Catch

Chapter Twenty

Outside our bedroom door sat Belatia, Archios’s wife, her knees drawn to her chest.

A towel lay in a heap next to her on the floor. I thought she wore an odd-looking sundress but when she stood as we approached, it turned out to be an old-fashion bathing suit.

Something my great-great grandmother would have worn.

“Bel?” What the hell was she doing here? With Archios busy with Tane, maybe she had nothing else to do.

“I wanted to know if you would like to take a swim?” She glanced at Rurik and hid her body behind the bulk of her towel. “You can come too if you’d like, Rurik.”

I smiled. For some reason she made me happy. “Sure, we’d love to.”

“Really?” They spoke in unison, one with excitement, the other with trepidation.

“Let me find my swimsuit and we’ll meet you by the pool.”

“Okay.” Bel spun around and flounced away as I entered our room.

“Thanks for volunteering me.” Rurik shut the door as he spoke.

“You love to swim.” I yanked a drawer open, trying to find my blue sport swimsuit.

Vampires didn’t need to breathe so could remain underwater indefinitely, I envied them that. Rurik could dive the reefs without any equipment. “I can’t find my bathing suit.”

Rurik opened the closet and stepped out holding two pieces of black cloth. “Here’s the bikini I bought you.”

“Which covers less than my underwear, I don’t think so.”

“If I have to swim with Belatia than the least you can do is offer me eye-candy.” He handed me his idea of swimwear.

“You don’t like Bel?”

“It’s not a matter of liking. She—how would you put it—creeps me out.” He shrugged. “She’s a little girl trapped in a woman’s body. I’ve never felt comfortable with Archios’s tastes.”

His comment made my stomach turn. I didn’t think of Archios and Belatia as lovers.

“When you put it that way it makes me sick, but it’s not Bel’s fault.” I went through the last drawer and then the closet, still no sport one-piece suit. Crap. I held the string bikini I’d refused to wear until tonight.

“Can’t blame me for wanting you to wear that.” He whispered in my ear from behind, causing me to startle. A moment before he’d been by the dresser.

“I hate it when you move that fast.”

He chuckled. “I’ll meet you at the pool. Archios wants to copy my passport.” He plucked the item from a shelf in the closet. With the same speed he’d used to scare me, Rurik left the room.

“Show off.” It took me what felt like forever to untangle all the strings of the bikini.

Then I needed to knot my arms to tie the damn thing on. I’d worn suits like this in the past when I was too young and stupid to care if things fell out. Merciful goodness, it wasn’t a thong. I wrapped my favorite Mexican sarong around my hips and went to find Bel.

Swimming at night didn’t bother me. Sometimes I went out and got a little sun while Rurik ‘slept’, but to my surprise, I didn’t miss it. The night air still held some of the day’s warmth. Bel sat on the edge of the pool dangling her feet in the water, facing away from me.

Removing the skirt, I dropped it on a chair and jumped into the cool, clear water next to her. Head first, I broke the surface and saw a shocked, half-soaked Bel gaping at me.

A huge grin spread her rosebud mouth then she jumped in with me. She brought out my inner child and made me want to have fun. Something I never really had the opportunity to have growing up.

Like a couple of fools, we splashed and swam. Soft sand lined the bottom of the natural pool and dark gray, smooth stones lined the walls. Jungle plants surrounded the area giving me the impression of being in the wild. A marvel.

I swam free of Bel’s antics toward the small falls. The water fell cool and clear.

What was its source? It smelled like it came from a spring. My skin tingled as I let it pour over my head. A thick vine grew close to the ledge. I grabbed it and pulled myself onto the top.

Bel doggy paddled in my direction, her limbs pumping and getting entangled in the floating skirts of her swim suit.

With a laugh, I cannon balled close to her. Tiny bubbles traveled past my face while I sank. Sand swirled through the water clouding my view as Bel stood. I kicked to break the surface, but hit resistance.

Something leaned on my head. I reached and found a small hand grasping my hair.

Bracing my feet in the slippery sand, I pushed away and sharp pain filled my head as my hair got yanked.

Pulled out of the water, I gasped a lungful of air. Bel’s laughter rang in my ears before the water swallowed me whole again. I struggled and kicked and scratched.

Even though Bel was slight and petite, she was still a vampire with the strength of the undead. Fortune on my side for once, I was blood bound to the strongest Nosferatu in the vampire nation. It didn’t make me Bel’s equal, but it made me stronger than the average human woman.

I dove toward her body, grabbed around her waist, and lifted her over my shoulder.

When I stood, she let go with a squeal and I allowed the fresh air to fill my starved lungs.

Now that I held onto Bel, I feared to let her go. She might attack again. Maybe she forgot I needed to breathe? And where the hell was Rurik?

She slapped my back and kicked, splashing enough water to drown me above the damn water line. All the while she laughed.

Coughing half the pool out between words, I managed to call out her name. “Bel!

Bel, stop.”

She finally heard and rested quiet in my arms until I set her down. In a spasm that shook me to the core, I coughed the last of the water I’d inhaled. When the stars cleared from my vision, a wide-eyed vampire girl stared at me.

“Are you well, Connie?” She whispered.

“Sure, peachy-keen.”

Bel grinned and flashed fang. My sarcasm slid past her.

“You could have killed me.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and retreated to the edge of the pool.

Her smile faded. “I thought we were playing.”

Without taking my eyes off her, I lifted myself out of the water. “You got too rough.

I’m still mortal.”

She placed her small, delicate hand over her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” Moving slowly, she came toward me. “Please don’t tell on me. Archios will be so angry. I’m not supposed to play with humans anymore. Tane isn’t as understanding as Dragos. I don’t want to be placed on the mountaintop to watch the dawn.” She hiccupped her last word before sobbing. “I just wanted to be your friend. The others are so mean to me when Archios isn’t around and you’re so nice.”

Lost in a torrent of fear, pity, and guilt, I watched Bel crawl out of the pool. A friend? How odd it felt to be wanted. Most of my life I’d been alone so I understood her need. It gave us a connection.

I closed the distance between us and hugged her like I wished someone had done for me so long ago. “I won’t tell.”