Page 3 of Luca’s Magic Embrace

Sydney jumped back, startled at the bloodlust in Luca’s eyes. He was dangerous. Hungry. She thought she must look like water in the desert to him. Heeding Kade’s order, she ran inside to see what she could do to help.

Dominique intervened, helping Kade to restrain Luca. “Fuck, what the hell happened to him?” Dominique questioned.

“He was silvered, starved. Possibly tortured. Not sure what all they did yet. But I know they got his blood. There were needles all over the damn place,” he spat out. So many years had passed since he’d been turned. At times, he was astonished by how little progress humanity had achieved. Evil, hate and torture still beat strong within the hearts of so many. How could they have done this to him?

He sighed wearily. “Sydney’s blood is making him crazy. We need to get him inside. Where are Xavier and Étienne? Do we have donors?” Kade held tight onto Luca while trying to move him slowly out of the SUV. Luca was still in no condition to walk and he’d be damned if he’d chance letting him loose.

“They’re on their way. I have a room prepared upstairs. I can help carry him,” she said, looking around to make sure Sydney was gone. Like Kade, she could not trust Luca not to attack her. They had human donors waiting upstairs, and they would monitor the feeding closely so Luca didn’t end up draining them.

“Where’s Sydney?” Kade asked.

Dominique looked around. “It seems your woman had enough sense to make herself scarce when he looked at her like she was lobster dinner. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. It isn’t her first time at the vamp rodeo.”

“I know. It’s just that she’s not used to seeing Luca like this. Neither am I.” He shook his head. Seeing Luca in such an animalistic state would serve as a reminder to Sydney that she was marrying into this lifestyle. He needed to find her and make sure that she was all right.

Kade easily lifted Luca, with his arms under Luca’s neck and the crook under his knees. Luca’s eyes were wide open, yet he wasn’t speaking. Kade wasn’t sure if Luca understood what was happening as he took him upstairs to the guest bedroom. Dominique motioned Kade into the bathroom, where she had a bath filled with warm water. “Kade, over here. The warm water will help get his body temp back up.”

Kade placed Luca’s emaciated naked body into the warm, soapy water. “Shit,” he said as water sloshed over the sides of the tub and all over the floor. Without even taking the time to undress, Kade carefully climbed into the tub and lay next to Luca so he could hold him still while he fed. Deeply concerned about Luca’s state, he waved over at Dominique. “Where’s the donor? We need him now!” he commanded.

She pointed at a shirtless, twenty-something male who was waiting in the bedroom. “You, over here, on your knees by the tub.”

“Yes ma’am,” said the donor as he willingly and quickly complied with her demand, and held out his arm. Donors were easy to come by these days. They signed up at blood clubs, hoping to experience a sexual encounter with a vampire. At the very least, they hoped to be chosen for a bite, knowing the orgasmic properties that could be granted by the vampire.

Issacson Securities, Kade’s company, had contracted with Sanguine Services to procure donors when needed. Dominique had called in advance to procure a couple of strong males who would be able to provide enough blood for Luca. She just hoped the blood would be enough to bring Luca back from his atrophied state. She had never seen a vampire so far gone and wasn’t convinced they could save him. But she didn’t want to cause Kade further worry, so she kept her reservations to herself.

Dominique gently took the donor’s wrist and flashed him a quick smile. “Hey there, what’s your name?” she asked.

“Milo,” he obediently replied.

“Okay, listen, Milo. This person here; he’s a good friend of mine. His name is Luca. He hasn’t eaten in days, so this might be a little rough at first but I promise you will be safe.” She hoped he would, anyway.

Kade tried reaching out mentally to Sydney to tell her to stay away. Their telepathic connection was in its infancy, but short of yelling for her, he needed to send some kind of warning to stay away from Luca. Sensing she was in the house but not near, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to get started. He nodded at Dominique to begin.

Dominique brought Milo’s wrist to her finely-painted, coral-colored lips. Her tongue darted out, licking his sensitive inner wrist. She resisted the urge to play with her food, knowing that Luca needed blood as soon as possible. Expeditiously, her razor-sharp fangs pierced his flesh; he moaned aloud, sexually excited by her bite.

Leaning over to Luca’s lips, with the donor’s wrist in her mouth, she seamlessly transferred Milo’s bleeding wrist from her mouth to Luca’s. Another loud groan of excitement resounded along the granite-tiled walls as Luca began to voraciously feed.

Kade had his arms locked around Luca’s upper body, preventing him from making any violent attack on the donor. “That’s it my friend. Drink. You’ll be fine, and we’ll find out who did this to you,” he said, looking directly into Luca’s eyes. He could tell Luca was starting to become fully conscious, but he still couldn’t tell if Luca’s cognition was stable. Their mental connection was still severed.

A loud groan emanated from Milo, indicating sexual release. Dominique had already readied the second donor as Kade pulled Milo away from Luca. They were very careful to ensure that Luca did not kill the donors. Luca latched onto the second donor and was starting to regain color, warmth. Despite being close to getting enough blood, something wasn’t right with Luca.

Kade released Luca as he pushed the second donor away. Luca again closed his eyes as his physique appeared to regenerate before their eyes. Kade climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel as Xavier and Étienne entered the bathroom. “Nice of you to join us. Please attend to the donors and make sure they get safely home,” he said as he rubbed his hair vigorously with the towel, annoyed that they’d just arrived at the mansion.

“Sorry we’re late, Kade. Downtown traffic is a bitch this time of night,” Étienne explained. “He’s looking well, no?”

“Looks can be deceiving. Something’s not right. Our mental connection’s shut down. He isn’t verbally responding either. But he’s had quite enough vampire and human blood to bring him back physically.” Kade was worried about Luca.

Xavier leaned down and touched Luca’s head. “Mon ami, what happened to you?” Xavier tried reaching for him mentally and also failed to contact him. “I see what you mean. Do you know what’s going on? He’s here but not here.”

“Not sure. Perhaps he needs time to rest. For now, let’s get moving, people. Get the donors out of here.” He looked over at Dominique. She had a single, blood-red tear running down her beautiful face.

“Dominique, look at me,” he ordered. She complied, meeting his eyes. “Luca will heal. Finish bathing him, and get him to bed. Watch over him until I return. I’m going to call a doctor, and I need to find Sydney. She may be able to help him...”

“But how, Kade? Look at him…he’s not responding to us,” she cried.

“Trust me. I’ve been around a very long time. I know what needs to be done, even if I’m not happy about it.”

Sydney could not stop thinking about what had just happened outside of the car. Luca and Sydney had had a rough start. Because she was human, which equated to weak and vulnerable in his eyes, he hadn’t been happy about her working with them on the Voodoo murder case. But they had forged a deep friendship during battle. Sydney was a hardened detective from Philadelphia, so she’d seen most of the worst the world could dish out. But it didn’t stop the pain in her heart from seeing a friend injured. Nor did it stop the surprise she felt seeing the look in his eyes. She could feel the pull of him mentally, wanting to feed from her.