Truth in Legends [Part Three of the Thicker than Blood Series] Read online

  It wasn't like me to faint, but I had. When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into pools of liquid caramel. Alex delicately stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “Hello there,” he said softly and smiled.

  When I realized I was lying on the big sofa in Alex's home, I gasped, remembering what just happened. “That... you...,” I mumbled while attempting to sit up and saw stars again.

  “Easy,” Alex said, gently pushing me to lay back.

  “How long was I out?” I managed to ask.

  “Only a few moments.”

  I turned my head and stared hard at Alex. He had put his black shirt back on but it wasn't buttoned up all the way – I could still see the muscles of his chest. He was a fallen angel. Those enormous black wings... I squeezed my eyes shut. How could this be possible? If he had simply told me, I never would have believed him. “If you are a fallen angel,” I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth, “does that mean... uh, that you're a demon?” I held my breath waiting for his answer, although I was afraid of it.

  Alex turned and sat with his back against the sofa. “No, I'm not a demon. Although, the man cornering you earlier today was.” He sighed. “I suppose I owe you a story.”

  I was finally about to get the answers I was after... but in light of the recent revelations – angels and demons – I wasn't sure if I was ready for them. I wasn't sure I'd be able to sleep again as it was.

  “This is all my fault. Only if you...,” Alex started but didn't finish the thought. “My real name is Azariah. A very long time ago, I was one of God's original archangels, along with Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Jeremiel, Saraiel and Lucifer.” He paused a moment. “When Lucifer told me of his plan to take heaven for himself, I didn't think anything of it. He asked me to join him but I told him he was being ridiculous. Lucifer had always been somewhat selfish and arrogant.” The man I knew as Alex stared off in thought. “I was wrong though, very wrong. I later admitted knowing Lucifer's plan and I was punished for not reporting it. They tossed me out of heaven and forward into time. I found myself in 1463 in what is now Romania. I was lost. I had no idea what to do as a quazi-human. I wandered around for a week when I met the duke of the area I was in and I... convinced him that I was his long lost son. Over the next year or two, one of my adoptive father's servants taught me about being human; manners and such.”

  After a long silence, he continued. “I owed her so much. She was so beautiful...,” he shook his head, looking down to the floor. “I fell in love. We were married soon after. I would have done anything for her just to see her smile. She was bewitching.” Sadness darkened his features as he looked down.

  My stomach twisted in hearing that Alex was married and was so deeply in love.

  “She was a widow and had a son, Peter, that I loved as my own. We were happy.” A slight smile turned his lips.

  “Until we were attacked by the cruel and ruthless Ottoman Empire. I was away in France when it happened. Ilona... she jumped from the window to avoid capture... and died on the rocks below. I... came home and discovered her body.” A tear escaped Alex's eye, making a slow trail down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and cleared his throat. “After that, it was hazy... I don't remember much. Unfortunately, my wrath spawned the vampire legends of today and my adoptive father's name of Drăculești to forever be associated with my actions.”

  Staring at the back of his head, it suddenly all came together. I gasped. “Wait... you're...” Did he mean what I thought? “Dracula?”

  “The simplified version of my adopted name,” he nodded.

  “And Vlad the Impaler,” I said almost to myself.

  Alex cringed and took a deep breath, his head bowing to the floor. “Yes. That was me.”

  “I'm... I... wow. I'm sorry.”

  He shrugged. “After I had my revenge, I spent two years searching for Peter, but could not find him. He was ten years old the last time I saw him.” Alex put his hands around his knees and laced his fingers together. “After that, I moved to northern Italy, changed my name and became a doctor. I've been Alessandro Amante since then. I moved to the United States not long after your Civil War. I met another fallen then... he was also a doctor. We stayed in touch and I only recently moved here because he told me of the increase in demon activity.”

  My head swam in the knowledge that there was truth in legends. “Alex... do I still call you that?” It was the only thing I could think to ask in light of his story.

  He nodded. “Please do.”

  I sat up, hanging my legs over next to Alex. Dr. Amante had become an open book and I sat there, fighting to find a question to ask. “Why did you bite me?” My words came out with a little more bitterness than I expected as my hand went to my neck.

  He hung his head in guilt. “To feel your emotions, to taste your life.”

  “My life?”

  He nodded. “Tasting someone's blood enables us to feel the emotions of another. We aren't dependent on blood, like the vampire myths imply, but some choose to feast on blood instead of food. While I was wanting to feel your emotions while you were with me, other fallen like to feel human anxiety, fear... they get off on human terror.”

  “Do only fallen angels bite?”

  “No. Archangels could indulge, but none of them would ever stoop so low as to touch a mortal.”

  “Demons don't?”

  “No, they have other ways of getting into human's minds.”

  Alex stood and sat next to me. He tenderly lifted my hair from my neck and studied the bite mark. “If I would have told you what I was going to do, I could have helped you relax and it would have been pleasurable to you. Healing would have occurred almost instantly.”

  I turned my head slightly towards him. “What...” There was no way for that to be possible, even if he was a fallen angel.

  “As it is, it's almost healed completely now.” He smiled. “Would you like to see, nurse?”

  Alex was right on. It was my nursing instincts that made me oh-so curious about instantaneous healing. Even so, I looked skeptically at him. It had hurt like a bitch before, why would now be any different?

  “I know you're afraid that it will hurt but it won't.”

  “I think you are full of shit.”

  Grinning, Alex looked at me thoughtfully. “My, you certainly have a mouth on you, my dear.”

  My eyes narrowed to slits. I wanted to give him an excuse for my foul language, but I had none. “Yeah, but I don't go around biting people with mine.”

  He flinched and looked away for a moment. “Yes you do, only you use words.”

  I inhaled sharply. My words bit him. “Oh.” I guess he was right. I wanted to blame my environment on my foul mouth, but because I could control it when I wanted to, I was to blame.

  Alex stood and took my hand and pulled gently. “Come, let me show you.”

  I remained seated, not wanting to budge from the cushion. “Alex... I'm afraid.” Wow. Did I say that? I felt a little pride in myself for admitting my fear.

  “I know, but please, trust me?” He pleaded with his eyes.

  A fallen angel... Vlad the Impaler... Dracula himself was asking me to trust him. While my brain was screaming at me to run from him and never turn back, something overrode the thought – something deeper. Was it the influence of an angel? I stood. “Fine, show me, Azariah,” I heard myself say.

  “You were listening.” He smiled back at me as he led me to the dining room. Flipping on the lights, Alex brought me to the large mirror on the other side of the ornate, mahogany table. Coming to stand behind me, he caught
my eyes in the mirror. He gently brushed my hair away from my neck, revealing the reddened bite mark he left earlier... but it looked almost healed.

  “How is that possible? It should look terrible.”

  He smiled over my shoulder. “As I said, but this time, it will go away within seconds.” He placed a lingering kiss on my skin. I started to tremble in anticipation of pain.

  “Relax,” he whispered hoarsely. Alex kissed my neck again.

  “Easy for you to say...,” I laughed nervously, watching him in the mirror.

  Lips brushing my skin, his tongue worked in soft little circles. I closed my eyes and sighed.

  Alex's hands came to my hips and he squeezed lightly. Everything around me was fading away except Alex. His mouth was the center of the universe. “That's it, love. Lose yourself in this pleasure.”

  His left hand traced slowly up my back and stopped on my neck. His touch ignited every cell in my body as I felt I was turning into a human furnace.

  When deep pressure and almost intoxicating pleasure came from Alex's kiss, I opened my eyes. I gasped and shuddered at what I saw. Alex's mouth was on my neck, a trickle of blood traced down my skin below his lips. His irises were totally black – his eyes focused on mine. I could feel him pulling blood from my veins, but it felt... amazing. It was like every vessel in my body was being stroked and loved at the same time. His tongue gently bathed my skin as he separated from me. If he'd continued much longer, I would have climaxed right there with just that touch.

  “Look,” he said softly.

  I had to force myself to concentrate on my reflection. The wound wasn't open, instead, it was pink and even that color was subsiding quickly. In just a few seconds, it was gone, leaving no trace of what happened.

  I slowly shook my head. I was speechless.

  “You taste... amazing. It felt good, didn't it.” He wasn't asking a question.

  “Alex... I've never... that was so... so erotic.”

  He pulled my body to his, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I could feel his hardness pressing into my flesh. “Wait until I take from you,” he said, his breath warm in my ear, “as we make love...”

  Oh my God. My knees started to feel like jello. Never had I felt so intoxicated by a person, but I was definitely getting drunk on Alex. Er, Dracula... I mean Azariah.

  Alex took my hand and led me back into the living room, handing me the glass of wine I had been drinking from earlier. I was sure that he wanted me as much as I wanted him... How could I be so attracted to someone that I knew was capable of so much evil? No, I was attracted to him before I knew that... the rest was a terribly tragic love story. He was certainly possessive and passionate. I gave him a questioning look as I sat down. Why were we not going to the bedroom?

  He chuckled. “Enjoy your wine now, my dear. Relax. What comes next will deprive us of sleep until dawn.”

  I couldn't stop my eyes from closing as a shiver ran through my body. I ached for Alex badly and we had only kissed... well... he drank my blood. I was nothing but liquid at my core. Wine was only going to make it worse.

  Alex watched my reaction to his words and his eyes darkened slightly. He knew what he was doing to me, the bastard. He was teasing me. I took sip from my glass. “Exactly what do you think you're doing?”

  “Enjoying the company of a ravishing young lady.” He smiled, looking at me over his wine glass as he drank.

  I sat down on the sofa and clicked my tongue. “No, you're tormenting me.”

  “Am I?” He asked incredulously, as if he didn't know.

  I shook my head. “Alex.” Taking my shoes off, I curled my legs up onto the sofa next to me. “Fallen angels really are naughty.” I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and smiled.

  Alex laughed. He sat down next to me and ran a hand over my bare foot. “Perhaps.” His fingers smoothed tiny circles on my skin. “I am so taken with everything about you, Kenna. The way you feel...,” he said, slowly moving to the floor below me, looking up. “The way you look...” Alex rose to his knees, his body over mine. He brought his face to my neck and inhaled deeply. “The way you smell...” He kissed my skin delicately, sending tiny shivers right to my core. “The way you taste,” Alex murmured, continuing to kiss me. “I intend to sample every delicious curve of your body this evening.”

  Was it possible to climax just from listening to someone? I was so enraptured by Alex, his touch and his comments that I almost spilled my wine onto his back. “Alex,” I said as I tried to sit up a bit.

  “Hmmm?” He followed me, never lifting his lips from my neck.

  “I almost spilled wine on you.”

  He breathed a soft laugh. “You're supposed to be drinking it, love.”

  “You're not making it easy for me.”

  Alex sat back on his heels, smiling. “You are easy to distract.”

  I took another sip of the wine and watched him stand. When I noticed the incredible strain in the crotch of his jeans, I accidentally swallowed too much and coughed. Maybe there was something to the big hand theory. I certainly wanted to find out. Blinking hard, I looked back to the crimson fluid in my glass. There wasn't much remaining.

  Alex sat down on the sofa next to me, toying with a strand of my hair. “When do you work next?”

  “Tomorrow. Why?”

  He shrugged. “Just curious if I'd be on call when you worked.”

  I laughed. “I'm surprised you don't already know my schedule.”

  “Who's to say that I don't?”

  “Yeah, stalker,” I laughed. I finished my wine and sat the glass on the coffee table. I watched Alex, but he didn't seem to notice. He was deep in thought.

  “What?”

  Snapping out of it, he looked to my eyes. “Do I frighten you?”

  I considered his question. “No, but you should.” I laughed. “Any sane person would be terrified.” I laughed more, raising my hand to him and shrugging. “I mean, Dracula slash Vlad the Impaler himself, right?”

  Clenching his jaw, Alex looked away. “I suppose you are right.”

  Shit. That stung him. “Hey, I didn't mean -”

  He turned back suddenly, cutting me off with just a look. Whatever I had planned to say was forgotten in light of his hunger. I felt like his eyes alone would devour me... and I was ready to accept that fate.

  Alex moved closer to me in one fluid motion, capturing my mouth. I whimpered softly as his lips moved with mine; his hand gently grasped the nape of my neck. Alex pushed me back into the sofa carefully and draped his body over me. “Your wine is gone,” he breathed.

  “Uh hmm.” I opened my legs, allowing Alex to rest between them. He ground his hardness against my aching core, sending a jolt of pleasure to my toes, causing me to gasp and grip his shoulder tightly.

  “Ooh. You're sensitive,” he whispered as he continued to move against me. If he proceeded, I would shatter in only a few more seconds.

  Alex looked down into my eyes. “Do you like this?” He asked with a soft growl.

  “Yes,” I panted. I was soaking... I knew I was. I could feel it every time he moved against me.

  Lowering his mouth, Alex kissed my neck while continuing his slow grind. Everything swirled – I was quickly losing touch with my environment.

  “Alex, you're gonna make me -” And that's when he sank his teeth into my flesh. I heard myself scream, but it sounded far away. My every cell spasmed with pleasure as I came. I was aware of nothing but Alex's mouth and his body moving slowly between my thighs. I was lost in a swirling vortex of bliss.

  When I finally became aware of my surroundings, Alex was looking down at me, lightly stroking my jaw. “Hello.”

  “Hi,” I said and laughed as heat rose to my cheeks.

  “Mmmm,” he growled and kissed me. Alex stood quickly, pulling me up with him. “Not here. Come.” He lead me further into his house where we entered a dark room. Alex flipped on the light. It was his bedroom. Decorated in rich, dark colors, it was totally masculine
and totally sexy. In the middle of the room sat a giant bed dressed in thick linens. Another fireplace was located directly across from the bed.

  “You have amazing taste,” I remarked, picking up a book on his night stand. Steinbeck.

  “I'd like to think so,” Alex said while unbuttoning his shirt and tossed it onto a post of the bed. Pulling me into his arms, he tilted his head when he felt that I was trembling. “You're nervous?”

  “A little,” I said sheepishly while nodding. Who wouldn't be? He was pretty much perfect and I certainly was not. I felt like a Honda Civic parked next to a Maserati Granturismo. “Why are you with me and not some leggy supermodel?” There, I said it.

  Alex pulled away slightly and searched my eyes. “You are serious?” He looked as if I had slapped him.