Raven's Blood Page 26

Chapter Twenty-One

  Norah gave Connor a warm smile when she saw him standing on her front porch. “Long time no see. Where’s your nymph? I still haven’t met her, and I hear she’s something else.”

  “I got a sitter,” Connor said as he pushed her into the house and kissed her.

  As always, Norah was warm and welcoming. She never turned him away. He’d never deluded himself into thinking it was because she loved him. They’d known each other since childhood. During their teens they’d experimented with sex together. Neither had been virgins, but they’d both wanted to know what it was like with someone who actually cared about you. It had been easy and fun, and they‘d always been friends. That had ended when Norah had met the love of her life. After his death, she’d found her way back to Connor. She needed the physical part without the complications. She needed a friend. That was what Connor needed now to get rid of this ache Raven caused in him.

  There was just one problem . . .

  Norah pushed on Connor’s chest until he pulled back. “It’s not exactly flattering to have a guy come in with an erection and lose it when he touches me.”

  Connor was annoyed to realize she was right. He’d been painfully aroused all morning, but now he had nothing. Then he felt guilty. “I’m sorry,” he said and hugged her.

  She hugged him back and smiled into his shoulder. “I felt the same way with you right after I met Rand.”

  He jerked back. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Nothing everyone else isn’t already saying,” she told him with a laugh. “You’re so hot for the wood nymph, you can’t stand being away from her. From what I hear, you stick close to her as much as possible.”

  “What choice do I have?” he asked. “You know I can’t let her go or I’ll look weak. I have to guard her, because there are plenty of people here who want to hurt her. Some would do it to get at me. Others hate her because she lived with humans for so long.”

  “She might have had a bunch of enemies when she first got here but not now. Sure, there are still some who don’t like her, but they don’t want to hurt her. I’ve talked to a lot of people about her. She’s big news. Even Ian seems to be warming up to her, and he hates just about everyone.”

  Connor sighed. That was all true. Raven was fitting in well. She didn’t seem to realize it, but most of the vampires liked her. The parents all loved her because of how good she was with their kids at school. The others liked her for answering their questions so easily. “I still can’t let her go.”

  “With the blood bond, you could leave her with someone else all day. You could even let her live with someone else,” Norah argued. “You don’t have to watch her. Why not just leave her at Jack and Muriel’s? I hear she and Muriel are good friends. You could also let her stay with Shelby and Carla. According to them, they consider her one of their closest friends. Any of them could keep her safe.”

  “She stays with me,” Connor insisted.

  “I think that proves my point,” she gloated, giving him a playful swat on his shoulder. “So, what are you gonna do about it?”

  “Nothing,” he replied. “Raven hates me. Everyone else gets sweet smiles, I get frowns.”

  She laughed at him. “Oh, did the big bad vampire get his feelings hurt?” she teased in a mock baby voice. Then she laughed even harder when he scowled at her. “You look like a pouty little boy. I doubt she hates you, but can you blame her for not welcoming you with open arms? You took her captive, and then you collared her. As if that wasn’t bad enough, you forced her into a blood bond. You took away any hope she had of returning to her old life.”

  “She volunteered!” he insisted. “I planned to let those humans go. She’s the one who opened her big mouth and volunteered to take their place. It was a stupid move on her part. The same thing with the blood bond. I wouldn’t have let Ian keep the woman and her kids. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut.”

  “She had no way of knowing any of that. What would you have done if your people had been in danger?” she asked.

  Connor sighed. “Fine, I see your point. I would’ve done the same thing. I can’t deny she’s brave. Hell, she saved my life.”

  “Do tell,” Norah pushed, sitting and patting the spot on the sofa beside her.

  Connor sat down and smiled at the memory. “We got cornered by about a dozen turned vamps when I took her out alone to commune with nature.”

  “They snuck up on you?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I was thinking with my dick. I was so caught up in Raven, I wasn’t paying attention. I thought we had the area swept clean, but apparently, I was wrong. I figured it would be easier for me to fight without trying to protect Raven at the same time, so I sent her off.”

  “Sent her off?” Norah asked. “How could she have gone anywhere if you were surrounded?”

  “No joke, it seemed like the trees swallowed her up,” he explained. “She just faded into them.”

  “And you were able to fight your way out then?”

  “Nope,” he replied. “I managed to get a knife out, but I was seriously about to get torn to pieces. All of a sudden, Raven came out of the woods surrounded by a pack of wolves. She was just standing there like some warrior queen. I couldn’t have pulled off a scarier stance. Those turned vamps couldn’t get away from her fast enough.”

  Norah let out a low whistle. “Well damn, Con. I think this girl may be your perfect match.”

  “Except she hates me,” he reminded her.

  “Then why did she save your sorry ass?” she asked. “She must care at least a little or you’d be dead. She could have let those turned vamps sever your head and end her blood bond. She traded her freedom for your life, just like she traded her freedom for the lives of her friends.”

  Connor felt awed and humbled by that realization once more. He still couldn’t believe she’d done it.

  “She’s too good for me.”

  “Without a doubt,” Norah agreed. “Rand was too good for me. Muriel is much too good for Jack.”

  Connor stood and pulled her to her feet, wrapping her in his arms. “You’re still my best friend.”

  “Ditto,” she said. “I want to meet her. I know you haven’t let me because you didn’t want her to know we were sleeping together. Now we aren’t, so you have no excuse.”

  “Fine,” he relented. “I’ll bring her by soon. She’s probably in a foul mood after dealing with my temper.”

  Connor stayed to visit with Norah a little longer, but it wasn’t easy. He was anxious to get back to Raven. Finally, Norah laughed at his inattention and kicked him out of her house.