess to give her a kiss. She saw with concern that he moved stiffly, without his usual grace, but his mouth on hers was firm and warm.

As he pulled back, he paused to look deep into her eyes, his expression warm and intimate. Gazing back, she saw the full knowledge of what they had done together, and an internal glow lit her from within.

He turned to Raoul. “Close up the town house until further notice. It’s just a precaution, but I would feel better doing it, at least until things blow over. Everyone based here can either take a month’s vacation, as long as they go out of state, or they can come back to the estate with us. Now that the five recruits are gone, we’ve got more space available.” He didn’t mention Marc, and neither did Raoul or Tess. “We can use the bedrooms in the main house, and of course, the guesthouse. There’s also Tess’s bedroom in the attendants’ house.” He looked at Tess. “You’ll stay with me.”

Maybe she should have bristled at being told what to do, but she was too happy to see him on his feet and being decisive, and besides, he was telling her to do what she wanted to do anyway, so she kept her mouth shut and simply nodded.

“It might get a little cozy.” Raoul gave a very Gallic-looking shrug and winked at Tess. “But nobody will mind. After all, we’re family.”

Family.

The word kept her warm, as she gathered up the bag Raoul had packed for her and went to shower and dress. To a person, all the attendants based in San Francisco chose to come back to the estate, and for several hours there was a flurry of activity as people packed and closed up the property. As a final touch, all the metal shutters were extended, so that the house was locked tight as a drum.

Tess pitched in and helped wherever she could. She got to see glimpses of the town house as she did so, and it was just as gracious and beautiful as the estate. Aside from the basement level, which held Xavier’s master suite and another capacious wine cellar, the house was really a mansion that was three stories tall.

Everyone was welcoming and friendly, but it was still a lot to take in, and she couldn’t help but think of how overwhelming it had been when she’d first started work at the casino.

This was so much better. This was worlds better. She would get used to it, and get to know everyone in time.

Xavier disappeared into an office, and he didn’t emerge until night had fallen, and everyone had jammed their things into a cavalcade of four SUVs.

When he reappeared, he was still moving stiffly, but he seemed so much better than he had been previously. As Tess stood still and gazed at him, she was overcome with a ferocious feeling that shook through her entire body.

“Is everything all right?” He raised an eyebrow in mild inquiry.

She couldn’t say what she was feeling out loud. Telepathically, she said, I understand you might need more blood than I can give you, but let’s get one thing straight. You are never going to bite a young, attractive woman, ever again.

His expression lit with utter joy.

And perhaps with a bit of laughter, but mostly, she chose to focus on the joy.

I promise you, querida, he murmured in a low, dark voice that was better than all the chocolate in the world, and all the brandy too. Never again.

When she let out a pent-up breath, he drew her into his arms, and as he hugged her, he rocked her ever so slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Eduardo and Foster grinning at each other, but she ignored them easily enough by closing her eyes and tucking her face into Xavier’s neck.

It was probably wrong to be so happy when so much of the demesne was in upheaval, but what was a girl to do. She couldn’t deny any of her feelings. They were too new, too surprising and wonderful.

Too necessary.

They left as a group, and the journey to the estate was uneventful. Tess and Xavier rode with Raoul, who drove. On the way, Raoul asked, “Is there any further news?”

“No, nothing of substance. Diego received a five hundred thousand dollar deposit the day after Melisande and Justine spent the night at the estate. Forensic accountants traced the money back to an offshore bank account.”

Raoul swore under his breath, and Tess knew how he felt. While they already knew Diego had been bribed, it was chilling to discover exactly the amount that had turned him.

“No word from Julian?” Tess asked.

Xavier rubbed his face. “Nothing. He’ll be in touch when he can. There’s nothing else for us to do but sit tight and wait.”

They fell silent during the last of the trip. As they pulled onto the final stretch of road that followed the coast, along the edge of the forest, the scene was filled with an unearthly kind of beauty. Moonlight illuminated the entire night sky, and the dark, sparkling ocean stretched to infinity.

When the gates to the estate opened wide and Raoul drove them through, Tess grew teary.

She had lived in a variety of houses, with other people’s families, but now, for the first time in her life, she came home.

When they parked, everyone poured out of the vehicles, and the people who had been waiting on the estate—Jordan, Peter, Angelica and Enrique—came out to greet the newcomers with hugs.

Xavier was the center of most of the attention. Tess smiled to see how relieved and glad the others were to see him.

She was immensely surprised and touched when Angelica turned to give her a hug. “Raoul filled us in on everything,” Angelica said in her ear. “I told you, you were a good kid. I’m glad you’re back safe and sound.”

“Thank you,” Tess said, returning the hug. “It’s good to be back.”

After the first flurry of activity was over, Raoul pointed a finger at Xavier. “You’re done for the day. Go to bed. Doctor’s orders.”

Xavier narrowed his eyes, and for a moment, the imperious aristocrat showed in his expression. But he did look pale and tired.

Tess put a hand on his arm. She said, “Please.”

He relented. “Very well.”

Taking her hand, he brought her along with him. She walked alongside him through the house. There, she glimpsed the formal dining room where the place settings were still laid out, along with the books Xavier had told her to read. And there, on the other side of the hall, was the jewel of the beautiful house, the shadowed, empty ballroom, waiting for people and music to fill it.

She had only glanced in that direction, as she had fully expected they would go upstairs to Xavier’s master suite, but unexpectedly, Xavier veered away from the stairs and tugged her into the ballroom.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I couldn’t resist,” he told her. “I’ve been wanting to get back here ever since we left.”

“Me too.”

He opened his arms and she walked into them, sighing as he pulled her close. His cheek came down on her hair, and she nestled her face into his neck.

I’m in love, she thought.

With a Vampyre.

There were issues—my God, there were issues.

Setting aside political unrest and assassination attempts, the age difference alone was enough to make her eyes cross.

Xavier would never grow old, while she would, and didn’t you know, something about that would have to change eventually. And while the medieval Spanish nobleman in him was unutterably charming, she had already butted heads with him, and would do so again.

She tried to get scared, but she just couldn’t manage it. He felt too strong in her arms, too stable. If there was any time in her life she was going to voluntarily place a bet on something, it would be now, on Xavier.

On them.

He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “You aren’t by any chance trying to run away in your head again, are you? Because if you are, you know what will happen.”

“You’ll come after me,” she whispered back.

“I will always come after you.” His arms tightened. “We have barely begun, and there are too many good things ahead of us.”

“I’m a little intimidated by everything,” she told him. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

She heard the smile in his voice. “Because you never run when you’re scared.”

“Damn straight.” But despite her strong words, her shoulders tensed. Thinking of Malphas, she amended, “Unless that’s the smartest thing to do.”

“Ssh, querida.” He rubbed her back. “Listen.”

At first she thought he meant to say something else, and she waited for him to speak, but he remained silent.

Gradually, she grew aware of sounds coming from another part of the house. Voices, talking together, and a burst of laughter. She caught a glimpse of others outside, carrying luggage to the attendants’ house, and she realized the strength of the community that surrounded them.

“Do you hear it?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.” She rubbed her cheek against the soft cotton of his shirt.

“I have faith that everything will be all right,” he told her. “I might have been broken before, but I never lost my faith.”

She lifted her head and looked into his shadowed gaze. “I believe you.”

He cocked his head and gave her a teasing smile. “Before we head upstairs, shall we try to waltz for ninety seconds?”

Something light and buoyant bubbled up inside. She said, “Oh, why the hell not?”

Looking very tired now, but immensely pleased with himself, he clasped her in the correct position, at the precise distance, and she took his hand and placed her fingertips on his shoulder.

He said under his breath, “One-two-three, one-two-three. . . .”

When he nodded to her, she stepped backward.