Raven's Blood Page 42
Chapter Thirty-Seven
As the door to Muriel’s home closed behind her, Raven sat on the ground and wept quietly, wondering if she’d just lied to her friend. She’d assured Muriel she’d come back after warning their friends of the new danger, but she knew there was a good chance she’d never see her friend again.
She needed to pull herself together and walk back to the school before Connor came to pick her up. Her decision to see Muriel without telling Connor had been the right one, but he was on edge about her leaving already, and having to track her down would just cause undue stress on what might be her last day with him.
“Why the tears, nymph? I thought you’d be happy about leaving us?”
Her attention had been so focused on wallowing in her own self-pity she hadn’t heard his approach. Simon was leaning casually against one of the support beams for the carport, arms crossed in front of his chest, long blond hair pulled back from his face.
“What are you doing here?” Raven demanded, cringing when she realized how rude she sounded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just surprised to see you here. You don’t seem like the type to want to visit the new baby.”
He shuddered. “Yeah, I’ll pass on that. I’ve seen a vampire baby feed before. Makes me wonder why any born vampire would choose to procreate.”
She gave a weak laugh. “I guess it takes some getting used to. So, why did you come here?”
When she made no move to stand, he squatted in front of her. “Connor said he was going to pick you up from the school. I had a feeling you’d be here, so I decided to come over and have a word with you. I wanted to try one last time to talk you out of going back to your human settlement.”
“I can’t just let them die,” Raven insisted.
“If I believed they would listen to you, I wouldn’t be so worried,” he explained. “Humans in most of the settlements believe we have some mystical ability to control their minds.”
“Are you saying you don’t?”
He shook his head. “Just during feeding. I wish we could do half of what they believe. When we first opened up trade with Treasure Island, they were killing every bird they saw because someone had convinced them we could turn into birds and fly. Can you imagine believing in something like that?”
Raven shook her head, figuring it not be the time to mention there were shapeshifters. It was best if most people didn’t know about them anyway since they could be very aggressive. “That is an unusual belief.”
“The humans are just as likely to believe you as a message from us. Let us bring them a message while you stay here.”
“I appreciate you trying to keep me safe, but I have to do this.”
Simon blew out a frustrated breath. “I was pretty sure you were going to say that. You’re too brave and too loyal for your own good.”
She shrugged.
“I’m honored to know you, Raven,” he said softly. “If you do come back, bring more women like you. I might be willing to move to the family part of town for someone like you.”
Raven looked up to find Connor watching them. She’d known he was there for a couple of minutes, and she’d been surprised when he hadn’t interrupted her conversation with Simon.
“I’d better go before Con starts growling at us,” Simon said with a wicked grin. Before Raven had time to guess his intentions, he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. It was nothing more than a quick peck on her lips, but she knew he was trying to irritate his friend. “I’ll see you before you leave tomorrow. I wanted to be part of the group that takes you back, but I drew the shortest straw, so I’m stuck on guard duty here.”
On those strange words, Simon walked away, giving Connor a pat on the back as he passed him.
Connor walked over to Raven and helped her to her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“No,” she admitted. “Take me home.” The tears started all over again when she realized what she’d just said. At some point, she’d started to think of Connor’s home as her own.
He carried her back to the jeep and carefully buckled her in before leaning forward to kiss her. “If you aren’t back here in a month, I’m coming after you.”
“You have to promise me you won’t come after me,” she practically pleaded. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that, Raven.”
“Is this because letting me go will make you look weak?” she asked, not sure why she was trying to pick a fight.
He laughed. “We aren’t fighting today, little nymph. I’m going to take you home and make love to you over and over again. I’m going to make sure you know how much you mean to me. You’re mine, and I will go after you because we belong together. When you get back, we’ll talk about everything. There’s so much I need to tell you, but it can wait until you get back.”
Raven was a strong independent woman who should hate being referred to in such possessive terms. Still, all she found herself saying was, “You’re mine, Connor. When I get back, we’ll find a way to make that permanent.”
Connor took her home and followed through with his promise. As she dozed off that night, she wondered if she’d be able to walk the next day, let alone walk the distance to the human settlement.